Happiness After All

Tori couldn't deny it. Jon was absolutely, positively, the best looking guy she had ever laid eyes on. But he wasn't what she thought he would be like. He was very sweet and respectful. His mother obviously raised him well because he had impeccable manners. 

Tori and Jon let go of each others hands and smiled politely at each other. 

"I hope to see you around more often" Jon smiled sincerely at her. 

"I'm sure you will" she replied quietly with a smile and a small blush enveloping her face. 

Jon smiled and with that, he was gone. I made her blush he thought to himself. He knew it must mean something. Maybe she was interested? Maybe she at least thought he was cute? He didn't know for sure, but what he did know was that he was gonna find out. 

"So you wanna go get lunch?" Brian asked, completely oblivious to the obvious connection between Tori and Jon.

"Sure" Tori replied with a giggle. She linked her arm with Brian's and they both walked to his car. Brian opened the door for Tori and teasingly bowed to her before getting in himself and driving to his favorite restaurant in the city. 

"Now I know you're gonna love it here. They're food is amazing" he gushed as they both took their seats. 

"Well you know I love food so I'm sure I'll love it" Tori giggled as they looked over the menu. Brian recommended a couple things and they both ordered. They ended up spending the whole day together, catching up and exploring the city. Around ten o'clock Brian finally returned Tori home. He talked with Teppo a bit and left around eleven. 

"Did you two have fun?" Teppo chuckled when he noticed Tori letting out a big yawn. She giggled and nodded as she plopped down on the couch and cuddled into him. 

"I've missed him" she said sleepily as her eyes slowly began to shut. Teppo smiled and softly rubbed her back. 

"He missed you too" he whispered, placing a soft kiss atop her head. She smiled sleepily and fell asleep in his arms. Teppo decided to stay down there with her, considering he couldn't do any strenuous activity like carrying her upstairs. And he didn't want to be a horrible father and leave her asleep on the couch all by herself. So he decided to stay down with her. Plus, she looked so peaceful sleeping against him. He couldn't help but smile as he wrapped them both up in a blanket.



"I'll be alright. They're just getting everything ready. Don't worry. You'll see me before I go in, okay?" 

Tori couldn't help but feel tears stinging her eyes. She slowly nodded and kissed her fathers hand and his forehead before allowing the nurses to wheel him back. She took a seat next to Adam and Brayden instantly crawled in her lap. Tori wrapped her arms around him tightly and he cuddled his head on her chest. 

"Are they gonna fix daddy?" he whispered as he nervously played with her shirt. 

"Yeah, buddy. They are. He's gonna be able to play with you again and run around and not have to worry anymore" Tori smiled softly. She was a nervous wreck on the inside, but she had to stay calm on the outside. For the sake of the boys. Heart surgery is a big deal. Things go wrong everyday. What if something happened to her dad?

"Hey Tori" she heard behind her. She jumped a bit and snapped out of her worried trance. She turned and saw Brian standing there with a couple of the guys from the Blackhawks, including Jon. 

"Why is everyone here?" She asked confused but couldnt stop her eyes from wandering to Jon. 

"We didn't want you to be alone" Patrick Sharp smiled and kissed her head. She only met them all once before. Why did they all show up? Did Brian make them? Or are they actually decent guys?

Tori smiled a bit and giggled when Brayden and Devin quickly got up to talk to them. Brian goofed around with them and they asked all the guys a million questions before they all sat down. Brian sat down next to Tori and wrapped an arm around her while Jon sat next to Brian. 

"Don't worry. I know your dad. He's gonna be fine" Brian whispered, knowing Tori was having an internal battle with herself. 

"I'm just scared. What if something goes wrong? I can't lose him. He's all I have left" she whispered as tears started to fill her eyes again. 

"Nothings going to go wrong. Do you hear me? Nothing. He's gonna go in there, the doctors are gonna fix him up, and he's gonna come out and be a whole new man." Brian said softly and kissed Tori's head repeatedly. 

She sniffled a little and nodded slowly before burying her face in his neck. She stayed like that for almost and hour until the doctors called the family back. 

She held Brayden's hand tightly and followed Adam and Devin into the room. Teppo was laying on the bed looking worn out already. He smiled weakly at them and held his arms out towards Brayden and Devin. They both quickly climbed on the bed and hugged him tightly. 

"I love you boys. You know that, right?" he whispered as he gently ran his hands through the back of their hair. They both nodded and looked up to him. 

"I love you too" they whispered in sync. Teppo smiled softly and kissed their heads. He had a little talk with them, then with Jessica and Bryan before he made them take the boys to the waiting room so he could talk with Tori and Adam. 

They took a seat in the two chairs provided in the room. Pulling them over to the side of the bed, tori quickly took her fathers hand. 

"We all know this is a dangerous surgery" Teppo started, making Tori's heartbeat quicken. "And if something happens-"

"Dad! No! Don't say that!" Tori practically shouted at him as tears began to stream down her face. 

"Tori, just let me finish" he whispered with a sigh. "I just need to know that everything's going to be alright. I need to know that the boys will be okay... And that Jess and Bryan will be steered down the right path. Tori, I want you to look after them. I want you to make sure they're alright. Both of you. I know you have your own plans and dreams, and by God I don't want you giving them up. But I don't want my family to fall apart either. I want you guys to stay together." Teppo said calmly as tears began to fill his eyes also. Tori broke down crying and Adam nodded, taking Teppo's hand firmly. 

"We promise. Everything's going to be alright. And you're going to be alright. Don't worry." Adam whispered, choking up a bit at the end. The first and last time anybody saw Teppo cry was when their mom died. None of them expected to see it again. 

"I love you both. I love all of you guys" Teppo whispered with a slight sniffle. Tori got up and buried her face in his chest as she broke down crying. She gripped onto him and held him for dear life until she finally calmed down. The doctor entered the room and told Tori and Adam that it was time. They both hugged Teppo tightly and kissed his head before reluctantly watching them wheel his bed away. He weakly waved to them before closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath. 

Tori turned to Adam and buried her face in his chest as she held him tightly. He rubbed her back and stood with her as she gained her composure. He wiped her eyes and kissed her forehead. Neither of them said anything as they slowly walked back to the waiting room with their arms around each other. 

Tori took her seat back next to Brian and noticed Brayden and Devin weren't around. 

"Where are the boys?" she asked worriedly and quickly sat up. 

Brian grabbed her arm gently. "Relax, Tori. They went with Brent and sharpie to get something to eat" Brian said calmly and gently pulled her to him. She let out a small sigh of relief and nodded as she leaned into him. She looked down but felt someone watching her. She looked out of the corner of her eye and saw Jon looking over at her. 

Jon's POV:
I hated seeing her like that. She looked so upset. I just wanted to go over there and hold her in my arms; tell her that everything was going to be alright. That I was there for her. But I just met the girl. It's too soon for that. But it's just... She looked so sad. I wanted so desperately to be able to make that amazing smile appear back on her face.

She looked down again and played with her shirt. Hours passed and Patrick had to leave to be with his wife. And Brent had somewhere to be too. Adam ended up taking the kids home for bed and Tori told Brian to go home too, that she'll be fine by herself and he needed his sleep. She tried telling Jon to go home but he wouldn't budge. He took Brian's seat next to her and they sat in a comfortable silence. 

"I don't understand. Why did you stay?" Tori asked after a while. "I mean, we don't even know each other. And you've been sitting here all day." 

Jon stared at the wall, looking as though he was pondering the question. Finally he just shrugged. "I didn't want you to go through this alone" he said sincerely. 

"But why do you care?" Tori sighed and looked over at him. 

"Why shouldn't I care?" he retorted, looking to her curiously. 

"I'm not saying you shouldn't. I just want to know why you do" she mumbled and crossed her arms over her chest. Jon let out a soft chuckle and leaned closer on the arm of the chair. 

"I don't know what it is... But there's something about you. Something... Intriguing. Something different. You're the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on, but you seem so humble. I haven't seen you flaunt it, or use it to your advantage or anything. The first day I met you, you blushed. I never expected that out of someone like you." he explained. 

Tori couldn't fight it as a small blush took over her face again. He was flirting with her. And she didn't mind it. 

"I'm not looking for a relationship though" Tori whispered, looking down. Sure, she wasn't looking. But she wouldn't mind a relationship with Jon. He was so sweet. But she couldn't let him know that she was already hooked on him. 

Jon sat back with a slight frown but just shook it off. 

"That's fine. But I'm still gonna sit here with you until your dad gets out" Jon said softly and looked over to her. Tori smiled a bit and sat back in the chair, looking down at the ceramic tiled floor. 

Her and Jon sat in a comfortable silence for a few hours until Tori began getting tired and ended up leaning her head on Jon's shoulder. His arms felt so strong and safe that she immediately fell asleep. Jon smiled to himself and wrapped his arm around her. He laid back in the chair and got as comfortable as possible before closing his eyes and drifting off. 

They both jumped a little when they heard a doctors voice in front of them. Tori shot up and looked up worriedly. 

"Is my dad okay?" she asked immediately. A smile formed on the doctors face and he nodded. 

"Hes perfect. the surgery went amazing and he's in recovery right now. He's gonna be fine. He's still asleep but the anesthesia should wear off within a few hours. You can go see him anytime" he smiled before leaving her be. 

Tori smiled widely and looked to Jon. She let out a small screech of excitement and leapt into his arms, hugging him tightly. Jon couldn't help but laugh as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. 

"Thank you" she whispered to him as she started to pull away. "Thank you for being here" she smiled and kissed his cheek before standing up. She started walking but stopped, turning back to him. She smiled once more before walking down the hall and going into her fathers room. 

Jon sat in the waiting room with a smile consuming his face. He touched his cheek where Tori kissed. It was the beginning of something amazing.