I'm posting sooner than usual because I felt like it after getting FANG in the mail from England today. Mwahahaha.

It's, uh… interesting.

Anyway. I got a couple reviews mentioning that Max's ankle wouldn't usually take three weeks to heel, since they heel so fast… I probably should have figured something else out, but I needed an excuse for them to get insurance and sort of stabilize their financial situation… yeah…

This seems like a good time to mention, as well, that I realize the rest of the flock is barely in this story and wasn't in Becoming You and Me much, either. That's definitely a weak point, but I had my plot and I didn't really know how they fit into that. So… just some background info there!

Anyway… onward!

I was the owner of eight medical insurance plans.

A girl with a sprained ankle.

And the mother of a future delinquent.

There were only two days left of school before Thanksgiving break, and as I sat on the couch at home with my ankle up, I was just praying that Devin would make it to the holiday without punching anyone.

Around noon, though, the phone on the table beside me rang. Grimacing, I picked it up and answered. "Hello?"

It wasn't the school, but from the tone of Fang's, "Hey," I figured there was something up.

"What's going on?" I asked.

He sighed. In the background, I could hear Iggy saying, "How are you today?" which was too polite to sound natural coming from his mouth. "The principal called. Devin punched the student teacher again, apparently in the jaw. And, uh, they want us to come get him. He's suspended until school starts again after break."

I sat up on the couch. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

I shook my head, growling under my breath. It was hard enough adjusting to this normal life thing, with our money issues, having to work, and my ongoing battle with my mother over that stupid check. The last thing I needed was a problem child. "I'm gonna take him down."

Fang chuckled. "I'm going to get him now. Try to calm down a little between now and when we get home, okay?"

"Okay," I sighed, falling back against my pillow. "But you might want to stand in front of him when you come in, in case I feel like kicking some six-year-old butt."

0000000000

"You're in trouble."

Devin slumped in the kitchen chair I'd sat him in, crossing his arms over his chest. I was in a chair across from him-- I would have been pacing, but there was the pesky ankle issue. So I was sitting, Fang beside me for moral support, with one of Iggy's spatulas in my hand, which I was using for emphasis.

"You are," I repeated, waving the spatula one way, "in so--" I waved it the other way. "Much trouble." And I held it out in front of me, pointing right at him.

"But, Mommy," Devin began, but I cut him off.

"Tell me what happened, okay? Start to finish."

"Gracie yelled because someone threw a toy and it hit her," he said, all wide-eyed innocence. "Ms. Drison grabbed her by the neck, and I thought she was going to hurt her. So I hit her in the face to make her drop Gracie."

My next scolding was on the tip of my tongue, but just as it was about to come out, I quickly thought back over what he'd said. "Wait, she grabbed your sister by the neck?"

Devin nodded fervently.

"Are you telling the truth, Devin?" Fang asked sternly.

"Yes!"

Fang and I exchanged a glance. I believed him. Judging by the look on his face, Fang didn't. With our eyes, we silently conversed for a minute. Then I nodded, deciding to let Fang have his way for now, and turned back to Devin.

"You can't keep hitting people," I said, and pointed the spatula in the direction of the hallway. "Go up to your room, and stay there until someone calls you down for dinner."

Still pouting, Devin stood up and stomped out of the kitchen. I tilted my head back, looking up at Fang, who had moved behind my chair. "That went well."

"Yeah."

"I'm kind of… concerned about what he said about the teacher grabbing Gracie, though," I said, biting my lip as an image of someone holding my little girl by the neck and slamming her against the wall played through my brain and made my blood boil.

Gazing down at me, Fang brushed his thumb over my cheek. "I think he's exaggerating."

"I really don't think he is, Fang." I sighed and straightened up, then grabbed my crutches and stood. "We should at least check her out."

"We are not checking her out."

"Since when are you the voice of authority here?" I snapped.

"I'm not," he said automatically. "But think about it. You go charging off, like always--"

"I do not--"

"Yes you do. You charge off, burst into that kindergarten classroom, and push that poor, defenseless twenty-five year old up against the wall. And then you get arrested. Now what?"

I scowled at him. "I just think we need to--"

"Here's what I think." Before I even knew what was happening, Fang was gently pulling one crutch, then the other, from under my arms. I stumbled, but didn't have time to fall, because he scooped me up and put me on the counter. When I opened my mouth to protest, he cut me off. "In about two hours, Iggy will get off work and come home. Until then, we're alone."

Against my will, a smile crept onto my face. "Are we, now?"

"Yeah." He rested one hand on my thigh, right above my knee, and slipped the other behind my neck. "We are."

I tilted my head up, searching for his lips, but I couldn't quite reach them. Chuckling quietly, Fang leaned down and closed the gap for me. The moment our lips touched I wound my arms around his neck, and giggled when I felt him smile.

We went on kissing for a while, me on the counter and Fang in front of me. It'd been such a long time since we'd had enough time to just be together. It seemed like we were always at work, or arguing about money, or dealing with the flock and ki--

"Mommy? Daddy?"

I reluctantly broke away from Fang, who growled under his breath. I hopped off the counter and went to stand at the end of the hall. "Yeah?"

"Am I allowed to go to the bathroom?"

Fang's eyes met mine across the room, and we both rolled them. Foiled again.

Heh. Silly Devin.

Review, please!