Dustin walked through his front door, scrolling down his phone. He made a group message with the other hockey staff a week ago (well, Audrey did for him), so they could discuss the team together. He heard his four youngest cheering when he walked through the door. They hugged him and he patted each on the head, kissing them as well.

He walked into the kitchen with his eyes still on his phone. He looked up and four sets of eyes met his. He didn’t recognize three of them, but the fourth was his daughter. She looked up from her phone and stared as she chewed on whatever she was eating.

“Why are there so many kids in my house?” He asked, walking over to the fridge.

“Hey, not my fault you had four kids after me and I decided to make friends.” Audrey stated, throwing a grape in her mouth.

“You say that as if we planned you.” He chuckled.

She gasped. “Mom! Dad called me an accident again!” She yelled.

“Again?” Holiday whispered to Taylor.

“Dustin!” Nicole Brown hollered. “Quit being an asshole!”

Audrey grinned at her father who shook his head. “You’re a brat.” He pointed a finger at her.

“I’ve learned from the best.” She sang and kissed his cheek.

“So, Coach, who are you thinking of putting together?” Danielle asked, leaning her arms on the marble island at the opposite end of him.

“Well,” He mocked her stance. “Danielle, whoever works best together.” He smiled.

“What if I have some recommendations?” She challenged.

“Oh, me too!” Taylor perked up.

“How about I do the coaching, girls.” He laughed, standing up straight and turning his back to him.

“Dad, they’ve watched the guys for years. They know them.” Audrey intervened.

“I know my guys.” Dustin defended.

“You know Aaron, please, Dad.” She rolled her eyes.

“Fine, what do ya got for me?” He sighed, slapping his hands on the island.

“Jo and Nathan have the most chemistry you will ever see. They work great with Curtis. Zach has to start in goal, he’s the best of the three goalies.” Danielle listed.

“Who is who? I know last names.” Dustin clarified.

"'I know my guys.'" Audrey mocked in a deep voice.

“Drouin, MacKinnon, and Lazar are perfect together. Fucale is a brick wall. Scheifele and Trouba are soulmates. It’s best to get Trouba and his partner out whenever Scheifele is. Milano and Hartman are the best wingers together. Bennett or Sam Reinhart are the best between them.” She finished.

“Anything else?” His eyes scanned all the girls.

“Burakovsky and Nichushkin are like the foreign force. Give them a strong centre and you’ll see more results than you expected.” Holiday mentioned. “Tay, doesn’t Glove like to play with Ek?” Taylor nodded. “Glover and Ekblad, beautiful D-pair. Morrissey and Rielly too.”

“Weegar and Jones are good together too. They’re good at producing from the blueline. Neal is the best captain the team’s had in years. He’s good at keeping everyone’s heart in the game. Griffin Reinhart is good with that too. Bennett and Griffin’s younger brother, Sam, are really good centremen. They’re the babysitters of the team.” Taylor finished up.

“Babysitter? Like, they’ll watch my kids?” Dustin’s face pinched.

The three girls burst into laughter. He looked at Audrey who shrugged. Neither were up to date with the slang of the hockey community these days. The girls calmed down. Danielle pulled out a notebook from her back and dug out a pen. She began writing things down. Dustin watched her, still confused as to the context “babysitter” was used in. Holiday noticed the confusion.

“Danielle’s writing you a guide to the slang all the guys use.” Holiday explained.

“Dani’s a beaut.” Audrey said, scrolling on her phone.

“Auds is picking it up.” Taylor cheered for her friend.

“How did you know that?” Dustin whined.

“I didn’t. Nathan commented it on my insta pic with heart eyes so I assumed it was a good thing.” Audrey shrugged.

“It is.” Danielle smiled.

“Don’t talk to him. Don’t talk to any of them.” Dustin growled, standing up.

“Dad, c’mon. I know the rules.” Audrey sighed.

“I know. I’m sorry.” He apologized before he kissed the top of her head and walked out.

“Swear to god, you’re currently texting two guys from the team.” Danielle furrowed her brows as she whispered.

“One is Aaron so that’s nothing and the other is Jo, and it’s just friendly conversation because we have like half our classes together.” Audrey rolled her eyes. “My dad will kill me and anyone on the team if anything more happens.”

“Nathan thinks you’re a beaut and Jo is texting you.” Taylor said aloud, nodding her head. “Best friends. I like it.”

Audrey rolled her eyes again. She had no intentions of being interested in anyone on the squad. She had never dated someone that played for her dad before and she wasn’t about to start. She waited for her friends to leave before she went upstairs.

She knocked on her parents's bedroom door. She knew it was okay to open it, so she did. Dustin was sitting on his bed, his glasses on with his phone as close as he could get. He looked up and gave her a closed mouth smile. His teeth were probably already out.

"Dad, we need to talk." She sighed, walking over to the edge of the bed.

He took off his glasses and set his phone down. "Is it about my team or any member of it?" He groaned.

"Kinda!" She exclaimed as she sat.

"Jesus, who is it?" He frowned.

"It's you." She cut him off.

"What did I do?" He asked.

"You don't trust me! Every time we move somewhere for you to coach, you assume I'm going to get with the guys you're coaching!" She hollered. "I know how it works and I would never do that! I don't want to be the locker took talk of my dad's team!"

"When you're texting them and hanging around them, what do you expect me to think?" He argued.

"They're my friends, Dad! This isn't the 1950s, males and females are allowed to be friends." She shook her head. "Just don't worry about me and any of your players. They're yours, I get it."

With that, she walked out of the room slamming the door behind her. He shook his head. He didn't understand how he ended up with a teenage daughter that was exactly like him. He let out a growl, rubbing his eyes. It was time to call it a night. He had practice tomorrow and an angry daughter that he'd have to deal with. He needed his sleep.

Notes

Terminology

babysitter - a star player that is put on a line with two players of less skill, almost as if he is babysitting their line.
beaut - descriptive for something good, great or killer, or someone that is attractive