| �Toby, your line starts. Micki and Robo, you�re starting on the blue line,� Brielle announced, looking up from her clipboard for a few moments, just to see the reactions of her players when they heard the starting defensemen. Buckley�s mouth dropped, and when Brielle walked out of the dressing room, he followed her like a puppy, leaving Darcy grinning like an idiot, everyone in the room staring at him. �Ellie�� Brendan started, not knowing exactly what to say. Brielle turned around, trying like hell to contain the grin on her face. �Yeah, Bucky?� �Robo?� he asked, blinking. �He�s starting?� Brielle nodded. �He�s earned it. He�s playing much better than he used to.� She turned around, heading to her office and leaving Brendan standing in the middle of the hallway, his mouth still hanging open. She muttered softly to herself, �Three� Two� One�� �Brielle, are you sure about this?� She turned around, not bothering to hide the grin that stretched across her face. �Oh, I�ve never been more sure of something in my entire coaching career.� She paused while Brendan made a face. �Besides,� she said, shrugging, �you were the one who told him he was starting. I figured I might as well take that as a suggestion and see what he can do, given the chance.� She turned around and headed back to her office, leaving Brendan standing in the hallway, his face registering nothing short of shock. ~*~*~ Brielle tapped her foot against the hard plastic orange seat out of pure boredom. She had been sitting in the airport for almost an hour, and was annoyed. Siena�s flight was supposed to land at the airport a half an hour prior, but thanks to the delay her first flight from Pittsburgh to Wilkes-Barre had been subject to, Brielle�s nerves were shot and Siena wasn�t there. Which meant that she was more than likely going to have to shift around her entire day due to try and fit the interviews, press conference and Siena�s tour of the city in. The day that Brielle offered her the job, Siena had called her back after practice had ended, before the game had started. Practice had ended without any more bloodshed. What little blood was on the ice came from Mac�s and Murley�s noses and lips, and wasn�t serious enough to emit much concern or the need for anything stronger than a few Kleenex. Brielle was in no mood to deal with any Team Drama, and she was in no mood for a loss that night either, and the team knew it. After waking themselves up for the remainder of practice and nursing their hangovers with a nap after practice, the team returned to the arena from their respective apartments ready for the game and won 3-0, with Tally registering the shutout. Siena had given the assistant coaching job some thought, and agreed to try it out on a temporary basis, and if she liked the team, she would stay with them. Brielle booked Siena�s flight under the Penguins� name for a week after she had offered her the position. Siena and Brielle had been friends when Brielle moved to Anaheim; Siena was on one of the first teams Brielle had played on in California. Once the coaching bug had bitten Brielle, Siena was usually her second in command, giving her input before she was officially an assistant. Between the two of them, Brielle was sure that the Penguins would win the Calder Cup come May. After waiting anxiously for twenty more minutes, Siena�s flight was finally announced. The gate Siena was at was on the second floor, and Brielle couldn�t get to it because she didn�t have a boarding pass, so she waited at the bottom of the escalator. Within a few minutes, Siena�s strawberry blonde hair appeared over the thin crowd. Brielle got her attention by shouting her name and waving, and Siena grinned when she saw her. �Hey girlie!� Siena waved, stepping onto the escalator. �I got a present for you.� �Oh?� Brielle asked. �What is it?� �Something I found hanging around the Pittsburgh Airport,� Siena replied with a grin. Brielle frowned and was about to ask what, but she was stopped by Siena who only pointed to the top of the escalator. Brielle looked up in confusion, but once she saw what Siena had been pointing at, her face broke out in a huge grin. �ERIC!� By the time Eric had gotten halfway down the escalator, Brielle had taken off up it, shoving people out of her way if necessary in the midst of her climbing. She went right past Siena and threw her arms around Eric when she got to him, refusing to let go even through his protests for air. �Baby� I can�t breath�� �You can breath later,� Brielle muttered, closing her eyes and breathing in his cologne. �I missed you so much.� �I missed you too,� Eric said, planting a kiss on her cheek. Once at the bottom, Brielle let go of Eric and turned to Siena. �I love you for this, you know,� she said, giving Siena a quick hug. �Oh I know,� Siena replied, laughing. �He was just standing around looking lost and I thought, �Wow, he�s cute, I wonder if Brielle wants a new friend.�� Brielle laughed. �Smartass. How was your flight?� �Decent. Kinda boring, because this one doesn�t talk much,� Siena said, poking Eric lightly in the ribs. Eric laughed. �Sorry, but you know I�m quiet.� �Tell me something Sie,� Brielle began, �how the hell did you know I was dating him?� she asked, putting an arm around Eric�s waist. �Cause I don�t recall telling you, it happened kinda suddenly.� �Steve showed me some stuff that your mom found from Montreal before he left Anaheim to see you last month, mostly pictures of you and some little brown haired kid. When he came back, he told me that you were dating him, and he showed me a picture he took of you two on that digital camera of his.� She turned to Eric, but kept speaking to Brielle. �You should�ve seen the look on his face when I asked him if he was dating you. Borderline paranoia, it was priceless.� �I see,� Brielle said, laughing. �Let�s claim your baggage. Everyone had so many things scheduled for us today but fuck it, you�re bound to be jet-lagged. I�ll reschedule everything for tomorrow, we don�t have practice or anything.� She suddenly turned to Eric. �Wait. Exactly why the hell are you here and not in Pittsburgh? Not that I�m complaining, but�� �Long weekend,� Eric said, shrugging. �We don�t have any games for five days, and coach gave me the clear to go back here and skip practices in Pittsburgh as long as I practiced with you guys, since you�re doing the same system here as we are in Pitt. He�s calling you later on, just so you know. So I thought I�d surprise you.� �Well, you did,� Brielle said, taking his hand when he held it out, and leading him and Siena to the baggage claim. �But it was a pleasant surprise.� She paused while Eric leaned over and kissed her quickly. �A very pleasant surprise.� ~*~*~ Most of the team was assembled in the lounge of the arena, watching Survivor on the big screen TV that had been placed in the corner of the room. There was an optional practice scheduled for that night, and Brielle had yet to show up for it, which would have been a cause of worry for the team, but they all assumed that it was because she was showing their new assistant coach around the town. So, because they were in the absence of anyone with any form of authority, the team did what they did best � sat around and watched television, bullshitting about one thing or another. Mac and Murls had since settled their differences with Shane, and there seemed to be little to no tension in the dressing room. Everyone was relaxed and enjoying each others company. Brielle was watching from the doorway, a smile playing on her face. She was pleased at the way that the team was getting along. This was the first team that she had been associated with that had gotten along so easily. Aside from the Ducks, of course. Eric was getting suited up, and she had originally gone to the lounge to tell the team that she was there and they could get suited up, but she bit her tongue when she heard the laughter from in front of the television. She stood there for a good ten minutes before Eric tapped her on the shoulder. �Distracted?� he asked, taking off his gloves and dropping them at his feet, rubbing her shoulders. She smiled. �Yeah. I�m just glad that everyone�s getting along and there�s no more drama.� Siena came up beside Eric and studied the team. A grin slowly spread on her face as she set her eyes on a certain team member sitting next to Shane, laughing at a joke Toby had told. �Not until I get a hold of that cute little thing,� she said to Brielle. Brielle frowned. �Which cute little thing?� she asked, looking around the room and then at Siena. �That one, the guy with the curly hair,� Siena said, pointing. Brielle looked at Eric. �Please tell me she means Huss.� Eric looked where Siena was pointing, and immediately tried to hold in his laughter. �Nope.� �Oh my God,� Brielle muttered, looking at the team. �Colby?� �If Colby is the one sitting next to that guy that looks like a combination of a surfer and a hippie, then yes.� Before Brielle could get a word out, Toby finally noticed that she was standing in the doorway with Eric and Siena. �Meloche?� he asked, standing up and getting the attention of the team. �You back, buddy?� �Only for the weekend,� Eric said, stepping into the room. �Your assistant coach picked me up in the Pittsburgh airport,� he said, motioning toward Siena. �So meet your new assistant coach,� Brielle said, �Siena Thomas.� Brielle watched as the guys all said their hellos. She also watched as Colby blatantly checked Siena out, his eyes moving up and down as the smile spread over his face. She raised her brows as Colby stood up with the rest of the team to go and get suited up, but he walked over to Siena and took her hand when she held it out. �Nice to meet you,� he said, smiling. �I hope you stay with us.� �I think I will,� Siena said quickly, grinning. Brielle was suddenly extremely uncomfortable with the situation and she had no idea why. �Practice in fifteen,� she said loudly, taking Eric�s hand from her shoulder and giving it a quick squeeze before turning around and heading to her office to get her skates on. |
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