icebreaker | nolan patrick

Epilogue

"Nolan! Please go wake up James! We have to go soon!" Fiona yelled into the living room to her husband.

"I'm trying to change a diaper right now, kinda busy!" Nolan yelled back.

Fiona decided telling was not the best way of communication, picking up the couples youngest daughter, Loryn, to go upstairs.

"James! We're walking out the door in ten minutes! Get out of bed!" She called out to her sixteen-year-old, constantly tired son.

"Mom, I have practice later. I don't have time to go to some stupid breakfast!"

"It's a good thing that you're father owns the league then, now let's go," She sassed back and shut the door rather aggressively.

Fiona trekked down the staircase to see her adorably overwhelmed husband struggling to change the diaper of the newest addition to their rather large family—Travis.

"We have five children and you still don't know how to change a diaper? That is pathetic, Nol," She joked, lightly pushing him out of the way and changing the diaper within seconds.

"I'm a hockey player not a superhero! That is not as easy as it looks!"

Within twenty minutes, the whole family was in the car. A grumpy James and Ashley, both upset over missing their hockey practices, a moody Cassie going through her 'too cool to spend time with family' phase, a sobbing Loryn, most likely because she couldn't have a PopTart for breakfast, and a fast asleep Travis.

"Why are we going to this stupid breakfast anyway? And why can't I drive myself?" James complained from the backseat.

Fiona turned around from the passenger seat of the SUV, "I don't like your attitu—"

"Fi, calm down. He's just tired," Nolan said, placing a comforting hand on her knee.

Fiona rolled her eyes, turning back around to glare at Nolan. She still had the fire and passion that Nolan fell in love with twenty years ago, even at forty-years-old.

"We are going out to breakfast as a family and then we're all going to watch Loryn's first practice. Aunt Ashley is picking you up from the rink to take you and Collin to practice at eleven," Nolan informed, realizing that Fiona was too worked up to explain anything at the moment.

The whole family started playing hockey by the time they turned four. James also went down the lacrosse route, but his main sport would always be hockey. He's following in his father's footsteps, hoping to make the draft as early as he is eligible, also just like his great uncle, the very man he was named after. Ashley, however, took an interest in field hockey, ice hockey wasn't as much of her thing, even though she had the best shot on her club team. Cassie was just as interested in hockey as her brother, she already had a list of colleges she wanted to be scouted for.

"Collin and I are going to a party tonight. Maggie's driving," James called out.

"Where?" Fiona asked.

"Temple," He said.

"How do you expect to get into a Temple party? You're sixteen! Don't they still card at the door?"

"Mom, it's best if you don't know."

"James, you may not believe me, but your mother was quite the daredevil back in the day. The night I met her she told me she didn't bi—"

"Don't you dare," Fiona warned, pointing a finger at her husband.

——

"Ah, the Patrick family! Glad to see you guys back! What's this? Number five? Six?" Annie said from behind the desk.

"Four," Fiona smiled, picking Loryn up while Nolan started to sign the paperwork.

Nolan and Fiona chose this rink eleven years ago when they brought Ashley and James to sign them up for their first practice when they were five. Since then, they've never left. Anywhere else they went their children would be treated differently than the other kids, which was something they tried to avoid as much as possible.

Having a retired NHL player as a father was something Nolan grew up with. When the couple decided to stay and raise their family in Philly, they knew it would be tough to deal with living in the city that Nolan played for. They found Hatfield Ice, and since then their kids have always been treated like any other. That's why they loved it there.

"Aunt Ash is here, James."

"Okay. See you guys later. I'm probably grabbing dinner with Collin."

Collin was Ashley and Carter's only son. Ashley has a rough pregnancy after having multiple miscarriages and IVF therapy. They decided that going through that once would be enough and Collin has been the center of their life since.

"Look at our little girl! She's a natural!" Fiona exclaimed, watching Loryn skate across the ice and handle the puck.

"Almost like it's in her blood," Nolan said sarcastically, smiling down at his wife.

Fiona slapped his chest and pulled him in for a side hug, resting her head on his arm.

"I'm kinda sad our kids won't grow up with Canadian accents. I've always loved yours," Fiona frowned, looking up at Nolan.

"Well James already sounds like he grew up on Broad, there's no going back now."

"I love our family," Fiona said as she thought about how much she loved their children and how she saw so much of their father in them.

"I love you."

——

I KNOW I SAID I WOULD DO A BOOK 2 BUT I DECIDED TO DO THIS INSTEAD SRRY.

who know i might wake up tmrw morning and wanna do a book 2 but for now i'm starting a new story lol

thank you to everyone who voted for the chapters of this book and kept up my motivation ur all angels and i wish all of you the bestest in the world