Proving Her Worth

~*~*~*~ Mallory’s POV ~*~*~*~

The start of the season was always the busiest times of year. Between making sure that contracts are completely squared away, visas are obtained and up to date, and that all of the appropriate tax information is filed, the first few weeks of the season usually left me drowning in paperwork.

Today was no different in the Chicago Blackhawks business office. The season was two weeks old and thankfully I was finally almost caught up on the majority of the work I’d been assigned. Going into year two of my tenure I was certainly more familiar with all of it and while it wasn’t difficult, it was utterly time consuming and it wasn’t long before my head was pounding.

Deciding I could afford a five minute break from my office, I headed down the hall to refill my water bottle. Five minutes had quickly turned to ten by the time my boss found me squatting by the water cooler, head in one of my hands while the other pressed against the wall for support so that I didn’t completely pass out.

“Mallory...you alright?” My boss Denise inquired, her voice soft. Nodding slowly, I forced myself to my feet, stomach twisting again as I did.

“I’ll be fine, I just need to go sit down,” I replied, though my voice didn’t sound all that self assured. She didn’t seem entirely convinced, though I didn’t see her again until she popped her head into my office to check on me an hour later. Though it wasn’t the most office appropriate wear, I had tugged a Hawks sweatshirt over my dressy blouse needing the warmth and comfort. Honestly, I hadn’t accomplished much, having to read and reread the same sentences over and over of one of my folders of paperwork. I was certainly ready for it to be five o’clock already so that I could head out for the day.

## Jon’s POV ##

I was just getting ready to head out after a meeting to go over my charity work this season when Denise, one of the ladies in the business office, stopped me.

“Can you do me a favor Jonathan?” She asked, her face a mixture of worry as well as authority. Though I obviously didn’t spend a whole lot of time with the people in this part of the organization, I was familiar with them. Usually they didn’t ask for favors though so I was slightly confused as to what she might need me for. Shrugging I shoved my hands in my pockets before speaking.

“Sure what’s up?”

“Can you go give Mallory a ride home, she’s not feeling well even if she insists she’s fine and she’ll go home if I tell her to, but I know she doesn’t drive in the city and I really don’t feel comfortable with her riding the ‘L’ when she looks as rough as she does,” Denise explained.

Mallory had joined the organization the year before and she was certainly something. She had long light brown hair that she’d dyed red at least once last season and her eyes flickered between blue and green depending on the day. I’d only met her a handful of times but I knew that she often came back at the end of a long work day to watch the home games from the boxes and when we had bumped into each other she’d been nothing but polite.

“Sure. I think I can handle that.” I finally stated, after realizing that I’d lost himself in thought and was being rude. Heading down the hall I rapped his knuckles twice against her door before popping my head in. Denise saying that she looked rough was an understatement and I frowned slightly. “Grab your things, Denise asked me to take you home.” I directed as I stepped inside the small room, looking around.

There were a few pictures of what had to be her family on the shelves in the corner and mixed into her personal mementos were Blackhawks posters and trinkets.

~*~*~*~ Mallory’s POV ~*~*~*~

It wasn’t long after Debbie had come to check on me that my head started to pound. Closing my eyes in hopes of a respite after a few minutes of darkness I was jolted back upright when a knock on my door was followed by a strong male voice. Looking across the room I was surprised to see the Blackhawks captain, Jonathan Toews, and even more surprised when he insisted that he was taking me home.

I was too tired to argue and so after logging out of my computer I closed the file I had been attempting to work on neatly before sliding my feet back into the heels I’d kicked under my desk and grabbing my purse and water bottle.

“I’m certain Denise put you up to this but thank you.” I whispered as we walked down the hallways of the United Center and he led me to his SUV. Slipping inside the vehicle, I quickly buckled up before leaning my head against the window.

“So...where are we going?” I heard Jonathan ask me and I blinked a few times, my mind slow to process the question, before answering.

“Oh...um..I’m on Clark Street, North Side.” I murmured, silently pointing which way for him to turn when he pulled out of the parking lot. With it being midday traffic wasn’t horrendous and I just did my best to relax though my stomach was not having the movement at all. When he pulled into the lot of my building I unbuckled myself and moved to open the door after gathering my things only to find Jon had beat me to it and was offering a hand out to me.

“Thanks.” I whispered once again.

## Jon’s POV ##

“No problem, I’ll walk you up.” While I certainly wanted to be a gentleman, I wasn’t offering for that reason, I was offering because I wasn’t sure that she would be able to make it herself without passing out. I’d seen her turning slightly green during the drive but thankfully she hadn’t puked in my car, that would have annoyed me more than a little.

Flicking her key fob over the lock to the building she allowed me to follow her inside and soon we were riding the elevator up to her floor. Her door was halfway down the hall and as soon as she got it open I saw her stiffen before she dropped her things and dashed inside. For a moment I wasn’t sure whether I should leave now that she was home but seconds later I heard her puking and found myself moving toward the sound and stepping into the bathroom to hold her hair back, my hand moving toward the base of her spine where I rubbed my thumb hoping to soothe her.

When it seemed like she was finished, I moved to grab a washcloth that was sitting on the sink, wetting it slightly before handing it to her. “You okay?” I inquired before gently pulling her toward my chest and then lifting her up to carry her back to the couch. “Can I get you anything before I go?” I then added not sure that leaving her here alone was any better than her being at the office. At least it was quiet and a bit darker, but she would also be left to her own resources.

When she didn’t respond, I headed to her kitchen and didn’t stumble upon crackers or ginger ale to soothe her stomach. So though I’d only been asked to bring her home I decided to run out to the store to grab her a few things that would hopefully help her feel better. “Hey..I’ll be right back. I’m going to go grab you some Ginger Ale and crackers, anything else you’d like?” As I spoke I squatted down on the floor in front of the couch and placed my hand to her forehead checking for a fever.

“Really I’m okay. You’ve done enough Jonathan, I’m sure you have other things to do.” She mumbled, turning her head back into the throw pillow, clearly trying to get the way her head was feeling under control.

“Well I insist so I’m going to snatch your keys and I’ll be back in a few.” I declared, standing up and moving to grab the keys she’d let fall to the floor in her race to the toilet. It wasn’t until I was back in the hallway that I wondered just what the hell it was that I was doing.

Notes

It's been forever since I've written any hockey fic so I'd love to get as much feedback as possible. I also have an idea for a Sidney Crosby that I'll be trying to get started here soon but let me know what you think of this and if you have any other ideas.

**edited to be a consistent first person since I totally failed yesterday...