Our Secret Hiding Spot

Noah had dropped his daughters off with Quinn and Kris just thirty minutes ago, and Riley had already convinced Quinn to make cookies with her. The little girl definitely shared her aunt's sweet tooth, and Quinn happily obliged. Meanwhile, Kris was in the living room with Anna, who had just woken up from her nap, and was now hungry herself so he was giving her a bottle.

Quinn sat Riley at the kitchen table with a coloring book and crayons, telling her to keep an eye on the timer for the cookies, while Quinn went into the living room to check on Kris. She smiled to herself when she saw the large defenseman with a tiny baby in his arms. "You look at ease," she smiled, and he looked over at her briefly before looking back down at Anna.

"She's a pretty content baby, isn't she?" Kris asked Quinn as Anna finished off her bottle, and Kris moved her so she was propped up on his shoulder as he patted her back to burp her.

"I think she just likes you," Quinn replied. "You're good with kids, though I've known that for a while," she added, and Kris glanced over at her curiously, wondering what she meant by that. "I saw you at the family Christmas skate," she told him. "You're completely comfortable with kids. And, they clearly love you," she added.

"Hopefully our kids will love me, too," he smiled at Anna as she cooed at him. Quinn's felt her heart swell with those words. While they hadn't officially talked about having kids, Kris had made a few comments about their kids, and every time, Quinn couldn't help but smile. She wanted kids. She wanted kids with Kris, and she knew they would start trying soon after they were married. Why wait any longer?

"They'll love you like I do," Quinn told him as she gave him a kiss on the cheek as she heard Riley calling her name. She walked into the kitchen, looking at her niece. "What's up, kiddo?" she asked her.

"The timer went off," Riley told her, pointing to the kitchen timer that sat on the table in front of her.

"It's time!" Quinn said excitedly as she grabbed oven mitts and walked over to the stove. "Now stay back, Riles, it's hot, and you don't want to get burned," she warned the young girl who stood behind Quinn, out of harm's way.

"Oooh they smell yummy!" Riley sang as Quinn sat the cookies on the stovetop to cool. Kris walked into the kitchen and walked over to the oven, smelling the cookies from the living room. "Don't touch them, Kris!" Riley warned him. "They'll burn you. You have to let them cool. Aunt Quinn will tell you when they're ready to eat!"

"That's right," Quinn smiled, turning to face Kris. "Listen to Aunt Quinn."

"Oh, I always listen to Aunt Quinn," he assured the two of them, giving Quinn a quick wink before turning his attention back to Anna who was trying to wiggle out of his arms. "Riley, what do you want for dinner?" he asked the older girl.

"Umm," Riley hummed, putting a lot of thought into the question. "Pizza!" she exclaimed finally, and Kris laughed, having a feeling she would go with that choice.

"I think we can make that happen, what do you think, Aunt Quinn?" he asked her, and she nodded her head as she heard her phone start ringing.

"Who's calling me tonight?" she asked to no one in particular, running into the living room to get her phone out of her purse. She saw Mario's name flashing on the screen, and she knew she had to pick up. "Hey Mario," she answered.

"Good evening, Quinn, I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time," he said..

Quinn glanced into the kitchen to see that Kris had everything under control. "No, it's okay," she said, putting her hand on the table. "Why are you calling?" she asked. She hardly ever got a call from Mario this late, especially on a Friday night in the offseason, unless it was something important.

"What are the chances I can get you to go to the office right now?" he asked her.

"Well, I'm with my nieces, but if it's important, I can get away for a little bit. What's going on?" she asked.

"Dupuis's agent is on his way right now. We need to make a deal with him tonight, or he's signing with the Kings," Mario stated. Quinn sighed. They had been trying to work on a deal with Dupuis for over a week, and it had been a battle back and forth, with neither side wanting to budge too much. "I think they're willing to agree to our terms if we extend the contract by another year. I think that's reasonable, what do you think?" he asked her.

Quinn couldn't help but be flattered that Mario was asking her opinion. It had been a long, hard journey becoming part owner, and she had spent so much of her free time learning the sport and the behind the scenes processes. Now, Mario trusted her enough to ask her opinion, and that meant a lot to her. "I think that's more than reasonable if they stick with the amount we offered," she told him.

"I agree. The problem is they want the deal done tonight or they're threatening to take LA's deal," he told her. "And I am currently on my way to Tampa," he added. Quinn had forgotten that Mario was taking his family there for a few days, and that he wouldn't be back until the following Wednesday, which meant she was completely in charge while he was gone.

"I'll head to the stadium now," she told him.

"Are you sure? With your nieces? Hopefully it won't take too long, so they won't be too bored," he told her.

Quinn nodded her head, even though he couldn't see her. "It's my job, Mario. I'll head there now. Call Jeffrey and tell him to meet me there in a half an hour. And, don't worry, I'll get the deal done," she assured him. "Have a good time in Tampa! I'll talk to you when you get back," she said before hanging up the phone.

She walked back into the kitchen to see Kris coloring with Riley, while Anna sat on his lap. Her heart could have burst looking at the scene in front of her. "Business call?" Kris asked her, not lifting his head up from the coloring page.

"Yeah," Quinn sighed. "How much is it going to cost me to have you watch the girls for a little bit while I head in?" she asked him.

This got his attention, and he looked up at her. "What's going on?"

"Trying to make a deal," she told him, not giving him too many details, something Kris was used to at this point. He knew Quinn couldn't talk about deals around him, and he had learned to accept that. "I don't think it will take too long. I just don't want to force the girls to sit in my office, especially because this little one is bound to want sleep before long," she said, picking Anna up from his lap and cradling her in her arms. "I'll pick up pizza on the way back," she added.

"You've got yourself a deal," he said, standing up and giving her a quick kiss before taking Anna back from her as Quinn walked out into the living room to grab her purse and keys. "Call me if it's going to be too late, and I'll just order a pizza for Riley, okay?"

Quinn nodded her head. "I will. And don’t eat all the cookies and spoil your dinner," she winked at him, giving him another quick kiss. "Bye, Riley, I'll be back soon!" she called out to her niece, who said a quick "bye" back.

Kris walked back into the kitchen to where Riley sat. "So what do you want to do now, Riles?" he asked her.

A big grin formed on the little girl's face. "Eat some cookies!" she said excitedly, and Kris chuckled as he grabbed a cookie off the stove and handed it to her. He could handle two little girls for a short period of time while Quinn took care of some work.



Quinn wanted to give Jeffrey a piece of her mind, but she had to remind herself to keep her cool. Jeffrey was insulting her intelligence by telling her Dupuis was worth millions more than what the Penguins were offering him. In reality, Quinn and the Penguins organization were giving Dupuis a very fair deal. But, Jeffrey kept asking for more.

All Quinn wanted right now was to go home to her nieces and Kris. "Look Jeffrey," she began, looking the young hotshot agent right in the eyes. "We're not budging from this price. You say you've got other offers, then go there if you don't like ours. We want to keep Pascal. But, we've got to look out for the team. You know we're on the verge of another championship, and you know Pascal would love to be a part of it. So, now it's up to you. You have to make the deal work, Jeffrey."

Quinn knew she was taking a big risk by speaking that way. There was a chance that Jeffrey would go to the other teams, and she would have to admit she made a mistake. But, there was also a chance Jeffrey would take the bait and take the offer.

Jeffrey stared in her eyes, but Quinn didn't budge. She'd come a long way since she first took over the team, and she wasn't as intimidated by all the men in the business like she used to be. "You drive a hard bargain, Miss Layman…or should I say Mrs. Letang?" he asked, reaching his hand across the table to shake her hand.

"Layman," Quinn stated. "And, we'll have the papers drawn up for Pascal to sign for tomorrow," she added as she stood up. "And, I hate to rush out of here so quickly, but I've got two girls waiting for me at home," she said, picking her purse up from the ground next to her and grabbing her car keys out of it.

As she walked to her car, she thought about what Jeffrey had said to her. She hadn't really thought about her last name and whether she'd change it when she got married. Most likely, she'd keep Layman, at least when it came to business. She and Kris tried to separate themselves as much as possible when it came to their jobs, and by changing her last name to Letang at work would only cause problems. However, in her personal life, she might change it.

She picked up a pizza on the way back to her place, hoping it wasn't too late for Riley. It had taken Quinn longer at work than she had wanted, but she was finally headed home.

She pulled into her parking spot and grabbed the pizza from the passenger's seat as she walked up to her apartment. She walked inside and saw a half empty pizza box on the coffee table and Kris laying on the couch. She didn't see Riley or Anna, and she assumed both girls were asleep in the guest bedroom.

Quinn walked over to Kris, leaning down and kissing him on the forehead. He stirred awake, inhaling deeply as he stretched his body. "Hey babe," he said, smiling up at her.

"I'm sorry I'm late, and I'm sorry you had to take care of the girls all night," Quinn apologized, sitting down next to him as she reached forward and grabbed a piece of the now cold pizza, taking a bite. "How were they?"

Kris put his arm around Quinn as he re-situated himself on the couch. "They were good. They watched a movie," he told her. "I put Anna down a while ago, so she might wake up here in the next hour or so. But, Riley just went to bed a little bit ago. She tried to stay awake til you came home, but she was too tired," he explained.

"I feel bad I was gone almost all night," she said, frowning. "I didn't expect it to take that long."

"Everything go okay?" Kris asked vaguely, knowing he wouldn't get any details from her.

Quinn nodded her head. "Yeah, we got it all figured out. I just want to go to bed now," she said, a yawn coming on just as she spoke the words.

"Well, let's get to bed," he said, just as they heard Anna start to cry over the baby monitor. "I'll get her," Kris said.

"No, I've got her," Quinn smiled up at him, as she walked to the guest bedroom to get Anna. Kris followed her, watching as Quinn picked the little girl up in her arms and started rocking her, trying to get her to stop crying. "What's wrong, baby girl? You heard me come home and decided to wake up?" she asked her as she kissed her cheek.

Anna's crying quieted down as Quinn began softly singing to her. Kris smiled from the doorway, and he couldn't help but think what a great mother Quinn was going to be. She put a calmed Anna back down and turned around to see Kris standing there, a smile on his face, his arms crossed over his chest. "What?" she asked him when she saw the look he was giving her.

He shook his head. "Nothing," he replied. "Let's go to bed, eh?" he suggested. Quinn nodded her head as they made their way to the bedroom.