katydid13: Thank you

rejazzz: I'm so glad you loved it. Here is more for you

A special thank you to rejazzz for helping me out with the first part of this chapter. It was driving me nuts before she told me where to look for the info :). Much love to you

ooOoo

The seagulls started lifting like an angry banshee choir, he hit the rocks at fifty clicks and the sky lit up with fire.

French Perfume- Great Big Sea

ooOoo

I buried myself within the crowd, waiting to see what would happen. Herb had to be nervous, why else would he be pacing the hallways? Then again, there was a lot riding on this game. They'd already spit in the face of the Ayatollah Khomeini by defeating the Soviet Union. The whole thing had started over the Soviet Union going into Afghanistan and starting things up, where they was really no need for it. Apparently there were banners during the game proclaiming "Get the puck out of Afghanistan!", clearly meant to disguise a word not appropriate for a family- friendly event. Yeah, it's a whole big mess, still going on, and it's not needed, not at all.

I can't even imagine how worried Herb and Craig must be. If Herb was pacing that much earlier, imagine how he'd be coping right about now. Of course, he'd present a calm, composed front to his players, but in reality he must have been going insane.

I saw the raw determination on their faces as they stepped on to the ice. The Finnish team looked as though they could snap our boys in half, with that big gold lion on their chests. And already, once the puck was dropped, it wasn't long before my boys had fallen behind, 1-0. I could feel my heart squeeze at the thought of them losing, but I know they weren't going to go down without a fight.

And I was right, Steve Christoff, one of the most kind players on the team, tied the game at the beginning of the second period, but it didn't stop there. We were behind just a few minutes later, after Buzzy Schneider decided it would be a good idea to swing his stick like an axe into a Finnish player (what? I don't know his name), and the Finnish scored on that power play. God, what were we doing?

But, you won't believe this, Philly Verchota (aww, my Philly, love 'im), gave us another goal, tying the game at two a piece. There we go, that's what I wanted to see. See? I told you they wouldn't be going down without a fight. Robbie McClanahan actually wanted till he could get a clear shot, and put us up 3-2. The chanting throughout the period, oh, you should have heard it. "We want a goal, we want a goal!"… wow.

And in the final period, everyone, and I do mean everyone, was on their feet. Yes, I was up too, there was no point in hiding myself anymore; they couldn't see me, having developed tunnel vision throughout the game. They were focused on one thing, and one thing only, and that was the Gold medal.

Ten minutes turned to five minutes, and five to zero, and the arena erupted. Sticks were thrown into the crowd, I saw Herb head for the locker room again, and now I had my chance. I made my way down the steps, as frenzied and loud and dangerous as it was, and quietly followed Herb toward said room. Perfect opportunity, if you ask me. I couldn't wait till they all came back and I could surprise them.

"Herb!" I called, running after him.

He didn't hear me, but I'm not surprised. The noise was absolutely deafening. Cheers and screaming and celebrations outside… it was amazing. In fact, it wasn't for at least another hour or so that the team made their way down to the locker room. I hid till they had all gotten in there, save for Craig.

Running to him, I jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"I am so proud of you!" I shouted over the noise. "I saw the whole thing! I can't believe it!"

He set me down and kissed me.

The door opened just as we broke apart.

"Hey! Look who's here!" Philly grabbed my arm and pulled me into the dressing room. "Guys, Viv's back!"

The entire locker room erupted in more cheers as they all clambered over to hug me. I was being swept through a sea of sweat, blue, red and white…

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

ooOoo

If you were to ask me what the hell happened after the game and such, I can't really remember. Once the boys let me go, I left them in their dressing room so that they could finish their celebrations. But it's kind of funny, Craig didn't seem to want to stay with them. He followed me out and quickly grabbed my hand.

"What about the team?"

"They're alright, Doc will look in on them after a while."

Shrugging my shoulders, I pulled my coat tighter to keep myself warm as we walked outside. A lot of the celebrations had calmed down, surprisingly, and many of the people had gone home. Stepping outside, I saw the sun was just about to set, the sky streaked with pink and orange, it was absolutely beautiful.

We must have walked for at least two hours, considering the snow had started falling as the night wore on. Looking up at Craig, I saw snow sticking in his hair, a faint smile on his face.

"What are you smiling at?"

"Just at how perfect life seems right now."

"Well I'm sure it would, you just won the gold medal."

"That's not what I mean…" his fingers intertwined with mine.

I gave him a surprised sort of look.

"Vivianne," he turned and touched his forehead to mine.

"Yes Craig?" I was so nervous I could hear my breath catching in my throat.

He breathed deeply, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I love you."

And he silenced me with a kiss.

Suddenly it wasn't so cold out. The faint sound of fireworks going off in the distance pierced the air, the sound of celebration accompanied them.

And I had all the more reason to celebrate, gold medal or not.