It was amazing how full Elise's day felt after Aaron left the cafe. By the time she got home, showered, and fetched her ice pack, it was already noon. She had just gotten comfortable with her feet up, ice pack tucked into the brace, when her phone beeped happily from the floor.

She flailed, reaching for her phone, and just grinned when she saw. Aaron had sent her a picture of himself looking all soft, sleepy, and adorable.

That was the moment inspiration struck. After all these years of trying to think of a suitable nickname as payback for her moniker of 'princess', finally Elise knew exactly what to call him.

Grumpy Bear.

It was perfect. Aaron acted just like the cartoon character: scowling and complaining all the time. And with a few well timed posts on social media, all his fans would throw little plush bears for him after performances.

You look so cute when you're a sleepy bear instead of a grumpy bear. You gonna dream of me?

She saved the picture he had sent, setting it as his contact picture and phone wallpaper.

Then she settled in to work on her current assignment: a sketch of two skates nestled on a bouquet of roses. It was a little ambitious, but she could see how much she had improved since she had started the class. She had been practicing a lot since it was a good way to pass the time she had on her hands.

Besides sketching, Elise used the rest of her day to do the exercises and stretches she had been given by her therapist and iced her knee a few times. She even made a healthy meal to share with her mother for dinner all while exchanging messages back and forth with Aaron.

There wasn't a thing in the world that could take the smile off her face.

At least until she was doing physical therapy the next morning, struggling through physical therapy. The exercises seemed harder than before, or she was just pushing herself harder. But that didn't make her any less determined to make it through the whole program she had been given. She would never give up.

By the time she had made it to the last exercise of the day, she was drenched with sweat and her muscles ached. But this was always the most frustrating part: the balance board.

Every other exercise she was given was to strengthen the muscles in her leg, but her balance was something that used to be second nature. Now she struggled to shift back and forth on a board without falling.

Elise would never take her balance for granted again.

Today she had been given a new task to perform on her nemesis. Instead of trying to guide the ball bearing through the maze in the middle of the board, she was given a pattern of positions. She started with her legs together before extending her left leg behind her. After holding that position long enough she had found her center of balance, she shifted until it was to her side. That was when the board clattered out from under her feet and Sarah caught her before she hit the floor.

"Son of a bitch," Elise muttered. She took a moment to shake out her legs, glaring at the board before righting it so she could try again. Without waiting for any instructions, she stepped back up onto the torture device to try again.

"I think you should be done for the day, your quad is shaking," Sarah said, still close enough to catch her if she fell again. "We don't want to push you too hard, too fast."

"I'm fine," Elise grunted. She bit her lower lip with concentration as she picked up her left leg before shifting it behind her just as she had the first time.

"After this try, switch legs," Sarah said sternly, keeping a close eye on Elise's movements.

Elise just kept going, holding the position a moment before shifting her left leg out to the side where she fought to keep her balance. When she didn't fall again, she shifted so her foot was out in front of her. Moving slowly, she bent her right knee until she was as close to pistol position as possible while wearing the brace. She was shaking the whole time, fighting to keep her motions under control while staying balanced.

This time she went down so fast that Sarah had no chance to catch her. Thankfully the mat on the floor softened the fall as she landed on her butt, the balance board clattering across the room.

"Maybe you should work on that move on solid ground," Sarah said dryly. She fetched the board and put it back in front of Elise. "Be fair to yourself. This is the first day you're working on this, and you're doing better than most people do just on the floor. You'll get better. Now try the left leg instead."

Elise grunted as she took Sarah's hand to get back to her feet. She took a moment to breathe before picking up her right foot. She moved slowly extended her right leg behind her, only shaking a little before she was steady as a rock. Next, she swung her leg slowly to the side without any trouble and then continued until it was straight ahead. She shot Sarah a cocky grin. "You should film this. I'll share it to my social media for my fans."

"Did you want to start over to get the whole thing?"

"Yeah, I'll catch my breath while you get the camera ready." Elise stepped forward off the board, and paced a bit to shake off some of the muscle fatigue. She had pushed herself hard that morning, and her muscles were protesting. She walked a whole circle before taking her place again. "Ready?"

As soon as Sarah nodded, Elise stepped back up onto the board and started the pattern with confidence. There were quite a few wobbles, but made it through the whole thing without falls or pauses. When she was done, she stepped down to the floor with a triumphant grin.

Sarah stopped recording, and offered Elise back her phone. "That will send your competitors running to the hills for sure. You were as steady as a tree in the wind," she praised.

"I have to keep working it until I can do that with my weak side," Elise pointed out, leaning against the wall to take some weight off her leg. "Then I have to do it without the brace. That's a long way to go before I'm good."

"Don't downplay how far you've come, Elise. That's how you get discouraged, which only makes your recovery harder," Sarah said gently, putting the equipment they had used off to the side. "Now, let's get you some ice before Sherrie takes a look at you. I just want her to double check that everything's fine after that fall."

Elise nodded, walking stiffly to the recliner she used at the end of every session. Once she was settled, Sarah removed the brace, replacing it with a blanket. After a few quick motions, ice water was pumped through the blanket, the chill soothing her aching joint. Then she was left on her own to enjoy the chance to relax after her hard work.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket to find she had several messages from Aaron. The first couple were normal, asking about her morning, and then she found several with images of him wearing different pairs of pants.

I'm at an impasse. Which pair is better?

Elise snorted, zooming in on his ass and enjoying everything she saw. The second one. I like how it hugs your quads and your butt. You look almost good enough to eat!

Making comments like that you'll have me blushing the whole time we're at the rink tomorrow...

You heard Gerald, no flirting on his time. I'll have to just watch when I'm off the ice. Just thinking about the sight is helping me pass the time. Elise smiled at her phone, imagining just how flustered Aaron must be getting.

Don't you have therapy this morning?

I'm icing to end it. Want to see pictures? Sarah took what I'm hoping are some good ones.

If you want to share.

Elise scrolled through the pictures Sarah had taken, and sent a few onto Aaron without any explanations. The details didn't matter since she was giving him unflattering pictures in return for the sleepy one he had given her. It was the least she could do.

Then, she opened Instagram to put together a post for her fans, choosing a mix of pictures showing some of the different exercises she had done. Just as she was finishing the caption, Sarah returned to remove the ice blanket. After a quick check over by Sherrie, the brace was strapped on again. Then she was done for the day, and headed to the parking lot to meet her ride.

Stepping through the door, Elise stopped dead at the sight of the car waiting for her. It wasn't her mother, who was at work. It wasn't Gerald, who was supposed to meet her for lunch. It was someone that she hadn't been prepared to see.

Bryan.