It has been a couple of days since the all stars game and you are carpooling with Kris because Evgeni needed to be at the practice rink particularly early. Evgeni didn't give you a reason why so it is bothering you.

"Hey Kris thank you for doing this for me," You remark. You feel a little bad for asking but you got the feeling that you would be better off asking for help.

"Don't worry I'm doing as a favor for Geno anyway," Kris replies. It makes the bother worse because you know that Evgeni is planning something and Kris knows. You find yourself passing suspicious glances at Kris on the way to the practice rink. Thankfully the traffic is not too bad. You timidly make your way to the change rooms. You place your stuff in your usual spot but something is different. You are overcome with a sudden burst of happiness and annoyance because the only way Evgeni would have been able get your DEL jersey without you knowing was to sneak into your room.

"So Mia I thought it would be good idea to remind you of home," Evgeni remarks. You are so overwhelmed with happiness that you can feel the tears bursting from your eyes. The only thing that is stopping you from crying is the fact that Sidney and Kris are filming it for social media. Evgeni holds out his hand which contains a small German flag sticker.

"Thank you so much Evgeni," You respond as you take the sticker. You place it next to your name. For some reason Evgeni decides to give you a quick hug. You start to wonder why he is doing something like this. You carefully pull yourself away from Evgeni and then you get to work on getting your gear on. You will have to give Evgeni some payback for the gesture. It doesn't take long for you to take to the ice. You start to ponder why Evgeni would do something like that.

"Mia you seem a little lost," Matt remarks.

"I'm just thinking about why Evgeni would do something that nice," You reply. Maybe he has had the plan sitting in his head since you had the conversation about missing home.

"He doesn't want you to go through the pain of leaving everything behind," Sidney chimes in. You have never thought about it that way.

"Plus he really does care for you," Matt confirms something you have known for a while. You will have to ask Evgeni about it later but right now you have to focus on the training. You grab one of the three spare pucks as you get to work on the warm ups. After an hour of practice you are ready to go home. At least you won't be bothering Kris. You join Evgeni in his car. You will use the trip home to find out why Evgeni would do something that nice.

"Geno can you tell me why you would do something like that?" Hopefully you don't come across as mad.

"I didn't want you to miss home like I do. I know it hard to live in different country and I thought I should help you like how you helped me," Evgeni gives his expliantation. It puts a smile on your face. It is the day after the practice and you are getting ready for the next game. At least it is a home game. It doesn't take long for you to make it to the arena. You can feel the team's excitement at the prospect of beating the New York rangers again. You soon get yourself ready.

"So Mia are you ready to come out fighting?" Iggy asks.

"This time I'll score on lundqvist," you respond. It doesn't take long for the team to take to the ice for warm ups. At least the game should be fun. After twenty minutes of warm ups you are getting ready to back up Evgeni. There is a loud thud as Evgeni sends the puck in your direction. There is a small race between you and the rangers' left wing but you are quick enough to get it. You are surprised that you are able to make short work of the defence however it doesn't last long.

"Evgeni, Jake I'm going for the crossbar," You let the others know. You flick the puck at the crossbar and there is a loud crash as the puck hits the crossbar. At least it lands coles enough to Evgeni who uses the opening that you created to score. The goal horn rips through the air. After ten minutes of slow play you are about to score. You can feel the gaze of the fans as you pull the puck over Henrik's leg. The cheers from the crowd manage to drown out the goal horn. You throw your arms up in the air to celebrate. It's not the most original celebration but who cares. Five minutes later the period has come to an end and you are glad.

"That was a good goal Mia," Phill remarks.

"Thank you," You reply as you take the spare spot between him and Evgeni. You get to work on draining your water bottle. You are glad that you have the next period off.

"So you finally scored against lundqvist," Iggy remarks.

"Yes but I have Geno to thank for the assist because there was no way I was making it on my own," You reply. You can feel Evgeni's gloved hand wrap around yours. The gesture turns your small smile into a big grin.

"You do realise the media are going to have a field day if they spot what you're doing," You whisper.

"Let them," Evgeni responds. You get the feeling that it will be good if Evgeni doesn't care. After nineteen minutes of play the game is tied. Again it will make your job harder. You take to the ice again. You can feel the encouraging glances of Sidney and Evgeni as you get ready to take the face off. The tension is off the charts. You pull in a deep breath of air as the umpire drops the puck between the two of you. At least you are quick enough to snatch the puck as it hits the ice. You soon run into a problem.

"Igg, Kris I need your help," You call out because Evgeni and Sidney are blocked.

"I'm open," Kris responds as he doges past the defenceman that is trying to get the puck from you. You get the puck to Kris through the defenceman's legs. At least Evgeni is able to break free from the defence. Kris passes the puck to him. After some back and forth between you and the other forwards Jake is ready to score however he finds himself swarmed by the defence.

"Mia you have a better chance at scoring than I do," Jake calls out as he redirects the puck to you. You manage to flick the puck over Henrik's glove. After fifteen minutes of solid game play the game is tied for the third time. You can feel the clock count down. At least you have the chance to score another buzzer beater.

"Geno I'm open," You call out as you slip past one of the defence players. Evgeni passes you the puck. You muster all of your strength to slap the puck over Henrik. There is a loud crash as your stick sends the puck over Henrik's head. As soon as the umpire gestures that it was a goal the end buzzer goes off. Six minutes later you are getting ready to go but there has been a snag. Evgeni has been held up by the media. At least they haven't moved on to you. You feel like you are going to jinx it with thoughts like that but you can't help it. One of the reporters breaks away from the group.

"So Mia how do you think tonight's game went?" The woman asks.

"It went well," You respond. It doesn't take long for the interview to finish her questions. You are impressed that none of the others joined you. You decide to ruin Evgeni's interview but you don't get the chance to because they soon finish what they are doing.

"Are you ready to go Tiger?" Evgeni asks.

"Yup," you respond. It doesn't take the two of you long to get to the car. You start to stare out of the window. You get the feeling that you should invite your mum and dad to Pittsburgh for the Christmas holidays. You also invite your sister despite the fact that she will probably be busy. It looks like Evgeni is having similar thoughts. You quickly send a text to your dad even though he won't respond.