Second Chances? – Chapter 50

By MyNameIsCAL

This is the end, my friends…

-Fang's POV-

Time has passed. It's been almost five years now. Alex is in middle school now and I've been lucky that she hasn't been resentful towards me, that she still comes home and hugs me every day.

Iggy and Ella have a three year old daughter named after Mom and another kid on the way. I'm happy for them, and well, I guess they remind me that I'm not the only one that battled through all of this too. Iggy still takes the time to remind me that everyone's ok.

Gazzy and Nudge got married a year ago. He's been working on his book, not home too often, but Nudge's fashion line finally took off and she found a location closer to us, but as much as she bugs Alex, I think Alex takes after Max. A pair of jeans and a t-shirt is always fine by her.

I've been okay, I guess. The urges are still there, the scars are still reminders. There are still nights that I cannot sleep. But I've been sober for five years, and I'd like to stay that way. I still get in those moods, the ones where I beat up on myself and kick myself down, but Max still has that patience to pull me into a hug, to tell me that I haven't got anything to worry about, that things are okay now. I did have a couple slip ups with a knife, but even then, Max kept calm.

The one thing that always remains important to us is family. At least once a week we get together somewhere and Iggy cooks and we talk, we share laughs, and we remember that where we are now is better than we used to be, never worse. It's part of moving on, I guess, but I can't get behind the wheel of a car without my hands shaking. I won't drive unless I have to.

It's late, as always. Alex had been up though, trying to cram for a test. I waited for her to finish before I headed back to my own room.

"Hey, you alright?" Max asks me this often.

I settle next to her, pulling her close. "I'm alright."

She gives me a smile, taking my hand under the blanket. "Tomorrow's our anniversary."

"Is it now?" Time isn't something I kept track of. It made me fell, well, old I guess.

Max smooths my hair, still smiling. "I was thinking we could go out to dinner tomorrow night."

"Whatever you want," I tell her. "I should have gotten you something."

"Don't be silly, Fang."

I jump on an impulse, pulling her into a kiss now. We break away breathless and I can feel myself smile as Max rests her head against my chest.

"I love you, Fang."

"I love you too, Max."

She falls asleep long before I will, and it was this time that I took to think back and remember. Things obviously are never handed right away to you in life, and life had always been tough for us, but you know, I'm fortunate. I've had a lot of second chances. How many times have I nearly escaped death? How many times did Max take me back before, and after I had my bout with drugs? How many times have I hurt the flock only for them to welcome me back with open arms?

Yeah. Too many times. I still find myself saying I don't deserve any of this, but Max is always there, telling me I probably deserve better. She's good at keeping me in line, and although she still cuts my food and helps me shave and drags me out of bed sometimes, it's always with a smile, it's always a hug and a kiss and her reassurance that there isn't a reason in the world that would ever make her stop loving me.

Max is always telling me that I'm lucky too, and it's only been recently that I've started to realize that she's right. And so I try to smile back at her, even when I'm hurting, it's always a good morning and a good night, always those few stolen moments that I try my best to tell Max that I love her too, that there's nothing better than having her wrapped up in my arms, whispering into her ear, smiling against her neck. It's never the big things that mattered, it was always just being and breathing and to know that someone else cares. That's all I could ever ask for. I know I've gotten more than that, and so I'll hold my head up a little higher, and remember that I'm the luckiest guy in the world, no matter what else life has to throw at me.


Author's Ending Note:

In no way do I claim to know about the things I made up in this story. I will not say I have or have not had experiences with these kinds of things. I do my best to stay true to the basic ideas, especially with Dr. M's Alzheimer's Disease. It's hard to make these things seem real, especially the way I write these fanfictions where I write without much planning. So for those of you who felt that I missed out on certain things because I was lacking on my research, then I am sorry, but I felt for the purpose of this story, it would have to suffice, and I promise you that if I ever write a book that deals with these kinds of things, I will research until I know what I'm talking about like the back of my hand. I know they say write what you know, and I obviously didn't know, so shame on me, but I hope you'll forgive me for that.

Second Chances? was really all about having second chances. With Fang being accepted back by the flock, with Nudge being so hard on Fang, and with Iggy and Ella's second child. I wanted to write something that showed that life gets out of control, but we can't back away from the things we believe in and the people we love and that while we may screw things up, we deserve a way to redeem ourselves, and in many ways, a second chance or even more chances than that.

Addiction and self infliction is something hard to deal with, and I won't say that I know a lot about it, but I want to take the time to say that if you know someone who has a problem, or you yourself need help, then go ask for it because someone out there cares about you.

But now I've come to the end of a story I really felt good about writing, one where I thought about how things would go. I know it's not the best and as I said before, lacking in its research, but I look back at it and feel a little sense of pride that I wrote something like this and finished it. So for those of you who stuck with this from the beginning to the end, thank you so much!

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