In that moment, she felt like she could do anything. Electric. Alive with the energy of the storm and rain which beaded on her eyelashes. Frozen by the wind and rain and set ablaze by the girl in front of her.` "You're my hero Max".

She tried to put every feeling into those four tiny words. All the rage and loss and pain and admiration for the girl in front of her. She was trying to tell max everything she hadn't had the courage to say loud. Everything she didn't know how to say.
How this girl meant more than anyone else in the entire world to her.
How this girl had been the only one she could share her world with.

And now she was going to die so that her family and her town might live. Being with Max had given her the life to be a hero … and the strength to give it up.

Max.

Suddenly max put her hands on Chloe's face. They were burning hot and wet from the rain but the girl's touch was feather light. Gentle.
Lightning set the side of Max's face aglow and Chloe could see that she was crying. Tears running down her face to mix with the whipping rain.
They had touched each other more times than she could count… but it had always been the touch of friends. Not like this.
Max stepping forward without any of her usual shyness. She cupped Chloe's head gently and leaned in to place her lips against the trembling girl's.
Chloe could feel max pressed against her. Could feel all of the emotions inside the girl. Regret. Rage. Loss. Grief. She wanted so badly to be able to kiss all of Max's pain away. All of the pain that she had helped cause. She wanted desperately to tell Max that everything was going to be ok. That nothing could ever come between them.

I'm so sorry.

Max pulled away and looked up at the taller girl.

"I'll always love you. Now get out of here, please! Do it before I freak!"
The words felt like someone else was speaking them. Chloe could feel herself starting to dissolve internally. The adrenaline that had kept her going through the week now raged against her self control like a firework in a bottle. Be calm. Be strong. For Max.
She's the one who has to make the hard choice. I bet I won't even feel it. Just poof… and I'm gone. I won't even know what hit me.

"Don't forget about me…".

Max bent down. Squinting against the rain to hold up her photograph. Chloe turned away to look out at the storm. A terrible force of a tornado howling with the voices of a hundred wolves.
Going out a fucking hero. She could feel a small glow in her stomach even as tears washed down her face. Was this? …Pride?
For the first time in five years, she felt worthy to be Max's friend.

Goodbye…

Max focused on the photo. It was hard through her own tears and raw exhaustion. The weight of too many emotions pressing against her temples. The photo seemed to swell in her hands until it was all she could focus on. The rest of reality melted away like snow on a windshield and she was standing in the bathroom.
Oh God.

Click - whirrrr. Went the camera.
Crack!
The sound of the camera hitting the floor barely registered. Dropped from numb hands.

She looked down in mild surprise and vaguely registered the photo of the butterfly lying on the ground next to her camera.
Then the floor rushed up to meet her as she collapsed. Huddled on her knees behind the last stall.
Chloe. Her guilt. Leaving her best friend for the last time. Dying inside.
And it had to be this way.

She barely looked up when the bathroom door opened. Nathan entered the room ranting words that blurred together. She already knew what was coming. The door opened again and Chloe's voice echoed off the walls.
Chloe. Her heart lurched and her pulse speed into overdrive.
She could hear them arguing. Their voices rising.
She put her hands over her ears and curled into a fetal position. She didn't want to hear the gunshot.
Didn't want to hear her friend die for the last time.
She barely had any self control left.

Not Chloe. She'd made so many mistakes… but leaving Chloe alone had been the worst. She hadn't dared face Chloe after she had left. She had felt too guilty.
She left her friend when she needed her most and Chloe had been unraveling ever since. In a way, Chloe's death now was Max's own fault.

Max let out one tiny sob.

"What the fuck was that?" Nathan shouted.

Oh no. Oh nononononono. They weren't supposed to notice me!
She peered under the stalls just in time to see Chloe's knee connect with Nathan's groin. Nathan jerked in surprise and began to topple backwards…

and the gun went off.

Max could see Chloe's lower half jerk in surprise and pain.
Then she collapsed. Glassy eyes staring into nowhere.

Max's world went white for a second. When she regained her vision, Nathan was hunched over Chloe sobbing and pawing at her like some kind of animal.
Red carpeted the floor. It seemed very vibrant and too shiny. Not at all like the movies.

Suddenly there was a shout. A male voice. Loud and commanding. A female voice. High and terrified. A loud crack and the gun went skittering across the floor hitting the opposite wall.
Nathan's voice. Pained and incoherent. More voices. Someone was talking desperately into a cell phone. Someone else was doing something with Chloe's body. Nathan was huddled in a corner. More loud shouts and slamming of doors. Sirens.
It was all too much. To many people and noises and colors. Max felt David's hand on her shoulder calling her name but she couldn't quite see his face.
The world got blurry and then went black.

She dreamed. She dreamed she was back with her dad but Chloe was there too. Aren't you glad you came with us to Seattle? Asked dream max. Dream Chloe looked down awkwardly and smiled.

She was driving Chloe's truck. Chloe's dad set in the seat next to her and as they drove, he told her stories about his own childhood. She felt so safe with him.
"Burning the midnight oil again…" drifted from the car's stereo.

She dreamed she was back sitting up in her own bed. "but mom, what about Chloe?". Her mom shook her head sadly and turned off the light. In the sudden darkness, Max felt very sad.

A feeling of falling… of being weightless…

Black.

Fuzziness. That feeling when you first wake up but don't want to get out of bed. Like gum stuck between your lashes.
Max could barely move. She came too but refused to open her eyes. Instead, she started sobbing. The weight of what she had done, had to do, crashing into her with the weight of death. Leaden. Numb. Alone.
She had killed her oldest friend. She had barely had a chance to say everything … she … wanted to tell Chlo. and she had killed her.

Heavy wracking sobs that shook her frame.

To save the world. Chloe's world. More tears. Nothing mattered.
She wished she had died in her sleep. Or that she could have been the one to get shot. To bleed out on the bathroom floor.
So much red. More tears. More of the feeling of death.

She couldn't even dare to think of what the future might be like after this. An Arcadia Bay without Chloe… It felt like a yawning abyss inside her that she could fall into forever and ever and never wake up. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad.

I want to go home. She sobbed. Never have to face Joyce and David, Frank and Kate. The photography room. She wanted out of Arcadia Bay.
I killed their daughter… their only daughter… How could she face Joyce? How could she face her parents? A murderer.
She wanted to die. To blot the world out with pain and shame and never wake up. Go numb and never feel again.

She scrunched in on herself making a small whimpering noise. Pulling her limbs tighter against her body and as she did, she numbly registered that this wasn't any bed she was familiar with.
I guess I'm… Where am I? Do I even care?

Do I even care about anything anymore?

That thought made her open her eyes at least.

I'm in the… hospital?
Things were fuzzy through the warm haze of tears. She could make out off white walls and a dull paneled ceiling. Unclear squares on the walls the might have been paintings or photographs.

What happened?

Looking around…
Sitting in a chair next to her bed...

"Dad!" She croaked and then started coughing. Maybe I'm back in Seattle?
Never have to face Joyce and David… Could hide at home forever…

Ryan Caulfield was a bear of a man with an easy smile who could barely fit into the modest sized chairs. Quite the contrast to his tiny daughter.
He had huge rings under his eyes and he blinked them awake at her voice.

"Max?" He said an ocean of relief in his voice. He reached out a hand and gripped hers. Her hand was almost lost amid in his huge, strong paws. He looked both concerned and overjoyed to see his daughter awake.
"We thought we'd lost you"

I guess I… passed out?
I must have been gone for a while…

Max looked down in shame. He doesn't know what happened. What I did. How can anyone ever understand?
Chloe…

"Chloe?" Max rasped still looking at the floor. Her throat was so dry…

Max's dad looked exhausted but he managed a ragged smile. He pointed wordlessly to Max's left.
Max could barely move her neck, her body was so sore but she managed to slowly follow her father's gaze.

Her gaze settled on another hospital bed.

I can't… What?
OHMYGODOHMYGOD.

In the bed lay a crumpled form that she could barely make out but the blaze of blue spilling across the pillow was unmistakable.

OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD.

Chloe? Chloe!

Max peered intently at the bed and could make out the rhythmic rise and fall of the sheets. Chloe was… ALIVE? But how? Chloe!
Tears. So many tears. The world blurred into abstract shapes of blue, white, and green. All the weight of the world. Gone from her chest.

I didn't kill her…

"How are you feeling hon?". She felt a warm hand press against her forehead through the tears. Joyce's voice.
She could barely answer and cried harder. All of the pain and anxiety of the last week flowing out of her with each sob.
"Ch… Ch… Chloe… I…". "She's stable" Joyce sounded as exhausted as dad had looked but with that same undercurrent of warmth and hope.
"She's been in surgery for the last few days but she's resting comfortably now. The doctors say she should wake up in the next day or so".

More tears. More warm voices. David's voice. She was so glad he was here. All of them. So comforting to have so many parents here. More warm hands and soft touches on her shoulder. Something to drink that tasted like oranges.

A doctor came by to check on Max and had her sit up slowly. "When you're ready". He said in a paternal tone. He looked like a dad type too.

Chloe.
Max couldn't keep her eyes away from the swath of blue hair or the ghostly face of the girl next to her. When she could move, she got up and shuffled slowly over to Chloe's bed. It was like everything but the girl in front of her wasn't quite real. Chloe was always larger than life. Animated.
She looked so small lying on the bed. A tangle of gangly arms and legs. Her upper half was swathed in bandages and covered by blankets.

So vulnerable.

She reached out and interlaced her fingers with Chloe's. At the contact, the girl stirred and mumbled something about exploding barbie dolls. Then her eyes fluttered open slowly and focused on Max.
and… oh…
wow.
She sat down by Chloe's bed barely noticing David, Joyce, and her own Dad standing behind her.
She didn't expect the wave of love and gratitude for the girl in the hospital bed. She gave Chloe a shy smile that couldn't hide her overwhelming feelings. Tears filled her eyes.
"Ch… Ch… Chloe…".
Chloe blinked then her eyes flew wide. She moved her hand weakly up to feel her bandaged ribs and chest.
"Max? I… Nathan?".
Max had no answers to give. She only had here own presence to offer.
"I'm here." Her voice was all wobbly. Tears poured down her cheeks.
Chloe visibly relaxed. Joyce stepped up to lay her hand on Chloe's head.
"Rest sweetheart, you're safe."
Chloe's eyes closed again. She mumbled something then said with a smile "…and then I saved the world." Then she was asleep again.
Max noticed David and Joyce standing very close together holding hands. Both of their eyes were shining wet with tears. Ryan put a gentle hand on Joyce's shoulder and with the other hand, pulled Max close to him. They stood like that for a while. All four watching the girl with the blue hair sleep in the hospital bed before the next doctor came by.

"You were out for almost a week but the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with you. We were terrified you had fallen into a coma and might not wake up." Dad was saying. He gave Max his best warm smile and offered her another onion ring. She tried to take it but he jerked it away at the last moment. "Too slow girl". She giggled and stuck her tongue out at him. "Sorry to scare you dad. It was… so intense… I'm just happy Chloe is ok." He ate the onion ring with a sad smile. "I'm glad she's ok too. Just don't do that again. I need my super-max in one piece." She smiled back at him.
The two of them sat in the hospital room with Chloe asleep and David keeping watch over her. Max's dad had gone out to get food for everyone and they sat in a small circle of chairs and bed eating. David was quiet and somber.

"What happened to Nathan?" Max asked. She was still trying to wrap her mind around everything that had happened since she had passed out. It still felt all fuzzy.
"In jail for now though there's talk of having him moved to psychiatric confinement" David replied. "I've been here with Chloe so I don't know much about what happened after I left".

David had spent every moment with Chloe only taking breaks to use the bathroom. He had eaten and slept in the chair next to her bed. A soldier at his post.
"Nathan confessed and we caught that bastard Jefferson." David continued his voice steely. "He's going away for a long long time".
A pang of guilt flashed across David's face along with many uglier emotions. He must blame himself…

Max's mind flash to the bunker. "Just lay still max." Jefferson's oily voice had slithered through the air while she had fought to get outside and free.
Jefferson fighting David. Being shot. Getting free only to find the storm.
Oh god. The storm was coming.
The Storm!
Was it still coming? She hadn't dare let herself think about it since waking up.
She needed to be sure.

"Uh… how has the weather been?" She tried to sound casual.
"Mostly sunny" Her dad smiled. "A few clouds. I don't know. We were mostly in here staying with you two".

Entirely normal weather. Max sank back on the bed with a sigh. Of course that was no guarantee that the storm wouldn't show up at a later date but… if no one had noticed anything amiss.
Maybe they were ok?
Max decided that would have to be enough for now.
Maybe she had actually saved Chloe? Maybe getting shot had just wounded her enough to satisfy fate? Maybe she had distracted Nathan at exactly the right time? Maybe.

Then another thought hit her:
Would Chloe remember any of the week they had gone through together? Would Chloe even remember that Max was in Arcadia Bay?
Just the fact that she was safe was enough for Max. She could worry about the details later. So much later.

Max and the three parents talked for a while longer and then eventually went their separate ways. David explained how he had heard the gunshot in the hallway and had come rushing in to find Chloe and Nathan. His old reflexes had kicked in and he had quickly disabled Nathan knocking the gun out of his hand. The EMTS had shown up and taken Chloe and max to the hospital and Nathan had broken down and confessed everything. The cops raided the bunker and found Jefferson at work. He and Nathan were both facing murder charges.

David seemed too shell shocked to ask Max what she was doing in the bathroom and she hadn't want to bring it up. Everyone was just happy that she and Chloe were alive.

With max and Ryan's encouragement, David finally went home to get a proper rest. Ryan had rented a hotel room nearby and would sleep there for the night now that he knew Max was ok. Max's mom would be flying out to join him just as soon as she could get some time off of work and the two of them planning to stay for a while. Max didn't say it out loud but having her parents there was incredibly comforting.

There's nothing so scary that a mom can't deal with it.

The doctors insisted on keeping Max in the hospital another night to keep an eye on her. Just in case they said.
Max had no problem there. Chloe had slept peacefully and wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

The bed was warm and the room had a Chloe. This is where she belonged.

Chloe hadn't stirred since max had woken her. She lay peacefully sleeping. The doctors told them that it was a very good sign that she had woken up and recognized Max. Now all they needed to do was wait.

After everyone had left, Max lay awake pondering. Had they really come through everything? She was honestly too tired to worry about any other outcome. Anxiety takes energy. Energy she just didn't have. She looked over at the girl and smiled. Chloe had been mumbling in her sleep and max had been able to make out a few phrases.
She'd picked out Frank and Pompidou's names as well as her own and William's.

There was a quiet knock on the door and then the nurse poked her head in. "I'm just about to head home for the night, do you need anything Max?".
The nurse was a large motherly type with dark skin who made Max laugh and feel safe.

Her name is… Emma? I think? She gives me warm and fuzzies.

"I think I'm good". Max said. She gave Emma a shy smile.
She was always shy around non-family adults.

"Well hon, if you need anything, just hit that button to speak to the night nurse". Emma pointed to a small intercom unit mounted near the bed.
"The nurse on duty tonight - his name is Isaac. I'll tell him to look in on you if you need him".

"Thanks"
"Sleep well hon, see you tomorrow!"
The door closed leaving Max alone with the sleeping Chloe.

Max pulled up her phone and started browsing through text messages. A few from her dad letting her know he was on his way. Some from mom sending her love and that she would be there soon.
Some from her Blackwell friends hoping they could come see her and hoping she was ok.

Whoa. One from Victoria.
Hoping she and Chloe were ok.
Crazy.

That… was exhausting…
She turned her phone off. The real world could wait until tomorrow.
Everything could wait until tomorrow. Chloe was alive. Chloe. Was. Alive.
More tears.
Sleep is good.
She curled on her side and let herself drift off…

She dreamed again. She was holding hands with Chloe as they went out trick or treating. They were both dressed up like pirates. Because pirates. Duh.

She was at school back home. Awkwardly trying to make friends. It was sorta working but … something was out of place. Loneliness. Guilt.

She was at Blackwell. The halls were empty and the shadows were a little too dark. Not enough light… just like the dark room.

Then she was in Chloe's room sitting with Chloe and working on her laptop.
"Max?" Dream Chloe poked max's shoulder. Max looked at dream Chloe with annoyance. "What?" "Max?" Dream Chloe poked her again. "Hey nerd". "What?"

What did she want? "Max?".

Go away…
Ugh… sleep good… "Max?"

Urg… Huh?
Chloe?

Max fumbled awake. The room was dark with only a soft glow of a lamp in the corner. A gentle white noise sound purred from somewhere far away. Cars on a highway maybe?
"mfmmfhm?" Hold on. That wasn't english. Please insert a quarter to try again.

"Max?" Chloe's voice was soft.
"Chloe?" Max mumbled? Chloe?!

"Who else would it be ya dork?". Chloe laughed in the darkness. Her voice was all raspy like she had just smoked a dozen cigaret packs. She sounded very weak.

Hearing her voice… Having her actually awake in the same room, Max felt her whole body flush with warmth.
… aaaand her awkward gland kicked into overdrive.

Shit.

There hadn't really been time to think ahead to when Chloe woke up and Max realized she had no idea what to say.
Uh…

"Are you uh… ok?" She kicked herself internally. God she sounded like an idiot. Don't worry Chloe, I'll just hide under this bed now. Bye.

Chloe took a second to respond.

"Well I feel all kinds of fuzzed out" Chloe replied "but overall pretty good. Plus I'm going to do an awesome mummy impersonation." She laughed again.
Her voice was upbeat and totally medicated. She must have been given a regular dose even while asleep. Thank god for pain killers.

"How about you super Max?"

Chloe sounds… Shy? Since when is Chloe shy?

"I'm good. I've been out cold for a while. A week. Probably the exhaustion of using…" Max trailed off. She was going to say using my time powers but…
How much did Chloe remember?

"Yeah it was a hell of a week wasn't it" Chloe breathed.
OMG she remembers!
"Chloe you remember? Like you know?" Max asked.

"How could I forget my guardian angel."
"Wow Chloe… I wasn't sure. I thought that I might wake up and you might not even remember I was in Arcadia Bay. Like it was before…"

Max swung out of bed and shuffled over to Chloe's side. She flipped her phone on and in it's cool blue light she could see Chloe looking up at her with tears in her eyes.
"You saved me".

Max started crying too. She reached out and grasped Chloe's hand. Chloe gripped back.
"I th… th… thought I lost you." Max sobbed. "Nathan shot you. I d… d… didn't stop it."

"Just like I asked you too". Said Chloe. Tears were running down her cheeks onto her pillow. "Oh Max, you had to be so brave for me. I can't believe I asked you too…" her voice trailed off.
"N… n… not your fault". Max cried. "Y… y… your safe now. No Nathan. N… n… no storm."
The two girls broke down crying together. Max leaned in and snuggled close to Chloe. As close as she could get without moving her left side to much.

"L… love you" Max whispered. Her eyes gummy with tears.
"My guardian Max" Chloe whispered into her hair. Max could feel Chloe's tears against her cheek. "You're safe now. We're safe now".

They had both had to be so strong. So high functioning amid total chaos and insanity. They could let those burdens down and just be two best friends again.

Max relished every soft cry and clinging touch from Chloe. The girl was almost mindless with exhaustion and pain but it was the good kind of hurt - like crying in the arms of a loving parent and just being able to let go. Chloe for her part could feel Max trembling against her. Shaking with the raw terror she hand't let herself feel before. It was insane for the universe to give a young girl the power to warp reality. There was no way Max could keep so much pressure in and stay sane.

Eventually they both quieted down. Sharp sobs became soft murmurs and whispers of comfort. Max eventually drifted off to sleep with her arm draped across Chloe's midsection. Max snored very slightly but Chloe found the sound soothing rather than obnoxious.

Chloe hadn't said anything but she had been slightly alarmed at just how tired max looked. There were huge circles under Max's eyes and she didn't seem to be fully able to focus on things. Max had awkwardly climbed into the small hospital bed with her and had fallen back asleep almost right away. After everything she had been through, snuggling with Max was as close to heaven as Chloe could get.

She had made it. Survived. They had made it. Together.

Chloe was a tough one. A fighter but seeing just how far Max had pushed herself to save her had broken some knot of self defense that had been keeping her feelings at a distance. She felt different. Exposed. Vulnerable. She had never really stopped crying ever since she woke up.

They had stayed up to talk a little. The storm. Jefferson. Nathan. They held hands and cried together. Soft touches and shared warmth and comfort in the darkness.
Chloe remembered almost everything that had happened or not happened with a few fuzzy patches. She hadn't remembered anything from the lighthouse while she was in the bathroom with Nathan but while she slept it had mostly all come back. Kind of like the voice of a long forgotten friend.
When she woke up the world had felt clear and full of sharp edges.

Max.
Chloe had remembered with flashes of guilt everything Max had done to save her. Everything she'd put Max through. Everything she'd asked of the girl.
They had shared something so terrifying that she couldn't put it into words.

Shame. Fear. Relief. Exhaustion. In the internal death match of emotions exhaustion was winning and Chloe could feel her eyelids drooping. She idly stroked Max's hair and the girl made a whimpering sound and snuggled closer. It had never been like this with anyone before… This new feeling of calm with Max. The girl who had literally bent her own mind and heart in knots to save Chloe. Chloe could feel the exhaustion of her own body betraying her desire to think. There would be more time later. Her eyes fell closed and the world melted away.

No dreams. Only simple, blissful sleep.

Boom! Chloe lives but so many loose ends. I always thought that if Chloe got shot in the middle of a crowded school, it would cause chaos and that Chloe would have a good chance of getting medical attention in time. Never mind that Max might have nudged things by distracting Nathan…

Anyway. After reading so many amazing LIS fanfics, I wanted to try writing my own. I started having so many ideas drawn from my own favorite books. Especially Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files. I love his approach to magic and I fully intend to introduce more super powered characters.

Maybe even Chloe…