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Stay With Me

Recovery

Ellie arrived in Thunder Bay a few hours later. She walked through the terminal and to the baggage claim, finding her pink suitcase. She grabbed it and walked out towards the exit, spotting Linda.

"Hi, honey." Linda smiled softly opening up her arms and walking towards Ellie. Ellie hugged Linda back tightly, fighting the urge to break down. There was something so comforting about Linda Staal. It was as if the second you came in contact with her you wanted to tell her all the things that had been going on with you because you knew she'd listen.

"Hi, Linda." Ellie mumbled into Linda's shoulder. Linda rubbed Ellie's back, soothing her. Jordan had called her and let her know that Ellie was coming 'home', asking her to pick her up from the airport and make sure she got back to the house safely.

"How are you?" Linda asked as they walked towards the parking lot and towards Henry's truck. Ellie sighed and adjusted her bag on her shoulder.

"Well, let's put it this way: if things were good I probably wouldn't be back here until off-season," Ellie sighed once more, looking up at Linda. Linda nodded, understanding, and said nothing more.

The drive to Jordan's house on the Lake was fairly quiet except for the occasional little bit of small talk and updates of the rest of the Staal boys and their lives.

"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself tonight?" Linda asked when she pulled into the Lake house driveway. "You're more than welcome to stay with Henry and I. You can stay in Jordan's old room."

"I really appreciate the offer, Linda, but I think I just need to dissect this whole situation by myself for a bit. If you don't mind?" Ellie asked, hoping she wasn't offending Linda. The last person Ellie wanted as an enemy was Linda Staal.

"I understand completely," Linda nodded. "Do what you have to do. Henry and I are just a phone call away."

"Thank you so much, Linda." Ellie sighed with relief, leaning over the console and giving her future mother-in-law a hug. Ellie got her bags from the back of the truck and walked up to the front door.

She unlocked the door and let herself into the house. A feeling of safety and assurance came over her as she walked in. This place was a good place. Nothing bad ever happened here. This is the place where Jordan asked her to marry him, this was a good place. Ellie felt the weight come off of her shoulders.

Ellie headed straight for the bedroom and collapsed on the bed. She curled up in the middle of the large bed and stared at the wall opposite of her. The silence was deafening and she didn't like it. She already didn't know what to do with herself.

She remembered that she promised Jordan she'd call him when she got to the lake. She got out of bed and grabbed her cell phone out of her purse, pulling up Jordan's number.

"Hi, baby." He sighed with relief when he answered the phone.

"Hey," She smiled softly.

"You got there all right?" Jordan asked, even though the answer was obvious.

"Yeah," Ellie nodded. "Your mom was waiting for me at the airport. Thank you for calling her for me."

"Of course, of course." Jordan replied. "How was your flight?"

"It was good," Ellie nodded. "It was quick. How was practice?"

"Practice didn't happen for me today," Jordan sighed. "Sid and I got in a fight and Coach threw us out of practice."

"What?" Ellie gasped. She had been so focused on getting out of Pittsburgh because of Tess, she had completely forgot that Sidney was a factor in this situation.

"Yeah," Jordan replied. "He was shooting pucks and I went over to him to apologize and he freaked out on me. So we kind of got into it before Duper and Cookie pulled us apart."

"Oh my God, Jordan." Ellie sighed. "This is such a mess. Is Dan going to let you play the game tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Jordan nodded. "He called me a little while ago and I explained to him what happened and he said that I could play in the game tomorrow. So I'll be at the Lake in about a day or so. Will you be okay up there by yourself?"

"Yeah. Your mom already offered that I stay with her and your dad, but I think I'm just going to stay here by myself. I think I need it," Ellie replied, laying back on the bed again.

....

Being at Lake Shebandowan by herself made Ellie never want to go back to Pittsburgh. She was happy there. No drama had followed her. No one bothered her. People knew who she was, but no one bothered her. When she'd go out people referred to her as "Mrs. Staal". She loved it there.

Ellie had needed those few days by herself to collect her thoughts and get back on track. She had been baking a lot since she was there by herself. She baked, read and napped a lot. It was all relaxing to her, but she did miss Jordan.

Jordan had said he would be up at the Lake on the weekend, but he had called the other night saying he wouldn't be able to make it up because of practices. The team hadn't been doing so well, so Coach had made them all do extra practices.

Ellie laid in the bed by herself and looked at the ceiling. It had been days since she'd seen Jordan or been able to fall asleep with him. She really did miss him.

Ellie rolled over onto what would have been Jordan's side and curled up, pulling the blankets around her tightly. She closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep again.

The next morning Ellie woke up after to a dark and cold day. She pulled herself out of the warm bed and shuffled through the house towards the kitchen. She was in dire need of tea.

Ellie let out a small scream upon seeing a body on the couch. The body shot up and Jordan's tired and worried face looked back at her.

"Jordan?" She asked, placing a hand on her chest. She walked over to the couch and stood at the edge where his feet were resting.

"Hi, honey." He smiled tiredly, rubbing his face. He sat up and then pushed himself off of the couch. Ellie let out a sigh of relief and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"What are you doing here?" She asked when Jordan lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist, holding onto him tightly.

"Coach let us go early, so I took a plane out earlier yesterday and got here." Jordan mumbled. "I got here late last night. I didn't want to scare you so I slept on the couch."

"You scared me either way," Ellie smiled, pressing her forehead to his.

"Sorry about that," Jordan laughed softly. "I guess it didn't matter which way I came in last night."

"What time did you get here?" Ellie asked. "I didn't even hear you come in."

"I'm not sure," Jordan replied, shaking his head. "I just kind of passed out on the couch. My suitcase is still at the door."

"Do you want coffee, doll?" Ellie laughed softly, running her hands through Jordan's unruly hair.

"I think I could use some coffee and something to eat before I sleep some more," Jordan nodded, carrying her towards the kitchen. Jordan sat her on the counter and turned to turn on the coffee maker and the kettle for Ellie's tea.

"So Coach let you play I'm guessing?" Ellie asked, gently pressing her index finger into the dimple in his chin.

"Yeah," Jordan nodded, playing with the hem of her shirt. "He and I had a bit of a talk about what happened and he let me play. He was going to put Sid on some sort of suspension, but I talked him out of it. I think playing is the only thing keeping Sid from breaking down completely."

"So he's still not doing well?" Ellie sighed.

"Not at all," Jordan replied, shaking his head. "He looks worse and worse everyday. Tess isn't budging, from what I've heard."

Ellie groaned and rubbed her face.

"It's not our issue anymore, Ellie." Jordan replied, shaking his head. "The damage is done, it's up to them now. How have you been doing up here?"

"I never want to leave," Ellie sighed, resting her head against his chest. "Do I have to go back to Pittsburgh?"

"You don't have to do anything," Jordan laughed softly. "You can stay here, if you want. I would prefer you with me, but whatever you have to do."

"Speaking of you being with me," Jordan started, turning back to the coffee pot. He grabbed a cup from beside it and poured himself a cup, drinking it black.

"Jordan?"

"Ray pulled me into the office the other day and we kind of discussed the possibility of a trade," Jordan stated, turning back to face her.

"A trade?" Ellie repeated. Her worst fear since she started dating Jordan was the fact that his job in Pittsburgh wasn't exactly permanent.

"Yea," Jordan nodded. "He wasn't sure where exactly, but he said there is a possibility of it being in Carolina with Eric."

"Carolina?" Ellie asked, looking at Jordan.

"He's not completely sure! Besides I don't think I'd mind it that much," Jordan shrugged. "We're getting married eventually and Eric says that it's a great place to raise a family."

"Pittsburgh is a great place to raise a family," Ellie whispered.

"It's not set in stone, Ellie!" Jordan stated, trying to calm her down. "It's just something he's thinking about and I'm telling you that I'm not against the idea."

"With all that's happened in Pittsburgh it could be a nice change," Ellie sighed. "I don't know. I don't know if I'm ready for that. I just need time to recover from this whole wedding reschedule and Tess and Sid thing."

"I know, baby." Jordan nodded, running a hand through her hair. "We'll talk about it later. Until then can we please go back to bed?"

"Yes," Ellie laughed.

Jordan lifted her up and carried her towards the bedroom again. He laid them down on the bed. Jordan laid behind her, holding her closely against him. Ellie sighed contently and cuddled back into him.

Carolina, Tess, Sidney and wedding rescheduling aside Ellie was so happy to have Jordan back with her. None of the "bad" stuff mattered at that time.

Jordan held onto her left hand, lulling himself to sleep as he traced over her ring finger. He fell asleep hoping he could find the strength to tell her that he had already agreed to move to Carolina.
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Sorry for the delay in the posting of this story! Thanks for sticking with me! I tried a different approach, kind of, at Jordan's trade to Carolina because the way it actually happened saddens me. Haha!
Let me know what you think!