Hold Your Ground

Daisy smiled to herself as her heels clicked across the floors of the concourse near the Preds locker room before the game the next night. Warmups were in a thirty minutes and Daisy was heading out towards the seats so she could watch them from ice level.

"Miss Bishop," David Poile called out. "Could I speak to you for a moment?" Daisy nodded and followed her boss down the hall to a private conference room.

"Miss Bishop, I understand you had a date with Mr. Weber last night."

Daisy felt her stomach flip at his words. The man had eyes everywhere it seemed. "We had dinner," Daisy started. "Just to catch up."

He nodded. "That's all?"

"Yes sir."

He sighed and folded his arms across his chest. "You've been great so far Dr. Bishop and the guys seem to respond to you as well as they did Dr. Carter but I don't know if this is going to work." She nodded numbly at his words.

"You can't fire her," Shea exclaimed loudly as he barged into the room, Pekka and Rich following closely behind him.

"What are you doing?" Daisy whispered furiously, rising to meet Shea and pushing him back towards the door. "You can not do this right now. None of you can," she added, glaring around Shea at Pekka and Rich.

"You'll have to tell that to all of them," Shea smirked.

"All of who?" David asked.

"The team," Shea answered. "If you fire Daisy because we're seeing each other, just know you'll be pissing off your entire team. We love Daisy; she's a part of the Predators family."

"She's my little sister," Pekka added.

"And mine," Rich smiled.

"Ours too!" She heard a chorus of voices outside the room. Daisy smiled and Shea stepped towards her, gathering her to him and holding her close.

"I like you, Daisy, and I really want to date you," Shea said softly to her. "But you're not losing your job because of me. It's stupid. We can be professional here." He turned to David, grabbing Daisy's hand in his and pulling her forward with him. "With all due respect Mr. Poile, you can't fire her because of me. Daisy is great at what she does and the guys love her. "

"Are you two really friends?" David asked.

"Uh, that is my lie," Pekka spoke up. "I mean, they really did meet two years ago in Winnipeg while she was in school and they really did grow up in towns twenty minutes apart but they weren't friends until after. Sorry, Mr. Poile."

He shook his head. "Can you two keep this quiet?" He asked Shea.

"If someone asks me," Shea replied, "I'm gonna tell them she's my girlfriend...I'll probably leave out that she's living with Rinne though."

Daisy ducked her head as the other guys began to hoot and holler. "Will you guys please go back to the locker room and focus?" Daisy said as she looked up, shaking her head at them. "That would be really helpful."

"See you later, Dr. Daisy!" Rich waved as he moved out of the room. Pekka hugged her and slapped Shea on the back with a grin as everyone dispersed back to the locker room, leaving Daisy with Shea and David.

"Mr. Poile, I'm very sorry for the teams outburst," Daisy began. "It was never my intention to defy you or involve the guys in any way. If you have to fire me, I understand."

David studied her for a moment as Shea wrapped an arm around her, drawing her into his side. "If things go south, you two have to maintain a level of professionalism with one another. Miss Bishop, you have to understand that if one of you has to go, the decision is already made."

"I understand," Daisy replied quietly.

"Mr. Poile, you don't have anything to worry about," Shea assured him. "Everything will be great. You can trust us."

"As captain, I'll trust your judgement. But I mean it; I need you both to be complete professionals here. This is work. And if it ever interferes..."

"I understand that it's my job on the line, Mr. Poile," Daisy added.

He nodded. "So long as we're all on the same page."

"Yes sir," Shea smiled. He left the room and Shea pushed the door closed behind him, locking it.

"What the hell, Weber?!" Daisy exclaimed, punching his arm.

He rubbed the spot where she hit him. "Ow, Daisy!"

"I'm sorry but shit! How did you even know?"

"Rich. He saw Poile pull you in here and reported back. Pekka maybe told the team we went out last night."

"And you thought it was a good idea to barge in here?"

Shea shrugged. "Worked, didn't it?"

"You called me your girlfriend."

"You are, right? I did barge in here and save your job."

Daisy giggled and hugged him around the middle. "You really want to date me?"

"I've been fighting my attraction to you since the minute you showed up in our locker room."

Daisy's phone began to ring and she laughed as the melody played.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make me a match, Find me a find, catch me a catch. Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Look through your book, And make me a perfect match.

She flipped her phone around so Shea could see Pekka's smiling face displayed on the screen before answering. "Yes, goalie boy?"

"So, how did I do? I'm the best, right? I knew you two would be perfect for each other."

"When did you change your ringtone in my phone?"

"This morning while you were in the shower. Pretty great, huh?"

"You're terrible, Pekka. Simply terrible," she laughed.

"I believe the word you are searching for is amazing. So, you and Webs?"

"Will you please get ready to play hockey?"

"I'm not starting tonight so I have all the time in the world."

"Oh Lord."

Shea motioned for her phone and Daisy passed it to him. "What do you want, Rinne?"

"Ah, the captain himself. You're gonna treat our little sister right, yes?"

Shea rolled his eyes. "You don't have to worry about her. I'll always be good to her."

"Perfect. Wanna rejoin the rest of us now? Warmups start in fifteen."

"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute."

"I'll give you two before I send Dicky after you," Pekka laughed as he hung up.

Shea passed Daisy her phone back, catching her off guard as he pulled her into a kiss. She melted into him and he held her tighter. "I better go before Rich comes looking for me. I'll see you after still?"

She nodded. "I'll be waiting."

He smiled and dipped his head down to kiss her cheek. "Make sure you cheer extra loud for me so I can hear down on the ice."



Shea pulled into his driveway two hours after the game had ended, a win over the Islanders. He looked over at Daisy who had stared out the window on the quiet ride there.

He touched her shoulder lightly and she turned to face him. "I can take you home to Pekka's if you want."

"I'm just scared," Daisy admitted softly.

"Of me?"

"Of this," she answered, gesturing between them. "I'm a little gun shy when it comes to relationships right now. And I don't want to lose my job if things don't work out."

"I can't promise you things will go perfectly for us but I can promise you that I would never let it interfere with your work if it didn't. I can promise you that I can wait for you. I understand why you'd be gun shy and it's okay. We can do this your way."

"If we were doing things my way we wouldn't even be doing this at all."

Shea chuckled. "That's a lie and you know it. There's an attraction and eventually Pekka would've pushed you into admitting it." Daisy laughed and it made Shea smile. "We would've given into this, with or without goalie boy," he told her.

Daisy reached for him, cupping his face between her hands and pulling him into a kiss. "I like you, captain. Too much probably."

"I definitely like you too much," Shea replied. "Come on, let's go inside. I'll let you pick the movie."
Daisy followed him up the steps and waited for him to unlock the door and turn off the alarm. He motioned her inside and he closed the door behind her. "Let me show you where the guest room is." Daisy nodded as she followed him up the stairs. "This is it," he said, letting her pass by him. "Get changed and meet me downstairs in the kitchen."

Daisy changed into a pair of sweat pants and a Predators t-shirt Pekka had given her. She pulled her hair into a ponytail, scrubbing off the little bit of makeup she wore and left her feet bare. She headed downstairs and found Shea in the kitchen. A grey t-shirt stretched taut across his chest and loose gym shorts exposed toned, muscled calves.

"Did Peks give you that shirt?" Shea asked as she entered the room.

"Yes. Why?"

"It's one of his," he frowned.

"I'm sorry?" Daisy offered.

"I'll just have to make sure to give you one of mine and burn that one." Daisy giggled and Shea passed her a bowl of popcorn before taking her hand and leading her further into his home. Daisy settled into a spot on the large L shaped sectional couch.

"I thought you were picking the movie," Shea said.

"You pick," Daisy replied, snuggling into the pillows and putting the bowl of popcorn on her lap. He stuck a recent comedy into the DVD player and grabbed the remote, turning to the couch. He picked the bowl of popcorn off of her lap and set it aside before wrapping an arm around Daisy's waist and lifted her up to him. She squealed in surprise as Shea settled into the space she had been occupying and set her between his legs, drawing her back to his chest.

"Grab the popcorn," he said, nudging her in the side. She reached for it, leaving it in her lap as she settled back against him.

"This is the best way to watch a movie," Shea whispered in her ear. She shivered as his breath tickled her neck.

"Yeah, it just might be," Daisy answered, turning her face so he could kiss her.



"I still don't understand why you're still living with Rinne," Shea grumbled. "I wish you would move in with me instead."

"We've only been dating for seven months. And I'm spending the summer with you. Why don't we make it through this and then we'll talk."

"So you'll consider it?"

Daisy rolled her eyes. "Can we go please? I want to see everyone and hug them."

"You're not hugging the whole team."

"Why not? I'm the little sister," she grinned. "And I won't see them for three months."

"I bet you talk to Peks everyday. Rich too."

"Probably. Now come on."

She made her way out of his house, heading straight for his SUV. Things between them had started our great in November and hit a bit of a rocky patch in January when the Preds had been on a losing streak. They found their way through it, and three months into their relationship, Daisy felt comfortable enough in what they had together to take the plunge and give her heart, and her body, entirely to Shea.

After, she was the first to admit she didn't know why she waited. The sex was phenomenal and Shea knew exactly how to play her body like it was an instrument only he had the instructions for. They had a lot of sleepovers after that but she still remained a permanent house guest at Pekka's house.

The Predators made it to the playoffs and after the rough go of things in January, Daisy knew Shea's moods better than he did and anticipated them based on each game. She had come to learn more about the sport than she ever thought possible and loved the team like the brothers they had become.
A night earlier, they lost game six in the second round to the Kings. Today was breakup day, where they would give some interviews, clean out their lockers, and say goodbye. She had grown use to these men, seeing them nearly everyday. It was going to be weird not seeing them day in and day out, especially Pekka and Rich whom she had grown the closet to.

For his tough guy exterior, Rich was a softy at heart and Daisy enjoyed the conversations they had immensely. When things had gotten bad between her and Shea for a week, it was Rich she sought out for advice. And when she had her doubts about her and Shea together, it was Rich that put them to rest.

Pekka always brought an easy smile and a joke, knowing exactly how to brighten Daisy's mood or day. He was gracious to offer his home to her and he never complained about her presence there. If she decided to stay with him when she came back from her summer with Shea, she knew he'd take her right back in. He was easily her best friend in Nashville and always took her side when she and Shea argued.

Shea meanwhile had his own plans for summer. Mostly they involved reminding Daisy how good they were together and convincing her why they should move in together when they went back to Nashville for the new season. He had several days planned in Rich's hometown with him, because he knew she wouldn't go all summer without seeing him, and a week planned in Finland with Pekka.

And with Pekka's help, he had the most romantic proposal planned because he couldn't bear the thought of not having Daisy in his life forever. The ring had been bought when the series against the Kings had started and now it was safely entrusted to Pekka until their trip to see him in late July. All there was left to do was wait....and hope she'd say yes.

FIN