one: i am finished with you.

Hey, another collab between Julia and Autumn.
Enjoy!

song: the kill, 30 seconds to mars.

ANNA'S POV

It had to be one of the toughest games of the season. Ryan Miller was meditating, as usual, ignoring everything around him. The Sabres walked in and out of the dressing room, chatting quietly, doing their regular preparations before games. Tonight was a rivalry night.

And it was a hell of a game ahead.

I knew that, of course. I had left Ryan to meditate while I waited for Julie, who was wandering around the HSBC somewhere. We always agreed to meet up whenever we got the chance.

After all, what was a hockey wife to do?

Ok, we weren’t married to our guys (yet), but we might as well have considered ourselves married. I was with Ryan Miller, and Julie was with Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens. We missed each other a lot, but it was helpful to know that we could confide in each other whenever one of our boys were away on a roadtrip.

I guess I had a little more baggage than Julie and Carey did. While Ryan and I were engaged to be married, we had a few bumps in our relationship- namely, one being a wonderful gift named Remy Nicole. Remy was our four year old daughter, who came along unexpectedly after her mom and dad had a bit too much to drink on awards night (don’t judge me, it was really good gin!). Ryan adored her, and so did I.

Tonight I was holding Remy’s hand as we saw Julia come around the corner and embrace me in a hug. It felt great to see her again. It’d been tough, especially after the Olympics, but somehow we’d been able to exchange phone calls and emails, and finally we got to hang out again. Remy was very excited to see Carey.

“Where’s Uncle Pricey?” Remy asked Julie excitedly, “Where?”

I smiled. ‘Uncle Pricey’ was what she called him. Pretty much the reason she loved Carey so much, besides the fact that he was a sweet guy, was because he kept Habs stickers in his coat pocket for her to play with.

“He’s getting ready for the game, sweetie,” Jules explained, “Now let’s go find our seats. You gonna have a word with Ry before?”

I nodded. Julie knew me, and my rituals. She took my daughter off and I went to find him.

I caught Ryan just as he finished his pre-game meditation.

“Hey,” I said, touching his arm, “Good luck tonight.”

“Thanks,” Ryan said, giving me a quick nod, “Did Jules make it?”

“Yeah, she’s here.”

“Ok, good. See you after, honey.”

That was that. I didn’t exactly like the way Ryan acted before games, but I had gotten used to it. When we first were together, we’d be hugging and kissing before the game and wishing the best, but now it was a quick word and that was it. I guess things change over time.

I joined Julia and Remy just in time for the national anthem. Jules was ecstatic that Carey was starting tonight; he hadn’t had a start for weeks. The situation in Montreal was a bad one for Carey; he was competing for the #1 spot with another goaltender, who was, I’ll admit, some pretty good competition. I wanted Carey to be traded, hopefully to a closer team so I could see Jules and him more often, but I’d never say that out loud.

The game started out simple enough, and Ryan missed a softie- it had been barely a minute and the Habs had scored on him. I saw his dejected look, but I told Remy that ‘Daddy was just sleeping for a bit,’ and I somehow convinced myself that was it.

It wasn’t the stress, the lack of lustre in our relationship, the extreme pressure for the playoffs, Vezina, the Gold medal loss. No, it couldn’t be that. I had to push those things out of my mind. They were weighing me down like a heavy cross.

The Habs got another one after Carey made some pretty spectacular saves. Jules was kind enough to cover Remy’s ears as the fans around us began to swear. We put on our happy faces as we made the teleprompter (we always did- how did they know where we were sitting?) and Remy was excited when they announced that it was her fourth birthday that day (“How did they know, Mommy? Did Daddy tell them?”).

The next period went about the same, but the third made the Sabres tie it up, and then after OT, a shoot-out came on. My stomach churned and I was glued to my seat. Ryan hated shoot-outs, but he was good at that. Carey, however, was going to crack at any minute. I wouldn’t say it to Jules, but the team had let him down. He had played great.

Ryan saved the game and the Sabres claimed victory. Julia sulked next to me, but said, “Well, Ryan’s still got it, even after the Olympics. You should be proud.”

Remy started bouncing around, so we decided it was time for us to take her down to see her dad and Carey as the game ended. I held Remy’s hand tightly, guarding her from the crowds. Only a selected few recognized us and wished Rem a happy birthday, much to her pleasure.

-

Ryan’s POV

I finally felt like I could relax for at least five minutes as the final buzzer sounded. I had done it; saved as many as need be. The guys flew out on the ice and we all congratulated each other. A job well done, Lindy said.

Just as I started skating behind my teammates (I always HAVE to leave the ice last), I felt something hit the back of my head. Rather, the back of my mask. The part that has the design that means the most to me.

I whirled around and saw a goalie stick on the ground, and a very guilty Carey Price at the blue line.

“The hell was that for?” I shouted at him.

Price propped up his mask and mouthed the words, “Fuck you.”

I glared at him, “Way to be a sore loser.” I didn’t need this. I had to go find my daughter and fiancee.

Price shoved me and I almost fell down. Now I was mad.

“You’re going to wish you hadn’t done that.” I growled, hoping he’d back off.

“Yeah? Why?” Price challenged.

I dropped my gloves and knocked him upside the face, making his mask fall off.

“What the hell, man?” Price asked innocently.

“Don’t throw your stick at my mask!” I snarled, “You know how much it means to me.”

“Fuck you, Miller,” Price retorted.

I sighed. Whatever problem he had, it wasn’t mine. Just as I was about to turn away, he shouted, “And you know what? Fuck Matt Man, too. Whoever the hell he is.”

I made a fist and punched Carey square in the face. He fell backward and landed on the ice. The crowd started to chatter amongst themselves. People stopped on their way out to see what was going on.

“Get the fuck out of my arena.” I snarled at him.

“You guys got lucky...” Carey said harshly.

I rolled my eyes, “We’ve got talent, is what.”

That was when Carey grabbed my skate and I felt down on my stomach. I rolled over just in time and kneed him in the chest, pushing him back. From there, we fell into an all-out brawl: my jersey ripped in half, Carey spat out a tooth, one of my eyes went black and I tried with all my might to break his nose.

I swear I could’ve killed the guy if a pair of hands hadn’t forced us apart.

“You’re acting like five year olds!” Julia exclaimed, holding us back from each other, “Honestly! There are still cameras running!”

Julie tried to pull us off the ice, but I pushing her hand away, “Your boyfriend threw his fucking stick at my mask.”

Carey jumped in, “Oh yeah? You punched out my front tooth!”

“You know what? Neither of you is the good guy here, so get off the ice and go home, Ryan. Carey, we’ll talk later...”

I shook my head, “Tell your boyfriend not to be a sore loser, then.”

“Guys? What’s going on?”

We turned to see Anna standing by the exit.

“Ryan, why are you all bloody?”

Price snapped, “It’s his fucking fault.”

Anna’s eyes looked sad, “Ryan, it’s Remy’s birthday. Please tell me you two didn’t fight...”

Julie groaned, “Ok, how about we all go home. This is honestly ridiculous. You’re lucky Rem didn’t see all this...”

Anna nodded, “Well, Carey’s got a temper, so I can see how it happened, but you’re right, Jules. Let’s go.”

I could see Anna hit a nerve on Julie, “Your boyfriend’s not any better there, dear.”

Carey sighed, “Jules, don’t start.”

Anna snapped, “He’s my FIANCEE, Julie.”

By now I’d had enough, “Annie, come on.”


“Well your FIANCEE had just as much to do with it!” Julie snapped back.

Carey grabbed Jules’ arm, “Let’s go home.”

Anna threw her arms in the air, “I wasn’t blaming him!”

I reached out, “Annie, don’t...you’re pregnant, remember?”

Julie’s face fell. Carey looked surprised. Anna looked pissed. I then realized that we hadn’t yet told them that Anna was pregnant again.

Julie sighed, “Oh, of course. You’ve got another kid coming. How did I not see this?”

Anna crossed her arms, “OK, ENOUGH. I think apologies are in order.”

Julie frowned, “Um, for what?”

Carey seconded her glance, “I don’t owe HIM anything.”

Now I was completely turned off. If I didn’t have to kick his ass first, now I wanted to totally get rid of him. I flipped Price the bird, “Fuck you, Price. Have a good night, Julia.”

Anna called after me, but I didn’t listen. I left the ice and went to the dressing room. She would have to deal with that idiot Carey Price, not me.

-

ANNA’S POV

I looked down at the cement floor by the ice where Carey and Jules stood, “I’m...I’m so sorry, you guys...”

Julie shrugged, “Yeah, it’s alright. From me, I’m sorry, but I don’t think he’ll apologizing anytime soon.”

We all knew she was talking about Carey, who simply said, “Let’s just go, please.”

“Uncle Pricey! You have an owwie on your head!”

Remy stood next to me, with an unhappy looking Pat Kaleta chasing after her. I sort of had to laugh; she always wound up escaping her babysitters, no longer how short a time they were supposed to watch her. I waved Pat off, telling thanks, but I’ve got it from here. He looked relieved as he walked away.

I felt her little hand tug on my sleeve, “I saw Daddy and Uncle Pricey on the TV. You said hitting was bad, Mommy!”

Julie cut in, “Your mom is right, Rems. Hitting IS bad, and I assure you, none of it will happen again, ok?”

Remy smiled, “Ok Ju Ju. Uncle Pricey, can I make your owwie all better?”

Price frowned at her. I smiled a bit at his slightly cute, confused face, “Heh, she wants to kiss it better, Carey.”

Carey smirked, skated over to where Remy stood and kneeled down to her level.

Remy held his head, “MWAH! All better!” She wrapped her small arms around his neck and giggled while he picked her up, placing her back in my arms.

“Thanks, sweetie, I feel so much better,” he told her. Remy grinned from ear to ear.

I look to Julie, “Jules, can you take Remy? I wanna talk with Carey for a minute.”

Julie nodded, “Sure thing.”

As Jules and Remy walked off, I wet my lips. Carey looked at me expectedly.

“Look, I’m really sorry about all this...I meant to tell you guys that I was expecting, but it just didn’t seem like the right time or place...Ryan just blurted it out, you know...”

Carey seemed to understand, “It’s ok. I just know Jules is a little upset about us not having kids yet. And seeing you have your second, really bothers her...”

I shifted from side to side, “I know. Neither were planned, though, I can tell you that much. Ryan and I just weren’t careful enough at times, and even though we want to get married this summer, I’ll be too big by then.”

“I can only imagine how hard it is too wait. But I do understand being away from her when on the road, especially with everything going on with this team...”

“Things are not well on the Sabres, either. Everyone is relying on Ryan. He doesn't even want any, well, you know, like he used to. He's worn right out.”

“And Julie has just been pissed off constantly. It gets a little hard to handle sometimes. She's not the same girl I fell in love with Anna...”

“I know how you feel...” I said, sighing as a strand of hair fell out of my messy ponytail. Carey brushed it out and tucked it behind my ear, making me shiver as his arm brushed my breast. I looked at him, he looked at me. For a second, I thought I felt something.

Something I shouldn’t be feeling.

“I just wanted to let you know, sorry about tonight, and you played well,” I said hastily, “And um, talk to you soon!”

I turned around and almost walked right into Ryan.

“What did he want?” Ryan demanded.

I clasped my hand around his, “Nothing. Let’s go home.”

Nearly an hour later, after Remy had been tucked into bed, I practically threw Ryan into our room, the same shiver still rushing through me. It was a hunger I needed to satisfy.

“I don’t care how tired you are,” I said sternly, “Take off your pants.”