Max blinked away the tears and concentrated on the photograph in front of her, blotting out everything else from her mind. Soon, she could hear the laughing and the photograph began to vibrate and flutter in her hands. She squinted, bringing it back into focus and felt a huge sense of relief as her stomach sucked in and the world went white.

"Someday Dad will get one of them new-fangled computers," said Chloe, moving away from Max and over to her father, who had removed the photo from his Polaroid camera and was waiting for it to appear.

Right. No fuckups with time this, uh, time. No matter how much it hurts, I can't change things.

"Max? I hope the flash didn't scare you," said William, looking at the photo. "I think this one's a keeper."

"Not until I see it first," shouted Chloe, jumping up and down in excitement and grabbing the photo from her father. "You know the rules, Dad!"

"Max, tell him the rules… whoa, hey, Max, you look totally pale. Are you okay?"

No, I don't think I am. This is… too much.

"Yeah, I just… uh, yeah, I'm fine, Chloe." She looked around her at the very familiar living room that she'd been in earlier that day/five years ago/yesterday/this morning.

Man, time travel really fucks with perspective.

"Ok Chloe. Thumbs up or thumbs down?"

"I think I might just allow this one into the family album."

Max sat down heavily on the chair as Chloe danced around her father as they went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Ok. Time-out, Max. Time. Out.

Chloe was in the kitchen with William, and they were bickering as normal.

"You mean pancakes?" asked Chloe.

"Indeed. In France they call them 'crepes'. And a good French chef needs his assistant. You know what they're called?"

"Um…"

"Max?"

"Um, is it a sous chef?"

"Very good, Max."

"A shoe chef?" Chloe's pronunciation got Max laughing hard. "Is that like a pastry? I remember Mom talking about shoe pastry." William started laughing at that as well.

"No honey, there is something called Choux pastry, but it's spelt differently. A sous chef is like the second in command of a kitchen," he said. "And my sous chef better start helping me, if she wants to eat breakfast."

"Oui!" called Chloe, jumping up and down again. "I, as your executive shoe chef, volunteer to break the eggs."

"Chloe, it's sous… oh never mind. You're doing it on purpose, aren't you?" laughed William, handing her the eggs. "This better not become a thing."

"Do you remember how many eggs?" asked William, and Chloe was quick to answer.

"One per person, and an extra one for the pan."

"Good. And remember to use the older dated eggs."

"Yes, Dad."

"Sorry?"

"I said, yes Dad."

"Ahem." William coughed and pointedly looked at the kitchen implements in front of him. "It's the hat, isn't it? I need a white hat."

"Ah yes. I meant, oui chef."

"That's more like it. I'll have to go buy a chef's hat, I think. Can't be having another identity crisis."

"Now be careful, Chloe. Remember who the boss is, here."

"Mom?"

"Try again."

"Me?"

"Right. Me. Well, when your mother's not here, anyway. Hey, watch it. Use the old eggs, not the new eggs, no use the old eggs."

"Dad, come on, I was… Dad, was that a movie quote?"

"You tell me, honey."

"It was! It totally was! Max?"

"Police Academy Two. Not quite the original quote, but I'll allow it. Extra kudos for the paraphrase."

"Very good Max. Chloe, do you remember the original quote then?"

Chloe looked at her father and raised her eyebrows. "Really, Dad? You think I don't know?"

"Right. I think you don't know. Prove me wrong, honey."

"Of course, Dad." Chloe looked at Max pleadingly, making a weird face that was supposed to be puppy-dog eyes but just ended up looking like a demented hippo. Max giggled at her face and mouthed the word 'zoo'. She had to mouth it several times before Chloe smiled. "The old zoo. Not the new zoo, no, the old zoo, the old zoo."

"Excellent, honey." William turned around. "And thanks Max for telling her."

Max grinned in response and noticed the camera on the worktop next to Chloe and she snatched it up. "My turn to take a photo. Strike a pose!"

"Make me a star!" said Chloe, turning, grinning and doing jazz hands.

"Just try and make me look younger," said William, also turning, but just smiling and putting his arm around his daughter.

You can see the bond between Chloe and her father. Now that's what I call a perfect photo-op.

She depressed the shutter and the familiar click, whirr spat the photo out into her hand. She waved it a couple times, enjoying the sensation of the new photo smell coupled with the slight breeze from waving it by her face, and placed it carefully next to the one William had just taken. As she did so, the phone rang.

Oh no. That's 'the phone call.'

Max's heart sank as William left Chloe to the pancakes and headed into the hall to answer the phone, while Max froze in place. "Hey honey. Yeah, I'm just making a fabulous breakfast with Max and Chloe. I think we're all going to end up working with you at the Two Whales… Yeah… Ah, I didn't know you'd have groceries. Want me to pick you up? Sure… it'll give me an excuse to get a mocha. I'll be there soon, love." He put the phone down and headed back in the kitchen, putting on a hilarious faux-British accent. "Excuse me, ladies, but I have to go rescue yonder Queen at the Sav-Mart. She doth have many bags of delicious grub for us to feast upon."

"You are ridiculous," said Chloe, laughing. "What happened to the French chef?"

"Left him in the kitchen. I am now Sir William of Price, and I must accept thy quest, to rescue thy queen from the clutches of the Sav-Mart. Want to come with?"

No, no, no. Max, say something.

"Thanks, uh, William, but Chloe and I'll stay here and eat, if that's ok with you."

"Not a problem at all." He put his faux-British accent back on. "Now, I need to procure a method of transport, something to get me from thy humble abode to my first port of call. My steed! My kingdom for a horse!"

"Dad, we don't have a horse."

"Ah. Ok. Adopt, adapt and improve. No horse. How about a motorised horse? I'm pretty sure we have one of those out in the driveway." He looked in his pockets. "Shit, where are my keys?" He began looking in the living room.

"That's a dollar for the swear jar!" called Chloe from the kitchen.

"You mean your college fund," he said. "Come on, keys please!" he searched around a little longer, before finding them underneath a baseball cap on the coffee table.

"Ok, ladies, lock up after I leave, play nice, and please try your best not to destroy too much of the house, ok? And no Chloe and Max wine-tasting session, please."

"Da-a-ad!"

"Come on, you think I don't know about what happened last time? And don't blow it because tonight your mother has promised to make us her world-famous salmon surprise with chocolate cake for dessert. Max, you'll be here too, right?"

"She's never leaving me!" called Chloe.

"That makes all of us," said William, sauntering out of the door. Max sank down on the sofa in the living room, head in hands, trying to stop the tears from flowing yet again. Chloe came and sat next to her.

"Max, are you ok?"

"Chloe, I…"

"What is it?"

"Chloe, I'm so sorry, I'm so, so, sorry."

"What, dude?"

"Chloe, I tried to make things different for you. I… I tried so hard, but it just got worse. I'm sorry, Chloe, please don't hate me."

"Hey there, Max, it's ok. I couldn't hate you even if I wanted to. What are you talking about? You're scaring me, just ever so slightly. You have made things different, for me, like, my whole life. You're my best friend. I've got you and a great family. Nothing to be sorry about. We'll be best friends forever."

"Yeah," sniffed Max. "Hella best friends."

"Hella," mused Chloe, "I like that. Hella best friends. And when we grow up, we're taking over the world."

"Listen to me, Chloe," said Max, with a renewed urgency, "I need you to promise me something. Whatever happens, I want you to be strong. Even if you feel like I wasn't there for you… because, because I will never abandon you, Chloe. Okay?" Max felt her stomach lurch.

Here we go.

"Um, okay."

"I'll always have your back, Chloe. Always," whispered Max, as the world faded to white.

…

Max experienced the familiar disorientation as the world faded in from white, her heart beating wildly.

God, I hope things are back to normal. Well, whatever normal is, anyway. If I've screwed things up even further…

Her vision cleared and she was looking at a corkboard. A familiar corkboard with a very familiar coloured design on it, although the bits of paper pinned along it didn't seem so familiar. She looked around, at the unmade bed, the piles of clothing scattered around, the dim orange glow as the sun shone through the American flag, and the desk by the window. And, amazingly and brilliantly, Max's heart leapt as she saw that sat at the desk, concentrating on something was…

"Chloe!" She bounced across the room and flung her arms around her friend, resplendent in blue hair and sporting several tattoos. "You're back!"

"Of course I'm… dude, one kiss and you're all over me?"

"I'm just… I'm… you're here! I'm so glad you're here!"

"You sound high, but thanks for the morning grope and… wait, Max, are you crying? What's wrong?" Chloe suddenly looked concerned as Max fairly collapsed in her lap, tears soundlessly pouring from her eyes as her shoulder heaved and shook. "Max? Talk to me."

"I'm ok, Chloe, I really am. These are happy tears."

"Um, what did you do? Or what did I do? I'm confused here. Since we were up all night playing 'CSI: Arcadia Bay,' I was, am, still spaced out here, trying to put all this info together. Max?" When her friend didn't answer, Chloe pressed on. "Did you forget we've gone over this already? Man, I hope you weren't messing around with time while I was sleeping."

"That's a movie title, Chlobear. Doesn't count."

"Movie title? No it wasn't. Anyway, I was trying to… wait, Chlobear? Chlobear?" She hooted with laughter as Max turned red.

"You have so many nicknames for me, I thought I'd try one on for size. Anyway, it so is a movie title."

"Sorry, Maxaroni, hate to break your bubble, but the movie is 'While You Were Sleeping.'"

"Shit. I guess that's a fifty DKP minus."

"What's a what now?"

"Never mind," said Max, unable to keep the grin off her face.

Welcome back to the real world, Max.

"Ok, the way I see it," said Max, looking at the corkboard. There were a few pictures and paper bits pinned up, but they were quite sparse and cryptic. "We need more information, so we need three things."

"Yeah. Three things," replied Chloe, not really listening, then realising what she'd said and giving Max her full attention. "Uh, what three things?"

"One," said Max, ticking off on her fingers, "we need to decipher Frank's logbook. It's all in code, so if we're to get anything out of it, we need to crack that code."

"Frank's logbook. Check."

"Two, we need to get Nathan's phone to find out where he's been during the Vortex Club parties with Kate and Rachel. And see whatever hidden shit he'd got in his messages."

"Um, ok. That could be fun, I guess," said Chloe, frowning. "How are we even going to get his phone?"

"We'll figure that out later."

"And three," said Chloe, smiling, "beat step-shit down until he tells us about Frank, Nathan, and the 'Dark Room'. And I do have a gun now."

"Chloe, keep it in your pants, okay?" said Max. "We'll have to do this on our own."

"Dude, at least let me kick his ass, then rewind…" She sighed and held up her hands. "Fine, whatevs, it's your power."

"Which I can't waste on shit like that," said Max. "Or Blackwell would be in big trouble."

"Yeah, fair enough. At least I have the money for Frank; that should put him in a better mood. Listen, I'll cyberstalk some names here and see where it leads, or to who. You pop down to the garage and do your Sherlock stuff, 'kay?"

"Roger."

"And be careful of step-crack. He's not going to be a happy camper after you reamed him yesterday, and Mom is giving him the boot."

"Max 'Careful' Caulfield. That's me!" Chloe snorted with laughter at that.

"Yeah, right. Go on, away with you." Max nodded and left Chloe to her laptop, heading out and down the stairs, where she bumped into David, who was standing there with a suitcase, looking at the photo board. He noticed Max and nodded to her.

"Max."

"David."

"I hope you're happy, Max. You broke up my family and my marriage." Max wanted to retort, but held her tongue. She could see that there was no fight left in that broken man.

"David, I didn't want to hurt you, I don't want to hurt you. I believe you're a good man, deep down. But I can't let anybody hurt Chloe. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry too, Max. I even thought… I tried to help you, Max, and this is how you repay me?" He dropped his head. "Take care of Chloe, Max. Especially now that I'm…" He broke off, choking down a sob, "that I'm not here to." Max felt the man's pain, and laid a hand on his arm.

"David, I'm sorry. I'm here for Chloe now, and I'm sure this is only temporary. I know you're a good man underneath everything, but please, you need to show it more often, and lay off the surveillance. I'm not trying to break up your family, David, I'm trying to save it."

"Yeah well, you've a funny way of doing it." He shook off her hand, picked up the suitcase and shuffled out of the room. Max heard the car start up outside and drive away, and she looked at the photoboard that David was staring at, showing various photos of Chloe when she was younger, on a swing, out in the garden, photos of Joyce and David.

On the way to the garage, Max swung by the kitchen and the living room, just to check everything was back as it should be. The swear jar/cookie jar was now the Paris jar again, the dining table was back where it should be, pointing the right way, and there wasn't a coupon in sight.

Somehow, I existed in this whole other reality, but I don't know what happened, or what I did. I mean, is there actually another me out there? One that's best friends with Victoria and Nathan? One that I actually recorded that hateful video of Kate? That Max, if she still exists, deserves to live in a world without Chloe. I'm so glad Chloe never got to know what I'd done… what she'd done to everyone.

Thinking of Chloe in that amount of pain touched a raw nerve and Max wiped away a tear. She knew she could never tell Chloe about that alternate timeline; she just wanted to forget it completely.

The more I use my power, the more I screw up, and the more I see how little control I actually have. Even the smallest change can have far-reaching consequences. I mean, how many Max's are there? Two? Three? Ten? Twenty-eight? Come on, Max, stop over-thinking. You're in this reality now. With Chloe. Watching her die, slowly but peacefully, there's no way I'm going through that again. I don't care how peaceful, it fucking hurt me far too much. Chloe is staying alive. There. Decision made.

Max walked through the living room and headed into the garage. Everything was in place, apart from the obvious difference that the car had gone. Max began looking around, collecting up a few notes and pieces of paper into a pile.

First up was a note from Sean Prescott.

'Mr Madsen, thank you for your help with Nathan. It is appreciated. Best, S. Prescott.'

What the hell? What did David do for Nathan?

Max turned to a sheet of paper, rolled carelessly into a ball. She unfurled it and smoothed it out on the worktop.

' Joyce.

You know I'm not good at explaining myself or why I act the way I do sometimes. I only know that nobody has ever understood me the way you do. I would never do anything to hurt you or Chloe. Taking care of my family is my number one mission.

Yes, I overstepped bounds with the surveillance and suspicion and I am truly sorry and ashamed. But there are dark things happening in Arcadia Bay I have never told you. You are my wife and partner and I know we should have no secrets. I intended to tell you everything but I wanted more proof. Instead, a student almost committed suicide on my watch, you kicked me out of my favourite home and my step-daughter hates me. Please let me…'

David, I am sorry. Joyce and Chloe need to see this side of you far more. You should finish the letter.

There was also a map of Pan Estates with camera points marked. Was David working for the Prescotts?

The only other thing of interest, now that the car was out of the way, was the set of metal lockers on the far wall. Max noticed that one locker was secured by a serious large and heavy-duty padlock.

Now that is interesting. What are you hiding, David?

Looking around, she found a crowbar in the corner and, with a little effort, she managed to break the bar across the locker. It sprang open, to reveal its treasure. A solitary large notebook.

Yes! Maps, coordinates, notes, photos of Kate, Nathan. Score! That's exactly what we need. Way to go, Max. One down, two more to go!

She left the garage, calling up the stairs to Chloe, who, after some persuasion, barrelled down the stairs in her regular jacket, t-shirt, jeans and boots.

"We happy?"

"We happy," replied Max. "Secret jackpot file. Found. Kate, Nathan… and Rachel. Location coordinates, notes, photos, maps, the lot. David is like a one-man surveillance army. Now let's get out of here before I get busted.

"Where to?"

"The hospital. Kate awaits."