Life's Full of Little Surprises
Disclaimer: I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.
Summary: Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!
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AznIntegra- Yes, blackmail... It's a very fun thing to have. I am sure that you are right about Thalia and Dani loving having blackmail over Jamie and Adam. The person that Dani is based after is actually my sister and she thanks you. Her boyfriend knows he's lucky. But, anyway, I have absolutely no idea how I got stuck as the group shirk... I don't even know when they decided that I could help them with their problems considering I have just as many as them! But, whatever. Thanks!
NikChic- I'm glad that you loved this chapter as well. I was hoping that the awkward silence between Jamie and Adam would be enjoyed... And it was! YAY! As for Dean's 'I've gone blind...' line, that just seems like something that a brother who was trying to be happy for his sister would say when she wanted to kiss her boyfriend. Thank you!
Mrs. St. John Allerdyce- The end? Absolutely not! There are still a few important things that need to be written. It's not the end, but it is the close... The end won't come for a little while. Thanks, I'm glad you like!
A big THANK YOU to PrincessH!
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It was the day of figure skating show in Philadelphia and the Ducks were very excited to watch it. Before meeting Dani and Tammy, the majority of the Ducks wouldn't have though twice about figure skating, even after meeting Kenny. But ever since meeting Dani and Tammy all of them found that they enjoyed the sport.
Due to the mass amounts of people that were watching, and the fact that the Banks' were out of town for the weekend and told Adam that they didn't want anyone over while they were gone, Piper had offered to let them come over to her house. Julie knew that Piper and her mother were watching anyway, so she figured that it would be the best solution that any of the Ducks would have been able to think of. And it's not like Piper's house was out of anyone's way, after all.
"Mom." Piper said as she entered the kitchen, "What are we going to have for snacking when the Ducks come over."
"Yeah." Julie said, following her younger sister, "The Ducks are pigs."
Julie, Piper, and Jada snorted at Julie's comment, "Well, I figured popcorn for the first hour and then we would go from there." Julie and Piper nodded, "And I have no doubt that they are pigs, Julie. The majority of them are teenage boys."
"But teenage girls eat a lot, too." Piper said, "Unless they are the kind of girls that go to Eden Hall... Then they eat nothing." Julie nodded in agreement.
Jada scowled, "If I ever find out that you two..."
"NO!" Julie and Piper screamed at the same time, almost causing their mother to drop the bowl she was holding.
"Food is good." Piper added.
Julie nodded again, "You've got nothing to worry about, mom."
"Okay, that's all I wanted to know." She replied. At that moment, the doorbell rang and the mother/daughter trio couldn't help but laugh at the sounds of arguing Ducks that they could hear even through the door, "I wonder what that's all about."
"Knowing the Ducks, "Julie said, "Something really stupid. But whatever." Julie and Piper shrugged to each other and Piper opened the door. However, when she saw that Dean and Fulton were joking around with each other and pushing one another, and that Dean was teetering very precariously, she jumped out of the way. However, just as she moved, Dean fell. He managed to turn himself, but he couldn't stop, so he landed smack dab on Julie!
Once Dean noticed he was on top of Julie he thought 'Holy shit! How did I get here?', but all he manged to get out was, "Um... Hi, Julie."
"Hey, Dean." Julie choked out. Piper just stared, amazed at the fact that those two were so incredibly into each other and they had, as if by fate, had ended up in that kind of position. Dean finally got it through his head that he shouldn't be where he was and he stood up, helping Julie to her feet as he did so, "Thanks." Julie said, still embarrassed.
Piper managed to keep herself from laughing, but she gave herself a mental note to call Dani as soon as she could. There is no way that Dani would forgive her if she didn't hear about this. Fulton, who seemed to be forgotten in the whole situation, was standing in the doorway with his eyebrows raised. He hadn't meant for that to happen, but it did. And probably for the better because this tango that Dean and Julie were dancing around each other was really starting to get on his nerves. Not only that, he was positive that only he, Dani, and Piper even noticed said tango... How was that even possible? They were completely obvious!
"So..." Piper said, breaking a momentary silence, "Where is everyone else? The show is starting in, like," She checked her watch, "25 minutes."
Fulton looked backwards out the door, "Here they come." Piper raised her eyebrows and looked out the door as well. She chuckled as a disgruntled Connie picked up a snowball and threw it at one of the boys surrounding her. It was possibly Luis, but from that distance it kind of looked like Ken or even Charlie... Nope, it was Luis.
"That had ice in it!" He cried as he rubbed the side of his face.
Guy, being ever protective, snapped back, "Well, if you hadn't but snow down the back of her shirt, she wouldn't have thrown it at you."
"Charlie dared me!" Luis said, "It wasn't a lot of snow anyways."
"Luis, do you want her to kill you?" Russ asked. Luis shook his head, "Then take what ya got and don't complain about it, because you know she will." He shook his head and walked ahead, "Man, I hate the cold." He mumbled as he entered the house, "Hello, all."
"Hi, Russ." Dean, Piper, Julie, and Fulton replied. The rest of the Ducks followed him in and the door was closed behind Averman, who was the last one in.
"So," Piper said, "The big screen is down stairs in the basement. Who wants to go down now?" The Ducks immediately called out in agreement, causing Piper and Julie to have to close their ears with their fingers. Once the screaming was over, Piper shook her head quickly and sighed, "Well, I wasn't expecting that, but whatever."
Julie nodded, "We do that all the time." She said, shrugging off her friends reactions, "Mom, we're going down to the basement."
"Okay." Jada replied, "Could you and Piper help me bring the stuff down stairs." Julie and Piper nodded.
"We'll be down there in a minute." Julie said, "You know where the door is." The Ducks nodded and Julie and Piper went into the kitchen with their mother to help her carry all of the popcorn that they were going to eat. After making the popcorn, they gathered it in their arms and walked down to the basement. Jada and Piper sat down on one of the love seats that was in one corner of the basement and Julie took a seat next to Dean, a fact that was not missed by her sister. Yet again, Piper gave herself a mental note to call Dani. Piper picked up the remote control and turned the television on as she picked up a kernel of popcorn and popped it in her mouth.
(Authors Note: Just in case you all want to know, I am not going to put the show in this chapter because it's not all that important. I'm sorry if anyone disagrees or wanted to read it, but it's not going to be here.
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Dani sat on her bed in the hotel room that she was sharing with Tammy and looked through a phone book, hoping to find her Aunt Mickie's address. How many Mickelle Portman's could live in Philadelphia, anyway? "Why don't you just look on the Internet or something?" Tammy asked as she modeled a dress in the mirror.
"Because I like doing things the hard way." Dani replied.
"Whatever." Tammy sighed, "Do you think that Fulton was watching?"
Dani rolled her eyes, "I can pretty much guaran-damn-tee it, Tams." She replied, "Dean called and told me that the Ducks were going to watch it at Piper's house."
"Oh." Tammy said, "Well, that's good."
"Yup, it is." Dani said, not taking her eyes of the phone book, "Oh, there it is!" Tammy turned and looked over Dani's shoulder, "South 7th Street." Dani pulled out a pen and wrote the address on a post-it. "It's a good thing that Mickelle isn't that common of a name."
"Not common?" Tammy asked, "That's the understatement of the century. Until you told me her name, I'd never heard of it before." Dani nodded and placed the phone book back under the phone and stood up, "I'll see you later, I'm going to bed."
"I'll be quiet when I come back in."
"Thanks." Tammy said, "I'm exhausted."
Dani nodded, "Plus your mom is being a major pain in the ass... But, then again, that's just who she is." Tammy nodded and headed towards the bathroom, "See you tomorrow."
"Night." Tammy replied.
Dani waited until Tammy closed the bathroom door before she pulled on her trench coat, the one that had been her Aunt Mickie's, and walked out the door. The sun was just starting to go down and Dani knew that she wasn't going too far, so she didn't bother to worry about being alone in the dark. Besides, she had been to Philadelphia before and wasn't all that worried. Rereading the address on the post-it that she had written the address on, Dani sighed. She remembered what had happened between her father and Aunt Mickie all too vividly; she may have only been nearing 6, but the words that had been exchanged rang through her ears as if it had only been a few hours as opposed to 10 years.
Flashback: "Kal, please, you can't leave me with them." 16 year old Mickelle Portman begged her 32 year old brother, "Why can't I stay?" Her large brown eyes welled with tears, why wouldn't he do this for her? He had had to live with their parents too, so why couldn't he understand that she needed to get away.
"Mickie, it's the principle of the thing." Kal replied, "I lived with mom and dad, I know what they are like, you have a lot more in New York then them. It wouldn't be good for you to move here."
"But I like it here." Mickie replied, "Chicago is an awesome place. But that's beside the point. I have to work for them just as hard and you did and I can't take it anymore. I don't know how you survived 18 years, but please don't make me do this anymore."
Kal sighed, "Mick, I can't." Tears now dripped down Mickie's face. 6 year old Dani watched her father and aunt argue from the doorway to the kitchen, "Mom and dad would have the courts bring you back to New York. I don't want to give you false hope that you would be able to stay, because you can't."
"Then help me fight for it." Mickie replied, "If we work together then we can convince the courts to let me stay with you."
"Mickie, look." Kal said, "I want you here, but it won't work. Not just because of mom and dad, but because of what Alyssa and I are going through. I mean, we just had a baby and we just moved to a new house. Alec, Dean, and Dani need to get readjusted... We just can't."
"Oh." Mickie said, "That's how it is. I'm just the little sister, so I don't mean anything."
"Mickie, that's not..."
"But, whatever. I'll get use to the fact that my brother doesn't love me as much as I thought." Kal tried to protest, but Mickie cut him off, "I'll see you around... Dickhead." Not even bothering to put on her jacket, Mickie ran out of her brother's home and didn't look back.
"Oh, God." Kal said as tears formed in his eyes. He turned to his car keys off of the key rack, but he then noticed his daughter, staring at him with eyes that reminded him so much of his wife and his sister, "Dani."
"Daddy." Dani said, clutching her favorite stuffed bear, "Is Aunt Mickie mad at me?"
Kal gaped for a moment, "Of course not, sweetie." He replied, "No, she's not made at you." A tear dripped down his cheek and Dani walked over to him and wiped of the next one that was ready to fall. Kal chuckled and held out his arms, letting his only daughter run into them and hug him. Kal hugged her back and kissed her on the cheek before carrying her back up to bed. :End Flashback.
Not realizing that she was already were she needed to be, Dani nearly passed the building that she was looking for. It was a fairly tall apartment building that was made of brick, but the color of the brick was faded and showed that the building wasn't the newest on the block. Dani walked up on the stoop and pressed the button for the intercom to her aunt's apartment, "Hello?" A female voice asked.
For a moment, Dani was stunned. She sounded almost exactly the same, the only difference was that she sounded slightly older, "Um..." Dani managed, "Aunt Mickie?"
There was a momentary pause, "Who is this?" Mickie asked.
"Dani." Dani replied, "Your only niece."
"Dani?" Mickie asked, "How can I be sure?"
Dani sighed, she should have seen this coming, "Well, other then the fact that I made the trench coat that you left in Chicago my own, I don't know."
"Just a sec." Mickie said after a long moment of shock on her part. A few minutes later, Dani heard the sound of footsteps coming down the narrow staircase, "Oh my god." Mickie said as she saw Dani for the first time in a long time. She had seen her on the television many times, particularly in the past year, but seeing her person was very different.
"Oh my God." Dani retaliated, noticing a very significant thing... That her Aunt was pregnant and ready to pop and any moment, "What is this, the year of the pregnant women?"
"What?" Mickie asked.
Dani shook her head, "A lot of people that I know are, or have been, pregnant as of late." Then she smiled, "But it's great to see you."
Mickie smiled and leaned in to hug Dani. Dani returned the hug, "Come on in." Mickie said, "We don't need to stand outside in the dark." Dani nodded and followed her inside. Dani noticed that not only did Mickie sound almost the same, besides her large stomach, she looked almost the same as well. Dani walked up three flights of stairs behind her Aunt and smiled when she entered the apartment, "What?"
"Nothing." Dani replied, "It's just that this looks almost exactly like my room." She said, noticing the very oriental theme that was evident throughout the entire apartment.
Mickie smiled, "Well, it's nice to know that at least one person in this family has a little bit of style." She sat down on a very large chair, "Well, sit. I can say that you won't find a more comfortable chair then that one." She pointed to the slightly smaller chair to her left. Dani sat down and wanted to say something to her, but all she could do was stare at her stomach, "What? What's wrong?"
Dani shook her head, "It's nothing, it's just that I didn't expect to see you exactly like this."
Mickie nodded, "You mean pregnant?" Dani nodded hesitantly, "Well, it's not exactly like I called and told anyone." She said, clearly feeling very upset about that fact, "But I can't wait for this baby come out." Dani nodded that was understandable for a women who was so close to being due, "Then I won't have to deal with it's father anymore..." Dani cringed, bad relationship, "Or it's mother." That caught Dani off guard.
"What?" Dani asked.
Mickie sighed, but she didn't seem to hear her niece, "They are so bitter... But they're old, so whatever."
"What?" Dani asked again, this time more confused then ever.
"Oh." Mickie replied, finally remembering that Dani didn't have the slightest clue what was going on, "I'm sorry, Dani. I'm a surrogate. The parents are an older couple that couldn't have kids on their own."
Dani thought for a second, "Ew." She said, "Old people doing the dirty..." Mickie slapped her hand to her forehead, she really didn't need to think about that kind of thing, "I really shouldn't have brought that up."
"And really didn't need to hear that." Mickie replied.
"Sorry." Dani apologized, "But I was wondering if you had any mementos from when you were younger. I always kind of wondered what you did after you left Chicago."
Mickie nodded, "A lot." She replied as she stood and pulled down two photo albums. Dani scooted over to get a better look. Mickie took the smaller of the two and opened it, immediately pointing out two pictures, "Those were taken by an old friend of mine from New York. His name was Mateo and at this moment he was helping me move out of my parents house... Well, actually it was more like I needed to get the hell out of there, so I left."
"Fun." Dani replied, "Dad explained your parents well... And that makes me glad that I never had to meet them."
"Yeah, you're lucky that you didn't." Mickie replied, turning the page, "That was me and, again, Mateo at our High School graduation. God I was happy, I hated high school."
"I like high school, personally." Dani replied, "But, I know a few people who really, really, really hate high school." Mickie nodded, "Actually, Daddy has convinced his share of kids to stay in school."
"Really?" Mickie asked, "Is that a fact?" Dani nodded, "Well, that's Kal for you. He has always had a need to be a do-gooder." Dani nodded again and Mickie turned the page, but at the back of the photo album, a picture fell out. Dani leaned down and picked it up, but couldn't help but look at it, and it shocked her. In the picture was Mickie, obviously, and she looked extremely happy. A smile graced her face and she had her arm around another women. The women had creamy white skin that contrasted greatly with Mickie's darkened Latina skin and she was smiling as well. Her hair was deep red, but not so deep that it looked fake.
"Aunt Mickie?" Dani asked.
"Um?" Mickie asked, looking up from the photo album.
"Who is this?" Dani asked, turning the picture around so that Mickie could see that front of it. As soon she saw it, all of the blood left her face and she looked very close to tears, "Aunt Mickie?"
"Um..." Mickie replied, "That's Evelyn Holtz."
"And?" Dani asked.
"We... were together."
"Oh..." Dani replied, getting the point that her aunt had made. 10 years certainly changed people and apparently there were a few changes that needed to be discussed, "You're a lesbian." Mickie nodded, "Well, Doe's going to love you..."
"Who?" Mickie asked, wiping tears from her eyes.
"My friend Doe... Actually his name is Oliver, but we call him Doe because his last name is Adoeben, A-D-O-E-B-E-N. So, we call him Doe." Mickie was still a little confused, "He's gay and whenever someone comes out he's the first person to congratulate them."
Mickie laughed, "Really?"
"Yeah." Dani replied. She was about to say more when her phone vibrated in her pants pocket, "Just a sec." She said as she pulled out the phone, "Hello?" She said.
"You are fully aware that your brother and my sister are tremendously into each other, right Dani?" Piper asked, "Because if you aren't then I will have to worry about your title as Cupid."
"Nice to talk to you too, Piper." Dani said, "And for your information, I've noticed that Dean and Julie were into each other for a while now." Dani looked over to Mickie, who looked completely confused.
"Oh, good." Piper replied, "Then I don't have to worry about you." She said, "Buy didn't get to see Dean literally fall on top of Julie this afternoon."
"I missed... What?" Dani said, "I want details!"
"Well, Dean and the Ducks were coming over to my place to watch the show, good job by the way." Piper said.
"Thanks."
"But when Dean and Fulton got to the door, they were joking around and Fulton knocked Dean over, nearly on top of me, but I moved out of the way. Julie, however, had no clue was as going on and Dean fell smack dab on top of her... Then there was this big awkward silence and then he got off of her." Piper said, "But when we were watching the show, I couldn't help but notice that Julie sat right next to Dean."
"Really?" Dani asked, "Those two are just getting really infuriating."
"Getting?" Piper asked, "They already were!" Dani nodded and groaned in agreement, "I have to get off, so I'll see you when you get back. Bye."
"Bye, Pi." Dani replied as she hung up, "What?" Dani asked when she looked back at Mickie.
"What was all of that about?" Mickie asked.
Dani shook her head, "It's nothing." Mickie raised her eyebrows, "That was Piper Gaffney, she's Julie Gaffney's sister. Julie and Dean play hockey together and both of us know that they have the hots for each other."
"Really?" Mickie said, "Julie Gaffney? The girl that saved the last shot of the Junior Goodwill Games." Dani nodded, "Well, that's certainly... interesting."
"They're super annoying because it's completely obvious."
"I knew a few people like that." Mickie replied, "But speaking of Dean, I haven't seen him for 10 years, does he still look the same?"
"I don't know," Dani said, "You tell me." She pulled out her wallet and took out a picture of her entire family and held it out for Mickie to take. Mickie took the picture and Dani leaned over, "That's mom and dad, obviously." She said, pointing to her parents, "And that's Alec."
"Wow." Mickie said, "He's grown."
"Yup." Dani replied, "And there is Dean." She said pointing to Dean, "And me next to him..."
"He looks exactly like Kal when he was 16." Mickie said.
"I know, I saw a lot of daddy's old pictures." Dani replied, "And that's Caleb."
Mickie stared in shock, "The baby?"
Dani shook her head, "He's not a baby anymore." She replied, "He's even had his first kiss." Mickie smirked and furrowed her eyebrows, "Dean's coach's daughter."
"Are you serious?" Mickie asked, stupified.
"Unfortunately." Dani replied, "And it doesn't help that she is also my coach's niece." Mickie let out a low whistle, "Yeah, I know." Mickie chuckled and Dani looked back at the picture, "And that's Felix, he's two."
"Damn..." Mickie said, "Another one?" Dani nodded, "I was always the one that wanted a lot of kids and my brother beat me to it." Dani nodded and Mickie smiled at the happy family in the picture. So when she abruptly looked like she was in pain, Dani was somewhat confused, "Dani..."
"Uh?" Dani asked, "Aunt Mickie? Please tell me that that isn't the I'm-in-labor face... Because it's kinda looking like what mom looked like when she went into labor with Caleb and Felix..."
"Oh, so it's everybody?" Mickie asked, the pain evident in her face.
"Oh, God..." Dani said, she hadn't dealt with a labor in a long while and she hadn't planned to today... But that was life and she need to get her Aunt to the hospital, "Just breath."
"Trust me, that's what I know how to do." Mickie replied, breathing deeply.