Maria stared glumly out the window. It had been a really long twenty four hours, the doctors of the Project Crashdown institute were some of the best in the world, but their decorating skills left a lot to be desired. She hadn’t been allowed any visitors, and as far as she knew, no one had even attempted to visit her anyway.

She had been prodded and poked, run through an entire marathon of tests and psychological evaluations and been made to retell the events inside Necedo’s house at least a dozen times. She’d received no answers from the sober young doctors who came in and out of the room, sometimes in packs who talked about her as if she wasn’t even there.

She had woken up yesterday in this very room. At first she had yelled and screamed, calling for Michael and Alex. Then she had tried to understand their position, there were as scared of her as she was of her powers. Trying every single scenario they could, of her with the globe, holding the globe, throwing it at her, yet nothing had made it show even so much as a weak glow.

The nurses however had treated her like a princess, allowing her to shower, giving her fresh pyjamas, even taking away her own clothes to be washed. They popped in constantly between doctor’s visits, offering food or fluffing her pillows, one of them even offered to french-braid her hair; Maria had politely declined, but gratefully accepted the use of a hairbrush. She had turned down offers of books and magazines preferring her own mellowing thoughts and reflections of the past week, namely: Michael and the gang, her last memories of them, and of Michaels soft lips against her own. Had she dreamed it all? Perhaps it was all just a terrifying yet wonderful dream and now she was back in reality stuck in a cage like the freak she was. A soft knock at the door drew her from the distressing thoughts. A dark head peered around the corner.

“Alex!” Maria squealed. The lanky boy moved towards the bed. His eyes were full of worry.

“Maria…I’m so sorry about all this! If I’d known…. I’d never have brought you here.”

“Alex…it’s okay! I understand their position, really I do! They need answers, somewhere locked inside of me are the answers they want, I just didn’t come with an easy-to-read manual is all!”

Alex stared in amazement at the tiny girl, in the huge hospital bed before him. How could one person contain so much strength?

“How’s Liz?”

“Liz?” Alex was looking out the window and sounded confused as though he’d never heard of a Liz.

“Yes Liz, my cousin?”

“Oh Liz, she’s fine, she’s great actually…worried about you…”

“Yeah?”

Alex smiled sadly at the uncertainty he saw in her eyes, not so strong.

“Yeah, actually everyone’s been worried about you.”

“Every…everyone?”

“Well you know… Your Aunt and Uncle, your friends at school….” Alex walked towards the window

“Oh”

“We should get some air in this room, it’s stuffy.”

“It’s locked”

He looked at her oddly.

“With silver” she elaborated.

Alex raised his eyebrows at her and pulled a key out of his back pocket.

“How did you….?”

“I had a little help.” Opening the window, Alex whistled a birdcall. Almost immediately five faces peered around the windowsill.

Alex held out his hand to Isabel, who graciously accepted the help inside the room, Kyle followed playfully pushing away the hand Alex mockingly held out. Turning around, he lifted Tess through, lastly Michael clambered through, sitting back down against the open window.

Maria stared openly at the boy, drinking in the sight of him. He was still wearing the same clothes and Maria noticed what was possibly her own blood on his shirt. His hair was in its usual disarray, and he had dark bags under his eyes.

‘We thought you’d bought the bullet for sure kiddo!” Max was looking at her worriedly as though she might relapse any minute.

“Who me? Not a chance!” Maria grinned at the boy, and relief flooded his face.

“Does it hurt…much?” Tess was wrapped in Kyle's arms at the end of the bed. In response Maria lifted up the pyjama top, revealing smooth skin.

“Wow!” Isabel reached out a hand and touched the unmarred skin.

“The marvels of modern medicine huh! Actually it was a combined effort, human and alien... fitting!” Isabel smiled at the joke but quickly pulled her hand back. Maria frowned and yanked the top down.

“Look, I get it if I disgust you, you guys didn’t sign up for this, I understand if you can’t accept it.” Almost immediately, four hands reached out and hit her, Kyle and Tess on the legs, Isabel on her arm and Max softly on the top of her head. Loud voices protested at the same time.

“Are you daft?”

“The orb messed with your brain for sure!”

“What did those doctors do to you?”

“ Silly girl!”

A loud cough sounded out behind them Alex stood at the door holding it open.

“That’s our cue Chika!”

“Alex promised us a guided tour of the joint!”

“Who knows…maybe we’ll pick up some application forms.”

Maria stared at her friends in wonder, was this really the same group of people who had sworn hatred and death to all humans?

Maria was still lost in thought as the five people exited; she didn’t even notice the soft glowing of the doorknob being ‘welded’ shut.

The bed shifted and Maria turned to find Michael perched on the edge. His eyes were wide and he raised a hand to her face, but abruptly lowered it.

“Are you really all right?”

Mari a just nodded shyly.

“Can…can I touch you?

“You’d better!”

Michael wrapped both his arms around her hugging her to him tightly.

“Ah…Michael…Can’t…. Breathe”

He let go of her quickly.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

He put his head in his hands, his shoulders racking with sobs. Astonished Maria swivelled around, on her knees she knelt beside him. Her hands stroking through his hair and across his back, her lips softly nuzzling his ear and neck.

“Its okay, I’m here, I’m fine, I’m not going anywhere” she whispered to him.

Turning to her he clasped her face in his hands. Tears were still streaming down his face as he spoke his voice raspy and choked.

“I thought I’d lost you, I just got you back and I was losing you again!”

“Never” She shook her head empathically, grabbing his hands from her face and clasping them in her own. “Unless you plan on leaving?”

His only response was to laugh and reach behind her for a tissue from the beside table. As he blew his nose Maria considered his response to her not-so subtle hint for reassurance, completely unsure of what it meant.

Grabbing her by the shoulders he looked directly into her eyes.

“Stop it!” his words made Maria jump a little “I know you’re scared, I know you think we’re all going to up and abandon you because of your human side, but human or alien your still Maria, neither Kyle, Max, Isabel or Tess will ever think of you any other way, okay?”

Maria stared into his eyes, bitting her lip she nodded, it was more than she could ever have hoped for, and tears started to well up in her eyes. Horror was etched on Michael’s face.

“Don’t cry! Please… don’t cry!”

“I’m just so ha..happy!”

“ Oh!...here” Michael offered her his tissue, she laughed and shook her head, reaching for a fresh one.

Moving back lying down on the bed, she patted a spot beside her, tentatively he crawled on and as she snuggled into him, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the top of her head.

“What a week!” she muttered.

“Yeah…”

“So Mister Guerin…what did you learn from all this?”

“What did I learn? I learnt that my soulmate is destined to save the world… and that not all humans deserve to die” Maria poked him sharply in the ribs

“Okay, okay… Humans are wonderful and deserve respect.”

Maria nodded satisfied, biting her lip nervously she whispered;

“Do you think the others will come around?”

“I think they’re already starting to, Isabel is quite taken with your friend.”

“ Alex?” Maria turned to stare at him incredulously. Michael smiled smugly and nodded picking up a strand of her hair and twirling it around his finger and she placed her head back against his head.

“And what did you learn Mrs Guerin?” Maria’s head shot up, through narrowed eyes she glared at him.

“Oh so now your marrying me off?”

“That’s the plan”

“It is?”

“Yep…not straight away, but eventually….”

“You mean you’d lower yourself to marry a human?”

“Now who’s being prejudiced!”

“Just checking!” Hoisting herself up Maria kissed Michael on the lips, manoeuvring her over his hips straddling him. Moving her hands up she ran her fingers through his hair, while continuing the exploration of his mouth with her tongue. Very slightly her hips started to rock back and forth and with a soft groan Michael pushed her away from him.

“What?” she blinked surprise at him.

“You didn’t answer me…”

“You didn’t really ask me!” Rolling his eyes at her Michael whispered;

“Maria will you ma…..” His words were cut of as Maria placed her finger over his lips in a shushing motion.

“Ask me in a few years ‘k?” Michaels face took on a sullen expression, he was sulking, Mari a had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

“Of course my answer’s yes, you idiot! I’m just saying we should wait, you haven’t even met my family!”

Maria tugged at his shirt, pulling it free of his waistband. Raising his hands, he allowed her to pull the shirt over his head. Lying back against the pillows Michael watched as Maria planted kisses over his bare chest, against his own will though his lids grew heavy and fluttered shut. Maria glanced at the sleeping boy, slightly miffed but mostly amused. Reaching to the end of the bed, maria pulled at the blankets at the foot of it, lying down next to him Michaels arms immediately reached out to circle her, pulling her into spoon position. Nestling into him, Maria soon followed him into a deep sleep.

It was several hours before they were found, neither the continuous knocking or the eventual sound of the blow torch seemed to awaken them, and when the four lab-coated doctors finally made their way into the room, it was only to be shooed out immediately by the nurse who followed. As she re-closed the door behind her, she glanced at the sleeping pair marvelling at the tranquil look on their faces.


The End
Part 19
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