The Coworker

She sat down on the bed, tucking her feet underneath her, taking a sip of tea before giving her explanation. “Well, he always believed in making a child's life better. And that particular hospital specifically hits close to home with our family.”

“Oh my God, what happened?” he asked.

She took a really deep breath and began to tell her story. “When I was around the age of 7 I was involved in a boating accident. My dad was driving and I fell off the back of our boat at the cottage because I was looking at a bass. When I fell in my foot was cut at the bottom by the blades of the motor that were exposed and I nearly drowned. My dad came in to save me and we went to the local hospital.”

He could see the pain in her eyes describing her story. It broke his heart hearing her speak of this.

“I was so bad they air lifted me to Sick Kids in Toronto. They fixed my foot on the plane but I was pretty much out of it the whole helicopter ride with my mom. I was unconscious for a two days and in a coma because I had signs of trauma in the brain as a result from being underwater for too long. Luckily they worked hard at getting me awake and I lived through it.”

“How long were you under water for?”

“Three to four minutes. But I also lost a ton of blood from almost the entire bottom of my foot being scraped off so I had to stay and rehabilitate there. They did a lot to help me there. I was a patient for three months. I know it’s not as serious as other cases there but it made me realize a lot from a young age.”

“I could imagine.”

“I was in the accident ward for only two weeks and was moved to a more social ward to help me so I became friends with other kids in there. Some were for surgery, some cancer and other diseases. I lost a few long-term friends from when I was in there too since then and it broke my heart each time. So for years we would volunteer and visit there. That’s why it’s such a big deal to my dad.”

“I am… So sorry you had to go through that. That’s horrible.”

“Thank you,” she replied, taking another sip.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”

“Because it’s just something I don’t usually bring up. It completely changed my outlook on life. How did you know it meant a lot to my dad?”

“I just heard you talking to Phil about it and remembered meeting your dad and him bringing it up,” he recalled, partially. “You know you can trust me with this stuff right?” he tried to reiterate that with her in hopes it would bring them closer.

“I know. It’s just not common for me to discuss, though I do appreciate you listening.”

“You’re welcome. Do you feel more sleepy yet?”

“I do actually,” she yawned. “I’m off to bed.”

“Need me to walk you to your room?” he offered.

“No thank you. I think it’ll look bad enough having me walk out of your room in my sexy robe,” she laughed.

“Oh, it’s very sexy,” he replied, smirking at her.

“Night Sid,” she gave him a hug.

“Good night.”

**The Next Day**

Bri enjoyed her time to relax at the rink before leaving to spend time with her family afterwards before the game. She was already dressed for the aftermath and was looking adorable if she did say so herself.

While she was taking a video of skates being sharpened by their equipment manager she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned to see her dad.

“Daddy! Oh my Gosh, what are you doing here!?” she turned to give him a big hug. Some of the newer players who weren’t aware of the relation between the two were dumbfounded.

“I’m always still here!” he laughed. “I thought I would surprise you for a bit at work.”

“You’re so silly!” she laughed. “I’m so happy to see you.”

Her dad noticed some of the team staring and laughed. “Do they know you’re my daughter?”

“Not that I know of. Some of them have figured it out though.”

“Did Mario?” he asked.

“He knew I looked familiar,” she laughed. “He actually came for this trip, did you want to see him?”

“I know who that fuck is!” her dad yelled, semi-embarrassingly over to Mario who was talking to an employee of the teams.

“You son of a bitch!” he yelled, excusing himself and running over to say hi. “I figured you’d be here.”

“I’m always here!” The two embraced in a hug and Bri just stood to the side awkwardly snapping it to the team page that these two legends ran into each other.

They were busy talking about charity work and other organizations they’re involved in until Sidney came out to do his stretches. Mario whistled him over to go say hi to Bri’s dad and she nearly wanted to die.

“Sid, come here! You remember Peter Dumas right?”

“Of course,” Sid smiled. A few months ago Sid was about to shit his pants when he saw this man. Fast forward to now he didn’t feel as strong of an urge. His nerves were in overdrive and he was extremely nervous, unsure if Bri mentioned it. “Dumas, nice to see you again sir,” he shook his hand.

“Sid, pleasure as always. How you keeping up?”

“Can’t complain,” he laughed. “How about yourself?”

The two were engaged in a good conversation while Bri did everything she could to avoid the tension that only she may have felt. When she walked out to see a few players stretching and skating around the rink she noticed a group of kids.

Normally practices are closed to the public unless it’s a special occasion, so this was odd for her. It was especially odd when Sidney went over to spend time with them. He took a picture with each individual and signed a lot of autographs. She noticed a few of the Leafs players doing the same earlier but thought nothing of it. She took a few snaps of him doing his thing and left to go spend some time with her loved ones.

**At the Game**

The teams were equally matched. The score was back and forth the entire first period. During the intermission Bri was watching Don Cherry’s segment, a tradition in Canada during Saturday night hockey. Except she was hiding in a corner streaming it from her work phone.

Footage of her father and the man she formally loved and lived with were talking, he inquired about her past and fathers interest. Next thing she knew a clip of Sidney signing autographs appeared and Don was explaining that he stopped by before he took the ice to meet patients from the hospital Bri previously stayed at. Those patients were invited by her father, and everything clicked.

Was he actually making an effort to get her back again?

Notes

Outfit for the chapter:https://www.polyvore.com/mean_business/set?id=234837313

Sometimes small gestures leave a huge impression!

What do you think so far?

Thanks for reading :)