It felt as though no time had passed in the Goldberg's Deli. It still had out the pictures of us in pee wees and the forever standing picture of Goldberg on the front counter by the cash register with the words 'Our Son, the Goalie' scribed beneath even though he was a defensemen now. Goldberg had told me once that his mother had a more recent picture of him and the team in the back, near the kitchen but the customers knew him as the 'goalie' so it stayed there.

Mrs. Goldberg handed us our lunches, and a pair of cookies on the house, but not before announcing that we were Ducks and part of her son's hockey team and that we were friends of her son to the crowded shop. Averman and I slunk into a small booth and ate in complete silence, praying that no one would come up to us and begin to speak to us out of the blue.

After a few minutes we felt more at ease and began speaking openly again.

"So what exactly are you going to do about it?" Averman asked taking a large bite of his sandwich and washing it would with a large gulp of coke.

I frowned at him and replied skeptically. "What am I going to do about what?"

"Josie." He replied in between bites and rolled his eyes.

I shrugged. "Do what she asked. Leave her alone."

He snorted and pushed aside his plate. "Amateur." He crossed his arms and leaned back in the booth. "You have no idea how to deal with women."

I shook my head and slid my dish to the end of the table. "And you do?"

He rubbed his nails on his plaid shirt and smirked knowingly. "I just happen to be an expert on the subject, Banksie."

I laughed and closed my eyes. "If you're such an expert; why is it that Mendoza has girls basically falling at his feet, and you don't lover-boy?"

Averman rolled his eyes. "Everyone knows that if you reach your dating prime before you're twenty you are more likely to be in dead end relationships than those who reach their prime after they are twenty."

I shook my head and played along with it. "Ok whatever Averman. So tell me what I'm doing so wrong, oh great and mighty one?"

He stretched his arms across the table and cracked his neck. "You're going about the whole thing wrong. First of all, you're not reading between the lines. When a girl says there is nothing wrong, there is something wrong, and when they say 'Leave me alone you jerk' she means-"

"Pull me into your arms and let's cuddle all night?" I laughed. Averman had seriously watched too many chick flicks. His brain must've turned to mush or something.

He grinned. "Now you're getting it."

I rolled my eyes. "I doubt that's what Josie meant. She doesn't want to talk to me and I'm going to respect the fact that we need space because she's probably right." I admitted. "There is too much tension between us and even if something happened with us right now, it would be awkward and I don't want that."

A smile crept across Averman's face. "She said she didn't want to talk to you, right?"

I frowned and nodded. "Yeah, your point?"

"But she didn't say she didn't want to talk to . . . not you, right?"

I blinked and tried to sort out exactly what Averman was saying. "Averman, I can deal with this myself, so I want you to hear me clearly ok? Do not bother her ok? I want you to repeat that. 'I will not bother Josie, Banks.' Tell me that ok?"

Averman rolled his eyes, frowning. "I'm not a three year old."

"Tell me it Averman. 'I will not bother Josie, Banks'. Say it okay?" I ordered of him, wearing a hardened face.

He sighed and leaned back into the booth, his shoulders slumping. "I will not bother Josie, Banks." He grumbled under his breath. "Okay, are you happy now?"

I nodded. "Very."

He nodded and got out of the booth and laid a large tip on the table. "Good because I need to go back to the dorm and start thinking about lesson plans."

"Adam! Wake up!"

I grunted and felt a weight on my nose. I pushed my novel off my face and sat leaned on my pillow to look at whoever interrupted my peaceful slumber, for once. "What happened? Am I late for class?" I moaned, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

Guy looked down at me with a frown. "Dude, you're sleeping on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, with a book on your face. You needed to be woken up."

I sighed and blinked at him. "It's Valentine's Day; what the hell are you doing here?"

He rolled his eyes and pulled up my desk chair and swiveled it around and sat on it backwards. "Connie and I broke up, again, and she called an 'anti- Valentine's Day' day on me. She's hanging out with Julie and insisting on wearing some shirt with a broken heart on it and I'm not allowed to talk to her until her 'anti-Valentine's Day' day is over, which is in exactly 10 hours." He replied in a lengthy response.

I nodded and shaded my eyes from the afternoon sun the streamed in through the blinds. "Ok, but why are you here?"

He shrugged and smiled. "Oh you know, I figured, who would also be moping about not being with the girl he wants on Valentine's Day?"

I summed up the evilest glare and shot it at him, full speed.

He raised his hands in surrender, smirking. "Kidding! Averman is doing something 'super secret' in his terms, Dwayne, Kenny and Russ are out on dates, Charlie is in the city with his mom, the Bash Brothers are scoping out single girls at the mall and Goldberg is cooking a meal for Mendoza, so he has a decent date with his current girlfriend."

I nodded and turned over, face-planting into my pillow. "Ah... process of elimination." I mumbled, but was barely audible.

"Pardon?"

I turned so I was looking at him. "Never mind." I returned to planting my face in my pillow when Guy shook my shoulders roughly. I groaned and tried to swat him away but my efforts seemed to be in vain.

"Banksie!! Come on! Get up! We'll be depressed together." He laughed standing over me.

I looked over my shoulder at him and glared. "You're too happy to be depressed."

He shrugged. "Yes, but that's life. And misery loves company. Look, you miserable, me company. It's perfect." He grinned and returned to sitting in my chair.

"Misery loves miserable company." I corrected the old saying. "You aren't miserable."

"Banks can you at least not have you're face into a pillow." He pleaded. "I've been bored out of my mind all day. This is all I ask of you for this day."

I groaned and pulled my face out of my soft pillow and leaned against my wall staring Guy in the face. "Better now Mr. Germaine?"

He nodded. "Yes, and don't call me that."

I exhaled softly and blinked as the fatigue seemed to melt away and come back like tidal waves. I wasn't sure why I was so tired at the moment. Maybe I had too much stress. I yawned and closed my eyes and seemed to drift off in front of him.

"Adam! You fall asleep and I will hurt you!"

I opened my eyes wide and shook my head. "I'm just resting my eyes, Jesus!"

"Yeah, and I'm King Guy the third of France." He replied with an un-amused look cast across his usual obliviously happy features. "So are you going to talk to me or am I going to have to drag whatever it is that is bothering you and practically rendering you unconscious, out of you, kicking and screaming?"

I crossed my arms over my stomach and sighed lazily.

"Kicking and screaming it is." He replied getting up from my chair and snatching something off my bedside table and hiding, whatever it was behind his back.

I rolled my eyes and rested the base of my skull on the hard wall. "What are we ten and still playing 'keep away'? I would've expected more from you Germaine."

He smirked, walked over to my window and opened it and held his hand out. "Talk to me or your phone gets it."

I blinked processing what was going on in front of me. My eyes widened as I realize my new, $300 camera phone, that my father had specifically said at Christmas that if I broke it I'd be dead, was being dangled out my 2nd floor window that was above rock solid cement. I jumped out of bed and stared at Guy. "Germaine put the phone down! I swear to God, I don't know what I'll do to you if you ruin it!"

He rolled his eyes and tossed the phone at me which I caught and quickly looked over. I breathed a sigh of relief and narrowed my eyes at him. "So what do you want to do?" He asked walking away from the window and sitting at the foot of my bed.

I hooked my phone onto my pocket and walked over to my closet to put on a new, unwrinkled shirt. "Well I was planning on sitting here and reading, but you kind of ruined my plans in the process of trying to destroy my phone." I pulled off my shirt and tossed it into a basket in the back of my closet.

He shrugged and grinned. "You can read whenever you want to, just not now. Besides you were sleeping. There is a big difference between reading and sleeping Banksie." He smiled. "I'm just going to kidnap you for the rest of the day. So what do you want to do abductee?"

I frowned and pulled a clean shirt over my head. "When kidnapping, the abductor usually picks where to take his or her abductee, just to tell you."

Guy made a face and rolled his eyes. "Well, we can wallow here, wallow in the dining hall or wallow at the arena, your choice."

"What great choices." I replied monotone. "I think I'll pass on all three."

"Well then what do you want to do seeing you absolutely hate all of my ideas."

I shrugged. "We could go see how Orion and his wife are doing." I replied grabbing my desk chair and sitting down in it. "See if we'll have practice on Monday."

"Orion has a wife?"

I blinked at him. "Yeah, you didn't know that?"

Guy shook his head no.

"Well, how exactly was he going to have a kid?" I questioned him, laughing slightly.

Guy shrugged. "I don't know, but whatever I'm in."

I nodded and got up and grabbed my keys and wallet off my nightstand and followed Guy out of the room. "I can't believe you know that Orion had a wife."

We walked into the hospital and that choking hospital smell seemed to grip us by the throat and gag us. I hate hospitals. No real story behind it, I just do. Doctors too. I don't really like doctors all the much, but that might have something to do with Josie's father. I looked around at the foyer and it seemed to open up in front of us. Both Guy was an only child and I was the youngest so both of us wouldn't have a clue were the maternity ward would be so we swallowed our pride and walked up to a receptionist and asked her.

"Maternity." She started and turned around. "Ok, see those elevators? Go to the third floor hang a right and then go to the end of the hall and hang a left and you should see a desk like this one and ask them which room your relatives are."

Guy and I exchanged glances and nodded carefully. "Thanks." I muttered and left the desk and over to the elevators with Guy in tow.

"What was with that?" Guy asked as we stepped into the elevator and pressed the button labeled three.

I looked up at the flashing numbers above us. "No clue."

He shrugged in reply and remained quiet until we reached the desk just like the receptionist had said and had learned that Coach and his wife should be in their room that was the first door on the right.

Guy knocked quietly on the door and opened it before anyone could answer and looked in. He looked back at me and grinned, pushing it all the way open.

Orion was in a chair beside his wife with his head resting on her hand. They were both asleep. His quiet snores were barely audible.

"Should we?" I asked Guy who shrugged helplessly.

"Excuse me." A nurse replied wheeling a baby in a clear plastic cart into the room. "It's lunch time." She whispered as we stepped out of her way.

We walked in behind her and touched Orion's shoulder making him grunt in surprise and look up at us in shock. "What are you two doing here?" He whispered and glanced over at the nurse who was about to wake his wife. "Oh I'll do it." He replied quietly.

Guy and I stayed out of the way as Orion kissed his wife's cheek and smiled. She opened her clear eyes and smiled. "Hmm?" She murmured and beamed with pride as she noticed her child was in the room.

"Mrs. Orion? It's time for lunch." The nurse breathed and picked up the baby that was beginning to get fussy and whine.

Orion smiled as his wife took the baby from the nurse's arms and touched it gingerly. He turned to us and a slightly sterner look was cast upon his features, but a happy glow was still shining through. He was a big softy around his family. The whole 'I'm a big, tough Coach-hear me roar' crap was just a front to make us respect him. "Why are you here?"

Guy and I shrugged. "Boredom." I replied with an air of laughter in my voice.

"Yeah, we wanted to see the future of the NHL in action." Guy laughed.

Orion shrugged. "I think I'll leave that up to him." He glanced back at his wife who held the baby in her arms and bottle fed him, seeming to be glowing.

His wife gestured us over to her and caressed the baby's chubby cheek. "I'm guessing you two are Teddy's players?" She asked trying not to disturb her child.

"Yeah, I'm Adam Banks and he's Guy Germaine." I murmured so that it was barely audible. I looked down at baby whose big blue eyes shone brightly up at us. "And who is he?"

She looked over at Coach who shrugged in reply. "We haven't agreed yet. I'm leaning toward Darren and . . ."

"I still think naming him after me would be a good idea." Coach replied stubbornly. "Besides, Darren Orion? Are you kidding me? It sounds funny."

I chuckled at them as they shook their heads at each other. "I would've thought you would have names ready."

"Well, he's a month earlier than we expected so we're a little unprepared. We have everything we need, but we don't have a name and the crib isn't made. However, it will be by the time we're home, won't it Teddy?" She replied with a jokingly stern manner in her voice.

He rolled his eyes and nodded. "Yes Helen." He half laughed and shrugged. "But we still need to name him before we go home."

"When are you going to be home and back coaching?" Guy asked his eyes leaving the angelic face of the baby to Orion's wise one.

Orion widened his eyes. "Oh, I forgot!" He rubbed his forehead and frowned. "I don't even have anything planned." He bit his lip. "Tomorrow afternoon right after school; I'll be ready, tell the team, alright?"

Guy and I nodded in unison. "Is there anything else you need us to do?" I asked quietly.

Orion shook his head and Helen and the baby seemed to drift off the sleep again. He ushered us out into the hall and stopped us before we could leave. "Guys, ok, I need a little bit of help. The doctors say that my wife, Helen, will be out by Wednesday and I need to surprise her not to mention I have to put that God-forsaken crib together and I'd ask my daughter to, however. . ." He seemed to trail off at the end, almost in discomfort.

"You want help from the team?" Guy replied with a laugh. "I'm sure the guys would be up to it."

"Would you?" He asked with a smile. "I mean, I could give a couple of you a ride to my house after practice on Monday before coming back here and checking up on my wife."

I nodded and smiled. "Yeah sure. We'll ask them when we tell them about practice."

"Great!" He replied. "OK, you two better get going or you're going to be late for curfew." He glanced at the clock behind us.

We walked out of the hospital with high hopes and a load of responsibility to disperse amongst the Ducks.



A/N: Hey Guys! It's been a little bit eh? About a week? Sorry about that! I've had a terrible week and instead of ranting it out here I've actually been using a diary and when I got to my chapter I was all ranted out. But I finished and I hope you enjoy it!

Shout Outs!

Emily- Hey there! Oh go me! I guessed your nationality on the first try, but seeing that most of my reviewers are American, it was kind of an 80-20 chance that you would be American. Ohmigod! That is so cool! See, I have no connections to the Ducks like that, other than the fact that my school mascot in grade 7 and 8 was a Hawk. Yes looks down ashamed I was a Hawk, and we kicked major butt too!! That and the fact that my brother when he played hockey was #21, but that was coincidence. Oh, yeah, Laney having a boyfriend sucks, but Averman's plotline is going to be mainly humor, so no worried ok? You'll see what Avsie does ok? Oh, and Adam did get it cookie! lol Thanks! Later!

Beaner- If you didn't like Averman and loved Bobby, I would slap you. Granted, I'm in Ontario and you're in PA and it would be a long long drive and the fact that you could probably kick my 'vanilla booty' (Yes Jesse humor!) across the Canadian border, but w/e. I love using Averman to lighten the mood. I think that's what he even does in the movies so that's why I write him that way! Get Jocie to read last chapter ok? She avoiding it and I want her to read it sooooo bad! Jocie, if you read this, I was waiting FOREVER for you to read last chapter! Anyways, Later all!

Banks'-gurl-99- Thanks for the compliment, however, it's not going to be that simple with Josie and Adam. But again, you'll have to read and find out. Thanks for the review and guess! Later!

Rachel- Unfortunately I can't do theme songs. I do poems! But theme songs are a major no. Thanks so much! 100 reviews!! I was so excited!! It took like 30 chapters to reach 100 last time and this time only 18! This so cool! But it's thanks to my AMAZING reviewers (much like you) that helped out! Averman and you are plotting again Bobby? What about Will? Aren't you plotting against him too? OK, no viciously attacking characters I need. Especially for either next, or the chapter after that. Yeah, you should consider deep breathing. Or anger management. Either way. Anyways, thanks so much for the review! You're amazing!

SqUiDsLiLpYrO- Hey there. I know it took me a while to figure that one out too. Lending movies. However, the Duck movies are very 'valuable'. I'd consider taking some collateral. I'm glad you enjoyed last chapter and Happy Birthday!! Why didn't you tell me sooner? I'm glad all of you like Averman! I love writing him and I just all around love him! I'm glad you liked it and I'll see you in the next chapter! Later!

OK Everyone 100 Reviews! You guys are so great and I love you all big bunches!

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