Behind a Veil of Secrets

Explaining it All

Anna has spent the last couple of months traveling between Chicago, New York and Toronto keeping up with the lockout and things were finally starting to look up for the hockey season. She spent the holidays in New York with her family then went back to Chicago to spend New Year's Eve with her friends. After her dinner with Carcillo she took his advice and started working on her trust issues. Daniel was right when he told her things could have been different with Toews if she had just come clean on her own and not when it broke out in the news.

Anna started dating a guy she had met when she went out with some friends and things seem to be going good with them. She had set ground rules in the beginning letting him know anything and everything hockey was completely off limits with her unless Seabrook or Carcillo was around and willing to talk with him about it but only if they were willing.

Anna has only seen Jonathan when she was covering the negotiations earlier in the month when they were in New York. She had heard rumors he was thinking of going to go play hockey overseas because things didn't look good at the time. Anna had one more report to give for the nine o'clock news then she was off for the rest of the night and she would be free to meet up with her friends for the New Year's Eve party. She had already got dressed for the party so she could leave right away.

"Anna do you plan on doing your report dressed in that?" Lou asked with a raised eyebrow at her little black dress.

"Lou I will be standing outside the United Center and it's the end of December so I will have on my winter coat."

"Try and stay in the truck until you go on air, we don't need one of our reporters getting hyperthermia."

"I will and have a Happy New Year." She said walking up to Lou and kissed his check. "See you next year."

"You're not coming back to the station?" he asked sounding a little shocked.

"No, James is going to pick me up from location so we won't be late."

"Ok... be careful and I'll see you in a couple of days." Lou said as she walked away.

Anna left the station with Mike and Bobby, they had become her regular camera crew. When they arrived at the United Center it was freezing outside and Anna sat in the front of the truck staying close to the heater to keep warm until it was time to get out. Once she had finished her report on the lockout James had pulled up and was waiting in his car for her. Once things were packed up they were on their way to the party, when they arrived at the party the two of them mingled with the other people there. James was enjoying all the attention they were getting, two things had him pursuing Arianna and that was the fact that she was loaded and he managed to get the same girl Jonathan Toews had... he felt like he won the lottery.

"Hey Anna is that Brent Seabrook walking in?" James asked as he pulled her closer to him and pointed towards him. "I thought you said he was going to be in Canada."

"Um... yeah, I had no idea he was going to be here." Anna said shocked to see him and Dayna there. "I thought they were in Canada."

"I guess not let's go say hello." James said as he started to walk towards them but Anna grabbed his arm stopping him. "Come on Anna, you can't keep me away from them forever. I want to meet your friends."

"I'm not trying to keep you away from them." Anna said as she glanced towards Seabrook. Hoping he didn't see her but he did and was walking towards her with Dayna. "Shit... ok, James do not go all super fan on him."

"I won't." James growled at her in a low voice.

"Anna, I had no idea you were going to be here." Dayna said hugging Anna. "It's been too long since we talked."