Tangled Up in You

Ally Montero couldn't tell you what exactly drew her to Nicklas Backstrom. It could have been his smile, or those gorgeous hazel eyes. Then again, his shy personality could have done it too. She had slowly picked out every detail of him that she liked and the list was long. But, the head over heels crush that she had developed was for a man who was in love with the mother to his child.

It was a regular day for Ally, she worked her shift at the coffee shop and proceeded to walk the normal ten blocks home. Entering the apartment she shared with her bestrides, she set her thing down a kicked off her shoes. Her phone started vibrating and she prayed it wasn't her boss calling in for a late night shift. To her surprise, Nicklas' name and picture she took of him and his daughter last Christmas appeared. "Hey." She answered.

"Oh thank God you answered. I was wondering if you could care for Haley tonight?" He asked, his voice kind of frantic.

"Of course. Where's Liza?" Ally asked out of curiosity.

"Long story," He said in an agitated voice. "I need to be at the arena in an hour, can you get here soon?"

"I'm on my way." Ally said, slipping back into her shoes and picking up her purse.

"Thank you so much, Ally." The line went dead and Ally made her way back out the door.

Taking a cab took off 10 minutes of her commute, allowing her to arrive early at Nicklas' house. She knocked on the door a couple times before the Swedish man opened it, Haley on his hip. "Ally, you're a lifesaver." She smiled at him, feeling the goosebumps all over her body from the way his accent made him pronounce her name.

"It's not a big deal," She told him, looking over at Haley. "Hi, bug a boo." She said in a kid like voice, stretching her arms out to take her from Nicklas. "So, where's Liza?"

Nicklas sighed. "She went out for lunch with friends and came home drunk. I told her she needs to drink coffee or something because she need to care for Haley tonight but she got mad and left."

"Oh," Ally kept the smile on her face so she didn't upset Haley. "I'm sorry, Nick."

He nodded and grabbed his keys and wallet from the table. "Thanks again, Ally." He leaned in a gave Haley a kiss on the forehead and proceeded to give Ally an appreciative smile before heading for the door.

After Nick had left, Ally made Haley her dinner and fed her before switching the television over to the hockey game. It was a good start for the Capitals and Ally had noticed that everytime she watched the game with Haley the team always did well. Only a minute or so into the second period, Nick scored, making Ally squeal in excitement. A smile rose on Haley's face as she stared at her care giver while being bounced in her bouncer.

"Daddy scored, yes he did." Ally said in a high pitched voice, picking Haley up from her bouncer and bringing their faces together before kissing her nose. Haley giggled, making Ally laugh at her. "You are too cute, baby girl."

The house phone started ringing and that upset Haley, causing her to start fussing in Ally's arms. "It's okay, shhh." With Haley in her arms, she muted the TV and got up to answer the phone.

"Backstrom residence." She answered.

"Of course he would have you watching Haley." She heard on the other line, confused at who it was until it finally clicked. Liza. "Tell Nick that I'm not coming home tonight and that he needs to make arrangements to stay some place else. Got it, babysitter?" Her words were heavily slurred, indicating she was drunk.

"I'll pass the message along when Ni--" Before Ally could finish her sentence, the line went dead. She sighed, refraining herself from getting upset as she hung up the phone. But once Haley started grabbing on to Ally's nose, she had forgotten why she was angered in the first place.

Bundling up Haley in her favorite blanket, Ally sat on the couch and rocked her to sleep as she finished watching the hockey game. The Capitals had shutout the defending Stanley Cup Champions. She turned off the TV and walked Haley to her nursery, setting her down in her crib and giving her a light kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, pretty girl." She said in a whisper, running her hand down her smooth face and smiling. She adored Haley as if she was her own.

Ally sat in the living room with the baby monitor by her side and the latest gossip magazine in her hands. She flipped carelessly through the pages, not very entertained with the so called "news" people were interested in these days. But she perked up when she saw headlights in the driveway. Nicklas was home.

Gathering all her things, she put on her sweater and draped her bag on her shoulder. Nick quietly unlocked the door and dropped his keys on the table when he entered. His day wasn't the greatest, but coming home to see Ally's smiling face certainly brightened it. "Hello." He said, sending one of those drop dead gorgeous smiles that caused her heart rate to rise.

"Good game tonight," He shrugged it off, not really caring about hockey at the moment. "Oh, Liza called and said she's not coming back tonight and you need to make arrangements to stay somewhere else." That made his smile disappear relatively quickly, making him sigh and run a hand through his blonde hair. "So what's going on between you two?" She asked kind of hesitantly. She didn't want to get into their business, but whatever was going on was making Nicklas miserably and she couldn't stand to see him like that.

"You want a drink?" He asked as he made his way to the kitchen. Ally set her bag down and followed him into the kitchen, motioning for him to sit down on the bar stole. She grabbed the scotch from the cabinet and a couple of glasses. Nick intently watched her move around the kitchen, suddenly admiring the curves she had possessed and the way her straight brown hair draped around her shoulders and how her tongue traced across her plump lips. She dropped a few ice cubes in each glass and slowly poured their drinks.

"Okay. Explain." She said, setting the glass in front of him and taking a seat beside him. He looked over at her, realizing he wasn't getting out of this.

Taking a big gulp of the scotch, he set the glass down and starred at the counter. "Ever since Haley has been born, Liza changed. She doesn't want to touch me, let alone be with me. And I know she was drunk earlier but she admitted she no longer loved me." Ally looked at him then down at her drink, not entirely sure how to reply to him. She was mostly in shock, they never acted as if something was wrong. "She broke up with me earlier and told me I need to leave the house."

"Jesus, Nick, I'm so sorry." Ally quickly sputtered out, putting a hand on his shoulder, trying her best comfort him. He looked over at her and nodded, appreciating the support.

"You have to learn from mistakes." He said in almost a whisper.

"Liza wasn't a mistake, Nick," He looked at her with scrunched eyebrows, waiting for her to elaborate. "If you never took a chance on Liza, Haley wouldn't be in your life. And I see the way you look at her, like she's your world."

"She is my world." He said, smiling as he thought of his baby girl. Ally's face lit up, feeling she had accomplished making him feel better. "You and her are the only girls that seem to like me." Ally bite down on her lip, trying to contain the smile that wanted so badly to be seen.

"Well, you're a great father. And friend," She said. "You deserve the best, Nick." His piercing hazel eyes met her light brown ones, and the smile that once was upon her face had vanished as she locked in on him. Nick's tongue traced his top lip as he starred at Ally, not being able to advert his eyes from the gorgeous girl in front of him.

As Nick started to lean in, every part of Ally's brain was telling her to stop this but her heart wanted his perfect lips on hers more than ever before. The inches that separated them suddenly became centimeters and he gave her one last look before closing the gap completely.

Ally felt breathless as their lips moved in synchronization, wondering how she could have gone so long with never kissing his lips. Liza popped into her mind and a sudden wave a guilt crashed over her, forcing her to pull from Nicklas. "I-I'm sorry, I can't do this. Liza's the mother of your child, she's your future, not-"

"What if I don't want Liza? What if ever since you came into my life, I have wanted you?" Ally's heart started pounding as she bite down on her lower lip, not being able to advert her eyes from Nick's. He didn't drop his gaze from her, he continued to stare at her as she contemplated on what she was going to do. He nodded and looked down at the floor, "I shouldn't have sai-" Before he could finish his sentence, Ally grabbed each side of his scruffy face and joined their lips again, adding more passion.

Ally's eyes fluttered open when she heard the cries of Haley. Looking beside her, she smiled at Nick, her eyes trailing down his naked body that was barely covered by the bed sheets. Haley got louder with her crying so she quickly got out of bed, slipping into her skirt and throwing her shirt on.

"Hey baby girl," Ally said in a cheerful voice, picking up the six month old and kissing her forehead. "Let's get you out of that wet diaper."

Ally changed her diaper and put her in one of her onesies. "All better." She said, picking her up and giving her another kiss before started to bounce her in her arms. Nicklas walked into the room, but stopped and leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed, admiring what the scene in front of him. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tightly against him. Haley made a happy coo at him, making both of them chuckle. "I have to be at work soon." She said, disappointment relevant in her voice. Hesitantly, he dropped his arms from her waist and motioned her to hand him Haley.

"I will see you tonight, yes?" He asked, him now bouncing Haley. Ally just smiled at him and nodded. As she turned to walk away, he gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her back, planting his lips on hers. Ally could feel the passion radiating off of him and when he pulled away from her, her breath was gone.

That was all Ally needed to realize that this wasn't just a stupid rebound to him. It was real. All of it.