Tough Love

Chapter 4 - The roadtrip

The penguins won the next two games at home as well, before they went onto a road trip for almost two weeks, and Brooke was pretty nervous about it. She'd gotten closer and closer with the guys and after buying a game boy for herself, the wars between her and the other guys had become pretty serious. She also spent a lot of time with Sid, before or after practice and games, and she really enjoyed the conversations they had. Sid was an extremely talented young man, but he'd never let the fame get to his head, and he still greeted every fan happily and took pictures with everyone, and Brooke really admired that about him. On the plane, she sat on the other side of the aisle from Sid and Fleury, and Kris was next to her, all of them engaged in a hard game on their game boys. Brooke took Kris out pretty easily, and he started stealing her snacks while she battled the others, and eventually, she put her game boy away and stretched out. "You tired?" Sid asked her and she tilted her head towards him and smiled slightly. "A bit. My neighbours are really loud, so I didn't get much sleep last night," she stated and Sid just shook his head with an amused grin before giving her his pillow as well. Brooke smiled at him thankfully and closed her eyes, catching up on sleep during the rest of their flight.

When she opened up her eyes again, they were already on the bus, and Sid was sitting next to her. "How did I get here?" she asked, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and yawning shortly. "I carried you here from the plane. You were deep asleep and I didn't want to wake you up," he told her with a soft smile and Brooke just returned it before leaning her head on his shoulder and getting comfortable again. "Wake me up when we get there, okay?" she asked him, and then her eyes slipped shut again, the tiredness taking over. Sid woke her up when they arrived at their hotel in Toronto and Brooke thanked him and got up, leaving their bus after the rest of them. They checked in at the hotel and Coach Johnston told them they'd be leaving for practice pretty soon after, so Brooke just went to her room first and changed into another shirt, going to the bathroom afterwards and freshening herself up a bit. When she got down to the lobby again, most of the guys were already there, sitting around and just waiting for the Coach, and she went over to Fleury and Sid, smiling at them shortly. They were talking about the upcoming game and the weaknesses and strenghts of their opponents, and Brooke just listened to them before asking: "How do you think are our chances against the Leafs?" Sid turned towards her and shrugged, placing his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "They've been playing pretty good, but so are we. I guess this is going to be a hard one," he told her and Brooke just nodded thoughtfully in agreement. Her father had told her the same when they had talked about the game the evening before during a call, and Brooke had watched a few of their games, so she knew that Sid was absolutely right.

Practice went well and everyone was in high spirits afterwards, so they decided to head out. Most of the guys wanted to go eat something, but Brooke wasn't hungry, so she denied the offer. "What are you going to do then?" Geno asked her and Brooke turned towards him. "Sightseeing. Looking around Toronto a bit. But don't worry I'll be back here on time," she promised and the guys laughed. "Can I join in?" Sid asked her and Brooke tilted her head. "Yeah, sure," she responded. Sid smiled at her before telling the guys to have fun and then leaving the hotel lobby with Brooke. "You didn't have to come with me. I'm okay on my own," Brooke told him when they were walking around the streets, but Sid just shrugged. "I know that, but I like spending time with you. I'm around the guys all the time anyway, and I haven't been here in Toronto for ages, so looking around seemed like a good option, and you're nice company," he stated and Brooke smiled slightly before looking forward again. "So, where do you want to go first?" she asked and Sid thought about it for ab bit before a smile lit up his face. "We could go to the hockey hall of fame!" He stated and Brooke tilted her head, smiling at Sid's excitement. "Yeah why not, that sounds pretty good, " she agreed and followed Sid towards the next bus stop.

They arrived at the hall of fame about twenty minutes later and Sid stepped up to the woman at the cash register and bought two entrance tickets. They had just stepped into the museum when the first fan stepped up to them with wide eyes. "Are you Sidney Crosby?" He asked and when Sid nodded, his eyes lit up. "Can I take a picture with you? Mom! Mom, come over here it's Sidney Crosby!" He shouted and Sid just chuckled while a small crowd built in front of them. "I can take the picture for you," Brooke offered and the young boy nodded and gave her his camera. Brooke smiled at him and Sid bent down a bit while Brooke took the picture. They did the same with the rest of the people that wanted a picture with Sid for a bit, and eventually a little girl with pigtails stepped up with her mother, pressing herself close to her mum. "She loves you, but she's extremely shy," the woman told Sid and Brooke just smiled at the girl, who was looking at her and Sid with big blue eyes. "What's your name, princess?" Sid asked, getting down on one knee to look at the little girl. "Mia," she said quietly, and Sid held out his arms. "You want a hug, Mia? Come here princess," he said with a soft smile and Mia walked towards him hesitantly, wrapping her little arms around him. Sid hugged her carefully and then leaned back a bit to look at her. "Let's take a picture together, do you want that?" Sid asked the little girl and when she nodded again, her mother took out her phone and snapped a few pictures. "We're going to be there for the game tonight, it was Mia's birthday present," her mother said when she had taken the picture. "Is today your birthday?" Sid asked the girl with an astounded smile and when she nodded, he picked her up and whirled her around before setting her down carefully. "You know what? If you want, you can come to our wardrobe before the game today and then be next to the bench a bit with Brooke here, as a birthday present from me to you," Sid asked, looking from Mia to her mother, who just smiled. "If that wouldn't be too much work for you, I'm fine with it," she agreed and Mia nodded and smiled. "I'll come get her and bring her back later then, if that would be all right with you?" Brooke asked Mia's mother and they planned out the details while Sid talked with Mia. Brooke also gave Mia's mother her phone number and when everything was planned out, Sid got up again and promised Mia to see her later before watching her walk away with her mother. "That girl is really cute," he told Brooke and she nodded in agreement before looking at her phone shortly. They went to look around the museum for a bit and eventually left to get back to the hotel about two hours later. It was right on time for dinner, and Sid told the coach about their guest while Brooke got some food for herself and then sat down next to Fleury.

When they were in the Air Canada Centre a bit later, Brooke checked up on all the players and massaged Kris shoulder's for a bit before they went to warm up in the ice. Brooke got a call from Mia's mother, Mrs. Smith a bit later and she went to pick Mia up, walking to their seats and smiling when she spotted the girl. "Hi Mia! Are you ready to go behind the scenes?" She asked and when Mia nodded, she looked at Mrs. Smith with a smile. "I won't let her out of my sight and we'll probably be back during the first period, and if anything happens, you have my number," she promised and Mrs. Smith nodded and told Mia to go and have fun. Brooke took Mia's hand and walked back down towards the wardrobes again, looking at the girl with a smile. "How old did you turn today?" She asked and Mia held up six fingers, looking around in awe when the stepped behind the scenes after showing a security guard their passes. "Let's go to the bench first okay? The guys are on the ice, warming up," she told Mia, and the little girl nodded and followed her towards the bench. When they got there, Brooke lifted her up onto the bench itself and showed her Coach Johnston. "Look, there's Sidney out there, and next to him is Malkin," Brooke said, pointing at the two players that were warming up next to each other and Mia started to smile widely. Brooke laughed quietly and just observed the warm up with her, and eventually, Sid skated towards them, smiling at Mia and stopping right in front of them, holding out his hand for a fist-bump. "Nice to see you again, Mia! I'll talk to you later, okay?" He said and Mia nodded, so he skated away again and shot a few pucks towards Fleury in the goal. When the guys got off the ice after warming up, Brooke and Mia went to the side and Mia held out her hand, high-fiving all of the guys. When everyone had went passed them, Brooke helped Mia off the bench and followed them into the wardrobe. "All right Mia, the guys have a surprise for you, but you have to close your eyes, okay?" she told the little girl and Mia nodded, closing her eyes. Brooke knocked on the door thrice and then led Mia inside, and the guys started singing happy birthday to her, making her open her eyes again. When they had finished, all of them cheered for her, and Brooke knelt down next to her. "Let's go and have a look around a bit so they can get changed," she said and showed Mia around a bit. When they came back to the guys, Sidney gave her his spare jersey, which was obviously way too big for her. "You look good, Mia. You'll grow into it," he then stated seriously and Brooke just looked at Mia with a smile. Coach Johnston came inside and held his speech, giving last minute advice to the guys, and Brooke stood by the side with Mia and just listened. "Okay, we're going back to the ice and watch the guys come out and then I'll bring you back to your mom, okay?" she asked and Mia nodded and followed her, proudly wearing the jersey with number 87 on it. They took their place by the bench again and Mia cheered with the crowd when the Penguins came out. After the introduction and the anthems, Crosby skated over to them and hugged Mia. "It was a pleasure meeting you Mia. Happy birthday once again and enjoy the game," he told her before smiling at Brooke shortly and then getting back onto his position. Brooke and Mia stayed there for the first minutes of the game and then Brooke brought Mia back to her mother. "Mom it was awesome! They sang happy birthday to me, and then I got Sidney's jersey!" Mia started and Brooke just listened to her with a soft smile before looking at Mrs Smith. "Thank you so much for this opportunity, Brooke. That was the best present Mia could've gotten for her birthday," the woman stated with a wide smile before hugging her and Brooke just returned the hug and then hugged Mia as well. "Happy birthday as well, Mia. I need to go back to work now, but enjoy the game, okay?" Brooke said before getting up and making her way back to the bench. She took her place next to the coaching staff and crossed her arms, watching the game and cheering when Geno scored the first goal for the Penguins. The first period ended with that and the guys went back to the wardrobe, Brooke following them with a soft smile. "Mia's mother was extremely thankful. It was really awesome of you, Sid," Brooke stated after sitting down next to Sid and he just shrugged and ran his fingers through his slightly wet hair. "It was nothing. I didn't really have to do that much, and I like making our fans happy and giving something back to them. Thank you for helping me though," he told her and Brooke shook her head. "I enjoyed it. Now go score some goals out there," she said when the coach ordered them back outside and Sid grinned and pulled her up with him. "I'll try, but no promises," he said and walked outside.
Sidney didn't score that game, but he made two assists, one for Malkin and one for Sutter, and in the end, the Penguins won 3 - 0, also thanks to Fleury's brilliant work in the goal.

Author's Note:

First of all: THANK YOU for all the reads! I really didn't expect that and I'm really happy and thankful.
Thanks once again to Leaena for reading through everything for me. xx

Also, the picture shows how I imagine Brooke to look like. :)