October 28

Having a powerful father definitely has its perks. Things like traveling to different countries, attending important events, and raising awareness for her favorite charities are awesome and wouldn't be as easy if she didn't have that Kingsley name. But there are definite down sides too. Like the fact that her secret boyfriend is playing a big rivalry game against her home team tonight and it's going be a huge deal to the world if she shows up at the arena. She draws attention everywhere she goes but tonight she just wants to support her boyfriend without all the hoopla that comes with a public appearance.

No one knows about her and Sidney, except Kristy because they figured they owed it to her when she was the reason they met in the first place. Not even his teammates know; even though they do know their captain is seeing someone and has been for a few months now, they don't know who exactly she is. Sidney has been waiting for the right time to tell them and when she gets a text message asking her to attend the Capitals game tonight, she figures he's finally found it. He insists that his teammates won't believe him if she doesn't show herself and, besides, he's really eager to have her meet them. While they mess around and make jokes at his expense pretty often, he knows it's all in good fun because they're some of his best friends in the world. He'll no doubt get some major shit for keeping this a secret for so long but he knows that they'll love her and that they'll be genuinely happy for him.

The trouble for Eva is that the Caps are her home team. She tweeted her support for them in the first round of playoffs this past spring and had immediately received an invitation from their team account to come to a game. That had been followed by a personal invitation from the team's owner via phone call and one from the team captain Alex Ovechkin via twitter that had included lots of end parentheses. She'd accepted of course, attending Game 7 of Round 1 where the Caps won the series over the Islanders, and the team owner himself escorted her down to the locker room afterwards to introduce her to every single one of the players. There had been several of the team's media people there to document the whole thing which would have been totally awkward if she weren't already used to it happening to her all the time. She was all over the team's social media accounts for the next few days until Round 2 started and Ovechkin had even taken a selfie with her for his own instagram account.

So yeah, her Caps love is well documented and now Sidney's asking her to go back into that building where she'd been so welcomed and cheer for the team playing against them. It's not that she doesn't want to support him because obviously he's her boyfriend and she does. She just isn't sure how she's going to be able to. She can't exactly be incognito, even up in the VIP boxes because she won't be able to even get one without someone knowing she's coming, and if they know she's coming, she's sure they'll be expecting her to be cheering for the Caps, most likely wearing the jersey the team gave her as a gift.

She sighs heavily and makes the call anyway, dialing the number they gave her last time to use whenever she wants to see a game, a direct line to the person in charge. Since it's the beginning of the season still, they have an empty box available, and the man apologizes that it's their smallest one but she insists that's perfect. It's only going to be her and a couple of her agents anyway and a bigger box would only attract more unwanted attention. She tells him that she wants this time to be more low key, that she really doesn't want any kind of publicity and that she just wants to simply watch a hockey game. He assures her that that won't be a problem and that she won't be disturbed and that he'll let the media people know she's off limits tonight and she thanks him profusely before hanging up to call Sidney.

"Lucky you, caught me just in time," he says in lieu of a greeting and she rolls her eyes, practically able to hear the grin in his voice.

"Lucky you, gonna have your girlfriend at the game tonight."

The line is silent for a beat before his voice comes through the speaker, sounding hesitant. "Really? You're coming?"

"Really really," she laughs. "Just have to be as stealthy as possible, but I'm there, babe."

"Good," he says, letting out a heavy sigh of relief. "I can't wait to see you."

"An entire month is too much time. Let's not do that again."

"Agreed." There's some sort of commotion from Sidney's end of the line and Eva can hear him cursing while someone else laughs hysterically in the background. "Fuck off, Flower. I'll be there in a minute," he grumbles at his friend, and then to her he says, "I guess I should get going. The guys won't start soccer without me, which is stupid because they usually don't have a problem not waiting for me."

Eva guesses that the interrupter is still standing there and that that emphasis was for their benefit and not hers. There's some speaking back and forth between the two of them and Eva waits for a break in their side conversation to say, "It's fine, Sid, go. I don't want to interrupt your routine, I just wanted to let you know I'm coming."

"You may or may not meet the guys tonight. I might have changed my mind now that they're being assholes."

There's a squawk of protest on Sid's end of the line in response to his statement and Eva just laughs. "Okay. Either way I'll see you after the game. Good luck, babe."

"Thanks. See you soon."

She leaves him to his pre-game soccer warm up and goes to get ready, taking her time with a hot bath before she gets out to dry her hair and put on her makeup. She quickly paints her nails a dark red color and once they've had time to dry, she gets dressed in her favorite black jeans and a thin tan sweater before pulling her long dark waves up into a high ponytail. It's nearing six by the time she's all finished and ready to go so she makes the call to her agents, one of whom lives with his family in a house nearby and three others who began living in the apartment next door when she moved into the building after graduation a few months ago. Her three neighbors meet her at the door and in less than ten minutes, the fourth is pulling up to the front of the building in a huge black SUV.

Out of everything that comes along with being the daughter of the President of the United States, having Secret Service around 24/7 is probably the thing that took the most getting used to. Eva has had agents following her everywhere ever since her dad began his campaign for the 2008 election when she was eighteen years old so now they're like second nature to her but it wasn't always like that. She'd gone to New Jersey for her freshman year at Princeton with an SUV full of agents who moved into the same dorm and disguised themselves as students. She didn't get to have the classic college experience with a small group of men always following and watching her, but looking back, she supposes that's probably a good thing because it allowed her to focus more on her studies and by the end of her six years there, she'd earned her BA in Anthropology and her Master in Public Affairs with a nearly perfect GPA.

The agents who were with her during her college years have since moved on to Phase Three of their careers and other agents have moved up to the vacated spots in Phase Two. Her current people have only been with her for about six months now but because she spends so much time with them, she feels like they've gotten to know each other very well. The lead agent, Collins, is her favorite. He's older than the others, almost fatherly, even though he's only in his early 40s, with kind eyes and streaks of gray in his dark hair. Hart, Fox, and Greenley are all at least a decade younger than he is and feel more like her older siblings than they do federal agents. Greenley is the first female agent to work protective detail with Eva and she thinks the young blonde woman thinks she has something to prove because she's always so severe, never cracking jokes and laughing with her like the others do. Eva looks up to her though because she knows how hard it was for her to get to where she is when the field is so thoroughly dominated by men and always has been. So she respects Greenley's preference of maintaining a a relationship that is strictly professional but she tries to still keep her included in conversations and jokes and whatever else.

Hart is up front in the passenger seat with Collins driving and Fox is in the very back with Greenley and her in the middle row as they merge into the busy evening traffic. The drive to Verizon Center is a relatively short distance from the apartment but with the number of vehicles on the roads, it takes about twenty-five minutes to get there. They're routed away from general admission and sent around the arena to a secure back entrance where they're met with the man she spoke to on the phone about arranging this. Collins drops them off and Hart goes up ahead to do the normal routine of making sure things are safe and secure before she gets there so she's left with Fox and Greenley who walk behind and beside her as the Caps representative leads the way to the elevator that will take them directly up to the executive suites. He and Eva chat casually as they go, her agents staying silent around her and once they make it up to the suite, he opens the door and lets them inside before leaving them alone to return to his other duties.

There's a welcome note on the small table inside, all kinds of snacks covering the granite counter against the wall, and a big stainless steel fridge stocked full of various beverages. Eva feels a little bit guilty as she grabs a coke and fills one of the little red boxes with some popcorn before taking a seat on the back row of plush leather theater seats. Everyone else gets themselves a little snack before sitting down too, Hart to her left, Greenley to her right, and Fox stays where he is, instead perching on one of the bar stools at the ledge behind her. Things get underway only a few minutes after they sit down and when it's time for the anthem, they all stand up and place their hands over their hearts like the patriots they are.

Once the puck drops, she's immediately keyed in, and this is the first time she's seen Sidney play in person so she keeps her eyes on him for most of the first period. There are three Washington penalties but no goals so it seems to go by pretty quickly and during the first intermission, she and the others meander back over to all the food. There's so many choices, from hot dogs and buffalo wings to chicken flatbreads and chips and guacamole, not to mention the vast assortment of cookies and brownies on the cafe table in the middle of the room. She ends up getting a little bit of everything and then after, she's beyond miserable at having eaten so much.

The second period goes by in much the same fashion, a few penalties, this time all but one from Pittsburgh, and once again no goals. It's almost more stressful to watch with no one scoring because the whole crowd just seems to be anxious waiting for whomever to get the first one. That goal comes only a minute and a half into the third period, thanks to a lucky bounce off a skate and suddenly the Caps are up on the board. The sirens begin to blare in the arena, the crowd goes wild, and she's excited for about three seconds until she looks back down on the ice and, oh yeah, the boys in white are the ones she's here to support tonight. Luckily, the Penguins get themselves a tie game less than thirty seconds later at the hands of Beau Bennett and they're able to build off that momentum, scoring again two minutes later. They get a penalty a few minutes after that and Eva nervously bounces her leg for the entire penalty kill, hoping that they're able to stop Washington's attack with the man advantage and hold onto their lead. Not only do they do that, but Bonino also gets an empty net goal during the final minutes of the game, padding the score and solidifying the win.

She's a little sad for her Caps but simultaneously very happy for Sidney and his teammates and once the game is over, she's back to focusing fully on the fact that she's about to get to see him again for the first time in a month. The rest of the summer had been amazing and at the beginning of September, she'd even spent some time with him up at his place in Cole Harbour. But then it was back to the real world where she had a job in Washington she had to get back to and he had to head to Pittsburgh to begin his pre-season and once they got back to their regular lives, the month just flew by. Texting and FaceTime just aren't the same as seeing each other in person but with both their jobs, they know that that's just the way it has to be most of the time. Obviously, it's exciting when they get to physically be in the same room.

She and the others stay put in the suite until most of the crowd has dissipated, which works out because Sidney texted her to tell her that he had to do media and then shower anyway. There's a knock on the door as Fox grabs one last cookie from the tray and he startles, dropping it onto the floor while Eva laughs at him and Greenley walks over to see who it is. A woman she doesn't know is standing on the other side and she smiles politely, introducing herself as Jen and telling her that she's there to escort them down to the visitors' locker room per Sidney's request, so they all follow her out of the suite and back toward the elevator. When they make it down there, Eva can hear the team laughing and hollering all the way down the hall and she smiles to herself as Jen pauses outside the door.

"Wait right here and I'll let Sid know I've got you. He wants to see your first before you go in there with those yahoos," she jokes and then heads into the room, yelling his name as she goes. Eva can hear her right on the other side of the door, telling him that she "got what he requested" and then immediately he's pushing his way out of the room, only half dressed in his game day suit, picking her up in a tight hug and squeezing her tightly to him as he mumbles how much he's missed her. She throws her arms around his neck and plants a kiss right on his lips before he sets her back on her feet and grabs her hand.

"Come on, there's some people I want you to meet," he says, tugging her over toward the door and the three agents are right on their heels. He pulls her just inside, into a tiny, empty sort-of room to the side of the actual locker room where they're still hidden and he turns back to her, dropping her hand to hold both sides of her face. "You ready?"

"I think so."

"You are," he chuckles, taking a moment to kiss her one more time before he lets her go completely. "Wait here." Eva nods and leans back against the wall as he walks into the room, feeling a little dizzy after that kiss. Hart and Fox are giving her sly grins but Greenley is as stone faced as ever, fiddling with a strand of blonde hair that's come loose from her low bun, and they all listen in as Sid gains the attention of his teammates, everyone going quiet when he starts his speech. "Alright, boys. I think it's been a pretty badly kept secret in the room that I've been, uh, seeing someone the past few months."

There's some sporadic applause and a couple of cheers from his audience and Eva can imagine him rolling his eyes, especially when one of his teammates, she thinks Marc Andre Fleury because it sounds like the same Quebecois accent she heard in the background earlier today, says, "Seriously, you've got the worst poker face ever."

"Fuck off," Sidney retorts, but there's no fire behind it. "That's not my point."

"What is point?" someone else asks dryly and Eva knows that voice and that thick Russian accent belong to Geno Malkin because she's heard him in the background of phone calls enough, always chirping Sidney about who he's talking to.

"If you shut up for a minute, then maybe I could tell you." The room stays quiet this time, humoring him, and Sid pauses for a beat before continuing with a little chuckle. "Okay, so. As I was saying, I've been seeing this girl for a few months now, since the 4th of July to be exact. I've been waiting for the right time to introduce you guys but it's been kinda hard to find time since she lives here in DC. But I got her to come to the game tonight, and trust me, you wouldn't believe what a fucking ordeal it is to get her out somewhere." Eva knows what he means of course but she hopes his teammates don't think she's some kind of high maintenance drama queen like that particular choice of words makes it sound. "But she's here, and she's waiting to meet you guys now."

There's a moment of dead silence that makes her heart sink a little but then all at once, the guys are hounding him with things like "Why the fuck didn't you tell us she's be here?" and "What the hell are you waiting for? Get her in here!"

While they're all busy shouting over each other at him, he walks back over to the tiny sort-of room and he's grinning when he appears in the doorway, stretching out a hand for her to take and pulling her forward with him, back into the main area. The guys go quiet all at once and simply stare, some of them with wide eyes and open mouths. Luckily, Eva is good at awkward situations because if she weren't, these boys would surely have her shuffling nervously from foot to foot or looking down at the floor. Instead, she just looks over at Sidney and he squeezes her hand reassuringly. "Guys, this is Eva, my girlfriend."

Pascal Dupuis is the only one in the room to make a move, getting up from where he's sitting in Sidney's stall and going straight in for a hug. The others just watch, kind of in disbelief that this is happening and that Dupuis is greeting her like an old friend, making casual conversation to put her more at ease. He's good at that really. Eva's smiling and laughing with him before the rest of the guys can even really wrap their head around this situation and Beau Bennett, God bless him, just looks at Sidney in wonder from where he's standing a few feet away at his own stall. "Sid....you know who that is, right?" he asks in disbelief and Sidney rolls his eyes at his teammate's question while Eva giggles quietly next to him.

"We get it, you're American," Dupuis says, laughing heartily as he throws his arm around Beau's shoulders. "As much as it may surprise you, Sunshine, people from other countries do in fact know who the President of the United States's daughter is. Especially if those people actually live in the United States nine months out of the year."

Beau instantly goes pink because he's not stupid, he knows they know who she is; the words honestly just slipped out before he could think of a better way to articulate his surprise at who exactly his captain is dating.

"Be nice to him," Eva chides, still grinning.

Sidney can't help smiling himself when he looks over and sees the one on her face. "Babe, you don't have to defend him."

"Course I do! We Americans have to stick together, right?"

"Hell yeah!" Ian Cole cheers, jumping up from his stall and walking toward them and he pulls every other American in the room along with him as he makes his way over. Sidney just shakes his head at his teammates as Cole, Cullen, Kessel, Scuderi, Bonino, Dumoulin, Zatkoff, and Lovejoy come to a stop next to Beau and the rest of the team looks on, amused, while Eva is grinning bigger than ever. She hadn't even realized, but it looks like there are more Americans on this team than any other nationality, even Canadian.

"My people," she tells Sidney proudly before moving to stand in the middle of them and once she does, they surround her, Beau and Ian initiating a big all-American group hug.

"I like her, Sid," Beau decides, and then to Eva, he says, "I voted for your dad, you know. Well, not the first time he ran 'cause I wasn't old enough, but the second time, I did."

Eva laughs, patting his shoulder. "Thanks. We appreciate that."

"Get outta here, all of you," Sidney grumbles, pulling her away from them and back into his side so that he can settle his arm around her shoulders. "Now we're going to have dinner so say your goodbyes."

"We are?" Eva asks hesitantly.

"Morning skate is optional tomorrow," he shrugs, looking down at her. "I talked to Coach already. I'll stay here with you tonight and fly home tomorrow in plenty of time for the game."

She grins widely and stands on her tip toes to press a kiss to his cheek. "Better get dressed then," she tells him, twisting out of his hold and it's then that he remembers he'd barely even gotten his pants on before Jen came in to tell him she'd retrieved Eva and he'd raced out, pulling his light blue dress shirt on as he went, not even bothering with buttoning it up. While he finishes dressing and getting ready to leave, Eva meanders back over to her new-found American crew and he can hear Dumoulin asking about the three random people by the entrance, laughs at the look on Beau and Dumo's faces when she says they're her agents.

"Like Secret Service?" Beau says in awe. But then, "I thought they dressed in suits and sunglasses and had the little earpieces and-"

"It's not the fucking Men In Black," Kris Letang laughs from where he's sitting in his stall tying his shoes.

Eva pats Beau's shoulder sympathetically while he shoots a glare at Letang. "Sometimes they do dress like that but it just depends on where we're going. They usually dress to blend in when we're doing everyday stuff or coming to stuff like this," she tells him, glancing over at her three agents who are of course listening to the conversation and trying not to laugh themselves, except Greenley because she hardly ever laughs. All three of them are dressed casually but Beau was right about one thing so she nudges his arm with her elbow and smiles. "They do always have the earpieces though."

"Ha, fuck you, Tanger!" Beau says, like the fact that he was right about the earpieces changes everything but Letang just shakes his head at the younger man and comes over to meet Eva.

Some of the other guys gradually go back to getting dressed to get back on the plane while others take their place in the circle around her to come and meet her too. She's in the middle of shaking hands with Chris Kunitz when a voice behind her says, "Nice to see you again," and when they all turn to look, Eva sees Eric Fehr standing there in his nice navy suit and a little smile on his face. It takes a moment for her to realize why he's got that teasing look because, oh yeah, she met him last season when she came to that playoff game and he was still playing for the Caps.

She laughs a little. "It's good to see you again too."

"Fehrsie, you met before?" Patric Hornqvist asks from beside her.

"Mhmm," he says, grinning wider and she rolls her eyes playfully at him before confessing. "I, um....might be a Caps fan."

There's a collective groan throughout the room and she's blushing a little now but Fehr is just standing there with a smile on his face because he's totally enjoying embarrassing her. "Sid, did you know this?" Cole asks in mock indignation and everyone glances over at Sidney, who's tying his tie even though there's no point because he's just going back to Eva's apartment from here.

He smirks a little. "Yeah, she fessed up pretty quick after we met. But in spite of that she's still here for us tonight so I think that's more important."

"True," Cole agrees, then nudges her side with a grin. "That's step one in the process. We'll get you fully converted eventually."

"Well, sleeping with the captain certainly helps."

A chorus of shouts and wolf whistles erupts and Eva giggles when she sees that Sidney's starting to blush. He rolls his eyes at his teammates' immaturity and pulls his suit jacket on, leaving his duffel bag in his stall for the equipment guys and just double checking that he has his wallet and phone in his pockets. "Alright, boys. Time to say your goodbyes. For real this time." And they do, some of them shaking her hand, some just shouting at her from across the room, but Beau and Dumoulin actually hug her and Sidney can tell that the younger men seem to have a little crush on her, which he is definitely going to chirp them about later.

"Bye, boys," she calls over her shoulder as Sidney gently tugs her along toward the door. "It was really nice meeting you all."

He pauses once they're back in the sort-of room off the locker room, glancing over at the three agents who are following them out. "Guys, can we have just a minute?" Hart nods and the three of them step out into the hallway, leaving Eva and Sidney alone for the moment. His teammates are still loudly laughing and talking but neither of them even really hear them because they're too busy looking at each other and grinning like idiots. Finally, he pulls her into his body, taking her face between his hands and kissing her like he's wanted to for the past month, like he only can when they're not being watched by her agents. She doesn't pull away until her lungs feel like they're on fire from the lack of oxygen and when she does, he just rests his forehead against hers, smiling again.

"I really fucking missed you."