Caroline screamed and jumped straight up out of the chair and launched herself at McQuaid. Caroline knocked herself and McQuaid off their feet. They landed in a heap in the floor. Reilly was in the floor behind Dougie's chair laughing hysterically. He was laughing to the point that he was crying. Dougie was trying hard not to laugh. But once he looked at the expression on McQuaid's face Dougie started laughing. Caroline managed to disengage herself from Adam. Once she made it to her feet Dougie realized she might kill all three of them.

"Caroline" Dougie said questioningly "Smitty was playing." Caroline glared at him. Dougie held up his hands in defusing manner. He was still trying not to laugh. Caroline grabbed a throw pillow from the couch and threw it at Reilly. Smith was still rolling around on the floor laughing. Smith was laying on his stomach kicking his feet. The pillow bounced off his back. Caroline launched herself at Reilly. Caroline managed to straddle his back and grab the pillow. Caroline was hitting Smith with the pillow with Dougie and Quaider looking on. Reilly wasn't making any attempt to dislodge Caroline. He was laughing but had managed to put his hands over the back of his head.

"Evil Smith. You are evil." she said hitting him again. Dougie and McQuaid were laughing at him. "I hate you." She smacked him in the back of the head with the pillow.

"Better get your girl" said McQuaid looking at Dougie "She's gonna give the kid brain damage."

"I vote we leave her alone" said Dougie "Do you really want her to turn on us?"

"You are a smart man Dougie Hamilton" said Caroline whacking Reilly again.

"OWW" called Reilly "Damn it, that one hurt."

"Good" yelled Caroline. She started to swing the pillow again and McQuaid grabbed it. She gave him the evil eye. Reilly started struggling underneath Caroline. Dougie picked Caroline up off Reilly and slung her over his shoulder. Caroline was pounding him on the back. "Put me down, Hamilton"

Dougie smacked her on the ass. "I will when you calm down. You can't kill Smitty. We need him." Caroline stopped smacking Dougie and quit struggling. "You are so not getting any Lucky Charms Brownies" called Caroline at Reilly who was on his feet rubbing the back of his head. McQuaid came into her field of vision laughing. "What about me Caroline?" asked McQuaid.

"You get nothing you took my weapon." she replied.

Dougie smacked her ass again. "Damn it Hamilton" she cried out.

"Say good night Caroline" said Dougie opening his door.

"Good night Caroline" she sassed. McQuaid and Reilly both called out their good nights.

Dougie tossed her onto the middle of his giant bed. Caroline sat up and crossed her legs in the middle of the bed. Dougie wanted to laugh she looked like that pissed off little fairy from Peter Pan. Though he knew better than to tell her that. Dougie peeled of his shirt and tossed it into the hamper. Caroline was watching him though he could tell she was still mad. His track pants joined the shirt in the hamper. He walked towards the bathroom away from Caroline.

"I'm going to get ready for bed." he called over his shoulder "You want the bathroom first?"

Caroline bounced off the bed and grabbed her small make up bag. She made her way to the sink beside Dougie. They brushed their teeth together. Dougie tossed her a wash cloth and hand towel. He stood in the bathroom and watched a nightly routine. She had yet to speak to him. Caroline walked out of the bathroom and sat on the bed. Dougie sat down next to her.

"You planning on talking to me tonight" he asked holding her hand.

"Nope" she replied not even looking at him.

"Caroline" he said rubbing his thumb over her back of her hand "I'm sorry he scared you."

"Mean" she said "All 3 of you are mean."

Dougie started laughing again. She turned and looked at him. Dougie stretched out on the bed. He waited a few minutes then levered up and pulled her back down with him. Caroline turned over to face him. Dougie smiled at her. Caroline finally laughed.

"I think you bruised my ass, Hamilton." Dougie laughed again. "It's not funny" she replied.

"Then you need to behave" he replied "You tried to give Smitty a concussion with a throw pillow."

"He tried to give me a heart attack." she pouted "Some defenseman you are"

"I'm sorry" he said smiling at her. Dougie leaned over and kissed her shoulder. He kissed her neck. Caroline turned her face towards him. His mouth came down on hers. Caroline returned the kiss. She nipped at his bottom lip and pulled away. Dougie grabbed her neck and pulled her back down. He kissed her lips gently. Caroline gasped and Dougie's tongue swept in to her mouth. Caroline's tongue dueled with his. She was all peppermint and spice. He kissed her breathless.

"Still mad" he asked looking down at her. Caroline had ended up underneath him when they were kissing.

"Yes" she replied pouting at him. Dougie smiled at her again.

"No you are not" he said kissing her cheek. His stubble rasped against her face. He kissed the spot behind her ear. Caroline wiggled underneath him.

"You are not playing fair." she said as she tried to wriggle away from him. He held her in place and kissed her again.

"Nope" he said "Can't have you mad at me when I am leaving for a week. I've got to get you to forgive me. " Caroline slid her hand up and ran her hand through his messy hair. She pulled his face back down to hers. Caroline kissed his jaw line. "I don't want you mad at me. I can't leave it this way." She kissed his mouth. Their bodies and their breath met. Dougie weight settled on her but he was careful not to crush her. They continued kissing until she pulled away. Dougie flipped her over until she was sprawled out on top of him. Caroline looked down at him. She couldn't stay mad at him. She was sure it was pretty funny from an observers prospective. She moved so that her head was laying on his chest.

Caroline was laying very still on his chest. Dougie didn't think she was really still mad but she was being very quiet. He kissed the top of her head. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it up over them. She seemed content right there with her head on his chest. She raised her head up off his chest and kissed him right above where his heart was beating. He held her and stroked his hand down her side.

"You have to promise me something Hamilton." she said to Dougie laying on his chest.

"Anything if you won't be mad at me." he replied.

"I'm not mad at you really. Mad at myself for freaking out." she explained "But then I lay here against you and just the feeling and sound of your heart beat calms me. The promise has nothing to do with me being mad."

"What do you need me to promise Caroline?" Dougie asked.

"You have to promise me that if you get bored with me or change your mind that you will tell me. I am not good at relationships. I am much better at one night stands. I don't want to find out through instagram or twitter that you have someone else. Promise me that you will tell me yourself." she said into his chest.

Dougie pulled her up so that she was face to face with him. He captured her face with his hands. He kissed her gently. "Caroline, it drives me crazy that you still don't get it."

"What don't I get?" she asked not wanting to meet his gaze.

" There's a difference between someone who wants you and someone who would do anything to keep you. Remember that." he murmured against her mouth "I have no intentions of letting you go."

"Everyone does" she replied.

"Caroline you are way more likely to break me than I ever will be to break your heart." he explained quietly "It killed me to watch you with Tyler. It still does when you text and chat with him. I am afraid you will decide I am nothing like him and that you want to be with him. I cringed when he started texting you earlier. I can't even explain the relief when you told me to answer him. I know it's ridiculous to be jealous. But I cannot stop it. Even when you joke around with Reilly I have to stop myself from beating my chest and yelling mine."

"Tyler is a friend. I know logically that he isn't relationship material. I've always been the girl version of that. I guess it's a kindred spirit thing with us. I've always been the girl that was a good time." she stated "I keep waiting for this to have an expiration date. I keep waiting for you to realize that I am not good enough for you. You are a genuinely nice person. I on the other hand am not. I am selfish, I curse too much, Kayleigh's right I am kind of a slut, and I don't have a clue how to be a good girlfriend. My usual goal when dating someone is don't fuck his best friend. Hell, I've already kind of done that with Ty."

"I don't care about the past or Segs. But I want you to understand I want to be with you. We all have flaws. I'm a 6'5 red head. There probably isn't a Bozo or Ronald McDonald joke I haven't heard. I'm backwards sometimes, I hide behind my joking, and I have a weaker left shot. I am far from perfect. But you make me happy Caroline. I like the fact that you put the guys in their place, that you don't care what you say. I love the fact that you went out of your way with the little boy today. If you were really selfish we would have kept walking. We'll work on the foul mouth before you meet the family but they will get used to it." replied Dougie "Flaws make us human."

"I just don't want to screw this up" she said as she buried her head in his neck "I think for the first time ever I am truly trusting someone else. I don't even know where to begin. Doug, you have no expectations for me. You just want to be with me. I have never ever had a guy just hang out with me. The only guy I have ever grocery shopped with would be Hadlee's brothers. It's not something I ever hung around for. I think I've had breakfast and brunch more times with you than any other guy I've ever dated. I know that I've spent more time just cuddled up with you. I'm normally the girl that sneaks out before you realize I am gone. With you I find myself laying here listening to your heart. It's like everything else about you steady, calm, and strong. It's very soothing. I of course am all over the place. But the longer I lay here the more in rhythm we seem to become. It scares the hell out of me. I don't want to get used to you and then you up and disappear."

"I'm not going anywhere Sweetheart." he replied "You are stuck with me. I promise there won't be other girls, random drunk shenanigans, and you will be asking me when the hell I am leaving for road trips. You'll be sick of me. Britt gets excited for the week long road trips. You and the girls could hang out with the other WAGs."

"I'm not sure I am WAGs material" she said quietly.

"Caroline, half of them are they guys high school sweethearts, a few are puck bunnies that won the guys over, and the rest are normal girls like you. They aren't any better than you. In fact, they aren't as good they are not mine." He explained as he kissed the top of her head "I know they are wanting to get Hadlee involved so they have a contract person, plus they will throw business Kayleigh's way, and I know they will all love you."

"Chicks normally hate me" she replied. She snuggled back down so that she was laying with her head on his chest. He didn't bother dragging her back up. He realized this as her coping mechanism.

"Well after the way they first treated Britt she will kill if someone is mean to you." he stated

"What do you mean?" she asked looking up at him.

"Britt was kind of a puck bunny that Lucic kept around. She was never one of the WAGS. I'm sure you've saw the cup picture of her in the 4in heels on the ice. No one expected her to be around. Definitely not married to Looch and with Valentina. Everyone was skeptical about her marrying him." he explained "Not Looch mind you but the girls were kind of hard on her. I know she was in tears more than once. Until Looch went Captain Caveman on the girls and the guys let him."

"Oh" she said quietly "Poor Britt."

"No worries, Britt won't let them pick on anyone now. Plus they have taken up a few anti-bullying campaigns." Dougie was petting her back in a soothing fashion. "If you want I will introduce Britt to you tomorrow if you want to drop us off in the morning. You don't have to."

"If you want me to drop you guys off I don't mind to." she replied "I can park your truck over at my place and either pick you all up or have Kevan or Brad bring you over."

"Or you can park it at Kevan's and crash with Hadlee" he stated.

"Hadlee is staying home this week" she said.

"Does your apartment allow dogs?" asked Dougie he leaned over and grabbed his phone from the bedside table careful not to dislodge her from his chest. He pushed the button and showed her the picture Krejci had sent of Hadlee and the puppy.

"Damn him" she said sitting up and grabbing her phone "He just puppied her into moving in this week."

Dougie laughed. Sure enough Hadlee had sent her all kinds of photos of Deke the adorable pup with mismatched eyes. "Deke what the hell kind of name is that for a puppy? Deke like Wake Forrest. Demon Deacons"

"No, it a hockey term" he explained "It's when you move a certain way to make the goalie think you are going that way then fake back the other way and shoot."

"Why would Hadlee name him Deke?" she pondered scrolling through the messages "Oh" She then looked confused and asked "Who is Gears?"

"Pastrnak" Dougie replied

"Yuck, I'm sticking with Baby K" she said she was messaging Hadlee about the fuzzball. She then fired off a message to Kayleigh stating no brownies for Smitty.

"You are mean" laughed Dougie

"He started it" she said handing him her phone so he could lay it on the table." I warned him"

"Yes you did" he laughed.

Caroline settled in beside him with her head on his chest. She was absent stroking her hand down his abs. She was listening to him just breathing. She realized that normally the calmness of this situation would have caused her to bolt. She hated quiet. But this was a type of quiet to be cherished. Dougie had a hand resting on her hip. Caroline didn't want to move and break the spell. Caroline definitely didn't want him to leave for a week.

"Doug, I am going to miss you. Not the hot shot hockey player, not the guy that kisses me stupid, and not funny silly you. But the way you are right now just you and me. Just the still and the silence. I can't be that way with other people."

"Yeah, it's the first time I've really ever dreaded a road trip. But it will go by quickly. If you stay up until we get back to hotel each night I can FaceTime you. This is gonna be a new experience. Never really anyone waiting for me." said Dougie "Plus the guys are really curious to see how Marchy reacts on this trip. He is usually up for a good time. I don't think he will do anything to mess up what he has with Kayleigh. And we all know Kevan is heading straight to talk to Hadlee."

"Bradley better be on his best behavior or he will live in fear of me and Hadlee" she replied as she kissed his collar bone "You all three better behave."

"I'm always good" he replied "I've never in my life saw Brad this gone over a girl. I will be amazed if they aren't engaged before the playoffs. I promise not to do anything that would hurt you Caroline. You have to trust me Sweetheart."

Caroline pulled his head down to hers and kissed him "I do. That's the problem Dougie Hamilton. I do trust you. I just hope I am not setting myself up for failure. This scares me to death."

"That's why they call it falling, Caroline" he smiled as he kissed her again "You just have to trust me to catch you."

"You'd better catch me, Hamilton"

Notes

Hey gang, I hope to have Hadlee's next chapter up tonight as well. Plus get Kayleigh's up tomorrow. It's been wild here at work I was handed 24 new indictments from a drug round up. Fun times so instead of Hadlee playing felon lottery it has been me. Thanks for all the comments, follows, and votes. Y'all are awesome. 9 days until opening night!!!!!