"NO

"NO!" Max exclaimed.

"What? Why? What's the matter? He'll be so glad to see you again!"

"I'm just not ready to see him. I mean, seeing you…I think I need some time."

"Oh. Well, okay, I guess I can understand that. Oh my God - Max - I still can't believe it's really you! I've been looking for so long…for so long. How did Logan find you?"

"He just sort of…did."

"So were you? Were you in Phoenix?"

Max's defensive instincts suddenly flared up. She realized she really didn't know Eva. She couldn't trust her.

"Yep. Phoenix. Good old Phoenix, Arizona."

"It's so hot there. What were you doing?"

"Living. Just, you know, trying to make a living."

"You got a job?"

"Yep. I, uh…" a memory of Original Cindy fleeted through her mind. "I sell insurance. Over the phone. Not the best, but it pays the bills. Or at least some of them."

"Tell me everything about you! You dating anyone?"

"I guess you could say…maybe. I'm in a thing. Confusing thing. Big, giant, confusing, complicated - but really great…thing."

They moved into the living room and sat on the couch, Max telling things about herself, though many of them were quickly fabricated half-truths, then Eva taking a turn. Then, Eva changed the topic.

"So, my sister, you're coming back to Wyoming with me, aren't you." It was more of a statement than a question.

"I don't know."

"Well, why not? Don't you want some closure?"

"I'm pretty closured out. I think it would just bring back memories better left alone, you know?"

"Oh, Max. There's so much they can give you. So many answers."

"Like what?"

"Oh, just stuff about you - why the project was closed, stuff like that."

"I don't know."

"What about your mother, Max? Don't you want to meet your mother?"

"My mother?"

Max's mind reeled at this new possibility. Her mother. "You know where my mother is?"

"Oh, sure. Don knows where all our moms are. In fact, a lot of them still work in Gillette and stuff."

"Do you know your mother?"

"Of course I do. I live with her, and my dad, and my brother."

"You've got a brother? And…and a dad?" Max was dumbfounded. Eva had a family.

"Yep. My brother, he's ten. His name is Trevor. My dad works on the base - so does my mom."

"What's your mom's name?"

"Pam. Max, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Do you have a picture of them?"

"Yeah. Oh, wait! Yeah! Just a sec." Eva picked up her day planner and began rooting through it. A few photos fell out onto the ground. Max stooped and picked them up. The one on top showed a bunch of people at a backyard picnic. Eight people stood smiling at the camera, while a few others walked unknowingly through the background. Eva glanced over at them.

"There's one. See? There's my dad….there's my mom. That's Trevor. There's me. There's some guys from my dad's office - that one's Matt Conner, and Ken something-or-other. That one's my mom's best friend, Lara. She's married to Matt. And there's Don, over there. This was at some party my parents had at our house last summer," Eva explained distractedly as she flipped through the planner.

Max almost dropped the picture. Don. Don Lydecker. Smiling, at a backyard barbecue. It was so wrong. It was the epitome of wrong, but there it was. Of course, most things these past twenty-four hours hadn't really made sense.

Eva continued sorting through the stacks of photos and papers that had been stuffed into the planner. They spilled out from between her fingers. Finally, she pulled one away and dropped the others onto her lap.

"Here." She handed Max a battered photo. Eva and four women posed for the camera. One was Eva's mom. One was Lara, from the other picture.

"Who are those two?" Max asked, pointing to the other two.

"That one's Lisa, she's another friend of my mom's. She's Zane's mother."

"Zane…"

"Do you see that one there?" Eva indicated a tall, slender woman to the left of the photograph as she passed it over to Max.

"Yeah."

"That's your mom."

"That's my mom?"

"Yep."

Max stared at the tiny face. It wasn't how she'd always pictured her mother, but there she was. Her fingers tightened around the photo and she could hear the paper crinkle as it folded in her grip. Eva shifted her weight and leaned over Max's shoulder.

"Her name's Ruth. She works in the genetics lab."

"Do I have a dad?"

"She doesn't know who he is…you know how that goes. Anonymous donor, and all. She was married for a while, so I guess you have an ex-step-father. His name was Paul Bennett. But he was a loser."

"What's Ruth's maiden name? What's my last name?"

"You know, I don't know for sure. What else could I tell you about her? She likes blue. She's allergic to strawberries and ragweed. Umm…she's a Pisces. Oh, God. There's so much about her. You want to meet her, don't you? I mean, how could you not?"

Max did, more than anything want to meet her. That was the answer. That was the closure, or at least the first substantial step. To know what her life would have been, then to be able to face both paths, to put them side by side and say, This is the right one. Running away and then Seattle, Logan, Original Cindy, Kendra, JamPony, and all of that, this is the best one, the one I would choose. It was to face the demons and stare them down.

"She wants you back, Max. She wants you to come live with her again - I know she does. She told me. Whatever happened, for whatever reason, it's all over, and you're her daughter and she needs you. Come back. Come back home."

"No. I couldn't. I do want to meet her - I do. But I won't stay."

"Why not? This is everything…"

"No. My life is here. Well, I mean, in Phoenix. My job, my friends…"

"But you will meet her?"

"Yes. Tell me more about Manticore. What about…Brinn?"

"Brinn's missing. You know that."

"No, she went back. She did."

"No, she didn't. Trust me. I would know if that happened. We're still looking for her. In fact, she's one of the ones I'm looking for."

"You're not looking for everybody?"

"No. Just you, Brinn, Tinga, and Zack. We're divided up, you know, so we can focus better. Or something."

"So what about…"

They heard someone outside the door. Max twisted around to see who it was. It was Logan. He stared at them for a moment.

"Oh. Shi," he muttered under his breath.