"Maybe because I love you too much."

What had Michael meant by that? Did he really love her? She hadn't spoken to him since that day and she was really trying hard to forget about what he said. But for some reason, every time she closed her eyes he would appear. Michael didn't want them to be together. She had to face it. There was nothing she could do about it now. She couldn't make him understand that she wasn't afraid of him, or anything that could happen to her because she was with him. She wanted him and the package he came with.

Maria was brought back to reality when the Crashdown door opened. Maria's face paled.

"Great, this is all I need this morning." She said to herself as she walked over to them.

"Table for two?" she asked, eyeing them carefully.

"Yes, please." Said the man with the suit.

"Hi." Said the other one.

"Hi, Michael. Hi, Nasedo or is it-Pierce?" Maria said, shyly.

"Call me Pierce. It's less suspicious that way." He smiled at Maria as she took their order.

Michael couldn't help himself but stare. Why had he broken up with her?!? She was all that he could think about. He knew Maria loved him and didn't care that she could get hurt as long as she was with him. He hadn't realized, until right then, just how much he missed her. Even in her Crashdown uniform she looked beautiful.

"And what will you have?" Maria asked Michael. She could tell that he had been in some kind of daze by the way he answered.

"No thank you, I'll just have a Coke." He said.

"Um, ok. Is that everything then?" she asked, hoping to get away from the table before he could see the tears forming in her eyes.

"Yes, that'll be it." Pierece/Nasedo said.

"I'll bring it right out." Maria said and hurried off.

"I'm on break!" she said to Mr. Parker as she flew out the back door, on the verge of a hysterical breakdown.

In the alley behind the Crashdown, Maria let her tears flow freely. What had come over her? She had seen Michael plenty of times since they had broken up. Why had this time been harder on her than all the other times? Was it because she knew that Michael was thinking about her? Wait! How did she know that Michael was thinking about her? Her tears slowed as she began to think. She knew Michael had been thinking about her. Was he being obvious? No, she knew he wasn't. Somehow she had gotten inside his head and had read his thoughts. This was beginning to get too weird. There was a sound behind her as the back door to the Crashdown pushed open.

"Are you ok? I saw you run out the back door and I wasn't sure what was going on." Michael said in his soft, comforting voice.

He looked at Maria and realized she had been crying. This was all his fault. He walked over to her and put his arms around her, pulling her closer to him.

Maria couldn't control her sobs any longer. She began to cry again while Michael held her.

Michael couldn't believe what was happening. He had caused all this pain she was feeling. She had loved him so much and he'd just "thrown her away" like she said. How could he have done such a thing?

"It's not your f-fault, Michael." She said between sobs. "You didn't throw me away. You still care about me."

Michael pulled Maria back so he could look into her eyes. It was easy to get lost in the greenness that they radiated. "How did you know I was just thinking that?"

"I don't know," she said "it just kind of happened. I knew what you were thinking and what you were thinking when I took your order back there. That 's why I was crying, because I know you regret breaking up with me, but it's something that had to be done."

It was Michael's turn to be awed. He didn't understand how she could have read his thoughts. Had she taken up ESP Reading since they broke up?

Maria let out a giggle and pulled out of Michael's embrace. "No, silly I haven't taken up ESP Reading, I don't know how I'm doing this, but I am."

Michael smiled. It was kind of neat how she was able to read what he was actually thinking. It was so much easier for him to think something then it was for him to actually say it. At that moment, what he was thinking was that he really loved Maria. And the more he saw her, the more he loved her. For the little things she did, the way she looked, the way she moved, the way she smiled and everything else about her. What he needed right now was for her to be his friend. He needed a friend more than anything right now.

"I understand." She said simply and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm just glad to have you back in my life."

Michael smiled. "I'm glad to have you back, too."

"What do you say we go back into the Crashdown and let me get back to work?" Maria said, moving towards the door.

"Ok, but when do you get off today?" he asked

"I'm off at noon because I had the morning shift." She said.

"Cool, maybe we can do something this afternoon. As friends, of course." He said, smiling.

She let out a giggle. "Sure, as friends."

They both walked to the door. Michael reached the door first and opened it for her. As she started through, she heard a "CRACK" and looked up. Falling from the apartment above the Crashdown was a window air conditioner. It was heading straight for Michael. She felt Michael's fear as he looked up and saw the air conditioner falling. All he was thinking about was how much he loved Maria.

Maria didn't know what to do, everything was happening in slow motion. She could not loose Michael now that she had him back. She put her hand in front of her and willed Michael to move. The next thing she knew, he was flying through the air and was thrown up against the wall of the Crashdown. She ran over to him.

"What the hell just happened?" he said, looking at her curiously. The air conditioner laid in a million pieces right where Michael had been standing, but he was unharmed.

"I don't know." Maria said. "I just willed you to be away from there and then suddenly you were over here."

Michael didn't understand it. Had she moved him from one spot to another? How could that be? Maybe it had been Nasedo watching and seen what was about to happen. Whatever had happened, he was grateful to be alive. He looked over at Maria who was crouched beside him. He reached over and pulled her lips to his, kissing her like he'd wanted to do every time he saw her since they had broken up.

"What was that for?" she asked as he released her.

"Do I have to have an excuse to kiss my friend?" he asked with a smile on his face.

"Yes!" she said laughing.

"Well, in that case," he said. "Thanks for saving my life."