Catch and Release

Chapter 2

The first thing Fang did the next morning when he awoke was, well, close his eyes tightly and pray that he was still there instead of captured again. When he finally willed himself to get out of bed, he texted Max, but she didn't respond. As he knew no one and nothing of the town, he decided to go to the only other place he possibly might like being.

"Oh, Fang," Nudge said as she opened the door to reveal him standing on the other side. "Hey. I didn't know you were-"

"Max didn't answer my text."

"She's at work," Nudge said, bouncing her son in her arms. "Come in."

"Thanks," Fang mumbled, doing a quick glance over his shoulder before taking another few around Nudge's house. "So, uh-"

"No!"

Frowning, he did a lower look around, finding Max's daughter sitting on the floor, playing with her toys. Well, yelling at her toys.

"Is that-"

"Have you met Carter yet?" Nudge asked, taking a step around him and shutting the door before heading over to the little girl. At her name, she looked up, scowling at her. "You probably did yesterday, huh?"

"Yeah," he whispered as he slowly made his way over. Carter turned to focus her glare on him, but he had seen worse. Much, much worse. Staring blankly back at her, he said, "Hi."

"Nah!" She went back to yelling at her teddy bear.

"What did Robbie do, baby?" Nudge asked, but she got no answer. Shaking her head, she bounced her son again. "Evan doesn't feel well."

Fang glanced at her kid before looking around again. "Do you watch the baby a lot?"

"Huh?"

"Carter."

"Yeah, I guess. Anything to help out, you know."

He sighed a little bit, staring at Carter, though she didn't seem to notice or care. "Do you think…"

"Do I think what?"

He wanted to ask who she thought fathered Carter, but he couldn't. He shouldn't. She wasn't even around then. How would she know? Besides, it didn't matter, right? That's what he told Max. But was that the truth?

"Nothing." He went over to the couch and sat down on it, still watching Carter. When she felt his eyes, she barred her teeth at him, but when even that didn't work, she seemed to give up and went back to punishing Robbie.

"I have to go put on a load of clothes," Nudge told him after awkwardly standing there for a minute. That seemed to be all Fang was able to accomplish these days, awkwardness. "Can you watch them? The laundry room is in the basement. You know apartments. Please?"

He didn't really want to, but figured he was useless if he didn't learn how to deal with the two of them. "I guess so."

Nudge hesitated before telling him that she would just take Evan with her. After she left the apartment, it was just Fang and Max's daughter. For a moment he just sat there, nervously tapping his foot. It wasn't until she got up and came closer to him that he even remembered that he had a job to do. He had to watch the toddler. If anything happened to her there was no way he and Max…he and Max what? What did he want? What did she want? What did anyone want? He wasn't sure about anything anymore.

"Ow."

He frowned, staring at her. What was wrong? Was she hurt?

"What?"

"Ow." She traced a line on her top lip to the far side of her left cheek. "Ow."

"You…oh. Me."

She nodded before tracing another line on her flesh, mimicing his scars. "Ows."

"I guess."

Then she made a shocked face and rushed back to her pile of stuffed animals that Nudge had allowed her to just toss to the living room floor. She quickly pulled one in particular out and brought it over to him.

"Owl," she said, moving to set the stuffed doll in Fang's lap. He frowned, not understanding the reference.

"Uh…thanks?"

She quickly barred her teeth again, letting him know that this under no circumstance meant that they were friends. Because it didn't. At all. So there.

Flipping the stuffed toy over in his hands, Fang quickly located the tag and found that the owl belonged to the Winnie the Pooh family, which really didn't help him out a lot. Why did she give this to him? Ow? Owl? Okay, so maybe they sounded similar, but so what?

"Uh-oh, Fang," Nudge called out as she came back into the living room some time later and noticed the stuffed animal in his lap. "Did you take one of her toys?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "She gave it to me."

"Really?"

"What?"

"It's just…she's not a very good sharer."

Evan, who was barely a year old from what Fang gathered, was now awake and staring at him. Fang thought about making one of those funny faces that people do in front of children, but couldn't imagine pulling it off.

"Carter? Did you give Fang one of your toys?" Nudge asked as she went to sit Evan down on the blanket next to her. "Huh?"

"Owl." She pointed at him before tracing a finger across her lip, symbolizing the line across his own. "Owls."

Nudge didn't seem to get it at first either, but after a moment she turned to look at Fang and had the look of deep sympathy.

"Oh, Fang, I'm so sorry. She doesn't understand-"

"It's fine," he cut her off. And it was fine. Why wouldn't it be? His scars were a part of him now. He would just have to learn to live with them. Even if that did make him an owl.

"So when are you gonna start looking for your apartment?" Nudge asked, sitting down on the other end of the couch. Fang shifted slightly, but didn't get up.

"I dunno. Max said I could stay with her, but I don't think…"

"It'll be better for you to get out on your own," Nudge agreed with his silence. "Plus Max is so focused these days, on Carter and things. You don't need to be involved with that." When she saw his face though, she changed her answer. "I mean, unless you want to be. Just not yet. You need to find yourself again, you know? And Fang?"

He just stared.

"You'll always have a place here." She smiled at him, a sad, soft smile. "I owe you my life."

He turned away, looking back at Carter. "Is she allowed to do that?"

Nudge shifted her vision to the little girl to find that she was throwing blocks in the general direction of the television, trying to hit it.

"Carter, you stop that!"

That just got a loud growl in response. Frowning, Fang got up, setting the owl down on the floor.

"I, uh, um…"

"Bathroom?" Nudge asked after getting up and grabbing Carter's hand, forcing her to stop. "Go. You know where it is from the other day, right?"

He nodded before heading off. Once he was in that bathroom though, he just ran the sink while staring at himself in the mirror. He looked to pale.

"Ow," he whispered to himself as h reached up and traced one of his scars. He had so many. He couldn't imagine what Carter would say if she saw the old, faded ones, like from when the Eraser attacked him on the beach, mixed in with his new ones, like the bullet wound he had in his chest from the first time they raped Max in front of him, at that School, and he had lunged. That got him shot.

Closing his eyes tightly, he could still remember Max, struggling even more when he got shot, but she couldn't do anything. She was chained. He could almost see her, her brown eyes all dead inside. He could hear too, still, those chains rattling against one another. All he could think about was Max. And then, later, when he was alone, he kept picturing it. That's why they made him watch, so that he would picture it.

The thing that almost made him retch though was the thought of what they would do to Nudge. Innocent, little Nudge. That's why he knew he had to get her out. If no one else, Nudge had to go. Max was strong, stronger than him. Nudge though…he had to keep Nudge safe at all costs. She couldn't do it herself!

"Ow," he whispered as he pushed his jacket sleeves and saw that chain marks mixed in with the ones that ran down the length of both arms, from when he tried to take his own life, when he first got out. He remembered feeling so cold then. He was so cold now.

"Fang?"

He lifted his head up. "Hmmm?"

"Are you okay in there?" He heard Nudge call.

"Mmmhmm." He finally turned off the tap and opened the door. He found that someone, probably Carter, had put that stupid stuffed animal in front of the bathroom door. Picking it up, he headed back to the living room, where Carter was now sitting in front of the television, watching something very closely. Fang made a face, sitting back down on the couch.

"What-"

"No!" Carter turned around to look at him. "No!"

"What?"

Nudge shook her head, not looking up from her cell phone, which she was now texting on next to him. "She gets mad when someone talks during Barney."

And? Fang shook his head. They treated Carter like she's a freaking God. Leaning forward with his elbows rested on his knees, he watched the little girl as she stared at the television like it was her life source. Fang let out a long sigh. He felt like he sighed a lot.

After her show was over, Carter became interested in Evan. She had crawled over to him and was making faces. Fang glanced at Nudge, but she was texting again. He thought about asking her if she was texting her boyfriend or husband or whatever, but he had yet to work up the courage. So far, he had seen no sign of a man in her life, but you never know. Maybe he was just a hard worker.

"I think someone is bored, Carter," Nudge said randomly. "You haven't paid Fang any attention. He came all this way just to see you."

"No," Fang said with a shake of his head. "I didn't even know that she was here."

"Owl." Carter didn't understand what Fang meant, really. After all, who would go anywhere if it wasn't to see her. "Tawk wid Owl."

"That's not my job," Nudge told her. "He's your guest."

"Me guest." She jumped up before coming over to him. "Owl."

Fang just kept staring at her, his face unchanging. For a second she just stared back, but only for a second, because then she fell over with giggles.

"Owl." She reached out to touch his face like she had the day before and Fang fought his urge to jerk away from her. Slowly, she traced the scar he had on his face, the one that started on his lip.

He closed his eyes as this time her finger didn't just ghost over him, but she actually pressed down, as if testing to see if he was real. Just like that though, she was snatched up, taken away. When Fang opened his eyes, he found that she had been lifted up by the now standing Nudge, who was frowning.

"What has gotten into you? Huh? You don't touch people without asking first. Maybe Fang didn't want your grubby finger in his face."

Sitting up now, Fang observed that the toddler didn't take reprimanding any better than she did normal commands.

"No!" She bit at Nudge, who immediately sat her down. "No! Mommy! Want Mommy!"

Nudge just rolled her eyes, which Fang was beginning to realize was the only thing she really ever did. That and text. It was kind of fitting, Nudge being such a texter. It at least made her quieter. That was definitely a plus.

"She's at work," Nudge said, but Carter didn't seem to understand the concept. After stomping around for another minute, she got a ball from her pile of toys before rushing over to Fang. She threw it at him, which finally made him move, as to dodge the ball. It hit the wall with a loud smack.

"Carter!" Nudge finally seemed to have enough. She quickly scooped the little girl up and carried her out of the room, ignoring her cries. Fang frowned, shifting back into his previous position. Max's daughter was a brat.

Rolling his shoulders until they cracked, Fang allowed his eyes to close again. They were quickly reopened however when another noise, a soft cooing, disturbed him. Looking around with evident fear, he eventually calmed when he realized it was just Nudge's son, Evan.

Evan. Carter. For all the weird names that the Flock came up with as kids, they sure do pick dull ones to call their own children. How did Max go from calling someone Gasman to naming another Carter? What a dumb name to begin with, Carter. It was more of a last name if it was anything. Stupid Max. Stupid Carter. Stupid everything.

"Carter's taking a nap," Nudge told Fang as she came back into the room a few minutes later. "She needs one."

Fang had only known the girl less than two days, but he couldn't agree more. He was sure that anyone would, after spending a minute or so with her.

"What about him?"

"Evan? He just sleeps whenever."

That didn't sound right to Fang. He thought babies were supposed to be on a schedule. Then again, he had never raised a kid, really. Not as a baby.

"Max said that Ella has a son."

Nudge nodded slowly as she lifted her own into her arms. "Sebastian. He's in school right now, the little butt."

"He's bad?"

"He's Ella's spawn, so you tell me."

Making a face, he asked, "What's up with you and Ella?"

She just looked at him for a moment before saying, "A lot of stuffed happened while you were gone, Fang."

"Yeah, like that," he said, pointing to Evan. "Whose is he?"

"This guy. You don't know him."

"I don't know a lot of people. Name, Nudge."

"It doesn't matter. Not right now. I'm sure you'll meet him…eventually…you know….when you get settled….or whatever…"

"So he's not around."

"He's around enough, okay? I don't need him." She rolled her eyes heavily. "God, Fang, I'm an adult now. I know I wasn't last time I saw you, but I am now."

He just snorted. Adult. Yeah, okay.

For a moment or two it was silent. Then Nudge left the room, headed into the kitchen to feed Evan, or so Fang figured. He didn't mean to, but Fang slowly began to get sleepy. The meds they had him on kept him that way constantly. Glancing around, he made the sudden decision to sleep. Nudge did say her couch was always open, after all.

Slowly, Fang moved to stretch out across the cushions, cuddling into the rough materials, yawning softly. He didn't like sleeping here, out in the open, but he trusted Nudge. For a split second however, his mind flashed before him the possibility of this having all been a set up, that Max, Nudge, and Dr. Martinez were all just clones, doppelgangers sent to trap him. The government claimed to have eradicated all of the Schools and their affiliates, but he would never trust the government. He would never trust anyone.

Somewhere in all that madness, Fang's overly tired mind just gave out and allowed him to fall into a deep slumber.

"Owl no eat?"

"Owl's not hungry."

"Mmmm."

Fang groaned slightly, opening his eyes to find that someone had opened the blinds somewhere, allowing sunlight in. He hated bright lights.

"Oh, sorry. Did I wake you?"

"Huh?" Turning his head, he found that Max was standing by the door, on her knees next to Carter, helping her put her jacket and shoes on. "Max? What are you doing here?"

"I'm picking Carter up."

"What time is it?"

"About five," he heard Nudge say. Turning his head, he found her coming out of the hall, also in her shoes and coat. "We're going out for dinner tonight, Fang."

"Where's Evan?"

"Right here," she said, going over to one of those baby car seat carrier thingies. Fang didn't really know what they were called. Nor did he care. He just groaned, falling back on the couch.

"Ow," Carter told her mother, tracing am imaginary scar across her cheek. "Owl."

"I know. You think Fang looks like an owl."

"No," Nudge said slowly, shaking her head. "She thinks…well…"

"What?" Max picked up Carter when her shoes were tied. "Why do you call him Owl, baby?"

"Ow," the little girl explained, running a hand across her forehead.

"I don't-"

"She calls my scars ows," Fang said, finally standing. "Ow sounds like owl. Or at least that's what I've gathered."

Carter yawned slightly. "Owl s'eep."

Max just kissed her head, frowning. "I'm sorry, Fang. She doesn't understand that you-"

"It's fine."

"I just thought it was something dumb. She kept pointing at you and saying owl when I got in and-"

"I said its fine, alright?" He popped his shoulders. "Sorry I fell asleep, Nudge. I didn't mean to."

"It's alright, Fang. I know you must be tired. You just got back from New York. And you haven't even been out of the hospital that long."

He instinctively began to rub his wrists, shaking his head back and forth. "I, uh, should go home now. Back to the hotel, I mean."

"Why would you do that? Come eat with us," Max ordered.

"I don't have my money on me."

"Fang." She rolled her eyes. "I haven't seen you in years. I can pay for your dinner."

"I wouldn't answer so fast, Max," Nudge said as she started for the door. "Remember how he used to shred through food?"

"I don't think he could put down two burgers now if he tried," Max said, staring at his frail body. "You should though, Fang. You need to gain weight."

What was she? His mother? Frowning, he put on his shoes before following them out of the building to Nudge's car.

"SUV?" He asked as the two women went to work loading their kids in.

"Henry left it when he, well, left me," Nudge said, shrugging slightly. "It's a nice car, huh? Paid off too."

"Nudge goes after old guys," Max told Fang as Carter began to whine about having to be in a car seat. "Don't ya, Nudge?"

"No," she said, shoot Max a look as she got in the driver's side. "I go after responsible, mature, men with a steady job."

"His father is old?" Fang frowned at Evan as he got into the back seat between the two kids. Max shook her head, taking the passenger's side. "How old?"

"The more important question is why a responsible, mature man with a steady job would leave his child and move to Nevada."

"He pays child support, you know, Max," Nudge said, clearly tired of the conversation they had probably had a million times. "And at least I've got a man. Or had, I guess. For now."

Max rolled her eyes before looking up into the review mirror, finding that Fang, stuck in the middle seat, was now being bothered by her daughter, who was touching his face for some reason. Frowning, she quickly put a stop to it.

"Cut it out, Carter. You don't do that."

"Owl."

"Stop. And Fang, you can tell her to stop, if you want."

He just shook his head a little bit as Carter moved to pat his head. "She's fine."

"Fang-"

"I said that she's fine, okay?"

Carter giggled. "Owl loud. Loud Owl. Shhh, Owl."

Fang shook his head a little bit, which made her laugh louder, though he was just trying to clear his head.

"I, uh, I," Fang couldn't find his words.

"What, Fang?" Max glanced back at him and Nudge turned the radio down.

He wanted to tell them that he liked Carter. Sort of. And Evan was…quiet. That was good. He also wanted to say that he would never move to New York with Angel or Texas with Iggy. He would stay right here, in this dinky little town, and live his life. What more could he ask for? Sure, he'd want the others around, but if he had to choose, Max and Nudge would be his two choices. Evan and Carter, they might not have been expected and he surely never planned for them, but that fine, wasn't it? They all had to grow up eventually, right? Not to mention, Dr. Martinez was in town too, to help. He owed everything to her. Everything.

"Just…I like…" He swallowed. "I like their names. Carter and Evan."

Max made a face in the review mirror. "Are you alright?"

No. Not at all. He hadn't gone back to the hotel like he planned and needed his medication. Why was he so stupid? Why did he ever let Valencia take him out of the hospital? Now he had to do things for himself. He was too dumb for that. Too-

"Fang, if you need me to pull over-"

"I'm fine, okay?"

"Owl." Carter was poking him now, trying to get his attention. "Owl. Owl. Owl. O- Ow!"

"What?" Max turned around quick, probably thinking Fang had hurt her. He honestly hadn't and moved away slightly, as not to be blamed. "What's wrong?"

"Ow." Carter held up her finger, which she had injured by jamming it against Fang's jaw bone. "Hurt."

"How?"

"Dis!" She rammed her finger into Fang's cheek again. "Ow!"

"Stop. Leave him alone, alright?"

Carter smiled at Fang. "Mommy bossy."

Didn't he know it? Sighing, Fang leaned back into the chair, closing his eyes tightly.

"If you need to go home, Fang-"

"I'm fine." He held up a hand. "Just…tired, that's all."

"You'll start to get on a regular pattern, once you get a job and an apartment," Nudge assured him. "God, Fang, it's so great to just have you back again. You know that, right? I love you, Fang. I missed you more than anything."

Fang gulped down some air, trying to stop himself from speaking. Why did she have to do this to him, right now?

"Nudge, leave Fang alone, alright?" Max was talking to her like she might talk to a child, but that's the tone she used with most everyone. She always had. "He doesn't want to think about that stuff right now."

Evan began to fuss from being bored, probably, and Fang had to get him a toy out of his diaper bag. Carter immediately began to complain, whining loudly for Max to pay attention to her. By the time they got to the restaurant, Fang was beginning to wonder if he should be thankful for being back.

"Ooh, Evan, are you sleepy?" Nudge got him out of the car as Fang helped Max unbuckle Carter. He never knew how complex a car seat was. He just hoped he never had to buckle her up on his own, because there was no way he'd ever get her in there right.

"Owl," Carter giggled, now content that Max was paying attention to her. "Brrr."

"She's cold?" Fang frowned, sliding out of the SUV as he watched the little girl cuddle against her mother.

"She's always cold." Max bounced her a little bit. "Are you gonna be good in the restaurant?"

"Mmmhmm." Reaching out, she patted Fang's face again before yawning. "Hung'y."

"That's why we're eating, silly," Max said as she turned, following Nudge into the place. Fang began to nervously rub his wrist again, trying to think of a way to convince Max that maybe going into a crowded restaurant wasn't the best plan. He was scared of crowds. You couldn't watch everyone at once.

"What do you want to eat?" Max asked Carter once they had been seated. "You want chicken? Huh?"

"Owl." She glanced over at him. "Sick?"

He shook his head a little bit, fighting the urge to flip his hood up and hide himself. He felt so exposed.

"Are you okay, Fang?" Nudge asked. He nodded slightly, still not meeting any of their eyes. "You're breathing kind of heavy."

"He's fine," Max said. Somehow, he had ended up sitting in the same booth as Nudge, Carter in her booster seat across from him, next to Max. Evan was in a high chair at the end of the table. He was all boxed in.

"Yeah," he whispered. Then, shocking him, Max reached across the table and laid one of her hands on his. "I'm fine."

Fang hardly touched his dinner. He didn't eat much these days. He was supposed to be on some sort of diet to help him gain back weight, but Fang wasn't one for rule following. Nudge kept asking if his burger was okay, if his fries were cold or something. She was more worried about him than Max, who mostly spent her time keep Evan from crying and making sure that most of Carter's food ended up in her mouth.

By the time dinner was over, Fang was ready to get back to his hotel, take his night dose of medicine, and huddle under a pile of blankets until morning. Nudge drove back to her house, where Max's car was waiting.

"I'll take you home, Fang, so that Nudge can get this guy ready for bed," Max said, kissing Evan's head before heading over to her car, Carter in her arms. Fang nodded to Nudge, not saying anything because he was sure if he did, she would try to hug him again.

"You need to stop anywhere first, Fang?" Max asked after they got Carter set up in the back seat. Fang sighed, sliding into the front seat.

"No. And I can pay you back, once I get to my hotel. I'll-"

"Fang-"

"No, no, Max, I-"

"I can pay for you sometimes." She smiled at him as she pulled her own seatbelt across her stomach. "Just like you can pay for me."

"And Carter," he mumbled. "For the food that actually ends up getting eaten and not just mixed up together on her plate."

"It's art, Fang," she said with a soft smile. "You're going to have to tell me where your hotel is."

"Keep going straight for a few minutes," he told her before leaning against the window. "I, um, really need my medicine."

"What?" She glanced at him.

"I fell asleep at Nudge's and never-"

"Fang, you should have said something. You can't be skipping dosages."

Oh, so she's a doctor now too?

"I know, I know."

"Mom will-"

"Dr. Martinez doesn't need to know. No one does." Fang glanced at her. "I'm not crazy. I don't care what they say. I'm not."

Max let that hang in the air for a moment before trying to tackle it with more caution than usual. "You're damaged, Fang. You-"

"I am not."

"How could you not be? I was. I still am. I still…I still dream about it. About you. About that time when they made me watch Nudge get beat. I couldn't do anything. The chains…I wanted to."

He wanted to tell her about all the things he wanted. About how he wanted to protect her from them, about how if he could have broken the bonds that held him down, he would have, about how he would kill every single one of those bastards that hurt her. Wants didn't mean much though, so he kept silent.

Max sighed slightly. "This is all just so weird. I never thought I'd see you again. And yes, I know that you don't want to do this, this emotional crap, but I just want you to know that…I heard about you trying to take your life. I understand, completely. But just…don't. Ever again. I-I…I need you. I've needed you. Now I have you. Don't let me down."

He just closed his eyes again. It was all too much. All of it. Things were so much easier when everything he did was dictated by someone else, either the Whitecoats or the nurses. Now, here in the real world, he was having to make his own decisions and he hated it.

"Th…Thank you," he mumbled, barely above a whisper.

Max didn't make him repeat it.