"Hey Taylor," I nervously greeted the confused voice on the other end of the line. It had been a while since we'd talked and this call was rather out of the blue considering he was currently in North Carolina. "Is it cool if I come up and visit while you guys are at home next month?" I was really hoping he'd say yes, because what I needed to tell him just couldn't be said over the phone.

Once he had enthusiastically agreed we chatted for a bit, just catching up. When Taylor announced it was time for him to get ready I left him with, "Have a good game tonight, Tay. Tell Eric I miss him and he needs to send me some new pics of his rugrat, ok?"

x

Taylor Chorney and I had met the summer before last when he'd come to Thunder Bay for a few weeks to train with the Staal brothers. My older brother Shawn is best friends with Marc, so we hung out at his cabin a lot during the summers and it was only natural to socialise with his hockey playing friends.

Taylor had been aiming to make a full season with the Edmonton Oilers, and if anyone knew the conditioning it would take to get him there, the Staal's were the ones. He'd been friends with Marc thanks to competing against each other in World Juniors for two years, and living in Minnesota meant it was only a six and a half hour drive up to T-Bay.

During his stay that summer we'd talked casually a few times, thinking nothing more of our acquaintance even after we'd managed to secretly hook up during more than one of the infamous Staal lakefront parties. After his three-week stay he was back to Hastings for the rest of the summer, and that was it.

x

On Friday the third of December I drove down, over the border, to Minneapolis so I could fly back into Canada. It sounded absurd, but that way I could have a three-hour direct flight to Edmonton instead of having to change planes in Toronto if I flew out of Thunder Bay.

The Oilers had a game against the Blues the next night, the first of a six game home run before they flew out to California for their last two games before Christmas. I had the next week off work so that if things went well we could really spend some time together.

It had been almost a month since I'd called to see if this trip was ok but aside from having a game against the Sharks last Saturday the Oilers hadn't been in Edmonton for any period where I wasn't working. At least that gave me time to organise the time off so I could actually enjoy this break, even if things turned bad.

x

After returning from splitting his season between the Oilers and their AHL team in Oklahoma, this summer things were a little different. They started off roughly the same, with the addition of a friendly hug when we were re-introduced. It was easy to slip back into old habits apparently, because that first night he was back in town we were back in bed together.

This time however it didn't stay so secret. I don't know why this summer was any different to last, but Taylor wasn't afraid of showing affection around my brother or the rest of the clan we associated with. It was a little surprising my unofficial brothers didn't make much of it, settling for catcalls and insinuations whenever the opportunity arose.

Around a week into Taylor's stay Marc cornered me alone in the kitchen. "Hockey players aren't so icky now, huh?"

I couldn't help but laugh, remembering when I'd complained about that years earlier. After growing up surrounded by hockey players, being a year younger than Marc and my brother and being incredibly close with both, it was generally assumed I'd be hooking up with their teammates at some stage. Knowing how things worked in those circles, I stayed away from players on principle, but also because there was never anyone who really took my interest.

"Well maybe that one isn't, but you still are!"

After playfully shoving each other a few times Marc turned serious. "He wanted to know if you had a boyfriend. Before he decided on coming up. Apparently," he smirked, "You left quite the impression with all your sneaking off together last year." A blush lit my face almost as red as Marc's hair. "Yea, you weren't exactly stealth about that Ava."

During the summer Taylor and I went on dates, I visited when he went back to Hastings, and the weekend before he had to go back to Edmonton for training camp he practically kidnapped me. He was waiting in front of my house when I got home from work on the Friday afternoon, not even letting me enter to change or grab anything before we were back on the road.

Noticing we were getting close to the border I turned in my seat to face Taylor, "I don't have my passport."

"All sorted babe," he flashed a grin, flipping the lid on the center console to reveal each of our official documents. "Your brother helped me out."

We ended up at his family's cabin inland from Silver Bay, set on a private lake and with the only neighbour on the far side of the water. Taylor had gone all out, stocking up on my favourite snacks and movies. This was our last chance to go wild, get things out of our systems before the hard grind of hockey took over.

Aside from a bout of skinny-dipping we spent the majority of the weekend in bed. Sex with Taylor was fantastic anyway, he had stamina and strength and wasn't afraid to get rough, but then there were times like early Sunday morning where it was so slow and tender that it took my breath away. It was feelings that we'd agreed to leave unspoken, agreeing that neither of us wanted the stress of trying to keep this relationship going long distance.

"Whatever happens, happens," Taylor repeated the agreement we'd made as he dropped me back at my house early Sunday afternoon. "But I really wish you could come with me."

x

A brief hug and accompanying kiss on the cheek was all the welcoming we did at the airport. On the drive back to Taylor's place I apologised for making him have to visit the place twice in one day, the Oilers having only returned that morning, before catching up on his season and family.

The closer to his apartment we got, the more nervous I became. I was almost hoping he'd question my motives at the airport, so if he didn't like what I had to tell him I could just jump on the next flight home.

Taking off the layers of warmth that were necessary out in the December weather but no longer needed in the warmth of Taylor's home, I kept my sight on him through the corner of my eye. It was now or never - if he didn't notice the obvious protrusion then I was going to have to ask if he'd suffered a concussion recently that he hadn't told me about.

Thankfully I didn't have to go there. As the third layer was peeled over my head Taylor's eyes widened substantially. "Holy shit," he breathed out quietly. Eyes flicking between my belly and my face he seemed to realise what that meant, but still felt the need to question, "You're...?"

"Yea. Thirteen weeks." I didn't know how much he was actually taking in so I didn't bother bombarding him with details straight away.

"But..." he trailed, shaking his head to himself before forcing himself into a seat on the couch beside us. "We always..."

Yes, we had always used protection - at least until that one weekend. I was on the pill anyway, but we still used condoms just incase. "At the cabin. I didn't have my pills and there was the lake..." I inferred the time we got carried away skinny-dipping. "Or I don't think we did Sunday morning either."

As the shock seemed to subside Taylor pulled me down next to him, his hand automatically finding the bump housing our child. "This is..."

"Insane? Yea," I confirmed. "I don't expect anything from you, you know? I just thought you deserved to hear it in person." For some reason I felt the need to justify being there. "You have no idea how hard it was to convince Shawn to not tell Marc until I had a chance to talk to you."

From there I explained how I'd found out the news - being sick occasionally was part of the job when you worked with children, so I'd thought nothing of feeling off colour for a few days. It was only when Shawn joked about maybe being pregnant that I realised I'd skipped a period.

My half hour lunch break the next day turned into taking the rest of the day off. I'd never expected for the tests (I'd done three just to make sure) to come back positive. My next step was finding out the Oilers schedule so I'd know where Taylor was, and when I'd be able to see him. It was a relief to see he was playing Eric that night - if they were playing each other after this situation was known Taylor would most probably not make it past his first shift.

I was thankful the brothers all played in the Eastern Conference so they'd only play the Oilers once. The Rangers were during the same road trip as the Canes, and the Penguins game wasn't until March. By the time that rolled around things should've calmed down.

We talked about when the baby was due, sometime around June fifth, so there was no chance of it interfering with Taylor's schedule - there was no chance Edmonton would be making the Stanley Cup Finals.

"We said whatever happens, happens, right?" Taylor implored, eyes deeply searching my own for some unknown answer. Seeing me nod my confirmation he let out a breath, brushing a strand of hair back from my shoulder. "This is our whatever, it's happened. We're going to be parents." The first smile since we'd arrived crossed his face, the extra spark of light in his eyes showing it was sincere. "I told you that weekend before camp I wished you could come with me. I still want you here, even more now. You and our baby. We can do this Ava, I know we can."