I do not own the Ducks, thanks for reading my story, reviews are lovely and thank you to those that do.

Esmeralda walked back down the stairs with a bag slung over one of her slumped shoulders. She was no longer wearing short grey pants but dark blue jeans, and over the top of her red tank-top, she wore a black, stylish poncho. "Banks, this isn't going to work," she told the tall boy waiting at the bottom of the stairs. She stopped on the last step and found herself the same height as the boy and standing rather close to him.

"McGill, I thought you trusted me." Adam took Esmeralda's hands in his. "I have a plan, I called mom and she said it was all right for you to stay at our house till the end of holidays, so everything's going to work."

Esmeralda breathed deeply and nodded as Charlie, Maria and Phoebe walked into the Entrance Hall. Just as Esmeralda opened her mouth to say something, they heard the undeniable sound of gravel crunching under car wheels. The girl's mouth snapped shut and she visibly paled. The fear she held for her family was evident on her face. Adam saw her draw in a shaky breath. On instanced, Adam pulled Esmeralda to him and let go of one of her hands, pulling it around her waist. Esmeralda was shaking in his arms. She tucked her head under Adam's chin and put a hand on him chest, closing her eyes.

"It's gonna be alright, just play along," Adam spoke to everyone, but the calming tone to it was for Esmeralda alone.

Esmeralda just lent against Adam heavier, making him tighten his grip around her waist protectively. She could hear his heartbeat increase as she rubbed his chest slightly with her hand. When he talked, his deep voice vibrated through his chest into her ear, making her want to smile. She felt safe, warm and, for once, not totally alone.

They heard a key slide into the lock, just as Adam remembered he didn't lock the door after letting Maria, Charlie and Phoebe in. Two male voices drifted through the door, they were wondering why the door was unlocked.

"Girl!" a deep voice roared as the door opened slowly.

Esmeralda gasped and shook more violently, making Adam hold her even tighter.

"Banks? Conway?" another male voice asked.

Adam looked over to see his old friend David McGill looking at the group in confusion. Adam carefully let go of Esmeralda's hand as he took in the male McGill's appearance. He was stocky, slightly unfit, his face was greasy unlike his sister who had clear skin, his brown hair was the colour of mud and he had inherited his father's bluey-brown eyes where Esmeralda had her mothers brown.

The confusion on David McGill's face changed to anger as he noticed that Adam still had an arm around her waist. "Get way from my sister," David demanded.

"No," Adam replied simply, shifting his arm a little to bring Esmeralda closer to him. "She's coming to stay at my house for the rest of the summer. Seem's…"

"WHAT?!" Mr. McGill exclaimed.

"Seem's as though," Adam started again in a strong voice. "McGill has been a bit vertically challenged of late and seeing as your house has a lot of sharp objects, we all thought it would be better to get her out of the house. My mother, the nurse, believes it's exactly what she needs. My mom can look after her and allow her to heal." Adam looked straight at David to see his face redden as Adam spoke once more. "We'll get her back to her old beautiful self."

"Bye, Sir," Esmeralda's said quickly, looking at the floor as she blushed at Adams complement. She rushed passed a fuming Mr. McGill and pulled Adam to the door after her. Everyone else followed her example and ran off after them.

The group ran down the drive and through the Iron Gate before Mr. McGill had a chance to close it on them. They ran to Adam's car and when they got there, they were out of breath. Charlie didn't even ask if he could sit in the front, he just slid in the back next to Maria. Esmeralda sat in the front with Adam and started rummaging through her bag.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten something!" Adam said as he turned on the engine.

"No, most of my stuff is at my dorm anyway, or at my grandmothers so there isn't much I needed to grab. Just making sure my arm socks are here." Esmeralda pulled out a sock like this that had the end cut off and a hole for her thumb. They were made to keep the arms warm but Adam had noticed that Esmeralda had worn an electric blue pair when they were bowling and hadn't taken them off when she put on the dress. But it wasn't cold, she was hiding something.

The drive to the Banks house was silent. No one had anything to say. When they got to the house, they all filled out and went inside. Mr. and Mrs. Banks weren't home so they wouldn't have to deal with a very worried Mrs. Banks until later. The moment Phoebe opened the door she and Esmeralda ran into the house.

"I bags Banks' bed!" Esmeralda yelled.

"What?! No." Adam ran after her as she laughed and ran up the stairs. He grabbed her around the waist and made her walk down the stairs before dropping her on the couch. "That's your bed!"

"So much for being a gentleman," Esmeralda muttered, crossing her arms.

Phoebe giggled and sat down next to Esmeralda. The two started talking and laughing as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened so far today. After calling their mother to tell her that Esmeralda was at the house already, Adam called the Ducks and invited them over. They were hammering at the door within five minutes. Upon seeing Esmeralda, Connie and Julie yelped and ran over to her. They fussed over her as the other Ducks asked what happened. Instead of telling the truth, Adam told them what he had told his mother. She had been a bit vertically challenged because of a sickness. That seemed to work.

As they talked, Esmeralda removed her poncho and as she did, some of the Ducks say a scar. On her left forearm, a few centimeters from her wrist was an ugly, large scar. It went diagonally and was eight centimeters by about 1 ½ -2 centimeters. It was old and faded but you could clearly see it, especially without her arm socks things on.

When Adam and Phoebe offered refreshments, the Ducks that had seen the scar jumped at the chance to help. The Ducks that went into the sunlit kitchen with Adam and Phoebe were Charlie, Portman, Fulton, Connie, Guy, and Jesse. All of them hesitated to ask, and instead watched Adam and Phoebe pull out cups, drink, bowls and chips. Finally, one of them spoke.

"Why does Esmeralda have a massive scar on her arm?" Fulton asked in a soft voice, afraid his usual one would drift into the lounge where everyone else sat.

Adam chuckled softly and lent back against the basin. He took a sip of his drink before answering, "Sorry, it's not actually funny, but McGill seems to try and hide it and you lot still saw. David had a bad temper, has a bad temper, and right before the Ducks – Hawks match he was angry we did so well and threw his skate at her. It cut her wrist."

Phoebe frowned as she straightened up, pulling a large orange bowl out of the cupboard. "No he didn't… well yes, he threw his skate at her, when he found out he was versing the Ducks but he didn't hit her. That was self harm. She tried to kill herself while everyone was at the game. Thank god her mother's friend dropped in to check on her. She told me the same story as she told you and she told the doctors that she knew her brother was going to lose the game so she decided to shine his old skates to cheer him up. Everyone believed it. Everyone got wise when she tried two more times. Second one: she used the pain killers the doctors gave her for her wrist to overdose. She told them that her arm woke her in the middle of the night so she got up and didn't realize how many she had taken. Mom realized when she tried to drown herself. Esmeralda is a great swimmer and we used to spend practically all summer at the beach so mom knew she could swim."

Adam was stunned into silence. Esmeralda had come into his room when he ended up in hospital during the Hawks – Duck match. She had told him her lie with ease. And he had believed it! How stupid could he get! Esmeralda was suffering and he didn't notice. He should have guessed from the way she had acted, she had been saying goodbye, in an extremely permanent way.

"Adam, don't beat yourself up over it. I'm her best friend and I believed more then one of her lies. She's good at making you see what she wants you to see. She's done it all her life," Phoebe reassured him.

"But I never fell for it before." Adam slammed his glass onto the table in the center of the room, making some of the beverage splash out.

"That's 'cause you didn't want to think that a ten-year-old would want to kill herself. Cake-eater, she's fine and… I'm assuming… she's not suicidal anymore," Jesse told his friend.

"He's right, Banksie, my friend tried to kill himself and all I could think was 'I should have seen this coming' and 'I should have been able to stop him'. He's alright now but god I felt guilty. Essi's a nice girl, and she seems a little happier. I don't buy her sickness injuries, but she seems better and she certainly likes teasing you," Portman sympathized.

Adam nodded as a cheerful brunette ran into the room.

"What's happening with the refreshments? I'm thrusty," Esmeralda informed them. Everyone just looked at her oddly. Having just found out a dark secret about Esmeralda's past. Noticing the looks, Esmeralda quirked an eyebrow at them. "What?"

"Nothing, we were just talking," Phoebe covered up.

Esmeralda nodded before walking over and picking up Adam's abandoned cup. "Who's is this?"

"Mine," Adam told her.

Upon hearing this, Esmeralda raised it to her lips as she turned, grabbed a chip and walked out of the room.

"You're welcome," Adam yelled ar her.

Phoebe chuckled as she gave Connie, Charlie and Jesse things to take out into the lounge room and started pouring drinks with Fulton, Portman and Guy's help.

Adam didn't pay much attention to the conversations going on around him and his friends had long given up on trying to talk to him. He just kept thinking over the day he had seen Esmeralda in the hospital. It was the day they said their goodbyes, believing they would never see each other again. No matter what Portman and everyone else said, he couldn't help but blame himself. He had noticed a difference but decided to be selfish and not think too much on it.

When he climbed into bed that night, after watching his mother clean up Esmeralda's cuts, Adam still felt guilty. His head was spinning because of all the thoughts running through it, all on the same subject: Esmeralda and their last meeting as kids.

It was late when he finally fell into a restless sleep.

Adam raised a shaky hand to his head as it continued to throb. He was still weak and his breathing was shallow but he could keep his eyes open for longer now. He knew the nurse that checked on him didn't like hockey, or kids. He had heard her whining about it as she left the room. All he wanted at the moment was company… and maybe for someone to tell him how the game was going.

Just as he ran his hand across his face and dropped it at his side, Adam felt a hand on his stomach. Opening his eyes and looking over, Adam was startled to see Esmeralda McGill looking at him with big brown eyes. Her arm was heavily bandaged and concern was written on her face.

"I heard a nurse talking about hockey and violent games and I knew it was you," she confessed. "My brother did it, didn't he?"

Adam took a weak breath and looked at her. "Yeah," he struggled to say, "What happened to your arm?"

"Oh." Esmeralda looked down at her arm. "David threw his old skates at me when he was getting ready to face the Ducks."

Adam nodded before tapping the space beside him on the bed. Esmeralda smiled and climbed onto the bed. She laid down beside him and Adam shifted slowly onto his side. "Are you alright?" his voice was barely above a whisper. Although it hurt to speak, he wanted to talk to her.

Esmeralda nodded, wiggling closer to Adam. "The nice Doctor stopped the bleeding, but the mean nurse poked it. Bet it was on purpose."

Adam chuckled but the strain it took on his throat made him cough. Esmeralda sat up and grabbed a cup of water. She helped Adam drink to stop his coughing.

"Thanks."

"Maybe you shouldn't talk so much. Just lay back." Esmeralda pushed him gently, making him lay on his back. She laid back down and put her head on his uninjured shoulder. She looked up at him with shining eyes. Esmeralda reached out a hand and ran a finger down the bridge of his nose. Adam looked down at her with a questioning look. "I like your nose," Esmeralda confessed. She sat up slightly and looked down at him. "And your eyes. They're big, and a nice colour."

Adam didn't know what to say. It wasn't often that Esmeralda said such bold things, especially to Adam. There was something unfamiliar in her eyes as she looked at him. But he didn't have long to look. She ran her finger down his nose again, smiled, giggled softly and laid back down. Adam started to get drowsy. As he did, he noticed that Esmeralda was playing with his hand and fingers innocently.

Time ticked by and Adam knew that the game was probably almost over, if it wasn't already. That meant that the Ducks would more then likely be heading over to see him. Esmeralda obviously noticed this to because she sat back up and looked down at him again.

"Adam." His first name sounded funny, being spoken by Esmeralda. They always said each others last names. "I know that your team would have won. David will keep me away from you and your father will keep you away from me. I have to say goodbye."

Adam looked into Esmeralda's big brown eyes with his big blue ones. "Esmeralda, you don't have to. I can handle your brother."

"But you shouldn't have to. And you wont have to." Esmeralda sat up a little more so she didn't need her hand to keep herself up. She raised her hands and fumbled with the latch of a necklace she wore. "Here,' she said, putting the gold chain in Adam's hand. He knew what the necklace was. It held a gold ring with diamonds that he and Esmeralda found in the ocean one day whilst swimming and playing. She closed his hand over the necklace and gave his hand a squeeze before laying down, her head resting on the pillow this time instead of him. "I have to go soon. But first…"

Adam turned onto his side when Esmeralda trailed off. It took a lot of effort but it didn't matter. "What?"

Esmeralda raised her eyes to meet his. She took a breath before leaning forward sharply. She captured his lips with hers. Adam gasped and raised his hand to her cheek, responding to the kiss. It was the hand that had the necklace and was connected to his sore shoulder so he winced slightly but dismissed it.

When Esmeralda finally drew back, she looked at him sadly. "Bye, Banks," she mumbled.

"Bye, McGill."

With that, Esmeralda got up and walked out of the room, only moments before the Ducks showed up.

Adam was tossing and turning in his sleep. He was dreaming of the hospital. After the memory played through he would get flashes of Esmeralda bleeding to death in his arms. He woke with a gasp when someone touched his bare shoulder lightly.

"Shhh," the person soothed. "It's alright, Banks, it's just me. You were having a bad dream."

It took Adam's eyes a moment to focus. When they did, Esmeralda's face came swimming into view. "McGill, wha…what are you doing here?"

"I was coming back from using the upstairs bathroom, didn't want to wake your parents, and I heard you mumbling 'please don't, I want to help you', and some other stuff," Esmeralda ended vaguely. "Is everything alright?"

Adam was only half paying attention. He nodded and looked down so Esmeralda couldn't tell he was lying. Looking down was a big mistake. He only just noticed that Esmeralda was wearing a large t-shirt and only a large t-shirt for coverage. The shirt had skates and a hockey stick on it. Under it, were the words 'Hockey Babe'. The shirt was lucky to reach halfway to her knees.

"Scoot over," Esmeralda demanded. Adam obliged and Esmeralda got into the bed beside him.

The moment she looked at him, Adam said the question that had been running through his head all day. "Why didn't you tell me you wanted to kill yourself?"

"Because you would have stopped me," Esmeralda confessed calmly, fixing the gold chain around Adam's neck.

"Exactly, I would have stopped you, helped you."

"I didn't want you to get hurt because of me."

Adam just cupped her cheek with his hand. He didn't know what to say so they just laid in silence. Eventually Esmeralda's and Adam's eyes started to droop with sleep.

Hope you liked it enough to review. o0Black-Sand0o