Second City.

Bristol was more than pleased to see Kris when she opened the heavy front door. He walked in with a huff, setting the plastic grocery bag on the table. Peeling his jacket off, Bristol protested as he got snow all over her freshly waxed floor. “You better eat that entire pint. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find Ben and Jerry’s on Christmas? I had to call in a favor.”

“Thank you, Kris.” Bristol kissed his cold and rosy cheek as she dug in to the bag. Her face fell when she saw the flavors he had gotten. “I told you strawberry! You got vanilla.”

Tossing his leather jacket on the table, Kris turned on his heels and headed to the kitchen. He grabbed a bag of frozen strawberries from the freezer and threw them at her as Kris dug for his Blackberry. Satisfied, Bristol tossed a few berries in to the pint before grabbing a spoon. In front of the television, she sat on the sofa, warmed by the heat of the fire. Cheli and Chief slept soundly in front of the flame, snuggled up close with their breathing in synch. Kris plopped down on the cushion beside her, holding the phone out in front of her eyes. Licking the ice cream off the spoon, Bristol shrugged her shoulders in an ‘oops’ manner. She had in fact told him to get vanilla.

“I can’t help it, my taste changes every five damn minutes.”

There was a marathon of The Real Word running on the television as they both turned their attention to the drunken idiots making even bigger fools out of themselves. At one point in her young life, Bristol had wondered what it would be like to be a part of the show, but her life was already a mess and she didn’t need to fill it with anymore drama. Her ice cream craving was satisfied after polishing off half the pint and she set it on the coffee table before resting her head on the comfy muscles of his bicep. Bristol could feel her eyes start to drop with sleep—it had been a long day and the short crying session she had before Dan left had her eyes sore.

Kris shook Bristol from her daze. “Let’s open gifts before you fall asleep on me.”

Agreeing, Bristol got up and waddled over to the tree before grabbing the gifts with their names printed on the front. She made him open the one she had gotten him first. Gliding his fingers under the fold in the paper, Kris tried a clean rip not wanting to ruin her perfect wrap job. “Oh, my god, Bristol. This is the best gift ever!” Holding up his new video game, Kris pealed the extra tape off the cover. “You’re encouraging my late night drunken jam sessions.” She had gotten him the newest karaoke game that had come out just before the holiday. Handing over the gift he had specially made for her, Kris continued perusing the list of songs on the back. “It may not be as good as this, but it was the best I could come up with.”

Bristol’s heart melted when she pulled back the top. The sweater unfolded as she held it up; the orange clashing with the red but the name on the back reading Carcillo. It was a Franken-jersey, big enough to fit a baby. The Flyer emblem and the Hawk head weren’t one that should be matched—just like the Red Wing wheel—but Kris found it fitting. “I love it; it’s so cool. She’ll love it. Thank you, Kris.” Placing the sweater back in the box, Bristol leaned over and kissed his cheek.

Instead of saying heartfelt, Kris went right in for the jab. “Well, I guess you could give to the baby. I had bought it for you, actually, before you got knocked up.”

“You are such an asshole.” Bristol punched him the arm as she slid the box on the table. She should have expected something along the sorts to exit his mouth. Resting her head back where it was, Kris wrapped his arm around her shoulder as she tossed the remote on to his chest. He loved free reign over the television and all she could do was roll her eyes as Kris turned on ESPN.

She took a deep breath, feeling her muscles relax under the heat of his embrace. There was no way Bristol would dare say it, but she missed the feeling—the feeling of being with Kris and enjoying the peace as they sat in front of the open fire and sports highlights. He startled Bristol when he jerked his arm away. Kris dug into the depth of his pocket and held a ring between his thumb and index finger. Her eyes went wide in anticipation as she tried to choke the words out. “Are you—you’re?”

His voice was low and his eyes brightened. “Watching you and Ladd get married got me thinking. If you can take the jump and land on your feet okay, I should be able to as well. Believe it or not, I’m gonna ask Allison to marry me.”

“Kris, I am so happy for you. The ring is beautiful.” Kris shuttered as her fingers lightly wrapped around his wrist to get a better look at the white gold band. An impulse of lust rushed through his veins as he dropped the ring from his hand and used it to cup her soft cheek. Needless to say she more than surprised when his lips came crashing down hers. Bristol found herself drowning in the moment, wrapping her arms around his neck as she felt the once familiar feeling of Kris’ tongue along her lower lip. But there was something missing; the fireworks which had once gone off when they did connect. Pulling herself away, Bristol blew her bangs out of her face. Kris smiled with empathy. This was why they made better friends. The flame had burned out, the sparks were gone.

But the kiss had brought back the bad memories—the memories of the late night crying fits as Bristol sat alone in her dark room wondering what she had done wrong. Though their break had been a clear one; one that reset, one that healed, it was small outbursts like this which left their past messy and their feelings misplaced. Neither wanted to be hurt and both knew that if they stopped being friends they would forever.

•••

February

“Are you feeling okay?” Patrick questioned Bristol as he salted his popcorn and grabbed a straw for his coke. The arena was still empty, there were little fans and the only people who rushed past them were members of the staff. Still recovering from the flu he had caught over the weekend, Patrick was beyond bummed he was missing the Stars. After the gift which Adam had overnighted to his place for Bristol, every man in the locker room was anxiously waiting to see what havoc Dan Carcillo would cause. He’d been good the last few games; scoring a goal and staying out of the penalty box. Bristol knew that meant he was gearing for one thing: a night full of PMI’s.

Shifting uncomfortably on her feet, Bristol rubbed her lower back. She was feeling sick and her head was pounding. “Not really. If it weren’t for the fact Adam was skating tonight, I’d be lying in bed with Cheli and Chief right now.” Turning away his offering of popcorn, they skipped the stairs and headed to the elevator. The two were sitting in a suite with his parents who had flown in for a long weekend. When the news of his illness hit home, Donna was there to do his laundry, clean the place up and make sure he had enough food to eat. She was thankful to be sitting up in the comfy, wide space instead of the crowded seats down below. Whether she decided to attend or not, she’d be up there anyway. Her ex would be in attendance for tonight’s game. He had called Bristol asking for the tickets for he was treating his new girlfriend to a night of dinner and hockey. It was the ideal date in Bristol’s mind—it was how he had won her heart over when she was just seventeen.

“Something really is off with you tonight.” They approached the suit and found it empty. It was no surprise seeing as to how they still had about an hour and a half to kill before puck drop. “Normally you’d have the entire box eaten before I had a chance to get a handful.”

Easing into a chair, Bristol rested her head in the palms of her hands as she watched the Zamboni clean the ice. She still caught a chill through her thick sweatshirt but with the way her day had been going, Bristol knew she’d be burning up sometime within the hour. From the minute she woke up in the morning she knew it was going to be a long, sick day.

The countdown on the clock had begun and Bristol just about dozed off when Patrick’s parents walked in. She had only met them a few times but a friend of Pat’s was a friend of the entire Kane family. Donna pulled Bristol into a welcoming hug after ditching her jacket and his father, Patrick did the same. The older woman apologized for being late while Patrick pinned the blame on his wife for taking too long getting ready.

Bristol loved being around Patrick and his family. The humor and jokes always had Bristol laughing and it was a good way to make the time go by faster. When the lights dimmed in the arena and everyone stood for the anthem, neither of the four would be participating in tradition if they didn’t join the loud cheers and whistles as Jim Corneilson belted out the notes of The Star Spangled Banner.

After the starting lines took their place around the center faceoff circle, Bristol squinted her eyes down to the bench in search of Dan. He was sitting in his usual starting seat; three guys in to the far right of the bench. Adam leaned over the boards eyeing his target. The two had it out for each other, trying to show their home fans who the greater enforcer was.

Halfway through the first with the score still tied at zero, Bristol found it rather hard to concentrate on the game happening on the ice. She had missed the cross check which sent Toews to the box and the double minor instigator penalty which spent Dan in as well. He pushed Adam around a few times when the play had been stopped after an icing by the Stars net. If history repeated itself, Bristol knew he was only warming Adam up for a fight sometimes around the third period.

Maneuvering in her chair, Bristol placed a hand on her belly as a sharp, dull pain spread along her lower back. Now officially being in a full term pregnancy Bristol began to second guess to decision to come to the arena. As much as she wanted to be at home, she was too scared; scared of being home alone if she went in to labor. Donna looked over to Bristol and noticed the distressed look on her face. Having had four children herself, the nervous glint she caught in Bristol’s eye seemed all too familiar. Leaning over, she whispered into her ear. “How’s it going?”

“Starting to get really uncomfortable.” Another pain shot through her belly but this one was harder and lasted longer.

Pursing her lips, Donna looked up at the time left on the scoreboard. If she was going into labor it would be easier to get Bristol out of the arena before the intermission. As her breathing began to quicken, Bristol gripped the armrest of the chair until her knuckles turned white. “Okay, I think we should get you to the hospital.” Helping her stand up, Donna grabbed Bristol’s jacket. “Patrick, we’ve got to get her to the hospital.”

Her only son looked up from the ice as a dumbfounded look on his face. When he saw the pain wash over Bristol, Patrick shot up from his chair. “Shit,” it wasn’t even his kid and somehow he had been stuck with the responsibility of taking her to the hospital. Slipping his suit jacket on, Patrick reached for his cell phone. He always thought better under pressure. “Okay. You two stay and finish watching the game; I’ll drive her and wait until Dan can get there. Dad, can you find Stan and have him somehow relay the message to Dan that his wife if going into labor?”

His father nodded as Bristol wrapped her arm around Patrick’s shoulders. She balanced her weight against him and left without giving one last request. “Tell Dan not to come until after the game and I’ll be watching as he kicks the shit out of Adam.”

Arriving in the player’s garage, Patrick helped Bristol in to the front seat of his SUV before getting in himself. She laughed at his nervousness as Patrick’s hand shook uncontrollably. It took a good three tries for him to get the key in the ignition. While Patrick insisted they head to a hospital close to the UC, Bristol demanded they go to Northwestern Memorial. That’s where her doctor was and she’d be damned if Dr. Holt wasn’t going to deliver her baby. They tried to think of the fastest way to get there. The contractions weren’t lasting the full two minutes but the hurt enough to make her growl out in visible pain.

“Should I get on the expressway?” he asked, getting into the lane to take him to the entrance ramp.

“No!” Bristol yelled out. “That’ll take us too far south and I’ll miss the rest of the period. God for bid Dan decides to start a fight within the next ten minutes.”

It took Patrick ten minutes before pulling up to the hospital. Bristol didn’t want to be alone so made him park and help her walk in. From what the doctor had said, her labor would be long and hard for it being her first child. But, every woman was different and as long as Dan was by her side, she didn’t care how long it took. When the nurses at the front desk saw the distraught Bristol, they had her in chair and wheeled off to a room in record time. Patrick had to keep reminding the pink scrubbed nurses that he wasn’t the father and that he would defiantly be on his way soon. After changing in to a gown she was put in bed and hooked up to a plethora of machines. Patrick immediately found the remote and began flipping through the channels for the game. There was three minutes left in the first.

“Son of a bitch!” Bristol yelled out. The nurses thought she was having a contraction but only Patrick who she was pissed. He couldn’t disagree with her. “A five minute boarding? Daniel barely even touched him!”