Again, sorry I took forever. I've been having a few emotional issues…But I had some spare time so I thought I'd write. Enjoy!

I don't own Maximum Ride, of course.

Max's POV

I had to land first, with Iggy following the sound to land after me. He stumbled a little bit. I figured he was a little sedated. Those Whitecoats had to have done something to him, to be able to take him away and do what they had done to him. They hadn't looked hurt. Iggy hadn't fought back, which meant he was drugged.

My leg couldn't support my weight, and I collapsed to my knees. It hurt, since my leg was a bloody mess and I'd just banged both knees against the rock bottom of the cave…

Iggy heard it, even though I didn't voluntarily make a sound. He had stayed standing in the mouth of the cave, not doing anything in particular. His head perked up, but he didn't move towards me.

"Iggy?" I asked. "Are you okay?"

No answer.

I sighed. "Fine. Be like that. When you die from blood loss, don't cry to me." I sat back against the rock wall, eyeing the blood that was still flowing down from the scars on his chest and stomach. I guessed flying hadn't helped…But I pretended not to care. I didn't want to contradict myself. I had too much pride.

Yeah…Way too much pride…Especially right now…

He glared at me the only way a blind person can. I expected him to spin around after making his point without words and not look at me. But instead he kept looking at me, and he knew I was looking right back into his eyes as the expression in his changed.

First he was glaring at me. Then he looked more…I don't know what to call it…Afraid? Nervous? Something of that nature. Then he looked angry again, but a much less intense anger, more like annoyance. He finally sighed and he turned away from me, looking off randomly to the side. He clearly had no idea how he felt or what he was thinking or what he wanted to say…And neither did I.

It was really hard to pretend not to care about his wounds, because I did care. I could tell he was in pain, by the way he moved when he finally sat down, facing away from me and out of the cave. And it was obvious that there was a lot on his mind. Same thing with me.

I decided that I should talk to him. I was sure it would be for the best.

Disregarding the pain in my leg, I stood up and went over. I stood beside Iggy for a moment, unsure, then sat down beside him, deciding I couldn't turn back now and it needed to be done. My leg was killing me, so I stretched it out in front of me. My jeans were torn and soaked with blood, but the stain was turning to a reddish-brown color as the blood dried. I guess my quick-healing abilities were coming in handy. But it didn't help with the pain…

I couldn't postpone this talk much longer. I looked over to Iggy.

He looked angry in the way the Fang usually looks angry and pissed off. Just quiet and withdrawn…glaring out at the rest of the world…

But it was a lot different than when Fang did it. Because Iggy was a completely different person than Fang and I really had to stop comparing them…

"What's on your mind, Igs?"

"Nothing." he replied after a short pause.

I touched his arm. He kind of jumped at the contact. And not because he was blind. It was an intentional flinch away from my hand. That made it worse.

He clearly didn't want me to touch him, and if I wanted him to forgive me for what I did I shouldn't touch him. I sighed. "Iggy, talk to me."

"Words are coming out of my mouth and they are directed at you, so I am talking to you."

His moody side usually only came out when something big was on his mind.

"No. Not good enough. Talk to me about what's wrong."

He was staring straight ahead, probably not even aware that he was looking right out onto some pretty impressive scenery.

"Iggy. Talk. Now."

He pulled his knees up and put his arms around them, hiding his face in his arms. The movement must have caused some pain to the wounds on his chest, since he flinched and his grip around his knees loosened. "Don't tell me what to do…"

I sighed. "I will tell you what to do."

"You can tell me what to do but I don't have to listen."

"But I can ask you and you know that I want to know for your own good so you'll tell me."

He paused. I could tell that he didn't really have a good response to that.

"Exactly. So tell me now."

I felt like a total bitch when I realized that he was wobbling a little bit, and that he was paler than usual.

"Damn it, what are we doing…" I said, half to myself. "We need to get your wounds taken care of…"

He didn't do anything as I examined the areas where he'd been hurt. The scars had started healing. At least we healed quickly. The scars looked like they were barely closing the wounds, like if he moved they might burst open.

I figured I needed bandages. But we were in a cave. Nothing to use. We could use our jeans…But both of our jeans were pretty much covered in blood and wouldn't help.

Moving to the front of the cave, I scanned the horizon, looking for a town or something that might have a little store where I could buy something with the money I didn't have…It was getting dark now, but that would make it easier to find cities. But there was nothing. I couldn't see anything, not even with my raptor-vision…

But I happened to know that, if I hurried, the house was only a 30-minute flight away…I knew I had heavy-duty bandages at home that would work…Plus I could get some extra clothes and stuff that we might need…

I looked back down at Iggy. He was still kind of curled in on himself. Not in a way that screamed that he was in agonizing pain, but in the way that said he was having emotional troubles and needed to be left alone to sort things out.

Sighing, I made a decision.

"Iggy?"

"I'm not talking."

"Fine. Be stubborn. But that's not what I want to ask you now."

"Then what is it?"

"I might need to fly home and get some stuff really quick. Can you stay here and wait for me?"

"Sure. Fine."

"No I mean it."

I leaned down, grimacing because of my leg, and sat down in front of him with my hands on his shoulders.

"Iggy, I really need you to stay here. I'll be back and I want you to be here when I get back."

"And why do you think I'll leave?"

"I don't know, exactly, but I want you to promise. I don't want you to fly and get hurt any worse. The Whitecoats could still be out there, and they could see you if you fly. Okay?"

"Fine."

His face was a mask. I had no clue what he was thinking. I didn't like that. He was looking right at me, but I couldn't read his eyes at all. He looked like Fang when he didn't want me to know something…No, bad Max, no comparing them…

"Okay." I said, standing up with the help of his shoulders. "I'll be back. Try not to move too much okay?"

He nodded.

Acting on impulse, I took his chin, tilted his head up, and pressed my lips to his for one quick second. He was clearly surprised, so he didn't kiss me back, but he had this funny cute look on his face when I pulled away. I smiled, patted his shoulder twice, then turned and jumped out of the cave without another word.

The wind felt good going down, in my face, through my hair. I pulled my wings out and started going up into the sky, heading home.

So sorry for the wait…But I suddenly have ideas. So I'll write more. I've closed the poll on this story. For those who don't know what the result was, you'll find out at the end of this story. :D Please Review!

--Fire wolf12