"She's not really a fan of any bugs. Or dirt. Or dissecting things." She smiled. "She signed up for biology so we could be in the same class. She opted out next year." Liz didn't blame her. She loved Maria, but Maria was not a science person.

"Um. Max." It felt weird to say his name suddenly. Like a distant ghost she had left behind. "That was a year before I was shot and things, you know, happened."

Her grip around him tightened a little. This would be the second time she almost died.