The exhaustion of ire had finally broken Maria down. She collapsed on her bed, staring silently off into the corner. Liz sat next to her, gently stroking her hair.

“Maria, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

Hopeful green eyes turned to Liz, drowning in tears. Maria fell into her best friend, clutching tightly on to her shirt. Her sobs only intensified as Liz kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back. Her body was grateful for the sweet tenderness, and the unspoken permission to let go and just cry. She was still furious that he had this power over her, even after all this time, but it was no longer the time for anger. The screaming and yelling just made it hurt all the more. And if there was one thing Maria wasn’t going to do, it was to give him any more control over her life.

A subtle beeping emanated from the other room. Maria sat up straight and looked around, confused. Jumping up, Liz ran out and grabbed her bag. “It’s my phone. I’m so sorry, hold on a second?” The blonde nodded and watched her friend intently.

“It’s Max,” Liz whispered. “I left him a note… I hope you don’t mind.”

Maria smiled weakly. “Is he coming over?”

“Do you want him to?” Her voice still low.

“Yeah,” the blonde sighed. “He should know, tell him to come.”

Liz cocked her head and touched her friend’s cheek. “Ok, ok. Come over,” she said into the phone. “Just come upstairs, we’ll be here.” A few parting words, and she placed the phone on the bedside table. She returned to Maria’s side and took her hand.

“Liz?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

***

The two girls were still in the bedroom when Max got to the apartment. The place was eerily quiet – he knew that it was a bad sign. He knocked on the door tentatively and pushed it open. Maria was curled up in Liz’s arms, a box of tissues on the floor beside them.

“Hey,” he said softly.

Maria broke out of Liz’s embrace, grabbing a tissue to wipe her eyes. “Hey Max.”

Max sat down in the chair next to the door and started rubbing his hands together. “So… he’s here. God, Maria, I’m so sorry that you had to be the one…”

She raised a hand to quiet him. “It’s okay. Just the way my life works,” she said, forcing a laugh.

Liz squeezed Maria’s hand, then stood up. “I’m going to get some water. Does anyone else want anything?”

“Water is fine, thanks.” Max smiled.

“Um, Chamomile tea? It’s on the…”

“Shelf next to the fridge.” Liz finished for her. Maria nodded sheepishly, and Liz left the room.

“What, uh, how, um, I mean…” Max stumbled over his words. “What was he like?”

Maria slid off the bed and walked towards the window. “He was… Michael. Man of little words, little explanation, little… everything.” She stared blankly out the pane of glass. “He barely even acknowledged my existence. After all this, you’d think I’d get a ‘Hey Maria.’ But no… not even that.”

“Maria, I ~”

“You don’t have to apologize, Max.” She looked back at him. “You aren’t responsible for his actions. And besides… you came back. Both of you. Sure, Isabel went off to New York for school, but when that summer was over, you both came back to Roswell, like you said you would.”

“Yeah, but… but, it wasn’t what uh, people were expecting.” He motioned towards the door. “Coming back didn’t really solve anything. In some ways, it made things worse.”

Maria crossed her arms and smiled at him endearingly. “She’d probably kill me for saying this, but I was glad to see that you didn’t come back and start things up again. I’ve never really told you this, but I have always respected you for that decision. With all the pain that it caused you to stay away from her, in your heart, you knew it wasn’t time.” She came back to the bed and sat down, her eyes on his. “In your own twisted way, you are always looking out for the people you love.”

Blushing, Max looked down. “Sometimes I don’t feel that way.” He started twisting one of the rings on his finger. “Like with Michael - maybe I should have stayed with him. Not let him continue on without us. There isn’t a day that I don’t think about that.”

“It wasn’t your place.” She shook her head. “Trust me, Max, I have probably spent the same amount of time pondering the actions of Michael Guerin, trying to figure out what is going on in that little alien-brain of his.” Sighing heavily, Maria continued. “I’ve been angry for a really long time, and it has hurt for even longer. But the one peace that I’ve been able to make is this: that it was what he needed to do – for him. I don’t think you would have been happy out there on his quest. You needed to find your own place.”

Liz returned, balancing two glasses and a mug. She handed the tea to Maria, then sat down on the floor at Max’s feet. Maria watched as his eyes were glued on Liz’s every move – as if he was seeing her for the first time. He always did that, actually. And it always warmed her heart – to know that her best friend was loved so deeply and completely.

“Know what guys?” Maria started, taking a quick sip. “I’m actually feeling a lot better now. Why don’t you go home… it’s getting late, and we all have stuff to do tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?” Liz asked, surprised and a bit concerned.

“Yeah, we don’t have to go… we can stay as long as you’d like,” Max added.

“No,” Maria smiled. “I’m okay. Really.”

Unconvinced, Max and Liz got up and reluctantly collected their things. Maria walked them to the door.

Hugging her best friend tightly, Liz kissed her cheek. “Call me if you need me. Anytime, you know that.”

Max leaned over and kissed Maria as well. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” He paused, biting his lip. “If he, uh… comes by…”

“I’ll give him your number.” Maria nodded.

“Thanks,” he said, a bit embarrassed.

Closing the door behind them, Maria turned off the lights as she walked back to her room. Her mind was still racing, although her body was crying out for sleep. She picked a video off the shelf and popped it into the VCR. Flipping the last switch by the door, she crawled into bed and pulled up the covers. ‘Michael Guerin…’ she thought to herself, closing her eyes. ‘Michael-fucking-Guerin.’

***

“Max?” Liz asked as she slid under the covers.

“Hmmm?” He answered, pulling her closer to him.

“Why did you come back?” She rolled away from him slightly and waited for his response.

His eyelids popped open, a bit shocked. “Come back? You mean, that summer?”

“Yeah.”

Max exhaled, then reached for her hand. “It just seemed like the thing to do.”

“The thing to do?” Liz repeated, sounding insulted.

“It’s not like that.” He tried to piece together his thoughts. “We were out there for so long, and while we saw some pretty amazing things, it just never felt like it should last longer than a couple of months. By mid-August, Is and I – we knew it was time to come home. And we knew what ‘home’ we needed to return to.”

“Do you ever regret it?”

Kissing her head, he squeezed her tight. “Never. There are times that I think I should have stayed with Michael – I worry about him every day. But after a while, it became his vision quest – much more than ours. I’d found my balance, he needed to find his.” He paused. “No, I never regretted coming back. Ever.”

Liz smiled against his chest. She remembered how overjoyed she was that he had returned to Roswell, but how it wasn’t all that she had hoped for. Sure, he came back, but he didn’t come back to *her.* Not for a long time. Years passed and they became better friends, but his lips never even wandered in her direction. Well, not until she moved across the country.

She hugged him back and relaxed. “’Night Max.”