The Fear Is Paralyzing

Dix-Neuf

Quinn didn't know why her stomach was full of knots. Kris was meeting Noah, but that wasn't something that she should be too nervous about. She knew they would get along, there was no way they wouldn’t. They both meant so much to her. "Quinn, stop pacing, you're getting me nervous now," she heard Kris say from behind her, and she walked back over to the couch, sitting down next to him, putting her hand on his knee.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Don't be nervous. Everything is going to go fine."

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself of this?" Kris asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Since Quinn had told him that Noah wanted to meet him, Kris hadn't thought it was that big of a deal. He had met his girlfriends' families before, and it was never anything he was too nervous for. It always went over well. But, the way Quinn had been acting all day was starting to get him nervous. He knew how much Noah meant to her, that he was the one that she was closest to in her family, and he also knew that if Noah didn't like him that that would be a big strike against him in Quinn's eyes.

Quinn didn't have time to answer him before there was a knock on her door. She got up, knowing already that it was going to be Noah and Claire, whom she had asked to come along for the visit as well. She opened the door to see the two of them standing there, and she invited them inside. Kris stood up, walking over to the two of them, holding his hand out to shake.

"Guys, this is Kris. Kris, Noah and Claire," she introduced quickly, keeping her eye on Noah and Kris as they shook hands.

"Kris, nice to meet you," Noah said, a sincere smile on his face.

"You too," Kris replied, before going over to Claire and saying the same thing to her.

"You all want to sit down and eat?" Quinn asked, interrupting the group. She had spent the last hour making dinner for everyone. Her studio apartment wasn't very big, but she did have a table set up with four chairs surrounding it, perfect for their dinner that evening. She sat down in a chair with Kris on one side of her and Claire on the other, Noah sitting across from her.

The dinner was going well with Kris and Noah getting along well, talking about random things. Quinn would catch Claire's eye occasionally and smile at her, knowing that this was going better than she could ever have imagined. Then Dean was brought up. "Did Dad tell you he found out why Dean was in Florida?" Noah asked.

Kris noticed the change in Quinn's demeanor immediately, while she took her time looking over at Noah. Kris reached his hand underneath the table, putting it comfortingly on Quinn's knee, giving it a small squeeze. Quinn hadn't talked about Dean as of late, and Kris knew that was how it was normally. When they first were getting to know one another, she would talk of him, only to tell him how he wanted the team. But, since she had decided to try to give keeping the team a try, she hadn't talked about him as much.

"No," Quinn shook her head at Noah. "Why was he there?"

"He was meeting with a lawyer," Noah stated.

Quinn's facial expression quickly changed to confusion. Why would Dean go all the way to Florida to meet with a lawyer when his own brother was one. "For what?" Quinn asked him. "Why not come to you?"

"Because he knew I wouldn't help him on this," Noah said, and Quinn waited on him to continue. "He's trying to find a legal reason that you can't keep the team," he informed her, and Quinn just sighed, lowering her head. She thought they had moved past all of this. Sure, she had known Dean wasn't happy with her having the team still, but she couldn't believe he was actually meeting with lawyers, trying to find a reason she'd have to give the team up.

"He's not going to find anything," Kris stated, though in all honesty, he didn't know. He didn't know the legal ins and outs of owning a team, but he wanted to stay positive for Quinn.

"He doesn't, does he?" Quinn asked, looking over at Noah.

"Not that I can think of," Noah told her, and Quinn nearly let out a breath of relief.

"This," she said, pointing between herself and Kris. "This isn't going to affect anything, is it? I mean, Dean doesn't know, but if he ever found out, it's not going to affect anything, is it?" she inquired. Kris looked over at her, not having thought about that himself. They had tried to keep everything under wraps before just so they wouldn't have to deal with the opinions of everyone, from his teammates to fans to the press. But, could there be a legal issue at hand as well?

"No," Noah assured her, and this time both Kris and Quinn were relieved to hear his answer. "I read through that contract you signed. There was nothing in there about dating anybody on the team, just that you have to act appropriately, and it's very clear that you two are, seeing as no one knows about you two. He's not going to get you on this, even if he does find out somehow."

"Thank God," Quinn mumbled. She didn't want to have to choose between owning the team and being with Kris. She didn't know if she could if forced to do so. "So he should come up empty handed?"

Noah nodded his head. "Yes he should. He may come back with some bullshit thing, but you know that you have me, and I'll get you out of whatever he tries to throw at you."

Quinn smiled at him. "It's funny, we're not even blood related, and yet you act more like my brother than Dean's."

"That's because Dean needs to learn how to act like a grown man," Noah said bluntly.

They finished up their dinner and Noah and Claire walked out the door. Quinn shut it behind them, turning around to face Kris. "That wasn't so bad," she said with a small smile. He walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her as she buried her face into his chest. She pulled away slightly to look up at him. "Was it?"

He kissed her forehead before answering. "Not at all. I like them," he smiled at her.

"Good," she beamed back, hugging him.

"How are you feeling about Dean?"

Quinn practically shivered at his name alone. To know that he was trying to find some reason that she would have to give the team up worried her. Sure, Noah had told her that there was nothing he could use, but that didn't mean that Dean wouldn't try. If one thing was true about Dean, he was persistent and determined, even if he was in everything only for himself. "I hate him," she said quietly.

Kris continued to hold her. "I know you do, babe," he told her. "But, it's going to be okay. You're going to keep the team, and you can be sure he's not going to get a hold of us."

"Thank you," Quinn told him, going up on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss on the lips. "You want to stay here for tonight?" she asked him hopefully. She really didn't feel like being by herself tonight, and she hoped Kris would pick up on that.

"Of course," he smiled at her as he grabbed her hand and led her back to the bedroom.

***

Kris woke up first the following morning, having set his alarm on his phone the night before, knowing he had to get to practice early. He looked over at Quinn, asleep in just his t-shirt, and he really didn't want to get out of bed, but he knew he couldn't be late for practice. He wasn't about to deal with the consequences of that.

He begrudgingly got out of bed and threw his clothes from the night before on, grabbing his keys and heading out the door, going home for a few minutes to change and grab the things he needed and then heading to the arena. He made sure to send Quinn a quick text, telling her good morning and that he already missed being in her bed with her.

He got to the arena with time to spare, and he wished he would have stayed in bed with Quinn longer. He walked inside, seeing the majority of his teammates already there. He changed into his practice attire as Sidney walked over to him. "So what ended up happening to you and that girl?" he asked.

It took Kris a moment to figure out what Sid was talking about, but then the memory came rushing back to him. Sid had been the one to find him in the bar that night when he and Quinn had fought. "We ended up working it out," Kris told him, not wanting to give him too many details.

"Yeah?" Sid asked. "You happy again?"

Kris chuckled. "Yeah, man, I am."

"Good," Sid said, putting a hand on Kris's shoulder. "We need you happy. You play better when you're happy," he said jokingly. In all honesty, Sid really did care how Kris was feeling, not just because of his playing abilities based on his emotions.

Practice went by relatively fast for Kris, and before he knew it they were already getting off the ice. When he got back to his locker, he checked his phone, seeing a text from Quinn. I miss you here too! I'm going to head into work, maybe I'll see you there ;)

Kris smiled at the text, which a couple of the guys noticed. "Your girlfriend?" Evgeni asked, obviously recognizing that smile, as he got that smile as well when his girlfriend texted him.

Kris nodded his head, not wanting to make a big deal of it. "Why don't you tell us about her?" Sid asked, and few more guys started to pay attention to the conversation. "We really don't know anything about her. You like keep her hidden. Tell us about her!" he insisted.

Kris tried to avoid answering, but the guys continued pestering him. "Just name," Evgeni suggested. "Tell us her name."

"That's the least you could tell us!" Sid agreed. But, that was the last thing Kris wanted to do. He knew that Quinn wasn't a common name, and if he told them, it would only be a matter of time that the team would realize he was dating the team owner, and that was something that could not be found out.

When Kris continued to not tell them, they tried taking his phone, knowing her name would be in it. Tyler had succeeded in getting the phone away from him, and was trying to get to his text messages, and Kris was trying his best to get the phone away from him. However, he was too late.

He saw the moment when Tyler read the name. He knew he had made the connection, and he knew Tyler knew who he was dating. Tyler looked up at him, almost wanting confirmation, and the look on Kris's face gave him that.

Tyler handed the phone back to him before facing the guys. "Blair. His girl's name is Blair," he announced to the crowd who then started saying the name. Kris looked at Tyler, confused, knowing Tyler had just covered for him.

He took the teasing from his teammates and waited on them to disperse so he could talk to Tyler. When it was just the two of them left, he walked over to his roommate. "You lied for me," he stated.

Tyler turned to look at him. "You were hiding her for a reason. And, I'd have to say it's a very big reason. Quinn?" he asked. He wasn't judging him, more like making sure it was true.

Kris nodded his head. "You're not going to tell anyone, are you?"

"I just lied to the entire team. You really think I'm going to say something?" Tyler chuckled.

"Thanks, man. I owe you," Kris told him.

"You remember that," Tyler smiled at him. "I'm going to hold you accountable," he promised him, and Kris laughed and nodded his head.

Kris knew he had to let Quinn know that someone else knew about them, and he sent her a quick text. TK knows about us. Long story, I'll tell you later. But, he's not going to say anything. I promise.

He sat back and waited for her to reply. He didn't know if she would be upset or not. But, he got his answer moments later. As long as he doesn't say anything, then I'm fine with it. If you trust him, then I do too :)

Kris smiled at her response, happy that she wasn't angry. Now he just had to hope that no one else found out about them. But, with the way things were going now, he wasn't sure they would be so lucky.
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