The Fleury Life

“Sierra!”
I spun around to face the ice from my spot along the runway. I saw someone on the ice waving at me, and Jordan was shouting.
“Tanger!”
Without even knowing what was going on since I could not see from where I was standing, I rushed out onto the ice with my Pittsburgh Penguins jacket flowing behind me, going as fast as I could towards the body that was lying face down on the ice in pain. The body that belonged to Kris Letang.
I slid to a stop in front of him and dropped to my knees, talking in a soft, coo-like voice. “Kris, Kris what’s wrong?”
He moaned and I made out something that sounded like ‘neck’ and ‘head’.
My hand rested on his shoulder while rough housing was going on not far away. “Ok, Kris, can you get up?”
“Maybe,” he moaned. He shifted his body and I clasped his padded arm, helping him slowly into a sitting position upon his knees. “It hurts.”
“I know. Come on. Let’s get you to your feet.” I got on my own, bending over so that I could pull him to his feet.
Geno was suddenly at my side, putting one arm under Tanger’s in order to pull him up. Once on his feet, he was able to stand up on his own. I stood next to him with Geno along the other side just in case as we headed towards the runway while our team banged their sticks against the boards.
And speaking of sticks, Tanger handed me his as we made it to the bench. “Easy,” I said, letting him go first down the runway.
I slowly followed behind him, handing his stick to Dana, our equipment manager.
As I went down the runway, leaving Scott and Chris to handle everything up on the ice, I saw that the equipment assistant already had Kris in the training room. I thanked him before entering and closing the door behind me.
Kris already sat up on one of the tables, helmet off, with his head in his hands. I walked over to him and gently took his hands from his face. He looked a little pale, so I grabbed him a cup of water to sip at.
Once he sipped at it, I questioned him. “What hurts?”
“Head and neck.”
“Headache?”
“Yeah.”
I pulled out the little light used to check eye reaction and performed the typical tests. “What happened?”
“I leaned in to get the puck and that guy, I don’t know who it was, slammed into my shoulder and the momentum threw my head back.”
I put the light away and asked him to follow my finger with just his eyes. “Whiplash, then?”
“Yes.”
“And your neck is sore or actually throbbing or aching?”
“It’s kind of aching, but not throbbing.”
“Alright. Can you lay down on your belly so I can look at your neck.” Tanger gave me a curious look and I smiled grimly at him. “After what happened with my brother, I’m not taking any chances.”
He nodded and laid down. I gently probed at his neck, and when he said that it didn’t bother him, I did so a little harder to I could feel deeper into his neck. Once I was satisfied that there wasn’t anything wrong there, I let him up.
When he got to his feet, he told me that he was a little dizzy. “Ok, but you don’t feel nauseous?”
“No. Not yet at least.”
“That’s good at least.” I opened the door. “Go get changed.”
He nodded and after I washed my hands, I followed him out into the locker room. Once I was there, I saw him struggling with his jersey and wandered over to him. His dark eyes met mine sadly. “It hurts my neck to put my arms over my head.”
I smiled gently, taking a hold of the jersey. “It happens.” I pulled the jersey up, allowing him to pull one arm out at a time without having to put his arms over his head and once off, I reached behind him and placed his jersey on the hanger.
When I turned to stand in front of him again in order to help get his shoulder pads off, his head suddenly dropped against my shoulder with a heavy, sad sigh. After the initial shock of the sudden movement, I brought one hand to his head and slowly stroked his sweat-soaked hair.
“This sucks,” he whispered miserably.
I nodded, knowing he felt the movement from the place where his forehead met my shoulder. “I know. But the fact you aren’t feeling nauseous is a good sign. You’re a little dizzy, yes, and you have a headache, but from just this initial examination, I don’t think it’s that bad. I want to see you in the morning before practice though, ok? And then once we are back in Pittsburgh we’ll get a full examination, imPACT test and all.”
“Ok.”
I pulled away, his head moving forward slightly before straightening up and I put one finger under his chin to lift his head so he looked at me. “Don’t sulk, Kristopher. Don’t let yourself point fingers.”
His lips curled slightly. “Ok.”
I let go of his chin with my finger, and then he surprised me again by suddenly enveloping me in a tight hug, but not tight enough to press against my growing stomach.
“Thank you,” he said quietly before letting go and turning around to rid himself of the rest of the gear.
I smiled slightly and walked out, leaving him alone.

“How is he?”
I turned towards my husband, my silk white nightgown twirling slightly and my long curly hair tumbling down my back. I walked over to the bed and crawled across to lay down in the crook of his arm, resting my head on his bare chest. “He will be alright. It doesn’t look that bad. We’ll see tomorrow.”
Marc’s fingers traced the bare skin of my shoulder. “That’s good.” I felt his lips on the top of my head. “You’re amazing, you know that?”
I smiled lightly. “I know. It just runs in the blood, I think.”
Marc laughed, his chest vibrating and my head rising and falling with him. “I love you, my Sierra.”
“I love you too.” I raised my chin so I could stare at him. His dark eyes looked down and locked on me. “So, we have decided on a name depending on the sex of our baby?”
The grin that appeared on his face is the one I love most. It’s the smile that reflects only pure joy and happiness. “Yes, I think we have.”
“And we find out soon.”
Marc squeezed my shoulders lightly. “I think the boys will have a field day when they find out the name if it’s a boy.”
I smiled, a hint of sadness showing through. “I can’t wait.”
His lips pressed against my head again. “Everyone will like it. I know it.”
“Thank you, Marc-Andre.”
I looked up again, and he winked.
Then I laughed. Hard.