Oh Captain, My Captain

Chapter Sixty Four
“So is it all right that we talk about that?” Ellen asked and I nodded my head, “Alex, it’s all right, just breathe, you don’t have to be nervous.”

I laughed a little nodded my head, “Sorry, I’m not really a big fan of interviews.”

“Don’t worry, I figured that out,” she said and I nodded my head.

It was the day of my interview and Ellen and I were going over what she was going to talk about and what was going to happen during the show. I found out that I was going to be going on second right after some actress that was here to represent her new movie coming out, and that’s when I found out that this episode was going to air the next day instead of some other time like I thought it would.

After the practice interview was over, I was brought back into my dressing room where Trina, Taylor and Ashley were waiting for me. I smiled towards them and then sat down on the couch. When I was about to say something, there was a knock on the door and then some guy walked in.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Ms. Conners, but I’m a big fan. Can I have your autograph?” I smiled and nodded my head and signed a picture of me that was taken when I was still a King, “Thank you so much.”

“Any time,” I said and then saw that there were more people outside that wanted some pictures and autographs. I laughed and then walked out of the room to give them each autographs and pictures.

“All right, all right, the show is about to start, get to your places!” a guy yelled and everyone scattered.

I laughed and then walked into the dressing room. I sat on the couch and was about to say something again, but there was a knock on the door and a man came in and told me I was needed. I sighed and then looked at the girls and shrugged my shoulders, “And I’m off.”

“Have fun, Alex!” Taylor yelled and I waved.

The man took me to the backstage where I was waiting for Ellen to finish up with her the actress before me.

“Now a while ago we had actor Matthew Perry on the show and he was talking about his movie that had come out, but also about his favorite sport, hockey. Let’s take a look,” Ellen said and then the interview between Matthew Perry and Ellen appeared on the screen, and they were talking about me, “Now help me welcome the National Hockey League’s only female player, Alexandra Conners,” she said and then the man tapped my shoulder and I walked out.

I smiled as I heard the crowd cheer and then walked over onto the little platform and waved towards everyone. I hugged Ellen and then sat down on the chair, making sure to pull my dress down before I did.

“How are you?” Ellen asked as the crowd died down.

“I’m fine, how are you?”

“I’m gr-“

“I LOVE YOU ALEX!!!” someone yelled and then I laughed and look to see that there was a guy holding up a sign saying ‘marry me’.

“Now I told you to wait outside for her!” Ellen teased and everyone laughed and I took a sip of water.

‘…Oh boy, calm down…’

“Now Alex, your season is over, correct?” she asked and I looked at her.

“Yes, my team didn’t make it to the playoffs.”

“And you were moved?” she asked not sounding sure.

“Traded, and yes. I was on the L.A. Kings last season, and this season I was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins.”

“And you made thirty goals this season?” she asked and I nodded my head and she looked towards the audience, “Now for those of you that don’t know, Alex just recently went through a terrible situation on the ice where another player went too far, here’s the clip.”

“And there goes number twenty eight, Alexandra Conners with the puck, nine minutes left in the overtime. She’s got Bruins number seventeen Milan Lucic on her tail, and he’s been all over Conners all night,” the announcer explains as I see myself in the video, “Conners heads the net, she shoots and she SCROES!!! Penguins with the overtime and the second game ag- WHOA!!!” the clip was shown of my going through the glass and I heard the audience gasp, “Milan Lucic just shot Alexandra Conners right through the glass, oh no!”

“I don’t think she’s getting up, Fred,” the second announcer said and I bit my lip.

“No Conners is knocked out cold. You can see Bruins Brandon Adkins and Penguins Sidney Crosby by the glass checking to see if she’s all right,” the clip was cut to when I was awake and climbing through the glass, you could hear the audience at that night’s game cheering, “You see Crosby and Adkins holding her up, taking her ov- OH LOOK AT THAT!!!” I had broken out of their grip and was darting towards Lucic. I had a smirk on my face as I saw myself punching Lucic in the face, “SHE BROKE RIGHT THROUGH THE PROTECTOR!!! WHAT A PUNCH!!!”

The clip was stopped and we all adjusted ourselves and Ellen looked at me, “That was something.”

“Yeah, that was a hard night.”

“But you skated off that ice that night.”

“Yes, I blacked out because I was just so angry that he would do that, and I mean, you saw that the fans were bleeding because they had glass on them and I just snapped. I think I had like an adrenaline rush and when I got back to the locker room, my body was just warn out and I passed out.”

“And you were in the hospital for-“

“I was in the hospital under a medical coma for about two weeks and then they woke me up after my body was healed, and then physical therapy for about a week.”

“And he only got a suspension?”

“I think like a five game suspension,” I said and heard some people boo.

“And then the league wanted to cut you?” she asked and I nodded my head, “Now how did you get out of that?”

“I have a team that is very good to me and supportive of my actions in the NHL. We had a video conference with the league and managed to convince them to let me stay,” I said and Ellen nodded her head.

“Well I know you have a lot of fans here and they’re happy that you’re back. You inspire a lot of people, Alex. You’re the only woman in an all male sport, and you do amazingly in it.”

“Well thank you.”

“Now I must, the Bruins? Bruins, am I saying that right?”

“Yes,” I laughed.

“Ok, the Bruins, they’re player, Adkins? He was really supportive that night of you is there something going on?”

I laughed, “No, actually Brandon is my cousin.”

“Ok, so you have a little family competition there?”

“Yes, we actually have little ritual before the game starts. A little trash talking and then we shake hands and whoever wins at the end, we congratulate and then go out to dinner, with the loser buying,” I explained and she laughed.

“So you don’t like hate each other?”

“No, actually, Brandon is like an older brother to me. I mean we have our family competitions, but we don’t really make a big deal of it, and don’t take it personally if either our team or his team loses.”

“That’s good, that’s good. Well that brings us to my next question,” she said and then reached over to pull out an NHL magazine, “Because this was in the magazine,” she showed a picture of Sidney and I kissing and I laughed and nodded my head.

“That, that is true,” I said and she smiled.

“So you are in a relationship?”

“Yes, to Sidney Crosby,” I said and I heard some people cheering and I laughed.

“Another hockey player?” she said and I nodded my head and then heard the audience ‘awe’. I looked to see that Ellen had a picture on the screen of Sidney and I holding hands and walking down the streets of Pittsburgh. She had asked how that relationship started and then explained that we just clicked immediately. “So we talked about everything that I told you we were going to talk about, but we I want to bring up is your interview with People magazine,” she said and I laughed and then shook my head, “You were on the cover in February’s edition.”

“Yeah, I was forced into that one,” I said and laughed.

“And if you didn’t see it, this is the cover,” Ellen said and then the cover picture appeared on the big screen and I heard the guys cheer, because it was of me wearing only my jersey holding the hockey stick behind my head, “That was a good picture.”

I was laughing, and then nodded my head and shrugged my shoulders, “Ok,” everyone laughed because that was the only thing that I could think of saying.

“Now you know that this week is the week of the dogs on my show. We have the week of the cat and now it’s time for the dog, and were saying in the back that you have two dogs?”

“Yes, Sarabi and Zeus,” I said and then saw a picture of the dogs appear on the screen.

“That’s a big dog,” Ellen said and I nodded my head. I had given her a picture of the two dogs standing next to each other and looking up towards me wagging their tails, “Now, which one’s which.”

“Sarabi is the Great Dane, and Zeus is the German shepherd.”

“And they were rescued?”

“Sarabi, I actually got when I was living in L.A. at a shelter home and Zeus,” I laughed and shook my head, “It was the Saturday before Labor Day and I had left three of my teammates at my house alone- Big mistake there.”

“Which ones?”

“Uh, James Neal, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby,” I said and she nodded her head, “I asked them to watch Sarabi while I went to the grocery store because I was going to have party on Labor Day, and when I came back there’s Zeus!”

“So instead of watching Sarabi, they brought you another dog?” Ellen said and laughed.

“Pretty much,” I said and shook my head.

“Well, they’re both adorable, and you’re adorable. You’re an inspiration to everyone, from being hurt and coming back so fast, and just for playing a sport that no one thought that you would be able to play, and now you are a professional athlete for the sport you love. You just keep doing what you’re doing, Alex, because you do it well and thank you for coming onto the show.”

“Thank you for having me,” I said and then smiled and hugged her because the interview was over.