Babies! Chapter four here. Moving right along.

I wanted to clarify that this will be a little bit of a FAX story, if you feel like it's lacking in that department. I'm just not going to make it unrealistic. Fang's feelings have to develop. They cant be forced too early on. And I've read too many fanfictions where the author unintentionally makes Fang look grossly obsessed with Max. He's not obsessed with the girl. He loves her, yes so much, but Fang is not obsessive. He's way too cool for that. And especially in these early chapters, Fang and Max haven't really realized their true feelings yet. They're starting to, but they haven't come to terms with it. okay, rant over. Onward with the story!

Reviews make my day. Go ahead and be my sunshine.

KarleeRay

Given my history, I bet you can all imagine how much I loved waking up in a hospital bed. Despite the drowsiness of the pain medication, I still managed to quietly freak out. All I can say is thank God the flock walked in when they did. I would have bolted, dizzy or not. Call it a bird kid thing.

Max had made a fuss about more pain medication when she realized I was conscious enough to know where I was and to want to high tail it out of there immediately. Despite my feeble protests, the girl just knew me too well. The doctors amped up my dosage, and I was out for the count until that night. It was kind of nice, I mean other than the fact that I almost died, and that I had a huge painful wound on my side, and that I was inside one of the last places on earth that I wanted to be. Other than those things, it was nice to rest up, in an actual bed, and to be able to actually relax. I mean, it was drug induced relaxation but hey, I'll take what I can get.

By nighttime, everyone was acting more like themselves. I was coming down off my meds and the flock was back to acting like themselves instead of acting like they were walking around on eggshells.

"The girls can have the bed," Gazzy said, proudly. "Iggy and I can sleep on the floor."

Oh brother. You'd think the kid would know by now. I looked at Max, waiting for the response I knew was coming.

She raised her eyebrows, incredulous. "Excuse me, sexist piglet? How about the two smallest people share the bed 'cause they'll fit. That would be you and Angel." Angel climbed up on the bed, and Max pulled back the covers and tucked her in, giving her a light kiss on the forehead. I had the sudden image of Max's lips coming down onto mine that time at the beach. I shook my head quickly, blaming it on the pain meds.

"Yeah," Nudge agreed. "Like I'm too much of a cream puff to sleep on the floor?"

Oh Lord. That kid was a Max in training.

Speak of the devil herself, and she shall appear. I watched Max as she came to sit on the end of my bed. She gave me a wry smile. "Of course the prince gets his own bed all to himself."

"That's right," I said as best as I could, doing my best not to slur my words. "The prince has a gaping side wound."

She rolled her eyes, but her relief was obvious. "Well they sewed you up. You're pretty gape-free at this point."

"When do I get out of here?" I asked, eyeing the walls with suspicion.

"They say a week."

"So, like, tomorrow?" I figured, applying bird kid healing rate to the equation.

"That's what I'm thinking."

"So, Fnick, can I change the channel?" Iggy asked from across the room. "There's a game on."

"Make yourself at home, Figgy," I told him with as much sarcasm as I could muster.

I slept hard that night, but not so hard that I didn't hear Max get up and pick her way over to the bathroom. I heard the faucet turn on, and then nothing for the next ten minutes give or take. I wanted to get up, go check on her, but my limbs felt heavy and sore. Finally, she emerged from the bathroom. I pretended to be asleep as she studied me. After a while, she gave a soft sigh and made her way back to her spot on the floor. What was that all about? My last thought was that I would ask her about it tomorrow, make sure everything was okay.

I was stirred from a deep sleep at around six in the morning by a nurse muttering about my temperature. I started to shrug her off then decided it was probably best if I didn't make a scene. The rest of the flock started to rouse, blinking sleepily against the lights the nurse had turned on. I wished she would let them sleep. God knew they needed it.

"God what time is it?" Iggy griped, hearing the others moving around.

"6:15," Max answered irritably, glaring at my nurse. She raked a hand through her tousled hair, looking exhausted.

My nurse took her hint to leave after she was finally satisfied with my temperature.

Iggy stood, stretching out his long limbs before making his way into the bathroom.

"Is it time to go?" Angel asked Max, who was on her feet by now.

"Not yet," Max murmured. "Go back to sleep." She made her way over to my bed, sat down at the foot of it. She studied me quietly. "You're looking better."

"I feel better," I replied, easily.

She nodded. "So here's the plan. I made a deal with this FBI agent."

Feeling me tense, she shook her head. "I know, but it's not like we have a lot of options here." She was speaking lowly, years of training and paranoia present.

"Go on," I said finally.

"We're going to stay at her house for a little while, just until we get back on our feet."

"What does she want out of it?" I asked, ever the skeptic.

She snorted. "To study us. What else?"

I stared at her quietly. "And you're sure this is a good idea? I'll be fine. You make decisions that benefit the flock, not just me."

We held each other's eyes for a long moment, a thousand silent messages running between us.

Finally, I nodded. "Okay."

I dozed off again after that, sleeping away the last of the pain pills.

Max roused me when the doctor returned to check my bandages. He was extremely gentle in his movements, which was unnecessary. I knew what he would find.

"I don't understand it," The doc said, staring down at my new scars in amazement.

Welcome to my world.

"Guess I'm good to go," I said finally, breaking the stunned silence. I was feeling more like my old self besides the soreness in my body.

I tried to sit up, but that FBI lady stopped me. "Wait! You're nowhere near ready to move or leave. Please, Nick, just lie still and rest."

I stared at her blankly. Who did she think she was? Telling me what I could and couldn't do?

"Nick, now that you're feeling a bit better, maybe you can convince your brothers and sisters to leave with me," Anne said, staring me down in a way that made me feel uncomfortable. "I've offered for all of you to come stay at my house, to rest and regroup. Max refused to leave without you. But I'm sure you can see that it's pointless for them to stay here and be uncomfortable. But you'd be joining us in a week or so," She finished, smiling.

I just looked at her, not saying anything, which wasn't out of character for me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Max lean against the wall, cross her arms over her chest.

"So, how do you feel about it, Nick?" Anne asked, looking at me expectantly.

My eyes slid over to Max's. Her face was completely blank until she let one side of her mouth droop.

"Whatever Max says," I said lowly, hating the smug grin that had appeared on her face. "She's in charge."

Anne turned to look at her, leaned up against the wall as if she didn't have a care in the world. "I can't leave Nick," she sighed. There was something in her tone that made her sound like she was mocking Anne, like she was toying with her. I had to hide my smirk. Sure I hated it when she used that tone with me, but when she used it on other people, especially grownups, well it was downright funny.

Anne stared at Max, her brow furrowing before my good ole doctor broke the silence. "If you all stay, maybe I could examine-"

Anne snapped out of whatever reverie Max's comment had put her in and turned to face the doctor, cutting him off midsentence. "Thank you, Doctor," she said with finality. "I appreciate all your help." Anne went up a point in my book right then.

"We heal really quickly," Max offered, after the doctor had gone.

My stomach twisted painfully in hunger, and I sat up. "What do I have to do to get some food in this joint?"

"You still have an IV. The doctors don't want you eating solid…." Her voice died out when I gave her a narrow eyed glare.

"We saved a tray for you," Max said simply, completely ignoring Anne. She picked up a tray with different foods mounded onto it and handed it over to me. I dug in, not even bothering to check what it was I was eating.

The food was cold and flavorless, but we've never been picky eaters. You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit, and all. Having been literally starved before meant we never took food at the ready for granted.

"I need to get out of here," I mumbled around a mouthful of food. "The hospital smells alone are making me crawl the walls."

Last night it may not have been so bad, but this morning when I felt more like myself, it was awful. I was fidgety and nervous, warding off unwanted memories that I've tried so hard to block out.

Max looked at me with understanding, before turning to Anne. "I think F-Nick is ready to come with us."

Anne looked over at me, wolfing down the last of the food, and I held her gaze steadily. "Okay," She said finally. "Let me go clear up the paperwork. It'll take about an hour and a half to drive to my home. I live in northern Virginia. Okay?"

"Yeah," Max answered. She waited until Anne left before speaking again. "I don't know what's coming, guys, but keep your eyes open and heads up." She stopped, looking at me. "You sure you can move?"

I shrugged, but seriously, I already felt like I could go back to sleep for a few hours. I laid back and closed my eyes. "Sure," I said.

"After all, Fnick, is Superman," Iggy said.

"Shut up, Jeff," Max snapped, but lifted Iggy's fingers to her face so that he knew she was smiling.

Be a doll and leave your thoughts in a review. Open to criticism or praise. Which ever floats your boat.