God Bless The Broken Road (Jonathan Toews)

Captain

Jonathan

Jackson was turning six today. I swear he is growing more and more every day. Maisie claims he's still 4 but I know better. Instead of some extravagant birthday with a few of his friends he wanted a backyard bash with all of them. Which means there be about 40 little kids in the back yard at any minute now. Emma and Patrick help Maisie and I decorate while he and Henry play with the hockey stuff in the basement.

"How's Jackson doing with school" Emma asks me.

"He's good. He took it upon himself to tutor other kids in reading and writing, that kid is special" I chuckle.

"Don't I know it. Every time he's at our house he's either training or helping me cook and clean. He might not be Maisie's but you would never be able to tell" she admits. With our names all in the newspaper I sure was hoping so. After it was all set up I run out to get cake and balloons and Jacksons special gift before running back home. By the time I get there there's around 50 kids running around the house and backyard as parents drink in the kitchen. I don't remember inviting this many people. I take the cake and balloons out back but leave his present in Maisie's and I's room. She helps me tie balloons to the porch and we were finally finished decorating.

"You think he'll like it" Maisie asks me.

"Of course. He's surrounded by his favorite things and people. He'll love it" I assure her and kiss her cheek. We spend the day talking to other parents and talking about things hockey or not hockey. The whole time I had her secure under my arm as I watched her talk about whatever her heart desires.

"We should probably do presents soon" she mentions after about a hour.

"Yeah. I'll go grab it then we can get the kids together so he can open them" I suggest and she nods. She gets the kids into the living room and I meet her with a medium sized box in my hand. He starts into his gifts and thanks everyone personally for the gifts. It's one thing to have 50 friends who wanted to come to your birthday party, it's another to know and have a special relationship with all of them. I was actually impressed.

"Alright Big Man, one last present from your mom and I" I tell him placing the box in his lap. He lifts the top off and a little golden retriever puppy pops his head up over the box. The kids start yelling as he picks the dog up. The dog licks his face as he laughs along.

"I love him! What's his name" Jackson asks playing with his blue collar.

"You get to pick" Maisie smiles.

"Hmmm. How about Captain" he asks and I smile.

"Can we call him Captain Serious" Patrick teases and I send him a glare.

"Look inside, there's more" I encourage and Maisie looks at me weirdly. She didn't know about this part of the present. He pulls out Mickey ears and a piece of paper.

"We're going to Disney for Christmas" he cheers and Maisie lets out a gasp.

"Yeah we are" I smile as he nearly drops the dog from all the excitement.

"Best birthday ever" he cheers and the parents get a snicker out of that. I turn to Maisie who had a smile etched from cheek to cheek. We've talked about going to Disney a lot but she probably wasn't expecting it to be so soon. But I had big plans for that trip. Jackson takes Captain out to play with him while Maisie and I cleaned up the living room. He got a lot of hockey things from his friends on his team and a lot of clothes and toys from his friends at school. We move his things into his room and put them up while the kids played with uncle Kaner out back. His room had recently been finished and Maisie did a great job on the northern lights and we even had little lights to represent the stars on the ceiling.

"Are you okay" I ask as she lets out a sigh.

"Yeah. I've been sick on and off the past week and I'm just tired" she shrugs.

"Aww baby come here" I say and she walks into my open arms. I wrap my arms around her and pull her into my chest.

"Do you need to go to the doctors" I ask.

"No. If it doesn't get any better then yeah, but it's nothing to worry about it. Just under the weather probably" she explains. I didn't want to push her but I was worried that something was wrong. I couldn't stand the thought of something being wrong with her. I push those thoughts aside and focus on making Jacksons birthday a good one. After a few hockey themed games and eating cake it was time for the kids to go home. They were exhausted from the games and hyped up on sugar, the best of both worlds. After everyone leaves Maisie and I take Jackson out to pick out some toys and a collar for Captain. Naturally he got a red collar and a tag with his name on it while Captain gets a bunch of bones and squeaky toys to play with. Once we get home Jackson goes straight to him room to play with his new friend. Didn't want him being too lonely around here, though it never seems to be a problem.

I crawl into bed with Maisie as she stares at the ceiling.

"What are you thinking about" I ask as I cuddle into her side.

"Jackson is six now. It feels like just yesterday him and I were fighting to survive and now we're in a house with you and a dog like a real happy family. It's just crazy to think about how lucky we are" she admits.

"I don't want to imagine my life being any different" I whisper in her ear causing her to giggle.

"I love you so much Maisie."

"I love you most."