The Hockey Life - A Patrick Kane Fanfic

Part One Hundred and Two - Emotional

PART ONE HUNDRED AND TWO: EMOTIONAL

Every single phone call Patrick got made my heart skip a beat once we had put in an offer for our dream house. If we got the house (or if we didn't get it) Patrick would be the one to get the call, and I was desperate for an answer. I was always a little disappointed when he hung up and told me it was just one of his teammates or his parents or his sisters. But finally, after about a week of waiting, he got the call we had both been waiting for.

The two of us were sitting at the kitchen table when Pat's phone rang and he got up out of his chair to talk. He usually paced when he was nervous or excited about something, so I knew who the call had to be from.

"Hello? Yes, this is Patrick...oh, hi Nancy! Okay...alright. Yeah, thanks so much for calling. Mhm. Bye." I couldn't tell if the house was ours or not by listening to Pat. I hoped he had just been trying to contain his excitement on the phone, but I couldn't be sure.

"So? Did we get it?" I questioned him once he hung up and set his phone down on the table.

"I'm sorry, Lean..." My heart practically sunk. "But we're going to have to start packing, soon."

"You mean we got it?" My eyes lit up again as he nodded. What a cruel, cruel trick he had just played on me! I was already beginning to get emotional enough with my pregnancy hormones (which were definitely a big part of being pregnant, I now knew), and he was just making it worse. I practically jumped into his arms to hug him and suddenly I felt tears escaping my eyes. Happy tears, of course. After Patrick wiped them away and I calmed down a little, I whipped out my phone and called everyone: my parents, Brian, and Tess, too.

"So, I have some news," I spoke into my phone.

"About the house?" Tess asked.

"Yeah, Patrick and I got it! He tricked me into thinking we hadn't after he hung up the phone and I could have strangled him..." Patrick mouthed "I love you" to me and made a heart with his hands when he overheard that comment.

"That's incredible! I actually have some house news too."

"Yeah?"

"We didn't get the grey one with the pool. But, we're expecting a call about the other house tomorrow. We had to make a bigger offer for it, but I know there's no way anyone else is going to get it. We were modest with our first offer. I really think we're going to get it, Lean, and then we'll be in the same neighborhood!"

I was absolutely overjoyed for Tess and Jonathan. I was confident that they'd get the place, and I was sure it would be a ton of fun to live so close to them, especially once our baby was born. They'd have another excuse to want to come over, and I knew Tess would want to babysit all the time.

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I got a confirmation from Tess a couple days later - her and Jonathan did indeed get the house. I had begun packing when my phone rang, and I was really happy to get a break. Patrick and I had a few weeks before we'd be moving, but I wanted to be over prepared rather than underprepared. And besides, we both had plenty of clothes that we wouldn't be needing until after we moved, along with excess plates and silverware and blankets and pillows...I was definitely keeping busy. I took lots more breaks than I normally would because of the baby, but I was still constantly getting things done even outside of games and practices. Patrick was amazed at everything that I was accomplishing, and no matter how many times he told me to stop as he left a room, his eyes were wide with shock when he reentered the room later after I had filled another box or two. But I didn't push myself too hard - I only worked for a few hours before stopping completely until my next day that involved free time.

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As I was relaxing in front of the TV later that day, I realized that everything seemed to be going so well that I was afraid something bad was bound to happen soon. But the only negatives were the fact that I wasn't as full of energy as usual and the Hawks were very up and down with how they were playing. Luckily for them, it was still early in the hockey season, and they had plenty of time to figure things out.

The playoffs felt like they were years away at this point. And yet, I couldn't help but think about them and wonder if the team would make it to the Final again. I wanted a Cup win two years in a row for them so badly. Maybe that made me greedy, since they had already won so many times in just a few years, and they had been making it to the playoffs every single year, never giving up without a fight. But I couldn't help myself. I wanted a Cup victory for them even more now that I was pregnant. I was due in July, and I was beginning to imagine a Stanley Cup summer where Patrick and I had our own little boy or girl to put inside Lord Stanley when we had our day with it.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Pat asked as he wandered into the living room with two bowls of ice cream, one for each of us. It was nighttime, and I had been in my own little world as he got out my favorite dairy treat in the kitchen. He always did so much for me, but the pregnancy only made him want to do more. Much like everyone at the United Center, he seemed to think that I had to be super careful about everything all of a sudden because I had a baby inside me. Sure, I had to be cautious, but I was still capable of doing plenty of things, including getting my own ice cream! I didn't even have a baby bump yet, and I wasn't sore or losing sleep. I just threw up and got tired sometimes. I knew my limits.

"Oh, just hockey stuff. Do you think you'll get the Cup again this year? I'd love to be able to celebrate the win with our son or daughter. Can you imagine how cute he or she would look sitting in the Cup?" I took my cold bowl from Patrick's hand as he sat down next to me on the couch. I couldn't resist the freezing dessert even as winter slowly began to approach.

"It's hard to say this early, but that image definitely motivates me to play harder," he grinned.

"I know it's super early still, but I can't wait to find out the sex of this baby," I admitted, putting a hand on my still barely changed stomach. I was only about a month along, and we wouldn't find out the gender until I was four to five months along.

"Me too. What do you think it'll be?"

"I have no idea, Pat. I always wanted a boy first, though. I like having an older brother. I'm not worried about having a daughter who can't fend for herself, but it's comforting to have an older brother who's always there to back you up."

"Yeah, if we have a daughter she needs an older brother to protect her from boys, for sure. I mean, I can do it, but help would be great," Patrick decided. I laughed, but I had seen him being protective of his younger sisters. I could only imagine how obnoxious he'd be as a dad to a teenage daughter who had started dating.

"Yeah. What do you think are the odds of us actually having both genders and having a boy first, though?" I questioned him.

"I don't know. I'm sure it won't happen exactly the way we want it or expect it to. But I'm just really happy that it's working out so far and that we have a baby. No matter what the gender is, I'm ecstatic about this." Patrick set down his finished bowl of ice cream and put an arm around me. I wrapped both of my arms tightly around him (I was getting brain freeze from finishing my ice cream way too fast) and squeezed.

"I am too. I'm so glad I get to do this with you." I felt tears coming. Why did pregnancy actually have to be as emotional as everyone said it was? I hated how easily I cried now. But the symptoms that I was experiencing were very mild and manageable compared to what I'd be dealing with in a few more months. I had been reading a whole lot of baby books and researching a ton, and I knew the next eight months were not going to be easy. And yet, I was sure that I'd enjoy them anyways. I was overjoyed about being pregnant, and even more excited that Patrick was the father and that I'd be going through the long process with him at my side.

Hey guys! I know it's a short update, but I finally was able to get a chapter done! Thanks for waiting. I know what the next one is going to be about, and it should be longer than this one. I hope you guys enjoyed the long overdue update - let me know what you thought in the comments. Also, let me know what you think the sex of the baby is going to be! I can't give any hints or reveal anything, but it's fun to hear what you guys think :)