Chapter 21

The next morning, Sidney got out of bed early for practice. Since game 2 was tonight, they were going to have a short practice. While he was at practice, Karen had gotten up and ordered some room service for breakfast. Before she knew it, Sidney was coming back and they spent the rest of the morning together. They were watching tv and kissing, but when Karen tried to press the issue and take it a step further, Sidney stopped any attempt by being subtle about it but Karen knew why he was doing it. She played it off because she didn't want him to have other things on his mind except for the game.

Awhile later, Sidney went to lay down and Karen asked if he minded that she took a walk. He didn't and she kissed him before letting him sleep. Karen grabbed the key card and headed out. She went downstairs and found Nathalie coming from the pool with girls. She stopped and talked with Karen for a few minutes before they made their way upstairs. Karen walked outside and took in all the Stanley Cup fever that surrounded the city. She hoped and prayed that this year turned out different for the Pens. After seeing Sidney deal with the loss, or try to deal with the loss, she knew losing this year would kill him more. She took a brief walk before looking at her watch and knowing Sidney would be getting up and a few minutes. Karen headed back inside and went up to the room. When she got there, Sidney was just getting up and saw her come in.

"Hey beautiful. Have a nice walk?"

"Yeah. Went outside and saw how this city takes to their team being in the finals."

"How was it?" he said getting up and wrapping his arms around her.

"Pittsburgh's better."

"Now that's what I like to hear" he leaned in and kissed her "I am going to grab a shower and then we'll head down for dinner."

"Ok." They kissed again as Sidney went into the bathroom and Karen soon heard the shower start up. She sat down to watch tv until he got out. Ten minutes later, Sidney was done and dressed and they were headed downstairs. Before long, it was nearing game time and they were partng ways for Sidney to head to the arena with the team on the bus. Karen met up with Nathalie and went to the arena with her. Game 2 was pretty much the replica of game 1, by the style of play and of the score...with the Pens losing 3-1. Karen knew Sidney and the guys would bounce back since they were going home for the next two games.

After the game was done and all the interviews, Sidney had asked if Karen could fly home with him on the team plane. She hated when he pulled strings like that and knew she would be fine meeting him at the airport. Karen already knew a few guys didn't care, but heard talk from the other wives how she got special treatment being married to the captain. Sidney just got her to play it off when she talked to him about it and said that he wanted her with him no matter what. On the plane ride home, Karen laid her head on Sidney's shoulder and fell asleep and before they knew it, they were home.

On Monday, Sidney and the team had a morning practice to get ready for game 3. Karen had planned a special evening for them and hoped it went off as she wanted it. After he got home from practice, they did things around the house until it was close to dinner time. She got Sidney to leave to the house for an hour until dinner was done. He kind of argued, but was intrigued by what she had planned. Karen went to get dinner started and got everything else ready while things were cooking.

The hour was almost up and Karen had the dinner done. She had the dining room surrounded in candles and the table set for the two of them. As she was plating the food, she heard the door and Sidney's voice.

"Baby?" Karen walked out of the kitchen and smiled "I didn't know where to go, so I took my time picking these out." Sidney held out the huge bouquet of flowers and Karen couldn't believe it.

"Do I even want an idea to how much that cost?"

"I could tell you, but knowing how much I spend on you, you would want that much spent every time."

"They are beautiful Sid, thank you" she said kissing him and then taking the flowers from him. "I may break it up into different groups and have them all over the house."

"Why not keep it like it is?"

"Because I don't have a vase big enough."

"Gotcha beautiful" he said then smelled the aroma of dinner "is your surprise done?"

"Yes and if you follow me into the dining room, you'll see it." They walked in and Sidney saw the candles and dinner all set for him.

"Ok, it's not my birthday or yours. It's not our anniversary so...."

"I just wanted to give you a quiet, special dinner."

"Well I love it" he said kissing her "and I love you." They sat down and ate talking about the rest of the series and their summer plans in Nova Scotia. After dinner, Karen told Sidney to go sit in the living room and she would go get dessert. She walked in with a big bowl of Peach Cobbler and whipped cream. "You expect me to eat that with hopefully 5 more games of hockey to play?"

"You'll work it off tomorrow at practice anyway." Karen took the spoon and got a scoopful giving him the first bite "well?"

"Wow, that's good. Did you get that at the store?"

"No, try homemade. I had some peaches left in the freezer from last year."

"You need to stop spoiling me baby."

"I don't want to, besides it's an easy way to get what I want" she said eating a spoonful.

"So this is to just butter me up for later."

"You catch on quick Crosby. Just enjoy the dessert Sid" she said giving him another bite. They shared the cobbler until it was finished and Karen put the bowl on the coffee table.

"Thank you baby. Dinner was fabulous as always."

"Your welcome" she said cuddling up to him.

"At least you took my mind off of the first two games."

"Sid, you've said it yourself that you can't dwell on the losses when you've got more to go. Do you really think you and the guys don't have enough in you to beat them this year?"

"I know we have enough in us baby, I just can't handle losing again this year."

"Well you haven't lost anything yet. There are 5 more games in this series and you guys will play in all of them to determine the winner."

"How did you get so smart?"

"I married you."

"So you were stupid before you met me?"

Karen sat there laughing "nice, really nice" she said getting up "I have dishes to wash." Sidney sat there laughing and then turned on the tv, finding a movie to watch. A half hour later, Karen came back in and sat down beside him, watching the rest of the movie with him. During the middle of the movie, Karen started lightly moving her fingers over Sidney's leg. He knew what she was doing and smiled at her. Soon their lips met and the movie was long forgotten. Karen made a move and got up bringing Sidney with her.

"Why don't you head up and I'll meet you up there after I lock up?" he told her.

"Ok. Just don't be too long." Karen kissed him very passionately before she left him in the living room. Sidney watched her until she left his sight. He knew it was going to be hard turning her down and hoped she understood why. Sidney got everything locked up and headed upstairs. Karen was coming out of the bathroom in a tank top and boy shorts. She stood up against the door frame before walking over to Sidney and running her hands over his chest and kissing him. Sidney let the kiss linger before pulling away.

"Baby, stop. I don't think we should do this."

Karen took a step back and looked at him with disappointment in her eyes "I knew I shouldn't have told you" she whispered and walked to her side on the bed, getting in and turning away from Sidney.

He got undressed and got into bed turning to her "Karen, I don't want to hurt you again."

"How do you know it's going to happen again? It might not and I'm fine."

"But it might happen again and I don't want to take that chance."

"Fine, whatever you want Sid" she said quietly. Sidney just sighed and rolled out of bed going to the bathroom. Karen felt the bed shift and wiped the tears that escaped. He came back a few minutes and crawled back into bed, spooning up behind her and falling asleep.

The next morning, Sidney got up for practice and Karen went on doing things for Ray and some light housework until he got back. A couple hours later, Sidney came home with some lunch and saw Karen in the living room on her laptop. He brought the bag of food in to her and set it on the table. Karen looked up at the bag and smiled at what he brought. Sidney went to get something for both of them to drink and came back to sit beside her. He brought out the container with the honey bbq wings and set them on the coffee table.

"A peace offering" he said taking the lid off and the smell was heavenly to Karen who was starving.

"So you're saying that I'm not fat enough you need to feed me my favorite foods."

"Not saying that at all baby and you know it."

"I know. I can't believe you went out of your way to Robinson from the arena to get me wings from Quaker Steak."

"For you, I will go anywhere and do everything for you baby. I am sorry for last night Karen. I didn't want to take the chance of you getting another pain like last time. I know you said it wasn't anywhere near the baby, but it still scared me."

"I know, it scared me too. Look, I called my doctor and told her what happened and I have an appointment tomorrow morning."

"I can't go with you, we have practice for the game tomorrow night."

"Well this series is more important Sid, I'll tell you everything when you get home ok?"

"Ok. She'll think we're nuts asking her about all this."

"Well, she knows my history and she can tell I will be uptight about this pregnancy until the day I give birth."

"The day I am looking forward to."

"So, if I go into labor and its a game night, do you play or stay with me at the hospital?"

"Why do you ask me questions like that?"

Karen smiled at him "because I want to know if you choose the right answer."

"Since it will be a regular season game before Thanksgiving, I'm sure I can miss one game."

"Well let's hope I either give birth in the early morning or after the game."

"I just hope it's when I'm home. I would hate for me to be on the road."

"Me too." Karen kissed him and they finished eating.

Chapter 20

A couple days later and the team was heading to Washington. Karen wasn't leaving until the next day with Mario for the game. She decided to just stay with Sidney as the others would go home then come back for game 2 and she would head back with them after the game.

Karen was bringing up a load of laundry and sat down on the couch to fold it. As she reached for a shirt, she felt a small pain and it seemed to intensify as the minutes wore on. Karen's started to breathe deep and put her hand over the area of the pain. It got a little unbearable and the tears began to fill her eyes. She hoped and prayed it would stop and that it wasn't about the baby. After a few minutes the pain subsided and Karen sat there hoping it didn't come back. She picked up the shirt and folded it, picking up others and folded them without another wave. Karen figured she stretched wrong getting the shirt and continued with the rest of the laundry. As the night wore on, Karen didn't have another pain and was relieved that she was ok but if she gets anymore, she would fear the worse.

The next morning, Karen packed her suitcase and then went downstairs to fix something to eat. She was meeting Mario and Nathalie at their house and heading to the airport with them. Two hours later, Karen got her suitcase and locked up the house, leaving for Mario's. As she got there 20 minutes later, Karen pulled into the driveway. She saw them packing the car and she got out, grabbing her suitcase. After getting it out of the car, Karen felt her pain again and dropped the bag, doubling over. Mario saw her and ran over to her.

"Karen? What's wrong?"

"I don't know, I got this sharp pain after grabbing my suitcase."

Mario picked her up and sat her in the car on the seat where she stayed hunched over "do you need me to call your doctor?"

"No it'll pass in a few minutes. I got one last night and it subsided after 5 minutes."

Karen sat there with Mario kneeling infront of her until the pain left and he could see the color come back in her face "you ok?"

"Yeah" she said straightening up "I think I pulled a muscle lifting my suitcase."

"What were you doing last night to get one?"

"I brought the laundry basket up from the basement and sat down to fold the clothes."

"Maybe you shouldn't be lifting anything until after the baby's born."

"Maybe, but the pain wasn't near that area or anything."

"You sure you should be going with us? Maybe you should stay and go see your doctor."

"If it keeps happening and I don't lift anything then I'll go when I get back. I need to go watch Sidney play."

"Sid will understand Karen."

"Sid will not know about this until he has to. I am not ruining his concentration with this."

"I'll make you a deal. I won't say anything to Sid if when we get to the arena, you let Dr. Burke check you out. You can even wait until he's on the ice."

"Fine, I'll tell Dr. Burke and see what he says."

"Good. Come on, let's get going." Mario helped her up and she went inside to use the bathroom before they headed to the airport. The short plane ride to Washington and Karen felt fine the whole trip. She decided if she didn't have to lift anything, maybe she wouldn't get anymore pains and she'd be alright. Karen went to grab for her bag, but Mario beat her to it and got the handle up so all she had to do was wheel it along.

They got to the hotel and Mario got the extra key to Sidney's room for Karen, less hassle then her trying to get it. Karen found his room and put her bag next to his, then decided to lay down. She knew Sidney would be coming back after practice and waited for him.

An hour later, the team was coming back from the arena and heading to their rooms. Sidney put the key card into the slot and opened the door when it clicked. As he walked in, he saw Karen lying on the bed and smiled going over to her. He sat on the edge of the bed and lightly caressed her cheek, waking her up.

"Hey beautiful."

"Hey there handsome. How was practice?"

"It was good. You feeling ok?"

"Yeah why?"

"I don't know, you look a little pale."

"I'm just tired."

Sidney put his hand on her protruding stomach and rubbed lightly "peanut making you sick?"

"Actually, I haven't had morning sickness yet."

"Well, why don't you scoot over and I'll join you in that nap."

"Isn't it a little early for you to be napping?"

"I'll take an extra long one with you."

Karen moved over so Sidney could lie down beside her. He laid on his back and Karen curled up to his body "comfortable?"

"Always with you." They stayed awake talking for a little bit before falling asleep.

Karen woke up to the alarm going off and wondered how it got set. She reached for it, but Sidney woke up and turned it off first. He looked at Karen and kissed her before getting up. They got ready to head down to the restaurant for dinner with the team before the game. Karen saw Jordan and saw him look away when she entered the room. She hated that he wasn't talking to her and wished they could just be friends again. Sidney told Karen to go sit down and he would get her some food. Since it was buffet, she argued that she could get her own but lost the argument and went to sit down. He brought over her plate and went to get his own, sitting down beside her.

"I'm not helpless you know, I can manage to stand in line for food."

"I know you're not but since you're here, I will be getting you anything and everything you want."

"So when I want something and you're in the middle of a shift, you going to leave the ice and come all the way up to the suite to get me what I want?"

"No, I'll make sure someone is up there to wait on you if you need something."

"Yeah, like that will happen" she said taking a bite of her food.

"I have about 20 people in that box that will make sure it happens."

"And what are you going to do if I don't obey and get things for myself? Are you going to spank me after the game?" she said in a hushed tone.

"I just might baby."

"Then we need to get this game underway to see what happens afterwards." Sidney leaned over and kissed her cheek before they finished eating.

The whole time during dinner, Jordan kept watching Sidney and Karen together and wished it was him with her. He knew he had to give her up but something wasn't letting that happen. Kris got him out of his thoughts and took one last look before talking with him and finishing his dinner.

After dinner, Sidney and Karen went back to the room to get ready for the game. Sidney went to jump into the shower and tried to get Karen to join him. She just smiled and told him after the game and went to get ready herself. When he was done and getting dressed, Karen sat on the dresser top infront of Sidney and helped fix his tie.

"You haven't done this in a while."

"Because you're usually already dressed when I see you."

Sidney took his hands and ran them up her thighs "I forgot how much of a turn on it was." Just as Karen got his tie done, Sidney leaned in and kissed her "you know, I still have a few minutes."

"Put that energy into the game and then save some for later. If you do that, I will definitely take care of you then."

"You are so mean baby."

"Sorry" she said pouting.

"It's ok. I can wait until after the game...then again after practice tomorrow...and maybe before game 2."

"I guess my next three days are planned out."

Sidney took a step back and helped her off the dresser. He held her close and kissed her until he had to go. Karen told him goodbye and sat down on the bed after he left. She knew she should have told him about the pains, but didn't want to worry him when he needed to have his head more in the game right now. She finished getting ready and headed to meet everyone down in the lobby to head to the arena.

As they got to the arena and headed up to the suite, Karen sat down and got some water. Mario came up to her before heading down to the locker room.

"I'm going to tell Dr. Burke to come up once the game gets underway."

"Mario, I'm fine. I haven't gotten another pain and had moved my suitcase a couple times in the room. Maybe it was a fluke pain."

"From what Sid has told me, I'm not taking any chances and I know you don't want to either. Just tell him what happened and it will stay between the three of us until you tell Sid."

Karen sighed and nodded "ok, I'll just see what he says." Mario left her sitting there and hoped it wasn't going to turn into anything serious.

An hour later, the game got underway and soon Karen saw Dr. Burke come into the suite and motion for her to join him. They found the suite next to them was empty so they could have some privacy to talk.

"So what's going on Karen? Mario said you felt a couple bad pains before."

"Yeah and with being pregnant, I guess we're all overreacting about it."

"Where did you feel the pain?"

Karen put her hand over the area "it seems that it's over where my ovaries would be." Dr. Burke moved her hand and felt the area. Karen saw the look on his face "what?"

"It seems like its tender when I push on it. Did it hurt when I applied pressure to the area?"

"Not really. I mean I felt a little discomfort but not like before."

"What were you doing when felt it?"

"I lifted the laundry basket and carried it up from the basement yesterday, then I lifted my suitcase from the car to the ground earlier today. The pain came fast and it got unbearable to where I was doubled over."

"When you lifted the basket you might have just strained the muscle and now when you lift anything on this side, it reaggravated it. I don't think it will have any bearing on the baby since it's far enough away but when you get home, you need to have your doctor know about it ok?"

"Ok I will."

"I know being pregnant you want to be cautious but you and the baby should both be fine. If anything else happens while we're here, give me a call."

"I will, thanks Dr.Burke." Karen sat there for another minute after he left the suite. She was thankful to have a doctor's opinion reassure her though. She got up and headed back to the suite and told Mario what he said. Mario felt better too and they finished watching the game.

The Pens ended up losing game 1 but the teams kept up with each other which showed this series wasn't going to be easy. Everyone left the arena and headed back to the hotel to wait for the guys to change. Karen knew they would be longer for Sidney would have to give an aftergame press conference. She went back to the room and found NHL Network to watch the interviews. As she came back from the bathroom and changed into her pajamas, Sidney was about to come on. Karen sat and watched his every move, seeing the passion of the playoffs in his eyes. When he was done, she figured he would be back within the hour and decided to lay down until he got back.

Sidney came back to the hotel and went to his room. He was a little tired but when he knew he was about to see Karen, a little energy came back. Sidney walked into the room and let the door shut. He saw Karen lying on the bed, staring and smiling at him. He took off his jacket and laid on the bed beside her.

"Hey there."

"Why are you always waiting for me in bed?"

"It just figures to be the best place to wait for you. Are you tired?"

"I think I got my second wind."

Their lips met and soon their clothes were removed. Sidney was about to put her into a different position when he remembered what she told him. He rolled on top of her then sat up on his knees. He lifted one of her legs, bringing her closer to him and let it rest on his shoulder while he plunged into her. Sidney held onto her ankle and placed featherlight kissed to it as he moved inside her. Karen loved the sensations but needed to feel him on her. She grabbed for him and Sidney obliged by letting her leg go and laid on top of her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and Sidney kept his pace going. Their lips met again in a heated kiss as their orgasms began to build within them. Karen raised her hips to match Sidney's thrusts as their bodies exploded together. They held onto each other tightly and as Karen started to release her legs from around Sidney, she felt her pain come back, hard. Sidney was about to get off her, but Karen stopped him.

"Don't move yet?"

Sidney brought his head up and saw she looked pale again "baby, what's wrong?" Karen just whispered 'in a minute' and Sidney just held her. After a few minutes, he felt Karen release her legs and moved off of her. "What's going on Karen?"

"I had a pain yesterday and I thought lifting the laundry basket caused me to pull a muscle. It came back when I lifted my suitcase this morning. But for it to hit when my muscles tightened after I came, I don't know what to think."

"Were you going to tell me this?"

"Yes I was but I wanted to be sure it was nothing first."

"Baby, I want to know what's going on. If something happens to you, it's going to happen to me."

"I know but right now, you need all your concentration on this series."

Sidney sighed "I know you want to keep my focus on the game, but it's going to shift to you when it's inportant and this is important. Let me call Dr. Burke."

"Sid, I talked to him before the game and he said what I told you about pulling a muscle. It wasn't near the baby ok" she said showing him where it was "this one was a fluke, maybe I had my leg twisted and didn't realize until I moved it. We'll be fine, ok?" Karen looked into his eyes and hoped she convinced him enough.

"Ok. But if we make love again and you get another one, I am taking you directly to the hospital."

"Deal." Karen brought him down to kiss his lips "I'm fine Sid." He kissed her again and then laid down beside her, bringing her body to his.

Chapter 19

A few weeks had passed and Karen was in her 10th week. The Pens had played Philly in the first round and ousted them in six games. Sidney seemed to have a stride in his game and Karen had to wonder if their impending first child gave him that spark. The teams next opponent was going to be the Capitals and the hockey world anticipated the match up between Sidney and Alexander Ovechkin. The series would start in Washington and Karen had asked Mario if she could go with them to watch.

Karen was at home finishing up some work for Ray and getting ready to email it to him. She was also in the process of making lunch and waiting for Sidney to come home from practice. They would be leaving for Washington the next day after having a morning skate and Karen wouldn't see him until she got there with Mario and every other family member that he invited to go. As if on cue, Sidney came through the door as she send her email off.

"Hey, how was practice?"

"It was good. What smells so good?"

"Lunch. I was in the mood for Fajaitas and made some."

"Ah" he leaned down and kissed her "good choice, I am starving." He helped her up and they went into the kitchen to have lunch.

"What are you going to do while I'm in Washington?" he said taking a bite of food.

"I'm going to be sightseeing around Washington DC."

"What are you talking about?"

"I asked Mario if there was room for me to go with him and some of the other family members and he said I could go with him. Do you mind that I coming?"

Sidney smiled "of course not. I would love having you there to cheer for me." Karen smiled back at him and they finished eating.

After they were done eating, Sidney got a call from his dad on his cell phone and went to answer it. Karen cleaned up the table, putting the dishes in the dishwasher. She was at the sink washing the pans by hand when she felt Sidney come up behind her, placing his hands on her hips. He pressed his growing erection into her and when his hands moved from her hips to her breasts, Karen let out the breath she was holding. Sidney unzipped his shorts and pulled them off his hips, along with his boxer briefs. Karen felt the back of her dress being lifted up and her panties being brought off her hips and down her legs. She had been wearing more sun dresses to keep the waistbands from tightening around her stomach. Besides, Sidney loved the easy access to her whenever he wanted her and it had been a lot over the last 3 weeks.

Sidney slipped his hand between her legs and made her spread them as he rubbed her mound then inserted a finger to make sure she was ready for him. He removed his finger and replaced it with his hard cock. Karen put her hands on the sink to keep her stomach from going into it as Sidney began to pound into her. He wrapped one arm around her waist as the other on went back to her breast. Karen couldn't hold in the moans each time Sidney hit her g-spot with force. A few more and her orgasm came hard making her cry out. She heard a groan come from Sidney before he collapsed on her back. They stayed locked together for a couple more minutes until Karen felt Sidney pull out of her. He turned her around to face him and kissed her passionately.

"I think I get a better workout with you" he said breaking the kiss "besides, it is more fun."

"I'm sure I am more fun to workout with than the team."

Sidney let her go and got situated "I need to run over to meet my dad for a little bit, I'll see you in a couple hours ok?"

"Ok." Sidney kissed her again and left the kitchen. She heard him go upstairs and then come back down a minute later, leaving out the front door. Karen closed her eyes and sighed before picking up her panties and going upstairs. When she came back down, she called Natalie and asked if she had time to get together. She told her she was home and Karen asked if she could come over to talk. After telling her she could, Karen finished up the dishes and left.

"So what's going on? You sounded almost frantic on the phone" Natalie asked her friend as they sat on the couch.

"Sorry, didn't mean to make it sound like that. I am just so confused with how Sidney is acting."

"Karen, he's being how you wanted him."

"I know but this is different then how I wanted him to be. I wanted him to move attentive in bed, you know change from the usual 'him on top' position. Now its anytime he wants it, wherever we may might be. In the past 3 weeks, we've had sex in every room of the house and I'm not talking in the beds of the guest rooms. I mean before I came over here, I was doing the dishes and he came up behind me at the sink."

"What do you think is going on?"

"He's acting like how Jordan was when we were having our affair. He was like that when we saw each other, that 'need you now' look in his eyes and 'take me anywhere' feeling."

"You think maybe since then he wants to keep you away from ever going back to him, he's doing what Jordan would do if you were together?"

"Maybe. But it doesn't make sense now that I'm pregnant. When it was over between Jordan and I, I thought I made that clear to him and with being pregnant, I had hoped Sidney would realize that it was definitely over and my life was with him."

"I don't know girl. It just sounds like he's showing you that he could be that way too and he just needed something drastic to change to keep you with him."

"Yeah, but not once has he reverted back to his other way. I don't mind the romps during the day and all over the house, but I would love for him to make love to me the old way at least once."

"Thats something you need to talk to him about Karen. All I can tell you is he's being how you wanted him to be and you should enjoy it."

"Trust me I am enjoying it, I just want to know the reasoning behind it."

"You spend all your energy trying to figure out the man in your life and you won't have any left to raise that baby. If I dissected every move that Max made on me, I wouldn't be able to concentrate on my job. They do what they want, when they want. We as women want the romance and most of the time we can convince them to it as well. But it's their nature to just want a fast fuck when the urge hits them. Trust me girl, go with the flow and enjoy it because once that baby is born, you'll be lucky to get anything from him."

"You know, you're right and I can't believe I am overreacting about all this."

"It's understandable. Besides once you hit your 4th month, you'll be attacking him." Karen sat there and smiled remembering what she read about the heightened sexual arousal during the 4th month of pregnancy. Nat knew about it from a couple of friends from work that couldn't stop bragging about it when they were pregnant. She fgured she could let Sidney have his fun now and then Karen would dictate later. She stayed and chatted with Natalie for another hour before heading home.

When Karen got home, she saw Sidney's car and was glad he was home. She was going to ask him about what was going on. Not that what Natalie told her didn't make sense, she just needed to hear it from him. She walked inside and saw Sidney pacing around.

"God baby, I have been worried sick. Where have you been?" he said going over and hugging her.

"I went to see Natalie. Sorry, I should have text you to let you know where I was going."

"I came home and when you weren't here I thought something happened with the baby. I was literally going nuts and was about to call the hospital until I heard you come in."

"Sid, I'm ok and the baby is ok. I just needed to go talk to a friend."

"Something wrong?" he asked letting her go and taking a step back.

"Sid, we need to talk about what's going on with you because I am getting confused with what signals you are sending me."

"What do you mean signals? What am I doing?"

"I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but what is going on with all the sex everywhere and at anytime? I'm not complaining that it's happening, I just want to know why all of the sudden it is."

"I thought this was what you wanted" he said softly.

"Sid it is what I wanted from you but I want our normal way too. It's like your competing with something that is nonexistent."

"Look, after we got back together I had a talk with Jordan and asked him why you kept going back to him. I wanted to know what he was doing and if I started acting that way you wouldn't need anyone else."

"Sid, its over with him and I am not going to seek out him or anyone else. The first couple times when I thought it was because of being cautious with the baby it was fine but now it's like that's the only way you want to have sex with me."

"That's not the only way I want to be with you Karen, but I did figure that this was safer and we weren't hurting the baby. I guess I didn't realize neglecting our normal way too was hurting us."

"Your not hurting us Sid. I'm sorry for overreacting about this and I do love when you surprise me but I don't want you to be like Jordan. I want you to be you and make love to me in your own way."

"I promise we will go back but maybe we could still keep it spiced up some times."

"Oh we can definitely keep it spiced up" she said smiling at him. Sidney brought her closer to him and kissed her. The kiss definitely could have led somewhere but Sidney curbed it for later when they went to bed.

Chapter 18

Two weeks had passed and Karen was feeling better about everything. She decided that whatever happens, would happen for a reason and if this baby wasn't meant to be they would work on another one. She couldn't keep feelings or stress bottled up and let the days flow by. The regular season had wound down and the Pens managed to bump themselves into fourth place and well into the playoff picture. Karen knew Sidney would be in the mood to celebrate and since they held off having sex, she figured it would be as good a time as any to see if she was truly ok within her pregnancy.

Sidney came home from the store to make dinner for their parents. Trina and Troy were coming down for the first round of the playoffs and he decided to make them dinner so they could tell them the good news. Karen went into the kitchen to help make dinner but Sidney ushered her out mumbling that dinner was a surprise for her as well. She smiled and kissed his cheek before going to watch tv. After twenty minutes, the door bell rang and Karen went to answer it revealing both sets of parents.

"Hi baby girl" Karen's mom said greeting her with a hug "I am so glad we all get to have a nice dinner before the hectic playoffs start."

"Me too. Hi daddy" she said hugging him next. Karen was happy that her dad recovered fully from his heart surgery but she still saw signs of him not being able to do a lot of what he was before.

"How's my girl?"

"I'm ok." Karen stepped back and smiled at Trina and Troy before hugging both of them "how was the trip down?"

"It was nice. Glad we finally get a chance to spend some time together Karen" Trina said.

"I know, but we'll have to change that soon." A minute later Sidney came out of the kitchen to greet his parents and in-laws. They all went into the living room to sit and catch up before dinner was ready. Karen kept waiting for Sidney to say something but wondered if he was going to wait until they started eating.

While they were in the middle of dinner, Sidney got everyone's attention. "There was a reason I got everyone here for dinner tonight. I have some news and we wanted to wait until we knew there was something to tell."

"What's going on son?" Troy asked hoping it was good news.

"Well everyone, it looks like Karen and I have decided to bless our family and give you guys that grandchild you all have been wanting."

"Are you serious?" Trina said excitedly.

"My baby is going to have a baby?" her mom said on the verge of tears.

"Yes. Sid and I wanted to wait until we knew I was far enough along to tell everyone."

"How far along Karen?" her mom asked with anticipation.

"7 weeks."

"Oh my god" she said getting up to hug her daughter "I knew this would happen for you two."

"Really now?"

"Oh stop, you wanted this too sweetie."

"Hoped was more like it." She got out of the hug with her mom into the arms of Trina then Troy. They all offered their congratulations before sitting back down. Sidney held onto her hand as they finished eating. The conversation geared from the playoffs to the baby.

"Did your doctor give you a due date?"

"She will give me a more definite one next week but she hinted around Thanksgiving."

"You have another appointment next week?" Sidney asked concerned.

"I want to make sure everything is fine Sid and if going every week will help that I will."

"Ok, maybe I'll go with you."

"You'll be in Philly for the two games there."

"Why did you schedule it then?"

"It was the only opening they had. It'll be fine and I will tell you what happened when you get home."

"How about you call me as soon as you get home?"

Karen smiled and turned to Trina "was Troy like this with this one?"

"Exactly like this and with both of them. I couldn't get him to leave my side for two months."

Sidney saw Karen look at him "I promise I will not do that baby."

"I already told him about the hovering he did after I found out."

"Well, we will all be here to help you sweetie." Karen smiled at her family and Sidney kissed her head before getting up and getting dessert from the kitchen. They ate and finished talking about the playoffs for a change. After dinner, everyone stayed for another hour then headed out. Sidney walked the parents to the door then came back to sit with Karen on the couch. He reached for her legs and turned her to place them on his lap.

"Are you mad that I made the appointment while you're away?"

"No baby. I just want to be there for every minute of this pregnancy."

"I love that Sid but with at least 3 or 4 games being on the road each round, you'll miss some things during the next two months."

"Well, we might get ousted in the first round so I won't miss anything."

"I don't think so. I think you'll play for the Cup again this year."

"I hope so too baby but I am trying to be realistic here. Yes we fought to get into the playoffs but something could fall apart."

"And everything can fall into place."

"I'll make you a deal."

"Ok" she said getting scared "what is it?"

"If we go all the way and win the Cup, you have to stop thinking this baby isn't going to happen to full term. If you want your doubts now, go ahead and think them. But if I am still playing in June, you can't think any more bad thoughts."

"I think I can handle that."

"Do you think you could handle something else?" Sidney said sliding his hand up her bare leg towards her shorts.

"I can handle anything you got." Sidney kissed her before putting her legs down. He got up first then helped her up, leading her upstairs. It was still kind of early and Karen didn't think of it that they didn't lock up before going upstairs. They got into the room and couldn't stop the clothes from flying off each other's bodies. Sidney told Karen to lay down and he joined her. They laid on their sides facing each other, letting their hands do their talking. Of course their lips were a little preoccupied with each other. Sidney moved his hand down Karen's body and found her mound. He could feel the heat coming off her opening before he inserted a couple fingers inside. Karen moaned out against his lips loving the feeling of him touching her. It had been a while for them but Sidney was also going against the norm for how they usually were. By now, they both would be nearing the finale but Sidney took his time feeling her out. This was beyond being romantic with her. Karen managed to move her hand towards his cock, massaging him. She never would get the chance to play around with him and loved this new change. After a few minutes, Sidney removed his fingers to the dismay of Karen's groan and took her hand off him. He turned her over to her other side and opened her legs with one of his. Sidney took his cock and rubbed the head over her opening before sliding inside from behind. Karen grabbed onto the sheets infront of her as the sensations were overwhelming. Sidney's grip got harder on her hip as he pounded into her forcing the whimpers and moans to escape Karen's lips. Before they knew it, their orgasms came crashing down upon them as screams and moans filled the room. "Well that was certainly different" she said once her breathing returned to normal.

"I figured we needed a change." Karen laid there and wondered if he was doing this because of everything that happened with Jordan. He was almost acting like him since this wasn't his normal lovemaking style. Even if Sidney tried to be a little kinky and unreserved, it would still always end the same...him on top. If she wanted to start anything or be on top, he would switch them around before anything really got started. "Besides, you are being so cautious about this baby, I didn't want my weight on your stomach to help cause anything."

"I don't think that would have caused anything bad" she said turning her head to look at him.

"But we really don't know now, do we?"

"I guess not." Sidney kissed her while pulling out of her and then got off the bed. He headed into the bathroom leaving Karen lying there with more thoughts. Now she was confused more then ever about this and wondered if he would only be like this while she was pregnant. She wanted him both ways but would let it play out until the end and figure it out then.