[hockeypreg2]

"Of course," Amanda said with a bright smile. "Good luck tonight, Zach. I hope you win."

Zach smiled at her, feeling nervous all the same. "Thanks Amanda. I'm still pretty shocked to be nominated at all so that's good enough for me." He knelt down to give Savannah and Milo kisses. "Be good for Amanda. Daddy and I love you and we'll see you in the morning."

[Sam260]

Caleb got down and gave both of his little ones kisses and hugs "You two behave yourselves." Caleb said a lot more sternly as he kissed their foreheads once more and stood up slowly "If any of them give you any trouble, do not hesitate to call us..." Caleb said as he looked at Amanda.

Amanda shook her head and smiled "They are hardly ever trouble for me, Caleb. Now go, enjoy the evening! We'll see you in the morning." Amanda said as she shooed the couple out of the house.

Caleb sighed as he and Zach headed out of the house and down to the cars "So, which one are we taking this evening...?" Caleb asked, looking at the collection of cars that seemed to be multiplying the more kids they had.

[hockeypreg2]

"None of them," Zach said as he put his hands on Caleb's hips and turned him towards the limousine that was waiting by the driveway. "We've got a driver tonight. We can absolutely enjoy ourselves without having to worry about getting behind the wheel. And we're going to pick up Jen and Holly on the way there so hopefully Holly will take some of the spotlight."

Zach led him to the car. The driver got out immediately, opening the door. "Hello Mr. Martin and Mr. Martin. I'm Jack and I'll be your driver. We'll be picking up the Mrs. Sharp's on our way. If you'd like a drink, the bar is stocked with alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks."

"Thank you very much, Jack," Zach said, shaking his hand before helping Caleb in the car and sliding in after him. It was a roomy limo mostly because Holly was wearing a rather voluminous gown and would need the space.

[Sam260]

Caleb shifted over until he was sitting right next to the mini-fridge, opening it up to peruse the options contained inside "They have all sorts of things in here." Caleb said, immediately grabbing a chocolate bar and unwrapping it. He carefully started munching on the Hershey's bar and smiled at Zach "Want anything while I'm in here? Or... do..." he paused and looked at the candy "Do we have to pay for this stuff? Like we would a hotel?"

Caleb *still* wasn't used to the lifestyle of the rich and famous, clearly. While he was okay with getting into cars with a chauffer, limo's weren't exactly something he was used to being inside of. Case in point.

[hockeypreg2]

"It's taken care of," Zach said with a warm smile. "Hand me a bottle of water." It was cute to him when Caleb seemed to forget that they were rich. He understood it. There were moments where Zach felt crazy when he thought about how much money they had at their disposal.

Zach put his arm around Caleb, accepting the bottle of water. "I'm nervous. I still feel like it was a mistake that I was nominated even after the rest of the award season and being nominated for those awards as well. I never thought I would be back here."

[Sam260]

Caleb grabbed his own bottle of water and snuggled up close to Zach, resuming the munching of his candy bar; careful not to get any on himself or Zach in the process "You shouldn't be nervous. You worked your way back up into the ranks, worked harder than anyone I have ever seen before..." Caleb said quietly and kissed Zach softly on the lips, sticky sweet from the chocolate. "And not to mention, you were damn good in that role."

Caleb placed the empty wrapper in the trash can and then sighed as he sat back, taking slow sips of his water "I, on the other hand, should be nervous as hell. I have never had the social graces that you have for these events... I mean... Who eats a full-size chocolate bar, before they are about to go in front of a crazy amount of press?!"

[hockeypreg2]

"My beautiful husband," Zach said easily, resting his cheek against Caleb's head. "Who now smells like chocolate which is really nice. You have always done wonderful in front of the press so you will do fine this time as well. I know you think you act awkward and nervous but you really don't. The press likes you."

The car slowed to a stop and Jack lowered the window slightly. "We've arrived at the Sharps'. Would you like to get out or should I get them myself?"

"We'll get them. Thank you, Jack," Zach said politely. He reached for Caleb's hand. "Let's go get the ladies."

[Sam260]

Caleb nodded and took hold of Zach's hand, slowly scooting out of the limo's seats and onto the pavement of Holly and Jen's driveway. Caleb looked up at the mansion and sighed shakily "This is where Jen lives now, seriously? I'm so going to miss her little apartment..." Caleb said quietly, scuffing his shoe against the cement.

"How come we don't live in a big fancy mansion? Or... big anything? Personal preference on your part?" Caleb asked, looking over at Zach as the duo walked hand-in-hand over to the large oak doors of Holly's home.

[hockeypreg2]

Zach gestured at the mansion. "This isn't my style. I like living in an actual neighborhood with kids that our kids can play with. Our place is big enough even if we adopt a couple of kids. We have everything we need. Unless ... " Zach stopped walking. "Do you want a place like this?"

Zach turned to look at him. "If you want a place like this, we can get one. I'll get you whatever you want."

[Sam260]

Caleb looked up at Zach with wide eyes "What?! No! That's... I..." Caleb sighed loudly and shook his head "That's not what I meant... I was just... asking how come you didn't live in a house like this..." Caleb looked at the ground and shook his head "I don't want anything big and fancy - our house is plenty big enough, believe me... I clean it often enough."

[hockeypreg2]

Zach looked relieved. "Oh that's good. These places always feel so sterile to me. Like you can't touch anything or really live in them. I guess it works for Holly and Jen but it wouldn't work for us."

Zach knocked on the door, waiting for a moment before it was opened by a young woman who he didn't know.

"Oh hello Mr. Martin. Please come in. They'll be down in a moment," the woman said, bustling them into a very formal sitting room. "Mrs. Sharp is just finishing up."

"Her gown is really complicated," Jen said from the doorway, dressed in a beautiful sheath dress that shimmered when she moved. "Hi guys. Thank you for getting the door, Emma."

[Sam260]

Caleb looked around the mansion - or at least the parts he could see of it - with wide eyes. He felt almost claustrophobic standing in the room; Zach was right that it felt like a sterile environment, they could probably preform surgeries in here and nothing would go wrong at all. He clung to Zach, almost fearing to touch a single thing.

Caleb pointed at Emma, who was walking away, and then stared at Jen with wide eyes "Who the heck was that?" Caleb asked, voice a little high-pitched and squeaky - he was *definitely* out of his element now, and it showed in the way his hand trembled just slightly and his face paled a little.

[hockeypreg2]

Jen walked in and waited until she was sure Emma was gone. "She works for Holly. She's kind of a household manager. It's ... I guess it's helpful. There is like a team of people upstairs getting her ready. It's definitely different from when I get ready for these things."

Zach leaned over and pressed a careful kiss to her cheek. "You look absolutely lovely. This dress is gorgeous on you."

[Sam260]

Jen smiled and pressed a kiss to Zach's cheek and then Caleb's cheek "Thanks! I wanted to buy a new dress, considering it would be me and Holly's first time on the red carpet together - No, our wedding didn't count..." Jen said as she twirled slightly, letting her shimmering dress glitter from the lights above "You two look gorgeous as well, and I love the new necklace, Caleb."

Caleb smiled warily, head slightly tucked up against Zach's bicep "Thanks... Zach got it for me, gave it to me before we finished getting ready... Good thing too, I was having a hell of a time trying to get my bowtie on tonight, so this worked out for the better." Caleb said, reaching up to lightly finger the choker necklace.

[hockeypreg2]

Holly came down the steps, lifting the front of her gown with Emma holding up the back. "Hi guys! Jen, have you seen my purse? I swear it was upstairs but we can't find it anywhere."

Jen smiled at her indulgently. "I put both of our purses down here so they were by the door. Backup lipsticks and everything we need are already in them."

Holly glided over to her, kissing Jen lightly on the lips. "What would I do without you?"

Jen laughed and took her hand. "Lose everything. We have to go. Are you going to be able to walk in this or am I going to be picking it up in the back the whole night?"

Holly pouted. "That was just because of the steps."

Zach laughed and gave Holly a quick kiss as well. "We can help with the gown as well. The limo is waiting outside."

[Sam260]

Caleb, Zach, and Jen all helped Holly get outside and to the limo, and as soon as they were there, Caleb slipped inside of it and hid himself in the corner next to the mini-fridge once again while Jen and Zach worked on shoving all of Holly's gown into the limousine. He was definitely not feeling very comfortable, despite Zach's reassurances that he was great in the spotlight.

Caleb opened up the mini-fridge once again and found a small bottle of white wine; he twisted off the cap and took a slow sip, hoping to quell the nervousness in his stomach. Zach and Jen were finally in the back of the limo and Zach was giving him an odd look.

"I'm... I don't know..." he said, waving his hand aimlessly and taking another sip of the wine "I'm nervous and just not feeling very confident right now." Not to mention he wasn't exactly fond of Holly - she was a great person, but she just didn't fit in with their group very well; as evidenced by the big fancy house, and the big fancy dress. Caleb may have been a bit flashy, but he definitely wouldn't have gone that far.

[hockeypreg2]

Zach put his arm around Caleb, squeezing his shoulders gently. He tucked him in close, wanting to both protect and comfort Caleb. "We can be nervous together then. I'm glad you're with me. No one else makes me feel better then you. I know I can get through this because you're with me."

Zach took the wine from Caleb and took a drink, making sure to drink a lot of it since Caleb couldn't hold his alcohol as well as him. He handed it back to him. "Don't step back when they tell you to. Just hold my hand and stay with me. We'll walk the whole thing together so you don't have to be alone out there."

[Sam260]

Caleb nodded his head against Zach's shoulder, pouting as he watched his husband drain a good portion of the wine bottle "You're trying to keep me sober." Caleb murmured as he took the bottle back and finished off the few swallows that were left after Zach had taken his 'share' of the drink.

The limo got moving once everyone was situated inside, and Caleb sighed, relaxing just a bit. Jen and Holly were in their own little world of conversation and Caleb could easily tune them out to just listen to Zach breathing, and listen to his husband's heart beating underneath his ear. He kept the bottle of wine in his fingers, twisting the empty bottle around slowly "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, but with you... I just wish we were alone." Caleb whispered, eyes closed against a rush of tears that threatened to spill from him.

[hockeypreg2]

"Jen needs to be with me," Zach said a little regretfully. "And they wanted to be together. I'm making Jen work tonight instead of just be Holly's wife. The least I could do was let them come in the same car." He rubbed Caleb's side, cupping his free hand over Caleb's face to hide him from view in case he did start to cry. Zach could see it on his face.

"Once we're finally inside, I'll get you a glass of wine. I just don't want you feeling sick on the red carpet," Zach explained.

[Sam260]

Caleb sniffled, trying to stop the hot tears as they dripped down his cheeks slowly; he nodded though, trying to be stronger than what he felt inside of himself. He never did well with red carpet events, and this time was no exception - he just felt highly overwhelmed, not used to having Holly tag along with what once used to be just the "Three Musketeers."

"I'm trying..." he whispered, voice already sounding hoarse and scratchy "I just... I don't know how to do this with her here." Caleb whispered and tilted his head back just enough so he and Zach could make eye contact, tears still slipping down his cheeks and making his eyes a little puffy and red-lined "I feel like I've forgotten so much since you were out of the lime light."