Chapter 9

The guys had gotten back to camp before Nudge and I and were sitting around a dying fire, waiting for us along with Angela and Gazzy. As Nudge and I sat down, Angel asked a question, a simple, yet complicated question.

"Hey Max, Fang?" she started, "Why haven't I been able to read your minds all week?"

"Well, it's because we've been blocking you, silly," I stated with a false smile, it wasn't exactly a lie was it?

"But why Max? What do you have to hide?" She had a point. Fang shifted uneasily and gave me the look, we were going to tell them.

"What guys? Are you planning on running away and getting married or something?" Or something I thought.

"Guys, um, Fang and I have something to tell you all," I said as Fang stood up and came over to stand next to me, winding his arm around my waist, I continued, "Well, you see, we're going to have a new flock member in the next six or so months." Everyone looked at me with puzzled yet excited faces.

"Is it going to be a girl or a boy? How old are they going to be? Are we going to save them from the school? I hope it's a girl and she's my age. I wouldn't mind a new friend, not that you and Angel aren't good enou…" thank goodness for Iggy, he pressed his lips to hers and it shut her up quick smart.

"So Nudge, you've found something better to do with your lips than talk, eh?" Fang just had to say that, didn't he? This caused Nudge to turn a deep shade of red for about the fiftieth time today.

"Eww! Guys can you NOT do that in front of me ever again? 'Cos it's gross!" trust Gazzy to say something like that, he was never a very good one with feelings, "Oh and don't TALK about it either!" He then proceeded to make gagging noises. Typical.

"Hey guys, can we get back to our original conversation. Max, who's this new flock member?" Angel looked up at me wit- you guessed it- bambi eyes.

"Uh, I'm, I am um, I'm…"

"A very happy person?" Suggested Nudge (Thank-you Jov). I rolled my eyes at her.

"Yeah Nudge, that's EXACTLY what I am," I said, sarcasm dripping off each and every word.

"Can we please not change the subject?" Total pleaded.

"Okay, what I'm trying to say is that I'm… I'm… I'm…" I couldn't tell them, the words just wouldn't come out of my mouth.

"GuysMaxispregnant!" Fang blurted out, followed by five sharp intakes of breath.

"Who's the father?" Iggy asked, quite seriously for a change.

"It's you Ig!" I said whilst trying to hold back my laughter. Iggy's face paled and his eyes widened.

"No! Fang… I didn't… we never… I would never do that… I can't have... I swear… we… I… no… but…" I couldn't hold back my laughter any longer. Did Iggy seriously think that Fang would think that we'd been together (I hope that sentence made sense)?

"Iggy, Iggy, Iggy, don't you know sarcasm when you hear it?" Iggy's eyebrows rose as I laughed some more.

"Oh," he whispered, almost to himself, blushing.

"Fang's the father. Who else would it be?" I asked. Iggy opened his mouth to say something but obviously didn't want to embarrass himself even more, so he closed it.

"Omigod Max! I can't believe it! YOU'RE pregnant and you were giving ME a lecture on being careful with Iggy. You're such a hypocrite!" Nudge yelled at me and then stormed off into the surrounding woods. I stared after her. I wasn't too worried, I knew she'd be back, but I was truly hurt by what she had said, which was not at all like me. I thought her reaction would have been a bit more positive and that she'd be happy for me… or something. Right then what when something just snapped inside me, Nudge calling me a hypocrite, being pregnant, everyone now knowing, all the stress and my crappy life; it had all built up and was suddenly too much- I burst out crying. Fang held me to his chest, murmuring reassurances in my ear, telling me it would be okay. But it WASN'T okay, I didn't feel like I could do this anymore. I couldn't be Max the leader, Max the mum, Max the friend and Max the indestructible aswell as being Max the PREGNANT without it taking it's toll on me.

"Max, baby, relax, breathe," Fang was trying to calm me down and to my surprise it was actually working.

"Max, it's going to be okay, she'll be back," I shook my head and smiled weakly at him.

"It's not that, damn pregnancy hormones have made me cry more in a week than I have in my whole life," I exclaimed, sniffling.

"Is that all baby?" He asked, concern thick in his voice.

"Nudge's yelling at me and storming off was just the icing on the cake," I told him while he rocked me in his arms. I squeezed him tightly in a quick hug and extracted myself from his embrace.

"I'm okay," I told Fang with a small yet genuine smile as he was reluctant to let go, he returned the smile half heartedly.

Max are you okay?Angel asked me in my mind.

Yeah sweetie, I'm fine. It's just these pregnancy hormones. I thought back, looking over to see Angel nod.

"Ange, Gazzy, I think it's time for you guys to go to sleep," I announced. Gazzy looked like he was going to argue but I stopped him with "No buts Gazzy, Sleep, NOW!" Then I gave HIM bambi eyes, pleading him to listen to me just this once and go to sleep. Which he did. Once he and Angel had fallen asleep, I asked Fang to go help Iggy find Nudge.

During the time they were away I thought about how our conversation had gone- not good-. Outside that fact that Nudge had stormed of on me I was also worried about how I was going to explain to her how and why our situation was like this- I wasn't supposed to be pregnant but I was. I was also curious and worried about the fact that there was a quite prominent bulge on my lower abdomen. I knew I was pregnant and that was just all the proof I needed but I was only about two months along and though I didn't know much about this stuff, I was sure I wasn't supposed to show as much as I was this early on. I would have to talk about it with Fang when he got back. I was still deep in thought about our baby's growth when they returned. Easily snapping out of my thoughts I suggested- no TOLD them-

"I've got first watch, Fang you can have second and Iggy, you can have third, okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Iggy replied while grabbing Nudge's hand and dragging her away from Fang and I (obviously not wanting a fight to break-out) before laying down next to her to sleep.

Hey guys, sorry fro not updating for so long... hope you enjoyed the chapter...
So they finally told the flock... what do you guys think???
Have any of you heard the phrase pissfarted???... like dawdling??? who cam-up with the word cos it just sounds weird...

Anyways... R&R???