Baby Mav

Turn of Events

Maddlyn walked into work the next day, already exhausted. After Rooster found her at the beach, he drove her back to her apartment. He offered to stay with her, but she declined. As much as she wanted things to go back to normal between them, she knew it would take more than one night on the beach.

When she turned him down, Rooster instantly offered to call her in the morning. Maddlyn reassured him she was fine, but a small piece of him didn't believe her. Despite his feelings, he left her alone and didn't call her in the morning. Instead, he was eager to get to training. When he got there, he instantly looked around for her.

"She's not here yet."

Rooster turned around, instantly forcing himself to act normal. "Who's not here?" He stuttered.

"Maddy," Maverick said, not bothering to hide his smirk. Rooster cleared his throat, looking away. "She's fine, Rooster."

He looked at Maverick, nothing but hope in his eyes. "Is she?"

Maverick walked over to him as he continued to stutter. "I haven't exactly been there for her," Rooster sighed. "And now I feel like I have a bunch of catching up to do."

"Bradley," Maverick said, lowering his voice. "There's something I need to tell you. The truth, actually."

"What are you talking about?" Rooster asked.

"Maddy isn't the one who pulled your application," Maverick confessed. "I am."

"What?" Rooster asked through his teeth. When he realized what this truth meant, his jaw unclenched. Before he could ask anything else, Maverick began to explain.

"Your mother asked me to keep an eye on you. She didn't want to lose you the same way she lost your dad." Maverick paused at the thought of his old best friend. "When I found out you had applied for the program, I panicked. Instead of talking to you, I pulled your application. When you found out, you ran to Maddy. I didn't even know she was planning on taking the blame until after she told you."

"Why would she tell me it was her? Why not tell me the truth?"

"Because," Maverick sighed, "you had already lost one dad. Maddy didn't want you to lose another."

Rooster was speechless. Maddy let their relationship fall apart so he could keep Maverick in his life.

"Why would she. . . I don't. . ."

Before he could sort out this new information, Rooster noticed someone over Maverick's shoulder.

"Maddy," he said under his breath.

Maverick turned around to see his daughter walking in. One look at her and he could tell she didn't sleep that well last night. He waited for Rooster to do or say something, but he remained frozen. Instead of waiting, Maverick jogged over to his daughter.

"You alright?" He asked her gently.

"Yeah," she said, not convincingly. "I'm fine."

"Mads," he whispered. Maddlyn ran her fingers through her hair, knowing she couldn't hide things from her dad.

"I'm fine," she tried again. "Who am I training today?"

Maverick wanted to send her home, but they were running out of time. He looked at her for a few more seconds before giving in.

"We gotta get Hangman under control," he sighed. "Think you can handle him?"

"I'll try," she said, sending him a look. "Don't hold your breath."

* * * * *

Maddlyn's frustration built as Hangman failed to listen to the team. Again. This was his third attempt to run the track and he wasn't listening to anything his team said.