The Final Goal

"Patric, I screwed up."

She barely made it to Patric's room before the words escaped her lips. He looked up from his position on the bed with a look of confusion plastered on his face, probably wondering why she was in his room at 7 AM.

Patric knew Skylar well enough to know that even on weekdays, she never wakes up earlier than 9:00. Most of the time she sleeps well past 9:00, usually getting up around 10:30. Skylar knew it was a bad habit and Patric had pushed her to give it up, but saying she would is a lot easier than doing it. Sometimes she felt the bed called to her, convincing her to stay in bed just another minute, however, upon doing so, she would promptly fall back asleep.

"What are you doing? What's wrong?" he asked, and Skylar saw he was still struggling to comprehend why she was even there. She looked at his worried features and took a deep breath, knowing this would take some time. "It all started yesterday," she said, as the details from last night clouded her mind and she was forced to relive what she had done.

*YESTERDAY*

The air seemed wet, a lot like most of the days ahead now that spring was almost here. Technically, it wouldn't officially be spring for another few weeks, but the weather obviously didn't know that judging by the amount of rain predicted thus far. The rain had not yet hit Pittsburgh, almost like it was waiting for the right moment to spring itself upon the city. Patric was out with Hagelin, so Skylar was watching some SVU reruns on TV.

For the past few days, a sort of lonely feeling had crept its why into Skylar. The schedule for the Penguins had been fairly busy the past week and she knew it would only get worse after she saw their crazy game filled March schedule. For road games, she would sit at home and watch the teams battle it out on TV, usually with a cup of hot chocolate in her hands. Skylar knew that she had nothing to complain about, but who said she had to do nothing all day? Why would she even want to? She wanted to take back a part of her life and do something for herself. She wanted to be true to herself, while still being there for her brother and Fleury. Heck, they were as much a part of her life as she was to herself!

Because of this feeling, on March 6, Skylar went into town and applied for a job at a small arts and crafts store. Pittsburgh Arts & Crafts is surprisingly close to Patric's house, so Skylar would be able to walk there whenever she needed to. It was the most convenient option, so she hoped she would meet their criteria. Walking into the store, she saw they were having on-the-spot interviews. Thank god she decided to wear a slightly more formal outfit just in case this sort of thing happened.

The interview went surprisingly well. The manager, a petite red headed woman named Alice who Skylar guessed was in her late twenties, had told her she would call Skylar with their decision later on in the week. Still, it came as quite a shock when Skylar's phone rang. Scared half to death, she slipped off the couch and fell hard on her stomach. Groaning internally at the fall that could be classified as everything but graceful, Skylar reached for the phone and answered it, "Hello?".

"Hi! This is Alice from Pittsburgh Arts & Crafts, is Skylar there?"

Vaguely realizing who was on the phone, Skylar sat up straighter, more alert. Taking a deep, calming breath, she replied, "Yes this is she".

"Oh good! I am happy to inform you that you got the job! I'm not sure when we want you to start yet, but I was thinking sooner rather than later. Of course you'll have to go through the first week or so shadowing a coworker, but I'm sure you'll do fine. I can get in touch with you over the weekend about the details but let's plan for maybe the middle of next week? How does that sound?"

"That sounds great, Alice! Thank you so much!"

Skylar ended the call and leaned back against the couch. It was hard for her to believe that she had managed to secure a real job. Grant it she wouldn't be making millions each year, but she would be around artists that could bring her useful inspiration. Plus, they give a really good discount that would definitely come in handy.

She quickly texted Patric and Fleury, telling them both that she got the job, and then she went back to watching the SVU reruns. After two hours passed, Skylar was getting restless. Fleury still hadn't replied from before, which she expected since he went out for the day with Matt Murray and Jeff Zatkoff. He had said something about "goalie bonding" before he left, so she assumed he was trying to make them feel comfortable, especially with Murray getting called up from Wilkes-Barre. Patric was still out with Hagelin, which was pretty surprising to Skylar, but they were probably working out. Hagelin did have nice calves and he skates pretty fast, so it would make sense that he conditions hard.

Needing any kind of social interaction, Skylar decided to go out to a club with some of the other guys. She first texted the new guy, Justin Schultz, knowing he would probably do just about anything to learn more about the city and fit in with his new team. She was fortunate to have his number. Patric, of course, made her meet the new guy as he did for every other new player the Penguins acquired. Patric also insisted she have the numbers of the majority of his teammates in case she got lost, stranded, or kidnapped. Honestly, how paranoid can one man be?

Finally, she invited Brian Dumoulin and Tommy Kuhnhackl. She was only planning on inviting Brian, but Tommy was with Brian and they both weren't doing anything remotely productive and wanted to tag along. Carless, Skylar hitched a ride with Brian and Tommy. They met up with Justin at a club in downtown Pittsburgh; it was a different club than the one Skylar was at with Downie, which was an automatic relief. She hoped she learned enough from the horrible experience with him to never do anything like it again.

Once inside, Skylar spotted Justin at the bar, sitting alone. Walking up to him, Skylar took the seat next to him. "I'll have what he's having," she told the bartender, gesturing to Justin's alcoholic drink. Brian looked at her and raised his eyebrows. "You think you can handle what he's drinking?" he asked, doubting her. She shrugged. "Even if I can't, why not try?" she asked, taking the drink from the bartender. "Skylar your brother will kill us if he knows we let you drink that," Tommy said, looking slightly ill at the thought of Patric's anger directed at him, or maybe it was the lights that were casting shadows on his face, but it was really hard for Skylar to tell one way or the other. Who knows, maybe it was both?

Ignoring their protesting, Skylar drank the liquid, feeling the familiar buzz of alcohol move through her body. Feeling energized, she grabbed Justin's drink, gulped the rest of it, and ignoring his protests, pulled him into the mob of sweaty people dancing, leaving Brian and Tommy standing at the bar alone. "What're we doing?" Justin asked, obviously wondering why he just got dragged across the room. "We're dancing," Skylar said. Letting the music sink in, she moved her body in accordance with the song. "C'mon. Dance with me," she said, looking at Justin with her big, puppy dog eyes. He rolled his eyes, but finally relented, pushing his body flush against her back. Skylar's body instantly warmed at the touch and she ground her hips into his in rhythm to the song.

After a few minutes, Skylar wondered if she was doing anything wrong. What if she was? What would Fleury say? She was about to pull away, when Justin leaned his head down and pressed his lips against the soft skin on her neck. In an instant, all thoughts fled her brain and she focused on living in the moment. That is why she came here anyway, right?

The song suddenly came to an end, bringing Justin and Skylar to a halt. She turned around and looked up at him, not really knowing what to say, but feeling like she should say something. Maybe something along the lines of how nice his lips had felt, but that would insinuate that she wanted to do it again. Then again, given the opportunity she probably would. He opened his mouth to say something, but Tommy, who suddenly appeared next to them, beat him to it.

"Hey man, how about I cut in? Thanks. Dumo is over there," he said, motioning in the direction he came from. Justin just nodded and walked away without saying anything, and Skylar guessed he didn't know what to say either. Words can be pretty confusing at times.

"So, did you need me for something?" Skylar asked, unsure as to why Tommy came over in the first place. "Just wanted to dance," he said, and right on cue another song started. He grabbed her hips and pulled her against his body, slowly grinding her body against his. Skylar suddenly felt his lips on her neck and she closed her eyes and sighed, moving her head to give him better access. He gently nibbled and licked a spot on her neck and she struggled, not wanting him to know what he was doing her, however, she didn't last long because not a minute later he did it again, causing her to softly say his name. "You like that?" he asked, stopping their movements altogether. "Hey! Why'd you stop dancing?" she asked, opening her eyes and glaring at him. "The music stopped," he said, giving her an amused, smug look. Skylar looked around sheepishly, "Oh". She was too stubborn to even admit to herself that she had been too caught up in the moment to notice anything around her.

Seeing the dazed look on her face, Tommy smiled. "C'mon we can go to my house," he said, pulling her out of the club and to the car. She willingly obliged, not pausing to think about Dumo and Justin, or the fact they just ditched two of their friends at the club. Skylar's body was fizzing from the alcohol, she could feel it moving through her veins, persuading her to do something, even if it was illogical. At this point in the night, she was pretty sure she wouldn't know if something was illogical if it hit her in the face. Even so, what followed should never have happened.

Skylar can vaguely remember what happened the rest of the night. She remembers stumbling into Tommy's house, following him upstairs with as much grace as she could muster. He gently pushed her onto his bed and got on top of her in record timing. A stretch of time seemed to be missing from then on, but she woke up early the next morning, next to a man sleeping soundly beside her. She had instantly gasped seeing Tommy's sweet, sleeping face. Her head pounded against the raging headache that was forming and she struggled to get up. The stench of alcohol was so strong in his bedroom that she almost gagged, but managed to make it out alright. She scrambled down the stairs and ran towards the front door.

"Good morning"

She heard Dumoulin's voice and froze, slowly turning around to meet his gaze. "Where are your clothes?" he asked, and she looked down to see that she had conveniently left her shirt and pants somewhere in Tommy's room. At least she didn't leave the house like that; it would've been pretty hard to explain. "I- I'll be right back," she said, ignoring his confused stare and turning around to run back upstairs.

Fully clothed, she returned back downstairs. She paused by the door, unsure of what she should say. What is someone in her position supposed to say? Skylar met Brian's warm brown eyes and figured she had to trust him at least a little. "Don't tell anyone, okay? I'll talk to you later, but I have to go now," she said, hoping he would understand enough to let her go without any questions. "Yeah, go. But you owe me an explanation, Skylar," he said, shoving her out the door.

She looked at Patric after she finished telling him everything and searched his face, waiting for a reaction. "What should I do?" Skylar asked, desperately needing his advice. "You need to tell Fleury," he said calmly, his cold tone reflecting the icy color of his eyes. Nothing she did was ever right. What is wrong with her? As she wondered this, thunder sounded and lightning stuck outside the window. The rain fell heavily on the unsuspecting city and as the sky released the downpour, so did she. All of the pent up emotions she was struggling to hold back, came crashing down around her as her vision grew cloudy and tears streamed down her face. The rain outside fell at the same rate of her own tears and the raging storm of emotions threatened to overpower her. She felt like she was drowning in an ocean, struggling to breathe as the deadly water rushed into her lungs. Skylar looked up at her brother. "What if he doesn't forgive me?" she asked, not knowing if she would like his response. He paused for a long time, thinking for a while before replying.

"If I was him? I wouldn't."