Author's Note: my apologies for this one taking so long. Last week was crazy at work. I hope that you enjoy it ... lot's of Lizzy and Sid time..
I felt like I'd been freed from prison. I hate being in the hospital and those two days felt like a month. I kept telling Cat to go home, Lizzy needs her, but she stayed by my side for the entire time. Nathalie would force her to eat and take a break but she would be right back beside me. As much as I worried that Lizzy had been with Miss Sally for two days, I don't know how I would have gotten through this without Cat. There's pain of course, they put metal beside my bone and then screwed it in, but the fear is what almost killed me. Fear of the symptoms I'm way too familiar experiencing preoccupied my thoughts. I was constantly self-evaluating for headaches, vision changes and all other symptoms of concussion. Sometimes they don't appear right away and there was too much else going on when I got hit to truly assess for a concussion. Directly after the surgery, I was on lots of morphine and the only thing that I could focus on was Cat curled up beside me in the bed. She held my hand, stroked my chest and whispered in my ear. I don't remember anything specifically just a feeling of being loved.
But I'm home now. Well, I'm almost home. We're in the elevator up to my apartment so I'm very close to home. Miss Sally has brought Lizzy because I want both of my girls with me.
"Are you sure that you aren't too tired? You feel ok?" Cat asks me.
I chuckle. It's the twentieth or thirtieth time that she's asked me.
"I'm ok Cat, really."
She stares at me as if she can see my health status with her bare eyes.
"Fine. But you will take it easy for the next few days."
I simply smile at her and take her hand while we leave the elevator. We haven't even fully opened the front door when I hear Lizzy running.
"Sidwee!"
"Wait!" Cat yells and stops Lizzy from jumping up into my arms. Both Lizzy and I look at Cat.
"Sid, you can't pick her up. Not yet." She turns to Lizzy. "Sweetie, Sidney is better but he still needs to rest. Why don't you sit on the sofa and you and Sidney can cuddle there. Ok?"
Lizzy thinks about it, you can actually see her thinking about it, then she takes my hand and pulls me to the sofa. I sit down and Lizzy climbs up beside me but without touching me.
"You have an ouchy?" Lizzy asks me. She looks so serious.
"Yes, I have an ouchy" I tell her. Shit, it's hard to keep a straight face with her looking so serious.
"In your chin?" She points to it.
I guess that's how Cat explained it to her.
"Yeah" I tell her.
Lizzy nods solemnly, cuddles in beside me and I wrap my arms around her. It feels so good to have her in my arms. I've thought of this moment for two days and it feels really good being here now. Lizzy looks up at me.
"Kiss it better" she says and lifts up.
"Lizzy" Cat begins but I hold my hand up.
"Gentle Lizzy, ok?" I tell her. "Very soft."
Lizzy nods again and the look of serious concentration comes back. She pushes herself up more until she can lightly press her lips to my chin.
"Better?" She asks me.
"Lots better" I tell her.
She giggles. "You talk funny Sidwee."
I don't understand initially but then I remember that I've lost some teeth and I'm lisping.
"Yeah, I will for a little while" I tell her.
"Ok" she says and cuddles back.
"I cooked so you're ok for a few days" Miss Sally says reminding me that she's still here.
"Thank you so much for everything Miss Sally" Cat says.
"Thank you" I repeat.
"You take care Sid. We need you back on the ice soon."
We all say goodbye then Cat sits down on the sofa beside me. It feels good to have my girls here with me.
I shift so that Cat can move closer and I feel the immediate pain in my jaw which causes me to flinch.
"Ok, that's it Sid. Pain medication and then bed."
"Come on Cat. I just want to spend some time with my girls." Wow, I just whined to my girlfriend!
"Seriously Sid?" she asks. "You sound just like Lizzy now."
Yeah, I should have known that she would catch on to that.
"Yeah, I know. Could we all lie down together in bed?" Alright, now I'm bargaining like a kid too.
"Fine" is all she says before heading off to the kitchen. I keep Lizzy in my arms and head to the bedroom.
"Don't carry Lizzy" Cat shouts from the kitchen.
Lizzy and I look at each other and laugh then Lizzy snuggles even closer in my arms.
I climb on top of the bed and Lizzy slides in beside me to watch the cartoons I've turned on. I don't even make it a minute before I fall asleep.
I wake feeling like the entire Flyers team is jumping on my head. It hurts too much to even lift my head.
"I told you to take your medication before going to sleep" I heard Cat whisper beside me.
Her fingers lightly caress my head and play in the curls I hate.
"Open your mouth" she says and I do. She pops in a couple pills. "Now sip" and I feel a straw at my lips.
I lean back against the pillow again and will the medication to work.
"Open your eyes Sid. Time to check."
I'm not sure if I want to check. What if I have concussion symptoms? I can't go through all of that again.
"Sid, come on. They said that we need to check today and tomorrow now that you're healing from surgery. If there are any symptoms then we'll know."
I open my eyes and stare into Cat's impossibly bright blue ones. If I do have a concussion, at least this time I'll have Cat by my side.
She runs me through the couple of things the doctors showed her how to do. I'll get the ok from the doctor tomorrow officially but if I have symptoms then I need to see him right away.
"Anything?" She asks.
"No" and I'm surprised, happy, but surprised. I thought my luck would always be bad.
I smile at Cat and, suddenly, she breaks into tears and throws herself into my arms. With my quick reflexes, I'm able to shift my chin out of harm's way at least. I hold her while she shakes and sobs in my arms. I try to sooth but it seems like she needs to cry it out. She does eventually and leans away to grab some tissue. The pills are taking affect finally so I sit up and rest against the headboard.
"Ok now?" I ask her.
Cat turns to me and smiles.
"Yeah, I'm sorry Sid."
"Don't apologize. I'm sorry that you had to go through all of that. It couldn't have been easy for you babe."
She sighs and leans into my chest where I hold her close.
"It was scary Sid. When I saw all of that blood and your teeth on the ice " she shutters now. "Then they were worried about concussion symptoms."
She takes an uneasy breath.
"You know Sid, Nathalie and Mario were really great. Nathalie even offered to take care of Lizzy while I was at the hospital with you. Anyway, it's over now and Lizzy and I will take care of you. The Pens' nutritionist gave me sample menus. They're concerned about how much weight you're going to lose. I will be using the blender a lot."
She's going to be taking care of me?
"Cat, what about work?"
"Don't worry. Tessa said that I could take off as much time as I need. Her daughter will fill in for a while."
Ok, so I know that if Cat doesn't work then she doesn't get paid. I also know that she can barely cover expenses when she's working. How do it get her to accept money from me to help? At least I'm medicated for a fight.
"Cat, I don't want to fight but I want to say something; hopefully without you yelling at me."
"Ok" she says cautiously
"You are taking all of this time off to help me and I know that you don't get paid if you don't work."
"Sid!" I look down at her. "I'm not yelling at you."
"Ok" I reply.
"Please tell me that you aren't offering to pay me. You know what that would make me, right."
Yeah, this is going just a badly as I thought it would. How do I get out of it now?
"Definitely not Cat. Seriously, I'm not trying to pay you for taking care of me. I'm offering to help with some of your expenses while you're off work."
Now I hold my breath. What is she going say? Surely she wouldn't smack me since I just got out of the hospital.
"Seriously Cat, please let me help you with this; you're doing it because of me."
She's quiet, too quiet, for a long time.
"Cat, say something."
"Ok" is all she says.
Huh? "What do your mean ok?" I ask her.
"Ok, I'll let you help with the rent. But just this month Sid! I'm serious; I will not take money from you. Just to help with the rent this month. And I'm paying you back. Ok?"
My proud girl. Actually, I can't believe that she said yes.
"Ok" I agree.
Cat lays her head back down against my chest.
"Surprised you, huh?" She asks.
"Yeah, you did" I answer.
Cat chuckles and so do I.
"I don't want you to ever get bored. Gotta throw you a curve ball periodically" she says.
That really makes me laugh.
"Babe, I will never get bored with you. Never."
"Sidwee!"
I hear Lizzy yell, run up and jump on the bed.
"Lizzy!" Cat shouts at her. "What did I say about being gentle?"
"Gentle with Sidwee" she whispers and clearly sulks.
"Yes Lizzy, you need to be gentle with Sidney because of his ouchy."
Lizzy climbs to my side and stops an inch from my face.
"Still ouchy Sidwee?"
"Yes princess, I still have an ouchy. Will you give me a kiss? On the lips princess, not the cheek, ok?"
I watch Lizzy pucker her lips and carefully peck at mine.
"Kiss better" she says confidently. If only her kiss would make everything better.
"Yes princess. Come here" I say and open my arm. Lizzy lies on top of me and I have Lizzy and Cat lying with me. Everything I need at this very moment is in my arms.
My stomach grumbles loudly and we all laugh.
"Your tummy's noisy" Lizzy tells me.
"That's because I'm hungry."
"Let's get you something to eat" Cat says.
We all get out of bed. Lizzy holds my hand and talks the entire way to the kitchen.
"Ok, I've followed the directions exactly but, Sid, this doesn't taste good" Cat tells me and grimaces.
"Yeah, I have a feeling that's going to be a common theme."
I take the tall glass from her and sip. It is as vile as she said.
"Yeah, that's not good" I tell her and down it as fast as possible. "Ok, that's done."
"Sidwee, hippos!"
"Lizzy, Sidney needs to rest" Cat tells her. Lizzy frowns and her bottom lip sticks out.
"Princess, I can't play hippos but why don't we watch a movie together, ok?"
Lizzy smiles at me and says "ok!"
We go into the living room and lay on the sofa together. We negotiate what movie we're going to watch. Thankfully, I can steer her away from Dora and focus on Pixar. We decide on Toy Story and settle in to watch.
When I finish cleaning up after making Sid's lunch, I head back out to the living room. It's been way too quiet out there for a few minutes. I immediately see why; both Sid and Lizzy are fast asleep. It's Lizzy's nap time and I guess Sid's medication has caught up with him. I pull out my phone and take some pictures of them. Sid is going to be such a good dad. Hmm, I guess he already is one.
When they wake up, we spend the rest of the day watching movies and cuddling together on the sofa. As Lizzy's bedtime approaches, both she and Sid start yawning.
"Seems that you're both ready to go to bed" I tell them.
"Nooooooo" Lizzy says.
"Come on princess. It's time for your bath and then we can both go to sleep, ok?"
Lizzy frowns but says "ok Sidwee."
She takes Sid's hand and they walk toward the bathroom. I fill up the tub while Sid helps Lizzy get out of her clothes. I think back to the first time we bathed Lizzy. Sid was very uncomfortable and didn't quite know what was appropriate. Now, he's so good with her that the old discomfort doesn't even resonate with him. Yeah, he's a great dad.
After her bath, and lots of bubbles and splashing, we get Lizzy into her pajamas only she won't let us tuck her into bed. Since Sid has an 'ouchy,' Lizzy insists on tucking Sid into bed. It's too cute.
We get Sid into bed, although she insists that he still read her a story, and then she pulls the blankets up to his chin.
When she leans in to kiss him I say "Lizzy, gentle" in case she doesn't remember.
"Sidwee ouchy" she frowns for a moment, smiles and then puckers her lips.
Sid pecks at them then says "goodnight princess."
"Nite nite Sidwee" Lizzy replies and pulls the covers up higher, kisses his forehead like I always do for her and then goes off to her bedroom. I leave Sid chuckling and follow Lizzy. We complete our bedtime routine and she quickly falls asleep.
When I enter the bedroom, Sid is less covered with blankets and sitting back against the pillows watching a game.
As I change, Sid asks "do you want to come to the rink tomorrow morning? I'm going in to see the doc. He's going to check out how I'm healing. I thought that Lizzy might get a kick out of it."
"Yeah, she will although she's going to want to skate."
"I can't skate yet but she can go on with one of the guys."
"Sid, do you really think she wants to skate without you?"
"Oh, right. Well, when I can then she and I will go."
"She'll love that Sid."
I climb in and rest in his arms to watch the game. That's the last thing I remember before I fall asleep.
The next morning Lizzy is bouncing up and down in her Keds as we walk into Consol. Rounding a corner, Lizzy sees the poster of Sid.
"Sidwee, Sidwee."
She points to the poster and to Sid.
"Yes princess, it's me."
Lizzy laughs at Sid and runs down the hall. He looks at me.
"You got her all riled up on sugar when you gave her that cookie so you go after her" I tell him.
Sid rolls his eyes and chases Lizzy down the hall.
Who knew giving a three year old one cookie would have her on a sugar high that must rival heroine. I'm surprised that I actually have to hoof it to catch up to her. I watch as she rounds a corner and Mario catches her before she runs directly into him.
"Nice catch" I tell him.
"Years of practice" he replies. "You must be Lizzy" Mario says to her.
Lizzy looks at me clearly unsure.
"Lizzy, this is Mario and he's a friend of mine. Say hello to him" I tell her and smile.
That must assuage her because she turns to Mario and says "hello. Kiss" she demands and puckers her tiny lips.
Mario complies with a light peck and I'm struck by two things: how much Lizzy trusts me by looking to me to see if Mario was safe and, second, that we are going to have a heart breaker on our hands as she gets older. The boys are definitely going to flock to her. Like mother like daughter I guess. Wow, where did that come from?
"Hi Mario" Cat says as she walks up and hugs him.
"Cat, you look lovely as usual."
It's nice to see how friendly they are which I guess came out of spending so much time together after my accident. It's too bad that they had to meet that way but I'm glad that they are getting close. As they chat, I watch Cat speaking animatedly and Mario smiling down at her; way down since he's over six feet.
"Ok, I'll see you guys later" Mario places Lizzy down and heads to the offices.
"He's so nice" Cat says and smiles.
"I'm glad you guys are getting along. I'm as close to them as my own parents."
"Sid!" I hear behind me. Some of the guys head over and ask how I'm doing. We talk and I notice a few guys have gone over to greet Cat and Lizzy. It looks like my team mates have accepted them too. We all head into the locker room. I realize our problem when I see the press coming in for the after-practice interviews. It's a game day with the Leafs so the press is from Toronto as well as Pittsburgh. I watch them come in and the dread and fear fill me fast. I can tell the exact moment that they see Cat and Lizzy. Everyone stops for about two seconds and then the cameras start flashing, ever video camera's red light comes on and they begin hurling questions. Before I can react, Cat pushes Lizzy behind her and holds her hand out.
"Stop!" She yells at them. "Do not take any pictures of my daughter!"
The room immediately stops and becomes intensely quiet. I'm stunned by Cat's outburst; not because she's protecting Lizzy but because she didn't simply run out of the room with her. Cat is standing her ground; good for her.
"I will stay with Sid but let my daughter leave before you terrify her further."
Cat turns around to Lizzy but still shields her from the press. I make a move toward them.
"Stay her Sid. It will only make it worse. I've got them" Duper says and he walks over to Lizzy. She takes his hand, I can hear her giggle at something he says and then they walk away. I have to take a few very deep and slow breaths so that I don't simply rip off each and every one of their heads; fucking reporters.
I feel Cat at my side and her hand slide into mine. Jen walks over to take control of the situation.
"Ok, Sid will take a few questions and then he needs to go to an appointment" she tells them and the first one is predictable.
"Sid, Cat, can you confirm that you are in a relationship and, in fact, are living together?"
Fuck.