"Of course, Ryder and Aveyah will be especially happy to see you!" I smiled into the receiver of the phone. I could just imagine the smile that played on Jon's mother's face as I spoke.

"Can you pick us up from the airport at 6:50? That's when our flight gets in"

"You mean pm not am, right?" I asked hopefully.

"Yes, I won't spoil your sleep" she replied quickly and I let out a sigh of relief; I wasn't the greatest morning person ever since the kids were born. Attending to dirty diapers and the occasional middle of the night feeding was enough to make me cringe at the mere thought of mornings.

"You know me too well" I laughed. "I'll see you guys tomorrow then!"

"Of course, Bye, love you honey"

I hung up the phone, doing a happy dance in my head. Today marked the first day of April, almost one month since Jon had woken from his coma. Things had taken a definite turn for the better since then. Jon was up a mobile, doing better each day with his walking. The pair of us seemed to never have been closer after he got over the initial shock of the whole ordeal. Ryder and Aveyah were ecstatic to have their father back and In their lives, Ryder often fearing his dad would one day leave out of no where again.

"Jon, I just got off the phone with your parents" I walked into the living room. Emma was getting him to do a few exercises, stepping up and down a small set of stairs she had brought with her.

"They coming tomorrow?" He asked, trying to divert his attention back to the steps. He stepped down, taking a moment to regain his balance, and walk over to me, engulfing me in a hug. I felt my eyes begin to tear up, like they often did whenever he hugged me; a few months ago I never thought it would happen again.

"Yeah, I'm picking them up just before seven" I wiped my tears away quickly, flashing a toothy grin.

"PM, right? They probably don't want to cross you in the mornings.." Jon trailed off with a wink.

"Shut up, yes PM" I answered, playfully hitting his chest. I looked over to see Emma grinning at her phone, animatedly texting back a reply. She slid her phone back into the pocket of her scrubs and looked up, turning a million shades of red. "Someone's got a crush" I stated smiling.

"No, you're imagining things?" She made it sound more like a question than a statement.

"Is it Pat? Oh please tell me it's Kaner" my eyes were wide with curiosity. She bit her lip, slowly nodding her head as she turned to face the other direction. My smile was wider than it had been in awhile; was Patrick flirting with Emma? "Oh my god!" I squealed.

"It's no big deal" she passed it off as nothing immediately. I arched an eyebrow, not buying it.

"When's the first date?" I asked. If I knew Pat, they already had a date set. After lunch after her game, her and Patrick seemingly hit it off. They seemed to be off in their own little world, chatting about themselves, smiles on their faces the whole time.

"Tonight actually" she practically whispered. "And actually I was wondering if-"

"Yes, you can leave early" I cut her off, already for seeing where this was going. "Where's he taking you?" I asked curiously. On our first date, he took me to a fancy restaurant in the heart of Chicago. Everything about it was perfect; the food we shared, the music, the atmosphere, the view... it was the perfect first date.

"Vivaldi's" she replied nervously, and I felt my heart sink. "I've never been there before" she added softly. I wanted to say 'that's where he took me on our first date, too!' But I bit my tongue. Emma was unaware of the past Patrick and I shared, and I had no intention of being the one to break it to her; that was up to Patrick. The reaction most people had was to call me a puck bunny, or a slut, jumping from one Chicago Blackhawk superstar to the other; nobody seemed to know Jon and I grew up together, but that was irrelevant to them.

"Wow, Kaner's got game" Jon wolf whistled, causing Emma to blush an ever more furious shade of red.

"Leave whenever you need" I tried to take some of the focus off her. "It's four now, why don't you head out?" I suggested. Typical Pat would suggest a six o'clock date time, leaving her only two hours to get ready. I was unsure how long she took, but assumed she would appreciate any extra time she could get.

"Really? Are you sure you don't mind, Addison?" She asked rather skeptically. I felt my face falter a little; was I getting jealous of Emma having a date with Patrick? I immediately shook the thought from my mind, instantly remembering our break up.




"Addie, I need to tell you something" Patrick began nervously. He began pacing the room, turning off the tv, shutting the door before sitting back down on the bed, looking ashamed. My heart began to pound in my chest; was this it? Were Patrick and I going to end things? I began to feel the tears well up in my eyes; I knew we would be friends, but the reality of the situation still stung.

"What's oh your mind?" I asked, trembling. I tried my best to hide it from Patrick and I was successful; he was so busy being nervous he didn't notice my nervousness.

"It's about Becky..." He trailed off; and I burst into tears. I knew exactly what this was about. She had confessed her feelings, he felt the same, and now we were breaking up. I had tried to brace myself for it, and honestly I couldn't explain why I was crying; I was happy for Pat; I loved him, and cared for him more than anyone; but the breakup felt like I would never see him again, and it scared me. "Addie please don't cry" he whispered, pulling me in for a hug. I sobbed for a moment, taking in one of the last times I would be in his protective embrace.

"I-I'm-I'm sorry" I spluttered, pulling away and wiping the tears from my eyes. "I'm just afraid to lose you" I added. I knew he hadn't even said what he was going to say: but I saw it coming. My number one fear was not having him in my life anymore; it terrified me.

"Addie, I'm not going anywhere; I love you, remember?" He reminded me, handing me a tissue, "Becky told me what you said to her yesterday" he added, smiling to the ground. "I love you, Addie. And I care about you more than anything too; but you're right. God, I tried to ignore it for so damn long!" He trailed off, and my tears stopped. I smiled widely, realizing my best friend was happy.

"I'm crying because I don't want to lose you, Patrick. I said those things to her and meant it; I see the way you guys look at each other and it really and truly makes me happy to see you so smiley" I nodded approvingly. He blushed a little bit, scratching the back of his head.

"I'm not going anywhere, Addie. I have full intentions of you still being my best friend. Becky doesn't mind at all; she loves you already" he smiled widely. "When I met you, I never knew you'd have such a huge impact on my life. You were my game changer, Addie. I realized I was done with one night stands and wanted something serious, you know? You helped me see that" he pulled me into a hug.

"This is the nicest breakup I've ever had" I smiled into his chest. He laughed, still holding me tightly. "I love you, Patrick" I smiled, finally pulling away.

"I love you too, Addie" he answered.



I felt my eyes began to form tears; why was I feeling like this?

"Of course not- go ahead, and see you tomorrow" I smiled brightly.

"Thanks, see you tomorrow Jon!" She called, making her way out of the house. I felt relieved when I heard the front door close. I tried to shake off the new thoughts that consumed me. I looked up to Jon, and felt incredibly guilty.

"You okay, babe?" He asked with worry. "You seem... distracted" he pondered on his choice of word for a moment. I bit my lip, debating on whether or not I should tell Jon what was on my mind.

"Do you- I mean, should I tell-"

"Patrick will babe, you don't have to worry" he cut me off. He winced a little in pain before taking a seat on the couch just to his left. "This is bullshit" he growled. I frowned, taking a seat next to him, placing my hand gently on his left knee. He tried to smile, but I could see a battle going on in his head. My worry of telling Emma the past of Patrick and was far less significant as soon as I read his facial expression.

"Babe?" I asked, tilting his chin up to look at me in the eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know" he confessed. He paused for a moment, clearly having an inner struggle on what to say. "Why are you still with me?" I looked at him, dumbfounded.

"I- what?" I managed to squeak out.

"Look at me- I can barely walk, you have to help get me in and out of the tub. God-'we haven't had sex in, Jesus almost two years with your pregnancy..." He trailed off in frustration.

"Jon, stop" I held up my hand, shaking my head. "Marriages aren't all about sex- no matter how much I miss it" I added with a smirk. "We took vows, don't you remember? Through sickness and in health, and I meant that" I held up my ring finger and showed him my engagement and wedding rings.

"I know"

"Babe, I waited a whole year for you to wake up; I saw you everyday. I never gave up; and I never will. You'll be back to normal soon, and when you do, this will all be a memory" I assured him.

"But-"

"Stop, no buts. I love you, forever and always. Doesn't matter if you can't walk, can't talk, or if you had three arms- I love you Regardless" I smiled, scooting closer to him. "And I can't wait to fuck you when that time comes" I added with an exaggerated wink.

"As soon as that day comes, we best get someone to look after the kids" he grinned, returning the exaggerated wink. I snuggled in closely getting as close to Jon as I possibly could. It was moments like these that I had missed the most, and they were so rare. Between the kids, his physio and the hectic hockey schedule, cuddling up on the couch enjoying each other's company was on the back burner. Jon made it a point to attend every home game, Ryder, Aveyah and I mostly watching from the comfort of home. I knew how much it meant to him to be back at that arena; I didn't blame him one bit.

"I love you, babe" I commented, closing my eyes, feeling relaxed. I wasn't certain when the kids would wake up, but I wanted it to be sooner rather than later. With Jon's parents arriving tomorrow evening, there wasn't much time to spend alone with Jon. By the time it was time for bed, the pair of us were both too exhausted to keep a conversation for longer than a moment.

"I love you too Addie; I don't think there's anyone that would wait as long as you did" he kissed my forehead. I knew it was true; the doctors wanted to pull the plug for the longest time, but I would not accept it.

We remained cuddled on the couch, in a comfortable silence. I had no intentions of moving, until I heard the obnoxious ringtone of my phone blare loudly throughout the room. Groaning, I got up from the comfort of Jon's arms, heading to the table nearest the tv. It read Blocked ID, striking me as a little strange.

"Hello?" I answered curiously.

"Addie- please don't hang up" I heard my brother breath on the other end of the line.

Notes