Father Figure

"What's that?" Beau asked as he pointed to some kind of mysterious stain on the seat of the taxi. 

I tried not to think about it. "Who knows? Now come on. We have to hurry!" I exclaimed as I tried to get them out of the taxi. 

They all shuffled out next to me and grabbed hands. I paid the taxi driver before taking a hold of Gab's hand and leading them forward. They jabbered behind me, talking  about the talent show at school today. I pushed through the crowd outside towards the Will Call window. 

"Hi, I have four tickets," I told the lady. 

Her eyes went wide as she looked between me and the three boys. "Um, one second. Let me just, uh..." She quickly began digging through envelopes before tugging one out. "Nathalie Harris," she read with a smile before handing them over. "Enjoy the game."

I thanked her before tugging the boys to the door. The man scanned our tickets and let us through. "Mama, where are we?" Gab asked in confusion. 

I grinned. "We'll see," I responded. I led them through a small hallway towards our seats. Suddenly, a sharp ping sounded through out the arena. 

Gab, Beau, and Kris all gasped. "Are we at a hockey game?" Kris asked loudly. 

I grinned down at him, answering his question. Finally I got to our seats, right up in front of the glass. The boys screamed as they plastered themselves to the boards, gaping at the New York Rangers. "Mama! Mama! That's Uncle Jordan's brother!" Gab cried out, pointing to a red head in a number 18 jersey with the last name Staal on it. 

"That sure is. Are you going to cheer for him?" I asked. 

He scowled. "No."

I laughed to myself and went back to watching the team warm up. On the other half, the Penguins skated out to do their warm ups. Sidney tapped the glass as he skated by, smirking. I gave him a wave while the boys all screamed at the top of their lungs. Seeing their dad play made them happier than anything. And just like that, hurrying them through two crowded airports and around New York City was all worth it. 

I leaned back in my chair, my hands on my stomach. I still didn't feel the best, but I didn't feel terrible. My stomach churned every now and again, but that was all. The boys had gotten over their flu shortly after the day I'd picked them up from school. 

Jordan skated up to the glass. He waved to all of the boys, making goofy faces at them as well. They giggled and made goofy faces back. Kris stopped by his side and greeted them all. 

Then they were all off the ice once more. The boys sat in their seats, contently talking amongst themselves. I watched them excitedly tell the people on their other side about their dad playing again. I could only imagine them getting to play in this arena one day, at a professional level. 

-----

"Dad!"

Sidney bent down and scooped them all into a hug. He grinned and listened to them recount the story of the game. His eyes were brighter than normal. He didn't seem to care that their stories were about what he'd done. He was simply happy they were there. 

"Hey! It's the Mini Sids and Nathalie!" Jordan exclaimed as he exited the locker room. 

"Hi Jordan!" Beau called out. 

"Can we meet your brother?" Kris asked excitedly. 

Gab's eyes lit up at the idea of meeting another defenseman. "Sure. Are your parents okay with it?" he asked. 

All three pairs of eyes turned to Sidney and me. "Sure," I agreed. 

Jordan grinned and started to lead us to the Rangers's locker room. The boys walked by his side, listening to him talk about the game and his brother. When we got to the doors, Jordan poked his head inside and called out for his brother. 

Moments later, a red head that resembled him stepped out. He grinned at everyone. "Nice to meet you guys," Marc said as the boys reached out to shake his hand. 

"I'm Beau."

"I'm Kris."

"And I'm Gab. I play defense, too!" he exclaimed excitedly. 

Marc chuckled. "Yeah? Maybe one day you'll be able to play on the Rangers," he joked. 

Gab frowned. "No. I want to play on the Penguins or with the Habs," he corrected. 

Marc laughed at that. Sidney's hand gently rested on my lower back. I turned to look up at him. He gave me a quick kiss. "Thanks for bringing them over," he mumbled. 

I shrugged my shoulders. "Any day," I responded. I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. "Nice game. It was good to see you on the ice again."

"Thanks. It felt good to be out there again," he said. 

"Do you guys want to talk to anyone else on the team?" Marc asked. 

Kris gave him a shy look. "Mr. Lundqvist?" he asked softly. 

Marc chuckled before slipping into the locker room. He returned with the famous goalie beside him. "These three are Sid's boys. Kris wanted to meet you," he explained. 

Henrik looked between the three of them before his eyes landed on the middle one. "Are you Kris?" he asked. Kris nodded his head shyly. "It's very nice to meet you," Henrik told him. 

Kris giggled. "I think you play really cool."

"Well, thank you. Are you a goalie, too?" he asked. Kris nodded his head.

As the two talked, I turned to Marc. "Thank you," I told him. 

He smiled. "No problem. It's always fun to talk to little kids that play hockey. They're always so enthusiastic about everything to do with it. It's nice to see." He paused for a moment. "Well, look at who their father is. I guess I can't say I'm surprised they love hockey," he added. 

We all laughed. Beau turned around and suddenly hugged Sidney as tightly as he could. "I love you, daddy," he stated simply. 

My heart melted as I watched Sid hug him back and repeat the words. "So you two must be pretty serious," Marc commented as Beau whispered in Sidney's ear. 

I shrugged my shoulders. "We're just dating, but I guess it'd seem more serious with the boys and all."

He snorted. "I'm guessing you flew over here just for this game?"

I blushed slightly and nodded my head. Marc smirked to himself. "And I doubt you're the type of mom to let her kids miss school for a game?" I blushed further and looked down as Gab and Kris jumped around and babbled to the goalie. "It's not always such a bad thing to be serious so young. I mean, you've had to mature with those three and he's had to mature fast with the whole world watching him. God, you two are more like thirty year olds," he commented. I rolled my eyes at him. 

"I just don't want to say it's something he doesn't feel it is, too," I mumbled. 

Marc nudged me to look at him so I did. "I'm pretty sure he sees this going as far as you do. Sid isn't the type to have a relationship that's pointless. He's the kind of guy that would be in it for the long haul."

My stomach churned as I stared up at him, unsure of what to think. I could feel the butterflies raging in my stomach at the idea... Would Sidney really want this for good? Not just some relationship for awhile?

Before I could think of it any more, my stomach churned again - in a familiar sickening way. "Where's a bathroom?" I asked quickly. 

Marc scratched his head as he glanced around. "Right down that hall and to the left, I think," he answered. As the words left his mouth I hurried down the hall, begging my stomach to hold out just a bit longer. 

I barged into the bathroom and went straight into the stall. My stomach heaved up all of its contents instantly. God damn flu...