O Captain, My Captain.

"You okay there, bud?"

"What?" Sidney looked up from lacing his skate to see Flower hovering above him with a smug look on his face.

It was the morning after the Pens air-tight win over the Red Wings and all the guys were beginning to pile into the locker room for morning skate. Sid, as usual, got there a half hour before everyone to give himself a chance to be by himself in the locker room. It was his typical post-stressful road trip routine in which he mainly used that time to think about how he could've improved his game. This morning, however, his style of play in Detroit was the least of his concerns. Other than a minor mishap with his wrist, he was pretty satisfied with the way he had played. He won the majority of his face offs and he had an assist with Nealer's goal. None of this mattered to him though. He had been racking his brain ever since he boarded the plane yesterday about why the little love spat between he and Aubrey even occurred and he felt like a complete asshole because of it. Sure she may have forgiven him, but he was no stranger to women and how their minds ticked. She says she's fine now but he made a mental note to remind himself that she would probably use it against him in future arguments.

'We're just so much alike,' he thought. 'We're both driven, determined people that butting heads is inevitable'. He tried to shake those thoughts from his mind. They hadn't even been dating long enough to let those kinds of worries play into their relationship. And at that moment, he made a personal pact with himself to do everything he could to see things from her point of view and learn to bite his tongue.

"I asked if you were okay," Flower sat down on the bench next Sid.

"Are you not gonna get dressed?" Sid began to lace up again.

"Answer the question," Flower pressed.

"I'm fine," Sid flashed him a fake smile. "Never better."

"Really?" Flower squinted his eyes at his teammate.

"Swear," Sid surrendered his hands. "Why?"

"Well for starters you got here before everyone."

"I'm always here before everyone."

"Sid, I got here earlier than usual and you were already here."

"So I got here a little earlier than I normally do. Are you stalking me now?" Sid spat. "What's the big deal?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Crosby. I know where you live," Flower joked. "And it's not a big deal. I was just being observant."

"Then just drop it then," Sid glared up at him.

"I'm just concerned, that's all," Flower shrugged. "Ever since your little tiff with Aubrey yesterday-."

"How did you know she and I got into it?"

"I think the whole bench knew," Flower said. "I may not have been there to witness it but word gets around."

"Well it's over and done with. We both apologized and are moving forward from it."

"Fine, fine," Flower stood and walked over to his stall. "Sorry I even said anything."

Practice was pretty much a blur. Dirty Dan had them doing drill after drill after drill to ensure that their next game against the Panthers wouldn't be as close as the last one. The Panthers may have had one of the worst records in the league but all the guys were well aware that stranger things have happened and they needed to be on top of their game. It was also extremely evident to Sid and the rest of his teammates that his mind was anywhere but on the ice focusing on their current PK drill. His argument with Aubrey kept tugging at his train of thought every chance it got and he was starting to get frustrated. Nine times out of ten he could use hockey as a means of setting all other life issues aside and focus on what he did best, which was driving a tiny black puck to the back of the net, but today was that one off time. He couldn't focus on anything practice-related whatsoever and he knew he needed to talk to the one guy he knew he could come to with anything: Kuni. Chris already knew Aubrey's side of the story so why not play referee and hear Sid out too?

"Line drills!" Bylsma called out. "Geno, Suttsy. Your line's are out first. Let's go!"

As Sid and the rest of the team skated towards the benches, he found Kuni sitting on the very end readjusting the strap on his helmet.

"Sup, Cap?" Kuni greeted Sidney as he sat down next to him. "You got here early this morning."

"Stressful road trip," Sid responded. "You know how I am."

"I do," Kuni laughed. "Stuff about Aubrey bothering you?"

"It's like you read my mind."

"Not much to read. You've looked out of it the whole practice so I figured that's probably what it was," Kuni turned towards him. "You really like her don't you?"

"Yeah and it scares the hell outta me," Sid folded his arms, watching Geno and his line go to work against Suttsy's.

"No shit?" Kuni raised an eyebrow. "You? Mister calm, cool, and sometimes over-confident?"

"HA!" Sid grinned. "Thanks, Chris."

"Ahhh I'm just fuckin with ya, man," Kuni smiled. "But don't be scared. She's a great girl."

"Yeah? I couldn't tell with the way you two have been attached at the hip," Sid sneered.

"You're hilarious," Kuni strapped his helmet back on. "She and I have been good friends since the day she started. Helped me fix up my ankle real quick. Girl can make magic happen. But that's a story for another time. What's been going through that one-track mind of yours?"

"I just can't believe I fucked up this soon," Sid spilled. "Not even a full week in and we've already fought."

"But what about on the plane yesterday? You guys made up?"

"Kuni, you're married, right?"

"Happily," Kuni smiled.

"Then you should have a full understanding of a woman's thought process. I may not know much about how relationships work and shit but I do know that women don't just forgive and forget all that easily," Sid said. "And I feel like a complete dickhead for some of the things I said to her."

"Well if it helps any I think she sees where you're coming from. I told her that that's just how you get and that she shouldn't take it personally."

"You two really are attached at the hip, aren't you?" Sid smacked his teammate on the arm.

"I'm just gonna choose to ignore that," Kuni looked away. "But really, I know what you're thinking. And I can tell you that whatever happened yesterday, she's probably already over it."

"How can you be so sure?" Sid questioned.

"Because that's just the kind of person she is. She was looking for an apology, she got one, and now she's moving past it. Like you should be. You should be happy she's not the kind of girl who likes to dwell on things."

"Yeah," Sid sighed. "I guess you're right."

"I know I'm right," Kuni said sharply. "Maureen pulls that shit all the time and it's like a never-ending battle."

"Yeah I don't know how you put up with that."

"It's cause I love her, dude!"

"Kuni you sound so pussy-whipped right now," Sid laughed. "But I get it."

"Whatever, man. I think you'll find that Aubrey's a little different than most girls you've ever been with. She knows what she wants and knows exactly how to go about getting it," Kuni smiled. "Embrace it."

"Sid! Craig! Your lines are up next! Get out there! And Sid, hopefully Kuni helped you pull your head out your ass! Let's go!" Bylsma called from the ice, interrupting their bro-talk.

Sid couldn't help but laugh at his coach's remark. Kuni definitely helped put things into perspective for him and he was fortunate to be able to rely on his line mate to talk him through these kinds of situations. 'Maybe Kuni does know what he's actually talking about for once?' Sid laughed to himself.

"Good talk?" Sid said to Kuni, bumping fists with him.

"Anytime, man."