Disclaimer: I don’t own Days of Our Lives or any of its affiliated properties. They belong to NBC and Ken Corday.

Summary: “Love is not blind – it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less.” Max/Abby

A/N: I haven’t really written in a long time, aside from AP essays, and thanks to my education (so overrated), I haven’t had time. Luckily, Days always spurs me on …

Endless Diamond Sky

There's a time for everyone if they only learn
That the twisting kaleidoscope moves us all in turn
There's a rhyme and reason to the wild outdoors
When the heart of this star-crossed voyager beats in time with yours …

- “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”, Elton John

From The Depths

It was in a frame. The frame was light brown, sort of like his hair, which was blowing in the wind. Her long blonde hair flew shotgun, hitting him in the face. His arm was around her, protecting her, like he promised he always would.

Promised. Abby scoffed at the idea and looked back down at the picture of her and her father. He’d known her better than anybody else. Whenever she needed him, he was there. He’d vowed that she’d never be without him. But now …

It was always easier when he was there with her. He knew her. He’d known her every day of her life, and she loved him, more than someone could possibly love another person. He made her. She was a part of him, and she was so like him. They would dance, they would smile, laugh, cry, create … they would be there, together, more in tune than a father and daughter possibly could ever be.

And now he was gone.

“Abby?”

Abby looked up from the photo. Frankie Brady poked his head in her room. “Phone call for you, Abby.”

“Oh ... thanks, Frankie.” Abby managed a weak smile.

Frankie tilted his head. “You okay, Abs?” She sniffed. He walked up to her and hugged her lightly. “You’re gonna be okay.”

Abby smiled as he left. Frankie was a great guy, great her for her mom and her. He’d been there ever since her dad had gone, and she hoped he stayed. She couldn’t bear the thought of Jack Jr. growing up without a father figure. Not that she wanted Frankie to replace her father – that was impossible. But he was a good friend to her mother and a good friend to her.

Abby picked up her phone. “Hello?”

“Abs?” Chelsea Benson, Abby’s best friend, was on the other end. “I’m bored, and Patrick suggested I make you get out of the house. Wanna go to a movie?”

Abby rolled her eyes. She loved Chelsea like a sister, but it was so like her to be told to invite someone somewhere. Plus, she wasn’t in the mood. She’d rather sit in her room and cry over her father. “I don’t know, Chels. I don’t really feel like it.”

“Are you sure? Well, okay. I was gonna go get a mani-pedi anyway. We have to go next week, okay?”

Abby didn’t say anything. Chelsea was really something. She picked at her chipped toenail polish.

She could hear Chelsea hesitating. “Well, okay. Get better, honey. Love you like a sister.”

“Yeah, me too.” Without waiting for Chelsea to reply, she hung up the phone. Abby picked up the photo of her dad again. A tear trickled from her eye as all the memories came flooding back. Her and her dad dancing at Alice’s. Her parents doting over Jack Jr. Her and her dad and her mom laughing … her and her mom, sitting in the living room, without him. “I love you, Daddy,” she whispered to the picture, wiping away her falling tears with her hand. She noticed her ruined nails and thought for a moment that perhaps she should have taken Chelsea up on her offer for a manicure. God knew she needed to get the hell out of that house.

Abby shook the thought out of her head. Chelsea was the last person she needed to talk to right now. Not Chelsea, with her hardened shell persona. Abby sympathized with Chelsea’s losses, but … she wasn’t in the mood. There was always a way that her best friend made everything about her. Not now. Not when she needed to grieve over her father. That’s what I’m supposed to do, Abby reassured herself. If I was out having fun, it’d be like an insult. Out in the world … without him – Abby didn’t think she could bear it. “Never,” she whispered. “I miss you.” She clutched her old blanket to her. “Daddy –”

“Abby?” said a voice from behind her.

Abby jumped at the sound and whirled around. It was Max Brady, Frankie’s younger brother, and Chelsea’s sometime boyfriend. He lived above the garage. He stood in her doorway, dressed in jeans and a blue t-shirt. “Max? Oh, Chelsea’s not here.”

Max laughed. “I’m not here to see Chelsea. Plus, she’s probably off getting a manicure or something useless.” He looked at Abby – really looked at her, noticing her red face. “Can I come in?”

Abby nodded, jumping off her bed and shutting the door behind Max. “So, what’s up?”

Max walked around her room. He noticed her empty box of Kleenex and the picture of her and Jack on her bed. The glass was smeared with tears. “Abby …” He looked at her. Her cheeks were tearstained, but her makeup wasn’t running – she wasn’t wearing any.

As if being able to read his thoughts, Abby gasped. “Oh, damn, I look like hell.” She quickly surveyed herself in a mirror – old brown sweats, plain pink tank top, hair in a messy bun, no makeup.

Max laughed and shook his head. “You look beautiful, Abs.” He watched her expression closely. She managed a small smile, but he saw the pain still fresh in her eyes. “How are you doing?”

“Oh, I’m fine. Great.” Abby quickly turned away from his welcoming face. She didn’t need to rely on anyone.

“You know we’re here for you, right? Me, Chelsea, Frankie, your mom …” Max stepped closer to her. “You don’t have to go through this alone. Losing your dad is bad enough.”

Abby avoided his gaze and said nothing. This was her fight, her problem. Her father. No one could understand.

“Hey, do you wanna go for ice cream?” Max asked suddenly.

Abby frowned and looked at him. His eyes were full of good intentions. She sighed. “I guess I can’t stay here forever.” She gave him a small smile. “Just give me a second to get dressed.”

Max smiled at her. “I’ll be downstairs.”

--

Four minutes later, Abby was sitting shotgun in Max’s car, on the way to get ice cream. She stared out of the window, resting her chin on her hand.

Max looked over at Abby. She looked desolate, desperate, lost. “Abby?”

Abby snapped her head back. “Huh? Oh, I’m sorry, did you say something?”

Max shook his head. “No.” He pulled in to a Dairy Queen. “But we’re here.”

“Yeah.” Abby closed her eyes, willing herself to wake up and have her father back. A tear slipped from her left eye and spilled onto her hands.

“Hey,” Max said. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay, Abs. You’re gonna get through this.”

Abby shook her head. She was horrified when she started to sob, in Max Brady’s car, in the middle of an abandoned Dairy Queen parking lot. “You don’t know that!” she choked. “It’s … it’ll never be okay. Not as long as he’s not here.”

Max slid her over to him and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his shirt. “Your father’s in heaven, Abby. He’s up there, watching over you. He’s gonna make sure that you get through this. You, your mom, and Jack Jr.”

Abby shook her head. “No … no. But why again? We already lost him once, twice, Max, when we thought he was killed by the Salem Stalker … that wasn’t long ago! That’s not right!”

“I know it doesn’t seem fair, Abby. I know it seems wrong, and I know it seems like you’re lost. But you’re not… you’re not.”

Abby let out a sob. “I am lost. I am, without him …”

“Well, now you’re found.” Max tilted her chin up. “You’re gonna get through this. I’m gonna make sure of it. Your mom’s there for you, Frankie, your family, Chelsea –“

Abby sniffed. “Yeah, Chelsea’s really gonna make it better, her and her ‘let’s go get manicures’, ‘let’s go to a movie’ – what good would that do? No good. Nothing is going to make it better, Max, nothing! My mom’s grieving, look at her, have you seen her lately? She can’t manage it. She’s … she’s not even on planet Earth. She still thinks he’s coming back.”

“Well, you have me. And you have something else, too.” Max smiled at her.

“What?” Abby sniffed.

“A chocolate dipped ice cream cone?” Max offered a big smile, gesturing to the Dairy Queen.

Abby laughed through her tears. “Yeah.” She looked into Max’s eyes. She liked what she saw there. “Yeah, I have that.”