The Disbanded: Divided We Stand-Chapter 6

By MyNameIsCAB

--Max's POV--

"Oh my God…" I was speechless.

The person standing in front of me was Fang. I couldn't believe it. Fang was right there in front of me.

"So, you know him?" Ted asked excitedly. "He's the guy you're looking for, right?"

I nodded, wondering if I should call Fang by Nick.

Fang was still standing there, his wings unfurled. I must have run forward because I was wrapping my arms around him now. After a moment, his arms slid around me.

"Max…" he squeezed me a little closer, I could feel him trying to not put his weight onto me.

I heard Ted slip out of the room and close the door behind. After another moment, I let him sit back in his wheelchair.

"Max, I can't believe you're here." It was nice to hear him say my name.

I sat down in the chair next to him. "I can't either."

We stared at each other in silence.

"So…I guess we got a lot of catching up to do," I sighed.

Fang gave one of his infamous half smiles. "Yeah, I guess we do."


Ted came in with dinner as Fang finished up telling me what happened. He had even brought food for Fang.

"You told Ted everything?" Fang asked.

"Yea, I figured I needed to tell someone and he seemed like the only choice," I joked. "But yes, he does know everything. The School, Jeb, the others in the flock…or what used to be the flock."

"So Nick, you're the one who disappeared from the hospital," Ted said as he started to eat fried noodles out of the box.

"Yea," I nodded. "And I'm sorry I disappeared Max, but I felt like I needed to get away from everything."

I nodded, accepting his apology. There was a small part of me that wanted to be mad at Fang, but finding him was probably the best thing that had happened to me over these past two years without him.

"Man it must have heart getting shot so many times," Ted continued.

"It still does," Fang frowned. "That reminds me, I gotta take my meds now."

I watched Fang pull out two pills and swallow both with his soda. He had told me what they were for, and it hurt to see he was still suffering after this long.

"And what are those for, Nick?" Ted questioned.

"My name isn't really Nick," Fang said. I guess he got the idea that I trusted Ted. "It's Fang."

"That's an interesting name," Ted commented.

I smiled at Fang and he sheepishly smiled back.


Being stuck around the hospital with Fang wasn't too bad. He disappeared for a couple of house to attend stuff for rehab, but it was nice to have him back. He did change a lot though. It seemed like a lot of stuff was wearing him down. His emotions were easily shown. It seemed harder to connect with him though, and I was starting to miss the old Fang.

"Ted, those are Carter's parents, right?" I asked as an older man and women, resembling Carter, walked into the waiting room.

"Yea, that's them," Messina nodded as he walked over to talk to them.

"So you're going to leave then, now?" Fang asked quietly.

I looked up at Fang, he looked so sad now.

"I don't know, Fang," I sighed.

He looked away and didn't say anything as we watched Messina show Carter's parents to his room. After a few minutes, Messina returned.

"So, what's the plan now?" I asked Messina.

"I don't know. We might get stuck here because Carter is a government agent. We're supposed to keep guard," Messina answered. "But I think the captain wants us back at headquarters to finish up the D-Man case."

Fang bent down and busied himself with fixing something on his wheelchair. I looked at Messina with disappointment before glancing back at Fang.

"And you're worried about him, aren't you?" Messina asked, sitting down on my opposite side.

I nodded. "I don't want to leave him here. Not after I've found him…Well you found him really."

Messina scratched his head and sighed. "He's in rehab though, right?"

"Actually," Fang said, "I can leave. There's nothing here that's going to help me. I'd be better off with you."

"Well, I don't see why we can't bring him with us. You have a place, Max. He can stay with you," Messina suggested. I think I liked that idea.

"Yea, but we're not going to be around all that often," I told Fang.

"I don't care," he said. "I think this entire place is getting to me. Getting out of here would be great. I'll talk to my doctor. He might protest, but he can't stop me from going."

And then Fang was off, wheeling down the hallway back towards the rehab ward. Messina watched him go.

"He's changed…Maybe too much for my liking," I stated.

"He probably went through a lot. I'm sure you have," Messina said. "He probably thinks you've changed too. Maybe you'll be able to get him back to normal."

Messina was right. I was going to have to piece Fang back together. He was falling apart. It was the one thing I kept missing whenever I looked into his eyes. Maybe it was because I just wanted so badly for the Fang I knew to be there, but now I understood what was going on. No matter how hard we tried, it was never going to go back to the same, just something like it.