12/7/15 AN: More story! This thing's been giving me some trouble, but I'm pushing through. One thing the cartoons never cover is how the hell a team comprised of only six members would handle a game if one of them was injured. This is me solving that problem! More to come later.

Thank the stars today's practice was an open one with the Admirals, the AHL farm team for the LA Barons. Phil had the foresight back when the team was formed to work out a deal with them to share the team. As long as the ducks gave their input on players and who should be selected for the Admirals, they would be allowed to use any of the Admirals needed to fill in their team if someone was injured or ill.

Nosedive sat in the locker room, silently watching everyone else suit up. He slumped on the seat at his station, chin resting in hand. It was never much fun to know everyone else would be out on the ice, having a good time and he would be stuck on the bench. It was just like that time he broke his ankle when he was eleven.

Wildwing, clad in the lower half of his goalie gear, walked over to Phil to have a small discussion with him. Nosedive watched, paying attention to what was being said more out of boredom than interest. As soon as heard his name, he really started listening.

"Nosedive can't practice today or play in tomorrow's game. He needs to be watched for the next couple of days. Since we'll be out on the ice and deciding who will be his replacement, we'll need you to keep an eye on him. Do you think you can do that?

"Sure, bubbeh, no problem!" Phil grabbed his cell and walked from the room to make his call.

Great. Now he'd have to deal with Phil the whole time. That might be better than sitting on the bench by himself. Maybe.

When Wildwing came back, he glared at his brother to let him know he wasn't happy with the arrangement. Grabbing the notebook he'd started carrying, he scribbled a quick I don't need a babysitter.

"Sorry, baby brother, but you do today and tomorrow. Doctor's orders."

The blond's eyes narrowed in anger. Wildwing was one to demand anyone follow a doctor's orders.

"Suck it up." Wildwing walked back to his gear and put his shoulder pads on.

Nosedive mocked his brother's words by mouthing them silently.

Fed up with not being able to participate, he stood and pulled his skates from the hook above his stall. Making as much noise as possible while removing his boots, he threw them across the room and into the laundry bin.

"Dive, what are you doing?" Wildwing gave him a sideways look.

"Come on, Wing," Duke spoke up for Nosedive. "Let the kid skate."

"No way," Tanya immediately overrode anything Wildwing could say. "You're staying on the bench until after tomorrow."

He ignored them and pushed his left foot into the skate. While they bickered over if he would be allowed on the ice or not, he laced it up and started working on the right one. He stopped when a gigantic form stood before him. Looking up, he saw the displeased face of the team's largest member. Hoping to gain an ally, he cracked a smile and gave the giant a thumb's up.

Grin's expression remained that tiny bit disapproving.

Nosedive's grin faltered. He lifted a shoulder in indifference.

Grin shook his head no and pointed to the skates.

"Good luck with that," Wildwing muttered. Louder, he spoke to sibling. "Really? Just stop. Tanya and Dr. Lowes said no. It's two days. I'm sure you can survive for two days without skating."

"I'm amazed he's survived the whole morning without saying anything," Mallory joked.

Nosedive threw her a dirty look before holding up his middle finger.

"Fuck you too." Her voice stayed sweet, indifferent to his attitude.

"Such language," Duke teased. "Not very ladylike of you, Mallory."

"Who said I'm a lady?"

"Every tabloid ever?" Tanya chimed in.

Phil returned from wherever he had wandered off to.

"Okay guys, the Admirals are ready for you. They're out there warming up."

"Skates off, Dive," Wildwing ordered before pulling on his jersey and settling a mask into place.

Nosedive sighed, winced, and began removing the skates. Fine. No fun today. Wildwing was going to have to pay, one way or another.

Nosedive sat next to Phil on the bench. It was strange seeing the practice from that vantage point. It'd literally been years since he'd had to sit on the bench for a game. Actually, that was a depressing thought. Between the invasion and spending over a year in a slave camp, he hadn't been on a team other than this one since he was fifteen.

Shaking the dismal thoughts aside, he turned around and looked at the sizable crowd that had gathered. Of course all the seats by the ice itself were taken. Once every couple of weeks, they would have an open practice the public was allowed to attend. The Ducks invited the Admirals to the Pond for these special practices. That way, there were enough players to put on an exhibition game and really sharpen their team skills. Otherwise, it'd be pretty boring to watch everyone go through drills.

They had gone through drill after drill for the first open practice and nobody seemed too happy about watching Mallory cut and pivot through cones while shooting pucks at an empty net or Nosedive practicing his stick handling with a weight added to the end of his stick. It didn't take too long before they realized that their ridiculously small team size would be a disadvantage when it came to practicing for games. And so, the deal with the LA Barons and their farm team, the Admirals, was born.

"Hey, Nosedive," Michon Albergo skated over to the unusually occupied player's bench and rested a hand on the red topped barrier separating them. His dark navy jersey bearing the Admiral's logo stood out in a sharp contrast to the ice and the Duck's white jerseys. "Not playing today?"

He shook his head no. He should have at least put on his practice jersey instead of sitting there in a t-shirt and jeans. At least he'd have looked more like he was a part of the day instead of one of the observers in the stands.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" he teased.

Nosedive rolled his eyes and shook his head no again. Great. For once in his life, he actually didn't want people to talk to him because it was too difficult to communicate with them and they just kept coming up to him!

"Fuck that. Come on, birdy, you could at least say hi."

Nosedive glared at being called birdy then looked to Phil for an explanation but the manager was otherwise occupied with the Admiral's coaches and manager at the other end of the bench. Figuring sitting in the penalty box would be preferable to being pestered by everyone all day, he jumped over the barrier and walked to the glassed in enclosure, ignoring Albergo's chirping. He slouched onto his new seat, arms crossed and sullenly watching the skating players.

Albergo tapped the glass with the butt of his stick as he rejoined the activities.

Wildwing skated to center ice once warm ups were over. The four other ducks on the ice lined up behind him wile the twenty-two Admirals gathered on the red line in front of him.

"Thank you all for coming to this open practice. Today is going to be quite a bit different from other practices we've had. Nosedive decided to he'd like to be on the injured list—" A sharp thwap on the glass by the penalty box gave him pause. "Yeah, yeah! We hear you, Mute!"

Two loud thumps.

"Anyway," Wildwing continued. "We need someone to take his place for tomorrow's game. Since you're used to working in shifts, we're going to use three of you. It doesn't matter what position you currently play; we're watching all of you for how you work with your teammates, not just your abilities with a stick and puck. We need some real grinders. Your coach should have told you to bring both of your practice jerseys. If you want to play hockey with us until Nosedive is healthy enough to return, switch over to the white. Good luck."

Nosedive heaved as large a sigh as he could manage without causing himself more pain and settled in to watch. Almost all of the Admirals switched over to their alternate practice jerseys.

Wildwing glided over to the penalty box and his sulking sibling. He opened the door and stuck his head in.

"Hey."

Nosedive glared at him, unamused by being called a mute earlier. Injuries happened, Wildwing didn't need to rub it in.

"You're injured, not in trouble. What are you doing in here?"

A blank stare. What did he expect, an actual answer?

"Okay, fine. Listen, I'm going to need your help with who we call up. Think you can do that?"

A shrug.

"Come on." He leaned on the doorway. "I know you're not happy about this; but, can you please help me here? I'm going to be busy in the crease and the more eyes we have on them, the better."

No response other than a slightly sullen look.

"We're not trying to replace you. We just need someone to fill in for you tomorrow. As soon as Dr. Lowes and Tanya clear you for play, the others are gone. Promise."

Duke skated by Wildwing and slapped his goal pads with his stick.

"Come on, let's get this dance started."

"Look, I'm not happy about having humans play with us either. They can't keep up and they're obnoxious. I gotta go. Just, try to keep an eye out, okay?"

He finally nodded and accepted the role Wildwing had given him. He knew Wildwing really did need the help with watching how the others interacted; but, a small part of him felt like it was a pity task to keep him busy. That small part was much louder than logic.