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Time seemed to stand still that night. Michael Guerin never wanted those gentle moments to stop. Rain speckled the ground in a light mist barely audible. He chose to concentrate more on the soft breaths of the woman sleeping beside him. Her tender skin resting against his own. Her blonde hair scattered beautifully over his chest as her body lay relaxed and content. It was just another moment that Michael silently expressed gratitude for – another moment that confirmed his choice to remain on earth to be the right decision.

For as safe and happy as he felt in that moment, another sensation was making his heart beat unusually quick. Why did there always have to be that other sense? He had given up on his past life – the life he didn't remember. He had no desire to pursue the alien component that comprised part of who he was. Not anymore, not since he had fallen in love and learned to care, learned to find meaning in a simple of a town as Roswell, New Mexico. So why had the feeling not gone away? Why did it still haunt him, and why was it stronger than ever before as he lay in his own bed with the gorgeous pixie asleep at his side? Damn intuition and the message it sent through the air, although too subtle to be completely acknowledged. It sat quietly in the back of Michael's head, reminding him. These times might never come again. Why did happiness like this have to end? More importantly, why did he have to sense that it would end even though nothing at all had presented itself to him to even make him believe that it would indeed end? There was no proof, no danger in their lives anymore. So why was that feeling back and stronger than in the past? Yes. Damn intuition.

He stared up at the ceiling with a new worry cramping his chest when he heard it. A soft rustling outside his bedroom window. He had left it open at Maria's behest. She wanted to smell the rain as they made love.

Michael looked over quickly enough to see a figure bolt from the opening, and in a flash he had slid Maria off him gently, laying her head back on one of the pillows. He jumped out of bed and struggled to slip on his jeans before rushing to the window. Nothing could be seen except the dripping wet grass and the weeping willow. Looking back to Maria, he saw that she was still fast asleep, and so he pushed the window closed and locked it. He strode out of the room, also locking the bedroom door as he exited. Within seconds he was outside, and the rain pushed his hair down around his forehead and face. He edged the cool October air away, ignoring the goose bumps forming along his body.

He walked along the side of the apartment complex. When he passed the window, he glanced in at Maria, who appeared to have not moved a muscle. He smirked despite the intense feeling swelling around him. He was confident she wouldn't awake to see that he had gone. She had been suffering from a heavy bout of the flu and was having a hard time sleeping. He took her to the doctor a few days before and she was given a prescription sleep aid. Ever since she began taking it, she didn't even toss and turn, kicking off the covers in her usual fashion.

 As soon as he heard the scuffling of feet, his mind shifted back outside, and he took off in a dead run to the back of the complex where the noise had arose. He pounded in his bare feet, wishing he had taken the time to slip his boots on.

The FBI had returned. Kivar had come in search of them after Tess returned to Antar. The possibilities were running circles in his head as he ran, and he thought he had named every single one of them until he came to the alley and grabbed the intruder's arm, wrenching it back so as to stop whoever it was from escaping.

"Ouch!" a feminine voice shrieked in pain from Michael's fierce grip. The black hood dropped from her head as he twisted her body to face his. All the while, Michael was realizing how familiar that voice was to him. In a matter of seconds the pained bloodshot eyes faced him. The full lips quivered in front of him, and Michael's breath caught in his throat, refusing to allow him the ability to speak.

"Let go of me, please!"

Michael stared blankly in reply.

"Michael, you're hurting me," she begged. As much as Michael didn't believe the creature in front of his eyes, he couldn't bring himself to harm her. Not with that face. He cautiously released his grip on her upper arm, and she dropped back down to her feet.

"What the hell is going on, and who the hell are you?" he fumed, filling the sudden rush of anger pulsating through his throat. Raindrops traced down his skin, the drops dripping from the tip of his nose as he glared in suspicion.

"I can explain what's going on, and you know who I am."

"Wrong. You are not Maria. Maria is in my bed right now. Asleep."

"I'm not a shape shifter or anything like that, Michael. It really is me, just not from your time."

"That makes absolutely no sense."

"Ten years from now. That's where I came from. You and I used the granolith to send me back here."

"That's a load of bull. The granolith doesn't work like that."

"Max found a way to use its energy for time travel a while back. Trust me, it does."

"No. I don't believe you're Maria. Time-traveling? No. Nuh-uh."

"We knew you wouldn't…."

"We?"

"Michael and I. I mean, my Michael. I mean, you but you ten years from now."

Michael snorted in disbelief. She even sounded like his Maria. But she couldn't be, not when he had just left her sleeping in the apartment. The emphatic way her mouth moved when she spoke; the way she moved her arm in gestures. It took his breath away, but it couldn't dismiss the fact that an unknown enemy could have taken on her face to weaken him.

"He told me to tell you about the drawings."

"Drawings?"

"Yeah. You've drawn pictures of me. Of Maria. Color pencils and oil pastels. You keep them behind a panel of the wall in the kitchen."

Michael's face tinted red as he quickly looked away. "You could have broke in and found those," he suggested, somewhat angered by the newfound embarrassment burning his neck.

"You know, if you were smart, you would show those to me. Now instead of ten years later only as a necessity.

"Did he tell you to tell me that too?"

"No, that's my bit of advice. We don't have a whole lot of time."

"You're damn right. You're going to tell me the truth or I'm going to make sure you're not around to threaten us."

"Here," she muttered in frustration. She pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper from her sweater pocket and slipped it into his hand. Michael stared at her for a minute before looking down at it. Her face was solemn. Nothing in her expression suggested evil deception. She turned away, staring at a shed in the alley to allow him privacy to read the note.

The paper collected water as he struggled to read the words with the dim moon light. He immediately recognized it to be his own handwriting.

Scared but now safe. I didn't think she'd let me in, but when she opened the window my heart leapt for the first time in two days. She doesn't know me good enough. That's my fault but as she held me I felt she had been inside of me and out. I was afraid to cry in front of her, but I couldn't stop as she tried to dry my skin. When she pushed me on her bed, there were only two words that ran through my head. Thank you. I thought I would be embarrassed, but I wasn't. I wanted to tell her, but that night it had to be enough to admit to myself. Thank you, Maria.

The feeling of tears came to his eyes, though he didn't cry. There in front of him, in his own handwriting, was the exact way he felt the night he came to her in the rain and cried in her arms. Only he had never written them down. The night had been so important to him, despite his refusal to admit it. It was the night that Michael realized the importance of Maria in his life – even though he would continue for months after to push her away.

"Michael wrote that for me to give you," her voice interrupted his memory. She was again standing in front of him. The hood of her pitch black ankle-length wrap around sweater had been replaced over her head of wet blond locks. Her hair was exactly the same as nineteen-year-old woman in his life wore it now, falling right over her chest. The rain had frazzled it but that had never made her less attractive to him before.

"He said you've never told anyone about how you felt that night…."

"Did I … did he show you?"

Maria nodded slightly, looking back into his eyes. Michael shook away the emotions.

"If you really are from the future, tell me what you're doing here."

"You don't believe me completely, do you?"

After a moment, Michael shook his head. He sighed and ran a hand through his wet hair.

"Go to Liz. Max came back once before. He came to her to change something. Go to her and ask her for the story. And Michael, don't tell me … Maria … that I'm here. It's too big of a risk."

"Then what?" he asked, irritated by not being told the complete story.

"Meet me tomorrow morning at Buckley's Point. At eight."

"Is it big? I mean, what you came back here for?"

"I came to make you change history." Maria forced a smile before she turned around and walked down the raven alley. Michael watched the woman make her way further into the night, trying to comprehend that it was his lover walking through the rain, only ten years older. So many questions flooded his head.

Maria crossed her slender arms across her chest, fighting the cold that tried to sting her chest. She swallowed the hard lump that had settled into her throat and wondered how she would be able to not only explain what Michael had to do, but how she would be able to accept it. Little did Michael know what he needed to do would not just change the future but also the present. With his actions, he would embark on a chain of events that would change life as he and the others knew it, and Maria lamented in the fact that if they were to succeed, they would all live a completely different life – separate from each other. Worse, she lamented because it was a necessity; it was the only way.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Michael paced back and forth in front of the bed. It was one-thirty in the morning. He couldn't wait until light to ask Liz, but he was damn sure he couldn't leave Maria there asleep, alone. He looked again to the sleeping creature in his bed, silent and unmoving. Despite the new and potentially threatening situation, her beauty still overwhelmed him. The incessant need to keep her safe made his decision. The sooner he acted, the safer everyone he cared about would be.

Sighing he knelt on the floor beside her. "Maria," he called softly as he shook her. He called her again when he received no response. A few minutes later she moaned, remaining half-asleep. "Come on, Maria. We need to go somewhere."

He helped her sit up. She didn't open her eyes and didn't appear to awake. The prescription had really wiped her out. He reached over to the oak nightstand to grab her sweater. He slipped the lavender long-sleeve over her tank top as she struggled to remain upright. "Michael?" she mumbled, disoriented.

"We need to see Liz," he informed her as he retrieved her jeans.

"All right," she whispered, and it was clear to Michael that she had no idea what was going on. He was grateful. The other Maria – he had no idea of what else to call her – had warned him not to let her know what was going, and he wasn't stupid. He would take no chances. Once he got her jeans on, he picked her up and leaned her against his chest.

"Let's go, sleeping beauty," he uttered, striding out of the room. Sometimes he surprised himself at how affectionate he sometimes could be, especially when Maria was asleep, which always made it easier for him.

He tenderly placed her in the Jetta before hopping in the driver's seat and heading for Liz's place.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The heavy and hurried knock on her window sent Liz Parker upright in her bed, gasping for air. She looked over, startled, as she tried to clear the sleep from her eyes. Stumbling out of bed, her body shook in expectations of seeing Max Evans waiting outside her bedroom window. When she stepped closer, she was surprised and slightly disappointed to see Michael standing on the roof. As she began releasing the lock, she noticed he was staring over the edge, looking down at something.

"Michael," she called in a loud whisper. He glanced over to her and then back down to the ground.

"Is everything okay?" she asked. He began talking as he quickly made his way to the window.

"I need to ask you about something about the granolith."

Liz stared at him quizzically. Why would Michael believe she knew anything about the granolith that he didn't? Had Maria told him the story after she confided in her?

"Can you unlock the door to the Crashdown? Maria's asleep in the car. I need to bring her in."

"Is she okay?" Liz asked, and Michael could see the sudden worry tense up her expression.

"Yeah. The sleep aid she's taking for the flu. Wiped her out."

"All right. I'll be right down."

"Thanks." Michael turned to make his way back down the ladder and to Maria.

Less than two minutes later, Liz was unlocking one of the café's doors to let Michael carry Maria inside. "Bring her to my bedroom," Liz instructed, and Michael nodded slightly. She followed him upstairs, feeling a special place in her heart melt for her friend. She certainly remembered all the tortured nights Maria had spent believing Michael would never care about her, that the two had never been meant to be together. If Maria could only see his affection for her now, she was thinking. The couple had come so far since the entire gang had been flung together by the crucial secret

"So why do you think I know anything about the granolith?" Liz asked as soon as she pulled back the comforter of her bed and Michael set Maria down. She moaned softly and rolled onto her side. He draped the blanket over her petite body, staring at her another moment before turning to Liz.

"Maria told me something about Max using it for time-travel…."

Liz sighed. "I told her not to tell you."

"Oh, she didn't."

Liz stared, completely confused.

"But a certain twenty-nine year-old Maria definitely informed me of it."

Her brown eyes grew wide instantaneously. "Oh my gawd," she said quietly.

"Yeah…. She told me to ask you for the story. Did Max really come back from the future?"

When she nodded slowly, Michael let his breath out slowly. "Sit down, Liz. You need to tell me everything."

And for the following two hours, Liz explained the entire story. Michael listened intently, his trust in the future Maria growing with every one of Liz's words. She was who she said she was, and she had come back in order to change something. Tomorrow morning, he would find out just what that something was. By the look of that woman's saddened face, it couldn't be good.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The sunlight of the Saturday morning filtered through the window, falling over Michael's bed. Maria pushed her eyelids open and yawned. She stretched her arms in contentment at the solid night's sleep she had just experienced. When she noticed Michael's absence, she sauntered through the room-brightening sunbeams and out into the rest of the apartment. She jumped back when she found Liz asleep on the couch.

"Liz?"

Liz's eyes pried themselves open, squinting at the same shining sun that Maria had been basking in.

"What are you doing here?" Maria walked over to her as Liz unwillingly sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Sleeping, Maria."

"Yes, I see that," she replied with a grin. "But why are you here on Michael's couch?"

Liz glimpsed at her best friend from behind her hands as she tried rubbing any form of energy into her face. Michael had asked her to come back with them after their talk. He had to leave to meet at Buckley's Point but still felt wary of leaving Maria alone. Liz tried convincing him that her being there would only ignite a trillion questions to spurt from Maria's mouth in typical, rapid-fire Maria fashion. Michael disagreed, riding on the hope that she would be too tired to awake before eleven, which would give him enough time to make it back.

But it was only eight-thirty and here Maria was, kneeling beside her, wide awake.

"Umm … Well, Michael had to do something and he didn't want you to wake up to an empty place and start worrying?" Liz smiled hopefully.

"He could've left a note," Maria insisted, "and as much as Michael's vastly improved in the area of being a good boyfriend, I don't think he would take the extreme step to insure I wouldn't wake up by myself unless something was seriously wrong. So spill, girlfriend."

"Maria," Liz said in a warning tone, as if telling her not to push any further, but the look in Maria's eyes was enough for Liz to mentally admit that it would only be a matter of time before she was forced to cave.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 "Hey, space boy."

Michael spun around to find her stepping out from behind the patch of conifers. She wore the same long black sweater, and her arms were crossed, but she wore a comforting smile. He felt a sudden sense of warmth to find out that she still used that nickname for him.

"Did you go to Liz?"

He nodded slowly. He watched her graceful steps as she neared him. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she had pulled her hair up into a bun, a few thing strands bouncing around in the wind.

"So now you believe me. On to the hard part."

"Where did you stay last night?"

"My house. I knew I wouldn't run into my younger self since she was with you. And it felt kind of good to be in my old room again."

"What do I need to do?"

She whipped out a small notebook from her back jean pocket and held it up. "Take these calculations and program the granolith according to them."

Michael watched her skeptically. "Now you're saying the granolith can be programmed?"

"I made it here, didn't I? It's got a lot of uses, buddy."

Michael shrugged, feeling awkward listening to Maria inform him of the alien mechanism. The strangeness of Maria knowing more about it than he did left him unsettled. Okay, so the granolith could do more than have a diamond stick inserted into it and send wretched, impregnated criminals hurdling through space. Even though their one and only chance at getting home had been used on Tess, he should have known better that the granolith could be used for something else.

"But wait a minute. Remember the whole shot-Tess-into-space incident? The granolith was destroyed. We saw the rock crumble."

Maria shook her head. "No. It's still there. The force from the ship's launch pushed it below surface. The entire thing."

Michael watched her, not even bothering to suppress his surprise. The gang had stayed away from the entire area for fear of any government activity that might have emerged after the multitude of reports of seeing an object whiz through the sky. It had been five months since, but no one had a burning desire to return there, and the topic of inspecting the sight never really came up. They had assumed everything had been destroyed. But now she was standing in front of him, telling him that it had been the wrong assumption.

"Why are those calculations so important? What's going on ten years from now, Maria?"

"Ten years ago, five months ago for you, when we used the granolith to send Tess back, it gave its location away. Tess could have told him where it was once she reached your home planet. We don't know if she did, but either way, they simply had to come here and listen to all the hoopla about the sighting and it would have led them straight to it."

"All Kivar wants is that granolith. He wants it returned to Antar, and he wants you and Max and Isabel dead."

"I didn't need you to come back to tell me that."

Maria tossed her hands up in the air, emphasizing her mild annoyance. "We still don't know why it took so long, but Kivar is here. And he's pretty ticked off. He captured Max two days ago."

Michael tried to swallow but was prevented in doing so by the slow lump that had formed in his throat.

"He won't kill him until he returns to Antar with all three of you. He wants to make a public display of your deaths, Michael." Her lips trembled suddenly. The only emotion he had evoked from the future Maria ever since he first saw her last night was solemnity and a saddened admiration. But now the fear emerged completely, causing he himself to shudder at such a sight. "He killed Liz … in front of all of us…."

"Oh gawd. Maria." He reached out to her, almost forgetting where she came from. Her green eyes had a permanent pained look sitting inside of them and she didn't bother with a single hint of makeup, not even the natural glows his Maria brushed on every morning. But she was still Maria no matter how grown up. She collapsed into his arms. "It's like Max gave up after that. He's just waiting to be killed too. You dragged me to the granolith that night, before Kivar made it there, and you gave me the calculations and explained everything that needed to be done."

"Why didn't you program it from your own time period?" Michael asked, and Maria pulled away, trying desperately to regain a shred of composure. She hadn't even gotten to the hard part yet.

"Alex has come to figure out the inner workings of that damn granolith pretty well over the years. He figured that-"

"Wait…. Alex? But he …"

"Died, yes. Three years from now, you and Max went back to the granolith and figured the whole time travel thing out. You went back in time to before the accident and exposed Tess."

"Damn. This time travel thing is pretty popular."

Maria forced a brief laugh. She looked up at the over towering trees as the sun fell down in flowing streams of light, creating patches of sunbursts all over the soil.

"So in three years, we'll see Alex again? You can even tell me now and we can bring him back. Change things." He couldn't help the sudden grin that had uncharacteristically formed along his lips. He felt like he was holding some kind of a balloon of hope. Maria would be truly happy, and that was all that mattered. He looked over to the darkly dressed woman only to find an even darker expression. His balloon burst.

"It's not why I came back, Michael. That can't happen now."

"You said I had to change history. So how do I change the future?"

"By changing the past."

Michael rubbed the back of his neck, not expecting that answer. He kicked the dirt with his boot. "I don't get it."

"Like I was just saying, Alex figured out, through thousands of calculations, you can only change certain things while in certain time periods. As complex as the granolith is, we couldn't go back far enough in time to change what needs to be changed."

"So roughly ten years back is the limit we can travel?"

Maria nodded and looked up to him. "And that explains why Kivar waited ten years to come to earth. He knew we wouldn't be able to go back and change anything to prevent it by then."

Michael smirked. "But he didn't count on the intelligence of a certain computer geek extraordinaire to figure out a way around that." She grinned, enjoying the pride Michael took for her friend.

"And Alex did find a way. That's what these calculations are. See. The way the granolith works is that it evolves slowly, almost like it's a huge … machine-looking plant. It won't be ready for time travel for three years from your time – 2001. But with Alex's calculations, you can program it to work anyway."

"Okay. So all that explains why you guys couldn't do anything in your own time period. Why didn't you just go the granolith yourself once you came here?"

"I need a certain alien body to wave their magical hand over the opening to get inside. It's a special-powers kind of thing. And even if I were an alien, I couldn't open it. I'm not from this time. It wouldn't work."

Michael nodded "And why were you the one to come back?"

"Because Max was captured. And you, ever the egomaniac, only trusted yourself in doing something so important, but since you – you being the future Michael – couldn't get into the granolith for lack of being from this time, and can't run into your present self for fear of both of you spontaneously combusting, you thought I'd be the one you would most trust to convince you to go through with it until the mission was complete."

Michael let out a breath, only vaguely understanding what the hell she had just said. Ten years from now, and he could still look forward to Maria's effective rambling.

"Well he, or I, was right. I trust you the most."
Maria blushed slightly. Michael noticed and momentarily switched to a lighter subject. "So, are we going to have a happy next ten years?" He was surprised at the flash of pain that slammed her delicate face at the question. Disappointment sped through his pumping veins.

"We certainly did have an amazing ten years," Maria affirmed. "But that's why I came back…."

"What? What are these calculations going to do?" Alarm rose up through his voice and his face grew defensive.

"Once you program the granolith," she began as she took long breaths to bring the color back to her face, "those specific calculations will change one single thing in the past."

"What?" he asked as the tension rose. His impatience grew three-fold in mere second. He watched the new tears brim over her soft cheeks for the first time. Ten years from now, and she still cried; she was still in torment because of the horrible secret he had inadvertently burdened her with. How foolish had he been to believe that the intergalactic worries would disappear if he simply desired them to be gone.

"You don't need to go back in time. Alex designed the program to alone change the events of that day … that day in September. In the Crashdown."

"You mean the day Liz was shot?"

Maria nodded numbly.

"What event is it going to change?" It was obvious that Michael still lay in the dark on what she was explaining. She heaved in the cool air as if struggling to remain in control.

"If Alex's calculations are precise, then you and Max won't be in the Crashdown when the gun goes off. That's the one and only thing that was set differently. But it changes everyone's lives."

Michael shook his head in disbelief. He felt an ache inside his own chest beneath the black of his t-shirt. "No. No. I can't believe you're going to do that."

Maria ignored his comment, continuing, "Because Max isn't there, Liz won't be healed. Max never calls suspicion to himself. The Sheriff never bothers with any of you. I never find out about the secret. No one will ever think you're anybody but three normal teenagers living in Roswell, New Mexico. You never find the pictures of the handprints in Valenti's office and so you never know about Nasedo. There are no encounters with the Skins. No Tess. You live on Earth, never finding anything about your origin – too busy hiding from the unknown."

"… But Liz dies." Michael hung his head, struggling to stay calm. He had to be strong.

"Exactly," she replied with stinging blood-shot eyes. "Alex worked for months trying to find a different way. God knows he tried, Michael. It was hard enough getting me exactly ten years into the past with the calculations that will change an event two years before now. He could only figure out how to change you and Max's location that day because you're not … not completely human."

"That's why he couldn't get rid of the guy with the gun or have Liz sick that day?"

"Exactly. I told you that damn granolith is complicated."

"I can't do it, Maria."

"You have to."

"It will change everything."

"Don't you see, Michael? You have to change everything by starting from the beginning! Kivar will never find you this way. You don't understand. He's going to destroy Earth just as soon as he has all three of you and returns home. Right before he took Max and um, and did what he did to Liz, we all agreed it had to be done. We all know it's the only way…."

"Damnit!" he shouted, and the echo sounded no less angry. He grimaced as he kicked a nearby stone. He kicked another rock. He slammed his fist into the rough bark of a tree. Blood immediately crept out from the newfound lacerations. Maria stopped holding back her sobs.

"I'm sorry, Michael."

Her words forced him to stop dead in his tracks. Sorry? He knew he was the one who should be apologizing. His alien background had interfered with her life in such magnitude he could hardly comprehend it. She stood there, her back to him, trembling. She stood there having to dwell on the fact that she was about to give up the life she had known for the past twelve years and live one without her best friend in the world.

Despite his fury, he stepped up behind her in a quick and silent second, wrapping his sturdy arms around her shoulders. "I am so sorry."

"Those were his last words to me." She hung her head down against her chest, exposing the back of her neck to his blurred eyes. And he momentarily felt wrong for holding her. As much as they both knew he and the Michael ten years from then were the same person, they both knew they weren't. If everything worked precisely according to Alex's calculations, she would never see that Michael again. The Michael who had shared the countless memories the one presently holding her never would to experience. It shattered her heart unnoticed in the silence.

Not wanting to proceed, but knowing the necessity of doing so, he muttered, "You've always been the strongest woman I've ever laid eyes on, Maria DeLuca."

She smiled through her tears even though he couldn't see it. While she was still turned away from him but remaining inside the enclosure of his arms, she whispered back, "It's Maria Guerin." With that, she broke away and began walking. Without looking back, she gestured for him to follow her to the Jetta.

Michael's heart soared and sank in the exact same micro-second. He found himself crying as he followed her, sorely afraid of the future, knowing it could never be again spent with that spectacular woman … knowing that not even his present or past spent with her was going to prevail.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Maria sat cross-legged on the couch, a complete bundle of nerves. Michael opened the door, and she snapped her head to see him walk inside.

"Thank gawd, Michael. What happened?" She rushed over to him, her hair tied back in a ponytail.

He stared at her awkwardly, his left hand jammed inside his dark blue jean pocket. Nervously he handed her several purple wild flowers, bunched together at the stems with a white satin ribbon. "Um, here."

She stared blankly at them, but nevertheless accepting them. "Very nice, Michael, but I know that is not why you left. Liz told me."

"Damnit, Liz!" he called out into the apartment, and Liz stumbled out of the bathroom, running a comb through her damp hair.

"Michael!" Liz's doe eyes got wide like they usually did when she defended herself. "She gave me that look. You know the look. She wasn't going to stop until she got what she needed to hear."

He merely sighed and pushed gently past Maria further into the apartment. It was only ten-thirty. Liz, dressed in black slacks and royal blue sweater sat silently on the couch which Maria had just vacated. All three in the room were now aware of the latest visit from the future, and the knowledge presented itself in a burdening silence. When it became apparent that Michael wasn't going to voluntarily explain his meeting, Maria took it upon herself to prod him.

"So you're sure it really was me from the future?"

He glanced up at her as he poured a bowl of cereal and nodded before turning to grab the milk cartoon.

"Oh my gawd. This is just too freaky. So how did I look?"

Liz giggled behind her.

"Like you."

Maria tossed her hands in the air to emphasize her frustration. Michael grinned. "Leave it to you to be vague."

"She did that… You did that."

She looked at him, confused and expecting an extended answer. "Did what?"

"That thing with your hands. She got annoyed just like that."

"What did she want, Michael?"

Leave it to Liz to ask the one legitimate question he didn't want to answer.

"Nothing. I'll take care of it."

"Michael Guerin, if Liz and I didn't have to go to work, I would wring your neck until you told me the truth." She grabbed her bag off the couch. "So expect that tonight." She winked, feigning evil as she and Liz walked out. It was all he could do to keep up the act until he heard the click of the door closing. He let his breath out in a heavy sigh, clutching his countertop. How could he do this? How could he be the one to ignite a string of events that insured him never loving Maria and Liz dying?

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was nine-thirty when Max walked into the Crashdown in his usual quiet manner. The café was devoid of any customers. Liz was busy cleaning behind the counter when she looked up and caught his gaze, causing a grin to appear on both their faces.

"Hey," he greeted her, seating himself on the center stool. "Busy tonight?" he asked, noticing she looked flustered.

"No more than usual, but I told Maria to go home early. She's still sick and I could tell she was getting really worn down."

As if on cue, the bell on the door chimed, and in sauntered Maria, dressed in a long dark sweater.

"Maria! What are you doing back here?" Liz placed her hands on her hips, supporting her friendly but accusatory tone. Maria couldn't contain the smile on her face for the life of her.

"Lizzie!" she bounded behind the counter and pulled the girl into her arms. She was beaming and Liz let her jaw drop. Max stared at the two in utter confusion. But then again, he never could completely understand the way those two ladies' minds worked when they were together.

"What is going on?" Liz asked, breaking away from her. When she stared into the blonde's face, she saw it. Her face was exactly like it was ten years ago, practically. The differences were ones that Liz couldn't explain verbally. No words would do justice in explaining what about her face made her realize the difference, but she had realized it.

"You're…."

Maria nodded slightly. She had seen her younger self head home, and she couldn't resist seeing Liz one last time. She looked over at a bewildered Max and her body felt suddenly weak like she was going to collapse. The extreme desire to return to a time simpler than her own world took over her senses. A time when Liz was still happy, alive, and with Max.

"Wow," Liz breathed. "You look almost exactly the same."

Maria hugged her again. You do too, Liz. You do too." From over her shoulder her frown crept back up. She would never see that age, though. If everything worked, Liz wouldn't even see the age she was living now, and it killed her. Deep down Maria knew too. Deep down she knew she couldn't bear to not have Liz or Michael. Deep down Maria knew she might do something that would insure herself not living to this age either. She viciously shook thoughts of suicide away as she displayed a false grin.

"Can I ask what is going on?" Max intervened from the opposite side of the counter.

Liz gave Maria a look, silently asking her if it was okay. She nodded slowly. Liz smiled and took Max's hand, leading him to the end of the counter and into the back room. Maria squeezed her green eyes shut. "This time will never come again," she whispered into the stillness of the vacant room before leaving herself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The school's halls were musty as if a fog had rolled in and settled throughout the entire building. Michael struggled through the haze as the students around him walked about as if going through the routine of another day. His puzzled eyes came across Max striding towards him. He reached out with his arm and caught Max by the shoulder. "Maxwell. What the hell is going on?"

"What do you mean, Michael?"

Max's eyes looked bloodshot and ugly dark circles clung to the skin below his eyes. His tone was uncaring. His face was somber.

"Take a look around you."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I have to get to class," he stated in the same tone, his dull mannerisms clarifying his new distaste for school. He just didn't care. Maria was slowly stuffing things into her locker across the hall. When Michael caught sight of her, he stopped interrogating Max, allowing him to scurry off to a class he didn't want to attend anyhow. He went up to Maria.

He leaned his left arm against the locker beside hers and stared at her profile, noticing her beautiful eyes to be dark and puffy too.

The fact that her hair was once again short was of no relevance to him. She looked suspiciously over to him.

"Excuse me?" she asked tartly.

"What's wrong?"

"Do I even know you?"

"Maria! It's Michael. What the hell is wrong with you."

"Oh yeah. Michael Guerin. The guy in class who's only in class every other week. This school's biggest slacker."

"No. What the hell is going on here? You know me."

"Whatever. I'm in no mood for any cruel jokes or any funny games. I am just trying to get through the day without breaking down."

"Why?" he asked outrageously.

"Why? Like I said, you don't know me. You wouldn't know my best friend in the whole world was just killed."

She pushed past him and walked over to Alex, who comforted her as she walked away. Oh gawd. The nausea began to form in Michael's stomach. It happened. Time had been changed. So why did he still remember how things were? How they should have been? Isabel quickly approached him. "We have to do something about Max."

"What?"

"He's carrying on like his world just ended."

"Liz was killed, Is. Of course he feels that way."

Isabel gawked at him. "He blames himself. We all know it was good he wasn't there when it happened, or he would have exposed everything." She grabbed his arm and pulled him down the hall, through the fog.

"He should have been there."

"What are you saying, Michael?"

"I'm saying that Liz should have been saved. Everything would have been different."

"You're right it would be different. We'd be opening the door on our secret and our lives would be completely ruined. Thank gawd."

"No," he stated firmly, his sanity slipping. "No, our lives are ruined now! This can't be right. Maria acts like I'm a simpleton she never wants to lay eyes on. She has that look on her face like she's going to try something stupid. She's so depressed…."

"Michael. Whoa. Hold on. Are you talking about that Maria from the Crashdown? She's a nutcase. A totally weird individual."

"Isabel, she just lost her best friend!"

Isabel looked hurt momentarily. "I know. Since when did you become Mr. Sensitivity? You don't even know Maria."

"That's the problem! I do know her. But now. Things are so incredibly wrong, Is. This isn't how it should be. I can't live in this way… It's like Maria doesn't know me. It's like we've never met."

"Michael. You're scaring me!"

"This is scaring me. I don't want to be in this world. Not if it means we don't know each other. Living like we never met. If we never met….."

"Michael!" Isabel screamed. "Michael!"

"Michael!"

The fog in the hallway overwhelmed him, becoming too thick to make out the lockers or even Isabel. The icy gray of the haze soon transformed into a pitch black, which then turned into a dull orange glow. He opened his eyes groggily to find Maria hovering over him, her golden tresses hanging down and brushing his cheek. Startled, he lurched up, bumping his forehead against Maria's.

"Ouch!" they both mumbled, rubbing the point of impact.

"Sorry," Michael breathed, wiping the beads of sweat from his face.

"You were having a nightmare. Are you all right?"

He pulled her down onto the couch beside him as he sat up, all the while never taking his eyes off of her. "Maria, I love you." He took her into his arms, holding the back of her head against his chest.

"I love you too, Michael." She could hear his rapid heart beat as his chest heave in and out. He was scared, and she knew it. "What was the nightmare?"

"I don't want us to never meet."

"What are you talking about?"

"If we never met, my life would be so empty. I want more than an empty feeling. I want you."

"You have me… Wait. Does this have to do with that whole future thing?"

Michael nodded solemnly. Maria prodded him to tell her the story, and hesitantly he did. When he had finished, Maria had collapsed back into his arms in a fit of sobs. "You can't do it, Michael."

"If I don't, you know what will happen."

She only answered him in muffled sobs. "Why does this have to happen? Isn't there another way?"

"I've tried, Maria. I sat here all day and I can't think of a single other solution. I tried, baby."

"Try harder!" she almost shouted at him. She began to pound his chest angrily. He grabbed her wrists gently, tears sliding down his own cheeks.

"I'd go back in time and handle it myself. I'd do something. But she told me on the drive back that the granolith isn't advanced enough yet to take me back physically. Not even with Alex's calculations." Again, Michael forced Maria back into his arms as he began to rock her shivering body. The two clung together in the seclusion of his apartment. Life as they knew it seemed to be coming to its end. "Let's go to bed," he mumbled.

"Why? So I can go to sleep in your arms only to wake up in a totally different life and remember nothing about you and you nothing about me?"

Michael shushed her as he ran his hand up and down her back. Rain began to fall just at it had the previous night. The air in his apartment was ached in a comforting coolness in the exact way it had the evening before. For as much as the external conditions seemed to mirror just another night, both knew nothing was the same.

"I love you so much," she whispered when her tears had subsided slightly. "That's why we can't just give up like this."

"If there was another way, I'd take it in a heartbeat, Maria."

"I just can't believe this is happening. We went through this once, and when it was over and you were still here, I thought things would be stable and things would be great. And now … we're right back to losing each other again. Liz can't die in the Crashdown. I can't live a life without either one of you."

"I know, Maria. Damnit, I know." The sound of pounding made them both jump even closer together. Michael kissed her forehead before walking to the door. He opened it slightly, to see the other Maria on the other side.

"Is she asleep?" she asked him.

"No, she's not. She's on the couch."

"Is that her? Am I standing out there?" Maria walked up behind Michael, realizing how odd her question sounded. Michael quickly closed the door.

"Maria," he stated sternly. "You can't see her."

"I just came by to make sure you were still going through with it in the morning," the voice called through the door, and Maria's jaw dropped. She knew it was an older version of herself outside that door, but she hadn't truly thought it out. Hearing her own voice shocked her.

"We were just talking it over."

"There's nothing to talk over, Michael. You have to do this."

"How can you tell him to do that? The real me would not sacrifice the life of Liz Parker. She's my best friend. We're sisters and we don't need blood to tell us that."

"The entire world will be destroyed. This is the biggest sacrifice, but we all have to make it."

"No. There has to be another way." Maria ran a hand through her silky blonde locks, appearing to become even more unnerved.

"Michael. Listen to me, if you don't do this, Kivar will be on earth in ten years. Believe me, and then we will all die anyway."

"No. Michael. Listen to me!" She tugged on his arm, and Michael watched helplessly. He couldn't believe what was happening. Now he had two Maria's to please. There they were, practically identical, ten years and a different world separating them, but they were one in the same. And they were arguing at each other from either side of the door.

"Maria. I know you. Of course I know you," the twenty-nine year old spoke. "So take out that vial of cedar oil and take a huge whiff, chica. The real Maria would do the right thing. The entire world is at stake."

Maria placed her hands on her hips and stared at Michael. She was wearing a black clingy sweater and dark blue jeans. She was wearing white ballet shoes, and she had known damn well that the simple outfit would turn him on. She sucked her top lip with her bottom one just like she always did. Michael closed his eyes and grimaced. His heart ached. To know that he'd never experience this feeling inside again. Without the secret of his origin to propel them into each other's lives, he knew they would never discover each other to be soul mates. It made him wonder how many people ever really did find 'the one.'

"You're right. I will do the right thing. The entire world is at stake. If we find another way, though."

"Alex spent months on this! There is no other way. I wish so badly that there was. I don't want to give Michael up. I want you to live the ten years I lived. Maria, I lived our dreams. We all did. Alex alive and well. He and Isabel finally madly in love. Liz and Max together again. Michael and I…. But as much as I know you want that peace, it can't happen. It will only end with utter destruction unless you make sure Liz is never saved in the Crashdown…."

"You can't make Michael do that." She looked again at his face. His eyes were still closed as he stood aiding the door as a barrier between the two. "You can't do this to Liz. I can't do this to Liz."

"Liz was killed by Kivar two days before I came here. In front of all of us," she sobbed through the door. "You must do this. I know you don't think you're strong enough. But believe me, you are. I was even though I didn't realize it until years after. It has to be done."

Maria crumpled against Michael's side. "Why can't Michael just go back in time and change that day? Fix it? Instead of just altering Max and Michael's location."

"Alex said that Michael couldn't go physically. It wasn't advanced enough for him. I told you there is no other way."

"Wait a minute. It wasn't advanced enough for Michael. Michael! Remember when you told me what Nasedo said about your powers?"

"No."

"Well you did. And…"

"That's right," future Maria cut in, a new tone resounding in her voice. Michael's eyes widened as Maria gave a slight grin as she listened.

"Nasedo said your powers are what make you advanced. The granolith can't transport you to another time yet because it hasn't evolved to handle the advances in your blood cells and mental capacity used for your powers."

"I can go," Maria pulled her hair back, amazed at the new and much more desired option.

"No. I don't like the sound of it. Maybe Alex didn't mean that at all. Maybe it can't take any physical form – fully human or not. What if something happens?" He stared down at her, not even bothering to hide the fear in his voice. He grabbed her hand as if he needed to hold her to not fall himself. His legs wobbled. "What if you die?"

"Then you program the calculations as Alex had them and go through with the original plan."

"What do you think?" he called out to the other side of the door.

She smiled from the hallway, although no one could see it. She jumped up and down on her toes. "It just might work. Oh gawd, I hope it works." The perkiness of Maria had not worn off, even when she was pushing forward. Michael silently prayed it would work. He had a lot of life to enjoy with her.

"The calculations need to be adjusted. Only follow the steps for time travel. Not the following pages of altering the specific event since we're actually sending her through the hole."

"Yeah, okay," Michael answered nervously. Maria had attached herself to his chest, her arms circling his waist.

"Leave here at dawn," she instructed from the hall. I'll be there waiting, but I won't show myself until Maria has gone back. I'll see you later, Michael." She pulled the hood over her head and smiled slightly as her boots clapped against the floorboards of the hallway. "I'm so glad I have enough spunk to doubt myself," she chirped while flying down the stairs, a new skip in her step. For the first time, she allowed herself to dream of going back to her Michael, her family, with Liz alive and well.

But everything had to work out precisely first, and in Roswell, New Mexico – at least for the group of humans and hybrids – nothing ever worked out precisely. Nothing worked out just fine without some major obstacles….

Conclusion will be posted SOON! As in next two days soon.