Chapter Eight

I shot up from my sleep, which definitely wasn't a smart decision. I felt my head swim, nearly making me sick. I clutched my head with my hands, trying to get my focus back. After a few minutes, my vision came back, but it was still dark. It took me a second to register that I was in a bed. I pulled the covers away and swung my legs over the side, immediately smacking into a wing.

"Ow!" I heard Nudge's voice in the darkness.

"Nudge?" I asked.

"Yeah, hang on a second."

A light flipped on beside the bed, making my eyes hurt. After they adjusted to the sudden light, I saw Nudge next to my bed on the floor on her hands and knees, pulling her hand away from a lamp she turned on on the bedside table. She smiled at me, her face cleaned up from her small scratches, hugging me quickly. I looked around and saw all of the familiar objects in my little sister Ella's room.

We were all arranged the way we always were when the flock came back for holidays. I was in one bed, while Ella was in the other one across the room. Nudge and Angel were on the air mattress that took up pretty much all of the open space in the room between the two beds. We always said one of us would step on them someday.

Angel was up next to Nudge instantly, smiling. She reached over and hugged me, too. "You're okay!" she said happily. "Thank goodness! You and Iggy both passed out when we got here."

Ella was up out of her bed and next to mine. She squeezed her arms around my neck. I hugged her tightly, glad to see my sister again. She smiled happily and sat on top of my bed, folding her legs underneath her. A little black furball hopped up on the bed beside her, shaking his fur then plopping down on top of my comforter.

"Obviously you've had more than exciting adventures without me," Total grumbled. "Oh, the dog gets in the way." He scoffed. "I bet you just wanted to get rid of me."

I forgot to explain what happened to Total, didn't I? Well, he was still alive and kicking, that was for sure. But after talking to the flock, we asked my mother and sister to take care of him for a while. We planned on doing a lot of traveling and I probably would have dropped him off sooner, but there was nowhere for him to go. All of us were slightly sad to leave him, especially Angel, but we knew it was for the best and easier for us in the end. So, rather than complaining about sleeping on rocks or having wind-blown fur, he complained about living in the lap of luxury with Ella and my mother.

Angel stroked his fur lovingly. "No, we didn't, Total. We just figured you were tired of flying everywhere and us having to carry you. Besides, Ella takes great care of you."

He sighed heavily. "But still . . ."

"How long have I been out?" I asked, rubbing my head again.

"Well, we got here around six in the morning," Nudge explained. "And it's two in the morning now. So, about 20 hours. You probably feel a bit better."

"I guess so. Where are the boys? And Mom? All of you are okay, right? What about Fang? Did Mom operate on him or something? Where is he?"

Nudge rolled her eyes and sighed. "Iggy and Gasman are asleep in the spare bedroom. Iggy woke up again about six hours ago, but he fell asleep again. Dr. Martinez is in her own bedroom. We're all fine. Fang is in the living room. He's still sleeping, but your mom mended his wing and cleaned him up. She said he'll be fine tomorrow. He just can't use his wing or do anything extreme for a while. Was that everything?"

Ella laughed. Her face turned serious and looked to me. "Wow, Max, I never saw any of you beat up that bad before. What happened?"

With the help of Angel and Nudge, we explained everything that happened in the past week. Ella made a lot of faces, from anger with the reappearance of the Erasers, to sadness hearing about exactly everything that happened to Fang.

"Erasers, I would love to bite all of their ankles off," Total growled. "The taste is horrid, but I would do it in a heartbeat."

Ella laughed and patted his head before standing up.

"Well, since you just woke up, I think you need something to eat, Max," she said. "I can make something for you. Early breakfast, if you want. Go ahead and go see the boys, maybe wake up Iggy and Gasman to have them come eat, too. Fang is in the living room, but he might not wake up. I know you need to check on all of them. Angel, Nudge, and me will cover breakfast. See you in the kitchen?"

I laughed and nodded as Angel and Nudge stood up to follow Ella, Total trotting after them, still chatting away. I stood up myself, stretching my stiff limbs. I extended my wings slowly, which were sore and tense from all of the flying we did. I walked out of the room and stopped, realizing I had new clothes on, a pair of comfy pajama pants and a T-shirt. Huh, the stuff you don't notice sometimes . . .

I walked down the hall to the spare bedroom where the boys usually slept. I looked in and could make out Gasman curled up on a smaller air mattress. Iggy was asleep on one of the beds. The other, usually Fang's bed, was empty. I smiled weakly and flicked on the ceiling light. Gasman's face scrunched up and he threw the blanket over his head, muttering something. Iggy sat up, rubbing his eyes. He was always sensitive to light.

"What was that for?" he snapped.

"Early breakfast, of course," I said. "I think we could use your help, Ig."

He smiled, looking to the doorway. "Max? You're okay?"

"Yep, good as new."

I walked into the room and tapped Gazzy's covered butt with my foot. "Wake up, Gazzy. I know you'll eat."

He muttered something underneath his blanket, but threw it aside and sat up on the mattress. He made a face and looked at me. "You know, you were incapacitated forever and now you wake up and act like the boss again," he said huffily.

I messed up his hair playfully, smiling. "I know, but I've always done that. Go ahead to the kitchen. I'll meet you guys in there."

Gasman stood up and hugged me quickly. He left the room, heading in the direction of the bathroom. Iggy got up from his bed and stopped in front of me. He wrapped his arms around me and held me a little bit longer than the others had.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said. "I don't really know what I would do if both of our leaders ended up not able to do it."

I hugged him back and laughed weakly. "I'm sorry, Iggy, but you can't get rid of us that easily. You did a great job. Thank you so much. If it wasn't for you, Fang wouldn't have even made it here. Thank you, Iggy."

He let me go, grinning. "Like I said before, you would do it for any of us. I'll see you in the kitchen."

He walked out. I followed behind him, flipping off the light. Further down the hall, I turned the opposite direction Iggy did to get to the kitchen. I walked into the dark living room. I walked over to the corner and turned on a standing lamp there. Mom had never changed anything about this place, so all of us knew where everything was every time we came here. I looked down to the floor. Fang was slightly paler than usual, but a lot better looking than he was before. Mom cleaned his face up and bandaged his forehead. His wing stuck out from beneath the blanket, properly splinted and wrapped up. He slept hard, his breathing deep and relaxed. I was glad to see he was comfortable.

I came closer and laid down on the floor beside him. I watched him sleep, feeling an enormous relief wash over me. He was okay, all of us were for now. I moved closer to him and kissed each of his cheeks. I then met his lips lightly, smiling. He stirred slightly, his eyebrows lifting. I kissed him again, holding it for a bit longer. Soon, his lips moved against mine, kissing me back. My hand went to his hair again, feeling it with my fingers. I pulled away slowly, putting my arms on either side of his head to look at his face.

Fang slowly opened his eyelids, his dark eyes looking at me. He smiled weakly as he saw me. He reached up and touched my face. He traced my lips with his finger, something he always did. I felt tears instantly. I was getting so emotional around him now. I brought my head back down and kissed him again. His hand moved to the back of my neck, urging me closer to him. I felt a chuckle in my throat. Fang soon started to laugh, too, kind of ruining the moment. Once our giggling fit was aside, he searched my face thoroughly.

"Wow, that was some wake-up call," he said.

I laughed weakly. "Do you realize I haven't been able to kiss you in three days?"

"I know. I was thinking of you the entire time."

I blushed and leaned closer to him. I was about to kiss him again when I remembered what Angel had said before. "Angel said you had some things to tell me. What did that mean?"

He shook his head, lifting his head so his lips were a fraction of an inch from mine. "Tomorrow, please. I just want you right now."

We started kissing again and heard a little chuckle came from the doorway. Fang's hand left my neck and I whipped around to see Total sitting in the doorway, wagging his tail. Fang sighed heavily and dropped his head down on to his pillow. I shook my head at him and glared at Total.

"Did I interrupt?" he asked. "Sorry about that. Ella and Angel said for me to check on you. Hello, Fang! Good to see you awake."

"Thanks, Total," Fang groaned. "Now, do you mind?"

He trotted away, still chuckling. Fang sighed again and put a hand on his bandaged forehead.

"Now I remember why we got rid of him."

I laughed and kissed him again for a long moment. I pulled away and kept staring at him, worried that if I looked away he would be gone. He reached up and touched my cheek where tears were falling yet again. He brushed them with his thumb.

"I was never going anywhere," he said softly. "You know I would never leave you, not a day in your life . . . Well, except that time three years ago, but I regretted it the minute me and the guys and I flew off, I swear. And I think my pain killers are doing the talking because there is no way I would consciously mean to tell you that ever."

"Fang, shut up," I laughed. "Seeing you okay is good enough for me. Knowing you and the flock are okay, at least for a little while. That's all I need to know."

"I love you."

I think I jumped slightly when he said it, physically startled. I searched his face, holding my gaze on his eyes. He stared back at me quietly, his eyes searching mine equally. I leaned down to the point where our lips were almost meeting. I stopped short, looking at his lips. The lips that I loved. Hell, who was I kidding? When he made me laugh, when he pissed me off, when he fought beside me, when we fought each other . . . I loved everything about him.

"Something tells me that wasn't the drugs talking," I said softly.

He smiled. "Like the first time you said it? 'I llloooove you!'"

That made both of us burst out laughing, remembering the episode of the soap opera that was our lives where I confessed my love to Fang loudly before going under for my surgery to remove the chip from my arm, performed by my mother. It was pretty much drug-induced, but I knew even then I meant it.

I smiled, shaking my head at him. "I love you, too, Fang. I llloooove you."

He laughed again as he lifted his head to meet my lips. We were quickly interrupted again, this time by the rest of the flock barreling through the door at once, followed by Total and Ella. I moved away from Fang, blushing. Fang grinned at the others as they all spoke at once. Ella came over and sat down beside me, smiling at Fang and then me.

"Guys, calm down," I ordered over the chattering flock. "One at a time, he just woke up."

"And you didn't tell us," Nudge accused, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, they were preoccupied," Total laughed as he curled up in Ella's lap.

Fang and I shot glares at him, which he just huffed at. The rest of the flock smiled. I rolled my eyes as if to shrug it off, cursing inwardly my face for continuing to blush. Fang winked at me when no one was looking. I laughed quietly as the flock went back to bombarding him with talking. Nudge and Angel hugged his good side at least three times each; Gazzy clapped him on the good shoulder, a huge smile on his face. Iggy was quiet, sitting by Fang's bad side, just listening to the others and smiling.

I looked to Ella. "You think it's okay if we eat in here?" I asked.

"Sure, I think Mom wouldn't mind this as an exception," she answered with a smile. "You want to go get plates ready for everyone?"

We both stood up and went to the kitchen, practically unnoticed by the others. Ella and Iggy had prepared massive amounts of food for all of us. I stood next to Ella as she dug out plates and forks, looking out the doorway and listening to the laughter and chatting in the other room. I took some plates from her, scooping eggs, pancakes, and bacon on to them.

"I'm glad you're okay," Ella said quietly.

"I am, too," I attempted to joke.

Ella laughed. "Mom was so worried about you. And Fang and Iggy. She really didn't think it was as bad as Jeb told her. She said every one of Fang's bones were broken, except for his main joint from his shoulder. We aren't sure how long it will take to heal or when he'll be able to fly again."

"We're fast healers, I think he'll be okay. He will be."

She nodded absently. "She worries about you guys. We both do. I always wonder if it'll be the last time I ever see any of you when you fly off after Christmas or Thanksgiving . . . I always think I'm going to lose my brothers and sisters."

I attempted to smile easily, but found it hard looking at my little sister's face. That was another reason why I had the overwhelming urge to stay and call this place home. Ella and Mom were the family I always wanted, what all of the flock always wanted. It felt like we belonged here, despite everything we had gone through. It seemed like no matter what happened to us, this home and this family would always be here for us . . .

I reached over and hugged Ella quickly. "I'm sorry, Ella, really. If there was any way, I would have us stay here in a heartbeat. Mom has offered so many times, but we can't, especially now that the Erasers are back. We aren't going to risk putting you guys in danger."

"I know, I know," she sighed. "It would just be a lot easier knowing where you are, Max. You're my sister, I'm allowed to worry."

I laughed and pulled away. I brushed her cheeks where the tears were running down. "Hey, don't you worry about me. I always come back, right? We always will."

She nodded and took three plates with her, balancing them on her arms. I followed her with three of my own. We handed out the plates to the other five members of my flock. Ella set her extra down for Total to enjoy on his own. I walked back and made two more plates, giving one to Ella and taking the other for myself. All of us sat on the floor in a circle amid Fang's make-shift bed.

Fang was on my right and Ella was on my left. Iggy was on her other side. The two of them talked and laughed quietly together. If I wasn't sure I was wrong, I would think Iggy was falling for her . . . Fang took my waist and pulled me toward him. I slowly moved over and leaned against his good side, the smile on my face growing. Everything seemed okay for now, and that was all I wanted.

"It's good to see you smile so much," he muttered against my ear.

I shivered, feeling his warm breath against my skin. I nudged him away with my shoulder, laughing. He grinned, keeping his arm around me. Nudge and Angel giggled together while Gazzy shook his head, watching us. Normally I would have made a big deal about my and Fang's relationship not being their real life soap opera for them to watch, but I was too happy to really care. We all talked and laughed together, even Fang, who was unusually social with everyone. I chalked it up to his being knocked out for days on end . . . and maybe his painkillers.

We were still talking when my mother entered the doorway, her hair puffed out on one side and matted on the other. We went quiet, smiling at her. She was quiet, too, looking around at her two real daughters, two adopted ones, threes adopted sons, and the talking dog. She smiled and shook her head. She walked in and hugged Gasman, who was the closest to the doorway. He reddened instantly, but hugged her back. She went around the circle, hugging each one of the flock (Iggy extra long) and Ella before reaching me and Fang. She kissed the top of my head and hugged me tightly. She just smiled at Fang, rustling his hair lovingly.

"I'm so glad all of you are okay," she said as she went to sit down next to Angel and Nudge. "I was especially worried about you three, Iggy, Fang, and Max." She looked at each of us in turn, but was smiling the whole time.

"Yeah, three unconscious bird kids on your lawn," Iggy scoffed. "That wouldn't draw attention at all."

We all burst out laughing and started joking around again. Fang's hand moved to start rubbing my back between my wings, making me lean further against his shoulder. He grinned down at me and kissed my forehead lightly. I made a face at him, but broke into a smile despite myself. Gasman was telling a joke when the doorbell rang. None of the younger ones noticed at first, but Fang instantly stiffened next to me. I tensed, too, feeling a sense of dread wash over me. Iggy was quiet sitting next to Ella, I noticed his fists clench and unclench repeatedly. Ella moved slightly closer to him, probably unconsciously. Mom stood up and went to answer the door.

"Who do you think it is?" Nudge whispered, barely audible.

"Don't know, but be ready," Fang muttered back. He moved his hands away from me, putting them to his sides.

Total growled softly from Ella's lap, his black head popping out over her thigh. We were quiet and tense for a moment. There was hushed conversation outside the doorway of the living room, Mom and a deep voice I couldn't quite register yet. Then, some footsteps, Mom walked in looking paler than usual and behind her came . . . Jeb.

A/N: Hey, guys! Sorry for the delay, guys, three tests to study for! Hope you enjoyed and more to come!