Chapter Ten; Temps va lent

Hey guys,
I'm sad to say that this will be my last update for a while. I'm leaving next week for U.S. Air Force basic training which means that I will be unable to get to a computer for eight and a half weeks. I know this seems like forever for you guys but just think how ling it's going to be for me; waking up a four am everyday, doing countless push-ups, sit-ups, running mile after mile. The next time that I will be able to update will be once I get to technical school, but the exact that that I can update is unknown. I hope that you can all bare with me, your support is greatly appreciated and expect an update in either late January or early February.
Thank you all so much,
Miriya.

***

Chapter Ten

Game time finally came and Kailey smiled when Marc stood strong in net. The rest of team played well in front of him and they brought home a win. When the final buzzer rang Marc was shown on the screen and as he removed his helmet a slight smile could be seen on his face. This caused Kailey to smile again, still not a full smile but enough to show that she was truly happy with her best friend's accomplishment. "He's smiling V, he's smiling."

The TV was kept on after the game but just so there was some noise other than the monitors and silence. Kailey listened to the interview and even recognized the voice but none of what the man said sunk in as she again turned to Vero, searching for any sign of life.

Marc must have been the first one to shower and leave the parking lot because he returned to the dreary hospital room just after eleven o'clock. "Hey," Kailey said standing from her chair. "Good game. I saw the smile at the end." She wrapped her arms around the tall, muscular but slender goalie.

"I hoped you would," he returned the hug. "It felt good to be back out there with the guys."

"I'm glad. Well I have school and a game tomorrow so I won't be able to get here. Will you be okay til Wednesday?" She asked concern in her eyes.

"I'll be fine, some of the guys said they would stop over." He reluctantly released her from his arms. "Good luck tomorrow."

"Thanks Marc, I'm gonna need it. Try to get some sleep okay?"

Marc nodded before saying, "You too."

A gentle kiss was placed on his cheek before Kailey left the room and he returned to his seat next to the bed. Taking Vero's hand in his again he kissed it and proceeded to tell her about the game. He knew that she couldn't hear him and that Kailey had probably told her what had happened throughout the game but wanted something to seem normal. Throughout the season when she had been in Canada he would call her following each game, just as he did with Kailey, and they had talked about what happened. Marc wanted that again, to be able to hear her speak, to see the gleam in her eye when he walked into the room, to hold her in his arms and tell her how much he loved her.

Kailey found her car and after clearing the windshield she just sat in the driver's seat for a moment. She could only imagine how hard this was on Marc, to have the women he loved so helpless, lifeless. There was nothing else that she could do for him, she was there at the hospital with him every chance she got, but she wished that there was something more.

These thoughts quickly brought her to her love, Jared. Pulling her cell phone from her pocket she pressed and held two. "Hello," someone said groggily on the other end.

"Hey baby, did I wake you?"

"No," he said clearing his throat. "You okay?"

"Physically yes, emotionally no. These past few days have taken such a toll on me. I know we have school tomorrow but I'm stressed and most probably won't be able to sleep anyway, can you come over?"

"Of course, are you home?"

"I'll be there soon, I'm leaving the hospital."

"I'll be waiting."

When Kailey pulled into her drive-way she found Jared waiting on the front porch. Putting her keys in her pocket she took his hand and led him to the backyard. Snow covered the concrete which would make it harder to shoot but Kailey didn't care, she needed to relieve stress and this was the only way that she could think of with her mind as clouded as it was. The wind blew, swirling snow at their feet but Kailey didn't care how cold it was.

She picked her stick up and stick handled a pink ball for a few seconds before launching it towards the net. Snow had built up on the back of the net since he hadn't used it in a few days and when the ball hit the twine a puff of snow fell to the ground. Normally this would make Kailey smile, but not tonight. After a few more slap shots, just from Kailey, Jared just stood by and watched, he felt that it was safer that way, she couldn't hold back anymore.

Tears began to fall, freezing on her cheeks but she didn't care. Jared pulled her against him and sat down on the cold, wet ground, bringing her onto his lap. Her stick fell from her hand and she buried her face in his chest. She normally wasn't an emotional person but she just couldn't hold it in anymore. Normally she would just release all of her emotions in the form of slap shots, but this was too much. The situation not only affected her directly because Vero was her friend but Marc was so hurt by this, inflicting more pain on Kailey.

"What if she doesn't wake up?" She asked finally lifting her head.

"Then Amy, you and I will be there for Marc. Right now though let's try to think happy, okay?" Kailey nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Let's get you warmed up."

Once they had made it inside and Kailey changed into her pajamas Jared instructed her to lay down on the couch. Returning to the family room he had two blankets in hand which he used to cover Kailey bringing a slight smirk to her face. She set the alarm on her cell phone for later that morning, which seemed all too soon. Jared went to lie on the other side of the large wrap-around couch but Kailey was forced to say no. "Please."

Understanding her completely he lie down next to her, wrapping his arm around her, for both protection and warmth, after all she was still chilled. Jared fell asleep before she did, but when she was finally warm and couldn't keep her eyes open any longer sleep finally overtook her.

***

As she had expected, morning came too soon. School seemed ten times longer than normal, even longer than it had the day before. Hamlet was still being discussed in English Lit, something that again she paid no attention too. In the rest of her class mid-terms were being reviewed for and she tried her hardest to pay attention, but she found herself drifting in and out. She managed to stay awake the whole day, which was something she had strived for, but she hoped that she would be able to say the same about later that night, her game.

Taking the ice for warm-ups she felt okay, the cold air helped to wake her up a bit. She was out for the opening face-off even though she had tried to convince her coach to give her less ice time. Bob had told her that the only way she would be given less ice time was if she completely sucked. Kailey didn't plan on flat out sucking but there was no way she was going to be playing at her normal pace, she was not even close to being one hundred percent.

Things started out slow, but when it came to keeping the puck in the other team's zone she was as good as ever. The physical part of her game though was not up to par. She only attempted two checks that night and both ended up with her slamming into the boards instead of the opposing players, something that rarely happened. Another time she got laid out behind her own net and that's when she really woke up. Prying herself from the ice she shook off the hit and played well for the rest of the game.

***

The rest of the week was the same, Marc sat at the hospital, Kailey went to school, hockey practice, and then the hospital. Friday morning she drove from hockey practice to school. There was no practice after school so she planned to go straight to the hospital. Classes drug on as they had all week and Kailey couldn't wait for the final bell to ring.

When it came to English Lit Kailey was paying more attention than she had for the rest of the week and was glad that she was when the teacher directed a question at her. "Ms. Schwartz."

"Yes," she said looking up from the table. She had actually been paying attention and even with all of the stress she had been keeping up with her homework to include her reading for this class.

"What is Hamlet talking about in the 'To be or not to be' soliloquy?"

"Whether or not to kill himself," Kailey said weakly.

"Very good," the teacher said, partly shocked since she had paid any attention in class all week.

After school she said good-bye to Jared and quickly made her way to the hospital. It had been a week since the accident and a long week at that. It was the first week back after Christmas break and all of the teachers at Kailey's school had begun to review for mid-terms.

"Hey," Kailey asked walking into Vero's room behind Marc. "Anything."

"No," he said without looking away form Vero. He and Kailey sat in silence until around six o'clock when out of no where the heart monitor flat lined. The sound alerted nurses and doctors, Marc and Kailey were pushed to the hallway, and the doctors did everything in their power. "Time of death, six-oh-three," a doctor said looking at the clock on the wall.

When the room was empty again Marc slowly returned, Kailey just a step behind him. He took Vero's lifeless hand in his one last time and the tears he was fighting to hold back finally spilled over. "I love you," he said barely audible. "I love you." He repeated this over and over again until he fell to his knees. Her hand slipped from his, his hair fell to his face, but he didn't care about anything at that moment, he had lost everything.

Kailey sat down next to him and pulled him into a hug, she too was crying. She knew that there was nothing she could do now to make things better, Marc had just lost the women he loved and she had lost a good friend.

Chapter Nine; Jours longs et nuits sans sommeil

Marc sat in shock, he didn’t know what to do, and he stopped breathing for a moment. He had to get to the hospital but he was in no condition to get there under his own power. Without even thinking he picked his phone back up and dialed.

“Hey Marc what’s up?”

“All I know is that Vero was in an accident and I don’t think I’m in a good state of mind to be driving right now. Can you please come pick me up?” His voice was not his usual high pitched voice; he was frantic, worried, and anything but happy.

“Oh my god sweetheart I’m on my way out the door now, I’ll be there in ten minutes tops.” The line went dead; Kailey grabbed her keys and ran to the car. As quickly as she could she started the car, pulled out of the driveway and made it to Marc’s apartment building in six minutes. He was waiting outside and quickly got into the car saying, “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome,” Kailey threw the car into drive and started off towards the hospital. She pulled Marc’s hand onto the gear shift to try to give him some comfort but they worry that was evident was the same on Kailey’s. They arrived at the hospital as quickly as possible, the roads were still icy as snow fell in large flakes from the sky, and Kailey didn’t want to get into an accident of her own. Marc ran into the hospital as Kailey parked the car.

He found out all that the front desk could tell him, which wasn’t much. He made his way down a long hall to her room where he was met just outside her room by a doctor who filled him in on her injuries; it was quite a long list. Soon Kay was by his side. “She’s in critical and in a coma,” Marc said, his voice cracking as the tears he was holding back finally spilled over.

“I’m so sorry,” was all Kailey could bring herself to say as she too held back tears. She pulled him into a hug and when she loosened her grip she looked up into his brown eyes that were glazed over by tears and asked, “Are you ready to see her?”

He nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket and they entered the room. The sight that awaited them was not something that either of them had every wanted to see, it was something that one would see in a movie. It looked nothing like Marc’s best friend and girlfriend. Her beautiful face was covered in scratches and deep cuts that must have come from the broken glass of the windshield Her long brown hair was pulled to one side and covered with a white bandage which was covering a spot on the side of her head that must of have been a deep cut. Her flawless body which normally sported a very ‘in’ outfit now modeled a white hospital gown along with various bandages and casts.

“Oh my god,” she said quietly. “Marc, I’m so sorry.” She hugged him again before he pulled a chair up to the bed of the women he loved. He sat down to notice that somehow, miraculously neither of her hands had been injured in the accident. He took them in his own and he couldn’t hold back anymore. Tears spilled over once again and he placed a kiss on her right hand, he rested his head on the bed and continued to cry.

Kailey placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him but she felt a tear fall to her cheek as well. She had become close with Vero since their first meeting in October and knowing how much Marc loved her only made it worse for Kailey. She looked through her tears to her friend and wished that there was something she could do to make Marc feel better. Kailey didn’t say anything until a nurse came about an hour after they had arrived. “I’m sorry honey but you’re not family so you can’t say in the room.”

Kailey nodded and placed a hand on Marc’s shoulder, “Goodnight Marc.” She made her way out into the hallway and down to the waiting room. Finding an empty row of chairs she tried to make herself comfortable. Using her hoodie as a pillow wasn’t an option, she didn’t want to take it off because the hospital was cold and it was being used as a blanket. Lying on her stomach with her arms crossed under her head she eventually fell asleep.

The next morning Kailey awoke to see that she wasn’t the only one in the waiting room and ran to her car and then the bathroom to fix herself up. She always kept a brush and deodorant in the glove compartment. Looking half way presentable she made her way to Vero’s room where Marc was still sleeping, holding Vero’s hands in his own. It was by no means a deep sleep, Kailey placed a hand on his back causing him to stir and life his head; not letting go of his beloved’s hands. “You stayed?” He tried to smile but smile expression didn’t change.

“Yeah sweetheart I stayed and I called into work to tell them that I couldn’t come in.”
“I should call coach and tell him there’s no way I can play tonight. Can you stay here til I get back?” She nodded, Marc got up out of his car, but not before placing a kiss on Vero’s hand, and left the room. “Hey coach there’s no way I can play tonight,” he went on to explain what had happened to Vero, or at least what he knew, which wasn’t much, and her condition.

“I wish you the best Marc, Salmon will play tonight. Let me know if you can play, okay?” Edzo said.

He finished talking to his coach and made his way back to the room. He and Kailey both sat in silence for most of the day, nurse and doctors came in periodically to cheek Vero’s condition, which hadn’t changed. They left at meal time only to bring the food back to the room; someone was always by her side. Marc and Kailey watched the game together that night and when it was coming to an end so were visiting hours. “I’ve gotta get going Marc, I have practice in the morning but as soon as it’s over I’ll be back here. Is there anything I can get for you?”

“Just some clothes,” he said pulling his key from his pocket and placing it in Kailey’s hand. “Thank you Kailey this really means a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome sweetheart,” she looked up to the TV one last time to see the score of the Rangers four and the Penguins one. “Try to get some rest.” Marc nodded and Kailey kissed his cheek gently before leaving.

Kailey and Marc both had a hard time sleeping that night; their thoughts were only of Vero. Kailey tossed and turned until her alarm went off, she had to get up for practice. She arrived at the rink before anyone else, this was the norm and today some time on the ice alone was what she needed. Throwing her bag down in the locker room she sat at her stall and put her gear on more slowly than usual. Finally taking the ice the cold air hit her face and put some life back into her. She slowly took one lap around the ice and went to lean against the bench. “Hey baby, you look tired,” Jared said taking his mask off. He sat it on the boards and pulled her into a hug.

“I couldn’t sleep last night; I couldn’t stop thinking about her.”

“How is she? How’s Marc holding up?”

Kailey explained everything just before the coach blew his whistle and everyone met at center ice. Practice woke her up, especially the check she took from Amy along the end boards. After shedding all of her gear she went to Marc’s apartment. Seeing various things of Vero’s throughout the apartment was like a kick to the stomach for Kailey. Pulling a few outfits from Marc’s dresser as quickly as possible Kailey left the apartment. She wasn’t sure how much or what she even grabbed until she made it out to the car. A few shirts, two pairs of jeans, a couple pairs of boxers and some socks. She had no idea how long Marc would be staying at the hospital and if he were to play a game he could come back to the apartment and grab a suit for himself and get cleaned up.

When Kailey returned to the hospital Marc sat still holding Vero’s hand but watching something on TV to try to take his mind from the pain. “Hey sweetheart, here’s your stuff.”

“Thanks,” he let go of Vero’s hand to take the bag and made his way to the bathroom. His hair had started to get oily and had been sticking up all over the place but Kay felt that it was best to not say anything. She heard the water turn on and knew that he was taking a much needed shower. It wasn’t a long shower but the warm water relived Marc of some stress.

When he returned to the room he wore a new outfit but sat right back down in the chair next to the bed and took Vero’s hand in his once again. He and Kay sat mostly in silence until the end of visiting hours when once again Kailey had to leave.

“I’ve gotta get going sweetheart, I have school and hockey practice but as soon as I’m done I’ll be here. Four-thirty okay?”

“Mhm, thank you again, you have no idea how much this means to me.”

“No problem, anything for a friend. I know you have to play tomorrow; it’ll be good for you to get some fresh air and be at the rink. As usual she kissed Marc’s cheek softly before leaving.

She had trouble sleeping again that night and morning came quickly. She rolled out of bed and got ready for practice that was before school. Practice seemed like it went on forever; Kailey was tired and worried therefore she was dragging her feet the whole hour.

“Hey Kay, you okay?” Aaron, a kid in her Bio II class asked.

“Just tired.”

“Hey babe,” Jared said from behind and wrapping his arms around her. “You feeling any better than at practice this morning?”

“No, if anything I’m more tired than I was. I’m the top defenseman and I’m slacking.”

“Do you think that’s how coach sees it?” Kailey sat silently. “No,” Jared said. “He knows what’s going on and how hard it is for you. You’ll get through this and you’ll get your game back.” He kissed her cheek.

“Technically I’m not off my game since I haven’t played since this happened.” She tried to force a smile but her expression didn’t change.

“Kailey everything will be fine. Are you going to practice or straight to the hospital after school?”

“Don’t worry I’ll be at practice, I have to get myself back into the right mindset.” With that the bell rang and it was the last period of the day, English Lit. Kailey sat in class, her mind wandering from the class discussion of Hamlet to her best friend who sat at the hospital with the girl he loved. She was so helpless as she lie lifelessly in the hospital bed but Marc was there with her almost every minute of every day, hoping that she would wake up.

The bell rang to end the day and pulled Kailey from her thoughts. She was the first to arrive at practice and before she went to the locker room to suit up she grabbed her work schedule. Glancing down at the paper she saw that she wasn’t working for the next week and for the first time since she had started working there she was very grateful for this.

She geared and hit the ice before the rest of the team. She hadn’t put her helmet on and placing it down on the ice she lie down on the ice next to it, her face pressed against it an attempt to wake herself up.

When practice ended at four Kailey quickly showered and was off to the hospital. Since she had been there every day since Friday no one asked questions as she made her way to Vero’s room. Marc was ready to go when she arrived, all but his suit. “Thank you so much for sitting with her during the game. I’ll see you as soon as I can; I worked it out with the nurse so that you can stay with her until I get back.”

“Okay sweetheart have a good game. Try not to think about this okay, focus on the game.”

“No promises but I’ll try, the boys need me.” He gave Kailey a hug before leaving and held her in his arms before leaving.

Kailey sat down next to the bed, where Marc had been sitting and though she knew that she couldn’t be heard she began to talk to Vero. “Hey V, I know you can’t hear me but I want you to know that I really care about you. It hurts to see you like this, you’re one of my best friends and you don’t deserve this.

“These last few days have been so hard for Marc. He’s been here every day since the accident; I don’t think he leaves this chair. I know that he tries to hide it but he cries every day. He loves you more than anything in the world, you can see it when he so much as looks at you. He would always smile when he talked to you on the phone, even after a loss you could bring a smile to his face. I miss that smile. I promise that if you end up leaving us we will both be complete wrecks. We’ll cry for days V, I don’t want that, we both need you. If it is your time though, if God is calling you home then I will be right here for Marc, by his side, I will doing everything I can to help him though it.

“Enough of that though. He didn’t go to morning skate today but he’s playing tonight. I told him not to think about this for a while, you and me, to focus on the game. I think it’s what’s best for him. He’s been in this room for days just staring at you, crying and holding your hand as if his life depended on it, he needs something to take his mind off of it even if it is just for a few hours. He hasn’t let the hospital since you first got here Friday night; he sits by your side all day and when he manages to get some sleep at night he’s still holding your hand.

“I’m going to watch the game with you, I hope that’s okay. I just want to see how he does in his first game back. He’s supposed to be leaving for the World Junior Championship but he’s not going, he wants to be here when you wake up. And I’m going to be right here with him.”

Chapter Eight; Un pas si bonne année

Two days later the Pens weren’t so lucky and fell to the Islanders six-one at home on New Year’s Eve. Kailey spent the day watching hockey and partying with friends. When it got closer to midnight everyone gathered around the TV and counted down. “Happy New Year!” They all screamed before running outside; setting off party poppers, squirting silly string, and blowing into noise makers. “Happy New Year baby,” Jared pulled her close and kissed her.

“Happy new year,” she smiled. As much as she wanted to stay in his embrace she also wanted to enjoy her time with her friends. She kissed his cheek and went on to run around the yard and play in the snow with her friends. Just as she was getting hit with a snowball thrown by Amy her phone buzzed in her pocket. “Hello?”

“Hey Kailey, I’m about to go to bed because we have a game tomorrow, but I just wanted to say happy New Year.”

“Happy new year, I’ll be watching tomorrow,” she said with a smile just before a snowball hit the back of her head and some of the snow ran down her back. “Oh my god, cold.”

“Do I want to know?”

“We’re having a snowball fight, I’ll talk to you later, goodnight Marc.”

“Goodnight Kailey.”

At around one o’clock everyone said good-bye to Jared before he headed home and they headed inside and sat down to watch a movie. Later that morning when everyone woke up breakfast had been set out by Nikki’s mom, which all of the girls enjoyed. Kailey and Amy were going to watch the game together that night but spent most of the day before the game at Nikki’s house talking and laughing.

Half an hour before game time Kailey and Amy headed to her house to get ready for the game, getting food ready, preparing a score sheet, and turning on FSN Pittsburgh. As the minutes ticked down, game time approaching Kailey got more and more excited, she was always excited just before games. There was nothing special about this game about there had been a game the day before but Kay always looked forward to a new challenge for her team and another chance to bring home a win.

The game was hard fought but again the Pens fell short, they had been defeated three-two by the Nashville Predators. Following the game Kailey and Amy headed outside to take shots on net for a while, they had an afternoon game the next day and they hadn’t done much shooting since their practice three days earlier. An hour after they had stepped outside Kailey’s phone rang, just as she had expected it would. “Hey Marc, sorry about the loss.”

“I’ll get over it. We’re leaving for the airport now but I just wanted to call like after every other game and let you know that I will most probably be at your game tomorrow.”

“Aw Marc you don’t have to come I want you to get some sleep. But if you do come that would be great. Oh do you know if Vero would be coming?”

“I’m not sure; I’ll let you know tomorrow though. Goodnight Kailey.”

“Goodnight Marc-Andre.” After one more slap shot from the edge of the concrete that went top shelf the girls headed inside and got ready to go to bed. After she showered Kailey climbed into bed and called Jared to say goodnight. She had talked to him after the Pens game but since she hadn’t seen him that day she felt the need to call him again, to tell him she loved him, to push the feelings for Marc, no matter how weak, from her mind.

“Hello?” Jared said sleepily.

“Hey babe, did I wake you?”

“Yeah, it’s fine though, you going to bed now?”

“Mhm goodnight Jare, I’ll see you at the game. I love you.”

“I love you too, goodnight.”

The phone call made Kailey feel better and only moments after placing her phone on the bedside table and saying goodnight to Amy she was asleep. It was a restful sleep during which, as always, she dreamt of the Penguins. However she was pulled from these dreams when her alarm went off, it was game day and she had to get ready. The two girls got up, ate breakfast and took a few more shots on net before getting dressed in sweat pants and a t-shirt. Throwing her under amour shirt and shorts into her bag Kailey slung it over her shoulder and grabbed her stick from behind the door. She always kept one in the car and one inside, inside was the stick she had used to score her last goal but because she was only superstitious about professional hockey she used whatever stick she picked up first from her stall first before taking the ice.

When both girls were ready they headed outside into the snow and threw their bags into the trunk. Once they got into the car Kailey opened her phone to make sure that she hadn’t missed a call from Marc, nothing. She figured that he still didn’t have an answer from her or the more she thought about it she realized that he was probably still sleeping.

Just as she was pulling into her usual spot at the rink her phone rang. “Hello?” She asked without looking at the caller id and shutting the car off.

“Hey just calling to let you know that I will be at your game today but Vero can’t make it. She says she’s sorry.”

“It’s okay, I just got to the rink so I’ll see and talk to you after the game.” She hung up and grabbed her things from the trunk before heading inside and gearing up.

Taking the ice to warm up Kailey found Marc in his normal seat and waved. After receiving a wave in return she went to the corner to stretch and take a few shots at the wall before shooting on the goalie and practicing her skating backwards. Upon returning to the locker room she finally said hi to Jared and received an awkward hug, all of the equipment seemed to get in the way. A good luck kiss was shared between the two of them before they took the ice again.

Being in the starting line-up, as always, Kailey made her way to her spot on the ice and awaited the drop of the opening face-off. The game started off quickly and remained that way for the rest of the sixty minutes. One of Kailey’s shots from the point was deflected in for the winning goal with just thirty seconds remaining in the final period.

“Great job out there,” Marc said hugging Kailey after the game. “You too guys.”

“Thanks Marc, so what was Vero up to today?”

“She was going shopping with some of the other girls; she said that if she would have known about the game before she promised she would go with them then she would have been here.”

“It’s fine, she’s going to be here for another week, there’s two more games,” she said with a smile.

Marc decided that as was tradition he would go to get something to eat with ‘the guys’. Kailey and Amy threw their bags in the back of their car before getting into Marc’s car and heading to the Eat ‘n Park down the street, this was where they usually ate their celebratory meal, which today was dinner.

On the way to the restaurant Marc called Veronique, no answer. ‘Probably trying on clothes and can’t hear her phone,’ he thought. “Hey beautiful, I just wanted to see how your day was going. I guess I’ll see you when I get home. I love you V.” He said once it had gone to voicemail.

After everyone had finished eating they made their way outside to find large flakes of fluffy snow falling from the sky. After wiping the snow from his windshield Marc drove Kailey, Amy and Jared back to the rink so that they could get their cars. Kailey kissed Jared good-bye before starting to clean off her windshield. “Be careful baby,” she said pulling away from his embrace.

“You too babe.” He got into his car and carefully left the parking lot.

Kailey hugged Marc-Andre and went back to removing snow from her car before saying. “Be careful Marc,”

"You too Kailey.” Soon both cars were no longer covered in snow and both Marc and Kailey carefully left the parking lot and headed home.

Kailey dropped Amy off at home before arriving at her own house and jumping into the shower. Marc arrived home to find the apartment empty and a note on the counter in the kitchen.

‘Petit ami,
I’m sorry that I couldn’t go with you today but I’m out with some of the girls and should be back by five o’clock. I love you Marc.
-V’

Marc looked at his watch to find that it was after six o’clock. Marc began to worry, his girlfriend was an hour later and it was practically a blizzard outside. He wasn’t usually one to worry but Vero was never late. He pulled his phone from his pocket and called Vero, three rings and no answer, four, five.

“Hello?” a voice finally said on the other end, it wasn’t Vero though.

“Who are you, are you with Vero?” he said, now he grew scared.

“My name is Mike and I’m with Veronique, I’m a paramedic. How do you know her?”

“She’s my girlfriend, what happened?” His breath caught in his throat, fear could be heard in his now shaky voice.

“She was in an accident. Her car was found on the side of the road and she had no emergency information on her so we did not know who to contact. We’re taking her to the hospital now, you can see her there.”

Stanley Cup Champions 2009

Just a little video that I made...

Yet another one shot....

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Chris Lee?

Hey guys, for those of you who don't already know I have a new one shot. It's about one of the WBS Pens, Chris Lee. I really like him and think that you guys would too. This one shot was completed in less than two days, so if it sucks that's why. I hope that you guys like it, it's called 'I Just Might Love You'

Chapter Seven; Veronique

Hey guys, I know that I've been slacking big time on this story but I've had some serious writer's block. Any way here's chapter seven, I hope that you enjoy it and as always comments are grealt appreciated.



Chapter Seven

A few months passed and Christmas was quickly approaching. Kailey had been able to take the ice again after her injury and helped her team to where they were now, preparing for a playoff fun. The Penguins on the other hand were not doing nearly as well. It was mid December and over the last month and a half; from November first, the Pens had played twenty-two games. Six of those games were wins, one tie, three overtime losses, and twelve regulation losses. Marc still held his head high, holding his team in games, for the most part, on a nightly basis. Although he stood strong his defense wasn’t much help and the offense couldn’t seem to find the net.

“Hey Kailey,” Marc said after a game a few days before Christmas, he was not in the best mood having just lost to the Atlanta Thrashers seven-four.

She had given up on telling him to call her Kay because as many times as she did he would still call her Kailey. “Yes Marc?”

“Vero’s coming in for a couple weeks after Christmas. She was going to come in before the holiday but since we’re playing in Canada she’s just going to meet me in Ottawa and come back with us.”

Kailey had been extremely upset about the loss but this brightened her spirits; even bringing a smile to her face. She had been good friends with Vero since their first meeting in October and Kailey was glad that she would get to spend time with her. “Yay! She should come to one of my games.”

“I’m sure she will,” Marc said, he was now smiling as well. He loved Vero and talking about her always made him happy.

***

A week passed and with it Christmas; it went well and Vero came to Pittsburgh with the returning team. ‘V!” Kailey said excitedly when the door of Marc’s apartment opened.
“Kailey! How have you been?” She asked throwing her arms around her.

“I’ve been good, hanging out at the rink a lot; mostly for work and games. And when I’m not there I’m with this one,” she said pointing to Marc with a smile. “Or at his games.”

“You’re coming to his game tonight, right?”

“Of course. Did Marc tell you about my game tomorrow? You don’t have to come if you don’t want to, there will be plenty of games while you’re here.”

“I would love to watch you play tomorrow, Marc are you going?” Marc was about to speak when both Kailey and Vero said, “Pretty please.”

“I’ll go if it makes you two happy.” Both girls smiled and Marc left a kiss on the top of Vero’s head, pulling her into a hug. “Okay girls, we have to go.” He ushered them out of the room and soon they arrived at the arena.

Kailey and Vero both went with Marc to the locker room and soon found their way to their seats. Except for when they were in the locker room they two girls spoke to each other continuously, after all it had been a while since they had seen each other.

When the team took the ice Kailey smiled, the pre-game skate was always one of her favorite parts. She had her camera in hand and took pictures of all of the guys around the ice, all the while she was still fully engaged in conversation with Vero.

As had been the case eight other times in the month the Pens dropped the game two-nothing to the Devils and the girls made their way to the locker room to meet up with Marc. He had played that night and as always was he disappointed about the loss. Vero being there definitely helped him and before he went to the showers he kissed her cheek and even cracked a smile.

As always Marc stayed for a while signing autographs for the loyal fans, however he didn’t say much more that ‘you’re welcome’. The short ride was silent, Kailey in the backseat and Vero up front with Marc, holding his hand, trying to make him feel better.

“Well I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” Kailey said when they had made it back to the parking garage at Marc’s apartment building. They had parked next to Kailey’s car so all she had to do was step out of the passenger side door and she was a step away from her car. “You’ll get ‘em next time, don’t worry about it.”

Marc smiled weakly and pulled Kailey into a hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Go spend time with your girl,” she smiled. “See you tomorrow V.”

Marc and Vero had both attended Kailey’s game; the Mustang’s won and Kailey scored her fourth goal of the season, a fluky one from the point. Following the game Marc, Vero, Kailey, Amy and Jared were going to go out to celebrate. “Are you sure that you don’t want to come?” Amy asked Rob, still holding his hand.

“Yeah it’s fine, you guys go have fun.” He kissed her gently before heading towards the parking lot.

They stood in the ‘lobby’ for a few moments more discussing where they wanted to go and finally decided on Eat ‘n Park. Once they had arrived they completely lost track of time, they had been there for at least two hours talking and laughing when Kailey glanced at her phone to see that it was eight o’clock. After saying their good-byes they went their separate ways, Marc and Vero to his apartment and Amy, Jared, and Kailey to their neighborhood.

“I’m gonna go home and get a real shower,” he said once Amy had left. “But we should do something tomorrow.”

“Okay, let me know when to be ready,” she smiled. “I love you Jared, goodnight.”

“I love you too, goodnight,” he kissed her before making his way to his house two streets over. She was glad that he lived so close, he was always there for her; whether she needed someone to stand in net while she took shots or someone to just hold her.

***

Kailey spent almost the entire next day with Jared, not talking to Marc at all, and she was glad. Kailey had work in the morning, working the front desk as kids came in for stick time. Once all of the kids had arrived Kailey and Jared pulled their skates on and took the ice for themselves, just to mess around for a little while. Once her shift was over Kailey and Jared returned to her house and pulled their winter gloves onto their hands before stepping onto the concrete slab. As they took shots on net snow steadily fell from the sky covering their playing surface in a thin blanket of white.

About an hour had passed when Kailey put her stick against her body and work to warm her hands. “Cold baby?” Jared asked.

“Just my hands,” she smiled. “We can keep playing though.”

“Let’s go for a walk.” Kailey’s face now held a confused look. “Come on.”

They rested their sticks against the house and started off down the street. Jared pulled her close, causing her to smile. Her hands were in her hoodie pocket trying to regain warmth and her head resting against his chest, this caused them to walk slower than they normally would but neither seemed to mind, they were together and that’s what mattered.

Soon they arrived at Jared’s house and he sent her to the family room to find something for them to watch while he was busy in the kitchen. After finding something on TV she got comfortable on the couch and waited for Jared to join her. When he did the room was filled with the aroma of chocolate. Before sitting down on the couch next to her Jared handed Kailey a large mug full of hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows.

She took a sip and it was perfect; not too hot, not too cold. “Thanks Jar,” she smiled.

“You ready for the game tonight?”

“Did you really just ask if I was ready for hockey?” she stared blankly at her smiling boyfriend. “I am always ready for hockey. And I have a feeling that they’re gonna win tonight.”

Jared smiled and soon it was game time. As Kailey watched the game intently, yelling at the TV when her boys did something that she didn’t like or especially when the officials made a bad call or completely missed one.

Kailey was right, when the final buzzer sounded the Penguins wore smiles on their faces, they had beaten the Chicago Blackhawks one to nothing. Marc looked especially happy and Kailey expected that she would be receiving a phone call from him in about an hour.

After watching the post game interview Kailey pulled her hoodie back on and pulled her winter hat over her light brown hair. “Thanks for today, babe.”

“Anything for you, see you at practice in the morning.”

“Yep,” she smiled, no matter how early practice was she didn’t care; she was just that in love with the game. “Goodnight, I love you,” she said once they walked to the door.

“I love you too babe, goodnight.”

After a hug and a kiss Kailey stepped out into the cold dark night and caught a snowflake on her tongue before stepping off the porch. Sure enough just as she had predicted an hour after the game had ended her phone rang and the caller id read ‘Marc’.

“Hello Marc-Andre, congratulations on the shut-out,” she said, smiling ear to ear.