"And he is good... he treats your little girl like a real man should. He is good, so good, he makes promises he keeps... don't you worry about me..."


After the quick one game home stand, everyone had a week off, except for Tyler. As he headed off to Columbus for the All Star weekend, Jamie was able to stay home, and spend some much needed quality time with Cassidy.

They would only have a few days together before the team started practicing again, and then eventually fly up to Montreal to start a three game road trip. And it was a trip Cassidy had every intention of going on. This time, she wouldn’t have to be alone; sending herself into a downhill spiral of worry.

That is, until a few days into the break, there was a knock at the front door. As Jordie opened it up, Cassidy and Jamie stared at each other as they heard the familiar voice. She leaned her head against his shoulder. The unexpected guest would limit their time even further, but they both smiled as Heather walked into the living room, bags in hand.

“Mum… what are you doing here?” Jamie stood to greet his mom, wrapping his arms around her. Only after hugging her, did Cassidy stand up to do the same.

“My better son told me you had a week off for the All-Star game,”

Jamie flicked his eyes to Jordie, who shrugged and pushed his hands into his pant pockets. Cassidy knew the reason why Jamie was so bothered by the sudden appearance of his mom. There was no hiding the fact that there were some changes going on. Extraneous furniture that neither Jamie nor Jordie needed was being sold, giving the house a more empty feeling. That mixed with countless papers and flyers for houses up for sale were sure to draw Heather’s attention, and lead to some inquisitive questions.

That was even more nerve-wracking considering what might have to be said to answer her questions. Still, up to this point, Kennedy was the only person who knew about the pregnancy; even Jordie was shielded from that information. But whereas Jordie didn’t even question why there were house flyers around, Heather would be wondering why her son was so eager to purchase a new house.

“Oh let me see the ring, dear,” Heather cooed and reached for Cassidy’s hand. She fawned at the diamond on her finger and then looked up at Jamie, “you did well son. That’s quite a rock,”

“Thanks mum,” He smiled and brushed his hands through his thick hair, “Cass and I were going to go out tonight… You can come along if you want.”

“No, I don’t want to impose. Especially as though I just barged into your house,” Heather smiled and picked up her bags as they sat beside her feet.

Cassidy reached for her arm, “no, no. You should come. We’ll get to catch up a bit more. How long are you here for?”

“A week, but I can always stay at a hotel.” Heather paused and looked around the house, presumably noting the sparsely furnished room. “It looks like you’re getting ready to pack up yourself,”

“No, stay here,” Cassidy insisted. “It’ll be nice to have another woman in the house. Between these two and all the teammates, I need some more girls around.”

“And we’ll explain the emptiness at dinner,” Jamie interjected. He stepped forward and picked up his mother’s bags, “I’ll put you in your usual room.” He hoisted the small duffle over his shoulder and carried the luggage to the spare bedroom on the first level. “We’ll leave by seven!” He yelled from the bedroom.

Heather grinned and looked at Cassidy, ushering her to the couch. When they both sat down, Heather’s face became serious and she folded her hands in her lap. “I’m so sorry about your father. Jamie said he put up quite a fight.”

Cassidy offered a small smile, “thank you. It took awhile, but I’m getting a little stronger each day. I owe him that,”

Jamie came back into the living room, and made his way to sit down beside Cassidy, wrapping his arm over the back of the couch and around her shoulders. She looked back and leaned into him as she finished speaking.

“I’m glad to hear that. You deserve happiness; you’re a beautiful person inside and out,” Heather smiled and reached for Cassidy’s hand that rest in her own lap.

Cassidy grinned and peered back at Jamie again, reaching up to squeeze his hand, “I don’t want to wait.” After earning a kiss on the side of her head, Cassidy looked back at Heather, unable to contain the giddy expression on her face.

“Wait!” Jamie exclaimed just as Cassidy was opening her mouth. He sprang up from the couch and ran to the kitchen only to come back just a few seconds later with the mini jersey in hand.

He handed it to his mom, who by now was utterly confused. As Heather looked down at the tiny Dallas Stars jersey, she shook her head and lifted it up in the air, turning it around to see the back. And just like Jamie, when Cassidy saw her read the name across the top, she knew Heather understood.

Dropping the jersey back into her lap, she ran her fingertips beneath her eyes to swipe away the happy tears, “really?”

“We’re only almost a month in, but it’s looking good. Late September due date…” Cassidy smiled as Jamie sat back down beside her, and she set her hands on his lap, tucking her head into the crook of his neck.

Jamie’s smile spread from ear to ear, as he was obviously proud of the prospect of becoming a father. And although there was no visible bump quite yet, he placed his palm over Cassidy’s stomach like he was protecting the next greatest achievement in his life. “What do you think, ma?”

Heather sniffled and waved her hand in front of her face like she was trying to get the tears to fade, “I think my youngest son’s going to have a strapping boy just like him. And I think my beautiful daughter-in-law is going to be an amazing mother despite the little hell-raiser giving her a run for her money.” She paused and then almost immediately, her eyes lit up, “and I think I’m going to spoil that kid like none other.”

“And that’s why the house is emptier than usual. Cassidy and I are going to look for a house that’s more suitable for raising a family, and one with a better backyard for a dog or two.”

Cassidy snapped her head back to look at Jamie. He’d clearly given the dog idea some thought, and had come to the decision that it might not be a bad thing for her to have some protection when he was on the road during the season. Out of all the things they were going to have to plan in the next few months, she was most excited about planning the adoption of a new puppy.

---

Cassidy stepped into the enormous kitchen, which promptly had a view of the backyard. Jamie was still in the den, meandering through at a leisurely pace as he took everything in. He had just gone through this process when buying the house he currently lived in, and now he was going through it again.

“So it’s five bedrooms, four and a half baths, a small office, pool and grassy knoll in the backyard; safe neighborhood, just a short drive into town, and it’s a great place to start a family.” The agent sputtered as she stared at Cassidy, knowing she was falling in love with the house.

Jamie strode into the kitchen, looking around the space with his hands pushed firmly in his pockets. When he spotted Cassidy, he grinned, and then turned his attention to the real estate agent. “How much?”

“They’re asking just over two and a half million, but they are flexible on that,”

“Why so much? I mean, what’s driving the price up; it doesn’t have anything my house doesn’t already have?”

Cassidy sighed quietly. This was the fourth house they were seeing today, and like with all of them, Jamie was finding subtle flaws in each. The agent took a deep breath in, “mostly because it’s a recent build. But most of the houses aren’t going under two. We are looking at, at least a couple million in this market. Is that out of your price range, or…?”

Jamie shook his head and took another moment to look out at the backyard. “What do you think, Cass?”

“I like it a lot,” she smiled walking up to his side.

“More than the other three?”

Cassidy nodded her head and shrugged as she glanced out at the fairly open floor plan, “it has a lot more space than the other three.”

“Do we have some time before it sells or do we have to lock it down now?” Jamie murmured, flicking his eyes back towards the agent.

“It’s been up about a week. Honestly, I’d say it’ll be up for another week or so… there’s other couples looking at it.”

He nodded, “ideally I’d like to the get the price somewhere closer to two. I’m gonna have to put money into it; there’s no security system, it’s all hardwood so I’ll have to check for termites and mold. Honestly I can’t fathom paying over 1.8 million for it.”

“As I said, the sellers are willing to negotiate the price, and I can let you know if they come down a bit in price.”

Cassidy and Jamie exchanged pleasantries, and then as Cassidy shut the passenger door, she set her head back against the headrest, waiting for Jamie to voice his opinion on the house. “Beautiful property, eh? We’ll try to get them somewhere around two, two?”

“After all that fuss, you want to buy it for over two million?” Cassidy smiled and looked out the front windshield as Jamie took off down the street.

“Yeah, that’d be a steal. That is if you want us to buy it. You’ll be spending some time in it alone during the season, so if you’re comfortable with it, we’ll get it.”

She grinned and glanced sideways at Jamie, “you know, it’s sexy when you’re sneaky.” Cassidy reached across the center console and placed her hand on his lap. She let it lay limp against his leg for a short moment.

He smiled widely and growled quietly, containing himself until he was able to throw the car in park in the driveway. “You know what else is good about that house,” he murmured leaning in closer. With his movement, Cassidy’s hand sunk in between his legs. “It’s still really close to Tyler’s,” he giggled boyishly and pecked her lips.

Cassidy unbuckled her seatbelt and pulled away from his lips just enough to look up into Jamie’s eyes, “oh and in one fell swoop you managed to get me to rethink every little thing I was about to do for you.” She squeezed her fingers around his crotch teasingly. With a quick flick of her eyes to his, she reached for the door handle with her free hand.

But before she could pull it, Jamie reached over and held her wrist, keeping her in the car, “my mum’s in there and she’s gonna be there for a week. And all I really want to do is make love to my fiancée, and I can’t do that with my mum around.” He paused, and when Cassidy let go of the door handle, Jamie reached down and scooted the drivers’ seat as far back as it would go. “So no Tyler, no hockey, no puppies… just you and me acting like teenagers, fornicating in a car.”

Cassidy blushed but also couldn’t keep her quiet laughs in, “teenagers fornicate in the streets…”

“That’s weird; I’m not gonna do that.”

She grinned and leaned towards him, half her body over the center console, until Jamie wrapped his arms around her waist to help her into his lap. Almost instantly, she kissed his lips passionately, dragging her hips along his as her knees were curled against his sides.

“I’ve never had sex in a car…”

When Cassidy moved her lips to his neck, Jamie reached for his waist and unbuttoned his pants, “I’m glad I get to be your first.” He lifted himself off of the seat, pushing his pants down just far enough away from his waist before he fell back into the seat.

Cassidy looked down and cupped her hand around Jamie’s member, stroking it softly as he watched his fingers maneuver around the button on her jeans. “Will it be safe for the baby?”

Her question came out as a whisper, and Jamie looked up at her quickly. His lips were pursed and he nodded slowly as if he weren’t exactly sure. Whether he was confident or not, having him reassure her that everything would be all right was enough to get things going.

And any inkling of doubt she may have had about the whole thing, vanished the moment Jamie pushed into her core, expelling a gasp from deep within Cassidy’s lungs. He touched her, and handled her like she was glass; careful of anything too harsh that could break her into pieces. Despite all that had happened almost a year ago come summer, with California and all the emotions the Stanley Cup had harbored, Cassidy now felt that things were different.

She wasn’t afraid of Jamie in any way. At the end of the day, she was his weakness, and he would do practically anything to make her happy. With the probability of a new house, a puppy, and the hope of a long future together, Jamie was making sure that Cassidy could fit into his life, and that he could fit into hers.

Notes

This chapter is titled after "Mama's Song" by Carrie Underwood.

This is the last update before school starts up! This semester's gonna be pretty busy for me but I'll try to update as much as possible.