hey everyone! I'm back, and since I had computer access, Cimmy and I could come up with chapters. I just couldn't post them. so here's chapter 24. hope you love it, as things will be heating up again…look for…eh, why spoil the surprise? hit the review button when finished, and thanks to all the reviewers!

Hope you all had a wonderful week!
-Kristine and Cimmy

quick story notes: the story's rating has been changed to R because the language/sexuality of the characters in the story is getting stronger…essentially, there's more cursing and more smut. *grins* not so much here, but in the next few chapters.

disclaimer: The Ducks belong to Disney. Fred and Cecilia belong to Cimmy. Lex, Jeff, Anthony, Anna, Chris, Sammie, and Matt belong to NYgoldfish54.

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Chapter 24: Sex, Ducks, and Rock 'n Roll
By Cimmy and NYgoldfish54

Cecilia's POV (By Cimmy)

My back is really killing me. I'm glad that Jeff let me sleep in his bed, so I didn't end up on the floor. I was still so sore when I woke up this morning that I could barely move.

Right now I'm trying not to move at all. After the others went outside to the pool again, I decided to stay inside to avoid ruining their day with my complaints. At first I sat down in the couch, but then I realized that it wouldn't hurt as bad if I laid down, so now I'm lying on the floor, trying to find something to look at in the ceiling.

"So, this is where you are."

I look up, and it's Fred. He gives me an amused look. "Yeah, I'm taking a break," I smile. He sits down next to me and shoves at my leg.

"You wanna go out to the others?" he asks. "They just ordered some tequila shots. Not that you're allowed to drink, but you could just keep us company."

I don't answer at once, and he lies down next to me and looks up into the ceiling. "The ceiling's beige," he points out, making me laugh. He has some sort of obsession about ceilings, my love. "And I guess that's why you're lying down."

"Yep."

He moves closer and kisses me. I close my eyes and pretend that it's not killing me when he pulls me closer. Then I remember that we're in the middle of the hotel, on the floor in the next room from the lobby. I don't think the receptionist would like it if we make out here.

"So, are you really angry at me for last night?" I ask.

"For what? Did we fight last night?" Fred wonders, confused as always.

I laugh. "No, but you refused to open the door for me, so I just figured I'd done something bad again," I explain, looking back up into the beige ceiling.

"I'm sorry about that," Fred says. "I had too much to drink, and I sort of passed out on the bed. It's all Portman's fault. I totally forgot about you, I'm sorry."

"That's fine. I slept with Jeff," I reply, and Fred sits up and looks at me. Yeah, I didn't really express myself very well, did I? "I mean, in his room. He slept on the floor."

"Oh," Fred mumbles and lies down again. "Umm, well, good. Are you still in pain?"

"Not so much," I lie.

Fred smiles and puts his hand on my cheek. It doesn't hurt that much, so I let him proceed with the kissing. Then he pulls me into his embrace and rests his chin on my head. I crawl closer, I need his comfort right now.

"You wanna go to our room for a while?" he asks me.

"Sure, why not?" I say, gazing at him. Then I understand what he's really asking me. "Oh, you mean... Be in our room?" I sit up and try to avoid squealing with pain, and I manage to let it go unnoticed how hurt I really am.

"I didn't mean that!" Fred laughs and tilts his head to the side. "I just meant if you want to go rest. If you don't want to go to the show tonight, I totally understand."

"Of course I do!" I exclaim. "That's why we're here!"

"Okay. Do you just wanna stay here on the floor?"

"No," I say, looking into his eyes. "Let's go upstairs."

He gives up short laugh, and helps me up on my feet. We both walk over to the elevator, and now I'm nervous. Why do I always agree to things before I've thought them through?

I walk two steps behind Fred. I would walk even further behind if he hadn't been holding my hand, and I try not to wince when he accidentally squeezes the finger Lex's knee damaged when we were rolling around on the floor.

"Do you have the key?"

I nod and go through my pockets to find it. I decided to go get my key-card right before I went down to find my spot on the floor. I figured it could come in handy if Fred decided to ignore me again. Though, I don't think that'll happen any time soon. He leans down to kiss me, and instead of finding the stupid card, I put my arms around his neck. He takes one step closer and I bump right into the door.

"Ouch," I whimper.

"Sorry," he apologizes. "I didn't think it would hurt."

We keep making out, and he gets his own key-card out from his back pocket. I'm not prepared for the door to open, so I fall backwards and drag Fred with me down. That hurt a lot more then being pushed into the door. "Oh, God, are you okay?" Fred gasps.

"Sure," I answer and kick the door closed with my foot. Then I drag him down over me and continue to kiss him. He seems to forget about his concern for me almost immediately, and removes his hands from my waist. We get up from the floor, and I stumble right into the dresser. This time I don't care that it hurts.

"Are you okay?" Fred continues to ask, me being all clumsy every single second he lets me go. I nod, and he puts his arms around me again, lifting me up from the floor. At first I'm afraid he's going to drop me, so I try to find something to hold on to that isn't Fred. He's forced to let me go, and puts me down on top of the dresser. As long as I don't fall down on the floor, I'm happy.

"Hey," I murmur, pushing him away. "Could we move to the bed? This is sort of uncomfortable."

"Yeah, of course," Fred says, kissing me one more time before he picks me up and carries me over to the bed. He falls down on me, making me loose my breath. He's really heavy!

"You're killing me," I smile at him, and he looks up.

"What? Oh, you want me to move?" he asks, pushing himself up from my body, using his forearms. "Is that better?"

"Sorry. I lost my breath," I explain, and Fred tilts his head again. He's really cute when he does that. "You have protection, right?" I'm embarrassed to ask, but I'm terrified by the thought of him not using any, so I have to force myself to ask.

"Of course," he exclaims. Then he moves away from me and pulls off my sweater. "Can I ask you something?"

I'm not really sure I'm in the right condition of answering questions right now. "What?"

"Am I hurting you?"

"No, you haven't even begun yet!" I point out, and then I feel humiliated. That was probably not what he meant.

"Uh, no, I meant from the fight yesterday?" he smiles, and I quickly avoid looking into his eyes. Fred looks at my bruised body, and I feel dumb. "I just thought your arms and legs were injured. Are you sure you want to do this?"

I roll my eyes. "Don't be stupid," I mutter. "I'm not dying."

"I'm not stupid," he says. "I'm just concerned."

He lies down on top of me with his whole weight, but I don't care any longer. Soon, I don't even feel the pain. I'm just happy to be in his arms, getting his attention like this. I move my hands over his back, gasping for air every once in a while. He keeps undressing me, with that look of concern in his eyes every time he finds a new bruise.

Fred always takes care of me when I need it. Whenever I have a hang over, he stays with me until I feel better. If I somehow get hurt, and believe me, that happens a lot, he pampers me until the pain is gone. Fred looks after me in every way, and he's the only one I really trust and feel safe with.

So, I love him. I just can't tell him that as often as he wants me to.

"Have you ever noticed how blue the ceiling is?" Fred asks me. I'm crawled up into his arms, my head against his shoulder. I look up.

"No. But it's a nice color," I mumble. He moves his hand over my arm, and I whine unintentionally. He lets me go and moves over to my other side, placing his arms around me again. I snuggle up next to him, moving as close to him as I can get.

We never did this the last time. We didn't have this moment. We were quiet for hours, feeling awkward and new to the situation. I like this better, when he's holding me like this, kissing me gently, being close to me.

"I like this," I admit, and Fred smiles.

"So, how was it?" he asks, kissing my forehead. "I don't mean how it felt, I mean... Did it it hurt again?" Fred always rants when he's nervous, but who doesn't? Sometimes he's the only one who truly understands me when I start babbling. I think about his question. He's a great guy, Fred. He would never hurt someone intentionally. I can't stop wondering why a guy like him would want to be with someone like me.

"No, not so much. Just to begin with. It was nice," I say. It was. It hurt a lot more the first time, even though I'd expected it to be worse.

"Just nice?" he teases me. "That's all I get? Nice?"

"It was great," I smile back. "I mean it, it really was."

Fred holds me even tighter in his arms, and I put one arm around his waist and the other one under his head. We stay like that for a long time, without saying anything. He keeps showering me with kisses every once in a while, from my lips, down over my collar bone and then he nuzzles his face into my neck, kissing both my neck and my shoulder.

I feel safe in his arms, maybe because he's so much taller then me. I'm even more tiny when I lie next to him like this, and I feel a lot smaller then I probably should. Helpless, somehow, but safe.

"Maybe we should get going?" Fred finally says, still not budging at all. I nod against his shoulder. "We have to go, right?"

"After what I did to Lex? We're forced to go, or Charlie will kill us off," I point out, hoping that he'll say something wise, so I can stay in his arms forever.

"I really don't feel like moving," he admits, moving his fingers across my back. "I wish we could stay like this forever."

I smile. He just read my mind. I hate it when he does that. It freaks me out. "Yeah, I know."

Suddenly we both get interrupted by someone knocking on our door. "Don't answer," Fred tells me and puts his head against my mine.

"No, I won't," I murmur.

The knocking continues, and Fred loses his temper. "What is it?" he asks.

"Oh, so you are there?" Charlie says from outside. "We're looking for you. We're leaving in a couple hours, you wanna come down and get something to eat?"

"No, not really," Fred yells back, and I laugh quietly.

"What are you doing?" Charlie teases us.

"We're coming!" Fred shouts and rolls his eyes at me. I keep giggling, and I hear Charlie laugh, before walking away. "Man, he's annoying."

"We really should get going," I point out. "I'll go shower."

Fred nods and I'm just about to force myself away from him, when the phone starts ringing. "I can answer that," I offer, knowing how much Fred hates answering the phone. "You can go shower first if you want."

I throw myself at the phone, while Fred disappears into the bathroom. "Yeah, hello?" My Mom always tells me that it's rude to answer like that. Either you should answer with your name, or the number you're answering from. What can I say, I'm brought up bad.

There's a silence, and I'm just about to hang up. "Who is this?" someone asks. "I'm calling for Fredrik."

"Who?" I say stupidly, and then I remember that it's Fred's real name. "Oh, Fred?"

"Yes, may I speak to him? Who is this?"

"It's Cecilia. His girlfriend. He's in the shower right now, can he call you back?" I ask. Then I recognize the voice. It's his Dad.

"Cecilia?" he replies, sounding unfamiliar with my name. I'm not surprised, every time I speak to either of Fred's parents they call me by the wrong name. I'm either Alicia or Cornelia. Or, they don't remember me at all.

"Yeah, his girlfriend," I repeat.

"Yes, he somehow managed to get one of those, didn't he?"

"Can I take a message?" I ask, disregarding the insult. You don't fight with rich, powerful people.

"Just tell him that he only has four days left to get over here," his Dad mutters at me. "I don't want him running around down there, doing nothing."

"Okay, I'll tell him," I say, feeling weird. Where's Fred supposed to go? I hang up the phone, put on one of Fred's college sweaters, my pajamas pants and then I walk over to the bathroom door. "Fred?"

"Yeah?"

"It was for you. It was your Dad." Silence. "Can I come in?"

"Sure."

I open the door and look at Fred, who's brushing his teeth, wearing one of those hotel robes. "Where are you going?"

"To the show," he answers with a smile. "At least I thought that's where we were going."

"No, your Dad said that you're going away in four days. Why didn't you tell me?" I want to know. He looks away. "Fred?"

"Don't worry about it," he says to me, looking into the mirror. "I got it under control. I'm not going anywhere, trust me. You need the shower?"

I nod, still not satisfied with the answer I got. Fred seldom knows how to deal with the problems his father throws at him. He hands me a towel and walk towards the door. He's already showered; he's quick when he wants to be. "Is everything alright?" I ask, hoping that this won't make him ignore me again. Not after what just happened. I don't want this to ruin what we just shared.

"Yeah, of course," he smiles and kisses me on the cheek. "Go shower, Cecilia." He turns around before closing the door. "I love you."

I can't say it back, so I just nod again. I shower, while he's getting dressed. When I get out, he's rummaging around in my bag, looking for his cell phone. He never really knows where it is, even though I think he should be careful about such an expensive toy. I get dressed too, and we walk down to the restaurant together. Fred's mood is really good, despite the phone call. I wonder if it has got to do with me? He's all cheerful and upbeat. Wow.

Fred grabs my hand before we go in. "You're not having any regrets, are you?"

Besides from being in even more pain right now, no. "Of course not. I told you that I was fine with it."

"I know. It was amazing," he smiles back. "I love you."

"Yeah, I know. I... I love you too," I stutter. I managed to say it.

Fred grins at me, takes me by the hand and leads me towards the table the rest of them are sitting at.

***

Portman's POV (By NYgoldfish54)

Fred and Psycho disappeared for a while, but are back now. I can't imagine what they've been doing all this time...actually, I can, and now that I've started, I'm desperately trying to turn that part of my brain off.

Anyway, they'd disappeared around 1:00 and it's 4:00 now. At around 3, Charlie went to go look for them. Charlie came back to tell us they'd be down soon and they've just appeared.

Also around 1:00, Lex, Jeff, and their friends got very quiet, stayed very close together, and didn't really talk to anyone but each other. At 3 they got up and went inside, not speaking to anyone and didn't come back. It was only when Goldberg suggested they were having a gang bang at around 3:30 did Adam give a very horrified look and go search for them. He came back clutching a quickly scrawled note in Jeff's handwriting explaining where they were going.

Ducks-

We're heading over to set up our stuff and get ready. Dining Hall is serving you each a special dinner at 4:30. Robbie will be joining you on the bus over to the concert later. Our families will be with you in dining hall and on the bus behind yours, so please, please, PLEASE try to behave. We would have spoken to you, but since we're all on the verge of throwing up, we thought a note would be better. By the way, we hope you like rock and roll. This will be a rock and roll show.

Wish us luck,
Suspended Motion

On the bottom of the note, each of them had signed their own name, starting with Jeff:

Jeff Delricci
Anna Eukovich
Matt McDougal
Lex O'Leary
Sammie Blackburn
Chris Mitchell
Anthony Nicholson

So we're all here, all on our own. Jeff begs us to be good, so I guess I'll have to resist temptation and not torture Psycho.

I spent the afternoon with Fulton by the pool. Once my hangover was gone, I had a good time. We could act more like a couple, now that we've "come out." I'm surprised the Ducks don't have anything to say. Someone always has something to say.

Fulton was right about the Ducks. I underestimated them. I was afraid of what they'd think. They seem pretty understanding. A little confused, maybe, but understanding all the same. I can't believe none of them are rabid homophobes. I figured there'd be at least one. But they're not. Lex, Jeff, and their friends don't seem to care. They don't even seem confused or surprised. I guess growing up in a big city has its effects...what the hell am I talking about? I grew up in Chicago. I know it's not uncommon to see alternate lifestyles there either. Personally, one of the Ducks could come out and admit they were gay and I'd probably feel the same way...unless it was Luis, cause the way he chases after girls, damn, he deserves an Academy Award for the straight performance. But I'd never think of him differently as a person. Just a good actor.

It's nice to know you've got friends like the ones Fulton and I have. This could have been miserable, but they're taking it rather lightly. They're still talking to us, not beating us up (hehehe, we'd kill them if they tried), and being the same goofy bunch they always were. When I first realized I was gay, I thought it was such bad luck and I was the unluckiest person ever. But now that I've got Fulton, and even the Ducks on my side, I realize I'm luckier than I thought.

"Where are Jeff and Lex and the rest of them?" Cee asks and sits down next to Luis. Averman reaches across the table and hands Cecilia the note. She reads it over and hands it to Fred, who slips into the chair next to her.

"I wonder what sort of meal has been prepared?" he asks.

"We're gonna find out soon," says Kenny. "It's 4:15."

Small talk continues and I continue daydreaming. I look past Adam, who's across from me, and I realize that our long table is running parallel to one even long that our about 15 feet away.

"Wonder who that table is for?" I say to Fulton on my right.

"Probably their families, right?" he says. "They have to eat too, ya know. I'm actually surprised we haven't seen them before now. I guess it'd be hard to avoid them, but we have."

"Lex probably set it up so we wouldn't run into them," says Guy, throwing himself into the conversation. "Probably didn't want them to see our bad manners and public brawls."

"The only one who's had a public brawl so far is Cecilia...and that was with Lex!" Julie pipes up. Cecilia gives a sort of apologetic grin.

Just then, a large group of people walked in, Robbie among them. He smiled and waved at us, then sat down next to a girl that looked around his age, and startlingly similar to Anna. Her older sister, maybe?

I don't have time to wonder much, because a huge bunch of covered trays roll out on the carts of the wait staff. A cute waiter with a nice butt (don't tell Fulton I said that!) puts my covered tray in front of me. One waiter stands by each of us and does the same thing. At exactly the same moment, they pull off the covers of each tray.

I stare down at my plate, and my absolute favorite meal is staring back at me. A porterhouse steak is sitting on the plate with mashed potatoes, garlic bread, sautéed peas, and...a rubber duck?

I look at Fulton's plate. He's got his absolute favorite meal on it. Two slices of pepperoni pizza, and a rubber duck. I look around the table. Everyone has their favorite meal on their plate, and a rubber duck. For a few seconds, nobody says anything. then Charlie's waiter hand him a note which he reads to himself, then smiles and reads out loud.

Dear Ducks,

Jeff and I are sitting here with our drinks, writing this because we can't join you for dinner...but if you're reading this, you already know that. Anyway, thanks so much for helping us feel at home in Minnesota when our home was so far away. We had so much fun playing music and going to Ducks games. Each of you should have your favorite meal in front of you, as well as a rubber duck with your name, date, and place underneath. Enjoy, and thanks so much for helping us get through freshman year. We lift our glasses to the Ducks. Cheers!

Love Always,
Lex and Jeff

"How about that!?" Kenny exclaims. "We helped them!"

"More than we realize," I say, looking down at my steak again.

We started eating, and Charlie passed the note for us all to read. When it got to me, I noticed it was written in Lex's neat handwriting and not Jeff's rushed scrawl. They'd both signed their own names. It's like they're practicing for their autograph sessions.

"It's sweet of them to do this," Connie says through a mouthful of her Chinese food.

"Hey y'all, what do you think of me asking Sammie for a date?" Dwayne says suddenly. I notice a man look over from the other table. Probably Sammie's father.

Nobody else notices though. Everyone looks around for a moment, then starts yapping.

"Go for it, Dwayne!" Julie cheers.

"Are you sure?" asks Luis.

"She's pretty," Russ says approvingly.

Charlie is the only one not saying anything. He's staring at Lex and Jeff's note and mumbling to himself. I glance at Adam across the table and he seems to notice the same thing.

"Charlie, uh, anything wrong?" Adam asks.

"Stupid, stupid, what was I thinking? How'd I miss it..." Charlie murmurs.

"Charlie?" Adam looks alarmed.

"Oh...uh, what?" Charlie says.

"Anything wrong?" Adam asks again.

"No, why?"

"Well, you're mumbling and cursing yourself under your breath, and it's a little weird," I supply for Adam, who looks as though he's having trouble finding the right words.

"No, I'm fine, I was just thinking..." Charlie trails off, looking down at the note again.

"Looks like the captain's got a crush," I say, and Adam grins.

"Definitely looks that way," Adam agrees.

"Oh, shutup you two," Charlie says, but doesn't deny anything.

The meal draws to a close at around 5:15.

"Team!" Charlie says, his captain voice back now. "Let's get ready to go. Everyone be back here at 6:00 sharp!"

We all being our trek upstairs, clutching our full stomachs and our rubber ducks. I'm so full! That steak was so good!

Back in our room, Fulton and I shower...together, but nothing happened, I swear...and put on some nice, clean, but casual clothes. We head back downstairs to meet the rest of the Ducks down by the bus 45 minutes later. Robbie joins us, and at 6:05, we leave for where Jeff, Lex, and company are going to give their show.

***

Charlie's POV (By Cimmy)

While I'm standing in the hallway, waiting for Fred to finish up with whatever it is he's doing, I spot Lex over by the bathroom. She's leaning up against the wall, almost looking sick. I decide to go see if she's okay. When I get up to her, she quickly stands up straight and smiles weakly.

"Hi, Charlie," she says, trying to sound cheerful.

"Hi. Is everything alright? You don't look so good," I point out, placing my hand on her forehead. "No fever, though."

"No, I'm alright," she states, turning away from me. Then she doubles over and moans. At first I think it's because of the fight, and that she's also still in pain. Damn Cecilia, I'll yell at her for hours if that turns out to be the case, and Lex can't perform because of her.

I grab Lex's arm to keep her from falling. "I'm just really nervous," she admits, and her voice lacks of that usual witty tone. "Like, really, really nervous. We've never performed in front of this many people before. And there are critics and scouts here to watch us, and listen to us. Opening act for the Rolling Stones is on the line. What if I mess up and destroy this for everyone?"

This I'm used to be taking care of. People feeling nervous and anxious because of what they should achieve, either out on the ice or in real life. So I should be able to handle this too, right?

"You know, it's easier to picture how many things that can go wrong, but you shouldn't think like that," I explain. "Instead of focusing of what you might screw up, focus on what you could achieve together, as a band. It's not your individual effort that will bring you all down. You trust the others, don't you?"

"Yes, of course! I trust them more then anyone else," Lex answers, giving me a puzzled look, as if she was confused how I could ask that question.

"So, why are you worrying? You'll all do your very best, and together, you can accomplish anything!" I smile at her. "There's nothing that can stop you, now when you've gotten this far." I laugh on the inside. These speeches always sound so corny, at least to me, but they seem to do the trick.

Lex seems less nauseous now, and she shoots me a big, grateful smile. "Thank you, Charlie." I just nod back. She's really stressed out, and who can blame her? These last couple of days... Jeez, I'd be a nervous wreck. She takes a deep breath and tries to fight back the tears in her eyes. I feel so sorry for her.

"Do you want me to stay with you until the show begins?" I ask, putting my hand on her shoulder. "I'd be happy to." Who am I kidding? I'd be thrilled. Stupid Linda.

"No, I'm fine. I just need to calm down a bit and drink some water. I don't want the others to see me like this, I'd only make them upset. Until you showed up, I thought I was going to hurl."

"It's going to pass, I promise."

"Now I know why you're the captain. You make people's self-esteem rise when they need it. I'm glad you're here," Lex whispers, and her words make me so happy that I almost want to cheer. She gives me a hug and puts her head against my shoulder. Why is she doing this to me? When I know I can't have her? She wants Fred, not me.

"I'm glad you invited us," I reply. "We all really appreciate what you've done for us. We're honored to be here, watching this tonight." I clearly stay off the subject of Fred and Cecilia, even though I'm thinking it.

"Thank you," she sniffles and looks up at me. My impulses tell me to follow my feelings. But of course, I don't. I just rub her back to get her to calm down enough so she can return to the rest of the band members. But ya know what? To hell with logic, what's that going to help when I lie in my bed, feeling regretful about this very moment?

I put my hand on her chin to turn her face up to me. Then I kiss her. For a moment she doesn't do anything, and then she kisses me back. For a second, I feel the joy of my impulses beating out my logical behavior. That's never happened to me before.