It's Never too Late to Try ~ Sidney Crosby

Chapter 6- Babysitting

Sidney

"Sid, can we stop for breakfast?" Nathan asked me, sitting in my passenger seat. We were headed to our last day of camp and I was excited to see Scarlet today. "I guess so. There's a few places on the way." I put on my sunglasses and drank some of my water. "Where do you wanna go?" I looked over at him. "There's a deli about 5 minutes away. They have awesome breakfast burritos." Nathan connected his phone to the auxiliary in my radio and put on spotify.

I sat in the car while Nathan got our food. I checked my phone to see 2 texts from Scarlet and I just smiled to myself. She sent me a picture of Eli wearing his camp jersey with a huge grin on his face.

To Sidney: Eli is so excited for his last day of camp! He wanted me to send you a picture (: I also wanted to say good morning

From Sidney: Good morning! So glad that he's excited! He's gonna play great today

Nathan jumped back in the car with the food and I could smell the bacon and cheese through the brown paper bag. "That better not be extremely greasy." I looked over at him and Nathan rolled his eyes at me. "Oh come on, Sid. You won the cup this year, you deserve some greasy food." I usually have a pretty strict diet all year-round, even though it's not hockey season. I rarely break my usual routine. I shook my head and started driving to the rink. "Suit yourself." Nathan bit into his food and I chuckled to myself.

When we got to the rink, I saw Scarlet sitting outside with her blonde hair in a loose braid. I smiled to myself and pulled into the closet parking space. I adjusted my baseball cap, turning off the car. "Lover boy has to look good." Nathan joked, opening the car door. Nathan and I have an interesting relationship. He's like a younger brother to me since he's about 9 years younger than me; He's always joking with me.

We both got out of the car and headed into the rink. As soon as Scarlet saw me, she stood up and walked over to me. "Hey, Sid," She gave me a quick hug and looked up at me. "Hey, how's everything going?" I asked her as Nathan walked inside. "Pretty good, preparing myself for my 12 hour shift tomorrow." She sat back down at the picnic table, I sat down with her. "That sounds rough. What part do you work in?"
"I work in the ICU. It's difficult at times."
"I can imagine, Scar. Who's watching Eli tomorrow?"
"I was going to take him to daycare tomorrow, actually."
"I can watch him for you if you want."
Scarlet looked at me surprised and smiled. "Are you serious? You'd do that?"
"Of course. He's a great kid. It's gonna rain, so we can just relax."
"That'd be wonderful." Scarlet beamed at me as I kissed her cheek softly.

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I was driving to Scarlet's house in Halifax. 7:37 AM. I called her earlier and she told me that Eli doesn't wake up until 9:30, so I'd have to wake him up. 15 minutes later, I was in the driveway of her house. As soon as I jumped out of the car, it started down pouring. I chuckled to myself and darted to the door. Scarlet saw me at the door and smiled, letting me in.

"Hey! You came just in time." Scarlet exclaimed, looking at the rain outside. I smiled while I took off my windbreaker. "Hi." I kissed her gently -- I felt her smile on my lips. "Thanks for coming over to watch him." She kissed me back, wrapping her hands around my neck securely. "It's not a problem, Scar." I pulled away to looked at her.

"Eli is still asleep, we stayed up late last night watching one of his movies," She grabbed her jacket and bag. "I wish I could stay longer but I have to go." She kissed me, softly and gave me a quick hug. "Lunch is in the oven, you just have to turn it on when you're ready!" She grabbed her umbrella and keys. "Sounds good! When should I wake him up?" I asked, sitting down on the couch. "You can wake him up in a half hour." She looked out the door, at the rain and then turned around to look at me. "Just run, it's the easiest way." I suggested, smirking at her. She giggled and opened the door. "I'll see you guys around 8:30. Call me if you have problems." I gave her a thumbs up and she left, smiling.

I turned on the TV and started looking around to see what was on. I had brought a coffee and protein bar, so I started eating my snack. I heard a door open and foot steps. I looked over to see Eli in his pajamas, holding his blanket.

"Sid!" Eli yelled, running over to me. "What's up?" He sat next to me and looked at the TV. "I'm doing pretty good. Your mommy just left for work, she'll be back tonight." He wrapped himself in his blanket and nodded. "You want breakfast, Eli?" I asked, standing up. He nodded his head, wiping his tired eyes. I walked over to the kitchen and opened the fridge. "What do you wanna eat?" Eli ran over to me and pulled out the gallon of milk. "Cereal! I can make it myself." He grabbed a bowl from the cabinet, along with his marshmallow cereal. I watched him as he poured the cereal in the bowl and poured the milk. "Look at you. You didn't even spill it." I cheered, giving him a high five.

Eli and I sat on the couch watching cartoons as he ate his breakfast. I heard my phone buzz -- it was Scarlet.

To Sidney: How's it going? (:

From Sidney: It's going great. Eli is just eating breakfast with me. He woke up on his own about 5 minutes after you left.

To Sidney: Oh wow, that's great. If anything happens, just let me know. (:

I smiled at my phone and then I heard a loud strike of thunder, causing Eli to scream. He put down his bowl and hid in my chest. "It's okay, it's just the rain." I assured him, hugging him. This was a new thing for me, I've never really watched a kid before. I figured that it'd be easier because I know Eli. I never thought about having kids ever in my life but after camp, I can see myself being a dad.

After Eli finished his breakfast, he took a shower and got dressed. I decided to clean up a little bit, and afterwards I walked into Eli's room to see him making his bed. "Good job, bud. You're the most independent 5 year old I know." I praised him, sitting on the floor.

He began showing me his hockey equipment and memorabilia. Obviously he was a Montreal fan, like I was when I was a kid. It was fun getting to see his posters of me on his wall, along with the cover of the newspaper from when we won the cup. He reminded me so much of myself and it made me feel nostalgic.

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Scarlet

I looked at my watch. 8:05 PM. This day has been nothing but running around. Dealing with difficult patients and rude family members. The hospital was full due to the recent rise of pneumonia. I was excited to go home and take a bath. As soon as it was 8:15, I clocked out and headed out.

I drove home quickly while I listened to Halsey on the radio. I couldn't wait to see how everything went with Sid. Part of me was worried but the other part was totally calm. Having a new person watching your son makes you nervous, even though it's Sidney Crosby.

When I walked in the door, I saw Eli and Sid in the kitchen making something. I put my stuff down on the couch and walked over to them. "What are you guys up to?" I asked, grabbing a water. Eli turned around and ran towards me. "Hi mommy! We're making dinner." Eli cheered, hugging me tightly. I smiled and looked over at Sid. "Oh really? What are you making?" I asked as Eli ran back over to Sidney. "We're making noodles and Chicken. " Sid winked at me and I blushed. "Eli wanted to wait to eat, so that you could eat with him." He turned back around to finish cooking. I smiled and pulled out my phone, looking around on social media. 10 minutes later, we sat at the dining room table and ate.

Sid left around 10:00 PM because he had some training in the afternoon. I cleaned up the dishes and put Eli to bed quickly. I made myself a hot bath with a bath bomb and hopped in with a cup of herbal tea.

To Scarlet: I just got home. I had a great time with Eli today

From Scarlet: aww, he was so happy that you watched him. I'm finally relaxing in the bathtub with some tea, my feet are sore.

To Scarlet: Bathtub, eh? That sounds nice. Wish I could see that ;)

From Scarlet: Maybe one day you can see

I giggled and relaxed in the tub until I felt myself falling asleep.