There's Things That Aren't Worth Giving Up

Natalia reluctantly walked down the familiar hallways of the United Center, dragging her feet as Olivia and Summer pulled on her arms. “I really think this is a bad idea,” Natalia repeated for the fourth time in as many minutes. “Guys, I have this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I don’t like it.”

“Nat, it’ll be fine,” Summer assured her.

“But, what if I run into my dad?” she asked.

“Then, we’ll be right here next to you defending you all the way. John McDonough is not going to ruin this game for you or for us. We are so happy to have you back, and you are going to enjoy this game one way or another,” Olivia told her with a smile.

“You’re right,” Natalia said, gaining some confidence as they walked down the hallway towards the stairs to the skybox where she was going to be sitting to watching the game. “I am going to enjoy this game. I’ve missed being here and seeing you all, and I’m going to enjoy myself.”

“That’s what we want to hear,” Summer smiled at her as they walked up the stairs. “Now, are you going to be okay staying up here by yourself for a little bit? Liv and I have to go down to the locker room for a little bit, but we’ll be back up here. If you want to, you can come with us,” she offered.

“No, I’ll be fine up here,” Natalia assured them, knowing there would be a greater chance of running into her father down near the locker room than if she stayed up in the skybox.

“Okay, we’ll be back later,” Olivia said, as she and Summer left the skybox. Natalia walked over to the edge, looking out at the ice and smiling to herself as a flood of memories came to mind. It was crazy to think that it was in this exact place that she had first met Marty. She had always stayed in this skybox to watch the games, but it was that one random day that Marty had walked inside with an injured shoulder to watch the game, too. It was at that moment that she knew there would be something special between her and Marty.

She watched as the fans began filing into the stadium, and she jumped a little when her phone began ringing. She glanced at it before picking it up. “Shouldn’t you be bonding with your teammates and not calling me?” she joked.

“I’m sorry. I miss you,” Marty replied. “Are you at the stadium?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m up in the skybox. I was actually just reminiscing about how we met. It’s crazy to think that we first met because you were injured, and I happened to be sitting in the skybox that you came to watch the game in,” Natalia told him.

“I’ve never been happier to have an injury before,” Marty commented.

“Yeah, I…” Natalia trailed off as she turned around and saw John standing there, his arms crossed over his chest, simply staring at her.

“Nat?” Marty called out, but Natalia remained silent, still in a state of shock that her father was standing in front of her. “Natalia?”

“I’ll call you back,” Natalia said quickly, hanging up the phone without so much as an ‘I love you’ or ‘goodbye.’ She stared at John, waiting on him to say the first word.

“Natalia,” John said simply, and Natalia just blinked, waiting on him to say anything else. When John realized she wasn’t going to say anything to him, he continued. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see some of my friends, and Sum and Liv convinced me to come to the game,” she replied.

“And, who was that you were talking to when I came in here?” he inquired.

Natalia stared at him, wondering if he was actually interested. “Marty,” she answered quietly, knowing that he knew exactly who she was talking to.

“You’re still with him?” he questioned.

“Yes, I am,” Natalia told him. “Dad, I’m going to marry him. You know that.”

“I still can’t believe you’d choose him over your family.”

“Stop it!” Natalia cried. “Stop trying to make me feel bad for marrying someone that I love. You’re the one that’s making me choose! And, did you really think I’d ever choose you over him? Especially after you went to the media about my past? Dad, you killed our relationship, not me. And, you know who’s been there for me through everything? Marty. He’s been there for me.”

“No, he’s taken you away from me,” John interjected.

“No!” Natalia yelled. “He’s been the one that’s tried to get me to talk to you. He hates that we’re fighting like we are. He’s tried and tried to get me to reconnect with you, but I’ve refused. And, this right here is why. You don’t want me to be happy. You want to control me, and I’m not going to let that happen,” she promised.

“Get out,” John said lowly.

“What?” Natalia asked.

“Get out of here. Go to that boyfriend of yours that you love oh so dearly,” John told her.

“You know what, Dad, I will go. I will go to my fiancé, who actually loves me, unlike you,” she yelled, storming out of the skybox, only to run into Summer, who was walking up the stairs. Summer gave her a curious look, and Natalia explained, “My dad’s in there. I’m just going home.”

“Home?” Summer asked. “As in Minnesota home? Or Liv’s home? Because you better not be going back to Minnesota because of some stupid comment John made to you.” When Natalia didn’t say anything, Summer continued. “You can’t go back to Minnesota yet. You came to see your friends. Don’t go back yet. Besides, Marty’s not even home. Stay here for a little while longer,” she pleaded.

“Fine, but I’m not staying here in the UC,” she relented.

“That’s fine. Go find Liv, and I’m sure she’ll give you the key to her place so you can go back there,” Summer told her, and Natalia nodded her head, as she made her way down towards the locker room to try to find Olivia.

***

Natalia sat on the plane a week later, thinking about everything that had occurred. She had called Marty after she had gotten back to Olivia and Jonathan’s place, telling him about her and her father’s argument. Marty had tried to convince her to go back and try to fix everything with him while she was still in Chicago, but she refused, telling him that she planned on never talking to him again.

Now, she glanced at her watch, wondering how much longer she was going to be on the plane. She smiled when the pilot came over the intercom saying they only had twenty more minutes, and she couldn’t wait to get off the plane and back home, where Marty was. She had planned on making it home before he got back from his road trip, but her flight kept getting delayed, and in the end, he had gotten home the night before she was getting back.

As soon as the plane landed, she got off as quickly as she could, making her way to baggage claim. She felt like she stood there forever, waiting to find her pink bags come along on the carousel, and she was ecstatic when she finally found them, grabbing them and making her way out to the taxi cabs.

What felt like hours later, the cab finally pulled up in front of her house. “Thank you,” she smiled at the driver, handing him some money as she grabbed her suitcase and made her way towards the front door. She found it unlocked and was excited to know that Marty was home. “Hey, babe,” she called out, and Marty came walking out of the kitchen, immediately engulfing her in a hug and giving her a kiss. “I’ve missed you,” she told him when they separated.

“I’ve missed you, too,” he told her. “I made lunch,” he added, and Natalia smiled at him, following him into the kitchen.

“This looks amazing,” she told him as the two of them sat down to eat.

“So, I’m assuming you didn’t have any more run-ins with your dad?” Marty asked as Natalia took a bite of the salad in front of her.

“No, thank God,” she muttered. “I can’t believe what he said to me,” she began. “He makes it seem like you stole me away from him or something. He thinks that if he continues on like this that I won’t marry you. It only makes me realize how much I want to marry you,” she smiled at him. “I just wish that we didn’t have to wait so long,” she added.

“Me, too,” Marty agreed.

“Then, why wait?” she asked, and Marty looked up at her, confused. “Why wait to get married? Why don’t we just go now? Why don’t we elope?” she suggested.

Marty stared at her for a moment. “You’re serious about this, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Yeah, I am,” Natalia said. “What do you think?” she asked.

“Let’s get married now,” he said, grabbing her hand as a wide smile spread across Natalia’s face as she followed Marty outside.