Father Figure

A five hour plane ride went by faster that I had anticipated. I'd expected to be stuck in the confined contraption for much longer, but apparently Sidney had ways of finding flights that had no lay overs or connecting flights.

"You ready?" I asked him as we began filing off the plane. I quickly switched my cell phone back on, just in case.

"No," he answered honestly.

I reached forward and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "It'll be okay," I promised softly.

His hand grasped mine tightly for a long moment before letting go. I looked down as my cell phone vibrated, alerting me of three missed calls and three new voicemails. My gut twisted nervously.

I quickly listened to the most recent voicemail, from Vero.

"Hey, uh... So, I don't know if t'e school called you at all. T'ey called me and Marc... We 'ave t'e boys. If you could call me back about what to do, t'at would be great. Bye!"

I frowned and quickly listened to her other message, telling me she was picking the boys up from school. Finally I got to the voicemail from their elementary school. Sidney glanced at me as we walked down the tunnel. "Who is it?" he asked curiously.

I frowned more. "The school," I mumbled.

Sidney got a nervous look on his face.

"We have called to inform you that Gabriel, Beau, and Kristopher have been sent home early as a result of fighting. We contacted the person you left us information for, a Mr. Fleury..."

I let out a tired sigh as I listened to the rest of the message before deleting it. "They got in a fight and got sent home early," I muttered as I scrolled through my contacts for Vero.

"What?" he demanded instantly. "Fighting?"

I nodded my head. "Allo! So, you got my messages?" Vero greeted quickly.

"Yeah, what happened?" I questioned.

She let out a small laugh. "T'eir principal told me t'at t'ey got in a fight with a sixt' grader. T'ey told me 'e was insulting Sid and said 'e'd never return to 'ockey. T'ey ganged up and tried to fight 'im," she explained in amusement. "What should I do?"

I almost stopped walking. "Tell them no more TV, games, or anything until bed. They can read and play outside, but no electronics. Also, no dessert and right to bed after dinner," I decided with a shrug.

"Alright, I'll tell t'em," she assured me. She let out a laugh. "It's kind of funny," she admitted.

I let a small smile finally find my lips. "Yeah, I guess so... A sixth grader, though? Do they have no sense?" I asked with a laugh.

She laughed along with me. "T'ey are stubborn like t'eir fat'er. I better go, t'ey're coming inside. I'll talk to you later!"

We quickly said our goodbyes and hung up. "Your sons fought a sixth grader for insulting you," I informed Sidney as we made our way to the baggage claim.

He let out a loud laugh. "Oh goodness... That'll be fun to deal with when we get home," he mumbled.

I smiled up at him. The simple sentence made my stomach twist happily. He had taken so well to the role as their father, it was like second nature now. He now longer referred to disciplining as my job, but took it on himself, as well. He wasn't afraid to send them to their rooms for acting out. I couldn't have asked for anyone better.

"So your appointment is tomorrow morning?" I asked as we gathered our bags.

"Yup, eight am. Then after lunch we go back and I guess I get the first actual treatment. They want to keep me there for awhile just to keep an eye on me and all that," he explained.

"And we get the rest of today to do whatever we want," I added.

He grinned down at me, slipping his hand into mine as he led me to the car rental area. "I'm thinking a good dinner on the beach and a stroll around there?" he asked.

"I think that sounds like a great idea," I responded.

-----

"Number one favorite moment," I decided as I watched Sidney take a drink from his root beer bottle.

He let out a sigh as he thought about it. "Winning the Cup," he decided.

"No gold medal?" I asked, slightly surprised.

He shrugged his shoulders. "It was amazing to win that, but as a hockey player you always dream of lifting that Cup, not so much earning that medal. That kind of just came out of nowhere, really. I never expected to go to the Olympics," he admitted. I smiled as I took a sip from my actual beer. "Your number one favorite moment."

"Easy," I replied. But as I opened my mouth to respond, my words hesitated. Maybe it wasn't so easy... He chuckled at my confused expression. "Okay, maybe not. I can't decide which is my favorite of two," I told him.

"Well, what are both of them?" he asked.

I leaned back in my chair, resting my feet on the bed. "One was when the boys were born and I found out they were all healthy. The doctors were slightly nervous something would be wrong since they were a month early and all small," I told him.

"And the second?"

I looked over at him. His gentle eyes stared down at me, waiting patiently for my response. He was relaxed as could be, wearing his pajama pants only and his hair all messed up after his shower. Something about seeing him in this light made my throat grow tight, of course the two beers I'd already consumed probably added to my messed up emotions.

I couldn't resist suddenly leaning across the couch to wrap my arms around his waist. "I missed you," I muttered as my eyes stung. I was always a big ball of emotions when I was intoxicated.

He chuckled and wrapped his arm around my back. "I've been with you all day," he pointed out.

I sniffed. "But we didn't see each other for like six years... I missed you so much," I blurted out.

He rubbed my back gently. "I missed you, too," he mumbled.

"I'm glad you're back," I mumbled against the skin of his stomach. I felt his muscles tense underneath my cheek.

"I'm glad we're together again, too," he responded.

I felt his fingers run through my hair, brushing it out down my back. I let my eyes fall shut as I took in the feeling of him just being there. I didn't want to ever let him go now. I couldn't imagine having to lose him all over again, especially now with the boys.

"Christmas," I mumbled sleepily.

"What?" he asked curiously.

"My second favorite moment," I explained. "When we were all together for Christmas like an actual family."

"I change my answer. I like that one, too," he decided. My lips pulled up into a smile as his hands running through my hair finally lulled me to sleep.