Julie was running around the track with Connie, Adam, Charlie, and Guy. This was their fifth lap and sweat was already beading down all of their bodies. It was a typical beautiful and warm summer morning in Los Angeles, California.
As they rounded a turn they passed up Goldberg. While the goalie was making great strides in his conditioning he still had a ways to go. Julie continued to push herself to keep up her flexibility that came so handy with the games. They had a game that afternoon against Germany and everyone remembered just how much that team liked to throw their bodies around. Of course, nothing compared to the beating USA took from the two games against Iceland last year, and even though things are much friendlier this time around, that didn't mean the games would be any less physical.
Connie wiped her brow to clear away the sweat and pushed on with the others. Julie had noticed something was going wrong in the relationship between Guy and her friend. Connie had been spending more time in their room lately and barely said anything at all when Julie told her that she started dating Gunnar. It just seemed that her pretty brunette friend was like a ghost of the person she used to be.
Julie breathed out deeply as her thoughts turned to her own boyfriend. Things with Gunnar were going really great, he always made sure she was taken care of and she adored him for always thinking of ways to make her happy. He was the perfect gentleman and she couldn't ask for more from him. Only she could tell that what happened with Portman was really festering in his mind. She missed the teasing smirks on his handsome face; it seemed he was so serious now. He was still really angry that Dean actually bruised her, and deep down she was glad that he was upset for her behalf. It showed that he actually cared for her. It would be nice if he didn't have to feel like she might get hurt at any given minute when he wasn't around.
Just about everyone on their respective teams knew the two were dating, it wasn't like they hid it or anything. They were always together it seemed; whether being found kissing after a practice or game, or snuggled together on a lounge chair by the pool, just about everyone had seen them together at one point or another.
As they finished up their sixth lap they stopped and chugged a bunch of water and dried off with some towels. Charlie then led them through some stretches for another 45 minutes before they lightly jogged back to the hotel. Connie and Guy didn't even look at each other as they went their separate ways. Connie jumped in the shower as soon as they got back to the room and Julie decided it was time to talk. She made herself busy by getting her bag ready to take to the arena. Gunnar was going to go with her as they already had their team practice while she and her Ducks were at the track.
Julie showered as quickly as she could and dressed in her USA Ducks tracksuit. Luckily Connie was still there, simply laying on her bed and watching the news. Julie hesitantly sat beside her and flicked off the television. When Connie's eyes started to water Julie quickly pulled her into her arms.
"Connie what's going on," Julie said in a quiet tone, "did something happen between you and Guy?"
"We broke up," tears leaked down her face, "I've wanted to tell you what's going on but you're always either with Adam or Gunnar."
"I will always make time for you, I'm sorry Connie. You can tell me what happened you know it will stay between us."
Connie started to really cry in earnest and it pulled at Julie's heart strings, "I still really like him Cat, a lot. We were fine as long as other people were with us, but alone it was just so awkward. Yesterday he told me that he thought of me like a sister. It just hurt so much."
Julie could hardly believe her ears. From what she knew from the original Ducks, Guy had been chasing after Connie from the very start. This made zero sense and she hated to see her friend hurting so badly. "And you just spent the entire morning around him. I could tell something was wrong but wanted to wait until we were by ourselves, are you guys still trying to be friends?"
Connie cleared the moisture from her eyes and shrugged, "It's what he wants."
"And you," Julie encouraged, "what about what you want?"
"I just need time to get over it. There's nothing I can do if he doesn't want me."
A knock sounded at their door and both knew who it was. Julie made sure Connie was okay before opening the door. She was surprised to find Olaf there with Gunnar as they stepped into the hotel room. Poor Connie was still wiping at her eyes and the guys could see something was wrong but knew not to push.
Gunnar reached for Julie and gave her a quick kiss and hugged her tight then closely studied her throat. Olaf shuffled his feet awkwardly and Connie suddenly started laughing. Julie was soon smiling like crazy and sat beside her friend once more. Connie swung an appreciative arm around her blonde friend and whispered thanks to her.
"So uh," Olaf's rubbed at the back of his neck, "you ladies ready to go?"
Connie raised a brow while Julie smiled at the tall blonde Icelander, he most of all had come a long way since last year. Connie finally gave voice to her thoughts, "You guys don't care if I go with you?"
Gunnar shrugged, "Aren't we all going to the same place? Of course you can come with us."
Connie sent him a smile in gratitude and started getting her bag ready. Julie stood and started to work her still wet hair into a long braid. When she finished Gunnar playfully shot at her with one of her rubber-bands. Then he moved behind her and tied her hair at the bottom before ducking down to kiss her cheek. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pulled her back towards him.
"You two are ridiculously cute together, you know that right?"
Julie couldn't stop the blush from appearing on her cheeks at Connie's words and Olaf cleared his throat before adding in, "Like a sickly kind of cute."
Connie giggled as Gunnar rolled his eyes and moved to grab Julie's bag. He spoke to his friend in their native tongue for a moment, which had Olaf nodding and saying, "Yah."
Julie watched as Olaf then reached for Connie's bag and noted the little blush that filled both their cheeks at the motion. The blonde goalie looked towards her boyfriend who smiled at her and kissed her temple. Connie closed the door after they entered the hall and finally some small talk broke out once she thanked Olaf. The elevator was a bit cramped with the two large bags full of hockey gear.
By the time they reached the arena gates Julie was happy to find her friend was in much better spirits. And it was all thanks to her two favorite guys from Iceland. After being forced to pull away from Gunnar, Julie joined up with the rest of her teammates. Coach Bombay eyed her as soon as she stepped foot into the locker room and she could tell that he would be asking to speak with her soon. And she just knew it would have everything to do with her personal life.
Reed, Conway, and Banks immediately cornered her and kept her busy. Adam had told the two of them what happened with Portman. And even though the bruises were almost gone by now, it didn't stop her three teammates from being overly protective of her.
"Alright Ducks, let's go show Germany exactly how we earned our title last year," Coach Bombay yelled out.
The team hit the ice, half of them went to the bench and the other half started warming up. Julie saw Olaf and Gunnar right away as they were seated behind the Ducks bench. They waved at her and mouthed out good luck, it still amazed her how much things had changed. Never would she have imagined Gunnar Stahl and Olaf Sanderson wishing her luck before a game, but there they were. Olaf was grinning and Gunnar winked at her with the promise of something more hidden in his captivating eyes. Then she spotted Coach Stanssen walking up behind them and she tried to silently warn them. Gunnar nodded and she saw him turn to greet his coach. She didn't know what might have been said because it was time to get in her zone.
Connie got two goals thanks to feeds from both Averman and Wu. In the third period Germany started coming at them hard. Julie made three huge saves but was getting upset with her lack of rebound control. The ice wasn't the greatest and the puck was particularly bouncy here in the third. With a minute left Germany pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker. The defense for the Ducks was doing a good job but still the other players were getting through to the front of the net with shot after shot.
Time seemed to slow down as her eyes followed the puck on the stick of one of Germany's more advanced players, and instinctively she knew he was going to pass it. At the last minute she shifted her body to the other side of the net and ended up catching the puck in her glove just before time on the clock ran out.
But there was too much traffic and just as she made the save one of Germany's players was suddenly launched into her rather violently. He was a big, tall guy and he knocked her flat over with his full weight. It was obvious that it wasn't intentional but it didn't stop the breath from being painfully pushed out of her lungs. A fight broke out between the players still on the ice and the guy who was pushed onto her kept trying to move to get her free. She could hear him cursing as more weight was brought down on her from other guys falling; he was even apologizing and yelling at them all. She could feel the pressure on her ribs increase as she did her best to block it all away. Just a little more and something would have to give, and it would end up being her body.
From the stands Gunnar stood as soon as he saw Dean Portman unnecessarily cross-check a huge player directly into Julie. His irritation regarding the enforcer only grew as he seethed in anger but right now he needed to make sure his Julie was okay. Olaf was soon standing beside him and they both turned to quickly head down to the belly of the rink, only to be immediately stopped by their coach who shook his head. Gunnar was nearly shaking at being forced to wait to check on her.
So he sat and let his anger and worry continue to simmer as he watched two USA Ducks; Fulton and Adam he believed, help Julie stand and escort her to the hallway leading to the locker room.
"Gunnar, I think we need to have a chat," Coach Stanssen declared, "follow me."