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Mmluver89

can't believe she figured it out on her own.

I think that the fact that she grew up in Roswell helped her coming to that conclusion. Had Maria lived in Salem, she might have thought that Michael was a wizard!

Guerindeluca - don't worry, there will be times where Isabel will show, in her own way, how much she cares about Alex. But you'll have to wait a little for that.

Zfehrian

So now that Maria knows one alien and Liz/Alex know the other, the two groups shall come together.

The thing is, Max and Isabel don't know Michael, aren't aware of his existence and Alex/Liz and Maria are growing apart more and more everyday. So how would the two groups come together? We are not saying that it won't happen, just that the progresses in this story will be slow. It's a fic about discovery, about growing up, about dealing with friends and families, without the alien interference which existed in the show (although you'll get to see some protagonists before the end of the fic).

Aquasixio - Glad to know that you enjoy the story. We hope that this new part won't disappoint you.

Aussiekath

I"ve just found this & am really enjoying it and enough updates already written until the end of 2008!!!! You just made my day.

Thank you and welcome among our readers.

Now, a little update on the state of the story. We have finished writing part 59, which leads us to the end of December 2008. Now, the story still goes on after Part 59 since 65% of the story is written by then. So expect to read this story until…. Hmm, let's be optimistic, August 2009 ?

We are sorry if this seems too long but we don't want to rush, and we want to slowly develop our characters, the relationships and show a candy love story taking place in a more peaceful environment. It might be a different kind of candy fic so we hope that you'll still like it when we reach the end.

And good news, we are working on another story, a post-Graduation one. We have no idea when it's going to be posted since we have only 5 parts ready for now. But now you know that you'll have something else to read from us.

Part 14

Michael froze when she sat down beside him, not expecting it when her arms came around him from behind him and she rested her chin on his left shoulder. "You can tell me anything, Michael, you know that, right?"

God, he hoped so. He looked at her, trying to decide what to say. His raked his hands through his hair as he finally stepped off of the ledge and took the big jump. "I just didn't want you to get hurt. Yesterday, I mean. You grabbed that bush and as soon as it came loose from the ground and I saw that rock comin' down, I knew you were gonna get hurt." He winced and glanced at the hill where it had occurred. "I didn't have time to think, I just reacted and… I'm not like everybody else, Maria."

Maria raised her eyes to the heavens. Now there was a shock… not! "I think we've established that."

He snorted derisively. "Yeah, I guess we have." His right hand came up and he threaded his fingers through hers, encouraged when she didn't pull away or tense up.

"So, I'm right then?" Maria insisted, trying to control her eagerness as she waited for him to confirm her belief.

"About the alien thing?"

Maria rolled her eyes at his obtuse response. "Yes, Michael, about the alien thing."

"Yeah, you're right." He turned his head and glanced at her for just a moment before his gaze went back to the desert. "I don't usually have so little control over my… powers. When my emotions get involved, it's a little harder to maintain that control."

"So, you're admitting your emotions are involved here?" Relief flooded her entire body when she saw his profile relax into the familiar smirk. Her gaze traveled down to his hand where it was linked with hers, his thumb rubbing her wrist absently as he pondered his answer.

"You know you can't tell anyone about this, right?"

"You're kidding, right?" Maria braced her left hand on his shoulder and pushed back to look at him. "I was planning to call the UFO museum as soon as I got home today." She shoved his shoulder when he looked at her sharply. "I have my very own alien; why would I wanna share you with anyone else?" She grinned when he only grunted and looked away, pretending he hadn't been the least bit concerned. "Okay, tell me all about yourself; I wanna know everything."

"Everything, huh?" He chuckled. "There's not really that much to tell, Maria."

Her left hand cradled his stubborn jaw and she turned his head to force his gaze to hers. "Tell me about your home planet, Spaceboy," she insisted, her tone teasing.

"Can't do that."

Maria studied his expression. "Can't or won't?"

"Can't tell you what I don't know," he said quietly. "I don't remember anything before bein' found wanderin' around in the desert when I was about six or so."

She frowned when his eyes became dull and he looked away. "Hey, look at me." She waited until he complied with her demand before she spoke again. "Tell me what you do know." Maria turned towards him and pulled her legs up, bending the right one at the knee and pressing it against his side while draping the left one across his lap. "Not all of us had an ideal childhood, Michael; you can tell me about it without worrying that I'm gonna pass judgment. You said you were found when you were six, right?"

"Yeah, River Dog found me." He nodded at her look of recognition. "My grandfather, he's the one who found me."

His previous revelation shocked Maria to her very core. "You had just been left alone in the desert? There were no others like you?"

"Apparently not." He shrugged. "I couldn't speak, I couldn't understand him when he talked, and I was terrified of him so I kept runnin' away, but he spent weeks out there tryin' to get me to trust him. He'd bring food out and put it where he knew I'd find it, he brought clothes out, but it took some time before I figured out what to do with them, and he brought blankets out so I didn't freeze durin' the nights." He could easily recall the memories and feelings with crystal-clear clarity even though twelve years had passed, and as he talked his mind conjured them up.

The sun was hot on his bare flesh and the sun-heated sand burned his little feet as he crept around the outcropping of rocks to peer at the being that had been lurking around. He leaned forward, craning his neck when the being moved out of his line of sight and he jumped back when the heated rocks seared the palms of his hands. The darkness had come and gone several times since he had awakened and the strange being had shown up two times ago. He had stayed away from the being, carefully watching it from a distance, but it had come towards him before the darkness and he had been trapped with nowhere to go. The being had been pushed away when the little boy had raised his hands and thought that he wanted it to go away. The bright flash of light had frightened him and he had run back to the small place hidden in the rocks, huddling in a little ball and shuddering as tears tracked down his dirty cheeks.

He fell asleep after a while and when he awoke once again, the darkness had fallen across the sand near the entrance of his hiding place. He crept out and peered around, pausing to listen before he crawled out and slowly walked around the rocks, listening hard for anything that sounded out of place. When he finally reached the place where he had last seen the being, he noticed some things sitting on one of the rocks. All of his senses were on alert as he crept along soundlessly, and his eyes darted around fearfully as he reached up to touch the colorful thing.

He scrambled up onto the rock when he caught the scent of food and he was reaching for it when he suddenly pulled his hand back and scanned the desert suspiciously. When he was satisfied that it was safe, he snatched up the first thing he could reach, sniffing it curiously before taking a bite of it. He chewed it fast, but as the flavor burst on his tongue he made a face and spit it out. The rest of the thing followed suit and ended up in the sand, thrown as far away as he could get it before he reached for the next thing. It was spongy and the color of the bright light that came after the darkness, and he sniffed it cautiously before taking a small, tentative bite. This time the taste was better and he shoved a handful of the stuff in his mouth, chewing furiously before swallowing and reaching for more.

His hands grabbed onto a round thing and he shook it, hearing the sloshing sound that came from inside. His dark eyes curiously scanned the desert once more before he shook the thing again. His small hand pulled and tugged at it, certain that he wanted whatever was inside. He made an inarticulate cry when the thing wouldn't open and he froze, looking around fearfully because he hadn't realized the sound came from him. After a few minutes when he hadn't heard anything else, he went back to fighting with the thing and his dark eyes lit up when it suddenly gave and part of the thing came apart. He stared at the liquid that sloshed out of the top and landed on one of his bare legs, frowning when the cool night air brushed against his skin. He brought the thing up to his nose and sniffed at it before putting it to his lips and drinking it down thirstily.

With his hunger and thirst sated for the first time, he quickly became sleepy and he shivered again. He looked down when his mind registered the softness of the thing he was touching and his expression turned quizzical as he picked up the colorful square. He patted it gently before jumping down off of the rock and dragging it back to his hiding place. As he crawled back under the rocks where he could sleep without being found, the colorful square got bigger and he stared at it in consternation when other things fell out of it. He poked at the things, satisfied when they didn't do anything, and he dragged them further into the hiding place. He placed them on the ground and patted them into place, confident that they would be softer than the sand. Happy with his discovery, he continued to explore the colorful square, fascinated when it continued to get bigger. He wrapped up in the thing, feeling warmth for the first time since he could remember, and he buried his head under the thing to keep out the scary sounds that came with the darkness.

"God, Michael, you must've been so terrified," Maria murmured, unable to imagine how scary it must have been for him to be alone in the desert and unable to speak, or even understand the man that had been trying to help him. She rubbed his shoulder when he started to tense up. "You don't have to say anything," she assured him. "How long was it before you let him get close to you?"

"I've been told it took several weeks." He shrugged. "I really had no concept of time back then."

"And you don't have any idea how you ended up in the desert?"

"No recollection whatsoever. I had a basic understanding of things like hunger, thirst, bein' hot or cold, and fear, but when River Dog started comin' around…" He shook his head. "I had no idea what he was and I couldn't understand a single thing he said. Have you ever tried to get a stray animal to trust you enough to let you get close to it?"

"Sure, who hasn't?"

"Same concept. The things I knew at that point were all instinctual; I had no concept of human behavior and I didn't know how to interact with people. Social services were probably thrilled to hand me off when River Dog's son and daughter-in-law offered to take me."

Maria's throat was tight and she swallowed with difficulty. She could only imagine what would have happened to him if River Dog's family hadn't wanted to take Michael into their home, to take care of him, and love him as their own. He would have used his powers at some point, alerting Social Services to his differences and they would have called in doctors and specialists who would have discovered that he wasn't human, and from there… Well, she had seen the movies, read the books; aliens weren't treated like peaceful visitors wanting to make contact, but as invaders who wanted to take over Earth. Although, why they would want this polluted planet, occupied by hostile beings who were constantly at war with each other, and who were intent upon using up the planets' natural resources without finding a way to preserve them was beyond her. She was brought back to what Michael had been saying about Social Services and she asked the question that had been preoccupying her mind. "Why not River Dog? You knew him and you were comfortable with him; they must have seen that."

Michael snorted, clearly showing what he thought of the foster care system. "They wouldn't have given custody to him because he was single and they felt pretty strongly that I needed to be in a two-parent environment."

Maria frowned. "Didn't that just create more trauma for you?"

"Yes and no. I was familiar with John because River Dog had brought him out to the desert to keep an eye on me when he couldn't be there, but, yeah, it was still pretty traumatic. I spent a lot of time with River Dog when my parents were at work, so between the three of them, I slowly started to adapt to civilized behavior."

Michael's expression had turned pensive while he was talking and Maria wondered what was going through his mind at that moment. Was he thinking about his alien parents, wondering if they were dead or searching for him? Or was he thinking about his human family, who had made sacrifices, opened their home and their hearts to a little alien child with abilities and powers who had required special care and attention? Powers… did his parents know about them? Probably, but she had to ask anyway.

"So your parents know you're different."

"They know," he confirmed, nodding. "River Dog's spent countless hours helpin' me develop my abilities, helpin' me learn to control them, and teachin' me how to be myself without drawin' unnecessary attention to who I am. My parents are responsible for the rest of it and I'm lucky they're so patient." He grimaced. "I wasn't easy to deal with when they brought me home and I made it my personal goal to be as difficult as possible."

"Does Maggie know?"

Michael nodded. "My parents and my grandfather wanted things to be as normal as possible, so they explained things to her. It definitely helped when I was growin' up."

Maria thought about Michael's best friend. Was Eddie aware of Michael's differences? She had a feeling that he did. "Your friend, Eddie, he knows too, doesn't he?"

"Um-hmm. His father was killed in an accident when he was a kid and his mother had to work two jobs just to make ends meet, so he spent most of his time with River Dog." He cocked his head to one side as he regarded her thoughtfully. "What made you think he knew? You only met him the one time."

Maria didn't answer at once, searching for the words to explain what she had felt about Eddie and his relationship with Michael. "He's very… I don't know, mystical, I guess. It's like he's completely comfortable with who he is, with his place in the universe… like he's completely at peace, y'know?"

"I knew he'd been spendin' too much time with River Dog," he muttered, nodding. "Yeah, I know exactly what you're talkin' about. It's like he's discovered the meanin' of life or somethin', but he's not sharin' the information." His head shot up to meet her gaze when she suddenly shifted, moving so that she was straddling his lap.

"I'm so glad you got a good family," she whispered, leaning forward and kissing him gently, "and that you can be yourself with them." She shook her head as she leaned back and framed his face in her hands. "And I am so glad you don't have to hide who you are with them." It only took moments for his silence to register and she hurried on before he had time to become uncomfortable. "Okay, tell me all about your secret powers," she said, slapping his shoulders.

Michael rolled his eyes, but took the out she was offering him. He wasn't used to anyone else knowing the big secret and she had the uncanny ability of being able to pinpoint his thoughts and emotions with just a few words. He shook that thought off and let his hands rest on her thighs as he met her gaze and smiled. "Let's get one thing straight, okay? I do not have secret powers… I have finely honed abilities."

"And who all knows about your finely honed abilities?" she asked, teasing another smile out of him. She chuckled when he couldn't come up with a response. "That's what I thought. So, if no one besides your family knows about them, they're secret powers and I want a demonstration. Please?"

The moment she brought the full-blown pout into play, he knew it was all over. "Oh, all right," he grumbled. He knew he was in trouble if she ever figured out just how potent that look was. "What d'you wanna see?"

Now that was a loaded question if she'd ever heard one, she thought. "I don't know." She smiled flirtatiously. "What've you got?"

Michael couldn't help the laughter that escaped him; she made him feel different than anyone else ever had. "What's your favorite color?"

"Lavender."

"That's some kinda purple, right?" he asked, reaching up to run his fingers through her blond hair. He felt her nod and he met her gaze as he lowered his hand to her thigh once more. "You got a compact with you?"

"Um-hmm… why?" She reached around him to grab her bag, dragging it closer so she could dig around for the small compact she carried everywhere. Her fingers finally closed around it and she flipped it open as she raised it up to eye level, surprised when she caught sight of her reflection. Her right hand lifted and her fingertips brushed against her hair. "It's purple," she accused, but there was a hint of awe in her tone.

"Wrong shade?" Amusement made his voice shake and he held both hands up when she glared at him. "I like you better as a blond anyway." His hand brushed over her hair and within moments it was back to its normal shade.

"Okay, do something else," she urged, dropping the compact back in her bag after checking to be sure that her hair was the right color. "Come on, you can do better than that." She brushed her hands over his shoulders. "Do something challenging."

"Challenging, huh?" His dark eyes drifted down to his hands where they were resting on her thighs. "How do you feel about leather?"

"Uh-uh," she denied, trying to read his expression. "You're not tellin' me you can turn denim into leather… are you?"

"Molecular manipulation," he said, grinning. "Got a preference? Pants? Skirt?"

"You're serious?" She shook her head but her gaze remained riveted to his hands. "No, I don't believe you."

"Took too long," he growled, "now it's my choice." Michael chuckled as he scraped his fingernails along the outer seam of her jeans, letting his mind focus on his goal.

Maria watched him, fascinated by the depth of his concentration as he focused on what he was doing. Her gaze dropped to his hands when his fingers flexed against her legs and a moment later her eyes widened in disbelief when the material began to shift and change. As she watched, the blue denim began to disappear to be replaced by a black leather… mini skirt? She rolled her eyes and slapped his shoulder. "Michael!"

He had to force his gaze away from her bare thighs to meet her disapproving glare. "What?" he asked, going for innocent but fairly certain he hadn't pulled it off. "Too mini on the mini skirt?"

"Maybe not under normal circumstances," she chuckled, "but since I'm not exactly in a position to move, maybe we should save it for another time."

"Who says I want you to move?"

"How about you give me my jeans back and I won't move? Besides," she whispered, leaning in so that her lips were brushing against his right ear, "your hands are just the slightest bit distracting, and I've got a feeling I haven't seen everything you have to show me."

She wasn't the only one who was being distracted, Michael thought as he reversed the process. "Just so you know it's a real crime to cover those legs up."

Maria shivered at the gruff tone in his deep voice and filed that bit of information away for a later date. "I'll keep that in mind," she promised. "Now, c'mon, show me something else, Spaceboy!"

Michael lightly slapped her left thigh and nudged her so that he could stand up. "Okay, what next?" He was already bored with the show and tell but her green eyes sparkled with excitement and he just didn't have the heart to tell her no. "Want me to blow somethin' up?" It seemed only right since that was what had gotten him into this mess in the first place.

"Really? Can I pick it out?"

"Just keep it clear of the horses."

"Does distance matter?" she asked curiously.

"It depends; it gets a little tricky the farther away the target is, but I'm actually pretty good up to about half a mile as long as I can visualize what I'm aimin' for." He winced when he realized he was bragging and he quickly cleared his throat and motioned at the desert. "Okay, find me a target."

Maria couldn't resist an opportunity to tease him. "Well, since you seem to take issue with the local plant life, how about that cactus out there?" She pointed at a tall cactus with small flowers on it. "The one with the little white flowers on the right side? That one."

Michael followed the direction of her pointing finger. No problem, a piece of cake. "Okay."

Maria watched him as he turned and stared at the cactus she had picked out, cocking her head to the side when his hands remained at his sides. "Um, Michael?"

He turned when she called him again, raising one eyebrow in question.

"Don't you need your hands to do this?"

"Huh-uh. The only reason that came into play yesterday is because it happened so quickly; I've been practicin' doin' this stuff with my mind for the past couple of years." He shook his head. "Unless it's an emergency situation, I normally do this stuff without usin' my hands." He smiled. "It's also not so obvious that it's me doin' it if no one sees me actually doin' anything."

"Oh, okay." She waved her hands and motioned for him to continue.

Michael played along for a while before he needed a break from changing colors and blowing things up. "Think we could take a break from this?" he asked, turning to look at her where she was sitting on the boulder, her legs crossed Indian-style.

"Of course." She winced. "You're probably tired now, huh?"

"Maybe a little, but it's more than likely because I didn't really get much sleep last night." He smiled as he moved closer to her, leaving only a couple of feet between them. "Wanna see one more?"

"Are you sure?"

"One more and that's it. You trust me?" He smiled when Maria nodded without hesitation and he shook his hands out before relaxing his stance and concentrating on her.

Maria watched him and wondered what he was doing, but just as she was about to speak, she felt the air around her shift and as she looked down her eyes widened in shock. There was at least a foot of space between her and the boulder she had been sitting on and as she watched she was slowly lowered back to her spot. Amazed, her eyes shot to him and she jumped off of the boulder to stand in front of him. "Levitation? You can levitate things?"

"Yep." He rubbed his eyes. "But no more today."

Maria threw herself into his arms and hugged him. "You need to get some rest." She walked beside him as they made their way back to where the horses were tied. "Y'know, now that I know about your…" She smirked. "Your abilities, you'll come in really handy if I ever have a fashion crisis."

Michael's answer was short and precise. "No." He'd better nip that one in the bud right now. Living with a mother and a sister, plus all his sister's friends, not to mention all of his female cousins, that were always coming into their home, he knew that girls and clothes were a bad combination. He knew that if he gave in to Maria's wishes, he would fall into an abyss and would never get out. No way.

"Oh, c'mon, Michael," she coaxed.

"No, I draw the line at bein' your dressmaker." He released her to untie Rascal and gave her a leg up, waiting until she was comfortable before he went to untie his own horse. "Now, we can talk if you decide you need a bikini," he teased as he pulled himself up into the saddle and tossed a grin over his shoulder.

Maria just rolled her eyes and enjoyed the ride, filing away all that she had learned that day. He wasn't just an alien from some other planet, he was someone with thoughts, feelings, and emotions that ran deeper than he probably cared to admit. Her gaze traveled over him as he led the way and she smiled to herself. Admittedly, there was the fact that he was from some unknown planet somewhere in space, but the fact was that he was all hers.