2nd Intermissions

I had allowed myself to politely invite Dr. Harper into the coaches room with me to watch the game.
I could see his brain working overtime as each thought passed over his face and finally he said, "I think I will join you." and close his laptop. I smiled a tense smile, thinking, 'great, now I need to act like a lady while watching the game. Good going, genius.' Because I knew if I didn't act civil, he would use it against me.
Harper followed me into the dimly lit room and I clicked on the television, it programmed to play the game that was playing on home ice.

We sat in silence through the first period, until Higgens or Hoggins, whatever the Ranger's name was pushed one past Huet. I jumped up and yelled, "GOD DAMMIT!" And excused myself immediately, sitting back down. Harper just looked at me, vaguely amused.
I breathed through my nose, positively steaming that Huet let the goal through.
The first period ended uneventfully, Versteeg making a beautiful shot.
Sighing, I led Harper back into the office as the boys started to file in.

The normal ailments came into me and Harper, this time, he was much more attentive to the players. The doctor was still cold and corporate, but he was at least helping.
When the guys left out the tunnel for the second period, Harper and I made our way back into the room with the biggest television.
When sitting there, I became a little less tense and began yelling late in the second period, when we had a power play.
"GET IT INN!" I yelled at the screen, and to my surprise, Harper let out an amused noise.

Then, my world became much more complicated. Adam's line was on the ice and he had the puck, making his way down the ice. I only vaguely registered Avery coming up from the bottom left part of the screen, until he slammed into Adam and crushed him into the boards.
I stood up and couldn't find anything to yell when I saw Adam stay on his knees on the ice, resting his helmet on the ice.
"SHIT!" I managed to say as I saw him struggle to get up, and two athletic trainers carry him off. I ran down the hall as fast as I could wearing my black heels.
Harper quickly followed me, running over to the desk, his hand perched over the phone.
"Don't call the paramedics, yet, he may be fine." I managed to clear my head for a moment.
The paramedics were only a call and a long hallway away.
Adam limped into the room, helped along by the two men. They placed him on the table and he yanked his helmet off, throwing it across the room. I dodged it and walked over to him as the men left.

"How do you feel?" I asked, quickly unlacing his skates and pulling them off.
"Like CRAP, Samantha! My fucking knee!"
I looked over my shoulder at Harper and he pushed his way in front of me.
"I'm taking a look." He pulled off Adam's socks to get a look at his knee.
Adam looked at me and I could see the pain written all over his face.
"Just keep eye contact, okay?" I said to him, and he grabbed my forearm when Harper pressed a spot that made Adam yell out and squeeze my arm. I winced, but didn't tell him to let go, because Dr. Harper then said, "Adam, you tore your ACL; I can't tell how badly, but you need to get to the hospital. Its not relatively dangerous, but you need a team of doctors." He went over to the phone and dialed the paramedic's number.
"Shoes?" Adam asked me, his eyes still wet from the pain. I nodded and ran into the locker room, finding his sandals and racing back into the office. I helped him slide his feet into them and Harper told me, "You'll go with him, I'll stay here and hold down the rest. The paramedics are coming now, and the second period ended."

Just then they came in, their uniforms all nice and pressed, lifting Adam from his place on the table. I quickly followed them, grabbing my purse and coat.
We made it to the ambulance and they asked me before I jumped in, "What relation are you to him?"
I said, "I'm his doctor." the same time Adam said, "She's my girlfriend."
They just shook their heads and let me in.
Both of the paramedics sat in the front and left me in the back with Adam strapped to the gurney.
"I'm not going to move my knee anytime soon, why did they strap me down?" He asked me.
"Procedure." I replied, finding it hard to feel anything inside at the moment.
My emotions just collided into a train wreck. I was angry when he got hit, worried when he couldn't get up, hoping when he came in, and then everything was crushed once Harper told me he had a torn ACL. It was the same ailment Wiz was suffering from, trying so hard to recover.
"How long will I be on the IR?" He asked quietly, dreading the answer I had to give him.
"Adam..." I tried to find the right words and he reached for my hand. I took it, holding it between my two and told him, "You'll be out six to eight months after the surgery."
His face paled.
"Surgery?" He asked.
"You'll be given three choices of the surgery. You can replace the ligament with one of yours, with two donor sites, or you could opt for the cadaver ligament." I recited to him, playing with his fingers between my hands.
"Sam." I looked up at him, his face still pale from the pain.
"Yes?" I asked.
"Thanks for taking care of me."
I felt like I would start crying when we finally reached the hospital. Before the paramedics could see, I quickly kissed Adam's scarred knuckles and dropped his hand.

They put him in a wheelchair and took him to a room, where they would test, poke, and fire questions at him.
I put my purse and coat in a pile on a chair, and plopped into the one next to it, steeling myself for a long night.