Disclaimer: We don't own the Ducks and probably never will because they belong to Disney. However, Emaliar Malfoy does own Bella, Ollie, Seraphina, Dr. Montgomery, and Patrick "Paddy" Ridley. Bobcatwriter owns Baby Hans, Paddy's family, The Lebrie Family, Reese, Gunnar's family, Pastor Richards, a few of the other students and teachers from Eden Hall.

A/N: This is the sequel to the other Mighty Ducks story's: "The Way Things Are," "The Way Things Were," "The Way Things Should Be" and "The Way Things Could Be." We recommend you read those four first. However, this can also be read as a stand-alone story. Please read and review.

Chapter 35—I'm Sorry

Bella's POV

I didn't speak. I just ran into his waiting arms and hugged him around his middle like I had so many times before.

"I'm sorry," I sobbed into his chest. "I could have helped Adam more if I was here, and I hurt you and Mom, I'm so, so sorry."

"What are you doing here?" he whispered, his fingers running through my hair, like he had done when I was an upset little girl.

"A friend of mine saw you at the Duluth game," I murmured. "I have made a lot of stupid decisions over the past few years. Giving you and Mom up was one of them. You never loved Adam, don't try to lie, and say you did, that was common knowledge, but fate has a strange way of making things right, and maybe it had a reason for Adam doing everything he did. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too, Ace," my father whispered and then pulled me into a hug.

"Why?" I asked as I looked up at his face and saw a few tears come down.

"You know why," my father whispered.

"I do?" I asked.

"Do you want to come in?" my father asked.

"I'd like that very much," I said, stepping through the front door. A tear ran down my cheek as I took the place in my sight. Charlie's first impressions of the place coming back as he said, "Man, I knew you guys were rich, but I didn't think you were this loaded."

"How's senior year going?" my father asked as he led me into the family room. Memories started to come back there too, mostly of Adam and I playing.

"Great," I replied. "Besides hockey, I'm the stage manager for the school musical and the understudy," and I started telling him about my year and it was as if nothing had changed between the two of us. Strange how things turn out sometimes.

We went into the kitchen; Dad made coffee and pulled some cookies out of the pantry. My father always had a weakness for Oreo cookies, I did too.

"Do you want some milk? I think we have some," Dad said as I pulled a few of the cookies out of the package.

"Yeah," I said.

Dad got a glass and poured some milk out of a blue container before he said, "Sorry it's not dairy like you kids used to drink. Your mother switched to Almond milk over a year ago."

We loved our milk, the three of us would go through a gallon in about 2 or 3 days. I took the middle out of my cookie and then put the two ends back together.

Dad laughed before he said, "You still lick the middle out first before you dunk and eat the cookie." The garage door rolled up. I knew that would be Mom.

"That's the best part,' I said. Then Dad dunked his first cookie in the coffee. 'You still dunk yours in coffee before you eat the whole thing."

"That's the best part," Dad said.

The door to the laundry room opened.

"Hi Mom," I said, beaming.

"Hey Issy,' she said, putting down her purse. 'Phillip, I was just talking to the Brockmeier's, they're having the Larson's, McGill's, and Johnson's over tonight. Do you want to come Bella?"

"I'd like that very much, thanks Mom," I said.

"Okay, you'll need some clothes, jeans and a t-shirt won't do, you can borrow something of mine, I'll go and find that blue dress and some white flats. White cardigan or leather jacket?" Mom asked.

"Cardigan, I guess. Um, is there anything in our old rooms?" I asked.

"They haven't changed since you left, at least Adam's hasn't. We got Bertie to clean yours, I hope that was okay," Mom said.

"That's fine. I'll just call Gordon and Michele and tell them I'm staying here tonight. If that's okay?" I asked.

"Of course," Dad smiled.

"I'll just borrow some clothes from Reese for the Hawks practice tomorrow," I said.

"Sounds good Ace, I'll go and get the dress, you call Mr. and Mrs. Bombay. Phillip, please make sure that you wipe up the mess that you and Bella created," Mom said.

"Yes Dear," Dad said.

I walked over to the phone in the corner of the kitchen and dialed Coach's work number.

"Hey Bella, what's up?" Coach asked.

"I um; just wanted to tell you that I'm staying overnight in Edina, okay?" I asked.

"Bella are you sure?" Coach asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" And I hung up.

…

90 minutes later

I stood in front of the mirror in the room I had grown up in. Light blue dress that cut off just above the knee, white ballet flats and matching cardigan and headband, light makeup borrowed from my mother and my honey blonde-brownish hair fixed up so that it would frame my face perfectly. The hockey playing princess.

We walked up the driveway to Reese's house where she and her parents greeted us, and Reese took me up to her room to show me her new shoes. Then McGill, Larson, Johnson, and I played on the Nintendo they had in the basement.

ADAM P.O.V:

I was mad at Bella. Mad was an understatement. I was fuming.

Because she had the audacity to go running back to all of that after she left it behind for me. Maybe that's what was going to happen all along, and I was blind enough to ignore the signs, so caught up in my own life. Coach didn't look all that happy either. It was no secret he and Phillip had never really gotten along, more so since Bella's emancipation. Charlie didn't seem like he was all that happy with Bella. I don't know what to say to that. But the one thing I could accept was Bella was a Banks and no matter how hard she tried to change that for me, we kept coming back full circle. It's the circle of life. I guess, I really don't know what made Bella go back to them. But I knew that the more time they had spent together the better the chances were that we were going to lose her. God knows what would happen if we did lose her. I knew that my parents would never ever accept me for who I am. Okay, so maybe Seraphina would eventually but I knew that Phillip would never accept who I am. Never in a million, billion years.

I was caught up in my own life with worry over the possibility of Gunnar leaving. I didn't want Gunnar to leave. We invested too much time together. I could not lose him, I don't know. I don't know what to do about Bella or Gunnar. Life feels so unstable right now.

A/N: And that is unfortunately the end of this story. But fear not. There is more. We are about to dive into part 2 of Senior year so be on the lookout for the next story: "Senior Year: The Way Things Change So Fast." The first chapter of Part 2 should be posted in two weeks, but until then I am going to give you a little sample, enjoy! And as always please read and review! Thanks a bunch!

"Here I will handle it."

"Portman what are you doing?"

"YO KID GIVE IT A BREAK ALREADY!"

Hans stopped crying for a second and then picked up the wailing even louder.

…

Play Hockey and make a life for myself."

"I just don't see why you could not give the U another shot."

"Because studying and me, didn't get along very well."

"That's obvious with your grades. At least Bella made all A's this semester."

"She would."

"You don't like it you can get out now."

"FINE, I'M OUT OF HERE!".

…..

"Good morning Gunnar and Happy Birthday."

"Thanks Coach."

"Today's your birthday? I didn't know that."

"Yeah he's a man now, he's eighteen."

I looked at Adam's watch before I said, "Not yet Charlie. I am not eighteen until 7:42 pm Reykjavík time."

"What time would that be here?"

"1:42 pm."

"Yeah but turning eighteen is a special day, a day filled to be all day."

…

"I thought that I could be of help to the negotiations Coach. After all I want to move out of your house."

"I did not give you permission to leave campus this morning, did you?"

"Absolutely not, I was just as shocked as you were."

…

"Well at least this buys me some time," I thought as I went to use the bathroom. I got out the pregnancy tests, read the directions, and did each one then I sat on the edge of the toilet, and waited. Yes the three of us lived in that tiny 1-bedroom apartment and for a while Gunnar lived with us too.

….

I knew that taking the money that I took for Gunnar's enrollment and varsity captainship was wrong. But I just couldn't turn down all of those thirty thousand. My wife Amanda was diagnosed with Glioblastoma brain cancer in the spring of 1998. Unfortunately, she had to give up her position teaching at the U, so we were just down to my salary. Which was enough to keep us afloat normally but the health insurance that I got through Eden Hall didn't cover many of the drugs that the doctors have her on to treat the cancer. This is the second time that my wife is facing a diagnosis of cancer, the first came in the early 1970's with ovarian cancer, leaving us childless.

…..

"Um, actually Seraphina, the party has already been planned to be at our house for all of the ducks. Since we have so many ducks from out of state with Portman, Julie, Ken, Luis, Dwayne, Gunnar, and Russ all graduating."

"At your rinky dinky little house? You have got to be shitting me?"

"No, I am not."

…

"Yeah, I guess. So much for me moving back up here this summer."

"Ah yeah, sorry man. I should have told you that they got engaged."

"For my money, they won't get married. Not now, not 5 years from now, not ever."