Everybody knew Patrick Kane. Or at least they thought they knew him, based on what was on the news, what he showed on the ice. But there was a different side to him. One that not everybody knew about. That he showed to his teammates, friends, and especially to his little girl, Anna.
Yes, sleeping around, enjoying his single life, had produced Anna. About three years ago Anna’s mother had shown up at his door to show him the baby. He’d demand a paternity test, but as soon as he’d seen her, he’d been sure that she was his daughter. She looked just like him when he’d been a baby. She had blonde hair with a bit of red thrown in and big blue eyes. The mother didn’t want her. It was up to him. He could either take care of Anna or they’d give her up for adoption.
Patrick didn’t even have to think about it. It was his daughter and as a father he had a responsibility. Sharpy, Jonathan, and the rest of the team all supported him and helped him. Abby Sharp even shared her knowledge with him. The first months were very stressful, but it was the off-season. Luckily the woman had shown up when the playoffs had already been over for the Blackhawks.
Now, three years later, Patrick didn’t regret the choices he’d made. It was already mid-June again and the season was over. He was sitting in his garden, feet in the kiddy pool in which Anna was sitting. He’d promised her to go to the beach with her this year. Probably Florida. He hadn’t booked anything, yet, though.
When Anna’s head snapped up and her face brightened, Patrick immediately knew who’d walked in the garden. Anna jumped up, climbed out of the kiddy pool and ran towards the gate.
“Uncle Jon! Uncle Jon!”
Jonathan Toews picked her up with a big grin on his face. He’d promised her to stop by on his way home. And he always kept his promises.
“Someone’s chipper today.” He kissed the top of her head, not the least bit worried about getting his clothes wet. Her hair was dripping, because she’d had her head under water again and again. She loved the water as well as snow and ice. Just like her Dad.
Patrick got up to watch the two of them. “She always is, when she knows that you’ll visit her.” It was true. Jonathan had spent a lot of time with Anna and she loved him as much as she loved Patrick.
They’d even been on vacation together. They’d visited Jonathan’s family as well as Patrick’s together. Anna had a whole hockey team to call her family. She didn’t need a mother who didn’t want her to be happy. She kind of had two dad’s and one hell of a lot of uncles and aunts.
“I know. And this time I didn’t even bring anything special.“ Jonathan put her back down in the pool, where she could start playing with her doll again. When he turned to Patrick again, his smile faltered. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I think I just miss being on the ice. It’s only been a couple of weeks, but I’m so used to it.”
“I know what you mean. But you can spend your time with Anna.” Jonathan cast a quick glance at her playing in the pool, grinning from ear to ear. “How about you ask Abby and Patrick to watch her for a couple of hours tomorrow and we go and shoot some pucks?”
“Sound like a plan. I’ll call them straight away.” Patrick went inside to make the call. Abby was delighted to have Anna over, but she wanted them to take her husband with them. She could use a few hours without him, and she knew that he missed being on the ice as well.
“What did they say?” Jonathan asked as soon as Patrick returned.
“Abby said yes, but we have to take Sharpy with us.” Patrick crossed his arms over his chest.
“The more the merrier,” Jonathan laughed. He was looking forward to seeing Sharpy as well. They’d have fun the following day. Skate for hours, shoot some pucks and probably end up lying on the ice, laughing because of the stupid stuff they’d be doing. “So, you’ll pick up Sharpy, then me?”
“Yes, that’s the easiest way.” It would be a lot better than all three of them driving there individually.
“Good. I’ve got to get going again.” Jonathan squatted down to Anna and reached his hand out to her. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? Now give me some sugar!”
Anna squealed and threw her arms around his neck. She kissed his cheek and smiled at him so brightly that it would light up the darkest room.
Jonathan would have liked to stay a little longer, but it wasn’t possible that day. He had work that awaited him at home, and he’d see the two of them the following day anyway. After hockey they’d most likely end up at Patrick’s place, watching a Disney movie together with Anna.
Patrick walked his friend out to the car, crossed his arms and said: “I’m looking forward to kicking your ass tomorrow.”
Jonathan shook his head. “Idiot!”
Patrick shook his head laughing and headed back to the garden. Anna was looking up at him expectantly. Her hair had already dried a little, so the curls came out.
“And you, little lady, are going to take a bath now.”
“No!” She giggled and got up to run away from him, but Patrick was faster. He picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. As soon as her body was in the water she got distracted by the rubber duck swimming on the surface. Patrick scrubbed her body and gave her some time to play, so he could prepare a light dinner.
When he’d dried her off, she put on her pajamas. They ate together, but Anna nearly fell asleep sitting at the table. When Patrick asked her if she was tired, she shook her head and denied it repeatedly. Her eyes drifted shut again.
“I’ll tuck you in, okay?”
“Okay,” Anna finally gave in.
Patrick picked her up and carried her to her room. On the way there she was already asleep. It brought a smile to his lips. She always denied that she was tired, but fell asleep so quickly that he envied her sometimes.
Carefully he put her down in her bed and covered her with the thin sheet. For a few minutes he stayed there, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest.
“Good night, baby girl,” he whispered before he turned around and closed the door.

Jonathan had just finished packing everything he needed for the session with his two teammates when his phone rang. At first he didn’t want to answer it, figuring that it would be his mother or someone else who’d keep him on the phone for hours, but then he saw a number he recognized. It was Patrick Sharp’s. Maybe it was important. Maybe he wanted to tell him that they’d arrive at his place later than they’d planned.
“Hey, what’s up?” Jonathan finally answered the phone and sat down on the sofa to tie his shoes.
“I wanted to come by to tell you this, but we’re already at the hospital.” Patrick’s voice was hoarse. Jonathan could hear noises in the background. The fact that they were at hospital made him sit up straight. “Abby is taking care of Anna and, to be honest, we need you here.” Patrick was rambling on, but so far, Jonathan hadn’t heard why they even were at the hospital.
“Sharp!” Jonathan finally said with determination. “What happened?”
“Patrick brought Anna here. He looked really pale and he just… He dropped down. I don’t know why. We called the ambulance, but he was… He was already dead.”
“What?” Jonathan mumbled, unable to process what he’d just heard. That couldn’t be true. Sharpy sounded so calm on the phone, that Jonathan thought, hoped, that it was a joke. “This is not funny, Patrick.”
“I wish it was a joke, Jonny, I really do. Abby is taking care of Anna and I’m here all by myself.” That was when his voice cracked and Jonathan knew that he was telling the truth. “Can you please come here? I don’t know what to do.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” He hung up the phone, not sure how he’d get to the hospital. If he drove his own car there, he’d be a danger for everyone else out on the streets. A taxi would take too long. Without thinking about it any more, he grabbed his car keys, got behind the wheel and drove off to the hospital.
He wouldn’t think about what Sharpy had said on the phone. He wouldn’t believe this until his saw Kaner’s dead body with his own eyes. Even then he wouldn’t accept it. Right now he focused on the street and on getting to the hospital.
With shaking hands Jonathan entered the building where Patrick Sharp was already waiting for him. His eyes were red and he was pale. He wasn’t sure who needed the hug they were sharing now more. Patrick or him.
“Thank God, you’re here,” Sharpy said, his voice barely audible. “Anna doesn’t really know what happened. She was already in the kitchen with Abby. She could stop Anna from coming back to the living room. We told her, that her father’s here and that you’d come soon, but she doesn’t know that her Dad won’t return.”
“Patrick, stop!” Jonathan sighed. His hands were still shaking and it was hard for him to keep his composure. “You’re rambling again.” He took a deep breath and looked Sharpy in the eyes. “Can we see him?”
He had to see him. Had to convince himself that his best friend would never skate with him again. That they’d never share a laugh again. That there was nothing he could do to bring him back.
Patrick nodded his head and took Jonathan to see their dead friend. Sharpy couldn’t enter the room again. And he wanted to give Jonathan some time alone. He would definitely need it. Instead of standing guard in front of the door, Patrick headed to the room where his wife was staying with Anna. He needed her calming words, her soft touch to stay calm. This was affecting him more than he let on. He could only imagine what was going on in Jonny’s head.
Jon watched him go, before he turned to the door again. He knew he had to do it, had to see him, but the first step through this door was the hardest thing he’d ever done.
The person lying there looked like Patrick, but it couldn’t be him. With a heavy heart he stepped closer, because deep down he knew that it really was Patrick lying there. He looked so peaceful, like nothing had happened. The scar right above his right eye that he’d gotten last season was visible only when you knew that it was there.
There was nothing visible on his body that indicated that something had happened. He still looked like the same guy Jonathan had seen just the day before. Pale as ever. Shock and realization hit Jonny when he put his hand on top of Patrick’s and felt how cold he was.
“Why do you always have to be the first at everything, Pat?” Jonathan mumbled when he felt tears well up in his eyes. Until now he’d been able to control his emotions. Seeing that it all wasn’t just a dream, Jonathan let the tears fall. They hit the sheet that was covering Patrick’s body. His clothes were lying on a chair in the corner. Jonathan could see his Blackhawks jersey and had to take a deep breath to keep himself from breaking down. He had to be strong. For Anna. For Patrick and Abby and everyone else.
But right now, in the confinements of this room, he let the tears stream down his face. Because he knew, when he left the room again, he’d have to take care of a little girl, make her understand that her Dad would never come back to play with her.
He didn’t know how long he’d been sitting there, when the doctor entered the room. Jonathan brushed the tears away.
“Jonathan Toews?”
“Yes.” He turned to face the doctor.
“I’m sorry for your loss. We know that you’re his emergency contact.”
They’d done that some time ago. Jonathan would take care of everything should something happen to Patrick and the other way around. Back then they’d never thought that it would come to this.
“Can you tell me what happened?” Jon turned his back to Patrick, not able to look at him any longer without breaking down.
“A blood vessel in his brain burst. He was instantly dead without suffering.”
“Was there anything that could have been done to prevent that? Do you know what caused it?” Jonathan shoved his hands deep in his pockets to hide the tremor in them.
“No.” The doctor shook his head. “There was nothing you could have done, I’m sorry.”
“Okay.”
“If there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know.”
“Thank you.” Jonathan nodded and left the room. Now it was up to him to talk to Anna. With every step he took, his heart grew heavier. He knew that Patrick, Abby and Anna were waiting for him, but all he wanted was to run away. Far away and forget all this happened.
When he opened the door, Abby went straight towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezed him tight. A hug from a friend could feel so good when you really needed it. It was the best, most comforting thing in the world, but it made him realize even more that this wasn’t just a bad dream.
“We told Anna what happened. It’s already hard enough for you, so you shouldn’t be the one to tell her.”
“Thank you, Abby,” Jonathan said weakly, before his eyes fell upon Anna. She was sitting next to Patrick, clutching her Hulk plush puppet to her chest, eyes red from crying. As soon as he kneeled down, Anna came rushing towards him and practically flew into his arms. Jonathan immediately wrapped his arms around her and got up. No, he wouldn’t cry again. Not here, not now. Maybe when he was at home and Anna was asleep. She didn’t need to see him cry. “I’m here, baby girl. And I won’t go anywhere.”
She cried at his shoulder, but didn’t say a word. Jonathan talked to Abby and Patrick for a moment, told them that he’d take Anna to his apartment. They’d talk the following day. For now it was important that Anna got out of the hospital, into familiar surroundings. They couldn’t go to Patrick’s house now, but Jonathan had a lot of things that belonged to Anna at his own apartment.
Once they were there, Jonathan tried to concentrate on what he should do. He had to take care of Anna. All his efforts didn’t lead anywhere. She didn’t want to eat anything or watch a movie. He didn’t know what he’d expected. She was so exhausted from crying, that all she wanted to do was sleep.
He changed her into her pajama and put her in his own bed. He had a lot of stuff for her at his apartment, but a bed wasn’t among them. He’d kissed her forehead and rose to leave the room, but Anna grabbed his hand.
“Don’t go!” she said with blurry eyes. Her fingers were wrapped tightly around his thumb. Her trembling bottom lip made him lie down next to her and wrap his arms around her tiny bottom. She buried her face in his chest and clung to his shirt. After some time he could feel her fingers relax, hear her shallow breathing. It made him realized how exhausted he was himself.
“I’ll take care of you.” Jonathan kissed the top of her head, before he closed his eyes. Maybe, when he woke up, it would all be just a dream and Patrick would laugh at him. They’d skate together on the ice, shoot some pucks and look forward to the next season. It would never happen, but Jonathan could still hope.

“Jonathan? We have to go.” Patrick Sharp’s voice echoed through the dark room. It was two weeks later, the day of the funeral. Jonathan had come to Patrick’s house along with Sharpy, because they’d wanted to pack up Anna’s stuff to bring it to Jonathan’s place later. And a couple of their friends, of their teammates would join them for a small party at the house after the funeral. It was what Patrick had wanted. He’d never wanted others to cry over him. They should celebrate, have a drink on him and tell stories about him. They could mourn him when they were alone.
Jonny got up from his best friend’s bed and looked around once again. He knew that they had to go, but he didn’t want to. He wasn’t ready to face everyone else, talk in front of them and invite them over afterwards. It had been bad enough when he’d met Patrick’s parents the day before.
Abby was already there with Anna. The whole team had turned up, loads of people were there. Patrick had really been a loved person. He had been difficult to deal with at times, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d been a great hockey player, wonderful friend, and loving father. Jonathan said all this when he talked to the people gathered there.
“Let’s just remember the good times we shared with Patrick. All the fun we had on and off the ice.” Jonathan smiled when he remembered the last game, when they’d won the Stanley Cup. The expression on Patrick’s face would be one he’d never forget. “He’s brought us so much happiness and we should remember just that about him. He was more like a brother to me than a friend. He loved hockey so much, but there was one thing he loved even more. His little daughter Anna. She was the light in his life, the reason he got up in the morning. He loved you so much, baby girl, and I know that he’ll watch over you for the rest of your life.”
With that Jonathan stepped down. Anna came running his way, and he picked her up. He brushed her tears away and kissed the top of her head. They’d manage. It would take some time to get over the loss and they’d never forget Patrick.
“I love you, uncle Jonny.” Anna rested her head against his shoulder.
“I love you, too, baby girl.”
Jonathan took his seat with Anna in his lap. All the people here loved Patrick and would support him and Anna. Without Patrick and Abby Sharp he wouldn’t even have made it through the last two weeks. They’d given him strength.
It wouldn’t be easy for him to carry on living without Patrick, but he’d have to do it. Patrick would have wanted him to. And he had to do it for Anna. For the little girl that had been abandoned by her mother, who’d lost her father. They were a family and they would try their best to keep on living without this wonderful person in their lives.
Jonathan looked down at Anna, who resembled Patrick so much, that it hurt. She had the same eyes, the same smile and especially the same attitude, even if she was only three years old. She didn’t take shit from anyone. With Anna, Patrick lived on. Jonathan wasn’t sure if that made dealing with his death easier or harder, but he didn’t care. He would try hard to be the best uncle in the world for Anna. He could never replace Patrick, but he could be there for her, raise her the way Patrick would have done.
For a moment he closed his eyes and remembered the last day he’d seen Patrick. The last word he’d said to him had been “Idiot”. If he had the chance to change this last word to something else, he wouldn’t do it. This was just who they were. For other people it might have been horrible to have called their friend an idiot at their very last encounter. In Jonathan’s case it put a smile on his face. They’d always called each other names, and Patrick Kane would forever be his idiot.

Notes

I haven't written a one shot in quite some time. one night the idea for this hit me and I had to write it down. I don't know how you'll react to this kind of story, especially the people who've read my other woorks, but I'd like to find out. Tell me what you think, please, because critique is always welcome.