"I'll try to be a better sister," Maria couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "I promise Tessie."

Maria took off the clothes she had worn to Isabel's party and kicked them into a pile at the other side of Kyle's room. She dug out her pajamas from one of her bags and quickly put them on. Her sleeping bag and pillow were at the foot of Kyle's bed, so she rolled it out onto the floor.

Her body ached for sleep, but her mind was a jumbled mess full of feelings of guilt, jealously, betrayal and discomfort.

Guilty for not being there for Tess when she was supposed to, and keeping all of her meetings with Max, Isabel, and Michael a secret because they didn't completely trust her. She also felt a sting of betrayal from Michael. He was standing way too close to Courtney and she knew what Courtney was all about. Maria couldn't sleep peacefully because her emotions were going haywire and her heart was heavy and the nightmares of the evening still plagued her.

* * * Maria and Tess spent the entire weekend doing normal sister stuff. It brought back memories of the nights they spent in the many hotel rooms in the course of their lives together.

They gossiped about movies, music, and rumors that circulated around the school. There was no mention of Maria's relationship with Michael, Tess's lack of relationship with Max, and the events during Isabel's party. The two girls had a two-day slumber party, which consisted of shopping, video rentals and beauty makeovers. In other words in the last 48 hours they were driving Kyle crazy with all their feminine rituals.

Maria and Tess managed to drag Kyle to the movies on Saturday night, so they could try to bond with their new roommate. However, when Tess fell asleep Maria would sneak into the kitchen and call Michael. She explained to him that she needed to spend quality time with her sister.

By Monday morning reality set in and all five of them gathered in the pod chamber. Congresswoman Whitaker confessed to Isabel that they were searching for the granolith. At the time Isabel had no idea what she was talking about, but later that night Isabel escaped to the pod chamber for solitude but discovered the granolith behind the pods. They decided to check it out as a group before school on Monday because curiosity got the better of them.

"Who ordered the rock collection?" Michael gazed at the granolith that stood in the center of the room.

Isabel leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, "This is what Whitaker wanted and she assumed we knew where it was."

"Do you think that was why she kidnapped Tess? To get the location of this thing," Maria asked no one in particular.

"It's a possible reason," Max concluded. "Did she say anything else to Iz?"

Isabel murmured from her spot against the wall, "No."

"We'll come back after school and discuss this all," Max informed them. "Maybe we can figure out what Whitaker's intentions were."

* * * Maria couldn't go to the granolith with everyone after school because she had the afternoon shift at the Crashdown. When she got there she was relieved to find that Courtney wasn't scheduled, and her whole shift was pretty uneventful.

She was surprised to see Michael come in with an older man with a look of bitterness on his face. "Hey Michael, who's your friend?" Maria greeted as the two of them sat down at the counter.

"This is Hal Carver," Michael introduced. "Hal, this is Maria."

Maria smiled, "Nice to meet you."

"Can you get us a couple of milkshakes, Hal's helping me with a history project?" Michael told her.

Maria nodded and got them what they wanted. She watched him as he intensely conversed with the elder and she wondered what could be so interesting. She didn't dare disturb them because Michael was completely in to what Hal Carver was telling him.

Maria pretended that Michael wasn't even there, but he approached her some time later. "Do you think I could borrow your car?" he asked her sweetly.

"Why? Where are you going?" Maria questioned him.

"I can't exactly take this guy on the back of my bike," Michael raised his eyebrows. "We are just going somewhere else to talk."

Maria found the perfect opportunity, "So what exactly are you talking about? I mean, I know you Michael and you don't exactly have the world's largest attention span. I know there are only two things that hold your interest; alien conspiracies and hockey. And I don't exactly thing the two of you are talking about hockey."

Michael gave her a slight look of discomfort because he wasn't ready to tell her everything, "This guy…he has been through a lot, and he is helping me gain a little perspective right now."

Maria expected more out of him, "What, that's it. That's all you have to tell me."

"For now, so can I use your car?" Michael had the nerve to ask.

Maria was seething but did a poor job of not showing it, "Here, take the damn car." She grabbed the keys from her locker and threw them at him. "Make sure you fill up the tank." She stormed out of the breakroom leaving Michael regretting what he said.

* * * Michael wasn't back with her car by the time her shift was over, so she called Kyle for a ride. Sheriff Valenti ordered a couple of pizzas, but Maria didn't have much of an appetite. Tess asked her many times if anything was wrong, and Maria said she was fine. Growing up Maria and Tess never had boy troubles because they led a nomadic life, but now things were different.

Maria had never been in love before she met Michael, but once she was in Roswell she realized she had been in love with him since she was six years old.

For the first time in her life she felt her heart hurting. That night she put on a fake smile for Tess's sake, but once Kyle flipped the TV channel to a hockey game she knew she had to get away.

She struggled to complete some homework in Kyle's bedroom, but her mind wasn't focused. She was about to give up but there was a knock on the door. "Come in," she said and Kyle poked his head in. "Hey what's up?" she asked him.

"Uh, Michael's here," Kyle informed her. "And he's asking for you." Kyle must have seen the reluctance on her face because he offered, "Do you want me to get rid of me?"

Maria stood up, "No that's all right, besides I need to talk to him." She followed Kyle to the living room where Michael was standing as he watched the hockey game with Tess and Valenti. "Maybe we should go outside," Maria declared because hockey was one of Michael's biggest distractions. Once they were outside Maria asked, "So I guess you are here to return my car?"

"Well actually I wanted to see if you were interested in going for a ride with me," Michael said.

Maria responded, "I guess that's a start." She knew that was his way of apologizing, because Maria knew that Michael hated saying he was sorry. She got into the car with him and they drove off into the night.

Maria knew that they must have been going somewhere special because they were having one of those meaningful silent drives. It wasn't too long before they were pulling into the clearing of Puhlman Ranch, and for a minute she thought they were going to their special place. She was half-surprised that Michael was guiding her through the pod chamber and into the granolith.

It was just the two of them in the small quarter and Maria watched as the granolith loomed above them. "This thing amazes me," she spoke up.

"Yeah," Michael agreed. "I can't believe it was here the whole time."

"This is great Michael, but I've already seen it. Why did you bring me here?" Maria crossed her arms.

"About this afternoon," Michael began. "I can explain." Maria was all ears. "This guy was an air force pilot back in World War II and he was in New Mexico in 1947. He was there at the actual crash site, and he seen things that the government would kill over."

Maria held her breath; "Oh my God, and he shared all of this information with you."

"He saved us," Michael continued. "With the help of a reporter he came to believe that saving our pods was the right thing to do."

Maria gave him a weak smile, "I'm glad he was right, and I'm glad he did what he did."

"But there is something else," Michael's voice trailed off for a moment.

"What is it?" Maria asked eagerly.

Michael took a deep breath before telling her, "Somewhere out there, there is another set of pods."

Maria wasn't expecting that bombshell to drop; "You're joking. You have to be joking."

Michael shook his head; "He was only able to save one set of pods and when he went back there were gone."

"Oh my God," Maria said for the second time. "Why didn't Nasedo say something about this? It's not like he could forget that there are four more alien hybrids running around."

"Maybe he thought they didn't survive," Michael suggested.

Maria pointed out; "It sounds like Hal Carver didn't either. Have you told Max and Isabel your discovery?"

"You are the first one I've told. I wanted you to know," Michael said sincerely.

Maria's heart fluttered in her chest, "Thank you that really means a lot."

* * * The next night Maria was driving to a psychic named Madame Vivian with Liz and Alex. It was one of Maria's wacky ideas of bonding with her human friends, but their upsetting love lives were souring the mood.

"I'm so confused," Liz whined.

Alex spoke up from the backseat; "I'm so depressed."

"Wimps," Maria grunted as she drove through the rain.

Liz continued her rant, "Max keeps coming to my window and telling me he wants to be with me again, but it's…it can never work out."

Alex joined in, "Isabel, she gave me another one of those 'Alex, you're such a great friend' speeches. It made me want to puke."

"I have Michael Guerin," Maria loved that fact. "He's mine. You should have seen the look in his eyes whenever I'm around."

Liz was happy for her friend, but all their happiness was making her more depressed, "Where are you taking us anyway?"

"Mmm. To a place where all of our questions will finally be answered," Maria tried to lighten the mood with cheesy remarks. "She'll tell us where our future lies with our hybrid freaks. She's a prophet. The lady that does all those alien deliveries lives her whole life based on her advice."

"And this is a recommendation?" Alex asked sarcastically.

They decided that Alex should go first and while he was in there Maria and Liz waited. Maria couldn't help but notice how nervous Liz was.

"Liz, it's going to be OK, we aren't at the doctor's office or anything," Maria attempted to calm her nerves.

Liz couldn't sit still, "What if she says something I don't want to hear like Tess will have Max's love child or something."

"Wouldn't that qualify as Tess's or Max's future?" Maria pointed out. "Don't answer that."

Liz didn't react, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"Come on Liz, it's completely harmless, whatever this chick says is going to be a bunch of bull anyway," Maria said to her friend.

Just then Alex came out looking more sullen than he did before. "What's the verdict?" Liz asked.

"Oh nothing," Alex answered sarcastically. "Just that I'm doomed to be Isabel's friend for the rest of my life."

"See what did I tell you, a bunch of bull," Maria tried to make Alex feel better.

Alex flopped down next to Liz, "If it is just a bunch of bull then why do I feel so crappy."

Maria shrugged as Madam Vivian called her in. "My future is calling," Maria joked as she got up and disappeared behind the heavy velvet curtain.

The room was small and dark with only candles to lighten it. Madam Vivian sat behind a small round table; there was a crystal ball and a deck of cards in front of her. "Please sit down," she said in a pleasant voice. Maria obediently sat down. "Give me your hand." Maria extended her left hand with her palm facing upward. "What is your name my dear?"

"Maria," she replied politely.

"Maria," Madam Vivian repeated. "That's a very lovely name."

Maria gave a small smile, "Thank you."

Madam Vivian gingerly took her hand, "You have a very strong love line. There is a special boy in your life." Maria nodded as she continued, "This boy…very volatile."

"That's good for sex, right?" Maria blurted out.

Madam Vivian didn't crack a smile, "He is very head strong, you two butt heads a lot. But this relationship will endure."

"Really," Maria's eyes grew wide. "For how long?"

Madam Vivian took a closer look at Maria's palm, "According to your love line the love you two have for each other will last forever."