Brown eyed Girl 75: This is the date chapter! And I'm so glad you loved Abby being her curious little self. Thank you so much for the review, made my day! :)

ooOoo

Don't push me in too deep, I've always been, the fool who rushes in. I know you've got to take the pieces one by one, for you've got everything. So forgive me if we take time, but there's something that's been on my mind. I'm going fast as I can, please don't make me rush, this feeling's coming on way too fast. I'll tell you all of the things that you'll never forget, but I'm not ready to say I love you yet, I'm not ready to say I love you yet.

Fast As I Can- Great Big Sea

ooOoo

Craig and I walked from the apartment complex to a quiet, little restaurant not far from where we were living. We sat down in a corner booth, ordered our drinks and waited. It was pretty quiet for a Saturday night, but in all honesty, it was nice to have that peace and quiet. I could concentrate on what I wanted to say and not have to worry about other people hearing us.

"So, Vivianne…" Craig began. "I don't know very much about you."

"The same could be said for you, Craig," I smiled. "I don't know very much about you."

"Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"

"You first."

He chuckled and smiled.

"I got into hockey before I could walk," he told me.

"Yeah…"

"It's true," he chuckled. "My grandfather and father were both in the NHL, my brother is too, and I just finished my eighth year. No intention of going back though."

"Why not? Didn't you enjoy it?"

"Sure I enjoyed it, but you can't play forever," he reasoned. "After that I applied for a coaching position here, and they accepted it. So, here I am," he cleared his throat and took a sip of water. "What about you? What did your dad do?"

"He was a sealer," I answered. "Worked in the fisheries when the water wasn't frozen and hunted seals when it was."

"Does he still work now?"

"Nope, he dropped off an ice flow when I was five…" I said it as bluntly as I could, it was the only way to say it. "Drowned, they said. The others brought his belongings home to my mother, and then I started working three years later."

"You were eight when you started working?"

"Yep, I pulled cod tongues and sold them," I told him. "Not the most glamorous of jobs but with the income it brought we were okay for a while."

He nodded at me.

"Then the government intervened, and we lost everything." I told her. "They started closing the fisheries and told us 'Oh don't worry, we'll re-train you and you'll put in three jobs worth of income per month.' What they said was true… my mother, brother, and me all worked fifteen hour days but it was still only enough to pay the rent."

"How…"

"We did it, we managed, but needless to say we've all learned to survive with nothing," I told him. "The whole reason I took this job when Herb offered it to me was to get three squares a day, and to make money."

"So, you're not interested in hockey at all?"

"Not particularly, but in all honesty, I like watching you guys. I may be on the low end of the Olympic staffing totem pole and relegated to the stands, but… dare I say it, it's fun."

"Fun for you, not for them, I'm sure," he chuckled. "So, other than the guys you have here, do you have any friends that you left back home?"

"I'll be honest, Craig, I never really had the time," I smiled. "Kids made fun of me for working when I should have been playing, and when my dad died, I hit a kid and gave him a bloody nose for saying my dad let himself drown so he'd get away from my mom. Called her a cheap floozy."

"Doesn't really help your cause, huh?"

"Nope, not at all," I took a big sip of water. It was strange. I'd never actually told anyone about what had happened to my dad and felt so at ease with it. Craig wasn't judging me, he was just listening and inserting little comments where it would lighten the mood. I'd never been around someone who had taken the news like that.

"But my brother's best friend got married and his wife and I became very close. Bane and my brother worked together for nearly 12 years before Gary died. Marcie was the biggest support for me when it happened. She sat with me during the funeral, with a newborn baby in her arms and just let me cry."

"How old is Marcie?" he asked.

"Twenty-four, same as me."

"Her first baby?"

"Nope, Charlie is her sixth…"

"Six?" his eyes went wide. "Six kids and she's only twenty-four? Are any of them twins?"

"No, all single pregnancies," I admitted. "I don't know how she does it."

"Why six?"

"Craig, where I'm from, there's not a lot to do," I couldn't help but laugh. "You either work or stay at home and have kids. Marcie chose to have kids and work from home as a seamstress."

"But twenty-four and six kids?"

"It's not that hard to wrap your head around, believe me…" I told him. "Here, let me show you…" I reached into my purse and pulled out the envelope in which Gary had sent me those photos. "Here, there's Abby, she's eight." I pulled out another, "this one is of Michelle, Debbie and Linda. Michelle is six, Debbie is five, Linda's three, " there was one more in the package. "And that one is of Kim, she's two, and she's holding the newest addition, Charlie."

"Damn…" he fingered the pictures one by one. "These kids are beautiful."

"What about you? Do you like kids?"

"Of course I like kids. Why do you think I coach?"

"Would you want some of your own someday?"

"Perhaps," he told me. "Haven't found the right woman to settle down with."

"That's too bad…" Craig Patrick was a handsome guy. He was kind, passionate about his work, a good listener, what woman wouldn't want him? Let me tell you, I felt a connection to him. I wanted to see where it would go. But then I realized I was nine years younger than he was… there was no way it would work.

"Actually, Craig, I just realized something," I started as the hostess set plates of salad in front of us. "The whole reason I agreed to go to dinner with you was so I could find out why there was glass on my floor. What did I do last night?"

He shook his head and closed his eyes. He looked as though he didn't want to tell me.

"You were screaming for about an hour last night…"

"What about?"

"Something about how someone wasn't supposed to leave you and promising to take care of your mother while you got back on your feet. Something like that, I'm not exactly sure…"

"Oh…" this was bringing it back. I knew exactly what had happened after that. I had taken Gary's framed photograph and chucked it against the door, considering I was so angry and upset. Then… wait, that still didn't explain why my shoulder was still hurting.

"I heard you yelling and then a smashing sound. I think you threw yourself into the door and then… that's it. You were quiet for the rest of the night…"

"You heard me all the way at the end of the hall?"

"I'm pretty sure everyone heard you," he answered, "we just didn't want to say anything, we all thought you'd say something when you were ready."

I smiled, chuckling at the thought. "I'm not sure I would've said anything," I had to admit it. What would I have done? Gathered the entire team in a circle and said 'Okay children, this is what happened last night'. No, more than likely not. I barely remembered anything at all. It wasn't until now when Craig had said something that I knew it had actually happened.

"Even still…"

Suddenly the door opened and a few of the guys from the team came in.

"Ah shit," I muttered under my breath. This wasn't something they needed to know, in fact, it was bad enough that Jimmy knew, and had in fact warned me against such a relationship. I saw nothing wrong with the fact that Craig Patrick had asked me out to dinner and the fact that I'd kissed his cheek, it was not as though we were actually dating at all. What's the harm in a dinner between, for lack of a better word, colleagues?

"Oh, Vivianne, there you are!" Mark Johnson ran toward me and stopped short of the chair. "Really sorry to bother you, but Jim got a call from someone named Michelle who will only talk to you…"

"Did she say what she wanted?"

"No, the only thing she said was that she wanted to talk to you."

"Something's wrong!" I knew that wasn't like Michelle at all. She wouldn't call and say she only wanted to talk to me unless something wasn't right. Usually she just jumped right into conversation. Granted, she was only six years old. What more do you want from a six year old girl? "Craig, I'm really sorry, I've got to go, something's wrong with the girls."

"By all means, go," he insisted.

I looked at him, uneasy with the fact that he was going to be stuck with the bill.

"Really, it's okay. I've got the bill. Go…"

I ran out the door, back down the street to find Jim holding on to the phone and trying to soothe the little girl I knew was on the other end of the phone.

"Hold on, darling, here's your Auntie Viv," he handed the phone to me and wiped his brow.

"Thank you…" I whispered to him and I removed my hand from the mouthpiece. "Hello?"

"Auntie Viv?" Michelle's small voice sniffled on the other end.

"Michelle, what's the matter?"

"I wanted to say goodnight…"

"Honey, it's not even seven o'clock here…" it was then that I remembered the time change. It was at least two and a half hours difference between Minnesota and Bonavista, and usually the kids were in bed by now.

"I'm sorry."

"No honey, you didn't know. But please, next time you'd like to talk to me, don't say that you have to talk to me right away. It made me very scared because I thought something was wrong. My friends had to come and get me from my meeting."

"Oh…"

"Yeah… just remember for next time, okay?"

"Okay, goodnight Auntie Viv…"

"Goodnight Michelle."

"Love you."

I smiled. "I love you too, goodnight now."

I hung up the phone and turned to see Craig waiting by the phone next to me. Taking a deep breath, I wiped the sweat off my forehead. It was just a relief to know nothing was wrong, that Michelle had only called to say goodnight. I know I shouldn't feel so paranoid, but I was so scared that every phone call I'd be getting would be to tell me that I'd lost someone else. I know that sounds odd but it's true.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah…" I nodded, my chuckling turning into a sob. "Yeah, everything's okay. She just wanted to say goodnight…" I felt a tear slip down my cheek.

"Vivianne…" He reached for me, offering a hand in support.

"No," I turned away from him. "No. Craig, I have to deal with this on my own. I'll be okay."

"Vivianne," he repeated. "You're not a robot. Let me help you."

"You can't help me, Craig…"

"Yes I can," he insisted, still offering a hand.

I slipped my hand in his, and a warmth I hadn't known before spread from my fingers through to my entire body. I can't really explain what it was, it was like an electric charge, in fact, I think I jumped a little.

"Come on," he pulled me close and held me. Closing my eyes, I don't think we moved for the better part of five minutes. I can still smell him, like fresh ice on a damp morning, and truth be told, it was wonderful. His hand slid up and down my back, and it was almost the most erotic thing I'd ever felt.

What the hell?

Snap out of it, damn you! I won't deny that it was soothing, but nothing was ever going to happen between us. If it didn't work out it would tear the whole team apart, and I couldn't have that. I didn't want to lead Craig on, either. He deserved more than that, he deserved a woman who wasn't so close to the team, one who understood his love of hockey… not someone as poor and unable to give back as I was.

"Craig?" I murmured.

"Hmm?"

"What's next on the schedule?"

"We leave for New York tomorrow…"

"Then do you think it's best to let go?"

Chuckling, he obliged. Running his knuckles down my cheek, I knew it.

I knew I was starting to fall in love with Craig Patrick.

A dangerous undertaking for sure.