Darkdestiney2000- Jimmy's little brother is so popular that he has inspired a future chapter. LOL

Emador- Did you wear your shirt for Jeff? LOL Glad you liked the talk about the future! It was one of my favorite parts too.

TheBlackSoul- Jeff seems to be quite the popular guy!

Miraclegirl- Well rest easy there are a few chapters left in this story and I have a few more coming once Georgia and Jimmy are done.

Nikkd03- Glad you're still here. I miss you when you're gone! LOL So glad that you liked the last few chapters. Hope you're able to keep reviewing.

Lia06- Jeff seems to have become more popular than Jim and Georgy. Hmmmm

Wakingbear- What was the 'awe' moment?

Klinoa- Yeah, I have seen Mac's name as both, but Robin worked better for my purposes. I hope things are getting better for you in Chemistry. If all else fails tell the teacher that you have great 'chemistry' with the boys in Miracle. LOL

BellaLou- Sorry this update took so long, I was working on a genealogy project. If it makes you feel any better, I found out that one side of my family came to the US from England in the 1600's. Jimmy's little brother is so funny. I work with Jr. High kids as part of my requirements for a few of my classes and let me tell ya, some are just that nosy and annoying. Go ahead and laugh, Jeff is meant to be funny. I cannot wait to hear what your top 5 favorite Jimmy/Georgia moments are. And how is Casey? Does he like Jimmy's little brother? When you don't talk about him, I start wondering if you two had a fight. I hope not. I love your reviews. Long reviews are always fun as long as the person is making sense and you always do.

Racer38- Another Jeff fan? Wow, he is more popular than I ever thought he would be. I am sure that everyone knows a person like Jeff.

Moi- Mac's name is in dispute, so most of us just write whichever name we like better!

Arwen- Jeff's nosiness and involvement will be addressed in a future chapter. Actually all these questions is part of a small plot involving Jeff. Glad you are enjoying the updates and I was happy to hear from you again.

Killerkeanegirl- I don't know your cousins, but I am so glad you like Jeff. Georgia loves how Jimmy eases his tensions, LOL.

Meadow567- Could you have imagined what Jeff would've heard if Jimmy had done that? And what would he have said if he did hear that? BTW, All my muses are unhappy and fighting. Just when I thought everything was figured out too! LOL

February 22, 1980 USA Vs. Soviet Union
I stood watching the quiet locker room. The boys were all lost in their own minds. I had left my dad looking at OC's knee and came to look at how the other boys were doing. No one was talking. Bah was getting his stick ready for the game. Jim looked to praying; I wondered where his Rosary beads were. Mac was taping his stick. We all knew tonight's game was going to be tough; and we knew the entire world was watching.

I walked out into the hall, where I saw hundreds of messages for our team had been hung on the wall. I got the feeling that some people actually believed the outcome of this hockey game could affect the cold war. I sighed and hoped the boys didn't feel undue pressure.

I suddenly felt arms around my waist and I was lifted off the ground.

"I'm playing Georgia" OC said. I looked over my shoulder to see OC smiling from ear to ear.

"That's great!" I said as OC set me back down.

"Coach Craig just told me to suit up!" OC said and I thought he was starting to choke up. I pulled him into a hug.

"I am so happy for you. Now you and Jimmy, Silky and Rizzo will all be on the ice. Just like old times." I smiled at him.

"I better go suit up." OC said.

I smiled as I watched him walk back into the locker room. I knew Donald was somewhere in the arena. Back in North Easton, Keith and Jeff (Jim's two youngest brothers) would watch the game with their Aunt Lucille when it was aired, as would my mother back in Minneapolis. Jim's oldest brother Donnie (Donald, Jr.) had called early this morning wishing Jimmy good luck!

I went back in to the exam room. Dad was alone, cleaning up. He smiled at me when I walked in.

"Excited about the big game?" dad asked.

"I'm feeling a lot of things." I said. "I'm a little overwhelmed. I am so excited for Jimmy and I want him to have an awesome game. And I am happy for OC getting to finally play! And I look at Mac, Buzzy, Ramsey, Baker and all the boys I went to college with getting to play in the Olympics……it's just so much all at once!"

"Georgia, can I confess something?" dad asked.

I giggled. "You didn't cheat on mom did you?" I winked.

Dad chuckled. "At my age I wouldn't have the energy!" I giggled again and sat next to dad as he continued. "I never dreamed that I would ever get to do something like this. Growing up in war-torn Latvia, I dreamed of a better life, but never did I think I could be apart of something so spectacular as the Olympics! I know it sounds silly because I am not an athlete competing……."

"It's not silly at all. You're an important part of the team. The guys look up to you as grandfather type person. You're who they go to when their hurt, and a lot of the guys confide things in you. You're just as important as Craig and Herb. If you weren't the media wouldn't hound you." I winked at him.

"Georgia, you're a great daughter. You've made your mother and me so proud." Dad said.

"Don't make me cry before a game. It'll distract the boys!" I said with a giggle. I leaned over and hugged my dad.

Coach Craig walked in. "Ready?" he asked.

I nodded as dad and I stood up and walked into the locker room. The boys were still quiet and OC had his face buried in his jersey.

Herb walked in and patted OC on the shoulder. I had no idea what Herb would say. His greatest wish was to defeat the Soviets. I looked around at the boys and wondered if we had trained hard enough. Could we beat them?

"Great moments are born from great opportunity." Herb said. "And that's what you have here tonight boys. That's what you've EARNED here tonight! One game…if we played them 10 times they might win 9. But not this game…not tonight! Tonight we skate with them…tonight we stay with them. And WE SHUT THEM DOWN BECAUSE WE CAN! Tonight we are the greatest hockey team in the world!"

I looked at the boys. They were all listening to Herb and responding in their own way. "You were born to be hockey players, every one of you! And you were meant to be here tonight! This is your time. Their time is done, its over. I'm sick and tired of hearing about what a great team the Soviets have! Screw em! THIS IS YOUR TIME! NOW GO OUT THERE AND TAKE IT!"

Herb walked out of the locker room. Dad and Craig followed him. I looked at the boys and felt so much pride I wanted to cry. As the boys began gathering the sticks and equipment, I crossed the room to Jimmy. He looked up at me, I leaned down to hug him.

"Good luck out there. Keep your glove up!" I kissed him. He smiled at me.

I turned to leave but saw Mac and stopped to hug him. "Skate hard and don't be intimidated!" I said.

I made my way to the bench, where dad, Herb and Craig were already. The Olympic Ice Arena was full of fans and I saw American flags across the crowd.

"What took you so long?" Herb asked.

"Someone needed a good luck kiss." I told him.

"Just what I needed, an aroused goalie!" Herb said.

I was caught off guard. "Herb!" I shrieked.

Herb chuckled. "What? You're not the only one who knows how to be a smart-ass!" he said and patted my shoulder.

I had to giggle. That was the last thing I'd ever expected to hear out of Herb. I looked around the arena. I spotted Patti and the kids behind us. I looked further and saw Donald. I smiled and waved; wishing again that Margaret could be here to see her son playing in one of the biggest hockey games ever.

The boys started out on the ice and the arena got even louder. I clapped as well and watched Jimmy take his place in the net, immediately looking for his dad. I looked at the Soviets and almost felt a cold shiver. They seemed so emotionless; almost like robots. Distantly I heard Herb mention that the Soviets didn't look too nervous.

As the boys climbed into the bench, I stood with the coaching staff. A camera breezed by and I remembered to smile. I looked down to our net, Jimmy was surrounded by Silk, Rammer, Johnson, Morrow and Mac. At the opposite end of the ice was Vladislav Tretiak; considered the best goalie in the world.

I held my breath as both teams skated to center ice for the face-off. Johnson against Soviet Captain Boris Makhailov. The ref dropped the puck and the Soviets won the face-off. As both teams took off skating down the ice, I followed with my eyes, unable to look away.

Soviets took the puck behind our net, I could hear Jimmy yelling to his teammates, as Morrow took control of the puck. (In the back of my mind, I wondered how much English the Soviet players could understand.) Soviets took back the puck and took a shot. Jimmy deflected it. I realized if I didn't relax, I would pass out; and Jeff would never let me hear the end of it!

I could hear Herb yelling at the boys to keep the puck out of the middle. Petrov had control of the puck and was being pursued by Rammer. Petrov took another shot and Jimmy deflected it! I saw Makhailov throw Mac over the wall, but Mac was quickly back on the ice. I sighed with relief that he had not re-injured his leg.

Buzzy gained control of the puck. "Come on Buzzy." I cheered.

Buzz was slashed by a Soviet player and lost control of the puck. "That was a slash!" OC yelled before I could. The offense was not called.

The Soviets skated to the USA net and scored the first goal of the game. I leaned my head on Janny's shoulder to cover my frustration. Looking down the bench were several frustrated players. I feared that the Soviets would start rapidly running away with this game as they had in MSG.

"Forget about, forget about now! Come on let's go." Herb said.

I took a deep breath and focused back on the game. Face-off again won by the soviets as the skated back towards our net. This time Jimmy deflected the shot. Morrow mad a hard check, and Rizzo was thrown into the boards.

OC go! OC get in there." Herb told him.

OC quickly jumped over the boards and went out on the ice. I smiled as I watched him finally playing in the Olympics. OC was skating across the ice at high speed and made a hard check to a Soviet player. I jumped up cheering for him.

Pavelich passed the puck to Schneider. Schneider took a shot and it went in! We all jumped and cheered. OC skated across the ice to celebrate with his teammates. His defense being a part of that goal. As the players on the ice hugged, I hugged Broten and then hugged Strobel.

"Way to go, Buzzy!" I cheered. I had a brief flashback to all the times I had cheered for him back in Minnesota at the U.

When Buzz came to the bench, I hugged him tight, then looked up at the scoreboard, 1-1.

"Talk to each other out there, boys!" Herb yelled.

"Play your positions!" Craig yelled.

Johnson was thrown over the back of the Soviet net.

I watched closely, knowing that the boys needed to keep the puck out of the USA zone. But the Soviets skated right back down the middle of the ice, despite the yelling of most of the bench. I started to yell to look out, but the Soviets had already scored. I saw it coming, because it was a common play from the Soviet team.

As the boys kicked in frustration along the bench, I could see frustration in Jim's body language. I was starting to get a feeling of déjà vu from MSG and worried that the Soviets would just run away with the game.

The crowd tried motivating the team. I watched the Soviets win another face-off. As the Soviets dominated the center of the ice.

"Boys, listen to Jimmy out there. Talk to him!" I yelled and I swear Herb smirked.

I looked up, 20 seconds left to go in the 1st period. Jimmy was deflecting several shots. I hoped he could hold on, and us finish the period down by just one goal.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Johnson take out onto the ice. I watched Christian in the neutral zone, then he shot the puck and it was blocked by Tretiak. Johnson virtually out of no where picked up the rebound and shot, this time the puck went past Tretiak and into the net!

The two buzzers rang at once. One announcing the end of the period; the other announcing the goal. I stood clapping and giggling as the team went on the ice to celebrate with Johnson. From the other side of the glass, I heard fast talking in the Russian language. I looked over and saw Tikhonov was arguing the goal with a ref. Before I could think much longer, Coach Craig grabbed my elbow and was pulling me towards the locker room.

Once out n the ice, I found my way to Johnson and hugged him. We all walked towards the locker room listening to the renewed enthusiasm from the crowd.

(2nd Period)
I stood behind the bench, watching the teams on the ice before the start of the period. I looked towards the Soviet net and did a double-take. Vladimir Myshkin was in the net.

"But……they benched Tretiak?" I asked in disbelief. I looked over and saw that indeed Tretiak was sitting on the bench. I looked up at Craig and Herb, who were looking at each other.

"Well boys, they just put the best goal tender in the world on the bench." Herb said.

Soon the period was starting and the boys were lining up on the ice or taking their seats on the bench. With the game tied, and the boys so excited, I was feeling a new rush of emotions, mostly flying high. I glanced up in the stands, and saw Donald smiling and clapping; making me smile even wider.

I clapped as the Coneheads took the ice for us, the Soviets kept the puck in the USA zone. Jimmy deflected several shots. Bah broke away with the puck but Myshkin stopped the puck.

Soviets regained control of the puck and skated back to the USA zone. One of the Soviets checked Jimmy to the ice, and scored a goal. I didn't pay attention to that; I had heard the impact as Jim hit the ice. I watched, waiting for Jim to get up, but he didn't.

As the crowd was silent, the team skated to check on Jim. Those on the bench jumped up to see what was going on. 'Why isn't he getting up?' I kept thinking.

Dad moved to the gate, just waiting for the signal to go to Jimmy. Up in the crowd, I could see the concern on Donald's face. I started shaking; a million thoughts going through my mind. I knew I couldn't cry, because that would make the situation worse; and the biggest part of me want to rush out to be at Jimmy's side.

Herb called to Janaszak. I saw Mac was with Jimmy on the ice and felt a little relief, that if I couldn't be with Jim, my best friend could be.

Slowly Jim starting getting to his feet, I could see Mac talking to him. Jim finally stood and the crowd cheered. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was then I noticed Craig had his arm around me. I looked up at him.

"You okay now?" he asked me. "There for a minute, you were pale and shaking; looked like you were going to pass out."

"I'm okay now, just a little shook up." I said and gave a small smile.

Herb walked by, "You marrying one tough man."

I gave a small laugh, and dad came over to hug me.

"Are you okay?" dad asked.

"I'm more worried about Jim." I said and dad hugged me again.

"He will be fine. If he shows any signs of dizziness, I will pull him out, but I think he mostly just had the breath knocked out of him." Dad said.

(3rd Period)
3-2 with 20 minutes left. The game was close and I was hoping against hope that the boys could pull off a win.

I stood by Herb and Craig watching the teams on the ice. The crowd was cheering so loud I could barely hear myself think.

"Boys, come here. Bring it in." Herb yelled to them. The team skated over to the bench. Even Jimmy came out of the net to be with us at the bench. "Listen to them" Herb said.

We were all quiet for a moment just listening to the crowd. 'USA! USA! USA!'

"That's what you've done." Herb told the boys. "Now we've come from behind in every game in this tournament so far and we can do it again! We can beat these guys!"

"Come on Herb, get your guys to the face-off!" a ref yelled over to us.

"Everybody in." Herb said. Everyone on the team even Dad, Herb me and Craig put our hands in the middle. "WHO DO YOU PLAY FOR?" Herb yelled.

"USA!" we all yelled.

The boys climbed over the wall to be seated while others took their positions on the ice. Ramsey, Silk, Christian, McClanahan and Johnson lined up with Jimmy in the net.

Johnson was once again face to face with Makailov for a face-off. Johnson won the face-off. He passed back to Ramsey who passed back to Johnson. Johnson shot the puck around the boards. Soviets gained control and brought the puck down to the USA zone. Craig made a save.

I was glad that Jimmy had no ill effects from the incident in the 2nd period. Another save and another. Craig passed the puck to Christian. Petrov came up behind Christian and slashed him. This time the ref called it.

"Two Minutes for slashing" the ref called.

"Coneheads lets go, Coneheads!" Herb called as the three took out to the ice. "Come on boys, let's take advantage of this."

OC passed to Harrington. Harrington passed back to OC then back to Harrington. Harrington then passed to Ramsey then to Schneider. Buzz took a shot bit it was stopped by Myshkin.

"Keep it going now boys. Keep up the intensity!" Herb yelled.

I heard Jimmy yelling that there was 16 seconds left in the power play.

"Last rush, come on Silky!" Craig yelled as Silk skated by with the puck.

"Come on Silky!" I yelled.

Silk was checked as the puck came loose; Johnson picked it up and shot it straight into the net. The buzzer sounded marking the goal.

As everyone jumped up from the bench cheering, I hugged my dad as we clapped and cheered. Johnson had tied the game with the power play ending. The team all skated out onto the ice to celebrate. The entire crowd was on its feet.

"That's my boy!" Craig said to Mark when he came back to the bench. I gave him a hug.

3-3, we still had work to do. Herb told the boys that. Back on the ice the game had resumed and the Soviets had control of the puck. Craig made two awesome saves and then cleared the puck.

"Keep them wide!" Herb called to the team.

"Come on Buzzy!" Rizzo yelled as Schneider skated down the ice with the puck.

"Rizzo, go!" Herb said sending Rizzo out onto the ice.

Rizzo skated out; Harrington made a check as Pavelich took control of the puck. I heard Rizzo calling to Pavelich. Pav saw Rizzo and yelled for him. Pav passed the puck to Rizzo who skated down the ice with it. Rizzo shot the puck and scored!

I stood in shock, cheering as the bench was cleared, and the team went congratulate Rizzo. After months of struggling, Rizzo had scored the goal that put us ahead of the Russians. Even Herb threw his arms up to celebrate the goal. Donald was on his cheering.

Halfway through the 3rd period, we had gained a one goal lead over the Soviets. As the boys skated back over to the bench, I hugged Rizzo, his smile could light up a room. 10 minutes left to play and we were ahead. Face-off and we were back playing. "Play your game. Play your game!" Herb told them.

Jimmy was making one amazing save after another. And all of the coaching staff, even dad was getting wound up. I couldn't stand still. Every time Jimmy made a great save, I cheered. "That'd a boy Jimmy!" dad yelled.

Mac got the USA zone cleared. Many of the boys were pounding on the boards to show their support. 7:09 left to play.

"We're going to go in short shifts, boys." Herb told the team. "Short shifts, 30-40 seconds. Keep an eye on it Doc."

Dad had the stop watch. I knew that these next minutes were critical. The Soviets always dominated the end of the 3rd period because they were better conditioned. No one could ever skate with them by the end of a game. Now we had to in order to win, Herb had conditioned them well; I knew we could do it.

Jimmy made another amazing save.

"Switch it up, go go go!" Herb yelled sending fresh players onto the ice.

I had never seen the boys playing so hard. I looked at dad keeping track of the seconds. From the other side of the glass I could hear Tikhonov yelling in frustration.

"Keep it going now boys!" Herb yelled.

Makailov was skating down the ice, he shot and it was knocked away by Jimmy.

"Chip it out!" Craig yelled.

The boys cleared the puck and Pavelich was checked hard. Herb called for the boys to switch again. Fresh players went onto the ice. Jimmy yet again made another amazing stop.

"Play your game boys!" Herb yelled.

"Get off the boards, bring it off the boards!" Craig was yelling.

Herb asked dad about the time and then had the players change again. I was watching the clock 3:19 left to play. I knew the Soviets would need an extra skater, and started watching for signs of when they would pull Myshkin.

"POISE AND CONTROL!" Herb told them.

Out on the ice, our boys were battling for the puck. Ramsey gave a hard hit to a Soviet then we took off with the puck.

"Okay no more changes until the next whistle!" Herb told the team.

"Come on Jimmy!" Craig yelled.

"When they pull Myshkin, I want fresh legs." Herb said to Craig and pointed at OC. "OC"

"Yeah!" Craig said.

The Soviets had the puck back in our zone. 1:33 left to play. Herb and Craig were yelling things out onto the ice. Jimmy made two more saves.

Craig jumped up on the boards, "CHIP IT OUT! CHIP IT OUT!" he yelled.

1:00 left to play. I looked but the Soviets weren't pulling Myshkin, but Tikhonov

was yelling in Russian. I wondered what they were waiting for with less than a minute left to play.

"They're not pulling Myshkin!" Craig said to Herb.

"He doesn't know what to do!" Herb said, referring to Tikhonov.

No team had ever been able to skate an entire game with the Soviets, and now that we could, Tikhonov had no other plan to win.

The boys had started hitting on the boards as the seconds were quickly ticking down. I was holding my breath, watching the clock, and crossing my fingers.

I could hear the screaming crowd counting down the seconds. Everyone was on their feet, the team was jumping up and down. I had never heard anything so loud.

…..4, 3, 2, 1 and a loud buzzer.

I yelled as the arena erupted. The team flew out onto the ice, Equipment was thrown everywhere. I saw Craig hug Herb, and my dad was cheering. The look of joy on my dad's face was priceless.

"We beat the Soviets, daddy!" I yelled over the noise and hugged him.

"It is so wonderful for these boys. They have worked so hard." Dad said.

We turned and were pulled into a hug by Craig.

"Congratulations Craig. What a great accomplishment." Dad told him. Craig was practically glowing.

I kissed Craig on the cheek. "You and Herb have done so much with these boys. You have so much to be proud of." I told him.

Craig walked out onto the ice and was hugged by Johnson. I saw Herb looking at the boys on the ice. He looked a little stunned. I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him.

"Congratulations Uncle Herb. I know how much you wanted to win this game." I said and kissed his cheek. "I am so happy for you."

"I think a goalie is waiting for his victory kiss!" Herb said with a wink.

I looked out and saw Jim celebrating with his team mates. I made my way out onto the ice. Looking in the stands, I saw Donald cheering. He saw me walking across the ice and waved at me.

Jimmy was skating along the boards high-fiving the crowd when I got to him.

"We won Georgy!" Jim yelled and picked me up in a hug.

"I am so proud of you." I said, but in the back of my mind felt a pang of sadness again that Margaret wasn't there. "You were so amazing out here!"

"I love you so much!" Jim said.

"I love you too." I told him and gave him a quick kiss. "Where is Mac?"

Jim held my hand as we made our way into the fray of players hugging and celebrating. I was squished between people and hugging people.

"Georgia!" Mac yelled and hugged me from behind.

"I am so proud of you Robbie!" I yelled.

"I can't believe we won!" Mac yelled, setting me back on my feet.

When we were told we had to leave the ice, we made our way to the locker room, amid cheers and photoflashes. The boys filed into the locker room to clean up. Herb was busy with the media. My head was spinning so fast, I actually sat down and leaned against the wall, trying to clam my thoughts. After a while Dad poked his head out of the locker room.

"Is anyone hurt?" I asked, wondering if I was needed inside. From the sounds of cheering and hollering the boys were still doing, I guessed no.

"Everyone is fine. Craig is trying to get the boys to hurry up. OC is looking into getting a keg." Dad chuckled.

"Big night, huh?" I heard behind me. I looked and saw Donald walking down the hall.

I leaped to my feet and ran to hug him. Donald chuckled. "Hey there, Sissy."

"I am so excited, and so happy for Jimmy. I have never seen him play so good." I said.

"He was amazing out there." Donald said. "Hi, Doc." He said as dad walked up to us.

"You must be very proud of Jimmy." Dad said. "I know I am."

"Speak of the devil." I said as Jimmy walked out of the locker room. He walked over to join us. "Dad we should let them be alone."

"Nonsense, you're family now. This is your moment too." Donald said.

I smiled at him.

"I am so proud of you Jimmy." Donald said. "You were great out there."

"Thanks Pop." Jim said and hugged his dad.

"And you're mom would be so proud too." Donald said.

Later, back at the hotel, an impromptu party was in full swing in the hallway. All of us leaving doors open, music playing, TV's on as we watched ourselves on the game and the news.

Over all this noise, I managed to hear my phone ringing. I ran to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Georgia, what a night!" I heard mom on the other end of the line.

"Mom, I am so excited. It was amazing you cannot imagine the feeling of being in that arena tonight." I said.

"The whole country is excited. The phone here has been ringing off the hook. Everyone that knows us has been calling. The boys are all over the news." Mom said.

"I know, President Carter called Herb!"

"Is Jim okay? He was shaken up in the 2nd period." Mom asked.

"Yeah, he's fine."

"Could you put him on the line? I actually called to talk to the all-star goalie." Mom said. I giggled.

"JIMMY, MY MOM WANTS TO TALK TO YOU!" I yelled down the hall. A few seconds later, Jim walked into my room.

"Hey, Velta." Jim said into the phone. I smiled and left him to his call.

I walked down the hall and into the Coneheads' room. Bah was well on his way to hammered.

"It's the almost Mrs. Craig!" Pav yelled when I walked in.

"Georgy sit by me a minute." Bah said and pulled me onto the couch next to him. "I have some marriage advice for you!"

"What is it?" I asked, giggling at Bah's slightly slurred speech.

"Have a baby right away." Bah said and saluted me with his beer can.

"Why? You want to be its godfather or something?" I asked.

"No. If you had a baby, you'd be an instant MILF." Bah said.

I started laughing. I couldn't help it. Of all the things I expected him to say, that was the last thing I thought would come out of his mouth.

"Well it's true. And don't tell that I told you this…." Bah said then dramatically looked over his shoulder, as if to see who was listening. "But Janaszak likes MILF women. He says MILF's are experienced so they know what they're doing. Janny says they're….'no training necessary'!"

"JANNY! No way, not sweet little quiet Janny!" I laughed harder.

About that time Jim walked in, giving Bah and me a funny look. Of course, I was doubled over in laughter.

"What did my mom want?" I asked him.

"Just to congratulate me on tonight's game and stuff." Jim said.

What a night, indeed!