Flightless Birds

It was five thirty on Wednesday and Hanna was just finishing getting dressed when she heard her phone ringing. Checking it, she saw Maggie's name and answered, confirming she'd be ready and would pick her up from Paul's at six.

After practice on Tuesday, Brandon had taken Hanna out to lunch with him and some of the other guys. It was near the cultural district so they walked down to check out some of the galleries that populated the area before Brandon got her back in the car and they drove to catch a movie.

They found a bar with a row of pool tables after their movie and they drank a couple pitchers of beer while chirping each other over a friendly but competitive game of darts. They ate greasy and delicious bar food and shortly after ten, they made their back to his place.

It had been a simple, casual day, but Hanna hadn't enjoyed herself that much in one day in ages. She really enjoyed Brandon's company and how easy it was to talk to him and tell him just about everything going on in her life. Which was probably why they had exchanged their life stories with one another.

The smile on her face wouldn't quit as she pulled the black and gold Sutter jersey on over a long sleeve shirt and then slipped into her favorite pair of chucks. She grabbed the keys to his car (Robert Bortuzzo had picked him up to take him to the game) and plugged Paul's address into the GPS and made the drive to his house.

After parking, she made her way to the front door and rang the bell. Maggie opened the door moments later with a beaming smile, immediately pulling Hanna into a hug.

"Hiii!"

Hanna pulled back with a smile. "Look at you, Queen of the castle," she teased.

"Hardly. I heard you pull up."

"Maggie, dear, is that your friend?" They heard the voice approaching them.

"Hanna, this is Bev. Bev, this is my best friend Hanna Mills."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Martin," Hanna said politely.

"You can call me Bev, sweetie. My husband is around here somewhere but I'm sure you two are anxious to get to the game for warmups. He'll meet you when we get there."

"We can wait for y'all, follow each other," Maggie offered.

"No, you two go ahead. I know how much Paul has liked seeing you during warmups these last few games."

Maggie blushed. "We better get going then. I just need my purse." When she was gone, Bev turned to Hanna.

"Maggie said you interviewed for a job here on Monday?"

"Yes ma'am. I should hear from them by the end of the week."

"And when you move here, do you think you can get Maggie to follow? It'd make Paul very happy."

"I can try my best. Nashville is home and Maggie's never left home."

"But if he asked?"

Hanna smiled. "I'm pretty sure she'd do anything Paul asked. She cares a great deal for him."

"He cares a great deal for her as well. In fact, I'd venture a guess he's fallen in love with her."

"I think the feeling is mutual."

"I don't always care for the women my son has in his life but Maggie is very different. She has a strong head on her shoulders, her own career. She challenges Paul, captures his attention and I think he does the same for her. I'm sure it's not easy, the distance, but I'm proud of them for finding their way to make it work. I'm glad we came early to meet her. She's exactly like Paul described."

"She was nervous about meeting you, worried you might not like her."

"She makes him happy and that's what important to me."

"Which is exactly what I told her," Hanna grinned.

"I'm ready!" Maggie called out as she came down the stairs. When she got to the bottom, she pulled on a Penguins jersey and then grabbed her coat, buttoning it over her.

"He got you in a flightless bird jersey? I thought I'd never see the day," Hanna teased her.

"Shut up," Maggie laughed. "He's just lucky I like him." She turned to Bev and hugged her. "We'll see you at the game."

"Drive safe girls!" She called out after them as they made their way to Brandon's car.

"Speaking of Queen of the castle," Maggie said knowingly.

"Not like that," Hanna answered. "He just wanted me to be able to get around tonight."

"Suuuuure."

On the ride to Consol, Maggie filled Hanna in on meeting Paul's parents the day before and everything that had happened. After getting them from the airport, they went back to Paul's and had lunch, sitting around the living room and getting to know one another. They went out for dinner later in the evening and Bev had made breakfast for them before morning skate. Initially worried about being alone with his parents after Paul left for the arena, Maggie found herself enjoying their company, her fears quickly brushed aside.

They parked in the family lot and headed inside, taking an elevator to the concourse so they could find a spot to watch warm ups. They lucked into two seats on the glass in the corner and settled into them, taking their coats off to wait comfortably.

When the Penguins took the ice, a loud cheer went through the building. Maggie's eyes trailed after Paul and Hanna smiled to herself watching her friend. They giggled amongst themselves as Geno stretched in front of them and watched as Marc Andre took his place in net.

Hanna heard her phone ring and she pulled it from her pocket, her heart stopping at the name of the law firm she had interviewed at. She stood, excusing herself and exiting the row quickly. She was gone a few minutes before returning and taking her seat again.

"Well?" Maggie asked.

"I got the job," she said, still in shock.

"You got the job?! You got the job!" She reached for her, hugging her in the seat before standing up. "She got the job!" Maggie yelled.

The people around them clapped and a few offered their congratulations to Hanna. A loud crash to the glass made her turn to find Brandon looking right at her. "You got the job?"

"I got the job!" Hanna grinned. He flashed a smile of his own and a thumbs up before skating away. Maggie looked at her and burst out laughing.

"I can't believe that just happened," she said between her laughter. When Paul skated by, he gave her a nod and a thumbs up of his own, causing Maggie to burst out in a fresh round of laughter. Paul shook his head at her and winked before skating off. Maggie blushed and hid her face in Hanna's shoulder.

"Come on, let's head up to our seats," Hanna said. "Before those girls over there kill us with their death stares."

Maggie glanced to their left and rolled her eyes. "My boyfriend's hot, right?" She said as she stood. "She's sleeping in Suttsy's bed," she added as they headed up the stairs.

"Oh my god, you are terrible," Hanna said, pulling Maggie up the stairs.

"What? My boyfriend is hot. And you are sleeping in Brandon's bed. His guest bed but still technically his bed since he bought it."

"I can't wait until you tell your boyfriends mom this story."

"Yeah, maybe we'll leave out a few of the details."

They grabbed popcorn and sodas before finding their seats. "Hello, girls," Bev waved as they made their way towards them.

"Hanna got the job," Maggie told her excitedly. "While we were watching warmups they called her!"

"Congratulations, Hanna," Bev said before hugging her.

"Thank you," she said as they sat down.

"This is my husband Dale. Dale, this is Hanna, Maggie's friend she was telling us about."

"Very nice to meet you, Hanna," he replied.

"Tell us about the job, Hanna. What do you do?"

"I'm a lawyer accountant."

"That sounds like it took a lot of work to get there."

"It did but I love it so it was worth it."

"And when will you move?"

"In the next couple of weeks. They want me to start by the end of the month."

"The end of the month?" Maggie repeated. "That's really soon."

"Yeah, I'll have to give notice when we get back and start packing."

Maggie nodded and sipped from her drink. "When is your flight tomorrow?" Bev asked.

"Four," Hanna answered her.

"Hopefully the boys will win tonight so you can celebrate that along with your new job before you both leave then," Bev smiled.

"That sounds like a good plan," Maggie added. "To the flightless birds," she continued, raising her cup.

"Here's to absolutely crushing the Bruins," Hanna said.



"You're quiet," Paul said, nudging Maggie when they were at the bar following the game that night. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied dismissively. "Everything's great," she smiled.

"Is it because you're leaving tomorrow or Hanna's new job? Or is it both?"

"I'm fine, Paul, I swear."

"Maggie, I've been dating you for almost three months and we just spent two weeks together. I know you and I know that you are never this quiet. You haven't even teased Sid yet. Something is bothering you."

"Can we talk about it later?"

"We can talk about it at home as long as you promise to smile for me now."

She nodded. "I promise. Now where is Sid? I want to tell him that there isn't a rule that he always gets his way."

Paul chuckled and took her hand. "He's hiding out over there with Geno. Come on."

Hanna and Brandon were occupying a space at the end of the bar in the VIP area, laughing over a story Brandon was telling her from when he played in Carolina. He motioned to the bartender for another round of beers for them.

"Are you excited?" Brandon asked.

"About the job? Of course. I'll miss Maggie though."

"She has one more reason to visit now."

"She has a job in Nashville though. She took most of her available vacation time to be here the last two weeks."

"Really?"

"Yeah; she wanted to have the chance to have this much time with Paul and figure out what they're doing."

"But they're together, right?"

"Officially yes."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you going to be leaving someone behind in Nashville?"

"God no! I'm as single as they come."

"That's a good thing though."

"No, it kind of sucks actually. I mean, I don't know about the whole long distance thing but it'd be nice if I'd had a date or two recently."

"Again, a good thing."

"How so?"

"Because that means you're available and I can date you."

"You want to date me?"

"What? You think I invite everyone to crash on my couch?"

"Maybe?"

"No. Just people I like and I like you. And in case you haven't figured it out, I'm really glad you got the job because I don't know how Paul keeps it together with Maggie in Nashville; I'd go crazy. But I want to take you out on an actual date. I've wanted to since I met you."

"I would really like it if you took me out on a date."

"Good. As soon as you settle on the exact date you get here, I'll take you to dinner."

"Ok," she agreed.

"Now, how do we get Maggie here? What does she do anyway?"

"Maggie writes grants but she does some freelance social media management on the side."

"Really?"

Hanna nodded. "Maggie went to college for marketing but a professor late in her sophomore year told her about a grant writing class and she loved it. She ended up adding classes her junior and senior years so she could finish her marketing degree and added an English degree, with a minor in communications. Then she went and got her masters in business administration. While she was in school for that, she built up her portfolio by writing grants for some non profits back home. She works for her alma mater now but she does the social media for one of the nonprofits that gave her the chance to help them when she was getting started."

"Wow. You're both so accomplished. All I do is play hockey. I didn't go to college."

"You're pretty accomplished, Brandon, don't sell yourself short. You wouldn't be a Pittsburgh Penguin if you were a terrible hockey player. Someone thought you were a damn good return if they traded Jordan Staal for you."

His cheeks pinked and he ducked his head. "I guess I've never thought about it like that."

"Well you should."

"Do you want to get out of here?" He asked, standing and reaching for his wallet.

"Sure," Hanna agreed easily. Brandon passed some cash to the bartender to close out his tab, leaving their untouched beers on the bar top. "I just want to let Mags know I'm leaving." Brandon nodded and took her hand, leading her to a spot near the back where she and Paul were sitting with Sid and Geno, as well as Kris LeTang, Marc Andre Fleury, and the two men's wives.

"Hey, Hanna!" Maggie called out cheerfully. "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, we're gonna head out."

"Do you want Paul to pick you up on the way to the airport?"

"I'll bring her," Brandon spoke up.

"Oh, Brandon will bring you," Maggie repeated with a smirk. "I see," she winked at him. Brandon blushed again.

"Please stop getting ideas," Hanna told her.

"I have lots of ideas but mostly they involve Paul. A few of them though..."

"Don't say it," she warned. "In fact, stop thinking it."

"But if I learn French, just think of all the trouble I can get into with these two!"

Kris and Marc laughed. "Vero can help you learn," Marc offered.

"Yes," she agreed. "If you really want to, I'll practice with you."

"And then I can say stuff about Sid in two languages!" Maggie said excitedly.

Sid groaned as a fresh round of laughter rolled through the group. "Will she ever like me?" He asked Hanna.

"As a person you're fine; as a hockey player, probably never."

"Absolutely never," Maggie corrected with a smile. "Can you introduce me to Tavares though? Now there's a captain Canada can be proud of."

"She's not serious, is she?" Sid asked.

"She very serious," Geno laughed.

"You're not meeting Tavares, ever," Paul sighed.

"So I shouldn't tell you that James already said he would introduce me in March? Since they know each other and all."

"He did what?"

"Now you've done it," Hanna said. "Take it back before he goes to Nashville and murders James."

"Don't murder James," Maggie said to Paul. "Because then I won't be able to meet Stamkos in a few weeks."

"How often exactly do you and James talk?" Paul asked.

"Um, every few days?"

"Why?"

"Because you introduced us and he lives in Nashville and gives me and Hanna free tickets to all the home games. And we hang out sometimes too."

"We need to talk," Paul said, standing and pulling Maggie to her feet.

"But I didn't do anything!" Maggie protested.

"I didn't say you did," Paul replied tightly as he led her from the group.

She glanced back at their group of friends and they all looked away quickly. She stopped mid stride and Paul turned to her, tugging her forward again and away from their prying eyes. "If I didn't do anything, then why are you dragging me to the corner of a bar to talk?"

"Because you hang out with Nealer."

"Why is that a bad thing? James is nice, and he keeps all the creepy dudes away when we're at the bar."

"He's still James Neal though."

"Yeah, and he's never once hit on me. In fact, he's done nothing but talk you up. Wanna know he introduces me to people? This is Maggie, and she's Paulie's girl."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. What, you thought I was banging James and having a laugh at your expense?"

"Maybe."

"You're dumber than you look, you know that, right?"

"He's in Nashville. I'm not."

"He's not you." She smiled softly and pressed into him. "He's not you, Paul," she repeated. "If that was what I wanted, I would have had it the night I met you. But I wanted you. You think I spend two months Skype dating all the boys I meet? Because I don't. Just the cute ones from Minnesota."

"You're just friends?"

"Yes. Stop doubting yourself. I like you, not James Neal, despite anything I might ever say about the way he looks in a suit or in general."

"Don't fall in love with Tavares when you meet him."

"I won't," she said, rocking onto her toes to kiss him. "I'm already falling for you."

His face brightened and he pulled her tighter against him. "Move here."

"What?!" She said, stepping back from him.

"Move here. Move to Pittsburgh."

"But Nashville..."

"Is home. I get it Maggie, I do. But think about it. That's all I'm asking tonight." She nodded and he pulled her into a kiss. "Wanna go home?"

"Yes please."

"Come on." He took her hand and led her out of the bar. When they reached his car, he wrapped her in his arms and backed her against the passenger door and kissed her again.

"Do you really want me to move here?" She asked quietly when they broke apart.

"Yeah, I really do."

"Then what?"

"I don't understand?"

"Then what if I move here? Twelve weeks. That's all we've been dating and you can barely call it that. The last two weeks are the first we've spent together since October."

"If you don't want to, it's okay."

"It's not...it's just....I don't even know what I'm trying to say."

"This is scary. I'm in Pittsburgh, you're in Nashville. Sometimes I'm here, sometimes I'm on the road. It's complicated and hectic. But I want to be with you so however we make this work is okay with me. Even if that means Nealer is your best friend."

She giggled at that. "I wouldn't say best friend."

"Just keep listening to him about me until you decide to move here."