In which Robbie McClanahan's niece is the best wingwoman out there.
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A Ranger and An Islander Walk Into a Rink
Robbie always thought he'd get married first. He never dreamed his sister would find someone before him. He never thought she'd get married. And he absolutely never thought she'd have a baby. His little sister, doing that, and creating life elicited a certain feeling he couldn't describe. But all that feeling was replaced by pure bliss when he held his little niece for the first time. When her tiny hand curled around his index finger, that little nose twitched, and those big brown eyes gazed up at him with so much innocence and wonder.
And now, here he is, watching the little girl he held as a tiny, fragile mini human, skate around on a sheet of ice.
When Robbie's sister first asked if he'd take his niece to her skating lesson, he was apprehensive. It took one look into those big brown eyes to convince him.
The more he thought about it, the more he decided he would have done it anyway. With his sister being pregnant again, he should take as much time as he can to help her now. His hockey schedule usually keeps him from his family in times like this. While he missed the birth of his niece, he was home for a short vacation around the time for the due date of his nephew.
He stupidly felt left out the first few years - as if playing in the NHL was something thrust upon him and not his dream. He relished every opportunity handed to him, but he was missing his family. He kept hearing of family vacations and travels of which he couldn't take part. He especially hated when he couldn't get away to help his sister the first time she was pregnant. He knew her husband loved her more than anything in the world, but like Robbie, his work schedule was insane. Robbie wanted to help his sister. He wanted to go home and be there for her, but he couldn't. Robbie loved playing his game, but he loved his family more.
These are the sorts of thoughts that rolled around in his head as he watched the five year old girl - who he could have sworn was a newborn just last week - skate around. He'd had the joy of teaching her how to skate on the off chances he saw her. As soon as his sister gave the okay, he put that little girl in skates and introduced her to his lifeblood. Whenever he called his sister, he got an update on her skating progress and he'd give pointers over the phone - a gentle smile on his face. She was miles ahead of the other kids in her class, though her stopping could still use a little work.
He loved his niece dearly, but he wanted a little girl of his own. The last five season had taught him he was ready to look for that girl. The one he can't bear to live without. The one whom he doesn't need a house when he was with because she is his home. He'd lived the nomadic lifestyle. He'd run from puck bunny to puck bunny, but he was done with that life. He wanted to find her.
Thus, Robbie's eyes were not on the plume cloud of snow sent up from the instructors - whose skating he was silently judging - or the endless falling of the children - who he was also silently judging. His eyes were trained on his niece's instructor.
