“Okay.” Harper had come over and stood beside Elli.

She relayed what Shea had just said, and Harper nodded her head, trying to keep the tears at bay.

“Should I go down there?” Harper asked as she took deep breaths.

“Should she?” Elli asked.

“She could. I’m not sure how long he’ll be here, it might be just overnight.”

“Okay, when will you know more?”

“Soon, I’ll call you at this number.”

“Alright.” Elli hung up, and gathered Harper in her arms. “It's okay, Harper. Knee injuries can be fixed, he’ll be okay,” Elli said as Harper sobbed in her arms.

“I’ve never been so scared in my life. I just want to see him, hold him.”

“I know Harp, I know.” Harper pulled back, looking up at Elli.

“Can you manage tomorrow? Maybe we can call Alice? She can come in to assist.”

“Sure, go pack. I’ll look for a flight.”

Harper ended up leaving an hour later, which was for the best because Jakob had a complete tear of the MCL in his knee and wouldn’t be able to leave the hospital for a couple of days. Elli called Alice when she was driving back to Shea’s from the airport and she was more than willing to come in and help the next morning. When Elli arrived at the condo, she walked Adler before going back inside to go to bed. She was crawling into bed just as her phone rang. It was Shea.

“Hey.”

“Hey you, Harper get off alright?”

“Yeah, she should be there at 10:15.”

“Okay, I’m gonna head to the airport in a few, then bring her back here.”

“Thanks. She’s a mess, so beware.” He chuckled, and Elli’s heart swelled. She missed him so much, and was so excited to see him tomorrow. But all she kept imagining after dropping off Harper was Shea getting hurt, and her being the one in a ball of tears.

What in God’s name possessed her to date a hockey player?

“It’s fine. It was a scary hit. We are lucky he wasn’t hurt even worse.”

“Yeah.”

Nothing was said for a moment, and then Shea said, “Hey, you’re okay, right?”

“Yeah. It was just scary, and Harper’s a mess.”

“I know baby, but getting hurt can happen. We all know the risk when we lace up our skates before each game.”

“I know, but still. I couldn’t imagine if it was you. I probably would have flipped out.”

“Oh baby, don’t think about that. You’ll worry yourself sick.”

She already did.

“Okay.”

“Alright, well go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Me either, goodnight.”

“Night.”

Elli hung up just as the tears started to fall. She was crying for Harper, for Jakob, and for the simple fact that this could happen to Shea. The thought tore sobs out of her, because she was so scared. The uncertainty of what could happen to Shea scared her shitless, and the fact that he wasn’t with her made it worse. She couldn’t hold him to show herself that he was fine at that particular moment, so she cried.

Until sleep came.

Shea had gotten back to the hotel late the night before after taking Harper to the hospital, so when he woke up late and missed the bus back home, he went to the airport and jumped on the first flight home. He was surprised no one came looking for him, but then again they probably thought he was still with Jakob, which normally he would have been if Harper wasn’t around.

Since he had flown home, he was three hours early. After landing, he took a taxi to his condo. Shea wanted to shower before heading over to Time Standing Still to surprise Elli. When he walked into the condo, Adler came barreling from the kitchen to greet him.

“Hey, boy!” Shea said bending down to pet and hug the pup. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed the dog, but he had. He rubbed the top of Adler’s head before shutting the door, and taking his bags back to his room. Nothing had changed, he noticed as he walked through the condo, but it was easy to tell that Elli had been living here. Cups were in the sink, along with the trash being full, and her shoes were everywhere. He shook his head as he threw his bags on the bed. He would unpack later, he was too eager to see Elli right now. After taking a shower and throwing on a pair of jeans with a t-shirt and sweat shirt over it, he was out the door and in his truck, on his way to see Elli.

When Shea pulled up to Time Standing Still, there were no cars in the parking lot except for Elli’s truck and one other. He prayed that no customers were there as he got out of the truck and headed for the door. He kicked himself mentally for not picking up flowers first, but he was in such a hurry to see her, he had forgotten. He threw the door open and a cute little blonde stood up, saying the regular greeting.

“Hey, is Elli here?” he asked. The girl smiled nicely, but obviously didn’t recognize him.

“She is. And you are?”

“Shea Adler, her boyfriend.”

“Oh! Hi! I’m Alice, one of her assistants! So nice to meet ya!” she said, holding out her hand. He took her small hand in his and smiled.

“Nice to meet you, too,” he said, “Is she in her office?”

“She is. Would you like me to page her?”

“Um, can I just go back there?”

“Sure!”

“Thanks,” he said with a grin as he started down the hall for her office. He was halfway there when the door opened and Elli started towards him, looking down at a piece of paper she was holding. He stopped, taking in the beauty that was her.