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.

Graduation was a surreal moment. Beau sat in the hot sun, leaning back in her black robe, and taking it all in. Cole sat next to her, arm slung around her shoulders and tapping his foot incessantly as she tried her hardest to pay attention to the commencement speaker. Nudging him with her elbow, probably harder than necessary, she rolled her eyes.

"Give it a rest, Procida. This is an important moment. Don't you want to pay attention?"

He grinned, flipping her cap. "Eh. Whatever." He squinted towards the stands in the football stadium. Smiling, he waved and then pointed, drawing Beau's attention. "Hey, there's Charlie, Guy, and your parents." He laughed. "Your mom is crying."

Beau followed his gaze up until she caught Guy waving his arms frantically, completely oblivious to the fact that he was obscuring the view of the antsy mother behind him. What a dork. She waved back, hoping to placate his goofy antics. Next to him Charlie beamed at her. Catching her eye he pointed at his own head, indicating her cap. She had felt stupid looking at herself in the mirror wearing it. The damn things just weren't made for girls with curly hair. She had felt marginally cooler when both she and Cole had cut the numbers from their practice jerseys and pinned them to the cardboard top. It was varsity hockey tradition, and both Charlie and Guy clearly approved.

She turned her eyes to her mother and was dismayed to see that she was, indeed, crying. Little tiny feminine sniffles that had Charlie handing her a Kleenex and her father wrapping an arm around her. Cole had thought it was funny - the blubbery mother, sad to see her baby graduate and become an adult. But Beau knew it was something different all together. Aggie Mayland was not inconsolable over seeing her daughter graduate. She was inconsolable over not seeing her son in a cap and gown. It was a thought that had haunted Beau all day. She had decided to smile and hide it and deal with her demons alone.

Cole nudged her again and she realized that everyone around her was standing up. She winked at him. "Oooh. The big 'move the tassel' moment. Are you ready for this, Cole?"

"I am so ready." His smile slid across his lips as he looked down at her and she felt her throat close up a bit. God, I'm going to miss him. In three days Cole would move hundreds of miles away.

"Graduates," They both turned to look at the stage as the University president spoke too loudly into the microphone. "Move your tassels."

Beau and Cole turned to face each other, laughing as cheers erupted from the stands. "This is it, kid." Beau couldn't be sure, but she thought she maybe heard a bit of choked emotion in his words.

She nodded. "This is it." Reaching her hand up, she grinned at him, hitting him hard in the shoulder. "You're going to make me cry, jackass."

Cole feigned being hurt. "Hey, less hitting and more tassel moving." He shoved her back and then very carefully moved her tassel for her. Beau smiled and then stood on her tip toes to move Cole's tassel.

"I'm gonna miss you like hell, Cole."

Saturday came and went and it was Sunday evening before Guy had time to blink. He still had nine million papers to grade and it was just too pretty out to be cooped up in his new apartment. With Beau and Cole getting ready to move on, he had figured it was time to do the same himself. As he walked towards the park with his satchel slung over his shoulder he thought about his new found independence. Admittedly, he was within blocks of Averman and Goldberg. Security blankets are so underrated. He smiled to himself as he found one of the only empty picnic tables near the lake and sat down, pulling a pen from underneath his wavy blond hair.

"Little Guy Germaine. All grown up and getting more handsome by the minute."

Casey Conway's familiar voice sent a chill down Guy's spine. He slowly raised his eyes up to meet her sultry gaze and something in her stare had his stomach turning and the bile rising in his throat.

"Mrs. Conway, I'm not sure that we have anything to say to each…" She interrupted him, her eyes going hard.

"Call me Casey, dear." She said the last word as if she wanted to spit it in his face and he had to fight the urge to wipe his forehead in defense.

"Right. Um…" He wasn't going to play around. What was the point? "What do you want, Casey?"

She propped a hip on the table and smoothed her hair. "I just recognized you here and thought I should say hello, but if you're going to be so rude…" She rolled her eyes and started to stand. Guy knew he should just let her go, but damn it, Charlie was his friend.

"Why can't you just leave him alone?" He said it quietly, but realized quickly that this was not a conversation that was going to stay in the 'calm and collected' category.

Casey turned on him, leaning close to his face, her features suddenly so hard and angry that she looked older than her 44 years. "What was that?"

Guy sighed. Confrontations were just not his thing. "I said why can't you just leave Charlie alone? He's out of your hair. He and Beau are happy. Why do you want to…"

"Beau?" The way she said the name, sneered it really, had Guy's hackles rising. "Beau? I thought he was done with that little tramp. Jesus, I know that that boy has always been clueless but how can he be so damn blind." She looked to Guy and when he said nothing she continued. "How can you all call yourselves his friends and then stand by and let him get sucked in by that whore?"

In an uncharacteristic move, Guy rose out of his seat, his hands planted on the table, and got in Casey's face. "You shut your mouth about Beau. You don't know anything."

She shoved her nose an inch closer to his. "I know enough to know that he can't even take care of his mother, the woman who gave him life, but he can spend his time romping in bed with some girl who…"

"Some girl who cares about him?" Guy said it sarcastically. "That's more than anyone can say for you. All you are about is his money." On a roll now, Guy stood from the table and stalked around to stare at Casey. "You have no idea how good those two are for each other. After all Beau has been through with her brother…Charlie was so supportive."

"Her brother?" The way she said it had Guy's skin tingling.

Oh shit. "You know what Casey, I have nothing more to say to you. You can leave or I can." He bent over, heart racing, and started gathering his papers. Her sandals flapping on the walkway had him turning to look at her. She was walking away, but stopped to smile sweetly at him.

"Don't bother, Guy. I'm leaving. If you talk to my darling son, tell him I say hello." As he sat down, head reeling, he flipped open his phone and arrowed down to Charlie's name. What did I just do?

Beau looked around her room at the massive stacks of boxes and sighed. She was excited about where her life was headed, namely Detroit, but it didn't mean she really enjoyed change all that much.

"Mayland? Are you in here?" Cole's voice sounded distant and she smiled, rising to her knees on her bed and craning her neck around a wardrobe box. Cole lounged in her doorway, his khaki jacket already on and his travel bag slung over his shoulder. Her smiled faltered as she froze.

"Ah, Procida, it can't be that time yet." She looked down at her watch and whined a little.

Sober, Cole nodded. "Afraid it is. You going to come tell me good-bye or are you just going to hide behind your boxes all day?"

She pouted. "I'm going to hide behind my boxes all day."

Cole picked up an empty shoe box near his feet and tossed it at her. She ducked quickly and it missed her by a mile. He smiled a little sadly. "You still have great reflexes."

Climbing down and meeting him out in the hallway Beau returned the gesture. "You're still a terrible shot with anything other than a puck."

They made their way into the living room where Guy was standing awkwardly. He had come by to pick up the last of his things and to say goodbye. Cole shot him a wave. "Well then it's a good think that they are paying me to shoot pucks, huh?"

"It is a good thing." Beau poked him in the chest and then sighed. "Man, what am I going to do without you guys? I never would have made it through these four years without you."

Cole draped an arm around her shoulders and raised his digital camera to take a quick parting snapshot of them together. "Sure you would have." He looked at Guy, who nodded. "You just wouldn't have had any fun." He glanced at his watch and sighed. "I gotta go, guys." He pulled Beau closer and wrapped his other arm around her. She hugged him tightly and sniffled. Cole shoved her away roughly and coughed. "Okay, you can't start that crying crap." When Beau only looked up at him with watery eyes he pointed. "Seriously. Stop it."

Beau hardened her face and nodded resolutely. "Right. No crying. Be a man." She nodded again and widened her stance, a smile quirking on her lips.

Cole rolled his eyes. "Well let's not go that far." He grabbed her cheeks and kissed her squarely on the lips. "Tell Charlie I'll see him on the ice. I'll be the one kicking his ass."

"Will do."

Cole turned to Guy. "Hey man, come visit any time. I'll get you great tickets." They exchanged a quick hug and a handshake.

"I'll take you up on that. Be safe, man."

Cole moved to the door and winked. "Always, bro." He stepped into the hall. "Later you two. Talk to you soon." And then he was gone.

Guy sank down onto the arm of the couch they were leaving for the Wolfpack juniors that were moving into their apartment. He looked around the empty living room. "Growing up sucks royally."

"I am such a girl." Beau walked over to Guy and laid her head on his shoulder. "I'm gonna cry now, okay?"

Guy smiled and patted her knee. "Go for it."

antiIrony: Well, I will fear your wrath with plastic utensil. And really, who wouldn't like to hang out on a movie set and meet their favorite athlete?

JoanK: You're so tiny! I'm 5'9. Such a freakin Amazon. Give Casey time. She'll lay her true colors out on the line. Crazy woman.

Aradia-rising: All good ideas which I'm going to keep in the back of my mind. I think my sequel is going to be B/C based but with more other character stories, Adam being one of them.

Cc: I'm glad you're grinning. It was a fun chapter to write. I really like writing Devin. He's a blast!

urbanCOWGiRLiee: I dig the new name! And thanks as usual!

Hockey-girl90: Stop! You flatter me.

Johnny: Thanks! Cute was what I was going for, so I'm glad you thought it was.

Pitaqueen: Try three in three days! I'm on a roll! Hahah I'm glad you are enjoying, and I think you might like the story line I'm going to explore in the sequel.

Duckfluff: You're right. Things are never as easy as they seem!