Falling Fast and Breathing Hard

Come just a week and a half later in the new year, the Penguins had lost six straight games and Kris was at his breaking point. The latest loss was a 1-0 loss to Washington which had to be an away game and I could just see the pain and frustration that was on his face after the game had ended nearly killed me. When he called me, I was prepared for the worst.

"Hey, Kris."

"Hey, honey." he said, clearly feeling down.

I imagined he was running a hand through that messy hair of his.

"I hate asking this 'cause I know it's a stupid question, but..." I said biting my lip.

"Athena, it's okay. I don't mind answering it. You know me."

"How are you?"

"A mess. I mean, six losses in a row? Are you fucking kidding me?"

This is one of only two times I hate to hear him cursing; first, obviously is in front of Kalea.

"Things are bound to get better. You know that."

"Doesn't mean I can't bitch about it though."

"No. It doesn't. You're right, Kris."

What I wouldn't do to massage his shoulders right now because that definitely helps him relax after a tough loss.

"I'd love for you to massage my shoulders right now."

I laughed; what a mind-reader.

"What?" he asked.

"I was just asking about that actually."

"Really?"

"Really."

"That's amazing. I love you."

"I love you, too."

After maybe ten minutes, I hung up and headed to bed for a well deserved night's rest. Ten o'clock the following morning, I heard a knock on the door to find Vero on the other side. I nearly squealed and hugged her immediately.

"Vero, what are you doing here?" I said, letting her inside the house.

"Just thought I'd come and surprise you."

"Well, you certainly did. That makes me so happy."

I laughed.

"So, how are you?" she asked as we sat down on the couch.

"Great, but Kris was a bit upset last night as I expected him to be. How was Marc?"

"Very hard on himself."

I made a face.

"Let's hope they can finish this road trip with a couple wins, so we can have happy men when they finally come home."

"You can say that again."

I nodded.

"How's you and Kris' little princess?"

"Wonderful. As usual." I said as I looked over at my sleepy girl.

"And sleepy. Clearly."

"Yes. She is. I'm gonna take her to her room for a nap."

"Can I take her?" she asked before I could even stand up.

"Of course. Make sure she has her yellow blankey."

"Will do."

Aside from one time when Mary had put Kalea in her crib, only Kris and I have put her there. Vero looked like a natural and doing it, while Kalea was an adorable and sleepy little girl. She pretty much melted into Vero and fell asleep. It was so wonderful to how comfortable Kalea is with her and vice versa. When Vero came back, she was all smiles.

"Looks like things went well with her." I said as she sat back down.

"She's so precious. So easy to put her down for a nap."

"Well, it usually is and plus she loves her Aunt Vero."

"I love her, too. I can't wait to be a mom." she said, sighing.

I couldn't wait for her to be either. I know that she wants to get on the baby wagon after they get married and that she is so impatient about it.

"You'll be an amazing mother. I'm sure."

"That's so great to hear. You have no idea."

This is when she hugged me.

"Tu es le meilleur." she said. (You're the best.)

"Regardez qui parle." (Look who's talking.)

Vero rolled her eyes and shook her head. An hour passed before I heard Kalea crying from her crib.

"I'll be right back." I said before dashing off the couch.

She was in there bawling her eyes out. I immediately picked her up and began rocking her.

"What's wrong baby girl?" I said, kissing her cheek.

She just continued to cry as I let her press her small face bury into my neck. I felt her forehead with my hand and noticed that she felt a bit warm, which worried me, of course. How could I not? She's never had any type of fever whatsoever, only a rash.

"Vero?" I called out to her.

"Yeah?" she asked as she dashed down the hall.

"Could you get me a thermometer? There's one in that drawer." I said, showing her where it was.

"What's wrong?"

"She seems to have a fever. I wanna see what it is before I call her pediatrician."

She nodded as she handed me it. I took a deep breath before I took her temperature. I shook my head when I saw what it was.

"What is it?"

"102. I'm calling her now."

"I'll go get your phone."

I nodded and sat down in the nearby rocking chair that I picked specifically for Kalea's nursery.

"Here." she said, handing it to me.

"Thank you."

"You want me to leave?"

"I don't. Please stay."

"Ok."

Alright. Here we go. It rang three times before someone answered.

"Dr. Simone's Office. How may I help you?"

"Hi. This is Athena Halloway, calling on behalf of my daughter, Kalea."

"Hi. What seems to be the issue?"

"I heard her crying in her crib and noticed how warm her forehead was. She has a temperature of 102 degrees."

"I'll go get Dr. Simone for you."

"Thank you."

While waiting, she began to cough.

"Athena?" the doctor asked.

"Dr. Simone, I'm so glad to speak to you. Kalea has a fever."

"What's her fever?"

"102 and she also has a cough."

"She probably has a sore throat as well. How about you bring her in? I'm pretty sure it's nothing too serious, but I'd still like to see her."

"I'll bring her today."

"Ok. See you soon, Ms. Halloway."

Lord knows how badly I want to be called Mrs. Letang already.

"Would you be up for heading to her doctor's office?" I asked after hanging up.

"No. Not at all."

In less than five minutes, we were out on the road with my little girl coughing and crying; my heart was breaking, so much that I was actually crying.

"Are you okay?"

Crap. Vero noticed.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I said, wiping my tears away.

I'm pathetic.

"Athena." she said, giving me a knowing look.

"That cough is scaring me and she looks terrible. I know she's gonna be fine, but... still..."

"I totally get it. She's your world and you don't want anything to happen to her."

I nodded before getting out of the car. After I shut my door, I opened the back door to get Kalea while Vero grabbed her stroller out of the trunk. Once I picked her up and she snuggled into my neck and sniffled.

"Wanna use the stroller?"

"Maybe when we leave."

"Okay."

She pushed the stroller while I carried a sniffling Kalea in my arms. Luckily, there was only one other mother in there with her young son. We only waited for a handful of minutes when we were called.

"Athena, it's great to see you, although I wish it wasn't under these circumstances." her doctor said as she greeted us.

"You can say that again. Oh, this is Vero, by the way. She was with us when all this went down."

"It's nice to meet you, Vero." she said, shaking her hand.

"The same." she said with a smile.

"So, Miss Kalea, isn't feeling too well now, is she?"

"Unfortunately." I said as she sniffled.

"Hi, sweetie. Can I take a look at you?"

Kalea just whined and turned away and buried her face into my neck.

"It's okay, baby girl. She just wants to take a good look at you. You should take it as a compliment."

I kissed the top of her head and moved her hair out of her face. After a few seconds, she turned toward her.

"That's my girl."

She still wasn't happy when the doctor was taking a look at her, but she managed to get through it.

"Well, she certainly has a cold, sore throat, cough and a fever. It may sound bad, but it should go away within a day or two if you keep her at home for that amount of time."

That's a relief.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that."

"Well, I'm glad to hear you say that."

Within five minutes, we left the doctor's office and back into my car.

"I'm so relieved." I said, resting my head against the back of my seat.

"Me too. How do you think Kris is gonna react when you tell him just about the fever, you know? Not the couch or anything else?"

"He's probably gonna freak out and want to come home, so I'm prepared for it."

"Well, you definitely need to let me know when she's feeling better and his reaction as well."

"I'll do that. No doubt."

Fifteen minutes later, I pulled up in front of my house and she got out of my car and into her's. Once she left, I got Kalea out of the car and into the house. I put her into her swing before I sat down and relaxed on the couch. I took a deep breath and prepared myself to call Kris and hear his inevitable freakout. He answered the phone after a couple rings.

"Hey."

"Hey. What's up?"

"Not much. You?"

"Oh, where do I start?" I said sighing.

"What happened?"

"The good? Vero came over. The bad? Our daughter has a cold."

"Do I need to come home? How bad is it?"

"I was about to get Kalea after her nap when I heard her wailing. I took her temp saw that it was 102 degrees and heard her cough, then I called her pediatrician."

"And she told you to come in."

"Yeah. She said it was probably nothing, but still wanted me to come in."

"And the verdict?"

"She needs to stay home for at least a day until she feels better."

"That's a relief."

"Exactly."

"I can't wait to see her. Can I talk to her?"

"Of course."

And with a smile, I walked the very short distance to where Kalea was and put my phone on speaker.

"Here she is."

"Hi, baby girl."

She started to coo before the coughing and fussing began; it pained me... immensely.

"Athena, I really don't like the sound of that."

"I don't either, but it should end in a day or two. I know it's not a big deal, but I can't stand it."

"I can't stand it either."

"Well, let me know the second she feels better. Ok?"

"Ok. Love you."

"Love you, too."

The next two games produced two wins, one a 4-1 victory over the Panthers, the other a crazy 6-3 win over Tampa. I was lucky that the latter had been an early game, so I would be awake when Kris came home. Also, Kalea was back to her cheery self and I was quite happy myself.

"Are you excited to see Daddy?" I asked as I cooked dinner.

She giggled and clapped.

"So am I!"

It was five o'clock and I was expecting him somewhere in the next hour or so. I was hoping that dinner would still be warm for Kris when he got home, but I faced the reality of me heating up dinner for him. I had just sat down to eat when I heard him turn the doorknob. I smiled and decided to wait to hug him until he got further inside. Once that door was open and I saw his gorgeous face, I couldn't control myself and went to hug him.

"Hey." he said, wrapping those strong arms around me.

"Hey. I missed you." I said, burying my face into his neck.

"I missed you, too."

"How was your flight?"

"Really good. Glad to be back."

We pulled apart and sat on the couch.

"Glad to have you back."

I smiled and turned to kiss him.

"How's Miss Kalea?" he said, kneeling in front of her.

She excitedly reached her tiny arms out to Kris.

"Want me to pick you up?"

She giggled.

"I'll take that as a yes."

When he picked her up, her laughter was unstoppable.

"Looks like she's feeling pretty darn good, isn't she?" I asked.

"Oh, absolutely. She's perfect, just as she was the day she was born."

"You can say that again."

Notes

Chapter title courtesy of Crazy Life by Phil Vassar.