Whatever it takes

When Alex didn’t come out of his room the next morning Charlie went searching, timidly knocking on the door and entering when there wasn’t any answer. She found Alex curled in a ball on the right side of the bed, the shattered pieces of a phone and a picture frame lay sprawled across the carpet. Sidestepping the broken glass she made her way over to the side of the bed, reaching out to place her hand on his shoulder.

“You okay?”

He grunted and tried to shrug her off, rolling away from her and giving her a glimpse of his red rimmed eyes. One glance at the tattered photograph lying on the floor told her all that she needed to know and her jaw clenched in frustration with the woman.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She could hear a sniff and felt his shoulder shrug underneath her palm.

“Nothing to talk about. Masha doesn’t want to marry broken man.”

Charlie’s jaw clenched in anger and she pushed on his shoulder, forcing him to roll back over to face her.

“Cut that shit out Alex. You aren’t broken.”

“How you know? How you know anything! All I do is work, train, all to get back on ice. To get life back, and for what! It’s never going to happen!”

Charlie glared at him and pushed herself up from the bed.

“Not with an attitude like that it isn’t.”

She silently walked out of the door, closing it sensibly behind her causing Alex to groan in frustration.

Two days later she found him on the couch, tumbler of vodka in his hand as he lounged in ratty sweatpants and watched sportscenter. Her comment about alcohol and brain function only got her a scathing glare and she sighed in defeat and settled in on the double wide recliner next to the couch, watching as the announcers droned on and on about the upcoming football season.
They watched in silence until the broadcasters switched topics.

“Speaking of injuries Bruce, what about the Washington Capitals and the Ovechkin situation.”

She could see him tense up out of the corner of her eye, his gaze fixed on the flatscreen in front of him. They were showing the hit, the full force in which his head had slammed into the boards and then into the ice. Charlie had seen it a dozen times, evaluating it with his other doctors to see if there were any outstanding injuries to look out for. From the way Alex was clenching his glass, this was the first time he had laid eyes on it.

“There’s no way. No one can come back from an injury like that. Alexander Ovechkin is done playing professional hockey and I think that it’s time the Capitals start looking for their miracle player elsewhere.”

Charlie jumped as his tumbler hit the flatscreen with a crack, shattering the glass as the television went black. She watched as he fumed in his seat, fists clenched so tight that his knuckles were white. He barely gave her a fleeting glance as he stormed to his room, the echoing bang of his door being slammed shut reverberating through the overly large house.

~~~


Charlie gave him two days of self loathing before she sprung into action. He was awoken to the smell of eggs and bacon, the door to his bedroom opening to reveal her carrying a tray full of breakfast. She gave him a smile and placed the tray on his lap.

“Eat up. You have a big day ahead of you.”

Alex’s eyebrow raised in suspicion, the bubbly woman in front of him nothing like the frustrated and scared woman that he left in the living room two days before.

“I think I didn’t make plans.”

She just gave him a grin and nodded to the tray.

“Eat and then get dressed, meet me at the car in twenty.”

With that she was out the door, leaving Alex to finish his meal in peace.

Twenty five minutes later he was walking down the front steps of his house, eyes locked on the woman leaning against his Escalade. She was dressed in jeans and a black v neck tshirt that hugged her curves and made his eyes dip to the swell of her breasts. Her unruly blonde hair was pulled back off her face with a clip, a few stray strands bouncing around her face from the humid May air.

She gestured to the front seat and he climbed in, not yet clear to drive on his own, while she hopped into the drivers seat, grin planted firmly on her face. He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she pulled out of his neighborhood and onto the freeway, her fingers idly searching through the radio stations before stopping on Country WMZQ, ripping a groan out of Alex’s chest.

“No. No country.”

His hand was swatted away as he went to change it, Charlie managing to seamlessly merge into traffic and give him a glare at the same time.

“I’m driving, therefore I pick the station.”

“MY car, my station.”

“Not how it works pal. Just sit back, relax and let Luke Bryan take you away.”

Alex huffed and leaned back into his seat, watching the scenery as they drove and trying to drown out whatever nagging country artist came on the radio next. He watched as buildings faded away to the suburbs, traffic thinned out and Charlie reached into the glovebox pulling out a bandana and handing it to him.

“Put this over your eyes.”

Alex glared at her and made no move to take it from her hand and she met his glare with one of her own.

“Just do it please. Trust me.”

He sighed in defeat and took the cloth from her, tying it over his eyes so he couldn’t see anything. A minute later he felt the car roll to a stop and heard Charlie’s door open. His was opened a second later and he felt her hand take his, gently guiding him out of the car and onto the pavement. He was told, under no uncertain circumstances, to stay, and he listened while she opened the trunk and pulled something out. A minute later he was forced into a seat he was very familiar with during his time in the hospital and he growled when she started pushing him in the wheelchair.

“Charlie,” his tone was threatening and he reached up to rip the blindfold off and give her a piece of his mind. His hand was caught mid act and she gave it a little squeeze before dropping it to his lap.

“Relax, it’s just easier to move you this way. Don’t need you tripping and ending up in the hospital all over again.”

He sulked and crossed his arms over his chest, feeling every inch like the invalid he had been as she pushed him up a ramp. He could only hope and pray that there wasn’t anyone with a camera around. He could feel the drop in temperature as soon as they crossed into the building, hear the humming of the lights far above. One deep breath told him all that he needed to know as the icy air filled his lungs.

Charlie’s hand came down to untie the bandana, gently sliding it down and allowing Alex to blink as he took in the ice rink before him. It wasn’t the Verizon Center, or anything close to it, just a small rink most likely used for peewee leagues and pickup games. They were the only two people there, the hum of the fluorescent lights loud in his ears as he felt his chest tighten. The ice had been freshly done, the surface smooth as glass as he sat in his wheelchair looking out on the one thing that had made him who he was, that had defined him as a person.

He didn’t realize that Charlie had moved until he caught her lacing herself into a pair of hockey skates out of the corner of his eye. His gaze narrowed when he realized that she didn’t have a pair for him.

“Don’t give me that look. You aren’t cleared for contact and the last thing anyone needs is you falling and cracking your head open again.”

She got up, walking in her skates over to him and pushed down on his shoulder as he tried to push himself up from the wheelchair.

“Just, trust me.”

He slunk back down into the chair, letting her push him to the edge of the ice and onto it. He could feel her breath by his ear as she leaned down to whisper in his ear.

“Close your eyes.”

Sighing, he did as he was told and she gave him a supporting squeeze on his shoulder. Pushing off with her skates, pushing him in the wheelchair as she did so.

“Just close your eyes and feel this. Remember what it was like to fly across the ice, picture it your mind.”

He struggled to remember it, the wind cutting across his face as he raced down ice, the burn in his muscles as he pushed through his shift late in the third.

“Listen to the sound of my skates, picture yourself back there Alex. Back on the ice, doing what you do best.”

There was no sound in the world like a sharpened blade cutting through fresh ice. His hands gripped the sides of the chair as Charlie sped up, bringing them in a large circle around the rink a few times as Alex pictured doing the same at the Verizon Center, the crowd on their feet chanting for his team, his name. Even though Alex wasn’t the one skating he could still feel the same adrenaline kick he felt every time he stepped onto the ice, that rush that came with doing something that you loved.

“Open your eyes.”

Alex did, letting reality set back in as he looked around the rink, eyes finally falling on Charlie and her slight smile. She looked him dead in the eye and quirked the side of her mouth up a little more.

“This is what you were born to do Alex. Now prove it.”

~~~


It had been eight months since the accident, six months since Charlie had moved in with him, and one month since the Caps had been swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Pens. Alex and Charlie had been there for all of the home games, watching in frustration, as his team couldn’t pull it together, wanting nothing more than to be on the ice helping them.

He had fielded questions from the media afterwards, all of them asking about his return. His answer was simple, he would return when the doctors cleared him. At this point he would normally be flying home for the summer, but his therapy kept him in D.C. and at the end of June he was finally, cleared to start skating again.

Alex had insisted on taking Charlie out for a nice dinner to celebrate, after all it was mostly thanks to her that his recovery had gone so smoothly. He told her to dress nice and was walking out of his room, struggling with tying his bowtie when he stopped in his tracks, sucking in a ragged breath through his teeth at the sight in front of him.

Charlie was standing there fidgeting, looking like a goddess in a black cocktail dress. His gaze shamelessly roamed over her, drinking in the miles of curves and milky skin that the garment revealed. Thinking back on it, he had never seen her outside of her normal jeans or workout clothing, and if he thought she was beautiful then, he had no idea how to even begin to comprehend her beauty now.

The dress itself was a classic, dipping to reveal just a hint of cleavage and hugging her body at all the right places. It hit right above her knee and he followed the long toned line of her leg down to black patent leather heels. She had done her hair so that it fell in large soft waves around her face, and for the first time he could appreciate how long it actually was when it wasn’t in its naturally curly state and flying everywhere.

He licked his lips as he stared at hers, the deep red she had painted on them had him thinking thoughts that would make any normal man blush. Her blue eyes were framed by dark charcoal, her eyelashes painted with mascara that made the blue of her iris’s pop.

He didn’t realize that he had been staring, hands stilled on his untied bowtie until she cleared her throat, a flush covering her cheeks and down her chest, disappearing behind her dress.

“Is this okay?” She asked nervously, still fidgeting and looking entirely uncomfortable in her own skin. “Because I can change I just-“

He cut her off as he stepped towards her and took her hand in his, placing it to his lips and pressing a kiss to the back of it.

“You look beautiful,” her eyes widened at the comment and she blushed more as he gave her a wink.

She huffed and playfully slapped him on the shoulder.

“Jeeze, you really do know how to work it with the ladies don’t you?”

Alex gave her a grin and tucked her hand into his arm, leading her out of the front hall and to his SL65 AMG Black Series, opening the door for her and helping her into the low riding car. He started the engine and laughed as she rolled her eyes as he revved it, pulling out of the driveway and thanking the gods that he was cleared to drive again.

She reached over to turn on the radio and he smacked her hand away.

“My car, my radio,” she scowled at him in return and groaned in annoyance while he turned to House Radio, turning up the bass and letting the dance music flood through the car.

“Oh come on, pleaseeee,” she whined. “Anything else but this!”

Alex laughed and turned it down, switching to Billie Holiday Radio on XM and smiling to himself as she perked up, listening as she softly crooned along to one of her favorite artists. They sat in a little bit of traffic, Charlie chatting with him about how the team trainers would be taking over his therapy once he was back on the ice; it left Alex with a sense of longing, knowing that within the week he would be by himself again, without Charlie by his side.

He grabbed her hand and pretended not to hear the little choked off sound she made when he ran his thumb over her knuckles.

“What are you going to do once you are done babysitting angry Russian?”

She let out a laugh and squeezed his hand, shrugging and turning in her seat to face him.

“I don’t know, probably go back to New York. Pick up at the practice I was at before.”

Alex tried to smile through the news, knowing that she was going to be in New York and him in D.C. tore at him.

“Why not get a job with precious Islanders?”

She let out another laugh and shook her head.

“I don’t think they’d take me.”

“Why not? You single handily make Ovie better, they be stupid not to.”

He could tell that she was blushing even in the dimly lit car and it made him smile. He navigated the car through downtown, pulling up in front of the St. Regis hotel and nodding to the valet as he handed his keys over. The other valet had already offered his hand to Charlie, helping her out of the low riding car and nodding to Alex as he took her hand from him.
She took one look at the hotel and her jaw dropped.

“You’re kidding me.”

Alex just grinned and led her into Decanter, the hostess giving them a bright smile as they walked up.

“Mr. Ovechkin, Ms. McGovern, right this way please.”

Charlie gave him an impressed look and followed the hostess through the main dining room to a private room towards the back. Alex hurried to pull out her seat for her as she sat down and rose an inquisitive eyebrow, which he returned with a cheeky grin of his own. They were handed menus and the hostess left them be, allowing Charlie to take in the extravagant room around her.

“You didn’t have to do this Alex,” he shushed her with a shake of his head.

“Yes, you are the reason I am going to be back on the ice Charlie. Other people, they quit on me, but never you.”

She gave him a smile that took the breath from his lungs, but her response was interrupted by their waiter. Alex ordered wine for the both of them, winking at her when she made a comment about Russians and always ordering vodka. They talked and laughed their way through an unbelievable appetizer and entrée, Alex thoroughly impressed by her ability to clear her plate. The split a decadent dessert and Alex suavely handed their waiter his credit card, not even listening to Charlie’s offer to split it or at least pick up the tip.

The ride home was spent in a comfortable silence, listening to Harry James croon on his horn as Charlie looked at the bright city lights out of her window. They pulled up to his house, Alex hurrying around to help her out of the car. She smiled at him as he pulled her up, steadying herself with her hands on the lapels of his jacket. Neither one of them moved away from each other and Alex found himself overcome with the urge to kiss her.

In her heels she was only a few inches shorter than him, her face only slightly tilted up towards him as she smiled up at him.

“Thank you for tonight Alex, it was amazing.”

She still hadn’t moved her hands from their place on his lapels, and his hands had somehow migrated to fit themselves around her waist. He gave her a smile and she couldn’t help but grin back at the lopsided gap tooth smile.

“I glad you had fun. You deserve it.”

She flushed and shook her head, biting her lip and averting her eyes.

“I don’t know about that. I mean, I was just, you know, doing my job and really it was just a matter of proper research and method-“

He cut off her rambling by ducking his head down those few inches and sealing his lips over hers. He smiled into the kiss as he felt her gasp, pulling her closer to him by her waist. She let out a groan as his tongue traced the seam of her lips, opening her mouth to him and moving her hands to fist through his hair. Alex moaned as her fingers pulled on the shaggy strands, backing her up into the side of his car as one of his hands cupped the back of her skull, moving her mouth exactly where he wanted it.

When her lungs were burning and it felt as if she forgot how to breathe she finally broke the kiss, stumbling a little bit as she opened her eyes. Alex’s eyes were blown, black in the night as his hand tightened around her waist, the other stroking over the soft hairs at the base of her skull.

“Charlie,” his voice was hoarse as he stared down at her. His lips followed his words, sealing them against hers again and letting out a groan as she let him press her back against the car, his hips pressing forward against hers.

“Alex,” she gasped against him, pressing her hips forward and throwing her head back. His lips moved down her jaw and to the soft skin of her neck he had fantasized about kissing. His teeth bit down lightly, his tongue quickly licking over the area to sooth it.

“Sasha,” he gasped out as her fingers massaged their way through his hair. “You, call me Sasha.” His grip on the English language was slowly failing him as arousal coursed through his body. “People who,” he groaned and brought his hand around to cup her breast, “special to me. Call me Sasha.”

He felt her nod as he attacked her neck, kissing and nipping his way down to her breasts.

“Sasha,” the breathy moan of his name coming from her lips had him growling and thrusting against her.

“Sasha, we should go inside.”

Alex wrenched himself away from her, nodding along even though his body was screaming at him to take her up against his car and make her moan so loud all of his neighbors would know that she was his.

“Besides,” she grinned at him. “These heels are absolutely killing my feet.”

He let out a laugh and reached down to scoop her up, causing her to shout out in surprise and hold onto him for dear life. He walked with her up the stairs to the front door, and somehow managed to unlock it and get them inside without dropping her. He let her slide down his body as he put her down, his eyes almost crossing as her hip brushed over the very prominent erection in his slacks. She kicked off her heels as soon as her feet were on the floor, sighing in pleasure as she let her toes dig into the carpet.

“God, that feels good.”

Alex growled and spun her around, placing a large hand at the small of her back and pulling her back against him.

“I feel better.”

She cocked a blonde eyebrow at him and gave him a teasing grin.

“Is that so?”

The following moments were a blur as they stumbled down the hall towards her room, clothing flying off along the way until they fell onto her bed in nothing but their underwear. Alex groaned into her mouth as her hand found him through his boxer briefs, squeezing and caressing as he sent up a silent thank you that his body was finally working the way he wanted it to.

Her bra went flying over his shoulder and he didn’t hesitate to take a rosy nipple into his mouth, letting his tongue flick back and forth over it as Charlie writhed underneath him, hands tangled firmly in his hair holding him to her. He quickly disposed of her panties, groaning into her chest as a long finger found her slick and wet.

He wasted no time pushing a finger up and into her and let out another groan as it was engulfed in tight heat.

“God, Charlie… tight.”

He was beyond speaking in complete sentences as he worked another finger into her, the moans and gasps of pleasure spilling from her mouth fueling the fire of his arousal. His dick was so hard it was borderline painful, pounding out a steady beat behind his boxer briefs, wanting nothing more than to be buried in the tight, wet heat that his fingers were currently occupying.

Charlie’s short nails dug into the skin on his shoulder as his thumb flicked over her clit and she pushed him off of her. He kneeled there confused until her hands pushed at the waistband of his briefs and he quickly got with the program helping her to push them off until he fell back onto her, taking up the space in between her legs and groaning as he came in contact with her wet heat. He slid along her, letting her arousal coat him as his eyes struggled not to roll into the back of his head. On the next upward past the head of his cock caught, sliding partially into her and tempting him to just thrust forward and bury himself where every ounce of his being was telling him to.

He pulled away, reaching for the bedside table only to realize that they weren’t in his room. He swore and let his head drop to her shoulder, trying to get oxygen back into his lungs and work up the strength to make the long walk to his room for condoms.

“Hey,” he looked up to meet Charlie’s blue gaze, she gave him a timid smile and wrapped her legs around his waist. “I, um. I’m clean, and uh,” she blushed and Alex almost laughed at the absurdity of it; he was lying naked on top of her with his dick almost inside of her and now she was blushing. “I’m on the pill.”

His hand shook as he brought it up to her face, lightly caressing her cheek as he met her gaze.

“You sure?”

She blinked and then nodded, pushing up to capture his lips with hers, licking into his mouth in a way he could only describe as filthy. He let her heels at his lower back push him into her. He swore in Russian at the first press of his cock inside of her, his hands clenched in the sheets as he struggled to compose himself. Never in his life had anything felt so unbelievably exceptional, the tight, wet heat threatening to suffocate him in the best way.

Charlie threw her head back, letting out a groan as he finally bottomed out inside of her.

“Oh God, Sasha,” she whimpered as he slowly withdrew, leaving only the tip inside of her before sheathing himself in her body once more. His heart was beating a mile a minute, pounding a rapid rhythm against his ribcage as he moved in her. Her hands ran over the sinew in his back, his arms, threading themselves back in his hair as he picked up the pace and pounded into her.

He watched in wonder as she writhed around him, not shy about letting him know just how good he was making her feel. He could feel that telltale tingling in the base of his spine entirely too soon, the overwhelming feeling of making love to a woman, making love to Charlie, after all this time, was entirely too much for him. He hooked his arm underneath her leg, sliding it up so it rested on his shoulder and he slid another half inch deeper.

She yelped out at the change of angle, cursing as his hand caressed the spot where they were joined and he let out a yell as she tightened around him, the cord holding him together snapping as he pounded into her, fucking her through her orgasm as his washed over him. A blinding light exploded behind his eyes, pleasure taking over his body like a drug as he emptied inside of her, catching himself just before he collapsed onto her.

She was gasping for breath but pulled him down onto her anyway, encircling his wide shoulders with her arms and planting a sloppy kiss on his lips, legs still around his waist and his softening dick still inside of her. He could already feel the darkness swimming around his vision as her hands leisurely stroked down his back.

He managed to plant one last sweet kiss on her lips before sleep overcame him.

Charlie woke up in the middle of the night to Alex’s lips working their way across her hipbone. She lazily blinked her way out of sleep to ask what he was doing only for her question to turn into a moan as he lowered his face between her legs and his mouth and tongue took her apart. She could do no more than hold on for dear life as his talented tongue brought her over the edge in no time, shouting out her release and gripping his hair as she breathed hard and came down from her high.

“Well, a girl could get used to waking up like that every morning.”

Alex grinned an absurdly cocky grin, wiping his mouth off with the back of his hand before manhandling her so she was rolled over onto her stomach. Her breath hitched in her throat as his weight covered her from head to foot, his hand holding hers above her head as he slipped his pulsing cock inside of her. She moaned and bucked against him but his weight didn’t allow her much movement. He moved slower this time, methodically thrusting and whispering sweet nothings into her ear in a language that she had no grasp of.

She drifted in and out of semi-coconsciousness, his body taking her to heights she had never reached before. She couldn’t tell if it had been hours or minutes when she felt that pleasure curl in her belly and she begged him to fuck her harder, faster, anything to get more friction. To her annoyance he just shushed her and continued moving at the same leisurely pace, hitting that spot inside of her that had her seeing stars as he drug out her climax. She could feel the coil inside of her getting tighter and tighter, each measured thrust sending her closer to oblivion. When he finally leaned down to whisper into her ear she fell.

“Come, Charlie,” his rough words were followed by a hard bite to her shoulder causing her body to spasm before locking, hands clutching the sheets beneath her as fireworks exploded behind her eyes. She heard him let out a groan and felt his warmth fill her as she came down from her high, hissing as he gently pulled out and turned her over. He pulled her shaking body onto his chest, wrapping an arm around her as her face lay on his defined pectoral, both of them sated in silence as they fell back asleep.

The next morning she awoke to a grinning Russian, head propped up on one hand and hair askew in the most ridiculous bed head she had ever seen. His gap tooth grin made her laugh and swat at him as his gaze roamed down her body in the soft morning light. She went to pull the sheet up to cover herself only to have it ripped out of her hands, his eyes shamelessly taking in her nude form. She yelped and struggled to grab the sheet back from him, hitting him on the arm when he wouldn’t give them up.

“Sasha! Give them back!”

Alex let out a noise from the back of his throat that sounded suspiciously like a growl and rolled on top of her, throwing the sheets off of the bed in the process.

“When you call me Sasha, do you know what you do to me?”

She gasped as she felt him hard against her thigh, forgetting about the sheet as his hands traced down her body. She felt them stop across her ribs and opened her eyes to see him tracing the tattoo that splayed across her ribcage.

“Did not see this last night. What is it for?”

She took a deep breath and pushed herself up on her elbows, watching as Alex propped his head on her stomach, fingers idly tracing the delicate lines of the sunflower inked onto her skin.

“It was for my sister. She was killed in Afghanistan a couple of years ago.”

She felt his fingers lift off of the ink and she gave him an encouraging smile, placing his hand back on it.

“It’s okay.”

“I’m sorry.”

She gave him a smile and reached down to squeeze his hand where it lay on her side.

“It’s okay, I don’t mind talking about it. She was an amazing woman, amazing soldier, went into combat as soon as women were allowed to. Her team was on a standard op only they had faulty intel and walked straight into an ambush.”

Charlie smiled down at him and traced her own fingers over the ink.

“When we were younger our parents were always away for work, she used to sing ‘You are my sunshine’ to me every night before tucking me in. It’s kind of silly I know-“

He cut her off by pushing himself up and placing a sweet kiss on her lips.

“Not silly. Look,” he took her hand and placed it over his side, tracing her fingers over the dark ink there. “My brother too.”

She smiled at him and gave him a chaste kiss, pulling him down to rest on her chest as the warm summer sun lulled them back to sleep.

Charlie only felt a little guilty the next day when the only time they left her bed was to shower. By the time night fell, both of their stomachs were rumbling and she managed to cook simple pasta with only slightly burnt meatballs since Alex insisted on pressing himself up against her back and teasing her with his mouth on her neck throughout the whole ordeal.

When they were clearing the dishes she bent over for a split second to place a bowl in the back rack of the dishwasher when she felt a looming presence behind her. She didn’t even have time to turn around before Alex moved her away from the open dishwasher, bent her over to hold onto the counter top and ripped her panties from her body. The next second he was sliding into her from behind, fucking her fast and hard as she held onto the countertop for dear life.

His mouth was by her ear whisper filthy things to her that made her blush to the roots of her hair, her orgasm taking her by surprise as he slammed into her so hard she went up on her toes.
After their time in the kitchen he dragged her back into the shower where he sat on the marble bench and let her ride him to completion, stopping only to get her mouth around him and let him come down her throat. They fell into bed that night exhausted and slept soundly to the next morning where, unfortunately, reality was waiting for them.

It was the first day that Alex was going to be skating with the team trainers and he was humming with energy. They got ready in their respective rooms, Charlie emerging in a very nice pair of slacks and a blouse, curly hair pulled up into a tight bun off of her face. She looked every bit the medical professional and for some strange reason it turned Alex on even more.

They drove in separate cars to the Iceplex, Alex pulling his flashy Mercedes into a reserved spot and heading in through the players entrance. Charlie was greeted by the head physician and physical therapist, going over Alex’s progress since the last time they talked. There were only a few people from the Capitals medical and coaching staff around, the facility closed off to any public or media for the day. She watched as Alex came out of the locker room dressed and suited up, he made his way towards the ice and paused. From across the room she could see the fear in his eyes and she excused herself from the other doctors and made her way towards him.

“Hey,” he whipped around as if he hadn’t expected her to be there and her lips quirked at the hesitance in his eyes. He was such a presence, so much bigger with his equipment and skates on, towering over her 5’8” form.

“It’ll be okay, Alex.”

He looked like he doubted her, eying the ice skeptically before turning back to look at her.

“Hey, have I led you astray yet?”

“No.”

She gave him an encouraging smile and a little nudge.

“Do you remember the rink?”

He mentally scoffed, as if he could ever forget that day.

“Remember what I said?”

He nodded and held her gaze.

“This is what you were meant to do Sasha. You’re head is fine, you wouldn’t be here unless you were ready. Do you trust me?”

He cleared his throat and nodded a little.

“Yes.”

“Then go out there and prove to them that Alexander Ovechkin is back.”

She could see the resolve in him harden and he gave her a curt nod, turning quickly and stepping onto the ice. A part of him had been afraid that he had forgotten how to skate, how to hold a stick and handle a puck, but as soon as his blade dug in he was home. He let a smile break out over his face as he warmed up with a couple of laps, relishing the wind in his hair and the rush of being on the ice again.

After that everything came back to him and the remaining two hours passed in a blur. He ran drills with the assistant coaches, endurance exercises with the fitness guys and answered every question about the state of his head from the medical team. By the end he was spent, no matter what land workouts he had been doing nothing compared to being in skating shape but his head didn’t hurt and he felt like he was on the top of the world.

He couldn’t help but hear the whispers between the coaching staff as he headed to the locker room to
shower and change.

Alexander Ovechkin was back.

Notes