White hot pain lanced through her as Wendy gasped for breath, tears already pricking her eyes. She squeezed them shut, desperately trying to stand up despite the agonizing throbbing radiating from her hip and left ankle.

All around her, the arena had gone deathly silent save for a few gasps and concerned murmurs from the crowd. Wendy was vaguely aware of the music still playing, her short program continuing on without her.

Gritting her teeth, she planted her hands on the ice and tried to push herself upright again. A guttural groan was torn from as fiery agony shot through her hip. Sweat beaded on her forehead from the sheer effort of moving.

Somehow, through sheer force of will, Wendy got her legs underneath her, standing upright despite her body screaming in protest. She couldn't give up, not after everything she had sacrificed to get here.

Blinking back the tears blurring her vision, Wendy honed in on the music, the familiar strains helping to clear her mind. She had to keep going, had to finish her program no matter what. Digging deeper than she ever had before, Wendy willed her burning muscles into motion.

The rest of the program passed in a blur of adrenaline and pain. Jumps and spins came and went, each element a battle against her battered body. But Wendy refused to stay down, pushing through the pain with grit.

Before she knew it, Wendy stuck her ending pose, chest heaving with the effort as the music faded out around her. She remained upright for a beat, two beats, before her body finally gave out and she crumpled back to the ice in agony.

The crowd that had erupted into applause and cheers suddenly fell into a stunned silence. But Wendy barely heard it, curled on the ice as searing pain lanced through her hip with every ragged breath.

Through the haze of tears and pain, she spotted a figure in a Canada jacket rushing towards her from the boards. It was her coach, face etched with worry.

"Wendy! Oh god, Wendy stay still!" her coach cried, dropping to her knees beside the fallen skater. "Where does it hurt? Talk to me, kiddo."

Wendy squeezed her eyes shut again, fighting back more tears as she managed to grit out, "M-my hip... arggg...ankle...I think I landed right on them after the fall."

Her coach's expression darkened as she gently tried probing the area, causing Wendy to hiss sharply in pain. "Okay, okay don't move. We're going to get the medics out here right away."

True to her word, within moments there was a small team of EMTs swarming around them with a stretcher and emergency kit. Wendy felt herself getting lightheaded from the pain and shock as they secured a brace around her hip and ankle and carefully lifted her onto the stretcher.

As they wheeled her off the ice, Wendy caught sight of Irene watching the proceedings with a stricken expression. Even from this distance, Wendy could read the genuine concern etched on the Russian's face. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Wendy was rushed through the arena doors towards the medical room.

The next stretch passed in a blur of prodding hands, ice packs, and sharp intakes of pained breath whenever Wendy moved the wrong way. She kept her eyes squeezed shut, hopelessly adrift until a familiar voice broke through.

"....endy? Wendy, can you hear me?"

Blearily, Wendy's eyes fluttered open to find her coach leaning over her, mouth set in a grim line. The sounds and smells of the portable medical room came filtering back into focus.

"That's it, there you are," her coach said, managing a strained smile. "You gave us quite the scare out there."

Wendy opened to respond, but her coach held up a hand to stop her. "Don't try to talk yet, just listen. The medics think you've badly bruised your hip, maybe even hairline fracture on the bone. They want to get you to the hospital for some imaging to know for sure."

A lump formed in Wendy's throat as she processed this information. Hairline fracture? How could she possibly compete tomorrow if...

Her coach seemed to read her panicked thoughts. "I know what you're thinking, and we'll get to that," coach said firmly. "Right now, you just focus on taking care of yourself and getting properly checked out, okay? We'll deal with the competition after."

She felt tears welling up in her eyes as the gravity of her coach's words sank in. A potential hairline fracture could derail her entire competition, maybe even knock her out for the rest of the season.

"Does...does it really seem that bad?" she asked, hating how small her voice sounded. Wendy bit her trembling lip, trying to keep the tears at bay. "I mean, it still hurts for sure, but I feel like I could maybe push through..."

Her words trailed off as she saw the look on her coach's face - an unfortunate mix of pity and steely resolution.

"Kiddo, I know how much this means to you," her coach said gently. "But we both know I'd never let you compete injured, no matter what. Not unless the doctors give the full green light."

Wendy opened to protest further, but her coach raised a hand to stop her.

"I can see it all over your face - you're trying to downplay this, act like it's not a big deal. But Wendy, I watched you go down out there. That was one nasty fall." Her eyes softened. "I need you to be straight with me about the pain level. Can you do that?"

Crestfallen, Wendy slowly shook her head. She knew her coach could read her too well to keep up the act. A few tears trailed down her cheeks.

"It... it really hurts, Coach," she admitted in a small voice. "Like, bad. Whenever I move or twist a certain way, I can barely breathe from the pain shooting through my hip and ankle."

Her coach nodded grimly, placing a comforting hand on Wendy's arm. "That's what I thought. Which is why you're going to listen to these nice medics and let them take you to get properly examined, okay? No arguments."

Wendy wanted to protest more, but she was utterly drained - from the pain, the emotional toll of her fall, and the impending fear of what this could mean for her Grand Prix Final dreams. She simply nodded, too choked up to speak.

"Good girl," her coach murmured, giving her arm a reassuring squeeze. "Hey, it might even not be that bad. But we need to check it out to be sure. Our number one priority has to be getting you taken care of, competition or no competition. You understand?"

Unable to find her voice, Wendy just nodded again, a few more tears slipping free. Her coach moved aside as the medics began carefully preparing her for transport to the hospital. Despite the pain radiating through her hip, Wendy felt utterly numb.

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The hospital room felt suffocatingly small, the pale green walls seeming to press in from all sides. Wendy shifted uncomfortably in the narrow bed, trying to find any position that didn't send spikes of pain through her hip.

She didn't look up when the door opened, far too accustomed to the endless cycle of staff and patients coming and going. It wasn't until a familiar voice called out "Wendy?" that her head snapped up.

Joy was hurrying into the room, obvious concern written across her features. "Oh Wen, I came as soon as I saw you being wheeled off," Joy said breathlessly. "They wouldn't let me come see you but I somehow managed to slip through."

 She took one of Wendy's hands in both of hers, brown eyes swimming with worry. "How are you feeling? What did the doctors say?"

Wendy tried for a reassuring smile, but her face felt tight. "Hey Joyah. And honestly?" She shrugged one shoulder lightly. "Still waiting on results. They got me in for images pretty quickly, but now it's just...the waiting game."

She sighed, wincing slightly as the movement jostled her hip. "I just...I keep replaying that fall over and over. One second I was headed into the triple toe loop, and the next..." 

Wendy shook her head slowly. "My leg just completely gave out from under me. The pain was..." She trailed off, her jaw tightening.

Joy gave Wendy's hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm so sorry, babe. That looked like such a scary fall." Her voice dropped to a pained murmur. "When you didn't get up right away, my heart just sank."

Tears began welling in Joy's eyes as she Wendy's cheek tenderly. "But you got back up and finished the program somehow." Joy's voice took on an angry edge. "Why did you do that, Wendy? Why didn't you just stay down after that fall?"

Wendy opened to respond, but Joy barreled on. "You should have just withdrawn right then and gotten medical attention immediately! Instead you risked making the injury even worse by pushing through the r