Page 21 of Ice, Ice… Maybe?

Becca was pullinginto the parking lot of the hospital closest to the American Airlines Center after listening to Sports Radio, where they made an announcement that caused her heart to skip a beat.

Travis Giroux is being hauled to the emergency room to have someone check his injuries.

I should say so, Jim – did you see the amount of blood pouring from that kid’s face?

There’s a reason the players wear helmets.

And even then, sometimes the protective gear is just not enough…

I agree – and Thibodeaux is out the remainder of the game, possibly the season depending on what Giroux’s status is. If he’s got a broken nose and just bleeds like a stuck pig, he’ll be back. But if the skull is fractured or there is a brain injury, that could be an entirely different matter altogether.

“Ohhh my gosh…brain injury?”Becca wailed, nearly rear-ending another caron the highway as she drove frantically and took the next exit. Her phone dinged, causing her to almost hit another vehicle as she looked at the screen distractedly.

Allo, Rebecca – this is Travis’s teammate, Theo. His uncle is meeting him at the emergency room and he wanted you to know he was okay.

Which hospital?

And let out her breath in a massive sigh of relief, realizing she’d guessed correctly. Tears collected in her eyes as she stared at her phone, second-guessing herself. The last time she’d been at the hospital, her father had passed away, and that was such a hard thing to experience despite it being years ago. She could still smell the disinfectant and knew deep within her heart that she was going to face this ‘beast’ head-on because everything within her was screaming to be near her friend’s side.

Gathering up her courage, Becca made her way into the emergency room, looking for any sort of sports uniform or indication that Travis was there. The only signs were a few cameras and reporters circling the reception desk like a bunch of vultures.

“Excuse me,” she mumbled, trying to get one of the nurse’s attention. She was in the process of telling the cameraman to back away.

“Sir, get back – please – and shut off that thing. We cannot have you violating H.I.P.P.A. or recording anyone out here. It’s a violation of privacy, and you need to take it outside.” The woman looked irate and kept pointing at the doorway, griping at him, only for her eyes to land on Becca. “What do you want?”

“I’m looking for Travis Giroux,” Becca began – and every camera swung in her direction as several lights turned on in a flash. She put her hands up in front of her face to block the glare, hearing the nurse yelling now.

“Everyone out! Honey,everyonehere is looking for him – and claims theyare related to him, dating him, or work for him. Unless you’ve got some proof or can whip out a birth certificate, NOBODY IS GOING BACK THERE!” the nurse roared angrily.

In the silence that followed, she heard a single voice – a man’s voice… and it wasn’t Travis.

“Becca?”

She turned and saw an older man standing there at the doorway, looking awfully concerned with red-rimmed eyes. Just as she was about to open her mouth to reply, one of the reporters flung up her arm and hollered, “I’m Becca!”

“The heck you are,” Becca snapped, not caring that the blinding lights were now focused in her direction once more as she walked past all of them toward the older man. “Do you need to see my license?”

“No,” the man chuckled. “Travis wondered if you would know what happened, so I guess you were watching the game, or Theo texted you. I’m his Uncle Davy. It’s nice to meet you, young lady – I just wish it was under better conditions.”

“Me too,” she replied immediately, grabbing his arm as they walked through the automatic doors and then apologized. “I’m sorry. I hate hospitals. Is Travis okay?”

“Let’s hold off talking for a moment,” Davy muttered, pointing over his shoulder where the automatic doors were closing. She saw two security officers at the end of the hallway, standing guard at a door. “Travis is down there being evaluated right now and in a lot of pain. He took a puck straight to the face, and I’m thinking it looks worse than what it is, but I’m no doctor.”

“Oh my gosh,” she breathed and realized he stopped walking, looking at her with a firm kindness to his weathered face.

“I need you to be upbeat and don’t start bawling the moment you see him. There’s a lot of blood, and he’s swelling already; are you up to this?”

“Yes,” she whispered, steeling herself for whatever lay behind that door. Amoment later, Travis’s uncle was walking her in and making small talk like it was nothing.

“Hey, kiddo, look what I found roaming the hallways,” Davy said easily, and Becca got a glimpse of Travis. Sure enough, his upper lip was swollen and torn from the impact. His nose looked broken, and he was terribly groggy, turning slightly on the hospital gurney before tensing.

“Nooo,” Travis groaned, and it sounded more like a drawn out ‘moe’, causing the heart rate monitor to start beeping frantically. Becca moved to his side and took his hand in hers, almost like it was instinctive.

“Hey,” she crooned, smiling tearfully at him. “I couldn’t wait for our date, so I thought I would swing by and say ‘hello.’ What can I say? I’m impatient when I’ve got some guy going out of his way to charm me all the time – besides, I hear this place has the best coffee in the world and even better company.”

He started to say something and winced, swallowing slowly as his drugged eyes met hers.

“Shhh,” she whispered, leaning forward to brush his hair from his forehead. “You need to rest and let them take care of you.”

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