Kiss Me

It was the first time I had been back at the rink and trying to skate since the hit. As of late I had sort of became a hermit. Besides my daily workouts (which usually happened at my home gym so I wouldn’t be harassed by the media, another headache), I would basically just spend my days with Haley. Things were going good as far as I could tell. I knew we still had a lot of things to talk and think about, her more than me, but at least we were getting on the right track again. And after a sit down talk between Haley, Pat, and I, we had all agreed the best idea was rehiring my agent once again. Actually, it had been Haley’s idea so long as he kept his meddling nose out of our personal lives.

“Seed back!” Geno announced to the entire South Pointe locker room. Guys looked over in my direction as I walked in. They patted me on the back and some of them offering their congrats—what they were congratulating me about was still yet to be seen. Maybe they had heard about the baby already? Haley and I had talked about telling the team (and their respective families, her job) sooner rather than later because the fact that she would be around a lot more; especially when I was finally able to come back from my concussion. Duper stood up and threw an old pair of stinky socks at me, if that didn’t wake me up I don’t know what would.

“Heard a little rumor flying around,” He innocently said as a pair of twenty eyes suddenly fell on me. I narrowed my eyes towards him and then to Flower. Flower, and his girlfriend Vero, was the only people besides Mario and Pat that knew Haley was pregnant. “Care you indulge us in it?” I sighed. I really wasn’t ready to tell them this morning. This morning was about coming in here, skating a little bit, and then taking a long, long, long nap. Finally, I shrugged and rested up against the cubbies.

“Haley finally decide that your head was too big and she dumped ya?” I rolled my eyes towards Staalsy and let out a snarky laugh.

“Yes, Jordan I--” I was tempted to make a slightly uppity comment about his fiancée or girlfriend or whatever she was today, Heather, but decided to keep my comments to myself. “Uh, wow, this is kind of strange to have to explain, but uh,” I rubbed the back of my neck. Was I going to tell them the full story or the mumble, jumble, messed up, this is a bit of a lie story? “Haley and I broke up shortly before the season, right before she found out she was pregnant. We’ve spent the past couple of weeks together, and now we’ve gotten back together. So that you guys know the deal?” I was going to tell them the story—sort of.

All of a sudden I had twenty guys slapping me on the back, offering their congrats to both Haley and I, and a couple of comments about how they hoped my kid wouldn’t get my butter finger-like hair.

“Thanks guys,” I grinned as Dan walked into the room. His somber tone and face suddenly overtook everyone’s excitement, including my own.

“Sid, trainer and doc want to see you in the workout room.” He announced out of the blue. I looked to him for some sort of direction, but it was to no avail. He was giving away nothing. Some of the guys made a joke, laughed, and then went on with their own business. I was fine, wasn’t I?

The walk into the workout room down the hallway was short and sweet, but when I walked in Chris and Dr. Burke looked twelve degrees less than happy. This wasn’t sweet. After a couple of seconds our strength and conditioning coach, Kadar, walked in an equal look of unenthusiasm on his face.

“What’s up, guys?” I asked nervously. They both look towards Dr. Burke, and he clears his throat. This isn’t going to be good.

“How’s your head been feeling, Sid?” He asks with a bit of tone. I shrug. “Your dizziness? Nausea? Vomiting? Light sensitivity?” Again I shrug. I was pleading the fifth at this point. “Care to be tested again for a concussion?” I shook my head quickly. I did not want to have to go through that battery of tests again. No way, Jose.

“You said off-ice workouts were going well, Sid.” Chris spoke up as I cracked my knuckles nervously. Somebody had heard I was having symptoms come back again and queued the training and medical staff on it. I felt like a little child that was being chastised for something that I had done wrong.

“They’re okay.” I answered blankly. Mike, who knew better than anyone how workouts were going, gave me a glaring look. I conceded. He had told them. “I’ve had some symptoms come back,” I admitted though I didn’t want too, I wanted to skate again. “But I’m fine.”

“Well no, you’re not, actually. This is serious, Sidney, you need to take your health into consideration before hockey. I heard you have a little one coming along soon?” I nodded stiffly. “Well do it for him or her then. Take your health into consideration. This could be serious one day. You want to be there for them don’t you? For Haley?” Again I nodded. As much as I didn’t like what I was hearing (that I wasn’t going to be skating today, or any time soon it sounded like) I knew it was for the best, and that they were only looking out for me. I just hated not being on the ice, especially with the guys.

“We want to call you off for a little while on your workout. Go home for a couple of days, get out of Pittsburgh, do something not here. Come back in a week and we’ll reevaluate,” As soon as Dr. Burke began saying that both Mario and Dan walked into the room, their somber faces matching Dr. Burke’s. “This isn’t a punishment, Sidney, this is something that needed to be done before. We reevaluated too quickly and you got stuck here. Take a couple of days and relax. Spend some time with Haley; these are the last of your quiet days. Just leave Pittsburgh for a little while until this all blows over.” I frowned. I didn’t want to leave Pittsburgh, I didn’t want to go home; I wanted to skate.

“This is for the best Sidney. You’re always welcomed back at our house if you don’t want to leave,” Mario motioned towards me. I shrugged and slumped my shoulders. This wasn’t what I wanted to hear. Not any day of the week.

“Tell Haley to come and get you, you need to leave,” Wow, that kind of sounded rough. Hey, I know you sort of saved our fucking team from being moved to some Po-fucking-dunk place in the middle of nowhere USA, but we’re going to kick your ass out of our practice facility now, see ya in two weeks. Yeah, great feeling.

“Sure, whatever.” I mumbled. I wasn’t exactly in the mood to act like an adult.

“I need you to come and pick me up.” I told Haley on the phone. There was a pregnant pause (heh, a pun) and then she answered slowly and sleepily.

“Sid, I’m at work, I just can’t leave.” I sighed annoyingly and pinched the bridge of my nose.

“I need you to come and pick me up.” I reiterated and still she didn’t get the picture.

“Sidney, I heard you the first time. I am at work. I have to work. I can’t just leave my job.” Another annoyed sigh.

“I was just told I needed to get the fuck out of Pittsburgh,” I managed to mumble out. I already had a monster headache and it was only growing. She hiccupped.

“What?”

“I can’t skate. I’ve been banned from the practice facility. We’re going on vacation.” I grunted. She still didn’t get the picture. “Just pick me up and I’ll explain?” I was whining like a small child, and quite frankly I could have cared less. She sighed and I could tell she was pinching the bridge of her nose by the way she spoke.

“Let me talk to my charge, and see what I can do.” She explained as I nodded hopefully. Where the hell was I going to go until she picked me up?

“Good, throw in that I’ll supply the whole emergency room for tickets to the next game if she lets you leave early.” I could here her lightly groan.

“Sidney, please.” She grumbled as she hung up the phone. What?

*****

“So they just told you to go home?” Haley asked as we arrived back at her apartment. After I had gone and told her the entire story of how I was basically on temporary leave per management, she had a battery of questions—most of them I couldn’t answer. I shrugged. That was basically it.

“So we’re going on a little vacation. A pre-family vacation.” I smiled, but she didn’t.

“I work the next four days straight. Three of them nights.” Her job was seriously not conducive to my seriously fucked up schedule. I ducked my head and thought of a plot to get her out of it.

“Tell them you had a family emergency and that you need to fly home.” She shook her head and looked like she was about to punch me in the face.

“Yes, and all around the same time the media is blasting it that star Sidney Crosby is going out of town. Totally cool.” She grumbled.

“Can I talk to your charge nurse?” I asked with a sly smile. Haley shook her head vigorously and put her hand up.

“I will find out how to get out of working. God, I’m going to get fired.” She muttered the last part as I kissed the top of her head. She shook her head and rolled her eyes.

A vacation would be a good thing for us, right?