Bleeding Black and Gold (Bruins- Tuukka Rask)

Olympics, Part 1

I wake up to a blonde head of hair and bright blue eyes right in my face. 

"Alex!" The person shrieks, throwing their arms around me. 

"Hey, Mel," I groan, hugging her back as best I can with my inhibited arms. 

"ALEX YOU HAVE TWO WEEKS UNTIL SOCHI WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO?" Mel shouts, releasing me but shaking my shoulders. 

"Mel, I can play in a cast. It'll be fine," I tell her, trying to calm her down. 

"NO I'M TALKING ABOUT YOUR CLOTHES! YOU ARE NO WAY GOING TO SOCHI LOOKING LIKE YOU DO NOW!" 

Mel starts telling me about all the clothes she picked out for me, and I try and listen but I zone out anyway. I can't wait for Sochi to come.

~Sochi, Russia. First US Women's game against Finland~

She's coming in on me. She'll try and deke; I know it. Gigi is right on her tail, and all I have to do is make the first save and then go from there. Only one goal has been allowed by me, and I'm not going to change that. The Finland player shoots, and my glove comes up, neatly catching the puck. My wrist has a dulled sense of pain in it, but I grit my teeth and keep playing. If Bergy can play game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals with torn cartilage, punctured lung, cracked rib and who knows what else; I can do this.

We win the game 3-1, Hilary scoring right off the bat. As the girls tap helmets with me, I smile. I can't believe I'm here. Tuukka's here too, but I haven't seen him that much. He might be off with Team Finland, and that's fine. I'm with my US Women's team. 

"Great job, Alex," Molly says, tapping her hat against my helmet. 

"Thanks, Molls," I grin. We get off the ice, and get undressed. 

"Hey, Alex, you coming back to the apartment?" Jessie asks, Brianne right next to her. 

"Uh, I think I'm gonna go see if I can find Tuukka. Meet you later?" I suggest, unbuckling my pads. 

"Sure. See you back at the apartment." 

Brianne and Jessie start up a conversation with Molly as I finish getting undressed and changed. I put my gear wherever it's supposed to be, and find my way out of the arena to see Tuukka. We agreed to wait out by the entrance, so I find him quickly. 

"Tuukka!" I call standing on my tiptoes. He spots me and comes over. 

"Great game," he tells me, kissing my nose. 

"Thanks. Raty was pretty good in the other end too," I say, and Tuukka links his fingers with mine as we walk. 

"Where are we going?" I ask him. 

"I dunno. Just walking around," Tuukka shrugs, and I smile. He takes his hand out of mine and puts it around my shoulders. I lean my head onto him a little as we walk toward the Village. A few guys wave at Tuukka, and I look up at him. 

"Is it nice to be surrounded by other Finnish people?" I ask him. 

"Yeah. My accent isn't as noticeable around them. And I can talk in Finnish," he grins. 

"Your accent is wonderful, Tuukka. And talking in your own language is a plus," I smile. Tuukka grins and pulls my shoulder closer to him. 

Suddenly, I hear another Finnish sounding voice call, "Tuukka!" from behind us. I turn around and see Finland's female goalie, Noora Raty, calling Tuukka's name. Tuukka turns around and sees her, his face lighting up. 

"Noora!" He calls back, running over to her, leaving me. I blink, but follow him at a slower pace. Tuukka and Noora are conversing in rapid-fire Finnish.