Of Dreams and Miracles
By Misha

Disclaimer and Notes in Prologue.

Part Twenty-Seven: The Countdown Begins

Early February, 1980
Eleven Days Before Lake Placid

The next weeks flew by in a mass of practices.

Their moment was coming and Herb was determined that they boys were going to be prepared, so he worked them even harder than usual.

After one practice, Elizabeth stood in the hall outside the locker room waiting for the players to emerge.

They were all going to grab something to eat, though as far as she knew, the boys still hadn't decided on a restaurant. She assumed that they were debating it inside the locker room, which meant that it would be decided by the time they emerged and she wouldn't a vote. That always seemed to be how it worked.

Elizabeth was getting impatient, wondering what was taking them so long, when the door opened and Jack emerged.

"Come here." He told her, motioning for her to step inside the locker room.

She made a face, but did as he bade her. "What's going on?" She asked Jack in a quiet voice as she noticed the solemn expressions that all the boys wore.

"Herb called Coxie into his office." Jack confided quietly.

Elizabeth winced sympathetically. She knew what that meant, they all did. "Oh, boy."

She felt bad for Ralph, she'd miss having him around. But a part of her felt incredibly relieved. This was it, there'd be no more cuts.

Jack had made the team. So had Robbie and Rizzo. Elizabeth knew that she would have been devastated of any of them had been the one to go.

After a moment, she looked around the locker room, taking in all the faces.

This was it. The final twenty.

This was their team. Their family.
---

Dinner that night was subdued, the absence of Coxie was definitely felt, but there was also an air of relief. There was no more fear of any of them getting cut. They had made it.

Elizabeth could feel Robbie's eyes watching her and Jack all night, though the tow of them were trying hard to just act like normal. Since practice had resumed after Christmas, he always seemed to be watching them. Elizabeth supposed it was natural, given what he now knew about their relationship.

She didn't think anyone else had picked up on it, but it still unnerved her having Robbie watch them like that. So many emotions were present in his eyes, too many for Elizabeth's taste. She wanted it all to be simple, but she knew that just wasn't possible.

Still, she tried not to look at Robbie, tried not to see the emotions and questions in his eyes. Eyes that she once thought she could happily drown in, but that was a long time ago.

Conversation was kept light, with no one mentioning anything to do with hockey. Elizabeth knew that it weighed heavily in all of their minds, but for this night they weren't going to focus on it.
---

Elizabeth went straight home after dinner with the boys. It was earlier than she usually got home, but she felt that she needed time to herself and she was sure that the boys felt the same way.

The countdown was beginning. Soon everything they had been working for would be upon them. They had their team and soon they would go to Lake Placid.

Elizabeth wondered what it would be like when it was all over. Would her life go back to normal? Could it possibly?

Would the boys, whom she had grown to consider as part of her family still be in her life? Or would they all grow apart once they'd gone their separate ways?

What what she and Jack had last after the Olympics were over and they were free to go back to their regular lives?

She had so many questions, but no answers. She wouldn't know any of the answers until after Lake Placid.

It would all be over soon and Elizabeth had no clue what would happen when it was.
---