Finale
The noise that the drums made sounded funny to Fang for some reason. Probably because it had been years since they were tuned, much less played. And also the fact that it wasn't Tabitha or Tyler, their normal players, banging on them, which could be made obvious by the fact that the kids that were now doing it couldn't carry a beat to save their lives.
"It's my turn!"
"No!"
Fang groaned a little as he opened his eyes. It took him a second to realize that he was in his chair, where he had been sleeping recently. It was really doing a number on his forever in pain back due to the worn out support it now had due to the years of being used. It was his only option though, because he couldn't go sleep in their bed, not alone. Nor could he sleep on her couch. No, unless he wanted to take one of the kids old, small beds, the chair was his only option.
"I said to shut up," Fang heard someone else yell over the kids. "If you don't-"
"Lana, leave the babies alone," Fang yelled out to them, wherever they may be.
Why were all his grandchildren here anyways? Then he remembered. He was moving out and all his children had either come to help collect their stuff (Jason and Tyler), be nice and help him move, (Neo, Chris, James, and Lance), or be a complete nuisance (He loved Lucas the most anyways). Then, of course, there was Parker and Lawson, who still lived at home and the younger twins, Nicky and Drew, who were leaving for college at the end of the summer. Plus Lana, who always seemed to linger around. She was his favorite grandkid though, so he always made an exception.
Slowly, as if his body was concrete blocks that he was now too weak to lift, Fang got up from his chair, wincing when he felt the shock of pain in his spine. Blinking heavily, he made his way to the kitchen, which was probably the easiest trek it ever had been since the first day they moved in. He used to have to pass over his children and stepchildren's toys, Bone's stoned out body that seemed to have left not only an impression on his wife, but also his floor, Luther's random presents to Tabitha, comics and mangas that Damien dropped off, but Max just threw on the floor, and not to mention the numerous pets that had come and gone, most recently Cargo, the iguana. Now that things were being moved out though, the floor was empty. He didn't like that. Fang didn't like that at all.
"Hi, g'an'pa,"
He just stared at Ricky for a moment, who was currently making a mess of her lunch on the kitchen floor. "Hi."
The toddler giggled before going back to her macaroni. Fang squatted down next to his youngest, currently, grandchild, wincing in pain. "Who fed you?"
"Mama."
Samantha…the brat.
"Where did she go?"
"Mama an' Dabe go car."
"They're taking stuff out to the car? Who was supposed to watch you?"
"Ty-ty."
"Tyler. They left Tyler to watch you. Great."
Ricky was now done playing and reached out to be picked up. Fang took her into his arms, giving her a little kiss on the head. No matter how many kids would come to be his, he loved them all. Ricky gave him a kiss on the cheek, smiling.
"G'an'ma?"
Fang just headed to the master bathroom to clean the baby up.
"Where were you?"
"Work."
"You got off two hours ago."
"I got stuck in traffic."
"From the comic store?"
Tabitha hit Adeem in the arm. "Leave me alone, okay?"
"Lana's over at your M…Dad's. Helping."
"Good. I told all the boys to leave their kids somewhere, yet they all brought them. Dad can't take dealing with kids right now. He has more important things to worry about."
"No, I don't think so." When he got the death glare from Tabitha, Adeem quickly added his reasoning. "They're helping keep his mind off…things. He's been taking this-"
"He's my father, Adeem. I know how he's taking things."
He put his hand on her shoulder. "Tabitha, I'm just trying to help. And he's been the closest thing I've had to a father in a long time."
She just shook her shoulder before she went to go sit down on the couch. Their apartment was small, but nice. It fit them and Lana alright, along with Parker and any of the other tagalongs that showed up over the years. From Tyler to even Cameron for a short time, they had housed all their old friends, but the dead.
Of course Tyler came back from Florida. So did Lucas, eventually, though he quickly moved on to another place, another girl, another life. Tyler though was stuck up on one. The one with Alex, that was crushed when she decided that she couldn't be with him. And really, Tabitha didn't blame her for that. Tyler was crazy, after all. But she did hold it against the other woman that she had to hurt Tyler so badly first before realizing that.
When he came back, at first he stayed up in that attic, only allowing entrance to certain people. After a year though, everyone more or less decided he did need to be on his own. Kind of. So they got him a job as the receptionist at Fire Tats and gave him Dr. Martinez's house back, leaving Tabitha, Adeem, and their daughter to move into the apartment they had stayed in ever since.
"I have a headache."
Adeem immediately went to go get her water and aspirin. They say that you look for your future husband in your father and though Adeem's anger issues paled in comparison to Fang's, he did care for her needs much to the same way Fang always had her stepmother. She wasn't as needy though. Of course, she also hadn't lost a baby, grown up tortured, and been an alcoholic whore before she met Adeem, but hey.
"James called a little while ago."
"Mmmm." Tabitha took her medicine from him, not planning to continue the conversation.
"He said that it's chaos over there."
"Mmmhmm." He was really going to press this, wasn't he?
"He said that someone…in charge should be there to oversee things."
"Then go," she said simple before swallowing the pill and downing the glass of water. "Hand me the remote before you go. Ooh, and brush your teeth. Please."
He shook his head before going to the only bathroom in the apartment. Between his two girls and Parker, who was always over, he rarely got time in the bathroom and usually relished in it. Recently though, being in the bathroom just meant being alone and being alone meant being only with your thoughts. How he hated his thoughts these days.
"What do you want me to do with anything that's ours? Take or keep? Call you?"
"Mmm…Make your own judgment. But no comics or toys, Adeem."
"I'm an adult, Tabitha."
"I know. But when you and my brothers all get together, you all seem to end up fighting like little boys over toys and stuff. My father too. You guys need to let him take what he wants, give back what was Damien's, and let the little kids take what they want. When they've had their fill, the other boys, and you if you must, can take what's left over."
Adeem shook his head. "All that stuff…and the shop…I just…I don't like change and…"
"Go, Adeem," she said, turning the TV off and choosing to just sit in the dark living room. "Go."
He gave her a forced yet still haunting smile that didn't fix anything before leaving her alone, in that dark, scary apartment. When she was a kid, she wasn't afraid of the dark. Tyler was. Max would always hold him while he cried about the monsters in his room or the scary shadow that he saw come out of his closet while Tabitha looked on with disgust in that fake maturity she thought she possessed as a child.
Now, though, all by herself, sitting on the couch in the dark, she could only wish that Max was there to hold her while she cried now, finally, after all those years of being so tough. But Max would never hold her, not again. Never again. And that hurt more than anything ever in the world would.
"Dude, are you serious?"
"Yeah, I am. It's mine."
"No, it's not. Max and Fang got it for me on my ninth birthday."
"You were in New York on your ninth birthday."
"No, I wasn't. And even if I was, they still sent me gifts. It's mine."
"No-"
"Guys, seriously?" Samantha, who was sitting on one of the beds in the room, holding Ricky, rolled her eyes. Ricky giggled, bouncing in her mother's lap while holding Cameron's old oversized white girl white sunglasses to her face. "It's a Batman toy."
"And? It's mine and I want it," Neo said, crossing his arms.
"No. Dude, it's mine, so come off it," Jason said, frowning. James, who was carrying a box down from the attic and happened to pass the room, stopped.
"Guys, that's Tyler's."
"What? No," Neo said, frowning. "Fang has a no DC rule."
"Then how could they have given it to you?" Jason asked, making face. "Now hand it over."
"It used to be over at Dr. Martinez's house, but then Tyler let me and Cody borrow it when we were kids. We used to hide it from Fang under our pillow."
"Right, sure," Neo said, shaking his head. "How do you know it's the same one?"
James came further into the room and took it from Neo's hand. "Look at the bottom of the foot. See the date? The trademark? You weren't even born then."
"Yeah, but-"
"So, give it to one of the kids, like you know you should, or give it to Ty." James handed it back to Neo before going back into the hall to take the box downstairs.
Neo stared at the Batman. "I guess he's right."
Jason just stared at his friend. "You know what? It's just a stupid toy."
"Yeah."
"Says the box of them that you're taking with you," Samantha comment. Jason smiled, which was odd for him to begin with, but given the recent stuff that had happened seemed almost miraculous.
Slowly, he went over to the blonde and kissed her head before kissing Ricky's. "I have a plane to catch."
Ricky reached out and patted his chest. "Bye-bye."
Samantha leaned up and kissed his cheek, lingering, before moving back. Smiling at him, she ruffled his hair, which desperately needed a good cut. Jason patted Ricky's head before picking up that box of his stuff. As small as it was, it held everything that was ever important to him as a child. The Woody that matched Neo's Buzz, a guitar pick he stole from Tyler when he still thought his brother was the best person in the world, a few Heroclix, comics that meant something, the worn out VHS of Tarzan, and a picture of him and his mother, probably the only one with only the two of them. He was ten, hated her for favoring all of her other children over him, and was fighting a hug she was trying to give him as his older sister snapped a photo. Now, if he could go back, he would have fixed his broken relationship with his mother, but it was no use now.
Neo patted his favorite brother on the shoulder as he passed him, but Jason said nothing more as he left the room he had shared with Neo for years, the only house he had ever lived in growing up, and the rest of his family behind. Headed back to New York. Just like his father, Neo's favorite brother left him for the Big Apple. And could he blame him?
"You know we won't see him again for awhile. You don't want to go say goodbye?"
"Nah," Neo said, going to sit down next to Samantha and Ricky. He pulled the toddler into his lap, giving her a bigger kiss than Jason ever would. "We're men, Sam. Goodbyes are for wussies."
Sam rolled her eyes, though if it was more like her mother or more like his surrogate one, Neo couldn't tell. The two of them were so alike though, that it didn't really make a difference. "I can't believe he's leaving so soon though. He has no one to get back to. He lives alone."
"He's just…scared. And scarred. You don't get it. We're going through a lot."
She gave him a look. "I've gone through stuff too."
"Yeah, but our family is so mixed up and just not normal."
"Yes, because being a rape child is so normal."
"Sam!" Neo slapped his hands over Ricky's ears. "God."
"Oh, she's in the house where we learned about sex at three and knew every curse word by the time we were five."
"It's a different place now," he said, light hearted at first, but it sounded sad when he replayed the sentence in his mind.
"Yeah, it is," she said, reaching out to remove one of his hands from their youngest daughter's ear and interlacing their fingers. She stared at the engagement ring that had been on her finger for years now, but had yet been changed to a wedding ring. "Very different."
"There you guys are," Lance said, coming into the room, his long hair covering his face. Chris, ever the opposite, had to duck down as he came into the room as not to ruin his Mohawk that would have been messed up by the doorframe. "We're not finished for the day, you know."
"We know," Sam said, letting her youngest daughter go so that she could run from the room, not wanting to be caught by Chris, who she was engaged in a huge battle of tag with. He narrowly missed the miniature version of, shockingly enough, Cameron, who squealed as she made her escape.
"I'll be back," Chris said suddenly, running from the room to finish the game. "Come here, Ricky!"
"No!"
Lance rolled his eyes, though it wasn't shown due to his long hair. Samantha leaned against her fiancé, sighing a little.
"We'll be out there in a minute," he said, to which Lance nodded before leaving too. Neo kissed Sam's head. "Bone and Luther would have loved them."
She thought of her fuzzy memories of the two men and their eccentric and different tastes. Yes, they would have loved the little punks Chris and Lance turned into. Bone would have loved his son. If only she could say the same about her step cousin and his father.
Lucas was smoking on the back porch. He had probably the easiest job of all. Watch some of the children. They didn't trust him to do anything else. Who would? Three DWIs, one DUI, and many, many other arrests for fights, he didn't even trust himself.
"Daddy?"
He looked down at his youngest son. His oldest hated him, his middle he never saw because the mother lived in Michigan, and this one, currently, lived with Fang. Lucas was too, but now that his dad was moving…really, he had nowhere to go.
"What, Clarke?"
The little boy just wrapped his arms around his father's leg. Staying with his grandparents the past year, the three year old had become accustom to taking naps with his grandma around this time. Now though, Granny was gone and Grandpa was mean and Daddy said that they had to leave. He didn't want to leave. What if Granny came back and didn't know where he had gone?
Sighing, Lucas patted his son's head. "It's gonna be okay, buddy. Tabitha said that we could stay with her for a little bit. Uncle Tyler offered us a place too. You like where Uncle Ty lives, huh?"
"Miss G'anny. Love G'anppy. Stay with G'anny an' G'anppy?"
Lucas let his breath out slowly as he watched James' son purposely throw the basketball at Neo's oldest son's head. He should have probably stopped it, but hey.
"Hey, Fang."
He looked up from the box of stuff he was going through. He had kicked all the kids out of the garage so that he could go through the stuff alone. Most of it was trash, but he was having a hard time throwing things out. He never understood why Max liked to sleep so much, but now he did. She wanted to be with Kevin, so she slept so she could dream. He wanted to be with her, so he tried his hardest to sleep, but he dreams were just plagued with death and demons.
"I'm busy."
"I came to help," Adeem said, getting on his knees next to the older man. He grabbed a box that had Tabitha's name on it. "I'll only touch her stuff, okay? Nothing of yours or…okay?"
He said nothing as he pulled out a stack of photos. Those were an automatic keep, but he sat there and flipped through them. He wanted to cry so badly when he saw his dead friends and, of course, his dead son. He missed Cody so much, which was odd, seeing as he never particularly cared for him when he was growing up.
"Lucas and Clarke are moving in with us," Adeem offered up randomly. "At least I think. Either that or into Tyler's place, but Tyler's been so bad recently, I don't think it would be good. Well, Tabitha doesn't."
Fang glanced up from a photo of Max holding the younger twins after they were born. By then, they had ended the running gag of Fang making to at least one birth.
"You let that girl run your life," Fang told his son-in-law.
Adeem gave him his toothy grin. "Yeah, know."
Reaching out, Fang patted the man, well boy to him, on the shoulder. "Take these photos to Tabitha."
Adeem took them from Fang uncertain. "You don't want them?"
"I have enough to last me," he said, though he did keep one photo.
It was, like most he kept, of Max. She was doing what she normally did, sleep on the couch. It was probably before she was pregnant with Lucas, due to the fact Fang had to be the one taking the picture and he hated her around that time. She was cuddling Tabitha, who had woken them both up, wanting them all to flee the house because there was a monster in her bedroom. She drug Max and her father to the living room, claiming that they could just leave Tyler as a sacrifice. Max, who had been in love with his children the second she met them, held Tabitha the whole night as she cried about how none of them were safe from the monster. And the next day, she made a fort in the living room and they all slept in it, together, to hide from the monster.
Fang loved Max for many, many reason, most of them changing with their age. When they were just kids, he loved the fact that she wasn't afraid to speak out to the Whitecoats, that she was stronger than him and constantly told him, and the fact that she was his leader, another thing she never stop talking about. When they got older, he wasn't sure if it was as much love as it was lust, but what teenage boy did understand that? Then, when he thought she left, he loved the familiarity that thoughts of her brought. When she came back though, the thing he most definitely loved the most was the fact that she loved his twins. She made his motherless kids feel loved. How could he not love her for that?
Adeem looked at Fang's face for a moment as he stared at the photo he kept before going back to the box of Tabitha's stuff. He remembered years ago now, promising Dr. Martinez he would take care of things when Max and Fang died. Now, years later, he was no more ready to fill Fang's role than he ever was. He might be the oldest male in the immediate family, but he didn't want the position. It meant making Lucas man up and pay child support, making sure that Jason at least had a home and wasn't living on the street anymore, stopping Samantha and Neo from getting into physical fights, keeping Lance and Chris away from drugs, and not to even mention it would mean he would have to figure out his own problems on his own. It was scary.
"Do…Do I look like that?"
"What?" Fang asked, still looking at the photo.
"At Tabitha like that."
Fang raised an eyebrow before looking up. "Yeah, I guess you do. I wouldn't have let you marry her if you hadn't."
Adeem looked down at the stuff in Tabitha's box. Most of it was junk, but there was one stuffed animal and he figured he could give it to one of the kids. James' daughter, Carrie, would probably like it.
"Is that…" Fang trialed of as he looked at the stuffed toy. "Can I…have that?"
"Yeah, of course," Adeem said, handing it over. "What is it though?"
"Mesh," Fang mumbled, squeezing the monster's stomach. "It was Tabby's favorite, before…she grew up."
"Oh. Maybe you should look through the rest of this box then."
Adeem slid it over to his father-in-law. Fang immediately pulled out the ring that Tommy gave Tabitha, some of the pictures she used to draw when she still thought she was an artist, and even that stupid Naruto headband she would wear when she thought she was a ninja. Damn, he wouldn't give up his grandkids or younger children for a second, but if he could go back to those days…Damn. He used to think that he would spend the day with his now departed friends, but he would surely stay with Max and the kids now, making sure they knew just how much he loved them. Because damn did he love them. All of them. He would just lay in bed with them and cuddle, making them food and bring it back to the bed, not even caring when Tabitha and Tyler fought. He just would be glad to be with them and Max.
"I can't…keep so much stuff, but I want all these things."
"I'll take it home."
"Tabitha won't want it."
"Tabitha may run my life, but she doesn't control every single action."
"I…need to be alone."
Standing, Adeem patted Fang on the back once more before walking out of the garage. Fang went back to the photo and kissed it. It was so hard, knowing that it was all over now. You build this life with a person and one day by no fault of your own, it's just gone. He wanted to be with Max again so bad. He would give anything. Anything.
"G'an'pa!"
He frowned as Ricky ran past him, diving behind a bunch of boxes. "Hey, R-"
"Shhh. Hide."
A second later, Chris poked his head out the door. When he saw his father, he immediately apologized before closing the door once more. Fang frowned.
"You can come out now," he whispered. Slowly, the little girl made her way to her grandfather. She sat down in his lap. "Me p'ay tag."
"And you're very good at it." Fang held her to him. Reaching out, Ricky pointed to the photo.
"G'an'ma."
Kissing her head, Fang asked, "Do you know who that is?"
She looked at the picture of Max and Tabitha. Though Max still looked the same, she couldn't tell who her aunt was. "No."
"That's Tabitha."
Ricky giggled. "No. Tabby big. Dis small."
"This is from when Tabitha was your age."
"Tabby pretty."
"She really is."
"G'an'ma pretty."
Fang gave her another kiss. "Grandma is beautiful."
Part of Fang wanted to get up and go spend time with the rest of the kids, since he rarely got to see them, but at the moment, he couldn't force himself to move. And he wasn't sure that he really wanted to. Sitting here, with one of his grandkids in his lap, just made Fang realize how little time he really had left. Being with the rest of them would just make him think about it more.
"Where?"
"Huh?"
She pointed to the photo. She recognized the couch, but not the location. "Where?"
"That's the old house," Fang said after a second. He had momentarily forgotten that they lived somewhere else at one time. This place had become his home for so long that it was hard to remember that three bedroom house. "We moved here."
"'ike now?"
He laid his head on top of hers. "Yeah. Like now."
"No wan' G'an'pa leave."
"It'll be okay, baby."
"Miss G'an'ma."
Fang wanted to cry, but he had no more tears. "She'll be okay. She always is."
"Miss?"
"Yeah, she misses us," Fang told her. "She loved us. All of us."
"Love G'an'ma." She leaned back against his chest. "C'arke an' me an' G'an'ma nap."
"Is it your naptime? Go get Clarke."
She ran off, returning with her favorite step cousin. She didn't know that though. To her, visiting her grandparents meant see her family. She didn't know that her mother and father both came from f'ed up lives and their bloodline wasn't what they consider to be their family. All she knew was that Clarke was the closest to her age and they both liked The Wiggles.
"Come here," Fang said, reaching out to pull his two little kids to him. He held them both in his arms like he would Tyler and Tabitha when they were babies. And when he closed his eyes, it was almost like they were. Is this what Max felt about Tyler and Kevin? If so, he owed her an apology.
Moving to lay on his back, Fang kept both of the toddlers on his chest. "Let's go to sleep, babies."
"No baby," Clarke told his grandfather, though he did close his eyes. Ricky just kept staring at the picture her grandpa had set on the ground, trying to figure out how Tabitha used to be so small, but some how got so big. She didn't yet realize that everyone else in the world had the same trouble understanding that.
"Hey, Jamie," Adeem said to James' son. "What are you doing?"
"Taking a box out to Dad's car," he said, walking past the man. "Is Tabitha here?"
"No. Why?"
"I was just wondering," he said, going through the front door, closing it behind him. Adeem was about to go upstairs to see where he could help, when Lucas came running into the living room.
"Have you seen my kid?"
"Which one?"
"The only one with me! Clarke!"
"No. Why?"
"I let some of the older kids go play in the front yard. I figured he was with them, but he's not. I don't know where he is."
Adeem frowned. "You lost your baby."
Lucas got indignant. "You act like it's the first time."
"Lucas!"
"The point is, we need to find him."
"Where do you think he is? Outside or inside?"
"I don't know. You look out, I'll look in."
They both nodded before running off. Lucas only made it to Tabitha's old bedroom before he saw Lance and stopped to talk. Oh well. His job was only inside looking. If the kid was inside, he was safe.
"There you are."
Fang glanced up to see Adeem standing over him. "You knew I was here."
"Not you. Lucas thought he lost Clarke."
The little boy just giggled. His younger cousin spoke for him.
"Naptime," Ricky said, snuggling against what was in her mind her grandfather, though really he was just the man that took in her father.
"Well Clarke should have told his Daddy before he ran off," Adeem said.
"Maybe he should have a better Daddy," Fang said dryly as he sat up.
"That's why we all have you, eh?"
"Not forever though," Fang said, holding up Clarke to Adeem, who took him.
"Nothing's forever."
"Someone needs to take care of all these kids when I'm gone."
"I'm thinking their parents."
"I was talking about their parents."
Adeem let out a breath. "My apartment is way too small to house the things that come along with being the great Fang Shadows."
"You don't have to be Fang Shadows. And trust me, you'll never be great." Fang stood up, Ricky in his arms. "All you need to do is make sure that everything goes alright."
"I have a hard enough time taking care of myself and my family."
"That's the thing, Adeem. I took you in. Maybe not willingly, but I did help take care of you when your real family left you, just like all the other kids. The difference is, you married my daughter."
"And?"
"If anyone can ever be the next great Maximum Ride, it's Tabitha."
"She doesn't sleep enough."
"The point is Tabitha knows that she has to take care of things now that her mother's…gone. You need to realize that when I'm gone, it's your turn."
"You're not going anywhere, Fang. We still all need you." Adeem frowned. "Unless…you don't have an ex-"
"No. Who told you about that?"
Adeem headed to the door. "Right before Dr. Martinez died, when all the kids were still little and needed you and Max to take care of them, she told me about it and how it was my job to take care of things, that I was the oldest guy."
"Ty's older."
"Tyler's mental, half the time."
"Yeah, I know." Fang followed behind him. "I'm just saying, Adeem, that I've been the patriarch for this family for years. And when I die…I know that I didn't like you much, but I never did you wrong."
"I know, Fang."
"And I'm not one to call in debts, but if anyone owes me in this life, it's you."
"Okay."
"And you're going to take care of my family."
"Alright."
"Good."
Fang headed to the living room with Ricky while Adeem took Clarke outside, where his father was smoking again. After that, he headed up stairs to finally help with clean up. When he got up there, he found that all the boys, save James who was probably off still working like usual, in the bedroom that was originally Tyler and Lucas' and later became Chris and Lance's. They had hooked up the old SNES to the television and were playing some Mario game.
"Guys, seriously?"
They all looked up, ready to be yelled at.
"If you're going to play a SNES game, at least play Link to the Past."
Adeem rifled through the box of Nes, SNES, and Nintendo 64 cartridges that sat next to Tyler, looking for the game he had suggested. He then made Nicky and Lawson get off the bed, where he then laid down, controller in hand. He made Drew hand him one of the sodas, not caring whose it was. They were, after all, all brothers, right?
"What's after this?" He asked the others.
"We're only on Nintendo. We still have the Sega stuff."
"Right on," he said as the game loaded up an old save file. Right there, he saw Fang's name and almost laughed.
Right now, Fang was still living and could be the man that would yell at them when he found them all in here playing video games. And one day, that would have to be Adeem. But today, Adeem got to be the Fang that beat this game and start his own save file.
When Tabitha finally showed up at the house, she had nowhere to park. Cursing her brothers, she parked on the side of the road, two houses down. When she got into the house, she immediately realized that her controlling skills weren't needed.
"Cameron?"
The now clearly aged woman pushed her new, sleek, designer sunglasses down her nose to look at Tabitha. "There you are. Why weren't you here helping? Even I showed up. And I'll have you all know that I had a hair appointment."
When Neo was seventeen, he went with Cody and James to go visit Cameron and Damien in North Carolina. While there, he knocked up Samantha for the first time. They started a heated battle between Cameron and Max, sparking up their old rivalry. Cameron came back to town, family in tow, presumably to fight Max. When they were about to get into a fist fight, they both start laughing, calling the other childish. Then they both grounded Neo and Samantha. Cameron remembered how much she love being around Max and moved back to town, though Samantha's baby daddy living there too didn't hurt anything.
"I was…it's not important. What are you doing just standing here if you're helping?"
"Oh, child, I don't do manual labor. I delegate. And if Adeem doesn't get his Arab butt down here now, I will go up there and rip that stupid Dreamcast apart!"
Adeem came running down the stairs. "Not the Dreamcast! Take the Atari! Take the Nes! Anything! The Gamecube!"
"Shut up, Adeem," Tabitha said, frowning. "You were playing videogames?"
"Do I shut up or answer?"
"I'm not in the mood."
He stopped in front of the two women. "Me and the guys were playing, but then Cameron showed up and ruined it. Maybe I've been sneaking in a little Sonic Adventure 2. Maybe."
"Adeem."
"My chao is about to evolve!"
"I don't know what that means, and honestly I don't care," Cameron said, pushing her sunglasses back up. "You're supposed to be finishing packing up the kitchen stuff. Fang said that you and Tabitha can have any pans or skillets you need. Now go."
"What do you want me to do?" Tabitha asked Cameron as her husband walked into the kitchen, his defeat shown in his slouched shoulders.
"I just need you to look around for anything you want."
"Alright." Tabitha ran off up the stairs, looking for her father. She found him sitting on the attic steps, Ricky in his lap. "Hey, Dad."
He just stared at her for a moment. "Hi."
"You know that Dreamcast?"
"No."
"It's after the Genesis. You know, Sega before it sold out?"
"What is a Sega?"
"Dad, you're not that old. They were your game systems."
He sighed. "What about it, Tabby?"
"I know that you probably want to give them to your sons or the kids, but Adeem-"
"Tabitha, you're the oldest. You take whatever you want."
"I don't want it, Dad. I'm not a child. But Adeem-"
"Take what you want," Fang repeated, now sounding slightly angry by her continuing to talk. "Leave us alone. We're taking in the house for one of the last times."
"What? Is she your favorite today?"
"Why? You jealous? Now leave me alone."
She made a face at her father before walking over to her old bedroom. Her daughter and only sister were in there, both talking on the phone, presumably to their boyfriends. When Tabitha saw that neither was going to speak to her, she went over to her dresser and started going through drawers. After a minute, Lana put her hand over to the phone and looked at her mother.
"Mom, we are kind of on the phone."
"And?"
"We would like some privacy."
"It's my room."
"It was Nicky and Drew's room after," Parker said.
"And I did live in here with you when I was a baby," Lana added.
"So there."
Tabitha rolled her eyes. "Nicky and Drew didn't stay in here very long before they moved back down stairs because Neo told them a monster lived in my room and that's why I'm so mean."
"Still."
"I need to clean out this dresser."
"Do it later," Lana said before putting her cell back to her ear. Tabitha rolled her eyes before walking out of the room. She ran into Samantha, who was trying to chase down her oldest, Derek, who had apparently hit Jamie or something. Avoiding that all together, she went into Cody and James' old room. It was bad enough that the wall had been written and drawn on by the dead, but to know that her dead brother once inhabited this room overwhelmed her. James' wife was sitting on one of the beds, going through a box. Tabitha frowned.
"What's in that stuff?"
Tara looked up. "Oh, just trash really. James told me to go through it."
She glanced in the box before agreeing and walking back out of the room. She didn't like Tara, but didn't feel like fighting with the woman. Really, she didn't like the other woman because Max didn't like the woman. And Max didn't like the woman because she always wanted James to be gay and that turned out to be a bust. With Dan as a step grandfather though, that seemed like a stupid hope. Then again, most of Max's were.
Sighing, Tabitha started down the stairs, but then she saw Cameron in all her bitchiness chewing out Samantha for messing around when there was trash to be thrown away. Rushing past them, she went to the hall, going into whoever was the youngest at the time's room because it was closest to Max and Fang's room.
"Hey, Ty," she said when she saw him laying on one of the beds. "What's wrong?"
"Cameron won't let us play videogames."
"Cameron's an angry, bitter old woman." Tabitha glanced at Lucas' o bed, which was covered in food wrappers and soda cans, which had replaced the bugs from his childhood. Lucas had been using that bed when he wanted to be away from Clarke, who he was supposed to share Neo's room with. Looking at Tyler, she asked, "Mind if I lay down?"
He scooted over some and Tabitha laid down on the small bed next to him, like they were little kids again. They both laid on their backs, staring up at the ceiling.
"When did those stars get up there?"
"I dunno," Tyler answered. "Tabby?"
"What?"
"I want Lucas to live with me."
She sighed a little. "Ty-"
"I've been taking my medication, I go to my therapy sessions, I buy my own food, I go to bed on time. I'm an adult. Let me help my baby brother."
"I just don't want you taking too much on."
"You're not Mama, Tabitha."
"I don't want to be."
"Then stop telling me what to do. I'm a man."
"I know."
"Good."
"If you want him, take him. But if you ever don't want him and Clarke there, you tell me and I'll have Adeem move them out. Alright?"
"Okay."
Tabitha closed her eyes. "Lydia called me."
"In my world, Lydia doesn't exist."
Reaching over with her hand, she patted his arm. "Dad's going to let Adeem keep any of the game systems he wants. Are there any that you want?"
"Just the PS3."
"It's yours, take it," she said. "I think Adeem just wants the older stuff anyways."
"That's fine. I don't think the young kids like our old videogames."
"Ty, I don't even like old videogames."
"It's because you're a girl."
"Maybe," she agreed. "Or maybe I'm just smarter than you."
Tyler stared up at the darkness in the room, watching the little stars that had been glued up there shine in the dark. When Max died, Tyler suffered a worse break than he ever had. It hadn't been that long now and he knew that everyone thought he wasn't right. Taking in Lucas and little Clarke would make them all realize that he was fine. His Mama was dead and he was doing just fine. Dan told him that Max went to heaven and it was all okay. He had a sinking feeling that Dan only said that to be nice, because in no way did Dan consider Max a God-fearing woman. That being said, it was nice of Dan to lie to him like that. Real nice.
"Maybe," he agreed. "Maybe."
"Cool! Look what I found!"
Cameron came up behind Henry, her youngest, and took the alcohol from him. "Where'd you find this? I always thought there was a no alcohol rule in this house?"
James, who was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee, snorted. "Maybe for Max and Fang, but the rest of them have been sneaking it and drugs through this house for years. Given the fact that Drew's such a freak these days, it's probably his. Then again, Lucas is back."
Cameron glanced at her nephew before back at the bottle of scotch. "I don't drink."
"I'll take it."
"Shut up, Henry," she said, frowning down at her son. He looked so much like Damien that it haunted her. "You're what? Nine? Be quiet. James? Do you drink?"
"God, no," he said, going back to the newspaper in front of him. "Don't give it to Lucas."
"Trust me, I wasn't."
"Adeem and Tabitha might take it. I don't know. It depends if he's Muslim this week or not."
"I heard that," Adeem said, walking into the kitchen. "And no, I can't drink."
"Give it to Sam," James offered.
"Why? So her and Neo can get drunk and beat the crap out of each other? No thank you, I don't have anymore bail money."
"I think you should really stop bailing Neo out," James said. "Teach him a lesson."
"I like him better than Sam. When you hit someone first, you deserve to get hit. I'm for equal rights and stuff," Cameron said, sliding her sunglasses off her head and back over her eyes.
"Please. He could run me over with a car and you'd pay for his defense."
"Uh, Hell yeah. You move out of the way if you see a car coming, stupid."
The blonde rolled her eyes as she went over to her mother to grab the bottle. "Give it to us. We'll drink responsibly."
"Nothing you do is responsible."
"How do you figure?"
"Uh, gee, Derek's birth?"
"I was eighteen. I was an adult."
"Neo wasn't. And I had to freaking raise him."
"Oh, whatever. You can't even raise Henry. I mean look at it him. He's a mess. That shirt is dirty, Mom."
"He is expressing himself."
"You know you just don't feel like doing laundry."
Adeem sat down next to James at the table. "You want any of the game systems?"
"I'm an adult, Adeem, unlike the rest of you."
Maybe when Fang died, it'd just be better to give the position of leader to James. Maybe...Then again, Adeem did like the idea of being in charge of something. Plus James would make them all act grown up. Bleh.
"Good. That's a no for you and Tyler. Jason's already gone so…All that's left is Chris, Lance, and Neo."
"Neo can't have any videogames," Samantha decided randomly. Cameron glanced at her.
"Why?"
"Jason freaking kissed me and he didn't even get jealous. He can't have any games."
"Gee, what did you want? For him to punch you in the face?"
Henry got hit by his older sister. Cameron rolled her eyes.
"Where's Vanessa anyways?" James asked. "I thought she came home for the summer?"
"She did. She didn't want to be here. Said that it would be too sad and that everyone's depressed attitudes would only bring her down."
"Depressed attitudes, eh?" Adeem shook his head. "Apparently, she didn't hear about the celebration we had when I found Donkey Kong Country."
"Apparently not," Cameron said with a frown. "Anyways, the truck is filled up with boxes. Who's going to drive over to the house to drop them off?"
No one moved.
"Anyone who doesn't go has to go back to work."
They all scattered, save James. Cameron listened for the front door to open and close, which it didn't.
"None of them really went."
"Yeah," James said, standing. "I know. Give me the keys."
After doing so, she kissed his cheek. "You know that you're my favorite, right?"
"Yeah, Aunt Cameron, I do."
"Good. And on your way back, stop and buy a bunch of pizzas. Here, let me give you some money-"
"It's fine. Really."
"Can I go, James?" Henry, who was still throwing out all the old cleaning stuff from under the sink, asked.
"Ask your mom."
"Mom?"
"Get out of my hair."
He ran off with his older cousin, talking about something as they went. Cameron smiled a little bit before realizing that she was still her. Smiles were for the weak.
"Where did everyone get off to?"
She turned back to the doorway and saw Fang coming into the kitchen, her only granddaughter in his arms. She was sleeping.
"I warned them that they would have to work if they hung around me."
"Am I to assume that means that you are working to?"
"Like I told your daughter, Fang, I delegate."
"And your damn good at it. Look, we got…no rooms finished."
"That's your fault. Your kids are bad seeds"
"Oh, whatever. Your Jezebel running around with my son hasn't done any good."
"Please, she's not my problem. And we got Ricky and Derek."
"I know this was just your and Max's secret plan to be related to each other."
Cameron laughed a little, feeling sadness wash over her. "Whatever. This was totally your and Damien's plan."
"Alright, alright, you caught us."
They both started laughing, though the laughter was evocative and made them both feel uneasy. Fang looked down at the baby in his arms and saw that she still clutched those white sunglasses in her hands. He must have been looking at Cameron weird because she called him out.
"What, Fang?"
"Nothing. It's just…weird, seeing you with different glasses."
"I'm maturing."
"Physically, yes."
He would have gotten a hit, had he not had Ricky in his arms. Surprisingly enough, Cameron actually liked her granddaughter. It was creepy. And scary. Cameron loving something. Gave Fang the chills.
When it was silent again, Fang said, "You know, it's kind of weird."
"What is?"
"It just being the two of us now that Damien and…are gone."
"Why's that weird?"
"You know, because you always had a thing for me. I mean, it's almost like fate, like we're meant to be together."
The look on Cameron's face was indescribable and Fang realized he had said the wrong thing.
"No, no, I didn't mean it like that. It was a joke. I was joking," he said quickly.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"It's just…you haven't…joked since…"
"Yeah. I'm still a little rusty, I guess." Now he was bashful because he was afraid he had given Cameron the wrong impression. "I mean, I know that you're hung up about Damien. It's only been two years. And I'm never gonna be with someone else. Ever. I mean, I don't know that for sure, but...And I'm not judging you if you ever do move on. I mean, Damien had been sick for awhile, so I'm sure you two talk about-"
"Fang, stop talking. Please."
He shifted Ricky to one arm so that he could scratch the back of his head. "Anyways, can you take Rick? I was going to go-"
"Yeah, sure. Here." She took her granddaughter from him, now just wanting the awkward moment to be over. She spent most of her days avoiding her son Henry, much like she used to Samantha. The only difference was because Sam reminded her of her rapist. Henry reminded her of Damien and that, shockingly, was twenty times more hurtful. Damien promised to stay with her forever, but he left her.
"I'll, uh, see you later," he said, walking off as Cameron used her sunglasses the only way she knew how these days. To hide her tears.
"Hi, Dad. Bye, Dad."
"Yeah, bye, Gramps. Love you."
He didn't even look up as Parker and Lana ran by and out the door. They really had no restrictions when it came to what they could and couldn't do. Tabitha and Adeem were typically caught up in everyone else's issues to focus on their daughter and Fang and Max always let their kids raise themselves. It was a curse in this family. Fang was secretly afraid that they'd bring him home two more babies, making him not only a grandfather again, but also a great-grandfather. It scared the shit out of him.
From the steps of the stairway, he watched the comings and goings of the house. After James brought pizza and they got fed, mostly everyone left. Not before Cameron made them clear out the final boxes. Now all that was left were a few odds and ends.
Some of the boys had gone home with Adeem to play videogames after and some had gone out with Neo to drink. All of the little kids had been divided up between Cameron's house and Tabitha's apartment. He almost felt like Tyler, no one considering him to take care of children. If it wasn't for him, none of these kids would even be alive. Either they were his seed, came from his boys, or were only alive because he cared for them as children.
Sighing a little, Fang watched through the window as the sun went down. The day had been spent cleaning out this house, yet it still seemed so full. Pulling the photo out of his pocket that he had found earlier that morning, he sat there and stared at it for awhile.
When he heard the garage door open and close, Fang looked up. Samantha came striding out of kitchen, guitars in hand.
"You play?"
She jumped before realizing it was just Fang. "Oh. No. I was just going to take them over to Tyler's before I go to Adeem's to get Ricky."
"Oh."
"What are you doing, Fang?" She asked, moving closer to him.
It always struck Fang as weird that Cameron forced Tommy to refer to him as Mr. Shadows, but didn't give a damn what Sam called him. Then he remembered that it wasn't that she didn't care about what Sam called him, but rather that she didn't care about Sam.
"Nothing. Go. Have fun. You're only in town for a little while."
"Fun? Watching Neo get drunk is fun?"
"I meant go over to Adeem's. He doesn't drink. At all. Now. I'm sure Tabitha'll order out at some point or something. It'll be like a party, you just have to get over the fact the only thing to do is watch Adeem play videogames."
"Only Tabitha could enjoy that."
"Yeah. That happens when you love someone." Though, Fang didn't see Max watching him play endless hours of old videogames. In retrospect however, she put up with comics, movies, and other creepy obsessions. Maybe those were his videogames.
"Yeah? Then I guess my mom never loved my dad."
Fang rolled his eyes. "She freaking build him an art studio, let him go and find himself for a year, and stayed in a house she hated for his sake. Not to mention she kept you because he wanted, no offense. Your mother loved your father. And don't you dare ever say otherwise."
"Alright, alright, geez. Since when do you care about what I say about my mom?"
"I don't know," he said, looking back down at his photo of his own wife. Max was so beautiful... "I just know that she's gone through a lot. When your dad got sick, she took good care of him. I know that she's never been particularly good to you, but she's tried the only way she knows how."
Samantha rolled her eyes, walking out of the house. Fang sighed a little. When did they all get so old? And since when was Fang able to mention Damien's death without getting choked up?
"Dad? Can you move so we can get by?"
He stood up and turned to face Nicky and Lawson. "What are you boys doing here? I thought you left?"
"No. We were finishing packing our stuff," Lawson said. "Nicky's gonna drive me over to Adeem's."
"Where's Drew?"
Nicky and Lawson exchanged looks.
"Where is he?"
"He went with Neo, Chris, and Lance."
"He's underage."
Nicky shrugged. "I don't know, okay?"
Fang took a deep breath. "Nick, stay at Adeem's, alright?"
"What? No. I wanna come home, Dad."
"I said to stay at Adeem's."
Nicky was always taken care of by his mother. He wasn't like Tyler and ignored by his father by any standard, but he still greatly feared the man.
"Okay," he said, going to the door. "Come on, Lawson."
"Wait." Fang took a deep breath. "I love you guys, alright? Very much."
Lawson glanced at his older brother. "Okay, Dad. We love you too."
"Yeah," Nick said, smiling a little. "We'll see you tomorrow. Okay?"
Not answering them, Fang sat back down on the steps, looking back at his photo. Once they were gone, he was really alone in this big house. Years ago, it would have been amazing to be alone. He would have settled for just an adult night with Max. Now though, being alone scared him.
"I don't wanna be alone, Max. How could you leave me alone? It wasn't supposed to go down like that."
He wanted to cry now more than ever, but his tears wouldn't come. It was like the scientist that designed him only gave his tear ducts a certain amount of water and he had already used it all up. Slowly, he got up and, after pocketing the picture, he went into the kitchen. Getting on his knees in front of the sink, he thought of all the dirty jokes Max would have said if she saw him like that. He could almost hear her taunting him. Fang would just take all those stupid sex jokes with a straight face, never giving her the satisfaction of a laugh. Now, if she wanted, he would laugh his head off. He would do anything for her. He always would and always had.
"What?" He frowned when he realized someone had cleaned out under the sink, his bottle gone also. Oh well. He would have to do this sober. Really, that was more fitting. He should have to feel all that pain after all. Max did when that guy hit her with his car. It wasn't fair for him to take the easy way out.
Standing slowly, Fang took a deep breath as he made his journey through his house one more time. He started with his attic that was eventually turned into Lucas and Tyler's room before once again becoming his attic. It was so dark up there, as he refused to turn on any lights. He couldn't turn them on. He didn't want light. He wanted the dark. He needed the dark.
Next was the room that Bone painted for Tyler all those years ago, a big Spiderman on the wall. Chris and Lance loved that when they moved into the room. Fang stood there for a minute, staring at Spiderman and remembering the day that Tyler took all the Spiderman comics and was going to burn them.
Next to Spidey's head, he saw the shelf that still currently housed Bear, Wa-wa number two, although Tyler still didn't know about that, Fred the snake, and, of course, Sasuke. Fang felt something rise in his throat as he stared at them. For some reason, they never made it to the attic with the boys or over to Tyler's house now. It would be wrong for them to be moved now, so Fang left the room without touching them.
Cody and James' old room was almost too much. Not only was there the paintings of the now departed Damien and the tortured Bone, but also Luther's writings. Not to mention Cody was now dead.
"I miss you," he mumbled, but he wasn't sure if that was for his son or one of his friends. He had never noticed how scary that room was in the dark and now wondered how James and Cody managed to sleep in there at night.
Jason and Neo's room was now Clarke and Lucas' room, but Fang didn't have that many memories of it. Jason and Neo were never his main focus, except for the times when Gazzy was trying to steal Neo away.
Fang just stood in the doorway of Tabitha's room, not able to bring himself to go in there. No matter how many times he lied to himself, she was his favorite. He loved her so much. And he loved her daughter too. And his other daughter, Parker. And, no matter how much he hated to say it, he did love Adeem. Not that anyone ever needed to know that though.
His steps down the stairs were slow and deliberate. It was hard, thinking that this would be the last time that he walked down them. Even odder that there were no longer baby gates on them, which always seemed to be there.
He turned and went to the kitchen and to the backyard. Poor Tank. Fang loved Tank. And Snickers. And Fox. And Blood. And all the other, less important pets that he let the other kids have. Tank and Snickers though were the original and he missed them the most.
The garage was sad too, because there he found Tabitha's drums. He remembered her and Tommy spending all their time out there with those stupid drums. Then her and Adeem. And Tyler liked it out there too. In the darkness, he could only stare at their outline and try to keep it together.
Fang started dry heaving when he stopped in the living room, staring hard at Max's couch and then her television. He took a moment to sit in his chair and recompose himself before he got up and continued down to the hallway and stopped at the nursery, which had housed every baby starting with Lucas and Cody and working it's way down. He forced his breathing to remain even as he looked around the room one last time.
Fang stood at the master bedroom's door, just staring for a moment before creaking it open. It would stick in the summer from all the slamming it suffered, mostly at the hand of his wife. Fang's breathing threatened to mess up again, but he ignored it as he went over to his dresser. Opening one of the drawers, he pulled out some papers. He straightened them before setting them on the top of the now empty dresser, sighing a little. Everything was in order now. Where his house was going, who was getting the cars, how the things inside the house should be split up, and who got what amount of money. Fang took care of everything. He always would. And even in death, he would make sure that his kids were taken care of. Every last one of them.
Before he finished it all, Fang went into the bathroom, pulling off his shirt and jeans to stand in his boxers in front of the sink. He picked up the knife he had left out on the counter and held his arm over the sink. First he counted the names on his body. They were all there. Every last one of his kids. He always joked that if he had more skin, he would add his grandkids and maybe, if he were feeling generous, he'd add Sam. And maybe Adeem. That always made Adeem laugh that loud, annoying laugh of his.
He had purposely left a space running down the underside of his arm. Staring at his body in the mirror for another minute or two, he began to breath through his nose as he named off his kids in order.
Kevin. Tabitha. Tyler. Lucas. Cody. James. Neo. Jason. Lance. Chris. Drew. Nicky. Lawson. Parker. They were all there. They always would be. Until his flesh rotted off his bones, they would be stained on his skin. There was something missing though.
Fang took a sharp intake as he began to carve on his flesh, flashing back to when Max tried to cut the chip out of her arm. His wings opened on their own as he pushed the limits of his pain threshold. It used to be so high. Now he was old. Weak. He didn't deserve life anymore, much less did he want it.
M. A. X. I. M. U. M. Forever carved into his skin. Forever a part of him. Fang let it bleed for awhile, watching the blood pool in the sink. Setting the knife down, he stood there and waited for the blood to clot before going back to his bedroom, making sure to grab the picture from his discarded jeans on the way out. This time going to his bedside drawer, he sat the picture on top before he pulled two other things out; a handgun and a single piece of paper, where in his best handwriting, Fang wrote out his note.
When Bone and Luther killed themselves (He had finally come to terms with the fact that Bone's death wasn't an accident), the biggest problem everyone had was that they didn't leave notes. Fang would make sure that everyone understood him. It was something that he admired Damien for.
Damien knew that he was dying from cancer and had gotten everything in order. He paid off their new house, sat down with all of his children and talked to them, spoke to Fang and Max about making sure that Cameron didn't lose herself, and had his funeral arrangements all made. It was hard when he passed, but he made sure that everything was ready. Even patched things up with his father…to an extent. It was great.
"I told you I'd always take care of things, Max," Fang mumbled as he sat down on the bed. He read over his note, making sure that everything was addressed. It was. Good. He sat it down on the dresser next to him. It was then that he realized this was the first time he was in that bed since Max passed. He remembered getting that call that night. He had been out of town, visiting Iggy with Tyler. Tabitha called, but she couldn't get it out and had to give the phone to Adeem. Max wasn't dead yet, but was close.
She died that night before they got back.
"I always told you that I wouldn't leave you, Max. I'm so sorry. Ty was sick. He needed a break. I should have stayed with you." He let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding in. How long had it been in? It felt like…an eternity. "It'll be okay though, my little Max. I'll be with you now. I promised myself to you whether I'm living or dead. We should never be apart."
He laid down on the bed, setting the photo of Max and Tabitha on his stomach. Holding the gun in his hand, he stared into the darkness for a moment before pressing it to his skin, the cold of the metal being the coldest thing he had ever felt, except maybe the ice that had slowly incased his life the past few weeks.
Though he had said that he no longer had tears, he swore he felt something wet falling down his cheek as he pulled the trigger. If he had lived and was asked about it, he would have said it wasn't that he didn't have tears anymore. It was that he didn't have tears of sadness anymore. That one that fell down his cheek? That was surely one of joy. Surely.
Alright, let me explain myself, because I always swore never to touch Change/Eternity/whatever else again, but...In my defense, I was watching the Sex and the City movie and Big had just called the wedding off while I was reading the second chapter of Nevermore and I was suddenly depressed...so...I figured I should give a better ending to Eternity. It started out as a small, little epilogue, but when I start writing...people die. Like Fang. And Max. And Damien. And then Cody just for fun. So yeah. There is a second part to this that was originally part of this one, but I looked at my word count and figured I should end the first half there. So I've started part 2 and it should be up soon.