The Only

Cooler Heads

Her legs were laid out and her feet were off the floor when awareness returned. Max's perfect person was holding her in the air gazing down with a pleasant and loving look on her face. "Oh, Chloe! Dammit, my Chloe!"

After the photo, Chloe gently placed Max's feet on the ground allowing her to stand upright with ease. The photographer set the photo and camera down squeezing her fiancé tightly around the waist. In her mind, she would never let her do that again. But in her heart, she knew the future still needed to be changed. She also knew she had limited time to make sure their first failed attempt didn't happen again.

"Okay, Max. Down, girl."

Pointing over towards the camera and photo, the time traveler quickly spoke, "Chlo, we failed. I just jumped back here using that picture and we don't have a lot of time."

"What? Fuck, I thought I felt something. Wait, is your power back?"

"Yes, you jumped to the future but were unable to bring me. It didn't go well, and you weren't pulled back here. I had to jump to this moment to bring you back. Anyway, residuals from my power originally gave you your own and when you jumped forward mine got reactivated... I think. It's confusing, but regardless, you have to not jump, at least not yet. You'll be with auto-Max soon. Just keep us here."

"Fuuuuuck! Okay, let's just lay on the bed and we'll stay there until you return. Think that'll work?"

"That sounds perfect, babe." The pair laid down on their sides peering at one another, waiting for the transition. "Chlo, I spoke with Rachel. She pulled me into a dream when I passed out after you jumped. It's so surreal to see her. And," the brunette's words shook as they came out, "she showed me our beautiful daughter. She showed me what happens to her if we don't change the future. It's fucked up."

"Damn, Max. I'm sorry you had to see that. I wish you didn't. Hell, I wish I didn't either. After all we've been through, I don't know how..." The edges of reality were beginning to burn out of Max's view.

"Listen, Chlo," she broke in, "under no circumstances do we leave this room. No powers, no being apart, nothing! Do you understand?" She couldn't hear nor see her partner's response, but she knew in her heart the message was understood. The last bit of tangible clarity trickled away into a bright white light.

Almost immediately, starting in the center of her sight, perception began returning to a state of normalcy. The lights in her room were off and the TV was on. The time jumper looked to her side and watched as her favorite person placed her hand into a bowl and clutched a handful of its contents. She slowly raised her hand towards her lips and shoved most of the popcorn she had just grabbed into her mouth, allowing several pieces to drop down to her shirt.

"Babe." Max whispered, startling the messy girl.

"You're back!" She brushed the pieces from her shirt and leaned over for a hug. "We're about halfway through Independence Day: Resurgence if you're interested. I will say, this movie blows... and I mean hard. It's literally fucking dumb."

"You left the room and made popcorn? I thought I told you to stay put." The smaller girl wasn't really angry; she was just glad everything seemed fine.

"Dude, I decided to watch a movie and wanted a snack, chill. Plus, dealing with auto-you is easy if I just prop you in front of a movie and feed you popcorn." Max leaned over and laid her head on her fiancé's chest. She could hear her heartbeat and her lungs fill and empty with each inhale and exhale. Every single breath felt like a tiny little gift to the smaller girl.

"Shit!" Blood began trickling out of her nose and down to her top lip. "My head."

"You're okay, love. I've got you." Chloe ran her fingers through soft brown hair and tenderly rubbed her girl's back. "We've been through this before; we'll get through it again." She reached to the nightstand and obtained a mass of tissues from the box. Placing the bundle under Max's nose, she did her best to catch and wipe away the scarlet ooze.