It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

For her own sanity, Bristol had turned off her cell phone and refused to look at any sort of television. If she walked past the computer she knew she’d be tempted to hop on Yahoo! Sports and check all the free agent transactions and trades. Before giving Dan possession of her cellular device, Bristol was checking it at least twice in a span of five minutes making sure there was no text message she had missed. Dan refused to leave his phone sitting around, for the first time since he caught the Twitter bug the Blackberry was glued to his hand. The last thing he needed was to miss the call from his agent.

Keeping herself busy with domestic activities, Bristol had just about cleaned the house from top to bottom. The kitchen floor was sparkling now that she finished scrubbing it on her hands and knees. The smell of Mr. Clean and bleach was so strong she wouldn’t be surprised if the neighbors could smell it. A fresh breeze flew in from the open windows giving Bristol the real feeling of summer. Lathering her hands on lotion, she put away her cleaning supplies and headed upstairs with the basket full of clean laundry. Dan was sitting on the bed, his eyes focused on the NHL Network watching as names passed on the ticker at the bottom of the screen. He turned when he saw her enter, she was stressed out enough, and Dan didn’t have to add to her exasperating day by having it on the television all day.

Dumping the clothes on the made bed, Bristol sat down with her legs tucked under her. She picked up a shirt, folded it and placed it beside her. “Have you heard anything?” It had been nearly three hours since the free agency opened. He had been talking to a few teams, but none of them were really worth mentioning to Bristol.

“No serious offers have been made yet. Just throwing numbers out at this point.” Dan rubbed the small of her back. The tight knots in her muscles were tangible under the pads of his fingers. Her mood was too good to have heard the news he was informed of fifteen minutes ago. “Have you talked to Kris?”

Bristol pulled the wrinkles out of a pair of his jeans before folding them. “No. Why?”

Biting his tongue, Dan turned off the television completely. He could see a rough night for Bristol ahead and didn’t want to be the one to break the news to her. Everyone who knew Kris were aware Bristol would be the last informed. Dan figured he was sitting at his place trying to find the right words to break the news as easy as possible. To even out the roughness, Dan hoped he could give her some good news later.

“I was going to head over there maybe later. It’s been three days since I saw him last.” With the exception of vacations and visiting family, three days was a fairly long time for the pair to be split up. Dan could only roll his eyes; Bristol had turned Kris into her bitch. Gathering the stack of clean sweatshirts, Bristol brought them into closet. On her tip toes, she tossed them up on the shelf on Dan’s side. She noticed a few of his dress shirts had been tossed up there, too. Bristol grabbed the tangled ball.

“I was thinking later tonight we could meet up with Kr—.” Straightening out the black button up, Bristol’s words abruptly stopped when a foreign object fell into her hand. Dan felt panic swamp in his belly when he heard her voice trail off. Rolling off the bed, Dan leaped to the closet where he found Bristol’s back to him. When she turned around, Dan’s eyes bugged out and his heart nearly jumped out of his chest. Bristol’s voice came out in a hushed tone; he could tell she was shaking. “What is this?”

Stepping closer, Dan took it out of Bristol’s hand. Holding it up, he laughed to himself. He knew he should have hidden it better—the closet was her domain. “You weren’t supposed to find this.” Setting the robin’s egg box on the shelf, Dan walked forward to take her face in his hands. “Bristol Giordano, I love you.”

The fist around her heart clenched and released as she lowered her forehead to his. Closing her eyes, she took in a deep breath. “Say it again.”

“It’s the first time I’ve said to anyone—this way. For a reason I don’t even know I thought it would be hard to say. But, it isn’t. I love you, I love who we are together, I love who we’ll grow to be. I’m going to screw up, and so will you, we’re not perfect; we’re human. We’ll argue, we’ll hurt each other, we’ll laugh and we’ll make love. We need to promise to try not to let each other leave.”

He captured her lips with his. Bristol knew it was the promise—it was everything she’d been waiting for. She had Daniel and he loved her. “I am so happy I decided to do the laundry today.”

Dan’s laugh was muffled against her lips. Tipping his head back, he continued with his sentimental speech. It surprised him how easily the words were coming to him. “I really needed to tell you that and couldn’t wait. But you, Bristol, you’re the one who has been waiting.”

“Okay,” Bristol let out the breath she had been holding and still not really sure if what was happing was real. She wanted to pinch herself and hoped the box didn’t contain another pair of earrings. “I must admit, when we were in Chicago and you opened the box to the earrings, I was partially relieved when I saw it wasn’t a ring. Dan, that feeling of relief scared me. But, I’m not scared anymore.”

“I want you in my life, Bristol.”

“Then ask me.”

Grabbing the box off the shelf, Dan removed the white, satin ribbon and pulled the top open. Inside sat the most beautiful diamond ring Bristol had ever seen. It was more than she could ever ask for—a classic Tiffany engagement ring. Adjusting his jeans, Dan got down on one knee. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it the right way. Bristol began to shake and she covered her mouth with her right hand as Dan held her left in his.

“I love you more than I thought I could ever love another. Bristol, will you marry me?”

“Yes!” The platinum was cool as Dan slipped the band on to her finger. He drew her to him and held on. Her fingers tangled in his hair as their lips met half way for a kiss.

---

Bristol excitedly knocked of the door of Kris’ apartment. She was unable to keep her eyes off the diamond ring secured around her finger and he was the first person she wanted to tell. Kris hadn’t answered his phone when she called him—something he rarely did. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she had forgotten about the signing frenzy and when Kris finally answered the door it was clear he hadn’t been expecting her.

“Bristol, what are you doing here?”

Unable to contain her happiness, Bristol broke out in a gigantic smile as she flashed her ring. “I’m getting married! Can you believe it? Dan finally asked.”

It took him a second to register the ring being shoved in his face. Grabbing her hand, Kris examined the rock, impressed Dan had picked that out. He probably had help. Pulling her into a hug, Kris tightly wrapped his arms around her just enjoying the feeling of having her close. “That’s amazing news, Bristol. I’m beyond excited for you.” Her spirits were high and he wanted to send her home as quick as possible so he wouldn’t be the one to put a damper on her. It was an exciting day; she should be on the phone with all her friends and family. Showing off her new piece of jewelry to other women and silently laugh as they grew with severe jealousy. Kris now had to find a way to keep Allison from finding out about the engagement. It wouldn’t be long until his girlfriend would begin aching for a ring. “Come sit down. I’ve got something I have to talk to you about.”

Confused by his downer mood, Bristol agreed to come in. Setting her bag on the dining room table, Bristol sat on the couch. She crossed her legs and crossed her arms over her chest. The setting suddenly felt all too familiar. His demeanor told Bristol he had something serious to talk to her about. The television had been turned off; no music was turned up in the background and he looked tired even though she knew he’d had a full night sleep. “What’s going on?”

“There is no easy way to say this so I’ll just come out with it. I’m going to Florida. Tallon wants me to play for the Panthers.” Kris shrugged, apathetic to his future. He had grown to love Philadelphia. “At least I’ll be there with Soupy, Kopy and Skille.”

“Everything will be fine, Kris. We got through it once; we’ll get through it again. Philadelphia has been one hell of an adventure, eh?”

“More for you than me.”

Bristol playfully punched Kris in the shoulder. No matter how many times she said she couldn’t wait to get out of the city, Bristol knew she would miss it. The best five months of her life had taken place in the vary apartment she sat in. Kris disappeared in the kitchen and came back several moments later with a bottle and two shot glasses. Setting them on the coffee table, Kris pulled the cork out of the bottle of tequila with a struggle. He handed her a full glass. “No city will ever be as sunny as Philadelphia.”

---

Bristol came home hours later carrying a brown bag full of their favorite Chinese food. She wasn’t in the mood to cook and looked forward to a quiet night. There was still no word on what team had made offers to Dan. He refused to tell her anything. Slipping her shoes off at the front door, Bristol jogged up their stairs to find Dan sitting on the sofa with his phone glued to his ear. He was giving some sort of interview; she could he was answering questions.

She wouldn’t say it was weird, but Bristol felt a vibe as she unpacked the white take-out cartons. The scent of veggie fried rice spread throughout the kitchen, causing her stomach to roar with hunger. The feeling a reassurance filled her. It was as if something, or rather someone was holding her hand, telling her things were about to get lighter. She knew the knot in her life would eventually straighten out. The ring she now had on her finger proved it. Bristol hadn’t come to Philadelphia looking for anything except a good time and a chance to party with Kris. She had gotten her good time, but she had also gotten the man she least expected to even form a friendship with.

A goon on skates, Bristol had called him. A man who had no respect for anyone and wasn’t happy unless someone was bleeding. But all it took was a night at the bar and a bowl of her chicken soup to make her realize people aren’t exactly the same on the outside as they were in. Bristol had to forgive him for the mistakes he made because in the end Dan was right. They were both going to screw up; they were going fight and she was sure his day of karma wasn’t too far around the corner. She was ready to begin a new life in a new city with her beloved fiancée.

Setting his Blackberry on the counter, Dan pushed his hands through his hair. Bristol hadn’t decided if it meant good news or not. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and popped the top before taking a seat at the table. “You might want to sit for this.” Sliding into the chair adjacent from him, Bristol laced her fingers and placed her hands in her lap. “I was only able to get a one-year contract out of them but, I’m going to sign it because I know it’s the best move for you and me. It wasn’t the greatest offer that came in, but sometimes a man has to put business aside and look at what’s best for his family.”

Anxious to hear what he had left to say, Bristol just hoped he wasn’t about to tell her they were staying in Philadelphia. “Where are we going?”

“I’m bringing you home.”

His answer confused her. “Bring me home? Philadel—.” Dan could see the tears welling in her eyes as it finally hit her. He signed with Chicago. The one crest Dan had said he would never wear just over a year ago. She wiped one of her tears away; still in shock over the fact. Bristol just hoped his decision hadn’t been based solely on her.

“Please tell me you’re crying happy tears.” It wasn’t the exact reaction he had expected.

“They are. I’m beyond happy.” Leaning over, Bristol pressed her lips his, capturing his bottom lip between her teeth as she slowly pulled away. Resting her back against the chair, she cocked her head to the side. “Orange wasn’t you’re color anyway. Now, red on the other hand…”