They’d lost against the Flyers. Benoit had tried his best, but didn’t get as much ice-time as he’d hoped he would. The coach had still been a bit worried and hadn’t wanted to push his luck. Tuukka had seemed off, but he hadn’t said a word after the game. He’d just gone back to the hotel and hadn’t even said a word on their flight back earlier.
They would get back. It was one game and Benoit couldn’t deny that the Flyers had played better than them. Now they had three days off and would get back to the Garden to play the Senators.
Once again he found himself in front of Kara’s apartment complex. She’d started her period today and had told him that she’d spend all day and night on her sofa with a hot-water bag and lots of pain medications. He rang the bell and waited.
“Go away.” He heard Kara’s voice through the intercom and couldn’t suppress the smile forming on his lips. “I’m dying.”
“Come on, let me in.” He had to wait a little bit longer until she finally buzzed him up. He took the elevator, got out on her floor and walked to her door. She was already waiting for him in a red plaid flannel pajama. Her hair was up in a messy bun.
“I’m on my period, so what are you doing here?” The irritated look on her face made him laugh, even though that remark hurt a bit. Maybe even a bit more than he’d ever admit.
“I can’t have you skip dinner. You’ve hardly had anything for breakfast and didn’t touch lunch, so I thought I should drop by and cook some pasta for you.”
“You don’t have to worry about me”, Kara said as Benoit passed her and made his way to the kitchen. She felt like shit and she probably looked like shit. She felt like something was eating her intestines. “But it’s really sweet of you to drop by.” In that moment she felt really embarrassed about her comment.
“I like your company.” He started unpacking the bags and put a bar of dark chocolate in the fridge. Kara watched his every move. “And I had to make sure that you eat.”
“I’m not a baby, Benoit.” Slowly she sat down on a chair. He took off his jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt. His face was clean-shaven. Compared to what he looked like that night, she looked like a fallen over garbage can. “But I have to admit that I’m hungry.”
“Then you’re about to eat the best pasta ever.” The smile on his face distracted her a moment before she concentrated on the play of the muscles in his forearms as he chopped up tomatoes. She watched him in silence and listened to the radio he’d turned on. So far she’d already taken two pills that day. She would need a third one later on, but for now she was doing okay. She would get through dinner without falling to the ground and crying in pain. Probably.
They enjoyed the silence, and it didn’t take Benoit long to cook this meal. Soon they sat down at the table and started eating. Kara had given him a bottle of beer and had poured herself a glass of water. She didn’t want to mix alcohol with pain medication, especially not when she’d hardly eaten anything the whole day.
“How can you live with your family so far away?” Kara had been wondering about this for a long time now. She hadn’t had the chance to ask one of the other guys so far and this seemed like a good opportunity. And it was better to talk over dinner than to sit there in silence and listen to the radio.
“What?” Perplexed he looked at her.
“I mean, I see my family at least every second week. I would miss them like crazy if I lived too far away from them.” She sighed. “Having Kara in Los Angeles is already pretty frustrating.”
“I guess, I just got used to it.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I knew right from the start that I’d spend a lot of time away from my family when I started playing hockey. I see my family during the offseason a lot. Of course I miss them.”
“It’s good to have your family’s support, isn’t it?” She spoke from experience. Her parents had always encouraged her to follow her dreams, to send that finished script to an agent.
“It is. My father had always been my biggest supporter, my trainer.” When he was finished with his food, he leaned back, keeping his eyes on Kara who was still eating. “It’s been eight years since he died but it still feels like he’s watching me, you know?”
“I’m sure he does.” Kara reached over the table for his hand and gave it a light squeeze.
“And I still hate the fact that I wasn’t there when he died.” Disbelief showed on his face. Eight years had passed but he still thought about it that way. “He had leukemia and we knew that it wouldn’t be long anymore. I was called up to play for the Sudbury Wolves for a few games, because a lot of players were out with injuries. I wasn’t sure whether to go or not. We all knew that he wouldn’t be with us for much longer and I wanted to be with my family, but my Dad convinced me to go. He wanted it so badly that I went. He would have come to the games had he been able to travel. Instead he listened to the games on the radio.” She could see the hint of a smile. Even though these memories hurt, there was still something wonderful in them. “I called them after the first game. I couldn’t talk to him, because he was too weak, but my Mom told him every word I said.” He looked up at her. “That night my father died on his own terms, with his family around and not in the hospital. I didn’t know. Nobody had told me, because my father would have wanted me to play the other game I had been called up to play without worrying about my family and him.” Running a hand through his hair he got up and cleared the table. “The day after that game the coach drove me to the airport because my flight had been changed. That had already seemed weird. As soon as I saw my mother after the flight I knew. She didn’t have to say a word. When I got to her she broke down. I don’t know how long it took for us to leave the airport in the end.”
“I’m sorry”, Kara mumbled and got up from her chair. She walked to him and hugged him long and hard. When she finally let go, she looked up at him, adding, “You looked like you could use a hug.”
“Thank you.” He kissed her hair and took her hand. With the other one he opened the fridge to take the chocolate out. “Now let’s lie down on your sofa and watch TV, okay?”
“Perfect.” She rose on her toes and pressed her lips to his cheek. Lying down was exactly what she needed right now and a couple of minutes to process these facts. Benoit felt the same way. He didn’t talk about this very often, but it had felt good to share this with Kara.



There was suddenly only one more week left till Christmas and Kara had to finish off her list. She still needed a present for her Dad and one for her Agent. She’d gotten a book for Soupy she wanted him to read. Just a little something.
At home she would hardly have the time to go shopping, so she used the time she had in Chicago now. They’d landed late last night and the guys were at practice. She didn’t want to watch them so she’d decided to hit a few shops and see if she could find something. If she didn’t, she’d still have enough time to order from an online shop and get it to her apartment in time.
She was still debating whether she should get Benoit something for Christmas or not. Christmas was something different. She would get him something small, just in case and she already spotted the right thing. It was a Swedish dictionary. He’d told her that he’d love to learn a bit of Swedish just to piss Tuukka off.
She took the book and paid it. Off to the next store, but she got interrupted by her ringing phone. It was a number she didn’t know, but she answered it anyway. “Hello?”
“Hey, Kara.” A familiar voice sounded from halfway around the world. “It’s Abby. It’s so good to hear your voice again.”
“It’s about damn time you call me!” For a moment she was irritated, but happiness washed over her quickly and replaced the irritation. “But it’s good to hear your voice, too.”
“I’m so sorry. I wanted to call you, but there’s no reception in the outback and then I lost my phone.” Abby had been gone for three years now. The last time Kara had seen her had been about a year ago when she’d been in Los Angeles the last time. She’d been traveling around the world to write articles for a magazine. Articles about different places, the food, the people et cetera. Then she’d decided to spend some time in Australia, specifically in Sydney. She’d still written the articles for the magazine, but had concentrated on Sydney and other cities in Australia.
“So it worked out and you went in the outback?” Kara asked, pulling up the zipper of her coat and entering the store where it was a lot warmer and less windy.
“Yes. I was for about three weeks with wonderful people. But everything was saved on my phone, so it took me some time to find your number.” She sighed and pulled turned on the fan in front of her. It was summer in Australia and it was too hot for her liking. “I’m sorry, Kara.”
“It’s okay. I was worried, but I was really busy the last weeks, so I just thought you were busy as well.”
“You can tell me all about that in four weeks.”
“What?” Kara’s head shot up and she nearly dropped her phone. “What’s going on?”
“I’m coming back home.” Abby lay down on her bed. It was only ten in the morning, but it was already so hot that she kept her blinds drawn. Her biggest problem was that the air conditioning in her hotel room wasn’t working.
“So… You want me to visit you in Plymouth?”
“No, silly.” Kara heard a laugh at the other end of the line. “Boston. Boston has been my home for the last three to four years until I started traveling.”
“Really?” Kara couldn’t believe it. When Abby said again that she’d move back to Boston, Kara squealed a little. “You have no idea how happy I am.”
“So am I. I mean I loved traveling around, but it’s time to finally come home and pursue a new dream.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll tell you everything when I get there.” Abby got up from the bed again and took off her shirt. She missed Boston. “But I have a favor to ask. Can I stay with you for a couple of days? Until I find an apartment of my own?”
“Of course!” Kara would move heaven and earth to help her friends. She talked to Abby for a bit longer, making sure she knew when the flight would land.
When she got to Benoit’s room after the game, her mood couldn’t be better. She’s see Mika in a week, Abby was coming home and the Bruins had won against the Blackhawks. They’d won in a shootout, but still.
Benoit opened the door to her and instantly began to smile. “Well, hello there, beautiful.” He stepped aside to let her in. She had a small bag by her side and looked up at him. “What’s this?”
“A little surprrise.” She sat the bag down and took off her cardigan, standing in front of him in her sleeping shorts and a white t-shirt.
“Whatever it is, can I get something else first?” He stepped closer and couldn’t resist running a hand through her hair.
“What do you want then?” His hands ran down her sides until they reached her waist. He pulled her close and kissed her lips.
“That”, he mumbled between two kisses and didn’t let go of her until he was satisfied.
“How come I didn’t think of this first?”
“I don’t know. So, what’s the surprise?”
With a smile on her lips, Kara picked up the bag again, got two cupcakes out and put them on the nightstand. The next thing she got out was a little bottle. She turned to him and ordered: “Take the shirt off.”
“I like this already.” He followed her instructions and stared at her, one side of his lips curled up.
“No!” She knew what he was thinking. “I thought you could do with a little massage.”
“We can start with that.” They put a towel on the bed before he lay down on his stomach. Carefully Kara settled down on his bottom and asked him if it was okay. “Yes, it is. Don’t worry chéri!”
Kara squeezed a bit of oil onto his back and began to spread it. It had been a while since she’d last given someone a massage, but she could still do it. She started at his shoulders and slowly worked her way down, careful to not put pressure directly on the spine. She paid a lot of attention to his shoulders and neck, all the while careful not to hurt him especially in the neck area.
“You’ve got magical hands”, he mumbled into his pillow, putting a hand on her thigh.
“You should know that by now.” She felt the tension in his shoulders ease away and about half an hour later he asked her to stop, because he would fall asleep otherwise. There was no problem with falling asleep, but he had to take a shower before that, because he would get the oil all over his bed otherwise. Kara had to join him after he’d rubbed oil all over her arms. He’d only done that to get her to take a shower with him. Kara didn’t mind. She would have joined him anyway.