The Beginning

"W.. Love you, baby." She said to the phone, catching up to what she was about to say. Bitting her lip, she silently prayed, hoping he hadn't noticed her mistake. She looked down at her stomach, smiling at it, her left hand resting on it.

"Je t'aime aussi, see you soon." He said from the other end, a sad look on his face. "I have to go, we're about to take off." He continued; Kieran sighed and said her goodbyes, hanging up almost immediately. Resting the phone on the bedside table, she stood up and walked to the mirror, lifting up her shirt to observe her stomach.

She smiled, noticing how it seemed to look slightly rounder, their first child growing inside of her. It was only yesterday that she had found out she was pregnant, after an appointment with her doctor, who had told her the news.

Turning to look at it from the side, her belly looked slightly swollen, not enough to give away the precious gift it was holding. With a final look, she pulled down her shirt and returned to her bed, flicking off the lights, but leaving the small lamp on his side on. He would get home in a few hours, possibly in a terribly sad mood after losing to the Flyers.

"Oh Kris," she thought as a small frown settled on her features "hopefully we'll cheer you up." Sighing, she pulled on the covers and tried to sleep, knowing he would wake her up once he arrived.

A few hours later, the sound of a door closing woke Kier up, signaling the arrival of her boyfriend. Rubbing her eyes, she stood up and put on her robe, making her way out of the room and down the stairs. "Hi, handsome" she said as she stepped in front of him, brushing his hair out of his face.

"Hi" was his only response, as he looked down at her, without hesitating, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, kissing her with passion. She wrapped her arms around his neck, playing with his hair as he picked her up easily.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, she let out a soft moan, causing them to break the kiss. "Kris, your hips," she reminded him, as she reluctantly unwrapped her legs from around him and slid to the ground. Sighing sadly, Kris rested his head on top of hers, taking in her warmth.

"Let's go to sleep, tomorrow will be a new day." She whispered, holding his hand and pulling away, slowly dragging him up the stairs with her. He rolled his head as they got to their room, yawning tiredly.

Once in their room, Kier started unbuttoning his shirt, throwing it away once she was done. Right after, his pants had dropped off his hips, pooling around their feet; stepping out of them carefully, he let her guide them to bed, sitting down once they had reached the end of it. Kris pulled her down to his lap, where she nuzzled into him. "Je t'aime" he said into her hair, knowing she had heard him by the tiny kiss she planted on his neck.

After a few minutes in silence, Kris realized his girlfriend, and hopefully soon to be wife, had fallen asleep. Chuckling almost silently, he moved them to the middle of the bed, where he covered both with the thick comforter, drifting off to a peaceful sleep in the arms of his true love.

The next day, things had gotten a bit hectic at the Letang-Greene household, with some of Kier's projects sprawled across the table. Kris had gone to CEC, having to meet up with the team doctors to discuss his injury. Meanwhile, his girlfriend had sneaked out of the house to run some errands; his birthday was going to be the next day, and she was going to cook a nice dinner for two, her news being one of the gifts he was getting.

Once back, she put away the surprise items, taking her time to unload the rest of the groceries. When he arrived home, he helped her cook dinner, knowing that Marc-André and Veronique were coming over.

A quiet evening with friends was what both couples needed, knowing that the next day was going to be busy for them; Marc and Veronique knew what Kris had planned, as well as part of Kieran's plans, it was also the day the guys needed to vacate the locker room for the summer, facing the reporters for the last time of the season.

Around 11, Marc and Vero returned to their place, leaving the younger couple alone. Kier busied herself by cleaning up the kitchen, as Kris headed into his office to sort through some of his papers. When it was five minutes until midnight, she pulled a small cake she had bought out of the fridge, putting on a small candle and lighting it, heading after her boyfriend.

"Joyeux anniversaire, joyeux anniversaire" she sang as she entered the office, smiling at the surprised look in Kris eyes. "Merci" he said almost breathlessly, smiling in return at the thoughtfulness of his girlfriend. Standing up from behind his desk, he walked up to her and blew up the candle, taking the cake and putting it away before kissing her with all the love he had.

"De rien" she whispered once they broke the kiss, looking up into his eyes, which were shining full of emotions. "Joyeux anniversaire, Kristopher." She said a bit loudly this time, as she leaned up to peck his lips. He deepened the kiss, as his mind ran wild with images of their time together.
When they pulled away, she smiled and took the cake from the desk, walking back to the kitchen with him behind. Taking a knife, she cut two portions for themselves, taking a bit of the whipped cream and smearing it on the tip of his nose, laughing at the beautiful sight in front of her.

Raising an eyebrow, Kris also took some whipped cream and spread it on her lips, kissing it off. With a smirk, he realized her breath had hitched, “Je t’aime, mon chèrie” he said with a smile, as she stood on her tiptoes to lick the tip of his nose. Giggling, she handed him his cake and a spoon, taking hers and beginning to eat.
Both Kris and Kieran ate in a comfortable silence, often sharing kisses and smiles until their eyes were almost closing. Once they had put their dishes away, Kris picked her up and carried her to their room, bridal style. Setting her down carefully, he began kissing all over her face, stoping at her lips from time to time. They undressed each other slowly, making love for the first time since the Penguins advanced to the play-offs.

At 9h30, the alarm in Kris’ phone woke them up, announcing it was time for him to start getting ready to head to CONSOL to pick his stuff. “Happy birthday baby” she said sleepily, her body tangled in the light blue sheets. “Go back to sleep, Kier” he commanded as he got ready, leaning down to kiss the sleepy woman.

Around two hours later, Kieran woke up again, getting ready to start cooking; deciding to start the dessert first, she got the ingredients ready and began to make her famous tiramisu from scratch. After putting it in the fridge, she moved onto the main dish, coconut crusted chicken with mango salsa, making sure to follow her mum’s recipe.

Finally, when everything was ready to her liking, she rushed to set the table, knowing that Kris would arrive in less than an hour. Rushing back to their room, she pulled her clothes out of the closet, getting in the shower. Once showered, she put on her undergarments and blow dried her hair, letting it rest straight. After applying a light coat of make up, she put on her dress and fastened her favourite pair of heels.

Giving herself one last look, she sprayed on some perfume and left the room, taking the gifts from the supplies closet. Hearing the engine of his car, she walked down the stairs and set the packages on a table, rushing to meet him at the door.

“Something smells good here” Kris said once he walked in, having left his bag and sticks in the car. “Welcome home”, she said with a smile as she helped him take off his jacket, hanging it behind the door.

After kissing her lips softly, he looked down at his clothes and held up a hand, running to get changed into something more fitting, also taking a small box from the back of the drawer in his bedside table. “Here we go” he thought with a smile, hoping to surprise her, without knowing he would be surprised as well.

Running back to the dinning room, he found her setting the food on the table, wrapping an arm around her waist to turn her around and kiss her full lips. Smiling, he pulled away, taking the bottle of Sparkling Cider and chuckling to himself since he couldn’t drink because of the pain medications he was taking; knowing her, she wouldn’t drink alcohol either, even if it was for a reason completely different to what he was thinking.

Helping her sit, he started serving the delicious looking food on their plates, as well as pouring the cider in their glasses. Clinking them, they began eating, sharing loving glances from time to time. “Thank you for everything. You don’t know how much all of this means to me” Kris said with a smile, as he helped her up and led her to the living room, where she had cleared the space to dance.
“It was my pleasure, but there’s still more” she whispered as the music started playing, both swaying gracefully to the rhythm. Staring lovingly into each others eyes, they kissed softly, enjoying the peacefulness of the moment. After more songs, she dragged him to the couch, pushing him softly so he was sitting comfortably; “Here goes nothing” she thought as she handed him the first gift.

Kris stared at it, ripping the paper open as carefully as he could, taking out a scrapbook. Opening it curiously, he saw photos from his childhood, up until a few days before; the photos of Luc, his deceased best friend bringing tears to his eyes, until he noticed something in the last page.

Looking at it carefully, he didn’t notice her sitting down next to him until her finger pointed at something in the middle. “What is this?” he asked confused, as he turned his head to look at her. “Our baby. Kris, I... I am pregnant.” She said softly, looking completely serious, a small glint of hope in her eyes. “Y-you are?” He asked hesitantly as he stood up slowly, glancing down at Kieran.

Nodding, she bit her lower lip, trying hard not to cry at what seemed like a negative reaction from him, frowning as she saw him pull something out of his pocket, slowly kneeling in front of her.

“Kieran Greene, we’ve been together for almost two years, and I know without a doubt that you’re the love of my life, and who I want for the mother of my children. Now that one is coming, I would like to know, would you do me the honour of marrying me? And making me the happiest man in this universe?” Kris let out, looking straight into her eyes, smiling at her and showing her a beautiful ring.

“Yes, yes, yes!” She choked out, throwing herself into him, knocking them both into the floor, where she kissed him almost senseless. After what seemed like hours, they pulled back, as he took the ring from the box and held o
ut her hand, placing it on her ring finger.

“Mon Dieu, Kris!” She gasped as she looked from the ring to him, grinning like crazy, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. “Je t’aime !” They said to each other at the same time, standing up and heading to their room, to celebrate the beginning of their new life.