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.

"I love you too, Conway." Beau hopped over the broken glass and sauntered toward Charlie. She stood between his legs where they straddled the bar stool and made a kissy face at him. Lightening quick she snaked out a hand and hit him…hard…on the side of the head. "But don't freakin' sneak up on a girl like that! Jesus!" Admonishment out of the way, she leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his lips, letting her forehead rest against his afterwards. "Hi."

He grinned back at her. "Hi." Charlie wrapped his arms around her waist and gently lifted her up to sit on his leg. Beau couldn't help but be reminded of how much muscle he had gained since going pro. She sighed contentedly and nuzzled into his neck.

This is what it's all about. Coming home to this. This is…perfect. The thoughts were so clear in Charlie's mind that he wasn't quite sure why he hadn't been thinking them before. His face sobered with intense love, he pulled back a bit to look down at Beau, and he brushed a wild curl out of her face. When she smiled at him, it landed hard. His voice was serious and chocked full of emotion.

"Move in with me, Beau." It wasn't a question – more a statement of what only seemed natural to him. But everything stood still for a moment as her brow wrinkled.

"What?"

He couldn't read her tone and assumed she just wanted to hear it again. He laughed. "You heard me. Move in with me."

Beau slid down from his leg and he could tell from the rise in tension in the air that he wasn't going to like her answer. She walked a few paces away before turning abruptly and striding back to stand a few inches before him. "Why are you asking me now?"

This isn't good. Charlie set his hands on her waist, but she gently brushed him away. "Why? I'm asking you now because I walked in here and saw you and I love you and…it would be great, Beau, don't you think?" Certainly she thought so, right?

Now it was Beau who put her hands on Charlie's knees, her face softening, and he resisted the urge to brush her away. "Yes. Definitely, Charlie. I think living together would be great…" she trailed off, looking up at the ceiling, thinking.

"But?" His voice sounded so accusing, it made Beau's hackles rise. With their strong wills and their stubborn personalities they had always been good at fighting. Looked like it was time to start again.

Beau backed up a step, resting her hip on the arm of the couch and crossing her arms over her chest. "But why didn't you ask me earlier? Like when I was talking about how terrified I was to move to Detroit. Or when I was having trouble finding a place. Or when I was out buying all new furniture. Why not then, Charlie?" Her voice had risen. Beau wasn't one to argue passively.

Charlie shrugged and Beau rolled her eyes.

"God! You guys are always shrugging. That's not an answer! Say that it wasn't a good time or that you just didn't think you could live with me!"

"That wasn't it at all!" Charlie had been fidgeting with a balled up wad of packing paper and in frustration he threw it at her, smacking her squarely on the forehead. He saw her breath in very deeply, controlling her rage, and if he hadn't been so upset he would have laughed.

"Then what was it?"

"I don't know! Okay?" What a 'male' answer. Why didn't you Charlie? Because you're an idiot, that's why. "I don't know, Beau." He said it so pathetically, and he saw her features soften. They had always fought hard, but they had also always fought quickly. "Not because I didn't think it was a good idea." He walked over, touching her shoulders and bending down to force her to look him in the eyes. "Growing up is scary shit, Mayland. You've said that yourself. Moving in together would be very…"

"Grown up?" She finished his thought for him and he smiled nodding. Now it was her turn to brush a hand over his hair. "I'm sorry I got so mad. This is just nuts, all of a sudden living in a different state, all alone." He started to say something, but she raised a hand stopping him. "But I think it's good." Beau looked up tentatively. "I can't move in with you, Charlie."

Now it was he who backed away. "So a minute ago you were mad because I hadn't asked you sooner, and now you're saying that you wouldn't move in with me anyway?" Beau could tell by the way his voice was rising that the conversation was not likely to end well. "You are the most fickle person I know!"

Beau nodded. "I know, and I'm sorry. That's what you got when you signed on to date me again." She said it with a smile, trying for a joke, but he didn't seem to get it. "Charlie, as hard as it is to be here, doing the alone thing for the first time, it would be too…" she fought for the right word, "…safe to live with you." He just stared at her so she rushed on. "All of my life I've had this support system right there in the same room with me. My parents, Parker, living with Guy and Cole. I'm twenty-two now. Don't you think I owe it to myself to be my own support system for a little while?"

Charlie stood up, his feelings hurt. It was unfounded, he knew, but they hurt anyway. He walked to the door and made himself stop when Beau sniffled behind him. "Does it even matter what I think? It sounds like you have your mind made up pretty much already."

An hour later the phone rang and Beau was absolutely sure that it was Charlie. As long as she had known him, barring the time that they had broken up, they had made it a point never to go to bed mad at each other. You made up, one way or another. That's just the way it was. Smiling, she picked up the phone, her mouth already running.

"Charlie, I'm sorry. I totally understand where you're coming from, but I hope after thinking about it that you can see my point too, you know? I need to be an adult. I need to know…"

A soft voice on the other end interrupted her. "I'm sorry, I must have the wrong number."

Shit. Beau felt her heart drop at the realization that it wasn't Charlie calling to make amends. She shook it off though. "No, I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else. Let's try that again." Beau smiled, clearing her throat. "Hello?"

The woman on the other end was silent for a minute, probably thinking that Beau was crazy. "Um, okay. May I speak to Beau Mayland, please?"

"This is she." Beau waited patiently.

Again the woman paused and then laughed nervously. "Ms. Mayland? This is Nora Kellerman."

Beau grinned. "Devin's mom! Oh my God! How great to finally talk to you, Mrs. Kellerman!"

Beau's enthusiasm was, as usual, contagious and Mrs. Kellerman couldn't help but laugh. "Please. Call me Nora."

Beau nodded, sitting down at her dining room table and playing with the corner of her placemat. "Only if you call me Beau."

"Fair enough." Nora paused, replaying her script in her head. "I hope you don't find it odd that I'm calling. I just wanted to introduce myself to this woman that my son is just infatuated with."

"Not at all!" Beau laughed. "I have actually been meaning to call you. I figured your ex-husband had explained, but I wanted to make sure you understood why this adult was emailing back and forth with your son. I hope that you don't mind."

"Are you kidding?" Nora said it with true exasperation. She couldn't believe the girl would even think that way. "Devin has become a different child since you came into his life. He's so much more confident, and vocal. Good Lord has that child become vocal!"

Beau flushed with the thought. "Well, you have an amazing son, Nora. Sounds like he's really zeroing in on this idea of playing high school and college hockey, huh?"

Nora nodded and then caught herself, shaking her head. She can't see you nod through the phone. "Yes, he certainly has. I'm not actually sure how I feel about that and thought maybe you could give me some insights. My ex-husband seems to feel that you are a pretty educated authority on the subject."

"Hmmm." Beau gave it ample thought before speaking. "Well I spent a lot of my childhood being told that I wouldn't play past pee-wee because I was a girl. Luckily I had a coach that didn't agree with that. That's the key to getting your foot in the door. Someone who can really assess your talent and be honest with you about it."

"So you don't think it's a pipe dream?"

Beau cringed at the term. "Not at all. I have a great friend who is a high school coach, and I know he'd be thrilled to watch Devin play and give him some feedback. And I'm pretty sure I could get our old college coach to do the same." She thought again. "As for being a pipe dream, I just think it's important to instill in kids playing college sports that their real dream is whatever the decide to study full time. Playing pro sports is the backup, you know?"

"Archie said I would really like you." Nora couldn't help but laugh. Her ex-husband was always right. It was infuriating.

"Well that's certainly a compliment. How is Devin, by the way?" Beau smiled at the thought of the boy. She had already started considering him a member of her extended family.

Nora sighed. "Well, he's having a hard time with all the hospitals and whatnot, but he's such a strong kid. He'll be okay."

"Woah." Beau said it with a hint of dread. "Hospitals?"

"Oh my." Nora wasn't sure how much to share. "I just assumed that Devin had told you." She sighed again. "I have cancer. It's…well I'll just say it. They are giving me six to twelve months."

What do you say when someone tells you something like that about themselves? "Nora, I'm so sorry." But her thoughts were drawn immediately back to the boy. "Devin knows?"

"Yes he does. It's one of the reasons I called. He seems to tell you so much more than he tells us. He said the other day he had always wished he had an aunt or uncle – Archie and I are both only children and neither of us really have any family. I just thought you should know how attached he is getting to you."

Beau thought about the emails, her plans to have Guy help the boy with hockey, and that she wanted his thoughts on the new book. She blurted her next statement with little thought. "I'll never have nieces and nephews. My only brother died when we were eighteen. I'd love to be a part of Devin's life, Nora, and yours." She risked a happy tone to her voice. "I'm always in need of a good female friend. You have no idea how many men you get stuck with when you play a sport like hockey."

Nora smiled, wiping away here tear. Beau couldn't know, but her and Archie had had a virtual bevy of friends. But they were all 'couple' friends. And when the divorce was final and Archie moved to California, the friends stuck around for a month or two, but then they all slowly faded away. Having a female friend she could talk to on the phone, via email, was something she desperately wanted. And to know it was someone Devin loved…well that was a huge bonus. "I would really like that."

Charlie's phone rang and he smiled when he saw Beau's name on the caller id. He knew she didn't want to go to bed mad, and now he kicked himself a bit for not being the one to make the first move. He picked up the phone.

"I'm sorry, babe."

She laughed in his ear. "Damn it! I was going to be the one to say it first!" He imagined her wagging her finger at him. "Just you remember that I was the one who called you."

"Duly noted."

Her voice was tentative now. "Charlie, can you understand why this is important to me?"

He sighed. "Of course I can, Beau. You just have to understand too that the male ego is a fragile thing." He pouted for effect. "And you gave mine a good kick in the balls this afternoon."

"I love you, Charlie."

He grinned. "I love you too, Mayland. Now go to bed in your very own apartment."

Hockey-girl90: Sorry for the slow update. Crazy week!

Urban: Thanks! "Girls Just Want to have Fun" is one of my all time favorite songs. I have definitely fake microphone sung to it!

Cc: Thanks as always. I'm glad I'm not the only one fake mic singing. My roommate thinks I'm crazy, but now I can site your craziness as a defense!

Joank: Yup. High school and college. SCARY. And I'm glad I can be a highlight!

Duckfluff: Thanks and congratulations! The real world is a scary place. Good luck in it!

Pitaqueen: Sorry to have missed out on the 5 for 5. Things have been NUTS. But I'm back and will try to do at least one more tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed!

Sinbin05: I LOVE cookies. Thanks!

antiIrony: Thanks! I enjoy trying to be funny occasionally. Every once in a while it even works!

Johnny: Yeah, Casey sucks. Thanks!