Lucky Bounce: Game On, Part 2 by Jennifer Lazaris

18

"Bestie!"

Holly glanced up from her spot on the couch in the media room where she was cuddled up with Miss. "Penny," she said, smiling at her. "You didn't have to come over. Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"I have some time before I need to get going." Penn sat down next to her. "Hon, what's going on?"

"It's just been a lot of weird physical things going on. Mostly since the fire," she explained. "I thought it was stress because it was off and on. Double vision, trouble swallowing, and my eyes will get weird and droopy."

"I saw that the night of the fire, remember? But you said it happens when you're tired occasionally. That means it was happening before the fire."

Holly frowned. "Yeah, I guess you're right. But not very much before. I also get where I can't lift my legs or my arms. Sometimes I can't lift my legs to climb the stairs. It goes away after a rest period, though."

"That's what happened at the game," Penn said quietly, studying her. "You didn't tweak your leg."

Holly sighed. "Yeah. I just didn't want to worry you, babe. It happened when I was with Eli yesterday, and he freaked out. When we got home, he contacted the team doctor and asked if there was a way to get me in to see someone quickly about this, and now I have an appointment with a neurologist today."

"Good on him," Penn declared. "This is important. Are you going to be okay going to the appointment alone? I wish I could go with you."

"Eli's taking me," she assured her friend. "He got home from practice a little while ago. We're leaving shortly."

"I hope you get some answers. This is so weird. Have you tried looking anything up on the internet about what's been happening?"

"No. I didn't want to freak myself out," she admitted.

"That's probably a good idea. Well, you better give me all the details the minute you find out what's going on." Penn gave her a stern glance. "I mean it."

"I promise," Holly made a crossing motion above her heart. "Hey, have you talked to that pet sitter at work? Is she available to sit with Miss while I'm in Tampa? Provided I can go, that is. "

"Yes. She's available for the entire playoffs. Hol, she's absolutely wonderful. Miss will love her, and she's really experienced with cats and IBD. Plus, she's bonded. Eli won't freak about someone staying here, will he?"

"I don't think so. He knows that in order for me to go, I need someone here with Miss."

"Taylor is a sweetheart. You'll love her. She's helped us out with Bo from time to time, and she's trustworthy and responsible. Taylor always sent me updates about Bo throughout the day, too. She'll be a great fit."

"This is such a relief," Holly told her. "With all this stuff going on, I don't need anything else to worry about."

"You sure don't."

Eli peeked his head into the living room. "We should get going soon, Holly. Sorry, Penn. I know you just got here."

"No, that's okay. She stood and swung her purse over her shoulder. "I need to get to work anyway. I just wanted to stop over and see my girl first."

Holly stood and hugged her friend. "Thanks for stopping over, babe."

"Of course. I'll let myself out. Take care of our girl, Eli." Penn flashed him a smile.

"I will." He glanced over at Holly. "You ready?"

"Not really," she said honestly. "But I don't want to be late. Let's go."

* * *

Forty-five minutes after they'd arrived at her appointment, a middle-aged woman with red hair beckoned at Holly from a nearby door. "Ms. Wilkes? Dr. Walston can see you now."

"Um." She glanced over at Eli, fighting off a surge of panic. "Can my... boyfriend come back with me?"

Eli cocked a brow, and she shrugged. "It's easier this way."

"If you like," the woman told her. "Right through here."

After getting her blood pressure, pulse, and temperature taken, she was led into an exam room and given a gown to change into.

Eli took a seat on a chair in the corner.

"Are you doing okay, kitten?" he asked, giving her a concerned look.

"Yeah." She pulled on the gown and folded her clothes, setting them on the chair next to Eli. "I hate these stupid gowns."

The doctor knocked a few minutes later, then entered the exam room. "Hello, Ms. Wilkes. I'm Dr. Walston." He glanced at Eli; his bushy eyebrows raised in surprise. "It's not every day that I have a professional hockey player in my office. Congratulations on winning your series, Mr. Donnelley."

"Thank you."

"Eli's my boyfriend," she explained. "I hope you don't mind that he's here."

"Not at all. Ms. Wilkes, fill me in on what's been going on with you?"

Holly told him about all of her symptoms, and what she'd experienced because of them. The doctor listened intently, taking notes while she talked.

"All right. And I must ask, is there any chance you might be pregnant?"

"No."

He glanced down at his notes. "Right now, I'm going to run through a series of tests with you for muscle tone, strength, reflexes, balance, and more," he said, peering at her over his thick glasses. "Okay?"

She nodded. "Yes, that's fine."

After she completed that series of tests, the doctor conducted a nerve stimulation test, where they placed electrodes on her skin to test her muscles.

When they were through, Dr. Walston nodded at her clothes. "You can get dressed, and when you're done, come around the corner into my office, and we'll have a chat."

Stripping out of the gown, she glanced over at Eli, who gazed at her solemnly. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Let's get this over with," she muttered, slipping into her skirt and top. Though the tests hadn't been invasive, she was mentally and emotionally drained. All she wanted to do was get this over with and go home.

"Hey." He grabbed her hand as she headed for the door.

"Yeah?" She peered over her shoulder at him.

"You're the strongest woman I know, but feel free to lean on me if you need to." He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then winked. "Besides, that's what boyfriends are for, right?"

"See, I was going to hug you for saying something so sweet, but then you had to go and ruin it." She took his hand as they walked out of the exam room. "Let's go see what this guy has to say."

The doctor gestured toward two chairs in front of his desk when they entered his office. "Have a seat."

"So..." Holly said. "Any idea what's going on with me?"

"Ms. Wilkes, I think there's a very good chance you have something called Myasthenia Gravis."

Holly gripped the armrests of her chair. "What is that?"

"To break it down, it's an autoimmune, neuromuscular disease. It causes muscle weakness like the kind you're experiencing with your eyes, legs, and arms. Even your swallowing is part of it. Usually what happens is that it gets worse after you're active, but then the symptoms fade after you rest."

"Can it be cured?" Holly asked.

The doctor shook his head. "To be clear, life expectancy is normal. But the answer to your question is no. However, there is treatment. There's medication we can give you to improve your symptoms significantly. Some people have even gone into remission."

"Is it ever dangerous?" Eli asked, leaning forward in his chair. "Is she at risk?"

"Some people can have their breathing affected during what's called a Myasthenic Crisis. This is where the muscles get weak and you can't breathe. It doesn't happen to everyone—only about twenty percent of people with the disease. Sometimes surgery or other stressors like respiratory illness and pregnancy can cause a crisis. If this ever happens, you will have to stay at the hospital for a period, and you'd need a ventilator to breathe during that time. Have you had any difficulty breathing?"

"No," Holly said, shaking her head. "None."

"There are ways to help lower your risk of having a crisis, and if your results show that you do have Myasthenia Gravis, we can go over everything you need to know. And there is a wealth of information online."

"A doctor that encourages his patients to Google?" Eli asked. "I'm surprised."

Dr. Walston laughed. "Online resources can be very helpful, but yes, we encourage people not to self-diagnose. But for information gathering, it's a great tool." He glanced at Holly. "I'd like you to go next door and get some blood taken. I’m fairly certain that it will confirm what I already suspect. I should have the results back tomorrow. When you check out, one of my staff will give you a pamphlet on how to register for our patient portal online to see your results. However, I'll call you if the blood test indicates Myasthenia Gravis, just in case you have any questions. If the test confirms MG, then we will start you on medication immediately."

"Okay. Thank you, Dr. Walston." Holly said, getting up from the chair. She was surprisingly weak after doing those tests. She tested lifting her arms above her head to tighten her ponytail, but thankfully, she had no issues.

Eli shook the doctor's hand, and they exited the office.

The anger she felt hit her suddenly, and she was almost vibrating with rage. She was too young for this to be happening. And how would this disease affect her life going forward? Would she have to take a lot of medication? Would she be able to lead a normal life?

Right now, all she had were questions and no answers, and it totally sucked.

* * *

Once Holly had completed the necessary blood work, they walked back to his car in silence. When Eli placed his hand on the small of her back, she stiffened immediately.

Frowning, he dropped his hand and opened the passenger side door for her.

When he was behind the wheel, he started the car and turned up the air conditioning, but didn't pull out of the parking lot.

"Holly?" he asked gently. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm tired," she said irritably. "All I want to do is go back to the penthouse and take a nap."

"Yeah. That was a ton of information to digest. I can't imagine what you're feeling."

"No, you can't." She crossed her arms. "Eli, can we leave, please? I want to go home."

"Okay. I just want you to know that you're not alone in this. We're going to get this figured out."

She gave him a sideways glance. "We? What do you mean, we? There is no "we," Eli. There's me, and that's it."

He sighed. "Holly, come on. You know what I mean."

"No, I don't. We're just..." She waved a hand. "We're fuck buddies, okay? That's it. This is my life, and I'm the one who has to deal with this. Not you."

Her words stung, but she was overwhelmed and upset from what she'd just been through, so he tried not to take it personally. Having this conversation, or any conversation right now, was a bad idea. She had to sit with the information, and nothing he said would help.

"Okay." He kept his voice even as he started the car. "Whatever you say."

After they arrived at the penthouse, Holly went straight into her room and shut the door without a word.

Stifling a sigh, he went into the living room and flicked on the television, absently flipping through the channels.

None of this was fucking fair. She was twenty-five years old, and now she might be saddled with a muscle disease for the rest of her life.

She had to be really freaked out. Anyone would be. The crisis that some people experienced with Myasthenia Gravis sounded terrifying, but at least there were things she could do to minimize the chances of it happening. And the medicine options to control symptoms seemed promising.

All he wanted to do was hold her and tell her it was going to be okay. To let her know that he was going to do anything he could to help her through it.

Whether she'd let him be there for her remained to be seen.

He turned on Netflix, killing the next few hours with an action flick until it was time to order dinner. Holly hadn't eaten anything since early this morning, so she ought to be starving. When the food arrived, he knocked on her bedroom door.

"Holly? I ordered Chinese for dinner. Do you want to come eat?"

"I'm not hungry," she mumbled from behind the door. "I just want to sleep."

"Well, the food is here if you want it."

Eli put her dinner in the fridge, then settled down on the couch to eat his. When he finished, he lay down and closed his eyes. Fuck, he was exhausted. A nap sounded like a damned good idea.

It felt like he'd just gone to sleep when he heard his name being called.

"Huh?" He rubbed his eyes and sat up. Holly stood next to him. "Hey. What time is it?"

"It’s 9:30," she said hesitantly. "Can I sit down?"

He yawned. "Yeah, sure."

To his surprise, she sat down on his lap, and he instantly wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, cuddling close to him.

"I'm sorry." Her voice broke, and she trembled in his arms. "I'm so sorry, Eli."

"Hey," he murmured, stroking her hair. "Hey, no. Holly, it's okay."

"No, it's not okay. What I said to you in the car? I didn't mean it. We're not just fuck buddies. I'm such a bitch."

"Stop," he ordered, pulling back to look at her. He brushed her tears away with his thumbs. "Don't beat yourself up. I know you didn't mean it. You'd just gotten life-changing news, Holly. You were upset, and I was the closest target to lash out at."

"That doesn't make it right! You were there for me, and I just..."

"Sweetheart, it's okay."

"Just let me apologize. I was wrong, and I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that."

"And I forgive you."

She traced her fingers along his beard, then brushed a kiss against his cheek. "Thank you. For forgiving me, for taking me to my appointment, and for being my friend."

"Fuck buddy," he corrected, then grinned. "But you're very welcome."

She snorted with laughter, then shook her head. "You use everything against me, don't you?"

"Maybe. I just like to tease you. And when I tease you and get a smile, it makes me happy." He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "Want me to heat up your dinner?"

"That sounds really nice," she admitted. "I'm so tired. How can I sleep so much and still be so tired?"

"It was a long day, babe."

"Yeah, it was." She slid off of his lap and lay down on the couch. "Very long."

"Let me go fix you a plate. Do you want anything else?"

Holly shook her head. "I just want..."

Eli stared down at her. "What do you want?"

"When I'm done eating, will you hold me?" She swallowed. "If you don't mind."

"Wilkes, I love holding you," he whispered, kneeling in front of her and cupping her face. "Let me take care of you, okay? I know that you're not used to that, but I want to."

"Okay, but just for tonight."

Eli kissed her forehead. "Whatever you say."

He went out into the kitchen and pulled the cartons from the fridge. Smiling, he scooped the General Tso chicken onto a plate.

His girl needed him. Tonight, he was going to be her soft place to fall.

And if he got his way, it wouldn't be just for tonight. It would be for as long as she'd fucking have him.