Chloe could tell that she was dreaming, because the old mill in Arcadia Bay had burned down years ago, and Rachel Amber was dead. But here she was, in the middle of what she once knew to be a mosh pit, with Rachel sitting on the stage, legs dangling off the side. The wanna-be model looked as gorgeous as ever, watching her with alert hazel eyes.

"Long time no see, Chloe Price," the blonde called, an eyebrow raising. Even in a dream, she was just so goddamn perfect. Maybe she knew it the whole time she had been alive, too. Her confidence had always been so impressive to Chloe, alluring even.

Chloe didn't know what to say in response. Part of her wanted to race over to Rachel, to hug her and never let go. Another part wanted to light a match and let the whole damn mill burn down again, to walk away and never turn back. Amazing what time and distance could do to a person.

Rachel's form slid off the stage gracefully, walking towards her. Chloe felt her heart pounding in her chest as she drew closer. "Speechless, this is a surprise," Rachel commented, smiling enchantingly at her. "You don't have anything you want to say to me?"

"How could you do all that shit to me, Rach?" Chloe forced out, glad to see dream-Rachel freeze in place, looking surprised. "Frank, Jefferson?"

Rachel frowned, watching Chloe carefully, as if trying to dissect her. It was unnerving, something she had done often when she had been alive. "What does it matter? We were never together, not really."

"Bullshit, and you know it. You knew how I felt." It came out weak, almost pleading, and Chloe hated herself for it, hated how small she felt. Was this how it had always been - had she always just been weak-willed and under Rachel's thumb?

Rachel studied her for a few more seconds, a little smile crossing her face the longer she looked. "You're not the little punk wanna-be anymore, are you?" She reached a hand out towards Chloe's face. Chloe reflexively caught her wrist, pushing her away. There was surprise in Rachel's eyes, as well as a little hurt. "Guess things have changed, huh?"

"That's not fair," she whispered in response, her heart aching. All she had ever wanted was to keep Rachel happy, and she had failed at that time and time again. She never could. "You kept secrets from me. I couldn't help you."

Rachel's expression was dark, and Chloe unconsciously leaned away from her. "You acted like a child, Chloe. You wouldn't have understood."

She knew Rachel was right, knew the person she was before Rachel disappeared was not the person she was now. The only thing she had cared about then was keeping this blonde angel with her, and it made her sick to think of it now.

Waves of emotion were crashing over her, some happy, some depressing, some angry. It stung now, how simple it could have been for Rachel to just talk to her. Chloe would have talked her out of going near Jefferson, that's for sure. She would have at least tried. "If I had known, Rach, maybe you'd still be alive."

There was a sad smile on Rachel's face now, and her hazel eyes were no longer scrutinizing. It almost looked like she was trying to memorize Chloe's face. "Maybe. Guess we'll never know." She shrugged, as if trying to drop a weight she was carrying on her shoulders. "Besides, you have Max now. You can't say that you'd trade us."

As much as it hurt to admit, she was right, again. As much as Chloe missed and loved Rachel, Max was her person, the one person that kept her sane and that she knew she wouldn't be able to live without. She'd thought that's how she had felt about Rachel back then.

Rachel was still smiling that sad smile, and she held her arms up, offering a hug. Chloe heard rather than felt a sob wrench out of her throat, and she willingly threw herself forward, arms flinging around Rachel. Even in a dream, she still smelled like jasmine, still felt warm and welcoming and all the things Chloe had missed about her.

"I'm sorry, Chloe," Rachel said quietly, hands rubbing her back. "I never wanted to hurt you like this."

"I wanted to save you, Rachel," she gasped, clinging to her, wondering if this was the last chance she'd get. Rachel didn't respond, only moving her hands so one was cradling the back of Chloe's head.

She was aware of the dream slipping away, and as she came to consciousness, she heard Max's voice murmuring to her, attempting to calm her. She could feel her face was wet - she must have been crying in her sleep, too. Max had pulled her closer, arms tight around her, whispering into the top of her head.

Chloe didn't know how she felt now - her emotions were all over the place, still trying to process her dream. It had felt so real, but she knew it wasn't, knew it was only a figment of her imagination, coming up with what Rachel would have said if she was really able to talk from beyond. It was no different than the version of her father she used to imagine.

What she did know was Max was here, and Max wouldn't let anything happen to her. Max, who ripped apart literal time and space to keep her safe, her best friend, her everything. It calmed her, and she took a deep breath, focused on the thin arms wrapped around her.

"She wouldn't let me save her, Max," she whispered, face still buried in Max.

"Who?"

"Rachel. I-I could have saved her, if she'd just talked to me."

There was a little pause as Max pressed her lips against the top of Chloe's head. "It's not your fault, Chloe," she said calmly, arms tightening for a second.

"But if I knew-"

"Trust me, Chloe, you'll drive yourself insane if you start thinking about that stuff," Max said, sounding a little reproachful. "Life is meant to just...happen. We shouldn't look back and wonder what we should have change it."

It was moments like this that Chloe realized how much older Max sounded. All the time traveling had aged her, gave her a deeper understanding of shit like that. It was no wonder she dealt with those nightmares for so long. Max had always been more grounded, but it killed Chloe to think about her best friend having to grow up so quickly.

And Max was completely right, albeit a little hypocritical. Refusing to go back to that bathroom really threw a wrench into what was suppose to happen, in Chloe's opinion, but she was sure Max didn't see it that way. She'd jumped through enough timelines to probably be confused on what was meant to be and what she personally changed. Chloe couldn't blame her for not wanting to use those powers anymore - it hurt her own head just thinking about it.

Chloe rolled onto her back, looking over at her girlfriend. Max was chewing her lip, looking a little guilty. "Don't start thinking too heavily over there," Chloe commented, watching Max's eyebrows knit together.

"Sorry, I- sorry." Max was shaking her head, rubbing her face for a minute. "I didn't mean to take over the conversation like that."

"You said what I needed to hear," Chloe admitted. Max looked over at her, a surprised look on her face. "Maybe I could have saved Rachel...but she chose her path, just like I chose mine." She snagged Max's hand as tangible proof, and was rewarded with a smile. "I wouldn't trade this for anything, Max."

Max still looked a little surprised, but was smiling. She squeezed the hand holding her's, and Chloe grinned, watching her happily. Max gazed back, and Chloe was able to watch the last of her concern and surprise fade, shifting into a content look.

Chloe's phone started buzzing on the side table, and she tried to ignore it. Max's relaxed expression shifted into humor, and after the fourth buzz, she reached her free hand over to push Chloe closer to her phone. Chloe groaned, reaching blindly for it before knocking it onto the ground. "I can't look at it with good conscious, we're having a moment."

Max giggled at her, shaking her head. "Just get your phone, Chloe."

Chloe grumbled to herself as she rolled over, leaning off the bed to snag her phone. "Fuck, I never responded to Steph yesterday." She meant to, but with the excitement of learning Victoria's crush on Kate was not unrequited, texting an old friend back was no longer of importance.

"Steph who?" Max inquired.

"Right, she graduated before you came to Blackwell. Steph Gingrich, DM extraordinaire," Chloe explained as her phone buzzed again - another text from Steph. "Geez, someone's needy all of a sudden."

"DM? As in 'dungeon master'?" There was a little smile on her face as she watched Chloe sit up.

Chloe studied her for a moment, eyes squinting. "That better not be the sound of you mocking me, Caulfield."

Max giggled again, but tried to compose herself. "I'm not! Seriously, I think it's cool. Did you play?" Chloe didn't get a chance to start on her imaginary adventures before her phone was buzzing again, this time a phone call. "Needy indeed. You take that, I'll take a shower, okay?"

Rolling her eyes, she answered her phone. "Go for Callamastia." There was no response. "Steph, you there?"

"Ho-ly shit, you really are alive," came the weak answer.

Chloe couldn't help but smirk. "Hello to you too, Steph."

"I- fuck, I just found out about Arcadia this week, the storm..." Steph trailed off; even over the phone Chloe could hear her voice shaking. "And Rachel," she added quietly.

Chloe sighed. She remembered Steph's old crush on Rachel - she should have known that incident would come up. "Yeah. Shit went down, that's for sure."

There was a brief pause on Steph's end. "Is it cliche to ask how you're doing?"

"Oh, it absolutely is," Chloe chuckled. "But I'm fine. Well, mostly fine."

"That's good," Steph replied, her tone optimistic. "Where are you staying?"

"Up in Seattle, staying with M- er, with a friend's parents." Once again, she had forgotten that Max and Steph had never met - honestly, she wasn't sure if she had mentioned Max to Steph in the years they had known each other.

She heard a surprised gasp on the other end. "No shit. I'm at Cornish."

"Gesundheit."

Steph laughed. "Dumbass. Never change. Cornish College, it's in Seattle."

"No shit? Jesus, how many people from Blackwell are up here?"

"Who else is up here?" Steph asked curiously.

"Good ol' Vicky, for one," she supplied.

"Victoria Chase? Seriously?" There was a little annoyed tone in Steph's voice, and Chloe couldn't blame her - Victoria hadn't been particularly friendly to anyone back in their school days, and Steph had dealt with her in one too many plays.

"Her parents live here, or did you forget her saying that three million times?"

"Wait, you're living with Victoria Chase?"

"Wha- fuck, no! I see her way more often than you'd believe, though." Max poked her head back in the room, checking to see if Chloe was still on the phone. Chloe gestured for her to come back in, standing up. "Listen, I need to get ready for brunch, how 'bout we get together this week, catch up?"

"I'd love that. Text you later?"

"Sure thing. See ya, Steph." She put her phone down on the bed before walking towards Max. "I wanna hit the shower myself before we head out, 'kay?"

Max wrapped her arms around Chloe's waist, smiling up at her. "Okay, I'll let Kate know we're almost ready."

"Sure thing." Chloe gave her a quick peck, a grin spreading on her face as her thoughts wandered to Kate and a certain someone. "Are you going to ask if-"

"Chloe, no, I'm not going to bring that up," Max said, shaking her head as she gave Chloe a playful push towards the door.