The Ice-ing On Top

"Better than looking like I drew mine on with a Jiffy marker!" Max retorted to more hoots of laughter.

Sean merely shrugged and continued gliding over the ice. Max kept pace with him, digging an elbow into his side. "Boy, you're lucky you found a woman who likes the young look."

Sean laughed and nodded. "You don't need to tell me how lucky I am," he replied, going with a real comment instead of another joke.

Max laughed again and shook his head, skating off to shoot pucks at the goalie.

Later that evening, they all got their answer about who they'd be facing in the next round of the playoffs. Sean would be lying if he said it was going to be a walk in the park. They were going to be a tough team to face and he'd be giving it his all.

"You always give it everything you've got," Amelia told him later that night in bed. "Why should this be any different?"

Sean sighed and shrugged. "They're just... different. That's all."

"Every series is different Sean," Amelia said. She set down the book she'd been reading and turned her face towards him. "This is the playoffs. Every guy on the ice is giving it everything they've got."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Sean asked, looking over at her with a smile.

She laughed and nudged him with her shoulder. He lifted his arm and she relaxed against his side, her head fitting perfectly under his chin. He breathed her in, thinking that everything about her was perfect.

"It is," she told him. "Sean, you can't control what the other guys out there are going to do. All you can do is give it your best shot and support your team. I've seen you play and I've seen the other guys play. You can do this."

He swallowed and nodded. "Thanks Lia."

"Anytime, Kid," she replied and lifted her face to his for a kiss.

One kiss turned into another and they were soon hot and sweaty beneath the sheets. Sean poured all his love and devotion into her and felt something take hold of him as he buried himself between her legs. She cried out his name and scratched his back and he shouted out loud as he came, dying a little inside of her.

He realized in that moment that they were going to make it all the way. And he didn't just mean the team in the playoffs.

***

Amelia knew something still wasn't right around the time they were winning the Eastern Conference finals. She had been sleeping even less in the past week and she didn't think it was the travel. She'd been traveling and sleeping on the road for a long time now; switching hotels and flying every other day didn't bother her. Her nightmares had intensified and she was now dreaming about children chasing her around with hockey sticks.

Then after finding out Sean and the guys would be facing the same team who'd defeated them in last year's Stanley Cup finals, Amelia knew she couldn't bring up her worries. When Sean headed off to his last practice before heading out of town to start the final series, Amelia spent the day wondering what the hell to do. It stressed her out so much she had to bolt for the bathroom to vomit before lunchtime.

By later in the day, when Sean came home, she knew she had to talk to him. She couldn't spend any more days like this.

He seemed to sense something was up the moment he walked in the apartment. She felt awful for springing this on him but she needed to talk to her fiance.

"How was practice?" she asked, going for casual at first.

He looked at her with lifted eyebrows as he took his jacket off and removed his ratty black baseball cap. She bit her lip and looked away as he ran a hand through his damp hair, loosening the dark, curly strands. His hair had grown quite long since the playoffs began and that, combined with the facial hair, was enough to send her straight to the edge with just a glance. He walked over to her and when she met his eyes, she knew that he knew exactly what he did to her. Unfortunately the tingle in her lower regions mixed with the stressful nausea in her stomach and she had to look away again.

"I need to talk to you about something," she told Sean.

"Oh? Sounds serious," he replied.

She laughed nervously and shook her head. "I don't think it's that bad."

He cocked his head to one side and smiled. "Bad enough that you haven't slept through the night in weeks."

She flushed and bit her lip. "You've noticed."

"Hard not to when you're tossing and turning right next to me."

"I'm so sorry Sean. I never meant to let it affect you."

"Let what affect me?"

She didn't respond right away and, with a sigh, he pulled her across the apartment and into his lap as he sat down on the couch.

"Amelia, tell me what's going on," he said, stroking her hair. "Is it the move?"

"No," she started. "Well, it isn't exactly about the move."

"But...?" he tried again with a gentle kiss on her temple.

She sighed heavily and began to explain what had happened. At the end, they both fell silent and after a few minutes, Amelia began to wonder if he was upset.

"I don't understand," he said. "Does this mean you don't want to have kids?"

"No!" she replied quickly, sitting back so she could see his face. "I want kids."

He laughed and gave her a squeeze. "Then what's with the nightmares about kids and animals chasing you?"

"I don't know," she replied. "Maybe I think I'll be a terrible mother."

"Not possible. You're going to be a great mother."

His words brought tears to her eyes, simple and loving as they were. She kissed him on the mouth and smiled when he kissed her back. She felt infinitely better just having spoken the words out loud to him, even if none of it made sense to her yet.

"I don't know if that's the problem," she murmured.

"What?"

"Being a bad mother? I don't think that's what I was afraid of," she went on. "When I saw that room, that horrible Noah's Ark room, I had this thought that I'm almost thirty."

Sean laughed out loud and kissed her again. "Not this again? I don't care how old you are, Lia."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Well, thank you, Kid," she replied dryly. "But that wasn't where I was going with that."

"Oh. Sorry. Go on." He smirked impishly as he said it, earning a fist to the shoulder.

"I think that I was worried about getting too old to have kids," she said, coming to that conclusion just as the words left her mouth. She blinked up at him, seeing her own surprise reflected in his beautiful hazel eyes. "Holy shit," she breathed.

"So you're afraid you won't be able to have kids because you're too old?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Sean looked up and around the room, rubbing his chin with one hand as he mulled it over. Amelia studied his profile, wondering how she felt about it now that she'd figured it out.

"So..." he started. "You want to have kids right away?"

"No. I don't think that's the best idea."

He chuckled and nodded. "I would prefer to be married first. If you're worried about this, we maybe shouldn't wait too long before we start trying."

"Really?" She couldn't believe she was hearing this from him. "You want to get married and start trying right away? When we haven't even found a place to live?"

"Well, that's no big deal. You could always live back home with your family or mine until we get settled on our own."

"Oh right, of course. I'd just love to move back in with my parents at thirty."

He drew back and looked into her face. "You're upset?"

"No," she said and shook her head, frowning. "Yes, actually. You aren't seriously thinking that is the way to do it? Live with our parents and start having babies right away?"

"Hey, you're the one who just got through telling me that you're worried about even having one," he said, his tone sharpening.

"Don't yell at me!" she snapped, jumping to her feet.

He gaped at her. "I wasn't yelling!"

"You are now!"

"You started it!"
Now it was her turn to gape. "I can't believe this is what we've come to. Should I make some crack about rubber and glue, or sticks and stones?"

"Is that supposed to be a crack about my age?" he asked, getting to his feet.

"Not at all, Kid," she replied, beyond reason now. She didn't know what had come over her. She glared at him a second longer before turning and stomping down the hall, slamming the bedroom door behind her.

***

The series didn't exactly start out the way he'd thought it would. They were losing but thankfully it wasn't like it had been last year. If he could just get his mind off his stupid fight with Amelia, he might start scoring. They were heading home in the morning for their first two home games, and hopefully they'd be able to turn things around. Until then, he just tossed and turned and didn't sleep.

At last, morning came and he boarded the bus to the airport with the other guys, all of them relatively quiet. They weren't unhappy, just lost in their own thoughts and looking forward to their home games like he was.

As he stared out the window at the passing scenery, he wondered about what Amelia might be doing at that moment. She was probably sitting in the neighborhood coffee shop, drinking her regular latte and tapping away at her laptop. He smiled as he recalled the first time he'd ever seen her. He'd never seen another woman so instantly attractive. From that moment on, he'd been hooked.

This fight they'd had, it was nothing. Something stupid that was blown way out of proportion. He just needed to hold her in his arms and tell her how sorry he was. Sighing, he turned away from the window and followed his teammates off the bus. They boarded the plane and were winging towards their hometown before they knew it.

Several hours later, after a quick practice at the arena, Sean was beside himself with the need to see Amelia. He hated being away from her and hated that she hadn't been at these two games, not that he blamed her. They'd hardly spoken since that ridiculous fight. Now, as he rushed up the stairs of their apartment building, he wanted nothing more than to kiss her.

"Amelia?" he called out as he walked into the apartment. He froze in place as he looked around the kitchen.

There was nothing there.

No kitchen table. No shelves along the wall. No dishes on the counter or in the sink.

Breathing hard, Sean moved down the hallway and saw that the living room and bedrooms were empty as well, all furniture and personal effects gone. Even his boxes, that had lain unpacked for months, were no longer lining the walls.

"Amelia?" he tried again, knowing that it was useless. His voice echoed oddly off the empty apartment walls and he turned around slowly, feeling lost.

"Shit," he swore and scowled at the vacant apartment. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and punched in the numbers to Amelia's cell phone.

"Sean?" a familiar male voice came over the line a minute later.

"Max?" Sean said incredulously into the phone. He pulled it away from his ear and stared at it before speaking again, just to assure himself that he'd dialed the correct number. "What the hell are you doing answering Amelia's phone? Where is she?"

Max laughed and Sean could hear other voices in the background. "She's fine, relax, man."

It infuriated Sean. He stalked back to the door and grabbed his bag and keys before leaving again. "Put Amelia on the phone now, Max," he ordered.

"She's just across the room, talking to one of the guys," Max said. "She left her phone on the counter so I picked it up when I saw it was you calling."

"Max, so help me..." Sean said in his most threatening tone.

Max laughed again but then Sean could hear Amelia's familiar voice in the background. Some of the tension eased from his shoulders when he heard her.

"Sean?"

"Amelia, where are you? What's going on? I got home and the apartment is empty and you're not here."

"Oh Sean, I'm sorry, I thought I'd make it to the arena in time," she said. There was a loud noise in the background and she laughed. "Get away from me with that, Max!" she called.

"Are you at the arena?" Sean asked, feeling more confused than ever. He hurried back to his car and climbed in.

"Not now," she told him. "When I saw you weren't there, I was going to go to the apartment to meet you there but the guys wanted me to-" she stopped abruptly and there was more talking that Sean couldn't quite make out.

OK, he thought as he started the engine and drove away. What the hell is going on?

"Sean? You still there?" Amelia's voice came back over the phone.

"Yes," he said, trying to contain his temper. "Where are you, Amelia?"

"At our house," she said and laughed brightly.

Sean was flabbergasted. "What? You bought a house?"

"Yes, and it's beautiful! You'll love it!"

"Where?"

She quickly gave him the address and he recognized it as near the area he'd lived with the team's owner for a while. "I can find it," he assured her and hung up the phone.

Half an hour later, he was pulling into a long, shaded driveway heading up to their house. He saw several other vehicles parked in the driveway as he rolled to a stop. Then the front door opened and Amelia came running out towards him. She was grinning broadly and flung herself into his arms as he got out of the car.

"Amelia, I missed you so much," he breathed, kissing her face all over.

She laughed and kissed him back. "I missed you too, Kid," she replied breathlessly. "I'm so sorry."

"No, I'm sorry!" he replied and pulled back to look into her face.

"But it was my fault," she said touched his stubbly chin. Instantly, the thin hair on his face began to itch but he ignored it. "I shouldn't have said those things to you."

"Well, I was stupid," he added, cupping her cheek in his palm. "I didn't think it through and it was crazy to suggest that we live with our families. Amelia, I'm sorry for being such an ass."

"No, Sean, I'm sorry for being such a neurotic female!"

"You're both going to be sorry if you don't get your butts in here now!" Max bellowed at them from the front door.

They both turned to see him and several of the other players spilling out of the doorway. Laughing, Amelia grabbed Sean's hand and led him across the driveway to their house.

"Welcome home, man," Max said with a wide grin behind his bushy playoff beard and clapped Sean on the shoulder.

"Thanks," Sean murmured, his eyes taking in the house. "Amelia, this place is amazing!"

She beamed at him and nodded. "I knew you'd love it."

She took him through each of the rooms and described what she saw them doing to each one. Library here, master bedroom there, and of course, the kid's room...

Sean stopped short just inside the doorway of the nursery and started laughing. He reached out and pulled Amelia close to his side, kissing the top of her head.

"I thought you said this place gave you nightmares," he said, eyeing the pairs of animals striding across the walls.

She laughed and shook her head. "It did but after our fight they stopped and I realized I was just being worried over nothing."

He looked down into her flushed face and smiled. "And now?"

"I'm not worried about anything," she replied, reaching up to touch his lips with her fingertips. "As long as I'm with you, there is nothing to worry about."

"I love you," Sean said, his voice thick with emotion.

"I love you, too," she replied and stood on her toes to kiss him.

Sean was moments away from pressing her against the nearest mural of Noah's Ark, when loud voices and stomping feet crested the staircase at the end of the hallway. They broke apart, both blushing profusely as his teammates came down the hall to offer more congratulations.

"It's a great place," Billy offered with a fist bump.

"Nice and close to the boss," Max added with a smirk. "He can still keep an eye on you."

Everyone laughed at that. Eventually they all made their way back downstairs where Amelia offered everyone drinks; juice and water of course, no alcohol at this point in the playoffs. No one stayed terribly late since they had practice in the morning and then the game. After they'd all gone, and Sean had Amelia all to himself at last, he got the entire story from her.

"I felt so awful after that stupid fight," she confessed. "It was stupid. I know it, you know it, and we're both sorry."

He nodded his agreement and grinned at her. She squeezed his hand and leaned closer where they sat on their lonely couch in the middle of the enormous great room on the main floor.

"I woke up the morning after you'd left and I just couldn't sit still. I tried writing and walking around a mall but it wasn't working. Finally I just took a walk and passed a few houses for sale near the apartment. That got me thinking about all the houses I'd seen way back when I first started looking around."

"I wish I could have helped more," Sean added, shaking his head ruefully.

"Sean, please, you had way more important things to worry about," she assured him with a pat on the hand. "I didn't mind looking. Besides, we'd talked about what we both wanted so it wasn't like I was just guessing."

He nodded in agreement and listened as she told him the rest of it.

"I called Hilary right away and asked about this place. It was still on the market and the price had dropped again!"

"A sign!" Sean exclaimed and laughed at her glower.

"I told her to make an offer and they accepted and that was it!" she concluded. "I called a mover and had everything moved two days ago. I didn't want to tell you over the phone, and we hadn't talked since that fight anyway."

"Right," Sean said and gazed around at the house with a smile. "I can't believe it, Lia."

"Neither can I," she replied. "I could hardly sleep after the move. Oh, and after the playoffs are done we'll have to visit the lawyers to get your name added to the deed."

He nodded, still taking it all in.

"Do you like it?" she asked then and he heard the nervousness in her voice.

He looked back into her face and smiled. "I love it, Lia." Then he kissed her. That quickly dissolved into more and before long, they were christening the living room in their new house.

***

The next two weeks were intense for both of them. Amelia could hardly sleep. Between the move, the games and the secret she still carried around with her, it was impossible to relax for even a few minutes. The last game approached, a rare game seven to be played away from their home arena. Amelia stopped watching the news and sports shows altogether, sick to her stomach at some of the theories and stats that were being tossed around.

It's better to just not think about it, she told herself and focused on being there for Sean at the final game.

She sat in the owner's box that night with Sean's family and several other heavy hitters in the corporation. It was a fierce game, scoreless for a long time and she nearly fainted when Sean took a hard hit against the boards a few minutes into the second period. When he didn't appear again for the rest of the period, she was on the verge of tears.

"I'm sure he's fine, Amelia," Sean's mother assured her but she looked just as concerned as Amelia felt.

"He's not going to miss the rest of the game," his father spoke up as well. "This is the Stanley Cup final we're talking about here."

Amelia managed a weak smile but it wasn't until she saw her man skate back onto the ice before the third period that she relaxed a little. He wasn't moving the same, she could see it instantly. No one in the box said anything about it, but they knew it didn't look good. Sean did play for a single shift but after that, he merely warmed the bench and supported his teammates.

Still torn up inside, Amelia watched tensely as the other team scored a goal in the third period. It wasn't until the last minute that she came to the realization that they'd won it.