Disclaimer: As I have said before, I don't own the Mighty Ducks. SO LEAVE
ME ALONE!!! Sorry, I feel better now...
-Chapter 8-
The next four days were really tough for Julie. She was working hard in
practice getting used to her positions again. Then she would get something
to eat and go work on her homework all alone throughout the entire night.
She didn't want to get behind in her schoolwork and she didn't care if she
didn't get any sleep as long as she stayed caught up.
However, that Wednesday it all caught up to her. She had stayed up the
whole night studying, forgetting about the game that day. Connie walked in
at about six in the morning to see if she was up and ready for practice,
only to see her still at her desk, in the same clothes she had been in the
day before. She sighed and rolled her eyes before going up to her friend's
desk and pulling the book away from her.
"Julie Ann Gaffney, what are you doing? Did you forget about the fact that
we have a game tonight and that you are starting?" Connie said to her
friend, more worried about her than mad at her.
"Oh God, the game, I completely forgot. I was so caught up in staying with
the rest of the class that I forgot about the game. What am I going to do
Connie? I'm so tired." She said looking pathetic.
"Julie, we are taking the same classes; we can do homework together and
help each other. That way we will both get it done quicker and maybe you
will get some sleep. As for the game tonight, we need to talk to coach, I
think we have several hours between when classes are over and when we have
to leave, but I'm not sure. You feel like going to practice?" She asked
her.
"Yeah, we won't be practicing too hard since we have a game tonight. And
since I'm goalie tonight, he will have me in the goal. I should be okay."
She said, getting up and going to the bathroom to change. "Ugh, as long as
Charlie doesn't see me that is."
Connie laughed and grabbed her and Julie's bag. "Come on Julie." She said,
and Julie walked out of the bathroom with her hair in a fresh braid. They
walked out of the room and towards the ice rink. When they got there they
immediately got their stuff on and started towards the ice. Julie hadn't
put her helmet on yet, and when she got to the ice she panicked because
Charlie had seen her.
"Crap...Connie, he is coming over here. I can't very well put my helmet on
now." She whined.
"It'll be okay, Jules. We'll tell him you are going to get some sleep
before the game." Connie said patting her friend on the back. Julie just
nodded and looked at her boyfriend skating towards her.
"Hey Julie." He said taking her into a hug. She laid her head on his chest
before he could see her face. However he pulled a way and raised her head
to look at him. "MY GOD!! Julie, you look like you haven't slept in ages!
How much sleep did you get last night?" He asked her.
"None." She said softly.
"WHAT!! Julie we have a game tonight." He yelled.
"Charlie, don't yell. Please." She said a headache starting to form. "I
know we have a game tonight. After class I'm going to go and lay down until
it is time to go to the game." She told him.
"Okay, I guess." He said sounding unsure. "You feel okay, Julie? You don't
look too good."
She glared up at him, "Charlie, I have had about five hours of sleep in the past three days. I didn't get any sleep last night and I have a headache. What do you think?" She asked him, putting on her helmet and skating onto the ice. "I think that maybe you should go back to the dorms and sleep...and...rest." He said as she skated by. "NO!" She yelled, "I'm not missing classes. Besides if I do, than I won't be able to play tonight." She said. "Julie, you need some sleep. We can talk to coach and tell him how hard you have been working. Connie can take your homework to your teachers and get the next assignment. You can sleep until it is time to get ready and be more alert for the game. You need sleep, sweetie; you're making yourself sick." He said, worried about her. She looked at him for a minute, and though she really didn't want to admit it, she knew he was right. "Okay. But I'm still practicing." She said stubbornly. He sighed, knowing that if he said anything else that she would probably hit him over the head with her stick. "Alright. But you have to promise me that as soon as practice is over, you will go to the dorm and sleep." He told her and she glared at him. "Okay, okay...I will take that as a yes." He said and skated off to finish his laps. Julie followed Charlie and Connie onto the ice. The practice was pretty good for Julie; it wasn't too hard on her. She was able to perform like usual in the goal. When it was over she went to the locker room to change, and Charlie stayed back and told Bombay what was going on. He told him that she needed to get some rest. Bombay agreed that she needed to get some rest and said that her skipping classes to rest would be okay. Charlie grinned and thanked him, then went into the locker room to change, hoping that Julie was still there. When he got in there, he saw that she was sitting at her locker, showered and changed talking to Connie. He walked over there to her and bent down to talk to her. "Hey Julie, you think you can wait until I get dressed to go back to your dorm?" He asked her and she nodded. "Good. I'll hurry, okay?" "Okay." She said and hugged him. He hugged her back and got up to shower and get ready. When he left, she turned around and went back to talking to Connie. About ten minutes later Charlie came back in and put his stuff in his locker, deciding he would come and get his stuff ready later after classes. He then walked over to Julie who was leaning up against her locker with her eyes closed. He wasn't sure if she was asleep or not so he gently touched her, and she didn't move. He smiled and sat down next to her, pulling her to him. "Julie, sweetheart. You need to wake up." He said gently in her ear. She rolled her head and snuggled into his chest but didn't wake up. He squeezed her to him a little. "Julie, you don't want me to carry you out of the locker room. That will ensure that you will be teased for the rest of your life." He said and she opened her eyes and glared up at him. "That was a mean trick, Conway." She said and pulled away from him. He laughed and pulled her back towards him nuzzling her neck. "Well, I had to do something to wake you up." He told her and then stood up pulling her up with him. "Come on, let's get you to back to your dorm." Julie didn't say anything; she just nodded and said goodbye to Connie, following Charlie out of the locker room. Charlie wrapped an arm around Julie and pulled her to him as they walked to the dorms. When they got there, he led her into the dorm and to her room. Once they arrived at her door, he stopped waking and gave her a hug.
"Hey, why don't you go get your homework and give it to me so I can give it to Connie. Okay?" he told her still hugging her. "Okay. Come on." She said not wanting to make him stay out there alone. She led the way in, went to her desk, and picked up her homework. She then turned back towards Charlie and handed it to him. "Here ya go Charlie. Thanks for taking it to Connie for me." She said. "No prob, Jules. I'll do it anytime, but that doesn't mean you should make a habit of this." He said hugging her back. "I won't." She said, snuggling into his arms. "Good." He said holding her a few minutes more. "Julie, baby, I should probably go...Or I'll be late." He said, somewhat unconvincingly. "NO! You're warm." She whined and he laughed. "Ah, don't do that Jules; you're going to make me feel bad. You'll be warm in your bed." He told her. "That was my plan; to make you feel bad so you would stay with me." She told him with her head still buried in his chest. "Well, I can't because I need to get this to Connie and go to class. But if you want I'll go and get you something for lunch and come by and have lunch with you. How about that?" He asked her. "Okay." She said, content with that. "Good girl. Now go to bed; I'll talk to you later, okay?" He said; she whimpered but nodded. He let go of her and kissed her forehead; he then gently pushed her towards her bed. She giggled and then walked the rest of the way to her bed and got in. When he was content that she was settled and comfortable, he left and went to find Connie so that he could give her Julie's homework. After all of this, he finally went to his classes. He really didn't want to go to the morning classes because they were extremely boring, being that they were English and Physical Fitness. But he figured that since he was already out that he had better go ahead and go to them. The entire time he was in the classes, he had to fight from going to sleep.
'When is this class going to be over?' he thought to himself during Physical Fitness. Finally the class was over and he was able to get out and go get the sandwich that he had promised for Julie. After he got their sandwiches, he headed to the dorm and to her room. He went in walked to her bed where she was still sleeping peacefully. He sat down on her bed and watched her sleep for a little while before he reached over and gently shook her until she woke up. Julie opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Charlie sitting there. He grinned back at her and held up their sandwiches, which immediately got her to get up. He laughed and walked with her to the table where they sat down to eat and talk. When they were done eating, Charlie got their trash together and went to throw it away. When he came back to the table, he pulled Julie up gently and led her to the couch where he laid down and pulled her down next to him. She looked at him confused for a second because she thought he was going to go back to his classes. He told her, when he saw her look, that he wanted to hold her for a little while before he had to go back to classes. She nodded and cuddled up to him closer and was soon fast asleep. He held her for about thirty minutes before realizing it was about time for him to go back to classes. He gently picked her up and carried her back to her bed and laid her down. He covered her up and bent down, kissing her on her forehead gently. When he did that, she started to wake up, but he quickly told her to go back to sleep and that he would come and get her when it was time to get ready. She sleepily nodded and went back to sleep. He tucked her in a little better, got up, and left. Between the classes, the rest of the team had decided that they wanted to hang out together before the game and made plans to hang out in the lounge in the dorm. After Charlie's last class he walked towards the dorm to meet the rest of the team. When he got there he thought about Julie, missing out on this. He found Connie and walked towards her. "Hey Connie, I told Julie that I would come and get her when it was time to get ready. But I was thinking that since she just got back to us that maybe she would like to come and hang out with us somewhere that isn't on the ice. What do you think?" He asked her. "Well, we just have about an hour until we have to meet Coach, and some of us need to get our bags at the rink. So yeah, go ahead and get her up; we have a little bit until we have to leave. I think the team would like to see her before the game since you have been hogging her all week." Connie said grinning at Charlie.
"I have not been hogging her the whole week!!! But thank you for your opinion. I'll be right back." Charlie said trying not to laugh.
Connie rolled her eyes and went back to Guy, as Charlie went to Julie's room once again to get her up. He sat down next to her and for the second time that day, shook her gently until she woke up. She looked up at him grinning and sat up. He reached out and pulled her to him, so that he could hug her.
"Hey sweetie!!! You feeling better?" He asked her and continued to hold her.
"Yeah, I do. Is it time to go? I need to get my back and stuff from the rink." She said kind of panicking.
"No, it isn't quite time to go; we are all hanging out in the lounge and I thought you might want to come out and hang out with us. They all really want to see you and are blaming me for not sharing you. We are all going to go get our stuff in a little bit so you don't have to worry about your stuff." He told her, "So you want to come?"
Julie smiled, "Okay." She then got up to get something else to put on. Charlie watched her looking for something else to wear, other then her sweats.
"Julie, you're fine in what you have on. We are all wearing sweats to the game so don't worry about it. Okay?" He told her, getting up and pulling what she had gotten out of her closet and put them back. She looked at him for a minute and smiled. "That's my girl. Now come on, they're going to think we're doing something we're not supposed to be doing."
Julie giggled and hit him in the chest before turning around and walking out of the room towards the rest of the team. Charlie laughed at her reaction as he followed her out of the room. When they got to the rest of the team, they all cheered and went to hug her. She grinned and hugged them all back, and they went back to playing games and telling jokes, including Julie in all of it. After about thirty minutes, they decided that it was time to go get their stuff and meet Coach Bombay. So they got up and walked to the rink to get their stuff together for the away game. Julie kind of lagged behind because although she was excited about her first game back, she was also kind of nervous. Adam was the only one that really noticed how she was acting because he was walking along with her. He decided not to say anything to her yet, because he wasn't really sure that something was bothering her.
'Maybe she is still kind of tired.' he thought to himself as they reached the building they were heading to and held the door for Julie as she went in. She smiled up at him as she walked in and he returned the smile.
The team then went into the locker-room to put their stuff in their bags. As they were doing this, they were all joking and laughing around having a great time. Julie forgot her nervousness for a while started to get more excited.
When they were all ready they walked out to the parking lot with their bags to meet the bus and Bombay. They put their bags in the compartments in the lower part of the bus, and then went and sit down. Soon enough, the were on their way to the game. The drive took about an hour so Julie decided she was going to use Charlie as a pillow and get some more sleep. He didn't seem to mind and wrapped his arms around her. The ride was pretty much quiet because they were all thinking about the game they were about to play.
Before any of them knew it they were at the rink and it was time to get out and get their stuff. Charlie blew in Julie's ear, which scared the crap out of her and earned him a whack in the head. The rest of the team cracked up laughing and high-fived Julie when she walked by them. Charlie rolled his eyes but laughed along with the rest of the team.
They got out of the bus, got their bags, and headed for the locker-room. About twenty minutes later they were all in their pads and skates, listening to Bombay tell them about the team that they were about to play and what they needed to do to win. Julie was listening to what he was saying nervously. 'Oh my gosh, he just said they're huge. Hmm, I'll just think about the Iceland players and think about it that way.' She thought to herself and feeling slightly better. Bombay was done telling them about the game plan, but before he released them to go warm up he turned to Julie and gave her an encouraging smile.
"Come here Julie." He said to her and she got up and walked over to him. He wrapped an arm around her, "You're going to do great Jules, Okay? Your team is going to take care of you; just go out there and have fun like you always do." He said to her quietly, so that the rest of the team wouldn't hear him. She smiled at him shyly and nodded her head.
Bombay then looked up from Julie and smiled again, "Okay guys, win or lose, this is Julie's first game. I want you to make sure she has fun, and doesn't get to nervous. The way I want you to do that is before and during the game, make sure you give her some encouragement in some way. She is the same "Cat Lady" as always, but still even the bravest of us get nervous. So make sure you encourage her and make sure she has fun. Alright?!!" He said and they all cheered. "Alright then, let's go get warmed up."
They cheered again and started out to the ice and on their way made sure that they hugged Julie; she was loving the attention. Charlie, who was the next to last person to come up to her, gave her a big hug and bent down to her ear.
"You're going to do great. And don't worry; we are going to take care of you. I know you can take care of yourself perfectly fine, and we well let you take care of yourself. However, this is your first game back and everyone is going to want to take up for you if some one bugs you. Okay?" He said and she nodded, "Promise me that if that happens you won't get made at us?"
"I promise...this time." She said sounding like the Julie they were all used to.
"That's my girl!" he said and let go of her, "See ya on the ice 'Kitty'" He said and laughed on his way out at the face she made at him.
After Charlie had left, Adam came up to her and smiled at her shyly. He then reached out and gave her a hug.
"I'm glad you're back with us Julie. We all really missed you, especially Charlie and Connie. Charlie was depressed most of the time and Connie was just a bitch about everything." he said laughing at the memory. "But now you're back and they are back to their normal selves, and everything is good again."
"Thanks Adam." She said hugging him back. He pulled away and looked at her seeing the same look in her eyes as earlier.
"Are you nervous Julie?" He asked her. She looked down at the ground for a minute and then looked back at him and nodded.
"That's what I thought." He said and at her confused expression smiled and continued, "I noticed when we were going to get our bags that you looked kind of nervous, but didn't say anything cause I thought that you were still a little tired."
"Oh yeah, I was nervous then; but got over it when we got in the locker- room and started laughing. But now I'm nervous again, and I really don't want to be." She said, ashamed of the fact that she was nervous.
"Julie, do you remember when I got hurt in our sophomore year of high school and had to miss the rest of the season for it?" He asked her.
"Yeah, you were so bummed about it along with the rest of the team." She said, kind of confused.
"Yeah, well you might not know it, but the first game of the next season, I was extremely nervous about playing again. I didn't tell the rest of you guy's because I didn't want you to know. It was mildly embarrassing. But that isn't the point of my story. When I walked out onto the ice, all the nervousness left me and my excitement won out. The first period I was still slightly nervous, but it soon left and I was back to having a blast like always. Now you may be wondering what my point of telling you this, am I right?" He asked.
"A little bit, yeah." She said nodding her head.
"Okay, well here it is. You might be really nervous right now, but I bet when get out there on the ice that all that nervousness will go away. Sure, you might still be a little nervous, but that is all right. You're going to have fun and be glad to be back on the ice with the rest of us. So don't let it get to you; get out there and have fun, and lets kick some ass." He said and she giggled.
"Thanks Adam, you made me feel a lot better already. And I have to agree with the kicking some ass; that just sounds very fun right now." She said and he laughed.
They then left the locker room and went to warm up. Just like Adam had said, as soon as she got on the ice most of the nervousness left her and she couldn't wait to start playing. But she knew that they had to warm up before so she had to wait. Soon warm up was over and they were all at the bench getting pumped up for the game. The whistle blew and they skated to their positions for the beginning of the game.
The puck was dropped, the other team won it, and they were skating towards Julie fast. 'Oh my gosh, they are already coming!!' she thought to herself. 'I can do this, I haven't been out that long.' The player on the other team shot and she quickly caught it in her glove.
"YEAH!! Go Julie!!" Charlie and Connie were cheering from the bench. The player stood there stunned, staring at Julie as she was getting a drink of water.
"I can't believe this; they have to go and get a girl to replace their goalie. That is sad; it really is. He must have really sucked for them to go and do that." He smarted of to one of his teammates. Julie glared at the net and slammed her water back onto it. She took her helmet off and turned to them giving them a sweet smile. Bombay was watching the whole thing, as was Charlie and Connie.
"Charlie, get out there before she gets her little butt kicked out. QUICK!!!" Bombay said as Adam came in.
Charlie didn't have to be told twice; he jumped off of the bench and into the ice in about five seconds and skated over there just in time to hear her say her 'innocent' plea for help.
"I'm sorry boys, but could you help me with my pads please?" She asked them sweetly not noticing Charlie coming towards her.
The teammates looked at each other and grinned, "Sure."
Charlie got there just in time to get between them and stop Julie from high sticking them with her stick. "I don't know what you assholes said to her; I have a clue, but I know one thing for sure is that you shouldn't have said it. She is a girl, that is for sure, but that doesn't mean that she isn't a damn fine hockey player. So I suggest you turn your butts around and leave before I decide to let her have her way." He said glaring at them. Their eyes got big and they turned around and skated off. Charlie then turned to Julie and gave her a stern look, "Now you, young lady; this is your first game back and you just nearly got your self kicked out. You better be glad I got here when I did. No more of that, you hear me?" He told her in a firm voice and she nodded, "Okay, let's get back to the game before they penalize us for delay of game. It's a good thing coach called a time out for that." He said and skated back to where the puck was about to be dropped.
When she was sure that he was a good distance away from her and couldn't see her, she grinned mischievously. 'That was fun; I just wish I could have finished it.' She thought to herself, still grinning.
The rest of the game went smoothly; she didn't let a puck get by her the entire time. They players on the other team didn't bother her any more so she didn't have to kick their butts, although she really wanted to. When the last buzzer of the game went off, Julie squealed and skated to the middle of the ice where the rest of her team was celebrating. When she got there, however, she slipped on the ice and fell flat on her face in front of Charlie.
"Julie, are you okay?" He said, trying to hold back his laughter.
"Yes!! I'm fine." She said laughing, "That was fun. Can I do that again?"
Charlie laughed and helped her up, "What, falling or the game?"
"Both!" She squealed, and he laughed.
"Well the game part yes, but I'm not so sure about the falling." He said laughing and hugging her to him.
She laughed and hugged him back. He finally let her go and she squealed again, "WE WON!!!"
"Yep; all because of you. Now see what you would have missed if you had gotten yourself kicked out?" He said with a playful scowl.
"Oh believe me Charlie; that would have been worth it. I haven't been able to do that in a while." She said her mischievous grin coming back.
He laughed and pulled her to him again, in a loving hug. But was soon pulled away from her by Portman.
"Hey man, share!!!" Portman said pulling Julie into a hug.
"YEAH!!!" The rest of the team yelled. Charlie laughed and backed up so the rest of the team could have some time with Julie.
After they celebrated a little more on the ice they went to the locker-room so that they could shower and change. When they were done they went back out to the bus and got on it so that they could go back home. The trip back was not so quiet as the trip going. They were all happy, laughing, talking, and having a good time.
When they got back to the dorms they were all 'celebrated out' and decided that they should all go to bed because they had an early morning. Julie was the first to go to bed; she got a hug from Charlie, and told Connie she'd see her in a minute and went to their dorm room. She got ready for bed and laid down quickly going to sleep, not even knowing when Connie came in.
Okay, this probably sucks, but you know what? It was a blast to write and I don't really care. But I would still like to get some reviews so please review if you can. Thanks!!!
She glared up at him, "Charlie, I have had about five hours of sleep in the past three days. I didn't get any sleep last night and I have a headache. What do you think?" She asked him, putting on her helmet and skating onto the ice. "I think that maybe you should go back to the dorms and sleep...and...rest." He said as she skated by. "NO!" She yelled, "I'm not missing classes. Besides if I do, than I won't be able to play tonight." She said. "Julie, you need some sleep. We can talk to coach and tell him how hard you have been working. Connie can take your homework to your teachers and get the next assignment. You can sleep until it is time to get ready and be more alert for the game. You need sleep, sweetie; you're making yourself sick." He said, worried about her. She looked at him for a minute, and though she really didn't want to admit it, she knew he was right. "Okay. But I'm still practicing." She said stubbornly. He sighed, knowing that if he said anything else that she would probably hit him over the head with her stick. "Alright. But you have to promise me that as soon as practice is over, you will go to the dorm and sleep." He told her and she glared at him. "Okay, okay...I will take that as a yes." He said and skated off to finish his laps. Julie followed Charlie and Connie onto the ice. The practice was pretty good for Julie; it wasn't too hard on her. She was able to perform like usual in the goal. When it was over she went to the locker room to change, and Charlie stayed back and told Bombay what was going on. He told him that she needed to get some rest. Bombay agreed that she needed to get some rest and said that her skipping classes to rest would be okay. Charlie grinned and thanked him, then went into the locker room to change, hoping that Julie was still there. When he got in there, he saw that she was sitting at her locker, showered and changed talking to Connie. He walked over there to her and bent down to talk to her. "Hey Julie, you think you can wait until I get dressed to go back to your dorm?" He asked her and she nodded. "Good. I'll hurry, okay?" "Okay." She said and hugged him. He hugged her back and got up to shower and get ready. When he left, she turned around and went back to talking to Connie. About ten minutes later Charlie came back in and put his stuff in his locker, deciding he would come and get his stuff ready later after classes. He then walked over to Julie who was leaning up against her locker with her eyes closed. He wasn't sure if she was asleep or not so he gently touched her, and she didn't move. He smiled and sat down next to her, pulling her to him. "Julie, sweetheart. You need to wake up." He said gently in her ear. She rolled her head and snuggled into his chest but didn't wake up. He squeezed her to him a little. "Julie, you don't want me to carry you out of the locker room. That will ensure that you will be teased for the rest of your life." He said and she opened her eyes and glared up at him. "That was a mean trick, Conway." She said and pulled away from him. He laughed and pulled her back towards him nuzzling her neck. "Well, I had to do something to wake you up." He told her and then stood up pulling her up with him. "Come on, let's get you to back to your dorm." Julie didn't say anything; she just nodded and said goodbye to Connie, following Charlie out of the locker room. Charlie wrapped an arm around Julie and pulled her to him as they walked to the dorms. When they got there, he led her into the dorm and to her room. Once they arrived at her door, he stopped waking and gave her a hug.
"Hey, why don't you go get your homework and give it to me so I can give it to Connie. Okay?" he told her still hugging her. "Okay. Come on." She said not wanting to make him stay out there alone. She led the way in, went to her desk, and picked up her homework. She then turned back towards Charlie and handed it to him. "Here ya go Charlie. Thanks for taking it to Connie for me." She said. "No prob, Jules. I'll do it anytime, but that doesn't mean you should make a habit of this." He said hugging her back. "I won't." She said, snuggling into his arms. "Good." He said holding her a few minutes more. "Julie, baby, I should probably go...Or I'll be late." He said, somewhat unconvincingly. "NO! You're warm." She whined and he laughed. "Ah, don't do that Jules; you're going to make me feel bad. You'll be warm in your bed." He told her. "That was my plan; to make you feel bad so you would stay with me." She told him with her head still buried in his chest. "Well, I can't because I need to get this to Connie and go to class. But if you want I'll go and get you something for lunch and come by and have lunch with you. How about that?" He asked her. "Okay." She said, content with that. "Good girl. Now go to bed; I'll talk to you later, okay?" He said; she whimpered but nodded. He let go of her and kissed her forehead; he then gently pushed her towards her bed. She giggled and then walked the rest of the way to her bed and got in. When he was content that she was settled and comfortable, he left and went to find Connie so that he could give her Julie's homework. After all of this, he finally went to his classes. He really didn't want to go to the morning classes because they were extremely boring, being that they were English and Physical Fitness. But he figured that since he was already out that he had better go ahead and go to them. The entire time he was in the classes, he had to fight from going to sleep.
'When is this class going to be over?' he thought to himself during Physical Fitness. Finally the class was over and he was able to get out and go get the sandwich that he had promised for Julie. After he got their sandwiches, he headed to the dorm and to her room. He went in walked to her bed where she was still sleeping peacefully. He sat down on her bed and watched her sleep for a little while before he reached over and gently shook her until she woke up. Julie opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Charlie sitting there. He grinned back at her and held up their sandwiches, which immediately got her to get up. He laughed and walked with her to the table where they sat down to eat and talk. When they were done eating, Charlie got their trash together and went to throw it away. When he came back to the table, he pulled Julie up gently and led her to the couch where he laid down and pulled her down next to him. She looked at him confused for a second because she thought he was going to go back to his classes. He told her, when he saw her look, that he wanted to hold her for a little while before he had to go back to classes. She nodded and cuddled up to him closer and was soon fast asleep. He held her for about thirty minutes before realizing it was about time for him to go back to classes. He gently picked her up and carried her back to her bed and laid her down. He covered her up and bent down, kissing her on her forehead gently. When he did that, she started to wake up, but he quickly told her to go back to sleep and that he would come and get her when it was time to get ready. She sleepily nodded and went back to sleep. He tucked her in a little better, got up, and left. Between the classes, the rest of the team had decided that they wanted to hang out together before the game and made plans to hang out in the lounge in the dorm. After Charlie's last class he walked towards the dorm to meet the rest of the team. When he got there he thought about Julie, missing out on this. He found Connie and walked towards her. "Hey Connie, I told Julie that I would come and get her when it was time to get ready. But I was thinking that since she just got back to us that maybe she would like to come and hang out with us somewhere that isn't on the ice. What do you think?" He asked her. "Well, we just have about an hour until we have to meet Coach, and some of us need to get our bags at the rink. So yeah, go ahead and get her up; we have a little bit until we have to leave. I think the team would like to see her before the game since you have been hogging her all week." Connie said grinning at Charlie.
"I have not been hogging her the whole week!!! But thank you for your opinion. I'll be right back." Charlie said trying not to laugh.
Connie rolled her eyes and went back to Guy, as Charlie went to Julie's room once again to get her up. He sat down next to her and for the second time that day, shook her gently until she woke up. She looked up at him grinning and sat up. He reached out and pulled her to him, so that he could hug her.
"Hey sweetie!!! You feeling better?" He asked her and continued to hold her.
"Yeah, I do. Is it time to go? I need to get my back and stuff from the rink." She said kind of panicking.
"No, it isn't quite time to go; we are all hanging out in the lounge and I thought you might want to come out and hang out with us. They all really want to see you and are blaming me for not sharing you. We are all going to go get our stuff in a little bit so you don't have to worry about your stuff." He told her, "So you want to come?"
Julie smiled, "Okay." She then got up to get something else to put on. Charlie watched her looking for something else to wear, other then her sweats.
"Julie, you're fine in what you have on. We are all wearing sweats to the game so don't worry about it. Okay?" He told her, getting up and pulling what she had gotten out of her closet and put them back. She looked at him for a minute and smiled. "That's my girl. Now come on, they're going to think we're doing something we're not supposed to be doing."
Julie giggled and hit him in the chest before turning around and walking out of the room towards the rest of the team. Charlie laughed at her reaction as he followed her out of the room. When they got to the rest of the team, they all cheered and went to hug her. She grinned and hugged them all back, and they went back to playing games and telling jokes, including Julie in all of it. After about thirty minutes, they decided that it was time to go get their stuff and meet Coach Bombay. So they got up and walked to the rink to get their stuff together for the away game. Julie kind of lagged behind because although she was excited about her first game back, she was also kind of nervous. Adam was the only one that really noticed how she was acting because he was walking along with her. He decided not to say anything to her yet, because he wasn't really sure that something was bothering her.
'Maybe she is still kind of tired.' he thought to himself as they reached the building they were heading to and held the door for Julie as she went in. She smiled up at him as she walked in and he returned the smile.
The team then went into the locker-room to put their stuff in their bags. As they were doing this, they were all joking and laughing around having a great time. Julie forgot her nervousness for a while started to get more excited.
When they were all ready they walked out to the parking lot with their bags to meet the bus and Bombay. They put their bags in the compartments in the lower part of the bus, and then went and sit down. Soon enough, the were on their way to the game. The drive took about an hour so Julie decided she was going to use Charlie as a pillow and get some more sleep. He didn't seem to mind and wrapped his arms around her. The ride was pretty much quiet because they were all thinking about the game they were about to play.
Before any of them knew it they were at the rink and it was time to get out and get their stuff. Charlie blew in Julie's ear, which scared the crap out of her and earned him a whack in the head. The rest of the team cracked up laughing and high-fived Julie when she walked by them. Charlie rolled his eyes but laughed along with the rest of the team.
They got out of the bus, got their bags, and headed for the locker-room. About twenty minutes later they were all in their pads and skates, listening to Bombay tell them about the team that they were about to play and what they needed to do to win. Julie was listening to what he was saying nervously. 'Oh my gosh, he just said they're huge. Hmm, I'll just think about the Iceland players and think about it that way.' She thought to herself and feeling slightly better. Bombay was done telling them about the game plan, but before he released them to go warm up he turned to Julie and gave her an encouraging smile.
"Come here Julie." He said to her and she got up and walked over to him. He wrapped an arm around her, "You're going to do great Jules, Okay? Your team is going to take care of you; just go out there and have fun like you always do." He said to her quietly, so that the rest of the team wouldn't hear him. She smiled at him shyly and nodded her head.
Bombay then looked up from Julie and smiled again, "Okay guys, win or lose, this is Julie's first game. I want you to make sure she has fun, and doesn't get to nervous. The way I want you to do that is before and during the game, make sure you give her some encouragement in some way. She is the same "Cat Lady" as always, but still even the bravest of us get nervous. So make sure you encourage her and make sure she has fun. Alright?!!" He said and they all cheered. "Alright then, let's go get warmed up."
They cheered again and started out to the ice and on their way made sure that they hugged Julie; she was loving the attention. Charlie, who was the next to last person to come up to her, gave her a big hug and bent down to her ear.
"You're going to do great. And don't worry; we are going to take care of you. I know you can take care of yourself perfectly fine, and we well let you take care of yourself. However, this is your first game back and everyone is going to want to take up for you if some one bugs you. Okay?" He said and she nodded, "Promise me that if that happens you won't get made at us?"
"I promise...this time." She said sounding like the Julie they were all used to.
"That's my girl!" he said and let go of her, "See ya on the ice 'Kitty'" He said and laughed on his way out at the face she made at him.
After Charlie had left, Adam came up to her and smiled at her shyly. He then reached out and gave her a hug.
"I'm glad you're back with us Julie. We all really missed you, especially Charlie and Connie. Charlie was depressed most of the time and Connie was just a bitch about everything." he said laughing at the memory. "But now you're back and they are back to their normal selves, and everything is good again."
"Thanks Adam." She said hugging him back. He pulled away and looked at her seeing the same look in her eyes as earlier.
"Are you nervous Julie?" He asked her. She looked down at the ground for a minute and then looked back at him and nodded.
"That's what I thought." He said and at her confused expression smiled and continued, "I noticed when we were going to get our bags that you looked kind of nervous, but didn't say anything cause I thought that you were still a little tired."
"Oh yeah, I was nervous then; but got over it when we got in the locker- room and started laughing. But now I'm nervous again, and I really don't want to be." She said, ashamed of the fact that she was nervous.
"Julie, do you remember when I got hurt in our sophomore year of high school and had to miss the rest of the season for it?" He asked her.
"Yeah, you were so bummed about it along with the rest of the team." She said, kind of confused.
"Yeah, well you might not know it, but the first game of the next season, I was extremely nervous about playing again. I didn't tell the rest of you guy's because I didn't want you to know. It was mildly embarrassing. But that isn't the point of my story. When I walked out onto the ice, all the nervousness left me and my excitement won out. The first period I was still slightly nervous, but it soon left and I was back to having a blast like always. Now you may be wondering what my point of telling you this, am I right?" He asked.
"A little bit, yeah." She said nodding her head.
"Okay, well here it is. You might be really nervous right now, but I bet when get out there on the ice that all that nervousness will go away. Sure, you might still be a little nervous, but that is all right. You're going to have fun and be glad to be back on the ice with the rest of us. So don't let it get to you; get out there and have fun, and lets kick some ass." He said and she giggled.
"Thanks Adam, you made me feel a lot better already. And I have to agree with the kicking some ass; that just sounds very fun right now." She said and he laughed.
They then left the locker room and went to warm up. Just like Adam had said, as soon as she got on the ice most of the nervousness left her and she couldn't wait to start playing. But she knew that they had to warm up before so she had to wait. Soon warm up was over and they were all at the bench getting pumped up for the game. The whistle blew and they skated to their positions for the beginning of the game.
The puck was dropped, the other team won it, and they were skating towards Julie fast. 'Oh my gosh, they are already coming!!' she thought to herself. 'I can do this, I haven't been out that long.' The player on the other team shot and she quickly caught it in her glove.
"YEAH!! Go Julie!!" Charlie and Connie were cheering from the bench. The player stood there stunned, staring at Julie as she was getting a drink of water.
"I can't believe this; they have to go and get a girl to replace their goalie. That is sad; it really is. He must have really sucked for them to go and do that." He smarted of to one of his teammates. Julie glared at the net and slammed her water back onto it. She took her helmet off and turned to them giving them a sweet smile. Bombay was watching the whole thing, as was Charlie and Connie.
"Charlie, get out there before she gets her little butt kicked out. QUICK!!!" Bombay said as Adam came in.
Charlie didn't have to be told twice; he jumped off of the bench and into the ice in about five seconds and skated over there just in time to hear her say her 'innocent' plea for help.
"I'm sorry boys, but could you help me with my pads please?" She asked them sweetly not noticing Charlie coming towards her.
The teammates looked at each other and grinned, "Sure."
Charlie got there just in time to get between them and stop Julie from high sticking them with her stick. "I don't know what you assholes said to her; I have a clue, but I know one thing for sure is that you shouldn't have said it. She is a girl, that is for sure, but that doesn't mean that she isn't a damn fine hockey player. So I suggest you turn your butts around and leave before I decide to let her have her way." He said glaring at them. Their eyes got big and they turned around and skated off. Charlie then turned to Julie and gave her a stern look, "Now you, young lady; this is your first game back and you just nearly got your self kicked out. You better be glad I got here when I did. No more of that, you hear me?" He told her in a firm voice and she nodded, "Okay, let's get back to the game before they penalize us for delay of game. It's a good thing coach called a time out for that." He said and skated back to where the puck was about to be dropped.
When she was sure that he was a good distance away from her and couldn't see her, she grinned mischievously. 'That was fun; I just wish I could have finished it.' She thought to herself, still grinning.
The rest of the game went smoothly; she didn't let a puck get by her the entire time. They players on the other team didn't bother her any more so she didn't have to kick their butts, although she really wanted to. When the last buzzer of the game went off, Julie squealed and skated to the middle of the ice where the rest of her team was celebrating. When she got there, however, she slipped on the ice and fell flat on her face in front of Charlie.
"Julie, are you okay?" He said, trying to hold back his laughter.
"Yes!! I'm fine." She said laughing, "That was fun. Can I do that again?"
Charlie laughed and helped her up, "What, falling or the game?"
"Both!" She squealed, and he laughed.
"Well the game part yes, but I'm not so sure about the falling." He said laughing and hugging her to him.
She laughed and hugged him back. He finally let her go and she squealed again, "WE WON!!!"
"Yep; all because of you. Now see what you would have missed if you had gotten yourself kicked out?" He said with a playful scowl.
"Oh believe me Charlie; that would have been worth it. I haven't been able to do that in a while." She said her mischievous grin coming back.
He laughed and pulled her to him again, in a loving hug. But was soon pulled away from her by Portman.
"Hey man, share!!!" Portman said pulling Julie into a hug.
"YEAH!!!" The rest of the team yelled. Charlie laughed and backed up so the rest of the team could have some time with Julie.
After they celebrated a little more on the ice they went to the locker-room so that they could shower and change. When they were done they went back out to the bus and got on it so that they could go back home. The trip back was not so quiet as the trip going. They were all happy, laughing, talking, and having a good time.
When they got back to the dorms they were all 'celebrated out' and decided that they should all go to bed because they had an early morning. Julie was the first to go to bed; she got a hug from Charlie, and told Connie she'd see her in a minute and went to their dorm room. She got ready for bed and laid down quickly going to sleep, not even knowing when Connie came in.
Okay, this probably sucks, but you know what? It was a blast to write and I don't really care. But I would still like to get some reviews so please review if you can. Thanks!!!