NellieBly413672: Glad you liked it. I love writing awkward scenes, so I'm glad you like reading them! Enjoy this chapter too!
Meadow567: I'm glad you like Lexi. She's so much fin to write! Part of the reason I thought to write this story was because I wanted to write a cute little girl in it. I had cute ideas for Glory Days, but Izzy was only a few weeks old so it was hard to write those cute moments, because half of what makes Lexi cute are the things she says! Anyway, I hope you like this chapter too!
A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this up. It seems like forever since I posted, and I know it probably even seems longer to you. Just to give everyone a brief recap of the last chapter...
Kelly met Mac's parents, which made for awkward moments during the Norway game. Mrk also got injured that game, so Hannah held out from having sex with him. Lexi begged Hannah to sleep over though, and the next morning at breakfast she told Mark and Hannah that she wants them to get married and so she could have a baby brother or sister. At the end of the chapter, the guys were anxious to play Romania and the West Germans to finish the prelims and go onto the Medal Round.
Now on to the chapter!
Wednesday night, the guys were both excited and getting nervous. They just beat the West Germans by two in a game that afternoon to finish the preliminary round. Now they just had to wait. The official announcement of when and who they were playing next was going to be made the next morning. It could only go one of two ways though.
If the Czechs beat Sweden in the game that started right after the guys played, the US would be first in their division. If the Swedes won, the US would be in second. In the other division, figuring things out was a bit trickier.
The guys decided to watch the Sweden-Czech game to see who they would likely be playing Friday night. About half of the team was cheering for the Swedes, because they hoped to play the Soviets first and get it out of the way, and the other half of the team wanted to put off playing the Soviets and cheered for the Czechs. Before they went to watch the game, Mac, OC, Bah, Verchota, and Mark ran into Herb in the hallway.
"Coach, who do you want to win tonight?" Verchota asked, like Herb's judgment would be a deciding vote or something.
"Czechs or Swedes?" Bah added.
Herb looked at the guys like they had three heads and Mac went on to explain the possible outcomes. "What the hell does it matter?" Herb asked simply. "We're playing the Soviets eventually no matter what." Herb then walked away as the guys then continued their on going debate.
By the start of the third period, the Swedes were winning three to two. The team also found out that Canada was only losing to the Soviets by one goal.
"Canada can't win," Verchota whined. "If they win, that throws everything off. Then Canada will be in first and the Czechs will have to win in order to play the Soviets first."
"Why do you want to play the Soviets first?" Mac wondered again. "I say save the best win for last."
"Because if we play the Soviets first, we have a better chance to medal no matter what happens."
"We have the same chance no matter what, Verchota," Rizzo told him.
"Personally, I'd rather get finished playing those guys as soon as possible," Bah said.
"I want to play them second," OC said, and then explained. "I want revenge, and Doc hasn't said anything about me playing yet. If we play them second, greater chances I'll get to play."
"What if you got to play against them anyway?" Mac wondered. "Would that change your mind?"
"Maybe, I don't know."
"Why are we worrying about things we can't control?" Mark wondered.
"You're just as guilty as us," Mac said. "You've made it very clear who you want to play in the second medal round game too. And you're the only one that went through every possible scenario, including ties and the very unlikely circumstances."
"Unlikely like Finland winning the rest of their games," Verchota mentioned as an example.
"Anything can happen," Mark said. Then, "And I never said I was innocent of figuring out standings, I jut asked why we're bothering. In less than hour, we'll know for sure."
The Swedes ended up beating the Czechs, putting the US team in second. Now the guys knew that if the Soviets won, they would be playing them first. If somehow, Canada won however, the US team would play Canada first.
"That settles it," Verchota began. "It looks like we're playing the beasts from the east first." Mac chuckled at the 'beasts from the east' expression.
"Not necessarily," Mark spoke up. "Only if the Soviets beat or tie Canada."
"Magic, you're wrong. Look at the standings. The Soviets have eight points. Canada has six. Teams get two points for wins, one for ties, and no points for loses."
"Yeah, and if Canada wins, they'll have the same points as the Soviets. Tie breakers are head to head. That would make Canada first in their division."
"How do you figure?" Verchota asked.
"Six plus two is eight and eight plus zero is eight," Mark stated simply, wondering how Verchota made it through elementary school.
"Oh yeah. Well, I guess I want to play the Soviets first then."
"You're not going to cheer for Canada now?" Mac asked. Technically, the Canada-Soviet game was still going on and Canada could win.
"No, I want to be the first team to beat them. If Canada wins, our team beating their asses will be less special."
"After getting beat 10-3 last week, trust me, beating them will still be special," OC commented.
The guys all went back to their hotel rooms after finding out the Soviets won, and they were all going to try to get a good night's sleep. The next day, they were having a short morning skate before spending the rest of the day relaxing and getting ready for their big game the following day.
Mark woke up with nerves forming in the pit of his stomach. Today was the day. Although the goal of playing in the Olympics was to medal; more specifically get a gold medal, the preparation for these Olympics entailed preparing for the inevitable game against the Soviets.
Mac woke up around the same time as Mark and although they both finished their normal morning routines of getting showered, dressed, and watching a little Sports Center, there was something different that day. Both guys, Mac especially, were unusually quiet. And Lexi wasn't even there to break the silence that morning. The night before, she stayed with Kelly and Hannah so the guys could get a good night sleep. Part of that was Herb's request.
At the morning skate the day before, Herb told them he was enforcing a curfew for that night, and he also expected them to stay sober and away from distractions. Although the 'distractions' Herb was referring to mainly targeted women, Mark thought Lexi was an implied distraction.
"I'm going to stop at the girl's room before breakfast. I want to see Lexi," Mark told Mac, breaking the silence.
"I'll go with you. I want to see-" Mac paused for a second, "Lexi too." Mark didn't say anything, but his guess was that Mac hoped to see someone other than Lexi.
Almost immediately after knocking, Lexi happily answered the door. "Daddy!" she said, hugging him tight.
"Hi sweetie."
"I made you a good luck card," Lexi said, handing him a card. On the front was a picture of two hockey players. Mark guessed the one was himself and the other was probably a Russian. Inside, the card said, 'Good luck Daddy. I hope you win and score. I love you.' There was also a picture of a gold medal and Lexi's attempt at drawing the Olympics rings.
"Thank you Lexi. I love it," Mark said, and picked his daughter up, then giving her a kiss.
Mark walked in the room with Mac close behind. Mark immediately went over to Hannah and put Lexi down so he could kiss his girlfriend. Mac awkwardly walked toward Kelly, and stopped several feet away from her.
"Good luck today, Mac," Kelly said.
"Thanks."
After a short awkward silence between the two, Kelly asked "Are you nervous?"
"Yeah," Mac admitted.
"You'll do great," Kelly said. Then, quietly, she added, "You always do."
Meanwhile, Mark and Hannah were having a moment of their own.
"How does your shoulder feel this morning?" Hannah asked, reaching up to massage it a little. In the previous game, Mark could play fine, but his shoulder was a little sore.
"Better. Today's the first morning it hasn't bothered me at least a little."
"I was sort of lonely last night," Hannah said, smiling shyly. "Lexi kept me company for sure, but I missed you. I was really getting used to waking up next to you in the morning." Even though Hannah and Mark sleeping together wasn't really a routine, seeing as it only happened twice since Valentine's Day, Hannah thought waking up next to her hot, smiling boyfriend was quite easy to get used to.
Mark smiled back. "I missed you too," he said, wrapping his arms around her neck. "And tonight you're definitely coming over," he added huskily, leaning toward Hannah to kiss her.
"You better win first," Hannah said after they pulled apart.
"You're coming over no matter what."
"You won't be in the mood if you lose," Hannah said knowingly.
"Hey, hey," Mac interrupted, having heard Hannah. "There'll be none of that talk."
"We better get going," Mark said. "I'll see you girls later."
"Good luck," Kelly and Hannah told both of them in unison.
"Good luck Daddy!" Lexi said, running over to give her dad one more hug.
"Thanks Lexi, I love you."
"I love you too."
"Aren't you going to say good luck to Mac too?" Kelly asked.
"Oh yeah," she said. "Good luck Mac too." She gave him a hug too.
"Thanks Munchkin."
Mark and Mac left to head to the rink. Even though it was still pretty early, considering their game wasn't until five, they had a lot to do to get ready. The guys were having breakfast as a team that morning, and then had a really light skate. After that, Herb was making them 'take naps' in their rooms. The guys didn't actually have to sleep, but Herb wanted them to rest and take it easy. At 2:30, they had to meet again in the locker room where they were going to have a snack and get dressed for the game.
Although Mark and Mac had been pretty quiet that morning, everyone was loud at breakfast. They were all excited for the game, and for most of them, the nerves hadn't set in yet. Once they got on the ice for their morning skate, that was when the realization set in. This game was huge. It was everything they spent the last seven months working for.
By 2:30, the guys were ready to get the game over with. Doc had orange slices, bananas, grapes, crackers, and pretzels for them, but hardly anyone ate anything. They were all too nervous to eat. By a little after three, almost all of the guys were already dressed. Other than rustling of hockey equipment, and an occasion comment, hardly anyone spoke. That is, until Verchota made a comment.
"Crap!" Everyone turned to Verchota to see what was wrong. "I put my right skate on first." After no one said anything in response, Verchota clarified what was wrong. "Last time I put my right skate on first we lost."
"Superstitious much?" asked Bah.
"Yeah. Don't you have pregame rituals you have to do?"
"I guess."
"So if we lose, we'll all know who to blame," OC said, coming into the room. He had been getting checked out by Doc to see if he could play.
"You playing?" asked Mark, noticing OC wasn't on crutches and was half dressed in hockey equipment.
"Yeah, Doc cleared me."
"That's great man," Mac said, giving him a high five and slap on the back.
By four, the guys were sitting in the locker room, which was now completely silent. Each guy was doing their own thing, whether it was praying, playing with tape, adjusting their skates and pads, but no one spoke a word.
Herb came in minutes later to give them a pep talk, and the team was ready to go. They guys walked out of the locker room and into the hallway, then waited until they were given the okay to go onto the ice. When they were given the go ahead, they skated out into an arena packed with screaming fans. The crowd was wild. Looking around, the guys couldn't believe how crowded it was already and how loud everyone was. It was almost hard to hear each other on the ice. At least they had a few minutes to get used to the loudness of the crowd before the game actually began.
The guys tried not to look intimidated when they took the ice for the opening face off. They were all nervous though. Shorty after the game began, the Soviets scored after getting away with a noticeable slash. After two more goals, one by each team, at the end of the first period, the guys were still only a goal down. Now it looked like they would go into the first intermission only down by one goal. Just then, Mark drove to the net to follow a shot by Christian. Getting the rebound, Mark shot the puck with one second left. The light went on as the buzzer sounded. Cheers erupted on the ice from the guys and in the stands.
As the team celebrated on the ice, Mark's family and everyone else were celebrating in the stands. "Daddy scored!" Lexi screamed.
Hannah hugged Lexi in excitement, and then hugged Kelly followed by Mark's Mom. Lexi was getting celebratory high fives from everyone around her, and complete strangers were hugging and high fiving with the excitement they felt.
"That was amazing!" Kelly said. "Never in a million years could I have imagined him scoring like that. "That was amazing," she said again.
"Oh my God," Hannah followed, also in disbelief. "We're tied. Ten days ago, we were already down by a few goals at this point."
When the guys came back out after the break, they were still high off the excitement Mark's goal had caused. Herb was excited too, and the guys could see that, but Herb also made it very clear that they needed to continue playing their game, and not get overly excited about one goal. After all, everyone knew there was still forty minutes of play.
Herb did want to keep the guys and their high though, and that was easily done when he saw that Tretiak was taken out of net.
The second period was a little less exciting seeing that the Soviets scored the lone goal. Almost halfway through the third however, Team USA's excitement was rejuvenated due to Mark scoring another goal during a power play. The game was tied again, and now Herb insisted on short shifts to keep everyone fresh. Most of the guys felt better than they ever had before though. At this rate, they all were feeling they could skate another few hours if this game was on the line. The adrenaline rushing through them gave them more energy and life than they ever had before.
That energy bursted from Rizzo as he jumped off the bench for a shift. He was open and got a pass from Pav. From 25 feet away, he shot and the puck went right passed Myshkin. Everyone went wild.
The team cleared the bench to celebrate, as Rizzo skated around the boards. The crowd was going wild. For the first time? The US was up by a goal. It was almost unbelievable.
After a short celebration, everyone knew there were still ten minutes to play. They had to focus and not give anything up for ten minutes.
"Go USA!" Lexi and many others yelled in the stands as time slowly dwindled down.
Hannah was jumping up and down a little, looking at the clock every ten seconds or so. Time was getting short, but not fast enough. She was having trouble watching. Kelly was biting her nails, wishing the clock would go to zero. Mark's mother was having trouble watching too. She keep looking around at other people in the crowd, then stopped doing that because the looks on the intent audiences faces was hard to watch as well.
At one point, during a tough segment when the Soviets were shooting a lot, Kelly turned around to face backwards and said, "I can't watch. Lexi, tell me when it's over."
"You'll know when it's over because the buzzer goes off," Lexi said simply.
Kelly just laughed to herself at Lexi's comment.
"I can't believe there's still three minutes left," Hannah said. "It seems like Rizzo scored hours ago."
"Go Mac!" Lexi said.
Kelly turned around immediately, thinking Mac had the puck and was about to do something exciting. When she realized Lexi began saying 'Go –insert name here-' for whoever had the puck, she turned around again to face the other way. She really couldn't watch.
The guys were having trouble too. They watched, because they had, but they were watching the clock just as much. They couldn't afford to make one mistake… nothing that could jeopardize their lead at least.
"One minute," Mac said from the bench. An eternity later, thirty seconds were left. As the guys on the bench watched the clock, some screamed, some hit their sticks against the boards, some were silent and trying to believe what was happening.
"Twelve second s left, oh my God," Hannah said, getting Kelly's attention to turn around. The crowd began the countdown.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six…"
The announcer could be heard, but barely, over the deafening crowd. "Five seconds left… Do you believe in Miracles? Yes!"
As time expired, the guys rushed the ice. The buzzer couldn't even really be heard over the excited players and fans. If people were happy with the tying goal two periods before, they were ecstatic now. Words couldn't even describe the excitement and joy everyone felt.
"We won!" Lexi shouted. "We beat them!" Even she was excited, and she didn't realize the full effect of the game. To her, it was just game and she knew the Soviets were a little tougher than most.
Strangers hugged each other again and celebrated as the guys on the team hugged each other as well, skating around the ice, screaming and in disbelief. The scene was surreal. They really beat the Soviets.
After the guys were showered and changed, the excitement still hadn't worn off. The mood in the locker room was unlike ever before. Someone started singing "God Bless America" and everyone joined in. Most of the guys didn't even know the words, but they were too happy and excited to care that they were off key and sounded ridiculous.
Once they were all finished and ready to leave, the exited the locker room to see excited friends and family members. There weren't any reporters down there, but the guys were pretty sure they would have to ward off photographers at some point.
Hannah was the first to greet Mark upon his leaving the locker room. She just ran up and hugged him. He hugged her back, and only pulled away when Lexi came over.
"Daddy, you won! And you scored. Good job." Mark smiled and picked her up, then gave her a kiss.
"I still can't believe it," he said, to Hannah and the rest of his family, who were now nearby. "Reality hasn't sunk in yet."
"Oh, it will eventually," Kelly told him.
"Celebration dinner on us?" Mark's mother asked. She wanted to take out the family for a nice dinner to celebrate the win.
"Sure, I'm meeting the guys later on though."
Mark's family went to a restaurant in the Olympic Village and happened to run into Mac, OC, and Jimmy's families there too. They all sat sort of together, pulling tables around and rearranging the restaurant. No one cared too much though, because the workers all knew who they were and even though the game wasn't broadcasted yet, they all heard about the win.
After dinner, the guys left to head to a bar down the street where they were meeting the rest of the team. Hannah, Kelly, and Jenny, who were all at dinner, went with them. Lexi begged Mark to let her come too, but she ended up staying with Mark's parents.
At the bar, the guys were all still high on the excitement off their win. They watched the replay of their game on TV there. Verchota, Bah, and a couple other guys were acting silly and decided to pretend they didn't know what would happen in the end. They were acting as if they were just spectators and didn't know who won yet. So every time a goal was scored, a nice save was made, or anything else exciting happened, they cheered or booed appropriately.
After the game, they showed the celebration on the ice, and Verchota had a close up shot on camera.
"Wow, I look pretty good out there, huh boys?"
"You look like you just finished playing a hockey game," OC commented. Verchota had been drenched with sweat and looked far from good on the camera.
"I'm sure you'll have a line of girls waiting for you when you go back home," Mac said, trying to give Verchota what he wanted to hear.
"You all will," Kelly commented from her spot next to Mac.
"And we all don't need a line of girls," Mac said, putting his arm around her shoulder.
OC heard his comment and just gave Mac and Kelly a look. He noticed that they had been really close all night. He didn't think they were together, but now he wasn't so sure. OC knew Mac was a little drunk though, so maybe it was the alcohol. He'd have to ask Mark if he knew anything later on.
Once the guys were done celebrating, most went back to their rooms to celebrate some more. Well, the ones with girlfriends anyway. Mark and Hannah went back to Mark's room.
"You played absolutely amazing," Hannah told Mark for what seemed like the millionth time that night. "When you scored that goal in the last second of the period, I wanted to scream – that's my man!" Mark laughed.
"You could have. But it was so deafening load in there no one would have heard you."
"True," Hannah agreed. She wrapped her arms around his neck before giving him a long kiss. "I love you."
"How much?" Mark asked, pulling away a little and raising his eyebrows.
"I could tell you…but showing you would be much more fun," Hannah said, pulling him toward the bed.
Since Mac's room was taken, Mac decided to crash in Kelly's room. He already knew it was okay with her. Walking back to the hotel, Mac knew Kelly was drunk. He was drunk too, but not as bad. She was all over Mac, holding onto him and acting totally unlike Kelly – even the new Kelly.
Mac considered the 'new' Kelly as the Kelly that admitted to liking Mac. She seemed so much happier now. When he'd first met her, Kelly seemed dark and cynical about everything.
"What are we gonna do back in the room?" Kelly slurred, smiling at Mac.
"I don't know," he answered honestly. He would love to have some fun – seeing as he was in a celebratory mood and it was probably the last chance they would have together. But at the same time, Mac didn't want to take advantage of the situation. Especially because Kelly's mood could change in a second and she could turn into a bitch again. That side of her scared Mac. "What do you have in mind?"
Kelly didn't answer, but just smiled and kept walking with Mac. Mac decided he would just let everything play out as the night went on.
The next morning, the guys were all at breakfast as Mark and OC joined the table as the last ones.
"Sorry we're late," Mark apologized. "It's OC's fault. He told me to hold the elevator, then made me wait while he went back inside to get something. I didn't realize he went back in to get laid."
"I did not!" OC said in defense. He knew Mark was only teasing though. "And we're not the last ones here, so it doesn't even matter."
"Who else isn't here?" Verchota wondered, not realizing someone else was missing.
"Mac."
"He's probably still sleeping. I think he had a pretty late night last night," Silky said hinting, at something because of how cozy he was with Kelly all night.
"He left the bar when I was leaving," Mark said.
"Yeah, and him and Kelly were probably-" Bah was cut off after getting kicked by Buzz. "Ow."
Mark just turned away and started talking to Rizzo about something else, not taking picking up on anything. Some of the guys weren't sure how Mark would take it if Mac and Kelly slept together. Little did they know, Mark wouldn't have cared at all.
A half hour later, when the guys were mostly done with breakfast, Mac finally came down.
"Look who decided to finally show up," Bah commented.
"Look who decided to finally get his ass out of bed is more like it," Silky added.
"What were you doing all night?" asked OC.
Mac ignored the guys and sat down, putting his head in his hands and began massaging his temples.
"I feel so sick right now," He complained.
"What the hell did you do last night?" asked OC.
Mac explained that he was hung over after having way too much to drink. He couldn't remember much of what had happened after getting back to the room with Kelly. They drank some more to celebrate, and the next thing he knew, he woke up next to her in the morning.
"You don't remember if you slept with her?" OC asked quietly, not wanting Mark to hear.
"No. When I woke up, she was half dressed and so was I… so I have no clue."
"Is she still sleeping?"
"She was," Mac answered. "She was more wasted than me so I don't know if she would remember anything either."
OC just laughed at Mac's misfortune as Mac took a swig of water and swallow the two pills Silky handed him.
The next morning, the guys were all feeling pretty good, including Mac. He felt much better than the previous night. The only thing bothering him now was that he hadn't seen much of Kelly since waking up with her.
He had hoped to see her the night before for a little while, but after the team got back from dinner, they had a curfew set by Herb and couldn't go out. Before heading to breakfast and the rink, Kelly, Hannah, and Lexi stopped by Mac and Mark's room to wish the guys good luck.
While Mark, Hannah, and Lexi were having a moment in the room, Kelly pulled Mac outside to talk. He wanted to discuss what happened the night they may or may not have had sex, even though he feared the conversation would be awkward and may possibly end badly.
"Kelly, I'm sorry," Mac said as they stepped into the hallway. "I shouldn't have taken advantage when you were drunk, but please don't be mad. The only reason-"
Kelly cut Mac's apology off. "So we did have sex then," she stated, though she sounded almost unsure, but to Mac's surprise, not angry.
"Isn't that why you brought me out here? To yell at me?" Mac wondered.
"No, I didn't know we had sex. I just wanted to ask if you remembered anything."
"Oh," Mac said. He had only apologized because he thought Kelly was mad. She didn't talk to him at all the day before. "Well, I actually don't know if we had sex," Mac admitted.
Kelly smiled. "That's good to know." Mac gave her a funny look. "I don't mean that we didn't have sex," she continued. "I mean it's good to know because I thought… well, I thought… this is going to sound really stupid."
"Try me," he challenged.
Kelly's face turned red. "I thought that maybe you were avoiding me yesterday because it wasn't good… because I wasn't good."
Mac breathed almost a sigh of relief. "Oh my God, no. I was avoiding you because I thought you were mad." They both laughed a minute. "So… you don't know if we actually had sex either?"
Kelly shook her head. "I don't think we did. I sort of remember you saying you weren't doing anything when we were that drunk. When I woke up, I thought I dreamt it, but now I don't think I did. Being the gentleman you are, I don't think you let anything happen."
"You probably dreamt it. I only act gentlemanly… well, really never. At least I never have before," Mac said. Kelly smiled.
"I think you're a nice guy. Besides, don't you think one of us would be memorable enough for the other… even if we were drunk out of our minds?"
"Maybe."
"I think I would have remembered," Kelly said.
"Are you saying you think I'd be unforgettable?"
"I guess," Kelly said, and an awkward silence followed. "So are you glad we didn't?" Kelly asked.
"No," Mac said. "Well, yes," he then said. Then he changed his mind again and explained. "I'm not glad we didn't, but it's not like I wish we had either."
"Can you promise me something?" Kelly asked, out of the blue.
"What?"
"Promise no matter what, we'll stay friends. After all of this is over today, and after we go our separate ways, promise we'll at least stay on friends and not let our different lives change that."
"Okay," Mac said easily. He definitely didn't want Kelly to completely leave his life after tonight.
"I'm gonna miss you," Kelly said. "As a friend," she added quickly, not wanting him to think she was the clingy girl type.
Mac wrapped her in a big hug. "None of that now," he told her. "We have plenty of time for good-byes later, but we still have several more hours until then."
Just then, Mark opened the door and came outside with the two girls in tow. "Ready to go win a medal?"
"Hell, yeah!" Mac said, shooting a smile at Kelly.