Looking Up

-----Steve's POV

From keeping up with my hockey schedule to getting groceries with Elle for Thanksgiving, the past couple of days have been incredibly busy. Every day possible before I leave for the road trip to New York then Detroit, I have been going out with her to the closest ShopRite to pick up the mountain of food we'll be preparing.

"Elle?"

"Yeah?" she responds, following me up the stairs towards our apartment, our hands filled with bags of groceries.

"I feel terrible that I won't be there until the morning of Thanksgiving," I confess.

"It's okay! Don't worry about it! Trust me I got this. Well at least that's what I keep telling myself," she laughs light heartedly. "Besides, my mom, your mom, and I will be joining for forces to make the 4 tons of food we have."

"That's true. Are you sure you still want to pick them up from the airport on Tuesday? They said they can take a cab," I ask as we approach our door.

"Yes! Leave it all to me," Elle smiles trying to reassure me.

"Alright, if you say so," I say and we start to put all of the groceries away. As the time neared for me to catch the bus for New York, I was feeling guiltier by the second; I can tell Elle is stressed about cooking Thanksgiving for 20 plus people and I'm not going to be there to help- I'm just going to show up basically when a lot of the work is already done. Before I leave, we fool around a little, not knowing when we'd be alone next. She helps me carry some of my baggage to G's truck and kisses me goodbye before I head out.

*****

-----Elle's POV

My phone starts to ring, waking me up unpleasantly. I swipe over to accept the call, "Hello?" I answer sleepishly.

"Hey sunshine," Steve chuckles, "It's almost 7:30, I hope you didn't forget you have to pick up my parents."

I sit up immediately and look at the alarm clock, "Shit! I'm sorry Steve! I don't know why it didn't go off!" I rush off the couch and start to brush my teeth, pressing my phone against my ear with my shoulder.

"It's fine! You still have a half hour Elle."

"I know but with traffic, I'll be pushing it," I say with my mouth full of toothpaste.

"It'll be good, I'll talk to you later okay? I've gotta get to practice."

"Alright, see ya!" I say just before hanging up. Once I wash my face, I throw on some jeans and a sweatshirt, and rush to the airport with a bagel in one hand.

Luckily, I get to the airport just in time to pick up Steve's parents outside of baggage claim. Suddenly, I recognize a voice shouting from behind us.

"Hey! Wait for me guys!"

"Tyler?!" I exclaim, "Steve didn't say you were coming!"

"Well he didn't- I wouldn't let them tell you," he laughs, "hope you guys made enough food for one more!"

"The more the merrier," I shake my head and smile- this was going to be an interesting Thanksgiving.

We exchange hellos and hugs before leaving to head back to the apartment. Just before we pull into the parking garage, my dad calls to tell me they're on their way to our apartment, and I give them our address once again before hanging up. With one set of parents here and another on the way and Thanksgiving coming up fast, I feel like my head is about to explode with stress- is this what my mom felt like when she was first put in charge of Thanksgiving? I help the Masons with their luggage and tell them they can put their things in the guest room. I offer them, Steve and I's bedroom but they insist my parents take it because of my dad.

Once my parents arrive, the Masons head down into the parking garage with me to greet them. I am taken aback suddenly as I realize there is a third person in the car.

"Jen?" I let out as soon as I recognize her.

"Hey Sis!" she jumps out of the car and envelops me in a hug, "I wanted to surprise you!"

"Well it definitely worked," I laugh. I forgot how much I missed my sister- I haven't seen her in about 5 months- I couldn't wait to catch up.

"Looks like I wasn't the only sibling planning to make a surprise appearance," Tyler chimes from behind me.

I introduce them to each other and everything seems to be going great, thankfully. Mr. Mason, Tyler and I bring in their luggage to our apartment even though my dad resists at first. Before we even get to the door, Jen and Ty are already talking up a storm. When we get up stairs, I put all of their stuff in Steve and I's bedroom. After everyone gets settled and talking, I head into the weight room to step away. I sit down on the bench, let out a big sigh, and call Steve, hoping he's out of practice and free to talk.

"Hey!"

"Hey there, how was practice?" I must've sounded tired because Steve avoids my question.

"Are your parents there? How's everything there?"

"Yes and it's actually going good, they seem to be getting along great actually. My sister is here too- she wanted to surprise me." I admit just before I hear them laughing from the living room.

"Sounds great, I can't wait to meet her! When are you going to start cooking your first wave of food?"

"Probably after we hang up on the phone, I didn't realize it's already 2," I say exasperatedly, secretly wishing Steve would be here for all of the chaos that was going to be starting soon. After a couple of minutes, we say our goodbyes and I wish him luck on the game tonight.

Once I come out of the weight room, we get a start on some of the food we'll be making- we start making all of the sweets and some other stuff for Thursday's feast.

"So how are you and Steve?" my sister asks me slyly with only Ty in the room- everyone else had turned in for bed already.

"We're good."

"That's it? Come on!"

"There's gotta be more than that," Ty says butting into the conversation, "When are you becoming my sister-in-law?"

"Ty! We've only been dating for like 8 months!"

"So? Doesn't mean you're not thinking about it," Jen says as she steals some of Ty's ice cream.

"Okay, maybe I thought about it a few times, but it's not like I'm picking out my wedding dress and color scheme," I chuckle, "you can't tell him."

"I won't!" Jen and Ty say simultaneously.
"But that doesn't mean I won't do some digging," Ty smirks, arches his eyebrows and gives us both a look.

"Whatever Ty," I laugh. We all fall asleep on the couches in the living room watching TV.

*****

After the game against Detroit ends, my dad turns off the TV and Mrs. Mason lets out a loud sigh, "well hopefully he won't be in that bad of a mood."

I shake my head as I wrap up the sweet potatoes and find some space for them in the fridge, "I hope not either."

"All this food is bound to put all those boys in better spirits," my mom chimes from the other side of the kitchen wrapping some pies up in tin foil.

Before Jen, Ty, and I go to bed, they bother me with more questions about life and my relationship with Steve. But I turn the tables and ask them about their lives- we end up talking until 2 o'clock in the morning before I fall asleep.

The next morning, around 6:00am, I head out of the apartment with George quietly trying not to wake anyone up and head to the airport to pick up Steve. After only 2 minutes, I see some of the guys walking through baggage claim and I hop out of the truck to greet them with George's leash in one hand. The guys sleepily say hey to me and stop to talk about tonight's dinner details like what time to come. Steve's face lights up when we meet each other's gaze and he quickly makes his way over to us.

"I'll leave you two love birds alone, see you later tonight Ellie," Raffl rubs my shoulder and says with his thick Austrian accent before stepping away with Zac and Michael.

I give Steve a big hug and he rubs my back lightly, "how's the parents?"

"They're good, and still getting along great," I smile, "I'll get your bags if you wanna take George?"

"Sure but you only get to carry my backpack," he smiles and kisses my forehead as he takes George's leash and pulls his duffel bag and slings it over his shoulder. On our way back to the apartment I tell him about our preparations for Thanksgiving and what we'll be doing today. I don't ask him about the past two games since he seems like he's in a good mood.

When we get back to our apartment, everyone seems to be still in bed so we sit on the couch, drink some coffee and talk quietly until we decide to start getting the turkey and stuffing ready. However, Ty and Jen are nowhere in sight, catching me off guard- I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this surprise thing from Steve. Our laughing and talking get louder and louder until we hear a door open down the hall.

"So glad to see you two are having some fun," Mrs. Mason smiles and hugs her son tight before grabbing a cup of coffee.

"You're son thought it would be funny to wipe turkey slime all over my face," I laugh and give Steve a playful sneer.

"Well you did ask me to help," he smirks and presses his lips down onto mine softly causing my heart to flutter.

"You guys are so cute," I hear his mom chime from the couch and I feel my face flush all shades of red.

"Thanks mom," Steve laughs as he washes his hands.

Ty and Jen burst through the apartment door laughing and Steve looks at me wide eyed. After the brothers reunite, I introduce him properly to my sister. They hit it off almost immediately and we all sit on the couch to talk, taking a break before the real Thanksgiving chaos goes full throttle.

The hours before the dinner starts, are spent heating up the food, making more food, and setting up the tables for all of the people coming. The smell of turkey fills the apartment soon before it's done.

"Holy crap it's already 5!"I yell when I see the time as I'm setting up the ping-pong table with Ty. Everyone, including Steve, is already dressed except for me.

"Go get ready! We've got this under control," my dad says and pushes me into the bedroom. I quickly braid my hair, throw on a pair of clean jeans, a big knitted sweater, and slip on my moccasins and I'm back out in 10 minutes, just in time for everyone starting to show up.

The first people to show up are Jamie, Andy, Claude, Ryanne, Jakub and his girlfriend Catherine. The Schenns, Wayne, Zac, Raffl, Sean, Matt and Erin Read, Pierre, and Michael file in soon after them and before too long, the apartment is filled with talking, laughing, and music.

While some of the guys yell and laugh at the ping pong table, others help me and Steve bring food out onto the enormous tables we have set up. Once we get the last tray of turkey on the table, we call everyone over. The tables are covered in plates of food, not one inch is spared. We all grab our plates and move around the table to collect the food we want. Once everyone is done, we all find an seat at the table. Before we dig into the food all of the guys are complimenting how it looks, and I can't help but to feel proud of myself and everyone who helped for all the work we put in.

"Alright boys, it's a Mason and Bostic Thanksgiving tradition to go around the table a name something you're thankful for," Mrs. Mason says above the chatter before anyone touches their food.

"Alright, I'll go first," I hear Steve say next to me, "I'm thankful that we could all get together like this, my family, the team and Elle," he smiles and some of the guys chirp him. Most of the guys that go after Steve say they're thankful for the team and our dinner.


"I'm thankful for the team and of course Elle's amazing baking and all the food. Oh and the team," Brayden laughs, and we all laugh with him.

"I'm thankful for the team, Ryanne, and grilled cheese," G admits and pats my dad on the back, "and Mr. Bostic being our biggest fan." We all smile and laugh waiting for my dad to go next.

"Well I'm thankful for my beautiful family, this dinner, my life and for you guys looking after Elle," my dad grins and rubs my back with my hand. The guys look at us, and I can see sadness in their eyes but still a hint of happiness.

"I'm thankful for getting everyone together safely, my family, Steve and the team," I say squeezing his hand lightly underneath the table, "and now we can all dig in!" I say happily.

"Ellie, you need to hold more team dinners and have you cook for all of us," Raffl says just before scooping a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"I totally agree with that," Jakub chimes before taking bites of turkey.

Everyone only had nice things to say, and I couldn't have been any happier. Before taking any bites of my food, I looked at the 24 people around the table smiling, talking, and laughing with each other. I slowly realized that the thing I was most thankful for wasn't just Steve or the bakery, it was the family I had that didn't just include relatives, but Claude, Sean, Jakub and the rest of the guys too. Looking at my dad, I knew he wasn't going to be with us much longer but I know I'll be okay with this family supporting me.

After dinner, we clear some of the empty food platters off the table and replace them with pies, ice cream, pastries, cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and cakes. Once Luke and Brayden see how many sweets we're bringing out, they start to go crazy.

"Holy shit Elle! This is so much!" Luke yells filling his plate with cupcakes, brownies, and ice cream.

"It tastes so good!" Brayden shouts taking a bite into his fudge brownie and everyone laughs.

"Thanks guys," I smile, "I'll make sure to send you back with any leftovers."

"I wouldn't bet on that," Zac chimes watching the brother down their sweets as he scoops himself some ice cream.

"You've gotta bake stuff more often Ellie," Brayden says with a mouthful of cake.

"I wouldn't tell them about the bakery Elle, I'm pretty sure they'd clear the entire store out," Wayne laughs.

"I'm sure too," I giggle watching them fill their plates up more with sugar cookies.

Towards the end of the night, everyone starts to leave, giving Steve and I's families' hugs and thank you's on their way out. Steve, Ty, Jen and I take turns tackling the amount of dishes letting our parents relax during a holiday for once.

*****

"So Steve, how're you and Elle?" Ty asks me as he scrubs a plate while the girls were in the dining room chatting.

"Good. Really good, why?" I reply as I dry a dinner plate.

"Well when am I going to hear wedding bells? You two are obviously mad for each other."

I stop mid motion, "Ty, we haven't been dating for that long. I mean don't tell her but I've been thing about it from time to time. But I highly doubt she's even got marriage on her mind," I quickly rush out.

"Well that's not what she said," Ty gives me a devilish smirk, rinses the suds off his hands and goes out to the dining room leaving me stunned.

I try to shake the thought out of my mind before heading into the dining room to see her. Soon after, Elle and I blow up three separate air mattresses for the four of us before we all change into our pajamas and watch some TV. Elle and I curl up together and tangle ourselves in our blankets. As expected, she falls asleep within minutes of closing her eyes, all the stress from preparing for Thanksgiving is finally over and her face looks so peaceful. I kiss her on the forehead and doze off thinking about what Andy said about marriage earlier.

Notes

Hey guys! I hope you had a great weekend- too bad the Flyers lost again. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I would've posted it earlier but I've been in the art studio all day. Sorry it's such a long chapter but I though it'd be silly to split it up. I should have the next chapter up soon! (There's prob a lot of errors in this but I just wanted to get it asap).
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