Chapter Text
Ilya
The second Shane hit the ice, Ilya knew something was wrong. Bood didn’t mean to hit him, it was a clean play and an even cleaner hit. A regular hockey hit. But the way Shane landed and slid into the boards, seeing the blood but not knowing where it was coming from, had Ilya’s heart stopping. Even now, almost three hours later, it didn’t feel like his heart had started again. He could hear Bood in the bed next to him asking him something, but all he could do was refresh the tab ‘shane hollander injury update’ and hope some news article somehow leaked information. He knew he didn’t actually want that to happen because Shane deserved privacy, but he was dying inside not knowing if his boyfriend was okay.
Suddenly, his phone pinged with a message from ‘Jane’. Ilya sucked in a breath, knowing that if Shane was texting him, his injury couldn’t have been as bad as it seemed. His eye darted across the screen quickly, his heart dropping when he realized it wasn’t Shane texting him, but Yuna Hollander.
Hi honey, this is Shane’s mom. I don’t know if you saw, but Shane got hurt on the ice. He’s in room 6W20 in Montreal General. If you’re in town, he’s been asking for you nonstop and I’m sure would love to see you before he goes to surgery. Just come on over and we can come to the lobby to bring you up. -Yuna
“Fuck.” Ilya breathed out. Bood looked up.
“Anything on Hollander?”
“Uh, yes. I need to go. Hospital. Captain duty. You know.” Ilya’s English short-circuited when he was overwhelmed, Bood knew this.
“Do you want me to come with you? I feel really bad about the hit.” He was already starting to get up.
“No. Is ok. Clean hit. His mom texted me from phone. I’ll go and be back later.” Ilya was collecting things he thought he might need, or that Shane might need. The second he read that his boyfriend was going into surgery his focus snapped back. He had limited time to get there and needed to act fast. He threw an extra change of clothes and sweatshirt into his bag, with a phone charger, a hat, and sunglasses. Getting in unnoticed was at the forefront of his mind. The last thing he wanted was to bring more attention to Shane and the situation at hand.
What was not at the front of his mind, however, was the fact that Yuna, and probably David, were in the hospital room as well. That him showing up would potentially out them. That Shane was going to be a loose cannon on pain meds. All that he could think was his boy was asking for him and he needed to go.
“Text me that he’s ok,” Bood pleaded as Ilya was walking out the door.
“I will. Back soon,” Ilya said as he threw his shoes on and all but ran out to his Uber.
Shane
All Shane knew was he was in pain, the medication wasn’t masking it, and he needed Ilya. His parents were both in the room, as was Hayden, doing their best to figure out how to get ‘ily to the hospital.
“I need ‘ily, Mommmm,” Shane said for the fifth time. He was close to tears because no one was understanding, no one was calling Ilya, and no one was doing anything to help.
“Baby I know. Is she in Montreal, honey?” Yuna asked, ever the planner.
“She’s in Boston, usually,” Hayden mumbled, eyes on his phone, updating the team. Little did he know that ‘Lily’ hadn’t been in Boston the whole season. Or that Lily was Ilya, who was trying to figure out how to get to MGH unnoticed.
“No! ‘e’s here. Montreal. We were supposed to hang out tonight,” Shane says with a frown. Yuna is on Shane’s phone in seconds, texting Lily. She doesn’t look at any prior texts, careful not to interfere with Shane’s privacy more than she already feels like she is by texting this girl she knows next to nothing about.
“Ok baby, I sent her a text. She knows the room number and everything. I’m sure we will hear back soon.” At this, Shane visibly relaxes. Hayden has seen this happen whenever Lily texts Shane before a game- she has the ability to calm his panic like no one he has ever seen. He likes to think he knows Shane pretty well at this point, but he has never been able to calm his racing mind down just by texting him. After giving Shane another once over, his job of bringing Shane’s stuff and laying eyes on his best friend is done. He doesn’t look great, but he isn’t in any immediate danger from his injuries. Hayden turns to David and Yuna.
“Are you guys going to stay in Montreal for a while? Can I help with anything? I have the spare key to Shane’s place if you need to go stay there. Changes of clothes? Anything?”
David chuckles. “Son, it’s alright. Go home to your wife and kids. We will see how the night goes and make some decisions. We will probably go stay at his place for a few days, but Ottawa isn’t so far we can’t run home if we need to. Thanks for coming.” He stands to give Hayden a hug, who is still a little visibly shaken from seeing such an injury from a clean hit. He had never seen Shane injured in all the years they’d played together, and he was starting to think the guy was unstoppable.
“Ok, ok, yeah.” Hayden turns to Shane. “Hey buddy I’m gonna head home for the night. If you need me just have Yuna text, ok?” Shane nods, then winces. “You’re in good hands, Shane. I’ll be back tomorrow before we leave town, good luck in surgery, buddy.” Shane nods again, cracking his eyes open ever so slightly.
“Love you Hayd,” he slurs. The PRN pain medication must finally be kicking in because he’s starting to look more relaxed. Either that, or he knows Lily is coming and it’s calming him down. Hayden nods, satisfied, and slips out the door. The sound of the door must trigger something in Shane, because he moans and searches the room.
“Where’s ‘ily?” he groans.
“Probably coming soon, baby,” Yuna says, taking his good hand.
“I want him,” Shane cries. Yuna and David share a look at the pronoun, but turn their focus to comforting their son, who has turned sideways into the pillow and is crying in earnest now. They sit, rubbing his back, for a bit before Shane grimaces again and opens his eyes.
“What’s going on?” Shane mumbles. He’s asked the same question at least six times since waking up, and Yuna has answered with patience every time. Normally, Shane catalogs every bit of information and files it in his mind, he rarely has to ask twice about things. His failure to remember information or to remember what was coming next in his day was a very constant reminder to Yuna that her son was not alright.
“You broke your collarbone, honey. We are waiting for your surgery to reset it now. It’s an emergency surgery because you need open reduction and internal fixation. That’s why you’re in a sling. You got a few stitches on your cheek because your helmet cut your face just a little. And you have a concussion from hitting the ice, baby.” Yuna has had a lifetime of raising Shane, knowing how he needs direct speech and cause and effect language. She’s not sure how many of the words he is actually comprehending, but if there’s any chance he’s fully lucid at any point, he would want the details. He nods, eyes closed. “Lily is on her way, hopefully she gets here before you go for surgery.” David, on the other side of the bed, reaches out to squeeze Shane’s knee.
“I can’t wait to hear about this Lily when you’re feeling up to it, Shane,” he says softly. This brings a ghost of a smile to Shane’s face. He could talk about Ilya all day. And he would have, if it wasn’t for the door opening at that very moment.