Author's note: thank you very much for all the reviews; I promise to slow down on evil cliffhangers

Chapter 13:

Maura brushed the medal with her fingertips. Carefully. Slowly. As if she were too afraid to damage it. It weighed against the palm of her hand.

Heavily. Beautifully.

The sun began to shine again as the dark clouds that had been hiding it finally vanished over the mountains, pushed away by the wind. The medal fed itself of the sunlight and its gold shone brightly.

She and Tommy had done it: they were Olympic champions again, they had made history.

The score had appeared on the screen of the arena six hours ago already but Maura still found herself in a bubble of smiles and extreme happiness. She had never felt so light in her life. So proud. Not even one point separated her and Tommy from Ella and her partner. The competition had been as tight as predicted.

And it made their victory taste even better.

The score had appeared and she had got carried in a whirl made of press conferences, photoshoots and medal ceremony. A crazy, unique whirl. A busy one. She hadn't had time to think about what that victory meant, how important it was. She knew the facts though but it still looked like a dream. It didn't have the shape of reality.

She wasn't there yet. She would need time to analyze what had happened in the morning.

With a lot of care, she put the medal back in the box. She didn't shut it down though. She didn't want to. She needed to see the medal just to make sure that it wasn't a dream. She put it next to the medal that she had won in the team event before casting a glance at the two Soohorang push-toys that she had got with the medals.

And then she thought about Jane, about the day they had walked together on the beach and they had seen a giant version of Soohorang in the distance.

It seemed like it had happened a long time ago when it had been 10 days only. But those days had been intense. Too intense, perhaps. Maura swallowed hard as a wave of uncertainty rushed through her veins.

Too intense. Too many things at once.

Someone knocked on the door. Maura stood up and she walked out of her bedroom. Her time off had barely lasted 15 minutes but maybe it was better that way. Being alone was not very wise right now. She opened the door. Tommy was standing in the hallway. A huge smile was lighting up his face. He gave Maura a wink.

"Ready?"

Maura shrugged. As much as she was just as happy as he was – and that for obvious reasons – she didn't share his current enthusiasm.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea. Besides, I'm tired. Perhaps I should just stay here, lie in bed and read one of these books I've borrowed at the library."

"You'll do that in another life, Maura." Tommy grabbed her by the hand. "C'mon. There's a hockey game waiting for you."

...

The arena was packed and much bigger than the arena where the figure ice-skate venues had taken place.

Much louder too.

Hockey had very little to do with ice skating. The crowd wasn't the same and – much to her disappointment – Maura wouldn't pass unnoticed among the American ice-skate team that had decided to attend the game to cheer up Jane's team.

Maura had seen her face on the big screen more times than she could remember already. She hated it. And she hated Tommy for looking so relaxed. He was even having a beer whereas she was too stressed to take the mere sip of water.

That lack of anonymity also meant that now Jane knew that she was here.

It made the situation even worse than what it already was.

"Will you relax, Maura? You look more stressed than you were for our competition." Tommy burst out laughing. "Hey, we won. We made it. Now it's time for you to start enjoying life a little. Ok?"

Maura hissed.

"I slapped the captain of the team that is about to play, Tommy. How do you want me to relax?"

"Beer can help."

Maura rolled her eyes. She pretended to be annoyed but the truth was that she was glad Tommy tried to add a lighter note to the moment. She needed it. Of course, she was too stubborn to admit it though.

"It's not funny, Tommy. You know... You know the situation. It's delicate."

Maura forced herself to smile as soon as she realized that she was again on the big screen. The crowd went wild. Would this hockey game ever start? Tommy grabbed her by the shoulders and he planted a loud kiss on her cheek. The crowd got wilder.

"Where are they? Why aren't they on the rink yet?"

Maura blushed. She showed impatience which completely betrayed her feelings.

At least she would see Jane from a distance. She wouldn't have to talk to her immediately. She would have time to observe her and to ponder a thousand things.

And then what?

"They'll be here within a minute now."

"Ok." Maura nodded. "Then give me a beer."

Tommy burst out laughing. He had talked to Stephanie before going to pick up Maura for the game. Jane was just as miserable as Maura right now. She simply hid it better and she had the advantage of being able to play the card of the competition, on the need to focus on the games.

"You're not going to get drunk, are you?"

Maura needed to remain sober or else Tommy and Stephanie's plan to bring her and Jane together would fail. Maura wouldn't be able to share a proper conversation with anyone if she got intoxicated.

"If I wanted to get drunk, I wouldn't ask for a beer but for Cheongju."

Maura was about to add something when the crowd getting wilder made her look at the rink. The teams were entering the rink. At last.

Her heart began to beat faster and subconsciously she sat on the edge of her seat as if to reduce the distance that separated her from the rink. She looked at every single player until she spotted Jane in her attire.

Then everything stopped in Maura's head.

She had never believed in love. She had always assumed that people weren't made to stay in one's life, that it was just a game of coming and going. An incessant one. Thus she didn't believe in love at first sight. She didn't believe in getting addicted to anyone.

Yet seeing Jane on the rink proved her that she had been wrong all along.

"I don't understand..."

Tommy barely heard her whisper. The crowd was too loud.

"What?"

Maura frowned. She felt lost in her thoughts. Lost in her life.

"I barely know her. We have barely talked... We have barely shared anything together. This isn't normal. The way I feel when I see her... It shouldn't be happening. It doesn't make sense."

A honest smile played on Tommy's lips. He grabbed Maura's hand and he gently squeezed it.

"It never makes sense at first. It's not supposed to."

"Then how can you enjoy it?"

"By accepting the fact you can't control everything."