15 Years Later

"I can do this, I can do this-"

"Max, you really don't-"

"Shut up, Fang! I can do this." I stare at the toaster in front of me, silently challenging it to misbehave in front of the famous Maximum Ride.

"Max," Fang groans, wrapping his arms around me (probably to hold me down). "You really don't have to make the toast. We already have eggs, pancakes and bacon."

"I know, Fang, but I've got to prove to our kids that I'm not completely useless in the kitchen."

Fang groans yet again. "Iggy didn't mean to offend you Max, and he certainly didn't mean for you to start cooking."

"But the kids still laughed!"

"The kids are five, Max. Five."

I shake myself free of his arms. "Five is still old enough to think someone is incompetent."

Fang sighs. "Alright. Just don't burn the house down."

And with that he walks back to his post as bacon master.

I'm carefully putting the toast in when Summer walks down the stairs. "'Morning Mom," he says walking up to me and putting his arms up- the universal sign for 'Pick me up now'.

"'Morning Sum." I move my arms to pick him. "Where's your sister?"

"Oh, she's trying to look good for Johnny. Who knew it would take so long?"

"What?" Fang asks, piping in from his spot in front of the stove. "Who's Johnny? And why is she trying to look good? How old is he? Is he nice? Can I meet him? Where does he live-"

"Fang, stop interrogating our son." Summer shoots me a thankful glance while Fang glares at me.

"Don't you want to know why our daughter chasing some boy?"

Summer picks his head up from my shoulder. "Oh, that's easy," he says. "She wants to do that thing you and Mommy do at night time."

While I'm sure my face resembles a tomato, Fang just looks confused. "What do you mean?"

"You know, the thing where you guys start moaning and screaming each others name?" Summer nods, like he is the professor on the subject. "Sometimes the bed starts to creak."

That is apparently all Fang needs before he runs upstairs. Presumably to tell Autumn that she can't ever do that until she's eighty.

I set Summer down carefully. "Why don't you go wash your hands and get ready for breakfast. We have to go to school soon."

"Okay." Summer runs to the room next store where I can hear the water turned on.

I'm about to turn around and watch the toast to make sure it isn't to burnt when the baby monitor starts to go off.

"Waaaa, waaaaa, wa wa waaaaaa!"

"The baby's crying, Mommy!"

I sigh. "Thanks Sum!" I walk upstairs and enter the door on the right where there are two babies, each are crying like they are trying to wake the dead.

"Sh. Sh, don't cry," I whisper knowing fully well that it is a hopeless act. I pick up Forest first. He's always the first to initiate the crying. Generally when he stops crying so does River.

"It's breakfast time for you guys too, isn't it?" Just like I predicted, when I started to feed Forest, River stopped crying too.

When I had just finished feeding Forest and had started feeding River, the doorbell rang.

"Fang," I call, "can you get the door? It's probably Nudge! We're supposed to go dress shopping today!" I stop speaking after that because River hates it when I speak and she eats. She does this weird thing where she just starts biting me instead of sucking. And it hurts like hell.

"Okay!" I hear Fang jog down the stairs and open the door followed by a 'Hello' from Nudge.

When I finish feeding River, I walk downstairs where Nudge is practically bouncing, showing her ring to Fang even though he's seen about a thousand times.

"I can't believe I'm getting married! It's just so exciting!" After Nudge sees me, she starts squealing. "Max! We're going dress shopping today! Can you believe it? Oh, and you look great- nobody would have guessed you had twins three months ago. Maybe we could-"

"No, Nudge. I am not wearing a dress."

"But your my maid of honor! You have to wear a dress."

"Nudge," Fang says, "Max didn't even wear a dress to our wedding and she was the bride."

"Yeah, but this is my wedding. And I want her to wear a dress."

"No," I say. Nudge opens her mouth again. "No."

The door slams. "Howdy everyone!" Iggy yells.

"Uncle Iggy!" Summer and Autumn scream running from the bathroom.

Iggy walks into the kitchen with a big grin on his face. "You guys will never guess what happen-" Then he got tackled by two five year olds eager to see their 'Uncle' Iggy.

"Woah there. Can I talk to your parents- and Aunt Nudge- for a sec?"

Autumn pouts (forgetting briefly that Iggy is blind) and tries to do the puppy dog eyes at him. "Why?" she whines.

"Autumn," I say with steel in my voice. "Now."

She looks at me then- realizing that there was no way I was going to change my mind- she turns around and walks upstairs. "Come on Sum."

Nudge watches as they run up the stairs before sighing and saying, "How come they never greet me like that?"

Fang snorts. "Because you don't blow things up."

"Well," Iggy says, "as much as I love talking about blowing things up, I have something I need to tell you guys."

"What?" I ask.

"Last night I met this great girl and man," Iggy whistles, "the things she did."

"Please Iggy," Nudge groans, covering her ears. "We don't want to hear about you and your sexual escapades!"

"Hey, I really like her and it's not like you don't talk all about your and Will's sexual life!"

Nudge blushes, "I- I do not."

"Yes you do," I say.

Nudge glares at me. "You're one to talk Mrs. I Love It When Fang Rubs My-"

"And this is why my kids know all about sex," Fang interrupts, shooting me a glance.

Before we can get back to the conversation, I hear Summer whisper, "So it's called sex."

"Shut up, you idiot!" Autumn whispers back. "Their going to realize we're listening because they'll hear you!"

"Too late," I call up. I hear their feet hit the floor as they run to their rooms and shut the door.

"So about this girl-" Iggy starts again, only to have the phone start ringing.

When nobody makes a move to get up, I mutter, "I'll get it." Quickly I walk to the next room trying to get to the phone before it stopped ringing.

As soon as I pick up the phone I hear the Gasman yell, "We're pregnant!"

"What?" I ask dumbly.

"We just found out that Sarah was pregnant! Oh my God, I'm going to be a Dad. I'm going to be a Dad!"

"But you guys have only been married two weeks."

"So?"

"You can't find out if you're pregnant until week three."

"Yeah," the Gasman drawls, "about that..."

"I am going to kill you," I mutter into the phone.

I think I heard him squeak. "Please don't. I'm going to be a Dad remember?"

Chuckling quietly, I ask, "Do you want me to tell them or do you want to?"

"Uh, I want to. I just called you because I really wanted to tell someone."

"I completely understand. Fang was once a new Dad too. All I can say is in thank God, we didn't have a phone book otherwise the entire city would have known I was pregnant."

We laugh together at the memory.

"Max," the Gasman whispers, suddenly quiet, "I'm stilling having the nightmares. They're getting worse too. Now I can hear the screams and see the faces. I just want them to stop."

"Gazzy, I don't know what to tell you," I whisper back, tears quickly filling up my eyes. "We defeated Itex and they aren't coming back. They can't hurt you anymore."

"But I can still see the blood, Max! Only... Now, instead of it being mine, it's my kid's."

"Nothings going to happen," I say commanding, like just by saying that, it will be true. "You'll see."

I can my voice has it's desired effect as the Gasman says, "Okay."

"Okay."

"Well, I have to go. Sarah's already sending me out for chores. So... Bye."

"Bye."

"And Max... I love you." He hangs up before I can say anything.

Even though I know he can't hear me and that I've said it thousands of times before, I still whisper into the dead line, "I love you too."

* * *

"I'm here!" Angel calls after the door slams.

"Eek!" Nudge does a little dance in her chair, clapping her hands while she does it. "Everyones here! We can go dress shopping-"

"Right after my kids get dropped off at school," I interrupt, giving Nudge a look.

Nudge thinks you're a drag, Angel tells me in my head. I laugh on the inside.

Just wait until she has kids of her own!

"Can't Fang do that?" Nudge asks.

"Nope!" Fang calls from upstairs where he went to get dressed. "I've got to go to work!"

You can practically see Nudge deflate.

"So, Angel," I say, trying to find something to talk about. "How has life been?"

"Life's been good." Angel smiles a little and looks up at us.

"Okay," Nudge says, instantly reflating, "spill."

"Well, you guys know how I work for the police?"

I snort. "Yeah."

Nudge giggles. "Who would have thought that a mind reader would have been great for solving murders?"

"Oh shut up," Angel says, but the smile on her face gives her away. "Anyways, this new guy showed up-"

"Oh," Nudge adds, giggling again, "it's a guy!"

Angel blushes. "Well, he's really good looking and... he also might happen to be my new partner."

"Lucky," I whisper to her, thinking of my own job and the sweaty obese man I'm partnered with.

Hey, you've got Fang. Can't be too greedy, Angel says.

Watch me, I return.

When Angel giggles, I call down the kids for breakfast, stealing a look at the clock.

Summer comes down first and gives Angel a kiss on the cheek. When Autumn comes down, she's dragging Iggy behind her talking non-stop to him. Iggy, for his part, is actually paying attention.

Next comes Fang, who is straightening his tie.

"Yum," Iggy says. "Smells good- except what is thats burning?"

"Eek!" I yell, running up to the toaster and pulling out the charred pieces of bread. "That is the last time I cook," I say.

"Thank God," Iggy whispers.

"Hey," Fang growls at Iggy. "At least she didn't burn the house down."