Serendipitous [Joe Burrow]

Chapter 14

"I'm so glad you came!" Robin said hugging Chandler.

"Well I thought now was probably the time to learn about football," Chandler joked.

"You better learn fast if you want to be a part of this family," Jim laughed as he put his arm around Chandler's shoulders.

"Leave the girl alone Jim," Robin said, "Not ever one is as obsessed with football as you are." Chandler really liked Joe's parents. They were the exact opposite of her own.

"So is this your first professional football game?" Robin asked. She had been to many football games when she was younger. When she got old enough she always decided not to go.

"Yes," Chandler said.

"Well you picked a beautiful first game to attend," Robin said.

"It is a beautiful day for late November," Jim said.

"Nice to see you in some Bengals gear too," Robin said.

"Yeah. Joe had to lend me the jersey," Chandler said, "Even if I had one before it definitely wouldn't have fit." Chandler's stomach was continuing to grow. At 24 weeks you could clearly tell she was pregnant now.

••••

It was halftime and the Bengals were winning 9-7. Chandler forgot how fun and exciting football games could be, especially when your team was winning. Honestly, she always enjoyed the games when she was younger. Her hatred of her father is what made her hate football. He had always been a football-obsessed man. His dream was to always have a son who would play football through school and maybe make it into the NFL. Of course, he ended up having a daughter and that dream went down the drain.

Maybe that was why they didn't get along. Or maybe it was his incessant need to have everything perfect all of the time. His second dream was always to pass down his family law firm business to his children. When Chandler showed no interest in that it just split their relationship more.

"They're coming back out," Robin smiled. Chandler looked over to see Joe leading his team out of the locker room. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face. It was really great seeing Joe doing something that he loved. They made eye contact and Joe waved up at her. Chandler waved back with an equally big smile on her face.

"So are you having fun?" Jim asked catching the girl's attention.

"Yeah," Chandler said looking over at him, "I think I'm starting to pick up on some stuff." The first quarter of the game hadn't started off well but the second quarter made up for that. Hopefully, the rest of the game would go well.

It was 4 minutes into the 3rd quarter and the Bengals had the ball. It was the 3 down and they had 2 yards to go. The ball was snapped and Joe had the ball. Chandler held Robin's hand as they waited for Joe to throw the ball. He threw the ball just as he was tackled.

Chandler knew something was immediately wrong when Joe didn't get up. "What's wrong?"

"I—I don't know," Robin said.

"Looks like he's grabbing his left leg," Jim said, "We should go. I'm sure they'll be taking him off the field." Chandler nodded her head as she followed Jim out of the stands. She glanced over to see Joe being lifted from the ground. She could tell by his face that he was in pain.

An injury like this couldn't be good for Joe. What happens if this takes him out for a few games...or worse, for the season? Chandler cleared her mind not even wanting to think about that. All she was worried about was getting to Joe. "What are they saying?" Jim asked someone when they got farther inside the stadium.

"He's being looked at right now," the man said, "One of you can go back. The other two will have to wait out here."

"You should go," Robin said looking to Chandler.

"No. No," Chandler said, "One of you should go. I'm sure he'll want to see one of you."

"You should go, Jim," Robin said, "He'll probably want to talk to you." Chandler stood there fiddling with the rings on her finger. It was a habit she'd picked up when she was nervous.

After what felt like forever Jim walked out of the room. "What did they say?" Robin asked.

"Is he okay?" Chandler asked.

"They think he tore his ACL," Jim said. Chandler's jaw dropped at the news. If Joe had torn his ACL then that meant he was done for the season.

"He must be devastated," Robin said.

"He's pretty beat up about it right now," Jim said, "He asked for you Chandler. You should go in."

"Yeah. Okay." She took a deep breath before walking into the room. Chandler walked slowly over to where Joe sat on a table. "Hey."

"Hey," Joe said trying to wipe the tears that were running down his face. There was no way to confirm a torn ACL without an MRI but he trusted the doctors at the field. His season was over. His first season in the NFL and it was over like that.

"Is uh. Is there anything I can do?" Chandler asked. She wasn't exactly sure what to do in a situation like this.

"No," Joe said, "I have to get an MRI to confirm the torn ACL. I know that's what it is. My season is over..."

"Hey," Chandler said grabbing Joe's hand, "You don't know that until it is confirmed by a doctor."

"I've never felt pain like that before," Joe said, "Even if it's not my ACL it's something serious."

"Well whatever it is we can get through it," Chandler said, "I'll be here for you every step of the way. Whatever you need, seriously."

"Can you just stay with me," Joe said.

"Of course," Chandler said. Joe carefully scooted over so that there was room on the table for Chandler to sit. Even though the table was tall she managed to climb up on it.

Chandler sat next to Joe with her back pressed to the backrest of the table. She held his hand as she laid her head on his shoulder. Joe's body relaxed into hers as his head leaned onto the top of hers. His hand moved to her stomach as he stared down at it. Chandler felt a kick in her stomach as the baby moved. Joe gasped making her look up at him. "Did you feel that?"

"Was that the baby?" Joe asked.

"Yeah," Chandler smiled, "I've never felt her kick that hard before."

"That's awesome," Joe smiled.

"Maybe that's her way of telling you that everything's going to be all right," Chandler said. All Joe could do was smile in response.