Home.

"Spill the beans, Doc." Mollie's head turned at the request, her green eyes locking in on Catherine Letang, the beautiful blonde grinning ear to ear. As she slid into the plastic arena chair beside Mollie, Catherine pointed out to the ice. "That husband of mine won't say anything, Sidney is no help either, so you're going to tell me."

"Tell you what, Cath?" Mollie asked knowing damn well what she wanted.

The blonde tilted her head, her bright blue eyes narrowing in. "Are you guys back together? I saw the pictures, the whole city saw them actually. What's going on?"

Mollie took a glance down at the ice finding #87 with ease, she smiled to herself. Since that night at the Gala over a month ago things between the two of them had been better than ever.

They were adults now, their careers were settled, it was like the break they had taken fixed things without even knowing there had been faults to begin with.

When Mollie and Sidney had broken up back in 2013 things were at a high stress level for the both of them. She was trying to graduate Medical School, study for her boards, get into a top tier residency program, and become a doctor for God's sake.

Stress was in every fiber of her being.

On the other hand Sidney was trying to make it look like his 2009 Stanley Cup championship wasn't a fluke. He and the Penguins had struggled every season since, the Lockout had felt like the fate of the NHL was on his shoulders, and injuries were piling up and wreaking havoc on his young body.

On the outside everything appeared to be perfect.

But on the inside the two twenty-something's were struggling to stay afloat.

So that fight, it was the one piece that sent the whole tower tumbling down.

Now, things were settled.

There were no more tests, there was no more school. Mollie was a doctor, she had her very own patients, her own office, and everything was the way she had always dreamed it to be.

On Sidney's end he was finally healthy, his team was on track to make the playoffs, and he felt good about his life for the first time since Mollie had run out of it.

They were back to what they considered normal.

So in short, yes they were back together.

But there was so much more to it.

The deep talks, digging through their feelings, literal boxes of feelings. Explaining the forgiveness that had taken place throughout the years, the subtle changes like hair colors and added spontaneity, and just talking about their future together in general.

The had a future together, that was for damn sure.

Two years they had spent apart was as long as Mollie ever wanted to go without having Sidney Crosby in her life, and he whole heartedly agreed.

They needed each other.

But these things, they were just between the two of them.

Mollie, who was almost as private with her life as Sidney, felt they didn't need to be shared with every single person they knew. So instead of giving Catherine all of the inside scoop she shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, we are."

"That's it? That's all I get?" Catherine questioned appalled at Mollie's short answer.
The doctor gnawed at her lip, at one point in time Catherine and Veronique had been her best friends, so maybe she didn't have to keep everything from them. "We're together behind closed doors, I guess. You know how he is, things are good though. I love him, I always will."

That answer was more acceptable to the French woman, "Now that's what I wanted to hear."

"I never stopped loving him, and he knew that. We needed the break, it might not have felt like it at the time but it was good for us. We had to grow up."

Mollie felt the invisible weight coming off her shoulders as she admitted things she had never told anyone else. When her tears had dried in Baltimore and Sidney was clearly letting her go she became a stronger woman. She found herself when wasn't busy being the person everyone else wanted her to be.

"Wow, that was very adult. And very not where I thought you were going to go, but I'm so proud of you babe. Really, that’s great, we're all so glad that you're back."

Mollie nodded content with her admission. "Me too."

This was where she was meant to be in life, all roads were going to lead her back to Pittsburgh, and if it took a few detours for her to get there then so be it.

Sidney was her past, present, and her future.

An hour later Mollie sat in the passenger's seat of Sidney's Range Rover waiting on him to come out of the locker room. As the playoffs approached and the race for first in the division was getting tighter Sidney was spending more and more time talking to media.

Which he loathed.

But that was the price the Captain paid, and he sure did love having the C on his chest.

He deserved it, he really did. The day he was named Captain was a whirlwind, he wasn't even 20 years old yet and Mollie didn't even believe him when he called to tell her the news.

She brushed him off actually, thought he was trying to throw off her game to be honest.

"Shut up, Sid." She told him trying to focus on her walk to the next tee. Of course she was on the golf course when he had called with such life-changing news.

"I'm serious, Mollie. They want to put a freaking C on my jersey!!" With that Mollie thought she was going to pass out right there on the 11th hole.

He was 19 and the newest Captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the youngest in the NHL.

From that moment on both of their lives changed.

Two years later he was a Stanley Cup champion and Mollie was trying her hardest not to fall in love with him. She failed miserably, she couldn’t shake that boy from Cole Harbour no matter how hard she tried.

Mollie leaned her head against the cold window her eyes drifting closed as she waited smiling to herself at the fond memories.

She must have drifted off as the sound of the driver's side door slamming shut pulled her out of a foggy slumber. Sidney offered her an apologetic smile as her green eyes fluttered open, "Sorry babe, that took forever."

"It's okay, I had a nice nap." She reached for his hand as he backed out of the space, lacing their fingers together while Sid drove them off into the night.

Mollie waited for him to say something else, to start a conversation with her but there was nothing but silence from he and the radio. So she took it upon herself unsure why he was being so quiet after such a big win, "Great game, that goal in the third was incredible."

"Yeah, solid two points."

"Mhm," Mollie agreed, "Are you hungry?"

"No." She noticed now that his grip on the steering wheel was so tight that Sid's knuckles were white as snow.

"Sid, honey did something happen tonight?" She watched his shoulders tense up as if she'd struck a nerve.

At a red light Sidney turned to look at Mollie, "People keep asking about you, us, mainly you. Those damn pictures, I've been pushing it off, but it's really starting to piss me off."

Mollie chuckled to herself nodding her head slowly, tonight was the night they were finally going to hash this all out apparently. "Cath finally asked me too. I think it's time we just talk."

"Talk?"

"Talk, spill the beans, let the cat out of the bag. We are together right?" Mollie rambled.

Sidney's brows furrowed in the middle, "Yes? Yeah, we never talked about it but I just assumed?"

"Me too, God we suck at this." Mollie joked as Sidney pulled into his neighborhood. As he drove through the gate to his estate Sidney hummed and for the first time since he had climbed into the SUV he smiled, "Let's do it, let's tell people."

Mollie smiled contently to herself, that was a lot easier than she had expected.

Inside the garage Mollie hopped down from the SUV following Sid inside the house, he tugged his tie off as he moved around the kitchen. Shrugged his suit jacket off as he strolled through the living room, Mollie hung back watching him with her head tilted in awe at the way his shoulders were on display in that shirt.

With his fingers undoing buttons of the white dress shirt Sidney began to climb the stairs, he stopped halfway looking back to find Mollie still in the kitchen. "Are you coming up?"

"Yeah, I was just enjoying the show. What's with the strip tease, Crosby?"

"I didn't take a shower, I feel gross."

Mollie cringed, maybe it was Sidney after all and not his bag that had smelled so foul in the car. "Eww. Yeah, you go shower."

"Care to join me?" Sidney shot her wink to which Mollie rolled her green eyes.

"You go get a jumpstart champ, I'll meet you up there." As he climbed the rest of the staircase Mollie sat down at the breakfast bar with her head in her hands.

This was it, they were really doing this again and telling people all about it. The paradise, honeymoon bubble they were living in was about to pop but it was time. Playoffs were coming and along with high stress and pressure came a stronger microscope for the players to live under.

If they didn't spill now it would just come out in the coming weeks when Sidney had bigger things to worry about.

Pulling her phone out of her purse Mollie checked the time, it was just before 11. She wondered if maybe she should wait until the next morning to make the call, but a large part of her wanted to get it out of the way.

As the line rang Mollie tried to get the thoughts straight in her head.

When her mother's voice came booming into her ear all thoughts were gone.

"What's wrong?" Renee asked her immediately.

Mollie let out a huff of air, "Nothing is wrong mom, I'm totally fine. I just,"

She was cut off, "You're fine and you thought to call at this hour?"
"Sorry, Mom. I just needed to tell you something right now, gotta get it off my chest."

Mollie was sure her vagueness was driving her mother insane, she sort of loved the feeling.

"Go on honey, I was about to head upstairs."

Before her brain could form a concrete and adult sentence Mollie blurted out, "Sid and I are dating."

It was Renee's turn to laugh, this time hysterically in her daughter's ear. "Mollie, honey we know. Everyone knows, it's been, what? Four months now?"

"Oh my God, I don't know how long it's been? We just talked about it, and I thought I should tell you, okay?"

"Thank you for the thought honey, but seriously we all know. Gosh, honestly we've just been making fun of the two of you trying to hide it." Mollie's face suddenly felt hot, did that mean they knew about everything? Even the bathroom escapades from Christmas dinner?

"You're so welcome mom, I think I'll go now."

"Okay honey, goodnight. Thank you for calling, and tell Sidney good game for us." Mollie shook her head, did her mother have a GPS on her?

"I will, goodnight Mom."

Hanging up Mollie plugged her phone into the charging station by the door before heading up the stairs. She tugged her black sweater over her head, unclasped her bra, and slid the zipper down the side of her leather skirt as she rounded the corner into the master suite.

With all of her belongings in a pile on the floor Mollie waltzed into the steamy bathroom, Sidney's frame barely visible through the fog in the all-glass shower. She slid in behind him wrapping her arms around Sidney's waist her head resting between his shoulder blades.

"I was starting to think you got lost," Sidney asked wrapping his hands around Mollie's.

Placing a kiss on his wet skin she pulled back, "I called my mom, told her the news."

"Yeah? How'd that go?" Sidney spun around pushing Mollie into the stream of hot water. Tilting her head back she let the water wash away the incredibly long day she had had. "She said she knew. That they all knew, so I'm guessing that means my parents and the Lemieux's? Maybe even your parents."

Sidney smirked, half at the new information and half at the fact that Mollie was naked in his shower. He moved in closer to her, tucking a strand of wet hair behind her ear, "Probably, we can call them tomorrow."

She looked up at him through her thick eye lashes, "Okay, and for now?"

"For now? We can do this," Sidney planted his lips on hers, his hands found her hips pulling her body closer to his. The sound that escaped Mollie's lips made him smile as his back landed against the cold stone wall.

Apparently he was scoring all the way around tonight.

The next morning Mollie rolled over onto ice cold sheets, she ran her hand up and down feeling for any sign of Sidney but there were none. She flicked her eyes open taking a glance at the alarm clock on the bedside table, it was barely after 8 on a Saturday morning.

Mollie cursed her excruciatingly early internal clock as she rolled onto her back gazing up at the ceiling. She listened for a moment thinking maybe Sid was in the bathroom or even his closet but there was no such luck.

Reluctantly Mollie threw her legs over the side of the bed and skipped in the nude to Sidney's closet. She flipped on the light and pulled out a t-shirt from his drawer and a pair of underwear from her own.

Once she was dressed Mollie left the master bedroom heading down the hallway towards Sidney's office. She leaned against the doorframe as she heard his voice coming from beyond the door. "I know dad, I think that we're ready now."

What were they ready for exactly?

She continued to listen to the one-sided conversation between Troy and Sidney.

"I just wanted you to hear it from me, even if you already knew."

"I love her dad, I'm going to marry her one day."
Mollie closed her eyes as butterflies fluttered like crazy in her stomach. She wanted nothing more than to marry that man.

Walking away from the door Mollie continued down the stairs heading into the kitchen. She scavenged the refrigerator and began the process of making breakfast for the two of them. As she whisked a bowl full of egg whites Mollie scrolled through her phone. Her train of thought was lost when a pair of arms snaked around her waist.

"Good morning, beautiful." Sidney's voice was deeper than usual as his lips hovered over her ear.

Mollie shivered despite being cocooned by his thick frame, "Morning, handsome."

She turned her head pecking his lips before dumping the contents of the bowl into a hot pan. As the eggs bubbled Mollie turned her attention back to Sid who was fussing with the coffee pot. She smiled to herself watching him press button after button trying to get the machine to pour. "You should really just get a Keurig it's so much easier."

Sidney turned to her defeat upon his face, "You're lucky I love you or this stupid thing would have been in the trash a long time ago."

Mollie rolled her eyes.

That coffee maker was European, expensive, and difficult to use everyday. She wasn't even sure why he had purchased such a fancy coffee maker in the first place, he blamed it on her but it was totally his idea.

If it had been up to her it definitely would have been gone long ago.

Sliding in she stood beside him, quickly pressed a sequence of buttons, and before they knew it the machine let out a loud hiss and a hot stream of coffee. "There, now go sit down."

With two plates balanced in her hands Mollie made her way over to the nook at the side of the kitchen. She slid one plate over to Sid and pulled a mug coffee towards herself, as she picked up her fork Mollie felt the urge to ask how Sidney's phone call had gone. But she also didn’t feel like admitting she had eavesdropped so early in the day.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, Mollie had her mug of coffee under her nose when Sidney finally spoke, "I called my parents."

She nodded really selling that she was in the dark to his early morning conversations, "And?"

"Dad said he knew, my Mom cried. I seriously think she loves you more than me sometimes."

Mollie wrinkled up her nose, it was no secret that Trina Crosby loved her but she'd always play second fiddle to her actual children. "So what do we do now?"

Sidney picked up his own mug swirling the liquid around, "We go on about our lives together, I want to spend every morning like this. This is it for me. You are it for me."

Was that his way of telling her he wanted to get married? If so it was seriously lacking in words.

"Okay." The word fell out, all Mollie could handle as she tried to gain control of her now fully overwhelmed emotions.

"Okay?" Sidney countered begging for more.

Mollie pointed between the two of them with her fork, calmly telling him, "This is it. You and me, I want a dog, and some kids one day too but that can wait. This is it, this is the life I want, too."

He smiled at her, that big dorky lopsided smile that made her heart lurch, "We can get a dog right now if you want, but on one condition."

"What? It has to be a Lab like Sam?" Mollie joked just hoping his one stipulation wasn't a proposal this early in the morning while she looked like a creature from the Blue Lagoon.

Sidney shook his head, "No, you have to move in here with me."

Mollie dropped her fork the metal eliciting a loud clank as it hit the solid wood table. "Sid,"

"Hear me out. You said last month your lease was up in what 2 months? So that's next month, you haven't resigned, you haven't found a new place, and I know you love your loft but honestly babe, when was the last time you stayed there all week?"

She thought back, "The last time you were on a roadtrip for a week."

Shit.

Had she really been spending that much time with Sid? No wonder everyone already knew they were back together.

"Mol, I love having you here. Coming home to you, waking up next to you, everything. So please? Just think about it."

Mollie nodded, thinking about it was all she was going to be able to do now as she stared at her plate suddenly nauseous and feeling a tad bit faint. "Yeah, okay I'll think about it."