Sequel: Act of Kindness
Status: Completed- So go read the sequal!! Please! :)

Life Coach

Chapter 31

I don't know how this happened. It doesn't make sense. I'm always careful about stuff like this

"Pat...what were you thinking?" Coaches words rang through my head.

How could this have happened?

It had happened a few days ago. We had just finished up practice and I was packing my things when Coach called my name. The anger on his face was obvious. The guys watched in silence as I walked towards him and out the locker room to his office.

There, Stan Bowman(General Manager), John McDonough(President), and Brandon Faber(Media Relations) stood, "Patrick." They greeted me. Another sign something was wrong.

"Patrick there's been a situation." Stan started.

"Do you know a woman by the name of Lindsey Johnson?" I shook my head at John's question. "Well she is claiming that you're...the father of her child." I practically fell out of my chair as the words were spoken.

"What? How is that possible? I don't know her!"

"She's selling the story to magazines and TV shows." John added.

"It's obvious she wants some money out of this but we're trying to get her to prove it's yours before we pay anything." Stan explained.

"How much does she want?" I asked.

"...Half a million."

"She says its for the baby, but with situations like this, we can't help but think otherwise." said John.

"She's five months pregnant, making the conception in October." Stan told me.

October? I don't remember sleeping with anyone in October.

"Did you get more information?" Stan opened a folder and searched through it.

"Lindsey Johnson, 22 years old, states being pregnant with Patrick Kane's child, meet him on October 31, 2011." Halloween? I was at Sharpies place, I couldn't have slept with anyone that night. It was a boring night if I remember correctly...and it only got worse.

Shit.

I left the party when I saw that picture of Kara on Jon's phone. I was pissed at Kara.

I'm such a dick!

"Patrick, we've been able to deal with the cab driver and the pictures, but this..." John began.

"You're not even sure it's mine! She could be making the whole thing up!" I argued.

"We know that Pat. We've thought about it, but right now all people are going to think is that you're the father." I ran my hands through my hair, frustration leaking out of every pore on my body.

"What am I suppose to do now?" I just barely whisper. I'm about ready to go crawl under a rock and hide forever because of this bitch.

"Right now, if approached, just say 'no comment.' We don't want your words to get twisted. The last thing we want is for her to have control. We don't want people believing her." Brandon told me.

"Pat, go home. Get some rest. Don't talk to anyone about this. We'll get through it." John reassured. I just nodded my head and left the office. The only thing I wanted at the moment was to drown in alcohol and wait to wake up from this nightmare.


Since that day, I haven't gone out. I haven't talk to anyone, even my teammates. I just stay in the apartment and drink my problems away.

I would occasionally keep an eye on the news and gossip sites about the problem. So far there wasn't much but I know once this girl doesn't get her way, it will be every where.

"Kaner, open this fucking door!" Just from the sound of his voice, I wanted to bash my head with the beer bottle in my hand.

Jon was my best friend. When he saw how pissed I was, he tried to be there but I pushed him out of the way. I didn't want people to know about this. Even Jon.

But with the way he was pounding on my door, he was one kick away from knocking it down. So I got up and opened it, grabbing another beer from the fridge.

"Pat, what the fuck is going on?" He said once he shut the door. He glares at me from the opposite side of the kitchen, hands on his hips like he means business. I just took a long gulp of my beer and stayed quiet.

"Talk to me Pat. You barely go out, you half ass it at practice, your game sucks. What the fuck has gotten into you?" I knew if I continued to ignore him, he'd beat the shit out of me. But if I told him, he's beat the shit out of me anyways.

"I screwed up. That's all." I answered with a shrug.

"That's not much of a surprise. What did you do this time?" Just tell him.

"I got girl pregnant." I mumbled but from the reaction on his face, he heard me.

"You did what?! To who? It's not Kara, is it?! I swear to god Pat, if you got Kara--"

"Kara." I slammed the back of my head against the cabinet door.

"It's not Kara, is it?" Why would it be Kara?

"No. It's some girl. I guess we had sex in October. She's trying to sell the story but Stan and John are trying to get her to prove it's mine before anything gets out."

"Shit Pat." Jon said, rubbing his hands to his face, probably trying to get rid of the headache I've had for days. "Have you told anyone else?" I shook my head. "Are you going to tell Kara?"

"Why would I tell her?" Honestly, I didn't want too. This is the exact thing she knew was going to happen if I kept up my party boy ways. I don't need someone doing the 'I-told-you-so' dance in front of me.

"Because she seems to be the only one that can get through that thick skull of yours. You know this is what she was warning you about?"

"Yeah, I know but I can't tell her."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because she'll rub it in my face! She won't be my friend after this."

"She shouldn't be friends with you after this! After all she's done for you, this is how you give back?" He was right. If I was in Kara's spot, I wouldn't want to be friend with me either. "Just call her Pat. She's gonna be angry but she can help you get through this." Was his last words before he stormed out of my apartment.

He's right. I need to tell Kara. I need her to help me get through this.

I pulled out my phone and found Kara's number, pressing Call.

What if she doesn't answer? Should I leave a message? Should I wait till she calls me back? What if she does answer? What am I going to say?

"Long time no talk Patrick Kane. How've you been?"

"Kara...I fucked up."

---

I sat in O'Hare Airport waiting for Kara's flight to land. After I had told her what happened, I begged her to come to Chicago. Her spring break was the week after I called.

I kept myself secluded as best as I could in a busy airport, my hat and sunglasses disguising me from being noticed.

I glanced at my phone as it buzzed lightly in my hand, I'm here. She text. I headed towards the security section to watch her walk through.

She wasn't hard to spot. And she got closer, my heart sank. She was rubbing her eyes, which had bags under them. Her hair was tossed into a messy bun. Her sweats were wrinkled and worn.

She walked right up to me and without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around me. I wasn't sure if the hug was for me or her, but this was the most physical contact I've had with anyone since Jon attacked my apartment.

"Come on." I said keeping my arm around her as we walked to my car.

The ride was silent all the way back to my place. "Do you want something to eat?" I offered, trying to break the tension filled silence.

"No. I want a shower and to go to bed." She said. I nodded and brought her to the guest room. I let her clean up while I changed into a pair of basketball shorts.

I starred up at the ceiling, trying to clear my mind. For the past two weeks, this situation is all I can think about. I lose sleep because of it. I won't eat because of it. I play terrible because of it. I was too afraid to turn the TV on just in case that the story made its way on there.

That fucking bitch. She's ruining my fucking life.

From the opposite end of the room, I heard the door creek open and shut quietly. Kara's figure was highlighted by the rays from the moon as she walked over to the bed and crawled under the covers. She rested against my side, her arm draped around my stomach. Instantly, my arm went around her, securing her in that position.

Kara said nothing to me. And I said nothing to her. We just laid there in silence.

For the first time in two weeks, I've slept soundly.

---

My alarm clock woke both of us up with it's annoying beeping. I didn't want to go anywhere right now.

I dug my face into Kara's back trying to block the sound and the sun's light, "I don't wanna go to practice." I mumbled.

"Your need to." She replied but made no effort in getting up. When she finally made a move to get out of bed, I tightened my grip on her, "Patrick, get up." Though her voice was filled with sleep, there was enough authority to get me to listen.

Kara left the room, leaving me to get ready. I walked into the kitchen where Kara stood, eating a piece of toast. As I walked by to get my keys, she held the other piece out for me, which I grabbed with my mouth.

At the arena, I led Kara to the locker room. As soon as she walked through the door, Jon was at her side giving her a hug. I left them to go get ready for practice. Sometimes I'd look up at them and to see them whispering something to each other. The others gathered around her, giving her a hug or some kind of greeting.

When Coach Q came in and saw her, he said something to her and they walked out of the room.

"What time did she get in?" Jon asked standing over me as I got dressed.

"Around midnight."

"Are you going to talk to her?"

"Yes Jon. I'm going to talk to her." I said more harshly then intended, but it made him back off.

Just as I was wishing getting dressed, Coach came back and gave us a quick talk before he dismissed us to the ice.

The team started off doing a couple laps around the rink and as I skated around, I searched for Kara, finding her sitting in the 200 level with Abby their new baby girl. I smiled as Kara bounced the baby gentle in her arms.

"You know, I think that's the first time I've seen you smile since the news." And it would be Jon that wipes the smile off my face and back to the frown. I just ignored him and skated faster, but not without looking one more time at Kara.

---

A few days went by in silence. Kara and I had yet to talk about the situation. I was kinda scared, not sure how she would really react. But with hockey and her school work, we didn't really want to talk about it.

Kara stayed at the apartment to do some homework while I was at practice. I was just about to walk out to my car from the arena when Abby called my name, "Hey Pat."

"Hey Abby. How's it going?"

"It's good. I was, uh, wondering...would you mind babysitting Madeline for us tonight? Patrick wants to have a night to ourselves but we can't seem to find a babysitter."

"Oh, um, sure I guess." She smiled.

"Oh thank you so much. I owe you big time!" She gave me a quick hug and walked off to her own car.

Fantastic. Babysitting duty.

The apartment was about as quiet as it had been when I left. Usually I would find Kara doing homework on the couch as she watched TV but this time, she wasn't there, "Kara?" I called out but no one responded. A slight panic rose in my throat as I dropped my bag by the door and went to her guest room. Empty.

I checked the bathrooms and then went to my room to change so I could go look for her.

There, surrounded by paper, pictures, colored pencils, and notebooks, was a sleeping Kara. I let out a sigh a relief that she was still here and okay.

Stripping down to my shorts, I removed all of Kara's things and set them on the night stand. I got into bed beside her, taking her into my arms, and falling sleep.

When I woke up, the warmth that was once there was gone and the body that was in my arms was too. I crawled out of bed and made my way towards the living room. The closer I got, I could hear Kara's voice but it sounded like she was talking to someone.

Kara was sitting on the floor in front of the TV, with a laughing baby in front of her, "When did Sharpie get here?" I asked. Kara looked over her shoulder at me.

"About a half an hour ago. You didn't tell me you were babysitting."

"Abby asked me earlier and I said sure. But you were sleeping when I got back."

"Oh okay. Well if you wanna watch her, I'll get dinner started." She said standing up. I watched her as she walked into the kitchen and got to work on the food. I looked back at the baby girl starring at me. I slowly made my way over to her, sitting where Kara was minutes before. "Hi Madeline. You remember me, right? I'm the good looking guy that works with your dad." She smiled, probably at the word 'dad'.

On the TV, there was a bunch of people dressed in costumes singing about sharing, "I don't know why Kara has you watching this, but I'm gonna change it. Don't tell Kara." I said to the baby, reaching for the remote and changing it to the NHL Network, "Here we go. This is what you need to watch. And look...they've got Blackhawk highlights." I picked her up and sat her in between my legs, holding onto her sides. We sit there and I explain everything to her, even if she has no clue what I'm saying. When they switch over to a different team, I start telling her about them and how they aren't as good as us.

This went on for half an hour and Kara brought me over a bowl of chicken and pasta, "Where's yours?"

"I need to feed the baby." She answered.

"No, you eat. I can feed her." She raised an eyebrow at me but traded the bowl for the bottle.

Even as I fed Madeline, I talked to her about hockey. From my Stanley Cup winning goal to how we are going to win this year. Madeline listened, just starring at me as I talked on and on.

Madeline finished the bottle and I set it down, sitting her up so I could burp her. What I didn't think about was if she would spit some of it back up...which she did, "Madeline , you're not suppose to spit up on me! Save that for Tazer!" I joked wiping up her face and setting her back on the floor.

"She got some on your shirt." Kara pointed to the bottom of my shirt. I just laughed and stripped it off, tossing it to the side and turning my attention back to Madeline. Kara handed me my own bowl and I ate and talked. I guess I'm just making up for the two weeks I barely talked.

-----------------------------

I was extremely impressed with Patrick Kane tonight. Every since the Sharp's dropped Madeline off, Pat hasn't left her side. He talked to her, played with her, fed her, and even changed her diaper. Impressive couldn't be the right word for this.

But I guess if the child is his, then he'll have to get use to this. I can't imagine Patrick wouldn't be a part of this kids life. Would be get with this girl though? For the kid?

When he told me over the phone, I knew a tear escaped as my heart cracked. If there was ever a chance in hell that I could be with Patrick Kane, it went flying out the window in the minutes he told me what happened.

I don't know why I agreed to even come to Chicago. Julia was getting upset that I was helping him when all he did was hold onto my heart and store it away for whenever he needed me. I'm probably the only one that showed him any form of sympathy when I should have told him "I told you so" and hung up on his fucking ass.

But I couldn't bring myself to do that.

So here I am, sitting on the floor against the couch as Patrick slept with Madeline lying on his stomach, her small body slowly rising and falling as Patrick breathed evenly. I held onto Madeline so she wouldn't fall and I just watched both of them sleeping soundly. This picture couldn't stop my imagination from flying off.

I'm sitting on a swing in the backyard, looking out over the big yard as a small blonde girl comes running by, her curls bouncing with every step. Her laugh can be heard from a mile away as her father chases after her. He catches up to her, lifting her small body off the ground and tossing her into the air.

The young girl was a replica of her father and she owned the title of "Daddy's little girl".

"Mommy!" The little girl yells. Her father puts her down and she runs over to me. She jumps into my arms. Her father followed her path and sat down beside me, his arm resting on the back of the swing. The little girl took her father's hand and then mine. I smiled at her, then turned to the man sitting next to me.

To have, everyday for the rest of my life, those eyes starring back at me. To wake up and fall asleep looking into those eyes. To see that smile from across the room, knowing exactly what he's thinking as he looks at me.

He rested his forehead against mine and in a whisper, loud enough for only us to hear, "I love you."

He leans in, millimeters from my lips and just as their about to touch---


Knock Knock Knock

I snapped my head towards the door. I looked back at the couch, both not even stirring from the intrusion. I slowly stand up and walked to the door. A happy Abby and Patrick Sharp standing on the other side, "Ssh, they're sleeping." I tell them as I open the door wider. Abby walks around the couch and smiles at the scene before her. She digs into her purse and pull out her phone, snapping a picture before picking Madeline up.

Pat stirs, his blue eyes blinking away the sleep, "Hey guys. How was your date?"

"It was great. I hope Madeline was good for you." Abby said, kissing the top of her daughters head.

"She was an angel." Pat answered.

"We appreciate it guys. If you ever need anything, let us know." Sharpie said. We waved them off and I walked them to the door, wishing them a good night.

I locked the door and turned the kitchen light off. Patrick was sitting on the couch, rubbing the tiredness from his face.

"Come on," I say standing in front of him, offering my hands "Let's go to bed." He takes them and I pull him up, our bodies crashing together as he heaved himself off the couch.

Out hands still together, we walked to the bedroom, laying on the bed.

"Thank you." Pat says into my ear.

"For what?"

"For everything."

"I'm always here for you Patrick." At my answer, he pulled me closer to him.

I love you.
♠ ♠ ♠
Hopefully this will answer some questions. But don't think things will be all hunky doory. There's more to come :) And you can find out what happens if you read and subscribe!! YAYAYAY!!! By the way, since the future Sharpie baby has yet to be born, I made up the name. I do know it is a girl but the name is totally fiction. If by some weird chance they actually name the baby Madeline...100 points for me.

Anyways, thanks to all those reading, commenting, and subscribing. I know I say this every time but it just means that I love it and am happy to have such a following for the story.

Thanks for everything. I love you all.

Let's Go Buffalo!!!