Me: Please?

Iggy: No.

Me: Pleeeeeeeeeease?

Iggy: NO.

Me: I'll give you anything you want!

Iggy: Anything I want? Hmm… -ponders briefly- Aha!! –smiles wickedly-

Me: (Uh-oh) What?

Iggy: You have to give me a super-mega-mucho jar of sour gummy worms…

Me: And?

Iggy: A year supply of foot massages.

Me: (groan) Fine! –forks over gummy worms-

Iggy: (imitating Mr. Burns) Excellent. Now, where's that foot lotion?...

Me: (ew) Now do it.

Iggy: Fine! CelestiallWings does not own Maximum Ride.

Me: Thank you

Iggy: -holds up foot lotion bottle- Now get to it.

Me: Ugh.

Max POV

I sat there in the downpour, cradling Fang's head in my arms and praying to every divine power that might exist that he was going to live. I was glad he was unconscious so he wouldn't feel the immense pain he would feel if he was awake.

Twenty seconds later I looked up and saw my flock streak through the rain and land with a splat as their sneakers hit the mud. All of their eyes widened-except Iggy's- and they rushed over to me squatting in the mud.

"Oh, my God," Nudge whispered. She started crying softly and knelt down next to me.

"Iggy," I said, a panic edge to my voice. He knelt down next to me and ran his fingertips along Fang's legs and back, as light as a feather. Gazzy and Angel stood next to me, both looking really young and scared.

"Oh, man," Iggy muttered, worry creeping into his tone. "This is really bad. We need to get him to a hospital. Now."

"How?" Sheer panic was now evident in my tone.

"First we need to brace his legs somehow," Iggy replied. I looked around helplessly, and noticed a small, dead tree about fifty feet away lying on its side.

"Angel, Gazzy, go rip off some branches from that tree," I said. They immediately sprinted to the tree and swiftly tore two long branches from the trunk. Next to me, Nudge took off her jacket and began ripping it into strips. Angel and Gazzy returned and gave the branches to Iggy, who began tying them to Fang's legs to brace them. While all this was happening, I was planning how to move Fang, gently stroking his face while I thought. Since we didn't have the access to a stretcher or even a flat piece of wood to carry him on, this was going to be tricky. Not to mention the fact that we all became almost paralyzed with fear when we were in a hospital.

Iggy finished bracing Fang's legs, and the younger ones looked at me with tear-filled eyes.

"Okay, Iggy, you and me will carry Fang between us. Nudge, Gazzy and Angel, keep on the lookout for a hospital or a clinic," I said, trying to keep my voice calm and even. They all nodded solemnly. Gazzy and Angel launched into the air, but Nudge stayed on the ground and looked at me with fear in her eyes.

"Max?" she asked timidly. "Will he be okay?"

Her big brown eyes were trusting and tear-filled. I decided lying wasn't the best thing to do right now, even though it pained me to tell the truth.

"I don't know," I said grimly.

She nodded glumly, then threw herself into the air. I felt so bad for no giving her at least a glimmer of hope. But what if her hope was squashed painfully later? No, don't even think about that possible future. Fang was going to live. My optimism was sour.

Iggy gently lifted Fang's legs into his arms, while I cradled Fang's torso and head. We couldn't do a running takeoff carrying Fang, so we bunched our leg muscles and jumped straight into the air using all our strength, while at the same time surging downward with our wings. We finally managed to make it to where the others were waiting, and turned west-northwest. Everyone was silent, even Nudge. It wasn't a calm silence, it was more of a silence created by tension and anxiety. It had finally, finally stopped raining, so we were able to fly without trouble.

I looked down at Fang and tears formed in my eyes. He looked so vulnerable, so helpless right now. What would I do without him? I wasn't sure what I would do, but whatever I did I was sure I would be miserable.

I looked at Fang's tanned face, at his hair blowing in the breeze. If Fang and I ever had children, I hoped they looked like him. I looked up and saw Angel watching me. I tried to smile, but the smile fell flat. She smiled a sympathetic smile that made me want to curl up in a ball and cry my eyes out.

"There!" Gazzy's voice carried over the wind. I quickly looked down and spotted the hospital immediately, probably because of the giant red cross painted on the helipad.

"Okay!" I shouted, then I angled my wings downward, and Iggy followed my lead. Within seconds we were on the ground and tucking our wings in. Iggy and I laid Fang carefully on the ground face down so we could tuck his wings in. We all winced as we heard the slight grinding of the bones in Fang's legs moving against each other. We had to get him inside fast, or his bones could start healing and set wrong. Nudge and the Gasman headed toward the ER doors as Iggy and I lifted Fang into our arms again. Angel stood close by in case we needed help. She stared at my with sad eyes as I grunted, hoisting Fang up.

He'll be okay, I kept telling myself. I prayed that I wasn't telling myself what I wanted to hear.

We ran as swiftly as we could across the parking lot and through the hospital doors into the waiting area. Nudge and Gazzy were at the counter talking to the nurse there, but they wheeled around when we burst through the doors. The woman's eyes widened as she took in Fang's limp and crippled form and our distraught, muddy, and somewhat tear-streaked faces. She picked up her phone and spoke into the receiver.

"I need medical personnel in the waiting area now," she said quickly. Nudge and Angel smiled thankfully at her.

"Max," Iggy whispered.

"What?"

"Are you sure we can trust them?" Iggy's eyebrows came together.

"I don't know, but we need to if we want Fang to live," I said, sighing.

Two seconds later four nurses came through the other set of doors pushing a gurney. They rushed over to us and carefully took Fang from us and laid him on the mattress. We watched in silence, then started to follow them, but one of the nurses stopped me in my tracks.

"Miss? Are you the young man's girlfriend?" he asked politely.

"Yes," I blurted without thinking. Well, I was, wasn't I? I peeked over his shoulder and watched Fang being rolled away quickly down they hallway, then the doors behind him closed.

"Could you tell me what happened and who those other children are?" the man asked again. I carefully searched his face, seeing if he had a feral gleam in his eye, or if he seemed demented like most whitecoats. I didn't see anything.

"The younger ones are his adopted brother and sisters. He's friends with the tall one, my brother." Wow creative. "We were outside babysitting his little brother and sister. He climbed up in a tree to hide from them, but he must have slipped because he fell, and he hit his back on some other braches, too." Even though it was a lie, tears blurred my vision as I remembered Fang being crushed by that stupid rock.

His mouth opened to ask me another question, but a nurse burst through the doors behind him. He turned around.

"Tom, they need you back there now," she said hurredly, then turned and went back through the doors again. The nurse turned back to me.

"Wait here, please," he said, then he went through the doors behind him. Like I could do anything else beside kick his ass. Should I follow him? I decided not to. The best thing to do right now was not create trouble, especially with Fang in his condition. I wondered if they noticed the wings yet.

Oh, crap. That's probably what they called the guy back there for. I looked at Angel, and she nodded. I groaned internally. Great, now we have to deal with the questioning and the getting on my nerves and anxiety about our secrecy yada yada. But Fang really needed help, so we just had to suck it up and beg the doctors not to call the FBI. Or just get Angel to control their minds. Probably the second one.

I looked around at my flock sitting in the waiting area. Nudge was flipping through a magazine without any interest. Gazzy was watching the small TV without any interest either, and Iggy was staring off into space with his sightless eyes. I could see pain in them, and I felt so sorry for him. Angel came up to me and took my hand and squeezed it. I smiled sadly down at her, but she just stared up at me with an expression that made her seem 10 years older. Because she knew Fang was up a creek without a paddle. And without a boat either. In rapids.

I sighed. Great.

Okay I am soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry for not posting for almost a month!! I had mega-super-ultra-uber-Jupiter-sized writer's block. They need to create a medication for that for authors, journalists, and fanfictioners. They could make a fortune!

I PROMISE to post the next chapter before or on Christmas! I swear on my stuffed moose's antlers. Not kidding.

Warning: The next chapter will be REALLY long! Just a heads up.

Fly free!

-C