Your Eyes Tell Me What I Need to Know

Getting to her feet, Katrina couldn’t help the joyous expression on her face. It cancelled out how tired she was. The flight that she and Marc Staal had come in on had been delayed on the runway for two hours and it wasn’t how she pictured this vacation starting out. But after checking into the hotel that Hank had reserved for them, two separate rooms, they were on their way to see the man himself play. And it was worth sitting on the runway for two hours to see what he had done. Although she hadn’t gotten to talk to him before the game, Katrina was excited for Hank, his first shutout in the Olympics. Tugging on Marc’s arm to get him moving had no effect.

“He’s gonna have an interview and then he better shower and get dressed before you can go all crazy happy on his ass.”

“Marc, I haven’t seen him since Valentine’s day,” Katrina told him as she took her seat again while the place was starting to empty. “Don’t get all pissy because Sam couldn’t make it here or to the beach where you are going to be in a few days with your brother. You’ll be lobsters by the end of the trip.”

“So Sam told me that I have to ask you how things with you and Hank are going and make sure he’s treating you right after….”

“After everything that went down or after the scare?”

“Both I guess.” Marc as he shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m doing fine and Hank treats me well,” Katrina said. “Everything else stays between us.”

“And I tell Sam what exactly?”

“That I’m happy and it’s because of Hank that I’m happy, that’s all she wants to know.”

“And why couldn’t the two of you talk about his before?” Marc asked. “Save me from being the third person.”

“Ask your girlfriend not me,” Katrina said as they got up and started to head out to find Hank. “I kind of wish Hank wasn’t staying in the village.”

“I don’t need to hear what happens between you two.” Marc said.

“I’m not having sex with him,” Katrina said. “Well not lately anyways. I just meant, we both sleep better when we are in the same bed. That’s why I have my road games and yours. It just sucks, but we talk all the time, but it still isn’t the same.”

“You are in love with him, aren’t you?” Marc asked. “So that’s what Sam was getting at.”

“Sam knows, you know, Hank doesn’t so keep your mouth shut about it.”

“Kitty!”

Turning around, she saw who she was looking for. Running towards him she jumped at him, just like she had when she won her first game on her new team and Hank had been there to cheer for her. “Hank! You were amazing!”

Brushing her hair away from her eyes he looked into them. “You look tired. Did you miss the first flight you had booked?”

“Naw, we weren’t that lucky,” Marc spoke up as Hank let Katrina down to her feet. “We were stuck on the runway for two hours. She couldn’t sleep; she was worried she’d miss your game.”

“Kitty, you should have gotten some sleep.”

“I wanted to support you,” Katrina said. “I didn’t want to miss a minute of your playing time.”

“Yeah, that’s why you have a non team Sweden shirt on.” Marc grinned.

“Marc, I’m gonna tell Sam that your remains will be found in Vancouver if you don’t shut it.”

“What shirt do you have on?” Hank asked.

“My shirt isn’t important,” Katrina said. “What is important is you and me and food and sleep. Not in that order, but you get my drift.”

Placing a kiss on her lips softly, Hank took her hand into his. “Are you coming?”

Marc wasn’t sure if they were being nice or if they actually wanted him to hang out with him. He didn’t want to be a third wheel of any kind, even if it was with two friends, who were now together and from what he could tell they were actually happy. “I-“

“You better not be starting to flake out on us, Marc,” Katrina said as she dropped Hank’s hand and put the hood of her jacket up. Walking over to him, she smiled and grabbed his arm. “You are here to support Hank and your brother, so as long as they don’t play one another you can be seen with us, just like me and my team and Hank’s team.”

“You have another team?” Hank asked.

“I’m not telling you and neither will Marc if he knows what’s good for him,” Katrina said as she pointed to her back. “Like my jacket? I had it made for you.”

“And who are you supporting under the jacket?” Marc asked before Katrina sent him a glare.

“So are we going to go and get food or am I going back to the hotel to run up the room service bill and eat alone?”

“Are you gonna take your jacket off?”

“No and now I have my answer,” Katrina glared at them. “I didn’t have to come here ya know? I could have gone to sunny Los Angeles and spent time with Shannon and her husband. I don’t know why I came now.”

Walking past Hank after leaving Marc’s side, she continued to walk to where there was a bus that she could take to the hotel. She knew that they were just teasing, but when she was tired and hungry they should know that wouldn’t be the smartest time to be joking around with her about it. Feeling a pair of arms around her waist, stopping her from going any further. “Marc is just having some fun, let it go. I want to spend time with you and him. I haven’t seen you in days.”

“I told you that I had a mandatory practice,” Katrina said. “I can’t just stop and drop everything on a whim Henrik Lundqvist. I have to think about my career too. It’s how I make money.”

Keeping his arms locked around her, he kissed the side of her neck. “I know. I promise we’ll be nice at dinner, it’ll be my treat.”

Turning in his arms, she wrapped her arms around his neck before her lips met his in a kiss to let him know just how much she had missed him over the past few days. Hearing a throat clear from behind them, Hank went to separate from Katrina’s lips, but she used her hand to force his head back down to her.

“Seriously? In public?”

Finally breaking away from Hank, Katrina couldn’t help but have a grin splashed across her face.

Dinner went off smoothly. Currently it was just Hank and Marc at the table, since Katrina had made it known that she had to pee when Hank wouldn’t move to let her out of the side of the booth they were sitting on.

“You’ve been weird all night.” Marc told him finally speaking up after taking a bite of the dessert he had ordered.

“I don’t want Kitty to put her hand in my pocket,” Hank sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t have time to hide it yet.”

“Hide what?”

Pulling out the box out of his jacket pocket, he handed the black velvet box to his Rangers teammate and friend. “It’s something I want to give to her later tonight.”

Opening the ring box, Marc stared at a diamond ring. “That’s a big step. Especially since you two haven’t really been together all that long.”

“I love her. No other woman makes me feel like she does and none of them drive me as crazy as she does, but it’s not an engagement ring.”

“Sure does look like one.”

Marc stared at the three stone princess cut diamond ring that was on a white gold band. “That is just something I think we need right now.”

“An engagement?”

“It’s a commitment ring.”

“Commitment to what?” Marc asked as he handed the box with the ring back to him.

“I want to marry her,” Hank said. “I need her in my life.”

“Are you sure that this is what you want to do?” Marc asked. “Are you sure this has nothing to do with the fact that you thought you two were about to become parents because you weren’t careful about what you were doing?”

“I love her.”

“And how do you know she feels the same?”

“I don’t,” Hank said as he placed the ring box back into his pocket. “But I think she still feels as if I am going to go back to what happened before. Even if it’s different now, she doesn’t think it is.”

“Hank, this isn’t really any of my business, but what if she takes it the wrong way?” Marc questioned him. “Wouldn’t that be exactly where you were right before the scare?”

“All I know is I want her in my life.”

“I’ve been around too many of Sam and Katrina’s talks, but what is wrong with what you have right now?” he asked. “Aren’t the two of you happy?”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Katrina asked as she sat down next to Hank.

Looking between them, Katrina waited for a response, but neither of them said anything. “Did you want anything else to eat or are we all done?”

“I’m full,” Hank said, placing his hand on her knee. “Are you done? Do you want desert?”

“I’m fine,” she said with a small smile. “So what are we going to do tonight?”

“Sleep. I’m tired and I hope I’m not woken up because I’ll never let whoever does so live it down.”

“So after you fall asleep, no bucket of cold water?” Katrina asked. “You are no fun.”

“I’m gonna go back with you tonight.” Hank whispered to her.

“Okay, but I’m not sleeping with you.”

“You have to say that here?” Marc asked.

“I was simply making a statement.” Katrina grinned knowing that the blush on Marc’s face was due to what she had said to Hank.

“It’s not like he’ll want to sleep with you when he sees your shirt.”

“Why’s that?”

“It’s a guy thing.”

“Well I’m a chick, so I doubt he’ll hold it against me.”

After the bill was paid, Katrina, Marc and Hank made their way to the hotel. As soon as she was inside the room, she flopped down on the bed and closed her eyes. “Did you bring some of my clothes with you?”

“Just the casual stuff that you left on the bed,” Katrina said. “Checkers had fun exploring your apartment. It’s like a playground.”

“Why was Checkers at my apartment?”

“Because I had to get your clothes out of your apartment and I didn’t know that you had set out what you wanted on the bed and I wasn’t about to leave the baby in the car. Plus I was taking her to Sam’s since she said she would watch her while I was here.”

“And how long are you staying for?”

“The gold medal round,” Katrina smiled as she got off the bed and took off her jacket and threw it towards the suitcase that Hank was hovering over. “Can you put my jacket in there, please?”

Turning around, Hank caught the back of her shirt. The name Miller with the number 39 on the back.

“Kitty, are you kidding me?” Hank asked.

Turning around, Katrina looked at him. “What?”

“Miller?”

“I’ve got to support Team USA,” Katrina told him. “I’m American after all.”

“Why Miller?”

“It’s a goalie thing.”