Chapter 9 "Epilogue-Ducks Fly Together"
On Monday afternoon, Adam showed up for practice, eager and ready to go to work. He attacked the session's scrimmages with renewed energy and love for the game. His teammates thought nothing of his stunning display, finding only the return of the old Adam (except for Charlie and Julie, who alone knew the truth). And if Coach Orion noticed anything odd, he did not say anything in the presence of the entire team.
"Great to have to you back, Banks," Guy said, slapping Adam on the left shoulder on his way out of the locker room.
"Yeah," Russ commented. "Good thing you came back when you did, 'cause if you were away any longer, Cake Eater, you would have lost all your game."
"Like you?" Adam joked.
Russ feigned an insulted face. "I'm hurt, Adam…really hurt. You cut me deep, man."
Over the laughter, Coach Orion's voice could be heard. "Adam, can I talk to you for a minute before you leave?"
Adam looked up to find his coach standing at the door, and the expression on his face made it clear his was not a request, but a requirement. Adam nodded silently and gathered his practice bag. He followed his coach out of the locker room and back into the main rink. They climbed into the stands and took their seats halfway up.
Adam was searching for something to say, but Orion broke the silence first. He cleared his throat, somewhat nervously, and asked, "Can I assume your crisis of faith is over?"
Adam wondered at Orion's choice of words but nodded his head just the same. "I think you could say that. Not to say it won't flare up again in the future, but at least I know how to deal with it now."
Orion leaned back, satisfied with Adam's answer. He had more or less guessed what had been bothering his star athlete, but had chosen to remain on the sidelines and let him work it out himself. And as much as he wanted to have faith in Adam, every day he had a terrible fear of finding Adam waiting in his office to announce he was quitting the team. Thankfully, that hadn't happened, and judging by his enthusiasm for practice that day, it wasn't going to ever happen.
Orion hauled himself to his feet. "Glad to hear it, Banks," he said, before his tone turned serious again. "You're too good a player to give this up, and too good a person to be so conflicted."
Adam looked down at his feet, sure that he was blushing or something equally stupid. No matter how many times it happened, he still wasn't used to that kind of praise. "Thanks," he said, softly, barely audible. When he looked up again, Orion was gone, and Adam was alone. He stared contemplatively down at the ice, etched and marked after the nearly two hour practice. He thought, for the first time in a long time, of the first time he played hockey with his brother, one on one, the local rink in Edina. He was five years old, not even tall enough to see over the boards. Even so, he was already a fairly good skater, having been blessed with preternatural balance. Staring intently at the Eden Hall ice, Adam could almost see his five-year-old self, carefully making his way around the rink, having no chance on Earth of beating his older brother, but just enjoying the opportunity to try. So caught up in his memory, Adam didn't notice Charlie racing up the steps to join him.
"Good practice, eh?" Charlie asked, before seeing the serious, thoughtful face on his best friend. He immediately started to worry. "Something wrong, Banks? What did Coach say?"
Adam shook his head, expelling his childhood recollections and standing up. "Nothing's wrong, Charlie. For the first time in a long time, nothing's wrong."
Charlie smiled, knowing his friend was going to be just fine. And how could he not be, after all, with friends like the Ducks to back him up. He pulled at Adam's sleeve and said, "Well then, let's get going. Our ladies await." Rising from their seats, they made their way towards the exit, already mulling over plans for the weekend, business as usual.
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A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry it took me soooo long to update. I've been exceptionally busy, midterms, etc, etc, etc, whatever, whatever. The real reason is, I suppose, that I was trying to figure out a way to end this fic, without realizing that I'd already ended it, conflict resolved, complete with denouement. But I felt that I definitely owed you something else, anything else, so here it is, the obligatory epilogue. Hope you like!
A/N no. 2: I've been thinking about a sequel, one with a more Adam/Amy centric plot. Good idea? Bad idea? Moronically stupid idea? I'd love to hear what you have to say!
On Monday afternoon, Adam showed up for practice, eager and ready to go to work. He attacked the session's scrimmages with renewed energy and love for the game. His teammates thought nothing of his stunning display, finding only the return of the old Adam (except for Charlie and Julie, who alone knew the truth). And if Coach Orion noticed anything odd, he did not say anything in the presence of the entire team.
"Great to have to you back, Banks," Guy said, slapping Adam on the left shoulder on his way out of the locker room.
"Yeah," Russ commented. "Good thing you came back when you did, 'cause if you were away any longer, Cake Eater, you would have lost all your game."
"Like you?" Adam joked.
Russ feigned an insulted face. "I'm hurt, Adam…really hurt. You cut me deep, man."
Over the laughter, Coach Orion's voice could be heard. "Adam, can I talk to you for a minute before you leave?"
Adam looked up to find his coach standing at the door, and the expression on his face made it clear his was not a request, but a requirement. Adam nodded silently and gathered his practice bag. He followed his coach out of the locker room and back into the main rink. They climbed into the stands and took their seats halfway up.
Adam was searching for something to say, but Orion broke the silence first. He cleared his throat, somewhat nervously, and asked, "Can I assume your crisis of faith is over?"
Adam wondered at Orion's choice of words but nodded his head just the same. "I think you could say that. Not to say it won't flare up again in the future, but at least I know how to deal with it now."
Orion leaned back, satisfied with Adam's answer. He had more or less guessed what had been bothering his star athlete, but had chosen to remain on the sidelines and let him work it out himself. And as much as he wanted to have faith in Adam, every day he had a terrible fear of finding Adam waiting in his office to announce he was quitting the team. Thankfully, that hadn't happened, and judging by his enthusiasm for practice that day, it wasn't going to ever happen.
Orion hauled himself to his feet. "Glad to hear it, Banks," he said, before his tone turned serious again. "You're too good a player to give this up, and too good a person to be so conflicted."
Adam looked down at his feet, sure that he was blushing or something equally stupid. No matter how many times it happened, he still wasn't used to that kind of praise. "Thanks," he said, softly, barely audible. When he looked up again, Orion was gone, and Adam was alone. He stared contemplatively down at the ice, etched and marked after the nearly two hour practice. He thought, for the first time in a long time, of the first time he played hockey with his brother, one on one, the local rink in Edina. He was five years old, not even tall enough to see over the boards. Even so, he was already a fairly good skater, having been blessed with preternatural balance. Staring intently at the Eden Hall ice, Adam could almost see his five-year-old self, carefully making his way around the rink, having no chance on Earth of beating his older brother, but just enjoying the opportunity to try. So caught up in his memory, Adam didn't notice Charlie racing up the steps to join him.
"Good practice, eh?" Charlie asked, before seeing the serious, thoughtful face on his best friend. He immediately started to worry. "Something wrong, Banks? What did Coach say?"
Adam shook his head, expelling his childhood recollections and standing up. "Nothing's wrong, Charlie. For the first time in a long time, nothing's wrong."
Charlie smiled, knowing his friend was going to be just fine. And how could he not be, after all, with friends like the Ducks to back him up. He pulled at Adam's sleeve and said, "Well then, let's get going. Our ladies await." Rising from their seats, they made their way towards the exit, already mulling over plans for the weekend, business as usual.
________________________
A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry it took me soooo long to update. I've been exceptionally busy, midterms, etc, etc, etc, whatever, whatever. The real reason is, I suppose, that I was trying to figure out a way to end this fic, without realizing that I'd already ended it, conflict resolved, complete with denouement. But I felt that I definitely owed you something else, anything else, so here it is, the obligatory epilogue. Hope you like!
A/N no. 2: I've been thinking about a sequel, one with a more Adam/Amy centric plot. Good idea? Bad idea? Moronically stupid idea? I'd love to hear what you have to say!