A/N: I don't own Miracle, but I do love it.
Megan: I'm so glad you like it. I'll write more.
Anmerie: Thanks! I really appreciate comments like that.
StarrShyne: He's mine, all mine! You can't have him. Jealous muses are bad, so you want to keep them happy. Therefore, you are not allowed to kidnap OC.
Vaughnloveralwaysandforev: Oklahoma! It's a scandal! Thanks for wishing me luck. (It's a Scandal is my favorite song from Oklahoma.)
Meadow567: I'll start working on Kathie's massive crush soon. I'm glad this is in your favorites. Yeah, she hit her head on the roof like on a bunk bed. (It hurts. I've done it on both my bunk bed and my boyfriend's car all in one week.)
Klinoa: It was cute. I had fun writing it.
CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur: That must have hurt like heck. You needed the boys to help you. When it happened to me, my boyfriend was there to help out, so it all worked out.
DarkDestiny2000: And I rudely made you wait three days. Oh well, I'm a bad little girl.
I know I promised the date would be in this chapter, but some stuff I wasn't planning on popped into my brain, so you'll have to wait until chapter seven for their date.
Ellie's POVI walked into my office at the rink on Thursday morning to find a note on my desk. "Friday night-6:00PM, I'll pick you up at your apartment. -OC" I already knew that, but I knew that this was how Jack was going to tell me what I needed to know about our date; he would leave me notes.
I smiled to myself as Rizzo walked in. "Hey, Ellie, what's going on?"
I handed him the card from Jack. "I know when Jack's picking me up tomorrow night. Actually, he told me that on Tuesday."
He smiled at me. "I know everything he's planning for your date tomorrow night." He looked me in the eye. "And I am not going to tell you what's going on. It's a surprise."
I stuck out my bottom lip. "Please?"
He took Heidi out of my arms and shook his head. "Not on your life, Miss McClanahan. Now, if you'll excuse me, Heidi and I are going to pay a visit to her daddy."
"Her daddy?" I was so confused.
"Bah started it and we all started doing it. We call OC Heidi's daddy or just plain Daddy. He just laughs it off, but we think he actually likes it. We call you her mommy too. Sometimes, we call you Mommy and Daddy."
I smiled. The guys were nuts, but it was really sweet and I told Rizzo so. He shrugged. "Well, Heidi and I need to go see her daddy."
"Have fun and get her back to me before practice starts," I called after him.
"Yes, Mother dearest," Rizzo yelled back as he left.
Herb walked in as Rizzo walked out. "You're trusting him with Heidi?" he asked as he sat down opposite me.
"Jack's in the locker room; he'll take care of her."
"You trust Jack O'Callahan with a baby?"
I smiled. "I know it's crazy, but yeah, he loves her so much. He's really good with her."
Herb smiled. "That's good." Then his tone became serious. "Listen, Ellie, your dad called me last night. He told me that you're going to try to get custody of Heidi."
I nodded. "It's not good for her to grow up wondering when Julie will come back."
"I guess you won't be coming to Europe with us?" Herb asked.
I shook my head. "I need to stay here with Heidi to take care of everything over here. I'd love to go with the team, but my life isn't going to let me. Heidi's my first responsibility."
"When did you grow up?" Herb said, shaking his head.
"When Heidi came into my life," I told him. "A baby needs an adult for a mother."
Herb nodded. "I'm proud of you and I know your dad is too. Ellie, you're turning into an amazing young woman. You've done a great job of growing up." He stood up to leave. "Just don't go falling in love with any of my boys without talking to Mac about it first. Don't do anything stupid, Ellie." Then he left.
I knew why he told me not to do anything stupid. He was remembering my relationship with Jannie. To the average observer, it was a perfect relationship-until Leslie came along. Herb knew all too well what had happened; he'd watched his team almost fall apart over everything.
Just before practice started, I went into the locker room to get Heidi back from the guys. Robbie was sitting on the bench in full gear holding Heidi and singing random Aerosmith songs to her. I walked over to him, shaking my head. "What are you doing to that poor, innocent child?"
"I'm educating her," he replied. "See everyone's always singing stuff like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to her, so I thought I'd introduce her to some real music."
"So you're doing imitations of Steven Tyler?"
"You'd rather I imitated Brian Wilson or John Lennon?"
"Could we avoid people who are high or have strange faces when you're singing to my little munchkin?"
"Steven Tyler is an awesome vocalist," Robbie protested.
"But his face is weird."
"Why do you two insist on arguing about every single detail in the world?" Dave Christian yelled.
"He's my twin brother," I replied calmly. "What else are we supposed to do together?"
"Umm, behave like rational human beings," Suter suggested.
"We're siblings," I protested. "We have to argue at least twice a week."
"Personally, I'm not happy unless we argue three times a week," Robbie interrupted. "But Ellie's fine with just two arguments a week."
I took Heidi from my brother and shook my head again. "You're crazy."
"It must be from spending nine months in the womb with you."
I smiled. "That would explain a lot of things, but I need to leave now."
It was only after I left the room that I realized that Jack hadn't been in the locker room.
Jack's POVI left the locker room while Ellie was arguing with Mac. I needed to leave her another note. This time I was leaving her a note on the door to her office. I know I suck at the creative romantic stuff, but I'm trying. Ellie's a great girl, especially considering that she's Mac's sister. I never guessed a guy like him would have a sister like her.
As I opened the door to Ellie's office, I saw a huge bouquet of roses sitting on her desk. "What the fuck?" I muttered. Who was sending Ellie roses?
I walked over to her desk and set down my note for her. There were a dozen red roses in a vase; I knew that was really romantic. There was a card on a stick. "To the most beautiful and wonderful girl in the world with all my love-Todd." I flipped the card over and read, "Baby, I love you and I want you back."
"Not in a million years," I muttered.
"Not in a million years what?" someone said from behind me.
I turned around and saw Ellie holding Heidi. "Are the roses for me?"
I nodded. "But they're not from me."
"Who are they from?"
I handed her the card. I wanted to kill Todd as I saw her face contort into a frown and she crumpled the note up. "You okay, Ellie?"
"That jackass!"
"Hey, no swearing in front of the baby," I told her.
She smiled. "I forgot. Heidi, don't repeat anything you ever hear your Aunt Ellie say." Ellie looked at me. "I got your note."
"And?"
"You already told me that," she replied. "Now go practice, Boston Boy."
"Yes, Mother." I knew my next note was on her desk and that she'd find it at some point today.
Coach skated us long and hard that day. By the time we reached the locker room, not one of us could feel his legs. Ellie was waiting for us. "Hit the showers and then I'll start massages. Robbie, no back rubs for you; I refuse to touch my brother like that."
He smiled. "Don't worry; I'll go find some random girl on the streets to rub me."
"Eww! Gross mental images!" Ellie yelled. "Stop it, or I'll tell Mommy."
"Yeah, right, you hate talking to Mother. OC, shut my sister up, would you?"
"Sorry, I have to behave so I'll get my back rub," I told him with a mischievous smile. "Besides, if I shut her up, you'll try to beat me up and I don't want to have to hurt you. You're kind of a nice guy, and I like your sister."
"She is pretty," Mark Johnson mentioned casually. "You know, the dark hair and eyes."
"And she has a perfect smile," Pav added.
Ellie blushed and smiled shyly. "You're not that bad looking either, Mark and Mark."
"Really?" Pav asked.
She hugged him. "Yeah, I like curly hair on guys. That's why I couldn't stand Jannie; his hair is too straight for my taste."
"Hey, I heard that!" Jannie yelled at her. "I thought you liked my hair."
She shrugged. "It's okay, but I like Pav's better."
"What about mine?" I asked her.
"I like it," she replied casually. "It's better than Jannie's, but I'm not sure if it's better than Pav's or not."
"When will you decide?"
"When I feel like it," she replied.
"And when will that be?"
She shrugged. "I'll let you know when I decide; it'll be before you leave for Norway."
I smiled at her and she grinned back. Then I headed off to the showers.
After my shower, I went back to the locker room to find Ellie giving Johnson a massage while Heidi was sleeping in her carseat. "Does Coxie creep you out?" Johnson said as I came in.
"Not really," Ellie said. "I think he's harmless. He's really flirtatious and he comes on a little strong, but I think he's really just a nice guy underneath all that gregariousness."
I wasn't about to tell her that her brother did not agree with that statement. Sure, Ralph was a nice guy who was flirtatious and came on a little strong, but he wasn't harmless as far as Mac was concerned. He was the most overprotective brother I'd ever met and if he didn't like a guy, the guy had better stay away from Ellie. I firmly intended to stay on his good side as long as I was involved with his sister.
Ellie looked at me. "You want to go next?"
I shrugged. "Anyone in line ahead of me?"
"Not yet, Pav wants one, but he's not out of the shower yet, so you can get ready."
"Get ready?"
"Take off your shirt and get comfortable."
"Was she this blunt with you, Mark?" I asked my teammate.
He shook his head. "She goes easy on guys from Wisconsin; she's just rough with Boston Boys."
She smiled at me. "I like to get right to the point with you, Jackie-boy. Now, get comfortable because I have a feeling I'm going to have some work to do on you."
"Sit down or lay down?" I asked her, raising my eyebrows suggestively.
She shrugged. "Lie down, I guess. It'll let me do more work on your lower back."
I followed her orders and waited for her to finish up her work on Mark's back. "Hey, Ellie," he said. "Where did you get such good fingers for this kind of thing? You're probing every little space perfectly and working out every little sore spot."
"It's a combination of years of taking care of Rob's back after practice and playing piano since I was five years old," she replied. "Let me tell you that'll make your fingers lithe and nimble in a heartbeat."
"See something good came out of all those years of piano lessons," Mac said as he walked in with a towel around his neck.
Ellie smiled at her brother. "That's not the only thing I got out of it. I can teach piano after I get too old for physical therapy. Plus, I can play Pachabel's Canon in D to perfection from memory."
I smiled at her. "Are you almost done over there?"
"Yep." She slapped Johnson on the back and stood up. "All right, O'Callahan, let's see what we can do for you."
She sat down on my back and began rubbing my neck. "You've got a lot of tension in your neck, little boy."
"It's from all that skating I do every day."
"Drink more water," she said. "It breaks up the calcium build-up in your back and that's what creates knots."
"Yes, ma'am."
She kept working in silence for a while until Heidi woke up and started crying. "Crap, there goes your massage, Jack."
"I'll get her," Rizzo offered. "Is her bottle in the diaper bag?"
"Yep, it's in one of the side pockets," Ellie told him as she worked her fingers deep into my neck. Let me tell you it felt amazing. If massages were a reason to get married, I would have been down on one knee with a diamond ring then and there.
Ellie's POVAfter I was done giving massages, I took Heidi and went to my office. Per my request, Craig Patrick had thrown out the flowers from Todd. There was a small piece of notepaper sitting on my desk next to my purse. I picked it up.
Brush your hair and wear comfortable clothes; jeans are probably a good idea. Sensible shoes are a really good idea. You might want your skates too. I'm going to knock you off your feet. Tell your sister we'll be home by eleven, midnight at the latest. –Jack
I smiled. He was a sweetie, but at the same time, he was a tough, bad boy. Both the sweetheart aspect and the bad boy attracted me. I picked up Heidi's carseat and smiled at her. Rizzo fed her and sang to her (rather off-key) and she fell back asleep. She was so adorable; she made me want a baby of my own. Well, someday, right now, I had to take care of Heidi.
I was walking to my car when I saw a man sitting on the hood of my car. It wasn't Robbie or Jack; it had to be Todd. I was about to go back inside and find one of the guys when he ran over to me. "Ellie, baby, come here," he slurred as he reached me.
Great, he was drunk again. This was just what I needed. "Go away, Todd," I told him as he touched me.
"You know you want me," he slurred as he grabbed at my chest.
I shoved him with my free hand. "Get the hell away from me!" I yelled. He kept pawing at me. "Stop touching me!"
"You know you want me," he repeated. "You know you dream about me."
"You pervert!" Suddenly, lightening hit my brain and I had an epiphany. "Help!" I screamed. "Robbie! Rizzo! Jack!" I kept screaming the boys' names as I started running and Todd chased me.
Mercifully, the boys hadn't left yet and the boys started running out of the arena. Jack, Robbie, and Rizzo were first, followed by Silky, Pav, and some of the other guys. Rizzo grabbed me as Jack, Robbie, and the rest of the boys grabbed Todd. Robbie tackled him to the ground and started pummeling him. I fell sobbing into Rizzo's arms and Silky took the carseat from me. I clung to Rizzo with all my strength and he held onto me just as tightly. "It's all right, Ellie," he whispered. "I've got you. He won't hurt you anymore. Shh, it's all right. Don't cry."
I looked over his shoulder and saw Jack holding Robbie back to keep him from smashing the life out of Todd. "He's a piece of crap, Mac. He's not worth you getting sent to jail. Your sister needs you; she doesn't need you to kill some drunk."
Heidi had woken up and was crying. Pav was holding her, trying to calm her down. The whole group of us was just one big mess of bedlam. I was having a nervous breakdown in Rizzo's arms, Jack was trying to keep Robbie from killing Todd, and Heidi was screaming her lungs out while five desperate hockey players tried to calm her down.
Robbie looked at Todd. "Stay away from my sister, you creep. If you come near her ever again, we'll all hunt you down and kill you, got it?"
Todd nodded slowly as he stood up.
"Now get out of here," Silky told him. "And never come back."
Todd ran away into the darkness. Robbie walked over to me. "Are you all right, Ellie? Did he hurt you?"
I shook my head and clung to Rizzo. "Do you want to go home?" Rizzo asked me.
I nodded. "Can you drive me?" I whispered.
"One of us will," Robbie told me. "Come here, Ellie."
I let go of Rizzo and went to my brother. He pulled me close to his chest and hugged me. "I'm just glad you're all right," he whispered. "You're my favorite twin and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. You're my princess."
I smiled at him. "Thanks."
"Will you be all right?" Jack asked me.
"Yeah," I whispered. "And don't you go thinking you're going to get out of our date tomorrow night just because of this. I'm still expecting you to pick me up at six tomorrow."
He nodded. "I'll be there."
I smiled and replied, "Good."
"You want me to drive you home?" Robbie asked.
"Yeah."
"Do you need us to stay over tonight?" Rizzo asked gently.
"It would be nice to know that there's someone there in case something bad happens."
"Do you want me to stay with you?" my brother asked.
"Uh-huh." Nothing against Jack, Rizzo, or any of the other guys, but I needed my big brother.
"We'll see you tomorrow," Rizzo told me as he hugged me.
Pav put Heidi in her carseat and gave her back to me. "You stay safe."
Silky hugged me. "Stay out of trouble, Ellie. That means stay away from OC."
Jack glared at Silky and I laughed. "Oh, I think I'll be okay with Jack; he knows how to behave when he's in public."
Jack hugged me. "I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep tight and behave. I need you alive tomorrow night."
I smiled at him. "I'll be there."
When we reached my apartment, Robbie hugged me. "You go lay down and I'll make you some dinner. I'll also put Heidi in her crib; you just rest and take off her shoes."
I smiled at him. "You're the best brother ever, Robbie."
"I try."
"Well, you're doing a pretty good job."
"And you're doing a great job with Heidi. Ellie, you're really strong, putting up with everything that's happened the past few weeks. I'm proud of you; I'm sure the courts will let you adopt Heidi. You're just wonderful with her."
"Thanks," I told him as I hugged him. "I hope you're right."
"Oh, I know I am. Don't worry. The judge knows that Julie is incapable of being a good mother."
A/N: Okay, please review. The date really will be in the next chapter. I'm thinking about bringing Julie into the custody case, but I may just have the whole thing go through with no trouble and leave all the troublemaking to Mrs. McClanahan. (I'm leaning towards the second idea right now.) But let me know what you guys think.