Day Two

6:00 a.m.

Maddie sat up in a cold sweat, looking around herself in confusion. She'd been at the hospital. The doctors had told her…

Maddie grabbed at the trash can beside her bed, vomiting into it before she could even react. Chimney was dead. She couldn't breathe, and it took her a long time with her head down before she could start to process the day.

She could hear Buck moving around in the kitchen, and her confusion returned. She was wearing the same pajamas she'd been wearing yesterday. Had he brought her home? How had she stayed out that long? Surely they would have kept her for observation if she collapsed?

Her alarm went off, scaring her, and she grabbed her phone without thinking, turning off the alarm.

The date stared straight at her face, and she blinked, turning her phone screen off, and then on again. How could it be? Yesterday's date stared at her.

She sat on the bed, legs folded, her whole body frozen. Now that she felt more lucid, she looked slowly around the bedroom. The manila folder from Donna? It was still on her bedside table filled with divorce papers.

Had it been a dream?

That seemed so impossible, it had been so vivid, so real. Her hands still hurt from the grip on the bat, and she felt like Chimney's blood still covered them.

But she looked down, and there was zero sign of either.

So it had been a dream. The worst dream of her life, and Maddie still felt shaken, but...Chimney was still alive. That's all that mattered.

She got ready for the day, showering and brushing her teeth, before going out to see Buck standing in the kitchen. "Hey," she greeted him. "Today's the day."

"Finally," he said, putting down his cereal bowl. Some milk splashed out, landing on his LAFD shirt. He groaned, dabbing at it. At the sight, Maddie froze in place, her eyes widening. "You know, I am so proud of you, Maddie."

"What did you just do?" She asked, one shaking finger pointing at him.

"Oh my god, the milk just got on my shirt, not the whole room," Buck said. "And just be glad I didn't drink from the bottle."

"No, I just-" Maddie's brain physically couldn't process what was happening. "I'm sorry. I had the weirdest dream. I don't know. Just deja vu."

Buck frowned, looking at her concernedly. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she said. "And use seltzer."

She carefully considered her next words, her whole plan for the day. Surely she wasn't going to pay any mind to some crazy dream. With that in mind, she shook her head, refusing to let herself dwell on it anymore. "Don't tell Chim," she warned, as Buck grabbed a blue LaCroix from the fridge. "I want to stop by the firehouse and tell him myself on my lunch break."

"Man, you are not letting any time go to waste," Buck laughed, and Maddie again flinched at his word choice. Why did it feel like she'd heard it all before? Her head hurt. "Also, will you drink this if I open it because you know I don't like LaCroix."

"Yeah, I can finish it," she stammered, not even trying to answer the other question.

"I'm happy for you guys," Buck said. "A little grossed out, but mostly happy. You deserve someone better, you know?" He cracked open the seltzer can, dabbing a little on his shirt. "Okay, that should be fine," he said. "I'll see you later, okay? Probably at the firehouse, so please don't get too busy with Chimney."

"I won't," she whispered, and Buck looked at her again.

"Okay, seriously, what's up?" He said.

"I'm fine," she repeated. "I swear. I just had a bad dream."

"I did too," Buck grinned. "You and Chimney, going to second base at the firehouse."

"That is not going to happen," she said simply, and Buck shook his head, smiling at her as he left the apartment.

8:00 a.m.

When Maddie picked up the call, her heart almost stopped. It was a young boy, named Stevie.

"I must be going insane," she said to herself, shoving her chair away from her desk, and going to track down Sue. How could the exact call happen in her dream and today? Surely she was just imagining things. Her headache was intensifying, and she knew she'd have to grab an Advil, but first things first. "I think we need to request a welfare check," she said to Sue, at the end of a long monologue.

"That sounds like the best plan," Sue said, smiling softly at her. "You know, you can trust your instincts on these things. You didn't have to check in with me."

Maddie could barely even nod in response. This didn't make sense.

11:00 a.m.

She was thinking about the dream she'd had, wondering if there was anything to it. It had to be just that-Doug wasn't coming to LA. He had no way to find her, and it was ludicrous to think that he'd find her and Chimney the night of their first date.

Still.

Athena had already completed the welfare check, and was at dispatch to check in with Maddie, and listen to the call. "That noise, right there," she said. "I'm going to have to go back. You were right, Maddie. This wasn't nothing."

"What?" Maddie asked, having been deep in her thoughts. She couldn't help remembering the evening news from her dream. Hadn't the kid in her dream been found dead? She shuddered. "Listen, Athena, I think there's a second kid," she said, without any preamble. "I think this guy kidnapped two kids."

Athena just blinked. "Maddie, that's a huge leap," she said slowly. "Which isn't to say I don't trust your instincts because you've never been wrong before, but...are you sure?"

"It's worth looking into, right?" Maddie hedged.

"Do you have any proof beyond this call?" Athena asked. "I can't just enter his home without probable cause, or a warrant."

"I don't," Maddie said. "Can't you just find some?"

Athena shook her head. "I can't take risks like that right now," she said. "Listen, I'll do my best to see if I can enter the house, but I can't make any promises."

"Okay," Maddie said. "Let me know, okay?"

Athena nodded. "Hey, I heard from Bobby that you're filing today. Congratulations. No one deserves a fresh start more than you, Maddie."

"Thanks," Maddie said, trying to figure out why it felt like she'd lived this whole damn day before.

12:30 p.m.

When she got to the 118, Maddie stepped hesitantly inside. She'd sat in her car for so long, wondering if she should still do it. If there was any possibility that this wasn't deja vu...if somehow that had been a prediction...she couldn't afford to go inside. She couldn't afford to ask Chimney. The milk thing with Buck, her call with Stevie.

They had to be coincidences, though. She shook her head, and headed inside, refusing to give into fear again. New Maddie didn't do that.

The fire truck was in house. Her stomach turned again. That should have been more of a question. She'd been utterly sure it would be, however.

Her stomach flipped when she saw Chimney, but for entirely the wrong reasons, but the smile on his face was so welcoming that she felt her own face soften in response.

It had been a dream. She was acting crazy.

"Hey," he called. "What brings you by? Looking for Buck?"

"No, I came to see you," she replied, shaking off any hint of deja vu from his words. It was a totally innocent phrase. Hell, he'd probably said it to her before. "To give you this." She handed him the papers, and Chimney took them, his brows quirking when he saw the contents.

"Divorce papers," he said. "It feels so sudden."

She barely laughed at the joke, because there was a sudden lump in her throat. Word. For. Word. How was this possible? She had to reconsider this, she couldn't ask him if there was any possibility Doug was coming tonight.

Chimney saw the pained look on her face, and he held up his hands. "I'm sorry, that was a dumb joke. For real, um, this is a really big step, Maddie. He's going to know where you are. You sure about this?

His words freaked her out, from how closely they echoed her dream. She spoke slowly. "The only way I'm ever going to be free of him is if I do this."

"I'm here for you," Chimney said, brown eyes soft. "Whatever you need."

She wanted to leave. She knew she had to protect him, yet the hopeful look on her face stopped her heart, and she knew she couldn't do that to him. "Do you want to get drinks tonight?" She asked. "I'll meet you at the restaurant."

There. That should be enough. They weren't meeting at her place now. Jinx broken, or whatever this was.

"Actually I'm kind of busy," he said, and she again felt sick to her stomach at his words. Deja vu. It was just deja vu. Again, Chimney mistook the look on her face. "I'm kidding. Yes. I can't wait. So. Tonight."

"Seven," she said, and there was nothing she wanted more than to lean in and kiss his cheek, but she wanted to create as many differences as possible from her dream, so instead she smiled tightly, and headed out.

2:00 p.m.

"I couldn't find a reason to enter the house," Athena said, her breath huffing out. "I'm going to keep an eye on it, for sure, Maddie. You're right that there's more to this than meets the eye, but I did all I could for now."

"Of course," Maddie managed.

"Keep listening to your instincts, call me if something happens," Athena said.

4:00 p.m.

"There's a boy named Stevie on the line for you," Sue said. "I need you to know that he's the current subject of an AMBER alert."

Maddie's phone calls had been mundane until then, and the strong sense of deja vu had finally started to fade, but it came back in full fucking force at Sue's words.

"I can't," she said, unable to think of anything else to say. Sue mistook her words for nervousness.

"Maddie, you'll do fine," she said. "I think it's your call from earlier."

Maddie clicked on her headset with shaking hands. Stevie's voice came over the line as soon as she said her name.

"I need the police lady that you sent out to the house earlier," Stevie said. "I'm at the bus station but I don't know where I'm going, I don't remember."

She tried to remember all of the details she'd gotten from the evening report. Stevie was found at the station by his dad, and then taken to a secondary location and dumped. The other boy hadn't been located.

"Stevie, I need you to listen to me," she began, but when the line went dead, she full on broke down. "Stevie!" She almost screamed the word. "No, you can't be gone already. Stevie!"

6:45 p.m.

Sue had made Maddie take a break over that call, ending up sending her home early. "You've been under a lot of stress lately," she said, her face creasing with worry. "Take a breather, okay? We will be fine."

Now Maddie was pacing back and forth in her bedroom, taking with Athena.

"We accessed the security footage," Athena said, on the other end of the phone. "Stevie was taken by his so-called father, and we're going to have to continue the hunt."

Maddie hated herself for not remembering what the news report had said, and she hated herself for believing her creepy dream. It was just a coincidence, it was just deja vu. It's not like she knew what was going to happen next, and besides, she'd changed the part where Chimney picked her up. Now they were just going to meet at the restaurant. It was fine. "This is all my fault," Maddie said, unable to help herself.

"You can't do that, Maddie," Athena cautioned. "The only person who holds fault in any scenario is the person who enacted the crime."

"Yeah," Maddie sighed, feeling tense. But what if it was her fault? What if her dream had been right? She had no idea what to do. Her phone buzzed; another call was coming in. She checked, and it was Donna. Her heart skipped another beat, and in her muddled thoughts, Maddie ended the call with Athena before she'd said goodbye.

"Did you serve Doug?" Maddie asked Donna, without any preamble, her mouth so dry she could barely talk.

"We couldn't find him," Donna said, but the phone slipped from Maddie's hand, landing on the floor.

Doug was here. That was the only answer.

She fumbled for her phone, ending the call, ready to call 9-1-1 and just deal with the fallout if she was wrong. She'd rather just be considered crazy, but what was this?

There was a text from Chimney, as well as a doorbell notification.

Chimney: Hey, I know you told me to meet you at the restaurant, but I couldn't help myself. I wanted to pick you up. That's me, waving up at your camera.

The phone slipped through her fingers again, and Maddie tore down the stairs, her heart beating so loud she couldn't hear anything else. Her limbs moved like she was running through water, and there was a sick, metallic taste in her mouth.

This couldn't fucking happen.

She grabbed the poker without thinking, and when she got outside, her gate was still closed, and her phone was upstairs. She'd dropped it without thinking. "No, no, no, no, no," she panted, feeling like her world was closing in.

"Chimney, you have to leave," she screamed, as loud as she could. "Doug is here."

"Maddie?" She heard Chimney's call. "Maddie!"

"You have to leave," Maddie screamed, so loud it hurt her throat, but the next sound she heard broke her in two.

A gunshot. A second shot. A third.

Maddie fell to her knees, the poker falling from her limp hand.

Doug walked through the now broken gate, a smoking gun in his hand.

Maddie could see Chimney's body outside, and she couldn't process that his last words had been her name.

She couldn't do this. She'd failed. Somehow, some way, she'd been given a vision of the future, but she'd still failed. Stevie was going to die. Chimney was dying. All because she couldn't trust herself.

So when Doug stepped forward, she lunged at him, and when the gun went off for the fourth time, it went into her heart.

And she was falling, falling, into the black...