A/N: the final installment of my first fanfic. I really hope you've enjoyed this. Until next time!

Nari Streeter

Chapter Eighteen: The End

Max pressed the cold payphone closer to her ear, depositing two quarters into the machine and dutifully closing the door behind her. The phone rang several times. Max waited patiently. She knew he was there. He was always there. She bit her lip as the phone-line clicked to life.

"Hello."

"Hey," she said quietly, ducking her head as a pedestrian rushed past to catch the bus, "it's me. Max. I need your help."

There was a pause.

"Max?"

"Yeah," Max drummed her fingers impatiently, "listen, I know it's not every day that I just ring up your cell, but this is urgent. Someone…a friend…she's hurt really bad. Like…hospital bad. But we can't take her to any old hospital, because she's…well, she's like us."

Silence.

Max held back a groan, "Hey. You still there," she waited several seconds, counting the number of times her heart beat, "Jeb! Pick up, man!"

"Right," Jeb said, suddenly all business, "there's a hospital in downtown New York. It's called Saint Jude's…a children's hospital. Take her there. Ask for Dr. Greenberg, he's an old colleague, you can trust him. I'm taking the next flight in…Max? Don't let anyone else see her, okay? Nobody but Dr. Greenberg can see her, do you understand?"

Max nodded, and then remembered he couldn't see her, "Yeah, I got it. Thanks"

The phone rattled in its receiver as Max slammed it down, sprinting out of the booth before Jeb had disconnected on the other line.

The rosy New York skyline was still tinted with hints of smoke as the sun rose over the skyscrapers.

Fang tapped the white countertop nervously, his eyes flickering over the group of people waiting in the hospital's front lounge. One of the children, his eye swollen twice its regular size, stared at him from the floor. Fang turned away, trying to block out the smell of bare anesthetics bouncing off the walls.

A nurse came up from the other side of the counter, a plastic smile on her face, "Hello, sir. Welcome to Saint Jude's. How may I help you?"

Fang ran his fingers through his hair, "Um…I'm looking for Dr. Greenberg, do you know where I can find him?"

The nurse cocked her head, "I'm sorry. Dr. Greenberg is taking lunch. If you like, you can wait for him to come back, or leave your message with me and I'll be sure to pass it along."

Fang bit back a string of choice remarks. He leaned forward and grabbed the nurse's wrist, pulling her down to his level.

"Listen," he growled, "I've got a very sick girl on my hands, and I won't accept any other doctor besides Greenberg. Now you can cut the crap and pull him out of whatever he's doing…or I can break down every door of this place and find him myself. Got it?"

The nurse pressed her lips together, "Young man, you're hurting my hand. I'm going to have to ask you to leave the premises. Dr. Greenberg is taking lunch."

Fang tightened his grip, gritting his teeth together.

"Is there a problem?"

Fang dropped the nurse's hand, turning slightly to face the tall dark-skinned man with half-moon glasses standing next to him. The man hand one hand shoved deep into his white-coat pocket, his other one wrapped around a simple metal clipboard. Fang brushed off the rush of memories.

"Dr. Greenberg," the nurse said, surprised, "I'm sorry if we troubled you, I was just asking this young man to leave…"

"Jeb sent me," Fang said quickly, curling his hand into a fist at his side to ease his nerves, "he's calling you in on a favor. One of Itex's pets is hurt…" he trailed off, realizing how stupid the speech Max had prepared for him was. The nurse blinked, cocking an eyebrow, clearly not understanding a thing he had just said.

Dr. Greenberg, on the other hand, froze. His eyes narrowing under his glasses, "Jeb?" he whispered, "Jeb sent you? What…" He shook his head, his jaw set firmly, "never mind. Come with me."

He turned and walked briskly down a vacant hallway. Fang glanced at the nurse irritably and turned to follow him. The lights above flashed like a camera going off over and over again. The tile floor echoing hollowly off the empty walls.

"Are you one of them?" Dr. Greenberg asked once out of earshot.

Fang nodded silently.

"Bring your friend in through the back," Dr. Greenberg ordered, "I'll prep the O.R. and ready a room…away from prying eyes. If your friend is like you, the last thing we need is paparazzi running around Saint Jude's looking for angels."

Nickoli paced the hallway, the slight burns on his arms smarting painfully. Dr. Greenberg had offered to wrap them up, but he had refused. Take care of Nari first. That's all that matters. He glanced at the clock.

Three hours.

They had been in the hospital for three hours, and still no word from anyone.

Max had left an hour back, promising to return once she had taken care of the rest of her flock. Fang sat silently in a chair against the wall, his hands folded in his lap, staring darkly at the ceiling.

"Stop pacing," Fang said quietly, closing his eyes.

Nickoli leaned back against the wall, tapping his foot to the rhythm of the clock.

Fang glanced over at him, "Don't you ever stop?" he asked, an edge creeping into his voice. Nickoli chewed on his lip, tearing at the skin inside his mouth until he tasted blood.

"Jesus," he sighed, his nerves shot, "why won't they tell us anything?"

The door at the end of the hall swung open, spilling sunlight across the floor. Max walked briskly toward them, flanked by two adults with grim looks of their faces.

"Nickoli," Max said quickly, nodding toward her companions, "this is Dr. Martinez, and Jeb Batchelder. Don't freak, they're friends. Everyone, this is Nickoli."

Dr. Martinez extended her hand hesitantly.

Nickoli ignored it, staring fixedly at the other door and resuming his pacing.

Max glanced at Fang, and he shrugged, "Won't stop," he sighed sliding farther down into the chair, "I'd strangle him if I wasn't so tired."

Max shot him a withering look.

"Nickoli," Jeb said, his voice calm and reserved, "may I have a moment?"

Nickoli glanced back at the other end of the hall where Max and the others were waiting. He wiped away a speck of blood on his lip from where he's chewed through the skin and turned to face Jeb.

"I heard they found something in the rubble of a toy store just down the street from here," Jeb said innocently, running his finger down a crack in the wall, "the body was charred beyond recognition…but they found it odd that it appeared to have…another set of limbs growing from its back. Care to explain?"

Nickoli snorted, turning away from him, "He deserved it. Every bit."

Jeb smiled sympathetically, "Wolf. That's what he called himself…didn't he?"

Nickoli didn't answer.

Jeb sighed heavily, sliding down into a chair bolted into the wall, "There's something you have to understand, Nickoli. Wolf…was not a bad person. The experiments…the tests that made him…they were bad. Not Wolf."

"How would you know?" Nickoli growled, folding his arms over his chest.

Jeb stared down at his clasped hands.

"Because, Nickoli," he said quietly, "I made him. Wolf was one of many. Experiments that had gone wrong. In Wolf…I hoped to create a new line of Erasers."

He laid his hands out in front of him like a scale, "One third avian. One third canine. One third human. Yet…at what time does the human inside finally get lost to the animal? At what point does a human's better judgment fall away to raw instinct?"

Nickoli stared down at the floor, the burnt edges of his sneakers leaving scuffed black marks on the otherwise spotless tile. Wolf…was not a bad person…

The door burst open, and Dr. Greenberg walked in, his face grave…

Nari felt the breath scrape past her throat, burning as she breathed out.

She tilted her head, the tubes snaking across her face straining as she surveyed the room. Everything was so bright. She squinted; running her tongue over her cracked lips and concentrated on breathing.

Wolf…

She clenched her fist. He was dead.

Nickoli…

The door slid open quietly.

Nickoli shut the door behind him, his dark wings extending slightly as he leaned back against the wall. He didn't say anything…just stared.

"Hey," Nari croaked, tears springing in her eyes as the words scraped out.

Nickoli pressed his lips into a firm line, pushing himself off the door. He crouched next to the hospital bed, his eyes running over the tubes and needles stretched across the sheets.

Nari swallowed, "It looks worse than it is."

Nickoli shook his head, knotting his fingers through hers, "I'm sorry I wasn't quick enough," he whispered, "I should have been there for you."

Nari closed her eyes, listening to the silence settling over the room. The clock on the wall clicked faintly. The sunlight streaming through the window, warming her face.

"Now what?"

Nickoli turned away, "I don't know…we'll just have to see."

Tears blurring her vision, she felt Nickoli's grip tighten on her hand. "The doctor said I can't get out of bed for a week."

Nickoli smiled faintly, turning back to look at her with his warm gaze, "I'll stay with you. I won't leave you side"

She screwed her eyes shut, "He said I can't walk…for two months."

He leaned closer, "I'll get you a wheelchair."

Nari shook her head, the tears finally spilling over, "I can't fly for half a year."

Nickoli pressed his lips against her forehead, wiping her tears away with his burnt thumb, "I promise," he muttered…

"I'll fly for both of us."

For those of who that have a billion questions...let's just say that you'll have to use your own imagination to come up with an explanation. You don't like the end...then come up with your own! Well, that's it! Thanks for reading my blurgs of insanity and sticking with it to the last straw. I'M DONE!!