Baggage Claim

Sidney was sitting on his second plane that day, as it was getting ready to descend into Halifax. His flight from Denver to Toronto had left at around eleven in the morning and by the time his second flight had left Toronto and they were making their way down, Sidney would be in Halifax around nine that night. His dad was coming to pick him up and was most likely already waiting. They would be on the ground in fifteen minutes and Sid was bouncing his knee impatiently. There had been next to no one on this flight and he had no one sitting next to him in business class. The Stewardess had been extra friendly with him, which Sidney had taken in stride and smiled but tried to pay little attention to her, especially the cleavage that was being put well on display for him. “Did you need anything before we land?” she came up to ask him, leaning over the open aisle seat next to him.

“No, I’m good thanks,” he said giving her a tight-lipped smile.

“Okay, just let me know if you change your mind,” She said batting her eyelashes at him and Sidney couldn’t wait for the plane to land. As soon as it had, he grabbed his bag from the over head compartment and was heading off the plane down the tunnel to get as much distance from not only the stewardess but also the other passengers in order to go as unnoticed as possible. He knew it was going to be a little while before the bags came off of the plane so once he found where he would be grabbing his from he went a settled against the wall away from the other people and pulled his phone out to turn it on. He had tried to call Brooke last night and then again before leaving for the airport but both times the call had gone through to voicemail. He had texted her letting her know that he was coming home and asked her to call him when ever he got a chance. He was hoping to see a message from her as soon as he landed but once his phone turned on he was met with nothing. He was considering calling her again but it was late and figured she had probably had a pretty exhausting day, shoving his phone back in his pocket while he waited for his bag to appear.
….

Brooke was laying in her bed with Kayla next to her and she still hadn’t changed out of her clothes from the funeral. After everyone had left the house and they finished cleaning everything up, Brooke plopped down on her bed and hadn’t move in the last three hours. All of her fathers employee’s seemed to have showed up to pay their respects along with old friends and family members. There was a never-ending line of people who wanted to tell her how sorry they were for her loss. Brooke had been introduced to so many people over the past few days that she had started to get her own name mixed up with theirs. She was so happy when Kayla showed up the night before because it gave her someone in her back corner even if it was only for a couple more hours since she needed to be back in Pittsburgh tomorrow. “Thanks again for coming, it would have been a lot harder with out you,” Brooke said looking over at her.

“Girl, it’s no problem at all. I’m glad I could be here. You’re a super strong woman but even the strong need a friend to drink lot’s and lot’s of wine with every now and again,” she said nudging Brooke in the side and getting a lough out of her.

“Next time we’re together we’re drinking all the wine the city has to offer us because god knows I need it,” Brooke said sighing a bit. She heard her phone vibrate next to her and picked it up to see that Sidney had texted her again. She had missed his two calls but got his text that morning. She just hadn’t had time to call him or text him back but a little part of her didn’t really want to talk to him right now.

“Ass hat again?” Kayla asked as she got up from the bed to grab her pajamas from her bag. She had taken a great disliking to Sidney after the whole Christmas fiasco and Brooke just rolled her eyes at her name for him.

“Sidney? Yes it was him again,” she said unlocking her screen and opening his text. He was letting her know that he had landed and asked if she wanted him to come over. “He wants to know if I want him to come over,” Brooke said locking the phone and throwing it back on the bed next to her.

“Well do you want him to? I know you said you guys talked some stuff out, but is everything actually okay between you two?” she asked crawling back into the bed. Brooke thought about it for a minute before answering.

“The morning my mom called from the hospital he was the only person I wanted to talk too. I wanted him to hold me and let me know that he was there for me and that he would help me get through it. I still want him so badly that I don’t know what’s up from down anymore. But when I needed him he wasn’t there, and he still sort of isn’t. I understand that he was in a different country and I get that he has obligations because of hockey but I needed him to be my knight in shinning armor this week and he just wasn’t. He wasn’t there for me once again because of hockey and it just really sort of proves to me that no mater what, nothing is going to change. Hockey is always going to come first with him and if I can’t get him to pick up his cell phone when I needed him the most then I don’t think that things are okay.” That’s what Brooke wanted to tell her. Brooke wanted to let everything out and explain everything but she couldn’t allow herself to do it. She had let everything fester in the back of her mind the past couple of days trying not to let her emotions show, not only for Sidney but also for her dad. She had shut down just like she had after leaving in December and she didn’t know whether she was going to be able to open back up to anyone about how she was feeling anytime soon. “I think I’m to tired to do anything at this point,” Brooke said finally answering. She sat up and swung her feet over the side of the bed, getting up the grab pajamas of her own.

“You’ve gone through a lot, it’s understandable,” Kayla said giving her a smile. Brooke chewed on her lip thinking about what exactly had happened in the past seven days that she had been home and a new wave of exhaustion had come over her. She crawled quickly into her pajamas and back under the comforter.

“I miss the hospital,” Brooke said rolling onto her side to look at Kayla.

“Well have you chosen a residency yet?” Kayla asked pulling the blanket up under her chin. Brooke shook her head and sighed. She still had the offer from Dr. Leviey that she was considering but the road block being Sid was very heavily swing her vote. She had applied to a couple other hospitals for general residency for surgeons through out the US and was considering applying to the Hospital her dad had been in but she hadn’t put too much more thought into it.

“Well when do you have to make your decision by?” Kayla asked.

“Not until August because the residency’s start in September but I’m sure if I went back to Pittsburgh, Dr. Leviey would take me now. I’m just not sure what I want right now,” Brooke said rolling onto her back and looking up at the ceiling, hoping it would give her the answers.

“Well maybe you should take the time to deal with everything. I mean weigh your option and see what offers you end up getting. Just relax for right now while you can spend the time with your family. I’m always there if you need to talk or want some convincing that Pitt is the place for you,” Kayla said with a huge smile on her face, earning a laugh from Brooke. She reached out a rubbed Brooke’s shoulder before turning over on her other side to go to sleep. Brooke had a lot of things to figure out between now and August and again, they were going to be some of the most difficult decisions of her life.
….

Sidney pulled up the driveway to the Blake house the next morning and saw his mom’s car already parked up by the garage. She had left early that morning to come over and help out around the house and make sure Liz was doing okay so Sidney hadn’t gotten a chance to see her yet when he stopped by to see Taylor. When he didn’t get a reply back from Brooke the night before he assumed that she had fallen asleep already and decided to come by today to see how she was. When he opened the front door to the house he could smell bacon wafting in from the kitchen and went to see who was in there.

Brendan was sitting at the island moving his food around slightly as he talked to Sidney’s mom who was sitting across form him looking at the news paper. Liz was standing at the stove cooking and turned around to laughed at what ever Brendan had said, causing for the other two to both join her.

“Hey Sidney,” Liz said seeing him first. He walked over gave her a hug before giving his own mother a kiss on the cheek.

“Sorry I wasn’t here yesterday Liz,” Sidney said just loud enough for her to hear while he still had her close.

“Thank you sweetie, but I know you would have been if you could,” She said smiling up at him sweetly. He saw so much of Brooke in that smile and made him want to see her that much more. He walked over and stole a piece of bacon off of Brendan’s plate after saying hello to his mother. “Would you like some breakfast?” Liz asked turning to look at him.

“No thanks, I grabbed something quick when I stopped by to see Taylor, but thank you,” He said finishing the piece of bacon.

“Oh did she ask you if you could drive her to her practice session today?” Trina asked looking up from the newspaper. Sidney nodded.

“Yeah, but dad let her drive him to work so she could take his car since she’s not too happy with me right now,” Sidney explained getting a weird look from his mother. “Hey, is Brooke still in bed?” Sidney asked trying to be a discrete as possible but not doing a very good job.

“I’m right here,” She said making everyone just a little. She set her keys down on the island as she walked into the kitchen went to pour herself a cup of coffee.

“Was the airport busy?” Trina asked Brooke as she came to sit down next to her.

“No, not really,” Brooke said before taking a sip form her mug. She still hadn’t made eye contact with Sidney and he was staring at her to try and see how she was handling everything. He sat down next the Brendan across from her. He took the opportunity to look her over. She had small bags forming under her eyes from lack of sleep but could go unnoticed from the little bit of make-up she had on. Her hair was up in a high ponytail, leaving the ends of it to fall down mid way on her neck. She had cut it shorter since December and Sid though it looked amazing on her. she was wearing a long sleeve black compression nike shirt and a pair of maroon Capri nike running tights that accentuated the tightness of her body.

“It’s a shame that she had to leave so soon, she was so lovely and it was really nice of her to come here for you,” Liz said coming to stand at the end of the island bringing Sidney back to the conversation.

“She’s pretty hot too,” Brendan said getting up to put his dish in the sink.

“Brendan,” Liz said laughing at her son. Brooke rolled her eyes and Trina laughed as well.

“Who are you talking about?” Sidney asked, a little bit confused.

“Brooke’s friend Kayla flew in from Pittsburg Wednesday night,” Liz said taking a sip form her own coffee mug.

“She wanted to be here for me,” Brooke said, finally making eye contact with him. He could tell that she wasn’t angry when she said this but there was no emotion in her eyes what so ever. She seemed very distant and Sidney couldn’t tell if it was because of him of not. He felt even worse knowing that some who had known Brooke for less than a year was here for her but he was an idiot and was a day late.

“Are you going to your game tonight?” Liz asked, running her hand through Brendan’s hair. He seemed to be rather somber which Sidney took as a good sign that he wasn’t pretending everything was fine anymore.

“No, coach wants me to take the week off and come back when I’m ready. I want to play though, I was supposed to anchor tonight,” he said frustrated.

“Bren, you didn’t sleep at all last night, you would have exhausted your self way too much,” Brooke looking over at him. He narrowed his eyes at her as his shoulder went tense.

“Being tired isn’t an excuse. You play through what you have to get what you want,” He said sounding defensive.

“Your sister’s right,” Sidney said, adding to the discussion. All eyes turned to him but Brendan’s looked hurt.

“Yeah well I’m not playing anyways so it doesn’t matter,” Brendan said standing back up from his stool. He was on edge, everyone could tell and Sidney knew better than anyone that playing helped you get through stuff like this. “I think Nate’s coming over in a bit so just send him upstairs,” He said before heading out of the kitchen. They all sat there for a minute after he left, just looking at the door he had retreated through.

“I’m going to go for a run,” Brooke said getting up from her seat and reaching for the ipod and headphones sitting directly in front of Sidney.

“I’ll go with you,” Sidney said grabbing it before Brooke could and stood up walking towards the back door. Brooke just looked at him and followed as they headed outside.

“You’re not coming with me,” she said grabbing the ipod from his hand and walking away from him.

“Why not?” Sidney asked from where he was standing. She didn’t answer him but continued to walk away lifting her foot up to her butt to stretch out her legs. “Brooke?” Sidney said, walking up to stand in front of her to make her see him. “Talk to me,” he said almost pleading with her.

“I don’t have anything to say,” She said shrugging her shoulders and dropping her foot and switching to the other leg.

“You’re telling me that you’re completely okay and don’t want to talk about anything after what you’ve been through this week? It’s not that easy Broke.”

“How would you know what I’ve been through Sid?” Brooke said with a bite to her tone. “I’m fine, so you don’t need to check up on me, I’m a big girl. You can go back to Denver or to your girlfriend or where ever it is you want to go but you don’t need to be here for me,” She said not letting her emotions to show on her face. She felt a little pang of hurt in her chest, but that was it. She looked at the ground not able to look at him in the eye anymore and let her foot fall to the ground.

“What the…Brooke stop,” Sidney said as she walked passed him to head out down the back lane. She didn’t stop. She didn’t look back, she just kept putting more and more distance between them and her feet pounded on the dirt. She sounded like she was done with him. She sounded like there was no fight left in her for anything. He stood there looking after her wondering what was going on in her head and wished like hell she would just tell him. He wished she would even yell to get some kind of emotion out of her. She seemed so lost in her eyes and he wanted nothing more than to help her find her footing again.

He had no clue what she meant regarding that he ‘go back to his girlfriend’ but he was going to set that straight as soon as he could. She was building up walls around herself and Sidney wanted to stop them before he had no chance at getting her to understand how much she still meant to him. He knew right there in then that she was going to be the one. He had thought about it for months but they way he felt standing there looking after her, knowing that he would be completely lost with out her in his life just cemented his thought. He was going to show her that she wasn’t alone no matter how hard she tried to push him away and he was going to bring his happy smiling Brooke back to life.
….

When Brooke had gotten back from her run she was completely spent. She had run just under nine miles with out stopping and was starting to feel just how hard she had pushed herself. She had taken and went to lie down for a bit only waking up seven hours later at around seven that night. She got up and opened up one of her drawers looking for an only shirt to throw on along with some running shorts. When she went to her dresser across from her bed she pulled open her bottom drawer finding some of her old high school baseball shirts and her glove sitting in there. She bent down, grabbing one of the shirts and pulling it over her head before running her hand over her glove. It had been a while since she had taken it out of the drawer and felt a little sad putting it on her hand. It still fit perfectly and wasn’t feeling as stiff as she thought it would. Bending it a bit trying to work the thread a bit she stood and got an idea. She tossed the mitt onto her bed and made her way down the hall to Brendan’s room where she heard him and Nate yelling.

“Dude you suck at this, how did you miss him, he was right in front of you,” Brendan said pointing at his TV screen with his xbox remote.

“The guy shot me before I could do anything, shut up,” Nate said shaking his head. They usually sat here for hours playing CoD or Grand Theft Auto and would yell at each other non-stop.

“Hey losers,” Brooke said finally making her presence knows. Nate turned around and smiled but Brendan kept his focus on the game.

“What?” he said sounding annoyed.

“Grab you baseball bag and meet me down stairs, and don’t be an ass,” Brooke said walking back out of the room and down the hall.

“Wait, what?” Brendan yelled for her as she head them pausing the game and coming after her. She grabbed her mitt from her bed and quickly slid her shoes on when they showed up at her door. “What are we doing?”

“Just grab your bag and trust me, Nate you’re driving,” she said winking at him before walking out of her room and leaving them both there. “Hurry up guys.”
….
There was no one at the baseball diamonds when they showed up. Most of the games were finished and the diamonds were cleaned up by around eight. They had stopped by the NSLC on their way over to grab some beers before it closed for her and Brendan to share. They walked out onto the main diamond, which was still lit up, and set their stuff down. “So what’s the plan?” Brendan asked leaning against the dug out.

“The plan is to have fun and get drunk, while Nate pretends to get drunk, and just try to not a have a shit life, okay?” Brooke said cracking open a beer. She wasn’t normally someone who drank a lot and could count on her hands the amount of times she had been drunk in her life but she needed something to loosen herself up and she loved playing baseball and missed it so much.

“I’m starting to like this plan,” Nate said picking up the bat and wrapping his hands around the handle. Brooke laughed and chugged the rest of her beer throwing the empty can on the ground.

“You’re up first than,” Brooke said putting on her glove and heading for the outfield. “You’re pitching to yourself,” she said kicking the bucket of balls they had brought out with them. Brendan followed her out into the outfield and they dispersed themselves to cover as much ground as they could.

“You’re probably not going to have to catch too many since they’re all going over that fence,” Nate yelled as he walked up to the plate. Brendan let out a laugh causing for Brooke to giggle along with him. After a couple swing and misses, Nate connected with the bat sending the first ball out the Brendan, which he caught easily. He played center field for his club team and would be an outfielder for his university team in the fall. He was so good and Brooke had been so proud of him when he called her to let her know he had been given a scholarship to play for The University of Texas in Austin. The next couple of hits were his way again, a few causing Brendan to swerve left and right a bit to grab them but not one hit the ground. The next crack of the bat Brooke knew was coming to her after listening to where it had hit off on the barrel. It was going to her far right and she ran to grab it jumping up a bit to pocket it her glove. Once she came down she looked to see she had actually managed to catch it and the guys were yelling at her.

“She just robbed your ass on that one dude,” Brendan yelled out laughing at him. Nate laughed along and shook his head.

“Wow that was awesome,” Brooke heard Taylor’s voice say looking over to see her and Sidney standing by the dug out dressed in shorts and t-shirts. Brendan ran in to talk to them and Nate walked over. Brooke stood there sort of just watching before she made her way over herself.

“What’s up kidlit?” Brendan asked pulling Taylor into a headlock and rubbing his glove over her hair. She laughed and punched him in the side making him let go.

“You’re not that much older than me, so quite it,” She said before pushing him away from her. They had always gotten along, much unlike Brooke and Sidney so when they picked on each other they it was all in good fun.

“It’s cause you’re so little,” Nate said resting his arm on top of her head, smirking. She rolled her eyes and walked over to stand next to Brooke to get away from them.

“Their using their height to compensate for something,” Brooke said winking at her.

“Uhh, I really don’t think that’s it. I can prove it to you if you want later though,” Nate said winking at Brooke they all broke out laughing except for Sid.

“No one here wants to see you with any less clothes than what you’ve got on right now,” He said leaning up against the fence. Brendan laughed pushing Nate’s shoulder and getting a shove right back.

“How did you guys know we were here,” Brooke turned asking Taylor.

“I texted Sid telling him to come meet us when you were in the liquor store,” Nate explained.

“Ohh,” Brooke said nodding her head. She glanced in Sid’s direction, feeing his eyes on her and caught his gaze before tuning to Taylor when she spoke.

“I haven’t played in forever and it sounded fun so I tagged a long,” Taylor said jumping from foot to foot.

“Well what’s the point in standing here then, Tay you want to hit?” Brendan asked handing her the bat. “I’ll pitch to you, they can go out and field.”

“Oooh sure,” Taylor said grabbing the bat from Brendan and walking up to the plate. Brooke handed him the ball from her glove and walked to the far side of the field in between first and second base. “Don’t go out too far though because I can guarantee the ball isn’t leaving the dirt,” She said standing up to the plate.

“I’m sure you’ll smoke them past us,” Brooke said smiling at her. She felt Sidney looking at her from across the diamond. He was standing just on the grass behind third base and it was weird seeing him in this kind of environment. She glanced up at him and met his gaze, neither one smiling at the other, just looking.

“Everyone ready?” Brendan asked turning to look behind him. When they all nodded letting him know they were, Brooke looked away from Sidney and focused solely on Taylor hitting. He didn’t leave her thoughts though. She wondered what he would be like playing baseball. Probably amazing like he was at all other thing’s in life Brooke thought, shaking her head slightly. Once again, the first couple of pitches were missed but when Taylor finally connected the ball went just over Nate’s head onto the grass. Brendan threw her the rest of the bucket and she had gotten a couple of really good hits in. The guys had made a few jokes about her hitting and Taylor had a comeback for each other them. Brooke was starting to feel a little bit less stressed until she heard Sidney speak.

“I think it’s Brooke’s turn to hit,” He said looking at her as they all put the balls back in the bucket. Brooke nodded and took the bat from Taylor who took over Brooke’s spot on the field.

“Uhh Taylor you’re going to want to back up, like a lot,” Brendan said to her motioning with his glove to go out into the field.

“She’s not going to hit them that far,” Nathan said looking at where Taylor had positioned herself. Brendan turned to laugh at him and shook his head.

“What ever you say man,” he said before turning to look back at Brooke. Sidney had positioned himself deep out into left field and Brooke stood next to the plate looking at him. She had a nervous feeling in her stomach now that he was there watching her. She wanted to do well to show him how good she still was and it was an odd realization.

“I can pitch to myself if you want to go out there,” Brooke said to Brendan motion for the ball. He shook his head.

“No, I want to see you really hit again,” He said with a smile. She shrugged her shoulders and lined her feet up where she wanted them, digging into the dirt trying to ignore her surroundings and just focus on the ball. Nate was standing just on the grass in between short and second base and Brooke shook her head.

“Do you know where this one’s going?” She asked Brendan.

“Way over his head,” Brendan said laughing. He asked her if she was ready before pitching the ball right in her sweet spot where he knew she cranked the ball. As soon as she made contact, she saw the ball go flying way out into center field dropping about a yard from the back fence. She felt the sting in her hands that she had missed so much and looked at Nate to see him looking behind him at where the ball had landed. “You gonna move back now?” Brendan asked crossing his arms over his chest.

“Yeah, yeah,” Nate said waving him off before running out into the field getting as deep to where the ball had landed. Sidney and Taylor both stood there laughing at him know just how good of a hitter Brooke was and she caught Sidney looking at her almost as if he were impressed with her. It made Brooke feel good knowing she could impress him and she felt her butterflies come back to life again.
….

“I can’t get over how good she still is,” Brendan said to Sidney as the stood next to the dug out, Brendan drinking a beer and Sidney a water.

“I can,” he said watching her throw the ball around with the other two. She had ended up hitting a couple balls over the fence causing Nate to give up trying to catch them. “I just don’t get why she stopped,” he said leaning against the poll.

“She wanted to be a doctor,” Brendan said shrugging his shoulders. Sidney turned to look at him, not expecting that answer. “She had a lot of offers too. She had a couple schools in Ontario offer her scholarships. Obviously not very big ones but she also got offered a couple scholarships in the US.”

“And she didn’t take them?” Sidney asked, looking back at her. He had never heard about this before but it didn’t surprise him that he had been we sought after. She had been amazing when they were in high school. She was always the star of her teams and had heard during the summer when she was playing select that there were team always asking her to join them. He remember watching her play a couple summers before she left for Baltimore and could see how good she was but really hadn’t paid too much attention at the time.

“No, she was more focused on doing well and getting good grades so she could get into med school. She wanted it so bad back then. I remember when I was in elementary school still and she was graduating she was in her room crying because it was her last season of ball. I guess that’s why I’ve been pushing so hard so I don’t have to have my last season any time soon,” Brendan said looking out at his sister too. Sid saw how much she loved working in the hospital when she was in Pittsburgh but he understood now how much being a doctor meant to her. She gave up something that made her so happy so she could fulfill one of dreams and he admired her for that. He realized how much that program in Switzerland must have meant to her. Having worked so hard all through out school to get accepted into something so prestigious. And he made her feel terrible for taking it and leaving him alone.

“Wow,” he said, more to himself realizing now just how big of an idiot he had really been in the whole situation.

“What?” Brendan said, crumpling up his can and setting it next to the others.

“Your sister is just a pretty amazing person and I was an ass to her when she was in Pittsburgh,” Sidney said watching her laugh at something Nate had said. He was glad to see her smiling again and enjoying herself after everything.

“You like her, don’t you?” Brendan asked looking at him. Sid nodded letting out a deep breath.

“I little bit more than that,” he said very seriously. He looked over at Brendan who was shaking his head and looked over at the three as the started heading towards them.

“I heard you guys fighting the other night,” Brendan said looking back at Sid. Sidney didn’t think they had been yelling that loudly at one another but when Brooke was around him, he tended to lose his awareness to everything going on. “She loves you, you know. I can see it when you’re around or you’re talking together. She’s never looked at someone like that, just so you know,” Brendan said giving him a knowing look before the others came too close within earshot. Sidney was a little perplexed by what Brendan had just confessed to him. How could he know that Brooke still loved him when she won’t even look at him or speak to him. He wanted so badly for her to tell him those words again but for right now he knew that she wasn’t anywhere close to saying it and would have to take Brendan’s word for it.

“So who’s up for ice cream?” Taylor asked clapping her hands together. Nate and Brendan both agreed immediately but Brooke shook her head.

“I’m good,” she said putting a hand over her stomach. Sidney saw his opportunity to get her alone to talk with her.

“You guys go and I’ll take Brooke home,” he suggested as they all started to grab their things. She tensed up again and made eye contact with him.

“Sounds like a plan,” Taylor said before Brooke could protest, sounding a bit too happy about it. They all walked off over to the cars and put all the equipment in the back of Nate’s truck before Brooke and Sidney climbed into his truck. The kids waved as they pulled away and Sidney turned to look at Brooke as he turned the ignition on.

“Hey,” he said sitting back in his seat, resting his hands in his lap.

“Hey,” she said letting out a sigh and turning to look out the windshield.

Notes

:)