Worlds Apart

Chapter 24

After a long day's work, Max was more than ready to crash when she got back to her unit.

She might have actually done so if not for the fact that she didn't want to mess up her sleep schedule. She was sure that going to bed at 5:30 in the evening would either mean that she woke up at about two in the morning or that she would wake up around ten pm and then never fall back asleep. Neither option sounded ideal to Max, so instead of sitting down in a spot that she might normally get comfortable and accidentally fall asleep, she sat herself in a wooden chair at her kitchen table and watched her television from there.

Somehow, within fifteen minutes of sitting down at the table, she almost ended up falling asleep with her head in her hands, but thankfully her phone rang and pulled her out of what could have potentially been an hours-long nap. When Max pulled out her cell phone and saw Pepper's caller ID on the screen, she smiled softly and picked up the call, placing it on speaker and setting it down on the table.

"Hello," Max greeted.

"Hey," Pepper said. "God, you sound tired. Rough day?"

"Eh, sort of. Just long. I was actually just falling asleep when you called, so I probably sound worse than I feel," Max chuckled, rubbing her eyes to help wipe the sleepiness out of them.

"Oh, I'm sorry; did you want me to call you back later?"

"Nah, that's okay. I was actively trying to stay awake, so I actually appreciate the help."

Pepper laughed. "I'm glad to be of service. So, besides being tired, how was your day?"

"I'm good, thanks," Max answered. "I'll be even better when I get to come visit you this weekend. I am so ready for a break."

"Are you sure you just aren't ready for my wine?" Pepper teased.

Max chuckled. "I mean, well, yeah - that, too. But I think that the friend that comes with the wine is also pretty cool."

"Aw, you're sweet, Max."

"I try," Max shrugged coyly, though she knew that Pepper couldn't see it. "How was your day?"

"It was okay," Pepper answered. "It wasn't necessarily good, but it wasn't necessarily bad, either. It was mostly just a lot of paperwork stuff today."

"And you don't consider that bad?"

"I do when it means I don't have to attend any meetings with the board."

"Were you supposed to?"

"Yeah, I was. Thankfully it got pushed 'til tomorrow, so that'll be something I'll have to deal with later, but today, I got to sit back in my office and have some much needed alone time."

"Fair enough," Max replied. She was about to ask if she was home yet, but before the words had a chance to leave her mouth, a text notification from Selvig popped up at the top of her screen that caught her attention. Max clicked on the bar and opened up her messages.

Dr. Selvig: Emergency in the lab, we need you back here ASAP.

Max's eyes widened.

Max: On my way

"Hey, Pepper? Can I call you back in a little bit?" she asked, taking her phone off speaker and pressing it to her ear as she stood up and walked towards her shoe rack. "Something's going on down in the lab and they need me back there."

"Oh yeah, of course," Pepper replied. "Look at you, being so successful that you're who they call for emergencies now."

"That's so not the case." Max laughed as she slipped on her shoes. "I'm a part of a team, so if something's going on, they probably just called everyone on-site to come down and check it out."