‹ Prequel: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Sequel: 'Till Death ›
Second City.
epilogue.
As he rolled over to his left side, Daniel Carcillo habitually wrapped a strong arm around the sleeping blonde beside him. He was half asleep as he took a breath; the familiar floral scent of her shampoo taunting his senses. She moved in to close the gap which had separated their warm bodies and pressed her naked lips to the soft skin of his forearm. For Dan and Bristol, it was a blessing and curse to be home. While the chaos of the hockey season had ended for Daniel and the rest of the Detroit Red Wings less than forty-eight hours pervious, summer activities were now upon them.
“How much time do you think we have?” Bristol’s voice was groggy, her body still set on Pacific Time from their trip to San Jose for the Western Conference Finals. The Wings had fallen in six games much to everyone’s dismay.
“A minute,” he joked.
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Bristol took his delay in response to call dibs on at least five more minutes of sleep as he dealt with the demanding breakfast requests. After nearly seven years of marriage and the late night feedings of two children well past them, the couple still fought for at least six hours of sleep per-night. Dan watched as Bristol’s blue eyes fluttered close and her body sank farther into the mattress. His eyes were fixed on the clock wishing eight AM would come back around to ensure another hour of sleep. But, that was fantasy and unfortunately for Dan he was back in reality.
The white door to their bedroom slowly crept open and he watched out of the corner of his eye as a brunette head peeked itself through the wide enough crack. “Daddy?” The light voice called out. It reminded Daniel too much of the girl’s mother. Nestling himself against Bristol, Dan listened closely as the sound of bare feet shuffling against the hardwood floor inched closer to the bed. Again, the angelic voice called out in a whisper, “Daddy, are you awake?”
Releasing his arms from around his wife, Daniel rolled over and pushed the tuffs of dark hair from his chocolate eyes. “Yeah, I’m up, baby. Come here.” Reaching out, Dan tucked his hands under Kristen’s arms to lift her up and place her carefully beside him. She snuggled close to her father feeling the security of his strong embrace and the warmth of his body. In the pajamas Bristol had helped dress her in when they arrived in Chicago no more than five hours ago, Kristen placed her head on Dan’s chest. They stayed like that for several minutes; enjoying the peaceful moment. He stroked at her wavy brown hair as he marveled over the fact how his six-year-old daughter was growing to look more and more like her mother. Just as everyone had predicted, Kristen had Bristol’s graceful features and Dan’s no nonsense attitude. She took no bull shit from anyone and at least twice during a school year, Bristol was getting calls from teachers and administrators telling tales of how the oldest Carcillo had punched a boy during recess.
Besides for Bristol, Dan never imagined anyone other than his children being capable of making his life feel complete. Three months to the day after her first birthday, Dan had been beside himself with joy when the first word to escape her tiny her tiny lips was dada. Despite the constant reassurance from not only his wife but also his mother, Dan refused to accept the fact she wasn’t as fragile as he believed. During the winter he drove himself crazy making sure she was bundled up in the warmest and most expensive jacket and doused her in sun block during the hottest months of the year. Whether she liked it or not, Kristen never left for the beach without an application of Zinc on her nose and a hat shading her face from the harsh rays.
His playing style had become more disciplined and consistent after the birth of their daughter. Dan had surprised everyone in the hockey world during the 2013-14 season (just after two years in Chi) when he scored a career best of 15 goals and found himself playing the second line beside Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa. During that time, he somehow managed to score multiple big goals and balance nearly eighty minutes in the Sin Bin.
The following year, Dan had completed his personal trifecta. While Bristol had given birth to their second child, a son whom the couple named Nicholas, Dan had been voted to play in the All-Star game and just four months later won his first Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks. He continued to go up from there, averaging nearly fifteen minutes a game—a ten minute raise from his onetime five minutes—and decreasing the number of scrapes he engaged in.
The trade to the Red Wings from the Blackhawks had been a head-spinning surprise for the couple. It came five years after he first pulled on the Hawk Head. With Detroit being only four-hours away, Bristol had made the hard decision to stay in the Windy City with the kids and making several trips during the past two seasons to see him play at the Joe. Neither of them wanted to pull Kristen out of school, she had been just five months into kindergarten; it killed Dan not being able to walk her the eight blocks to the small private school she attended.
“Where’s your brother?” Dan placed a hand under his head as he continued to stroke Kristen’s hair.
“He’s still sleeping. Probably still tired from the plane ride.”
Dan had been overtaken with bliss when his boy was born. After having picked the name for their daughter, it was Dan’s turn to pick the name. Out of respect for her late brother, Dan found it fitting seeing as to how their second bundle of joy had been born in the same month as Nick had. Adrienne and Mike were named Godparents to Nicholas. While they never married, Adrienne gave birth to Mike’s only child, Leah, and moved back home to Chicago in order to be closer to her family.
It took time, but eventually Bristol found in it her heart to forgive the selfish actions of her sister. While the wounds had left deep scars on their relationship, Bristol couldn’t keep her daughter from spending time with her Auntie Adie. And, when Adrienne had learned of Mike’s engagement to a woman he met while playing in LA, Bristol was there to wipe the tears of sorrow from her sister’s eyes.
“Daddy, can you make breakfast?” Kristen asked as her small index traced the red tattoo of her mother’s lips on Dan’s chest.
No matter how much he practiced, or how many times he was forced to prepare a meal, it was never as good as Bristol’s cooking. When Kristen or Nicholas asked their father to cook it was only out of desperation. “Yeah, what do you want?”
Pursing her lips and tapping her finger on her chin, Kristen looked as if she were in deep thought. “Pancakes. And, can you make them like Uncle Danny does and put chocolate chips in them?”
During the off season while visiting Dan’s family in King City, Bristol and Dan always made the extra trip to Montréal to spent a few days with Danny Briere and the growing boys. Caelan, Carson and Cameron were no longer the young boys Bristol remembers babysitting back in Philadelphia and while many aspects of their lives changed, one thing still remained true. Cameron—who was now well into his teens—still had an infatuated crush on Bristol. Something just never chance.
“Of course I can, baby. Let’s let your mom sleep while we whip up a batch.” Tossing the quilt off his body, Dan pulled a pair of clean sweatpants on over his black boxers before Kristen took his hand. The two made their way to the kitchen which flooded with sunlight and smelt comfortingly of apples and cinnamon. Lifting Kristen to sit on the granite countertop, Dan began digging through the cabinets to find the ingredients he needed to make the pancakes.
As he measured and mixed, Dan tried his best to keep his cool as his daughter chomped on chocolate chips and informed her father of the boy she liked in her class. The idea of Kristen growing up (especially one day dating) scared Dan nearly half to death. He wanted to keep her young forever, protect her from the heartache life would bring but he realized one thing. If it hadn’t been for the heartbreaks of him and Bristol, he wouldn’t be standing in the spacious kitchen of their downtown condo making pancakes with his daughter. Bristol had grounded him, given Dan two of life’s most precious gifts and for that he knew he’d forever be in her debt. Besides, Dan had a team of men willing to scare off any male who just looked at his daughter with an attractive eye.
Before long, Bristol emerged from their bedroom with a three year-old Nicholas in her arms. His head rested on Bristol’s chest as she rubbed his warm back, felling his jaw move as he sucked on a pacifier. Bristol would have liked to rid her son of the pacifier six months ago but it was harder than she thought to wean him off. Slipping Nicholas in his chair, Bristol kissed the top of her daughters head before moving on to Dan as he flipped pancakes on the griddle. He grabbed tightly onto Patrick Kane’s Team USA shirt she wore before dipping his down to capture her lips in a welcoming kiss.
“Good morning to you, too.” Bristol giggled and grabbed the orange juice from the fridge before collecting three clean plates from the dishwasher. Kristen quickly hopped down and grabbed the plates from her mother’s hands and insisting she set the table. She knew her daughter too well to know she was doing it to be generous; a request would be coming sometime in the not so distant future.
Soon after when breakfast was done, Bristol cut small bites of pancake and egg for both children before she was finally able to settle down. Blowing the top of her coffee she slowly sipped the hot liquid careful not to burn her tongue. It was a nice chance of pace for Bristol to be able to sit down and actually eat a meal with Dan. During the season when it’s just her, Bristol usually fed the kids first and ate on her own time.
Kristen and Nicholas shoveled down their food and just as he had promised, there was a knock on the front door exactly at ten AM. Pushing herself away from the table, Bristol dropped her plate in the sink as she trekked to the door. Unlatching the chain and unlocking the bolt she moved aside to allow Kris Versteeg to enter. He wore blue swim trunks with a white t-shirt on his torso and a beach towel draped over his shoulders. Bristol bit her lip and hid her laughter at the sight of a pair of goggles resting on his forehead and a beach bag full of toys tightly grasped in his fingers.
“Who’s ready for the beach?” Kris asked.
Kristen raced into her bedroom to shed her pajamas and change into her swimming suite. After telling Kris to hang on a minute, Bristol wiped Nicholas’ sticky face before he followed behind his sister. She changed him and lathered the boy in sun screen as he tried escaping her grip, afraid Kristen and his Uncle Kris would leave without him. Letting Nicholas go, Bristol shook her head as he dashed out of his bedroom calling out after his sister. From the dryer she grabbed two fresh beach towels, folded them and headed into the front room where Kris waited.
Her longtime friend had found success in Florida. Unlike Toronto and Philly, Kris hadn’t been traded, rather offered a long term contract. Four years ago he had married Allison and was expecting the birth of his first child in three months. During the summer Kris spent as much time as he could with his Goddaughter and he made it a habit of spoiling her rotten during Christmas and on her birthday.
“Keep a close eye on him,” Bristol warned Kris about her son as she secured a Hawks ball cap over his head. “He likes to wander off and make sure he wears his floaties in the water.”
Hoisting Nicholas up into his arms, the young boy wrapped his arms around Kris’ neck. “Relax. Out of all the times I’ve taken them out, haven’t I brought them home in one piece?” Cocking her head to the side, Bristol placed her hands on her hips about to bring up the one slip-up. Kris caught himself. “Don’t answer that.”
Climbing up on the sofa beside her father, Kristen wrapped her arms around Dan’s neck and kissed his scruffy cheek. “I love you, daddy.”
Returning the kiss to her rosy cheek, Dan helped her down. “I love you, too baby girl. Have fun.”
When the three left, Bristol closed and locked the door as she rested her back against cool metal. With his fingers he gestured for her to come closer to him. Pushing herself away from the door Bristol let her feet shuffle against the floor. She was caught by surprise and busted out into a fit of giggles when Dan picked her up off her feet and tossed her over his shoulder. They were finally alone after nearly six months and no second would dare be wasted.
“How much time do you think we have?” Bristol’s voice was groggy, her body still set on Pacific Time from their trip to San Jose for the Western Conference Finals. The Wings had fallen in six games much to everyone’s dismay.
“A minute,” he joked.
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Bristol took his delay in response to call dibs on at least five more minutes of sleep as he dealt with the demanding breakfast requests. After nearly seven years of marriage and the late night feedings of two children well past them, the couple still fought for at least six hours of sleep per-night. Dan watched as Bristol’s blue eyes fluttered close and her body sank farther into the mattress. His eyes were fixed on the clock wishing eight AM would come back around to ensure another hour of sleep. But, that was fantasy and unfortunately for Dan he was back in reality.
The white door to their bedroom slowly crept open and he watched out of the corner of his eye as a brunette head peeked itself through the wide enough crack. “Daddy?” The light voice called out. It reminded Daniel too much of the girl’s mother. Nestling himself against Bristol, Dan listened closely as the sound of bare feet shuffling against the hardwood floor inched closer to the bed. Again, the angelic voice called out in a whisper, “Daddy, are you awake?”
Releasing his arms from around his wife, Daniel rolled over and pushed the tuffs of dark hair from his chocolate eyes. “Yeah, I’m up, baby. Come here.” Reaching out, Dan tucked his hands under Kristen’s arms to lift her up and place her carefully beside him. She snuggled close to her father feeling the security of his strong embrace and the warmth of his body. In the pajamas Bristol had helped dress her in when they arrived in Chicago no more than five hours ago, Kristen placed her head on Dan’s chest. They stayed like that for several minutes; enjoying the peaceful moment. He stroked at her wavy brown hair as he marveled over the fact how his six-year-old daughter was growing to look more and more like her mother. Just as everyone had predicted, Kristen had Bristol’s graceful features and Dan’s no nonsense attitude. She took no bull shit from anyone and at least twice during a school year, Bristol was getting calls from teachers and administrators telling tales of how the oldest Carcillo had punched a boy during recess.
Besides for Bristol, Dan never imagined anyone other than his children being capable of making his life feel complete. Three months to the day after her first birthday, Dan had been beside himself with joy when the first word to escape her tiny her tiny lips was dada. Despite the constant reassurance from not only his wife but also his mother, Dan refused to accept the fact she wasn’t as fragile as he believed. During the winter he drove himself crazy making sure she was bundled up in the warmest and most expensive jacket and doused her in sun block during the hottest months of the year. Whether she liked it or not, Kristen never left for the beach without an application of Zinc on her nose and a hat shading her face from the harsh rays.
His playing style had become more disciplined and consistent after the birth of their daughter. Dan had surprised everyone in the hockey world during the 2013-14 season (just after two years in Chi) when he scored a career best of 15 goals and found himself playing the second line beside Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa. During that time, he somehow managed to score multiple big goals and balance nearly eighty minutes in the Sin Bin.
The following year, Dan had completed his personal trifecta. While Bristol had given birth to their second child, a son whom the couple named Nicholas, Dan had been voted to play in the All-Star game and just four months later won his first Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks. He continued to go up from there, averaging nearly fifteen minutes a game—a ten minute raise from his onetime five minutes—and decreasing the number of scrapes he engaged in.
The trade to the Red Wings from the Blackhawks had been a head-spinning surprise for the couple. It came five years after he first pulled on the Hawk Head. With Detroit being only four-hours away, Bristol had made the hard decision to stay in the Windy City with the kids and making several trips during the past two seasons to see him play at the Joe. Neither of them wanted to pull Kristen out of school, she had been just five months into kindergarten; it killed Dan not being able to walk her the eight blocks to the small private school she attended.
“Where’s your brother?” Dan placed a hand under his head as he continued to stroke Kristen’s hair.
“He’s still sleeping. Probably still tired from the plane ride.”
Dan had been overtaken with bliss when his boy was born. After having picked the name for their daughter, it was Dan’s turn to pick the name. Out of respect for her late brother, Dan found it fitting seeing as to how their second bundle of joy had been born in the same month as Nick had. Adrienne and Mike were named Godparents to Nicholas. While they never married, Adrienne gave birth to Mike’s only child, Leah, and moved back home to Chicago in order to be closer to her family.
It took time, but eventually Bristol found in it her heart to forgive the selfish actions of her sister. While the wounds had left deep scars on their relationship, Bristol couldn’t keep her daughter from spending time with her Auntie Adie. And, when Adrienne had learned of Mike’s engagement to a woman he met while playing in LA, Bristol was there to wipe the tears of sorrow from her sister’s eyes.
“Daddy, can you make breakfast?” Kristen asked as her small index traced the red tattoo of her mother’s lips on Dan’s chest.
No matter how much he practiced, or how many times he was forced to prepare a meal, it was never as good as Bristol’s cooking. When Kristen or Nicholas asked their father to cook it was only out of desperation. “Yeah, what do you want?”
Pursing her lips and tapping her finger on her chin, Kristen looked as if she were in deep thought. “Pancakes. And, can you make them like Uncle Danny does and put chocolate chips in them?”
During the off season while visiting Dan’s family in King City, Bristol and Dan always made the extra trip to Montréal to spent a few days with Danny Briere and the growing boys. Caelan, Carson and Cameron were no longer the young boys Bristol remembers babysitting back in Philadelphia and while many aspects of their lives changed, one thing still remained true. Cameron—who was now well into his teens—still had an infatuated crush on Bristol. Something just never chance.
“Of course I can, baby. Let’s let your mom sleep while we whip up a batch.” Tossing the quilt off his body, Dan pulled a pair of clean sweatpants on over his black boxers before Kristen took his hand. The two made their way to the kitchen which flooded with sunlight and smelt comfortingly of apples and cinnamon. Lifting Kristen to sit on the granite countertop, Dan began digging through the cabinets to find the ingredients he needed to make the pancakes.
As he measured and mixed, Dan tried his best to keep his cool as his daughter chomped on chocolate chips and informed her father of the boy she liked in her class. The idea of Kristen growing up (especially one day dating) scared Dan nearly half to death. He wanted to keep her young forever, protect her from the heartache life would bring but he realized one thing. If it hadn’t been for the heartbreaks of him and Bristol, he wouldn’t be standing in the spacious kitchen of their downtown condo making pancakes with his daughter. Bristol had grounded him, given Dan two of life’s most precious gifts and for that he knew he’d forever be in her debt. Besides, Dan had a team of men willing to scare off any male who just looked at his daughter with an attractive eye.
Before long, Bristol emerged from their bedroom with a three year-old Nicholas in her arms. His head rested on Bristol’s chest as she rubbed his warm back, felling his jaw move as he sucked on a pacifier. Bristol would have liked to rid her son of the pacifier six months ago but it was harder than she thought to wean him off. Slipping Nicholas in his chair, Bristol kissed the top of her daughters head before moving on to Dan as he flipped pancakes on the griddle. He grabbed tightly onto Patrick Kane’s Team USA shirt she wore before dipping his down to capture her lips in a welcoming kiss.
“Good morning to you, too.” Bristol giggled and grabbed the orange juice from the fridge before collecting three clean plates from the dishwasher. Kristen quickly hopped down and grabbed the plates from her mother’s hands and insisting she set the table. She knew her daughter too well to know she was doing it to be generous; a request would be coming sometime in the not so distant future.
Soon after when breakfast was done, Bristol cut small bites of pancake and egg for both children before she was finally able to settle down. Blowing the top of her coffee she slowly sipped the hot liquid careful not to burn her tongue. It was a nice chance of pace for Bristol to be able to sit down and actually eat a meal with Dan. During the season when it’s just her, Bristol usually fed the kids first and ate on her own time.
Kristen and Nicholas shoveled down their food and just as he had promised, there was a knock on the front door exactly at ten AM. Pushing herself away from the table, Bristol dropped her plate in the sink as she trekked to the door. Unlatching the chain and unlocking the bolt she moved aside to allow Kris Versteeg to enter. He wore blue swim trunks with a white t-shirt on his torso and a beach towel draped over his shoulders. Bristol bit her lip and hid her laughter at the sight of a pair of goggles resting on his forehead and a beach bag full of toys tightly grasped in his fingers.
“Who’s ready for the beach?” Kris asked.
Kristen raced into her bedroom to shed her pajamas and change into her swimming suite. After telling Kris to hang on a minute, Bristol wiped Nicholas’ sticky face before he followed behind his sister. She changed him and lathered the boy in sun screen as he tried escaping her grip, afraid Kristen and his Uncle Kris would leave without him. Letting Nicholas go, Bristol shook her head as he dashed out of his bedroom calling out after his sister. From the dryer she grabbed two fresh beach towels, folded them and headed into the front room where Kris waited.
Her longtime friend had found success in Florida. Unlike Toronto and Philly, Kris hadn’t been traded, rather offered a long term contract. Four years ago he had married Allison and was expecting the birth of his first child in three months. During the summer Kris spent as much time as he could with his Goddaughter and he made it a habit of spoiling her rotten during Christmas and on her birthday.
“Keep a close eye on him,” Bristol warned Kris about her son as she secured a Hawks ball cap over his head. “He likes to wander off and make sure he wears his floaties in the water.”
Hoisting Nicholas up into his arms, the young boy wrapped his arms around Kris’ neck. “Relax. Out of all the times I’ve taken them out, haven’t I brought them home in one piece?” Cocking her head to the side, Bristol placed her hands on her hips about to bring up the one slip-up. Kris caught himself. “Don’t answer that.”
Climbing up on the sofa beside her father, Kristen wrapped her arms around Dan’s neck and kissed his scruffy cheek. “I love you, daddy.”
Returning the kiss to her rosy cheek, Dan helped her down. “I love you, too baby girl. Have fun.”
When the three left, Bristol closed and locked the door as she rested her back against cool metal. With his fingers he gestured for her to come closer to him. Pushing herself away from the door Bristol let her feet shuffle against the floor. She was caught by surprise and busted out into a fit of giggles when Dan picked her up off her feet and tossed her over his shoulder. They were finally alone after nearly six months and no second would dare be wasted.