Make You Feel My Love

They left Ava with Paul's mom and left for San Jose on a Tuesday. Their plan was to stay until Thursday and then fly to Pittsburgh before going back to Minnesota on Saturday. The flight was uneventful and Paul collected their baggage while Tessa waited in line at the rental car company.

Tessa was next when Paul joined her and she left him to stand in line at Starbucks. When she rejoined him, he had keys in hand and they walked outside to the parking structure to find their rental. They drove to their hotel and checked in, changing clothes before heading to the arena for Paul's introductory press conference to the San Jose media.

Tessa watched from the back of the room as Paul smiled and answered all of the questions thrown his way with ease. She beamed when he stood, shaking hands with the team's GM and donning the teal jersey he'd wear for the next four seasons. When he was done, and the room had cleared out, he waved at Tessa to join him.

Paul slid his arm around her shoulders and kissed her lightly. "How'd I do?"

"Perfect, as always. Teal looks pretty good on you too."

"Speaking of teal," the man Paul was speaking to said, "I'm Jason, media relations coordinator."

"It's so great to meet you," Tessa smiled as they shook hands.

"We wanted to get something to welcome all of you to the team," he continued, handing a gift bag to her.

Tessa reached inside and pulled out the small toddler sized jersey with their last name and Paul's number seven on the back. "This is amazing. Thank you, Jason."

"We weren't sure if you would want one for yourself but we'd be happy to have one made up for you if you'd like."

"I would love that actually. I wore one in Pittsburgh."

"We'll have it ready before you guys get back for training camp."

Paul shook hands with him and they headed out of the arena a short time later. Next on their agenda was meeting their realtor. She promised to show them several houses over the course of a few hours so Paul and Tessa could choose one.

Paul was following the gps through neighborhood streets and Tessa watched the houses zoom by out the window as he went. She gasped when he pulled into the driveway of the first house ten minutes later, parking beside their realtors car.

"Paulie...." She said softly, staring out the window at the Victorian house.

He turned in his seat towards her. "You really love it?"

"Yes. You don't?"

"I love what you love, Tessie. Which is why I bought it."

Her eyes widened with surprise. "You bought it?"

"I bought it. The day after you first saw it. I called our realtor, made an offer, and they took it. It's ours. Casa Martin."

She threw herself across the console and kissed him before jumping out of the car and running towards the front door with a squeal.

"We bought a house!"

Paul laughed at her enthusiasm as he stepped out of the vehicle. "If you hate it, we have to sell it before we can move."

"I won't hate it."

"How are you so sure about something you haven't seen in person?"

"I felt it in my heart when I saw the pictures; I just know this is it. This is the house for us."

"Well let's go inside and see it then." He took her hand and they walked up the stairs and through the front door. Tessa's breath caught and she tugged Paul to a stop. He looked back at her and her eyes glistened with tears.

He smiled warmly as he wiped her tears with the pad of his thumbs. "Welcome home, Tessie. I can't wait to raise Ava here with you, maybe add one or two more, and be old with you."

"I love you, Paul."

"Always," he murmured in reply before taking her in his arms and kissing her.



Their elation in San Jose turned bittersweet when they reached Pittsburgh a couple of days later. There was a storage pod waiting in the driveway, and the realtor who originally sold Paul the house met them thirty minutes after they arrived in town to go over paperwork.

They went through the house room by room, packing what needed to go to San Jose in the pod, stacking whatever needed to go to goodwill in the living room, and sending the rest to the trash. A few things would go back to Minnesota but in two days, they had their Pittsburgh life packed and headed back to Minnesota.

As James had once predicted, the house didn't last long on the market, going under contract after a week and sold within a month. They were able to close quickly on their new home and made plans to leave Minnesota for San Jose two weeks ahead of training camp.

They scheduled the pod full of their belongings to arrive the day after they would get in town in San Jose. They decided to leave Ava with Paul's parents and took two days to drive from Minnesota to California. When they pulled into the driveway of their new home, Tessa rushed out of the car and to the front door.

Paul followed at a leisurely pace and a Cheshire smile, much to Tessa's chagrin. He turned the key in the lock and before she could get inside, lifted Tessa up into his arms and carried her over the threshold. She laughed as he walked into their kitchen and set her on the counter.

"Do you remember the first time we kissed?" Paul asked.

She smiled fondly. "On the day we met, in your kitchen. That was a good day."

"That was a very good day," he agreed with a wolfish smile.

"We can make a lot of memories here, in this kitchen, in the living room, in the bedroom..." Tessa trailed off, putting her arms around his neck.

"We should get started on that."

She laughed. "We don't have a bed yet! Your old man bones can't handle the floor; you may never get up again."

Paul lifted her up and put her over his shoulder, slapping her ass. "I'll show you what this old man can still do."