Baggage Claim

Brooke wasn’t in Sidney’s bed when he woke up for his work out this morning and he assumed that she had woken up in the middle of the night and gone home to not raise too much suspicion as to where she had been all day. He had been at the rink for the past three hours getting used to being back on the ice for the first time since the season had ended and he had missed the feeling of being out here. He was pushing through his last sprint when he really started to feel his legs burning. He could hear the other guys pushing beside him and knew that they were feeling it just as bad as he was, if not worse. He dug his skates into the ice and pushed forward until he reached the red line and glided to a stop along the boards. “See you all tomorrow. Were going to start on dry land tomorrow so I’ll see you at ten again,” Andy had yelled to them from the other side of the ice. Sidney made his way back over to the net where the guys were gathering the pucks and some other equipment off the ice.

“I don’t how you guys are still looking like you could go another hour or two,” Nate said picking up the crate with the pucks in it. Both Matt Duchene and Sid looked and him smiling saying in unison, “It was an Olympic year.” Sidney had noticed how much easier it had been for him coming back after the end of the season this time. He had worked his body so hard and so meticulously for the past year that he had practically been in the best shape of his career. He was hoping to keep it up this season and had been happy with the way he felt on the ice today.

“I’m going to hurt in a few hours,” Nate said dropping the crate on the bench next to Andy who was talking with another trainer as they all headed to the locker room.

“It’s like you haven’t been doing this for a couple summers now,” Matt said laughing at his younger teammate as the sat down in their stalls.

“Nate just always drags his ass, that’s his problem,” Sidney said nodding towards him.

“Ha ha very funny, just wait till I kick both your asses tomorrow and we’ll see who slacks. I’m just saying that even though I’m a fine, working machine, I still need some things rubbed out every now and again,” He said with a smirk as he moved to take his shoulder pads off.

“Buddy, didn’t need that graphic image,” Matt said laughing at him and throwing his towel in Nate’s direction. Sidney sat there and laughed at the two of them as he began to remove his gear. He felt tired but he knew that it was more from the lack of sleep the night before and the exertion of his energy from his and Brooke’s activities.

“Nate, there’s a young lady here to see you,” one of the trainers called from the door. All the guys ‘oohed’ him as he got up and head for the door.

“Told you, fine oiled machine,” he said smirking at them before slipping out into the hallway.

“It would be nice to just not hear him talk for a few minutes,” Matt said as he threw his skates into his bag. Sidney laughed and shook his head.

“I can’t imagine what it’s like with him and Talbot in the same room together,” Sidney said knowing first hand how much his old teammate loved to hear himself talk.

“You know, I was just starting to forget until you brought that up,” Matt said getting up and heading to the showers.

“That good, huh?” he asked laughing at him.

“Shut up,” Matt said over his shoulder.

“What did you say? His hair looked bad?” Nate asked as he made his way back to his stall next to Sid’s.

“No, just about how much you and Talbot make his day. Who was out there?” Sid asked, standing to take off his hockey pants.

“Brooke. She was just checking to see if I still needed a ride to Brendan’s game so she’s waiting out there for me,” He explained, stripping down and wrapping a towel around his waist. He headed towards the showers leaving Sidney sitting there. He wanted to see her, especially after last night and quickly ran out into the hallway in his spandex and his hat pulled over his head. She was standing next to the glass with her back to him, watching as the Zamboni made it’s way around the ice. She was wearing a pair of frayed cut off jeans that fell off her legs and a white, baggy V-neck t-shirt. She looked relaxed and comfortable with her hair resting just over her shoulders. Sidney walked up to her slowly, watching a couple of the guys leaving the rink checking her out.

“Hey,” he said coming up beside her. She turned and smiled when she noticed it was him.

“Hey, how was practice?” she asked running her hands over her arms.

“I was good,” he said nodding his head. He didn’t really know what he had come out here to say to her but he was happy that he had after seeing her smile.

“That’s good, I’m sure it was nice getting back on the ice,” she said looking back out at the Zamboni passing by.

“Yeah, I was itching to get back. You know when you love something so much it’s hard to really stay away from it,” He said, getting her attention back on him. She seemed a little shocked by why he had said and he could see a blush grow in her cheeks.

“Yeah, I can understand that totally,” she said brushing some hair behind her ear. They stood there looking at one another, feeling the electricity that had built between them, making its presence more pronounced until the locker room door open and one of the guys walked out.

“I should probably go and finish getting ready,” Sidney said motioning towards the door.

“Yeah, looks like you could use a shower,” Brooke said smiling at him still dripping with sweat.

“Are you sure you don’t want a hug first,” Sidney said teasing her but stood where he was not wanting to draw any attention towards them.

“No, I think I’m more than okay, thanks” She said shaking her head. He nodded and turned towards the door heading back into the locker room. “Sid?” she said before he had completely disappeared. “Brendan’s game is at four by the way,” she said smiling at him. Sidney nodded his head and smirked to himself knowing that she wanted to be around him just as much as he wanted to be around her.
….

Brooke sat in the stands watching as the pitcher of the opposite team shook his head at his catcher and wound up to throw his pitch. Brendan was on deck and practicing his swing while he waited for his teammate to be done at bat. She didn’t realize how excited she had been to see him play again until she had gotten to the diamond and saw him warming up. When the batter had advanced to first base off his hit, Brendan walked up to the plate and lined his feet up. This was his first game of the season and Brooke could tell that he had been itching to get back out there to get some type of normalcy back in his life. He had only ended up missing two games after the funeral but they had been against the worst teams in the league so Brendan had agreed with his coach that the time off was needed and he wasn’t letting anyone down.

As she watched him up there staring the pitcher down she remembered what it had been like to be in a game like this. She could feel his excitement of being back up to bat, getting ready to send the ball to the outfield. When the pitcher threw in the pitch Brooke knew he was going to swing just to get the first one out of his system. It popped out over second base and landed in the outfield advancing him only to first and his one teammate who had been on third into home. It wasn’t the grand slams that he was used to but it was enough to get him smiling again. He was getting back to being Brendan again.

“I came out to watch and that’s all you’ve got Blake?” Nate yelled over at Brendan from just behind the fence. It was a good thing that he was only about ten feet away so he wouldn’t draw in more eyes that he already was. Brendan shook his head at his friend and returned his attention back to the game as Nate climbed up the steps to where Brooke was sitting.

“Well aren’t you the supportive friend,” Brooke shaking her head at him. She noticed the group of younger girls who were sitting a couple rows down in front of them turn around to check and see if it really was Nate who was sitting behind them. Brooke smiled think about how Nate really was a big deal now.

“Hey, I’m just trying to push him to be the best that he can be,” Nate said with a hand over his heart.

“What a treasure,” Brooke said rolling her eyes. He laughed and took a swig from his water that he had gone back to the car to get. “Question for you,” Brooke said adjusting the brim of the Orioles hat sitting on her head.

“Fire away,” he said leaning back on the bench behind him.

“Is it weird having everyone look at you everywhere you go now?” she said motioning to the people around them that had realized they had a local star amongst them. He shrugged his shoulders as he continued to the watch the game.

“Not so much now that I’ve dealt with it pretty heavy in Colorado for the season, but yeah, it was weird at first,” he said honestly. She nodded understanding that as a member of the home team it would be pretty chaotic for him there. She understood first hand what it was like for Sidney. He couldn’t really leave his house to go out and do normal things on a regular basis because of who he was.

“You saw what Sidney went through though, what I go through is nothing compared to him. I don’t envy him or anyone he’s with to be honest. It’s nice how people around here respect your privacy and realize that you’re just a normal person. I mean you still get people coming up to say ‘hi’ and wanting to meet you, which is awesome, but it’s at a more normal level if that makes sense. Sid’s told me some of the crazy shit he’s had to go through and it sucks,” Nate said shaking his head and laughing a bit. Brooke nodded understanding what he was getting at. “Speaking of Sid,” Nate said motion to the guy walking up the steps towards them. He sat down on the other side of Brooke once he had reached them and turned to Nate.

“What were you saying about me?” He asked.

“We were just talking about your insanely huge ass and how much Brooke envy’s it,” Nate said earning a shove from Brooke.

“I believe it was you who was saying that if you could have anyone’s ass it would be his,” Brooke said smirking at him and playing along with his teasing.

“What can I say, it’s a pretty good ass,” Nate said, shrugging his shoulders and taking another sip from his water. Both Brooke and Sidney were laughing at him as he sat there shaking his head.

“Is Vanessa going to be a little worried about whether you’re still into her or not?” Brooke asked patting his knee.

“I don’t think there is any reason in her mind to be worried about that,” He said smirking, earning an eye roll from Brooke and a giggle from Sidney. She turned and glared at him causing for him to laugh a little bit more.

“Don’t encourage him Crosby.”

“I’m a mentor, it’s sort of in my job description,” Sidney said smiling at her.

“Both of your heads are way to big for your own good,” Brooke said shaking her head and returning her attention back to game while both of the guys sat there laughing at her. Brooke watched as her Brother’s team took to the field and saw him running out to center.

“Are you going to Matt’s tonight, Sid?” Nate asked as he propped his elbows up on the bench.

“I was thinking about stopping by,” he said turning to look at him.

“Cool, Matt said something Melissa being there I think,” Nate said. Brooke’s ears perked up at that little bit of information.

“Who’s Melissa?” She asked turning to Sid. He went to answer but was cut off by Nate.

“She’s good friends with Matt’s girlfriend and designed an engagement ring for one of the guy’s on the team,” Nate explained. Brooke’s head snapped towards him as soon as he said engagement ring and Nate continued on. “Sid asked Matt is he could get him her number to make him something” he finished, turning to look at both the pairs of eyes drilling into him. “What?” Nate asked obliviously. Brooke turned back to the field and felt a million things rushing through her head but was pretty sure it was just her blood being pumped through her veins and an exceedingly fast pace. An engagement ring? Brooke had no idea what was going on between them and they had only physically been together a little over twenty-four hours ago. When had he come up with the idea of an engagement ring? Or was it even for her? Or was it even an engagement ring? She could feel herself starting to feel sick and needed to get out of there. She looked around and saw that there were a lot of people glancing in their direction and she was starting to feel herself having trouble breathing.

“Brooke,” she faintly heard and felt a hand on her back. She stood and started to walk down the stands as fast as she could go without tripping and falling. There was a little girl who was walking down the steps in front of her going as slowly as Brooke though was possible and almost ran her over before quickly stepping around her and descending down the rest of the stairs. She walked as quickly as she could to her car and fumbled to pull her keys out of her purse realizing that she had left her purse at her seat.

“Shit,” Brooke said turning around to go back to get it when she ran directly into Sidney’s chest.

“Sorry,” He said grabbing her arms to steady her and held her away from his body a little bit. “Sorry, are you okay?” Sidney asked ducking his head to try and look at her head on.

“I left my purse and I was just going back and then you happened to be here and-”

“Brooke, take a breath,” he said cutting her off. She took a deep breath and realized that it was a lot harder than it should have been.

“I think I’m having a panic attack,” she said, finding her breaths coming a lot quicker and shorter, not getting enough oxygen.

“Hey, what do you need?” Sidney asked, looking concerned.

“Truck,” was all she got out, before he was pulling her towards his truck. He opened the passenger door and practically picked her up and put her in the seat with her legs hanging out the door and him standing between them. She felt her eyes standing the burn and clamped them shut and held her breath trying to calm herself down but jumped when she felt Sidney’s mouth on hers. Brooke leaned back disconnecting herself from him and finally took in a deep enough breath that filled her lungs. She felt that her cheeks were damp and she sat there staring into Sidney’s eyes, searching to see if she was okay. “Why did you do that?” she asked in a low voice.

“Because it worked when you were freaking out at the hospital so I figured it may help you now,” he explained pushing her hair out of her face. She nodded and started to feel herself calming down and felt the tears drying up but still had the sick feeling in her stomach. “It’s not an engagement ring,” Sidney said stroking his thumb under her eye, wiping away the last tear.

“Huh?” Brooke said not really understanding.

“I’m not asking for the woman to custom make me an engagement ring. Well not right now anyways, but it’s not a ring,” he explained.

“Oh,” Brooke said letting out a deep breath. She felt better hearing him say that and felt stupid having freaked out like she had. “Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting all of that to come out of Nate’s mouth I guess,” she said taking his other and in hers.

“It’s fine, I think you’ve just had a lot of stuff to go through lately and that shock of news sort of put you over the edge.” Brooke nodded again understanding what he was getting at.

“What are you meeting with her for then?” Brooke asked looking down at their hands intertwined.

“Well I guess I can’t really keep it a secret now. I was going to ask for her to make you a pair of diamond earrings, something you can wear while at the hospital, for a graduation gift,” he said rubbing his thumb over her knuckles and kissing her on the forehead. Brooke looked up at him and was shocked once again.

“Sidney, you really don’t have to do that,” Brooke said shaking her head.

“I want to do it, you deserve it Brooke and so much more. I was a complete ass about everything that happening in December and everything else that has happened up until yesterday when you showed up at my house. I know this isn’t going to make up for anything that’s happened and I’m not trying to use it as a sorry but I want to show you that you deserve so much better and I want you to know how much you mean to me. You deserve the world Brooke and if I could give it to you, I would without hesitation. I love you. You’re it for me and I know that one day I am going to ask you to marry me and until that day, I’m going to prove all of this to you over and over again. Okay?” Sidney asked her, bringing both his hands up to the side of her face to hold her gaze on his. The tears were pouring down her cheeks at this point and she was smiling like an idiot. She had never expected to feel so much love towards another person than she did for Sidney in that moment and she thought to herself that he had already proven everything he had just said he would. He leaned in and rested his lips against hers before Brooke grabbed the sides of his shirt and pulled him tighter into her, indicating to Sidney to deepen the kiss. When he finally pulled away Brooke smiled up at him and he smiled back.

“I love you so much Sidney Patrick Crosby,” Brooke said before leaning in to kiss him again.

“I love you too Brooke,” he said back. “Let’s take you home to grab some clothes and you can stay the night with me after we talk to our parents,” he said stepping away from her legs so she could swing them into the truck. Brooke noticed her purse and hat sitting on the floor of the truck, realizing that Sidney must had grabbed them when he followed her out into the parking lot.

“The guys need a drive home,” Brooke said before he closed the door.

“I gave Nate your key’s, they’ll get home,” He said, shutting the door and walking around the truck to get in the drivers seat. Brooke let out a deep breath and felt extremely tired but smiled at Sidney as he climbed in the truck.

“Nate was right by the way,” Brooke said as Sidney started the truck.

“About what?”

“About you having an insanely nice ass,” she said smirking at him.

“Yours isn’t bad too look at either babe,” he said smirking back at her. She laughed and looked out the front window as they pulled out of the park and onto the main road. Brooke thought about all the things Sidney had just said to her and could feel the butterflies coming to life in her stomach. He was amazing and he had told her that he planned on spending the rest of his life with her and when the day comes for him to ask her, she knows with out a doubt that her answer will be yes.

Notes

Hello all!!! I'm super sorry about the long wait, I've had A LOT of issues with my laptop and also a huge case of writers block.

This is nowhere close to being done and I hope to keep the writing flowing but I hope that you enjoy this chapter even if it is a bit shitty but thank you all for staying with it and it means a lot that you all are reading it!

xoxox :)