"Do what you have to do. Do whatever is best for you."

She looked up at him tearfully, but a decision had been made. "Just remember this, Michael, please don't ever forget. I loved you once and I loved you well."

Michael stared at her and nodded slowly. This, whatever this was, this was final. And they both knew it.

"I want to be your friend Michael." Tears flowed from her face. "But not yet. Not now. I couldn't handle it yet. So when you see me, know that I'm not avoiding you, that I still care for you, but know that I'm moving past you. Know that one day we will be friends, there is too much between us for us not to be, but know that it will not happen yet."

She sighed and touched her hand to his cheek. "Don't call me unless it is serious, unless it is important. I'm still here for you, but I have to distance myself, it's the only way."

Michael eyes were bright with tears he would not shed. He breathed deeply. It hurt more than he thought it would, really letting go.

She grabbed her coat. "It's slow, I'm going to go home." She glanced back at him. "I'll see you."

But it won't be the same. The words hung unspoken between them. It was a truth they both knew.

Then Maria turned around and she walked away.

Anything you want inside your heart

Isabel

Isabel sat in Kyle's house, resting her head on the couch. Kyle was asleep. She was waiting for Tess. It wouldn't be long now, she knew. She closed her eyes and waited.

Tess came in the door quietly. She turned, and jumped when she saw Kyle curled up asleep on one end of the couch and Isabel sitting on the other end. She looked at Isabel questioningly.

Isabel answered her unspoken question. "I came to talk to you."

Tess nodded and walked to 'her' room, motioning for Isabel to follow.

When they were inside, Tess turned to Isabel. "This is a surprise."

"I'm sure." Isabel said nothing else, just looked at Tess.

Tess began getting nervous with all the silence and the staring. "What is it that you wanted?" she asked, fidgeting.

"Well, Tess, I was thinking."

"About?"

"Destiny."

"What about it?"

Isabel looked at Tess. She had to play this right. She really had no idea what she was doing, she just wanted to open up the possibility that Kyle might somehow have some sort of chance.

"Aren't you tired of it all? Aren't you sick of worrying about it? Let me tell you Tess, between me and you, I hate it." Isabel said all this with feeling. She meant every word.

"What do you mean?" Tess asked curiously.

"Look Tess, you're the only one I can really talk to this about. You're the other girl in this with me, and Max and Michael are so preoccupied that I can't talk to them. Not about this."

Isabel glanced at Tess, who was looking at her with very little understanding. No wonder Isabel thought. We hardly ever speak. She was annoyed with herself for allowing this to happen. For allowing Tess to become used to being alone.

She looked at Tess sincerely. "Don't you ever wish that nobody had told you your destiny? I do. I wish it all the time."

Tess shook her head. "No, it's important that we know, that we are with the ones that we are meant to be with. That we follow our destiny so-"

Isabel cut her off impatiently. "If it wasn't for destiny would you even want Max? He doesn't seem like your type. Have you even allowed yourself the luxury of thinking of what your type is?"

Tess looked at her uncomprehending. Isabel wanted to shake her.

"I love Max-" Tess began, but Isabel interrupted again.

"You don't even know him. You barely remember who he used to be and you don't even know him now. How do you love him? How could you? And how could you allow yourself to go into a relationship where you've never bothered to find out what that person is really like. Vague memories do not count for anything Tess. This is a different life."

Tess sat down. "You don't understand", she accused, "You just want me away from Max so Liz can have him."

Isabel laughed. "You think so? Well you are wrong. This isn't about Max. It's about you. Your happiness. What you want. What you deserve."

"And what do I deserve?" Tess asked skeptically.

Isabel's voice softened. "What everyone deserves, Tess. A chance to be loved by someone who loves you for who you are. Who loves you just because you are you. Who wants to find the real you and just hold on and not let go. We all deserve it Tess. And our destiny is trying to take that away from us."

Tess stared into space for a moment. "But our destiny-"

"If we go our destined paths, fine. But wouldn't you feel better about it if you knew it was for love, not for destiny? Isn't that important to you?" Isabel looked at Tess earnestly. "I'm telling you this now, and I mean every word of it. Follow your destiny blindly if you want, ignoring your chances for something real if it suits you. But I will not go willingly into a loveless relationship. If my destiny doesn't lead me to love, then my destiny can go to hell."

"But what about what your mom said? What about our past lives?"

"As cliched as it may sound, that was then, this is now. I will do all I can and follow my destiny as close as I can except for being with someone that doesn't want me. I can't do that Tess. I won't. I want to be loved, and if I can't have the real thing, then I don't want anything."

Isabel looked at her watch. "It's late. I better go."

"I'll walk you out."

They walked past the couch. Isabel looked at Kyle fondly. "He's a sweetie, isn't he?" When she received no answer, she reached down and touched a lock of his hair, noticing with amusement that Tess' eyes had narrowed. Jealous much? Good.

"Whatever girl that manages to catch him is going to be very lucky. Bye Tess."

As Isabel left, she noticed Tess eyeing Kyle speculatively. She hoped that she had done some kind of good, helped him in some way. If Tess would wake up, she would be the lucky one.

If only she would open her eyes and see.

You can find right here inside of me

Michael

Michael had spent two hours waiting inside of Isabel's room. In the space of those two hours, he had paced restlessly, sat motionlessly, and wondered continuously what he was doing there. He and Isabel hadn't sought each other out in weeks. Why did he want to start again now?

He knew the answer to that question. It was the same answer to the question about why they had been avoiding each other. Destiny had made everything go in fast forward, but in the end, destiny had nothing to do with it. Had nothing to do with the way he felt.

He didn't know what he was going to say to Isabel, didn't know what he was going to do. All he knew was that he wanted her back in his life, close to him again.

Actually, he wanted more. But he knew better than to ask for it.

So he sat, and he waited. Eventually he fell asleep.

Have you ever had something
That you just couldn't explain

Isabel

Isabel took the long way home. She had a lot on her mind, so she walked, like always.

When she reached home, she quietly went up to her room, hoping she wouldn't wake anyone up. She stopped by Max's room and checked on him. He was sleeping fitfully, muttering Liz's name. Tears welled in her eyes. She could feel his pain even in sleep. She shut his door carefully, wishing her brother a restful night.

She made a quick stop by the bathroom, trying to get ready for bed in the dark. Her parents door was open, and a light might awaken them.

She walked stealthily to her room, easing the door open quietly. She left the light off and went to change. She grabbed some clothes to sleep in and began unbuttoning her shirt. She had it almost unbuttoned when a voice startled her.

That takes your mind
And twists it all around

Michael

"I wouldn't keep doing that, unless you're planning to give a free show." He said, watching as Isabel clutched her shirt to her body and looked wildly around the room. Inside, part of him was seriously pissed off at himself. Part of him had really wanted to see her get undressed, but the gentleman part of himself had stopped her.

Whatever.

The part of him that knew she would kick his ass all over the place if she had caught him watching her had stopped her.

"Michael?" she whispered, finally spotting him on her bed. He had blended in well with her multitude of stuffed animals.

"Yeah, it's me." He voice sounded a little unsteady, and he fought to regain a semblance of control. But what could he do? There she was, standing there, shirt unbuttoned, closed only with her hands, hair falling around her, and whispering his name in the dark. It was almost more than a guy could take and still remain respectable. His mind was running wild, and if Isabel saw what was going on in there, she'd probably boot his ass right out the window.

She walked closer to him. "What are you doing here?"

He took a long, shaky breath. "Maybe you should finish changing first." He didn't think he could talk to her with her the way she was now.

"Okay. Hide your eyes or something." She went back to changing as Michael squeezed his eyes tightly shut. The urge to look was almost more than he could bear. But he knew he'd probably do something totally stupid that would make Isabel hate him forever if he peeked. So he used every ounce of willpower to keep his eyes shut.

"Okay", she whispered. "I'm done."

He opened his eyes. He gulped. This attire wasn't much better for his self control.

He remembered the shirt. He had given it to her when it had no longer been his style. Hank had given it too him some long forgotten Christmas, when he wasn't quite as mean as he had become later on, in one of his rare sober moments. It was a button up plaid flannel. A couple of the top buttons were missing. It barely went halfway to her knees. And besides whatever underwear she had on under there, it was all she was wearing.

The change between daytime Isabel and nighttime Isabel was incredible. The cool, poised, perfect girl of day was at night clad in only a flannel nightshirt. A plaid one. Daytime Isabel wouldn't be caught dead in plaid. Fortunately for Michael, because as far as he was concerned, nighttime Isabel was far sexier with her long legs that seemed to go on forever and her hair flowing freely over her shoulders. And the top of the shirt with the missing buttons seemed to be teasing him. As she walked to the bed and sat down, part of the shirt fell over one shoulder. She moved it back into place. Then it slid down a little in front. She pulled it up higher only to reveal more leg.

She seemed embarrassed. He felt tortured.

"So what did you want?" she asked him.

Michael swallowed hard. Did she want a truthful answer to that question?

"Michael? Are you okay?" Isabel waved a hand in front of his face. She scooted closer to him, worried. "Michael?" she whispered. "Michael, what is it?"

"I just came to talk to you", he finally managed. With her so close, breathing was becoming difficult. Her shirt had slid down her shoulder again. He looked at her skin and so much wanted to taste it. All he did was reach over and allow his hand to slide over her shoulder as he raised the shirt back into place. His hand lingered for a moment before he moved it.

She was looking at him oddly. It was hard to tell in the dark, but something had flickered across her face, some emotion. Desire? Disgust more likely. He was only seeing what he was hoping to see.

He began talking to her, really talking to her, about all the things that had concerned him lately. About their enemies, about Maria and Alex, about Max, about everything. Everything except what he really wanted to talk about, which is how he felt about her.

And she listened, never interrupting, just giving insight whenever she had any and he asked. This was one of the things he missed most.

He told her that he was moving past Maria. For real this time. She didn't believe him at first, but he made her see it was true. Her sympathy was almost too much for him. He didn't want her sympathy. He wanted her.

He could tell when she began getting tired. He motioned to her to come closer. When she hesitated he said, "It's just you and me, right?"

She moved until they were laying together. He put his arm around her and pulled her closer, just being careful she stayed away from one area of his body. He would definitely give himself away then.

She put her head on his shoulder and curled into him. One arm wrapped around his chest and one leg went over his. He fought hard for control, wondering why he was doing this to himself. He looked down at her and knew why.

They both lay awake for awhile, but she fell asleep first. For awhile he watched her sleep. She looked so innocent when she slept. So unguarded.

He looked down at her body. She really did have an amazing body. It was hard to relax when she was pressed against him the way she was. But eventually he fell asleep.

Where all you can think about
Is this one thing

Their Dream

They were back in the desert. He was kissing her passionately, the way he has always wanted to kiss her. She was responding the way she always wanted to respond. Their hands were all over at each other, only stopping for brief moments when they found a spot that drove the other wild. This time the clothing was different. They were wearing what they had fallen asleep in.

Michael lowered Isabel slowly to the ground as he continued kissing her. His hands roamed her body, quickly unbuttoning the remaining buttons of the shirt. He eased it carefully off her body, taking time just to look at her. Then he leaned in.

Her skin tasted just as good as it looked. He let his tongue tease various areas of her body, while she attempted to remove his shirt. It was hard going, but finally he stopped long enough to let her do it.

Her mouth on his chest and stomach was exquisite. Then she went back to the ground pulling him with her. His skin against hers was incredible. She pressed her body against his, wanting to be closer still.

Everything was going at a fevered pitch, Michael wanted to slow it down, to savor the moments. He pulled back, gazing at Isabel. He ran his hands gently over her face, down her neck, across her breasts, taking special care with them. His hand danced across her stomach, down to her red lace panties. She looked at him expectantly, moaning when he skipped over them to rub her legs.

Starting at her toes, he kissed her gently, working his way back up again, this time with his mouth. He was kissing the inside of her thighs gently, going higher still, when Isabel's alarm clock went off.

Well this is her

Awakening

They both woke up gasping. Isabel slapped her alarm clock off. It was only six. She had forgotten to turn it off before she went to sleep. She turned back to Michael, who was staring at her.

Then she remembered the dream. She blushed deeply. Then she really looked at Michael. Where was his shirt?

Where was hers?

"Oh my God", she whispered, trying to cover herself with her hands. Michael looked shocked.