There's Things That Aren't Worth Giving Up

Natalia sat in her car, nervously driving to Marty’s apartment. While she was happy that he was back in Chicago, she knew that Marty was going to ask her to go into further details about her conversation with John, and she really didn’t want to do that.

She pulled into the parking lot, turning the ignition off, and slowly getting out of her car and making her way up to his apartment. She knocked on the door, and moments later, it was flying open and Marty’s lips were on hers. “I’ve missed you so much,” he told her, pulling her inside the apartment.

“I’ve missed you, too,” she told him. “But, you realize we’ve only been apart for like three days, right?” she asked with a laugh. “What’s going to happen when you go on two week long road trips?”

“I’ll sneak you on the plane with us?” he suggested.

“Hmmm…” Natalia hummed. “Something tells me they’re not going to like that idea,” she said with a laugh as she made her way inside, throwing her purse onto the table.

“So, you want to tell me what happened with your dad now?” Marty asked.

Natalia turned to look at him. She knew he was going to ask her, but she was hoping he’d wait at least a little bit before bringing the subject up. “He just wanted to talk about my relationship with you,” she told him, avoiding eye contact.

“Natalia,” Marty said, and she slowly lifted her head to look at him. “What aren’t you telling me?” he asked, but she remained quiet. “Nat, I promise, whatever he said, it can’t be as bad as you’re thinking it is,” he assured her.

“He wanted me to break up with you,” she blurted out, and Marty’s eyes widened with surprise at the response. “He said something about how I shouldn’t go out with you because you now work for a different team,” she told him.

“What?” Marty interrupted.

“And, then he saw the engagement ring, and he gave me an ultimatum, him or you,” Natalia continued.

Marty stared at her, at a loss for words. When she didn’t say anything, he got more worried. “What did you say to the ultimatum?” he asked quietly, partly worried for the answer. While he knew Natalia loved him, he still didn’t know if he was worth giving up her father over. Though, he was hoping it wouldn’t come to that. He hoped that after John had some time to cool off, he would accept the fact that he and Natalia were together and getting married.

“Are you kidding me?” Natalia questioned, looking up at Marty.

“Nat, he’s your father. I’d understand if…” he began before Natalia cut him off.

“Marty, I love you!” she exclaimed. “You’re the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. And, while I love my dad, I’m going to choose you over him every time.”

“Natalia, I love you so much,” Marty said, pulling her in close and kissing her passionately. When they pulled away, he looked down at her. “Did your dad say anything else?” he asked her.

“Yeah, he said a bunch of stuff, but it doesn’t matter.”

“Nat, it does matter. Tell me what he said. Everything,” he added.

“I don’t even know,” Natalia said, shaking her head and walking over to the couch, sitting down. “He said a whole bunch of stuff. He just kept telling me that he was forbidding me from seeing you. And, then he said that I was tearing our family apart.”

“Are you kidding me?” Marty screamed, and Natalia knew she shouldn’t have told him by looking at how angry he was. “Let’s go,” he ordered.

“What?” Natalia asked, watching as Marty stormed to the door. “Where are we going?” she questioned, standing up and grabbing her purse, following him out of his apartment.

“I’m not going to let him say those things to you and get away with it,” Marty told her, locking his door and making his way down to his car. “None of this is your fault, and he has no right to tell you that. I’m not just going to sit back and let him talk to you like that.”

“Marty, please calm down,” Natalia practically begged. Marty didn’t get angry too often, and to see him this furious was starting to scare Natalia.

“Nat, everything’s going to be okay,” he assured her, putting his free hand on her knee. “I just want to have a little talk with your dad.”

“Marty, I love that you want to defend me, but really, I’m fine with letting everything go. My dad is out of my life, and that’s okay with me,” Natalia told him. “Just let it be.”

“You should have never had to choose in the first place,” Marty said. “He should have never asked you to choose between him and me. You should be able to have your dad and your fiancé in your life. This isn’t fair to you.”

“But, I’m okay with it.”

“But, I’m not,” he told her, pushing down harder on the gas pedal. Natalia leaned back against the headrest, sighing to herself. While she was grateful that Marty was defending her, she didn’t think anything he was going to say to John was going to do anything. John had made it clear that she had to choose between him and Marty, and Natalia had made it clear that she had chosen Marty. She was actually a little scared to see how John was going to react when she showed up at his house with Marty. She was sure he wasn’t going to be jumping for joy or anything.

Before she knew it, Marty was pulling up in front of her father’s house and jumping out of his car. He walked around to the passenger’s side, opening Natalia’s door for her when he realized she wasn’t getting out on her own. “It’ll be fine,” he assured her, reaching out and taking her hand.

“Marty, we can still just get back into the car and drive away. Really. I’ve already told my dad that I’m going to be with you no matter what. He’s not going to care what you have to say.”

“Do you want to stay out here?” Marty asked her. “I can go in and talk to him, and you can stay out here if you don’t want to face him.”

“And, let you two get into a fight?” Natalia questioned. “I’d rather not.”

“What? You don’t think I can defend myself?” Marty joked as they slowly made their way to the front door.

“It’s not you I’m worried about. I know you can handle yourself in a fight. Though, I’m still a little concerned about your shoulder,” she said, and Marty gave her a look that told her to let that matter drop. “But, my dad, I’m pretty sure you’d kill him if given the chance,” she said as Marty rang the doorbell.

Moments later, John opened the door, and his smile turned to a frown when he saw Marty standing in front of him. “Apparently, Natalia didn’t tell you about our conversation, but you are no longer welcome here,” John told Marty before turning his attention to Natalia. “And, you’re not welcome here any longer, either. For all I’m concerned, I no longer have a daughter. She chose some random guy over her own family.”

Natalia was taken aback by John’s last statement. “Marty is not some random guy,” she said through gritted teeth. “It’s not like I just randomly bumped into him on the street, decided to marry him, and then wanted to cause this stupid rift between us. Dad, you know that I love Marty. You know that he’s the first person I’ve loved like this. And, I want to spend the rest of my life with him. Why can’t you be happy for us?” she asked him. Marty looked over at her with the words she spoke, a smile on his face, proud to be able to call her his future wife.

“I will never be happy with the two of you dating. And, as I’ve said, I no longer consider you my daughter. You’ve betrayed me and this family,” John stated.

Natalia opened her mouth to say something, but Marty stopped her. “John, what is your problem with me?” Marty questioned. “A couple of months ago, you were fine with us dating. Yeah, it took you a while to get used to us and accept us, but I thought you finally had. And, then I’m traded to Minnesota, and all of a sudden, you don’t want Natalia dating me. Why not?” Marty asked, trying to keep his anger under control.

“I’ve already explained this to Natalia,” John replied.

“Well, explain it to me.”

“It’s not right for her to be dating someone from a different team when I work for the Blackhawks. People are going to think she’s working both sides,” John told him.

Marty looked at him incredulously. “Anyone who knows anything knows Natalia wouldn’t do that. How could she even possibly be working both sides? It’s not like she’s the one that works for the Blackhawks. You do. And, she’s not playing for Minnesota. I am.”

“I don’t want her dating you,” John stated.

“Listen, I don’t know what the fuck your problem is,” Marty screamed. “I told Nat that I didn’t think it was fair to her to ask her to choose between the two of us. You’re her father, and I’m her fiancé. Why make her choose?”

“It should be an easy choice for her,” John said calmly.

“Yeah, Dad, it is,” Natalia spoke up. “And, that’s why I’ve already told you that I’m choosing Marty. I’m spending the rest of my life with him.”

“Then why did you show up here?” John questioned.

“I brought Natalia here. I thought that maybe the three of us could talk everything out and work it all out. But, obviously you’re too much of a fucking idiot to realize you’re pushing your only daughter away. And, guess what, I know that in just a little bit of time, you’re going to regret saying all these things to her. And, you’re going to want back in her life. And, Nat’s not going to want you back in her life. And, you’re going to realize that you fucked everything up,” Marty told him, grabbing Natalia’s hand and walking towards the door.

“Goodbye, Dad,” Natalia spoke with finality in her voice.