Max wakes up in a hospital room, the quiet footfalls outside her door and the beep of the EKG machine next to her bed the only sounds she can hear. It's night, and the lights are dimmed to allow for patients to sleep. Max sits up carefully, her head feeling like a weight, and examines herself and the room. She's in a hospital gown, tucked into the bed. An IV line has been inserted into her right arm. She's near the window, so she assumes she's the only person in the room. The television attached to the wall across from the bed is off, a chair underneath it containing her camera bag and laptop. There's a pair of battered headphones sitting on top of the laptop, cable plugged in. Slowly swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Max begins to walk toward the bathroom in a daze, when the jerking of the IV line pulls at her arm.

"Ehh?" Max looks over, then grabs the wheeled rack the IV bag is on and walks to the bathroom. Turning on the overhead light for the sink, Max winces at the sudden brightness, her eyes needing a moment to adjust. Max splashes her face with cool water from the sink, then looks up to examine herself in the mirror. Eyes bloodshot, blood crusting just outside her nostrils, Max touches the purple bruise above her eye where she'd fallen at the lighthouse. The lighthouse, Max thought, How did I get here? I wonder how much time has passed. Max winced as her head began to slowly pound, and dragged her IV bag behind her back to the bed. Lying back down, Max was hit with a wave of exhaustion and yawned. Max could barely keep her eyes open, but she needed to know what was going on. Max tried to sit back up, but her head felt too heavy, so she used to bed controls to place herself in a sitting position. So tired, but I'd like to know what is going on before I pass out. Which could be momentarily. Ugh, so tired. Max heard a click from the door and watched her parents come walking in, with Chloe right behind them. Max smiled at Chloe weakly, Chloe responding with a slight blush and awkward expression. Max's parents loomed over their daughter's bed, her father placing a hand on Max's shoulder. Max weakly squeezed his hand, then looked over at Chloe with concern as she began to wrap up the headphones and place the laptop in the camera bag. Before Max could say anything, Chloe was out the door.

"Wha-, where's Chloe going?" Max asked, fighting to stay awake.

"She's going home to get some rest, Max. You've been asleep for a couple days. It's Sunday evening," Max's mother said, gently stroking her daughter's cheek, eyes wet with tears.

"But why is she leaving? She looked-"

"I think the more pressing concern is how are you doing, Max," Max's father asked, worry lines creasing his forehead, "What happened? All Chloe would tell is that you had some kind of attack. The doctor's say you have a mild concussion, but other than that are fine."

"Uh, I don't really remember," Max said, feeling awkward as she lied to her parents. They couldn't handle the facts. Thanks for the save, Chloe. "I remember being at the lighthouse, then feeling dizzy and Chloe catching me. That's it.

"Well," Max's mother continued, "the important thing is that you're awake and going to be alright. The doctor said that we could discharge you tomorrow morning. We're staying at a hotel a couple blocks away, so we'll rent you a room."

"Thanks, but if it all the same to you I'd like to stay with Chloe at her place," Max said, noticing a look between her parents, "Wh-what is it?"

"Max...we think it might be best if you didn't see Chloe," Max's father said, "She's pretty upset right now and you should focus on feeling better."

"...What did you do?" Max asked, furrowing her brow. An alertness crept into her voice, and her parents noticed that she was becoming more awake.

"Well, we told her that you'd be coming back to Seattle to recuperate. You suffered a concussion, sweetie. We just want to be able to keep an eye-"

"No, Mom. I don't want to go back."

"Now, Max. You have been injured. Blackwell does not seem very safe, and you've been exposed to so much trauma over the past week. You need stability. You need to come home." Max's mother said with a stern tone. Her husband looked over at her with a grimace, knowing that another argument between mother and daughter was incoming.

"I think that I should get to decide what is best for me at some point," Max started, "Is this another 'what's best' situation?"

"Max, please don't start. What good would it have done, moving to a new place but leaving to come back here. You needed to think for your future, not get dragged back into the past."

"...Get out."

"Max, you're not listen-"

"I am listening, but you're not understanding. Just...just go," Max said, closing her eyes. When her parents didn't move, Max leaned over and pressed the call button. Her mother, with a wounded expression, turned around slowly and walked out. Max's father stayed, looking down at his frail little angel.

"Maxie, you need to try and be reasonable with you mother. You know that she loves you, wants what would be best for you. Why do you two always have to argue?"

"Because she takes my future into consideration, but not necessarily my feelings, Dad. You and I had to push her to go for Blackwell, for months."

"And Chloe had nothing to do with that...?"

"Dad, you know how I feel. And you know that I won't change my mind."

"Your mother will not be easily dissuaded from dragging you back to Seattle."

"Then you make her see reason. I'm tired, and just fed up. Everything is okay with her so long as she has almost complete control of the situation. Please, talk to her, and I am going to go see Chloe. The second I'm checked out."

"...Alright, kiddo. I don't know what I'll say to your mom, but I will talk to her," Max's father kissed her on the forehead, "Just get some rest and we'll be back in the morning. Max closed her eyes, and drifted into a dreamless sleep. No Kate on the roof, no storm or lighthouse - just sleep.

Around 8am Max's parents returned to the hospital. Walking to the desk of the unit Max was in, Max's mother got the attention of one of the attending nurses.

"We're here to visit our daughter, Max Caulfield," Max's mother said, somewhat irritable. She had spent most of the night up in an at-times heated conversation with her husband, who looked bleary-eyed. Max's mother watched as the nurse looked over the computer screen, then glanced up at them.

"Says here she checked out around 7:30am this morning," the nurse replied dryly.

"But, but we're her parents," Max's mother sputtered in confusion, her husband sighing and shaking his head, "She can't just check herself out."

"According to the file, she's 18. While you are her parents, she is allowed to check herself out. Says here she seemed to be 'under duress'."

Max's mother turned around to face her husband.

"You told her we'd be back? Why did she check herself out?"

"You know why," Max's father replied, his wife's shoulders sagging.

Max walked down the waterfront, watching as firefighters and police worked with business owners to assess damage and clear any remaining debris from parking lots. Some of the businesses, Max noticed, had come away demolished. Coming up short in making landfall, the storm had caused more wind and water damage to some of the buildings facing the beach than anything else. Aside from that, Max assumed that any other damage had been taken care of. Max continued down the waterfront, splashing her feet in the surf. Sighing, she walked up the beach to the street and made for Two Whales, hoping that Chloe was there.

Two Whales was nearly empty when Max got there, a single patron sitting in a corner booth facing away from the door. Joyce turned around to greet her new customer, but stopped herself when she saw who it was. Signaling to Joyce with a finger to her lips, Max walked quietly toward the blue-haired girl sitting alone. Max had so much to talk to Chloe about, but she couldn't pass up this opportunity. Plus, she felt like she needed some payback.

"Mom, when are those pancakes coming? I'm hella sta-"

"BOOYAH!" Max shouted from the booth behind Chloe. Max watched Chloe jump in the booth and scream, then spin around to scowl at Max, "I'm a scary fucking ghost, huh?"

"Max...," Chloe said, taking in a deep breath, still startled, "That was so not-, oh goddamnit. Payback, really?" Chloe swung her arm around to punch Max in the shoulder but ended up catching her when Max bent down to kiss her.

Max broke off the kiss and sat down in the booth next to Chloe, leaning her head against Chloe's arm. Chloe felt her face flush, but leaned her head on Max's head gingerly so as to not possibly hurt her. The two women said nothing as they just enjoyed each other's company, Max curling a pinky finger around Chloe's pinky.

"You're hella adorable, Max-a-roon," Chloe said, her eyes closed as she took in the peacefulness she felt when Max was around. The world felt different to Chloe when she knew she had Max, and for the time being she felt she did. Taking back her pinky, Chloe relaxed her arm across the back cushion of the booth, combing her fingers through Max's hair.

"Purr," Max said innocently, eyes closed with a contented smile.

"Seriously, if you get any more cute I may have to purge you from my system. A Chloe can only take so much," Chloe said teasingly. This girl is my Max. Bruised, bloodied, brave and beautiful. But still a complete geek, of course.

"Gasp," Max said, feigning surprise, "Whatever shall I do? I guess I'll go sit across from y-"

"Do not move," Chloe whispered into Max's ear, kissing Max on the cheek, "Mom, seriously where's the fudz?"

Joyce came walking over with two orders of pancakes a cup of coffee for Max. Placing her hand on Max's shoulder, Joyce smiled at the two of them before walking back behind the counter. Spreading the butter and syrup across the top of her pancakes, Max cut a large piece of pancake up and greedily stuffed it into her mouth. The piece was so big her cheeks puffed a bit, eliciting a chuckle from Chloe. Max closed her eyes as the deliciousness continued, bite after bite. The coffee quickly disappeared, only to be refilled once more. Max felt ravenous, and didn't notice that Chloe had leaned on the table, watching Max with a grin. Mopping up the last of the maple syrup with the final piece of pancake, Max pounded down her breakfast and covered her mouth as she burped. Patting her stomach, Max looked over to Chloe with a humored grin.

"Are you the father...of my food baby?" Max asked, giggling.

"Dude, I'm not Pancake-American. Sorry, s'what you get for eating around."

Max laughed and kissed Chloe on the cheek, then laughed harder when Chloe wiped the slight smear of syrup off her face with a handful of napkins. Signaling to get up, Chloe walked past Max to place a $10 on the counter and the made to head out.

"Max," Joyce called out as Chloe and Max reached the doors, "could you come here a minute?"

Max walked over to Joyce, then a few seconds later handed Joyce her Polaroid camera. Joyce, smiling as she looked at the old camera, lifted it up as Max leaped up toward Chloe. Barely catching Max, the flash went off as Max gave Chloe a kiss while being carried. Handing the camera back to Max with a grin, Joyce waved the photo a few times while Chloe and Max left the diner.

Walking with no real direction picked out, Chloe and Max walked hand-in-hand down the waterfront. Chloe would occasionally bend down to hit Max with a slight splash from the water, to which Max would try to push Chloe into the surf. Looking at Max, Chloe's lips tightened as she thought of the five years of waiting. It could've been forever. What if you hadn't gone to Blackwell? Would you still be here? Will you still be here? I'm so fucking sappy. Chloe looked over Max at the coastline. The sky was partly cloudy, but what sunlight wasn't obscured was reflected in the rippling water. Chloe wanted this moment to last forever. She wanted this, squeezing Max's hand gently, to last forever.

"So..." Max said, snapping Chloe out of her thoughts.

"Soooo, what?" Chloe said in a neutral tone.

"My 'rents, Chlo. You three did not seem particularly happy. You all but ran from my room when I woke up. I wish you hadn't."

"I kinda, maybe got into with your mom before you woke up, Max. She was all 'Oh, Chloe, it's so nice to see you.' and I was all 'Dude, you stole my girlfriend'."

"Aww, you called me your girlfriend," Max said teasingly, poking Chloe in the side with a finger, "You're not the only one to get into it with her, Che. Parents can be a pain in the ass sometimes."

"Heh, you say that as though there is some experience."

"There was little in the way of sunshine and rainbows in Seattle," Max said, taking a seat on the beach. Max patted the sand by where she sat but Chloe sat down across from her and lit up a joint, "Sure, I did have fun there but we got into it more often than not."

"We...?"

"My mom and me. She wouldn't let me come down to see you, even when I paid for my own way."

"What the fuck? You tried to come down here?" Chloe asked, her face brightening a bit.

"Yeah. I pleaded with my mom a lot about bringing me here to visit you, but nothing ever took. She only ever looks forward. Even when I used money from my part-time job at a coffee shop, she'd be waiting for me to pop up at the bus station whenever I had a weekend off."

"Barista Max? Figures, hippie." Chloe snorted, then coughed when the pot smoke caught in her throat. Once Chloe stopped coughing, Max continued.

"I made friends in Seattle, hung out and everything. But I never forgot about you. Eventually, I started to feel awkward about contacting you. I didn't know what I would say, what you would say. I left you at the worst possible time ever, and I wasn't sure if you'd want to see me," Max finished, looking down at the sand as she sifted it through her splayed fingers.

"Max. You're here now. That's what matters," Chloe said, putting her hands on Max's shoulders.

"But my parents want me to go back to Seattle with them! Chloe, I don't want to leave! Not again!" Max said anxiously, "This is such bullshit."

Max's phone went off. Pulling the phone out, Max saw it was her mother calling. Sighing, Max went to answer when Chloe grabbed the phone. Standing up, Chloe answered the phone and put it to her ear.

"Mrs. Caulfield. Hey, it's Chloe. Yeah, Max is here. Uh, no, I don't think she wants to talk to you. But I have something to say. Mrs. Caulfield, I love your daughter. For five years, despite good intentions, you split us up despite our wanting to be together. We're happy, and we have a fucking chance to stay that way. I know that you w-, yes, I know. I've been to Seattle, I know it's hella great, but I love your daughter. We were best friends, but now we're more. If you drag her-, no goddamnit you listen! If you drag her out of Arcadia Bay, you won't just break her heart you'll destroy it. And I...," Chloe paused, just listening for a minute. Then, after sighing and rolling her eyes, Chloe handed Max her phone back.

"Max?" Max's mother asked.

"Yeah, Mom. What?"

"Max, we were so worried. We didn't know-"

"That was kinda the point."

"...Max...Is what Chloe said true? Do you love her, as more than just a friend?" The pause in her mother's voice gave Max pause. What is she getting at?, Max thought to herself.

"Yes, Mom. I'm in love with Chloe, and I want to stay in Blackwell so I can be here with her. Please don't make me leave. If you do, well I don't know what I'll do but I'll do something."

"Alright," Max's mother said in a clipped tone, "If you want to stay in Blackwell, despite everything that has happened there, then fine. Stay. But you call us if you need anything or want to come home. We do love you, Max, even if you don't feel it sometimes."

"I know. I...I love you guys, too," Max said, glaring at Chloe as Chloe made a gagging expression.

"We'll be here for a few more days. We would like to see you, y'know."

"I know, Mom. Would it be cool if Chloe was with us?"

"Well, I suppose we'll all have to talk. Eventually. Just let us know when you want to come see us, Max. We love you."

Click. The call ended, and Max pocketed her cell phone. Chloe looked at Max expectantly, sitting on her knees opposite Max.

"I can stay, Che. If you'll have me, I'd like to stay."

"Fuck yes, I hella-fucking-would. God, Max, is this real?" Chloe said, hugging Max to her tightly. The two women cried in each other's arms as the surf slowly lapped at the beach, falling over as they began laughing. Chloe propped herself up by her elbows and looked at Max with an excited grin.

"God, this is going to be so fucking awesome! We're going to get to see each other every day, Max! There's so much we can do! We could visit Portland, get you some new threads. Maybe even ink you up a bit!"

"Breathe, Che, breathe. There's a lot of time for us to do things, now, but you know what I could go for?" Max asked Chloe, a mischievous look in her eyes.

"Uh, what?" Chloe asked, dumbfounded and lost in her own elation.

"Splish splash," Max said, bending over to untie her shoes. Chloe laughed and pulled off her boots, then stood up and began to run towards the surf.

"Bring it, 'Shaka Brah'!"

Blackwell remained closed for the entire week after the storm, and Chloe loved it. The two women hardly left the other's side, Joyce letting Max stay with her and Chloe. David would come by every day to talk to Joyce, the two starting to reconcile, but Chloe was oblivious to nearly everything that wasn't Max-related. They spent the first two days after Max released herself from the hospital almost entirely in Chloe's room, listening to music and catching up on five years of history. Chloe highlighted Max's hair with some amber-colored hair dye, deeming that Max needed some "punk in her style", while Max took picture-after-picture of the pair of them together. Lying in bed, telling jokes or stories, she even managed to let Chloe snap a couple shots of her singing along to Max's guitar recordings. On the third day, Chloe and Max went to go visit Max's parents before they left for Seattle.

Max's father chuckled to himself as his daughter walked up the stairs to their hotel room with Chloe right behind. He hadn't seen his daughter this happy ever. Wearing Chloe's jacket and her Jane t-shirt, Max gave her dad a hug while Chloe shook his hand. Max and her mother hugged as well, albeit with some hesitation at first. Max's mother complimented her daughter on the highlights, then looked at Chloe with a bemused expression when Max told her that Chloe did her hair. Max's parents and the pair sat in the hotel room and talked for a couple hours, Chloe and Max holding hands the entire time. When Max's mother would step outside to smoke a cigarette or leave to use the bathroom, Chloe would steal quick kisses from Max in front of Max's father, who just took it all in with a large grin on his face, happy that his daughter was happy. Chloe and Max watched Max's parents drive out of the parking lot for Seattle, both waving after them.

"What now, Max?" Chloe asked as they got into her truck. Chloe looked at Max, her Max, and smiled.

"Hey, can we go see Kate? I saw that she was back at Blackwell yesterday. I'd like to see her, if that's cool," Max asked, thinking of her friend.

"Hell yeah, that's cool. I should meet Kate anyway, shouldn't I?"

"Well, if you're going to make my life your business, then yes. Dork."

"Hippie."

"Spaz."

"Gay."

"Hella gay."

The hall of the girls' dorm was busy, people slowly resuming their daily routines. Dana and Juliet were deep in discussion outside Dana's room, Brooke playing with her phone while sitting in the hall. Taylor was talking to Victoria, Victoria's head poking out of her partly-opened door. When Max and Chloe entered the hall, Dana ran over and hugged them both, glad they were there.

"You are so coming to my Halloween party, right?" Dana asked Chloe and Max. Chloe looked over at Max, a little confused, but Max nodded and told Dana they'd both be coming.

"Max, you missed so much crazy shit!" Juliet said as she joined the discussion, "Nathan was arrested right outside! Someone told me they found all these skeezy-"

"Ugh, dammit, we know," Chloe said, her brow furrowing, "We don't need details. Fucking creepy rich boy."

Juliet's eyes narrowed in thought for a second as neither Max or Chloe would meet her gaze, then reluctantly shrugged and continued on.

"The Vortex Club could be gone soon, too. After you blew up at Victoria, Max, Taylor went over and gave Victoria a piece of her mind, too. Alyssa said she thought she heard Victoria tearing something up in her room, but no one's bothered to check. This is the first time she's actually spoken to anyone in almost a week," Juliet said, her and Dana turning their heads to look at Victoria. Noticing the group near the stairway door, Victoria spotted Max and promptly slammed her door shut, knocking Taylor back a couple steps in surprise, "It's falling apart pretty fast, what with Nathan turning out to be a complete shit."

"Nathan Prescott was always a shit. It's just that people put up with it. And good for Taylor - she deserves better than Victoria," Max said before waving to Dana and Juliet as she dragged Chloe toward Kate's room.

Knocking on Kate's door gently, Max a familiar "Come in" and opened the door. Kate Marsh sat at her desk, her bunny on her lap as Kate rubbed between its ears affectionately. Looking up, Kate saw Max and grinned.

"Hey, Max! Um, who's this?" Kate said, walking to the doorway while cradling her rabbit in an arm.

"Kate, this is my-," Max started, only to be stopped by Chloe rubbing a finger between the ears of Kate's bunny.

"Hey, I'm Chloe. Max is, well, we're together," Chloe said, offering her hand.

Kate looked at Max with a quizzical expression, then smiled when she saw Max blushing. Gesturing for them to come in, Kate closed the door behind Chloe as Max sat on the floor with Chloe behind her on Kate's bed, Chloe's hands on Max's shoulders. Kate took her seat at the desk and petted the bunny.

"How are you, Kate? I didn't think you'd be back in Blackwell so soon," Max said, looking at Kate. The dark circles around her eyes remained, but Kate's eyes weren't red or puffy anymore, and the sunlight from the windows made the room cheerier.

"I didn't think so, either, but I wanted to come back. I, uh, have to go see the counselor on campus twice a week now. That's okay, though, because I want to. If counseling will help, I'll try it. Max, I-I wanted to say thank you. In person."

"Kate, I told you that you saved-"

"Max, what you said up on the roof? You meant it, you helped find proof of everything that happened. I know that it was you who found the evidence against Nathan. I don't know how, but I just do. And you saved my life, no matter what you said. You're the best friend I have here, Max, and I'll never forget all that you've done for me," Kate said, her eyes becoming watery.

Max moved over to her friend and held her. Kate's crying again, Max thought, but this time there's a lot less sadness. I'm so glad that she's okay - I can't imagine what would have happened if she'd jumped. The world would be a lot colder, I think. Wowsers. Letting go of Kate, Max kissed her friend on the cheek and rubbed the bunny's side, then signaled Chloe it was time to leave.

"Come over whenever you feel like, Kate. You have more than just your counselor to talk to, you know. You have friends in this hall, and we all care about you a lot," Max said at the doorway.

"Thanks, Max. And you know we're going to talk about this girlfriend of yours, right?" Kate said with a small, wry grin.

Max nodded and met Chloe over at the door to her dorm room. Opening the door, Max jumped into her bed and lay there, watching as Chloe closed the door and slid next to Max in bed. Draping an arm across Max's chest, Chloe sighed and closed her eyes. I have you, Max, and you have me. I'll hold onto you with a fucking death grip if I have to. You're not slipping out this time, Caulfield. Chloe felt Max nuzzle herself against Chloe's neck and Chloe made a purring sound, feeling the smaller woman wrap her arms around her. Looking down, Chloe saw Max looking at her, then closed her eyes and kissed Max. The kiss didn't break so much as turn into several kisses in repetition, their lips parting briefly only to resume contact.

"Max?" Chloe asked after they had finished kissing, "Would you play your guitar for me?"

Sitting up, Max kissed Chloe on the forehead and crawled over her to get off the bed. Sitting at the couch, Max took her guitar and began to tune it, Chloe laying on her side as she watched Max fiddle with the strings. Finally satisfied with the tuning, Max began to strum a melody. Chloe nodded her head to the beat, then smiled as she recognized the song.

"Piano Fire? You know Sparklehorse?" Chloe asked, quizzical but surprised.

"I'm a geek, Che, not a mute. Just because I might fit a cliche doesn't mean I am one."

"Not anymore, maybe. You're lucky I find photog nerds hella sexy. Especially ones that can play Sparklehorse," Chloe said as Max approached the chorus, "How do you feel? How do you feel? I can't seem to see through solid marble eyes..."

Author's Note - I contemplated ending "Rebel Girl" with this scene. I felt that I had closed enough of the story. There is resolution by the end in a number of plot lines, but I also know that I would be lying to myself if I didn't want to write more about my own take on what could've happened if Max had gone after Chloe at the end of Chaos Theory instead of going back to her room. I want to thank everybody who has read this so far, as I enjoy sharing my writing with people who enjoy it in turn.

End of "Rebel Girl".

Precursor to "The Power is On", name taken from a song by The Go! Team. What could that title mean, hmm...