Twenty

Two months later, the Capitals were having a celebration party for winning the south east division and the eastern conference. Nathalie and Autumn hadn't known whether to go or not, but in the end they had decided to join their boyfriends and were now standing in the bar of the club.
Autumn couldn't drink, of course, so she was drinking water, asking the waiter to make it look like something that could have alcohol in it. She didn't want people asking why she wasn't drinking since she wasn't such a good liar.

Earlier in the day, Nathalie had taken Autumn to the hospital to get ultrasounds, and Autumn was now carrying them around in her handbag. She felt like that was the proof of what was inside her, and it made her happy to know that she had them there.

The two were chatting when Jacob walked up behind Autumn.

   “Hi, beautiful,” He whispered. Autumn turned slightly. “Having fun?”

   “It's okay,” Autumn said, looking into his eyes. “Uh, I have to use the ladies' room.” She blushed. “Could you hold my handbag while I go?” She pressed the handbag against Jacob and dragged Nathalie with her to the bathroom.

   “What's the hurry?” Nathalie asked, checking her reflection in the mirror when Autumn rushed to one of the toilets.

   “I pee all the time,” She sighed. “It's annoying.”

   “And you can't go alone?” Nathalie laughed and brushed through her hair with her fingers. She had never gotten the part where girls went to the bathroom together, she'd usually go alone unless she wanted to talk to someone.

   “It's just... comforting to have someone with me.” Autumn said when she washed her hands.

   “Sure,” Nathalie smiled and glanced at herself again. “This top is so ugly on me.” She complained.

   “Shut up,” Autumn rolled her eyes. “It's gorgeous. Let's go.” She opened the door and they walked back to where Jacob was standing with her handbag. “Thanks.” She smiled and took it from him, not noticing that he was holding something behind his back

   “No problem.” Jacob smiled. “I'll be right back, okay?”

   “Sure.” They kissed quickly and Jacob scattered away.

   “Another drink?” Nicky asked Nathalie, who nodded and told him to surprise her.

   ”Oh my god.” Autumn suddenly exclaimed, searching through her handbag.

   ”What's wrong?” Nathalie asked, tasting the drink Nicky had gotten her.

   ”My ultrasound pictures.” Autumn's voice got higher. ”I had them right here! I know I did, what-”

Nathalie put down her glass on a table and looked at Autumn.

   ”Think, Autumn.” She said. ”Are you sure you put them there?” Sure they're not in your house?”

   ”NO! They were right here! I swear to god I had them!” She was close to tears now. ”I'm so clumsy.” She dropped into a chair and started sobbing.

Nathalie didn't know what to do, but before she had time to think about it, Jacob came out of from the locker rooms.

   ”What's going on?” He asked Nathalie, gazing at Autumn.

   ”She's lost her ultra-sounds and now she's freaking out.” Nathalie whispered. “I'm thinking she might have left them at home, but I don't know.”

   “Oh...” Jacob suddenly blushed. “I think I can explain that...”

   “What?” Autumn and Nathalie both said. Autumn looked up, her face swollen from crying.

   “I... uh... God this is embarrassing.”

   “Spit it out!” Nathalie said.

   “Nats...” Autumn pleaded.

   “I taped them up at my stall okay...” Jacob looked around, trying to find something else to look at.

No one said anything. Autumn jumped out of the chair and hugged Jacob, while Nathalie was looking shocked.

   “You did what?” Nathalie blinked. Jacob simply smiled over Autumn's shoulder, and Nathalie smiled back, tears filling her eyes. He was too adorable.

Half an hour later, Nathalie left Autumn to go to the bathroom, and just as she had walked away, Semyon Varlamov passed Autumn and smacked her butt.

   “Hey, what the fuck,” Autumn exclaimed and turned around. “What are you doing?” She stared at him in disbelief.

   “What, none for me?” He raised his eyebrows. Autumn looked confused and grossed out.

   “What?” Semyon took a few steps closer and whispered:
   “I saw Jacob hanging up ultra-sounds by his stall, slut.” He cocked an eyebrow and started walking away. Autumn filled with rage and threw herself at him.

   “Fucking asshole!” She screamed and started punching him. “You absolute idiot.” She punched him from behind and all of a sudden, he was all she could see.

   “Autumn what the fuck!” Nathalie had heard someone scream and was now back to check what was going on. “What are you doing?” She tried to get closer to the two, but she was afraid to get kicked by Autumn.

   “Woah, what the hell?” Mathieu, Autumn's brother exclaimed and stared at his little sister. “Autumn, let go!” He started pulling at her, but she wouldn't let go.

   “No!” She screamed and kicked Semyon's leg.

   “AUTUMN!” Mathieu managed to get her off, and Semyon stared at her, terrified. “What the fuck is wrong?” He said to her.

   “He's a fucking jerk, that's what's wrong!” Tears were streaming down Autumn's face.

   “What?” Mathieu looked at Semyon. “Why?”

   “It's not my fault your sister is a slut who clings to the first person that knocks her up.” Semyon shrugged and walked over to the bartender, getting a drink.

   “What did you say?!” Mathieu stared at Semyon, only to move over to Autumn. Jacob suddenly appeared behind Nathalie. Mathieu caught him looking at Autumn and lunged at him, but Nicky stopped him.

   “Calm down, Matt,” He said softly. “Let's go over there and relax.”

   “You knocked her up?!” Mathieu screamed over Nicky's shoulder. “You're dead, dude. Dead.”

   “Let's go.” Nicky took a firm grip of Mathieu and pushed him towards the exit.

   “He's so dead...” Mathieu muttered under his breath while Nicky pushed him outside.

   “Calm down, Matt.” Nicky repeated. “Breathe.” Mathieu could only stare at Nicky.

   “You have no idea...” He panted. “No fucking idea Backstrom. She's my baby sister, do you get that? She's pregnant, for God's sake!”

   “I know.” Nicky gritted his teeth. “But there's nothing you can do about it now. And believe it or not, I think she loves Jacob, very much.”

Jacob's face had drained of all its colour and he stared at Autumn.

   “What's going on...?” He stuttered and Autumn dragged him with her away from all the people. “Autumn?”

   “Shut up,” She turned to him. “He saw you.”

   “Who saw me doing what?”

   “Varly,” Autumn's jaw clenched. “He saw you hanging up the ultrasounds by your stall, and now Mathieu knows.”

   “What...”

   “This isn't how I had planned to tell him, and now he's going to kill you... Great.” Autumn sat down on the steps and put her head in her hands. “He's going to kill me too.” She sobbed and looked up at Jacob again, her mascara running because of the tears.

   “Hey, hey...” Jacob sat down next to her and put his arm around her. She leaned against his shoulder. “Don't say that... We'll-”

   “We'll what, Jacob? You don't know him. He's so over-protective it's almost scary.” Jacob kept silent. He didn't know what he had meant to say. What did you do to prevent the brother of the girl you got pregnant from beating the living crap out of you? 

Nineteen

   “So, what's the deal with Autumn?” Nicky asked as they pulled on to the highway.

   “What do you mean?” Jacob replied, his eyebrows raised.

   “Well, I talked to you a few months ago and you didn't have a girlfriend then. What happened?” Jacob bit his lip. Did he tell him the whole truth or just parts of it?

   “Well, it's just what usually happens when you meet someone you like, isn't it? You start dating them and then you fall in love.”

   “So you're in love, are you?” Nicky teased. “So soon?” Jacob smacked his hand.

   “You know what I mean.” He smirked. “I think I am in love with her, though.” He sighed, leaning his elbow against the door. “She's everything I want, Nick.” Nicklas hit the breaks to stop at a roundabout and looked over at Jacob.

   “Really?” He started driving again. “Well, that's awesome.” He smiled. “I'm happy for you, man.”

   “I don't know if she feels the same though...” Jacob looked out his window.

   “Why would she move with you to D.C if she didn't feel the same?” Nicky frowned. Jacob started to blush. “What?”

   “Uh... I'd think...” He paused. “Nothing, yeah, you're probably right.”

   “Jacob, I've known you my entire life, ever since we played on the streets together as kids. I can tell when you're lying. What's up?” Jacob sighed.

   “Fine,” He said. “I think she only moved with me so that we can take care of the baby together.”

   “Woah, wait, what?” Nicky's eyes sprung open and he had to work hard to keep his eyes on the road.

   “Uh... Our relationship is kind of different from others.” Jacob said. “We went on a date, got drunk, slept together and she got pregnant.” He swallowed.

   “Oh, man.” Nicky sighed. “So what, she's just here because of that?”

   “That's what I don't know!” Jacob exclaimed. They had now pulled up by Kettler Iceplex, but none of them moved. “I think she likes me, but she's probably not feeling the way I feel.”

   “I'm sorry, man,” Nicky said and looked at his watch. “We'd better get inside. I don't think Boudreau will be happy if you're late your first day.”

   “What's he like anyways?” Jacob said. “The coach?”

   “He's great, always pushes us to do our best.” Nicky smiled. “Now come on!”

Jacob ended up fitting in real well with the team, and after practice was over, he was chatting with Semyon as if they had known each other all their lives. Nicky had to break through twice to make Jacob realize that practice was over and they should get back home.

   “So, what did you think?” Nicky asked when they had put their bags in the backseat.

   “Everything's great,” Jacob smiled. “I really liked playing with Marcus again!”

   “Oh, right. You played world juniors together, didn't you?”

   “Yeah, we always shared a room.” Jacob smiled, reminiscing older times. “I hope Nathalie and Autumn are getting along.” He then said, looking at Nicky.

   “I think they are, actually,” Nicky smiled. “Nathalie's always making new friends, she can always find something to like about another person.”

   “Good,” Jacob leaned back in his seat. “She's been very lonely when I've been away, and I hate leaving her...”

   “Don't worry about it! There's lots of players' wives and girlfriends in town when we're away.”

   “Autumn's not that type, though. She doesn't like to be around too many people.”

   “Well, maybe the two of them can hang out, then?” Nicky smiled as they parked by Jacob's apartment building. Jacob swallowed when they climbed the stairs. He knew how Autumn could react to new people.

He opened the door and the two stepped inside.

   “We're baaack!” Jacob said as he took off his shoes and peeked around a corner. Nicky passed him and saw Nathalie and Autumn curled up in front of the TV, Ben & Jerry's in their hands.

   “Hey, are you really supposed to eat that?” Was the first thing Nicky said when he saw Nathalie.

   “What?” She said, lowering the carton.
   “Ice cream?” Nicky raised his eyebrows. “I thought you were serious about your handball career.” He shrugged.

   “Give her a break!” Autumn defended Nathalie. “I practically made her buy it.” She stuffed another spoonful in her mouth and swallowed it. Jacob smirked behind Nicky and could finally relax. They seemed to be friends already.

   “He's right, though.” Nathalie put the carton down on the table and laid her hands on her stomach. Autumn gasped.

   “Pick it up again!” She said. “He's not the boss of you, is he?” Nathalie met Nicky's gaze and he gave her the usual 'are you serious' look.

   “Come on, Nick,” She said and looked from him to the carton. “It's not like I'm stuffing myself.” Nicky sighed.

   “Fine,” He said. “But you know what you have to do to get rid of that later.” He turned to Autumn. “I'm not really a jerk. We're just sports nuts and she's always complaining about not improving her handball skills.” Autumn nodded.

   “Right, she told me that she plays. But you've got to be able to relax once in a while, though?”

   “Oh, god,” Nicky said. “This is making me look like a total ass, doesn't it?” Jacob had already passed him and sat down in one of the sofas.

   “It kind of does.” Jacob smirked.

   “Thing is,” Nicky sat down next to Nathalie. “Nathalie's always telling me to remind her about not eating too much stuff that's bad for her.” Nathalie nodded and put the carton down again.

   “He's right. I have to go for a looong run after this one.” She sighed and looked at Nicky. “And I think our gym is going to be used tonight.”

   “So what were you watching?” Jacob looked at the credits rolling by the screen. He couldn't make out which movie had been played.

   “Mamma Mia,” Autumn said. “I've seen it like four times and I never get sick of it. It's so gooood.”

   “And Swedish,” Nicky said. “Bitches love us!” He grinned and Nathalie smacked his hand.

   “What's this language?” She asked with a smile.

   “I honestly don't know. I caught it from somewhere and I thought it was funny.”

   “It's true though.” Autumn said, finishing her Ben & Jerry. “You guys are awesome.”

   “You have to say that, because we're three against one here.” Nathalie laughed. Autumn looked at the three of them.

   “Oh, crap, I didn't even realize.” She gasped. “Oh no, I'm surrounded by Swedes!”

   “Deal with it!” Jacob smiled, turned to the TV and started humming along with one of the songs.

   “You know this one?” Autumn said, raising her eyebrows.

   “Autumn, I'm Swedish,” Jacob said. “Of course I know it.”

   “Hey, I'm Swedish too,” Nicky said. “And I don't know it!”

   “This isn't your kind of music, honey.” Nathalie patted Nicky's leg, now that he had sat down next to her. “Want some?” She took up her Cookie Dough carton and let him look at it.

   “No, thanks,” He smiled. “I'm fine.”

   “Your loss!” Nathalie dug down the spoon and started eating again. “Don't judge me...” She said with her mouth full and looked over at the TV just as the Swedish flag appeared.

   “So much Swedish stuff in this movie.” Autumn shook her head. “WHY!”

   “Because ABBA are Swedish?” Jacob said, coking an eyebrow. “Seriously, I thought you were smarter than that.” He grinned as Autumn stuck out her tongue.

   “Shut up.” She said and hummed along to one of the songs. “This one is actually pretty good.”

   “Yeah,” Nathalie said. “ABBA were great.” She sighed and leaned against Nicky. Suddenly, she felt very tired and before she knew it, she was asleep. 

Eighteen

   “So how did they get him, anyway?” Nathalie asked Nicky as they were driving over to Jacob's apartment.

   “I think they traded a draft pick, because none of the guys have left.” Nicky said. “Look, here it is!” He stopped next to a big, gray building and both of them got out.

   “I wonder what she's like...” Nathalie thought out loud.

   “I bet she's nice.” Nicky spat on the ground and they opened the door to the building.

   “Yeah...” Nathalie said. “Probably.” They knocked on the white door and five seconds later, Jacob had opened it and was smiling at them.

   “Hey!” He said with a grin. “Come in, come in. Autumn?”

   “Yeah?” Autumn walked out from the kitchen. “Oh, hi.”

   “Hello.” Nathalie said and held out her hand for Autumn. “I'm Nathalie, nice to meet you. Autumn, right?”

   “Yeah.” Autumn shook her hand. “Same.”

   “Sorry, girls.” Nicky said, checking his watch. “But we have to go.” Jacob grabbed his bag from the floor and followed Nicky through the door. They waved goodbye and when the door closed, Autumn cleared her throat.

   “So, you're from Sweden too?” She asked.

   “Yeah, I am.” Nathalie didn't know what more to say, but she didn't want the awkward silence to come around. “Nicky told me you were Canadian.”

   “Yup.” Autumn scratched the back of her head.

   “So how do you know Jacob?” Autumn shrugged.

   “Met him in Florida.” She paused. “It's funny, actually.” She gestured for Nathalie to follow her into the apartment. They sat down on the sofa in the living room. “So I was working at WalMart, right? And he comes in every single day to ask me out.”

Nathalie smiled.

   “Really?”

   “Yeah! I knew who he was, of course, so I didn't want to get myself into any trouble. That's why I kept saying no. I don't remember why I caved, though...” Autumn rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Oh well...”

   “Sounds like a fairy tale.” Nathalie laughed and looked at Autumn's face. She did seem to be a good girl.

   “What about you?” Autumn asked. “How did you meet Nicklas?”

   “Ha, it's actually kind of funny.” Nathalie said. “I was working as a waiter in Sweden, and he slipped me his number after he had bought some beers. I wasn't sure what to do, but my co-worker told me to call him, so I did.”

   “Wow.” Autumn said, nodding. “That's cool.”

   “Incredibly.” Nathalie rolled her eyes. “Exciting story, right.” She winked and laughed.

   “Your English is good, by the way.” Autumn said, sounding impressed.

   “Thanks,” Nathalie blushed. “I have relatives in California and I've been speaking it at home since I was a kid.”

   “So you're like, bilingual?” Autumn's mouth fell open. “I've always wanted to be one of those! It's so cool. What's it like?” Nathalie shrugged.

   “Uh, I don't know...” She said. “It was great during school, always got the best marks in English, and it's awesome when you're looking for a job. But you don't have much use for it in Sweden. That's why I moved here with Nicklas. It was a hard decision too.” She sighed. “I played professional handball in Denmark and I was just home visiting family and working a little when I met Nicklas. Then he convinced me to come here with him.”

   “Handball?” Autumn looked confused. “Is that what I think it is?”

   “Probably not,” Nathalie smiled. “Some people seem to think that it's when you hit a ball against a wall, and it really isn't!” She got her phone out of her pocket and showed some pictures.

   “Ooh, that's cool!” Autumn said, amazed. “So how do you manage without it?”

   “I don't, actually. I play in a team here in D.C.” Nathalie grinned. “Do you play any sports?”

   “No,” Autumn shook her head. “I'm more of a musical and artistic person.” Nathalie nodded.

   “So you sing, or...?”

   “Yeah, actually. I sing and play guitar.”

   “Wow, maybe you can play me something one day?”

   “Yeah, why not,” Autumn nodded. “So what can you do around here?”

   “What did you do down in Florida?” Nathalie asked, smiling slightly.

   “You know...” Autumn shrugged. “Worked, swam, sunbathed.” She shivered slightly. “It's way colder up here, by the way. How can you stand it?” Nathalie laughed.

   “It's not that bad.” She said. “But what do you mean do? It's the American capital, I think you can do pretty much whatever you'd like.”

   “So, what do you recommend?”

   “Depends. What do you like to do?” Autumn looked around the room.

   “Pretty much anything. This apartment is kinda boring, to be honest.”

   “Okay...” Nathalie searched her mind for a good place to go, if you were bored and Canadian. “There's always bowling not far from here, if you don't mind walking?”

   “No, walking's fine!” Autumn said, getting out of the sofa. “My feet are a bit sore though... How far is it?”

   “Ten minutes, max.” Nathalie replied. “Why are your feet sore?”

   “Uh...” Autumn bit her lip. She didn't know whether to tell Nathalie or not. After all, they had just met. “I don't know, they just are.” She shrugged and turned away. Nathalie blinked.

   “Okay...” She said, standing up as well. “Isn't that... You know, a sign of pregnancy?”

   “Is it?” Autumn said, biting her lip and pretending to look for something in a drawer. “I didn't know.”

   “Autumn,” Nathalie said, walking over to her. “Are you...?”

   “Look, I just met you, what do you care?” Nathalie backed off.

   “Sorry,” She said quietly. “It's just... I know your brother, and I've heard a lot about you before you came. Whenever he talks about you he's got that look, you know. As if he'd kill for you. He's really protective, obviously.”

   “You won't tell him will you?” Autumn turned around and closed the drawer. “He'd kill me, kill Jacob...”

   “Why would he kill him? Doesn't Jacob make you happy?”

   “Yeah, he does...” Autumn sighed. “God, I can't believe I'm about to say this to a complete stranger...” She paused. “It wasn't planned, exactly.” Nathalie blinked.

They sat down in the sofa again, and Autumn told Nathalie everything she could remember from that date, and whatnot. Then she explained why she didn't want Mathieu to know the true story, and they'd be telling him that they had dated for a while. Nathalie promised to play along, even though she now knew the truth.

   “Why are you so afraid of him, though?” Nathalie raised her eyebrows. “He's not that intimidating if you ask me.” Autumn stared at her.

   “He's my older brother...” She said. “He's always hated every guy I've ever seen, and just imagine him knowing that his little sister got pregnant at 21.” She shook her head. “No, I don't even want to think about what he'd do.”

Nathalie put her hands on Autumn's shoulders and looked into her eyes.

   “I promise you, he won't find out before you're ready to tell him, okay? I won't say a word, nor will Nicklas, okay?” Autumn nodded, a tear sliding down her face.

She could tell that the two of them were going to be great friends, and she really needed that.