Maria didn’t let go. “This is between them,” she told him. “They need to talk about what happened in there.”

“What, and you don’t think that includes me?” he asked angrily.

“No,” she said firmly, looking directly into his eyes. “I don’t.”

Michael yanked his arm away. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he hissed. “If it involves them and what happened in there, then it involves me, too. Of course you wouldn’t understand that. Why don’t you just wait for me in the car?”

Anger and hurt flashed in Maria’s eyes as she took a step back from Michael. “That’s just fine, Maria’s chauffeuring service will just be waiting over here when it’s convenient for you,” she said sarcastically.

“Look, this isn’t about you,” he told her. “You weren’t in there with Isabel and Tess. You don’t know what happened. This could be extremely important.”

“No, I guess I just don’t understand,” Maria retorted. “I was just running around through the desert with Izzy and racing all over town to find you and Max, scared out of my mind for my friend who made me leave her behind in an abandoned warehouse with God knows what, tonight. But I just did all of that because it was so much fun for me.”

“Maria-“

“No, I’m sorry, I know I wasn’t in there tonight. I’m sorry I’m not emotionally scarred or that I wasn’t used as a punching bag by one of my worst enemies. But of course, that wouldn’t matter to you anyway, would it, Michael? If that was me in Isabel’s position or in Tess’s position, this would be a whole different situation and you wouldn’t give a damn.” Without giving him a chance to respond, she walked over to her car, opened the driver’s side door, and sat down behind the wheel, slamming the door behind her with a vengeance.

Michael started to take a step in her direction, but stopped and turned toward Isabel instead. He would talk to Maria about what she had just said later. Right now Isabel needed him.

Maria sat in the car staring straight ahead. She couldn’t believe Michael’s condescending attitude. Wait, scratch that, of course she could. She just didn’t want to. God, you’d think that after all this time of knowing him and with all of the things he’d done to hurt her, she would expect this kind of crap from him and it wouldn’t surprise or hurt her anymore. But it always did. *He* always did. She sighed and laid her head down on the steering wheel. It had been a hell of a night and she was just glad Isabel was okay. She also really hoped that Max would be able to heal Tess once they got her back to the Valentis’. She knew that she hadn’t ever really liked Tess, but the girl looked like she’d been run over tonight and Maria couldn’t help but feel sorry for her and the way she had treated her in the past.

The passenger side door opening startled her and she looked up as Michael slid into the seat next to her. “That was a really stupid thing to say,” he told her. She looked at him questioningly and he sighed. “You know, that whole part about not giving a damn if it was you that all this had happened to tonight."

Maria laughed mirthlessly. “Oh, and what am I supposed to think, Michael, after the way you’ve been treating me lately? You blow me off all summer, and then when I finally get to talk to you, you tell me we’re over and that I shouldn’t miss you. Basically get the hell out of your life and don’t talk to you anymore, except when you need something from me, like my car.

“In the meantime I’m supposed to just forget about everything that ever happened between us. I’m supposed to pretend that none of it ever happened, that I never broke through your stone wall, that you never connected to me and saw flashes of my life. I’m supposed to forget that I love you? Well, I’m sorry, Michael, but unlike you I can’t just snap my fingers and do all that. It takes time for me.” She rubbed her eyes vigorously and then stuck her key in the ignition. “You know what, forget it, don’t say anything. I *so* do not want to have this conversation with you right now.” And with that she started the car and peeled out behind Valenti’s jeep, turning the radio up to cover the charged silence in the car. A quick glance at Maria’s profile told Michael not to even bring up the fact that the radio was tuned to the local country station.

Michael slumped back in his seat, feeling emotionally beaten by Maria’s outburst. He hadn’t expected it from her at this moment, but he couldn’t really say he was surprised. She had always been able to cut right to the heart of the matter, even with him and all of his walls. The pain in her voice had really affected him, and he didn’t know just how to react to it, so he was thankful that she didn’t really seem to want a response from him at the moment. He sighed internally, then turned his attention to the radio, trying to find something, anything, to keep his mind occupied and off of the hurt girl at his side. A few seconds into the song, however, Michael realized that that course of action was not going to work, as the lyrics of the song only made him think about Maria even more.

“It’s such a mystery
How you found something in me
That I never knew was there
But you uncovered it so easily.
You turned like a season
And I began to change.
You wrapped your arms around me
Now I’ll never be the same.”

Why had Maria ever tried with him? He wondered to himself. He had never been anything but rude and condescending to her, but she hadn’t really paid any attention to his exterior. She had pushed right past that, right into his life, and as much as Michael hated to admit it, the fact didn’t really upset him all that much.

“That’s how love works
That’s how love moves
Like a river running through you.
Sometimes it lifts you as high as heaven
It consumes you, that’s a given
That’s how love moves.”

He looked over at her, but she was staring straight ahead, her eyes focused on the back of Valenti’s jeep like it held the answer to the meaning of life on its license plate. “Maria?”

“Yes?” She didn’t even turn to look at him, and at the tone of her voice Michael decided that any kind of conversation could wait until later.

“Uh, nothing, nevermind.”

Maria rolled her eyes, but said nothing. Inwardly Michael berated himself. He knew that he needed to say or do something to fix the situation. He knew things had been bad between them lately, and he also knew it was entirely his own fault, but Maria’s comment about him not caring if something happened to her had really thrown him. Did she really think he didn’t care? The thought made him wince. Of course he still cared. Even though they weren’t together right now, she was still important to him. She had done so much, been so much for him, and he wanted her to know that.

“I’ve seen walls that could never be broken
Come tumbling down.
I’ve heard the voice of a love calling
Without making a sound.
See, I was touched by an angel
The day you took my hand.
You know that you’re the miracle
That makes me everything I am.”

Maria had ignored every one of his attempts to push her away, and he thanked God for her persistent streak. He knew, even though he wasn’t willing to admit it to himself, that having Maria in his life was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Being with her made him better than he was.

“That’s how love works
That’s how love moves
Like a river running through you.
Sometimes it lifts you as high as heaven
It consumes you, that’s a given
That’s how love moves.”

*Fix this!* his mind screamed at him as they pulled into the Valentis’ driveway behind the sheriff’s jeep. Max’s jeep pulled in on their left as Maria turned the car off and got out wordlessly. *Bad sign,* Michael thought to himself, climbing out after her.

Kyle’s car pulled up at the curb as Jim gently lifted Tess’s body from the jeep. “What happened?” Kyle asked, running across the lawn towards them, a concerned expression on his face. “Oh my God, Tess! What happened?” he asked again.

“We’ll explain inside,” Jim told him. “We need to get her in the house so Max can have a look at her injuries.”

The five teenagers followed Jim into the house where he laid Tess’s still form out on Kyle’s bed. Everyone stepped back to give Max room as he scanned and then healed Tess’s injuries. Finally he stood up. “She’ll be okay in the morning,” he said quietly. “Right now the best thing for her is rest.” He shot a concerned glance in his sister’s direction. “But I think right now Isabel and I need to get home.”

“And I need to get back to The CrashDown and clean up,” Maria added. “Can I come by tomorrow and check on her?” she asked the Valentis.

Jim smiled for the first time that night since he and Max had been searching Grant’s room. “I think she’d like that,” he said, thinking about the conversation he and Max had had about Tess’s lack of friends.

The teenagers said their goodbyes to Jim and Kyle and headed back out to their cars. Maria had just started her car when Michael opened the door and slid in next to her. “How come you’re not going with Max and Isabel?” she asked as she backed the Jetta out of the driveway.

“You were right. They need some time to talk, just the two of them,” Michael said.

Maria looked at him sharply, but his expression was sincere and she felt herself relax a little. “So, where to?” she asked him. “Home, The CrashDown, where?”

"Home’s good if you don’t mind,” he said.

She shook her head. “No problem. It’s on the way anyway.”

Well, at least she was talking to him again. Michael took a deep breath. It was now or never, he decided. “Um, Maria,” he began as they headed toward his apartment.

“Yeah?”

“You do know that what you said earlier isn’t true, right? About not caring if something like this happened to you?”

Maria sighed and pulled the car over to the side of the road in front of Michael’s apartment building. “No, Michael, I really don’t think I know that,” she said, turning to face him. “After everything that happened last year, you just walked out on me after telling me you loved me. Then you avoided and ignored me all summer and now you blow me off when I try to talk to you. After all of that, why would I think you still care about me? I don’t really know how you feel about me or anything else anymore.”

Michael reached out and caught her face in his hands. “I want you to know this,” he whispered, leaning forward to capture her lips with his in a gentle kiss.

“Sometimes it’s just a whisper
Sometimes it’s a storm
Sometimes it reaches forever
With its everlasting arms.”

“I still care about you. I still love you. And I always will love you, even when I don’t know how to show it.” He leaned back in his seat. “God, Maria, I mean, I tried so hard not to care anymore. I thought that if I kept away from you, then I could forget about you and be the soldier that I thought I needed to be for my planet. Only it didn’t work, because you were all I could think about the whole time I was away from you.

“And then I started thinking that if I could just make you mad enough at me, if I could make you hate me, that you’d finally get sick of all of my shit and you’d be the one to end things between us. It was a really cowardly thing to do, I know, and I’m not real proud of it, but it didn’t work anyway.” He met her shocked gaze with his own level one. “You never gave up on us, and when you told me you missed me, even after all I’d put you through, I knew I was done for.” He smiled slightly at this. “I knew you never *would* give up, and even though I’d say we’re both equally stubborn, I knew I didn’t have a prayer of fighting you. Especially when we both want the same thing.

“But what you said tonight really got to me. It really scared me and made me think what if it had been you. Maria, if that was you tonight, I don’t know what I would have done. You don’t have their powers to protect yourself, and even with her own powers Tess wasn’t able to do much to help herself. I don’t even want to think what could have happened to you in that position,” he said, emotion making his voice husky. After a moment he continued.

“And when you accused me of not caring if it was you in Izzy or Tess’s position, that really hit home, and it really made me think about how much I’ve been hurting you. Maria, I never wanted to hurt you, but I always tried to justify it by telling myself that I was doing it for my planet. But I wasn’t, and deep down I knew that. I was being a coward, so afraid of my feelings for you that I did what I do best – I ran.” He reached over and gently took her hand in his. “But I don’t want to run anymore, Maria.” He took a deep breath. “I guess what I’m really trying to say is that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for the way I treated you all summer, I’m sorry I tried so hard to push you away, and I’m sorry I’m not any good at showing you how much I love you.”

“That’s how love works
That’s how love moves
Like a river running through you.
Sometimes it lifts you
As high as heaven
It consumes you
That’s a given.”

There were tears in Maria’s eyes, but she managed a smile. “Wow, Michael Guerin saying he’s sorry and admitting he’s wrong all in one sentence. Must be some kind of record.”

“Don’t get used to it,” Michael retorted, but he was smiling, too.

“So does this mean you’re going to stop being such an ass and actually want to be a part of my life again?”

“More than anything, that’s what I want.”

“To stop being an ass?” Maria joked, easing the tension of the moment. “One would think that’s kind of a personal decision.”

“I’m working on it,” Michael said, mock seriously. Then his expression turned serious again. “But I think the being a part of your life again was what I was talking about there. I want to fix everything I’ve screwed up, I want to regain your trust and earn the right to be with you again. But only if it’s what you want, too.” He looked up at her, his eyes filled with a combination of sincerity and fear at the possibility of rejection. “What do you say?”

Maria leaned in so close to him their lips were almost touching. “I say if you screw it up again, I’ll kill you,” she murmured.

Michael smiled, a combination of relief and elation coursing through his veins. “I believe you,” he replied, an instant before Maria’s lips touched his own.

“That’s how love works
That’s how love moves
Like a river running through you.
Sometimes it lifts you as high as heaven
It consumes you, that’s a given.
That’s how love moves.”