Fang just happens to be my favorite Maximum Ride character and I did not want him to die or leave. But he did both. At least he came back from the dead. Now you have to read to see if he comes back to Max too. Sorry if it's not great, it was like 10 o'clock at night when I wrote this. But still, I hope you like it. Please review even if you don't.

Disclaimer: Because I am not a guy, I could not possibly be James Patterson. Since we all know he wrote the books, this (sadly) means that I do not own the Maximum Ride characters.

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Only Dreaming?

"Max."

"What?" I muttered, grumpy from lack of sleep. If that was Gazzy or Iggy waking me up about that stupid blender for the second time tonight, they were going to regret it.

"Max," the same voice said again.

That was when I realized that the voice didn't belong to Iggy or The Gasman. I tried to place it, thinking maybe it was the Voice, waking me up for something it deemed important. By the Voice, I mean the voice I hear in my head, the one that often tells me useful advice. The Voice's advice had saved the flock many times before, so I replied, "What is it now?"

"Max, wake up," I heard it say softly.

Wait a second, that didn't sound like the Voice either. For one thing, the Voice would never wake me up so gently, and also, this new voice sounded recognizable. This voice was very obviously masculine. It seemed so familiar, almost as if the name was on the tip of my tongue.

"Max, it's me," This new voice whispered.

My eyes flew open as the name clicked into place. I should have recognized it right away; I would know that voice anywhere.

"Fang," I whispered back.

"It's me, Max."

I looked around my current bedroom, seeing nothing but shadows cast from the moon peering through the windows. In the moon's light, the pictures I had laid on my desk earlier were illuminated. They were pictures from when the flock was whole, and everyone was together.

Gazzy, Iggy, Angel, Nudge, Fang, and I were all in the pictures. There were also pictures of the newer additions to our family, like my mom, Total, and Dylan. My favorite was of Fang, taken by yours truly. He was in the air with his dark wings fully extended. I could see the picture, but not the real thing.

"Fang, where are you?" I asked louder, hoping I wasn't imagining things. This wasn't like the other dreams where he told me that he wanted me back no matter how it affected everyone else. Those dreams always ended in kissing and happily-ever-afters. This dream seemed more real, and I had no idea how it was going to end.

"I'm right here," his voice came from behind me, causing me to jump.

I turned to see nothing but shadows. Remembering his talent at blending into darkness, I told him, "Fang, you idiot, I can't see you when you're completely still like that."

I watched his dark form slowly detach itself from my wall as he moved closer to the bed. He was dressed in black jeans and a dark shirt as always, and it was all I could do not to run to him and throw my arms around him. He sat on the edge of my bed, carefully to avoid touching me.

"How did you find us?" I asked him.

"Bird kids leave a major media trail," was all he said. Fang was always taciturn, but I was hoping for a little more than that. Especially after the sappy letter he left when he said goodbye.

"Oh," I just looked at him, taking in the tiredness evident in his face. Fang's face was always closed off, and now was no exception. I used to live for those times when he let me into his world, when he let me know what he was thinking behind those dark eyes. Right now, he looked like he had no intention of doing that.

I really wanted to ask him why he was back, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer. So I just sat there. It was like a game of chess, and I was waiting for him to make the first move. So I waited... And waited. But he still didn't say anything.

"Fang?" I asked warily. "Are you back? Like… to stay?"

He still didn't say anything. His patience was one of my favorite qualities; it did, after all, allow him to tolerate me. But he knew I had less than a tenth of that annoying patience.

"Fang?" I asked again. Still no reply. "Don't make me have to kick your butt Fang," I threatened. "Answer me."

I only noticed the slow smile spread across his face because I was watching him so closely. "Yes, Max," he said.

"Yes, what?" I demanded. "What are you saying yes to?"

Then he said the words that never failed to make my heart skip a beat.

"I'm choosing you, Max."

I couldn't hold back anymore, I tackled him in a hug.

Sure, we had issues to work out. There was Dylan, the flock, power-hungry Angel, and a whole bunch of other things. But right now, all I saw was me and Fang, and we were together. So everything was going to be all right.