Chapter Text
Ilya collapsed onto the nearest chair, still staring at the photo clutched in his shaking hands. "If Dmitry did this, it would be for a reason. Alexei must have given him that reason." The shaking spread from his hands to the rest of his body, and the picture ripped from the force.
"Ilya," he heard Yuna say, but couldn't respond. "Ilya!" came more forcefully, and he felt his head tilted downward, to rest between his knees. "Ilya, deep breaths, you look like you're going to pass out."
Ilya complied, not wanting to scare Yuna anymore than she already was, and forced air into his lungs. "That means this is Alexei's fault," Ilya said, his voice coming out in a gasp as it echoed against the floor he was still facing. "Which means this is my fault."
Ilya suddenly shied from Yuna's touch. "Yuna, David, this is my fault. It is my fault Shane is here, that he is-" Ilya broke off, choking on his own words. He rose to his feet and began pacing up and down the limited space of the waiting room, his hands slapping himself on the sides of his head. "My fault!"
"Ilya, stop!" Yuna grabbed his hands, holding them to his sides.
"Son, you're scaring us," David said gently. "What's going on?"
"My brother," Ilya choked out. "Alexei. I knew he had violence inside him, but I always believed that to be fists and threats. I never thought he would do this. I should have known!"
"Known what, Ilya?" Yuna asked, keeping her voice as gentle as David's.
"That my brother would do something like this. I would not send him any more money. He must have thought he would get my money if I died." Ilya fell back into a chair. "Shane took that shot for me. It was supposed to be me, and Shane must have pushed me out of the way. Oh fuck..."
Ilya found it hard to breathe as everything hit him at once. "Fuck," he gasped out, the word barely making it out past his lips.
"Ilya, honey, I need you to breathe, okay?" Yuna's voice made it through to him in his fog. He felt David's hand squeezing his shoulder, a little harder than normal, to ground him, and Yuna's hands on the sides of his face. "This is not your fault."
"Yuna's right, son, no one would ever blame you for this," David said softly. "We would never, and neither would Shane. You can't blame yourself."
"Shane knew what he was doing," Yuna said, as she gently tilted Ilya's head up to meet her tear-filled gaze. "He did what he did because he loves you more than anything, Ilya. Like we know you love him."
Ilya nodded rapidly, running his hand over his face in an attempt to brush away the tears streaming from his eyes. He let his head fall onto Yuna's shoulder, and she held him tightly. "I do love him that much," Ilya murmured into Yuna's shirt.
"We know, honey," she assured him, placing a kiss against his temple.
"Do you know where we might find your brother?" Ilya had completely forgotten the officer was there, and jumped at the sound of his voice. Blinking rapidly, Ilya shook his head.
"Last I knew, he and Dmitry were both in Russia," Ilya said, furiously. "If Dmitry is here and anything like I remember, he is hiding in a bar."
"We'll put out his description and picture," the officer said. "We will get him, Mr. Rozanov."
"You had better," Ilya said, anger thick in his tone. As the officer walked away, the sound of someone rushing into the waiting room was heard. Ilya turned his head to see Hayden freeze a foot away.
'Shane?" Hayden's voice trembled as he took in the tear-stained faces in front of him.
"No news yet," Ilya said softly, moving towards Hayden.
"Sorry it took me so long to get here." The words spilled out of Hayden in a rush. "Security wouldn't let us out of the locker room for so long, I couldn't-"
"Hayden," Ilya broke in. "He would be glad you are here."
"Yeah," Hayden sniffed, running a hand over his face. "He's good like that."
"The best," Ilya agreed, and gestured to the seats nearby. "You should come sit with us."
"Yeah?" Hayden asked, and Ilya nodded. "Thank you." He followed Ilya over to their row of seats, but before Ilya could sit, he heard a throat being cleared behind him. Turning, he spotted Troy slightly in front of the rest of the Centaurs team, players and coaches alike.
"We didn't want to interrupt or anything," Troy explained, "we just want you to know we're here." He nodded at the people behind him. "Whatever you need." Taking in a deep breath, he added, "You and Shane are family."
"Harris has turned you soft," Ilya said, blinking back tears as he looked between Troy to the rest of the team.
"Oh, definitely," Troy agreed. "Doesn't make it less true."
"Thank you," Ilya said softly. "For before. For now." He gripped Troy's upper arm, and Troy echoed the gesture. Swiping tears off his cheek, Ilya walked into the group of Centaurs, receiving back pats, hugs, and kind words.
"Family of Shane Hollander?" came a voice from near the desk, and nearly the entire waiting room turned. The doctor paused for a moment, then called out again. "I'm looking for Ilya Rozanov?" Ilya stepped forward, flanked by Yuna and David. Yuna and David each took one of Ilya's hands.
"I was Mr. Hollander’s surgeon, and as you are his emergency contact, I can fill you in as to his current status," the doctor said. Ilya felt himself begin to shake again, and he clutched at Yuna and David's hands. "The surgery went well. The bullet did not hit any major organs and we were able to retrieve it whole. However, Mr. Hollander did lose a tremendous amount of blood, and his heart did stop once before he was revived back at the arena."
"What does that mean?" Ilya asked frantically.
"It means that Mr. Hollander hasn't woken up yet," the doctor explained. "He's currently in a coma." Ilya felt his knees sag. "We have to wait and see now if and when he'll wake up."
Everything went fuzzy. Ilya only stayed conscious and standing through sheer force of will. He knew he needed to stay awake because Shane could not.
"If?" Ilya heard Yuna ask.
"We are monitoring his brain functions, and they do appear normal," the doctor answered. "But his body has been through quite a lot."
"But my husband could wake up?" Ilya asked quickly, and the doctor nodded.
"He could wake up anytime," the doctor agreed. "It's a waiting game now."
"Can we see him?" Ilya fought back tears. He needed the doctor to understand him.
"Of course, just be prepared," the doctor said. "There's a machine breathing for him right now. His body requires it at this point. If he wakes up, we can reassess."
"When," Ilya murmured under his breath, but Yuna and David heard him. Yuna offered up a watery smile that Ilya tried his hardest to match. He wasn't sure he'd ever smile again if Shane never woke up.
The three kept their hands intertwined as they followed the doctor to Shane's room.