Family Is All It Takes

’You don’t have to be blood to be family.’ That’s what she had said to him. As simple as the statement was, it was still incredibly deep. For all the teams he had played for throughout his entire life, Brandon had never felt that bond.

He thought about the look that always seemed to appear in Mackenzie’s eyes whenever someone brought up Jordan. She looked physically pained. He wondered if she had ever felt more for Jordan than friendship. Jordan had married her cousin, a cousin that Mac introduced him to.

Unsure of what to think, Brandon took to Twitter.

’@BrandonSutter- Had a real dinner cooked by @MacLawrence. Pretty damn good. Watch out, the boys’ll be wanting some.’

She instantly retweeted.

’@MacLawrence- @BrandonSutter Well, thanks. But your twitter handle sucks. Get a new one.’

Brandon smirked. He and Mac weren’t best friends. But they had actually spent almost three and a half hours without fighting or sending glares at each other. That was an improvement beyond recognition.

He thought about how things would be in the locker room the next day. The boys would be in shock. Mac hadn’t exactly kept her dislike of Brandon to herself. And Brandon had made it known that he liked getting on Mac’s nerves.

Brandon got a preview of what to expect by checking his Twitter once again.

’@JamesNeal- Whoa. @MacLawrence and @BrandonSutter getting along? Dinner? Why wasn’t I invited so I could witness this spectacle? OMG.’

Mackenzie beat Brandon to responding.

’@MacLawrence- @JamesNeal Did you just say OMG? I thought you had more respect for yourself Nealer.’

’@BrandonSutter- So I’ll take it I’m going to be getting a lot of crap in the locker room tomorrow? Maybe I shouldn’t come… haha.’

******

Mackenzie was amusing herself just yards away in her own apartment by reading through tweets from throughout the day. Jumping into conversations here and there, she let her thoughts wander to that evening.

Brandon had asked her about the team. She had explained to him that being a family doesn’t mean you’re all blood. But what she hadn’t said was how the boys had come to her rescue when she needed it most.

******

It was in the midst of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Penguins had just come off of a win at home. Walking out into the parking lot with Jake in her arms, Mac had thought she was alone. She wasn’t.

“Well if it isn’t Mackenzie and Jake,” a voice sneered.

Mac stopped in her tracks. Glancing around, she saw that no one was nearby. The people closest were back in the building and probably wouldn’t be out for another twenty minutes.

“What do you want, Langley?” she asked without turning around.

“My son,” he said wrenching Mac around to face him.

“Your son?” she hissed. “He may as well be my son alone. It was nice of you to run out while we were married. It was very mature of you.”

“I don’t care what you think,” he smirked. “But I’ll be taking my son.”

Langley reached out to take the sleeping boy from his mother’s arms. He was stopped by hand grasping his shoulder.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Jordan growled.

Langley turned to see almost the entire Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team glaring at him with their arms crossed.

Trying to seem unfazed, he turned around again. Grasping Mac’s wrist, he smiled evilly.

“This isn’t the last time you’ll hear from me. Of course, it could be. If you would give me my son,” he said.

Jordan grabbed Langley by the arms, wrenching him back. He, Max, and Geno dragged the man away from the group before pushing him a few times.

“Stay ‘way from, Mac,” Geno warned.

“If you know what’s good for you,” Max smirked.

“Although, I’m not too sure you do,” Jordan said.

Returning back to Mac and Jake, a crowd of players and family members had surrounded them.

“Are you okay?” Jordan asked as he pulled her into a hug. “Is Jake okay?”

But before Mac could offer an answer, the door to the building swung open. It was Sidney.

“What did I miss?” he wondered aloud.