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rsadelleSummary: Jordan can tell the kid Horc is trying to hold onto is Hallsy even though he's twisting and screaming, "No! Not want you! Want Ebby!"
Notes: Thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lakeeffectgirl for encouraging this.
Story on AO3
Jordan's in the hallway when Nuge finds him.
"Uh, you'd better come back to the room," Nuge says. "It's Hallsy."
"What did he do now?"
"He's, uh, a little kid."
Jordan rolls his eyes. "You're younger than he is."
"No," Nuge says, "like, he's a little kid. One moment he was just there, and the next he was a kid."
"Nice try."
"No, for real." Nuge grabs his arm. "I swear to you this is not a prank."
Jordan doesn't really believe him, but he goes with Nuge to the room anyway, and as they get closer, he can hear what sounds like a little kid yelling. It's a long way to go for a prank.
Then Nuge opens the door and pushes him in, and this is not a prank.
Jordan can tell the kid Horc is trying to hold onto is Hallsy even though he's twisting and screaming, "No! Not want you! Want Ebby!"
Jordan stops inside the door and just stares. Then he moves forward quickly because Hallsy yells, "Ebby!" and hurls himself toward Jordan, and Jordan's afraid he might actually fall if Horc can't hold onto him.
Once Jordan takes him, Hallsy stops shouting and mostly just snuffles into Jordan's shoulder.
"What the fuck?" Jordan asks the room at large.
"Bad word," Hallsy says.
"Yes," Jordan says, patting Hallsy's back. "That was a bad word, and you shouldn't say it." He looks at the rest of the room. "What happened?"
No one answers for a minute, and then Whits says, "One minute he was fine, and the next he was like this."
"Okay," Jordan says after he counts to ten to avoid yelling at them. "So what now?"
"He's your problem now," Horc says. "He's maybe two-"
Hallsy lifts his head off Jordan's shoulder to say, "I'm three!"
"He's three," Horc says, "which means he's going to cry a lot if he doesn't get what he wants, and he's probably not going anywhere away from you if that tantrum means anything." He looks at the clock. "And he's probably ready for lunch and a nap."
"No nap," Hallsy says.
Horc mouths, "Yes, nap," at Jordan.
Jordan counts to ten again. "Okay, buddy," he says to Hallsy, "you think you can hang out with the guys for a couple of minutes while I take a shower?"
Hallsy grips his shirt tighter. "No go."
"Just for a couple of minutes," Jordan says. "I'm all stinky."
"Don't care."
"Well, I do. Do you want to go with Horc, or do you want to sit by yourself?"
Hallsy pulls back to look at him, and he looks so betrayed that Jordan might cave if he didn't desperately need a shower. Hallsy heaves a heavy sigh, for a three-year-old, and says, "By self."
"Okay." Jordan sets him down on the bench. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes."
Horc says, "I'll keep an eye on him."
Jordan nods his thanks and goes to take a shower and think about what the hell he's going to do with a three-year-old Hallsy.
When Jordan gets out of his shower, Hallsy's amusing himself running up and down the room. Everyone knows he's there, and the floor is clear enough not to trip him, so Jordan leaves him to it and gets dressed.
Horc comes over while Jordan's getting his pants on and says, "I sent Nuge to raid the lost and found for clothes, but you'll probably want to get him some real clothes his size. We don't know how long he's going to be like this."
Jordan looks over, and yeah, Hallsy's just in a t-shirt that's way too big for him.
"Go after a nap," Horc says. "I'm serious about that. You think we're bad without one. Three-year-olds are even worse. You can take the car seat. We'll use the one in Cindy's car for now."
Hallsy seems to realize Jordan's back on his next circuit around the room, and he hurls himself in Jordan's direction. Jordan worries about him hurting himself for a moment, but Hallsy stops himself in front of him.
"Ebby," he says. "Ebby, up." He holds his arms up.
"Just a second, buddy." Jordan pulls on his hoodie before he picks Hallsy up.
"I runned really fast," Hallsy says. He puts his head down on Jordan's shoulder.
"I can tell you were working hard," Jordan says. He sits down and grabs for his socks. He manages to get them on with Hallsy in his lap, and by the time he gets Hallsy to move over so he can put on his shoes, Nuge is back with a box he dumps onto the floor next to Jordan.
"Best I could do," Nuge says. "I don't know what's going to fit him."
Jordan nods at him. "Okay, Hallsy," he says, "let's see what's in here that you can wear." It's not perfect, but he finds some pants, a shirt, and a jacket - how do people lose these things? - that will do for now.
"I do it," Hallsy insists, so Jordan steps back and lets Hallsy get himself dressed.
Nuge didn't bring him any socks or shoes, so Jordan gets into Hallsy's locker and puts grown-up Hallsy's socks onto Hallsy's feet so they won't be totally bare while Jordan carries him out to the car.
Horc walks them out and transfers the car seat from his car to Jordan's.
Hallsy tugs at Jordan's collar. "Want to be in the front with you."
"Nope," Jordan says. "That's not safe for you, buddy."
"Want to. Want to, Ebby!"
"Nope." Jordan puts him into the car seat and buckles him in. "You're on the passenger side. You'll be able to see me."
"No," Hallsy wails. He tugs at the car seat straps, and Jordan closes the door on him.
Horc pats his shoulder. "Lunch and a nap," he says. "Works wonders."
"I hope so," Jordan says. "Thanks."
Hallsy's still fussing at him when Jordan gets into the car, but Jordan has three siblings; that kind of thing doesn't bother him much. Instead, he changes stations while he drives until he finds something playing Bieber, and two minutes later, Hallsy's happily singing along with the chorus to "Baby."
When they get home, Jordan hangs up both their coats and takes Hallsy into the kitchen where he gets two boxes of KD out of the pantry and fills a pan with water.
"I help," Hallsy says, so Jordan pulls one of the bar stools around into the kitchen and lets him get up onto it.
"Careful," Jordan says. "It's hot." He keeps an eye on Hallsy to make sure he's not getting too close to the stove or the pan while he dumps both boxes into the pan.
He lets Hallsy stir the macaroni, and then he picks him up off the stool to get him away from the stove and sets the timer.
"What else do you want with it?" Jordan opens the fridge. There isn't much in there, but Hallsy leans away from him into it.
"Blue Gatorade!"
"Okay, buddy," Jordan says. "But only a little bit." He takes one out of the fridge and finds a plastic cup to pour some of it into. He puts Hallsy down when it's time to drain the KD, but lets him get up on the stool and stir in the milk, butter, and cheese packets.
Jordan takes over after a minute to make sure he gets the edges of the pan, and then he gets plates down and puts way less of the KD on Hallsy's plate than on his own.
They're just sitting down - at the counter instead of the table at Hallsy's request - when Whits comes into the kitchen and puts a package down on the counter. Jordan looks at it: outlet covers.
"Babyproofed the place," Whits says. "Mostly. We probably won't kill him anyway."
Jordan looks around, and the place does look a little different. "Good idea. Thanks."
"I don't want his death on my hands." Whits leans on the other side of the counter. "Is Ebs taking good care of you?"
"Uh-huh," Hallsy says, too busy shoveling KD into his mouth to care much about their conversation.
Jordan ruffles Hallsy's hair and shrugs at Whits.
After they finish eating, Jordan puts their plates in the dishwasher and the pan in the sink.
"Nap time," he says.
Hallsy pouts and folds his arms over his chest. "No."
"I'm taking a nap," Jordan says, and Hallsy's arms uncross.
"You are?"
"Yep. You can't be a real hockey player if you don't take naps."
Hallsy pouts for another moment, thinking about it, before he says, "Okay. I take nap too." He holds his arms up. "Go with you."
"Sure," Jordan says. It's not worth the argument and he'll feel better if he can be where Hallsy is anyway. Grown-up beds are pretty big for such a little guy. He picks Hallsy up. "You can nap with me."
Hallsy is halfway asleep by the time they get to Jordan's room, and Jordan lowers him into bed and goes around to get in on the other side.
For a tiny person, Hallsy takes up a lot of space; Jordan wakes up crowded onto one tiny strip of the bed with Hallsy spread out taking up the entire center of it.
Jordan goes to the bathroom and comes back to find Hallsy also waking up.
"Ready to go get you some clothes?" Jordan asks.
Hallsy rubs at his eyes. "Kay."
It takes longer than Jordan would have guessed to get a three-year-old out of the house. Hallsy perks up in the car, but Jordan still doesn't want to spend that much time shopping, so he heads for the mall and makes it as quick a trip as he can. He has no idea how long Hallsy's going to be like this, so he grabs about a week's worth of clothes and some shoes, and ducks into one of the video game places to find something good for little kids. Horc already texted that he's got some stuff they can borrow, since they're all operating on the assumption this is only temporary, so he doesn't worry too much about other toys.
It's still a longer trip than either one of them really enjoys, and Hallsy in particular is starting to fuss by the time they get out of there. Jordan knows how he feels, but he gets Hallsy into the car and home without much of a meltdown, and lets him change into his new clothes on his own.
That leaves them with a little time until they have to be back at the rink, and Jordan sits them down on the couch with the LeapPad for Hallsy and the laptop for him.
Hallsy talks while he plays. It's not directed at Jordan, so he tunes it out until Whits snorts from across the room.
Jordan looks up at him.
Whits jerks his chin at Hallsy, and Jordan tunes in to his monologue which is about equal parts the game he's playing and how he's being a grown-up like Ebs. Jordan makes a face at Whits, who laughs at him silently.
Hallsy stays completely engrossed in his game and doesn't notice the whole exchange.
*
Horc texts that Hallsy can sit with Cindy and their kids during the game, which is a thing Jordan hadn't even gotten to worrying about yet.
When they head to the rink, Hallsy shadows Jordan all through his pre-game routine, right up until he gears up.
"Where my skates?"
And, right, maybe Jordan should have predicted that this was going to be a problem. He crouches down to Hallsy's level.
"You don't have skates here," he says. "This is just for grownups. You're going to go sit with Mrs. Horcoff during the game."
Hallsy's lip trembles. "But I want to skate."
"We'll get you skates tomorrow," Jordan promises, "and then you can go skating too, but not tonight. Tonight the rest of us have to go play a game."
"I go with you," Hallsy says. He grabs at Jordan's sleeve. "I sit on bench."
Jordan manages to keep his wince inside. "It's not safe for you on the bench. Pucks come over there, and all of us jostling around. I need you to be safe with Mrs. Horcoff so we can all play without worrying we're going to hurt you."
"No," Hallsy says, and he clings harder to Jordan. "I go with you."
"I'll tell you what," Jordan says, "we'll get you a jersey, so it's like you're with us even when you're watching us from behind the glass." He turns and catches the eye of one of the equipment guys. "You think you can get him a jersey his size?"
"Sure," the guy says. "I'm sure we have kid-sized Hall jerseys."
"No," Hallsy says. "Ebby jersey."
"You want my jersey?"
Hallsy nods emphatically.
Jordan looks up at the equipment guy, who says, "One Eberle jersey, coming right up."
Jordan finishes getting dressed and doesn't entirely succeed in keeping Hallsy out of the tape while he does it, so he has to untangle him when the equipment guy comes back with a jersey.
"Look," Jordan says. He holds up the jersey and turns it around so Hallsy can see the back. "Just like mine."
Hallsy holds up his arms, and Jordan settles the jersey onto him.
Horc comes over to them and says, "Cindy's outside."
Jordan takes Hallsy's hand and walks out with him and Horc to where Cindy's waiting in the hallway with Will and Jade.
Cindy smiles and bends down to greet Hallsy. "Hi, Taylor."
Hallsy presses himself back against Jordan's leg.
"It's okay," Jordan says, and he bends down too. "This is Mrs. Horcoff, and she's going to watch out for you while I'm playing."
Hallsy turns wide, wet, betrayed eyes on Jordan, who feels bad enough to gather him up in a hug.
"It's only for a couple of hours," he says. "You cheer real loud for me, and I'll see you after the game."
Hallsy sniffles some more, but he lets Cindy introduce him to Will and Jade and takes her hand when she tells them they all have to hold hands. He also looks over his shoulder at Jordan, who smiles and waves.
Horc thumps Jordan on the shoulder. "She won't lose him. Let's go. We've got a game to play."
*
Jordan gives an interview after the game, and then he showers, gets dressed, and goes out into the hallway.
Hallsy's with Cindy and the other kids, and he's clearly warmed up to Cindy; he's comfortably, and sleepily, leaning against her leg. He sways away from her when Jordan reaches them.
"Ebby." Hallsy holds his arms up, and Jordan bends down to pick him up. "I watched the whole game."
"Yeah?" Jordan gets Hallsy more easily settled where he can put his head down on Jordan's shoulder. "Did we do good?"
"Uh-huh. Ebby goal," Hallsy says. "Beauty." He yawns halfway through the word.
"Thanks, buddy." Jordan strokes his hand over Hallsy's hair. "Let's get you home and into bed."
"Not tired," Hallsy says.
"Sure you're not." Jordan smiles at Cindy. "Thanks for watching him."
"Of course," she says. "He was very excited about your goal."
Jordan grins at her, and takes Hallsy home.
Hallsy sleeps in the car, and only wakes up when Jordan tries to get him into pajamas.
"No," he says when Jordan tries to take his jersey off. "Ebby jersey."
"You want to keep it on?"
"Yes."
"Okay," Jordan says, "but you have to wear your pajamas under it." That's enough to get Hallsy's sleepy cooperation, and once he's in pajamas with the jersey over them, he's almost asleep even before Jordan can put him down in his own bed.
"I'm right across the hall if you need anything."
"Kiss," Hallsy says. "Have to kiss goodnight."
Jordan bends over and kisses Hallsy's forehead. "Goodnight."
Hallsy sighs and says, "Night-night, Ebby."
Jordan tugs the covers up over Hallsy's shoulder and leaves the door open enough that some of the light from the hallway can get into the room. He ditches his suit in his room and goes to the kitchen, where Whits already has a beer open for him.
"Thanks, old man."
Whits halfheartedly kicks at him. "Have you thought about how exhausting this is going to be if he stays like that much longer?"
"Actively trying not to," Jordan says. He takes a long drink of his beer. "He's cute, but I like him better as a grown-up."
"Neither one of you are grown-ups," Whits says, and it's a chirp too familiar to require a response.
*
Hallsy's hair is hilariously sticking up in the morning, but otherwise he's just as small as he was last night.
Jordan gets them both fed, and it's not until after Hallsy's consumed a bowl of cereal and half a glass of orange juice that he perks up and says, "I go skating today!"
And, yes, Jordan did promise him that. "Sure thing, buddy. Let's get you dressed and we'll go get you some skates and go skating."
He has to get them both dressed, and Hallsy still won't change unless Jordan lets him keep his Eberle jersey on. Jordan gives it up as not worth the argument and lets him put it back on over his t-shirt and hoodie.
Jordan googles for the closest sports store that's open this early, and loads Hallsy into the car. Hallsy's quiet enough not to protest being in the back this morning.
"Good morning," a guy at the sports place greets them, and then his eyes widen in the way they do when people recognize Jordan. "How can I help you?"
Jordan puts his hand on Hallsy's shoulder. "My friend doesn't have any skates."
The guy smiles at both of them. "Let's take care of that." He leads them toward the wall of skates. "Is there a brand you prefer?"
Jordan starts to say no, but Hallsy tugs at his jacket and says, "Like yours."
"I guess we're going with Bauer," Jordan says, and the guy smiles at them and helps them figure out what size skate Hallsy needs.
Hallsy looks down at them and then up at Jordan with a frown. "I want skates like yours."
"This is a close as you're going to get," Jordan says. "They don't make ones with laces small enough for your feet."
Hallsy's lip trembles.
"Let's make sure we get you a helmet and a stick too," Jordan says, reaching to take the skates off Hallsy's feet while he talks. "And then we can go skating."
Hallsy looks like he's still deciding whether or not to throw a tantrum. Jordan calmly keeps taking off his skates, and Hallsy says, "Stick just like yours?"
"A little shorter," Jordan says with a grin, "but we'll find you one like mine." He gets the skates off and into their box, and the salesman follows them as they go to look at sticks.
Jordan picks a couple of sticks out of the rack and hands them to Hallsy, who holds them up to check the height one at a time. Then he looks very seriously at the designs on them.
"This one," he says. "Like yours?"
Jordan looks at it, Bauer logo down the side, similar coloring. "Pretty close. Let's get you a helmet and then we can go."
Once they get a helmet that fits, Jordan hands over his credit card, signs both the receipt and an autograph for the salesman, and gets Hallsy into the car for the ride over to the rink.
Hallsy spends the whole way there singing a song of his own invention that seems to primarily consist of the words "skate," "hockey," and "Ebby."
Jordan begins to see the wisdom of non-lacing skates for toddlers when Hallsy fusses about having to wait for Jordan to tie his skates before they can go out on the ice.
Jordan mostly ignores it, and he holds Hallsy's hand on the way to the ice so he can catch Hallsy before he falls while trying to walk on his skates.
Watching Hallsy skate is pretty hilarious. He knows how, sort of, but he's still young enough that he falls down a lot and half walks instead of gliding. Jordan's done enough skates with little kids that he manages not to laugh out loud, but he skates around a little with Hallsy until Hallsy's steady enough that Jordan gets their sticks and a puck from the bench.
He means to just do a little stickhandling or passing with Hallsy, but Hallsy plays hard and insists on doing real drills where they pass back and forth down the ice until Jordan slows to let Hallsy get to the net and feeds him an easy pass that Hallsy just tips in.
Hallsy cheers and pumps his tiny legs over to slam into Jordan's legs. "I scored!"
Jordan grins at him and bends down to hug him. "You did. Awesome job, buddy."
They do a couple more drills before Jordan's phone buzzes in his pocket and they have to go back to the locker room so Jordan can suit up for practice. He lets Hallsy keep his helmet and skates on, and puts him on the bench for practice.
Before they leave the rink, Jordan gets another Eberle jersey in Hallsy's size. He doesn't think he's going to be able to get Hallsy to wear anything else anytime soon, and this way he has one for Hallsy to wear while he washes the other one.
*
Jordan talks Whits into picking up sandwiches for all three of them for lunch so he doesn't have to try to cook something. Hallsy would probably be happy eating KD for every meal, but Jordan does feel some responsibility to make sure he eats something healthier at least some of the time.
While they're eating, Jordan gets what's possibly the longest text ever from Horc, with a suggested list of things he needs to bring with him if they're taking Hallsy on the road with him.
Trust me, the text says at the end, you'd rather have too much of this stuff than not enough.
The last thing Jordan wants is to take Hallsy on another shopping trip, so after lunch while Hallsy runs around the living room with one of the toy cars out of the box of toys Horc loaned him, he asks Whits, "Can you watch him for a while?"
Whits looks into the living room where Hallsy is zooming a car off the arm of the couch and crashing it down onto the floor. "No."
"I need to go pick up some things for him before we fly this afternoon. An hour."
Whits gestures at the living room, and Hallsy. "An hour of that is not worth anything you can promise me."
"He'll probably fall asleep pretty soon," Jordan says, "and I'll do your laundry for a week."
"He'd better," Whits says. "Two weeks."
Jordan says, "Done," and Whits scowls at him like he knows he could have gotten more.
Jordan goes into the living room and crouches down next to where Hallsy's current car racing track is going to bring him. "Buddy, I'm going to run some errands. Whits is going to stay here with you."
Hallsy drops his car and grabs onto Jordan's shirt. "Noooo. Go with you."
"Not this time," Jordan hugs Hallsy. "I'll be back really soon, and later we're going on an airplane."
"Go with," Hallsy insists.
"No," Jordan says. He peels Hallsy's hands off of his shirt. "I'll be back in a little bit, and then we'll go on the airplane together."
"No," Hallsy wails. He launches himself at Jordan and clings to his legs. "Ebby, no, go with you."
Jordan bends down to pick him up and takes him over to where Whits is scowling at him. "Whits is going to take care of you." He hands Hallsy to Whits and makes sure he's not going to hurl himself to the floor to get away from Whits before he steps away and says, "I'll be back soon."
He ignores both Hallsy's tantrum and Whits' yelled, "You owe me big for this one, Eberle," and leaves the house.
He really doesn't want to be gone that long, so he runs down Horc's list as quickly as he can, and ignores his phone every time it beeps with a message from Whits. When he checks it in the car, he's right that it's just a lot of irritation without any real emergencies, so he heads home without worrying.
"Ebby," Hallsy shrieks as soon as Jordan opens the door, and Jordan drops bags in the entryway so he can bend down and pick up Hallsy.
"That kid," Whits says, trailing after him slowly, "is a menace."
"Ebby, you back." Hallsy's words are muffled by the way he's smashing his face into Jordan's shoulder.
"I know," Jordan says to Whits. He pats Hallsy's back and says, "I'm back. Let's take a nap, okay, buddy?"
Hallsy doesn't even try to protest, just mumbles, "Kay," and lets Jordan tuck him into bed.
Jordan waits until Hallsy falls asleep, and then he creeps out of the room to go unpack the bags of stuff he brought home. It seems like it's going to be easier without Hallsy getting in his way. Plus, this way he can put everything he thinks Hallsy can carry into the tiny backpack he bought, and everything else in with his stuff, and it can all be a surprise.
Whits watches him as he packs the tiny backpack with a pair of coloring books, a box of crayons, a couple of small bags of trail mix, three packs of Oilers stickers, two paperback picture books, and a couple of the toy cars Hallsy's been playing with and leaving everywhere.
"You're spoiling him."
"If it keeps him from throwing a tantrum on the plane," Jordan says, "I don't care, and you won't either." He makes sure nothing is still in packaging he can't open with his bare hands, and then he takes the rest of the stuff in to add to his bag before he climbs into bed for a short nap before they have to leave.
*
Jordan holds Hallsy's hand to the plane, but he picks him up to carry him up the stairs. He finds them seats not too far back, where Hallsy can watch out the window without the wing being in the way.
Jordan keeps Hallsy's LeapPad, his phone, and a pack of gum out of his bag, then puts it in the overhead compartment, and has Hallsy put his backpack under the seat in front of him.
Hallsy kneels up in his seat to look out the window. "Look," he says, "trucks."
Jordan leans over to look. There are trucks they can see from here, airplanes too, farther out, but Hallsy seems content to watch the trucks for a while.
"Time to sit down and put your seat belt on," Jordan says when the flight attendants start getting them ready for takeoff. Hallsy sits without a fight, apparently happy with how much he's already gotten to watch the trucks, and Jordan leans over to buckle his seat belt.
They're good until takeoff. Hallsy watches out the window with excited narration as they taxi to the runway.
Then they take off, and they're still good for a little bit until Hallsy turns to Jordan and whines, "Ebby, ow. Owwwww," and puts his hands over his ears.
"Do your ears hurt, buddy?"
Hallsy nods, and sniffles with the beginning of what could become a really unpleasant crying fit. Jordan grabs the gum from his pocket and unwraps a piece for Hallsy.
"Here. Chew this. Your ears won't hurt as bad."
Hallsy frowns at him, but he takes one hand off his ear so he can take the gum.
"You have to chew it," Jordan says, and he unwraps a piece for himself.
Once Hallsy sees Jordan's chewing gum, he starts chewing more exaggeratedly, and after a minute he turns an awed face on Jordan. "Ebby, no more hurt."
Jordan smiles at him. "Awesome."
Hallsy chews in silence for another thirty seconds, apparently still marveling at the magic afforded by a piece of gum, before he tries to grab for his backpack.
"I'll get it," Jordan says. He grabs the backpack by its top handle and gives it to Hallsy.
He didn't really think about the mess a three-year-old could make discovering all the surprises in a tiny backpack, but he does now, and he does his best to corral everything so it doesn't end up littering the floor of the plane never to be seen again.
Hallsy eventually gets everything out of the backpack, and then gives one of the books to Jordan. "Ebby, read."
Jordan tucks the book between himself and the arm rest. "Let's put everything else back in your backpack, and then I'll read to you."
Across the aisle, Gags says, "Can you even read?"
Jordan makes sure Hallsy's occupied with the difficult for a three-year-old task of holding both a backpack and the coloring book he's putting in it before he flips Gags off.
After Jordan reads the book to him, Hallsy wants his coloring book. Using every one of the new crayons keeps him occupied for a while.
"Look, Ebby, look."
Jordan looks over at Hallsy's coloring book page covered in scribbles. "Looks great, buddy."
Hallsy beams at him and decides he wants to play with the stickers next.
"Put the crayons back in their box first," Jordan says, and he only helps with the last one when Hallsy's three-year-old hands don't quite have the dexterity for it. He has Hallsy put the coloring book and crayons away before he lets him dig one of the sticker packs out. Hallsy gives it to him to open; Jordan tears the plastic open and gives it back to Hallsy.
Jordan keeps an eye on him while Hallsy contemplates the stickers very seriously. He thought they'd be fun for Hallsy, but he doesn't want them to end up stuck to any part of the plane where they're going to stay stuck permanently.
Hallsy eventually peels a couple of stickers off and very carefully sticks one on each of his cheeks and one on the back of each hand. Then he struggles to sit up on his knees, managing to slip out from under his seat belt as he does, and says, "Now you."
"Me?"
"Uh-huh."
Jordan bends down a little so Hallsy can very seriously put stickers on either one of his cheeks, and pointedly ignores Gags laughing at him across the aisle.
Hallsy looks at Jordan for a moment, and then he lights up with a bright smile and pats one of the stickers on Jordan's cheek.
Jordan smiles back at him. "Does it look good?"
Hallsy nods. He looks sidelong at Jordan and says, "Nuge too."
Jordan laughs. "He should match us, huh?"
Hallsy says, "Yes," very firmly.
"Okay," Jordan says. He unbuckles his seat belt. "Let's go find Nuge." He lifts Hallsy out into the aisle, and follows behind as Hallsy starts wandering down the plane.
There's a lot of stifled laughter as they pass. Jordan ignores it and does his best to keep Hallsy from yelling for Nuge so the guys who are napping can keep sleeping.
Nuge is near the back of the plane, between a window and Schultzy. They're playing something on one of their iPads, and they both look up when Hallsy spots them and yells, "Nuge!"
"What's up?" Nuge asks.
Hallsy waves his sticker sheets. "Stickers. You wear too."
Nuge looks at Jordan, who gives him a look asking him to play along. "Okay," he says slowly.
Jordan picks Hallsy up and Nuge leans their way so Hallsy can carefully pat stickers onto each of his cheeks.
"Do I get stickers?" Schultzy asks.
"No," Hallsy says promptly. "Stickers just for lineys."
Schultzy puts on an exaggerated frown.
Jordan shifts Hallsy so he's a little more comfortable holding him and says, "Maybe Schultzy could have a different sticker."
Hallsy looks down at his sticker sheet, and then he picks one of the other sticker designs and leans halfway out of Jordan's arms to stick it on Schultzy's forehead.
Schultzy holds out a fist, and Hallsy grins and bumps his tiny fist against Schultzy's much larger one.
"I think Whits should get a sticker too," Schultzy says, "since he's your roommate."
"What do you say?" Jordan asks Hallsy.
"Yes," Hallsy says.
Jordan grins, because this is going to be great, and goes halfway back up the plane to where Whits is sitting. He's even on the aisle.
"Whits," Hallsy says, "Whits, stickers."
Whits looks up and his face cracks into a laugh. "You sure did get into the stickers, kid. Did you really think that was a good idea?" he asks Jordan.
"Yep," Jordan says. "And you get one too."
Whits' smile disappears.
"This one," Hallsy says, holding it out. Jordan tips him closer so he can smack it onto Whits' forehead. "Diffent cause you not a liney."
"Nuge matches us," Jordan explains, which doesn't do much to smooth over Whits' irritation.
Hallsy holds out the sticker sheets. "Done now."
Jordan takes the stickers, grins at Whits, and takes Hallsy back to their seats.
It's not long before Hallsy wants to get up again, and Jordan lets him run up and down the aisle with one of his cars until he wears himself out enough to sit quietly. He asks Jordan to read him the other book in his backpack, and falls asleep before they get to the end of it.
"But I wanted to know how it ends," Gags says when Jordan stops reading.
Jordan flips him off, and Gags laughs quietly enough not to wake Hallsy up.
*
Even in Nashville and St. Louis, someone always knows someone, so there are people Jordan can leave Hallsy with for their games. It's pretty much the only time he can leave Hallsy with anyone else. If he promises he's coming right back, Hallsy will stay with one of the other guys for a few minutes, but he resists all of Jordan's efforts to get more of a break than that, and Jordan resigns himself to spending all of his time with a three-year-old until whatever happened to make Hallsy this way undoes itself and makes him an adult again.
"It's not like you two aren't attached at the hip all the time anyway," Whits says. "And he's dumb enough that this can't be all that different."
Only the fact that Jordan's holding a sleeping Hallsy at the time keeps him from doing more than just flipping Whits off.
Despite that, it seems like it's going to be a relatively painless road trip, until Jordan's tying his tie after the St. Louis game and there's a wail from the other room.
Jordan pulls the knot of his tie up and goes into the other room where Hallsy is still crying and yelling, "Ebby!"
Jordan scoops him up. "What happened?"
"He was standing on the bench," Nuge says. "He fell. I think he hit his elbow."
"Ebby, hurts," Hallsy sobs, and he is gripping one elbow with his other hand.
"Let me see."
Hallsy moves his hand, and he's not bleeding, which doesn't mean he didn't injure himself, but he's also calming down, which means he's probably okay.
"Do you need to see the trainers? That's what the rest of us do when we get hurt."
Hallsy's stopped crying, but there are still tears glittering on his lashes. He contemplates for a minute and then says, "Yes."
Jordan takes him in to see Kim. "One more injury for you to look at," he says.
Kim raises his eyebrows, but when Jordan sets Hallsy down on the table, he takes it seriously, running Hallsy through all the range of motion exercises he would do with any of the rest of them to make sure he hasn't hurt himself.
Hallsy watches it all carefully, until Kim runs his fingers into the curve of Hallsy's elbow and he shrieks with laughter.
"I think you're going to be okay," Kim says. "You think it needs a band-aid?
Hallsy twists his arm to look at his elbow. "Yes."
"All right." Kim gets him a band-aid and carefully sticks it to his elbow.
Hallsy holds his elbow up toward Jordan. "Ebby, kiss better."
Jordan bends down and presses his lips to Hallsy's band-aid.
"Ebby, up." Hallsy holds his arms out, and Jordan picks him up.
"What do you say to Kim?"
"Thank you."
Kim smiles at them. "You're welcome."
"Thanks," Jordan echoes, and he takes Hallsy back to the locker room.
"No," Hallsy says when Jordan tries to put him down.
"We need to put our coats on," Jordan says. "You need to get down or Whits can hold you."
Whits makes a face at Jordan, but doesn't protest the possibility. Hallsy does.
"No," he says, shaking his head for emphasis. "Just you."
Whits laughs, and Jordan puts Hallsy down on the ground long enough to get both of their coats on. Hallsy's asleep before they even get onto the bus.
*
They get home late, but Hallsy sleeps enough on the plane that he still wakes up relatively early in the morning. Jordan takes him skating with the idea that it'll be a good way to spend the morning and that it'll leave Hallsy tired enough that Jordan can get a long nap. He miscalculates, though, and they stay out too long, both of them tired and hungry when they get home.
Jordan goes to the kitchen to make them something to eat, and Hallsy pours the box of Legos borrowed from Horc onto the floor, abandons them to run one of his cars up and down the floor, then runs it into the Legos to scatter them everywhere. He's loud about it too, making exaggerated car noises, clattering everything everywhere and saying, "Ebs, Ebby, look, look, Ebs."
Jordan looks up once, but he's trying to make them lunch and, short on sleep and patience, he snaps, "Enough! Could you just stop for one minute?"
Hallsy's face crumples, and Jordan feels like the worst person in the world even before Hallsy starts to cry.
Jordan puts down the knife he's using to spread peanut butter onto bread and goes over to pick Hallsy up. "I'm sorry, buddy," he says. "I'm sorry. Taylor, I didn't mean that."
Hallsy clings to him and sobs into Jordan's shoulder. Jordan just keeps saying, "I'm sorry," and stroking Hallsy's hair over and over.
Hallsy eventually stops crying, and turns his head out of Jordan's shirt enough to ask, "Ebby not hate me?"
"No," Jordan says, "of course not. Never."
Hallsy sniffles a little and says, "I love you, Ebby."
Jordan smiles, even though Hallsy still has his head on Jordan's shoulder, and says, "I love you too."
Hallsy picks his head up off of Jordan's shoulder and says, "Promise?"
"Promise," Jordan says meeting his eyes. "I love you forever."
Hallsy sighs and puts his head back down. "Forever and ever and ever."
Jordan rocks him a little and only then looks toward the kitchen. Whits is standing on the other side of the counter, obviously having heard at least the last part of that. He doesn't say anything, though, just raises his eyebrows and takes a bite out of the sandwich Jordan was making for Hallsy.
*
Jordan wakes up to someone poking his shoulder and Hallsy saying, "Ebs. Ebby, wake up."
"What do you need?" Jordan mumbles, and then Hallsy's voice really registers and he snaps his eyes open. Hallsy is no longer three. He's himself again, taking up too much space where Jordan let him nap in his bed. He's bare-chested with scraps of what used to be a jersey sized for a three-year-old around him. Jordan is extremely glad to have him back.
"Was I just a three-year-old for five days?"
Jordan grins at him. "Yep."
"And you took care of me."
"I did."
"Is there going to be payback for that?"
"So much payback," Jordan promises. "In ten years, when you're living in my basement and my wife and I want to go out, you're babysitting every time."
Hallsy makes a face and hits Jordan in the arm but doesn't argue it. "At least you know you'll be good at raising kids." He gets out of bed, and he's naked, which means the pajama pants Jordan got him into are probably scraps in his bed like the jersey.
"Hey, Taylor," Jordan says before Hallsy can leave the room.
Hallsy turns back in the doorway. "Yeah?"
"I love you forever."
Hallsy smiles at him, bright and happy, and still so much like himself as a three-year-old. "Forever and ever and ever."
He leaves the room, and Jordan laughs when Whits yells, "Put it away, Hallsy," down the hallway.
*
There's a flurry of clapping and cheering from the guys already there when Jordan walks into the room to get ready for practice with a regular sized Hallsy with him.
"I think I speak for all of us," Horc says, putting his arm around Hallsy's shoulder, "when I say thank God you're bigger now. We don't expect you to be any more mature."
Hallsy takes the chirping in good humor, going over to fist bump Nuge and slap hands with Gags.
"No more crying," Whits says. "No more Legos everywhere. No more stickers."
Schultzy laughs, and Whits narrows his eyes at him.
"That was you? I knew he wasn't smart enough to think of that on his own." He points at Schultzy. "You're going to pay. When you least expect it."
Schultzy looks thoroughly unconcerned about the coming retribution.
"What made you be you again?" Nuge asks.
Hallsy looks over at Jordan, but just shrugs. "Must've worn off or something."
Whits snorts but doesn't dispute Hallsy's account of things.
"Are you glad to have him back?" Gags asks Jordan. "Or are you sorry that you don't have your own fan club of one following you around anymore?"
"Glad," Jordan says.
"I don't know how you can tell the difference," Whits says before Jordan can say anything else. "He does that all the time anyway."
Jordan automatically looks to make sure Hallsy isn't paying attention before he flips Whits off and finds Hallsy way ahead of him.
Whits asks the room in general, "Do you see what I have to put up with?"
"You chose it," Jordan says, sharing a grin with Hallsy. "Too late to get rid of us now."
Notes: Thanks to
lakeeffectgirl for encouraging this.Story on AO3
Jordan's in the hallway when Nuge finds him.
"Uh, you'd better come back to the room," Nuge says. "It's Hallsy."
"What did he do now?"
"He's, uh, a little kid."
Jordan rolls his eyes. "You're younger than he is."
"No," Nuge says, "like, he's a little kid. One moment he was just there, and the next he was a kid."
"Nice try."
"No, for real." Nuge grabs his arm. "I swear to you this is not a prank."
Jordan doesn't really believe him, but he goes with Nuge to the room anyway, and as they get closer, he can hear what sounds like a little kid yelling. It's a long way to go for a prank.
Then Nuge opens the door and pushes him in, and this is not a prank.
Jordan can tell the kid Horc is trying to hold onto is Hallsy even though he's twisting and screaming, "No! Not want you! Want Ebby!"
Jordan stops inside the door and just stares. Then he moves forward quickly because Hallsy yells, "Ebby!" and hurls himself toward Jordan, and Jordan's afraid he might actually fall if Horc can't hold onto him.
Once Jordan takes him, Hallsy stops shouting and mostly just snuffles into Jordan's shoulder.
"What the fuck?" Jordan asks the room at large.
"Bad word," Hallsy says.
"Yes," Jordan says, patting Hallsy's back. "That was a bad word, and you shouldn't say it." He looks at the rest of the room. "What happened?"
No one answers for a minute, and then Whits says, "One minute he was fine, and the next he was like this."
"Okay," Jordan says after he counts to ten to avoid yelling at them. "So what now?"
"He's your problem now," Horc says. "He's maybe two-"
Hallsy lifts his head off Jordan's shoulder to say, "I'm three!"
"He's three," Horc says, "which means he's going to cry a lot if he doesn't get what he wants, and he's probably not going anywhere away from you if that tantrum means anything." He looks at the clock. "And he's probably ready for lunch and a nap."
"No nap," Hallsy says.
Horc mouths, "Yes, nap," at Jordan.
Jordan counts to ten again. "Okay, buddy," he says to Hallsy, "you think you can hang out with the guys for a couple of minutes while I take a shower?"
Hallsy grips his shirt tighter. "No go."
"Just for a couple of minutes," Jordan says. "I'm all stinky."
"Don't care."
"Well, I do. Do you want to go with Horc, or do you want to sit by yourself?"
Hallsy pulls back to look at him, and he looks so betrayed that Jordan might cave if he didn't desperately need a shower. Hallsy heaves a heavy sigh, for a three-year-old, and says, "By self."
"Okay." Jordan sets him down on the bench. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes."
Horc says, "I'll keep an eye on him."
Jordan nods his thanks and goes to take a shower and think about what the hell he's going to do with a three-year-old Hallsy.
When Jordan gets out of his shower, Hallsy's amusing himself running up and down the room. Everyone knows he's there, and the floor is clear enough not to trip him, so Jordan leaves him to it and gets dressed.
Horc comes over while Jordan's getting his pants on and says, "I sent Nuge to raid the lost and found for clothes, but you'll probably want to get him some real clothes his size. We don't know how long he's going to be like this."
Jordan looks over, and yeah, Hallsy's just in a t-shirt that's way too big for him.
"Go after a nap," Horc says. "I'm serious about that. You think we're bad without one. Three-year-olds are even worse. You can take the car seat. We'll use the one in Cindy's car for now."
Hallsy seems to realize Jordan's back on his next circuit around the room, and he hurls himself in Jordan's direction. Jordan worries about him hurting himself for a moment, but Hallsy stops himself in front of him.
"Ebby," he says. "Ebby, up." He holds his arms up.
"Just a second, buddy." Jordan pulls on his hoodie before he picks Hallsy up.
"I runned really fast," Hallsy says. He puts his head down on Jordan's shoulder.
"I can tell you were working hard," Jordan says. He sits down and grabs for his socks. He manages to get them on with Hallsy in his lap, and by the time he gets Hallsy to move over so he can put on his shoes, Nuge is back with a box he dumps onto the floor next to Jordan.
"Best I could do," Nuge says. "I don't know what's going to fit him."
Jordan nods at him. "Okay, Hallsy," he says, "let's see what's in here that you can wear." It's not perfect, but he finds some pants, a shirt, and a jacket - how do people lose these things? - that will do for now.
"I do it," Hallsy insists, so Jordan steps back and lets Hallsy get himself dressed.
Nuge didn't bring him any socks or shoes, so Jordan gets into Hallsy's locker and puts grown-up Hallsy's socks onto Hallsy's feet so they won't be totally bare while Jordan carries him out to the car.
Horc walks them out and transfers the car seat from his car to Jordan's.
Hallsy tugs at Jordan's collar. "Want to be in the front with you."
"Nope," Jordan says. "That's not safe for you, buddy."
"Want to. Want to, Ebby!"
"Nope." Jordan puts him into the car seat and buckles him in. "You're on the passenger side. You'll be able to see me."
"No," Hallsy wails. He tugs at the car seat straps, and Jordan closes the door on him.
Horc pats his shoulder. "Lunch and a nap," he says. "Works wonders."
"I hope so," Jordan says. "Thanks."
Hallsy's still fussing at him when Jordan gets into the car, but Jordan has three siblings; that kind of thing doesn't bother him much. Instead, he changes stations while he drives until he finds something playing Bieber, and two minutes later, Hallsy's happily singing along with the chorus to "Baby."
When they get home, Jordan hangs up both their coats and takes Hallsy into the kitchen where he gets two boxes of KD out of the pantry and fills a pan with water.
"I help," Hallsy says, so Jordan pulls one of the bar stools around into the kitchen and lets him get up onto it.
"Careful," Jordan says. "It's hot." He keeps an eye on Hallsy to make sure he's not getting too close to the stove or the pan while he dumps both boxes into the pan.
He lets Hallsy stir the macaroni, and then he picks him up off the stool to get him away from the stove and sets the timer.
"What else do you want with it?" Jordan opens the fridge. There isn't much in there, but Hallsy leans away from him into it.
"Blue Gatorade!"
"Okay, buddy," Jordan says. "But only a little bit." He takes one out of the fridge and finds a plastic cup to pour some of it into. He puts Hallsy down when it's time to drain the KD, but lets him get up on the stool and stir in the milk, butter, and cheese packets.
Jordan takes over after a minute to make sure he gets the edges of the pan, and then he gets plates down and puts way less of the KD on Hallsy's plate than on his own.
They're just sitting down - at the counter instead of the table at Hallsy's request - when Whits comes into the kitchen and puts a package down on the counter. Jordan looks at it: outlet covers.
"Babyproofed the place," Whits says. "Mostly. We probably won't kill him anyway."
Jordan looks around, and the place does look a little different. "Good idea. Thanks."
"I don't want his death on my hands." Whits leans on the other side of the counter. "Is Ebs taking good care of you?"
"Uh-huh," Hallsy says, too busy shoveling KD into his mouth to care much about their conversation.
Jordan ruffles Hallsy's hair and shrugs at Whits.
After they finish eating, Jordan puts their plates in the dishwasher and the pan in the sink.
"Nap time," he says.
Hallsy pouts and folds his arms over his chest. "No."
"I'm taking a nap," Jordan says, and Hallsy's arms uncross.
"You are?"
"Yep. You can't be a real hockey player if you don't take naps."
Hallsy pouts for another moment, thinking about it, before he says, "Okay. I take nap too." He holds his arms up. "Go with you."
"Sure," Jordan says. It's not worth the argument and he'll feel better if he can be where Hallsy is anyway. Grown-up beds are pretty big for such a little guy. He picks Hallsy up. "You can nap with me."
Hallsy is halfway asleep by the time they get to Jordan's room, and Jordan lowers him into bed and goes around to get in on the other side.
For a tiny person, Hallsy takes up a lot of space; Jordan wakes up crowded onto one tiny strip of the bed with Hallsy spread out taking up the entire center of it.
Jordan goes to the bathroom and comes back to find Hallsy also waking up.
"Ready to go get you some clothes?" Jordan asks.
Hallsy rubs at his eyes. "Kay."
It takes longer than Jordan would have guessed to get a three-year-old out of the house. Hallsy perks up in the car, but Jordan still doesn't want to spend that much time shopping, so he heads for the mall and makes it as quick a trip as he can. He has no idea how long Hallsy's going to be like this, so he grabs about a week's worth of clothes and some shoes, and ducks into one of the video game places to find something good for little kids. Horc already texted that he's got some stuff they can borrow, since they're all operating on the assumption this is only temporary, so he doesn't worry too much about other toys.
It's still a longer trip than either one of them really enjoys, and Hallsy in particular is starting to fuss by the time they get out of there. Jordan knows how he feels, but he gets Hallsy into the car and home without much of a meltdown, and lets him change into his new clothes on his own.
That leaves them with a little time until they have to be back at the rink, and Jordan sits them down on the couch with the LeapPad for Hallsy and the laptop for him.
Hallsy talks while he plays. It's not directed at Jordan, so he tunes it out until Whits snorts from across the room.
Jordan looks up at him.
Whits jerks his chin at Hallsy, and Jordan tunes in to his monologue which is about equal parts the game he's playing and how he's being a grown-up like Ebs. Jordan makes a face at Whits, who laughs at him silently.
Hallsy stays completely engrossed in his game and doesn't notice the whole exchange.
*
Horc texts that Hallsy can sit with Cindy and their kids during the game, which is a thing Jordan hadn't even gotten to worrying about yet.
When they head to the rink, Hallsy shadows Jordan all through his pre-game routine, right up until he gears up.
"Where my skates?"
And, right, maybe Jordan should have predicted that this was going to be a problem. He crouches down to Hallsy's level.
"You don't have skates here," he says. "This is just for grownups. You're going to go sit with Mrs. Horcoff during the game."
Hallsy's lip trembles. "But I want to skate."
"We'll get you skates tomorrow," Jordan promises, "and then you can go skating too, but not tonight. Tonight the rest of us have to go play a game."
"I go with you," Hallsy says. He grabs at Jordan's sleeve. "I sit on bench."
Jordan manages to keep his wince inside. "It's not safe for you on the bench. Pucks come over there, and all of us jostling around. I need you to be safe with Mrs. Horcoff so we can all play without worrying we're going to hurt you."
"No," Hallsy says, and he clings harder to Jordan. "I go with you."
"I'll tell you what," Jordan says, "we'll get you a jersey, so it's like you're with us even when you're watching us from behind the glass." He turns and catches the eye of one of the equipment guys. "You think you can get him a jersey his size?"
"Sure," the guy says. "I'm sure we have kid-sized Hall jerseys."
"No," Hallsy says. "Ebby jersey."
"You want my jersey?"
Hallsy nods emphatically.
Jordan looks up at the equipment guy, who says, "One Eberle jersey, coming right up."
Jordan finishes getting dressed and doesn't entirely succeed in keeping Hallsy out of the tape while he does it, so he has to untangle him when the equipment guy comes back with a jersey.
"Look," Jordan says. He holds up the jersey and turns it around so Hallsy can see the back. "Just like mine."
Hallsy holds up his arms, and Jordan settles the jersey onto him.
Horc comes over to them and says, "Cindy's outside."
Jordan takes Hallsy's hand and walks out with him and Horc to where Cindy's waiting in the hallway with Will and Jade.
Cindy smiles and bends down to greet Hallsy. "Hi, Taylor."
Hallsy presses himself back against Jordan's leg.
"It's okay," Jordan says, and he bends down too. "This is Mrs. Horcoff, and she's going to watch out for you while I'm playing."
Hallsy turns wide, wet, betrayed eyes on Jordan, who feels bad enough to gather him up in a hug.
"It's only for a couple of hours," he says. "You cheer real loud for me, and I'll see you after the game."
Hallsy sniffles some more, but he lets Cindy introduce him to Will and Jade and takes her hand when she tells them they all have to hold hands. He also looks over his shoulder at Jordan, who smiles and waves.
Horc thumps Jordan on the shoulder. "She won't lose him. Let's go. We've got a game to play."
*
Jordan gives an interview after the game, and then he showers, gets dressed, and goes out into the hallway.
Hallsy's with Cindy and the other kids, and he's clearly warmed up to Cindy; he's comfortably, and sleepily, leaning against her leg. He sways away from her when Jordan reaches them.
"Ebby." Hallsy holds his arms up, and Jordan bends down to pick him up. "I watched the whole game."
"Yeah?" Jordan gets Hallsy more easily settled where he can put his head down on Jordan's shoulder. "Did we do good?"
"Uh-huh. Ebby goal," Hallsy says. "Beauty." He yawns halfway through the word.
"Thanks, buddy." Jordan strokes his hand over Hallsy's hair. "Let's get you home and into bed."
"Not tired," Hallsy says.
"Sure you're not." Jordan smiles at Cindy. "Thanks for watching him."
"Of course," she says. "He was very excited about your goal."
Jordan grins at her, and takes Hallsy home.
Hallsy sleeps in the car, and only wakes up when Jordan tries to get him into pajamas.
"No," he says when Jordan tries to take his jersey off. "Ebby jersey."
"You want to keep it on?"
"Yes."
"Okay," Jordan says, "but you have to wear your pajamas under it." That's enough to get Hallsy's sleepy cooperation, and once he's in pajamas with the jersey over them, he's almost asleep even before Jordan can put him down in his own bed.
"I'm right across the hall if you need anything."
"Kiss," Hallsy says. "Have to kiss goodnight."
Jordan bends over and kisses Hallsy's forehead. "Goodnight."
Hallsy sighs and says, "Night-night, Ebby."
Jordan tugs the covers up over Hallsy's shoulder and leaves the door open enough that some of the light from the hallway can get into the room. He ditches his suit in his room and goes to the kitchen, where Whits already has a beer open for him.
"Thanks, old man."
Whits halfheartedly kicks at him. "Have you thought about how exhausting this is going to be if he stays like that much longer?"
"Actively trying not to," Jordan says. He takes a long drink of his beer. "He's cute, but I like him better as a grown-up."
"Neither one of you are grown-ups," Whits says, and it's a chirp too familiar to require a response.
*
Hallsy's hair is hilariously sticking up in the morning, but otherwise he's just as small as he was last night.
Jordan gets them both fed, and it's not until after Hallsy's consumed a bowl of cereal and half a glass of orange juice that he perks up and says, "I go skating today!"
And, yes, Jordan did promise him that. "Sure thing, buddy. Let's get you dressed and we'll go get you some skates and go skating."
He has to get them both dressed, and Hallsy still won't change unless Jordan lets him keep his Eberle jersey on. Jordan gives it up as not worth the argument and lets him put it back on over his t-shirt and hoodie.
Jordan googles for the closest sports store that's open this early, and loads Hallsy into the car. Hallsy's quiet enough not to protest being in the back this morning.
"Good morning," a guy at the sports place greets them, and then his eyes widen in the way they do when people recognize Jordan. "How can I help you?"
Jordan puts his hand on Hallsy's shoulder. "My friend doesn't have any skates."
The guy smiles at both of them. "Let's take care of that." He leads them toward the wall of skates. "Is there a brand you prefer?"
Jordan starts to say no, but Hallsy tugs at his jacket and says, "Like yours."
"I guess we're going with Bauer," Jordan says, and the guy smiles at them and helps them figure out what size skate Hallsy needs.
Hallsy looks down at them and then up at Jordan with a frown. "I want skates like yours."
"This is a close as you're going to get," Jordan says. "They don't make ones with laces small enough for your feet."
Hallsy's lip trembles.
"Let's make sure we get you a helmet and a stick too," Jordan says, reaching to take the skates off Hallsy's feet while he talks. "And then we can go skating."
Hallsy looks like he's still deciding whether or not to throw a tantrum. Jordan calmly keeps taking off his skates, and Hallsy says, "Stick just like yours?"
"A little shorter," Jordan says with a grin, "but we'll find you one like mine." He gets the skates off and into their box, and the salesman follows them as they go to look at sticks.
Jordan picks a couple of sticks out of the rack and hands them to Hallsy, who holds them up to check the height one at a time. Then he looks very seriously at the designs on them.
"This one," he says. "Like yours?"
Jordan looks at it, Bauer logo down the side, similar coloring. "Pretty close. Let's get you a helmet and then we can go."
Once they get a helmet that fits, Jordan hands over his credit card, signs both the receipt and an autograph for the salesman, and gets Hallsy into the car for the ride over to the rink.
Hallsy spends the whole way there singing a song of his own invention that seems to primarily consist of the words "skate," "hockey," and "Ebby."
Jordan begins to see the wisdom of non-lacing skates for toddlers when Hallsy fusses about having to wait for Jordan to tie his skates before they can go out on the ice.
Jordan mostly ignores it, and he holds Hallsy's hand on the way to the ice so he can catch Hallsy before he falls while trying to walk on his skates.
Watching Hallsy skate is pretty hilarious. He knows how, sort of, but he's still young enough that he falls down a lot and half walks instead of gliding. Jordan's done enough skates with little kids that he manages not to laugh out loud, but he skates around a little with Hallsy until Hallsy's steady enough that Jordan gets their sticks and a puck from the bench.
He means to just do a little stickhandling or passing with Hallsy, but Hallsy plays hard and insists on doing real drills where they pass back and forth down the ice until Jordan slows to let Hallsy get to the net and feeds him an easy pass that Hallsy just tips in.
Hallsy cheers and pumps his tiny legs over to slam into Jordan's legs. "I scored!"
Jordan grins at him and bends down to hug him. "You did. Awesome job, buddy."
They do a couple more drills before Jordan's phone buzzes in his pocket and they have to go back to the locker room so Jordan can suit up for practice. He lets Hallsy keep his helmet and skates on, and puts him on the bench for practice.
Before they leave the rink, Jordan gets another Eberle jersey in Hallsy's size. He doesn't think he's going to be able to get Hallsy to wear anything else anytime soon, and this way he has one for Hallsy to wear while he washes the other one.
*
Jordan talks Whits into picking up sandwiches for all three of them for lunch so he doesn't have to try to cook something. Hallsy would probably be happy eating KD for every meal, but Jordan does feel some responsibility to make sure he eats something healthier at least some of the time.
While they're eating, Jordan gets what's possibly the longest text ever from Horc, with a suggested list of things he needs to bring with him if they're taking Hallsy on the road with him.
Trust me, the text says at the end, you'd rather have too much of this stuff than not enough.
The last thing Jordan wants is to take Hallsy on another shopping trip, so after lunch while Hallsy runs around the living room with one of the toy cars out of the box of toys Horc loaned him, he asks Whits, "Can you watch him for a while?"
Whits looks into the living room where Hallsy is zooming a car off the arm of the couch and crashing it down onto the floor. "No."
"I need to go pick up some things for him before we fly this afternoon. An hour."
Whits gestures at the living room, and Hallsy. "An hour of that is not worth anything you can promise me."
"He'll probably fall asleep pretty soon," Jordan says, "and I'll do your laundry for a week."
"He'd better," Whits says. "Two weeks."
Jordan says, "Done," and Whits scowls at him like he knows he could have gotten more.
Jordan goes into the living room and crouches down next to where Hallsy's current car racing track is going to bring him. "Buddy, I'm going to run some errands. Whits is going to stay here with you."
Hallsy drops his car and grabs onto Jordan's shirt. "Noooo. Go with you."
"Not this time," Jordan hugs Hallsy. "I'll be back really soon, and later we're going on an airplane."
"Go with," Hallsy insists.
"No," Jordan says. He peels Hallsy's hands off of his shirt. "I'll be back in a little bit, and then we'll go on the airplane together."
"No," Hallsy wails. He launches himself at Jordan and clings to his legs. "Ebby, no, go with you."
Jordan bends down to pick him up and takes him over to where Whits is scowling at him. "Whits is going to take care of you." He hands Hallsy to Whits and makes sure he's not going to hurl himself to the floor to get away from Whits before he steps away and says, "I'll be back soon."
He ignores both Hallsy's tantrum and Whits' yelled, "You owe me big for this one, Eberle," and leaves the house.
He really doesn't want to be gone that long, so he runs down Horc's list as quickly as he can, and ignores his phone every time it beeps with a message from Whits. When he checks it in the car, he's right that it's just a lot of irritation without any real emergencies, so he heads home without worrying.
"Ebby," Hallsy shrieks as soon as Jordan opens the door, and Jordan drops bags in the entryway so he can bend down and pick up Hallsy.
"That kid," Whits says, trailing after him slowly, "is a menace."
"Ebby, you back." Hallsy's words are muffled by the way he's smashing his face into Jordan's shoulder.
"I know," Jordan says to Whits. He pats Hallsy's back and says, "I'm back. Let's take a nap, okay, buddy?"
Hallsy doesn't even try to protest, just mumbles, "Kay," and lets Jordan tuck him into bed.
Jordan waits until Hallsy falls asleep, and then he creeps out of the room to go unpack the bags of stuff he brought home. It seems like it's going to be easier without Hallsy getting in his way. Plus, this way he can put everything he thinks Hallsy can carry into the tiny backpack he bought, and everything else in with his stuff, and it can all be a surprise.
Whits watches him as he packs the tiny backpack with a pair of coloring books, a box of crayons, a couple of small bags of trail mix, three packs of Oilers stickers, two paperback picture books, and a couple of the toy cars Hallsy's been playing with and leaving everywhere.
"You're spoiling him."
"If it keeps him from throwing a tantrum on the plane," Jordan says, "I don't care, and you won't either." He makes sure nothing is still in packaging he can't open with his bare hands, and then he takes the rest of the stuff in to add to his bag before he climbs into bed for a short nap before they have to leave.
*
Jordan holds Hallsy's hand to the plane, but he picks him up to carry him up the stairs. He finds them seats not too far back, where Hallsy can watch out the window without the wing being in the way.
Jordan keeps Hallsy's LeapPad, his phone, and a pack of gum out of his bag, then puts it in the overhead compartment, and has Hallsy put his backpack under the seat in front of him.
Hallsy kneels up in his seat to look out the window. "Look," he says, "trucks."
Jordan leans over to look. There are trucks they can see from here, airplanes too, farther out, but Hallsy seems content to watch the trucks for a while.
"Time to sit down and put your seat belt on," Jordan says when the flight attendants start getting them ready for takeoff. Hallsy sits without a fight, apparently happy with how much he's already gotten to watch the trucks, and Jordan leans over to buckle his seat belt.
They're good until takeoff. Hallsy watches out the window with excited narration as they taxi to the runway.
Then they take off, and they're still good for a little bit until Hallsy turns to Jordan and whines, "Ebby, ow. Owwwww," and puts his hands over his ears.
"Do your ears hurt, buddy?"
Hallsy nods, and sniffles with the beginning of what could become a really unpleasant crying fit. Jordan grabs the gum from his pocket and unwraps a piece for Hallsy.
"Here. Chew this. Your ears won't hurt as bad."
Hallsy frowns at him, but he takes one hand off his ear so he can take the gum.
"You have to chew it," Jordan says, and he unwraps a piece for himself.
Once Hallsy sees Jordan's chewing gum, he starts chewing more exaggeratedly, and after a minute he turns an awed face on Jordan. "Ebby, no more hurt."
Jordan smiles at him. "Awesome."
Hallsy chews in silence for another thirty seconds, apparently still marveling at the magic afforded by a piece of gum, before he tries to grab for his backpack.
"I'll get it," Jordan says. He grabs the backpack by its top handle and gives it to Hallsy.
He didn't really think about the mess a three-year-old could make discovering all the surprises in a tiny backpack, but he does now, and he does his best to corral everything so it doesn't end up littering the floor of the plane never to be seen again.
Hallsy eventually gets everything out of the backpack, and then gives one of the books to Jordan. "Ebby, read."
Jordan tucks the book between himself and the arm rest. "Let's put everything else back in your backpack, and then I'll read to you."
Across the aisle, Gags says, "Can you even read?"
Jordan makes sure Hallsy's occupied with the difficult for a three-year-old task of holding both a backpack and the coloring book he's putting in it before he flips Gags off.
After Jordan reads the book to him, Hallsy wants his coloring book. Using every one of the new crayons keeps him occupied for a while.
"Look, Ebby, look."
Jordan looks over at Hallsy's coloring book page covered in scribbles. "Looks great, buddy."
Hallsy beams at him and decides he wants to play with the stickers next.
"Put the crayons back in their box first," Jordan says, and he only helps with the last one when Hallsy's three-year-old hands don't quite have the dexterity for it. He has Hallsy put the coloring book and crayons away before he lets him dig one of the sticker packs out. Hallsy gives it to him to open; Jordan tears the plastic open and gives it back to Hallsy.
Jordan keeps an eye on him while Hallsy contemplates the stickers very seriously. He thought they'd be fun for Hallsy, but he doesn't want them to end up stuck to any part of the plane where they're going to stay stuck permanently.
Hallsy eventually peels a couple of stickers off and very carefully sticks one on each of his cheeks and one on the back of each hand. Then he struggles to sit up on his knees, managing to slip out from under his seat belt as he does, and says, "Now you."
"Me?"
"Uh-huh."
Jordan bends down a little so Hallsy can very seriously put stickers on either one of his cheeks, and pointedly ignores Gags laughing at him across the aisle.
Hallsy looks at Jordan for a moment, and then he lights up with a bright smile and pats one of the stickers on Jordan's cheek.
Jordan smiles back at him. "Does it look good?"
Hallsy nods. He looks sidelong at Jordan and says, "Nuge too."
Jordan laughs. "He should match us, huh?"
Hallsy says, "Yes," very firmly.
"Okay," Jordan says. He unbuckles his seat belt. "Let's go find Nuge." He lifts Hallsy out into the aisle, and follows behind as Hallsy starts wandering down the plane.
There's a lot of stifled laughter as they pass. Jordan ignores it and does his best to keep Hallsy from yelling for Nuge so the guys who are napping can keep sleeping.
Nuge is near the back of the plane, between a window and Schultzy. They're playing something on one of their iPads, and they both look up when Hallsy spots them and yells, "Nuge!"
"What's up?" Nuge asks.
Hallsy waves his sticker sheets. "Stickers. You wear too."
Nuge looks at Jordan, who gives him a look asking him to play along. "Okay," he says slowly.
Jordan picks Hallsy up and Nuge leans their way so Hallsy can carefully pat stickers onto each of his cheeks.
"Do I get stickers?" Schultzy asks.
"No," Hallsy says promptly. "Stickers just for lineys."
Schultzy puts on an exaggerated frown.
Jordan shifts Hallsy so he's a little more comfortable holding him and says, "Maybe Schultzy could have a different sticker."
Hallsy looks down at his sticker sheet, and then he picks one of the other sticker designs and leans halfway out of Jordan's arms to stick it on Schultzy's forehead.
Schultzy holds out a fist, and Hallsy grins and bumps his tiny fist against Schultzy's much larger one.
"I think Whits should get a sticker too," Schultzy says, "since he's your roommate."
"What do you say?" Jordan asks Hallsy.
"Yes," Hallsy says.
Jordan grins, because this is going to be great, and goes halfway back up the plane to where Whits is sitting. He's even on the aisle.
"Whits," Hallsy says, "Whits, stickers."
Whits looks up and his face cracks into a laugh. "You sure did get into the stickers, kid. Did you really think that was a good idea?" he asks Jordan.
"Yep," Jordan says. "And you get one too."
Whits' smile disappears.
"This one," Hallsy says, holding it out. Jordan tips him closer so he can smack it onto Whits' forehead. "Diffent cause you not a liney."
"Nuge matches us," Jordan explains, which doesn't do much to smooth over Whits' irritation.
Hallsy holds out the sticker sheets. "Done now."
Jordan takes the stickers, grins at Whits, and takes Hallsy back to their seats.
It's not long before Hallsy wants to get up again, and Jordan lets him run up and down the aisle with one of his cars until he wears himself out enough to sit quietly. He asks Jordan to read him the other book in his backpack, and falls asleep before they get to the end of it.
"But I wanted to know how it ends," Gags says when Jordan stops reading.
Jordan flips him off, and Gags laughs quietly enough not to wake Hallsy up.
*
Even in Nashville and St. Louis, someone always knows someone, so there are people Jordan can leave Hallsy with for their games. It's pretty much the only time he can leave Hallsy with anyone else. If he promises he's coming right back, Hallsy will stay with one of the other guys for a few minutes, but he resists all of Jordan's efforts to get more of a break than that, and Jordan resigns himself to spending all of his time with a three-year-old until whatever happened to make Hallsy this way undoes itself and makes him an adult again.
"It's not like you two aren't attached at the hip all the time anyway," Whits says. "And he's dumb enough that this can't be all that different."
Only the fact that Jordan's holding a sleeping Hallsy at the time keeps him from doing more than just flipping Whits off.
Despite that, it seems like it's going to be a relatively painless road trip, until Jordan's tying his tie after the St. Louis game and there's a wail from the other room.
Jordan pulls the knot of his tie up and goes into the other room where Hallsy is still crying and yelling, "Ebby!"
Jordan scoops him up. "What happened?"
"He was standing on the bench," Nuge says. "He fell. I think he hit his elbow."
"Ebby, hurts," Hallsy sobs, and he is gripping one elbow with his other hand.
"Let me see."
Hallsy moves his hand, and he's not bleeding, which doesn't mean he didn't injure himself, but he's also calming down, which means he's probably okay.
"Do you need to see the trainers? That's what the rest of us do when we get hurt."
Hallsy's stopped crying, but there are still tears glittering on his lashes. He contemplates for a minute and then says, "Yes."
Jordan takes him in to see Kim. "One more injury for you to look at," he says.
Kim raises his eyebrows, but when Jordan sets Hallsy down on the table, he takes it seriously, running Hallsy through all the range of motion exercises he would do with any of the rest of them to make sure he hasn't hurt himself.
Hallsy watches it all carefully, until Kim runs his fingers into the curve of Hallsy's elbow and he shrieks with laughter.
"I think you're going to be okay," Kim says. "You think it needs a band-aid?
Hallsy twists his arm to look at his elbow. "Yes."
"All right." Kim gets him a band-aid and carefully sticks it to his elbow.
Hallsy holds his elbow up toward Jordan. "Ebby, kiss better."
Jordan bends down and presses his lips to Hallsy's band-aid.
"Ebby, up." Hallsy holds his arms out, and Jordan picks him up.
"What do you say to Kim?"
"Thank you."
Kim smiles at them. "You're welcome."
"Thanks," Jordan echoes, and he takes Hallsy back to the locker room.
"No," Hallsy says when Jordan tries to put him down.
"We need to put our coats on," Jordan says. "You need to get down or Whits can hold you."
Whits makes a face at Jordan, but doesn't protest the possibility. Hallsy does.
"No," he says, shaking his head for emphasis. "Just you."
Whits laughs, and Jordan puts Hallsy down on the ground long enough to get both of their coats on. Hallsy's asleep before they even get onto the bus.
*
They get home late, but Hallsy sleeps enough on the plane that he still wakes up relatively early in the morning. Jordan takes him skating with the idea that it'll be a good way to spend the morning and that it'll leave Hallsy tired enough that Jordan can get a long nap. He miscalculates, though, and they stay out too long, both of them tired and hungry when they get home.
Jordan goes to the kitchen to make them something to eat, and Hallsy pours the box of Legos borrowed from Horc onto the floor, abandons them to run one of his cars up and down the floor, then runs it into the Legos to scatter them everywhere. He's loud about it too, making exaggerated car noises, clattering everything everywhere and saying, "Ebs, Ebby, look, look, Ebs."
Jordan looks up once, but he's trying to make them lunch and, short on sleep and patience, he snaps, "Enough! Could you just stop for one minute?"
Hallsy's face crumples, and Jordan feels like the worst person in the world even before Hallsy starts to cry.
Jordan puts down the knife he's using to spread peanut butter onto bread and goes over to pick Hallsy up. "I'm sorry, buddy," he says. "I'm sorry. Taylor, I didn't mean that."
Hallsy clings to him and sobs into Jordan's shoulder. Jordan just keeps saying, "I'm sorry," and stroking Hallsy's hair over and over.
Hallsy eventually stops crying, and turns his head out of Jordan's shirt enough to ask, "Ebby not hate me?"
"No," Jordan says, "of course not. Never."
Hallsy sniffles a little and says, "I love you, Ebby."
Jordan smiles, even though Hallsy still has his head on Jordan's shoulder, and says, "I love you too."
Hallsy picks his head up off of Jordan's shoulder and says, "Promise?"
"Promise," Jordan says meeting his eyes. "I love you forever."
Hallsy sighs and puts his head back down. "Forever and ever and ever."
Jordan rocks him a little and only then looks toward the kitchen. Whits is standing on the other side of the counter, obviously having heard at least the last part of that. He doesn't say anything, though, just raises his eyebrows and takes a bite out of the sandwich Jordan was making for Hallsy.
*
Jordan wakes up to someone poking his shoulder and Hallsy saying, "Ebs. Ebby, wake up."
"What do you need?" Jordan mumbles, and then Hallsy's voice really registers and he snaps his eyes open. Hallsy is no longer three. He's himself again, taking up too much space where Jordan let him nap in his bed. He's bare-chested with scraps of what used to be a jersey sized for a three-year-old around him. Jordan is extremely glad to have him back.
"Was I just a three-year-old for five days?"
Jordan grins at him. "Yep."
"And you took care of me."
"I did."
"Is there going to be payback for that?"
"So much payback," Jordan promises. "In ten years, when you're living in my basement and my wife and I want to go out, you're babysitting every time."
Hallsy makes a face and hits Jordan in the arm but doesn't argue it. "At least you know you'll be good at raising kids." He gets out of bed, and he's naked, which means the pajama pants Jordan got him into are probably scraps in his bed like the jersey.
"Hey, Taylor," Jordan says before Hallsy can leave the room.
Hallsy turns back in the doorway. "Yeah?"
"I love you forever."
Hallsy smiles at him, bright and happy, and still so much like himself as a three-year-old. "Forever and ever and ever."
He leaves the room, and Jordan laughs when Whits yells, "Put it away, Hallsy," down the hallway.
*
There's a flurry of clapping and cheering from the guys already there when Jordan walks into the room to get ready for practice with a regular sized Hallsy with him.
"I think I speak for all of us," Horc says, putting his arm around Hallsy's shoulder, "when I say thank God you're bigger now. We don't expect you to be any more mature."
Hallsy takes the chirping in good humor, going over to fist bump Nuge and slap hands with Gags.
"No more crying," Whits says. "No more Legos everywhere. No more stickers."
Schultzy laughs, and Whits narrows his eyes at him.
"That was you? I knew he wasn't smart enough to think of that on his own." He points at Schultzy. "You're going to pay. When you least expect it."
Schultzy looks thoroughly unconcerned about the coming retribution.
"What made you be you again?" Nuge asks.
Hallsy looks over at Jordan, but just shrugs. "Must've worn off or something."
Whits snorts but doesn't dispute Hallsy's account of things.
"Are you glad to have him back?" Gags asks Jordan. "Or are you sorry that you don't have your own fan club of one following you around anymore?"
"Glad," Jordan says.
"I don't know how you can tell the difference," Whits says before Jordan can say anything else. "He does that all the time anyway."
Jordan automatically looks to make sure Hallsy isn't paying attention before he flips Whits off and finds Hallsy way ahead of him.
Whits asks the room in general, "Do you see what I have to put up with?"
"You chose it," Jordan says, sharing a grin with Hallsy. "Too late to get rid of us now."