Status: complete

Tell Me It's Not Too Late

i can't get enough of him

I laid my forehead softly on Tanner's back as he clapped against the Canadian fans that surrounded us in the Canada Hockey Place. I swallowed loudly, letting my little boy enjoy the screams and flashes of cameras as I tried not to upchuck my dinner. I have never ever been so nervous for Zach before. Not even when he was in the middle of a fight. No, this one was a huge game. The Olympics, the world stage, his mom and dad sitting next to me, his ever quiet self.

"JP?" I asked, sucking in a deep breath. I was shaking so much that I was nervous about Tanner. I was scared he would slip through my arms because even though my grip on him was tight, it wasn't tight enough. "Can you please take Tanner?" I asked him, already moving to hand the seven month old to his grandpa. Tanner's bright eyes shone at me as he was finally out of my shaking arms. I smiled down at him, poking his stomach as he gave me a gummy giggle.

I sucked in a deep breath as I looked up at the scoreboard, cringing at the five minutes that still remained on the board. The US held a 4-3 lead over the Canadians and five minutes, with a team of Canada's caliber, was like days of time for them. I bounced my legs nervously, my hands tucked under my thighs. I heard Tanner gurgle as his dad came onto the ice after a TV time out. He skated a circle, more focused than I had ever seen him. He chewed on his mouth guard, lining up for the face off, eyes zoned.

Tanner watch his dad with loving eyes, cooing softly to his papa who couldn't hear him, but his son was most definitely with him. That came from the tattoo he had over his heart with Tanner's name in scrawled letters. I had been there when he got it, letting him show Tanner the new ink he had on his body. The baby had patted it as if he approved of the new part of his father. Tanner bounced in his grandpa's arms his hands gripping JP's fingers as he looked down at the ice, his eyes focused to match his dad's.

The butterflies moved up from my stomach to my throat and my lungs, taking an iron grip to them until I could barely breathe. Every time the puck was in the USA zone, my breathing was sputtering. Every shot that hit Ryan Miller, I was tensing up, moving with him to try and block it. Every scramble in front of the crease had me squeezing my eyes shut, using my other senses to know what was going on. It made me wish I was watching at home rather than in the arena. At home, I could press a button and I would be saved from the agony of the lead going down the drain.

I looked up after another stop in play, groaning loudly and slouching down in my seat, my arm resting against the arm rest while my head feel into that hand. Three minutes left; the longest three minutes of my life. Tanner patted my head, gripping a curl in his hand, tugging it tightly. JP chuckled, unwrapping his fingers from around the brown tangles. The puck dropped again and I watched as the Canadians tapped the puck back and forth, dominating the USA zone before swarming the net for every rebound. I prayed that Ryan could see the puck as Brent Seabrook wound up, Zach up there and ready to block the shot.

The puck slammed into Zach's shin pads and I screamed loudly, getting to my feet as he went down on a break away. I clasped my hands as Zach's blades chomped into the ice, bringing him closer to Martin Brodeur his hands stick handling quickly. He did a quick fore hand to back hand once he got close, ripping the shot high on his blocker side. It hit the back of the net and I screamed loudly, jumping up and down with Zach's mom.

"Ohmygod! Donna!" I screamed loudly. We embraced tightly, both of us jumping up and down at JP stood up so Tanner could watch Zach celebrate. The baby had a wide smile on his face, gums openly showing his mouth to his world. I scooped him up, squeezing him to my chest as he giggle loudly. He cooed to me, mumbling a bunch of M's together to sound like he was saying mom. "Baby! Daddy scored! Yeah!" I squealed as they showed Zach on the scoreboard, the Canadian fans booing. Zach smiled widely up at the scoreboard as if he was smiling at his baby boy who seemed to understand that what daddy did, he did for his country.

"Oh baby boy." I murmured to him, breathing in the scent of his sweet baby skin. He was wearing a USA Parise jersey that Zach had insisted I dress him in. I sighed softly, grinning back up at him before the scoreboard switched back to the play on the ice.

Two minutes later, the USA bench emptied out with a huge win over Canada. They mobbed Ryan Miller who was the undeniable player of the game. There was no doubt about it; he was the difference maker because the best offense is a great goalie. I held Tanner and made him clap his hands together, the little boy gurgling as a bit of drool threatened to fall onto his jersey. Grandpa had it though, wiping the wetness away from his mouth. The little boy smiled at his grandpa who was so proud of Zach he had a permanent smile on his face.

I waited with Zach's parents for the him to be done celebrating and with the media knowing that the proud papa would go as fast as he could to get to his baby boy. Tanner and Zach were still inseparable, even on road trips. There was always a phone call of a computer date, or sometimes Zach even tried to sneak Tanner out the door as if I didn't know my little boy was burrowed into his daddy's jacket. I would roll my eyes and extend my arms, kissing Zach and shoving him out the door before he could try to lure my baby boy into his arms again.

It was adorable how in love Zach was with our son. He was absolutely obsessed with him and his little sounds, and big smile accompanied by those adorable dimples that got me every time. Zach would come home from road trips and immediately go to Tanner's room, leaning over his crib to rub his back softly. The little boy would never stir, a heavy sleeper from the day he was born. But then there were other night, most of the nights actually, when Zach would come home after being away and he would scoop up our little boy and bring him to bed with us.

I sighed softly, taking Tanner back from JP as I let my mind wander to a night after a week long road trip to the West coast.

Zach stumbled into the room, barely awake with Tanner snuggled into his arms, his breathing coming out in thick puffs against his dad's neck. I sat up in bed, watching Zach carefully as he walked to his side of the bed, tugging his tie and letting it slip from around his neck and to the floor. His jacket came next as he pulled off one arm before re-situating Tanner and then taking off the other arm. He threw that on the floor too, laying our little boy vertically on his pillow as he quickly undid his buttons, leaving him in his dress pants, and a white T-shirt. He shoved his pants off next before carefully picking Tanner up and laying back.

"Hi baby," I murmured to him, running my hand over his chest before I let my hand flutter to Tanner's back.

"Hi," Zach mumbled back, his eyes shut tight as he soothingly ran a hand over the brown hair on Tanner's head.

"Was he awake?" I asked him, already knowing the answer was no. If he had been awake when his dad had come in, I would have known due to the baby monitor, and because there was no way my baby boy would be falling back to sleep after catching wind that daddy was home.

"No, I just missed him so much while I was gone. I just need to hold him close to me. I need to cuddle with him." Zach murmured, turning to his side and setting Tanner on his side on the bed. I scotched closer to the two boys in my life, resting my forehead against Zach's shoulder.

"You get worse every time you go away," I whispered to Zach who nodded.

"I know. I can't get enough of him." Zach smiled softly before pressing a kiss to Tanner's head. "I love him so much."

"He's quiet the wonderment, and there is no one that boy loves more than his daddy."

"He loves you, you feed him." Zach chuckled softly, tilting my chin up to kiss my lips. "And of course I missed you too." He nuzzled my nose before turning his attention back to Tanner.


Tanner squealed in my arms, his head flying off of my shoulder as his arms flailed for the man who just walked out from the hallway and into the large area where the players' families were allowed to wait. Zach smiled largely at his little boy, big brown eyes shinning with adoration.

"Hey baby boy!" Zach exclaimed, by passing his parents and swooping his son into his arms. "How is daddy's big boy!?" He tickled his stomach with his large fingers, pressing softly into Tanner's little pot belly. I smiled widely, biting my lower lip as Zach turned to me, barely able to contain his excitement.

I threw my arms around his neck as he hoisted me into the air for a moment, twirling all three of us around in a quick circle before setting my feet back against the concrete.

"Great game honey." I smiled at him, capturing his lips in a quick kiss. I wanted to give him so much more, but what I really wanted to do to him, wasn't appropriate for the place or people who were surrounding us at the moment. I sighed inwardly, knowing I wouldn't be able to do anything with Zach since he would be heading back to the Olympic Village.

"It was a pretty great game, huh?" He asked more to Tanner than me. He turned to his parents, smiling widely at his dad, his dimples puncturing his smooth skin. Donna wrapped him into a huge before JP did, squeezing Zach's shoulders as both were very conscientious of the baby in between their bodies. They both pulled away and started to laugh as Tanner was grasping JP's jersey in both of his little fists. He tugged the fabric to his jersey, tilting his head back to his dad to show him the similarities. He gurgled out a smiled as Zach nodded to him.

"Is that just like yours bud? Yeah it is." Zach kissed the top of his head, looking over at me and smiling softly. He jerked his head for me to come over and he wrapped an arm around my shoulder, giving me my own kiss on the head. I sighed softly as I wrapped my arms around his waist while Zach jumped into a conversation with his dad about the game. Donna and I rolled our eyes at each other, knowing this was going to take awhile. And we were right. Zach finally noticed that Tanner had long since fallen asleep while I was on my way there; the weight of mine that Zach had to support grew more by the minutes.

"My babies are tired," Zach stated, looking down at Tanner and then me, pressing his mouth to the top of my head. I closed my eyes and snuggled into him. "I'll bring you guys back to the hotel. I want to know you're safe; plus I wanna put Tanner down and tuck you in." I chuckled softly and followed after Zach as he lead the way to my rental car.

Zach drove to the hotel and we were back in mine and Tanner's room in less than a half hour. I yawned and walked to the bed, kicking off my red, white, and blue Nikes. I flopped onto the plush mattress, pressing my face into the white sheets as Zach walked over to Tanner's crib, cooing to the sleeping little boy.

"Daddy misses you so much even though you're right here." He whispered softly as I smiled, tears pressing against the back of my eyes. Watching him with Tanner was so sweet. It was the way he cared more about his son than anything else; hockey never, ever got in the way of Tanner Parise. "I love you buddy. I'll see you soon, okay? You won't even have time to miss me." He gave the little boy one more kiss on his head. He closed his eyes, turning towards me. "I don't want to leave you guys." He pouted at me.

"Honey, go celebrate with your teammates," I smiled at him, my eyelids so heavy that I was having a hard time watching Zach cross the room to me. He kneeled down on the bed before collapsing next to me. "Zach," I warned, snuggling into his side.

"I'm just going to lay here for a little bit." He told me, rubbing Tanner's back as the baby twitched in his sleep. We both watched him for a moment, both of us relaxing once his muscles unwound again.

"Fine, but do not fall asleep." I warned him, my voice not as stern as it should be.

"I won't," he mused to me, his voice already sounding far away as I slid into a deep sleep, exhausted after such an exhilarating win.
***

I groaned and rolled over, my arm wrapping around Zach's waist as the sun shone through the curtains. I peaked one eye open as I trailed my hand up Zach's stomach, stopping when I felt a little sock clad foot. Tanner was gurgling as he watched me, already up and ready to go while his parents slept soundly. I flew up, realizing the light meant it was morning and that Zach had done exactly what I told him not to. I looked at the clock, grabbing Tanner from Zach as the baby began to cry, wanting to be with his dad.

"Sh, Tanner, it's okay." I told him, starting to shake Zach. Tanner sensed the franticness as my heart beat quickly. He wailed which is what eventually cause Zach to awake, not my persistent shoves.

"What's wrong?" Zach asked, flying up in the bed as he placed a hand on Tanner's back, trying to take him from me. I slapped his hand, shoving him off the bed.

"There is no time to deal with him. I've got him; you need to get your ass to practice." I shoved him towards the door as he glanced behind me at the clock. His eyes widened and he reached behind me.

"Gotta take the car!" He exclaimed, racing out the door but not before kissing Tanner's head. "Bye baby boy. Daddy will come see you tonight. Promise." He gave me a quick kiss on the lips, less than what he wanted to do as he pulled away, giving me a longing look before sprinting down the hallway. I shook my head as I watched him go, bouncing Tanner and keeping him from seeing his dad leave. If he saw, he would never settle down not until Zach was holding him again.

"Daddy is silly baby boy," I giggled as Tanner chewed softly on his gums, his eyes lowering in slight pain. "What's wrong baby?" I asked him, nuzzling his nose with mine. He whimpered softly, burying his face in my shoulder. "I think you're teething baby P. You've been chewing on your finger and anything else you can get your hands on. You're gonna get chompers soon. I can't wait until you can bite." I rolled my eyes at my last comment. I could most definitely wait for that.

Tanner and I went around Vancouver for the rest of the day, waiting for Zach to be free. We went shopping for clothes for the both of us, finding a couple items that just made me swoon when I pictured my little boy in them. I ate lunch and fed Tanner just in time for Zach to text me that he was done. I told him to meet me at a Starbucks a couple blocks away from the Olympic Village. I had just gotten my white chocolate mocha when I felt a pair of arms wrap around me while Tanner giggled immediately.

"Hey buddy! I told you would see me." He wrinkled his nose cutely at Tanner who gave him a wide smile. Zach's eyebrows lowered in confusion as he squinted into Tanner's mouth. "Come here, Tan the man." Zach murmured, taking him from my arms. I watched as he used a finger to open Tanner's mouth, running a finger along his gums. "I see why you have been so touchy without daddy." He crooked a finger at me as he opened Tanner's mouth to show me the white bumps were his two front teeth were starting to poke against the top of his mouth.

"Oh! Baby! He is teething! I thought so! He's been so crabby and chewing on everything he can." I grabbed Tanner's cheeks, kissing each of them before kissing his lips. The baby smiled up at us, having no idea what we were talking about but happy he made his parents smile. "You're so cute, bud." I kissed his forehead as Zach swung him around when we got back out into the cool Vancouver air.

"It is beautiful here," Zach murmured, "you fit in well." I glanced at him, shaking my head as we both laughed at how terrible corny that was. But it made my cheeks tint pink at the nice compliment.

"When do you have to be back?" I asked, lacing our fingers together while he held Tanner against his hip.

"At 9 to do a little bit team bonding stuff. I wished I could bring you back with me." He whispered, wrapping an arm around me, kissing the top of my head.

"I hate being away from you," I whispered softly, pushing my nose into his side. He steered us into a park in the center of the city, walking along the path and to a bench where he sat down, letting Tanner stand on the ground. He looked down, grasping his dad's hands tightly as he scuffed his tiny foot against the ground. He looked over at me, his brown eyes soft as he stared at me. He whined for me, letting our a soft yell as he tried to move out of his dad's grip.

"You want mama?" Zach asked, letting his grip loosen and swinging Tanner into my arms. "I hate being away from the two of you. It's hard when you are only a couple of blocks away and I'm sleeping alone in my bed listening to Jamie snore." He rolled his eyes, caressing my cheek. Tanner reached for his dad, patting his chest and now demanding his attention also. "You are so spoiled." He laughed, kissing his cheek softly.

"Yes he is. Just like his father." Zach looked up at me, giving me a very unamused look. "Truth hurts baby."

"Yeah, yeah. God, when did he get so big?" Zach asked, watching as Tanner played with my hair, for once enjoying the smooth silk instead of tugging as hard as he could on the strands. He examined the ends, twirling the strands as we watched him.

"I don't know, but he needs to stop growing up." I sighed, running a hand over his thick, brown hair.

"Once he gets old enough, we're having another." Zach told me, kissing my temple.

"Can we get married first?" I asked him, pointing a the ring on my left finger.

"Of course, only five months." He winked.

"Oh god, five months and Tanner turns one. Time just needs to slow down." I whimpered and let a pout fixate it's self on my lips.

"I know," Zach responded as Tanner wrapped his hand around his fingers squeezing tightly. "But he is only the first of many." Zach winked at me as I widened my eyes, giving him a look.

"Excuse me?" I flipped my hair over my shoulder, giving him a stare down. He laughed softy nodding.

"Yep. We're having a line up." He assured me, kissing my cheek as Tanner squealed for his a kiss of his own. "Hi!" Zach exclaimed as Tanner whacked at his face. I laughed loudly at the exchange between my two boys. Zach took Tanner from me, not able to keep him out of his arms for too long.

"How are you going to survive the rest of these Olympics without holding that boy everyday?" I giggled, knowing that when it came to the home stretch, Zach would be too busy to see us. It was something we had talked about but I could handle it just fine.

"I don't know. I'm going to need to get my Tanner fix somehow." He murmured as he stood Tanner on his thighs so the baby could lean down to wiggled his nose against his dad's. He puckered his lips just like he had watched his dad do to me and Zach gave him a kiss on those tiny lips that made me smile softly.

"I hope all of our babies are just like him."

"Me too," I whispered, closing my eyes and picturing my future wrapped in Zach's arms. I could already see it; the two of us sitting on our front porch in Minnesota, watching the kids run around the spacious back yard, chasing each other along with Mikko in all the seasons. I grinned at the thought of how good of a big brother Tanner would be, so full of love and compassion. I sighed happily as Zach ran his fingers over my arms, thanking the higher powers for how perfect my life was turning out to be.
♠ ♠ ♠
yeah yeah. sue me, this isn't exactly like the Canada game but whatever.
comments would be appreciated.
I know a lot of people are reading this story and a lot of people also don't comment.
no big! just comment now for me :D
I love comments lots. They make me want to write.
btw, sorry for the crazy long wait.