Over thirty teens were inter-mingled in a large conference room at the luxury hotel. The ice hockey teams from Iceland and USA had been called together for a meeting by their respective coaches. And currently, over thirty pair of eyes were staring with a dumbfounded expression on their faces as Gordon Bombay and Wolf Stanssen presented their idea to them.
"So," Stanssen tried to encourage a few of his guys to finally speak up, "what do you say Vikings?"
Silence. Complete utter silence. The coaches raised their brows at one another as both searched for something to add. It wasn't that their teams were against the idea they were simply shocked at the proposal. Especially considering the heated animosity between Bombay and Stanssen once upon a time.
Julie slid her gaze over to Gunnar, he was holding her hand but he was focused on the two men in front of them. She let out a small sigh and looked around the room, noticing the same look on Charlie and Adam's faces. She nearly laughed when she noticed that Connie somehow found herself sitting between Guy Germaine and Olaf Sanderson. The poor girl was clearly blushing and refused to look at either boy beside her. Gunnar leaned forward and her attention returned to him.
He felt it was his duty to speak up as the team captain, "I think," he paused as everyone in the room looked at him. He felt Julie tighten her grip on his hand and couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his lips at her support, "it's a good idea. It will mean longer practices and game experience. Both teams will be better prepared for the final round."
"I agree with Gunnar," Charlie spoke for the Ducks, "Russia and Canada are really good this year and will be coming at us hard. If we work together I don't see how we can lose to them."
"Yeah," Luis spoke up and nodded to the two coaches, "but I want to know how they came up with the idea."
Bombay sighed and leaned against the table and crossed his arms, "From watching you guys interact," briefly his gaze lingered on Stahl holding the hand of his injured goalie. "We talked it out and realized the simple truth is that you guys push each other to do better."
"Bombay is right," Stanssen backed up the other coach, "certain events have brought our teams closer," no one missed his not-so-subtle glare to his star player, "and let's face it ladies and gentlemen. Iceland and USA are the best this tournament has to offer."
And so it was decided. The Ducks and the Vikings scheduled their practices to be back-to-back at the arena and would combine the two into one long session. Wolf hadn't been sure of the suggestion when Gordon approached him about it, but after thinking it through and noting certain observations for himself, he saw the genius behind the idea. And he was happy to note that his star player and number one pupil put it all together and easily explained his opinion to the rest of his team. He was proud of the way Gunnar had stepped up in his role both on and off the ice.
Julie remained on the bench for the first mixed practice of the two teams. Each positional player was grouped together and wore a certain color practice jersey. Wolf worked with the forwards and goaltenders while Gordon focused on the defensemen. It was interesting to see how the teams were divided up by what their role was. Julie just wished she could have been a part of it.
She'd had a couple headaches since the initial one but they weren't bad and told her coach she felt ready to get back at it, but he was being careful and wanted to follow the doctor's orders to remain on light duty for another few days. So she sat on the bench and watched her friends and teammates experience a whole new training experience.
She didn't think she would ever forget the surprise and smiles of the Iceland team when at the end of their first session Coach Bombay had Dwayne gather up some stray cattle with his trusty rope. And everyone laughed when Olaf downright refused to participate until Robertson tossed him a spare rope and the two went to town on all the others after a quick learning session. Olaf was freakishly good with the rope. When the practice was called to an end a little early, Bombay and Stanssen kept a few players on the ice to work some more one-on-one. The players that remained were Adam, Gunnar, and Fulton.
Olaf and Connie helped Julie walk across the ice, making sure she had no chance of slipping. And despite the fact that he was supposed to be paying attention to the two coaches, Gunnar's eyes followed Julie's form until she was safely back on concrete and off the ice.
The coaches had Fulton be the lone defensemen as Adam and Gunnar fed off each other while rushing the empty net. They spent the final 45 minutes of practice learning new techniques from one another. When it was over Adam and Fulton asked Gunnar if he wanted to hit up the mall with them. He explained that he would see if Julie was feeling up to going out before answering. Julie had been doing a lot better but sudden flashes of light could bring on a headache. The three boys changed quickly and headed back to the hotel. Gunnar showered and Olaf joined him as he made his way to Julie and Connie's room. They were all happy that Cat was back in her own room; she was able to relax and was definitely grateful to have a sense of privacy back.
"Hey ladies," Gunnar greeted before his eyes caught sight of another presence in the room, "and Guy."
"What's up man?" Germaine slapped a hand on Gunnar's shoulder and nodded towards Olaf.
Connie was looking a little nervously between Guy and Olaf so Julie brought the attention on to herself, "What kind of trouble are we getting into tonight?"
Gunnar raised a brow at her and pulled her against him, his hands resting on her lower back, "And what makes you think I want trouble?"
Julie smiled and kissed his chin before pulling out of his arms, "Fine, if you won't take me out then I'll hang out with Olaf instead."
Olaf's amusement was apparent before his hands came up in surrender to Gunnar's very sudden and fierce glare, "It is not my fault your girl likes me more."
Connie noticed his subtle glance her way as he spoke and mentally groaned, he wasn't supposed to see her getting ready to head out with Guy. The two needed to talk and clear the air, but this just complicated everything. She wasn't ready to see Olaf yet. And when Guy threw an arm over her shoulders she simply wanted to die.
"Well I hate to interrupt your plans for the night," Gunnar smirked as he grabbed Julie's hand in his own, "but Olaf already promised to spend time with me."
With a very serious expression on his face, Olaf shrugged and told Julie, "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful."
Connie and Julie both giggled and Sanderson winked at them both. Gunnar then explained that Adam and Fulton wanted to go to the mall to which Julie was agreeable. She promised to let him know right away if she came to any pain. He was still a bit hesitant but felt comfortable with the people going with them. All of them would only have Julie's best interest at heart.
"So are you coming with us?" Olaf asked Connie and Guy, his gaze intense on the lovely brunette who seemed intent on ignoring him.
"Actually we already have plans," Guy informed the Iceland players.
Connie swallowed and her eyes finally rose to meet the icy blue gaze of Olaf, "To talk, just to talk," she felt Guy frown beside her but she focused on the tall blonde, "we'll be back after dinner."
The silence was heavy for a few precious moments before Gunnar cleared his throat, "And so will we," he placed his hand on Julie's back and ushered her towards the door, "come on troublemaker, let's find your Duck friends."
They met up with Fulton and Adam in the lobby. Gunnar ran back up to Julie's room and grabbed her sunglasses for her and the neck brace just in case. She was doing so much better and he didn't want anything to jeopardize her recovery. They left the hotel with the four boys practically surrounding the lone girl. On the bus the conversations proved to be light and filled with jokes and laughter, it was going to be a fun time that was much needed after an extensive practice.
At the mall it was clear that Julie was the focus of quite a few jealous stares but it didn't get to her. She was hanging out with her boyfriend and close friends and having a great time. Fulton and Olaf were practically comedians when they were around each other. Gunnar and Adam had grown pretty close considering the amount of time they spent with each other and with Julie.
Julie sat on a bench facing one of the stores the guys were checking out. After a while Adam came out to join her and teased her that Gunnar was having a hard time deciding which variation of black he wanted in a shirt. She laughed with him then shrugged, her boyfriend did like wearing dark colors but that was just fine with her, he looked amazing in whatever he wore. She thought it interesting how the color of his eyes appeared different with what he wore. Like when he wore a blue shirt, the grey of his eyes took on that same shade. It was the same with green as well, but he usually stuck with black and dark grey shirts and that's what she liked him best in seeing as his eyes were a natural grey.
Adam remained at Julie's side when the others rejoined them and they slowly started making their way to the exit. They were talking quietly to themselves while the rest were loudly laughing and playfully pushing at each other every once in a while.
The group of teens then headed out to dinner, deciding on a steak and seafood place that came with rave reviews from Dwayne. And that was saying something considering the Cowboy took his steak very seriously. The meal was good and the company was even better, the waitress had recognized them from the tournament and offered them a nice discount, plus Fulton ended up scoring her digits.
As they left Gunnar kept his arm around Julie's back and was whispering something in her ear that was making her blush and laugh. He closed in and pressed his lips to her cheek when a very sudden and very bright flash went off.
Gunnar blinked a few times before frowning and took several firm steps forward, this was getting old fast. His voice was heavy with his Nordic accent as he ground out, "We play hockey, not act in movies. My girlfriend has a concussion, I don't want to see you again!"
The lone reporter had the decency to look embarrassed. Olaf, Fulton, and Adam were soon at Gunnar's side and the guy was quick to apologize for bothering them and made his escape.
Gunnar sighed and turned to look at his girlfriend and what he saw nearly brought him to his knees. Her eyes were wide open and filled with shocking pain. When the tears began to slip down her cheeks he slowly walked to her, his own gaze worried and helpless.
"Gunnar," he wanted to cringe, her voice was laced with so much pain, "something's wrong."