Bailey slowly opened the door to her room slightly to see if Tyler was still asleep and make sure he was decent before entering. She held up a finger to her mouth to remind Sarah Kate to be quiet. They tiptoed into the room and headed towards the bed where Tyler was lying down, stretched out on his stomach. Bailey picked up Sarah Kate and placed her gently down on one side of the bed. She counted to three on her fingers and then they both pounced on Tyler.

“What the!” Bailey quickly covered his mouth before any expletives could escape.

“Wake up Tywer! Wake UP!”Sarah Kate shouted with glee as she jumped up and down on the bed.

Tyler reached up with his left arm pulling Sarah Kate down beside him. Not letting Bailey escape unscathed, he grabbed the back of her leg pushing her forward until she too fell on his other side. “I thought you were my friend Sarah Kate.” Tyler showed her the biggest pouty face he could muster.

“Don’t be sad Tywer! I wuv you! We just havin fun!” She planted a kiss on Tyler’s cheek.

“I love you too!” He developed a mischievous grin as he continued to speak. “Do you want to have some real fun?” Sarah Kate furiously nodded her head to say yes. Tyler leaned over and whispered in her ear. Sarah Kate nodded in acknowledgement of his plan.

“What about me? I want to have fun too!” Bailey pouted as she watched Tyler share a secret with her niece.

Sarah Kate and Tyler both started laughing. “You asked for it! Ready, Set, GO!” Tyler quickly wrapped his arms around Bailey’s waist and pulled her up and over his body to be within Sarah Kate’s reach. Then they both began relentlessly tickling her. Bailey and Sarah Kate erupted into a huge giggle fest, which caused Tyler to laugh hysterically as well.

In between giggles, Bailey managed to tell Tyler, “Can’t believe you turned my niece against me!”

Tyler gave Bailey a quick kiss. “All’s fair in love and war!”

The tickle barrage continued for several minutes, until Bailey finally surrendered. “Uncle! Uncle! You win!”

Sarah Kate and Tyler gave each other a triumphant high five before giving Bailey a big hug. Tyler gave Sarah Kate a piggyback ride downstairs with Bailey following closely behind, when they heard Ms. Thomas holler that breakfast was ready.

“Yeah! Granddaddy made pancakes!” Sarah Kate ran over and wrapped her arms around Mr. Thomas’ leg after Tyler set her down.

“Good morning peanut!” He reached down and picked her up to give her a kiss. “Tyler, do you like pancakes? If not we can make you some eggs. I think there’s some leftover egg casserole from yesterday too if you’d prefer.”

“Thank you sir, but pancakes are my favorite!”

“Well you’re in for a real treat, Daddy’s pancakes are the best in the world!” Bailey gave her dad a quick peck on the cheek.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if they are. This family is full of amazing cooks! My mouth is already watering.”

Breakfast was served buffet style again, with a large platter of pancakes, various fruit toppings, mini chocolate chips, maple syrup, turkey bacon, and some Greek yogurt. Bailey helped Sarah Kate fix her plate with the special Mickey Mouse shaped pancake made for her topped with bananas and mini chocolate chips. For herself, she added blueberries and bananas to a few pancakes and took a couple of pieces of bacon. Tyler made a plate with several pancakes with bananas and maple syrup, some Greek yogurt with blueberries, and 3 pieces of the turkey bacon. Once everyone had their plate, Bailey’s dad said grace and they all enjoyed the family meal.

“What are your plans for the day?” Mr. Thomas asked Tyler.

“Well, I have to head to the rink where your ECHL team, the Gwinnett Gladiators practice. One of my teammates played for them and set it up for me to join their practice. After that, I was hoping Bailey would give me a tour of the town and her old haunting grounds.” He gave Bailey’s thigh a gentle squeeze as he spoke.

“That sounds like a nice plan. Bailey are you goin to watch Tyler’s practice?”

“Yes sir. If I’m allowed that is.” She turned towards Tyler to answer her question.

Tyler leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead. “Of course you can, I was hoping you’d want too. If anyone else wants to watch, you’re more than welcome to come too.”

“Me! I go wif Tywer and Baywee!”

“Sarah Kate, Mommy and Daddy already have plans so we can’t watch Tyler. I’m sorry.”

Tyler whispered something in Bailey’s ear before speaking. “She can come with us, if you’re ok with that.”

“Are you sure? We don’t want to spoil your plans.” Stephen responded.

“Don’t be ridiculous, we love spending time with her!”

“Sarah Kate are you sure you want to go with Tyler and Bailey?”

“Yes Mommy!”

“Looks like she’s all yours. Stephen will need to put her car seat in your rental and you’ll be good to go. Thank you for letting her tag along.”

After they finished breakfast and cleared the table, Tyler, Bailey, and Sarah Kate all got dressed. Bailey made sure to pack a bag with some extra layers for Sarah Kate and herself in case they get cold in the rink. She also grabbed a few books and snacks for Sarah Kate just in case she got bored. They weren’t needed; Sarah Kate was fascinated with Tyler and the other players gliding on the ice. She put her hands on the glass and smooshed her face as close as she could to watch them. Every so often Tyler would skate by and they’d make silly faces at each other. After practice was over, Tyler skated over to them.

“So, what’d you think?” He asked Sarah Kate.

“You fast Tywer!”

Bailey and Tyler both chuckled. “She said she wants to learn to play so she can fly like you! Can’t wait to see Marybeth’s reaction when her little princess asks for hockey lessons.”

“There’s nothing wrong with girls playing hockey! Both of my sisters do. Even my mom use to play.”

“I’m not arguin with you, but Marybeth may not be so agreeable.”

“Well we’ll just have to change her mind. Won’t we Sarah Kate?”

“Yeah!”She gave Tyler a high five and he bent down to give her a peck on the cheek.

“Don’t forget me!” Bailey turned her head and pointed to her cheek. Tyler quickly obliged and gave her a quick kiss as well.

“Wait here, I’m going to take a quick shower and change.”

“We’ll be here.”
Tyler returned about 15 minutes later with his bag in tow and skated over to Bailey and Sarah Kate who were now sitting on the player’s bench reading a book. Bailey looked up when she heard Tyler coming towards them. She stared at him a little confused as to why he was still in skates. Tyler responded before she could ask.

“Sarah Kate would you like to skate with me?”

Sarah Kate’s eyes must have grown three sizes. “YESSS!!”

Tyler opened the door and sat beside Sarah Kate. He opened his bag and pulled out a tiny pair of hockey skates. He gently pulled off Sarah Kate’s boots and started to put the skates on her.

“Where in the world did you get those?”

“They have rental skates here. They said I could borrow a pair.” He continued lacing up Sarah Kate’s skates making sure they were nice and tight.

“What about Baywee?”

“Right you are Sarah Kate! We don’t want her to feel left out.” Tyler opened his bag again, this time pulling out the skates he bought for her to use at the Bruin’s Christmas party. Bailey just looked at him in awe that he had the forethought to bring them. “We had so much fun last time, I thought we could do it again.”

Bailey smiled and leaned across Sarah Kate to give him a kiss. “You amaze me sometimes! But are you sure you can take both of us on?”

“Remember, I’m a great teacher. You’ll be fine once you get out there again. Sarah Kate can watch for a minute while you get your bearings, then we can all skate together.”

Tyler picked Sarah Kate up and moved her to his other side so he could help Bailey put her skates on properly. Once everyone was ready, he told Sarah Kate to hang on for a minute while he helped her aunt. He took Bailey’s hand and guided her onto the ice. Bailey’s legs were wobbly, causing her to tighten her grip on Tyler. Tyler reminded her to relax and then slowly guided her along the ice. After a couple of minutes, Bailey felt comfortable enough for Tyler to let go and she was once again skating on her own. Sarah Kate immediately applauded and cheered for her favorite aunt. Once he was confident Bailey was ok, Tyler went back to the bench to get Sarah Kate. He placed her gently in front of him and held her at her waist. He began to slowly move her forward. Bailey made Tyler skate past her, then turn around since she didn’t know how to skate backwards and wanted to take some pictures and video of Sarah Kate skating with him. Sarah Kate was a quick learner and was able to skate a few steps on her own after about 20 minutes with Tyler. The three of them skated together for a little while before Sarah Kate complained that she couldn’t go fast like Tyler did during practice.

“She has your pout, Bay.” Tyler found Sarah Kate’s pouty lip just as hard to resist as Bailey’s. “So you want to go fast, eh?”

“Yes!” Sarah Kate already knew how to flirt and had Tyler wrapped around her little finger with the look she was now giving him.

“Hold on tight! Ready, Set, Go!”He swooped her up in his arms and took off like a flash, gliding along the ice with swift speed and grace.

Bailey was a little leery of how quick Tyler was skating while carrying her niece. “BE CAREFUL! NOT SO FAST!”

“Relax! We’re having fun. Aren’t we Sarah Kate?” Sarah Kate responded with a huge smile and giggles. She couldn’t have been happier than to be in Tyler’s arms and skating around the ice with such speed.

They made several laps, before Tyler slowed down much to Sarah Kate’s dismay. He skated over to Bailey and did a couple of laps still carrying Sarah Kate but, also holding Bailey’s hand. After they took off their skates they went out for lunch and then drove around the city looking at where Bailey grew up.

“These places have all been great, but I think there’s one more place you haven’t shown me.”

Bailey was puzzled by Tyler’s remark. “Is there somethin you want to see?”

“Yes, I think Sarah Kate and I would both like to see where your first job was.” Tyler’s lips curved into his devilish smirk.

Bailey just shook her head. “You really want to go to Chuck E. Cheese?”

Sarah Kate and Tyler both shouted, “YES!”

Bailey laughed and gave Tyler directions. Once there the threesome headed inside for some fun. They basically had the entire place to themselves, as it was pretty empty, most likely due to the holiday. Bailey introduced Tyler to her old boss and said hi to the managers and staff members that she knew from her days of employment. They played games and watched Sarah Kate on the mini rides. Tyler challenged Bailey to a rematch of skee ball and was sorely disappointed when he lost yet again. Bailey videotaped Tyler, as Sarah Kate tricked him into following her into the play tunnels. He joked that she should be up there because it was made for someone pint size like her. She told him he better watch out or he might get stuck. As payback for his snide comment about her height, she forwarded the video to Freddy and several of Tyler’s teammates. When Tyler and Sarah Kate finally came down, they went to watch the character show in the “Theatre”.

“Do you still remember the routine?”

“Kind of, why?”

“Well get up there and show us.”

“What? No!”

“PLEASE! Pretty Please for Sarah Kate and me!”

Tyler got Sarah Kate to join in the begging until Bailey finally gave in. Tyler pulled out his phone and videotaped Bailey doing the song and dance routine with Chuck E. Cheese and employees. He wanted to make sure he captured that moment to watch over and over again. After the mini show was over, Sarah Kate wanted to play in the ball pool. Bailey asked Tyler if he’d be ok taking her so she could catch up with one of her former coworkers for a bit. When Bailey walked towards the ball pit, she saw Tyler sitting on the edge while Sarah Kate played inside. She couldn’t resist the opportunity before her, snuck up behind him and pushed him into the pit.

“HEY! What’d you do that for, eh?”

Bailey threw Tyler’s words from earlier that morning back at him with a huge grin across her face. “All is fair in love in war!”

“Touché”

“Baywee, come pway wif us!”

Bailey jumped in the pit to join in the fun. She pushed her way over to Sarah Kate, picked her up and tossed her over into a pile of balls near Tyler.

“Again! Again!”

Tyler picked her up and threw her back over to Bailey. They played this back and forth game for a few minutes until Bailey’s arms started getting tired. The next time Tyler threw her over; she whispered something in Sarah Kate’s ear.

“Uh, Oh! That can’t be good.” Tyler said when he witnessed Sarah Kate nod her head yes in response to whatever Bailey just said.

“One, Two, Three!”

As soon as Bailey got the last number out, she and Sarah Kate started pelting Tyler with balls. Tyler immediately started to retaliate so they were in a full on ball fight. Initially they all just stood still and threw balls at each other, but eventually Tyler went on the attack, with Bailey being his first target. As soon as Bailey realized he was headed towards her, she tried to move out of his line of fire. Her short stature just wouldn’t allow her to push through the thick layer of balls with the same ease as Tyler could with his long and powerful legs. He quickly caught up to her, wrapped his arms around her waist, picked her up and threw her across the pit. Before she could completely recover, he reached her and threw her again. He did this two more times before he pulled her close to his chest and hauled her down deep into the balls with himself. They got lost in the moment and started kissing each other. A ball suddenly hit Tyler in the back of the head breaking them apart. Tyler and Bailey turned around and were hit with more balls. They glanced at each other briefly, before taking off in the direction the balls came from to catch the little culprit. Tyler of course reached Sarah Kate first. He wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around dragging her through the balls. Then Bailey joined in and started tickling her niece. After they were done teasing Sarah Kate, they headed to the counter to turn in all the tickets they won for prizes. Sarah Kate picked out some heart shaped bracelets, a necklace, some bubbles, and a small stuffed animal.

“This was best day ever! Thank you Baywee and Tywer. I wuv you!” Sarah Kate gave both of them a hug and kiss on their way back to the car.

Sarah Kate fell asleep almost as quickly as they turned out of the parking lot. Tyler held Bailey’s hand as they enjoyed the quiet ride back to Bailey’s parent’s house. Once they reached the house, Tyler unfastened the car seat harnesses and carried Sarah Kate to the house. Bailey couldn’t help but smile at the image before her. All day she’d been wondering if this is what the future could be like for her and Tyler, only instead of spending the day with her niece, it would be their own child. Their day had been so wonderful, full of joy and love. The idea that her future could be so bright was very heartwarming. She hooked her arm through Tyler’s and leaned on his side as they walked into the house.

Notes

Yes, it's true, I'm actually updating again. I'm really trying to keep my promise and not make you wait forever for an update. This is a happy/fluff chapter because there is more drama headed Bailey and Tyler's way, I felt they needed a bit of fun. Hope you like it! Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on the story!! Thanks again for reading!