A/N: I wrote this to shake off writer's block for "The Talk" Didn't work. At least this is better than "My Soldier" Sheesh. Oh, quick note, when it is in past tense, Fang is fifteen. Present tense is whatever age specified in the lyrics. Just thought I'd clear all that up. And yes, in case you haven't figured it out yet, it is in Fang's POV.

I'm 15 for a moment

Caught in between 10 and 20

And I'm just dreaming

Counting the ways to where you are

It was my turn on watch. The full moon was directly over head. It was beautiful, but for a moment, I felt trapped between it and the ground.

I felt trapped in a lot of ways. I was trapped between my friendship with Max and telling her how I really feel about her. I was trapped between a rock and a hard place about this finding a home thing. Oh, and how could I have forgotten Itex! Yeah, teen angst didn't have nuttin' on me!

But maybe that was the way things were meant for me. So right then, I watched for danger and dreamt about my Max.

I'm 22 for a moment

She feels better than ever

And we're on fire

Making our way back from Mars

Max and I are great. We're completely in love, and it's absolutely amazing. I love her so much, everything about her. The diamond ring in my pocket is proof of that. Our dinner is going perfectly, even the absurdly slow service doesn't bother me. It just gives me more time to be with her. I wait for it, everything's been planned. Right on time, "100 Years" by Five for Fighting begins to play. She smiles. This is our song.

I get out of my chair to kneel in fromt of her. Her hand flies to her mouth in surprise. I take out the ring.

"Max, I could never love anyone as much as you," I say. "We've spent our whole lives together. You know everything about me." I slip the ring onto the fourth finger of her left hand. "So Maximum Ride, will you marry me?"

Tears of what I hope is joy fall from her eyes. I hold my breath. This is ridiculous! I love her, she loves me. No reason to be nervous...still I want to leap with joy when she nods. "I'd marry you tomorrow if I could," she whispers. We embrace. I can hear the other customers and wiat staff applauding. This is perfect. She is perfect, I think to myself.

15 there's still time for you

Time to buy and time to lose

15, ther's never a wish better than this

When you only got 100 years to live

I'm 33 for a moment

Still the man, but you see I'm a they

A kid on the way

A family on my mind

I rub my wife's very pregnant belly. "So what'll it be?" I ask her. "Omlet or scrambled?" I smile at her face of disgust.

"You know she kept me up all night. I'm not hungry!" she practically yells the last part.

"None of that, baby Val needs her strength," I tell her good naturedly, cracking four eggs into the pan. I proceed to scramble them. We haven't been married all this time for nothing.

"If Valencia wants strenght, she can go to sleep every now and them!" she snaps. God, why do pregnant women need to be so bitchy?

"Here you are, Max," I say, placeing the eggs in front of her. She barely has time to thank me before she devours themeal in less than a minute. Her eyes plead with me. I sigh and turn the burner back on. Four eggs for Max, four for Val.

I'm 45 for a moment

The sea is high

And I'm heading into a crisis

Chasing the years of my life

Today I woke up with a gray hair. I guess I'm lucky I lasted this long, but my hair...I guess it's to bee expected. Val told Max and me she had a boyfriend last night at the dinner table. My baby girl...with a boy.

Am I old? If fourty is the new thirty, then fourty-five should be the next thirty-five, right? I don't feel old. I still take almost-nightly flights with Max and Val. I need to appear young!

I wait until I know Max, Val, and the rest of the Flock and their children are in the house. I rev the engine in the driveway. Everyone pours out the front door. I smile smugly at their looks of astonishment.

"It's a two-seater, isn't it?" asks Iggy, obviously annoyed that he can't see my sweet new wheels.

"Uncle Fang, no one says "sweet new wheels" anymore," Angel's daughter Lydia informs me sadly. Lydia, like her mother, is a mind reader. She and Val whisper something about "so sold" to each other.

"Gazzy, please describe Fang's new car to me," Iggy says to his best friend.

"Well, it's red with orange and yellow flames running down the sides and on the hood. It's a convertible and it has a rear spoiler. The exhaust pipes are huge. And yes," the Gasman says, anticipating teh next question, "it is a two-seater." Iggy whistles in appreciation.

"Children, take note of this," says Max, barely hiding her disdain for the situation. "This is a midlife crisis." Max turns on her heel and storms back into the house.

"I get first ride!" shouts Iggy, hopping into the seat next to me. Ah, well, she'll come around.

15 there's still time for you

Time to buy and time to lose yourself

Withing a morning star

"You stayed up all night on wach again, stupid," Max said, plopping down next to me. The first rays of light caught her face at just the right angle. I lost myself in her beautiful brown eyes. They were gold at the edges, and there were gold flecks in the irises, near teh pupil. I loved her so much.

"Max, I--"

"None of that. Go to sleep now. I'll get the rest of the Flock up in a few hours,' she commanded, snapping into leader-mode.

I sighed. Max, I'm never going to get to tell you this out oud, so here it is. I love you, I love you, I LOVE YOU!

15, there's never a wish better than this

When you only got 100 years to live

Half the time goes by

Suddenly you're wise

Another blink of and eye

67 is gone

The sun is getting high

We're moving on...

I pace impatiently in the hospital. Max is seated, but she looks just as nervous as I feel. The hospital-smell and the people in white coats wasn't doing much to help. A nurse steps out of the big double doors.

"Mr. and Mrs. Ride?" she asks. Max and I nod. The nurse looks tired, but smiles. "Congratulations. Your daughter had twins, a boy and a girl." I sit heavily onto a cheap plastic chair.

I mouth the word twins. Such a little word for such a big responsibility. An odd feeling comes over me. I realize that our time on this Earth is numbered, and Max and I have to give it up to younger generations. As I said, the feeling is odd.

Ah, the joys of childbirth.

I'm 99 for a moment

Dying for just another moment

And I'm just dreaming

Counting the ways to where you are

I hate being old. I hate being frail. I hate that I need a nurse to care for me. My only blessing is that I've kept my mind. I'm lucid enough. A fact my nurse tells me often enough. As if I'll forget it. My nurse is currently taking a well deserved nap in a chair. Let him; he deserves it.

My eyes fall on an old photograph on the nightstand. It's a picture of my Max and me, holding each other and laughing. I smile.

Max, my Max. She passed on two years ago. I've felt the loss every day, every minute, since.

Paul, the nurse, wakes up and checks my blood pressure. "Everything checks out well, Fang," he tells me with a smile. It took two months, but I convinced him not to call me "Mr. Ride." Her name was just too painful.

That's when she appears. She is standing next to Paul, smiling. She looks exactly like she did when we were fifteen. She reaches for me, I smile and tak her hand. Together, we pass on.

15 there's still time for you

22 I feel her too

33 you're no your way

Every day's a new day...

15 There's still time for you

Time to buy and time to choose

Hey, 15, theres never a wish better than this

When you only got 100 Years to live