The Fear Is Paralyzing

Kris sat in Tyler's living room as Tyler tossed him his second beer. "So you have to go do a press interview about dating Quinn after the parade? Talk about ruining the celebration," Tyler said, sitting down in the recliner and opening his own beer. "What's the big deal anyways? It's not like anyone is grilling me about sleeping with Dani."

"That's what I said!" Kris exclaimed. "Why does it matter who I'm dating?" he asked, still frustrated by this whole situation. He had always known it was going to be a mess when he and Quinn finally came out publicly and said they were together, but he never thought he'd have to have a press conference about it. That just seemed too over-the-top for him.

"Because you decided to date the team owner," Tyler pointed out, and Kris flipped his friend off. "What? It's true! You decided to screw the owner!"

"Don't say it like that," Kris said, grabbing a pillow on the couch next to him and throwing it at Tyler. "It's not like I was like 'hey, let me just sleep with the team owner.'"

"No, you decided to fall in love," Tyler rolled his eyes, hating that this conversation was getting more sentimental than he liked. "You planning on popping the question soon?" he asked.

Kris choked a bit on his beer, coughing to try to clear his throat. "No, not soon," he said, shaking his head for emphasis. "Shouldn't you be the one thinking about that?" he asked. "You and Dani have been dating for how many years now? You better lock her down before she finds someone better than you," he joked.

"I'm one step ahead of you," Tyler spoke.

Kris looked over at him, wondering if he was saying what he thought he was. "Seriously?" Kris finally asked.

"Bought the ring yesterday," he stated.

Kris shook his head, but was in fact, happy for his friend. "You better hope she says yes," he said, just as the front door opened, and Danielle came walking in.

He hoped she hadn't heard him, and if she had, she let it go. "Hey Kris, how's everything going?" she asked sympathetically. "I saw the press release," she added, and Kris groaned. He didn't want to think about the press release, and especially not about the press conference that he was going to have to do.

"C'est stupide," he muttered in French. "Je veux juste être avec Quinn," he continued, before he looked up and noticed the looks of confusion on both Tyler and Danielle's faces. "I just want to be with Quinn," he sighed. "I don’t understand why everyone needs to know about our personal lives."

"I know," Danielle said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I know it’s not fair. But, just get through all of this, and then you two get to be together, and that's all that matters. She's worth it, right?"

Kris looked at her, surprised by her question. "Do you think I'd go through all of this bullshit if she wasn't?" he responded.

"Maybe you should tell her that," Danielle said softly.

"What?" Kris asked, confused. "Why are you saying that? You don't think she knows? Have you been talking to her? What has she said?" he questioned

Danielle put her hands up in defense. "No, I haven't talked to her, Kris," she told him, and he backed down slightly. "I'm just saying, put yourself in her shoes. She's going through all this, too. And, I'm sure she's not happy with it either. And, if I were in her shoes, I'd be feeling bad about all of this, and I'd want to know that you thought I was worth it."

"I think that's pretty obvious."

"Yeah, well sometimes girls need to hear things to know they're true," she said. Tyler glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, wondering if she was trying to say something to him, but she didn't even look at him. "It's just a suggestion, Kris," she shrugged her shoulders. "But anyways, how are things going with you personally?" she asked.

"I don't want to do any of this," he mumbled. "But, other than that I'm fine."

Danielle cocked an eyebrow at him, clearly not believing him. "Oh really?" she questioned. "Then why are you sitting here with Tyler drinking beer?"

"Because we're guys?" Kris chuckled. "That's what we do. We sit around and drink beer and complain about our girlfriends," he stated, without the slightest hint of a smile.

Danielle's gaze turned to Tyler. "Oh, is that right?" she questioned. "And, what exactly did you have to complain about me about?"

Kris couldn't help but laugh, seeing Tyler backed into a corner, holding his hands up. "I wasn't complaining about anything!" he exclaimed. "I swear. I love you, Dani, there's nothing to complain about!"

Danielle laughed. "Now I know you're lying. But, listen, I'll let you off the hook on one condition," she told him. Tyler looked at her, waiting to hear what he was going to have to do. "You make me dinner tonight," she finished.

"Fine," Tyler said, as Danielle backed off, and he turned to glare at Kris. "Get out of here before you cause any unwanted trouble for me. Go make dinner for your own girl."

Kris shook his head. "Not tonight," he told him. "Tonight is family dinner night for her…and I’m joining her."

"No wonder you're drinking," Danielle laughed, and Kris nodded his head, chuckling himself. To say he wasn't looking forward to meeting Quinn's family was an understatement. He knew he needed a drink or two in him before he dealt with them.

"I'll talk to you two later. Have fun cooking, Ty," he added with a laugh as he walked out the door.

Kris went back to his place, taking a shower and changing his clothes before he went to pick Quinn up at her apartment. She hadn't moved into his condo just yet, though they had discussed her doing it soon. He knocked on her door, and it took a few moments to open it.

He gave her a quick kiss on the lips as he walked inside, seeing her in a summer dress that showed off her legs, something Kris couldn’t complain about. "You look beautiful," he smiled at her.

"You're too sweet," Quinn said, wringing her hands.

Kris could tell she was nervous, and he stood in front of her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Why are you so nervous right now?" he asked her, putting his hands on her face so she was looking up at him. "It's just family dinner, right?"

Quinn nodded her head, but she didn't look any more at ease. "Yeah, but it's the first family dinner that you're going to, the first time you're meeting my parents, and everything just hit public about us."

"It's still just your family," he said, softly kissing her lips. "Don't worry too much. I can handle parents," he smiled at her.

"I hope you can handle mine," she said softly.

***

Kris never could have imagined how Quinn's family dinner was going to, but he certainly never expected to be standing in the middle of the living room, screaming at her family members. He had been introduced to Corinne and Garrett, who welcomed him inside, but seemed a little irritated at him as they talked about how the press found out about his and Quinn's relationship. And, then there was Dean. Kris had hated Dean from the time Quinn had told him about her step-brother, but nothing could make him hate him more than talking to him tonight.

Dean had asked more than one time if Kris was with Quinn for his own benefit, asking him what he was getting out of it, whether he was getting a better contract. Each time, Kris tried to either ignore him or tell him that he and Quinn dating had nothing to do with his contract.

But, that wasn't what had truly set Kris off. Dean had turned his attention to Quinn, trying to bully her. "Why don't you just give the team up, Quinn? You know you're not going to be able to keep it, if you plan on staying with him," Dean said, shooting a glance at Kris. "You can't have both."

"Why not?" Quinn asked, putting her hands on her hips. "I've been handling everything just fine so far."

"Cut the bullshit, Quinn. You haven't been handling anything. Mario has. You've sat back and fucked a player, while he does all the work." Quinn was quiet for a moment, and Kris knew Dean's words had hurt. He knew Quinn wanted to handle this on her own, so he didn't say anything just yet. But, Dean continued. "You're nothing but a little whore who got lucky that the father that abandoned her decided to leave her something. You've done nothing for this team except bring it bad press, and you're just going to continue to fuck the team over while you get dick," he said lowly.

Kris couldn't believe that no one was standing up for Quinn. Corinne and Garrett stood back, taking the scene in. Kris was sure that had Noah been in the room, he would have said something to his brother, but Noah had gotten a work call fifteen minutes ago and had left to take it, leaving the five of them alone in the living room.

He could see Quinn's bottom lip quiver, and he couldn't stand aside any longer. "Listen," Kris started, his teeth clenched, as he took a step forward, stepping in between Quinn and Dean. "You don't know anything about our relationship, Quinn's job, or what she does for the team. Don't you dare try to say that she's done nothing for the team. She puts her whole heart into the team."

"No, she puts her whole mouth on your--" Dean began.

"You are a manipulative bastard who's pissed off because you don't have the team," Kris cut him off, his voice growing louder with each word. He was trying to not let his anger get the best of him, but he could feel it coursing through his body. "Don't try to bring Quinn down. She's never going to give the team over to you, so just stop. Stop trying to weasel your way into getting it. Stop trying to make her feel bad. Stop talking about things you don’t have a clue about." He was yelling at this point, and he felt Quinn put her hands on his arm, trying to calm him down. He took a step back away from Dean.

"Oh, look how cute that is, Mr. Hockey Player is whipped," Dean smirked.

Kris shrugged his arm out of Quinn's grasp and closed the gap between him and Dean. He cocked his hand back, ready to punch Dean when he heard Quinn say his name, trying to get him to stop. He clenched his fist tightly as he dropped it to his side, not touching Dean, who simply laughed. "You don't even have the balls to hit me," he said.

Kris didn't say anything, but turned to look at Quinn. "You don't need to stay here for this abuse," he told her. "Let's get out of here."

Quinn looked absolutely helpless. But, she slowly nodded her head, allowing Kris to take her hand and lead her out the door, much to the chagrin of Corinne and Garrett, who were telling her not to leave with Kris. But, she followed him to his car, getting inside.

She tried to hold on as long as she could, but as soon as Kris started his car, the dam broke, and tears began rolling down her face. "Quinn, ma chère," Kris said softly, turning his body so he was facing her, as he took his thumb to try to wipe the tears away. "Je suis desolè," he apologized.

Quinn shook her head. "No, you didn't do anything," she sniffled. "They…they just sat there," she said, and it took Kris a moment to realize she was referring to her parents. "This is how it's always been," she said, her voice wavering, as tears continued to trickle down her face. "They've never defended me."

"Ma chère," Kris said sympathetically. He couldn’t believe she had grown up that way. He couldn’t imagine ever having a family that didn't support her. He knew Noah was good to her, and he was grateful that she had him in her life.

He didn't know what to say, however, and instead, just continued to wipe the tears away with the pad of his thumb. When she had calmed down slightly, he asked, "Do you want to go back to my place?"

Quinn nodded her head, and Kris drove away, getting away from the Myrick household as fast as he could.