Neil wished for a moment that Andrew had taken his drugs tonight. He dismissed that thought as quickly as it came. Andrew on his drugs would have more energy, but he'd also be infinitely more unreliable. Andrew was putting himself through this because he knew this was the only way he would actually play for them. Neil was equal parts grateful and irritated. The latter was self-directed; Neil wasn't anywhere near good enough to make that sacrifice worth it and he hated feeling incompetent. No matter how hard he pushed he couldn't make enough of a difference.

The game ended at thirteen-six: the most goals anyone had ever taken from Andrew and the worst point gap the Foxes had seen in three years. The stands' disappointed reaction was expected and understandable, but Neil barely heard it through the buzzing in his ears. Neil's heart was pounding so violently he was sure it was beating bruises into his lungs. Every breath he managed to suck in knifed his throat open. The only strength he had left he put into holding onto his racquet.

Neil wanted to cross the court to his teammates, but he didn't trust himself to move. He and Kevin had just run two full halves against the Raven defense. He thought it a miracle he was still standing. He felt his legs only in flashes. One second they were on fire; the next they were gone entirely. Neil looked down at his feet to make sure they were still there and blinked shadows out of his eyes.

The roar outside the court escalated to feverish screams high-pitched enough to break through Neil's exhaustion. He looked up, wondering what he'd missed, and stared across the court. Andrew's hands hovered empty in front of him, and his racquet was on the ground at his feet. As Neil watched Andrew leaned over to pick his racquet up. He tried, anyway. He only got it a foot off the floor before he lost his grip again.

It reminded Neil of their first practice together, when Neil almost blew his arms out playing against Andrew. He looked up at the scoreboard. The Ravens had taken an incredible hundred and fifty shots on goal; it was unbelievable Andrew had only missed thirteen of them. He looked back as Andrew tried again to get his racquet. Andrew didn't fare any better this time, so he gave up and sat down heavily beside it.

The court doors opened and the subs flooded on. Abby and Wymack stepped into the doorway to watch their team. The subs were heading for the goal, as had become tradition since Andrew started playing full halves, so Neil took a couple unsteady steps in that direction. He didn't get far before Kevin appeared at his side.