Work Text:
“Yeah I’m just about to leave downtown now. I’ll see you soon. I love you” Shane ends his call with Ilya and starts the journey to Boods house.
Shane hated driving in this weather. When he had left Downtown Ottawa the rain hadn’t been that bad. But now as his makes his way to Boods, the rain is absolutely hammering down. It’s takes all his strength to focus on the disappearing view of the road in front of him.
He reaches a notoriously bad stretch of road, which had its fair share of car accidents. It was a long stretch of unmaintained road with a soft shoulder, dense trees and bushes covering either side. On top of that it had almost no street lights. Shane wasn’t a fan of driving this stretch of road in the daylight, he absolutely hated driving it at nighttime.
He sees a call come up on his dash screen, a quick glance shows Ilyas caller id. As much as he hates too, he lets it ring out. He needs to focus all of his attention on the dangerous road ahead of him.
Somehow the rain starts coming down even harder, forcing Shane to slow down ever more. Even with his windscreen wipers on the fastest setting, they have no chance of keeping up against this rain. He contemplates pulling over and waiting for the weather to calm down, but realistically that could take hours. “Fuck”
~~~~~
“Hey cap, where’s the better looking half”Bood asks as he passes Ilya a beer.
It was a Friday night and the Centaurs had arranged a game night with the team at Bood and Cassie’s house. Shane was coming later on as he had a meeting with one of his sponsors that afternoon, that he couldn’t miss.
“Not sure, he should be here by now.” Ilya checks his phone and finds no missed calls or texts from Shane.
“Weather is shit out there, it’ll probably take Holzy longer to get here” Troy supplies from his spot on the couch. Eyes focused on the tv in front of him.
“It’s bucketing down out there. Even for this time of year this is insane” Wyatt says,not looking away from the PSP he is playing on.
A know of anxiety starts to form in the base of Ilyas stomach. His mind playing a terrifying game of what if. He tried to focus on the facts.Shane was a great driver, he understood Ottawa weather better than anyone on the team. He also had one of the safest cars on the market. Ilya loved giving him much crap for his choice of car, but he secretly loved it. Especially during these rainy months.
Ilya excused himself from the room and headed down the hallway to try and call his husband. Unfortunately the call rings out. “He’s ok. He is probably just driving like grandpa” He says to himself as he plays with the cross on his necklace.
But deep down he had this horrible feeling forming in his bones that something was wrong. He couldn’t explain why, it was like he had this physical connection to Shane and he knew his husband was in trouble.
~~~~~
As Shane makes his way around the first bend, a small dark animal of some sort runs across the road. “Oh fuck” Without realising Shane’s reflexes kick in and he hastily yanks the steering wheel to the left in an attempt to avoid the animal. He ends up losing control of the vehicle.
“Fuck fuck fuck” He tries to gain control of the vehicle and steer back into the lane, however the SUV wheels lock and the vehicle hydroplanes off towards the soft shoulder of the road.
“Oh my god. Shit. SHIT” Shane desperately tries to yank the steering wheel either side but it’s no use. The front tyres hit a patch of unsealed gravel off the shoulder. Shane’s SUV skids off and hits a large pothole, causing the vehicle to flip over twice. The passenger side of the vehicle ends up smashed against a tree.
Shanes body is slumped over the steering wheel, pain exploding all over his body. “Ilya” is the last thing he whispers before everything fades to black.
When Shane eventually wakes up, it takes him a few moments to become aware of his surroundings. He carefully brings his left arm up, trying not to move his neck too much, and turn on the interior car lights, the pain that radiates from the movement has him feeling nauseous. “ah fuck” Shane winces. He pushes through the pain and tries to lights, they don’t work.
When his eyes finally adjust to the darkness he is able to take in the scene around him. The windscreen was smashed and glass was all over the vehicle, and himself. He was also getting soaked from the rain that was coming in from where the windscreen used to be.
He stays slumped against the steering wheel, too scared to move his neck. He had seen enough neck injuries, he didn’t want to make it worse. Or worse, fucking die. Fuck the thought had tears rolling down his face.
“AHHHHHH” A jolt of pain pulses in his left thigh, and has him crying out to.He needs to get out of here, fuck he needs Ilya. He takes a deep breath and prepares himself for the inevitable pain. Taking a sharp breath, he moves his right arm around to try and find his phone.
“Come on. Please” Shane mumbles as he continues clumsily feeling around the seat. Of course he couldn’t find it. It could be anywhere outside or inside the vehicle. “FUCK”
Shane’s chest starts tightening, like someone is gripping it very tightly. His breathing is becoming shallow as his panic increases. The pain radiating through his body makes his anxiety worse. He is trapped in his car, in excruciating pain and is panicking.
His phone starts blaring through the speakers of the car, the display screen is smashed to pieces so he isn’t able to see who the call is from. But he needs to answer it, it may be his only chance of getting help.
Shane takes a breath and bites down on his lip, already knowing how badly this is going to fucking hurt. He slowly brings his left arm, pain shooting everywhere like a firework, he weakly tries to press phone button on his steering wheel. “Gahhhhhhh fuck” tears stream down his face, the pain is nauseating.
The ringing stopped before Shane could try and answer the call. Shane wasn’t a religious person, however he called out to whoever was listening to help him. He wanted, no he NEEDED to get out of the wreck that was his car and get to Ilya. He didn’t want to die out here, by himself.
As if by some miracle, his phone starts ringing again. Trying to ignore the pain, he fumbles around until he hits the phone button on the steering wheel. The call connects and he recognises the voice that answers immediately, tears filling his eyes.
“Blyat Shane. I’ve been trying to contact you” Ilyas worried voice fills the line. “Are you oke Shane” The feeling of guilt is instant, Shane hates the idea of worrying his husband.
“Ilya” he replies shakily, trying to talk past the lump in his throat. He doesn’t even recognise his own voice at the moment.
“Shane moya lyubov, what’s happened. Are you okay. Where are you”
“I cra- cras-” Shane tries to take a full breath, trying to control his panic. “crashed my car. Ilya I’m scared, I need you”
“Blyat. Blyat. Where are you baby, are you okay. ”
“No I’m not. I was heading down Charleston and something rang in front of me and the car flipped. Ilya I’m really scared” Shane starts crying, big tears rolling down his face.
Ilya says something in Russian that Shane can’t translate in his current condition. “I’m coming sweetheart. Right now Oke. Just hang on Shane” He can vaguely hears Ilya bark orders to the team. “Has anyone stopped to help”
“No. It hurts so bad Ilya”
“Where are you hurt Shane” Shane had never heard his husband sound so scared before.
“Everywhere.Please come Ilya please. I need you”
“I am baby. I’m coming right now I promise. I will find you Shane. Just stay on the phone until we get there”. Ilya shouts at Troy to call an ambulance, Shane then hears an engine roar to life.
“I’m scared” Shane closes his eyes as the tears continue falling.
“I know sweetheart. I’m coming as quick as I can” the fear in Ilya’s voice is increasing.
“I’m sorry” Shane mumbles weakly.
“Do not apologise Shane. Is not your fault”
“The car is fucked” Shane says nervously
“I don’t care about the car Shane, we can replace it. I can’t replace my beautiful husband”
“Please hurry. I don’t want to die alone”
“Hey, hey. Do not even say such things Shane. You’re not going to die. I’m coming to get you moya lyubov, just hang on for me oke”
“It’s so dark and col-“ The line suddenly drops out, leaving Shane on his own.
“No no no no. Fuck please no”
After what feels like hours but is probably only minutes, Shane sees headlights in the distance. He can’t see what kind of car it is in the dark, through the rain. He hears a door slam in the distance and then the voice of the person he loved the most.
“SHANE. SHANE. I’m coming. Hang on Shane” ilya is running as fast as he possibly can. Coming to an abrupt stop at Shane’s door. The look of sheer terror on his face is something Shane will never forget.
“Blyat, Shane”
“Oh fuck holzy” Bood comes to a stop next to Ilya, taken aback by the scene in front of him.
Ilya tries opening Shane’s door with no luck. “BLYAT” then with a strength that can only come from pure adrenaline, Ilya yanks Shane’s door open. “Im here now baby. You’re going to be okay” Ilya kneels down next to Shane.
His eyes frantically scan over the scene. Shane is slumped against the steering wheel, his left shoulder is hanging down on a weird angle. Shane’s upper left thigh is pinned under the crumpled steering, tissue and muscle visible. Blood is staining his pants.He has a deep laceration on his forehead. He is also covered in cuts from all the glass and he is soaking wet.
“Blyat” His hands hover over Shane’s body, not knowing where to touch him and not wanting to hurt him more. It’s taking Ilya everything he has not to fucking break down at the sight of Shane like this. He needs to be strong.
“Ilya. It hurts so bad”
“I know moya lyubov. The ambulance will be here soon Shane. They will help you malysh”
Noticing how much Shane is shivering, Ilya rips off his jacket and gently places it over Shane’s back. “Troy go and wait for ambulance” troy is off in an instant.
“Don’t leave me” Shane says softly
“I’m not going anywhere Shane” Ilya leans forward and presses a gentle kiss on the side of Shane’s face. He tries not to let his own tears fall.
“ What do you need Cap” Bood asks and he and Wyatt crouch down next to him.
“We can’t do anything until the ambulance gets here. We can’t risk moving Shane, he may have a neck injury” Ilya says, not looking away from his husband.
Ilya notices Shane’s eyelids start to droop. “Hey sweetheart, eyes open. You can’t go to sleep oke. Focus on me” Ilya had a lot of experiences with concussions during his career, he knew that he needed to keep Shane awake.
“tired” Shane mumbles softly.
“I know. You can sleep later, right now you need to stay awake, da”
“Where the fuck is the ambulance” Ilya shouts at no one in particular.
“They should be here any minute Roz” Bood says sympathetically.
“That’s not fucking quick enough”
“Hang on Holzy, help is coming” Wyatt tries to fake a confidence he doesn’t have.
Within minutes the normally quiet road is flooded with the lights and sirens of various emergency services. Police work to secure the scene as firefighters assess the wreckage in front of them.
“What is his name”. One of the paramedics asks.
“Shane” Troy replies as leads the two paramedics to where Shane is.
Ilya moves to the side so the paramedics can get to Shane.
“Don’t go Ilya, please don’t leave me” Shane starts to become distressed.
“I’m not going anywhere Shane. The paramedics need room to work on you oke. But i’ll be right here, i promise”
The older male paramedic kneels down next to Shane, eyes quickly assessing his condition like he has done thousands of times before. “Hey Shane, my names mark. This is my partner Colin. Can you tell me where it hurts”
“My arm and thigh on my left side are killing me. My head is pounding and I’m cold”
“Did you lose consciousness at all”
“Yeah”
The younger paramedic passes various tools to his co worker.
“Ok, do you feel nauseous”
“Yeah”
“Do you have any pain in your neck or back”
“No”
“Can you follow this light for me without moving your neck” The older paramedic spends a few moments checking Shane’s vitals. Ilya watches like a hawk, not daring to leave Shane’s side for a second.
“Ok Shane we are going to put a cervical collar on you, just as a precaution to protect your neck.
“Ok” Shane says shakily, feeling overwhelmed by the whole situation. “Ilya”
“I’m here sweetheart. Your oke” Ilya says somewhere off to Shane’s left.
“Can we touch you Shane”
“Yeah”
The younger paramedic climbs into the back seat behind Shane. He places his hands on either side of Shane’s head and very gently guides his head back towards the head rest.
The older paramedic works to fit the cervical collar around Shane’s neck. “You’re doing great Shane. I’m going to give you some pain medication now before the firefighters can work on extracting you okay”
“Ok”
“Ok sir we are going to start removing the steering wheel. It’s going to be a little loud”
“You’re doing amazing moya lyubov. The firefighters are going to get you out of there” he hears Ilya shout from somewhere to his left.
From there everything happens quickly. A shield is placed between Shane and the steering wheel and hands come up to cover his ears. One of the firefighters then starts cutting. The sound is incredibly loud, the vibrations of the tools make Shane’s body shake. It makes the pain even worse, especially in his thigh.
“Ah fuck” Shane screams, as his body starts shaking.
Seeing Shane distressed and in pain snaps something inside of Ilya. “STOP, you’re hurting him” he tries to lunge toward his husband, Wyatt and Bood are quick to stop him. It’s takes all their strength to hold him back. He puts up a fight.
“Get off me” Ilya thrashes around, trying to free himself from his friend’s hold. “Shane”
“Roz, you gotta stop man. I know it’s hard to watch but they are helping him” Wyatt says sympathetically
“I can’t lose him. I. I ca-“ his sentence dies off as Troy brings him in for a tight hug.
“They are doing everything they can to help him ilya” Troy says sympathetically, he holds onto Ilya as the firefighters continue working on Shane. He holds back his own tears as he hears Shane’s pained cries.
“Alright he’s clear” one of the firefighters yells out.
“Okay Shane,we are going to move you onto the stretcher now okay bud”
Shane nods.
The process takes a few minutes. Both paramedics and firefighters working with extreme care to gently transfer Shane onto the stretcher. Making sure not to jostle his body. He is then strapped to the stretcher and given a special thermal blanket.
“Ilya” Shane calls out in a panic, unable to look around for his husband.
Ilya is by his side in seconds, gently cupping his head. “I’m here Shane”
They load Shane into the ambulance and Ilya immediately follows him in. The paramedics don’t say anything and there was no way in hell they could stop him.
“What hospital are you going to” Wyatt asks one of the paramedics.
“Ottawa hospital”
“We’ll meet you there cap” Wyatt says.
Ilya can only nod as the doors of the ambulance shut and they drive off.
The bright lighting of the ambulance reveals the true extent of Shane’s injuries. His face was pale with streaks of blood running down his face from the laceration.He was covered in cuts and scratches, his arm was put into a temporary sling. And then there was his thigh, Ilya couldn’t bring himself to look at it again. His heart was breaking seeing Shane like this.
“Ilya”
Ilya moves quickly into Shane’s line of sight. Hand gently resting on Shane’s head.
“I’m here moya lyubov, it’s oke”
“Hurts”
“I know. I’m so sorry” Ilya gently wipes away the tears running down Shane’s cheek. “Your going to be oke”
Ilya feels powerless as he watches his best friend, the love of his life, his husband’s life hang in the hands of a complete stranger. Knowing he can’t do anything but sit there and fucking watch.
Once they get to the hospital, Shane is taken to a trauma bay to be assessed. Ilya, against his will is taken to a private waiting room. With shaky hands he takes his phone out and calls David and Yuna. They were on holiday overseas so it’s wasn’t surprising that they didn’t answer, he leaves a voicemail asking them to call when they can.
“Fuck this” Ilya leaves the waiting room and heads to the nurses desk, determined to get some answers on Shane’s condition.
“Hi, my husband Shane came in not long ago in the ambulance. Do you have any information on his condition”
The young nurse quickly types away on the computer. “I’m sorry I don’t have information on his condition at the moment”
“When wi-“ Ilya’s sentence is cut off.
“Mr Rozanov” a nurse ilya remembers seeing when they first arrived, heads towards him. “I was just coming to see you, follow me”
She leads Ilya back towards the room he was waiting in before. “We were able to stabilise Shane, he has been taken into surgery. ”
Ilya takes what feels like the first proper breath since he arrives at the hospital. “How long will the surgery take”
“it’s hard to say, all of his injuries require surgical attention. I will keep you updated as soon as I found out anything”
“Thank you” Ilya says as the nurse leaves.
There’s a soft knock on the door shortly after. “Hey cap” Wyatt says as he and the centaurs fill the waiting room.
“How is he” Bood asks as he sits down next to Ilya, looking a little unsure.
“He’s just gone into surgery”
“Ok. That’s a good sign, if he is stable enough for surgery” Dykstra adds from the corner of the room.
Troy passes Ilya a black backpack. “We went past your place and got you a change of clothes since you got soaked, and some basic necessities. Harris also took Anya, so you don’t have to worry about her. I hope you don’t mind”
“Ah thank you” Ilya slowly grabs the bag from Troy. “I’ll uh. I’ll go get changed”
In the bathroom Ilya leans on the sink and takes a moment to try and calm down. “I don’t want to die alone” Shane had sounded so scared on the phone. Graphic images of Shane in the crumpled vehicle, his body slumped against the steering wheel. Crying out and in pain replay in his mind. The distressing sound of Shane screaming as they work to free him from the vehicle. It all felt too heavy, Ilya sank to the floor and cried. His head resting on his knees as sobs tear through him.
Ilya cried until he had no tears left, then on shaky legs he stood and changed into the dry clothes Troy had brought. Ilya returns to the waiting room with red swollen eyes and tear stains down his cheeks. Without saying anything,Troy crosses the room and envelopes Ilya in a hug. Ilya’s body relaxed into the contact, troy knew that he needed this moment.
Coach Weibe arrived shortly after. “How’s Shane” he asked as he sat next to Ilya.
“I don’t know. He’s still in surgery”
It’s a little after midnight when a surgeon wearing blue scrubs and a surgical cap enters the room. “Mr Rozanov” he looks around at all the guys.
“That’s me. How is he ,is he oke” Ilya flys out of his chair and over to the surgeon. His teammates join him.
“Firstly,the surgery went well. Shane’s body handled it well, considering his injuries” the surgeon states.
There was a collective sigh of relief around the room. The news had Ilya nearly breaking down again.
“We were able to repair the tissue in his thigh and close the wound using a combination of dissolvable stitches internally and also surgical staples. Now in terms of his shoulder, we ended up having to put pins in to reposition the bones and help with healing. The laceration on his forehead was also able to be stitched up in surgery”
“What about his neck, concussion”
“Thankfully all tests came back clear for any injury to his neck. As for the concussion, it’s only a mild grade. He was extremely lucky”
Ilya rubs the cross necklace between his fingers. “He’s going to be oke” he asks softly, needing the reassurance.
“Yes. Shane has a long road of recovery ahead. Moving forward wound care and infection prevention will be incredibly important for his recovery. All in all, he is incredibly lucky”
“Can I see him, please”
“He is currently in the recovery room waking up from the sedation. Once he has woken up a little more, he will be moved into his hospital room. Then a nurse will come down and grab you”
“Thank. Thank you so much” Ilya doesn’t have the words to truly express his gratitude for the doctor’s and nurses hard work to save his husband.
“My pleasure” the doctor heads back out of the room.
~~~~
“Mr rozanov” an older nurse looks around at all the guys.
Once again Ilya is up and out of his seat with incredible speed. “Yes”
“Shane has been moved into his room. He is currently sleeping, however you are welcome to come and sit with him. He was asking for you as he was coming out of the sedation” the nurse smiles warmly.
It made Ilya emotional to think about Shane waking up and his first thought was to ask for him. Fuck he loved his husband so much.
Ilya turned around to face his teammates, unsure of how to put into words his appreciation for them.
“We know Cap. We got you and Shane’s backs,now go and be with Shane. We’ll be here waiting”. Troy said with a slight glisten in his eyes.
Ilya took a steadying breath as he slowly entered Shane’s room. His eyes locked straight onto Shane. He looked so small and frail. His body covered in various bandages and gauze, attached to machines that scared Ilya. He moved slowly towards Shane’s bed, worried that this may be a dream. Worried that he will wake up and be back at the accident, watching Shane in pain.
With incredibly gentle hands, Ilya rests his hand on Shane’s head, avoiding the bandage that is protecting the wound on his forehead. “Oh sweetheart” Ilya whispers as he leans down and kisses Shane on the side of his face. Letting his lips linger on Shane’s skin, needing the moment of connection to try and calm myself and his brain.
He doesn’t say anything as he sits down in the chair that is placed next to the bed. He simply puts Shane’s good hand into his and watches his husband sleep. Ilya silently thanks his mom for watching over Shane in the moments that he couldn’t, realising that today could have ended very differently.
Ilya starts to doze off in the chair, when he feels Shane’s hand ever so slightly move in his. The movement is so light he almost thinks he is imagining it. Then it happens again, only this time Shane starts making this scared whimpering sound.
“Hey Shane, it’s oke. You’re safe” Ilya leans forward in his chair, gently stroking Shane’s face. “Your safe Shane, i promise sweetheart”
Shane continues whimpering as he tosses and turns in the bed. Ilya tries to gently hold his good shoulder down so he doesn’t make his injuries worse. “Wake up Shane. You’re not there anymore. You’re safe”.
It takes a moment before Shane slowly opens his eyes. “Ilya” his voice is a little rough. “You’re here” eyes watering.
“Of course I’m here” Ilya leans down and kisses the top of Shane’s head. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else. How are you feeling”
“A little sore” Shane answers honestly.
“Do you need the nurse”
“No, I just need you” Shane’s brings his right hand with the iv line attached up to Ilya’s face. Gently caressing his cheek.
“You have me Shane, always”
“Lay with me, please”
Ilya doesn’t think twice, he carefully climbs onto the bed, and snuggles into Shane’s right side. Resting his hand on top of Shane’s.
“I was so scared” Shane breaks the comfortable silence.
“I can’t even imagine what you went through”
“I thought was going to die. I didn’t want to die out there alone, in that car”
“Shane, seeing you so scared and in so much pain was the most heartbreaking thing. I hate that I couldn’t do more to help you sweetheart”
“I’m sorry for scaring you so bad”
“No apologies, this wasn’t your fault Shane. I’m just so fucking grateful that you are oke”
“ya tak sil'no tebya lyublyu” Ilya brings his mouth to Shane’s, gently working his way into shanes mouth with his tongue. The kiss isn’t hot and frantic, rather an intimate moment of reconnection. They kiss until they are both a little breathless.
“I love you so much Ilya”
They continue to cuddle up in the hospital bed, after a few minutes they fall asleep in each other’s arms.