"Welcome home" I smiled, guiding Jon gently into the house. After being let go by Sarah, we were making our way out of the hospital when Jon collapsed; his legs had given out. Upon further investigation, it was discovered his muscle mass had almost completely deteriorated. He had lost a lot of weight, and struggled even with the easiest of tasks. I was so happy he had woken up I had missed all the little changes about him; he was very thin, almost sickly. The strength in his arms and his legs with virtually unexistant. It would take some time to build his strength back up; he wasn't going to make his debut back with the Blackhawks for a long time.

"Jon!" Abby cried, putting her hands over her mouth. She rushed over to him, enveloping him in a giant hug, letting tears of joy cascade down her tired face. "Oh my god you're- you- you're awake!" She stuttered, finally pulling away. I smiled widely, Abby pulling me in for a hug.

"Daddy?" We heard a little male voice call. Jon's eyes lit up like I had never seen before. Ryder peaked around the corner, eyeing us with skepticism. As soon as he realized his dad was there, he ran as fast as he could to his father.

"Hey buddy" Jon cried, holding his son in his arms. Jon sat in the wheelchair the hospital had let us take him home in. Ryder clung to his dad, smiling like crazy. I couldnt even begin to describe how happy I was to see Ryder and Jon back together again.

"I tooked care of mommy for you" he announced proudly. Jon wiped the tears from his eyes, smiling proudly at his son.

"Thanks buddy, you did a great job!" He hugged him tightly again, seemingly never wanting to let go.

"We visited every week" he announced matter of factly. For a two year old, he was speaking pretty well. He had already learned how to count to ten in English and Spanish (curtesy of Dora the Explorer) and say the alphabet; he was a smart kid.

"Where's your sister, sweetie?" I asked, my heart racing. Would Aveyah remember Jon? The only time she referred to him was when she spoke her first word in the hospital. He pointed back to the kitchen where Abby was emerging, holding Aveyah in her arms.

"Jon, this is-" I began, but I was cut off.

"Dada?" Aveyah's little voice rang through the entry way. Jon's eyes went wide with shock at the sight of his little girl. Not only was he meeting her for the first time, but she knew exactly who he was.

"Yeah- it's- I-" he stuttered, tears forming in his eyes once more. Abby smiled, handing over his daughter, right after I took Ryder into my arms. He held her, kissing her forehead as she giggled softly. "She knows me?" Jon asked in surprise.

"Dada" she spoke again, clapping together her little hands.

"It was her first word" Patrick commented before I had the chance to speak.

"In the hospital, the other day" I smiled in confirmation. Jon just held his little girl in his arms closely, crying as he did so. He was smiling wider than I had ever seen him in a long time.

"Hello Aveyah" Jon smiled. She giggled, taking a grab for his nose. He looked up with a grin. "I can't believe this- I won the bet" he added with a wink; I couldn't believe he remembered.

"I guess you did" I mumbled in shock.

"Hey Addie, is it ok if the team comes over tonight? They'll really wanna see Jon" Patrick interrupted awkwardly. Abby nodded in agreement, looking to me hopefully.

"Obviously yeah, yeah just give me enough time to get the house ready. And of course as long as you're feeling up to it Jon" I smiled. We all looked to Jon, who was still so wrapped up with Aveyah.

"Sounds great" he nodded with enthusiasm.




Within a few hours, I had the house clean, and all ready for guests. Jon was busily playing with Ryder and Aveyah while Abby and I prepared for the team. Not only would the team be here but coaching staff, girl friends, wives... I had to make a good impression.

"I think we look great in here!" Abby cheered, pulling the last bit of food out of the oven. We had prepared various appetizers, various drinks and such for everybody when they got here. Obviously I knew they wouldn't care about any of that; they wanted to just see Jon. But making everybody feel comfortable and at home.

There was a knock at the door, signalling someone had arrived. Jon looked up from the kids, looking nervous. I could tell he felt a little awkward; he was used to leading his team, being strong, an excellent captain; but here he was, in a wheelchair, as weak as he ever had been.

"Hey Sharpie!" I heard Kaner call, greeting his teammate in the entryway. Jon's head perked up, looking towards the entrance of the kitchen. He was sitting in the living room, Aveyah and Ryder at his feet, playing with their favourite building blocks. Patrick and Patrick made their way into the living room, eyeing Jon. Sharpie's face turned from happiness, to shock, to sadness all in just a moment's notice.

"Jon- I it's great to see you" he announced, approaching his former captain. He bent down, giving him a 'bro hug', before looking up awkwardly. I could tell he was fighting hard what to say. "How are feeling captain?" He asked, trying to fill the silence.

"I've seen better days" he tried to laugh it off.

The rest of the day/night was spent in the precense of the Blackhawks organization. Everybody on the team stopped by, including the coaching staff. Everybody was having a great time, laughing, talking, and enjoying having Jon back.

I was beyond ecstatic to have Jon back in my life, in my arms again. I knew it was going to take awhile for everything to get back to normal, but I was willing to take as long as it took to get him back up where he needed to be. I was standing with Abby, enjoying a drink, when I noticed Sarah come in the front door.

"Hey Addie, Abby" Sarah greeted me. She looked down awkwardly, avoiding my gaze.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" I asked with worry. Was there something she needed to say?

"Can I uh- can I talk to you?" She asked in a hushed tone. I nodded, just heading up the stairs just out of ear shot from anybody down stairs. "Um, Addie?" she looked at me with worry.

"What is it?" I asked with worry.

"Just about Jon..." She trailed off slowly.

"Just tell me" I asked in a little bit of frustration.

"It's just... I- Jon more than 99.9% probably will never okay hockey again"

Notes