#tleafs

Observing you, he noticed that your bump was even bigger than before. You seemed exhausted and kept rubbing at your lower back. But then there was a thumping sound and a grainy image filled the screen in front of him. Your doctor pointed out the different body parts of the baby and it was only then that it fully clicked that he was going to have a kid. Still, he was so afraid of fucking things up that he didn’t say anything. Instead, he helped you up, walked with you out of the office, and took the pictures you offered him without another word. 

The fact that he’d ordered you a pregnancy pillow to be delivered to your apartment was honestly the only thing he could think of to do. 

After that, he knew he should reach out to you, but once again there was just something holding him back. So he went home to Arizona for a month or so before returning to Toronto to do some training. He’d just gotten back from the gym when his phone rang, Mitch’s number lighting up the screen. He hadn’t really talked to Mitch recently, his teammate was still pissed at him for the way he was handling things. Mitch calling was kind of surprising but he answered anyway. 

“Yeah, dude, what’s up?” He replied, moving around his kitchen to get a bottle of Gatorade. 

“You better come to the hospital,” Mitch whispered, his voice frantic. 

“Why what’s up?” Auston questioned, not fully picking up on his teammate’s tone. 

“Y/N is in labor. Doctors’ can’t stop it.” Mitch explained. Hearing that you were in labor caused Auston’s heart to race. “Dude...it’s way too early,” Mitch added. “Get your ass down here now.” 

___

Fifteen minutes later, Auston found himself walking through the winding hospital halls trying to figure out where Mitch had directed him to come. As he turned a corner he spotted his teammate, who was clearly stressed to the max. 

“About fucking time,” Mitch grumbled when he spotted him. 

“What the hell happened?” Auston found himself asking, his pulse still racing. 

“She’s been having back pain off and on for weeks,” Mitch explained. “Which you’d fucking know if you had manned up like you were supposed to.” He mumbled under his breath. “Today it got really bad while she was at lunch with me and Steph so we brought her down here. Apparently, the pain is contractions and she’s not responding to the medicine doctor’s gave her to stop them. She’s only 27 weeks and the baby is coming. She’s fucking terrified Auston, Steph can barely get her to calm down and none of this is good for her or the baby.” 

A strangled scream sounded from a room just a few feet away and Mitch let out a heavy sigh before motioning to the door. 

“Don’t fuck things up even more. Go be with her.” Mitch pushed. Walking through the hospital door, Auston’s eyes went wide. You were laying on your side in bed, tears streaming down your face as you gripped Steph’s hand. Your face was pale, wires seemed to be everywhere, and waves of fear immediately crashed over him. Hearing the door, Steph’s head turned in his direction and she motioned for him to approach the bed. 

“Y/N...sweetheart. Auston is here.” She murmured softly. She urged him to take her place right beside you and murmured that she would be back in just a few minutes. 

Almost instantly, another contraction surged through your body causing you to scream, and as soon as it passed, it was replaced by another round of sobs. 

“Fuck.” Auston mumbled. He didn’t know what to do. But seeing you in pain, seeing you cry finally triggered something in him. Moving around the bed, Auston maneuvered around the wires before slipping in behind you, his arms wrapping firmly around your body, his hand lacing in yours. There was something about his touch that was grounding, the way his fingers traced over your skin as you cried. 

When another contraction hit, he kissed your head, his lips lingering against your temple until it passed. 

“I’m so so sorry.” He breathed. “I’m such a fuck up. I’ve been so scared of fucking things up that I’ve done just that over and over again.” The tone of voice with which he spoke was one you’d never heard before and you knew he was being genuine. “You’re so fucking incredible. You’re so much stronger than I could ever be. I swear to you, whatever you need, I’m here.”  

“I’m so scared.” You whispered, your voice thick from all of the crying. 

“I know. I’m scared too.” Auston quickly replied. “But they’re going to be okay. You’re both going to be okay.” He said the words with such conviction that for a moment you believed it to be true because he said it would be. Then another contraction hit, more painful than the last. This time you felt the overwhelming need to push. Crying out that it was too early, that you weren’t ready, that the baby wasn’t ready, you missed Steph appearing at the door and then quickly rushing out to get your doctors and nurses. When the group of them returned, the nurses urged you to let them examine you again, before your doctor informed you that it was time to push. Again you protested, but as your nurses moved your legs into a better position, instructing Auston to hold your leg up another contraction hit and you screamed again. 

“Just listen to the doctors.” Auston urged you, his voice scarily steady. “If they tell you to push, you need to push sweetheart. I’m right here. It’s going to be okay. You and our baby are going to be okay.” This time when a contraction hit and the nurses told you to push, you complied, bearing down into it. The sound of Auston counting softly filled your ears as you pushed over and over until finally, the feeling of pressure gave way. 

For far too long the room was eerily quiet, but then a quiet cry filled the room. Suddenly a nurse rushed forward to you, placing a tiny infant onto your chest. 

“We need to get her to the NICU but you can see her for a moment first.” Seeing his baby....his daughter draped against your chest brought tears to Auston’s eyes and he kissed your temple once more. 

“You did so good.” He praised. “She’s beautiful.” 

Though there was a long, long road ahead of you still, this was the first time you’d truly had hope. Hope in Auston as a father, hope for the two of you. 

The first time you’d found money you questioned what you should do with it. And for a while, you tucked it all in an envelope in your nightstand. But then the money kept coming and well it certainly seemed like your soulmate was well enough off and he was your soulmate so you found yourself spending some of it here and there grateful for the little boons in your life. 

Now it wasn’t like you hadn’t lost things yourself before. You’d lost money a few times yourself, earrings would fall out on occasion, and you were certain that your soulmate had a collection of ponytails and bobby pins a mountain high by now. But you’d never really lost anything important. 

So when you stepped outside of Scotiabank arena and reached into your pocket for your phone to find it missing, you panicked. Losing your phone was everyone’s worst nightmare and while you were someone comforted by the fact that your soulmate would likely find it rather than some stranger a part of you reminded yourself that your soulmate technically was a stranger. Thankfully you’d driven yourself to the game so you had both keys and a car because you couldn’t imagine being stranded in Toronto without a phone to order an Uber. Still, by the time you made it home you were in tears about the fact that you’d lost something so important. You didn’t fully understand the blessing it would turn out to be. 

~~~

Basking in the feeling of a hard-fought win and a goal, Will smiled his way through media before returning to his locker to change. Pulling his pants up over his hips he reached down to grab the fabric of his dress shirt and instead his fingers made contact with something hard. Looking down, he spotted a phone tucked into his pile of clothing….a phone that definitely hadn’t been there earlier. The first thing that came to mind was whether this was part of some prank by his teammates. But the phone case was a glittery leafs logo and when he picked it up and pressed the lock button a photo of a group of girls including the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen appeared. 

His heart stopped for a moment before it began racing, his brain finally establishing that this was something his soulmate had lost. For years he’d wondered what she was like and now he somehow knew that he was looking at her. As the sounds of his teammates filled his ears, Will quickly pocketed the phone, throwing the rest of his clothes on before heading out to his car. It was only once inside that he pulled the phone from his pocket, his finger hovering over the home button. 

To his surprise, the phone unlocked. 

Though he didn’t want to invade her privacy, William reasoned that he could only get the phone back to her if he did a little snooping. Deciding that opening her messages might give him a lead of who could get him in contact with her, he pressed the icon and the last active conversation opened. Inside was a string of sent pictures….pictures of him. 

Following the pictures was a received text: Fuck you’re so goddamn lucky. Damn chemistry for keeping me from being there right beside you. 

I know right? He looks so cute tonight. I might need you to revive me later when I recap the game for you. 

She had been there. She had watched him score, had taken pictures of him and he didn’t even know she was there. She was attracted to him and didn’t even know that he was her soulmate. It was almost cruel and unusual punishment when he had been waiting to find her for so long. Staring at the phone for a moment longer he ran his fingers through his hair before composing a message. 

Hey so uh...I’m your friend’s soulmate and she lost her phone at the Leafs game tonight and uh...I’d like to get it back to her. 

The moment the message sent Will started overthinking it. Of course, this was her soulmate, who else would have found her lost phone? And did he sound too creepy? Would her friend think he was crazy and refuse to help him? 

She’s been freaking out! Where did you find it? 

William really didn’t know how to answer that without admitting who he was so he decided to stay vague. 

Was between two articles of clothing when I went to change. 

That was totally both true and vague not saying where he was when he found it. 

So uh...she said to give you her address if you don’t mind dropping the phone off tonight? She’s kind of going crazy without it. 

Yeah, no problem. 

He would drive to Buffalo if it meant meeting her. The address came through quickly and after plugging it into his navigation, he pulled out of the parking garage. Driving through downtown, his palms began to sweat and by the time he stopped in front of the building his GPS directed him to, he honestly felt like he was going to pass out. 

With her phone gripped tightly in his hand, he stepped into the building and rode the elevator up to the proper floor. His body ran solely on autopilot until he was standing in front of her door, his fist raised to knock. 

Three short raps against the wood were going to change his life forever. William’s heart was in his throat as he waited for the door in front of him to open but once it did, he felt a wave of peace crash over him. 

“My phone. Thank god.” She proclaimed. Suddenly his eyes met hers and a breathy ‘no way’ fell from her lips. 

“I think this is yours.” He mumbled, offering the phone out to her. 

“You….you’re….” Suddenly feeling shy, Will nodded, his left hand reaching up to scratch at the back of his neck. 

Taking the phone, Will watched as she slipped it into the pocket of the sweats she was wearing. Then suddenly she was stretching onto her toes and her arms wrapped around his neck, drawing him down into a soft kiss. She tasted like heaven and Will dropped his arms to drape gently around her waist. Standing in her doorway they kissed until they both needed to breathe and when she pulled away the smile on her face was the best thing he’d ever seen. 

___

As you stood in front of the mirror in your bedroom, you sighed and fiddled with the hem of your shirt, adjusting the way the fabric laid over your ever-expanding bump. You weren’t sure whether the feelings inside of you were more excitement or nerves but either way, you couldn’t get your body to relax. 

Looking over at the clock beside your bed, you sighed and grabbed your purse, slipping a pair of sandals onto your feet. You had a doctor’s appointment in 45 minutes and if you were going to make it in time, you needed to get your butt out of the door. 

Today was possibly one of the biggest days of your pregnancy. Today you could find out whether you were having a boy or a girl. A mini Auston or a mini-you. You knew that you could find out, but the more you thought about it, the more you weren’t sure whether you wanted to. 

On top of all of that, you decided to be the bigger person yesterday and had texted Auston the appointment information. You had no idea whether he was even still in Toronto and he hadn’t responded to the text but your child deserved to know its father, even if you weren’t sure Auston deserved the same. He probably wouldn’t even show, but knowing that he might made you even more anxious than normal. 

___

Reaching the doctor’s office, you made your way inside, making note to talk with the doctor about safe ways to alleviate the lower back pain that had become almost constant. After signing in you asked the nurse if you could use the bathroom before your appointment, the baby having shifted on your bladder during the drive over. 

As you let yourself into the waiting room a minute or two later, your eyes met brown across the room, and for a moment you lost your breath. 

So he’d actually shown up. 

Grabbing a magazine, you took a chair two down from his and started flipping through it. From the corner of your eye, you could see him fiddling with his hands, removing his ball cap every so often to card his fingers through his hair. It was clear he was uncomfortable and there was a part of you that was glad he was. He didn’t get to be comfortable when he’d been MIA even after promising he wouldn’t be. 

When a nurse eventually called your name, you gingerly pushed yourself to your feet and looked back, waiting to see if Auston was going to follow. He hesitated for a moment before standing and following after as a nurse led you to an exam room. Once inside, he paced back and forth while the nurse took your blood pressure, weight, and quickly measured your growing bump. It wasn’t until she left the room that Auston finally spoke. 

“So uh...what’s this appointment for?” He mumbled, scratching at his head once more. You wanted to shoot back a sarcastic ‘to check on the baby you knocked me up with, dumb ass’ but you refrained, instead taking a deep breath and rubbing over your bump. 

“It’s an ultrasound to check on the baby’s development.” Certain that Auston still had no idea what that meant you sighed and continued. “We’ll get to see the baby, hear its heartbeat.” The way his eyes went wide told you that was clearly not what he was expecting. Thankfully, before he could say anything in response, there was a knock on the door and your doctor made her way inside the room. She didn’t even flinch seeing Auston standing there and instead just flipped through your chart before looking up at you. 

“Alright Y/N...I see we’ve reached the 18-week mark and you’re scheduled to see your baby today.” Her smile was bright and reminded you why you had chosen her as your doctor all along. It was hard to be stressed while surrounded by her easy demeanor. “I see the nurse already took your measurements. You’re right on track there. Growing nicely. Any new symptoms or concerns you’d like to discuss?” 

After asking how to best address your back pain, you were given some tips including obtaining a pregnancy pillow, seeing a massage therapist, applying some topical relief, and which pain medication was safe to take if needed. She then addressed that soon you should start feeling the baby move and what else to expect over the next few weeks. 

“Should we take a look at that baby now?” She finally inquired after you’d had all of your questions answered. Shifting on the table, you pulled your shirt up over your belly and slid your shorts down just a tad to provide her full access to your changing body. As you relaxed back you shivered as she put cold gel onto your stomach and started moving it around with the transducer. After a moment she pressed a few buttons and then reached up to turn the screen in your direction as the sound of a rapid heartbeat filled your ears. 

You’d seen your baby once before, but now it actually was starting to look like a baby, and tears immediately pooled in your eyes. The fact that a tiny human was growing inside of you was still mind-boggling. For another few minutes, your doctor typed away, moving the transducer to take some measurements. Then she turned to you, a smile on her face. 

“Everything looks great Y/N. Would you like to know the sex of the baby?” Looking over at the screen, you immediately knew exactly what you wanted. You’d been going back and forth for days but now you felt completely certain. 

“No. I want to wait and be surprised.” You answered. The sound of the chair beside you squeaking made you jump. You’d honestly forgotten that Auston was even there. For a split second, you thought about how maybe that wasn’t what he wanted, but then you decided that you didn’t care about what he wanted. Not knowing brought you a sense of peace that you hadn’t felt yet and you knew it was the right decision. 

“All right then.” Your doctor agreed. “If you ever change your mind you can just give us a call but I don’t blame you. It’s honestly the greatest surprise ever.” She mused, tapping your knee before handing you a few paper towels to wipe your stomach off with. “I think you’re all set. Pictures will be waiting for you up front. I’ll see you in a month.” She declared, before quickly scooting out of the room to see her next patient. For a moment you just relaxed against the bed, your brain processing everything before you cleaned up and fixed your clothing. By the time you had done that, you realized Auston was offering out a hand to help you off the table and begrudgingly you took it, holding on until you were steady on your feet. 

Neither of you spoke until after you’d stepped out of the office. As Auston held the door open you reached into the envelope to pull out one of the two copies of photos the nurse had printed for you. 

“Here.” You murmured, holding the sheet out to him. Auston took it warily, slipping it into his wallet. “Thanks for coming.” You breathed, twisting your keys on your fingers. “I’ll text you the date for the next appointment, but that one is just a check-up so nothing interesting will happen.” Auston nodded but it was clear that he still didn’t know what the hell he was doing and it was frustrating. You were trying and it still seemed like he wasn’t. 

Shaking your head you turned and walked away, heading back to where you’d parked your car. A twinge went up your back as you slid into the driver’s seat and you sighed.