Flightless Birds

Maggie left Pittsburgh two days later on a promise that she was going to give notice at her job and get her condo listed for sale. But by the middle of March, she was still working and her condo was not on the market, nor had she started packing.

Hanna had come back to Nashville for the wedding of a mutual friend and was staying with Maggie for the weekend. They had only talked a handful of times and her last planned visit to Pittsburgh two weeks earlier Maggie had cancelled at the the last minute, citing a work crisis. Hanna fully intended to get to the bottom of whatever was going on in Maggie's head by the end of the weekend.

"Hey; you're here," Maggie said when she got home that Friday evening. Hanna had had a spare key to her place since the day she moved in so she expected she would let herself in when she got in town; she just hadn't known when that was going to be.

"I'm here," Hanna answered as they hugged.

"How's Brandon?"

"Great."

"Things are good?"

"Couldn't be better. What about you and Paul?"

"We're fine."

"Liar."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Why aren't you in Pittsburgh yet? You told Paul you wanted to move yet you haven't done anything to make it happen."

"I have. I gave my notice."

"You gave an eight week notice, Mags. Who does that?"

"It would've left them in a bind though."

"Do you even want to move?"

"Of course I do."

"Then act like it."

"Seriously, Hanna? Wow..."

She stood. "I think I'm gonna stay with my parents."

"Fine," Maggie replied, folding her arms across her chest.

"Okay then. I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yep."

Hanna sighed. "Maggie, can we just talk?"

"There isn't anything to talk about," she replied. "Tell your parents I said hello."



Hanna had just sat down in the chapel when she started hearing whispers. She turned to see Maggie walking towards her with James at her side. James smiled broadly as he let Maggie pass first into the pew Hanna sat in before following her.

"Hey, Hanna. How are you?"

"I'm good, thank you. How about yourself?"

"Can't complain."

"I didn't know you were coming today."

He shot a confused look at Maggie. "Maggie didn't tell you?"

"No; if she had I would've made sure you brought one of your teammates for me."

He chuckled. "I owed her, after she went as my date to Casino night last month."

"I didn't know that either; how was it?"

"It was fun but Mags and I always have a good time together, right?"

"Right," Maggie agreed. "Never a dull moment."

"Now we just gotta her moved." Maggie smiled tightly as she nodded her agreement. "Won't be nearly as much fun to go out though without Maggie telling girls to get lost," he joked.

"I'm a good wing woman," she shrugged.

"The best," James grinned, squeezing her shoulder. "How's everything with Suttsy? He treating you good?"

"The best," Hanna smiled. "Actually, I went with him to the casino night the Pens hosted at the end of February. You missed a fun night, Maggie."

"Why didn't you go?" James asked. "I didn't even know you missed that."

"I had a work emergency come up," Maggie answered shortly.

"Seriously, Mags," Hanna said. "What the hell is going on with you?"

"Nothing is going on with me."

"You brought James freaking Neal as your date to a wedding and you ditched Paul at a team function that he was really looking forward to having you at with no explanation. Not to mention that come to find out, you went with James to his casino night. But not Paul, your boyfriend."

"Paul and I are on a break."

"You're what?"

"On a break," she repeated.

"Since when?" James asked. "And why haven't you told me? I thought we were friends."

"We are friends."

"Then you should have told me so I could set Paul straight."

"It was my idea."

"Have you lost your mind?" Hanna asked. "Paul adores you."

"Why? Why are you on a break?" James demanded to know.

"Because everything is moving too fast and that's what we needed, a timeout, to make sure we're making the right decisions. And since Paul does not approve of my continued friendship with James, then maybe we are not the right decision for each other."

"You broke up with Paul because of James? That's fucking ridiculous," Hanna told her.

"You didn't actually break up with Paul because of me, did you? Shit....no wonder he hasn't taken my calls or answered my texts lately," James added.

"It's not you, James," Maggie told him. "You're just an excuse. It didn't work out. The end." She stood. "Excuse me," she said as she pushed past James and out of the church.

"Which one of us should follow her?" James asked Hanna.

"Both. Come on." Hanna led him outside where they found Maggie leaning against James car. "Maggie, will you please talk to us?"

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm great; my boyfriend is a fucking idiot who thinks I'm banging James Neal behind his back so I maybe told him to take a flying leap off the nearest cliff."

"Maggie!"

"What? I have told him a hundred times that I'm not fucking Nealer, that we're just friends yet we keep going round and round on the subject. So I told my boss I could keep working until they found a replacement and that I'd stay on and train them too. I told my real estate agent to unlist my condo and here I am."

James pulled his phone out from his pocket. "Fucking Paulie," he muttered.

"Don't you dare call him," Maggie said, snatching his phone away from him.

"Let me call and talk to him. I can fix this."

"No. This isn't for you to fix. It just is, okay?"

"Maggie...." Hanna started before pulling her friend into a hug. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault either, Hanna. It didn't work out but I'll be fine."

"Let's get drunk," James suggested. "I'll buy."



Hanna returned to Pittsburgh exhausted from her weekend away. She knew what she was getting into drinking with Maggie but was not prepared for the combination of Maggie plus James. They were more alike than she had realized and she hadn't laughed as hard as she had listening to the two of them bicker and banter like siblings in a long time. It was just like old times hanging out in Nashville with Maggie and she missed that.

The Penguins were in the midst of a road trip when she got home early Monday morning so she was alone at home for a week to absorb the news Maggie had dropped on her and James. On Sunday, the guys didn't have practice and despite the late hour they had arrived back in Pittsburgh from Arizona, Hanna was at Paul's door at nine am, pounding incessantly.

"Hanna?" Paul said in confusion as he opened the door, a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. "What are you doing here?"

"Maggie told me, that you two are on a break. What the fuck, Paul!"

"Do you want to drive me to the airport?" He asked calmly as he pulled the door closed and locked it.

"The airport?"

Paul nodded. "James called and read me the riot act yesterday before our game; I'm an idiot, I know, but I have today to fix it. So I'm flying to Nashville and if I'm lucky, Maggie will fly back with me tonight."

"You're going to Nashville?"

"To lay it all on the line and hope she'll have me."

"She loves you."

"I hope so."

"I know so. Does she know, that you're coming?"

"No. James does; he's gonna take me to her place."

Hanna hugged him. "I feel like I should tell you good luck."

He chuckled. "I probably need it."



It was a little after one when Brandon showed up at Hanna's place, unaware of what had transpired the week before or even that morning. He knocked, holding flowers in his left hand and a six pack of beer in the right.

Hanna swung the door open with a smile and kissed him before ushering him inside. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you," Hanna said as she cracked open one of the beers.

"Missed me that much eh?"

"Yes I did. But I've also been biting my tongue about telling you how stupid our friends are."

"Who?"

"Maggie and Paul."

"What happened? I didn't even know anything was wrong."

"No one did. You know I went to Nashville last weekend for that wedding?"

"Yeah?"

"Mags dropped the bomb on me and James there; she told Paul they needed to take a break. They haven't talked in like two weeks."

"Really?"

"Really. So I went over to Paul's this morning intending to yell at him but he was on his way to the airport to go to Nashville."

"He flew to Nashville?"

"Isn't it sweet? He's trying to win her back."

"He's crazy. We have a game on Tuesday night and practice at ten tomorrow morning."

"So you wouldn't do whatever it took to fix things with a girl you were in love with?"

"I'm not dumb enough to screw things up with you," he answered.

"Oh," Hanna answered softly, a faint blush staining her cheeks.

"I really like spending time with you, Hanna, and I love you."

"I like spending time with you too."

"And?"

"And that's it." She laughed as he advanced on her, catching her easily and tickling her sides. "I love you too, Brandon."

He held her against him. "Good to know."

"So what should we do for the rest of the day?" Hanna asked.

"Get naked and stay in your bed," he shrugged casually.

"Yeah, that sounds okay," she returned just as casually.

"Should we bring the beer?"

"Bring the beer and a cell phone so we can call for pizza in a few hours."