Disclaimer: I don't own the ducks, any of them. Disney does.
He needed help getting back in his chair, Julie had to hold the chair and grab his elbow when he tried to move. "Thanks," he grunted when he wheeled himself across the blacktop, Julie at his side. "Hey, Julie," he asked when they were walking down the street to his dump of a house," how come you're the only one who came?"
She smiled and continued to walk forward, "The Ducks pooled all of their money together and could only buy one round-trip plane ticket, and Fulton was chosen to come and get you, but he had to go to his mom's wedding. Charlie was…"
"Hold it," Dean said, coming to a stop, "Fulton's mom is getting re-married?"
Julie looked down at her watch, "Actually, she got married an hour ago, to some guy named Frank, and he's really nice."
"Does Fulton like him?" Dean said, wheeling himself faster to catch up with her quick pace.
She nodded, "Yeah, he never complains about him or anything, he's one of the ring bearers, I think. He'd much rather be here getting you, though," she added, laughing. "I swear, you two depend on each other so much, it's like your blood brothers."
Portman smiled triumphantly, "You mean bash brothers."
"Yeah," she grinned, "anyway, Charlie was going to come, but he and the other guys had some hockey game to go to and Connie hates flying." Her smile toned down a little, "My parents still think I'm at the game, staying the night at Connie's. You can't tell them where I went, okay?" she pleaded.
"No problem," he said, crossing his heart, "I promise," he added, putting his hand back on his left wheel, straightening it out.
They walked down the street, reminiscing in good times when Dean turned sharply down a dingy pathway, "Here, follow me," he called back to a confused Julie. She shrugged and followed obediently until they came to a rusty shack. Dean put a finger to his lips, motioning for her to be quiet and she nodded back, standing out of the way. He took a key out of his pack and stuck in the door and opened it noiselessly. He leaned in and his face grew pale.
He wheeled himself in a semi-circle and said very quietly to her, "Why don't you go wait for me up the alley, okay? I don't think my dad will be thrilled to see me bringing home you." His face went red a little, "Or any girl, for that matter," he added quickly.
Julie nodded, feeling sorry for him, but only just a little. She turned and walked up the alley, peeking over her shoulder to see Portman enter his 'house' with a scared face. She had never seen him scared, only mad. Bad things happened when he was mad, so what would happen if he was scared?
She must've waited at least a half-an-hour before Portman came wheeling out of the shack very slowly, grabbing at his left bicep every once and while. He looked angry, but this time he couldn't kick anything, he just kept wheeling himself the street in short little bursts of rage. "I hate that guy, I'm never looking back, never coming back," he yelled. Julie stayed quiet. "He thinks he can just beat me up because I can't beat him back anymore, well he's got another damn thing coming!"
Julie laid a hand his shoulder lightly, ready to snap it back if he decided to yell at her. He didn't, he seemed to calm down a little, but just a little.
"Here," Julie said, "I can carry your bag for you," she pointed to the overly-large bag sitting on his knees, looking like it was about to fall off at any moment.
"No, I can do it," he answered gruffly.
"Okay," Julie answered, trying not to sound soft. He hated it when people acted all understanding at him. They walked the entire way to the airport, which took them over an hour and a half.
Julie handed over their tickets, while Portman grew more anxious by the second. What if his dad came after him? That's what he had promised when he had rolled out the door, but he was drunk then, did it really matter now? Julie started moving forward, onto the plane, he trailed after her heels. She and a flight attendant had to help him into his seat, he hated being helped, he was positive if they just left him alone he could do the job just fine by himself. Julie sat by a window and watched the flight attendant wheel Portman's chair away to the back of the plane.
"You ready to go home yet, Portman?" she asked, trying to smile.
He nodded his head, lost in thought. He hardly knew his grandparents. What if dad came and found them? "Hey, Julie?" he asked again.
"Yep?" she asked, looking him in the eye.
"What'll happen to my dad? He's not the nicest of guys, what if he finds me? What'll happen to my grandparents?" he asked wildly, coming up with another burning, irrational question every second.
Julie took a deep breath and so did Portman, "I don't know, I guess he'd go to jail if he tried something."
"My dads already been in jail. That's what drove my mom away, what if I drive my grandparents away? What if I'm not good enough to get back into Eden? What'll happen then?" he asked, looking at her with pleading eyes.
This was a side of Dean Portman she'd never, in all her time of knowing him, seen. He was acting like a scared Adam or Guy. This was not the attitude of her loyal, hockey playing, thug-like friend. He started staring at the pattern on the back of the seat in front of him, a scowl crossing his face as he waited for Julie's answer.
"You're dad's not going to come after you. Even if he does, Ducks fly together. We'll all help. With you combining forces with Fulton again, you two'll be unstoppable," she said comfortingly. "Oh, and," she added, "you've got a scholarship to go to Eden. That must mean you've done well enough to stay," she summarized.
"Okay, yeah, whatever," he responded dully and crossed his arm over his chest gloomily. He closed his eyes and remembered the first time he met Julie and the Ducks. He started humming to himself, then it grew louder, forming actual words, "Don't you know that everything's on fire?" he said loudly.
"What?" Julie asked.
She couldn't remember the song. He ignored her, "Don't you know that everything's on fire?" he kept repeating, liking the sound of it.
Two hours later, the plane landed and Julie stood up. They had to wait for the attendant to bring his chair, subsequently; they had to wait for everyone else to get off the plane first.
They disembarked from the plane, Portman having a hard time maneuvering himself through the throngs of people. "So, where are they?" he asked impatiently, his stomach turning.
"We're a long way away from where their supposed to meet us," Julie said, hoping up and down a few times to see where they were. She looked back at Portman, he was taking to long! She waited for him to get in front of her and then she grabbed the handles of his chair and started to push him forward, faster.
"Hey!" he yelled, surprised. He could push himself, he wasn't tired at all. "I think I can do this on my own," he called back to her sarcastically.
"Yeah, but you're taking too long, I want to get there fast. I don't want my mom to find out where I've been, alright?" she shouted at him, rounding a corner.
He finally gave up his protests after fifteen minutes of bickering. Suddenly, she let go of the handles as they rounded another corner. "What was that all about?" he said loudly, turning back to look at her. Julie was grinning from ear to ear.
"Look in front of you," she called.
He arched his back, but couldn't see anybody he recognized ahead of him, there were too many people in his way. "What?" he yelled back.
She stood on her toes and waved to someone she couldn't see. A figure came blitzing through the crowd and hugged her lightly. "So, I guess he didn't come, huh?" Charlie asked solemnly.
Julie let out a huge laugh, "Oh, he came," she retorted.
Charlie looked behind her and over his own shoulder, "Then," he said slowly, "where is he?"
Julie shook her head at his ignorance and pointed over to where Dean was sitting.
"Conway, you blockhead," Portman said with a small, gruff laugh.
Charlie looked taken aback for a moment, but he sighed and said, "Portman! You came! I didn't waste my Christmas money for nothing, then." He gave Portman a small hug as well.
"Captain Duck, where's the rest of your squad?" Portman asked, leaning forward in his chair in hopes to see higher.
Charlie grinned, "Follow me," he motioned and Julie walked by Dean as he carefully wheeled himself between strange people.
They came upon the rest of the team waiting at the exit doors. Guy had his arm around Connie's waist, Ken and Goldberg were chatting it up, and Fulton was crouching down on the floor beside Averman looking for a lens that had fallen out of Averman's glasses.
"Look, there's Julie!" Adam said, standing on his toes to see over the crowd. Dwayne appeared right behind him, his ears were as big as ever and he was wearing another ridiculous cowboy hat, "Yeehaw," he yelled, "it is!"
"Where's Portman?" Guy said, looking behind her for Dean.
Fulton got up and looked around too. His eyes rested on the guy in the wheelchair. "No way!" he yelled.
"Portman!" Connie yelled, running forward to give him a hug.
"Portman!" the rest of the team yelled, crowding around him.
He grinned, "Miss me, guys?" he asked, holding out his arms.
"Ya'll bet your lucky stars we did," Dwayne said, looking at his wheelchair.
In fact, everyone else was too. His demeanor went down a little; he was still the same guy, right? How was he supposed to handle this one?
Fulton slapped him hard on the back, "Good to have you back, buddy," he said jubilantly.
"Yeah!" a chorus echoed cheerfully.
"Nice tux," Portman said sarcastically to Fulton.
He grinned dramatically. "So," Charlie interrupted, "let's go back to the rink for some pizza!"
Another chorus of agreement exploded and they held the door open for Portman to go through.
Outside waiting was a van. Coach Bombay was inside. "Portman?" he yelled from inside. "Is that you?" he shouted again, getting out of the driver's side to check out his new wheels.
"Yep, coach, I'm back!" he yelled and let out another yell. He was finally free.
"Wow," Bombay said, looking him over, "you've definitely changed."
"That's what everybody keeps saying," Portman said, "I'm sporting the wheels this year," he added with a grin.
"Well, let's get you in the car," he said, eyeing the van.
They all felt the urge to help Portman, but he was capable of doing it himself. He simply got out the chair and sat on the ground of the van, and then he put his arms on the seat and hoisted himself upward. He smiled triumphantly, that had shown them he wasn't weak.
He needed help getting back in his chair, Julie had to hold the chair and grab his elbow when he tried to move. "Thanks," he grunted when he wheeled himself across the blacktop, Julie at his side. "Hey, Julie," he asked when they were walking down the street to his dump of a house," how come you're the only one who came?"
She smiled and continued to walk forward, "The Ducks pooled all of their money together and could only buy one round-trip plane ticket, and Fulton was chosen to come and get you, but he had to go to his mom's wedding. Charlie was…"
"Hold it," Dean said, coming to a stop, "Fulton's mom is getting re-married?"
Julie looked down at her watch, "Actually, she got married an hour ago, to some guy named Frank, and he's really nice."
"Does Fulton like him?" Dean said, wheeling himself faster to catch up with her quick pace.
She nodded, "Yeah, he never complains about him or anything, he's one of the ring bearers, I think. He'd much rather be here getting you, though," she added, laughing. "I swear, you two depend on each other so much, it's like your blood brothers."
Portman smiled triumphantly, "You mean bash brothers."
"Yeah," she grinned, "anyway, Charlie was going to come, but he and the other guys had some hockey game to go to and Connie hates flying." Her smile toned down a little, "My parents still think I'm at the game, staying the night at Connie's. You can't tell them where I went, okay?" she pleaded.
"No problem," he said, crossing his heart, "I promise," he added, putting his hand back on his left wheel, straightening it out.
They walked down the street, reminiscing in good times when Dean turned sharply down a dingy pathway, "Here, follow me," he called back to a confused Julie. She shrugged and followed obediently until they came to a rusty shack. Dean put a finger to his lips, motioning for her to be quiet and she nodded back, standing out of the way. He took a key out of his pack and stuck in the door and opened it noiselessly. He leaned in and his face grew pale.
He wheeled himself in a semi-circle and said very quietly to her, "Why don't you go wait for me up the alley, okay? I don't think my dad will be thrilled to see me bringing home you." His face went red a little, "Or any girl, for that matter," he added quickly.
Julie nodded, feeling sorry for him, but only just a little. She turned and walked up the alley, peeking over her shoulder to see Portman enter his 'house' with a scared face. She had never seen him scared, only mad. Bad things happened when he was mad, so what would happen if he was scared?
She must've waited at least a half-an-hour before Portman came wheeling out of the shack very slowly, grabbing at his left bicep every once and while. He looked angry, but this time he couldn't kick anything, he just kept wheeling himself the street in short little bursts of rage. "I hate that guy, I'm never looking back, never coming back," he yelled. Julie stayed quiet. "He thinks he can just beat me up because I can't beat him back anymore, well he's got another damn thing coming!"
Julie laid a hand his shoulder lightly, ready to snap it back if he decided to yell at her. He didn't, he seemed to calm down a little, but just a little.
"Here," Julie said, "I can carry your bag for you," she pointed to the overly-large bag sitting on his knees, looking like it was about to fall off at any moment.
"No, I can do it," he answered gruffly.
"Okay," Julie answered, trying not to sound soft. He hated it when people acted all understanding at him. They walked the entire way to the airport, which took them over an hour and a half.
Julie handed over their tickets, while Portman grew more anxious by the second. What if his dad came after him? That's what he had promised when he had rolled out the door, but he was drunk then, did it really matter now? Julie started moving forward, onto the plane, he trailed after her heels. She and a flight attendant had to help him into his seat, he hated being helped, he was positive if they just left him alone he could do the job just fine by himself. Julie sat by a window and watched the flight attendant wheel Portman's chair away to the back of the plane.
"You ready to go home yet, Portman?" she asked, trying to smile.
He nodded his head, lost in thought. He hardly knew his grandparents. What if dad came and found them? "Hey, Julie?" he asked again.
"Yep?" she asked, looking him in the eye.
"What'll happen to my dad? He's not the nicest of guys, what if he finds me? What'll happen to my grandparents?" he asked wildly, coming up with another burning, irrational question every second.
Julie took a deep breath and so did Portman, "I don't know, I guess he'd go to jail if he tried something."
"My dads already been in jail. That's what drove my mom away, what if I drive my grandparents away? What if I'm not good enough to get back into Eden? What'll happen then?" he asked, looking at her with pleading eyes.
This was a side of Dean Portman she'd never, in all her time of knowing him, seen. He was acting like a scared Adam or Guy. This was not the attitude of her loyal, hockey playing, thug-like friend. He started staring at the pattern on the back of the seat in front of him, a scowl crossing his face as he waited for Julie's answer.
"You're dad's not going to come after you. Even if he does, Ducks fly together. We'll all help. With you combining forces with Fulton again, you two'll be unstoppable," she said comfortingly. "Oh, and," she added, "you've got a scholarship to go to Eden. That must mean you've done well enough to stay," she summarized.
"Okay, yeah, whatever," he responded dully and crossed his arm over his chest gloomily. He closed his eyes and remembered the first time he met Julie and the Ducks. He started humming to himself, then it grew louder, forming actual words, "Don't you know that everything's on fire?" he said loudly.
"What?" Julie asked.
She couldn't remember the song. He ignored her, "Don't you know that everything's on fire?" he kept repeating, liking the sound of it.
Two hours later, the plane landed and Julie stood up. They had to wait for the attendant to bring his chair, subsequently; they had to wait for everyone else to get off the plane first.
They disembarked from the plane, Portman having a hard time maneuvering himself through the throngs of people. "So, where are they?" he asked impatiently, his stomach turning.
"We're a long way away from where their supposed to meet us," Julie said, hoping up and down a few times to see where they were. She looked back at Portman, he was taking to long! She waited for him to get in front of her and then she grabbed the handles of his chair and started to push him forward, faster.
"Hey!" he yelled, surprised. He could push himself, he wasn't tired at all. "I think I can do this on my own," he called back to her sarcastically.
"Yeah, but you're taking too long, I want to get there fast. I don't want my mom to find out where I've been, alright?" she shouted at him, rounding a corner.
He finally gave up his protests after fifteen minutes of bickering. Suddenly, she let go of the handles as they rounded another corner. "What was that all about?" he said loudly, turning back to look at her. Julie was grinning from ear to ear.
"Look in front of you," she called.
He arched his back, but couldn't see anybody he recognized ahead of him, there were too many people in his way. "What?" he yelled back.
She stood on her toes and waved to someone she couldn't see. A figure came blitzing through the crowd and hugged her lightly. "So, I guess he didn't come, huh?" Charlie asked solemnly.
Julie let out a huge laugh, "Oh, he came," she retorted.
Charlie looked behind her and over his own shoulder, "Then," he said slowly, "where is he?"
Julie shook her head at his ignorance and pointed over to where Dean was sitting.
"Conway, you blockhead," Portman said with a small, gruff laugh.
Charlie looked taken aback for a moment, but he sighed and said, "Portman! You came! I didn't waste my Christmas money for nothing, then." He gave Portman a small hug as well.
"Captain Duck, where's the rest of your squad?" Portman asked, leaning forward in his chair in hopes to see higher.
Charlie grinned, "Follow me," he motioned and Julie walked by Dean as he carefully wheeled himself between strange people.
They came upon the rest of the team waiting at the exit doors. Guy had his arm around Connie's waist, Ken and Goldberg were chatting it up, and Fulton was crouching down on the floor beside Averman looking for a lens that had fallen out of Averman's glasses.
"Look, there's Julie!" Adam said, standing on his toes to see over the crowd. Dwayne appeared right behind him, his ears were as big as ever and he was wearing another ridiculous cowboy hat, "Yeehaw," he yelled, "it is!"
"Where's Portman?" Guy said, looking behind her for Dean.
Fulton got up and looked around too. His eyes rested on the guy in the wheelchair. "No way!" he yelled.
"Portman!" Connie yelled, running forward to give him a hug.
"Portman!" the rest of the team yelled, crowding around him.
He grinned, "Miss me, guys?" he asked, holding out his arms.
"Ya'll bet your lucky stars we did," Dwayne said, looking at his wheelchair.
In fact, everyone else was too. His demeanor went down a little; he was still the same guy, right? How was he supposed to handle this one?
Fulton slapped him hard on the back, "Good to have you back, buddy," he said jubilantly.
"Yeah!" a chorus echoed cheerfully.
"Nice tux," Portman said sarcastically to Fulton.
He grinned dramatically. "So," Charlie interrupted, "let's go back to the rink for some pizza!"
Another chorus of agreement exploded and they held the door open for Portman to go through.
Outside waiting was a van. Coach Bombay was inside. "Portman?" he yelled from inside. "Is that you?" he shouted again, getting out of the driver's side to check out his new wheels.
"Yep, coach, I'm back!" he yelled and let out another yell. He was finally free.
"Wow," Bombay said, looking him over, "you've definitely changed."
"That's what everybody keeps saying," Portman said, "I'm sporting the wheels this year," he added with a grin.
"Well, let's get you in the car," he said, eyeing the van.
They all felt the urge to help Portman, but he was capable of doing it himself. He simply got out the chair and sat on the ground of the van, and then he put his arms on the seat and hoisted himself upward. He smiled triumphantly, that had shown them he wasn't weak.