Sleep over

"Oh, Ian…" An overwhelming wave of sadness hit Joyce like a punch to the gut. Ian had been a good man, friend, and father. Dedicated to his work and compassionate. Some hunters could get cynical, merciless and hold many prejudices against supernatural beings as time passed, not him. He was forgiving and fair but knew when to put his foot down, draw a line.

Rachel felt numb. Sure, she had expected that something bad had happened to her father but actually hearing it… she could never have prepared herself for the harsh reality. Swallowing hard, she felt the familiar sting of tears in her eyes. Not only had he died but been tortured, too.

Joyce turned to the blonde, giving her a sympathetic look. "I'm so sorry, Rachel. Your father, he didn't deserve that."

"Father?" Max choked, cold dread gripping at her heart. Getting another person killed protecting her was one thing. To learn that Ian was Rachel's father… made it so much worse. Another life she had inadvertently ruined.

Unable to stand it any longer, Rachel stood up and left. She needed to clear her head. Leaving through the front door she started walking, her pace unintentionally quickening until she was flat out sprinting into the night. Tears were flowing freely now, years of suppressed emotions leaking out with the new information.

Taking advantage of her newly gained vampire speed boost, Chloe set off after her once she had come to her senses. Rachel had been there for her over the past five years, now it was time to return the favor. It didn't take her long to catch up. The blonde hunter had made it all the way to Arcadia Bay's beach, sitting on the sand as the wind whipped through her hair. Her eyes were focused out towards the horizon, looking across the ocean as the moonlight skittered across its surface. Maybe she wanted to be alone, but Chloe had to give her the option. Being alone when you needed someone was the worst possible outcome.

Not sure what to do or say, the blue-haired vampire hesitantly approached her. "Want some company?"

"Yeah. I actually do." After her friend sat down, they were silent for a while. Eventually, Rachel spoke again, her voice softer as the vulnerability showed. "This is all so…" The sentence remained unfinished, words failing her.

"Fucked up?" Chloe suggested.

Rachel nodded, sighing as she traced idle patterns in the sand. "Took the words right out of my mouth. You know, I've always known it. That something bad happened to my dad. People don't just disappear off the face of the earth for no reason, trained hunters especially. Doesn't make the truth any easier to swallow."

"I can't imagine it does. I'm… sorry, Rach." That was all Chloe could think of saying right now.

Acknowledging the response with a stiff nod, Rachel ran her fingers through her hair. "I probably should have said something to Max before I left. Bet she thinks I hate or blame her or something, which I don't. Far from it. Dad was doing his job. He was just… unfortunate."

"A lot of people are nowadays."

Rachel smiled sadly. "Ain't that the truth. In a way, I'm kind of relieved to know what happened. I've wanted answers for so long now and, while they aren't what I hoped for, at least I have them. More than most people get."

Watching her friend closely, Chloe shrugged. "Doesn't mean you can't feel sad about it."

Agreeing, Rachel nodded. "Yeah… answers only help so much. Oh, man… this sucks."

"You know what else sucks now? Me." Chloe grinned, her pointed fangs exposed.

Narrowing her eyes, the blonde hunter asked in an accusatory tone, "Was that a terrible attempt at a vampire joke?"

Chloe's grin only widened at the accusation. "It sure was. Except it wasn't terrible, it was awesome."

"Yeah, right." Not one to be beaten, Rachel added her own contribution to the bad jokes train. "Fangs for ruining my day with that awful joke.

"Hey, you can't complain if you join in too. You're nearly as bad as Max with bad puns…" Chloe shoved her shoulder, rolling her eyes in an over-exaggerated manner. At least Rachel was smiling again. That was all that mattered right now.

...

Meanwhile, back at Chloe's

Max was running her fingers over the necklace her mother had left her, inspecting the lettering on the back and going through the names in her head. 'J for Joyce, I for Ian, V for Vanessa, E for Elise, R for Ryan and B... oh right, Bill's short for William. Joyce is the only one left.' Taking a shaky breath to hold back the tears she could feel building, Max got to her feet making her way towards the hallway.

"Max… where are you going?" The familiar voice cut through her determination to leave. Max froze refusing to turn to look at the older woman. She knew if she did, she wouldn't have the strength to do what she had to.

"She's leaving," Kate mumbled as she put her phone down, a subtle bleep indicating the message she was sending was received.

"Over my dead body, young lady." Joyce scowled.

Still refusing to look her in the eyes, Max stared straight forward. "I can't stay Joyce… I've been back a day and I've almost got you all KILLED just BEING here."

"Not the way I heard or SAW it," Joyce countered gently. "The way I heard it, last night you SAVED Chloe and Rachel. If it wasn't for you, Chloe would be dead right now and..."

"NO!" Max snapped. "It's BECAUSE I was there. That vampire attacked ME and Chloe stepped up while I just… froze."

"Max, you didn't freeze, you got rid..." Kate wasn't allowed to finish her sentence.

Shaking her head solemnly, the young Ahri corrected her. "No, Kate, I froze. Last night… It wasn't me, it was..."

"Akira."

Max nodded quickly. "Akira was wrong about me coming back to Arcadia Bay"

Joyce stood her ground, refusing to believe she meant that. "You didn't want too?"

Max nervously shifted her weight. She wanted to say no, but despite all the grief and pain, she was seriously glad to be back, and trying to lie with Kate sat ten feet behind her would be useless as Akira had pointed out several times over the last two days. Grabbing her elbow, she took a nervous breath.

Gathering her thoughts and resolve, Max tried to come up with an answer to that question. "No… Yes… ugh, I wanted to, so much, but I also knew it would end badly. It always does. Chloe almost got killed last night, and because of that she's now a vampire and through that, she would have killed Kate, Rach and you, Joyce. Then there's being the bearer of bad news on SO many levels." Her eyes were stinging now, but she refused to give in and break down.

Noticing she was slowly getting through, making Max really think about this, Joyce pressed forward. "But Chloe didn't die, and YOU stopped her, Max. YOU did that. Not me. Not Rachel. NOT AKIRA. YOU."

"I WON'T TAKE YOU AWAY FROM HER AND RACHEL... you're all they have left." Max turned to face other two women. Seeing Joyce's pained expression was enough to break her composure. The young Ahri fell to her knees sobbing. "All I create is just... death and destruction… everywhere I go, and for what… maybe I should just…"

Joyce didn't let the young girl finish that sentence, rushing over and wrapping her arms around her. "Don't you dare finish that thought. You are WORTH it, Max… We WILL figure this out."

…

Chloe and Rachel at the beach

The two girls sat, enjoying the late evening breeze as they each took in the magnitude of Max's tale. For Chloe, it was a cold hard reality check. For years she had been sulking, thinking she had been abandoned and just cast aside, when the cold truth was, none of them had much of a choice. It was all to protect her, no, to protect Max, and to that end, she was ok with it. For Rachel, it was so many years of not knowing what happened to her father, why he disappeared the same night she watched her mother die in her arms. While she hadn't seen the attack herself, a mercy in itself, she still had to watch her pass away. Max, on the other hand, had her father dead, changing into what she was now, not having a clue what was going on, and then watching her mother being murdered in front of her. Then, watching another person die in front of her and to top it off, being alone for five years. Either way, neither of them could, no neither of them WOULD hold a candle to what Max must've been feeling.

Between them, they had suffered a hell of a lot. That much could be said. They shouldn't compare their pain, though. Hopefully, Karma would kick in any time now and give them a break. Deep down, despite this hope, Rachel had a feeling their problems weren't over. The vampire Max had told them about was probably still running loose, doing whatever the hell it was he was trying to achieve. He might have moved on, but somehow she didn't believe that… as much as she wanted to.

The silence was broken by Rachel's phone alerting her to several messages. Reluctantly, she took the device out of her pocket checking the messages.

Kate - Rach, I'm sorry about your father. Take your time, I'll hold things 'til you get back

Kate - Did Chloe find you?

Kate - Wait, stupid question, of course she did

Kate - If you're passing that way I don't suppose you could feed Alice, please? Feel free to hug her, she usually makes me feel better

"Jesus Kate, talk about spam much," Rachel mused as she typed a quick 'ok, be back in a bit' and hit send before turning to the bluenette. "Kate asked if we could feed Alice for her. Guess it's a sleepover at your house tonight."

"Not sure where you're all sleeping," Chloe smirked.

"Good point. You do hog the bed, not to mention the duvet," Rachel added smugly, always eager to tease her friend.

Chloe shoved her shoulder playfully. "Psh, you can talk."

Sneaking into Blackwell proved much easier than previous attempts. Granted it was usually Chloe that got caught, but with her heightened senses and reflexes dodging the lone guard proved almost too easy. Using her spare key, Rachel let them into Kate's room so they could feed Alice, swiftly departing back to Chloe's for the night.

"So apparently, it's a mass sleepover tonight," Chloe proclaimed as she entered the house through the back door after jumping the garden fence with Rachel in tow.

"Apparently so," Kate yawned giving a limp wave from the sofa where she lay curled up in the corner, refusing to move from her warm spot under the blanket.

"Where's mom and Max?" Chloe inquired after quickly summarizing that Kate was the only person downstairs, the kitchen in darkness and only a lamp lighting the living room.

"Joyce went to bed after calming Max down from her mini meltdown, and I think Max went up to the bathroom a few minutes ago," Kate replied, rubbing her temples to try and alleviate the headache that had been building all day.

"We fed Alice for you, she seems happy enough… How's your head?" The young hunter asked upon seeing Kate's attempts at alleviating her head pains. She had enough going on in her own head to worry about. Poor Kate got the brunt of everything everyone was feeling.

"Thanks, and the worst I've had by far. Feels like my brain's been scrambled." Kate smiled weakly. She didn't want to admit it, but with everything going on all the second-hand emotions just made her want to curl up and cry.

Rachel offered a sympathetic smile, taking note that Chloe had her head in the fridge, as always. Taking the opportunity, Rachel quickly made her way across the diner to the stairs after telling the two girls she wanted a word with Max and headed upstairs. Passing the bathroom, seeing the door ajar and a small puddle of water next to the shower, Rachel summarized Max had taken a shower and was therefore in Chloe's room. She gave the door a gentle knock so as not to wake Joyce.

"One minute," came Max's reply, along with a fair amount of shuffling around.

"Pretty sure I've seen it all before, communal showers at school and everything," Rachel whispered playfully.

"Ugh, not you as well," Max muttered. She had enough of that kind of talk from Akira. She didn't need Rachel joining in too. Worse, she could practically feel the smugness coming from her passenger.

Rachel couldn't help but smirk at Max's fluster as she heard her shuffling around a bit more before the door opened to reveal a red-faced Max wrapped in a blanket. Her hair still wet from her shower with her black ears poking up with little droplets of water clinging to the fur.

Inviting Rachel in and shutting the door, Max hobbled over to the bed clutching the blanket around her. "You have no idea how much of a pain it is to find clothes to accommodate these tails."

"Oh, I dunno, can't really complain from where I'm standing," Rachel mused as she watched the other girl hobble across the bedroom, the blanket not quite covering as much as Max hoped it would.

"Whaddya mean…? Oh, crap," Max fumbled as she struggled to get her tails along with her exposed backside back under the blanket.

"Honestly, don't sweat it, it's no big deal," Rachel reassured the blushing Ahri. There would be time for playfulness later. Right now, she had something she wanted to say, but it was a sensitive topic.

Now covered up properly, Max could ask why the blonde was here. There must be a reason. "What's up?"

Sighing softly, Rachel began her apology. "Max… I'm sorry for running out like that…"

Max waved her off. "It's fine, you don't have to act tough, Rachel. You just learned your dad is… dead. It might have happened five years ago, but it's still a rough thing to find out. If anyone should be sorry..."

The response was predictable, much too predictable. "No… nope. You have NOTHING to be sorry for, Max. I mean, jesus, no one should have to go through what you've been through, or what the other Ahri are having to go through, Yeah, it sucks… REALLY, REALLY sucks what happened to my dad, but at least I now know WHY and HOW. He was doing his job, more than that, he was helping his friends."

Max considered the reply for a moment or two, having heard it before. "I keep hearing that… That it's not my fault, that being an Ahri is something to be proud of… I'm still failing to see it."

"Well, hopefully you'll let it sink in." Eager to change the subject and cause some embarrassment, Rachel turned her attention to other matters. "And for the record, those ears are really cute… even more so when you blush like that."

The young Ahri groaned from the external attempt to cause chaos. "Oh god, not you too. I get enough of that from Akira."

'Because it's true,' Akira added smugly, unable to keep the grin from her voice.

"Hush you… sorry, Rachel. Not you. Someone's finally decided to make an appearance." Max tapped the side of her head with her finger.

"Sounds like we would get on well."

Max didn't doubt that. "If I don't get killed first, I'll probably die from embarrassment."

"I'll take that challenge." The blonde hunter grinned.

Just then, Chloe entered the room. Seeing a very red-faced Max and Rachel wearing a shit eating grin, she rolled her eyes. "I leave you alone for five minutes and you're embarrassing someone. Sorry, Max, she can be a bit of a handful at times."

"I don't hear you complaining. Anyway, I was just about to go shower," and with that Rachel went to leave giving Chloe a cheeky grin. "Be careful, though. I got plenty of dirt on you, like a certain party where someone thought it would be fun to use some Haribo mix as a..."

"Ok, ok... go have your shower," Chloe interrupted hastily, shoving Rachel out the door before she could finish.

"Haribo mix?" Max asked, equal parts curious and worried.

"Eh, not one of my finer moments," Chloe responded as she walked over and sat on the bed. "How are you holding up, anyway?"

Sitting next to Chloe, Max shrugged and let out a sigh. "Well, I got an earful off Joyce when I tried to leave."

Chloe took a moment to process the confession, sounding confused and a little hurt. "You did what?"

Immediately regretting telling her friend, Max began justifying herself. "I didn't… Don't want to, but it feels like I have no choice. Everywhere I go, people die. I just feel so… powerless. I just wish I could, ya know, make a difference, do something positive."

"Max, you already have made a difference. I get my best friend back and she's supersized. I ended up being this," Chloe motioned to herself, "you helped Rachel by telling her about her father, and… you helped me realize something."

"Oh?"

Gathering her thoughts, Chloe sighed and explained. "You see, I was so wrapped up in all the crap I was feeling, I didn't stop to think… that there's always going to be someone who has it harder. My list of problems is much shorter than those of the other people in this house… or the other Ahri for that matter."

Seeing a chance to cut in, Akira added, 'She's got a point, you know.'

'So, what you're saying is I should just forget the shit I've gone through,' Max summarized, disbelief clear in her reply.

Expecting her to get the wrong end of the stick, Akira corrected her. 'Not at all, Max. Chloe's figured it out. You need to do the same.'

Unaware of Max's little side conversation, Chloe continued. "I lost my dad, and while that hurt, I got to bury him and say goodbye. Then you, Vanessa and Ryan up and vanished. I felt abandoned." Holding her hand up to silence the young Ahri's objection, Chloe plowed on. "I know you didn't have a choice. You were running for your life I get that, but even without knowing that, I never thought how my mom felt losing all her childhood friends, having to keep that secret… Ya know, she actually has a framed photo of me and you as kids. She keeps on her bedside… I've caught her crying over it late at night when she thinks I'm not around… Then, there's Rachel. Had her mom die in her arms and her dad disappeared the same night. Point is, my crap was what normal people go through every day all over the world."

As much as Max might want to agree, she just couldn't. "Chloe, it's not quite the same. Just being NEAR me, even when hidden, almost got you killed..."

Not like she could really argue with that. "True, but I didn't die, and I came out stronger… Ok, trying not to see my friends as dinner is gonna get a little annoying, but I'll deal with it. Because of you, I have the strength to carry on, Max. I've got the strength to protect my friends and my mom… And seeing as you're NEARLY as strong as me..." Chloe let the sentence hang, smirking.

'That sounds like a challenge,' Akira added, happy to watch the smirk wiped off the bluenette's face if the situation called for it.

"Um, Chloe, I sorta kicked your butt earlier," Max mentioned, trying not to sound too pleased with herself. As kids, she hadn't stood a chance against Chloe. Now, the tables had turned.

Chloe waved her facts away like she was swatting at a fly. "Psht, I let you."

Max raised an eyebrow. "Oh, REALLY?"

The familiar, mischievous grin reserved for scheming tugged at Chloe's lips. "Well, guess we'll find out tomorrow. I just had a killer idea for what we can do."

"Chloe, we have school tomorrow remember." That might not actually deter the bluenette, and Max was well aware. She had to try, though.

The smirk only widened as she continued her pitch. "Ha, no chance, Caulfield, besides… TECHNICALLY, we will still be doing school work."

Deciding to humor her, Max sighed and pressed for more information. "Define technically."

"Well, that project for Jefferson's class, it's basically you," Chloe stated matter-of-factly.

Max rolled her eyes, not enthused about the possibility. "Great, I'm a school project."

Determined to get a solid yes from Max eventually, Chloe continued trying to wear her down. "Damn right you are. You're our ticket to acing this one. And Akira of course. Not forgotten about her."

Eager to tease the young Ahri a little, Akira decided to be difficult. 'I think I have a prior engagement.'

Seeing right through her plan, Max called her out. 'Bullshit you do. You're helping. You pushed me to come back to Arcadia, you get to help.'

'Fine… I'll cancel my hair appointment,' Akira conceded, pulling back on her teasing. She could sense Max was tired and so not ready to deal with this.

Realizing she was fighting a losing battle for now, Chloe gave up. She'd have another go tomorrow. "Anyhow, that's tomorrow. For now, sleep is calling… gotta feel sorry for Kate in all this, though. She ain't got Alice so no filter."

"She did look uncomfortable before I came up here," Max agreed, looking guilty as hell. She was, after all, mostly to blame.

Chloe just shrugged, feeling about as responsible for this as Max looked. "Usually it's just mine or Victoria's bullshit she has to deal with, but Rachel's around to cancel it out. Only today, it's been bullshit at a very high level from everyone, and with no off switch… she ain't gonna be sleeping well, despite the front she puts on."

"I kinda feel guilty at least in part for that…" Max rubbed the back of her neck. "Could try happy thoughts, I guess."

'Ya know… there is something you can do for her, but there's a price,' Akira began, knowing that the young Ahri would probably go along with this plan.

'I'm listening.'

'Those Auralite stones, they're a focusing lens if you will, allowing you to remain human and for vampires to shrug off the effects of sunlight,' Akira explained, summarizing the things she had already told Max, just in case.

It seemed that she didn't have to, Max remembering the conversation. 'Yeah, you explained that already.'

Happy to know that she hadn't forgotten already, Akira continued. 'Well, they also affect other abilities too, either magnifying or focusing the effect.'

'I don't think Kate would appreciate having her ability magnified.'

'With your little... cling on's ability, it would be the off switch Chloe mentioned, unless she really tried to focus on a particular person,' Akira added as an afterthought.

'You mean, she wouldn't get hit with my… our emotional bullshit?' There was a flicker of hope in her question.

'Downside is, you only have one, which means...' There was no need for Akira to continue the sentence.

'Wolf form tonight?' Max finished the thought for her.

'Exactly. Not that I think she will complain, seems all too eager to get-'

Before she could end that comment, Max cut in. 'Ugh, will you EVER quit it? Had enough of that last night...'

'You don't think she's cute?' Akira asked, already knowing the answer. She just wanted Max to admit it to herself.

'A little…' Max could sense the amusement radiating from Akira's presence. 'SHUSH, back to your corner.'

'Just saying… there are options.' Ignoring Akira's insinuations, and hoping the blush she could feel wasn't too apparent, Max carefully took the purple stone from around her neck, with Chloe paying close attention.

"Max?"

Fiddling with the necklace, Max looked her friend straight in the eyes. "Can you do me a favor, Chloe? Give this to Kate for me."

Chloe seemed confused by the request. "Huh, but you need it."

"It's only for the night, Chloe. I don't need to be human to sleep. I have it on good authority it will act as an off switch for Kate," she explained, trying to help Chloe understand why she was doing this.

She slowly came to the same conclusion as Max. "You mean on her ability?"

Max nodded. "Apparently so. This way, she can get a decent night sleep. Besides I won't need a blanket then."

"Well, I can't see Kate complaining on either count," Chloe added with a smug grin, crossing her arms.

Max frowned, genuinely confused at what she was getting at. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh Maxipad, how little you know," Chloe chuckled to herself. Max had always been a bit dense when it came to this kind of thing.

Finally getting what her friend was trying to suggest, Max rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I HATED that name when we were tweens. I still do, and also… Not you too… why is everyone trying to...?"

"Make you blush? Because you look hella cute when you do, always have… Although, that werewolf story was… huh?" Before Chloe could finish, Max shoved the purple stone into her hands and quickly pulled the blanket over her head, emerging a few seconds later in her jet-black wolf form. "See, now I can't tell if your blushing. I could always ask Kate, though." Max let out a small growl, turning the orb on her tail into its solid black state. Chloe let out a chuckle, raising her hands. "Ok, ok, I'll hold off… for now, but don't think you're staying in that little shell of yours forever."

Not one to miss out on a chance to challenge Max, Akira joined in. 'She has a point.'

Too exhausted to deal with this now, Max weakly replied, 'Great, now I got it in stereo. I swear you guys are in cahoots.'

'I like your new, old friends.'

Letting her orb settle back to its blue state, Max followed Chloe out of the room and headed downstairs. Approaching the dimly lit living room, Kate could be seen still huddled in the corner of the sofa under the blanket. "Hey guys, thought you'd be asleep by now." She greeted the pair wearily, not bothering to open her eyes as she fought with her pounding head.

"Just about to head off, but I… Max has something for you," Chloe replied gently as she approached the sofa, holding the necklace by its leather string.

Kate opened her eyes to look up at Chloe, instantly spotting the purple stone. "But that's Max's..."

Beating her to it, Chloe confirmed her suspicions. "Yeah, she wants to loan it to you tonight. Apparently, it's an off switch for your ability."

"But Max needs that to stay human," Kate stated with surprising stubbornness.

"She says she's only sleeping, so she doesn't need it tonight." As if on cue Max appeared at Chloe's side, giving Kate a little nod before clambering up on the sofa and curling up in the opposite corner. Taking the necklace off Chloe, Kate slipped it over her head. Almost instantly her head went silent, eliciting a sigh of relief from the young empath. "Better?"

"I SO have to get me one of these, thank you, Max… I had forgotten what peace and quiet was." Sitting up and looking over at Max, Kate hesitated for a moment before noticing a lopsided grin on Chloe's face.

"She's ok with it, you know. Personally, I think she likes it a little more than she's willing to admit." Max shot Chloe a look, one she instantly took heed of, and started making her way to the hallway. "Err, I'm gonna head to bed, before I annoy someone. Sleep well guys, see you in the morning."

Kate couldn't help feeling a little happy hearing this as she scooched herself over, nestling into Max's warm fur. "Thank you, Max. I really mean that," she mumbled sleepily as her eyelids began to close.

'You're welcome, Kate,' Max felt a little better knowing she'd actually helped someone.

'See, you can help people,' Akira mentioned, trying to get Max out of this slump.

'It's not much, but it's a start I guess,' Max reluctantly admitted.

Upon hearing Kate's gentle snoring, Akira gave a small chuckle. 'Small steps, Max. Small steps… You gotta admit, that's pretty cute.'

Max rolled her eyes and, too tired to argue, simply covered the sleeping empath with her tails and let her eyes close. 'Goodnight, Akira.'

Meanwhile upstairs, Rachel and Chloe were sat on the bed, discussing the events of tonight. "So, Max's necklace switches off Kate's ability, and they're downstairs on the sofa together."

"Pretty much. It's only 'til the morning, though…" Something hit Chloe then, a realization she was all too happy to share. "You're not jealous, are you?"

"Nope, not at all." Rachel didn't want to admit she did feel a little jealous, but also intrigued that Kate and Max were cute huddled on the sofa. With a cheeky grin, she leaped off the bed, grabbed her phone and made for the door.

"Where are you going?" Chloe called after her, confused.

"Kate's early warning system is offline. So, I'm taking the opportunity to get some… embarrassment material." Rachel smiled waving her phone in the air as she disappeared out the door.

Quietly descending the stairs, Rachel made her way to end of the hallway. The living room was dimly lit by the glowing orb. Max laid on her side cradling a snoring Kate, with one of her tails covering most of the blonde, the blanket from earlier discarded to the floor. Smiling to herself, Rachel snapped a quick picture and quickly retreated back upstairs into Chloe's bedroom.

"Mission accomplished." The hunter grinned, tossing Chloe the phone.

Catching the phone and taking a look at Rachel's ill-gotten gains, Chloe couldn't help but smile a little. "They do look just a little bit cute."

"I thought so. Can you imagine Kate's face when she sees that tomorrow? Second night in a row she's been sleeping with the new girl… And a wolf to boot." Rachel grinned playfully as she climbed into bed next to Chloe.

Rachel was playing a dangerous game here and Chloe thought it best to give her some warning at least, so she couldn't get blamed later. "Fair warning, if Kate doesn't hit you for it, Max probably will."

"Kate knows I'm only playing. Besides, they both need to get out of their comfort zones a little," Rachel said as she got comfortable snuggled up to Chloe.

"Yeah, I guess." Chloe had always been highly protective of Max, that much hadn't changed. "Just… go easy on Max, at least for a little while. She's shyer than Kate."

Rachel grinned at the concern, knowing damn well that Chloe cared for Max. Maybe as more than a friend. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle...You gotta admit, Max does look cute with those ears, more so when she blushes."

"I cannot deny nor confirm this…" Chloe replied noncommittally, not taking the bait. "Night, Rach."

"Night, Chloe…" Before she could drift off to sleep, Rachel had one last thing to say. "Oh, no nibbling."

Shaking her head, Chloe smiled. "Wouldn't dream of it."