“I’m back!” I hear his voice call from the door. I walk out of the kitchen, and to the door to greet him as he takes his coat off, two bags in hand. The dogs were outside at the moment so they had already greeted him, but Maggie stood by the door with her ears perked up wanting to be let in.
“Hey,” I smile, putting my hands on his chest and leaning into him to kiss him, “I’m pretty sure I just fell in love with you all over again,” I say reaching for the two bags.
“I know, I know…” I sigh reaching for it again, but he pulls it away quickly.
“And I would just like you to know that the guy was already making the sub when I got in there. He said he saw the car and knew what to do, this is slightly worrisome,” he chuckles.
“But I don’t order them THAT often!” I stress, “Was it Dennis? He knows how to make the sandwich perfectly!”
“Yeah, just 4 times in the past 6 days,” he laughs, “And yes it was, he said to tell you hi and see you soon.”
“Hey, it could be six!” I defend quickly, trying for the bags again.
“One more thing,” he says pulling it away, to which I let out an annoyed huff, “I’m sure if you look on the blogs and chat rooms tonight, you will see a picture of me with a few female fans holding a plastic bag with ONE mango in. All for you.”
“And her,” I smile, placing my hand on my 7 month pregnant stomach.
“And her,” he smiles, bringing his lips down to me meet mine in a tender kiss. I kiss back for a moment, loving his scent in my nose and his pillowy lips next to mine, his hand cupping my neck. He pulls away, and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.
“Mine!” I say quickly, jerking the bags out of his hand before he can think and walking to the kitchen, leaving him chuckling at the doorway.
“Hold up, mine is in there too!” He calls.
We still had yet to come up with a name for our daughter. We had highlighted a few in the baby name dictionary, but still had yet to make a decision. The press conference had gone well, the response was... to be expected. Chat rooms and the notorious “Girlfriend” discussion page had had a field day. I was called a whore, a slut, a raging bitch (don’t know where that one even came from). There were rumors that it wasn’t really Sid’s baby. Some said it was Fleury’s and it was a cover up for our affair, poor Flower had undergone some serious beaking in the locker room for that one and it was still an ongoing joke between me and Laura Fleury.
Another said that my daughter was actually Kris’s child, because according to a “reliable source” I had left Sid for Kris and found his paycheck could not cover my expenses…. Whatever the hell that meant. But the funniest was that I wasn’t really pregnant. I almost peed from laughing so hard when I heard that one.
However, it was finally starting to settle down. The announcers on Versus had gotten down to a 2 time maximum of saying Sid was going to be a father and my picture was generally splashed on the TV screen when I went to games, like they were monitoring my progress.
Beth and Anna had worked along with Laura Fleury and Sarah Armstrong to plan a surprise baby shower for me last week. It was a blast, involving delicious cake and a diaper-changing race… I lost. Sarah and Colby had given me a Penguins maternity shirt that said “Rookie” on it. And when Sid had the unfortunate luck of coming home too early to find the party still going on, he and I were pushed together into a picture of me in the shirt. He literally laughed out loud when he saw me. But the picture was our first as a family he said, and he taped it up in his stall.
I look over to the man whom had been a relief through this all as he watched to movie. He had helped me through it all and made sure to constantly tell me that he wasn’t going anywhere. He was furious with the accusations that our daughter wasn’t really his child, but I tried my best to keep him calm and cool. He knew it wasn’t true, of course, but I think it still stung when people brought up me leaving, especially when they had no idea why I left. He made sure that he was at every baby doctor appointment and he tried to be there every moment he possibly could, saying that he had missed too much already. I tried to tell him all he missed was me puking every morning for a month, but he insisted. Right now he was getting worried that he wouldn’t be there for the birth, that he would be on the road and not get back in time. He had been taking into account every possibility, making sure that he would be there.
“Want a bite?” I ask, gesturing toward my sandwich as Braveheart plays on the TV. My feet were propped up on the coffee table as Sid sat next to me, eating a veggie sub from subway.
He looks over at me and wrinkles his nose, “I’ll pass.”
“It’s good!”
“Sorry babe, but a meatball sub with American Cheese and pickles is not in my healthy eating plan, nor appealing to my taste buds.”
“Suit yourself,” I shrug, taking a monstrous bite out of the sandwich.
Within minutes, the blessed sandwich is gone … and I could use another one.
I sigh, leaning against Sid, and looking up to the turkey sub he is eating.
“Nope, this is mine. You ate yours,” he replies, not even looking at me but keeping his eyes trained on the screen.
“Fine, I didn’t want a bite anyway,” I huff scrunching my face in annoyance… I watch as he chew and swallows before taking another bite. “Please just…”
“Nope,” he chuckles shaking his head.
“Sidney! You wouldn’t want your daughter to go hungry would you?” I ask in fake shock.
He lets out a hearty laugh, his arm coming around me to pull me closer into him before he polishes off the last bite of his sub. We still had yet to come up with a name for our daughter, but we still had two months. Man that due date was coming up soon.
“My daughter is NOT starving,” he chuckles.
“You calling me fat, Crosby?” I ask with a sly smile.
“Never, Dear,” he smiles down at me, those hazel eyes sparkling with humor before he places a simple kiss on my forehead.
“Bull shit,” I grin, before tilting my head up so that I can catch his lips with mine.
My hand comes up to his jaw, bringing him closer. He shifts on the couch, giving us a better angle to deepen the kiss. His tongue swipes over my lower lip slowly, before I let him in to have our tongues tangle together. His mouth moves away from mine, his lips trailing down my neck placing kisses in strategic places. It isn’t until he reaches the place where my shoulder and neck mesh together that his hot tongue sweeps over my skin and he bites down gently.
My breath immediately hitches as I inhale sharply, my fingers raking through his short hair in encouragement as my eyes close and my head involuntarily falls back to give him better access.
“Mmm… Sidney,” slips from my lips in a moan.
“Ruff… Ruff…”
I can feel the vibration of his laugh on my skin before he lifts his head to the sound.
“I think Flash is hungry,” he whispers.
I groan, before opening my eyes to Sid looking at me with a smirk. His hazel eyes seem to swarm with a liquid golden color. He knew exactly what to do to turn me on. He knew exactly where my weak spot was. I sigh, it was frightening how in love I was sometimes.
I shake my head with a sigh before turning my attention to Flash.
“Really? You are hungry, right now?” I ask him, to which his eyes light up and his head cocks to one side as he tries to figure out what I’m saying.
“Ruff…” he tries again, his ears perked up as he waits for my answer.
“Alright, alright. Let’s get you some dinner,” I laugh, ruffling his fur.
Sid’s POV
“No one will ever forget that night and what it meant for this country. But I will never forget the man and what he meant to me.”
I sigh and look at my watch, it was 12:30 and I have practice tomorrow at 9. I look over to her to tell her I have to leave but instead I find her already asleep. Her head was pillowed on her arm that rested on the couch armrest, and her legs were draped over my lap, her large stomach out in front of her as she slept on her side. I watch as a small smile plays on her lips, those chocolate eyes masked under lids fringed with dark lashes. I didn’t want to disturb her, but she need to sleep in a bed and I couldn’t exactly carry her up the stairs anymore.
“Caitlin. Babe, wake up,” I say softly reaching over to gently shake her shoulder.
She inhales and opens her eyes, blinking a few times before they focus on me. Her brow furrows as she tries to remember and then a lazy smile plays on her pink lips when I see the spark of her memory.
“Last time I check, Evy had just left V’s and was walking down the street,” she chuckles, stretching slightly, “What time is it?”
“About 12:30,” I respond, looking at my watch again.
She nods and uses the armrest to help push herself upright again. I stand up and offer my hand to her, knowing that getting up off the couch had become increasingly harder with her 7 months pregnant stomach. She sighs and takes it with a sheepish smile, knowing she was too tired to refuse. Letting out a sharp whistle, she makes her way over to the door, opening it so that the dogs can go out. A flood of fur whizzes by before she shuts the door behind them.
She walks back over to me and snuggles into my side with a content sigh. I just hold her next to me for a minute, taking in the silence of the house, the warmth of her body, and the smell of coconut in her hair. It was times like these I cherished, just her and I, after a night of movies. Not needing to talk constantly, but throwing around the playful banter we were so good at. Stealing kisses here and there, just being with each other, no obligations to worry about for awhile. It wouldn’t belong until there would be three of us, not just two anymore.
I sigh, going out into the brisk March weather was not really what I wanted to do at the moment, nor did I want to drive back to Mario’s. Someday, someday I won’t have to. It wouldn’t be long before it would be a blessing to just get some sleep, with playoffs and the baby on the way.
“I should go, I need to get back,” I sigh, hating doing so but knowing I had to, “I have practice at 9.”
She lets out a slight whimper mixed with a sigh into my shoulder. Not saying anything for a few moments.
“Or…” she replies quietly, “You could stay.”
I feel my stomach drop at her suggestion, having wanted nothing more for a long time. I look down to her with a small smile, trying not to get my hopes up. My eyes connect with molten dark chocolate eyes, looking up at me shyly.
“Are you sure?”
She nods her head with a small shy smile, “Stay with me.”
I grin; I having been wanting to hear her say that for months now. I bring my mouth down to hers, the two fitting together perfectly, like a puzzle piece.
