Author's Note: Hello all! I know, it's been months again, but this chapter took me a long time to get right. It was a tough one; lots of emotional stuff here, and I hope I did it justice. Anyway. Thanks to everyone who has read, followed and added this to faves; extra special thanks to witchbaby300, FlowerChild17, mstef, ILuvOdie, Freebird87, and guest for your reviews.

Disclaimer: As ever, ATU doesn't belong to me; neither does the song A Day in the Life from which I got the chapter title.

Chapter Ten - The News Was Rather Sad

Maggie and Max were nearly inseparable the day after they admitted their feelings to each other. They spent the whole day together until Max had to go pick up his sister from the train station late in the afternoon; Maggie stayed behind to go to Sadie's show with the others, where Max and Lucy would meet them later.

As he left, Max gave Maggie a long kiss, tangling his hand in her hair. They broke apart at the sound of good-natured whistling and catcalling from their friends; Maggie blushed bright red and squeezed her eyes shut. Max chuckled.

"See you at the show," he said, planting another kiss on her forehead before exiting the apartment.

Maggie returned to the living room and gazed at Jude and Prudence with narrowed eyes, though a small smirk played on her lips. "Thank you both for that," she said sarcastically.

...

An hour later Maggie, Jude and Prudence entered the bar where Sadie and the Po' Boys were playing that night. The three of them made their way over to a large booth and ordered a round of beers while they waited for the show to start; various people they knew drifted over and joined them.

There was an uproar as the band came onstage and started to play. A few songs in, Maggie felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned in her seat to find Max grinning at her, a pretty blonde girl standing a bit nervously at his side.

"Everyone," Max said to the table at large, "this is my little sister Lucy."

There was a chorus of greetings from the assembled group and Lucy smiled and waved at them. Max sat down next to Maggie, put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek; Lucy smacked him hard on the arm and he whipped around to face her, startled.

"Ow! What the hell?"

"Max! You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend!"

Maggie giggled at the scolding tone of Lucy's voice and the offended look on Max's face.

"Well we've only been together since yesterday," Max said defensively. "When exactly was I supposed to tell you?"

Lucy rolled her eyes and leaned around Max to speak to Maggie, smiling at her. "Nice to meet you."

Maggie smiled back. "You too. I'm Maggie, by the way."

"Oh! Max has told me a lot about you," Lucy said with a grin.

"He's told me a lot about you, too," Maggie replied.

With a slight smirk and a roll of his eyes, Max excused himself to go grab drinks. Lucy scooted next to Maggie. The two girls chatted for a few minutes, getting to know each other, until Max returned and squeezed his way back in between them with a roguish grin. Maggie rolled her eyes and smiled at him; he smiled back and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to watch the rest of the show.

...

A couple hours later the show had ended and the whole group, now including Sadie and Jojo, was making their way to Katz's for a late night snack. Walking hand in hand with Max, Maggie gazed at Lucy and Jude, who were walking just ahead of them. It was pretty clear to her that Jude, at least, had a bit of a crush on Max's sister; she still didn't know the blonde girl well enough to gauge whether she might feel the same, though Maggie thought Lucy had been acting a bit oddly since she and Jude had talked privately earlier in the evening.

Before she could think on it further, they arrived at the restaurant and settled themselves around their usual table. Max leaned back in his chair and put his arm around Maggie's shoulders, making her smile. She felt as though she'd had a happy bubble inside her since yesterday and couldn't imagine anything bringing her down right now.

After they'd all received their food, Lucy got Max's attention and fished a slightly squashed white envelope out of her purse, which she handed to him. Sitting next to him, Maggie could easily see the return address and army logo stamped on it; her throat tightened painfully as Max ripped open the envelope.

He pulled out the letter, unfolded it and began to skim the words printed there. Maggie glanced at the page and recognized the same form letter that had been sent to her brother all those months ago.

The others were speaking up, but Maggie couldn't hear their words over the sudden rushing in her ears. She couldn't believe this was happening again. Her hands began to shake and her stomach turned over as Max leaned over the table and lit the letter on fire; as the others watched it burn Maggie stood up abruptly, her chair scraping loudly on the floor and getting the attention of the whole table. They all looked at her questioningly.

"I - I just...this is - I can't..." Maggie ran a trembling hand through her hair. "I need to - I need...some air."

Turning around she hurried away, her vision blurring with tears. Outside on the sidewalk she leaned against the cool wall of the building and closed her eyes, letting the tears flow down her cheeks. A couple minutes later she felt a hand on her shoulder; opening her eyes she found Max standing in front of her, his blue eyes sad and scared as he gazed at her.

Letting out a choked sob, Maggie threw herself into his waiting arms and cried into his chest for several long minutes. Max held her close, both wanting to comfort and be comforted. He couldn't believe this was actually happening. Burying his face in Maggie's hair he inhaled the flowery scent of her shampoo, trying to calm his nerves.

"How can they take you?" Maggie whimpered, her voice muffled by Max's jacket.

He tightened his arms around her, his next words trying to convince himself as much as her. "I might not have to go. The others said there's some stuff I can do to fail the physical, and then they won't take me." He leaned back so he could look at her. "It'll be okay."

Even though she wasn't nearly convinced Maggie nodded, trying to pretend. "Okay."

...

The next few days passed in somewhat of a blur. Everyone did their best to ignore Max's looming appointment at the induction center; the night before he had to go they even threw a party to try and keep everyone's minds off of it.

Sitting in a corner of the living room, Maggie watched as Jude and Lucy left together in the direction of the bedrooms. At least someone's happy, she thought. Nothing had been able to make her even briefly forget about Max's draft letter; she was terrified that he would get sent off to Vietnam and never come back, just like David.

Sighing deeply Maggie stood up, weaving her way through the crowd of people to the window. She clambered out onto the fire escape and sat down, leaning on the railing as she pulled a cigarette out of her pocket. After searching all her pockets, she failed to find her lighter; since her nerves were already strained so badly she felt irrational anger bubble up inside her and slammed her hand down on the railing, cursing loudly.

"Damn it!"

"Are you alright?"

Maggie jumped slightly at Max's voice. He came over and sat down beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"I can't find my lighter," Maggie grumbled. A slight smirk crossed Max's face as he pulled out his own and lit her cigarette for her.

"Seems like a bit of an overreaction to a missing lighter."

Maggie sighed. "It's not really about the lighter. I'm just so pissed off."

"I know," Max said, pulling her close. "Hopefully this'll all be over tomorrow."

Maggie curled her arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. "I hope so."

The pair of them sat there in silence for a long while, neither voicing their thoughts and fears about the next day; it seemed that everything had been said already.

Finally Max spoke up. "My ass is asleep."

Maggie laughed, giving him a squeeze. "Let's go inside. It sounds like the party's pretty much done."

Lacing her fingers through Max's, Maggie got to her feet and pulled him up with her; they climbed back in through the window and headed towards the bedrooms, noting that the apartment was indeed nearly empty. When they reached Maggie's room Max made to release her hand, but she didn't let go. He arched an eyebrow at her; they hadn't yet spent the night together and he was wary of going too fast, given her past ordeal.

"Come with me. I just want to be near you," Maggie said softly.

Max nodded and they entered her room through the bead curtain; Maggie picked up her pajamas and glanced at Max, a blush colouring her cheeks. Smiling fondly at her, he kissed her forehead and turned his back so she could change. Far less self-conscious than his girlfriend, Max took off his shoes, socks and jeans, then waited in his t-shirt and boxer shorts until Maggie spoke.

"Thanks, Max. You can turn around now."

He did so and found Maggie sitting cross-legged on her bed wearing a pair of shorts and a faded tank top. She smiled softly and patted the bed next to her; he sat down and cupped her face gently, kissing her. She responded eagerly, looping her arms around his neck as Max threaded his fingers through her soft hair. Sighing softly, Maggie laid back on the bed, taking Max with her.

They continued kissing for a while until Max forced himself to pull back, stopping before he got too carried away and tried something she wasn't ready for; he brushed Maggie's hair behind her ears and kissed her forehead.

"We should get some sleep," he whispered. She nodded and leaned over to turn off the lamp, lying back down a moment later. Max put his arms around her and pulled her close, tucking her head under his chin, and soon they drifted off to sleep.

...

The next morning Maggie woke up when the mattress beneath her shifted drastically; opening her eyes, she saw Max crawling out of bed. He sighed when he noticed she was awake.

"Sorry. I was trying not to wake you."

Maggie sat up, stretching. "That's okay. What time is it?"

"Almost eleven." Max paused uncomfortably. "I have to go soon."

"Right," Maggie said quietly, getting out of bed and pulling on a sweater. "You sure you don't want me to come with you?"

Max pulled her into a hug. "I'm sure. Thanks though, Mags. I'll see you when I get back."

"Okay," she replied, hugging him tight. "Good luck, Max."

...

The day passed agonizingly slowly for Maggie, waiting for Max to return. She felt like she was waiting for the axe to fall; her stomach was in knots all day. She tried to distract herself by painting, but found she couldn't even concentrate on that, and so she resigned herself to sitting in the living room doodling absently on a sketch pad while all manner of horrible thoughts drifted through her mind.

When she heard the front door open late that afternoon Maggie leapt up from the couch, the pad and pencil falling to the floor; moments later Max came into the room, and Maggie instantly knew from the look on his face that the news wasn't good.

"Oh God," she mumbled, going to him. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair. Maggie clung to him, doing her best not to break down.

...

That night the apartment was far emptier and more subdued than the previous night. Maggie sat next to Max at the kitchen table, resting her head on her folded arms, as he talked with a couple of their hippie friends.

"And you know what really pisses me off, is I swallowed all those cotton balls and they never even took a damn X-ray," Max said bitterly.

"You still have options, man."

Max glared. "Yeah, jail or Canada and they both suck. I mean, I could never come home, so what is it? It's a choice of a six by four cell or an endless wasteland of frozen tundra."

"Montreal's cool."

"Man, they speak French."

If she hadn't been so miserable Maggie would have laughed at his vehement objection to the French language. As it was, she couldn't even muster up a smirk.

"So learn French," their other friend chimed in. "Learn French or die."

Hearing those words tossed out so casually was more than Maggie could take.

"'Scuse me," she muttered, getting up from the table and grabbing a fresh beer from the fridge before heading to the whatever room. Upon arriving there she found that all her friends were otherwise occupied, so she flopped down on the couch and took a large swig of beer. By the time Max found her, she was halfway through the bottle.

Max sat down next to her and Maggie offered him the beer; he took it and drained most of the remaining liquid in one pull. Curling into him, Maggie laid her head on Max's shoulder. He put his arms around her and rested his cheek on her head.

"She didn't really mean anything by it, you know," he said quietly.

"I know. I'm just so scared for you, Max," Maggie replied, her voice breaking slightly. She tightened her arms around him, as if that could prevent the army from taking him. "I already lost my brother. I can't lose you too."

Max desperately wanted to tell her she wouldn't lose him, but he couldn't bring himself to make a promise that they both knew he might not be able to keep.

...

By the next day Maggie had begun to accept what was happening to Max, even though she hated it. They still had a few months left before he would be shipped out, and Maggie had resolved that she was not going to be miserable the whole time; she was going to make sure they made the most of their time together.

Besides, she'd also realized that she had been a bit selfish by making Max comfort her when he was the one who'd been drafted.

And so she carefully crawled out of bed, making sure she didn't wake Max, and crept out of her bedroom to the kitchen; she was going to make him breakfast as an apology. Half an hour later Maggie had two plates filled with fried eggs, bacon, toast and strawberries. She poured two cups of coffee and, balancing everything with some difficulty, headed back to her bedroom.

She was very glad her room didn't have an actual door, as with an armful of plates and mugs there was no way she'd be able to get one open; backing through the bead curtain she found Max still asleep. With a smile Maggie put the dishes down on her desk and went to sit on the edge of the bed.

Max stirred as she sat down, and mumbled something unintelligible into his pillow. Laughing softly, Maggie leaned down and placed a kiss on his blond head; he rolled over and cracked open his eyes.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Maggie said, smiling at him.

"Morning," Max replied, somewhat groggily. "You made breakfast?"

Maggie nodded. "Yeah. It's kind of to say I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?"

"I am," Maggie said, taking his hand. "I've been kind of insensitive and selfish about all this."

Max didn't have to ask what 'all this' was; he sat up and gave her hand a squeeze. "Don't worry about it. It's hard for all of us."

"I know. But it's harder for you, and I sort of forgot that. So I'm sorry." Maggie paused for a moment, then brightened. "You hungry?"

Max grinned. "Usually."

Laughing, Maggie grabbed the plates from the desk and handed one to Max, then settled in next to him to eat.

A/N: So, what did you think? Please let me know :)