Tom had to make plenty of things right, but the first thing he had to do was meet with Seraphina Hanson. Aurora was still on his mind, but before he could go to her, he needed to talk to Seraphina and get concrete answers before making his own choice instead of following his brother.

Luckily for him, Seraphina asked him to come in early Friday morning. Michael was in the middle of packing up for Arizona. When Tom popped his head in Michael's room to see if Michael was truly going, he heard Michael muttering about the need to know and decisions should have been informed first. Tom had no idea what he was talking about and Michael wasn't offering any explanation.

Tom got to the Ice Palace just after eight. He took in a deep breath and gave himself a moment to look across the street, at the ocean as it crashed into the shore. This was where he was supposed to be. He knew it deep down in his bones, and he hoped that Seraphina and the Gulls knew that as well.

The offices were empty, despite the fact that it was a Thursday in the middle of July. He wondered if Seraphina wasn't too much of a stickler for when her employees showed up for the day, or if there was minimal staff today for some reason.

Seraphina's office door was open and he popped his head in, not wanting to interrupt if something else was going on. Seraphina looked up at him from over her computer monitor and stood up, beckoning him in. He was surprised to find her in a casual red T-shirt and black leggings.

"Hi," she said warmly. "Thanks for stopping by. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Where is everyone?" Tom asked before he could stop himself. He took a seat in one of the chairs but he didn't help glancing behind him to see if he could find someone else on this floor.

"Oh," she said. "Seeing as how it's the day before the trade deadline, I wanted to review my books and see if there was anyone else available that I wanted. I've been approached by a few people, but I haven't found the right fit for our squad yet."

"Gotcha." Tom nodded once and gripped the wooden arm rests on either side of his body. "So I wanted to ask you if you've made up your mind about me and my brother. I know we're not technically being traded to you since we're free agents and all, but my brother's packing right now for Arizona and I really don't want to go to Arizona if I can help it."

"Arizona is actually beautiful," Seraphina said. There was a gentle curve to her lips. "But I can't say I blame you, although they're offering you guys much more than I am. Well, they're offering your brother a lot more. They're offering you about the same as I am. I guess you're going to have to decide if you want to play with your brother, with all else being equal."

Tom's mouth dropped open. "What?" he asked. He didn't think he heard her correctly. "What do you mean, play with my brother. I thought we had a couple of more places to visit before he made up his mind."

"Maybe," Seraphina said, "but I spoke to Michael. For one, he seemed upset that I would ask his assistant if she wanted to assist with coordinating one of our events. I guess I can understand why he feels that way. I wasn't trying to go behind his back, but I do understand why he feels that way. However, he let me know that he would not be signing with us. But you didn't seem to know…?" She asked it as a question but it should have been a statement.

Tom leaned forward, elbows on his knees, hands holding up his head. He couldn't mask his surprise if he tried.

But it was more than just surprise. It was frustration, shock, hurt, betrayal. And confusion. He didn't understand why Michael wouldn't tell him about this decision. It wasn't as though Tom expected Michael to ask permission or to check with him first, but he thought they were in this together. They were shopping around together because the goal was to stay together.

At least, that what he thought.

Now, though…

"And you want me?" Tom asked, sitting back in his chair, tilting his head to the side.

"Of course," Seraphina said immediately. "That hasn't been a question. We would have been happy with either of you or both of you. I'm glad, though, that it worked out this way. Michael is a phenomenal player." She grabbed her pen and started tapping the surface of her desk with the end of it. "No disrespect, but after the past few days and dealing with him on a personal level, I don't appreciate how he handles his business and how he conducts his personal life." She stopped tapping the surface of the table. "Now, that's not your problem and, at the end of the day, he's your brother, so I'll stop talking about it. I think you're going to do a great job here. Zachary Ryan, Xander Vane, even Cherney have said good things. The only one I don't think is pleased is Eddie Reno but we won't be signing him, so it worked out."

"Thanks," Tom said. He still didn't know how to feel about the fact that Michael was leaving, that the Gulls wanted him, that he was in love with Aurora.

"I'll have the contract sent over to your agent by tomorrow," Seraphina said, standing up and offering her his hand. "That is, if you will still consider us."

"That isn't even a question," Tom said. "You were always my first choice."

"Good," Seraphina said with a nod. "Because you were ours as well."

When Tom got back to the hotel, he stalled at the elevators, unsure whether he should go back to his room, to Michael's room, or to Aurora's room. He already said everything he needed to say to Michael. There was no coming back from that. In all honesty, space between him and his brother was probably a good thing. They had been together practically their whole careers and Tom, without realizing it, had let Michael dictate his career.

It was time for Tom to grow up.

He decided to head to his room. He wanted some time to himself before he went out of his way to talk to Aurora.

Because he wanted to talk to her.

But before he did that, he wanted some time to himself to really figure out what he wanted.

When he went to his room, he lay on the bed, placed his hands on his chest, and closed his eyes. Meditation was something Dimitri Petrov swore by, but it had always been difficult for Tom to quiet his mind and really concentrate on it. Now, he wanted to actually put effort into it before giving up and getting over it.

Ten minutes later, he still hadn't quieted his mind, but he was coming close. He was about to put a guided meditation on his phone, thinking that might help speed things along, when there was a knock on his door. He got up and quickly opened it.

"You Tom Tucker?" the man asked. He was a good looking guy in his mid-forties dressed in a suit. He held up a badge. "I'm a detective with Newport Beach PD. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions about the police report you filed concerning the theft of your wallet and your cell phone."

"Yeah, yeah, sure." He stepped aside and waved the detective in. "Come in. Come in."

"Thanks," he said. "My name is Todd Rudd. I can appreciate you must be very busy. I hear you're getting ready to go to Arizona so I'll make this brief. But I wanted to reach out because we found your stolen items and I wanted to return them to you personally."

"Wonderful," Tom said, smiling.

"I just need you to sign some paperwork," Todd said, pulling out bent paper from his jacket pocket. "And when you're done, I can get you the items."

Tom quickly scanned the paper and signed it. Todd reached in his jacket once again and pulled out his cell phone and wallet, each in separate plastic bags.

"This is great," Tom said. "Thank you! Where'd you find them?"

"Pulled over the driver because of talking on a cellphone," the detective responded. "The traffic officer smelled drugs so they searched the car and found a bunch of stolen items in the trunk as well as drugs. Yeah, she'll be going to jail for a while. This isn't her first arrest and I doubt it'll be her last. You do want to press charges, right?"

Tom nodded. "Oh, hell yeah," he said.

"Thought so," Todd said. "Well, I'll keep you updated. For now, I think I'm all done here." He proceeded to fold up the signed paper and tuck it back into his jacket pocket. "It was an honor meeting you. Hey, can I ask you a question? It's unprofessional and my sergeant would kill me, but could I get a picture with you? I have family in Pittsburgh so I've seen you play and I love how aggressive you get, even as a second-line center."

"Yeah, of course." Tom stood next to the detective and flashed a smile as Todd took a selfie with his smart phone. "Thanks for all you've done, detective."

"Ha," Todd said, slipping his phone away. "Just doing my job. You're the one I should be thanking. You always play hard. You make the game entertaining. Thank you."

After the detective left, Tom booted up his old laptop. He rarely used it, but lugged it around in case he needed to move data over to his computer. He wasn't particularly fond of the Cloud and didn't trust their servers one hundred percent of the time. And Tom liked to take tons of pictures and make stupid videos for his Instagram followers. It helped him develop relationships with the fans and kept him in touch with them.

Tom grinned. He felt his entire body spread with warmth at the compliment. No one really told him how good of a player he was outside of his brother. Typically, Tom was good in tandem with his brother. It almost felt as though without Michael, Tom would be nothing. But after practicing with the team, he began to realize that that was all bullshit. Tom wasn't just good. Tom was great. As long as he had line mates he could work with, develop a trusting relationship with out on the ice, and who could receive his passes, he would flourish and he would help others flourish as well.

And he would make everyone see that even if it took more work.

He glanced down at his phone and his wallet. He went through his wallet to make sure he had everything before putting them on the counter. He opened his phone and decided to attach it to his laptop, transferring over his data. That would take about ten minutes.

Since he had some time to kill, he went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth before changing his clothes. He wanted to smell good before going to see Aurora.

Aurora was the only person, besides Todd Rudd, who told Tom how amazing he was. Aurora believed in him. Aurora was constantly making comments about how good he was. Michael never came out of her mouth when she did that.

Aurora, who was probably packing for Arizona. Aurora, who would be leaving with Michael in an hour or two.

He had to stop her.

Now.