The Hockey Life - A Patrick Kane Fanfic

Part Fifty-Nine - Sick

PART FIFTY-NINE: SICK

In Patrick’s P.O.V.

Beep, beep, beep…I hated the sound of my alarm clock, especially this morning. It interrupted a dream about Lena and I that I was thoroughly enjoying. Once I left my dream state, reality hit me like a puck to the face. My head hurt badly. I didn’t understand why it hurt first thing in the morning, but it did. Unfortunately, I had to get up for practice soon, so I forced myself to get out of bed and deal with it.

I got dressed and realized that my nose was running too. Great, I must have gotten a head cold from someone in Nashville. I made sure to eat and take medicine before I headed out the door, because a mere cold wasn’t going to stop me from practicing.

When I got to Lena’s apartment, I felt ridiculous. I had a case of needing a box of Kleenex with me at all times, and I didn’t have one.

“Hey,” Lena said when she opened the door.

“Hi. Do you happen to have tissues somewhere?” I asked. She went to the bathroom and grabbed a box, which she handed to me when she returned.

“Keep these in your car. I take it you’re getting sick?”

“Thanks. Yeah, it’s a head cold, I think. I took some medicine, though. I’m sure it’ll kick in soon,” I answered.

“You’re sure it’s just a cold? No offense, but you don’t look so good,” she commented.

“Yes, I’ll be fine. Let’s go and get this practice over with.”

When Lena and I got to practice, we went our separate ways. I rolled my eyes at the typical locker room comments and conversations as I got changed into my practice uniform and as soon as I got out to the bench, Lena handed me a water bottle.

“I don’t care if it’s just a cold, try to drink a lot of water,” she told me.

“Hey, it’s just like the good old days,” I smirked, remembering when she was in the internship, making sure I stayed hydrated.

“Oh, shut up! I’m serious, though. Drink up,” she replied.

My theory of having just a head cold slowly got de-bunked once I got out on the ice and started practicing. Moving around made my headache worse until my head was throbbing and I could barely focus anymore. I started feeling crappy, too. Feverish, even. When we took a break to listen to Coach, I was relieved. It wasn’t a long enough break, though, not for me. Coach seemed to realize that something was going on, so he called me over individually while Johnny started a drill with everyone else.

“Are you alright, Kaner?” Coach asked me.

“I’m just a little sick, that’s all. I didn’t feel a hundred percent when I woke up, but I thought I’d be able to practice anyways,” I explained.

“Is practicing making it worse?” he wondered. I nodded. “Why don’t you take a break and talk to Lena? I know she’s not exactly a doctor, but she can figure out if you have a fever or not. If need to go home, then you need to go home. I’d rather you stay there and get better than come here and make it worse,” he told me.

“Okay.” I made my way over to Lena and sat down. Before she could say anything, I grabbed my water and took a sizable swig of it.

“What’s wrong?” she questioned me.

“I feel a lot worse,” I answered.

“Take your helmet off,” she instructed me. I did and she felt my forehead. “You feel really hot, Pat. Do you feel feverish at all?”