Houses of the Holy

Chapter 3

"What a way to start the Quebec Nordiques 2.0", said John as they approached Newark International Airport.

"Yeah, us and the Habs in Switzerland. Coach, are you going to let those bastard beat us?", teased Dan.

Danny just chuckled. "Non, Carbomb. They are great guys, but this is professional now", he said.

"Of course, Coach. But since we are flying over there, we gotta get alng with each other, off the ice anyways", said Max with a grin.

"Ausra, anyone there speak English?", joked Dan.

The tall redhead gave him a look. "Of course, Mr. Carcillo, they are civilized people", she retorted.

"Lucky French is one of the languages in Switzerland, I picked up some German when I played in Austria during the lockout. But they do speak good English there", said Derick.

"That they do, Mr. Brassard", said Natalia.

"Call me Derick, since we're going to be together like this", he said, flashing his most charming smile.

Natalia blushed and tried not to giggle like a schoolgirl as the plane touched down. "Danny, your guys drive you crazy yet?", teased Brendan Gallagher as he gave his old teammate a bro-hug.

"Non, mon petite frere. This doesn't mean I'm not going to have my guys play hard on your guys", he laughed.

"Bonjour, Chucky", said Max.

"Bonjour, Superstar. Did you get laid up there yet?", he joked.

"Un homme n'embrasse pas et dire", he teased.

The Canadiens and the Nordiques transferred to their charter while their bags were being loaded onto the plane. "Brass, can you help us with the French?", teased Brendan.

"There's plenty of Frenchies on the plane, Gally. You planning on going to the side?", chirped Brandon Prust.

"Nah, you guys still got a lot of Frenchies", joked Carey as him and PK high-fived.

John just shook his head and found a seat, seeing that Ausra had already taken ot a huge book and began to read. I read on flights too, but that looks like a damn dictionary", he thought.

Dan found himself next to Jacquetta and silently wondered if someone was playing a perverse joke on him, the brunette reading a book with reading spectacle perched on her nose. Fine, if she wants to be the Ice Princess the whole trip, let her. But I'll bet she's crazy when she gets a few drinks in her, he thought with a smile.

Ausra sent a text to Laima and made a quick call, a smile on her face when she heard her son's voice. "Mommy, you take pictures?", he asked.

"Oui, Sasha. I am going to put them on Instagram, so you can see them. Be a good boy for Aunt Laima and your cousins", she said.

"Okay, Mommy. Aunt Laima says she wants to make cookies", he said eagerly.

"That's great, tell Aunt Laima I said Hi and I'll call you later when we land. Au revoir, Sasha", she said.

"Au revoir, Mommy", said Alexey.

John glanced up from his book and was struck at how animated her face became when she talked to her son, her expression soft and warm. He's a cute little guy, it's good to see her like that, he mused.

The teams arrived in Geneve over nine hours later, the jet-lag making them slightly disoriented as it was afternoon here. "Rest up at the hotel, there's no partying now", said Danny.

"What partying? I feel like if I go and drink, I'll fall over", muttered John.

"Me too, every summer we fly to Russia to see relatives and I still get jet-lagged. And of course they want to cook us a ton of stuff and do vodka shots", said Alex with a shudder.

"Of course, Russians are crazy. Lucky we don't have a game for a few days", said Jared as a few guys shook their heads.

"We all came out to Montraux on the Lake Geneva shoreline", Dan sang softly.

"The best Deep Purple album, Carbomb. That's the easiest song of theirs to play, but guitar shops won't let you play it", said Caelan, carefully the placing the guitar case on his back.

"I thought that was only in Wayne's World", said John.

"No, it's for real. Reckon the clerks get sick of guys playing the same crap over and over again, that'll get annoying fast", said Caelan.

The city on the shores of the vast lake was immaculate as only small European cities can be, the streets totally clean and filled with elegant people in the latest styles, chic French ladies and handsome men. The sky above was blue as the lake and there as just a chill in the air with the Alps framing the lake in the distance.

The teams checked into their rooms, Derick having a chuckle when John flopped down on the bed. "Champ, you cannot possibly be that tired", he chided.

"Brass, I'm not a good flier like you. It's one thing to fly from New York to LA, but another to fly from Newark to Switzerland. You know how many times zones we crossed?", he retorted.

"You'll feel better tomorrow, Champ. I'm going to look around", said Derick as John flipped him off.

Derick went downstairs to the lobby and saw Natalia reading a brochure. "Bonjour, Natalia. Did you find anything good?", he asked.

"Geneva has a lot of free museums, I feel fine so I thought I'd go explore the city", she replied.

"Do you mind if I come with you, it's always good to explore a new city with a pretty girl", he said gallantly.

Natalia giggled as her cheeks turned pink. Derick looked casual in his jeans and gray Nordiques hoodie, his dark hair swept back from his forehead and just a bit of stubble clinging to his chin. His brown eyes were amused and his lips turned up in a rakish grin, the whole package making her feel like a giddy teenage girl. "You are such a charmer, Derick Brassard", she teased.

"It's the French in me, mon fille Polonaise", he drawled, winking at her.

"Ah, so what do you want to see?", she asked.

"The Natural History Museum looks good, the Red Cross museum looks depressing, I'm not into that sort of stuff. That stuff just makes me hate people", he said with a frown.

Fifteen minutes later, they found themselves at Geneva's Natural History Museum an hour before closing time. "I had no idea there are that many tigers", said Derick as they looked at a glass display of stuffed tigers.

"There's different kinds, I suppose they wanted to show all the different kinds in one exhibit", said Natalia thoughtfully.

Derick nodded in agreement and caught a glimpe of her reflection in the glass. Natalia wore a simple denim skirt and a white blouse, her light blond hair loose to her shoulders with a thin braid on the side. He blue-green eyes were serious and thoughtful as she read the card explaining the exhibit, her hair brushing his arm.

"It's a good thing Ausra can speak German, when we go onto Vienna we are going to need it", she said.

"What doesn't she speak?", he teased.

Natalia tried to look stern but the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile, her turquoise eyes full of amusement. "Chinese, Japanese, but she could probably learn it quickly. She knows all the hockey languages, Spanish, German, and Lithuanian, why do you think she got the job?", she giggled.

"Of course, ma fille Polonaise", he agreed.

Derick offered her his arm as she accepted, a rakish grin on his face and a twinkle in his brown eyes. "Let's look around some more and get something to eat, hopefully they have a fondue place here", he laughed.

"Of course, monsieur Brassard", she laughed.

Derick just winked at her and led her outside. The sun was just beginning to set as it reflected in the still waters of Lake Geneva, the sky turning orange as the sun receded. The streets were crowded with workers heading home or to the numerous bars and restaurants, buskers playing folk songs for spare change.

Natalia clung to Derick as they walked, conscious of his big frame and feeling small compared to him. Derick smiled down at her and put an arm around her waist, chuckling at the pink blush on her cheeks. "Mademoiselle Natalia, I do not bite", he drawled.

"Monsieur Brassard, you have swag for days and I am just a country girl from Quebec", she teased.

"Non, Champ and Carbomb have the swag, I am just a country boy from Gatineau, mon fille Polonaise", he said gallantly.

Dan got up several hours later feeling much better, seeing the text from Derick. Brassy's a lucky bastard, he's already gotten with a hot French chick, he thought with a chuckle.

He took a quick shower and put on a pair of jeans and a Led Zeppelin t-shirt with the Houses of the Holy album cover, looking at his phone to see if there any nearby record stores Dan sent a mass text to his teammates and left the hotel, walking down the street to the address. To his delight, it was an old-school music store that had a large selection of vinyl and sold turntables, along with the CD's and DVD's, Velvet Underground playing over the speakers.

Dan started at letter A and slowly made his way through the vinyl, the grin on his face growing wider at their selection of music. He heard a female voice up front speaking in French, glancing over and seeing Jacquetta talking to the clerk as a smile formed on his face.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle Jacquetta", he drawled.

Jacquetta almost jumped in the air with shock, Dan with a grin on his face. "Mr. Carcillo, don't do that", she hissed.

"Looks like we both had the same idea, la mia principessa di ghiaccio", he murmured.

"I wanted to see if I could have them send the latest Leaves' Eyes album to the house, I can't find it", she stammered.

"You have good taste in metal, Scandinavians make the best. I always go to record stores when I'm on the road", he replied.

Jacquetta nodded curtly and said something to the clerk, giving Dan a chance to check her out. She wore dark blue jeans and a blue and white striped top with her dark hair pulled back, only pink lipstick and a bit of eyeshadow on her face that made her gray eyes shine with light blue highlights and brought out her high cheekbones. She's just as hot now, he mused.

Jacquetta tried to ignore him as she paid for her purchases, a dull blush creeping up her neckk and her heart pounding furiously. Dan just gave her a knowing smirk, his lips turned up in a Cheshire cat grin and his brown eyes full of laughter. "Do you have better things to do?", she snapped.

"No, mia bella", he drawled.

Her cheeks grew hotter when she heard him speak Italian, glaring at him. "I am not your pretty, Mr. Carcillo", she said angrily.

"No, you're not just a pretty face, signorina Jacquetta. You are an awesome girl with great taste in music", he said.

Jacquetta took the bag and was ready to leave when Dan put a hand on her shoulder. The touch of his hand seemed to burn through her shirt and she could see the edge of a tattoo peaking through the sleeve of his shirt, a feral grin on his face. "I don't want you to get lost here in Geneva, mia bella", he murmured.

"I don't need your help, Mr. Carcillo", she muttered.

Dan ignored her and led her outside. "Let me go", she warned.

"Signorina Jacquetta, I have no intention of letting you go", he murmured. Without warning, Dan leaned over and kissed her lips. Jacquetta tried to get away and he just deepened the kiss, her lips parting under his.

Dan broke the kiss and winked at her, dodging the blow as she tried to slap him. "I have good reflexes, Signorina", he drawled as she glared daggers at him.