Ali emailed her mom some of the pictures of her and James’ tree from her phone, then called her directly after.

“Hello?”

“Hi Mom! Question: have you checked your email lately?” Ali was biting her nail, the anticipation killing her. “Because if not – you HAVE to.”

“Oooo, okay hun! What’s the urgent urgency?”

“I sent you some pictures. I think you’ll get a kick out of them.”

“Uh oh” her mom replied. “What’s that mean?”

“Just let me know when you open your mail.” Ali sat on the couch opposite the tree, staring at it. She still felt a little too giddy over such a thing as decorating a tree, but she never got to do this before with a boyfriend. Ever.

“Oh MY” Wendy said.

Ali heard her mom gasp. “Are you looking?”

“Yes! Now THAT is one beautiful Christmas tree!”

“James and I decorated it ourselves” Ali snuggled back into the couch cushions. “Granted…the lights are permanent and came on the tree, but still! Not too bad, for first timers, right?”

“You guys are rocking the holidays, Ali” Wendy laughed a little. “And look at this one! Oh my God…you two…..”

Ali knew which one she was looking at. James set up the timer on her phone and they took a quick picture of her up on James’ shoulders, putting an ornament near the top of the tree. He had [i]insisted[/i] they reenact that damn scene from Rudolph, and she had little choice but to agree. He also insisted on getting a picture.

“Please don’t ask” Ali said, rolling her eyes. “He’s a goofball.”

“He’s adorable is what he is.” Wendy sighed contently. “Well done, sweetie. It looks great.”

“Thanks.”

“Hey Jeffrey! Are you busy? Come here a sec!"

Ali listened as her mom called her dad over to the computer.

“Look, hunny.” Wendy put her mouth back to the receiver. “Your father is laughing right now, I should tell you.”

“Why!” Ali’s mouth opened. “Dad!”

“Hey pumpkin.” Jeff took control of the phone now. “What are you two doing here? I know he’s a buff guy and all, but aren’t you a bit big for his shoulders?”

“Tell him that.” Maybe it wasn’t such a silly idea after all to take a pic like that. Ali hadn’t been able to stop smiling yet. It was a memory they’d always have…and that’s what this was all about.

“GREAT tree, by the way. How much did you pay for that?”

“Don’t worry about that, Dad.”

“Well, you know I always have to ask” Jeff said rather sheepishly. “Have to make sure you’re doing okay and all.”

“Again – don’t worry about that” Ali repeated. “Everything is great right now.”

“And that’s all the counts.”

She smiled. Her dad cared about her, though probably too much. She was his only child, and his only baby girl. His concern for her never upset her, no matter how much she had to remind him she was an adult now.

“I’m glad you two are having a Christmas together” Jeff added. “Doesn’t he have to play close to Christmas though?”

Ali thought for a second, frowning a little. “That’s a good question…”

“Here, I have the schedule on the fridge. Let me check.”

There was the sound of the phone being set down, and then silence. Ali inspected the ends of her hair, annoyed by the amount of split ends she saw. A minute later, her father was back on the line.

“He plays on the 23rd in Phoenix.”

“What?” Ali tried to absorb that bit of information. “Well surely he’ll back by Christmas Eve?”

“Oh yeah, I wouldn’t worry about it. I didn’t mean to make you nervous.”

She was, though. James would’ve told her if there was a conflict that would keep him away, so she tried to swallow her nerves.

“Well…anyways” Ali ran her fingers through her hair; a trait she always had when she felt a bit anxious. She reminded herself not to do it.

“You two are spending the holiday together, right?” Jeff asked. His voice sounded only slightly downtrodden. “He’s not going home, is he?”

“No, we’re planning on being together. Is that okay?”

“Yes! Yes, of course! It will be a little weird for your mother and I, but—“

“—Oh no… please don’t be upset. You know I’ll make it up shortly after, right?” Ali chewed her lip. Now she was nervous that she was making some sort of family faux pas.

“No. There is absolutely no reason for anyone to be upset here. You do what makes you happy, Allison. And Mom and I both know James makes you happy. You should spend as much of the holiday together as you can.”

Ali sighed. “You sure?”

“Yes. And don’t ask again.”

Here comes his Dad-voice. She smiled against the phone. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, hunny. Now don’t you worry one more second on it, okay?”

“I won’t. Promise.”

“Okay. Here’s your mom. Love you.”

“Love you, Dad.” Ali waited as the phone was handed back to Wendy.

“What are you two arguing about?” she asked. “There’s no problem with you being with James all Christmas.”

“I know, it’s fine. Everything’s fine. No more on that anymore tonight” Ali insisted. “I didn’t mean to take up you’re whole night here; just wanted you all to see the pics. I’m glad you found them as amusing as I did.”

“Thank you again for sharing them” Wendy said. “Tell James good luck tonight for us, okay?”

“I will be sure to. Talk to you soon!”

Ali ended the call with her parents and gazed up at her happy, shining tree. Blue and silver really was a damn good choice.


* * *


The next day, Ali made a quick run downtown before she headed out to the airport for work. Earlier that morning, an idea occurred to her; now she was seeking out the perfect tree topper to occupy the empty space where their forgotten star should be.

Instead of running all over trying to find the specific item she was looking for, she went straight to the heart of it: the PensGear store inside the entrance to the Consol Energy Center. She pulled into one of the nearby parking garages and flashed the attendant the badge James had given her. The man waved her through with no issues.

A few stairwells and a short walk away, she was inside the home of the Pens. No matter how many games she went to, or how many times she simply stepped foot inside the building, it was always so weird. Sid’s face was everywhere. His intense stare from a wall-sized advertisement for Reebok seemed to focus solely on her as she walked by. I know these guys. I’ve hugged Sid. I’ve smelled his cologne. Ali looked away from his gaze.

Not that it was any less weird, but it was odd seeing pictures James as well. A life size image of him in full gear passing the puck rotated slowly on a column just outside the entrance to the PensGear store. James always looked so serious in action shots, which may have been the weirdest part to her. If they only knew this was same guy who held his girlfriend up to decorate a tree, they’d all shit their pants.

When Ali walked into the store, she went straight to the checkout counter. Two girls who looked to be in their early twenties were talking to one another. As she approached, they both turned when they saw her.

“Hi, is there something I can help you find?” the one asked.

“Actually, yes…and this might be kind of weird” Ali said, feeling silly enough that she almost didn’t want to ask. “But…do you have a penguin puppet?”

The two girls looked at one another. The one with darker hair turned to her. “Like…a hand puppet?”

“Yeah, you know…” Ali held up her hand and made her fingers move like a sock puppet. “But as a penguin.”

“Umm.....let me go ask my manager, one second.” She headed towards the back of the store while the other girl remained. She smiled at Ali.

“That’s actually a really cute gift idea for a kid” she said.

Ali laughed. “I can’t argue with that, but it’s not a gift.”

“Oh.” The girl looked confused. “For you, then?”

“For my Christmas tree.” She watched the girl try to choke back a laugh.

“What are you gonna do with it on a tree?”

“It’s going to be the star" Ali said with a smile.

“Wow…that….that’s great! I’ve never heard of anyone doing that before.”

The girl was really doing her best not to laugh, but Ali wished she’d just let it fly. It was a dorky idea, yes…but this chick didn’t know she lived with a Pittsburgh Penguin.

“You’re in luck!” The dark haired girl came towards them, holding a stuffed object in a cellophane bag. “We actually have some! Is this what you were looking for?”

Ali took the stuffed penguin out of the bag and held it up. When it unfolded, it was exactly what she had pictured in her mind. It had a tall, tubular body where a person’s hand went, with a big, friendly penguin head on the top. It looked a little like Iceburgh, which was even better.

“This is perfect” Ali said. “I’ll take it!”

"Nice! Glad it worked out!”

The brunette took the puppet back to scan it for purchase, and Ali handed her her debit card. Her eyes scanned the store as she waited, and that weird feeling came back again. Everywhere she looked, names and numbers and memorabilia lined the walls and filled the shelves. Jerseys with every number on the team hung in her direct line of sight, with plenty of number 18’s on the rack just to her right.

So weird. So, so weird.

“Receipt with you, or in the bag?”

“In the bag, please.”

“Enjoy. Have a great night!”

Ali thanked both of them again as she headed out, excited to surprise James later. He would once again get home before she was done with work, but she didn’t mind the wait.

When Ali arrived at work, she found Becky at the desk and she almost squealed.

“Are you kidding?!?” Ali was so excited.

“Guess who called in siiiiiiick” Becky said, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

“Well I don’t know how this day could get any better” Ali said, coming around the front desk. “We have so much to catch up since our night out!”

“I know, right?” Becky smiled as Ali got her heels on and assumed her position behind the desk beside her. “I’ve always wondered something” she said, catching Ali’s eye. “Why don’t you ever just come to work dressed?”

Ali grinned. “I just like to be uncomfortable for as little time as possible.”

“Fair enough, I guess.” Becky continued to watch her. “It’s just so funny to watch you go through this routine every time you work.”

“Well then, see?” Ali pinned her hair back. “Just another reason to do it – it makes other people laugh.” She straightened her white button-down beneath her blazer, and straightened her nametage. “Boom. Ready, bitches.”

Becky laughed. “You are in a good mood! Any reason?”

“Not really…just the usual.”

She wasn’t able to elaborate because two sets of couples came and interrupted them. Ali handled the couple that was checking-in, and Becky handled the couple that was checking-out. Both of them finished at nearly the same time, then they faced one another.

“So where were we?” Ali asked.

“Vin’s. Big victory for the Pens.” Becky rested an elbow against the tall part of the counter. “What ever happened after you closed your tab that night? Any more interaction with that waitress?”

“Not really.” She tried to think back, but the tail end of their time there had been buzzed and fuzzy. “I still think I’ve seen her before, though.” Ali turned to her computer and started typing.

Becky watched for a second, then stood nearby. “What are you looking for?”

“Their website…surely they have one?” She hit enter and waited for Google to produce results. Sure enough, Vin’s had a website.

“Do they have a staff section?”

“That’s precisely what I’m after….” Ali didn’t see anything that directly stated “staff”, so she clicked on “About Us”. There was nothing helpful there.

“Ooo! Ooo! Facebook!” Becky pointed at the bottom of the page.

Ali glanced up to make sure they weren’t ignoring any guests, then clicked on the little Facebook icon. Up popped Vin’s page, which was full of pictures, menu specials, happy hour deals, and the schedules for both the Pens and Steelers. She scrolled slowly down the page, looking at all the various photos posted of staff members and customers, all looking as if they were having the time of their life.

Scrolling further down, both Becky and Ali inhaled sharply. There was a picture of the busty blonde bartender with three men all huddled around her. The caption beneath read: Kelly getting wild with a few out of towners. Just another night at Vin’s!

“FUCKING KELLY!” Ali slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide. “…ohmigod, I’m sorry” she whispered.

Becky was laughing. “No one’s around, you’re fine. Who’s Kelly?”

Ali could already feel her face getting hot. She suddenly all came together: Buffalo, James, this bitch hanging all over him…How could she forget?

“Well, where do I start.” Ali clicked on the picture, enlarging it. There was no mistake; it was the same girl. “Kelly is someone Geno invited to Buffalo when I traveled to see James play. Remember? I met his parents that night?”

“Amazing surprise, yes.”

“So Kelly shows up at the bar a bunch of us went to after the game. It was a pretty cool place; really neat vibe, cool décor, the whole nine.” Ali shook her head, staring at the enlarged picture. The memory of Kelly flipping her hair over James as she sat on his lap made her want to punch the computer screen. “She basically threw herself at James with me standing there. It wasn’t exactly fun.”

“Please tell me he got rid of her?” Becky asked. “Because really….” She moved her eyes to the picture on the screen. “That? THAT is not a good look for anyone.”

Ali laughed. “You’re telling me. And yeah, he got rid of her. With some help from me.”

“Oh shit. Did you bring it?” Becky looked like this might turn into the best story ever, but Ali had to let her down.

“I just introduced myself, that’s all.” She clicked out of the picture, and then out of the page all-together. “I think Geno got rid of her after she wouldn’t leave us alone.”

“Wow. That’s good, then. Sounds like it ended well for all...except maybe Kelly, but who cares.”

Ali shrugged. “I just can’t believe I didn’t recognize her right away.”

“Guess that means you didn’t really worry about it much at the time anyway, right?” Becky’s heart shaped face formed into a comforting smile. “Nothing to worry about now, either.”

Fucking Kelly though. No wonder she was cheering like that during the game. No wonder she hesitated when she looked at her credit card. But why was she cheering so hard for James when he so blatantly shut her down?

“Dumb, that’s why. She’s dumb.”

Becky looked over. “Huh?”

“Nothing.” Ali smiled at her. “Just making fun of dumb people.”

“Oh. Well – carry on, then!”

And so they both did.


* * *


James had a headache, and his knee hurt. Maybe his head hurt because his knee hurt, he didn’t really know, but he hurt. He already took enough painkillers to numb a horse, but nothing was working. The minute he got home, he went upstairs and fell onto his bed, and covered his head with a pillow. He kept all the lights off, with only the light from outside filtering into the otherwise dark room.

As he lay there, he felt the muscles around his knee spasming. He didn’t even want to think about what that meant. All he wanted was to rest. The team’s overnight trip had been a long one, despite it only being so short. Their loss to Tampa was a killer to the team’s morale, including James’. He didn’t sleep a bit afterwards; all he could think of was how he could’ve played better. The scoring opportunities ran over and over in his mind all night, and he was pissed he hadn’t scored off of any of them.

Thankfully, James was able to fall asleep for a few hours. The sound of Ali coming home was what woke him.

“Well that’s interesting.”

He heard her voice and moved the pillow off his head. Ali had flipped all the lights on, and the sudden brightness made him squint. “Hey…Can you turn those off?”

“The lights?”

“Yeah. All of them.” He felt immediate relief when Ali turned them all off again.

“Everything okay?” She crawled up next to him.

“Colossal headache.” He moaned as he flipped onto his side. “I’ve taken all kinds of pills but nothing’s working.”

“Here.” She moved a few pillows out of the way and made room for him to scoot over. He did, and settled his head on her chest.

“I’m glad you’re home,” he said, feeling her nails running gently through his hair. The sensation was enough to sooth his headache temporarily. “Thank you” he mumbled softly. “And I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Ali kept working her fingers through his hair and James closed his eyes.

“For not being very exciting to come home to.”

“You don’t have to be Superman every day, James.” She felt him smile against her skin. “Just rest.”

It was hard for him not to. Her heartbeat’s steady rhythm almost put him to sleep. She was warm and soft, and he was glad she was his.

“My knee hurts…..and I’m worried.”

Ali frowned, her hands still playing through the waves of his dark hair. “We’ll tackle that tomorrow, okay?”

James felt himself relax. “Okay.”

Ali continued to gently massage her hand over James’ head, every now and then tracing along his temple. She watched his face soften as he drifted to sleep, his mouth opening slightly. Eventually, Ali’s hand came to rest on his head, and she, too, fell asleep.


* * *


The next morning came, and James’ knee didn’t feel any better. Ever since he was tripped while playing the Canes, it progressively spoke louder and louder to him with every passing day. The pain wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t a good sign either. He did, however, manage to get rid of his headache, which he was very thankful for.

Ali decided to make breakfast for the two of them, so they headed downstairs together. Both had slept in whatever clothes they had on that night, and neither botherer to change until morning. They both had a pretty good laugh when they woke up and saw what each had on.

Now, James sat across from Ali at the island. He watched her prepare eggs, and it made him smile. Even her simple little movements took his mind off his knee: the way she kind of wiggled her hips as she stirred the eggs, the smile she’d flash him whenever she walked by, the way she leaned over the counter in front of him to talk while she waited for their waffles to cook.

“Almost ready” she said, giving him that smile over her shoulder. “Ketchup?”

“Please.” James watched her move to the fridge. The t-shirt she wore was small enough that a sliver of her waist was visible. James honed in on this as she stretched to grab the bottle from the fridge.

“Weirdo ketchup and eggs - comin’ right up.” Ali slid the bottle towards him, and he smiled.

“You don’t know what you’re missing.”

“Uh huh.”

She plated his eggs and waffle first, then her own. A bottle of syrup appeared, and two glasses of juice.

“Thanks, babe” James said, taking his first bite. He felt famished, for whatever reason.

“Welcome.” Ali slid up on a stool opposite of him. “I’m glad you’re feeling better today.” She winced. “I mean, your head, anyways…”

“Don’t worry about my knee; I’ll see the trainers later about it later.” As the words came out, it sounded more like he was trying to tell himself, not Ali. He took another bite of his waffle and slowly started to feel whole again. “This is really good.”

Ali watched him shovel another forkful of eggs, ketchup, and waffle all at once into his mouth. I wish I had his metabolism. Damn. “I told you my waffles were the bomb….although I’m not sure it’s bomb-worthy with ketchup all over it.”

James smirked. “Whatever – I don’t make fun of you when you dip your french fries in chocolate milk.”

“And I should say that YOU don’t know what you’re missing there, that’s for sure.”

They looked at one another and they each rolled their eyes at the other. Less than five minutes later, James had his plate cleaned, which was long before Ali even finished her eggs alone. He pushed his plate away with a satisfied look on his tired face.

“I should get moving if I want someone to look at this knee.” James went around the counter and kissed Ali on the side of the head. “Once again, another five star meal.”

“Any time you want it, you know you’ve got it.” Ali watched his lanky form round the corner and head up the stairs. She stared at his plate, mesmerized. Not a crumb. The boy can eat, that’s for sure.

By the time James had everything together to bring with him to the skate, Ali had finally finished her breakfast. She set the plates in the dishwasher and went straight for her work bag. She brought out the penguin puppet and hid it behind her back as James reappeared. Comfy, sleepy James was gone, replaced by all black, compression-clad James.

“Got something for you before you go” Ali said.

James saw the twinkle in her eyes. “Whatchya got?” He came over and tried to reach behind her. “Whatchya got behind the back there, Ali…Let me see…”

Ali laughed and did her best to keep the puppet behind her as James fake-wrestled to pull it from her.

“Step back, Nealer or you’re not getting it.”

James took exactly one step back and grinned. Ali swung the penguin puppet around with it already on her hand. Her eyes lit up about the same time James’ eyes did.

“What the hell?” He laughed, touching the stuffed head. "A puppet?!?"

“Yes! Come here.” Ali went into the living room with James not far behind. She pointed to the top of their Christmas tree that still remained bare. “See? I got us a tree topper…and it’s BETTER than a star.”

James fell into a fit of laughter. “Holy shit…..This has to be the greatest idea ever.” He had to hand it to her; it was damn clever.

“You like?” Ali was excited. “I knew it would be a hit! Want to do the honors?”

James took the puppet and reached up with no trouble, fitting it's open body onto the top of their tree. Standing back, arms folded over the tight black fabric covering his chest, he nodded.

“That’s fucking outstanding, Ali.” His sideways grin was beaming. “What made you think of that, anyways?”

She shrugged. “Seemed appropriate and all.”

They stood looking at their goofy tree; blue and silver and purple with a penguin topper. The haphazardness of the entire sight made it all the more perfect.

“High five me, babe, because I’m officially labeling you the best ever.”

Ali laughed, and high fived James.


* * *


There was no game for the next two days, but their usual morning skate was moved to 8 am instead of the usual 7. James was there long before any of the others guys…save for Sid.

“What’s up, man?” he said, shirtless but digging in his bag for a shirt.

James went over and took a seat near him at his stall. “Think my knee is jacked up again.” Sid looked at him, eyes full. James shrugged. “Will see what Don has to say before I declare it useless.”

“From the other night?” Sid asked. He turned and looked at James, his full attention on him.

“Nah, from our last home game. Fucking Hainesy.”

“No shit. Huh.”

Sid took a seat, but didn’t know what to say. A knee was nothing to fuck with, and when James hurt it in Ontario, he wondered if it might cause trouble again in the future.

“Is Don even here yet?”

“Phil is, if you want to check with him first.” He could tell something was up with James just by the tone of his voice. “What’s it feel like, anyway?”

“Spasmed all night.” He squeezed his hat against his head tensely. “Not good, I know.”

“No…that’s definitely not good.”

He stood up and sighed. “Faster I figure something out, the faster I can stop being nervous, eh?”

Sid nodded, watching with concern as James left him alone in the locker room again.

A few doorways down the hall from the locker room and their gym was the trainer’s office. They had several personnel, but each took turns working on different days, and today James was in luck. His two favorites were in, and he’d quiz them both.

“Phil?”

The trainer looked up, his face breaking into a smile. “Morning! Come on in.” He was a fit, middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and a natural talent in fixing just about every injury James ever had playing in Pittsburgh. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Neal – but you’re in awfully early.”

“Ha, yeah…definitely not my usual start time.” James laughed a little. “It’s all part of the plan, though.”

“Oh yeah?” Phil placed his hands on his hips. “You in need of something?”

“Yeah, it’s my knee again…Spasmed all night, and it’s starting to worry me.” He followed Phil as he led him immediately towards of the stretching tables. “Think you could take a look before I hit the ice?”

“Lay down and I’ll poke around. Might not be so bad after all, so don’t get worried yet.”

Too late. He stretched out on the table, face up, and waited as Phil did his initial check.

“Hmm…”

Never good. Dammit.

“Bend it…yep, like that…” Phil clicked his teeth, rotating James’ leg in ways only a trainer understood. He pulled James’ leg back, fully bent at the knee, and he saw James wince. “Sorry.”

“It’s all part of the deal” James groaned. He could feel the blood pumping through his joint as Phil held his knee pressed back against his chest. The longer he held it, the worse it felt.

“Okay, extend.”

James did, exhaling hard as he felt immediate relief.

“I’m going to have you stand up and try and get into attack positions for me while I assess the tendons.”

“You think it’s a tendon?”

Phil motioned him to stand. “Well, not quite yet…The area around the joint is definitely swollen, and your muscles seem to overcompensating for it. Let’s go through a few moves first.”

Phil led James through a series of maneuvers and positions to mimmick his stance on the ice. He placed a few sensors on his muscles to test every angle he could.

James felt spent, and that wasn’t even practice. He rubbed his face, more nervous than he was before. He waited for Phil as he checked his laptop and wrote a few numbers down on his pad.

“Well….I have good news and bad news” Phil said, walking back towards James. “Which first?”

“Does it matter?” James said with a laugh. “Just give it to me straight.”

Phil looked at his notepad. “Okay…well, the bad news is: it seems to be a minor injury to the meniscus. The good news is: your tendon hasn’t sustained any permanent damage, so no surgery. Right now the bones of your knee are literally scraping each other every time you bend your knee.”

This isn’t too bad. James nodded, listening further as Phil continued.

“This won’t stop you from playing, by any means. However, I think you’ll need daily shots for the swelling, and you should probably get myself or Don to massage the hell out of it before and after practice. This should help the swelling go down, and we’ll get that cartilage back to where it should be.”

“I sense a ‘but’ coming…”

Phil smiled. “Yeah, it’s not a biggie, though: stick to hockey and you should be fine, but no extracurricular activities.”

“So no conditioning days and workouts?”

“No workouts, no running of any kind, though lifting is okay...no sex, no heavy lifting—“

“—Uhhh….” James laughed. “Really? No sex? That’s part of this?”

Phil patted him on the shoulder. “Really. If it exerts your knee – it’s out. If you limit exertion to the time periods you need to use it, in addition to everything else to nurse it back, it should take care of itself.”

Okay, so this IS very bad.

“You want to tell Bylsma or you want me to do a formal write-up?” Phil asked.

“Nah, you go ahead. I’m sure we’ll talk after that.”

James shook Phil’s hand and took the papers with his diagnosis Phil gave him. He headed back down the hallway, tossing over what he was just told. He should feel thrilled that it wasn’t bad enough to need surgery, and that with extra care, he could stay out on the ice.

But honestly…….

James sighed.

Well at least this doesn’t technically rule blow jobs out.

* * *

Notes

Ummm....wow, either I'm so deep into this story or I'm crazy...but I mislabeled the last couple of chapters! Oops :) All fixed now.

PS: Special thanks goes out to all my new subscribers, and to all those commenting. I read them all and love them all!