The Captains
Post-Christmas Slump
The next day, Jon and I reluctantly got up and went to morning skate. Both of our families were flying out today, but not until later. The practice went well and then Jon and I met up with our families. We packed all of their stuff into his and my car then went out for a late breakfast. After breakfast, we drove everyone to the airport and helped them with their stuff, said our goodbyes, and watched them leave. After that, we drove back to our apartment and just hung out. Jon eventually fell asleep, so I decided to run a few errands. I went to the grocery store and the bank and the way back up to my apartment, I checked my mailbox. There was also a package for me and it was from Pittsburgh. I brought it and my groceries up to my apartment, put all of them away and sorted through my mail. I threw everything non important away and set the rest aside. I then got to the package. I cut the tape and opened the flaps. Under some crumpled newspaper, there was acardthat had my name scrawled across. There was only one person I knew who wrote like that, and it was Sidney. I smiled and opened the card. He always gave me really gushy ones because he knew I hated them. I read it, laughed to myself and then set it aside. Under the card, there was a blue box. It was the signature blue that was only recognizable as Tiffany. I smiled, took out the box and slid the lid off. It was a simple silver chain bracelet with a few crystals. I held it up and then put it on next to my Pandora bracelet. I had sent Sidney a new watch about a week ago, but I hadn't heard from him. I checked the time and I still had a few hours before the game, so I went out to my balcony and called Sidney.
"Hey Chelsea." He said when he picked up
"Hey Sid, I just got yourpackage." I said
"Oh really, and what'd you think?" he said back
"Absolutely the worst most repulsive gift I've ever received," I said sarcastically.
"Ahuh. Well, I could say the same about yours, I mean I already have a silver watch." Sid said back. I laughed.
"Screw you Sidney," I said laughing. He laughed too, then we got back to our conversation.
"So.. uh, what else did you get?" Sid asked me
"Pandora bracelet, newshoes, necklace, a Kane jersey, a Pens jersey with my name and some gift cards. You?" I said
"Cool. Few new sticks from my parents, gift cards from the guys, that's about it."
"Hm. Cool." I said. We didn't say anything for a little while.
"Your card was pretty bad, I don't know if you've ever given me a more gushy one." I said
"Hey, I try. Glad you hated it." Sid said with a small laugh.
"Yeah, yeah, you did good this time." I said in return. I heard voices on Sidney's line.
"Hey, I gotta go. Boys and I have practice." Sid said
"Alright. Tell 'em I said hey." I said
"Bye Chelsea." he said.
"See you soon Sid." I said then ended the call. I locked my phone and then just stayed outside. When I got too cold, I went inside. I decided to take a shower to relax and get ready for the game. When I got out, I dried my hair and put on a little makeup. I put my team warm-ups then layed on my couch and stared at my ceiling. At around 4:30, Jon came over to get me. I put on my shoes and grabbed my purse and we left. When we got to the UC, I met up with Justin and talked with him for a while about Christmas with his family. Right before Jon went out for the game, I kissed him good luck then joined Justin in the game viewing area in the locker room. We ended up winning 4-1 over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Luckily there weren't any injuries, just me stretching a few of the guys during intermissions. After the game, everyone on the team was in a pretty good mood, so we made plans to go out to a few clubs a little later. I waited for Jon to get done with the press, shower and change then we drove back to our building. I changed into a tight red dress and I wore my new heels that Jon got me. I left my hair down and straight. I put my phone, ID, debit card and some cash into a black clutch and then went over to Jon's. He was wearing jeans and a white button up with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. We had a shot or two of vodka while we were waiting for time to leave. Patrick and Cassie came and got us and the four of us hailed a cab that took us to the club downtown. We arrived at the place, paid the cab, and met Sharpie and Abby out front. We were let in and then we went to the team's VIP area. Cassie and I took a fruity shot together, which was really strong and made my throat and nose burn pretty bad. I scrunched my face up and shook my head, trying to ease the burn. I then went over to Jon and we went to the dance floor. We had a few drinks and shots and we danced together for a few hours. When Jon and I were ready to leave, most of the team was already gone. We went back to the remaining guys in the VIP area, said goodbye then left. As soon as I got to my apartment, I changed into pajamas and collapsed into my bed without bothering to take off my makeup which I knew I would regret in the morning but I didn't care. When I was almost asleep, I thought I felt Jon's weight fall on the other side of my bed and his arms snake around me, but I wasn't too sure. I didn't care either way, I was exhausted.
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I woke up the next at about noon. Luckily the team had a day off. Jon had already gotten up though. I got up out of bed and went into my bathroom to assess my hair and face. I looked in the mirror and my eyes were puffy and mad eyeliner smeared all over them. My hair had gotten parted in the middle, flat, and the back looked like a tumble weed. I turned the warm sink water on and put some facial soap on a wash cloth and got all of the gunk out of my eyes and off my face. I brushed out my hair and pulled it into a ponytail. Jon left me a note saying he'd gone to the store. I made breakfast, ate, then layed down on my couch. I was for some reason really hot and dizzy. I hadn't used the stove or oven or anything that would cause my apartment to heat up. I liked it cold in my apartment and I checked my thermostat, which was at its regular 63. I wasn't wearing warm clothes either, just a t-shirt and Nike shorts. I was laying on my couch, trying to cool down. It took me about 20 minutes of tossing around to decide to take a cold shower. I got up and went to my bathroom and started the shower. I got in and started taking a normal shower when suddenly, I fainted.
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I woke up feeling groggy and confused. I wasn't at my apartment either. I was in a hospital room. There was an IV in my arm and a nurse writing something on a clip board. Jon was sitting in a chair watching a football game. Cassie and Patrick were sitting together on a small couch, Patrick also watching the game and Cassie asleep with her head on his shoulder. The nurse looked over at me and noticed I was awake.
"Oh good, you're finally up. Im Jane, first of all, your nurse. You had a heat Syncope." she said
Everyone had looked up and had a look of relief on their faces. I just nodded.
"Do you know what that is?" she asked me.
"Ye- Yeah, Im a physical therapist. But what caused it?" I said.
"Dehydration. Were you doing anything in the last 24 hours that involved a lot a standing?"
"Um, I went to a club for a while last night?" I said
"Did you drink?" she asked. I nodded.
"Well that's probably why, alcohol, not enough water and a lot of standing." she said
"So, when can I go home?" I asked.
"In about an hour. Ill go get the doctor to come and make sure everything is okay, then we'll get you out." she said.
"Alright." I said. She smiled, turned and left the room. Jon then came over to me and kneeled down next to me and grabbed my hand.
"You okay?" he asked
"Yeah, Im fine. How'd I get here though?" I asked
"Patrick and Cassie were walking down the hall and heard the noise from your fall." Jon said. I looked over at them.
"Yeah, it was pretty loud. Im surprised your melon head didn't crack the bath tub." Cassie said
"We came in and heard the shower, and Cassie went in and found you, put some clothes on you and I carried you to the car and we brought you here." Patrick said with a small smile.
"Oh. Sounds like me, fainting in the shower. But thanks, both of you." I said smiling. I looked back over at Jon, who was listening and rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb. The doctor came in a few minutes later, made sure everything was okay then smiled and said I was okay to leave. The nurse took my IV out and filled out the rest of the paperwork, gave it to me and said goodbye to everyone. Cassie gave me my clothes and made Patrick and Jon leave then helped me change into them. I grabbed the Vase of flowers a few of the team members brought and a single red balloon from Shaw. I went to the billing area and paid for what my insurance didn't cover. Jon and Patrick brought the car around to the exit and waited for Cassie and I. Cassie helped me walk out and get into the car. Jon sat in the back with me and held my hand. I was still a little mixed up and dazed from the medicine so the car ride seemed to take for ever. We had to stop at a Walgreens to my medicine that I'd have to take for about a week to prevent anymore fainting. When we got back to my apartment, Jon made me eat so I could take my medicine. I downed a bowl of chicken soup the best I could then took my pills. Jon and I then watched TV, him sitting up and me laying my head in his lap. A few minutes later, I started getting really trippy. I asked Jon some really weird questions and then started crying when he laughed at me. Luckily though, it made me really tired. I had moved to the floor when Jon was laughing at me. I layed down and then fell asleep. I'm guessing Jon carried me to my bed because that's where I woke up and he was there too. We had a game today, but my doctor told me not to go, which made me really mad. I hated just sitting at home and not being able to do anything and other people feeling they had to do everything for me. Jon and I got up and made breakfast then he went to practice. I decided to call my parents and Sidney to tell them what happened. When I called both of my parents, they told me Jon had already called them and told them I was okay, which made me really happy. Sidney said that Jon had told him too. I was glad they weren't like mortal enemies and had an understanding, I guess being together on Team Canada helped that matter. Sid and I talked for a while but then he had to go to practice. It was also time for me to take my medicine. About 10 minutes later, I started feeling the affects. They would go away and not be as bad since my body had gotten used to the medicine. It still made me a little loopy, but no where near as bad as last night. Jon came back from practice a little later and messed with me so he could make fun of my answers from the medicine. When the tiredness came, we went to sleep, Jon for his pre-game nap and me from dumb medicine. When we woke up, I kissed Jon goodbye and waited for the game to start. When it did, the kings scored twice in the first period, we didnt. No one else scored the rest of the game, giving the Kings a win 2-0. Jon came home later than normal. He texted me asking me to come over to his apartment so brushed out my hair and put on a little more flattering pair of sweatpants. I walked over and found him laying face down in his his bed. I crawled into the bed next to him and found one of his massive hands. I linked my fingers with his and looked up at him. He was looking down at our hands.
"Jon." I said. Nothing, he kept looking down.
"Jon." I said again. He didn't respond and I sighed.
"Jonathan Bryan Toews." I said again, then rolled on top of him.
"This is what you're doing?" I said looking down at him. He sighed and tried to fight a smirk.
"Fine. I'm just gonna go hang out with Patrick and Cassie since you're acting like your 4." I said, rolling off of him and getting out of his bed.
"No, no, no. Im sorry, stay. Please." He said, grabbing my hand and pulling me back. I smiled and went back to him, him smiling back. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of his bed. He pulled me onto his lap and nestled his head into my neck and hair.
"Are you gonna cheer up?" I asked, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"I guess." he said with his lips against my neck. I smiled and did that thing where you breathe out of your nose when you smile. I could feel Jon's lips form into a smile on my neck. We stayed like that for a little while, then crawled into his bed again. He kept complaining and ragging on himself for not playing his best and all of that jazz, which put him back down a little.
"Jon, you played great. I watched it and I know that you did. You can't always win but that's part of playing sports. You can't do this to yourself every time you lose." I told him
"But, Chels. I know I can do better than I did. That's what brings me down the most." he said
"Jonny Toews. It was one game. You played you're best but sometimes someone is better than your best and that sucks but you just have to get past it." I said
"Fine. You win this time Dagger." he said pulling me closer to him.
"As always, Captain." I said in return. We spent the rest of the night cuddling and talking about little things and whispering sweet nothings to each other.
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The next day, I got up before Jon with a really bad headache. I got out of bed and went to his kitchen to find his Advil. Of course though, I couldn't find it. I looked in both of his bathrooms and was dissapointed again. By then though, the pain was a lot worse and it made it hard for me to function. I might have been dehydrated again, so I drank a big glass of water then layed down on his couch. The pain didn't go away so I went back to my apartment and took my medicine then drank another glass of water. I sat down on my kitchen floor and leaned up against the cabinets with my head resting on my knees and my arms clutching my legs to my chest. After twenty minutes, the pain hadn't gone away at all. I drank more water and took a fast-acting Advil. Another 20 minutes later and to my avail, the headache raged on. I was now lying on my living room floor with my forehead pressed to the cold wood and crying from the pain. Jon came over a few minutes later, wondering why I'd left. When he saw me, he rushed over a kneeled down next to me.
"Chelsea, what's wrong?" he asked me
"m-my h- ead." I managed to get out.
"Like a headache or you hit your head?" he asked. I just held up my pointer finger, indicating the first option.
"Im gonna call your doctor, where's your phone?" he asked
"Counter." I said. He got up and grabbed then came back over to me. He unlocked it and found my doctor's contact the called him. While it was ringing, he pulled me into his lap and I rested my head on his chest. He held the phone between his shoulder and ear and rubbed my back with his hands. When the doctor picked up, Jon told him all what was going on. The doctor told us to come in to his office and he thought I might have a concussion. Jon went and grabbed a pair of my Toms and my purse, brought them back to me and then picked me up. He carried me down to the car. We drove the 15 minutes to the doctor's office, parked and went inside. We were the only ones there, so we were let right in to see him. He checked my eyes, which were dilated. He then took some scans of my head. When the scans were complete, he put them on a board and showed them to us. And of course, I had a minor concussion. He said I probably got it when I fell and hit my head in the shower. He also said I was really lucky to have not gone into a coma, especially since I'd slept a few times since it had happened. He gave me another prescription and then I paid and we left. We picked up the new pills and then went back to my apartment.
"Well this sucks." I said as I sat down on my couch.
"Do you want some breakfast?" Jon asked while looking through my fridge.
"Sure." I said, laying back and closing my eyes. The pain hadn't really eased yet, but I had gotten used to it. I had slightly dozed off when my eyes were closed so I had no idea what Jon had made me.
"Here Dagger," he said to me with a plate in his hand. I sat up and took it from him to find two lightly toasted Pop Tarts. I smiled and laughed a little then started eating. When I had finished, I took both of my pills and then layed back down on the couch. Jon layed next to me and wrapped his arms around my hips. I smiled softly and then fell asleep some time later. When I woke up, Jon and I were in the same place. He had fallen under too. I slightly shook him and said his name softly. He opened his eyes and rubbed them, yawned then looked up at me.
"Your head feeling okay?" he asked, taking me tightly into his arms.
Notes
Okay, Finished! A lot happened this chapter, hope you guys enjoy!
Love it
11/3/14