Normal was initially resistant to let Max's absence slide by. However, after some gentle reminders of the time she'd basically saved him, it was agreed that all debts were cancelled and the two instances on both parts were forgotten. Max went back to her apartment. The Ninja sat just where she'd left it, looking untouched. Max glanced around. No one was in the apartment. She was alone. She wasn't hungry, but she glanced through the refrigerator out of habit. She closed the door and leaned against it. She sighed and walked into her bedroom, pulling a box out from under the bed. It was filled with the tools she used on the Ninja. It needed an oil change pretty soon, and now was as good a time as any. She sank into the familiar rhythm, glad she could do something to free up her mind. The tools felt heavy and cool, welcome in her hands. The window was open slightly and the breeze came in, fresh from the morning's rain. She glanced outside. It was cloudy, but not oppressively so. She felt comfortable, at home.
+++
The next day, she went to work slightly early, figuring it couldn't hurt to try and impress Normal. He seemed surprised, to say the least. She went on run after run, for the first time in a long time appreciating the feel of rain on her bare legs, weaving in and out of the people on the sidewalks. Max went back to JamPony and accepted the package Normal thrust at her. She glanced down at the address label. Near the hospital. After delivering the package, peddled over to the hospital and locked her bike to the rack. She stopped at the nurses' station and was informed that Eva was "running a bit of a fever, but was doing well otherwise." When she entered the room, Eva first seemed to be sleeping, but when she heard Max, she opened her eyes.
"Ah," she said, smiling. "You again."
"Yep."
Eva looked her up and down, appraising her clothes. "You live in Seattle, don't you? Not Phoenix?"
"Yeah. How'd you know?"
"I don't know. You just knew the city really well. People seem to know who you are. And that's not the type of clothes you wore before."
"Yeah. They're for work."
"What do you do?"
"Bike messenger."
"Why didn't you tell?"
"You never know who you can trust."
"Yeah, that's true."
"But I trust you now."
"So," Eva said, sighing. "Who do I trust?"
"Me. Logan. Chris, and your family, and… it's really just something you know."
"Do I trust my family?"
"They didn't know, Ev. They thought adopted you. They were clean."
"How do you know?"
"Deck told me."
"He's lied before."
"Not this time."
Eva seemed grateful for this. "Then I guess…I really love my family, you know. Even if they were my real family, they couldn't be any better."
"What's your mom like?"
"Nice. She likes to garden. Deer and moose would always come eat our flowers, but she planted them anyway. She's stubborn. And she can't sing a note."
Max smiled.
"I'll miss them. We were so alike - I can't believe we weren't blood related."
"You're still family. Family isn't blood. We proved that - all our brothers and sisters."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." She paused. "Max I'm still really sorry about…"
"I really don't want you to worry about it."
"I still feel responsible."
"So does Logan. There's enough of that to go around."
"What about Chris?"
"He's heading to Canada. Logan'll get him started. Last I left them, Logan and Chris were lamenting the loss of Chris's vintage Fender Stratocaster."
"He plays guitar?" Eva asked.
"Yep."
"Well, that makes him even sexier."
"That's what I thought."
"Hey, you're taken."
"Oh, am I?"
"You betcha. Logan's the one you were talking about that one time, wasn't he?" That conversation seemed years ago to Max, but it had been less than a week.
"Maybe."
Eva smiled, knowingly.
"Ev, in the car…you said something?"
"I don't really remember."
"You said something about thirteen getting away… not twelve?" Max wanted Eva to offer the information again, rather than just have her agree to it.
"Yeah," she said, rubbing her temples lightly. "Delsa? Is that who you mean."
Max nodded.
"She got away. Or at least, that's what we thought. Nobody ever found her, then one day, she just disappeared from all the databases, all her records at Manticore, gone. I never figured it out. Nobody did."
"Huh. I had no idea."
"What now?"
"You get better, than Logan will get you sent off too. The nurse said you had a fever."
"I feel fine"
"Well, be careful. I've got to get back to work." Max hugged Eva briefly. "See you later?"
"Thank you," she said fervently, her eyes deep. "For everything."
