"Our kid?" I asked incredulous. "No. Not our kid. Not your kid. My kid. You lost all rights to ever thinking of having a piece of my daughter when you went and made sure she was conceived. So get the hell away from us."
"No," Fang said. "We miss you. We want you back."
"You should have thought of that before," I snarled.
"Max," he grabbed my waist, and pulled me into him. I pulled my arm back and punched him with all my might, hearing a crack come from his nose.
"Damn it, Max, you broke my nose!"
"Good. Better than being broken," I said, then walked away.
I was seething. How dare he?! How dare he come and try to ask for forgiveness, especially using the Flock as an excuse. The Flock doesn't need me. They haven't needed me for two years. That thought brought a new wave of tears on.
Suddenly, it was terribly hard to walk. All of my thoughts became sluggish and slow. I was having a hard time processing where I was. Everything started to get darker, it looked like I was seeing from an end of a tunnel. The dizziness was overwhelming and before I knew it, I'd fainted again.
Wherever I was, I was really comfy. The mattress, or whatever I was on, didn't have springs poking out of it like the one at my apartment. The air smelled like French toast and cinnamon and I was warm.
I jolted upright feeling like death. Where the heck was I?
The walls were covered in flowered wallpaper and the bed I was on was an actual bed. The blankets covering me were warm and soft. But all of this still only alluded to the question: where was I?
The door creaked open a bit and I saw a small blonde head I recognized so very well poke through.
"Max!" Angel cried, jumping up onto the bed. She wrapped her skinny arms around my neck and held on for dear life, instantly sobbing. "Max w-we m-m-missed you s-s-so much!" she cried.
"I missed you too honey," I said, patting her back. Great. Fang had probably picked me up, carried me back to their apartment and dumped me here. Does he not understand the meaning of the word no?!
"Max, Fang was only trying to help," Angel said, still holding onto me.
"I know sweetie, I know. I'm sorry," I gripped her tighter, never wanting to let her go.
"Max!" Gazzy shouted from the doorway. He sprinted headlong onto the bed and gripped me with his arms. I was drowning in love and care from two of the people I had longed to see the most.
"I missed you guys so much," I sobbed, tears getting the better of me. But I hadn't seen them in two years, so I thought I was entitled to cry.
"Max?" Iggy asked cautiously, coming into the room.
"Yeah," I answered, my voice choked with tears.
"Max!" he yelled, then jumped on the bed as well, tackling all of us.
Nudge walked into the room, too. "Did I hear someone say Max? Because I really miss her! I want her to come back, don't you? But after what Fang did do you think she'll come back? Why did he do that? He must have been going insane or something because Fang loves Max and he would never have done that normally – OH MY GOD IT'S MAX!!!!" she cried, jumping up onto the bed and grabbing me in a death grip. "I missed you so much!!" she sobbed into my t-shirt. I suddenly wondered how I was dressed in something other than my uniform.
"I missed you guys too," I said, pulling them all into a great big hug.
I don't know how long this touching scene went on, but eventually Iggy had to go back to making breakfast, whistling happily all the way.
"He hasn't whistled since you left, Max," Angel told me, her eyes wide with surprise at Iggy's actions.
"Iggy and Fang haven't talked since you left, either," Nudge said. "Iggy was soooo mad when he found out what Fang did. He punched him in the face and broke his nose; kind of like what you did to Fang," she took a breath and giggled. But then she launched right back in, "Fang broke down and cried. He made himself miserable all the time. He was so angry at himself. I don't think I've ever seen him that mad. He'd shake with rage and his face was always really weird looking because he was so mad at himself."
I patted her head comfortingly. "Shh, sweetie, I'm back, that's all that matters. But I'm going to have to leave again."
"What?! No!" Gazzy cried. "Don't leave!"
"No, don't worry. I just have to get something, I'll be right back, I promise."
"I'm coming with you," Angel said. Nudge nodded her agreement, "Me, too," she said. Gazzy nodded also.
"Okay, let's go," I said. "Someone go tell Iggy we'll be right back." Nudge ran out the door and into the kitchen, shouting to Iggy, "We're going for a flight, be right back!"
We launched ourselves out the window and flew high above the treetops. The clouds were just above us, tiny rays of sunlight poking through.
"Max, don't ever leave again. It was awful without you," Nudge rambled, but her words, hopefully, held true. "And you should forgive Fang, because he feels awful."
I clenched my fists and my breath came out in a hiss. "No."
"Please, Max!" Angel pleaded, looking at me with Bambi eyes. "You didn't listen to his thoughts, they were even more depressing and terrible than usual. It gave me so many nightmares listening to them." She shuddered and I pulled her closer to me in the air.
"Honey, it isn't something I can just forget about. I hope you never find out that for yourself, but it takes an insurmountable amount to forgive that," I said, trying not to let the rage I felt for the unholy devil himself seep into my voice.
"But Maaaax," Gazzy whined. "If you don't then you and Iggy will hate Fang and then he'll leave and nothing will ever be good again!"
"Honey, I don't know what will happen, but everything will be fine," I tried to console him, knowing that half of what I was saying was all a complete lie. "Look, there's my apartment, come on."
We landed on the fire escape. "Shh, guys can you stay out here for a second? I have to talk to someone and she doesn't know about you guys."
They nodded their heads as I crept in to my apartment through the window.
"Where have you been, Allie?" Jess cried. "I've been worried sick!"
"I'm sorry, Jess, Mr. Hannigan fired me, too and I think I got hit on the head someplace because when I opened my eyes again it was morning."
"Well, sweetie, I'm glad you're okay. Rose is just waking up."
"Thanks, Jess, I'm sorry."
"Don't be. But," she twiddled her fingers nervously. "I got a job offer in Texas. I'm moving there next week."
"That's great!" I cried. "Congratulations!"
She exhaled a sigh of relief. "Okay, well, now that you're home I'm going to go and start packing. Bye, Allie," she wrapped me in a great big hug and left the apartment. I was going to miss her. There was always some happy energy radiating around Jess. I don't think I had once seen her mad or upset. She was caring and understanding. She never pried into anything and was always willing to help. I hoped she was going towards a good life down in Texas.
"Mommy?" a little voice called from the doorway. I turned to see Rose staring wide-eyed at me.
"Hi, honey! Come here!"
She ran into me, holding me tight. "Mommy, I went potty!" she screeched, jumping up and down in my arms.
"You did? That's great!" I sighed in relief on the inside. Finally!
"Can I wear my red dress now?" she asked, giving me Bambi eyes. I had no idea where she learned those.
"Of course, sweetie. But we're going to go live someplace else now, with friends."
"We are?"
I nodded. "Remember all those stories I told you about the Flock?"
It was her turn to nod. She did so eagerly and practically bouncing with joy in my arms. "Are we going to go live with them?!"
"Yes, we are. Come on, let's go get packed."
It didn't take very long at all. I didn't exactly live in the apartment for very long and we didn't own very much, either.
"She looks just like Fang," Angel whispered to me as we were flying back to where the Flock was living. I was holding Rose in a car seat because her wings weren't developed enough to fly yet.
"I know."
"It must have hurt all the time when you looked at her," Angel told me.
I glanced down at Rose, who was sleeping peacefully. She smiled in her dream. "Yes, and no. She and Fang aren't all that much alike. She talks way more. But she's still just as stubborn and overprotective."
We landed on the fire escape and went in through the window, dumping the one duffle bag that held all of mine and Rose's belongings in it on the bed. I gently took Rose out of the car seat and we trooped into the kitchen, awaiting breakfast.
"Well, guys, breakfast is served!" Iggy said, bouncing over to the table and dishing out tons of French toast, eggs, bacon, and sausage.
"Rose," I gently shook her awake, "what do you want for breakfast?"
She glanced around at her surroundings, her gaze stopping on Fang who had been sitting practically in a trance, not noticing anything that was happening.
"Who is he?" she asked, pointing at him.
"That's Fang, sweetie. Now what do you want to eat?" I repeated.
"Who is Max talking to?" Iggy asked.
"Her daughter," Angel said. That sure brought Fang out of his trance, let me tell you. His head jerked up and he stared at Rose.
Iggy seemed to be in a state of shock. "Is that…the…um…what does she look like?" he finally asked. He couldn't get the words out to ask if she was Fang or not.
"Fang," Nudge answered simply, helping herself to more and more food.
"Is that…?" Fang asked, his gaze still captivated by Rose. She'd put a stubborn expression on her face and crossed her arms.
I nodded to answer his question. He stood up abruptly and flung back his chair. "You left," he was shaking.
"You caused me to leave," I snarled.
Gazzy's eyes opened wide as he quickly shoveled his breakfast down his throat and exited the room. Angel and Nudge did the same. I had a feeling Iggy was only staying there so he could get between us if we started throwing punches.
"You shouldn't have taken away my daughter from me!" he cried.
"It's your fault! And she's not your daughter, she's my daughter. Not yours, not ours. Mine."
"Mommy," Rose tugged on my shirt. "I like him."