Sorry guys I just realized I had totally skipped this chapter when I was up dating more often, it got lost in my archives. I thought it was pretty good and I wanted to know what you all though. Again I's so so sorry this is out of order. But I really like this one.

Nikki sat on the bench with a few of the players as her father was running a break out play with the rest of the team. She was supremely disappointed that she had done her hair and make-up that morning, and came in to practice in one of her pretty little skating outfits, and now her father wouldn't let her out on the ice. She was just sitting there, freezing her butt off, but looking very good in the process.

"Johnson!" She heard her father yell. "That coast to coast stuff may work here, but it won't against the teams we'll be playing. Next."

"Morrow let be take this one," she perked up hearing O.C.'s voice and watched him go out onto the ice eyeing Robbie evilly. She stood up and leaned against the door. This was going get very interesting.

"This is a break out play gentlemen," her father called. "So please let's get rid of the puck early." He blew the whistle and the boys started off. The little black puck zoomed this way and that.

"Here! Here!" Rob called as Jack charged him, then. THWACK! Nicolette grimaced as Mac went down hard. It was slightly comical how he stayed there on all fours for a while collecting himself with his backside out.

"Whatcha hitting like that for O.C.," one of the boys asked.

"He didn't even have the puck," commented another.

"Nice hit O.C.," Dave Silk called from the bench.

"Tell your boy to keep his head up, next time he won't have to worry about it," Jack shot. Nicolette had to wonder vaguely what he meant by that. Robbie got to his feet and dropped his gloved.

"Come on lets go," he yelled in anger. She saw Craig move to go break things up, but her father stopped him.

"Let them go," he said. This got her pretty angry at this point, her father was going to stand by and allow those two behave like heathens. This was insane.

She hopped over the boards and got out onto the ice. The boys were shouting encouragement to Jack and Rob. Jimmy was out of his circle, and other boys were coming out to get a better view.

"Stop it!" she yelled to no avail. "Stop it right now!" And of course no one listens. She grabbed Rob around the waist as Jack pulled him into a head lock. "Please just break it up!" She pleaded as the continued to hit at each other. She tried to pry them apart, only to have to duck as O.C. swung a fist that sent Mac back down.

Mac got to his feet and charged O.C., this time they sandwiched her. Nicolette yelped in terror as the three of them went down hard. O.C. and Mac continued the scuffle as she tried to get out from under them. Now the other players were trying to pull them apart, and when they had both gotten up Nicolette was curled up in a fetal position with her arms covering her face.

"You okay," one of the players asked her; Buzz, that was his name. She peeked out from behind her hands.

"Is it safe to come out?" she asked as he leaned over to help her to her feet. He got her half way up when her feet slid out from under her and they both came crashing down again.

"Does that look like hockey to you," her father asked when Buzz finally got her upright again. "Looks more like a couple of monkeys trying to hump a football to me."

"Yea," Coach Patrick agreed.

"Felt like it too, Doc!" She moaned in pain, as her father continued to give the boys a pep talk about becoming a team, Doc humored her with a quick examination before telling her to walk it off.

"Let's start with some introductions," her father was saying. "You know who you are, where you're from." He looked over at Mac.

"Rob McClanahan. Saint Paul, Minnesota," he announced awkwardly.

"Who do you play for?" Coach Brooks asked.

"For you, here at the U," Mac answered, looking as confused as Nicolette felt.

"You knew that dad," she reminded him, fearing for a moment if her father may have been in the early stages of Alzheimer's or something.

"And over here?" he asked of O.C.

"Jack O'Callahan," he answered. "Charleston, Mass. Boston University."

"And here," her father pressed again.

"I'm Ralph Cox," replied Coxie. "And I'm from wherever's not gonna get me hit—" That drew a short burst of laughter from his teammates and coaches.

"Yea I bet it's nice there," Nicolette added dryly, which gained a few coy smiles from the players.

"And this is my daughter Nikki," Herb announced. "She's going to help us practice. Now everybody get on the goal line. We're doing wind sprints, the catch is, if Nikki here, in her cute little pink skating outfit, beats you back, we do it again."

All the boys wore confident grins as they lined up, but so did Nikki, because she new something they did not know. She was faster on the ice than she was on her own two feet. Coach Patrick blew the whistle and the games began.

On the way up she pulled ahead of most of the boys, with the exceptions of O.C., Mac, Silk, and Rizzo. She beat Silky and Mac to the boards when Mark Johnson pulled ahead of her. On the way back, Rizzo and O.C. just ran out of steam, until only Mark finished before her.

"Dang," she sighed hitting the boards. "I didn't see you coming." She gave him a congratulatory pat on the shoulder. "Think you can do it again?"

"Without a doubt," he said as they lined up again. The whistle blew, and this time there was no uncertainty about who would come in first. Mark pulled way ahead of everyone with Nicolette finishing the closed behind him.

"Damn it," O.C. hissed hitting the boards beside her.

"She's fast," Cox admitted between slight gasps. "Why is she so fast?"

"In figure skating," she said. "I have to be fast to build up momentum."

"For what?" Mac asked. She took off across the ice and entered a Salchow from a backwards cross over, and landed on a backwards glide on the outside edge of her right blade.

"Now, if I had my music, I'd show you the rest of my program," She said, "But I don't, so we have to keep skating." They were skating back and forth for almost an hour before some more scrimmages.

Nicolette followed her father to the boy's dorms that night.

"Dad," she questioned. "What are we doing here?"

"One of the boys didn't turn in their test," he explained as he knocked on the door.

"It probably stinks to high heaven in there," she moaned. "Why couldn't you coach tennis or something cultured like that? How about golf? You like golf."

"Hey, Jim," her father started, ignoring her completely. Her head shot up in attention.

"Hey Coach," Jim answered. "Nikki."

"Hi Jimmy," she replied with the sexiest smile she could manage at this point.

"Been wondering why you wouldn't take this test," Coach Brooks asked as his daughter started standing up on her toes.

"Yea...um...it's nothing against you or anything, but," He stopped a moment as Nikki grabbed his shoulder and tried peering into his room. "What are you doing?"

"Heel, Nikki," Herb ordered pulling her away.

"I just don't see what it has to do with stopping a puck," Jim finished, keeping a careful eye on Nikki.

"That's alright," Coach answered. "You just took it anyway." He turned to leave.

"Your eyes are so blue," Nikki stated dreamily, as her father grabbed her arm and pulled her away, leaving Jimmy standing in the doorway flabbergasted.

"Someone gets an 'F' in subtle," Nikki's father warned.

"Why should we have to hide the way we feel about each other," Nikki started looking back at the door.

"I think you're a little out of your mind," Herb reprimanded.

"No I'm not," she protested. "See look here he comes to confess his undying love to me."

"What?" Her father started turning around.

"Coach," Jimmy called, catching up to them. "So if I took it?" Herb cleared his throat and glared at his daughter.

"This is my cue to wait in the car, isn't it," she asked. Herb nodded. "Right, Bye-bye Jimmy, see you tomorrow."

"Has she had her head checked," Jimmy asked uneasily.

"You know what I meant to ask you." Herb inquired, "How's you're family been doing?"

"Alright," Jimmy answered.

"And you?"

"Okay."

"You know I've got twenty-six guys trying to make this team, Jim," Coach Brooks started. "Only twenty are going to make it to Lake Placid, so I got to know how committed you are to being here, because if your not, you're just wasting our time."

"Look Coach," Jim started. "My dad's going through a real rough time right now. He lost his job, and with Atlanta trying to sign me...Bottom line is, my mom wanted this, me playing on this team. Hard to say no to someone who drove you to practice everyday, right?"

"You didn't answer my question," herb pressed.

"I'm here aren't I," Jim answered.

"I'll see you in the morning Jim," Coach answered. "And don't forget to bring your game."

Nicolette was seated in the back of the car with Doc and Coach Patrick, waiting in line for gas. She was starting to wonder if maybe she had made the wrong choice in ditching practice for the day.

"So much hatred and fear," Doc sighed. She perked up with a light, "hmm?"

"Between the Soviets and the West," he explained. "Always these nuclear weapons pointing at each other. It's bound to end in disaster."

"Come on Doc," Craig urged. "They'll work it out, I mean they don't have any other choice right?"

"It seems that some people just never get along," Doc insisted.

"Like fathers and daughters," Nicolette put in, leaning over the seats.

"Like hockey players from Boston and Minnesota," Craig added.

"Our own private Cold War," Doc noted. They chuckled light heartedly.

"Doc, let me ask you something," Coach Patrick began. "You've known Herb a long time right?"

"I've known Herb quite some time, yes," Doc answered.

"I've known him all my life," interjected Nikki.

"Does he always treat his players like this," Craig pressed.

"No, this, I have never seen," Doc said, "But believe me Craig, Herb has a reason for everything he does."

"Well he's winding up with twenty players—"

"And a daughter—"

"That hate him," Coach Patrick finished.

"Well maybe if they hate him," Doc began. "They won't have time to hate each other. And you too back there, maybe you can stop hating hockey so much."

"Yea, right," she laughed. "How about when hell freezes over?"