Safe

The Stanley Cup Playoffs. It's exciting for the fans, demanding for the players, and stressful for the coaches. Both in the spotlight and behind the scenes it's a hectic and unforgettable experience for everyone involved. Nadia knew this better than anyone.

Derek Stepan was that mysterious neighbor who's door would slam at unspoken hours into the night. He'd come and go, and pretty loudly at that, but not once had she ever seen him. Not until the beginning of last year when she finally built up the courage to tell him that some people would appreciate it if he could respect their need for sleep and keep it down. Especially at one, two, three, sometimes four in the morning.
That was the first she'd realized that her apartment neighbor was Derek Stepan. Center for the New York Rangers, who's job she quickly realized left him stumbling home on late nights from practices and road trips. Then suddenly she forgot why she'd came over to see him in the first place, too wrapped up in his dark blue eyes and promise to introduce her to the rest of the team for all of her troubles.

Derek brought her to the locker room a good couple of months into their friendship, which consisted mostly of her agreement to look after his place while he was on the road. But he'd make up some silly excuse to make her stay a little longer. By the time they hit their six month friendship mark he'd asked her to be his girlfriend. She didn't know what she was getting herself into when she said yes.

Sometimes he was sweet after a win. He'd bring her home flowers and lots of cuddles. More often than not a few rounds of great post-win sex. Other times he was brutal after a bad loss or even a win in which he hadn't played his absolute best. And since the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs? Nadia had added wives and girlfriends to the list of people with a more than demanding job. The stress was eating away at her health until she was crippled in bed with one of the worst colds she'd ever had. At least she knew Derek would come home happy tonight. She'd watched his game 7 overtime winner from the comfort of her bed.

It was a quarter past eleven when she started to doze off. Eyes shut and darkness taking over her body, she welcomed it completely. Until she was pulled out of her trance by the familiar, awful ringtone that blasted from her bedside table.
"Hello?" she answered groggily. A frog in her throat muffled the sound of her voice.
"Nadia. Baby, how do you feel?" Derek's voice was laced with concern. Though she could hear him itching to bring up that clutch overtime goal.
"After my boyfriend scored a game seven overtime winner, I'd say I couldn't possibly be any better. Congrats!" A fit of coughing followed her congratulations. Derek was patient, waiting for her to collect herself. He was also concerned. She sounded terrible.
"Thank you.." he trailed off, a little hesitant to accept it when she was in such a bad state. "Do you want me to come over? Make you some soup or something?" But Nadia was already protesting before he could finish.
"Derek. Absolutely not. We already talked about this."
And they had. He wanted to make her soup the way she always did when his immune system failed him. He wanted to fix her a cup of tea and cuddle her until she fell into a deep sleep. Nadia wasn't willing to risk it.
"Stop worrying about me. I'm fine." But she would never stop worrying. He knew that.
"If you get sick..." Nadia croaked in her strained voice. "You have the playoffs to worry about. I won't let you get sick."
He protested, of course. Again. And again, and again. She wouldn't budge. So they agreed to disagree and she hung up the phone to rest her fatigued body.

For the second time that night, all cuddled in a pile of pillows and blankets, Nadia was on the brink of finally falling asleep. Her nose was clogged and her throat was scratchy. It was the reason that the brink of falling asleep was the closest she's gotten. She tossed and turned. Adding and removing pillows to adjust her comfort. Nothing seemed to do the trick.

A chill ran through her body and Nadia added yet another blanket to the mix. She was certain she had a fever the way her body was shivering. For one last time she adjusted her comfort and put all of her efforts into drifting into a light sleep. But through shut eyes and the pile of blankets, she could feel something moving.

Nadia groaned. Her eyes remained closed as she addressed the issue.
"Not now Luna," she scolded her white and grey little kitten who loved to cuddle at the absolute worst times. She felt bad when she couldn't reciprocate the affection, but right now it was completely out of the cards.
"Mm. It's not Luna." mumbled a velvety voice that she loved so much. A strong arm pushed away the unnecessary pile of blankets. One remained. His favorite one. It had the Rangers logo on the front in red white and blue. He then snaked the arm around her waist and positioned her to mold into his body. Her back against his chest where he'd placed a pillow for her to lean on and her small body between his legs.
"No." she protested. "You'll get sick." Nadia was so comfortable that she almost couldn't fight him on the issue.
"I played with a broken jaw last season. I think I can handle a cold." he chuckled.

She didn't know if it was the mix of medicine she'd taken earlier or his intoxicating scent that surrounded her. But before she dozed off into one of the best nights of sleep she'd had in weeks, she absentmindedly whispered something to him for the very first time.

"Thank you. I love you."

It was so low that he almost missed it. He didn't though, and for that he was glad. Because now he felt more confident in declaring what he'd been trying to say to her for weeks now. He whispered it back ever so softly with a smile tugging lazily at the corners of his mouth.

"I love you too, baby."

But he had every intention of telling her again when she woke up the next morning. Over some breakfast and maybe even with some of her favorite flowers. This time she'd remember it for sure.

Notes

you're welcome Nadia ;-)