Paris, je t'aime

The sun was beginning to set over the Place de la Concorde as a young couple emerged hand in hand from the Jardin des Tuileries. Their pace was a slow and leisurely one as they took in the structures around them, admiring the towering Egyptian monument at the centre of the busy plaza.

The pair had covered a ton of ground that day, hitting many of the major tourist attractions, walking through the maze of streets and discovering some of the lesser-known sights and treasures as they wandered through the massive, sprawling city.

His hand rested lightly on her lower back as they made their way around, crossing to the other concrete islands that made up the busy plaza. The young woman snapped the occasional photograph to document their travels as she had over the course of the day. The pair was quiet with the exception of the sporadic soft exchanges between the two.

“Mads,” he murmured after a little while, noting the gradually fading daylight. There was still one major landmark that he wanted to hit before the day was done. “Hm?” she turned to look at him, her vibrant green eyes meeting his chocolaty brown ones with a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “It’s been a long day and it’s starting to get late. Why don’t we grab some dinner? There’s still one place I want to hit today, but we have to go when it gets dark.”

She glanced at the time, her eyebrows rising in shock upon the realization of how much time had passed when she saw that it was almost 7:00pm. “Sounds like a plan,” she replied, returning her camera to the confines of her purse before looking up at her boyfriend with a warm smile, “Let’s go.” He grinned back, taking her hand in his and giving it a gentle tug, wordlessly asking her to follow him, which she did without protest.

Andrew couldn’t help he gaze from wandering over to the young woman whose hand was entwined with his. Her brown waves rippled softly in the cool breeze as they crossed the bridge over the Sein. She was beautiful, hell, she had always been beautiful, even when they had been kids, long before he had the balls to finally ask her out when he was 16. Even when he didn’t play for a team particularly near to their hometown, she mad frequent trips to see him play. She supported him as much as her high school schedule would allow. She had been present at almost every important moment in his hockey career from his time in juniors in the OHL to the draft, where she had been present and cheering (possibly even louder than his own mother) for him, to his stint in the AHL.

She had even been accepted to college in Chicago to be closer to him as he lived out his dream. When he had been called up to the Blackhawks for the shortened season, the two had gotten an apartment together almost immediately and she had gone to every home game that she could.

Once her final exams had finished, he had flown her out to every away game during their Stanley Cup run. She never missed a game, always in the oversized game-worn jersey that hung on her small frame. The jersey he had given her after his first game in the NHL.



The T.D. Garden was packed, a sea of black and yellow interrupted by splotches of red and white filled the seats surrounding the rink. Madelyn sat next to Abby Sharp in the box that had been reserved for WAGs and families of the Chicago Blackhawks. All were practically bouncing in their seats, ready for the game to begin. Andrew’s mother sat on her other side and his family filled out the seats to her left.

The atmosphere was electric as the fans buzzed in anticipation, cheering loudly as the players lined up for the national anthem. Once the puck dropped, it was clear the Bruins were not going down without a fight. Suddenly Andrew went down. Maddie’s face paled at the sight of her boyfriend lying on the ice, unmoving and very obviously in pain. Fans jeered as the ref blew the whistle signaling a stoppage in play. Everything seemed like it was moving in slow motion and felt like their air had been sucked from her lungs, like she had been punched in the gut as she stared fearfully at his crumpled form. His mother’s hand had found hers, both women squeezing each other’s tightly as the event unfolded.

He lifted his head slightly when the trainer began to talk to him. A towel was pressed to his face as the trainer and Rosival helped him to his feet and off the ice and to the dressing room. She felt her worry sink to the pit of her stomach as the play continued.

The first period seemed to drag on from there, the pool of blood from where he had been hit haunting her for the duration of the remaining time. She ignored the sympathetic looks that the other WAGs would shoot her throughout. Andrew’s family, although hardened by years of watching their sons play this sport, was silent. They were all worried.

Abby chatted idly with her during the first intermission, trying to keep the poor girl’s mind off of her boyfriend’s injury status. Maddie was thankful for her friend’s efforts. The two had been close since Abby had taken her under her wing and helped to ease her into the intimidating world of being an NHL girlfriend.

Time crept by slowly as she awaited the start of the second period. The tissue that she had originally held crumpled in her hand now lay in shreds on her lap, evidence the stress of the wait to any who cared to notice.

She knew what she was getting into with Andrew, injuries came with the territory, more often than she would particularly like. He was a scrapper, a pest. Fights weren’t uncommon for him. Sure, he hated when he got into a fight, although she’d never admit how much of a turn on it actually was, but he usually came out of it okay with a few scratches and bruises to show for it. But this was different. He had just taken a slap shot to the face.

After what felt like hours, the teams were once more swarming the rink, getting a feel for the fresh surface before the strenuous 20 minutes to come. She felt herself sink back into her seat in relief when she spotted number 65 in white skating around with his teammates once more, the black line of stitches prominent on his cheek. It was almost like she and his family let out a collective sigh, the worry evaporating completely.

Everyone was on the edge of their seats for the rest of the game. As low scoring as it was, the high intensity of the level of play from every man on the ice was overwhelming, every single one of them playing their hearts out. Two quick goals later and it was all over. The boys were the champions. The Blackhawks had just won the Stanley Cup.



Everything was a blur for Andrew after the horn sounded. All he remembered was being a part of the mass of bodies pouring out on the ice and slamming into the clump of excited overgrown boys who had accomplished their life’s dream that surrounded Crow. His cheek was throbbing as was his rib but he couldn’t give two shit about the pain, he’d just fucking won the Stanley Cup.

It felt like mere seconds before Lord Stanley had been placed in his hands and he was doing his lap around the rink with it hoisted proudly above his head to acknowledge the cheering fans that had crowded around the on the other side of the boards. Once the team picture had been taken he followed the surge of his teammates who went to great their loved ones who were just now filtering onto the ice.

He skated around a bit, his gaze wandering over the influx of people before his eyes locked with the familiar pair of green orbs that he had fallen in love with. He made his way over to her, weaving through the camera crews and media. He finally arrived in front of her, the huge grin on his lips still present as he went to hug her, only to be stopped by her glaring up at him. “Don’t you ever scare me like that again,” she lectured, “I felt like I was going to throw up when you didn’t move.”

His grin widened at that, rolling his eyes before wrapping his arms around her and his lips crashing onto hers. They stayed like that for a while before he finally pulled away so they could catch their breath. He looked down adoringly at the gorgeous young woman in his arms that had tears welling up in her eyes and the biggest, most beautiful smile on her lips. He burrowed his face in the crook of her neck, hugging her tightly. “I’m so fucking proud of you Shawzer,” she murmured in his ear, her voice cracking in emotion.

When he pulled back, his hands drifted to her waist, reluctant to let her go. She finally noticed the blood streaking from the sutures on his swelling cheek. “You’re bleeding babe,” she murmured, her fingers ghosting over the tender skin, a flicker of concern passing through her eyes as she assessed the wound. “It’s fine,” he replied, pulling her in for another kiss, “I love you Mads.” She sighed with a soft grin, “I love you too Andrew.” He kissed her one more time before turning to greet his parents who smiled proudly at their 21-year-old son.



He’d hidden a broken rib from her and it was safe to say that she was not pleased with him about it. He knew that she was angrier with herself for not noticing it before but she chewed him out for it and made sure that he followed treatment to a T. He was doing a lot better now. His cheek had pretty much healed, as had his rib and he had gotten back in her good graces since. Not that it took him long to do so, seeing as it was near impossible for her to be angry at him for extended periods of time. Not to mention springing the vacation to Paris, a place she had been dying to go to for years, on her during his day with the cup a week prior.

Now here they were, over 4,000 miles from Chicago walking down a somewhat busy Parisian street. The sun had set and the sky was now dark as they exited the restaurant. He was thankful that she spoke French, her parents being a proud part of the French Canadian faction of Belleville, or he wouldn’t have been able to order a meal in the quaint little place they had found off one of the main streets.

She was too wrapped up in the views of the city in the nighttime to notice where they were going, much to his pleasure. “Babe,” Andrew called, grinning softly, bringing her attention back to him, “This way.” She willingly followed him, a curious grin on her face, his taller frame blocking out the view of everything in front of them. They walked down a little path off of a side street before he finally moved out of her way. She gasped at the sight in front of her. The Eiffel Tour stood proudly before her, its metal framework lit with a warm yellowish glow.

Maddie turned to her boyfriend, a wide grin on her face, “You remembered?” His smile widened at that, giving her hand a gentle tug to bring her close, his arms wrapping lightly around her waist, “Of course I remembered. I may get into a lot of fights but my brain still works. You always talk about how much you’ve wanted to see this place at night.” She smacked his chest as she smiled in mock disbelief, “Always a fucking smart ass!”

“You love me,” he teased before pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. She sighed, rolling her eyes at him, “I do… and why, I’ll never know.” He gasped, “You wound me Mads! Here I was thinking that I was being an amazing boyfriend for taking you on your dream vacation! Clearly I was wrong!’

“Always such a drama queen. Really, there are times you’re worse than Kaner,” she replied, a smirk present on her full lips. “Take it back,” he growled, his fingers threatening to tickle her sides as his lips almost brushed against hers. She shook her head, childishly locking her lips and throwing away the key. “Take it back or you’ll pay for it Thomas,” he threatened pinching her sides.

She yelped, refusing to give in. He grinned maniacally as he unleashed an assault on her sides, his fingers tickling and pinching at her until she finally caved so she wouldn’t make a huge scene in public.

It wasn’t long until she had dragged him over to the line of Buddy Bear statues from around the world to take pictures and the like. He followed along without complaint. Her childish delight as she pulled him along was contagious. He looked periodically at his watch, keeping an eye on the time. In the last minute of the hour, he managed to pull her from the bears for a moment and get her gaze to focus on the tower for a moment. Her eyes lit up as the tall structure began to sparkle as it did every hour on the hour. For all of the years she had desired to see this structure in person, she had never known of this special hourly display.

Andrew was proud of himself for having done so much research and the look on her face just confirmed how worth it the whole thing was. She focused on him and his needs and desires for the better part of a year, 9 months give or take, and this was one of the best ways he could think of to really begin to give back to her for all of the time she had spent fussing over battle wounds, cooking meals, and supporting him whether she was present at his games or not.

It wasn’t much longer after the twinkling light display that the couple had gone through all of the bear sculptures and Andrew was pulling Maddie towards the massive metal structure. There wasn’t much of a line to get tickets to climb the tower and as soon as they had purchased them, they were going through security and waiting for the next lift to arrive at the platform. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her close as they stood there, speaking quietly amongst themselves, barely aware of the other couples and tourists that trickled onto the platform.

The small group filtered into the spacious lift, all in their own little worlds, paying the operator no mind. In true Maddie fashion, she engaged the young man in conversation, slipping easily into French. Andrew found that he could pick up on snippets of the most basic of words and phrases having spent so much time with her family and with other French speakers around the league and on his teams growing up. By the time they exited the lift, the operator had a huge smile on his face and Maddie was grinning as she bid farewell to her new friend. Wordlessly she tugged him towards the next short line for the lift to the top of the tower, her eyes bright with a kind of childish excitement that had him grinning as he willing followed her without protest.

It was another 5 minutes or so before they were stepping off the lift in the upper enclosed observatory and Maddie darted towards the glass overlooking the sprawling city surrounding them lighting up the night. After what felt like seconds she was dragging him up the stairs to the caged in observatory at the very top of the tower to take in the sites, unfased by the rather frequent and fairly strong wind that came with being exposed at such a height. “Look at it Andy,” she exclaimed, the large grin spreading on her lips contagious as she briefly turned her gaze to his before looking back out at the magnificent sight far below them, “It’s so beautiful.”

He smiled fondly at his over-excited girlfriend, her happiness only just overwhelming his nerves. Only she could ever call him Andy, a nickname she had forced upon him when the pair had been children. He used to hate it with a burning passion, however that view changed when he began liking her in middle school and he would take any term of endearment that she would send his way. It honestly didn’t take long for him to accept it and learn to love it when it fell from her lips.

“It is,” he conceded, his left arm wrapping lightly around her waist and placing a soft kiss on her temple. His right hand closed tightly around the small item that felt as if it were burning a hole in his pocket. He took a deep breath, hoping to all hell that she couldn’t feel him shaking.

The young pair continued their rather slow lap around the deck, too engrossed in each other and in the beautiful sight below. Andrew became more and more nervous with each passing second, a feeling that was both rather unpleasant and very new to the 22-year-old. He took a sigh of relief when a middle-aged man from Wales asked if they could take his picture in exchange for taking a picture of them in return. Maddie gladly accepted, as she was want to do, snapping a few shots of him with his camera, handing it back to him accompanied by her own camera. As she went to stand with her boyfriend, he quickly dropped down to one knee claiming he needed to try his shoe before he tripped or something along those lines.

His hands shook as he quickly readied himself, pulling something from his pocket. She had been showing the older man how to work her camera and when she turned back to face Andrew she noticed that he had not left his knee, if fact he was now sitting upright, no longer slouched over, with an adoring yet determined look on his face. “Andrew?” she asked, confusion spreading over her pretty features.

“Mads,” he started, clearing his throat, his hands trembling as the nerves coursed through his body, the faint click of a camera going off echoed dully in the background, “Maddie, I… shit. I’ve been trying to think of how to do this.” She frowned slightly, confusion evident on her face, “How to do what Andrew?” He sighed, taking a deep breath to calm himself down, “I just- I’ve been planning this trip for months, since April, actually. I mean, you’ve always wanted to come to Paris, ever since we were kids.” A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as he brought up the childhood dream she had often confessed to him as a child, honestly surprised he had even remembered that. “And you’re always doing everything for me so I wanted to do something for you for a change,” he continued, beginning to ramble as he was want to do when he was insanely nervous about something, “I love you. I mean, I always have I guess. Even before I liked girls, hell I definitely did as soon as girls didn’t have cooties anymore. You were always so pretty and I hated when other boys drooled over you, especially my teammates who always seemed to have some perverted kind of boner for you.”

She scrunched her nose in distaste at his words, remembering how protective of her he got around his friends, even more so around the guys on his team. It had annoyed her at the time, finding the boys’ rather forward, testosterone-pumped advances and attempts at courtship flattering. “I just… I- I guess what I’m trying to say is,” he paused, a moment trying to get his mouth to cooperate with his brain, “I’m trying to say that you’re it for me. Honestly, after six years if I hadn’t figured that out by now then there must be something wrong with me. But I love you Mads, will you marry me?”

Her eyes widened in shock as she stood there for a moment trying to grasp if she had heard him properly or not. “Babe? I know we’re young and all, and we don’t have to now. I personally don’t mind waiting a year or so. Or if you’re not ready, it’s fine, I can wait and ask again when we’re older,” he began rambling, thrown off by her silence and immediately bracing himself for rejection. He had never been this unsure and nervous about anything in his life. The first time he had asked her out, the NHL draft, his first playoff run, his first finals run building up to the cup all paled in comparison to how he was feeling right now, personally hoping the floor would swallow him whole.

“Really, I don’t mind if you say no right now, I know it’s a lot to ask and-“ “Yes.” His gaze shot up to hers, “What?” He could feel his fears begin to dissolve as he noticed the large grin spreading on her lips, “I said yes.” He nearly dropped the ring in his excitement as he quickly slipped the pretty thing on her dainty finger. He rose from his knee immediately wrapping his arms around her and crashing his lips to hers. Nothing else mattered, not the clicks of the camera in the hands of the Welshman snapping shots of their moment, excited for the young couple before him, not the wind whipping about them, not even the small number of people who had witnessed the whole exchange applauding them quietly before going about their business.

They finally separated for air, Andrew leaning his forehead against hers as he looked lovingly into her eyes. “You have no idea how happy I am right now,” he murmured, “For a moment there I thought you were going to say no.” She smiled, chuckling softly as she caressed his cheek, her thumb tracing over his scar from where the puck had hit him during the championship game, “How could I ever say no to you Shawzer?”

He grinned, “I love you Mads.” Her smile widened, “I love you too Andy.” He cupped her cheek, pulling her in for another slow kiss before slowly pulling away to ask the man if he could take one more picture of the two of them as they had originally intended, to which the man agreed excitedly. They thanked him as he congratulated them handed back the camera and left them to their own devises. Maddie was positively glowing, admiring the new weight on her finger as she would glance down at the engagement ring that now resided on her left hand. After a little while longer, the pair decided to head back to their hotel to properly celebrate the newest step in their lives together. As they rode the lift down to the lower observation deck, she was curled into his side, his arm firmly around her waist, stealing kisses during the short ride down. It felt damn good to hold his fiancée, a feeling that seemed to almost eclipse the elation that came with winning Lord Stanley.

His fiancée.

He liked the sound of that.