So I finished this one, too! (And I proof-read it!) Aren't I superspeedy! Anywayz, please enjoy 'n' stuff!

Oh, yeah. Just FYI, I still don't own Maximum Ride. I swear I'll let you know if my plan to get James Patterson to leave it to me in his will and then kill him becomes successful!

Oh, my God. JK! I would never kill James Patterson!

Chapter Twenty-Four

Fang

When Dr. Martinez said that Max was having a baby, all I could think was, Oh, shit. She was going to hate me forever. And she thought she'd screwed up bad? I didn't even think of the possibility of getting her pregnant. It was really my fault we were in this mess. But Dr. Martinez was right. I wasn't going to leave Max, physically or emotionally, to figure this out for herself. I was going to be there the whole way and make it right.

"You're an idiot," Iggy said, talking to Fang. "I can't believe you got her pregnant! It's bad enough you screwed up our lives once! But you just can't stop yourself, can you! It's like it's sort of messed up reflex!"

"Iggy, it's okay!" Max tried to reason. "It's not a screw up, it's a good thing! We'll make it a good thing!"

"Oh, right, as our big, happy family?" Iggy asked sarcastically. He narrowed his eyes. "I don't think so."

With that, he walked out of the room. Max dropped her head in hands. That guy just didn't know why to shut his stupid mouth, did he?

"Don't worry about it," I said to Max, sitting next to her and wrapping my arms around her. "We'll make it right. And I'm going to be right here beside you through the whole thing." I kissed her on the forehead. Nudge stepped forward and grabbed Max's hands.

"Max," she said, "I'm really happy for you! I can't believe you're gonna have a baby!" she patted Max's stomach. "Just think. I'll be the first of us to know its parents."

Gazzy was the next to come over to Max. "It'll be really awesome having a baby in the house." He looked over at Dr. Martinez. "Will it have wings like us, or will it just be regular?"

Dr. Martinez smiled. "I don't know. We'll be able to find out in a few months, though."

Angel didn't say anything, but she looked fondly at Max's stomach. She hadn't been very talkative since I got back. It was really surprising, actually. Almost unnerving. I looked over at Ella. She hadn't said anything yet, but she was staring after Iggy. I knew the look in her eyes. It was the same thing I'd seen in Max's, and even my own eyes, admittedly.

Angel stepped forward finally. She didn't look at Max's face, only at her stomach. "Who's its daddy?" she asked shyly. "I mean, it has to have a daddy, right?"

"Of course it has to have a daddy," Dr. Martinez said. "Hasn't anyone ever talked to you guys about reproduction?"

"Well, nobody told me," Max said. "And I never told them. It seemed unimportant. I didn't think we'd ever really have to worry about it."

Dr. Martinez looked expectantly at Max. "The dad is Fang, I guess. Who else?" she said.

"Dylan?" Nudge suggested. Max made an ew face. I shuddered.

"Iggy?" Gazzy said with a smirk.

"Ew! Gross! No way!" Iggy, who turned out not to be far down the hall, shrieked. Gazzy burst in to laughter. I rolled my eyes.

"You guys are dorks," Max said. Then she looked toward the hall. "And you; I am not ew!"

"Yeah, you are," he said, popping his head around the corner and grinning ear to ear. Who knew that all it took to lift people's spirits was a little bit of drama?

"Now," Dr. Martinez said in a Back-To-Business way. "I don't want you to be alone here while you're pregnant." It still felt weird to have people say that.

"She wouldn't be alone," Gazzy said. "She'll have the five of us!"

"Yes, well, I mean no one she can contact if something goes wrong," the doctor explained. "I want her to come live with me again."

"No way!" I said standing up. "I'm not leaving her!"

"Oh, of course not!" Dr. Martinez said. "You and anyone else is welcome to join me at my house."

Max stood up and put a hand on my arm. "Fang, I want you to stay here," she said. I stared at her.

"What?" I said. "I'm not staying here while you're in Arizona being...like...pregnant and stuff!"

"Fang," she said again, her eyes pleading. "I need you to stay and watch the house. With Gazzy and Angel."

"What?" Gazzy shrieked. "I don't wanna stay here! Lame!"

"Too bad. I'm the boss and you and Angel are staying here," Max ordered. Gazzy pursed his lips, but gave up on changing her mind. "Besides," she continued, looking back at me. "It's only for a little while. I promise that I'll call you in...about four months. Then you can come and live with me and Ella and my mom. Okay?"

I took a deep breath. "Fine," I agreed finally. "But if anything goes wrong..."

"I'll call you right away," she finished. She grabbed my shoulders and squeezed them, looking up at my eyes. "It's going to be fine. I promise. I sighed. She could go ahead and promise that as much as she wanted.

That wouldn't make it come true.