Disclaimer: I don't own the Mighty Ducks, especially Fulton. He, and the rest of the Ducks, belong to Disney.

Author's Note: Here's the next chapter. Sorry if the chapter was a little shorter than the last. Just wanted to get something posted while I was inspired. Enjoy :0) Any flashbacks in this chapter are in italics and are third person pov while the present is from Fulton's pov.


Between the River and Me – Chapter Two


It's been two years since my dad passed away. I'm still going to school at Eden Hall and playing hockey for the Ducks. I've been working the past couple of summers at Jan's Sports Shop, thanks to Coach Bombay.

That man really has been a lifesaver. When me and my mom couldn't pay all the bills from the hospital, we got a letter saying that an anonymous source paid whatever was left. And let me tell you, that was a big ass load of money to pay up.

And my friends have really been a great lifeline for me. They were there when I really needed them. People say that you find out who your friends truly are when you're sick, have money and health problems or are in jail. I was lucky to have the Ducks. And I was more lucky to have Tammy in my life.

Tammy...now she's a different story. Tammy and I started out as friends. Then again, most couples always start out that way. But I realized shortly into our friendship that I liked her as more than a friend.

I was too shy to talk to her once I noticed her as more than a friend. We were only ten or eleven when we met. Then she moved a year after we beat the Hawks in Pew Wees. But we reconnected at the Junior Goodwill Games where her mom was making her compete in figure skating. Luckily she was able to move back here for high school. Turns out she went to Eden Hall on an academic scholarship when we got our hockey scholarships.

Anyway, we finally admitted our feelings for each other right after my old man got sick. She was there to hold my hand through it, practically the only person to see me crying like a baby when I couldn't handle things.


The sun was setting. The pond looked really pretty with all those colors reflecting off it.

"Fulton. Baby, is everything alright?"

Her voice was soft but at the same time it was comforting. She was cautious in approaching the young man sitting on the bench facing the water.

"I'm as okay as can be expected. My pop is laid up in a hospital bed when he should be at home with us."

The tone in Fulton's voice was indescribable. There were so many feelings behind it. Maybe that's why it couldn't be described to a specific emotion.

"Mom keeps going to church like the good Irish girl that she is. Thinks that praying will help." He paused thinking for a moment. "Guess it's just her way of coping."

Tammy Duncan sat down next to her boyfriend. The look on his face was one that sadden hers. His eyes bore so much hurt, longing. There was also a fear he had never shown before in the depths of the chocolate orbs. And it appeared as if he hadn't slept in days.

"Let's go to the tree house. We can talk better there."

Fulton knew what she meant. It was her way of telling him that he could cry out his frustration without anyone looking at him, without being judged.

He knew that Tammy would never judge him for expressing his feelings. She would never make fun of him. And she would never pity him either.

She understood him, whether he said anything or not. That was one of the many reasons why he loved her.It's been a hard time without the old man. I still can't believe he's been gone practically two whole years. His anniversary is in a couple of days. Ma and me go to mass every year. I still say that's how she gets through it. I swear, between cleaning office buildings during the day and working a shift at Mickey's Dining Car she's running herself into the ground. I'm worried about her but she won't let me help her.


The front door to the little house squeaked as it opened.

"You're home late. Long night at the diner?"

"Fulton Reed! Do not scare me like that!"

Jasmine Reed turned to face her teenage son. She dropped a pair of tennis shoes by the door and hung her keys on the nearby hook.

"Did Charlie walk you home? It was his turn tonight?"

He and one of his best friends, Charlie Conway, both had moms that worked the night shift at the diner in question. They often took turns walking the mothers home.

"Yes he did. Said to tell you that the team misses you at the dorms. Said they'd come visit you tomorrow or Sunday after mass."

"Sounds good. Maybe you should lay down on the coach. I'll make you something to eat."

He went into the kitchen to make a cup of tea while he could think of what to cook for his mom. When he went back to the living room, she was already fast asleep on the couch.

"C'mon sleeping beauty. Let's put you to sleep in a more comfortable place."

He set down the cup on the table and gently picked her up. After a couple of minutes, he was putting his mom in her bed and pulling the blankets over her.

"Good night Ma." he said kissing her forehead. "Sweet dreams."Speaking of my mom, time for me to pick her and Casey Conway up from the diner.