Disclaimer - I do not own anything even remotely related to The Mighty Ducks. I only wish I had thought of them first…
Italics indicate character thought.
-
Gavin Neumann looked from note card to phone and punched in the number for Frank and Ava Hall. It was almost midnight now, but he hadn't wanted to call them until he had something definitive to report. He sighed, listening through the line to the fourth, then fifth ring. The was a clattering as someone picked up.
"Do you know what time it is?" The voice was gruff.
Gavin cleared his throat. "Uh, Mr. Hall. My name is Gavin Neumann and I'm…"
Frank sat up in bed. "Mr. Neumann, I'll repeat myself. Do you know what time it is?"
Oh, man. "Yes, sir. It is," he looked at his watch, "eleven fifty-six. I'm calling about your son, Jesse." He paused a beat and when he got no response continued. "I'm his hockey coach. During our game tonight Jesse was checked pretty hard and he hurt his ankle. We just brought him home from the hospital and I thought you would want me to give you a call."
Running a hand over his face Mr. Hall shook his head. "How badly is my son hurt?"
Alright. Now we're getting somewhere. "Well, I know that over the summer Jesse got a minor tear in a tendon in his ankle. When he was checked tonight, that tear, which wasn't healed all the way apparently, worsened."
"Get to the point, Mr. Neumann."
Gavin was surprised at the rough reaction and cleared his throat. "Jesse's tendon is completely severed; quite frankly, he would have been better off if he had broken the bone. Tendon tears can take an extremely long time to heal."
"So what you're saying is that Jesse won't be playing hockey this season?"
"Well, yes." I can't believe this guy. His only concern is if Jesse can play?
"Coach Neumann, I'm surprised to hear that you care, as you didn't even see fit to give Jesse a scholarship."
This threw Gavin off. He had been disheartened early in the night when Jesse rambled on to him, nearly in tears, about how he wouldn't be able to work, how he wouldn't be able to play, and how if he wasn't working he wouldn't be able to pay for school. Hearing Mr. Hall now, he understood at a whole new level. "Mr. Hall, Jesse is a valuable member of our team, scholarship or not, and I will be trying my hardest to help in any way that I can."
"Ha. Well that's wonderful Mr. Neumann, because Jesse knows how we feel about him coming to that school. We do not support his decision and therefore we do not help him with money. An injury doesn't affect that." And then he hung up.
Gavin set the phone gently back in the cradle.
-
"Being back and everything just being normal is…weird." Beau looked out the window of the cab as it drove through the outskirts of campus, headed towards her dorm room. She turned, looking back at Charlie, his head leaned back on the seat, eyes cut over to look in her direction. She changed the subject before she could upset herself. "So, do we have any more info on Jesse?"
He shook his head. "No. I'm going over there tonight though for our weekly dinner though, so I'll let you know."
"Yeah, tell him I'm thinking about him."
"Sure."
Silence followed, and as they were getting closer to Beau's stop, she felt her stomach tighten. "Charlie, I…" she wasn't sure how to say it, or if she even could without getting chocked up. "Having you with me for the past few days has been…"
Charlie looked over at her, smiling at little as she looked out the window, down at the floor, anywhere but at him. Her voice cracked a little as she continued.
"I've felt…safe." She looked him in the eye now. "I…you are the most amazing guy I've ever met." She reached her hand out, covering his where it lay on the seat between them, strengthened by the way he easily entwined his fingers with hers. He leaned over, reaching up a hand to cup her cheek, running his fingers up to rest in her hair. His lips touched hers gently at first and then deepened into something passionate. He felt his stomach clutch and his heart start to race.
I can't believe a kiss is doing this to me. Just a kiss.
The cab pulled to a stop, jolting them out of their private little world. Beau pulled back and smiled, a tiny shy smile.
"What are you doing to me, Charlie Conway?"
-
"Hall, you jackass, sit down!" Averman pointed a finger across the room, admonishing Jesse as he struggled to stand up. "I'll bring your plate in!"
Jesse signed. "Jeez. I'm not dying, mom!"
Once a week, always on Sunday, the former Ducks all gathered at the big house where Charlie, Guy, Fulton, and Adam lived or, less frequently, at the small apartment shared by Jesse, Averman, and Goldberg. They took turns cooking, a fact they loved to share when trying to pick up girls, and more often than not it was actually edible.
It felt good to Charlie to be back, but he found himself surprised to already be missing Beau's company. He had only been away from her for two hours.
Averman handed Jesse a plate of chicken parmesan and salad and then dropped to the couch with his own plate. Fulton was on the floor and spoke before stabbing a piece of lettuce. "So, Conway, is Beau glad to be back?"
Charlie nodded, unable to speak around a mouth full of food.
Guy sauntered in with a glass of Coke. "We all chipped in and bought this big bouquet of flowers and had them sent over to her room. They're very cool. Gerbera Daises, Tulips, Orchids. She'll definitely dig them."
Goldberg was laughing, in danger of shooting his drink out of his nose. He finally swallowed. "What are you, Germaine? A florist?"
Before Guy could retort Jesse saved him. "No, Connie just has him very well trained." He looked at Charlie. "But I do think she'll like them a lot. We signed the card 'Welcome back. We can't wait to have you beside us against Grand Valley. Love, Your Wolfpack Brothers.'" He screwed up his face a little. "Do you think she'll be upset we called ourselves her brothers what with everything that happened?"
Charlie considered and then shook his head. "No, she loves you guys already. She'll most definitely cry though."
Portman scoffed. "We should have signed it 'Love, Everyone Who Cared Except Tommy Lex.'"
"He didn't chip in?"
They all shook their heads.
"Bastard." He took another bite before looking over at Jesse. "So, what's the plan now, Jesse." Unless you were blind, you couldn't miss the uncomfortable look that passed over Jesse's face. He gulped audibly.
"Well, that's a good question. I've got to talk to the people where I was working, but I'm pretty sure they're going to let me go. I can't do heavy lifting on crutches." It was so embarrassing earlier that night when he had told them all about the job that was just barely helping him to get through school. "I think I'm probably going to have to take a semester off." He tried to play it off. Getting upset in front of them wouldn't do anything but make him feel like an idiot.
Six pairs of eyes shot up to focus on him, food now forgotten. Adam was the first to speak.
"Jesse, there are seven of us. We'll figure something out. You aren't quitting the team, and you aren't moving out of this apartment. You are not taking a semester off."