***Author's Note: Hoped to have this up yesterday but got sucked into the jaw watch and the Blackhawks game...I forgot how intense the playoffs can be. Disappointed Sid wont be on the ice tonight, but I feel good about this series, Goooo Pens!***

"I just don't get it," Sid sighed looking at his phone for the umpteenth time in the past 30 minutes. He'd already sent four texts and called her three times. It just rang and rang. Sid loved Caroline but she was terrible about her phone. He lived on his blackberry, constantly connected to teammates, agents, friends, or checking league scores, whatever. Caroline on the other hand would spend hours oblivious to the fact that she didn't have her phone or it was dead. It drove him crazy. He'd meant to text her earlier to confirm time and place but he just hadn't had a chance. Rehab all morning then practice. Media scrums afterwards then cleaned up to head across town for a photo-shoot for The Sporting News in an old abandoned warehouse. There he'd spent hours in full gear holding various poses for periods of time that had his shoulder raging. He'd fought through the pain. He knew in a few days it would be fine and he wasn't about to miss any games. Not this year, not now.

Sid had barely been home an hour when the doorbell rang. In that time he'd taken a shower, dressed in a grey t-shirt and jeans then scarfed down a plate Miss Louisa had left for him in the fridge. Scratching at the back of his neck and ignoring the tightness in his shoulder, he'd answered the door to an official looking Cameron and Norm the camera guy trailing after her.

Cameron immediately barked out orders to Norm, as she smiled winningly at Sid. She was dressed in what seemed to her uniform of a black pencil skirt and pressed white dress shirt, her was hair down and her make up heavy. She lay a hand on Sidney's upper arm and brushed past him, as she clicked down the hall in her black stilettos, waving her arms all around as inspiration hit her.

Now they sat awkwardly in his living room. Well Cameron sat, Sid paced in front of her furiously punching at buttons on his phone and running his hand through his hair in frustration. If he hadn't been so focused on the phone, he would have noticed the looks of lust Cameron was doing a terrible job at hiding. But he was too distracted for that.

"Maybe she forgot," Cameron said innocently, as Norm the camera guy set up. She sat perched on the edge of Sidney's sofa, her trusty clipboard in one hand, her cell in the others.

"No," he said immediately, glancing up from his phone. "She wouldn't forget. She knows what this means..." he trailed off, not wanting to have this kind of conversation with Cameron. This was strictly business. He kept his private life to himself, even to those who were filming intimate details. He would show them what they wanted, but that was it. Truth be told, he didn't want to be doing this tonight either. He knew Caroline was dreading this, he was too, but it was just something they had to do. And they had to be on time. He kicked himself for not confirming. He'd learn from the very beginning that punctuality was paramount. He was a professional and he had to conduct himself accordingly. Not to mention his schedule this week and for however long they were in the playoffs was a very carefully constructed house of cards, one bad move and it would all fall apart. So the fact that she wasn't there yet just frustrated him to no end. He knew things were going to be tense once the playoffs started, he just hadn't realized how much. He'd never really had a girlfriend during playoff season. Sure there had been Lila but she didn't really count, by that time in their relationship they were barely talking. She would just show up at games, hang around after to go to dinner and then fuck his brains out. It had been a great stress reliever, but there really wasn't much more than that. Caroline on the other hand loved to send him emails about news stories she found interesting or recipes she wanted him to try. She would text him a picture of something funny her students did or just random messages letting him know she loved him or was thinking about him. Those little bits throughout the day were everything to him. But this week, he hadn't responded much. It always seemed like her emails got lost in the sea of appointment reminders and requests from sponsors. Every text message would quickly be forgotten when two or three more would come right after from his agent or the coaching staff or a teammate. So here it was one game in, three days into the post season and he was struggling to keep up with her. He wanted to be that perfect boyfriend, be the man that she wanted to marry and spend her life with, but right now... it was more challenging than he expected. That's why, he thought with a groan, she needed to be here now. The sooner this was over, the sooner they could spend what little time he had before he had to go to turn in for the night. And so the worry turned to frustration and the frustration turned to anger as they waited and waited.

Finally Cameron looked over at him apologetically, "Sid," she said, "We can't wait any longer..." She seemed hesitant to tell him but she was on a timetable too.

Sid heaved a heavy sigh and stared at the phone blankly. "Yeah, we can do my part right? At least get something in. I'm really sorry about this..."

Cameron waved a hand dismissively. "Don't apologize, she probably doesn't understand how important punctuality is for us in our professions."

Sidney was too distracted to recognize the roundabout insult and quirked his mouth to the side.

"Well, I'm ready to go," he said decisively looking to Cameron for further instruction.

Cameron smiled, then scrunched up her features. "So you're wearing that?" she said with a tone of disgust.

Sid looked down at his shirt confused.

Recovering quickly, Cameron backtracked, hers eyes softened and she smiled apologetically, "its fine, it's just with the lighting and your wall color I'm afraid it's going to wash you out. Here let's see if we can find anything else." And with that she was up and striding past him on the way to his bedroom, while Norm just tinkered with the camera dumbly.

Sidney followed after her like a puppy. There was something about her that made him feel like he was always a step behind.

She was already in his closet and filing through the clothes when he entered. He had a flash of uncertainty, letting her be in here, going through his closet. It was too familiar. Suddenly she pulled a navy shirt from the hanger and turned to him triumphant.

"This will be perfect," she said all smiles. She was very pretty, Sid couldn't dispute that. She at one time would have been his type. Tall, blond, killer body and confidence oozing from every pore. But things were different now and when he looked at her he saw the clumps of mascara hanging off her eyelids and how uncomfortable her feet looked in those shoes. Under the tan, boob job and teeth that seemed to glow in the dark was the dime a dozen women he'd spent nearly his entire professional career with and they had left him empty and wanting. She wasn't his type any longer, when he looked at her, he felt nothing.

Reaching for the shirt he winced. The distraction of an absent Caroline had kept him from thinking too much of his shoulder, but the tightness was becoming unbearable.

"How's the injury?" Cameron asked, her eyes wide and concerned.

"Its ok." he said shortly, trying to push out the pain. He didn't want to take any pain medication. It left him foggy and unfocused. Right now he needed to be sharp, but the only sharpness he could think of was this nagging pain in his shoulder.

"You don't look ok," she said her face washed in concern.

"Yeah, I don't know, this shoulder is just a little stiff." He explained to her the photo shoot that had done nothing but aggravate the injury. But he hadn't wanted to say no, so he just dealt with it.

"Well," Cameron said innocently, "Back in Vancouver I was a licensed masseuse. I did it to pay for college, flexible hours you know, I'd be happy to lend my services."

Sid didn't know what to say, on one hand the idea of a massage right now sounded great, but at the same time was it appropriate? He was nothing but professional with the Pens staff and always kept a safe distance. But the pain wouldn't quit and it was looking like Caroline had stood him up, so he figured why not.

Voicing his agreement, Cameron motioned him to sit on the edge of the bed and crawled up behind him, "Five minutes and you will feel like a whole new person. I have magic fingers." she practically purred that last part and Sid had a flash of doubt, but then her fingers were digging into his shoulder and it hurt so bad but in the best way. The giant knot of muscle immediately loosened and within seconds he felt complete relief.

She kneaded at his shoulder as the t-shirt bunched beneath her fingers. Sid felt himself transported to another world. It felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from him and he fell forward, his eyes drifting shut. He didn't think, just concentrated on the relief. Suddenly her fingers stopped and Sid immediately felt like a junkie in need of a fix.

"Why did you stop?" he asked.

"Well," Cameron heaved a sigh. "I just can't get a good grip, why don't you take off your t-shirt? That will make a huge difference."

Desperate for the relief to resume, Sid reached back and pulled the t-shirt over his head and let it drop to the floor. Her fingers were back on his skin and Sidney nearly swooned.

Dropping his elbows to his thighs, his head fell forward and his eyes shut. For a few minutes he just drifted off to another place. He could hear Cameron speaking in the distance, but at that moment everything ceased to exist, every worry in the world disappeared.

Then he heard it. A new voice. Her voice.

Looking up he saw Caroline and he felt...annoyed.

She wasn't hurt, she hadn't forgotten, she was late. And she was looking at him like he was a stranger. The feelings bubbled and the words were out before he could pull them back. And just like that he took all that stress that had flowed out of him compliments of Cameron's fingers and hurled it right at Caroline.

He couldn't think clearly, he knew he was being a dick, but Jesus was her excuse really a mix up on time? This kind of thing was unacceptable, there was no room for this kind of thing during a playoffs.

Cameron must have sensed the heavy air, because she abruptly made her exit, setting off to prepare the first shot. Sid sighed, they just needed to get this over with.

Grabbing a new shirt from the closet he turned to her and the words died in his mouth. Caroline was standing there with a look of shock on her face.

Then she shut down.

Caroline felt hot. Like she had too many layers on or her clothes were too tight. She was suffocating. Her greatest fear had just come true. Cameron was exactly what Caroline had feared most. The blonde had one agenda and he was standing in front of her.

Her mind was racing. Panic, anger, confusion, betrayal all flowed through her like a raging river, moving too fast for any single emotion to take hold. Then as the waters calmed she was left with one feeling. Disappointment. Complete and utter disappointment.

She heard him talking to her. Words like punctuality, professionalism, responsibility echoed in the room. She couldn't put the words into sentences. She felt like a little kid who's just had someone call them a name or push them down for the first time. That moment when innocence is shattered. The moment when you realize that people can suck. Only in Caroline's case it's when the person you love most lets you down in the most heartbreaking way possible. It wasn't that he and Cameron were in Sid's bedroom, it wasn't that his shirt was off or that her hands were all over him. It was that he didn't believe her.

The longer she didn't speak the more he rambled, until she finally found her voice. It was hollow and hoarse but there nevertheless.

"She gave me the wrong time. She did it on purpose." she interrupted her gaze meeting his.

Sid stopped what he was doing and sighed, "Caroline..."

"I know you don't believe me. She wants you. She has a plan." Caroline said in a monotone voice. She felt nauseous.

"You don't..."

"Don't say I don't know what I'm talking about. I can te-"

"Caroline, can we just drop it?" Sid interrupted his voice harsh, "It's been a long day. Can we just do this and be done with it? I don't have time to argue with you," he said exasperated and more loudly than intended.

If looks could kill, Sidney Crosby would never see a second Stanley Cup. Caroline turned on her heel and was out the door and into the living room.

Sidney trailed after her uncertain about what was going to happen.

What he saw threw him for a loop.

Caroline was all smiles as she approached Cameron. Apologizing profusely for the mix-up and what could she do to make it up to Cameron?

He just stared dumbly at the scene. Cameron made some joke and Caroline let out a laugh that Sid definitely determined was fake.

Then Caroline smiled at him and put out her hand, beckoning him to her. The smile was just as fake as the laugh. Her eyes were flat and the forced smile made him sick to his stomach.

For the next hour he felt like he was in a trance. They went through the motions and Caroline played the part like a seasoned actress. She answered all Cameron's questions like she didn't have a care in the world, she smiled tightly when Cameron mentioned that Caroline was older than Sid, or spoke about Caroline's bravery at teaching at an inner city school or commented how "refreshing" it was to see Sid with just a regular girl. She joked and repeatedly squeezed Sid's arm or poked at him in affection. They filmed the couple preparing a fake dinner, took footage of Sid and Caroline looking through a family album, and even got a cheesy shot of them looking out the window with his arms around her. It wasn't till the very end did her perfectly constructed facade break for a moment. They were sitting on the couch, Caroline sat close to Sidney, while he had an arm slung around the back of the couch. Her legs were crossed and his hand lay on her knee. Cameron was asking a few fluff questions, silly stuff. Then she got serious and leaned forward as if this was some hard hitting interview and not publicity garbage.

"Caroline," Cameron said in her best Katie Couric impression, "Tell us what is it about the Steel City's captain that captured your heart? What do you get to see that no one else does?"

Sid's eyes flew to Caroline and he watched her mask break for just a second, as she looked at him and the only word he could use to describe her eyes was devastating. Then in a flash it was gone and the mask was back. A mask that he'd worn for so long. A mask that he had somehow passed along to her.

"Well Cameron, what I love so much about Sid is how he treats people. Like everyone is important, no matter whether he's meeting the President or giving the homeless guy on the corner fifty bucks. Everyone has meaning. There was a moment a few weeks after we started dating-"

"After meeting online right?" Cameron had a glint in her eye.

Caroline didn't miss a beat, "Right. Sid," Caroline paused clearly emotional about the words she was about to say, she stared at Cameron, unable to look at him.

"Sid, he told me how there is a part of him that he has to keep private. That he has to save a part of himself for the people he cares most about. He knows what he is to this city, to the game. He knows his responsibility, but what he knows more than that is what he needs to do not to hurt the people he holds close. He's spent his life making sure no one ever feels worthless, whether you are a fan, a stranger on the street or the person he loves the most. That and he's amazing in bed."

"Caroline!"

But she ignored him and winked at Cameron and for a split second the PR beauty looked shaken.

"Ok, well we will probably have to cut that last part out," Cameron laughed shakily. "But fantastic, thank you. I think we are done..." Cameron said looking at her notes. Norm clicked off the camera.

In an instant Caroline plucked the microphone off her dress and stood. She looked at Sid for a second, then spoke, her voice low and hard.

"Is that what you wanted?"

She didn't wait for an answer. She brushed past him, grabbed her purse on a near side table and was out the door.

She made it to the elevator before she broke down and let the violent sobs wash over her.

Sid didn't know what to think. All he knew is that he was ready for these people to be out of his house and just go to bed. He felt awful about what had happened with Caroline. Watching her going through the motions, like he had done so many times made him ill. If Cameron would have asked him what he loved most about Caroline it would be without a doubt the way she was so...real. She didn't try to be someone she wasn't. He didn't think she knew how...until tonight.

"Well that was interesting," Cameron's voice broke his thoughts. She had a strange look on her face...satisfaction maybe?

Sid furrowed his brow, "Can I talk to you privately for a second?" his eyes flickered up to Norm who was only a few feet away packing up equipment.

Cameron glanced over to the cameraman, "Norm, go ahead down, I'll get the rest." Norm nodded and ambled his way down Sid's hallway.

"What's up?" she asked brightly, her 10,000 watt smile plastered all over her face. "I think things went pretty well considering."

"Did you give Caroline the wrong time for tonight?"

Cameron blanched.

"What? No of course no-" she stammered.

"Cameron," Sid said, his face blank. "I love Caroline. That's not going to change." He straightened his shoulders, "I appreciate all you are doing, you have been awesome for the Pens, but I need to make sure you know this relationship is strictly professional."

Cameron's face darkened. "I'm engaged," she bit out, holding up her hand. "This is just business Sid, I'm sorry if there has been any reason to think otherwise."

And with that she gathered her things and walked out.

"Man you look like shit."

Sid collapsed into his locker stall, his face pouring with sweat from the morning skate. Cookie was never one to hold back, so Sid was not surprised by his teammate's comment. Not to mention he was right. Sid did look like shit, he felt like shit. He'd had a restless sleep the night before, tossing and turning, despite being exhausted. He always slept better when Caroline was in bed with him. He'd finally fallen asleep early this morning, only to be up a few hours later for morning skate before tonight's big game. He'd met with the doctors before taking the ice and they had cleared him to play. The pain had downgraded to a nagging ache but there was really not much they could do about it, and he could play through it. Down a game in a series they were expected to sweep, he didn't have the luxury of sitting this one out.

Sid glanced over at Cookie, "I was up all night."

Matt waggled his eyebrows clearly misunderstanding Sid's meaning.

"Ha, no not that. I don't know…" and before he could stop himself he was unloading all over Cookie. The whole story, everything from Caroline being late, to Cameron's massage, to Caroline walking out. When he was done, he felt exorcised. Wiping his dripping face with a towel he looked over at his teammate.

"You fucked up," Cookie said with his traditional toothless grin.

Sid leaned back into his stall, "Yeah," he admitted.

"So fix it," Cookie said matter of fact.

"But…" Sid started, a dozen different things running through his mind.

"But what? You fucked up. Make things better, end of story. It's not that hard."

Sid soaked in Cookie's words. Was it really that simple? Feeling the way he felt right now, he found it hard to think that this "hill to die on" was worth it. A series of communication mix ups and misunderstandings, all on his part were to blame. He had to take responsibility for that. And with that the onslaught of media surrounded Sid focusing his attention back on tonight's matchup.

It was around lunch time when the flowers arrived. Caroline was eating her lunch at her desk, enjoying the quiet while her students were outside enjoying the warm weather. She was grateful that it wasn't her week for playground duty, as she hadn't slept well. In all honesty, she hadn't slept well in days. She was starting to doubt if she was cut out of this. A part of her had hoped he would have chased after her last night or showed up on her doorstep. But nothing. When she had gotten to school that morning, she found her phone and charged it up. He hadn't sent her anything today, but the messages from last night were there. Her heart panged a bit reading the texts and listening to the voicemails he had left when looking for her. They had started off sweet and concerned, but by the last message they were terse and filled with frustration. She loved Sidney more than anything, but it seemed for every three steps forward they were quickly thrust ten steps back. She just wished he could stop for a minute and see how he was when things got intense. It wasn't fair to her. She was fine taking a back seat to his career, but to think she purposely showed up late last night or to think it was okay to find himself half naked in his bedroom with a woman who had now made it pretty clear that she was every inch the barracuda Caroline feared she was, was ridiculous and he knew better. He knew better than to think she would dismiss an important appointment or would be okay with another woman's hands all over him. No, he needed to know that despite how hard it was to juggle personal and professional life, he was going to have to figure it out. She was willing to make concessions. But she had her limits.

The feeling that nagged most was what to do about Cameron. If Sid was going to be blind to the blonde's plan of attack, then she was going to have to fight. He just needed to make himself worth fighting for.

It was the knock at the door that broke Caroline from the thoughts that consumed her. She had only received flowers a few times from Sid over the tenure of their relationship, but even when she was mad at him, she couldn't help the thrill that rushed through her accepting the massive bouquet of all her favorite flowers in her favorite colors. Thanking the office aide, she set the flowers on her desk and studied them critically. Thrill or no thrill, there was a tiny part of her that wanted to just toss them into the garbage, but she wouldn't…couldn't.

Caroline plucked the card from the rainbow jungle of lilies, daisies and orchids and slowly opened it.

I believe you. I'm sorry and I love you. – S

Caroline couldn't keep the corners of mouth from turning up. This didn't just fix everything…but she had to admit, it was a start.

From the moment he got on the ice everything seemed to click. He barely felt the shoulder pain as the adrenaline seemingly carried him from end to end of the ice. His focus was unparalleled, his passing was quick and precise and his shots were lethal. By the end of the second period he had 2 goals and 2 assists in a routing of the Islanders 7-3. But something still felt not quite right. Caroline had sent him a text thanking him for the flowers and that if he wanted to talk, she was willing to do so. He'd asked her to please still come the game and that they would talk after. The team was due to leave for New York after practice Friday morning but tonight would be all about them. No distractions he promised. She had agreed and that's how they'd left it. Sid hadn't spotted her during pregame warm ups but maybe she was running late and he was okay with that, those things would have to not matter anymore. Coming off the ice for the final intermission he made his way to the locker room when he was met with concerned Ray Shero. The GM was a regular during the breaks, hanging back taking it all in, but this time he immediately approached the captain.

"Sid," he said, his voice low. "There's a problem."

Caroline was just packing up for the day when Principal Lamar Dixon rapped at her door. He had a piece of paper in hand and was wearing a wide smile. The selection committee had just emailed to let him know that Garfield Elementary School had been selected as an International School for the 2013-2014 school year. They had received the grant that with all the bells and whistles would total over $250,000 and it was all theirs. Caroline could hardly contain herself. She launched herself into the arms of the large man and hugged him with all her might. He laughed heartily and thanked her for all the work she had done heading the committee. This was going to change everything for the downtrodden school.

"We couldn't have done it without you, Caroline. Good job." Mr. Dixon said smiling.

Caroline just grinned from ear to ear, "Thank you sir." She felt all of her worries disappear. For just a little bit she was going to concentrate on her own success.

He handed her the email and the link to the resource page for the program. There would a lot to do to get ready he warned her. We are going to have to call in staff early this summer to make sure they were ready for the school year. Caroline ignored the uncertainty that triggered when she heard the word summer. They would figure it out. Right now she just wanted to enjoy this.

It wasn't until after six that she finally left the school. She had gotten sucked into reading about what the grant entailed. iPads for all the kids, field trips, new supplies, new computers. They would be paired up with a school in Spain, a sister school. It was amazing and Caroline was drowning in the pride she felt for this accomplishment. And despite everything, even working out all the logistics, the first person she wanted to tell was Sid. She knew they had a lot to talk about but she was just so excited.

She nearly floated to her car, her head spinning. She had to rush now to get the CONSOL but she would make it. She was too happy to let anything bother her.

Caroline didn't think twice of the group of high school boys that were loitering in school parking lot. It was a rough area and groups of afterschool kids often formed around the elementary school that was positioned smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood. The security at school was good. They patrolled, made sure no one started trouble. In the four years she had been there, Caroline had never had a problem. Until now.

It all happened so fast. They had shouted out to her at first and when she ignored them, they came closer. There were four of them. No one she recognized, they all seemed to be in high school or older. They closed in around her and Caroline didn't have time to react. One grabbed at her bag, when another piped in that he knew who she was. She was that fancy bitch fucking the hockey star. She was pushed around, while the leader of the group dug through her purse, looking for her wallet. They laughed at her calling her names and making lewd suggestions. She shouted back at them, but that just made them laugh louder.

"Fucking fourteen dollars?" the teenager growled thumbing through her wallet. "What the fuck?"

Caroline was terrified. She didn't know what to tell him. She was crying silently, fervently wishing the security guard would see her on the parking lot camera or while doing his rounds. It was late, most everyone else had gone except a few teachers tutoring. Someone had to see what was happening.

"This bitch is worthless," someone said and with a hard shove she was catapulted into a nearby SUV. Her face crashed into the side view mirror and she fell to the ground. Her head slamming against the concrete with a loud crack.

"Oh shit!" she heard and then the sound of footsteps running away. The pain was immense. She called out for help but her voice was faint and it hurt so much to talk. Shakily she tried to get up on her hands and knees but her head felt like a thousand pounds. Her fingers went to her hair and when they came away there was blood. A lot of blood.

Caroline's vision began to swim and just as she began to lose consciousness she stupidly thought, I'm going to miss the game.

And then everything went dark.