Steal Bases, Not Hearts (A Chicago Cubs Story)

Chapter 8

I walked into the hospital with the three other guys following close behind. We had no idea what room she was in but I felt so anxious and then relieved once I saw the same man she was hugging in the hallway the day Schwarbs was brought in standing at the nurses station. I assumed it was her father then, and my assumptions were correct now that I was able to read the name on his coat.

"Is she okay?" I asked him frantically.

"Who?" he replied not looking up from the files he had in his hands.

"We're looking for Alex Rhodes," Rizzo responded in agitation, unaware that it was her father he was talking to.

He immediately lifted his head to see four members of the Chicago Cubs standing before him.

Before he could say anything else a nurse ran up to us, "Are you Jake Arrietta?" she asked, looking past me in a daze at Jake, "you just threw a no hitter!"

Pretty soon others realized who we were and the recognition was only magnified by the performance we gave out on the field today. We were swarmed by fans. Dr. Rhodes managed to pull us into a private waiting area in order to explain his daughter's condition.

"Assuming from your presence here to see her, she must be someone special to you guys. I think your performance out there today proved how much you guys care about her. Thank you for making my daughter feel special," He turned to look at me before looking at the other guys. I wondered why he had singled me out, maybe Alex talks about me more than she lets on. I smirked.

"Wait, you're the heart surgeon father?" Rizzo asked in disbelief, "Nice to meet you sir, Anthony Rizzo." They shook hands.

"Yes. I'm the one," he said with a serious expression, "Now, we are very lucky. In the simplest terms possible, she is in stable condition. A broken leg, a few broken ribs and some cuts and bruises. She had a blood transfusion and was out for a while, but she recently woke up and would probably be happy to have some visitors. If two of you want to wait here at a time, it might be best."

I looked at my teammates and they all nodded at me to be one of the first to follow him. They knew I wanted to see her more than anything. Then they elected Jake to come with me so that he could take care of the business he came here to conduct, giving Alex the game ball. He held the baseball tightly in his pocket, protecting it as a metaphor for wanting to protect her.

"Alex, look what the cat dragged in," her dad said as he checked on her machines and then exited. I realize where she got her sense of humor from.

She waited for him to leave before attempting to sit up. She winced in pain and I rushed to her assistance.

"Hey, hey. You don't have to move. We will come down to your level," I waved Jake over.

We sat on the chairs on either side of her bed. I noticed the bruises across her otherwise perfect skin and felt the pain for her. It was miserable looking at her this way, all I wished to do was to take her pain away like she frequently does for me. Physically and mentally.

"Boys," she said looking at Jake and then turning her head to me and smiling, "Some crash, huh."

I didn't know how to respond. I don't understand how she could be so strong, and able to crack jokes as if she wasn't laying in immense pain.

Jake spoke up when he saw that I was having difficulty with the situation, "Yeah, well, something tells me you weren't able to catch the game. But that's alright you can remember it with this." He handed her his no-hitter ball.

"Whats this for?" she asked, "What did I miss?"

And then she looked at me and deep into my eyes for the answers. She could tell that I was upset that she was in pain and she wanted me to say something, to hear my voice some more.

"Jake with a no-no," I said to her.

"What!" she said excitedly. Then she again tried to sit up and this time managed to do so. She took a deep breath, winced and then placed the ball back into his hand, "Jake, You probably think you did it for me, but this is an act of pure skill. You have it or you don't. You could do this every game if you set your mind to it. I can't take this ball from you. No way."

"No," he responded pulling his hand away, "It's yours. At least until you are able to walk back into the clubhouse and return to work. However long that is, we will all be waiting for you."

She took it and I watched her intently as her fingers traced the laces and her mind looked deep in thought.

"Take good care of it," Jake told her as he looked over at me, "But hey, I just wanted to make sure you were still the same old pain in the ass. I see that you are so I will let you two have some time to talk."

"Thank you, Jake," she said watching him move towards the door and then she returned her gaze towards mine, looking back into my eyes, which haven't left hers.

"Come get the other boys when your done, KB. See you again soon, Alex." He walked out of the room.

"And then there were two?" I asked her.

"Finally," she responded with a small laugh. And then as she looked at me a tear streamed down her face as she finally broke down, "I'm so sorry."

I grabbed her hand, "you have no reason to be sorry, what happened to you could have happened to anybody. I am so lucky to have you laying here in front of me, breathing and cracking jokes. Everyone fought for you out there today after hearing the news. Everyone felt your pain for you."

She looked vulnerable. She squeezed the hand I had placed in hers and she wiped her tears with the other. Then she felt her hair tie around my wrist.

"Is that mine?" she asked.

"Yeah, looks good on my wrist doesn't it?" I laughed thinking about how cute she was and always is when she has her hair tied up out of her face.

"So you are the sentimental type, it doesn't explain why you still haven't asked for my phone number," she laughed. "That was all I could think about as my car rolled over into the ditch. What if I don't make it and Kris has to live with having never known my digits."

This time I shared in with her humor and we both laughed at the situation.

"Are you forgetting that you work for the team, how do you know I don't already know your phone number?" I winked at her. Then she gave me her famous 'yeah right' look as if she has known me my entire life.

"There you are!" Alex and I were interrupted by Rizzo coming in. Russell was right behind and I knew they wanted to see her as well. I told her I would be back to visit really soon and I made my exit. As I drove home I thought about how grateful I was to be healthy and breathing and to be given a chance to do what I love. I am going to work my butt off to make it to the all-star game and hopefully even the home run derby. I am hoping that I will also be lucky enough to have Alex there supporting me, even while she takes time off to recover.