"Mom, where's my sleeping bag?"

"It's still in the basement with all the other stuff you left there after your last year's camping trip, Samantha. You better go get it."

"Dad, can I take your windbreaker?"

"You've got your own, the blue one, remember?"

"Oh, dad, please. I like yours better. It's not like you'll be needing it here."

"Who said mom and I are staying here?"

"Aren't you?"

"Oh, just take it. Take whatever you want from my closet. Just make sure you leave me some clean underwear."

"Dad!"

"I'm kidding. Sure you can take it, Jake."

"Thanks, dad."

"This is a mad house, Michael."

"You don't really mean that, Isabel."

"No, I don't. But I can't believe we're packing at the last minute again."

"Believe it. We've got about two hours before Max and Liz come pick them up."

"Oh, my god! Is it that late already? Michael, we'll never make it."

"Sure we will. We always do."

"Mom, will you help me pack?"

"Sure thing, honey. I'll be right up."

"You go help Laura and I'll bring the laundry after you as soon as it's done," said Michael. "With a little help from my *special cleaning and drying skills,*" he chuckled and winked to Isabel.

"Michael - !"

"What? We've got them, so why not use them?"

"I agree. But we have to be careful. I've told the kids about a hundred times not to do anything reckless at the camp. There will be a lot of people around," said Isabel worryingly.

"They know, Iz. Don't worry. Max and Liz will have everything under control," said Michael calmly.

"You mean Liz, the human, her alien husband and five alien teenagers won't bring any attention to themselves?"

"Well, if you're having doubts, maybe we should go with them," suggested Michael.

"No. I don't think it would change much. Then it would be Liz plus eight aliens. We've been waiting for this for too long. I guess you're stuck home with me."

"I don't mind," smiled Michael and kissed her. "Let's just pack everything and you'll see, nothing will go wrong. They'll have fun with their cousins and we'll have fun all by ourselves."

"I suppose I don't need to have a lot of imagination to guess what kind of fun for us you have in mind?" asked Isabel as Michael cupped her head in his hands and pressed his lips against hers. After 16 years of marriage they still had the same passion going on as the day they started dating.

"Mom! You promised to help me pack!" yelled their youngest daughter from the top of the stairs.

"I'm coming, Laura!"

***

"All right, I think we're done." Isabel was relieved as she saw three peaces of luggage nicely packed and waiting in the middle of the hallway for the three kids to take with them on the camping trip with their aunt, uncle and two cousins.

Michael looked satisfied as his prediction had become true. They even finished packing half an hour early.

"Do you have everything?"

"Yes, dad. You've asked that for the seventh time in the last hour," answered the oldest son.

"Jake, I expect you to take care of your sisters - " Michael began.

"Dad, it's not like I can't take care of myself. He's only eleven months older than me!" Samantha protested, but her brother argued back with her.

"Eleven months, huh? For me eleven months and 6 days means a year."

"Well, either way you're both still fifteen, and Sam, if you let me finish my sentence, you would hear that I was gonna say to you that you take care of your brother and sister, and you, Laura, you make sure they keep an eye on you."

"I'm not a baby anymore, dad. I'll be 10 in two months."

"She's right, Michael. Give them a break. They're grown up enough to know what's right, aren't you?" Isabel looked over her kids and then back at Michael. "Besides, Max will make sure nothing happens."

"I know he will," started Michael, but the loud noise of a car honking outside the house stopped him. Max was driving a minivan and the kids picked their stuff from the floor and ran downstairs as soon as they heard him in the driveway.

"They're here! Yippieee!"

Max, Liz and their two sons entered the house and there was a lot of hugging and thronging, as the Guerin hallway became too small for everyone.

"So, Max, looks like you and Liz are about to begin an exhausting expedition with five teenagers."

"If I were you, Michael, I wouldn't say anything more." Everybody gave Max a questioning look and he looked at Michael and Isabel and explained, "It's your turn next time and they'll still be teenagers, even older than now." They all smiled at that remark and Isabel said, "We'll be happy to take them the next time."

The kids, who were in the meantime chatting, became impatient.

"Come on, let's go, Uncle Max!"

"Mom, let's go!"

"We're going, we're going," said Liz and turned towards the door. "We'll be back in about a week."

Michael and Isabel both kissed their kids goodbye and before they knew it, they were out of the house and in the car.

"We love you!"

"Have fun!" shouted Isabel, trying to yell over the noise the car was making. "And don't forget to ..." Her last words were lost for them forever as they drove away.

***

Michael and Isabel stayed in front of their house long after the car was gone. They stood there hugging and lost in thought. After a while they moved to the patio where they sat on the swing together. They both thought about the past. About their lucky star that brought them together 19 years ago. They were lucky. They had each other and three gorgeous kids. What more could they want?

** 2001 **

It was 10 in the evening and Isabel felt so alone. She wanted to just disappear. Alex was dead, Tess killed him and ran home with Max's unborn child and left everyone behind. It'd been a couple of months but Isabel was still shaken because of everything that happened. Liz and Max got back together and Michael and Maria were not only together, but glued together. Even though Isabel could swear that there was something else going on with them. She couldn't put her finger on it, yet, they still acted as a couple, so maybe it was nothing. Maybe she was just jealous because everyone had someone and she didn't.

That night she decided to take a walk, get some fresh air and maybe a new perspective on life.

Before she knew it, she was driving through the desert and towards the pods. The rocks were still lying around everywhere from the explosion and all Isabel could do was look sadly at them. Then she climbed to the top of them, where the cliff was supposed to be, and sat on the edge. It was dangerous but she didn't care. She must've been sitting there for over an hour when she heard someone climbing up and nearly fell down at the realization. Who could it be? She carefully turned around and her face brightened when she saw it was Michael.

"Michael, how come you're here?"

"I couldn't sleep, I guess." His voice was strange. It was a dark night and it took Isabel a while to see his face clearly. When he reached her, he sat next to her and that's when she noticed his red eyes. "Are you all right?"

"No," was all he said. Isabel waited for a while and then carefully asked, "You wanna talk?"

"I'd rather not. Not yet."

Isabel nodded. "We can just sit here for a while."

Neither of them said anything for a couple of minutes. Isabel turned to look at him from time to time, but his face remained the same - full of pain. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to help him, but she couldn't even try since he decided to keep his mouth shut and leave her in the dark.

She glanced in his direction again and his lips were shaking. Something must've been very wrong. She slowly touched his hand and he jumped a little. "Michael, it's me. You can tell me."

"I feel so stupid," he blurted out.

She looked into his eyes and could feel his pain. He continued, "I must be the stupidest person on this planet!"

"Michael, whatever happened, you're not stupid."

"Maybe not, but my actions are."

Isabel waited patiently for him to tell more.

"It's over."

"What's over?"

"Maria and I. Maria and I are over." His words felt like huge rocks. Isabel was confused. "How?"

"I don't know! One minute we're madly in love and the next thing I know she's moving on. She wants to be with Kyle."

"Maria and Kyle??" Isabel was surprised.

"Yes. Maria and Kyle," Michael confirmed. Isabel was dumbfounded. She didn't know what to say, so Michael continued, "I know what you must be thinking."

"I wasn't thinking anything, Michael."

"Well, I was. Here comes the stupid part." He waited a little and then said, "I stayed on Earth for her. FOR HER! If things were different, I would have left with you and Max. I thought it felt right."

"Michael, you can't think like this. Whatever happened, happened. You listened to your heart and it told you to stay. There's nothing wrong with that. If you didn't make that decision, we would never know that Tess was a murderer and would have all left. We probably wouldn't even be alive anymore."

"That doesn't help, Isabel. I still did what I did."

"That's true."

"I feel like I betrayed you two." Isabel couldn't argue with that. She almost fainted when Michael revealed his decision that day. She felt betrayed by losing him, but she forgave him a long time ago. The one thing Michael needed to do was forgive himself.

He looked so miserable. Isabel put her hand on his shoulder and said, "Michael, I know things look bad right now, but they'll get better, you'll see. Not today, not tomorrow, but someday everything will be better. Trust me."

"Thanks, Iz. Thanks for trying to understand."

"I'm not just trying. I do understand. Really."

They sat in silence for a while and then Michael said, "All I ever wanted was to fit in somewhere. I was trying to fit in so badly that I didn't fully notice that I already did fit in. No matter what happens in the future, who falls in love with who, and all, I know I'll always fit in with you and Max."

"Yes, you will. No matter what happens, you'll always belong to us," Isabel said and after they shared a long look, Michael continued.

"I guess nothing is eternal, but the three of us must be. I mean look what I've done in the past and you've always taken me back. I'm not sure I deserve that any more, Isabel."

"That's not true. You deserve it more than anyone. All you've wanted was just to be happy, Michael. Even though you're not happy now, I hope you will be soon."

"Are you happy, Iz?"

She didn't answer right away, but looked in another direction.

"You don't have to answer. I know you're not."

She looked at him with tears in her eyes and said, "I've never been further from happy, Michael." She started sobbing and he tried to calm her. "Shhhh, it's OK."

"I feel so alone, Michael."

"You're not alone, Iz." He held her close and she calmed down a little as he finished. "You're not alone. You have me."

***

"Hey, there. A little early today?" said Isabel as soon as she approached the cliff where Michael had already been sitting deep in thought.

It'd been two months since they first met at the same place and from that night on, that place had been their sanctuary. Every night with no exception they both came there, sometimes for a couple of minutes, the other times till dawn. They either talked, or stargazed in silence, or comforted each other if necessary. Never did they set up a meeting for the next day, but they both knew that the other one would be there.

When Michael heard Isabel's voice, he turned his head towards her and answered, "Yeah, I had to think."

"Think?" asked Isabel.

"Yes. About something important."

"What's going on?" she asked as she sat down next to him. "Should I leave?" she added.

"Of course not. I've been waiting for you."

"Oh."

"Iz, tell me, why do you come here?"

"What do you mean?" she asked even though she suspected where this was leading. Thinking about it, she wanted this conversation to go just the way it started.

Michael carefully rephrased the question. "You know, how come you chose to be here with me every night for the past couple of months instead of going on a date with some hot guy?"

"I guess 'cause I like it here and feel comfortable with you."

"Is that the only reason?"

"Well, not exactly."

"What's the other reason?"

"I don't want to go out with any other guy."

"What?" Michael was surprised and Isabel blushed slightly.

"Wait, maybe that one came out wrong. What I meant was that I...I don't know what I meant."

"Iz, did you mean to say any other guy than me?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe? What kind of answer is that?" He looked her directly in the eyes and said, "You know why I come here, Isabel? I like to be with you. We've got so much in common, so much to tell to each other every time we meet. I like that. And there's this force that draws me to you. It's like a magnet. You're special."

"You're special to me, too, Michael."

"Have you thought about us as a...couple?"

"Huh.."

"It's Ok, if you have," he said, paused and then admitted, "I have."

"You have?"

"Sort of... yeah."

They shared a long look, each one of them trying to read the other's eyes. It was a romantic moment, there was full moon shining on them and they were sitting in the moonlight looking at each other. Michael leaned closer to Isabel and she whispered weakly, "Michael." His face was only inches apart from her now and he said, "Isabel, you told me it's OK to listen to my heart and that's what I'm doing." They noticed nothing around them and were caught in the moment that seemed endless. Isabel could feel Michael's face almost touching hers. His soft, warm lips finally reached her and she responded to his kiss immediately. She opened her mouth to him and gladly accepted his tongue.

The time stopped for them as they continued to explore each other's mouths, but suddenly Isabel stiffened with fear in Michael's arms. He noticed that instantly and stopped kissing her. "Iz, what's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head 'no' and whispered, "Michael, we're surrounded."

That was when Michael turned into the direction that Isabel was looking and noticed about ten figures approaching them up the cliff.

"Skins?" he guessed.

"Michael, what are we gonna do?"

"I don't know."

"We could fight them."

They got up from the ground and Michael made an attempt to shield Isabel with his body. "I'm not gonna let them hurt you."

"Michael, I have my powers, you know and I don't want them to hurt either of us, so if we're gonna do anything, we should do it together. We've got nowhere to run, so we have to try."

The skins were approaching fast so they had to reach a decision before it was too late.

"OK," said Michael. "Let's concentrate and turn our energy on them, one at a time."

They extended their hands and tried to fight, but nothing happened. It looked like their powers were frozen.

"Michael, it's not working!" Isabel panicked.

In the meantime the skins surrounded them and they could only wait for what was to happen. The situation looked hopeless.

"Why haven't they killed us yet?" Isabel grabbed Michael's hand and he hugged her.

One of the skins, that was probably their leader said, "How romantic. The princess and her warrior together again. I'm sorry that we had to interrupt your makeout session, but we've got some bigger things to take care of."

"What bigger things?" asked Michael.

"You'll find out soon enough."

After that they both lost consciousness.

***

Isabel woke up lying on the floor in a dark room with no furniture. Her first instinct was to find Michael, but he was not there. She was alone. She got up from the floor and even though her head hurt, she carefully looked around, searching for the door to escape. She couldn't find it, so she tried to manipulate the structure of the walls around her, with no success. Realizing that, she started yelling, "Michael! Michael!" and pounding on the walls. "Let me out of here! Now!" There was no answer and after a couple of minutes she leaned on the nearest wall and slid down to a sitting position on the floor. Tears were beginning to gather in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She had to find Michael somehow and get away from there.

***

Michael was in a similar room as Isabel. As he opened his eyes, at first he expected to be in his bed or maybe still on the cliff with Isabel. Then he remembered the events of the past couple of hours...the skins, them getting caught, Isabel. "Isabel?" he called. "Izzy?" He had some trouble getting up and as he struggled to his feet, he wondered what the hell had they done to him, since his head hurt like it was gonna explode. He quickly concluded that there was no one else around and he got a panic attack. "Iz! Where are you? Isabel?! ISABEL!!"

The door opened suddenly and there was the head skin standing in front of him. "I suggest you stop shouting. She can't hear you."

"What do you mean, she can't hear me? What have you done to her?" Michael got really scared for her.

"Nothing," answered the man. "Nothing yet, anyway. She's alive. For now. If you two cooperate, you might live a little longer than half an hour more."

"Cooperate," said Michael confused. "What do you want from us? We've got nothing to give you."

"Sure, you do. Think, Rath. What could you possibly have to offer us in exchange for your lives?"

Michael swallowed hard. "I want to see Isabel."

"I don't think you're in any position to give me orders and Vilandra is just fine without you."

"No!" Michael stepped towards the skin and he warned him, "I wouldn't try anything stupid, warrior. We've taken care of your active powers so you shouldn't get any illusions about using them. They won't work."

Michael extended his hand just in case the skin was bluffing, but he wasn't. He was powerless and surrounded by dozens of enemies outside the door.

The skin smiled wickedly. "I told you. I can see you're just as stubborn as you've always been. You, the Royal four, have killed a lot of skins lately, but you'll never get rid of us forever. There's still more of us than you can imagine."

"What do you want?" asked Michael.

"What we've always wanted...the granilith. It's our future."

"We don't have it."

"Don't you lie to me, warrior, or something bad will happen to that princess of yours."

"You leave her out of this!"

"Then tell me the truth. Where is it?"

Michael just looked at him and the skin moved towards the door. "As you wish. I'll be sure to tell her it was your choice, before she dies."

"NO!!!!" Michael paled. "Don't touch her!"

The skin stopped on his way and looked at Michael, who devastated said, "We used it."

"Now I know you're making this up. If you used it, you wouldn't be on this freaking planet anymore. And you certainly wouldn't be so stupid to use it and not leave, would you?" Michael didn't answer. He just looked blankly as the skin continued. "You're serious?! You were actually so stupid as to not use it together? What's wrong with you? It could only be used once and now no one has it!" The skin started to get very angry.

"Who used it?" came the question.

Michael bit his lip and said nothing.

"I asked you a question, warrior." No answer. "All right. I'll just have to figure this one out by myself, huh? Let's see. You're here, the princess's here, the king's at home with his fake family looking for the two of you and alarming the whole town, so that only leaves one. The queen."

Michael's face was a stonewall.

"I'm right, aren't I? I don't even wanna ask what got into you to let her go alone. Now I'll have to get further instructions on what to do with you two. I'm afraid you're not of any benefit to us anymore. Pity." The skin took the communicator out of his pocked and contacted one of his people. "Take him away." At that moment three skins entered the room, grabbed Michael and led him out. He didn't try to fight them too much. Even if he could have escaped, he would never have left his dear Isabel behind, so he followed almost willingly.

They passed a long corridor with at least ten different doors and then the door on the very end opened and they pushed Michael inside the dimly lit room and the door closed again.

The first thing that Michael did after they left, was try to open the door with his powers, but failed. He kicked at the door in frustration and then looked around. There was not a lot to see,only a single bed and a small bathroom. He sat on the bed and tried to think of what to do. How could he contact Max? He had no chance. If Isabel was there, maybe she could.

The door opened suddenly and to his relief he saw Isabel being pushed into the room.

He jumped up from the bed. "Isabel?"

"Michael!" She ran directly into his arms and they hugged tightly. "Are you all right?" He held her in front of him looking for any kind of signs that she might be hurt. "Did they do anything to you?"

"No. I guess I'm just a little bit shaken. You?"

"I'm fine now that we're together." He kissed her and after they broke the kiss he noticed she was shaking. They sat on the bed and Michael asked, "What happened?"

"They asked me a lot of questions," she paused. "They know about the granilith, Michael. I told them we didn't have it."

"I know. I told them the same thing. What else did they say?"

"Not much. The boss pretty much guessed about everything else. What about you?"

"I didn't say anything more, either. I don't think they know about Tess's baby."

"Oh, Michael, that skin said they would kill us now that we can't help them. Not that I would want to help them in any way, but if it meant to protect you..."

"No, Isabel, we can't let them win. We're not helping them."

"But what if...?

Michael put his finger on her lips. "Shhhhh. We'll think of something, Iz."

The door opened without a noise and the skin was there again. They were both startled by his voice as he said matter of factly, "No. You won't think of any way out of here. And by the way, thanks for the information about the baby. Now we know that there is a royal child out there. I just can't figure out why the mommy-to-be left the planet alone."

Michael and Isabel shared a look as the skin continued. "Wait. I got it. Maybe she and the king didn't know enough about alien pregnancies and had mistaken the signs that were normal for this condition for something else. Maybe they thought the baby couldn't survive on Earth." He eyed them and asked, "How am I doing?"

Michael and Isabel didn't want their faces to give away how shocked they had been hearing this, so they both looked at the floor. Was it true? Max had lost his child for no reason? This would be sad news for him, but at the same time something for them to be happy about in the future. If they ever managed to get out of there alive, they could have children of their own one day.

The skin continued, "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, buddies. You risked it all for nothing. The baby would be fine here on Earth. It would even live better here than on Antar. But now that the queen and the baby are there, there's a way to get some granilith for us, the skins."

"Never!" said Michael. "You won't get any help from us."

"If I were you, I wouldn't make any hasty decisions, Rath."

"His name is Michael."

"Michael, Rath, whatever. Now I'm going to tell you what you're going to do and you're going to do it, or you and everyone you know and even some of those you don't know, will die."

Michael and Isabel listened in silence as the skin proceeded to tell them his plan.

***

An hour later he left them alone and they shared a hopeless look. Michael leaned in closely to Isabel, hugged her and whispered, "We can't talk. They've got surveillance on us."

"I know," she whispered back.

"Let's sleep for a while," Michael said loudly after a minute.

"Sleep?" asked Isabel doubtfully.

"Yes. We haven't slept all night. Aren't you tired?"

Isabel examined his face that was saying 'Play along, I've got a plan', so she answered, "As a matter of fact, I am."

"Good."

Isabel moved to lie down on the bed and Michael suggested, "I can sleep on the floor."

"No, Michael, please, I need you close. We can both sleep on the bed."

"All right," he said as he joined her on the bed. They lay together for a minute and Michael tried to clue Isabel in on his plan, without everyone listening and maybe even watching them to know what he was talking about.

"Iz?"

"Yes?"

"You know that special power you have," he paused significantly, and then added, "over me?"

"Yes," she repeated and hoped that he would be able to reveal more to her.

"Well," he took a lock of her hair in his hand and toyed with it. "I know I forbid you to use it on me, but I'm ready to take that back just this once."

He looked at her expectantly and she thought about his words. Special power, he forbid it and now he wanted her to use it. He could only be talking about one thing. Dream walking. He wanted her to dream walk him, so they could talk without the skins listening.

She nodded slightly to him, letting him know that she understood what he wanted, and said, "You want to try this new approach?"

"Yes, do you think you can pull it off?"

"We should try and see."

"We would certainly be more comfortable, don't you think?" With that he kissed her deeply, hoping that the audience would buy 'the new approach for making out story'. She returned his kisses and they made out for a couple of minutes. When they were both out of breath, Michael gave her one last kiss, looked deeply into her eyes encouragingly and then closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, with her lying on top of him.

Isabel waited for a while and after she was sure he wasn't awake any more, she closed her eyes and prayed their plan would work.

***

"What are they doing?" asked the head skin, and the one that was watching the surveillance camera, answered. "Looks like they're sleeping, sir."

"Sleeping?"

"Yes, sir."

"What were they doing before that?"

"Hmm...they were all over each other."

"Making out? What a very productive way to spend your last hours. Did they do it?"

"No, sir. Looks like they're not on that stage, yet. He even suggested that he sleep on the floor, but she convinced him against it."

"Interesting. Any suspicious talks?"

"No, sir."

"All right. Call me as soon as they wake up. We don't have much time."

"Of course, sir."

***

Isabel closed her eyes and concentrated on Michael's image that was in her head. It wasn't hard to enter his dream, as he subconsciously knew she would be there and had let her in.

She was standing in the desert and as she looked down, she noticed she was barefoot and dressed in a light blue dress that matched the sky above her. She turned around and there he was, standing in front of her, watching her with gratitude.

"Michael, where did I get this outfit?" she asked, smiling at him and he answered, "Well, Iz, what can I say, this is my dream after all and I had to try extra hard to put something on you at all." He winked at her and she blushed.

"Kidding," he quickly added.

"I guess we pulled it off for now, huh? What are we gonna do?"

"How long do you think you can keep this connection going?"

"I don't know. If nothing interrupts us, then pretty long, I guess."

"Great," Michael said and suddenly their cliff appeared in front of them.

"How did this get here?" asked Isabel.

"Beats me. This is not under my control," answered Michael and started climbing up to their place. He turned and looked to see if Isabel was following him and when he saw her close behind him, he admitted, "OK, this is somehow under my control, of course. I guess I just can't stop thinking about our hours together. Being here with you was some of the best times in my life."

"You mean up till now."

"If we ever get out alive."

"Michael, we have to."

"Isabel, they want us to betray Max. Even if we did it, which we won't, they would never let any of us out of here alive."

"I know," she said sadly. "I don't want anything to happen to Max or to you. I can't live without you two and I can't choose between you two. I love you both too much. I'd rather die myself!"

"No, Iz, no one's gonna die. Listen. We might be able to pull this off if we work together. You know, the three of us have always been able to protect each other. You could contact Max and tell him what's going on. Warn him. Maybe he could somehow get us out without getting caught. That is, if we knew where they're keeping us captured."

"I'll go into the skin's head and ask him. He'll tell me without knowing what he said."

"No, it's too dangerous. I won't let you."

"You know it's the only way, Michael. I'll be careful. Please, you just wait. I'll come back here when I find out. And in case you wake up in the meantime, go to sleep again."

"Isabel." She turned and he pulled her close and kissed her on the lips. "Be careful." He held her hand and in the next moment she disappeared.

***

Michael waited with concern. He was afraid something might have gone wrong. He was afraid for her. The minutes were dragging forever and finally she was back. She looked exhausted.

"Iz, are you OK?"

"Yes, it wasn't as easy as I thought. He fought it pretty hard, but I found out what we need. We shouldn't waste any time, so I was thinking we better go visit Max."

"We?"

"Yes, we'll go together."

"You can do that?"

"Well, I tried it once with Kyle." At Michael's surprised look she explained, "Long story."

"Oh, now I'm relieved."

"OK, take my hands and concentrate on Max. I'll lead you and you just...whatever you do, don't lose me."

Michael looked a bit doubtful, so Isabel said, "Don't worry, we'll make it. Close your eyes. Ready? Here we go."

***

"Where is he?" asked Michael as soon as they opened their eyes again.

"This isn't his dream. He's not sleeping. It must be his subconsciousness," answered Isabel.

"What now?" Michael turned to look at her.

"We'll call him," Isabel instructed.

They both yelled at the top of their lungs. "Max! Max! It's us! Can you hear us? Max!"

"Iz?" came his voice from far away. "Michael? Is it really you?"

"Yes, Maxwell, we've come to warn you," Michael said.

"Where have you been for the last two days? I've been trying to find you. I was so worried! Are you OK?"

"For now," Isabel said. "Max, the skins are back."

"They have you?"

"Yes, they want the granilith and now that they've found out that Tess used it, they want the three of us to contact her. They say it's possible for her to send another dose of granilith and that we have the power to get the message to her. They've been threatening us, Max. They'll kill us all either way, so you can't get caught. Michael and me are already in over our heads, but if you come get us, you'll be in, too."

"Iz, you know I'm not gonna let you die. Do you know where you are?"

"Yes, Isabel dream walked one of them and got the location, but Max, before we tell it to you, you must promise not to come alone."

"Michael, you know I can't do that."

"Maxwell!!"

"Just tell me the location."

Michael just looked at him, so Isabel gave in. "It's 30 kilometers north of Roswell, an old abandoned factory that used to be a chemical plant. But Max, I'm warning you, you'll have trouble getting in. We can't manipulate these doors, let alone the walls."

"Maybe I won't have to sneak in," said Max.

"Oh, great, why don't you just come voluntarily and let them grab you," said Michael sarcastic.

"Exactly," answered Max.

"You must be joking! What are we gonna do then? Contact Tess? Even if we did, she'd never help us. She's a murderer, Max, and she took your kid away from you!"

"I'm aware of that. No, that wasn't what I had in mind. We could make them think we contacted Tess and in the meantime escape."

Isabel jumped into Max's sentence. "How are we gonna do that? We don't have the mind warping powers, remember? Tess does."

"That's true," said Max, "but she's not the only one. Think. We could find Ava."

"Ava?" asked Isabel and Michael at the same time.

"Yes. She's got the same genes as Tess and the same powers. Her powers complement ours, right? I think it would work."

"You're right, Max. We could try this. But how are we gonna get Ava to..."

"I'll take care of it," said Isabel. "I'll tell her to look like Tess and tell her the plan. Let's hope she'll be willing to cooperate."

"So, we agree," said Michael. "Max, don't forget, it has to look like you have no clue what's going on. We'll agree to turn you in and they'll do the rest."

"Got it," answered Max. "Anything else?"

Isabel and Michael turned to look at each other and Michael began, "Actually, there is something you should probably know. We're..."

Suddenly the connection was broken. They'd lost him and in the next moment they were woken up by one of the skins.

"Wake up! Time to play a little game. It's called 'dare or die'."

***

After a couple of hours Michael and Isabel were led back to their room. They had followed the plan and after some defiance they agreed to help them get Max. They contacted him and they set up a meeting. Of course, the skins were the ones who would meet him and bring him there.

***

There was something different when they came back to the room. There was an extra bed on the other side. They shared a look and Michael concluded, "This one must be for Max." Then he suggested, "We should get some more sleep. We'll need our powers to contact Tess when Max gets here, so..."

"I agree," said Isabel and finished. "I could use some more sleep," without saying that she needed to contact Ava, anyway.

They lay down, holding each other and Michael kissed Isabel on the forehead. "I'll be right here."

She closed her eyes and Michael watched her for a couple of minutes, then he followed her lead.

***

Two hours later Isabel and Michael were still sleeping. When Max was escorted to their room, the first thing he saw was them lying on top of each other, their arms and legs entwined with one another and Isabel's head resting on Michael's chest.

Max's jaw dropped and when the door closed behind him, both Isabel and Michael opened their eyes and at the sight of Max they jumped apart and up from the bed.

It was a pretty awkward situation, but all three of them stuck to the plan and played their parts.

"Max," said Isabel and hugged him. "You're here!"

"Yeah," he looked a little uncomfortable.

"Sorry, man," Michael said. "We couldn't tell you. They threatened us."

"I understand," he looked a bit insulted.

"Max, they said they'd kill everyone we knew," explained Isabel. "We couldn't risk that."

"It's OK, forget it. We're all here now and we'll do what we have to do. They clued me in on their plan. Are you two all right?"

"Never been better, Maxwell. What do you think?"

"Let's just get this over with, shall we? When do we contact Tess?" asked Isabel.

"The head skin told me we had one hour. I told him we needed to rest before doing it, 'cause we needed a lot of strength. I'm gonna take a nap and you two should, too." Max looked at the empty bed.

"You can take that one, Max, they brought it for you, anyway," his sister informed him.

"I'm sure they did," mumbled Max, giving both of them a look. He then sat on his bed, eyed Isabel and without saying another word let her know what he wanted. 'We need a serious talk. Make it happen!' Max lay down and turned towards the wall while Isabel led Michael to the other bed and after a couple of minutes they entered Max's dream together.

***

They were in the same room as the one they had been captured. Max was sitting on the floor and Isabel and Michael were standing.

Max began as soon as he saw them come. "I'm sorry to have interrupted what seemed to be your private moment before. I'll be sure to knock the next time they throw me in."

"Oh, come on, Maxwell, we tried to tell you."

"Tried to tell me! Obviously you failed!" Max got up from the floor and looked them both directly in the face. "And just in case you don't know, they're watching you."

"We know," said Isabel calmly.

"You know? And you still --??!" Max almost exploded.

Michael interrupted him. "Stop yelling at her, Max. It's not like we're sleeping together."

"Oh, you're not? Then what was that you were doing that I saw on the tape the skin showed me?"

"He has us on tape?" Isabel was shocked.

"Yes. He told me you two were doing the deed and I wouldn't believe him, so he showed me the tape where you,.. you know..."

"What? Kiss?" Michael finished his sentence.

"Much more than that," said Max. "It looked pretty hot to me and I told him I didn't want to see anything more."

"Well, you made a mistake, Maxwell. If you waited a few more seconds, the skin would've run out of tape, 'cause you've seen it all. Nothing more happened."

"If you say so," Max gave in. "So, what's this all about? You two are just sharing the bed and casually making out?"

"Sharing the bed, yes. Making out,yes, but casually,no. We're not casual at all," explained Michael and Isabel added, "Michael and I are together."

"Since when?"

"Actually, it happened about twenty minutes before we were grabbed," said Isabel.

"They kind of caught us off guard," added Michael.

"Off guard? Just please don't give me any details of what you were doing at that time. I don't want to know." Max had had enough news for a while. He had to think. "Never mind," he continued after a few seconds. "We'll talk about this and all the other stuff later. Right now we have to get out of here alive. Did you contact Ava?"

"Yes, she's already on the perimeter. I'll give her the signal when she's supposed to show up. She'll do her trick before the skins will have the chance to turn around and we'll get out. I told her to make it look as if we all died. That will keep them off our backs."

"Good," said Max. "You think she'll do it?"

"She will," answered Isabel and hoped she was right.

** 2020 **

Isabel and Michael were still sitting on the swing. Michael caressed his wife's face. "That was a tough call. We could've all died that day."

"But we didn't," said Isabel. "We made it. Ava was great, wasn't she? She made quite a show. I wonder how she's doing?"

"Last time I heard she was traveling around the world with her boyfriend. She needed a lot of time to get over Zan, but now she's happy, I think."

"Do you remember Max's face right after we got home? We fed mom and dad this story about us being on a road trip and then went upstairs," said Isabel and Michael finished her sentence, "and that's when Max realized that we really were together and would eventually not only be sharing the same bed, but also sleeping together."

"Poor guy," Isabel smiled. "He needed a couple of weeks to get used to the idea."

"And he married Liz a year after that."

** 2003 **

"Do you, Micheal Guerin, take this woman, Isabel Evans, to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, forsaking all others until death do you part?"

"I do."

"Do you, Isabel Evans, take this man, Michael Guerin, to be your lawfully wedded husband in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, forsaking all others until death do you part?"

"I do."

"I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

The newlyweds kissed, smiling widely at each other. They were married! Isabel's parents were secretly trying to prevent their tears of joy from falling. Max and Liz were sitting in the front row with their firstborn in Liz's lap. Max smiled and hugged both of them.

"Congratulations, guys."

"Thanks, Maxwell." Michael took Isabel's hand and led her down the isle and out of the church while the wedding guests were throwing rice all over them.

On the stairs outside they stopped and hugged again. Everyone around them was clapping hands, while Isabel whispered into Michael's ear, "I'm so happy, Michael."

"I'm happy, too."

** A week later, Isabel&Michael's honeymoon **

Michael was lying on the large bed waiting for his Izzy to come out of the bathroom.

"Mrs. Guerin, your husband's waiting for you," he chuckled.

"I'm coming, darling," came the reply.

And there she was, standing in the doorway, wearing nothing but a see-trough nightie that barely covered her private parts.

"You're so beautiful," he exclaimed. His eyes were glued to her body every time he laid them on her.

She licked her lips and eyed him seductively. "I've got something for you."

"Really? You know how much I love surprises."

"I hope you'll love this one."

"You're teasing me, Isabel."

"Yes, I am." She walked slowly towards him, sat in his lap and kissed him fully on the lips.

"I already like this surprise," he smiled.

"You ain't seen nothing, yet." She crawled out of his lap, got up and opened the top drawer in her closet. Michael saw her pulling out a nicely wrapped little package. She gave it to him and said, "This is the surprise."

"Iz, what are we celebrating? Please, don't say I've forgotten something," he looked at her questioningly and was hoping that was not the case.

"Just open it and you'll see." He could tell by her look that she was a little nervous.

Michael's fingers tore the paper and there was a little white box in front of him. He looked in her eyes and could see that whatever was in there was very important. He slowly opened it and when he looked inside, Michael instantly knew what it was. It was a pregnancy test. A used one.

His eyes widened. "Isabel, you're pregnant?"

"Yes." She looked at him expectantly and he didn't let her down.

He jumped from joy. "We're having a baby? Oh god, Izzy, we're having a baby!!" He looked so happy and hugged her. "This is great!" She smiled happily and he asked, "How long have you known?"

"I took the test today, but I've been suspecting it for a couple of weeks. I can't be sure, but I think I'm almost two months pregnant."

"Two months?"

"Don't worry, I'm not in delivery yet. I'm not huge enough, see?" She covered her belly with her hands and he put his hands lightly over hers. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Yes, a little nauseous from time to time, but otherwise I'm fine." She looked at him and continued, "You can hold me, I won't break, you know."

"I know that." He kissed her belly. "I can't believe the child we made is growing in here."

She kissed the top of his head and said, "You know what, Michael, I think you're going to be a great daddy."

"And you're gonna be a great mommy, Izzy."

** 2008 **

"Mommy! Daddy!" a tiny child's voice cried.

Isabel and Michael both jumped out of the bed and ran into the nursery where Samantha and Jake had been sleeping. Michael was the first one to enter the room where his five year old son was sitting in his bed and crying, while his sister was watching him from her bed puzzled.

Michael lifted his son up and asked, "Jake, what's wrong? We're here."

"I'm scared." The little boy buried his head in Michael's chest.

"What are you afraid of, Jake?" asked Isabel, who had in the meantime taken Samantha in her lap. The answer came unexpectedly.

"There are aliens chasing me!"

Isabel and Michael shared a surprised look. They were both aware that the time would come when their kids would find out about their legacy.

"What do you mean, aliens are chasing you, Jake?" Isabel asked.

"Bobby from next door said that there're aliens everywhere and they're big and green and they'll get us all. Are there aliens here, daddy?"

His voice was so innocent and Michael didn't know what to say. He couldn't deny it, but he also couldn't confront his son with the truth at such a young age. He decided to choose the middle way.

"Jake, do you remember when we talked about the fact that some people were different than the others?"

"Yes," the boy nodded.

"And when we said that being different is a good thing," Isabel, who approved Michael's approach on this, added.

"Yes," he nodded again.

"And when you and Sammy asked why you two could do things that other kids couldn't, so you have to keep it a secret?"

"Yes, you and daddy said that we're special."

"You're very special. In a good way," Michael explained. "And mommy and me and Uncle Max are special, too."

"What about Aunt Liz?" asked Samantha, who had been quiet up till then.

"Aunt Liz is a special person, but not in the same way as us, Sammy," Michael answered.

"Why are we special, mommy?" asked Samantha again.

Isabel looked into her daughter's eyes and said, "Because we come from a very special place. We'll tell you all about it when you two get bigger," promised Isabel.

"But we're big now, mom," protested Jake.

"Of course, you are. But when you get a little older, you will understand this," answered Isabel and Michael said

"Right now we promise you that you have nothing to be afraid of. There's no one that'll get the two of you. And you know why? Because mommy and daddy will protect you.

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart," smiled Michael and hugged his son. The kids looked satisfied with the answer and they both asked hopefully.

"Can we sleep with you tonight? Please?"

"Sure, you can." Michael and Isabel each took one kid and carried them to their bedroom where they cuddled in between their parents and fell asleep with smiles on their faces.

** 2020 **

"Isabel!" Michael whispered, but she didn't react. She kept sleeping, leaning on Michael's shoulder. "Isabel, wake up," he whispered again. She opened her eyes and blinked at him sleepily. "What time is it?"

"It's six in the evening."

"Oh, then it won't do any harm if we stayed like this for a little while," she yawned.

"Actually, I would love to hold you like this forever, but I don't want us to miss our date tonight."

"Our date?"

"Yep. I'm taking you out."

"Oh, Michael! That's so sweet. We haven't been out alone for a while." She smiled at him and started to get up. "I have to get ready, then. Where are we going?"

"I can't tell you, yet. It's a surprise."

***

"Ok, you can open your eyes now," said Michael after they'd been driving for about twenty minutes and had gotten out of the car. She peered out and when she saw where they were, she exclaimed, "Michael, you're so thoughtful!"

"I was hoping you'd like it."

"I love it." She was thrilled.

It was the same restaurant that they were in 18 years ago. They entered it and got a table by the window. They ordered dinner and soft music started playing in the background.

"Can I have this dance, Isabel?"

"With pleasure." They stood up and he led her to the dance floor. They swayed to the music and Michael whispered into her ear. "I'll never forget that night when we came here."

Isabel smiled, looked into his eyes intently, and said, "Our first time."

** 2002**

"Can I have this dance, Isabel?"

"Michael, I thought you didn't like to dance."

"I'd dance seven days in a row if it meant to be with you." They only had eyes for each other. "I'd do anything just to be with you. I love you, Iz."

"I love you, Michael."

He took her hand and they joined the other couples on the dance floor. They spent most of the evening dancing, hugging tightly and they barely ate any dinner at all. After a couple of hours they left and when Michael turned towards her house to drive her home, she said, "I don't feel like going home, yet."

"Where do you wanna go?" he asked her.

"Your place."

"Fine." He passed her house without stopping and after a couple of minutes they stepped into his apartment. Michael turned on the lights and Isabel used her powers to adjust them to minimum. "I don't need that much light to locate you," she explained. He smiled, lightly grabbed her around the waist and kissed her. She pushed him down on the couch and he covered her with kisses. She could feel his arousal pressing against her as much as every time they got intimate like that.

"Michael," she gasped in between kisses.

"What," he asked without letting her go and continued kissing her.

"I've been thinking. Maybe we should go...further."

"Further?" He stopped to look at her.

"You know, all the way," she blurted out.

"Are you ready for this, Iz?"

"Yes. I don't think I could ever be more ready," she said. "We've been together for four months and I've known you practically all my life. I want you to make love to me. You wanna do it, right?"

"You know I wanna do it, Isabel. I'm glad it was you that suggested it. I didn't want to rush you."

"Good. So..."

"There's just one more thing," he started. "I know we've discussed this before..."

"Right. The protection. I gave it some thought and figured it's best if I get on the pill for a couple of months and then when we're ready, we can decide differently." She indicated the fact that in a couple of months they can decide to have a baby, like they agreed the other time this conversation had come up.

"You're on the pill? Since when?" Michael was a bit surprised.

"Two weeks ago. I wanted to be prepared," she explained.

"I guess we thought of everything, then," said Michael and kissed her. Their kisses became more and more passionate and soon they had barely any clothes on. Suddenly Michael said, "Wait, I don't want our first time to be here on the couch." He looked towards the bedroom door and Isabel wanted to get up from underneath him to move, but he was faster than her. He lifted her up and carried her to his bed and closed the door behind them. After that he made the gentlest love to her the way she never could have imagined.

They both knew that it was only a matter of time for them to move together and start living the rest of their lives as one.

** 2020 **

Isabel and Michael were on their way back to their car. They had a long, romantic walk around the lake, hand in hand, watching the stars and enjoying each other's company. When they reached the car and Michael started the engine, he kissed his wife and asked

"Any place special I can take you tonight, Mrs. Guerin?"

"Yes," she answered. "Your place."