Gail woke with a start from a nightmare about Chloe leaving, these dreams, she seemed to remember. Mostly anyway. She was starting to remember other things too. She knew Chloe's face at fifteen years old. She remembered Chloe's father. She didn't know how that was possible, unless...no, Chloe and Rachel's story couldn't be true. It couldn't be.

She briefly panicked when she felt something across her chest, but quickly realized it was Rachel's arm. Rachel had been asleep on the futon in Gail's dorm room when they went to sleep last night, but now she was asleep next to Gail, in her bed. Again. It had been two days since Jefferson met his end, and both nights, this had happened. The first time, Gail had been annoyed, snapped at Rachel, yelled at her that she didn't want anyone but Chloe so close to her. Rachel had apologized, seemed genuinely wounded by Gail's reaction and had slid out of Gail's bed and gone back to the futon. What played out over the rest of that day heavily influenced how Gail handled the situation now.

On this morning, Gail actually looked at the girl asleep next to her, after carefully moving her arm. Rachel seemed to only sleep in an oversized t-shirt and nothing else. Her blonde hair was hanging messily over part of her face. Rachel looked very different without her makeup. Without her defenses up. No less beautiful, but a lot more vulnerable. Rachel had seemed to be the more level-headed of the group. She lacked Chloe's brashness. She seemed to, usually, keep Chloe grounded, but maybe that wasn't the case. Maybe Rachel was the most broken of them all. If what they claimed the other day had any truth to it...But Gail still had a hard time accepting the past life thing. Yes, the situation was strange. Yes, Chloe seemed to know what was going to happen before it actually happened...but that didn't happen. Not in real life. At least, Gail hadn't thought so.

But why was everything, until now, so familiar...why do I know Chloe...not just know her, but know her….

Gail decided it didn't matter right now. What mattered was, she needed Chloe here, now. Though after yesterday's developments, Chloe's decision to vanish made a lot more sense. She had been right. Gail and Rachel had been sitting in a coffee place, actively avoiding the diner, Joyce, discussing what the hell they were supposed to do next, when the news bulletin had broken. Mark Jefferson, something something, photographer, something, teacher, something something, murdered.

Suspect number one, Chloe Elizabeth Price.

All Rachel had been able to say was;

"This is so wrong. So, so wrong. She's saved so many people, so many times. She was going to give up her life to save this entire, undeserving town. So fucking wrong."

Gail hadn't been able to process her thoughts into words.

They had returned to Blackwell because they really had nowhere else to go. Classes were out for the rest of the week, in light of the "tragic" circumstances. There was no danger here now. Rachel had been questioned by security and a cop, but they lost interest quickly when she said she hadn't seen Chloe in days, and that her behaviour seemed normal, then she just "disappeared". As for what Rachel was doing here, just checking up on some old friends to make sure they were alright after this…"tragedy", of course. Interesting how small towns work. One person can become public enemy number one quickly. And then it becomes a witch hunt. And Chloe fit the bill this week. And there was no-one less deserving. In another life, Chloe had helped rebuild Arcadia Bay. Had worked tirelessly to...but now there was no storm. There was just the events of this lifetime, and again, Chloe was fucked over by circumstance.

Still, neither Rachel or Gail could shake the feeling that she'd abandoned them. Yes, she'd saved them all from getting arrested, and Rachel was a direct accessory, but they were supposed to be in this together. Gail found she no longer really cared about her old life, not that it had been much of a life, anyway.

Rachel seemed to be having a nightmare of her own. Her eyes were clenched tight, despite that, Gail saw tears. Gail thought about the stories again. Thought about what being in that room when Chloe pulled that trigger must have been like. The night afterward, Chloe vanishing on Rachel. Rachel driving back to the house, fighting with herself over whether to wake Gail up or not. No, Rachel wasn't the rock. Maybe she had been, to start with, but now that was Chloe, and without Chloe, neither of them really knew what to do.

You poor thing…you've had it just as hard as the rest of us….you just hide it so well...pretty face...hell inside…

Gail brushed the hair out of Rachel's face and gently shook her shoulder.

"NO, I'M NOT READY TO DI-...CHLOE DON'T GO DON'T-", Rachel, still half asleep, exclaimed.

"Hey, hey...Rachel, it's me...it's okay", Gail said gently.

"Huh...oh...hey", Rachel said sleepily.

"Bad dream?"

"Worst dream. Dreams."

"I know."

"Oh...hey, I did it again", Rachel said, opening her eyes fully and looking at Gail, right in front of her face, "...sorry. I woke up during the night and I didn't want to be alone...I know you want me to sleep over there, sorry."

"It's alright, Rachel. I'm not mad. At you. Just…"

"Lost."

"Yeah."

Rachel sat up and stretched. She then brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, and just sat like that, not saying anything.

"What are we going to do, Rachel?"

"I don't know."

They'd already talked about this, over and over again.

"We can't just...do nothing. Pretend this isn't happening."

"Why? That's exactly what she wanted us to do."

"Rachel...we can't just leave her alone out there, wherever she is. We could go to Nathan, we could-"

"Get ourselves in the same trouble she's in. And then what?"

"I don't know."

"Yeah. Exactly. Neither do I."

Gail sighed. She pushed past Rachel, who was on the outside of the bed, not the side against the wall, and got up. She paced back and forth a few times before grabbing clothes from the closet.

"Idea?", Rachel asked weakly, she still hadn't moved.

"We can still go to the one person who other person who knew about all of this. Who knows Chloe is innocent."

"If he's even approachable. I can't imagine this entire thing has been easy on him, even without getting shot. And we're not innocent. Just...a different kind of guilty."

"So this is the best you have, Rachel? Sit there and give up?"

"Maybe I gave up a long time ago."

Gail stopped what she was doing and turned to face Rachel, who was still sitting in the same position, staring straight ahead.

"Then why are you here?", Gail felt bad for Rachel, but that was quickly being replaced by frustration, anger.

Rachel didn't actually have an answer for that. "Chloe told me to", wasn't the answer. It was never the answer.

"Nowhere else to go", Rachel knew that sounded horrible, but was past the point of caring.

"So you're using me? Wow, huge surprise. From what you and Chloe said, that seems to be your fucking forte, Rachel. Until you fucked up and it backfired on you, blowing Jefferson didn't get you a modelling career, it got you kil-"

"Shut up, Gail. You have no idea. You really, have no idea. What, you suddenly believe everything? Good timing."

"I don't know, but it seems in character for you, and you went along with fucking murder for a reason, so-"

"THERE WASN'T A WHOLE LOT OF OPTIONS LEFT. I TRIED TO TELL HER EVEN AS IT HAPPENED IN FUCKING FRONT OF ME THAT WE COULD HAVE DONE IT DIFFERENTLY, BUT SHE WOULDN'T LISTEN. NOW, SHE'S GONE, SHE'S WANTED AND WE-"

"Are left to pick up the pieces, yeah, I know."

"Max...i've been picking up the broken pieces she leaves behind for so long. So long. Even in death, I still had to pick up what she couldn't handle."

"What did you just call me?"

"...Gail...sorry. I don't know-"

"So why do you keep following her, why do you keep picking up, why are you still here? And don't give me 'for the greater good' bullshit, you already told me you were planning on bailing, had the original plan fucking worked."

"Is it so hard to believe I actually care, Gail? Maybe i'm human too?"

"At this point, yes."

Rachel finally looked up, she locked eyes with Gail, and in Rachel's eyes, hell's fire burned.

"Okay. You're right Gail. I'm a heartless bitch who only cares about me. I use my looks to get by, because I have nothing else. As things were before, I was a miserable junkie who slept with anyone who would give me drugs or a shot at something better. Or just made me feel better about myself. Or what I thought was better. I used Chloe, I used Frank, I tried to use Jefferson. I used everyone. And now i'm trying to make up for that. I admit it. Is that what you fucking want to hear?"

"And what, are you just trying to make it up to Chloe, or-"

"No."

"Then what, Rachel, what the hell?"

"I'm here now because I actually fucking care, Gail. About you. About her. About it all. Whether you believe me or not."

"Rachel…."

"Gail...we can't do this. We can't turn on each other."

Gail sighed and thought for a moment.

"...You know...i'm only here, at Blackwell, because I have nowhere else to go. I didn't have a life of my own, before this mess. I just went through the motions. Stumbled through them. Not knowing who you are will do that. I don't really care about this place."

"And...do you know who you are now?", Rachel wasn't sure whether Gail starting to recollect was a blessing or a curse at the moment.

"I'm starting to...but-"

"But, the one person that makes it matter isn't here."

"Yeah."

"Gail, we can't get wrapped up in a fucking murder investigation. I'm not going to let you go through that. And not just because Chloe told me not to."

"So we're just supposed to forget about her? I can't do that, I can't fucking do that, Rachel. And you know it."

"Neither can I."

"So where does that leave us?"

"How much do you care about your scholarship?"

"Not a whole hell of a lot, especially since the one thing I was even here for isn't going to be taught for a long time."

"Then I guess we know where it leaves us."

"We have to talk to David, if we can. Then-"

"Then we go after her."

Chloe was in a strange mental state. Even to her. Numb. But not totally numb. She knew she had to do what she had done, but didn't know exactly why she had been so brutal about it. Maybe just years and years of building frustration. And then there was leaving. Were Gail and Rachel really going to be alright? She knew leaving would throw suspicion from them, for a while anyway. But would they be alright? She hoped Rachel listened to her.

Don't abandon her Rachel, you fucking owe me…

That wasn't entirely true, Rachel had already paid for fucking this up.

Chloe intended to return...eventually. She just didn't know how long it would take for all the evidence to fall into place. She knew David would testify in her defense. She also now knew that Wells knew something was going on with Jefferson, now he would be forced to look into it further. All of those red binders had to be somewhere, he had too big of an ego to burn them. And then there was Kate, she would undoubtedly testify against Nathan and Jefferson by proxy. But this would take time. She just hoped Rachel looked out for Max...Gail, until then.

Chloe didn't sleep much. She missed Gail too much. Rachel too, but not the same. Chloe hadn't slept alone in a long, long time, she hadn't really slept at all until she passed out from exhaustion before they had found Gail. So she didn't sleep much. It left her with too much time to think, but other than that, it worked out.

It wasn't hard to get lost near Big Sur, in the redwoods, the camping areas. Chloe had broken into a cabin, it was off season, so they didn't check much, sometimes a ranger would come by, but not often. She was close enough to Carmel that if she absolutely needed something, she could walk it. But really, she needed to be alone. Out of sight. The only reason this vanishing act had been possible was because she had stopped to see David, in the hospital before she left. Thankfully Joyce was at the diner that night. She told him everything, minus the time fuckery, embellishing a few details. He was horrified, but gave her the couple hundred dollars he had and swore he would sort this out, somehow. She had hinted where she was going to him, but only hinted. She didn't want any loose ends, she herself being the biggest of them, now. She had thanked him with a tear-filled embraced and then been on her way, only stopping to buy a hoodie to replace her jacket at some bullshit tourist store. Sunglasses also seemed like a good idea. When she got to Monterey, she bought inconspicuous clothes, enough food for a few days, hair bleach and snatched a map from an information booth, fully intending to break into a cabin and lay low for a few days. Thankfully the water was still on in the cabin, and she had done something she swore she was never going to do after her...old life, and stripped the blue out of her hair. It was too identifiable. So was her tattoo, but she could keep that covered. Her only link to the outside world was her phone, but it was off, she turned it off before she even left. She didn't want them coming after her. Not until this blew over. And she didn't know if it could be tracked, or if that was just some of David's paranoid babble.

This morning, she stood on the beach, smoking a cigarette and looking out over the ocean. Her punk clothes were replaced. Her tank top with a black t-shirt, her ripped and patched jeans with regular skinny jeans and her motorcycle boots with flip-flops, for the moment. She had left her bullet necklace with David, he swore to hold onto it, keep it hidden. She hated everything about this. But, it was necessary at the moment. She still wore the hoodie, hood up, covering her hair, even if it wasn't such a giveaway now. And it covered her arms, both the tattooed right one and the injured left one. She had cauterized the wound herself, with a lighter and her switchblade. It wasn't a pleasant experience. But she had been losing blood quickly. Now she just had to keep it clean, she didn't need to lose an arm to infection. She looked at her hands, and then down at her feet.

Probably should have lost the blue nail polish, too…oh well. It's not going to matter if they really want to find me that badly.

She looked back out at the ocean.

"I'm sorry guys. So fucking sorry. I am. I really am. I didn't want to leave you alone, I know we're in this together. But I couldn't drag Gail through this. What if they find me? I made it worse by running, but I had to, to keep you safe. Both of you...I love you, both...and…", she said to herself, trailing off. A tear slid down her cheek.

Her thoughts went somewhere else, to the other reason she left. She had no idea how to handle this situation with Rachel and Gail. Gail was Max. She accepted that. She accepted this and wasn't even aware Gail was starting to remember things from Max's life. She may not have left, or might have brought them with her, if she knew that. But still...there was Rachel. Where did she stand with Rachel? And how was Rachel supposed to deal with all of this? Rachel had fucked herself by going along with Chloe's plan. Chloe had asked her to come for the reason Rachel originally stated, she knew she was going to need help. But she hadn't thought about the repercussions. And she had known something was...off, about Rachel. But hadn't imagined it boiled down to Rachel still being in love with her, after all these years. All these horrors. Chloe wondered to herself if they could work it out between the three of them, before immediately dismissing that idea. Chloe wasn't a polyamorous person. Gail certainly wasn't, depending on how much of Max was really in her. Rachel...she didn't know about Rachel. Chloe sensed the jealousy Rachel had for Gail. But, that drunken night that shouldn't have happened had also happened. That kind of threw everything in Chloe's mind into question. She needed this time to sort this out too, and she didn't even know where to start. She was wanted for first degree murder, she heard the report in a bus station, nobody recognized her though, not outside Arcadia Bay, covered as much as possible. And her primary concern, her, of all people, was sorting out two people being in love with her.

She sighed and walked along the mostly empty beach.

"I wish you were here, Max."

Rachel had showered in Blackwell's dorm, but hadn't bothered with her makeup. She hadn't even brought it with her. She had just barely brushed her hair. Like she had nothing to hide anymore. Or nobody to hide it from. In Gail's clothes, not her own carefully selected wardrobe, looking very natural, Rachel looked very different. A lot less strong and sure...at first glance. But somehow overall, a lot stronger. Now Rachel was borrowing clothes from Gail, somewhere in her mind, Gail remembered a morning in Chloe's room.

Ready for the most pit, shaka brah…oh, how the roles have reversed. That's our entire lives, isn't it? Role reversal.

These memories were fleeting, and they didn't overwhelm Gail. Gail had a personality of her own, as Rachel had noted in a timeline that now didn't happen. Rachel still knew it though. The isolation Gail had experienced...it didn't make her stronger than Max, there was nobody stronger than Max, but it made her able to deal with this current situation rationally. Max was strong, until it came to something like this, she would have broken down without Chloe. Gail had a balance of that and herself. The Max part of her wanted to lay down and cry about it. The Gail Roberts side wanted to get to the bottom of this mess.

Rachel didn't seem entirely convinced that David would be helpful, but she went along with it. They had to take the bus, they weren't going to risk the truck, if it hadn't been impounded already.

Rachel did the talking when they got to the hospital, saying she was a good friend of the family, she had been here right after it happened, after all. She got some strange looks, by now everyone in Arcadia knew about Chloe. But it's not like they could prove anything, just because they were friends. They let them through.

When they came to David's room, Rachel stopped.

"How are we going to go about this, exactly?", Rachel asked.

"We tell him everything, and see if he's got any ideas on evidence."

"He might just rage, Gail. I can't imagine what he must be thinking, even if he knew about Jefferson. Chloe wanted for murder...I just...Joyce too...poor Joyce."

They didn't know Chloe had been here already, Chloe hadn't talked to anyone but David, she just arrived, said what she needed to and was gone.

"Well, we have nothing else, unless you want to try Nathan, and I don't."

"You're right", Rachel sighed.

They entered the room. They found David...calm. Not raging. Not panicking. Not visibly, anyway.

"Hey...David, how are you...holding up?", Rachel tried.

"I was wondering when you two would show up", he said.

"What? What do you mean?", Gail asked.

"Chloe was here. She told me everything. I knew you'd be here sooner or later."

"So you know she's-", Gail started.

"She did what she had to do, yes. I'm not happy about it at all. But someone had to stop that sick motherfucker. I just wish it hadn't had to have been her."

"Do you know where she went?", Gail asked.

"I have an idea. But...look, Wells knows something was rotten about Jefferson, whether he believed me or not at the time. If Nathan Prescott was involved as heavily as I think, he will lead us to the evidence. Chloe...made the right decision, leaving. As long as they don't find her….before that."

"David…with the Prescotts' power, there is no guarantee…", Rachel said sadly.

"I know. And that is where I come in, as soon as i'm out of here. I know you were there Rachel. And I know it must have been horrible. I've...seen it before. I understand you care about her, but it's safer for everyone if you don't follow-"

"We have to", Gail interjected.

"And how do you even factor into this, Gail? Aside from him being after you, too. When did you and Chloe get so close?"

"Mr. Madsen...look. I can't explain right now. But listen to me. I know her. We can't leave her alone, not with this burden. You know that as well as we do. Even if she thinks she's got it covered, she could break down again."

"Yeah...I know. I'm praying that won't happen."

"We can make sure it doesn't", Rachel added.

"No, i'm not pulling you two into this, not any more than you already are."

"Mr. Madsen...please", Gail said gently, seriously, "...we can't leave her alone out there to deal with this on her own."

"Do you want her to go back to the drugs, the drinking...everything, David?", Rachel asked.

"Part of that was you, Miss Amber."

"It was. I admit that. And I also admit I fucked up. And i've been trying to help Chloe keep it together, and until now, we, the both of us, had been. I don't think Chloe can take it...even if she thinks she can."

David sighed.

"David, please", Gail tried again, now there were tears.

David looked away from them, considering. Rachel knew this was going to be a dead end. Gail was clinging to hope.

"All she said was that she was going south. Something about 'getting lost in the redwoods'."

"Big Sur", Rachel said, automatically, unintentionally.

"Maybe, I don't know", David said.

"David...are you going to be alright here, if Sean Prescott shows up…", Rachel said.

"I've got that covered. I've been working on that when i'm not working on what to tell Joyce, she's shut down completely. She thinks Chloe's finally snapped. When in reality-"

"Chloe is the hero", Rachel finished.

"Yes", David said, quietly.

"The hero Arcadia Bay deserves, but not the one it needs right now...", Gail said, remembering more of her life as Max, remembering Chloe had been willing to sacrifice herself for everyone, she didn't remember what had happened after that, though.

"Arcadia's Dark Knight", Rachel said, more seriously than a Batman reference should have been said.

"We'll find her, Mr. Madsen", Gail said, "Somehow."

"I don't like it. I don't like any of this. At all. If you really are going after her, be careful. Be smart. Don't get yourselves...or her, caught."

"We won't", Rachel said seriously.

"I wish you two weren't doing this, we really need you here, when this case really opens up…"

"Are we safe here, David?", Rachel asked.

"What do you mean?"

"The Prescotts, the police, being paid by the Prescotts...for now, anyway. Are any of us really safe? Chloe might have bought us time, but are we safe?"

"I don't know. And that is why I told you what she told me. That, and i'm scared as hell for her. I know i've been harder on her than I ever should have been, but I do love her. I don't like either option here, but I suppose I like you finding her a little more than the alternatives. Even if you go after her, you may not find her, though. Believe me, if she doesn't want to be found, she won't be."

"We know her better than you think, David", Rachel said. Though she knew they had only narrowed where Chloe had gone down to about a hundred mile radius, and she didn't know how they were going to find her.

"If you're really going, take this, I can't hide it here forever", David said, holding Chloe's necklace out to them.

Gail took it, it was so familiar to her, somehow. She put it on, tucking it inside her shirt, for now.

I've worn this before...

"How did she go, David? She didn't take her truck", Rachel said.

"Bus, i'd guess. But she's smart enough to not use her real name...I hope. And I gave her some cash, so she could stay incognito. I told her to keep her phone off, too. Just in case."

"So we take the bus, we know roughly where she went, it can only stop so many places", Gail said.

"We think we know. This is a massive shot in the dark", Rachel said.

"It's all we've got", replied Gail.

"Girls...be careful. Just, be careful. I can handle what's going on here, i'm tougher than that. But I can't do anything once you leave", David said.

"I know, we will be", Rachel said.

"Look out for her for me, and look out for each other", David said.

They left after thanking David and promising to be careful, again. After returning to Blackwell to pack a few things, they took the local bus to the station. Rachel bought two tickets. She didn't use their real names, either. Just in case. Rachel knew they were probably dooming themselves, by leaving at a time like this. It looked horrible. It looked like exactly what it was.

But if we're going out, at least we'll be going together...