I burst into the waiting-room. Suddenly, it was all to much. I couldn't stand the anesthetic smell any longer, and my already existing head-ache was now being topped off with a stress head-ache.

"Ella, I want to go home." My voice broke, and tears were welling up in my eyes, but I wouldn't let them fall. They wouldn't dare.

Ella didn't ask any questions as she nodded and quickly picked up her purse. I let her wrap a soothing arm across my shoulders as we walked out of the death trap.

Now, we were in the car. I was staring through the wind shield. My mind was blank. I wouldn't let myself think anything. I knew for once in my life I wasn't prepared to be optimistic. Everytime I thought something even relatively heart-warming, the weak flame was suffocated by a huge bucket of demeaning water.

"Ready to talk?" Ella asked as she kept her eyes glued to the road before her.

"No."

"You'll have to sometime Max."

"Not yet."

"Do you want me to stay the night?" She glanced at me from the corner of her eye. I had no answer to that yet, so I said nothing. She looked back to the road with a sigh.

The phone rang, breaking the silence. The only thread I could cling to in my life right now that I felt I had under my control. Silence, momentary peace, but now, that was gone.

Ella looked at me once more and then flipped open her phone. "Hello? Yes, this is she." Silence crept back as she listened to the person on the other line. "You would like her to come in Friday? Sure. I can make it happen." She slapped the phone shut again and slipped it into her pocket, all focus redirected back towards the road. "You have an appointment with Dr. Melrose Friday at 2:30."

"I have to pick up Indiana up from school."

"I can do that."

"Ok."

"Max, please communicate with me. I'm your sister."

"El-"

"Please Max." She gave me the puppy dog eyes. I couldn't resist, and she was right. It would be better to let it out than let all my emotions boil up inside and blow the lid off. Once I began to explain though, it was like the weakening of a dam, which burst, letting all the water storm out.

I began to sob. "Oh Ella, my babies won't have a mother!"

"They'll have Dylan." Ella consoled me.

"What good is he?" I cried out.

"Well, they'll have Ari and me."

"But they won't have me. I'll never be able to help Raven out with any boy troubles, or teach Indiana how to treat a woman right! What will they do without me?"

"Those poor dears..." Ella sighed, tears threatening to pour from her own eyes.

"Promise me El, that once I'm gone you'll love them and treat them right."

"I promise. I'll love them as if they were my own. In fact, I already do love them as if they were mine."

That relieved some of my stress. I sighed and sat back, still allowing the tears to flow, "Thank you."

"It's no problem at all." Today seemed like a day of a million firsts because for the first time, I wasn't being the strong one of the sisters, Ella was. It took me a few minutes, but I eventually pulled myself together. When the car pulled up to my house, I realized that I needed to be a good mother to my babies while I could be. They still needed me almost as much as I needed them.

Fang's P.O.V.

I didn't watch her leave. Instead, I looked back down at my clip board and sat at my desk. I pushed my glasses back up to the bridge of my nose, then read over her report once more. Maximum Martinez Ride had a long road before her, but so did all my other patients. Her case was one in millions, but really, life was the luck of the draw. She just didn't win this lottery. I moved on to reading over my next case, a man named Denver Sweets. What an odd name.

Brigid interrupted me half-way through my review of the case. "Are we still going out tonight?"

I finished one last sentence, then looked up to her slightly annoyed by her interruption. "Yes, Brig, we are."

She gave me a huge smile, "Great!" She turned to leave and then said one last thing, "That poor woman today."

"Maximum Ride?"

"Yes. I talked to her sister while you were discussing her problem. She asked me what was wrong with Maximum to calm her nerves. I told her it wasn't my business to tell. Apparently, she's a single mother of two kids."

"The sister?"

"No, Maximum."

"What's your point in telling me this?"

"I guess there isn't really a point, other than to relay the message that we should keep her and her kids in our prayers." Fang snorted.

"Sure Brigid. Now let me finish my report."

A/N Thank you for the reviews from ThatGirlAllys, U-Kiss, HeAt-StRoKe, and JeaslousMindsThinkAlike! They are very much appreciated! I'm not really sure what I want to consider this story. I'm between Hurt/Comfort, Family, Drama, and Romance, but Romance isn't a huge part of the story, I guess there will be some though.