Remember Me

The short flight home to Chicago was a blur to Jonathan. As soon as he'd hung up with Harper, he had the team rush to the airport, kicking out the media in that process. His leg did not stop shaking the entire flight and no one dared to speak to him.

When the boys finally landed, Jon didn't even wait for bags. He sprinted to his car, noticing Marcus and Pat right behind him.

"Let's go see our girl," Marcus said, as Jonathan drove off.

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When they arrived, Harper was waiting in the hallway, biting her nails. She looked relieved to see them all, walking over and hugging each man.

"What's going on? Why are you out here?" Jon asked.

Harper lazily pointed towards Mack's hospital room. "They've been running tests since she woke up. As soon as I grabbed a nurse for her, they kicked me out."

"So we still know nothing," Pat said, making Harper nod in response.

Marcus grabbed Harper's hand as the four friends all sat down together. All they could do was wait.

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"Mackenzie Jakobsson?" A doctor announced out to the waiting room. Patrick Kane jumped up first, nudging Jonathan, who'd dozed off.

"We're here," Marcus said, still holding onto Harper's hand. Harper stared at the doctor, hopeful.

The doctor smiled at the group, but Jonathan noticed it didn't quite reach her eyes. Bad news was coming. "How is she?" He asked.

"She's very responsive, which is great news. We ran a few tests, her speech and movement are fine. The majority of her injuries have healed, she's just got the fractured arm that needs a little bit longer. However, with the extent of damage her brain took, we knew there was a chance of some deficits." The doctor let her eyes glide across all of their faces.

"I'm afraid she's got a case of retrograde amnesia," the doctor explained. "She remembers a lot, which is fantastic. But we think the accident caused her to lose a few years of her memories."

Jonathan's legs went numb. Harper and Marcus' hands went limp. Patrick Kane slowly walked back to his seat and put his head in his hands.

The doctor's face fell, watching them all. "After interviewing her, it's apparent that she knows who and where she is and she'll be able to recover. She may even be able to gain the memories she lost back," the group stayed silent. "Whenever you're all ready, you're welcome to go in. We'd like to keep her overnight, but then she should be able to go home. Those arrangements are up to you and Mackenzie, of course."

Once the doctor left, Harper turned to the boys. "Well, let's go. We've waited long enough to hear her voice again."

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The four of them slowly entered the room together. It was silent, aside from the constant beeping coming from Mackenzie's machines.

Jonathan immediately zeroed in on his girlfriend. Her bright blue eyes watched him and their friends walk in, curious. He would have smiled, were it not for the news he'd just gotten.

"Hello," Mackenzie said, looking at all of their faces.

"Hey, Kenz," Marcus said. "Do you recognize us?"

Mackenzie continued to watch all of them. "Of course I know you, Marcus. The rest of you... I know you. I just can't put my finger on who you are and how I know you. Your faces are just familiar."

Jon heard Harper sniffle and then smile at her best friend. "I'm Harper... Evans. We're best friends. We met four years ago in Los Angeles. We moved to Chicago together two years ago."

Mackenzie nodded and smiled. "Okay, thank you."

"I'm Patrick Kane. We were only just acquaintances when we first met. I'm teammates with Marcus on the Blackhawks. We've gotten closer over the past couple of years, though. Um... I was in the car with you when we crashed. I'm really sorry." Pat came up on her bedside as he introduced himself.

Mackenzie smiled at Pat and reached for his hand, too. "If from what the doctors told me is true... don't apologize. The crash was nowhere near your fault, Patrick." Pat gave her a tearful smile and gripped her hand back.

Jon knew his turn was coming, but it didn't stop him from wanting to vomit when Mackenzie turned her eyes on him. She smiled softly at him, wanting him to speak.

"I'm Jon. Jonathan Toews. Uh...I'm teammates with Marcus and Pat. We've met from parties and stuff over the years that Marcus brought you to, but we got closer. Yeah, um...I a- was your boyfriend. We've been together for two years. You live with me...except when you get mad and stay at your old house two blocks away." Jonathan said, looking at his hands the entire time.

When he finally looked up, she stared at him so-very curiously. God, he loved her. He wanted nothing more for her to remember him.

Mackenzie finally looked away, before wringing her hands and saying, "Thank you for introducing yourselves. I'm sorry I can't remember. I wish I could, more than anything."

Harper shook her head. "Don't apologize. Memories or not, you're still you. And that's all we need."

Mackenzie itched at her IV and smiled some more. "The doctor's said there's still a chance I could regain my memories. They said it's probably better if I just go back to my everyday routine once I'm discharged," she looked up at Jon. "So I'll go home with you tomorrow?"

Jonathan swallowed, "Whatever you wanna do, MJ. Whatever you feel comfortable doing. We can go home or you can get settled back into your old house, it's your decision."

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harper_evans: I thank God for bringing you back to me
tagged; mackenziej_
liked by marcuskruger90 and 27,409 others | comments disabled



marcuskruger90: Älskar dig till månen och tillbaka. Min syster. (Love you to the moon and back. My sister.
tagged; mackenziej_
liked by nhlblackhawks, pkane80, and 6,840 others | 200 comments

harper_evans: forever❤️
mmolander: ge Mackenzie kyssar för mig! (Give Mackenzie kisses for me!)

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Mackenzie couldn't sleep that night. A nurse was coming in every few hours to check her vitals and her mind was racing a million miles a minute. Her friends had left, wishing to stay, but the guys said they had a game tomorrow and Harper had been with her all day already. The tall, brown-haired man with big brown eyes - Jonathan, her boyfriend - promised her he'd be back in the morning to take her home.

She just had so many questions. She rattled off hundred when her friends were here, but so many more were still on her tongue. She was also sad. Just plain sad.

When she'd said she didn't know her friends, they were so upset, she could tell. She wanted to know them, to remember them. She didn't want to be the girl with amnesia. Harper had held her hand like they'd been the best of friends. She wanted to go back to who she was. She wanted to do best friend things with Harper, but now they'd have to rebuild their friendship. She wanted to joke around and prank people with Patrick like he said they used to.

And Jonathan. He looked at her with all the love in the world. And she couldn't reciprocate the love back because she didn't know how. She didn't know what it was like to love him. He was sweet and spoke gently towards her. His voice calmed her to the point that it scared her and made her heart beat faster in her chest.

But she couldn't look at him with all the love in the world back.

And that made her sadder than anything.

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Mackenzie awoke in the late morning to find Jon asleep, slumped down in the chair beside her bed. Two coffees and a blueberry muffin rested on the side table. Her favorite.

A nurse entered the room, speaking softly, so not to wake the man next to her, "Good, you're awake. I'm going to take your vitals one last time and then take the IV out. After that, the doctor will be in to speak with you and she'll bring along your discharge papers too."

Jon woke up as the nurse took Mackenzie's blood pressure. Mackenzie smiled at him, "Tired, Toews?"

Jon darted his eyes to his girlfriend's. She was teasing him, he knew. "Yeah, had a blonde keeping me up all night."

Mackenzie laughed as the nurse finished up. "Damn, I hope it was worth it."

Jonathan sobered, as the nurse left. "Always."

Mackenzie grinned at him. "Is this muffin for me?"

Jon nodded. "Yeah, I'm just not sure if they have you on some special diet, though, so I figured you could eat it once we left."

The doctor from the night before entered the hospital room, smiling at the two. "Glad to see we're in good spirits," she opened up Mackenzie's charts. "So, you're all good to go here, Mackenzie. I just wanna talk to you about what you're going to be doing for yourself once you get home."

Mackenzie sat up, listening. "Right now, you just need to take it easy. Not necessarily staying confined to bed, but I don't think to leave the house, unless necessary, is wise. At least until you come back for your check-up next week."

"Will she need any medicine or anything? I can run the prescription to the pharmacy." Jonathan asked.

The doctor shook her head. "For right now, we're gonna play by how Mackenzie is feeling. You can eat regular, no limitations or anything. Due to the brain injury you had, it's normal for you to experience some nausea or fatigue, so if you do, as I said, just take it easy. Once you come back for the check-up, we'll re-evaluate things and if you need any medicines or therapies, we'll get that going," she explained. "I'm pretty positive, though, that no matter what, I'd like you to take a few sessions of occupational therapy. Just to help get you back into the flow of things."

The couple listened to the doctor, intently. "Any questions?"

Mackenzie looked to Jon for an answer, making Jon's lips perk up at her. He just raised his eyebrows at her.

"I think we're good for now," Jonathan finally said. The doctor nodded, leaving the papers for Mackenzie to sign. "I brought you some clothes from home. I wasn't sure what you'd like to wear."

As he grabbed the bag he'd brought, Mackenzie threw her blankets back, slowly throwing her legs off the side of the bed. She stared at the floor, and for a lot longer than she thought because Jon noticed and asked if she was okay.

"I haven't walked in like a month. I'm afraid my legs are gonna be jello," she said.

Jon put his hand out. "C'mon, kid. I gotcha."

She took Jon's hand, slowly sliding off the bed and hitting the ground. She clutched Jon's arms, swaying slightly.

Jon stared at her as she stared at her feet. She held his arms and his hands hovered at her waist, ready to grab her if she showed any signs of falling. He hadn't in close proximity with her in so long, he wanted to drink her in.

His girlfriend had bags under her eyes and her skin was pale, but her eyes were as bright as always and as he studied her, she flashed him a smile. He swears to God, he swooned in that hospital room. As soon as Mackenzie could take a few steps without plummeting to the tile, he left her to change.

And as he stood in the hospital hallway, with nurses and doctors running around, he realized how very much in love with Mackenzie he was.

And as soon as she came out, and they made their way downstairs and to his car, he realized that this situation wasn't all that bad. He had penetrated Mackenzie's walls once before, and he could do it again.

He was going to make his girlfriend fall back in love with him, whatever it takes.