Brendan Shanahan dumps a packet of sugar into his coffee cup. "Isn't it ironic? I'm the leading goal scorer on the team, and the game I take off, we score four goals."

I smile. "Maybe now that you're gone, everyone else has a chance at the puck."

"Not funny, Stevie." He mock-frowns.

I pat his hand. "There there. It's ok. You’re doing the best you can with a, " I snicker, "hurt wrist."

He grins back. "Oh yeah. My wrist, Nick's groin...what a coincidence that we should all get 'hurt' at the same time."

We both laugh. We're sitting in a coffee shop after the game in which neither of us played. However, we had fun watching, and now we're having fun talking. "Next thing you know, they're gonna start attacking you guys for having gone to the Olympics."

"Oh, I'm sure they will. Just give them a chance." Shanny glances over to the corner. "Hey....look at that."

I follow his gaze. Ilya Kovalchuk and Dany Heatley are sitting at a table, leaning towards one another, talking quietly. "I thought Kovalchuk was out for the season..."

"He is. I guess he's still traveling with the team." We watch as Heatley places his hand over Kovalchuk's, and I hear Shanny laugh. "Ahh, young love."

I turn back to look at him. "Were we ever that young?"

Shanny sips his coffee. "I was, you weren't." He sets down the cup. "That reminds me. I have a question for you."

I tilt my head. "Alright...ask away."

"Did you...uhm...." He scratches the back of his neck. "Look, are you trying to get me back for me harassing you about Boyd?"

I try not to smirk. Damn, Boyd must have more effective in talking to Dandy then I expected. "Why Bren, I have no idea what you're talking about."

He crosses his arms. "Don’t give me this. I know you're behind this somehow."

"Behind what? Is there something I should know about?" This is actually kinda fun.

He leans forward. "Dandy came up to me yesterday after practice and asked me if I wanted to go out sometime. You want me to believe that it was totally random and you didn't put him up to it?"

I widen my eyes, trying to express my innocence. "I had no part in the matter and I resent your implication that I did." I smile. "So what did you tell him?"

Shanny looks away. "I don't believe you. I think you're lying."

I place my hand over my heart. "I swear, I didn't tell Dandy to do it. Now answer my question. What did you tell him?"

He sighs. "I told him I'd think about it. I mean, what was I supposed to tell him? I wasn't prepared for that." He narrows his eyes. "I still find it very hard to believe that you didn’t have anything to do with it."

I can't keep this up. "I never said that I had nothing to do with it. I'm just not the one who talked to Dandy."

Shanny glares at me. "I knew it! I knew you were trying to get revenge on me! So, are you happy now?"

I shake my head. "Nope. Because your feeble mind cannot comprehend the complexity of my plot."

He leans back in his chair. "Oh really? How about you explain it to me then?"

"I wasn't just looking to get revenge for you harassing me about Boyd. I was trying to help you find someone. You told me yourself that you're lonely."

He blinks. "And you thought it would be a good idea to use Dandy?"

I smile. "He keeps watching you in the locker room. You never noticed?"

Shanny shakes his head, then pauses for a moment. "You mean the same way Boyd used to watch you?"

Dammit. I should have seen that coming. "Total different situation, Bren."

He raises an eyebrow. "Oh really? How's it different? Dandy makes eyes at me, you try to set us up. Boyd gazes longingly at you and you just get to ignore it?" I open my mouth to reply, but he cuts me off. "And don't tell me you aren’t interested, because you are. I can tell. I know you better than you think I do."

I sigh. "It's different because if I make the slightest hint of interest towards Boyd, he's going to latch onto it, and then if I can't be everything he needs me to be, he's going to be heartbroken."

Shanny leans forward. "You don't know that. You're assuming because you're afraid that it will go terribly wrong and you won't be able to control it anymore."

I glare at him. "I'm afraid that I'm going to hurt him, Shanny. Trust me, the situation has been out of my control for quite awhile now. There's no class called 'Love Between Team Mates 101' in captain school."

"You're afraid you're going to hurt him because you want him. Admit it."

Shanny's eyes are locked with mine, and for a moment, I almost say yes. But then, I hear from somewhere in the distance a voice say "Oh shit, they're here," and I break the gaze to look for the source of the voice.

Boyd and Dandy are standing near the door, glancing back and forth at each other. I turn back to look at Shanny, who shrugs silently at me. Should we call them over? Let them find their own table? If we call them over, are we opening up issues that neither of us is ready to face? Shanny finally stands up. "You know what? You can go ahead and spend your life in denial. I'm going to actually do something for myself," he whispers. Then, he raises his voice. "Dandy! Boyd! Over here!" The two of them glance our way, then walk over. Shanny puts his hand on Dandy's shoulder. "Come on, we need to talk. Boyd, you don’t mind sitting with Stevie for awhile, do you?"

Boyd shakes his head. "No, not at all. You two go, uhm, talk." Dandy and Shanny walk off to a table out of earshot, and Boyd slides into the seat Shanny vacated. "So I guess your plan worked, huh?"

I watch Shanny and Dandy for a moment. Dandy seems to be smiling like a little kid, and I can see a glint in Shanny's eyes. "Yeah. I'd say it's going pretty good."

Boyd smiles, and for a moment, just a moment, I feel something stir inside of me. "They look really happy. I think you might have found them each their match. Do you moonlight as a dating game host or something?"

I can't help but laugh. "Hey, don't forget, you had a pretty big part in this too. It couldn't have been easy to convince Dandy to do that."

He blushes, and this time there is a definite twist. He's just...No. No no no. This is not happening. "Well, it was your idea. You deserve the credit."

We continue to talk, and continue to watch Dandy and Shanny as the night progresses. They keep moving closer and closer, and as they do, our conversation becomes more and more relaxed. It's almost like we're just normal team mates, just normal friends. But one thought keeps running through the back of my mind.

What if Shanny is right?

Doesn't matter how it ended or began
Sometimes the best that you can do is change your plan...
- Verve Pipe, "Never Let You Down"

Part 17 | Part 19