One Drink Too Many

Getting married when they were so young wasn't the biggest mistake she had ever made. Nor was having their son soon after. And neither was having his second child. What had been the biggest mistake was not finding help for his problem as soon as it happened. She never realized how big of a problem it truly was until she was in her twenty-fifth week of her second pregnancy. Things at home weren't ideal or raising a family. It was at times like this she wished she had some family around that she could go to. His family was all the way in Minnesota and her family on the other hand didn't want anything to do with her. That was one of the factors of why she agreed to get married. He was going into the NHL and could provide her with what she would need.

Looking at him from the doorway of their bedroom, she rubbed her large stomach. He was passed out in the middle of the bed. One thing she knew was for sure, she couldn't raise a family in this environment. He might not have ever raised a hand to her, but there were things he said that would never go away. Words that were always in her mind. “You are no better than those puck bunnies at the rink. The only difference between you and them is that ring on your finger.” Wiping away the tears in her eyes, Alexa grabbed the bag she had packed the last time this had happened a few days ago. When she tried to leave, he had talked her out of going by telling her things that he knew she feared more than anything. At the moment he couldn't stop her. Her mind was set all she had to do was put her bag along with her son's in her car and then they'd be gone. She only had one person she could turn to and she was thankful for that.

Moving away from the doorway with her bag in hand, she closed the door softly as to not to wake him and alert her husband as to what she was doing. She waited a few seconds to see if she heard any movement from the bedroom and when she was sure that he was still asleep, she walked away from the door. She went towards the front door and opened it. Grabbing the second bag that was there, she made her way towards her car. Opening the trunk, she placed the luggage next to the pack and play where her son would be sleeping. Closing the the trunk, she walked back into the house. Walking inside she walked to her son's room where he was taking his afternoon nap. As he got older it was harder and harder to get him to go down. Carefully picking him up, he snuggled into her before she placed a kiss on his forehead. “Everything will be okay, I promise you.” she said softly to him as she grabbed his favorite stuffed dog that one of her friends had sent to her when she told her about her pregnancy. Jennifer was the only true friend she had before she met the man she loved. Walking to the chair by the window, she grabbed the bag of clothes she forgot earlier. She had diapers and wipes as well as clothes for her son. She put as many clothes as she could in the bag since she wasn't sure when she would be back. Looking around the room, she made sure she had everything they would need and anything she didn't have she could go out and get later on.

With the bag over her shoulder and her son sleeping in her arms, Alexa walked out of the room and out the front door and to her car. Securing her son into his car seat, she grabbed a blanket that she had previously left in her car, she folded it in half before rolling it and placing it so that his head wouldn't be at a funny angle. Closing the door she smiled as she watched him sleep before opening her door and getting in. Bringing her eyes up to the house, she let out a sigh before starting the car and buckling her seatbelt. Backing out of the driveway, she started the drive to the one person that would understand and allow her and her son to stay with him.

The drive had relaxed her until she saw the lights from the police car behind her. Looking down at her speedometer she noticed she was going a little fast, but she didn't think it was that fast. Pulling over, she waited for the officer to approach her car. Taking a deep breath, she glanced at her sleeping son. Rolling the window down when she saw the officer next to her door.

“License and registration.”

Nodding her head, she grabbed her purse and pulled out her drivers license and handed it to him before undoing her seatbelt and slightly moving over and pulling out her car's registration out of the glove department. Sitting back she handed it to the officer before looking at him.

“Alexa Oshie?” he asked, lowering his sunglasses.

“Yes?” she asked, slightly worried.

“I know you,” he smiled at her. “You're married to TJ Oshie from the Blues. I'm a huge fan.”

“I'm sure that TJ would have loved to meet another fan.” Alexa told him as she put a fake smile on her face. She had to learn how to smile even in situations where smiling was not what she wanted to do.

He handed her the registration and her license back. “Well, Mrs. Oshie I would have to advise you to watch your speed. I'm going to let you off with just a warning.”

“Thank you officer.”

“Tell your husband good luck with the next season.” he told her.

“I will,” she told him. “Thank you so much.”

Watching him walk back to his patrol car, Alexa ran a hand over her face and let out a loud sigh. She was thankful that she had been in the public eye with TJ. Normally she would not like to take advantage of TJ's stardom, but it saved her from a ticket and delaying her get away from her husband. She watched as the patrol car passed her before taking out her cell phone. Opening it up, she saw there were four missed calls from TJ and one from David Backes. Exiting the missed calls list, she called David Backes.

“Hey, TJ has been calling everywhere for you. Are you on your way?”

“Yeah, TJ was asleep when I left. He binged last night. I can't stand the stress and I just want him to get some help, but he's not understanding that if he doesn't get the help he needs he's gonna lose both me and his son. I don't want to take his son away, but I can't have him grow up in that environment. I love him and I can't stand what he's doing.”

“Lex, you need to calm down. Take a deep breath. Is Timmy in the car with you?”

Wiping the tears from her face, Alexa took a deep breath. And then another one.

“He's sleeping in his seat. I'm about ten minutes away from your place. Are you sure I can stay with you? I can find a hotel or something.”

“I would rather have you here, where I can help with Timmy and you can relax a bit. Just get over here, Lex. I'm your friend and no matter what we are always going to be.”

“Okay. I'll see you soon.”

“Drive safely.”

“Bye David.”

Hanging up her phone she put it inside her bag and placed it on the floor of the passenger's side. Rubbing her stomach as she looked into her mirror at her sleeping son, she knew things would be okay. “Everything will be okay. Daddy needs to realize that he needs some help, but we'll be okay as long as we are together.”

Putting her seatbelt back on, she started the engine again before continuing on her way to David Backes' home. David Backes and his wife Kelly had been there when TJ started drinking again. A year sober was gone. Proud was an understatement of how she felt knowing how hard it must have been for him to give up the drinking. He seemed happy, especially when Timothy Oshie the third was born. She wished there had been something she could have done to stop him from taking that one drink again. It was the one drink that had set him back and now here she was, driving away from the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with and the father of her son and the baby that was growing inside of her.

The rest of the drive to the Backes home was uneventful. For that Alexa was thankful. Pulling up into the driveway, she parked the car and grabbed her bag before getting out of the car. She felt her phone vibrating in her bag as she opened it up and fished the phone out. Opening the phone, she looked at the picture of the person calling her and it was the one person she couldn't talk to at the moment. Closing the phone she placed it back into her bag as she opened the back door to her car. Leaning in she saw that her son was up from his nap. Looking into his eyes, she saw blue with a specks of brown. It made up both their eye colors. Unbuckling his car seat, she held him in her arms as she brought him out of the car.

She tried putting him on the ground, but he wouldn't have any of it. Hearing the front door open, she heard someone walking towards them. Seeing David Backes, she let out the first real smile she had all week. Dealing with TJ had taken a lot out of her and she was thankful to be out of there, but at some point she knew she would have to go back and talk to him or something. Once David got up to her, he saw him smile at her before looking at Timmy. “He's been growing.” he said as he opened his arms for the two year old to come to, but instead, he dug himself into his mother's neck. “Bags in the trunk?”

“Mine are and his is on the other side of the car. I almost forgot it along with some toys.” Alexa said.

“Don't worry about it,” David said grabbing the bag from the trunk before going around the car and getting Timmy's bag of clothes as well as the bag of toys. “Let's go in.”

“David, I just want to thank both you and Kelly for everything your doing for me. I don't know how I can ever repay you.”

“You don't need to repay us,” David said as they walked into the house. “Kelly and I are happy to have you here. TJ hasn't been the same for awhile and to be honest, he never let it affect his game before, but at the end of the season I think it was noticeable to some of the other guys, but they didn't say anything.”

“He can be a mean drunk.”

“He shouldn't be buying so much booze when he has a family to take care of. I mean he has one son and another baby on the way. He needs to grow up and get some help since he can't seem to kick the habit by himself.”

“A year is a long time,” Alexa said kissing the side of her son's head. “I forgot the pack and play in the car.”

“You won't need it,” David said. “Kelly ordered a crib. Timmy and you have a huge room, enough room for a crib and so she went out and got one and I put it together about an hour ago. We weren't sure if you would leave or not.”

“I had to make sure that he was passed out before I could. He wouldn't have let me go on my own otherwise.”

“I'm gonna put these in the guest room, I'll show to you later and you make yourself at home.”

“Thanks David,” Alexa said. “Do you think you could watch Timmy for a bit? I didn't bring any food with me and he can be a picky eater.”

“I'll watch him, but Kelly is going shopping as soon as she gets out of the shower so why don't the two of you go together?” he called down to her.

Setting herself in the recliner, Alexa let out a content sigh. She was away from TJ and she could relax from something hurting her son or something happening to her which would hurt their unborn child. Her children came first, she wouldn't let anything happen to them. TJ wouldn't hurt them, at least not on purpose, but what happens when he runs out of alcohol and he isn't drunk enough to pass out? How would he take care of Timmy's needs while he can barely stop drinking? No, Timmy was better off with her at the Backes' home. She trusted them more than she did her own husband at the moment and that was hard to admit. Trusting him wasn't supposed to cause so much doubt, but that was his own fault.

“Hey, little man, wanna come play with Uncle David and the puppies?”

Timmy looked at his mom and she smiled and nodded her head and he slipped out of her lap and took David's hand and walked with him into the backyard. David had Timmy, Kelly was upstairs in the shower, so she decided that if she closed her eyes for a bit then it would be okay. Things would be okay, that was what she kept telling herself and she tried to believe it, not for her own sake, but the sake of her marriage and for her kids.

Two weeks went by without any contact from TJ. She had a doctor appointment and so Kelly was watching Timmy so she wouldn't have to worry about him. After her appointment she turned her phone back on and called Kelly to check on how Timmy was doing. She wanted to stop at home to see if TJ had sobered up or not. He had called the previous night, but it was when she was giving Timmy a bath so she couldn't answer him. After the bath, they sat in the rocking chair while she read one of the book Kelly had bought for him while they were at the store one day. Getting him to bed was easy, but she found herself tired, but she called him back twice and there was no answer. That made her wonder if he was drinking again after he had sent her a text three days ago saying that he was stopping the drinking and wanted to go to her appointment with her. This wasn't an appointment he needed to be there for, so she ignored the fact that he wanted to go. She should have tried harder to make him understand instead of ignoring him, but she didn't.

“Hey, are you out already?”

“Yeah, I was wondering if you and Timmy were okay for now. I want to go and check and find out if Teej is just ignoring me or out of the house or if he's drunk off his ass, but if he's being a monster then I'll come back.”

“Are you sure you want to go there by yourself?”

“I'm only checking on him, but I just need to see if he's being genuine about stopping drinking, maybe he'll actually want to get some help since he had the relapse. I don't want to give up on him or our marriage.”

“You really love the douche bag, don't you?”

“I do. So would you mind if I took a small detour before coming back to your place?”

“Lex, I know you want nothing more than for things to work out, but have you thought about what will happen if things don't work out?”

“Not really,” Alexa admitted. “I think the space might have given him some insight that he doesn't want to be away from Timmy. If it gets worse I'm going to have to call his family. If I can't get through to him then maybe they can.”

“David can meet you there if you want. I'll be fine with Timmy. He's in your area anyways, I can call him and tell him to swing by if you want him to.”

“No, I think I need to do this on my own. I'll call David if I need some help or anything.”

“Just be careful, Lex.”

“I will. Bye, Kelly and thanks.”

Hanging up the phone, she called TJ's phone. It rang which meant that it was on. His voicemail kicked in. Alexa hung up the phone and called his cell once again. The call once again went to voicemail. She sighed before hanging up the call and tossing the phone into the passenger's seat and pulling out of her parking space after buckling her seatbelt and driving to the house that she had considered home for her married life. But now she didn't have a home, staying with a friend didn't really count as a home, but maybe things would get better and they could be a family again without having to tell his parents or even his brother about the relapse.

The drive was short, but she didn't pull into the driveway. She slowly looked at the front of the house and saw his SUV still parked in the spot that her car had been in. “Fucking A Teej.”

Parking her car, she cut the engine once she pulled up to the curb and got out. With her keys in her hand she made her way up to the door and let herself in. Looking around, she didn't see him anywhere, but he was here. Making her way through the house, she went to the kitchen first. That's where she saw it and it brought tears to her eyes. On the counter was an empty bottle of Jack Daniels and next to it was a full bottle of Vodka. Walking over to the bottles, she saw the receipt as well as his wallet. Opening his wallet, she took his credit cards, his debit cards and all the cash he had in there before stuffing it into her bag and putting the wallet back on the counter.

Making her way out of the kitchen she moved down the hallway and opened the door to their son's room. Empty. It looked just how she left it two weeks ago. With a sigh, she closed the door before making her way to their bedroom. As she opened the door she saw TJ walking out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel.

“Lexie, baby...” he said walking over to her as he wrapped his arms around her. “I'm so glad your back. I knew you'd come back.”

It took all her strength to push him away from her. “I'm not back, Teej. How do you expect me to come back when your drinking like this? You fucking binged again. I don't understand why you are doing this.”

“So I like to drink, I'm not hurting anyone.”

“You're hurting me!”

“I never hit you.”

“You are emotionally abusive and you need to stop drinking or you won't ever see your son again or the baby I'm carrying now.”

“You can't keep my kids from me!”

His scream made her flinch, but she stood her ground.

“I love you Teej, but until you clean up your act you won't see your kids or me any longer. And if I have to I will let your parents know that you relapsed and I know they will kick your ass into gear. I just wish the kids and I were enough for you to realize you need some help.”

“I don't want your help.”

“Well you need it.”

“Baby....” he said walking closer to her. “We've been together awhile. You married me. So you should be thanking me not pulling this fucking shit on me.”

“I married you and I love you and I love that you've given me children, but I want you to live to see them have their own children.”

TJ sat on the bed and put his head in his hands and tugged slightly on his curls. “I could have had had a model or something, but I married you. Does that mean nothing to you?”

“I love you, but I'd love you more if you sobered up.”

After the words left her lips, she turned and slammed the door behind her. She headed down the hallway. Before she walked to the door she went into the kitchen and grabbed the unopened bottle of Vodka and continued towards the door. “Lexie! Wait!”

Opening the door, she grabbed his keys that were in the bowl next to the door before walking as quickly as she could to her car. He came outside when she reached her car. “Lexie, give me my fucking keys!”

Alexa continued to ignore him and got into her car and locked the doors before putting her seatbelt on and peeling away from the curb. Once she left the neighborhood, she pulled into a parking lot at the store they would normally get their groceries from. Taking her phone, she called David, as she sat in the car and let the tears fall from her face.

“Lex, are you alright?”

“He binged last night and I told him that he needs help and he was a jerk and he had an empty bottle of Jack Daniels and a full Vodka so when I left I grabbed it along with his keys. I took all his cards and the cash he had in his wallet.”

“I'm sorry Lex,” David said. “Are you sitting in the driveway or did you drive away?”

“I drove a few blocks and pulled into the shopping center. I don't know what else I can do for him besides try and get his parents to knock some sense into him. Did I do this? Did I drive him back to this?”

“Don't blame yourself for what he's doing. The only one he can blame is himself. Why don't you come back to the house now?”

“Is Timmy doing okay?”

“He's fine. I'm gonna start dinner soon and Timmy wants to see his mom.”

“I'll see you soon.”

Driving back to the Backes' home, it really hit her that the man she loved was going to need all the help he could get in order to sober up. She would have to call his family. He may say he hated her for this, but it was for his own good and she didn't want to see him end his life early. She wanted the happily ever after that they told in fairy tales. That wasn't too much to ask for is it? One thing was certain, she'd find out sooner or later. There was still a bit of hope in her that things could get better from this point on and at least she knew if she couldn't get him to do it for her, then she would have to take his kids and leave. She wouldn't be sure where exactly she would go, but it wouldn't be in St. Louis.

Pulling into the driveway, Alexa wiped the tears that had fallen from her eyes. Getting out of the car she grabbed her bag and the bottle of Vodka before shutting her car door and putting the alarm on it. Walking through the door, she heard the screaming voice of her little man. No matter how bad things got, her son could take the worse day and turn it into a better one with just one smile. A smile that was exactly like his father's.

Heading into the kitchen, she saw Kelly at the kitchen table and Timmy in the highchair she had bought for him. He had a messy face full of melted cheese from the grilled cheese sandwich Kelly had made. Half of it made it into his stomach while the other half was still on his plate. The dog was laying under the highchair just waiting for Timmy to drop some of his food. “Well it looks like someone is having a good lunch.” Alexa said smiling before placing a kiss on the top of Timmy's mop of brown curls.

“David called me and told me.” Kelly told her.

“I think I'm going to have to tell his family. I don't want to, but he's not going to get help until his family gets in his face. I've tried so many things, I want my husband back. The man I fell in love with.”

“How do you think his parents are going to react?”

“They'll be disappointed, but they'll be happy to get him back on track. I just hope it works.”

“I do too,” Kelly told her. “TJ might not be on my good side, but I want to see this little guy grow up. And the one inside you.”

Placing her hand over her stomach, Alexa walked over to the counter and placed the Vodka on the counter. “This one can stay in there for now. I took that from the house. Along with his keys, cash and cards. I'm not gonna let him buy liquor and pretend it doesn't bother me that he's not only hurting himself but me and his family.”

“I would have done the same thing.”

“When he saw me, he hugged me and thought I was coming home.”

“Hunny...”

“Being in his arms made me want to stay there. It felt so safe, until I smelled the Jack Daniels on his breath.”

“I'm sorry, Lexa.”

“Me too. I honestly don't know where we would be if you and David didn't open your home up to me and to my son I don't know how strong I could be. I might have even went back to him.”

“You can go back,” Kelly told her. “When he gets sober.”

“Are you okay with him? I'm gonna take a little nap after calling his parents.”

“Yeah, we'll be fine. After he finishes, Timmy and Aunt Kelly are going to the park. David is bringing dinner home.”

“You have fun with that. Let me know when you leave, yeah?”

“Will do.” Kelly smiled.

Another week passed before she heard anything from TJ's parents. She knew had to keep her distance while they got through to him. She was thirty weeks into her pregnancy and at her last doctor appointment, her baby finally was in a position where she knew what it was. Sleeping had become harder. She missed sleeping next to her husband, but it was just uncomfortable lately. She had taken to sleeping downstairs in the recliner. She missed him.

Five weeks before her due date, Alexa woke up to David shaking her arm slightly. Opening her eyes, she looked at him through hazy eyes. “I'm sleeping.”

“There is someone here to see you. This is someone you need to see.” he told her as he offered his hand to help her out of the chair she was resting in.

Running her hand over her face, she took his offered hand and got up. “Where is this person?”

“On the porch.”

Going towards the front door, Alexa heard Timmy start to yell for her. He was also up from his nap. “David-”

“I've got him, don't worry.”

Opening the front door, Alexa stepped outside in a pair of maternity pants and a St. Louis Blues sweatshirt that couldn't hide how big she had become. Her feet were bare and it had chilled off quite a bit.

“Lexie.”

Looking up, her eyes connected to those of her husband. She had the biggest urge to run and wrap her arms around him, but she didn't. She could feel tears prickling in her eyes. “Teej.”

“I'm so sorry,” he said as he walked closer to her. “I've hurt you so bad and I don't know how you can ever trust me again.”

“I guess your parents were able to get through to you.” Alexa said crossing her arms over her chest.

“Yeah, a royal ass kicking. They put things into prospective. Things about you and me. About our kids. I wasn't thinking. And I'm sorry.”

“So your-”

“Sober?” TJ supplied. “Yeah. I am.”

“How long?”

“Almost six weeks.”

“Your doing really good then.” Alexa said giving him a small smile.

“Yeah, it has been hard. Harder than the last time. But I knew I had to do it.”

“What has kept you sober all this time?”

“You. You and Timmy and the little girl in there.”

“Little boy.” Alexa corrected.

TJ looked up at her face, in surprise. “You found out?”

“He finally opened his legs so that the technician could let me know.”

“Another boy?”

“Yeah.”

“Lexie...” TJ said taking her hands into his. “Do you think you can come home now? Mom and Dad would love to see you again.”

“Teej, I love you, but I'm not ready to move back home yet.”

“I understand.”

“Your parents came all this way, so the least I can do is go out to dinner with them. All of us. You, me, Timmy. They helped you when I couldn't and so I guess I should thank them for that.”

“I know I have a long way before I can have your forgiveness for the things I said and the things I've done, but before our son gets here, I know I can try and get it.”

“I hope you can.”

Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, Alexa held onto him. “I love you Alexa. I love you and I love our boys.”

“I love you TJ Oshie. Even when you drive me completely insane.”

“This is the step in the right direction, I know it is.”

“Only time will tell.”

“Teej, I think that David and Kelly should be the godparents. They've done so much for me and Timmy when they didn't have to.”

“I couldn't agree more.”

With a smile he placed one of his hands on her large stomach.

“I promise Lexie, things will change.”