the second the whistle blew to start the first period, every penguins on the ice went after the capitals. sidney wrestled with tom once again, hitting his cheek as hard as he could. wilson fell to the ground and sidney got on top of him, continuing to beat on him. a few of the caps separated from their fights and headed towards sidney, pulling him off of their teammate.
he pushed them, "get your filthy hands off of me."
"crosby, stop." oshie shook his head, "i'm sorry about emma but do you really think this is the best way to deal with it?"
"yes." sidney said, running away from t.j. and trying to go back to wilson.
a linesman skated in front of him, "time for the box, crosby."
"ugh." sidney rolled his eyes, joining the majority of his line in the penalty box.
they stood silently for two minutes before jake spoke up, "how is she?"
sidney looked out at the empty ice, "not great. she threw up in the kitchen sink last night."
"i'm sorry i wasn't there to help, captain." jake felt bad. they weren't even on the same line but he couldn't help but think if he had interfered emma would be ok.
"not your fault." sidney shook his head.
"let me have a go at wilson." kris said. he was a better fighter than sidney and he wanted to hurt tom for touching his favorite rookie.
the captain shrugged, "i don't care. just make sure you go for his head."
"will do."
the second the puck dropped, another fight broke out. this time, before the ref had a chance to blow his whistle, sidney took the puck and shot it into the net. the goal horn blew and sidney laughed wickedly, he loved when goalies got distracted and gave him an easy goal.
this time only kris and tom went into the boxes. coach sullivan called the men over, "what the fuck do you boys think you are doing?"
"getting even." sidney shrugged.
"are you crazy? you really think emma would want you guys to beat up all of the caps?"
"absolutely."
"get your asses on the bench. malkin's line, it's your turn."
•••
the penguins ended up winning by six points. after the players decided it would be better to beat them in the game rather than physically, they didn't let anything or anyone stop them from scoring.
sidney sat in his car once he parked in the garage. he had already turned off the engine but he didn't want to get out. seeing emma hurt made him want to cry but he was tired so he got out of the tesla and walked into his dark home. he dropped his bag at the couch and jogged up the stairs, wanting to tell her that they beat the capitals.
he walked into his bedroom and turned on a lamp. his bed was empty so he went to her room. her bed was also empty. sidney looked towards her bathroom, seeing a light under the door. sidney knocked lightly but she didn't answer. he knocked again before opening the door.
sidney rushed over to the shower and saw emma limp on the ground. he turned off the stream of water and bent down, shaking emma's shoulder, "baby? baby, wake up."
he checked her pulse and took a sigh of relief. he picked up his phone and dialed number of the team's doctor. dr. vyas answered after the second ring, "crosby?"
"emma is passed out. she's on the floor of her shower and i think she's ok but i'm not sure."
"is she breathing?"
"yeah." he put the phone on speaker, pulling emma out of shower and laying her on the bathroom rug. he put a towel over her naked body and moved hair out of her face.
"sidney, i hate to say it, but maybe you should call an ambulance. she needs to be seen."
"but she's already been diagnosed with a concussion." sidney said before emma started groaning. she put her hands on her head, mumbling about how much her body hurt.
emma realized she was on the ground and opened her eyes, "sid?"
he sighed, "hi. uh doctor she's awake, should i still take her to the emergency room?"
she stood up, swaying as she got dressed slowly.
"if she's aware of where she is, i'd just keep an eye on her."
"ok. thank you, doc."
"of course. call me if anything happens." dr. vyas hung up.
sidney stood up and hugged his girlfriend, "i'm so happy you're ok, em. you scared me."
"did i pass out?" she asked, not able to connect the dots.
"yeah." he picked her up and sat her on the counter, "please don't shower alone again. what if you hit your head?"
"i'm sorry." she whispered, laying her head on his shoulder, "i was getting really dizzy but i wasn't done detangling my hair."
"i'll have mccann's girl come over to cut your hair. you wanted it shorter, right?"
