Oh, oh, oh...this is far from done...IT WILL NEVER END! MWAHAHAHA!

SPASH Panther- You're welcome. *smiles* Don't worry, the Ducks'll be back soon.

Nebula- Thanks. I'm glad I stopped at the righ time...I was like "Okay, enough boring court stuff," and yeah. Lol...I was just tryin' to get the feel there. ^_^ I'm glad I managed to reel you in with the verdict...lol...and as evil and sadistic as I am, I don't know if I could have given him back to George. Lol. But I guess I wouldn't really put it past me either. ^_^ And as for the story ending, there was a time when this would be where I ended it. George goes to jail, Charlie goes home, and they all live happily ever after. But then I thought "Nah, I think I'll torture him some more." Lol...*evil cackle* It will NEVER END! BWAHAHAHA! *clears throat* Um...yeah. ^_^ Yes, I had to keep George up to par with his evilness. ^_^ Thanks for the feedback, as always! ^_^

Angel Spirit- It totally agree; there's nothin' like an angsty Charlie fic! ^_^ He's just so dang-freakin' lovable! *gets quiet for a moment* Ummm...heh...hehehe...I promise a happy ending, but we still have a long way to go. It won't end for AT LEAST ten chapters. More than ten chapters actually, but I don't know how much more. It will end happily, but I've gotta milk it for all it's worth...lol...I just hope ya can stick with me through it. ^_^

Katie- Lol, *hugs Katie* Thanks for another lovely review. And you'll get to see what happens...man, this'll never end...lol...I must be dramtic and unpredictable! Whoo-ha!

Banksiesbabe- *dances to the da, na, na, na, NA* Heehee...I can hear it in my head too. *smiles* Yes, Charlie's goin' home soon...but me, being myself, must be unpredictable...so I hope people still enjoy it. I have been known to over-so it...lol...^_^ Late for your bus? Lol...sorry. ^_^

DodgerMcClue.aka.Drama-Queen- Yes, it shall be happy...for at least a breif moment. ^_^ *Charlie's smiles REAL big and takes the hockey stick, stroking it lovingly as he mutters 'My preecciiiooouuusss' under his breath* o.O...Heh...yes, Charlie thanks you for the gift. Oh oh, this isn't the end, my friend. *smiles* We've got a long way to go...^_^

Chorins- Sorry for the lackage of Charlie angst. It's returning, I assure you. We have MANY chapters of angst ahead of us. Hardcore angst (I'd like to think it is, at least...lol) so don't worry. Don't fret! ^_^ Lol...I'm okay now...*giggles and looks up sleave* Yep, lots of angst hiding there. *grins* Hehe...okay...I'm done now, I promise. ^_^ Yes, I guess great minds think alike. I was thinking about maybe making George a thing later on...I haven't decided quite yet. And I did actually consider the kidnapping thing. ^_^ I still might do something like that, but if I do, it'll have to be FAR into the future, because I have many things in between. Lol...But I'll definitely keep it in mind. *grins*...*Charlie smiles and eats the cookie, still petting the hockey stick given to him by Dogder*..Hm. Strange, warped little child, ain't he? *pets his head* But we still love him. Thanks for reviewing! ^_^

Sloane- Lol...umm...uh oh. *shifty eyes* You don't like depressed Charlie? *frantically flips through script*...*silence* Uh oh...umm...that could pose as a problem. *nods* Yep. Heh...*smiles* Anyway. Don't worry, the Ducks are on their way! And please don't abandon me because of depressed Charlie! *sobs and clutches at Sloane's feet* Please don't leave me! *breaks down crying* Then I'll be sad!

Rach- Cool! My computer chair is boring and hard. Lol...^_^ Well, Spaghettios are good, just for the record. Lol...^_^ It should a sin to go through life with Spaghettios...^_^ Hehehe...yes! Our little sideline convo it just spectacular! *grins* It's beautiful. *smiles* Oh, it will be very angsty. Very, very angsty. Well, at least *I* think it's angsty...and LIZ thinks it's angsty (I bounce my ideas off her and tell her my plans), so I'm hoping you guys like it too. I kind of basing SOME of Charlie's feelings and actions on a friend of mine who went through a rough time. So yeah...^_^ I'm trying to make it as realistic as I possibly can. Aw, no more Doritos, you say? How sad. *eyes widen* Ooh, chocolate cake? Sounds yummy! ^_^ *sips yummy Coke from pretty red can* I'm glad you like the story!

Chroni- Thanks for reviewing!

Liz- Why thank you! ^_^ And no shame, I couldn't think of anything to say in yours either...lol...have fun doin' biology! *cough*...Lol...^_^

Disclaimer- I don't own Mighty Ducks. Never have, and I probably never will...

-Chapter 35-

Charlie watched as all his belongings were carried out of the house.

He was free.

He was REALLY free...

He felt a presence appear behind him. Charlie bit his lip as a hand clamped gently on his shoulder.

"Come on, Charlie." Gordon said softly.

Charlie continued staring at the house blankly. He hadn't even been given the chance to say goodbye to Jesse...

Charlie bit his lip and nodded stiffly. Surprisingly, the boy felt absolutely nothing. No surging excitement about going home. No over- whelming relief of getting away from his father. Nothing.

The boy turned away from the house and crossed his arms, looking at the green grass below his black converse clad feet. Gordon took this as a sign that the teenager was ready, so he began walking to the rented car. He would drive them to the airport to fly home while the people took care of his stuff. It would take a few days for the stuff to catch up, but it would have to work. Charlie had only a carry-on bag full of clothes and other necessitates to get him through a few days.

Charlie slowly walked after the older man. He felt uncomfortable, for some reason. He had been given the choice between staying with his old hockey coach and going into foster care. Naturally, he chose to stay with Gordon Bombay. But for some reason, as he sat in the leather front seat, he could have felt closer to a complete stranger.

~~~*~~~

They had been driving for about ten minutes before Gordon allowed himself to think.

Bombay had begun to notice the distance Charlie had created between them. It baffled him, and he couldn't figure out why the air was less-than- comfortable. The ex-peewee hockey coach was finding it difficult to figure the kid out. When he had left Minnesota, the boy had appeared as if he would have given a lung to stay. However, he was less than enthused about going back.

He watched Charlie out of the corner of his eye. Still staring out the window.

Gordon knew better then to ask Charlie what had happened between him and his father. Yes, Bombay had a good idea...but there was no telling. Bombay knew that asking Charlie would only upset both of them even more. The coach was just relieved Charlie was safe from whatever harm had been evident in the house of George Conway.

They soon arrived at the airport. Gordon cut the engine and took care of getting the car turned in. Charlie stepped out of the car, leaning against the doorway. However, Gordon stayed in the car for a moment to make a phone call.

Soon enough, Gordon joined him as they began their trek to the plane.

It would be a long trip home...

~~~*~~~

Julie ran down the hallway, swinging open the door so hard it nearly fell off of its hinges. "GUYS! GUYS! GUYS!" she yelled, out of breath. She leaned up against the door, panting.

Adam, Guy, Fulton, Russ, and Kenny looked up from their game of cards.

"What, Julie? Where's the fire?" Adam asked, placing down another card on their makeshift card table.

"You'll never guess who called." She said, bubbling with pent up excitement.

"The president?" Russ asked, trying to see Adam's cards.

Julie rolled her eyes melodramatically. "Nooo!"

They seemed to think this over. "Ummm...Brad Pitt?" Connie asked from her place on the bed. Julie hadn't even noticed her there before.

Julie took a calming breath. "No..." she gave them an annoyed look. "Try again."

They all went into deep, profound thought. "Some really famous rock band begging for me and Portman to join?" Fulton joked, just to get a rise out of Julie.

"GRRRR!!!!!" Julie growled loudly, gripping her hair. "NOOOOOO!!!!!! NO NO NO! BOMBAY called. And now I know asking you to guess WHY would be a wasted, futile attempt. So I will tell you." she said, pausing for the dramatic effect.

They all leaned forward. Except Russ, who was STILL trying to see Adam's cards.

"Why? Why'd he call?" Connie asked, crossing her legs Indian-style, her eyes wide with curiosity.

Julie's lips curled into a smile. "He got Charlie." Every one of their jaws dropped. "He's bringing him home now as we speak."

"Wha...really?" Connie asked, speechless.

"He's really bringing him home? Charlie's really coming back?" Adam asked, completely taken off guard.

"Yeah, Coach said that Charlie be back enrolled back in school by tomorrow. He's really back." Julie nearly squealed, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.

"Awesome! We gotta tell the others! I can't wait until he gets here. It's been what, one and a half, two months since we saw him? I wonder how he's been..." Fulton said as they all began to call the other Ducks in a frenzy, announcing the return of their long-lost Captain.

~~~*~~~

Charlie stared blankly at the people swarming around him as Gordon led them through the mob surrounding the plane exit. He could hear a voice say over the intercom, 'Thank you for flying American Express...'

He glanced down at the sling incasing his arm. He wondered how long it would be before the stupid thing would come off...

Charlie hoped none of the Ducks would ask what had happened...not that he believed that would be the case, it was just a little wishful thinking.

Soon enough, Charlie found himself in another rental car on the way to his Coach's house. He stared out the window again, thinking about the last thing his father said to him...

'You may have gotten away this time, but you'll never escape. I'll never let you go...I may never see you again, but you'll never be able to get rid of me. When you're all by yourself, you can be reminded you weren't worth it.'

Charlie shivered and brought his knees to his chest, holding his bag tightly in his lap.

Gordon saw this. "You okay?' he asked.

Charlie nodded, not removing his glance from the passing trees and buildings outside his window. He rested his head against he window, a blank, vacated look appearing in his eyes. He tightened his grip around his knees and allowed his head to bump gently against the glass window.

As much as he hated to admit it, he still was having problems trusting his old Coach. The image of a father figure, in Charlie's mind, had been brutally shattered over the past three months. Coupling that with Charlie's insecurity about being abandoned again did not help at all. In fact, it only fed fuel to the fire.

It wasn't long before the car came to a stop in front of Gordon's apartment. He was working on getting a house in the area so Charlie could stay close, but it took several months for the process to be completed. He had started around the time Charlie was taken to Montana, so within the end of the month they would be in a real house.

Charlie opened the door and got out, slinging the bag over his shoulder. Gordon got out and locked the car behind him, beckoning Charlie to follow him. The boy obeyed, following his Coach up a set of stairs and down the hall.

As soon as Gordon had unlocked the door, he showed Charlie to his room. It was a decent sized room and had a window on the side. It was definitely closer to what Charlie was comfortable with. The big open space of his father's house had made him feel uneasy.

Charlie slung his bag down on the bed and sat down. It felt so weird to be back in Minnesota...back to the life used to have...

As if nothing had ever happened...

The only problem was it had happened...But the Ducks didn't what 'it' was. Charlie wasn't looking forward to that conversation...

He lay down on his bed and wrapped his arms around the bag, resting his head on the single white pillow. His life was a mess...a complete mess. Sure, he got gotten away from his dad. Sure, he was living with the one person he had wanted to only a few short months ago. Sure, life should be great and dandy again...but for some reason, it wasn't. He wasn't happy.

He tightened his muscles and closed his eyes. Even after all his coach had done, Charlie couldn't make himself trust him again. Deep down, Charlie knew he had no reason to be untrusting, but he could hardly help it. Father figures just weren't the most endearing things to Charlie at the moment...

The boy listened to Gordon as the man walked around in the living room, talking on the phone. Charlie absently wondered what he was talking about.

Suddenly, Charlie heard a knock at his door. He lazily opened one eye and saw Gordon Bombay's face peek out from behind the door. "You going to sleep?" Gordon asked.

Charlie nodded.

"Okay. I just thought I'd see how you were doing before heading on to bed myself. You ready for school in the morning?" the man asked Charlie.

Charlie nodded again, looking down at the sheets emotionlessly. School...he did NOT want to go to school...

"Alright...see you in the morning Charlie." Gordon said softly, closing the door behind him.

Charlie nodded again, closing his eyes as he felt a few tears threatening to form. What he would give for his mom to be back...

~~~*~~~

"Charlie! Charlie, time to get up!" Gordon called as he fixed his tie.

Charlie groaned and snuggled deeper into his covers. He really didn't want to go to school. It would be the first time in a long time since he had seen the Ducks...

He cautiously opened his eyes, blinking a few times as he tried to adjust to the sunlight pouring in from the window.

He sat up, rubbing his blue eyes as he grabbed his sling from the bedside table. He then opened up his bag and grabbed a pair of jeans, boxers, and a navy blue shirt. Then came the toothbrush, toothpaste and brush.

In a zombie-like trance, Charlie timidly opened his door, making his way to the bathroom.

Once there, he closed the door behind him and undressed quickly before jumping in the shower, putting a plastic bag over his cast to keep it from getting wet. Within a few minutes, he got back out and dried off. He threw on his clothes and towel-dried his hair. Luckily his hair partially covered the cut on his forehead. That wouldn't be a very pleasant conversation either...Maybe they wouldn't notice...

Charlie quickly brushed his teeth and took a look in the mirror. He looked semi-presentable. He looked better then he felt; that was for sure. Charlie wasn't positive if he could pull off the unbreakable, in-control captain act today. It would be worth a try, though he seriously doubted they wouldn't catch on.

Then again, they may not even notice...they didn't notice last time something happened. They hadn't noticed the time before the funeral...Maybe he wouldn't have to pretend to be in-control. Maybe they would be too ingrained in the fact that he was supposed to always be in-control, that they wouldn't even notice anything was wrong...

He removed the plastic bag from his casted arm and put on his sling. There was no way they would miss THAT. But he could actually tell them the truth. He would tell them he didn't want to talk about it. Then, hopefully, they would drop it. He wouldn't even have to lie.

Charlie ran the hand of his uninjured arm through his partially wet, curly hair. This day would NOT be easy.