Well, here it is. The Faxness story I've been debating whether to put on here for like, months. Basically, Clare (Sandstorm16) made me. This one's for you, babe. :P

I kept reading through it trying to find some way to make it better, but only little things are jumping out at me. Thus, I would LOOOVE some feedback on this one. This one won't be too long; originally it was only going to be four chapters, but they got long and I had to spread them out...it'll probably end up being 7 or 8 chapters long.

BEWARE TEH CHEEZY. Seriously. I didn't mean for it to turn out this bad...it's like the cheesiness was an infection...and forgive the totally corny story premise. I just went "I wanna write this, no matter how dumb it sounds!" So...basically, this story was me indulging myself in writing something romantic. Hope it doesn't suck too much. Anyway...

Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride. Or Europe.

Chapter One: Fang's Master Plan

I never thought I'd go to Europe. I've always wanted to, but being an experiment on the run kind of makes leisure time null and void. However, I had read about it: the glittering Eiffel Tower in Paris, the packed, rainy streets of London, the vivid color and richness of Rome. It sounded like a fantasy, where nothing could go wrong and Erasers were nothing but a scary story made up to put children to bed.

Still, while Europe was only on the other side of the Atlantic, it might have been on the other side of the Milky Way as far as we were concerned. There were always other things on the agenda, other problems to attend to. Besides, I was Max, the leader, the practical one. I didn't have room in my head for daydreaming. That is, until that day, the day that Fang suggested his crazy scheme. And as it turned out, I wouldn't just get to experience Europe, but so much more.

"Max! The toilet's plugged up again!"

"Max, Gazzy pulled my hair!"

"Max, do you think this milk tastes a little sour?"

"Max, can we go fly for a while?"

Max, Max, Max. For crying out loud! I know I'm the leader of this flock and all, but sometimes it feels like I can barely breathe without some winged individual getting on my case about something. I love them all to bits, I really do, but come on! I'm not the only so-called 'adult' in our twisted little family! Fang just turned eighteen last week, and even though Iggy hasn't had his birthday yet (and that minor factor of him being blind, and all), he's still perfectly capable.

Most of the time, being the mom doesn't bother me; in fact, I like it. But every once in awhile (like now), I wish I could just have a little time to myself.

I was contemplating this one Sunday afternoon after a particularly wearing week, hiding under the covers of the hotel bed and pretending to be asleep, hoping that would dissuade all attempts at conversation with me, when a voice that was creepy in its close proximity spoke the dreaded word. "Max?"

"What?!" I spat, unnecessarily loud and sitting bolt upright to find, to my chagrin, Fang leaning over the bed with his customary blank expression. "Oh, sorry." I said quickly, embarrassed how I'd gone off on him so fast. I'm normally such a put-together kind of person, but Fang has this annoying knack of catching me at my worst.

"Pardon me for interrupting your beauty sleep, not that you were actually getting any," Fang deadpanned with his usual irritating bluntness, "but I wanted to ask you something."

I sighed, preparing myself for whatever strange crisis had befallen our flock this time. "Ask away." I said wearily. I was expecting to hear some gruesome tale about how Iggy had blown up another hot dog stand or how Gazzy had tried to go skateboarding on the roof. What I definitely did not expect were the words that next came out of Fang's mouth.

"What do you think of a vacation? Just for you?"

I wasn't sure I'd heard him correctly. "Wh-what?!"

Fang shrugged. "You look like you could really use a break lately, and after all you put up with, you deserve it."

"Fang, could you please tell me who ran off with your sanity?" I asked, honestly worried about his state of mind. Maybe his position as 'dad' of this family had finally pushed him over the edge.

He sighed and put one hand on either side of the bedposts so his stubborn frown was right up in my face and articulated deliberately and slowly "I. Want you. To go. On vacation. In fact, I think I'm going to make you, before you totally lose your mind."

"Who's losing their mind?!" I demanded, glowering at him fiercely. "I'm not going off by myself and leaving the flock behind!"

"Fine. I'll go with you." Fang replied simply.

"What--? No, you know that's not what I meant!"

"Look, Max," Fang said in a way that was maddeningly calm and collected next to my blatant hysteria. "It's not like it was when we were younger; we can pretty much all take care of ourselves now. I'll talk to Iggy about it, but I don't think he'll mind. He's been saying you need some R & R for ages now."

He got up and paused in the doorway. "C'mon, Max. Think about it. Isn't there someplace you've always wanted to go, but couldn't because you were taking care of the kids?"

I automatically had a 'no,' the sensible answer, ready in my throat, but it fizzled out almost immediately when I actually stopped to think about it. Yes, there was somewhere I'd always wanted to go. I'd never had the chance ever before, and now, all of a sudden…

Fang flashed one of his rare, mysterious smiles and added "Be sure and pick somewhere cool. Remember, I'm your partner in crime for this expedition."

Oh, cripes. Me and Fang, going on vacation. Alone. Just us.

Holy shit.

So that was how I ended up on a plane to London, courtesy of my Maximum Ride credit card, with Fang next to me, absorbed in a magazine while I stared out the black window, freaking out. We'd decided to take a plane because the Atlantic Ocean was not exactly small, and we didn't want to run out of energy partway across.

I had been amazed how well it had all gone over. Iggy had agreed to the arrangement almost at once, although I'd heard him fight down snorts of amusement when Fang announced that he was going with me. Nudge was absolutely impossible, elbowing me in the ribs and winking at every opportunity. The two youngest ones had been a bit put out that they weren't invited, but they took it in stride. All in all, it went better than anything in our lives ever had. However, now that we were up in the air, I was starting to get slightly panicky.

"What if something's happened?" I addressed the window worriedly, my fingernails already halfway to my mouth. "What if they've run into Eraser trouble? What if they can't get enough to eat? What if—"

"Max," Fang growled, slapping a hand over my mouth. "If you don't shut up right now, I'm going to stuff you full of Valium so you sleep the whole flight. And I'll record you when you snore." He sighed deeply and turned his vat-of-endless-dark-chocolate eyes on me, which effectively shut me up for good. "Seriously, Max, you can 'what if?' until you're blue in the face, but it won't do you any good. Shit happens, whether you're there or not. Now, do you trust me?"

I blinked, thrown by the rapid change of subject. "Huh?"

I think those eyes were dangerously close to burning holes in my brain. "Do. You. Trust. Me?"

"Y-yes." I said uncertainly.

"Good. So trust me to trust Iggy to take care of our flock until we get back. And trust me to know what I'm doing dragging you across the ocean. Okay?"

I took a deep breath. Trusting isn't something I'm especially good at, even if it is Fang. "Okay." I said.

His mouth twisted into a little half-smile and he squeezed my hand reassuringly. "Okay." He turned back to his magazine and held out a crinkled plastic bag. "Skittles?" he offered.

I accepted gratefully, grinning a little. Maybe everything would be okay after all.

A/N: Well, children, there it is. ducks from barrage of flying objects bound to be aimed at her head Okay, maybe it wasn't that pitiful. I guess the amount of reviews will tell...later!