The game was incredible. The first game of the playoffs, my first playoff game ever, and we beat the Islanders 5-0. The guys had restrained excitement with the press but, once in the locker room alone, they were definitely more excited than restrained. The only thing that would have made it perfect was if Sid was playing. He watched the game from his usual perch at media level. I floated in different locations as I usually do. We both stayed as far away from Mario's box as we could. Neither of us wanted to run into my brother.

I do my last check in with Michelle and Sam after the game and then head to my office to close for the night. "Great game" I turn when I hear John.

"Yes it was" I reply.

"Too bad Sid wasn't playing but it looks like they didn't need him tonight." When John says this, I look at him and see the smirk on his face.

"That's one of the great things about his team John; their depth. In every position they have a depth of talent. Ray has made that they have the talent, the coaching team has created great plays and adjust superbly during the game and the players are executing. That's how you win Stanley Cups."

"Looks like you could run the team now Sloan." John and I both turn to look at who said this; it's Mario.

I reply "with such great teachers, I've learned a lot about hockey Mario." He smiles at me and pats my arm.

Mario turns to John and asks "when are you heading back John?" I've never been happier to see Mario than I am right now. I really want to know the answer to that question too.

"I'm going to stay overnight. Maybe I'll go home tomorrow evening. I so rarely get to spend time with Sloan these days" John says and smiles at me. I suppress my gag reflex thankfully. John continues "actually, Mario, why don't we all go to dinner tomorrow night? It can be a family dinner." As I desperately search for a reason to decline, John goes in for the kill. "You know Mario, I think Sid's parents will be in town. Maybe all of us could go to dinner. It would be great to catch up." John looks expectantly at Mario.

To his credit, Mario maintains his smile and replies "sounds like a great idea. I'll confirm we're free with Nathalie and she can talk to the Crosbys." Mario gives my arm a squeeze before he moves into the locker room.

I turn to John and, under my breath, I ask "what game are you playing now John?"

He only smirks at me then says "oh, will it be uncomfortable for you to spend the evening with your former lover, his parents and his boss? It's too bad that I didn't think of that before I suggested it." That's exactly what he thought about of course and why he did it. "I need to leave so that I can follow up on some business in LA before I turn in. See you tomorrow sis. And make some reservations for dinner for the seven of us."

John has the nerve to pat my cheek before he heads off down the hall. My phone goes off and it's Sidney.

'Don't turn, I'm behind you around the corner' he messages.

'You heard?' I ask.

'Yeah, don't worry about it. We can get through one evening.'

He really thinks so. 'What about your parents?' I ask.

'I'll explain as much as I can. It will be fine Sloan.' I wish that I had his optimism. The pressure of the entire situation is closing around my neck like a vice. I have to force myself to take deep breaths. John is such a wild card. Even though he believes that Sid and I have broken up, I wouldn't be surprised if he spilled the details of my past to the Crosbys just to be vindictive.

'Sloan, pack up and go home. I'm leaving now too. I love you.'

That's all I ever need to hear from Sid. 'I love you too. Ok, I'll meet you at home soon.' I head to my office now to pack up. When there, it doesn't take me long to close down everything.

"I hate to pry, but are you ok Sloan?"

I look up from my desk and see Mario at my door. I try to reply but I can only shrug. He comes in and sits in a chair in front of my desk.

"I hope you know that you can count on me, trust me, if you need someone. I don't know what is going on between you, your father and brother but I can see that there's something. Don't worry; I'm sure no one else knows. I just know Ron too well not to see it even when he tries to hide it."

It's almost a relief to hear Mario say that. I can't possibly unburden myself of my secret to him; but, it is wonderful to feel that support from him. "Thank you Mario. I think we just need to get to the end of the season, after winning the Cup of course, and then everything can be sorted out."

He looks at me unconvinced but nods and stands. "Ok then. I'll see you tomorrow." He leaves the room and I'm left wondering again; about nothing in particular actually, just wondering. Mario is still an enigma to me although not in a bad way. He has this silent strength about him. Actually, I could see Sidney being like that in fifteen or twenty years. As I think about Sid, a smile breaks out over my face. I don't need a mirror to know that.

I'm packed up, in the car and then home quickly. Sid beat me though.

"I'm upstairs" he yells down.

"Ok" I shout back and then head up to the bedroom. When I get to the bedroom door, I'm stopped in my tracks. Sidney is sitting on the bed, lounging against the headboard really, wearing only his shorts.

"Hi babe" he says to me but his eyes stay on the TV.

I drop my bags at the door and slip off my shoes. I make my way to the end of the bed, blocking Sid's view of the TV, and his eyes shift to me. I slip off my jacket and it falls to the floor. Sid watches my shirt open as I undo each button. I shrug each shoulder and the shirt slips off too. Sid's eyes come back to mine and I can see the dark desire in them. I slide my skirt up until I can pull my panties down. Sid follows every movement. I climb onto the bed and crawl up until I'm straddling Sid. I run my hands over his chest and up to his shoulders with my eyes feasting on every inch of skin. I replace my hands with my lips over his shoulder and feel Sid's hands at my waist as I kiss up his neck.

When I get to his ear, I lick at his lobe first then put my lips to his ear. "You are so hot" I tell him. "I can't help myself from touching you, tasting you." I take his ear lobe between my teeth now and hear Sid's sharp intake of breath. I can also feel him harden beneath me. Sid's hands tighten around my waist and I am urged on even more. Pulling back slightly, I first kiss and then lick his lips maintaining our eye contact. His hands slide up my back and he unclips my bra then pulls it off my shoulders. I move my arms to let Sid pull it off of me then he takes over. Sid's strong hands pull me up and against him so that his lips slip over my nipple. His tongue laves at it, his lips kiss and his teeth tug. I throw my head back which pushes my breast further into his mouth. Sid releases that nipple and kisses his way over to my other breast to repeat his ministrations.

He's grown very hard beneath me so I slip my hand down and pull him out of his shorts. He bites down on my nipple as take him in hand. I can't help but cry out and feel myself getting wetter. My skirt has ridden up so that it's around my waist. I line my hips up so that I can slide his dick over my entrance. He can feel how wet I am and he pulls his head back so that he's looking directly at me. I grind my hips against him now and take his lips with my own. The feel of his lips over mine, his tongue teasing mine and his dick teasing me puts me over the edge. I rise up slightly so that I can lower over him. He slides into me so easily. I pull back to look at him as I begin to move slowly. I shift between rocking and lifting so that he can thrust. He takes my breast again in his mouth as I continue to move. His teeth work over me and it nearly puts me over the edge. My head falls back again when Sidney pulls me closer to him again and begins thrusting hard and up. I meet him thrust for thrust and can feel that I'm getting close. I pull my head up and see that Sidney is looking directly at me. We maintain eye lock as we move closer and closer to the edge. I can't keep my eyes open when my orgasm takes over me. Sid thrusts a few more times and then pulls me so close to him that we're almost one.

When we can finally move, I lean away slightly and kiss Sid. "Hi honey, I'm home." I tell him and he chuckles.

"I noticed" he replies.

"This is what happens when I come home and find you on the bed almost naked. It's your entire fault" I tell him.

"Fine, I'll take the blame every time. You must be exhausted though. It was a really long day and you didn't get a nap." He strokes my cheek as he says this to me.

"Actually, it just hit me right now. I am tired but I need a shower before going to bed. Someone made me all sticky." I kiss his nose and then get up. After taking off my skirt, I grab my shirt and reach for my bra.

"Leave it Sloan. I'll grab your clothes. You go have your shower." He tells me so I decide to let him. The shower feels great and definitely takes me closer to sleep. Sid is lying under the covers when I come back into the bedroom. I slip into bed and Sid pulls me to his side. I can't help but ask "what are we going to do tomorrow with your folks and my brother here? Now we're having this dinner too."

Sid sighs and then says "I'll talk to my parents so that they know we can't let John know about us. This is becoming surreal. All of the reasons for not telling John, so that your father doesn't know, still hold but it's becoming much more complicated."

Poor Sidney doesn't know the half of it. "Yeah, I know. Should we just get out of this dinner? Or you could say that you and your parents have other plans."

I can tell that Sid is considering it but then he says "no. We'll go ahead with it. I'll talk to my parents and just ask them to trust me. It's only for a couple of weeks and then everything can come out in the open. They'll understand."

It bothers me that he's keeping his parents in the dark; that probably stems from my worrying because I'm keeping him in the dark. At least I can make one thing right. "Sid, tell them about my past. I hate lying to them after they were so wonderful to me when we were there a few weeks ago. I want them to understand at least if we're asking them to do something dishonest."

Sidney sits up so that I have to as well. When I look at him, his eyes are soft and there's a worry line between his eyes. "Are you sure Sloan? I want to make sure that you're comfortable too baby."

I love when he calls me 'baby' in that soft way he does. "I'm sure Sidney. I trust and love you and these are your parents. I can't judge your family by mine; it's not fair."

He kisses me quick and hard. "You overwhelm me Sloan. It overwhelms me even more when you say that you trust me. That has to be so hard for you and it's a gift that you feel that way about me."

Now I'm the one that's overwhelmed. "I love you Sidney."

"I love you Sloan. Let's get some sleep now. It's going to be a very long day tomorrow."


The next day I woke up alone which is the usual. Sloan left me a note, again the usual, only this one had a happy face on it. I smiled when I read it which is what she wanted of course. My dad sent me a message that they were on their way to Pittsburgh and they'll meet me at the rink. I need to get to them before they come to Consol so I sent him a message back telling him that I'll meet them at the hotel instead. I made sure that I told him everything was ok but I want to talk to them before they come to the rink. This is getting very complicated. I was completely and incredibly moved when Sloan said that I should tell my parents about her past. I know what it costs her to have other people know and that she trusts me enough to tell my parents touches me.

As I drive to their hotel now, I keep trying to figure out what and how much to tell them. They need to understand why her relationship with her family is so fucked up and what she's overcome. It's one of the many reasons I love her. Parking and walking to their room doesn't give me enough time to figure it out but I knock on the door anyway.

"Sidney!" mom exclaims and pulls me in for a huge hug. It doesn't matter how old you get, there's always something comforting about being hugged by your mom. "Hi mom" I say and return her hug. Dad comes up behind her and we embrace too. It is so good to see them. I notice that mom looks a lot less tired than at the funeral. The black circles are gone from under her eyes. I know that she'll miss Nana but watching her mother suffer for the past few months was really difficult for mom.

We all walk inside and sit in the living room. Dad asks "did you see the doctor today?"

I smile and reply "yeah, after practice. We won't announce until tomorrow afternoon but I'll be playing tomorrow." Now there are more hugs and smiles. I don't know who is happier, my parents or me. Of course Sloan may have been the most excited and had the best reaction. I sent her a text and she only replied 'come to my office.' When I got there, she shut the door and launched herself into my arms; good thing I have fast reflexes.

When we're settled back again, I begin "I talked to Sloan and we both agreed that you should know more about her past. That will provide some context about what's going on."

They both nod and mom says "Sidney, we only want what's best for you and if it's Sloan then I'm sure we'll love her too."

I smile because it's exactly what I knew mom would say. Dad simply nods as he usually does too. Ok, here goes. "First, we've only seen Ron Burkle as the businessman and co-owner of the Pens. When you see him as a father, well, let's say that he's a good businessman. The divorce of Sloan's parents was ugly. It went to the Supreme Court of California, was a landmark case and they forced their kids to take sides. Sloan's sister chose their mom; John, her brother, chose Ron; and Sloan didn't choose which caused Ron to resent her anyway." I leave that to sink in for a moment before I continue.

"Sloan was a bit of a prodigy when it came to business. She went to Harvard and got her MBA from Wharton all before she was twenty one. She went to work for Ron's consortium and moved up quickly." Now I pause to take a deep breath. This is the hard part. "She met someone who also worked at the company and was a favourite of Ron. They moved in together and that's when the abuse started." I need to pause again because of the bile rising in my throat. If I ever meet that asshole, I'll probably kill him. "It was physical and emotional abuse and lasted almost a year. The last time he" I can't say it. "Anyway, the last time, Sloan ended up in the hospital in a coma with many broken bones. Ron blamed her for it!" I raise my voice, I can't help it.

"Oh Sidney" mom says and takes my hand.

"He did mom, he blamed her. I don't understand how a father can do that to his own kid."

Mom strokes my cheek and wipes away a tear that slipped out of my eye. "I know sweetie. I don't understand either. This certainly does explain the volatile nature of their relationship."

I knew she would understand. I look at dad and he looks plain pissed. That solidifies my decision to tell them the truth. They needed to understand Sloan before I tell them the rest now. "Ron came here after Nana's funeral and knew that Sloan went with me. He knew we were together and demanded that she end it with me." Mom looks angry now; that's unexpected. She rarely gets truly angry.

"Oh Sidney, that must have been horrible for her and you sweetie" mom says.

I give her a small smile and reply "it hasn't been easy. Anyway, she told him that she would and packed everything in her hotel. When I got home, she was there and had moved in with me. We decided to wait until the end of the season to tell Ron the truth. She didn't want to upset everything as we took a run at the playoffs. It made, and still makes, complete sense to me too. Anyway, the reason I'm telling you this now is because her brother is here. He's just as bad as Ron; a real asshole. He wants to go out to dinner with Mario and Nathalie and the three of us to torture Sloan. He thinks we've broken up too." I stop now and take a few deep, if unsteady, breaths.

Mom and dad look at each other and it's dad you speaks first. "Sid, first, I'm very disappointed in Ron. You're right, he's a brilliant businessman but I can't respect a man who treats his own daughter with this much loathing and disrespect." I start to speak but dad holds up a hand to stop me. "One moment Sid. Second, I don't agree with lying and I'm sure one of the reasons you waited to tell us about this is because you know how I feel. That being said, I understand the reasons for lying now."

I let out another breath that I was holding. "I know; lying doesn't sit well with me either dad but it's as necessary not to shake up the team before the playoffs as it is for Sloan right now. I hate that we're lying, the dishonesty is killing me, but ..." I don't know how to finish that sentence.

Mom takes my hand and says "we understand sweetie."

It strikes me that this is something that Sloan has never known; unconditional love. At least she has that from me now. "Sloan wanted to come with me to tell you but I told her that I wanted to talk to you alone first. It just felt right but can she come over now? I told her I'd text her and she really wants to see you alone, before dinner."

Mom smiles and says "of course."

I text Sloan and she sends one back quickly 'you're sure?'

I reply 'yes, everything is fine, they want to see you.'

'On my way' is all she sends back.

"She's on her way" I tell mom and dad. "There's one more thing that I want you both to know. I'm in love with Sloan. We're going to have a life together, a family, everything I've ever wanted. It's not going to be easy but she's worth it." I turn to mom and repeat "she's worth it."

Mom's eyes tear up and she pulls me into her arms. "Oh sweetie, I'm so happy for you. She better know how lucky she is to have you." I chuckle at such a 'mom' thing to say.


When I received Sid's message, I was instantly nervous and didn't want to go. But I also did really want to go so I let Sam know that I'm heading out for an hour or so. Now, as I stand in front of the Crosby's hotel door, I have to rub my hands over my skirt before I knock.

Sid opens the door and says "hi baby." His smile reassures me that everything is ok and then his kiss makes me certain.

I enter the living area and Trina gets up right away, walks to me and then opens her arms. I go with my instinct and move into her arms. Trina holds me tight and I return the hug.

"It's so good to see you again Sloan. We didn't get to spend enough time with you when we first met so I'm glad we'll get to spend some time together now that we're here in Pittsburgh."

I lean back and Trina pats my cheek then gestures to the sofa.

I move toward the sofa and Troy is there looking very uncomfortable. Again, I go with my instincts and move toward Troy and hug him too. I can feel the moment he relaxes and truly hugs me back. It's a comforting feeling. When we each pull back, Troy smiles and kisses my check then we all sit down. Sid joins me on the sofa and takes my hand. I don't quite know what to say now. I'm saved by Sid.

"Sloan, we've talked about everything" he tells me.

Trina takes over "Sloan, it is a horrible thing that you've been through. While we don't agree with lying usually, we completely understand and know that it's only for the rest of the season. You can both celebrate your relationship at the Cup parade." We all chuckle.

"Thank you so much Trina, Troy. I know this is hardly ideal but it is only for the rest of the season. I'll need to face my family then and" I say and Sid interrupts before I can finish.

"We can face them Sloan" he says. I turn to Sid and he brings my hand to his lips. My heart skips a beat.

"Ok, then we can face them together. It's going to be messy and ugly but we'll do it together." I feel an intense stab of guilt when I see the smile on Trina's face. Shit, now I'm lying to them too. I smile back at her. A change in topic is definitely required so I ask "did you hear that Sid is playing tomorrow?"

I look at Troy and a smile breaks over his face now too. "Yeah, he just told us. It's going to be a great game."

I smile back. "I saw my first playoff game last night. It was incredible; such energy in the building and, of course, the win." We're all silent for a few moments and I can feel the unasked questions hanging there. "Please, I know Sid told you about my past. If you have questions, please go ahead and ask."

Trina and Troy look at each other and then back at me.

"Sloan" Trina begins and then pauses. "We don't need to get into it now. I'm sure you'd prefer never to talk about it again. All we want you to know is that it's clear to us how much Sidney loves you. That's really all we need to know."

I am surprised and overjoyed. "Trina, I hope you know how much I love Sidney too. He has changed my life." I can feel my eyes getting wet and I see that Trina's eyes are wet too. We both get up at the same time and embrace. I can't describe how I'm feeling even to myself. I only know that Trina's arms are around me and I feel comforted, safe and cared for; I clearly can see where Sidney gets his character from.

We both pull back and laugh as we're wiping at our tears. Trina pulls me down beside her on the other sofa and we start talking. Trina asks me about the changes we've made in communications and how I'm enjoying hockey. We both lose track of Sid and his father. Trina is easy to talk to and radiates warmth. I regret that I need to get back to work.

"I'm sorry Trina but I really have to get back. Let's figure out how to spend some time together while you're here. After my brother's gone we'll have more time together."

Trina smiles at me and says "I would love that. Why don't we have dinner before the game tomorrow?"

"That sounds great" I tell her. I say goodbye to both Trina and Troy. Sid walks me to the door while his parents stay in the living room.

When we get to the door, Sidney pulls me into his arms and I go willingly. I feel his love pouring into me. We simply stand there in each other's arms for a few moments until I know that I need to go. "Sid, I need to go. I guess I'll see you at the dinner from hell." I feel Sid laugh beneath my cheek.

"Yeah, I'll see you then. I love you" he tells me.

"I love you too" I reply. We kiss softly and then I leave. Ok, now we just need to get through dinner. I think this dinner is going to require more than a few cocktails.