No One Belongs Here More Than You

"Evgeni? Evgeni!" Ashley's sharp voice startled me awake. I felt the biting cold of the ice seeping into the sleeves of my jersey. Ashley was cradling my head in her lap, and the trainers had swarmed around me, looking alarmed. Sidney was on one knee next to me, biting his lip anxiously.

"What happened?" I groaned, going to sit up. Ashley put her hands on my shoulders however, and shook her head.

"You...you had a seizure Evgeni," she said quietly, her face looking ashen.

"Let's get him on the stretcher guys," someone said from behind the trainers. I looked up to see several EMTs standing there with a stretcher.

"But I'm fine!" I groaned, sitting up. My head spun and I bit back a wave of nausea.

"No, you're going to the hospital Evgeni. You've never had a seizure before, and this is serious," one of the trainers said sternly. Ashley nodded in agreement, so I sighed and allowed the EMTs to help me onto the stretcher.

^^^^^^

"So much for a celebration, eh Sid?" I asked as Sidney came barreling into the hospital room I had been put in. He looked frantic, but a few other guys streamed in behind him, and I saw a gleam of silver from behind the towering figure of Jordan Staal.

"We figured we'd celebrate later...once we know you're okay," Sidney said quietly, patting my shoulder. I smiled, and Ashley squeezed my hand. I had gone through MRIs, blood tests, CAT scans, and had even been knocked out for a brain biopsy...the whole shebang, and we were just waiting on the results so that I could go home. I chatted animatedly with the guys for hours, the hospital staff not daring to tell the newly christened Stanley Cup Champions to go home. In fact, many of the staff were donning black and yellow scrubs, and some even had Penguins pins attached to their pockets or the lapels of their white coats. After a while, there was a knock at the door, and the doctor came in.

"Mr. Malkin, I'd like to speak to you privately," the doctor said, and everyone's face went white. Marc ushered the guys out of the room, but left the Cup next to my bed. The doctor looked pointedly at Ashley, who was clutching my hand tightly, and she reluctantly left the room as well. After everyone had gone, he closed the door.

"What is problem Doc?" I asked.

"Mr. Malkin...the cause of your seizure...well...it's a brain tumor. We're not entirely sure what type of tumor it is yet, but the blood tests should reveal that shortly. For the meantime, there is nothing to worry about. We'll decide whether or not to worry when we find out whether the tumor is malignant or not. The test results should be back in a few hours, so for the meantime, we'd like you to stay here," the doctor explained. I felt my heart leap into my throat. I had heard all about cancer, I had visited sick kids in their hospital rooms, and I knew what cancer did to people. It destroyed them. There was no way I could be sick like that. I laughed nervously.

"There must be a mistake," I said quietly.

"No...but like I said, until we find out the nature of the tumor, you shouldn't worry," the doctor said before leaving. Everyone came flooding back in the room, clamoring to hear what the doctor had said. I kept my mouth shut, and stared absent-mindedly at the Cup. It wasn't until everyone had given up and gone back to talking about the game that I looked up. Ashley's eyes were brimming with tears, and I knew that my eyes would give everything away. It was painful to look at her, and I brushed a few stray tears from her cheeks.

"I'll be okay Ashley...ya obeshchayu (I promise)," I muttered, kissing her forehead gently.

I tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. The streetlight outside my window glared angrily off of the gleaming surface of the Stanley Cup, which the guys had left with me so that I could "get better sooner". By the time morning had come, I had dark circles under my eyes, and I was getting irritable. Ashley, Sidney, Marc, and Jordan had come in as soon as visiting hours began, and I was glad for their company, albeit a little nervous that they'd be here when I was given the news. Around one, the doctor came in and shooed everyone out, telling them that they had to leave for lunch, but that they could enjoy a bite to eat in the hospital cafeteria.

"So...is it bad?" I croaked. The doctor sighed and opened the manila folder that my file was in.

"Your tumor is malignant...anaplastic astrocytomas. It's a type of glioma, and right now it's a stage three tumor. It's unusual that it wasn't detected before, but we need to treat this right away. We have an extensive cancer specialty team here, and we'll do our best to help you through this. The most important thing right now is to get you into surgery. We took a small sample of the tumor for testing last night, but you need to have as much of the tumor removed as possible. Once the incision heals, we'll be able to start you on radiation and chemotherapy," the doctor said. After that his words became an incessant mumble, and fear reared its ugly head in my chest. About an hour later, my friends were allowed back into the room.

"Alright, so what's wrong with your head, other than the obvious?" Jordan teased, tossing me a cookie he had taken from the cafeteria. As soon as he saw the look on my face however, his smile collapsed.

"I...I have cancer," I croaked. Sidney's jaw dropped, Jordan swallowed roughly, Marc let out an involuntary squeak, and Ashley gasped. I turned to her, and her eyes were wide with fear. She clutched my hand tightly, and didn't let go the entire time I explained the situation to the guys.