"Hey. Are you busy?"

He nodded his head toward the kitchen, where Tess was holding her hand over a bag of microwave popcorn. It started to jump and pop, the warm buttery smell filling the air. "We were just getting ready to watch a movie. Why?"

It was clear that Michael was not going to move from the door and invite her in. "I saw you at the Crashdown this afternoon. I know what you saw might have seemed kind of strange. Alex told me that you hadn't had any luck with Kyle, so I thought I'd try talking to him. I'm not sure if it did any good, and of course the whole team saw us alone together and started making a big joke out of it." Her voice ended abruptly, the absence of any response from Michael making her feel self-conscious about even being there. Why did she even bother? She had convinced herself that he might feel jealous or hurt seeing her at the center of so much male attention. Now she realized that was what she wanted to believe he felt. Standing in front of her now, he didn't seem to be bothered at all. She never should have come over.

"So, are you coming in or not?"

As was so often the case when dealing with Michael, she had to pause as the gears in her mind started churning again in the opposite direction. The invitation was unusual, she didn't quite know how to respond. Her instinct was to just go home. Not allow herself to be sucked into the emotional pit that being with Michael always created. But they had talked about starting over, of being friends. And she had to admit that she had been lonely since Liz had left. Alex was too involved with Isabel to be any company, and she had spent too many nights at home with her mom.

"Yeah, I guess so." She tentatively stepped into the apartment as Michael backed up to let her through.

"Good. Then you can chip in a couple of bucks for the pizza."

***********

Tess flipped quickly through the back pages of her Cosmo, rushing past the advertisements to have her love life solved by psychics, not tempted to be a model or just look like one. She had quickly lost interest in the movie that Michael had rented. One of the Star Wars movies. She couldn't believe that everything he rented was either a war or a sci-fi movie. Star Wars, Bladerunner, Dune. You'd think that he'd be getting enough of it in real life. And all the samurai movies, the boy should be fluent in Japanese by now.

She peeked over the top of the magazine to see the credits rolling down the screen. She turned towards Michael to see why he hadn't stopped it yet. She didn't know who had fallen asleep first, but somehow they had ended up snuggled cozily. Michael was leaning back on the couch, Maria's head resting on his chest, gently rising and falling with his breathing. His arm was draped down her side, his hand comfortably nestled in the curve of her waist.

Tess couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. She'd never experienced that kind of intimacy with anyone. Nasedo didn't seem capable of understanding it. And the guys she'd dated. While they'd been nice, with her telepathic powers it hadn't taken long to figure out that while it may not be true that teenage boys have only one thing on their minds, that one thing certainly had high priority. Letters to penthouse were tame compared to some of the disgusting things she'd seen on the minds of guys who had acted like perfect gentlemen. She'd assumed that when she found Max that he would be different, the fact that they were made for each other giving them an instant connection. It never occurred to her that he wouldn't feel the same.

Afraid that the sudden silence of turning the TV off might disturb them, she turned the TV down and surfed the channels until she found a late-night movie, then headed to her room.

*************

Michael pauses and looks into the window of the Crashdown. Maria is wiping down tables, the rhythmic swaying of her body enticing him as she leans over to get the back of the booth. She is expecting him. He walks in the door and she turns to him, smiling, her lips moist and red against the smooth whiteness of her teeth.

"You came." No matter what may happen later, this is how they always start.

"I always do." He walks toward her as she takes off the silly antenna and undoes her apron. Even after he reaches her he continues moving forward until she is backed up against the counter. Her eyes never leave his until she is crushed against him, her hair tickling his jaw, her breath warm in his ear.

"Isabel might find out."

He smiles as he breathes in the scent of her. His fingers play along the hem of her skirt before sliding under the rough fabric. Her breath quivers as he caresses the warm, sensitive skin of her inner thigh, teasingly brushing against the silky slipperiness of the fabric underneath. Her body arches in response, increasing the pressure of her hips against his. "I don't care."

"That's a shame, you really should." Michael whirls around to face Pierce, the real Pierce. "Although I shouldn't be complaining. It does make my job a lot easier."

"How did you get in here? How did you get past Valenti?"

"Maybe you should ask your girlfriend."

As he turns towards Maria, more agents come out of the back, blocking off the exits. "Michael, this is for the best, you'll see. Max means well, but he doesn't know what he's doing. He's leading us all into danger. Pierce is going to help us. It will all be alright."

He grabs Maria and shakes her. "How could you do this? Don't you see he's going to kill us all!" He can see in her eyes that she doesn't believe him.

"I'm afraid that is true." He sees Pierce reach into his jacket and launches himself towards him, but it is already too late. He doesn't feel any pain, just the impact as the bullet hits him.

************

Michael's eyes snapped open to focus on Maria's face, only inches away. The usually enticing fruity smell of her hair suddenly seemed suffocating. He jumped up, the dream still fresh in his mind. Maria, disturbed by his sudden movements, sat up groggily and looked at the clock on the VCR. "Oh, I didn't know it was so late. I must have fallen asleep or something. I better go home before my mom gets worried." She looked up to see Michael staring at her and tried to brush out her hair with her fingers. "What? I didn't get bed-head or something, did I?" She stood up and tried to see herself in the window. She thought she looked okay, but when she turned around Michael was still staring at her. "Michael, Hello? Is something wrong?"

Finally he seemed to shake the trance he was in. "No, nothing. You know, it's kind of late. Your mom might be worried about you, you better get home."