I'll Be Right Beside You

Six o’clock always came way, way too early for me, but if I didn’t wake up that early, soon Andy would wake up Cam and then she’d be beat for the rest of the day. Usually, she insisted it wasn’t an issue, but on game days, it was. So I rolled out of bed as quietly as I could, grabbed my cell, and made my way down the hall and into the second room on the right.

Still asleep, our little girl looked like an angel. She looked so much like the two of us; her mom’s dark hair, my skin and eyes, Cam’s beautiful smile. All of the guys constantly gushed over her, because she was a little charmer. Always smiley and happy, and Sid and Geno had taken to calling her Smiley – as if her nickname wasn’t already short enough.

“Hey princess; good morning,” I whispered as she began to stir, her tummy letting her know it was time for some food. She was just coming up on a year old, and Cam had decided to come back this season after taking the last one off. So, in turn, I decided to delay a return to the Penguins to take care of our baby girl. And now, I couldn’t imagine missing out on everything the way I knew it killed Cam to know she was going to miss things in person.

Andy let out a little gurgle, immediately reaching up for me. She wasn’t big on talking yet, and I figured she’d be like me; running around like a madman, but wouldn’t hardly say a word until she was two. Then the full sentences would come. Cam constantly worried over her, afraid that she might need some extra help with speech, but I assured her it was fine. So had my mother, and hers. Some kids needed to do things at their own pace.

“Let’s go get something to eat, hey?” I whispered, and Andy grinned up at me, almost gnawing on her fist, her little teeth almost all present.

We walked downstairs to the kitchen, and once again I was glad that Misha was trained well enough we could leave the door open and she wouldn’t be in our bed. It also meant that there was no whining and barking to wake Cam up when someone came downstairs early in the morning and she felt left out. So, after preparing a bottle, and with Misha on my heels, we made our way to the living room and my favorite chair for breakfast, Sportscentre turned on quietly as Andy’s bright blue eyes took everything in, and Misha curled up at my feet. We’d considered getting a second dog, a nice big retriever or german shepherd, but then we’d found out we were adding to our family in a different way, and decided to hold off. We didn’t want to be figuring out parenting and trying to train a new puppy all at once. But I hoped that was still in the game plan for later down the road. Hopefully after another kid or two.

“Hey you two, what’s going on?”

I looked up, surprised to see Cam making her way over, still rubbing at her eyes and in her pajamas. She walked over and curled up on the couch, patting the seat next to the armrest for me. After a quick move she cuddled up, content to just sit there and listen to the television with her eyes closed, and I knew she’d fall back to sleep in a minute or two. Andy finished up her bottle, only burping a little bit, before the yawning began again there too. I sunk down into the couch, getting comfortable with my two girls, kissing them both before letting my eyes close as well, glad for another hour or whatever Andy would decide to give us.

“Are you two coming to watch?” Cam asked, standing in her Under Armour and munching on a piece of toast, having already eaten some eggs, fruit and bacon.

“Of course,” I told her, making Andy giggle from her high chair, having tried munching on some berries and melons, her sippy-cup within reach.

“Just remember, Dan and Mario are gonna be working you hard to come play this season,” she warned me with a grin. I’d played for half of the season last year, on essentially a try-out contract, and while everybody with the Penguins had pushed for me to sign, I wasn’t a hundred percent sure what to do yet. Cam still wanted to get the most out of the time she had, and someone had to be able to look after Andy. Next year was still up for consideration, however.

“I know, I know. I’ll tell them what I told them last time. Maybe next year, depending on what we decide as a family,” I rolled my eyes, getting a giggle before Cam turned a little more solemn.

“Jord, you know that I’m behind you one hundred percent if you want to play again, right?” she asked, and with a laugh I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her.

“Of course Cam; but look at this. We’ve got everything, and Andy has someone all the time. I like that; I hate the idea of both of us missing everything, and then what? She grows up with a nanny instead of her parents. Maybe they should sign the two of us to one contract; we’ll take turns playing,” I joked, and Cam laughed.

“Run that one by Mario; I can guarantee he’ll do anything to have you back,”

“But he wants both of us, if I recall we used to kick some major ass back in the day. Or so I’ve been told,” I teased, and she laughed for a moment, before nearly choking on her juice.

Andy let out a distressed sound, almost saying ‘Mama’ as Cam caught her breath.

“Babe are you okay?”

“Y-you… do you remember? Do you remember us playing together?” she asked, and after a moment I nodded.

“Little bits and pieces… why?” I couldn’t see why this was a big deal, but knew it must be because Cam was tearing up.

“Because after the accident… honey you didn’t remember even playing in the NHL at all. I didn’t know you still had stuff coming back,” she told me, cupping my cheek softly, her stormy eyes tearing up a little.

“I just… I guess I didn’t realize it. I forgot that I’d forgotten it,” I surmised, not sure what else it could’ve been. I wish I would’ve known, rather than upsetting Cam before a big game against the Canadiens.

“I’m glad you do though Jord; playing with you was the best,” she sniffed, curling into me.

“I know babe; I miss it too. Maybe I’ll do another try out contract if there’s a big home stretch this season, then we can both be at home and we can play together again,” I compromised, and saw Cam light up.

“Jordy I’d love that; and you know Becka would love to steal Andy for a few days. She and Sid are talking about kids again,” she told me, moving over to pick up our daughter from her chair, wiping the remnants of some water melon from her face. This had to be the third time they’d ‘talked about it’ and yet somehow they still didn’t have a kid.

“I don’t know why they haven’t already; they’re both baby crazy,” I rolled my eyes, making her laugh.

“Sid doesn’t want to miss everything, and he’s scared Becka’s dad and his dad will murder him for having a kid in the ‘prime of his career’,” she told me, laughing as she tried to use air quotes. Becka’s dad apparently still wasn’t totally sold on Sid even after four years of being married, and Sid’s dad sometimes got a little overprotective, even if he just wanted the best for his son.

“They should know by know if they told their parents they were expecting, both of their dads would cry,” I rolled my eyes, and Cam burst into laughter, Andy joining in for the sake of giggling.

“That’s what Papa did when we told him about you,” I baby-talked to her, getting a squeal in response. We’d found out hardly a month before our wedding that we were expecting, and while Cam had fretted and worried over her dress and everything else, she hadn’t even been showing yet. She’d been absolutely gorgeous in the simple white gown that I knew Vero, Becka, Rosa and my sisters in law had helped her pick out. So we decided to announce to our friends and families at the reception that Misha wasn’t going to be the only spoiled baby girl in this house.

My parents had cried, Cam’s mom had cried, Eric and Marc had started hooting and hollering, before wrapping us up in hugs, the girls had been teary-eyed hugging Cam, and Becka and Rose had lost it. They were so excited for Cam they didn’t even have words for her, just squeals and hugs, and Vero had been just as bad. The guys had all came over to congratulate me, with the exception of James, who still hadn’t gotten over himself.

However, as much as he seemed to detest and ignore me nowadays, he was wrapped around Andy’s finger just as badly as Sid, Geno and TK were.

“Come on princess; let’s find you a jersey to wear for Mom’s game,” I told her, taking her from Cam who needed to leave for the rink earlier than we did. I sat Andy down in her crib for a moment, promising to return shortly, and just outside the door wrapped Cam up in a long kiss. She drove me crazy getting dressed up for games; she’d stopped with the dress slacks and shirts that hid her, and had started wearing dresses or skirts and a blazer to the rink. Undoubtedly Vero had played a large part in that transition, but goddamn did she ever look good in them.

“Think we can con Becka and Sid into taking Andy for a few hours after the game?” I whispered, nipping at her neck. She let out a strangled sound, before nearly moaning.

“Don’t tease me Jordy,” she whimpered, and I raised an eyebrow.

“Who said anything about teasing?”

“Good Lord… Jord I swear if you don’t come good on this…” she teased, and I grinned.

“As good as done. I’ll see you later babe,”