Title: A Ducks Story
Author: Pixie13
Chapter: 4/?
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: Don't own them. Don't sue.

Fulton had been laying back on his bed and staring at the ceiling for what seemed like a good hour after coming back from dinner with Charlie. Portman wasn't too sure if he was suppose to comfort his best friend or if he was suppose to leave him be to take everything in. Even after a good four or so years of being friends, the best of friends as it came to be eventually, he still hadn't figured Fulton out.

Sure, he knew what kind of music the guy listened to [anything that was loud enough and what amused him and what pissed him off, but that didn't help him in situations like this.

Cancer.

The only time that Portman had come to deal with that sort of thing was when his Aunt Lily had a benign brain tumor, which had shown up early during a physical and had been taken care of before anything serious could come about. Sure, it had been nervewrecking and panic worthy, but Portman had been six years old at the time and didn't feel it at the same level as his parents had.

Charlie was being taken care of by Adam and the rest of the Minnesota Ducks, so he didn't need Portman. But Fulton, well, Fulton needed him. It was only a matter of figuring out how he needed him at the moment, that Portman had to worry about.

"Port?" Fulton's voice came, after what seemed like a forever full of silence.

"Yeah Fulton?" Portman questioned from where he was leaning against his headboard. He had been reading an issue of Sports Illustrated, though he hadn't really been able to keep his mind off what to do now.

"Do you think there's life after death?"

Portman looked at Fulton blankly. Then he slowly asked, "Do you think Charlie's mom's going to die?"

Fulton's eyes widened. "No! No , it's just...it's got me thinking y'know? When a person dies...what happens to them? Do they get reincarnated like some religions say or do they go up to Heaven or down to Hell?" Fulton was genuinely curious. He had been thinking on the issue for most of the hour that he had spent silent and hadn't been able to come to a decision of his own quite yet. His family hadn't been big on religion...and they hadn't been big on family either. So Fulton had grown up his whole life doing whatever others did in regards to religious festivities.

He celebrated Christmas because all his friends did, took part in Hanukkah candle lighting because his Goldberg was big on it, and when May came around each year, he could find himself enjoying Korean food with Kenny because of Buddha Day.

However, Fulton did not have a religion specified to his own beliefs. Even after living in this world for nearly eighteen years, he still wasn't sure what his beliefs were.

Portman actually looked thoughtful as he considered Fulton's question. "I always thought," he began, almost hesitantly as if Fulton would laugh at him once he said his piece. "That everyone took part in the afterlife according to what they believed in. You believed in Heaven and Hell, and thought you were going to go to Hell? Well, you go to Hell. Same with being reincarnated. If you thought you were going to be a cow in your next life then, dude, you become a cow." Portman gave a grin then. "Personally, I subscribe to the thought where I'm going to Heaven and rocking out with some hot angel babes after I die." The grin faltered when Fulton didn't say anything to that.

Looking at his best friend blankly for a moment, Fulton said, "I like that. I'm going to believe in that. Now pass me that Sports Illustrated man. You've been hogging it all day."

Portman snorted and tossed the magazine at him.

"You're never going to leave me, right Banksie?" Charlie asked from where he was sitting on the ledge of their one window. You would think that two of the best players on the Varsity's hockey team would have a better room, but you were sadly mistaken. Not only was their room painted a colour that Averman had declared 'shit brown' as soon as he had walked into it in addition to the lack of windows, but their door stuck whenever someone tried to open it or close it, not to mention, there was a severe lack of closet space.

Sometimes, Adam wondered where all the money his father put into this school went. Because it certainly wasn't going into making the living arrangements for the students any better.

"No Charlie," Adam said from his seat on the ground, where he was leaning with his back against a wall. "And neither is your mom," he added for the umpteenth time. "Are you sure you don't want to be with her right now?"

When Charlie had shown up with Fulton at his home earlier that day, he had found his mother's sisters and brother there looking as sad as could be. He had been worried that his mother had invited him over to tell him that someone had died. What he had been told had been much worse.

Charlie hadn't stuck around to talk it out with his mom after finding out about her cancer and didn't plan on going back home for another few days. Adam had done the right thing and phoned Charlie's mom himself, to let her know that Charlie got back okay and he was watching after him. But the conversation had been awkward, with him knowing about her situation. Beyond a few words of condolences, Adam had nothing left to say to Casey Conway and thankfully, they hung up a few moments later.

Now Adam just had to figure out how to take care of Charlie. Sure, they had been fighting not more than six hours previous, but that paled in light of recent developments.

"No. Not right now," Charlie said firmly, looking away from the window to give Adam a look that said to quit pushing that point. His look softened a bit and he added, "I'll go see her in a day or two, just not right now, okay?" Charlie couldn't take it right now, he wasn't sure if he could keep in the tears if he faced his mother then.

Nodding, Adam said, "Okay. Whatever you want Charlie."

The corner of Charlie's mouth turned up in a bit of a smirk. "You're a good friend, even if you tried to move out on me."

Adam hauled a nearby pillow off his bed and threw it at Charlie's head. Charlie ducked it and they both laughed.

In the following weeks, Kenny had taken to saving Julie from Connie and the issues they had, nearly every night after dinner. It had been an impulsive move on Ken's part, just showing up at Julie's door the night after their first walk around the school. She had certainly been surprised, but it had been a nice surprise, a good surprise and she hadn't questioned his motives behind this kind act.

It was a popular theory among the other Ducks, started by Connie, that Kenny and Julie liked one another. But in all honesty, Kenny had no motive behind his evening strolls with Julie, beyond the pleasant company she provided and Julie hadn't given it a second thought.

Why should she? Kenny was nice, but he wasn't her type. It wasn't that there was something wrong with Ken Wu. No, the Korean teen was sweet, intelligent, and handsome, but Julie tended to fall for the guys that she wasn't suppose to, if her brief relationship with Scooter had been any indication.

And she found herself looking at a certain Bash Brother more often than not. It wasn't something she had planned or had even really recognized fully, not yet anyway, but it was something that kept things between her and Kenny in the most decidedly 'just friends' part of their relationship.

"...punched him right then and there and broke things off with him. I don't know if I feel bad for him or not," Kenny was saying, illustrating the breakup between Luis and Traci that had occurred at lunch earlier that day. Traci had decided that she would come to Eden Hall for a surprise visit to see Luis, since she had a long weekend off from her college, and had found Luis and his lips all over another cheerleader.

Suffice to say, Luis would be feeling that punch for the next few days.

"That explains why he came to our room to get makeup to cover that bruise of his," Julie said thoughtfully. "It certainly sounds more convincing than his 'I ran into a locker' excuse."

Plucking a low hanging leaf as they passed under a tree near the lake, Ken said, "He's been hiding out with Averman in their room since then. I think he's waiting her out now because she's here until the weekend."

Julie started to laugh. "Serves Mendoza right for cheating on her! If he didn't want to be with her anymore, why keep stringing her along?"

Shrugging, Kenny said, "I think he actually liked her."

Julie gave him an a look that clearly stated that she wasn't convinced. "So explain to me why he would cheat on her with all those other girls?"

"Because they were hot?" Ken said, not helping his case or Luis'. Julie rolled her eyes and punched him in the shoulder, to which he responded with a poke to her side. They ended up playing a sort of tag after that.

Unknown to them, Averman and Luis were watching them from their room window.

Notes: If this chapter seems rushed, I'm sorry. I've been very busy on my vacation and was enjoying that. I wrote this on the trip over and finished it in the few minutes between events and such. Again, thank you for all the reviews and I hope you keep reading.