Tyler woke up from pain when he flipped over in bed and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his rib. He cursed loudly before he recalled the night before. Not only had he possibly broken a rib, but the team lost, and he had shooed Savannah away for the night. It was probably for the better, though, because he had been in a shitty mood and he was bound to piss her off if she had come home to him. He was a lousy patient when he was injured, especially after a loss.

His dogs had run into the room when he had been yelling out in pain, and he knew he needed to take them outside. He didn't bother changing from the sweatpants and t-shirt he'd worn to bed and grabbed his phone on his way to get the leashes and take them outside.

While they took their time doing their business, Tyler took the opportunity to look at his phone. He had several texts from last night, including his mom telling him the Stars would win it next time. Leave it to his mom to try to pep him up after a loss with a text. He had to admit, it did make him smile just a little bit. The next one was from Jack, telling him he had his x-ray this morning at ten. There were several more from his teammates and friends, but it surprised him that there wasn't a text from Savannah.

He shrugged it off as he walked the dogs around the block and back inside. He knew he'd have to take them back out for a proper walk later, but he didn't feel like doing it now. He wasn't in a great mood, though he knew the team would bounce back and beat the Jets in their next game. Unfortunately, it meant another road trip to Winnipeg and missing Shea and Audrey's wedding.

When he got back inside, he decided to take a quick shower and make some breakfast. Coach had given them the day off, but Tyler still had to go get his x-ray. He was convinced it was fine, and even if it was broken, he was playing anyways. He wasn't going to let anyone tell him differently. It was the playoffs, and he could play through a little bit of pain.

As he was driving to get his x-ray, he got a call from Jamie, and he picked it up on his Bluetooth in his car. "What's up?" he answered the phone.

"I hear you're in the doghouse," Jamie said, forgoing all greetings.

Tyler stopped at the red light. "Huh?" he asked, confused. "What's Coach pissed at me for? I didn't lose the fucking game," he spat.

"Not Coach, you dumbass. Savannah," Jamie corrected him.

"She's pissed at me? For what?" Tyler questioned. He hadn't thought too much of her not texting him today. He knew she was with her sister and Alex, as he had sent her away the night before. She wasn't really upset about last night, was she?

"Alex said you were apparently a dick last night," Jamie didn't sugarcoat it at all.

"What the fuck?" he cursed. "I didn't do shit. She went home with Shea," he recalled. She had offered to come home and take care of him, but he wasn't a child, he didn't need to be taken care of. He knew the loss last night would make him an even worse patient than usual, and he knew if she tried to baby him, he'd lose his shit on her.

"Well you better do something to make it up to her," Jamie told him.

"Yeah, look I gotta go, I'm getting an x-ray on my rib," he told Jamie before hanging up the phone.

He walked into the facility, happy when the x-ray took less than five minutes. He didn't feel like waiting around all day. Jack had told him that he'd have the results later that day, and Tyler reminded him again that it didn't matter what the results were, he was playing in Winnipeg.

His mind went back to the phone call with Jamie from earlier. He still hadn't heard anything from Savannah, and Jamie's words repeated in his mind. He mad sure his phone was connected to the Bluetooth in the car before he called Savannah on his drive home.

"Hey, I don't have much time, I'm at work," she answered the phone. Tyler thought about lecturing her about going to work with her concussion but decided against it. He had bigger issues to address.

"Are you mad at me?" he got right to the point. He wasn't going to beat around the bush, especially if she claimed not to have much time to talk right now.

"Nope," she replied, too quickly to convince Tyler.

"Then why is Jamie telling me I'm in the doghouse?" Tyler inquired.

"Jamie needs to keep his fucking mouth shut," she muttered in response.

"What the hell did I do!? I haven't seen you since the game," he reminded her, easily turning the corner to his block. He could see his house in view, but he drove around the corner anyways, not feeling like going home quite yet.

"I don't have time for this right now. I'll talk to you later," she said, hanging up before Tyler had a chance to argue.

"Fuck!" he cursed, slamming his hand on the steering wheel. He decided to try his next best option to figure out what he had done. He called Alex.

She picked up on the second ring. "Hey, Ty," she said, obviously not too busy, unlike Savannah.

"Why is Savannah pissed at me?" he asked immediately.

Alex chuckled. "Why don't you call her and ask?" she replied simply.

"She's too busy to talk," he mimicked Savannah. "Probably holed up in Liam's office," he
rolled his eyes.

"Someone is a little jealous," Alex sang. When Tyler didn't reply, she decided to cut the man some slack. "She's upset about how you acted towards her last night. We get that you all are pissed you lost. You deserve to be. But, you kinda took it out on her. She doesn't deal well with that. You know Van, she's not going to be anyone's punching bag."

Tyler thought back to after the game. He hadn't been that rude to her. Sure, he may have told her to not come home to take care of him, but he didn't want her treating him like he was some injured little kid. Okay, so maybe he hadn't said it in the best manner. Still, she should have understood he was just frustrated about the game. Jamie had been in a worse mood than him, and Alex didn't seem to be giving him the cold shoulder.

"Was she going to tell me she's pissed or just let me figure it out second hand?" he questioned. He hadn't realized how loud his voice had gotten until Alex told him to quiet down.

"She'll tell you when she's ready to tell you. It's probably better that way. She'll take time to calm down and then probably just let it go."

Tyler rolled his eyes, coming back to his place and actually parking his car this time.

"Whatever," he huffed. "I'll talk to you later, Alex," he added before hanging up the phone. He refused to focus on Savannah right now. Instead, he'd hang out with his dogs all day. If she didn't want to talk, then she could stay away for all he cared.

●●●
Savannah's head hurt. She hated that her concussion hadn't healed yet. Sure, it was probably her fault. She hadn't been listening to her doctor's orders exactly. She just couldn't keep her work to three hours a day. They needed to re-capture Bartholomew and she already felt behind.

She was packing her things up, knowing she wasn't getting anything accomplished with her concussion. She'd been hard at work for well over six hours now, double what the doctor had told her to do. But, she needed to be there. She needed to forget about Tyler for right now.

He had called her soon after she had gotten to work, and he'd annoyed her immediately. She didn't want to talk to him, let alone see him right now. Maybe her concussion was making her more moody and agitated, but she wasn't about to admit that.

"Shouldn't you have been out of here like four hours ago?" Liam laughed lightly.

"I'm going," Savannah told him, putting her bag over her shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow, Liam," she added, not feeling like joking around with him like they normally did. He said a simple goodbye in response, and she headed out the door.

"Fuck," Savannah cursed when the bright sunlight hit her face as soon as she walked outside. She got into her car but immediately realized she had no idea where to go. She normally would head home, which was actually Tyler's, where she had been staying most of her nights. But, she decided against hat. Her next option was the bar, but she knew better than to drink right now with her headache growing. The sunlight certainly wasn't helping the situation, and alcohol would only make it worse. She texted Alex directly, something they didn't do too often, as they almost exclusively texted in the group. Are you working? I could use some company.

Alex: I'm with Jamie but I can ditch him!

Savannah: No, no! Enjoy your time with him, I'll talk to you later.

Alex: Just come to Starbucks on 4th. Coffee on me.

Ten minutes later, she'd found a spot on the street and walked inside. She spotted Jamie immediately, and he stood up when he saw her, seemingly getting ready to leave and give her and Alex some time alone. Savannah walked over to their table. "Sit down, I'm not kicking you out," she said with a chuckle.

Jamie did as told and sat back down in his chair, as Savannah sat down across from Alex.

"You know, you should probably call your boyfriend back," Jamie began. Savannah shot him a glare, and he quieted down. "I'm just saying," he began again. "It's not gonna go over well with Segs if you're not talking to him."

"Jamie, go get Van a drink," Alex ordered, knowing it'd be better if Jamie left for a moment so she could talk one-on-one with Savannah. Jamie got the hint and stood up, beginning to walk off as Savannah called out her order to him. "Sorry about him," Alex apologized for her boyfriend.

Savannah shrugged it off. "I get it. If Tyler is off then he's not good during the playoffs," she said simply.

"Segs is a guy, and guys are dumb," Alex tried justifying. "I'm not saying let him off the hook completely, but cut him some slack. You know you don't want him going to Winnipeg without talking to him," she added.

Savannah was tightlipped for a moment, and then sighed. "Where do you think he is?"

Alex grinned. "You know he's with his dogs," she answered, and Savannah nodded, knowing the answer was obvious. He loved his dogs more than anything on the planet, so of course he's pending all the time with them as possible before he left for Winnipeg.

Jamie was walking back with Savannah's drink in hand when she stood up and took it from him. "Thanks, I'll take this to go," she said, and he gave her a curious look. "What, you told me to talk to him," she rolled her eyes. She heard him chuckle as she walked out the door.

She tried to clear her mind while she drove the familiar route to Tyler's. but, she couldn't help but think about how quickly her life had changed when she met Tyler. She used to be the independent, bad ass DEA agent from Chicago, who didn't need anyone in her life to look after her. That girl was still inside her. She was still independent and could take care of herself, but she didn't mind knowing she'd have Tyler there every night, even when nothing else seemed to be going right. She'd really come to understand that when she had gotten into her accident last time going after Bartholomew and had ended up in the hospital. When they asked her if there was someone she wanted to them to get a hold of to inform them she'd been injured, her immediate thought was Tyler.

She knew her stubborn ways almost doomed them as a couple. She hated letting go of being alpha as much as Tyler did. And at some point, he'd given up, or at least partially given up, and let her take charge in some aspects. She'd appreciated that. And yet, in other instances, he still wanted to act like the male in charge. Just like last night. That had really pissed her off, though she wondered if her concussion made her temper worse than normal.

She pulled into the driveway, seeing Tyler parked there. So he was home with his dogs, just as Alex had predicted. As she made her way up the steps, she looked at her phone to see no missed texts, an anomaly in her life. She pushed her phone into her back pocket and continued making her way to the front door.

She didn't bother knocking, she basically lived here herself. All three dogs ran to the front door when they heard it open, and Savannah took the opportunity to crouch down and give them attention they craved.

She heard footsteps and looked up to see Tyler standing above her, his arms crossed over his broad chest, just staring at her with his dogs. He didn't say anything so Savannah filled the silence. "Don't think I'm here for you, I'm just here because I missed the dogs," she blatantly lied.

Tyler cracked a smile before he let out a sincere laugh. "Can't say I blame you. They are the best dogs in the world," he said, bending down and giving each of them a belly rub.

Savannah looked up, locking eyes with him. "I'm sorry for pissing you off last night," he said, though she could tell it was a forced apology. She knew he was still mad at her for hanging up on him earlier.

Savannah ignored his half-ass apology. "How's your rib?" she asked him.

Tyler continued petting Gerry while Savannah was giving Marshall and Cash attention. "Not broken," he replied. He had gotten the call from Jack earlier that the x-ray hadn't shown a fracture. "They said I'll get an MRI after the season. No sense in knowing something you don't want to know. They're just happy it's not broken," he told her.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

"As much as your wrist," he answered. She knew what that meant. It hurt like a bitch, but you denied it to everyone around you. She glanced down at her brace that she finally got to dispose of tomorrow, and she couldn't have been more excited. "How was work?" he asked her. If she was going to ignore the apology and pretend the fight didn't happen, then he would pretend all was fine as well.

"I worked too much and too long," she admitted. She could have lied to him, but he would have seen right through her immediately.

"Did you come here to nap?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "I cam here to see you," she finally confessed the truth.

"Thought you were just here for the dogs," he joked sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and playfully pushed him in the chest.

"Ow!" he yelped, dramatically holding his side where she'd tapped him.

"Shit!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry! I forgot about your rib!" She then looked at him sideways.

"Wait a minute. You hurt your rib on your other side," she recalled, distinctly remembering his right side being evaluated last night. "You asshole!" she told him when he started laughing.

"You felt bad!" Tyler called her out.

"Yeah, and now I hope you hurt your other rib!" she retorted.

"No you don't," he countered. "You looooove me," he sang, teasing her. He knew they had already moved past their fight. He couldn't help but think if both of them weren't so stubborn, they'd probably have a lot less fights. But that wasn't either of their personalities.

"You love me," she told him, not denying that she loved him as well.

Tyler grinned while bringing her into his side. "I do love you," he told her sincerely. Gerry wanted some attention and jumped in between them. Tyler laughed loudly. "So does he," he added.

Savannah chuckled as she bent down to pet him. "You're lucky you have adorable dogs, or I would have left you a long time ago," she joked.

"My hot bod has kept you around," he said, pulling up his shirt to show off his abs.

She rolled her eyes at him. "It sucks you won't be at the wedding," she changed subjects suddenly, keeping her eyes on Cash as she started petting him, rather than looking at Tyler.
She was independent and didn't need a man at the wedding, she was fine going along. But, she couldn't deny that she wished he could have been there.

"What time is the wedding?" he asked.

"Three. Reception right afterwards that's bound to go the whole night," she chuckled. She knew her sister and Audrey would want to have fun with their family and friends for as long as possible. Their flight to Italy for their honeymoon wasn't until the next morning so they wouldn't be rushed to leave the reception. "So maybe you'll make it back before then," she added.

He guided her to the couch, all the dogs following close behind them. "It better be going on then. Our game is at noon, so we'll probably be leaving around the time the wedding starts. Maybe you could FaceTime me in down the aisle," he joked with a wink.

She laughed. "I don't think so. We don't need people focusing on you more than the brides," she told him. "Alex will take enough photos that it'll be like you're there," she reminded him. Alex had won the battle of not being up at the front as a bridesmaid in lieu of taking the photos. Shea had wanted her to be a bridesmaid, but she knew Alex was by far the best photographer she could get.

"Just make sure you turn down all the guys asking you to dance," he said, putting his arm around her on the couch.

"Only if you tell all the girls in Winnipeg that want to sleep with you no," she countered.

"Please, I'm not gonna sleep with anyone in Winnipeg, except for maybe Benn if he wants to share a bed," he joked.

"You'd get to compare stories with Alex," she shrugged, and Tyler laughed.

Her phone buzzed, and he glanced at her. "You gonna get that?" he asked when she didn't immediately reach for it. She opened her mouth to respond when suddenly it started buzzing again. "I think someone is trying to get a hold of you<" Tyler said, and she stood up to dig through her purse for her phone.

She didn't recognize the number but picked up anyways. "Savannah Decker," she answered.

"I've got something you want," a woman's voice said before the line went dead. Savannah pulled the phone away from her ear, staring at it in confusion.

"What?" Tyler asked, scooting to the edge of the couch. "Who was it?"

"I don't know," she answered, continuing to stare at the phone. "A woman said she has something I want and then hung up."

"She has what you want?" Tyler questioned, as confused as Savannah was. "Well it's not met!" he said suddenly, wondering if someone was trying to stir up drama and make Savannah believe he was cheating on her.

Savannah looked back at him. "Well that thought didn't cross my mind…til now. Better be on your best behavior this road trip," she said with a raised eyebrow.

"Trust me, I don’t have time for sex in Winnipeg. It's all about winning the game," he assured her.

"I don't know who's worse, you or Jamie," she commented. "He was so concerned about me making up with you so you don't play like shit," she rolled her eyes. She loved Jamie, but his laser focus on hockey right now was insane.

Tyler stood up. "You saw Jamie today?" he asked.

She tossed her phone on the coffee table, forgetting about the phone call temporarily. "Well I was meeting Alex and Jamie was with her," she explained. "They were totally on your side, by the way," she muttered.

"They love me," he grinned.

Savannah yawned and glanced at the clock on the wall. It wasn’t even five in the afternoon, and she felt like she could go to bed. "C'mon," he said, holding his hand out for her.

She looked at him curiously. "Where are you taking me?"

"The bedroom," he said simply. "For a nap."

"A nap, or a nap?" she questioned with a cocked eyebrow. She knew how Tyler thought. He was the one to get her to have sex with him in the locker room, after all.

Tyler laughed. "Nap now. And a nap later," he smirked. She was too tired to argue with him, and she couldn’t deny that he had the most comfy bed she'd ever slept in. or maybe she was just comfortable being with him. She barely had her head on the pillow when her eyes fluttered shut and she was fast asleep.

Notes

These chapters keep getting longer and longer. Hopefully that's not a problem!