Page 141 of Player Misconduct
My laugh breaks through the tears, half-sob, half-joy. "Yes."
He slips the ring off the chain and then onto my finger, where it's always belonged, and I take the ring off his right hand, the one he's been wearing since that night, and slide it onto his left.
The room breaks into scattered applause. Penelope outright cheers, her phone already out, typing furiously.
Dr. Pierce clears her throat, flustered but smiling faintly. "Well… I suppose the simplest path forward is this. File your marriage certificate before Dr. Hensen resumes her role, and this board will close the investigation."
Aleksi stands, pulling me up with him, his hand never leaving mine. "You'll drop the NHL notification?"
"We will not escalate this to the league," Dr. Pierce confirms. "If there’s no record… there’s no sanctions."
Relief floods through me, so intense it nearly buckles my knees. Aleksi's arm wraps around my waist, steadying me, holding me up.
"You did it," I whisper against his shoulder.
"We did," he murmurs back, pressing a kiss to my temple. “We’re stronger together, Doc. We always have been.”
Richard starts gathering his papers, smiling for the first time since I met him. The board members stand, shuffling files, murmuring to each other.
It's over.
It's really over.
As we turn to leave, Penelope stops us in the doorway, her eyes bright with mischief.
"Are you sure you two want a hidden courthouse wedding?" she asks, arching a brow.
I blink. "What other option do we have?"
She grins, already dialing her phone. "Oh, I think I've got a better idea—and a few girlfriends who owe me favors."
Aleksi frowns. "What kind of idea?"
"How about a pre-season wedding," Penelope says, her grin widening, "on center ice during the third period?"
My breath catches. "You're joking."
"I'm not," she says, her eyes sparkling. "It's televised. Aleksi's mom and sister can watch from Finland. The fans will lose their minds. And this time, the press gets the story right the first time."
Aleksi lights up like a kid on Christmas morning. "That's—that's brilliant."
I stare at both of them, my brain struggling to keep up. "You really think we can pull that off?"
Penelope winks. "Honey, I've pulled off worse. Leave it to me."
Aleksi turns to me, his smile soft and hopeful. "What do you think, Doc? Ready to make history?"
I look at him—at the man who just proposed to me in front of the medical board, who bought me a house, who built me a nursery, who's been fighting for me even when I tried to push him away—and I realize something.
I've spent my whole life surviving.
Maybe it's time to start living.
I thread my fingers through his and smile. "I’m game if you are."
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Aleksi
