Life Changes

Pulling down her shirt that had ridden up, she caught her reflection in the mirror before looking at what she was wearing. Since she wasn't trying to impress anyone, she headed to the living room to get started on packing.

Picking up the picture frame from the bookshelf, Charity smiled down at the picture. It was a picture of the two of them at the Santa Monica pier in Los Angeles.

Having just moved to Los Angeles two months prior, Charity was glad that her brother-in-law Jonathan Quick and her sister Jaclyn insisted that she stay with them while she searched for her own place. It was nice since that way she got to spend more time with her niece Madison.

Laying on the couch with Madison, Jonathan came into the room with a smile on his face. “Do you wanna go to the Santa Monica pier today? I know we haven't done a lot lately, but it would be nice to get out of the house.”

“I'm sure that Madison would love to go.”

“Family trip,” Jonathan told her. “Plus a few of the guys might end up there later.”

“Well I hope the three of you have a fun time.”

“Since when aren't you a part of this family? Get your shoes and whatever you need,” Jonathan smiled. “Madison, you want Aunt Charity to come with us to the pier?”

“You has to come!” Madison told her.

Smiling at her niece, she knew she couldn't deny Madison this, so she nodded her head and taking Madison with her, she headed up the stairs to change her outfit. It only took them a few minutes before everyone was ready to go. Her niece had directed everyone on where they would be sitting in the car which Charity was laughing about it most of the way.

When they got to the pier, Charity held onto Madison's hand while they started to walk. Upon her niece's assistance, they stopped to look at the water as it moved to the beach. The crashing of waves made her smile. Charity kissed the side of her niece's head before she looked back at the water again.

Knowing that her brother-in-law's teammates were supposed to be joining them, she turned to look and saw that two of them had. What had surprised her the most was the fact that Jack Johnson's eyes were looking back at her.

“Hey, Charity.” He said, his voice, smooth as silk.

“Hey.” She said as she handed Madison to her father.

As soon as Madison was out of her arms and in the safety of her father's, Charity wanted her back. Now she was left alone with Jack standing near her. Biting her lip, she gave him a small smile before turning her attention back to the waves.

“So I've figured out where I'm gonna take you to dinner later this week.”

“I never agreed to have dinner with you.” Charity said as she looked into his eyes.

“But you also never said no,” Jack smirked. “One date isn't going to kill you. I promise you'll have fun.”

“And if I don't?” Charity asked. “Have fun, I mean.”

“Then I won't keep bugging you,” Jack said. “But it doesn't matter because you will have fun.”

Seeing the smirk on his face, Charity shook her head. “Cocky?”

“Confident.”

Seeing the flash, Charity looked away from him and saw her sister with her camera and a smile on her face. “It was the perfect opportunity.”

Waking up that morning, Charity looked at the room she was in. The master bedroom that she and Jack had fell in love with when they looked at places where they could live. Tossing the covers off she got out of bed and grabbed his Blue Jackets hoodie that was on his side of the bed. Slipping it on over the rest of her clothes, she walked into her shoe closet that Jack had made for her while she was in LA with her sister.

Grabbing one of the boxes in the closet, she started packing her shoes away. The majority of her shoes were based on her life in California. She had flip flops and sandals that were dressy and casual. Since moving to Columbus, she had gathered boots and pumps. Her shoe collection had grown quite a bit. She had been substituting her happiness with buying things and it had to stop.

Each time they would have a fight, she wanted to get back at him by spending the money he earned since she still hadn't been able to find work. As she went to grab a big box that was behind her shoes, Charity couldn't help but wonder what was in the box. Taking the lid off the box, what she saw made her smile and ran her hand over the boot of one of the ice skates that were in there. With a small smile she took one of them out of the box before she sat back and held the skate.

“So here I am,” Charity said looking into her boyfriend's eyes. “But the real question would be why am I here?”

“I have a surprise for you,” he said with a grin as he took in what she was wearing. “But you'll have to wait just a little bit longer.”

“Is Sidney Crosby here to sweep me off my feet and take me to Pittsburgh?” Charity asked a grin on her face. “Cause if it is, I need to go pack.”

Grabbing Charity by the hips, he pulled her closer to him. “You think you are so funny don't you?”

His voice was next to her ear and she couldn't help the shiver that ran through her body. Tucking her head into his chest, she smiled, but didn't say anything. “So what am I really doing here? I had the whole day planned out and this wasn't on the plan.”

“Was your plan to sit on the couch and watch TV and sleep?”

“No.”

“No?” Jack asked, his voice laced with surprise.

“No,” Charity said lifting her head and wrapping her arms around his neck. “I was going to be laying down and watching TV.”

“Hey Jack,” a voice said from behind the couple. “All ready for you.”

“Thanks.”

Taking Charity by the hand, he led her through the doors and into the locker room where he sat her down in his locker space. “You wanted to have locker room sex?”

Letting out a loud laugh, Jack leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. “Not this time. You've said in the past few weeks that you don't know how to skate, so today you are learning how.”

“Wait, what?” Charity's eyes went wide as he looked at her boyfriend take a pair of ice hockey skates out of a box.

“You didn't by chance bring a pair of socks with you did you?”

“Socks? No and I wouldn't have. Jack I have no balance on the ice. You've seen it first hand.”

“That's why you need to learn. One day, Madison might want to go skating with you and you don't want to be falling down the whole time do you?”

“Well no, but-”

“Then today is the day you will learn how to skate,” he smiled and reached behind her and grabbed a pair of socks. “You'll have to wear my extra pair since you don't have any.”

“You didn't tell me to bring any.”

“I thought maybe you'd be wearing regular shoes.”

“Nope. And no jacket either.”

Bending down to her feet, he took off her black flip flops before putting on the socks followed by the ice skates. Making sure that they were nice and tight, Jack stood up and grabbed his skates from the top shelf of his locker before doing his up. Standing up, he reached up again and grabbed the hoodie that was on the shelf.

“I wouldn't want you to get cold out on the ice.”

Placing her flip flops and purse into his locker, Charity slipped on the Michigan Hockey hoodie before allowing Jack to help her stand up and then followed him to the ice.

“I'm not sure that this is such a good idea, Jack,” she said as he laced their fingers to keep her from backing out. “Knowing me, I'll fall and break my arm or leg. Then the day is a complete waste.”

Turning around, he smiled at her. “What if I promise to catch you?”

“Do you promise to catch me?”

“I won't let you fall,” he said bringing her hand up to his lips so he could place a light kiss on her wrist. “I promise.”

Feeling the tears fall from her eyes, Charity just sat on the floor of the closet and cried. She cried for the broken promises that she never thought would hurt. Crying seemed to be the only thing that she had the energy for. When she thought back to when she thought her life was falling apart, he had promised that everything would be okay. That was the day that everything that she came to realize that without trying to she had fallen in love with him.

Not bothering to get dressed, Charity held the TV remote in her hand and while it seemed that she was watching TV she wasn't paying attention to anything that was being said. Jonathan had come home from practice at Toyota Sports Center and decided to take Madison to the beach where he was meeting with with Dustin Brown and his family. But since Madison was still napping and neither of them wanted to wake her up just yet, he sat in the recliner next to the couch that she was laying down on.

“You feeling okay?”

“Physically.”

“But otherwise, no?”

“Got the test results back today from the appointment I had the other week.”

“Bad news?”

“Depends how you look at it,” Charity said as she turned her head and looked at her brother-in-law's worried expression. “I'm pregnant.”

“Who knows?”

“Besides you and my doctor?” she asked. “Matt knows as well as Alicia and Jaclyn. I didn't tell Matt, I think Alicia did.”

“What do you plan on doing?”

“Run away?” Charity asked. “Doesn't that usually work?”

“Charity....”

“I'm scared to death and I haven't even told Jack yet.”

“Are you going to tell him?”

Letting out a loud sigh, she ran a hand through her hair. “I don't think I have much of a choice. He deserves to know that he's gonna be a daddy. I just don't know where this puts us or even me.”

“You have a good job, a place to live, and family that loves you and supports you. No matter what, you are going to be okay.”

“You think so?”

“I know it,” Jonathan said as he stood up. “Jack's a good guy. You two will be okay.”

“Thanks Jonny. That means a lot to me.”

Standing up, she gave him a hug. “I think while you two are gone, I'll invite him over and tell him.”

“Good,” Jonathan said. “I might only be your brother-in-law by marriage, but it doesn't mean I don't love you.”

Smiling, Charity picked up her phone as she heard the familiar ringtone go off. Smiling, she looked at the screen and saw that it was the picture Jack had taken of them while kissing. Accepting the call, she put the phone to her ear as she watched Jonathan head up the stairs. “Hey, Jack.”

“I didn't think you were gonna pick up,” he told her. “I was starting to think I was going to have to start a relationship with your voicemail to make you jealous so you'd talk to me.”

“I know I haven't really been myself lately and I’m sorry.”

“Are you okay?”

“I will be,” Charity said as she heard Madison laughing as she came down the stairs. “Jon is taking Madison out and I think we should talk face to face. So how about you come over and we'll talk?”

“Alright,” Jack agreed. “I'll be over shortly.”

“I'll see you soon then,” Charity said releasing a deep breath. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Hanging up her phone, she saw Jonathan with a sad smile on his face. “We are gonna head out. Do you need anything before we go? Or before we come back?”

“Maybe some mint ice cream before you come back?”

“You got it,” he told her. “Everything will be okay Charity.”

“I hope so.”

Waiting for Jack to come over to the house seemed to take forever. Charity tried to distract herself with the TV, but that lasted about twenty minutes before she started to check the time on her phone every few minutes. Taking her hair out of the messy bun she had fixed ten minutes prior, she ran her hand through her hair before putting the bun back. Forty-five minutes after they got off the phone, Jack was at the house. With a deep breath, Charity made it to the door before he had the chance to ring the bell.

Throwing her arms around him, she just hugged him. Feeling his arms wrap around her Charity closed her eyes and they just stayed like that for a few minutes. “I'm sorry for ignoring your calls and for not talking to you. I was just trying to figure things out in my head.”

Walking into the house, Jack took in her outfit. “I'm guessing it must have been something big for you to not even get dressed.”

“We really need to talk.”

Sitting next to her on the couch, he watched as she got up and went to the kitchen before reappearing less than a minute later. Sitting down next to him, she bit down on her lip, unsure how to tell him. Sure she had run more than a handful of scenarios through her mind about how to tell him, but now that he was sitting next to her, nothing came to mind.

“Charity, are you okay?”

“I'm fine, I promise,” she said. “Just pregnant.”

“Just what?”

“Pregnant. With child. Knocked up. A bun in the-”

“I know what it means,” Jack said running his hands through his dark blonde hair. “I'm just not sure how this happened.”

“I guess we weren't as careful as we thought we were.”

“Is this why you were acting so strange?”

Nodding her head, Charity pulled out the sonogram picture from her appointment when it was confirmed that she was indeed pregnant and handed it to him. “I thought that once you found out...”

“That I would disappear from your life?”

Letting out a shaky laugh, Charity looked at him. “Yeah, so I was figuring out what I was going to do.”

“Remember what I've said all along?” Jack asked. “I'm not giving you up that easily.”

Placing his hand on top of hers, Jack smiled at her. “Maybe it is time for us to take things to the next step.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think we should get our own place. A place for us and our baby.”

“You really want to?” Charity asked.

“I do,” Jack smiled. “I've been thinking about it for awhile, but there was never a good time to bring it to your attention.”

“I really thought that your would freak out over this.”

“Don't get me wrong,” Jack said taking her hand in his before lacing their fingers. “I'm so fucking scared right now, but I know that we can do this together.”

“Really?”

“Life has no guarantees,” Jack told her. “But I promise we can do this together.”

Smiling at him, Charity leaned over and placed her lips on his in a soft kiss.

Three days into the Columbus Blue Jackets roadtrip, Charity was sitting in the living room on the couch in front of the TV when her phone rang. Rubbing her head where she had been feeling a headache coming on, she leaned forward and grabbed the phone. With a sigh, she answered the phone.

“Hey, Jack,” Charity said. “How's Chicago?”

“Chicago?” he asked. “We were there last month.”

“Then where are you now?”

“Colorado.”

“Oh.”

“I thought you were watching the team.”

“I don't care for the team,” Charity sighed. “I've told you this and I really don't wanna fight with you right now.”

“You knew what happened when I got traded.”

“Yeah,” she admitted. “You turned into an ass.”

“I thought you didn't want to fight.”

“That's all we do when you are here and when you are on the road. Most of the time I wonder why I stick around when I could be living somewhere else.”

“So you'd take our daughter and just leave?”

“It isn't as if I'd deny you her,” Charity said. “Look I've got a headache so I'm gonna lay down.”

“Can I talk to her first?” Jack asked, lowering his voice.

“Jaclyn took her out for the day,” she told him. “We can try for tomorrow.”

“Alright,” he said. “Feel better Charity.”

“Good-bye Jack.”

Hanging up the phone, Charity walked back into the bedroom that was looking pretty bare. She and Jack had made this place a home for their daughter to grow up in. But the only problem was after the stress of moving and becoming a mother, she found out that this wasn't working. Her relationship with Jack got worse with each day that she was in Columbus and every time they agreed it would just be one more night. One more night of trying to remember why they were together, one more night of forgetting everything that was coming between them.

Wishing and dreaming did nothing for her. What was the point when she knew nothing was changing? Charity tried not to dwell on the fact that her last memory in LA was her favorite and the one that changed everything.

The night after the Kings had come home from a 4-1 loss in Colorado, the Kings had a morning skate and then the day to themselves. Charity had brought Madison over to her and Jack's place so that her sister could get some shopping done. Getting out and about was getting harder and harder to do as her stomach continued to expand. When Jack came in, he smiled at her as she was still in her pajamas while playing with her niece on the floor.

“Hey,” Jack said as he walked into the apartment and slipped into the chair that Charity was resting her back on. “I didn't know we had company.”

“Just so Jaclyn could get some grocery shopping done while you and Jonathan were at the skate. Plus I didn't wanna go to the store with her. She gets too picky about what I eat.”

“How about a dinner to get out the apartment and a reason for you to put on that dress you got the other day?”

“How did you know I got a new dress?” Charity asked as Madison came and sat next to her.

“You left it on the bed last night before I went to take a shower.”

“It was supposed to be a surprise.”

“You've never been good at those,” Jack laughed as he tickled Madison. “I think we should leave those to me.”

“What do you call this then?” Charity asked as she put her hand on her very pregnant stomach.

“Fun?” he smirked.

“Madison, tickle Uncle Jack.” Charity said and then laughed at her niece did as she said.

Watching Jack and Madison interact made her heart warm. If he was this good with his teammates daughter, then maybe she was being nervous over their own daughter for no reason. They had gone through the books and the birthing classes and they just hoped they were ready for such a big responsibility.

Hearing a knock on the door, Jack picked Madison up and went to see who it was at the door. Charity watched from her spot on the floor as he let Madison open the door. “Daddy!” she cried out.

“There are two NHL players in this apartment,” Charity called out. “Can one of you help me off the floor?”

Walking back into the room, Madison was in her father's arms which meant that the arms that were helping her up belonged to Jack. “Remind me not to sit on the floor again. Not only is it bad for my back, but I just can't seem to get up when I do that.”

“That is only for a little bit longer.” Jonathan said. “Thanks for watching her.”

“Do you have food again?” Charity grinned.

“Yeah, what a concept.”

“If you wanna do an early dinner you should get ready now.” Jack told her.

“Yeah and maybe afterward we'll head for a walk on the beach or something?”

“Sounds like a date,” Jonathan commented. “That would be our signal to leave. You wanna give Aunt Charity a kiss good-bye and thank her for watching you?”

Smiling at Madison, Charity walked over to Jonathan and leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Love you Madison.”

“Love you and baby.”

Laughing, Charity walked Jonathan to the door.

“Have fun tonight. Try and get him to relax,” Jonathan said. “He took that last game pretty hard.”

Nodding her head, Charity took what he said to heart. She knew that Jack played his hardest and when he didn't have a good game then he tended to place the blame upon himself.

It didn't take long for Charity to take a shower and get dressed for dinner.

The nice dinner seemed to be just what Jack and Charity both needed. They hadn't really had a whole lot of alone time together. Between games, practices and getting ready for the baby their lives had gotten a little hectic. “So Sidney Crosby sent a package to me.”

“He sent you a package?”

Charity laughed as she picked up her glass of lemon water. “Yeah, our baby now has a baby Crosby jersey and a stuffed penguin.”

“He's trying to convert her to a Penguins fan,” Jack said. “She's gonna be a Kings fan.”

“Or maybe she won't even like hockey.”

“Either way, she'll be loved with many uncles.”

Before she could reply, Jack's phone started to ring. Grabbing it off the table, he looked at the caller with confusion on his face. “It's Dean Lombardi.”

A look of surprise was on Jack's face as he took the call. Eating her dinner and trying not to pay attention to what was being said was a little hard since he was sitting right across from her. The expression on Jack's face made her slightly worried about what was being said. When he hung up the phone he dropped it onto the table and ran a hand through his hair.

“What's going on?”

“I have a flight out of LA in the morning.”

“Why?” Charity asked. “You don't play in Chicago for another few days.”

“Because I've been traded to Columbus.”

“Are you kidding me?”

Shaking his head, Charity was stunned. Jack signed a seven year contract so that he could play with the Kings. A little more than a year into that contract and they trade him to Columbus.

“This changes everything.”

“It doesn't have to,” Jack said as he signaled to the waiter to bring the check. “At least not right now it doesn't.”

“I don't understand what you're talking about.”

Giving his credit card without looking at the bill, he took Charity's hand in his and held it on the table after their plates were cleared away. “Move with me.”

“My life is here. My job, my family-” Charity started and then took a deep breath. “I wouldn't even be able to move until after the baby is born. No doctor would clear me to fly this close to delivery.”

“So after the baby is born you can come to Columbus and I'll have an apartment for us. We'll sell our LA place and -”

“We are going to need a lot of help,” Charity said. “Will you still be here for the birth?”

“I wouldn't miss it,” Jack told her. “I promise things will be okay.”

And for awhile things were good, great even. But things changed and not for the better. Jack was there for the birth of their daughter and when Charity and the baby flew to Columbus, he was there to greet them at the airport. At first it was a hard adjustment to make, but after awhile she realized that she just wasn't adjusting to life in Columbus. Both her sister's gave her advice on things to help, but when that stuff didn't work, they offered her a place to stay as long as the baby came.

On one of Jack's roadtrips, she went to New York so that she could see Alicia and her husband Matt. They were supportive of her and fawned over the baby which gave her some time to relax. When it was time to go home she realized that she wasn't looking forward to it.

“Hey, you okay?”

Snapping her head up, she saw Jaclyn with her daughter sleeping in a stroller.

“Since I got here I kept telling myself one more night. I'll give it one more night and maybe things would be better for us then. Maybe I will be happy.”

“And then what happened?”

“We started fighting more,” Charity said shaking her head. “I love him so much, but this isn't working. At least not here. I'm not happy.”

“It was a matter of time before one of you moved out.”

Looking at the bare apartment, Charity sighed and nodded her head. “I wish it would have been different.”

“One more night can't fix this.”

Looking at her sister, she gave her a smile. “Are you sure it will be okay for me to come back especially now that I bring more company?”

“You are family,” Jaclyn said. “You both will always be welcome.”

“I think we are ready to go.”

Opening the door to the apartment, Jack walked in and dropped his bag. Looking at the bare apartment, he was in shock. He went from room to room and there was nothing left of Charity. She had left a few things to remind him of his daughter, his daughter that wasn't living with him.

He knew that they weren't working, but he was hoping that one more night and then things would be better. No, she had done what he couldn't do. She left.

Maybe with the time apart, they could figure out what to do. He wanted to be with Charity, but she just didn't belong in Columbus or that was how she felt.

Sitting down on the couch, he looked at the picture on the coffee table. It was of the three of them in Columbus Blue Jackets apparel before a game. His first game.

The only thing he could think of was how did he not see that she was going to leave before she left?