Blood, Sweat and Tears Part 89
In the Wolverine locker room, the team's reunion with Heero was a joyous one. Even more exciting was the news that he would be returning to the game for the second half. Brian and Terry were amongst the first to hear that announcement.
Sighing deeply, the replacement quarterback's shoulder sagged. "Thank God," he grinned while falling onto the bench beside his mentor. Terry chuckled and nodded to the sentiment, the sheer relief clear in his own eyes.
Heero blinked in surprise. "You're really not disappointed that you won't be playing? You've both done a great job out there. Scoring a touchdown in three plays is not exactly an easy feat." Duo's violet eyes were wide on his own back-up player. To be happy about passing up the opportunity to play in the Super Bowl seemed crazy to him.
Terry snickered, "Sure, it's easy to pull something off when you first go in. But to have to keep that up for a whole game..." He shook his head, "That one little moment was more than enough for me. Besides, this way, we get to bow out on a high note."
Raising a finger, Brian warned Yuy and Maxwell, "That's right. Now don't go making all of our hard work go to waste out there." Everyone within earshot shared a good laugh. Slapping their replacements on the shoulder, Heero and Duo shook their heads in amusement. For their part, they looked like a couple of proud fathers.
With a couple of icepacks taped to his exposed and bruised torso, Wufei smirked to his captain, "Whether what happened was an accident or not, Treize had to be happy over your not being able to play. I cannot wait to see the look on his face when he sees you walking out at the end of the break."
Beside him, Trowa was bandaging a few cuts on his hands earned for his efforts of holding back the linemen. "If that look is any good as the one he and the Cougars had when we made this last score with two replacements, they're going to be re-airing that footage for months," he chuckled. "That was one of the sweetest moments of my career." His teammates laughed once more, nodding their heads in agreement.
Order fell on the room when Zechs and the coaching staff returned from their brief meeting. Each of them had a stack of papers in their hands.
Unable to hide his excitement, the head coach took in all of his players and informed, "I had just received a call from Dorothy up in the owner's box. Already, the people from Pittsburgh, overseas and even from the Colonies are overwhelming her mail accounts with emails of well-wishes and praises. Seeing as how we're playing as much for them as for ourselves, we would like to read a few of those messages before the game commences."
Quickly, those athletes standing took a seat at the open benches. Every wide eye fell on the coaching staff in full attention.
Zechs grinned as he held up his short stack of printed emails. Glancing over the letter on top, he read aloud, "To our Wolverines and all in association with the organization, you have given this city something to be proud of for the first time in a long time. There has been little for anyone to look forward to until now.
"You have proven that anyone can rise up against insurmountable odds even in the darkest of hours. Know that whatever the outcome of the game, you have given us all something that we needed badly in this beloved town of Pittsburgh. Hope. All the best and thank you for a remarkable season. Sincerely, Danielle Meyer."
Throughout the room, eyes began to shimmer as the reciting continued. Becoming a bit overwhelmed, himself, Zechs had to clear his throat to clear the large lump there. Smiling watery, he turned to Howard and nodded for him to take over. Pops sniffled as he wiped a tear that was rolling down his face and snorted, "Oh no! Don't look at me! I'm not ready to go after that!"
It was just the comic relief needed to bring laugher back into the room. Stepping forward, Trent raised the stack in his hand and began, "This first letter is from Sam Timmons of Dallas, Texas. Dear Wolverines, administration and staff. Even though I am not from your home state, I have been a devoted fan for the last twenty-six years. There is just something you have to love about an underdog..."
As the reading continued, Duo rested his head on Heero's shoulder. Turning his head to place a kiss on his lover's forehead, the quarterback wrapped their hands together. With tears in both of their eyes, they smiled and just took in the support from their fans around the world and space.
* * * * * *
Over in the Cougars' locker room, Treize knocked over the tall water cooler in the center of the room from its table. Spinning, he shrieked to his team, "How in the hell is this happening!? You should be ahead by dozens of points by now and not tied! And what's worse, a couple of second-stringers helped make the last touchdown!"
His players winced and ducked their heads in shame and fear. "Never in all of my life have I ever been so humiliated!" the head coach went on ranting while he paced back and forth like a wild animal. "If we lose this game, you had better have another day job in mind for when you-"
"It's not the end of the world, dear," a familiar voice soothed, cutting him off. Eyes wide, Treize turned to the door to find Sylvia standing there with a sad smile. Alex and his teammates watched her enter the room with deep sigh of relief. Somehow, she always had a way of being there for them when needed.
Slowly approaching her husband as she would carefully try to calm a frantic beast, she shrugged, "You should know that no team makes it this far on just luck or by some sort of mistake. The Wolverines are their league's champions. Of course they're going to be difficult to beat."
Knowing that her husband was going to chew into the team after the way that the first-half went, Sylvia hurried to come to their aid. It was certainly not for Treize's benefit that she decided to calm him. She just did not like seeing the athletes being harassed when they were working so hard.
Treize forced a few calming breaths before his narrowed eyes relaxed and complexion lost its red hue. Difficult as it was, he put on a brilliant smile for her. "Of course, darling," he nodded firmly. "You're right." Brushing the front of his deep green shirt, he chuckled, "I just got a bit carried away, I suppose. It's just such an important game."
Using her air of seeing the world through rose-colored glasses, his wife winked, "And there will be other games. Win or lose, in the grand scheme of things, what is the difference?"
His hands clenching and unclenching at his sides, the head coach silently cursed himself for becoming attached to such a simple woman. It was actual mental labor for him to keep from hitting her for her unrealistic approach to everything. Still, his smile grew all the more. "Yes, of course, dear," he replied smoothly. "Thank you for reminding me."
Folding her hands at her waist, Sylvia grinned and bowed her head. Graciously turning to the team, she reassured, "You're all doing a wonderful job out there. Keep up the good work." Mutters of appreciation floated throughout the room.
Smugly, the young woman leaned in and kissed her husband's cheek. "I will take my leave now," she told him quietly. "Just remember to be nice, sweetheart. Remember that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar." It was a struggle to refrain from outright laughing as she spun away from her stunned, wide-eyed husband and left the room.
The moment his wife was out of sight, Treize's face reddened several shades darken than it had been prior to her arrival. Slowly looking over his team, he raised a finger and gritted, "You were lucky this time. Not even she will be able to protect any one of you from me if we lose today. Do. Not. Forget. That."
Alex swallowed roughly and lowered his gaze to the floor along with his teammates. Treize was not one to make idle threats. He would make good on whatever he was scheming for them if they did not pull off this win. More than the rewards that came with becoming the Super Bowl champions, they wanted the victory so that they would not be on the receiving end of that rage.
* * * * * *
Back in the examination room in the Wolverines' half of the stadium...
Sally swapped the fresh entry point of the needle she injected into Heero's arm. Turning her attention to Duo, Zechs and Howard, she explained, "I have already spoken to the officials and NFL administration. This pain medication has been cleared for use, so there will not be any way that someone in Treize's camp would be able to cry fowl in my administering this since it will not enhance his abilities."
Nodding firmly, the head coach sighed, "Good work, Sal." A small smile lit the therapist's face. She rose from the edge of the examination table that she and Heero had used as a bench to discard the empty syringe in her hand.
The therapist wiped her brow and leveled the quarterback with a firm look. Shaking her head, she sighed, "It took quite a bit of convincing on my part to get the NFL heads to agree to your return on the field at all. They did not even consider the idea of you putting yourself at risk like this until I promised them that I would take full responsibility if anything happed to you out there. I don't know who they think is more insane- you or me. Frankly, I'm really not sure of the answer to that myself."
Zechs folded his arms across his chest. When the team captain's gaze met his own, he asked, "Are you sure that you're up to this? You know that if anything further happens to that leg out there..." his voice drifted off, unable to finish that line of thought.
Silently sitting beside his lover, Duo joined their hands and squeezed while resting his braided head on a strong shoulder. Without hesitating or looking away from his coach, Heero answered beyond any doubt, "I'm up to this. Don't worry."
Chuckling, Howard winked, "That's my boy." Lightly patting him on the back, he commented, "I couldn't be more proud of you if you were my own kid." Taken aback by the kind words, the quarterback blinked in surprise and responded with a grateful smile.
Now standing behind the examination table, Sally huffed, "I still think it was a pretty bull-headed call to have that bone set back." A small smirk slowly tugged the corner of her mouth. "But, then again, I have to respect the heart and courage that it took, as well."
When her patient glanced back at her over his shoulder, she raised a finger and warned, "That still does not mean that you're allowed to take any unnecessary risks out there. I want you to protect that leg with your life. Your safety comes first, not winning the game." Zechs and Howard both nodded to that sentiment.
Touched by everyone's concern, Heero just grinned and vowed simply, "I promise to not do anything stupid out there." Duo's head on his shoulder bounced a bit as the running back snickered in amusement.
Shrugging, Zechs stated, "That's good enough for me." There was a chirping voice in his earpiece. At the end of the announcement, he relayed the message, "We're due back out on the field in fifteen minutes. Better hurry and get back to the locker room to let the rest of the team know."
Before anyone had a second to move, the telephone in the office rang. "That would be for you," Sally smiled to the two athletes as she took up the receiver. "Something that I thought the two of you may need right about now. It's some of the best medicine I know."
Holding the receiver up in front of her friends, she informed the caller, "We're all set. Go ahead, everyone."
There was a loud chorus over the line of the children shouting, "Hi, Otou-san! Hi, Daddy! We love you!" Following their greeting, their voices broke into rounds of giggling.
Eyes wide, Heero and Duo beamed at the surprise call. "Hey, guys!" the running back gushed. "How's the view from up there?" Immediately, there was a garble of excited banter as each of the kids had something different to say. The two parents-to-be and their friends laughed.
A hushing sound on the other line quieted the little ones and Marcus's voice asked in word, "Otou-san, are you really all right?"
"I'm just fine, Marcus," Heero reassured with a small smile on his face. "I'm in great hands here with the best therapist a team could ask for. Sally's done some amazing work on me, so there's no need to worry." The therapist flushed at the compliment.
Tai broke in, "Well, we know that you have to get going. We just wanted to say that you're doing a great job out there and good luck." More well wishes and words of affection were shouted by the other youngsters.
Saying their farewells, the football players were still grinning as Sally pulled the receiver back to hang it onto its cradle once more. Instantly jumping from the table when she turned, Duo threw his arms around her tightly while nearly knocking her over. "Thank you," he managed quietly, fighting the tears in his eyes.
With a quiet chuckle, the therapist returned the tight embrace and whispered, "You're very welcome." Carefully lowering himself from the table edge, Heero moved to wrap his arms around the both of them.
Allowing them a moment, Howard reluctantly cleared his throat to interrupt, "I don't mean to break this up, gang, but we better get moving if we're going to be back on the field in time to start the second half."
The first to pull away, Heero sniffled as he and his friends offered sheepish grins. Zechs took the lead out of the room as rest of the lot followed in suit. Once he was able to get moving, the medication worked through the quarterback's system much more quickly to take the painful edge off. After just a few steps, he was much more comfortable in putting more weight onto his healing leg.
On their way to the locker room, Duo leaned close to his partner and whispered, "Not that I don't trust you, but I'm going to make sure you don't do anything stupid out there. I'm not about to have another heart attack out there, so you'll have me to answer to if you don't follow Sally's orders."
Heero snickered and turned his head to place a kiss on his teammate's forehead. "Why do you think I made that promise in the first place?" he asked softly. "I'm not about to face the wrath of 'God of Death'."
At the familiar nickname he gave himself back when they were too sick to attend a pre-season practice, Duo smirked.
* * * * * *
Gripping their helmets, the Wolverines headed out of the locker room and down the long corridor for the field. Now that the entertainment for the break had been cleared away, the crowd was back to its low rumble in anticipation for the game to resume.
Instead of there being a rush amongst the players to be the ones to lead the team out after the intermission, everyone stepped aside and silently allowed Heero to take up that honor. The gesture was as much out of respect for the quarterback as it was to send a clear message to Treize and the Cougars that just like Heero, they were not going down without a fight.
Quietly making his way to the front as his teammates smiled and nodded to him, Heero shook their hands and pat their shoulders in appreciation for the responsibility of leading them out. There was no question, of course, that Duo would stay by his side all the while.
When they reached the front of the team, the cheerleaders just past the door spotted the quarterback and froze with wide eyes. Gasping, Relena and Catherine were the first to break from their stupor to smile and wave to the couple excitedly.
In the commentator's booth, Tim and Adam grinned widely for the camera. "Welcome back, everyone. We are just moment away from the start of the second half of the Super Bowl for AC207!" the former greeted. "And if you are only now tuning in for the first time, you've been missing out on the sports event of the century!"
"That's right, Tim," Adam snickered. "Never would anyone have believed that at the half-time break, the score would be tied! It's been years since the Super Bowl has been this close this late in the game!"
Out in the stands, the audience rose to their feet as the music through the speakers stopped for the announcer's voice returned. "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back the San Francisco Cougars!" Exploding into cheers and roars, the crowd applauded the green-and-blue clad athletes as they all ran back into the field to take up their sideline once more.
Graciously waving to the spectators, Treize peered out of the corner of his eyes to Alex beside him. "With any luck, Maxwell would be falling apart right about now since Yuy is out of the game," he muttered loud enough for only the running back to hear. "This will be your opportunity to put the nail in the coffin by outperforming him."
A small grin tugged Denton's face. In the bottom of his stomach, there was a bit of an unsettled feeling. While he wanted to win the game and be seen clearly as the better running back of the two teams, he wished that it would have happened under better circumstances. Though he was enraged over his former teammates and their organization, he actually did not want to see any of them hurt.
Yuy was one of his closer friends when he still played for Pittsburgh. Somewhere deep inside, there was a bit of a sense of loss on Alex's behalf for the quarterback, knowing that he would be out for the remainder of the Super Bowl. Enemies or not, he did not wish that kind of harm to him or any of the players that he once considered his family.
Shaking his head from those thoughts, Alex forced those thoughts and feelings away. There was no place for them here and now. He needed to focus on the task ahead of him to pull off the win for his new team. A championship was a championship, regardless of who he won the title with in the end.
"And now, please welcome back the Pittsburgh Wolverines!" the announcer cried over the already boisterous crowd. The cheers and shouts grew even louder as the team ran out past the lane their cheerleaders made for them.
From his place across the field, Treize's eyes widened as he stood shocked still in seeing the person leading the team back out. "That can't be..." was all he could manage, his face paling. Alex and the remainder of the team shared his frozen state as they watched the Wolverines being led by none other than Heero Yuy.
Up in the Cougars' owner's booth, Noventa collapsed into his cushioned seat. Pale, he shook his head and sputtered, "I-I don't believe it." Standing behind him, Sylvia had a hand over her mouth to feign surprise when she was actually covering her smile.
For the screens all around the stadium, the camera angles all revealed Heero at the head of the pack and the audience roared to deafening levels. Smiling, the quarterback raised a hand to wave to the stands in appreciation for the warm return back.
Jaws dropped, Tim and Adam just stared in awe at their own little screens in their desks. Finally coming out of his state, the latter laughed, "Just when you think you've seen it all, folks. It looks like we're all in for one wild ride for this second half."
His arms folding across his chest, Treize huffed, "Lovely. Just lovely."
TBC...
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