Chapter 2: Daddy's Back

"Kids, this is Iggy. He's…an old friend." I explained, returning my gaze to him. He smiled as he looked at everyone.

"Nice to meet you." He said, holding his hand out to Nad.

Nad looked at me. I nodded my head yes, and smiled to tell him everything was ok. He held out his hand, and took Iggy's, shaking it lightly. "Nice to meet you too. These are my sisters Crystal and Tiara." He said, introducing them.

"Nice to meet you. So, how is everyone?" he asked, looking at the flock.

Everyone just stayed silent, not really sure how to react. Iggy left us, and now, he just suddenly reappears. Not exactly how we planned to spend our holiday.

"Iggy, it's, um, great to see you again." Gazzy said, walking up to him and shaking his hand.

"It's great to see you too Gaz. I've missed all you guys. I can't believe how much you've all changed."

"Yea. Um, Iggy, can I speak to you in private?" Max asked. The two of them walked out to the front yard, and across the street to the forest. "You guys keep the party going. We'll be back." She instructed.

"Why did Mom have to walk so far away from us to talk to him?" Nexi asked Nat.

"Isn't it obvious? She doesn't want us to hear them talking. It's probably some big secret that the adults don't want us to know. I bet-"

"Enough." Fang said to him. "This is nothing to do with you guys."

"Then why did they have to leave to talk?"

"The last time we saw Iggy, we had a few…problems." I spoke up. "When he left us, he broke our trust, and now, we don't know if we can trust him anymore."

"Oh. So, what do we do?" Nad asked.

"Nothing. You don't worry about this. We'll handle this. Trust me, he's a good guy. But I don't know if I can really….deal with having him around. Nothing's gonna change around. I promise." I said, kissing his forehead. "Now don't you guy still have some fireworks to set off?"

"Oh yea! Come, let's go." They all ran off.

"Nudge." I turned to face Fang. "I know what he did to you was wrong, but he has a right to be here as much as the rest of us."

"I know Fang. But I don't know if I can trust him. He broke my heart, and left. Who's to say he won't do it again?"

"I know." He said. At that time, Max and Iggy came back. I stared Iggy down as he approached us.

"Why are you here Iggy? I thought when you left, you were gone forever." I said, fighting back the urge to kill him.

"I can back to apologize." He said simply.

"Apologize? You came back to apologize. So after 10 years of no contact, and leaving me to take care of the kids, you just suddenly just come back to apologize!?" I was trying to keep my voice down. I clutched my fist at my sides.

"I'm sorry Nudge. It took me some time to think. I wanted to come back, but whenever I put the thought into my head, it would replay the fight we had, and everything that had happened. I felt like, I didn't belong here, and that you were better off without me."

"Oh yea Iggy. I lose the love of my life, and the father of my children, and I was definitely better off."

"Nudge, i-"

"No Iggy. We don't need you. The kids don't need you, I don't need you, and the flock doesn't need you. You should just leave and go back to where it is you came." I turned, and walked into the house. I walked up the stairs, and into my room. I sat on the bed, and cried my eyes out.

I was angry, but I was happy at the same time. I was glad to see Iggy again, but I was still angry about him leaving us in the first place. I wanted things to go back to the way they were, but I see any way for that to happen. He just needed to leave and never come back.

I must have fallen asleep cause when I woke up, it was 10:38 at night. I got up and walked downstairs to see that the TV was on. And you'll never believe what I saw. Iggy was sitting on the couch, watching our TV. "Iggy?"

"Hey Nudge." He said, smiling at me.

"I thought I told you to leave and go home."

"I would, but I don't really have a home. Anymore."

"What do you mean? Where have you been living for the last 10 years?"

"I've been roaming from state to state, living in apartments and doing odd jobs for money. I was just evicted from my apartment in Chicago last month, and I've been roaming around. I was in the neighborhood, and decided to drop by."

"Well you did, so I guess you can leave now." I was ready to throw him out the door.

"I wish I could, but I'm staying for a while."

"What!?"

"Dr.M offered to let me stay here until I get back on my feet. I figured while I was here, I could connect with my kids."

"So now you want to connect with them? Where were you when they fell and hurt themselves? Where were you when they got sick? Where were you when they need you Iggy?"

He was silent. He looked at the ground. He looked back up at me. "You can't ignore this Nudge. They're my kids too. I have a right to be with them."

"You can be around them. But you won't be telling them you're their father."

Iggy gave me a look of pure shock. "What?"

"They don't need to know."

"Why would they not need to know?"

"Because. You broke my heart when you left me. I was crushed. They missed you when you left. I won't let you hurt again. Not like you did me." I turned back toward the stairs. "Good night Iggy." I said as I walked up the stairs. As I was heading back toward my room, I peeked into the girls room. They were both sleeping peacefully. I smiled, and shut the door.

I walked across the hall to Nad's room. I opened the door to see that he was still up. He was looking at the moon. I walked over to him, trying to stay quiet. "Hi mom." He said.

"Hey, what are you still doing up?" I asked as I sat on his bed next to him.

"I was just looking at the moon. I like to do that when I want to think about something."

"Well what are you thinking about?"

"Dad."

"Oh." I said. I was getting nervous. What if he found out that Iggy was their father?

"I was just wondering if we were ever gonna see him again."

"I don't know sweetie. He's been gone for awhile. I'm not sure if he's gonna come back."

"Yea. But it would be cool if he did." He said, looking up at me with a smile on his face. That smile. It was Iggy's smile. I'd recognize it anywhere.

I smiled and kissed him forehead. "Go to sleep. Don't forget, you've got camp tomorrow."

"Yea." He said, climbing back under his covers. I kissed his head one last time, and left the room.

Next Morning; Current Time: 7:38 am…

This was my favorite part of the morning. I walked down the hall, and knocked on the girls door. "Girls, time wake up. Breakfast in 15." I could hear both groan as the shuffled around in their beds. They definitely got that from me. I walked over to Nad's door, and opened it. "Morning pal." I said as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Morning." He was always up before his sisters. In fact, I almost never had to wake him up. He got that from Iggy. In fact, now that I look at him, he reminds me more and more of Iggy every day.

"Breakfast in 15 minutes." I told him. He nodded his head as he tied his shoe.

I walked into my bathroom and finished getting ready. I checked my watch. It had been 10 minutes since I woke the girls up, and neither one of them had been up yet. I walked out of my bathroom, and back down the hall to their room. I started pounding on the door. "I'm serious. You two have 20 minutes before we have to leave. If you don't get up now, I'm not stopping to get you breakfast."

I heard two mumble little voices come from the room. I opened the door, and stormed in. I pulled the covers from over both of them, and pulled them up. "Tiara, get up. Now!" I said shaking her a little.

"Ok, ok! I'm up!" she said rolling out of bed, and trying to stand.

"Good. Now go get ready." I turned my attention to Crystal. "Crystal, you have 30 seconds to get out of bed and get ready before I drag you out of that bed by your feet."

She instantly shot up. "I'm up, I'm up!" she said, jumping out of bed and running for the bathroom. I smiled. I went through this every morning, so I knew how to get them up.

I walked into the kitchen to find that Iggy had cooked breakfast. "Morning." He said, smiling at me.

"Morning." I said, walking pass him to get a cup of coffee.

"You sleep well?" he asked. Like he cared.

"Yea. It was ok." I checked my watch. "Girls, hurry up. We're leaving in 5."

Both came rushing into the kitchen and started eating as fast as they could. "Whoa guys." Iggy said. "Slow down. There's plenty of food. You can take some with you."

"Ro a." Nad said, his mouth full of food.

"Nad, don't talk with your mouth full." I scolded him.

"Sorry." He said. They were all dressed and ready by the time I finished my coffee. I grabbed my car keys, and rushed them out the door.

"Bye Iggy." I said, rushing out the door. Before I could go, he grabbed me from behind, and held me. I pulled myself from his grip. "Sorry Iggy, but we're not like that anymore. I still haven't figured out if I can truly trust you." I said as I rushed out the door.

Iggy's POV

I watched as Nudge rushed out the door with the kids. I figured she hadn't forgiven me yet. I was just glad to see her again. I was a fool to ever leave in the first place.

I sat at the table and sipped some coffee from my mug, when Dr. M walked in. "Morning." She greeted me.

"Morning."

"So how was your first night back?"

"Interesting." I said, jokingly.

"SO how's Nudge taking the fact that you're staying?"

"Not so good. She said I can't tell them I'm their dad."

"Are you ok? I mean how are you dealing with this?"

"I can put on a fake smile, and pretend everything is ok. But for how long, I'm not sure. I love those kids, and I'm amazed at how much they've grown."

"Yes. They have. I'll tell you something. If you're really serious about changing, the first thing you've got to do is get Nudge to forgive you."

"I know. It's going to be hard. But I won't stop til I get her and my kids back."

Later that evening….Dinner time

Nudge's POV

"Wow Iggy, this pasta is really good." Crystal complemented him.

"Thank you. I try my best." He said. Well, he's still full of himself.

"Well Iggy, you've really out done yourself." I said, standing next to him. "Don't think just cause you can cook for them, that I've forgiven you." I whispered coldly.

"I know. But it's a step in the right direction, right?"he asked, hopefully.

"Maybe, maybe not. I haven't decided yet."

He sighed. "Nudge, what's it gonna take to prove I'm sorry?"

"A lot. You promised you would always be there for us, and you left. You're gonna have to work pretty hard to get back up there pal." I said, walking out of the room.

Iggy's POV

I let out another sigh. This was super hard.

"Don't worry." I turned to see Nad standing by me. "I know she still has feelings for you." He whispered to me.

"I think you have me confused." I tried to play it off.

"No. I heard you guys talking last night." He whispered the next part. "You're our Dad. Don't worry. I'll help you get Mom back. That way, we can be a family again."

My eyes grew wide in shock. He smiled, and went back to eating. He was most definitely my son.

Ok guys. So it's getting good. Apparently, Iggy's here to stay. And apparently, Nad's a little sneaky. What's gonna happen? Well….wait til next chapter to find out…

Remember: Keep reading, writing, and reviewing!

Later!

-dt2009.