Set anytime in the series after Deeks joins the fun. Deeks has a secret.
A/N: This was supposed to be a funny story, but I've never written an entire story of humor. This story is taking a different track than what I wanted but you know plot bunnies, when they want something, they nag until they get what they want. I apologize for this story not been the fun romp I was shooting for.
Disclaimer: I own nothing and no one. I'm just writing them as I want to see them.
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It was a VERY long 6 weeks of coffee & lunch runs only broken up by the load of paperwork he was given to do but it did come to an end and he was finally back to training. During those long 6 weeks, Deeks studied the DVD of his fights and worked out strategies for how to gain the upper hand in similar situations. When he got back to training he and his trainer worked on those strategies and several others as well. It took another month before he felt his hand was healed enough and he was fit enough to agree to another MMA fight. The fight was scheduled for 2½ months later in Chicago.
With seven weeks until the fight, he arrived at his gym to receive some devastating news: his trainer had been killed in a drunk-driving car accident. A drunk driver had rear-ended him as he sat at a stop sign waiting for a break in the traffic. The impact had pushed his car into the intersection where it was hit on the driver's side by a semi tractor-trailer. He died on impact.
On automatic, Deeks got changed, wrapped his hands and took some of his grief out on the heavy bag. How was he supposed to fight without his trainer? How would he find a new trainer and did he want to? Should he cancel the fight? As he was working out, his trainer's voice was in his head telling him to 'stay light on your feet' and 'if you are going to do this, do it all out, no half-assing it.' And his trainer's favorite expression 'WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?' came into his head when he hit the bag and his wrist crumpled from the impact. That's when he realized that he had been hitting the bag for almost an hour and half. His hands were very sore and he could barely lift his arms once he stopped. What his trainer had called 'the work-out high' had been broken and he decided to call it quits for the night; still with nothing resolved.
He went home and grabbed bottle of water and sat on his sofa trying to make decisions. The first decision to make was should he cancel the fight. When he really thought about it, he decided he didn't want to cancel it. So the next decision to make was about a trainer. He needed a new trainer but how to find the right one. He was bone tired from work, work out and the emotional turmoil of his trainer's death. He decided that one decision was enough for tonight. He went to bed and immediately fell asleep.
The next night he talked to some of the other fighters at the gym trying to get a bead on a new trainer. He got a couple of names and talked to those men. Unfortunately, neither man was willing to take on another fighter right now especially with a fight coming up so quickly. He was dejected about it but not enough to cancel the fight. He was wondering what he was going to do if he couldn't find a trainer.
Several days later, he was lifting weights when a man approached him. He said his name was Neil Polson and he was a trainer without a fighter and had heard that a fighter named Jason Wyler was looking for a trainer. "Are you Wyler?"
Deeks put his barbell back into its holder, thanked his spotter, who moved off, and turned to face the man in front of him. "Yea. I'm Wyler." Deeks looked the man up and down sizing him up. He appeared to be in his late 20s and had short cropped brown hair, brown eyes and a pointy chin. He was short, maybe 5'7" and stocky. He looked to be solid muscle. The first thought to go through Deeks head was 'roid user. The second thought was vocalized, "You used to fight."
"Yep. Injury to my neck took me out of the ring about a year ago."
"You've ever trained anybody before?"
"No. I got out of rehab for my neck 3 weeks ago and I'm ready to work. I've help train other men but I've never been the head trainer."
"Head trainer? You've never trained anybody? Man, I have a fight in few weeks and you think you can train me?"
He lowered his gaze for a moment before answering, "No. When I was fighting, I would be anybody's sparring partner so I could get a chance to work on things for myself and learn from other trainers. And yes, I can train you."
"But you had your own trainer when you fought, right?"
"Yea, but he moved on while I was laid up for several months in the hospital and then there was rehab. I can't fight anymore without risking my ability to move anything below my neck. I wanna stay in the game and that means training someone. Right now though, I can't get anybody to train. I can train you. You will win." He stared Deeks in the eyes trying to instill this fighter with confidence that he could train him.
Deeks returned the look, coming to a decision. "Well, if I didn't have a fight in 6 weeks, I wouldn't give you a chance either. But I do have a fight coming up so we can give it a try. But I don't do drugs of any kind except ibuprofen; no 'roids, no blood packing, no weird supplements, nothing like that and I don't drink those disgusting protein drinks either. So don't ask me too. There's gonna be times where you cannot reach me under any circumstances so we have to stick to a strict schedule. Can you agree to all that?"
"Agreed." Neil stuck his hand out and Deeks took it to seal the deal.
"You know who I'm fighting, right?"
"Yea. It's gonna be a tough fight. I guess it's pretty lucky for you I'm here now, huh." Neil smiled at him.
Deeks scoffed at the comment, "then let's get to work…trainer." Both men smiled and headed off to get ring time.