The constant beep that wouldn't stop was the first thing she heard. She could see that behind her eyelids there was a bright light, as if someone had walked into her room and opened all the curtains in the middle of an afternoon nap. She tried to raise her arm, to block out the light but soon realized she couldn't, her arm wouldn't move, the beeping got faster. She struggled to open her eyes, they felt heavy, like they were glued shut, the way they felt after you wake up after falling asleep crying, gummy and crusty all at once. Her mouth felt like she'd been sucking on cotton balls soaked in copper, the metallic taste inescapable. All these internal checks took less than five seconds but felt like hours as the panic slowly raised from low in her stomach and fought its way to the surface. Her mind was trying to remind her of something, something of the utmost importance but it was all so foggy, it was hard to think... She was.. Somewhere… Not where she was suppose to be.. Was she suppose to be at school? The panic was quickly rising.. Where was she? Where was…

"Chloe!" Max cried out in a hoarse, pained voice, finally fighting through the heaviness to open her eyes, squinting at the bright light that assaulted her. The beeping was almost non stop now. Why wouldn't it stop, it was cutting through her already pounding head. Would someone please turn it off.

"Max! Oh My God! you're, you're awake!" A broken but familiar voice replied, filled with so much relief it was palpable. "I'm right here, Max!"

Max's eyes started to come into focus as she saw the only face she wanted to see inches away from her's. Chloe's blue eyes were red and puffy but wide with wonder as she stared at Max, a huge smile on her face. Both of them sharing matching looks of relief at seeing the other. Max's head was fuzzy, as if every thought had to go through a thick fog to get through. Come on, Brain, work.

"Chloe.." Max tried to raise her right hand up, needing to touch the blue haired girl in front of her, to make sure she was real and this wasn't a dream or some hallucination. Max frowned as she couldn't lift her arm, she didn't want to take her eyes off the vision in front of her, sure Chloe would disappear if she did but what was going on, why couldn't she raise her arm, or move it at all for that matter? She realized in some part of her mind that she should be a lot more concerned about that but the only thing that really matter at that moment was that Chloe was right there with her but where was here? "What…"

Chloe didn't have to be a mind reader to quickly see what was clouding Max's face with confusion, she quickly took the girl's other hand, careful of the IV. "Max, Max, relax, it's ok, you're fine, you're in the hospital. That fucking scumbag, Nathan, shot you, the, um, " Chloe's voice cracked, almost breaking thinking back to that moment in the bathroom when Max seemed to appear out of nowhere, surprising the unhinged asshole enough to cause him to turn around, the gun going off, hitting Max who Chloe quickly recognized, as surreal as it all was, it was like time had slowed down.

Taking a deep breath to calm her voice, she continued on, "The ah, bullet, oh God Max, it was so hella close, it went into your chest but the way you were turned… it went through your shoulder, doing a lot of damage. I, I don't know all the specifics, just what I've overheard the doctors telling your parents…"

Chloe wasn't sure if she wanted to know more specifics seeing as it was her fault that Max was laying in that hospital bed right now. She already felt like shit over everything, she wasn't sure she could handle it if there was permanent or lasting damage. She was shot, you dumbass, that's enough to give anyone lasting damage, even if it isn't all physical. Chloe tried to shake the thoughts that had been running nonstop in her head since Max had been shot.

"My parents are here? How long have I been here?" Max felt that panic rising again, did she do it? Did she stop the storm? Had she finally found a way to save Arcadia Bay and most importantly, Chloe? "What day is it, Chloe? What's the weather like?"

"The weather?" Chloe had heard the doctors mention Max could be disoriented and a bit out of it for a while when she woke up from the medically induced coma they had put her in after her surgery but she was caught off guard at the weather question. "Ah, it's Saturday, you've been here since Monday and," Chloe quickly glanced out the window and using her best snarky weather announcer voice continued "it's sunny, a bit unseasonably warm for October in the Bay, not a cloud in the sky so it's looking to be a great weekend to take a walk, get in some tailgating or fly a fucking kite."

Chloe dropped the fake voice when she saw Max still had that panicked, scared look on her face. "Seriously, Max? You were shot, you took a bullet for me and the first thing you want to know about is the weather? Which, wow, hella way to make a reappearance after five years by the way."

Max seemed to visibly relax as her foggy mind caught up, it was Saturday, it was Saturday! Like a guitar string that was tuned to tightly finally being loosened, it was Saturday and Chloe was still here along with Arcadia Bay. She had done it, she wasn't sure how, the details were a bit fuzzy. She remember the gut wrenching goodbye to Chloe on the cliff, the most intense kiss she had ever experienced, and focusing on the butterfly picture but all the times she had gone back had blended together. "It's Saturday?"

"All day" Chloe said without thinking, she was paying more attention to how Max looked a bit to... happy? relieved? for someone who had woken up after losing a week in a hospital from being shot. Though given the alternative, Chloe was over the fucking moon, so she thought she could understand.

"I've been out for 6 days? What happened, please, Chloe tell me everything." Max either ignored the sarcastic reply or didn't hear it. Max bit her bottom lip, afraid that she had somehow screwed things up even worse and it was now the Zombie Apocalypse outside or something. In the back of her mind, in the haze, she still thought she should be a lot more upset about not being able to feel her right arm but oddly enough, it wasn't a pressing concern, she was more mildly curious than anything about it.

Chloe looked down, not able to look Max in the eye as the events from the bathroom came rushing before her again, it was all she could see every time she closed her eyes. Max getting shot, Max falling to the ground, a blue butterfly fluttering over Max as she hit the cold tiles, her blood… Chloe shook her head as if she could ever shake those memories and images from her mind, she would never be able to unsee that.

"Maybe you should talk to your parents? They should be right back, they just went downstairs to grab some food. I'm not sure if now's a good time to go into all that, you just woke up, Max. We can talk about it when you're stronger." Or never, Chloe thought, she could go the rest of her life not having to relive every detail of what happened ever again, especially to Max. Though I don't think I'll ever be able to close my eyes and not relive every minute detail in full high def.

Max tried to catch the other girl's eye, but Chloe was now looking everywhere but at Max, letting go of Max's hand as she kept readjusting the the beanie on her head, standing up to pace in front of the bed. Max knew it was cliched but she still instantly missed the contact with the other girl.

"Please, Chloe, please tell me I don't want my parents to have to hear it all again, I'm sure they've heard the story enough, I just really need to know, please."

It might have been five years but even now, Chloe wasn't able to resist Max when she gave her that pleading, soft tone, when her face looked so damn open and like Chloe held all the answers to Life, the Universe and Everything. She thought she should be more mad than she was. Max left her, Max never called her, never kept her promise when she needed her the most, or at the time when she thought she needed her the most. But life was funny like that, turns out, Max was truly there when she needed her the most, when she was sure she was about to die, Max saved her, Max was there. Maybe she should get over herself, give Max another chance, give their friendship another chance.

"Yeah, Max, ok if you're really sure, it was, it was fucking intense, hella insane. One minute I'm sure my number is up, that psycho Nathan pulled out a gun and then you come out from behind the stalls and it was like time slowed down… You were so fucking brave, Max, you yelled at him, 'Hey, leave her alone!'. He turned around and then, the gun, it, it.." Chloe took another deep breath, so much blood, not like in the movies, "went off and you kind of spun when it hit you…"

Sitting back down on the edge of Max's bed before her knees gave out remembering that moment, Chloe was lost in the horrible memory, all the fear, horror and just the insanity of it all hitting her again as if she was still in that bathroom, "Ah, you went down and I recognized you, I knew who you were as soon as you yelled out. Nathan, he freaked… well more than he already had been…" Chloe's voice was trembling, so much blood, not like the movies at all, it was pooling in the cracks, between the floor tiles, she couldn't stop seeing it, couldn't stop seeing Max's life pouring out on the dirty bathroom tiles.

Max reached over with her good hand and took Chloe's shaking hand in her own, giving it a light squeeze, to let her know she was there, she was still there, trying to give the older girl any comfort she could. She had done it, she really did. She had fixed the timeline somehow. The simple act of being able to hold Chloe's hand filled her with wonder and astonishment, she never thought she'd ever see her again, this was more than she ever would have dared asked for.

"So, yeah, Nathan, he started freaking out, he dropped the gun then curled up on the floor, under the sink, rambling. I ran over to you, I was freaking out, I didn't know what to do but I just took off my jacket and I was trying to apply pressure to the wound, like they taught us in that First Aid Class we took that last summer before you moved... " Chloe was still stuck in the memory, she wanted to get it all out so hopefully she would never have to retell it again, she was so sick of going over it again and again first to David, then to the cops, then Max's parents, her Mom, she was just tired of retelling, reliving, one of the most traumatic moments of her life. "Things started getting more hectic at that point, David ran in, he had heard the gunshot, hell the entire school heard it, kids were running through the halls screaming, convinced there was someone shooting up the school. So, um, yeah, so David called 911 and then he tackled Nathan who had gotten up and looked like he was going to go for the gun. David straight up tackled his ass and cuffed him, all the while he was telling me what to do, what to look for to help you. God, Max it felt like a fucking eternity until the cops and the ambulance got there…"

Chloe got up, letting go of Max's hand again, pulling her beanie off as she ran her hands through her blue hair, pacing in front of Max's hospital bed, the enormity of it all crashing down on her. She had been able to hold most of it back, put off dealing with it all while she spent all her time worrying about Max but now that the younger girl was awake, now that she telling Max what had happened, the cork had been popped on that bottle of feelings, she just wanted to get through it without breaking down. "I thought for sure you were gonna, that you weren't gonna..."

Max tried to sit up, to reach out to Chloe but quickly learned what a mistake it was as she felt a tugging and burning sensation with sharp shooting pain rush through her chest. "Ow, shit, ok so yeah won't be doing that again." Max winched.

"Fuck, Max, are you alright?" Chloe rushed back over to the bed, her eyes searching every inch of injured girl to make sure she hadn't pulled a stitch out or something worse.

"Yeah, just can't sit up I guess." Max looked down at her chest, trying to see under her hospital gown, now that she was more aware she could feel a bandage over her chest and around her right shoulder but it was starting to worry her, now that her head had cleared up some, that she couldn't feel anything from her right shoulder down to her fingers. "And Chloe, I did make it, you saved my life, I'm still here, I'm alive because of you." We're all alive because of you.

It was all getting to be too much for Chloe, too real, too intense. It was easier to be mad or pretend to not care than it was to deal with all these feelings bubbling over. She couldn't look at Max, the way Max kept looking at her, like she was fucking special or something when Chloe knew she wasn't anything more than a colossal mess that made people run as far and fast from her as they could.

"Just returning the favor. If you hadn't been there, I'm hella sure the fucking freak would have shot me." Chloe took a deep breath and pushed the fear and everything back down, replacing it with her normal mask of bravado and cockiness. Yes, Max had saved her life and had almost died in the process but now that she knew Max was going to live, she couldn't allow herself to look weak or soft in front of the best friend who had walked out on her never to be heard from again for five fucking years. A small voice in her head was nagging her, telling her that she was being petty, Max was there now. Max had taken a bullet for her but try as much as she might, she still couldn't get over that Max had abandoned her all those years ago. That Max had been back in Arcadia Bay for over a month and hadn't bothered getting in touch with her so called best friend since she'd returned. Chloe told that small voice to shut the fuck up, thank you very much. Max saved her life, she saved Max's, they were even on that score now. But she was far from forgiving her for abandoning her all those years ago.

Yes, because taking a bullet wasn't enough. And again Chloe tried to tell her rational side, the side that wasn't still a hurt little girl to just go fuck right on off.

Max's heart sank as she saw the mask go back up and Chloe's entire attitude change in a blink of an eye. This wasn't the same Chloe she'd kissed on the cliff, the one who was willing to sacrifice herself to save everyone else. In this timeline, her and Chloe hadn't spent a week trying to find out what had happened to Rachel Amber while rebuilding their friendship and even more.

Shit, Rachel, had Nathan confessed to killing her yet? Did Chloe know? Looking at the other girl, Max was pretty sure she didn't know about Rachel. It was going to hurt her beyond belief when she found out but Max vowed, she'd be there for her. Even if Chloe tried to push her away, she'd be there for her and at least this time she could spare her from finding Rachel's body, she could keep her from ever having that horrific experience.

"Chloe…" Max wasn't sure what she was going to say to the other girl, what she could say, there was so much she wanted to say but none of it would make sense or get through to this Chloe. She just wanted to get the other girl to look at her, to see how grateful she was to see that she was alive, that Nathan hadn't killed her, that Max had found a way to save Chloe and Arcadia Bay. There was so much to repair, to rebuild but she had seen last time it was possible, her Chloe was still in there behind that hurt, anger and hard facade. She only worried if she'd be able to do it without using her powers, because there was no way she was going to use her powers again. That storm could always come back, Max was sure that storm was just waiting for her to use her powers again. Not sure if it was luck or not but right at that moment her parents walked through the door.

"Max, oh Max, you're awake! Thank God!" Vanessa rushed over to her daughter's bedside, her eyes tearing up as she fussed over her only child. "Oh, sweetie, we were so scared!"

Max tried not to look embarrassed as her mom was stroking her hair with one hand while trying to fluff the pillow under Max's head with the other. "I'm alright, Mom, just a little sore…"

Max's soft reassurances were cut off as Vanessa's mom instincts were in full force, her eyes inspected her daughter looking for anything besides her obvious injuries that the doctors might have missed or if anything new had become an issue now that Max was awake. "Shh, shh sweetie, save your strength, have some water." Vanessa thrusted the straw into Max's mouth before she could protest, forcing her to take a drink.

"Mom, please, I'm fine." Max tried to say as her mom continued to hold the straw up to her lips, Max was afraid she'd have to drink the entire cup to get her mom to move it.

"Now, now, Vanessa, give Max a minute, sweetie." Max's father, Ryan, said, walking up behind his wife. Placing a hand on his wife's shoulder and gently holding her in place to give Max a minute to breath he smiled lovingly at his daughter. "Hey, honey, how ya feeling?"

"Hey, Dad, I'm fine, just you know, sore and a little confused." Max said, exhaling as she tried to press into her bed to put more space between her and the cup of water she was sure her mom was going to shove in her face again as soon as she opened her mouth.

Max's door opened again as a dark haired nurse walked in looking down at her clipboard. She looked up and smiled as she saw Max was awake. "Well, hello there, Maxine, I'm Nurse Rachel, I'm so glad to see you're awake. I'll let the doctor know, he's with another patient right now so it might be a little bit. How are you feeling?"

"It's Max, never Maxine." Max replied as a reflex. The momentary high she felt at seeing her parents was quickly fading as Max watched Chloe move further and further away, her face getting more and more closed off as the blue haired girl receded into the furthest corner of the room away from Max and her parents.

Nurse Rachel laughed, it sounded loud in the room but not out of place, despite where they all were. "Ok, Max, how are you feeling? It sounds like you're feeling much better."

Max was starting to get mildly annoyed with everyone asking her how she was feeling without giving her any context to go with. It was a loaded question to her at the moment. How was she feeling compared to watching Chloe die? Or Arcadia Bay be wiped off the map from a Tornado along with just about everyone she knew? How was she feeling? She was feeling relieved, scared, grateful, apprehensive, ecstatic, sad, panicked and a thousand other things all at once that she didn't want to deal with at the moment. In the end she decided to go with the safe, if not completely true answer, for the moment. "Um, fine, a bit sore and stiff."

"That's to be expected, we had to put you in a medically induced coma for a few days to let the area closest to your heart heal a bit after surgery without the risk of you moving around and accidentally doing any more damage so close to that area." The Nurse walked over to the machine next to Max's bed and started writing down the numbers on her clipboard. "Let me just get your temperature and then I'll be out of your hair for a bit and let the doctor know you're awake. He can answer any questions you might have. You'll love Dr. Patel, he's a great guy."

The nurse put stuck a digital thermometer in Max's mouth, a lot more gently than Vanessa had with the water straw moments ago. "Ok, everything is looking good, Max!" The nurse said brightly making notes on Max's chart. "I'll see you in a bit."

Chloe sat in the chair in the corner of the room, trying to fade out of the family moment. A part of her couldn't help but be jealous of how Ryan and Vanessa Caulfield doted on Max, it was clear how loved she was. Chloe knew if anything happened to her, her own mother, Joyce, would be there the same as Vanessa, but since her dad had died, it just wasn't the same between the two. Especially since Joyce had married the step-douche. She felt a part of her heart that she thought she had locked a long time ago suddenly ache for her father. She tried to push it back down, she was done hurting, she had worked hard to push all that shit down. Seeing Max had been bad enough, it had ripped the wound open on something she thought had long been healed. OK, now who am I kidding? That Max shaped wound never healed, I only got better at ignoring it.

"Why can't I move my arm? I can't even feel my fingers." Max tried to keep the fear out of her voice but she couldn't keep it from bubbling up at the look that passed between her parents.

Sitting down gingerly on the edge of Max's bed, her dad took her good hand in his while her mom moved to run her fingers through Max's hair, in the same soothing manner Max remembered her mom using whenever Max was sick as a kid. Max couldn't remember the last time her mom had tried to sooth her like this but it was having the opposite effect as the fear was trying to claw it's way past the lump that was now firmly lodged in Max's throat.

"Sweetie, when you… the bullet went through your chest, missing your heart by less than a centimeter, thank God. The angle, it actually saved your life but the bul...it traveled through your shoulder doing a lot of nerve, tendon and muscle damage. They had to do surgery to remove it. The doctors are pretty certain it's not permanent," Ryan Caulfield said, in his most reassuring voice, trying to quickly erase the terrified look his daughter gave him. "You're going to need another surgery they think in a few weeks once the swelling's gone down for the damaged tendons and they think you should be getting feeling back in your hand within a matter of a week or so but with a lot of physical therapy, you should make an almost full recovery."

Careful of Max's injuries, Vanessa cradled her daughter's head as gently as she could while leaning over her in a hospital bed, rubbing the tears the escaped Max's eyes no matter how hard she tried not to cry.

"Almost?" Max asked a small voice.

"Well, I'm sorry, kiddo but you'll never pitch for the Mariners." Ryan gently joked, tapping Max's nose, "But the doctor said you should have full range of movement, if not full strength but they'll know more after surgery and Physical Therapy."

Chloe felt like total shit, Max was going to have to through who knew how much physical therapy and bullshit for saving her life. It wasn't fair but Chloe had learned and seen over and over how unfair life was. She had been trying to stay as still and quiet as possible, hoping to go unnoticed, afraid she'd be asked to leave and not learn the full extent of what Max was going to have to pay for saving her sorry life. She was afraid to ask herself the question that was burning in her head, begging to be asked, was it worth it? Was everything Max was going to have to go through worth saving Chloe? No, it wasn't worth it, she wasn't worth it.

"So this..paralysis in my arm, it's temporary?" Max asked hopefully. The irony that it was her right arm, the one that she used for her rewind power was the one that was paralyzed was not lost on her. After everything she'd been through, she had no intention of ever using it again but it was different when it was her choice not to use it, quite a different one when it was taken from her.

"That's what the doctors all think, sweetie." Vanessa said, lightly kissing the top of Max's head. While her parents had been explaining everything to her, she had been trying to catch Chloe's eye, to let her know she didn't blame her for any of this but the older girl was so closed off, her arms crossed, pulled into herself, as if she was trying to make herself as small as possible, invisible which was a far cry from the girl who almost demanded everyone's attention.

Even though she was the one in the hospital bed, Max wanted to climb out of it and comfort Chloe. She could already tell by the look on Chloe's face she was blaming herself but that was only because she didn't know the alternative, that without Max being shot, it would have been Chloe who had been shot and there was no amount of physical therapy that could fix death.

"We've already found a great physical therapist, one of the best in Seattle and close to home so getting you there and back won't be a problem and he comes highly recommended by Dr. Patel." Max was pulled out of her musings as her Mom went on.

"Wait, what?" Max jerked her head around so fast she felt a bit dizzy, looking at her Mom, who for her part looked a bit shocked at the sudden movement, her hand in mid air where it was once stroking Max's head. She was so startled by what she heard she barely registered the pain the action caused her protesting body. "What do you mean one of the best in Seattle? I'm not leaving Arcadia Bay, I'm not leaving Chl...school, Blackwell."

At the sound of Vanessa mentioning Seattle, Chloe sat straight up, not caring if they noticed her listening or not. Max had just come back into her life, she couldn't leave already, Chloe wasn't done being pissed off at her to allow for them to make up and be friends again, there wasn't enough time. There was a process to observe, a best friends code of sorts that said the wronged party, that being her, Chloe who had been left and forgotten about for 5 years from her said best friend, Max, got to be pissed and sarcastic to said best friend for a number of weeks until which time the party that wrong the other would be forgiven. Granted taking a bullet for Chloe definitely shortened that period of time that Chloe could realistically stay pissed at Max but still, a half day of consciousness wasn't nearly long enough.

"Maxine, sweetie…"

"Max, never Maxine."

"Max, sweetie," Vanessa started again in that voice that she used whenever she felt like Max was being unreasonable but Max only found it condescending at the moment, not pacifying as her mother intended. "You're hurt, you require physical therapy, you can't take care of yourself with your injuries, honey, it's not safe and Seattle has better doctors. And don't get me started on that school, Max, your father and I have half a mind to sue them! We trusted them to take care of you, instead you end up getting shot!"

Max cringed as her Mom's voice hitched at the end. The fear and helplessness her parents must have felt being in Seattle when Max was hurt, she can't even imagine. She can't even blame her parents but at the same time, she went through hell, possibly literally, Max shuddered at the thought of that last vision or nightmare she had, to be here with Chloe, even if this reality's Chloe doesn't know it, Max knows and she is not leaving after everything she went through.

"Mom, I know you're upset, but I'm not leaving, I want to finish school here and, and I don't want to switch doctors now, especially if I need more surgery." Max knew it was a weak argument even if it sound more grown up and mature in her head she can tell by her mom's face she was not buying it. "You even said this was just temporary, so it's not much different from a broken arm and you wouldn't make me leave school for that." Max looked at her dad, silently begging for his help but even he looked like he agreed with her mom, which was the worst.

"This isn't a broken arm, Max, you were shot, in school. We can't just ignore that. I think it might be best if you came home and finish school there." Ryan said, his voice shook just thinking about anyone hurting his daughter. Where her mother's voice was filled with fear more than anything, Max could hear the anger in her father's voice. It was chilling as she had only seen her father truly pissed off once in her life and that was when she was 16 and just learning to drive.

A guy hadn't slowed down for a stop sign and hit them, luckily he slammed on the brakes at the last minute so only Max's door had been dented and she only got a mild headache but Ryan had jumped out of the car so fast and pulled the other guy from his car, screaming at him how he could have killed his daughter. Max had never been more afraid of him or happy that he was her father than she had been at that moment.

"I know this isn't what you want to hear but I'm legally an adult now, I should be able to make my own choice on where I go to school. I worked hard for that scholarship. Nathan is in jail, most the kids at school are great." Max didn't want to pull the adult card but they weren't leaving her much choice, she was not leaving Chloe again. In this timeline, or any other, ever again. "Plus, I can do my physical therapy here, Chloe will take me, right?"

Chloe stood up, ignoring the fact that the entire Caulfield family was now staring at her expectantly. She never realized until just than that Max's eyes were a perfect blend of her parents. She had the exact same shade of blue as her father along with the warmth and curiosity but the same shape as her mom's that also mirrored the same determination Chloe saw burning in both the Caulfield women's eyes presently.

But if they could all stop staring at me that would be hella cool right about now.

She put on a cocky smile, trying to ignore the scowl on Vanessa's face. She knew it wasn't directed at her, right, well she was pretty sure it wasn't. She took a couple steps towards Max's hospital bed, trying to look nonchalant, like taking care of Max wasn't a big deal, at all. She shrugged, "Yeah, of course, it's the least I can do and I know Joyce won't mind having Max stay at our house until she's able to be on her own again. I can take her to and from school and PT."

Chloe mentally kicked herself, why did she offer to let Max stay with her? She figured she owed her enough to drive her ass around but why would she willingly volunteer to babysit Max as well? Then she saw the grateful smile Max gave her and realized that she'd probably do more than her brain would readily admit right than if it meant she got to see Max smile like that at her again. No, one hella heroic act didn't make up for 5 years of neglect and abandonment, did it? Chloe was confused and emotionally drained, it was really too much too fast but she kept that sure smile on her face so Max's parents wouldn't see how unsure she was feeling. This is the least you can do for her, Price, suck it up and stop being so damn selfish.

"Dammit, Max, you're not 12 years old again wanting to go with Chloe to summer camp for two weeks." Vanessa said exasperatedly, "This is a serious situation! You could have been killed and that little punk is the son of the most powerful family in this town. Your father and I aren't willing to risk you being hurt again."

"It's not your choice to make anymore, Mom, and Chloe will look out for me!" Max shot back, refusing to backdown.

"Ok, ok let's all just calm down for a minute. Emotions are running high, so let's just take a breath." Ryan cut in before things got much more out of hand. He was torn between wanting to take Max home with them and never letting her out of the house until she was 30 and realizing that his daughter had grown up to be the person he always wanted her to be, strong, independent and smart. He knew his wife would be pissed at him but he could see the stubborn look on Max's face, there was no way they were getting her to leave Arcadia Bay for whatever her reasons were. Though, he felt much better about it knowing that Max would have Chloe with her. They had always looked out for each other growing up.

While Chloe might look a lot different than the 14 year old girl she was when they had moved, he'd been around her enough the last week to know that she was still the same girl who had spent countless days and nights at their home growing up, who had carried Max home on her back for 9 blocks when Max had twisted her ankle when she was 8, who had convinced Max that there weren't any monster under her bed, who had always looked out for his daughter. He always felt as if Max had lost a bit of herself when they moved and she didn't have Chloe in her life anymore, like Max had floundered a bit to find herself and make new friends.

He knew his next words could land him a one way ticket to the guest room for the foreseeable future but he also knew that they were fighting a losing battle. Vanessa was terrified, as he was, but she wasn't able to look past that to see that there was no talking Max out of this.

"Max, your mom and I are obviously concerned about you and want you where we can keep an eye on you to make sure you're safe." Ryan held up his hand to stop the protests he knew Max was about to make, "But you're right, you are an adult now and we can't watch you every minute of everyday. So, as long as it's fine with Joyce, you can stay." He then held up his hand to stop the protests he knew were about to come from his wife. "But you have to call us everyday. Even though you're technically an adult, you're still our little girl and we want to be sure you're fine and for the rest of the school year, we expect you home at least once a month."

If Max could sit up,she would have thrown her arms around her father but had to settle for giving him her biggest smile.

"Thank you, Daddy." Max had to stop herself from throwing a triumphant grin at her mom, it wasn't often Max was able to go against Vanessa when her mom had set down the law.

"Ryan, don't you think we should talk about this further?" Vanessa glared at her husband, her face pinched up with barely contained outrage that she had been overrode without so much as a serious discussion.

Looking up, Max, softly smiled at her mom instead. Vanessa wasn't a bad mother in the least, she was amazing, if a tad over protective, but Max couldn't fault her for that. Max knew she was lucky, her parents doted over her, they always had and after everything she had been through recently, she appreciated them so much more. Taking her mom's hand with her good one, Max, held it tightly.

"Mom, I'll call everyday and come visit you and dad once a month so you can see for yourself I'm fine. We can even skype so you can see between visits how much better I'm doing. I really need to finish school here and you can't put me in a bubble, as much as you want to. I love how much you both want to protect me but you have to trust that you raised me right." Vanessa's face softened at Max's words. Max pressed on, feeling only a small pang of guilt as she lied straight to her parents faces, "What happened was a fluke, a one time thing, it's not like the kids at Blackwell are running around armed. Nathan was a one off and now he's been taken care of. Besides, I'm going to be calling and skyping with you so much, you're going to get sick of me."

Vanessa sighed, admitting defeat but not before she tried one last time, regardless of how half hearted it was by this point, "Are you sure, Max, really sure because it would make me feel so much better if you were home with your dad and I."

Oh, Mom guilt, this was something Chloe was well versed in, though this was a pretty pathetic attempt. Joyce had used Mom guilt much more effectively just to get Chloe to have dinner with her and the step-ass. With a good kid like Max, she probably never had to use it much so she was out of practice. Chloe rolled her eyes as she leaned up against the wall across from Max's bed, not as far from the conversation as before but not close enough to have to be an active participant.

Inwardly rolling her eyes, Max smiled at her mom again, "Yes, Mom, I am 100% sure this is what I want." Max forced her eyes not to glance over at Chloe when she said that. She kept looking between her parents, deliberately nowhere even in the same area where the taller girl stood, sure that with one look everyone in the room would guess why she was so determined to stay in Arcadia Bay.

"Fine, but don't think you can't change your mind at anytime, I'll be in my car before you even hang up."

Of that Max had no doubt, she could already picture her Mom sitting at home with her shoes and coat on, keys in hand, purse on her shoulder every night, just on the off chance Max changed her mind. "I know, Mom, and I love you for that."

The matter settled as much as it could be, Max and her parents made some small talk for a few minutes until the doctor, Dr. Patel, came into the room to talk to Max, telling her what her parents already had about her injuries and recovery. Chloe was starting to feel like a caged animal in the room, Max was alive, Max was awake, there wasn't really anything she could do at that point but go home and let Joyce know what was going on and how Chloe had offered to let Max stay with them while she recovered. Of course, Joyce would say yes, that was never a question, Chloe knew her mom would be overjoyed at having Max there.

Chloe tried to leave quietly, not wanting to interrupt the doctor. She tried to ignore the disappointment she saw in Max's blue eyes as she gave her a wave on her way out. "I'll see you tomorrow" Chloe mouthed as she walked out the door.

Chloe stepped outside the front entrance of the hospital and took in deep breath, trying to get the stale hospital air out of her lungs. The sun was setting, casting warm hues of gold, yellow and purple through the trees, Chloe walked over to her beloved beat up truck, opened the door to sit down, and lit a cigarette as she processed the last hour or so. She sat sideways, her legs hung out the door as she watched the sun sink lower behind the trees.

The fact that after 5 years of radio silence, that Max should happen to be in that bathroom at that particular moment in time wasn't something Chloe had given much thought to before than. She had been too busy making deals with whatever deity was out there to save Max's life to put much thought into the how's and the why's. Despite all the holy deals she's been making the last 6 days, Chloe didn't really believe in God. To do so would be to believe that there was some omniscient being that took an active role in making sure her life was as shitty and painful as possible. And, damn if that wasn't a depressing enough thought.

Still, after seeing Max and all that followed, it did make Chloe wonder, because if that wasn't some huge cosmic mind fuck she didn't know what was. Chloe stood up, dropped her cigarette and crushed it into the ground. She turned to look up at Max's hospital room window before getting in her truck and pulling away.

Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.