Captain of Broken Ice

Captain Teo Marchetti has never missed a game. That's not luck — it's a private doctor, a standing cortisone order, and a personality that keeps everyone far enough away to not notice. Dr. Priya Raman is the first person in eleven years to look at his chart and say no. She also remembers him. Twelve years ago she was a resident and he was a rookie who told her she wouldn't last a season in this league. She lasted. She's still here, and she is not going to sign off on a lie that ends with him in a wheelchair. When the scan comes back bad, Teo asks her to bury it. When she won't, he finds someone who will. She's fired for telling the truth. He plays anyway. Now the man who never fell is on the ice, not getting up — and the only person who saw it coming is the one the team just threw out the door.