Catch and Release

Chapter 14

"Owl."

Fang ripped a piece off his burger before feeding it to the girl.

"Yummy."

"Mmmhmm."

They were sitting at that burger place Max worked at part time, waiting for her to get off. Then Fang was taking them both to a movie. It was, after all, date night. And of course that didn't mean they could go out alone, oh no, there was a new animated movie out that Carter just had to see. You'd think it was Max pushing for it, but in actuality, Fang was. He didn't want Carter to get jealous of her mother, after all.

"Coke."

Fang slid her his drink. She had asked for Sprite and Fang obliged, but it was slowly turning into a share your drink thing and Fang wasn't really down with that. Still, she was behaving so well. But all that backwash…

"Alright, I'm ready."

Fang glanced up as Max came over. Then he shook his plate at her. "We're not. We're still your table. You have to wait for us to finish and then bus our table."

"Don't tell me how to do my job, Fang."

"Mommy." Carter smiled at her, giving Fang his drink back. "Owl. Movie."

"Yeah, Owl's taking us to the movies, huh? He's a pretty good Owl."

"Owl." Carter smiled at him from across the table. "Mo'?"

He gave her some of his fries. "She never eats her own food. Only mine."

"Maybe she thinks you're a good sharer."

Fang only shook his head as Max walked off to do something. Then he looked at Carter. "You think I'm a good Owl?"

"Yes."

"That's all that matters. What you think, I mean."

By the time they left her mother's work, Carter was ready for the movie. She kept making loud, obnoxious noises the whole way to the theater, but Fang let it slide because he liked her so much. Max, for her part, just ignored her daughter, focusing on the road most of the way.

"Pretty soon you'll be able to drive places yourself," Max mused to Fang at one point.

He glanced over at her. "Like a real date."

"Just because the woman drives doesn't mean it's not a real date."

He left it at that, not wanting to get scolded for sexism.

"I wan' popco'n."

"You want popcone? Not popcorn?" Fang asked after they had paid for their tickets and were headed in. "I can get you some of that."

"Fang, she just ate."

"She'll only eat a little. You need to eat too, so you can have some."

"At least let me pay-"

"It's a date."

"Whatever." Max looked down at Carter, who was holding onto Fang's jeans. "What's wrong, Carter?"

"No lose me, Owl."

He reached down, patting her head. "I've got you. I'm not going anywhere without you."

That held true until after Fang bought the girls their snacks and drinks when he excused himself to go to the bathroom. Carter tried to follow him in, but Max picked her up and carried her to the theater, angering Carter. Needless to say, she was still upset when Fang got back.

"Owl."

They had been easy to find, as Carter was whining pretty loud. Still, it was a kids movie, so there were a lot of crying brats. Fang, though, was slowly learning to recognize her cries and what they meant.

"Are you sad? You knew I'd come back." Fang sat down on the other side of Carter, smiling at Max who was frowning. "She gets scared that I'm leaving."

"I've noticed."

Carter, now happy that Fang was back, began to eat some of the popcorn, which Max had allowed her to hold. "Owl?"

"I'm not hungry right now. You and Mommy can eat it, huh?"

She nodded, settling into her seat, Robbie in the seat with her. Fang was slowly learning that they hardly went anywhere without at least one of Carter's stuffed animals.

When the movie started, Fang promptly fell asleep, which was okay; most adults in the theater did. The only good thing about Carter was that when she was watching a movie or TV, as long as no one else distracted her, she was pretty quiet. There were times, if she were bored, that she would start to whine or try to play, but as long as the thing being shown was somewhat interesting to her, she was silent.

After the movie, Fang tried to get Max to let him take Carter to get ice cream, but she shut that down rather fast.

"Fang, you feed her too much."

"No, I just-"

"I know that you're trying to please her, but this isn't the way to go about it. She likes you, Fang, you don't have to bribe her anymore."

He frowned at Max. "That's not what I'm doing."

She just shook her head, annoying him. Who was Max to second guess him? He was just trying to let Carter have some fun. So what if she ate ice cream? Huh? What was the big deal?

"Owl."

He glanced back at Carter to find her waving at him. "What?"

"Owl."

"I'm not going anywhere, Carter. I'm gonna go home with you guys."

"Really?" Max asked.

"Yeah. Can I, uh, stay the night?"

"Why?"

"I'm off tonight and you know how Angel's staying with me?"

"Uh-huh."

"She uses my bed at night."

"You're so sweet."

"So can I use your couch?"

"Of course."

Fang had told Max all about Angel staying with him. This was mainly because he was afraid of her having another reaction like she had when he was with Ella. For some reason though, she didn't seem to care. Angel's body in comparison to Ella's…well, there was no comparison! So why didn't Max care about this? She was so weird.

"Fo't."

'Huh?" Max glanced at Carter in the review mirror. "What, baby?"

"Fo't."

"She wants a fort. Can I build her a fort?"

"In her room. You two can sleep in there."

"You don't want to sleep with us?"

"Not tonight. My back hurts."

"Maybe it's your wings. You never-"

"Let's listen to music," Max interrupted, turning the stereo up. Fang just leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Can we stop by my place to get my medicine?"

"Sure."

"Nest," Carter began to chant once they arrived there. "Nest, nest, nest."

"Not for us. Fang's just running in."

"Owl," Carter started to cry as he got out. "Owl."

"I'll be right-"

"Just go, Fang. Don't play into her."

He sighed, closing the car door before heading up to his 'nest' to get his stuff for the night. When he got there, he was surprised to find that Angel had a visitor.

"Hi, Fang."

He frowned at her. "Who's this?"

"My…friend, Melissa. She came all the way from New York to visit," Angel said. They were seated on his bare living room, staring at the other girl's laptop. She was dark headed with glasses, but overall, not that bad looking. Not that Fang was looking. Or anything. Or whatever. Kind of busty…but who was he to talk…yeah.

"You guys can just get off like that?"

The other woman giggled, but Angel just elbowed her gently.

"Yeah, I guess so. It's okay if she stays, right?"

Fang nodded slightly. "I'm going over to Max's," he told her as he headed to his bedroom to get his medicine and clothes for the next day. When he got back to them, he frowned, narrowing his eyes at Angel.

"No guys," he told her which made the other girl laugh loud.

"Okay," Angel said in that odd tone. "No guys."

"I mean it."

"I know you do."

Fang didn't feel comfortable again until he was back with Max and Carter in the car.

"Everything alright?" Max asked, taking in his expression.

"Yeah," he mumbled, deciding not to mention Angel's friend to Max. "Let's just go."

When they got to Max's place, Carter was very excited to learn how to make a fort. Max, for her part, ignored them mostly, allowing them to use the couch cushions and a few extra blankets for the fort, but otherwise not being involved. After the fort was all built, Fang agreed to bathe Carter, but only after making her promise not to get him wet. She tested him, of course, but only once before she gave in and didn't do it again.

"Owl."

He allowed her to dress herself in her night clothes, mainly because he was taking his pills while staring at himself in the mirror. He liked looking at himself for some reason, or so Carter guessed. He sure did it enough.

"You're so good at getting dressed, Carter. Why, if there were a competition, I bet you would win."

"Fo't."

"Come on," he said after taking his final pill. "To the fort."

Once they were in the fort, Carter demanded every story known to man, but Fang happily consented, wanting to make her happy too. After about an hour though, she fell asleep and then Fang was just stuck in the fort, all alone.

Are you asleep?

He frowned, staring at the text on his phone. Why was Max texting him?

No. Come in here.

I can't. I told you, my back hurts. I don't want to lay on the floor.

What's wrong with it?

It just hurts, Fang, that's all.

Fang shifted on the floor to watch Carter, who was still sleeping.

Do you need hell?

Hell?

I missed typed. I'm new at this. I meant help.

Help how?

I dunno.

It took awhile for her to respond back, but when she did, she just texted:

Come here.

Slowly, Fang got up from his spot in the fort, being careful not to awake Carter. When he got to the living room, he found it dark and empty. Max was in her bedroom. Taking a deep breath, Fang headed in there.

"Max?"

It was dark in her room too, but he could make her out, lying on her bed in a t-shirt and basketball shorts.

"Come lay down with me."

"Max-"

"Come on." She patted the spot next to her. "Just do it, Fang."

He could tell that her patience was wearing thin, so he went ahead and followed directions, climbing into the bed next to her slowly. For a second, Fang wasn't sure what to do, but as always, his leader was ready to, well, lead him.

"Come here," Max mumbled, closing the distance between them as she moved closer to him. "Fang."

He allowed her to push him onto his back, still unsure of where this was going. "Max?"

"Why are you always so unsure, Fang? You didn't used to be."

He stared up into her brow eyes in the darkness, taking notice of how red they were. Something was wrong. "What happened?"

For a moment, she stayed above him, holding his arms down as she stared back into his eyes, also studying his movements. "Nothing, just my back."

"Did you pull something in it or-"

"Shut up for once, will you?" Then Max leaned down, pressing her lips to Fang's. For a moment, he was sure what to do, so he just laid there, not responding to what she was doing. Finally, exasperated, Max pulled back to look at him again.

"Do you not want this, Fang?"

Still, he just watched her, too shocked to say anything. Did he not want this? He wanted a lot. A lot. No, really, a lot. Who was she to judge? Huh? Who was anyone to judge anyone these days?

"God, Fang." She finally moved off him. "You just…Won't you at least take off that damn jacket?"

He still just watched her for a moment before standing. "I have to get back to Carter."

Shaking her head, Mad gestured for him to just leave. He was no use to her the way he was at the moment, they both knew that.

"Owl?"

Fang shushed Carter as he crawled back into the fort a minute later. "I had to go potty. Just go back to sleep."

Carter handed him one of her stuffed animals to help him sleep before drifting back off herself. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be so easy for Fang.

Why did Max have to keep changing the rules, huh? It was easy for him, when they were just like kids again, very nervous to kiss, to even touch. Now, she had to act all grown up, like right after they saved the world and their relationship was free to go wherever they chose to take it. And oh, did they take it places. A lot of places. Now, though, Fang was scared to take it anywhere too serious. Anywhere that he'd have to show himself to her. He wasn't sure he could be that way again, but was certain that he definitely couldn't be it at the moment.

"Night-night, Carter," Fang whispered, glancing over at her to find that she was already back in dreamland. Reaching over, he stroked her back gently before rolling onto his stomach and falling asleep.

Fang woke up again when Carter began to whine. Frowning, he found her at the door to the room, trying in vain to get out.

"What's wrong?" He asked her, getting out of the fort.

"Potty."

"Oh." Fang was quick to help her out of the room, not wanting her to use the restroom on herself. That would be, quite literally, a mess. While he was waiting for her to finish up, Fang went ahead and ate his nightly snack. Max didn't have any fruit, but he ate a brownie, which was good. He liked brownies.

After settling Carter back down for the night, Fang saw that it was only three in the morning and he wasn't tired. It was dead hour. He should be asleep. Everything bad happens at dead hour.

"Max?"

Maybe that's why he went back to Max's room.

"Are you awake?"

No. She wasn't. For a moment or two, Fang just stood in the doorway, watching her in the darkness, noticing how she still, after all these years, wouldn't sleep on her back. She was curled up on her side, the blanket stopping at her waist. He couldn't move as he watched her, too intrigued by how peaceful she looked when she was asleep. Slowly, he found that his feet did work and made his way over to her.

"Max?"

Still, she didn't move.

"I'm sorry I made you mad at me," he whispered, coming closer to her. He stood over her bed, watching her. "I'm so sorry."

Then, on impulse, Fang reached out and pushed her shoulder, trying to force her onto her back like she had previously. That woke her up, of course, and she immediately tried to fight back.

"Shhh. It's Fang."

"Stop," she moved back away from him. "Stop. What's wrong? Is it Carter?"

He just shook his head. "Lay down. On your back."

"What? What's wrong with you?" Max frowned up at him. "Are you okay?"

"I want…I'm sorry. Just lay down, please."

"I…No. I can't."

"Can't?"

"My back is still killing me."

"Do you want me to massage it?"

"Fang, you-"

"I shouldn't have been so cold before. If you want to make out now-"

"God, you're like a twelve year old." Max moved over on the bed. "Lay down."

Fang did so without hesitation this time. "I had a bad dream."

"What was it about?"

"I can't remember. Luckily though, Carter woke me up."

"Why?"

"She had to use the bathroom."

"Did she make it?"

"Yeah," Fang whispered, rolling onto his side and staring at her. "So…are we gonna…"

"God." Max scooted closer to him. "I really do miss the old you."

Fang just stared at her, thinking. Then he made an executive decision and leaned forward, kissing her gently. When he pulled back, he just watched her, trying to gauge her reaction.

"I think that you've forgotten how to kiss."

Finally, his face changed as he gave her a look. "How do you know it's not you?"

It was her turn to lean forward, though her kiss lasted a lot longer. Threading her fingers through Fang's raven hair, parting her lips slightly, Max was clearly the master. Fang was the one who to ultimately pull away, but it was only because Max began to try to force his jacket off.

"Stop."

"Show me your scars, Fang. Show me what they did to you."

He pushed her back gently. "I said stop."

"You wanna see what they did to me?"

He wanted to tell her no, but that had intrigued him slightly. "What do you mean, Max?"

Moving even further away from him, she sat up and grabbed the hem of her shirt. "I was bad. I tried to leave with Carter. They had to make sure I could never leave again, that I could never fly again."

"Wha-"

"This…this is what they did to me." With that, she pulled her shirt over her head, turning slightly so that Fang could see her back. In place of where her wings once had been were just two, long feathery stumps.

"Oh my-"

"They cut them off. Not surgically removed them. With knives they severed my wings. Not all the way though. They left me this, to remind me. I'm not Maximum Ride anymore. I'm not shit."

"Max…" Fang didn't know what to do. He had his scars, sure, but they had just been added to him, not taken away. "You're…Why didn't you tell…"

"Why didn't I tell you? Huh? Because, Fang, I didn't want you to know. I didn't want you to know how ugly I am."

"You're not…you…"

"I'm not me. Yeah, I know."

"No! That's not what I-"

"I hate it. I want to get them removed, but it would be too risky."

Fang tentatively reached out, stroking one of the stubs, causing Max to shudder. "This is…horrible, Max. I shouldn't have… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"You didn't do this."

"I should have been there. When Carter was born, when you tried to run, when they did this… I can't… I hate this, Max. I hate this so much."

She turned back to look at him. "They hurt sometimes. Like tonight. They're big enough that I can fold them against my back, but they're worthless. I'm worthless."

"No, Max." He moved closer. "I have to…I have to…tell you, right? About how much I care about you? This is when I do that, huh? This is when I make you feel loved? Well, you are loved, Max. I love you very much. I don't care if you have wings or not. How shallow is that?" He stared at her for a moment. "I need you, Max. How can you be worthless when I wouldn't even want to live without you?"

Max was silent for a moment before speaking. "I thought I told you to stop talking about dying?"

With that, Fang enveloped her into his arms, holding her tightly to his chest. "I'm so sorry, Max."

"You didn't do this," she repeated. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Fang just held her, not speaking a word. Poor Max. All this time Fang had been so worried about himself that he had forgotten that everyone else had gone through Hell too. He might have been the last one out, but he surely wasn't the most damaged.

"If I had known-"

"Stop." She leaned heavily into him, letting out a slow breath. "Just…can you stay in here with me? Tonight? Please?"

"Carter-"

"She's fine. Stay with me." Max cuddled into him. "Just…like this, tonight."

"Not tonight."

"Fang-"

"Forever." He shifted the two of them onto the bed. "Just like this forever."

"Owl leave!"

"Carter, he just…He had a bad dream and wanted to come sleep in here with me."

"Owl no stay! Owl no fair! Owl cheat! Owl bad!"

"Calm down, baby." He heard Max's closet door close. "You're gonna wake him up."

"Wake Owl. Owl wake." Fang felt it when Carter climbed onto the bed and rushed over to his side. "Owl. Owl wake. Up, Owl."

He just groaned. "Carter, leave me alone."

"Owl no s'eep. Owl up!" She cuddled under his arm. "Owl wake. Owl wake."

"Mmmm." He squinted his eyes open. "Max?"

"I'm getting ready for work."

"Why did you wake up Carter?"

"I didn't. She was already up, waiting for us."

He stroked her dark head. "You were waiting for me, Carter?"

"Yes. Yes, Owl." She leaned up, wanting to be as close to his face as possible. "See Nub?"

"You wanna see Nudge?" Fang slipped his eyes closed again. "We can, sure. I guess. If she doesn't work. Do you know, Max?"

"Don't keep tabs, Fang."

"Max-"

"Probably, Fang. And if she does, can you take Evan? I feel like I've been skirting my responsibilities when it comes to him."

"Sure," Fang mumbled as Carter kissed his cheek. "Cut it out."

"Owl." Then she tried to spit on him, whining loudly when he moved away. "Owl!"

"Carter, play nice," Max corrected before walking out of the room. "Come here and let me make you breakfast."

"No. Owl make."

"Owl doesn't want to make breakfast."

"I can-"

Max cut him off. "She can eat freaking cereal just this once, Fang. You don't need to make her breakfast every morning."

"Someone's grouchy," Fang mumbled to Carter as he finally got out of Max's bed and headed into the kitchen. "What kind of cereal do ya got?"

"What do you think?"

"Frosted Flakes?"

Max nodded. "You want some?"

"What do you think?"

She patted his cheek when he got close enough. "Don't be a smart mouth."

Carter, who was in his arms, yawning loudly, kissing his cheek again. "Owl. Burp."

"Well, don't burp on me," he said, sitting her down on the ground. Why did she say burp if she wasn't going to burp? What kind of sense did that make? God if Carter wasn't just plain out weird sometimes. "What time do you get off tonight, Max? I have my driving class and can't have both kids all night."

"Around four. Your class isn't till six, right? Like usual? Trust me, Fang; I've got everything figured out."

"Of course you do," he mumbled as Carter ran over to the refrigerator and began to play with some of the magnates. "Hey, Carter, what do you wanna do after breakfast?"

She giggled when Max handed her a bowl of Frosted Flakes. "P'ay."

"I think that can be arranged."

Max gave Fang his bowl too. "I have to go now. Mom's off today, I think, so if something comes up, just drop Carter off there."

"What could possibly come up that I'd want to leave Carter somewhere else?"

Glancing at her daughter, Max said simply, "I could name a few."

"Owl," Carter called from the living room. "Car'oons!"

Fang looked back at Max. "I'll see you tonight."

"Hopefully."

"What-"

"I have to run," Max said after glancing at the living room clock. Then she kissed his cheek gently before rushing to kiss Carter's head. With that, she was gone.

"Owl," Carter said again as Fang came to sit down next to her on the couch. He found that her cereal was without milk, but that was probably due to the fact she insisted on eating with her hands.

"I'm sorry that I ditched you last night, Carter."

"Dish?"

"Ditch. I left."

She frowned at him. "Owl no stay!"

"I know. I'm sorry. Mommy needed me."

"Owl d'eam."

"Okay, I guess I needed Mommy."

Reaching over, she patted his knee. All forgiven. "Car'oons?"

Fang just smiled at her. If only fixing things with the women was as easy as with Carter.

"Hi, Nub."

"Hi, Carter," she greeted as Fang led her into the apartment. "How are you today?"

"Good. Owl good."

"That's good."

Rolling his eyes, Fang headed over to the couch. "Where's Evan?"

"Over here," Nudge said, heading over to the newest addition to her house; a playpen. Fang had put it together for her a few days ago. "You wanna see Fang, Evan?"

"No!" Carter ran over to Fang, clambering into his lap. "No, Owl! My Owl! No, Ev-an! No!"

"Calm down." Fang forced her back to the ground. "We've gone over this, Carter. You're not the only person in the world. You hear me? Huh?"

"No, Owl!" She crossed her arms, making Fang sigh. Time for her tantrum. "No 'ike Owl! No 'ike Owl! No! No!"

"Carter, you're really-"

"No, Owl!" She spit at him, but quickly ran to the corner, knowing that was where he was going to send her anyways. "No 'ike Owl!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not that happy with you either," Fang said, reaching out to take Evan from Nudge. "You're acting like a real brat, you know that?"

She just spit again before facing the wall. Nudge sighed loudly, staring at Fang.

"What?"

"Every time the two of you are together, she throws a fit."

"She was throwing fits before me."

Nudge just shook her head. "I was about to go do laundry. Could you, you know, watch them?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Thanks, Fang," she said, leaving him alone with her son without hesitation this time around. It felt like years ago now, that first day Fang had to watch over Carter. Now, though, he couldn't care less about dealing with her. At all. She was being really annoying.

"Owl!"

"Now what?"

Carter had turned around to face him. "Potty."

"Well, go then."

She spit at him as she ran by, but Fang didn't really care at that point. As long as he didn't have to deal with her peeing on herself, he was good.

"You're the baby and you act more mature than her," Fang told Evan as he looked down at the boy. "You know that?"

Evan just reached out and patted Fang's nose, all while drooling. That's the thing about little kids; you had to be ready for a little spit no matter what.

"I like you, Evan. I really do. You know, I've been thinking of a nickname for Carter, but I think I already have one for you. Namesake. That's what you are. You're my namesake."

Evan just giggled when Fang poked him gently in his tummy.

"You, Namesake, you are gonna be so much better than Carter. Not in a mean way. Carter is my…my life, currently, but I mean you'll be better in way she clearly can't be. Or rather refuses to be. You'll eat with forks and won't burp randomly. You'll be a model gentleman. You won't fart loudly and think it's funny. You won't spit at people when you're mad or bite at them for that matter. You won't tell the people you care for that you hate them just because they told you no. You'll be awesome, Namesake. You really will."

Carter came back then, covered in water.

"What did you do?" Fang asked.

"Wash hands!" She held up her also soaked hands. "Good job, Car'er."

"Yeah, sure," Fang said, shaking his head. "Are you gonna behave now?"

"Yes. Yes, Owl." She climbed up onto the couch with him, now perfectly fine with Evan sitting in the lap of her Owl. Carter was so wishy-washy it wasn't even funny. "Car'er good. Good me. Me good."

"I know," Fang mumbled, keeping disagreement to himself. "Carter is very good, isn't she, Evan?"

Evan yawned loudly, leaning back against Fang, getting ready for a long nap, no doubt. Fang patted the baby's stomach, sighing slightly.

"Nub?"

"She'll be back," Fang told the little girl, who was now biting her nails. He thought about stopping her, but decided against it. Who was he to take that joy from her life? "Then you two can spend some time together. You like Nudge, huh?"

"'n' An'el."

"And Angel," he agreed. "Who doesn't like Angel?" Well, everyone except for Max and Carter, apparently. Maybe Iggy liked her, but Iggy seemed to like everyone. Except Max, which was understandable. Fang wasn't sure who Gazzy hated, but then again, when was Gasman's opinion ever important to any of them?

"Wha' dat?"

Fang glanced down. "Dog poop."

"Ooh."

"Don't touch it," Fang instructed when he saw her bend down towards it. He had taken her and Evan over to Dr. Martinez's house to play. Nudge had come with them and was now inside, while Fang was outside with the two little kids, watching them play in the front yard. He was going to take them to the back yard, but then Carter claimed she wanted to play out front. Why he had no idea, but he was never one to question the little girl. Typically, anyways, her reasoning was flawed. Like her mother. Though he'd never say that aloud…

"No, Owl. No touch," Carter told him, offended that he would think she was that stupid. Evan, who was crawling around in front of Fang, suddenly looked up at him and smiled. Fang almost smiled back, but luckily caught himself as a car pulled up.

"Hi, Fang."

He frowned. "You have a car?"

"Everyone has a car," Angel told him simply as she came up stand in front of him, as he was sitting on the porch steps. "Except you."

He blinked. "What are you doing here? I thought you hated Dr. Martinez?"

"Hate is such a strong word. If I have ever hated, it has been very fleeting."

Again, she just got a blink.

"Oh. Okay." What was he supposed to do with that? What was he supposed to do with anything Angel gave him?

"An'el!" Carter came rushing up, almost tripping over Evan, who responded by yelling at the girl. Oblivious to this, Carter held up her arms to Angel, who just responded by patting her on the head.

"Nudge is inside?"

Fang frowned. "No asking for a loan from her either."

"Fang, you're no fun. You should take up drinking." Tossing her blonde hair back, she added, "Besides, even you should know that you can't add rules to a game once it's already started."

With that, she walked passed him and into the house. Carter looked to Fang for an answer for Angel's coolness towards her, but he just shrugged; he would never figure out the complex world of Angel's Whitecoat created mind. Her mind was one of those things that scared him.

"Carter," Fang had to correct five minutes later. "Don't eat that."

"Bug."

"You don't eat bugs. People don't eat bugs. Understand?" He shook his head at her. "Bugs are dirty."

She shoveled some dirt into her mouth to prove a point. She could do what she wanted. Fang just shook his head, deciding to let her. He had grown up being poked and prodded with all sorts of things. Who cared if she ate a little dirt now and again?

"Well, screw you, Nudge!"

Just then, Angel came storming out of the house.

"Oh, go throw a fit like you always do. What? You gonna call Max and whine?" Nudge taunted, following the younger girl out. "Run, just like always. We're not just put on this earth to serve you, Angel, no matter how much you wish we were."

That just got her the finger. Then Angel continued on down the porch and to her car. Fang glanced behind him at Nudge, but he just got a shake of the head.

"She wanted money. She always wants money."

"How come she doesn't just use her mind control to get cash?" Fang asked a question that had been bothering him for some time. "Wouldn't that be easier?"

"Angel's power has…lost some of its capability."

"What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "You know how, like, kids can tap into things that they can't when they're adults? Like how they can see imaginary friends, but we can't. She just… can't make it work for her anymore. Max, though, says she has other ways of persuasion."

"Other ways?"

"You know Angel. Her age and tactics may change, but her personality will always stay the same." Nudge came closer, picking Evan up off the ground. "Dr. Martinez made lunch. Come get some. You too, Carter."

She looked up from her dirt eating. "An'el mad."

"Ain't she always?"

"Chinese. I like."

"I thought you would," Max said, dumping the contents of one takeout box onto a plate for Carter. "Here, baby."

Carter took her plate before sitting down on Max's living room floor. "Owl."

"I'm gonna sit up here with Mommy," he said as Max held out the takeout box to him. They were sharing, which normally disgusted him, but he was kind of digging it. "You eat down there."

Max sighed, grabbing the other container to eat some of its contents. "Angel called."

"Great."

She elbowed him gently. "When Nudge is picking on her, you need to make her stop."

"Angel can't just have money for no reason. If she told me why, I would try to help."

"Is that what the fight was over? She wouldn't say."

Fang cleared his throat, hesitant to say what he planned to. Finally, he got over his fear and just got on with it.

"I told her not to." Taking a sip of his drink, he hoped that Max would just leave it at that. Of course, she didn't.

"Why would you do that? If she needs something, I'll give it to her."

"That's my point, Max. You guys are all single parents. She shouldn't be taking money from you. That's just wrong. If she wants to live the high life up there in the North, then she has to pay the price. Not you. Not Nudge. Not even Ella for that matter."

Max glanced at him. "Then what? Should she ask you for money?"

"She shouldn't be asking anyone for money. But if worse came to worse, sure. I'd see what I could do. You guys are my first priority though."

"Really?"

"Of course. I have to take care of you and Carter first. Then Nudge and Evan."

"I like being first."

"I know you do."

Max watched him eat for a moment or two. "I like being one of your priorities."

"It's nice, innit? Being important to someone? Not…worthless?"

Sighing, she knew that she was caught and leaned against him. "You do that a lot; play my words back on me."

"Not too much. Just enough to get my point across." He wrapped an arm around her, watching Carter as she ate. "You know, Max, if you ever want to go somewhere, you ever want to fly…I'll take you. I took Carter the other-"

"I know. It was all she talked about."

"I'll take you anywhere. Anytime. Just ask me."

She shifted out of his hold to continue her meal. "I'll think about it, huh?"

Slumping back against the couch, Fang just nodded.

"Hey, you know, you never did fulfill your other promise."

"What was that?"

"You never got me a table."

He laughed slightly. "I forgot about that."

"Well, now you remember, mister."

"Mister?"

"So you better get me one."

Oh, he'd get her everything. One day.

"I'll get you a table," he agreed. "As soon as Carter learns to eat with a fork."

Max glanced at her daughter. "So never?"

Fang just shook his head, fighting his smile. "I hope Evan doesn't turn out like her."

"That's my daughter, you know."

"Oh, I know. I just meant…never mind. You know that Carter's great. At least, I think she's great. I think she's real great."

"Okay, chill, I get it."

"I just want him to eat with a fork. And talk in full sentences."

"You sure are stuck on that sentence thing." She poked the takeout box, still watching her daughter. "She's not that old, you know."

"Still. She just says my name over and over."

"She likes you. She thinks that you two are friends."

"The best of friends."

"What about me? I thought I was your best friend?"

"Meh, you're alright."

He finally allowed himself to smile when she shoved his shoulder. She was though. Max was alright.