You Never Know

36. Developed Crush

(Regular POV)

After several hours and hundreds of balloon pops later, Nicole could finally curl up in her bed. She had enlisted seven Penguins – James, Paul, Sidney, Kris, Jordan, Max and Flower – to help her with the mess; of course, Marc didn’t have a choice seeing as he was the mastermind. Sidney ducked out early because the coaches wanted to talk to him and Duper was excused to call the Family.

“I don’t see why I had to help,” James was complaining loudly as he sank onto the bed next to Nicole, Paul sat down on her other side.
“Because you love me, that’s why,” Nicole answered him. James scoffed causing Nicole to elbow him in the ribs. The remaining group laughed at the two.

“Does that mean Duper and Sid doesn’t love you?” Paul playfully asked.
“Duper had to call home,” Nicole said, “And Sidney had to deal with Captain Things.”
“Well, we all love you,” Jordan said from the chair he had occupied.

“We Who?”

“Marc, Max, Kris and myself of course,” Jordan answered giving her a dejected look.
“HA!” Nicole exclaimed, startling the small group, “Kris maybe. You three were the main reason for this mess,” Nicole waved her arms in emphasis of the mess they had just cleaned up.

Tanger smiled as the other three turned bright red. They knew Nicole wasn’t mad but the look she was giving them made them feel bad about the mess they had caused.

“What about Geno?” Questioned Max.
“He was pulled into your scam unknowingly. The poor guy was hoodwinked,” Nicole defended; she had a soft spot for the big guy and everyone knew it. Who would blame her though? He was so teddy bear like, it was hard not to feel for him.

There was a knock on the door just then, making everyone jump. Flower was the closest to the door so he went to see who it was. He peaked through, and saw Sidney standing on the other side. Flower decided to have some fun.

“Who is it?” He called in a high pitched voice.

The others in the room looked at him curiously. He could see Sidney take a step back and look down the hall in both directions. He looked back at the door and shook his head.

“Open the door Marc.”
“What is the password?” Marc called back in his normal voice.
“Open the door!” Sidney says with a little more force.
“Not without the Password!”
Nicole called out, “Who is it Flower?”
“A Knight, My lady. I believe he is a bad one; he will not give the secret password!”

Sidney can hear Flower through the door; let’s face it, he wasn’t being quiet at all. He could also hear the others in the room laughing.

“Now Sir!” Flower calls back, “What, pray, is the Secret password?”

Sidney thinks for a moment then smiles, “How about, I’m going to call Vero if you don’t let me in. Is that the Password you’re liking for?”

There is a moment of silence before Sidney hears a small click; the door opens.

“You may enter, Good Sir. For you have found my only weakness. Now go forth and rescue thy fair maiden from the evil, putrid orcs,” Flower bows and lets Sidney pass over the threshold.

The remaining group is beside themselves with laughter as Sidney makes his way into the room. He sees Nicole between James and Paul and goes over to her. He scoops her up and tosses her over his shoulder; she lets out a squeal at the sudden movement.

“Sidney!” Nicole calls out. He puts her down as her startled gaze meets his bemused one.
“What was that for?” Nic asks him.
“I’m here to rescue you,” Sidney says with a tone of laughter hidden in his voice.

Nicole wraps her arms around his shoulders, “My hero,” Nicole whispers but the sound is cut off as Sidney’s lips capture her own.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Game Day POV)

The team filed into the locker room after a tough first period. The Hawks were playing them hard and the Pens were starting to feel the pressure.

Toews had scored two unanswered goals and Kane had managed to sneak one past Flower in the last seconds of the period; leaving the Pens down 3-0. Shaw was living up to his reputation and had been hounding Nicole all night. Nicole was getting more annoyed as the game went on and it was showing with her three turnovers and one shot she fanned on.

“Don’t worry about the Mutt, Nic. He’s trying to get you off your game,” Paul said from the stall next to her.
“It’s working,” Nicole grumbled.

The rest of the team were talking and trying to strategize on how to slow the Blackhawks' down. It was never easy to play in the Madhouse and the energy was unbelievable.

“Nicole!” Coach had come in with the others. Nicole looked up; she was the only one not talking before and now everyone was quiet and waiting to see what coach was going to say.

“”I want you to stay on Kane. Don’t let him touch the puck again. If Shaw comes near you ignore him. If you engage it will only help him. Now we’re going to change the lines up and try to throw them off….”

Nicole tuned him out after he went over her new line. The only real change was Geno moving up to the first line. Coach was calling for the two headed monster to make an appearance.

Time to head back to the ice.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(On Ice POV)

With Sidney and Geno on the same line, the Pens were able to put up three goals, closing the gap in the second. Nicole continued to ignore the Mutt and he continued to harass her on into the Third. Nicole was sticking to Kane’s side; the two players were matched in speed and moved almost identically.

Tanger knocked the puck loose on a bad pass from Hossa to Toews. Sidney coved the puck and passed it to Geno who carried it into the Blackhawks zone. Nicole streaked up the ice; she felt Shaw on her heals as she called for the puck. Geno sent the puck around the net to Nicole on the corner. She passed it off to Duper just as a body slammed into her back. Nicole went crashing into the boards. There was no whistle as she picked herself up off the ice. She turned and saw Shaw smirking at her.

“What’s your problem?” Nicole yelled at the rookie, getting into his face.
“What’s wrong, Princess? Can’t take a hit?” Shaw chirped back; he shook his gloves loose.

Nicole dropped her gloves and swung at the young Hawk. She connected with the left side of face before he grabbed her jersey and hit her in the ribs. Nicole grunted; the area was protected by padding but it still stung. She ripped Shaw’s helmet off and swung right. Shaw ducked; Nicole brought the same hand around again, this time hitting him in the jaw. Shaw connected a couple of punched on Nicole, one in the face the second in the ribs again before they lost balance and hit the ice.

The ref’s jumped in and pulled the two players apart. Their teams were hitting sticks on the ice and boards; it had been a good fight. Nicole was escorted to the box by the official and Shaw was taken off ice for stitches. Sidney and Kris gathered Nicole’s gloves, stick and helmet as the two were being carried away and took them to the box.

Kris gave Nicole a smile and slap on the shoulder for the fight, “So much for ignoring the pest eh?” Tanger chirped.

Nicole returned the smile and looked at her Captain, “Coach is going to be pissed isn’t he?”
“Don’t worry about him. You were protecting yourself. Shaw would have kept it up if you hadn’t done something first.”

The door was closed and the game continued. Nicole spotted Shaw back on the bench shortly before she was released from the box. The Hawks had puck possession again with less than a minute in regulation but a bad hop over Sharpie’s stick sent the puck back to the neutral zone.

The door opened and Nicole shot out after the puck before the Hawks could turn and chase after her. This gave Nicole a breakaway to the net. Crow was set and ready as Nicole skated toward him. She shuffled the puck backhand to forehand as she closed the gap. She pulled her stick back and sent the puck flying.

GOAL! The light flashed as the puck bounced back out of the net between Crawford’s pads. Nicole and her line changed off with the second line for the last time. The Hawks couldn’t gain possession again as the seconds ticked down. With the final horn the Penguins won 4-3.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Locker Room POV)

The team made their way back to the locker room to change. They were all ready to head home after the long road trip. Nicole’s phone was lighting up indicating several messages but she would have to wait until later to answer them.

The media personnel were allowed in to interview several of the Penguins, Nicole included. The group asked the normal questions— what was the turning point, what could she see that needed to be worked on, etc. Nicole answered the questions as best as she could, often giving the same answer several times.

One woman, whom Nicole had never seen, pushed her way to the front of the pack of cameras and microphones. Nicole saw her but was mid sentence, answering a question from Potash, when she interrupted Nicole.

“Nicole! Is it true that you are having a relationship with one of your teammates?”

The group around them had fallen silent, including Nicole. She turned and looked at the woman. She was tall, model like blonde with an unfriendly face. She sneered at Nicole as if she were better than every female in the room and wanted them all to know it. Nicole thought over how to answer her question. She decided to play innocent.

“What do you mean? I have a great relationship with all my teammates.”

The woman glared at her as the others around them laughed at the answer. The blonde flipped her hair over her shoulder.

“Rumor has it, you have an…..inappropriate……relationship with one of your teammates.”

“Inappropriate? I don’t believe so,” Nicole answered and gave the woman a hard look, “And any further questions about my life outside the rink will not be tolerated. I’m here to play hockey and will only answer hockey related questions. Now if you all will excuse me, I would like to get home at some point tonight.”

The other reporters said their thanks and left Nicole in piece, except for the blonde.

“That wasn’t very professional Miss Green,” Blonde said; Nicole could hear the venom behind the words.

“No. What was Unprofessional was your question about my private life,” Nicole stood toe to toe with the woman. She was challenging Nicole and Nic was not about to back down; especially after fighting with Shaw earlier.

“Is there a problem?” Sidney had seen the quiet exchange and recognized the look on Nicole’s face. If the blonde woman didn’t leave soon then she wouldn’t be walking out of there

The woman turned her eyes on Sidney. Her demeanor completely changed her eyes scanned him. She smiled brightly at Sidney and shook her hair out. A chill ran down Sidney’s spine. He thinks of those Discovery shows that Nicole liked so much; this woman is the predator stalking her prey – him.

“I asked you a question,” Sidney forces himself to meet the woman’s cat-like eyes.
“No problem at all, Sid. This woman was just leaving,” Nicole looks up and meets Sidney’s gaze; a message passes quickly between the two. Sidney nods and goes back to his stall.

The reporter smirks, “There’s a story here,” She says, “And I will find out what it is.” The woman leaves the room and with her goes the stillness that had fallen over the room.

“Who was that?” Jordan asks as the room slowly comes back to life.
“Cassandra Jinx. A reporter for one of those dirt blogs,” the equipment manager, Dana, says as he packs up the gear.

“How did she get in here?” Nicole asked to no one in particular.
“Had a press pass. Don’t worry about her Nicole; she’s harmless,” Dana tries to reassure her.

“I don’t think she is harmless,” Paul said, he had been close enough during the interviews to hear Jinx’ question.

Nicole looked at Sidney who was putting the last pieces of his suit on, “She looks like trouble.”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Bus and Airplane POV)

Nicole and the guys slowly shuffle onto the waiting bus. Nic takes her spot next to Geno and lets out a heavy sign; she and all the guys are exhausted after the Western trip. Nicole feels her pocket buzz and she remembers the messages from earlier. Nic unlocks her phone and scans over them. The first was from Eric Staal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(((NOTE!!!! Nicole’s handles are different depending on whom she is talking too and what they call her)))
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ESTAAL>> Hey Killer, Tell Mutt your left hook is more dangerous than your right.
KILLERGREEN>> You should know…. How’s your face feel?
ESTAAL>> Final stopped hurting last week :P

Nicole chuckled at his response and moved to the next one; it was Mikey.

MIKE_NOTYOURBROTHER_GREEN>> hey princess what was the violence about?
PRINCESSGREEN>> He called me Princess…..NO ONE but you calls me that….
MIKE_NOTYOURBROTHER_GREEN>> How dare he! That is my special name for you ;P
PRINCESSGREEN>> I know, right!

Ovechkin was kind enough offer his assistance:

GREAT8>> will kill mutt if you need. Holtby offered help too.
NIKA>> No need. I took care of him.

She quickly sent one off to Braden even though he hadn’t sent her anything:

NICGREEN>> don’t use your goalie powers for evil. Shaw has been handled.
HOLTBEAST>> Damn Ovi! I told him not to say anything to you…
NICGREEN>> be nice!
HOLTBEAST>> just trying to watch out for you
NICGREEN>> AWE! How sweet!

A couple were from a few of the Blackhawks:

TAZER>> Safe flight back to the Burgh. Hope your hand feels better than Shawzer’s face looks. Please don’t sick you hounds on him…
NICOLE>> thanks! A little ice and I’ll be good. Don’t worry the hounds have been called off so your mutt will be safe Ha
TAZER>> thanks for that…. Coach was worried about needing to bench him….oh and don’t kill Kaner either

Nicole was puzzled about that one when she opened up the Hawk in question’s message:

KANER>> damn woman where did you learn to fight? Shawzer looks like he took a puck to the face not a fist
COLLIE>> it pays to have two older brother….I’ll be sure to send flowers lol
KANER>> don’t worry about the flowers just send chocolates to my address….I’ll make sure he gets them
COLLIE>> Not a chance boo boo
KANER>> I tried…..

The last in the long list of players who had messaged her from around the league, was a number that she didn’t have:

UNKNOWN>> Nicole, this is Shaw…. Kaner gave me your number…. Just wanted to see how your hand and ribs were….and to make sure there were no hard feelings…..
NICOLEGREEN>> Prove it’s you….
UNKNOWN>> How?
NICOLEGREEN>> write my name on a piece of paper and send a pic of you holding it…..

Nicole waited a few moments to see if it really was him. Her phone chirped. A picture of the Hawk popped up and he was holding the colorful drawing up of the fight with her name and the message ‘BELIEVE ME NOW’ written on the paper. Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp had photo bombed the picture behind the young rookie. Nicole sent a quick text to Toews and Kane.

NICOLE>> He is SO gonna pay for that!
TAZER>> just don’t hurt him too bad

COLLIE>> Seriously?!
KANER>> I think that was for the Captain 
COLLIE>> watch yourself Kane…
KANER>> OOOHHHH what you gonna do? Teach me a lesson? Spank me? Tie me up?

Nicole ignored the innuendos and replied back to Shaw:

NICOLEGREEN>> Yes I believe you and no hard feelings, hand and ribs are fine….you do a good job living up to your nickname
MUTT>> thanks… I think…. Are you going to hurt Kaner for giving me your number? I would have asked for it but you all left before I could….
NICOLEGREEN>> hurt him…possibly…..

Nicole let out a small laugh as the bus came to a halt. The team moved from the warmth of the bus, out into the cold and back into the warmth of the plane quickly. Nicole found her seat and settled in for the flight home. She pulled her phone back out as it chimed again.

MUTT>> is he as aggravating as me?
NICOLEGREEN>> off ice he has you beat as far as I know…
MUTT>> we’ll have to hang out and see then….

“What so funny?” Geno asked as he took his seat.
“Just answering some of the guys’ messages; they saw the fight,” Nicole answered the Russian.

Jordan reached over the seat and snatched the phone from Nicole’s grip.

“Hey! Give that back!” Nicole exclaimed just as the seat belt light flicks on. Jordan turns and sits down knowing that Nicole can’t do anything during takeoff. She can see him scrolling through her text; a pet peeve of hers.

“Didn’t your mom teach you any manners Gronk?” Nicole says as the light turns off; she reaches for her phone.

Jordan holds it out of reach of the small woman and smiles at her, “Looks like our girl has a new admirer,” he calls out and gains the attention of the plane.

“Do not!” Nicole reaches for the phone and tries to push past Jordan, but the larger man has the advantage in the small area.

“Who is it, Gronk?” Tanger asks as he paused the COD game.

“The baby Hawk,” Jordan teases; putting Nicole in a tight hold against his side.

“Shaw?” Sidney questions from across the aisle; the Captain can feel the spark of jealousy as Jordan’s smile widens and Nicole blushes a deep red.

“Bingo! Wants to hang out and everything next time we’re in the same city. OWE!”

Nicole elbows the larger man in the ribs causing him to curl over; she snatches her phone back and moves to the back of the plane far from the others. They watch her walk as far from them as she can before they look back at their teammate.

“Nice one,” Duper says sarcastically.
“I was only joking,” Jordan says as he rubs his side.
“I’ll talk to her,” Sidney gets out of his seat and moves after his girlfriend.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Nicole and Sidney POV)

Nicole settled on the last row of the plane far from all the others. She was pissed at Jordan; he just didn’t know when to leave things alone. She saw Sidney make his way to the back of the plane. Problem was, she didn’t know if he was coming as The Captain, or her boyfriend.

“Nic….” Sidney let her name trail off as he sat beside her.
“What?” Nicole said, giving him a steady look.

“Um… Well truthfully I’m not sure,” Sidney replied sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck; a nervous habit he had developed during uncomfortable situations.

“You can look at the text. I didn’t do anything wrong,” Nicole was defensive.
“I didn’t say you did,” Sidney replied as he took the phone she had shoved in his hands. Sidney scanned the conversation and placed the phone next to him.

“Well?” Nicole questioned.
“I think he has a little crush on you,” Sidney said with a shrug; Nicole scoffed, “Not that I blame him,” he continued with a wink.

This caused Nicole to blush and the couple laughed together and Sidney’s attempt to flirt. Sidney wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.

“Let’s go out tomorrow when we get home, just the two of us; it’s been a while since we had some alone time,” Sidney said giving Nicole a devilish smile. The long road trip didn’t allow for them to be a couple much – even behind closed doors – and both had been missing each other.

Nicole had a better idea, “or we can stay in all day, turn off our phones and pretend that no one is home if anyone tries to come by.”

“I like that idea better,” Sidney smiles and captures Nicole for a heated kiss. He breaks it and looks into her eyes, “Now let’s go make Gronk apologize.”

“Can I milk it?” A mischievous glint comes into Nicole’s dark chocolate colored eyes.
“As much as you want,” Sidney says with a conspirator chuckle.
“Yes!” Nicole does a small fist pump before the two make their way back to the front of the plane.