Warnings: Angst, mentions of injury

Word Count: 2758

Author's Note: This was originally written in two parts on my Tumblr, which is why there is a big time jump in the middle! Hopefully it doesn't make reading too awkward. 

"He's in this room right down here," the nurse said as you walked down the bleak hallway.

Your heart was pounding with the anticipation of being able to talk to Josh again. Just over a month ago, he had been involved in a bad car accident that had caused him serious brain damage. The brain damage led to a coma, which meant that you had been mostly on your own for the last month while he healed. It had been hard on you, but you were just thankful that you hadn't lost him entirely.

The nurse turned just as you reached the outside of his room. You furrowed your eyebrows, unsure as to why she was blocking you from the door.

"Before you go in, the doctor is going to talk about his diagnosis with you for a minute."

"Ok," you nodded, a bit disheartened but otherwise complacent. As badly as you wanted to see him, you knew that his injuries had been serious and there was always a possibility he wouldn't be quite the same once he finally did get better.

The nurse walked into the room, opening the door just enough for her to slide in. You tried to catch a glimpse of Josh, but to no avail.

You recognized the doctor that walked out of the room a few moments later. The two of you had met when Josh was first admitted, she must have been the one who was supervising his care.

"Y/N Dun, nice to see you again," she smiled.

"You too."

"So, Josh's diagnosis," she said, pulling the clipboard from under her arm in front of her. "Now that's he's awake, we got a better idea of what exactly happened."

"And that is?" you asked, eager to get inside the room.

"He has retrograde amnesia." You felt your throat catch at her words. "Unfortunately, he doesn't remember most of the events that occurred before the accident. He still has most of his non-declarative memory, but his personal life remains largely a mystery to him. As we told his family, there is a good chance that he won't recognize you."

Tears were pooling in the bottom of your eyes, "Is there a chance that he'll regain his memories?"

"It's possible, but highly unlikely."

"Ok," you nodded, trying to process all of the information that you had just been told.

"Feel free to enter the room whenever you like," she smiled before walking off down the hall.

You took a moment to compose yourself, wiping away the tears that had slipped down your cheeks. In a way, you were just meeting Josh again for the first time. Hopefully this time you wouldn't make a complete fool of yourself.

With shaking hands, you reached for the handle and slowly opened the door. Josh was sitting in the hospital bed, munching on some chips and watching whatever was playing on the TV. He was wearing a beanie, one that his family must have brought him, leaving a small strip of his dark brown hair visible. You wondered what his hair looked like beneath it, since it hadn't been dyed in so long. A nurse was in the corner of the room, making some markings on a chart. He gave you a small smile, which you returned.

Josh turned to look at you when he heard the door open. His eyes widened, and he quickly wiped some of the chip dust off of his fingers before holding out a hand.

"Hi," he smiled.

You walked over and shook his hand hesitantly, hoping that he couldn't feel how badly you were shaking. "Hi."

"I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?" he asked.

"Right, sorry," you said sheepishly, quickly realizing that you had gotten caught up in admiring him. "My name is Y/N. I'm your wife."

"I'm married?" he said, his eyes going wide. He looked at you and then at the nurse, as if to double check that you weren't playing a prank on him. The nurse nodded. "That's crazy, but it explains the ring," he said, holding up his left hand.

"Yeah," you said, quickly wiping away a tear when he was distracted.

"How long have we been married?" he asked.

"In a couple months, we'll have been married for three years."

Josh nodded, "Three years," he repeated quietly.

"You can take a seat if you'd like," the nurse said.

"Right," you said quietly, walking over and taking a seat in one of the chairs on the far side of the bed. Josh's eyes were on you as you walked over and set your stuff down. On the table next to him, there were tons of cards addressed to him from various family members and friends.

"Do you want a chip?" Josh asked, tilting the bag towards you.

You wrinkled your nose, wondering why he would offer you the chips you hated, until you realized he had no idea that you hated them.

"No, thank you. I don't like those kind," you said.

"Really?" he asked, taking a moment to examine the front of the bag before reaching in and grabbing one. "I think they're fantastic."

"I know," you half smiled.

It felt weird to still know everything about Josh while he had no idea you were even married until a few minutes ago when you had told him. You weren't exactly sure how things were going to play out from here on out, but you tried to push it to the back of your mind and enjoy the fact that you were with him now.

"So what else should I know?" he asked, grabbing another chip from the bag.

You let out a long breath of air as a million things began to run through your head. There was almost too much for you to ever explain to him.

"Why don't we look at some pictures?" you asked.

"That would be nice."

Josh scooted over so there was a bit more room for you to sit on the edge of the bed. You pulled out your phone and began to look through photos with him, giving him small backstories for each of them. The two of you looked through photos of your pets, vacations you had gone on, and just random things the two of you had done. After about two hours, you decided that you should probably let Josh rest some more.

You got off the bed and grabbed your bag, pulling it over your shoulder in one swift motion. Seeing Josh had been bittersweet.

"Are you leaving already?" Josh asked as you were packing up your things.

"Yeah, you still need to get some more rest."

Josh pulled out his puppy dog eyes, and it made you laugh a bit to see that despite everything that happened to him, he was still the same Josh deep down inside. "Are you going to come back again?"

"Of course. Legally, you're stuck with me," you smiled, flashing your wedding ring at him.

This caused him to smile, "I like you, Y/N. You're funny."

"Thank you, Josh. Now get some rest, I'll be back tomorrow."

He waved at you as you turned around and walked out the door. Once you were outside of his room, you took a moment to compose yourself before walking towards your car.

It had been two months since Josh had been released from the hospital. After a long week of discussion with medical professionals and Josh's family, it had been decided that he would return home to Ohio and live with his family. The possibility of Josh regaining his memory and choosing to move back in with you had been brought up, but you decided that there wasn't a point in getting your hopes up too much.

After a week of living in your old house alone, this time knowing that Josh was awake, you decided there wasn't really a point in staying. Your own family was hundreds of miles away, and Josh was even further than that. After a quick call to Josh's parents and some internet searching, you had made the decision to move to Ohio so that you could be closer to him.

Three months after Josh's release, you were finally in your new apartment in Ohio. Your old house had sold fast, which hadn't surprised you. Josh had loved that house the second that he stepped foot inside, and selling it had been a bittersweet moment. Your new apartment was small, but it had just enough space for you and your pets.

You were making sure to visit Josh every day. The doctor had said that being around him and doing things that you had done before the accident could help to bring parts of his memory back. He had also joked that it could make him fall in love with you all over again. You had smiled nervously at that remark because it meant he might also not fall in love with you again.

"Good afternoon," Laura smiled at you as she opened the door.

"Hi," you smiled, trying to contain the excited dog that was currently running around your feet.

"Josh is going to be so happy to see Rocket again," she smiled, bending down and petting him.

"Where do you want me to take him?"

"The backyard is fine, Josh is actually out there right now."

"Perfect, thank you."

"Of course, dear."

You stepped inside the house and gave Laura a quick hug before making your way to the backyard. Sure enough, Josh was sitting on one of the lawn chairs drinking what appeared to be a glass of lemonade. Rocket immediately freaked out upon seeing Josh again, but you tried to keep him as calm as you could. You were pretty sure Josh wouldn't appreciate being tackled by a seemingly random dog.

"Hey, Josh," you smiled.

"Y/N!" he smiled, turning to face you. "Who is this?"

"This is our dog-"

"Wait! Let me try to remember his name, I know you've told me," Josh interrupted you. "My therapist said I should practice recalling information that people have told me, because it may improve other memory recall."

"Noted. Let me know if you need any hints."

Josh looked deep in thought for a moment. His eyes suddenly widened with recognition, "Rocket!"

Rocket wiggled a bit in excitement at the mention of his name. His tail continued to wag at a thousand miles an hour, and he gave a small bark of excitement.

"He's dying to see you, Josh."

Josh got up from his chair and took a seat on the ground, "I'm ready."

"You sure? He's pretty high energy, like, he might knock you over."

"If I could handle him before, I can handle him now...I could handle him before, couldn't I?"

"Better than anyone else."

"Then I'm ready."

You unhooked Rocket from his leash and he immediately sprinted over to Josh, barreling straight into him. Josh happily held him in his lap and allowed Rocket to cover his face in kisses. Seeing the two of them together again was quite possibly your favorite part of the recovery process so far.

"I can't believe this dog is mine!" Josh said with the biggest smile on his face. "He's the best dog I've ever met."

"Do you even remember any other dogs you've met?" you giggled.

"Well, not really. Just the ones I pass when I go on runs."

"That's what I thought."

"Man, did I just have the best life before the accident? This was...is my dog," he caught himself. "I'm married to the coolest person in the world. I'm in a band with my best friend. I don't think it gets any better than that."

You smiled at how happy he was, although you couldn't help but wonder if he still struggled with his anxiety. Maybe it hadn't been as bad since he didn't remember most of it, but surely it would creep back eventually.

"You had it pretty good," you smiled.

"I've been listening to our music lately since the therapist recommended it," Josh explained. "I can't believe how talented Tyler is!"

"You're talented too, Josh," you said. He shrugged. There was the anxiety. "Have you tried playing the drums at all lately?"

"No, I'm afraid I'll have forgotten it all."

"You shouldn't have. Drumming is a non-declarative memory, so you should have most of the skills still."

"Really?"

"If the doctor and my college psychology professors are right, then yes," you smiled.

"Ok, maybe I'll try it soon. Would you be there when I do? For support?"

"Of course."

"Ok," Josh smiled.

It had been a year since Josh was released from the hospital. His memory was getting better, and he was beginning to remember some things that had happened to him before the accident. To celebrate, his parents had decided to host a small get together for close friends and family.

You opened the fridge and pulled out the fruit salad that you had made that morning. Laura had recommended that everyone bring something for the party and you knew there was no way you could get out of cooking considering you were Josh's wife and all. You had decided on a fruit salad, it was just about the fanciest thing you could make with your lack of culinary skill.

"We have to leave in five minutes," you called throughout the apartment.

"I'm almost ready," he answered.

You covered the fruit salad in plastic wrap and set it on the edge of the counter where you wouldn't miss it. Rocket was running around the living room wildly, his tongue flying everywhere.

"Rocket, come here," you said.

Rocket ran over and came to a sudden stop right in front of your feet. You took advantage of the momentary calm to clip his leash on before he took off running again. It had taken him awhile to adjust to no longer having a big yard to run around in, but he had eventually learned the best way to sprint around the living room. Meanwhile, Josh walked out of the bedroom and into the entryway.

"How do I look?" he asked, holding his arms out and giving you a spin.

"Very handsome," you smiled.

"Ok good, I have a lot to live up to." He walked over and wrapped an arm around you waist before pressing a quick kiss to your temple.

"Oh shut up," you joked. "Are you ready?"

"Only if you are."

"Alright, let's grab the fruit salad and the dog and get going."

You and Josh were the first ones to arrive, which was fitting considering it was a party for him. Laura hugged the both of you and ushered you inside.

"Don't you two look so nice!" she smiled.

"Thank you," you returned her smile. Josh murmured a quiet "thanks".

"People should be arriving in about ten minutes. Josh, do you need anything to help you feel less overwhelmed?"

"As long as Y/N sticks with me to help me remember people and events that slip my mind, I should be ok."

"Perfect," Laura smiled. "Y/N, you're up for that?"

"Of course, I stuck by his side at parties even when he didn't need me to," you joked.

Josh smiled and grabbed your hand. You gave it a reassuring squeeze.

By the time that the party was over, you and Josh were both exhausted. You had spent the past four hours bouncing around from conversation to conversation, and it was evident that it had taken a toll on Josh. He climbed into the passenger seat of the car and immediately leaned it back, closing his eyes.

"You feeling alright?" you asked, reaching over and grabbing his hand.

"Just tired, there was a lot to try and remember."

"I know, but you did it!"

"True," he said, his mouth forming a half-smile. "I'm so lucky to have you."

"I'm luckier," you said, giving his hand a quick squeeze before starting the car.

"Thank you for not leaving me because I have amnesia."

"Of course I wouldn't leave you. Just because you don't remember me doesn't mean I don't remember you."

"Were you ever worried that I wasn't going to love you again?"

"Every day," you sighed. "But I figured if you fell in love with me once, maybe I could somehow trick you into doing it again," you laughed.

Josh laughed quietly, "Well, I suppose you were successful then."

"And I couldn't be happier about it."

"Neither could I."