Alex sat in the stands, watching over the ice. She was beside Kathy MacKinnon with Graham on her other side. It was the semi-final game. The Mooseheads had swept the Saint John Sea Dogs in first round without a problem. Nathan alone had gotten three goals, four assists, and, the not so great, four penalty minutes.
In the second round, quarterfinals, Halifax had no problem with the Gatineau Olympiques, either. Nathan had 8 assists that round. He told Alex it wasn't his 'best job' and she swore she almost hurt him. Then came the semis, against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
First game alone, Nathan had a hat trick, and an assist as the cherry on top. Second game, he had a goal and three assists. One of those assist being on the game winning goal in overtime. The third, he had a single assist, which shocked everyone. It also went into overtime. Jo got the puck from Nathan and there it was. Alex could tell he was disappoint in himself and she reminded him that there was an entire team behind him, he didn't have to play every game perfectly.
And here they were, game four. If the Huskies pulled it out, they'd continue playing. If the Mooseheads did, they'd get to the President's Cup. The blood was pumping in the Iamgold Arena. The home team filed on first, cheers heard from everywhere. Alex knew the boys were far from home. Surprisingly, many fans had made the travel. She knew all the French boys had their families here. She was more than happy for them.
She watched Nathan skating with Jo. He looked up at herself and his parents and gave her a small nod. That was all she ever got. She didn't care. She came to cheer him on, not have his attention. She watched as he skated, and shot, and did his usual warm up. She sat tall in his jersey. She was proud. Not just of him but the entire team. She smiled to herself a bit as the whistle blew and it was game time.
The puck dropped and less than a minute in, Halifax was down one. But Frk struck back less than ten seconds after. From there on out, it was a battle. Andrews gave the Mooseheads the lead, which the first ended with. Going into the second, 2-1, Fournier tied it up a minute in. Seven minutes in, Abeltshauser got Halifax their lead back, and a minute later, Drouin got them their fourth. Rouyn struck back with two of their own, but Captain made sure to get the Mooseheads their lead back before the end of the second. Third period, Nathan scored one forty six seconds in. He got a power play goal just less than a minute after. Halifax got another two, as well as the Huskies, but the Mooseheads triumphed. A 9-6 win would take them to the President's Cup.
All the guys huddled at the end of the win. Every Moosehead fan was cheering. The boys held their sticks up to the crowd before filing off. Kathy told Alex to go down to the change rooms. She did so, a bounce to her step. She got down and heard the music blaring from the change room as the coach spoke over them. A roar of "yeah!"'s were heard and she knew the speech was done. Their coach walked out and smiled at her before popping his head back into the room.
"There's a pretty little girl in a MacKinnon jersey out here. Anyone want her?" He joked.
"Yeah, I'll take her." Nathan called as he walked over.
He came out of the change room, shirtless, with just his pants, socks, and skates on, and lifted her in a hug. She held onto his neck, tight, as her feet dangled. He smelled terrible and was disgustingly sweaty but she didn't care. He set her down and slowly pulled away. She just smiled up at him.
"What?" He challenged, crossing his arms.
"Do you know how many points you've got in the playoffs alone?" She asked.
"Like, ten." He shrugged.
She shoved him. "Twenty eight, Nathan!"
"Okay, so I'm kind of a big deal." He smirked.
She smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist. "You're a huge deal and I'm proud of you." She said as she rested her chin on his bare torso.
He leaned down and pecked her lips. "Let me go finish getting changed and what not." He said, staring down at her.
She nodded as she pulled away. "Tell all the guys I'm proud of them, okay?"
"Of course. They know you are, anyway." He told her.
"I like to remind them." She smiled as he walked back into the change room.
That night, the team and all their parents went out for dinner to celebrate. They had a few days before they had to be back in Halifax for game one. Alex sat beside Nathan. His arm was around the back of her chair as she chatted with some of the guys. He watched her and the way she interacted with all of his team mates, as if she was just one of the guys. She finished arguing with Mack and turned to look at him. She smiled and leaned into him. Nathan wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head.
"You're great, you know that?" He whispered to her.
"I do, actually." She grinned up at him.
He shook his head, smiling. He let her go and stood up. She watched him before he extended a hand to her. She furrowed her brows in confusion. He gestured his hand and she took it, standing up. He led her over to his parents. Kathy looked back at him from a conversation she was in.
"We're gonna go for a walk, okay?" He said, pecking his mom's cheek.
"Be safe." She said, squeezing Alex's shoulder.
"I think I'll be okay with this building with feet." Alex teased, squeezing Nathan's hand.
"More like that building with feet'll be okay with you." Graham piped in.
"Thanks, dad." Nathan laughed as he and Alex walked out of the restaurant.
