Page 33 of Power Play (Titans Hockey #2)

Chapter thirty

Lacey

I 'm the first over the boards. The arena has erupted into all-out chaos.

Every Titan has paired up with a Bruin in an all-out brawl.

Refs are blowing whistles and shouting. Even Gabe is out of the net and taking on a Bruin's D man alongside Alt.

The Bruin's goalie shoots forward towards Gabe for a goalie fight.

This isn't good.

The fans are shouting and banging against the plexiglass, but all I can see is Ben's body going rigid and his breathing becoming mechanical. He's knocked out.

Scott bellows my name behind me, but I can't think of anything else.

I scramble and struggle to get to him on the ice. I should have worn snow grips, but I'm just the Junior PT. I never expected to be out on the ice. But this is Ben. My Ben. I dodge Jonesy, who is exchanging punches with a Bruin, and slide the last few feet to Ben's side.

I grip his face in my hands, my heart trying to beat its way out of my throat. His lips are parted, and his breaths are shallow but even. I tap his cheek a little. "Ben? Baby? Come on, baby. I need you to come back to me."

Tears prick my eyes, and Ben's face goes watery, but I can't blink for fear Ben will be gone when I open my lids again. Lauren slides up next to me with the smelling salts. Fuck, of course. I'm such an idiot.

She breaks the package and puts it under Ben's nose. His whiskey brown eyes blink open a second later, his lip curled in a snarl. His shoulder's not in its normal place either. Even under his padding and jersey, I can tell it's hanging too low to be normal.

That fucking Bruin ran into him like a freight train when he was already falling towards the boards, knocking off his helmet, knocking him out and probably dislocating his shoulder.

A hand grips my arm roughly and yanks me to standing. A murderous Scott scowls at me. He dips his head a little before growling at me. "You're pregnant!"

I try to shake his hand off and huff in annoyance. "I know that." I turn back towards Ben, but Scott yanks me back towards him.

"You could have fallen. You could have hurt the babies."

I'm lightheaded as the blood drains from my face and I realize what he means. In my rush to get to Ben, I didn't consider how dangerous sliding around on the ice would be.

"I-I'm sorry."

Scott looks down and sees where his fingers are digging into my arm, before releasing it and running his hand through his short hair.

"We'll talk about it later," he growls before turning and walking off the ice.

At least he didn't demand I go back. He knows how worried I am about Ben. And he doesn't want to cause a scene that will make the public start rumors about us. I will be more careful shuffling off the ice, though.

I kneel next to Ben again, the cold ice seeping through the knees of my scrubs.

He blinks rapidly, his eyes going from glazed to more focused. I breathe a sigh of relief. He'll have to do the concussion protocol, but he'll live .

"Hey, pretty girl," he slurs as if his tongue is two sizes too big, a boyish grin on his face.

I stand. "Jonesy! Ryan! Help me get him off the ice!" I shout. We need to get him in my room and reset his shoulder as soon as possible, before the swelling makes it difficult.

Jonesy pushes the Bruin he was fighting away and wipes blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

Christ, all of these boys are going to be banged up today.

Three of them, Jonesy included, shove their opponents away and skate over.

The fighting Bruins must see how bad of shape Ben's in, so they don't follow.

"Get him under his legs in a chair position. Don't touch his right arm, it's dislocated." I order and point to the door that leads to the tunnel and back to our rooms. Lauren gives me a sad smile and a nod of approval.

My eyes lock with Scott and a million emotions pass between us. He's concerned for Ben, of course, but he's concerned for me too because of how scared I am for Ben.

"I'll take care of him. You got the rest of the game?" I ask Lauren quickly, shuffling ungracefully after the boys who have picked Ben up and are carefully skating to the door.

"Yep! Go take care of your man," she shouts.

The boys set Ben down on one of the tables in the medical center before returning to the game. I grab my flashlight and check his pupil's response time.

Jonesy hovers. "Should... should I..." He looks over his shoulder back to the arena.

Frustration takes over the fear. "What Garrett!? Get it out! "

"Should I stay!? I've never done the boyfriend thing before, so I don't know what I'm supposed to do!!" he shouts, running his hands through his hair. "They're supposed to teach me!"

"Teach you?" I ask, putting up a finger and moving it back and forth in front of a goofily grinning Ben, watching his eyes track the movement.

"Teach me how to be a good boyfriend to you! But Ben's like this, and Coach is out there..." He starts to pace, which is awkward because he's still in his skates.

But then his words register.

He wants to know how to be a good boyfriend and doesn't know if that means staying to support me, or going back out onto the ice to finish the game. And Ben and Scott were supposed to teach him how to be a good boyfriend for me.

My heart fucking melts.

I turn to Garrett, grabbing his face in my hands.

He towers over me on a good day but add four inches of height because of his skates and he's almost impossibly tall.

His hair is a mess, sweaty and now sticking on end because of his fingers.

He's got sweat on his temples, dripping down the sides of his face and just above his lip.

The lip that's split from the fight he was in.

"Garrett!" I shout, trying to get his attention. "Baby, if you ever need to know what I need, just ask me. Right now, my biggest concern is Ben and taking care of him. Can you go back to the game, please? It's what I want right now." His chest is heaving, but he's listening.

"Are... are you sure? This isn't like some trap where women say they want one thing, but they really want another? "

I suppress my smile. How has this man been with so many women and still be so unsure of himself when it comes to actually dating? Actually, I know the answer to that one. He fucks women, but he never dates them. The fact that he cares about being a "good boyfriend" melts me all over again.

"No trick here, baby. I can't focus on Ben if you're hovering. Please go back to the game and tell Scott I'm working on Ben and we're fine. Okay? I don't want him to worry about us when he's got a game to play. Got it?"

He licks his lips, but nods. He spins to head out the door when he spins again, stomping back to me and bending down to give me a quick, surprising kiss.

Then he spins on his skate again and leaves. A half-chuckle slips out of my lips at what just happened before I turn back to Ben and give him my focus.

"Hey, there, handsome. Do you know my name?"

I know he's got a concussion, the fencing response his body did and loss of consciousness was enough of a clue, but I need to check how severe, and my nervous energy needs somewhere to go.

"Yeah, you're my pretty girl."

His pupils are slow.

Alright, I need to get his shoulder back in place before it swells. I gently pull his jersey, elbow pads, shoulder pads, and neck guard off before I get a good look at his shoulder. Christ. I'll need to get an X-ray to see if his collarbone is still attached.

I adjust my table so that it's flat and maneuver him to lie down. Throwing on the lead apron quickly, I get the shots I need. Luckily, there's no break, just a dislocation .

Shoulder dislocations are common injuries in hockey and football, though, so I know how to fix it.

"Alright, handsome, I need you to lie on your stomach."

He smiles sleepily at me. "You're pretty."

I can't help my smile. I help him maneuver around so he's lying on his stomach with his right arm hanging off of it. He's a big guy, and I'm strong, but I'm going to have gravity help me.

"Benjamin and Lacey, sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G..." Ben sings above me, and I can't help but chuckle.

"You know I love you, right?"

Ben turns his face so he's looking at me, his cheek squished against the table. "Always have." It's our little back-and-forth we did as kids.

"Good. Remember that while I do this."

I sit on the floor, grab Ben's arm by the wrist and elbow, and gently apply more and more pressure downwards until his humerus pops back into the joint. Ben roars his disapproval. The sound of his pain makes my stomach sick.

"Alright, baby. Think we could get you into an ice bath? I think it's the best way to prevent swelling."

"Will you be there with me?"

"Of course, sweetheart."

I untie and pull off his skates, unwrap the tape around his shin guards, pull off his shin guards, stinky socks, pants and jock. Jesus, these guys have a ton of gear. It must take them forever to put it all on and pull it all back off again.

I hold his left hand as he rises, in only his boxers, and gently lead him towards the ice bath room.

He's wobbly on his feet but follows me willingly.

It feels like a symbolic moment in our relationship.

He's vulnerable, injured, and willing to follow me anywhere.

The trust and the loyalty this man has in me chokes me up.

I shake my head and focus on getting him healed.

The ice baths had been prepped in advance since a lot of the guys like to use them for recovery after a game, and luckily, we're the only ones in here.

"Oh, bright," Ben groans when I flip the lights on. I flip them right off again.

"Alright, baby, let’s get you in quick, and I'll sit here with you. I'll set a timer." He groans and shivers as he steps in, his injured arm tucked tight against his body.

Once he's in, I pull a rolling chair from a nearby PT station and sit gratefully in it. My first trimester fatigue is gone and I'm fully into my second trimester, but the adrenaline of watching the love of my life get hurt so badly has me tired to my bones.

I roll up next to him and rest my face against his sweaty hair.

"You know it's okay, right?" Ben asks me after a moment.

I lift my head and run my fingers through his sweaty hair. "What's okay?"

"If you love them, too."

My hand freezes. We haven't even gotten a chance to sit down and talk about what this is.

What we are. What me and the other guys are.

We found out I was pregnant, any of them could be the father, and then all moved in together.

The other guys want a shot at a relationship.

But we never discussed what that meant for us. Ben loves me, and I love him.

"B..." I sigh. "I don't know which way is up anymore.

I'm pregnant with twins and living with three men who all sort of accept me, and this, and want some version of a relationship with me.

It's all so out of control and you know I hate that.

..so I'm just taking it one day at a time. I just... hope you're patient with me."

I'm too tired to lie or sugarcoat anything. It's the raw and honest truth.

I am overwhelmed. I don't know what to do.

I'm out of control. My body's not my own anymore.

The two little souls I have in my belly give me morning sickness and fatigue.

My body's changing. And I already have lost strength in my own workouts.

If I let myself dwell on it, I'll freak out.

So, I've been putting one foot in front of the other.

It's all I can manage right now. I'm sure tonight I'll freak out and spiral about Ben getting injured, and how Jonesy could, or how Scott could get into a car accident tomorrow and die and what that would mean for me and our babies, but right now I have a patient in front of me. That's what I'm focusing on.

The game must have ended, and we must have won, because excited, celebratory voices come down the hall and a few moments later the lights pop on. Ben winces and I throw my upper half over him.

"Hey guys, can we do lights off? Ben's got a nasty concussion and the lights and noise hurt right now." I say, protecting my man.

"Oh shit," someone whispers, turning the lights back off. A handful of players shuffle around quietly, each coming to pat Ben on the shoulder in solidarity and get in their own ice baths.

The love and respect these players have for each other moves me. I've never been part of a team, especially a team that feels like family. These aren't just players, they're brothers, and Scott feels like the team dad. I smile at that thought .

Ben turns towards me and grips my hand in his. "I mean it. I know I've always loved you and want a happily ever after with you. But if that includes two more guys who can spoil you... I think you deserve it. You've put up with enough shit in your life. You deserve the good."