Brave the Storm

As our lives change from whatever, we will still be friends forever. –Vitamin C

Kailyn awoke to the smell of bacon. It had become a common place scent to wake up to since training camp had started. She and Eric had become friends and it was more than likely for one of them to cook the other breakfast before practice that day. Even if they had to use each other’s spare keys to let themselves in while the other got a few extra minutes of sleep. The months of their friendship had been good to them and had rewarded them with an easy going relationship with each other.

She took a quick shower and put her hair into a wet, messy bun. She got dressed in tight jeans with a black Hurricanes T-shirt. She put on her black tennis shoes to match her shirt. She made her way to the kitchen and saw that Eric was at her stove cooking bacon and eggs. She went behind him and hugged his solid frame. She rested the side of her face in the middle of his shoulder blades. “Thank you,” she said softly.

“Of course, not only do you get the pleasure of my company, you get breakfast too.” he smiled cheekily.

Kailyn laughed and released him from her grip. She went to the cupboard shining with the morning sun streaming in from the living room and got out two glasses and filled them with orange juice from the fridge. She set a glass in front of him on the counter beside the stove before setting the bar with silverware and napkins. Eric fixed two plates with bacon and eggs. He brought them over to the table and set the plates in front of each of them. They sat down and began to eat their breakfasts while conversation flowed easily as they were still trying to cover more basics to the music of the commercial that was playing from the living room television where Eric had put on the news.

“So where do you live? We haven’t discussed you yet.” She suggested, picking up a piece of bacon and took a bite while looking over at Eric.

“I live in Raleigh, North Carolina,” Eric told her grinning as he ate a forkful of eggs.

Kailyn rolled her eyes in response and clarified, “Where do you live in the off season genius?” She took a sip of her orange juice.

“Thunder Bay, Ontario. I grew up there and I live close to my parents still. I’m a pretty lame guy Kai. I went to school, worked on the family farm, and played hockey. I am the definition of mundane. That is why I make a good captain.”

Kailyn ate some more bacon as she thought about what Eric had told her. There was no way he was as lame as he seemed. He was a laid back guy, for sure, but never lame. She was always having a good time in his company. He had been a good friend to her from day one. Trust had come quickly despite her aversion to his gender at the moment, but in a man’s world, there was no time for relationship problems to take over her life. She had to let someone in to survive in Raleigh and Eric seemed like just the man for the job. She was as relaxed with him as she was with Sidney, minus the fact Sidney was handsome, but she wasn’t attracted to him. With Eric she had a problem taking her eyes off him. She came to the conclusion, “You need a woman.”

Eric chocked on his orange juice and forcefully put his glass down on the granite bar. He looked over at her with wide eyes and asked, “Do you want to run that by me again?” He looked totally taken aback and not quite sure how to react.

“You heard me, I told you this before, and you need some female attention. That will spice up your life for you. But not some bitchy girl, we need to find you a nice girl worthy of your time that will scream at the top of her lungs for you at your games and support you in your triumphs and even in your suck days. It will be good for you.” She told him with a grin.

It was true. He deserved a nice girl. He was a dedicated guy; he should have no trouble finding a lady that he could dote on. Quite frankly Kailyn couldn’t figure out why it hadn’t happened already. He was a good man. He didn’t act like a douche because he was the captain of a professional hockey team; he treated everyone he came into contact with how they deserved to be, with the utmost respect and kindness.

He was every woman’s dream. He was tall, handsome, and athletic. He rarely had major problems with anything. He was up for trying new things or simply staying in and hanging out. He was completely amazing with the kids at charity events. Hell, now that Kailyn thought about it, she couldn’t fathom why this guy wasn’t married already.

“I will not do any such thing unless you find a respectable man first. That is my goal in life as of now. You need someone that will love you better than the dick that shall not be named. You are my project right now. I’ll worry about myself later.”

Oh, add selfless to that list of perfect qualities also. She knew despite her assurance to him that she was getting back on track, she was his first priority. His team was his priority, even above himself. He would work himself to the bone for the betterment of his teammates and that was something she would always admire about Eric Staal.

“Eric,” she sighed, “I want to move on, but it won’t be fair to the guy because I am obviously still a mess and just need to get my shit together.”

She had made leaps and bounds of improvement; her weight was back to normal. She had begun to sleep easier at night—Eric and Jeff had quickly found out that she didn’t particularly like being alone in an apartment at night as a result, there were frequent sleepovers—and she was just generally in a better mood with all the great people around her. But that didn’t mean that she was ready to get involved romantically again. She had suffered a lot in the last months and she didn’t ever want to go through that again.

“Well then let’s pull your shit together, go to J’s game tonight, and you will look hot and our farm team will have no problem boosting your ego. Then we will get you back in the game and take it from there. The only way to go is up Kai,” Eric said giving her a pep talk.

“I am only going to support your brother. I’m not picking up a man if that is what you think,” she gave him a wary look. She didn’t know if this was actually a great idea, but she was willing to try anything to feel better. If she happened to put on extra make up to get a few harmless compliments from the farm team guys, who could fault her?

Eric grinned eagerly, “Deal.”

During practice Kailyn made an effort to talk to all of the other players on the team. They talked and joked all through practice and they all seemed to get along great with her. She was truly on her way to healing her broken heart over her team and the man she vowed to love for the rest of her life abandoning her. She still had ways to go in the love aspect. Though she was getting along with everyone, Eric and Jeff stuck close to her, already protective. The team had a great practice together and went to the locker room laughing and joking.

They were still up to their shenanigans when Kirk Muller came in and walked up to Kailyn. “Kailyn, I need you to release a personal statement about the divorce. The press heard the joint statement from the Capitals, but once you were traded to us they began to harp for a personal statement. They want it and they won’t stop calling until they get it. They won’t take a spin of the original either.”
She could see the uneasiness in his stance. His shoulders were tense and his brown eyes conveyed just how sorry he was to be asking her for the statement. Kailyn sighed from her seat in her stall.

She angrily ran a hand through her now wavy and unbraided hair. “What the hell am I supposed to say? The guy’s a dick?” She sighed again and thought for a minute as she contemplated her statement, “As much as we love each other, some things were not meant to work out. We are both grownups and are dealing with the situation as such.”

Kirk nodded and smiled sadly. He clapped a hand on her shoulder pad and told her, “You’re a good kid Kane. You deserve a break. Pack up; you’re going to Pittsburgh at the end of the week for a little while.”

She smiled weakly in return, “Thanks Coach.” All she wanted to do now was go home and crawl into bed and sleep. Not even the prospect of seeing her friend could cheer her up in that moment. She wasn’t feeling up to anything except maybe boxing. With one swift move her practice jersey was off and she slammed it into the bin. She ripped off her elbow pads and threw them in her stall followed by her and chest pads.

Jeff was behind her and cautiously put his hands on her shoulders and started to massage them. “Tell us what went on Kai,” he pleaded softly.

"He left me for another woman because he said she would give him ‘kids and the love he deserved.’ He didn’t know I planned to retire at 27 to have a kid which is my fault I guess. I loved him with all I had. He never wanted to be all couple like in front of the guys and we were always with them, so how was I supposed to show him I loved him? God knows I told him enough. I guess he never listened. We decided to divorce before he could hurt me more and cheat.”

Her divorce was so fucked up. Though she respected Mike for keeping it in his pants long enough for them to divorce before he went after the other woman, ironically one of her high school best friends, she was still extremely hurt. Mike had always wanted her to become a trophy wife. He never wanted her on his team and around the guys. He just wanted to come home and have a meal ready for him prepared by her before he would take her to bed an make yet another one of the millions of kids he wanted her to have so they could have ‘the perfect family.’ A hockey playing wife didn’t fit in that picture, so when he married her and got what he wanted from her, he just tossed her to the side to try for a better wife. He thought he could change her and when he couldn’t, he said terrible things to her until she agreed to a divorce.

“That’s his fault then. If he didn’t listen to how much you loved him, it’s no fault of yours. I’m sure it’s not like you were actively trying to prevent kids were you? If it happened then you would have been just fine. We stick with our previous statements the man’s a douche bag,” Cam Ward, the Hurricanes goal tender, told her comfortingly. He came over to her from his place across the locker room and gave her a hug.

“We need to piss him off a bit,” Jeff said suddenly to murmured agreements of the team.

“No we don’t. Just let it be. Now leave me to mope about my lack of a love life.” The guys nodded sympathetically. She knew they wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. They, unlike her husband were a bunch of decent guys.

She sat in her stall contemplating what she would do with her life. She couldn’t very well depend on Sidney for the rest of her life, even though they were practically married already. He called her constantly to check in with her and tell her about his days. They spent hours upon hours on the phone with each other. They had heart to heart talks frequently because it seemed as if Sidney was the only one that could make her feel better and make her smile.

Until now, Eric had an instant calming effect on her. She always felt at ease when he was around. He had a charming smile and it melted her heart whenever she saw it. He made every attempt to make her comfortable in her new home. He had treated her with such kindness and care, no one else had ever shown her that type of courtesy besides her family and Sidney who was practically family anyway. He was a true gentleman with a lot of respect for her. Those facts alone made her fawn all over him, in her own mind of course. Sure she was attracted to him, but she wasn’t about to date him or fall in love with him.

This was too deep to think about. She was hurting her head with all the focus on her feelings for the past few months. She just needed to block them out at least for the duration of her shower so she could have some peace and quiet. She flipped her light blue towel over her shoulder and grabbed her shampoo, conditioner, and soap. She then headed to the bathroom, figuring everyone had vacated by now since the locker room was empty.

As she entered, Eric stepped out of the shower dripping wet with a towel around his waist. His damp hair was darker and resembled two other Staal brothers’ hair. The muscles of his chest were chiseled and toned to perfection from years of hockey and training. His skin was a sun kissed tan and his abs actually did resemble a washboard. “Fuck!” she yelled upon seeing him. Her eyes wide taking him in and scanning him from head to toe. “Eric you scared me!” She couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from his body. After a long moment her eyes snapped to the ground and her cheeks flooded with heat.

“Sorry, I’m going to the trainer’s. When you are ready come and get me.” He told her while disheveling his hair with his hand awkwardly.

“Right,” she entered her shower quickly so she could finally divert her eyes. Before she closed the curtain she thought she saw a smug smile on Eric’s face. She leaned against the cold, damp wall trying decipher the look that Eric had had on his face. It was almost as if he was trying to make her look at him. Like he was trying to get her to realize that he was a male, a gorgeous one at that. He seemed to be reminding her that she could see him as something other than her team’s captain and her friend. What the hell was wrong with her? She lived with Sidney and had seen him without a shirt plenty of times. She had seen Eric once and had become completely undone.

She took off her Under Amour and then threw it outside her shower curtain to the gray tile floor. She took a quick shower, washing away her thoughts. She then got dressed in dark wash jeans. She put on a Shattuck Saint Mary’s T-shirt with 87 and Crosby on the back. She put on some red socks to match her shirt and black Vans tennis shoes. She put her hair in a braid and left out her bangs. Makeup was applied and then packed up her bag and zipped it. She put it on her shoulder and walked to the trainer’s room.

Kailyn walked into the room to see a shirtless Eric getting a massage from the head trainer. This time, she immediately diverted her eyes to the floor. This guy seriously needed a shirt. “Hey Staal, are you ready to go?”

“Sure. Thanks Tony,” he got up and put on a red Carolina shirt. He got his bag from the floor and followed her out to his car. They got in and Eric drove to her house. She went inside and unpacked her bag while Eric sat on the couch. They decided that Kailyn would stay at his house for the night because they would be getting in late. She packed pajamas, street clothes for the next day, her makeup bag, a new towel, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, tooth paste, and face wash. She went into her bathroom and straightened her now dry blond hair. Lastly she got her black Carolina fitted hat and sun glasses. Before she left her room, she took a deep breath and promised herself not to be awkward around him. She grabbed her bag off her light green décor bed and let Eric lead her out of the house. She locked her door and followed him down the stairs. Putting the bag in the back of the suburban and then told him, “Give me the keys, I’ll drive there and you can drive back. It’s only fair.”

He nodded and threw her the keys. She got in the driver’s side and started the car. She followed Eric’s directions to get to the Charlotte arena after putting her hat on backwards and putting on her sunglasses. She was speeding down the highway passing cars left and right when Eric started to chuckle. They were blaring the radio to a Rise Against CD that Eric had because that was the only way Kailyn could stay calm and refrain from cussing everything out around them. Her heart was already pounding in her chest, her palms sweaty, and hands shaking. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a nervous driver? You didn’t have to drive at all, I would have been fine.”

“That’s pretty unfair. I can handle myself, I have to now.” Her hands tightened on the wheel at the thought. No one had her back anymore and that’s just how it was going to be. She had no one to depend on but herself. That thought made her angry and strangely reassured. She knew she could count on herself.

“No you don’t,” he countered softly, “Not all by yourself. Your friends will help you. You have a team and you have four Staals ready to look out for you and ready to provide you with everything you need.”

“Eric that’s ridiculous, your brothers don’t even know me. Except for Jordan but he already gets that order for when I am in Pittsburgh,” she protested. She looked behind them to the back window before switching lanes and passing another car. “Why would they give a shit about me if they don’t know me? I mean no offense to Jordan, but every time I visited Sidney I avoided him like the plague.”

“I will make sure that my family looks after you. You are in the care of the Staals and not many women can say that all four Staals are prepared to drop the gloves to defend their honor.” He told her confidently. Eric took her hand that had precariously fallen from the steering wheel. He laced his fingers through her thin ones. “Everything will be fine, just trust me.”

She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and looked through the windshield harder, determined to avoid catching his eyes. “I do trust you. It’s crazy and I don’t understand how I could let myself fall into this trap so fast once again, but here I am, ready to follow you into battle.”
He kissed the back of her hand and smiled at her, “Good, I’m glad. I may not always know what I’m doing, but I will try my hardest to never steer you wrong.”
“Well at least you are man enough to admit it,” she said as she sped off the exit ramp and into the city of Charlotte. After some mildly entertaining time of Kailyn cussing at the traffic and fidgeting from having to sit in the car in it and not be able to stretch her legs, they finally found themselves pulling into the reserved parking lot.

Later during the game, Kailyn kept her eyes focused on the youngest Staal. She wanted to know exactly what he was capable of and how he got along with his teammates. She observed that he wasn’t much of a talker right off the bat. He had a nonchalant air about him that made her know that whether he had something to say or not didn’t really matter to him. He just liked to do what he did. He also seemed to inherit his eldest brother’s easy going personality. The way he glided on the ice with a careless effort was a clear indication.

Once the game started, Kailyn quickly forgot she was a professional player with an image, screaming encouragements at the farm team. She would like to think that she single handedly screamed them to victory. When the game was over, she glanced sideways at Eric with a sheepish grin. He features were locked in a bemused expression. She knew she had entertained him quite a bit. “What? They are in the organization; we have to show them love! If you think that was bad, try letting me watch one of Sidney’s games. Now that would be funny.” She looked down to watch the crowd exiting and watch the hockey players leave the ice.

“I’m sure that would be a good time. You and him are pretty close I take it?”

“Oh yeah, there is hardly a day where he doesn’t call or text. We are in constant contact pretty much all through the day actually. My phone bill is outrageous because of him. I couldn’t imagine my life without him. He’s just always been there. There is nothing that I won’t tell Sid. He has my back and I have his.”

Sidney had always been in her life. There was scarcely a memory of hers that didn’t contain Sidney in it with her. Though they played on different teams, off the ice they were a package deal. They went together just as cliché as peanut butter and jelly. Even Kailyn’s cousin Patrick wasn’t as close to her as she was with Sidney and they were pretty tight themselves.

“Well you may think your life is pretty fucked up, but most people would kill for a friend as good to you as Sidney Crosby,” Eric told her.

Kailyn nodded in agreement. She didn’t doubt it for a second. Sidney was the best thing that had ever happened to her in her life. Moving next to his family had been the best blessing she could have ever received in her life. She was truly one of the lucky people in life to have a fantastic career and an even better friend to share it with. There was no way she could be able to survive if she didn’t have her best friend in her life. He had gotten her through so many difficulties and for that she would be eternally grateful to him. “Having Sidney in my mess of a life makes it seem less messy that’s for sure. He’s the best friend that anyone could ask for and I hope I do half as good of a job as he does for me.”

“I’m sure he was glad to have you this summer with the concussion,” he said trying to reassure her of her worth as a friend.

“Yeah, he needed a nanny then. It was basically one massive sulk party at our house this summer. Marc and Max couldn’t even cheer us up and then that whole mess happened and Marc came to the sulk party. It just wasn’t a good summer. Sidney’s doing better though, which is a relief. I mean if he had to quit hockey I don’t know what we would do.”

She just didn’t want to think about their horrible summer. She had called Sidney balling and after a short conversation they had decided to buy a house together in Halifax. They had hired movers to take care of things under the Crosby parents’ watchful eyes while they cuddled in Sidney’s darkened childhood room trying to forget about their problems. After things were set up in their new home, the pair spent many days in darkness sleeping the days away and hoping to forget all the things that made them feel like shit. Also they had to add the weight of the other’s emotional pain on to their load and it almost became unbearable, luckily they had each other.

“He’s a tough guy, he will be fine. If I were him, I wouldn’t want you to have all the lime light so I would be back,” Eric joked.

Kailyn laughed, “Yeah that’s true. He’ll be back. He’s doing everything right. He’s talking to the right doctors; he’s going to be fine.”

“All right, ready to go down?”

“Sure.”
********

They got up from their seats and traveled to the lower level of the arena. They stopped momentarily at the door of the Checker’s locker room to knock before entering. Eric went in first with Kailyn behind him so she didn’t see anything that she didn’t want to see. There was a chorus of, “Eric!”
Eric smiled at his brother and his teammates. “Hey guys, good game.”

“Who’s your gorgeous friend?” one of Jared’s friends asked. He could tell just by his voice that he was eager to meet Kailyn, not that Eric could blame him. Kailyn was smoking hot.
Kailyn stepped to Eric’s side and the room collectively took in a breath. A brown haired and brown eyed male seemed to regain his composure first and sauntered over to her, “Hey beautiful, how’s it going?”

Kailyn shot Eric a deer caught in the headlights look before turning her attention to the man, “Uh good. You, know getting used to a new city again. How are you?”

“Awesome now that you are here.”

Eric’s fists immediately balled. He knew that this was what he had wanted; he just didn’t think that it would be this hard to watch. Every instinct in his body was telling him to stand in front of her and protect her from all the ravenous eyes that were currently on her. None of these guys were good enough for Kailyn. No one was ever going to be good enough for Kailyn.
As if sensing the discomfort from both Eric and Kailyn a tall redhead with freckles came to their rescue. He stood in between his teammate and her as if guarding her from him. Eric had never been so grateful to his brother. “All right Shugg, don’t make her shut you down in front of your team. She is trying to be polite.”

The locker room erupted and seemed to go back to business as usual when another man hit the brunette with a towel. The redhead then turned to face Eric and Kailyn with a smirk, “Well that wasn’t how that was supposed to go, was it bro?” He then smirked at Eric with a smug shine to his jade eyes.

Eric grimaced, “Well it could have gone worse I guess. He could have asked her to get out of here with him and I’d have to beat the shit out of him. Kai, this is my brother Jared. Jared this is my new best friend Kai.” He couldn’t lie to himself. He did not enjoy the encounter of another man hitting on his female teammate. Whether it was because he felt protective of his teammate was a definite yes, but as for the fact that he wanted her all to himself, well, the jury was still out on that one. He was quickly becoming more and more immersed in all that was Kailyn. She was beautiful, selfless, and more than anything she stirred feelings in him that he hadn’t felt in a long time. After sacrificing everything for his team, Eric was finally ready to get his personal life in order; he just wanted her to think otherwise until he was completely sure how he felt about her.

“What the hell are you doing here?” asked Marc, his other red headed younger brother. His hazel eyes showed confusion as he looked at his older brother and his blond and shorter counterpart.

“Me? What are you doing here?” Eric asked him. He had no idea his brother was in town to watch their younger brother play. That’s what he got for not calling him back he supposed, but Marc had said it wasn’t important. Eric considered family visits pretty important.

“I came to watch the exhibition game and was wondering if you had some free time before we get into the season, but my brother couldn’t be bothered to answer the phone,” Marc said as he crossed his arms over his chest. He looked expectantly at his older brother. Kailyn let out a small snicker to which Marc looked over at her and grinned before turning back a hard stare at Eric.

Eric threw his hands in the air, “Sorry, I’ve been a little busy getting my team together and getting the new recruit adjusted.”

“Hey!” Kailyn yelled, “Don’t blame your communication failures on me! I know how to answer a phone.” She punched him in the arm muttering “Jerk.”

The red headed Rangers player laughed and held out his hand for her to shake, “Marc.”

“Kailyn.”

“Nice to meet you, are you two coming to get food?”

“Hell yeah, I never refuse food,” Eric agreed.

***********

The four arrived at a small pizza shop and were seated fast due to the late hour and the place being deserted except employees. The three men decided on their favorite type of pizza since they all had been here before after one of Jared’s other games. Eric looked to his right and down at Kailyn, “Is sausage and pepperoni okay with you?” he asked.

“I’m not hungry,” she informed him, “You get whatever you want.”

“Are you sure Kai? We could get something else,” Marc offered.

Kailyn shrugged, “I’m just not feeling food.” At that moment her cell phone began to ring and she looked at the caller I.D. before answering, “SIDNEY!” She pushed Eric from the red booth until he moved and she went outside to talk to her best friend.

“KAI! I need to tell Mario what time we need to arrive,” he explained.

“We have a morning practice, so we will be done at noon. We will probably just get lunch on the way, so about one?”

“Awesome, I’ll see you then my bestest buddy in the world!” he said in a way that Kailyn could envision his lopsided grin as they talked. God, she really missed him sometimes. His silly personality was so infectious. She needed to see him ASAP. She feared she couldn’t go on another day without a familiar friend by her side.

“I can’t wait to see you my most awesome biffle. Bye for now!”

“See you soon Kai.”

She hung up her phone and put it in her back pocket. She didn’t want to go back inside just yet, so instead she leaned against the cold building and thought about how far she had come in her life. She had to take a step back for a moment and put things in perspective. She had lost a lot in her divorce, not only a husband, but now she feared a best friend too. She had been too busy mourning the loss of Mike that she didn’t notice the fact that her friend from her former team hadn’t texted her in months. She was thinking of her ex husband’s best friend, the man who had become her most trusted friend in the Capital’s organization. He had been the most respectful to her unlike the rest of his team excluding Mike.

He was a good man and beside her failed marriage, losing him as a friend was going to be tough for her. She spent many days with him watching Supernatural, their favorite television show. He had selflessly let her ramble on and on about how incredible she thought Dean Winchester was and how if he was a real man, he would be hers in a heartbeat. He had taken her to Diary Queen to get her a chocolate Blizzard with M&Ms when it was what he deemed, ‘her special time.’ He had also been there for her every time she had a migraine to laze the day away watching movies on her couch.
Of course she had done her best to be a good friend to him in return. She had been there for him when he was missing his family back home. She had listened to him rant about his girl problems. And whenever he had an injury he would be found in Kailyn’s guest room where he would get the royal treatment until he was better. They had been great friends and she would be sorry to see him leave her life because of who he had to be friends with to survive in his career.

She was interrupted from her thoughts when a familiar playful voice exclaimed, “Kaner!”

Kailyn spun on her heel and her grin got impossibly wider at the sight of her curly haired cousin. “Kaner!” she replied laughing as he pulled her into him and spun her around. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed tight. It had definitely been way too long since the cousins had been together and she was glad that had changed. She missed him while they played in different States and while she was a Canadian and he was an American. They tended to spend their off season in different countries which made it hard on them to visit each other also.

The two could easily pass for siblings for how alike they looked. They each possessed the same shade of blond hair and blue eyes. They only true difference between them was that at the moment, Patrick had a darker tan than she did. Residing in Raleigh would quickly tip that scale in Kailyn’s favor though as the months wore on.

“What are you doing in Raleigh?” she asked excitedly when he set her down. She hugged him once again. She was ecstatic to see him. She didn’t have a lot of family so she and Patrick had remained close even with the distance. Their fathers were brothers and made the trip to visit each other as often as they could. Patrick, Erica, Jessica, Jacqueline, and Kailyn had all become close as a result of weeks at a time stays at each other’s houses.
“Oh you know, I came to see my favorite little cousin and mooch off her new digs,” he grinned cheekily.

Kailyn rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. “Is Jonny with you? I thought you two were a package deal, did you two break up?” Her expression then became one of bemusement.
At first her cousin had been forced into his ‘bromance’ with Jonathan Toews so that the young captain could help keep the eccentric young Blackhawk forward in check. But as time would have it and the two spent more and more time together, they became good friends and legitimately developed the bromance that everyone thought they had. Kailyn knew this because at the beginning of their friendship, Patrick would call almost daily to complain about the ‘perfect captain wrecking his party.’ Completely ignoring the fact that Kailyn was extremely close to said perfect captain and he shouldn’t exactly bash someone to their good friend.

“No, we are still going strong,” he said while smirking and then informed her, “He said he needed to stay behind to keep the team in gear. He wanted to see you, but you know him. You have to wait until he sees you next. He did give me a birthday present to soften the blow.”

Though after he had said that his face became more serious because his lips set in a hard line and he gained what Kailyn liked to call ‘his hockey face’ instead of his poker face because that’s the only time she ever saw him wear that expression. That fact that he wore that expression now was extremely unnerving to Kailyn. They were very rarely serious with each other. They always goofed around and picked fun at each other, but never had too many in depth conversations because that’s why they both had good friends like Sidney and Jonathan. They didn’t need to complicate their friendship also. At the same time, if he was in trouble she wanted to know about it and help him out. But she had a gut feeling that he wasn’t the one with the problem. She was thinking that he was bringing her problems to her.

“What blow?” When he didn’t answer right away and gained a guilty expression, she demanded angrily, “Patrick Kane what blow?”

“Relax,” said another voice that came from the side of the building. Kailyn could see a silhouette coming towards them, but she didn’t feel threatened firstly because her and Patrick were both hockey players and secondly because once again she thought she recognized the voice.

Once the man stepped into the light at the door of the pizza shop, she instantly recognized the long blond hair and the familiar hazel eyes she had spent hours with during her time in Washington. Nicklas Backstrom had come to Raleigh with her cousin.

Kailyn glared at her cousin who stood awkwardly by her side. She was at a loss for words. She was angry with Patrick for forcing the altercation between herself and Nick, but more importantly she was shocked that Nick had traveled all this way to see her. She knew she shouldn’t let it, but it gave her hope that there was a future for their friendship after all. But now she found herself hoping against hope that she and Nick could remain as good of friends as they were without anything else getting in the way.

He smiled sheepishly and said, “Hey Kai, do you mind if I bunk at your place for the night too?”

She sighed and tugged at her braid but nodded, “Of course. Let’s go explain you two to the Staal clan as long as you tell me how the hell you two got here.”

“Well I was coming to see you regardless and Sidney told me you would be in Charlotte at the Checker’s game and he gave me updates as you texted him. I ran into Nick on a layover and he explained what he was coming to see you for and we decided to rent a car together. We are both heading back tomorrow,” Patrick explained.

She nodded and then directed them into the restaurant where the Staals were happily conversing and digging into their pizza. Marc was the first to notice them and raised an eyebrow at the three. His lack of attention caught the curiousity of the others and the conversation stopped as all eyes were now on the trio. Kailyn cleared her throat awkwardly, “My cousin showed up with Nick because he thought this would be a good idea, so we are going to head back to my place and take care of some things.”

Eric gave looked at her for a long moment before sighing and nodding. She guessed her ‘hockey face’ had worked on him. He didn’t need to know how unnerved Nick’s presence made her. She knew for whatever reason he was her for was not good. She just needed to get home as quick as possible to get it out of him. She just wanted to know so she could start dealing with it. Eric stood and said, “I’ll get your bag from my car.”

She silently followed him outside and to his vehicle while the other two went to their rented Blue Chevrolet Traverse. She could already tell from his stance that he was not okay with the turn of events. His shoulders were tense and when he opened the back to retrieve her bag, she saw how set his facial features were. He put the bag over her shoulder and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t like this,” he finally confessed.

“Yeah, well whatever he has to tell me I know I won’t like because he joined forces with Patrick and Patrick brought a suck up present from Jon. I love Nick and if I thought he was here with good news, I’d tell you to stop being such a dad. But he’s Mike’s best friend and his team mate; he wouldn’t screw Mike over for me and the three of us know it, so I don’t know why he bothered to come here to see me,” she informed him courtly. “However Patrick is here and I hardly ever see him so I am going to my apartment with them.”

“Let me know how it went at practice?” He asked. She could see his concern for her clear as day in his caramel eyes. She knew he was looking for any weakness so he could use it as an excuse to make her stay. She showed him none. It could have been because she was secretly addicted to pain or because she was just plain stupid. The Harvard graduate didn’t know, she just found herself in constant pain. She just knew she had to deal with this and the faster she did so, the faster she could get on with life and forget all of what happened in Washington.

“Yeah we can gossip tomorrow. Don’t worry so much Eric, it will be fine. I’ll text you when we are home.” She hugged him around the waist and then ran to where Patrick was already in the driver’s seat of the Traverse waiting for her. He popped the back hatch for her and she threw her bag in. She then got in to the back seat behind Patrick while the hatch closed when Patrick pushed the button again.

She buckled her seatbelt as he pulled out of the lot. Patrick put on his iPod through the car radio and turned on Chelsea Dagger. The two others groaned at the Blackhawks goal song and Patrick chuckled and informed them, “Just kidding guys.” He then put on his Papa Roach playlist. For the next three hours the Kanes and occasionally Nick catching up and trading stories. When they got back to Kailyn’s apartment, she grabbed her bag from the back of Patrick’s car and let them into her home.

When she put her bag in her room, she came back through the hallway with her hands on her hips and demanded, “Okay which one of you wants to talk first?” They were interrupted from answering her when her iPhone began to ring Moves Like Jager. She held up a one minute finger and got her phone out of her back pocket. She looked at the caller ID and then looked at Patrick. She accepted the call while putting the phone to her ear and greeting, “Hello Aunt Donna, is everything okay?”

“Hello Kailyn, I just can’t seem to locate my son yet again, has he talked to you today?” Her aunt sounded frustrated and with just cause. This wasn’t the first time Kailyn’s aunt had called to find out where her son was. Patrick had a nasty habit of ignoring his phone for extended periods of time when he saw fit; Kailyn usually had the good luck to be talking to him before and to know where he was and the cause of his phone silence. Patrick and Kailyn usually talked or texted quite a bit through their busy schedules and Kailyn was often putting Sidney on speaker when she was in a conversation with him to text her cousin back.

Kailyn looked at Patrick with a bemused expression and then replied, “He probably forgot to turn his phone back on when he got off the plane, he is right here visiting me.”

At the new development Patrick snatched the phone from Kailyn and yelled, “Mom! Don’t call Kai to find out where I am! She’s not my babysitter! God, do you always do this when you don’t know where I am?” While his mom was answering him, he exited the apartment to take a walk and to see what she wanted while Nick and Kailyn got to talking about their situation.

Kailyn looked at the familiar hazel eyed man and asked, “Do you want a drink before you try to justify leaving me in the dust?”

It wasn’t hard to guess what he was here to say. It was going to be practically impossible for Nick to maintain a friendship with both Mike and Kailyn. He would be at his wits end before the season was even at the All Star break. Kailyn knew he was here to say good bye and never look back, though she was having a hard time believing it. Nick had always been such a genuine guy, he wouldn’t just stop now.
He took a seat on the couch. He motioned for her to join him to which she complied. He turned to face her and she could see the distraught look on his face, “He fucked us both over in my opinion. If he didn’t force the trade, we could of made our friendship work but—“

“But now you don’t even want to try because Mike is your teammate and will always come first,” she spat. She was so sick of this. SHE wanted to be considered just once. Yeah, she was a hockey player and she knew the importance of keeping the team together and making sure everyone gets along so things go smoothly, but she was also a woman. She wanted to feel special and not sacrificed for the greater good of the team. It was like the whole Capitals organization just tolerated her presence and let Mike marry her for the gimmick. Once that fell apart, they had to rectify the situation and didn’t spare any feelings in the process. She would go so far as to say that most of the Capitals probably didn’t even consider her apart of the team truly. She was just there to make them look good.

That’s when it hit her. Here in Raleigh she had exactly what she wanted. She was part of the team and always included in the team’s plans. Many of the guys would invite her to lunch to get to know her better and just to have some fun after a hard practice. Her new teammates were even very gentlemanly to her. They would open doors for her, pull out her chair, and let her order first in restaurants. They always listened to what she had to say whether it be about a play to improve or just talking about their personal lives. She realized what a good thing being traded was and how much more she appreciated being part of a team now that she knew how terrible it was to be out of sync with one.

“No, that’s not what I want but that’s what has got to happen. Things have turned really shitty for us and if we want to safe guard the good memories we have of each other, I think it’s best if we cut ties now. You have to know it’s not what I want, but it’s what is best for you. You have a chance to make a new and great life here with a bunch of extraordinary people if Mike and I stay out of it. You will be really happy here. Just give it time; I know this makes me seem like a jackass. I seem so ready to give you up. " His eyes held an expression of such determination that she had to believe what he was telling her. He was completely sure of the decisions that had to be made, his expression held such sincerity that she had to follow his lead and believe this was best for the both of them.

“Well, yeah, that’s a blow to my ego. I get it though. I wish I didn’t have to let go of such a good friend to have a fresh start.” She wanted to be angry with Nick, but he was making a solid case and she was a rational woman. She had to admit, this was the Nick she knew and loved. He was always trying to do what was best for everyone. She knew Nick was trying to say he didn’t want to hurt her down the road with whatever he had to do to keep his team together, so it was better to take some time away from each other for things to cool down. It was him trying to give her what she wanted, someone from the Capitals that accepted her and thought of her as one of the team if only for a moment. She belonged on the team in his mind, she knew that now. That made it easier to let him go. “Just promise me that a down the road when this blows over, we can try to be friends again?”

Nick smiled and wrapped his strong arm around her surprisingly built shoulders and kissed her temple, “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Kailyn stayed in his embrace for as long as she could, to enjoy her last moments of peace with him. She wouldn’t get to do this for an undetermined amount of time, so she decided to make the best of it. They didn’t ruin it with words, enough had been said already. She would miss him for as long as he had to stay away but his words had brought her comfort.

He believed that Raleigh was the best place for her. It just made her at peace with the whole moving situation. She had been getting over it by making new friends on the team, but she hadn’t fully given into the team bonding here in Raleigh. Now with her former teammate’s blessing, she felt she was ready to fully integrate into the Carolina Hurricanes and give them all she had.

She finally realized that she couldn’t try and halt her life because things didn’t go according to her plan. She was young and in an extremely fast changing job. There was no way she could control everything in her life and this lesson had taught her that she needed to sit back more and just let things happen and see where they took her. Sometimes the best things in life were those that were unplanned and she had to remember that.

“Well I’m going to get back to Washington. Patrick said you would be fine dropping him at the airport before practice tomorrow so I can take the car?” he asked her.

She nodded and agreed, “That’s fine. See you soon Nick.” She refused to say goodbye to him, it was too painful. This way she had the hope of seeing as a friend again.

“See you soon.” With one final hug, he was gone.

Patrick came into the apartment a moment later and handed her the iPhone back. He looked at her with concern as she pocketed the device once more. “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

She looked up into his bright blue eyes and smiled slightly, “Surprisingly I am. He's a good guy and he proved it tonight."

Patrick smiled and hugged her, “Good, I’m glad. Now let’s hit the hay. I am beat.”

She let out a tiny laugh and then led the way to the bedrooms.