Catch and Release
Chapter 28
"No!"
"Carter, it's me. Fang. Owl."
"No!" She buried her head in her mother's neck, hiding. "No."
"I just got a haircut." Fang looked to Max. "Is it that bad?"
She sighed, shifting Carter slightly. "It's Owl, baby."
"No." She glanced behind her. "No Owl."
"I am too Owl." He reached out to take her. "You should know my voice by now, Carter."
She wiggled in his arms. "No."
"You stop it." He nuzzled her face before turning her in his arms so that she was facing his shoulder. "You know it's me. You're just being a baby."
"No baby, Owl."
"See? You just called me Owl." He bounced her a little bit. "You know exact who I am, don't you, Holden?"
"Hold'em."
He kissed her head before looking at Max. "Sorry I'm late."
She just held out her hand, waiting for her keys. "Hurry. I have to pick them up from the airport."
Fang sighed, depositing the keys in her palm. "Have fun."
"Carter? Did you want to go?" Max looked at her daughter, but she was still cuddled into Fang's shoulder. "Huh?"
"No." She smiled up at Fang. "No."
"Okay. I'll be back then," Max sighed, going to get her coat and shoes. "Bye, Carter."
"Bye-bye, Mommy." She waved before focusing her attention back on Fang. As Max left, Carter reached up and rubbed the top of Fang's head, giggling. "Gone."
"It is gone, isn't it?" He went over to Max's couch and sat down. "You wanna stay here or go to my place? Or you wanna go over to Danny's? You wanna go see Ghost?"
"No." She shifted in his lap, turning to face the television. "Car'oons."
"Max said that you can't watch anymore TV today. She said something about you acting badly before I got home from work." Fang looked down at her. "Did you do that?"
"No." She shook her head. "No, Owl."
"I didn't think so. You never do any bad, huh?"
Carter nodded, but didn't get a chance to say anymore as there was a knock on the door at that moment. That really wasn't much of a loss though, considering her talent with words was minimal at best.
"Hold on, Owlet," Fang mumbled, setting her on the couch before jumping up to get the door. His paranoia had waned in the more recent weeks, but he still had his doubts about some things. Of course, by this point, Fang was for certain that Max and Carter were real, but that didn't mean that the government wasn't full of liars/possible Whitecoats. No way was Fang taking any chances. "Stay there, okay?"
"Open up, Max. I've got the stuff."
Frowning at his recognition of the voice, Fang rushed to open the door. "What stuff?"
"Oh, hey, Fang." Gazzy didn't even give Fang a chance to say anything, instead stepping around him and forcing his way in. "Max around?"
"No," Fang said, shutting the door firmly behind the boy. "What's in the bag?"
The Gasman held up the trash bag with ease. "This?"
"Obviously," he answered as Carter rushed over to greet her surrogate uncle.
"It's for you, dude, so I just figured you'd know," the younger man replied back, not missing the hostility elder's tone held.
Honestly, Fang wasn't meaning to come off that way, but the closer it got to Christmas, the tenser he seemed to get. That 'funny feeling' was slowly filling his whole body with tingles. He wasn't sure what he was so worried about, but he didn't like it, whatever it was.
"Well, I don't," Fang said, attempting to keep the gruffness to a minimum. "So what's in there?"
"Your-" The Gasman paused, looking down at the little girl at his feet before at her Owl. "Your S-A-N-T-A stuff."
"My Santa stuff?"
Carter looked up at Fang. "Santa? Ciss-miss?"
"Nice, Fang. I was trying to shield it from her."
He just shook his head. "What stuff, Gazzy?"
"The stuff for Christmas Eve. For you." Taking a step closer to the older man, Gazzy whispered, "You know, for when you dress up as Santa."
"When I what?" He stared at him in shock for a moment before muttering the name of the person no doubt responsible for the debacle under his breath. "Max."
"She told me to buy the stuff, so I bought it."
"Well, I ain't doing it," he said, watching as Carter gave up on being noticed and went over to the television to figure out how to turn it on. She had yet to figure this out, so he was mostly monitoring her to make sure she didn't break it or knock it over. "Max can do it herself or something."
"It'll be fun for the kids."
"What kids? Evan won't remember it and Carter got freaked when I just shaved my head. She's not going to take well to this."
"Don't bitch to me about it. Talk to Max."
"Watch your mouth."
The Gasman just groaned, dropping the bag at Fang's feet. "Whatever, man. I can tell why Iggy's mad at you. You're so freaking uptight about everything. What have I even done to you today?"
With that, Gazzy headed to the door. Fang thought about having one of those TV moments where he calls out for him to stop, says something in an apologetic manner, but not really seeing as they're guys, and then they both stop being angry over nothing. Instead, he just locked the door behind the other man before going to corral Carter.
"Owl," she complained as he carried her into Max's bedroom. What didn't he understand about her wanting to watch cartoons? Huh?
"I've got you," he said as he fell back onto the bed. "You're okay."
Frowning, she reached up and rubbed his head some more. It felt funny to her and she kind of liked it. Still, Owl looked different now and that was not okay.
"Bad Owl." She hit his head now before wiggling out of his arms, knowing that hitting wasn't allowed. "Bad."
"You're the one that's bad. No hitting," he told her, though that was the extent of his punishment. Letting out a long sigh, he moved to cuddle into Max's pillow. "You take your nap yet, Holden?"
"Owl." She moved up to his face, staring at him. Maybe Owl didn't look that bad. Still, this would take some getting used to. At least he still had his beard. "Owl."
"That's right, Carter," he yawned, closing his eyes. "I'm Owl."
"Owl nas'y." Patting his sweaty forehead made her frown. "Owl?"
"I'm just hot," he mumbled before sitting up and pulling his hoodie off. "It's hot in here, that's all."
This gave Carter a distraction as she went to work running her fingers up and down Fang's scarred arms while he laid there, shaking his head.
He was not gonna be stupid Santa Clause. No matter what Max said.
"I don't like how they keep laughing at me, Max."
She groaned, continuing to pour the juice into Carter's sippy cup. "They are not laughing at you."
Very pointedly, Fang glanced back over at Angel and her girlfriend, who were in the living room, playing with Carter. Feeling his eyes, they looked up at the same time in a tangent sort of way that all alone was creepy enough. When they met his eyes though, they both started giggling, making Carter laugh also, as she had yet to grasp the concept of anyone other than her being interesting.
"See?"
"See what?" When Max glanced behind her, she just saw Angel, Carter, and Melissa seated on the living room floor, playing with blocks. "Fang, you need to calm down. Did you take your medication for the night?"
"Yes," he hissed, angry about her not believing him. "Max, I-"
"Pizza's here," she said as there was a knock at the door. "Can you get that, Fang?"
"Yeah," he grumbled, headed over to the door, slipping his wallet out of his back pocket. "Sure, of course, anything for you."
Max either didn't hear him or didn't care, because she just headed over to the girls to give Carter her drink. "Here, baby."
Fang just glanced back at them before opening the door. For the second time that day, he was shocked to find the person on the other side was someone he not only knew, but also didn't want to see at the moment.
"Dylan!"
Angel was the first one up, rushing over to wrap her arms around the man, effectively shoving Fang out of the way. He made a face, watching as Max too came over, Carter in her arms. Then it was just him and Melissa standing awkwardly by as the greetings happened.
Again, he had a flash of a TV moment where he'd turn to the woman and crack a small joke and she'd make one back. Just like that, he'd accept that Angel had a girlfriend and get over his awkwardness. Instead, Fang just crossed his arms as Max embraced the other man, clearly put off.
"What are you doing here?" Max asked after she took a step back, though Carter was shifted to Dylan's arms.
"I heard that everyone was here, so I figured I better be too."
Carter patted the top of Dylan's head. At least he knew better than to get a haircut without her permission, unlike some people. "Owl."
"What?" Dylan looked at her, but she was focusing on rubbing his head. Fang snorted before shifting his wallet back into his pocket. "What's wrong, Carter?"
"She's just upset that Fang got a haircut," Max said, rolling her eyes before grabbing his hand that wasn't supporting her daughter. "Come in, Dylan. We were about to have dinner."
"Just pizza," Angel said, it not being lost on her that nearly everyone else's arrivals meant a big dinner. Not her though. You'd think Valencia knew who she was messing with, but apparently not.
"Owl!" Carter hit Dylan now, right in the forehead.
"What is wrong with you?" He handed her off to Angel, who quickly passed the little girl to the person she wanted.
"Owl." Carter snuggled into his neck, yawning.
"No hitting, Carter," Max said before dragging Dylan over to the couch.
"No hitting," Fang whispered to her, watching as Angel and Melissa headed over there too, leaving no place for him.
"Sad?" Carter looked up at him.
"Not sad, Carter."
"Mad?"
"No."
"Bad?"
"Since when did you know how to rhyme?" He kissed her cheek before taking her into the kitchen.
"Dyl." She pointed towards the living room, where Angel was loudly telling Dylan about her adventures in Florida. "Mommy?"
"No." He deposited her on the counter before staring harshly down at her. "No, Carter."
"Owl," she gave in, patting his chest. Then, patting her own chest, she said, "Carter."
"Fang." He hit his chest. Then, gently, he poked her in the tummy. "Holden."
"Hold'em."
"Very good." He rubbed his beard into the top of her head, sighing. "Very, very good."
Carter sighed, grasping a hold of his ears when he was bent over. Fang shook his head playfully, making her laugh and release him. "Owl. Tummy?"
"Pizza'll be here soon, Owlet." He lifted her up before nuzzling her neck. Laughing, she ran a hand across his head. "So how do you feel about my haircut now? Huh, Holden?"
"Hold'em."
"Do you like it?"
"Yes," she said, nodding her head. "Yes."
"Good." He carries her back over to her pile of blocks, sitting down with her.
"Fang," Max complained when she notices them there, behind the couch. "You can have an adult conversation for once, you know."
Carter frowned at her mother before handing Fang some blocks. "Owl. P'ay."
"Fang can't handle conversations without having some kind of breakdown about how much we all hate him," Angel said, making her girlfriend giggle.
Taking a deep breath, Fang refused to acknowledge them, instead focusing intently on entertaining Carter. They didn't stop there though.
"It's kind of sad, really," Angel went on. She never knew when to shut up. "All he does all day is play with the baby. Really, Dylan, it's like he can't cope with real life. Sad."
"Angel," Max hissed, but Fang didn't care. They could say what they wanted. He loved his time with Carter more than he cared for any of them.
Feeling his breathing speed up, Fang knew that he was about to have a major problem. His wrists were starting to feel clammy and he was burning up all of a sudden.
"Oh, Fang, don't-"
"I-I…" Fang looked around before picking up Carter. "I have to-"
"Fang-" Max tried again, but he was already headed for the door.
"Owl?" Carter looked up at him as he opened the door. "Uh-oh."
The pizza man was standing there, giving Fang an easy out. Shifting Carter to one arm, he pulled his wallet out with the other.
"Keep the change," Fang mumbled to the guy, slipping him the money before taking the pizzas.
"Twenty bucks? Dude, thanks." He tipped his hat to him. "Merry Christmas."
Fang just nodded, turning around. Carter giggled, waving at the man.
"Bye-bye," she called as Fang carried the pizzas into the kitchen. Max got up and shut the door as the others rushed to the food.
"We need to talk," Max mumbled in Fang's ear after he had set Carter up with a ripped up piece of pizza and her juice on the living room floor. "Now."
"We don't need to do anything."
"Now, Fang." She took his arm and forcefully dragged him to her bedroom.
"What is wrong with you?"
"Me?" She closed the door behind them. "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing." Fang went over to her dresser where an old soda sat. Taking a sip of it, he took a moment to calm himself down.
"Nothing? Fang, you were going to-"
"You guys were making fun of me. Then you had to go and freaking hug Dylan-"
"Is that what this is about?"
"It's about the fact that you let Angel and her stupid girlfriend stay here without even asking me. It's about you showing another guy affection in front of me. It's about the fact that you don't have enough respect for me not to trash talk me to other people." He turned to face her. "I would never do any of that to you."
"What did you want me to do, Fang? Tell Dylan to go? Tell Angel that, sorry, Fang's such a homophobe that-"
"I am not!"
Max let out a long breath. "This is my apartment, Fang. We're dating, sure, but we're not living together. If you have a problem with my guests-"
"I don't have a problem with your guests." He stared hard at her. "I have a problem with you."
She just looked at him for a moment before shaking her head and walking out the door, not saying anything to him.
"Is Fang coming back out?"
"I don't know," Fang heard Max reply to Angel through the closed door.
"Did we hurt his feelings?" She laughed, as if something was funny. Fang took a deep breath, going to sit on Max's bed. Stupid Angel, stupid Max.
"Angel, shut up."
Fang lifted his head as the only other male voice in the apartment spoke. Why would Dylan talk to Angel in such a way?
"Fang's going through a lot," the other guy went on. "You're not funny. Is it gonna be funny when he slits his freaking wrists again? When he tried to kill himself all so you could look cool in front of your girlfriend? So knock it off."
It was silent enough in the apartment at that point that Fang could hear it when Angel and her girlfriend left. The only person making noise at the moment was Carter, who was singing while she ate. Slowly, Fang moved to lie down on the bed, closing his eyes, wishing that they'd all just go away and leave him alone.
"I'm so sorry," Max began the second the door shut behind the girls. "If I had know that Fang was going to ruin this-"
"Fang didn't ruin anything, Max. And don't go in there and tell him that." Dylan sighed. "You guys don't seem to realize how bad of shape he's in. And when he does finally break, really break, and has to go back to the hospital, you're all going to regret the way you treated him."
Fang fell asleep at some point and when he woke up, it was dark outside. Yawning, he pushed himself out off bed before heading into the living room to get some pizza.
"You're up," Max commented as he came out of the room to find Dylan still there, watching some Christmas cartoon with Carter in his lap, next to Max on the couch.
He just nodded, going into the kitchen. Carter glanced back at him before beginning to whine.
"Owl. Owl." She stood up in Dylan's lap, reaching back for Fang. He just glanced at her before getting a slice of pizza. Being ignored never went over well with Carter. "Owl!"
Sighing, he went over there, taking Carter from Dylan before going back into the kitchen to get a drink.
"Owl nap." She patted his cheek. "Owl?"
"Here," he mumbled, letting her take a sip of his coke like she wanted. "Good?"
"Yes. Yes, Owl." Carter stretched after, yawning. "Ciss-miss car'oon."
"I see." He bounced her a little bit. "You ready to go take your bath?"
"Fang, bathe her later," Max said, coming into the kitchen also. "Go sit down and eat."
"I'm fine," he told Max as Carter took a bite of his pizza.
"Car'oon," she told Fang before pointing back to the living room. Fang went to stand behind the couch, refusing to sit on it with the other guy, bouncing Carter in his arms. "Owl."
He kissed her cheek before taking a bite of the pizza. "Owlet."
Fang stuck around for a few more minutes before setting out on putting Carter to bed. It was way past her bedtime and he was slightly ticked at Max for allowing her to stay up so late.
"Nigh-night, Dyl," Carter called to him as Fang carried her into her room. He knew that he wouldn't be staying long, as Angel and her girlfriend would be back soon and though they'd be taking the couch, he really didn't feel like having a confrontation with either of them.
"Goodnight, baby," Max said as she followed them in there.
"S'ory, Owl?"
"Yeah." He sat down on her bed with her. "Story."
Max didn't stay for that, but Fang wasn't sure if it was because she had a guest or it was due to the fact they weren't getting along well. The story didn't take that long anyways. Carter was very tired and was easy to get down.
"See you later, Holden," he whispered, covering her over and kissing her head.
When he got back to the living room, Max was kneeled in front of that bag Gazzy had brought over before, pulling things out from it to show to Dylan the Santa gear.
"Who's gonna wear it?" Dylan asked. "Iggy?"
"No. Fang."
"No," Fang said, causing them both to turn and look at him. Dylan was still seated on the couch, which kind of annoyed Fang, but he kept it to himself. "I'm not wearing it."
Max let out a long sigh. "You can just go home, Fang, if you're so miserable here today. Or your boy toy's or whatever."
"Stop calling him that. We're freaking friends. Why do you have to insult me in everything I do?"
"It's a freaking joke, Fang."
"Oh, yeah, a joke. Okay." He went over to his shoes and slipped them on.
"Oh, so you're going?"
"You just told me too!" Fang glanced at Dylan when he saw that he was still sitting there, listening to their fight, but didn't say anything about it. Honestly, being around Dylan made him feel nervous. "I have work tonight anyways. I need to sleep."
Max stood then, shaking her head. "Fine. Go."
"I am."
And he did.
"I miss you," were the first words out of Max's mouth when Fang answered his phone. "You wanna come back home?"
"Mmmm."
"Where are you?"
"At Danny's," he mumbled. "Iggy and Gazzy went out drinking and Danny went to bed."
"Where are you?"
"Out back."
"In the cold? Fang-"
"It's too hot inside," he mumbled, leaning his head against the house. He was seated on the porch, catching a few winks in the frigid night air.
"Then take your jacket off. Don't freeze to death out there."
"I'm fine."
"Come back here. If you get warm, you can take a few things off. And if you get cold, I could always warm you back up."
She was trying to sound seductive, but the only thing Fang could concentrate on at the moment was his head, which was throbbing.
"Baby, I don't feel good."
Max paused. "Fang, get inside. You're probably frozen solid."
"No. It's hot in there."
"Then come over here. God, am I gonna have to go pick you up? Huh?"
"No," he groaned. "I'll be over soon."
"Hurry."
"Bye."
It took Fang awhile to get back up, but when he did, he headed inside to get his stuff for work that he'd need to take over to Max's. While in there, he ran into Daniel, who was getting a snack.
"Going somewhere?" Danny was standing in the kitchen, making a sandwich.
Fang just nodded, passing through to his bedroom. "Max's."
"Thought you fought?"
"She wants me to come over."
"Even with those chicks there?"
Fang stopped for a second, having forgot about Angel and her girlfriend. Then, shaking his head, he decided that Angel had ruined enough stuff for him. She was not going to ruin his Max time.
When he got there, all was quiet in the apartment. Angel and her girlfriend were, of course, in the living room, but Melissa had the couch while Angel was in the kitchen, doing something. She frowned as he unlocked the door and came in.
"What are you doing here? Come to cause more problems?"
He could have probably said the same back to her, but instead, he found it better to just rush to Max's room. Dropping his stuff on the ground, he immediately began to pull almost everything off before huddling under the blankets with her.
"Are you okay?" Max stroked his forehead gently as he popped his shoulders. "Fang?"
"I think I'm sick."
"Come here." She wrapped her arms around him as he opened his wings. "What's wrong?"
He took a deep breath. "The past few days, I've had this really, really bad feeling. And now I feel sick. My head hurts, my eyes are red, I'm tired. I feel like something bad is going to happen."
"Oh, Fang-"
"No, Max. I really feel like something's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong, baby." She moved to hold his face, looking deeply in his eyes. "You're just feeling funny, huh? About everyone being here? For Christmas? We're all together and it has you feeling nervous."
"Max-"
"I know how you feel." She kissed his cheek. "I know that you're scared about messing something up. And I'm sorry that I embarrassed you today. I won't again. I promise."
Fang moved to bury his head in her neck. "Dylan was very kind."
"He always will be, Fang. He knows what you've gone through."
He shook his head. "You guys don't know the half of it."
"Then tell me." She stroked the back of his neck. "Tell me anything, okay? Anything."
He shut his eyes. "I'm just so cold."
"Shhh. I've got you, Fang. You know that I've got you. I've always got you." She shifted on the bed, pushing him down. It was pretty easy, considering he was so willing at the moment.
"Max?"
"You sound like Carter. Owl?" She stared down at him. "Don't get all worked up, Fang. It's alright."
He just laid there as Max got out of bed. "What are you doing?"
She ignored him, leaving the room. After a moment, she returned with some pills.
"Here."
"What is it?"
"Medicine for you to feel better," she said. "Just to help your headache."
"Can I take it with my regular medication?"
Max shrugged as she got back in bed. "It's not like it's gonna kill you."
He downed them before looking at her. "Thank you."
"I love you." She cuddled into his side. "You know that, Fang? And I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you."
"Bad things have already happened. To both of us."
"But look what we got out of it."
"Carter," Fang whispered as Max kissed his side. "I'm so glad we have Carter."
"Me too," Max mumbled. "So happy."
There Fang was, busy playing with Carter and Evan, when he heard something he wish he hadn't.
"Go, Dylan. Just put it on. For the kids."
Glancing behind him, Fang saw Max shoving that same black bag from the other day at the guy. It was Christmas Eve and they were all over at Dr. Martinez's for dinner. Carter was very interested in the Christmas tree and its lights, so Fang had her on the living room floor to play, so that she could see it at the same time.
"Okay-"
"No." Fang stood up then, leaving Evan, who had been in his lap, on the floor. Everyone in the room looked at him, probably fearing another breakdown or screaming match. Instead, Fang just looked at Max.
"He can't do it. I'm going to do it."
Max blinked, glancing over at him. "Fang, you said that you didn't want-"
"I'm doing it!"
"Fine. Go ahead." Max tossed the bag at him as Fang flushed, not believing that it mattered so much to him to be Santa for Carter and Evan. Maybe it didn't. Maybe it was just that, no matter how nice Dylan was to him, he could never allow the other male to be so involved in the memories that both kids would have. He was the only father they needed, not Dylan.
Fang was in the bathroom, getting dressed, when the door opened. "Hey, I'm-"
"It's me." Max closed the door behind her. "I came to help you."
"I'm not five," he grumbled. "I know how to dress myself."
"I know," she sighed, crossing her arms. "I just wanted to make sure you looked okay. The beard is probably going to be itchy."
"Thanks for the tip."
"Fang, don't get an attitude with me." She leaned back against the door. "You're gonna be the skinniest Santa Clause ever."
"I went on a diet."
"If anorexia is considered a diet."
"I am not that skinny."
"But you are." She looked away. "You used to be so muscular."
"I will be again. Eventually."
Max didn't have high hopes for that, but said nothing as she watched him get ready. "I do like your new haircut, Fang."
"Thanks."
"Carter does too, now. When I was getting her ready this morning, she kept explaining to me how Owl used to have hair and now he didn't." Max smiled. "She really does care about you."
"I know."
"This is your first Christmas together."
"It's my first real Christmas in years."
"And it'll be special."
Fang glanced at Max. "Special?"
She shrugged. "Yeah. I hope."
He was about finished putting together the outfit and all it took was the hat to complete it. Once that was on, he looked at Max. "No pictures."
"Yes, sir."
"I mean it."
"How can I control what other people do?" She came closer to him and straightened his fluffy white beard. "You look cute."
"Do I look like a Santa?"
"Yes," she said, also straightening his belt buckle. "You do."
"Good."
As they exited the bathroom, they ran into the Gasman who was headed to the bathroom for a completely other reason.
"Those burritos yesterday were not a good idea," he explained briefly, shoving passed them and into the bathroom. Max rolled her eyes, turning and going further down the hall. When she came back, she had a brown sack.
"What are these?"
"Just a few gifts," she said. "You'll give them to Carter and Evan. Then you'll explain to her that all the rest of her presents will be here tomorrow, when you come with the reindeer."
"Ralph."
"Rudolph."
"Whatever."
"You have to sound jolly, Fang."
"Max-"
"Either that or I have Dylan come do it."
"Fine," he grumbled, taking the sack from her. "Let's do this then."
It was more of an ordeal that Fang signed on for. Number one, he was very anxious about having to dress up around the others. Had he just been Santa for Carter in the privacy of his apartment or Max's with only the three of them present, things would have been fine. He'd have thrown down a few merry Christmases there maybe a ho ho ho here and all would be well. Over at Valencia's though, everyone else was watching him, judging him.
"Look, Carter," Melissa said, pointing at him. She had filled his spot on the floor and Fang was having a hard time not getting upset by that. "Who's that?"
Carter just glanced up before going back to her blocks. Then, doing a double take, she jumped up. She looked around the room, waiting for someone to explain who that man was that was with her mommy. Where was Owl when you needed him?
Max elbowed Fang hard in the ribs, hissing under her breath, "Say something Santa-like."
"Oh. Ho ho ho," he coughed, causing Nudge to snicker.
"Angel should have been Santa," she whispered to Ella at a volume just loud enugh for everyone else in the room to hear.
"Carter," Max called as her mother sent Nudge a look. "Come here. Come see who this is."
She cautiously came over, but not too close. Owl told her about this stranger thing. She knew better.
"Owl?" She looked passed her mom, knowing she had seen Fang go down the hallway. "Owl?"
"Owl's busy," Max said before lifting her up. "Look, Carter. It's Santa."
She stared hard at the red clothed man next to her mother before back at her grandmother, who was seated on the couch with Ella and Nudge.
"G'anny?" She wiggled in Max's arms. "Down."
"Carter," Fang said in his normal voice. That about got him elbowed again, but he dodged it. Clearing his throat, he tried again. "Carter."
She frowned, looking back at the guy. That sounded like Owl, but Owl didn't have a white beard. His was black. She knew her colors. Not to mention his wasn't so long and curly.
"Santa?" She reached out to pat his face. Then, deciding that if Mommy and Granny were both telling her it was okay, it was okay. Not to mention Nudge and Aunt Ella weren't trying to stop her from talking to this guy. Maybe it was Santa. "Car'er?"
"There you go," Fang said, taking her from her mother with one arm before walking over to Evan, still carrying the bag in his other hand. "Hi, Evan."
Evan looked up from his blocks. Then, giggling, he knocked over Carter's tower.
"No, Evan!" Carter jumped from Fang's arms. "No."
"Carter," Ella corrected while Melissa pulled her into her lap to keep her from hurting the baby. Fang sighed as Angel, who had gone to stand next to Dylan by the television, cut her eyes at him, clearly waiting for him to say something. Instead, he focused on his sack of presents.
"Where you good this year, Evan?" Fang opened the bag before pulling something out. It was a stuffed animal, so he figured that would go to Evan. Or at least he hoped. He had seen Carter's animal collection and did not want to add to it. "Here you go."
"Me!" Carter tried to shove away from Melissa, but the woman had a good hold on her. "Santa! Mommy! Car'er! No Evan."
"Wait your turn, Carter," her grandmother called. That caused Fang to look up, just in time to notice that Nudge was taking pictures of Evan. Moving away from the boy as not to be in any of the photos, he turned his focus back on Carter.
"Here you go, Carter. Can you tell me if you've been naughty or nice?" He was on his knees in front of Melissa, but wasn't looking at her, as he refused to acknowledge her after how mean her and Angel had been to him.
"Mmmm…Nice."
"Okay." He opened the sack and actually looked this time before pulling out remote control airplane. "Here you-"
"That's Seb's, Santa," Max called.
Carter already was holding the box though, looking with interest at her gift. Sebastian, who was in the other room, heard his name called and came in.
"That's Sebastian's," Melissa said, trying to take the expensive toy from her. "Carter-"
"No! Santa me. Santa no Seb. Santa give Car'er."
Fang turned to look at Max for help, but when he did, he happened to get too close to Evan who grabbed his white, fluffy beard and pulled it down.
"Nang," he giggled.
"I freaking know he did not just say Fang's name," Nudge raved.
Carter, shocked, dropped the box, which was quickly snatched up by Sebastian.
"You better not have broken it, Carter," he warned. Fang, however, wasn't concerned with that.
"Evan." He smiled at him. "How'd you know it was-"
"Owl!" Carter launched herself at him. All this time, she had thought Owl was just your regular, run-of-the-mill, schmuck when all this time he was the Santa Clause. He was on the television and in the books and everything! He even knew Rudolph and Frosty, probably.
"Carter," he complained as she kissed his cheek. "Stop it."
"Car'er good, Owl."
"I know."
She giggled, snuggling into him. Wait until Ally and Jess learned that Carter's Owl was Santa Clause. It would be all anyone on her soccer team could talk about. This was probably the best news she had ever gotten.
"Evan said Fang's name first, Evan said Fang's name first. Evan-"
"Shut up, Ella," Nudge yelled before stomping out of the room. Dylan sighed, coming closer to the tree.
"Look at your bear, Evan. Is that your bear?" He picked up the stuffed animal and sat it in the baby's lap. "Look."
"Nang." Evan giggled. Fang had gotten all dressed up, put on a beard and hat, and fooled stupid Carter. Not him though. Evan knew Fang anywhere. "Nang."
"Stop saying his name," Nudge yelled from the kitchen.
"I've got you both," Fang laughed, picking Evan up too. "I've got you."
Sebastian, not caring for any of the chaos going on in his grandmother's living room at the moment, hastily asked his mother if he could go outside and play with his new toy. When she said yes, so long as he put his heavy coat on, he took off out the door.
"Watch it, Iggy," he complained as he opened the front door to reveal the blind man and the Gasman's girlfriend.
"Sorry, kid," he said as the boy ran passed him. Then, addressing the house, he asked, "Are we late?"
"What are you two doing together?" Angel asked, frowning.
Kimmy ignored her though, coming into the living room. "Oh no, did we miss the whole Santa thing?"
"Like you care. You won't even be here in another month," Max muttered as she came over to her daughter, boyfriend, and nephew. "Are you guys having fun?"
Carter looked up at her mother. "Owl is Owl. Owl is Fang. Fang is Santa."
"Oh, she can say his name too? Huh?" Nudge had come back into the room now, some Christmas cookies in her hands, probably in hopes that food would either shut her up or calm her down. "This is the worst Christmas ever."
"What'd I miss?" Gazzy came into the room, stepping around Nudge.
"You better have washed your hands," Valencia told him as he went to hug his girlfriend hello.
"Everything," Dylan told him in a joking manner as Max crossed her arms, staring at Iggy.
"I told you not to come here."
"Yeah, well, Max, you're not the only person in this family. Everyone else wants me here, so suck it up."
Fang ignored all of them though as Carter snuggled into him, not even caring that she hadn't gotten a present yet. He had probably never made a better choice than this one, being Santa that is. He would have probably harmed himself if she found out that Dylan was Santa and was all over him like this.
"Owl. Fang. Santa."
He smiled down at her. "Carter. Holden. Owlet."
"Give me my baby, you first name saying thief," Nudge said, snatching Evan up.
Fang didn't care though. He had only been in Evan's life a short time and he said Fang's name first? That was amazing. Sure, it wasn't his first word, which was no, but it was still very important. Fang was very important. Evan was his namesake, after all.
Now focusing all his attention Carter, Fang hugged her close, kissing the top of her head. Looking up at him, she giggled, patting his face.
"Car'er Owl name."
"Caulfield."
She giggled again. "Owl."
It was at that moment that Fang looked up and saw that Nudge's camera had been left on the couch and picked up by Max's mother. He didn't have a chance to do anything though as she snapped a photo of him. He thought about being mad, but then he just leaned closer to Carter again, kissing her head.
"Merry Christmas, Carter."
He up glanced at Max, expecting her to explain to Carter that real Christmas was tomorrow, that it was just Christmas Eve, but she was busy now, arguing with Iggy while Dylan looked on, clearly ready to jump in if need be. Fang let him have that job, not really caring for it at the moment.
She just giggled. "Ciss-miss, Owl."
"Yeah. Christmas."