Chapter Text
The startling white lights were blinding.
That was all that Ashlyn Harris could think about as she tried to open her eyes. Her eyelids felt like they were glued shut and reinforced with heavy weights but after much struggling, she finally managed to open her eyes. She blinked a couple times, trying to make the room come into focus.
The first thing she noticed was that the room was an ugly shade of blue, and the room she was in looked small. She could smell the overpowering scent of sanitizer and bleach. The smell was causing her head to pound worse.
Attempting to turn her head, which led to the discovery that she had a neck brace on, was painful. Her left arm was prompted up on a pillow and in a white cast. Her right hand was currently being weighted down by something, Ashlyn slowly tried to turn her head to the right side.
It was then that Ashlyn noticed the reason her right hand was numb, was because some brunette was sleeping on top of it and had a death grip. Ashlyn didn't recognize the woman and slowly tried to pull her hand free without disturbing the sleeping woman.
A jolt of fear was running through her, causing the heart monitor next to her bed to spike. Ashlyn could tell she was in the hospital but she didn't know why she was there. She tried to look down the length of the bed to make sure her legs were still attached, she could see their outline under the covers.
"What the fuck is going on?" She croaked out, surprised at how raspy her own voice sounded. It was like she hadn't used it in weeks. Ashlyn couldn't even remember what the date was, her mind felt fuzzy like all the information was on the outside behind some barrier she couldn't get through.
The brunette seemed to wake up at the sound of her voice. Tired brown eyes met hers and for a moment Ashlyn felt trapped in the girl's gaze. It was like watching something in slow motion, as the other woman seemed to realize that Ashlyn was, in fact, staring back at her.
"Oh my god! Oh my god! Ashlyn, you're awake!"
Ashlyn flinched at the sound of the woman's voice, it seemed the girl was excited to see her, but Ashlyn had no clue who she was. She looked slightly familiar but Ashlyn couldn't place her.
"Ashlyn I need to get a doctor. I can't believe you're awake."
"I'm sorry... who are you?" Ashlyn asked, watching as the brunette stared at her. If Ashlyn had known her better she could have sworn she saw the girl's face fall and her heartbreak. The brunette now looked like somebody had deflated all the air out of her, broken and pitiful.
"It's me Ali...I'm your fiancee... are you joking with me?" Ali asked, looking for any sign of Ashlyn just joking around with her. "Because that's not really funny babe." Ali's voice was taking on an edge of hysteria and worry.
Ashlyn stared back at her blankly. "Fiancee? I don't think so, I'm only twenty-three, I think I would remember a fiancee wouldn't I?" Ashlyn asked, trying to process what was happening. "You said your name was Ali?"
Ali's mouth fell open and then snapped shut, a look of hurt entering her eyes. She couldn't tell if Ashlyn was joking, but as a few more seconds passed, tears started to pick the corner of her eyes. "Um... I'm going to get the nurse," She said her voice cracking as she walked out of the room before she began to cry.
For the next ten minutes, Ali sat in the hallway arguing with the doctor, questioning him on why her partner didn't remember her. The doctor didn't have any concrete answers, aside from saying that they'd need to take another cat scan of Ashlyn's brain to test just how bad her head injury was.
In the meantime Ashlyn's brother Chris walked in, Ali had texted him, telling him that Ashlyn was finally awake. He hadn't really left the hospital either since he had found out about Ashlyn's injury.
Ashlyn was appreciative when she saw the familiar face. "Chris." She called, still scared out of her mind. She knew she had offended Ali, but honestly, Ashlyn didn't know what was going on. "What happened to me?"
Chris sighed and sat down by her bed, taking his sister's hand. "You were in a really bad car accident. You were driving home from National Team duty, and you hit a patch of ice on the road. You flipped your car a couple time, broke your left arm, and hit your head. You're lucky to be alive and not more seriously injured."
"How long have I been out?" Ashlyn asked, doing her best to sort through all the information her brother was giving her.
"They've had you in a medically induced coma for two and a half weeks Ash, they needed to let the swelling on your brain go down." Chris was fighting back tears, he had thought that she wouldn't make it the first few days and had been terrified.
Ashlyn frowned, her head pounding again. "That woman out there, she's says she's my fiancee."
Chris nodded his head. "Yeah, that's Ali Krieger. You guys have been together for like eight years, you don't remember her? At all?"
"Eight years? I think I would know if I was with somebody for eight years. Are you playing a joke on me? Is this all a joke?" Ashlyn was struggling to understand everything that was happening.
"I wouldn't joke about that." Chris pulled out his phone, flipping through it until he got to some pictures he had of Ashlyn and Ali. "See this is you guys at my holiday party. This one is from Jensen's birthday party."
"Who is Jensen?" Ashlyn asked, taking the phone with her good hand and staring at it. In the photo, she and Ali looked happy. "Why do I look so old?"
"Because you are old you dipshit, you're in your thirties. Jensen is my son and your nephew." Chris answered for her.
Ashlyn weakly punched him in the arm. "What happened to all my hair?"
Chris chuckled softly. "You cut it a couple years ago, Ali's brother helped you. After the car crash, they kind of had to shave some of it so they could do the surgery."
Ashlyn slowly raised a hand to touch what was left of her hair. "I look like shit huh."
"No you're still my sister, only I can say you look like shit but I don't mean it." Chris sighed and glanced out to the hallway where Ali was still arguing with the doctor. "She loves you."
"I don't know her." Ashlyn insisted. She didn't know if or when she'd get her memories back but she couldn't act all couple-like with somebody she didn't know.
Chris stared her down, making her squirm uncomfortably. "Listen to Ashlyn, I know right now you're scared. But I swear to you on my life that Ali is good for you, she loves you. She hasn't left your side, that woman took a house and made it a home. Don't push her away." Chris warned, knowing that the 'real' Ashlyn would never do that to Ali.
Ashlyn slowly turned her head to look at Ali, she could see the girl was distressed and she hated to see her like that. "I won't push her away," Ashlyn said finally agreeing.
The doctor finally stopped talking to Ali and walked in to talk to Ashlyn and check her vitals and responses. Chris slid past him and just wrapped Ali in a hug, letting his future sister in law break apart in his arms.
"She doesn't remember me, Chris, what am I going to do?" Ali asked, she had almost lost Ashlyn in the crash and now she was scared she was going to lose the girl permanently. "The doctor isn't sure she's gonna remember me, or if she'll get her memories back at all. What am I gonna do, what are we gonna do?"
Chris rubbed her back, trying to calm her down. "Here is what you're going to do. You are going to go home and shower, maybe get some sleep. Then you're going to come back and you are going to remind my sister about why she fell in love with you in the first place okay?"
"I don't want to leave her though, she's finally awake." Ali pointed out, she hadn't really left Ashlyn's side since she had gotten to the hospital.
"The best way you can be there for her is to get some sleep and come back ready to fight. I'll talk to her some more while you're gone, I won't leave her side." Chris promised, gently pushing Ali towards the hospital exit.
Ali didn't look all that convinced, but she was far too tired to fight. Besides she needed to go home and see Logan, maybe if she brought some pictures from around their house it would bring back Ashlyn's memories.
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A few hours later
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Armed with a photo album full of pictures, Ali marched up to Ashlyn's hospital room. She was determined to make her partner remember her by any means necessary. She stopped when she heard the sound of Ashlyn laughing, she peaked in and saw Chris, his wife, and little Jensen sitting by Ashlyn's bed.
Ashlyn was playing cars with the little blonde boy. "You said I got you this one last Christmas?" Ashlyn asked, she still didn't remember but she was trying for Jensen. He was staring at her like she was his hero and Ashlyn didn't want to let him down.
"Yeah auntie Ash, you and Auntie Ali got me the jumbo hot wheels, it came with eight cars," Jensen said, his eyes wide with childlike excitement.
Ashlyn was wishing that she could remember anything, but she was struggling. She noticed a shadow in the doorway and found herself once again locking eyes with Ali. Ali was staring at her with the most heart-breaking expression and it stirred something inside of Ashlyn.
Even if she couldn't remember the nature of her relationship with Ali, she did know that she hated causing the girl pain. Seeing the pained expression was enough to hurt Ashlyn worse than her injuries from the car crash.
"You can come in." Ashlyn finally said, watching as Ali hesitated before making her way in.
Jensen bounced off the bed, launching himself at Ali. "Auntie Ali, did you see Auntie Ash is awake now. Did you give her true love's kiss, I heard that works."
Ali blushed and ruffled the boy's hair. "I don't know bud, I don't know if that'll work in this case, but maybe I'll try it later." She assured him, trying to put him at ease. She turned her attention to Ashlyn. "How are you...feeling?"
"I still don't remember anything, my brain feels like mush. The last thing I remember is being in college." Ashlyn said she didn't even have a definite memory of that.
Ali frowned, they hadn't really known each other well in college, but to know that Ashlyn didn't remember her at all stung. She pushed that down, remembering what Chris had told her earlier.
"Ashlyn I know you don't remember me, but I brought some pictures to maybe help. I can just leave it with you if you want." Ali didn't want to force her company on Ashlyn. She didn't want to make her feel any more uncomfortable than the keeper already was.
"You can stay if you want, my brother was saying he had to get Jensen home for bed," Ashlyn said, waving goodbye to her nephew, brother, and sister-in-law. Once they were gone she tried to focus on Ali. "I am sorry I don't remember you, I am not trying to hurt you." Ashlyn felt like the guilt was eating her up, she didn't like letting Ali down.
Ali sniffled and slowly reached for Ashlyn's hand, giving the keeper plenty of time to pull her hand away, but thankful that she didn't. "I wish you could remember Ash, the past eight years have been the best of my life. I want to marry you and spend my life with you."
"Well, maybe we could try to fall in love all over again." Ashlyn offered, trying to appease her. She wasn't sure it would work, but the smile that it brought to Ali's face, made her feel like maybe she had said the right thing.
"I could do that, try to win you back and make you fall in love with me, in ten dates or less. You used to tell me, that you knew you loved me after the second date and that you knew you wanted to marry me by the fifth one." Ali could recall how happy they had been on their first dates. Maybe she could get Ashlyn to fall in love with her all over again.
Ashlyn gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Alright then Ali, ten dates or less, make me fall in love with you again." Ashlyn challenged softly. "But what happens if you don't make me fall in love?"
Ali frowned, trying to swallow down the lump of fear in her throat. "Well, then I guess we go our separate ways. I won't force you to stay with me if you aren't in love."
Ashlyn wasn't sure why, but her own heart clenched painfully at the thought of losing Ali. She wasn't sure if she was in love with her, but she knew that the girl was important to her. "Okay, you got yourself a deal."