Of Dreams and Miracles
By Misha

Disclaimer and Notes in Prologue.

Part Seventeen: Understanding

At the beginning of the next practice, Elizabeth was watching the boys do some stretching exercises on the ice while her father and Coach Patrick talked off to the side.

Normally, she'd be out there doing the warm-up with them, but she didn't feel like it, so she was just supervising. Technically, she didn't have a lot to do when it came to the coaching side of things, but since her father ordered her to be at every practice, she helped out with the little things like organising the warm-ups.

"Rizzo's making dinner tonight, boys," Dave Christian called out. "You know that there's going to be some meatballs."

Everyone laughed. Elizabeth wasn't sure what was going on and figured that she must be missing something.

"You boys keep eating them and I'll keep making them," Rizzo told them.

More laughter. Elizabeth shook her head, she was really missing something. She just didn't know what.

"I think you guys are insane to eat that stuff," Bah told them. "No offence, Rizzo."

And again, there was even more laughter. Elizabeth was starting to feel a little annoyed because she wasn't sure what was so funny.

"You should come, Liz." Mark called out to her. "In fact, maybe you should cook."

There was yet more laughter, all of it coming from those who had gone to the U and knew what her response was going to be.

"No way." Elizabeth stated flatly.

"Come on, Princess, for us?" Silk begged.

"Liz doesn't cook, she burns things." Robbie volunteered with a smirk.

Elizabeth glared at him, so cooking wasn't really her thing, so what? It was 1979, luckily the world had progressed a little past thinking that a woman's only worth was in the kitchen. Thank goodness for her or she'd really be in trouble.

"I don't always burn things." She stated indignantly.

"Maybe not always, but it's not usually that edible." Robbie pointed out with a chuckle.

"It was one stupid cake!" Elizabeth exclaimed irritably, causing all the boys who had been at the U to start laughing again. Apparently they all remembered the time she had tried to bake Robbie a birthday cake. It had not exactly been a roaring success.

"Hey Timmy!" Coach Patrick called out. Another hockey player came on to the ice then. All the boys looked on with suspicion and distaste.

"Hey, who is that?" Rizzo asked the other guys.

"Timmy Harrer," Verchota answered. "Plays for the Gophers. They're having a big year."

"Did you know he was coming?" Elizabeth heard Eric Stroebel ask.

"No," several of the other boys answered at once. They all turned to look at Elizabeth.

"Liz, did you know he was coming?" Robbie asked for all of them.

Elizabeth hesitated, then shook her head. Technically, she hadn't know for sure, just that it was an idea.

"No," she answered, then honestly compelled her to elaborate, "Dad mentioned maybe bringing him in, but he didn't say anything for sure and I honestly thought he'd warn you guys first."
---

After practice, Elizabeth was waiting outside the locker room for the boys.

Timmy Harrer was the first to leave. He paused on his way out.

"They told me to tell you to go in." He told her.

She made a face. "They decent?" She tried to avoid the locker room, since it wasn't really her territory. Timmy nodded and then disappeared down the hall.

Elizabeth entered the locker room, relieved to find that indeed they were all dressed or at least dressed enough to not offend her sense of dignity.

"So this is what a locker room is like." She stated and then wrinkled her nose at the smell. "I think I could have lived without this experience."

The boys ignored her comments and continued the conversation that had been going on when she walked in.

"This is ridiculous," MIke stated.

"Don't worry about it," Rizzo told him, patting his shoulder. "It'll be all right, right O.C?"

"Herb's not gonna fo a damn thing boys," Jack assured them all with a cocky grin on his face. "He's just messing with our minds."

"You sound confident." Elizabeth commented, looking around before sitting down on a bench between Jack and Robbie. She always seemed to end up between them, she wondered if it was some sort of cosmic sign. "Are you sure?"

"I am." He told her. "I mean, this late in the game, he's not going to mess up what we've got."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Jimmy Craig said, speaking up. "What do you mean?" Jack demanded, turning to look at him.

"Well, we all know Herb made the Olympic team back in '60." Jimmy answered.

Elizabeth bit her lip. She knew that story all too well.

"So?" Jack asked, obviously not seeing where Jimmy was going with this.

"So a week before the games Coach Riley calls him into his office and sends him home," Jimmy continued.

"What's your point?" Jack pressed, sounding a little agitated.

"His point is that Dad was at home a few weeks later, watching on TV when they won that gold medal." Elizabeth answered for the goaltender. "It was his only shot and he knew it. He was already married, already had me. Another chance wasn't going to come again and he missed his by an inch. Then, my mom, my biological mom, died and it was the two of us on our own and the moment was gone."

"Exactly." Jimmy said, looking at the rest of the boys. "Come that close and get nothing... He'll do whatever it takes. I guess that's my point."
---

Elizabeth decided to skip dinner with the boys that night, since they were all too tense to be able to relax. So, instead she went out with Kathleen and had some girl time.

When she got home, her father was in the kitchen, talking on the phone, and her mother was just coming down the stairs.

"I understand that Walter," Herb said, obviously frustrated, then hung the phone up a minute later.

"What's wrong, Dad?" Elizabeth inquired.

"Nothing," her father shot back.

"That's not a 'nothing' tone of voice," Elizabeth retorted, keeping her voice calm. "It's definitely something. Remember, I know you, Daddy, better than most people. So what's wrong?"

"There's talk that Carter may boycott the Moscow games next summer," he answered, sitting down.

Elizabeth nodded, the impact of that hitting her. "If we don't go there, they might not come here."

"Right," he answered.

"Don't do this to yourself, Herb, there are things you can control, and things you can't," Patti said, going over to the fridge. "You'll still have everything you want here in Minnesota."

"Don't tell me what I'll have Patti," Herb said angrily. "You don't know this situation well enough to tell me that."

"I understand you being upset when I say you work too hard coaching a simple game," Patti shot back angrily. "But don't you ever criticize me for caring about you."

With that she just walked away, back up the stairs.

Elizabeth watched her go, wondering how her mom had done it for so long: put up with Herb's moods and his single-minded determination. Especially when it all centred around something that Patti herself couldn't stand. In a simple moment, Elizabeth gained a new-found respect for her mother.
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