Chapter 43

Monday morning was the official start of my March break. I still got up early and was stretching at six and then moved on to my forms for martial arts before having a shower. I studied my calculus until it was time to go to my doctor's appointment.

I drove to the hospital and found a spot to park before taking the elevator to the fifth floor to find Dr. Seidenberg's office. A very cute receptionist smiled as I approached the window in the waiting room.

"It's nice to see you Mr. Stewart, Dr. Seidenberg should be done with a patient in a few minutes and can see you then," she said. "I just need you to fill out an information form; we already received your medical file from Mount Sinai."

"Sure thing," I said, taking a clipboard from her.

"I'm Bridgette by the way," she said. "I'm a nursing student here at Michigan."

"It's nice to meet you Bridgette," I replied. "I'm Mike, I'm in computer science."

"It's very nice to meet you, Mike," she said with a big smile. "What you did for Emma Watson and her mother was so brave and I'm happy to see that you're up and about."

"Thank you Bridgette, that's kind of you to say," I responded. "I'm happy to be out of the hospital and getting back to normal."

I walked away and sat down in a chair to fill out the form. It just asked personal questions as well as how I was going to pay. It took about five minutes and I handed it back to her. She quickly looked it over and told me that the doctor should be done soon.

A man came out of the door that led into offices and Bridgette appeared in the doorway a minute later.

"Mr. Stewart, the doctor will see you now," she said, with a smile.

I got up and followed the nursing student back to an examination room. She had on a short tartan skirt over dark tights with a white blouse on top. A white lab coat made her look professional and her shoulder length brown hair was cut in the latest style.

"The Doctor will want to examine the burns, so if you could get into this gown now it would speed things up," she said. "I'll be at my desk if you need any help."

"Thanks Bridgette," I replied.

I got out of my pants but left my tee shirt and underwear on and pulled the gown on overtop. I sat on the table and soon there was a knock on the door. It opened and a woman in a lab coat came in. She looked to be in her early forties and was still an attractive woman.

"Hello Mr. Stewart, I'm Dr. Seidenberg, how are you feeling today?" she asked.

"Hello Doctor, it's good to meet you," I replied. "I'm doing well thank you, and yourself?"

"I'm fine for a Monday morning," she replied. "I see Bridgette has you in a gown already. Shall we do an examination of your skin grafts and we'll get you back into your clothes before she can come in and sneak a peek. She's been talking nonstop about you since we received the medical file last week."

I got up and turned to let her see the back of my leg.

"So, the back of the leg and the left buttock area had skin grafts about four weeks ago," she said, looking at the file before pulling up the gown.

She looked at the back of the thigh and then pulled up my underwear leg to look at my butt.

Can you bend your leg for me please?" she asked.

I pulled the leg up and bent it at the knee. She checked out the skin on the leg and butt again.

"Looks good, have you been stretching?" she asked.

"Every morning for a week now," I said. "I also do my martial arts form routine as well. I haven't had an issue with the leg once."

"That's good news, I think you can be cleared for normal activities and you can start your weight training again," she said, taking out a pad. "Skating should be ok, but no checking or hard contact on the skin itself or it might tear. Give it a couple of weeks to fully heal and you should be able to play. That should give you enough time to get back into playing shape anyway."

"That sounds great Doc; can I get that in writing?" I asked.

"I'm way ahead of you," she replied, as she sat down at a small desk. "Go ahead and get dressed while I write you a note."

I slipped on my jeans and then took off the gown and hung it up.

"Make an appointment with Bridgette for two weeks from now and we'll make sure everything is ok before releasing you for full contact," she told me as she handed me the note.

"Can we make it for the Friday morning before that?" I asked. "If everything is ok then, I can play in the game that night."

"I suppose so," she replied. "Let me redo that note then."

She ripped up that note and wrote me another one.

"Ok, here you go, just don't overdo things in the beginning or you'll rip those grafts and you'll be out for another month," she cautioned as she handed me the new note.

"Thanks Doc, I appreciate it," I said as she opened the door.

Bridgette was at the nurse's station nearby and pouted at us when we came out.

"Sorry Bridgette, but I was never going to let you sneak a peek at a patient," Dr. Seidenberg said with a laugh. "You're going to have to settle for his CK ad."

"Mom, you got to see him, it's not fair," Bridgette said.

I looked between the two of them and saw the resemblance.

"A more beautiful mother-daughter team will never be found," I said with a smile. "Sorry Bridgette, but you're not missing much; I'm not in the best shape right now anyway."

"He needs an appointment in two weeks from last Friday, so there's still hope," her mother said with a grin.

"Fine, but I help with the examination then or your laundry will be all pink and shrunk," she warned her mother with a frown, before turning to me. "You had better be in good shape by then Mister, so no slacking off."

"Yes Ma'am," I answered with a grin.

"Come with me and we'll get you an appointment slip," she said, grabbing my hand and pulling me to her desk.

"Sit," she said, pointing to a chair beside the desk.

I sat down and grinned at her as she looked up the schedule in the computer and then looked at me.

"I have Friday at nine, ten or eleven thirty," she said.

"Eleven thirty is the best," I said.

She clicked on that time and typed in my name and then grabbed a piece of paper and filled in the date and time before turning it over. She wrote a couple of lines on the back and then handed it to me.

"Ok, Friday at eleven thirty in a little less than two weeks, Mike," she said.

"Thanks Bridgette, I'll see you then," I said, standing up.

"I put my cell number on the back in case something goes wrong with your leg in the meantime," she said. "Give me a call and I'll come help you out."

"Ok, I'll keep it in mind," I said. "Thanks for the concern."

"You're welcome," she said. "Be careful in the meantime."

"I will," I replied. "See you in a couple of weeks."

I left the office and started walking down to the elevator when I heard someone walking quickly behind me.

"Do I have to ask you?" Bridgette asked, looking perturbed.

"Ask me what?" I asked, puzzled.

"Geez, I gave you enough hints," she said, exasperated. "Are you going to ask me out or do I have to ask you? I've never had to ask a guy out before, especially in this outfit."

"Sorry Bridgette, I'm seeing someone so I didn't take the hint," I said, lying to her with a smile.

"Oh, I didn't know that," she said, looking deflated.

"I do like the outfit and you're a beautiful woman," I said. "If things don't work out I'll give you a call."

"Ok, please do," she said, looking happier. "I'll see you in a couple of weeks."

"See you then," I replied.

I got into the elevator and left the hospital, driving over to the arena with my note. I parked and got out, carrying a gym bag in.

"Hey Mike, welcome back," said George, the daytime security guard in the lobby.

"Thanks George, it's good to be back," I replied, shaking his hand.

I went upstairs and popped my head into Pam's office and thanked her for her help. I slipped an envelope to her and told her to buy something nice and have a nice dinner out. She told me that I didn't have to do that but I just smiled. I handed her my completed Descartes paper on a memory stick and asked if someone could correct it for me. She assured me that someone would get right on it and have the changes back to me tomorrow. After grabbing a snack in the cafeteria, I headed down to see the coaches and then Chris.

I leaned on the door frame of the Coach's office and said, "I don't think you guys need me at all anymore. You're doing quite fine without me."

"Mike! How are you feeling?" Coach Benson asked, getting up and coming over.

"I'm doing fine, just got the clearance from Dr. Seidenberg to get back to workouts and skating," I told him. "I just can't have contact for a couple of weeks. If things go well, I should be able to be in the next game."

"That's great news, I'm glad you're recovering so well," he replied. "And how are you mentally?"

"I'm great, happy to be back and doing a lot of studying," I told him. "I'm writing exams this week and then I'll be all caught up."

"That's good to hear that you're almost caught up," Coach said. "Well, we're all real proud of what you did, saving those two, and I'm just as proud on how well you've recovered and got caught up. If you need anything just let Frank or I know and we'll try to accommodate you."

"Thanks coach, but I should be fine," I replied. "I'll work with Chris in the weight room and then get some skating in if the ice is open. I have an exam at one so I can't be too long. Starting tomorrow, I'll be here at my usual times."

"Sounds good, but don't try and do it all in one day," he warned. "You have two weeks before our next game, so pace yourself."

"I will," I promised.

"You better talk with Angie Dawson, the A.D. spokeswoman, she's been getting lots of requests for interviews and information," Coach informed me.

"I'll call her but I won't be doing any interviews," I replied. "I haven't done one yet and don't plan to."

"I heard that, but she's probably going to be insistent," he said. "Between you and me, I think she hopes to land a better job from all the publicity surrounding you. She has the AD wrapped around her little finger so watch out."

"I'm afraid she's going to be disappointed then," I told him. "Ok, I better get started with my workout or I'll be late for my exam. I'll see you later Coach."

I headed down to the training room but didn't find Chris there, so I just left him a note before changing into my sweats and walking to the weight room. I stretched a bit and then started my full routine, at one quarter my normal weight limits. My muscles protested every rep so I took it slow and easy. Chris came in about half way through.

"Hey Mike, how's it going?" he asked, when I finished a set of arm curls.

"It's slow going, I'm using about quarter of the normal weight and it's still pretty rough," I replied.

"You probably should have started at ten percent," he chided me. "Have you done your legs yet?"

"I did those first and didn't have any issues with the skin," I told him. "I'm going to skate a bit afterwards to see how that goes."

"Ok, I'll be around if you need me, just take it easy for the first few days," he warned.

I nodded and he left the room while I continued working out. It took another half hour before I finished up and went in to get my skates, stick and a few pucks. A pick-up game was being played on the ice so I watched the last ten minutes or so. The participants, mostly guys with a few girls sprinkled in on both teams, seemed to be having a lot of fun. There was some checking between the guys, but no one hit the girls.

One of the guys and one of the girls were obviously better than the rest of the bunch on the ice. They were playing on opposite teams but they looked similar enough that they could be brother and sister. They made it a point always defend each other and grinned when they bested the other somehow.

The horn sounded and the players all groaned as they wanted to play longer. I stood in the tunnel as they walked by, the two good players at the end of the line.

"Hey, you on next?" the girl asked.

"Yep, just need to get in some skating and shooting," I replied.

The pair looked at each other and she said, "Can we join you? We won't bother you; we just want to get a bit more ice time in."

"I don't mind," I replied.

"Thanks, I'm Jaime and this slowpoke is my younger brother, Jake," the cute girl informed me.

"Yeah, by ten minutes," Jake added.

"Older is older, little brother, let's not argue semantics," Jaime said loftily.

"I'm Mike," I responded with a grin.

We waited while the Zamboni driver cleaned the ice. They both took off their helmets and the similarities became more pronounced. They both had reddish blonde hair, about the same height, and were good looking. I watched as the girl ran her fingers through her hair to get it out of her face.

"You two were pretty good out there, I'm surprised you haven't tried out for the teams here," I said.

"Oh, we're not students here," the guy said. "Our grandfather is Coach Benson; we're just visiting from Traverse City for the March break."

"It looks like you've inherited your Grandfather's skill," I said.

"Thanks," Jake said. "Our mother was a good skater too, but she never played hockey. We always have a rink in the back yard every winter up there. We both play for our high school teams."

"I had a rink in the back yard too, up in Dryden," I told them. "My dad and I would be out there every night after school and work."

"You're Mike Stewart right?" Jaime asked. "You're the guy who saved Emma Watson from the acid and who plays defence for the Wolverines."

"Yeah, I am," I answered.

"What you did was so cool," Jake said. "I couldn't believe how easy it was for you to put yourself in the way of that acid for a total stranger."

"It was easy, I thought he was throwing paint at her," I told him. "It doesn't take much to get in the way of paint. It really wasn't all that special."

"Of course it was," Jaime said emphatically. "You saved their lives and nearly died in the process. Don't belittle what you did; it was a very brave and noble act."

Her intensity startled me and I looked at her in surprise.

She blushed and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to bite your head off, but what you did was heroic. I don't like it when someone says differently."

"You should have heard her tear into a couple of guys in the cafeteria last week who were calling you a wimp when you passed out," Jake said with a grin. "She almost got into a fight with one of them."

"Thanks for your support Jaime, but you don't have to get in trouble defending me" I told her. "It's not that big a deal what others think of me."

"It is to me," Jaime retorted. "They were trying to act cool for some girls who were looking at your CK ad. They were jealous that the girls were all drooling over you and not paying attention to them."

"It's ok, boys will be boys," I said. "You should hear what entire arenas say about me sometime. I think the entire city of Lansing wouldn't have minded a bit if I didn't survive the attack. The entire state of Ohio was probably dancing for joy as well. So what two guys think of me in Traverse City is hardly grounds for you getting in a fight and possibly marring that beautiful face."

She blushed as Jake laughed and said, "Great, now she'll never shut up about you."

Jaime smacked his head with her hand before he could react and said, "Shut up little brother or I'll tell him about your crush on..."

"Shutting up," Jake said quickly, interrupting his sister before she could say anything further. "No need to bother Mike with that."

She smirked at him and turned back to me and said, "Did you get to spend some time with Emma Watson?"

"I met her before the show for the first time, but that's it," I responded. "She had to go back for school and then I didn't want her to visit me when I was in the hospital."

The Zamboni drove off the ice and I skated down to him to help him get Patrick on the ice and attached to the net. Once he had closed the doors, Jake started shooting against the cut-out while Jaime accompanied me while I skated on the other three quarters of the rink.

"So, are you planning on coming to U of M in the fall?" I asked.

"Yep, I've got a scholarship for the women's hockey team and Jake has one for the men's team," she said proudly.

"Good for both of you," I congratulated her. "I bet you can't wait to get here."

"For sure," she agreed. "If I could come now I would, high school is so lame. The teachers don't give a crap for the most part and half the students are being passed though just to get rid of them."

"Well you only have three or four months left, you'll get through it," I said.

"It's going to be torture, the girls are so superficial and vain and the guys are all immature and juvenile."

"That's usually the case with all high school guys," I said with a laugh. "Surely there must be one or two that strikes your fancy. Hasn't someone asked you to the prom?"

"I've had several guys asked but they're either empty headed jocks or pretty boy wimps," she said. "The nice guys are all too shy to ask and don't inspire any confidence in themselves. I'm probably going to pass on the prom."

"That's too bad, I didn't go to mine, I was one of the shy ones and pretty geeky back then," I said. "You should pick one of the nice guys that you like and ask him. Sometimes that little nudge from a girl is all that a guy like that needs to get his confidence."

"I'll think about it," she said. "Now, let's speed up a bit, you're skating slower than an old woman."

I grinned at her and sped up a bit, but kept the acceleration gradual rather than trying to keep up with her. Eventually I had to stop to catch my breath as I was in horrible shape. I crouched over with my stick on my knees and sucked in air.

"You're pathetic," she said with a grin as she sprayed me with ice while stopping. "Look at you, panting like a four hundred pound polar bear. You'd think that you were lying on your back for the past four weeks."

"Give the guy a break, you heartless wench," Jake said. "It's probably his first time out on skates in a month."

"That's no excuse," she replied. "I bet he shoots like a baby too."

I stuck my tongue out at her while standing up and slowly moved to the end with Patrick on the net. I started wristing pucks at the cut-outs and only about a quarter went into their targets.

"Boy, you're rustier than a hundred year old nail," Jaime said with a grin.

"I may be a bit out of shape," I agreed. "It's not very ladylike to point that out however."

"I'm not a lady on the ice," Jaime retorted.

I laughed and began shooting with a bit more power, as all three of us took turns shooting at poor Patrick. My accuracy improved over time as did the power of my shots.

At twelve I called it a day.

"It's been a pleasure meeting the two of you," I said. "Will you be here for the week?"

"Until Saturday," Jake answered. "I'm sure we'll run into each other again."

"When will you be practicing again?" Jaime asked.

"In the morning for the next couple of days, pretty early," I told her. "Then again in the afternoon, probably four to six. Thursday and Friday will be later in the morning after I write my exams. Maybe I'll see you again."

"Count on it, I need to see if you get any better with practice," she replied with a grin.

"Alright, I'll see you then," I told her and headed off the ice.

I had a quick shower and found Jaime all cleaned up and in jeans and a tee shirt.

"You clean up nice," I said, admiring her trim body.

"You're a bit skinny for my tastes," she replied, looking up and down at mine.

"That's what happens when you're on your back for a bit," I said. "Don't worry; I'll be back in shape in no time at all."

She handed me a piece of paper and said, "Here's my cell and email info so you can get a hold of us if you need practice partners this week."

"I'll be here from six to nine in the morning, so just show up," I told her.

"Keep it anyway, maybe you'll want some company in the evenings," she said, looking hopeful.

"We'll see, I have studying to do and some martial arts training, so I'm pretty booked this week," I told her.

Her face dropped and I felt bad for her, but I didn't want to lead her on.

"I'll see you on the ice tomorrow Jaime," I said and left her there as I started walking down the hallway.

I heard footsteps coming up behind and turned back to her.

"Look, I'm sorry if I crossed the line out on the ice, I was just teasing you," she said. "I really like you and thought maybe we could see if the feeling was mutual. Could we maybe go out to dinner this week and get to know each other better?"

"Jaime, I'm flattered but I'm seeing someone right now," I told her, lying again. "Sorry, but it's not you. I'm not that good a catch anyway; you should pick a nice guy from your school to ask out."

"Really, no one has said that you're going out with anyone," she said, obviously disappointed. "Are you that attached to her?"

"Sorry Jaime," was all I said.

"Well that's a real bummer," she said. "Keep me in mind if you become available, ok?"

"Ok, I will, but try and find a guy back at school instead," I told her.

I continued down the hallway and made my way out of the arena and drove up to the main campus, finding a close parking spot because it was March break. I grabbed some lunch and then walked to Jenny's office, getting there about ten minutes early. I knocked on the door and entered when I heard her say to come in.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Stewart, how are you today?" Jenny asked.

"Fine Professor Hiller, thank you for allowing me to write my exam during your March break," I answered.

"No problem, I was in town so it wasn't an issue," she replied as I shut the door.

Once the door shut, she put a finger to her mouth and said, "Ok, here is the exam, you have an hour and twenty minutes to complete it. Read it over first carefully before starting. Any questions?"

"No Ma'am," I said with a grin.

"Then begin," she replied before leaning in and whispering, "The walls have ears so watch what you say."

I nodded and started the exam. The questions were similar to what were in the textbook so I had no problem with the first four pages. The next two pages required some thinking to figure out what was needed but I soon had the solutions down on the paper. The final page was one last question and it was a doozy. It took me twenty minutes to figure out what she was asking for and then put down the solution. I glanced up at her from time to time and she grinned back at me over top of her novel.

I did a thorough review of my work and found a silly mistake in one of the answers before handing it over to her.

"How do you think you did?" she asked.

"Not too bad, the last question was pretty difficult," I noted.

"That's the one that separates the boys from the men, as they say," she said in her lovely accent. "I'll mark your exam now and you can call me for the results later in the day or tomorrow."

"Thank you Professor Hiller, I appreciate your time," I said.

"Not a problem, have a good afternoon," she said as I got up.

I left her office and a beady eyed, skinny little man opened the door in the office next door and stared at me as I walked by. I guessed that this was the eavesdropper she was worried about. He looked like the type to cause trouble and we would have to continue to be professional.

I grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading back to the arena. The ice was empty so I got on early and did my stretches and warm up skating before the twins came out. We tried some two on one drills as well as one on one breakaways and then just shot against Patrick for a while. My accuracy slowly improved as we went along as did theirs.

We called it a day just before six and I bowed out when they asked me to dinner, saying I had to be somewhere in a bit. I showered and walked outside, only to be ambushed by a TV crew from the local TV station.

"Hi Mike, I'm Tracy Hemlock from Channel 5 here in Ann Arbor, we would like to ask you a few questions," a tall dark haired woman asked as the cameraman shown a bright light into my eyes.

"Sorry, I'm not allowed to talk to the press," I told her as I shielded my eyes and kept walking.

"How are you feeling? Are you back skating?" she asked as they followed me to my SUV.

I unlocked the door and quickly got in. Luckily I had backed in and could quickly drive away while they scrambled out of the way. I drove back home to find a couple more in the visitor's parking lot and what looked like a few people waiting for me in the small alcove where the buzzers were. I drove into the parking garage and called Daphne on her cell.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hi Daphne, its Mike Stewart," I replied. "I just wanted to warn you that there are a bunch of TV crews in the parking lot and in the front entrance at my building. Where are you at?"

"I'm just on my way there," she said.

"Pull into the parking garage instead and I'll open it when you get close," I said. "You can park in number 16, it's one of mine."

"Ok, I'll be there in a few minutes," she said. "I'll call you when I pull onto your street."

Our plan worked like a charm and she helped carry the groceries up to the condo.

"Wow, nice condo Mike," she said. "You have a great view."

"Thanks," I said as I led the way to the kitchen.

She helped put things away until we were done and then sat down at the kitchen table, pulling out the receipt and the left over cash, including some coins.

"Ok, the groceries came to one hundred and forty five dollars and twenty nine cents, so your change comes to fifty four dollars and seventy one cents," she said, passing it over.

"Sounds good, now how do you charge?" I asked, "By the hour or by the job?"

"I'm not sure, it took two hours so how about twenty bucks?" she asked.

"No way!" I said.

She looked disappointed and said, "Fifteen then?"

"Daphne, you deserve more, not less, silly," I said. "Let's say forty an hour because you're using your car and gas so your base will be eighty. Now, you helped carry them up and put them away so I figure an extra twenty for that so an even one hundred should do it."

I slid two fifties over to her and she looked at me in shock.

"That's what I make in two days delivering pizza, it's too much Mike," she said, trying to push one back.

"Nonsense, I'm very particular who I let into my condo and part of the extra is for your discretion," I told her. "Now if you want to continue to be my Girl Friday, I suggest you put that money away pronto and call me Mike."

"Ok Mike, and thanks, it's going for a good cause," she said, rolling it up and putting it into her jean's pocket. "So, is there anything else I can help you with? Maybe some cleaning, laundry, cooking, deliveries?"

"I'm thinking of letting you clean and do my laundry Wednesday night if you want, starting about this time," I stated. "Interested?"

"Sure, do you have all the cleaning stuff or should I get it?" she asked.

"Let's look and we'll see," I suggested.

We took a gander under the kitchen sink and in the laundry room and found most of what she needed to clean and do the laundry.

"Ok, I'll bring anything else I'll need," she said. "I'll see you Wednesday, thanks for hiring me, you won't regret it."

"You're welcome," I said. "I'll get you down to your car and out of the parking garage."

As we were descending in the elevator, she turned to me and said, "You're the guy who saved Emma Watson right? That's why the TV crews are here right?"

"That's correct," I said.

"I saw what you did on TV, it looked like it really hurt," she said. "How are your burns doing?"

"They're mostly healed now and I'm slowly getting back to normal," I replied.

"That's good to hear," she said. "Don't worry, I won't tell a soul that I'm working for you."

"Good, that means you'll get to work for me as long as you want," I said.

She got out of the parking lot without any issues and I picked up my mail from the lobby. I peeked around to find a few people waiting for me to appear or answer the buzzer. I snuck back to the elevator and went back up to my condo.

I got myself a diet coke and opened my mail, dividing it into three piles, bills, junk mail and other. I started opening the others first and found my official invitation to the medal ceremony in Washington for both countries. They were planning it for the July fourth weekend, along with other medal ceremonies that they usually did at that time. I put it aside and moved on.