Max snuggled deeper into the pillow, enjoying the feeling of being more comfortable then she could remember being in…such a long time. Certainly before the bullet wound. Chloe had it easy, only having an entry wound. Max couldn't sleep on her back or her front. But at last she had found a comfortable position.

She sighed contently, basking in the warmth, burrowing deeper, smiling as her nose brushed against a nipple, wondering about what to eat for breakfast.

Wait a minute. Why does my pillow have a nipple?

Blinking her eyes open sleepily, Max blushed as she realized the "pillow" she had been snuggling into so happily was, in fact, one of Chloe's breasts.

"Morning, Mammary Max."

This wouldn't be nearly so embarrassing if Chloe wasn't so smug about it. Max lay stretched along Chloe's side, head on the other side of her chest from her bullet wound. One of Chloe's arms around her back with a hand running through her hair and Chloe grinning smugly down at her.

As…..intimate a position as this was, it kept Max off her wounds. Whenever she tried to sleep on her side, she would roll onto either her back or front. But with Chloe there to support her, she could just drift off. Maybe she should look into getting one of those body pillows. Warren probably knew where to get one. She just had to find a way to ask without him volunteering to be her body pillow.

"Mornin' Chlo. Not that this isn't nice and cozy, but why are we snuggle buddies? I remember going to bed alone."

"You uhh….had a nightmare."

"Oh, I don't even remember. So you climbed in to comfort me? Awwww. Thanks Chloe!" Max gave Chloe a full body hug, wrapping her arms and legs around Chloe as she pressed her head into the punks shoulder.

"Uhh, yeah that…..yeah."

Chloe's voice was bright and cheerful. Most people wouldn't have given it a second thought, but Max wasn't most people. She had been there when Chloe told her very first lie, the most transparent fib in history about how the chocolate smeared on their hands and faces really had nothing to do with the cake that had gone missing from the Price's fridge. And that such an assumption was a truly grave insult, for which only a trip to the Lighthouse could suffice as an apology.

Chloe's voice was too bright and cheerful.

"Chloe, what's up."

Chloe's hand tightened in her hair.

"Nothing, Max, just focus on…..focus on this." The young punk cradled her gently.

"Okay, now I am really worried. What is happening, Chloe?"

"Promise not to freak out."

"No."

"What? You can't just say no!"

"Yes I can! People only say that when they know the other person is gonna freak! It's a pointless thing to say. Now tell me."

"Relax, Max. Don't wet the bed again."

"Goddamnit Chloe, that was one time! I was seven years old! You dared me to drink twelve cups of water and then spent all night telling me scary stories!"

"You still pissed on me."

"No, I am not getting drawn into this old argument. Talk. Now. Or I will do it again."

"Dude, that is like the one fetish I don't have." Chloe glared at the ceiling, before taking a deep breath, bracing herself for something big. "Okay. Okay. Last night, you had that nightmare and…look, it wasn't your fault, okay?"

Oh god, maybe I did wet the bed?!

"Chloe…."

"Last night, you had that nightmare and…I don't know what was happening in your hippie head but it must have been hella fucking scary. And…you rewound."

Max's blood went cold.

"No….." She whimpered.

Then Max was squeezing Chloe in a vicelike grip, terror lending her petite, wounded form strength far beyond what either of them would believe her capable of.

"No, I already gave you up once! I won't do it again. I WON'T." She buried her face in Chloe's shoulder.

"I'm not giving this up. Not ever." She continued. Looking back up at Chloe, she narrowed her eyes.

"You are mine." She hissed.

The smile on Chloe's face was the sweetest, happiest thing Max had ever seen. She leaned down with tears in her eyes, and pressed a long, lingering kiss to Max forehead as she whispered

"Hella yours."

They held each other, for a time. The quiet buzz of the hospital around them, the cars driving around outside, all fell away as they simply processed the affirmation of their bond.

Chloe took a deep breath, drying her tears as she kissed Max's forehead again.

"It isn't an option."

Max beamed up at her. "You are right, it isn't."

"No, well not "no". Hella yes to the whole together forever thing. I mean, like…we don't have the butterfly photo. I was thinking about how we might track it down but it is probably evidence now. Locked away in the police station or something."

"Oh! Good."

"Good?"

"Yeah. Even knowing what I would choose this time…Fuck being faced with that decision again."

Chloe nodded. "Yeah, first time was brutal enough. So, like, I've been thinking about our next move. Not just gonna sit here and wait for that fucking storm to kill everyone. If my punk ass wasn't as crippled as it is hot, I would sling you over my shoulder and carry you to Seattle myself."

Max smiled. She could picture it so easily. Although, in her mind Chloe wasn't carrying her over her shoulder but in her arms. She snuggled deeper into Chloe's embrace, the legs wrapped around Chloe's thigh squeezing hard as she pressed herself against Chloe in response to the unexpected thought.

"But, I can't carry shit and you need your doctors and drugs and shit. Only way we are getting out is as part of some bigger evacuation. No fucking choice but to be heroes."

Max nodded. It made sense.

"We have, like, five days. So I figure a day to research and prepare."

Chloe grabbed Max's phone from the table by her bed, handing it to her.

"First step is reconnecting, Maximus. Can't affect the world unless you are a part of it. We call everyone we can, find out about any weird shit going on in town. We still don't know how this shit works. You rewinding on a different day could cause this all to start off with a rain of French Fries or fucking whatever. If we hear about snow we know it is gonna be the same so we can start predicting the other shit. Build up credibility, predict the storm. Evacuate everyone and get shiny fucking medals."

"Sounds like a plan, Chlo. Kinda hoping for the French Fry storm instead of the apocalypse one." Max said as she started scrolling through the mountain of text messages and missed calls awaiting her.

"Im gonna start with Kate. I need to find out how she is anyway….."

"Good call. Church girl has come in to pray for you every day."

"Awwww, Kate is such a sweetheart."

"Even offered to include me. Silly bunny, everyone knows I am already damned."

"Oh you are not. If I have to sneak you into heaven I will."

When they drifted off to sleep that night, there had been no reports of unusual weather, fry based or otherwise.