Since nothing really happened in that prologue, I'm not making you wait too terribly long for the second update. First real chapter! Yay!

"Max. Max, come on, get up."

"Go away," I groaned, holding my pillow over my face. There was sunlight surrounding me, but all I could think about was how much I wanted to go back to sleep.

"No," Fang said, fighting me for the pillow and winning. "We have to take the kids to school, remember? And then we have to go to work."

Kids, school, work… These three words floated around in my head for a few seconds before they began to make sense. Today, the end of the second week of our settlement in Tucson, Arizona, near my mom, was also the first day of school for the younger kids. It was too crowded to fly, so Iggy was walking Nudge and Gazzy to the middle school while Fang and I took Angel, Gracie and Devin to the elementary school. And then, because we didn't think ourselves capable of actually getting an education, Fang and I had managed cashier jobs at a grocery up the road. It was a start.

"Fine," I grumbled, throwing off the covers and climbing out of bed. Fang kissed me, squeezed my shoulder, and left so I could get dressed. I sighed and pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt, then headed downstairs, where I could hear laughter amidst silverware clanking against plates.

"Max!" Nudge said happily when I came in. I managed to smile at her as I sunk into a seat. "I'm so excited! Eighth grade! That's almost high school! I can't believe you guys aren't going to high school. Normal people say it's just the very best!"

"Well," I told her, picking at the bacon Fang slid over to me, "Fang and I aren't really interested, and Iggy…"

"Is lazy and doesn't want to do the work," he said, stuffing a spoonful of eggs in his mouth.

"Yeah. Big surprise there," I sighed.

I felt Fang's eyes on me from across the table, but I looked down at my plate. He could tell something was wrong with me, just as easily as he always did. In fact, he probably knew exactly what it was. Sending the flock off to school, I could deal with-- I'd had to do it once before, at Anne's. But Gracie and Devin were a different story. While I felt totally maternal around the flock, the twins were my real kids, so with them, it was ten times what it was with the others. So I was dreading taking them to kindergarten, their first step away from me.

"Angel, are you ready?" Fang asked. I looked over at her. She was nine now, and was absolutely beautiful. Once upon a time, she'd been my baby; now, she was Miss Independent. It wouldn't be long before my own kids were there, too.

Angel smiled and took her plate to the sink. "Yeah. Let me just get my backpack."

"Okay," he said as she darted out of the room. "Gracie? Shoes on?"

"Yep!" she said proudly, holding out her feet.

"Devin?"

"Got 'em!"

This was a routine we'd sort of fallen into: Fang took charge more often than he used to. Usually, I stayed in my leader role, but if I was worn out or busy or, like this morning, troubled, he stepped up. I was glad; as much as I didn't like sharing my job, the more time I spent with my twins, the more I was finding I needed it.

"Let's go," Fang said, coming up behind my chair and taking my hand. "Nudge, Gazzy, have a good day."

Nudge's excited response mixed with Gazzy's mumbled one, and the five of us headed out the front door. Angel crawled into the back seat of the car my mom had insisted on giving us ("It's just an old one, I don't even drive it anymore") and I strapped the twins into their car seats. Oh, and in case any police officers are reading this, just know that Fang drives us around, because he does have a license. Based on my prior experience with driving, we decided I shouldn't even bother with it.

As the three kids started chattering excitedly about the day ahead of them, Fang returned to his normal silent self. When I sighed, though, he reached over and took my hand, casting me a look that said, It'll be okay.

I squeezed back and nodded. I know.

The elementary school was big, three stories tall. There were lots of other parents around, leading their kids into the school. Seeing such a huge, scary place with tons of people around automatically put me on guard, and I shot Fang a worried look. He shook his head and motioned for me to get out of the car.

I did, and before we got the kids out, he came over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist, leaning his forehead on mine. "Relax, Max."

"How can you be so calm?" I demanded. "We're putting them in the hands of strange people we've never met!"

"I'm not calm," he said in a voice that seemed, to me, perfectly so. "I'm freaking out inside. But I know we have to give them an education, and I also know that there's no danger anymore. There hasn't been for three years, Max, not since you took down Chu. Just chill, okay?"

I sighed, hating that he was right but knowing that he was. On all counts. "Fine. Let's do this thing."

Fang flashed a half-smile and released me, opening the back door of the car. Gracie was already climbing out of her car seat, pulling her small purple backpack behind her. Angel helped Devin undo his seat belt, and then they both crawled out.

"Wow," breathed an awed Angel. "It's so big."

"Sure is," I said with a sigh. Fang took my hand and laced our fingers together, and Devin came up on my other side to take that hand.

We took Angel to her fourth-grade classroom. While we stood outside the door, she politely told me that she could go in by herself, and I almost started crying. But I didn't. Instead, I kissed her forehead and told her to have a good day.

Then we headed toward the kindergarten class, which was what I really dreaded. From a full ten feet away, I could hear the cries of children-- and mothers-- who wanted to go home. The only composed woman near that room was probably in her thirties, and she was wearing a name tag.

Figuring she must be the teacher, I went up to her, clutching Devin's hand a little tighter with each step. She smiled at me, then at the twins, and said, "I'm Mrs. Montgomery. Are these kindergarteners?"

"Yes," I said, looking down at them. Gracie smiled at the teacher and waved, while Devin started to inch behind my leg, his eyes narrowed.

"Well, let's see if they're in my class," Mrs. Montgomery said, peering at the piece of paper in her hand. "Names?"

I automatically tensed when she asked for information, but Fang answered. "Gracie and Devin Ride."

No matter what he said, it sure seemed to me that he didn't really mind putting our kids in the care of strangers. Old, cynical me thought over this as the teacher scanned the list of names, then looked up with a bright smile. "I have them both. Why don't you two say good-bye to your parents, and then I'll show you the classroom?"

"Bye?" came Devin's tiny voice from behind me. "Where're you going, Mommy?"

I sighed and knelt down in front of him, smoothing down the blonde hair sticking up on his head. "Daddy and I are leaving you and Gracie here for a while, but we'll be back to get you later."

All Devin heard was 'leaving you.' He burst into tears and threw himself into my arms, wailing, "Mommy, I don't want you to go. Can't you take me with you?"

At that moment, as my heart broke at my little boy's scared, pleading voice, I was just about ready to whisk away him and Gracie and never look back at this place, but then Fang caught my eye. He knew exactly what I was thinking, and he shook his head.

I sighed and gently pried Devin off of me, then leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "Keep your wings in. Love you."

Then I turned to Gracie, who was considerably less freaked. She smiled and hugged me, then turned around and hugged Fang's legs. "Bye, Mommy, bye, Daddy!"

"Bye, baby," I said, attempting to mirror her smile. I stood up and watched Fang scoop Devin up and murmur in his ear. After having cold feet when we first found out we were parents, he had really turned into a good dad.

Mrs. Montgomery looked at me sympathetically. "It'll get easier."

I managed to nod before returning my attention to Fang, who was now lowering a slightly calmer Devin to the ground. The teacher motioned for them to enter the classroom, then turned to us and said, "I'll see you this afternoon."

"Thank you," said Fang, but all I could do was watch my children walk away from me, head to another setting where I couldn't be there to protect them. "Max? Let's go."

I couldn't move. I heard him exhale loudly, and then he gently turned my shoulders toward the exit. With one last desperate glance over my shoulder, I let him lead me away.

Once we were outside, Fang asked, "Max, what is wrong?"

"I just don't like this," I muttered, feeling the wetness beginning to well in my eyes. Embarrassed, I swiped at them, but it was too late. Fang had seen. He pulled me over to a bench and sat down, pulling me onto his lap. I buried my face in his shoulder and started sobbing like I hadn't since-- well, probably since the incident on the beach, with the seashell.

"Shh," Fang whispered, rubbing between my wings with one hand and stroking my hair with the other. "It's okay. They're gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay."

"I don't want them to grow up and leave me, Fang," I choked out.

"They're only six," he said. "We have twelve years left. Hell, between now and then, you'll probably wish they were out of the house a million times."

I laughed weakly, and I felt Fang grin as he kissed my head. Today, he knew how to make me feel better just as well as he did ten years ago. "You're right."

"Of course I am. Now come on." He gently nudged me off his lap, then stood up, holding his hand out to me. "We've got places to go."

Thanks for all the reviews last chapter, there were a lot! I appreciate every one, truly. And I LOVE getting them. Hint, hint. : D