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Jamie could tell by the expressions of the trainers that his injury wasn’t really all that bad. Geoff and Marty were very quietly laughing and joking with each other as they worked on him, Geoff having stuck out spectacularly the night before. Jamie wanted to laugh along but his hip was throbbing. Something had popped when he’d gotten hit; combined with getting the sense knocked out of him, he was just glad that the room was dim and the trainers were being quiet.

Marty rotated his right leg first towards his chest and then to the outside. There was a faint catching that the trainer tutted about. It didn’t hurt any more than the initial hit so Jamie didn’t think it was too bad. If it’d been bad, they’d have shipped him off to the hospital already.

The pain was even manageable, if Geoff would stop sticking his thumb into the tender joint. Jamie was going to be fine. He attempted to sit up, to get off the table. They’d stripped him from the waist down but he could still redress and finish the last period. His team needed him, after all.

The trainers both held him still. “And where do you think you’re going?”

Jamie tried to push off Geoff, being the smaller of the two. “Back to the game. The guys need me.” He was maneuvered back down onto his back.

“You’re off to the hospital for an MRI; don’t even think about getting back on the ice.” Jamie huffed at Marty’s words. He didn’t need an MRI, he needed to play.

Marty shook his head as Jamie continued to struggle. “Even if your hip was fine, you took a hit to the head. Standard concussion protocol means no more hockey tonight. Just relax, Cap. We’ll get you off to the scanner shortly; just need to finish filling out these forms.”

He laid back begrudgingly. He felt foolish for even being in this position. Talbot had telegraphed that hit from across the ice but Jamie had thought he’d be able to dodge it. He wasn’t expecting to hold onto the puck so long, really hadn’t expected Tyler to be trailing so much.

Talbot had almost put him into the Avalanche bench. If Jamie had passed a second before he would have.

As the trainers had him sit up to slip on track pants, he thought maybe the bench would have been better. His hip screamed when he got his feet under him. It didn’t give but it was going to be painful for days.

“Fuck.”

“Fuck! Benny!” He looked up to find Segs, Demmers, and Fids watching him from the doorway. They were kitted out and he was amazed that he hadn’t heard the game end. But it must have; they didn’t come in but he could see the concern on their faces.

“I’m fine, just a little banged up.” He tried to wave off their concern. Geoff laughing behind him didn’t help his case.

“Bull shit. You look like ass.” Segs took a brave step forward. Marty’s glare had him right back in the hall way. His three teammates watched the trainers load Jamie into a wheelchair. He couldn’t keep the grimace off his face as he sat again. “Benny, you’re gonna be okay, right?”

He wanted to give Segs and the others a firm yes, but he couldn’t. He expected to be. “Yeah, I will.” He plastered a reassuring smile on his face as they rolled him out into the hallway.

Team protocol was to use the ambulance that was waiting during games in situations like this, post-game with no other injuries. He hadn’t met the crew before, but they were unfailingly polite as they loaded him up. The paramedic that loaded him up was a lovely, but stern looking dark haired woman. Her nametag read Morales. Jamie sort of remembered her being around the rink on game days before. She was gentle as he was loaded into the ambulance.

“We’ll have you all taken care of soon, Mr. Benn. How’s the pain?”

He tried to give her a smile but it came out as a haf grimace when he jostled his hip a little too much. “Not pleasant, but ok right now.”

She side-eyed him as the last of her gear was stored. “I can give you something if you’d like.”

He contemplated it for a moment before nodding. It really wasn’t unbearable, but the drive would be bumpy and Jamie kind of wanted to stop thinking about what might happen if this injury was bad. In moments, she had skillfully inserted an IV and pushed something that made the whole world float.

Morales laughed at him when he giggled at an off handed comment to the driver. “Drugs kicking in?”

Jamie nodded and let his head roll to the side. He’d never been in an ambulance before; it looked exactly like he expected it to from TV shows. His eye caught on a strap attached to the wall and he reached out to grab at it like a toddler. Like a mom, Morales corralled his hand and put it back at his side.

“Keep all hands inside the ride, Mr. Benn. We’re almost there.” There was humor in her voice.

Jamie could feel all the drugs now making his limbs heavy and his eye lids droop. He should just nap until the ride was over. There was no reason to stay awake-

-------

Me: Please, for the love of God, tell me he’s ok.

Tyler: He’s ok. I think. Taking him to hospital for MRI

Elle grabbed at the collar of her shirt, trying to calm the anxiety making her bounce. She’d made it 30 minutes after the end of the game before she couldn’t help but text Tyler. He’d be changed and showered. Hopefully.

Me: All precautionary, right?

Tyler: Maybe. I’m following the ambulance over.

Me: AMBULANCE!?

Tyler was going to give her a heart attack.

Tyler: Stars policy. Hospital trips during/after game have to take ambulance. Doesn’t mean it’s serious.

Well, there was that. She paced for a minute, her heels clicking loudly off the hard wood in her kitchen. She paused and tore them from her feet. She looked damn good but she felt like hammered ass. Her fingers were shaking when she gave up with all pretense of not caring about Jamie Benn any more. She called Tyler.

“Seriously, he’s going to be okay,” was Tyler’s greeting.

Elle huffed and dropped to her couch. Tyler didn’t sound particularly worried. She could hear him driving, on the way to the hospital like he’d said. “It looked so bad, Tyler. I was in this bar when I saw it and I swear Tanev thought I’d gone crazy or something. I just- he has to be okay, Tyler. He has to.”

Tyler was laughing at her a little. “He will be. Like I said, mostly precautionary. I swear. Also, Tanev? What were you doing with him?”

Of course that would have gotten Tyler’s attention. “It doesn’t matter. Okay, it sort of does, if only that it was a stupid attempt at making me a third wheel. Or something, I dunno I didn’t know we’d be meeting them when we left my place tonight. But I was in a place with people and I almost started crying and now I feel foolish. But still stupidly concerned.”

It was hard to believe it’d been less than two hours since the hit. She hoped Jamie was okay, really and truly. He could have pulled a groin, or gotten a concussion, or dislocated a joint. It had been bad.

“You’re quiet. Did you just want to rant for a second or was there something else?” Now Tyler sounded rushed. The engine died in the background and he got out of the car.

“Are you there?”

“Yeah, illegally parked and everything, but I wanna know where they’re going to stick him before he disappears into the system.” He started huffing in his rush. “Oh, good, they’re just unloading him now. Benny!”

Elle held the phone away from her ear as Tyler shouted out a few choice taunts. And then, in the background, came the faint and distorted reply. Jamie’s voice, sounding run down, saying, “Segsy, what are you doing here?”

Tyler gave a flippant response that Elle didn’t even laugh at Tyler because she’d just heard Jamie’s voice for the first time since she’d broken it off. And he sounded drugged to the gills. “Looking for a unicorn, why the fuck do you think I’m here?”

“To be a pain in the ass. And hit on my hot nurse.” Jamie Benn on drugs was all sass. It made Elle’s heart hurt all over again. He really did sound okay. She could have cried in relief.

A third voice chimed in, “I’m a paramedic, Mr. Benn. Not a nurse. Nurses have to give a shit for longer than thirty minutes, unlike me.”

Both men were quiet. Elle sort of wished she was there because that voice, the female paramedic who’d apparently brought Jamie to the hospital, was laughing like mad. The other woman continued, “And, well, would you look at that. Twenty nine minutes on the dot. Check ya later, Mr. Benn.”

Jamie giggled.

Elle couldn’t hold back the bark of laughter.

Tyler sounded awed when he said, “I think I’m in love. Elle. Jamie. I’m in love.”

Jamie must not have realized Tyler had been on the phone because he immediately repeated her name. “Elle? Are you talking to Elle? I miss her.”

She fell back on the couch as though she’d been hit. She had been courting disaster by staying on the phone with Tyler so long, and now she’d run afoul, crashing the ship of her heart upon Jamie’s shore. Shit, she was starting to wax poetic like she was drugged too.

Tyler told Jamie no and Elle heard a slap, like he’d smacked a hand away.

“I’ve gotta go. Call me later.” She disconnected as Tyler and Jamie were still bickering.

Elle drew in a deep breath and ignored the tears on her cheeks. Jamie was fine. He sounded okay. Tyler would take care of him. And she was going to go to bed; if there was a God she wouldn’t dream about Jamie.

-------

Jamie floated in and out of consciousness as he was transferred first to a waiting room and then to a proper room. He wasn’t going to be in the hospital for a terribly long time but the drugs made time all wobbly. Segs kept up a steady stream of chatter, even as Jamie took quick naps, so his friend went from talking about a new type of stick tape to the political economy of Nunavut.

Once, Segs had been rambling softly about Elle and hadn’t realized Jamie was awake. His friend sighed, muttering “She was just so sad; she sounded like me, right after I moved. Just resigned, you know?”

Jamie coughed out, “I remember. You were bad off.”

Segs’ eyes snapped to Jamie’s face and he could see guilt on the other forward’s face. “Did you hear all that?”

“Only the resigned part. Were you talking about Elle?”

Segs nodded slowly, carefully. The drugs were still in Jamie’s system but he was reaching that delicious mellow, half-floaty with pain pushed to the back of his concerns; he was more interested in the interaction when Segs had first arrived, still on the phone with Elle. He was actually a little surprised Elle had called, that she had been worried about him.

In some part of his mind, he’d been sure that she’d still care. Knowing for certain that she did made his heart soar. “Is she okay?”

Segs’ laugh was cynical. “That’s exactly what she asked about you. If you were okay.” He didn’t say anything else so Jamie stared him down, willing him to continue. Segs returned the glare for almost a full minute before sighing. “She was really, really worried, okay. I don’t even want to know how bad that hit looked on TV.”

Elle was worried.

Jamie grinned.

He was about to demand Segs say more when his nurse came back in to whisk him away to the MRI machine. If he had to guess, he’d been waiting forty five minutes or less. “I wanna hear more when I get back.”

Segs waived a hand at him, his eyes glued to his phone where he was typing out a message fanatically.

Jamie barely felt the pain when he was loaded into the machine. He wondered if that was the drugs in play or if he really was going to be fine. The possible concussion was the worst outcome and since that’d been ruled out, he probably didn’t have much to fear. It didn’t stop the concern, though. Injuries were tricky beasts. The machine started and Jamie let his thoughts float.

He specifically kept himself from worrying about his hip by thinking of Elle. Beautiful, tough Elle who broke up with him because he was an ass but still had a heart of gold. Elle who still gave a fuck. He needed to call her. He was about to reach for his phone before he remembered he was in a damn imaging machine. The message could wait.

Jamie let the happiness of this most amazing discovery wash over him.

He must have passed out again because he closed his eyes a moment and then the lights popped back up. His nurse was back, carefully loading him back onto a gurney to return him to his room. Segs grunted at him from his phone, where he was texting wildly. He was probably still communicating with Elle. Jamie hoped he was still communicating with Elle.

It was getting late and Jamie was loopy as hell. He was glad Segs had shown up; there was no way he’d be able to drive home after this, especially not when he filled whatever prescription they gave him for pain killers. Maybe he could convince Segs to crash in his guest room. Jamie grinned wryly. He might get himself a man servant for at least a day. It had been known to happen when they’d been living in the same building.

“What’s the grin for?”

Jamie glanced at Segs. He’d looked up momentarily before his phone dinged and he went back to texting like crazy. “You should take me home and then spend the night.”

Segs let out a loud laugh, doubling over in his chair and almost dropping his phone. It took Jamie a long second to figure out what was so funny. “Oh, god dammit not like that. I’m gonna need some help, probably with the stairs.” Jamie could admit when he was too drugged to operate solo.

Segs continued to laugh for far too long. Eventually, Jamie chucked his empty water cup at his friend. Segs blocked it. “Oh my god, I almost need to tweet that.”

“You’re a mean friend.”

“And you’re high as fuck.”

“True.” As Segs quieted, he went back to texting. “Who are you texting? You’re in the hospital to keep me company.”

Segs rolled his eyes before he put his phone away. “No one. Well, someone. That you know. Quite well. But she’d kill me if I told you I was digging for dirty on how she ended up at a bar with Tanev and Higgins.”

So, it was Elle. “Wait. Higgins too? I thought it was just Tanev.”

Segs giggled. “Did you ever meet her friend Nicole?”

“Do you mean female you? Yes, I met female you.”

There was a twinkle in Segs’ eyes when he thought about that proposition for a moment. “I think that’s a fair assessment so far as I know. Anyway, she ran into the two of them this morning, sweet talked them into coming out tonight, and then her and Higgins ditched Elle and Tanev so they could conduct foreplay on a club table.” He paused and tilted his head in thought. “Elle’s words, not mine. I always felt like Nicole would be down to get down in fun places.” Segs almost sounded wistful.

“So, she’s still at the bar with Tanev?” That put a damper on Jamie’s mood.

“No.” Segs was back to typing. Jamie waited for him to continue. It was at least three texts later before he looked back up. “She went home. She’s there now.”

The strength at his relief that she wasn’t still out with another man, a rival hockey player, warmed his heart. She still really did care. For the umpteenth time in the last few weeks, he felt the urge to reach out to her. To say thanks, I miss you, take me back. “Where’s my phone at? I need to call her.”

Segs actually sighed when he dug Jamie’s phone out of his own pocket. “You’re not getting it back. Not until the morning, so long as you don’t have to take drugs again.”

Jamie frowned. Who was Segs to keep his phone from him? “Give me my phone you ass.”

Segs shoved the phone back, shaking his head. “It’s not going to happen.” He was about to say something else when the doctor came in with his scans.

“Mr. Benn. The good news is that there’s no damage; just a strain. If you were my average patient, I’d recommend a few days’ rest, but with the shape you’re in, take it easy tomorrow and keep up with your trainers.”

It was as Jamie had expected, but he was still happy for the news. Twenty minutes later, Jamie was being chauffeured home. He was more awake than he had been before, but was quiet. It had been an eventful six hours. He was working through the dilemma of Elle when they pulled into Segs’ driveway.

“You don’t have a guest room on the ground floor.” Segs shrugged at Jamie’s questioning look and he had to admit that Segs had a point. The ground floor guest room had been used by Jamie more than a few times and the bed was comfortable as hell. There’d be no problems falling asleep.

He could tell Segs was beat but trying to keep him company. After yawning again for the umpteenth time, Segs announced that it was bed time. Segs ensured Jamie made it to the guestroom and then said good night.

Segs still had Jamie’s phone and Jamie still desperately wanted to call Elle. There was an option other than his cell and that was the house phone. Jamie had made fun of Segs for having them installed but he was really happy about it now. He checked the time, noting that it was after midnight in Vancouver.

His fingers typed out the phone number he’d memorized over a month ago and he held his breath as the call connected.

Elle let her cell ring four times before she finally picked up. “Tyler? What’s going on?” She sounded exhausted, and sleepy, like she’d just drifted off and he’d snapped her awake. Jamie would feel guilty but she had spoken and it was the first time he’d heard her voice since she’d hung up on him.

“Tyler? Seriously, what’s going on? Why are you on the land line? Is Jamie okay?”

Jamie grinned. God was real and Elle still cared. “Hey Elle.” He sounded high. He was high. High and grinning like a fool.

She took in a sharp breath, the sound incredibly loud in the quiet of the room. “Jamie?” She was waking up, her words clearer.

“Hey.” He’d desperately wanted to talk to her but now that he could hear her soft breathing, he had no idea what to say. He’d be happy just to listen to her all night, to fall asleep to the sound of her like he’d done when he was visiting.

“I- “ she took another dep breath, probably collecting her thoughts. “God, Jamie. I’m so glad you’re okay. You- fuck. It looked so bad on TV.” Her words picked up speed, her distress evident.

“I’m just fine. Little hopped up and sore, but no damage.” He chuckled ruefully and was really fucking glad when she returned the laugh. “I’m sorry you were worried.”

She might have found some humor, but she still sounded a little freaked out when she said, “I tried so hard not to see you or hear you. That was it. That was the first time since I hung up on you.”

It hurt, objectively, to hear her talk about cutting him out of her life. It hurt a lot. Subjectively, though, he couldn’t blame her. “I am so sorry.” He truly was. Hits always looked worse than they actually were. It was more than that for him. “I’m sorry you had to see that and I’m sorry about the other stuff too.”

Sheets rustled on her end. He could imagine she was burrowing deeper into her blankets. “Jamie-“ There was almost a pleading tone to her voice.

“No, Elle. I am. I’m sorry. It was stupid and I was stupid and I am so sorry. Please please forgive me.” His words ran together. He needed to get them out though, just so she knew he was an idiot.

She sniffled and Jamie could have kicked himself because he’d made her cry. “Elle? I’m sorry. Please say something.”

“You sound so drugged right now. I can’t- I’m sorry I can’t have this conversation with you, not right now.”

Jamie’s hopes plummeted. He’d expected this conversation to go so much better. “Um, okay. But, I’m sorry.”

“I know, Jamie. I know. I just- can you call me tomorrow?”

“Will you answer if I do?” He was petulant, a month of being snubbed making him doubtful.

Elle hiccupped. God fucking dammit. She was really crying and he’d done it and fuck everything. He should get on a plane and go see her. “Yes. Yes, I’ll answer. This is too much right now though.”

He hummed, nodding. What he really needed to do was hang up before he did more damage. “I’ll call in the morning. Not too early.”

“Okay. G-,“ she started to say goodnight then reconsidered. “I’m glad you’re okay. I really am.”

“Me too. Thanks for talking to me again.”

She didn’t seem quite so run down when she softly said goodnight and hung up the phone.

Jamie let the handset drop to the bed next to where he lay. It wasn’t what he’d hoped for but it was definitely a step in the right direction.

-------

3,500 miles away, Elle stared down at her phone for a long long time. Just thinking about everything Jamie had said and how he’d sounded.

Finally, her thumb swiped left and she pulled up her contacts. Three taps later, Jamie’s number was unblocked.

She set her phone down on her bedside table and let herself cry out the tension of the day.

Notes

So I work on this story on Thursdays, primarily. Its sort of the only day I actually have time to set aside time. SO, sorry this doesn't get the attention it deserves. Thankfully, we only have a few chapters left. And then the next story. I'm not going to ruin it, but the best friends finally meet in person and shenanigans ensue. It's going to be great. Thanks for sticking with me!