krazisoapluvnreject: Thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked Jack's reaction. I tried to make it as realistic as possible, but considering I've never been in Maddie's situation, I completely made up the reaction.

Flowers781: Well, I guess I'm glad I made you mad to suck you in, lol. You better keep that magic mirror out though! Thanks for the review.

surfer-kel: Okay, I can't get the link in here, so it's in my profile. I wasjust looking for some slang to use in the story, and when I saw the phrase,I was like, I so have to use that! I wanted to make Jack's reaction as realistic as possible, and I figured that a guy with his temper in that situation would be pretty pissed. I also wanted drama and angst in the story. Thanks for the review and I'm glad you liked it!

Emador: The rabbit died was from the 20's when a woman's urine would be injected into a rabbit ovaries. A chemical would be present if the girl was pregnant, but the only way to tell if the rabbit had the chemical, was to kill the rabbit. In relaity, the rabbit would die whether the girl was pregnant or not. The phrase was still used in the 70's, although other methods were used to tell if someone was pregnant. I'm glad you're hooked on the story. I try to update as often as possible. I also followed what you said about liking Jack's reaction to Mac's reaction about Maddie, lol. Thanks for the review.

Meadow567: Thanks for the review. I do remeber Mac getting his girlfriend pregnant in that story now. But like you said, they weren't main characters. I'm glad you liked Jack's reaction.

Nelliebly413672: Yeah, he is blaming Maddie a lot. Just wait until you read this chapter! Thanks for the review.

Lien-Wan: I'm so gad you like the story. Thank you for the review. Without the reviews, I wouldn't update as often as I do. I hate when authors only update once a year, which is why I have the majority of the story already written. But reviews really get me to post faster, so thank you.

A/N: Thank you all again for the wonderful reviews! Seven again, yay! Getting reviews really makes my day. Hope you guys like thischapter too.It's still angsty, and most of it is conversations and other guys finding out about Maddie's pregnancy. Enjoy and hit that little review button when you're done:)

Chapter 8

For the two weeks after Maddie told Jack, the same thing went on. They still hadn't spoken to each other about anything, let alone, the baby. Maddie and Jack had each been avoiding one another like they were infected with the plague. Mac and Rizzo remained the messengers for them. They would keep Maddie company, and help her with anything she needed, while keeping Jack up to date with how Maddie was doing and pushing him to talk to her. The rest of the team was becoming less and less patient with the four. Jack was being a jerk and almost always in a bad mood, Mac and Rizzo knew what was happening but wouldn't say a word, Maddie was always trying to be funny and make jokes, pretending to be happy, and worst of all, all four pretended nothing was wrong.

August 31, 1979

Jack, Rizzo, and Silky were sitting in the dorms watching baseball on ESPN after a rough practice earlier that day. Since the team was leaving for Europe in a few days to start their pre-Olympic tour, Herb was pushing them really hard. The team was going to be playing ten games between Holland, Finland, and Norway. Jack had a lot on his mind the past two weeks, and most of it had nothing to do with hockey or the upcoming games. He was really concerned about Maddie.

"Hey Rizzo."

"Yeah?"

"How's Maddie feeling?" Jack asked, momentarily forgetting Silky was in the room.

"Okay, I guess."

"Has she seen a doctor yet?"

"I don't know."

"Could you find out? I want to make sure everything's going okay. But don't tell her I asked you to ask her."

"OC, why don't you just talk to her."

"I can't yet."

"It's been nearly two weeks. Stop acting like a high school prick and talk to her," Rizzo said, annoyed.

"It's not that easy," said Jack. "Please ask her. I promise I'll talk to her soon."

"Okay fine. But only because Maddie's my friend and I care about her and the baby."

"Baby?" Silky said, surprised.

"Rizzo, can't you keep your mouth shut?" Jack said, annoyed.

"You brought it up, OC."

"But you said 'baby'," Jack said.

"Is she pregnant?" Silky asked.

"Yeah."

"Holy shit! Seriously?"

"Yeah, Silky."

"Sucks to be you," he commented to Jack.

"Why's that?" Rizzo wondered.

"Cause daddy OC's gonna need to help with a kid and try to please his perfect girlfriend."

"Silky . . . " Rizzo warned.

"So were you two that irresponsible or was it her fault?" Silky asked, ignoring Rizzo.

"OC was there. It wasn't just Maddie's fault. Jack's the one that can't keep it in his pants," Rizzo said. Jack rolled his eyes and ignored the last part of his comment.

"She was on birth control," Jack said.

"And what were condoms invented for?" Rizzo asked sarcastically.

"I thought the pills were enough." For a few minutes, the guys went back to watching TV. Once Rizzo left the room for a minute, Silky spoke up again.

"You said she was on birth control?"

"Yeah."

"What if she stopped taking it and didn't tell you?"

"Why would she do that?"

"Come on, OC. Why do you think she would do it? You can't be that stupid." Jack didn't answer. He had no idea why Maddie would stop taking the pills. "Let's say Maddie thought being pregnant would get you to stay with her. How would that happen while she was on birth control?"

"Are you implying she might have gotten pregnant on purpose?"

"Kind of."

"Silky, that's crazy. Maddie would never do that. She had no reason to either, and she knew that."

"Are you sure? Girls like her would do anything."

"Girls like her? What do you have against her? It's pretty obvious you still don't like Maddie that much, but I've never known why."

"Jack. She's perfect. She's always nice. I've never heard her yell, even though you say she has. All I know is no one is that nice all the time. It's so fake."

"Are you serious? You don't like her because you think she's too nice?"

"And perfect. She's such a pleaser and I hate that."

"Whatever. That's the dumbest reason I've ever heard for not liking someone. You're just jealous of what we have, aren't you?"

"Oh yeah, OC. I'm real jealous. Especially now that's she's pregnant. How I just wish I could be you," Silky said sarcastically.

"I'm serious, Silky. You've never had a girlfriend for more than a month. I've been dating Maddie for ten. You're obviously jealous of what I have. But whatever. I guess you're going to have to get over the fact that girls just don't like you for more than a one night stand," Jack said, with an edge in his voice.

"Ya know what, OC? I'm not jealous. I happen to like dating a lot of different girls. I think you're jealous though. Of me. You can't hook up with girls anymore, and you can't leave Maddie either. Well, you can, but since she has you wrapped around her finger, it's too hard. And now that she's pregnant, it will be even harder to leave her."

"I love Maddie," Jack said.

"If you loved her as much as you say you do, you'd talk to her. I think you should stop pretending." This comment made Jack get even more angry than he already was.

"I'm not pretending! Maybe you should stop pretending to be friends with her though. She has no idea how much you hate her, and until today, I didn't really either!"

"Oh yeah. I'll be sure to tell her. Normally, I wouldn't want to make her cry, but now I don't even care. Maybe little Miss Perfect needs to find out how people really feel about her," Silky said, getting up and walking to the door.

"People, Silky? Don't you mean you?" Jack said as Silky slammed the door.

After Silky left, Jack started thinking about what Silky was saying. He was kind of right about Maddie in a way. Maddie did try too hard to be perfect, but Jack still loved her. He was still pissed about her getting pregnant, but there was nothing he could do now. If Maddie was taking the birth control regularly though, how could she be pregnant? Jack wondered. What if Silky was right about her wanting to get pregnant? Maddie wouldn't do that though, would she? Now Jack was even more confused than before, due to Silky putting ideas in his head.

September 1, 1979

Early the next morning, Maddie was eating breakfast and watching the morning news when she heard a knock on her door.

"Come on in, it's open." Rizzo walked in and sat on the bed next to her.

"Hey Maddie."

"Hey Rizzo. What brings you here this early?"

"I wanted to see how you're doing."

"I'm okay," she said, though sounding a little sad.

"I don't just mean with the whole OC thing, but how are you and the baby doing?"

"Good. Everything's fine."

"Have you seen a doctor?" Rizzo asked seriously. Normally, he would have felt weird asking girls personal question like that. Over the last two weeks though, he was around Maddie so much that it wasn't awkward anymore. Probably because he learned more about women and pregnancy in the last two weeks than he ever hoped to learn. After all, only a few people knew that she was pregnant, all of them guys, and Rizzo was the only guy that would listen to her "girl talk."

"Yes, mom," Maddie said, in response to Rizzo's question.

"I'm serious Maddie. I want to make sure you are getting the right care and everything you need."

"I know. I have been seeing a doctor. That's why I occasionally leave in the afternoon before practice is over."

"Okay, good. Just making sure everything is okay."

"Thanks Rizzo," Maddie said, and she truly meant it. It was nice to have someone watching out for her.

Later that day. . .

After practice that afternoon, Maddie had a lot to take care of. Mark Johnson needed his ankle checked out after he hurt it in practice, the guys wanted massages, and she still had to pack for Europe. Maddie and Mark were in a room off the locker room, with Maddie looking at Mark's ankle, when he started asking her about Jack.

"So, what exactly is going on with you and OC?"

"We're just having a little fight."

"A little fight? You haven't spoken for two weeks! That seems like more than a little fight to me."

"Well, it's a big fight then."

"Jack didn't say something really stupid or break up with you, did he?" Mark asked, halfway kidding to lighten the conversation, but also thinking the fight may have been Jack's fault.

"Not yet. At least not officially," Maddie responded seriously.

Now Mark felt really bad for saying that. He had only been joking, but apparently their fight was about something big. Jack even thinking about breaking up with her was worst case, never going to happen, scenario. Maddie's reply wasn't really what Mark was looking for.

"Maddie, Jack loves you. Whatever happened, you guys will fix. Whatever problems you're having, they'll go away." She shook her head. "Come on, what could be so bad that would change your relationship that much?" he said, with a half smile.

"I'm pregnant."

"Well, I guess that could do it," Mark said quietly. "So, my guess is, Jack wasn't happy about this." He wondered what Jack's exact reaction had been.

"Would you be?" Maddie said rhetorically.

"He probably just needs time, okay. I bet he'll talk to you soon."

"Let's hope so. It's already been two weeks."

"How many people know?"

"On the team, Jack, Rizzo, Mac, and now, you. Unless Jack told anyone else. Herb, Doc, and Craig all know too."

"How did Herb take it?"

"I guess fine. He didn't fire me, but when I told him, he just acted like Herb. I had no idea what he was thinking." Maddie continued checking Mark's ankle for a sprain or stretched ligament or tendon, but didn't find much of anything. "Well, the good news is you'll be okay for the games coming up. There's only a slight sprain, if that. Just try to keep off of it tonight, and you'll be fine."

"Thanks, Maddie," he said, getting up off the table. "If you ever want to talk or anything, I'm here."

"Thanks," Maddie said with a smile. She followed him into the locker room and saw a bunch of guys ready and waiting for their massages.

"Sorry guys, but you'll have to come to my room if you want a massage later. I have a lot of packing to do, and I'm already tired."

"Aww," the guys said, starting to whine. Maddie was leaving the locker room when Jimmy stopped her.

"Hey Maddie. I almost forgot to tell you. Maureen found out she's having a baby." Jimmy was talking about his sister, who had recently gotten married. Maddie was at Maureen's wedding and Jimmy thought she'd be glad to hear about the baby.

However, when Jimmy said this, Maddie was walking and not paying attention to where she was going, and Jack, who heard this as well looked at Jimmy. The two ran right into each other. Now everyone in the locker room was looking at them. You could have heard a pin drop it was so silent. Everyone was wondering the same thing - what will they do? It was the first time in two weeks Jack and Maddie had been anywhere near each other, and this was only an accident.

"Sorry," they said at the same time, moving away form each other quickly, but holding their stare for a few seconds. This didn't go unnoticed by anyone.

Still looking at Jack, Maddie said, "Tell her congratulations for me," and left the locker room.

The door shut and Buzz immediately asked, "What's with you two, OC?" This was never a question the guys directly asked Jack, for fear that he might kill them. They occasionally asked Maddie, who would reply, 'nothing', and Mac and Rizzo would dodge the question, changing the subject.

"Nothing," Jack said casually, pretending to be confused.

"All right, that's it. Sit down," Bah said.

"Why?"

"Because you're not leaving here until you tell us what's up with you and Maddie."

"Cause we all know something is going on," Buzz added.

The rest of the guys looked at Jack, but Mac and Rizzo looked at the floor. Silky looked pretty amused at the situation, and Mark, now knowing as well, busied himself by putting equipment in his bag.

"And we know they know," Verchota said, pointing to Mac and Rizzo.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, you don't have a choice. Tell us, now."

"Fine. Maddie and I had a fight and we broke up."

"Seriously?" Buzz questioned. Mac and Rizzo looked at each other, confused, wondering when they actually broke it off. Neither Maddie nor Jack had mentioned a break up.

Jack gave the two a look that could kill saying, 'Keep your mouths shut,' but Jimmy noticed.

"You're lying. Come on. Tell us."

"I'm not the one that should tell you. Maddie should be the person to tell you. I don't know if she wants anyone to know yet."

"Fine. Let's let OC go boys. We'll ask Maddie and if she doesn't tell us, we'll get OC later," Jimmy said. The majority of the guys left the room shortly after that, leaving only Jack, Rizzo, Mac, and Jimmy behind. Mac and Rizzo began talking quietly, almost in a code, which got Jimmy really annoyed.

"Okay, that's it," Jimmy said. "I'm the only one here that doesn't know, and I know Silky knows too. Therefore, I'm the only Boston guy that doesn't have a clue what's going on. Even Mac knows," he said, throwing Mac a glance. "I can keep a secret. Time to spill the beans." Jack sat silently at first, then gave in.

"Fine," he said, and sighed, rubbing his hand on his forehead. "Maddie's pregnant." Jack looked up, to see his expression, which was one of total shock.

"Wow," he finally got out. "I really didn't see that coming." Jimmy paused, then added, "So that's why she's been acting different. Hormones."

"I don't think it's just hormones," said Mac. "Jack won't talk to her."

"What's your problem?" Jimmy asked, noticeably annoyed. "You knocked her up and now you don't want to take responsibility?"

Everyone was shocked at what Jimmy just said. Normally he wasn't that outspoken.

"Look. You don't know what I'm going through. If you were in my situation, you'd probably be upset too," Jack said angrily.

"I wouldn't put all the blame on my girlfriend either. After all, you were there when it happened."

"Shut up, Jimmy."

"Did you miss the memo that condoms aren't totally effective and sometimes pregnancies happen anyway?"

"I didn't use one," Jack mumbled.

"What! And you're blaming this on Maddie? You should have used a condom. It's not her fault."

"Shut up, Jimmy," Jack said again.

"Can't you just talk to her at least? And tell her you're scared. I bet she is too. She's the one having the baby," Rizzo said.

"I'm not scared," Jack said, defending himself.

"Then why won't you talk to her?"

"I'm mad."

"I think you're too cocky and stubborn to admit you're scared," said Mac.

"Why don't you stay out of this? I'm sick of you telling me what to do," Jack said. "All of you," he added.

"Fine, we won't give you any advice," said Jimmy, walking out of the locker room. The rest of the guys left too, leaving Jack there to think to himself.

Were they all right? Am I scared? Jack wondered. Yeah, and too scared to admit it. The anger had worn off, and now he was just terrified. He would be a terrible parent. It wasn't only that. After being such a jerk to Maddie, he didn't know how to apologize because he really didn't think he deserved to be forgiven. Jack was most afraid of Maddie not wanting to forgive him. After all, it had been two weeks.

When Jimmy left the locker room, he took a walk to Maddie's room. She answered the door, smiling and acting cheerful.

"Hey. Were you coming by for a massage?"

"No, just to talk," Jimmy said.

"Okay," Maddie said, plastering a smile on her face. Somehow, she thought Jimmy might know everything. In case he didn't though, Maddie wasn't planning on giving him any clues.

"You should really consider the acting business," said Jimmy, walking into her room.

"Why?"

"Cause you're really good at it." He paused before adding, "But I bet if you started yelling right now, or crying, you wouldn't have to act much."

"What are you talking about?"

"Maddie, I know everything," Jimmy said.

"Oh," she said, looking down.

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone," Jimmy said. "And I'm sorry I brought up Maureen expecting. I really had no idea."

"That's okay, you didn't know," Maddie said, continuing to look at the floor, not wanting to look at Jimmy.

"Maddie, it's okay. It really is," Jimmy said, putting his arm around her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"No, it's not. Everything is all my fault," Maddie said, trying her hardest not to start crying.

"Don't say that, Maddie."

"But it's true. Jack's so mad, and I feel so ashamed. But I should, shouldn't I? I'm going to turn into one of those young, single mothers that I never thought I'd be-"

"Don't be ashamed Maddie. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You and Jack love each other," said Jimmy.

"Loved," said Maddie. "He doesn't love me anymore." She started to cry more, then blamed the hormones.

"I think he still does love you. He's just really scared."

"So am I. We could be scared together," Maddie suggested innocently. Looking at Maddie right then, Jimmy noticed how vulnerable and innocent she looked. She sounded like a little girl the way she suggested her and Jack being scared together.

"In time, I'm sure he'll come around," Jimmy said, optimistically. He felt so sorry for her right then, and wished he could do more to help.

"Well, he better hurry up. He only has until tomorrow morning."

"Why tomorrow?" Jimmy asked, genuinely confused.

"I'm leaving."

"We all are. But you could make up after we get back too. Or while we're there." Maddie shook her head.

"I'm going back to Boston. I'm hoping my family will support me. But who knows? They never really liked Jack, and they may not want me around."

"You can't go back to Boston!" Jimmy said in protest.

"I can't stay here."

"Why not? We'll take care of you. And everyone would miss you if you left."

"I'm not changing my mind. Unless Jack at least talks to me before leaving for Europe, I'm not going to be here when you get back."

Jimmy knew Maddie's mind was set and she wouldn't change it. Sometimes, she was as stubborn as Jack, although, she waited two weeks for him to talk to her, and she had every right to be stubborn and fed up with him. Jimmy tried to convince her to stay, but didn't have any luck.

"Well then, you at least have to come out with us tonight. We need to throw you a going away party," Jimmy said.

"I really don't want everyone knowing. Most of you guys have become great friends of mine, and it'll just make it harder leaving. You'll all be sad to see me go and if I think it's hard saying no to you alone, how will I ever turn down twenty of you?"

"Well, you still have to come out with us tonight."

"Okay, I guess."

Jimmy left Maddie's room, and knew he needed to do something fast. She couldn't leave. He had a feeling Jack wouldn't talk to her until it was too late. Before Jimmy went back to his room, he ran into Mark. After realizing that Mark knew about Maddie, Jimmy told him that she was leaving. They both decided to stop in Mac's room.

"Mac, we need to talk," Jimmy said, pounding on his door.

"Okay, hold on a minute. I'm coming."

When Mac opened the door, Jimmy and Mark started talking so fast and at the same time, so Mac didn't know what they were saying.

"Slow down, and take a breath," said Mac. The two stopped talking and then Mac said, "Now in English, one at a time."

"Maddie's leaving," Mark said.

"She's so fed up with Jack and his little game, she's going back to Boston," Jimmy explained.

"What? When?" Mac asked, clearly surprised.

"Tomorrow, when we leave."

"I don't believe it."

"I do. Jack's been playing his game too long. I think someone should knock some sense into him," said Jimmy. "He's really hurting Maddie."

"Rizzo and I have been trying to get him to talk to her. He's too stubborn and into himself to admit he's wrong."

"That's why we don't take no for an answer," said Jimmy.

"She's going to the bar with us tonight. We're going to get everyone to go," said Mark.

"But we can't tell anyone she's leaving," said Jimmy.

The guys knew they had a tough situation ahead of them, and just hoped everything would work out. Right now though, it looked like Maddie wouldn't be around after tonight.

A/N: Little cliffhanger for you guys! Hope you liked the chapter, the next will be up Wednesday at the latest.