Hayden Pike retires a couple years after Shane leaves the Metros. He could try to move teams, but he’s been playing for more than ten years, he’s sore, he’s tired, he wants to spend time with his family, and hockey isn’t as much fun when he’s not playing with people he gets along with.
So the metros are out of the playoffs and Hayden’s announced his retirement and he and Jackie take the kids to Ottawa to watch uncle Shane and uncle Ilya on their playoff run. Like, they rent a big house in Ottawa and just stay for the month.
The Centaurs have just battled their way into the Stanley Cup finals on home ice. They’ve got 4 more games they need to win, but they’ve got a shot at the cup and the energy is electric. So they’re in the family suite with pizza and music and all the Centaur WAGs and kids, celebrating (a little bit) before they go home to soak in ice baths and see their physios.
Hayden and Jackie walk in with the four kids and are immediately greeted with warm hugs and big smiles… Arthur attaches himself to Shane’s side and the twins go off to find cake with Yuna and little Amber Pike (4 years old now) shimmies out of her mom’s arms with a happy cry of “uncle Ilya!” because of all the Pike kids, she doesn’t remember a time that Ilya wasn’t in her family and she looooves him.
Ilya crouches down with a big smile, ready to pick her up and swing her around, but thirty seconds later she’s not in his arms and he stands up and realizes he’s lost sight of her in the crowd. He glances over to Hayden and Jackie, hoping they’ve got her, but nope - they’re chatting with Bood and Shane’s got Arthur but no sign of Amber…
There’s maybe only 50 people in the room and they’re all friends and teammates and trusted additions but Ilya’s chest goes tight and his vision blurs and for just a minute he feels the way he knows Shane does when the panic starts to set in because he’s lost too much family not to constantly carry the terror that maybe he’ll lose this one too. He pushes the panic down with sheer force of will, the muscle memory of controlling his emotions may be a legacy of his traumatic upbringing but it does have its uses.
And in his huge, booming Captain voice he yells out “EVERYONE FUCKING FREEZE” and every player knows that tone and knows Roz is not fucking around and the room goes almost eerily silent as everyone literally stops moving, maybe stops breathing.
Everyone except for a tiny voice that sings out “swear jar!” and Ilya whips around and there’s Amber, pressed against the back wall and trapped by too many big hockey players and looking a little hesitant, but absolutely okay. And Ilya crosses over to her in four strides, literally pushing bodies out of his way so he can scoop her up and toss her gently in the air, making her laugh - and that sound eases the remaining tension out of Ilya’s body.
Hayden looks at Jackie and Jackie looks and him. They both know they’re calling a realtor in the morning. It’s time to move to Ottawa and live closer to their family.
