Authors: Elizabeth Moynihan
“Tell her I love her, Sergei, and take care of her, okay?” Dani requested, her voice breaking in emotion.
With a final quick hug of reassurance, Sergei slipped the guards on to his skates, slung his bag over his shoulder and ran to catch up with the gurney as it exited the side door.
Gently the paramedics loaded their patient in to the ambulance, allowing Sergei to follow Chloe in and set off for the hospital, lights and sirens blaring.
Sergei held Chloe’s hand in his own, frowning at the chill of her hand, gently rubbing it between his palms as he sought to restore some warmth to it. Twice he tried to tell her Dani sent her love and each time was interrupted by the noise of the radio, the siren or a question from the paramedic. Finally, in frustration, he bent over Chloe, his mouth close to her ear and said ‘Dani sends her love, Chloe’, only to hear, “I love you too, Sergei,” whispered softly in return.
Sergei sat up in surprise, his gaze flying to the paramedic beside him and, judging from his smile knew the paramedic had heard Chloe’s declaration of love.
With an easy smile, the paramedic’s words set Sergei’s future in motion, “You’re a lucky man.”
Sergei looked from the paramedic to Chloe and out the windows in the back of the ambulance at the traffic trailing behind the speeding vehicle. Was his life destined to be a wild, reckless ride or was fate speeding him toward his future? Chloe’s voice softly calling his name returned his attention to her immediately and the sudden understanding that he was on the brink of something great washed over him, leaving him strangely calm, more than a little apprehensive and wildly anxious all at the same time. He suddenly realized and could feel it in his heart, fate had been leading him to this moment, just as he knew he was going to take the chance that was being offered to him by the slight wisp of a girl whose hand he held.
Sergei’s smile widened as he returned the paramedic’s smile, “You’re right, I’m damned lucky!”
Sergei had found his new partner.
The emergency room was swamped when they arrived at the hospital. Friday nights were always a brisk night for business in the medical field, throw in a full moon and things really hopped.
Sergei followed the paramedics through the crowded hallway as they pushed the gurney, loaded with Chloe, into the designated exam room, noticing the number three outside the door as he crossed its threshold. While the paramedics passed information regarding Chloe off to the incoming medical staff, a nurse, who introduced herself as Reggie, gently escorted Sergei, despite his protests to remain with Chloe, into the waiting area of the emergency room and saw him settled on one of the lumpy couches.
“I’ll keep you posted with regular updates on her condition, Sergei. In the meantime, if you’re hungry or thirsty, there are snack machines just around the corner or if you’re feeling exceptionally lucky today, the cafeteria is two floors up.” Reggie offered with a smile.
“Thanks, Reggie, but I’ll just stay here for awhile, in case Chloe needs me for something.”
“No problem. But might I suggest you remove your skates? You won’t find much ice around here.”
Sergei looked down at his feet, his skates totally forgotten and smiled sheepishly up at Reggie before he bent to loosen the ties.
“That’s something I keep telling myself I’m going to learn how to do one of these days. But I’m beginning to think I’m too old to try it,” Reggie stated, watching Sergei’s fingers fly as he unhooked the laces from the hooks on his boots, loosened the laces and slipped his foot from the skate. Carefully he dried off the sharp blade with a soft towel he pulled from his skate bag and slipped on the cotton blade guard before stuffing the boot in his bag.
“You’re never too old to start skating,” Sergei offered, casting a devastatingly gorgeous smile up at the nurse. “In fact, I’ll teach you personally. You come by the Washington Ice House and I’ll give you as many lessons as you want.”
Reggie’s smile widened at Sergei’s offer and for a brief moment she fully intended to take him up on his offer. It certainly wouldn’t be a waste of time to spend a few hours in the presence of a good looking young man who was willing to teach you to skate.
If only I was twenty years younger
, flashed through her mind, then was dismissed as a doctor called her name and she was recalled to duty. “I may have to take you up on your offer, Sergei, but for right now, you sit here and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”
Sergei nodded in agreement and watched as Reggie quickly raced across the hall and slipped into Chloe’s exam room.
Time slowed down to a crawl as Sergei watched various doctors come and go through the door that entered exam room three and wished he didn’t feel so helpless and useless. He wondered if what he was feeling was similar to what his father had felt while he’d waited in another hospital for his mother to come out of her coma after the accident that had nearly killed both his parents. Funny how things happened; if Aleksei and Jordan hadn’t survived the accident, he, himself, and Dani would never have been born, he’d have never known the joy skating, never felt this rush of apprehension as he prepared to enter this new chapter of his life. The thought was both odd and question provoking. So many ‘what ifs’ were a part of life, and like his mother, he would have given his left arm for a crystal ball and a peek into the future.
As he sat silently on the lumpy couch, he watched people come and go, heard the myriad of emotions that came with sadness, joy, fear, and relief, he closed his eyes and said a quick prayer for Chloe’s recovery. When he opened them, his father was standing before him, a source of strength and comfort. Without a word, Sergei stood and stepped into his father’s arms, silently accepting his support, feeling his father’s arms wrap tighter around his back as his legs dissolved beneath him when the adrenaline rush that had held him together began to dissipate.
Aleksei lowered his son back down to the lumpy couch, and sat down beside him, pulling a can of soda from his coat pocket and pushing it into his son’s shaking hands. “Your mother said you could use the caffeine.”
Sergei smiled in thanks and took a shaky sip of the cola, grimacing at the bite of the lukewarm drink. “Dani drink all the cold ones?”
“I’m sure she’s got a few stashed somewhere, but I don’t know where she hides them and your mother thought a warm drink was better than no drink.”
Sergei nodded in agreement. “How’s Dani taking this?”
“Not well,” Aleksei answered quietly, running one hand through his hair in frustration. “They were planning to have lunch together tomorrow. Chloe said something about a change in her life she was considering making and wanted to bounce a few ideas off Dani. Dani, of course, had all kinds of ideas to share with Chloe, including you, I might add.”
“Me?”
“I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but ever since Dani heard you were switching to pairs, the first name out of her mouth for a partner for you was ‘Chloe’.” Aleksei stated, watching a frown appear between his son’s dark eyes. “You know how hard it is to change your sister’s mind once she’s made it up?” At Sergei’s agreeing nod, his father continued, “I was sure Dani was badgering you every chance she got about Chloe for a partner. I can’t tell you how surprised I was when she called and told us what had happened.”
“Dani never mentioned Chloe’s name once as a possible partner.” Sergei stated quietly, his attention suddenly drawn to exam room three as the door opened and a doctor spoke with Reggie as she exited behind him. Reggie quickly scribbled down notes on the chart she held, nodding in understanding as the doctor gave directions and then pointed a finger at Sergei in the waiting area.
The doctor smiled in thanks and calmly walked the distance to the waiting area, extending his hand in greeting as Sergei rose to his feet. “Mr. Rocmanov, I’m Dr. Pierce.”
“Dr. Pierce, my father, Aleksei Rocmanov,” Sergei shook his hand and then introduced his father.
“Mr. Rocmanov,” the doctor offered with a smile, shaking Aleksei’s hand and noticing how very much Sergei favored his father, “skating obviously runs in the family. I’ve been a fan of yours for many years.”
“How’s Chloe?” Sergei asked firmly, unable to wait another second, unwilling to stand quietly by and listen as his father and Chloe’s doctor chatted.
Dr. Pierce and Aleksei shifted their attention to Sergei, each noticing the light flush of embarrassment creep into Sergei’s cheeks as their intense gazes rested on the younger man. Aleksei raised one eyebrow, his question clear despite his silence as he looked at his son. Sergei swallowed the knot in his throat and repeated his question to Dr. Pierce.
“Chloe’s resting comfortably, at the moment. She’s suffered a concussion and is presently dealing with a whopping headache. There are still some tests we want to run to answer a few questions we have, since no one knows how long she was unconscious on the ice, but presently we haven’t found any problems. If you like, you can go see her, but only for a short while. We’ll be transferring her upstairs in a few minutes for further tests.” The doctor offered to Sergei’s retreating back as he quickly cross the floor and pushed the door to the exam room quietly open.
Aleksei and Dr. Pierce exchanged knowing looks. “It looks as if your son has a more than a friendly interest in Miss Spenser,” Dr. Pierce stated.
“I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. They’ve known each other forever; grown up together. Chloe’s my daughter’s best friend. They’ve never shown anything more than a passing tolerance for each other before today,” Aleksei offered in a tone laced with confusion.
“It’s those quiet, subdued affairs that hit hard and fast. You don’t even see it coming and Wham! You’re flat on your back and wondering how you got there,” the doctor stated knowingly, shaking his head as he remembered his own early attractions to the opposite sex.
“Don’t remind me,” Aleksei pleaded quietly.
Dr. Pierce looked up at Aleksei, remembering bits and pieces of stories he’d heard and read about the volatile pair that made up the team of Jamison and Rocmanov and wondered if his son was destined to travel the same path. “The path to love is never easy when you’re young; emotions run wild, small problems become overwhelming, it’s grand or it’s torture; never in-between.”
Aleksei thought about his own rocky road to love, smiling in remembrance at the times he was torn between killing Jordan or making love to her and wished his son an easier path toward love. With a small shake of his head, Aleksei patted the doctor’s shoulder and with a self-deprecating smile, stated truthfully, “Doc, it ain’t any easier when you’re old.”
Dr. Pierce watched the tall man walk toward the same door his son had entered only moments before and with an easy smile, stated into the air, “Ain’t it the truth!”
Sergei pushed gently on the door, opening it only far enough so he could enter the small exam room. Medical paraphernalia filled every nook and cranny in the room and when his gaze touched on Chloe, covered with a light blanket pulled up to her chin, her body trembling visibly on the hospital bed, it stopped him dead in his tracks. The sudden overwhelming urge to pummel Manning into the ground was pushed aside when Chloe turned her head at Sergei’s indrawn gasp and their eyes met. Chloe’s bright blue eyes flooded with tears, then traced a path down her pale cheeks, and into her tussled hair where it lay spread over the bright white pillowcase beneath her head. With a barely perceptible cry of distress, she turned her head away from Sergei’s searching gaze and closed her eyes to shut out the world.
Sergei’s heart broke at her defeated look and he quickly closed the distance to her bed, pulling up a rolling stool from the only corner not filled with medical gear and sat down beside the bed. His anger returned when he softly stroked her arm through the blanket and felt her distinct flinch at the contact. What had her bastard of a partner done to her? “Hey, Chloe,” Sergei called softly, tamping down his anger and struggling to keep his tone casual. “How’s the headache?”
Chloe turned her head slowly; her tear-filled blue eyes the color of the sky full of pain and confusion. “The doctor said he couldn’t give me anything for the pain for a while yet, there are still a few tests they need to run,” she told him softly.
Sergei cast her a commiserating look, “You’d think with all the advances medicine has made over the years, someone could manage to figure out how to open one of those child-proof bottles and get you a couple of aspirin,” he teased, a gentle smile curving his lips.
Chloe looked up at him, her eyes full of adoration, “Yeah,” she agreed with a sigh.
“Do you want me to call your Mom?”
Chloe shook her head negatively, grimacing as the sudden movement sent cymbals clanging in her head, “No, this was the week she had to be in California for the Telecommunications merger. She’s the lead attorney on this deal, it’s the most important job she’s ever been given and I won’t let her miss this opportunity. She’s been working so hard to prove herself. I won’t ruin it for her!”
“I can at least let her know what happened. I think she deserves to know you were hurt,” Sergei pressed.
“What can she do from there? It’s not as if I’m in critical condition, or something. I bumped the back of my head on the ice; that’s all. It’s not the first time it’s happened and it probably won’t be the last,” Chloe ended slowly, her eyes widening as she watched Sergei’s eyes flame to life at her words.