Staal

Jordan and Eric were released two days later. Both had made great strides in their recoveries and were happy to be home and able to relax with the family.

I was out on the back patio with Danielle when I heard the soft thud of uneven footsteps across the floor.

"Hey, guys." Jordan said as he stepped onto the patio.

"Jordan? Where are your crutches?" I asked, pulling out a deck chair from the table for him to sit on.

"Don't need 'em. The therapist said I've got enough balance to walk without them. It's still hard to get up and down the stairs though."

"That's great, Baby." I smiled, leaning in to kiss him.

"Mmhmm. And guess what."

"What?"

"They're letting me do the transplant! They're gonna take the screws out of my leg then too." Jordan beamed.

"That's amazing, Jordan. I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks. We leave for Toronto in two weeks. I know you have to be back earlier so I'm gonna buy you a plane ticket."

"Jordan, you don't have to do that."

"Yes I do. I brought you up here, I'll get you out of here. Besides, it's the least I could do."

"Least you could do?" I asked, turning my chair so I could look him in the face.

"You stayed longer than you had to. Charli, I left you alone for a week in a strange town with my family that you barely had the chance to get to know. I love that you didn't leave, but it's time to get back to the city. And I know that you have to go to work on Monday so you have to fly out on Sunday."

"Well there's no point in arguing with you because you're so stubborn. But I wouldn't have left anyway. You're my Boyfriend and if I didn't have to leave to go to work, trust me, I wouldn't leave. Your mom and dad have been amazing to me. I can tell where you get it from."

"You think I'm amazing?" Jordan laughed.

"Yes I do."

"Well then, I suppose I must do something amazing now, shouldn't I." Jordan reached into his pocket and held out a black box. "This is for you. For sticking by me, even though I almost died; for taking a chance and saying yes when I asked you out; and for putting up with my Ex. I love you so much, Charli. You're the first girlfriend I've ever said that to."

He smiled and opened the box to reveal a gold necklace with the number 11 hanging from it.

"Oh my god, Jordan. It's beautiful." I said as I held the box. Jordan took it out and placed it around my neck.

"I absolutely love it. Thank you." I smiled and kissed him.

"You're very welcome. Plus, you're going to need something to hold my Cup ring on when I have my surgery."

"You're letting me hold on to it?"

"Yep. It won't fit on your fingers so it's gonna have to go around your neck."

"Works for me. You look tired, go lay down for a bit."

"You coming?"

"I'll be in in 15 minutes. I've got to call a friend of mine."

"Ok. I love you, Charli."

"I love you too, Jordan."

Jordan got up and left me and Danielle to ourselves again.

"Aww, that's so cute. I wish Marc was like that." Danielle said as she took a sip of water.

"Like what?"

"Jordan's so gentle and good to you. I've been going out with Marc for four years and the nicest thing he's done for me is bring me flowers when I had my appendix out." She huffed.

"Are you jealous?"

"No. I just think Marc needs to get a few pointers from Jordan.

Who were you going to call, anyway?"

"My friend, Hope. I was supposed to call her when I got my letters for work. I'd say she's pissed at me."

"Does she live in Toronto?"

"Yep. Her dad is a transplant surgeon and her mom is a nurse."

"What does she do?"

"She's a VJ at MuchMusic. Her dad wasn't very happy about her career choice at first, but when she won a major award he shut up about it."

"Hope? You mean Hope Robinson? I love her. How do you know her?" Danielle asked, getting a little excited.

"I met her at school. She was in all of my classes and we just clicked." I smiled getting my phone out. "If I put her on speaker, promise you won't freak out?"

"Yea, but why speaker?"

"Because she's going to yell at me and I'd like to preserve what hearing I have left."

I found Hope's number and dialed it, sitting it on the table as it rang.

"Charli? Where the hell are you?" The voice in the phone cried.

"Hello to you too, Love. I'm still in Thunder Bay."

"Why haven't you left yet?"

"Because Jordan only just got out of the hospital. I'm leaving to come back on Sunday."

"Oh yea, I forgot about that. How's he doing?"

"He's doing great. Still a little sore but he doesn't need help getting around anymore and his doctors cleared him to be a donor again. He'll be coming out to Toronto in two weeks."

"That's awesome, Doll. But the true question is, have you gotten in his pants yet?"

"HOPE! Shut up. He just got out of the hospital." I blushed.

"That means nothing. There are many things you could be doing right now." She giggled.

"I am not having this conversation with you now. How were the MMVA's Sunday night?"

"Oh, I wish you could have been there. They were awesome. Total success, unless you count Will.I.am and his manager attacking Perez Hilton."

"I heard about that. Everyone's ok?"

"The manager got arrested yesterday and Perez is shaken up, but everyone is fine. Enough about me, let's talk about you."

"My job is at The Score. I start Monday."

"Yay! I'm so excited for you," I heard someone call out to Hope. "Babe, I've got to run. I've actually got to do work in order to get paid around here. Ciao darling, call when you get in."

"Ciao, Bella." I hung up and put my phone back in my pocket.

"Wow. She's just as crazy on the phone as she is on TV." Danielle said.

"Yep, that she is. Are you going to come out to Toronto?"

"Yes. I have some interviews and things to do so Marc and I are leaving next week. Nicole is coming with us too."

"Awesome." I said as I felt my phone vibrate.

Are you coming?

What's wrong?

Back Hurts! :(

"Danni, that was Jordan. I'm gonna go in and check on him. He says his back is hurting him." I said getting up.

"Go on. I'm gonna head out anyway. Nic and I will be here tomorrow. Tell Jordan I hope he feels better." She smiled and left.

I walked into the house and down the hall to Jordan's room. When I opened the door, I found him on his side curled in pain.

"Jordan? What's wrong?" I asked, stepping closer to the bed and putting my hand on his cheek.

"Back hurts really bad." He simply answered.

"Lie on your stomach, I'll give you a back rub."

Jordan rolled over onto his stomach and I straddled his back. I began to work his muscles with a gentle but firm touch. I continued my work in relative silence, except for Jordan's moans of pleasure and relief. After five minutes, I noticed how silent the room actually was. Bending over, I saw that Jordan had fallen asleep an was snoring softly into the pillow. I got off the bed and sat on the floor next to his face. I ran my fingers through his hair and kissed his cheek softly before turning the light off and walking out of the room.

Sunday Morning.

Jordan and Henry brought me to the airport. Even though my flight wasn't til 10:30, we left early so I could beat the line up at check-in We arrived at the airport shortly before 9 am and there was only a little line at the counter. After checking my bags and getting my boarding pass, I walked back over to where Jordan and Henry were sitting. We sat and talked for a while until I decided it was time for me to go through security.

"Alright. Linda and I will see you in two weeks. Have a good flight and call us when you land." Henry said, kissing my cheek and giving me a hug.

"I will. Walk me to the gate, Babe?" Jordan smiled and took my hand.

"Call me as soon as you can." Jordan said, taking me in his arms.

"I will. Oh Jordan , I don't want to go." I cried, burying my head in his chest and wrapping my arms around his middle.

"Charli, you have to go. You'll be working tomorrow and you'll be so busy that you won't notice how fast the time went."

"But..."

"No buts about it. I'll see you in two weeks. I love you baby."

"I love you too." I said.

Jordan bent down and put his lips to mine in a kiss that too my breath away. We hugged one last time and I left to go through the gate.