The Fear Is Paralyzing

Quinn walked into Sidney's house, looking around at all of the people celebrating. She had never been inside his house before, and she noticed all the Penguins memorabilia, and she couldn't help but smile. She knew that Sid was all about the team, but she liked that he liked to show that off in every part of his life.

She recognized a few people scattered around the room, some of the guys on the team and their girlfriends. But, in general, she didn't know most of the people there. She wondered if they were all friends of Sid's or if people had just found out about the party and had showed up.

Kris had immediately been dragged away by one of his teammates when he walked in the door, leaving Quinn standing there, feeling somewhat awkward. She felt relief rush through her when she saw Danielle walking her way, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her through the group of people in the middle of the room and to the other side where it was cleared out a little bit. "I'm so glad you're here!" Danielle told her. "How did today go? I saw the press conference! Kris did not seem happy there at the end," she said.

Quinn shook her head, thinking back to that last question. "No, he wasn't," she replied. "But, it's over, and we're to celebrate," she smiled.

"Let's celebrate then," Danielle said, grabbing her hand and leading her to the kitchen, where she found Kris standing, a beer in his hand, as he talked to James Neal.

"You can't even get your girlfriend a drink?" Quinn joked, pushing Kris lightly on his arm.

Before she knew it, James was handing her some mixed drink, though she wasn't entirely sure what it was. "You can be my girlfriend," James smiled at her, and Quinn knew he had already had more than enough to drink, though he had another jack and coke in his hands.

"Well, you do get me a drink," she said with a wink, taking a drink from the cup, instantly coughing. "Whoa! What is this?" she asked, still coughing as the alcohol burned her throat.

Kris grabbed it out of her hands, looking at it before taking a drink himself. "Shit, Nealer, you trying to get Quinn drunk on one drink?" he questioned. "Is this straight whisky?" he wondered, holding the cup out to James.

"No," James shook his head. "There's some coke in there somewhere…I think…maybe I forgot to put some in there," he said with a shrug, not too concerned with it, drinking the rest of what was in the cup in one gulp.

Quinn merely shook her head, wondering how he could drink it, but she didn't question it. "Can someone get me a real drink? One that has something besides straight alcohol?" she asked with a small laugh.

Another cup was put in front of her, and she grabbed it, seeing Tyler standing there, giving Danielle the cup that was in his other hand. "What is this?" Quinn asked, looking down at the cup.

"Just drink it," Tyler told her, and she did just that.

"This is good," she said, taking another sip.

Danielle put a hand on her boyfriend's bicep as she looked at Quinn. "Didn't you know? Ty could easily be a bartender if this hockey thing doesn't work out!" Quinn laughed at her, but knew there was some truth to the statement.

Kris had wrapped his arm around Quinn's waist as they walked out of the kitchen and back into the living room, where most people were. Sid and Malkin were telling stories of some memories throughout the season, and Quinn listened more closely when she heard her name. "I remember meeting Quinn first time," Malkin stated, and Quinn made her way over to him, wanting to be able to hear him more easily.

She found a spot to Geno's right and listened as him and Sid went back and forth telling the story. "Me too!" Sid said. "She was so clueless about hockey!"

"She came into meeting and we all thought it was joke," Geno added.

"We all wanted her out!"

"Okay!" Quinn interjected. "I don't really like where all of this is going," she said with a laugh. She wondered if they knew she was there and was still saying all these things, or neither of them had seen her come in.

"Hold on, let us finish!" Sid told her, and Quinn waited to hear what else they had to say. "And then without any of us knowing, my man Kris got all close with her and taught her all about the sport, and showed us she wasn't some clueless tramp."

"You thought I was a clueless tramp?" Quinn asked, wide-eyed.

"You were clueless," Geno laughed and Quinn sighed, knowing she couldn't argue that point. She had been clueless about the sport.

"But, Tanger showed us you weren't that way."

"And now we love you," Geno said with a big smile as he wrapped her up in a hug. Quinn couldn't help but smile back. She had always been worried she wouldn’t be accepted by the guys, first as the team owner and then as Kris's girlfriend.

"And, I, for one, know how hard it is to get accepted by the team," Quinn heard Dani's voice from behind her, and she turned around, curious as to her comment. She noticed Quinn's look, and Danielle continued. "Oh yeah, when I first started dating Tyler, they weren't exactly welcoming to me," she recalled.

"Why not?" Quinn questioned, wondering who wouldn't like Danielle.

She heard Sid sigh, and she turned to face him, figuring he had the answer. "My ex," he told her, and Quinn furrowed her eyebrows, as confused as ever. His ex? Was Dani his ex? "She knew Danielle from high school, and they hadn't exactly been friends. So, she made up stuff about Danielle, and we had all believed her."

"Yet, none of it was true," Danielle countered. "Fortunately, Sid dumped the dumb bitch and I'm still here," she said as Tyler put his hand on the small of her back, and she turned around, smiling at him.

"Yes, you are," Tyler smiled at her.

"And, we're glad you're here over Kim," Kris said, and Quinn assumed Kim must have been Sid's old girlfriend. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Especially me," Tyler told her, and Danielle kissed his cheek, causing everyone in the room to aww at the two of them.

Tyler took them all by surprise when he turned to Danielle, taking her hand in his. "I love you, Dani, more than I ever thought was possible. And, I can't imagine my life without you. You've been there with me through it all, the ups and downs, and I can't tell you how grateful I am to have you for all of that." He suddenly got down on one knee and reached in his pocket for the small box that had been in there all night. "Dani, will you marry me?" he asked, opening the box up in front of her.

"Oh my God, Tyler," she said quietly, her voice catching. She began nodding her head as she said, "Yes, yes! Of course I'll marry you!"

Tyler stood up, putting the ring on her finger as he kissed her, wrapping his arms around her, picking her up and spinning her around, while everyone cheered for them.

As Dani and Tyler made their way around the room with everyone giving them congratulations, Kris and Quinn stood in the corner by themselves, sipping on their drinks. "They're really cute together," Quinn smiled at their friends.

"They're so happy," Kris observed.

Quinn nodded her head. "Yes they are. Sometimes I wish we could be like them, lead non-dramatic lives. Unfortunately you have to deal with me and my family and the media," she commented.

"Please don't mention the media," Kris requested, taking a big gulp of his drink, hoping the alcohol would just make that mess go away. He was well past tipsy at this point, as was Quinn, and he knew they were going to need a ride home, as neither of them were in any condition to drive.

"Sorry," Quinn apologized. "Maybe I can do something to get your mind off of that," she said, wiggling her eyebrows so there was no question as to what she was referring to.

"Let's get out of here," Kris said, not wanting to waste any time.

"But, we haven't even congratulated Dani and Ty!" Quinn reminded him with a giggle, clearly drunk.

Kris shrugged. "He's my best friend, I'll call him tomorrow," he said, pulling on Quinn's hand, through the crowd of people and out the door. They walked to the main road, finding a taxi after several minutes and rushing home. Kris had barely closed the door behind them before he was taking Quinn's clothes off of her, making sure the media was the last thing on either of their minds.