Okay folks. This is the penultimate chapter (if penultimate means second to last and I think it does but I'm not sure).

To TOKKANEER, thanks for all of your reviews. They make me shake my head and smile. I'm glad that you like my fanfictions.

Max POV

"What's with you?" I asked Iggy playfully. "It's not like you've never held a baby before. What about Angel?"

Iggy pouted. "It's different."

I shook my head, grinning. "How?"

Iggy shrugged. "Well, on the occasion that you let me hold Angel, you made me sit in an armchair surrounded by a sea of pillows, or you'd stand two inches in front of me and warn me at every possible second not to drop her."

I blanched, and Iggy shot me a smirk. "I can't blame you. I had pretty much just become blind. I'll get used to it."

"But names!" Gazzy interjected. "What about names, Iggy? What are you gonna name her?"

Iggy stared towards Nudge, who was still holding the baby. "I was thinking…"

"Yeah? Yeah?" Gazzy asked eagerly, leaning towards him.

"Jay," Iggy said. I raised my eyebrows and exchanged a glance with Fang. "Like, like the bird," Iggy hurriedly added. He hesitated. "And, well, also like J. I just need to remember him. It's important to me."

I put my hand on Iggy's shoulder. "Jay is a beautiful name." He smiled at me.

"Can I give her a middle name?" Gazzy asked excitedly. "Can I? Can I?"

Iggy grinned and ruffled Gazzy's hair. "Uh, okay. As long as it's not anything like Bang-Bang or Pow."

The Gasman rolled his eyes, looking very much the irked pre-teen. "Like I'd ever come up with something like that." Then he grinned and bounced up on the balls of his feet. "What about Burnie?" he exclaimed. "It's like, a name, but it's also like burn! Like fire!" He shuffled his feet and rubbed his hair. "I've been thinking about names for a while. I thought it sounded nice."

Iggy smiled and reached out to tug Gazzy into a one-armed hug, wincing slightly as his stomach ached.

"Okay," he said. "Jay Burnie it is. It's not quite as weird as some of the others in our little family."

We all exchanged looks and shrugged.

"Weird names?" Nudge asked.

Fang shrugged his shoulders. "I have no idea what he's talking about."

We talked and we laughed and we cried a bit, but eventually I excused myself and made my way into the hall. Anthony and Buford were waiting, Buford calmly, Anthony anxiously wringing his hands. "You can go and see Iggy now, if you'd like," I told Anthony, who darted into the room immediately after giving me a sort of strangled nod of assent.

I turned to Buford. "Is there a phone nearby?" I asked him. "I'd like to call my mother."

Buford led me down to the hall to an office-like room with a corded phone, then he left me to talk to Dr. Martinez alone. I dialed her number and waited breathlessly as I listened to the ringing.

She picked up on the fifth ring with a "Hello, this is Dr. Valencia Martinez."

"Mom!" I exclaimed. "It's Max. We're done. It's over."

I heard a gasp and something fall on her end of the line. "Oh Max, is everyone alright?"

I paused, thinking of Iggy, starting off his fatherhood injured in a hospital bed and Fang, who had lost the use of his legs and was sad and probably wouldn't be happy again for a while, and then of Meagan, who was gone and who knows where.

"No, but we're alive."

Dr. Martinez let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, Max."

"Mom, we'll be home in a few days. But Iggy, he got shot in the stomach, and… and Fang's been paralyzed, from, from the waist down."

Dr. Martinez was silent for a while. "Max, does that mean..?"

I sniffed. "He won't be able to walk or fly. So try not to say anything to… to… you know, to upset him."

We were both quiet for a moment before she spoke up again. "Max, the baby?"

"It's a girl," I told her. She made a little exclamation, and it sounded happy enough.

"Well, Max, Ella and I, we've prepared for you guys coming home. We've got everything ready for the baby, and for Iggy. We've set up a new room for Meagan. We'll get things ready for Fang, too. And Max, Ella and I went to a Victim Awareness conference in Denver. Ella, well, we're both better now. She's excited to see Iggy again."

I was silent for a while. "That's great, mom. Thanks. Iggy's going to be thrilled. But, um, Meagan, she's gone. They took away her memories and we don't know where she is now."

Dr. Martinez let out a short breath. "Is Iggy… is he alright?"

I looked at the ground. "I don't know. He's accepted it, at least."

There was another short silence. "Poor Iggy. But if Meagan's safe, at least, I suppose it's for the best. She seemed a little out of place."

I hadn't wanted to admit it, for Iggy's sake.

"I think you're right. But Iggy… well."

"Poor thing," she said again. "Is his wound serious?"

I shook my head, but then again, she couldn't see it. "He's not in any danger. He had to have surgery, but we got him to it in time. He'll be fine."

"And how is he doing, about the baby?"

I looked towards the door, thinking about the way Iggy had held his daughter, the tenderness with which he handled her, the expression on his face as he mapped out the baby's features. Jay's features.

"He loves her so much," I said. "It's the first time he's ever met her, but he loves her more than anything." I felt tears well up and sting my eyes and I blinked and bit back a sob and slid to the floor, my back against the desk. "Mom," I whispered. "He hasn't even known her for an hour but he already loves her. How is that even…"

"Max, it's hard. It's the hardest kind of love I've ever dealt with." I sat quietly, listening to my mother's voice. "It's a different kind of love. It's utterly unconditional. It's painful, but it's also the best thing I've ever felt."

I bit my lip. "I can already tell that in a life-or-death situation, he would choose the baby over me."

"And he would miss you every day. Max, would you want Iggy to choose you over his daughter?"

No. No, I wouldn't. Because it was his daughter, and I knew that it would kill him to be responsible for her death more than it would for him to be responsible for mine.

Iggy loved his daughter because. Just because. He didn't need a reason.

"He doesn't love you any less, Max," Dr. Martinez said firmly. "You have to remember that. And you have to be there for him. Babies are a lot of work, and he won't have a partner to help him. Not to mention his age and his past. He'll need help. And he'll need you to understand him when he panics over germs and when he has nothing to talk about except for his baby's first poop and smile and laugh and tooth."

I chuckled and let out a shaky breath, wiping a tear out of the corner of my eye.

"He'll need you to stay by his side when people frown on a sixteen-year-old blind boy being a single parent for a baby girl. When people wonder where and who the mother is and think that she should be the one with the baby because babies need moms and people think that boys can't be maternal." I ran my fingers up the length of the phone cord and thought of Iggy stroking Angel's hair and making sure Gazzy brushed his teeth and making us all dinner with that smile and that tousled red hair and those eyes. "Max, people are going to think that he isn't fit to be a father. You've got to back him up and support him whenever he needs you. He's going to need you, and you have to be there."

I took a deep breath.

"I will. Don't worry, I will."

"Good."

There was a final silence and I knew that the conversation was over.

"Mom, we'll take the train back home. We'll be there as soon as we can." I hesitated, thinking of Anthony and Buford and the way Anthony looked at Iggy and the way Buford cared for Fang. "We might bring a couple people with us."

"That's fine, honey. If you need money for tickets, just call."

"Don't worry, I think Nudge can handle it. Goodbye. We'll see you soon."

"Bye, Max."

Dr. Martinez hung up first and I sat for a few moments listening the phone's quiet beeping. Then I put the phone in its dock and stood and walked back into the hallway and back to Iggy's hospital room.

Anthony was holding the baby and the baby was sleeping. He stared at her with wide eyes and sniffed.

"She smells really good," he muttered.

"Don't eat her," I said, and he looked up at me with that angry glint in his eyes and scowled.

"I wasn't going to!" he protested, and Buford laughed and took the baby and handed her back to Iggy, who welcomed her with a glowing smile.

I looked to Fang, who was staring at the floor with a sort of grimace, but when he caught me staring he immediately smiled, though it didn't look very convincing.

"I called my mom," I announced. "We'll take the train back home as soon as everyone's okay to go."

Anthony didn't hide his devastated expression, looking hopelessly between Buford and Iggy and me. Buford, however, nodded agreeably, though I noticed a slight tightening of his jaw. "Fang will be ready tomorrow," he said, his words rolling over my eardrums like fairy dust or something. "Your healing rates are astounding."

"What about Iggy?" Nudge asked.

"I've been told that I'll be able to get out of bed tomorrow, too," he informed us.

"Tomorrow?" Anthony asked weakly.

I nodded decisively. "Okay. Nudge, come help me buy train tickets." I turned back to Buford and Anthony. "You guys gonna pay for yours, or you wanna mooch off us?" I asked.

Anthony gaped at me, and Buford smiled, placing his hand on Anthony's shoulder. "We don't have any money," he said.

"I'm just going to use the School funds," Nudge told me, eyebrows raised. "It's not our money to mooch."

I shrugged. "Okay then. We're getting, um, one, two, three… nine tickets?"

"Infants don't count," Iggy spoke up.

"Eight then. Whatever." I took Nudge's arm and led her outside. "Let's go hack the system."

After the door shut behind us, I heard a muffled "Yes!" from Anthony and grinned to myself.

Nudge and I bought the tickets and then she and I spent the next eight hours with the Erasers and any other surviving experiments (there weren't many at all). We recruited a few converted Whitecoats to help us question the Erasers about their names, invent last names if needed, and estimate ages corresponding to their appearance so they could each have their very own birth certificate. Then Nudge and I made seven more, one for each member of the flock, because I realized that we would need them if we ever wanted to go to college or get jobs.

The baby Jay spent her first night with Buford in a room equipped with the infant necessities because Iggy had to rest and so did Fang and we all wanted to stay with them. Before Buford left, he pulled Fang aside and spoke softly with him. Fang nodded and allowed Buford to wheel him into a private bathroom where they stayed for a good fifteen minutes. When they finally reentered the room, Fang saw my questioning expression and came over to me.

"What were you guys doing?" I asked him, and Fang looked intently at my shoulder and told me quietly told me that Buford had been showing him how to use the bathroom and how to insert a catheter and I felt sick and wanted to cry all over again.

But we slept and when I woke up, Fang was staring at the ceiling, Iggy was snoring loudly, and Nudge and Gazzy were leaning on my arms and Angel had her head in my lap.

"Morning," I said softly to Fang. The corner of his mouth twitched and he turned towards me and gave me a small smile.

"Hey," he said, and I scowled.

"Don't be going all tall, dark and silent on me again," I teased, although I was somewhat serious. "I've really been liking the New and Improved Fang: Now With Emotions!"

Fang pulled a face and grinned. "Don't worry. No longer am I crippled with emotional constipation." His expression flickered as he said the word "crippled."

When all of us had woken up, we put Iggy in a wheelchair and Fang back in his and we let them race down the hallway, with Iggy running into walls along the way. Buford and Anthony met with us, with Jay wrapped snugly in a blue blanket and Buford carrying a bag that was soon revealed to be overflowing with baby necessities: diapers, a bottle, baby formula, and towel for burping. Buford handed Jay to Iggy and we left the School and headed for the train station.

As the School grew smaller and smaller behind me, distant people moving in and out of the pale buildings, I thought, for the first time in my life, that it didn't look all that sinister.

People gave us odd looks at the train station but we got through easy enough. It was a long ride in a cramped compartment, this time without pull-out beds, but we sprawled comfortably over each other and Anthony sat stiffly and talked with Nudge and Iggy and Buford played with the kids and the baby cried and the whole thing was sort of like a dream.

"Is it okay that we just left everyone back at the School?" Anthony asked once.

"They can take care of themselves," was Buford's response, and I guess that was enough for Anthony.

Dr. Martinez, who I had called to tell the train schedule, was waiting for us with her minivan and her hands clasped. When she spotted us getting off the train, she beamed and beaconed us towards her. Then she gave each of us a hug.

"And who is this little person?" she exclaimed, cooing at Jay. Iggy smiled.

"Her name's Jay," he told her.

"Jay Burnie!" Gazzy interjected.

"Jay Burnie Griffiths," Nudge corrected. We all had chosen last names for our birth certificates, and Iggy had kept Griffiths.

"I'll stick with Jay," mom said, laughing. Then she turned to Anthony and Buford. "And who are these strapping young men?"

Buford appeared older than Dr. Martinez, but he smiled anyway. "My name is Buford, and this is Anthony."

"Good to meet you, uh, ma'am," Anthony said nervously, sticking out his hand, which mom shook warmly. Then she turned to Buford and, making eye contact, shook his as well.

Their gazes lingered on each other's faces for a moment and I thought "uh-oh."

"Well, my car isn't quite big enough for everyone. How about I take Iggy, Fang, Buford, Anthony, and Jay, and the rest of you fly home?"

We agreed and I helped Buford and Anthony put Iggy and Fang in the car before folding the wheelchairs and sticking them in the back.

"I can buckle my own seatbelt, thanks," Fang told me sourly, his face red after having needed me to lift him into the car. I rolled my eyes.

"I wasn't going to buckle your seatbelt for you," I told him, then leaned forward and stared into his eyes. He glared moodily back at me. "I love you," I whispered to him. "I don't care if I have to lift you in and out of cars for the rest of my life." I kissed him, and then the baby started crying again and Dr. Martinez said "All aboard!" and I stepped back to let Fang close the door.

The car was pulling out as I wondered for the first time about baby car seats and worried about them getting a ticket or dying or something.

Gazzy, Nudge, Angel and I flew home, staying above the car and following it the whole way. It wasn't a long flight.

Ella ran out to greet us, and when I touched down she raced up to give me a big hug.

"Max! I'm so glad you're alright!" she cheered, jumping up and down in excitement. "Where are Iggy and Fang? Where's the baby?"

I gestured towards the car, which was pulling into the driveway. "They're coming. Patience is a virtue."

Ella clasped her hands and smiled. Dr. Martinez was the first to get out, then Buford from the passenger seat and Anthony from the back. Dr. Martinez took Jay and held her as Anthony helped Iggy out of the car and into his wheelchair, and Buford did the same for Fang. Both Iggy and Fang looked slightly sick; none of us enjoyed car rides, and to top it off Iggy had a stomach injury and Fang was… well, he just wasn't very happy.

"Hey!" Ella said excitedly. "Welcome home! And who are the new guys?"

"Buford and Anthony," Dr. Martinez told her, gesturing to the two of them.

"They're Erasers!" Gazzy announced, at which my mother and Ella both looked slightly shocked.

"Erasers who helped us out a lot and saved our lives," Iggy said, holding his arms out for Jay.

"Yeah, it turned out they aren't hardwired for evil," I told them. "These guys are pretty cool."

"Buford's awesome, and Anthony isn't awful," Fang nodded. Anthony scowled, which was becoming a regular thing. It's not like I didn't like the guy. It was just that I'd hated him one day, and the next he and Iggy were bros. It's hard to keep up with that.

"Okay," Ella said, eyeing Anthony and Buford appraisingly. Then her smile was back and she practically skipped to Iggy. "Can I hold the baby?"

Iggy looked a little surprised. "Uh, okay," he said, gingerly lifting the baby for Ella to carefully take. Ella lifted Jay to her chest and smiled down at her face.

"She's so cute! She's got your eyes, Iggy."

Iggy's cheeks glowed a bit red.

"Her name's Jay, right?" Ella asked, playing with the baby's little hand. "Nudge emailed me last night. She told me all about her."

"Yeah," Iggy answered, bemused.

"Well, she's just going to love your new place! We've got a crib and a changing station and everything just for her! And we moved your bed and everything, so you can just sit back and be a dad."

"New place?" I asked, confused. "You're not kicking him out of the house or anything, are you?"

Ella looked to mom, surprised. "You didn't tell them?"

Mom shook her head, then turned to us, fingering the locket around her neck. "We've remodeled the garage," she said. "My uncle died and left me a bit of money and I thought, why not." She turned to Iggy. "It's sort of a little house for you," she told him. "There's a bathroom, closet, and separate bedrooms for you and the baby, and a little play area. You'll have to come back to the house for meals, but I thought it would be good for you to be by yourself sometimes, and…"

"And we wouldn't have to suffer when the baby cried at night," Ella finished. "You get to do that by yourself. Congratulations!"

Iggy gaped. "Wow."

"Can we see it?" I asked, and Dr. Martinez smiled.

"Sure, come on."

The garage was a big brick thing that used to be concrete on the inside and housed the gardening tools that mom rarely used. The garage door was still there, but mom told us that it didn't work anymore and led us through the regular door next to it and flipped a light switch.

It was really awesome. To be honest, I might have been a bit jealous, except for that I knew Iggy would be up all night caring for a wailing baby while I slept soundly in my bed. The thought was comforting.

The floors were carpeted with the fluffy beige kind typically seen in the houses of people with kids because hardwood was too expensive. It was an ugly carpet, but that obviously wouldn't bother Iggy and it was soft underfoot. The door opened to a little hallway that led to an open room a bit smaller than my own bedroom. In it was a squishy-looking couch and a few bins of baby toys. There were three big windows that opened out into the back yard.

"There are lots of windows," Dr. Martinez said. "So it will be very bright during the day, and you won't have to worry about remembering to turn on lights."

Iggy smiled and wheeled his chair forward, bumping into the couch and grinning. "I get a living room? That's pretty boss."

"Over here is the bathroom," my mom continued, leading us to a small bathroom equipped with a diaper-changing table and a shower. "And then we have your room." It was much smaller than any of the bedrooms back at the house, big enough only for Iggy's bed, a bedside table, and a little walking space. There was a small closet with all of Iggy's clothes already in it. Iggy told us he loved it because there was less wall to walk into.

"And here's Jay's room," Dr. Martinez said finally, showing us to a room about as big as Iggy's, with the walls painted blue and a pretty yellow crib against the far wall. Next to it was a white dresser. "We got you a stroller, too, for when she gets older, and a baby-carrier for now. I gathered up all of Ella's old baby clothes for you to reuse. There's no point in buying new ones since babies grow out of clothes so quickly."

Iggy rolled over to the crib and put his hand on the wood, feeling the yellow.

"Wow, I feel all grown up," he said jokingly, but his eyes were glassy. He quickly ran the back of his hand across his eyes before turning back. "Thanks, Dr. M. This is really great. I mean, really, really great."

Mom stepped forward, bent down, and gave him a tearful hug. "Anything for you, sweetheart. We want to make you comfortable. And we've got formula in the kitchen, and bottles, and binkies and the works. You're set."

We had dinner. The room that mom had set up for Meagan was now Fang's, because it was on ground level, unlike his old room on the second floor. Fang's old room, now a guest room, was where mom demanded Buford stay, and Anthony had to make himself comfortable on the living room couch.

But we were done, and we were home, and everything was just relaxed and friendly and content. When the time came, we slept soundly, probably for the first time in years.

All of us but Iggy, that is, who was busy learning that babies cried a lot.

Thank you for reading.

HEY GUYS WHO ALREADY READ THIS CHAPTER I'M REPOSTING IT.

Because at least two people thought it was the last chapter. It's not. There's one more. Maybe just one more, but DEFINITELY ONE MORE. I would appreciate you guys sticking around for it because it's the one I've been most excited to write since the story started and I've been mapping it out for ages so yeah. There's another chapter. I would tell you if it was the last chapter. You know, something like "This is the final chapter, I've had so much fun, blah blah blah." That shiz.

So waitforit.