Unforeseen Consequences

Kevin didn't want to get out of his vehicle. He felt safe and isolated from the tragic scene that he was witnessing. But Max motioned for him to come over, and Chloe looked right at him and smiled. Turning off his car, he took a deep and calming breath, as he steeled himself for the inevitable. On his way to the house, he did his best to cleanse his face of the dread that he felt festering deep within his soul. It took a herculean effort, but he conjured up the warmest and falsest smile that he had ever displayed in his entire life.

"So, this is the new boyfriend that you keep telling me about, Max? I'm glad I finally get to meet him." Chloe radiated a single powerful emotion as he approached: warmth. Her body was broken. The life that she had wanted as a child was ruined and she would probably never again be able to take care of herself. In spite of all of this, her spirit was unbroken. She seemed happy and at peace.

The stark contrast to the Chloe that he knew threw him severely off balance. Kevin did his best to hide his uneasiness, but this new Chloe was quite perceptive.

"Oh, come on! Don't be afraid. I don't bite." Kevin's feet dragged like lead bricks as he drew closer. When he finally reached Max's side, she leaned towards him, seeking comfort. He numbly reached out to her, drawing her close. The old Chloe would have bristled and glared at him venomously, but the new Chloe smiled brightly as she saw her best friend snuggle up to her sweetheart.

The trio talked for a few moments, and William retreated into the house. The kind, blonde-haired, fair-faced man nodded acceptingly toward Kevin. Operating entirely on autopilot, Kevin returned the gesture.

Chloe mentioned that they should all go for a walk along the beach. Chloe's suggestion wrenched Kevin out of his stupor. Olivia had mentioned something about being at the beach. Kevin's mind worked frantically and a plan was formulated to extricate himself out of the extremely awkward situation.

When the conversation died down, Kevin brought up that he had been on the phone with his rather irate and 'slave driving' parents and that he had to excuse himself. He extended all of the usual pleasantries and niceties as he retreated to his vehicle and waved his goodbyes. Max smiled knowingly at him and nodded as he dove into his car. He called Olivia back and put her on speaker as he drove away from the nightmare that Max had created.

Max… what have you done?


It took some time and tempers flared on several occasions, but Kevin soon had everyone on the same page. Walter reacted quite the opposite of how he had expected. Instead of raving like a madman about how Max had compromised the integrity of the universe or something equally theatrical, he had listened intently and smiled sadly with a feeble nod when all was said and done. Peter and Olivia also seemed somewhat unsettled by Walter's muted reaction to the news, and took a moment to cast him sidelong and curious glances before turning back to face Kevin.

"New car?" Olivia, ever the master detective, didn't miss a detail. In response, Kevin made an exasperated noise and jerked his shoulders into a shrug.

"I guess. I don't fucking know what Chloe's dad not dying has to do with my choice of vehicles but, yes, that's my car now. Oh, Max and I are dating now. Excessively adorable text messages included." Peter smirked at this and Olivia did her best to smile, but even in this timeline she hadn't seemed to have mastered the art. "So, about these dead whales, eh?"

Everyone turned to regard the massive corpses that littered the beach. It was an impossible sight to miss, and even if you did, the putrid smell of rotting, sun-baked flesh found you all the same. Five different carcasses ranging from large to truly massive littered the beach within their line of sight. The once majestic creatures were truly a horrid sight to behold.

Olivia asked if Kevin had noticed any other dead animals other than birds around town, and he shook his head in response. He most certainly had not.

"So, Walter… any theories that could help us out? What's causing all of these animals to die?" asked Olivia hopefully.

Walter paused while he considered the findings that he and Peter compiled from studying the dead creatures. The trio of agents looked sun-stroked, sand-blasted, and miserable. They'd been at this for a while.

Walter finally turned back to Olivia to answer her question when Kevin's stomach rumbled. He stared at the nearby diner and practically tasted the cinnamon and syrup of Belgian waffles—dead whales be damned. It was a lifetime ago that he, Max and Chloe had eaten at the Two Whales diner and first came into contact with the FBI team. The town was being slowly covered in the majestic golden glow of the setting sun as the 'golden hour' approached.

"I don't just have a theory, my dear Agent Dunham. I know what happened to these poor creatures." Walter declared this with such conviction and morbid certainty that Kevin believed him but was terrified of his next words all the same. "But first, I feel as though we should get some warm food in our bellies before our young friend faints from hunger! When was the last time you ate, young man?"

Momentarily stunned at the sudden change of topic, Kevin took a moment to collect himself as all eyes turned towards him. With the confusion of Max's massive world changing event still fresh in his memory, he really couldn't remember the last time he ate. He offered a simple shrug in response. This was enough for Walter. Doctor Bishop rapidly set to work packing up equipment, and Peter soon followed suit. Olivia's answer would have to wait, because it was time to eat. Kevin prayed that Walter's response wouldn't completely ruin his appetite.

He was starving.


Kevin found himself in a state bordering a nervous wreck as he followed the FBI agents back to Agent Francis' vacation home. Walter refused to elaborate further and insisted on returning to the house before he spoke his mind. Both Peter and Olivia seemed to be used to such situations because neither protested or pressed him for further information despite their blatantly obvious desire to do so. Kevin was not used to Walter's antics and his imagination ran wild with countless explanations for the pattern of strange occurrences.

His ideas ranged from seemingly logical conclusions to fantastical explanations that defied science and reason. And with the way things were going the past few days, the fantastical had suddenly become the logical. His mood darkened as he followed the nondescript sedan, clouded by hunger and pessimistic assumptions. What did Max think about her now paralyzed best friend? Was this new reality better than the old one, or worse? What had happened to Kate? Was she okay? How did she feel about his relationship with Max, if anything?

Sighing, he did his best to keep the unanswerable questions out of his mind but it was a short-lived effort at best. Was this new reality permanent or was it subject to change? And what would it change to if Max messed with the past again? What would become of everyone? What would become of him… or Kate?


Walter adamantly insisted that he wouldn't answer any questions until after everyone had eaten. While the food was being prepared, Kevin paced around the house. After several minutes of wandering, Charlie intercepted him.

"Hey kiddo, what's on your mind?" the man asked, thinly veiled concern edging into his voice. Kiddo? When did we become best buds? Oh right, I'm dating Max now, so I'm probably entirely oblivious to Kimberly… Where the hell is she anyway?

Kevin grasped for words, but his brain refused to respond. There was simply too much on his mind, it was simply impossible to begin to explain. While Kevin stood there, like a statue with an existential crisis, Charlie studied him. Waving casually to show that he didn't need an answer, Agent Francis reached for his holstered weapon with deliberate slowness. Reflexively tensing as the weapon was drawn, Kevin watched in slight confusion as Charlie ejected the clip and cleared the weapon. A single bullet spun out of the weapon's exposed chamber. Charlie snatched the spinning bullet out of the air in a skilled, well-practiced maneuver.

"I'm going to teach you how to properly disarm someone, okay kid?" Charlie offered the firearm to Kevin grip first and motioned for him to take it. Under previous circumstances, Kevin would have suspected a trap, but he knew there was nothing sinister in Charlie's body language. Kevin slowly accepted the weapon. Despite its size, the firearm felt heavy in his hands. Even though he had just watched Charlie clear the weapon of ammunition, he still felt nervous about holding it. "I figured one of you kids should know how to deal with something like this. Livvy told me about that Nathan kid. All this time travel nonsense is way beyond me, but you should be ready and able to defend yourself if the need arises."

Charlie instructed Kevin to point the weapon at him and Kevin obeyed hesitantly. Before Kevin could ask what he should do next, Charlie was upon him. Kevin hit the ground hard and the weapon was back in Charlie's hands before Kevin even comprehended what was happening.

Grunting from the shock and the mild pain from hitting the floor as hard as he had, Kevin slowly returned to his feet, glaring at the smug looking Charlie.

"That's what you should have done the other day… instead of whacking me with a damned metal chair. Now, do you want to learn how to do that, kid?"

Kevin nodded eagerly, all of his earlier concerns forgotten. Hah, I hit him with a chair in this timeline. Classic me...

As Charlie instructed him and went over the maneuver in agonizing slowness, a spark of vengeance burned deep within Kevin's chest. You're going to pay for what you did to Kate… you're going to pay dearly Nathan Prescott. I don't give a damn if you haven't touched her in this new world, you're still going to pay.


By the time dinner was prepared, Kevin was sore and sweaty. He had only slightly gotten the hang of the complicated maneuver that Charlie attempted to teach him. Once Kevin cleaned himself up, he noticed that someone was missing at the dinner table. Kimberly was still nowhere to be seen, nor was a place set for her. He was about to inquire after her but Olivia noticed his confusion and slowly shook her head, clearly warning him against commenting on the issue.

Walter and Peter occupied one side of the table, while Kevin and Olivia occupied the other. Charlie took his seat at the head of the table, while its counterpart remained empty. Kevin, again, marveled at the amount of food that had been prepared and revelled as the delightful smells surrounded him. He immediately felt his anxiety flood out of him as the anticipation of another home cooked meal enveloped him like warm blanket, fresh from the dryer.

While Kevin's worries were banished by the presence of food, Walter grew tense and uncomfortable as the meal progressed. The man unenthusiastically picked at his food. The others noticed, too, and their good moods steadily turned sour. The meal continued on in total silence except for the muted scratches of cutlery meeting plates. In no time at all, Kevin stared at his empty plate.

The gloomy silence engulfed the room and the resulting tension was unbearable. Olivia cleared her throat and gently put down her silverware, her eyes locked on Walter. The man's own gaze was on his barely touched plate, sad and melancholic.

"Walter…" Olivia paused for a moment as Walter snapped to attention and cast a dismal look at her. "You said that you knew what was happening to the animals. Why are they all dying?"

Walter took a moment to collect himself as he glanced around the table. His gaze lingered on his son for a moment, longer than it had on anyone else. Peter gave his father a small, yet encouraging, nod. Walter began slowly, his voice quiet and withdrawn. As he continued to speak, his voice grew stronger and more resolute. The sadness that had once plagued him slowly slipped away but never vanished completely.

"Well, Agent Dunham, I'm sure that you've noticed that not all the animals are dying. There are still plenty of healthy birds that haven't fallen to the ground and I'm sure that, if you checked, you would find that there are still plenty of healthy whales nearby."

"So, what does—" Peter began but was quickly cut off by his father as Walter pressed on.

"It means that none of this world's animals are dying." The room fell silent for a moment as everyone around the table stared back at him in disbelief. Peter opened his mouth to speak, but Walter interrupted again to continue. "The animals that are dying are from the alternate universe, Peter. I theorize that Maxine's powers are tearing through the fabric that separates the two universes, and every time she uses her powers, cracks or holes temporarily form and it seems that these animals are slipping through."

"An alternate… universe?" Kevin fumbled with the words as he stared at Walter in disbelief. Time travel I can handle, but what the fuck is he talking about?

"Yes, a world just like ours, inhabited by people that look just like us, only different. These animals slipped through the cracks and immediately perished from the effects of the sudden and brutal transition. I theorize that the powers that Maxine possesses have less to do with time-travel and more to do with communicating with the alternate universe. When something happens that she wishes to change, she isn't simply rewinding time. She is accessing the event from the alternate universe."

"How the hell would something like that work? Time travel made a weird sort of sense but this…?" asked Charlie. Kevin found Charlie's bewilderment encouraging. At least I'm not the only one that doesn't understand.

"For example, in our universe, Chloe's father died in a tragic car accident. So, Maxine, conscious of how her powers work or not, reached into the alternate universe and borrowed an event from their timeline. One where Chloe's father survived or avoided his car accident in the alternate universe. Because of this difference, the timeline in our universe has been thrown into disarray… Chloe is now paralyzed. Kevin has a different vehicle and is dating Maxine! The past that we knew, after that moment, became subject to change, no matter how unrelated it may seem. Some aspects of our lives may have drastically changed and yet we know nothing of it!"

Olivia glanced at Charlie for a moment, but tore her gaze away from him before he noticed.

"Let's assume that you're right about this for a—" Peter was again cut off by his father and it was impossible not to notice that his temper was rising. Peter's jaw was now perpetually clenched, his hands had forgotten the cutlery before him and remained tightly balled into fists.

"I am right! The bodies of all the animals contained highly charged particles that could only be obtained from passing between universes and the brains of the birds have been—"

"How do we fix this? What's going to happen if Max keeps changing the past or reaching into the alternate universe?" Peter demanded, the frustration in his voice momentarily shocking his father.

"I have no idea, but I fear that something catastrophic will happen if Maxine continues to make use of her powers." Walter's response triggered a chilling tremor down Kevin's spine.

Max's visions. Fuck.

"A tornado." Olivia breathed the word as if all of the air had been sucked out of her lungs.

"Perhaps, yes. Or any other form of natural disaster that we can conceive of or can't even imagine. Wait, Agent Dunham… your vision?" The room grew quiet once again as everyone stared at one another.

If Walter was right about his theory, then it seemed that the visions shared by Olivia and Max were some form of premonition or warning. Kevin shook his head as he tried to make sense of everything. As far as he could understand, Max wasn't just rewinding time but was instead borrowing alternate events from an alternate reality and applying them to their universe… or something. But doing this, especially to something so far in the past, initiated a domino effect of some kind. Each change or variation blasting shock-waves through time and space.

Kevin and Olivia both seemed to be able to recall what had happened before everything had changed but no one else could. Olivia hadn't needed much convincing about what Max had done. Everyone else had, but once Olivia was on Kevin's side, the others fell in line.

"What about the snow and the unscheduled solar eclipse that only people around here seem to be talking about? I called Broyles and apparently the only place that they know of that reported seeing the eclipse was here," Charlie asked, his concern mounting.

"I suspect these are just more elements of the alternate universe leaking through into our own," Walter said with a bitter smile as the grimness of the situation settled over the room.

"Alright. Hold on. Let's go back to this alternate universe thing. What exactly are we talking about here?" Kevin's question captured Walter's full attention, and the man dove into a deeper and yet more simplified explanation.

According to Walter, throughout every person's life, there are a series of choices that they have to make. When making said choices, there are different paths that our lives could take. Do we go to work or do we choose to stay home? No matter what you chose, the other choice could still happen in an alternate universe and the consequences of that choice could be life changing. Apparently, Walter was certain that such an alternate universe did exist, and that it was filled with alternate versions of people from this universe.

Kevin wondered what an alternate him would be like. Then he stopped thinking about it because his head was starting to hurt. In fact, this entire conversation was making his head spin as his brain continuously tried and failed to process the overload of information it was receiving. Sighing heavily, he forced his mind to go as blank as possible. His efforts were only partially successful.

"Just don't think about it Morty…" he mumbled to himself.

Walter immediately perked up and nodded his head in excitement. "Yes! Just like in the show! But instead of there being an infinite number of realities there are only two. At least as far as I know... and travel between realities is far more complicated. What I would do for a portal gun like Rick's!"

Kevin's eyes nearly bugged out at the thought of Walter wielding Rick's portal gun.

"Come on Walter, let's stay away from children's cartoons and get back to—" Peter started, only to be cut-off by Walter again. This time he tried to suppressed the irritation, succeeding only partially.

"Rick and Morty is not a children's cartoon, Peter! It is a mature show dealing with mature content that is quite inappropriate for younger audiences! If you would just watch—"

"Fine, Walter. Relax. Do you have any theories or ideas on what we should be doing right now, anything at all?" Walter stared at his son for a moment, lost in thought. Everyone in the room was on the edge of their seats as they waited for his response.

"First, I think we should retrieve Maxine straight away. But as for what we should do after that... I will have to do some thinking." Walter's response didn't sit well with Kevin.

"I say you do some thinking and we leave Max right where she is," Kevin found himself saying.

Everyone turned to look at him, their faces a myriad of shock and bewilderment. He, too, was surprised at the harshness in his tone.

Forcing his voice to soften, he elaborated, "Look...Max wanted to make Chloe's life better, so she saved her dad from dying. Turns out, she probably made her life worse and now she has to come to terms with that. You guys weren't there. You didn't see how Max reacted. You didn't see Chloe. She seems like an entirely different person now and this is all because of something that Max did. Max needs to be with Chloe right now. They need to be together. So I say we leave them be and you guys do whatever it is that you do and figure out how to un-fuck this whole thing."

In speaking candidly, Kevin provoked smiles from his audience despite the distressing events being discussed. Peter and Charlie's faces were split open in wide grins, while Olivia's sweet, yet awkward, smile came to light. Walter, on the other hand, grew sad and nodded slowly as if he understood all too well what Kevin was saying.

He's done something before. He understands what Max is going through. He changed something or used his crazy science to do something that he shouldn't have done and he's living with the consequences. I don't even want to think about what kind of bat-shit crazy things a man like him could do.

"And while we're doing 'whatever it is that we do', what shall you be doing?" Olivia asked playfully. Kevin could tell that she approved of his assessment and even agreed to his proposal. Feeling relieved that everything was settled, a wave of tiredness washed over him and he exhaled heavily.

"I'm wiped out and all this talk about alternate universes is making my head spin. I'm going to go lie down… if that's okay with everyone else?" asked Kevin.

A few moments later, Charlie led him upstairs and directed him towards the room that he and Max shared the other night. Even though they shared the bed for no more than a few hours, Kevin felt as if this bed was theirs now. Feelings of awkwardness assaulted him as he lay down without her. He felt as if a part of him was missing and that the extra space on the bed was preparing to swallow him up at any moment.

Closing his eyes, he steadied his breathing and forced himself to be calm. He analyzed the emotions that were waging war with one another inside of him. He had this strange connection to Max… or was it an attraction? Sure, he was attracted to her but not in the sense of love or lust. It was something else. Comradery, maybe?

As thoughts of love and lust passed through his mind, his heart immediately ached to know if Kate was safe or not. He pulled out his phone and felt his chest grow heavy and tight as he searched through his list of contacts and messages. In this new reality, he had never gotten Kate's number. Never called her. Never texted her, and who knows if he had ever spoken with her. There was nothing to indicate that she had tried to kill herself though, so that was at least good news. He forced himself to be optimistic and focus on that shred of happiness. Feeling slightly less gloomy, he went back to analyzing the situation.

So, since Chloe is now an entirely different person and almost completely paralyzed, something must have changed with Max over the years. And with Chloe immobilized, Max never had to save her from being shot from Nathan.

I wonder if this alternate Max would have ever gotten time travel powers? Either way, Max's life had been much more normal. And instead of spending time running around with Chloe and saving Kate from the roof of the dorms, she must have spent time with me instead. Being the hopeless romantic that I am, I probably asked her out and she obviously accepted. I don't see her asking me out because she's so shy and introverted. Wait, what am I thinking? She could have been a completely different Max in this new reality, so who knows? But what about Kate?

And why do I have a different car? That doesn't make any damned sense!

Looking through the rest of his phone, he didn't see anything else out of order. He and Warren were still good friends, except it seemed that Warren and Brooke were together and had been together for some time. So, judging by that, I would guess that Warren never was interested in Max in this reality so this alternate Max must be different than the Max that I knew...or know. Goddamnit. Further investigation showed that Max had wanted to officially introduce him as her boyfriend to her friends Victoria, Nathan and the rest of the Vortex Club. This is so freaking weird. Victoria and Max friends… and Nathan?

Just thinking about Nathan made his body unconsciously tense in anger. I don't give a damn what reality this is. There's no way I'll ever forgive that son of a bitch.

Closing his eyes once again, he put down his phone and spent the next several minutes forcing himself to relax again. His thoughts soon drifted to a happier place as he wondered what event had kick-started his relationship with Max. A series of incredibly cliché scenarios flew through his mind one after the other and he couldn't help but smile. Gradually, he became tired again. As he drifted off into an uneasy sleep, his thoughts wandered from Max to Kate and his last conscious thought was of bringing flowers to Kate in the hospital.


Death… the stench of death was all around him, suffocating and nearly paralyzing. The corridor he was in was littered with bodies. Or in some cases, what was left of bodies. The scene was as gruesome as it was horrifying. His stomach twisted in disgust as he slowly made his way past countless brutalized corpses, each one more disfigured than the last. Some had clearly been shot, others burned, while many others had been brutally hacked to pieces. The floor was slick with blood and the walls were streaked red in some places and black in others. The air was thick with smoke and several fires burned in the rooms on either side of the hallway. He passed them by with disinterest. Something was in front of him and he had to find it.

As he slowly made his way through the complex, he noted that the walls were metallic as was the floor. His heavy footfalls echoed menacingly around him as he trudged through the horror. The structure seemed incredibly solid, but a fierce battle, or perhaps more appropriately a slaughter, had taken place here. He noticed improvised barricades, doors that had been blown open, discarded weapons, and corpses… so many corpses.

After inspecting some of the bodies that he was able to stomach looking at, he noted that some were soldiers of some kind due to their thick body armor but others didn't seem to be soldiers at all. Despite their differences, they had all died. Some in more imaginative and gruesome ways than others, but death was death. Some of the dead men and women stared back at him lifelessly while others no longer had faces, or were missing their heads entirely. Despite the growing nausea that he felt, he had to keep going. He had to find something.

What had happened here? What had happened to all of these people? Should he be afraid? Was he the only survivor? These questions and many more tore through his head as he hesitantly made his way through the carnage. The grizzly hallway of death seemed to go on forever. When he turned around to see what he had left behind him, all he saw was darkness, he had to keep going. There was no turning back. As he turned back around, he was startled to find what he was looking for.

A young woman, clearly wounded, crawled on the floor through the blood and gore. She struggled to push herself over the dead that lay before her. Moving towards her, he reached out to help her. She pushed herself over to face him, her face pale and eyes wide with fear. She screamed and called out for help. Her screams quickly turned to sobs as she begged and pleaded with him. Her teary eyes locked onto his and for a brief moment he noted how similar this young woman looked to Kate. He smiled. Kate…

He shot her point blank in the throat and the last few seconds of the woman's life were spent choking on her own blood, her hands clawing at the gaping wound on her neck as she gasped for air. He hadn't noticed the gun in his hand until the moment after he had pulled the trigger. It fell from his rigid hands. Kevin was horrified at what he had just done. The heavy weapon clattered to the floor as the woman coughed up her last gasp of life, a thick stream of blood squirting from her mouth. Why had he just shot that woman? Had he killed all these people? Why?

Because they deserved to die…

The voice had come from behind him and he turned just in time to see the overwhelming darkness take the shape of a man. The man stepped forward and reached out to him. Kevin scrambled away in fear. There was no escape. The darkness already had him. As Kevin collapsed on the floor, the last of the light went out. In the growing darkness he caught a glimpse of the man's dark green eyes. Soon they were all he could see. They drew closer, threatening to consume him.


Kevin awoke with a start and bolted upright. Breathing heavily, he noted that he was drenched in sweat, but despite this he felt chilled to the bone. He wrapped the thick blankets tighter around himself and tried futilely to warm himself against the cold that refused to dissipate. The darkness was gone and warm light was flooding in through the rooms' two windows. He could just barely hear the soothing songs of the morning birds.

It was just a dream. Relax. It was just a dream. Kevin forced himself to lay back down and buried himself deeper underneath his blankets and shivered slightly. As he warmed and the chill faded, the lingering images of his nightmare slowly vanished. Activity from downstairs filtered into his awareness. Checking his phone, he noted that there wasn't much time before his first class of the day. He had to get up, even if the thought of getting out of bed disinterested him entirely. Assuming my schedule is still the same.

His nightmare soon became a distant, lingering memory. Kevin washed his face in the nearby bathroom and did his best to tidy himself up. After a few moments of fussing with his ruffled hair, he proceeded downstairs, his thoughts turned to breakfast.

Upon entering the kitchen, he discovered that he had been the last to get out of bed despite being the first to fall asleep. Stifling a yawn, he greeted Peter and Olivia, who were sitting at the table sipping on their coffee. Walter lounged in one of the family room recliners, his mind obviously someplace else. As usual Charlie was hard at work in the kitchen, but a quick glance around confirmed Kimmy's absence. Kevin frowned. Where is she?

Olivia sprang up from her seat to cross the kitchen to Kevin. "Kimberly isn't here," she said. Given everything else going on, it wasn't an impossibility that she could read minds, but Olivia quickly dispelled the thought. "I see you looking for her, but don't bring it up. It will only upset Charlie."

Kevin blinked at her once, stunned. Kimberly had been so close to her uncle the last time he'd visited the house, and he couldn't understand why she'd suddenly disappear.

"What happened? Please tell me she's not —"

Olivia shook her head before he could finish. "No, she's fine," she reassured. "I called Astrid this morning. It turns out that Kimberly and her uncle aren't exactly on speaking terms for some reason, haven't been for years. It might because the girl is set on joining the FBI, but either way bringing it up will probably upset Charlie if you mention that things were different before everything changed, so keep this between us okay?"

"Yeah, I got it..."

"You okay?"

"Yeah... more dreams, I guess. I can barely remember them now, but I certainly recall them sucking." Before Olivia could verbally express the concern that she clearly felt, Kevin's phone buzzed loudly from his pocket. He smiled slightly. "It's Max. I'll tell her that you guys will want to talk to her."

Olivia nodded. "We still need to talk about these dreams though," she added, then returned to her seat by Peter in the kitchen. Kevin answered his phone to Max's nearly incoherent sobs.

"Max, what's wrong?" Kevin found himself nearly shouting as he held his phone to his ear in a death-grip. All too aware that he had attracted the attention of the entire room, Kevin began to distance himself from the concerned faces converging on him.

"I killed Chloe… I killed her and I just watched her die." Max's words were barely discernible through choking sobs. Kevin found himself entirely speechless. What could he say? Luckily for him, Max didn't give him an opportunity to speak, she rambled on, barely stopping to breath.

Chloe had asked Max to kill her by overdosing her with her pain medication. Chloe's health wasn't getting better, would never get better. It would only ever get progressively worse. Max had caused her best friend, her love, to suffer immensely and the guilt was destroying her. She sobbingly confessed that she gave into Chloe's pleas. Chloe drifted away painlessly as if falling asleep for the last time.

Kevin was being bombarded with concerned questions from all sides. Ignoring them, he listened to Max admit to what she saw as her final treachery towards Chloe and her family. Kevin's heart felt as if it were being torn apart. He marched towards the door, pushing his way past Olivia and Peter.

"Max, I'm on my way. I'll be there as soon as I can." His bold words did little to calm the grief-stricken Max. Choking back another sob, she told him not to bother. She was going to go back in time again and set things right. She couldn't accept this new reality that she created, she wouldn't accept it without Chloe.

Without hesitation, Kevin told her that he understood and that he didn't blame her for anything. He told her that he would see her on the other side and wished her luck. As he hung up his phone, he noticed that everyone around him was extremely tense and worried so he explained to them what happened and what was going to happen.

Expecting the most serious reaction from Walter, he kept his eyes on Doctor Bishop. The man continued to be full of surprises. Walter became withdrawn and simply nodded, offering not a single argument. Olivia and Peter, on the other hand, were furious. Olivia in particular.

"She can't just go back in time and change things again, right Walter? Hey, what's the matter with you?" Peter practically shouted.

"I love you, son." Walter managed feebly, causing Peter to let go of his aggression and soften towards his father. Peter approached Walter and carefully laid a hand on his shoulder. It would have been a warm, tender moment if Olivia hadn't been raising her own objections.

"Kevin, you have to call her back. Right now! We have to talk her out of it! We have no idea how much worse things are going to get. You need to stop her."

Kevin looked back at Olivia, defiance burning in his eyes. Her eyes widened in shock as he hurled his phone into the wall, smashing it to pieces. He turned back to face them and smiled grimly as he saw Olivia reach for her own phone.

"No," he responded flatly, even though it was already crystal-clear where he stood.

Olivia, phone in hand, was so consumed with calling Max that she failed to notice him diving towards her. Charlie made a desperate attempt to intercept Kevin, but he was too slow. Kevin and Olivia crashed down to the hardwood floor before he could reach them, her phone flying across the room.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Peter shouted as he and Charlie wrenched Kevin off of Olivia. Kevin was lifted off of his feet, and he braced himself as he was shoved against the wall.


Kevin nearly fell over as he threw himself off balance bracing against a force that no longer existed. As he flailed about, he reached out to the nearby wall to steady himself only to realize that his hands were full. Twisting his body, he collided shoulder first with an extremely solid and hard wall, without damaging anything except perhaps himself. Leaning against the wall, he took stock of the objects in his hands and his surroundings.

He appeared to be in a hallway of a hospital, and he held a large and rather immaculate looking bouquet of colorful flowers with an attached card in one hand and a small box in the other. Feeling slightly more able, he inspected the envelope. Kate's name was scrawled across the front in what looked like his handwriting.

Kevin took a deep breath. Max rewound time before Olivia could intervene. He let the breath out in a slow, relieved exhale. The release of air soothed his rigid body.

Okay, so I'm at the hospital getting ready to visit Kate and I've gone and gotten her flowers… and what's this?

He shifted the flowers into the crook of his arm so he could use both hands to pry open the small box he held in his hands. His breath caught in his throat as he revealed the exact same necklace he'd given Max in the alternate reality.

Was this the only fucking necklace at the store? For fucks sake, I hope she was born in September as well or else this is going to be really fucking embarrassing. And why the hell did I buy her a necklace? She's always wearing that golden cross of hers! Weren't there any bracelets at the store? What if she likes gold better than silver, you fucking moron! I barely know her — what am I doing buying her jewelry anyway? These damned flowers probably cost a fortune as it is, where the hell did I get these anyway? For fucks sake, how long have I been on auto-pilot?

He pocketed the jewelry box and realized that he'd been standing in front of a door right before he had nearly fallen over.

Is this Kate's door? Did I knock already? Should I just run away now and figure out what the hell is going on before I walk into a situation pretty much blind?

His thoughts were cut short as the door slowly opened away from him and a smiling, radiant Kate Marsh stepped forward to greet him. She was simply dressed in what were probably pajamas—turquoise sweatpants and a small white t-shirt that fit her snuggly around her shoulders and chest but was more lose around her stomach. Her shirt had a strip of turquoise material around the collar and a circular picture of colorful flowers in the center of her chest. Kevin felt his heart skip a beat when he noticed that Kate's dirty-blonde hair was not up in its usual immaculate bun, but had been let down to cascade beautifully around her shoulders. He barely had time to react as she drew herself closer and warmly embraced him.

All of his previous worries were banished at that moment. Nothing mattered anymore except for the fact that he was holding her and she was holding him. He could tell from the way that she held him that he was hers and she was his. He didn't know how it had happened or when it had happened, but at that very moment all he cared about was that it had happened. As they slowly drew apart, her eyes caught on the flowers he brought for her. Her hazel eyes met his and her cheeks reddened ever so slightly. Smiling at him, she accepted the flowers and invited him inside. Okay, so we're hugging, but flowers still make her blush… dating or not dating?

Kevin didn't want to dismiss how adorable he and Max had been or could have been as a couple, but as he sat down across from Kate a feeling of certainty crept into his chest. He felt as if he belonged here. He felt deep within his soul that he belonged with her.

As they sat there talking about nothing in particular, the feeling grew every time she smiled at him. Her smiles were warm and friendly, and she would tilt her head ever so slightly to the left every time she smiled. She seemed like an entirely different person now, as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and she had stepped out of someone else's skin that she had been trapped in.

"It was adorable how you fell asleep talking to me the other night," she said, causing Kevin to blush and shift in his seat. "I'm glad you messaged me though. It was rough being here at first..."

"Yeah, I wasn't sure if it was too late or not. I'm just glad that I didn't disturb you or anything. Sorry about falling asleep on you… I don't even remember doing that." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, but Kate giggled at his nervousness.

Okay, so that still happened, one step at a time. This is fine. Everything is fine. What am I saying? Everything could be on fire and I'd still be fine, so long as I'm with her.

While they chatted, Kate picked up a small notepad that she must have set aside when she answered the door and continued doodling, humming beautifully as she listened to him speak. She seemed totally and completely relaxed around him. He felt entirely at peace as well, which was odd due to his surroundings. He had been in several hospitals over the years and never once had it been pleasant experience.

Giggling at the joke that he had just told, she looked back up at him again and he looked back at her and they sat like that staring into each other's eyes for an unmeasurable amount of time. He felt another certainly grow inside of him. Nathan would never again harm her again. It would never happen. And if he tried, Kevin would bring the entire goddamned world down upon him in vengeance.


"So, let me see if I've got this straight. Max went back in time and stopped Chloe's dad from dying and basically rewrote history. Am I doing okay so far?" Olivia nodded to Peter as he looked at first to her and then his father, who seemed to be lost in thought.

Walter had been uncharacteristically quiet since Olivia had first explained to them everything that had happened. Charlie seemed to be just as confused as Peter, but he was okay with that. When things went way above his head, he didn't stress himself with trying to make sense of everything, he just accepted it and did his best. His niece, on the other hand, was paying strict attention, completely absorbed in the discussion.

Peter, encouraged that he was making progress, continued, "Obviously saving Chloe's father changed some things here and there, but she changed more than she anticipated."

"The car gods must be appeased," mumbled Charlie. Everyone turned to face Charlie and the room fell quiet as they stared at him with varying levels of surprise. "What, too soon?" Peter chuckled lightly but quickly turned back towards Olivia and continued.

"Anyways, she ended up saving Chloe's father, but by doing so, sentenced her friend to a life of almost complete paralysis. But it was worse than that, Chloe was slowly dying, so she asked Max to kill her… and she did. Damn. Max is going to need some serious counseling after all this is done. I didn't think she had it in her."

"You would be surprised what lengths someone would go to just to protect someone they love, my son." Walter's words were barely audible, and Olivia detected a hint of sadness in them. Peter nodded absentmindedly towards his father, and placed his hand on his father's shoulder encouragingly.

"But once she killed Chloe, she decided to go back in time again and change things back to the way they were before. Allowing Chloe's father to die, but restoring Chloe to her old self... and it worked?" Peter asked, his grasp on the situation struggling.

"We have to assume it did for the moment. Since that last correction, I haven't been able to get through to any of them. I haven't noticed anything strange happen, so I'm fairly confident that Max accomplished her goal," said Olivia. She sighed and rubbed the back of her head. It still was quite sore from when Kevin threw her to the ground. She couldn't help but admire his courage and dedication to his friends, even if she was furious at him for encouraging Max. She could only hope Max's latest revision hadn't caused more irreparable damage. She could hope but experience taught her it probably had.

"But at what cost, Agent Dunham. At what cost?" Walter grumbled almost to himself, but his deep and commanding voice carried throughout the room. Olivia had already brought him up to speed with his theories concerning the alternate universe, and he had simply nodded and thanked her for confirming what he had already suspected.

"So, what are we gonna do about these kids, huh?" Charlie leaned forward, his face growing serious. "We've been getting along pretty well so far, but Kevin has gone rogue and Max needs to be locked down if she's really doing what you say she's doing, Livvy. Give me the word and I can round up some of the local boys so we can grab them."

"I don't want the local police involved. Not yet." Olivia was about to say more, but Charlie's niece spoke up before she could continue.

"I don't think it would be wise to resort to force. From the way Olivia describes it, Kevin was only doing what he thought was best for Max and Chloe. As he's always done. They probably want everything to be resolved as much as you guys do, but can you imagine what Max must be going through right now? She only wanted to help her best friend, but her actions only made her life worse. Then she killed her. I wouldn't be answering my phone right now either. She's probably just happy to have Chloe back right now."

"What about Kevin?" Charlie crossed his arms and waited patiently while Kimberly took a moment before answering.

"If I was him, I would be really nervous about what Olivia is going to do to him," said Kimberly, shooting Olivia a playful smile. Olivia smiled back, doing her best to mimic Kimberly's enthusiasm. "Oh, you bet. He's going to be in big trouble the next time I see him."

"You can hold him and I'll punch, just like you taught me," Kimberly added, shadow-boxing with near-perfect form. Olivia found herself giggling along with Kimberly, her lightheartedness always infected her. She adored Charlie's niece almost as much as she cherished her own.

Charlie smiled and nudged his niece with his shoulder.

"Get him a few times for me, Kimmy."

The mood in the room shifted dramatically and the tension that had been building up slowly for the past several minutes dissipated. Even Walter's spirits seemed to have lifted, if only slightly. Kimberly always knew how to brighten the mood, and she always spoke with more maturity than people expected of her.

Shuddering slightly, Olivia thought back to the previous timeline when she had discovered that Kimberly was planning on joining the FBI. She wanted Charlie's niece to have a better life than she did, and continue to see the good in people that she always seemed to find, no matter what. Jobs like hers had a nasty habit of taking things like that away from people.

"Alright. I'll keep trying to get in touch with our friends. Meanwhile, is there anything else that you can think of that we should be doing? Walter?" asked Olivia, concern creeping into hervoice.

Hearing his name, Walter jumped visibly and it took a few moments for his eyes to focus on her. "I'm sorry, Agent Dunham. All I have are theories at the moment. I would like to speak to young Maxine again. I do have a few questions that I need to ask her."

Nodding, Olivia reached into her pocket, and, as their party slowly dispersed, she deliberately exhaled through her nose as she noted that Max and Kevin still hadn't attempted to reach out to her in response to her multiple calls and messages. Perhaps it was time to try a different approach.


Come and tell their story, gave their lives so boldly, come and tell the Swiss guards' story again… The song ended just as triumphantly as it had begun, and Kevin could tell that Kate had listened intently to every single word. He had expected Kate to visibly react to the song from Sabaton, but she listened as the song played, tapping her feet in time with the beat. He was almost certain that her musical interests massively differed from his own, but perhaps he was mistaken. She had clearly never heard the song before judging from the way she had focused on every word of the song, visibly caught up by the story the song told.

Once the song ended, Kate was lost deep in thought, reflecting on what she had just heard. A growing sense of nervous excitement crept into the back of his mind as he awaited her thoughts.

"It's kind of sad. Those poor men. You said this actually happened?" Nodding, Kevin watched as Kate fiddled absentmindedly with the golden cross that she wore around her neck. The small jewelry box in the left pocket of his khaki pants felt as if it were growing in size as he again thought about how foolish he had been for purchasing her a necklace that she would probably never wear. "What happened afterwards?"

Kevin shook his head sadly—there wasn't a happy ending.

"Of the one-hundred and eighty-nine guardsmen, only forty-two survived as they escorted Pope Clement VII to safety. Rome was sacked, the Pope eventually capitulated, and many historians agree that this event marked the end of the Roman Renaissance."

It was at that moment that he began to question his judgement. Kevin had focused too much on his desire to share something with Kate that he hadn't looked at the big picture. This is one hell of a depressing event… What was I thinking? But as it turned out, Kate was far more optimistic than he was. Not that much optimism was required to achieve that distinction.

"But despite the incredible odds those brave men, encouraged by their faith, made their stand and kept fighting even when it seemed hopeless. Thanks, Kevin… It really makes my situation seem like nothing, doesn't it?" she said. Kevin flinched and her eyes went wide with surprise. She leaned towards him, squeezing his hand. "No, no! I didn't mean it like that! It was a beautiful song, really it was! This band really makes history more interesting, don't they?"

"Yes, yes they do. I'm glad you liked it. I really didn't put too much thought into the overall message. I swear." He relaxed slightly as it became more and more obvious that he hadn't upset her, but he was still worried about his lack of foresight on the matter.

"Sure, you didn't," she teased him, and squeezed his hand a second time before withdrawing, smiling sweetly. Her smile vanquished his worries, and he even began to forgive himself for foolishly purchasing her a necklace. "You said you had another song that you wanted to show me?"

"Yeah, right. So, have you heard of Lindsey Stirling?" he asked, and began to bring up the song on his phone.

"Of course, I have! She's so great!" Kate paused for a second as she thought more about his question. "You're going to play one of her video game covers, aren't you?"

"I mean, I had thought of it, so you aren't wrong. But have you heard her song Crystalize yet?" he asked.

Kate's triumphant smile vanished. "Is that new? I'm not sure I have, honestly, but either way I obviously haven't heard it enough."

Nodding, Kevin played the song and scooted his chair closer to hers so they could both watch the music video. They watched in silence for a while until finally, halfway through, Kate sighed and whispered, "I wish I could dance like her and play the violin…"

"I'd love to see that…" Kevin cut himself off, realizing exactly how that sounded, especially with how quickly he blurted it out. Kate giggled and eyed him coyishly.

"Well... maybe I'll learn someday so you can watch."

And there it was, he had accidentally flirted with her and she had flirted right back.

All at once, he felt his face burn bright red and quite possibly brighter when her hand, intentionally or not, came to rest adjacent to his. Her hand lingered next to his and he desired nothing more than to take her hand in his, but his muscles were locked in place as he feared that any movement could possibly ruin the moment. But despite his inaction, the moment was ruined anyway as a light knock at the door caused them both to withdraw from each other.

"Kate?" Kevin immediately recognized Max's voice from the other side of the door. As Kate rose from her seat, he rose as well.

"Oh, Max! I'll be right there!" Smiling once more at him, Kates lowly turned towards the door, but something else caught her attention and she stopped herself mid-turn. "What's that on the floor?"

Following Kate's gaze to the left of his chair, Kevin realized in horror that the small jewelry box that he had shamefully hidden in his pocket had somehow managed to slip out when he got up from his chair.

"Oh… that's nothing." Kevin reached down to retrieve the box, but his flimsy deception failed miserably. Kate was a girl after all. It was nearly impossible for her not to recognize the jewelry box for what it was. Or she had seen his face turn a brighter shade red in embarrassment… or perhaps both, she was extremely perceptive after all.

"Nothing? Kevin Thomas Anderson, you are bright red and you've just dropped a jewelry box! Now hurry up and give me my present before I let Max in, or you can give it me once I let her in. Your choice."

She was really turning up the teasing to eleven, and her smile grew wider by the second. He was trapped and, from the triumphant smile on her face, she knew it. Seeing no alternative action, he swept the box from the ground and sheepishly placed it in her awaiting hand. Smiling deviously, she quickly peeked inside to confirm her suspicions. Satisfied, she rushed to the door and invited Max inside.

"Max! Look at what Kevin just gave me, isn't it beautiful?" Kevin couldn't believe his eyes, he had never seen Kate act in such a way before, and never would have guessed that such a sweet girl was capable of acting so devious. As Kate showed off the necklace to Max, he noticed Max's reaction when she recognized the necklace, and she shot him a surprised look. He shrugged and did his best to act nonchalant, even though he was petrified. As the two girls continued to greet each other, he did his best to politely excuse himself, and just as he tasted freedom, Kate stopped him in his tracks.

"Just where do you think you are going, mister?"

He stammered and searched for the right words, but she cut him off and drew him into a tight embrace, which he accepted without thinking. Kate even planted a soft and slightly hesitant kiss on one of his cheeks, and thanked him profusely for everything and promised that she would call him as soon as she could. He was so stunned by the entire event that as he walked out of the door after saying his goodbyes, he momentarily forgot which cheek that she had kissed him on.

"Whoa, dude, are you okay?"

Even though he should have expected Chloe to be nearby, Kevin nearly jumped out of his skin in response to her question, which only added to the worried expression that she wore. "Hey, take a load off. Sit the fuck down before you fall over!"

Kevin complied and plopped down on a semi-comfortable bench next to Chloe. He took a few moments to collect himself before he turned to face her. He couldn't shake the starkly different Chloe he had seen not too long ago out of his mind, normal-looking but paralyzed.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Shaking his head, he forcibly removed the ghastly image of the other Chloe from his mind.

"You sure? You look like you just saw a ghost or some shit… Has Max been fucking around with time and not telling me?"

Kevin shook his head and did his best to settle down. He was still recovering from Kate's uncharacteristic assertiveness, and, on top of that, he was sitting next to Chloe doing his damnedest not to bring up anything about her being paralyzed—or Max killing her. Hoping to steer the conversation away from himself, Kevin thought back to something that seemed like it had happened weeks ago.

"So, how was making out with Max?" His sudden change of topic caught her completely off guard and left her unbalanced. Good. Chloe, always one to play it cool, recovered and adopted a very smug attitude.

"Hella awesome. How was making out with Kate?" It was his turn to be caught off guard and Chloe's smile broadened as her verbal parry struck home.

"How?" Feeling more impressed with her ability to read the situation, then surprised about her analysis, he could only manage one word before Chloe's body language shifted from confident to worried or perhaps even slightly frightened.

"You look exactly how I felt when Max kissed me. We didn't make out. I dared her to kiss me just to prove a point and she totally did. I was hella' scared at first... I didn't know what to do so I tried to play it off." Kevin could tell that one simple kiss had meant a lot to Chloe, and probably had meant just as much to Max. He expected her to snap out of her current state any second, but she didn't.

"Kate kissed me on the cheek. Yeah, I know, right? One tiny little peck on the cheek, and I'm a wreck. I know how you feel. Her confidence and strength came out of nowhere. She all of the sudden seemed like—"

"—a different person? Yeah, I totally get it. Max is different now, too. A good different, though— stronger, more confident. It's like these crazy powers are helping her realize who she really is."

Nodding, Kevin felt that he could say the same about Kate, except in her case, it seemed that she had come out of her suicide attempt stronger than ever. All thanks to Max, who was most certainly going through changes of her own.

"She really likes you. Yah know?" he said, his tone sober. Chloe's posture stiffened for a moment then sank back into the bench. Her face softened as she digested his words, and as she sat there a slight smile crept onto her face.

"I suppose I do now. Life is so… weird. You think you know someone. You've known them for most of your life, but they still manage to surprise you."

"So, would I be correct in inferring that you like her too?" He realized that he had pushed the conversation one step too far as he watched Chloe close herself off, her entire body going rigid.

"What the hell is this? An interrogation?"

"I'm just curious—" He attempted to de-escalate the situation, but the damage had been done.

"Well mind your own shit! Ugh, what now?" Feigning annoyance, Chloe reached into her pocket and glared at her buzzing phone. Kevin saw right through her façade; however, he could sense that she was thankful for the interruption. She answered her phone and leaned back against the wall and relaxed. It was as if he no longer existed to her.

Even only being able to hear half of the conversation, he learned that Olivia had called her and was looking for a status update. He had certainly been ignoring her since their altercation, and it was also entirely possible that Max was avoiding her as well. Sure enough, after a few words had been exchanged between Chloe and Olivia, the phone was shoved in his direction. Sighing loudly, he decided he might as well face the music sooner rather than later, and he accepted the phone, bracing himself for what was to come.

To his surprise, Olivia didn't seem to be as upset with him as he had expected her to be, but she opened the conversation with a warning nonetheless.

"Don't ever do that again," her voice was cold, though not entirely threatening.

"Ominous," he responded sarcastically.

"I mean it. Look, I know why you did it, but you have to understand that there are serious repercussions—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm sorry that I had to do what I did, but that's all that you're getting." Olivia was silent for a long time, and he was beginning to worry that he had pushed her over the limit.

"Walter needs to talk to Max, is she with you guys?"

Kevin cast a sidelong glance at Chloe, who was doing a good job at pretending that she wasn't interested in the conversation that was happening on her phone, but he knew she was straining to listen to every word.

"Yeah. She's here. But she's not available at the moment. I'll let her know that you guys need to speak to her. Peace." He hung up before Olivia could say anything else, and he shoved the phone at Chloe, who was taken aback by his curtness.

"What did she want?" Chloe demanded, even though she was trying to keep her voice as disinterested as possible.

"Didn't say, just that they wanted to speak with Max sooner rather than later. Which I imagine will involve more tests on her."

"Fuck that shit… we've got hella' investigating to do today." Kevin's eyebrows shot up and she rolled her eyes. "You can tag along, if you want." As he nodded to show that he did indeed desire to tag along, she shrugged as if it didn't matter either way, but he could tell that she was at least slightly pleased that he had accepted.

They only had to wait a few more minutes for Max and Kate to finish up, and when Max exited the room, she crossed her arms and glared at him roguishly.

"You didn't waste any time sweeping her off her feet, now did you?" He felt his face flush with color but before he could blurt out a hasty response Max continued speaking. "She really likes you... like, a lot." Not really knowing what to say, he simply nodded that he understood. Chloe leaned over his right shoulder and put her head uncomfortably close to his.

"And if you break her heart… Max and I will use her rewind powers to kick the shit out of you over and over again. Just think about it." He did his best not to flinch as he thought about the numerous diabolical ways that they could utilize Max's powers to torture him. Having said what she needed to say, Chloe stood up and motioned towards the elevator with her head, and without another word the trio set off.