(A/N: Sorry it's been so long. I hope you all are still reading. Hopefully I'll have an update sooner then this one. Thank you! And once again....I live for comments...really)
"Come along now, come along with me. Come along now, come along and you'll see
what it's like to be free. Come along now, come along with me. Come along now, come along and you'll see, what it's like to be free.
Come along now, come along with me and I'll ease your pain. Come along, come along with me
and lets seize this day. Come along, come along with me" - Vicci Martinez "Come Along"
Armed with 2 full cookie trays, the passes James gave her, a 4 year old who could hardly walk because she was bouncing with excitement and a hockey bag with skates in it, Sara had decided this was the craziest thing she thought of doing in a long long time. James was there waiting for her at the elevator in the teams parking garage, looking incredibly handsome in his 412 hoodie, jeans and pirates hat. He smirked when he saw her and reached for the cookies and hockey bag. James couldn’t help but take in the sight of how Sara looked. He lets his eyes roam over her body. Appreciating how her dark green sweater hugged her curves, down to her dark jeans and knee high snow boots. “You two all ready?” He asked, still smirking at Sara before Cait started telling him how great he was for taking them.
“Thank you so much for doing this, you once again didn’t have to” Sara replied, stepping out of the elevator and following him through the twisting hallways to the locker room. James just laughed and shook his head at her. Players’ kids and families were running up and down the hallways in excitement, some of their parents and older siblings were chasing after them. They passed the Stanley Cup replica, which Sara tried not to stare too much at and into the players’ lounge. “Cookies!” Was all she heard before she saw two bodies flying at James, one of them successfully grabbing the containers while the other tackled him to the ground. She raised an eyebrow at Tyler and Marc Andre as they cheered in triumph.
“Sara you really don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for these. Kris wouldn’t share his.” Marc replied as he clutched the trays to his chest protectively as Tyler helped a laughing James off the floor. She just shook her head and laughed at him as she watched a petite brunette walk up behind him.
“Marc you have to share those with everyone.” The brunette said with a teasing smile while he pouted a little. “I’m Veronique, but just call me Vero. You must be Sara, and this little one has to be the Cait that I heard all about.” Vero said as she kneeled down to Cait’s level. Sara smiled and nodded as she started to feel a little anxious with all the new attention they were getting. Other wives and girlfriends had suddenly surrounded them. Craig Adams wife Anne and Matt Cook’s wife Michelle introduced her to some of the others while the boys abandoned her to steal some of her cookies before Vero smacked their hands and took them away to set them with the rest of the food. Sara suddenly found herself being led out to the arena. Cait chatted away happily with some of the other kids and mothers while Sara lagged behind a bit, her head already swimming with too much information. “Don’t worry; you don’t have to remember anyone’s name right now.” Vero said, sneaking up behind her and looping her arm through Sara’s.
“Oh thank goodness, I feel like my brain is going on overload.” Sara said with a smile.
Vero laughed and nudged her a little, “So you’re with James. How’d you two meet? I’ve heard some stories.”
Sara blushed a little and shook her head, “I’m not really with James. We’re just friends. He stopped to visit during the Children’s Hospital visit and somehow never seemed to leave me alone.” Sara replied which made Vero laugh and shake her head.
“That does sound like James. Are you sure the two of you aren’t dating? He never shuts up about you and Cait.” She asked with a slightly confused look on her face.
Sara shook her head no again and pointed to where Cait was sitting on the players’ bench waiting for her skates, “I have her to worry about. Number one thing in my life. Especially with her being sick….”
Vero gave her a sympathetic look and nodded, “Marc told me about her sickness and your ex. Not much is secret around here between the guys. Just remember, James is a really good guy and he wouldn’t be there if he didn’t want to be. And now you have been adopted into this crazy family. Please call us if you ever need anything. Anything at all.” She said as she gave Sara a small squeeze when she saw tears form in her eyes before giving her a nudge towards Cait. “But now it’s time for fun and laughter, go get your daughter on the ice.”
Sara couldn’t help the big smile that spread across her face as she walked over to Cait, she kissed her on the forehead before starting the task of switching out her shoes for skates. All the other families were out on the ice already and Sara could hear all the laughter behind her. Some smaller kids were being pulled on sleds, some being carried or pulled along by one of the players. Once she had both of their skates laced up, she helped Cait onto the ice and tried to not to freak out on how ridiculous she might look next to a bunch of guys who do this for a living. She was thankful for the slow speed since she was holding Cait’s hand. Matt Cooke laughed and waved as he went past, pulling one of the sleds with his youngest son on it, Sidney following behind him with an empty sled. “Want a ride Cait?”. Cait giggled and nodded before climbing on and Sara watched as Sidney Crosby skated away laughing with her daughter. She continued to skate slowly around the rink, taking the freeing moment of feeling the ice beneath her feet and the laughter around her. Sara was lost in her own mind when she felt someone grab a hold of her gloved hand.
“So this is why you like being on the ice?” She said, glancing up at James. He smiled down at her and nodded, picking up the speed a little and pulling her along with him.
“The cool feeling of the air around you, the sound of blades on the ice, going fast enough it’s like your almost flying. Yeah, that and the love of hockey.” He said, giving her small hand a squeeze. “You know, once you’re hooked you can’t get it out of your system.”
“Well I’m not that good so I doubt that will happen. Plus I really don’t like falling on my ass.” Sara responded, grinning up at him. James laughed and turned around so he was skating backwards, pulling them more towards the edge so they were away from group of people. Grabbing her other hand he started skate faster.
“I’ll help you get better. And I won’t let you fall. Well at not unless you pull me down with you, then that’s not really my fault.” James replied, watching Sara’s face as he started go faster. Shaking his head when she got the worried look in her face. “Trust me”. He started to instruct her on how to move her feet to match his, the two of them glide around the ice in sync. When he saw her relax a little, he told her to close her eyes. He picked up the speed even faster, watching over his shoulder as he moved around people, pulling Sara along with her and wanting to feel the same freeing feeling that he had every time he steeped onto the ice. When he glanced back at her face, he couldn’t but grin over the look of joy on it.
“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” Brooks yelled with a laugh as the defenseman moved out of their way. James snapped his head back to watch where he was going but not before stumbling slightly. Sara stumbled along with him, crashing into James’ chest and sending them both to the ground.
“Ugh James!” She exclaimed, looking down at him from her position on his chest. “You said you weren’t going to make me fall” She grumbled at him, giving him her fake mad face.
“Hey you stumbled and pushed me down, not my fault” James replied with a cheeky grin as he tried to squirm away from her as she started to pinch his side. “Hey! You aren’t on your ass!” He swatted at her hands before wrapping both arms around her and pinning her arms to her sides. Sara smiled down at him and shook her head as she thought back to one the one time she let him kiss her and all the times like this that it looked like he was going to. “Why don’t you stay at my house after Christmas? I’m closer to the hospital then you are, some place you can catch a few hours of sleep and a shower. And there’s plenty of space if they let her leave between treatments. I’ll be gone a lot anyway…..” James started, pushing the hair out of Sara’s eyes.
Sara closed her eyes for a moment and sighed “James….”
“Hey Lazy! Not how you show girl how skate!” Geno said as he sprayed the two with ice as he stopped. “Come Sara, I show how Russians skate. Better then lazy Canadians”
Sara laughed, patting James on his chest before grabbing Geno’s hand and getting back up on her feet. She was so thankful for his interruption. They joined up with Sid and Cait, laughing as Cait started to tell everyone how much fun she was having. Sara had hardly realized they had been on the ice for over an hour before Natalie Lemuiex had announced it was time for everyone to go eat and then open presents later. The kids let out a cheer when they heard presents, Sara was sure some of the players may have cheered as well. Everyone rushed off the ice and towards the locker room to change out of their skates. Sara opted for the players bench, not trusting herself to carry Cait and manage walking in skates very far. She waved off James and Sidney, telling him that she would meet them upstairs, she was thankful for the space to get a moment to breath away from James and the knots he caused in her stomach. Her and Cait headed back down the hallway to head to the conference room, but when she spotted the familiar tall blonde she felt an entirely different knot in her stomach. She had managed to avoid Jordan every since Vikki had confessed what had happened. Sara knew that no matter how much she was enjoying her time with James and the rest of the guys, the anger she felt towards Jordan for betraying her trust and taking lying to her friend was not something she would just let go. “What do you want Jordan?” Sara said with a sigh as she saw the guilt ridden look on his face.
“I just wanted to talk to you for a second.” He replied, glancing from Cait to Sara for a moment. Sara nodded and continued to make her way up to the conference room, Jordan following in toe as he and Cait talked about how exciting it was the Santa was coming. When they reached the conference room, she saw that James was waiting at the doorway for them.
“Why don’t you go tell James your hungry? And I’ll meet you guys in a second.” Sara said to Cait, leaning down and kissing her daughter on her forehead before pushing her towards James. He raised an eyebrow as he watched Cait run towards him. Sara gave him a shake of her head and once she saw James pick up Cait in his arms, she turned back to Jordan. “So talk…”
“I only have a couple minutes. Heather is going to be looking for me But I wanted to know if you talked to Vikki lately?” He said all in one breath, looking nervously towards his watch and then the conference room.
Sara raised an eyebrow at him again, “I talk to her pretty much every day. She has been staying with him. Why? You know what….I know why. But why do you care?”
Jordan groaned and dropped his head back against the wall, seeing the look of fury in Sara’s face. “Look I can’t explain it to you. I don’t have time. But can you please tell her to call me? I feel really bad about what happened and I need to clear some things up with her.”
“Oh? Need to rid yourself of your guilt? Or too afraid she’s going to run to your little fiancée? Don‘t worry, she‘s better then that. Definitely too good to deal with you.” Sara said back with venom in her voice.
Jordan stared back down at Sara with a shocked look, he knew she was tough be he never heard her talk with that much anger in her voice. Normally she was in more control. He knew he had crossed the line, he just didn’t realized how much. He closed his eyes for a moment before giving Sara a pleading look, “Please Sara, just ask her to call me.”
Sara sighed and shook her head, “Fine, whatever Jordan.” She replied before turning away from him and walking into the conference room. She watched as Jordan scurried away from her and towards the table that his fiancée was sitting at. Sara smirked a little, realizing that his actions reminded her of a dog. Running away with their tail between it’s legs back to it’s master when they know they disobeyed. She also couldn’t held but smirk more from the look of disgust that she received from Heather. Sara sighed and pushed away any lingering feelings from the exchange. Now was not the time and she was here to have fun. She was stunned at the homeliness of the room. The conference room was decorated with Christmas decorations with a very elaborate Christmas tree decorated with red beads and bulbs, crystal with lights in it, and a beautiful star at the top of the tree also made of crystal with the Pittsburgh Penguin’s logo etched on it. She saw James and Sid helping Cait get food, smiling a little as some of the mother’s in the group watched closely from behind. Making sure that the plate wasn’t piled high with cookies and sweets.
When she saw Vero waving her over to a table where she was sitting, and was obviously saving a few seats, she made her way over. “Are you having fun? This is one of my favorite events in the whole year.” Vero said to her excitedly. Sara laughed and nodded, sitting down beside the brunette.
“Honestly, yes. This is almost like a family gathering, except for all the family drama and fighting I was starting to grow used to.” Sara said with a grin as Vero started laughing. James, Cait, Sid, Marc and Geno soon joined them. James placed the plates down on the table, moving to sit down next to her before helping Cait up into a seat next to him. “You got me food?” Sara asked, giving him a strange look.
“You really want to hash that old argument during this festive time?” James replied back, before nodding towards Jordan who was in line for food and it looked like he was still getting an earful. “Want to tell me about that?”
Sara groaned and started to pick at her turkey, “Oh no. Like you said, festive time of year.” She answered, ignoring the questioning faces.
“When is Santa getting here with all the presents!” Cait said in an exasperated voice, munching away on a piece of bread. Sara noticed that James had actually taken the time to cut up some of the bigger parts of food on Caits plate, and managed to get a lot of food that Cait liked.
Marc laughed and shook his head, “Soon petite fille, after everyone is done eating.” The table laughed at the look that Cait gave before going back to her eating. Sara couldn’t wipe the smile from her face as she stared at Cait. The moment couldn’t be anymore perfect for her little girl. She seemed free, healthy, happy, in no pain, and didn’t have a care in the world other than what was going on around her. Sara hadn’t seemed Cait like this since she had started showing symptoms of being sick. Then, they didn’t know just how seriously sick Cait was.
She absently ate her food as she watched everyone around the table and room, the laughter and smiles that were evident everywhere made Sara feel not so alone. Having Vikki and her mom always there for her was wonderful, but she always felt so guilty about pulling them away from the other parts of their lives. But here she started to feel like maybe she could have more people to lean on when things got hard.
James glanced over at her, giving her a questioning look before smiling when she caught him and blushed slightly. “What are you thinking about?” He said, brushing some of her hair behind her ear.
Sara smiled up at him, “Just that this is probably one of the best Christmas dinners we’ve ever had. And it’s all because of you. Thank you.”
James gave her an even bigger smile as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her up against his side. He felt her tense slightly before relaxing against him, deciding not to fight it. “So about that you staying at my house thing….”
“Wait? What?” Vero exclaimed, getting Marc’s attention as well. The couple looking at the other two expectantly. Sara groaned and ducked her head, muttering under her breath at James. Luckily Cait was too busy arguing with Geno and Sid about which Disney princess was the best to be paying attention. And even though Sara saw that Sid kept his eyes on Cait the whole time, she knew by his body language that he had heard James’ statement and the captain was certainly interested.
James looked around sheepishly, clearing his throat. “Uhh yeah. I suggested that maybe while Cait is in treatment that Sara could stay at my house. I’m closer to the hospital then she is. And it’s not like she’ll be there that much, just a place to shower, get a few hours of sleep. Plus we’ll be gone a lot too…” He explained, glancing down at Sara who still had her head down.
Marc shrugged and nodded “It makes sense Sara. You will need to get some rest. And that will just be wasted time going back and forth home.”. Vero agreed along with him, but James caught the slight sparkle in her eye. Sara groaned again, leaning her head against James’ shoulder, feeling her cheeks heat up even more.
“You don’t give up do you?” She said, looking up at him. James couldn’t help but smile and let his eyes travel over her face. They were only a few inches apart and he could feel himself about to give into the urge that he always had to kiss her. Before he could lean he, he heard the yell from all the children in the room as Santa came in followed by his helpers. Sara quickly jumped back from James before standing up and smoothing out her long hair. Before she could get completely away from him again, he grabbed her hand and tugged slightly.
“You’re right, I’m not going to give up.” He said, staring up into her eyes. Sara could swear there was more meaning into his words then he was letting on and that this was going to be a big deal if she said yes. But she was finding it harder and harder to say no.
“Fine. I’ll stay. But there’s rules.” She said with a sigh, giving his hand a gentle squeeze before reaching for Cait and taking her to get inline to see Santa.
No comments:
Post a Comment