Danni got home a little after eight that night. She could hear her mom, Sara, talking. Danni crept quietly around the corner to see whom her mom was talking to, and there sat the man she hated worst in the world, Stannson, her father.
"Hello, honey," her mom greeted.
"What the heck is he doing here?" Danni demanded.
"I came to see you…" Stannson started.
"Bull, I know what you want and it is NOT going to work."
"What did I come here for?" he asked calmly.
"You came for what you always do, to see if I will go to Iceland with you. Well you might as well go back because I am not going," Danni shouted.
"Honey," Sara started, " Your father and I have been talking. The feelings you have against him are not healthy for you or him and I think you should go to Iceland with him."
"WHAT? This is ridiculous; you want me to love the man who decided getting out of the country was more important than his girlfriend and kid. Have you forgotten what he has done?" Danni screamed.
"Now, Danielle, listen to me. I made some bad decisions when I was young and I have paid the price for them. You hate me. I can not think of a worse punishment than that."
"I can, I would like to…" Danni started, but stopped " Mom, you cannot send me to Iceland now. Hockey season will start soon. I can't miss that."
"You could go play for your father," Sara suggested.
"I will never play for him and you cannot make me," Danni bellowed, grabbed her bag and ran to Mark's house, crying the whole way.
Ten minutes later
Mark was upstairs doing his favorite thing in the whole world besides playing hockey. Playing with his baby brother Mitchell. He heard the door bell ring, but knew his dad would get it.
"Mark," called his dad up the stairs, "it is Danni."
'That's funny, maybe I left something at Goldberg's' he thought.
He picked up his brother and headed down the stairs. Danni was standing by the doorway. She had her bag on her shoulder and looked out of breath. Which was really unusual for Danni.
"Can I stay here tonight?" was the only words out of her mouth.
"Let me ask my…" Mark started.
"It is fine, Danni." his dad called.
" Thank you," Danni replied.
Mark led her upstairs to the guestroom. Mitchell kept gooing at her and she made silly faces at him. They played the game all the way to her room. She went in sat her bag down and started bawling.
"What happened?" Mark asked, concerned.
"My dad is back," Danni gasped.
"So, just throw him out again," Mark reasoned.
"My mom wants me to go this time," Danni whimpered.
"That is crap, all he has ever done is hurt you. What changed her mind?"
" My feelings for him aren't healthy," Danni mocked.
Mark disgustedly asked, "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know. I just had to get out of that house. Maybe they will screw again and mess up another kid's life."
Mitchell could tell something was wrong, but didn't know what. He started cooing and drooling at Danni again. She looked at him and smiled.
"You know what?"
"What?"
"I wish I was his age again."
"Me, too."
The Next Day
Mark and Danni arrived at school. Matt was nervous. Danni's mom had called and asked if she was there, he said he didn't know where she was. He had hardly slept last night he was so worried. He looked horrible, but Mark and Danni didn't look much better.
"Where the heck were you last night?" Matt asked.
"Don't make me tell you just know this my dad is back," Danni stated and walked off.
"Crap," Matt said 'could things get any worse' he thought.
"And he wants her to go to Iceland with him and her mom agreed," Mark said and chased after Danni.
'Yep!' he thought.
Charlie and Adam had come up behind Matt when Danni and Mark had been talking to him.
"What is so bad about her dad being here?" asked Adam.
"He is taking her to Iceland," Charlie indicated.
"Why would he do that?" asked Adam.
"Because he is a jerk," Matt growled and stomped off.
"Okay, get the Ducks together, there is more to this story."
Lunch
"What is going on?" asked Julie, who had been at a doctor's appointment the first two hours.
" My dad wants to take me to Iceland," Danni stated.
"Start from the top," Charlie suggested.
" When my dad played pro hockey, he fell in love with my mom or so he claims. Anyway, they you know and about the time my mom told him she was pregnant. He got in trouble with the league and was thrown out. He comes back a lot and offers to take me to Iceland and work with me. This time he got to my mom and I am going unless I can come up with some legal reason to get out of it."
"But the only man ever thrown out of the league from Iceland was…" Ken started.
"Stannson," Danni said, " I am Danielle Stannson."
"Legal? We got that covered." Charlie said.
"What?" Matt asked.
" You guys thinking what I am thinking," Charlie asked.
"Yeah," they all answered except for the trio who looked nervous.
"Don't worry, Danni you aren't going anywhere," Connie comforted.
'I hope not,' Fulton thought.
