So, this was originally a one shot, but I've decided to add in a second chapter. It took a while due to my schedule. This is mainly based on the theory that one of the girls had to be shot to avoid the storm. Thank you so much for the feedback and I hope you enjoy this.
"NO!" Max screamed, as she jumped up into a sitting position. She saw it again, the storm, the tornado, Arcadia Bay being destroyed and Nathan pointing that gun at Chloe. Max cried in pain at the sudden unbearable pain in her right side.
"Woah, easy Max!" She heard her father's voice and felt two strong hands on her shoulders. She looked around and realised that she was still in the hospital room. She took deep breaths as her dad slowly helped her lie back down against the pillows. "You have to be careful, sweetheart. You had some major stomach surgery this week."
"What date is it?" Max asked, her mind was racing. Her dad placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
"It's October 12th…"
"T-the storm…" Max gasped, trying to sit up once again, only to be held down by her father's strong hands. Panicked tears filled in her eyes. She felt her mom place her hand on her head and as she gently shushed her.
"Honey, you must have been dreaming." Vanessa gently said, stroking her daughter's hair. Max frantically looked around until her eyes met the window. She sighed in relieve when she saw the blue cloudy sky. No storm in sight.
"There's no storm." Max said to herself without even realising. Both of her parents couldn't help but chuckle at their daughter. Vanessa patted her shoulder.
"No, sweetie. It was just a dream. Everything is okay." Vanessa said, moving away from the hospital bed and going back to sorting out Max's things that she had brought to the hospital. "We can't say the same for Blackwell."
"Vanessa, this isn't a good time or place to talk about this!" Ryan quickly cut in. It was too late, they both already had Max's attention. She slowly and carefully sat up in the bed and looked at both her parents.
"Blackwell? What happened at Blackwell?" Max asked, curiously. Her heart began pounding, had Chloe been shot too? Max could barely remember a thing. She barely remembered the day she woke up, since she spent most of the day in and out of sleep. She remembered Chloe sitting at her bedside, but it was hard to tell whether it was real or if she had dreamt the whole thing.
"That teacher you always talked about was arrested on Monday. After that Prescott kid was arrested. We've only heard the story briefly but he has been arrested on several kidnap charges." Her dad explained. Max took a deep breath, relieved that Jefferson had been caught. Maybe she had finally fixed everything the way it should be. Now she just needed to see Chloe to confirm everything was okay.
As if on cue, the family heard a knock on the hospital room door before it opened. Max's face lit up when she saw the blue haired girl walk into the room. Chloe appeared uneasy as she slowly walked into the hospital room. Max couldn't help but smile at the taller girl. "Chloe…"
"Hi…" Chloe said, looking between Max and the two adults in the room. It was a rare sight to see Chloe lost for words but after everything that happened this week and seeing the Caulfield family for the first time in five years, Max wasn't surprised at all. "Is this a bad time?"
"No, not at all. Come in, honey." Vanessa greeted, placing her hand on Chloe's shoulder and gesturing for her to go over to Max's bedside. Chloe smiled as she approached Max's bed. She sat down, careful not to disturb any of the wires or IV that Max was hooked up too. Max smiled and held out her arms. Chloe leaned in and wrapped her arms around Max. It felt so good for Max to hug Chloe again after everything that happened and after they pretty much said their goodbyes on the cliff.
"You look a lot better today." Chloe said when she pulled away from the hug. She observed the younger girls face, she looked less tired and was no longer the ghostly pale look she had over the past few days. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better." Max smiled. "I'm just so glad to see that you're okay."
"Thanks to you." Chloe said before pulling Max into another hug.
"Vanessa, why don't we give the girls some time to catch up?" Ryan said, Vanessa nodded on agreement before packing up their things and heading towards the door. Ryan followed and turned to the girls as he closed the door. "Just call us if you need anything."
"I'm just so glad you're okay." Chloe said, finally having a good look at Max. "I still can't believe it was you in the bathroom. I'm so sorry you got dragged into all this bullshit."
"Don't apologise, I'm just glad you weren't hurt." Max smiled, she still couldn't believe Chloe was here and the storm was nowhere in sight. She couldn't help but notice that Chloe's eyes were red and slightly puffy. "Are you okay? You look like you have been crying?"
"Umm…yeah…" Chloe took a deep breath to keep herself composed. Max had a good idea where this conversation was going, she simply took Chloe's hand and held it tightly. "It's a long story but a friend of mine went missing six months ago. I found last night that the police found a body. They don't know if it's her but there's a good chance it is."
"I'm so sorry, Chloe. That's awful." Max said supportively, however in her mind she had a feeling of relief. Her actions in the bathroom had saved Chloe, lead to Jefferson being arrested and Rachel finally being found. Maybe she had fixed everything. Max noticed Chloe blink back tears before shaking her head slightly.
"Are you able to sit up?" She asked. Max nodded. "Cause if the nurse got you a wheelchair, maybe we could get out of here for a while."
Max smiled and nodded at the idea. "I'd like that."
After fifteen minutes of practically begging the nurse to let them go out for a walk, the middle aged woman finally agreed after speaking to Max's doctor. She got a wheelchair and with Chloe's help, moved Max from the bed to the chair. Max hissed at the stinging pain in her stomach but was more than willing to power through it if it meant she could get away from the hospital room for a while. Max wasn't allowed leave the floor and had to be back in a half an hour. Luckily, Chloe knew a perfect place in the hospital they could go.
There was a hallway in the hospital with a full window that had a perfect view of the town, the beach and the cliff where the lighthouse was. At this point of the day, a soft orange glow come into the hallway as the sun began to set. It was the perfect time and place to see the golden hour. Chloe stopped Max's wheelchair beside one of the benches, facing the relaxing view outside. Chloe sat down on the bench, observing the view of the sun reflecting over the ocean.
"This is nice." Max smiled, taking in the beautiful images on front of her. Chloe smiled and nodded in agreement.
"I knew you would like it." Chloe told her, leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest. "When you were in surgery on Monday, I waited here for news. It was at around this time, I was here and saw the view of the sun setting, I knew you would have loved to see it."
"Thank you for being me here." Max said as she shifted uncomfortably in the wheelchair. Chloe noticed and immediately leaned towards Max, placing her hand on Max's shoulder.
"Are you okay?" She asked. Max smiled and nodded.
"I'm fine. My stomach is just a little sore." Max told her. Chloe gave an understanding nod before leaned back against the bench once again.
"That's understandable considering what you've been through this week. Plus, I bet you have a killer scar to show off." Chloe joked while gently nudging her elbow into Max's arm. Max couldn't help but laugh.
"I guess I do, I haven't seen it yet though." Max said while carefully placing her hand over her stomach where her wound was covered with multiple layers of bandages as it recovered from the surgery. She could tell by the smirk on Chloe's face that the teasing was going to continue.
"Just have to add some tattoos and piercings and you'll look epic." Chloe joked but at the same time, sounded so serious. It was like Deja-Vu for Max. Chloe said the same thing to her on Wednesday when she tried on Rachel's clothes. Off course, Chloe didn't remember. It was disappointing reminder to Max that her week with Chloe didn't exist. They would have to re-build their relationship all over again. So far they were doing good.
"So blue hair and full sleeve tattoos are on my future agenda?" Max teased back. Chloe chuckled before looking at her full arm tattoo with a content sigh.
"I got this on my post rock concert shenanigans." Chloe told her. Max smiled, even in their week together, Chloe never told Max the story behind her tattoo. "And back off, sister." Chloe said, pointing a warning finger at the photographer. "Blue is my colour." Both girls laughed, before a staying silent for a moment, enjoying the moment looking at the sun setting. It reminded Max of that Monday when they were at the cliff together. They sat there for nearly five minutes before Max broke the silence.
"Chloe, I'm the worst." She sighed, turning to face the blue haired girl. "I should have contacted you after I moved or even when I came back here. I was so selfish and I wasn't there for you when you went through hell." Chloe looked at Max with a surprised look on her face. Max reached forward and took her hand, squeezing it gently. "I'm so sorry if you felt abandoned because of me being a lousy friend."
Max didn't even notice she was crying. She held herself together well as she told Chloe the things she needed to say. It wasn't until she finished that the tears flowed freely down her cheeks. Chloe stared at Max was a stunned look, clearing wasn't expecting Max to say all of that. A stray tear rolled down Chloe's cheek before she could find the words to speak.
"Wow…are you psychic or something?" Chloe laughed as she wiped away the stray tear. She sat there speechless for a moment before clearing her throat and looking at Max. "You're right. I did feel abandoned after you moved. I was upset about it for a long time. I can't think about that now. I mean, you come back after five years and you save my life. I still can't believe that."
"You saved mine." Max reminded her. Having overheard the doctors say that Chloe did the right thing by putting pressure on the wound, Chloe's actions gave the medics more time to save Max. "We saved each other. It's like destiny that we were both there to help each other." They held each other's hands tightly, giving no sign of letting go. "You think we could work together to rebuild our friendship?" Max asked. She knew it was possible, she just needed to her Chloe say it. Chloe smiled and looked at Max with watery eyes.
"I'm never letting you leave me again." Chloe joked, bringing a smile to Max's face. "It will be a little strange because so has changed." Chloe stated, pointing to her blue hair. "But I think we can do it."
Max let go of Chloe's hands and put her arms out for a hug. Chloe wrapped her arms around Max, being extremely cautious not to hurt the recovering girl. Max inhaled a deep breath, resting her head on Chloe's shoulder. After everything that happened, she wasn't planning on leaving Chloe ever again. She didn't plan on telling Chloe anything about their non-existent week or her powers. It would be a lot for Chloe to take in and there was no need to tell her. Rachel was found, Jefferson and Nathan were caught and there was no tornado. There was no need to use her powers and she didn't want Chloe to make her search for bottles in the junkyard again.
"Did you even know it was me in the bathroom?" She heard Chloe ask as she pulled away from the hug.
"Not until you came over and helped me." Max answered. "Did you know it was me?"
Chloe smiled and nodded. "When I got to you, I did. I'd recognise those eyes and freckles anywhere."
Max blushed slightly before feeling an uncomfortable burning sensation in her stomach, where her wound was located. She winced as she shifted uneasily in the wheelchair. The pain reliever was wearing off and Max could feel the effects already. Chloe noticed and placed her hand on Max's shoulder.
"Does your stomach hurt?" She asked. Max bit her lip and nodded.
"I think the stuff they gave me for the pain is wearing off." Max told her. Chloe gave Max a sympathetic look while gently running her hand along Max's shoulder. She stood up from the beach and walked behind Max's wheelchair.
"Let go back to your room and get you loopy on pain meds." Chloe laughed as she moved the wheelchair back in the direction of Max's room. Max rolled her eyes and sighed.
That's her Chloe.