Ezra closed the door of his locker slowly to avoid any unnecessary movement of his body. His jersey, stick and skates were visible through the grates on the metal door.

"See you at work tomorrow Ez," JD called over shoulder as he walked out of the locker room.

Ezra tried to wave in a farewell gesture, but the action brought a sharp sting though his right shoulder. He turned his head trying not to show the pain. He should have known that the action would not go unnoticed. He felt pressure on his remaining good shoulder.

"Make sure you ice that tonight or its going to be stiff tomorrow morning," Nathan told him removing his hand.

"Is it possible to ice one's entire body?" Ezra asked with a groan.

"I swear James is going to regret this if we play his damn team again," Vin growled. "That was the cheapest shot I've ever seen. This isn't the damn NHL. It's supposed to be fun."

"I will wait patiently for the day," Ezra answered with a smile, slightly pleased to hear his friend so angry at his expense.

"You going to make it home okay?" Nathan asked seriously. "I can give you a ride."

"I will be fine as soon as I am lying in the jets of my whirlpool."

'That is one fancy, but nice bathtub,' Vin agreed.

Ezra picked up his duffle bag and headed out of the locker room. He was pulling the keys out his coat when he heard a voice call out his name. He turned to see a slightly overweight, bald middle aged man walking towards him. Ezra knew he was the manager of the ice rink, but he couldn't quite remember his name. He also remembered Chris saying that he couldn't stand the man.

"That was quite a game you and your team played out there today. Talk about leaving nothing on the ice!"

Ezra smiled at the compliment. It had been a hard fought game. It was always was when they played the team of Denver's top real estate agent. The two teams seemed to go back and forth. Sometimes Team Seven won, sometimes James and his jerks did. Today the victor happened to be Ezra and his friends.

"You realize that win puts you in third place now," the manager said.

"Really?" Ezra answered, although Chris had informed his team in the locker room.

"One more win and you will probably be in the championship," the manager said.

"Don't tell anyone, but I'm rooting for you guys to take the cup this year."

"Well, my teammates and I appreciate the sentiment," Ezra said aloud, wondering how many teams the manager had repeated the phrase too, and how many had paid for extra ice time.

"The way you guys move as a team is pretty impressive, I haven't seen…"

"I don't wish to be rude," Ezra interrupted," but I am in quite a hurry. "Is there something else you would like to discuss?"

"What? Oh yeah," the other man took a minute to catch his breath. "I have next month's schedule of games figured now. Would you like to come up and get it?"

Ezra sighed. He really didn't like the idea of having to spend any more time at the rink.

"Yes, lead the way Mr. ah, ah," Ezra stumbled. For the life of him, he couldn't remember the man's name.

"Rick Cody," the man stated. "You must have hit your head too hard on the ice today pal."

"Perhaps," Ezra answered through clenched teeth, realizing why Chris despised the man. He followed the man up the stairs to the rink offices.

Ezra was surprised to see two people waiting outside Cody's office. One of the visitors was a good looking, dark haired boy in his early teens. He stared up at Ezra with big brown eyes. Ezra had to do a double take when he saw the youth's companion. He felt his heart skip a beat. A young woman, in her late twenties, sat next to him.. Her hair color matched that of the boy's and hung loosely just below her shoulders She stood up when they entered revealing a slim body that was about two inches shorter then himself. Like the boy, she was dressed in jeans and a worn coat. It was obvious these two were not among the wealthiest of the ice rink's patrons.

He found himself staring into the greenest eyes he had ever seen. The eyes were not happy. She quickly turned her and focused them on his companion.

"Mr. Cody, I believe I scheduled an appointment with you over half an hour ago," the woman said. Her voice was calm, but her anger was obvious in her stiff body posture. Ezra noticed a slight accident in her voice, but wasn't able to place it.

"You will have to hold on Miss. I have paying members who I need to attend to first." Ezra heard the stress the man placed on the word paying and he immediately felt the hair on the back of his neck rise.

"I would be more than happy to wait for you to conduct your business with this fine young woman," Ezra answered. Both adults looked at him surprised.

"But Mr. Standish…" Cody started.

"I insist," Ezra interrupted firmly. His face stern.

"Fine," the other man growled. He turned on the woman. "But you better make it quick." She turned to look skeptically at Ezra who smiled, his gold tooth flashing.

"I will wait outside," Ezra answered, with a slight bow.

"Sasha, you wait outside too," she told the boy. She bent down and whispered something in the boy's ear. Ezra couldn't make out the actual words, but he could hear her voice.

\

Ezra looked at the boy and instantly figured out where the young woman's accent had come from. It had been much heavier when she had whispered to the boy. Sasha was a pet name given to Russian children..

The door slammed closed, leaving Ezra and the teen in the hallway. The boy looked at Ezra. Ezra placed his ear on the door, and motioned for the youth to do the same. The youth smiled and copied the man.

"Like I told you on the phone Mr. Cody, My kids don't have anywhere else to practice now that you've closed the outdoor rink," the woman pleaded, most traces of her accent gone.

"And I already told you that if you can't pay the ice time, you don't get to use the facilities," Cody said back calmly.

"You know that the parents can't afford the fees," the woman answered. "They can barely afford to feed their families."

"Hockey's an expensive sport young lady, you should have thought of that before you put your little team together."

"You can't do this," the woman voice raised an octave. "This is about the kids!"

"Your kids will have lots of disappointments in life sweetheart, but start preparing them before they end up in a jail cell…"

Ezra looked over and saw the face of the youth fall. He had heard enough. He gently pushed the kid out of the way and opened the door. He sauntered in, much to the surprise of the two occupants.

"I'm so sorry to eavesdrop," he answered sweetly, "but I couldn't help being slightly put off by the comments I have just heard." Cody's eyes narrowed.

"This is none of your business Standish."

"Forgive me, but I have an awful habit of making such abuses my problem," Ezra answered. "I also believe it would be a problem for many of the other patrons of this facility, mainly the men and women who play in your hockey leagues."

Ezra couldn't help but smile when the comment had its desired effect. Cody's livelihood depended on the dues of the rinks members, a hefty percentage of those dues came from the people who played league hockey.

"But perhaps," he continued without missing a beat, "I may conveniently forget this conversation if you would donate the rink for this young woman and her team to use."

"I'd love to help you Mr. Standish, but the rink is booked for the next month," Cody answered with a smile, pointing to the schedule. "Even if I wanted too, I couldn't fit them in. What with championships and everything coming up."

Ezra nodded his head seriously.

"Ah, this does create a dilemma doesn't it?" He pretended to think. "But have you created next month's practice schedule yet?"

"No, but…." Cody protested.

"Then I strongly suggest you slot in time for this young woman unless you want the information I just heard go public."

"Fine," Cody stated, slamming his hand down. He stopped and a sudden thought occurred to him. He looked at the woman with an evil smile. "But you can kiss playing in the youth tournaments goodbye Ms. Gordon, because the games start in two weeks. You won't have time to prepare for your first game,"

He saw her face fall.

"And you can schedule this woman and team's name on the last half an hour of my team's scheduled practice time until you can find a more permanent spot for her," Ezra answered.

Cody looked like he was going to say more, but Ezra had had enough. He gently pushed the woman out and closed the door behind him, leaving an opened mouth ice rink manager.

"My teammates and I practice on Thursday afternoons around five o clock," Ezra stated when the door was closed.

"Look Mr. as appreciative as I am of…" the young woman started to say when the boy turned to look at her.

"We get to play hockey after all?' the boy asked, excitedly. The look of pure joy on the boy's face stopped his older sister dead in her tracks.

Ezra looked at her with a knowing smile on his face.

"My name is Ellie Gordon, this is my brother Nick," she stated with a sigh. She held out her hand. He returned the handshake and noticed there was no ring.

"My name is.."

"Ezra Standish," the boy finished. Ezra gave him a surprised look.

"Ellie and I come watch you play all the time. You're a pretty good player, but I think Tanner is the best one of the team."

"Nick!" Ellie scolded, and looked apoplectically at Ezra. "I'm….

"No offense taken," he chuckled. Mr. Tanner does play with a certain flare doesn't he?" He said to the boy.

"Yeah," The teen agreed. "That last goal he scored tonight was awesome. That was really cool how he checked that other guard really hard after he hit you with the stick…."

Ezra watched the smile that crossed the woman's face and he felt his chest tighten.

"I'm sorry Mr. Standish, but it's a school night and Nick still has homework to do and…"

"But Ellie," Nick protested.

"I shall not stand in the way in the path to a quality education," Ezra stated, making an elaborate show of moving to the side, "Shall my friends and I expect you on Thursday then?"

"If you are sure….

"We've already gone through this Gordon. It is my pleasure."

"Ellie is fine," she answered. "We will see you on Thursday, Thank you , the kids and really appreciate this.

Ezra watched them go, a sudden thought came to him. He had just haphazardly given away precious ice time for his team. It had become even more valuable that they were making a run for the championship.

"Standish, you're going soft," he told himself. "What would Maude say?"

Then he thought of the smile had had seen on the Russian woman's face and realized that he didn't care what his mother would think.