"We don't know how long it's going to take. We should at least give them 'till tomorrow morning." Max sat the bags they all brought at the bottom of the ancient stairway and lit a few oil lamps.

"How old is this house?" Alex let his eyes wander over the huge outer room they stood in.

"About 60 years old. I don't think Aunt Becky ever redecorated." After handing everyone a lamp Max picked up the bags and signaled for everyone to follow. "Gosh, I remember being a kid and playing on these steps with Isabel for hours." He smiled at Liz, next to him looking ahead at the dark hallway they were entering. "There's no electricity so everyone's going to have to keep up with their lamps."

"You're Aunt lived without electricity?" Maria didn't bother holding onto the dusty guardrail around the outside of the steps.

"Great Aunt." Max let Liz go ahead of him in the dark hall to light the way. "She didn't really see the need for it. I guess she was just stuck in her old fashion ways."

"Did your Aunt have indoor plumbing?" Alex asked walking closely to the wall, taking notice of the ancient wallpaper that covered the walls.

"Fortunately." Max smiled and stopped in the middle of another dark hallway. "You girls can have this room."

"You want Liz and me to sleep alone in an old funky room, in a house we've never been to before?" Maria squinted at Max holding her lamp up to see his face.

"We're going to be right up the hall." Max pointed to a doorway that looked like forever away.

"We can handle it." Liz said taking her bag from Max and pulling Maria into the old room. "Good night."

"If you hear screams you know where they're coming from." Maria frowned watching Liz shut the door.

*******************

"All right, I'm waiting Michael." Isabel chewed a piece of sugar free gum as she curled up on Michael's couch watching a decent movie on USA called 'The Professional'. Even though the movie was somewhat interesting she couldn't help her eyes from peeking at the door ever so often. "Take your time, there's no rush. Evil aliens are not after the one's we love." Sarcasm was the only thing that could keep her sanity. It was 11:00 and Michael still wasn't back. Annoyed with the station, she flipped a few channels up to the 11:00 news.

"…was in custody being charged with the abductions of 2 girls, Elizabeth Parker and Maria De Luca. But as we were told by a Deputy of the Roswell police force minutes ago, the suspect, Michael Guerin has escaped and is being hunted down as we speak. Stay tuned to…"

"I have to get out of here." She said shutting the TV off and grabbing her jacket. Wasting no time to smell the flowers, she ran out of the apartment and down the hall.

"This is the floor." Two unfamiliar officers exited the elevator, not noticing Isabel as she ducked into a doorway and escaped down the stairway.

*********************

Michael ran through the trees and bushes trying not to be noticed as he made his way through Maria's neighborhood. Maria's house was the only safe place for him to go. He knew his way, no one was home and from there he could contact Isabel.

Reaching the back door he slid a hand over the doorknob and as quiet as a thief, he made his way into the empty house. He would have to get in touch with Isabel. There was no chance that she would have stayed in his apartment, and the possibilities of where she'd go were endless.

Not turning any of the lights on he picked up the phone and dialed his home phone number.

"Hello?" A deep unfamiliar voice asked over the receiver.

"Wrong number." He mumbled into the phone and slammed it back on the kitchen wall.

********************

Isabel waited to get out of the apartment building parking lot. The police's presence was really making congested traffic. She needed to get out of there before she got recognized. Finally, a space in traffic opened and she fit her mom's BMW in between 2 cars.

"It's about time." Isabel snooted watching the traffic in front of her move forward. In minutes she was on her way. Her destination was still unknown but at least she was away from the police. "Where are you?" She asked Michael as if he was there with her. She could dream walk to see where he was but why waste the time? She knew where he was. She hated to admit it but the only safe place Michael probably had was Maria's house. With a huff, Isabel turned into Maria's neighborhood ignoring the 30 mile and hour speeding limit. She needed to get to Michael, as fast as she could.

********************

"I'm glad we all decided to share one big room." Maria smiled from her comfy place on the huge bed.

"We know." Alex growled from his seat on the dusty floor in the dark room.

"I don't think I could have made it in here with just you Liz." She squeezed her friend's hand next to her. "I bet there are a lot of bugs and gross creatures crawling around in here." Alex squinted in the dark looking at the floor.

"That's nice Maria, and we're all happy you're happy but we all need to get some rest." Max laid on the dusty floor with his sheet and pillow. He wasn't thrilled that they had to sleep on the floor but Maria's horrified screams ringing through the house all night would have kept everyone awake. Liz gave Maria a puppy dog, questioning glare. Maria frowned, shaking her head. Finally, she gave in and nodded.

"You guys are welcome to share the bed with us. It's pretty big." Liz hung her head over the side of the bed, smiling down at Max.

"Okay." Max and Alex both jumped up from the floor and got under the covers. The bed was a little crammed with the two girls being squished in the middle but after a bit of settling and rearranging the breathing in the room slowed and a light snore started from Alex.

"Ouch, that wasn't Alex's leg." Max complained, rubbing his shin under the covers.

"Sorry." Maria apologized giving Alex a good smack in the head with her pillow.

"What?! What?!" Alex jumped up in the bed crushing Liz's legs.

"It's all right. You were just snoring." Liz said pulling her legs out from under his.

"Oh, okay." He answered, a little embarrassed as he laid back. The room was silent once again, as Liz rolled over trying to fall asleep.

"Who ever is touching my leg, get off." Maria huffed looking at Alex.

"Don't look at me." He put his hands up in the dark showing his innocents.

"Sorry." Max blushed and Maria felt the hand slip off her thigh.

"Serves you right." Liz smiled putting a line down the sheet between Max and her.

"I wish there was some electricity in this house. It's gonna be hell with no blow dryer." Alex smiled mimicking Maria's voice as he pulled a few strands of her precious hair.

"Shut up." She gave him a slap then settled, trying to get comfortable.

"Someone sure has some sharp toenails." Liz commented fluffing her pillow behind her head.

"I second that." Maria pulled the covers over herself.

******************* Michael sat on the floor in the living room. How was he going to get in touch with Isabel? All he could do was wait for her to contact him in the dream plain. He leaned against the wall sitting his arms on the top of his knees and listened to a strange noise coming from the kitchen. Not wasting time, he rose to his feet and went to check things out.

He tiptoed through the house and looked around the surrounding rooms. Out of the corner of his eye he could see something approaching him. Being quick on his feet he threw himself on top of the stranger and they both fell to the ground wrestling. Michael used all his strength to bring the strangers hands over their head. He was not going to go away empty handed this time. He would find out the truth. They struggled on the floor, into the kitchen, but the stranger stopped kicking when the light over the kitchen sink shined on Michael.

"You give up?" Michael growled out of breath. The stranger lifted her head and Michael almost had a heart attack when he saw it was Isabel he had wrestled with and was now holding down. "God Isabel, I didn't know it was you. Are you okay?" He rolled off of her becoming painfully aware that their chests had been touching.

"Yeah." She continued to lie on the floor next to Michael, catching her breath. "You scared me half to death."

"I scared you?" Michael sat up looking at her. "How'd you know I was here?"

"Who do you always run to when things get too hard to handle?" She asked, sounding a little too rough.

"Oh. Well, here." He gave her his arm. "Get up." He said pulling he to her feet.

"I heard on the news that you escaped and when you never came back to the apartment I got worried."

"There was no way I was going back there." He led her through the dark house and into the living room.

"Yeah I know, I barely made it out of there before the cops busted in on me watching TV."

"I figured they'd search my apartment." He sat on the floor, leaning against the wall and patted the floor beside him.

"Yeah, I just wasn't thinking, I guess." She said sitting down next to him. There was a long silence and Isabel just sat in the dark listening to him breath.

"Thanks." Michael looked through the dark into her big brown eyes.

"For what?" She asked pulling her flowing blonde hair up in a ponytail.

"For giving me the key and helping me get out of there. You didn't have to do all that. You went above and beyond the call of duty." He smiled drawing a leg up to his chest and leaving the other straight out by itself.

"No prob Bob." She smiled. "At least I got to kiss a hot guy." She fixed a fallen piece of her hair. Then it hit her. She actually said what she had been thinking and Michael was now looking at her strangely. There was an eternity of silence before Michael actually got up the nerve to say what he needed to say.

"So you feel it too?" He looked at her. "I-" Isabel cut him off.

"Michael, I really don't understand what I'm feeling." She looked at him for a second. "Sometimes I see you and Maria and I-it just bothers me, I guess."

"I kind of got that." He wanted to ease away so he wouldn't listen to what his mind was telling him to do.

"It's just, when I'm with Alex we have a great time and I feel totally in love with him-I am in love with him. But then things get…"

"Weird." He finished her sentence for her.

"Yeah, he'll kiss me and I'll want him and then in the blink of any eye it'll be you I'm kissing instead if him."

"I know." He turned himself so that his side was touching the wall as he sat indian style looking at Isabel.

"It happens to you too?"

"Not all the time but I guess it's just a thought in the back of my head. It's been there since I first heard about us-that we were supposed to be together. But I love Maria." Isabel nodded turning towards him so they faced each other.

"I don't think it's coming from Nesado." She scratched the back of her neck, not wanting to say what she had to. "I think it's coming from us-our heads. I care about Alex and then…I don't know if I love you or him. Either way I love you, you're my brother but do I love in that way or-you know?"

"Yeah." He ran his hand up the side of her face.

"What are you doing?" She looked at him like he was crazy.

"I think we should just do it and get it out of the way." He slid his hands down her neck.

"Do it?" She felt the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand up. "Michael, I don't think I'm ready. I mean, not that if you were Alex I would be ready. It's just…I can't." She looked at him seriously and he laughed not able to hold it in.

"Isabel, I didn't-I meant kiss. Just to see if what we think we feel is real." He leaned in close to her letting his eyes drop to her lips.

"Wait." She put a hand on his chest. "What if we can't stop? We'll never know why we're doing this." She shook her head. "Is it because we love each other or because we're supposed to?"

"It's not that complicated." He pressed his fore head to hers. "We're just trying to prove that doubting voice in the back of our heads." He still held her head in his hands. "We're not meant for each other. If we do this we can prove it to ourselves. I-" She cut him off.

"Yeah, okay. Just shut up and kiss me." He obeyed and slowly brought his mouth over hers. Isabel teased his lips with her tongue until he let her it through. They didn't know what they felt before but now it was known. They felt nothing. Michael pulled back out of breath.

"I don't-" Michael cut her off.

"I know, me neither." He licked his lips. "So, we're brother and sister?" He looked at her clearly vulnerable.

"Forever." She said pulling him into a hug. It felt so good to hug him. Like the weight on her shoulders had just been lifted. They let go and smiled at each other. It felt like they were kids. Isabel snapped out of her childish daze and took a peek at her watch.

"Oh my Gosh, it's 12 o'clock. Max is going to freak. We have to go now." She pulled him to his feet in a rush.

"Where are we going and how are we going to get there?" He asked following her out the back door.

"I have my mom's car. We're driving to my Aunt Becky's house." She jumped into the driver's seat while Michael slumped in the seat beside her. "Max and everyone else are already there waiting for us." She froze looking at the dashboard.

"What are we waiting for?" He gave her shoulder a shake when she didn't look at him.

"I was just thinking. What if Nesado follows us and we lead him right to them?" She held the keys to the car in her hand, looking at him.