"Yes," Isabel nodded calmly.

"Michael will take care of Maria," Max told Liz as his mind tried to make up a plan.

Liz sighed and collapsed onto Isabel's bed, next to Alex. "What are we going to do?"

Alex hugged her close. "We're going to get them back."

"He's right," Isabel agreed with Alex. "We'll find them."

"If only Michael could give us a clue . . ." Max trailed off.

"He's going to try to give us more information tonight," Isabel told him.

"That's good," Alex said and then looked down at Liz. "See? Maria will be fine."

Liz nodded numbly, staring down at the carpet.

Max looked from Liz to his sister. "Izzy, did Michael or Maria say where they were . . . uh . . . captured?"

Isabel shook her head. "I forgot to ask."

"She was working late that night," Liz spoke, not shifting her gaze off the floor. "She locked up for me. She was probably taken then, Ms. Deluca said she didn't come home at all that night." She finally looked up at the others, tears in her big brown eyes. "It was my fault."

"No," Isabel reached over Alex and took her friend's hand. "No, it wasn't your fault. This isn't anyone's fault. And Michael and Maria are both okay."

"There's nobody to blame," Alex agreed, covering both Isabel's and Liz's hand with his own.

"Except for that Dr. L," Max chimed in, his voice filled with hatred.

Isabel's eyes moved from her brother's to Liz's as she repeated, "We'll find them."

Michael crouched down in the corner, not caring if he looked suspicious to the other people in the room.

Maria coughed several times and Michael looked over at her. She was sitting down next to him, minding her own business. "You okay?" he asked.

Once again Maria was surprised at his concern. "Yeah."

Michael nodded and turned back over to the door that was next to him. He looked around for a hole in the wall, but couldn't locate one. "Do you see any holes?" he asked Maria, who sneezed in reply.

Sighing, Michael got up and looked around some more.

"Michael!" Maria called.

In seconds, Michael was by her side. "Yeah?"

"I found one." She pointed to a small, dime-sized hole a few feet away from the door.

"Good," Michael said and quickly pressed an ear against it.

" . . . yeah and they always think they know," a faint voice sounded. Laughter.

"They'd run all of that way for nothing!"

More laughter.

"So far one prisoner escaped all the way to the Drest."

Bingo.

Michael smirked and turned to look at Maria. He was alarmed to find she wasn't behind him anymore. "Maria?!" he called, scanning the room.

He heard a little whimper a few feet to his left and found the petite blond curled up in a ball, shaking.

"Maria?" he bent down next to her, eyes wide as he examined her.

"I d-don't feel g-g-good," she told him, teeth chattering away.

Forgetting about his findings, he pulled her into her favorite position: on his lap. Michael never told her, but secretly, it was his favorite position, too. He kissed her purple lips quickly and wiped some of her sopping-wet hair off of her face. She moved a little as she coughed several more times and pressed her good hand to her head.

"You have a headache?" Michael asked softly.

Maria nodded.

Michael soothingly massaged her head and she drifted to sleep in minutes. He watched her sleep, rocking her a little and wishing he had his powers to make all of her pain go away.

He heard the door open and the guards come in. Michael clutched Maria to him like a baby, trying to hide in the corner so they wouldn't find and separate the two. But, alas, the guards found them. They pulled Maria off of Michael, and Michael yelled and swore, trying to fight back. He got a few punches in, but that was over quickly. He found himself back in his cell with a fresh bruise on his cheek.

Rayna burst in, holding another tray of that pea soup Michael had come to hate.

"Hello," she said happily.

Michael's snarl made her step back a bit.

"Are you all right?" Rayna asked, staring at him.

He ignored her question. "You're going to Maria's cell soon, right?"

Rayna nodded. "It's a few stops away."

Michael jumped up. "Take me to her."

"Oh, no," Rayna shook her head vigorously. "No, I couldn't do that."

"And why not?" Michael challenged.

She gave him a 'duh' look. "Because I'd get in more trouble than you could ever imagine."

"She's sick," Michael stated.

Rayna stopped short. "What?"

"Maria. She's sick," Michael continued. "She needs to be with someone. She needs to be with me." He looked up at Rayna, his eyes softer. "I need her."

Rayna's heart broke for the boy right then and there. She knew how much they needed each other and found herself nodding before she knew what she was doing. "Okay."

Michael gave a small, appreciative half-smile. "Thanks."

Rayna nodded, gesturing for him to follow her. "Just be quiet and come with me." She shut the door to Michael's cell and led him down the hall. She stopped about five doors down from Michael's room. "Here. This is hers." She handed him a tray, opened the door, shoved him inside, and walked away as fast as she possibly could.

Michael set the tray down and walked over to Maria, who was lying on the floor, looking uncomfortable in her slumber. He wondered why she wasn't in her cot and then took a look at it, all broken up on the floor. He dragged the hard mattress away from all of the other pieces and set it on the floor. Then he walked over to Maria.

"Maria, honey?" he whispered. Even he was amazed at the love in his voice.

She stirred in her sleep, but didn't wake up. Her arm did slide over his neck when he picked her up, though. He was amazed at how light she was as he set her down on the mattress. He sat down next to her and watched chills shake her body. Glancing around the dark room, which was an exact replica of his, he found two light blankets on the ground.

Shaking the dust off, he mumbled how it was "better than nothing." He walked back over to her and, as he was tucking her into the blankets, her eyes fluttered open.

"Michael?" she asked in a croaked whisper.

"Shh," Michael told her, pulling the blankets up her small body. "It's okay."

Maria watched him lie down on the floor, which was about three inches lower than her, and face her. "How'd you get in here?" she couldn't help but ask.

Michael smiled. "I have my ways."

Maria gave a soft smile back, reaching over to him and brushing his cheek with her good hand. He kissed it when it was near his lips, not moving his eyes off of her.

She closed her eyes and once again drifted off to sleep.

Michael didn't know how long he lay there, watching her, making sure she was breathing okay. He had felt her head and found she was burning up. Worried, he frantically shoved off all of the blankets until she was shivering once again. Feeling her head, he was confused by the way she still felt very hot. Not sure what to do, Michael left one of the blankets on her and sat back once again. Soon Rayna came in with dinner.

"How is she?" she whispered to Michael.

Michael shook his head, feeling helpless. "Not good. I think she has a fever."

Rayna sighed. "I wish I could help, but I'm not admitted into the medical center. I could bring her there, though."

Michael shook his head again, tightening his hand over Maria's small one. "I'm not letting anyone here take her."

Rayna nodded, understanding the boy. She looked down at the uneaten lunch tray and frowned. "You have to get her to eat." She set the dinner tray next to him. "And you have to eat, too. It's no use starving yourself."

"Yeah," Michael said slowly, still concentrating on Maria.

"Okay," Rayna told him, heading back to the door. "I'll try to come check up on you two later in the night." Not knowing what else to say, she walked out.

Michael ran his thumb along Maria's palm and then looked over at the food. Cringing at the smell of that awful pea soup, he brought the bowl over to him, never letting go of Maria. He then shook her a little. "Maria?" he asked softly.

Her eyes fluttered open once again and she looked at Michael questionably.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like I was hit by a spaceship," she joked and then moaned.

Michael looked down at the soup. "You need to eat something."

"I'm not hungry," she said groggily.

"I didn't ask you," he said. She didn't protest when he gently shoved some pea soup in her mouth.

He managed to get a few scoops in before she refused to open her mouth anymore. "Not hungry," she mumbled again and closed her eyes.

Michael sighed and put the soup away. "It's no use starving yourself,"

Rayna's voice echoed in his mind. He forced a couple scoops down his throat also, then lied back down next to Maria.

"Maybe you should try dreamwalking now," Liz suggested to Isabel, anxious to see how Maria was doing.

The four of them had stayed in Isabel's room all day, talking.

Isabel looked over at her clock. "Liz, it's 7:30."

Liz sighed, knowing Isabel was right and that neither Michael nor Maria would probably be asleep at this time.

"How about we try around nine?" Alex looked from Liz to Isabel.

They both nodded simultaneously. Liz looked back at Max, who was scrubbing his face in his hands, desperately trying not to lose his cool. She looked over at Alex and Isabel, who had resumed their conversation. Something about stars and constellations. She went back to the fashion magazine, which belonged to Isabel, that she had been half-reading. Her mind kept wandering to her best friend, wondering if she was scared. She also wondered if she was okay with Michael being there, seeing as she hadn't seen him in months, and wondered what kind of tension had sprouted.

Somehow, during the four's countless attempts at passing along the time, the clock's numbers had changed and it was close to nine o'clock.

"I'll try now," Isabel said, seeing the worried looks on her friends' faces. She lied back down on her bed and felt Alex's arms go around her. She turned to smile at him gratefully, and then closed her eyes, going into Maria's dream.

Isabel sat back up again after three minutes and five tries. "She's blocked."

"What?" Liz jumped out of her chair.

"I can't get inside," Isabel met her brother's eyes. "I'll try Michael."

She heard Liz asking Max what that meant as she drifted off, sighing in relief as she easily entered Michael's dream. "Michael?" she called into the darkness.

Michael stepped up to her from out of nowhere. "Maria's sick," he said in the same tone as he had told Rayna.

"She's sick?" Isabel asked, clasping a hand over her mouth. "Sick how?"

"Coughing, sneezing, headache. The works," Michael's dark eyes met Isabel's. "I don't know what to do. She's burning up and I'm just watching her."

Isabel raised her eyebrows as Michael's voice strained. She could tell he wasn't doing too good either.

"Cold compresses," Isabel suggested. "On her head and face. Even neck if she's sweating. That's what I saw my mother do when she had a fever."

Michael nodded, seemingly dazed.

"I couldn't get inside her dream," Isabel went on. "It must be because she's sick. Is she asleep?"

"Yeah," Michael said, then looked up at her again. "I should check on her again."

"Good idea," Isabel said, then remembered why she was here. "Oh, Michael, have you gotten any information?"

Michael had to think for a second about what she was talking about. "Yeah. Uh . . . near the Drest."

"Drest Bay or-"

"I don't know," Michael snapped. Then he stopped. "Sorry, Iz. I kind of have a lot on my mind."

Isabel nodded, fully understanding. "Okay, we'll find you." She said goodbye to him and closed her eyes. She was back in Alex's arms, turned over so she was looking into his clear blue eyes. She blushed a little and sat up, looking over at Liz and Max. "They're okay. Maria's a little sick, though," she lied a little, not telling them about her high fever. There was no use in worrying them."

"A little sick?" Liz looked worried.

"Yeah, just a headache, I guess," Isabel said, not wanting to go into anymore detail. She looked over at Max once again. "They're near the Drest."

"Bay?" Max asked.

"I don't know, Michael wasn't sure," Isabel told him.

Liz jumped up. "We should go now."

All three of them looked over at Liz.

"Liz, do you know how far away we have to go?" Alex asked her.

"We'll need plane tickets," Liz ran over to the phone and called the Roswell operator.

As she got the nearest flight, Alex groaned. "My parents are going to kill me."

Isabel nodded. "Max, what are we going to tell mom and dad?"

"Tell them that you're sleeping over Liz's and I tell them that I'm sleeping over Alex's," Max said.

"And vice-versa," Alex thought. "Good idea."

Liz got off the phone. "We've got four tickets. Our flight leaves in an hour."

"AN HOUR?" the three others exclaimed.

Liz nodded. "We don't need to bring anything. Maybe just some extra clothes for Michael and Maria."

Isabel and Max seemed to have the same idea. Max walked out of his room and Isabel charged into her oversized closet. They both came back with clothes.

"There we go," Liz smiled.

Isabel pulled out a small suitcase from under her bed. She threw in the pink sweater and jeans for Maria and Max threw in the jeans and T-shirt Michael had left in his room a few weeks ago. Isabel picked up a brush and tossed it into the bag, also.

"What about some food?" Alex asked and Isabel nodded.

The four of them traipsed down to the kitchen and shoved in some junkfood and fruit.

"Good," Isabel looked pleased. She also grabbed some Tylenol and put it into the bag for Maria.

"Money," Max now said.

They hopped back up the stairs and Liz pulled open her purse. "Sixty dollars."

Isabel opened a drawer. "Fifty dollars."

Max came back from his room. "A hundred dollars."

They smiled and expectantly looked at Alex, who blushed, emptying his pockets. "Twenty-five cents?"

They laughed, breaking some of the tension. They ran down the stairs now, where Isabel scribbled a note to her and Max's parents as Alex and Liz called their parents.