Catch and Release
Chapter 11
"Can'aloupe good."
Fang looked down at Carter, who was sitting next to him, eating a slice of the melon along with him.
"Mmmhmm." Fang took a bite of his own, shaking his head. "I have driving school in an hour, Carter. I'm gonna have to go."
"No, Owl." She wiped her sticky face on the side of his jacket. "Owl."
"I have to. I want to get a car. Or at the very least share Mommy's car."
"Mommy."
"Yeah."
"Owl mommy?"
"I don't got one." He kicked his feet back and forth. They were outside, sitting on the down tailgate off Ella's truck. Today was Evan's first birthday party, but Fang and Carter had snuck off to the front yard to eat his daily allowance of fruit. Later, when it was time for cake, Dr. Martinez had told him he could have some. For now though, he wanted as far away from the vet's backyard.
You'd think for a little kid's birthday party, it would be a dull affair. Especially for one who was too young to have any friends yet. Instead, Evan's birthday had more or less been turned into a drinking party for all the women's friends. Some had kids, who were in the back playing, but not all of them. Carter was supposed to be back there too, but she didn't seem to like any of the other kids. At all. This didn't really shock Fang, but all the girls were insistent that Carter play nice. Bleh. Who wanted that?
"We're better by ourselves, huh, Carter?" Fang patted her head gently. "Just the two of us."
"Owl." She nuzzled into his hand. "Owl."
"Here you are."
Fang glanced behind them as Max walked out the back gate, headed towards them. "The other kids are mean to Carter."
"Telling her that no, she can't take their toys is not mean."
Fang ignored that. "She doesn't like them, anyhow. She wants to spend time with me."
"Fang, I wanted you to meet my friends."
He snorted. "I've met them."
"Don't be like that. You come off as rude." She pushed his shoulder as she came to stand in front of them.
"I don't think Carter should be around this much alcohol."
"A few beers is not a lot of alcohol."
"Not if it were just the two of us drinking it," Fang argued. "Besides, there is more than beer going on. I thought this was Evan's party? Not Nudge's."
"Owl." Carter finished her cantaloupe and wiped her hands on his jeans before holding her hands out for Max. "Mommy."
"See? She wants to go back." Lifting her up, Max then asked, "Do you want to go play with your friends, Carter?"
"Owl?" She looked at him. "Owl?"
"Owl's gonna stay here and be a whiny little girl." Max sent him a look as Carter buried her head in her mother's shoulder. "I love you, Fang, but these are my friends. I've held off on introducing you guys, but now I am. Don't blow this for yourself."
It had been about two and a half weeks since Max and Fang officially started dating. They had attempted to introduce him to her friends multiple times, but it never panned out. Usually because of Fang's little flip outs right before. Max was very understanding for the most part, but even he could tell she was starting to get annoyed.
Sighing, Fang jumped down off the tailgate about ten minutes later before heading back into the backyard. He could see Ella sitting with some of her friends in the lawn chairs, drinking while gossiping about others. Then he saw Nudge with her friends, probably doing the same, though she was also helping feed Carter a hotdog. Well then. Fang should have known. Fruit would lose out to meat any day.
"Fang!"
Turning, he saw Max, standing with the few guys at the party. It was mostly women, which he wasn't fond of, but at least he didn't have to worry about his normal jealousy streak. Before he got all thinned out and lost his muscles, these guys would be no threat to him at all. Sure, Fang might be a tad overly confident, but he knew he was hot. Or, well, he used to be. Now, not so much.
The second he was with in grabbing distance, Max reached out and attached herself to him, leaning heavily into his side. Clearly, Max had been drinking too. He could smell it on her. It's not that he minded drinking, really, he just didn't like it taking place under the guise of a child's party.
Fang tried to shrug out of Max's hold, but it proved impossible as she dug her claws in and wouldn't let go. Sighing, he looked around at her three male friends. He had been introduced to them earlier, but he couldn't remember their names for the life of him. Not that he wanted to anyways.
"Fang used to watch football a lot," Max told the other guys, as if she needed to prove his manhood. Ugh. The most douchie looking guy, Fang would bet on the name Ryan if he had to, looked Fang up and down.
"What team do you follow?"
"None specific." Fang's throat was really dry and he wanted to excuse himself, but he couldn't get Max off him. How drunk was she?
"Fang likes baseball too. A lot." Max finally pushed away from him before walking away, headed towards Nudge, apparently thinking she needed help with feeding Carter that hotdog.
"So, Fang…I've heard a lot about you," the nerdier of the guys said, taking a sip of his coke. He didn't seem to be drinking any beer, which automatically made Fang happy with him. Not happy that he was friends with his girlfriend, of course, but happy none the less.
Not knowing what to say, as he was still getting used to human interactions again, Fang could only nod his head. The guy seemed to take that as enough of an answer and looked around for someone better to talk to. Or someone with boobs. There were plenty of those around.
"Owl!"
He glanced down to find Carter covered in ketchup at his feet.
"Owl." She glanced around at her mom's friends before giggling. "Hi."
"Hi, Carter," Ryan/other-douchie-name said, smiling widely at her.
"Hi!" She then turned back to Fang, arms held above her head. Wanting to stake his claim, Fang readily lifted her up. "Owl."
"Carter. " Then Valencia came over, trying to take her. Fang instead nodded at the guys before heading off with the girl, her grandmother following.
"You're supposed to be mingling, Fang," Valencia scolded as they passed Ella and her group. "Not playing with Carter."
"I don't want to make friends with their friends. Besides, they're mostly women."
"You can have female friends."
"Have you met Max?"
Carter yawned, cuddling into Fang. "Owl."
"She's tired."
"Here. Let me take her. You should probably get going anyways, if you're going to make it to your class."
"But what about the cake?"
She rolled her eyes at his childish tone. "I'll save you some."
"There are so many people-"
"Fang, go."
"Bye-bye, Owl?" Carter asked as she was handed off to her grandma.
"Bye-bye." Fang patted her cheek. "I'll see you later, Carter."
"Owl." She cuddled into her grandmother, yawning once more. "Owl."
"Goodbye, Carter." He gave her one last pat before looking around for Max, to say goodbye. Instead, he spotted Evan, playing in the grass with another baby, and figured he should say something to the birthday boy before he departed.
"Hi, Evan," Fang whispered when he got close enough. "Happy birthday, Evan Fang. Not much of a party, but considering you won't remember it, that's probably best. I have to go now, but I'll see you later, okay?"
Evan just glanced up at him before pooping on himself. Welp. That was Fang's cue to get out and he gladly took it.
"I love you."
"Love Mommy." Carter snuggled more into Max's side.
She was seated between Fang and Max, watching a movie. After his class, Fang headed over to Max's place, where his promised piece of cake was waiting for him. Carter, of course, couldn't stand for him to leave once he was done, so he agreed to watch a movie. She wasn't one to sit still for that long though. Still, Fang agreed, knowing that it was okay that she talked through the whole thing, seeing as it was a kid's movie; it wouldn't be that interesting anyways.
Fang glanced down at Carter before at Max. "I liked my cake."
Max smiled at him, wrapping an arm around Carter. "Mom made it, so it was good."
"Are you still buzzed?"
"Would it matter if I was? It's still a good cake."
He shook his head. "I need to go soon, but I don't want to leave you alone with Carter if you're drunk."
"Fang," she scolded. "It's not like I'm blackout drunk. I would never get that way. You know that."
He just looked back at Carter. "When I get another bed, you and Mommy can come over and spend the night at my house. I need a couch too though."
"At least we finally got you a mattress." Max shook her head. "I hated to think of you sleeping on the floor like a dog."
"Beats a cage any day."
"God, you're preaching to the choir."
"Owl baby." Carter reached over and poked him. "Owl baby."
"That's right." He grabbed her little finger and held it. "Huh? You're just a little baby, aren't you?"
"Yes." Pushing away from her mother, Carter crawled into his lap, snuggling into Fang. "Owl."
He just held her to him, trying to get her to stop wiggling. "Watch your movie, Carter."
"No. Owl." She rubbed her head into his stomach. His hoodie had just been washed the day before and she liked the smell of it. "Owl."
Sighing, Fang stroked her dark hair gently. "Do you not even want to watch this?"
"No." She closed her eyes. "Owl."
Now that there was a space open, Max scooted closer to her boyfriend, leaning against his arm when she was close enough.
"I think you like her more than me," Max mumbled to him. Still, Fang just kept staring down at his (possible) daughter. He had already gotten the possible taken off girlfriend, so here's to hoping, huh? "Do you like Owl, Carter?"
"Yes." She finally settled, now glancing back at the movie. "Nemo."
"Yeah." Fang poked her tummy, making her giggle. "Max, can we watch something else since she's not even paying attention?"
"You wanna watch TV, Carter?" Max got up to take the DVD out. "Fang wants to. You want to do what Fang does, huh, baby?"
"Yes. Owl." She turned in Fang's lap, sighing. "Owl."
"What?"
"Nice." She smelt him again. "Nice."
"You're nice."
"Bubble." She poked his stomach this time. "Owl?"
"What?"
"She wants more bubble bath," Max told him as she came to sit back down. "She's all out."
"Out, Owl."
"I'll have to buy some more, huh, Carter?" He leaned down, staring at her. "If you want me to that is."
"Yes, Owl."
"You're gonna have to learn to say Fang eventually," Max told her. "Can you say Fang, Carter?"
"We've tried. I don't think she wants to. I think she just likes saying Owl."
"It's cute at least."
Fang picked up the little girl and sat her in her mother's lap. "Bathroom."
"Ew. Boys are nasty, huh, Carter?"
"Evan."
"Yeah. Evan's real nasty," Max agreed.
Shaking his head, Fang went into the restroom, though it was really just to wash his hands and splash cold water on his face. He had become rather clammy all of a sudden. Staring at himself in the mirror for a moment, Fang whispered to himself to calm down. Nothing was wrong. At all. In fact, everything was pretty perfect at the moment.
So what was wrong with him?
After a few more deep breaths, Fang left the bathroom, headed right back over to the couch. Somehow during his short time in the bathroom, Carter had fallen asleep.
"The party probably wore her out."
Fang lifted the baby up gently. "I'll put her in her room."
"Come back when you're done."
Oh, he would.
After depositing Carter in her bed and making sure that she had her favorite stuffed animals with her, he went back out to Max, who was now lying down on the couch.
"Come lay with me."
He frowned. "Max-"
"Just come on, Fang. Don't be so afraid of everything." She pushed up on her elbows. "You know I've never hurt you. And I never will."
Clearing his throat, he said, "It's hurting me, not knowing if-"
"Not this again," she groaned, falling back down. "Fang-"
"Max, you don't get it. You know that she's yours. I just-"
"I don't want her hurt."
"I'll get hair from her hairbrush, not pull it out of her head."
"Not for the test, idiot, from the test."
Fang came closer. "How would me being her dad hurt her?"
'It wouldn't. At all."
"I don't get it."
"You not being her father would."
"Max." He stood in front of the couch, staring at her. "I'll be her father either-"
"Shhh." Max sat up again, putting a finger to his lips. "Don't make promises you can't keep."
"I can keep it."
"You can't keep it. There's no way you can keep it. You don't know how you'll feel. You won't-"
"I know how I feel right now." He spoke quickly, not wanting to be cut off. "I feel cheated, Max. All this time I'm spending with her, having to say that she's your daughter, when she could be my daughter. When she could call me Dad or Daddy or whatever instead of Owl. When she could come stay the night at my place, in her own room, with her own toys, in her own bed. You've gotten all this time with her. I want my share."
"You're spending time with her. Just about everyday."
"That's not enough. I want her to know."
"She doesn't even know what a dad is, probably. No one in her life has one."
Well, that was pretty damn depressing, when you thought about it. Fang just shook his head.
"She'll be different, alright? Evan, Sebastian, I can't help them. I can her though."
"What do you know about being a father?" Max laid down once more. "Nothing. The closest thing you had was Jeb and he betrayed us all."
Fang just stared for a moment. "So that's it then? It's not that you don't want me to know, it's that you don't want me to be."
"What? God, no, Fang. You are, in my mind."
"You don't think I'm good enough, is that it?"
"Did I say that?"
"You might as well have."
"Well, I didn't. I'm just saying that you haven't been around long enough to know if you really want to be involved in Carter's life in that way. That's all."
"Well, I do. Alright? Huh? Huh? Is that alright?"
"Fang, don't blow up."
"It's hard not to, Max. How long do you expect me to wait? If you honestly think that I'm just going to run off if the test doesn't come back my way, then shouldn't we do it now? Before anything gets messy?"
She stared at him for a moment. "You know what? Yeah, Fang, let's do it."
"And another thing… What?"
"You want the test? Huh? Then fine, we'll get one. Will that make you happy? Will that shut you up?"
Nodding numbly, he began to realize that even though he had won the battle, Max no doubt had the war in her back pocket. And that victory would probably begin with him getting kicked out.
"Then just go."
See?
Fang stared at her for a moment longer. "I'm not coming back tonight."
"Good. I don't want you to."
With that, Fang turned and got his shoes before leaving.
"Hello?" Fang groaned, rolling over on his bed. It was a pretty cheap bed, which was good for his wallet, but bad for his back. However, he had to buy sheets, a mattress, and a box spring, so he couldn't be too picky.
"Fang?"
"Gas?" He slipped his eyes shut again. "I'm kind of sleeping."
"It's nine in the morning."
"I just got off work about three hours ago. I work night shifts."
"Oh, sorry. I'm sure someone mentioned that."
"What did you want?" Fang asked, trying to get him to the point.
"Angel called me and told me to tell you that she's coming to see you guys."
"…Why couldn't she tell me?" Fang asked, suspicious.
"I dunno. That's between the two of you," Gazzy said. "What happened anyways?"
"Nothing," Fang sighed. "Look, I have to go, alright?"
"Alright, I guess. Goodbye, Fang."
"Yeah. Bye."
After hanging up on the Gasman, Fang rolled over and glanced towards his floor, where a digital alarm clock sat. He and Max technically had no plans for the day, so he wasn't tied down to anything. Not to mention, she was still probably pretty mad at him. So yeah, mark hanging out with her off his list.
"Can still go see Carter," Fang mumbled, pushing himself out of bed. "Could still do that."
But did he want to? Yes. But that would mean seeing Dr. Martinez and/or Nudge. Maybe even Ella. Shudder. Yeah, if Carter was over there, Fang was pretty sure he wasn't allowed to see her. So far though, since Max and Ella got into that fight about him and Sebastian, the two half-sisters hadn't had much interaction. Part of him sort of felt bad about causing a rift between them, but wasn't sure what to do about it. Max had told him to stay away from Ella, so he had to follow orders.
Follow orders. He felt like he was a teen again.
Sighing loudly, Fang dressed hurriedly before searching around for his phone, needing to find out where Carter was exactly before a plan of action could be devised. After texting the vet and Nudge, he then set out on finding something to eat. Again, Valencia and her rules.
Ella, in a vain attempt to make peace with her sister, had given Fang an old mini-fridge she found in her garage. This only fanned the flames more, as Max was still slightly angered over him staying at her sister's for that short while. Still, he took the fridge, if only because he needed it.
What good was having a microwave if you had nothing to put in it?
Alongside his miniature fridge and his microwave, Fang now also had some plastic cups, forks, and spoons. He wasn't sure why he needed plastic silverware, as Carter seemed perfectly fine with using her hands and he had no preference, but Max insisted. So he did it. What else was new?
When he finally got a text back saying that Carter was at work with her grandmother, along with Evan, Fang set out to find the city vet's office, wanting to rescue the two kids from boredom. When he found them, they were anything, but bored.
"Owl.'
Carter was sitting down in the lobby floor, tending to the pets waiting to be treated. This meant giving them treats and petting them, if their owners allowed, which in most cases they did.
"Owl," she said again, pointing him out to the Beagle that she was petting. The lazy dog glanced his way before shutting his eyes again.
"Carter." Fang moved to head over to her, but a voice stopped him.
"May I help you?"
Glancing up from his (possible) daughter, he saw that he was being stared at by the receptionist. Great.
"Carter's my…" His what? He knew what he'd liked to say, but also knew that Max and the others probably wouldn't like that much. So, instead, he took a moment to clear his throat before beginning again. "I'm Fang. I'm staying with Dr. Martinez."
"Owl," Carter told the woman before using the owner of the Beagle's legs to get up. Fang immediately reached out and grabbed her, apologizing softly to the man, who just nodded his head.
"Quite alright, sir," he told him, speaking with an accent that Fang couldn't place.
"Owl." Carter patted his cheek. "Hi. Nigh-nigh?"
"I went home last night. I had work."
"Hmmm." She didn't seem to concerned nor interested in that, which Fang was kind of glad for.
"Hmmm?" He repeated back to her, sighing when she laid her head on his shoulder. "Is she here?" He asked, the question posed to the receptionist, who seemed to realize now who he was.
"She's in with a dog right now. Bad toothache. She'll be out in a minute."
Could dog's get toothaches? Shaking his head slowly, Fang went and sat down in the chairs on the opposite wall of the older man, kind of leery of him. Or maybe just possessive of Carter. Probably that one.
"Owl," Carter said again, giggling as she sat down in his lap. "Hi."
"You've already said that," he whispered to her.
"Owl?" She held out her hand, a doggie treat in it. "You?"
"I'm not a dog, Carter."
She just giggled finding that hilarious for some unknown reason. Shaking his head again, Fang closed his eyes slightly, running his hand down her back, trying to get in between her wings, as he knew her mother always found that pleasurable.
"Owl." She shifted, moving to lean against him. "Lin'a."
"Hmmm?"
"That's my name."
He glanced over at the receptionist. "Huh?"
"Linda. That's what she's trying to say." The brown haired woman smiled. She seemed to be slightly younger than him, but not by a lot. "I've heard a lot about you. Especially from Carter. You're Owl, right, Fang?"
He nodded slightly. "Yes."
"You're all she ever talks about now, when I see her." She shook her head, a soft smile playing on her lips. "Owl this, Owl that. You like him, huh, Carter?"
"Owl." She nuzzled his stomach. "Owl."
Bouncing her slightly, Fang glanced over at one of the doors leading into the back as it opened.
"Okay, Mrs. Roger's, you and Kinder are all set." Valencia came out of the back with a woman who was leading her dog out. Carter quickly jumped from Fang's lap and rushed over to the dog.
"Kin'er." She fed the big Labrador the doggie treat she tried to give to Fang, getting a good reception this time.
As Mrs. Roger's went to pay her bill, Valencia addressed the only other person waiting, which was the old man from before.
"What are you doing back?" She asked, staring at him. "Huh, mister?"
Fang frowned at her playful tone. Apparently, she knew this man. The guy in question took his hat off and stood up to address her. Oh boy. Sighing, Fang settled in the chair, as he had yet to be noticed.
"Well, Martian isn't feeling well. He's picking at his paw again."
"Have you been using that spray on it, like I asked?"
"Yes, yes."
"Then I'm not sure what you would like me to do."
"Maybe you should just examine him. I would like that."
"Dave, I don't think-"
"It would ease my mind."
Valencia shook her head, noticing Fang for the first time. "Don't tell me you're biting at your paw too."
As the other man had stood, Fang figured he should also.
"No," he said, stretching slightly. "I came to get Carter. Or Evan. Or both. No, not both. I can't…I can't carry them both back home with me. Nudge told me they were here. I wanted them. One of them. Carter. Or Evan. But really Carter."
Everyone, save Carter and the dogs, was staring at him, so Fang cleared his throat.
"I just wanted to see if I could take her."
"Of course," Dr. Martinez told him, writing something down on her clipboard. "Carter? Do you want to go with Owl?"
"A'minals."
"I think they'll be fine without you, dear. Go get your stuff out of my office, huh, and go with Fang. He'd like that."
"Owl." Carter patted Kinder before rushing over to the Beagle on the ground and giving him her last doggie treat. Then she ran to the door Valencia came from, waiting for it to be opened for her. After she was gone, Fang sat back down and Dr. Martinez led Dave and his animal away. Once the woman and Kinder were gone, Linda spoke to Fang.
"Dave comes in here all the time with stupid stuff. I think he had a crush on Dr. M."
Dr. M. Fang hadn't heard that in forever. Sighing, he nodded at the girl, not really wanting to be a part of her gossip, but also not wanting to come off as rude.
When Carter returned to Fang, he readily took her away, not even asking to see Evan. He felt for the boy, he really did, but if he had to make a choice, it was obvious that he would choose the little girl.
"Owl." Carter wrapped her arms around his neck as they walked along, her having a little backpack on her back that held her stuffed animals and toys. "Nest?"
"If you want, Carter." He bounced her slightly. "Do you like going to work with your grandmother?"
"Yes. Yes, Owl." She patted his cheek. "Fuzzy."
Fang shook his head. "I'm going for a full beard."
"Soft." She rubbed his face gently. "Owl."
"Stop it." He shifted her in his arms slightly. "You're too touchy, Carter."
"No."
"Yes." He moved away slightly when she tried to rub him again. "Stop it."
"Owl."
"Can't you speak in sentences yet?" Fang made a face at her. "You just saying Owl over and over again is kind of annoying."
She just laid her head on his shoulder. "Nap."
"Are you okay, Carter? You sure have been sleeping a lot. Maybe you should go to bed earlier."
Yawning, she tried to take off her bag, but Fang told her to keep it on; they were almost home.
Home. His home. Their home. One day. Hopefully.
When they got there, Fang took her and her toys to his room, where he deposited both on the bed. After dumping the bag onto the bed, she snuggled in with her stuffed animals. Fang left to do his check and when he returned, she was sound asleep.
"Oh, Carter." He sat down on the edge of the bed. "You might be mine. You know that? My little baby. And when people ask who you are, I can say that you're my daughter. My kid. My life. My world."
When she didn't say anything, he realized that she really was asleep. So, after scooting over some of her stuffed animals, he kicked off his shoes and laid down next to her, drifting back to sleep.
Again, Fang's phone woke him up. By that point, Carter was up anyways, playing with her stuffed animals on the bed.
"Owl," she said as he answered the phone. "Hi."
He just sat up, patting her on the head. 'Hello?"
"I have the stuff."
Max…
"What stuff, Max?"
"The DNA kit stuff."
"Huh?"
"I bought a home kit."
"You can do that? That's legit?"
"How do you think people do DNA tests, Fang? We take the samples and then send them into the labs. A few days and bam, we know the answer."
He glanced at Carter, who was chewing on Robbie. "Really?"
"Yes. You want to do this right? You really want to?"
He could hear in her voice that her opinion on the matter hadn't really changed. Had his?
"Yeah. I really do."
"Bwa!"
Fang just sighed as Carter yelled at her food before smashing it up with her hands. He had seen some of the kids at Evan's birthday party that were her age; they knew how to eat with a fork. Not Carter, never Carter.
"You're making a mess," Max complained to her. She had allowed Fang to come over for dinner, but she hadn't been very receptive towards him, but that was understandable, given the fact they were fighting. Besides, he won, right? Why gloat about it?
"I'll clean her up," Fang said, thinking that that would smooth things over somewhat. All it really did was cause Max to give him the stink eye. Okay. So mark being nice off his list of things to do.
"Whatever, Fang. You can't just always clean up after her. Eventually, she'll need to stop getting dirty."
He figured that this was some sort of code or at least contained some kind of double meaning. Unable to find one, he just decided to answer honestly.
"She's still a little kid, Max. I can clean up after her."
"Oh, can you?"
"Yes, I'd like to think I can."
They were all three seated on the living room floor of Max's apartment, eating macaroni and chicken. Carter seemed to be enjoying herself, but the two adults in the room looked less than pleased. The little girl was, of course, oblivious to this, and went right on mashing up her food, randomly deciding to stick some in her mouth. She didn't understand how Mommy and Owl managed to eat without testing out how the food felt on their fingers first. It was ludicrous!
"Owl." Carter reached up towards him, holding out her yellow-stained hand. "Foo'?"
"He has his own, Carter," Max said. Fang was glad for that because the last place he wanted Carter's filthy hand was his mouth.
"I'm good, Carter." He reached over and patted her head, not wanting her to think that he wasn't appreciative towards the offer. "Thank you though."
"Owl." She just smiled at him before sticking that disgusting hand into her own mouth, the only way she seemed to know to eat. "Owl."
"Can she not talk in full sentences?" Fang posed the question towards the girl's mother. "She's starting to annoy me by just repeating Owl over and over again."
"What? Carter? Annoying?" Max rolled her eyes. "Thought you wanted to be-"
"Shut up, Max." He ripped off a piece of his chicken and held it out to the little girl, sighing when she ate it right out of his hand, no hesitation. "I'm not in the mood."
"Then why don't you just leave then? Huh?" Max was staring to get irritated, but Fang wasn't so sure that wasn't her natural mood now. Maybe it always had been and he had just never noticed before. She was probably born that way.
"Because, Max, I want to be with Carter." He reached over and wiped the girl in question's face, which was only a precursor for the more heavy duty that would be required later thanks to him allowing her to eat the way she was. "Besides, Max, she wants me here."
"Oh, whatever. She hardly even knows you and you definitely know nothing about her."
That wasn't true, really. Fang knew that she preferred crunchy peanut butter, but didn't like regular peanuts. He knew that she liked to go swimming, but since it was now autumn, Dr. Martinez wouldn't let her. He knew that half the time her favorite color was blue and the rest it was black. He knew that she liked flying, dogs, cats, and birds. She thought that Sebastian was the coolest thing ever, but he also knew that he was slowly catching up to the nearly teenaged boy. She thought that biting was her best bet to ward off an unwanted attack or punishment and she almost had her full set of baby teeth. Eighteen, to be exact. He also knew that she couldn't watch Bambi anymore because she cried when his mother died and that she thought him crossing his eyes was the coolest trick ever.
Fang knew things about Carter. Maybe not the things that Max thought he should, that qualified him to be her father, but he knew nearly all the other stuff. Besides, he was still learning. And he'd keep learning too. Even if Max was deadest against it.
"I'll learn more," he said simply, not wanting to fight. "She'll learn about me too. She's interested in me, at the very least."
As if to reiterate this, Carter reached over and ran her dirty hand across his jeans, getting any extra gunk of. Then she jumped up, ready for her bath so she could go to bed.
"Owl? Bubbles?"
Smiling, Fang went over to the bag he had brought over with him. "Here. I picked this up before work last night."
"Scooby!" She rushed to take the bottle in the shape of the dopey dog that held her precious bubble bath. "Owl!"
"I thought you'd like it. I guess I do know some stuff about you, huh, Carter?"
Max rolled her eyes. "Go clean off your jeans and then run her bath."
When he opened his mouth to object, she quickly cut him off.
"You wanted to be Daddy."
Holding his tongue, Fang went into the bathroom to wash off his jeans, calling out to Carter to follow.
"Wha'?" She went in behind him, watching as he used a washcloth to wash off his jeans.
"We have to turn on the faucet." He went over to the bathtub when he was done, doing so. "Then you have to wait for the water to warm up."
Carter glanced up at him. Why was Owl telling her all this? Was he trying to learn himself? She had seen Mommy do it before. She knew how to take a bath. She wasn't a baby. She wasn't Evan. She decided Owl must not know. Yeah. Poor Owl, not knowing how to take a bath.
"Here are her night clothes." Max came in behind them, setting the pajamas on the closed toilet seat. "Can you bathe her, Fang?"
"I've never bathed a kid before."
"Just make sure you don't get the water too hot or too high. And watch her. Kids can drown fast in a bathtub."
"You trust me to bathe her?" Heck, he could hardly remember to bathe himself.
"Why are you so shocked…Daddy?"
"Stop taunting me."
Max shrugged, taking the bottle of bubble bath from her daughter before plugging the tub and putting a capful of the bubble bath in there. "All you have to do is make sure she washes herself. It helps I you tell her a body part, like her arm or ear or something. She likes games."
Too bad for Fang that Max didn't tell him how messy bath time was. Carter splashed water everywhere. On him, on the floor. She was a monster.
"You're soaked," Max observed a while later when he came out with a clean and sleepy Carter.
"She threw water at me. Multiple times."
"Did I forget to tell you that? I figured you'd just know, seeing as you know so much."
Fang just bounced Carter in his arms. "She's sleepy. Come tell her goodnight."
"Alright, Daddy."
"Stop it."
"I'm just teasing, Fang." Max followed him into Carter's bedroom. "Carter, where's Robbie?"
She pointed to the floor. "Dere."
Max got him and sat him on the bed, where Fang also quickly placed the little girl.
"Lockheed."
Pleased, Fang got him too, lying the dragon next to her on the bed. "You like Lockheed, huh, Carter?"
She nodded, snuggling her stuffed animals to her. "Owl."
He reached out and stroked her hair. "You ready for your story?"
"Yes."
Max got into bed with Carter while Fang took his place on the floor, grabbing a book from behind him. The book was a rather lengthy one so by the time he finished it, Carter had fallen asleep. Max was swift, but gentle as she disentangled herself from her daughter and stood.
"Come on." Max pressed her hand into his, leading him from the room before he could even tuck Carter in better. He followed though, as he always did. Max was his leader, now and forever.
"Are we fighting?" He asked as she stopped short in front of the couch.
"A little bit, yeah."
Nodding, Fang shook his hand from hers. "Alright."
"You're just happy that you're getting your way."
"Not yet I'm not." He wouldn't have his way until he was for certain that Carter was his. "Besides, Max, wouldn't you rather just know and get it over with?"
She shook her head slightly, not saying anything. Which was fine. Fang didn't care much about her opinion on the subject. He'd feel bad for her if this test didn't turn in their favor, but she had always known there was a chance of that. Of course he had his sympathies, but his desire to know the truth outweighed them.
"How do we do this?" He asked. "The test?"
"I have the kit. We swab the inside of her mouth with a cotton swab and yours and send them in. Give a few days and we'll know." She looked off. "We'll worry more about it tomorrow, alright?"
Nodding, Fang took a step closer. "It's nothing personal, Max. You know that."
"Shut up and go home. Or work. Or wherever you're going." She took a step back. "I don't want to talk to you right now."
Sighing, Fang reached out and tried to touch her cheek. Max just pushed his hand away though. "I'm not doing this to hurt you."
"Go."
"Whatever, Max. If she is my daughter though, just know that you're not going to pressure me into anything. She'll be just as much mine as she is yours. You get that don't you? I'm gonna be in Carter's life, Max. And your bull about me not knowing how to? Same to you. You didn't have a mom and you seem to be doing pretty damn well. What makes you think I can't?"
When she didn't say anything, he just walked out. He had been waiting for her to call for him, to stop him, but when she didn't he just head right on to out to work.
