Limelight Love Story

8. I Get You

Lucy gasped when Tim was knocked to the ground. There was a stretch of time where she was not breathing as she waited for him to stand up. He remained laying on the ice as some sort of medical professional went over to him, and her vision started to blur as she stood frozen in place. The waiting was grueling. The sound of her own erratic heartbeat muffled the din of the arena as she watched in hope for some sign of movement. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Tim was helped off the ice by two people. The crowd started to cheer, and Lucy flew towards the exit of her box where she was sitting high above the ice rink and too far away from Tim. "I need to see my husband," she said to the security guard tasked with escorting her around the arena.

"Ma'am, only team staff and players are allowed in the locker room during the game," the guard said.

"That's my husband! You're going to make an exception, sir," Lucy insisted as respectfully as she could as alarm fried her nerves.

Unwilling to argue with her firm voice, the security guard took her to the locker room and noticed how the golf cart used for transportation around the arena did not even stop before she jumped up and went to the door.

"Tim!" Lucy called when she entered the empty locker room. She heard voices in one of the rooms connected to the main area with all the cubbies and raced in the direction of the sounds. "TIM!" She thought she was going to cry when she saw him laying on an exam table wincing.

"W- Lucy?" He asked when he looked over at her.

She barreled over and reached out to cup his cheeks. "What happened?"

"My ankle," Tim explained.

"You weren't moving," Lucy heard how her voice broke.

He put his hands over hers on his face and assured softly, "I got the wind knocked out of me is all." Her obvious worry dulled all his pain and made his chest warm. "I'm okay."

"No, you're not," she said with watery eyes.

"Do you mind stepping out so we can take an x-ray?" Dr. Grace Sawyer, the team doctor, requested.

"Yeah, I do mind, actually. I'm not going anywhere," Lucy responded fiercely and dropped her hands to clasp one of Tim's.

The doctor raised an eyebrow in silent question, and Tim nodded that it was okay for Lucy to stay for the x-ray, so she proceeded to capture a view of his bones. "Nothing's broken," she assessed the image. "We need to go to the hospital to get an MRI of your leg," Grace said.

"Can we get him some ice first? Where does it hurt?" Lucy asked Tim.

"Everywhere," he answered with a pout. Tim had been so used to acting "tough" but finally felt comfortable being honest with Lucy, because she always showed how much she cared.

"Oh, babe," she replied sadly then turned to a trainer and asked harshly, "Where's your ice?" Someone scrambled to bring an icepack over, making Tim smile at how they seemed to fear her. He did almost whine when she let go of his hand to hold onto the ice pack in search of where he needed the most pain relief simply by reading his face.

"I'll call the hospital from the ambulance," Grace said and took a wheelchair from the corner. "We'll wheel you over to the ambulance in the chair."

He was about to refuse, since he knew cameras would be around capturing him being wheeled away looking weak.

But, Lucy knew what he was about to say and demanded, "You're getting in that chair, Tim." Without another word, he sat up and hobbled over to the wheelchair to take a seat. Grace reached for the handles to push him, but Lucy moved faster and grabbed hold first, which made him smile again.