Weapons of War

Once Shea was in his hotel room in Chicago he dropped his bags onto his bed, laid on his back across the mattress and fished his phone out of the pocket of his jeans. He called Riley, as promised and when he heard the line click to tell him she answered the phone he hurried to speak before she did, "One phone call, upon arrival to the hotel, as promised."

"Hi!" She exclaimed excitedly and when Shea chuckled at her she asked, "How was the flight?"

"It was a flight. Same old same old. What's got you so excited?" Shea asked her curiously as he lifted his arm to check the time on his watch.

"We had a good morning, and I've missed you so its nice to hear from you." Riley told him, and he smiled when he heard her say quietly, "Noah, calm down. Come talk to daddy."

"He's there?" Shea asked her.

As Riley pulled Noah onto the couch with his toys she told Shea, "Yeah he wants to talk to you."

As she held the phone to his ear Shea heard her tell him to talk to daddy and a smile broke across his face when Noah spoke into the phone, "Daddy?"

"Hey buddy what are you doing?" He asked him

"Playin." He told him and Shea could hear him clanking plastic toys together. Shea didn't have to say anything, no, he just laid on the bed, holding his phone to his ear, and listened to Noah babble away about nothing in particular while he played with his toys.

It was like that for half an hour until a knock on the door prompted Shea to get up off of the bed and go toward the door. He pulled it open and Pekka, standing in the hall, informed him, "You're gonna be late for dinner."

He glanced at his watch and realized that Pekka was right so he tilted the phone to his mouth again and spoke to Noah, "Bud put mom on?"

There was shuffling, followed by Noah saying 'mama', and then Riley was back on the phone, "Hey, he bored of you already?"

"Nah, I gotta get going. Dinner with the guys." Shea told her.

"Well, I'll let you get going then. Talk to you tomorrow?" She asked.

"Yeah. Night Ry." Shea told her.

"Goodnight Shea. I love you."

He smiled gently and as he followed Pekka out of the hotel room and down the hallway toward the elevator he said, "Love you too. Tell Noah too."

"I will." With that she hung up and Shea slid his phone into the pocket of his jeans as he and Pekka stepped into the elevator.

Once the doors closed and they started going down to the lobby Pekka asked, "Talking to Noah?"

"More like listening." Shea stated and when Pekka raised his eyebrow he explained, "He was playing with toys and babbling."

"And you did this for how long?" Pekka asked curiously.

Shrugging his shoulders Shea said, "Half an hour or so."

Pekka stared at him, blinking slowly, before he asked, "You sat and listened to a two year old babble for half an hour? No wonder parents don't have lives."

"You'll get it one day." Shea told him, and then when he realized what he said he asked Pekka curiously, "You guys planning on having any of those any time soon? Now I get to bug you about your personal life."

Pekka chuckled, but barely, and Shea immediately raised his eyebrow. Pekka shrugged his shoulders and told him, "If it happens it happens."

"What does that mean?" Shea asked as they stepped out of the elevator. Pekka stopped, not going any further and he glanced around the lobby to see if any of the guys were down there already. It was then that Shea realized there was more to this story.

Pekka sighed, pushed his hand through his hair and told Shea, "We've been…"

When he let off, unclear of how to continue, Shea decided to ask, "Talking about it?"

Pekka paused for a moment, tucked his hand through his hair and then told Shea, "Trying."

"You have? You never told me." Shea stated, watching as Pekka shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his feet.

He then told Shea, "For a year. I thought I'd tell everyone once she got pregnant, then that didn't happen so I thought once we found out what was taking so long then I'd say something."

"And? Do you… I mean is there… something wrong?" Shea asked both cautiously and curiously, not wanting to be pushy or rude.

"Yeah… seems… well… it's uh… me." Pekka admitted softly and Shea was sure this was the first time he had seen Pekka look so down. Shea didn't know what to say, what could you say? Pekka had always been such a fan of kids, he was probably more excited than both Shea and Riley when they told him she was pregnant. He was the guy who would sit on a plane or in a restaurant and entertain a baby in the seat in front of him for hours. Pekka sighed and spoke again, "I don't want this to come out the wrong way or anything but I was almost hoping that if there was an issue it would be with Brooke. Does that make me a terrible person?"

"No it doesn't. Not at all. I'm sure I'd feel the same." Shea told him, finally finding his words. He decided not to ask what was wrong, or push the subject any further. Instead of making the goal tender feel any worse Shea turned toward the restaurant and told him, "Come on, let's go eat."

- - -

Back in Nashville Riley had just gotten Noah down for bed and was filling glasses with wine while Quinn paid the delivery guy for their food and Kelly searched through movies for something to watch. She and Quinn met in front of the couch, Quinn walking around Riley and plopping onto the couch. While Riley took her own seat Quinn separated their meals, handing them to both Riley and Kelly.

"Kickass?" Kelly asked the group and when everyone nodded she put it on.

After they were done with their meals Riley curiously reminded Quinn, "So you said you had news."

She nodded and smiled, taking a quick sip of her wine before saying, "Well… James and I finally settled on someone."

"You did?" Riley asked her in excitement.

Kelly joked, "Took you long enough."

She rolled her eyes but the smile never left her face as she told them, "We actually just finished all the legal stuff earlier this week."

"I want to know everything." Riley told her, turning in her seat so that she could face her.

"Well the girl, she's seventeen and she's six months pregnant. She told us that she wants to give her baby a really good life and the only way she can do that is by giving it up. She says that we're the first real couple she's met with, apparently our bickering is endearing and was the deal sealer for her on picking us." Quinn explained, and when Riley opened her mouth she said, "Boyfriend isn't involved, and her parents don't have much to do with her."

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Kelly asked her curiously.

Quinn shrugged, "She doesn't know, and doesn't want to and honestly neither do James and I."

"You don't?" Kelly asked.

"Not particularly. I don't know... we've wanted this for so long that I don't care about what it is I just want a baby. Plus the surprise makes it so much more exciting." Quinn told them both with a wide smile.

Riley nodded her head in agreement, "Yeah, we never knew with Noah either. Shea wanted to but I don't know… there aren't many surprises in life anymore."

"Plus.. you know… honestly not knowing makes it easier if she backs out or something." Quinn told them.

Curiously Riley asked, "Do you really think she will?"

"I don't know, but we don't want to get our hopes up too high. Just in case. We waited this long, a few more months won't kill us. We'll be excited when we get to take a baby home." Quinn told her with a smile.

Without meaning to upset her friend Riley mused, "I can't imagine, now that I'm a mom and I've been pregnant, what it would be like to carry a baby for nine months, feel it move and be a part of that, and then give it away."

"I never really thought much of it until we got into this whole process, but I have a whole new respect for people who give their kids up for adoption. I think it's pretty wonderful that there are women out there who would give their own children to someone else to raise." Quinn stated, it was clearly something she and James had talked about before, Riley could tell by the way she said it.

With a warm smile Kelly told her, "And it's pretty amazing to see a couple raise someone else's child like it's their own. This kid is gonna be pretty damn lucky."

"I agree with that statement." Riley said.

Quinn rolled her eyes, "Now you guys are making me blush."

Riley laughed, "And if it's a girl she and Noah can get married one day!"

Kelly and Quinn both let out laughs at that, but it was Kelly who asked, "What is up with you wanting to marry your kid off before he's like three?"

With a shrug of her shoulders Riley said, "I just want to know I won't have to worry about him bringing some sleeze home."

"Like the kind of girls Shea dated before you?" Quinn joked.

Riley grinned and nodded her head, "Exactly."

"Ain't nobody got time for sleezebags." Kelly stated with a quick not of her head.

- - -

As everyone mulled over their menus at the table in the corner of the hotel restaurant James looked up from his and announced, "Dinners on me tonight."

Shea raised his eyebrow, Craig shrugged his shoulders and looked back at the menu, Roman and Colin looked up curiously at him and Pekka announced, "Alright, if you need me I'll be finding the expensive section on the menu."

They all chuckled and Shea curiously ask James, "What for? You never offer to buy dinner."

Colin smiled and told the table, "That's because he's cheap."

"How do you think I stay a millionaire?" James joked and they all laughed again. Once the laughter settled down he took a drink of his water and told them, "I have some news."

"You ripped that God awful pink suit." Shea stated, making the guys laugh.

James shook his head and Colin stated, "Good. That things awesome."

"You would think that." Craig stated with a smile that made Colin roll his eyes.

"So if you didn't get a wardrobe update why are you buying us dinner? It can't be because we're all hard working men you areppreciate and want to show that appreciation so…." Pekka stated, his eyes never lifting up from the menu all the while.

James chuckled, shook his head and said, "Well it seems as though I may finally be joining the parent club in a few months."

"Wait you guys picked someone finally?" Shea asked, and James narrowed his eyes. He chuckled, held his hands up in a surrender fashion and said, "Sorry."

"Yeah, we did."

Curiously Pekka asked, "What's she like?"

"She's young, seventeen, her names Anna, and she seems like she's a pretty good kid. We had a home visit the other day and got all the legal agreements out of the way, so now we just wait." James told them.

Shea grinned widely and said, "I'm happy for you guys."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, and then somehow the conversation got turned around to Shea when Roman asked him, "Speaking of babies. When are you and Riley gonna have another one?"

He jokingly sighed loud and dramatically, making the guys roll their eyes before he told him, "We've talked about it, but we're gonna wait a while yet. We don't really see the need to rush things."

Pekka shot him a look but he didn't say a thing, he didn't need to. He may have been the only person at the table who knew the truth but he wasn't going to spoil it and tell everyone when he had given Shea his word that he wouldn't. That was something Shea and Riley would do when they were comfortable with it.

Turning the conversation back to Roman after his skillful little ambush Shea asked him, "And you and Bianca?"

Everyone seemed to turn their heads to look at him, and his cheeks flushed as he shrugged and said, "Someday, maybe sooner rather than later. But right now we're enjoying just us and Spence."

Curiously Colin asked Pekka, "How does Brooke feel with Nolan graduating this year?"

"Old." He said with a grin, the guys laughed.

"I figured that much." Colin stated.

"She getting sad?" Shea asked curiously.

Pekka nodded, "Yeah. The other day at dinner I asked what schools he was applying to and none of them were in Tennessee, she cried."

"You should just tell her, at least he's staying in the country. Can't imagine it was easy on my parents when I left BC. Or you leaving Finland." Shea stated.

When Pekka nodded Colin said, "Look at us, being all grown up talking about kids and life."

"Bite your tongue." Craig stated, making the guys laugh. Colin, both currently single and childless, rolled his eyes.

"What about you? You and Kelly really aren't having any kids?" James asked Craig curiously. He personally couldn't understand it.

He shrugged, "Kel isn't really… she's never really cared about having kids, there's wiggle room though. Maybe it'll happen maybe it won't but honestly I don't care either way. It's her choice, and if she doesn't want any I'm fine with that."

"Quinn and I were actually talking about starting a family a long time ago. You know… before the trade and the surgery and everything." James offered up.

"Do you wish you had? Knowing what happened now?" Shea asked him curiously. It was something they didn't talk about often, no one seemed comfortable talking about Quinn and her health problems with James, even though he was never shy or uncomfortable talking about them himself.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Looking back now yeah, sure but we were in a bad place in our relationship then and it wouldn't have been a good thing. Besides, I meant it when I said I'd take doing it this way and having to adopt a kid and raising it together as opposed to having a kid and then god forbid something went wrong with that surgery and being stuck by myself."

He shot an apologetic look to Roman, who shook his head an announced, "Don't worry about it man. Really, it was a long time ago. Everything happens for a reason, and I'm okay with that now. I wouldn't have Bianca and Spencer if it hadn't happened. Seriously you guys can stop walking on egg shells around me, or I might have to start knocking your teeth in."

They all laughed and Shea gave him a look, and while everyone got absorbed in his own conversations he turned his head toward Roman and spoke quietly, "I'm glad to hear you say that."

He nodded his head, "Yeah, I mean do I miss her? Every day but not the same way I used to. I got the chance to love two really amazing women in my life, and at the risk of sounding like an ass, I really do think that this was the way things were supposed to work out from the beginning. Without Sloane I never would have known how to love Bianca the way I do, and with Sloane I never would have gotten the chance to."

"We're really proud of you, Riley and I." Shea told him, but his attention was torn away when his phone buzzed from the pocket of his jeans. He fished it out and opened it, finding a picture from Riley with the caption 'He just wouldn't go to bed without it.' the picture was of Noah, sitting on his bed with his superman pyjama pants on and a Preds jersey. Shea grinned, but his grin faltered when another picture came through to show that the jersey he was wearing was really Roman's and not Shea's with Riley adding 'Sorry and good luck tomorrow.'

Shea showed Roman the pictures, and he let out a laugh, "Well at least he's got good taste."