One Single Step - Chapter 5: Graduation Day.

Disclaimer - Don't own them, stop saying that I do.

Notes - Thank you for your reviews for this story, I know I have hit you with 5 chapters in the last three days, but I really wanted to get what I had written up and out there before I had to go back to college today. Hope you enjoy.

Oh, yeah, and my spelling sucks in this chapter, I know that there are two mistakes in here, one is the name of an American state. (I cant spell it, but it is the one with Boston in it) sorry if my lame attempt at spelling mass. Offends anyone.)

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"Would you like me to get you something to eat?" Fulton asked Beck as they entered the dining hall. Rebecca winced as his voice cut through her already pounding brain. Hang overs were so not cool.

"Shh, Fulton, you are being to loud" she whispered, glaring at him. Fulton's heart broke as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "And I don't think I could stomach anything at the moment, thank you anyway"

Fulton kissed her forehead and then led her to the Duck's table, sitting and pulling her into his lap. Beck buried her head into his neck so that they fit against each other comfortably. She could not believe that she had ruined her prom night by getting drunk, and now, on graduation day, she was hung over. She only hoped that she had not said or done anything to embarrass herself, or to embarrass Fulton. It would suck to have spent four years as a silent party at this school, and then to screw it up on the second last day and leave with a reputation.

She vaguely remembered a conversation about sex. Her only hope was that she had not said to much about what she had been thinking lately to Fulton. That would be…rather shameful, not to mention uncomfortable for the both of them.

"Have a good night last night did you Beck" Averman joked from the other side of the table. If Beck didn't know any better, she would assume that it was he, Goldberg and Russ's who had spiked the punch. But, she decided to give the boys the benefit of the doubt, they may have been the teams resident practical jokers, but that didn't necessarily mean that they would do something like this…did it?

"Fulton, give them the finger." She commanded softly into his neck. "I would do it, but every muscle in my body hurts. I am never drinking again, ever, in my entire life. If you ever see me reaching for an alcoholic beverage, stop me by any means possible."

"Ok" Fulton grinned and kissed her. Beck made a face and pushed him away. Fulton grinned. "Can you believe that we graduate today?"

"Part of me wishes that we didn't" she admitted softly, "and another part of me is glad that it is over"

"I agree, there are some things here that I will miss more then others" Fulton sighed, tightening his grip on the girl in his lap. He never wanted to let her go, ever. "You, for example."

She rested her forehead on his and whispered. "You act as though I will not be calling you every single day"

"But just holding you like this, it is so much better then anything else in my world right now" Fulton admitted, reaching up to stroke her cheeks. Beck grinned and wrapped her arms around him. She never wanted to let her go either. "I will miss you so much when you are in New York"

"It is amazing to think that a few months ago, you didn't even want to come to New York with me, and now, after everything that has happened, you don't want to let me go." Rebecca smiled teasingly at him. Fulton blushed. "I am going to miss that blush"

"Why do you have to leave on Sunday?" Fulton practically whimpered, he had thought that he would have the summer to be with her, maybe show her around, but recently, she had told him that she would be leaving for New York on the Sunday after graduation.

"Because, my aunt in New York wanted me to experience life there so that I would not be overwhelmed when I have to start studying." Rebecca replied. She had explained it to him about a million times, but she also understood what he was trying to say. Beck would have loved to stay here with him just a little longer. But she would visit him as often as she could, and he had said that he would visit her. "You are going to come and visit me right?"

"As soon as I can save some money" Fulton promised. "I have to get a summer job before starting at St. Paul Community College"

"Hey, don't talk like that, there is still a few weeks, you could still get into one of the other colleges that you applied to" Rebecca told him. It was the truth, a few of the other ducks, Julie, for example, who had gotten amazing test scores, were still yet to hear back from any colleges. Everyone still had chances.

Fulton only sighed and replied. "I could also get stuck by lighting, twice"

"Man, don't say shit like that" Dean told his friend as he sat at the table, dragging a very tired looking Julie Gaffney with him. Julie was wearing sunglasses, and when she sat, she pushed them to the top of her head, and then winced, lowered them, and collapsed forward onto the table. Dean smiled, kissed the back of his girlfriends head, and then sat and continued. "God will do it just to prove that it is possible."

"Didn't take you as a religious man Portman" Ken said, surprised. Dean shrugged.

"All I know is that there are some things you don't mess with, and god is one of them" Dean replied, picking up his fork and mixing salt into his scrambled eggs. The noise of the fork hitting the plate drove right though both Beck and Julie's skull. Julie reached out and grabbed his hand, digging his fingernails into Dean's flesh, he got the point, and lowered his fork, continuing his conversation with Ken. "I may not completely believe that he exists, but I sure as hell know that he can do some serious damage if he so pleases."

Picking up his fork again, he began to literally inhale his food. Julie looked at how he was eating and turned a little green. Beck did to, and the others at the table could not help but laugh.

Suddenly, their laughter was interrupted when Dean dropped his fork and turned not green, but red. Bright, angry red. Fulton was the first to look in the direction of where Dean was staring, growing angrier by the second, and even he was shocked by what he saw.

Wearing a pair of Adam's jeans, and one of Adam's baggy old shirts, was Joanna Portman. Her hair was messy, but the smile on her face, on the face of both of them, was enough to make Fulton cringe in fear. Fear for Adam, that is.

"Dean man, don't do anything stupid" Fulton warned, but he knew his best friend, and he knew what he was liable to do when he was angry. For all the years that they had been at the school, Dean was yet to do any serious damage to others (done plenty to himself and material possessions however) it would be a shame to have break that clean streak today.

"Fulton, does that look like a girl who has just been fucked to you" Dean growled, still shooting daggers at his little sister, and the Duck's star player, who was soon to be the Duck's ex star player, because Dean was going to rip him limb from limb.

Fulton couldn't help but smirk "I don't know, I have never seen one"

"One of the rules of last night was that he would not be having sex with my sister." Dean replied, standing. He looked as though he was going to make his way across the room and rip out Adam's voice box or something. "He broke the rules, I get to break his nose"

"Dean, sit down and stop being so stupid" Julie mumbled, taking him by the arm and making him take a seat. She still sounded sick, but she had a commanding tone in her voice that made both Fulton and Dean cower in fear. It was amazing what girls could do when they put their mind to it. "You don't know anything for sure. And besides, she is old enough to make her own decisions about he body…you were doing worse things with the opposite sex at her age."

"Fine, but I still get to yell at him" Dean sighed.

"In private, don't scream at him with others around" Julie warned. "Besides the embarrassment factor, your sister will end up hating you."

"When did you get so smart?" Dean asked her, meaning it as a compliment, but Julie rolled her eyes at him and rested her aching head in her hand. Dean rubbed her back.

"Before I met you, because I feel my brain cells diminishing each time I have a conversation with you" Julie replied. Dean smiled, he knew that she did not mean that. She was just crabby and defensive because she felt like shit. It was no big deal, he had realized that she gets this way towards the middle of the month as well.

"I love you to Jules" he teased her. Julie just sighed and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Oh wow, my leading couple is still together" a voice said from behind them, and they both jumped. "Can I say that I am the one who is responsible for getting you two together. Me and my fantastic casting ideas."

Meredith Dugas was the coolest teacher at Eden Hall. It was official. She was the only teacher in the school who would let them do crazy things, like pretending to be trees in the breeze, while everyone else in the school had to write essays. She was also the coolest teacher in the school, because when other teachers all said that they would not teach senior English to some combinations of ducks, she said, Screw it, give me the whole team.

And she had gotten the whole team. All thirteen of them, plus a few others. And she had made classes fun, down to the fact that when the others were writing assignments and exam papers, the ducks were on stage, performing. Making a fool of themselves, but performing all the same. They had all passed with flying colours.

"Hi Meredith" Rebecca smiled at her. Rebecca, although she had had a different English class, had been assigned to the production as music supervisor. Meredith, who noted with some pleasure, that Fulton and Rebecca were still together, smiled at them.

"So, last day of school" Meredith grinned, pulling out a free chair and sitting down with the Ducks. "Looking forward to graduation?"

"No, do you have any idea how many speeches we have to sit through before they will let us go. Dean Riley, Dean Buckley, Coach Orion, Valedictory address from Wu man over there." Goldberg rolled his eyes. "And we cant even eat until afterwards"

"Ken got Valedictorian?" Meredith asked, surprised. She was not surprised that Ken had been named valedictorian, but she was just surprised that it had gotten this far into the year and she was only just finding out. Meredith was glad it was one of her students who got the honour.

Russ clapped his friend on the back, but Ken shrugged and looked away, he didn't think it was really such a big deal, but now every duck, especially Russ, was making a big deal about it. "Yeah, and now every college in the country wants him"

"Well done Ken" Meredith smiled. "Made any choices when it comes to colleges?"

"MIT looks good" he said, modestly.

"Massatutus." Meredith sighed longingly. "My home state. If you go there, you will love it, I swear…winters there are beautiful. And do the whole touristy thing to, go to Salem, with hunting…"

The ducks were surprised at the excitement their teacher held for her home town, but then again, they all knew what it was like. When you are spread from all different states of America, Pride becomes a huge part of who you are.

"Thanks Meredith" Ken smiled at her.

"Oh, shit, look at the time, I seriously have to get going." Meredith replied, looking at her bare wrist as though there was a watch there, it was something that she often did, but after a year of it, it was still funny. "I will see you all in your funky graduation gowns in a few hours."

"Shit" Dean mumbled as she walked away. "I seriously forgot the grad gowns."

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"It feels like I am wearing a dress" Russ complained as he tried his gown shut over his clothes. The other ducks all stood around, most with their graduation gowns just draped over their shoulders. Really, their gowns were just a hideous piece of maroon material that was shaped into a robe.

"It is one step away from a moomoo" Goldberg replied.

Charlie looked up from where he was tying his shoe lace at his friend. "A what?"

"A moomoo" Goldberg repeated slowly. Charlie still looked as though Goldberg was speaking another language. "You mean you don't know what a moomoo is?"

"Should I?" Charlie replied.

"That episode of the Simpsons, when Homer tries to get fat so that he cant work. He buys a moomoo and a fat mans hat." Ken filled in for him. Charlie was not surprised that Ken knew what he was talking about. Ken always knew what every one was talking about. That was why he was so smart. "Add the hat, and we are that Simpsons episode"

Connie sighed in defeat. "And this colour, it does nothing for my complexion."

From the other side of the room, Averman laughed. "What, pale green?"

Adam looked at her in sympathy "Oh, you got a cup of the spiked punch to"

"Sure did"

"And she is a violent drunk" Guy added.

Connie slugged him in the chest. A few others laughed. "Am not"

"See what I mean, violent drunk" he replied, rubbing his chest where he had been hit. Guy poked his tongue out at her, and she replied the same.

"Did any one else get drunk on the punch, or was it just to ladies?" Dwayne asked. It seemed that he had noticed a trend. Julie, Audrey, Connie and probably Joanna to.

"I think it was just the ladies." Fulton replied, it was odd that only the girls had gotten the spiked punch, but then again, maybe the girls just had a lower tolerance for alcohol.

"All I know is that Audrey has a low tolerance for alcohol." Luis replied, voicing Fulton's thoughts almost exactly. Fulton stared at him in shock. Could Mendoza read minds? "She had like two cups and she was gone. I had to sit with her half the night as she threw up."

Julie smiled sickly. "Charming"

"It was" Luis replied, but he did not sound as though he was disgusted by the thought. He actually looked rather dreamily into space. "Who would have thought that holding back a girls hair could be so romantic."

Russ shook his head. "You are one strange guy Mendoza"

"Yeah, where I come from, romantic is buying flowers and admitting your intentions to the girls father" Dwayne replied. He had just taken off his cowboy hat to put on the other, crappy graduation hat that went with the gown. After Dwayne had said that, Dean had burst out laughing. But it wasn't just laughter, it was hysterical laughter. He was doubled over, his hands on his knees, his whole frame shaking.

"What's so funny?" Julie asked, looking at her boyfriend in amazement.

Dean, still doubled over and clutching his side, got his laughter under control enough to say. "Gee Mr. Gaffney, just so you know, I intend on having sex with your daughter"

"You can be such a jerk sometimes" Julie shook her head adoringly at him. Before getting ready for graduation, she and the girls had all taken a few aspirins each, so their head aches were calming down a little. "And my dad would slug you, even if you are twice his size."

In the corner of the room, Fulton approached Beck, who was struggling with the ties on her gown. Fulton reached out, did it for her, and then moved a piece of hair from her face. "Hey Beck"

Beck grinned up at him. She was in a better mood now, and she was no longer worrying about what she could have said or done the night before. Life was to short to have regrets. "Hi, What's up?"

Fulton took a deep breath and smiled nervously at her. He had no idea why he was so nervous, but he was. "Well, you leave on Sunday, and I was wondering, well, would you like to go out with me on Saturday. Like on a date…a formal date?"

"Sure, I would love to baby" Rebecca smiled, and Fulton let out a sigh of relief. He had no idea why he thought that she would say no. Maybe it was because he thought that she would be way to busy packing. "Where are we going?"

Fulton smiled and tapped the end of her nose. "I cant tell you that, it is a surprise"

Beck smiled back at him sweetly. "Then how will I know what to wear?"

"Anything you want to" Fulton informed her. "you look good in everything"

Beck, hands on her hips and staring at Fulton, narrowed her eyes playfully. "But what if it is a really formal place"

Fulton laughed. "Beck, could you imagine me in a formal restraint?"

"Not at all." Beck grinned, looking at what he was wearing under his graduation gown, baggy jeans and an old t shirt that probably had a hole in it somewhere. Not that he didn't take pride in his appearance, and not that he didn't have his own sense of style when it came to clothes, but you would always tell when he had rolled out of bed and decided not the put any effort into what he was wearing. Not the Beck minded, she thought he looked fantastic in everything he wore. "Don't worry, I will think of something. I might even wear this stunning graduation gown."

Fulton laughed again as Beck leaned seductively against the wall and lifted the leg of her gown as thought she was trying to show some leg. "Well, you do look damn sexy in it"

"What if I told you, that underneath it, I was wearing…" She looked around conspiratorially, and then turned back to Fulton, placing her hands on his shoulders to lower him to whisper in his ear. "Jeans and a t shirt."

Trying desperately to keep his laughter in check, he reached forward and pulled Beck to him, kissing her passionately. When he pulled away, he grinned and said. "Oh baby, you sure know what to say to get me hot"

"I am going to pretend I didn't hear that Reed." Averman said from the other side of the room while making a fake gagging sound in their direction. "Just marry her and get it over with."

Jokingly, Beck pushed Fulton away from her and wiped her mouth. "As if I would want to marry this loser, I could do so much better"

Fulton grinned. "Oh yeah, like who?"

"Charlie" She replied, and then launched herself at the captain. Charlie had just enough time to catch her when she jumped into his arms and began kissing his face fiercely. "oh captain duck, I love you, marry me"

Fulton replied, crossing the room and lifting his girlfriend out of the arms of one very shocked captain. "Ha, I am twice the man he is"

"In both weight and height" Adam mumbled.

"Hey, leave him alone, I like him as he is." Beck defended. It was true, for a girl her size (and she wasn't short, she was petite), it was odd to have a boyfriend the size of Fulton. He was almost twice her weight (but most of it was muscle) and he was a foot taller then her. She liked that he was so big, because it meant that when they hugged she could hide completely in his embrace and feel safe. And his hands always felt nice wrapped around hers. He was just a nice guy to have around. "And he is not weighty, he is wonderful…"

"Wonderful squishy teddy bear" Julie laughed. Fulton tried to look offended by the word squishy, but it didn't work. If there were two people in the world he couldn't stay angry with, it was Beck and Julie.

Beck wrapped a loving arm around his waist and smiled up at him. "Exactly, aren't you smoochy"

"Smoochy?" Russ mused. "Out of every name in the world, you chose Smoochy? He doesn't exactly look like a smoochy"

"Joking" Fulton grinned, looking down at Beck. "We don't have names for each other, do we snookums."

Averman sighed and shook his head. "I take back what I said about marrying each other, these two should be locked in separate rooms and never allowed to reproduce."

"But could you imagine a Beck Fult Hybrid?" Julie asked, and a few others laughed.

"Ah, make it stop" Russ sobbed, covering his eyes. Beck gave him the finger. If, or when, she ever had children with Fulton, they would be beautiful children, with his coloured hair and eyes, and her nose, and they would be the most loved child in the world because not only would he or she had a mother and father who loved and adored them, they would have so many aunts and uncles. A whole Hockey team full.

"Could be worse" Fulton replied. "Lets pause to think about the possibilities, of a Dean Jules Hybrid"

"Could be worse still" Goldberg replied while a few others cringed at the thought of what the Gaffney-Portman children would look like. "A Guy Connie Hybrid"

Charlie dismissed the thought. "No, not scary, they have been together for so long that we all seen them as one person anyway."

"Do you know who will have great looking children?" Guy asked as the others all thought of who would have the ugliest children. "Adam and Joanna"

"I agree" Russ replied as Adam looked away from the group and tried not to listen to what they were saying. He had wished that they would not bring attention to the subject of Joanna, because Dean had been oddly quiet about the whole situation. "The kid will be a classic cake eater, but seriously, they would spawn the supermodels of the earth"

Adam turned when some one tapped his shoulder. He gulped when he saw who it was. Dean. "Did Joanna have a good time last night?"

Adam replied carefully. He knew that Dean and the others had seen him and Joanna enter that morning, and they had all probably drawn their own opinions about what had happened between the two of them, but really, Dean's opinion was the only one that mattered. He was the one with the power to kill. "Yeah, we both did"

"So…" Dean began. Silently he was counting to ten like they tell you to do in anger management classes. He had to look calm and collected, and most of all, he was not allowed to hurt Adam, as much as he would like to take the little pip squeak and throw him out a window. He had to save him, because the boy had potential, not only as a hockey player, but as a future brother in law (he cringed at the thought, and although he thought it very unlikely that Joanna would marry her high school boyfriend, he had to come to terms with the fact that from now on, every boyfriend that she had was a potential husband. "I noticed that she was wearing your clothes this morning"

Adam took another gulp of air and replied. "She was?"

"Don't play dumb, I am the master of that game." Dean replied. "Please, just give me a straight answer. Did you and her…did the two of you…did you…"

"I didn't sleep with her" Adam admitted softly. This was an awkward conversation to be having with the brother of a girl that you have a crush on. "If that is what you are trying to articulate"

"Good"



Adam felt the need to clarify. "I mean, I slept with her, as in, we shared a bed, but I didn't do anything that would…well…I didn't"

Dean was just relieved that Adam had, well, innocently slept with Joanna, that he smiled and decided to tease him a little. "Having trouble articulating?"

Dean lost his smirk however, when Adam said. "Portman, I really like Joanna."

Dean sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Here came the painful part. "I know. She likes you to. I don't like the fact that you like her, and I don't like the fact that she likes you, but in the long run, what I like means nothing, because as much as I complain, it is ultimately her decision as to what happens."

Adam looked at him, confused. "Are you giving us…"

"Permission to date. Yes." Dean replied, but then pushed Adam against the wall behind him menacingly. "But if you came to me, any time in the near future, and tell me I am going to be an uncle, I swear I will kick your ass so hard you will be tasting my shoes. Got that"

Adam smirked, ignoring the pain in his shoulder from where he was being held against the wall. "How could I not when you put it so elegantly."

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It was hot. It was easy to tell that it was almost summer, because the Eden Hall auditorium, a room that months before had been the home of their debut to the world of acting, was now sweltering. The commemorative programmes that had been distributed at the door were being used by the guests as fans, and at the side of the room, the Ducks, sitting with their fellow graduates, were all sweating like pigs in their graduation gowns.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I introduce to you, the graduates." the Dean announced, and the graduates all straightened in their seats, this is what they had been waiting for. This meant that all they had to sit through now was to go and get their diplomas, and then they were free, free forever.

Fulton, who had been holding Beck's hand all the way through the ceremony so far. (Great thing about the alphabet, 'Reed' came right before 'Roman'.) shoved her a little, it had not taken to long, but Beck had fallen asleep against his side. Beck looked around, rubbed her eyes, and grinned. She had slept through her own graduation ceremony, that took a lot of talent.

They were called to the stage alphabetically, and after receiving their diploma, had to stand on the stage in front of all the people until they were dismissed. It did not take long before the whole graduating class was on the stage, being stared at by everyone.

And as the applauding died down, there was only one thing they heard. A duck caller.

Beck looked at Fulton, Confused, but his gaze was locked on the back of the auditorium.

And Gordon Bombay, and his old Duck's jacket.

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Ok, so there is chapter 5, bur I have to go now, back to school, lovable school. Anyway, I don't know when my next update will be, but I hope that it is soon. I will write ahead again, and who knows, I might finish it and tweak it and… well, getting ahead of myself.