Chapter 38

The alarm rang at 2:30a and Karen moved to shut it off before it woke Sidney up. Karen got out of bed and went into the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later and saw that Sidney had changed positions and was sleeping peacefully. Karen walked out of the room quietly and went to the kitchen to make some coffee. Maggie was already in there which surprised her.

"Morning Mags."

"Morning, coffee will be ready in a minute or so. See you had a little sleepover last night."

"Yeah, he'll be heading to Detroit today so I won't see him until the finals are over. He decided to stay with me last night. Mind that he'll be here alone and leave about 8a?"

"No."

"I'll leave him a note so he locks the door and everything but he'll probably get up and just get dress to leave."

"That's fine. You're going to miss being with him huh?"

"Yeah but he needs to focus on this round more than the past ones. It's what I needed to do."

"I'm sure he loves you for it. We better get dressed ourselves."

They each grab a cup of coffee and went to get ready. When Karen got back to the room, she reset the alarm for 7:30a for Sidney to get up with then went into the bathroom to get dressed. She came out 15 minutes later and was completely ready. She went to the kitchen and wrote Sidney a short note, taking it back to the bedroom and putting it under the alarm clock making sure it stuck out for Sidney to see. She leaned down and kissed his cheek lightly and whispered 'I love you'. Karen and Maggie left soon after and went to work.

At 7:30a Sidney woke up to the alarm going off. He found the off button and laid there until he really woke up. When he looked back at the clock, he saw the piece of paper under it. He pulled it out from under there and turned on the bedside lamp, focusing his eyes to read it.

Hey baby,

I would have loved nothing more then to be there when you woke up, but alas today is a work day. I did enjoy waking up in your arms though and can't wait until I get more than one day to do it too. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I love you and I will be counting the days until game 3 when I can see you play again. Good luck baby and remember...this is what you want and have wanted since the day you started playing. Go for your dream baby, it's waiting for you.

I love you!!!
Karen

Sidney laid there smiling at her words. He got up and went to the bathroom before coming back out to get dressed. He stopped in the kitchen and got a drink of juice, rinsing the glass and putting it in the dishwasher. He headed to the door and laughed when he saw a 'lock the door behind you' sign. After he locked the door and shut it, Sidney got in his car and headed back to Mario's.

As Sidney was driving up the interstate, he saw the sign for Cabela's and decided to get off the exit and head to the store. He knew the store wouldn't be opened yet so he parked the car and sent Karen a message hoping she had her phone on her.

Are you ready for a break? I am outside waiting.

Karen felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She kept her phone with her incase Sidney called or texted on his way home. She flipped it open and saw his message. Karen smiled and replied back.
Haven't taken one yet. Be out there in a minute.

Karen shut her laptop and headed to the employee door. She walked outside and saw Sidney parked by the sidewalk, going over to him. He shut off the car and got out so he could hug her.

"I didn't think you'd stop on your way up."

"I had to see you one more time" Sidney said before he leaned in and kissed her.

"You are making it impossible for me to want you to leave."

"Maybe that's my plan. Get you to ditch work and come with me."

"Ok, why not. It's just my job and possibly my career but they'll understand when I tell them who I'm dating."

"Why do you ruin the fantasy? You could have just stopped at 'Ok'."

"Because it wouldn't be any fun to just play along."

"I'm going to miss this."

"Me too." Karen looked at her watch "my 15 minutes are about up."

"I know."

Sidney leaned down to kiss her again. When they pulled apart, he put his forehead to hers and they stayed there for a few minutes without speaking. Karen had to let go of Sidney first because if she didn't they would have been there all day.

"You better go" she whispered.

"Yeah" Sidney finally let go of Karen and got in his car. "If we can't see each other, can we still call or text?"

"I think that would be alright. But only if it is after practice or a game, ok?"

"You drive a very hard bargain, but it'll work."

Karen leaned her head in the window and kissed him one last time "I love you."

"I love you too. Oh and tell Maggie that I locked the door."

"I will."

Karen walked over to the sidewalk and watched Sidney pull away. She waved at him and watched him drive off. Karen took a deep breath and went back inside to try and concentrate on her work for the rest of the day.

Saturday night finally came and Karen was over at Sheril's house to watch the game with her, Natalie and Diane. The game started out good as they came out flying in the first period but seemed to get worse for the Pens as they lost 4-0. Karen sat there and everytime they showed Sidney her heart broke knowing he didn't want the first game to be like this.

"Look at it like this, it is only game 1" Natalie said with a glimmer of hope.

Karen was about to respond when her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw it was Sidney. Karen smiled and answered it.

"Hello."

"Hey baby."

"Hey" Karen could her the dejectedness in his voice.

"HI SID!" Sheril, Natalie and Diane all screamed into the phone. Karen just laughed and got up, walking outside.

"At a party?" Sidney said laughing.

"No, it's just the girls. We came here to Sheril's to watch the game."

"Oh god, you guys saw that?"

"Yeah. You ok?"

"Yeah, I will be once I forget about this game and move on to game 2."

"Well since you want to forget about this game, I won't ask you what happened then" Karen smiled when she heard Sidney laugh.

"Thank you baby, I needed that."

"That's why I'm here."

"That's not the only reason your here."

"Aww" Karen said and made a few fake sniffs.

"What's the matter baby?"

"My boyfriend loves me" she said as she sniffed some more.

"Yes I do. I didn't think I could've gotten in a better mood this soon but you made it possible baby. I love you."

"I love you too stud."

"Good. I hate to do this but I need to get my shower and meet the bus. I'll call you tomorrow?"

"I will be waiting by the phone."

"Bye baby."

"Bye."

They hung up and Karen leaned up against the house "please let this turn out how Sid wants it." She straightened up and walked back inside.

All day at work on Monday Karen kept thinking about game 2 and wondering how it was going to go. Karen and Sidney had talked for an hour on Sunday mostly to keep his spirits up for tonight's game. She just hoped it was enough.

When it was time for the game, the girls met up at a local sports bar to watch the game. A few people from work was getting a group together and they decided to join them. As the game went on, the group watched as Detroit took a 2-0 lead in the series with the Pens losing 3-0. Karen didn't feel like staying around and went back to Maggie's house to try and get some sleep for work the next day. After she got to the house and got ready for bed, she grabbed her phone and texted Sidney. She knew he probably wouldn't get back to her but she just felt she needed to remind him she was still here for him not matter what. She told him the one thing that really only mattered to them. She put her phone on the bedside stand and turned off the light.

Sidney had finished with the media after the game and was sitting in his stall. He was about to go get his shower when he heard his phone go off. Since he didn't feel like talking to anyone, he was relieved when it was a text. Sidney saw it was from Karen and he opened it.

I love you and I still believe in you!

Sidney shut his phone and closed his eyes. He thought about replying back but he knew she would already be in bed. Sidney got up to get his shower so he could meet up with the team.

On Tuesday, Karen couldn't concentrate at work and was glad when it was 1p to head out. She got to the house and changed clothes, getting comfortable on the couch. Karen turned on the tv and found something to watch. After about 20 minutes, there was a knock on the door. Karen got up to answer it and was surprised at who was on the other side.

"Sid? What are you..." Karen didn't get to finish her sentence as Sidney enveloped her into a hug and buried his head into her neck.