Me: Hey guys, I know it's been a long time-

Iggy: A really, REALLY long time

Me: Yeah :( And I'm really sorry for that. But really I could give you a list of reasons a mile long for why I haven't updated, but that would just waste your valuable time that you could spend reading, and I'm not gonna do that to you :P

Iggy: Yeah, instead she's just going to write a really long pointless AN ;)

Me: Oh ha ha. Meh, I don't want to argue with you so I'm just going to cut to the chase.

This is the last chapter for this fic, as I'd like to leave it on a high note. I hope that's ok with everyone :) So anyway, without further ado, here's the last chapter, which is Fang's memory. I hope you guys like it!

Fang sat alone in the cave with only the buzz of his laptop and the rhythmic sound of the heavy rain to keep him company. He'd been flying for hours – which felt like days – until it had started to rain. He'd pushed himself on for a while longer until the winds picked up and the rain turned into an unsettling storm. By that time he knew that it was hopeless to continue and had to land in the nearest place he could find – the cave.

After drying himself off he'd loaded his laptop, checked a few of his blog comments until he got sick of them and then closed the computer completely, just listening to the rain.

The storm reminded him of many memories that he'd shared with the Flock before Angel was kidnapped at the e-shaped house. After Jeb disappeared there were many thunderstorms that the Flock had to endure alone, and he remembered the many ways of which they had all coped…particularly the one in which he'd teamed up with Angel to scare the monster out of her closet when she was little. He smiled sadly to himself, pushing his wet hair back from his forehead and manoeuvring the laptop to avoid it getting wet. He didn't really want to think about them too much or it might weaken his resolve to stay away. But he just couldn't help himself. His thoughts seemed to drift from Angel, to Gazzy, to Nudge, to Iggy, to Max. And he couldn't help but think about how much had really changed since the four years that were spent at the E-house. Angel and Gazzy weren't little kids anymore, asking him to chase away monsters or play card games. In fact, Angel now acted like someone beyond her years and Gazzy could build bombs. Nudge was no longer afraid of falling like she used to be, and Iggy had stopped seeking help from Fang long ago, breaking away from him and…Max. He could remember her so clearly as if she were here in front of him. Her smile, her chocolate brown eyes that bore into his own, her blonde hair that shimmered in the sun – everything. But it wasn't just the kids that had changed since the E-house; she had too. That scared little girl that panicked when Jeb left was gone, leaving a strong leader in her wake. But the leader gig was practically made for her and afterwards, despite everything that was thrown at them, she'd managed to keep the flock together. It was this, among many other things, that made Fang admire her so much. But there was something else to her as well. She wasn't just a leader and a mum. Fang noticed that when she was with him every worry that she might have had would vanish. It would just be him and her. Fang and Max. They allowed each other to be themselves.

Fang settled back against the cold, dripping cave wall and closed his eyes, finally allowing himself to remember.

"What are you doing?"

Thirteen year old Fang tilted his head from where he was lying to see Max watching him, eyebrows raised. He did his best to shrug while lying down but he suspected it looked more like a movement of discomfort than anything else. However he didn't offer her any other reply and turned his head back towards the clouds that he'd been observing.

"That's not an answer," she said, rolling her eyes and Fang smirked.

"Yes it was."

"Well I'll just assume that you're playing dead then," Max said, her brow knotting together. Fang turned his head again and studied the dark rings beneath her eyes and her face that was paler than usual.

"Wanna join me?" He asked, his mouth quirked up slightly and she chuckled.

"No thanks, I'm happy being alive, I think," she answered. "But don't let me stop you. You carry on being dead."

"No," he said, his expression hardening. "You look really tired. Come lie down."

He patted the grass next to him and Max scowled as if angry at him for even suggesting that she may be weak. "I'm fine, Fang."

Fang raised an eyebrow and then shook his head. "Even you need to relax once and a while," he said simply, patting the spot beside him a little harder. Why did she have to be so difficult? Was it really that hard for her to just lie down and rest for two seconds? He thought.

Max stared at him for a few moments, seeming to be deep in thought about something that Fang wasn't quite sure of before she finally gave in and collapsed on the grass.

"So what are you doing exactly?" She asked him, stretching her right wing out from underneath her and letting the sun catch her feathers. Fang watched out of the corner of his eye but didn't avert his gaze from the pale blue sky before him.

"Nothing. That's the point," he said, the side of his mouth quirking up. That was Max, always on the move. "Just relax."

And it was then that he and Max shared a moment that Fang really couldn't seem to forget. Sure, they didn't do or say anything, but they were together, enjoying each others company. That's all he really needed; for her to just be there.

"So what if," Max started eventually after half an hour had passed, "while I'm doing this 'relax' thing that you so seem to crave, Iggy and Gazzy decide to blow up the house?"

Fang chuckled. "Then you can go over and kick their butts."

Max leaned up on her elbow. "So you don't want me to be all…mellow about it and just tell them that 'as long as your spirit is free I don't mind what you do'?"

Fang started laughing at her impression and she laughed too. "What do you think I am? A hippy?" He asked her.

"You may not look the part with all that black but you're sounding like it with this 'relax' stuff."

"Not really," he said, leaning up on his elbow to face her as well. He suddenly felt how numb his wings felt after lying on them for so long and fanned them out behind him, the dark feathers almost seeming to change color in the light. "You're just overworking yourself. It's okay to do nothing sometimes."

Max looked at him before smiling. "So maybe you're not a hippy…a guru maybe?"

"You're just saying that because I'm right," Fang said, his dark eyes watching her carefully.

"What if I am?"

Fang just shrugged and the two of them lay back down, watching the clouds. "You don't have to admit that I'm right for me to be right."

Fang looked across and saw Max rolling her eyes. She was about to say something when an explosion shook the ground, making the two bird kids sit bolt upright.

"Do I need to say 'I told you so' or do you get it?" Max smirked, watching as smoke rose from a window in the house, followed by someone shouting.

"No. Aren't you gonna get that?" He replied, watching her carefully.

"Get what?" She said, lying back down. "I don't see anything."

Fang felt his usually blank facade shatter as he broke into a smile. "Then I didn't either."

Silence passed between them for a few moments as they listened to the kids shouting at each other in the background.

"We'll just see how long it takes them to find us...and until they do, we'll just keep relaxing," she said eventually.

"And you call me a guru," Fang retorted, but he didn't get a reply.

About ten minutes later, the kids came bounding up asking why Max wasn't yelling at them yet. In response, Max said "How about we all just go for a fly and cool off some steam, huh?"

Stunned silence.

"Who are you and what have you done with the real Max?" Iggy asked teasingly, and Max looked over at Fang. He had this weird feeling, something that he really wasn't allowed to feel at the school: pure happiness.

"It's still me, Ig," she told him and then punched him hard in the arm, but her eyes were still locked with Fang's. "That proof enough for you?"

"Ow!" he muttered, rubbing where she'd hit him. "Yeah, it is."

"Alright then," Max said, taking charge. "Let's go."

Fang's eyes flew open with the sound of thunder echoing around him. Lightning flashed and he remembered where he was and what was happening. He was in a cave waiting out a storm. The Flock wasn't here with him. Max wasn't either. He was alone. He must have just dozed off.

Fang sighed, grabbing his backpack and placing it on the floor as a makeshift pillow. He hit it a few times with his fist until it was the right shape and then lay down and closed his eyes, his fist still clenched. It was too painful. Why had he allowed himself to remember? Because now all he could seem to think about was how much he missed them.

He had trouble sleeping that night, because no matter how hard he tried he couldn't seem to stop the thoughts of his family from plaguing his mind. But before he did finally doze off, the last memory that he seemed to have was an image of Max lying on the grass, staring up at the sky.

Me: And there you have it!

Iggy: not sappy at all -eyeroll-

Me: -shrug- I liked it. And now I have to go to bed. But thank you everyone who read this fic and reviewed! You guys really do help me write and give me the motivation to keep going. I love you guys, and I hope that you enjoyed this fic :)

-Bell and Ig