'Midas Touch' was inspired by a certain oddity about the episode. In the interrogation scene, Maria is wearing a weird frumpy schoolgirl jumper-and-blouse combo. As she leaves the sheriff's office to go back to school, she runs into Isabel, who for the second time in the episode, gets into Maria's Jetta.

In the next scene, Liz, Max and Michael are waiting in front of the school. Maria and Isabel walk up to them... but Maria's not wearing the jumper and blouse any more. Sure, it was probably completely innocent, like Maria went and changed in the girls' locker room 'cause her Lady Speed Stick totally failed her during the grilling in Valenti's office... but of course that's not where my mind goes at first. My mind, prompted by Isabel and Maria's freaky vibe and a convenient fade, goes, smut!

As I changed clothes
I could still feel the molten
brush of her tongue. Liz, don't ask why
I still shiver when she passes by.

We walked out of the school,
you put your arm around me
and I wanted to scream-- all right,
I stopped the car. Yeah, I said Need a ride--

Do you remember, we were maybe twelve,
talking about kissing, practicing on pillows, and then
her hot mouth was nothing like your still softness
breaking into laughter on my lips.

You know how scared I was. Max left his mark on you,
pushing life into your body, pressing his fingers
to the wet hole. The blood between you
was a covenant I didn't understand.

I didn't understand until she
left her mark on me.

She looked cool but
her mouth was hotter than metal,
and jagged. I skidded. A single gasp
was all my fight. I bucked,
I buckled. I went down.
I moaned, broke a sweat
under her lips-- the bitch got her tongue places
I didn't know I had, and the yellow sand
stuck like glass, ground into my skin.
I showered but I don't feel clean.

She kept one hand flat to my belly
like she was saving my life and it was like
my body wasn't mine, I was choking, scrabbling,
helpless-- if this is sex, well fuck it,
what the hell have they been trying to sell me,
all these years--

"You got a thing about making me
roll in the dust?" I said, after, and she
turned her head away, curtain of perfect hair
a perfect mask. Maybe she smiled.

I drove home. I changed clothes.
And all that's sure is, I'm marked now,
not outside, not silver but hot gold--
and shit, I'm cold.

[end]