Of course I made Cat change out of #29's shirt and into mine before we worked out. Flower denied that he had anything to do with it but it was definitely him. Two things came from the prank. First, Cat actually went along with it which is a fun surprise. Second, the guys included her in a prank which tells me that they have accepted her.

When we get there, the gym is partially full. Guys are riding bikes and stretching but the weight area is free.

"Come on" I tell Cat.

I show her how to warm up, first on the treadmill, then stretching, and then I take her to the weight area.

"Sid" she says. "I've never worked out in my life.

I look back at her and she looks very skeptical.

"It will be fine, don't worry. We are lifting anything."

I grab the rubber bands and describe plyometrics to her. It's using the bands and resistance that your work muscles. It's also less likely that you can hurt yourself, a great place for Cat to start.

First, I show her the move and then she follows. She does really well; better than I thought given that she's never worked out. We keep going for thirty minutes until Cat holds up a hand.

"Enough Sid" she breathes heavy and tries to catch her breath. "I'm done."

"Ok, but don't stop. Walk on the treadmill for ten minutes or so to cool down."

"Ok. Hopefully I won't die before I've cooled down" she replies and heads over to the treadmills.

I go back to my work out and put all of my focus there. It feels good to be working out again. I miss this so much when I'm injured. It feels so good that I don't even mind that it's my second work out of the day.

When I'm done, I sit back on the mat and wipe up my face. I look up and see Cat sitting on the bench near me watching.

"What?" I ask.

"I like watching you sweat" she replies.

I don't know why she always makes me blush when she says things like that but she always does, like now. I walk over where Cat is, grab her water bottle and then drink it all down before I sit beside her.

"How are you feeling?" I ask her.

"Good now, ask me tomorrow?" She replies on a chuckle.

"It's actually two days later that you feel it."

"Oh, ok, ask me in two days then."

I shift so that I'm straddling the bench and pull her sideways so that she leans into me. Softly, I cup her cheek and pull her lips to mine.

When her lips are almost touching mine, she pulls back and says "Sid, it'll hurt" referring to my jaw.

I smile widely and say "I don't care."

Pulling her close again, our lips softly touch. There is some aching in my jaw but I really don't care.

"You can kiss your girl but you can't play huh?"

We both turn at Mario's voice and laugh.

"Talk to the doctor Mario. He hasn't cleared me to play" I reply.

"Likely story" he says. "How are you Cat?"

"Good Mario" she smiles at him. "Although I'm told that I'll feel it in two days."

Now Mario chuckles and says "yeah. That sounds about right."

He holds out his hand and helps her stand. "Are you staying for the game?"

"Yeah. Sid talked me into working out first" she replies on a chuckle.

"After you clean up, come up to my box to watch the game. Nathalie is coming with Austin and one of his friends too."

Cat looks at Mario and then back at me. I know that she doesn't want say no to Mario but she came to watch the game with me. I hate sitting in Mario's box. They always put us on camera and I look like the favoured son. No one knows that Mario invites every player to sit with him if they're injured. Not if they're scratched of course but injured is ok. I need to spend this time with Cat tonight so I know what I have to do.

"We'll both sit in Mario's box during the game then" I tell her.

Cat smiles brilliantly at me and I see the surprised look pass over Mario's face before he recovers.

"That's great. I haven't seen Nathalie since" she trails off. We all know that it is since I was in the hospital.

"Great" Mario says. "Nathalie will love seeing you."

I show Cat where she can go to show and change and then I head to the showers myself.

I'm done before Cat is of course and see Mario in the hall where he waves me over.

"You're not going to sit in the press gallery to watch the game eh" he says.

"We were going to but you saw that Cat wants to sit in your box and I want to be with Cat so" I shrug.

"Oh, you are so whipped kid" Mario says and slaps my back.

I immediately feel defensive, instinctively maybe, but then my head catches up with my testosterone.

"Yeah, guess I am" I reply. "And I'm a better man for it."

Mario laughs hard and says "you truly are Sid and it looks good on you."

"Thanks Mario. It's actually the most difficult thing that I've ever done; falling in love."

The moment the words are out of my mouth, I know I've never spoken truer words. Loving Lizzy and Cat has been both the simplest and most difficult thing I've ever done. I worry about them constantly. I worry that Cat is working too hard. I worry that Lizzy is getting every advantage she can growing up. This is what it's like being a husband and dad I guess.

"That's about right" Mario tells me.

I know he gets it. He's fought for so much in his life but nothing more difficult than cancer and it wasn't so that he could get back to playing hockey. He fought to survive for his family.

"I hope you haven't waited too long" I hear Cat say as she approaches us.

"Whatever time we waited was worth it. You look beautiful Cat" Mario tells her and then kisses her cheek. "I'll see you both upstairs."

We watch Mario walk away and then turn to each other.

"Mario may have said it but it deserves repeating. You look beautiful Cat."

Now she blushes. I pull her to my side and her arms go around my waist. I take a deep breath to breathe her in. She doesn't wear perfume so I'm breathing in Cat's unique scent.

"Sid?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you suggested I come with you tonight."

I'm surprised but very happy with her admission.

"I'm glad you came too" I tell her. "I'll need to send you off soon. We don't let anyone not part of the team down here an hour before warm ups."

"Oh, that's ok. Should I go up to Mario's box? Can you tell me how to get there? I really have no idea where I'm going."

I laugh. "I'll have someone take you up Cat. It's a bit of a labyrinth to get there since it's all back halls."

"Oh, thanks."

She looks up at me and my heart feels like it skips a beat. She is so beautiful. Those clear blue eyes, staring lovingly into mine, make me nervous to live up to her love. I haven't done so well lately.

"Let's go" I tell Cat and take her hand. "I'll take you up myself."

We walk hand and hand through the halls and then up the elevator that takes us to the hall outside of Mario's box.

We enter and the first thing Cat says is "it's bigger than yours."

"He is the team's owner you know."

"I didn't mean to insult you Sid."

I guess I did say that a little defensively.

"It must be true what men think about size" Cat whispers.

I don't have time to retort because Nathalie sees us.

"Cat!" She says and walks over to hug first Cat and then me.

"Hi Nathalie. How are you?" Cat asks.

"Great. Mario said you're going to sit with us tonight. That's wonderful!"

"Yeah, we were going to sit up at the press level but this is definitely more comfortable."

"Definitely" Nat replies. "What did you think of the gym?"

"It's a little intimidating but Sid and I used those elastic band things."

"Yeah, they're easy to use but still an incredible workout."

I listen to the two of them chat like they're old friends. I was only worried about my parents meeting and liking Cat; but, it's nice that Mario and Nathalie like her too. They're like my second parents and their opinion means a lot to me.

A glance at my watch tells me that I should get downstairs for the pre warm up meeting.

"I have to downstairs" I tell Cat and Nathalie. "I'll be back after the anthem" I tell Cat and kiss her cheek.

She smiles and runs her hand down my arm. My heart warms at her easy touch. It gives me hope that we can put this behind us.

I kiss her lips this time and then head down to the locker room.

The game was good, well, great actually. I sat beside Mario for most of it and he was very indulgent of all of my questions. I learned later that he doesn't really like to talk during the game but when I apologized he told me not to worry. I spoke with Nathalie during the intermissions. Sid went down to the locker room then. He misses the team so much. They've brought in a few new high end guys, two were captains on their own teams, and Sid really wants to play with them. One he played with on the Olympic team when he won the gold medal.

Austin was a lot of fun. It seems that the time Sid spent living with the Lemieux's has made Sid the big brother to Mario's brood. Austin told me lots of embarrassing stories about Sid and most of them show the true goof ball that Sid can be. Of course this isn't new to me. I love that side of him.

At the end of the game, the Lemieux's show me back downstairs to where the team is meeting with the media. I thought that the stench couldn't get any worse but twenty guys who have just come off the ice make it worse for sure. I wait for Sid in the players' lounge while he talks with guys and congratulates them on a great game. Some of the girls come in and say hi to me. Even the gazelles stop by and greet me. I guess being with the team's captain means that they have to be cordial to me.

I feel a hand on my neck and know instinctively that it's Sid.

"Hi babe" he says and kisses my cheek as he sits beside me.

"It was a good game" I tell him.

"Yeah. Some of the guys, and girlfriends for those who have them, are going out to Diesel tonight to celebrate since we have an off day tomorrow. Would you like to go?"

Sid asks me hesitantly. We haven't gone out with his team mates like this before. It seems to mean a lot to him so I nod.

"Of course. Let's celebrate the win Sid."

He smiles widely and says "great! We'll head out in about twenty minutes or so."

I smile back at him and stay in the lounge while Sid goes back to the locker room. A woman who I haven't met approaches me.

"Hi Cat?" she asks.

"Yes I am" I reply with a smile. I feel like I'm representing Sid here so I put on my best smile and take her hand.

"Good, hi, I'm Erin. I'm married to Brooks."

"Oh, hi. It's nice to meet you. Please sit" I gesture beside me.

"You're coming out with us Sid said."

"Yeah, it should be fun."

"I'm so happy to have another woman come out with us. Well, besides the trail of girlfriends the younger guys seem to go through."

At least I'm not the only one thinking that way. Erin seems really nice and genuine which is how I think of Brooks too.

"Sid told me that you and Brooks got married this past summer?"

"Yeah we did. It was in California where I'm from."

We chat more about her wedding and how much she's enjoying being married. Soon, the guys find us and we're ready to go. A few of the single guys join us too.

When we get to the club, Sid uses valet parking and, when he gets out of the car, he's mobbed by fans. I move toward the front door but the bouncer doesn't let me inside and I'm freezing. I'm also concerned with anyone recognizing me and wanting to take my picture or worse. I try to talk the bouncer into letting me in but he won't.

"She's with us" I hear behind me and see that it's Brooks and Erin.

The bouncer finally lets us in and I can warm up.

When Brooks tries to lead me further into the club, I look behind for Sid.

"He's going to be a little while" Brooks tells me. "He knows that you're with us."

I nod and follow them to a VIP area where we see some of the guys. To test myself, I try to remember everyone's name: Robert Bortuzzo, James Neal, Paul Martin and, damn it he's French but I can't remember his name. When I ask Erin, she tells me that it's Simon Despres.

Erin and I sit while the guys all get drinks. We're just taking our first sip when Sid walks up to us.

"I'm sorry" he says and kisses me lightly then drops to the couch beside me.

"Brooks took care of me. I understand" I tell him and snuggle under his arm.

"Yeah, it happens sometimes. We like coming here because they have this area that we can be together but alone."

James hands Sid a beer and then begins a hilarious story that has us all laughing. This is much more fun than I anticipated. The guys are hilarious and rip on each other constantly. Back and forth the jokes fly.

"Cat, I love this song. Let's dance" Erin says and grabs my hand.

I look at Sid and he smiles so I follow Erin away from our area and to the dance floor. I love this song too and soon we are dancing on the packed floor. For a second, I consider how much my life has changed. Years ago I dreamed of being able to come to a club like this and now I'm here. A man like Sid never even entered my dreams because it was impossible and yet I'm with him. I'm still scared about our most recent bump in our road but I'm also very grateful to have him in my life.

Erin and I continue dancing for the next few songs. We are laughing and enjoying ourselves immensely. There's no way I could have seen what was about to happen.

I was surprised that Cat said yes about going to the club but I'm glad that we're here. Watching her dancing with Erin is a lot of fun. Cat is clearly enjoying herself. She hasn't had enough fun in her life. In a corner of my mind, I wonder if this is the kind of place that she used to come to looking for guys. I force that thought away and turn back to the guys.

Nealer is on tonight and has us laughing constantly. Of course Paulie is bickering with him once again proving why we call them the married couple. It's hilarious.

"Sid" I hear Brooks beside me.

When I look at him, he's clearly alarmed and pointing to the dance floor.

I follow the direction and see these two guys, huge guys, pushing up against Cat.

"Those are the guys that tried to pick a fight with you last time Sid" Nealer tells me.

I immediately turn back to Brooks and say "get her out of here Brooksy."

He nods and goes to grab Cat and Erin's things.

I head directly to Cat vaguely aware of Bortz and Simon following me. The guys always have my back and these two will dive in quickly if I need them.

As I get closer, I see red when one of the guys' meaty hands grabs Cat's ass. I charge over and push the guy away from her and Cat behind me.

I see Brooks and Erin lead Cat away so I turn back to the asshole. I see immediately that he wants a fight. That's why he deliberately picked Cat; he knew she was my girlfriend.

"You wanna fight Crosby? You pussy. You're not on the ice now" asshole number one says.

That's when it breaks through my haze of red what's happening. I can't be in a public fight. It would be bad for me and, more importantly, bad for the team and Cagt. Most importantly, I can't take a hit to the jaw. That could be a season ending injury which is exactly what the asshole wants.

I shake my head and walk away. I hear yelling behind me and turn to see Bortz and Simon holding the assholes back from me. You can always count on team mates to stick up for you. I'm about to help them, fuck injury, when the bouncers converge on us and pull the guys off the dance floor and to an exit. They're fighting against the bouncers but are out matched.

"Let's go Sid" Bortz says to me.

We head out of the club and I can see the flashes from pictures being taken. I guess we aren't getting out of here completely unscathed from the public. There's going to be pictures and possibly media. Oh well, can't do anything about that now.

My car is waiting for me, must have been Brooksy telling the valet, so I hop in with the guys. I drive down the block just far enough to be away from the crowd in front of the club before I pull over.

"Thanks guys" I tell them.

"No problem Sid" Bortz replies.

My phone vibrates. It's Cat.

'I'm ok. Brooks taking me home. Meet you there.'

I've never felt such relief. Then I wonder. Is she going to her apartment or mine?

'Ok. Home?'

'Yeah, your place.'

I know that I'm smiling like a crazed mad man now.

"She's ok?" Simon asks.

"Yeah she's fine. Brooksy has her" I reply.

I drop the guys back at the club so they can pick up their cars and then head home. I try a few times to call Cat's phone but she doesn't answer. Why isn't she picking up? Why isn't she answering her phones? I begin driving faster and faster the more worried I get. It goes right to voice mail every time. My imagination begins to run away on me. Maybe they got into an accident. Maybe the car rolled and her phone was smashed. I try Brooks and his phone goes right to voice mail too. Now I'm really worried. I don't know Erin's number or else I'd call her. I alternate between calling Brooks and Cat but keep getting their voice mail; both of them.

It is a grueling fifteen minutes to my place and I'm truly terrified the whole way. I almost slam into to garage door as I'm too impatient to wait for it to completely open. The elevator takes forever to bring me to my floor and then it's three tries to use my keys in the door.

"Cat!" I yell the second that I'm inside.

I check the kitchen and living room but she's not there.

"Cat!" I yell as I run down the hall.

The night side table lamp is on but I can't remember if we left it on when earlier.

"Cat!" I yell again.

"What?" She asks coming out of the bathroom.

I don't take time to really look at her. Instead I gather her up into my arms and hold her close and tight.

"Sid, are you ok?" She asks muffled against my chest.

I pull her back just far enough to fuse her lips with mine. I take them in large and greedy bites sweeping my tongue to explore every recess of her mouth. I don't care if my jaw is sore. With both hands, I pull her up so that her legs wrap around me and her hands are clutching at my shoulders. Everything is forgotten except this moment and the feel of her soft body, the taste of her lips and her heat against mine.

I carry Cat to bed and follow her onto it, over top her. She is so small and supple as I run my hands up and down her body with my lips never leaving hers.

I worry I'm too heavy so I prop up on my elbows and look down at her face. She's flush and her lips are pink and wet from mine. I slide further down her body and lift her blouse. I nip, lick and suck all the skin that I find then I push her blouse higher over her breasts. They're covered in shear black lace. I take one of her nipples into my mouth over the lace. First I suck and Cat's hands come into my hair. Then I take it between my teeth and nip lightly causing her fingers to tighten into my scalp. Encouraged, I nip harder.

"Ahhh, Sidney!" Cat cries out and I feel it all the way to my dick.

I'll never tire of that sound. I repeat the movements at her other nipple and she moans again. My dick strains against my zipper now. I lean away and strip her blouse off over her head and then do the same with her bra. I begin at her neck, licking and sucking with the occasional bite and kiss. When I'm back at her breasts again, I take as much of her breast as I can into my mouth and run my tongue around and around the nipple. With my fingers, I tweak the other one before switching.

Cat's hips instinctively thrust up and grind against me. I love how much she wants it so I abandon her nipples and continue exploring her skin with my lips over her ribs, stomach and then slowly, very slowly, I pull her skirt down and stop just before her mound. She cries out and her hips tilt this time. I run my hand up the outside of her leg to the inside of her thigh. She spreads her legs open begging for me to touch her by continually rocking her hips up. I look up at her and wait until she opens her eyes and looks directly into mine. That's when it happens; Cat freezes and I feel her instantly stiffen.