Hank's eyes widened two days later as Megan retold the story of the meeting with David. "He sounds desperate. If he loves you that much he shouldn't have left you in the first place". Megan nodded in agreement. "You're so right, he shouldn't have. But the thing I don't get is why he even cares if I was dating Nicky. I'm not his girl anymore and I'm certainly not his property. If he doesn't like the fact that I'm moving on from him, he can shove it up his booty", she said with a roll of her eyes. Val smirked at his friend's "don't-give-a-crap" attitude. "What if he saw you with one of us and he threatened you", he asked. Megan snorted. "I wouldn't give a crap. Besides, if he didn't threaten me, not only would he have thirty hockey players hot on his trail, but he'd have my parents to deal with. So he can mess with me all he wants, he'll just get his butt kicked in the end", Megan replied. Nick's lips curved into a smile. "You wanna take that energy and 'don't-mess-with-me' attitude onto the ice tonight? We sure could use it against Nashville". Megan raised an eyebrow. "I always take my energy onto the ice. I wanna beat Nashville just as much as you guys do", she said. Pavel gave her shoulder a hard squeeze and Hank winked at her. "Let's go then, superstar".
"What do you think you're doing, Fisher? Trying to kill my teammate", Megan snapped at the Nashville forward as he dumped Hank onto the ice. He glared at her. "Why? Trying to keep him fresh", he asked, raising an eyebrow. Megan narrowed her eyes. "He's got a girlfriend, you idiot. I'd never treat him like that. I swear, you have the IQ of a dog", she retorted. Fisher gave her a dirty look but Megan just smirked and skated to where Hank was. "You okay", she asked, grabbing him under the arm. He gave her a smile. "Yeah, I'm okay. I saw you and Fisher chirping at each other", he said. Megan rolled her eyes. "He was being an idiot. He's got the IQ of a dog and I told him so", she replied. Hank chuckled and shook his head. "He's bigger than you, Meg. Is it really safe to say that to him", he asked as they made their way to the bench. Megan gave him a look. "Hank, you're my captain. Anyone who messes with my captain or anyone else on this team is gonna get their butt kicked no matter how much bigger than me they are", she said. Hank smiled. "A scorer, a chirper, a sass mouth in the locker room and a pretty face? What can you not do, Meg", he asked. Megan just gave her captain a shrug and smirk. "Figure that one out yourself, captain", she answered.
"Damn, Meg, you were on fire tonight", Val told her as she made her way to her locker. Megan flashed him a smile and wiggled her eyebrows. "That's what I do, Val. I help my team", she said. Pavel gave her butt a smack before she sat down. "You're a great player, Meg. Not a star like Hank or I yet, but you're getting there", he said with a teasing smirk. Megan gave him a glare and a hard smack on the leg. "Brag much, Pav", she asked. Pavel's cheeks turned red as the rest of the locker room howled with laughter. "Sassy pants is coming out… again", Nick teased. "Shut up, Kronwall, or I'll tell everyone how you drool in your sleep and shave your head", Megan said, sticking her tongue out at her teammate. Hank's mouth dropped opened. "Oh, man, Kronner, she owned ya", he said as Nick blushed. "I do not drool in my sleep". Megan rolled her eyes as she unlaced her skates. "Yes, you do. I sat next to you on the plane the whole way home from Washington last week and I kept having to turn in my seat for fear that you were gonna drool on me". Nick glared at her and Megan gave him her best innocent look. "Do you really think she'd shave your head, Kronner? Look how innocent she is", Val said, winking at Megan. Nick snorted. "She's far from innocent, but I'll let it pass. She played great so I'm giving her a break". Megan gave him another smile. "Thanks, Kronner! You're the best". Nick grinned at her. "You're welcome, sweetheart". Suddenly, Megan's phone rang. She picked it up and froze when she saw the number. "Megan? Who is it?" "David". Quick as a wink, Nick came over and snatched the phone from her hand. He answered it and Megan could see anger in his eyes. "What do you want", he growled. He had it on speaker phone so everyone could clearly hear his answer. "I want to talk to Meg". Nick smirked. "Nope, you can't. You've caused her enough pain. Don't ever call her again", Nick snapped before quickly hanging up. He handed the phone back to his friend, who gave him a hug. "Thanks. Nicky", she said. Nick smiled, feeling relieved when Megan's tense body relaxed. "You're welcome, Meg. We wouldn't let him hurt you". Megan smiled and pulled away, brushing the sweaty hair from her friend's face. "I know you wouldn't. David should know better than to mess with hockey players. Now go shower. You're sweaty", she said, pushing him in the chest. Nick laughed and gripped her hand. "I'm not the only one. You're sweaty too". Megan rolled her eyes and shoved him again. "Just go shower, Kronwall", she said, narrowing her eyes. Nick made a face at her before leaving to do as he was told. Val gave her a cheeky grin and Megan crossed her arms at him. "What, Val? What's so funny", she asked, eyebrows raised. Val shook her head. "It's just how you tease each other. It's like brother and sister". Megan's lips twitched into a smile. "That's true. We are like siblings". She then turned her attention to Pavel, who'd been mocking her the whole time she'd been talking. "Pavel, you've got to stop doing that", she said.
Val watched Megan from his locker and she scolded Pavel. Her sweaty hair hung over her back in black waves, her hazel eyes were sparkling with playfulness, her mouth was trying to work into a frown but not succeeding. Val's crush/love for her was growing. He knew she considered him a brother, but he wanted to be more than that. He needed to tell her. –Man, she's so beautiful. She makes me feel this way; she makes my heart beat faster than normal. I'm in love for sure-he thought. "Megan? Can I talk to you", he asked. Megan turned to look at her. "Sure, Val. Come into the hallway". He rose from his seat and followed her into the hallway. "What's up, Val", she asked. Val felt butterflies in his stomach and his heart racing a million miles an hour. "Meg, it's not to be easy to tell you this so just bear with me", he said. He rubbed his hand over the back of his neck, nervously biting down on his lip. Megan tilted her head at him, hazel eyes gazing at him with curiosity. Val sighed and took her hands in his. "Meg, I love you. I had this feeling you were special when I first met you. You're smart, beautiful, funny and soft, but you're tough when you need to be. You're sassy, you're witty, you're quick at comebacks and you're a hard worker. You work as hard as you can but you don't push yourself over the edge. You're great with kids and you're great with our fans. That day when you were in the hospital, when you decided that you weren't going to let David get you down, that's was when I realized I was in love with you. That quick determination, that readiness is not something I've seen in a lot of other people. But there's more than that. You've just come out of a tough relationship. Starting another one so quickly is just gonna make it hard on you. So as of right now, no matter how I feel about you, I'm going to keep on being your older brother". Megan looked stunned for a moment, trying to process all this information. "Val, how come you've never told me this before", she asked quietly. Val traced the outline of her face with his thumb. "The time wasn't right. You had just come out of a horrible experience. I wasn't about to make it harder for you". Megan bit her lip, processing all the information just given to her. "I need time", she finally said, glancing up at her friend, hoping he wouldn't be mad. Val smiled. She wasn't saying no, she wasn't yes, but she had asked for time. He could give her that. "Go ahead, sweetheart. Take all the time you need. I can wait", he said. Megan wrapped her arms around him and snuggled her head into his chest. Val held her tightly, rubbing his hand in small circles on her back. It was a few minutes later that Megan lifted her head from his chest. "Val?" He glanced down into her hazel eyes. "Yeah, Meg?" Megan grabbed his face and pulled his head down. Her lips connected with his. Val, although surprised at first, deepened the kiss just a bit. When it ended, Megan gazed into his face, running her hands though his hair. "I don't need time. I want this, Val. I wanted this relationship. But, I do want to be cautious. I don't want this relationship to be rushed. I want to take it slow", she said. Val gave her a smile and another kiss. "I can handle that. We can take it as slow as you need it to. I'm going to try and prove to you that I'm not like David", he said. Megan's lips twitched into a smile. "You're better than David", she said. Val hugged her again. "Can we go tell the guys", he asked with a raised eyebrow. A nod confirmed it. They kissed one last time before heading into the locker room. "What took you guys so long", Hank asked. Megan and Val exchanged glances. "We're together", Megan said, grabbing Val's hand. There was silence for a minute before Pavel glanced up. "That's great, you guys! I'm happy for you", he said, winking at Megan. Everyone in the locker room agreed. Nick watched the two of them for a minute before walking up to them. "I'm glad you're moving on, Meg. That's really great, sweetie", he said, hugging her tightly. "Thanks, Nicky". Nick pulled away and made a face. "You're stinky. Go shower", he said. Megan smacked him in the chest before walking away. Nick turned to Val, his face becoming serious. "Val, you're my best friend and I love you, but don't break her heart. We've known her for the same amount of time, I know, but I was there when David broke up with her. She was a wreak, an absolute mess. I don't want to see her like that again. Even though you're my teammate, my best friend and in a small way my brother, if you break her heart, I will break your neck. I am dead serious", Nick said quietly. Val nodded. "You have my full permission to destroy me if I hurt her. But I promise, I will try to never, ever, ever hurt her or be like David in any way, shape, or form". Nick smiled. "Well then, bud, just enjoy her. She's special". Val grinned. "Oh, don't I know it", he said.