Disclaimer: This will be my only disclaimer for my story. Miracle was made by Disney. They were the ones that produced it. I do, however, own Marie Harris, Connie Thompson, her mother, Mr. and Mrs. Harris, Josh, Tom, Regan Smith, Marie's friends, Marie's ex-boyfriends, Marie's extended family, and other people that were not in the film. Gayle is Buzz's wife. I don't own her.

Author's Note: After reading all those other Miracle stories, I had caught the bug. I kept thinking of writing a story about another Brooks' daughter who helps the team out. Eventually I came up with a story about a girl who is not related to Herb Brooks in any way, shape, or form. Marie is your average girl who is trying to get a degree from the University of Minnesota who is friends with Rob McClanahan. Her friend, Connie, and her become good friends with the team and along with a couple of their other friends they help cheer on the team.


Knock, knock. Marie Harris looked up from her book and was about to get up the grab the hotel door when her friend, Connie Thompson, came out of the bathroom. Marie looked over at the clock on the dresser between the beds and couldn't believe that it was already five o'clock.

"So how did it go?" Connie asked her boyfriend, Rob McClanahan. "It is going to be a long week of hockey try-outs?"

"I made the team," Rob replied after giving her a hello kiss.

"Congratulations," Connie said.

Marie knitted her eyebrows. "But it's only the first day."

"Apparently, Coach Brooks knew who he wanted on his Olympic team," Rob said sitting down on one of the beds. He placed a large stack of paper down next to him.

"What's that?" Marie asked.

"Homework," Rob replied. "He wants us to take a test."

Marie picked the test up and leafed through it. "Why would he want you to take a three hundred question psychology test?"

Rob shrugged. "Who knows?"

"Have you looked at these questions?" Marie asked him. He nodded. "Listen to this one. You're driving along when all of a sudden a deer runs out onto the road. You don't have enough time to stop. Do you A) hit the deer, killing it instantly or B) swerve, missing it, but you end up hurt, badly, by running into a tree."

"Interesting," Connie remarked. "Are all the questions like that?"

"Yes," Marie said while putting the test down.

"So who else made the team?" Connie asked.

Rob started naming a few guys that went to the University of Minnesota. "A couple guys from Boston University."

"I don't know why, but I smell trouble," Marie replied.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Rob said. "I talked to this guy, Mark Johnson, and we decided to go out to dinner. After we thought we'd meet up with the guys at a bar that they were going to."

"That's fine with me," Connie replied.

"This Mark Johnson, he plays for Wisconsin, right?" Marie asked as she tucked a piece of her long blonde hair behind her ear.

"Yeah," he replied. "I swear, Marie, if I didn't know you, I would think you were the average girl who isn't into sports. Just into all kinds of different things."

"Thanks Rob," Marie sarcastically replied while smiling, "I love you, too."

They made plans for everyone to meet up at the room in a half hour. During that time Marie called her parents and told her mom what the plans were now since they had figured they would have been out in Colorado for a week. For about ten minutes, all Marie heard was what a waste of a trip, but she reminded her mom that she wasn't like them. Her dad was a lawyer and her mom ran their household. Her parents were stuck up country club people, and Marie never cared for that world. She wants to live freely without having someone sticking their nose up at her.

When all four met up, the girls were introduced to Mark and then they headed to dinner. They got to know Mark better and he got to know them. Around eight o'clock, the group headed to the bar. Marie and Connie had entered before the guys, but waited to see where they wanted to go.

"Hey Rizzo!" Rob called out to a table in a corner. Marie looked over when the guy, Rizzo, looked over. Rob waved and the guy replied back saying Mac.

"Who's Rizzo?" Connie asked before Marie did.

"Mike Eruzione, from Boston," Mark replied. "He's cool."

The group headed toward the table with a few Minnesota guys that Marie and Connie knew. "What's going on guys?"

"About time you guys showed up," Buzz Schneider heckled.

Rob gave Phil Verchota a backwards high five before replying, "You know me, had to make a fashionably late entrance."

Jannie Janaszak took a sip of his beer before looking up. When he did, a smile spread across his face when he saw Marie. "Hey Marie, how's it going?"

Marie turned to him and smiled back. "How's my favorite goalie?" She went over to him and gave him a hug. "I see your mustache is coming in smoothly there Jannie."

He ran a hand over his facial hair. "Yeah. I'm better now that you're here, actually," Jannie replied to her question. "Do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Take my test for me?" Jannie said while holding the test out to her.

Marie laughed. "No, that's ok, Jannie." Marie turned toward Connie when she asked her to head up to the main bar with her. She excused herself to Jannie and after they got there, she turned back to the scene in the bar. She was looking around when her attention landed on the table that Rizzo guy was sitting at. Rizzo and another guy were in a heated discussion. The guy who sat in between them looked a little uncomfortable, and if she could see the fourth guy, she'd be sure he was, too. The guy got up and said something before exiting the bar.

"That's Mike Eruzione, Silk Silk, Ralph Cox, and the guy who left is Jack O'Callahan," Jannie said coming up next to her. "Can I get another pitcher of beer?" He turned toward Marie and noticed that she was checking the bar out. "Is it busier than O'Malley's?"

"About the same," Marie said.

"Hey bartender, you should let her work back there. She works at a bar."

"It's my week off. Shut up," she said while lightly hitting him in the shoulder.

Jannie laughed. "So how is Tom?"

Marie smiled at her brother's name. "He's great. He proposed to Julie two months ago. They decided to wait to be married in two years."

"He's got how many years left at Yale?" Jannie wondered.

"He only has two years left of law school."

"That's cool," he replied while leaning back against the counter. "Anybody in the picture for you?"

Marie shook her head. "Not since Will."

"Will was a jerk at the end," Connie said. "Remember that."

"What happened?" Jannie asked curiously.

Marie bit her bottom lip deciding if she should tell him. "I spent six and a half months with him thinking he was happy with me. Four months ago, I found him with some girl. You know same old story."

"Except it wasn't just some girl," Connie added.

"Connie, he doesn't need to know that," Marie scolded her friend. "I don't really want to talk about it. It's history, it's over."

Connie let it go and the three of them headed back to the table.

About an hour later, Marie had gone to the restroom. When she was gone only for those few minutes, the Boston table moved over to hang out with the Minnesota table. When she got back, she was introduced to Rizzo, Silk, and Cox. They talked for a bit before she asked about Jack.

"He just has a chip on his shoulder," Silk replied.

"Over what?" she asked.

"'76 playoffs still makes him angry," Rizzo replied. "Mac cheap shot him…"

"Oh," Marie said. She knew, she was there when it happened. "Say no more."

"I just hope he doesn't start anything to get himself cut," Cox said.

Rizzo shook his head. "He won't."

Marie took a sip of her drink. She hoped Jack didn't try anything either, but you never know.

vvv

A week later, the team was out on the ice for their first practice in Bloomington, Minnesota. Marie and Connie had decided since it was summer, and the only other thing they had to do was work, they'd go over and watch. Marie had grown up watching all kinds of hockey. Her older brother, Tom, and her younger brother, Josh, have been playing hockey since they were four. She grew up watching them play.

Their dad was a former player, but ended his career when he injured his knee. He got his kids into it because he loves the game and wanted to share a passion he loves with them. Now he only wants what's best for them. Marie is a Marketing degree student at the University and yet to her, she feels that for him that's not good enough. It's like to him, she has to go to Yale like her brother, for him to be satisfied with her life style. She just doesn't want to be unhappy in something that makes her dad unhappy sometimes.

Connie and Marie were talking while they were watching. They were impressed with Mark Johnson when he got the puck and started skating with it. It looked like he was going to skate between the two defensemen when all of a sudden he went to the right and passed them. From there he scored.

"Johnson! That coast-to-coast stuff may work here, but it won't against the teams we'll be playing," Coach Brooks yelled. "Next line up, let's go. Let's run it again."

"Go Robbie!" Connie shouted when Rob went onto the ice.

Marie noticed a player was about to go out onto the ice when Jack O'Callahan went out instead. When Coach Brooks explained what the next play was, she noticed the look Jack gave to Rob. "Oh man," she whispered. The whole incident was like in slow motion. When Rob got the puck, his head was down and he didn't see Jack coming toward him. "Oh God!" she said, wincing when Rob went down, hard onto the ice.

"Who the hell does that guy think he is?" Connie was miffed. "Get up Rob!"

"Nice hit, OC," Silk called out from the bench.

"Tell your boy here to keep his head up, and he won't have to worry about it," Jack simply said.

Rob got up and shouted, "Let's go!"

Marie and Connie stood up and was in shock that no one was trying to break up the fight. They were encouraging them more. After a few minutes, the two finally ended up on the ice with OC on top of Rob.

"Well, how about it, boys. Look like hockey to you? Looks more like a couple of monkeys trying to hump a football to me, I don't know. What do you think, Craig?" Coach Brooks said.

"Yeah," Craig Patrick, the assistant coach, agreed.

"You want to settle old scores, you're on the wrong team. We move forward starting right now! Skating… passing. Flow… creativity. That is what this team is all about, gentlemen."

Marie sat down and listened to the rest of what Coach Brooks had to say. In a way, a good thing came out of what just happened, she figured. Jack got his revenge for what Rob did in '76. Now maybe Jack can move on. She really did hope so.

vvv

O'Malley's Bar was busy. Marie was making drinks one after the other. She recognized a few people, the regulars, but that was about it. "Can I get three pitchers of beer?" She turned toward the guy and a smile spread across her face. "Hi Silk."

"Marie?" Silk Silk said in surprise. "Didn't know that you worked in a bar."

Marie started to pour some of the tap beer into a pitcher. "I do."

"That's cool. I hope no one tries to start anything with you. That would be terrible."

"Nobody does. It's like they know if they do, they'll get kicked out," Marie replied. "My dad wasn't thrilled when he heard I got the job here. He was worried about strange men trying to pick up his only daughter."

"Are you the only child in your family?" he asked.

"I have an older brother and a younger brother. Middle child," she told him. "I can handle myself. My brothers are both hockey players and I learned from them how to defend myself."

"Well that's good."

Rob and Connie came up at that time and all Marie did was wince at the black eye. "Oh my... are you ok?"

"I'll live," Rob stated. "Jack is such a candy ass."

"Mac, let it go," Silk said.

"Why should I?"

Marie replied, "He got his revenge for what you did to him in '76."

"So?"

"Maybe you should make amends," Connie said.

"What? No way in hell am I doing that."

Marie sighed. "You know what? If you want to be kicked off the team, by all means be kicked off the team for something so stupid. This is your shot at something great and you're about to blow it."

"Whatever, Marie."

Marie sighed again and closed her eyes before going back to work.