Chapter Text
Tim inhaled the familiar chilly air of the ice arena; it was a sensation that had not altered since he was little despite how the rest of his life had been changed. He was not there to coach the L.A. Kings or lace up his own skates for a pro game. Instead, he was in the stands with his wife, their children, and some extended family to watch a kids hockey game, and though he had never liked being a spectator as much as he enjoyed playing, he was happy to cheer on his own son. “Let’s go, TJ! Way to be there!” He called out, and then Lucy dropped her head to his shoulder, so he pressed his lips to her forehead. “Promise me you’ll behave today,” he murmured lowly enough so only she could hear.
She raised an eyebrow at him to communicate that she was not going to change her ways, then dropped her gaze to their two-year-old, Oliver, who wriggled in her lap. “Are you enjoying the game, sweetie?” She asked her son.
“Hockey,” Oliver said with a smile that matched his mother’s.
“I’m sure he’s already looking forward to learning how to skate.”
“Soon enough, he will.”
“I love skating,” Violet piped up where she was sitting on her dad’s lap.
“You’re almost as graceful on the ice as your mommy,” Tim told her proudly.
“Mommy’s the best skater,” Violet said with awe.
“Sure, I’ve only been skating my whole life and played hockey professionally, but your mom who only picked it up a few years ago to impress me is the better skater,” he grumbled, which earned him a giggle from his wife.
Lucy pulled her son’s hat more snugly over his head then continued gesturing animatedly toward the ice. If Oliver were older, he might have been able to follow her very thorough, borderline comedic, explanation of the rules of hockey. Yet, since he was a toddler, he merely stared at his mom and her black scarf. Becoming interested in the material, he tried to tug one of the ends into his mouth. “You see, Ollie,” she cooed, “they’re skating around really fast and using their sticks to hit that black thing. That’s called a puck.”
“Not a disk,” Tim butted in. “Your mommy used to call it a ‘disk’.”
His smug smile made her shake her head and snicker, though she tried to look annoyed. “That was like a million years ago. I know better now. Can I go back to teaching our son about hockey now?” When he stayed quiet she looked down at Oliver and said, “See your cousin Jack out there on the ice? He’s trying to get the puck into that thing at the end called a net.” Her son only babbled something incomprehensible before grabbing a fistful of her jacket zipper and tugging.
Tim scoffed at his son’s lack of interest. “He’ll be playing before we know it, but for now, I think he just likes your zipper.” He leaned in closer as his smirk turned mischievous before murmuring, “I liked when I was playing with your zipper this morning.”
She clicked her tongue at him as her cheeks reddened. “You’re unbelievable.”
“We’ve got four kids. We’re two away from a hockey team. Just saying.”
“Tim, if I ever get pregnant again, you can’t be so intense.”
“It wasn’t as bad last time.”
“You were impossible. You didn’t travel for a single away game to hover over me from the second I found out I was pregnant with Ollie. I thought the other three pregnancies were bad, but for the fourth, you were way worse.”
“Excuse me for being concerned about my wife’s health.”
“There’s being concerned, and then there’s being a fierce protector like you were.”
“No regrets.”
Violet Bradford looked between her parents where she was perched in her dad’s lap; she liked how funny they were. She giggled at them then squinted at the swirling mass of kids on the rink playing passionately. After a thoughtful pause, she tapped his shoulder and asked, “Daddy, one of my friends at school said some people play stuff other than hockey. Is that true?”
“Yeah, Vi, hockey is a sport, and there are other sports like basketball, football, soccer, and baseball.”
Violet tilted her head in confusion. “Then why don’t we watch them?”
Before Tim could answer, Lucy drew in a dramatic gasp. “Oh, sweetie, we don’t watch them, because hockey is the only sport that matters in the Bradford family. It’s the reason I met your father.”
From a few seats down, Piper Bradford, their six-year-old daughter, chimed in matter-of-factly, “Hockey’s the best. Nobody cares about any other sports.”
“Exactly!” Lucy agreed as if for the majority of her life she had not been unfamiliar with hockey until she met Tim. “No need to worry about those other sports, right?”
Violet just shrugged in acceptance, while Oliver, oblivious, continued fiddling with the zipper on Lucy’s jacket.
Tamara marched down the stairs of the stadium to reach her family. “Sorry I’m late. What have I missed?” A chorus of greetings from everyone made her smile after a busy day. She picked Piper up, and occupied her seat, then placed her in her lap. “How’s my favorite goddaughter?” She asked.
“I’m your only goddaughter,” Piper pointed out with a snicker.
“Well, you’re a tough act to follow. Speaking of acts…” Tamara’s voice trailed off as she eyed Lucy.
“I’m still working on my next album,” Lucy answered her silent question.
“She’s almost done,” Tim spoke for her. “She performed a new song for me the other night, and it was good.”
“You say that about all of my songs,” Lucy shot back.
“Because they’re all good.”
“You’re biased.”
“Maybe a little,” he acquiesced and kissed her quickly.
“Go TJ!” Piper cheered when she saw that her brother had control of the puck.
Lucy turned back to the ice to track her son, TJ’s, every move. “Skate, TJ, skate!”
“He’s doing great,” Tamara complimented.
Lucy sat up straighter. “TJ’s a natural. Seriously, he’s unstoppable. If you ask me, he’ll go pro one day, no question.”
Angela blew out a laugh where she was seated on Lucy’s other side. “They’re eight,” she reminded her with a wry grin. “Might be a little early to predict an NHL career.”
“I know a future phenom when I see one. Just look at him skate.” She pointed at the rink where TJ zipped past a defender, nearly getting in position for a shot. “He’s got the skill, the speed, and the instincts.”
“He’s a natural,” Tim added, “probably because he was conceived on the ice. This ice, actually.”
For a moment, Angela froze mid-sip of her coffee, and Tamara nearly choked on the water bottle she had been drinking from. Wes was not even remotely surprised, so he had no reaction.
As her cheeks burned, Lucy elbowed him.
Tamara pursed her lips. “Seriously, I did not need to know that.”
“We should try it again to make another future pro,” Tim murmured into Lucy’s hair to which she gave him a look that was supposed to be of frustration but ended up being loving.
Angela snorted. “You two are unbelievable. It’s been nearly a decade, and you‘re still in your honeymoon phase.”
“I’ve learned not to complain anymore. He’s the reason she writes such great music. Can’t argue with that,” Tamara replied.
Piper finally caught onto the topic. “New music? Mommy, does that mean we’re going on tour again?”
“Not yet, sweetie,” Lucy assured her. “We’ll only go on tour when you’re not in school, so the whole family can be together when we travel.”
“I don’t need to go to school. We can go again.”
Tamara hugged Piper tighter. “I really love that attitude.”
“It’s not like I do long tours anymore. We only travel for like a month, because that’s all I can do with four kids,” Lucy reminded her.
“A tour’s a tour,” Tamara reasoned.
Lucy wanted to respond, but she was too fixed on the action on the ice. TJ was shoved into the boards by a player from the opposing team. Though it was not malicious and just standard kid-level bumping, her protective instincts flared. She shot to her feet. “Hey, ref!” She called out. “That’s a foul! You missed it!” Her voice echoed in the small arena, catching a few parents’ attention. “Call it next time!”
Tim reached over and lightly tugged on her coat sleeve. “Calm down, baby,” he murmured, stifling a grin. “They’re eight. You’ll scare the poor refs.”
She huffed, but sat back down. “I can’t help it. I love cheering on hockey players named Tim, and I’m very protective of them. You know what kind of mess I was when anyone touched you when you used to play.”
“Is that what you named your son ‘Tim Junior’? Because you like cheering on hockey players named Tim?” Tamara wondered.
“You know the story,” Lucy urged, but she did not seem to recall, so she reminded her. “Tim really wanted our first kid to be named after someone famous in hockey history, so I decided to name our son after my favorite player in the world: Tim Bradford, who also happens to be the greatest husband, father, and hockey coach around.” She took Tim’s hand and interlaced their fingers.
“I wanted to honor one of the greats,” Tim defended his stance.
“You are one of the greats. You’re actually the best. You have four ‘Best Dad’ trophies that look like the Stanley Cup to prove it.”
“Telling me you’re pregnant with one of those trophies every single time is better than all of my Cup wins combined.”
She bit back her grin. “You really want another one of those trophies don’t you?”
“We make great babies.”
She scoffed at the ridiculousness of that statement even if she also agreed with it. “You’re an idiot,” she whispered affectionately and leaned in to kiss him for a long second and then again for an even longer moment.
Tamara felt like no time had passed whenever she saw them as they had almost always been positively in love with each other. “I still remember when it was a fake marriage.”
“What does that mean?” Piper wondered.
“Nothing,” Lucy was quick to say. “Absolutely nothing. All you need to know is that your daddy and I are married, and we love each other and our family very much.”
Piper sat back, pleased with that answer.
“Was it ever fake?” Tim asked, which was a question that flew in and out of his mind from time to time.
“No,” Lucy answered firmly. “We never pretended for a second. Even when we barely knew each other, we didn’t, and you know that.”
“It’s nice to hear it again.”
“You know what I like hearing again and again?” She asked lowly and almost too sweetly.
“Oh, I know this answer.” He moved in close as his eyes scanned her whole face darkly. “I love you,” he murmured.
“I was going to say you calling me ‘gorgeous’, because you haven’t called me that since this morning,” she replied half jokingly, “but that works, too.” She brought her lips to his affectionately.
“Listen, if we get pregnant right now, our baby could be born in time to put them in the Cup,” he said.
She groaned. “You’re still on this?”
“I’m just saying-”
“That you can’t wait to put our next baby in the Cup. I know. We’ve put every single one of our babies in that trophy after they were born.”
“Because every year we’ve had a baby, the Kings have won the Stanley Cup, and we could use another win. We haven’t had one in two years since Ollie was born.”
“You act like most teams don’t go years if not decades without wins.”
“Hang on,” Angela interrupted. “Can I vote that if you do have another baby, you make sure you don’t give birth during a game again?”
Lucy brushed a thumb over one of Ollie’s red, chubby cheeks and smiled. “Some day when you’re older, we’ll tell you the story about how you were born at a Kings game,” she said lovingly to him.
“In a box seat,” Tamara added as if the baby could understand. “I can’t believe you went to hockey games when you were super pregnant,” she added to Lucy.
Tim felt the need to set the record straight by claiming, “I begged her not to come watch. Now that I’m a coach, she doesn’t need to be at every game, but she insisted, because we were about to clinch a playoff spot.”
“At least my water broke when the third period started, so it was almost over, and I didn’t say anything until the final buzzer,” Lucy reminded him.
“But then it was too late, and there was no time to take you to the hospital, so you had to have the baby in a box seat of the arena,” Tamara added. “I’m surprised you could manage to keep yelling at the refs while breathing through contractions.”
“I’m not. That’s my wife for you,” Tim said fondly as he looked to her.
“Go TJ!” Lucy cheered loudly.
“Careful. I don’t want you losing your voice over another kids hockey game,” he warned.
“I thought you like it when I lose my voice,” she replied flirtatiously to which he only bit his lip, since he so obviously enjoyed reading her mind and stopping her from speaking with kisses as her throat recovered. They both suspected Violet was conceived during a long period where Lucy’s voice was too hoarse to speak for two weeks, so she flashed him a knowing look and screamed even louder, “Go Number 19! You’re doing great!”
Tamara could not believe how invested Lucy was in a children’s hockey game, then again, she cared a great deal about the sport that brought her her family she had her doubts she would ever have.
Wes felt a bit nostalgic seeing his son, Jack, play alongside TJ as the second generation of Everses and Bradfords hitting the ice together, and he only hoped their kids could make as many good memories at a rink as he and Tim had, so the score was irrelevant to him but not to Lucy.
“Gah! So close!” Lucy said when her son missed a shot.
“Behave,” Tim scolded her quietly.
“I’m trying, but they’re tied.”
“Win or lose, they still get juice boxes, and besides, you’ve already made headlines once this season for how…invested you are.” He chose his words carefully.
“That other team was playing dirty, and I couldn’t stand for it.” She was about to rise to her feet as the game intensified when she felt his hand on her shoulder. “Fine, fine, I’m sitting down.”
A second later, TJ had the puck, and Tim reflexively stood up while holding Violet in his arms; unsurprisingly, Lucy followed suit just in time for their son to make a goal.
TJ looked into the modest crowd to see his family sitting all together cheering him on, and it warmed his chest. He waved to his mom, who beamed at him proudly, and nothing could have made him feel more amazing. The final buzzer blared, and he skated over to the locker room quickly to change. When he was done, he stepped out into the hallway to find his mom’s smiling face, and he ran right into her arms with a force that almost knocked her over.
“Oh my goodness, I am so proud of you, TJ,” she mused and squeezed him tightly. “You are so amazing.”
Tim watched the mother son moment with Ollie resting on his hip, and his chest tightened with pride, then TJ went to him for a half hug somewhat blocked by the toddler he was holding. “You were awesome out there, bud! I’m proud of you.”
Still beaming, TJ replied, “Thanks, Dad!” He moved on to give his sisters high fives then received a hug from his Aunt Tamara.
Meanwhile, Tim drew Lucy in with his free arm and slotted their lips together for a lingering moment.
“What was that for?” She asked.
“For making sure the next generation of Bradfords always has a cheering of section.”
“Your dad never told you he was proud of you after your games, did he?”
He shook his head somberly. “The first time anyone really showed up postgame to tell me I did a good job was you, so I’m glad our son has you to tell him that for this whole life.”
“Damn right. I know I can get a little excited during the game, but I-”
“It’s sweet,” he cut her off to say. “It’s one of the million ways you’re the greatest mom in the world.”
“Then how come you try to rein me in?”
“Only because of the cameras. You cheering at a local kids hockey game can make national news just like when you’re in the stands for a Kings game.”
“Since when do we care about the cameras?”
He smiled softly. “True.”
“Mom!” TJ went back to her excitedly. “Uncle Wes said I’m a better hockey player than Dad.”
Tim’s mouth fell open.
Lucy giggled. “Whether or not you play better than your dad, I will always be proud of you no matter what.” She fixed his bangs that were askew and gave him a huge grin.
“But Dad’s old, so I’m probably better than him now.”
“Your dad may not be in his prime anymore, but I don’t think he’s lost a step since we got married.”
Piper piped up. “Listen to Mommy. She’s the hockey expert.”
Tim’s jaw dropped even further in comic disbelief. “Hey now, I played pro hockey for years, and I’m the assistant coach for the L.A. Kings. Doesn’t that count for something?”
“No,” Piper replied simply, “Mommy’s the best hockey expert.”
Lucy could not suppress her grin. “Your child has spoken, Tim.”
He looked amongst his four children and asked, “Do all of you think your Mom, who has never played hockey a day in her life, is the bigger hockey expert than me who went pro?” Violet, Piper, and TJ nodded in unison, so he flicked his gaze over to his youngest son where he was holding him. “How about you, Ollie?”
“Mommy,” was all Oliver managed to say.
“Unfair,” he grumbled with a scowl as Lucy took Ollie out of his arms.
“Looks like you’re getting teamed up against. Do you really want a bigger team against you?” Lucy asked smugly.
His face changed instantly. “Worth it,” he replied, almost imagining looking up at the high box seats his family occupied at every home game and waving at another one of their beautiful children that looked exactly like their mother with the same shining eyes and incandescent smile he could never grow tired of beholding.
She wanted to be annoyed with him, but it was impossible. “Okay, kids, we’re going back to our house for pizza to celebrate TJ! Let’s go!”
“Can we come over, Aunt Lucy?” Jackson Evers wondered.
She ruffled his hair and bent forward to look at him. “You know you’re always welcome next door at our house, Jack. We’re family.” She straightened her back and regarded her family, “Everyone hold hands! Hold hands! We always hold hands when we leave hockey arenas!” Lucy threaded her fingers together with her husband then Piper reached up to hold her other forearm that was wrapped around Oliver’s back. Violet and TJ held hands before Violet took her dad’s other hand, and as a united family, they went out to their car where their driver was waiting for the big family to pile in.
Thankfully, there were no paparazzi, but Tim recalled a time when he would leave arenas with only his wife’s hand to hold. Since then, of course, he had armfuls of children that latched on to him, too, which was a very welcome change. The drive home was filled with his family’s usual chaos, not that he minded, and once they all filed into their house that had undergone a number of modifications since Lucy moved in with bedrooms filled with little voices and scampering feet, an addition built to add even more bedrooms to their home just in case more little ones came along, and a family dog named Kojo that joined in on all of the kids’ mischief.
Lucy thanked their chef for making dinner and helped serve pizza slices onto each kid’s plate before directing them to the long dining room table, and finally it was her turn to serve herself when Tim sidled up next to her.
“I can’t believe our kids think you’re the bigger expert,” he muttered.
“What can I say? Hockey is my passion,” she replied, grinning victoriously.
“You’ve gone above and beyond any expectations of a hockey wife.”
“I’m not just a hockey wife. I’m a hockey mom now, and besides, hockey gave me everything.”
“How do you figure that?”
“If you never went pro, you wouldn’t have been invited to that benefit gala where we sat next to each other and got the chance to meet again, and actually talk for the first time, and without the need for a contract renewal to keep playing hockey, you never would’ve married me in the first place. Hockey gave me everything,” she repeated the conclusion she had already drawn.
“Well, I might’ve married you under other circumstances.”
“Bull,” she spat out, accusatory. “You didn’t think you even had time for a girlfriend back then.”
“So it might’ve been a little more difficult if we weren’t married right away,” he vacillated.
“More like impossible,” she countered. “But hey, everything happens for a reason.” Her ears perked up at the sound of too much laughter, so she glanced at the full table and said, “We should go see what’s so funny.” They joined their family for dinner, bade goodnight to Tamara, Wes, Angela, and Jack, then rounded up all four of their kids to help them get ready for bed.
Every night, it was a team effort to wrangle their kids, change them into pajamas, convince them to go to sleep, and tuck them in, but Tim knew he had the best teammate in the world to be successful every single night no matter how exhausting or hard won that achievement became. Finally, he dragged his feet towards their bedroom when Lucy encircled her fingers around his wrist.
“Can you come downstairs with me?” She asked quietly, and he followed her without question down the stairs to her studio. Every one of her gold and platinum record plaques hung on the walls, but none of those shiny records caught her eye the way a framed napkin did; it was a wedding present from her husband so many years before, but she remembered it vividly knowing that was one of the happiest days of her life that certainly eclipsed any of her growing list of musical achievements.
“We’ve got to make some room on these walls for more hit records,” he decided, since they were running out of space.
“I might not have that many hit records left in me.”
“What do you think I’m here for? I inspire you all the time. Are you saying I don’t anymore?”
“Oh, you do, which is why I’ve released like ten albums since we got married and why we have four kids.”
“For now.” He saw something almost imperceptible flicker across her eyes, which made his pulse jump. “Luce…did you bring me in here to tell me-” His breathing caught when he watched a slow smile tug at her lips. Unable to really speak, he rasped, “Really?”
She nodded and threw her arms around him as her eyes welled up. She could only cling to him as her throat closed with so much emotion she could barely speak and felt his hands splayed across her back burning through her skin with a welcome heat imbued with years of love, support, and understanding she always reveled in. Lucy rocked away and wiped at her wet cheeks. “Wait, it’s not official yet. Hold on.” She stepped out of his arms to retrieve a piece of plastic that had been hidden in the recording booth and handed it to him.
Though he had received four other plastic Stanley Cup replicas with “BEST DAD” written on them, staring at a fifth one was just as emotional as the first time. “We’re…we’re really pregnant again?” He asked with awe.
“I got the results from my doctor right before TJ’s game.”
He smirked. “I knew it. That’s why I haven’t let up about another baby for the last few weeks. I could tell.” He gripped her hips to bring her flush against him, which he knew would be impossible once her belly would start to swell with their next baby. “Any chance we’re having twins to field our hockey team?”
“Oh, God, I said we wouldn’t have this many kids.” She was amused by the most recent twist of fate; her life had become a tapestry of unpredictable moments that was more beautiful than anything she could have ever wanted for herself.
“We’ve said a lot of things like that we would stay friends, and that nothing would happen until I got my contract renewal, and that we would stop at two kids.”
“You’re very good at changing my mind.”
“You’ve changed mine, too,” he replied and tugged at the collar of her sweater to gain access to the junction where her neck met her shoulder and fused his lips there.
“Lower,” she warned. “I don’t want the kids to see. I’m a hockey mom now not just a hickey wife.”
He pulled her sweater up to reveal more of her skin, and as he contemplated where to leave a love bite on her, he said, “Let’s go upstairs.” Without missing a beat, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her out of her home record studio and up the stairs to their room where he gingerly set her on the bed.
“You’ve already started carrying me around? I thought you usually waited until I start showing.”
“I can carry my trophy whenever I want.” He climbed on top of her and looked down at her with a smile that pinched his cheeks. “We’re having another baby,” he whispered, the news still setting in.
“We’re having another baby,” she parroted with the same joy he shared. She could not believe their fabricated love story had led them to a reality neither could have predicted, and she was endlessly grateful that despite her initial fears and reservations, Lucy let herself fall for the most unlikely man in Tim, who showed her that her heart was safe with him and her future could not have been brighter with him by her side. She cradled his face as he looked like he was on the brink of exploding from happiness and murmured reverently, “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too,” he replied just as quietly so as not to disturb the moment of warm, giddy bliss. He caressed her lips unhurriedly, since he was afforded the great luxury of having her in his life, in his bed, in his arms, and in his heart permanently for the kind of forever that was familiar yet one he could tire of marked by innumerable expressions of love he wanted to add to as their hands worked together to shed clothes with practiced coordination and mouths that moved with a synchronicity brought on by years of passionate marriage. No matter how many times or ways they wordlessly conveyed their boundless love for each other, it was never enough and only exhaustion could stop them from evincing their feelings for one another endlessly.
She collapsed onto her pillow as she panted then curled into his warm, bare skin as their breathing evened out. “Good night, husband,” she rumbled into his neck as his arms banded around her more tightly, taking special care to settle one of his palms over her stomach where another manifestation of their love was growing inside of her.
“Good night, wife,” he replied with a ghost of a smile lingering on his lips as he fell asleep the same way he always did- feeling like the most loved and luckiest man in the world.
Though Tim and Lucy never publicly shared how they got together, nor did they ever divulge the truth to any of their children, every time they thought about how their journey started, they laughed whenever they were reminded of the unusual circumstances that brought them together. After all, it was just another limelight love story.
˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗ THE END ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗