Chapter Text

It was almost ten in the morning when Max flung open Rachel’s door, smiling brightly as she flipped on the lights, much to the young girl’s anger and dismay. Though, when she saw Max in the doorway, a smile immediately made its way onto her face.

“Mom!” She shouted, hopping out of bed in order to hug her mother. There was no hiding the obvious grin that had snuck its way onto Max’s face as she kneeled down to hug Rachel, laughing at her daughter’s excitement. Max couldn't blame her for being excited; they had barely seen each other the whole week, as Chloe was quick to remind her every night. All thoughts were drained from her mind when Rachel started speaking. She was asking about the mall, what the plans were, when they were meeting “Aunt Vicky and Aunt Kate”, and what must have been thousands of other questions. Max kept a smile on through all of this, lifting her daughter up and setting her down on the counter when they reached the kitchen, only shushing her when it was time to ask about breakfast.

“So, Rachel Amber Caulfield, what’ll it be: bacon omelet, or Belgian waffle?” She asked, grabbing a spatula from the cabinet. Rachel had to think for a solid minute before answering with an excited “Omelet!” Max laughed a little at her enthusiasm, grabbing eggs, milk, and bacon from the almost empty fridge.

“Looks like someone needs to restock the fridge.” She said condescendingly, glancing towards her and Chloe’s bedroom, where her wife was undoubtedly still fast asleep. Rachel giggled, leaning on her hand as she watched her mother cook. For a few minutes, the only sounds were chirping birds, sizzling bacon, and the occasional yawn from Max or Rachel. While cooking, a mischievous thought popped into Max’s head.

“Rachel, honey, I have a mission for you,” She said, turning to face her daughter, who immediately perked up at the mention of a task. “I need you to go wake up your mom, by any means necessary. If you wake her up and get her out of bed in… two minutes, I'll cook you an extra omelet. Deal?” By the time Max was done speaking, Rachel was already out of her seat, facing her parent’s bedroom with a look of pure joy at the thought of bugging her mother until she woke up. Max laughed as she pulled out her phone, setting a two minute timer. “Ready… set… go!” As soon as the last word was spoken, Rachel dashed towards the room as Max pressed the button to start the timer. Mere seconds after Rachel flung open the door, Chloe’s voice could be heard.

“AH, WHAT THE FUCK!? THIS IS HELLA NOT COOL!”

“SWEAR JAR! YOU HAVE TO PUT A DOLLAR IN THE SWEAR JAR!”

“MAXINE CAULFIELD, I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD, CONTROL YOUR CHILD!”

“TWO DOLLARS!”

“YOU’RE BANKRUPTING ME!”

“MOM, I THINK I’M DOING IT!” Rachel poked her head out the door, obviously hanging onto Chloe’s back, or her hair. Max gave a thumbs up, stopping the timer just to give Rachel more time. With a groan of anger, Chloe stumbled out of the room, Rachel seemingly glued to her back. Even as she swore, there was a small smile on her face as she fought against the child, who was giggling the whole time. Finally, after what must have been five minutes, Chloe gave up, trying her best to walk towards Max without falling over.

“Good job honey, you got mom out of bed. I’ll start on that omelet.” Max smirked at her wife’s bewildered expression and sauntered back to the stove, purposefully shaking her hips a little when she was sure Rachel wasn't looking. Chloe grumbled something that sounded suspiciously similar to “Pull that again and I’m divorcing you…”, but Max had learned to ignore her threats when she was tired, instead just planting a soft kiss on her cheek, causing Chloe to growl as Max laughed.

“Love you too, hon.” She said, going back to the eggs as Rachel sat down eagerly. A few minutes later, Max put another full plate of eggs in front of her daughter, ruffling her hair a little. Chloe sat next to Rachel with some coffee, almost choking when she saw the time.

“It’s already noon?! Shit, we gotta get ready! We’re gonna be late for Kate and Victoria!” She shouted, throwing a dollar into the jar before Rachel could say anything. “I’ll grab a shower, you two need to get dressed!” Just as Chloe was getting out of her chair, Max grabbed her wrist, laughing.

“They’re picking us up at two, okay? We have plenty of time before they get here, so please sit down and finish your coffee,” Max sighed, grabbing her own mug and sitting next to her wife. “Besides, Rachel just started her breakfast.” Chloe stared at Max incredulously, then at Rachel, then back to Max.

“She-you-wake me up-new omelet-spoiled-I-what-” She spluttered, eyes wider than Max had ever seen them. “SHE GOT ANOTHER FUCKING EGG BECAUSE YOU TOLD HER TO WAKE ME UP!” Rachel jumped a little at her mother’s sudden outburst. Max almost fell over from laughter, grabbing a dollar from Chloe’s purse and putting it in the jar before Rachel could say anything. Chloe sat in stunned silence for about a minute before, without a word, getting up and heading to the shower, trying as hard as possible to ignore Rachel’s incessant giggling. The little girl looked up at her mother, Chloe’s signature snarky grin on her face.

“Did I do good?” She asked, eyes full of excitement. Max sighed, shaking her head but smiling nonetheless.

“Yeah, you did. Go grab a shower, I need to talk to mom.” Giving her daughter a quick kiss on the cheek, Max grabbed her coffee and headed towards the bedroom, sitting on the bed while waiting for Chloe to finish in the shower. She was singing something, recognizable as the same song that played at that Vortex Club party ten years ago…

It had never occurred to Max just how good Chloe was at singing. Sure, she had commented on it before, but she had never stopped to listen with her full attention. The way Chloe sang each word, each syllable, with such emotion was amazing. However, only a few seconds after Max started really enjoying her wife’s singing, the shower stopped running, and Chloe stepped into the bedroom towel-less. Once Chloe saw Max, she went almost completely red, doing her best to cover herself up while Max giggled, standing up slowly. Chloe watched in terror as her wife approached, a smirk plastered onto her face.

“You really should have grabbed a towel…” She said quietly, now just inches away from a stammering, beet red Chloe.

“I-I forgot to-I didn’t think you would-why are you-Max?” She spluttered as Max took another step forward.

“Mm? What is it?” Her voice was barely even a whisper, yet Chloe heard every word amplified, echoing in her head. They had to leave soon; it was already 12:30, and, knowing Kate and Victoria, they would be here earlier than scheduled. There was no time for… whatever Max had planned. That would come later, when Rachel was with Joyce and David next week.

“Let me get dressed. We can fuck later, okay?” Chloe said, lightly pushing Max away with one hand, but not before planting a small kiss on her forehead. Max giggled, throwing a white shirt, torn jeans, and underwear at Chloe, who caught almost all of them, with the shirt hitting her in the face without warning.

“Promise?” Max asked, fake pouting a little. It was Chloe’s turn to laugh, throwing a sock at her wife playfully.

“Promise,” She replied, shaking her head a little bit. “You better get in the shower. They’ll be here early, knowing the two of them.” After a little more fake pouting, Max nodded, peeling her shirt and pants off before she even got in the bathroom. Chloe rolled her eyes, yelling “Try washing away the horniness!” after her, which was received by a bra to the face and a middle finger.

About thirty minutes later, Chloe was tying Rachel’s shoelace, quietly humming to herself while Rachel went through an album of Max’s old photos, most of them from that week in 2013. Just minutes before Kate and Victoria were supposed to pick them up, Kate had called to say that Victoria had left her purse at home, so they would be running a little late, which had caused Rachel to start crying, even after both Max and Chloe had told her that it would only be a couple minutes. In an attempt to calm her daughter down, Max had dug up her old photo album, giving it to Chloe and telling her to “try not to show any photos from that week.” There were just too many hella awesome shots not to show Rachel a few, though.

So she did, immediately opening the album to October 7th, 2013. The day everything started. The very first photo they saw was a photo of Chloe at the lighthouse, sitting on a bench in front of the sunset. Rachel audibly gasped, staring at the photo, in awe of her mother’s photography skills, even back then. She flipped the page, and her eyes immediately found the picture of Chloe in the junkyard, holding the gun in the air. Chloe finished tying Rachel’s shoes, and popped up just in time to catch Rachel staring at her before looking back at the photo. A smirk on her face and an eyebrow cocked, Chloe ruffled her daughter’s hair, following her gaze with a sigh.

“God, I remember that day. Mom almost shot a guy, and I almost died. Good times,”She said, resting her head on her hand. “What a crazy fucking week…”Rachel looked from the photo to the real Chloe, as if trying to make a connection.

“You don't look happy in this one.” She said quietly, pointing at a photo Max had stolen from her room. Chloe laughed, gently taking the album out of Rachel’s small hands, looking at the photo. That had been taken just weeks before Max had shown up. And Rachel was right; she didn't look happy. At all.

“Yeah… it wasn't a happy time for me.” She sighed, flipping to the next page. The first photo Chloe’s eyes found was one of Max’s infamous (now famous) selfies. She looked so fucking good in Rachel’s clothes. Wonder if she still would… Rachel’s attempts to pull the photo from its protective sleeve snapped Chloe out of her memories, and she had a sudden idea.

“You wanna take a photo with mom’s old camera?” She asked, a smile practically willing itself into existence on her face. Somehow, Rachel’s eyes widened even more, nodding frantically at the question. Chloe jumped up, making her way over to the bedroom, and to the shelf where the old camera always sat. When she was sure Max wouldn’t hear her, she scampered out of the room, and headed towards the living room, where Rachel was waiting eagerly.Approaching slowly, the camera behind her back, Chloe smiled, watching her daughter get both exasperated and excited as she got closer. Eventually, after Rachel started pouting, Chloe pulled the camera out and snapped a photo capturing Rachel in one of Jefferson’s famous “moments of weakness”. Chloe laughed, showing the photo to Rachel before pocketing it.

“Mom! Can we take a picture together?” She asked, tugging at the arm of her mother’s jacket. With a fake sigh, Chloe nodded kneeling down so they were both able to fit in the frame. However, just as Chloe’s finger rested on the button, the doorbell rang, at which Rachel almost exploded with excitement. Standing up, Chloe rested the camera in her daughter’s small hands, and opened the door, quickly scanning the guests. Kate was wearing a short, red jacket and white shirt, with faded blue jeans and boots, her hair in a ponytail. Victoria looked just the same as she did ten years ago, with longer hair that went down to her lower back that included a streak of blood red hair dye. They were definitely hiding something, and Victoria was hella better at it than Kate.

“Mad Max is picking out her favorite pair of jeans and t-shirt, so just make yourself at home, I guess.” Chloe said, opening the door a little wider as the couple walked inside. Immediately Victoria rushed towards Rachel, picking up her niece and hugging her, all while Rachel told Aunt Victoria about Chloe’s recent discovery.

“Guess what? Mom found one of the old photo albums, and we looked at some photos! And then she found mom’s old camera, and we were about to take a photo together!” She said, a massive grin painted across her face. Victoria laughed, setting Rachel down carefully and turning to Chloe.

“About to take a photo? Or a selfie?” She asked, a smug smile on her face as Chloe sighed, shaking her head with a smile. Kate’s eyes widened in excitement, and she practically skipped over to Rachel, gently taking the camera from her when she was sure Rachel wouldn't protest.

“Why don't we take a group photo, the four of us?” She said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Rachel gasped, grabbing at the arm of Chloe’s jacket again and looking up at her with huge, round eyes.

“Can we? Please?” She begged, adding in a fake sniffle for good measure. With a small laugh, Chloe nodded, taking the camera from Kate. After all, she had the longest arms. Everyone gathered into a group, and, once everyone was definitely in frame, Chloe snapped the selfie, giving the photo to Rachel once it had been spat out by the camera. The girl acted like it was the greatest photo ever taken.

“Keep it, kiddo. Just don't tell mom, okay? It'll be our little secret.” Chloe said, whispering the last part and winking, drawing a small giggle from her daughter. Just then Max emerged from her room, wearing a white butterfly shirt and jeans, a grin appearing on her face when she saw Kate and Victoria, running over to hug them.

“Hey! You two look great, as always. Ready to go?” She asked, releasing the couple. Victoria nodded, but Kate just stood still, biting her lip nervously.

She's still Kate Marsh. Max thought, resting a hand on her friend’s shoulder cautiously. “What’s wrong, Kate?” She asked, tilting her head a little. Kate simply shook her head, mumbling “I’ll tell you later.”

“Alright, let’s go! We’ve not got all day,” The quiet atmosphere was shattered by Chloe, but Kate looked relieved, being the first one out the door. She was already in Victoria’s car by the time Chloe had locked the door to the house. “Let’s get Rachel a hella awesome new outfit!”