The Fear Is Paralyzing

Kris got a call from Tyler when Quinn was in the shower. "Bonjour," he answered the phone.
 
"Bold move, hot shot," Tyler laughed, but Kris said nothing. Even though he had told Quinn there was nothing to worry about, Kris himself was worried. He didn't know who it would affect more, Quinn or himself, but either way, it wasn't good for the team. "Seriously though, you and Quinn doing alright?" he asked.
 
Kris nodded, but then realized his friend couldn't see him. "Yeah, we're meeting with PR at three, that should be fun," Kris rolled his eyes. He could think of a thousand things he'd rather do than sit down with PR.
 
"It'll all blow over, you know that. It always does. Plus we've got the parade coming up and all that stuff will take precedence over this. I mean who really cares who's dating who?" Tyler asked, but Kris knew it wasn't that simple.
 
Kris started to say something when he heard Quinn screaming, and he quickly told Tyler, "I gotta go, I'll text you later after that meeting." He didn't wait for a response from Tyler before hanging up, jogging back towards his bedroom, where he thought Quinn was.
 
He found her sitting there in a white tank top and black pants, her hair still wet from the shower, and her phone pressed against her ear. She hadn't even noticed Kris come in, and she quickly stood up, her free hand on her hip. "Stop it! This has nothing to do with you! So just stay out of it!" With that, she promptly hung up the phone, throwing it as hard as she could on the bed. Fortunately, it landed on pillows, not damaging the phone.
 
"Quinn, what's wrong?" Kris asked, and Quinn looked up at him, startled by his presence. "Who was that?" he asked, pointing at her phone, which was now laying face up and showing a call coming through again.
 
"My mother," she gritted her teeth. "She's angry we didn't let her and Garrett have a say in how we revealed everything. I tried to tell her it was a heat of the moment thing, that we weren't planning on doing that, but she won't listen. She just keeps saying I was stupid and I should have talked to her and Garrett first and that they would have told me the correct way of doing this," she explained with a heavy sigh at the end.
 
"I'm sorry," Kris said, hugging her. She slowly began to relax in his arms. "I think she's making a bigger deal out of this than she needs to."
 
"I'm sure Dean is playing a role in that," Quinn muttered. "Why do I have to be a part of this family?" she sighed. "Why can't I have a normal family, one that's supportive instead of crazy?"

Kris kissed the top of her head. "Not all of your family is crazy," he spoke. "Noah isn't," he added in case she didn't know what he was referring to.

Quinn nodded her head. "I know," she told him, taking a deep breath before changing subjects. "I'm not looking forward to meeting with Jenna this afternoon. I don't want to face the press," she sighed.

Kris continued to keep his arms around her. "I know, but we'll get through it together," he assured her.

***

Jenna Maze was good at her job, but Mario didn't know if she would even be able to create a positive spin on this matter. But, he wasn't about to say anything to Quinn or Kris as he watched them walk into Jenna's office building in downtown Pittsburgh. Mario had gotten there just minutes before, and Quinn hadn't been expecting him. "Mario?" she said, looking at him curiously.

He smiled at her and Kris. "I thought you two could use some support," he explained. "Besides, I like to be involved in things like this dealing with the team," he added, and Quinn nodded her head. "You two ready?" he asked them.

Quinn didn't say anything at first, so Kris spoke up. "Is there any way I can just pay a fine and we can move on?" he half-joked, lightening the mood.

Mario put a hand on his shoulder. "If only it were that easy," he chuckled. "But, no, you can't just pay a fine and have Quinn."

"I think that'd make me a prostitute if you could," she said, thinking about what he had just said.

Kris shook his head, opening his mouth to respond, just as Jenna walked out into the main area. Kris immediately shut his mouth, deciding it was best to not say what he was thinking. "Quinn, Kris, Mario," she said, shaking each of their hands as she said their name. "Wish we could be seeing each other under better circumstances, but let's go back to my office, shall we?" she asked.

The three of them followed her down the hallway to the back corner office. She shut the door behind them, as Quinn walked to the window, looking out at the Pittsburgh skyline. When she turned back around, she saw that Mario and Kris had already taken seats across from Jenna, and she scurried back over towards Jenna's desk in order to sit down in between the two men.

Jenna put her elbows on her desk, leaning forwards towards them. "Let's get right down to business, shall we? The press has a lot of questions. There's a lot of rumors out there already, how long you two have been together, how it's impacted the team, how it's impacted Kris specifically. If he's getting anything in addition to his signed contract, if he's getting an extension because of it, if he's getting traded. The media is abuzz right now," Jenna told them.

"So what are we going to do?" Quinn asked her when Jenna took a breath, giving her a moment to get a word in. She didn't want to hear about everything that was being said. After looking at ESPN, she hadn't looked at any other media outlet, not wanting to read anything else about her and Kris.

"We're going to release a press statement stating the facts. You and Kris do have a relationship. It has not affected his contract, nor will it."

"I've actually been thinking," Mario interrupted, and they all turned their heads to look at him. "I think it might be best if I take over everything business-wise dealing with Kris. So anything with his contract or God forbid, any disciplinary action. If I am in control of all of that, I think it gives him the same even footing as everyone else on the team. I'm not trying to step on your toes, Quinn, and if you don't agree, we can discuss it," he said, focusing in on Quinn.

She shook her head. "No, I completely agree with you on that. That way our personal relationship never interferes with our professional one," she stated.

"We'll add that to the press release," Jenna said, grabbing a notepad and a pen and scribbling something down. "I think we'll have a press conference with the three of you after the parade," she continued.

Kris ran a hand through his hair. The last thing he wanted to do was have to talk to the press about his personal life on a day of celebration from winning the cup. "Kris?" Quinn asked, noticing her boyfriend's reaction to the press conference.

"I just don't get this. Why does the media need to know anything about our personal life? It's just that. Personal," he said, and Quinn moved in her seat, not expecting Kris to put up a fight about all of this. "They try to always ask about Sid's personal life, and he just shrugs it off, never answers them. It doesn't stop them from talking, but he doesn't have to have a damn press conference discussing it."

"Crosby's personal life doesn't involve the owner of the team," Jenna responded.

"That doesn't matter! It's still my personal life," he said, raising his voice. "It isn't anybody's business but mine!"

"Kris!" Quinn exclaimed.

"No, Quinn, you know I'm right," he said, turning his head to look at her, lowering his voice just slightly. He wasn't angry at her, and he didn't want to take his anger out on her either. "You know this is stupid. I shouldn't have to answer to a bunch of random people who I'm dating or anything."

Quinn started to protest, but Mario beat her to the punch. "Kris," he said, putting his hand on his shoulder. "I know this is frustrating, and I know it's not fair, but it's something that needs to be done. Listen, do this one press conference, make a statement, and you never have to answer anything about you and Quinn ever again," he promised him.

"Fine," Kris stated, though it was evident he wasn't happy with the situation.

"I'll prepare a statement for you," Jenna continued. "Until then, don't talk to the press, that's about it."

"That's fine with me," Kris said, pushing his chair back and standing up. He didn't want to be here any longer. He said goodbye to Jenna and Mario and immediately rushed out to his car, waiting on Quinn.

Quinn said a quick apology to Mario and Jenna for Kris's behavior, and then said her goodbyes before going outside. She got in the car and put her seatbelt on. She expected him to speed out of the parking lot, but was surprised when he just sat there, his hands on the steering wheel. He was gripping it tightly, and Quinn knew he was trying to keep his anger under control. She tried to think back and remember any times she had witnessed Kris truly angry, but she couldn't remember any except when he was on the ice. Not this angry, at least.

"Kris," she said, putting a hand on the back of his neck, massaging it a little bit. "I'm sorry about all of this," she spoke quietly. But, with the car turned off, he could hear every word she was saying.

After a few moments of silence, he finally replied. "It's not your fault, Quinn. I just don't like talking to the press about my personal life, that's all. I knew we'd have to eventually, I just didn't want it to be made into a big deal."

"I know," Quinn said, running her fingers through his hair.

"I'm sorry about in there. I know I embarrassed you," he spoke quietly, his accent coming through strong.

"Kris," Quinn said, moving his head with her hand so that he was looking at her. "You never embarrass me. I love you," she smiled at him.

"I love you, too," he replied, kissing her lightly on the lips before starting the car up and getting them back home to his place.