Chapter 36

The woman opened her front door, greeted by a young man with short blond hair, standing in front of a wooden crate nearly as tall as he was.

"Mrs. Beck?" the boy said.

"Um… yes. Who are you?"

"My name's Niles," he said. "I have a surprise delivery for you."

The box opened, and Mrs. Beck gasped. Standing there was her daughter, missing for four years.

"Hi, Chrissie," Keegan said, smiling weakly. "I'm… I'm so sorry I ran away. I didn't mean to… to forget…"

Mrs. Beck could barely speak through the lump in her throat. "M… Monte!" she called hoarsely. "Monte, come quick!"

Niles rubbed Keegan's shoulders. "Go on," he whispered.

Keegan hugged her mother. "I'm so sorry," she said, tears streaming down her face. "I'm so, so, so sorry, I can't say it enough…"

"That's my girl," Niles whispered.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Brigid slumped onto a stone bench in front of the hotel. Dr. Martinez and Dr. Akana were tending to the damages that Janssen and Kellie had caused the hotel.

She saw Fang tending to the unconscious, spasming Max. Brigid loved Fang so much. For as long as she'd desired him, she'd loved him longer. What a joy to finally be traveling with him! It was all she ever wanted, almost. Fang had established a father-daughter connection between the two of them, which made Brigid feel…

"Hey, Pudding," said a gravelly voice.

Brigid looked up in alarm. There was an old man with a great big bushy beard and long blond hair.

"Who are you?" Brigid demanded. She looked around… no one to defend her. For all her flip-flopping from one allegiance to another, Brigid had never fought somebody in her life.

"We haven't met, but I believe you knew my two sons and my brother. I'm Sand."

"Sand Valducci?" Brigid said.

"Yeah, that's right. I came here to talk to you about—"

"No!" Brigid said, standing up. "Not happening! I'm not gonna be a bad guy anymore. I don't care what you do to me."

"Don't be silly," Sand said. "What makes you think we're bad guys?"

"That's what they all say! I'm not going near your organization, Valducci, not for any reason AT ALL. I belong with Fang—with the flock."

Sand laughed. "What a coincidence! Fang and the flock belong with us."

"Who's us?"

"You know… 'us'."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

I came back into my body, and tried turning my head.

"Max?"

I tried to sit up. I withdrew my claws, rubbing my head with the blunt ends of my fingers.

"Are you okay, Max?"

Fang. The dude with the harem… no. The dude who loved me and had my back. My husband-dude.

"Fang," I said. "Where's Kellie?"

"She left with the Director," Fang said. "I'm sorry, Max… but you did all you could. We'll get her, Max. I promise." He kissed me tenderly.

"I hope so," I said. "I miss her…"

Fang smiled crookedly. "Hey, babe, I can't see anybody being able to resist the kind of love you show. Oh, Max, have you met my mother?"

He indicated his laptop. On the screen was an image of Isobel Rush in her apartment.

"Hi, Max," she said. "Um, big-time follower."

"Hey there," I said. I turned to Fang. "Has she seen my mom? Any in-law tension there?"

"The in-law tension is just fine," Fang assured me.

"Um, Fang?" Isobel said. "Could I ask you a favor, privately?"

"The flock doesn't have secrets, Ma," Fang said. "Any favor you want, we'll handle it together."

"Please, it's… it's about family."

Fang stared down at his mother's image on the screen. Finally, he picked up the laptop and stepped away.

I tried standing up. "Jalapeña, my neck hurts…"

I heard a distinct laugh behind me. Like mine, but unlike mine at the same time.

"Yeah, thought Tooey would appreciate that one," I said.

I turned to my clone, who stopped laughing and looked alarmed. "You called me Tooey! You said you never would."

"Did I?" I said. "Well, that was my bad. You should have your own identity, just as much as anybody else here."

I saw Angel's head tilt as she looked me over.

"You were dead for a moment there," Angel said. "What did you see?"

I smiled at her. "Don't you know?"

Angel frowned. "I… no. What happened to you? I can read your mind normally, but when you think of that time, it just goes blank…"

So, for the first time ever, I could keep a total secret? Ari must have meant for that. I decided not to speak of it, then. I didn't need Angel and everybody else frightened about a future that I would not let happen.

"Hi, Mommy," said a small voice.

Airy fluttered over to me, and I scooped her up. I didn't see her any differently. "They" were wrong. About everything.

"Who's ready to fly?" I asked.

Eleven hands went up. It was time.

to be continued…

Okay, maybe not to be continued. I'm gonna try, though. First, I'm gonna poke around the Maximum Ride fanfiction archives and communities, do a little bit of advertising! Hopefully, get some big time uppage on my reviews. 'Cause, come on, I know this stuff isn't total malarkey. If I can just find somebody who has the time for it, I know I'll get what's comin' to me. Which could be flames, I don't know.