My Rock

Nineteen

Overall I've had a great welcome to Pittsburgh, everyone here has a great attitude and never freak out when they see Sid which is rare. It's as if they were already accustomed to having him around. We've been all around shopping for items for the house and possible baby room things but we weren't going to push our luck for that one. We still have tons of time to get ready for this baby and I'm not going to rush this experience. One of the positive things about Sidney's injury is that even though the season has already started, he doesn't have to travel with the team. I really enjoy that part.

The season started this week and tomorrow is the big gala for the team and all of its crew. They have the weekend off, which is rare and they don't play till Sunday so after tonight's game they can celebrate Friday and recover on Saturday. I can tell that Sidney is excited for the gala; it's one of his favourite parts of the whole season other than playing hockey. He even bought me a new dress to wear to the event! I'm not complaining about that obviously. It even covers my bump, which has gotten even bigger.

Sidney doesn't get to practice or play with the team before game time but he does have to stay in the dressing room and bond with everyone else who is injured. I just sort of dress up and go to the games and cheer on his friends with the other girlfriends and wives. So far I've really hit it off with Heather, Jordan's girlfriend, which gives me a little bit of comfort about being with the wives. Most of them are very warm and welcoming but there are the odd few who think they run things and are hot shit. Unluckily for me, I get the duty of being the captains 'girlfriend' which makes me have a huge target on my back from the girls who think they're men are the best things. Heather and I have had this conversation a million times before.

"I tell you, you get the lucky job of being Sid's girl," she said, walking with me to our seats in our box. As we walked past the girls I received dirty looks from the stuck up wives and girlfriends who stood around in a circle, ignoring everyone else in the room.

Thankfully the 6 of them don't actually talk to me and everyone else is extremely nice. They always show up dressed to the nines whereas Heather and I always show up in our men's jerseys or Pens gear. When I met them before I was dating Sid, they didn't like me either and were the same way then. Now they at least acknowledge my existence and kiss my ass from time to time. It's as if I can control play time, but in reality I don't associate myself with those men and I have no say in those choices.

"I never asked for that though," I replied.

"It comes with the territory. You're the Next One's girl. Everybody knows Sid's an amazing player and they want to be with the best player, whether if he's Sid or not."

"They're gonna be jealous regardless. Both them and the fans will blame me if he has a bad game and or doesn't get better even if I have nothing to do with it. I already know all of that."

"It's stupid pressure on us but we just have to take it in stride. At least we have each other to lean on," we laughed, leaning into each other. "How have you adjusted to Pittsburgh so far?"

"It's getting there, I'm getting familiar with the area and the people are really nice. I'm just waiting for him to start playing again and to see what happens." If only she knew about the baby, then she'd really shit herself with fear of the public and other wives.

"You'll be fine. You just gotta stay strong. I've seen it with Eric's wife and it was crazy. But you're Sidney Crosby's girlfriend, it's just gonna suck."

"Thanks girl," I smiled, rubbing my baby bump naturally. I really need to stop doing that in public, especially because people don't know. I could see Heather look down and watch me do it, with a little smirk on her face. This jersey wasn't the best to hide the bump but it worked for now.

"Getting ready for when you and Sid take that step eh?" she winked.

"Yeah," I laughed nervously. Should I tell her now or not? Sid's always told me he likes her and I've always been friends with her over the years and Jordan already knows so I might as well just tell her. Sid can't get mad and I want a friend that knows here so I can vent when I need it. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Yeah, what's up?" she asked nervously. I smiled, and leaned in close to her ear. I got a little bit of butterflies in my stomach to tell her. It's always exciting telling people about this news.

"I'm pregnant." I pulled away and saw her jaw drop to the floor and her hand covered her mouth as tears filled her eyes. It's only been a couple of weeks but we've gotten to be so close. I'm glad to see how happy she got.

"Oh my God! Congratulations!" she smiled, hugging me immediately, with tears in her eyes.

"Could you tell?" I asked, getting tears in my eyes myself.

"I could tell you had put on a little bit of weight but I just didn't think anything of it. You did a great job at hiding it!"

"Thanks, it has been so hard to do and we're at that point where we can't hide it anymore so it's just gonna come out soon."

"Does anyone know?"

"Only close family, Mario, Dan and a couple of players."

"Does Jordan know?"

"I have no idea who of the players know," I slightly lied. I didn't know if Jordan was told but I'm assuming he would have been.

"I just can't believe it! I'm so happy for you guys!" she covered her face with her hands, still crying.

"Thank you!" We hugged again. "Just don't tell anyone, we don't want it coming out yet and Sidney really doesn't need that stress."

"My lips are sealed! Agh! Can we go baby shopping?"

"Of course! I need someone to go with here!" I laughed.

**Day of Pens Gala**
"Sid have you gotten your suit out yet?" I yelled as I came through the door from my makeup appointment.

"No not yet!" he yelled back down.

"Where are you?" I yelled through the house.

"Living room!" I walked through the house to the living room where I saw Sid sprawled out on the couch and was playing video games.

"Sidney! What are you doing!?"

"Playing video games with the boys," he replied. I could hear his teammates through the headset laughing.

"We have to leave in like half an hour! And I don't know why you all are laughing."

"Sorry babe," he apologized. "Oh shit, Vero just called Flower out too!" Sidney laughed into the headset. "Alright, I'll see you all later, bye. I'm sorry Ash, please forgive me," he pouted his lips begging for a kiss.

"Yeah, yeah. Now let's go! I already have your suite on your bed and your tie is on your pillow along with your picket thingy."

"Look at you taking care of me," he chuckled. I was in my zip up Pens hoodie and he noticed just how big I have gotten. "Are you sure you're gonna fit in your dress?"

"Yeah why?" I asked, getting my dress out of the bag, walking into the closet to slip it on.

"Because you've grown and we got that dress for you a few weeks ago but you've gotten much bigger than we suspected."

"You're lucky I agree with you and didn't get upset cuz you called me fat!" I yelled out, squeezing into my dress.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because I can't do up the zipper properly," I giggled, stepping out of the closet, and turning my back to him so he could help me. He just shook his head and attempted to get me in that dress.

"Maybe if you layed off the food we wouldn't have this problem."

"Maybe if you layed off on humping girls we wouldn't have this problem," I teased.

When he finally got me to fit in it, I fixed his tie and made sure he was perfect. We said goodbye to the dogs and had to go to our rental car. The driver was nice and talkative, but he didn't give us time to talk. This was truly my coming out party for the Penguins where I was really going to meet them all and their families and I'm shitting bricks, also because you can clearly tell I'm pregnant in this dress. The driver was on walkie talkie with someone at the event directing traffic for the red carpet so it gave us a quick time to chat.

"Sid, there's no way people can miss this bump. It's so noticeable in this dress and I don't know how to handle this."

"Well, why don't we just go out tonight and not care what people think? I can't stand holding it in and I can't wait to show you off," he kissed my cheek.

"You're so sweet. But is that what you wanna do?"

"Yes!"

"If you say so, if you're in, so am I!" I smiled, kissing him quickly. When we got out we waited behind the crowd at the side of the red carpet and ran into Mario and Nathalie. Unfortunately we didn't have time to chat just yet but Sid was able to tell Mario briefly what we were doing.

"Tonight's the night!"

"Knock em dead Sid!" Mario smiled, giving a thumbs up.

Next thing you know, Sid took me by the hand escorted me onto the red carpet. His hand instantly wrapped around my waist and we posed together. The whole time I couldn't help but think, 'this is the weirdest thing I have ever done with Sidney'. Normally we do some weird things but this is just crazy. Photographers are screaming his name and taking his picture. And I was just the girlfriend and they were even yelling for me.

At one point, for the first time, Sidney just put his hand on my stomach and embraced it. It was so nice! We seemed natural and smiling happily. I loved every minute of that part and you could tell we were natural around each other. I was pulled away, leaving Sidney to take pictures by himself and get interviewed by himself. It was kind of hot watching him get interviewed and be so professional. I can't get too hot right now or things could get ugly on the dance floor or in the bathroom later tonight.

Immediately after a couple of solo interviews Sidney came back to me and grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze. I knew he was uncomfortable being infront of all these people. We walked into the massive hall that was full of people. I saw everyone stop and stare when we walked in. I had assumed it was for Sidney, simply because he's Sidney Crosby. But in actuality it was because of us. We just walked around for the first little bit and socialized, I got introduced to so many new people it was ridiculous. Then we finally ran into a familiar face and boy were they excited to see us.

"Ah! Look at you!" Heather exclaimed, running over to see me and Sid. She pulled Jordan behind her quickly as he sluggishly followed. She instantly threw her arms around me and we hugged it out. "You look amazing!" she looked down at my bump that was on display.

"Thank you!" I laughed, hugging Jordan, while she hugged Sid.

"Pregnancy looks good on you Ash! It even looks good on you too Sid, you're glowing," Jordan smiled.

"What can I say man?" Sid shrugged with a beaming smile.

"Wait you knew?" Heather asked him.

"Yeah, didn't you?" Jordan asked laughing.

"When did you find out?"

"First practice."

"And you didn't tell me!" She playfully slapped him.

"No, I was told to keep it a secret!" he laughed, seeing how mad she got.

"Babe, you're supposed to share these things with me!"

"Well-"

"It's ok, when something else happens you'll be the first to know," Sid laughed, trying to cool her down.

"You're dead tonight Staal," she pointed.

The whole night was pretty fun. Everyone came up to us and congratulated us, showing that they truly are happy. Some of the wives even showed some happiness towards us, even the bitchy ones. It was nice to see how happy they were and clearly news travelled fast around the room because everyone who wasn't there at that time or came late even heard. It made me nervous for the next few days.

During the dancing portion after the speeches, Sidney asked me if I wanted to dance, which was so like him to do. I simply smiled and nodded and we got pretty close together. The song "You and Me" by Lifehouse started to play and we just moved slowly to the music. We just looked up into each other's eyes and didn't say a word until it got to be a bit awkward. I loved moments like these with Sid. Where it was just him and I and no one else was in the room. Where he held me close and showed everyone that I was his, even if it was when we were kids.

He was always the protective big brother to me and always had my back whether he was here or not. He punched the boy who stole my favourite Barbie in the face when I was 7. He was there for me after my first big breakup with a boy in high school and even took me to prom the week after we broke up. He would send me hand written letters when he was away at school or playing hockey to remind me he hasn't forgotten about me and to make me smile. He would always show me off to the team and the coaching staff when I came to watch him play. He always made me feel welcome and treated me like a princess when I'd visit, even though he really didn't need to.

And tonight he was showing me off in a different way, as his girlfriend and mother of his child. It was nice to know that this time when he introduced me it was girlfriend instead of best friend. It was also nice to hear the reactions of everyone, remembering when I'd come to visit how happy he would get and how we were meant to be. It also stung to know it wasn't true but it was starting to become real to us. I loved hearing that they wished we were together and how happy they were that we are. Maybe he'll see that all of them are right.

**Sidney's POV**
Tonight could not have gone any better. I threw caution to the wind and showed off my baby, not caring how people would react, I introduced her to everyone I knew here tonight as my girlfriend and I'm actually dancing with her in a room full of my colleagues and friends. A year ago I wouldn't have done that, heck; I never would have done that ever! But she makes me want to. I just wish I knew how she felt.

Slowly but surely I'm starting to see this new side of her when we're in public that I've never seen before. She giggles at everything I do, she is more aware of her surroundings and how she has to be when she's around me and she's way more communicative when I'm away. She is making me my favourite meals, cleaning my house, organizing everything (which really helps) and is making me feel like the happiest man in the world despite my current health. She's acting more and more like a girlfriend to me and I'm loving it. I think I should make it official soon, but what if she doesn't feel the same way?

"You really are a good dancer, you know that?" she looked up, breaking me from my thoughts.

"Oh I am am I?" I asked back.

"Yup! You should do it more often," she winked.

"I think I should kiss you more often," I replied in a soft voice. She looked up at me with a shocked face as I leant down to kiss her softly. Her hand instantly cupped my face as she enjoyed the passionate kiss. When we pulled apart I could tell that we both felt the fireworks in our bodies. She looked stunned but so beautiful. She smiled and giggled softly. She is so cute when she does that.

"I really like when you do that."

"I like it too. I promise I'll do it more often," I said, kissing her forehead.