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.

This is just way too surreal. Beau was perched on a chair behind a small color monitor watching intently as a tech played back a scene just shot in the first movie. It was perhaps one of her favorite moments in the story, and one she had always enjoyed hearing Charlie and the others talk about. She looked around the equipment to where Charlie was instructing a thirteen year old on how to properly execute an integral slap shot. They young boy was looking up at him in admiration and it made her smile.

She was shaken from her stare when the phone on her hip buzzed. She quietly excused herself and jogged down the hall before flipping her cell open.

"Hey!"

The person on the other end scoffed in here ear. "Hey? HEY? You leave a flippant little message on my machine that you and Charlie are back together with no details whatsoever and then I call you and all you say is hey?"

The caller's voice had raised the more she spoke and Beau held the phone a foot from her ear, eye squeezed shut in pain. Tentatively she moved the phone back to her ear. "Rachel, you're approaching the 'only dogs can hear you' register. Calm down."

Rachel huffed and started to yell again, but Fulton laid a restraining hand on her shoulder. She looked over at him and covered the phone as he whispered to her. "Remember you called because you were happy for her." Rachel roller her eyes at him, but nodded in acceptance. She took a deep breath and then added a sickeningly sweet tone to her voice.

"Beau, dearest friend of mine, I am very happy for you. However, I am quite angry that you did not give me more details. Bitch." She said the last word with a grin of satisfaction on her face that Beau could hear through the phone. She smiled broadly and laughed.

"I love you too, Rachel. I'm sorry I just left you a message but things were pretty hectic, you know?"

"No, I don't know. You didn't give me any details!"

Beau moved outside into the sun and quietly shut the heavy metal door behind her. She leaned against the warm brick wall and tilted her head up to bask in the heat while she spoke. She engaged the speaker phone so that she could quit pressing the receiver against her earrings. She detailed every single second since she had stepped off of the plane, something she would only do for Rachel, Guy, and her mother. Rachel interjected with questions and feminine sighs and uttered the words, 'Shut up, Fulton!' at least seven times as he told her to stop being such a girl.

"So that's it. That's what happened." She reached down to rub her arm where goose bumps had formed just from telling the story. Rachel, of course, still had questions.

"So what are you guys going to do about the living situation? Detroit and Minneapolis aren't that close together." A struggle ensued in the background before Beau could say anything. She was mildly alarmed until she heard Fulton's gruff voice muffled by distance.

"Give me the phone, Devil Woman." More grunting and Rachel laughing. Finally the commotion settled down and Fulton's rumbling resonance filled the line. "Ignore Little Miss Silver Lining over here, Beau. Congratulations babe."

Beau smiled. She hadn't talked to him in quite some time. "Thanks, darlin'. So how's life in the N-C?"

"Oh well, you know…" He was always so modest. He wasn't the type to talk about how his team had just won the Stanley Cup and he had just signed a four year deal for some big big bucks. "Things are good. We just finally finished unpacking boxes," she could feel his eye roll. "Millions and millions of Rachel's boxes."

"Hey! You asked me to move in. You get me, you get all my crap!" Rachel must have been way across the room because Beau could barely hear her, but her friend made her laugh.

"Oh, man alive Fulton. Did you have any idea what you were getting yourself into with that one?" When he only grunted she laughed again. "Is it good though? Are you guys happy?"

In a rare moment of seriousness Fulton actually answered her question. "Oh yeah. It's great getting to come home to her every night. How's Charlie?"

The door beside her popped open and Charlie sauntered out, grinning, and stopping Beau's breath in her lungs. He had heard the question and leaned up against the wall next to Beau, nudging her hip with his own before speaking. "Charlie is fine, man. How are you?"

"Hey!" More commotion on the other end before Fulton grunted. "Okay, Rachel is getting wily over here and I can't promise she won't ask any inappropriate and embarrassing questions about your sex lives. So, we're going to go, but she requests that you call back later so she can annoy you."

"Fulton!" At Rachel's squeal of unfairness Charlie laughed and leaned closer to Beau's hand and the phone.

"Alright, Reed. Tell the shrimp hey for me. Take care."

Fulton and Beau both said their good-byes and she clicked off the phone and slid it into her pocket.

"You all done for the day?"

He was smiling, but it faded slowly and he shook his head. "Done here, yeah, but I have to make a phone call to my lawyer." He didn't elaborate and she let her fingers play gently against his.

"About your mother?" It hurt her just to say it. She couldn't imagine how it must feel to him.

He looked at her, surprised. "I didn't realize you knew about what was going on."

They started walking towards his rental car and he pulled her close against him, his arm around her shoulders. She squinted up at him. "I read it in the newspaper."

He looked down. "Yeah, I guess a lot of people did." Charlie forced a smile and tugged on one of her curly locks. "Let's not waste one of our few days with you here on her, okay?"

Beau was surprised now, herself. Charlie was never one to hide how he was feeling about something from her. It sent up a tiny red flag in her head, but she too wanted to take advantage of her three days left in California. Her three days left with Charlie before they were again separated by miles and miles. Plastering a smile across her lips she dropped into the car, feeling the pent up heat surround her. "Let's ride, babe."

"Let's go! You guys are so out of shape!" Jesse was skating backwards across the overpass and grinning. Guy was next to him, doubled over laughing as he rolled across the bridge, laughing at Averman and Goldberg as they both struggled to keep up. Jesse was laying it on thick. "How do you get so out of shape when you're skating this often?"

Every Sunday, the four boys, Beau, Cole, and Riley and Connie if they were able to be in town, met near the Mall of America and then skated a huge loop around town. It was less for keeping in shape than it was for keeping in touch. But at that particular moment Goldberg was glowering up at Jesse.

"Look, Hall. Just because you're all Mr. Hockey and running the city league pee-wee teams, doesn't make you the ultimate of being in shape. We both are on our feet all day or behind desks now! What do you want from us?"

Nodding, Jesse skated back and circled around his friend, smacking him on the back. "Fair enough, Goldie." He looked back at Lester. "How's the big newspaper man doing, Averman?"

Waving a persistent bug away from his curly hair Averman rolled his eyes. "I don't know, but I'll ask him if I see him." He grimaced. "I'm definitely not a big newspaper man. They've got me coving the crime beat. It's basically what they give to all the newbies in the hopes of weeding out the really terrible writers. They haven't fired me yet, so that's a good sign."

They were cutting through the middle of the park and Jesse skated across the top of a fountain instead of going around, crowing as he did. When he landed back amidst the others he grinned. "Remind you of anyone?"

Goldberg smiled, thinking about all of the times the Ducks had skated as a team in this very spot. "How is Charlie? I haven't talked to him in a while."

"Probably because he and Beau are too busy making up." Guy wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. When Averman mocked throwing-up he nodded in agreement. "No, um, he's good. I talked to both of them the day after she flew out there and it's like they've picked up right where they left off. He's definitely feeling the stress of the whole thing with Casey, though."

"Speaking of the devil…" Goldberg let a look of disgust descend on his face and they all slowed to hear this new development. "She came in the deli last week."

"Did she even recognize you?" This from Averman, his face was screwed up. "She never gave the rest of us on the team the time of day. I assumed she wouldn't be able to pick us out of a line up."

"Oh, she recognized me all right." Greg rolled his eyes at Guy who dreaded hearing what was next. "She made her order and then when she saw me at the other end of the counter she started cursing under her breath. I thought I heard he say something about 'that bastard son of hers' and it really just got me going so I said to her, 'What was that Mrs. Conway?' She looked right at me and says, get this, 'Don't call me that you little brat. I don't want any part of that name. Conway. Nothing but trouble. I know you were friends with that little dirty bastard son of mine. Are you as ungrateful to your mother as he is to me?'"

"What?" Guy tried to sound angry, but mostly he just sounded depressed. He had it bad with his mother, but nothing like that. My father though…he shook that thought out of his head. He had known that Casey was on a downward spiral, but it was starting to sound like she had hit rock bottom. "That woman is out of her damn mind."

Jesse lost his humor for the first time that day. He looked somberly at his friends. "Do you think she's going to be able to cause any real problems for Charlie?"

Guy shrugged, moving ahead of them, lost somewhere between his own memories and concern for Charlie. "Let's hope not."

Hockey-girl90: Thanks! There's a little left to this story and then I'm thinking about a companion piece with Connie and Guy with cameos made by everyone else including Beau and Charlie.

Johnny: I'm glad it's been surprising you. I didn't want to be too predictable, but it's hard not to be I think.

Joank: Any request for Charlie/Beau situations? I'm always open to suggestion!

Duckfluff: Hmmm. A girl for Adam. Hadn't thought about that, but I like the idea. Who would you like to see it be? Former Duck? Friend of Beau's? OC?

Cc: I'm glad to hear things are shaping up. Take deep breaths and relax! I'm glad you felt like you were there. I think that's the ultimate compliment about writing – to immerse your readers in it.

PITAQUEEN: Thanks! Any suggestions for what you want to see happen in a sequel or another Duck fic?

Katie: Stop! You're flattering me. I'm glad you enjoy it so much. I really appreciate the reviews!

Aradia-rising: Thanks! Tell your friend I hope she enjoys. Oooh, who do you think would be a good Beau in a movie? That could be fun to discuss!

Sinbin05: Thank you, as always!

Tygrlily: I'm starting to feel guilty for all of the crying that's going on. Maybe I should buy stock in tissues!

SugarStace: Thanks so much. I'm glad you guys all liked Devin so much. I think we're going to need to see him again later, huh? (OH! I just got a good idea for him and a sequel. Score!)

BellaLou: I have no words. Thanks!

Flyinghawk: Thanks! Can't wait to hear what you're going to do with Kenny!