A/N: So, I did actually manage to get this update ready. I'd also like to point out that I am a relatively new ice hockey fan so if any of it is unrealistic or inaccurate, I apologize!
I hope you enjoy! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own any of Grey's Anatomy. Not the characters. Not the plot. Not anything. Nor do I own anything to do with the NHL. At all. But it would be pretty cool if I did.
Derek was nervous. He was nervous, which didn't normally happen, unless it was an important game. But this was just an exhibition before the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He shouldn't be nervous, but a certain blonde-haired, green-eyed woman was going to be watching him, and he was feeling the pressure. After talking with her on the phone for so long, on some level he felt like he knew her, but he had also bigged up his hockey talent and he didn't want to embarrass himself.
"Relax man," the captain said, patting him on the back, "I don't know what you're nervous about but you're going to be fine."
"Thanks Cap," Derek breathed, "I'll be fine, last minute nerves."
"Good. As long as you're ready."
"I am, I'm definitely ready."
The team walked out of the changing room, up the runway and onto the ice. Everyone in the stands cheered and he got the rush he always felt before a game. He smiled quickly to himself and went to tip the pucks off the side so they could start warming up. As he did so, he searched the stands and finally locked out with the woman that had been in his mind for the past week, and she looked as beautiful as ever. His gaze then went to the little boy standing next to her, waving madly. He grinned and gave a slight wave back, the other boys standing next to him looking almost as excited, but he knew Aiden was loving this more than everybody here combined.
His eyes drifted to the man next to Meredith, he whispered something to her, and she laughed softly. He couldn't help but feel the tinge of jealousy that coursed through him, despite this guy just being a friend, but his source was an over eager four, no, five-year-old now, and he wasn't sure he was to be the most trusted source of information.
He ignored the feeling at the pit of his stomach, hopefully Aiden was right, and he could show off his hockey skills to Meredith and if he was lucky, they'd win the game, then he could try and take them out for a meal or something.
Mark came up to him and told him to stop staring and get a move on, so he took a puck to the blue line and joined one of his teammates in the warm-up, his presence and joviality calming his nerves further. The loud music from the speakers was almost overpowering and he lined up his first shot and took a wrist shot to the top left corner, their goaltender hadn't got into the goal yet so he couldn't embarrass himself, unless he missed, but he was better than that.
He made a few stick tricks to try and get his head in the game before he joined the semi-circle in the middle for the stretches. After a whole team warm up of basically just taking pot shots at the goaltenders, the horn went for the end of the warm-up.
Not long later, they all headed back out and he lined up for the face-off. The referee gave them all the usual jargon, and dropped the puck, the game had begun. The team played well, 2 goals in the first period, a slap shot from his teammate and then a wrist shot from the skipper himself. They were well into the third period and the Sharks were yet to level up. The last few minutes were counting down on the clock and he had two minutes to show Meredith and Aiden something of more use than good stick skills and a good assist.
He received the puck up from the defenceman, and took it round the back, protecting it from the San Jose defenseman, went for the wrap-around and slipped it between the goaltender's pads, his stick clipping the pipe just as it passed the line.
The horn blared and he skated off, yelling in triumph, his teammates swarming around him, it was the usual reaction, even without it being an important game, it still felt good. The fans were hitting the glass, all of them had erupted from their seats and the whole place was alive. It always felt different when it was you that scored, it was like some sort of high he couldn't explain. He didn't know why people ever did drugs, it was such a high.
They lined up for what was probably the last face-off, the Sharks had made it an empty net with one minute to go, Derek wasn't sure it was really going to make much difference. Sure enough, the final horn went, and Derek brought Mark into a sideways hug as they skated of the ice. His brother beaming the same way everybody else was, besides their opposition of course.
Not long later, he was half changed, his skates still on as he pulled a t shirt over his head. Security came in, spotted him, and asked him if he expected people to be looking for him this soon after. He chuckled softly, clearly Aiden had been pretty desperate.
"Yeah, that should be about right, I'll come and get them."
He walked out in his skates on the rubber, balancing after years of experience. It also made him taller, but he doubted Meredith and Aiden really cared. When he got to the desk, he saw Aiden hopping about impatiently, and Meredith staring at her son which such love in his eyes it made him wonder if he could ever be subjected to the same love, which was a wild thought that he consequently chose to ignore. The man, Alex, was there as well, eating a bag of chips, though he was apparently a fan as well, he wore a Flyers cap on his head, though it was slightly askew, maybe Aiden's doing.
"There's my favourite Flyer's fan," he announced as he strolled up to them.
"Derek," Aiden grinned, looking up and running towards him. He laughed at the little boy who he only really knew for ten minutes in total yet felt the urge so strongly to hoist him up onto his hip. Aiden reached him and Derek lifted him up, and it felt like the most natural thing he had ever done.
"Happy Birthday bud," he smiled.
"Thanks," the boy grinned.
"Hey Mer," he greeted softly.
"Hi, Alex, right?" he asked, holding out his free hand to the man.
"Yeah, it's nice to meet you, Flyers fan, as you can probably tell," he laughed.
"Well they are the best team, aren't they bud?" he asked Aiden, who nodded enthusiastically.
"Only because Alex and George influenced him," Meredith laughed.
"Mer, Bambi does not watch sport, no matter how much he tells you," Alex laughed.
"Ok fine, you influenced him," Meredith said.
"Only because they're the best," Alex shrugged.
"Well that is definitely right," Derek chuckled, "I mean, you saw the game, we're definitely the best."
"Of course, Derek," Meredith said.
"Oh, you don't believe me. Maybe you should come to more games," Derek joked, although only slightly.
Meredith's eyes sparkled as she looked at him.
"Maybe I should," she said quietly, except it sounded like it had much more meaning behind it.
Derek's mouth went dry when he thought about just spending more time with her, before he could retaliate, Aiden piped up, "Can I go and see the team Derek?"
"Well Aiden, I can probably bring you back there, but I still don't think you'll be able to come in," he sighed.
"Can I go as far back as you'll let me?"
"Sure bud," he laughed, "But I have to finish getting changed, and I don't know if the guys, or your Mom, will want to go back there."
Meredith scrunched up her nose as if to prove his point.
"See," he chuckled, "But Alex can come."
"Please Uncle Alex?"
"Sure, but you can't run off to steal some player's stick," Alex said.
"I won't Uncle Alex," Aiden agreed.
"Ok then. We'll be back out in a minute Mer," he said, giving the most charming smile he could, and turned to walk Alex and Aiden back.
Even through all the conversations he had already had with Meredith, he still couldn't get a clear picture about whether Aiden's dad was in the picture or not and if she was seeing anyone, and he had never known how to ask. He wanted to, god he wanted to, but he didn't know how to do it without seeming… He didn't even know, but he had to find out one way or another, because there was no way she was going to slip out of his grasp without even trying, she was… something. That's all he knew.
xxxxx
While Alex leant back against the wall and waited for the players to come out, Aiden was still bouncing. He watched as players came out and the boy introduced himself, though Alex had to make it clear that they knew one of the players, not just crazy fans who had got past security. The kid had a blast and was holding countless signatures of all the players that had come out as they waited for Derek to come out, Mark Sloan behind him.
"I'll see you tomorrow man. Are you going to Mom's on Sunday?" Mark asked.
"It's not like we have a choice," Derek laughed.
"Just checking," Mark chuckled.
"See you tomorrow Mark. Hey guys, I have something for you Aiden," he crouched in front of Aiden.
He pulled his jersey from the game from behind his back and handed it to Aiden, whose eyes went wide and ran his fingers over the fabric and the signature Derek had scribbled on it. He beamed at Derek and wrapped his arms around his neck and said, "This is the best birthday present ever. Even better than the game."
Derek held the little boy in the hug for a little while, his arms around him feeling right or something.
"You're welcome."
Alex had to admit, this guy was good. He was already invested in Aiden and was so clearly into Meredith that he didn't know why she hadn't gone out with him yet.
"Aiden, go and show your Mom your new jersey, you know the way back," Alex instructed as Derek stood up.
Aiden didn't have to be told twice and ran off in the direction of the lobby.
"Hey Derek?"
"Yeah?" he asked, turning back around to face him.
"Meredith is a good person, and she clearly likes you. But she doesn't date. Not just you. She just doesn't do it because she doesn't think she can act on it."
"Oh," Derek said as his face fell.
"She wants to," he reassured him, "I know Mer and she doesn't even have to tell me for me to know that. It's just that Aiden is her first and only priority and she has to put his happiness first. It's always been that way since the second he was born. But I can see you really like Aiden."
"I do," Derek nodded.
"She wants a dad for Aiden, not someone who Aiden will get attached to and then walk straight out of their lives," Alex explained.
"I could never do that."
"I can see that, which is why you have to show that you're good for Meredith and good for Aiden. Take her out tonight with Aiden, show her how good you are, you might just get her to change her mind."
"I was going to do that anyway," Derek smiled softly, "Thank you for telling me. I probably would have spent a good few weeks being a coward about it otherwise."
"Well I'm glad we have that sorted out," Alex laughed just as they reached Aiden, who was showing her his new jersey.
Alex announced that he was tired and going back to the hotel, providing the trio with some alone time.
Meredith wanted to come up with an excuse to spend more time with Derek, but he spoke up first.
"Do you two want to join me for a meal later? We can go for a walk around the park, it's not that far from here, and we can probably get a look at some of the zoo animals before we go somewhere to eat," Derek suggested. She had to admit, it sounded perfect.
"Will you stay with us the whole time Derek? Can I pick where we eat?" Aiden asked.
"I will bud, and yeah of course you can, it is your birthday after all."
"Yes!" he exclaimed, punched the air.
Meredith ruffled the boy's hair.
"Thank you Derek, for everything. The tickets, the jersey, which is amazing by the way, he loves it. And thank you for taking us out this evening," she whispered.
The pleasure is all mine. And I must admit, I'm also using this for personal gain," he said, leaning closer to her.
His voice sent shivers up her spine and she desperately wanted to keep him as close as he was now for as long as she could, but he drew away reluctantly when Aiden tugged on his jacket sleeve.
"Can we go now Derek? You're awesome, thank you for coming with us, it makes it even cooler. And the game was great. The other goals were good but yours was the best!"
"Thanks bud," Derek laughed, as he led them both onto the street and ambled across towards the park.
They spent quite a long time there, Meredith was happy to talk to Derek while Aiden ran around, pointing things out and looking at all of the animals. Eventually, the adults decided they should eat, and Aiden was eager to choose a burger joint they had passed earlier.
They were shown to a table and Derek sat down next to Aiden as per his instructions and looked at Meredith on the other side of the table.
"Mom? Does this say hamburger?" Aiden asked.
"It does."
"Can I have that then?"
"If you're sure, and you're not picking it because you can't read anything else on the menu. You usually get a cheeseburger."
"Oh," Aiden grinned, "I'll have that."
"Ok," Meredith laughed, as did Derek.
"So, Derek, how come you chose ice-hockey?" she started.
"Funny story actually…" he started.
Derek proceeded to tell his story while Aiden sat paying complete attention and Meredith tried to memorize the way his eyes sparkled and the way his small smile grew into a wide grin. He was so amazing with Aiden and was invested in everything he had to say, and he had the little boy completely captivated. She watched them talk about their passion as she sat back and couldn't help but think Derek would be great for her son.
A/N: I hope you liked this one. It's (hopefully) longer than my last update and this is about the length I want most of these updates. But we'll see! And for everyone who has interacted with it already, thank you so much!