The Coworker

It’s been a few weeks since their date and things between the two have been going great. Sidney’s ability on the ice, however, is not. They can’t win a game no matter how hard they try, and with voting for the All-Star team starting, it doesn’t even look like Sidney will be a contender. It’s been difficult for the team to swallow, but they’re doing what they can.

As per usual they finally have their away trip in Toronto where they play the Leafs on Saturday night, the Ottawa Senators on the Sunday and the Canadiens in Montreal on Tuesday. This road trip was one the team knew all too well.

Bri was more ecstatic because she gets to see her family and spend a few hours with them. She hasn’t seen them since she initially moved back to Pittsburgh that summer. She loved her family more than anything and wish they could witness her success first hand rather than through a screen.

Although she was worried about her hometown game.

Dumas. That was her last name. Sure, it was part of her identity, but her father greatly took up a large chunk of her. She was always known as his daughter. That title followed her through elementary school and College. It wasn’t until she started taking jobs in new cities where she finally held her own. So being in a building as a representative of a new team where her father was well known in the arena they were in was going to be difficult.

Getting off the team plane and onto the bus she took a deep breath of the scent of home. There was always something about coming home and realizing your surroundings. Phil Kessel, who previously played for the Leafs realized what she was doing and approached her, “feels good doesn’t it?”

“You have no ideas.”

“You hitting up the Hockey Hall of Fame on your time off?”

“Not this time,” she laughed. “I would go almost monthly when I was a kid.”

“Does your dad have anything in there?” he asked, stepping up on the bus. “I can’t remember.”

“Oh yeah, he has a few things actually. And his name on a few trophies.”

“Right on, I loved this city. It was a cool place to live.”

“We finally see Kessel talking to a girl and it’s about Toronto. How random,” Kris Letang laughed.

“Hey dude, this was my home for years! You won’t find a better place to live and just be a person or a mini celebrity.”

“We live in Pittsburgh! We’re all local celebrities!” Bonino yelled out, causing the bus to erupt with laughter.

“Oh fuck off, you know what I mean,” he yelled back. Before turning back around he proudly announced, “if we win the cup I’m bringing it back here. And I’ll even go to Sick Kids with it! Give back to a good community.”

“Let’s just hope we can win a game first,” Sidney chirped. “But I’m down for hospital visits!”

“We all need to do a hospital visit in a town if we win!” Flower yelled out too.

“I can’t wait for Christmas visit,” Geno sighed, looking out the window.

Bri just shook her head laughing at where the conversation lead them next. She sat next to Phil on the bus and discussed some memories from the Air Canada Centre and the days they spent there. She then asked him about why he promised Sick Kids Hospital, causing Sidney to listen in on the conversation.

“I know how much it means to you, that’s why.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, really starting to slightly panic.

“I know about your stay there when you were younger,” he replied, unsure if she knew he knew. Judging by her wide eyes he could tell she was completely caught off guard. “Your dad told us once before we went to spend a day with some patients. It’s a great hospital and I really want to give back to them if I can. Especially because I know what that hospital is capable of doing to people’s lives.”

“I appreciate that,” she smiled, as they drove off the tarmac. “It was definitely a tough time there for sure but it was so worth it. I can’t wait to see the looks on those kids faces.”

Sidney’s heart broke when he heard that she was a patient at a hospital specialized for children. Why had she never told him about that part of her past before? He knew he had to ask Phil what he knew about it but couldn’t be too obvious. So he figured he’d try to play it off and drag it out of her when the opportunity presented itself.

Later that night at the hotel when everyone should had been sleeping Sidney snuck out of his room to get some fresh air. He couldn’t sleep and was bothered by what he heard later. Ironically enough he saw Bri in the lobby.

She was in a satin robe with no visible sign of pants on and making herself a tea with the free hot water provided. “What are you doing up?” he asked her, walking over.

“Couldn’t sleep,” she yawned, mixing in the milk to her tea. “You?”

“Same.”

“Are you nervous about the game tomorrow?”

“A little. It’s always scary playing on Hockey Night in Canada in Toronto. Plus my parents will be in the crowd too.”

“Oh wow, I didn’t know that. Are you excited to see them?”

“Yeah. Won’t be for long. Before and after practice for a bit and maybe half an hour after the game. What about you, are you excited to see your family?”

“Oh yeah,” she nodded. “I haven’t seen them since the day I moved into Pittsburgh.”

They walked over to the elevator and went to their designated floor, catching each other up on their family situations. Sidney invited her to his hotel room since he wasn’t sharing this trip. Injuries got the best of his roommate, to say the least.

She could tell Sidney had something on his mind so she decided to ask. He definitely wasn’t expecting to get an answer, but here went his shot.

“Why was your dad really involved and passionate about the children's hospital here?”

Of course, it had to be about my dad, she thought.

Notes

Sorry for the late updates, I suck. I know! What do you think is going to happen next!?

Thank you for your feedback :)