44

"Hello?" Alice asked. Her voice was hoarse. Dammit Sid, you woke her up.
"Hey." I said quietly.
"Oh. Hey Sid." She muttered. I could tell she was still upset.
"Can I come over?" I asked her.
"Why?" She asked. Great, she went from pissed, to upset, to pissed again. This is going to be a tough one.
"So I can  talk to you about yesterday." I said.
"What is there to talk about?" She asked. I bit back a growl of irritation.
"Just...let me come over." I said.
"Fine." She said. I opened my mouth to say goodbye, but the line went dead.

When I showed up at her apartment, everything was quiet as usual. Marc was probably still sleeping. He slept a lot ever since the accident. Alice was sitting in the kitchen, arms folded over her chest, in black yoga pants, a loose white teeshirt, and glaring at the doorway.
"So, say what you want to say, and then get out." Alice said. I cringed. She was a lot angrier than I thought she was.
"Alice...I'm sorry about yesterday." I said, walking towards her. She got up and walked to the opposite side of the kitchen. Everything about her body screamed "don't you touch me or I'll roundhouse kick you in the face".
"You should be." She said quietly.
"I know. Look...I get ornery during the playoffs, and I probably should have warned you beforehand." I sighed.
"Or, you could think for five damn seconds before you open your mouth." She said. Her eyes had an angry spark in them I had never seen before.
"I know! That's why I'm trying to say. I'm not trying to make excuses, but I am trying to explain myself here." I said. I tried to keep my voice calm, but I really was getting irritated by this. Everything irritated me during the playoffs, no matter how lighthearted I seemed to people outside of my circle.
"Well, you might want to do a better job." She growled. I clenched my teeth and took a deep breath.
"Alice, I shouldn't have done what I did yesterday. I wasn't thinking, I was pissed about how crappy I played in that last game I was watching, and I am just trying to keep my shit together right now. It's the playoffs Alice...I hardly sleep, I can barely bring myself to eat, I get irritable, and I don't think. Honestly...I am scared shitless. I mean, I'm the captain. If we lose, isn't it my fault? I'm supposed to be the leader on the ice. I have to score these incredible goals against goalies who are playing like their lives depended on it. I never know if I'm good enough to be there, or what's going to happen during the game. I just..." I said, but Alice cut me off towards the end by simply walking over and hugging me tightly.
"I'm sorry." She mumbled into my chest. I hugged her back and kissed the top of her head.
"Don't be. I was a jerk." I said. She looked up and all of the anger was gone from her face. Love had returned to her eyes and I breathed a sigh of relief. That's better.
"I didn't realize how freaked out you were about all of this. I thought..." She started to say.
"You thought that I was Sidney Crosby and that I could handle anything and everything hockey without a second thought." I said. She stared at me.
"Yeah." She said. I smiled, shook my head, and kissed her. I swear, I would have been so screwed if this fight had lasted any longer.

43

I never thought I'd be so bored in my entire life. The house was so empty without Alice in it, and I hated the fact that she was busy covering the Penguins while I was stuck at home. Granted, I did get a few things done that I should have gotten done anway, like my half of the guest list, but I was restless. I turned on the NHL Network, which didn't help, and I had to resist the urge to throw the remote through the TV screen. I tried to play xbox, which was a lot harder with a gunshot wound than I anticipated, so I gave up on that quickly too. There was absolutely nothing to do, and by the time Alice walked in the door I practically jumped on top of her.
"Hey...you look happy to see me." She chuckled, brushing a strand of bright red hair from her face. God damn, she's the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen.
"Why wouldn't I be happy to see you?" I asked, before kissing her. She let out a squeak of surprise, but melted into my arms. She wrapped her arms around my neck, carefully avoiding my shoulder, and I grinned against her lips. Our tongues collided and my heart raced. We slowly made our way upstairs, hardly breaking apart to breathe.
"Sid this is definitely not fair." She muttered.
"What's not fair?" I asked before kissing her again. I couldn't help but feel victorious as her knees went weak.
"You are teasing me." She groaned.
"Teasing you?" I asked, surprise making my eyebrows shoot up.
"You know how much I want you right now?" She whispered. I felt my mouth grow dry. She is really going to make me fight this, isn't she?
"Alice...we talked about this. Why do I feel like we're going to do something we said we wouldn't?" I croaked. She grinned sexily and shoved me gently onto the bed. I sat on the edge and she perched on my lap. I put my hands on her hips and absolutely drowned in her kisses. She was delicious, really.
"Sidney, I swear to God when we get married I am going to wreck you." She growled. I groaned inwardly.
"Now who's the tease?" I asked. She chuckled and kissed me again.
"Did you get that wedding list done?" She asked.
"Yeah. Let's stop talking now." I said before kissing her roughly.

For the next two weeks that was the story of my life. My shoulder was healing quickly. The bullet had missed bone, and major veins, so I was healed up in no time. Sore, but cleared to play, I returned to the Penguins on March 5th, and by March 8th I was cleared for contact. Everyone on the team was thrilled, especially with Marc still out. Alice had gone back to their apartment two days after my incident because Marc had been released, and she was babying the hell out of him.
"Sidney, I'm gonna get fat if she keeps it up!" Marc said as I walked into their apartment. Sure enough, Alice had been making him dinner every night, and I laughed.
"The day you get fat is the day I become best friends with Ovechkin." I smirked. Alice kissed me on the cheek, and I returned the kiss with a hug and kiss of my own.
"So, how's the whole walking thing going for you?" I asked Marc.
"Eh, a little rough. Very sore, you know? I have a bad limp, but that's probably because of the brace." Marc shrugged, tapping the black metal brace that kept his shattered knee from bending too far. Most of his injuries from the accident had been cuts and bruises, but he had also been delivered a harsh concussion, several broken ribs, a shattered left knee, and a broken nose. His ribs were healing up nicely, and his knee was getting better every day. His nose didn't even look broken, but he still fretted over it.
"Good to know it's getting there though." I smiled.
"Yeah. So, you guys look like you'll be heading to the playoffs without me." Marc sighed.
"Hey, just heal up alright? Don't worry about the playoffs quite yet. We've still got a lot more games to go, and we're fighting for the first seed." I said, flashing Alice a grin. Her Devils were in first seed, 10 points ahead of us. They were exploding, which wasn't surprising, considering the rebound they had in the second half of last season.
"Keep trying Sid, you're not going to butter me up enough to root for you though." Alice chuckled.

Before we knew it, it was April. My stress level was through the roof, and Alice seemed to be picking up on it.
"Sid, what do you want to eat?" She asked.
"I don't fucking know!" I growled, watching and rewatching films from last night's game.
"Hey, don't talk to me like that. I'm trying to help you out here." Alice said. I paused the film and turned to her, not getting up from my seat.
"Look, I'm going to be like this until the playoffs are over...and trust me, if we lose, I'm going to get a lot worse." I said.
"I understand that, but you still have no right to treat me like that." Alice said.
"I thought you knew what you were getting into with this relationship." I said.
"Sid, I know that hockey is your life, but I'm your fiancee. You don't have to talk to me like that, no matter how stressed you are." She said. Her face was flushed, and I could feel my own irritation growing.
"Well if you can't handle me when I'm stressed, you should probably leave!" I cried. She bit her lip and glared at me.
"Fine. When you're done being Princess Douche, and you're ready to talk to me like a civilized human being, then you can call me. Until then, fuck you." Alice growled, grabbing her purse and storming out of the house.
"Fuck!" I cried, throwing the empty glass that had been sitting on the coffee table against the wall. It shattered and I grimaced, knowing full well how pissed Alice was going to be at me for the next few days. A few hours later I got a phone call from Marc.
"Sid what the hell?" He asked as soon as I picked up.
"What do you mean, what the hell?" I asked.
"Why did you talk to Alice like that? She is trying to help you, and you pull some diva bullshit? She's been crying for over an hour. She's afraid that if she does the wrong thing around you now, you'll break up with her." Marc explained. I groaned.
"Shit...no...Marc...you know how I get around playoffs. I'm the captain, I'm 'Sid the Kid'...everyone is counting on me. It's a lot of pressure, and I get snappy. I'm not going to break up with her." I sighed.
"I know that, but she doesn't. And you say everyone is counting on you...well that includes her Sid. She loves you, and she's trying to be supportive, but if you're going to curse her out when she asks you what you want for dinner, that's going to make her uncomfortable." Marc said. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed again.
"I know. Look...I'll give her some time to recover, and I'll call her in the morning to apologize. Until then, just tell her that I'm sorry and that I love her, okay?" I asked.
"Okay." Marc said before hanging up. I'm a dumbass.

Author's Note

So, if you're wondering why I've changed the rating, it's because of some of my choices of language...and some other stuff. Just thought I'd let you know :D

42

Sid went from as high as a kite to lower than the bottom of the ocean. When he woke up he was in intense pain.
"Why does this suck so bad?" He groaned, throwing his head back. He refused to get up, but I didn't mind that.
"You got shot, do you expect rainbows and sunshine?" I asked. He glared at me.
"Thanks for the support Alice." He said sarcastically.
"What the hell do you want me to say? You're lucky you aren't dead!" I said angrily.
"You could be a little more understanding though!" He growled.
"Understanding?! You set yourself up for this!" I said, folding my arms across my chest.
"That's total bullshit." He said.
"Alright, fine. Next time you have a death threat on you, you'll have learned your lesson." I sighed before walking out of the room. I flopped into a chair at the kitchen table and pulled out my phone.
"Hey Alice. What's up?" Annabeth asked.
"Nothing really. How are you and Maxie doing?" I asked her. I was desperate for a distraction.
"We're doing okay. You and Sid are too, huh?" She asked. I could hear the smile in her voice.
"Yeah, I guess. We just had an argument though." I sighed.
"Oh yeah? Is he being a dumbass? He tends to do that, especially when he's in pain. Max told me about what happened last night." Annabeth said.
"Yeah, pretty much. So, how's the pregnant life treating you?" I asked.
"I'm fat as hell." She laughed.
"Why do I doubt that?" I smiled.
"You haven't seen me in way too long, that's why." She said.
"You're so busy with college though!" I said.
"I know. Thank God my year will be done by the time I have the baby." Annabeth sighed.
"Is it a boy or a girl?" I asked.
"We're not telling anyone." She said.
"Not fair! Are you having a babyshower?" I asked.
"No, I don't really want one. My family pretty much disowned me, and I didn't have many friends before I came here, so yeah." Annabeth said.

I chatted with Annabeth for over an hour, and by the time I hung up the phone Sidney had emerged from the bedroom.
"I'm sorry." He said stiffly.
"You don't sound it." I said. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
"Did they prescribe me anything? I hurt like all hell." He grumbled. I nodded, grabbed the orange prescription bottle I had been given for Sidney off of the counter, got a glass of water, and handed Sidney two pills. He threw them into the back of his throat and grabbed the water from my hand. After guzzling the glass, he turned to me.
"Thanks." He said.
"No problem." I said.
"Look...I'm sorry. I really am." Sidney sighed after a few minutes of awkward silence. This time he sounded genuinely sorry.
"It's okay. You just...I was scared. I was really, really, scared." I said. He pulled me into a one armed hug, and I rested my head on his chest.
"I was thinking...we should start planning the wedding." He said. His voice rumbled in his chest and I smiled.
"You were?" I asked.
"Yeah. Besides, what else am I gonna do? I'm hurt again." He laughed. I rolled my eyes.
"I bet the Pens are really hurting without you." I smiled.
"Nah, they've got it covered. We need to get the ball rolling though, or we won't be getting married for another few years." Sidney said.
"Okay...well then we should probably start with the guest list...oh, and where we want to get married." I said.
"Guest list shouldn't be too hard. The team, my family, your family, and various other friends." He said quickly.
"Well we kind of need names. You need to have a definite number of people invited when you book a venue." I said. Sidney groaned.
"This is going to be a lot of work, isn't it?" He asked.
"Who said this kind of thing was easy?" I asked. He kissed my forehead, and then winced.
"My life is never easy, is it?" He asked.
"Nope." I smiled.