"What? What is going on?"

"Nothing," Maria mumbled, massaging her temples.

Liz stepped back, placed her hands to her hips and looked on with a stern seriousness. "Maria," she started her tone full of warning, "what are you not telling me?"

"Nothing, LizÖ really, itís nothing. Iíve just been having these dreamsÖ uh, nightmares. Theyíre, you know, really scaring me. But they're just dreamsÖ I'll cope."

"Nightmares? What are they about?"

"ThingsÖ StuffÖ" Maria stood, gathering her belongings. "Listen, I canít talk to you about this right now, Liz. I have to go homeÖ I'm sorry." The teen looked so weary, "I'm sorryÖ" she repeated.

Not sure what to do, Liz followed her best friend down the stairs and into the dark alley, calling after her. "Maria? Maria!" She was no where to be seen, almost as if she vanished into the night. Parker ran out to Main Street, searching around frantically, then accepted the fact that Maria was gone.

Liz walked back down the darkened alleyway, then climbed the fire escape onto her balcony, shocked to find Max there waiting for her.

"Max," she said with a hint of panic in her voice causing him to turn towards her, "what's wrong?"

"Where's Maria?"

"She went home." A red flag popped up in her mind, "Why?"

"Don't be concernedÖ I just wanted to talk to her," he replied, reaching for her hand.

"Ha ñ me? Concerned? Never. I mean, you stop by my bedroom every night looking for Maria. Just another normal day in Roswell."

Her sarcasm caused him to wince. "I don't want to worry youó"

"Too late. Tell me."

Max wavered, uncertainty shining in his deep brown eyes. Liz knew him too wellÖ after all she *has* seen his soul. "I needed to talk to her about what I saw when I healed her. Things didn't make sense."

A crease of apprehension formed between Liz's brows. "What things?"

"I can't tell you." At his girlfriend's stricken expression, Max spoke on. "These things I see... they're personalÖ Maria's personal things. I can't tell you what I see with her, just like I won't tell her what I see with you."

"MaxÖ what ifÖ what if this is something, uh, alien? What if it's all my fault for getting her into this situation? I'll never forgive myself if something happens to her because of me. She's my best friend." Liz pulled her hand away from him, and leaned back onto the balcony ledge.

"This isn't your fault, Liz," Max nudged her chin up so that she had to look at him. "Don't ever think that, okay?" She nodded, and he released her. "Did she mention anything about what's been going on?"

The girl nodded again, "She said she's been having nightmares."

"Nightmares?" he paused, reflecting on the visions he saw earlier. "That could explain the inconsistencies in her flashes." Max sat next to her, and tenderly caressed her cheek.

Liz shyly smiled, the tingles of his touch pushing away her fear. "Is this something you can fix, Max?"

"I don't knowÖ" Max replied, honestly, "but I'll talk to Maria in the morning and see what I can find out. Okay?"

"Okay," she agreed, though somewhat hesitantly.

"GoodÖ now try and get some sleep. We'll figure this all out." Max kissed her goodnight, then carefully climbed down the ladder.

* * *

Maria quietly entered her house, trying not to wake her mother. Stopping in the kitchen, she got a glass of water so that she could take more pills to stay awake. As she swallowed the last of her bottle of ginseng, Amy called out to her from the living room.

"Maria, sit down. I learned a piece of most interesting information today."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I dropped a batch of pies to Jeff and Nancy today at the CrashDown, while you were on break. I mentioned to Nancy how much I appreciated her letting you spend the night so Liz could help you study. And she informed me that Liz was grounded. Sheís been grounded for three weeks, so you never came over that day, or any day for almost a month. Can you explain this?" Maria shook her head silently. "I told her that I must have gotten the names mixed up. Then, who do I see cooking in the kitchen, but my favorite wrestler and houseguest, Michael. Do you know what Nancy tells me when I ask how long heís been working there? About a monthÖ ever since the judge approved his emancipationÖ because he needs rent money for his new apartment. How come you never told me that he has his own apartment?"

"It wasnít important, Mom."

"It wasnít important?!?" Amy repeated, her voice raising several octaves. "It wasnít important to let me know that there was the potential for you to be sleeping around with a guy in his own place with no parental supervision? You didnít think that was important?!?"

"Calm down, itís not like that."

"Oh then, come on, Maria. Tell meÖ explain to me what itís like. Tell me, because I want to know. What part of this isnít what it seems like?"

"The fact that weíre not having sex, weíre just sleeping."

"Thatís unacceptable. I vaguely recall having this conversation before, Maria, the last time you were caught ësleeping, but not sleepingí with a boy."

Maria sighed. "And I told you then to trust me."

"How can I trust you when youíre lying to me? You lie about where you go, who youíre with, what youíre doing. I canít trust you."

"Well I canít talk to you *right* now about this, so just drop it!"

"I am not going to drop it. Iím the mother. I get to decide when this conversation is over, and itís not!"

"God, Mom! You have no clue what is even going on!" Maria shouted, exasperated.

"By all means, Maria, enlighten me."

"I canít, okay. Iím ó I got to go ó Iím going."

"Where are you going?"

"Out."

"No youíre not, young lady."

"Try and stop me." Maria turned to face her mother, glaring at the older woman. "Donít you get it? Iím not you ó Iím not going to make the same mistakes you did, Mom. Iím not going to screw up my life like you did yours." Amy was so shocked that she would say something like that, she couldnít even move as Maria went to the door and opened it.

Finally she found her voice. "Maria ó wait, donít leave. Maria! If you leave, donít even think about coming back here."

The teen didnít even acknowledge her mother as she walked out into the rainy night.

* * *

He hadnít seen her outside of school or work for almost a whole week. Just when Michael thought that things were going well between Maria and him, she had pulled away, leaving him out in the cold with no absolutely clue why. But now, here she was at his front door, shivering in the warm rain. He could only think of the time he was in her same positionÖ right after his big fight with Hank.

The spiky-haired alien reached out for Mariaís hand to lead her into the room. Her skin was like ice. "Jesus, MariaÖ youíre freezing. What happened?" he asked, wrapping a blanket around her slight body.

"I donít ó I donít know why Iím here. Thereís something crazy going onÖ and I canít handle it anymore," her voice was flat, emotionless, and frankly, it scared Michael to hear her sound like that. He kissed her forehead, then stared into her eyes. They seemed hollow. It was beyond the dark-circles and the complete set of matched luggage under her normally bright brown eyesÖ there was something missingÖ "I got into a fight with my mom. I need a place to stay."

"Yeah, of course. Do you want to talk about it? Youíve been a little moody lately."

"I just need some sleep, Michael. What I donít need is another person to analyze my issues. I thought you would understand that," she tossed the blanket onto the floor and moved towards the door. "I guess I was wrong."

He couldnít let her go back out into the night in this condition. "Maria, wait! Iím sorry." Michael pulled her close, feeling the heat from his own body seep into her. "Stay here, no questions asked."

Maria nodded, submitting to the strength of his arms around her. He led her over to the bed, pausing for just a moment to get her an oversized, dry tee shirt. She didnít even protest when he tugged her drenched shirt over her head in one swift motion, replaced it with his, and then removed her pants. She leaned into him, as he helped her into a pair of his cleanest boxers. There was nothing sexual about the whole ordeal, just a feeling of safety with him. Michael laid her down onto the mattress, covering her with a dry blanket, and started to back away. His heart almost exploded when she whimpered.

"Where are you going?" she reached out for him.

"I didnít think youíd want me to ó I was going to sleep on the couch."

It was her turn to pull him close. "No, I want youÖ I need you to stay with meÖ please."

Michael lay down beside her, wrapping his arms around her shivering body, and felt her surrender to sleep almost instantly. He studied her face for a moment, then fell asleep himself.

* * *

Maria awoke, surprised to find herself in the middle of Devou Park. A light breeze swept through her hair, and she spun around to see a group of children playing merrily on a nearby playground. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Michael sitting in the middle of a large blanket, a picnic spread out around him.

He called over to her, "Come on, MariaÖ the chicken salad's gonna go bad and hijack the pickle relish."

With a confused look on her face, she jogged over to him and settled onto the soft blanket. "What is this all about?"

Michael smiledÖ an actual genuine grin that warmed the female about twenty degrees more than the bright sun. "I just thought you needed a break."

"Be careful, Michael," she warned, her tone resulting in a worried expression from him. "This falls dangerously close to actual boyfriend activity. I could expect this all the time."

His grin widened, "I guess we'll see."

After a few minutes of pure joy on Maria's part, she popped a fresh grape in her mouth and leaned back, drinking in the sunlight. "I knew coming here would make it all go away, Michael. I knew that you would make it all better," she said, then snuggled up to his side on the blanket.

"Nothing good lasts forever."

She tensed at the change in his tone, then looked up into his eyes. The kindness that was present only seconds ago was gone, and Maria's heart filled with fear. "What?"

The alien stood, knocking her to the side like a limp rag doll, "It's time to go."

"Where are we going?"

"Not us, me. He's come for me." Before she was able to ask where he was going, Michael raised his hand and simply pointed up with his forefinger. "I'm going home, MariaÖ My limo has arrived."

Following his gesture, she craned her head back. Maria noted the quickening difference in the hue of the sky, changing from beautiful blue, darkening to purplish-blue, then eventually black. As the day deepened into night, a vague silhouette of a silver craft became increasingly illuminated, and as it descended to the earth, it's size grew. Eventually it landed about twenty meters from the duo.

"Bu-but you can't leave, MichaelÖ this isnít right."

"I can't stay, there's nothing here for me," he started towards the craft, but was slowed when she grabbed his legs.

The tears began to flow, as Maria's greatest fear was coming to life. "I'm here! You have me! StayÖ stay for me."

He brushed her off, "You're nothing to me. My people are waiting."

Maria struggled to her feet, and as she did caught her first glimpse of who was waiting by the craft. There was a tall man, his stature more imposing than his actual height, who just didnít seem quiteÖ right. Not really human. But next to him was Isabel, smiling and motioning emphatically for Michael to join them.

"No! Michael!" her cries were wrought with anguish, her face flushed with pain. "Why are you doing this to me?? How can you leave me like this??"

When he reached the craft, Michael joined hands with the other aliens. Glancing back at the emotional human, his eyes glowed the brightest red she had ever seen.

* * *

"Why are you doing this to me?? How can you leave me like this??"

Michael awoke in a panic by Mariaís thrashing and crying, but tried to calmly wake her from the obvious nightmare she was having.

"MariaÖ MariaÖ shhhÖ Itís okay, Iím here."

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" she yelled, flailing her arms around. "Oh, God, I canít take this anymoreÖ Make it stop, please."

"ShhhÖ itís all right. It was just a dream."

Maria backed away from him on the bed. "Itís youÖ you were thereÖ youíre doing this to me!" she angrily shouted.

The alien was confused. "What are you talking about? When was the last time that you had a good nightís sleep, Maria?" he asked.

"How can I? What youíre doing to me is terrifying, Michael. Donít sit there and pretend that you careÖ pretend that you donít have a clue what Iím talking about. Just make it stop! Stop getting into my head, you alien freak!"

Her words were like a slap to the face for Michael. Maria is the one girl that he felt comfortable about his "uniqueness" with, and now to hear her call him a freak, cut like a knife.

"Hey, Iím not doing anything," he protested. "I thought I was doing you a favor letting you stay here."

"You know what, I donít need your favors, Michael!" She jumped up, and bolted for the door, only wearing his oversized tee shirt and a pair of boxers. "Stay out of my dreams!!" Maria yelled over her shoulder as she ran from the house.

"MariaÖ Maria ó Wait!"

Afraid about how she would react if he followed her, Michael picked up the phone and dialed, calling the only person he knew could help him.

"Hello?" a voice answered, groggily.

"Max, wake up. WeÖ I have a problem."

"What? What is it, Michael?" he asked, testily, glancing at the clock. "Itís 3:30. Canít this wait?"

"No. Itís Maria. She just ran out of my apartmentÖ and sheísÖ uhÖ real upset."

Michael heard his friend straighten up in bed on the other end of the line. "What did you do? You guys didnítÖ" he trailed off.

"If itís any of your business, Maxwell, no we didnít. She was just here to sleep."

"Iíll be right over."

Michael cleared his throat. "Can you stop by Lizís and see if she went there? IímÖ you knowÖ worried."

"Should I go to her house, too?

"She wouldnít go home. Maria got into a fight with her mom."

"Okay, Iíll see you in a few."

Michael hung up the phone and walked over to his front window and tried to peer out into the pouring rain, but to no avail. No Maria and he was starting to feel like there was no hope.

* * *

A soggy Maria DeLuca sat alone, hiding out in a corner booth of Roswellís only all-night coffee shop. The Buzz was nearly empty, except for a few regulars over at the counter, talking quietly amongst themselves. She was on her sixth cup of coffee in less than a half-hour.

The waitress refilled the teenís cup again, noticing the state that she was in. "Hon, are you okay? You seem a bit fidgety."

Maria didnít even look up. "Iím fine," she said flatly.

"Are you sureó"

A glare from the blonde stopped the waitress. "I said I am fine."

"Well, you donít look fine, Hon. You've been drinking this coffee like itís the only thing left to drink in the world, and youíre wearing pajamas. You look like hellÖ" She motioned to the others at the counter, "Tommy and Hal thinkó"

"I donít care what Tommy and Hal think, all right. How much for the coffee?" she asked, curtly.

"Itís on me. I can leave here in a few minutesÖ Hal can watch the shop, if you need me to drive you somewhere. Thereís a shelter not too far away."

The blonde sixteen year old stood, "Iím FINE! I donít need your help or your advice!" She stumbled out of the booth and fled through the door into the rain.

* * *

Less than forty-five minutes after Michael got off the phone with his best friend, the jeep pulled up in front of his apartment. Max, Liz and Isabel all jumped out, but the dark haired girl reached the open door first.

"Is she back, Michael?" she asked, frazzled, motioning to the red Jetta parked next to Maxís car.

"No. She ran out of here with no coat, no money, no keysÖ and no car." He ushered them inside out of the rain that had not lessened all night. "Sheís your friend, Liz. Where would she go?"

"Slow it downÖ you need to tell us what happened between you two," Max said, sitting on the couch next to his girlfriend. Isabel stood silently, noticeably apart from the rest of the group.

"I donít knowÖ sheís been so on edge lately, and I told you Friday that sheís been avoiding meÖ Everything sets her off. Iíve seen it at school, at workÖ and Iíve heard about it from home."

Liz nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I think that sheís been having trouble sleeping ó bad dreams all night long. I donít think sheís slept more than four hours this past week with all the ginseng, and other herbs sheís been taking."

Isabel moved closer, sitting down on the chair opposite the other three. "What were the dreams about?"

"She never really went into detail about them. You, Michael? Did she tell you?"

He shook his head. "I hardly even knew about it until tonight. Sheís been staying away from me all weekÖ ever since theó" Michael glanced at the tall alien girl to his left, leaving the sentence unfinished. "Tonight she got into it with Amyó"

"Amy?" Isabel asked, confused.

"DeLuca. Mariaís mom. She wouldnít tell me the grit of it, but she was real upset. Thatís when she mentioned the nightmares, kind of." Michael slammed his fist down onto the coffee table. "Dammit," he said, anger flashing in his eyes. "I should have called you guys right away. Instead we just went to bed." He pursed his lips and stared at an invisible spot on the wall. "She told me once that she always slept better when I was with her."

Isabel stood. "God, MichaelÖ how long have these sleep-overs been going on?"

"Thatís none of your damn business, Iz," he barked, standing to confront her.

She inched her face closer, not willing to back down. "I think it is *my* business if your neurotic slumber party palís sleep difficulties are causing me to be awake at four AM."

Max stepped between them, "Calm down! Both of you!"

"I am not going to calm down, Max!" Isabel yelled. "I have been waiting for the crazy blonde to spaz out so that I could look at the two of you and say, ëI told you soí!"

Michael tried to push the pseudo-referee aside, but Max held his ground. "Maria is not crazy! Youíre doing this, arenít you, Isabel. Youíre going into her dreams to creep her out, all because youíre jealous. Youíre bitter cause youíre alone. And we all know how you like you play around in peopleís dreams. Donít we, Max?"

Liz walked out from behind her boyfriend, and stared at his sister. "Isabel ó youíre not doing this, are you? I mean, cause if you are, Mariaís really freaked."

Isabel could only just stand there, openmouthed.

Sitting back down on the couch, Michael placed his head in his hands, and took a deep breath. Then he focused back onto the tall blonde standing over him. "She accused me of getting into her dreams tonightÖ changing them to scare her. Someone was in there, purposely messing with her mind and Maria knew it. I never thought that it would be you, Isabel."

"I didnít do anything to herÖ" she turned away from them.

"What was she doing when you told her that Maria was missing, Max?"

"She was sleeping."

"Of course I was sleepingÖ IT IS the middle of the night, " she said, indignantly.

He worked his fingers through his mussed hair, ignoring Isabelís outburst. "Did she have her yearbook out?"

Max closed his eyes, hesitating to answer. Then he opened his brown eyes, knowing that everyone except Isabel was staring at him. He slowly nodded his head, and Liz reached out to take his hand for reassurance. "Yeah, she did."

"Case closed."

Isabel spun on her heel to face her ëfriendsí, tears streaming from her eyes. "No, itís not. I never thought that you could pass judgment on me so easily."

"Well, when it comes to the fact that youíre terrorizing my girlfriendó"

"God, Michael!" she exclaimed. "Sheís not your girlfriend. A girlfriend is someone you're willing to acknowledge in public. What you have is an Eraser Room partner and a slumber bunny." Isabel took a deep, calming breath, trying to get her bearings. She swiped at her eyes to dry the wetness.

"Look, I know what you think ó all of you ó and I admit that the evidence does not look good in my favor, but I was not in Mariaís dream tonight or any night since right after she found out what we are. I didnít do anything to her. Maria is my friend now too, you know, and I realize that my reaction a few days ago was way overboard. As much as I hate to admit it, sheís saved usÖ meÖ enough times that I wouldnít do this to her. Did you ever stop to think that there is another alien out there, Michael?"

"Max wouldnító"

"Not Max." She knelt, facing him. "Nasedo ó heís out there and we donít know what heís like."

"I donít want to hear this."

"Of course you donít, Michael. You want to keep thinking that Nasedo is our father, and heís just going to come along and make everything all rightÖ but you have to deal with the fact that he might not be. He could be a cold-blooded killer and thatís an issue thatís not going to go away. What ever happened to Hank?"

"What?" Michael questioned, surprised that she would mention his former foster father.

"HankÖ have you heard anything from him?"

"No, and I never want to. What does that drunken bastard have to do with this? Valenti told the judge that he took off to Carlsbad with some woman."

"Have you ever tried to ëseeí where he is? You know, dreamwalk into his head?"

Michael was clearly frustrated. "No ó you know that I canít do it as easily as you. What are you trying to accomplish, other than changing the subject? We need to get out there and find Maró"

She cut him off. "Hankís dead, Michael."

The color drained from the sandy hair boyís face, as his best friend leaned forward. "How do you know this, Iz?"

Still on her knees, she reached out and ran her hands over the mottled shag carpeting. "I wanted to see where he was, uhÖ make sure that he was never coming back, so I tried to walk into his dreams one night. Heís not there anymore."

"Maybe he just wasnít sleeping," Liz offered.

Isabel shook her head. "Thereís a difference. I can still feel a non-sleeping personís presence if I try to get into their dream. With Hank thereís nothing. Itís empty." She glanced at her brother. "Like the time I tried to find Great-Grandma Ethel after she died. I think Nasedo killed Hank ó I think youíre right, Max. Heís dangerous."

"We donít have time for your accusations against Nasedo. All youíre trying to do is change the subject," he repeated.

"She does have a point, Michael," Max jumped in.

"Yeah? Well, you know what, Maxwell? While weíre all here yapping, taking a walk down memory lane, *my* girlfriend," he said staring sharply at Isabel, "is out there alone, lost, scared. I need to find her." Max understood all so well. He would be going crazy if it were Liz out there. "I hear what youíre saying, but weíre not getting anywhere with you insisting on blaming Isabel."

"Hey, I place blame where blame is due." Changing gears, he asked, "Where do you think sheíd go?"

"Where would you go if you were afraid to sleep? Iím thinking someplace where she can try to stay awake," the group all stood, preparing to leave while Max continued. "She has no keys or money, so she canít have gotten too far. Liz and Ió"

Michael put on his leather jacket. "NoÖ Iíll go with Liz. You take Isabel and the Jeep; weíll take Mariaís car. Keep in touch on the cell."

Max took Lizís hand then leaned in for a tender kiss. "Donít worryÖ weíre going to find her."

Liz could only nod numbly as they walked out into the pouring rain to begin the search.

* * *

Maria was lostÖ she had no clue as to how she got all the way out to the cliffs without her car. Suddenly, Liz was walking next to her.

"Liz, help me! Help me, LizÖ Iím losing it hereÖ" she reached out her hand towards her best friend.

"Itís okay, Maria. I wonít let him hurt you anymore."

"Him?"

"Michael. Heís evil. Heís the one whoís been tainting your dreams, trying to make you go crazy." Liz glanced over her shoulder then focused back onto the petite blonde with a look of panic on her face. "We have to go now, Maria. He knows where you are and he wants to finish his plan." She lowered her voice to a whisper, "Heís going to kill you."

"No!" Maria cried.

"We must hide across the canyon. Come with me."

Maria looked on in a daze. "But how can we cross here? Weíll fall."

"No, Max taught me things. He told me how to defy gravity. Itís one of his powers. Watch."

Liz walked up to the lip of the cliff and confidently walked out into the open air. She moved about ten feet out, then turned back to her friend.

"Come on, Maria. Trust meÖ Iím Liz."

* * *

Isabel drove in silence, sneaking glances at her brother out of the corner of her eye. "Please say that you know it's not me doing this, Max."

"Even if I don't believe it? Do you want me to just say it to make you feel better?"

"NoÖ I want you to believe it. You're my brotherÖ you should know me better than anyone." She sighed, "What can I do to make you trust me?"

"Tell me the truth, Iz. What were you doing with your yearbook if you weren't dreamwalking?"

"I was."

"What?"

"I was dreamwalkingÖ but not Maria. It was Alex."

Max was confused, "Alex? Alex Whitman? I ñ I thought youó"

"He was talking to Stacy Owens todayÖ actually, he's been talking to her a lot lately. I just wanted to know if heÖ you knowÖ" Isabel trailed off her words.

He stared at her, "You're jealous of Alex talking to another girl?"

"NO!" Isabel said hastily, then reconsidered, "Yes. Kind ofÖ It's just, I meanÖ he knows about usÖ about meÖ and he wasn't freaked out or anything. What if he's my last chance of normalcy?"

"Don't do this, Isabel."

The blonde glanced at him, an expression of utter confusion on her face. "Do what?"

"AlexÖ he's a nice guy and he really seems to like you."

"And the problem lies where?" she asked.

"If you genuinely like him back, then I'm all for itÖ but don't make him an object of convenience. He deserves better."

Isabel tried not to be angry mostly because she knew her brother was right, but the ringing of her cell phone cut off any answer she would have given him. Max quickly picked it up.

"Liz?" he asked urgently.