SUNSHINE

forty-one

[ A little shorter but nonetheless written and published! Enjoy! ]

For the days to come, Casey kept having to call and text her boyfriend to reassure him that she was alright after their encounter at the bar following the Chicago Blackhawks game. She had been in the news all week after someone had leaked pictures to the press, and her teammates had been checking in on her. She had made a public statement on her Twitter account that she was alright, just a little rattled, but her community of fans and teammates were at her defense. She was not pressing charges against Connor Murphy, for being under fire like he was was punishment enough.

In the meantime, she had gotten in contact with her father about the offered plan for Christmas, and although she could tell he was hesitant, he agreed to spend Christmas with her in Chicago. They would be leaving in a couple days, and since Alex had gone to California to spend the holidays with her family and friends, she had decided to head to Tampa for those few days and catch up on her school work. She was so close to getting her degree, she hoped to be walking across the Florida State University stage to receive her diploma come April. She only had a couple credits left and she was done. She had passed all her finals with A's and was in the clear, just having to maintain her grades for the next semester.

"Hey sweetie, would you mind helping me out with a couple things before we leave this afternoon?" Her father Patrick asked her, and she got up from her seat in the kitchen to find her father in his bedroom.

"What's up, pops?" She asked as she leaned into the doorframe.

"Um, I was hoping you could help me pick a nice outfit out? Your mother used to help me out, that's why I always looked so nice." He asked with a chuckle, and she nodded, walking into the room and looking at what he picked out so far. He had a casual pair of jeans, sweatshirt, t-shirt, sweatpants, and undergarments all packed, but he wanted to look his best for the Christmas party at the rich, business people's house. He was stressed out about it, but Casey had assured him that he just had to be himself - a high-end, top ranking surgeon. Ever since her mother had passed, her father just seemed a little lost. He used to be very extroverted and light, but now he seemed a little shy and unsure of himself when he was outside of the operating room.

"I think the black dress pants and suit jacket with either the dark red dress shirt, or the white dress shirt with that red sweater over it. Then either dress shoes or your dark brown dress boots." She told him. He had some good choices picked out, it was just a matter of matching them so they all looked good together.

"I'll bring both and wear one when I meet with Rick this evening." He said with a nod. "I haven't seen Rick in who knows how long, I can't wait to catch up with him." He continued while he neatly packed the rest of his things. Casey flew so much she had just started bringing her big travel backpack she received when she had joined the Orlando Pride, and it had since served as her suitcase. That way she always had everything on her while she traveled.

"Are you about ready then, pops?" She asked, having packed earlier that morning when she returned home from her run.

"I believe so. You have everything for Atlas?" He questioned as they both went out of his bedroom to get their stuff out to her Jeep. She had convinced Alessio to let her bring the dog, which was not hard considering he loved Atlas so much.

"Let's head out then." Casey said excitedly, grabbing Atlas's leash and harness along with her keys. Patrick locked the house up and the three of them got in her car. They were able to get a flight to Chicago out of Tampa, so they were headed ten minutes away to the Tampa International Airport. As soon as they got on the road, Casey gave a call to Alessio, going through the bluetooth in her car.