Riker and Rocky were being normal big brothers, rough-housing with Ross. They took turns shoving Ross, tripping him up on the ice. It was all fun-and-games until Riker pushed Ross a little too hard; Ross hitting the ice with a sickening thud.
"Oww!" Ross groaned, a crumpled heap on the ice.
"Oh my gosh, Ross!" Riker cried, rushing to the side of his little brother. The others turned to see what was going on, quickly falling in with him, skating towards Ross.
As Riker kneels down next to his brother, he notices tears pooling in Ross's eyes.
"What hurts, little bro?" Rocky asks sympathetically, kneeling on the other side of him.
"My shoulder," Ross moans, trying to keep it together. "I think I broke something."
"Shit, I'm so sorry, Ross," Riker mumbled under his breath.
"It's was an accident," Ross said through clutched teeth.
Rocky commanded Ryland to go get help. Ryland rushed off the ice, walking as fast as his skates would allow towards the locker room where their parents were waiting.
With the help of Riker and Rocky, Ross painfully shifted so he was laying on his back, his head resting in Rydel's lap. His left hand immediately grasped tightly around his right shoulder.
"Hey, let me look," Riker said comfortingly, moving Ross's hand away from his shoulder.
Through Ross's tight red shirt, the three could see a bulge where his shoulder connected with his chest.
"Shit, Ross!" Rocky stated solemnly. "I think you broke your collarbone."
"Great," Ross said sarcastically, grinding his teeth through the pain.
Suddenly, their parents emerged from the locker room, followed closely by Ryland.
"Ross, baby," Stormie asked her injured son, kneeling down and brushing her son's cheek. "What happened?"
"He fell and hurt his shoulder," answered Rydel.
"Well, let's get you up and to the doctor," Stormie commanded sympathetically. With much pain and help from Riker and Rocky, Ross was soon on his feet. After being steadied by his brothers, Ross was skating off the ice. Guiding Ross to the nearest bench, Rydel sat down her brother and quickly takes off his skates.
After everyone had taken off their skates, Riker and Rydel walked slowly beside Ross as they made their way to the car, which Rocky had pulled up to the curb.
Helping Ross into the car, Stormie cupped her injured son's face in her hands. "You're going to be okay," she said compassionately to Ross.
"I know," Ross responded with a small smile appearing, contrasting the pain that she saw in his eyes.
After a whirlwind of doctors and nurses, it was determined that Ross had indeed broken his collarbone. But thankful, the doctors were able to realign the bone without having surgery. Ross was sent home with a bottle of painkillers and a stern word telling him to take it easy. The doctor did agree that he could participate in their concerts, as long as he wasn't moving around too much and got plenty of rest during the daytime.
The next night, as the lights of the concert stage brightened on the siblings, Ross stood there too, singing along to Crazy 4 U. The only difference was that he was wearing a figure-eight brace over his plain white t-shirt.
As the song finished, Riker walked over to Ross, placing his hand on his uninjured shoulder. "Ross had a little accident yesterday while we were skating."
Sympathetic "ahhhh"s filled the stadium.
"But I'm going to be fine," Ross responded, as Riker ruffled his hair. "Just a broken collarbone and I'm still pretty sore. So I'm not going to be as energetic and crazy as I normally am up here."
The stadium resounds with replies of "Get Well, Ross!"
The concert went on. The fans were having a great time, as well as the band. Rocky could tell that Ross was getting tired and he was starting to really feel the pain of his injury.
He walked over to his little brother and whispered into his ear, "You okay?"
Ross looked at him, pain etched in his eyes. "I can make it," he whispered back.
Three songs later, the band took their final bow. As soon as they were off the stage, Ross cradled his injured arm close to his chest.
"Arm hurt?" Ryland asked, bringing him some pain medication and an ice pack.
"Yeah," Ross admitted, taking them from Ryland gratefully.
The band quickly changed out of their concert outfits into something comfortable. Ryland helped his brother change his t-shirt, careful not to jostle his arm even more than it had been already that night.
As they went back to the lounge area, they found the rest of their family waiting for them. "Let's get you home," Stormie said, gesturing them to the door.
Once they were back on the bus, Ross settled on the couch. His siblings fussed about him, but he insisted that he was fine.
"Guys, I'm alright!" Ross exclaimed.
And he was. After a good night of sleep and some pain medication, Ross was ready for the concert the next afternoon. As the weeks went on, the pain got less and less. And one morning about six week later, Ross woke up with no pain at all.