Who Knew Then? (What We Know Now?)

Kassidy

“Looking good – everything seems normal, and both of you are healthy. So, be back here in three weeks, all right? And I assume you want the picture from the Ultra Sound?” Dr. Rose asked. I nodded, and she had one of her nurses go to pick up the prints for me. Lindsay had been there beside me, holding my hand the entire time. Both her and Marc had been here the first time we’d heard the baby’s heartbeat, and I swear Marc had cried more than I had.

“Thanks, and see you in three weeks,” I offered her a smile as I pulled my shirt back down over my stomach, and took the pictures from her. I’d had to get two copies of each of them – Lindsay was making a separate scrap book for the baby for her and Marc to keep, and she was also filling it with pictures of Parker and Levi that Tanya was emailing her.

“That’s so exciting! I can’t believe you don’t want to know if it’s a boy or a girl,” she sighed, and I just shrugged as I booked the next appointment with the receptionist.

“I’m fine with waiting – what’s life without a few surprises?” I asked her with a smile, making her laugh.

“Oh my God, This makes me want to have a baby so bad… I think convincing Marc might be easier now too,” she teased. It was no secret she’d wanted a baby for the past year or so, but Marc was too scared that he wasn’t ready to be a dad. So far he’d handled being a kind of “step-in” dad fairly well. He’d been more than willing to go and pick up any weird foods I’d had cravings for – mostly pickles and ice cream (but not together) – and had driven me to most of my appointments and even went to a few of the classes with me.

“He’ll be a fantastic dad, and I think he’s just as excited for Izzy to come as we are,” I agreed, and she laughed, caressing my stomach for a moment. She and Marc were the only people I let do that, because with anyone else it was a little creepy.

“You hear that Izzy? Uncle Marc wants you to hurry things up,” she said. Izzy had been our nickname for the baby – for “Izzy” a boy or “Izzy” a girl.

“Now, now, we don’t want you to come too early – that’s not healthy,” I spoke down at my stomach, humoring my best friend. Tanya had been sent copies of all of the pictures too, which she was excited for. We talked every week, so I could keep up with her life and the boys and she would know what was up with the baby and me.

“How did it go? Is everything all right?” Marc asked as soon as we were in the locker room. We’d driven straight to MSG to catch him after practice and pick him up, seeing as we’d taken his car to the doctor’s.

“Yep, everything’s going great,” I smiled, and he hugged me tightly.

“You’re not giving momma any trouble, are you Izzy?” he asked my stomach, making Lindsay gush and many of the guys chuckle.

“Sometimes I almost think he believes it’s his,” Del Zotto teased, and Marc huffed.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about – of course Izzy’s gonna be my baby,” he retorted, sending the whole locker room into laughter. None of the guys knew who the father of my baby was, just that I was a really close friend of Marc and Lindsay’s who happened to be single and pregnant. McDonagh, Del Zotto and Stepan were becoming good friends of mine, because we were all so close in age, and Marc seemed to enjoy the younger guys’ company, as well as being McDonagh’s linemate.

“Easy there Tiger, how do you know Izzy’s not mine?” Derek teased, looping an arm around my shoulders. I rolled my eyes before shrugging him off, much to Marc’s amusement.

“Because she has taste,” Marc replied, which made the guys bust a gut laughing.

“So she chose a ginger?” Brad asked, causing more laughter as my face heated up. Lindsay elbowed me, as a reminder to relax.

“They’re just teasing about Marc, calm down,” she whispered, and I nodded. Why I still got defensive about Jared I didn’t know, but a lot of the guys had teased him for being a ginger, and I’d always just stepped in. Even now I guess old habits die hard.

“Are you kidding? Look at me,” Marc smirked, and I had to laugh. Seeing him with his teammates was always hilarious – he loved the attention and he loved making people laugh, so he was always entertaining.

“All right, play nice,” Lindsay and I both warned them, making the banter in the locker room quiet down.

“Picture?” Derek asked, and I pulled out the ultra sound. McDonagh, Del Zotto and Brad all came over to look at the Ultra Sound, which ultimately got passed around the locker room.

“So did you finally get one for me to put up in my stall?” Derek teased, and I rolled my eyes.

“Sorry bud – one’s for me and the other’s for Lindsay’s scrapbook,” I informed him.

“Can I have it just for one night? It’ll be my lucky charm!” he pouted, and I had to laugh as I ruffled up his hair.

“We’ll see,” I allowed, and he let out a whoop before carefully picking me up and spinning me around.

“Did I ever tell you I love you?” he asked, a goofy grin on his face.

“Nope, so don’t start now,” I shot back as he put me back on the ground.

“All right, I won’t,” he shrugged, making me laugh some more.

“So Linds, Kass, you two coming to the game Friday night? A bunch of the girls are going,” Dan asked, and we shared a look between us. It was in Raleigh, and while it would be awesome to go and see Tanya and the boys, I wasn’t sure if Jared would be in town for the game or not.

“We’ll see, I need to make sure it’s safe to be going on a plane six months pregnant,” I told him, and he nodded knowingly.

“Yeah, you better be taking it easy – we don’t want anything to happen to Ranger Izzy,” he agreed, making me smile at the nickname many of the guys on the team had for Izzy. They were all positive my baby would be a huge Rangers fan, just from being around them so much.

“But if the Doc says it’s all right you’ll come, right?” Hagelin asked, turning those big blue puppy-dog eyes on me. He’d asked me out at least twice since I’d came here, and Marc had chased him off both times, because I wasn’t really interested in a relationship but Carl was convinced that being with somebody would help me move on.

“We’ll see,” I allowed, and when he went to push Derek stepped in before Marc could.

“If she wants to come and can come then she will, if she doesn’t want to or can’t she won’t,” he said, his blue eyes sparking slightly. Carl nodded then, and continued on his way out of the locker room.

“Jesus, you’d think after being rejected a handful of times he’d take a hint,” Derek snorted, making Marc laugh.

“I keep liking you more and more,” he grinned, and Derek beamed up at him.

“Good to hear Staalsie. Anyhow, I better get heading home. Text me and let me know if you can come, all right? I’ll bring an extra jersey for you to wear,” he teased with a wink before giving me a hug.

“Hey! It’s my turn to lend her a jersey!” Del Zotto complained, and soon there was chaos as they all began playfully arguing with each other.

“Stop! She’s wearing my jersey because I offered first!” Derek declared, and then proceeded to stick his tongue out at his fellow single teammates. I rolled my eyes before saying goodbye and heading out with Marc, Lindsay and Derek walking with us to the player’s lot.

“Serious though, give me a text and I’ll bring one of my jerseys for you to wear,” he repeated, and gave me another hug before getting into his car and leaving with a wave.

“Somebody has a crush on our dear Juno,” Marc sing-songed as we got into the car. I leaned forward and smacked his arm, making him jump and pretend to pout.

“He’s just being nice – don’t get your knickers in a knot Marc,” I informed him, and Lindsay giggled.

“Honey either you’re blind or your hormones are really messing with you – Derek’s had a thing for you since you moved here. He’s just not as forward as Carl,” she said, shocking me into silence. Derek was a really nice guy, there’s no way he could have feelings for me. I mean, I was Marc and Lindsay’s “knocked up” friend, why would he have any interest in me?

After we arrived home Lindsay and I phoned Dr. Rose, who said I would be all right to fly down to Raleigh for the game, but she recommended I fly back the same night so she could see me the next morning – just in case.

“So, are you going to come watch?” Lindsay asked. After a long moment I nodded. I missed Tanya, Eric and the boys. A lot.

“Yeah, I will. It’s weird not seeing Eric, Tanya and the boys all the time,” I agreed, and she gave me a knowing hug.

“We’ll make sure he doesn’t see you, okay? And you know what, maybe wearing Derek’s jersey would be good camouflage,” she suggested, a twinkle in her eyes. I let out a groan, hoping this wasn’t one of her attempts at matchmaking.

“Come on, what’ll it hurt?” she pushed, and finally I got out my phone and texted Derek that I would be going to the game, but that I had to fly back the same night to see the doctor in the morning. He responded with a smiley face, assuring me he’d give me a jersey to wear when we met them at the plane, and offered to come back with me that night instead of the next morning so Lindsay and Marc didn’t have to and could spend some extra time together.

“What a goof,” I rolled my eyes, but didn’t say no to his offer. Lindsay just grinned, before Marc walked into the living room and turned on the TV. He’d texted Tortorella to let him know he had two extras for the flight before he flipped to the Sports channel. Slowly my stomach dropped and I started to feel sick to my stomach.

“And Friday’s game will be the first NHL game for a player with a high pedigree in the game of hockey. Jared Staal – yes that Staal – will be playing in his first ever game in the National Hockey League, alongside his oldest brother Eric. This past season he’s really been impressing people; putting up career-high numbers and showing the talent that everybody knew he had when he was playing in the OHL…” I tuned out the TV as they went further into detail about his playing career. I already knew everything they’d have to say, and Marc gave my hand a soft squeeze.

“You can still back out,” he whispered. It was tempting, but I decided that I needed to go and see everyone else.

“No, I want to see the boys and Eric and Tanya, I’m not gonna let him ruin that for me,” I decided, and they both smiled at me.

“All right, that sounds good then,” Lindsay told me, and I managed a weak smile for both of them before turning my attention back to the TV and leaning into Lindsay.