Goose's Big Adventure

Niklas stared at his younger friend for a long minute, trying to digest what he had just told him. Goose was in love with Natalie? Not that he hadn’t seen that coming, of course, but he didn’t think Goose was going to blurt it out right away like that.

“You love my sister,” he asked back, trying to confirm what Goose had just stated. Goose went redder and nodded, hoping like anything Niklas wasn’t mad at him.

“Yes, Kronner. I’ve been in love with her since the day I met her, but I didn’t want to tell her or anyone right away. I wanted to wait for a while, thinking at first it was just a silly crush. But now I know that it’s not a crush and I’m really in love with her,” he answered, daring a quick glance at his teammate. Niklas thought about that for a long minute before he grinned and pulled Goose into a tight hug.

“Welcome to the family then, Gus,” he said happily. Goose squealed at the hug and gaped up at him, shocked. He was accepting him? Wow, he didn’t think that was going to happen.

“Y-y-you don’t care that I…I love your sister, Kronner,” he asked, widening his blue eyes. Niklas laughed at his shock and ruffled his hair.

“No, of course not, Gus. I don’t or can’t control who you love. All I ask is that you treat her like the princess she is. If you don’t, then “big brother” rage is going to come out. Got it?” Goose’s face went from shocked to serious and he nodded.

“I take care of everyone I love, Kronner. Your sister is no different. I’d never do ANYTHING to hurt her, ever,” he vowed, placing a hand over his heart to make sure Niklas knew his promise was sealed. Niklas smiled and patted his shoulder.

“Good boy. Now, let’s get this crib to my room,” he stated, bending over to pick up the crib again.
Goose- still unsure of why he needed the crib-leaned over to grab at the opposite side of the bed.

“I never got around to asking why you need the crib, Kronner. Is Nattie…pregnant,” he asked, voice trembling as he said that last word. Niklas gave Goose an “are-you-joking-me” look as he carefully stepped onto the stairs leading to the upper part of the house.

“Gus, no, Nattie isn’t pregnant. Trust me; you’d know if she was pregnant. I need the crib because I’m adopting. Hank doesn’t know yet. Well, it’s sort of like adoption. You see,” he said, rounding the corner of the hall to his bedroom, “I had a girlfriend before I started dating Hank. We dated for maybe…three or four years and broke up about 14 months ago. I didn’t know when we broke up that she was pregnant. Well, earlier today, I got a call from the adoption agency saying that my ex had died and that her boyfriend had gotten him in the agency. He said her last request was that her son be raised by his real father, which is me.” He had to stop at that point not only because he had to get his breath back, but because Natalie was directing them on where to put the crib.

“Put it over there by the heater, boys. Babies get cold really easily so might as well get him near the heat,” she explained, watching the process with keen eyes.

Niklas chuckled and led Goose and the crib to where the short black heater was sitting. He placed the crib down on the floor and then stood up, swiping a hand across his face to get off the sweat.

“Damn, that crib is heavier than I thought! I thought cribs were light things,” Goose complained, leaning against the closet door, breathing heavy.

Natalie giggled at the sound of their breathing and grabbed two water bottles off her side-table, tossing one to each of them.

“Looks like you got your work out today, boys.” Goose rolled his eyes at her and snorted.

“You try carrying a crib up the stairs and see how much you’d be sweating, girlie.” The tone might have held fake-annoyance to it, but he was far from annoyed at Natalie. One of his favorite past times was having playful banters with Natalie. He loved having someone besides his teammates to joke around with and, not only that, but he could also flirt with her. Not that she noticed, of course, since he was sure she didn’t feel the same way about her.

“I actually have carried up cribs before, buddy, so I know how much sweat you can get from that,” she retorted, readjusting her position on the bed to keep her leg as comfortable as she could. Goose, ready to make a comeback at her, stopped in surprise at her statement.

“When did you carry up a crib, Nattie? For who’s baby,” he asked, walking to the bed to join her.
Natalie’s lower lip trembled and she looked at the Red Wings blanket covering her bed. She knew Goose had meant that as an innocent question, but the painful memories wouldn’t go anyway.

“My baby,” she whispered, tears started to fill her eyes. Niklas, seeing her distress (not that he wasn’t distressed at the memory), quickly came to her side and wrapped her into a tight hug against his chest.

“When she was 15, Gus, she was dating the captain of her high-school football team. She was in love with him and he was in love with her, or so she thought. Well, on prom night, she was changing into her dress when her boyfriend and two other guys came into her room. Her boyfriend pushed her back on the bed and knelt over her. Natalie- at first- wasn’t scared because it was something they had done before. Well, after her boyfriend got her ‘turned-on’ he moved away from her. One of the guys pinned one side of her down on the bed while her boyfriend pinned her other side down. The third guy there, he knelt her and started ripping her clothes off. Naturally, Natalie screamed and struggled, but the boys were stronger. So, she ended up being…..being raped and got pregnant. Three months into her pregnancy, she fell down the stairs and lost the baby.”

As Niklas finished his story and turned his attention to comforting Natalie, who had become a hysterical mess at the memory, Goose sat on the bed in shock. How could a boyfriend watch his girlfriend get raped? How could he hold her down while some guy violated her? How could he sit there and listen to her screams and cries and not do anything to comfort her or help her? Goose felt sick to his stomach. He hated the guy who had done this and he vowed, no matter how long it took, that his best friend- his girl- was going justice. No one would ever hurt her like that again.