"It's been good, nice to reach that number. I think I was close a couple times and got hurt, so it was nice to reach that number, but more importantly I think getting the franchise record of wins in a row, it's pretty special and something that we can all be proud of." -Patrick Kane
Jonathan's P.O.V
"I don't care anymore." Natalie screamed into the phone the next morning. "Oh save it. No fuck you."
She sighed, throwing her phone onto the bed and running her fingers through her hair. She's been getting these phone calls since she's gotten to DC, but she claimed they were work. Which was absolute bullshit. I was almost certain it was Beau confessing his love to her. Tyler had slipped and told me about them in Dallas. Technically we'd broken up at the time so I wasn't too upset over it. Beau was just a rebound.
"Who was that?" I asked, already knowing she was gonna lie to me. She got back under the covers, leaning against my chest.
"Just Russia again, he's mad at me." She lied with a straight face, glancing at her phone which had just gone off again. "TJ wants to meet us for lunch so we should probably get ready."
I jumped into the shower quickly, throwing on black jeans and a hoodie while Natalie wore her glasses, a ponytail, leggings and sweater. We jumped into TJ's Jeep and drove towards a restaurant a few miles away.
"You know what's weird?" I asked Natalie. She nodded for me to continue. "For as long as we've both known TJ, I'm surprised our paths never crossed. Like he never mentioned you."
"We never met because you only hang out with him when you guys were playing each other. And during those games I was either working or didn't want to meet any of you. I hated most of his friends."
"It's just weird that he never mentioned you. Like the only Natalie he ever talked about was his girlfriend that he was obsessed with." She bursted out laughing, barely even able to breathe. When she realized I was serious, she quickly shut up.
"That was me, you idiot. You never put two and two together?"
"I didn't know you dated him!" I sighed, running my fingers through my still wet hair. She grabbed onto my hand, dragging me into the Italian restaurant. Lauren and TJ were sat at a booth in the back, talking in hushed tones.
"Hey guys." I smiled, hugging the Oshies. Natalie did the same and slid into the booth so she was next to TJ. We ordered salads and pasta before anyone spoke.
"So we have something to tell you." Lauren said, smiling and grabbing TJ's hand. "I'm pregnant."
Natalie squealed, reaching across the table to hug the tiny blonde. I faked a smile, congratulating the pair. In all honesty the news was killing me. It wasn't fair that these two got two beautiful children when Nat and I couldn't even have one. To be fair we weren't really trying, but all I wanted was to be a father. I spent the rest of the meal in silence while Natalie excitedly chatted with her best friends.
"What wrong, babe?" Natalie asked on our way to the airport. I'd been quiet ever since the announcement, only answering with one word answers.
"I don't want to bother you with it."
"Jon, you know you can talk to me. No more secrets." She smiled grabbing my hand. I quickly yanked it away and focused back on the road.
"Fine if we're being honest, I can't stand TJ for having another kid. I know you don't want any kids, but fuck Natalie I want to be a dad."
"Jon-"
"No I'm not done. I know you don't want kids because you're scared of commitment. That one day you're gonna wake up and realize you don't love me and want Beau instead."
"What does Beau have to do with this? You know we haven't talked since the Awards."
"Don't lie to me. I know about Dallas. I'm not mad, but just tell me that you're talking to him. Please, I don't want to loose you."
"I'm not going anywhere. We've only been together for half a year, we can wait a few months before we talk about that. Okay?"
"Yeah, okay. I'm sorry, I love you."
"I love you."
*****
"Brandon!" Natalie squealed, running towards Saader. He engulfed her in a hug, nearly crying over their reunion. I hugged Alyssa while they chatted. She was always a sweet girl and we were pretty good friends at one point.
"Jonny Boy, don't I get a hug." I smiled at my goofy friend, hugging him. Not a bro hug, but a real one. I'd missed him more than anything. While Patrick's biggest upset was Sharpie leaving, Kris and Brandon's trades hit me the hardest.
"How you doing, B?" I asked, gesturing for him to get into the car we'd taken to pick them up. I already knew his answer, he was going to complain about his record, but say how he's liking the team.
"It's tough going on this loosing streak, but the boys and I get along great. Missing this city though. I see so many Hawks jerseys during our games and it's like in spite of me or something." He laughed, putting his clothes in my trunk.
"We'll try to go easy on you tonight." I winked, driving towards the city.
"Always such a sweet captain."
*****
I skated quickly, seeing Brandon with the puck out of the corner of my eye. I rammed into him, slamming him into the boards, hard. He fell to the ice, not getting up until the ref called a penalty. On my way to the box, he started laughing at me and I flipped him off, chuckling to myself. The rest of the game was uneventful. We'd won 4-1 with very little excitement.
"Nice win, baby." Natalie smiled, leaning down to kiss me. It may have been the first time she wasn't wearing my jersey to a Hawks game, but tht was only because we were going out with Andrew, Brandon and Patrick.
"Thanks, you ready to go?" I asked, buttoning up my shirt and tying my laces. She nodded grabbing my hand as we walked through the dim hallway.
"It still freaks me out down here you know." She laughed. I wrapped my arms around her and planted a kiss on her temple. "But having you here makes it all better."
"You're so cheesy." I chuckled, opening my car door for her. We were heading to Ditkas for dinner. I'd been in the mood for a steak for weeks. Shawsy hugged me at the door, even though I'd seen him a half an hour ago. Patrick sat alone at the table surrounded by couples. I usually would've felt bad for him, but idk third wheeled for years with him and Amanda.
"So how is Columbus actually going?" Natalie asked, taking a sip of her Martini. Brandon's face fell, but he recovered quickly. He wasn't one to complain much, but I had a feeling that moral was about to be broken.
"The teams nice and all, but we have no structure. The players run everything and it's hell." He sighed, running his fingers through his hair.
"Not to mention there is actually nothing going on in Ohio." Alyssa added. "I just wish I could live here still."
"You're always welcome you know." Natalie and Chaunette added. It was far more likely that Chaunette would be the one to house Lyss if she ever did visit. It wasn't that Natalie and I didn't like her, but she's always bonded with Andrew and Chau. Plus we had a tiny apartment now.
We spent most of the dinner laughing about past memories. Like the time Brandon started crying over a puppy he saw, or Patrick getting so drunk that he kissed Andrew. We kept hockey talk to a minimum, only briefly chatting about the Canadiens great start. Other than that it was just laughing and story telling, even though we all knew everything about each other.
That's what hockey did. It brought strangers together who would eventually become best friends. Players made memories and relationships with someone from every team in an organization. Those were the people who I called my best friends. These were the people I would call up in the middle of the night just to chat.
Even if they weren't with me anymore, they would always be my teammates.
So finals were last week and they went alright. I honestly just needed a break so I took a week off from writing which explains why I haven't updated. Not sure if everyone read the last chapter so if you didn't understand why Natalie and Jonathan were with the Oshies, go back and read that.
Q: Should John Scott be allowed to play in the All Star Game.
A: Honestly love the guy I'm happy they're letting him play.