A/N: This is a Ramona Jackson pairing story and will be a little AU. Any suggestions on where to have the story head would be appreciated, and any suggestions on writing style. Flames will be ignored!

It's Friday afternoon, and Jackson is sitting on the couch watching a San Jose Sharks game. He can't help the excitement he feels as he watches Bret Burns score the game winner and jumps up on the couch screaming.

"YES! YES! Oh MY GOD! WE DID IT!" Jackson is bouncing up and down on the couch as his mother walks in.

"Off the couch. This is not a barn Jackson!" DJ rolls her eyes, but chuckles at her son's enthusiasm. He hasn't been like this about a hockey game since Tom had passed away. It's nice to see him excited about hockey again.

"You know that you aren't part of the team, right? Your game isn't till tomorrow night." Chuckling as he blushes a little. Jackson plops down and grabs the remote to turn the tv off.

"I know mom. I know, but I forgot how much fun it is to watch a close game like that." Jackson smiles, and gets up to grab something to eat from the kitchen. He walks in and sees his Aunt Stephanie and Ramona laughing at what he assumes is him. Shaking his head, he grabs a coke from the fridge and a piece of leftover chicken from last nights dinner.

"Uh sorry about the screaming…..it was a great game. Overtime win for the Sharks." Jackson smirks as the two laugh a bit louder at him.

"Oh it's fine, but I expect you to get even more excited tomorrow for the first game of your high school career." Steph raises an eyebrow at him.

"If not your walking home. We already agreed on it." Ramona adds with a smirk.

"That's not a problem. I have been waiting for this game since try outs!" Jackson's face is split by a huge smile. As he sits on the counter next to the women he looks at Ramona for a minute or two longer than usual.

"See something interesting?" DJ pokes fun of his obvious crush as she walks into the kitchen with Ramona's mother.

"You know I expect you to ask her on a date before you start ANY PDA in the house, right?" Kimmy smirks making the two kids blush. They have been beating around their crushes since they moved on to high school. Both immediately pop out of their sitting positions and start to murmur excuses to flee the scene.

"Jackson you stay right there we need to talk." All three women stop him dead in his tracks.

"Oh, um I'll wait if you want Jax." Ramona offered weakly, but only received a look from her mother before retracting the statement and leaving the room.

"I have been so good since I made the team! What did I do?!" Jackson squabbles assuming he is in trouble like he all his middle school life. All the woman laughs and shakes their head.

"This is advice time not scolding time" DJ shakes her head in amusement.

"You two need to talk and figure out what this is." Kimmy sternly commands him knowing this is one of those band aid moments.

"We are just." Jackson starts to receive tuts and groans from each woman. He than nods his head sitting at the table letting them speak.

"You guys have been awkward ever since the summer started." Steph started, and watch her nephew blush and nod his head in agreement.

"If you are serious about liking Ramona and want to pursue this we give you our blessing, but you need to do it the right way." Kimmy adds, and can't help feeling relief at the smile on Jackson's face.

"We have an idea that you can use, but you are going to have to face the fact that you are going to put yourself out there first." DJ smiles at her son knowing the idea would have the two together by the end of the night.

"Well let's hear it!" Jackson eggs them to continue. He smiles, and nods as they tell him a play by play of what he should do. When the conversation is over he can't help, but hug each of them and thank them profusely for the major push he has needed.

"Well looks like we will need to start keeping a very close eye on those two after tonight." DJ shakes her head as her little man stumbles his way upstairs in excitement.

"Yup" the two-woman standing on either side of her nod.

Jackson makes his way to his room, and rifles through his trunk looking for the item he needed to pull this off. Once his finger grasps it He gives it a close look, and smiles knowing this would be a day to remember.

"Hey Ramona, can we talk?" Jackson shouts across the hall and puts the item on the bed behind him. The girl in question makes her way over to his room trying to not seem to desperate.

"What's up?" she asks leaning on the door jam. Jackson motions for her to come all the way in.

"So, the team told me that everyone has someone wear their extra jersey to the game, and I was wondering if you would want to, I mean you don't have to but I'd love I mean like it if you did, wear it to the game." Jackson was a ball of nerves as he stumbles through his monolog.

"Wow…...I mean isn't that more of for the girlfriends of the players?" Ramona asks shocked that he would even think of her high enough to want her to be his 'representation' in the stands. Jackson takes a deep breath and nods his head.

"Well that was the second thing I was going to ask you. Everyone in the house has acknowledged the fact that we have been weird around each other since the summer. I think it is time we do too. I really like you Ramona and would be stoked to call you my girlfriend as well as my best friend. If this is just a one-way thing I get it and we can just stay friends, but I needed to get this out there." Jackson gasps for air after his long rant. Ramona blushes, smiles, gasps, and squeals all at once nodding her head vigorously.

"I would like that a lot Jax! Of course, I will date you!" She smiles as she jumps into his arms. The two look at each other in the eyes smiling and slowly lean in. Their first kiss was long, and passionate. When they break it off finally both breath deep holding each other close.

"You never answered my fist question you know." Jackson gives her his cocky lopsided grin and receives a punch to the arm for it.

"I will be wearing that jersey to every game you play at this school you dork!" Ramona laughs shaking her head and lays it on his chest.

"Should we tell our parents? They seemed pretty stoked that I was going to finally step up to the plate." Jackson questions unsure if she wanted to be official. With a chuckle at him being all shy now after making such a courageous move, she grabs his hand leading their way to the kitchen. Their mother's and aunt were standing by the steps trying to listen and get caught in the act as the kids come down.

"So?" Kimmy asks eager as a child on Christmas. The kids smile at each other and lean in for a more pg rated kiss for the woman in front of them. With aws from each woman and flashes of cameras the two pull away.

"Congrats kiddo now go relax. One of you has a big day tomorrow." Steph smiles at both kids happy they finally did what the whole family has been waiting for.

"You heard her get!" the two mothers chuckle showing the two off.

"BUT THE DOOR STAYS OPEN!" DJ calls with a second thought. When Kimmy and DJ went upstairs to head to bed they passed by the boys' room, and see Ramona passed out on top of Jackson and him holding her tight as he sleeps soundly.

"Do we wake them?" Kimmy asks smiling at the cute display of affection.

"Nagh I have my little narc they won't be doing anything." DJ laughs nodding to the second bed where her second son Max slept. With a chuckle Kimmy nods giving DJ a quick hug and bids her a goodnight.

The next day the house was buzzing with excitement for Jackson's first High School hockey game. Well most people were happy and getting ready. There was one person though that was not as happy and go lucky as the rest of the house.

"Hey penny for your thoughts kid?" Jesse asks sitting on the bed next to a sulking Jackson. The kid looks at him and shakes his head no plopping back down looking at the ceiling.

"Jackson listen to your Uncle Jesse and let someone know what's going on. It's not healthy to bottle everything up. Especially before your big debut for the school." He jokes, but sees it just upsets him more. There's a knock at the door, and the two look up at Ramona who is sporting the jersey some tight jeans and converses.

"How do I look Jax?" She asks with a sly smile. Jesse nods patting her shoulder wishing her more luck than he had. The smile on his face gives her some hope she can get him to talk.

"You look great babe" Jackson gives her a lopsided smile. She sits on the corner of the bed and pats the space next to her. He slowly gets up sitting next to her looking at her eyes knowing what is about to come.

"I haven't played since my Dad died" the frown on Jackson's face says it all. Ramona pulls him in for a hug and rubs his back.

"Baby I know that you are upset the he won't be at the game physically, but he will be there in spirit. Looking down on his oldest son play the sport they both love. You play today for him and for you. We will root for you even if you spend the whole game sliding on your back, but you need to do what you think will make him proud and you happy." There are tears pricking at Jackson's eyes at the sweet words coming from his girlfriend. Thinking back to the times his father came to his peewee games Jackson can't help but smile and laugh.

"There was a game when I was maybe 9 years old that I was playing with kids two years older, and I thought I was going to be a total disappointment to him. I couldn't even handle the puck for more than two seconds before getting knocked on my ass. Afterwards he looked at me and smirked telling me he was so proud of me. Not because I played skilled, but because I didn't quit. I got up every time and played whistle to whistle." Tears were on full display in his eyes when he told the story, and he just let the warmth of Ramona's hug wash over him.

"See so you could not play today and quit hockey with not one person in this house ever blaming you. Or you could go play the best game you can, and have everyone of know your father is looking down at you still as proud today as he was eight years ago." Ramona just looks at him waiting for him to respond. There was a deep smile on Jackson's face as he leaned in to kiss her. He got up quickly grabbing his bag and headed for the door.

"Well let's go I have a game to play in!" He smirks as she jumps up following him down to a waiting family. The whole family sighs in relief when the see the equipment bag and stick being brought down with them. The whole family rushes around to get to the game in time, and they just barely make it in time for Jackson to get ready. The family all sit down at ice level to watch the game. DJ sitting with her fiancé Matt and two other sons Max and Tommy. Next to them was Ramona sporting Jackson's extra jersey, alongside her was her mother Kimmy her aunt Stephanie, and her father Fernando. Ramona was a ball of nervous as she watched the other team skating around for a pregame practice. They had guys that looked like they should be seniors in college not high school. After a few minutes the rink announcer calls out for the crowd to cheer for the Bayside Tigers the whole family was standing and cheering for him.

Jackson makes his way out onto the ice, and can feel his throat dry up, his stomach turn queasy, and his whole body become jittery. He was scared that for his first time playing again his farther wouldn't be there to help him. Seeing all the people he had did help him a little and make him want to go out there and play his best. At the same time though he felt like he wasn't ready for the first line, and that he was just going to screw it up losing the game for his team. The team warmed up by shooting and skating while the refs and scoring officials got ready to start the game.

The time came for puck drop and Jackson lined up at the faceoff at the center position ready for the first draw of the game. He surprised himself when he was able to win it back to his right defenseman, but soon as he did he felt the ice on his back. He looked up to see the opposing center sneering at him

"First line center? More like first tier ice capades!" The center spit out venomously skating towards his defensive zone trying to stop the play Jackson helped start. Jackson was quickly back on his skates heading towards the play. As soon as he steps into the offensive zone a line mate sends him the puck, and Jackson can see he defenseman coming in for a hit. Quickly Jackson sent the puck across the ice to a defenseman but couldn't avoid getting crushed to the ice again.

"Take a seat chump!" Jackson hears the other team's fans cheering, but soon they turn to boos as a teammate is soon dropping the gloves to fight. Jackson slowly gets up again and watches as his teammate fights the guy who leveled him. When his teammate wins Jackson grabs the gloves and stick he dropped and carries them to him in the penalty box.

"Thanks" Jackson mumbles embarrassed he needed to be protected already.

"Head up Fuller, skate hard, and play hard!" His coach yells when he sits on the bench. The rest of the period is much more of the same. Jackson wins most of his faceoffs, gets knocked around a lot, helped set up a few opportunities to score, but the game is at a zero to zero stalemate.

"He's worrying about Tommy would think." Ramona whispers to the family. DJ shakes her head and looks at her eldest son glumly skating towards the bench for the intermission. Each family member looks at each other wondering who might be able to help. Before, anyone steps up though the buzzer goes off and it's time for the second period.

At the same time the coach is screaming at the team to pull it together. Keeps saying that players aren't playing like they do in practice, and look scared to be out there. Tells them this is their game to win, but also theirs to lose.

"EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU NEEDS TO WANT TO WIN! THEY ARE NOT BETTER THEN YOU! GO SHOW EVERYONE HERE THAT BAYVILLE DON'T QUIT!" The coach ends his rant trying to put some fire into their hearts. It worked for exactly five minutes when Jackson got hit into the boards knocking him to the ice, and the puck off his stick to center ice. The opposing team quickly grabbed the puck skated it into Bayville's zone, and scored the first goal of the game. Slamming his stick as he gets up Jackson heads for the bench. The goal mixed with the hits clearly rattled him as the period went on, because he no longer called for the puck or even held it. When it came to him he dumped it or passed it immediately. Matt got up as the last minute was dwindling to a close and checked the score board to see the team was only down by two.

"Hey Jackson, come here for a minute bud!" Matt calls over to him from the door to the rink. Jackson comes over frowning thinking Matt wanted him to play better or tell him that he needs to play like a man.

"Hey kid stop worrying about the hits. You can take them I have seen you at your practices get murdered and keep playing. Play your game and play it for yourself. We will all be proud to call you family no matter how you play. I know I'm not your father, but I will always be here for you so try listening to me. You can do it if you want to, but if your doing it for anyone but yourself it's not going to work." Jackson let's a choke out from Matt's speech, and nods to him. Jackson hugs the man quickly, and heads back to the team.

"What did you say to him?" DJ asks as she sees the Jackson Fuller of old step to the face off circle. She could see the fire and desire to win in his eyes as he skated up.

"Oh, you know just a man to man talk" Matt shrugs, but hides a smirk seeing the nod Jackson sent to him before the faceoff.

The period was a complete turn around for Bayville lead by Jackson who stopped shying away from his game. With ten minutes left in the period Jackson was dished the puck as he cut up center ice. He saw one defenseman move to throw a hit and put the puck between his own legs spinning away from the hit at the last second. After the spin Jackson looked down to make sure the puck was still on his stick, as he continued his way towards the opposing goalie. The second defenseman stood in his way though, so Jackson slowed his skating waiting for the right moment. When he saw the opposing player move to poke check him Jackson just smirked. He pushed the puck under the defenseman's stick and moved passed him quickly. Now all alone with the goalie he chose his moment and ripped a shot into the upper left corner of the net right passed the goalie's shoulder. The stands went wild when he scored, and he couldn't help but smirk as he did a quick celebration by pointing to the name on the back of his jersey. As he skated to the bench he pointed right at Ramona letting her know that one was for her.

"Looks like your boyfriend dedicated his first goal to you little lady!" Kimmy smirked at her blushing daughter. Ramona smiled at Jackson paying no mind to the teasing of her family.

The game only had thirty seconds left when Jackson carried the puck over the opposing blue line. He saw a teammate making a straight shot for the net, so he bid his time. He drew in both defenseman by acting as if he would carry it all the way again. Once they were far enough from his teammate Jackson sent a quick crisp saucer pass to the kid resulting in the game being tied. The time ran out of the third period, and thanks to the play of Jackson through the third Bayville had a chance to win this game. Standing by the bench the whole team is patting Jackson on the back and thanking him for stepping up.

"Ok boys this game is not over yet! We are tied up, going into overtime, and showed them we can outplay them. They will be hitting hard, playing dirty, and trying to get into our heads. So, let's show them that Bayville is the team to beat this year." The team cheers and heads out for the over time. Jackson looks at his family and sees that they are cheering for him, and then looks at his teammates who nod at him ready to get this win. Jackson lost his last faceoff, but immediately runs at the puck trying to get it lose. Once he gets the puck on his stick two defenseman run at him hitting him with a clearly dirty hit. He crumples to the floor in pain shooting out in anguish.

"JAX!" Ramona cries out tears in her eyes as she sees him laying not moving on the ice.

"Come on kid you got this." Matt whispers knowing Jackson is tough enough to fight through the pain.

"BABY! NO NO NO THEY CHEATED!" DJ is screaming in a mix of anger and fear. The rest of the family just looks on trying to not show any fear and be strong for the two women. When Jackson finally gets up he sees his friend John getting escorted of the rink after apparently fighting both of the defenseman and knocking both out. He gives a thumbs up to his cheering section hoping to calm them down, and waves off his coach when he asks if he needs a change to rest up. Jackson squares up at the faceoff dot angry now, and with his team now up a player. The faceoff is won by Jackson to his left wing who was standing back a bit. Jackson quickly cuts to the net ready for a pass and receives it perfectly when it comes to him. Everything is slow motion when he shoots at the net, and it feels like an eternity before he watches the puck fly passed the goalie.

"HE DID IT!" Max screams jumping up slapping the glass like Jackson taught him at the San Jose game last week. The whole family cheers for him and his team while they watch him get tackled by his team in celebration.

= It takes about forty-five minutes for Jackson to get changed , have his team meeting, and meet up with Matt, Ramona, and DJ who stayed behind to drive him home. When he gets out Ramona runs over to him almost knocking him over when she hugs him.

"You did great Jax!" Ramona smiles and gives him a kiss right on his lips. Smiling into the kiss Jax embraces her a little tighter. A cough from his mother makes the two finally break up their little celebration, and he looks at DJ and Matt smiling.

"You were great honey! Dad would have been so proud of you. You played just like he taught you hard, through the pain, and took your opportunities when you saw them." DJ smiles with a tiny tear in her eye.

"I had the second-best thing today." Jackson smiles a bit looking at Matt.

"Thanks for the talk Matt. That was just what I needed and probably just what my dad would have done. Um I know I was less than receptive when you proposed to my mom, but you are a great guy…..so um yea thanks." Jackson says looking down embarrassed by how he reacted to his mom's engagement. Matt comes over to him and pulls him into a tight hug.

"You reacted like any kid would who misses his dad. I would never hold that against you, and when you need a guy's help I'll be here." As the embrace ends the four head for the car ready to get home and celebrate Jackson's first game.

A/N: I know this is quite a long chapter, but I wanted to really let everyone see how the story will be written. Not every chapter will be as long as this one, and not everyone will be as light hearted and sappy. PM me any suggestions or things you would like to see in the story, and I'll do my best to put them in.