And sixteen hours later, my twins are finally here.

It is simply amazing how small babies are… I don't remember any of my flock being this small when we were in… that place… But I mean, I guess things are different when they're yours…

Oh my…

They're mine… These are my babies… My children… My kids… I'm a mother… Me… Maximum Ride… I just gave birth to these perfect, little babies... My perfect, little babies…

Our perfect, little babies…

Fang just watched them in my arms. Their still, sleeping bodies… They were so innocent looking… so delicate…

Just then, my daughter's eyes opened… Her dark brown eyes gazed at my with such curiosity it made me giggle.

"Hi, baby." I smiled at her. She smiled a toothless grin and giggled. I glanced over to Fang. He was watching her with a look in his eye that I only have seen once before; when we found out Angel was alive…

That all seemed so long ago now…

But that chapter of our lives was over. This was real; this was now…

And this was perfect…

~One year later~

"Fang." I groaned almost in my sleep. "Faaaaaaaaaaaaaang." I whined. "Fang!" I exclaimed and thumped him in the chest.

"What?" He shrieked and snapped upright on our bed.

"Raven's crying. Will you go check on her?" I asked my twenty-four year-old husband and saw his shoulders relax.

"Oh, sure." He replied. "Go back to sleep, Max." He leaned in and kissed my forehead then got up and walked out of our room. A few seconds later, the crying stopped and I felt myself relax and drift back to sleep.

I woke up sometime later and noticed that Fang was not in bed. Where had he gone? I rolled out of bed and stumbled my way to my two one year-old kid's room and saw Fang asleep in the armchair we keep in there with Raven and a story book in his lap. I smiled when I saw them and crept silently over to the chair. I lifted Raven into my arms and kissed her head before putting her back in her crib. I moved to Devin's crib and watched him sleep for a few minutes before waking Fang up by sitting down in his lap. His eyes opened and his head rose.

"You fell asleep reading to Raven." I giggled.

"I did?" He smiled and coiled his arms around me. "My bad." He snickered and looked over at Raven's crib.

"Let's go back to bed." I told him and kissed his nose then got up, he was right behind me and grabbed my hand. We walked out of our twin's room hand-in-hand and went back to bed, only to be woken up in four hours to more crying.

God, I love those kids.

"I'm going to go pick up the cake." Fang told me, as we were getting ready for the first birthday party we were throwing our kids. "I'm taking Devin." He added and I heard Devin's amused giggling as Fang slung him over his shoulder.

"Fang, be careful, and don't be late." I nagged as he and Devin joined me in the kitchen.

"Babe, stop worrying. Everything will be perfect." He assured me.

"Promise?" I looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Promise." He snickered and pecked my lips gently.

"Okay." I sighed. "Bye, Fang." I kissed him again. "Bye, Devin." I said in a voice that would amuse him and dropped a kiss on his head that was now covered in dark hair. I watched them walk out, leaving me alone with Raven, who was drawing with crayons in her playpen. I put the dishes down and walked over to her. "Hi, sweetie." I smiled and lifted her into my arms.

"Mama!" She giggled as I plopped us down on the couch.

"What's that?" I asked and pointed at the drawing she had clutched in her tiny hands.

"Kitty cat!" She shrieked and held up a scribbled, rainbow, cat-like picture.

"It's beautiful!" I beamed at her. She giggled loudly as I brought her forehead against my lips and then got to my feet and went to the kitchen. I hung Raven's work on the front of the fridge. "There. Now daddy will see it when he gets home." I told her.

"Yaaaay!" She cheered. "Wen?" Her little face turned serious.

"Soon." I told her and poked her nose.

"Yaaaay!" She cheered again. I decided that it was time to bathe her so I could bathe Devin when him and Fang got home. Raven, of course, fought the entire time causing me to get soaking wet. I heard the door open and shut while I was bathing Raven.

"Max?" Fang's voice called.

"Bathroom." I yelled and Fang popped his head in a few seconds later.

"Hey. Need help?" He asked.

"Sure. Get Devin in here." I glanced at him as I washed Raven's brown, blond-streaked hair.

"Dada!" Raven exclaimed.

"Hi, baby." He smiled at her. "I'll get Devin." He looked back at me and then disappeared behind the door.

About an hour later, the twins were all bathed and ready for the party, which was good because not five minutes later, Nudge and Iggy arrived with their kids. Yes, Iggy and Nudge got married right after she graduated high school and have two kids like us. Their son, James, is three and their daughter, Monique, is a few months older then Devin and Raven.

"Hey, Max!" Nudge exclaimed and threw her arms around me.

"Hey, Nudge. Careful, I have Raven." I smiled.

"Happy birthday, Raven." Nudge smiled then bent over and took her from my arms.

"Hi!" Raven screamed as Nudge hugged her and took off into the living room.

"Max, what's this?" I heard Iggy ask. I looked over and saw Iggy feeling and Fang looking Raven's work of art.

"Raven's kitty cat." I chuckled.

"Yeah, I can see it." Iggy replied.

"No you don't." Fang snickered.

"What's your point?" Iggy snickered. Angel, the Gasman, Ella, her boyfriend, Aaron, and my mom got here and we all began celebrating my kid's first birthday.

"Bye, Max." My mom whispered and shut the door. Then, my family and I were alone. Raven had fallen asleep in the mound of her and Devin's toys while Devin was in my arms, playing with my hair. Fang carefully picked up Raven so she wouldn't wake up and we carried them to their room.

"Night, little guy." Fang whispered to Devin after I slipped him into his pajamas and put him down for bed.

"Nite, Dada." Devin muttered back and then his eyes shut. Raven was fighting sleep in her crib; she had woken up when we were changing her.

"Good night sweetie. I love you." I whispered to her.

"I wuv you too, mama." She whispered back. My eyes widened; that was her first whole sentence… Fang was smiling proudly beside me. As soon as her and Devin were asleep, we went to our room and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit my pillow.

I was exhausted…

I woke up to the sound of an explosion… Then the babies started crying. Fang and I both jolted upright in bed. We locked eyes for one second, not knowing what was happening. Then I realized:

"The babies!" We both shrieked at the same time and leaped to our feet. We took off at full speed into their room only to both be grabbed by large, muscular arms.

"What is this?" Fang screamed.

"Raven, Devin, Mommy and Daddy are here!" I called to my babies; they were still crying.

"Not for long." A familiar hoarse voice laughed. My head snapped up against my capturer.

"Ari." Fang snarled from near me. My half-brother Ari stood in front of us amongst the rubble.

Holding Raven.

"Put her down!" I hissed and began fighting harder against whoever was holding me back.

"Well, if you insist." He snickered and dropped my baby on the ground. I was forced to watch as my little girl whaled in pain when she hit the ground.

"Raven!" Fang screamed. I heard a whoosh as Fang slammed his fist against the Neanderthal holding him. The thing crumpled into a heap on the ground. Fang rushed Ari and slammed him up against what was left of the wall, his hand clutching his neck. I turned to face who was holding me and kneed him in his gut. He fell to the ground and I didn't hesitate to slam my foot into his face.

He tried keeping me from my kids.

I ran over and scooped Raven into my arms. Her forehead was bleeding.

"You're okay now, Raven." I whispered into her ear as I scanned the area for Devin. I finally found him cowering in the corner of the room. I ran over to him and scooped him into my arms as well.

"Max, get them out of here!" Fang screamed as he fought with Ari. I fled their room and got them safely to the Fang's and my room. I put them on our bed and grabbed my phone from my nightstand. As soon as I dialed Nudge's number and put my phone to my ear, I scooped my twins back into my arms. I ran out of the room.

"Hello?" Nudge's groggy voice droned.

"Nudge-…" I began.

"Max? Do you know what time it is?" She interrupted.

"Nudge, listen-…"

"What? Max, I can't hear you. Why are Raven and Devin both crying?" She shot.

"Nudge, Erasers are back! There here, right now! Ari just tried to take Raven!" I said quickly so she couldn't interrupt me again.

"What?" Her completely awake, shocked voice breathed. "Iggy, get up! Go get Monique!" She screamed on her end. Her and Iggy screamed at each other for a few seconds before she said anything thing else to me. I heard doors open and shut and then, silence…

"Nudge?" I asked. "Nudge, you there?" I called again.

"Yeah. I just am trying not to wake up James." She whispered into the phone. "Max, bring them here, it's safe." She muttered. Just then, Fang appeared behind me.

"Let's take them to Nudge's." I told him as he took Raven out of my arms.

"Good idea." He agreed.

"Nudge, we're coming." I stated and then hung up and we ran out of our apartment. No one was chasing us.

Yet.

We had to move quickly. We unfurled our wings and took off into the night air. I clutched Devin close to me. He and Raven finally stopped crying while we were in the air. I glanced over and saw Raven nodding off in Fang's arms. Why did Ari want her, why my baby?

"Max, we're here." Fang whispered, ripping me from my thoughts. We landed without another word. Nudge opened the door before we even knocked. We wordlessly walked passed her and saw Angel and Gazzy sitting on the couch. Iggy was holding Monique in his lap with James playing at his feet. I set Devin next to James and sat down beside Angel. Fang sat in the other chair with Raven asleep in his arms.

"What did they want?" Angel asked.

"They wanted to take Raven." Fang growled. His eyes were locked on her.

"Why?" Nudge asked. She was pacing behind the couch.

"Ari didn't say why he wanted her, only that he would have her by the end of today." Fang replied. My eyes widened.

"That is not going to happen." Gazzy snapped from beside me.

"No way." Iggy agreed.

"Max, Raven's still bleeding." Fang snapped. I went over to his side and knelt beside them in the chair. Sure enough, our daughter's forehead was cut open and still bleeding from when Ari dropped her.

"Put pressure on it." Iggy told Fang and handed him a tissue.

"Thanks." Fang droned and began pressing lightly on Raven's head. Raven's eyes fluttered open. "Hi, baby." Fang smiled through his anger.

"Dada." She mumbled and smiled weakly. I reached up and held her hand. Her whole body was shaking… I glanced up at Devin and saw him happily playing with James and Monique on the floor. I was glad one of my kids was okay…

I looked back at Raven. She was just weakly looking from face to face. I felt so bad for her… I wish it were me hurt and her playing with Devin, Monique, and James on the floor and I could tell by Fang's face that he was thinking the same thing about himself. I sighed and looked at Nudge and Iggy.

"What do we do if they come here?" Nudge met my gaze. Iggy had her wrapped her in his arms.

"We do what we used to do: we fight." I told her. I noticed everyone's tired-looking bodies tense up around the room. "But this time, it isn't just our lives were fighting for." I gazed at Raven and then looked at the other kids obliviously playing on the floor. I looked back up and saw the others watching the kids playing. We had to protect them.

And I was going too, even if it meant my own life.

About a half an hour later, Raven had stopped bleeding and was fast asleep in Fang's arms once more. Devin, Monique, and James were nodding off against the floor. Iggy and Nudge picked up their sleeping kids and carried them to their beds. Nudge came back a few minutes later.

"You can put Raven and Devin in Monique's crib if you want." She told Fang and I. Fang looked reluctant to let Raven leave his arms… He was still really freaked out about Ari… But then again, we all were. I scooped up Devin and cradled him against my chest. I nodded at Fang and we went to Monique's room and carefully put our twins in the crib with Monique. Fang kissed Raven's head before putting her down. We watched them sleep for a few minutes before allowing ourselves to tear our eyes away and walked out.

"Gazzy, Angel, go watch them. We'll take turns." I ordered. I had to be leader Max once more. They both nodded and trudged out of the room to babysit the sleeping children. I forced myself to sit on the couch and was joined by Fang a moment later. I felt his arm wrap around my shoulders and he pulled me close.

"What just happened?" I looked at him. "Earlier today, we were throwing a party for our twins first birthday, now were fighting for their lives?" I moaned into his neck.

"I have no idea." He sighed and pulled me closer. Suddenly, I could no longer keep my eyes open, my eyelids felt like lead weights. I fell asleep right there, leaning against Fang.

I woke up some time later. Fang was leaning against me; he had fallen asleep too. I shot a glance at clock: 2:03 A.M., better go check on the babies. I untangled myself from Fang and made my way to the room they were sleeping in. I walked in to see Angel and Gazzy passed out on the floor and a dark figure standing over the crib with one of the babies in its arms. It turned to face me.

"Ari." I growled.

"Shhh, my niece is sleeping." He snickered, a smile of pure wickedness stretched across his lips.

"What do you want?" I screamed at him.

"Isn't it obvious? Her." He snapped.

"Why, why my daughter? Why Raven?" I hissed.

"Because she's yours." He smiled evilly. Just as I was about to spring at him, something sharp jabbed into my neck; something cold was being injected into me. My world began to turn fuzzy as I toppled over onto the ground. "Should've eaten more cake, Max. Then you would've just woken up to her being gone and we wouldn't have had to waste a perfectly good syringe." Ari snorted as he walked passed my limp body. I watched Raven's sleeping face as she was carried away from me. "And don't worry, sis. We'll take great care of Raven." He chuckled as he reached the door. My eyes shut almost as soon as they were out of sight.

"Max, please wake up. Max, please." I heard a distant voice beg me. I open my eyes and saw Fang kneeling by my side. "Thank God!" He exclaimed and pulled me into a hug.

"Nothing's out there, everything's quiet." I heard Angel's voice drone as the door opened. I watched as her, Gazzy, Iggy, and Nudge all enter the room; all of their faces had the same grief-stricken expression on them.

"What's going on?" I groggily muttered.

"Max, we all woke up and found you passed out in Monique's room. You wouldn't wake up, I've been trying for over an hour now." Fang told me. I suddenly remembered exactly what happened.

"Where's Raven?" I asked and leaped to my feet, I heard Nudge and Angel almost silently crying by the door.

"Max, sit back down." Fang stood up beside me and tried to pull me back to the couch.

"Where. Is. Raven." I growled at him.

"She's gone." He barely whispered and even through I knew it, hearing the words felt like a punch to the gut. I felt my knees buckle under my weight and I crashed onto the floor. Sobs ripped through my chest so hard they hurt. Fang knelt beside me and desperately tried to calm me.

But it didn't work.

Raven was my baby, and now she's gone! Nothing was ever going to be the same after this. We were going to get her back. No matter how long it takes, I will have my baby back one day.

And just like that, my daughter was taken.


Thank you so much for taking the time to read this! Please help me by telling me what you did/didn't like about so I can fix/keep doing it! :DDD