Connie's Story

It had been almost a year since Vicki’s plane had gone down and Jake still felt like it was yesterday. As hard as he tried he was not able to move on. He had a job, and he had friends, but nothing could fill the hole left in his heart from losing his wife and children. When she died a part of him died with her..

One day Jake decided he needed to get out of town for a while so he took an assignment his boss was offering to the reporters to do an article on a small town just outside of Vermont.. Jake figured it would do him good to get away and go where nobody knew him. Maybe getting away from the memories would help him start to live again.

He visited the town, gathered his research, but nothing changed. He still had that same empty feeling. Everything he saw reminded him of Vicki and their life together. He knew that he would never feel that kind of love again. Vicki was his reason for living . I t would take a miracle for Jake to feel like he had a life again.

One day as Jake was finishing up his assignment and getting ready to go home, he decided to walk by the park instead of taking his usual route back to the hotel. He didn’t know that one change in course would alter his life forever just as the plane crash did. As he walked by the park, he noticed an elderly woman, and she had two children with her,, and they were crawling on the blanket in front of the elderly woman. The minute Jake saw these two babies, he could not take his eyes off of them. He felt an instant connection to them, and for a second he wondered is it possible? but just as qujckly as the idea came into his head, he dismissed it, figuring that he was just drawn to them because he had been thinking about his own children and what would have soon been their first birthday.

Finally Jake pulled himself away, and went back to his hotel but he could not stop thinking about those two children he saw playing in the park. He decided to delay his return home so that he could go back tomorrow and see if they were there again.

He went to the park every day for over a week before he decided to go talk to the woman and see the children up close . When he first approached the three of them, Jake just stared at he the children, completely enamored of them. It was the first time he felt like smiling since Vicki died. They were two little girls, one was a petite little blond, and the other had a full head of dark hair. They had huge smiles on their faces as the elderly woman who spoke to them with an Irish accent watched them play. Finally Jake stopped watching the twins and looked at the woman taking care of them: she reminded him so much of Bridget and when he introduced himself she called him "laddie" When she said that, Jake felt such a feeling of d�j� vu. He asked her if she was the twins’ grandmother, and she said no she just helps out her friend, Sara, during the day. Jake’s heart sunk at the name, Sara. In his head he didn’t really expect her to say Vicki, but his heart never stopped praying for some kind of miracle; and it hurt when she didn’t .Still he felt such a strong connection to these children and could not explain it. Jake and the woman talked about Sara for a minute. Mary said she was a widow who lost her husband before the twins were born. Other than that she did not know much about her except that there was a great sadness about her.

Suddenly the woman whose name was Mary said she had to leave, so she bundled the twins up and left. As they were leaving Jake felt the same emptiness he did when he lost his children. At that moment, Jake knew he could not leave this town until he discovered why he felt so strongly about these two little girls, whose name Jake did not even know.

He came back to the park the next day, and Mary who said she thought Jake would be there gave him six freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. She said she had a feeling they were his favorites. Jake was floored. He felt like he knew this woman, who he had just met, his whole life and she sure seemed to know him. Suddenly one of the babies began to cry and she would not stop no matter what Mary did. Finally Mary suggested Jake pick her up. He was hesitant at first but the second he did, she stopped crying and started to smile. Jake felt such an overwhelming love for this little girl as he held her in his arms and wanted to protect her from anything bad. Overcome by this surge of emotion Jake was unprepared for the next thing that happenned. Mary said " the only other person who can settle Bridget Rose down like that is her Mother. Jake asked " What did you say her name is?’’ "Bridget Rose" Mary repeated and this is her sister, Michaela Rae, who we call Mickey. Jake was completely overwhelmed as tears started to well in his eyes. He handed Bridget back to Mary so he could try to process what was happening.

Jake didn’t know that finding out the gir’s names was only the beginning. What had just happenned was nothing compared to what was about to happen. As Jake stood there just staring at Bridget and Mickey, trying to regain his composure, he heard footsteps. And then it happenned, A woman’s voice asked "how are my two little angels today?". It was the voice Jake heard in his head every night. He thought he was dreaming.. then he heard it again. By now Jake’s face was streaming with tears, and he was afraid to turn around, afraid it was a dream just like every other dream he had about Vicki coming back to him, and that as soon as he turned around he would wake up. Slowly he turned around and saw her. It was Vicki. She was just as beautiful as the last time he saw her. He whispered her name and wrapped his arms around her. Vicki didn’t understand what was happenning, but she knew she felt safe and completely loved by this man. She felt a very strong connection to him and it had started the moment she saw him playing with her children as she was walking up. They held onto each other tightly until finally Vicki pulled back. Jake was sobbing by now he couldn’t believe the woman he loved more than life itself was standing there in his arms. Then he realized why he felt such a strong connection to these little girls. They were his daughters..Jake had his family back.

Vicki just stood there. Who was this man and why did he call her Vicki? Did he have the answers to all her questions? Vicki didn’t remember anything before the plane crash not even her own name. She only knew that the couple who had found her said that the pilot and her husband had died in the plane crash. They helped her deliver her children and brought her to this town. When the children were born,Vicki who was basically told her old life was gone decided to reinvent herself. She gave herself the name Sara and decided to start over in this town. She never stopped wondering about her past, and she never felt complete, but the twins kept her so busy that she did not have the time to try search out her former life, plus she did not have the first idea where to begin.. When the twins were a couple weeks old, Vicki met Mary who treated her just as if she was family which is exactly how she felt about Mary. Vicki had told Mary she reminded her of someone she just did not know who.

Excitedly she said to Jake"You know me?" and Jake who finally stopped crying replied, "You’re my wife and those are our kids. I thought I had lost you. I thought I would never see you again.

Suddenly Jake realized that Vicki did not know who he was. He looked at her and asked her if she was okay. She started to cry and said, "I’m sorry I don’t know your name and then she said she I don’t even know my real name" and explained that she was in a plane crash and lost her memory. " I don’t know if you are telling me the truth or if I should believe you, but I do. When you held me in your arms, I felt safer than I had in a long time even though you were a complete stranger to me." Now Vicki was sobbing and Jake wiped away her tears. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and take her back home, but he could tell that she was very fragile and knew that he would have to take things slowly.

He said " I am telling you the truth, Your name is Vicki McKinnon and I am your husband Jake. " He then showed her the picture in his wallet of the two of them when she was six months pregnant. Vicki stared at the picture and said "it is me and those are your daughters. "Yes" Jake nodded. Mary who had just stood there watching everything said to Vicki, "Maybe you should introduce these girls to their father. Vicki picked the girls up and handed Mickey and Bridget to Jake and said "Girls, I would like you to meet your Father." The four of them sat there in the park as the family they were meant to be.

Vicki started to get a little nervous she felt safe with Jake but she didn’t know if she was ready to be his wife yet. She felt like in some ways she didn’t know him at all. Jake sensed her apprehension and reassured her. He told her he would help her get her memory back, and they would take things as slow as she wanted. Then he asked her if he could take her home and she said "yes". Mary said they could take her car as Jake didn’t have any car seats in his car. They drove up the driveway and Jake walked into the house with her. He was struck by the similarities to the cottage.

Vicki put the twins to bed, and Jake followed her up the stairs and saw that the nursery was decorated just the way he and Vicki he had planned. Vicki went downstairs and Jake stood there staring at his daughters sleeping. He had never felt such contentment and he knew that things would only get better.

Jake came downstairs to Vicki. She was nervously twisting her hair. He again told her that they would take things slowly. She asked if he wanted to stay there tonight and he told her only if she wanted him too. She said, "Yes " . He said okay he would stay then he kissed her on the forehead and grabbed a blanket and told her he would take the couch. Vicki smiled at him, said goodnight and walked back up the stairs. It was the first night that either one of them had gotten a good night’s sleep since they were separated.

The next morning Jake got up and called his boss and told her he needed an indefinite leave of absence. He had decided last night that in order to get Vicki’s memory back he would court her and make her fall in love with him all over again.

When Vicki got up the next morning, Jake started to tell her about their life in Bay City. The told her they had two other children, Steven and Kirkland, and that they were going to be so excited that their Mother was alive.. Vicki wanted to see her sons, but the more she thought about it, she decided may be it would be better to wait until she started to remember .. After all the boys had been through so much.. She and Jake did not know how they would react if their mother did n’t remember them.

Over the next few weeks, Jake & Vicki spent all of their time together, taking care of the children, and reliving moments from their life. They went for motorcycle rides while Mary watched the twins. They danced under the stars, went on picnics, and spent lots of time at the park on the swings. Vicki was falling in love with Jake all over again, and slowly little pieces of her memory started to come back.

She hadn’t remembered any major events yet, but there was one thing that she was sure of , and that was that she was falling in love with Jake McKinnon., and it didn’t have anything to do with her past. It was all in the present. Every time she watched him play with Bridget and Mickey, smile at her, or he would come back to the house with flowers or candy. It just deepened the growing feelings she had for him. One day she told him just that. She said, "Jake I want you to know something. I love you , and even if I never get my memory back, Iwill still love you. What I feel for you is not based on the past, it is completely in the present, and it is based on the man that you are right now, a wonderful father, a man not afraid to show his emotions, and the best friend a person could have. Jake’s eyes welled up with tears, this was the moment he had been waiting for. He said, "I love you too" He then ran his hand along her face and gave her a passionate kiss.

Once Vicki made this admission to Jake, everything started to fall into place. She began to remember more and more. She remembered Steven and Kirkland, Lassiter, the cottage, Bay City and the rest of their life together. It was as if allowing herself to truly love Jake and admit it had openned a flood gate of memories. She and Jake were so excited. They decided the time was right to let Steven and Kirkland know that she was alive. It was decided that Jake would call Jamie and explain everything to him and then hopefully he would bring the boys out here on the pretense of visiting Jake. Jamie was shocked to find out that Vicki was alive, but he readily agreed to send the boys out . He made reservations for the next day. Steven and Kirkland were so excited, they could not wait to see Jake. They had missed him so much.

It was decided that Jake would go to the airport alone and pick up the boys. Somehow he would prepare them for the most wonderful surprise of their life, and that is exactly how he put it. He told the boys that he had a huge surprise for them, and they would love it. As they walked up to the house, the boys tried to get Jake to tell them the surprise, but all he would say was they would never guess and that it would be the best surprise in the world. Then he told them to open the door, and Vicki stood right there in front of them. Steven and Kirkland were speechless for a moment,, then at the same time they said,: Mom"

Vicki replied :Yes it’s me and I am never going to leave you again. Then she grabbed them in a huge hug, and the three of them held onto each other and wouldn’t let go. Jake meanwhile had decided to let the three of them have a few minutes alone so he went upstairs to check on the twins. A few minutes later he came down to the sobbing threesome,with the twins in his arms, and said "Kirk guess what your’re not the baby of the family any more. That title belongs to your sisters. Now you ‘ve got someone to boss around. And he introduced them to Bridget and Mickey. Steven, Kirkland and Vicki walked up to Jake, and they had a huge family hug. The McKinnon family was finally back together where it belonged.

Mary who was outside watching suddenly took the form of Bridget and said to herself my job is complete now Victoria, Now Jake will watch over you and the children forever.