miracle fan 9245: Thanks, glad you liked it. And as for the Mac and Laura part, there will be more to come! Hope you enjoy this chapter too.
Jenny: Yeah, Jack and Maddie are pretty cute. They're gonna have more cute scenes coming up too. And there's going to be more of Mac and Laura. Thanks for the review and I hope you like this chapter!
Flowersc781: Lol, yeah Alyssa was a ho, and she's not making any more appearances in the story, so you don't need to worry about that one. There's going to be more cute scenes coming up with Izzy, Jack and Maddie, and Mac and Laura. Thanks so much for the great review! )
Emador: Well, sorry to hear your Thanksgiving wasn't all that great. Hopefully your upcoming holidays are better. :-) Thanks for the review and enjoy the chapter!
Meadow567: Thanks. Yeah, I just sort of came up with the idea of Izzy being good luck. A lot of sports teams and people in general are really superstitious about certain things, and you'll see that they're superstitious about Izzy being there ans stuff in the next chapter. Anyway, glad you liked it and thanks for the review. By the way, who is Isabella Yzerman?
Nelliebly413672: Thanks for the review. Yeah, Silky can be a jerk, lol. And he is lonely. Thinking...He needs a girlfriend...
A/N: Sorry this took so long to get up. This week was crazy with it being my last week of school. Luckily, I finally finished my tests and everything. I'm so relieved, lol. Please make my beginning of break even happier by reviewing!! Hope you all like it.
Chapter 28:
Soon after Jack, Maddie, and Doc arrived at the hospital, they were taken into a room. The doctors gave Jack some medicine for the pain and shortly thereafter his knee felt quite a bit better.
Jack, Maddie, and Doc talked a while and tried to keep away from the subject of Jack's knee. Maddie looked at his leg a little earlier and her guess was that he only pulled a ligament and it was not torn, but she didn't want to think too optimistically and get her hopes up.
A doctor came in to explain that Jack wouldn't be taken to x-ray for a while, and after assuring Doc and Maddie that he would be fine, they both left to get some sleep. The next day, they had a five hour drive to Lake Placid, and they were going to leave fairly early.
After picking up Izzy, Maddie went to her room and tried to sleep. All night long she kept waking up, thinking about Jack and what would happen if he really did tear his ligament. Once morning finally came, Maddie was ready to go back to the hospital and didn't think she could wait much longer.
Jack was sitting in the hospital bed when Doc, Maddie, and the baby got there. He still didn't look too good. Maddie could tell he was very upset about being injured. As soon as he saw her and Izzy though, his face lit up.
"Hey. My favorite girls are here! I missed you," he said to Izzy as Maddie handed him the baby.
"How are the x-rays?" Maddie asked.
"The doctor said he'd be in soon. My knee feels a lot better though."
"That's a good sign," Doc said, as he took a look at Jack's knee. It was swollen and bruised, but it was a little improvement from the night before.
Doc explained that the team was leaving for Lake Placid this morning. Once Jack was discharged, him, Doc, Maddie, and the baby were driving up to meet them.
Ten minutes later, the doctor came in the room with x-rays.
"Well, I have some good news. You only stretched your MCL, so you won't need surgery." Maddie breathed a sigh of relief. Jack wasn't too relieved yet though.
"How long will I be out?" Jack asked. The doctor knew he was referring to hockey.
"It's hard to say. One to two weeks, if you do everything I tell you." Jack sighed, a little frustrated. He knew this might mean missing the qualifying round.
"Jack, at least it's not a tear. Then you'd be out for months," Doc said, trying to brighten things up a little. The doctor showed Jack the x-rays, then began giving him orders.
"You'll need to wear this bandage to keep the injury compressed, and use crutches. Don't walk without the crutches, or you'll make it worse. You might be able to walk on your leg in a week, but your team doctor will make that decision. You also need to elevate your leg as much as possible and ice it for fifteen minutes, two to three times a day." Jack nodded, but wondered how much of the doctors orders were imperative to the healing process. Somehow, Jack thought not all of them were that important. Yeah right, like I'm doing all of that, he thought. My knee feels better already. I doubt I even need the crutches.
"Will I tear it if I walk on it?" Jack then asked. Maddie knew exactly why Jack was asking this one. He wanted to play on it if it felt okay.
"No. By making it worse, I mean it will get more swollen and painful. It will also then be pulled for longer, and with another hit to your knee, it could tear."
After the doctor was done explaining things, he gave Jack the crutches to practice using and they were then free to go. Doc told Jack that he would also have to do some non weight bearing muscle exercises to strengthen the muscles around his knee. Jack planned on doing anything necessary to get better, but he didn't plan on it taking a week. He'd fight through the pain if it meant keeping a roster spot.
After the long drive to Lake Placid, Maddie went with Jack went to check in, while Doc parked the car and brought the baby in, but the rest of the team hadn't arrived yet. Jack and Maddie began talking while they waited for everyone else.
"Is your knee at least feeling better?" Maddie asked.
"Yeah. I think I'll be ready to go for the first game."
"Jack, you heard the doctor. At least a week."
"Yeah, right. You really think I'm waiting a week to play. Maddie, you know me better than that."
"I just don't want you do make it any worse."
"It won't get worse. I have to play."
"You will. In a week when it's all better."
"Maddie, a week's too long. If I can't play in the qualifying round, I don't think Herb will keep me," Jack said.
"Jack, Herb will keep you," Maddie said, for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning.
"If I can't play, he'll send me home and bring in someone else."
"But Jack, you can play. Just give it time."
"I can't play soon enough though. You were obviously listening quite well to the doctor. I've already gotten yelled at for not keeping my leg up the whole way here," Jack said, with a laugh to show Maddie he was only giving her a hard time.
"Well, excuse me for trying to make you better," said Maddie, laughing back.
"Seriously though, Maddie. If it's two weeks, which is worst case scenario obviously . . . the Olympics will be almost over. I'll be lucky to get in one game."
"Jack, you can't worry about this now. Herb will talk to you when he gets here."
"Maddie," Jack started, looking at her with a sad expression on his face. "I need to play."
"I know. And you will."
"But you don't know that."
"Herb won't cut you now."
"He could."
"Jack, he won't."
"You're too optimistic."
"You're too pessimistic," Maddie said back, as Doc walked up with Izzy. Jack and Maddie stopped their conversation and Jack started thinking about everything Maddie had said and just hoped she was right about Herb keeping him.
A half hour later, the bus with the rest of the team pulled up and Jack made his way over to see Herb. Jack assured Herb that he could fight through it, and then went over to talk to the guys.
As he started telling everyone about his knee and what happened, Doc was also explaining the details to Herb. Maddie was with the boys and looked over at Doc and Herb, to see them looking in Jack's direction.
A little while later, after the team had all checked in and got their badges, they went over to the rink where they would be playing. Maddie was walking around with Isabelle, checking out the arena.
Meanwhile, Jack was with Mac, Rizzo, and Bah, also checking things out.
"I can't believe we're actually here," Bah started.
"Yeah. Seven months ago, this was all a dream. It's hard to believe we're finally here," said Rizzo.
"I can't wait to get on the ice and make those Herbies pay off," said Mac, with a smile, looking at his teammates. When looked at Jack, he saw a sad look on his face. "Sorry, man. I wasn't thinking," Mac said, starting to apologize. After all, Jack wasn't going to be playing in a few days like the rest of them.
"It's okay. Don't worry about it. My knee barely hurts. I'm hoping to play through it."
"Do you really think Doc will let you?" asked Rizzo. Jack didn't answer because he already knew the answer.
A little while later, the guys had all began boarding the bus to go to their hotel rooms. Maddie was on her way to the bus too, and ran into Rizzo. She had been looking for Jack, and hoped Rizzo knew where he was.
"Hey Rizzo. Have you seen Jack?"
"I was just with him a few minutes ago. I think he went back to the rink."
"Okay, thanks. I want to go find him."
"Do you want me to take Izzy to the bus and watch her for a few minutes?"
"Sure, Maddie said, handing over the baby. Izzy had become so accustomed to being passed around that it didn't even phase her anymore. Rizzo started talking to her and walked over to the bus.
When Maddie got to the rink, she stopped before going on the ice, noticing Herb out there, talking to Jack. Their backs were to her, so she couldn't tell what was going on. Maddie was lost so in her thoughts, that she didn't even see Jack turn around at first. When she did, she saw a big smile on Jack's face as he threw his crutches in the air and yell, "Woohoo. OC's playin' baby. Haha."
Hearing this, Maddie ran out onto the ice, being careful not to fall and threw her arms around Jack, hugging him. She was so happy to hear that Herb was keeping him. Still in Jack's arms, she looked over at Herb, who was smiling. Maddie smiled back and mouthed, "thank you." Herb nodded in response and a minute later, Jack and Maddie headed to the bus.
"I'm so happy I get to play!" Jack said.
"I know. Me too."
"I won't be playing right away though. And Herb made me promise not to ask."
"Did he make you promise not to whine to me about it either?" Maddie asked, with a smile. Herb was behind them and had overheard their conversation.
"Oh yeah. Jack, I forgot. Another part of the deal is to not complain to Maddie or anyone else on the team," Herb joked. Maddie laughed, and Jack just smiled and rolled his eyes in response.
The guys were all happy to hear that Jack was staying, and Jack was extremely happy too. He was thrilled that Herb was giving him the chance and had faith in him to get better and be able to play. Jack just hoped he would be able to play sooner rather than later.
That night, the team went out for dinner to a pizza place in the village. They noticed a lot of people from different countries, all there for the games. A few of the guys were trying to make a pass at the waitress.
"Do you know who we are?" Bah asked.
"No, and I really don't care," she responded.
"But we're on the U.S. hockey team," Phil said, thinking it would make a difference.
"Okay. That's great," she responded. "Now can I take your order?"
"You don't care that we're in the Olympics?" asked Silky in disbelief. The waitress shook her head and began taking orders. Once she left, Maddie spoke up.
"Guys, not everyone likes hockey as much as you."
"Yeah, most girls don't like it," said Buzz.
"I do," said Maddie.
"Well, you're different from other girls."
"What about Gail? She likes hockey," Maddie pointed out.
"She doesn't count," said Buzz. Maddie raised her eyebrows.
"Wait until I tell her," Maddie said with a smirk.
"I didn't mean it like that," said Buzz.
A few minutes later, the waitress brought their drinks and said the food would be out soon. They ordered five large pizzas.
"Hey Bah," started Rammer, who was sitting next to him. "Nine o'clock." Bah looked at his watch.
"It's not nine o'clock. It's seven thirty," Bah answered confused.
"No. Not that nine o'clock. Nine o'clock. Over there," Rammer said, looking to his left.
"Ooohh. That nine o'clock," responded Bah, now knowing what was going on.
"Those girls are hot," said Phil.
"Hey, I wonder if they're from Norway?" said Pav.
"Maybe."
"Whatcha all looking at?" asked Mark, who just joined their conversation.
"Beautiful blonde girls. Right over there," answered Rammer.
"Hey guys," Mark said, getting the guys that were at the other end of the tables attention. "Check out the girls."
"Lookin' good," said Jimmy. "I think someone should go over there and talk to them." Everyone instantly looked at Phil.
"What?" he said.
"Go over there," said Silky.
"Why me?"
"Well, obviously it has to be you or Pav," said Jack.
"Yeah, it'll be funny," said Mac.
"If you think it'll be so funny, why don't you go over there," Phil said to Mac.
"I have a girlfriend."
"So? Just come with me. Like you said, it will be funny."
"Okay fine. But I need something to make this worth it."
"Ten bucks for each of you if one of you gets a date," Silky said.
"Okay, I'll go," agreed Mac.
"This will be good," Maddie said to Jack, and he nodded.
A few minutes later, Mac, Phil, and Pav came back, all with confused expressions.
"Well, whoever said they're from Norway was right," said Phil sitting down. "They're on Norway's figure skating team."
"They had strong accents," explained Pav. "I could barely understand them."
"I could understand them. You two were too busy staring at their chests to pay attention," said Mac.
"Then what did the one mean when she said, 'Vaer sa snill, something, something, something'?" Phil asked.
"Well, I couldn't understand that. It was in Norway."
"They were probably telling you to go away or something," Buzz suggested.
"Norwegian?" asked Rizzo, laughing, responding to Mac's earlier comment. "Don't you mean Norsk?"
"Yeah, whatever," Mac responded. "Either way, I think they were making fun of us."
"No way. They totally digged us," said Pav.
"Then why are they still looking over here and laughing?" Pav looked over and saw the girls looking at laughing at the guys.
"Whatever. What's the point anyway if they don't speak English and will only be here two weeks?" asked Pav.
"That's the point exactly," said Phil. "No long term commitment. Easy way out."
"No wonder you don't have a girlfriend," said Maddie. "Did any of you ever consider my advice?"
"Yeah . . . I considered it," said Phil. "And I decided not to take it," he said laughing, with the other guys and Maddie all joining in.
The guys talked and laughed the rest of the night, glad to have one last fun night out before the games began.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed. Next chapter should be up sometime Monday or Tuesday, now that I'm done with school and have a little more time. )
On a sad note though, the story is almost over. Only a few more chapters...I'm not exactly sure how many, but it will probably be finished before Christmas.
But, don't be too sad, cause I'm writing a sequalish thing. Nelliebly413672 gave me the idea to write a Mac and Laura centered story. It will start before the Olympics though, when they first met and everything. I'm going to have some stuff not included in this story up to the Olympics, and then I'm going to pick up where this story leaves off. Maddie, Jack, Izzy, and some of the other guys will be in the next story too. And that's where Maddie and Jack's wedding will be. That story won't be up until sometime after Christmas though.
Anyway, please review!!