| Everyone was hanging their heads as they trudged into Brews Brothers. They had played much harder in the last period than they did the first two, but the Flames got another goal, and the three goal deficit was too much for the team to catch up to. In the end, the score was four to one. Brielle decided to leave the team alone and not yell at them after the game; they were sure to beat themselves up and cry into their beers enough for one night, and they didn�t need Brielle or Glenn yelling at them. When she walked into the bar with Eric and Tommy, Shane was sitting at the end of the bar by himself, looking lonely, staring into his mug of beer. His game had been off that night, and she suspected that it was because of Calista�s sudden vacation. �I�ll be back in a little bit,� she said to Eric as they approached the bar. She walked over to Shane, wanting to know what was wrong with one of her star forwards. �Hey Shanie,� Brielle said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Shane glanced up and muttered �Hey,� before looking back at the bar. Brielle kept her hand on his shoulder. �Mind if I sit down?� Shane shrugged in response and Brielle pulled up a nearby bar stool. �What exactly is wrong?� she asked, nudging his arm when he hesitated with his response. �Cal�s gone. I can�t get my game back. The last three shifts that I was on the ice were the worst three shifts of my life. School sucks. And I�m never going to be in the NHL.� Shane stopped and looked over at Brielle. �That�s all I can think of at the moment.� Brielle sighed. �First off, Cal�s only on vacation. She�ll be back. Yeah, you two had a fight, but most couples fight. The first time I met Cal, I saw something in her eyes the second she said that she was dating you. She loves you, and if you ever forget that, then I�m going to bench you,� she said with a smile. Shane gave a small laugh in return. �Second off, your game will come back. That�s why you practice. And no, your three last shifts weren�t the best I�ve seen, but like I said, that�s why you practice. Third, I know school sucks. You�re trying to do a lot at once� You�re a professional hockey player, you have a girlfriend and you�re a part-time college student� You have no idea how much I admire you for that. School might suck right now, but it�ll get easier, I promise. I went through it, I know how it feels to be pulled in a million directions at once.� She paused. �And you�re gonna make it to the NHL. Give it another year, you�re young. Hell, look at Lemieux � he�s practically as old as dirt and he�s still playing for Pittsburgh.� �But he�s Super Mario,� Shane pointed out, making a face. �Alright, better example. Tally,� she said, jutting her chin toward where Robbie sat at a table with his wife Danielle and MacDonald. He was one of the few on the team that were either engaged or married. �He�s thirty.� �He�s still here.� �He played for the Boston Bruins for how many years?� Brielle pointed out. �I don�t know how many, a few. Come to think of it, he made quite a few saves on my brother a few years back, as a matter of fact.� �He�s a goalie,� Shane pointed out. Brielle blinked. �I can�t win with you, can I?� Shane gave a small laugh and shook his head �no.� Brielle sighed and smiled. �Shane, you�ve been in the NHL before. They�ve called you up. You�ll get back, I promise.� �Yeah, yeah,� Shane said. �Let me cry in my beer for a while, go be with Steve and Marc, aren�t they leaving tomorrow?� �Yeah, tomorrow morning,� Brielle said, glancing at where her brother and Marc sat at the bar, talking with a significantly less happy Eric and Tom. �I have no idea when I�ll see him next.� Shane snickered. �Probably when he�s playing for the Stanley Cup.� Brielle laughed. �When Steve and Marc get past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I will dye my hair blonde and change my name to Barbie.� ~*~*~ �I�m gonna miss you so much,� Brielle whimpered, hugging her brother. �I�m gonna miss you too,� Steve said, hugging her back. �When�re you gonna come visit me, huh?� �Hell if I know, being the head coach of the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins is a busy job,� Brielle said, smiling. �We�ll come visit you after the playoffs, right Eric?� Brielle asked as Eric slipped his arm around her waist. �If you want me to,� Eric said, shrugging. �Of course,� Steve said. �You�re practically family, we�ve known each other since we were kids,� Steve said with a smile, shaking Eric�s hand. �Don�t I get a hug goodbye?� Marc asked, giving Brielle a small smile. Brielle smiled. �Of course, Marc,� she said, giving him a hug. �I�m sorry I didn�t spend too much time with you, I know this was supposed to be a vacation for you.� �Don�t worry about that, just seeing you was enough,� Marc said quietly, still hugging Brielle. �I missed you, ya know.� He let go of her, but kept his hands on her shoulders. �Come visit us sometime, The Pond isn�t the same without you around. Paul said he missed you, and so does Petr. Jiggy decided to write your name on the back of his helmet, and he�s insisting that it�s bringing him luck now that you�re not there.� Brielle blinked. �I knew Jiggy would go completely insane one of these days� Is he telling you that his posts are talking to him yet? He told me that last season, and I think that was right around the time that he was spending two hours a day in the batting cages trying to stop baseballs.� Marc laughed. �Talking to him? No, I don�t think that his posts are talking to him yet. But he keeps on getting that shifty look in his eye every so often.� �Lovely,� Brielle said, rolling her eyes. �Just do us all a favor and don�t let him anywhere near the batting cages, okay? Steve and I had to take him to the hospital last year because one caught him in the finger, remember?� �Yeah, I remember,� Marc said with a smile. �I�ll keep him away from the cages.� Their flight to was suddenly called, and with one last hug, Steve and Marc were getting on the plane that was taking them to Philadelphia for a connecting flight back to Anaheim. Brielle frowned as she and Eric watched the plane take off. �There he goes,� she muttered, trying not to cry. �It�s okay,� Eric said, trying to comfort her by putting his arm around her shoulders. �It�s gonna be a while until I see him again,� she said, trying not to cry. �And the rest of the team. I didn�t even think about Paul and Petr and Jiggy. I forgot how much I missed them all.� �You�ll see them again,� Eric said. �You�re gonna see them in the playoffs. Cause God knows we�re not gonna go that far, if we even make it.� Brielle sniffed. �Oh, we�ll make it,� she said, walking out of the airport. �With me as the head coach, I�m positive that we�re gonna make it.� Eric laughed. �Sure, nevermind the team, and the fact that we�re losing� but we�ll make it, no problem!� �Stop being sarcastic, that�s my job,� Brielle said, poking Eric in the ribs with a smile. Eric laughed. �Yeah, it is your job. It�s been your job since we were kids.� �Damn straight it has,� Brielle said, grinning. She glanced at her watch, and winced at the time. �We�re gonna be late for practice. And we better win this game tonight, we have a road trip in two days, and we both know how hard it is to win on the road.� �Yeah,� Eric said, unlocking the door to his Cherokee and letting Brielle in. He closed the door behind her and walked to the other side. �We�ll win. I can feel it.� |
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