" ... you got it bad lover,
no you got it good,
you saw the sun,
like you knew that you would ... "

Maria Deluca opened her eyes and blinked at the weak sunlight streaming through
her bedroom window. Another day, she thought. Another day of going through the
motions as if nothing had changed. She rolled onto her back and stared up at the
cracks in the ceiling. Another day of pretending that the heart beating inside her
chest was whole and not smashed into a million, tiny little pieces.

Maria sighed and closed her eyes, she could still feel him. No matter how many times
she tried to wish it away, the feather light touch of his soul still lingered within her.
It wasn't getting easier, although rationally she knew it had only been a few short
weeks since Michael had more or less declared his love and then walked out of her
life.

Everyone said that the pain would fade with time and she so wanted to believe
that was true. She choked back a laugh, she was kidding herself, it wasn't going to
be that simple. At best it would mellow to a dull ache, but it would never leave her
completely. No, he had settled into her skin and would forever remain a part of her.

She and Liz had pondered the possibility that involving themselves with their alien
friends would all but ruin them for normal, human relationships. How right they'd been.
Those few words he'd spoken had both thrilled and terrified her at once. Never had
she thought to hear them from him, and it was just typical Michael that when he finally
allowed them to pass his lips, they were uttered as a final goodbye.

It was an impossible situation. Always had been really she supposed, but in her
stubbornness she'd refused to give in and let him go. He needed her, whether he
wanted to admit it or not, and God help her but she needed him too.

She frowned up at a tiny black spider that was rebuilding its web across her ceiling
light and marvelled at how she'd allowed such a strong attachment to surface. Till her
dying day she would never understand it, he wasn't even her type. Yeah ok, he was
gorgeous and she was not immune to the brooding bad boy image, but it was more
than that. It had been beyond her control, elemental, and it was both exciting and
terrifying at the same time.

Perhaps it was because he wasn't your typical garden variety human, maybe he had
this effect on everybody. Attributing her feelings to some mystical force probably
wasn't completely sane, but she was at a loss to otherwise explain it. She was
completely, madly, deeply in love with a man who seemed unable to accept the gift
she offered, her heart.

Her eyes glistened with unshed tears and she scrubbed them away with angry fists.
This was ridiculous! She had better things to do then lay about in bed all weekend
moping. She was done crying. Whatever they were or weren't, pining over the past
wasn't going to help. She refused to let him go and although he wasn't going to
like it, she was going to attach herself to his side so completely, he wouldn't be
able to take two steps without her.

"Maria ... " her mother's voice called from the other side of the door, "... you awake
honey?" Her mother opened her door a fraction and poked her head around it. "You
feel like breakfast?" Maria blinked at her mother a few times and reigned in her
thoughts. "Sure thing mom, just give me a second and I'll meet you in the kitchen".

Maria's mother smiled and nodded as she left, closing the door behind her. Maria took
a deep breath and turned her head to gaze out her bedroom window. Yes, she was
done crying, was done waiting around for Michael to come to his senses. He had no
idea what he was dealing with. She was finished with being tossed aside and she
would never give up.

Filled with renewed determination, Maria sprang out of bed, slipped on a pair of pink
piggy slippers and headed down for breakfast. For the first time in weeks Maria faced
the day with a smile on her face and hope in her heart.

TBC