Andrew
He breaks at least eight laws to get to the private hanger at Raleigh Airport after their game on December twenty-third. If he’s honest, he’d barely remembered his seatbelt, let alone to follow the speed limit.
He’s too focused on getting back to his girls.
Back to the mountains and the fresh air and the small town he’d been missing. He wants to see what it looks like for Christmas, and he’s excited to see Harper. She’d nearly yelled his ear off when he’d told her he was coming home, and he’s on a post-win, holiday break high .
Sure, he only gets the next two days off before he has to be back in Raleigh, but it’ll be worth it when Harper sees the Christmas presents he’s bought her.
He’d had an extra gear bag washed so he could pack gifts in it and, not for the first time, he’s thankful for how massive they are. It fit three days of clothes, gifts for Ainsley, JT, Danielle, and Harper, and enough of Roscoe’s toys to keep him occupied for the flight.
Catalina: Merry Christmas
Andrew: well that was holly and jolly
Catalina: going to see wifey?
Andrew: she’s not my wife
Catalina: not yet.
Catalina: Swing by the restaurant when you get back in town, I’ve got a dessert for you to try
Andrew: I’ll bring Petrov
She sends him the middle finger emoji and he laughs, sliding his phone in his pocket until take off. Once they’re in the air, he grabs his laptop and connects to the wifi so that he can call his mom on FaceTime to wish her a Merry Christmas.
His parents fill his screen on the second ring, and his dad is grinning from ear to ear.
“That’s quite a shot you had there in the second,” his dad says. “You boys are looking good this year.”
Andrew was hoping for a hello before they jumped right into hockey talk, but the team is playing really well so it’s to be expected.
“Thanks, dad,” he says, “it’ll be nice to have a couple of days off.”
“Where are you heading?” his mom asks, voice hopeful. “You look like you’re on a plane.”
“I’m going to New York for Christmas,” he says, “Ainsley and JT invited me. And… I’m kind of seeing someone from there, so I wanted to go to her place for the holidays.”
“You’ll have to bring her to Minnesota over the off-season,” his mom says, eyes going soft at the thought. “I want to hear all about her, when you have time.”
“You’ve got a chance to go to the finals again,” his dad says, “don’t get distracted.”
“Dad, I’m an adult,” he says, shaking his head with a sigh. “I’ll be fine. ”
“Keep your head in the game, son,” his dad says again, as if he hadn’t heard him.
“Got it,” Andrew says, cursor hovering over the ‘end call’ button. “Merry Christmas, love you both.”
“Merry Christmas,” his mom says. She blows him a kiss and his dad grunts, then he hangs up, settling in for the next two hours of flight time.
He sneaks into Danielle’s house at around one in the morning, meeting her at the door. They trip down the hallway quietly, giggling as they exchange kisses and run into the walls.
“Shh,” Danielle says, shoving him through her bedroom door, “Harper.”
“If you hadn’t practically jumped me –”
She cuts him off with another kiss and the door closes behind him with a snap.
The next morning, Andrew and Danielle wake up early, and he’s so in love he wants to throw up. She’s wrapped in one of his hoodies, floating around the kitchen as she gets coffee ready and he helps her with breakfast.
“Are you doing okay?” he asks, sensitive to the fact that it was going to be hard for her this year. In between kisses the night before, she had told him all about past traditions with Emerson, and how she still wasn’t sure if it was going to be hard or neutral or okay.
When everything is ready, they take one more minute of the quiet to be together, and Danielle curls up on the couch with him. She’s between his legs, back against his chest, sipping her cup of coffee when he reaches for his bag.
He’d dropped it on the floor by the couch as Danielle all but attacked him, and he hasn’t bothered moving it since people were coming over and he’d stashed his gifts in there. He digs through it for a small velvet box, not a ring one, not yet, and he hands it to her.
“Merry Christmas,” he says, pressing a kiss to her jaw softly as he holds it out for her to take.
“You didn’t have to get me anything,” she says, taking it from him and running her fingers over it.
“I would have to be an idiot not to,” he replies, smiling and tightening his arms around her.
“Jury is still out on that one, Fisher,” she teases.
Danielle opens the box and her eyes go wide. He’d gotten her a solid gold necklace with a hockey skate pendant on it, smaller than a nickel, his number engraved in the blade.
“You can’t wear my jersey all the time, so I thought this would work,” he says, taking it out of the box with nervous hands, “is it okay?”
“It’s perfect,” she says, turning so he can clip it around her neck.
“If the chain isn’t long enough I can get it altered,” he says clipping it on and rearranging her hair so it spills down her back. She turns toward him with a smile.
“How does it look?” she asks, quietly. “It feels like it’s always been there.”
“Perfect,” he says, just as quiet. He presses his forehead to hers. “Just don’t kill me when you see what I got Harper, okay?”
“MAMA! ROSCOE IS HERE!” Harper yells from down the hall. Andrew grins, standing from his spot on the couch as his favorite six-year-old sprints into the living room. “DOES THAT MEAN ANDY IS HERE TOO?”
Harper skids to a halt in the doorway when she sees him .
“I’m here,” he says, holding his arms out for her. Harper runs to him, and he scoops her up into his arms, spinning her around as she hugs around his neck tight. “Merry Christmas, bug.”
“Merry Christmas,” she says, pulling back and setting her hands on his face. Her brow knits in concentration and he grins.
“What is it?”
“Do you think I could maybe call you dad?” Harper asks. His heart slams into his ribs and his eyes start to burn.
He swallows hard. “I would like nothing more than that.”
Harper slides down out of his arms and hugs around his waist tightly. “I don’t have money because I’m six, so I thought that would be a good present.”
“It was the best one,” he says, ruffling her hair. “When Uncle Jet gets here we’ll open yours, okay?”
“Why do we have to wait?” she asks.
“Because he has half of them,” Andrew says, “I couldn’t bring all of them with me, so he ordered a few things. Plus, momma made really good breakfast. ”
JT and Ainsley show up an hour later, bringing Sokka and one of JT’s gear bags full of presents.
Hockey bags, even when you don’t play as much anymore, are super convenient.
Harper launches herself at JT and Ainsley, hugging them tight as Sokka starts chasing Roscoe around the kitchen.
“Merry Christmas, everyone,” JT says, setting his bag down by the couch. He and Andrew exchange a ‘bro hug’ and Danielle kisses him on the cheek. “I’m glad you got in before the weather starts acting up, Andy.”
“I’m thinking about moving my flight back earlier,” he says, running a hand through his hair. “We’re playing Boston on Thursday.”
“This early in the season?” JT asks. “Usually those games aren’t until March, at least.”
“It just worked out that way, I guess,” Andrew says, shrugging. “Coach wants us back and ready for morning skate on the twenty-sixth.”
“Sad way to spend a holiday,” Ainsley says, “I get it, but still. I wish you had more time off.”
“Worth it for the off-season,” Andrew replies, hugging around Danielle’s waist. She’s gone quiet, and he knows it’s because she’s thinking about the inevitability of him leaving again. He kisses her shoulder, noses her jaw gently.
She offers him half a smile in return.
“Presents!” Harper says. “Come on, Uncle Jet! Dad says you have some for me!”
“Woah, when did the dad thing happen?” JT asks as Harper grabs for his bag. He lets her take it and she drags it across the living room floor.
“This morning,” Andrew says. He follows Harper and takes JT’s bag from her. “Alright, bug, there’s a specific way we have to do this.”
JT sits on the floor beside his bag, and pulls a box out of his bag, handing it to Harper. She tears at the paper quickly, revealing a kid-sized hockey helmet.
She looks up at Andrew, confused, and he hands her the next box. She tears at the paper, and opens a collapsible goal that Danielle can store in their shed in the back yard.
JT hands her another box, and Andrew does the same.
Each package she opens reveals another piece of hockey gear.
Socks, and pants, and foam practice pucks.
A vintage-style Carolina jersey with his name and number on the back…
until she finally gets to the final box.
JT has one more thing hidden in his bag for her, bu t Andrew watches intently as she rips open the package in front of her.
The paper reveals the black Bauer logo. She opens it, wide-eyed, and pulls out a pair of red and black hockey skates.
“Skates?!” she shrieks, launching herself at Andy, and then at JT. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“You’re turning my kid into a hockey player,” Danielle says, grinning, “this was not what I signed up for.”
“She’s our kid, now,” Andrew says, grinning back. He kisses Danielle quickly. “It’s all fair game. Uncle Jet has one more for you, Harper.”
“This one you have to be really careful with,” JT says, reaching into his bag.
He pulls a kid-sized, left handed stick out of his bag and hands it over to Harper. He’s had her name printed on the blade, and she takes it like it’s the most precious thing she’s ever seen.
“We thought,” JT says, “that we could take you skating on the pond, if your mom’s okay with it.”
Andrew and JT both look at Danielle, who hesitates. “The ice – ”
“We tested it before we came in,” JT says, “it’s solid, and will hold. But, if you don’t want us to, we can wait until the rink opens up again.”
“Please, momma?” Harper asks, eyes widening. “I want to play with Uncle Jet and Dad.”