Ruth Sadelle Alderson

This story grew out of Chicago Parent's article on the Blackhawks baby boom. All of the other women look picture perfect; Abby looks exhausted. She says about life when Patrick's on the road, "I don't mean to throw him under the bus or anything. It's not too much different from when he's home because usually he's napping or resting for the game. But no, we're used to being on our own, you know, so it's really not that much different." About Patrick's relationship with Madelyn she says, "I think now that she's getting older, and can talk and play with him, he's just in love. ... He's really enjoying it, I think, now that she's getting out of the baby stage." I read that and thought, "No wonder she looks tired." There were also rumors floating around scurrilous anonymous gossip spaces (way before last season's specific rumor) that Patrick slept with other women.

I wanted to write a story where Abby gets fed up, takes the kids, and leaves, and then has to figure out how to, or even if she wants to, fix her marriage. This is the part of that story I wrote. I never got to the part where they figure it out and make it work, so be forewarned that this leaves off at an uncertain place. Part of what made writing this story fun was that I was writing it just for me - I decided to just write and not worry about finishing or ever posting it. Months would go by without my even looking at this story, and then I would sit down and write 600 words one day.

Content Notes: This story involves real life partners and children. Infidelity themes. There is a mention of Patrick Kane and his girlfriend makes a brief appearance.


( Abby has had enough )

I'm too far away to give lakeeffectgirl actual hugs, but the good thing about living in the internet age is that there's always another picture of Mike Richards, so I made her a picspam instead. (Aren't picspams basically the fannish version of hugs anyway?) By way of introduction, a few caveats and whatnot: First, these are not new pictures. (Ha! Like I could ever find Carts or Richie pictures that lakeeffectgirl hasn't already seen.) The idea here was just to put a bunch of pictures together in one place. Secondly, although I snuck in some source citations (because our lives are full of jokes that require citations), this is not a primer. For that, you want either riadsala's fantastic primer/introduction or lakeeffectgirl's extensive primer/timeline. Thirdly, this ends on a tin-hat defying heterosexual note, so if that's not your thing, you might want to skip the last two pictures.

( Lots of pictures of these drunken, reunited married dudes. )

This is not a happy plot bunny. I was having a really terrible week when I wrote it out, and I never got to the happy ending (which was not going to be Kane/Toews). I will never write this story, but if anyone else wants to take it on, feel free.

Warning: Depression and unspecified suicidal/self-harming ideation.

( Depressed Kaner )