******
(When I first saw you, I saw love. And the first time you touched me, I felt love. And after all this time, you're still the one I love)
Michael stared down at the sleeping Maria. *Fifty years. Fifty years of happiness.*
Maria stirred and looked up. "What are you thinking about?"
"That we've been married for fifty years and I still love you more every day."
Maria smiled. It had taken time for Michael to say "I love you," but he had finally learned.
"You've finally turned romantic in your old age."
"It took you a while, but you've finally trained me. You're not going to get me to change my hair though!" Michael ran his fingers through his still wild hair, although it was more gray than anything else nowadays.
"Maybe in another fifty!" Maria answered, and the two sat there, happy to be in the presence of the one they loved.
Finally, Michael spoke. "Come one," he said, holding out a hand for Maria. "The others will be here soon."
Looks like we made it
Look how far we've come my baby
We mighta took the long way
We knew we'd get there somday
The doorbell rang, and Alex and Isabel walked in.
"Wow!" Isabel exclaimed. "Fifty years! I didn't think you guys would make it past senior year!"
"Well, look at you two, forty-five years. I thought it would take you that long to let Alex put an arm around you!"
Isabel laughed. "Almost!"
Max and Liz walked in. "Look they started the party before we got here!" Max complained.
"Nah, we saved some tabasco sauce for you," Michael joked.
"Max, the least you can do is tell them congratulations!" Liz chided her husband.
"Thanks, Liz." Maria hugged her friend.
"Oh, you're still newly weds, only forty years." Michael grinned.
It was a joke among the six of them, that Michael and Maria, who had fought the most had married first, and Max and Liz, who had seemed the most in love, had married last.
"Well, you're the ones who 'threw their lives away on someone they'll hate in two years.' " Max pointed out.
That's what everyone had said when Michael and Maria had announced that they were getting married. Even Max, Liz, Isabel, and Alex had doubted. They had defied the oddds, and were still together.
They said, "I bet they'll never make it"
But just look at us holding on
We're still together, still going strong
"It's another anniversary, too," Max quietly reminded them.
"Forty-five years since out people came," Isabel said softly.
They all sat there, remembering. It was Michael and Maria's anniversary. She was pregnant, and miserable in the hot summer. Isabel and Alex were planning their wedding. Max and Liz were still dating, but cautiously, since they were at different schools. Their people had come, and told Max, Michael, and Isable that they had to make a choice. Either come with them, or stay on Earth until humans discovered aliens-- which wasn't likely to be in thier lifetimes. Maria would have to come, since she was carrying a half-alien baby. For Max and Isabel, the choice was easy-- their soulmates were on Earth, their famlies were on Earth, their lives were on Earth. For Michael, it was harder. Maria would be with him either way, and he had never made any other deep ties. Finally, when one of the aliens told him that he had no family left, Michael realized that it wasn't really his homeworld that he wanted to see, it was his family. And he already had a family. Maria and their unborn child were his family. Since then, the three "Czechoslovokians" (they still referred to the aliens that way, even though Czechoslovokia had ceased to exist years ago) had been content to stay human.
"I'm glad I stayed," Michael finally said, squeezing Maria's hand.
Max nodded. "Me, too. We could have never found what we have here."
"We could have never found the friends we have here," Isabel added softly.
Liz smiled. "It's been almost fifty-three years since you healed me, Max, since we all found out about you."
"And almost fifty-two since we told the sheriff," Michael put in. Michael had been the most reluctant to tell Valenti their secret, but the sheriff had been a loyal friend, protecting the aliens for as long as he could.
"And we're all still friends and we're all still married," Maria concluded.
(You're still the one)
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life
(You're still the one)
"Where is everyone coming?" Alex asked. 'Everyone' being all their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
"Soon," Maria answered. "We thought it would be nice to have just us for a while."
"Did you stock up on the Tabasco sauce?" Isabel asked.
Maria laughed. "With all the aliens and part-aliens running around, I practically bought out the store!"
"Isn't amazing how our families have grown?" Liz commented. With all of the three couples' children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, the guest list had been well over a hundred. Their children had even intermarried. One of Michael and Maria's sons with Alex and Isabel's daughter-- and then their daughter with Max and Liz's grandson. They were all looking forward to the mutal great-grandchild that would arrive next month.
You're still the one I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss goodnight
Isabel started laughing. "Do you guys remember Maria's seventeenth birthday?"
"Oh, no!" Michael groaned, while the rest of them laughed.
Michael had been desperate to prove to Maria that he really did care, so he had planned a surprise birthday party. Unfortunatly, he didn't have any extra money, so he had ended up decorating his apartment with toliet paper. He neglected to tell anyone of his plans beforehand, so only the six of them had been there. Michael had been so busy planning the party, that he had ignored Maria. By the time her birthday rolled around, Isabel and Liz had practically had to drag Maria into the apartment. Then there was the cake-- Michael had failed to realize that Maria might not like chocolate-tabasco cake.
"It turned out good in the end," Maria said. After the party, she and Michael had gone outside to watch the stars, and Michael had given her a beautiful silver bracelet-- the reason he had no extra money, and had told her he loved her for the first time.
Ain't nothin' better
We beat the odds together
I'm glad we didn't listen
Look at what we would be missin'
"What about when Taryn was born?" Alex asked.
Michael couldn't help smiling. "I wasn't that bad!"
He and Maria had only been twenty-three, and she was carrying the first alien-human baby. They knew she couldn't give birth in a hospital, so they planned to have Max, who was in medical school, deliver the baby. However, when the big day came, Michael was so excited and nervous that he couldn't remember Max's phone number. When Isabel arrived to visit, she had found Michael running around the apartment, trying to get thing "ready" for the baby. For the most part, that consisted of picking things up and moving them to a different location. Isabel took one look at the situation, and knew that Michael was hopeless. She calmly called Max, and he had delivered a beautiful baby girl.
They said, "I bet they'll never make it"
But just look at us holding on
We're still together, still going strong
Michael laughed. "I thnk that's when Amy finally realized that Maria and I were going to stay together."
"And when she finally got over finding you in my bed when we were sixteen!" Maria smiled.
"What?!" Max, Liz, and Alex practically screamed.
Maria looked puzzled. "Didn't we tell you about that?"
"Um... no, but I'm not sure if we really need to know," Alex managed to get out.
"Oh, no, not like *that*!" Maria exclaimed. "It was right before Michael was emancipated."
"I didn't have anywhere else to go," Michael said. "I think that's finally admitted to myself that I loved you." Michael turned to Maria, and kissed her.
"And you used to be jealous of Max's romance!" Liz shook her head.
"Yes, but look at how long it took to train him!"
(You're still the one)
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life
(You're still the one)
"We've had so many good times together," Isabel mused. "And now it's up to our children to carry on the secret."
"Do you think our people will ever find out that there's life out there?" Alex wondered out loud.
"I don't know," Isabel answerd.
"I'm not even sure how we'll react," Maria put in. "When Liz told me, I was, to use an old phrase freaked out!"
Alex nodded. "I didn't even believe her."
"Maybe someday our people will come back," Michael suggested. "They didn't really seem like the kind of people who would leave part-aliens running around."
"Maybe that's all part of the plan," Maria said. "Maybe they think humans will be more receptive to alien life if it's already been on their planet for years."
"Maybe," Max said. "I'm sure humans will find out about us someday-- maybe not in our lifetimes, but in our children's lifetimes."
You're sill the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss good-night
"You know," Liz thought out loud. "This is the first time we six have been alone together in years-- no children, no grandchildren, just us."
Maria nodded. "You're right. We should do this every year. Or maybe we can do it on each of our anniversaries."
"Let's do that," Max said.
Alex and Isabel nodded in agreement, but Michael had another suggstion.
"Maybe we can eventually invite some of our great-grandchildren. Even as babies, they remind me of us more than any of the othes ever did."
"You're right," Maria agreed. "We should pass our expieriances and stories on."
(You're still the one)
You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're still the one I want for life
(You're still the one)
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss good-night
The rest of the family began to arrive then. Michael slipped his hand into Maria's.
"I'm so glad I married you," he whispered.
"Ditto," Maria whispered back, and, for a while, they just sat there, remembering their life together and imagining what might come.
I'm so glad we made it
Look how far we've come, my baby
End
