Miracle On Ice One Shots

Under the Weather (Mark Johnson- #10)

Elena's eyes cracked open as she heard the door to her bedroom open. Light flooded into the dark room, illuminating a dark figure. She closed her eyes upon realizing who it was, mumbling something incoherently.

Mark Johnson walked over to the side of his girlfriend- she had been sick for a week and he was starting to get worried. She got sick often, but this time seemed worse.

He placed his hand on her forehead and sighed when he realized how hot her head was, despite the medicine she had been taking.

"Lena? Hey, baby, it's me again." He whispered. Her green eyes opened only to be shut once more. Her face was pale, and her skin clammy. Mark could see that she was dehydrated- the water on her bedside was untouched from his last visit a few hours ago, and her lips were chapped. "I just called your mom- she said to take you in." Elena rolled away. Her eyes didn't open again, but he could hear her mumble- "No, no I'm okay. I'll be better." Her voice was raspy, and Mark sighed. "Come on- let's get you into some new clothes."  He whispered. She sighed, then turned to look at the boy by her side. "Okay."

Mark helped her sit up, and quickly went to work finding her clean clothes. He found a pair of sweatpants and one of his hoodies that he had given her a while back. He turned around to see Elena trying to pull herself up. He grew more concerned when he realized how hard even that was on her.

"Here, baby. I got you some clothes. I'll be right out here if you need anything, okay?" She nodded and slowly made her way into her bathroom.

After 5 minutes, she emerged in the new clothes. She was holding a hair tie and a comb. She started combing out her hair, and Mark sighed. He knew that she could probably do it by herself, but he just wanted to take care of her, especially when she was sick like this. He took the comb from her hands, and gently made her sit on the bed. He gently began to work through the knots in her hair. When he was done, he began to pull her hair into a messy bun. He silently thanked her for teaching him how to do hair last Halloween.

A fit of coughs overtook her body, and Mark quickly took her into his arms, waiting for the storm to pass. When she finally stopped, he helped her put shoes on and then lead her outside of her apartment. His car was already there, and he opened the door for her as she slid into the passenger seat. He quickly went around to the other side and got in. Placing one hand in hers, he drove off towards the hospital.

****

"Elena Jackson?" Mark quickly stood up as he heard her named called out. He walked over to the doctor, dread settling in the bottom of his stomach. Elena had been constantly sick for her entire life- the doctors were always afraid that one of these times it was going to be something worse than a common cold.

The doctor smiled at him, and that immediately set his heart at ease. "She just has an upper respiratory infection. We gave her some medicine, and we want to keep her overnight because of how long she's had it, combined with her asthma and her family history of COPD. But, we think she'll be just fine." Mark let out a sigh of relief. She was going to be okay.

"If you want to stay the night, we can make arrangements, seeing as her family is so far away." Mark nodded. "Speaking of, do you have a phone I can use? I need to call her parents." The doctor nodded, a smile on her face. "Of course. Go see the nurses station." He nodded before taking off. Once he got to the nurses station, he dialed the number that he had memorized to Elena's parent's house. The phone rang once before I was picked up.

"Mark?" The woman on the other end, who Mark soon identified as Elena's mother, Francis sad in a rush. "Hey, Mrs. Jackson. Yeah, the doc said it's another upper respiratory infection. They're keeping her overnight for observation." There was a sigh on the other end. "Okay. Well, at least it's not serious this time. Thank you for staying with her, Mark." He smiled. He had been dating Elena for just over 3 years- this wasn't his first time. "There's no need to thank me, Mrs. Jackson. I would be with her no matter what."

"And that's why we love you, Mark. Thank you for always looking out for our girl. Now, I hate to ask you of this with it being hockey season and all, but would you mind staying with her tonight in the hospital?" He smiled a little bit. "Of course, Mrs. Jackson. I love your daughter, and I was already planning on staying with her." He heard another sigh. "Well, we're glad that we know we have you to look out for her when we're not there."

"Always, Mrs. Jackson. Always."

****

The clock on the table showed 2:30 when Elena slowly came to. She heard the beeping of the monitors, and the familiar smell of bleach fill her nose. Shoot. She was back in the hospital.

Looking around, she noticed a figure laying in a pull out bed next to her. It took her a split second to see the soft blonde curls that she knew so well, and then she found a small smile gracing her lips. He had stayed. He always stayed.

Elena had warned Mark when they started dating that this was going to be life- in and out of hospitals, always sick, always checking for fevers, and never knowing the cause. It had been her reality for 21 years- and she had grown used to it. She was so sure that Mark would leave once he realized how much she was sick- only he never cared. He was always there, taking her to the hospital, making her soup, and holding her until she fell asleep. She didn't deserve this man.

She reached out a hand to slowly push back the curls from his forehead. She wished that the room was light so that she could see his forehead crease like she knew it would. She wished that she could see the soft smile that would grace his lips as he mumbled in his sleep.

But, not tonight. Maybe some other day. Definitely some other day.

As she settled back down into her bed, her mind strayed to the boy sleeping beside her, as it so often did. She loved him. And she was so so grateful for him and all that he had done for her.

Only, that's not why she loved him. She loved him because of his selfless nature, because of his love and his passion for everything he did. She loved him because of his drive and determination. She loved him because of the small scar just over his lip from hockey. She loved him.

Absolutely, and irrevocably.

And she wouldn't have it any other way.

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Woah I am back!

So sorry for the late update- things have been so crazy in my life!

Not a request, just one I thought of this week- I hope y'all liked it!

Keep liking, commenting and adding this story to your lists!!

Grateful for all of you! Have a great week!

With love,

Your favorite author :)