Big Girl Panties

Standing silently and patiently in line at the one open register, Trixie tried her best to decipher the drawing Kane had sent her via Draw Something. She had been trying to guess for the last day but she far too stubborn give up. It always amazed Trixie on how the busiest day of the week seemed to be the time when Target had the least amount of registers open. Deciding to let her mind reset before going back to the game which would sooner or later give her an ulcer, Trixie exited out of the app and opened a new text message to inform Dan she wasn’t purposely wasting time. She had promised five minutes, ten tops when he dropped her off. That was twenty five minutes ago.

Pocketing her phone, Trixie had been gazing the rows of chocolate and sugary candies when her eyes caught a glimpse of something else. The month’s issue of Motherhood magazine. After tossing 2 bags of gummy worms into her basket, Trixie looked over her shoulder before nonchalantly reaching for the glossy cover and sliding it in with the items she had picked up to keep at Dan’s. Dan was smart enough to have planted the idea in Trixie’s head of leaving a bottle of shampoo and conditioner in his shower, a toothbrush, stick of deodorant and a few changes of panties and sweats. That way if she wanted to spend the night on nights they were expected to be at the arena early, she could. Dan was just trying to get her to spend as much time as possible at his place.

When it was finally Trixie’s turn at the register, she quickly paid with cash so she could grab her bags and get the hell out of there. The package of gummy worms didn’t stand a chance as Trixie ripped into the plastic packaging before she had even made it down to the parking garage. It would be a miracle if she made it to his car without devouring them all. With the amount of food she had been shoving into mouth over the last three weeks, Trixie was just about terrified to step on the scale in Dan’s bathroom. She almost did the other night in the Anaheim locker room but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“Took you long enough.” Dan joked as he pulled out of the parking space. He noticed the gummy worms Trixie was snacking on. “Why are you eating those? We’re meeting Patrick and Jonathan in like ten minutes for lunch.”

Trixie knew she had very little control over her emotions and it had been a long five game road trip knowing that fact. Twice she had almost started crying during the Dallas game as she was running on no sleep and stressed beyond her limits, and then again as she congratulated them on their 8-1 win.

“I am growing another human inside me. No longer do I have control over when and what I want to eat.”

Dan knew he had struck a nerve when he heard it in her voice that the tears were coming so he threw in a compliment about how beautiful she looked. Reaching over to grab a few gummy worms, Trixie snatched the package away before he could get his hands on any of her treats.

“These gummy worms are for non-assholes only.”

Dan smirked and put his attention back on the traffic in front of him. “I guess that means they’re off limits to you, too.”

Trixie and Dan met Patrick and Jonathan at the Palace Grill. It was one of their favorite meeting places and Trixie had been extra instant as she was craving a Palace burger and giant side of fries. She was contemplating ordering a small bowl of chili and create her own chili fries. Jonathan and Pat had claimed a booth in the back in hopes they would go relatively unnoticed. Trixie slid in first, allowing Dan the outside and before the word ‘hello’ even crossed her mind, she had another issue to address.

“What the hell did you send me? I cannot figure it out.”

Patrick simply shrugged; proud of the fact he had finally stumped her. They had to stop playing Words with Friends as that almost put an end their friendship. “If you can’t get it, there’s no shame in giving up.”

Trixie mouthed the word, ‘never’ as she turned her attention to the waitress as she approached the table. Once the food was ordered, Jonathan cleared his throat, trying to figure out how he would approach the topic which was the reason he had called them to lunch. Rumors were beginning to spread; the boys wanted answers.

“So, Trix.” Jon started, folding his arms on the table. “You, have you been seeing anyone…special lately?”

Jon’s eyes had darted from Trixie to Dan noticing the pair had suddenly become slightly uneasy. Trixie scratched her head and coolly gazed at her someone special for a little back up. Patrick already knew the truth as Trixie had told him about Dan and the baby nearly a month ago. He simply sat back and watched the interaction unfold.

“Why? What have you heard?”

“Nothing; just wondering.”

Unable to sit back and watch this possible train wreck anymore, Dan spoke up. “Rumors are true, Tazer, we’re dating and the baby’s due in late September, early October.”

Trixie looked to Patrick with the glare of death thinking it had been him who let it slip to the team that she involved with Dan and expecting a bundle of joy. In his defense, Patrick held up his hands as he had nothing to do with word getting out. “It was your dad. Can you blame the guy for being a little overjoyed by the news of first illegitimate grandchild?”

“You are a bastard, Patrick Kane.” Said Trixie.

Jonathan laughed. “And not the kind born to unwed parents.”



The night the Los Angeles Kings invaded the Second City, Trixie was lying in an exam room at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Her doctor, Dr. Frost, a young doctor fresh out of his residency and only agreed to sign Trixie off on continuing to work as long as she agreed to come in every three weeks for an ultrasound and exam. She took that offer with no questions asked, anything to keep her behind the bench and in the center of action. With puck drop less than two hours away, this was a time Trixie gave Dan a free pass to skip out on an appointment.

“How have you been feeling, Trixie?” Dr. Frost asked.

She wished he would keep the chit-chat to a minimum as he inserted the specula. Going to second base with her doctor wasn’t something she exactly looked forward to and she made a point to make sure she was always, shaved, waxed and plucked before she’d throw her feet into the stirrups.

“Pretty good, actually.” Trixie was counting the seconds until she could put her pants back on.

As she expected, she passed her exam with flying colors and mindless listened as he reminded her of the importance of not pushing herself to her limits and to remember to rest extra on her days off and keep hydrated. She cringed a little when the cold gel was squirted on to her belly. When Dr. Frost let Trixie listen to the heartbeat, she wished more than anything Dan had been there, holding her hand. It was hitting her like a ton of bricks and she wiped the tears from her eyes before they had a chance to escape and ruin her makeup.

“Everything is looking good. Do you want to know the sex?”

Trixie had to think about it for a second. She didn’t want to know unless Dan wanted to as well. But, she also had to count in the other 20 plus men and women in her life who wanted to know whether she and Dan wanted it to be a surprise or not.

“Can you right it down?” Trixie requested.

Dr. Frost obliged and handed her a folded piece of paper with the gender of their child written on it. It took nearly all self-control not to open it herself for peek. She wanted to know, she was excited and just wanted to get back to the United Center. Trixie was slightly relieved her father had spilled the beans to the Blackhawks Organization, but however, that meant Trixie was avoiding her bosses at all costs in fear of the ‘talk.’

Racing back into the UC, Trixie mentally clocked how much time she had to get the rest of her work done before it was time to hit the ice for warm ups. When she walked into the changing room, all the guys ceased taping sticks, lacing skates and even the guys who had been playing soccer in the hallway followed her in. Dan, who was scratched for the game, nervously chewed on his thumb nail sitting in his stall and jumped up the second he saw her.

“How’d it go?”

“The baby is perfectly healthy and so am I.” She would have cupped his face and given him a kiss but there were countless pairs of eyes on them.

The guys gathered around, only caring about one thing. Knowing exactly what it was they wanted, Trixie grabbed the folded piece of paper from her bag and handed it to Captain Jonathan Toews. Whether they wanted to know or not, Dan and Trixie knew they were about to find out the sex of their baby. Feverishly, Jon unfolded the paper and held it open for the rest of the guys to see. There was collective cheer of ‘yeah’s’ and ‘yeses’ giving confirmation to the young couple. Trixie turned to Dan and smiled, who, unable to control himself, bent down and placed a kiss to Trixie’s lips. It was official, they were having a boy.