Of Dreams and Miracles
By Misha

Disclaimer and Rating in Prologue.

A.N- This is another chapter that wasn't in my first draft of this story. It's more Gloria stuff and some more Kathleen. Some of the Kathleen stuff was actually taken from a later chapter, but I thought it fit better here. Well, that's all for now, enjoy!

Part Twenty-Eight: Going to Lake Placid

Ten Days Before Opening Ceremonies

The phone rang the next morning just as Elizabeth and Herb were on their way out the door to go to practice. No one else in the house was up yet, since it was 5:30 a.m.

"I wonder who that can be calling this early?" Elizabeth commented.

Herb looked irritated. "I don't know, but I don't have time for a phone call."

"I'll get it and then drive myself to practice, ok?" Elizabeth said, heading back to grab the phone. Herb nodded and walked out the door, just as Elizabeth grabbed the phone. "Hello?"

She wasn't sure who it could be calling. It might be normal for her to be up at 5:30 in the morning, but for most of the rest of the world it was considered an ungodly early.

"Good morning, Elizabeth."

"Nana?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief. She blinked. It was too early to deal with Gloria. She loved her grandmother dearly, but she wasn't the easiest person in the world to talk to. "What are you doing calling this early?"

"This is the only time I can actually manage to get hold of you." Gloria reprimanded.

"Sorry, Nana, but we're down to the stretch, you know?" Elizabeth told her. "The Olympics start in ten days and we play the Soviets in a week."

"That's why I'm calling." Gloria told her.

"You're calling about us playing the Soviets?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief.

"I'm going to the game." Gloria informed. "I'll also be at Lake Placid. I've already gotten my tickets and reserved my hotel room, I just thought I'd inform you."

"Oh." Elizabeth said, then blinked. "You're coming?"

Gloria never seemed to entirely approve of either Herb or hockey, so it surprised Elizabeth that Gloria intended to go watch the team.

"Of course, I'm coming." Gloria told her. "I may not approve of how you choose to spend your time and energy, but you are my granddaughter and this is important to you, so I will be there to support you."

Elizabeth smiled. "Thank you, Nana."

"You're welcome, darling." Gloria told her. "Is there any chance I'll be able to see you in New York before the game?"

Elizabeth paused, considering it. "I think so. We'll be arriving the day before the game and I can probably get away for dinner that night."

"Good." Gloria told her. "I'll be looking forward to seeing you, we've barely seen each other these past few months."

That was true, enough. Gloria had spent Christmas with her only son, Elizabeth's uncle Brian, who lived in the St. Paul area and Elizabeth had gone there for Boxing Day to celebrate with her grandmother and uncle and some other maternal relatives.

That was the only time Elizabeth had spent with her grandmother in the last few months. Gloria rarely came to Minnesota anymore and Elizabeth just hadn't had the time to go to New York to visit her. She had been too busy with the team to get away.

"Don't worry, Nana, this is almost over." Elizabeth assured her.

"Does that mean I'll actually get to see my granddaughter without resorting to have to go to a hockey game?" Gloria inquired.

"Yes, Nana." Elizabeth told her. "I promise I'll come spend a week with you as soon as this is over."

"You better." Gloria told her. "Now, despite the ungodly hour, I'm sure that father of yours need you to be somewhere, so you better go. I'll talk to you later in the week to confirm our dinner plans."

"Ok, bye Nana." Elizabeth said and then hung up the phone, a smile on her face. So her grandmother was coming to Lake Placid, oh, that was going to be interesting...
---

"Who was that on the phone?" Herb asked, during a break in practice. "You took a fair bit of time getting here, so I assume it was a long call."

"It was Nana." Elizabeth told him.

Herb groaned. "What did she want?"

His former mother-in-law was not his favourite person. There had always been a slightly antagonistic relationship between the two of them, with Elizabeth being their only bond.

"She's coming to Lake Placid and to the game in New York." Elizabeth informed him.

Herb shot her a look. "You didn't suddenly start calling one of your other grandmothers 'Nana', did you?"

"No." Elizabeth told him. "I've only got the one Nana."

"She's coming to Lake Placid?" Herb asked. "Tell me you're kidding, Elizabeth. Gloria hates hockey and she's not that crazy about me either."

"But she loves me." Elizabeth told him. "She knows this is important to me, so she's trying to be supportive."

Herb shot her a look. "Just keep her away from me."

"I'll try." Elizabeth assured her father with a small smile. After, twenty-one years, she had become pretty good at playing peacemaker. Besides, her grandmother wasn't that bad, just a little intimidating.

"Good. I can't be distracted." Herb told her. "And if nothing else, that woman is certainly distracting."
---

"Gloria's coming to Lake Placid?" Kathleen asked with a laugh. "You're father must love that."

Elizabeth was hanging out with Kathleen after practice, mostly because she had wanted to share the news.

"He just told me to keep her away from him." Elizabeth said with a smile. "I don't think he's really upset, he knows that she's only going because she loves me."

"Well, I still think it'll be interesting." Kathleen said. She'd met Gloria on her infrequent visits to Minnesota and she'd also gone with Elizabeth to visit her in New York on a few previous occasions, so she was familiar with Elizabeth's grandmother and what kind of character she was. "I'm glad I'll be there to see it."

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked in surprise.

"I'm going to Lake Placid." Kathleen told her. "I'm going to be there for the whole Olympics."

"What?" Elizabeth asked again, completely stunned by what she was hearing.

Kathleen grinned. "I've been dying to tell you, I've been keeping it a secret since Christmas--waiting for the perfect moment. My parents arranged it as a Christmas present, the plane, the hotel, the ticket to the games. They knew that I wanted to go to support you, so they made it possible."

"Oh my God!" Elizabeth exclaimed, shaking her head. "What about school?"

She was thrilled at the thought that Kathleen would be sharing this with her, but her friend was a full time student in the last year of her undergraduate study.

"It's only two weeks, I can miss it." Kathleen assured her. "Come on, Liz, this is really important to you and I'm your best friend, of course I'm going to be there for you."

"I'm sure Mark doesn't have anything to do with it." Elizabeth teased.

"Not really." Kathleen replied. "I mean, I like him. But he's just a guy, albeit a cute, nice one. I'm interested in seeing where it goes, but I'm not going to Lake Place because of him. I'm going because of you. You're my best friend and you're more important to me than any guy and you need, so I'll be there. I'd be there even if there was no Mark."

Elizabeth felt herself go teary at Kathleen's words. She leaned over and gave her friend a hug. "Thank you." She said simply. "This means a lot to me."

Kathleen just smiled. "No problem, what else are best friends for?"
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