Dream On (Jonathan Toews)

Chapter Thirty-Six| Heart of Gold

Jonathan

It was all a blur. One second Mary Kate is heading to the net and is tripped, the next second she shoots and scores, the last one she was out cold in the corner. Patrick and I fly into the locker room where we find a groggy looking Mary Kate sitting on a table. We had to wait while they did tests but knowing she was okay was a start. Eventually the doctors leave and we are allowed to talk to her. "Did we win" she asks taking the ice pack off her head. "Hell yeah, you did" Patrick says with a smile. "There's no way in hell that shot went in" she says wide eyed. "Top shelf" I tell her and she laughs. "Only I can manage to completely fuck up something really cool" she laughs. "Well your team won't accept their medals without you so you should probably head out there" Patrick informs her. We help her up and I kiss her head. "I'm proud of you, Ice Queen" I say once my lips leave her head. "Thanks Canada" she replies before heading to the ice.

Pat and I watch the scene from the tunnel as the team surrounds her once she hits the ice. She looked a little wobbly but was still in full gear. "Isn't it crazy that literally a year ago she wouldn't even look at the ice. And today she shot the gold medal winning over time goal for her country" Patrick says. "It is but it isn't. It's crazy in the sense that she wasn't supposed to do this, hell, if fate had it different she wouldn't even be here. But she proves every day that she loves that she's still alive, she trained harder than anyone I've ever seen and it's great to see her end up on top" I say. "Even if she's over Canada" he chirps. "Don't push it" I warn and he lets out a laugh. They finally pass out medals and Mary Kate kisses it then raises hers to the sky. Her parents would be so proud of her, and even though they're not here, they still are.

I wait for Mary Kate to change before we leave but there was a few people that wanted to see her. People with cameras and microphones all barge in and I quickly lose track of her. "How did you amount this comeback" one asks. "I had the best team beside me. I surrounded myself with people better than me and forced myself to get on their level" she laughs. "Why did you decide to come back" another asks. "Someone very special to me pointed out that the only one stopping me from doing what I was meant to do was me. He helped me get in touch with the little girl who fell in love with the game and the rest is history" she responds with a tight grip around her locket. "Could this mystery man be Jonathan Toews" a woman asks. "Geez... nothing gets past you guys" she says mighty sarcastically. "So what are you going to do now? Will you go back home to Wisconsin" one reporter asks. "Everything I have here is because of what happened there. I will always be a Wisconsin girl and would like to visit there soon. But there's nothing left for me there, Chicago is my home now. I plan on continuing my training, working with the Hawks, and spending times with the ones I love" she says. After a few pushes she finds her place under my arm and I whisk her away.

The US girls team was having a celebratory dinner and Mary Kate insisted I come. Like most disagreements I look into those eyes and break down then follow her like a puppy. "If anyone says anything about Canada I give you full rights to beat them with a stick" she says as we walk into the restaurant. That did make me feel a little better but there were no sticks around. We sit down and the meal starts with a speech from the captain. "I just wanted to say that it's been a crazy journey with you girls. Each and every one of you deserve this and I love this team so much. I wanted to give a special shout out to coach because even when we're moody and tired she still kicks our asses, but it's all out of love. And another thank you to Mary Kate who didn't have to be here, but we would have gone nowhere without her" she says raises a glass. "Here's to hockey" she chants and we all repeat her. Dinner went over well and I probably enjoyed my time with the American team way more than I should have. "So superstar, how are you feeling" I ask as we sit through dinner. "My head hurts like a bitch but I'm not going to complain" she laughs. "You never do" I comment and she shrugs. "Hey, let me enjoy this moment even though I will probably forget it" she says and I throw my hands up.

The men's Olympic tournament started the day the women's ended and Canada ends up facing Sweden in the gold medal game. The US gets knocked out of medal contention to many people's surprise. Mary Kate thinks I'm joking when I tell her that if she was on that team they would have won but she just laughs it off. One day she'll see what I see. One day. But until then I stick to the one thing I know I'm good at, and that's hockey. I hadn't scored all tournament but I scored the game winning goal in the gold medal game so I have nothing to complain about. This whole experience has been pretty surreal. People have started calling Mary Kate and I "The Golden Couple" and I have to admit, it has a nice ring to it. "Has anyone seen my boyfriend? He's kinda tall, Canadian as fuck. Oh yeah, he just scored the game winning gold medal goal" Mary Kate yells as I exit the locker room. "I'm not sure who you're telling about, but he sounds delightful" I joke. "Hey you. Great job kicking ass and all. I think you're pretty good at this hockey thing" she says hip bumping me. "I like it... it's pretty fun" I tease. We get outside and I stop her outside the car. "Look at us" I say holding her shoulders. "Look at us" she repeats. "You know why I flipped so hard the other day? Because it's not the things I know I'm scared of. It's the things I don't know. There's so much uncertainty in this world and I don't want to spend all my life trying to figure it all out. I have you and the team and that's more than I ever could ask for. I don't know what's going to happen next, but as long as it happens with you I'm satisfied" I say. "When I was a little girl I dreamed of winning gold for my country. Shooting the game winning goal in dramatic fashion and all. I was raised to do this. Even though I gave up on myself fate brought me here. But it brought me here with you. I'm not sure what got into me that day in New York. Maybe I was in the holiday spirit or feeling a little edgy, but when you offered for me to come to Chicago with you something in me told me to jump. Just close my eyes and jump and you'll catch me somehow. Now here I am on another adventure with my best friends with a gold medal around my neck and I finally feel at peace. I don't feel like running anymore, I'm tired of it honestly. I still want to travel but I want something to look forward to getting back to. You're right, life is uncertain. But if there's one thing I know is that I love you more than anything and that's enough for me to always jump as long as you catch me" she says. "For you my arms are always open. I'll be waiting" I say and she nods. With that it was back to business and back to Chicago.