Disclaimer: I don't own the Mighty Ducks Disney does.
A/N. Sorry it took me awhile to get this one out, but I was working on one of my other fics, When Angels Cry. I got an idea for it and wanted to get it updated before I forgot the idea. Anyways I got it updated and got back to this one. Thank you for all your reviews, I really do appreciate them.
Chelsea- AHA! I finished beta-ing it. Sorry I didn't have time before. I hope you enjoy the chapter! *winks*
Note to my Reviews:
Jo: Thank you for your review. I am really happy that you enjoy my fic. As for the locker part I know here aren't lockers for class purposes in College. I was talking about the lockers in the locker rooms for the athletes. They do have lockers in locker rooms in college. I know this because I am a swimmer and swimming takes you to a lot of places like meets, practices and camps that are held at colleges. So now that that is cleared up thank you for reviewing and please review again.
C-Chan: thank you I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter. Oh and thank you for editing and re-posting the chapter it helped me out a lot. LOL your starting to like Adam. That is great, extremely scary but great. You just don't seem to be the type of person to like him. But it's cool I like him too. I don't know that I like him more than Portman. But Charlie is defiantly first, and yes you have mentioned that you love Charlie.... Several times in fact. LOL Yea Julie's innocent plea was fun to write. I'm glad that you liked it. Well that is it I guess.
Banks99: Thank You!!! I am glad you like this story so much. It has been very fun to write. As for Julie being "Completely kick-ass!" Well what can I say she is like one of my favorite ducks. Just ask Chelsea. LOL When I watch D2, the part where they are tied up, I quote it, you can ask Chelsea (AKA C-Chan) About it. I can do it just like Julie. Also the pat where she gets kicked out of the game I can do pretty good to. I'm telling you just ask Chelsea. Anyways that isn't the point. LOL. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
RaspberrieSundae: Yes it is sad how she works her self so hard isn't it. Anyways I'm glad you liked the story and don't worry about being jealous about fictional characters I am to. I hope that makes you feel better about that. LOL we can both be pathetic together. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review if you can. Talk to you later. Ok now that that is done I can get on with the story, I hope you enjoy it cause I know it has been fun to write about. I'm going to try to get Julie's attitude back into it.. Oh and I am going to skip the holidays and go back and have flashbacks to tell about what happened. Anyways please review if you can and Thanks.
-Chapter 9-
After her first game, Julie definitely felt back at home with the team, or as she called them her boys. That cracked them all up because when she said that, Connie would glare at her; but besides that it seemed to them all that she had never been gone. As soon as Julie was used to her schedule, it was time for them to go back to Minnesota for Christmas and New Years.
Julie had decided that she really didn't want to go home to be bitched at by her mom, so she asked Charlie if he thought his mom would mind if she spent it with them. He told her that he was sure that his mom would love for her to spend Christmas with them. He then told her that he thought that he should call just to make sure. Julie smiled and nodded, understanding why, and went to pack while he called his mom. About thirty minutes later he came back to her room and smiled at her, nodding and telling her that she had said yes. Julie grinned and went over to hug him before returning to her packing. She finished while he went to start his own packing.
A few days later they were in Minnesota reeking havoc with Casey and playing hockey on the pond. Now, about a month in a half later, they were back to classes and practices in Arizona.
On Thursday of the week the got back, Bombay called her into his office after practice, and asked her if she thought that she was ready to play out with the rest of the team. She immediately said yes and he told her that she would be playing Left Wing the next day. She squealed and jumped up and down. He laughed and told her to calm down, which she immediately did.
"Alright Jules, why don't you go tell your boys?" He said and she giggled.
She then ran out of the office and jumped on the first Duck she saw, which happened to be Portman. He turned around and grinned at her when she got off of him.
"Hey Jules, you finally see the light and decide to come to me?" He asked jokingly.
"Eww, Porty; you know you're like my big brother." She said making a face, which caused him to laugh harder. "Besides, Charlie would blow a heart valve at the thought. You know his little insecurity-complex-that-no-one-is- supposed-to-notice-because-he's-such-a-confidant-guy that surfaces at any sign of competition. He morphs into protective defense mode." Julie said with a fond smile.
"I know Jules, I was just playing with you." He told her while he hugged her.
"You better have; again I say, you weren't the one that saw Charlie's face when you said that. I think that if you would have truly meant it, you would be one dead bash brother on a stick." She said laughing, and he laughed too.
She then walked over to her locker and stood up on the bench. Charlie gave her a look, thinking in his mind that he didn't want her to fall. She rolled her eyes and hit him upside the head.
"What was that for?" Charlie asked, rubbing his head with a pout.
"For even THINKING about getting worried." she replied with a smile as she carried on with her business.
"So Julie, why exactly did you come in here like a bat out of hell?" Portman asked her which made the rest of the team laugh.
"Well, if you will give me a minute Dean, I'll tell you." She said smiling at the look on his face when she called him by his real name.
She called him that when she wanted to get him to shut up or get a rise out of him. She also did it because she knew that she was the only one that could get by with calling him that...well, at least the only person who could call him that and still live to tell the story.
Once the rest of the team stopped laughing, she turned back to them and smiled.
"Well, Coach called me into his office, but you already knew that. But the reason he called me in was he wanted to know if I thought I was ready to play out with the rest of the team; and I of course said yes. Well, he then told me that since I said that, I could play tomorrow." She said happily and the rest of the team cheered.
After they celebrated for a little bit, they all got dressed and went back to the dorms. Julie went into her room and did her homework, thus as usual loosing track of time. However, Connie, being the ever-caring best friend, came in to her room several hours after she had started and saw that Julie had her head lying on her book.
"Julie?" She said, walking over there and gently shaking her friend until she started moving.
"What?" She asked groggily.
"Julie, it's almost one; why don't you go to bed?" Connie said.
"But I'm not done with my homework." She argued.
"Julie, that isn't due until Monday. We have a game tomorrow and you need to get some rest." Connie told her.
"Good point." Julie agreed and got up to get changed and go to bed.
Connie smiled leaving the room and going to her own in order to get ready and go to bed herself.
*** Next Day in Locker Room***
The next day Julie walked into the locker room in a very foul mood. She had just had a horrible day and wasn't in the mood to deal with any more. She walked to her locker and threw her bag down, scaring half of the team around her. Charlie walked over to her and gently put his hand on her back to let her know he was there. She still jumped about two feet in the air and whirled around about to hit him, but he caught her before she did.
"Julie, are you okay?" He asked her.
"No." She said and turned back around to start getting ready for the game.
He sighed and grabbed her arm and pulled her back to face him. She looked down at the floor and her reached up and pulled her face up to his.
"What's wrong Julie?" He asked her rubbing her check with his thumb.
"Nothing." She lied and tried to pull away but he was stronger.
"Julie, you are a really bad liar. I know something's wrong. Just look at the way you came in just. Not a normal occurrence. Now tell me the truth; what's wrong?" He asked her again and she sighed.
"I have just had a really bad day. One of my teachers, that for some reason doesn't seem to like me, yelled at me and then the day just went to hell afterwards." She said not really wanting to tell about her whole day.
"Is that why you weren't at lunch?" He asked, and she nodded.
"Yeah, it was the class before lunch; I didn't feel like going to the cafeteria, so I just went to the dorm and ate there." She told him. "You're not mad are you?"
"No, no I'm not mad; I was just worried about you." He said, smiling at her reassuringly and pulling her into a hug.
She smiled and hugged him back, glad he wasn't mad at her for skipping lunch. He then pulled away and looked at her smiling.
"Want to know what I do when I have had a bad day?" He asked her and she nodded. "I find someone to take it out on, during practice or during a game, and usually after a while I start feeling a lot better."
"Okay, I'll remember that." She said smiling.
"Good, now lets get ready before we get yelled at." He said and she nodded. He then let go of her and went to his locker to finish getting ready while she did the same thing. About ten minutes later, Julie and Charlie, along with the rest of the team, were ready and were going out to the ice to start warming up.
Bombay smiled at them and told them to start doing their laps and then practice shooting the puck. It donned on Julie about that time that she was truly back to playing Left Wing, and she got kind of nervous. Charlie noticed and squeezed her hand reassuringly, and then skated of to start the laps; she followed.
After they had done their laps and practice shots, they circled around Bombay for their pep talk.
"Okay guys, you have been working really hard and look really good. I believe that you can win this game. Be careful, but not too careful. And watch out for Julie; this is her first game playing left wing in a long time." He said to them and they cheered.
Julie glared, not liking having to be watched out for. Connie saw her look and smiled at her.
"Think of it this way Jules; the Ducks stick together and watch out for one another. Coach is just reminding them that you are out with us now, and not in the net. Does that make it better?" Connie told her.
"Yeah, thanks Connie." She said, smiling at Connie.
"Good. Now lets go kick some bulldog butt." Connie said, and Julie smiled.
"Bring it on." Julie said like she always had in high school.
The rest of the team cheered happy to hear her saying that again. She hadn't the last couple games, but they hadn't noticed because they were just happy to have her back. But now that she had said it, they all realized how much they had missed her saying that; or how much they had missed her.
The first line then skated out onto the ice and to their positions, and Julie and Connie sat down. They were both on the second line. They sat and watched the game and cheered until it was time for them to go out. Before she knew it, it was time for her to go out. She stood up and started to the gate, but Bombay stopped her and gave her a quick reassuming smile. She smiled back at him and went to her spot on the ice. Connie and Adam were with her also; Connie on the right side and Adam in Center. The guy on the other team in front of her, that she had seen 'Wood' on the back of his jersey, looked at the line in front of him with Adam and Connie and Julie, laughing.
"Ah, isn't that sweet? Two girls and a guy." He said still laughing. "Well I can tell this is going to be easy."
Julie glared at him but didn't get the chance to say anything back to him because the puck was dropped. So instead she pushed him out of her way and got the puck that Adam passed her. Wood came up beside her and tried to steal the puck from her. She won the fight by passing it back to Adam and skating past Wood closer to the goal. Adam knew what she wanted him to do, so he passed it back to her and she guided it into the goal. She jumped up in the air and squealed, skating to Adam and Connie before hugging them. They then went back to their spots and faced off again; this time, though, she looked at Wood and smiled.
"I thought you said this was going to be easy for you. I think you got it twisted though, because that was pretty easy in itself." She said and smiled big at him.
She heard Adam laughing next to her and smiled more, but she wasn't expecting what happened next. When the puck was dropped, Wood took his stick and hooked across her waist and pulled. This knocked her down flat on her face. She cried out in pain because she fell on her arm; the ref blew the whistle. They took him to the penalty box where he sat laughing and think of what he could do next to her. No one, especially a girl, embarrassed him playing hockey, and that was exactly what she had done by scoring like that.
Meanwhile, Julie was skating off holding her arm; Bombay was panicking because he didn't want to have to pull her out of the game so quickly. He sat her down, pulling her helmet and glove off.
"I think it is okay, Coach; it just hurts because I landed on it." She said and rotated it a little, which made Bombay much happier to see that she was okay.
"Okay, but if it keeps hurting tell me. I don't want you injuring yourself. Okay?" He asked her and she nodded.
Charlie sat down next to her and kissed her on her check, hugging her to him for a second. "You okay, Jules?" He asked her.
"Yeah, it's just a little sore. I promise." She told him and he nodded.
"Good." He said smiling. "That was one hell of a score, Julie."
She laughed, "Thanks Charlie."
He smiled at her and gave her one more kiss before he went onto the ice. Adam scooted over and smiled at her.
"You know Julie, making plays like you made to get that score is going to give me a bad name." He said patting her on the back. "But to come to think of it...it isn't as bad as the fact that it's you, not your boyfriend, that is ruining my reputation."
She laughed and nodded, " I can manage that, I think."
"Good." He said, "So now I can tell you that that was an awesome play."
"Thanks." She said.
By this time it was time for them to get back on the ice again. Wood was out of the box and in his position when she got in place. She just looked at him and glared, but neither one said anything. He had decided that he would behave for now, and in the third period he would knock her out of the game.
By this time, it was time for them to get back on the ice again. Wood was out of the box and in his position when she got in place. She just looked at him and glared but neither one said anything. He had decided that he would behave for now, and in the third period he would knock her out of the game.
The first period soon ended with the Ducks leading 2-0. They walked into the locker room tired but excited. Bombay told them he was really proud of them and for them to keep up the work. He then let them talk and rest for the rest of the intermission.
The second period was much the same as the second except Wood left Julie alone; excluding the occasional glare. But he didn't scare Julie; it seemed to make her play harder. Bombay and Charlie saw what this guy was doing and were getting worried. When the second period ended, and they went back to the locker room, Bombay told them the same thing he had the first time. But instead of letting them talk he turned to Julie and gave her a worried look.
"Julie, I want you to be careful in this period. Okay?" He told her.
"Okay, but I am careful." She said confused.
"I know you are, but I want you to be a little more careful. Wood is up to something. He left you alone in the second period to make you think he is going to leave you alone. But I have this feeling that he has something planned for the next period." He told her, and she looked at him and nodded.
"Don't worry; you'll be fine. Adam is out there with you. Play like you have been, but keep a eye on Wood." He told her.
"Okay." She said.
"That's a girl." He said to her, "Now lets go finish this game up." He told the team and got a cheer in return.
They got out there and the period started not long after. Nothing much happened during the last period except when there was about five minutes left in the game and Julie's line was out. She had kept Bombay's words in her mind the whole period; she had been watching Wood carefully. He hadn't tried anything yet but she knew that didn't mean anything.
Just before the puck was dropped Adam made eye contact with Julie and winked telling her silently that he was watching out for her. She grinned at him and nodded to let him know that she understood.
The ref dropped the puck soon after and Adam won the face off; Julie skated ahead of him along with Connie. Wood stayed with her and tried to block her so that she couldn't get the puck, but she faked him and got away. Adam saw that she was free and passed her the puck, she got it and shot it. What happened next seemed to have gone in slow motion for the whole team.
Wood growled and started skating towards the unsuspecting Julie. Adam quickly realized what he was doing and started skating towards Julie also. However he realized that he wasn't going to get there in time.
"Julie! Watch out!!!" He yelled at her.
She turned around just in time to see him barreling towards her and hit her square in the chest. She cried out in pain and fell to the ice. Adam quickly threw his stick down and skated towards Wood. However when he saw that Julie wasn't moving he stopped and skated to her and bent down. Connie was yelling at Wood, calling him names and being held back by the refs.
Adam gently reached down and took her helmet off.
"Julie, Julie! Wake up." He said softly and looked up at the bench to see a very pissed and worried Charlie. "You need to wake up so that Charlie wont wig out anymore than he already is." He finished.
She moved her head a little and whimpered in pain, "Adam?"
"Yes Jules." He said, "Do you hurt anywhere?"
"Yeah, my whole body, but I think I am okay." She said and sat up with Adam's help. She winced, "Where did that bastard go?"
"He got kicked out of the game. Which isn't much of a punishment since there is just about five minutes left." He told her and she nodded.
"Okay, come on. Let's get you to the bench." He said and helped her up and to the bench.
When they got there, Bombay and Charlie met them at the door. They all knew that she was in a lot of pain, and they quickly led her to the bench to sit down. She looked at Charlie with pleading eyes.
"You're not mad, are you?" She asked him.
"No Julie, I'm just worried. Besides, there is nothing to be mad at; you have been careful like we told you, and Adam was to. You didn't have time to move." He told her, and she nodded.
"Julie, I think you need to go to the locker room and get checked out. Okay?" Bombay told her.
She frowned and started to argue but knew she wouldn't win, so she nodded. Bombay smiled and looked at Charlie
"Why don't you go with her and make sure she makes it okay. The game is almost over anyways. Besides, she is more important." Bombay told him.
"Okay Coach." Charlie said. He helped Julie up and wrapped a supporting arm around her, walking with her to the locker room. They didn't say anything; they just walked in peace. When they go into the locker room, Julie stopped dead in her tracks. Charlie looked down at her and saw that she had gone very pale.
"Julie, what's wrong?" He asked, but she didn't hear him.
"What are you doing here?" Julie asked.
Charlie not knowing that there was someone in the locker room was very confused. He was about to ask her what she was talking about, but he realized that she was looking straight ahead at someone. He looked towards the direction she was looking and saw someone that he didn't recognize.
OHHHH, Cliffhanger, I love those. I am so sorry it took me so long to get this up; I have been very busy lately. I hope you had a great Christmas and Happy New Years. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. It is kind of the set up to the next chapter so it will be better. Please read and review and tell me what you think and how your holiday went. Can't wait to here from you and I will try to get the next chapter up soon.
A/N. Sorry it took me awhile to get this one out, but I was working on one of my other fics, When Angels Cry. I got an idea for it and wanted to get it updated before I forgot the idea. Anyways I got it updated and got back to this one. Thank you for all your reviews, I really do appreciate them.
Chelsea- AHA! I finished beta-ing it. Sorry I didn't have time before. I hope you enjoy the chapter! *winks*
Note to my Reviews:
Jo: Thank you for your review. I am really happy that you enjoy my fic. As for the locker part I know here aren't lockers for class purposes in College. I was talking about the lockers in the locker rooms for the athletes. They do have lockers in locker rooms in college. I know this because I am a swimmer and swimming takes you to a lot of places like meets, practices and camps that are held at colleges. So now that that is cleared up thank you for reviewing and please review again.
C-Chan: thank you I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter. Oh and thank you for editing and re-posting the chapter it helped me out a lot. LOL your starting to like Adam. That is great, extremely scary but great. You just don't seem to be the type of person to like him. But it's cool I like him too. I don't know that I like him more than Portman. But Charlie is defiantly first, and yes you have mentioned that you love Charlie.... Several times in fact. LOL Yea Julie's innocent plea was fun to write. I'm glad that you liked it. Well that is it I guess.
Banks99: Thank You!!! I am glad you like this story so much. It has been very fun to write. As for Julie being "Completely kick-ass!" Well what can I say she is like one of my favorite ducks. Just ask Chelsea. LOL When I watch D2, the part where they are tied up, I quote it, you can ask Chelsea (AKA C-Chan) About it. I can do it just like Julie. Also the pat where she gets kicked out of the game I can do pretty good to. I'm telling you just ask Chelsea. Anyways that isn't the point. LOL. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
RaspberrieSundae: Yes it is sad how she works her self so hard isn't it. Anyways I'm glad you liked the story and don't worry about being jealous about fictional characters I am to. I hope that makes you feel better about that. LOL we can both be pathetic together. Anyways I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review if you can. Talk to you later. Ok now that that is done I can get on with the story, I hope you enjoy it cause I know it has been fun to write about. I'm going to try to get Julie's attitude back into it.. Oh and I am going to skip the holidays and go back and have flashbacks to tell about what happened. Anyways please review if you can and Thanks.
-Chapter 9-
After her first game, Julie definitely felt back at home with the team, or as she called them her boys. That cracked them all up because when she said that, Connie would glare at her; but besides that it seemed to them all that she had never been gone. As soon as Julie was used to her schedule, it was time for them to go back to Minnesota for Christmas and New Years.
Julie had decided that she really didn't want to go home to be bitched at by her mom, so she asked Charlie if he thought his mom would mind if she spent it with them. He told her that he was sure that his mom would love for her to spend Christmas with them. He then told her that he thought that he should call just to make sure. Julie smiled and nodded, understanding why, and went to pack while he called his mom. About thirty minutes later he came back to her room and smiled at her, nodding and telling her that she had said yes. Julie grinned and went over to hug him before returning to her packing. She finished while he went to start his own packing.
A few days later they were in Minnesota reeking havoc with Casey and playing hockey on the pond. Now, about a month in a half later, they were back to classes and practices in Arizona.
On Thursday of the week the got back, Bombay called her into his office after practice, and asked her if she thought that she was ready to play out with the rest of the team. She immediately said yes and he told her that she would be playing Left Wing the next day. She squealed and jumped up and down. He laughed and told her to calm down, which she immediately did.
"Alright Jules, why don't you go tell your boys?" He said and she giggled.
She then ran out of the office and jumped on the first Duck she saw, which happened to be Portman. He turned around and grinned at her when she got off of him.
"Hey Jules, you finally see the light and decide to come to me?" He asked jokingly.
"Eww, Porty; you know you're like my big brother." She said making a face, which caused him to laugh harder. "Besides, Charlie would blow a heart valve at the thought. You know his little insecurity-complex-that-no-one-is- supposed-to-notice-because-he's-such-a-confidant-guy that surfaces at any sign of competition. He morphs into protective defense mode." Julie said with a fond smile.
"I know Jules, I was just playing with you." He told her while he hugged her.
"You better have; again I say, you weren't the one that saw Charlie's face when you said that. I think that if you would have truly meant it, you would be one dead bash brother on a stick." She said laughing, and he laughed too.
She then walked over to her locker and stood up on the bench. Charlie gave her a look, thinking in his mind that he didn't want her to fall. She rolled her eyes and hit him upside the head.
"What was that for?" Charlie asked, rubbing his head with a pout.
"For even THINKING about getting worried." she replied with a smile as she carried on with her business.
"So Julie, why exactly did you come in here like a bat out of hell?" Portman asked her which made the rest of the team laugh.
"Well, if you will give me a minute Dean, I'll tell you." She said smiling at the look on his face when she called him by his real name.
She called him that when she wanted to get him to shut up or get a rise out of him. She also did it because she knew that she was the only one that could get by with calling him that...well, at least the only person who could call him that and still live to tell the story.
Once the rest of the team stopped laughing, she turned back to them and smiled.
"Well, Coach called me into his office, but you already knew that. But the reason he called me in was he wanted to know if I thought I was ready to play out with the rest of the team; and I of course said yes. Well, he then told me that since I said that, I could play tomorrow." She said happily and the rest of the team cheered.
After they celebrated for a little bit, they all got dressed and went back to the dorms. Julie went into her room and did her homework, thus as usual loosing track of time. However, Connie, being the ever-caring best friend, came in to her room several hours after she had started and saw that Julie had her head lying on her book.
"Julie?" She said, walking over there and gently shaking her friend until she started moving.
"What?" She asked groggily.
"Julie, it's almost one; why don't you go to bed?" Connie said.
"But I'm not done with my homework." She argued.
"Julie, that isn't due until Monday. We have a game tomorrow and you need to get some rest." Connie told her.
"Good point." Julie agreed and got up to get changed and go to bed.
Connie smiled leaving the room and going to her own in order to get ready and go to bed herself.
*** Next Day in Locker Room***
The next day Julie walked into the locker room in a very foul mood. She had just had a horrible day and wasn't in the mood to deal with any more. She walked to her locker and threw her bag down, scaring half of the team around her. Charlie walked over to her and gently put his hand on her back to let her know he was there. She still jumped about two feet in the air and whirled around about to hit him, but he caught her before she did.
"Julie, are you okay?" He asked her.
"No." She said and turned back around to start getting ready for the game.
He sighed and grabbed her arm and pulled her back to face him. She looked down at the floor and her reached up and pulled her face up to his.
"What's wrong Julie?" He asked her rubbing her check with his thumb.
"Nothing." She lied and tried to pull away but he was stronger.
"Julie, you are a really bad liar. I know something's wrong. Just look at the way you came in just. Not a normal occurrence. Now tell me the truth; what's wrong?" He asked her again and she sighed.
"I have just had a really bad day. One of my teachers, that for some reason doesn't seem to like me, yelled at me and then the day just went to hell afterwards." She said not really wanting to tell about her whole day.
"Is that why you weren't at lunch?" He asked, and she nodded.
"Yeah, it was the class before lunch; I didn't feel like going to the cafeteria, so I just went to the dorm and ate there." She told him. "You're not mad are you?"
"No, no I'm not mad; I was just worried about you." He said, smiling at her reassuringly and pulling her into a hug.
She smiled and hugged him back, glad he wasn't mad at her for skipping lunch. He then pulled away and looked at her smiling.
"Want to know what I do when I have had a bad day?" He asked her and she nodded. "I find someone to take it out on, during practice or during a game, and usually after a while I start feeling a lot better."
"Okay, I'll remember that." She said smiling.
"Good, now lets get ready before we get yelled at." He said and she nodded. He then let go of her and went to his locker to finish getting ready while she did the same thing. About ten minutes later, Julie and Charlie, along with the rest of the team, were ready and were going out to the ice to start warming up.
Bombay smiled at them and told them to start doing their laps and then practice shooting the puck. It donned on Julie about that time that she was truly back to playing Left Wing, and she got kind of nervous. Charlie noticed and squeezed her hand reassuringly, and then skated of to start the laps; she followed.
After they had done their laps and practice shots, they circled around Bombay for their pep talk.
"Okay guys, you have been working really hard and look really good. I believe that you can win this game. Be careful, but not too careful. And watch out for Julie; this is her first game playing left wing in a long time." He said to them and they cheered.
Julie glared, not liking having to be watched out for. Connie saw her look and smiled at her.
"Think of it this way Jules; the Ducks stick together and watch out for one another. Coach is just reminding them that you are out with us now, and not in the net. Does that make it better?" Connie told her.
"Yeah, thanks Connie." She said, smiling at Connie.
"Good. Now lets go kick some bulldog butt." Connie said, and Julie smiled.
"Bring it on." Julie said like she always had in high school.
The rest of the team cheered happy to hear her saying that again. She hadn't the last couple games, but they hadn't noticed because they were just happy to have her back. But now that she had said it, they all realized how much they had missed her saying that; or how much they had missed her.
The first line then skated out onto the ice and to their positions, and Julie and Connie sat down. They were both on the second line. They sat and watched the game and cheered until it was time for them to go out. Before she knew it, it was time for her to go out. She stood up and started to the gate, but Bombay stopped her and gave her a quick reassuming smile. She smiled back at him and went to her spot on the ice. Connie and Adam were with her also; Connie on the right side and Adam in Center. The guy on the other team in front of her, that she had seen 'Wood' on the back of his jersey, looked at the line in front of him with Adam and Connie and Julie, laughing.
"Ah, isn't that sweet? Two girls and a guy." He said still laughing. "Well I can tell this is going to be easy."
Julie glared at him but didn't get the chance to say anything back to him because the puck was dropped. So instead she pushed him out of her way and got the puck that Adam passed her. Wood came up beside her and tried to steal the puck from her. She won the fight by passing it back to Adam and skating past Wood closer to the goal. Adam knew what she wanted him to do, so he passed it back to her and she guided it into the goal. She jumped up in the air and squealed, skating to Adam and Connie before hugging them. They then went back to their spots and faced off again; this time, though, she looked at Wood and smiled.
"I thought you said this was going to be easy for you. I think you got it twisted though, because that was pretty easy in itself." She said and smiled big at him.
She heard Adam laughing next to her and smiled more, but she wasn't expecting what happened next. When the puck was dropped, Wood took his stick and hooked across her waist and pulled. This knocked her down flat on her face. She cried out in pain because she fell on her arm; the ref blew the whistle. They took him to the penalty box where he sat laughing and think of what he could do next to her. No one, especially a girl, embarrassed him playing hockey, and that was exactly what she had done by scoring like that.
Meanwhile, Julie was skating off holding her arm; Bombay was panicking because he didn't want to have to pull her out of the game so quickly. He sat her down, pulling her helmet and glove off.
"I think it is okay, Coach; it just hurts because I landed on it." She said and rotated it a little, which made Bombay much happier to see that she was okay.
"Okay, but if it keeps hurting tell me. I don't want you injuring yourself. Okay?" He asked her and she nodded.
Charlie sat down next to her and kissed her on her check, hugging her to him for a second. "You okay, Jules?" He asked her.
"Yeah, it's just a little sore. I promise." She told him and he nodded.
"Good." He said smiling. "That was one hell of a score, Julie."
She laughed, "Thanks Charlie."
He smiled at her and gave her one more kiss before he went onto the ice. Adam scooted over and smiled at her.
"You know Julie, making plays like you made to get that score is going to give me a bad name." He said patting her on the back. "But to come to think of it...it isn't as bad as the fact that it's you, not your boyfriend, that is ruining my reputation."
She laughed and nodded, " I can manage that, I think."
"Good." He said, "So now I can tell you that that was an awesome play."
"Thanks." She said.
By this time it was time for them to get back on the ice again. Wood was out of the box and in his position when she got in place. She just looked at him and glared, but neither one said anything. He had decided that he would behave for now, and in the third period he would knock her out of the game.
By this time, it was time for them to get back on the ice again. Wood was out of the box and in his position when she got in place. She just looked at him and glared but neither one said anything. He had decided that he would behave for now, and in the third period he would knock her out of the game.
The first period soon ended with the Ducks leading 2-0. They walked into the locker room tired but excited. Bombay told them he was really proud of them and for them to keep up the work. He then let them talk and rest for the rest of the intermission.
The second period was much the same as the second except Wood left Julie alone; excluding the occasional glare. But he didn't scare Julie; it seemed to make her play harder. Bombay and Charlie saw what this guy was doing and were getting worried. When the second period ended, and they went back to the locker room, Bombay told them the same thing he had the first time. But instead of letting them talk he turned to Julie and gave her a worried look.
"Julie, I want you to be careful in this period. Okay?" He told her.
"Okay, but I am careful." She said confused.
"I know you are, but I want you to be a little more careful. Wood is up to something. He left you alone in the second period to make you think he is going to leave you alone. But I have this feeling that he has something planned for the next period." He told her, and she looked at him and nodded.
"Don't worry; you'll be fine. Adam is out there with you. Play like you have been, but keep a eye on Wood." He told her.
"Okay." She said.
"That's a girl." He said to her, "Now lets go finish this game up." He told the team and got a cheer in return.
They got out there and the period started not long after. Nothing much happened during the last period except when there was about five minutes left in the game and Julie's line was out. She had kept Bombay's words in her mind the whole period; she had been watching Wood carefully. He hadn't tried anything yet but she knew that didn't mean anything.
Just before the puck was dropped Adam made eye contact with Julie and winked telling her silently that he was watching out for her. She grinned at him and nodded to let him know that she understood.
The ref dropped the puck soon after and Adam won the face off; Julie skated ahead of him along with Connie. Wood stayed with her and tried to block her so that she couldn't get the puck, but she faked him and got away. Adam saw that she was free and passed her the puck, she got it and shot it. What happened next seemed to have gone in slow motion for the whole team.
Wood growled and started skating towards the unsuspecting Julie. Adam quickly realized what he was doing and started skating towards Julie also. However he realized that he wasn't going to get there in time.
"Julie! Watch out!!!" He yelled at her.
She turned around just in time to see him barreling towards her and hit her square in the chest. She cried out in pain and fell to the ice. Adam quickly threw his stick down and skated towards Wood. However when he saw that Julie wasn't moving he stopped and skated to her and bent down. Connie was yelling at Wood, calling him names and being held back by the refs.
Adam gently reached down and took her helmet off.
"Julie, Julie! Wake up." He said softly and looked up at the bench to see a very pissed and worried Charlie. "You need to wake up so that Charlie wont wig out anymore than he already is." He finished.
She moved her head a little and whimpered in pain, "Adam?"
"Yes Jules." He said, "Do you hurt anywhere?"
"Yeah, my whole body, but I think I am okay." She said and sat up with Adam's help. She winced, "Where did that bastard go?"
"He got kicked out of the game. Which isn't much of a punishment since there is just about five minutes left." He told her and she nodded.
"Okay, come on. Let's get you to the bench." He said and helped her up and to the bench.
When they got there, Bombay and Charlie met them at the door. They all knew that she was in a lot of pain, and they quickly led her to the bench to sit down. She looked at Charlie with pleading eyes.
"You're not mad, are you?" She asked him.
"No Julie, I'm just worried. Besides, there is nothing to be mad at; you have been careful like we told you, and Adam was to. You didn't have time to move." He told her, and she nodded.
"Julie, I think you need to go to the locker room and get checked out. Okay?" Bombay told her.
She frowned and started to argue but knew she wouldn't win, so she nodded. Bombay smiled and looked at Charlie
"Why don't you go with her and make sure she makes it okay. The game is almost over anyways. Besides, she is more important." Bombay told him.
"Okay Coach." Charlie said. He helped Julie up and wrapped a supporting arm around her, walking with her to the locker room. They didn't say anything; they just walked in peace. When they go into the locker room, Julie stopped dead in her tracks. Charlie looked down at her and saw that she had gone very pale.
"Julie, what's wrong?" He asked, but she didn't hear him.
"What are you doing here?" Julie asked.
Charlie not knowing that there was someone in the locker room was very confused. He was about to ask her what she was talking about, but he realized that she was looking straight ahead at someone. He looked towards the direction she was looking and saw someone that he didn't recognize.
OHHHH, Cliffhanger, I love those. I am so sorry it took me so long to get this up; I have been very busy lately. I hope you had a great Christmas and Happy New Years. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. It is kind of the set up to the next chapter so it will be better. Please read and review and tell me what you think and how your holiday went. Can't wait to here from you and I will try to get the next chapter up soon.