Baggage Claim

Brooke sat at the front desk while she grazed through her lunch and read through a couple case studies. It had been a pretty slow day for since Dr. Leviey had taken a personal day and the other doctor had been in surgery all morning. “So what are you doing tonight?” Kayla asked, getting up to put some patient files away. Brooke looked up from the desk and popped a grape into her mouth swiveling her chair around so she was facing Kayla.

“Probably just going home to pig out on ice cream and chip since these grapes are doing nothing for me,” Brooke said throwing the rest of them back into her bag. She ran her hands through her hair and rested her head in her hands. She turned to look at Kayla, sitting back at her computer and frowned. She hadn’t been feeling herself all day and she was in a crappy mood. “What about you?” Brooke asked.

“Well a couple of the other nurses and me are going out for drink if you wanted to join us. Try and cheer you up a little bit,” Kayla said with a friendly smile. Brooke had come to really enjoy spending time with Kayla and had been eating her lunch out at the front more and more often just to hang out and talk.

“Thanks for the offer but I’m just not up for it tonight, but I would love to go out some time. It’d be fun,” Brooke said with a smile.

“Sure,” Kayla said smiling back. “Sometimes the physio guys come out, so maybe you’ll run into Mr. dreamy who’s got the hot’s for ya!” Kayla said winking at Brooke.

“He does not have the hot’s for me,” Brooke said crinkling her nose up. Jake had asked Brooke out for coffee again this week but she had to decline because she was sitting in on a surgery. He was a really nice guy but Brooke didn’t think that he wanted to be anymore than just friends.

“Oh yeah he does. You’re beautiful and smart, you’re everything a guy wants, especially him,” Kayla said typing away at the computer.

“What ever you say,” Brooke said shaking her head and turning her attention back to her case studies.
….

“You’re going to skate hard to that corner, then up to the blue line, you’re then going to get a pass from Tony down here and you’re gonna go for it, alright boys let’s go,” Bylsma said before blowing his whistle and getting the drill started. They had had training camp all week and guys were starting to get back into rhythm from last season. There were some new faces hanging around and Sidney had noticed some notable players through out the week. A lot of the guys from last year were looking good and noticed who had really been working in the off season and who hadn’t. “How ya feeling today bud,” James asked skating up behind him.

“Good, really good,” Sid said answering the question watching the guys go in front of him. He had been training all summer to get back to where he was before the concussion symptoms and then the broken jaw. He wanted to put the last season behind him and move well beyond it especially since it was an Olympic year and he needed to be better than ever to not only bring to gold home but also the cup at the end of the season.

Sid was next and flew from the blue line down to the corner and then back again. He could feel his feet gliding beneath him and his legs pumping to move him forward. Sid got the puck and handled it down in front of Marc putting it on the back of his stick and up in the top corner of the net.

“Very nice Sid, very nice,” Sidney could here his coach say with the whistle still hanging out in his mouth. Sid watched the ice as he skated back in line and analyzed each move that he had made. He knew that he had to be sharper coming off of his angles to get going faster. Sid shook his head knowing that he needed to be better and head James come up behind him.


“So how’s Brooke?” James asked, keeping his eyes directed away from Sidney and towards the drill. Sid turned around to look at him and look quizzically at him.

“Uhh, she’s good, why?” Sid asked, pretty positive he knew why James was asking. Geno came up behind him, kneeling over with his stick across his knees.

“Just wondering. She seems like a pretty cool girl,” James said nonchalantly.

“Lazy just want to get in her pants,” Geno ssaid standing up and nudging James. They both started to laugh and Sid had to force himself to stifle a small laugh to not let it show that something was up.

“I mean I wouldn’t be saying no, she’s a babe,” Sid overheard before he flew back into the drill. When he got the puck, he took a shot with quiet a bit of force behind it, putting it right into Marcs glove.

“Fuck,” Sid said under his breath.
…

By the time Brooke had made it home from the hospital her mood had gone downhill even more. She noticed that Sidney still wasn’t home and assumed that he was talking with the coaches or still working out. She walked through the door from the garage and made her way upstairs to her room to change and drop off all of her bags. Brooke found an old high school track tshirt and her sleeping shorts and threw her hair up into a ponytail before heading back down stair to search for something to make for dinner.

She pulled open the door to the fridge only to be met with food the didn’t excite her in the least before closing it and checking the freezer. Brooke frowned when all she saw was meat and frozen fruit, not the ice cream that she had been thinking about all day. Brooked sighed when she closed the freezer and went to the cupboards only to find disappointment again. She was frustrated and hungry and really wasn’t in the mood to go back out to get but sort of left with no other options. “ughhhhhhhhhhh” Brooke yelled to herself a she stood in the kitchen not wanting to have to go back upstairs and change.

“What was that noise,” Sidney asked as he walked into the kitchen from the garage. Brooke jumped and turned around putting her hand over her heart.

“You scared me, I didn’t hear you come in,” Brooke said calming slightly.

“Sorry,” Sidney said as he set his gym bag down on the floor and but a rather large paper bag on the counter.

“It’s okay, and that was the noise of a fed up Brooke,” Brooke said walking over to where Sidney was standing.

“And why is Brooke fed up,” Sidney asked before placing a kiss on her cheek.

“Because I’m just not feeling fantastic and all I want to eat is ice cream and chips and there is nothing I really want to eat in the fridge and I’m just frustrated,” Brooke letting out breath when she finished feeling deflated.

“Well, I brought you food,” Sidney said as he opened up the bag sitting on the counter pulling out container after container of food. “I went to the grocery store and just picked up a whole bunch of to go stuff. So I grabbed soup, rice, chicken, beef, a couple plates of different vegetable dishes and I also got some French bread,” Sidney explained as he put everything out on the counter.

“You’re the best,” Brooke said as she looked through everything. It all smelt so good and it looked even better.

“I didn’t get any ice cream but maybe if you’re lucky, I’ll take you to get some after,” Sidney said smirking at her. Brooke rolled her eyes and went to get some forks and plates out of the cupboards.

“How was practice today,” She asked as she sat hopped up onto one of the breakfast stools and started rummaging through the food.

“It was good, the guys are looking good,” Sid said nodding along.

“And how were you feeling?” Brooke asked putting a fork full of food into her mouth. She knew that he didn’t like talking about his injuries but she was curious to know if there was any lasting effects from his jaw or even if his head was having a little bit of trouble catching up from his time off.

“I’m fine,” Sid answered clenching his jaw slightly. He knew she didn’t mean anything by asking him, but every single day all the time, someone was asking him how he felt and it was getting tiring that no one was understanding that he was fine. They sat in silence for a while, Brooke not wanting to make him upset and Sid not really knowing what to say.

“It’s really hard to focus on eating this when your ass looks really hot in those jeans,” Brooke said before taking a sip from her water. Sidney began to laugh when he heard what she had said.

“What?” he said still laughing at her. Brooke shrugged her shoulders as she placed her glass back down on the counter.

“It got you to laugh didn’t it?” Broke said arching her brow.

“I guess it did,” Sid said moving his food around on his plate a little.

“It’s also true,” she said smirking at him. Sid put his fork down and walked over to stand beside Brooke, turning her stool so that she was facing him. He took her fork out of her hand and placed it down on the counter.

“I think I’m ready for dessert, don’t you?” Sidney said playing with the hem of her shirt. Brooke giggled and grabbed his face and locking her lips with hers. She had been craving this the most all day with him and Sid favourite de-stressor was hearing her laugh.

“This is much better than ice cream,” Brooke said giggling against his neck as she kissed her way down to the collar of his shirt. She pulled the bottom of his shirt up and over his head, revealing the muscles that he had worked long and hard for all summer and Brooke wiggled just looking at him. “Much, much better,” She said smiled up at him.

Notes