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Whatever it takes

Part IV

In the days that followed, the news spread like wildfire throughout the hockey community that Ovie was back. He had made sure to call his parents before they found out through the media and he laughed when his mother told him to plant a big kiss on Charlie from her. His father had called her a miracle worker and he had delighted in the blush that spread over her when he told her their endearing words.

He then proceeded to lay a kiss on her the likes of which he was sure his mother wasn’t counting on when she gave him those directions.

With the news of his return there was no longer a reason for Charlie to be living with him, the physical and occupational therapy part of his rehab long since over. She was finishing packing her stuff from the guest suite with him sulking on her bed when his phone started ringing. Charlie watched as he answered, his face falling as he spoke in rapid fire Russian to who ever was on the other line. He quickly pushed himself off of the bed, running a hand through his hair as he paced back and forth and listened to the person on the phone speak, saying goodbye before hanging up and grabbing his hair with his hands, pulling it harshly before turning back to her.

“I have to go to Russia,” he barely spared her a glance as he pulled his ipad from its place on her bedside table, quickly pulling up various airline websites. “There was an accident, Maria, she – she in hospital. I need to go.”

Charlie’s blood ran cold when he said his ex fiancés name, knowing that she didn’t have any reason to be jealous. Alex and her hadn’t defined whatever it was that they were doing and with her impending departure it was obvious to her that he only wanted a little fun before she left, regardless of what she may be feeling for him.

“Is she okay?”

He glanced up at her, pulling his credit card out of his wallet and entering the numbers into the checkout page.

“Doctors don’t know, say still up in air.”

She nodded and placed the final picture frame into her suitcase.

“I’m sorry Alex,” she sighed and zipped up her suitcase. “When is your flight?”

“Four hours. You are moving in with you’re friend today, yes?”

Charlie nodded and Alex returned it, shooting off a quick email to someone before dialing a car service.

“I get service to come take care of Ghera. Car will be here in fifteen minutes.”

And with that he was up and gone, heading back to his room to pack. Charlie sat down on the bed deflated, hating herself for being jealous that he was flying back to Russia to see his ex fiancé, his ex fiancé who had been in a terrible accident and might be dying. She steeled her shoulders and immediately felt guilty, just because whatever Alex and her had was obviously coming to an end didn’t mean that she should be spiteful.

She unplugged her phone charger from the wall and dropped it in her purse before rolling her large suitcase out to the foyer, she sat on the bottom step of the stairs and scratched Ghera behind the ears, listening to the soft thump of her tail on the wooden floors as she waited for Alex to come out. The dog placed her large head on Charlie’s lap, looking up at her with big eyes and sighing as if she knew what her owner was putting the woman through.

When he finally emerged it was with a suitcase that was almost as big as hers, answering her unasked question that he was most likely going to stay the rest of the summer in Russia. He was double checking that he had everything, obviously frazzled and fiddling with his passport and his wallet. She looked up when she heard a honk in the driveway to see a sleek black town car idling outside filling her with a sense of loss.

Alex cursed as he checked his pockets for his house keys, quickly running back into his room and coming back with them jangling from his fingers. The car honked again and Charlie pushed herself up from the staircase.

“You should get going,” Alex’s gaze snapped up to hers like he forgot that she was still there. Another impatient honk came from the driver. “Go, I’ll lock up. I’ll just leave the key on the table?”

She framed it as a question and her shoulders fell in defeat when he gave a curt nod.

“Da, thank you.”

She could see that his mind was a million miles away as he pulled his suitcase behind him and walked out the door, the soft click of the door handle catching as it shut echoing throughout the large home. He hadn’t even looked back.

Charlie used the hide-a-key to lock up the house, saying goodbye to Ghera and leaving her copy of the key on the kitchen table. She dragged her suitcase to her car, loaded it and pulled away from the house, allowing herself one small glance back in the rearview mirror as the gate closed behind her.

An hour later she was pulling up outside of her friend Hannah’s apartment, ringing the buzzer and putting on a smile when her old college friend tackled her to the ground. She listened as Hannah chattered away, talking a mile a minute about the vacation her and her husband Grant had just returned from in the Caribbean.

“And you’re sure he doesn’t mind me staying?”

“Are you kidding? He’s so happy that you’re here, always saying I should take a page out of your book and go back to school. But I always tease him and tell him I’m perfectly fine being a Navy wife,” Hannah winked at her and Charlie laughed along. Hannah might be a stay at home wife but she had made her own way right out of college, using her uncanny mathematical abilities to assist with military ship design. It was how she met Grant and when she sold one of her ideas to the private Naval sector she walked away with quite the pretty penny.

It didn’t take long for her friend to realize that something was up but she didn’t pry, instead only laying her hand over Charlie’s and giving it a reassuring squeeze before pulling her out of the house for a tour of Annapolis. Charlie stayed with Hannah and Grant for a few days, getting in contact with the practice that she was employed with previously and landing her old job back. It wasn’t until she went to go make the phone call that she realized that her cell phone was nowhere to be found, forcing her to use Hannah’s instead until she could get a new one once she was back in New York. She packed up her car again and started the trek back, swearing to herself as she hit traffic going through the tunnel and then again on the Long Island Expressway.

Her parents welcomed her back into their house with open arms until she could find an apartment closer to LIJ Hospital to live in. She sat in her childhood bedroom and pulled up zillow, starting her search immediately. An iMessage popped up from one of her high school teammates that she had stayed close with over the years. Charlie laughed as she read the message from Leslie.

“Hey bitch, heard you were back on the island and didn’t even tell me! I know how it is, you go and work for some hotshot athlete for a year and you forget about all us little people!”

Charlie responded in kind and they made plans to get lunch the following day. A new message popped up with a link and some absolutely ridiculous emoticons on Leslie’s end with the words “Look’s like your boss is up to his same old tricks!”

Charlie didn’t think twice and clicked the link, wishing with everything in her that she hadn’t. It was from some hockey blog online, the type that was somewhat credible in regards to trade rumors and stats and every once in a while would throw in a bit of hockey world gossip.

The title read: Russian Super Couple Find Love Again
“In the midst of what the Capitals are claiming to be his return as the face of their franchise, Washington Capital’s star forward and leading ladies man is rumored to be back together with ex fiancé tennis star Maria Kirilenko after months of being separated. The couple was spotted strolling through Moscow on Friday afternoon and inside sources claim that Ovechkin raced to her bedside after Kirilenko lost her spleen in a car accident earlier in the week.
As the pictures show, these Russian sweethearts appear to have rekindled their dying flame. There may even be wedding bells in the near future if that rock on her left hand has anything to say about it. One thing is for certain, if Alexander Ovechkin’s game is as good on the ice as it is off then the Caps should be in the hunt for a Stanley Cup in the near future.”

She blinked at the picture in front of her, Alex and his lover walking side by side, laughing at each other. There was a close up of her hand, an overly large diamond resting on her left ring finger and an older picture of the couple before their breakup.

Charlie closed the laptop and placed it on the floor, pulling the sheets up around her as she sucked in a breath through her nose. And it wasn’t until she was curled up on her childhood bed, belongings sitting in boxes around her and completely alone that she let the first tear fall, not being able to stop the rest as they flowed freely from her eyes.

~~~


Alex’s mind was running wild, he barely remembered the trip to the airport, getting through customs or getting to his seat on the plane. All he could think about was what the hospital had said when they called. He had still been Maria’s emergency contact, he guessed the paperwork had never gone through, and they had only told him that she was in a car accident and that she might not last the night, refusing to give out any more information over the phone and he had panicked.

Oh how he had panicked.

It wasn’t until the plane was in the air and the adrenaline was fading from his system that he realized what he had done, how he had reacted. He replayed it in his mind, dread settling like lead in the pit of his stomach as he thought about how he must have looked from Charlie’s point of view. Going from sitting on her bed after hours of lovemaking, sulking, and contemplating asking her to just stay with him, to frazzled, running around like a chicken without its head as he frantically packed to go fly halfway across the world to see his ex fiancé.

He groaned and let his head thump back against the headrest, mind replaying those frantic minutes while he packed and waited for the car. God, he hadn’t even spared her a second glance, hadn’t said a single word to her other than to thank her for locking up his house after she moved herself out of it. She had even asked him about the key, giving him a perfect opportunity to tell her to keep it because, honestly, she was always welcome, and he just nodded at her like an insensitive idiot.

He hadn’t kissed her goodbye, hadn’t asked her to be with him, to be his. Looking back on it now he could see the sag of her shoulders, the way she hunched in on herself as she sat on his staircase, letting him treat her like garbage because she knew that he was worried about his ex lover. Fuck kissing her goodbye, he hadn’t even said goodbye.

He cursed under his breath and looked up at the roof of the plane, shaking his head at his utter stupidity. He wanted to call her, to apologize and beg for forgiveness, to ask her to be his girlfriend, to tell her that he was in love with her, but he was stuck on a plane for the next nine hours while his cell phone sat uselessly in the overhead compartment.

He would just have to wait.

His parents picked him up at the airport, hugging him tightly and telling him that Maria had woken up, that she was going to be fine and that the hospital was holding her for a few more days just to be sure. He sagged in relief, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off of his chest at the news. When he had landed the first thing he did was try to call Charlie, cursing in annoyance as it went straight to voicemail.

He sat in the back of the car as they drove through the familiar streets, opting out of going straight to the hospital. Now that he knew that Maria was fine and his nerves had caught up with him he was exhausted. He slept well through the day and part of the night, forcing himself back to sleep to minimize his jetlag and waking up early the following morning. He walked into the kitchen and his mother laid a kiss on the top of his head and sat down breakfast for him.

After he ate he borrowed one of his parents cars, not even registering that his parents hadn’t dropped him off at his penthouse in downtown Moscow the night before. He drove the familiar route to the hospital, pulling in the garage underneath it and heading inside. He was led to Maria’s room by a security guard and he paused outside of the door, hand hovering over the handle as he took a deep breath. He steeled himself and pushed through the door, eyes immediately falling to the petite blonde lying on the bed.

He didn’t know what he was expecting when he walked through the door, maybe cuts, bruises, a full body cast? What he wasn’t expecting was to see Maria sitting up, awake and arguing with someone on the phone. The only telltale sign that she was in any sort of accident was a small cut across her collarbone. Her gaze snapped to his as he shut the door and her jaw dropped, she quickly said goodbye to whoever she was talking to and dropped the cell phone on the side of the bed.

He stood there silently, looking into the eyes of the woman that he once loved, the woman he was prepared to spend the rest of his life with, and was equal parts sad and exhilarated to find out that she no longer stirred those feelings in him. She gave him a hesitant smile and a slight wave of her fingers.

“Sasha. I didn’t know that you were coming.”

Alex shrugged and sat down in the chair next to her bed.

“The hospital called me, said I was your emergency contact. I got on the first flight I could when they told me there was a chance that you wouldn’t make it through the night.”

Maria rolled her eyes and huffed out a little breath.

“I wouldn’t make it through the night,” she scoffed, “honestly these people are absolute idiots. There was like a minute where they panicked because my spleen ruptured but I wouldn’t have gone as far to say I wasn’t going to make it. Jesus.”

Alex shook his head and smiled a little, reaching over to squeeze her hand.

“I’m glad you’re okay Masha.”

She gave him a watery smile and nodded, squeezing his hand again before letting it fall to the bed.

“I’m sorry Sasha, so sorry.”

“Hey, sh, don’t cry. It’s okay.”

He watched as she hastily wiped tears away from her eyes, allowing her to compose herself as he sat.

“I was so stupid, so thoughtless. I’ve been following your comeback, I’m so proud of you Sasha.”

Alex leaned back in his chair and nodded.

“Thank you, the only reason I am back at all is because of Charlie.”

Maria smiled at him through her watery eyes and nodded her head.

“How is she?”

He sighed and ran a hand over his face, rubbing the exhaustion out of his eyes and wondering just how awkward it would be to tell his ex fiancé that he was in love with his live in therapist.

“She’s okay,” he was going to leave it at that but was met with Maria’s glare.

“Just okay?”

He groaned and leaned his head back against the top of the seat.

“I don’t want to talk about it Masha.”

“What is there to talk about?”

His silence gave her all the ammunition she needed and her eyes lit up in delight.

“Oh my god, you’re in love with her!”

Alex glared at her, his lip lifted in a snarl as he narrowed his eyes. She wasn’t deterred and his scowl deepened as a smile lit up her face.

“Oh my gosh you are!”

He half expected to clap her hands in excitement as she took no heed to the fact that he was still glaring. By the time he attempted to deny it, it was too late.

“You cant lie to me Sasha, I know you better than anyone,” her barrage of questions annoyed him to no end and he refused to answer them, finally snapping at her in an explosive manner that had the smile falling from her face.

“You are just happy because now you don’t have to feel as guilty about cheating on me!”

She sagged back down to the bed, closing her eyes and nodding.

“I deserved that,” guilt flooded him and he ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

“I’m sorry Masha, I just – you don’t think it’s weird that we’re talking about my love life when the last time we spoke was when you told me you’d met someone else?”

“I suppose that’s fair,” she reached a hand out to take his, giving his large fingers a squeeze. “I just want you to be happy. I am sorry I couldn’t be the one to give you that happiness.”

“Enough about me, I came here for you. What the hell happened?”

He listened as she explained that someone had run a red light, not an entirely uncommon occurrence in Russia, and T-boned her car, pinning her inside of it and knocking her unconscious. The impact to her body had caused her spleen to burst and they had to take her into emergency surgery to remove it. She was a little worse for wear with only a small scar from the surgery to show for it.
He listened as she talked to him, thankful that she hadn’t been seriously injured.

“Viktor is flying in tomorrow since he’s coming from –“

“Is that him?” Alex interrupted her. She gave him a skeptical look before nodding.

“What-“ he cleared his throat, “what does he do?”

“He is a tennis player too,” Alex smiled a little at the irony and nodded his head.

“Does he make you happy?”

She gave him a small smile and nodded.

“Probably in the same way that Charlie does to you,” he snorted at that and shook his head, small smile on his face.

“She drives me crazy,” at that Maria laughed out loud, wincing as her stitches pulled but smiling through it.

“Then you know you’re in love.”

Alex grinned and shook his head at the utter absurdity of the conversation happening at the moment.

“I guess I am.”

Alex growled in frustration as the shitty phone reception in Moscow dropped his call. He had tried calling her everyday that he was in Russia, getting only a static recording of her voicemail for the first day, followed by a message informing him that the number he was trying to reach was no longer in service. He had gone so far as to call the Caps front office, asking after her only to be informed that she had been in the day that she left, signed the contract fulfillment papers and left, the only number they had on file was the same one he did.

He had forgone staying at his apartment, choosing instead to stay at the modest home his parents owned just outside of the city. Viktor hadn’t gotten there in time to help Maria get discharged from the hospital so it fell to Alex, and he took great care in driving her back to her house with a reassurance that yes, she would be fine for four hours by herself and yes, she would call with anything that she needed.

A few days later she bullied him into taking her for a slow walk around Moscow, laughing and joking with him before informing him that not only were her and Viktor engaged, but she was pregnant. There was only a twinge of residual sadness at a life they could have once had as Alex congratulated her and gave her a gentle hug, careful of her mending stitches and the new life that she carried.

She then later bullied him into telling her about Charlie, disregarding that it was really freaking weird to be talking with her about his love life. Finally, to get her to stop nagging he acquiesced, telling her about what Charlie had done to get him back on the ice, how he had slowly fell in love with her. When he told her about how he had left in such a panic Maria had smacked his arm so hard he was almost certain he was going to have a bruise and then had to stand there and listen to her yell at him, in the middle of a public park, about how he needed to go get his ass back on a plane and go apologize, god damn it.

He shook his head at the surreality of his life and booked a plane ticket for the next morning.

One very long day later he was dragging his overpacked bag back through his front door, sighing in relief as Ghera came bounding towards him in excitement. He called out Charlie’s name, not seeing her car in the driveway but clinging onto some false hope that she was still here. When he walked into the kitchen, the dull glint of her key sitting on the table sucked any remaining optimism right out of him.

~~~


It had been a month since Alex had left and Charlie had settled back in at her old job seamlessly, still temporarily living out of her parent’s house when she received a phone call that left her equal parts speechless and shaking. Her mother found her staring at the phone in her hands like it was a foreign object and was immediately concerned.

“Charlotte, are you okay? Who was that on the phone?”

Charlie took a deep breath and fought the smile that was threatening to take over her face.

“That was the Pittsburgh Penguins, and they wanted to offer me a job.”

~~~


Alex didn’t think he would ever get used to the blinding lights as the reporters took pictures of him sitting in front of the podium. It was the end of August and he was making his official statement regarding his return to the ice in September. He fielded all of the questions that he expected, answering them seamlessly after almost a year out of practice.

A few nosy reporters tried asking him about his relationship with Maria to which he answered that he would talk about hockey but not about his personal life. He looked across the room as one of them stood and spoke out, the question somewhat similar to the others he’d been fielding.

“Alex, six months ago everyone in the league was saying you were done, that your career as a Capital was over. Was there anything during your rehabilitation that helped you to overcome all of that talk?”

Alex fiddled with the brim of his hat and nodded.

“My friend, about halfway through when I think all hope is lost, that I never play on the ice again, they remind me that this is what I was born to do. They tell me to prove it to everyone, to myself, that career wasn’t over. They push me to the best I am and get me back onto ice when no one thinks is possible.”

“Does your friend have a name?”

He resisted an eye roll and instead gave them a cheeky smile and a simple “Yes,” not adding on anything after that to the amusement of the other reporters. He finished up the Q & A and headed back to his house, wondering how what was supposed to be one of the best days of his life, also felt like the worst.

~~~


Charlie met with the remainder of the Pens medical staff, shaking hands and exchanging smiles as she exchanged pleasantries with her new coworkers. An older graying man that introduced himself as Jim made a comment about how impressive her work with Ovechkin had been, that almost all of them had considered him down and out and the shock amongst the community when he had announced his return.

She gave him a smile and thanked him, taking him up on his offer to tour the facility before they needed to start prep work for the players return. A few days later she was going over some last minute paperwork, re-familiarizing herself with the players on the team and their accompanying injuries sustained throughout their lifetime. Preventive workouts were always easier than trying to rehab an injury after it happened.

Jim knocked on the door and poked his head in, grinning at her as he tapped his clipboard against the doorframe.

“Ready?”

She smiled back, picking up the stack of files and nodded her head, following him out the door.

“As I’ll ever be.”

As the day progressed she met with different players individually. She evaluated their fitness and strength levels coming off of the summer break and spoke with them about and tweaks or strains that they had been feeling. She smiled and watched as Beau Bennett walked out of the room, pulling out the next file and looking up as a knock came from the door. She planted a smile on her face looked up and froze as Evgeni Malkin stood in her doorway.

She quickly took inventory of him, waiting to see if he remembered her and when he made no notion that he did she stood and extended her hand.

“Hello Mr. Malkin I’m Dr. McGovern and I am one of the new medical personnel on staff this season.”

He shook her hand, his large paw engulfing hers as he took a seat on the training table.

“You look familiar,” Charlie tried not to blush and tucked an unruly strand of her hair behind her ear.

“You probably don’t remember, but I was the live in therapist during Ovechkin’s recovery.”

Geno’s eyes lit up and he nodded, slapping his hand down on the table as he gave her a big smile.

“Yes, yes! Charlie!”

She smiled and nodded laughing a little at his over enthusiasm.

“I sorry. I’m stupid and not recognize. Used to you dealing with whining Sasha, not in Pens training room.”

She smiled and nodded her head, glancing down at his file and noting the knee injury.

“Well my work with him got me this job so I’m pretty thankful I had the opportunity. I was going over your file and I noticed that you suffered from a torn ACL a couple years back. Do you ever have any trouble with it?”

The rest of the appointment with Geno went smoothly, Geno making her laugh as he made fun of Alex, not realizing the extent of their relationship. She waved goodbye to him as he left with a promise to see him around and started packing up for the day, counting it as a success for her first official day on the job.

As she was packing up some paperwork to go over at home another knock came from her door and she looked up into the gaze of none other than Sidney Crosby. He rubbed the back of his neck as he stood in the door awkwardly until she waved him in.

She gave him a smile and extended her hand.

“Mr. Crosby, what can I do for you?”

“Ah, you can call me Sidney, or Sid, doesn’t matter. I, um, just wanted to stop by and say hi, I was with a different trainer today so that’s why I didn’t get to meet you but, just wanted to say hello and kind of welcome you to the organization I guess.”

Charlie smiled at the splotchy red patches around his cheeks and neck as he talked.

“Thank you, I’m Charlie by the way.”

“I, uh, heard what you did for Ovechkin. That was pretty unbelievable everyone thought he was done.”

She gave him a tight smile and leaned back into her chair.

“I think that was the problem, he just needed someone to believe in him.”

Sidney looked at her for a long moment and then nodded.

“Well I’m glad he’s back, it wasn’t the same last season not playing with him.”

She gave him another smile and nodded her head.

“I bet. Well it was a pleasure to meet you Sidney, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”

He stood and nodded at her, hands planted in the back pockets of his jeans as he rocked back on his heels.

“The pleasures all mine. It’s comforting to know we have such a respectable doctor joining our staff.”

And with that he was out the door with a little nod, leaving Charlie to pack up and head back to the one bedroom apartment she was renting, faceplanting into bed and passing out after the long day.

~~~


Alex’s return to the Verizon Center was met with as much media and fanfare as anyone would expect. The place was sold out, the crowd wild as he took the ice again for the first time in almost a year. His body was humming with nervous energy, the knowledge that he was not actually invincible running through his veins, the fear that one bad hit could truly end his hockey career eating away at the back of his mind.

He wished that Charlie was there to smack some sense into him the way she had been when he had first been cleared to skate. The first period was lackluster on his part, and he could tell that his team was a little frustrated, wanting their cocky surefire captain back on the ice with them. He sat in the locker room during intermission, thinking back to the words that Charlie had said to him before he stepped back on the ice for the first time.

This is what you were meant to do… Have I led you astray yet…Go out there and prove it to them… Trust me.

He went back out onto the ice and by the end of the third he had netted a hat trick.

It was impossible to be involved in the hockey world and not hear about Alexander Ovechkin and his epic comeback, regardless of the fact that the season was barely a month old people were already talking about the Capitals and their potential run for a Cup.

Charlie grinned and bared it when people congratulated her on her success with him, every time his name came up was just a brutal reminder of something she never truly had to begin with. She didn’t know many people in Pittsburgh, most of her nights spent alone working late, staying up to date on the newest research until she fell asleep.

Geno had taken it upon himself to check in on her every now and again, randomly dropping into her office and occasionally pulling her out for a bite to eat. The large Russian was a complete dork and, regardless of the fact that he reminded her of Alex, she enjoyed her time spent with him immensely.

They were out to lunch when he brought up their upcoming game against the Caps.

“Excited to see Sasha, not talk to since summertime. Doesn’t answer phone calls anymore.”

Charlie forced a smile on her face.

“I wouldn’t take it personally G, he’s probably just busy with his comeback and his engagement and everything.”

Geno’s eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head, taking a large bit of his burrito before swallowing.

“Engagement? I do not understand.”

She gave him an exasperated look.

“With Maria, after her accident when he flew back to see her.”

He looked at her like he was expecting her to continue so she sighed and explained further.

“I read an article that my friend sent to me right after I stopped working with him, talking about how they got engaged soon after that.”

Geno choked on his next bit, coughing and beating on his chest as he struggled to swallow his food. Charlie watched in amusement as he took a deep sip of his water, getting his coughing under control before he looked at her like she was crazy.

“Masha engaged, yes, to tennis player! Not Sasha. She have Viktor’s baby.”

At this Charlie’s appetite vanished and she placed her burrito back on her tray. Geno looked on knowingly and waved the rest of his burrito at her.

“You should not read gossip magazines,” he teased her. “Rot that smart brain you have.”

She glared at him and flicked a stray piece of tomato at him.

“I do not read gossip mags, come on Geno you know me better than that!”

Geno laughed and reached across the table to ruffled his big paw through the unruly hair on her head, causing her to huff and swat his hand away, laughing along with him anyway.

“So what about you Char, you heard from Sasha lately?”

He pretended not to notice the way she stiffened up around his friend’s name and she shook her head.

“Nah, once he got back on the ice and was better my contract was up and I went back to New York.”

Geno nodded and smirked to himself, knowing that she wasn’t letting on the whole story but choosing not to push her, at least not today.

Consol was buzzing with energy as the Pens were set to meet the Caps for the first time in the season and Charlie was suffering from a serious migraine, swearing that if she heard Alex’s name one more time she was going to fly off the handle. She took her place by the other off bench trainers, watching as the Capitals got booed as they took the ice.

The first two periods were uneventful, both teams equally as good and both goalies shutting down their opposition. Watching Alex on the ice was like nothing she’d ever experienced before. She had never watched a game while only focusing on one player, but her eyes stayed glued to the large 8 just below his name as he flew down the ice.

It was halfway through the third when her heart leap into her throat as Alex went down. There was a scrum in front of the net and someone pushed someone else, until someone went down and Alex fell back over them, his head hitting the ice with a restounding crack as the ref called the play. The arena was silent as they watched him struggle to get himself up, finally he pushed himself up as the two trainers led him off of the ice, Charlie rushed through the tunnels, coming to a stop outside of the examination room that he was being looked over in.

“Dr. McGovern,” one of the physical therapists said, “their trainer is requesting that you be in the room since you have previous experience with his condition.”

Charlie nodded, her heart still pounding frantically in her chest as she stepped through the doorway. Alex glanced up at her entrance and she could see as the blood drained from his face, shaking his head as if to clear his vision.

“Charlie?”

He rubbed at his eyes as if she were an apparition brought on by brain trauma, not believing that she was there even when he reopened his eyes to see her standing there.

“How hard did I hit my head?”

Charlie gave him a tight smile and nodded to Capitals trainer who she had briefly met before the game. She stood to the side and watched as he ran Alex through a variety of tests, ignoring his gaze as he stared at her through all of them. Finally the trainer finished, sliding the small flashlight back into his pocket and stepping back from the man in question.

“I think you got lucky on this one Alex, just seems to be a slight concussion but we’re going to do a quick xray just to make sure that nothing reopened itself from your surgery. I’d also like you to take the IMPACT test tomorrow morning to get an idea about how long you’ll be out.”

Charlie nodded along in agreement and Alex sighed, realizing that sure, it could have been a lot worse, but still not liking having to sit out any amount of games or practices.

“Thanks Dan,” Alex nodded to the older man. “Do you mind if I talk to Charlie? Haven’t seen her in a long time.”

Dan gave them a warm smile and nodded.

“Sure thing, I’ll come get you once I’ve talked to staff and we’ve got the Xray up and running. You’re lucky that it’s on site instead of having to go to UPMC.”

With that he was out the door, closing it gently behind him and leaving Charlie alone in a room with Alex for the first time since he walked out of her life.

“So, you to good for Capitals now, go work for dirty Penguins and Sidney Crosby?”

His tone was teasing but she scowled anyway, wanting nothing more than to leave the small room and never look back.

“I had no reason to stay in D.C. anymore.”

The fact that he looked hurt by her response infuriated her, making the tight hold she had over her mouth slip.

“You don’t have any right to be upset, Alex. You were the one that left.”

He pushed himself off of the elevated table, staring down at her from his perch atop his skates.

“I was wrong Charlie, as soon as I get on plane I think ‘what have I done’ and try to call as soon as I land.”

She shook her head and held a hand out to stop him as he advanced towards her.

“Don’t. This isn’t the time or place.”

He ignored her, walking forward and crowding her space with his large form.

“I try everything once I get to Russia, try calling but no answer. Even call front office and medical staff to beg for contact information.”

Charlie closed her eyes and shook her head. Him being this close to her was making everything blurry, his presence taking over her thoughts as she tried to process the information.

“I try for months and then finally I think maybe you don’t want to be found. Give up hope and live with regret for the summer,” his voice was filled with sadness and she met his heartbroken gaze.

“Regret the way I left you, that I didn’t say all the things I want before I go. Didn’t make you mine while I still had you, make you my girlfriend and take you out for nice dinners always.”

Charlie let her head fall back against the wall with a clunk, Alex’s hand coming up to cup her neck, his thumb rubbing over her fluttering pulse point.

“But most, regret that I not say how I feel. How I love,” he cleared his throat and continued. “How I am in love with you.”

Charlie swore she bit through her lip at his words, her gaze searching his for any kind of deceit or joke. His hand moved to wind itself through her hair at the base of her skull, staring down at her with eyes on fire.

“Sasha,” the words left her lips in a breathless whisper before she could stop them and his lips met hers a second after. She let out a whimper as he stepped forward, pressing her against the wall, still towering over her in his skates and equipment, his lips devouring hers as her hands threaded themselves through his sweat soaked hair.

A throat clearing from the doorway had them springing apart like teens caught making out in the backseat of a car. Both of their gazes snapping up to the cheeky grin on Geno’s face as he leaned against the doorframe, still dripping with sweat from the game.

“Was going to check and make sure Sasha okay, beat me to it Charlie.”

Charlie glared at her friend and thanked her lucky stars that it was only Geno and not one of the staff. The man gave them both an infuriating grin as Alex quickly spoke to him in Russian, pulling Charlie back into him by her waist and leaning his head down to rest on her shoulder.

“You bad liar Charlie, knew something with you and Sasha not right.”

Charlie’s face was on fire as she sputtered out excuses and felt Alex shaking with laughter behind her. A quick elbow to the ribs only made him and Geno laugh harder and she huffed out a breath as she struggled to keep a smile off of her face.

“God damn Russians.”

Their laughter could be heard all the way in the visiting locker room.

~~~


Charlie huffed as she dropped the final box on the hardwood floor, wiping a sweaty strand of hair off her face as she looked around her new apartment. The sound of muffled cursing caused her to laugh as she watched Alex and Geno struggle to fit her couch through the door, both of them yelling out in triumph as it finally fit through.

They both plopped down on it and Charlie handed them each a beer, the only payment they would accept for their help moving her, toasting to a job well done. They chatted for a little while until Geno let himself out, having to return the moving van and catch his plane back to Pittsburgh.

Charlie sighed and snuggled into Alex on the couch, his arm over her shoulder pulling her closer to his side as he dropped a kiss to the top of her head. She looked around and groaned at all the unpacking she still had to do, wishing she could just snap her fingers and it would be done with.

“You should have moved with me like I ask, not need all of this crappy furniture.”

She swatted him on the arm and snuggled deeper into his chest.

“I told you, I need to make it on my own in Washington first.”

She didn’t need to look at him to know that he was pouting and she poked him in the side.

“You on your own for a whole year in Pittsburgh.”

She rolled her eyes and laced her fingers through his.

“That’s not the same and you know it.”

He huffed and dropped a kiss on her neck.

“Guess you need to make up to me,” she pulled away from him and grinned at the hungry look in his eyes, throwing her leg over his waist and straddling him.

“Is that so?”

He nodded and pulled her down onto his lap, groaning as she came in contact with his growing erection. She sealed her lips over his, licking into his mouth with her tongue and writhing on his lap as she struggled to get some friction to the throbbing between her legs.

He quickly threw her off him and onto the couch, ripping off her shorts and panties in one go and pushing his shorts down just enough to free himself. The first touch against her had him growling out and thrusting forward, sheathing himself inside of her as she cried out and dug her nails into his back through his tshirt.

No matter how many times they did this he still had a moment when he first slid inside of her where everything else stopped, his life coming down to nothing but where they met, pleasure bursting behind his eyelids as he struggled not to come.

He took a deep breath and began to move, relishing in her cries of pleasure as he pistoned in and out of her at a brutal pace. His lips fell to her neck, sucking and biting at it as he breathed in her skin, moving up her jaw to whisper filthy things in her ear as she began to tighten around him.
He watched in wonder as she fell apart around him, tightening so hard around his cock that he had to close his eyes, letting his head fall down in pleasure as he let himself go, spilling inside of her with a shout.

They both came down from their highs and Alex dropped his head to her shoulder, pressing a delicate kiss over the mark he left on her. She would probably kill him when she saw it but it had undoubtedly been worth it. He lifted his head up and gave her a smile and a kiss, sighing as he pulled away. She gave him another peck and a small smile before saying the words that still got his heart racing.

“I love you, Sasha.”

“Я тебя люблю”

It had been a hard year, the two of them trying to find time to commute back and forth between Pittsburgh and D.C. while working on their budding relationship. There had been more than a few arguments, but even more steamy reunions and after her season with the Penguins was up she chose not to renew her contract, chosing instead to take an offer in D.C.

“Still don’t know why you want to work for Redskins when Caps give you better offer.”

She rolled her eyes and pushed him off of her, hissing as he slipped out of her and reaching for her panties.

“It could have been worse, I could have gone and worked for the Islanders! I told you already, I don’t want to mix my business and personal life.”

He grinned and pulled her back to the couch so she was splayed across his lap.

“You mean business and pleasure?”

Her glare was cut off as his fingers found he heat, delving up into her through the mess that they had made and stirring his spent dick again.

“I show you what mistake you make, would have always had pleasure,” he grinned at her as she moaned, climbing back on top of her and making her seriously reconsider not working for the Capitals.

~~~


Alex grinned as Charlie sulked at him from behind the eyemask, if he could see her eyes he would bet his life that she would be glaring at him.

“This is so unnecessary. Where are we going?”

Alex chuckled and continued to lead her forward with his hands.

“Don’t like it now that it’s other way around. What you say to me before? Trust me?”

Charlie made to kick out at him, which he easily avoided, laughing as she snarled at him.

“I just don’t understand why you need to blindfold me I know that we are in the Verizon Ce – “ her sentence was cut off as he slipped the blindfold off and her jaw hit the floor. They were standing outside of the visitor’s locker room and there, standing no less than three feet in front of her was John Tavares.

Charlie stood there with her mouth open, blinking at the man in front of her like he was a figment of her imagination. Alex chuckled at her and reached forward to extend his hand, shaking the Islander captain’s and giving him a friendly pat on the back.

“John, this is Charlie, my wife. She big fan obviously, never seen her foot in mouth like this though.”

Charlie flushed and hit her husband in the side with an elbow, wiping her palm on her jeans before extending her hand.

“I’m sorry about that. I’m Charlie, like he said. This was a bit of a surprise is all.”

John laughed, shook her hand and nodded.

“No worries, it’s always nice to meet a fan.”

Alex groaned beside her shaking his head but giving her a smile.

“She the worst. Refuse to wear Ovechkin jersey when playing Isles, always ugly orange.”

John grinned at her at that and nodded his head in approval.

“Well then, I already like you. So, how did you two guys meet.”

Alex grinned and pulled Charlie flush to his side, giving her hip a little squeeze.

“When I hurt my head she nurse me back to health, kick my ass until I get in shape.”

Charlie rolled her eyes and gave her husband an exasperated look.

“I was his neurorehabilitaion specialist and physical therapist.”

Alex grinned and nodded.

“Like I say, she pain in my ass for year but do whatever it take to get me back onto the ice.”

John shook his head a little and smiled.

“Well, I’m glad she did, man.”

Alex nodded along and gave her side a little squeeze.

“So am I.”

Notes

The End.

Comments

Loved it!

Stampiej Stampiej
11/17/18

Love this! I wish it was so much longer is how much I love this!

Akitoblossom Akitoblossom
2/9/15

Great job : )