O Captain, My Captain.

Aubrey was awoken by a loud knocking noise on her front door. Startled, she about rolled off the couch unaware of where she was for a moment. She must have dozed off shortly after she began her Gilmore Girls marathon and didn't quite make it to her bed because she was still dressed in her day clothes. She decided a night in was in order after the hectic week she had just endured. Between hosting her parents last weekend and keeping up with the Penguins busy schedule, the stress was finally starting to take a toll on her mentally and physically.

She had a constant migraine that was now going on its third consecutive day and her back hurt from the constant tending to players and their never-ending readjustments. The pounding on her front door started up again and it was the last thing she wanted to hear at this very moment.

"COMING!" she shouted, irritated at whoever was disrupting her peaceful alone time.

When she finally managed to undo both the locks and swing the door open, she was surprised to see a disheveled Sidney standing before her, hair a ruffled mess and a look of irritation that matched hers.

"The fuck?" she asked clearly confused. "Babe-."

"I just needed to see you," he wrapped her in tight embrace before she was able to finish the rest of her sentence.

"Well this is a nice surprise," she smiled untangling herself from his strong arms.

"I'm not interrupting anything am I?" he asked.

"Other than a deep sleep?" she smirked. "No. I'd much rather have you here than what I was planning on doing."

"And what exactly were you planning on doing?" he asked with a devilish grin.

"Honestly?" she hesitated and guided him over to sit on the couch. "I was gonna finish my Gilmore Girls marathon and then pass the fuck out after the crazy week I've had."

"Sounds like a pretty boring night," he smiled. "But I completely understand being stressed out. We're getting down to crunch time and it's starting to get to everyone."

"I don't ever remember it being this crazy last year," she admitted.

"That's because we had about double the trainers and therapists that we have now," he said. "I don't know why we don't hire more people."

"Because hardly anyone is qualified enough to take care of you guys."

"And look who made the cut," he pulled her into another bone-crushing hug.

"Baaaaaabe," her whining was muffled because her face was buried in the crook of his warm neck.

"Hmm?" he released her from his tight grip and flashed her a crooked smile.

"Not that I don't LOVE having you come over unannounced, but why are you here?"

"Huh?" he crinkled his forehead. "Oh, right. Now I remember."

"So are you gonna tell me...?" she cocked her head to the side.

"The guys and I went out for drinks tonight because Nisky got engaged," he began.

"NISKY GOT ENGAGED?" she exclaimed.

"Yeah?" he sounded confused. "He proposed to Kate earlier in the week."

"Oh my gosh that's awesome! I knew he'd been wanting to do it for awhile. I'm just happy he didn't pussy out."

"Jesus are you best friends with everyone on the team or am I missing something?"

"I wouldn't say everyone," she exaggerated her words. "Kuni's obviously my number one but Nisky's a close second. Seeing as though he's always injuring something, we've grown hopelessly attached."

"I see," he nodded his head.

"But please continue."

"Well while we were out celebrating, you'll never guess who came up to me and tried to start shit."

"NO," she exclaimed, knowing immediately who Sid had encountered.

"Yes," he stated. "She came up to me when I was talking to Nealer and Nisky and started telling me how she wants to get back together and-."

"But you two were never officially 'together' in the first place," she cut him off.

"That's what I tried explaining to her," he said.

Aubrey mentally mulled this over for a second. She had completely forgotten that Shelby had once been a minor figment in his life and was wondering why she was just now popping up all of a sudden.

"What are you thinking?" he asked nervously.

"Nothing bad," she placed her hand on his forearm. "I had just completely forgotten about her, that's all."

"So had I until tonight," he sighed.

"I wonder why she didn't try and smooth things over with you sooner," she said.

"Were you not the one who kindly told her to go fuck herself?" he laughed.

"Right," she blushed. "She deserved it, babe! No dumb puck slut is gonna insult my career choice or my boyfriend."

"Thank you," he smiled.

"For what?"

"Sticking up for me," he pulled her flush against him. "What would I do without you?"

"Probably still be talking to her," she smiled against his chest.

"Good thing I found someone better," he kissed the top of her head.

"Yeah," she gazed up at him and smirked. "Good thing."

He leaned down and placed a long and sincere kiss on her lips. He loved how soft and pillowy they were and how they moved in perfect motion with his. Being with her brought him down to whole new level that he had never experienced before. It was a level of comfort and relaxation, something only Aubrey could make him feel. When he was with her, none of life's other stresses really seemed to matter. She was like his security blanket that he never wanted to let go of.

"Babe?" she broke away from the kiss.

"Yeah?" he gazed down at her.

"What we did a couple nights ago," she looked deep into his eyes.

"Yeah?" his breath hitched at the memory of their unforgettable first time together.

"Do you think," she paused and bit her lip. "We could start doing that more often?"

"How does right now sound?" he flashed her his crooked smile.

"Perfect."