Okay, I would like to say good job to Rowena of Naxen, who is one of my most faithful reviewers, because she understood the Sick Days reference last chapter. : D

And… here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I own Gracie and Devin and nothing else.

Gracie may have accepted Fang and I without much of a fight, but Devin was going to be more of a chore. He responded to his name, but he didn't call me Mommy, and when I tried to introduce Fang as Daddy, he narrowed his eyes in a look I knew so well.

We left the Wal-Mart with new backpacks loaded with food, clothes and some money from the ATM, using the Max Ride card. Then, with Devin in Fang's arms and Gracie in mine, we walked behind the Wal-Mart and took off into the air, one by one.

For the next several hours, we flew. There was no real destination; just east, far away from the School. Somewhere in Colorado, around five in the evening, we decided to camp out high up in a mountain for the night. While the flock set up and the twins went off to one side of the clearing to play, Fang and I stood together and contemplated our next move.

"It complicates things, obviously," I said quietly, crossing my arms over my chest to shield against the cool mountain breeze.

"Obviously," Fang repeated.

"First we have to get them to trust us," I went on. "I'm pretty sure Gracie does, but as far as Devin goes, we've got our work cut out for us."

"Yeah," he replied, back to being the One-Word Wonder.

I rolled my eyes. "What about attacks? They appear to only be about three years old."

Fang paused, thinking. Then: "They have to learn to fly."

"Fly?" To be honest, it hadn't even crossed my mind. But now that he brought it up, it seemed painfully obvious.

"Yeah, fly. Gracie had her wings out but she couldn't even flap them right, remember? If we teach them a survival skill, maybe it'll break the ice with Devin, and he'll see that we want to help them."

I looked over at Fang. He wrinkled his brow, as if to ask what I was thinking.

I just grinned at him, thinking he was going to be a good dad.

0000000000

"Okay," I told Gracie, pushing down on her shoulders so she wouldn't go anywhere. "Now flap your wings like I just showed you. There, good job. Flap harder. And…" I took my hands off her shoulders and she rose steadily, straight up and down. I waited for her to get about six feet off the ground, and then I motioned for her to slowly descend like she'd just seen me do. It was instinct; she did it perfectly.

"Good job, honey!" I beamed and ruffled her hair, and she grinned back at me. Then I turned to Devin, standing with his little arms crossed, giving me the same look he'd been giving me since we'd met him. Behind him, Fang was standing in the same way, except his gaze was considerably less hostile. Despite most of their physical features being so different, right then they looked exactly the same.

"Your turn, Devin," I told him, extending a hand. He just looked at it.

"I can fly!" Gracie squealed, jumping up and down. "You try it too," she told her brother, and nudged him forward. Slowly, Devin extended his wings and shuffled over to where I'd had Gracie stand.

I placed my hands on his shoulders. "Can you flap like Gracie just did?"

Devin looked confused for a second, and then his eyes flickered to Gracie and recognition flashed in them. Maybe he does trust us, I thought. Maybe he's just getting used to having new names and everything.

Wordlessly, he moved his wings, and I said, "Good. Now harder." I released him and did the same thing: let him rise, then gestured for him to come down. Just like Gracie and the rest of us bird kids, it was an instinct, and he did it beautifully.

I looked expectantly at Fang, and he stepped forward, sticking his hands in his pockets. He had wanted me to give the kids their flying lesson while he stood by, but I talked him into helping so that they learned their survival skill from both of us. So now he was going to help them fly across short distances.

"Daddy's going to help you guys now," I said. Gracie nodded happily, her curls bouncing around her shoulders. Devin fixed a calm gaze on Fang. I turned to him and quietly said, "I'm going to check on the flock, okay?"

He nodded, and I started back to the flock's camp, a hundred or so feet away. Nudge, Iggy and the Gasman were gathered around the fire, starting to cook some of our food, but Angel was standing at the edge of camp, waiting for me.

"Hey, honey." I knelt down in from of her. "What's going on?"

"Are you and Fang in love?"

"Um…" I blanked, staring at her wide-eyed innocence. I thought about Fang kissing me, and me running away. Were we? "No, sweetie."

"Really?" Angel cocked her head to one side. "Because I think you are."

"Why would you think that?"

"I told you, Max," she said patiently, as if she were a teenager talking to a six-year-old, rather than it being the other way around. "Fang loves you. And you know you love him too."

I bit my lip and thought about our last kiss, on the dock. Yes, it had been amazing, and yes, I thought I was in love with him. But our friendship meant the world to me. If anything happened to it, I couldn't take it.

"Nothing will happen to your friendship," Angel said. "You love each other too much!"

I smiled sadly. "It's not that simple, sweetie."

The kid would not let up. "If you're not in love, why do you want Gracie and Devin to call you Mommy and Daddy? Mommies and daddies are always in love, right?"

"Usually," I said. "But Fang and I are doing this so these two kids can have their parents. It's what we all want. Don't you think that if their real parents are available, they should get to be with them?"

Angel thought for a second, and then shrugged. "I guess."

"Okay." I stood up and reached down to ruffle her hair, then started to walk over to the others.

"Max?"

I turned around. "Yeah?"

"Don't forget about Fang, though. Believe me. He does love you."

Review?