Concussions are head injuries caused by a blow to the head and can result in brain damage. Sometimes a victim suffers varying states of consciousness, or none at all. There also may be confusion, dizziness, and memory loss In all cases of head injuries, a physician's care is immediately required.

"I'd like to propose a toast."

There were clinks of glasses, urgent hushes and the roar of the room turned to a low buzz in seconds. A man stood, his beer bottle raise, the tie on his shirt long gone, the buttons undone at the collar. His dark hair slicked back, his eyes a little misty, either from the sentiment of the speech he was about to give or the shot of crown he'd just taken with his buddies moments earlier.

"I've know Sid nearly all my life. He's a brother to me and I am so happy that I am here to share in this amazing weekend. When I met Caroline, I knew that this girl was special. Getting to know her I realized how good of a fit she was for my buddy, but to understand that, you gotta know Sid. The kind of guy he is. It reminds me of a story way back when we were in grade three…"

Ten minutes later, as the speech continued with no ending in sight, Caroline Reid swallowed a sigh as she smiled gracefully at the tipsy ol' pal of Sid's who stood before a crowd of nearly 200. It was a beautiful room. Historic, but classy. Ornate, but still understated. The chandeliers sparkled, the linens flawless without a wrinkle in sight. She stared out at a sea of people and wondered how many she actually knew. Ten? Twenty?

A small wedding they had said. Just close friends and family. And yet here she was. Her rehearsal dinner. THe night before the biggest day of her life and she'd wondered how had this happened?

"Is he ever going to finish?" she whispered to hear seat mate, who seemed engrossed in the speech.

"Huh?" Sidney Crosby cocked his head in his fiancee's direction, his eyes sparkling and trained on his best friend who was a little drunk, but was telling some great stories that Sid had forgotten about.

"I think your grandmother has fallen asleep," she whispered again and tried not to let her grievance end just because her extremely handsome soon to be husband was gently squeezing her thigh and rubbing his thumb again the inside of her leg, a tactic he used to distract her.

It wouldn't work.

It had been 3 weeks and 2 days since Sid had proposed. 23 days. And this speech seemed longer than any of it. She couldn't complain. It was amazing. But the weeks had been a blur. All of it really. Hours after the proposal, as they called family and friends to share the good news, he'd turned to her. Sid's eyes bright and alive. Filled with a joy she could share but not really describe.

"Let's get married."

She'd laughed and held up her hand, showing off the ring. "I think we got that part covered."

"No, now. Let's do this now. While you're here."

"Now? What about my family, our friends?"

"Ok, not right now. But soon. In a couple of weeks." He drew her close. They were in the middle of his kitchen. His parents and some relatives sitting outside on the patio as they celebrated the good news. She'd facetimed with her parents. They were engaged. It still didn't feel quite real but it was. And now, he wanted it to happen immediately.

And even though logic and rational told her she needed at least a year to plan a wedding. Her heart said, yes. Yes, now. She didn't want to spend another moment without him. She wanted him forever and she wanted forever to begin as soon as possible.

"The season will be starting soon and we'll have to wait nearly a year to get this opportunity again. I want to go back to Pittsburgh with you as my wife. I love you and I can't wait to make you mi-"

"Yes," she interrupted, the sparkle in her eye rivaling his. Caroline nodded emphatically. "I want that too, let's do it."

"Really?"

She bit her lip and nodded, "As long as my family can get here, yes. I love you too and I don't want to wait either."

His mouth covered hers in an instant and she stood up on her toes to meet the ferocity of his kiss.

After that it was settled. A small wedding. They had only a few weeks to plan.

The next day they went up to Prince Edward Island. Caroline had grown up watching Anne of Green Gables and had romanticized PEI for years. It was as beautiful as she'd imagined. They found a cute little hotel that overlooked the ocean and Caroline discovered that short notice meant nothing when it came to fame and money.

Her mother flew up a few days later and it was like a tornado. A cyclone of flowers and dresses, food and music. Everything she needed was at her fingertips and there was no limit.

Including the guest list, that was quickly taken out of her hands and put into the control of her soon to be mother in law. The little hotel wouldn't work and was upgraded to a beach side resort down the road. Her list of 60 people turned into over 350. If there had been more time she would have protested. But there wasn't. She had to get her dress and pick a small bridal party. Sara and Taylor at first, but even that began to grow.

But in the end she didn't care. The party didn't matter. All that mattered was she and Sid. They were going to be married and in the end as long as he was there at the end of the aisle, nothing else mattered. It was overwhelming, it wasn't particularly what she'd planned, but it was all about compromise.

There was also a lot of paperwork. Marrying someone from another county was complicated. She and Sid went down to Halifax a few times to get it all sorted out. And then there was the awkward reality. A visit to Sid's attorney. An explanation of assets, it was described to her. His father had come too. Sid looked embarrassed by the whole thing, but she'd signed what needed to be signed, understanding that this was just part of it.

And now here she was. And despite all of it, the out of control wedding, the prenup, the never ending speech, she wouldn't change any of it. Because he was sitting next to her, dashing in a striped dress shirt and charcoal grey slacks, his hair freshly cut and smelling distinctly like him, and they were going to be together.

Forever.

Eventually the speech ended and the circus continued, they said their goodbyes until the next day and Caroline spent hours into the late night surrounded by people helping her get everything settled.

She was in one wing of the hotel, he in another and many steps had taken place to keep them from seeing each other until 2 o'clock tomorrow.

Finally everyone left and she could go to sleep. But just as her head hit the pillow, she heard a light knock at her door.

It was Sid.

He was in track pants and a long t-shirt and his hair stuck up in every direction.

"Come with me," he said quietly, smiling.

She pulled on some clothes and slipped her feet into a pair of flip flops.

They navigated the quiet halls and tip toed through the lobby.

The night air was cool, but his hand was warm and held onto hers tightly. Down to the beach they went and despite her questions, he didn't speak, leading her along the sandy shores.

Finally they stopped, he pointed towards the hillside back to dry land and she saw the lights of the small hotel they'd visited a few weeks ago.

Sid gave her a small smile, "I know this isn't the wedding we talked about. I'm sorry, its been taken over by my family. They mean well, but I guess, I don't know, things sometimes just snowball. But this. Right now," he took her hands, his gaze tender on hers, the dark shadows casting a blanket over them, "right now, I want to marry you."

Caroline felt the tears warm on her cheeks, her heart hammering against her chest.

"I, Sidney, take you Caroline, to be my lawfully wedded wife…" his voice was quiet, soft. He knew all the words and he held both her hands firmly in his as the words came sure and steady.

She repeated the words back to him. Shaky with emotion, she spoke, "I, Caroline, take you Sidney to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have…" her voice caught. She swallowed and smiled, "To have and to hold..."

She didn't break his gaze. Her words coming stronger and with conviction. Every word an oath that no matter what they always had each other.

When the vows were done, Sid cleared his throat and pulled her into his arms.

"I now pronounce us man and wife," he whispered, his forehead dropping to hers. "I'm going to kiss my bride now."

His mouth moved gently across hers as he tightened his embrace.

"I love you, Mrs. Crosby," he said against her lips.

Caroline felt the shiver flow down to her toes.

"I love you, Mr. Crosby," she replied.

"Forever."

3 years later

It came halfway through the second period of the home opener. They'd raised the banner and he stepped on the ice for his 12th NHL season. He felt great. That spring he'd hoisted the cup for the second time, he'd just attended the ring ceremony a few days earlier and now they had just taken the lead against their division rival the Capitals. He'd come out of the neutral zone barreling through, he'd criss crossed on the ice, the thrill of a new season coursing through his veins and then…

He was in a room. It was dark. His gear was gone and his lips were dry. Voices that seemed far away were asking him questions. He knew his mouth was moving, but he couldn't say what was coming out. Then they were gone. And he was alone. His eyes felt heavy. His head pounding.

He knew what this was. He couldn't remember what had happened but he knew this.

This part was familiar. Painfully familiar.

Some time later the trainers came back, along with the team doctor. Then a little while later Flower appeared.

No visitors, but Flower didn't listen. He couldn't let his teammate, his friend be alone.

"They're going to do a few more tests. Wont let me go quite yet."

Flower nodded, "You'll be ok buddy." He gave a smile because that's what Flower did.

"Hey, will you do me a favor?" Sid asked. "Can you find Caroline? I'm sure she's terrified. I asked these guys to let her know I'm ok, but they keep telling me to just stay still. I think she's up in the suite. I'm going to need her to drive us home tonight."

Flower stopped smiling, his eyes flickered to the trainers surrounding his friend and captain, then back to Sid.

"Buddy..."

But Marc didn't get a chance to finish. Instead he watched his teammate's eye glass over and with one big heave, vomit onto the floor between his feet.

After that everything moved very fast.

Sidney heard the voices get louder, images became blurry and then there was nothing.

He woke up to the bright light filtering in through the vertical blinds. There was a steady beeping and the smell of hand sanitizer and latex.

In the corner was a lump on the couch, a blanket covered the form and as he tried to get his bearings, he felt a low grunt come from his lips. The lump moved.

Caroline.

The blanket fell and the lump revealed itself. Not Caroline. It was his mother.

"Sweetie," she breathed, jumping from the couch and crossing the room.

She looked tired and disheveled, but smiled as she came closer and took his hand in hers.

"What's going on?" he croaked. His voice was hoarse and his throat burned.

"Let me call the nurse," Trina said quickly, her fingers seeking the call button on the remote next to her son.

"Your dad will be here soon, he's coming from Montreal. I was in Boston with Taylor when the team called last night. They sent a plane for me. I got in just a few hours after you were admitted. It's a concussion, honey." Her eyes began to mist up. "It least that's what they think. You got sick and lost consciousness, so they brought you here. It's going to be okay." He felt her cool fingers close over his hand and give a light squeeze, her thumb running over his knuckles soothingly.

He looked around the room, there was no one else.

"Where's Caroline?" he asked.

Trina's hand stopped.

She said nothing.

"Where's Caroline?" he repeated. Something wasn't right.

"Where is my wife?" he nearly shouted.

And then the door opened and a sea of nurses and doctors flooded in. He watched as his mother pulled away, falling back behind the crowd and disappearing from view.

Lights shone in his face, a thousand questions directed at him.

But he had only one.

Where was Caroline?

She was running late. Pulling into the parking lot, she turned into the first spot she could find and grabbed her stuff before the car was even in park. Caroline dashed across the asphalt, the October sun strangely warm, as it was officially an Indian summer.

Her hair was still wet. She'd overslept. Waking up in the middle of the night to a feeling of dread. It had taken hours to fall back asleep and when she had, she slept right through her alarm.

She ascended the stairs of W.H. Taft School. The Cincinnati magnet school was not far from her apartment and she'd made it with twelve minutes to spare. Just enough to grab a cup of coffee from the teacher's lounge and toss her lunch into the staff refrigerator.

There weren't many people in teacher's lounge. Most were already in their classroom, preparing for the day. Only the gym teacher and Mr. Wilson, the maintenence man sat on the worn plaid couch drinking from their mugs and watching Sportscenter.

Juggling her lunch and work bag and purse, she jerked her head hello at the men.

"Mornin' Miss Reid," Mr. Wilson said amiably, "Fine weather we're having, don't you think?"

"Yes," she said with a weak smile. "Very nice." She'd only been at the school a few weeks, but the staff had been extremely welcoming.

She put her lunch away and hoisted her bags over her shoulder. She crossed to the coffee maker and grabbed a mug. As the hot liquid streamed steadily into her cup, she heard it.

The television.

"A scary scene out of Pittsburgh last night, as captain Sidney Crosby suffered a nasty hit last night in the second period of the Penguins shootout win against Washington. Crosby left the game and didn't return. His status is unknown as we await a statement from the team."

Her hand was burning.

She tore her eyes from the tv and looked down at the hot coffee overflowing from her mug and spilling over onto her hand. Quickly she pulled back, wiping her hand on her striped dress.

She looked back the television, but it had gone to commercial. Mr. Wilson and the gym teacher were talking about the Bengals game.

It was like it had never happened.

Faintly she heard the buzzing. It was coming from her purse.

She frantically dug into the bag and pulled out her iphone.

Eight missed calls.

All from the same person.

A name she hadn't seen appear on her phone in nearly a year.

Trina Crosby.

Her mother in law.

Her soon to be ex-mother in law.

Caroline's phone buzzed again.

It was a text message.

Call me please. It's an emergency.

Something has happened to Sid.

***Author's note: About a month ago I was driving to visit a friend who lives a few hours away. Per usual, my brain began to wander and soon a storyline began to take shape. In this story Sidney gets another concussion. I spent two hours driving, lost in the story as it quickly began to develop. The next day, Sidney Crosby was diagnosed with a concussion. Safe to say, I was totally weirded out, but I also took it as a sign and decided to take the idea and pursue it as the third story in the Sid/Caroline pairing. I waited on posting anything because I think I might be a little superstitious as well and didn't want to put anything out in the universe until it was certain Sid was okay and back on the ice. You know me, updates aren't always the quickest, but I do have most of the story developed and am very inspired and motivated with the story. I hope you enjoy and go pens!***

***Author's note 2: There will be an epilogue to Now and Then. I don't know when but eventually I will fully finish that story. I got so burnt out on writing that I didn't want to post anything until I was happy with it.***