No Soul

Sidney wasn’t ready for the amount of people hanging around the arena when he arrived that day with Emma and Noah, he thought that they’d have a while for just the team and family before fans started to show up. Emma and Noah were pumped for the day, dressed warmly in their puffy North Face jackets, pom-pom hats and little blue mittens. They looked damn near identical if it weren’t for Emma’s little pink sheepskin boots and the pair of braided pigtails sticking out from under her hat.

Sidney felt terrible declining autographs and all that, but how was he supposed to sign and keep an eye on the twins?

“Sid, please? Please?” A little kid called out who couldn’t have been a year or two older than his own. Sid turned and kneeled in front of the twins, making sure they were both paying attention.

“Stand right here and here only. I will be right there.” He pointed to less than two feet away. “No moving.” He insisted. Emma and Noah both nodded, the little girl taking her brother’s hand in hers as they scuttled together with little smiles on their cherubic faces. Sidney walked over, glancing back to make sure the twins stood still as he began to sign a few things. He was in mid-signature of a young girl’s jersey when her father elbowed him. The captain looked up at the man who nodded behind him. Sidney spun around to see the twins talking to a man who was much too close to them in a Capitals jersey, obviously having had lured them to his side of the carpet.

Sidney’s long legs let him cross the carpet in two strides, getting right in the face of the man. He had no hesitation about grabbing him by the scruff where his jersey laid over his jacket and coming nose to nose with him – knowing full well that cameras were snapping.

“You mess with me, you meet me. You mess with my kids, you meet God.” Sidney hissed, his obsidian eyes glaring black at the man whom he had just struck the fear of God into. The man made no movement as Sidney dropped his collar, taking both Emma and Noah’s hands in his and storming into the building, their tiny legs barely able to keep up to his long strides.

“Daddy! Slower!” Noah huffed, tugging his hand out of his father’s as they reached the makeshift lounge for players and families.

“I’m sorry baby.” Sidney frowned, kneeling down to face them once again. “New rule.” He started. “We don’t talk to strangers, right?” He asked, making them both nod. “Even if they know your names, make sure that you stay away from strangers.” He added. “Sound good?” He asked, making them nod again with big eyes. “So stick with Daddy or Brianna.” He finished, fixing both of their caps again.

“This is not the da CEC.” Noah pointed out with a serious look. “Back to the car.” He turned, ready to head for the parking lot before Sidney could pick him up by his under arms.

“I know buddy, this is a special game, remember?” Sidney asked, looking down at his son who began to rack his tiny brain.

“Against the baddies!” Emma wiggled excitedly in remembrance. Sidney blushed, hoping no one around him could hear their conversation as he nodded in the affirmative.

“Right, and you two get to sit down in the crowd with Brianna and Arianna and Phoebe.” He added, making Emma smile. “I’m sure that if you ask nicely, they’ll buy you a hot dog, yeah?” He finished, already knowing that Brianna would be buying them both dinner at the game.

“Where Brianna?” Noah asked as Sidney took both of their hands again, leading them down to where most of the families would be until closer to game time where they could move together to find their seats. The game had already been pushed back twice and they were all anxious for the Winter Classic to begin.

“Daddy I’m hot.” Emma fiddled with the zipper on her coat before he could stop and take it off of her, tucking it under his arm as he took their hands again. Passing Coach Dan, Noah gained a retro looking hat, switching with the Coach for his knit WC beanie in promises to trade back before the game began. Noah liked to think he looked quite dapper in his new hat.

Emma and Noah were having a great time bouncing around the Steeler’s locker room, Emma with a football helmet on and Noah playing with the big Russian, Evgeni Malkin.

“Noah, Emmy.” Sidney called once he had dressed down to his compression shorts and Under Armour long sleeve. Emma ran to her Daddy excitedly, skipping in her Crosby jersey before hopping into his lap.

“Daddy you play football now?” She asked, looking up at him as a rogue curl fell into her face, causing him to fidget immediately and clip it back with a blue hairpin.

“No baby girl, I still play hockey.” He reassured as Ray Shero covered a laugh from across the room at the little girl’s question. “Time to go with Brianna.” He kissed the both of them before they could both give him high-fives as well, a new addition to his pregame ritual. “Behave and remember what we said about strangers.” He looked down at Noah who nodded in understanding. “One more for luck.” He laughed as Emma squealed with his big hands around her tummy, kissing her once more and patting her on the butt as she ran to Brianna who was waiting by the door. “See ya soon, little man.” He swatted Noah as well who ran to Brianna but stopped to wave goodbye to his Father.

Half an hour later, Sidney stood in the hall as the Penguins lined up, they would soon be walking out side by side next to the Capitals – all for the show of course – and he was shaking out the jitters. He did his handshake with Geno, messed around with Max and Craig, whacking one another with their sticks and bouncing off the walls. There had been so much leading up to this particular game, and though in the system, it was just another regulation game, it was so much more than that.

Sidney Crosby had a lot to prove, and tonight, he was leaving it all on the ice.

•••

Noah and Emma didn’t understand why Daddy couldn’t play horses, run around the backyard with them or take them skating any more. He had tried to tell them that he had a bad owie, but he should have been better by now.

“All right, thanks for coming, Pat.” Sidney ushered his agent out of his home. The captain wandered back to the family room, clad in a t-shirt and low-riding sweatpants as he joined the twins on the couch, turning the volume of Horton Hears a Who down a notch as he took a long sip of his water. Emma cuddled up to his chest, looking up at him cautiously before placing a kiss on the under side of his jaw. Sidney smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and cradling her to his chest tightly. Noah waddled out of the room in his Spiderman pajamas only to return a few moments later with a sleeve of Girl Scout cookies – the peanut butter ones that Sidney kept for special occasions.

He almost protested when the toddler offered him a peanut butter patty, but upon further thought, he accepted it, knowing that he really wouldn’t have a reason to keep his diet for another few months.

“Thanks buddy.” He sighed, wrapping his other, barrel-like arm around his son. They sat in a comfortable silence, watching as Horton tried his damndest to save the planet that was on the dandelion. He actually kind of liked this movie, sure, it was no Princess and the Frog but it was better than watching the Backyardigans for the umpteenth time.

Sidney glanced down at his phone that vibrated on the table, straining to see that it was a text message from Jasmine. He had seldom spoken to her since the hit that some people were calling “career ending” and felt bad, but right now, he didn’t think it would be wise to appear in the public eye like he wasn’t trying to get better. Now more than ever he was being staked out by press and under the eye of fans. They all wanted Sidney Crosby to either rise above or crash and burn. The truth was, he wasn’t even sure of the severity of his injury or how long it would take him to get back. However, unfortunately for his fans, his first and most important priority was trying to keep life as normal as possible for his twins.

“Knock knock.” Brianna called softly as she stepped into the family room, a laundry basket on her hip and a filled duffel with clean, tiny clothes for the twins. The sound of the washer and dryer were irritating to Sidney, it was all he could hear when they ran and it drove him to the end of his rope. Brianna, being the immaculate woman she was, took it upon herself to collect laundry at the Crosby home at the end of the week and toss it in with her own family’s each Saturday morning. She would wash the clothes, fold them, and bring them over by Sunday afternoon along with something for dinner. “I’m just gonna go put these away, okay?” She asked, keeping her volume down, seeing that Noah was asleep under his father’s arm.

“Thank you.” He whispered, letting his head fall back against the cushions of the sofa. He closed his eyes for what seemed like only a moment, but the next thing he knew, his daughter was gently shaking his arm.

“Daddy, we’re hungry.” She insisted. “Make dinners.” She commanded. Sidney lifted his head to see that two hours had passed. He rubbed a hand over his face, getting up from the couch, the twins following him into the kitchen like little ducklings. He smiled in relief upon seeing the lasagna in the fridge; the breadsticks on the counter and the bag of salad mix in the crisper drawer. On the cellophane covering the lasagna, she had marked which side of the lasagna was meat-filled and which half was cheese, sauce and noodles. He’d have to remember to thank her profusely one day. He heated up the oven, letting the twins help with the salad mix as they sat on the counter while all three of them nibbled on the garlic bread sticks.

After the twins were full and half of the pan of pasta had been demolished, he brought them up to bed, changing them both into a fresh pair of pajamas before tucking them into bed. He slowly made his way back to his own bedroom, glancing at his phone to see that he had no new texts, his teammates respecting his wishes of privacy for the time being. After laying down in bed, he took out his phone again, opening up his messages to see the three unanswered texts from Jasmine in the last week – scrolling to the most recent.

From: Jasmine
I know you must be busy relaxing :) let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

Sidney wasn’t sure what to say, and to be frank, staring at the backlit screen of the iPhone was making him wince. He set the phone back down on the nightstand after setting the alarm for a quarter to nine. Tomorrow would be another day. He would get up, consult with his doctor, then his agent, and then again with Shero and Coach.

His life had been changed forever and he’d need to adapt. Just as he was ready to fall asleep for the night and gain some rest, his phone jumped once more. At this point he was irritated and just wanted to sleep. He never expected to receive a message from his father.

From: Dad Cell
I’ll be there in a week