Discovering...Love?

I look up to the clock on the wall above my desk and find that the minute hand had only moved 5 little dashes since the last time I checked. I sigh, yet again looking back down at the papers in front of me. It seemed that everybody got puppies at the same time, late spring/ early summer, and just around the time when I had to pay the bills. Plus all the dogs were due for check ups at the vet and to top that all off the Pens were in the 2nd round of the playoffs and not playing very well against the hated Flyers.

"Ugh, stop the world I want to get off!" I say rather loudly holding my hands up in frustration.

Luckily no one was in the office, because I probably looked crazy. My hair was a mess after repeatedly pushing my fingers through it in frustration and my fingers were stained blue from the pen ink I was using. I had been at the office for about 10 hours now, and I still felt like I had so much to do. 

Sighing for probably the 500th time tonight, I look up at the clock again finding that now only 2 minutes has gone by since I last checked.

"That's it!" I shout to no one in particular, "I'm done... I can't look at these folders anymore!" 

Bran perks up his head at me, watching me intently. He was the only one I had brought to work today. The rest of the dogs were at home, doing God knows what.

"Come on Bran, let's go home," I say leaving all the folders and papers on the desk and turning the computer off. I leave the room and all my work behind, tonight I needed to just relax. Bran and I make our way home and I'm greeted by the dogs when I move in side. I throw my keys on the side table by the door before going into the kitchen. I was starving!

I pull a can of some sort of chicken noodle soup out of the pantry and pour it into a bowl before putting it in the microwave. I grab a pack of Ritz crackers out of the pantry and grab a propel out of the refrigerator. I was not cooking tonight! I was tired, cranky, and I still had to watch a hockey game tonight. Sid was with the rest of the team in Philly playing the Flyers in the 4th game, they had to win this game or they were out of the playoffs. It's not that I was watching the hockey game because of Sid, which I guess I kind of was. But even if we weren't together and I had no connection with any of the guys, I would still be watching. Even though I just wanted to go to bed. 

The beep of the microwave sends me over to get my soup. Grabbing the bowl of soup, a spoon, the box of crackers, and my bottle of water, I make my way over to the couch. I turn on FSN, figuring I have missed most of the 1st period. But instead of seeing hockey, some other program comes on. I groan and turn the TV to versus only to find that they are only 2 minutes into the 1st period. Versus is always so slow to get the game starting. I watch in dread as I see Danny Briere swiftly move past our D and over to Fleury and his net. He fakes one to the bottom left and then swiftly puts it changes to the right putting it past the Flower. 

"And Briere fakes left and then past Fleury and SCORE!!!" Doc screams into the microphone.

"Ugh," I groan in disgust stuffing a cracker in my mouth. 

After the first two periods of play the Pens had managed to tie the Flyers, thanks to a spectacular performance by Fleury. The rest of the team were not working well together for the first time in awhile. They were all having an off night, except for Fleury. I could tell they were getting frustrated with themselves, it was showing in the amount of penalties they had taken. 

I get up during intermission to feed the dogs and then sit down to watch. I could tell that they so desperately wanted to beat these guys. They came back into the game, but they just couldn't seem to put the puck behind Biron. The D did an excellent job at fending off the Flyers and keeping the puck in the Flyers zone, but then Hartnell high sticks Gill and the refs don't see it. 

"Oh come on Ref! How could you not call that! It's Hal Gill. How fucking high does the stick have to go?!" I yell at the TV.

Suddenly that sneaky Hartnell is skating toward the goal and...

"SCORE!!!" Doc again screams into the microphone.

"SHIT!"I scream back jumping off the couch and waving my hands frantically at the TV, "Thanks a lot Ref!"

After letting out a string of profanities attached to rather hateful comments to the refs, I go to the door to let the dogs out muttering to myself. I run up the steps and get ready for bed. It was 11:00 and I was finally going to be able to go to bed, after a pretty bad day. And then the pens lost in the playoffs, what icing on the cake.

I go to bed, still in a sour mood and I think Bran senses it because he jumps up on the bed next to me. Usually I would tell him to go down stairs because Sid was coming home, but I had a stress filled day and there was nothing like burying your head in thick dog fur when your boyfriend wasn't home to snuggle into. So I allow Bran to the lay next to me pressed against me and I bury my head in his course black fur,  instantly falling asleep next to my best friend.

The plane ride home from Philadelphia was silent, everyone was pissed at first that we didn't win. After all the ref should have called that penalty on Hartnell. But by the time we got on the plane the real sense of defeat set in and the mood turned from anger to depression. I look over at Marc who wasn't sleeping like some of the guys but staring out the window. I knew he was beating himself up over the last goal that got past him.

"Flower, there was nothing you could do, that shot was almost impossible to stop," I whisper over to him.

"I shouldn't have seen the shot. I should have known," he says shaking his head. 

"Marc seriously. We didn't play well like we should have in the first two periods. If it weren't for you we would have lost by a lot more than 2-1," I say honestly.

"Yeah, but still,"he sighs looking at his hands in his lap.

"You can't change the past man, we'll get that cup for sure next year," I smile at him.

He nods his head with a sigh and continues to look out the window.

This was one of the hardest parts of my job. As captain, I had to be there for everyone else even when I was feeling like shit to. I knew Flower was reviewing different plays in his head, thinking of what he should have done. I knew this because I was doing the exact same thing.

The plane lands in Pittsburgh a little after 1:30 and everyone with out many words goes to their cars and heads home. 

I feel slightly better when I get back to the house, noting that all the lights were turned off. I walk up the steps and put my stuff down by the door right now. Usually I took it to the laundry room, but right now, I just wanted to get to bed. I see Sam poke his head around the door way, making sure it was me who came in and not some stranger. He was here because we had an away game, he would go back to Tanger's house tomorrow morning.

"Hey Sam," I yawn before heading upstairs. 

I walk into the room and I'm greeted by Bran's eery blue eyes looking at me from the bed next to Caitlin. His eye had a pink glow to them in the night, it was kinda creepy. But he lay next to Caitlin who was snuggled into him as he watched over her. He was the biggest reason I felt comfortable with leaving Caitlin alone. Sure she had all the other dogs, but I knew that Bran would stop at nothing to keep her safe. Sometimes I even felt a little jealous of him. After all, he was always by Caitlin's side and he could be there when I wasn't. He was Caitlin's partner, I was her boyfriend.

I sigh and strip myself of clothes and move to the bed. Bran looks at me briefly and then slowly gets up and quietly jumps off the bed making room for me. I crawl in after him and slide in next to Caitlin. She admits a small groan stirring for a moment, before snuggling into me with a content sigh.

I smile. This is what made losses a little more bearable. Knowing that she would still love me and support me even in the loss. I knew she got mad when we lost, like any good hockey fan would, but she never portrayed any of that when I got home. I sigh thinking of how we were out of the playoffs. The first time I got the Cup I thought it would give me a sense of peace and it did, at least for awhile. But now I wanted it again. It seems that once you get the Cup, you just want it more. And this year wasn't our year. I sigh, there was no way I was going to sleep soon, even if I was tired. 

I think about getting up, but she feels so warm next to me. Her head was pillowed on my shoulder. Her silk hair with it's coconut smell brushed under my chin and her right hand settled on my chest. Her mouth was open ever so slightly and dark lashes lay out on her cheeks, her eyes closed masking those amazing brown eyes. I could see faintly the puckered pink jagged line on her right arm from where Sam bit her. I sigh tracing the line with my finger, making her stir against me. I stop immediately not wanting to wake her. She settles down, her leg moving to tangle with one of mine. 

My eyes were starting to get a little heavier, I was so comfortable with her next to me. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and I give into sleep.

"Would you just tell me?!" I plead again as Sid takes me by the hand leading me into the airport, Bran followed behind us. The guys had already cleaned their lockers out and most of them had went home. Sid decided to stay with me for the month of June with me in Pittsburgh before leaving June 30th to get back to Nova Scotia for Canada Day. He asked me to stay with him threw the summer, but that just wasn't an option. I said I would visit and take at least a week off, but I couldn't stay in Nova Scotia with him, summer was basically dog training season. Everyone seems to want to get their dogs trained during the summer.

He led me over to a secluded part of the airport and then down to what seemed like the run way to me. He leads me up to a plane and grins at me. 

"After you," he grins signaling me to go up the stairs and into the plane.

"Are you crazy?" I ask with a laugh.

"What?" he says his face falling.

"You're serious! You actually think I would get on a plane and not know where I was going or when I was getting back?! And Bran is with me, where is he suppose to go?" I ask flabbergasted.

"I figured you would react this way," he sighs, "Ok look. I am taking you for a week to a place, but you have to wait until you get there to figure it out. And this is a private jet, so Bran is fine to go on."

"Sidney you have to be kidding me?! First of all, I didn't pack..." I begin.

"You're all packed and Beth helped me," he smirks.

"And work! I have clients and...." I begin again.

"I had Mary clear your schedule for the next week and close the office," he continues to smirk.

"The dogs! Bran isn't my only dog... I have...."

"3 other dogs. They are staying at that dog hotel you usually take them to," Sid says looking at me.

"But... I... I..." I hesitate, shit I ran out of reasons.

"Ran out of reasons. Now get in the plane," he smiles cockily pointing up the plane.

I sigh. This was something I would never, ever do. Go away to somewhere I didn't know on a moments notice, but with Sid... I don't know. I just had complete trust in him... for some crazy reason. So I give up and let go and walk onto the plane Bran behind me and Sid behind him.

I look around at the leather seats and gorgeous tables.

"Take a seat. It's Mario's we're borrowing it," Sid whispers behind me as if reading my mind.

I sit down and an attendant sets a flute of champagne down in front of me and Sid.

"Oh and Caitlin, Happy early birthday," Sid smiles at me leaning over the table to kiss me sweetly on the lips.

After hours on the plane and me asking Sid a million times where we were going. We had finally landed and were getting off the plane, and I still had no idea where we were. For I knew we could have circled Pittsburgh for hours and landed. Boy would I be pissed if he did that. 

I notice that the air is cleaner than in Pittsburgh, it reminded me of when I was a kid living in the woods. It was colder here than in Pittsburgh. I'm not saying there was snow, but I could use my fleece jacket. And I could see a small city. We walk into the airport to leave and I look around, frantically trying to find a clue to where I am, Bran by my side. Sid was walking next to me, waiting for me to figure it out. I can see people dressed in fleece in jeans, some in tshirts. I look at the flights going out, but that's not very helpful. That's when I spot it. A dark blue flag with a pattern of stars forming the Big Dipper and a larger star in the top corner, hanging next to the American flag.

"You brought me to Alaska!" I say loudly, making him laugh at me as I throw my arms around his neck and kiss him smiling.