Chapter 15

After lunch, Sidney drove Karen back to the hospital and they both stayed for a little bit. Karen had brought back some food for her mom and actually was able to get her out of her dad's room to eat it in the waiting room. Karen sat with her dad as Sidney said he would stay with her mom.

"Is everything better between you and my daughter?"

"You knew we were having problems?"

"That is the one thing I treasure about my girls, they open up to me about everything. She said she was the one that cheated and took full responsibilitiy for it."

"Yeah she did. I didn't want to believe it at first but I knew something was happening when we kept having the same fight over and over again."

"I know deep down she wants kids and before you two got married she did mention that she couldn't wait to have a baby with you. I don't think her wanting to wait is what sparked the cheating it was because she couldn't get pregnant right away that prompted it."

"What do you mean?"

"She told me this in confidence and I am only telling you because she won't."

"Ok."

"Shortly after you guys were married, you were on a two week road trip I think. Anyway, she wasn't feeling well and went to the doctor. He ran some tests and she found out she was pregnant."

"She was pregnant?"

"Yes but after 6 days, she had cramps really bad and miscarried. She didn't tell you because it was so short lived she didn't want to get your hopes up and then kill them. About three months later, she got pregnant again but that one lasted longer...3 weeks I believe. She thought that maybe the first time was a fluke and the second one would be the one to last. Karen called me and said she was going to tell you but the phone call the next morning after you went to practice was not the one I wanted to hear. She miscarried again. It devastated her and I guess that's when she decided to just put it off for awhile."

Sidney sat there and tried to comprehend it all "she still could've told me. I would have helped her through it and understood better why she wanted to wait."

"She thought that if it happened twice, it would happen again and you would leave her for someone who could give you kids."

"Why can't she understand I don't want anyone else no matter what happens with us?"

"Because that's how she's always been. Growing up, if she couldn't please herself with school work or playing sports, it disappointed her and she figured it would disappoint every one else. She is passionate about so many things in her life and finding you upped that to a whole other level."

"I've noticed that about her. I mean, I've never doubted her love for me and knowing this won't change that either but I feel like I need to tell her I know."

"How about waiting until her dad leaves here and goes home. She'll have less on her mind if he's at home getting better."

"Ok, I will. Thanks for telling me."

"Anything for my favorite son-in-law" she said hugging her.

"I'm your only son-in-law."

"That's why you're my favorite." She offered a smile to Sidney before she got up and left the waiting room. He soon followed and went into the hospital room to be with Karen. They only stayed for another 20 minutes or so before leaving her parents alone. Sidney told her he would meet her at home as they left. Karen wondered where he needed to go but shrugged it off.

Karen had been home for about a half hour when she heard Sidney walk through the front door. She looked up from the tv and saw him enter the room.

"Where'd you go?"

"I needed to get these" he held up a dozen roses "for my beautiful wife."

"I don't think I've done anything to deserve flowers" she said as he handed them to her.

Sidney sat down beside her "please stop being so hard on yourself and realize we are going to be fine."

"I'm not being hard on myself Sid. I just can't forgive myself as easily as you did."

"Do you love me?"

"Yes, of course I do."

"Do you want to be with me?"

"Forever."

"Then you need to forgive yourself because it seems we love each other too much to keep this between us. Can you do that for us?"

"I think I can."

"Good" he said leaning in to kiss her. The kiss lingered and got more passionate the longer they stayed lip locked. Sidney broke the kiss and got up, holding out his hand for Karen to take. When she did, he pulled her up then went upstairs. As they got to the bedroom, Sidney wrapped his arms around her and continued what they started downstairs. Before long, both were undressed and in bed caressing every inch of skin visible. Sidney rolled them over so Karen was underneath him, spreading her legs to make the situation more comfortable. After a few minutes, Sidney plunged into her and Karen smiled inside realizing all was forgiven from him. He kept a slow pace that was more then sensual that had Karen moaning at the pleasures brewing inside of her. When Sidney felt they were both on the verge, he sped up to bring Karen over the edge first then joined her a few minutes later. He collapsed on top of her until their breathing slowed to normal. Sidney soon rolled off of Karen but pulled her to him as they fell asleep.

A few days later and Karen's dad was at home. She had gone by to be with him while her mom was at work. He didn't need fussed over, but she still needed to see he was going to be alright. When she got home later that day, she saw Sidney had dinner made for them and the table out on the back porch was set up with candles and flowers.

"I'm sure the guys would love to see you do this for me."

"I think they already know since they see how we are together in public. But of course what we show them in public is never what we do in private."

"And that's a good thing" Karen said with a smile "considering we could get arrested if that happened." Sidney just laughed as they sat down to eat. "So, is there hidden meaning in tonight's dinner?" she asked as they began eating.

"Why would you say that?"

"Because I know you. What's going on?"

"Your mom told me."

Karen had a feeling she knew what he was talking about but wanted him to actually say it "told you what?"

"About how you got pregnant twice and lost both of them. Why couldn't you just tell me instead of finding comfort in Jordan?"

"Going to Jordan wasn't until later when you started pressing the kids issue."

"Ok fine, but why couldn't you still tell me?"

"It was hard enough to go through, disappointing you twice wasn't what I wanted to face."

"I would have been disapoointed but at least we would have gone through it together."

"I know and I should've told you at least after the second one."

"Why not after the first time?"

"Because it only lasted a week and with it being that quick, I didn't think it needed to be mentioned. You were on a long road trip and I didn't think you needed to be burdened with it to distract you, even when you came home. The second one, yes I should've told you and I was going to but then I figured if I couldn't stay pregnant..."

"I'd want someone who could."

"At the time, yeah but I knew deep down it wouldn't be true. My mind wasn't where it needed to be after miscarrying twice and I am sorry."

"I know baby" Sidney took her hand in his "maybe next time will be the one that lasts...third time's a charm isn't it?"

Karen smiled at him "let's hope it is." They finished eating so they could enjoy the rest of their night together.

Chapter 14

The next morning, Sidney woke up before the alarm went off. He reached over Karen to turn it off and when he moved back, Karen stirred but cuddled back into his chest. Sidney wrapped his arms around her and just laid there until she woke up.

Ten minutes later, Karen woke up confused "did the alarm go off?"

"No, I woke up before and went ahead to shut it off."

"Oh, what time is it?"

"8:15a."

"Won't you be late to practice?" she asked looking up at him.

"I think they'll understand under the circumstances."

"Well in case they don't, I guess for you to get up I need to first" she said making the move to get up only to be brought back down.

"We can get up after this" Sidney leaned in and kissed her with more passion then before.

"I'd be amazed that you can go play hockey after that."

"If I would have woken up a little earlier we could have accomplished something else."

"Apparently you need to learn that a little sooner" Karen smiled then kissed him and got out of his grip, getting out of bed.

Sidney got up and got dressed as Karen emerged from the bathroom dressed. "Are you going to the hospital?"

"I'm going to the house first to shower and change then I'll head over."

Sidney walked over to her "tell me you're going to pack your bags and come home after."

"I might need pursuaded a little" she said smiling.

"I think I can handle that." Sidney placed his lips onto hers lightly kissing her and letting it get more heated between them before pulling away. "Well?"

"I definitely think that did it."

"Good. I better get going and I'll see you at home later."

"Not sure how long I'll be at the hospital but I will be home later."

Sidney couldn't contain his smile "I love you."

"I love you too." Sidney gave her one last kiss and headed out as Karen got something to eat before going to the hospital.

A couple hours later, Sidney was at the arena towards the tail end of practice. Max had been watching him all day and noticed a change in him. They were standing over by the boards when he decided to inquire about it.

"What's going on Sid? You seem overly happy for some reason" Max asked him.

"Let's just say everything is back to where it should be."

"Meaning you and Karen?" Sidney gave his teammate a look "relax, I know because Nat told me. She was worried for her friend and I promised not to say anything and I haven't. You guys been having problems and now it seems you're working them out."

"Did Natalie tell you what the problem was?"

"No and I didn't push it. I figured if it was a big enough problem and you wanted someone to talk to you would probably come to me if you needed to."

"If we weren't able to, I probably would have but I think it might have been something we needed to go through."

"What do you mean by that?"

"There had been some tension between us because I wanted to start a family and she kept avoiding the situation. I never got a true reason until everything blew up."

"What was her reason?"

"She wanted it to be us for a couple years before having a baby which in a way I understand but she only wanted that because if I found someone else it would be easier to leave her if it was just her."

"I hope you told her how ridiculous that was?"

"I did but with her being older than me, of course she's going to have that feeling. I love her and have no intention of leaving her for anyone else."

"Well just keep pounding that into her head and you guys will be fine" Max said then took off skating towards the net as Sidney stood there for a couple more minutes. He knew there was one other person he needed to talk to before really knowing things would be fine.

After practice was over, Sidney walked past Jordan and asked him if he would stick around so they could talk. He agreed and each of them finished getting ready to head out. They decided to meet at a coffee shop to get away from everyone else at the arena since really no one else knew about what happened between them.

"What did you want to talk about Sid? I haven't snuck away to pursue Karen or anything."

"As much as I appreciate that I want to know, why did she go to you? What did you offer her that I couldn't?"

"Maybe you need to ask her that."

"I'd rather hear it from you."

"Look Sid when it started between us, it was one night after drinking a lot but that next day we saw each other something sparked. Before I could make my move to want something more with her, you came along and swept her away. You were like this White Knight all romantic and loving towards her and I was the forbidden lover that only wanted to have the wild sex with. When we got together the one night after you guys started dating, I remember her saying I wasn't anything like you and I brought out the rawness that you didn't during sex. She couldn't let go of what we brought out in each other when it wasn't there between you two." Jordan saw how he just sat there staring at his coffee cup "she loves you man, maybe you just need to spice it up a little to keep her guessing. I don't think it was so much me she went running to than to something you wouldn't give her."

"I guess I never thought about it. When we were together, I wanted it to be like that but I never realized she was that type of woman since she didn't complain."

"She's not going to complain when she loves you."

"I guess."

"You know Sid, I love you as a brother but I never imagined in a million years we would actually have this conversation about our significant others."

"I know, me either but when my wife needs to seek out someone to give her what I'm not, I need to find out what to change."

"I don't think you really need to change a lot, just add to it" Jordan said finishing his coffee and looking at his watch "I need to go so I can meet Britnie for lunch in a little bit."

"Yeah, I told Karen I would stop at the hospital after practice. Thanks Jordan, I appreciate you being so honest."

"I just want us all to be ok again" he said before leaving. Sidney sat there for another few minutes before heading out himself.

Meanwhile at the hospital, Karen had been sitting with her dad all morning until he had another visitor. Karen looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey mom."

"Hi baby" she said hugging her as Karen got up "how's he doing?"

"Better actually but the meds are causing him to fall in and out of consciousness. He's been asleep for a couple hours now so he should be waking up in a little bit."

"I'm awake now pudd."

"Hey, you have another visitor." Karen's dad looked at her mom and a smile crept on his face "I'm going to leave you two alone for a while and go get some fresh air."

"Thanks baby girl."

Karen walked to the door but turned and saw her mom sitting beside his bed and took his hand in hers. She smiled at how strong their love was and left the room. As she was walking down the hall, she looked up and saw Sidney standing there like he was waiting for her.

"How's dad?"

"Better now that mom's in there. How was practice?"

"I wasn't late if that's what you're asking" he said as Karen smiled "but it was good. Should be a good game tomorrow night and I saw Ray and told him what was going on."

"I totally forgot about calling and telling him I wouldn't be in today.."

"He understood since it was your dad and sends his best" he said. "So what are you doing now?"

"I'm giving mom some time with dad so I guess I'll take a walk or sit in the waiting room and watch tv."

"Why don't you let me take you away for an hour or so and get something to eat? Clear your head for awhile."

"Since mom is here, I would love that." Sidney smiled as he held out his hand and Karen took it as he lead her out of ICU and out to lunch.

About 10 minutes later, they were sitting at the Olive Garden in the back room for privacy that Sidney requested waiting on their lunch order.

"How long has your mom been here?"

"She got to the hospital maybe a few minutes before you and if I know her she'll be staying with him tonight."

"Do I dare ask where you going to stay?" he said taking her hand.

"If I told you that I dropped off my things at home before coming to the hospital give you any clues."

"It gives me a hopeful one."

"I am truly sorry Sid, for everything. I never intended for you to get hurt. I thought I could end it after we got together but it didn't work out that way."

"Why don't we just say what's done is done and leave it at that. I've forgiven you and we both know it won't happen again, let's just start fresh."

Karen looked down before looking back up and into Sidney's eyes "I want to believe that but don't know if I can."

"What if I told you, something will let us know that everything will be fine. Will you believe me then?"

"You mean like a sign or something?"

"Maybe. Right now you're going to feel like I'm going to go out and cheat to make us even and I still feel that maybe this thing with Jordan is stronger than you and something may happen again there. Something will tell us it's going to be alright we just need to wait and see what it is."

"I hope you're right."

"I'm always right, you should know that by now" he said getting a laugh out of both of them. Karen knew he was right but wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of telling him. Soon, their food came and continued to talk during lunch.

Chapter 13

Sidney had tried all he could to get Karen to calm down but she kept getting up to walk around. It had been an hour and a half and they hadn't heard anything. Karen imagined the worst and it showed on her face enough to scare Sidney. He got up and walked over to her, holding her still.

"Baby, if they are going to get it fixed right it's going to take a while."

"I know but what if something happened. He could have crashed or they found more tears or..."

"Stop" Sidney brought his hands to her face to steady her "your dad is a fighter and will pull through this."

Karen was about to respond when she saw the doctor come out and over to them "is everything alright?"

"Everything went fine. After we got in, we found another tear and got it all repaired. He is resting comfortable and should be moved to ICU in a half hour."

"Thank you for everything" Karen said as the doctor smiled and left them alone.

"See baby" Sidney said kissing her head and she melted into his arms.

"Ok, you were right. I'm going to call mom and let her know" she said excusing herself and walking outside. After a few minutes, Karen walked back inside.

"Everything ok?" Jordan asked.

"Yeah, mom feels better knowing he's out of surgery but she won't really be fine until she sees him."

"Since there's nothing more we can do tonight, how about we all head home" Sidney said putting his arm around her.

"I can't leave until I see him to make sure."

"Yeah me too" Britnie chimed in "I want to see if he's ok." The guys nodded and the four of them went up to ICU to wait. The nurse let two go at a time and Britnie went in first with Jordan.

"How about when we're done here, I follow you home and sometime tomorrow you can get your things from your grandmother's house" Sidney mentioned while they were alone.

"Um, I need to do some things first."

"Karen, I meant it when I said I wanted you back home with me. I'm not going to change my mind about this."

Karen smiled and brought her hand up to his cheek "I know and I'm glad you want me to come back but when all this happened dad and I were in the middle of dinner. There's food left on the table and the kitchen's a mess. I can't leave it for mom to deal with, I need to go clean up."

"Ok, how about I come with you and we'll get it done in half the time?"

"Sid, you have practice in the morning. Why don't you just head home and I'll come back sometime tomorrow."

"What's going on? Is there another reason why you don't want to come home?"

Karen never got to answer as Britnie and Jordan came out and told them they could go in. They told them they were going to head home and said goodbye. Karen walked into the room with Sidney behind her and she hated seeing all the machines her dad was hooked up to. She walked over to the bed and took her dad's hand into hers.

"Hey pudding pop" he said opening his eyes.

"Hi daddy" she smiled at him.

"Um, pudding pop?" Sidney asked curiously.

Karen turned her head and glared at him "that name ends up in the locker room and I will take away your ability to play hockey."

"Understood baby" he said kissing her head "how you feeling dad?"

"Better now my girls came to see me."

"You'll feel even better when mom gets here later."

"You shouldn't have called to worry her."

"Well I get my stubbornness from you." Karen saw he was falling back asleep and leaned down to kiss his cheek "get some rest and I will see you later daddy" she whispered to him. She felt him squeeze her hand and she knew it was ok to go. They walked out and headed to their cars but Sidney stopped her before she got in.

"Before you go, talk to me for a minute."

"Sid, it's late and I am so emotionally drained right now."

"Just tell me why you don't want to come home."

"You're being too nice about all this. I cheated on you with one of your best friends and you saw us together. You should hate me and yell, not be all loving and want me back already."

"Baby, I was mad and for a brief moment I hated what you did but I love you and that caused my hate to go away. Besides, it wasn't an affair that happened every chance you and Jordan were around each other and you said it yourself, you guys were together a few times during the three years we've known each other. That's why it was forgivable so easily. Please tell me you understand that?"

"I do but..."

"No buts alright" Karen nodded her head "now let's go get your parent's house cleaned up and head home, ok?"

"Were you always this persuasive?"

"Of course, how do you think I got you to marry me after only being engaged a few months?"

"It wasn't you, it was your bank account" she said smiling.

"See I knew it" he smiled as he kissed her "I'll follow you there."

"Ok." He kissed her again before she got in her car and Sidney ran to his.

They got to her parent's house and proceeded to clean up from dinner. Karen was cleaning the dining room as Sidney was in the kitchen. He saw her sit down and looked pale.

"Baby what's wrong?" he said coming over to her.

"It's just a few hours ago, he was fine. We were talking and laughing and in a blink of an eye everything changed. I still can't let it go wondering if I wasn't here with him and this all happened."

"You can't think that" he said turning her head to make her look at him "things happen for a reason and you can't dwell on them or wonder what if, it'll drive you crazy."

"You're right. He made it through surgery and doing fine. I need to just concentrate on that."

"Maybe you can concentrate on us too."

"That's all I've been concentrating on."

"Good to hear. Come on, let's finish getting all this cleaned up." Karen smiled and got up to get the rest of the table cleared and took them to the kitchen. They loaded the dishes into the dishwasher and got the couple pots and pans washed up.

Sidney looked at his watch "since it's getting late, maybe we should just stay here tonight?"

"Wow, I didn't realize it was after midnight. It might be better to stay unless you want to go home."

I want to be wherever you are" Sidney said taking a step closer to her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"You know my dad is against having guys stay over when he and mom aren't around."

"Well I think that doesn't apply to me since I am your husband. It's a given I'll be in the same bed with you." Karen just smiled and got out of his grip, walking towards her old room. "How did you manage to get the biggest bedroom in the house?" he said looking around.

"Technically the room stops at the bookcase. When I came back from college and was working so close to home, I offered to pay rent like I was at my own apartment and my dad let me tear down the wall that separated my room and the den."

"That was nice of him."

"I don't think he wanted me to go out on my own and he agreed to keep me closer to him. But then it just got to the point where I needed more space but he understood and I did move somewhere close to them."

"Until I came along and took you further away."

"Yeah but he eventually got over it" she said leaving the room and going into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Sidney watched her leave then got undressed to his boxers and climbed into the bed. Karen came out a few minutes later in a tank top and her underwear. She crawled into bed and set the alarm before getting comfortable. "I set the alarm for 8, it that enough time?"

"For?"

"For you getting up, going home then heading to the arena for practice."

"Yeah, it'll be fine."

They both laid there on their backs staring up to the ceiling until Karen heard Sidney take a deep breath then felt the bed move and him. She soon felt his hand on her body and turned her on to her side to face him. He took her leg and put it over his bringing their bodies closer together. Karen brought her hand up caressing his cheek and looking deep into his eyes. Sidney leaned in and captured her lips, thankful she kissed him back. Her hand moved to his chest and then to his back where she kept it there, feeling all the muscles as they moved around. Sidney managed to sneak his hand under her tank top and began to massage her breast as the kiss continued to get more passionate. Karen felt him grow harder against her crotch and it made her want him even more. He kept his hand there for a while until he decided to remove it, travelling his hand down her stomach. Karen felt him lightly touch around the top of her underwear. He rolled them over onto her back and stopped kissing her long enough to strip off her underwear. Sidney rid himself of his boxers before climbing back on top of Karen. He moved her top over her breasts, exposing them until Karen reached down and fnished taking it off over her head. Sidney positioned himself at her entrance and slid inside hearing the gasp from her lips.

"You ok?" Sidney whispered as Karen just nodded.

Their lips attached once more as Sidney began to move inside her. The kiss continued as did their love making. Karen dug her fingernails into his back as the sensations poured through her. She had missed being with him and wondered if it would ever happen again. Sidney took his time not wanting to rush their first time together after a month being separated. The light moans that were muffled by their kiss slightly filled the room as Sidney continued his slow torture bringing his wife over the edge. Karen moved her hands to his lower back and scratched her way to his shoulders as the feeling of her orgasm kept building. She brought her hands to his cheeks and released his lips, pressing her forehead to his as she hit her peak letting her heavy breathing speak volumes. Sidney felt the tightness and kept pumping until he let go filling her with everything he had to give her. They stayed wrapped up with each other, not letting words get in the way. Sidney leaned in to find her lips again to end their night but also signaled a new beginning for them.

Chapter 12

Karen pulled away and looked at Sidney who was leaning in to kiss her. Their lips were almost touching when a cell phone went of. Karen knew it was hers and looked at it.

"It's my mom" she told him answering it "hi mom."

"Hi dear. What's the matter? I got a message to call you when I got back."

"Yeah, um, can you hold on for a minute?"

"Sure."

Karen moved the phone from her ear "could you try Brit again. She might answer for you" she asked Sidney who kissed her cheek and nodded pulling out his phone. Karen made a motion that she was headed outside to talk. "Ok, I'm back."

"Karen what is going on" he mom asked nervously.

"Mom, something happened tonight" she said trying to hold in the tears but it didn't work "dad had a heart attack during dinner and we're at the hospital right now."

"Oh my god."

"Mom, he's ok. The doctor said he has some damage to one of the valves and they are repairing it now."

"I knew I shouldn't have left him alone."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your dad hasn't been feeling well and sleeping a lot more. I should've taken him to the doctor before I left but he said he was fine. I guess he really wasn't."

"You know more than any of us how stubborn he is."

"Yeah I do and that's why I married him." Karen could hear her mom start to silently cry and it killed her. "I am going to try and get on the first flight out tomorrow morning so I will be back sometime."

"Ok. We're at Allegheny General and he'll probably still be in ICU."

"I'll just look for you baby girl."

"Alright mom. I will see you sometime tomorrow. I'm going back in to wait for the doctor to see me when he's done."

"Call me when you find out, I'll be up."

"I will. Love you."

"Love you too." Karen closed her phone after they hung up and let the tears fall. She felt arms around her waist from behind and smiled as it felt good "hey, did you get ahold of Britnie?"

"Yeah, her and Jordan are on the way." Sidney looked to his left and saw the courtyard. He let go of her and took her hand in his, taking her with him. They walked through the garden of flowers and stopped at the gazebo.

"Why did you call me tonight?" she said looking out at the city.

"I heard you and Jordan talking today."

"You were still there?"

"Yeah, I saw him hanging around and knew that you would be leaving for lunch. I followed him to the hallway and stayed hidden as you two talked."

"Glutton for punishment to see us again?" she said turning to him.

"I wanted to see what you would do and to say you surprised me is an understatement. I thought you would give in to him and I didn't want to realize it was over between us but when you told him it was really over, I knew you meant it."

"Was does that mean for us?"

Sidney put his arms around her again "it means we start over, you and me. Forget about all this and move on like we're suppose to." Karen moved away from him "what is it?"

"Can you really forgive me Sid? I can't go back knowing one fight we have and you're throwing this back into my face."

Sidney moved closer and caressed her cheek "yes I can and will and have forgiven you. After we talked, I put myself in both you and Jordan's place. I understand why he couldn't let go of you because I can't let go of you. I love you and want you to come back home."

"You sure this is what you want?"

"It is what I want and you are what I want." Sidney leaned in for the second time and this time their lips met. The kiss began slow then turned into a passion filled one.

"Thank you" she said breaking the kiss.

"For?"

"For being here with me, for my dad."

"Well, he is my dad too so it's not like I didn't have a choice."

"Yeah you did. You could've stayed mad at me and filed for divorce."

"That was never an option baby, ok?"

"Ok. We better go back in and see what's happening." Sidney took her hand as they walked back into the hospital. Karen asked the nurse if there was any news and she told her not yet. She went back over to sit beside Sidney, who put his arm around her until they heard something.

As they sat there, Karen got anxious and couldn't sit still. She told Sidney that she wanted to take a walk to the hospital's chapel. He nodded and said he'd come get her when there was any information. She smiled and then left. When she reached the chapel, Karen lit a candle before going to sit down and silently saying a prayer for her dad.

Meanwhile as Sidney was sitting in the waiting room, Jordan and Britnie walked in.

"What is going on? Any news?" Britnie asked.

"We haven't heard anything yet."

"We? Where's Karen?" she wondered.

"She went to the chapel about 20 minutes ago."

"I'm going to go find her" she said kissing Jordan "you two play nice."

"Should we issue the same sentiment for you and Karen?" Sidney asked with a smiling Jordan beside him.

"We'll be fine" she said walking away.

"Are we going to be fine Sid?" Jordan asked his friend.

"We will if you can stay away from my wife."

"Sid, we're friends. I can't do that."

"Keep it that way and everything will be fine" he said as they sat down and talked some more.

Britnie got to the chapel and saw Karen just sitting there. She went over to light a candle and then sat down beside her.

"You ok?"

"Dad will pull through, he's strong."

"I know but that's not what I asked. Are you ok?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me."

"Why are you mad at me?"

"I know what I did was terrible and probably unforgiving, but at least you could have answered the phone, let me start talking, then decide if you wanted to hear what I had to say before hanging up."

"I didn't know it was going to be about daddy Karen."

"You would've if you answered."

"I know and I'm sorry. Did you get ahold of mom?"

"Yeah, she'll be home sometime tomorrow."

"Look, I'm not mad at you anymore."

"Good to know" she said getting up to leave.

"Karen wait."

"What Brit? You ignore my call that was an urgent one about dad and you want me to sit and listen to you tell me your not mad anymore. If you weren't mad at me, you should have answered the damn phone."

"I know but there's a reason I didn't answer."

"And that would be?"

"Jordan and I were in bed" she said as she started to blush.

"Oh, sorry."

"Let's say I finally forgave him too."

"Don't need the details Brit. I'm glad you forgave him."

"I see Sid's here. What's going on there?"

Karen sat back down "he forgave me and wants me to come back home."

"That's good, isn't it."

"Yeah it is" she smiled "I'm surprised he did forgive me. I thought everyday 'is this the day I'll be served with divorce papers'. I can't believe I couldn't stop it."

"From dating Jordan I can believe wanting more."

"It wasn't that Brit. It could've been anyone if it wasn't Jordan." Karen saw the look on her face "Sidney wanted to start a family and I wasn't ready. I kept thinking he would leave me for someone younger and if we had a baby, it would just complicate things. I figured letting it be just us for another year or so, if he wanted to go I would be the only one hurt. But I hurt him first. I am sorry that you were on that end too Brit."

"I know and it started between you and Jordan way before we met and began dating so I can't hold a grudge. I just wish it was a different player than Jordan."

"Well you know, when we were little you took everything that was mine so I figure I had to take something of yours" she said smiling at her sister that got them both laughing.

"I was a little terror to you huh?"

"That is an understatement."

"Well it's not like you didn't do things to me too. Remember all my Barbie's?"

"I was playing beauty shop and had no clients until I walked into your room and saw them all just sitting there."

"You cut all their hair off. I had to get you back."

"And you did you little brat, pouring bleach all over my new sweater."

"My Barbie's hair couldn't grow back, you couldn't wear your sweater again."

"I think we were even after that."

"Yeah we were. Are we going to be ok?"

"It's up to you but you know, you did the same thing a few years ago." Britnie looked at her confused "you were best friends with Michael and one drunken Christmas party at work, you guys got together. Then you started dating Alex and Michael kept going after you. You ended up cheating on Alex, he forgave you but then you ended it months later."

"I guess I blocked that out. I should have remembered that."

"I should have reminded you" she said looking at her watch "we better get back and hope there's news about dad."

"Yeah." They left the chapel and headed back to the waiting room.

Chapter 11

"What do you mean you don't know what you feel for him?"

"We were friends before this all started and I do care about him and what happens to him as a friend."

"I can understand that but do you love him as more than a friend?"

Karen looked at Sidney with tears in her eyes shaking her head "no" she whispered "love was never a part of it."

Sidney took his eyes off of her, looking to the floor "he seems to have different feelings."

"I know" she said as Sidney's head shot up to look at her "I heard your conversation on the ice and what he said. If he fell in love with me, I can't help that. All I know is I can't return his feelings."

"At least you're being honest."

"Sid, I have no reason to not tell you the truth about this."

"Yeah because you've been so honest with me for the past few years. I better go. I am glad you're ok and I'll be in touch." All Karen could do was will herself not to cry as she nodded her head. Sidney opened the door to leave but looked back at Karen standing there with her head down, wiping a stray tear that fell. He hated doing this to her, but he needed to show her he wasn't just going give in that easily. He took one last look and left. Karen heard the door shut and sat back down on the couch to let the tears fall. Her life was falling apart at her doing and all she could do was wait to see what Sidney wanted...she only hoped it was her.

Three weeks had gone by and Karen hadn't talked to Sidney, but then again, he didn't talk to her. The times they saw each other at the arena, he would walk past her or look at her for a brief second then look away. Karen knew there had been some talk about them but chose to ignore it all. It was the same with Britnie, Karen had tried to talk to her a couple times and got nowhere so she just decided to let her come to her when she was ready.

Karen left the arena for lunch and found Jordan waiting around for her. She sighed knowing she didn't need this right now but figuring the team was gone, talking to him wouldn't arise suspicions.

"How come you're still here so late? No plans with Brit since it's a day off."

"I'll see her after she gets off work but right now..." he said as he grabbed for her waist.

"Jordan stop" she said taking a step back "this isn't going to happen again."

"Baby, don't say that. I can tell how much you're hurting, let me ease the pain."

"I'm hurting because of this. This should've stopped when Sid and I started dating."

"Karen..."

"Just stop Jordan. Brit forgave you, be thankful for that. I'm still without my husband and sister and it doesn't get any easier day after day. It's over Jordan."

"Don't say that. It'll never be over between us" he said lightly pressing her up against the wall becoming dangerously close to her lips.

Karen put her hands to his chest and pushed him away "it is over Jordan. It's so over, we need a new word for over." She got out of his grasp and walked out, wiping her eyes that showed any fallen tears. Jordan stood there leaning up against the wall and sighed wondering if he could actually let her go. He pushed himself off the wall and left.

A minute later, Sidney appeared from the hallway where he had been listening to the entire conversation between them. He felt relieved that Karen did what she did and that it wasn't for his benefit since neither knew he was still in the building. Sidney wanted to finally forgive her, he just needed her to show him that he was what she wanted. He got his stuff and headed out wondering how to get her back once and for all.

Later that day, Karen went to her parent's house to have dinner with her dad. Her mom was out of town for work and Karen always felt like she needed to take care of her dad while she was gone. She made him dinner and when they sat down to eat, he realized something was going on.

"So, Sidney didn't want to come over with you?"

"No, he had other plans."

"What other plans? There isn't a game tonight." Karen looked at him and she knew he could tell something was wrong "you guys have a fight?"

"Kind of. I really screwed up daddy."

"What happened?"

"I really don't want to get into details but it's my fault and now he hates me, hasn't talked to me in almost a month and I don't know if we'll be able to get back together."

"You and Sidney are special and I've told you that since the day you brought him home. Things will have a way of working out, just be patient baby girl."

"I love your positive thinking dad but I don't know this time."

"It will just....just wait and.....wait and see" he said like he was having trouble breathing.

Karen got up and went over to him "what's wrong dad?"

He could barely speak and pointed to his chest "pains....shooting pains."

"Oh my god" Karen got him up and moved him to the couch that was not far. She laid him down and grabbed the phone calling for an ambulance. As she was talking to them, she went into the bathroom and came out with a damp washcloth and some aspirin. "The ambulance is on the way dad. Here, put this aspirin under your tongue and let it dissolve." Karen wiped the sweat from his forehead and left it there to cool him down a little. Before long, she heard the sirens and left his side to let them into the house. Karen watched them take care of him then take him to the ambulance. She told him she would meet him there and ran inside to get her purse and keys, going to her car. As Karen drove to the hospital, she called the hotel her mom was at and had to leave a message. She knew she needed to call Britnie and went ahead. The phone rang and rang, Karen hung up before voicemail came on and kept redialing until she answered. Pulling into the Emergency parking lot, she finally left a message.

Brit you need to get the stick out of your ass and call me ASAP. It's about dad.

She hung up and ran inside. Karen was stopped by the admitting nurse and was told the doctor was checking him. She filled out some forms the best she could and was handing them in when her cell phone rang. Looking at the ID, she saw it was Sidney and answered it.

"Hello."

"Hey, it's me. Can we talk?"

"Um, now is not a good time. I'm in the Emergency room and need to go. Can we talk later?"

Sidney sensed her urgency "yeah, I'll call you tomorrow ok."

"Ok, bye." Karen didn't hear him respond as she hung up. Sidney got an uneasy feeling and left the house and heading to the hospital. He wasn't sure where she was but tried the one he thought she would be at.

A while later, the doctor came out and Karen went up to him. As they were talking, Sidney was walking inside and saw her standing there. He walked over to them and heard the words 'open heart surgery'. Karen felt a hand on the small of her back and turned to see Sidney standing there with her.

"So you're going to operate now?"

"We need to go in now to repair the damage to the valves around the heart. It can't wait."

"Can I ok it? My mom is out of town and I am the oldest."

"That's not a problem. We're prepping him now and I will come out to talk to you when it's over. And by the way, good thinking with the aspirin. You prolonged his life by a few hours."

Karen just nodded and watched the doctor walk away. "What are you doing here?" she said turning to Sidney.

"You didn't sound good on the phone and I was worried."

"So you came down to be with me?" she said with hope as her tears fell.

Sidney wiped away the wetness off her cheek "there wasn't anywhere else I needed to be baby." He wrapped his arms around her and she instantly melted into his chest and silently cried.

Chapter 10

A few days had gone past and Sidney couldn't get ahold of Karen. No one knew where she was and when he's tried to call her, it would go to voicemail. He was really worried about her and wanted to find her. He had only wanted to stop talking to her for a couple of days and then talk to her, but she jumped the gun and left. Sidney was done with practice and decided to head up to Ray's offce to see if Karen was up there. He got there and saw her desk empty like no one's been there for a few days. He was about to leave when someone stopped him.

"Hey Sid" Ray said coming from his office "what can I do for you?"

"I was just here to see Karen."

"She called me a couple days ago saying she had family issues and needed some time off. Didn't you know that?" he saw the look on his face "why don't you come in and we can talk for a minute." Sidney nodded and followed Ray into his office, sitting down as he shut the door. "What's going on Sid?"

"Karen and I had a fight, a big one and she packed some clothes and left. I haven't heard from her in awhile and wondered if she was here and just avoiding me. At least knowing she called you makes me feel a little better knowing she's alright."

"Well she couldn't have gone far. Did you check everywhere?"

"No, I have one other place to try. Thanks Ray and I would appreciate it if you wouldn't say anything."

"I won't and let me know if she's ok. I miss her around the office."

"If I see her, I'll tell her." Sidney left and went to see Britnie, hoping she could help him find her.

Awhile later, Sidney pulled up to Britnie's house and went up to the door, knocking.

"Sid? What are you doing here?" Britnie asked shocked answering the door.

"Can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure, come on in." Britnie let him in then closed the door behind him following him to the living room "what did you need to talk about?"

"Have you talked to Karen lately?"

"No and I really don't want to see her just yet."

"Jordan said he told you. What are your feelings with all this? I mean if you don't mind me asking."

"I feel bad for you and although I am mad at Karen, once I talk to her I don't think I can stay mad at her. Jordan said it all started before we dated so I can only hold their one time over her. What about you?"

"I don't know, I mean I was mad at them both from what I saw but part of me hates myself for not talking to her and hearing the explanation. That's why I stopped over, I can't find her anywhere and her cell phone is off. Do you know of anywhere she could have gone?"

"If she isn't at our parent's house, you might want to try our grandmother's house. When she died, she left her house to Karen. That would be the only other place I can think of."

"Could you give me directions so I can go see for myself?"

"Sure, let me write them down for you." She wrote the directions down on a piece of paper and handed it to Sidney. He thanked her and left to go see if that's where she was. Sidney found the house and saw how secluded it was. As he got closer, he saw her car in the driveway and pulled in behind her. Sidney sat in the car for a few minutes to compose himself.

Karen was on the couch, curled up thinking about Sidney. She thought about their first date when he took her to a run down dive and smiled. The food was excellent but the atmosphere was more than cheesy. It showed her how normal he could be. Or when they started dating and he asked her to go steady like they were in Jr High. He always showed a different side when he was around her and she loved it. Karen closed her eyes and remembered their wedding. They had only dated for 10 months before Sidney proposed and the wedding was 2 months later on New Year's Eve at midnight. They had more love for each other in the short time they've been together than anybody whose been married 50 years. Karen didn't know what would happen between them and she knew she couldn't hide away forever. Just then, there was a knock at the door and Karen went to open it...revealing Sidney.

“Sid? What are you doing here?” Karen said shocked and confused.

“Can I come in please?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah, come in.” Karen said as he walked past him.

Sidney looked around the house and turned to Karen "you're not an easy person to find."

"How did you find me?" she said motioning for him to sit down.

"Britnie."

"Is she mad at me?"

"That's something you need to talk to her about."

"I'll take that as a yes. So why did you come here?"

"I came to talk to you."

"Oh."

Sidney saw the fear in her eyes and his heart sank. "Do you realize how much you hurt me? Do you realize how it hurt to see Jordan touching your naked body and kissing you where only I was meant to kiss you? Do you?"

"I can imagine how you felt" she said looking down to the floor.

"Why Jordan? What could he give you that I couldn’t? Is this why you didn’t want to start a family with me because you thought you could have one with him?"

"That’s not why Sid. I didn’t want to start a family this soon because I wanted it to be just us for a couple years before we had kids."

"What?"

"We've only been married for a year Sid. You still could have time to realize that I'm not what you want and a baby would just complicate you feeling like you had to stay around. Jordan was a bump in the road that I got caught up on one to many times. He didn’t have or give me what you couldn’t, he kept me away from what I didn’t want to give you yet."

"Why couldn’t you just tell me what was going on when I asked you the other week?"

"I don’t know why" sighed Karen "maybe I was afraid that you would think I was right."

"Baby, I love you. All you had to do was tell me that you wanted it to be us for awhile, I would have understood. I just don't understand why you kept seeing Jordan even after we got together."

"Jordan got to be a force bigger than me and you catching us was a way to bring me out of it. I had tried to stop it but I couldn't and before you ask, I don't know why I couldn't."

"I think you do know why, you just don't want to say it. Am I not enough for you? Do I not satisfy you?"

"That's not it Sid. He was just different than what you and I have. I can't explain it any better than that."

"Do you have feelings for him?" Sidney asked hoping he didn't get the same answer Jordan gave him.

"I'm not sure what I feel towards him."

Chapter 9

Karen drove to the outskirts of Pittsburgh and to the one place she could get away from everything. Her grandmother had died a few months prior and between her and Britnie, Karen was the favorite and it showed. In her grandmother's will, she had left the house to Karen. She figured if Sidney ever wanted to get away from the pressures of hockey, her house would work. Not to mention a little getaway for them. Karen pulled up and got out, grabbing her bags and going inside. She knew there wouldn't be any electrity so she took the flashlight out of her car to help her get around. Karen found the bedroom and carefully took the dustcover off the bed. She changed her clothes, turned off the flashlight and crawled into bed as the tears fell freely.

Meanwhile, Jordan had taken Britnie home from the club.

"Did you want to stay the night?" she asked him sweetly.

"Actually, we need to talk about something. Well more like I need to tell you something" Jordan said as he took a step back. Britnie knew what was about to happen but she was more prepared to fight to keep him around.

"Ok." They headed inside and sat down in the living room. "Just tell me what you need to" she said taking his hand into hers.

"There really is no other way to tell you this and I'm sorry for hurting you but you need to know that since we've gotten together, I've been with another woman."

"Who is she?" Britnie said trying to remain calm.

"Karen" he said looking to the floor.

Britnie got up and looked back down at him "my sister Karen? You slept with my sister?"

"Yeah but if you let me explain you'll see this happened before you and I got together. It's not that I have never been unsatisfied by you or that I don't love you, I just couldn't get her out of my mind."

"Then explain it to me" she said sitting back down beside him.

"After I met Karen a couple years ago at the arena, there was something about her. I think all the guys saw it. When we all went out one time and she came along with us. We were drinking pretty good and her and I snuck off to a private area of the club. After that, we kind of flirted everytime we saw each other. Some time passed and I guess Sidney started to like her and they eventually began to see one another. I guess you could say I got a little jealous and pursued her until she gave in and we had another night together. When they got married, I knew it was over but I guess I didn't want to accept it. We snuck around a couple times but nothing really happened until a couple nights ago when were got together again. But this time, Sidney came over to see Karen after the fight they had and he caught us together."

Britnie sat there and processed everything. "So since we've been together you've only been with her once?"

"Twice just the same day. Brit, this was nothing personal against you it was just a continuation of my feelings towards Karen. I can understand if you want to break up and never see me again."

"That would be my first thought but I love you and I need to know how you really feel about me Jordan."

"I do love you Brit, but I think I love Karen too."

"So if Karen and Sid don't work it out..." she said trailing off not wanting to say the words.

"I don't know what will happened" Jordan said looking at her.

Britnie got up and paced around "maybe you should go home Jordan. I need time to think about all this."

"Yeah, I think that's best. I'm not going to pressure you about what to do, I'll leave it up to you. Whatever you decide, I will accept it" he said getting up. Jordan walked over to her and held her giving her a kiss before he left. Britnie watched him leave and sat down on the couch, putting her head in her hands and finally letting the tears fall. Out of anybody, it had to be her sister. She decided to go to bed and let everything fall where they needed to and hopefully her and Jordan would be together in the end.

Sidney had left Diesel not too much longer after Karen did. He had hoped he would catch her at home or know where she went. He wouldn't have done anything with that girl or anyone else, he needed to show her how it felt from what he saw between them. Sidney got home and didn't see her car. He ran his hand through his hair and went inside. Walking upstairs and turning on the light to their bedroom, Sidney stopped when he saw her half of the closet was half empty. He went to the dressers and opened a couple drawers seeing them as empty. She had left and it showed she would be gone for awhile with the amount of clothes she took, he just didn't know where she went but he prayed she was alright.

The next morning, Karen woke up when the sun was coming into the window. She looked around and remembered where she was. Looking at her watch, she saw it was about 9a and got up grabbing her cell phone. She placed a call to Ray Shero and told him that she needed a few days for personal family issues that were going on. He could tell by the sound of her voice something was wrong but didn't press the issue. He told her to take a week if she needed it and he'd see her when she came back to the office. Karen thanked him and hung up. She called the electric company next and got the electricity turned back on. Karen decided to take off the dustcovers from the furniture and clean up a little before going out to get some food She didn't know how long she would stay there, but she would at least be there for a week...without talking to anyone.

Sidney was at the arena for their morning skate. They had a game tonight and he needed to get focused but that went away when Jordan came in and started getting ready. Sidney walked over to him and sat down making Jordan look at him.

"Is she with you?"

"Is who with me?"

"Don't be an ass right now Jordan, did Karen stay with you last night?"

"No she didn't. I thought she might have stayed with Natalie." Jordan saw the look in his eyes "I'm telling the truth whether you want to hear it or not. She didn't come over last night, besides I told Britnie what was going on and was at her house until late."

Sidney got up and went back to his stall but Jordan got up and followed him "what happened?"

"I guess when Karen left she went to the house, packed some of her clothes and left."

"Came you blame her?"

"What?"

"Sid, I came to you and made you deal with me the other day but have you even tried to listen to her and what's going through her head about this. She probably figures if you're not going to hear her out, why bother sticking around" he said before getting up and leaving the room. Sidney sat back on the bench and wondered if he was right. He picked up his cell phone and dialed Karen's number but when it went directly to voicemail, he hung up and finished getting ready for practice.

Karen had gotten things cleaned up and decided to hook up her computer. She was thankful of her wireless card and could get a signal anywhere. Karen checked her email and went to a couple sites...the Penguins home page being one of them. She saw there was a game tonight which she forgot and debated if she would actually watch. Who was she kidding, of course she would watch. Just because she was married to their captain didn't mean she was a fan of the team otherwise. She put her computer away and sat there letting her thoughts consume her.

Chapter 8

An hour had passed and Sidney showed up. Karen was talking with her sister who came with Jordan about 10 minutes before. She noticed him walk in and watched him go towards some of the guys. Karen brought her attention back to Britnie.

“What time are they coming?”

“Max said around nine and it’s only a little after.”

“So, can I ask you a question before they get here?”

“Sure.”

“Any idea what’s going on with Jordan? You’re around the arena a lot, have you noticed any changes with him?”

From there Karen knew he hadn’t told her “I’m sure it’s just the stress of the game. Sidney gets it every now and then. All you can do is play through it and his mood will get better.”

“I don’t know I just feel something is going on with him.”

Karen was about to tell her the truth when Natalie and Max walked through the door. They got everyone to move back and as soon as they came up the stairs, they all yelled surprise and totally caught Nat off guard.

“Oh my god, how did this happen?” she said looking at all the people.

“Why don’t you ask that awesome husband of yours” Karen told her.

“Max? You did all this?” Natalie said turning around to face him.

“Well you know, I have to keep you happy some how, why not a party in your honor.”

“I love you baby” she told him.

“I love you too Nat” he said kissing her to the cheers of the crowds.

The night got going and everyone was having fun that is except for a few choice people. Karen was talking with Natalie and Britnie when Max and Jordan came over. Karen tried to avoid eye contact with Jordan, but he made it harder for her by talking to her. One of the player’s wives was taking pictures of the evening and she came upon them. She was ready to take it when Max stopped her.

“Hey Sid” he yelled over to him “come here for a minute.”

Sidney walked over to the group “what’s up Max?”

“We’re about to take a group photo with our lovely ladies and we need you in the picture with us.”

“Sure, no problem” Sidney said standing behind Karen. He pressed his body into her back and it took all Karen had to not lean into him. She managed to force a smile for Natalie’s picture but it was killing her how unrealistic it was. Karen felt his hand on her waist and he gave it a squeeze when the picture was taken. As she turned around to say something to him, Sidney had gone back over to where he was leaving her alone. Karen excused herself from the group and walked away with someone following her.

“Hey, you ok?”

“No Jordan I am not ok” she said trying to let the tears not fall. “He hates me so much right now.”

“He’ll forgive you Karen just give him time” he said. Jordan didn’t want to give away the fact he would be there for her if Sidney wasn’t. He just hoped she wanted him too.

Karen looked at him “you need to tell Brit.”

“I know and I was planning on telling her tonight. I was going to give you fair warning first.”

“She really loves you.”

“That’s why it's going to kill her. I mean we’ve only been together for 8 months, but I didn’t want to hurt her either.”

“How did we let it get this bad?”

“I don’t know” Jordan said hugging her.

Sidney thought that maybe it was time to talk to Karen. He left his friends and went to find her. He went around the corner and saw Jordan with his arms around her. Sidney wanted nothing more than to go confront them and pull Jordan off her, but he headed downstairs to the bar instead.

“You know Jordan I don’t think we need to do this right now.”

“What? I’m comforting my friend” he said removing a stray piece of hair from her eyes.

“Go spend time with Britnie, she deserves it.” Karen walked away and went back towards Natalie. She saw her wipe her eyes and knew the picture had to be hard on her. Natalie put an arm around her to comfort her as they talked. After a few minutes, Karen looked down at the crowd and stopped when she saw Sidney at the bar…with a very pretty girl. She saw him smiling and laughing with her but when his hand went up to touch her arm, Karen had seen enough. She told Natalie she had to go and left the VIP area. Karen walked past Sidney and he could tell she had seen them. He excused himself from the girl and followed Karen outside.

“Karen wait” Sidney yelled after her.

“Why, so I can go back in and watch you come on to every girl in there to get back at me? You won’t talk to me, you won’t let me explain so why don’t you just go back in and do whoever you want. Maybe then you’ll hate me a little less.” Karen couldn’t stop the tears as she turned around and practically ran to her car. She knew she hurt him but he didn’t really need to punish her this much. Sidney sighed and went back into the club.

Karen got home and went inside. She walked up to their bedroom and packed a couple of bags. She couldn’t impose anymore on Natalie and once Jordan tells Britnie, Karen wouldn’t be able to stay with her. Her mother would be too happy about the situation and couldn’t deal with her right now either. There was only one other place she could go.

Chapter 7

Later that morning, Sidney was in the locker room getting ready for practice when Jordan walked in. It took all the anger in his body to not go after him but he restrained himself and finished getting ready and heading out to the ice. Jordan sat there and got ready knowing Sidney will deal with him later whether he wanted to or not.

Karen was up in the office typing up some emails for Ray when she heard practice was going on. She finished up an email and left the offices to head to one of the suites to watch for a minute. She wanted to see if anything would transpire between Sid and Jordan but for the few minutes she watched they concentrated on their drills and stayed away from each other. She went back to work and tried to think of anything other then the two of them.

After practice, Sidney got his gear off and put on a pair of shorts and his shoes. He put his cap on and grabbed his stick, heading back to the ice. Sidney couldn’t be in the locker room with Jordan right now and went to work on some stick work until the locker room cleared out…or so he thought. Jordan knew what was going on and got his gear off as well, putting on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt with his shoes and following Sidney to the ice. When he got out there, Sidney was taking slap shots into the net when he saw Jordan come out onto the ice.

“Leave me alone Jordan” Sidney said without looking at him.

“I can’t do that. You need to talk to me Sid. Let me explain what happened.”

“What happened? What happened Jordan is you had sex with my wife. I don’t see where an explanation is needed here.”

“So what, you’re just going to keep avoiding me? We’re on the same team Sid, we need to work together.”

“I don’t have a problem working with you on the ice it’s off the ice where you can go to hell.”

“Then deal with me. I am right here, take your best shot.”

Sidney did just that and took the puck shooting it at him, making him jump out of the way.

Karen was leaving the offices for lunch when she heard a commotion on the ice and went through one of the openings to the ice by the seats and watched the unpleasantries.

“You don’t get it do you Jordan? I finally found the one woman who didn’t care what I did or who I was and we fell in love. That might not mean anything to one of the guys who chases after every female in a short skirt that comes prancing around the arena, but it means something to me. I love Karen more than anything and you couldn’t keep your hands off her.”

“That’s not how it happened Sid. We had one night before you two even started dating and I could have taken it to the next level but I didn’t. When I saw you asked her out I got jealous and made a play for her and yes, she gave in and told me that was our last time together but I couldn’t let it go, let her go. You’re not the only one that fell in love with her.”

Karen’s breath got caught in her throat when she heard what Jordan said. She knew she cared for Jordan but she didn’t love him. She was in love with Sidney and a few sexual adventures with Jordan weren’t going to change that. She got up out of her seat and left, not wanting to watch the rest of this unfold.

“What did you just tell me?” Sidney threw his stick down and glared at him.

“If YOU really love Karen, then you would let her make the decision whether she wants to see me or not because believe it or not I think I love her and I want to carry on seeing her,” Jordan’s words burned through Sidney’s heart and he cringed as he watched the look of infatuation and devotion spread across his face at the mere mention of his Karen.
“DAMMIT JORDAN, SHE IS MY WIFE,” Sidney screamed as fury filled him, “I WILL NOT LET YOU SEE HER.”
“She’s a person, she can make her own decision’s about whether she wants to see me or not,” Jordan hollered back.
“Don’t argue with me, she’s my wife and I say you’re to have nothing to do with her. Do you know how much I’m hurting right now?”
Jordan hung his head with shame, “Sid I am truly sorry for hurting you I really am. But I can’t help the fact that I’ve fallen for Karen and how do you now that she doesn’t feel the same way.”

Sidney stood there as Jordan walked off the ice. Did he just confess his love for Karen? Would Karen really leave him for Jordan? He got the pucks out of the net and set them up again.

As Karen was leaving the arena, she ran into Max as he was going to his car as well.

“Hey Karen, glad I found you.”

“Hey Max. How was practice?”

“Not bad. Is Sid ok, he seemed mad about something?”

Karen realized he never told any of the guys about what was going on “maybe he was just really focused today.”

“That could be it. Anyway, the reason I stopped you was I wanted to remind you about Natalie’s surprise birthday party at Diesel tonight.”

“God, that’s tonight. I totally forgot about it.”

“You’re still coming right? You are her best friend and besides the guys on the team, she’ll definitely want you and Sidney there. I reminded Sid after practice and he just nodded about coming so I figured it was a given with you too.”

“Yeah, of course I’ll be there.”

“Great” he said hugging her “I’ll see you and Sid later.”

Karen just smiled at him as he went to his car before going to hers and heading out.

The rest of the day, Karen tried to figure out what she would do when she showed up at Diesel by herself and if Sidney showed up and completely ignore her. The guys would find out sooner or later and she guessed it would be sooner. Karen headed home to get the outfit she wanted to wear tonight. Fact was, all her clothes were still at the house and she needed to figure out what to do since Sidney didn’t want her around. After the party, she would be intruding on Natalie and Max so she had to find a place to go. She thought about going to Britnie’s to stay but she would need to tell her what was going on if Jordan hadn’t already. Hurting Sidney was one thing, but hurting her sister was another subject.

Karen got to the house and saw that Sidney wasn’t home yet. She walked in and went to get the outfit plus a change of clothes. As she was coming downstairs and went for the door to leave, Sidney came in at the same time, looking directly at her.

“Hey.”

“What are you doing here?”

Karen felt the dejection in her heart “I needed this outfit to wear tonight for the surprise party Max is throwing for Natalie.” Sidney just nodded and walked past her into the kitchen. He got something to drink and stood by the sink, looking out the window. Karen walked to the doorway and watched him. “Will you please talk to me?” she said with sadness in her voice. Sidney just stayed with his back to her. When he didn’t turn around, Karen did and left the house. Sidney hated doing this but after what Jordan told him, he didn’t want to hear her tell him the same thing.

Karen went back to Natalie’s since she was the only one who knew what was going on. After a while, Karen got dressed and made some excuse about where she was going to Nat so she wouldn’t get suspicious. She ended up at Diesel and was escorted to the VIP lounge. Karen saw some of the other players were already there and she sat down talking to Kris Letang and Brooks Orpik. They asked where Sidney was and all she told them was she had come from work and that he should be here in a little bit.