Title: She Waits

Author: Lissie

Summary: Julie Gaffney watches her team play during the Junior Goodwill Games.

Rating: G

Notes: Um, please try to be constructive with criticism; if there's any way to make this better just tell me.

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She's bored.

Who wouldn't be?

Everybody has been on the ice but her.

Julie sits while everybody else rides to yet another glorious victory.

She doesn't like sitting on the sidelines.

Why doesn't Bombay put her in? She's a good goalie. They wouldn't have recruited her for team USA if she was incompetent.

She isn't called Julie "The Cat" Gaffney for nothing.

Julie is much better than Goldberg, and she knows it. She knows that she could perform just as well, even better, in a game setting.

She just hasn't gotten the chance to prove it.

She doesn't understand why Bombay has her sit out.

What was the point of coming to join this All-Star team if she was barely permitted to play? She should have just stayed in Maine.

Sure, a victory for Team USA would mean a victory for her. After all, Julie is a member of the team .

But Julie doesn't count herself in these victories.

Julie wants to earn the respect of the team, and she certainly can't do that by warming the bench.

She wants to earn her position on the team.

Cheering on her team members doesn't do it for Julie.

She wants to play.

She knows that she'll have her time sooner or later, but she's antsy anyway.

She waits.

Goldberg looks as if he's getting tired. Perhaps Bombay will put her in today.

And she waits.

Banks scores.

The clock runs out. Final period is over.

Well, there goes her chance to play.

The team wins.

They gather on the ice in a gigantic group hug.

Julie trudges out of the box and joins them, wiping a tear from her eye.

She composes herself.

All she wants to do is play.