‹ Prequel: Chances Risked
Sequel: Life's Chances ›
The Three C's
Chapter Forty Two
-Maggie-
What happened at Diesels went global, everyone knew about it, it was all over youtube, Entertainment Tonight, TMZ, hell, even the NHL Network, ESPN and NBCSN was talking about it, none of us could get away from what happened that night. People had taken videos; the owner of the club leaked security footage and said it was an accident, so now everyone saw everything.
Vero and Kasey were doing all right, they were still a little shook up, but they would be fine. Me on the other hand, I was still pissed about my heels, I tried to get the cops to make him buy me a new pair, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. When Pat heard about, actually when everyone heard about it, they called me, Pat was the only one freaking out about it though, said I could have been seriously hurt, my response to that was, ‘Only the guy and my heels were seriously damaged’. It took everything in me to stop Pat and his teammates, my future teammates, from coming down and having their turn with the guy, not to mention every friend that I had made in the NHL. Note to self and to others: It’s good to have the tallest person in the NHL a friend of yours, a.k.a, Zdeno Chara, just not good to be punched by him.
The reporters were taking this whole thing to a new level and I knew the Public Relations department was just loving their job right now. Everyone was surprised that Sidney was handling this somewhat well, Marc just never opened his mouth about it, and then there was me, I was definitely not Sidney and Marc, I was definitely not handling this well, not even about the fact that my heels were destroyed. When a reporter got in my face as I was walking to my car, wanting to know what had happened, how it felt to see Kasey and Vero almost rapped in a club, to kick the crap out of that guy. I ignored his questions, my answers would not be appropriate for people; however, when he started shoving the camera and mic in my face, I lost it and shoved it away, in result of the guy dropping and breaking his things, more work for PR and a nasty bill for Maggie to replace the damage technology.
We only had three games left until the regular season was over and then the playoffs would begin, we already clinched a playoff spot, it was only unsure on who we would play against. We had a home game against Detroit tomorrow and our team was back in full strength, Kris was back, his first game back, everyone was happily surprised to have him back since his stroke, no thought he would be back. Not only was Kris back, Brooks was back from his concussion after the multiple hits to the head from Shawn Thornton, and James was back from a suspension, the one he received for kneeing Brad Marchand in the head, the one I knew he would receive, we still hadn’t spoken to each other since then.
Today the boys and I would be a little busy, we were going to the local children’s hospital to visit them and then this evening we had a bowling event with some children that were ill with something. I was up in my room getting dressed, I had jeans, a pair of black converses on, my jersey and then I threw a dark grey beanie on my head. I walked downstairs and saw Beau and Olli waiting for me, we got in my car and then headed over towards the hospital where most of the others were already there waiting.
It was an enjoyable event, going around and seeing all of the children, broke my heart to see them like that, but I enjoyed every second being there. Sidney held a paper in my hand and told me to go to a certain room number, I nodded my head and walked down the hall, heading down until I saw the number and walked in the doorway, knocking on the door and see a little girl, she had a hat on her head, I assumed she had no hair. One look at me and she was smiling ear to ear, her parents were there, they stood up and gave me a smile.
“Hiya!” I smiled brightly as I walked into the room and over towards the bed, “What’s your name, cutie?”
“Maggie-“
“Nope, that’s my name,” I giggled and the girl laughed and shook her head.
“That’s my name too!” she squealed and I giggled, “You’re Maggie Marshall!”
“Aw man, I didn’t even get to introduce myself- You’re just too good, kid,” I said and she laughed, it warmed my heart to hear her laugh, I wondered what was wrong with her.
“She’s a big fan of yours, Ms. Marshall,” I heard and looked up to see her mother looking at me, “My husband is a big Penguins fan, he’s the one who got her hooked on the sport, and when she saw that a woman made it into the NHL, well-“
“I was inspired!” the little mini me said and I giggled and sat on the bed looking at her.
“You were inspired, huh?” I asked and she nodded her head, “You wanna play hockey?!”
“I did,” she said and then frowned and looked down, “I was on the team for a week and then got sick.”
I looked up towards her parents, they were sad, I was sad, I wanted the happy feeling back, “Well, when you get better,” I smiled brightly, “I’ll practice with you.”
“Really?!” she asked and I giggled and nodded my head, “But what if you’re traded?”
“Not gunna lie, that might happen, but before I leave, I’m gunna give my number to your parents there, and when you get better and out of this hospital, they’re going to call me and tell me that my mini me is ready to play in the big leagues,” I said and she smiled brightly and perked up, “How does that sound?!”
“Amazing! It’s amazing! I can’t wait to get better!” she said and I giggled and nodded my head, “Mommy! Mommy! Did you hear that?! I can play!”
“When you’re better, sweetie,” she said, smiling at her daughter.
I was in that room longer than I expected to be, probably longer than I should have been, but I just didn’t want to leave her, I was having fun. Her mother had brought out a board game of shoots and ladders and we were playing it on her bed.
There was a knock at the door and we all looked and I heard little Maggie gasp when I saw my Captain and fellow Alternate Captain walk into the room, “Hey Mags, there you are,” Sidney said and I smiled and looked back towards little Maggie.
“Hey guys, meet my mini me, Maggie,” I said and the two guys chuckled and walked over, shook hands with her and then saw we were playing a game, “Maggie, these are my teammates, Sidney and Geno.”
“Hi!” they all said and Sidney pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed.
“Can we play?” he asked and Maggie smiled and looked at me.
“I don’t know,” I giggled, “What do ya think?”
“We can start over- We know I won that round,” little Maggie said and we all laughed.
“Definitely mini Maggie,” Sidney said and I stuck my tongue out at my Captain.
-Sidney-
Maggie, Geno and I were walking down the hallway, just leaving the hospital room of Maggie’s mini her. I heard a yell and we all turned around to see the mother of the little girl, she jogged over towards us.
“Sorry, I wanted to catch you before you left,” she said and Maggie smiled and nodded her head.
“Oh, I gave my number to your husband,” Maggie said and the mother nodded her head.
“I know, but I wanted to tell you- She’s been a fan of yours ever since you were traded to the Penguins- Well, more like when you were drafted to the Stars,” she said and Maggie smiled and nodded her head, “My little girl- I know you said you would practice with her when she gets better, but the thing is- the thing is, she’s not going to get better.”
I watched as Maggie’s eyes widened, I looked at Geno and he looked down, it was always a blessing and a curse to come her and see the children, it made you happy, but also broke your heart.
“The doctors say that she won’t make it to the end of the year and when Make-A-Wish came to talk to her, to ask her what she would want, she said she wanted to see a game.”
“Just see a game?” Maggie asked and the mother nodded her head.
“How she is now, it’s the best she’s ever going to be, it’ll get worse from here,” the mother said and Maggie turned and looked at me and then back at the mother.
“Did you ever get those tickets?”
“No,” she said and my eyes widened.
‘…That’s so messed up!...’ I said and Maggie looked at me, before she even opened her mouth, “We’ll be in touch and make sure you’re all taken care of.”
Maggie smiled at me and then looked at the mother, “And I’ll be in touch with the doctors to see what I can do about our little practice session- It might change into just skating.”
“I can’t guarantee that she’ll be able to skate-“
“If I have to push her around in a wheelchair, then I will most certainly do that,” Maggie said and I smiled at my teammate, “I gotta support my number one fan.”
“I’m sure she’ll love that,” the mother said and started to cry, Maggie hugged her and I smiled towards Geno, it was always good to help others.
-Maggie-
“I’m scared,” mini me said and I giggled.
“Nothing to be afraid of, everything will be all right, you’re going to be on the ice with us during the national anthem,” I said as I looked down at her, she was in her wheelchair, I was in my gear, just getting off of the ice after warm-ups.
It took a little while to get everything set up, but Sidney and I managed to do it. We had gotten the permission from little Maggie’s doctors to take her from the hospital for the night, brought her to the Consol for our last home game of the season, against the Senators. She was going to be on the ice with us during the warm ups and then up in the suite with Mario, he wanted to meet my little mini me.
Since tonight was our last home game in the regular season, it was fan appreciation night, which meant that at the end of the night, a lucky fan would receive a players’ jersey. We gave the choice to little Maggie of which one she would have wanted out of the whole team, but then changed our minds and decided that instead of having one signed jersey with one name, she was going to get one jersey with the whole teams signature on it.
We were called onto the ice; I was in the starting line with Sidney, Geno, Paul and Kris, Marc was in the net. The announcer announced to the audience that little Maggie was going to join us onto the ice. I handed my stick and gloves to Geno and then skated over towards the door where the zambonies came out from. The door was opened and a smiling little Maggie in a wheelchair was handed off to me and I smiled brightly at her and pulled her over towards our line, Sidney and Geno smiled and waved towards her and she was just so happy.
“How do you like the view, superstar?”
“It’s amazing.”
What happened at Diesels went global, everyone knew about it, it was all over youtube, Entertainment Tonight, TMZ, hell, even the NHL Network, ESPN and NBCSN was talking about it, none of us could get away from what happened that night. People had taken videos; the owner of the club leaked security footage and said it was an accident, so now everyone saw everything.
Vero and Kasey were doing all right, they were still a little shook up, but they would be fine. Me on the other hand, I was still pissed about my heels, I tried to get the cops to make him buy me a new pair, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. When Pat heard about, actually when everyone heard about it, they called me, Pat was the only one freaking out about it though, said I could have been seriously hurt, my response to that was, ‘Only the guy and my heels were seriously damaged’. It took everything in me to stop Pat and his teammates, my future teammates, from coming down and having their turn with the guy, not to mention every friend that I had made in the NHL. Note to self and to others: It’s good to have the tallest person in the NHL a friend of yours, a.k.a, Zdeno Chara, just not good to be punched by him.
The reporters were taking this whole thing to a new level and I knew the Public Relations department was just loving their job right now. Everyone was surprised that Sidney was handling this somewhat well, Marc just never opened his mouth about it, and then there was me, I was definitely not Sidney and Marc, I was definitely not handling this well, not even about the fact that my heels were destroyed. When a reporter got in my face as I was walking to my car, wanting to know what had happened, how it felt to see Kasey and Vero almost rapped in a club, to kick the crap out of that guy. I ignored his questions, my answers would not be appropriate for people; however, when he started shoving the camera and mic in my face, I lost it and shoved it away, in result of the guy dropping and breaking his things, more work for PR and a nasty bill for Maggie to replace the damage technology.
We only had three games left until the regular season was over and then the playoffs would begin, we already clinched a playoff spot, it was only unsure on who we would play against. We had a home game against Detroit tomorrow and our team was back in full strength, Kris was back, his first game back, everyone was happily surprised to have him back since his stroke, no thought he would be back. Not only was Kris back, Brooks was back from his concussion after the multiple hits to the head from Shawn Thornton, and James was back from a suspension, the one he received for kneeing Brad Marchand in the head, the one I knew he would receive, we still hadn’t spoken to each other since then.
Today the boys and I would be a little busy, we were going to the local children’s hospital to visit them and then this evening we had a bowling event with some children that were ill with something. I was up in my room getting dressed, I had jeans, a pair of black converses on, my jersey and then I threw a dark grey beanie on my head. I walked downstairs and saw Beau and Olli waiting for me, we got in my car and then headed over towards the hospital where most of the others were already there waiting.
It was an enjoyable event, going around and seeing all of the children, broke my heart to see them like that, but I enjoyed every second being there. Sidney held a paper in my hand and told me to go to a certain room number, I nodded my head and walked down the hall, heading down until I saw the number and walked in the doorway, knocking on the door and see a little girl, she had a hat on her head, I assumed she had no hair. One look at me and she was smiling ear to ear, her parents were there, they stood up and gave me a smile.
“Hiya!” I smiled brightly as I walked into the room and over towards the bed, “What’s your name, cutie?”
“Maggie-“
“Nope, that’s my name,” I giggled and the girl laughed and shook her head.
“That’s my name too!” she squealed and I giggled, “You’re Maggie Marshall!”
“Aw man, I didn’t even get to introduce myself- You’re just too good, kid,” I said and she laughed, it warmed my heart to hear her laugh, I wondered what was wrong with her.
“She’s a big fan of yours, Ms. Marshall,” I heard and looked up to see her mother looking at me, “My husband is a big Penguins fan, he’s the one who got her hooked on the sport, and when she saw that a woman made it into the NHL, well-“
“I was inspired!” the little mini me said and I giggled and sat on the bed looking at her.
“You were inspired, huh?” I asked and she nodded her head, “You wanna play hockey?!”
“I did,” she said and then frowned and looked down, “I was on the team for a week and then got sick.”
I looked up towards her parents, they were sad, I was sad, I wanted the happy feeling back, “Well, when you get better,” I smiled brightly, “I’ll practice with you.”
“Really?!” she asked and I giggled and nodded my head, “But what if you’re traded?”
“Not gunna lie, that might happen, but before I leave, I’m gunna give my number to your parents there, and when you get better and out of this hospital, they’re going to call me and tell me that my mini me is ready to play in the big leagues,” I said and she smiled brightly and perked up, “How does that sound?!”
“Amazing! It’s amazing! I can’t wait to get better!” she said and I giggled and nodded my head, “Mommy! Mommy! Did you hear that?! I can play!”
“When you’re better, sweetie,” she said, smiling at her daughter.
I was in that room longer than I expected to be, probably longer than I should have been, but I just didn’t want to leave her, I was having fun. Her mother had brought out a board game of shoots and ladders and we were playing it on her bed.
There was a knock at the door and we all looked and I heard little Maggie gasp when I saw my Captain and fellow Alternate Captain walk into the room, “Hey Mags, there you are,” Sidney said and I smiled and looked back towards little Maggie.
“Hey guys, meet my mini me, Maggie,” I said and the two guys chuckled and walked over, shook hands with her and then saw we were playing a game, “Maggie, these are my teammates, Sidney and Geno.”
“Hi!” they all said and Sidney pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed.
“Can we play?” he asked and Maggie smiled and looked at me.
“I don’t know,” I giggled, “What do ya think?”
“We can start over- We know I won that round,” little Maggie said and we all laughed.
“Definitely mini Maggie,” Sidney said and I stuck my tongue out at my Captain.
-Sidney-
Maggie, Geno and I were walking down the hallway, just leaving the hospital room of Maggie’s mini her. I heard a yell and we all turned around to see the mother of the little girl, she jogged over towards us.
“Sorry, I wanted to catch you before you left,” she said and Maggie smiled and nodded her head.
“Oh, I gave my number to your husband,” Maggie said and the mother nodded her head.
“I know, but I wanted to tell you- She’s been a fan of yours ever since you were traded to the Penguins- Well, more like when you were drafted to the Stars,” she said and Maggie smiled and nodded her head, “My little girl- I know you said you would practice with her when she gets better, but the thing is- the thing is, she’s not going to get better.”
I watched as Maggie’s eyes widened, I looked at Geno and he looked down, it was always a blessing and a curse to come her and see the children, it made you happy, but also broke your heart.
“The doctors say that she won’t make it to the end of the year and when Make-A-Wish came to talk to her, to ask her what she would want, she said she wanted to see a game.”
“Just see a game?” Maggie asked and the mother nodded her head.
“How she is now, it’s the best she’s ever going to be, it’ll get worse from here,” the mother said and Maggie turned and looked at me and then back at the mother.
“Did you ever get those tickets?”
“No,” she said and my eyes widened.
‘…That’s so messed up!...’ I said and Maggie looked at me, before she even opened her mouth, “We’ll be in touch and make sure you’re all taken care of.”
Maggie smiled at me and then looked at the mother, “And I’ll be in touch with the doctors to see what I can do about our little practice session- It might change into just skating.”
“I can’t guarantee that she’ll be able to skate-“
“If I have to push her around in a wheelchair, then I will most certainly do that,” Maggie said and I smiled at my teammate, “I gotta support my number one fan.”
“I’m sure she’ll love that,” the mother said and started to cry, Maggie hugged her and I smiled towards Geno, it was always good to help others.
-Maggie-
“I’m scared,” mini me said and I giggled.
“Nothing to be afraid of, everything will be all right, you’re going to be on the ice with us during the national anthem,” I said as I looked down at her, she was in her wheelchair, I was in my gear, just getting off of the ice after warm-ups.
It took a little while to get everything set up, but Sidney and I managed to do it. We had gotten the permission from little Maggie’s doctors to take her from the hospital for the night, brought her to the Consol for our last home game of the season, against the Senators. She was going to be on the ice with us during the warm ups and then up in the suite with Mario, he wanted to meet my little mini me.
Since tonight was our last home game in the regular season, it was fan appreciation night, which meant that at the end of the night, a lucky fan would receive a players’ jersey. We gave the choice to little Maggie of which one she would have wanted out of the whole team, but then changed our minds and decided that instead of having one signed jersey with one name, she was going to get one jersey with the whole teams signature on it.
We were called onto the ice; I was in the starting line with Sidney, Geno, Paul and Kris, Marc was in the net. The announcer announced to the audience that little Maggie was going to join us onto the ice. I handed my stick and gloves to Geno and then skated over towards the door where the zambonies came out from. The door was opened and a smiling little Maggie in a wheelchair was handed off to me and I smiled brightly at her and pulled her over towards our line, Sidney and Geno smiled and waved towards her and she was just so happy.
“How do you like the view, superstar?”
“It’s amazing.”