On the Sidelines

Epilog

Evie

Two Years Later

The shrill cry of Analise cuts through the otherwise silent house. I reach over to shake Tanner awake to go check on her since I'm still bedridden from the emergency C-section one week ago that brought our beautiful daughter into the world.

My hand lands on the empty mattress and my eyes crack open to make sure I didn't just miss him. Nope, he's not here. I groan as I slowly sit up, all while my baby girl wails her lungs out in the corner.

"What are you doing?" I look up to see the outline of my husband now holding our infant, and the sight warms my belly, and a little lower.

"Sitting up, what does it look like?" At my voice, Analise quiets down, her chubby hands reaching out into the darkness toward me. "Now be a good obedient husband and bring my daughter to me."

He chuckles as he walks over to where I've rested myself against the headboard. I hold my arms waiting for our little bundle of joy to be placed there.

"Here's your mommy." Tanner's voice drifts over me, almost putting me back to sleep.

These last few weeks have been tough. I was thirty-six weeks pregnant when the pain started. Tanner was at an away game, and I was home alone. Near midnight I couldn't take the pain anymore and called an ambulance.

I called Tanner on my way to the hospital and he was on the next flight home.

We moved to Seattle a few months ago when Tanner was transferred mid-season to them. We didn't complain because it meant being closer to my mom who took the opportunity and sold the house to the first bidder.

She was my second call and was halfway to the hospital by the time I arrived.

Hours and multiple tests later, no one knew what was wrong. I wasn't having contractions, and nothing was wrong with Analise, but the pain wasn't coming from nowhere.

By the time Tanner arrived the pain was unbearable. He tried to calm me down with whispers in my ear as he argued with the doctors. Finally, my delivery nurse came in and noticed blood between my legs.

I was rushed into an emergency C-section right as my contractions started. Three hours later Analise came into the world and her daddy was the first person to hold her.

After much discussion, it was decided I wouldn't be breastfeeding so after Tanner set her in my arms, he went downstairs to get her milk.

"Shhh, pretty baby, mommies got you." I rock her in my arms singing softly to her to calm her cries. The bed dips next to me as Tanner crawls into his spot and hands me her bottle.

We only have one more week before he has to go back to work and my mom will stay with me full time. The season is in full swing, and the team needs him.

While I want him to stay, I want him to win this year just as much. The finals are weeks away and his team is on the way to being the winners of the Stanly Cup.

"Do you want me to feed her?" I pass her off so I can gingerly climb out of bed to use the bathroom. Ten minutes later I can't get up. As if guessing I need help, Tanner materializes and helps me off the toilet and back to bed. "Get some sleep. I've got the baby."

###

Tanner

I'm in awe of my wife.

A month after giving birth she's wobbling on the edge of the ice as my team passes around the Cup we just won. Heaven stands beside her with my wonderful baby girl in her arms.

I look to my new teammates, thankful to find everyone already looking at me. The captain skated over and placed his gloved hand on my shoulder. "Go get your damn baby so we can put her in the cup."

I skate over to my family so fast that it surprises Evie.

I help her on the ice and take Analise from Heaven. "Go, I don't want to get on the ice." I nod and slowly move back over to my team with my wife and baby.

The guys crowd around us, Ooing and Awing at my baby as I place her in the Stanly cup and raise them both over my head. Cameras flash off in the distance, catching the moment and cementing it in history.

With Evie's blessing, Analise is passed around in the cup, getting photos with all of the guys.

"Congratulations." I smile down at my wife and my heart swells.

We found out we were pregnant two weeks before our wedding ten months ago. It was the best day of my life. That is until she was born and I saw her perfect chubby face.

She's a daddy's girl, no matter what her mother says.

"Thanks." I lean down to give her a sweet kiss that she turns into a steamy one. "Careful, princess. Keep it up and I'll have to put another baby in you."

Evie swats playfully at me. "Don't even think about it Buster. You're stuck with your hand for another two months." I groan into her hair. It's been torture to see her naked and not be able to touch her, but I'll do whatever needs to be done so she can heal properly. But if she thinks I'm kidding, she's sorely mistaken.

I want my own hockey team.

"We can try again in a year." Hope blossoms in my chest.

"Really?"

"Yeah, that way they have a year in between them and my body won't be put through the wringer. But dammit if I don't already want another one." She smiles longingly as the assistant captain takes Analise out of the cup and snuggles her against his cheek.

"The team loves her." Evie nods into my side.

"At least I know she'll be safe from some random boy breaking her heart. No one wants to go up against this group." I laugh as I kiss her hair.

"Yeah, she'll be safe. But that's because she's never going to be allowed to date." Evie scoffs but doesn't respond, instead reaching out to take Analise back into her arms and pepper her with kisses.

"Good luck, baby girl. You're going to need all you can get with this man for your father."