Chapter 81

She stared at the jersey in her hands for a few minutes in shock. Of all the events leading up to this night, nothing had led her to believe she would be sitting here, alone in a dressing room where the smell of sweaty hockey gear perpetually lingered in the air, reading the tiny words that she ran her fingers over in disbelief.

Will you marry me, Lauren?

Lauren’s attention was brought back to earth when she heard the door shut. When she looked up, Sidney was standing there with an easy smile on his face.

Tears spilled over Lauren’s eyes as he knelt down in front of her. “Lauren, I love you. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone or anything in my entire life. You bring more joy to my life than I ever thought possible and I want that forever. You make me so unbelievably happy and I want to marry you and give you the fairy tale ‘happily ever after’ ending you deserve.” Sidney reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a little black box. “Lauren, will you be my wife?” Sidney flipped the box open to reveal the most beautiful diamond ring Lauren had ever seen.

With tears in her eyes and trembling hands clutching Sidney’s jersey, Lauren tried to find the words to express what she was feeling, but her voice failed her and she was only able to nod her head. Sidney’s smile grew even bigger as he leaned up and captured her still-quaking lips in a fiery kiss. When he broke away a moment later, she whispered against his lips. “Yes. Yes Sidney!” He kissed her again and slid the ring onto her finger.

“I am the luckiest man in the entire universe.” Sidney said, standing up and pulling her into his arms. He spun her around and she buried her face in his neck.

“I love you.” She said, tears streaming down her face and her lips curled into a big smile.

“I love you more.” Sidney said, kissing her again as the door opened.

“This looks like a good sign.” Jordan said to Max, both of them grinning from ear to ear.

“She said yes. She said yes!” Sidney said quietly, never taking his eyes away from Lauren’s. A tear escaped his eye and Lauren kissed it away, wrapping her arms even tighter around his neck.

“Awww our kid is all grown up and found himself a fiancée!” Max said, wrapping them both in a hug.

“Don’t worry, Jordy, I’ll still always love you.” Lauren said as he scooped her into his arms, leaving Sidney stuck in Max’s death grip of a hug.

“Good. I’m really happy for you, Lauren. For both of you.” He said, smiling down at her.

“Our families must be going nuts by now.” Sidney said, wrapping his hand around Lauren’s.

The reality of what Sidney said sank in. “They all knew about this, didn’t they?”

Sidney grinned. “Well, I knew you would want them to be here to celebrate with us. But then I also knew that I wanted it to be just you and me when I proposed. And this just seemed to work out well. Besides, I had to have some help planning all this. Dana helped me get my jersey done – I wore that jersey tonight, you know. I had to be so careful not to take my glove off anywhere where anyone could’ve seen, or where they could’ve caught it on camera. I was so nervous.”

“You’re perfect. I love you.”

“I love you too, more than you could possibly imagine.” Sidney said, kissing her again before they stepped back out into the family lounge.

The room fell silent and every eye was focused on Sidney and Lauren. Sidney’s family and teammates, Lauren’s family, Mario, Vero, a few of the player’s wives, and some Pens staff members were all waiting anxiously. “Well…” Sidney began. “It turns out I had my phone in my pocket the whole time.” He flashed a sweet, boyish grin.

“And apparently he also had something else in his pocket too.” Lauren said, smiling widely as she held up her hand. The diamond sparkled in the light and everyone started cheering. Everyone showered Sidney and Lauren with hugs and kisses and all the women gazed admiringly at Lauren’s ring.

“Who would’ve thought that my son, the one who once bleached his beautiful brown hair into an awful orange-rust color, would grow up to have such good taste?” Trina teased, holding Lauren’s hand in hers.

“Hey!” Sidney exclaimed, but then shrugged sheepishly. “That was for the playoffs - I had to! Besides, I picked her, didn’t I?” he said, gazing at Lauren.

“You chose well, Sidney. I’m very happy for both of you.” Mario spoke up, smiling at them. “Now, shall we be going? I believe we have some celebrating to do.”

“Indeed, we do.” Lauren’s mom agreed and they all shuffled out towards the parking lot.

Sidney opened the passenger door for Lauren and helped her in, only to shift her around so she was facing him and his lips came crashing down on hers. They broke apart a few minutes later only to laugh at the hoots and hollers that were coming from various directions of the parking lot.

“Aren’t you two starting your honeymoon a little early?” Max yelled.

“You’re cutting off her oxygen, Crosby!” Brooks teased.

“She didn’t look like she was suffering!” Max countered.

“If you had to kiss Crosby like that, wouldn’t you be suffering?” Jordan piped in.

“Hey! Watch it – that’s my fiancé you’re talking about!” Lauren yelled through her laughter. Even in the dark she could tell Sidney was blushing as much as she was. She smiled and pulled his lips to hers for another blazing kiss.

The broke away a few minutes later and Lauren pulled her legs inside the car as Sidney shut her door. He turned around to face his teammates, grinning like an idiot.

He stared at them for a minute before letting out a holler. “Woohoo!” They all laughed as Sidney practically skipped over to the driver door.

When Sidney and Lauren arrived at the Lemieux’s, the party was in full swing and Nathalie and the Lemieux children were waiting anxiously by the door for them to arrive.

They practically attacked Sidney and Lauren and Alexa squealed with delight when Sidney picked her and spun her around. Nathalie gave Lauren a big hug and wiped a few tears from her eyes.

“See, I told you he would ask when he was ready - when the moment was perfect.” Nathalie said, shooting a knowing glance toward her older daughters.

Commercial Break...

This is just too cute...

Thanks to the best daddy in the whole world, I will actually be at the AFC Championship Game tomorrow! I've been debating whether or not I think any of the Penguins will be at the Steelers game or not...part of me thinks they won't be there, since they have a game of their own tomorrow (on NBC, by the way - EVERYONE better be watching!) but then part of me thinks that since it's a pretty important football game that some of the Penguins will head on over to Heinz Field after they (hopefully) trample on the Rangers. Thoughts?

Here we go, Steelers, here we go! Let's finish off that six pack!

Chapter 80

Chapter 80

The next morning, Sidney headed to the rink for the morning skate and his dad tagged along too. Lauren took Trina and Taylor to a café in Sewickley for lunch and they did a little shopping.

Pretty soon, it was time to head to the game. Sidney had already gone to the rink so Lauren rode with his family and Mario. Some of the Lemieux children had plans so Nathalie was staying home to taxi them around. Lauren’s family was meeting them there.

They arrived at the rink and got on the elevator. Lauren usually preferred sitting down with the other girlfriends and wives, but with such a large group, and because they had come with Mario, they sat up in his box. Lauren sent a quick text to Sidney, knowing he would be sitting in his stall, probably lacing up his skates.

Love you. Kick some Philly ass tonight. See you after the game, gorgeous.

A moment later, her phone beeped, signaling a new message.

Thanks. Can’t wait till I get to see you. Have fun with everyone. Love you more.

She smiled as she settled into her seat and the waitress brought her a glass of sprite. Lauren and Taylor chatted with Leanna until the players came out to warm-up. They turned their attention towards the ice and giggled to themselves as they watched Sidney complete his carefully choreographed warm-up routine. It was another thing he didn’t think anyone noticed. And most people probably didn’t – but if you knew him well enough and were paying attention, as Lauren and Taylor were, you could tell that each circle around the ice was meticulously counted, each shot taken on net was part of a sequence, and even the teammates he chose to converse with were pre-selected. All his other teammates knew enough about Sidney’s superstitions to just leave him be, but Flower and Max usually got a kick out of ribbing him about it.

At the end of the first period, the Pens were losing 1-0. Lauren knew it was still early in the game, and that a lot could happen in the remaining two periods, but she was already nervous about the outcome. She knew how upset Sidney would be if they lost tonight, especially with their families there watching. He always wanted to play extra hard when his or Lauren’s family was in attendance, especially Taylor. If they lost tonight, Lauren knew that Sidney wouldn’t want to be around anyone. Lauren was hoping for a win more than usual because she knew their families were all planning on heading back to the Lemieux’s after the game.

The Pens took the lead in the second period but the Flyers were able to tie it up with 20 seconds left. Both teams remained scoreless in the third period and through overtime period. The first five shooters were held denied points and Sidney scored the game winner. The child-like grin on his face was matched by everyone in the owner’s box and Lauren and Taylor cheered as loudly as they could, watching Sidney celebrate with his teammates.

They waited in the box while the crowd slowly thinned out. They took the elevator downstairs and made their way to the family lounge. Lauren noticed that everyone seemed particularly anxious and kept looking at their watches and towards the door to the dressing room, but she figured they were just excited to see Sidney and congratulate him, just like she was. She vaguely noticed Troy asking every person that came out of the dressing room if Sidney was almost done.

Finally, after about an hour of waiting, Sidney emerged through the dressing room. Everyone stood up to greet him and his family and Lauren’s family showered him with hugs and words of congratulations. Lauren smiled at all of them and waited patiently.

“My turn.” Lauren joked as she closed the gap between her and Sidney.

“Looks like I saved the best for last.” Sidney grinned as he kissed her.

“Great game, rockstar.” Lauren said when their lips broke apart a moment later.

“Thanks. I was just doing what I was told.” He replied, recalling the text message he had received earlier.

“Hmm…if you’re gonna go and play like that then maybe I should tell you what to do more often.” Lauren grinned as Sidney kissed the tip of her nose.

Taylor started bombarding Sidney with questions about the game, and the rest of Sidney’s family and Lauren’s family joined in too. Lauren stood back and watched Sidney and their families laughing and joking together.

“Hey babe?” Sidney asked, flashing her a million-dollar grin. “I think I left my phone in my stall. Would you be able to go get it for me? Please?”

“Sure. I’ll be right back.” Lauren kissed Sidney’s cheek and as she turned to go, Lauren’s eyes caught Trina’s and she could’ve sworn she saw them welling up with tears, but Trina gave her a warm smile so Lauren shrugged it off.

Lauren found the dressing room empty – the staff had already been through to pick up all the dirty laundry, so Lauren was surprised to see Sidney’s jersey lying in his stall. Sidney never left his clothes laying around like this in the dressing room – he was always one of the first guys to put his stuff directly into the laundry bins.

She reached down to pick up the jersey when she noticed the writing on the sleeves. Lauren sank down onto the bench when she read the little gold words that had been embroidered on to the edge of the sleeve. Reading those words suddenly sent Lauren’s head spinning. She grasped the bench next to her, trying to steady herself, but everything suddenly seemed very fuzzy and surreal.

Chapter 79

Chapter 79

That Friday, Sidney’s parents and sister arrived in town and Lauren picked them up at the airport. Trina greeted her with a tight hug. “Oh, it is so good to see you. You are looking very well. Are you excited for the game tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’m excited to have everyone all together. It’ll be fun.”

“Yes, it’ll be a very good day for everyone, I think.” Trina agreed with a smile.

“Hey kiddo. How are the boyfriends?” Lauren asked Taylor with a smile.

“I don’t have time for boyfriends.” Taylor said giggling and rolling her eyes.

“I’m sure your brother will be very glad to hear that.” Lauren replied as they walked out of the airport towards Sid’s SUV.

“He let you drive his car?” Troy asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, my car’s too small to fit all of you and your luggage. So I convinced him that I would drop him off at practice and then come here to pick you up.” Lauren said with a mischievous grin.

“You certainly have my son wrapped around your little finger, don’t you? And I mean that in a good way.” Troy laughed, hugging her to his side.

“He’s got me pretty whipped too. He can usually convince me to do just about anything he wants.” Troy pondered her response with a bemused expression on his face.

Lauren dropped Troy and Trina off at the hotel and her and Taylor went to pick Sidney up at practice. Most of the guys were finishing up on the ice and Lauren and Taylor sat on the bleachers a few rows up from the ice. Sidney saw them and waved, grinning from ear to ear. Sidney and Kris Letang were the last two off the ice. Kris waved at Lauren as he headed to the locker room and Sidney pulled Taylor in to a sweaty hug.

“Did you bring your skates?” he asked excitedly as he set her back down.

“Duh.” She said, motioning toward the bag she had left on the bleachers and grinning.

“You two are so much alike it’s not even funny.” Lauren said, rolling her eyes.

“We know.” Sidney and Taylor replied in unison, causing them to erupt into a fit of giggles.

“I’ll be right over there.” Lauren said, pointing to where they had been sitting a few moments earlier. “Go have fun, kids.”

“You don’t want to skate with us?” Taylor asked.

“Uhh, not so much. Your brother has the only skating talent in this relationship.”

Taylor shrugged her shoulders and smiled as she pulled her skates out of the bag and kicked her shoes off. A few minutes later, she was laced into her skates and they hit the ice. Sidney must’ve been tired from the practice he just completed, but he showed no sign of fatigue as he chased Taylor around the ice.

A few minutes later, Lauren heard a voice behind her. “Is this seat taken?”

“Hey Jordy.” Lauren grinned as he sat down next to her.

“Sometimes I think those two are worse than me and my brothers.” Jordan said, watching Taylor try to push Sidney over.

“They love getting to hang out like this. They don’t get to see each other often enough.”

“Yeah, I know what that’s like. I mean, I see Marc and Eric when we play each other, but I rarely see Jared and I almost never get to go see him play.”

“Growing up sucks, doesn’t it?” Lauren said.

Jordan laughed. “Yeah, but it’s pretty great too. I mean, I’m sort of a grown-up now, but I get to play a game that I love…and they pay me to do it too – imagine that!”

“Crazy.” Lauren laughed.

“So I heard a rumor about you. A really good one.” Jordan said coyly.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. I heard I’m going to get to see you a lot more often from now on.”

“There may be some truth to that.” Lauren said wryly.

“Woohoo!” Jordan screamed, loud enough for Sid and Taylor to look over in their direction. Jordan and Lauren laughed and waved at them before they turned their attention back to the game of keep-away they had begun. “I’m really glad, Lauren.” Jordan said, seriously.

“Me too.” She said, giving Jordan a warm smile. “Even if it means I’ll have to put up with even more of your crazy shenanigans.”

“Moi?” he asked innocently, putting his hand on his chest innocently.

“Oui!” she said, pushing him playfully.

They watched Sidney and Taylor exit the ice and head off in opposite directions – Sidney to the locker room to shower and Taylor to the unoccupied visitor’s locker to shower as well. Fifteen minutes later, Sid and Taylor were clean and dressed.

“What’s for dinner? I’m starving.” Sidney said as they climbed into the car.

“Nathalie’s cooking for all of us.” Lauren said with a grin.

“Mmm, it’ll be delicious, whatever it is.” Sidney said, rubbing his stomach.

The house was buzzing with voices and laughter when they got home. When they entered the kitchen, Sidney greeted his mom with a hug and kissed the top of her head. He hugged his dad and Taylor was showered with hugs from the Lemieux family.

Dinner was full of conversation and laughter and they spent the rest of the evening curled up on couches, just hanging out.

Chapter 78

**Sorry for the long wait, everyone! I have been very uninspired to write lately. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!**

Chapter 78

“Hey, my parents and Taylor are coming down for the game on Saturday. Do you think your family might want to come too?” Sidney asked Lauren as they sat on the couch a few days later, each with a bowl of cereal in their hands.

“Sure…I’m sure they’d love that. They haven’t been to a game in a while.”

“Yeah, I was thinking that too. It’ll be nice to have everyone together.”

“I was also thinking we could go furniture shopping tomorrow, since I have the day off. Apparently Vero already has a list of places that she ‘knows you’ll find something you’ll love,’ or at least that’s what she told Flower.” Sidney said, making air quotes with his fingers.

Lauren laughed. “Well, I’m glad someone has things figured out. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

The next morning, Sidney and Lauren stopped at Starbucks and ordered four steaming hot coffees on their way to pick up Marc and Vero. Marc pretended to sulk as Vero dragged him out of their house and led him to the backseat of Sidney’s car.

“Morning sunshine!” Lauren exclaimed cheerfully, handing Marc his coffee. “Are you excited for today?”

“Oh, I am overjoyed.” Marc answered, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “I think letting Sid take slap shots on me all day would be more fun.”

“Aww, Marc, that’s rough. I’m hurt that you’re not excited about spending the day with us.” Lauren said, pouting her lips.

“Oh, don’t even try that. You know I have a soft spot for you. It’s furniture shopping I’m not so fond of. Spending the day with you, and with V, of course, is always a special treat.” He said, squeezing Vero’s hand.

“Hey! What about me?” Sidney exclaimed.

“What about you?” Marc retorted.

“Aren’t you excited to see me?”

“Meh. What’s so special about you?” Marc replied nonchalantly, remembering Alexander Semin’s jab against Sidney several months earlier.

“Cute, Marc. Real cute.” Sidney said dryly while the giggles of the two women filled the car.

“I know I am but what are you?” Marc said in a sing-song voice.

“I have a feeling that this is going to be a long day.” Vero said, rolling her eyes as they all laughed.

“Pick out whatever you want, babe.” Sidney whispered in Lauren’s ear as he put an arm securely around her waist and leading her into the first furniture store.

Lauren looked up at him incredulously. “What?” he asked blankly.

“What do you mean by ‘whatever you want’?” she asked, imitating him.

Sidney chuckled. “I meant that we’re going to get whatever furniture your little heart desires.” He said, poking her gently on the chest for good measure.

Lauren looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, aren’t you planning to live there with me?”

“Uhh, yeah. That’s kind of the point. Why?”

“Well, if you’re going to be living there too, then I want your input as well.”

“That’s easy – I want whatever you want. I’m not that picky.”

Lauren coughed. “Not that picky? Are you kidding?”

“What? I’m not.” Sidney protested.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night…or for exactly 93 minutes before every game.” She said, a grin playing on her lips.

Sidney’s face turned pale. “Wh-what are you talking about?” he stuttered.

“Sidney, please.” She said, rolling her eyes. “You lay down for a nap at exactly 2:01 every afternoon before a game. And I’ve seen you set your alarm to wake you up at 3:34. I can tell time, you know.”

“How long have you known all this? I didn’t think anyone knew about that. You never said anything.”

“I didn’t think it mattered. I just notice these things. Besides, you fascinate me. You and all your little quirks.”

“Quirks? I’m pretty sure you have a few of your own, dear.” Sidney replied pointedly.

Lauren laughed. “So I’m a little OCD sometimes. I guess that’s why we make a good pair.”

They spent the afternoon looking at furniture and picking out quite a bit. When Sidney and Marc-Andre started whining that they were hungry, they called it quits and had dinner at a steakhouse nearby.

“So, Lauren, have you decided if you’re going back to school next semester?” Marc asked between bites.

“Marc!” Vero hissed quietly, nudging him under the table.

“What?” he asked, confused.

“Well, umm…” Lauren began. She hadn’t discussed her recent decision with Sidney yet, so she wasn’t sure how he would handle hearing about it right now in front of their friends. She mouthed ‘sorry’ to him and he squeezed her hand and urged to continue. “Well, I have decided that I am going to go back to school next semester.” Sidney’s face fell, but his eyes remained on hers. “But I’m going to commute from here. Sidney’s face brightened again and he kissed her cheek.

“Really?” Sidney asked, excitement clear in his voice.

“Yeah. I need to be here with you, with all of you” she said, nodding towards Marc and Vero, who were wearing happy smiles on their own faces, “and close to home. I love my life here – I always hated being away from you so much.”

“I’m very glad to hear you’re staying here, Lauren. I need a partner-in-crime to defend myself against these two.” Vero said with a grin. Lauren was immediately even happier when she realized how much more often she would get to spend time with Vero.

“I’m glad you’re staying too. Hopefully this means Sid won’t pout so much like he did when you were away for long periods of time.”

“I do not pout!” Sidney exclaimed, sounding like a child.

“Yes, you do.” Lauren said, rolling her eyes. “Don’t worry – I pout too when you’re gone.”

After they had dropped Marc and Vero off at home, Lauren immediately turned to face Sidney. “I’m so sorry, babe.”

“Sorry about what?” he asked, turning to look at her.

“Sorry that you had to find out about me going back to school like that. I just decided the other day and I hadn’t gotten a chance to talk about it with you yet. That’s not how I planned on telling you.”

“Babe, it’s okay. You didn’t know he was going to ask about it. Besides, I’m selfishly thrilled that you’re going to stay here and commute.” He said, grinning widely at her. “Are you sure about this, though? I mean, quitting your job and all.” Sidney asked.

Lauren paused for a moment. “Yes.” She finally answered. “I mean, I love my job, and I love the people I work with, but my life is here and I didn’t like the constant juggling act I was doing. And I’ve been thinking about other opportunities lately anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Sid asked, rubbing the top of her hand with his thumb.

“Well, I mean, I’ve been thinking about how I would get to do charity and philanthropy events with the other girlfriends and wives and that got me thinking about maybe working with a non-profit organization. “

“I think that sounds like a great idea. You’d be really good at that. You’d be really good at anything you set your mind to.”

“Thanks, babe. Your support means a lot.” She replied, squeezing his hand.

“Well, I mean it. And I happen to know a few people who run non-profit organizations, just FYI.” He said with a wink.

“I bet you do, Mr. Crosby.” Lauren said with a smile.