Just One Cup

Waking up to a warm, tight embrace was defiantly a different feeling...a good feeling. I smiled, my eyes still closed as I felt Sidney's arm draped across my side, his wide chest pressed to my back. I wonder if heaven feels this good, if so kill me now. I didn't want this to end. But when I cracked my eyes open and saw my clock read 8:57am, I let out a annoyed groan.

8:57am meant that we had to get up. That Sidney had to go to practice, play his game, and eventually leave for a long road trip.

I don't like 8:57am.

But he'll come back just in time for Christmas. I'm considering that a present to myself. At this point, no present could compare to Sidney's return. I had fallen hard for this guy . No one had this kind of effect on me. Sidney has changed my life...and I couldn't be happier.

8:59am.

Maybe I could jump in the shower quick before Sidney had to get up. I slid my legs out from under the covers and slowly lifted Sid's arm off me but his grip tightened, "What are you doing?" He mumbled.

"We need to get up. You've got practice." That answer just made him pull me closer to him, my legs back under the covers with no way out.

"I don't wanna go." I smiled.

"You need to get ready for your game tonight."

"Only to end up leaving for a week and a half."

"You'll be back before you know it. Now come on, I want to get in the shower."

"You know...they say people should save water."

"Yeah, and?"

"I think we should save water."

"How?" I asked looking back at him, eyebrow raised, a smirk matching his.

---

I followed Sidney's car to the arena parking lot, taking the spot beside his Range Rover. Even though he insisted on bringing Maddi and I back home, I told him that he needed to go home and get ready for him game and pack, and that I had some things I needed to do myself.

We walked through the players entrance, his arm around my waist. "I'm gonna go look for Maddi." I said when we arrived at the locker room doors. He nodded and pecked my lips before we went our separate ways.

From the hallway I could hear voices out on the ice; one a French Canadian accent, and the other a high pitch laugh. I walked over to the rink and found some of the guys ready for practice, goofing around with Maddi. She had her little skates on, a stick in her hands, and she was trying to get the puck away from Max.

Maddi was getting frustrated and ended up hitting Max on the foot with her stick," You hit me! That's it little girl, you're going down." Max dropped his stick and gloves, putting his hands up. Maddi laughed and copied him. Max sent little taps at her, pushing her away when she got close to him. Maddi slapped his hand away and it became a full out slapping fest.

"Max you better not be teaching her how to fight!" I yelled out to him.

Everyone turned and looked at me, "Danni!" Maddi said, sending me her mothers smile. Max took to opportunity to pick Maddi up and skate her over to me, "Haha I win! Five minute penalty." Max told the little girl. He sat her down on the ledge by the bench holding on to her so she wouldn't fall.

"How was your night Maddi?" I asked her.

"It was so much fun! Max and Geno and Jordan and Kris came over and we played games and wrestled and Vero made a BIG dinner and it was so good!" She answered in one breath.

"Wow, sounds exciting. Did you behave?"

"She was the best behaved little girl I've ever seen. She's a good wrestler too. She pinned Jordan." Max said, Maddi smiling at her accomplishments.

"Really? Jordan?" I looked over and saw Jordan. His tall stature would put Maddi to his knee cap, and she pinned him? They are too good to her.

"Flower said that we can have another sleep over whenever!" Maddi told me.

"I even told her that she could stay with me if she wanted or if you needed a babysitter." Max added winking. I knew I was blushing and there was no way I could hide it from the savvy hockey player.

"Sidney!!" Maddi yelled her smile reaching past her ears. Sidney waddled up to us dressed for practice.

"Hey there Maddi. How was your night?" He asked her.

"It was so much fun! Max and Geno and Jordan and Kris came over and we played games and wrestled and Vero made a BIG dinner and it was so good!" She repeated for Sidney.

"She even took out Jordan." I added.

"Gronk's never gonna live it down." Sidney said shaking his head.

"Come on Maddi, let's go do some laps." Max said, putting her back on her feet, taking her hand and skating away.

"I'll see you later." Sidney told me, jumping on the ice and joining his teammates. I waited at the bench for Max to return Maddi to me. And as I stood here, Jordan skated by, "Hi Danni." I smiled.

Then Geno went by, "Hi Danni."

"Hi Danni." Kris.

"Hi Danni." Tyler. What the fuck? The rest of the guys did the same thing but when Jordan came back around I noticed the smug look on his face and then on everyone else. Those fuckers know. I dropped my head at the thought.

"Hi Danni." If that voice had come from the ice I would've flipped them off, but it actually came from Coach Dan.

"Hey Dan."

"I see Maddi's getting the hang of skating and the guys."

"Yeah, she had a team bonding night with some of the guys." He laughed.

"She seems to have taken a liking to them, especially Sidney."

"She idolizes him. But she's never really had a male figure in her life. Now she's got a whole team worth."

"I can tell he adores her. They all do. It helps when the whole team acts like four year olds sometimes." Dan said, and just on cue, Geno put Jordan in a headlock. Boys. "Well it's time to practice. I'll see you later Danni."

"See ya Coach." Dan stepped onto the ice and blew his whistle. The team gathered around him as Maddi tried to skate over to me by herself.

"Danni that was so much fun! I want to play hockey." She said taking my hand and walking towards the lounge.

"Do you now? Hockey's a pretty brutal sport." I told her unlacing her skates.

"Yeah but Max and Geno and Flower said they'd teach me how to be tough and how to play. So can I? I really want to play hockey. Pleaseeeee!"

"How about this? Next year I'll sign you up that way you can learn now and we'll see if you're ready next year. Is that okay?"

"Yes! Thank you Danni! I'm gonna be the best hockey player ever." I smiled and helped put her boots on. I took her hand and we headed upstairs to find Vero.

"Vero!" Maddi rushed over to her and jumped in her lap.

"Hello there." She said smiling at Maddi.

"Hey Vero."

"Hi Danni." There it was again. That smug smile. She knew too.

"How was last night? I hope she behaved." I said taking a seat next to her.

"Of course. If there was anyone I needed to worry about, it was the guys. But Maddi put them in their places."

"Vero, Danni said I can play hockey!"

"Did she now?" Vero looked over at me surprised.

"Next year. I want to make sure this is what she really wants to do." I explained.

"She'll be a great hockey player. What position do you want to play?" She asked Maddi.

"I don't know," She glanced over at the guys watching them. That's actually a good question. What position would she play? Goalie? Defense man? Offense?

"I'm sure with the guys helping her, she could play every position." I said.

"They'll probably make it a competition." Vero joked.

Throughout practice, Maddi asked a thousand questions about what each of the players were doing. If Vero wasn't here, I wouldn't be of much help to Maddi. I'm sure once the guys finish, she'll have a thousand more questions for them.

Maddi was much too young when her mother watched the games but now she was learning it all. She took in everything she saw. She learned the rules and the hockey lingo. I just hope she's taking an interest in her school work like she is with hockey.

By the end of practice I was ready to just leave Maddi with one of the guys so she would stop asking me questions. Getting down to the locker room, Vero took Maddi to the bathroom and I waited in the lounge. Sidney and Marc came out first, "Hey, where's Maddi?" Sidney asked.

"Vero took her to the bathroom. You guys are in big trouble." Both stopped in their path and put their hands up.

"What did we do now?" Marc questioned.

"Madison wants to play hockey." Both of them smiled.

"Maddi will make a great goalie! I can teach her everything I know." Marc said proudly.

"What makes you think she'll want to be a goalie? She's going to be a center. She'll score all the goals and make plays." Sidney pushed.

"You don't know what you're talking about. She's gonna be the one that saves goals and wins games."

"What's going on out here?" Max asked, Kris, Geno, and Jordan following him.

"Maddi wants to play hockey." Sidney answered.

"That's awesome! She'll make a good forward." Max said.

"She'll be defense." Kris told him.

"You're all out of your minds. She's going to be a goalie!" I honestly didn't believe that they would stand there and argue about this. Vero was right, it had now become a competition. The little group soon became the entire team, forwards v. defense v. goalies. And I was stuck in the middle of it.

"What in god's name is going on here?" Vero interrupted when her and Maddi arrived.

"They're fighting."

"Over what?"

"What position Maddi will play."

"Oo, so you told them?"

"I meant to yell at them, now they're yelling at each other."

"Boys! BOYS!" Vero yelled. The all quieted down and looked at her, "What's the problem?"

And as soon as the question left her mouth, they all started talking again proclaiming their beliefs. "Will you all shut up! Maddi will play whatever position she wants! Now all of you go home and get ready for the game tonight!" The guys dropped their heads and headed towards the exit, Sidney and Marc staying behind. "Come on Marc, you need to get home and pack. I'll see you later." Vero said. She hugged Madison and turned and walked with Marc to the exit. Sidney swept the four year old in his arms, "You want to be a goal scorer right? Just like me?" Maddi nodded and I just rolled my eyes.

"Don't push it Sidney. She has a year to figure it out." I said patting his arm.

"Can't blame a man for trying." He replied wrapping his arm around my waist.

Various people called out to Sidney when we walked outside. Sidney handed me Maddi and left to sign autographs. I pushed through ignoring the questions people were shouting.

Marc was standing by my car with Maddi's car seat, "Sid stuck in the sea of people?" I nodded and set up the seat in my car.

"You'll want to be a goalie like me, right?" I heard Marc say to Maddi. I heard her giggle before I turned around.

"Thanks Marc." He handed me Maddi and I put her in her seat.

"I'll see you tonight." He said, kissing my cheek.

Sidney had finally broken away from the crowd and made his way towards us and his car. He tossed his bag in his trunk and came over to Maddi's side of the car, "I'll see you tonight kiddo." He shut the door and turned to me, "And I'll see you as well." He said wrapping his arms on my waist.

"I'll meet you back here in a couple hours." He smiled and pressed me into a hug, kissing my head. We pulled away and he opened my door for me. Sidney stepped away from the car as I started it and drove off.

--

"Sidney needs to score! He NEEDS to SCORE!!!" Maddi screamed as she leaned over the railing of the Lemieuxs box. I had to grab hold of her before she went crashing down on the fans below.

The Penguins were tied with Carolina 1-1 and everyone was going crazy. Every time they shot at us, Marc saved it. And every time we shot it, Cam Ward saved it. This was a goalies game and we are just waiting to see who falls first.

Geno had slipped in the first goal, assisted by Sidney. All the guys had a chance and had come so close. We had scored early in the first period, taking control of the game right off the bat, but Jordan's brother Eric came back with Carolina's goal and it stayed like that ever since.

"We need to win this. They can not ruin their streak." Vero mumbled, white knuckling the railing.

"Flower won't let them score." Maddi reassured her. "Come on FLOWER!!" She yelled, Vero joining her.

As I looked around the box, I realized I was the calmest person here, even with the butterflies in my stomach and hands shaking. The guys have done phenomenal and they can't lose it by one point.

The clock ticked down to the last second, the buzzer signaling overtime. Everyone in the box was quiet, waiting to for the next longest minutes of our lives. I sat there with my elbows resting against my knees. "Aunt Danni, I'm nervous." Maddi said.

"Me too. But they'll win. They're the Pittsburgh Penguins. They're going to win this game." She nodded taking in my reassurance. I'm glad she believes it because right now I just wanted to close my eyes and wait till it was over.

The teams took their positions and the ref dropped the puck. Overtime had started and everyone in the arena was cheering on their team. Maddi was sure to loose her voice by tomorrow.

Carolina gained control over us and took shot after shot at Marc. He was defiantly getting a workout and not letting anything past him.

As soon as the puck slide towards Carolina's net, it was sent back, "The guys need to get offensive. All they're doing is defense." Maddi said.

"I don't understand why they are doing that. We're an offensive team." Mario added on.

Carolina was pushing forward, getting ready for another shot. When the player took it, the puck bounced off Marc's stick getting sent to the blue line. And Sidney was there to pick it up. Everyone jumped to their feet cheering him on as he broke away from Carolina's defense.

"GO SIDNEY!! GOOOO!!!!!" Maddi cheered jumping up and down. Sidney faked to the side, drawing Carolina's goalie, moved to the right and shot the puck. It dinged against the post and hit the back of the net, the buzzer going off. He scored. The crowd could have taken the roof off the arena with their cheers and excitement. Maddi and Vero were jumping up and down, clapping and yelling. They both turned to me and hugged me just like the team was doing just feet below us.

"Come on, let's get down there before everyone else." Vero said. Maddi and I grabbed our stuff and the three of us ran down to the locker room waiting for the guys. A bunch of the other WAG's came along waiting for their man. When we got down there, they were announcing the three stars for the night; Geno, Sidney, and Marc.

Jordan, Max, and Kris came over when they spotted us, all cleaned up and wearing giant smiles on their faces. They all hugged Maddi and expressed their continuing victory streak.

"Geno!" Maddi called over. The big Russian came over immediately giving her a high five.

"Maddi be good like me. Score goals, win games."

"Whoa, Geno, who was the number one star? That's right...me." Marc, now cleaned and dressed in his suit, gloated slapping his teammate on the back. Marc crushed Vero in a hug, kissing her with happiness. He turned to me, Vero still in his arms, "Sid will be out soon. The press is on him." I nodded and kissed his cheek in congratulations.

"I knew you wouldn't let them score on you!" Maddi said to him. She went on and on about the game, playing it back to him like he wasn't just there playing it. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and walked away seeing my mother's name on the screen, "Hello mother."

"Danielle I can barely hear you. Where are you?"

"I'm out with friends."

"Where's Madison?"

"She's with me."

"Danielle Samson, you didn't bring Maddi to a bar or something did you?"

"...You got me. She's doing jager bombs right now."

"Danni, just tell your mother where you are." I heard my father say in the background.

"I'm at a hockey game with Maddi and some friends."

"Well that's not any better. Why are you at a hockey game?"

"Oo, are you at the Pittsburgh game?" My dad asked.

"Yeah. My friends wanted me to go and Maddi loves it."

"She takes after her mother. That was a good game. I caught the last period and overtime. I didn't think they were going to win it." My father added.

"Stop! We're not talking about hockey. Danielle, you better not be taking her out every time there's a hockey game. She's too young." My mother warned.

"Of course not mom. So what is it you need?" I asked trying to change the subject.

"Oh, right. Well your father and I are going down south for Christmas to your brothers. We want you to come with us."

"Um, I was planning on staying here for Christmas."

"What? Why? It's Christmas Danielle!"

"I know mom but we want to have our own traditions, just like at the apartment."

"What about Maddi? Don't you think she should visit her mother?" I let out a sigh.

"I'll get her there sometime but she's making a life here."

"And what about me? Don't you think I want to see my grandchild?"

"You'll see her soon. I promise. Maybe she can come up and visit when she's on a break or something." I suggested.

"Tony, make your daughter come home." She ordered my father.

"Dear, she's got a life in Pittsburgh. Let her live it. We can see her and Maddi another time."

"Who's side are you on?" She huffed at my father, "Fine. I'll send Maddi her gifts."

"Alright mom."

"But I'm keeping yours here. You have to come and get them."

"Fine mother. I need to get going. I'll talk to you later. I'll send your gifts south. Love you."

"Bye Danni!" My father said.

"Good bye Danielle." I hung up my phone and rubbed my eyes.

My mother can drive me absolutely crazy sometimes! She has ever since Madison was born. When I told her that Addie was pregnant, she did everything in her path to make sure we were well prepared. Yeah, sounds like a great mother, except she had no problem telling you that you're doing something wrong when, in real life, you're just not doing it HER way.

It got even worse when Addie died. I had become the single parent and my mother wasn't afraid to voice her opinion. I felt like she didn't believe that I could take care of a child...thanks mom.

"Hey beautiful." I grinned as Sidney whispered in my ear. I faced him sliding my phone back in my pocket.

"Congratulations Captain." He smiled and leaned down pressing his lips to mine. "You had us worried." I said when he pulled away.

"You and me both. It was defiantly Flowers game though."

"Congrats Sidney. Almost gave us a good scare." Mario said slapping Sidney on the back. "Hell of a game."

"Thanks Mario."

"It's defiantly a good way to go into this trip. You'll have the teams shakin' at the knees." And just like that, both Sidney and I remembered he was leaving.

Mario moved on to the other players as Sidney turned back to me, "I don't want to go."

"You need to kick some west side ass. But, can I make a suggestion?" He smiled.

"Sure."

"No more nail biters. You'll come back and my fingers will be gone."

"We wouldn't want that, now would we?" He asked taking my hands and kissing the figure tips.

"When do you guys leave?"

"Soon. Everyone'll drive over."

"So we don't get much time." I grinned.

"I'm sure we can--"

"Sidney!" I let out a laugh as Sidney dropped his head to my shoulder. Maddi crashed into his leg, "Sidney I don't want you to go."

"Maddi if he doesn't go there's no hockey." I told her. She jumped back from Sidney like he was on fire.

"Then you need to go...NOW!!" She started pushing him towards the door.

"You're trying to get rid of me?" He asked her, letting her push him in some direction.

"No. If you leave now, you'll come back sooner. And there will still be hockey!!!" When Sidney wasn't moving fast enough, she went to his bag and started pulling at it, the bag only moving an inch with every three tugs.

"Come on Sid, we're loading up." Dan called out. Sidney nodded and picked up his bag. Maddi and I walked with him to the parking lot where the players were getting in their respectable cars, some packing their cars, others saying goodbye.

Maddi did her rounds, saying goodbye to every player, giving them their own goody bags of cookies for the road.

"I'll text you when we land and get to the hotel." Sidney promised.

"I'll be waiting. Go win some games and score some goals."

"For you." His kiss was gentle, that sweet feeling. I stood on my toes pushing myself against him like I needed just his touch to live.

"Sid, you ready?"

"Yeah." He answered after he pulled away. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. Now get going. You don't want to be late for your flight." He nodded and with one last kiss, he was gone.

Maddi and I stayed where we were and waved as everyone drove off. The caravan of SUV's driving into the distance.

"This is going to be one long week and a half." Maddi said, her head resting against my leg.

Yeah...it was.