He walked to her window and peeked inside, saddened by what he saw. There she was- Isabel- and she was crying. Curled up on her bed and crying. Michael wasn’t very good with women who were in tears so he was fighting second thoughts of running from his problem once more as he knocked on her window. When she didn’t show any signs of recognizing his presence, he knocked once more and then used his powers to unlock the latch. He was lucky that his power usage was successful- he never felt very sure of them except when Maria was around.

He pushed up the window and stepped quietly into Isabel’s room. This time she actually made it known to him that she knew he was there. All she did was turn her head slightly, but it was enough for Michael. He inhaled nervously and took a couple steps closer to her. He wanted to speak, but he couldn’t think of what to say. He heard Isabel say to him between sobs, "What ... do you want ... Michael?" Michael stood there almost like a statue, opening and closing his hands nervously as he said, "I wanted to talk to you, but I can come back later." He turned to go, but she turned her head and said as she wiped her eyes, "wait, Michael. I don’t want to wait until later." Michael turned around and began to speak.

All the times he had thought of what to say and he still had to hesitate now. This was all new to Michael, these feelings and these thoughts. Deep down, he wanted to tell her what he had to say without her feeling hurt in the end. He took a breath and said, "I know we had that dream, and it scared us both. I just ... no offense ... I just think of you as more of a close friend than ... like the dream." He waited for a reply now and he shared a brief glance with Isabel. He hoped that she wasn’t too upset. He was actually a little surprised by her reply, but he didn’t show it. She said to him, "I know what you mean, Michael. I want to think of you as just a close friend too ... I just ... I don’t know if I can. Please, just give me time ... some space. Okay?" Michael nodded and walked to the window. There was a time when he would just leave without saying a word. That time was long gone so he turned to look at her right before he left and said, "anything for the sister I never had." Michael left knowing that his last words might have been a little harsh, but he knew that Isabel would understand and ... she would come around in her own time.

Michael left the Evans’ house and walked down the street, Tess’s advice echoing in his mind- follow your heart. So that’s what he did- he followed his heart- and it led him to Maria. He stopped outside her window, just to make sure that she was back from work. He felt his heart skip a beat at just the sight of her. There was a time when he would try to ignore that feeling, when he would push her away. That time was a long gone as the time when he didn’t tell Isabel goodbye while leaving her room. He just hoped that Maria wouldn’t push him away- he wasn’t sure that he could handle that.

He didn’t have to wait long before Maria noticed him. She just stared at him- no yelling, no telling him to go away- just her face looking at his. His eyes pleaded with hers to let him inside, out of the chilly night air. Michael noticed that Maria was unlocking the latch so he approached the window and began to climb inside after Maria opened it.

She closed it after he came in to keep out the cold air. She just stood there, her arms crossed and Michael stood there looking at her. She was so beautiful to him- her short blond hair fresh from her shower, her eyes, her lips, her interesting choice of pajamas- his dream woman in all her glory. He felt himself blush slightly even though he tried to hide it. Maria noticed and she smiled slightly as she said softly, "What do you want, spaceboy?" Suddenly, Michael could breath calmly, he felt- well he never felt better. He didn’t even realize how nervous he had been until he found himself relaxing to her melodic, soothing voice. He said to Maria, "I’m not going to avoid you anymore." Maria shrugged and replied as she sat on the edge of her bed, "So don’t, Michael. I never asked you to avoid me. What is it that you had to come over at midnight to tell me?" Michael was new to this feeling so he lacked what he felt were the proper words for it. Instead, he stepped in front of her and pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back and then pulled away looking at Michael like he could be hurting her in some way. Michael wasn’t exactly sure how to react so he said, "I never really kissed anyone before you." Maria turned away from him and said, "and after?" Michael turned her towards him and tilted her chin up so she could see into his eyes as he said, "it doesn’t matter, nothing compared to you." Maria became teary-eyed just then.

Maria could hardly believe it. Michael was in her room and he was kissing her. Not just kissing her, but telling her that kissing her was better than kissing anyone else. Maria took his hand in hers and said, "I guess we were both scared. I used to think that you wouldn’t ever face up to it ... that you’d complete your mission and leave and I’d never see you or hear from you again. What does this mean?" She saw the look of confusion on his face as he said, "What do you mean, what does it mean?" Maria grew defensive. If he was going to be tough about this then she would have to use her teflon protection. She said to Michael, "I mean you kissing me." Michael pulled his hand away from her hand and placed it around her waist pulling her closer to him. Maria just looked at him, remembering that her knees were starting to feel like mush because she loved him so much. She sat down and he sat with her, keeping that hand on her the whole time. Finally he said to her, "Maria, kissing you is better than anything because I love you. I love you, Maria."