“Close your eyes, have no fear, the monster’s gone, he’s on the run, and your daddy’s here…”


Marie waddled into her fairly new, bright and open kitchen. With her laptop in her hands, she was looking over the profits of last month at Scandy’s. The hands off managing approach of running the shop from Colorado hardly seemed to be hurting business. The popularity of the café among the Wild organization, in turn made it popular with the general public.

It was at that same time Marco came through the front door with Sofia. He was a sweaty mess, having come from a morning skate, and she was decked out in her purple tutu, after a morning of her fun and interactive dance class. It was April now, and with Sof’s seemingly uncontainable energy, dance class was the best possible option for a severely pregnant mother nearing her due date.

The Avalanche managed to clinch the last wild card spot for playoffs; not a desired position, but one Marco knew pretty well. And he was competing that battle, while also mentally preparing himself to spend the offseason raising an infant and a hell-raising toddler.

In the months since moving to Colorado, life had streamlined. Marie was always busy with keeping in touch with the store, and Marco’s schedule didn’t change too drastically. He was always on and off the road. Even Sofia had come to terms with the fact that she was going to have a baby brother and was going to have to share mom and dad’s attention. But yet again, moving to a different hockey town meant that Marie had to assimilate herself with an entirely new group of women. That hadn’t been easy the first time, and she figured this go around wouldn’t be too different.

With the Avalanche, most of the women were her age. The core group of guys on the team were a younger bunch, and they all had young girlfriends. The only difference was that those girls weren’t married, mothers, or pregnant. Upon first meeting, the women treated her well, and Marie didn’t know if that was because she was pregnant and they didn’t want to anger a hormonal machine, or if they just really liked her. Along with the team, wives, and girlfriends, Marie met Patrick Roy, who despite being stoic and aggressive behind the bench, actually had quite a sense of humor. He was open and willing to joke with Marie as a means of getting her to feel more comfortable. But the real thing she valued was that he understood that some things in life mattered more than hockey. Patrick understood that she was pregnant and new to the state. He understood that there would be a day where Marco wouldn’t be able to go to practice or a game, because she was having the baby, and he seemed totally fine with that. Having three children of his own, he knew what it meant to be there for their births.

Moving away from Minnesota was not only hard for Marco and Marie, but it took a toll on Sofia too. She had spent her first year of life around the same people. Leaving St. Paul meant leaving Charlie. Sofia loved him, would’ve enjoyed every moment she had with him. And now nine hundred miles separated them. Fortunately Colorado was not without its giant teddy bears.

The first time Sofia met Gabriel Landeskog, all she wanted was to touch his hair. He held her, and her hands went to it instantly. She tugged at it as any toddler with unpracticed motor skills would, but he was a pretty good sport about it. Tyson admired her from afar. He was afraid to hold her, nervous that he’d hurt her. Even when Marco assured him everything would be fine, he opted for a hands-off approach. And then there was Matt Duchene. He asked about Sofia everyday, always wanted to see her, and always wanted to spend time with her. He even came home with Marco from practice one day, just so he could hang out with her for an hour. If anyone on the Avalanche was going to love Sofia the way Charlie did, it was going to be Matt.

So Marco came through the door with Sofia stomping beside him, decked out in her ballet getup. They trodded into the kitchen, and Marie smiled as Sofia tugged a balloon behind her.

“Mama, look! Loon!”

Marie gasped in excitement and carried two plates over to the table. One was much larger than the other, but both had the same food on it. Marco and Sofia would eat lunch together and then she would take a nap with Marco, as per their pregame routine.

“I see! Let’s tie your balloon to your chair so you can eat, okay? And after your nap, we can play with it,”

Marco picked Sofia up and put her in her high chair as Marie took the balloon string from her hand and tied it to the back of the chair. He then took his own seat and started to pick at his food, “how ya feeling?”

“A bit funny. I’ve still got a couple weeks to go but it feels different. Might just be some Braxton Hicks contractions or something,”

“Alright well I’ll give my phone to one of the trainers, and just text me if you go into labor,”

“I probably won’t.”

Those turned out to be the famous last words, because that night while Marco and the team were battling through the first period in their playoff game, Marie felt her contractions get much more intense, and she knew it wasn’t just false contractions anymore. Had this been her first time around, she might’ve panicked, but instead she just calmly called Gabe’s girlfriend, Melanie. She rushed over in a panic, mostly nervous about taking care of Sofia while everyone was dealing with Marie.

Marie shot Marco a text and didn’t expect such a prompt response. As the words telling him now splayed across her screen, she felt an overwhelming sense of calm. Marco would be there soon. The drive and admitting process were forgettable. Sofia was clutching onto her cloth bunny with one hand, and Melanie’s shirt with the other. She was scared, and each time Marie suffered through another contraction, she tried to hold in the ugly emotion for Sofia’s sake. Soon Melanie took her out to entertain her elsewhere, and Marie was left alone, laying in complete agony.

It could’ve been three minutes, or it could’ve been three hours, but when Marco walked through the door, Marie burst into tears. She had been in debilitating pain trying to console herself, and that was exhausting enough. She buried her face into Marco’s dress shirt and sobbed.

“I know,” he whispered and tucked his head to kiss her temple softly. “What do you need me to do?”

“Just hold me,”

He nodded and set his head down on hers. They stayed like that even when the OBGYN came in to talk. Marie kept her face hidden in Marco’s shirt, and he spoke with the doctor to get and give as much information as he could.

When they were alone again, Marie pulled away and leaned back, “you’ll have to find Mel. She has Sof, and I don’t know how long she’ll be able to stay.”

He brushed her hair back from her face, “don’t worry about Sofia. I’ll make sure she’s taken care of.”

As it turned out, making sure Sofia had someone to watch over her was the last thing they needed to worry about. She had made an impression for herself amongst the team from the moment they arrived in Colorado. Melanie couldn’t stay all night, but she agreed to stay at least until the game ended.

It was nearing midnight now, and Marie felt like her insides were on fire. She was going to get this baby out of her whether or not the doctors approved. But Marco was still out entertaining Sofia, after Melanie had to leave. Now he was somewhere on the floor, walking around with her, hoping she’d tire out. There was a gentle knock at the door and Marie flicked her eyes to it, startled but also not surprised to see Matt come through it.

“Is it bad?” He questioned and came to her bedside.

“It’s not pleasant. Marco called you?”

Matt shook his head, “The trainers told us why he left. I figured you’d need help with Sofia, and I haven’t seen her in a couple days… completely selfish reasons,”

“By all means,” Marie waved her hand. “Marco’s trying to wear her out so she’ll sleep but she’s pretty wound up. They’re somewhere on the floor,”

“I’ll find ‘em.” He turned back towards the door, “congratulations.”

Matt walked out and only moments later, there was shrieking in the hallway, followed up by tiny stomps. It didn’t take long for Matt and Sofia to be deep into simple conversation, but Marie hoped Sofia would get some sleep soon. She’d been up and a ball of anxiety since she woke up from her nap. Marco came back in half grinning, and half concerned. He wanted her to be okay, but also knew that this wasn’t easy on her. Given the choice, she probably would’ve rather been doing anything else.

Late night turned into early morning and the contractions got closer together. At five, the morning of the seventeenth, her OBGYN told Marie that everything looked good; their son could enter the world. The pain that had been forgotten after Sofia was born had returned. Fourteen hours after she had been admitted to the hospital, around nine in the morning, their son came kicking and screaming.

He was beautiful. A head full of dark hair, a little nose, and big, light hazel eyes… From the baby pictures she’d seen of Marco, Marie believed their son to be an exact replica of him. They each got to spend a little time holding him, and as badly as they wanted Sofia to see her new brother, Marie also wanted to have his heart checked out. Although nothing had seemed wrong during the pregnancy, she wanted to be absolutely sure.

Hours after his birth, he was laid in a plastic crib in the nursery while a team of nurses ran examinations on all the newborn infants to give him a clean bill of health. Matt was still the temporary guardian of Sofia and had taken her home, so Marco pushed Marie in a wheelchair (per hospital protocol) to the nursery so they could see their son again. From behind the glass window, they admired him. The card on the end of his crib read Ryker Fox Scandella. DOB: 04.17.17.

“Marco, look,” Marie pointed through the glass.

He looked at her finger, following the direction, and looked into the nursery, “what?”

“That baby’s name is a serial number,” she set her hand against the glass and looked closer at it. Sure enough, where the little boy’s name should’ve been, read 26984.

Marco set his hands on top of her shoulders, squeezing them gently. “He’s probably a ward of the state,”

“You mean someone didn’t want him?” Maybe it was the new mother hormones, but Marie felt her heart drop for the little guy.

“Didn’t want him… Couldn’t take care of him,”

“I want him.”

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head, “Marie you just had a baby. See Ryker? He’s yours,”

“I want 26984 too. I want to take care of him. He’s two weeks old, if someone wanted him, he’d be gone already.”

“You’re really gonna take care of two babies and a toddler by yourself when the new season starts? It’ll be difficult for us during the summer, and you want to take that on alone?”

“So he just has to be a ward of the state? He has to be 26984 forever and filter through foster home after foster home? You know a lot of kids get abused when they’re left in the system,”

Marie’s eyes welled up, and that’s when Marco knew he was done for.

---

Ryker was home two days later. Despite Sofia having some reservations about having a little brother, she quickly became an attentive big sister. With her limited vocabulary, most of what she said now centered around him. And Marie was in love all over again. She wasn’t sure she could love any child as much as she loved Sofia. For so long, Sof had been her entire world. And somehow her heart was big enough to love another person just as much. Not only that, but she was still pining for 26984.

Before they left the hospital with Ryker, Marco and Marie inquired about adopting the unnamed baby. The hospital knew they just had a baby, and were fit enough to raise that one, but there were hoops they were going to have to jump through if they wanted the ward of the state baby. It was so bureaucratic, filling out papers, and being put on hold just to listen to elevator music for hours on end. Marie began to feel like they would never get him.

Through all of that angst, Ryker Fox was monopolizing her time. He was much more fussy than Sofia had been as a newborn, and because Marco was still on and off the road for playoffs, nighttime duty was mostly left to her. His middle name, albeit untraditional, was a nod to Francesco. She was never going to name him that, but settled with Marco on keeping the initial the same.

“He slee,” Sofia whispered, inching her face closer and closer to Ryker’s as Marie held him in her arms.

“Yeah, he is sleeping. He’s tired from crying all the time,” Marie’s eyes felt heavy. She prayed Marco would get in soon from his pregame meal. Since they’d taken him home, Marco hadn’t asked her to make his meals for him. He’d go out instead since she had so many things to do.

Like divine providence, Marco walked through the door. He dropped his bag in the closet in the foyer and then came to the living room, admiring his family. “Aren’t we just the best looking family in the world,” he sat on the couch and pulled Sofia onto his lap, kissing her cheek. He then bent over to kiss Ryker’s head softly, and then made his rounds up to Marie and pecked her lips. “I got a call from someone from the state,”

Marie’s eyes brightened, “good news?”

Marco yawned and shrugged. Tonight was game six, and the Avalanche found themselves on the brink of elimination. “They’re sending someone over in a couple days. If we win tonight, I’ll be in Anaheim that day though,”

“Is it an interview or what? I hate to think of him still in the hospital all alone,”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” he leaned over and kissed her lips again.

Marie pursed her lips and brushed Ryker’s dark hair to the side. “I really want him. It kills me to think of what’ll become of him if he has to go through the system,”

Marco wrapped his arm around her shoulders and didn’t say anything for a moment. He too worried about the boy if he was destined for a life in foster care. The child may not have been theirs yet, but the thought of anyone putting their hands on that boy inappropriately angered Marco. With Sofia and Ryker, the desire to protect them was instantly attainable. As long as they were there, he could protect them. But with 26984, the need to protect and care for him did not come with instant gratification.

“He’ll be our son. God just wants us to wait a little bit longer for him.”

Notes

"Beautiful Boy" by John Lennon.

I just really love this song! But the countdown continues, just 2 more chapters left!