My cousin chocoholic4eva helped me edit this and even added in a few lines, so everyone give her a big round of applause! Now, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks.

Storm Hawks—Birthday Mishap

By WhispertheWolf

All of the Storm Hawks were on the bridge. There wasn't any reason for any of them to be there, except for Stork who, of course, was driving. It's just where they tended to hang out. Aerrow was reading a book at the round table with Radarr perched on his shoulder, Finn and Junko were just being bored, and Piper… Well, the others weren't really sure what she was doing, except for she seemed agitated. The whole team could sense, and it made for quiet and unease.

Finn, however, was growing tired of it. He groaned. "I'm so bored!"

Piper rolled her eyes. "You know Finn, if you're bored, why don't you do something?"

"There's nothing to do around here!" he retorted.

Piper grunted in annoyance, but didn't say anything.

Finn gave another sigh before his eyes lit up. "Hey, I know! Guys, want to do some target practice in the kitchen?"

"No thanks," Piper grumbled.

"Why don't we watch a movie or something?" Junko asked.

"I like that idea," Aerrow answered, setting down his book and looking expectantly at Piper.

"You know what?" Piper answered. "You guys can do whatever you like. I don't care as long as you leave me alone!"

Aerrow raised an eyebrow, feeling concerned. "Piper," he asked, "is something wrong?"

Piper glared at him. "What do you think?!"

Her spite took Aerrow off-guard. "Piper, what's wrong? You've been angry all morning."

Piper shook her head. "I shouldn't have to explain it to you. You know what, see if you can remember! You, of all people, should have known!" With that, she got up and stormed off the bridge.

The others watched her leave. "What's wrong with her?" Finn wondered aloud.

Aerrow shook his head. "I don't know," he answered. He couldn't think of anything he'd done to Piper to get her mad, but he hated the idea that he had. "She hasn't said a word all day that wasn't spiteful."

"She didn't even say good morning to any of us," Junko added.

"Yeah," Finn agreed. "All through breakfast, she just kept glaring at us."

"I was starting to suspect she had mindworms when she didn't come and ask me how I was doing," Stork put in.

"Don't worry, Stork," Aerrow assured. "I'm pretty sure Piper doesn't have mindworms."

"Do you think it was something we did?" Junko asked.

Radarr chirped as if he agreed with that theory before leaping off Aerrow's shoulder and sniffing around on the floor.

"I can't think of anything," Finn said.

Stork looked skeptical. "Are you sure?"

Finn looked suspicious. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, don't you remember what you did?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, then let me refresh your memory…"

"Hey, Piper," Finn called from the doorway. Piper didn't answer. She was busy refining a crystal in her lab. "Piper," Finn tried again. Piper's hands balled into fists, but she still ignored him. "Piper!"

"Finn, go away! Can't you see I'm trying to work?"

Finn folded his arms across his chest, disappointed. Then he got an idea. He found some paper and started folding it. A few moments later, a paper airplane came and landed on Piper's desk. "Finn!"

"What?" Finn asked. "I'm just having a little fun." He threw another plane and it landed on Piper's crystal, causing it to explode.

Finn burst out laughing before he saw Piper's red face when she turned to glare at him. Finn swore he could see the steam coming out her ears. "Finn, you're a dead man! Today of all days! You know, I've worked almost fifteen hours on that crystal?!"

Finn was starting to see his mistake. "I'll just be going now…" he said. And with that, he turned and fled.

"Well, what about you?" Finn said. "You're the one she's probably mad at!"

"What's makes you say that?!" Stork demanded.

"Don't you remember…?"

Piper approached the pilot. "Hey, how are you doing, Stork?"

Stork growled, "How does it look like I'm doing?"

"Well, you know, today could be special. We all might be a little happier. Don't you think?"

"I don't think so," Stork grumbled.

"What's our speed?" Piper asked. "About fifteen knots?"

"It's the speed I'm driving at," Stork grumbled in response.

He heard Piper's footsteps fade. She hadn't even given a farewell. She just left. "Mindworms," Stork mumbled.

Junko sighed. "It's probably my fault," he said.

"Why's that?" Finn asked.

"Well," Junko began, "I was in the hangar bay…"

Junko was working on the skyrides as usual when Piper approached him. "Hey, Junko," she said. "You doing anything special today?"

Junko shrugged. "Not really. Just cleaning the skyrides. Hey, could you pass that bag of bolts?"

Piper did, saying, "How many bolts would you guess was in the bag? Say about fifteen?"

"Maybe," Junko answered.

Piper watched him closely. "Say, you want to help me with some of my chores? You know, since it's a special day? It should only take about fifteen minutes."

"Sorry," Junko answered. "I've still got to do your Heliscooter and Aerrow's Skimmer. That could take awhile."

She turned her back and stomped away, unnoticed by Junko.

Aerrow shook his head. "She seemed most upset with me."

Finn looked surprised. "With you? What did you do?"

"I don't know," Aerrow answered. "Maybe it was when I was cleaning…"

Piper came in while Aerrow and Radarr were sweeping. "Aerrow," she began, "you think you could cook dinner tonight?"

Aerrow was surprised by the question. "What?"

"Well," Piper said, "I was just hoping that maybe I could take the night off."

Aerrow shrugged. "Well, I guess I could, but I've already got a lot of work to do. I've still got to patch the roof and check the air vents when I'm done here. Besides, your cooking is a lot better than mine."

Piper looked downcast and irritated. "Oh, well, what about helping me right now? Or are you too busy for me?!"

Aerrow couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Piper…"

"You know what, never mind," Piper grumbled. "I thought you… But never mind." And with that, she left, leaving Aerrow feeling guilty and very confused.

"Something's definitely got her livid," Stork concluded. "I'm telling you, mindworms."

Aerrow was thinking about it. "You know," he said, "Maybe Piper just doesn't feel appreciated. I mean, we just sort of expect her to do stuff for us."

Finn blew threw his lips. "Nah, Piper knows we appreciate her."

"When was the last time you ever thanked her for everything she did?" Aerrow countered.

Finn opened his mouth to say something but then closed it again.

"Maybe we should go into her room and give her a hug!" Junko suggested.

Stork shivered. "I don't think so."

Aerrow felt a tug on his leg and look down. "What is it, Radarr?"

Radarr was holding something in his hand. Leaping up onto Aerrow's shoulder, he held it in front of his face, revealing to be a calendar. Aerrow stared in shock and horror. "Guys, I think I know what's wrong. Look." He held up the calendar and pointed to it. "Yesterday was Piper's fifteenth birthday. We completely forgot!"

Junko's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Her birthday?!"

Finn had a similar expression. "No wonder she's angry! How could we forget our friend's birthday? I'd be mad, too, if I was her!"

"I know," Aerrow agreed, leaning on the table. "I feel so horrible! Piper's my best friend, and I forgot her birthday."

"Yup," Stork said. "Guess you were right. She doesn't feel appreciated. Although it's probably all the better that I stayed away from her." He started scratching his neck. "This rash might be contagious, and I don't think that would make such a great birthday present."

"Well, what should we do now?" Junko wondered. "We missed her birthday. We should find a way to make it up to her."

"Oh, I got it!" Finn said. "Why don't we surprise her by going to Terra Neon? The only thing better than a day on Terra Neon is two days on Terra Neon!"

"You sound like an advertiser," Aerrow told him. "Besides, considering our past experiences on Terra Neon, I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Tropica?" Finn suggested. "We could have a beach party!"

Aerrow shook his head. "We've got to head straight on to Terra Tranqua in case there's a Cyclonian invasion," he reminded them.

Finn sighed. "Well, I'm out of ideas."

"What about a present?" suggested Junko. "I love presents!"

"But what could she want that we could possibly get her?" Aerrow asked.

"Just get her a bunch of crystals," Finn answered. "That shouldn't be hard."

"Piper always wants certain types of crystals," Aerrow reminded him. "We wouldn't even know where to begin. We'll have to try something else for a present. Maybe… maybe the first thing we should do is just apologize."

Finn leaned back and put his hands in front of him. "No way," he said. "I'm not doing that. Go ahead, dude. It's you're funeral."

Stork grinned wickedly. "If she kills you, can I have your stuff?"

Everyone looked at him strangely before Aerrow looked at all of them. "Look, we all owe it to her. She deserves more than this. Come on. Is it really that hard?"

Junko got up, his ears lying almost flat against his head.

Stork pulled the Condor to a stand-still and then turned around. "Alright. We're all doomed, anyway."

Finn looked around. "Oh, fine!" he said, defeated. He stood up and pointed at Aerrow. "But you're doing the talking."

In a parade, they marched to Piper's lab, where Aerrow figured she'd be. He knocked on the door. "Piper?"

"Go away!"

"Piper, please come out. We want to talk to you."

The door opened and Piper appeared. "What?"

Aerrow didn't know how to say it. How do admit to your best friend that you forgot their birthday? In his head, he was cursing at himself and calling himself an idiot. But what's done is done, and now he had to face her. "Piper," he said, "we're sorry…"

"You completely forgot, didn't you?" she guessed heatedly. "You know what? All of you just forget it. I'm obviously not important enough to remember." The door was about to close again as Piper turned around and went back into the lab.

"No, Piper, wait!" Aerrow tried desperately, pushing the button to keep the door open and following her into her room. "That's not true!"

"Oh, isn't it?" Piper snapped. "And you, of all people! I would have expected much more for from you! I thought you once said you'd do anything for me. You can't even remember my birthday!"

Aerrow felt like a world-class heel and an awful friend. "Piper…"

"Get out!" Piper growled, pointing to the door.

Aerrow felt his heart drop to his feet. "Please…"

"Out!"

Aerrow walked out of the room, feeling absolutely guilt-ridden and horrid. "I warned you," Finn said. Aerrow didn't pay him, or any of the other Storm Hawks, any attention. He just walked away miserable with his eyes on his feet.

The door slammed shut and Piper was left alone in her room. She hated seeing Aerrow look so dejected. And the others were no better, all of them sad and disappointed. But her pride kept her from letting go of her anger. Besides, she knew they'd get over it. Finn would probably be the first.

Piper knew she'd have to get over it soon, too, but right now, she was determined to be furious.

Aerrow decided his room was the best place for him at the moment. He was feeling much shaken from seeing Piper so cross at him. Radarr had followed him in and now, as Aerrow sat down on his bed, the little co-pilot proceeded to curl up beside him. He could sense Aerrow's feelings, and he was concerned.

Aerrow stroked Radarr's fur absentmindedly. "I must be just the world's biggest jerk, Radarr," Aerrow said at last. Radarr shook his head. There was no way his best friend was the world's biggest jerk. "Well," Aerrow answered, "I sure feel like it."

Radar rubbed against Aerrow, trying desperately to make him feel better. He always did have a habit of blaming himself for everything. It was worse when it was obvious that it was his fault, and extremely bad when he was left without forgiveness. Besides that, Piper was his best friend in the whole world, next to Radarr. And he had let her down.

Aerrow played with his figurine, the emblem of the Storm Hawks. It was all he had left of his family, the only possession he had when he was younger. He had it since he could remember and only found out about a year ago why it was of the Storm Hawks emblem. Because his father was the Storm Hawks' Sky Knight, just as he was now. Aerrow wouldn't trade the figurine for the world. It was the last link he had to his family.

BOOM! Aerrow leaped to his feet, Radarr proceeding to hide behind his leg. The loud sound had come from somewhere on the Condor. He had to check it out and be sure no one was hurt.

Running out his room and heading in the direction of the sound, Aerrow realized that it seemed to have come from Piper's lab. This only increased his urgency and he and Radarr reached the door before the others, who were just as curious and concerned.

The door opened, revealing a feathered and slime-covered Piper who looked deeply irritated. Looking around, Aerrow could see the rest of the room was covered in feathers and slime as well. Stork looked appalled. Behind him, Aerrow could hear Finn and Junko trying not to crack up. Had Piper not seemed so let down, Aerrow would have probably thought it was a pretty humorous sight, too. But not while Piper had that disappointed look on her face. "What happened?" he asked.

Piper seemed to have currently forgotten her anger and explained, or rather, complained, "I was almost finished with that experiment when I just had to accidentally hit an eruption stone while I had a bunch of slime crystals and feather crystals in my hands." She looked around the lab. "Oh, this is going to take forever to clean up!" She cast a glare behind Aerrow and said, "I don't see what you two think is so funny."

Junko and Finn checked themselves immediately.

Piper sighed. "I'll be in the shower if you need me." For a moment, Aerrow thought she might be back to her old self before she added, "Not that any of you would care!" And with that, she stomped away, leaving slime footprints and feathers in her wake.

However, Aerrow was looking around and seeing the potential of the messy place. "Come on," he said. "Let's clean this up for her."

Finn just stared at him. "What? It's her mess! Besides, it will take all day to clean up!"

"Then we better get started," Aerrow stated. "Come on. It won't take that long if we all pitch in. Besides, we ought to give her this day. We already missed a very important one."

The others nodded reluctantly.

"Good, we're agreed," Aerrow said, satisfied. "Finn, get the mop. Junko, see if you can find the broom. Radarr and I will find the bucket and fill it with soap and water. Stork, you go ahead and get back to the bridge. We still have to get to Terra Tranqua as soon as possible."

"Not fair!" Finn argued. "We have to do all the work and Stork doesn't have to do anything!"

Stork's eye twitched. "Try flying a carrier ship for forty-eight hours straight and then tell me who you think is doing the work!"

Finn looked a little startled. "I'm good."

"That's what I thought," Stork grumbled as he made his way back toward the bridge.

A couple hours later, Aerrow, Radarr, Finn, and Junko were only halfway through with cleaning. Half of the room was decent; the other was still a disaster area. That's when Finn finally broke. "Man, I'm pooped!" he insisted. "What do you stay we rest a minute, Aerrow? Piper's in her room right now. It doesn't matter."

"Yes, she's in her room," Aerrow answered, "and that means we can still finish before she comes back."

"I'm with Finn on this one," Junko told Aerrow. "I'm really tired. Let's take a break."

Radarr chirped in agreement. And who blame him? The poor little guy's fur acted like a mop for all of the slime.

Aerrow looked around. He was weary as well, and all of them were sweating through their shirts working. But Aerrow felt too guilty to give himself a break. However, he told the others, "Alright. You guys take a break if you want." And with that, he took a firmer hand on the mop and continued to try to clear the floor.

Finn just watched him a moment as he continued to clean and then shook his head and left. Junko followed. Radarr watched them leave before walking after them almost reluctantly, leaving Aerrow alone.

Hours later, the sun was starting to set and the guys, minus Aerrow, were all on the bridge again. Finn and Radarr were playing a game of chess while Junko watched… and Radarr was winning. They had completely forgotten Aerrow and Piper's lab, although they hadn't been so clueless as to forget their earlier mistake with Piper's birthday.

Piper stepped on the bridge, seeming as if all the energy was drained out of her. "Okay, I'm done being mad," she sighed in defeat. Then she looked at their game disapprovingly. "Nice to see how cut up you were by my anger."

Finn shrugged. "You're always mad at me, so why should I be surprised?"

"Besides," Junko added, "we got you presents." He pulled his own out from under the table. "See?"

"Thank you," Piper told him. She looked at the object in his hands. "Uh, what is this?"

"It's my special piece of shiny metal," Junko said, giving it to her.

"That's not as good as mine!" Finn insisted. He handed her a record. "Here's some of my finest music! No need to thank me."

"Ah, sure Finn," Piper said, thinking, I better throw this away later when he's not looking.

Stork said, "And I got you this." He showed her an Anti-Mindworm Helmet 3000.

"Oh," Piper gasped when she saw it. "But isn't this yours? You always wanted one. You were so happy when you finally got it."

"It's okay," Stork told her. "I got two just in case. This one's the second one."

Piper felt someone tugging at her pant leg. Looking down, she saw Radarr holding out one of his precious giant cherries. They only grow on one Terra, and Radarr had taken a small supply that he savored. Now he offered one to her.

"Thanks, Radarr!" Piper smiled as she stroked Radarr's head.

She was truly happy for the gifts and very glad now that the wait of her anger was off her chest, but she was disappointed by one thing. The one person she expected stuff like this from and the one person she'd really wanted to apologize to was not here. "Where's Aerrow?" she asked.

Finn scratched his head. "You know, I haven't seen him for hours. Last we knew he was in your lab cleaning up. We helped him with about half of it."

"You think he's still in there?" Junko asked.

As a group, the Storm Hawks set off to find their Sky Knight. When they got to the lab, everyone was shocked.

The place was not only clean top to bottom, but every part of the room was cleaned and polished off, giving it a sparkle. Finn's and Junko's jaws dropped. Radarr sniffed, trying to detect Aerrow. Stork's eye twitched. Piper didn't know what to think until she saw the envelope on the table with her name on it. She smiled and walked over to pick it up.

Opening it, she found a letter inside.

Dear Piper,

Looks like I screwed up big time. I'd feel horrible if my best friends forgot my birthday and I know you must, too. I can't blame you for being angry. I think I just made the World's Biggest Jerk Award for being the one to do that to you. I hope you're not mad at me forever. You're the best friend anyone could ask for. Anyone needing a friend can count on you. You're smart, funny, brave, and strong. There is nothing you can't do, and I can't imagine my life without you. And that's why I know this is in good hands. Happy late birthday.

Truly sorry,

Aerrow

Piper reached deeper into the envelope and pulled out a small, flat figurine in the shape of the Storm Hawks' emblem.

Aerrow was asleep on his bed when he awoke from a knock at the door. Hoping that if he ignored it the visitor would go away, he turned around and tried to go back to sleep. Another knock on the door. Aerrow groaned. Nothing, not even his growling stomach, was going to get him to get up and certainly not a knock at the door. Whoever it was could let themselves in. Aerrow was exhausted.

Sure enough, Aerrow heard the door open and a tentative voice call his name. "Aerrow?"

Aerrow's eyes opened. Piper. Pulling himself up to a sitting position, he tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes. Piper was beside his bed, holding his letter and present. It took a moment for Aerrow's body to realize there was no more resting, but his mind was awake the moment he saw the figurine.

Piper looked a little embarrassed. "Sorry," she began. "Am I disturbing you?"

"No, no, you're fine," Aerrow told her. He played with his hands. "Still angry?"

"How could I be?" Piper asked him. "The lab's spotless! And this." She held up the figurine.

Aerrow shrugged. "I know it's not much, but…"

"Not much?" Piper questioned. She shook her head. "Don't be silly. I know how much this means to you."

Aerrow didn't look at her. He still felt kind of awkward and perhaps not completely deserving of her forgiveness. "I'm sorry I ever made you feel like I didn't appreciate you. And maybe I don't as much as I should."

"And I'm sorry I ever made you feel like the World's Biggest Jerk," Piper told him. "You're far from it. You know that, right?" Aerrow shrugged. She sat down next to him. "Here." She held out the figurine to him.

Aerrow shook his head and closed her fingers around it. "It belongs to you."

"I can't take this," Piper insisted. "It was your parents'."

"And now it's yours," Aerrow responded.

Piper looked at it a moment before pulling Aerrow into a hug which she felt Aerrow return. It was moments like this that made her wonder if she deserved him. "Hey, Piper?" Aerrow whispered in her ear as he held her.

"Yeah?"

"Happy birthday."