nineteen (Jonathan Toews)

eight

Today was my first official day of work with the Blackhawks. I got up early and was excited to go to work for once. I woke up before Ryan and took a quick shower. By the time I got out of the bathroom, he was getting up. "Morning  babe," I said happily.

"Morning," he grunted and sat up. "Why are you so cheery today?"

I opened the closet and began looking for my clothes for the day. "I'm just so excited for my first day."

I looked through my hangers until I found my official team polo. Ryan wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed my shoulder. "I hope you don't have to travel that much with this new job."

I turned around and snaked my arms around him. "I have to, it's part of my job," I explained. "But since I'm only an assistant I don't think I have to go on all the road trips."

"Good, I'm going to miss you too much."

I blushed and moved away from his grip. "I don't want to be late on my first day!" I got ready in my Blackhawks polo and a pair of khakis.

I went into the kitchen and made some breakfast for Ryan and I. We ate together before I had to leave. I got in the car and drove to Johnny's Ice House, where the boys had practice today. Luckily for me, I wasn't starting on a game day so I would get the feel for everything under less pressure.

I parked in the staff area and went inside. It was only 8:00 now, and their practice started at 9:30. I went to the training room and saw Rob there. "Morning Rob," I said as I walked in.

"Good morning," he checked his watch. "You're right on time." He was sitting on one of the tables and slid off. "Follow me, I'll show you where you can put your stuff." He led me to a separate room where I dropped my stuff off.

"So practice starts at 9:30," he explained, checking his watch again. "What we have to do in between now and then is set up this room for the guys that need to be loosened up or taped beforehand."

We got to work and before I knew it, it was 9:00. "This is usually when some of the guys start coming in," Rob noted.

Just then, the door opened and Patrick Sharp walked in. "Hey guys," he gave us a grin as he went over to a table and sat down.

"Hi Sharpie, what do ya need?" Rob asked.

He said that he needed his ankle taped. I grabbed the tape from a cabinet and handed it, along with a pair of scissors, to Rob. He nodded at me as a thanks and got to work.

Once he finished, Rob turned to me. "So this is basically what we do before practice. I'll just take you through the day as it comes up."

"Sounds good," I responded with a smile. Just then, two more guys walked in. It just so happened to be Patrick Kane and Jonny.

Jonathan made eye contact with me and was about to walk over, but Pat beat him to it. "Alex, hey!" He walked over and gave me a hug.

"Hey Pat," I laughed a little. "Ready to be my first client?"

"Wow, your first Blackhawks patient? I'm honored." He put a hand over his heart before sitting on the table. I laughed and looked over to see Jonny looking a little mad and glaring in Kaner's direction, but once he caught me looking he gave me a smile.

I helped loosen up Patrick's muscles before sending him off. We worked on a couple more guys before practice started.

Rob and I headed to the bench to oversee practice and make sure it was all running smoothly. "So what we do now is watch them practice and make sure none of them are limping or hiding injuries. And if they need anything else we help them out with that."

I nodded. "Seems pretty straightforward," I commented as I watched the boys skate around. We watched practice and none of the guys really needed much help from us. At one point, Sharpie skated over for some water and made sure to "accidentally" spill some on my shoes.

Once practice ended, I helped Rob fill out more paperwork and get things ready for the road trip after tomorrow. There was a home game against Colorado before we went on a small trip to Nashville, Dallas, and Carolina.

After my long first day was over, I went home. I got a text from Pat asking if I wanted to go out for drinks with the team tonight for a little bit to celebrate my first day. I told Ryan and we cleaned up before heading back out.

We met the guys at some bar nearby. Since they had a game tomorrow they didn't want to stay out late, which was fine by me since I had to be at the UC by 8:30 anyways.

"There she is!" A voice yelled as Ryan and I walked into the bar.

I looked to my right and saw Patrick walking over. "Hey Pat," I leaned in and gave him a quick hug. Him and Ryan did some sort of bro handshake that all guys do. I greeted some of the other guys before noticing Jon wasn't here. "Hey, where's Jonathan?" I asked Marian Hossa, who was sitting next to me.

He looked around. "He should be here by now, he's probably just- oh, there he is!" Marian pointed to the door where Jonny had just walked in.

He came over and joined us. "Hey everyone," Jon grabbed a glass of water and took a sip. "Alex, how was the first day?"

Everyone turned their eyes towards me. My cheeks heated up a bit at the sudden attention. "Oh, it was great! I'm so excited I get to work with you guys," I gushed.

"I bet you're excited for the road trip-" Duncan Keith started to say but Sharp slapped a hand over his mouth to shut him up.

"Yeah, the road trip should be a lot of fun," he said with a mischievous look.

A couple guys chuckled and shook their heads at his antics. "Whatever you say Sharpie," I responded.

We socialized for a little more until some of the guys decided to head home. "Yeah, we should probably head home too," Ryan said, standing up.

I reluctantly followed suit. "Thanks for inviting us guys, see you all tomorrow." I waved and followed Ryan to the front door.

"Wait, I'll head out with you guys." Jonny caught up and walked by my side. "So what did you think of your first day? Do you like your new job?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, it's great! Now I get to see my best friend every day," I poked his arm playfully.

"You already see him every day," Ryan chimed in.

"Yeah but now I get to go on road trips. It's gonna be so much fun," I exclaimed.

Ryan chuckled at me. "Yep, they do sound like a lot of fun to go on."

We arrived at our cars and parted ways. "Bye Jon, see you tomorrow."

He pulled me into a quick hug. "Bright and early!" He faked happiness. "Bye Alex." Jonathan pulled away. "Bye Ryan."

Ryan and I got in our car and drove away. I was excited for the game tomorrow, but nervous as well. Hopefully everything would go according to plan.

---

it's playoff beard season!! how do you guys think playoffs this year are going to go? i hope toronto goes far but i kinda doubt they will... especially bc they're going up against the caps in the first round lol