A/N: Hello everyone! I really hope you enjoy reading this fic. Rucas has officially taken over my life. I've had this idea in my head for a while. Let me know what you think! I really loved The Vow and there are several quotes in there that have stuck with me since I first watched that movie. Anyways, enjoy!
Summary: When Lucas gets into an accident and loses his memory, it is up to Riley to get them through this ordeal. How, though, does one look at the man one loves and win him back when he does not remember all the important moments they have shared?
Riley watches as he blinks, heart beating exhilaratingly fast as happiness sweeps through her. Her husband groans as he takes in his surroundings, and as his doctor addresses him, she wills herself to say something – anything, really – but words cannot leave her.
She wants to tell him how much she misses him and how she is so glad that she can be done missing him. She wants to tell him how the past few months have been torture, how she has been clinging on to the thread of hope as she waited for him to open his beautiful eyes. She wants to tell him that she cannot wait for him to come home with her, and that their friends and family were waiting for her to just say the word and they will crowding around him.
She wants to tell him so much, but when his eyes land on her, her breath hitches. Lucas blinks at her again, confusion marring his handsome face, and she gives him a shaky comforting smile.
"Was anyone else hurt, ma'am?" his voice is raspy as he asks, his gaze on her unwavering since he set his eyes on her.
Riley's heart skips a beat when he addresses her.
"Wait, you – you know who I am, right?" she stutters.
"I'm sorry. Should I?" he asks and her world stops.
It feels as though they are the only two people in the room. She can feel the panic rising in her, but she squashes it down, taking a deep breath as she approaches her husband. From the corner of her eye, she sees Lucas' doctor fumbling with his patient's reports. Riley gulps softly and gently weaves her hand through Lucas' right hand. He looks at her in confusion, and she wonders how much more heartbreak she will be able to endure.
"Lucas," she breathes. "I'm your wife."
Tears spring into her eyes when he roughly pulls his hand away at her words. She wills herself to calm down, trying to understand things from his point of view.
Lucas is staring at her, eyes wide with disbelief. She watches as panic etches onto her husband's face when he holds out his right hand. The wedding band on his ring finger glistens under the light and it is the way he looks at it – as though he is seeing it for the first time – that pushes her over the edge.
"I'll… uh," Riley's voice cracks as she tries to find her words. "I'll be back."
She runs.
A few months ago…
"This is amazing," she giggles as she presses her head against his back. A large smile spreads across his face and he promises himself to bring her to the ranch again next year. The beam she had sent him earlier when he told her that they were going on a ride on Daisy, the white horse Riley had a soft spot for when they were first introduced, had made him feel as though he was in heaven. If he could spend the rest of his life making sure that that smile never fell from her face, he would die a happy man.
Lucas tugs at the reins, and Daisy slowly comes to a stop. He turns to face Riley, wanting to ask her if she would like to be in front, when his wife surges forward and captures his lips with hers.
He grins into the kiss, surprised and pleased at the same time. The angle is awkward – half of her is on his lap and the other half is dangling dangerously off Daisy's side – but it is still a kiss he knows he will never forget. There is a twinkle in her eye as she looks at him, and Lucas is certain that the look on his own face is mirroring hers. It's been two years since they've gotten married, and he prays and hopes everyday that the way she looks at him never changes.
"Thank you," she caresses his face and he leans into her touch.
He is about to tell her to sit back down properly but he is too late.
A loud bang echoes through the field, and he hears Riley scream as Daisy panics and gallops forward. He yells out for his wife when her presence behind him is no longer felt, scrambling to hold on to the reins but he is not fast enough. The last thing he remembers is being flung off his horse mere seconds after Riley.
The last thing he prays for is that she is safe.
And then everything turns black.
"Some impairment? He doesn't remember me!" she yells at the doctor and stomps away, tears clouding her eyes.
He does not remember her. Lucas does not remember her. Her husband does not remember her.
She slaps her hand onto the wall, the pain from the contact of her skin onto concrete resonating through her arm. Tears stream down her face as she slides her back against the wall. His husband does not remember her.
"Honey?"
Lucas does not remember her.
"Riley! Snap out of it, please!" is all she hears before she feels a sting across her face.
She stares at her best friend blankly.
"Riley," Maya grips her shoulders and helps her up. Her best friend guides her to the nearest chair, Maya's hold on her not loosening once. "Riles, what happened?"
Her voice shakes as she says it again, "He doesn't remember me."
Maya's eyes widen and she pulls Riley towards her, squeezing her tight. The brunette closes her eyes upon the contact, sobbing as she grips onto her best friend.
4 years ago…
He hears her before he sees her. She is waving her hands animatedly as she talks to her blonde friend. There is a twinkle in her eyes when she grins at her friend, and Lucas cannot help but think about how pretty she is. He is about to look away when she turns, lock eyes with him and smiles.
He has heard about moments in one's life when time stands still. He knows that those are the moments that one will remember forever and even though it just happened, he knows he will always remember the friendly smile she gave him just seconds earlier.
He gives her a small smile back, nodding at her. He is disappointed when she turns back to talk to her friend, but goes back to reading his book when he hears a loud screech.
He is feeling particularly thankful that he got a seat a few stations ago when he sees her moving backwards towards him, having lost her footing when the train stopped. It is as though things are happening in slow motion as he reaches out and she falls nicely onto his lap.
"Hi. We were just talking about you," she smiles sheepishly at him.
He grins at her, resisting the urge to rub his neck like he always does when he is nervous.
"I'm Lucas," he introduces himself.
"I love it," she adorably admits and he resists the urge to laugh when her eyes widen at her own words. She must not have filtered her thoughts enough. "I'm Riley."
There are moments he knows he will remember forever. He is very sure that this is one of them.
"Peaches, what am I going to do? How do I handle this? I don't know how to handle this!" she sniffs and Maya holds on to her, her own eyes filled with tears.
"Not alone," her best friend reassures her. "I called Zay earlier. He'll be here in an hour. Farkle and Smackle should be here by tomorrow. Josh will be here during his break. Your parents and Auggie will be here after school hours. Riles, you have us. And not to forget this little one."
Maya pats her pregnant belly and Riley gives her friend a small smile, the support she knows she will always have from her friends and family easing the tight hold panic had gripped around her heart from earlier.
"Do you know what the last thing he remembers is?"
The brunette shakes her head and looks down, embarrassed. "I, uh, kinda left after he told me he didn't remember anything. We haven't really talked. I'm going to give him some space to wrap his head around this."
Maya takes her chin and gently brings her face up. Her best friend is looking at her with understanding.
"A lot has happened, Riles. It's okay to have been scared. There's nothing to be ashamed of for needing some air."
Maya always knows what the right things are to say to her in any state she is in. It is one thing she knows she can always count on.
"I'm so tired, Maya," she admits and Maya nods, bringing her close again. Riley is careful to place herself in a position that is comfortable for her best friend. "But I'm not giving up hope. We'll make it through this."
Her companion says nothing and Riley knows that Maya is trying to protect her from the truth. The truth is that they have a long road ahead of them. She does not know what Lucas remembers, and she does not know how he will react and adapt to her and the life they had been leading before the accident. She does not know if his memory would come back. She does not know a lot of things.
What she does know is that she loves him with all her heart. What she does know is that if it had been her without her memories, he would be fighting for her and their love. What she does know is that she is going to do the same thing.
"I have faith," she says again and Maya squeezes her hand comfortingly.
"Of course you do," her pregnant friend nods. "You wouldn't be Riley if you didn't."
He finds her in the lounge a few hours later.
Riley is asleep on one of the couches, her long legs dangling from the end of the couch but she is not alone. Her head is leaning on the shoulder of a pregnant blonde woman who is also asleep.
Lucas can tell that his wife is not having a pleasant dream. Her brows are narrowed and she is muttering under her breath.
He feels the weight on his chest lighten at the sight of her. It is a strange feeling, to find comfort at the sight of her. He does not remember the woman who is claiming to be his wife. The weight of the wedding band on his ring finger feels heavy but he has not taken it off. He had thought about it earlier, but had decided against it. Not wearing it just feels wrong.
Lucas gently pokes her shoulders and observes as she awakens. When she does so, her blonde companion awakens too, though the contrast between them immediately becomes obvious. The blonde furrows her eyebrows, grumpy, while Riley gives him a soft smile when their eyes lock. He feels a tug at his heart when she does so, and if this is the way she makes him feel when he does not know her, he cannot imagine how their lives had been when he did.
"Hi," he greets him nervously.
"Hey," she gently regards him. She turns to the blonde, chuckling when her friend mutters something he cannot hear. When the blonde lays her eyes on him though, her eyes widen and tear up.
"Hey, Huckleberry," she says and he turns around to find out who she is talking to.
"She's talking to you," Riley informs him and he looks at them in confusion. "That is her nickname for you. This is Maya, Lucas. She's my best friend."
He is taken aback by that piece of information. The pregnant blonde waddles towards him, grabs him by his shoulders and hugs him tightly for less than two seconds before she lets go.
"Sorry, hormones," she laughs through her tears and he just gives her an awkward smile. She turns to Riley then and tells her, "I'll be back tomorrow. You two should probably talk."
Riley takes the bag Maya was about to sling over her shoulders.
"We'll wait for Josh with you," she tells the blonde and Lucas watches in amusement when Maya gives her friend an exasperated look. Lucas is sure she is about to argue with Riley when a young man in scrubs approaches them and takes the bag from Riley.
"Thanks, Riles," the man gives his wife a kiss on the cheek and Lucas feels the smile slip off his face at the gesture. He straightens his back and regards the man, surprised when he holds out his hand. "It's good to see you're okay, Lucas. I'm Josh, Riley's uncle and Maya's husband."
He feels his face heat up at the pointed look that Josh sends his way. No doubt the other man had sensed his jealousy.
"Uh… Thanks for the introduction," he nods appreciatively and Josh gives him one last friendly smile before turning his attention to his pregnant wife.
"Let's go, wife," he says and slings the bag over his shoulder. He holds out his arm, and Maya rolls her eyes, pushing his hand away as she walks away.
"I'm pregnant, not an invalid, Josh."
"I didn't say you were an invalid, Maya."
"Well, you were implying it!"
Riley laughs as her uncle and best friend's voices drift off and turns to him. The previous look of amusement on her face slowly dissipates and uncertainty replaces it.
"And I'm, uh, hungry. Can we get something to eat, please?" he breaks the silence.
"Sure."
They walk to the cafeteria in silence, not knowing what to say to each other.
"Here," he hands her a plate and takes one for himself. She nods her thanks at him and walks down the buffet line. He takes a deep breath and goes for it, "So, I have a few questions about me. And a-about us."
She nods at him, motioning for him to continue.
"Why do I have weird hair?" he asks and amusement dances in her pretty eyes at his question.
"I'm gonna assume you're asking me why it's short?"
He nods. He remembers having shaggier hair, and though his family had complained about it, he had kept it mostly just to annoy his father.
"The clinic you work at has strict guidelines about the length of your hair," she tells him. "And you actually preferred it short so I had Zay come in to maintain your hair when you were in your coma."
Wait – patients?
"I'm sorry. Clinic? Why do I have clinic?"
"You're an intern at an animal clinic, Lucas," she reveals. "You're studying to be a vet and this would have been your last year."
He is so confused now.
"I'm a vet? The last time I wanted to be one was in high school. What happened to law school?"
"I think you were many credits shy."
He sits down as quickly as he can, legs suddenly feeling like jelly. He notices the way she clenches and unclenches her fist, as though she does not know what to do with her hands.
"How long have we been together?"
"Four years. We've been married for two."
He has been married to her for two years but as hard as he tries to, he cannot picture their lives together. She seems so sweet and genuine, so different from the girls he does remember dating.
He remembers having a type. He remembers going on dates with girls who never expected anything more from him than one night. He remembers that changing when he met Missy Bradford at one of his parents' charity gala and he had been smitten with her. He remembers taking her on a date and dating her for two years before he proposed.
He remembers being engaged to Missy Bradford, but he doesn't remember being married to Riley Matthews.
And he tells her so.
Hurt flashes across her face, and he observes the way the smile she had given him earlier dissipates for a short while. He has never felt sorrier in his life for being the cause of that look on her face, but then another smile makes its way onto her face.
It's a smile that does not reach her eyes, as though she is forcing herself to not let her emotions get the best of her. He decides right then that he does not like that smile.
"You said something about Zay?" he asks, desperate to change the subject as an awkward silence settles between them. She nods.
"He should be here soon. I think a familiar face is what you need," her voice shakes as she says so.
"And my family?"
Not for the first time, she shifts in her seat in discomfort. "Uh, you haven't spoken to them in five years."
He blinks at her, "What? Why?"
She takes a deep breath, "You had a disagreement with your father about giving up law school at Stanford to go to Cornell for your vet degree. It was a really big argument."
"And I haven't spoken to my mother or sister because of that too?"
"It was a really big argument," she repeats weakly.
There is something she is not telling him because it just did not add up. Why would he stop talking to his family, especially his mother and sister who he was very close to, because of school?
"But I'm still friends with Zay?"
She nods. "He was the first person you went to when you left Texas. He has never left your side."
It is comforting to know that there is one thing that has not changed.
Lucas feels a presence behind him, and Riley beams brightly at the person behind him. He turns and for the first time since he woke up, he feels a sense of relief.
He gets up and wraps his arms around the man he considers his brother, and Zay hugs him back just as tightly.
"Lucas, man. It is so good to see you awake," his best friend grins as they let go before turning to Riley. "Hey, Sugar."
"There's my favorite songwriter," she says as Zay kisses her cheek.
So Zay had accomplished his dream of being a songwriter. Lucas feels a surge of happiness for his friend. He knows how much Zay has struggled just to get to college, and the fact that his best friend is doing well even after college brings makes him feel a sense of pride.
Riley nods at Lucas, grabbing her bag as she gets up. Zay takes her spot as the two men sit back down. "I'll be back in an hour, okay? I just need to head home and grab you clothes, Lucas."
"Take your time, Riles. I'll stay with Lucas," Zay says and she nods at him appreciatively. She gives the man a final side hug and then goes to her husband.
She is about to give Lucas a peck when the man pulls away.
"Sorry. Habit," she mutters. She gives him one last smile though, pats his shoulder and then leaves without a second glance.
"That was cold, man," Zay gives him a sympathetic look and Lucas shrugs miserably.
There really is nothing he can do about it. As much as it pains him to hurt her, he is not comfortable enough for intimate acts such as the one she had been about to initiate.
"So, songwriter, huh?" he changes the subject, hoping that the conversation he has with Zay will distract him from the heartbroken look his wife has sent him earlier.
She wipes the tears from her eyes, closing them as she attempts to reign in her emotions.
She has to be strong. She knows it is going to be a tough road ahead. She has to hold on for Lucas.
Not for the first time since the accident, she opens the box on her counter. Photos, receipts, and many items that hold so many memories for her sit in the box. The things that she reaches out for are two paper airplanes.
She runs a hand across his familiar handwriting, memory of the day he gave her that paper airplane rushing through her mind.
Two years ago…
He is looking so handsome in his tux, happiness radiating from his face. They are on the rooftop of her apartment building. Zay stands beside him, and Farkle stands in the middle of them. Beside her, Maya is wiping her eyes and Riley does not doubt that her family is doing the same behind them.
Riley is sure that the look on Lucas' face is mirroring hers, and as Maya passes her the ring and Zay does the same with Lucas, she has never been more thankful for subways.
"Riley, would you like to say your vows?" Farkle smiles at her and she nods. She squeezes the hand that perfectly fits in hers, takes the blue paper airplane from Maya and starts reading from it.
"I vow to always love you with all my heart and in all the forms that you are, and to never doubt that the love we have is timeless. I vow to always be the one you can talk to, to always have meaningful conversations with you and to sit with you in silence when need be. I vow to always have faith and hope in you and in us, and to always keep alive the love we can call home."
He kisses her softly, tears in his beautiful eyes. Behind her, she hears her father sniff loudly and both she and Lucas chuckle at that.
"Lucas," Farkle nods. Lucas takes a piece of paper out of his pocket and Riley chuckles through her tears at his paper airplane. Lucas takes a deep breath and starts reading the words on the wings.
"I vow to always cherish what we have, and to always remember that what we have is special and irreplaceable. I vow to always believe in Pluto with you, and to always hang on to you when things are rough. I vow to always protect you, especially when the world is against us, and to always choose love over anything else. It's been you since the moment you fell into my lap, Riley, and it will always be you."
Her heart melts at his words, and she tries her best to resist the urge to cry. Maya would kill her if she ruined her makeup.
"Rings?"
She grips the ring tightly in her hand.
"Do you, Lucas Friar, take this woman to be your wife?"
"I do."
"Do you, Riley Matthews, take this man to be your husband?"
"Absolutely," she grins and Lucas chuckles. "I do."
"By the power vested in me from the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
She grins into the kiss as he caresses her face. She is vaguely aware of the cheers her families and friends are making. As Lucas pulls away, she is overwhelmed by the love she feels for him, and squeezes his hand tight.
"I love you," he says and as they walk down the aisle together, her head on his shoulders and her arm around his, she finally feels whole.
She wipes the tears in her eyes at her favorite memory. She made her vows to him on their wedding day two years ago, and she very much intends to keep it.
A/N: What do you guys think? Should I continue? It'll be my first multi-chapter fic after a long while so bear with me? Next chapter should be up by next week if I continue :)