After Jane had prepared sandwiches, she settled down in a vacant armchair. Before she handed the plate to Viktor, she took one herself and started eating. Up until that point she hadn’t realized how hungry she was. For breakfast she’d only had a cup of coffee and cereal. She knew that she had to hone her coffee consumption down, and she would. Someday. Right now it was two cups of coffee in the morning, two in the afternoon. It wasn’t that much to be honest, but she wanted to get away from it. One cup for breakfast would have to do it from now on.
While they munched away on the sandwiches, Jane went over his schedule with him. He’d have to go back to the hospital along with the team doctors in three days to see how his injuries were healing, and what they could do to help him. Jane would make sure to change the bandages around his knee regularly, but there was nothing else she could do, except for keeping an eye on his medicine consumption and make sure that he didn’t overdo it.
“At least I’ll get out of the charity dinner this way,” Viktor said more to himself than to her, but she still reacted to it.
“Why did you agree to it in the first place if you didn’t want to go?” She’d finished her sandwich and was now looking at the schedule in her hands. It had all the Blackhawks games on it, as well as the doctor visits she knew about. Management had sent her a few other things she’d have to go through with him. He might not be able to play, but there were still other activities he could take part in.
“Because Jonathan talked me into it and it’s a good thing.” He looked down at his bandaged knee, touched his fingers to it. “But I’ll have to wear a suit and tie, and I can’t do this with my foot in a cast.” Actually, he could. They could find a way. He wouldn’t look as fancy as usual, but it would work. It wouldn’t be very comfortable, though. He’d have to sit through all these courses, talk to people and try to smile most of the time, and Jane didn’t think he’d be able to pull this off yet. Not with the broken ribs. “But I want to go to the games. If I can’t play, I want to be there and support them at least.”
“We can do that.” She’d been to a couple of games with Abby, sometimes with her friend Nick. “We can always go if you don’t feel too well.” She doubted that this would happen, but she still had to let him know.
“Let’s go tomorrow. It will be an opportunity to address the media as well.” He hadn’t done that yet and nobody expected him to do it. Management and trainers had already talked to the media, but they had yet to hear from him. Better to show his face to them and tell them himself that he was alright. Because he was. Two broken ribs and a broken foot would heal quickly. He had to make them aware that he’d be on the ice again as soon as possible and that he’d work his ass off to get there even sooner than anybody expected.
“Are you sure about this?” A concerned look crossed Jane’s face, but she covered that up quickly with a neutral expression. Going to the game would be alright, but talking to the media? “Well, as long as you do it before the game, I think it will be alright.”
“What’s wrong with doing it afterwards?” He sat up straighter and rearranged the pillows so he could lean back comfortably again.
“First of all, we might not be there anymore. You might be all rough and tough and whatnot, but you’re on medication as well. Who knows how the game will go and maybe you’ll be in pain and I’ll get you home. I won’t stand by if you sit there and have trouble breathing. Secondly, if we make it to the end of the game, you’ll be exhausted and it would be better to talk to them when you still know what you’re talking about. You don’t want to let your guard down in front of them.” She looked him in the eye for a moment, but then diverted her gaze to the schedule in her hands.
She was right. Though he wouldn’t tell her if he felt pain during the game, because he wouldn’t leave early. But the point about not letting his guard down got to him. It would definitely be better to talk to them previously to the game. He’d call Jonathan tomorrow to talk it through with him, see what he had to say about this.
“Okay, we’ll do it your way then.”
“Good.” She nodded while still concentrating on the schedule. They had the game the following day, and the hospital visit two days later. “What do you want to do on Thursday?”
“Let’s go shopping.”
“Where to?”
“I’ll tell you then. I need a couple of things and we have to buy more food. I noticed that you already bought some stuff and I’ll repay you for this.” His eyes drifted to her scribbling hands. He wondered what she was writing down all the time, but he couldn’t really see from where he was sitting. When she suddenly looked up, he flinched, but regained his composure quickly. Damn, he’d thought she’d been really absorbed in her writing. She squinted her eyes at him and sat up straight.
“You better tell me where you want to go. After all, I’m supposed to drive you there. Without me you won’t get anywhere.” She raised an eyebrow and grinned at him for a split second, before she bit down on her bottom lip. Did she try to hide that smile from him?
“Well,” he started and thought about it. She did have a point. “I talked to this boy at the hospital yesterday evening. We talked about the Avengers movie and he said that he was a big Hulk fan, so I thought I might find something to surprise him with.” That talk had really gotten to him and he hadn’t been able to get that kid out of his mind. He was maybe ten years old, a big hockey fan and had a heart condition. It had gotten worse over the last couple of weeks, but there was no donor heart so far. If he didn’t get one soon… Viktor didn’t even want to finish that thought.
The expression on Jane’s face softened and she smiled at him. Finally a smile she didn’t try to hide and that was directed at him.
“That’s really sweet. I’m sure we’ll find something.”
They went over the rest of the schedule. They next games of the Blackhawks at home, his appointments with the doctors, a visit to the hospital to visit some patients, and other activities that he could maybe take part in, depending on the status of his health.
When they were finished, Jane decided to take a walk to get acquainted with the area. Viktor stayed on the sofa to watch the news. Jane needed to know her way around, so a walk was a great opportunity to accomplish just that. She took her time and enjoyed the cold weather. It calmed her down. She’d always loved snow despite the fact that it was harder to hide when it had snowed. A bitter laugh escaped her lips as she got back to the apartment building.
She’d spent so much time outside, that she could start dinner straight away when she was inside again. In the living room she saw a sleeping Viktor. Good. He must have been exhausted and drowsy from the medication. She’d make him dinner, get him in the shower, bandage his knee and then head home herself.
In the kitchen she didn’t have problems finding what she needed. She remembered where everything was and got to work. Humming to herself she finished up everything, arranged it on plates and carried it to the living room. Viktor was still asleep, but he hadn’t lied down. He was sleeping in a sitting position, but that was probably for the better. Ever so gently she put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. She didn’t want to cause him pain.
“Wake up. Dinner’s ready.”
Slowly he opened his eyes and stared straight at her. He blinked a couple of times, before he realized where he was. ”Oh. Good.” He squeezed his eyes shut in pain, took a deep breath and looked at her again. After dinner he’d take his last painkiller. That was for sure.
Jane handed him his plate, before she took her own and sat down to enjoy the meal. It was delicious! Viktor hadn’t expected it to taste this good, but he was grateful. Maybe it tasted that good because he’d had hospital food the past days. Whatever it was, he didn’t care. He’d just enjoy this meal Jane had cooked for him.
“Patrick said he knows you because you helped him with an injury?”
“Yes, I did.” Man, that had been so long ago now. Unbelievable. “He came to us because he had problems with his shoulder in the off-season, so I started working with him on that.” She smiled to herself at the memory. “We got along really well and then I met Abby. Ever since then we’ve been friends.”
“Yeah, they’re both easy to get along with. I have yet to find someone who doesn’t like them.”
“I know what you mean.”
They grinned at each other and talked a little bit more over dinner. Once they were finished, Viktor took his last pill of the day. Jane sent him to the bathroom to take a shower. She told him to put a bag over his cast and leave the door unlocked. Should anything happen could she get inside and help him.
“Call me if you need anything.” Jane grabbed the plates and vanished in the kitchen to clean up. Viktor watched her go before he took his crutched and hobbled over to the bathroom. He stripped off his clothes, took the bag and put it over his cast. Before he stepped in the shower he took off the bandage and looked at his knee. It was still nearly double its usual size, but nothing was bruised. At least not on the outside, but he knew what it looked like on the inside. The bruising along his ribcage was still as bad as the day before, but it would get better.
God, he was exhausted. He quickly showered, dried off and put on a shirt and cut off pants. They were only for Jane’s sake, because he’d take them off again before he’d go to bed. She didn’t need to see him in his underwear. With the help of his crutches he made his way back to the living room where Jane was already waiting for him.
She gingerly touched her fingertips to his knee and inspected it. The swelling hadn’t gone down much, but that was okay. She hadn’t really expected anything else. She finished bandaging him in no time and got back up from her kneeling position again.
“How are your ribs?”
“They still look the same.” He slowly lifted his shirt to show her the bruising. His whole left side was black and blue, but it already started to fade to a greenish brown around the edges. Bit Jane’s gaze drifted towards his stomach and chest for a moment.
She shook her head to clear whatever had been on her mind in that moment. She had no business admiring his strong body. Actually, she should be immune to seeing something like this in her line of work.
The bruises. Right.
“It’s getting better. Make sure you get lots of rest and try not to lie on your left side. And you should probably keep your knee bend a little. If you lie on your back, put a pillow beneath it.”
“Alright.” Viktor put his shirt back down and got up to walk her to the door. He didn’t get to do it, though, because Jane sent him directly to his bedroom.