A/N: Miracle isn't mine.

Killerkeanegirl: I'm glad you liked the parallel dreams. They were so much fun to write. You must surrender-NOW!

Darkdestiny2000: My uncle's wife is named Susan. Snoring Rizzo and Pav will return. Yeah, eventually, Ellie and Jack probably will have Michael Robert, godson of Rizzo. The O'Callahans will be much nicer than the McClanahans.

Miraclegirl: They're very serious. And who said anything about telling Mac? He has his own problems to deal with. (See the end of the chapter.)

StarrShyne: Yeah, dream Ellie is based on my sister and sister-in-law.

Emador: You're still my favorite beta.

Meadow567: It shows that they're destined for each other.

Klinoa: Hey, I have a friend who's as skinny as a twig who snores like a symphony orchestra. Everyone loves the dreams!

CapriceAnn Hedican-Kocur: I'm so happy!

Caitlin: I'm glad you liked the dreams. I'm thinking about having more dreams later on.

Ellie's POV

Before I knew it, it was November and that meant two things. First was the adoption hearing for Heidi and second was the boys' game against Harvard. Jimmy, Silky, Rizzo, and Jack were looking forward to going home, especially Jimmy who was worried about his family. I was nervous about meeting Jack's family. What would they think of me? Would they like me?

But for the time being, most of my energy was focused on Heidi's adoption hearing. Herb had readily given me the day off, but I wanted either Jack or Robbie in the courtroom that day and Herb wasn't readily consenting to giving either of them the day off. The day before I was in his office still trying to the convince him to give one of them a day off. "Listen, Herb, both of them are at practice every day. Neither of them has missed a practice yet. The only thing either of them has ever done wrong is getting into that fight the first day of practices." I sighed. "Herb, please, be reasonable; I need one of them with me in the courtroom tomorrow."

Herb looked at me levelly. "Ellie, I can understand that you need some moral support from your brother, but I need him here during practice."

He paused briefly and in that brief pause, I realized that in the past four months, Jack and I had never once made it clear to Herb that we were dating.

Then Herb continued speaking. "But why you want OC with you tomorrow is beyond me. It would make more sense to me if you had Buzzy or one of the other boys from Minnesota go with you."

I looked down at my hands in my lap. "Herb, Jack and I are dating; we've been dating since late July or early August. He's my boyfriend and the closest thing Heidi has to a father right now. With all due respect, Herb, I'd really like to have him there for moral support tomorrow."

Herb just looked at me for a while. Then he said, "Well, you and Jack O'Callahan, that's certainly one I never saw coming. I would have expected you to be more likely to date Rammer."

I smiled. "No, Rammer and I are just friends. Do you have a problem with me dating one of your players?"

"I'll admit that I'm not crazy about it, but I'm willing to accept that you and OC are two reasonable, mature adults. I'm also expecting you to behave as such. If you two end your relationship before the Olympics, I expect you two to remain civil with each other. Do you understand? Elizabeth, this is a very serious situation. Most companies have rules forbidding this kind of relationship." Herb looked and sounded about as serious as a heart attack.

I nodded slowly. "I understand, Herb, but I value my relationship with Jack and I intend to stay with him for as long as I can."

Herb looked at me seriously. "Go get OC. I want to talk to the two of you together."

When Jack and I came back in the room, I was sure Herb was going to lecture us. But instead, all he said was "OC, Ellie, sit down." We followed his orders and he started talking. "First off, I want to say that I hope that your relationship doesn't get in the way of your jobs. Secondly, Jack, I've known Ellie since she was fourteen and I expect you to treat her like a princess."

Jack smiled. "Coach, Mac, Buzzy, Rammer, Jannie, and the rest of the Minnesota boys have threatened to kill me if I ever hurt Ellie."

Herb nodded. "All right, thirdly, Ellie is the most persistent physical therapist I've ever met. OC, you can have the day off tomorrow to go with Ellie to the hearing."

Jack smiled again. Oh, I loved that smile; I could spend the rest of my life waking up to that face every morning.

The next day, I put Heidi in her carseat and drove to the courthouse. Jack, my dad, and my attorney, Evan Carmichael were waiting for me when I got there. Jack kissed my cheek and took Heidi from me while Dad and Evan started talking legal mumbo-jumbo. "All right," Evan started. "Today will be very simple if Stanley Mitchell behaves himself."

"Pray to God that he does," Dad whispered. "Stanley doesn't want to face my wrath if he tries to prevent my daughter from adopting Heidi."

The courtroom wasn't hot and stuffy like it'd been back in August; now it was cold and drafty. Stanley Mitchell, the Watsons' attorney, was sitting with Mr. and Mrs. Watson, but he was subdued throughout the proceedings and with in six hours everything was arranged. I had legally adopted Heidi Louise Watson and she was mine, forever. No more was she Heidi Louise Watson, daughter of Ron Cummings and Julie Watson; now she was Heidi Louise McClanahan, my daughter.

Mr. and Mrs. Watson came over to me after the judge issued his decision. "Congratulations, Elizabeth," Mr. Watson said. "I'm very pleased that you'll be taking care of Heidi. She's a delightful child, but I think you'll do better as a parent than Marjorie and I would. You can shove her off on that old nanny of yours whenever you want to."

I frowned. "I'd rather not. Fiona was a great mother for me, but I'd like to be Heidi's mother myself."

"You're crazy," Mr. Watson said.

His wife sighed and squeezed my hand. "I'm very happy for you, Elizabeth. You're destined to be a great mother; I can just feel it."

I smiled and thanked her before practically running to Jack. He swept me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. "I'm so happy for you," he whispered. "Heidi's finally really yours."

"Hey, someday she could be yours too," I whispered in his ear. "All you'd have to do is marry me and adopt her."

He laughed and pressed his nose in my hair. "It has potential. But right now let's focus on the Olympics."

I smiled and kissed his cheek. "That sounds like a plan."

Jack's POV

A week later, we were in the Boston area to play Harvard. Ellie was freaking out about meeting my parents, and I was trying to convince her that my family wasn't made up of cannibals. "Annie's a little savage, but the rest of them are harmless," I told her the night before the game. Mac and I were sleeping in her room, again; Rizzo and Pav were still snoring, but Ellie and Heidi were sedate sleepers.

Mac looked over at us from his bed where he was playing with his niece. "Ellie, it's not like his family can be any worse than ours. And even if his sister's a little weird, she can't be worse than Kathie. Do you remember what our darling baby sister did the first time I brought Emily home to meet the folks?"

Ellie shuddered. "I wanted to kill her. She was so humiliating; I thought Em was going to break up with you on the spot."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Kathie spat on Em's food during dinner," Mac told me. "Then she kicked Emily while she was walking from the dining room to the living room."

"Then she said that Em was just a psychotic whore," Ellie said. "And a bunch of other terrible things."

I held her close. "I promise you James and Annie aren't like that. Annie may be nuts, but she's always nice especially to the girls I date. James says he thinks she thinks it's pity."

"I don't think you need pity," she told me with a smile. "Robbie over there might need pity, but you definitely don't."

"Why do I need pity?" Mac asked. "I've got a great girlfriend who loves me more than anything."

"Sure, that's what Emily tells you," Ellie teased. "But really she's keeping another guy on the side."

"Shut up," her brother barked. "And don't say that kind of stuff about my girlfriend ever again."

After that the conversation pretty much fell apart.

We played Harvard the next evening and won. Ellie was thrilled to pieces and yet scared to death of meeting my family. "I'm not related to a bunch of cannibals," I told her. "Annie's weird, but she won't try to eat you."

Elle was clinging desperately to my arm with one hand and holding Heidi with the other arm. "What if they don't like me?" she whispered.

"What's not to love?" I asked her. "You're smart, sweet, kind, beautiful, and my girlfriend. Don't worry about a thing; my family will love you. I know I do."

She kissed my cheek. "You're the best boyfriend ever."

"I love you," I whispered in her ear.

"I love you too," she whispered. "Now let's go meet your family."

"All right," I told her with a smile.

We walked out into the hallway where my family was waiting for us. Annie immediately ran to me and jumped into my arms. "Jackie!" she squealed. "I missed you! Oh, you must be Jackie's girlfriend. How much is he paying you to date him?"

"Annie, shut up," James said, coming up behind her. "Ellie, I apologize for my sister's behavior. We can't figure out if she's adopted or switched at birth."

"Oh, don't worry," Ellie told him. "She's much better behaved than my younger sisters."

"Much better," I affirmed.

James smiled. "Well, I suppose I should introduce myself. I'm Jack's brother, James O'Callahan."

Ellie shook his hand. "I'm Ellie McClanahan."

"She's my girlfriend," I added, knowing that my voice was filled with pride. "Annie, go get Ma and Dad; I want them to meet my Ellie."

"Your Ellie?" she questioned.

"Yes," I replied harshly. "Now go get Ma and Pa."

"Yes sir," she said, saluting me.

Ellie's POV

"Relax, sweetheart," Jack whispered in my ear. "They're going to love you."

Just then, Annie came back with Mr. and Mrs. O'Callahan. "Here she is, Ma! This is Jack's girlfriend."

Mrs. O'Callahan hugged her son. "Jack, it's so good to see you. You look wonderful. Have you been eating well?"

"Between Rizzo and Ellie I never go hungry," he replied, kissing her cheek. "Ma, I want you to meet someone. Ma, this is my girlfriend, Ellie McClanahan."

Mrs. O'Callahan shook my hand. "It's so nice to meet you, Ellie. Jack's told me so much about you."

I blushed and I knew it. "All of it good, I hope."

She smiled. "My son adores you; he'd be scared to say anything bad about you." She stroked Heidi's cheek. "And who is this little princess?"

"This is Heidi, Ellie's daughter," Jack told his mother. "The adoption came through officially last week.

"Congratulations," Mrs. O'Callahan said, hugging me. "All Jack ever tells me about is how much he loves being with you and Heidi. You've really captured my boy's heart and I'm very happy for you."

I smiled. "He's a wonderful guy."

"Ellie," Jack interrupted. "I want you to meet my father. Ellie, this is my dad, Stephen O'Callahan. Pa, this is my girlfriend, Ellie."

Mr. O'Callahan smiled at me. "It's nice to meet you, Ellie. You're all Jack ever talks about."

I smiled and Jack spoke. "I love her. She's all I want to talk about."

I kissed his cheek. "Jack and Heidi are the best things to ever come into my life."

I stayed and talked with the O'Callahans until I felt a firm hand on my shoulder. "Ellie, Mac needs you."

I turned around and saw Buzzy standing behind me. "What's going on?" I asked him.

"I don't know," he said. "All I know is that Mac told me to tell you he had something to tell you and that he needs you to meet him on the bus ASAP."

"All right." I was worried. "Jack, can you keep on eye on Heidi while I go talk to Robbie?"

Jack took Heidi from me and kissed me. "I'll meet you on the bus."

I walked by Jimmy and his dad on my way to the bus; I felt awful for their whole family. Losing Mrs. Craig must have been terrible.

Robbie was waiting for me when I boarded the bus. I sat down next to him and he hugged me. "What's up?" I asked him.

"Where's Heidi?" he posed another question instead of answering.

"She's with Jack. His mother wanted to spend some time with her and I figured that whatever you wanted to talk about was something important, so we should do it privately."

My brother nodded. "That's good."

We sat in silence for a few minutes until I said, "What did you want to talk about?"

He sighed. "I'm going to ask Emily to marry me when we get home."

"That's wonderful, but I thought you were planning to wait until after the Olympics to propose."

He looked at his feet. "I was."

"What happened to change your mind?" I asked. I had a sneaking suspicion as to what the answer was going to be, but I wanted to hear it from the horse's mouth.

Robbie didn't say anything for a while, which pretty much confirmed all my suspicions. Then he spoke. "You know how Emily and I have been, well, sleeping together?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Robbie, what's going on?" He had pretty much confirmed my fears, but I wanted him to come right out and say what he had to say.

"Emily's pregnant," he breathed softly.

"When's she due?" I asked.

"April," he replied. "If she says yes, we'll get married after the baby comes."

I nodded again. "Are you going to tell Herb?"

"I have to; he's my coach."

"And the guys?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do yet," he said. "I'll probably tell Rammer and Buzzy; I'm not sure about the other guys."

"You need to tell Jannie, Buzzy, and Rammer; they've known you forever. Bah and Pav have known you for a while too. At least tell those five guys and the rest will figure things out in the next few months."

Robbie looked at me. "I know. This whole situation is completely new to me; I've never dealt with anything like this before. I will tell the guys I went to UM with and I'll probably end up telling Rizzo because when you're around him it's like being around a priest; you just have to tell him what's going on."

"Anybody else?"

"OC," he said ruthful with a smile. "He's your boyfriend; I have to tell him before you do."

I hugged my brother. "You're going to be a great dad."

He shook his head. "I'm going to be someone's dad."

"What?" a voice said from above us.

We both looked up and saw Jack standing there with Heidi in his arms. "What's going on? Why did Mac say he was going to be someone's dad?"

"Emily's pregnant," Robbie told Jack. "And yes, I'm the father."

"Whoa," Jack breathed. "That's not what I was expecting, no pun intended."

My brother smiled at my boyfriend. "It's all right. It's not something Emily and I were planning; this was definitely a surprise to me."

I looked at my brother and I knew that he was scared. I knew he'd be okay, but I didn't know if he knew that yet.

A/N: Please review!