Part of the Team (ON HOLD)

Wait…what?

Peter Budaj. Of the Montreal Canadiens. Wants to adopt me.

Why? How?

My brain raced. He has known me for all of maybe ten hours over the course of two days. Why on earth would he want to adopt me? This wasn’t a good move media wise; if he did go through with this the media would surely get a hold of it quickly. It would be a circus, and I really didn’t want to deal with that. He lived alone, I didn’t want to intrude on his bachelor privacy. Was he even ready for a teenager to live in his apartment? Probably not. What about away game? Where would I go then?

My thoughts flipped. Here was my favorite player on my favorite team wanting to adopt me. In theory, I would get to be around the rest of the team a lot. From the few hours I spent with them, we could get along very nicely. Out of all of them, I would want Peter to adopt me.

A fresh wave of thoughts erupted. I would finally get a family. I would finally know what it feels like to be loved. Sure, people like Mat and Chelsea had come along, but now. Now, I would actually belong to someone. I would have – in a sense – my own house, my own room, my own things.

I would have a family.

I’m sure a million thoughts flashed across my face, as I watched Peter’s smile disappear. He looked at me concerned, though he didn’t say anything. I stayed silent, considering everything my brain had produced. Of course, I already knew my answer. No amount of internal debating could change my mind.

A small smile broke through my lips. Peter’s face mirrored mine. A felt tears well up in my eyes and spill over.

A family.

I let out a small sob, and latched onto Buds. I felt him wrap his arms around my, rubbing my back slowly. He held me a minute before speaking. Well, laughing.

“So, I’ll take that as an agreement?” I felt him smile. I pulled back and nodded, wiping my eyes. I looked up at him. He still held my shoulders. A big grin was still on his face.

“This is a really new thing for me too, so I guess we’ll go through it together.” He said. I looked at him incredulously.

“Don’t you think you should consider what you are doing?” I asked. He shook his head no.

“Going with my gut.” He replied as he got up and headed for the door. Chelsea was waiting on the other side with a clipboard. She was no longer crying, although you could tell that she had been. She wordlessly handed Peter the papers. He returned to his position on my bed. He scribbled some stuff on the paper, checking boxes and such. After a few minutes, he looked up and handed me the pen. I slowly took the clipboard, looking at the blank line. Peter had already signed his name; all that was left was mine. The pen hovered over the paper. I grinned and looked at Peter.

“Are you ready for this?” I asked. He laughed.

“Yea. I’ll make sure you don’t regret this.” He replied sincerely.

I heard the sincerity in his voice and saw it in his eyes.

Without hesitation, I signed, sealing my fate. This. Was gonna be good.

I returned the paper to Peter, and he relayed it to Chelsea. I assumed she would fax it over to the foster home.

Feeling giddy, I offered a high-five to Peter; he laughed and accepted it.

“Alright Elizabeth Budaj” – I laughed; he added extra emphasis to the name – “I have to go, but I will try to be back every day, before or after practice. Once your leg gets better, I guess I can show you your new home.”

“So should I call you dad now?” I questioned jokingly.

“If you want.” He answered honestly, shrugging. I nodded.

“Well byeeee new legal guardian!” I cried, flinging my arms open for a hug. He gave me a one-armed hug, and kissed my head. When he reached the door, he opening it and paused, one hand on it.

“I think this is the start of something beautiful.”


************************************************************


Today was the day. I was going home.

Home.

Peter had kept his promise and visited me every day, sometimes with food, other times with his smile. In the weeks leading up to my leg healing, I had learned to love another side of the Slovak backup. He was probably the nicest person ever. We talked about everything, learning so much about each other. It didn’t feel any different knowing he had adopted me, I felt like the moment he first walked into my room I had known him for my whole life.

All the stitched were removed from my leg and it had fully healed. There was a scar, but it wasn’t that bad. It defiantly was noticeable, but it wasn’t gross. Doc had done a final checkup of both my injuries, and after scheduling my arm appointment, I was officially checked out of the hospital.

I sat on chest in my temporary room. Everything I owned was once again packed inside of it, and Peter had promised to bring extra muscle to carry it to his car. I gazed around the room, waiting for him. I still couldn’t believe this was actually happening.

I was pretty much getting adopted by THE Montreal Canadiens.

I heard the door open behind me, and I turned to face three people in my new future.

Notes

All I could think about while writing the name-signing scene was this xD

SORRY I UPDATED SO LATE I LEFT YOU WITH A CLIFFHANGER TOO HEMMEGED SORRY


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