~*~WARNING: This story contains SLASH! Male/Male and Female/Female love. You have thus been warned. Thank you!

Disclaimers: I don't own the Mighty Ducks. Duh! If you want to sue me, all you'll get is about ten dollars and some change. I'm broke. Sorry! However, I do own Elyjah and all character you don't reconize. There will be many. You are warned. Reviews are always welcome, as are critizisms. I need all the help I can get!





"God, girl. You weren't kidding." Portman said after he, Fulton, Charlie and Elyjah finished with the last box. "Think you brought enough shit?"

Elyjah laughed. "This is nothing compared to what I left at Uncle Gordy's house! You should have seen his face, it was classic. He was all like, 'Are you planning on staying for the next twenty years or something?' and I was all like, 'As long as I can cook!'. His cooking is a disater anyway."

Fulton and Portman exchanged glances. "You mean, you cook?" Fulton asked.

"Yea, sorta. I can cook nearly everything that comes with directions, but if you give me something without directions...let's just say it took my cousin three days to get the cheese out of her hair." She grinned impishly.

Charlie blinked. "Cheese?"

"Yosh! I made a grilled cheese sandwich explode. It was pretty funny. For me, I mean. My cousin was pretty pissed, needless to say. She didn't talk to me for about a week or two. After that I wasn't allowed near the kitchen for about two or three months. It was funny. I have a picture somewhere in here...." she began rummaging through a shoebox of pictures before she came up with the aforementioned picture. "See? This is the kitchen and Addy right after it happened." The picture portrayed a young teenage girl, covered in cheese and bread crumbs, looking ready to kill. The kitchen, that was once a light blue, was sprayed everywhere with specks of cheese. The three boys looked at it for a second, looked at Elyjah and began to laugh. Elyjah just sat there, grinning wickedly and continued sorting through the box.

"'Ly, please tell me what you had to have done to make grilled cheese explode." Charlie asked, though gales of laughter.

Elyjah's grin became even more wicked. "Well, you see, I'm not one who knows the proper use of a stove, right? I always just set it to 'HI' and do my thing. No one ever told me that you're supposed to make a grilled cheese sandwich on 'LOW' heat. So, I'm just doing my thing, right? Well, Addy comes in, sees the burners on 'HI' and freaks out. She pulls me away from the stove and right then was when it blew up, literally. That's the only way that I can really explain it. So, Addy is covered in cheese and everything else and I'm just like, 'Oh shit...'. I grab the nearest thing to me, which happens to be a camera. Don't ask me what the camera was doing in the kitchen, I honestly don't know. Anyway, I go, 'Hey, Addy, SMILE!' and take the picture. Well, Addy looks like she wants to kill me, so I jet out of there. My last words were, 'I knew something was wrong!'. Then, the fighting commenced. It was fun." she finished, looking at the boys who were in stitches on the floor. Then, someone knocked at the door. "I'll get it!" she said.

Elyjah opened the door, which now had a white marker board on the back of it. "Uncle Gordy!" she cried, "When did you get here? I thought you weren't due back in until tonight." she embraced her uncle.

"Well, I got off early today and decided to drop by see how you were doing." Gordon Bombay said, leaning down and kissing her on the cheek. "What's up with them?" he asked, gesturing to the three laughing Ducks on the floor.

"Oh, I just told them the 'Exploding grilled cheese' story. I think they liked it." she remarked, grinning insanely.

"You mean the on with Addy...?" he quiried, a grin on his features.

She giggled. "The one and only." It was about then that the three Ducks realized who had been knocking at the door.

"Coach!" they said in unison, picking themselves off of the ground and walking towards their old coach. They exchanged hugs and greetings and talked for a few minutes before Gordon looked at his watch and sighed.

"Well, I really hate to do this, Angel, but I've got to go. I have a flight to catch for eight and I still have to stop home and shower and pack. I just wanted to make sure you were getting settled in." her uncle bent down and kissed her forehead. "I... have something for you. I think you should read it alone, then give me a call, ok?" his voice became serious. He reached his hand into his pocket and retracted an envelope. There was only one phrase on it: To my baby girl, Elyjah Shaennon. Elyjah's eyes teared up as she looked at her uncle. With a shaking hand, she reached out and took it from his hand.

"Is this from daddy?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly. Gordon nodded and looked at the three boys standing behind her. Charlie stepped up and placed a hand on her shoulder. He could feel her body slightly trembling.

"I'll remind her later, okay, Coach?" Gordon nodded in the affirmative. Elyjah looked back up at him and stepped into his embrace.

"Thank you." she whispered, hugging him tightly. He returned it in kind and stepped back.

"I should be back home tomorrow afternoon. If you need me before then, call my cell phone, okay?" His niece nodded and stepped back. Gordon gave the trio of Ducks one last glance before stepping out of the room and walking swiftly down the hallway to the stairs. Elyjah took a deep breath, trying to her tears under control. She looked at the envelope one last time before sliding between the boys and placing the letter under her pillow and turning to the three boys. Portman was the first to speak.

"Ely, you okay? Do you need to be alone?" he asked, walking towards her.

"Yea, I'll be okay, but I don't want to be alone right now. Can we go somewhere? Like Hans' shop?" she nearly pleaded, begging them with her eyes. (A.N.: Yes, Hans is alive. I need him alive in this story for reasons that will develop as the story progresses.)

Fulton looked at her with sympathy in his brown eyes. "Sure. Would you mind if the rest of the Ducks came?" he asked, walking past his boyfriend and placing a brotherly arm around her shoulders. She shook her head.

"No, it'd be good if they came. I need to get to know them better. After all, I'm not rooming with all of them." she quipped, grinning through her tears. "How 'bout y'all go round them up and meet me back here. I need to change." The three males nodded in the affirmative.

"We'll meet back here in about fifteen minutes, okay?" Portman said, looking at the smaller girl."Will that be enough time for you?"

She laughed softly. "More than enough. Thanks guys." Her next move surprised the three boys. She turned and hugged Fulton and moved to Portman. Then Charlie. "I owe you one." she said when she released Charlie. He smiled softly at her.

"No problem. We'll be back in a few." He and the Bash Brothers left the room, shutting the door quietly behind them.

When Elyjah heard the click of the door, she groaned loudly. Walking over to her bed, she flopped down and stared at the ceiling for a few moments. 'Thank god that the guys helped me to get all of my clothes put away,' she thought as she forced herself from the bed and strode to the closet and opening the door. Peering in, she randomly selected a pair of shorts and a green tank-top. Stripping out of the sweats and tee, she pulled the tank on over her bra and slipped into the cut-off shorts. Walking back to her bed, she crouched down and withdrew her hockey bag. Reaching in, she pulled out a small jewelry case and emptied it out on her bed. She slid in her cartilage earring in her left ear and the two lobe rings before inserting the single in her right ear. She unclasped a thin chain with a Chinese dragon on it and re-clasped it behind her neck, along with another necklace with two rings dangling from it. On her right hand, she slid a smiley face ring onto her middle finger; her left hand had a thumb ring of Celtic knots and a mood ring on her middle finger. He bracelets came next, three silver ones and a dark beaded one on her right arm and a punk stud leather bracelet on her left. She finally felt ready to go and face everyone.

She glanced at her mood ring. Purple. Either that meant she was calm or nervous. She couldn't remember; she was never able to keep the colors and what they meant straight. She padded silently to the bathroom and flicked on the lights. She undid her messy braid and rebrushed her red and gold hair. She never understood why she had ended up with that color hair. Her mother's hair had been blond and her father's, a dark brown. Her mom always said that her grandfather had had red hair, but he had died when she was still a toddler. But she remembered one thing: he had loved her very much. That's what everyone said. Even her grandmother, but now she had Alzheimer's and barely remembered Elyjah. Her father's parents were alive and well, but lived in Utah, so after everything, it seemed a bit harsh for her to pack up and move to a new state where she hardly knew anyone and barely knew her paternal grandparents. Glancing in the mirror, she looked at her reflection for a moment. Long hair that went nearly to her waist and large sea colored eyes that she had gotten from her daddy. She sighed again and began to rebraid her hair when someone knocked on the door.

"Elyjah, you decent?" Fulton called through the wood and it caused her to laugh.

"Yea, I'm decent! I'm just fixing my hair." she yelled back. "Come on in!"

"Alright." was said as the door opened and in walked the entire team. Elyjah blinked in shock that thirteen people, fourteen including herself, could fit into a dorm room. 'Is that even possible?' she wondered. She quickly finished the plait before snapping a band around it. She slid out of the bathroom and into the already overly crowded bedroom to grab her shoes. Charlie was the first to seek her out.

"Ely, you ready to go? Hans is expecting us, we'd better get a move on! Who's going in what car?" Elyjah looked up.

"I can fit three in mine. If there are any takers." she said, walking to her night stand and grabbing her mini messenger bag she used as a purse, she removed a set of keys from it. "Well?" Charlie blinked at her.

"You can drive? But I thought you were fifteen."

"Nope, sixteen as of June nineteenth."

"What kind of car?" a blond guy asked. Elyjah racked her memory for his name. Alex? Adian? Adam? Adam!

"Honda Accord. Two door. Two hundred and forty horse power, with a turbo charged engine and dual exhausts. Grey cloth interior. Green paint job." she grinned slightly, looking almost bemused at the looks she was getting from the boys. "What? You guys act like you've never heard a girl talk about cars like that. We're almost all car crazy in New Orleans. Car or motorcycle, some people both. I'm more car."

Adam looked at her for a moment, then grinned. "I got shotgun!" he crowed, walking over to Elyjah and planting himself next to her. Charlie followed with a grin fixed on his face. She glanced at him.

"You are *not* sitting behind me." she stated simply. His grin faded.

"Fine, I'll sit behind Adam." he pouted. She chucked.

"Any other takers?" she asked just before the door opened again and a short girl with purple hair shot in and grabbed Charlie around the waist. "Um."

"Charles!" She squealed, purple hair bouncing around a cherubic-like face. Charlie grinned and returned the hug.

"Taryn." Charlie ruffled her hair and gently pried her off of his waist. "Taz, I want you meet an old friend of mine, Elyjah. She's new to the team." Elyjah and Taz eyed each other for a moment before they laughed simultaneously and broke eye contact. Elyjah was still grinning when she spoke up.

"I think I have all the people for my car!" She threw an arm around Taz's neck, herself only being three inches taller than her new female companion at five foot three.

Fulton took that moment to look at his new roommate. She seemed to be recovered from the shock from earlier; the light was back in her eyes, like it had been when she was telling the story about the grilled cheese explosion. It could be an act, but he doubted it. Maybe she was back to normal. He made a mental note to himself to *gently* remind her about the note when they got back, if she hadn't read it yet. He glanced towards her bed. It looked undisturbed, just like it had when they left. He stole another look at her. She had removed her arm from Taz's shoulder and was talking animatedly with Adam about cars and different types of exhaust systems. Taz, on the other hand, had fully turned to Charlie and Portman and was telling them about the newest drawing she had made on her dorm walls. Everything seemed normal.

"Hey, guys. If we're gonna go to Hans' shop, we'd better go now, ok? Me, Adam and Taz are in Ely's car. Portman, Fulton, Dwayne and Russ are in Portman's car. Guy, Connie, Julie, Goldberg and Luis are in Julie's car. Ken and Averman are in Averman's car. Let's go!" Charlie said, going into Captain mode. Nearly everyone rolled their eyes, save for Elyjah and Adam who were still engrossed in their conversation, which had switched from exhaust systems to different makes and models and which were better for racing. At the moment, Elyjah was firmly going with the low-to-the-ground Accord, while Adam was against her going with the slightly higher-from-the-ground Neon. Neither seemed to want to give up their positions, and probably wouldn't have if Charlie hadn't stepped in between them and placed his hands over their mouths. Elyjah looked indignant for a moment before she attempt to bite Charlie, at the exact same time that Adam did the same. Charlie yelped and drew back his hands. Elyjah had a self-satisfied grin on her face while Adam was too busy laughing at the look on his friend's face as he tried to nurse both hands at once.

"I do believe I am ready now." Elyjah said, giving Charlie a 'Look' before grinning. "Let's book it."

~~~

Thank you to the two people who have reviewed so far!

Jen: Portman and Fulton being gay is a crucial part in this story. Sorry!

Spaz-chick99: Bwaha! I haven't decided on the couples yet, save for Portman and Fulton. It could be Charlie and Elyjah or it could even be Elyjah and Adam. I don't know yet. I'll thing about it when I'm in Europe though!

I'm really sorry for the hold up, but I had a shit load of stuff that was on my back. I just graduated from High School! Yay me! So I had everything that went with that, and now, on Tuesday, I'll be leaving for Europe and won't get back til the sixteenth. I promise I'll write some while I'm there, ok?

~~Elf-chan