Partners

Chloe POV

A/N: I feel like this song would be playing in the background of this dialog in the beginning of this chapter. I don't know, but this song is amazing, I own no rights to it, yada yada. Give it a listen, maybe even as you read this chapter. Fuck it, right? Anyway, carry on...

"Max, what was that about?" I asked her. 

"I saw your dad, Chloe. And Rachel." She smiles at me. God, how can she smile that big after just going through the Dark Room twice now, and let's not forget that she was just medically dead 5 minutes ago.

"Okay, definitely want to revisit that conversation in just a minute, but right now I'm just a little shook nasty and confused. Max, you were dead less than ten minutes ago!" I made sure to emphasis that last bit to try and make her understand all of the emotions I was going through at that moment. "Max, I thought I lost you just now. There are so many things I want to tell you, do with you, and I thought I had lost out on that. Please, please tell me this is real."

"Chloe, this is real. You aren't dreaming. I swear." She leaned up toward me, so I leaned down to meet her halfway for the kiss. We pulled away after a few seconds. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on my arm.

The bitch pinched me.

"Told you this isn't a dream." She giggled.

"Max, I know it's hard, baby, but can you please tell me what happened?" 

Her smile faded immediately, and she shook her head in a firm 'no.' It's hard to help her when she just pushes everything out of her mind like that, but I couldn't pry the information out of her. At least not this soon after she came back to me. So I dropped it, as hard as it was for me to do.

"Okay. You'll tell me when you're ready. I already know you will. I love you, Max." I smiled at her.

"I love you, too, Chloe." She smiled sadly back at me.

/////\\\\\

It was a couple of days before Max was discharged. They had ran a few more tests on her, confirming that she was indeed overdosed on ketamine. It also showed that she was, once again, raped. My blood boiled when I read that report. Damn glad Jeffershit was dead already, because I would be going to prison if he was still living. Max was able to identify his body, which provided her with some closure. I could tell she was starting to shrink into herself again, so once we returned to Arizona, I took her out to different places to get her mind off of things. It helped somewhat, but not for very long. 

She finally told me how she at least got overdosed. It was her doing. She had waited and 'behaved' until he got comfortable enough to dose her much less than at first. Then she kicked him, and he dosed her, but she could still rewind, so she did until he dosed her twice more. She wouldn't talk about anything else, and I honestly didn't want to hear anymore. 

They found a note that had been on Jefferson at the time he was shot dead, basically saying he had gotten himself shot on purpose and saying it was part of his grand plan, but nobody could decipher what that plan was. What a sick son of a bitch.

I hoped Max and I could move on from all of this. She seemed to be getting better, at least. She was smiling more, anyway. I really hated seeing her go through all this bullshit. 

But tonight wasn't the night to think about any of that. Tonight was October 15th, 2014. Our anniversary, three months after all of the Jefferson stuff happened. And if Max doesn't like my present for her, then I give up on life. I was cooking a nice dinner for us while Max was out running errands in the 2005 Honda Civic her parents got her for her birthday back in September.

I finished up dinner, and got the table set just in time for Max to come home and be surprised. "Oh, my God, Chloe. When you said we were gonna have a romantic dinner, I thought you meant that we were gonna go to a nice restaurant! This is a million times better!" Max smiled, but it didn't really reach her eyes. I decided to ignore it for now. I'll bring it up later. Let's just enjoy our night.

We sat down and enjoyed our meal of steak, mashed potatoes, and mac and cheese. Once we finished and I took the plates to the sink, Max spoke up. "I got you something." 

I turned around and smiled at her. "What a coincidence. I got you something, too." I flashed her a cheeky grin. "You first."

"Okay, here." She hands me a small square wrapped in metallic blue paper. I give her a playful glare. She knew exactly what she was doing when she used this wrapping paper because it was a plastic material that doesn't rip. My arch nemesis. "Brat." I opened it to find a little velvet box. Inside the velvet box was a beautiful pair of blue skull dangle earrings. I was both relieved and speechless. She knew exactly what I liked.

"They're not much, but I already cleaned them for you if you want to wear them." Max chimes up. I nodded and began to remove my current pair of earrings. She helped me put the skulls in. 

"How do I look? I asked her. 

"Beautiful, as always."

"Time for your present. Close your eyes." She did what I said without protest. I opened the drawer I hid her present in, getting in the proper position. "Open."

She opened her eyes and gasped with her hand over her mouth. No doubt the simple ring was a surprise to her. "Maxine Caulfield, would you give me the honor of becoming my wife?"

She nodded her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. I put the ring on her left ring finger, and stood up to give her a kiss. 

Best. Anniversary. Ever.

Suddenly, she stiffened and placed her hand once more over her mouth as she booked it to the bathroom. "Max?" I walked to the bathroom and held her hair back for her. "What's wrong? It isn't food poisoning, is it?" She shook her head no.

"Chloe." She said once she could speak again. "I have something to tell you."

"Go on." I said, as I saw fear, uncertainty, and concern written all over her face.

She took a deep break and looked me in the eyes.

"I'm pregnant."