The next few days passed in a blur as I tried without success to concentrate on the upcoming event. Images of Fulton and me kissing kept floating into my head and I silently wished I could turn my brain off. At least until after the wedding. Just four more weeks, I kept telling myself every time I ran into him in the grocery store or at the mall. He was everywhere I went, it felt like.

I woke up the morning of the show and felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, I was finally going to get back on the ice. I knew Tommy wouldn't want us all to sit around and cry forever but it suddenly felt like it was the right thing to do. The sky was a clear blue as I drove into town, not waking anyone at the house before heading for Hans's sports shop. My skates hadn't been sharpened since the Olympics and I figured if I was to skate at my full potential that night I would need the best skates possible.

My luck just kept getting better as there was an open spot right out front and I parked my car, retrieved my skates from the back seat and headed into the store. The familiar scent hit me as I stepped through the doorway and into the old shop. It was a scent of pine and Old Spice I'd always come to associate with Hans. He had always been there for each and everyone of us, from fixing my skates for me for a competition to giving Charlie a job. I didn't realize just how much I'd really missed until it hit me that Hans was gone too. Time changes everything doesn't it? I was learning this slowly, I thought as I made my way through the group of kids looking at the hockey gear. I recognized a couple of them as being on Fulton's team, one the small blonde with the hurt knee. I smiled to myself and spotted Charlie standing behind the counter, chatting with Connie, who looked to have bought something.

"Hey, guys!" I said, trying to sound happy.

"Tammy. You're outta the house?!" Connie said in a joking sort of way as I laughed along with her.

"Yeah, I was hoping Captain Duck would have time today to sharpen my skates for me?" I asked almost pouting and Charlie looked down,

"Well, I might but I'd need a favor or two." He laughed as I swatted him,

"I'm a nearly married woman." I joked as Charlie motioned for me to hand him the skates.

"I'll do them right now if you two wanna hang around and watch the store for me?" He said looking at the blades.

"Great!" I said looking at Connie, "I need to talk to you anyway."

"Okay." Connie said as Charlie headed to the back.

"We're doing the first fitting on Thursday, Will you be able to make it?" I asked.

"What time?"

"Around noon. His Mother and sister are flying in tonight for the performance and then they're staying for the preparations. I can't even believe it's four weeks from today." I said my face suddenly feeling flushed.

"Yeah, time flies by... I'll be there." She said looking to the door as two more kids came in, looking for hockey gear. I sighed deeply,

"The next thing for me is a family, I guess." I said as the thought burrowed into my mind and I felt suddenly nervous.

"You two aren't gonna have kids right away, right?" Connie asked a little shocked.

"We haven't really talked about it that much. I mean, I know he wants a family and so do I and well, we have our gold medals already..." I trailed off, suddenly feeling like I'd said too much. Connie stood staring at me before Charlie re-emerged from the back room with my skates.

"There you go, Ms. Duncan." I smiled brightly,

"Thanks so much Charlie. How much do I owe you?" I asked, pulling out my checkbook.

"Don't even worry about it." Charlie said pushing my pen out of my hand.

"Are you sure? I mean, won't you get in trouble with your boss?" I asked as Connie and Charlie cracked up. I looked at them for a minute and then asked,

"What? Did I say something funny?" I asked.

"Well..." Connie started as Charlie finished it,

"You've been away far too long, Tammy." He said with a laugh, "Bombay gave me the store after I finished high school." He said ringing up a small girl with a hockey stick.

"Oh." I said feeling a little dumb, "Well, thanks, I'll see you two tonight." I said heading out of the store.

The afternoon breezed by and I was left feeling like I'd forgotten something when we left the house at 6:30. The thought ate at me as Scott drove to the arena but I couldn't figure out what I was missing. I brushed the thought out of my mind and began to warm up as soon as we made it to the arena. Although we were headlining the event there were other performances to be done including Scott's younger sister, Madison, who was training for the next Olympics with our coach. She was two years my junior making her 17 and the only way to describe her was a firecracker. She was the complete opposite of Scott, she had flaming red hair that fell just below her shoulders that she refused to put up unless it was an important event and skated to every rock band you could think of. If Scott's parents hadn't made a considerable contribution to the compound, I don't think she would have been allowed in. She also had a tattoo that I wasn't supposed to know about but spotted during a training session when she broke one of her ribs and had to be taped up. To make a long story short she wasn't my favorite person to be around and she definitely wasn't someone I wanted to spend quiet Saturday evenings with. In a round about way, she reminded me of Fulton when we were younger but in a sisterly sort of way that made me not like her even more. I do have to admit; she'd never done anything that could be construed as mean to me so I just tried to keep my distance.

I was seated on the cold arena floor when Madison and their Mother walked in the performers entrance to the arena. As usual, Mrs. Evans was yelling about something Madison did earlier that day,

"I can't believe you! What are people to tell about you anyway, heavens knows what they think about me already." She went on as I tried not to listen to her until,

"Tammy!" She called, spotting me on the floor and thrusting her bag into Madison's chest. Madison made a face at the new weight and rolled her eyes.

Mrs. Evans was a short plump woman with light blonde, maybe even red in certain lights, hair and a round, smiling face. You couldn't help but smile back at her. She was the Mother I wished I'd had, though she had enough to deal with having Madison as a daughter.

"Mrs. Evans." I said hugging her as she reached me,

"How many times do I have to ask you to call me Mom?" She asked with a laugh as Madison skulked over to where we were standing and made a gagging noise like she was going to puke her lunch up. I smiled warmly, noting her distaste for the way her Mother treated me.

"Madison, how nice to see you." I said looking at her. She rolled her eyes,

"I wouldn't dream of being anywhere else." She said with a sigh and sulked off to her dressing room.

"So tell me everything. Where are we having the wedding and where are you getting your dress from?" She said, taking my arm around hers and beginning to walk towards the arena opening.

"Well...I'm getting fitted on Thursday for a dress, we haven't finalized a place." I said softly.

"Haven't fina... Tammy you're getting married in a month not a year." She said with a laugh, "I know the perfect place." She said as we continued our walk down the hall.

Madison peeked her head out the door behind us and ran in the opposite direction though Mrs. Evans didn't take notice, just continued to meddle in my wedding plans.

"Thinks she can bully me around." Madison said creeping along the corridor and towards the exit. She was nearly to the door when it flew open and a man stood there looking at her. Madison immediately felt weak in the knees as he entered the building and smiled at her. She tried to smile and just stared, apparently looking goofy as ever. As soon as he passed Madison came back to reality,

"Wait a minute, I'm Madison Evans, and no-one makes me go weak in the knees. I make them..." and with this she marched off towards the direction the man went in.

I sighed deeply, heading back towards the locker room after insisting that Mrs. Evans take her seat in the stands before they were all filled. She finally agreed and I was free. My hair was starting to fall down out of my clip, so I made my way to the hair stylist that was seated in the hall outside locker rooms 5 and 6. As I turned the corner I stopped dead in my tracks and spotted Fulton on the other end of the hall talking to the firecracker herself. My heart fluttered a little before seeing her pass him a note and my insides turned to mush. They smiled at each other before she turned and headed back towards her own locker room. Fulton continued down the hall towards me. He smiled a little, spotting me,

"Geez, I come here for the show and I keep getting stopped every five minutes. What can I do for you Ms. Duncan?" He asked sarcastically. I sneered at him,

"Nothing...why don't you just hit on every girl you come in contact with?" I asked feeling my face go red and heat up with anger. He smiled,

"You're jealous...I wasn't sure the last time but now I'm positive. It wasn't Carrie's age or you being worried about me or the fact that Scott's sister Madison, who so kindly introduced herself to me, was talking to me. You just can't handle me being with anyone but you." Fulton smiled again, the reality finally hitting him.

"You're full of yourself aren't you?"

"Look in the mirror."

"Oh, I've looked. It's obvious you haven't or you'd know how stupid you look!" I said raising my voice.

"Excuse me, Princess, we all couldn't have private tutors like you!" He yelled back.

"No but they did make special classes for you!" I shot back, feeling guilty after I said it. He stepped back a minute to compose himself before continuing,

"Look, my personal life is none of your business. Frankly, my entire life is none of your business so why don't you quit following me around." He snapped.

"Me follow you? Try reading up on stalking before you accuse me of something you're doing."

"I'm stalking you? Who stuck their head in the ice cream cooler yesterday to avoid being spotted? May I add, again in the same store as me!" Fulton shouted now.

"I was looking for the light kind and it's always in the back! Not that I need to explain myself to the likes of you!" I poked my finger at his chest.

"No, just to the man you're intending to marry." He said as I stopped. My breathing was deep and uneven from fighting and his gaze fell on my lips. Why is it that fighting induces all the hormones needed for a really good make out session? I didn't have times to ponder this question as he pulled me to him, meeting our lips in a rough and hungry kiss. I pulled away but he held my head firmly in his grasp, taking in every taste of me. I finally stopped fighting and grabbed the front of his jacket in my hands, twisting the fabric until it was so tight around my fingers that they were going numb. I really needed to stop this, anyone could see us out in the open of the hall and tell Scott. What was I doing? Scott wants to marry me and I'm kissing my old boyfriend in the middle of the hall. The reality of the situation came back to me and I pushed on his chest.

"Fulton, stop!" I said as he pulled away. My lips were red and bruised as he pulled away, leaning against the opposite wall. I leaned against the other and we stood in silence for a few moments before he stood,

"This isn't getting us anywhere. Tammy, I either need you in my life completely or not at all." He said taking long strides to get away from me. I sighed deeply, my hair was now all down and I felt the guilt set in. I stood there to regroup for a minute and before I could get up to walk away, I heard a click of a door shutting down the hall. Was someone was watching us?