You Can Let Go Now

Grief is the price we pay for love
-Elizabeth II

Sidney smiled as he did a body shot off his girlfriend. All the guys were hollering at them, joking around. They had just beat the Capitals on their home ice in game seven, and the Penguins were celebrating. He wasn't drinking that much-this shot was all he was having- because he had to drive himself and Emily home. It's not like he got drunk that often anyhow, he wasn't Staalsy or Max.

Once he finished he grabbed her off the bar top and carried her to the dance floor, for once actually wanting to dance. Emily brought her arms around his neck, his around her waist, and she kissed him. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," he replied, breathing her scent.

"I'm ready to go," she said after they danced and hung out for a bit, "I'm exhausted and I'm sure you are too."

He nodded and took her hand, "Let's say bye to the guys then we'll head out."

The bar was so crowded, he couldn't find any of his teammates except Flower, who was dancing with Vero. "Hey!" Sid yelled because of the loudness, "We're leaving, okay?"

Flower nodded gave him a toothy smile and waved to them. Sidney made sure he had a good grip on Emily's hand while he led them out of the club. Once they got out and had fresh air, Emily wrapped her arm around Sidney's waist. "I am SO glad you threw out Obitchken and the Craps, babe. I don't know what I would have done if you guys lost," Emily said, shuddering at the thought.

Sidney chuckled and pulled her closer. "Me neither. There wasn't a happier moment I've had after beating a team then I had when we beat them."

"Eight more wins and it's ours," Emily happily said.

"You say it as if it's easy. The hurricanes are going to be just as hard to beat as the Caps were. We're going to have to work-"

"Sidney, I'm not a damn reporter," Emily told him bluntly.

He blushed, "Sorry. I'm just nervous, that's all."

Emily kissed him on the cheek, "I have faith in you guys. You'll be fine."

Sidney didn't say anything else as they reached his car. "Come to my place tonight," Emily said as they stopped at a red light.

He looked over at her, "Emily..."

"I know, I know it's playoffs and you have your silly superstitions that drive me nuts. But you don't have a game tomorrow. Please?" She asked, giving him a puppy dog face.

Sidney gave in, "Fine, only cause I don't like the thought of you alone."

Emily smiled and jumped when the car behind them beeped, the light had turned green. Sidney barely got anywhere before he heard Emily scream and the next few moments were a fuzz. He heard screeching and a crash.Then everything was black. When he woke up, his head was throbbing with pain. He felt blood dripping down his face, and when he moved to touch it, he felt a large piece of glass in his head. His breath quickened and he started to freak out. It became worse when he found that it hurt to breathe.t What happened? Where was he?

Then he remembered, Emily was there. He turned his head and almost threw up at the sight. His girlfriend had her head resting against the dashboard. There was a sea of red but through all of that and his pain, he could still see she wasn't moving. "No," he croaked, "Emily."

He painfully turned his body towards her; he moved his arm and gently nudged her. He was tired and hurt, everything was beginning to fade in and out of focus from loss of blood. "Emily! Please wake up!"

Before he could do anything more, everything turned to black.

Sidney shot up in bed, shaking. He felt tears and sweat on his face, but that wasn't what he cared about. This is what kept him up most nights, fearing this exact nightmare. It was reliving hell, and he couldn't escape it.He felt the vomit come up seconds before it happened. He quickly turned his head to the ground before his dinner come up.

He could remember every detail of that night, right up to when he pressed the gas peddle to go. Then everything got fuzzy. But he could remember what perfume she was wearing, what outfit she had on, every single detail of that night as if it was yesterday. Sidney's entire body shook with sobs as the images from that night played over and over.

Once he regained control of his feelings, he got out of bed, knowing he was not going to be sleeping anymore that night. After he cleaned up his mess, he went to the bathroom and threw water on his face, hoping the memories of that night would wash down the drain with the water.

After he finished in the bathroom, he walked downstairs and turned on the TV, hoping it would provide him some kind of distraction from the pain he was feeling.

Elizabeth couldn't get him out of her mind. Two days ago, she gave Sidney Crosby a lift home in her boat. Even though he said no more than five words, she couldn't get the damn kid out of her mind.

His soft looking skin, wet hair clinging to his head, and perfectly tan body sitting right in front of her. Hockey star or not, anyone would have stared.

He was mysterious, at least in her opinion. From what she saw of him in the few interviews and articles she had seen about him, he was the 'perfect guy' who always did the right thing. However, she got the feeling there was more to him. That maybe he wasn't as perfect as he tried to act.

She was hooked on a guy she had known for five minutes. She wanted to figure out what he was holding inside.