"Reporting for duty!" Chloe said cheerily as she slid open the backdoor. She stepped outside, followed by Max, and clapped her hands excitedly. "We are here to paint the shit out of this house!" David turned to them and chuckled as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"You weren't kidding about the outfits," he said, picking a screwdriver out of the small collection of tools he had situated on a towel in the grass. Chloe scoffed and held her arms out.

"Of course we weren't kidding!" She reached beside her and tugged on the brim of the baseball cap Max wore, jerking the girl's head forward. With a bit of flourish, she spun around, displaying the oversized t-shirt and cargo pants. "We raided the thrift store for clothes we could get all...paint-y." She grinned as she twisted the baseball hat backwards on her head, then nodded at Max.

Max looks so cute in that hat. ...sporty? Hm. It's becoming clearer to me that any 'type' I used to have has just become 'whatever Max is wearing today.'

"Good." David plunged the screwdriver into the rim of the paint can, then yanked it toward him so that it popped off. "I'm sure it'll be a mess. I just finished power washing the place down this morning." He surveyed the siding of the house, then puckered his lips in amusement. "I still think you're too excited for this. It's hard work."

"Psht," Max said, swinging each of her hands out in a sign of 'no big deal,' "I date Chloe. I know all about hard work."

Oooh, Max got jokes.

"And I am Chloe," she pointed at herself with her thumb, "so I know all about...fucking with liquid-y, blue goop." She shrugged and picked up one of the paint rollers, looking it over. "So, how long do you think it'll take us?"

"I'd say two or three days at the most," he replied, rubbing his hand over his chin as if pondering.

Whaaat? Yeah right, we can knock it out in a few hours.

"Heh, look," Max snickered, pulling on her waistline, "you could fit a whole 'nother me in here."

"Yeah, actually..." Chloe snickered, collecting the excess fabric of her shirt into her fist and pulling, "it seems like a workplace hazard to have this much extra cloth roaming around all willy-nilly." She tied it into a knot and gave herself a satisfied nod. Max held her shirt out by the bottom, nonverbally asking Chloe to do the same for her. Once she was done, she poked the tiny bit of Max's exposed stomach, bringing a giggle out of the girl.

"So, what do we do?" Max asked, picking up the roller Chloe had just set down and spinning it with her finger.

"Well, I'll get the paint ready in the tray and then I'll show you girls the proper technique for putting it on," David responded. At Chloe's huff, he held up his hand. "I'm not saying it like I think you're incapable, it's just that you have to do it a specific way."

Oh man, I bet David's totally getting off on finally being able to instruct me again. Luckily, this time it's without the whole 'wanting to bash his head in' part. So far, anyway.

"I can't believe you think we're incapable," Chloe said, chuckling impishly when David sighed in exasperation. "No, I get you. We don't want it to look all runny and shitty."

"Right," Max added, "we're aiming for more Vermeer than Picasso." She looked it up and down. "I could meet you halfway at Monet if you're really attached to the idea." David glared at her, then at Chloe, then to the paint can in his hands.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, then poured it into the metal tray.

"Don't mind her, she's just being pretentious," Chloe said, nudging her playfully.

Aaand I love it.

"So, what you're going to do," David said, taking the roller from Max and dipping it into the tray, "is roll it in here until it's covered, then make sure you get all the drips and excess paint off." He took it to the siding of the house and glanced over his shoulder to make sure they were paying attention. "Slowly, you're going to want to roll it in a smooth, straight line. No going crazy with it or changing directions mid-stroke."

"It's like coloring," Max interjected, holding up a finger. "Like, if you don't color all in one direction, it looks sloppy." David's eyes angled upward, then he shrugged.

"Sure, it is kind of like that," he said. "After, you can shore up any spots in the divots of the siding with a brush." He stopped and turned back to the girls, looking at them as if awaiting feedback.

"What, that's it?" Chloe laughed.

"What do you mean 'that's it?'" David pointed at the freshly painted section. "There was technique involved."

"You just rolled it back and forth," Max said. He pinched the bridge of his nose, then let out a frustrated gust of breath.

"Okay," he said, handing the roller to Chloe, "you get the...general gist of it. Are you good to start?"

"Hell yeah, let's get this party started!" Chloe replied, waving the roller around. Max picked up the other one from the towel and gave David a nod.

"Good, let me know if you need help." He turned and walked toward the gate leading out front, picking up a gun-like device that had been set near it.

"What's that?" Chloe asked.

"It's a sprayer." He held it up. "I'm going to start on the side."

Holy shit, you cheater!

"You're using the easy thing!?" Chloe glanced at Max, then back to him with a glare. "Why are you making us do the grunt work?"

"Because," he smiled as he jostled it tantalizingly, "I'm the expert." Still smiling, he strutted through the gate proud as a peacock.

"He probably thinks we'd just shoot each other," Max said, tapping her roller to Chloe's forehead and moving it up and down. "And he's probably not wrong."

Yeah, but I mean...meh, fair enough.

"Yeaaah, okay," Chloe said, relenting. "Well, you ready to get your art on?"

"I don't know how to turn it off," Max responded with a laugh.

"So, yeah, I don't know," Max said, carefully painting a fresh stripe of blue onto the house, "I guess I just find her a little too...chaotic neutral for my liking."

"I'm chaotic neutral and you love me," Chloe replied, applying a new layer of paint to her roller.

"You're chaotic good," Max corrected, staying focused on her 'technique,' as David would call it. "You're like a really excitable puppy that sometimes nibbles too hard when they play."

Frank says I'm a bulldog. Does...he think I slobber a lot?

"Huh..." Chloe returned to her section of the wall, "that's pretty true to life. How many times have I accidentally busted your lip?"

"I lost count," Max giggled, stepping back and admiring her work. "Busted lips, broken blood vessels on my neck, scratches..." She turned to Chloe and smirked, placing a hand on her hip. "You're dangerous, you know that?"

And you're kinky, fuckin' sue me.

"Chaotic neutral," she responded with a slight shrug.

"I guess," Max laughed. She went over to the stereo they had dragged down from Chloe's room and picked up her phone. "Any requests?" she asked, bouncing her finger on the auxiliary cord. Chloe 'hmm'd.'

"Hit me with some CAKE?" Chloe asked. "I could groove to that."

"Sounds good..." Max snickered. "I can't believe we had to do Victoria's laundry! But at least she and Kate got to spoon finally."

Victoria keeping it chaste. Keeping it...Chase-t? Heheh.

"I wonder who was the big spoon and who was the little," Chloe mused.

"Kate is very little spoon," Max answered, going back to the wall and continuing to paint.

"Maybe," Chloe said, peeking her tongue through her teeth as she concentrated, "but Vic is surprisingly...submissive. She might have been the baby spoon." She sighed with a small dose of relief as she angled her head at the stereo. "Mom's been like, obsessed with tropical music since her cruise. It's..." she scowled and shook her head, "it's Ja-makin' me crazy."

I could actually feel that pun take years off my life.

"Ugh, that was horrible, babe," Max groaned, her face contorting in displeasure.

As if on cue, the backdoor opened and Joyce stepped out, dressed in her own set of old clothing. Chloe huffed dramatically and turned to her.

"Speak of the devil," she said, trying on her best parental tone. "Nice of you to join us, young lady."

"Oh hush," Joyce laughed, pulling her hair up. "I was running errands. Getting food to make you dinner."

"Hear that, Max?" Chloe pursed her lips and shook her head disapprovingly, "sounds a lot like an excuse."

"Oh shut up," Max giggled. "Hi Joyce, how are you?"

"I'm good, Max, thank you." She surveyed their progress. "You girls have gotten more done than I thought you would've by now."

Why...is everyone so down on our painting skills? What sort of fuckery is that?

"Yeah, well, we're going the distance," Chloe said, pointing the roller at her. "We're going for speed."

"It's the song," Max added, nodding to the stereo before Joyce could question anything.

"Right," Joyce said, accepting it without resistance. She scooped up the leftover roller and gave a sigh of longing. "I remember when your father started this."

Oh god, here we go...

"Me too," Chloe replied, her voice a pinch quieter than it had been. "He was way too excited."

"Kind of like you were?" Joyce asked, putting a hand on Chloe's shoulder and offering a warm smile. She thought it over.

"The apple doesn't fall far, I guess," she chuckled.

"Thank goodness." Joyce dipped the roller into the paint. "It makes me so proud to see how much you've taken after him."

I'm like Dad?

"You...think so?" Chloe asked, stopping what she was doing.

"Very much," Joyce responded. "You have his heart, that's for sure."

"Mom..." Chloe sighed, drooping her head forward, "please don't make me cry while I'm painting."

Seriously, I will fuck this all up.

"Sorry, hon," Joyce briefly laid her head on Chloe's shoulder, then continued on to a blank spot of the wall. "He'd be thrilled that we're finally finishing this." She smirked. "I like the getups, by the way."

"Yeah!" Max pointed to her hat. "We're being careful so that we can do stuff like this and it not be a big deal." She pranced over to Chloe and bent down, dragging the roller along her pant leg.

Aw man, you got me first.

"Very proactive of you," Joyce laughed, beginning to paint.

"You blue me up." Chloe looked down at her leg with a pout.

"Yeah. Kaboom!" Max teased as she turned away.

"Okay," Chloe said, taking a step back, "maybe David was right about this being a multiple day activity. Who would have thought this would be so time consuming?"

"Everyone but you," Joyce quipped with a pleased lilt in her voice.

Dammit, weird...feelings...

"Do you think..." Chloe began, lightly kicking her toes into the ground, "Dad would have, I don't know, visited me at the Two Whales? To see me be...adult and stuff?" Max slowed down her stroke, keeping one eye on Chloe to monitor the girl.

"I'm positive he would have," Joyce said, thinking nothing of it. "Probably more often than you'd actually prefer," she added with a laugh.

It could never be too often.

"Doubt it," Chloe replied, "he could come in every single day and I'd be so happy to see him. I'd make sure all of his food was perfect." She glanced away and sniffled, then shook her head. "Is it weird that I'm kind of glad he wasn't around for me getting shot?" Joyce turned to her with a look of surprise. "I just, you know, I wouldn't want to put him through that. Bad enough that it happened with you and David."

I'm...glad I didn't have to see his reaction to my accident in the other timeline. Or Mom's. It'd break my heart.

"I...suppose that is good, in its own way," Joyce said quietly. She made a sad, contemplative sound. "It's still hard for me to think about that." Her face tightened, and Chloe could tell she was trying to remain composed. "When David called me, I just..." the tears reworked themselves into a dismayed chuckle, "I just kept thinking 'no, not her too. Please, anything but that.'"

Right, I was in zombie mode. I never had to see what happened. Chalk me up for being glad about that one too.

"Mom..." Chloe set her roller down, then went over to her and took her in a hug, "I'm sorry I scared you like that."

"Why are you apologizing?" Joyce said in an attempt at scolding her. "It wasn't your fault."

Sort of debatable...I guess I accidentally got the ball rolling.

"I know, but still," Chloe hugged her tighter, "I wouldn't leave you like that."

"You better not." This time, Joyce successfully injected some assertiveness into her tone. "I'd be so angry with you."

Mom anger is just so...crushing.

"Yeah, I'm sure you'd drag me right out of hell to give me a talking to," Chloe snickered. "And I mean, hey," she turned to Max and held her arm out, beckoning the girl to her, "without all of that, Max and I wouldn't have reunited."

"I would have preferred it be under different circumstances," Max admitted, squeezing her way into the hug between Chloe and Joyce. "But, yeah, I'm pretty happy about that part."

"I am too," Joyce said, leaning into Max to show her affection. "I'm so blessed that everything turned out the way it did."

Everyone keeps saying that... I can't tell if it's a cruel joke or a good reminder of us kicking time's ass.

"Same," Max added, nuzzling between them before they finally broke the hug.

"Althooough," Chloe said, her voice spiking deviously. "I feel things could have turned out even better. I mean," she whimsically flitted her hand, "what if, as a gift for surviving, you guys bought me a souped up Lamborghini or something? That would have been hella tight."

Did I just say tight? Whoops, tuck that one back in the retirement home.

Joyce narrowed her eyes at her, then quickly brought her roller to Chloe's chest, painting a long stripe down to her pelvis.

WHAT.

"Woah!" Chloe's jaw slacked open in shock, then it picked itself up into a smile. "You tryin' to go, woman?" She yanked the roller out of Joyce's hands, then jabbed it against her stomach, giving several fast swishes up and down. She whipped in Max's direction as the girl was backing away. "I owe you payback, too!" Max squealed and turned to run, with Chloe chasing after her.

"No!" she screamed, howling with laughter. With a grunt, she jerked to a stop and spun around, brandishing her roller as a weapon. "Fine, I always beat you at sword fighting anyway."

I fucking LET YOU WIN BECAUSE I HAD A CRUSH ON YOU.

"Oh, you're fucking dead, you twerp!" Chloe responded, pressing her attack. She felt pressure on her rear and yelped, glancing over her shoulder to see her original roller missing from the paint tray. "No, that is not fair, Mom!"

Oh god, I'm outnumbered.

"Since when do pirates play fair?" Joyce asked, cocking her head in genuine confusion.

"They have like, a code!" Chloe jumped again as Max swiped her on the knee. "A code of honor! This is BULLSHIT!"

"Rule number one of pirating!" Max cackled, going in again as Joyce joined. "Never trust a verbal agreement with people who don't bathe!"

"And respect your parents," Joyce added, smiling wide as she created a streak of blue on Chloe's back.

"GUYS!" Chloe shrieked, out of breath with laughter. "This isn't faaaair!" Suddenly, the onslaught stopped. Max was staring off to the side, her eyes wide and a small smile on her face. Chloe followed her gaze to find David with his arms slack at his sides, a dumbfounded look on his face.

Please save me, David!

"What in...the world is going on here?" he asked, his voice rigid with awe. Joyce was reflecting Max's expression, mimicking a deer in the headlights. Then, she smiled and took two steps toward him, roller aimed in front of her like a spear. She glanced back at Chloe and Max and received a look of acknowledgment, then turned back to David.

"Mutiny," she said, and all three charged.

"I'm about six different kinds of hungry," Chloe said, leaning back in the chair with a groan.

"You worked up an appetite," David replied. She couldn't help but smile at the splotches of blue on his face. In fact, everyone had their own array of paint speckled on their skin.

A war was fought this day. A bloody, terrible war.

"Seriously..." Max yawned and cradled her head in her hands, "I'm freakin' pooped."

"We got more done than I expected," David admitted. "And it actually looks pretty good." Chloe side-eyed him.

"You seem surprised," she said dryly.

How little faith did you HAVE in us, you troll?

"Maybe a little," he chuckled. His face lit up as Joyce came to the table with a giant pot filled three quarters full of homemade tomato sauce. "It's been so long since we've had spaghetti."

"Thought it was a nice change of pace," she said, taking a seat. "No hats at the table, Chloe."

Oh, weak.

"What?" Chloe scowled. "But I like my hat! What is this, a dictatorship?" She narrowed her eyes. "What are you, fascists?"

"Oh," David laughed, "haven't heard that one in a while."

"Yeah, well, you guys haven't been fascists in a while," she shot back, biting down on the word 'fascists.'

I guess I did kind of run that one into the ground. Lost a lot of its punch.

"Babe, just take the hat off," Max giggled, spooning noodles onto her dish.

"Yes, dear," Chloe sighed as she took it off, frisbee-ing it behind her.

"You sure do have her wrapped around your finger," Joyce said with a smirk. Max nodded cheerily as she bit down on her fork.

"She sure fucking does," Chloe grumbled. "A golden band is just going to be a visual manifestation of that. Cut out the middleman and make it easy to tell at a glance." She grumpily dug the noodles out of the bowl. When she noticed the quiet that fell over the room, she looked up and found everyone staring at her. "What?"

Do I have something in my teeth? I haven't even eaten anything yet...

"A golden band, huh?" Joyce asked, turning to look at Max. The girl shrunk, her cheeks turning red as she prodded her food with her fork. David's eyebrows were raised as high as they could go, his hand unmoving as it firmly the handle of his 'World's Best Dadvid' mug.

Oh, grow up.

"Yeah, okay," Chloe laughed, "like it's a big, huge, gigantic surprise that I'm planning on marrying her." She 'tsk'd' as if disappointed. "I mean, really."

"Chloe..." Max muttered, shooting a nervous, sideways glance at Joyce.

"It's just...surprising to hear you say it out loud," Joyce responded.

"I'm sure it was also surprising to hear me say 'fuck' out loud at first too," Chloe snarked, twirling the noodles around her fork. She felt a foot jab into her shin, and looked to find Max even redder, shielding either side of her face with her hands.

Aw, you're like...actually embarrassed, aren't you?

"Sorry, love," Chloe said quietly, flashing apologetic puppy eyes in Max's direction. "Didn't mean to make you all flustered."

"It's cool," Max replied in a ghostly, squeaky voice as she slid further down her seat. Joyce snorted in laughter and reached for the girl's shoulder.

"Sweetie, are you still scared I'm going to bite your head off with this stuff?" she asked.

"Marriage is lots big," Max mumbled, her face scrunching when she realized her English had failed.

Ha, cute.

"It...certainly is," Joyce agreed. "It's a lot to think about, but..." she shrugged, "you'll cross that bridge when you get to it. Of course the whole idea makes me feel a bit...parental, but I've also never seen something like you two have." David nodded to her as if agreeing in a humorous, unsure way. "I've said it once, and I'll say it again. It seems like it was fated."

Ah, the F-word. The...other F-word, anyway.

"Look, I'll make you a deal," Chloe said, her voice jumbled as she chewed, "we'll play the role of unsure, young lovers around you if it'll make you feel better."

"Ha!" Joyce shook her head with a smile. "You don't need to do that, Chloe. I'm just being a mom." She exhaled through her nose and let her shoulders relax. "I'm just happy to hear you have some kind of plan for the future for a change."

"Yikes," Chloe chuckled, "next time, can you take your rings off before giving me a backhanded compliment?"

By the time dinner was over, it had become abundantly clear that everyone ate far more than they should have. Even Joyce, who was usually good about tempering herself, slouched in her chair with her hands planted on her stomach. Eventually, and with several rocks back and forth to gain momentum, David got up from his chair and meandered into the kitchen. When he came back, he had a bottle of wine and four glasses hanging by the stems between each of his fingers.

"Okay," he said, a burp forcing itself out to distort the latter half of the word, "I wanted to do this to mark the occasion." Chloe glanced between Joyce and Max with confusion, though it seemed her mother was unphased. In fact, she was smiling with a glint of sweetness in her eye. He poured the wine into each of the glasses, then passed them out.

What are you up to, David?

"Alright." David cleared his throat. "A few months ago, I promised Chloe that we would finish painting the house in memory of William. As...strange as the circumstances are, I'm honored to be able to see it through and do right by him. It means a lot to me to have the chance to do that." He raised his glass, and Joyce did the same, prompting Max and Chloe to follow suit. "I hope that he can see the end result and find pride in it." He gulped, then held the glass out into the center of the table. "To William."

"To William," Joyce and Max repeated, reaching to the to bring their glasses together.

"To Dad," Chloe whispered, adding hers to the group. The clinking sound echoed inside of her chest.

Chloe laid on her bed, the smoke from her cigarette spiraling up into the air. Beside her, Max tapped on her phone, replying to a text message. When she was done, she dropped the phone beside her and laid down next to Chloe.

"Kate's asking me for tips about our photography assignment," she said, lifting her hand in the air and swishing a finger through the smoke. "I really like Ms. Waters. She's creative about assignments. This one is, if we could photograph any moment in history, what we choose and why?"

"Oh?" Chloe nibbled her lip absentmindedly, her eyes not leaving the swirl of smoke. "Do you know what yours would be?"

"I'm torn between the signing of the Declaration of Independence or a shot of a Shakespeare play in action," Max said, "like with actual Shakespeare. I think that'd be kind of cool. The Declaration thing seems a little obvious, so I'm leaning toward that one. It'd be interesting too since there's so much mystery around him, maybe I'd be able to glean some answers."

To paint, or not to paint...that is the question.

"All the guys would be dressed in drag," Chloe said, the cigarette twitching as her lips formed into a smirk. "I wonder how much dude on dude making out there was."

"Probs a lot," Max replied, letting her head roll against Chloe's. "I could take a photo of Shakespeare getting frisky with some random actor. That'd be gold." She sighed dreamily at the possibility. "How about you?"

Any moment...

"Hm." Chloe took the cigarette out of her mouth and stamped it out in the ashtray beside her. A dark thought surfaced in her mind. "The crucifixion."

"Really?" Max asked, propping herself up on her elbow. "That's...morbid. How come?"

"I don't know," Chloe said, shrugging as much as she was able. "I guess like, if it's all true, than that's sort of the lowest point in history. It'd be a good reminder that we can only go up." She tightened her eyes to slits. "And if it's not true, then...that solves that, right?"

Fifty percent of war, poof.

"I...guess so," Max said. She looked to the side in thought, then frowned. "How's the head?"

"It was painted in the other timeline," Chloe responded. She said it without hesitation, as if it had been waiting on her tongue. Max winced and fell back down into the bed, snaking her arms around the girl. "Ours doesn't look the same."

What...did we do differently?

"Does that bother you?" Max asked.

"I dunno," she said, "it's just...weird. It's kind of like using a reference to draw but yours doesn't look anything like the original. And I guess, in a way, it's disappointing?"

"Yeah, but," Max left several feathery kisses on Chloe's cheek, "don't you think William would love your version more? The one you helped make?"

I guess...that's true.

"He probably would," Chloe agreed. "It's just...like I said, weird."

"I know, baby." Max combed her fingers through Chloe's hair. "I wish I could reach in there and pluck those memories out." She kissed her on the temple.

"Like Operation," Chloe said, working up a smile. "If you touch the sides, you just hear 'brrrzt!'"

Why...did that dude have a light up, red nose?

"That's nerve wracking," Max giggled. "I don't think my hands are steady enough for that." She wiggled her feet up and down, a quiet 'hmmm' rumbling in her throat, then she got to her knees and straddled Chloe. "Okay, I'm gonna try."

"Try what?" Chloe asked, staring up at her. In response, Max brought two fingers to Chloe's forehead and pinched, pulling them away very slowly.

"Got one," she said, holding her fingers together for Chloe to see. Chloe grinned and grabbed the girl by the waist. "I'm going in again." She held her breath and lowered her hand again, this time on Chloe's scalp, her mouth scrunched to the side as she concentrated.

Gonna get her.

"BRRZT!" Chloe shook Max by the waist, bringing out a sputter of giggles. "Did you even sterilize those tools?" she asked, looking at Max expectantly.

"Yeah," she replied, "I dipped them in the big thing of vodka I was drinking before the procedure." She comically swayed left and right to simulate being drunk. "Okay, open wide."

Excuse me?

"Open wide!?" Chloe asked with a look of horror. "What the fuck kind of practice are you running!?"

"Shh, shh," Max soothed, sticking her fingers into Chloe's mouth and gently pulling down on her jaw, "I'm the professional here."

This is SO not how it works.

"I 'on' 'ink 'is is 'ow i' wor's," Chloe tried to say.

"I can't even understand you," Max mocked with a roll of the eyes, "you're being a difficult patient right now." Chloe's eyebrows arched angrily, but she allowed Max to continue. "Yep, okay, I'll take this one..." She reached into Chloe's mouth and swatted a finger down on her tongue, then retracted both hands.

"Tastes like vodka," she quipped, smacking her lips.

"Thanks!" She smiled wide and booped Chloe on the nose. "Your teeth are super straight, did you know that?"

"Something about me has to be, I guess," Chloe chuckled. Her smile faded, and she stared at Max, her eyes brimming with adoration. "You're so good at making me feel better..."

Seriously, how do you do that?

"I'm glad," she replied. "I only want you to be happy."

"You're doing a really good job," Chloe said.

"Do I get a promotion?" she asked, bringing her hands to her chest in coy excitement.

"I'll have to consult the board and see how much wiggle room we have with the budget." Chloe snickered when Max crossed her arms in offense. "Yes, of course. You can be CEO of Feel Good Inc."

"Clever," Max said with a smirk. She brought her fingers to Chloe's lips and clamped them together, pinching them like tweezers, and then bringing them back. "I missed that one."

That's what you like to hear from a doctor.

"I'm going to wake up from surgery with medical tools in my stomach or something," Chloe laughed. Max waved her hand dismissively and crawled off of Chloe's lap, turning around so that her back faced her. "What are you doing?"

"I missed another one," she replied slyly, reaching forward and pinching Chloe's zipper.

A/N: Price-Madsen Household shenanigans abound! Finally delivering on that idea I brought up way back in chapter 27! Hope you guys don't mind having so many Chloe POV chapters lately. It feels necessary for the ground we're covering.

Hope you enjoy the chapter and, as always, thank you so much for reading! :)