Summary: A tale of our favorite Ducks and where their lives take them, beginning Senior Year at Eden Hall. Focuses on Adam, Charlie, Julie, Dean, Connie, Guy…and more to come!
Disclaimer: The Mighty Ducks and all its characters belong to Disney. I do not own any of it!
Flying Together
By Rebecca
Chapter 18: Flying
"Honey? You sure you don't want to come?" Adam's mom called from upstairs.
"Sure mom," he panted in between reps, "Go with Dad. I'm fine."
Janet sighed, "Ok. We'll be back later." She closed the door and turned to her husband. "I wish he would get out of the house at least."
He nodded, "Give him time. He's hurt, and not just his knee."
"I know. But he's down there every day, practically killing himself with those weights. I don't know how much longer I can watch this…it's only hockey." Her husband, Phillip Banks, gave her that you've-got-to-be-kidding-me look. "I know I know. Hockey is his life. But honestly, if I thought this was gonna happen…" Phillip nodded in silent agreement.
She trailed off as she grabbed her coat. It'd been almost a week since graduation night. At Adam's request the three of them had stayed home and had a quiet dinner…no guests. And since then, only Charlie had stopped by once or twice to see how he was doing. The rest of the ducks had picked up enough from his interaction (or lack-thereof) with him at the end of the year to know that Adam wasn't in a very social mood lately. They didn't blame him either.
Mrs. Banks opened the door to head out to the car and let out a small shriek. Standing on the doorstep about to ring the bell was Julie Gaffney, looking just as startled.
"Oh dear. You scared me."
Julie bit her bottom lip, "I'm sorry Mrs. Banks."
"Janet? What's wrong?"
Julie held her breath as his dad came around the doorway. "Oh Julie, nice to see you…uh, I thought you had gone home."
The girl took a deep breath. "I uh, I did. But…I flew back." She shrugged, "Homesick I guess." Jeez, that was lame. Lovesick is more like it. I can't believe I'm doing this.
Janet smiled, "Here to see Adam I assume. I'm glad you're here. He kinda…needs a friend right now."
"Janet, we're going to be late."
"Oh, right," she scurried to grab her keys and patted Julie on the arm. "He's in the basement. Just go on down."
She managed a smile, "Thanks. Have a good time."
"Thanks, we will," he closed the door and left Julie alone in the Banks foyer. The place never ceased to amaze her. She'd been in it only a few times before at victory parties over the years. To her right a massive staircase led the way to more rooms unknown and past the stairs, a crystal chandelier watched over a beautiful Victorian dining room. She took a deep breath and turned to the left which was the main living area, complete with a state of the art stereo and entertainment system of course. She walked past it to a little hallway that led to more rooms. The den, bathroom, guest room, rooms she'd never seen until she'd reached the basement door. Her heart beat rapidly and her stomach started to churn as she opened the door slowly and stepped inside.
"48…49……50." Adam dropped the weight with a loud clang and flinched as the dumbbell hit the metal legs of the stool he was on. Too frustrated with his knee which he could barely move anymore, he'd decided to strengthen his bad wrist, which wasn't healing as fast as Doctor Williams said it would. He snatched up a white towel from the bar next to him and wiped the sweat from his neck and shoulders. Sweat had begun to stain his gray tee-shirt and he shook his head in disgust. 50 reps. Only 50 and I'm already wiped out. He moved to grab his water bottle and stopped when he heard the basement door open again. He huffed and called up, "Mom I said I'm fine. Go have a-"
Adam froze as Julie appeared from where the basement ceiling angled up. "Julie," he said quietly.
"Hi," was all Julie could say. Her heart was beating so loud now she almost thought Adam could hear it from across the room. Adam reached under the bench press and grabbed his cane, and struggled to push himself off stool and stand up. He favored the leg and leaned on the cane for support. Julie tried not to frown in sympathy and couldn't help feeling a twang of guilt deep inside her. But she didn't dare move to help him. That wasn't what she came here for.
"I thought you were in Maine," Banks said nearly out of breath. It was a no win situation. Leaning on the cane meant putting more pressure on his week wrist and he couldn't lean to the right because his side still hurt. But he wasn't about to show that. He gritted his teeth and waited for a response.
"I was…I came back."
"Obviously," he turned and limped to the fire place mantle a few feet away from his weights and grabbed his water bottle. "Why?"
Julie stepped down a few more stairs and swung her hands behind her back with a slight shrug, "I forgot to say good-bye."
Adam paused mid-gulp and then slugged a mouthful of Dasani. "Good-bye," he said after swallowing, instantly regretting it. But he didn't apologize.
Julie looked down and briefly considered leaving right there and then. She knew this had been a mistake. This man had nothing to say to her. And why should he? Look at what she'd done. But she stood her ground, fought back her tears and continued, "I also came to say I'm sorry."
Adam looked away, "I'm tired of hearing that Jules."
"I know, but you need to hear it from me anyway. I-it's my fault."
His head sprang up, "What?"
"It's my fault," she repeated, "Dean wanted to…he wanted to show me that he…cared about me. That he could treat people better than he had been…"
Banks stared, blank faced at a girl he suddenly felt like he didn't even know, "You have got…to be kidding me."
"It's true. He wanted to-"
"To what Jules? Ruin my life even more?"
"What? No, I-"
"Show you that he could kill me without even flinching? Look at me Julie!" he held out his hands gesturing to his bandaged knee, "Don't take credit for this all right? You don't deserve it. Dean killed me ok? He killed me and there's nothing you can do about it."
Julie's head was spinning, "Killed you? What- what are you-"
"That's right, he killed me," he repeated, tears forming in his eyes. There was no turning back now, "He ruined my hockey career and he took you away from me! All he needs to do now is come back and put a bullet through my head and the deed is done."
Julie drew back in shock as Adam turned away, unable look at her now. She stepped a little closer and swallowed hard, "T-took me…away?" she could barely speak.
Adam shook his head down to the side, "God, Julie. Haven't you figured it out?" he turned all the way around and stared, half not even believing that any of this could be news to her.
But it was. Her heart, which had been pounding so furiously, now skipped a few beats as she fought the urge to grip her stomach and control the tornado of butterflies within. "What…uh, whadyou mean?"
Adam nearly laughed, "What do you think I mean? I've been crazy about you since day one Jules. Ever since LA! You think all that just went away when you started dating Scooter?" Julie leaned against the wall for support as he continued, "And then the day you split up, who's there to snatch you away again?" He clenched his teeth, "Dean Portman."
"I didn't know!" Julie cried suddenly finding her voice, "I swear I didn't know. I went to find you-…I went to find you that day and you were-you were with Erica!"
Adam looked down, "Yeah I heard," he said painfully remembering what Charlie told him, I think she saw you with Erica. "It was one more in a long line of her passes at me…that's all," his voice was quieter now…passive and meek. "I left right after she kissed me."
Julie's eyes rolled back in her head as she mentally kicked herself, "Oh my God."
"And why does that even matter anyway? You hooked right up with Dean-"
"I don't know," she cried, "I don't know ok? I told you, I went to find you. I wanted you to know…" she checked herself and finished in monotone, "I saw you with Erica. I left, and Dean found me crying. Things just happened ok? To this day, I don't know how. I was upset and he was there."
This time, it was Adam's head that started spinning and his heart that started pounding. He took a step forward with his bad leg and winced, "Wanted me to know what?"
Julie answered in a voice barely audible, "…that I love you." She closed her eyes and looked down. It had sounded so corny when she'd rehearsed it on the plane flying back to Minnesota, even more so in the taxi from the airport to Edina, and utterly ridiculous on the front steps of his house as she reached for the doorbell. But standing in his basement, facing him at last, she realized how much it was true…how much she meant it…and how much she wanted to take it back in the midst of the stunned silence that ensued after she'd confessed.
Adam struggled with his cane, cursing his leg more than ever as he slowly moved forward. She had turned around and was nervously rubbing her arm. Her breathing quickened as she felt him moving behind her. "Why didn't you tell me?"
She turned, her eyes moist and answered, "You…stopped talking to me."
Adam tightened his grip on his can as he wiped his other hand across his forehead, "You were with Dean…and he left. I thought you…"
"What…blamed you?" she asked, almost laughing at the cruel irony of their dialogue. "How could I? When I saw you in that hospital…and later back in school…I just didn't know how. I didn't know what to say. You shut yourself off from the world, Adam. There…didn't seem to be any room for me."
Later Adam would wonder how his leg found the strength to cross the rest of the room, and when exactly the pain disappeared from his side and arm. But now, all he could see, think and feel was Julie. He moved her swiftly into his arms and held her close as if she would vanish if he let go.
Julie's eyes opened wide and round and shut again as she returned his embrace, her heart now an emotional recipe of passion, shock and relief. She felt his cheek brush against hers and heard him whisper in her ear, "There's room for you Jules…there always has been." And he kissed her.
She could never have imagined, although she'd certainly tried over the years, what it felt like to be kissed by Adam Banks. The way his hands held her face, his lips, hot and tender, pressed against her own. His hands, trembling slightly, moved slowly down the length of her arms and slid around her waist as her own hands came to his shoulders and wrapped around his neck. There was no urgency to the embrace. No explosion of repressed desire. Adam touched and held her as if he had a thousand times already, and would a thousand times more. As if it were the most natural thing in the world for Julie to walk right into his basement and slip into his arms.
Finally, they pulled apart and Julie watched as a wave of love and relief washed over the bitterness in his eyes. She smiled, her own eyes gleaming as he ran his fingers through her hair, and sighed. He winced slightly, pain returning to his knee, and rolled his eyes as he shifted his weight. "You ok?" she asked.
He laughed, "You kidding?" He kissed her forehead and hugged her close again. "Never been better." And he kissed her all over again.
Julie admitted that it was silly and maybe a little cliché, but from then on she would always remember how she felt that day in the basement of the Banks Estate when he kissed her for the very first time: She felt like they were flying…and why not? They were ducks after all. And they were flying…together.
**End**
Ok…well, hope you liked it. Your reviews have been awesome and really kept me going. Write and let me know what you think and be honest. Thanks again! Love, Rebecca