Disclaimer: the only thing I own is ER Jacobs and her parents and brother everything else is property of who ever came up with it.

Chapter 2: Background and a kiss

"Ok here's goes. First I guess I'll give some background info. I was born and raised in a house that is about a 5 minute walk from Fulton's and that's how I met him our parents were friend so they'd always bring him over. My big brother Matt, he would be 26 now, taught Charlie, my brother Seth, now 20, Fulton, and I how to skate and play hockey. My big brothers Chris, now 23, and Ben, now 19, played baseball instead. In fact they still do for the University of Tennessee. Matt also taught me football, soccer, baseball. At first I was hesitant to play hockey but finally after about a week of constant bombardment from Charlie, he got me to play for Coach Bombay and that's how I met the rest of the D-5 Ducks. Right after we won the peewee championship game, my dad got offered a job in Austin, Texas in a very good law firm. So he decides to let Matt, who was 21, keep the house in Minnesota because he was playing in the minors for hockey and uproot the rest of us from the house that we all grew up in and all of our friends we've had forever and move us to the big city.

"About two months after we moved we got a phone call saying that some how Matt had ended up on the bottom of the pile up and took a blade to the neck and died in the hospital later that day. I was devastated other than Charlie, Matt had been my world he was the only person who could ever really get to me, he made me see things in so many different ways. Now don't get me wrong I love all my brothers it's just that, even though there was a 10 year age gap between us I got along with him the best. I was soooooo mad that he had died, not upset I was pissed and that day I hung up my skates for good and I haven't skated since. My mom was almost as upset as I was, see she and my dad played favorites. Her favorites were always Matt and Seth, in that order and my dad's favorites were me, then Chris, then Ben. Sure my dad loves Matt and Seth as much as he loves us other three but we are better at getting stuff out of him and just like they could get stuff out of our mom.

"Anyway like I said I was pissed and without hockey I had no way to release that anger so finally my dad talked me into putting one of my other skills to use. That's when Chris started pushing for baseball. Although it was the end of his senior year he decided to take 2 years off so he'd always take me to Ben's games and let me watch and then sometimes he'd take me to the batting cages or let me throw a few. With all that attention from Chris I put all my anger in to pitching. They got me into a little league co-ed baseball team and for about 2 years I took them to nationals. One day, I believe it was the summer before the good will games, I was walking down the street and not really paying that much attention to where I was going but heading in the general direction of home and I literally ran head first in to Dwayne. I landed on my butt on the side walk. He must have been looking up or something 'cause he didn't see me until I ran into him. When I looked up and he looked down I was taken off guard. I just happened to be looking at one of the cutest guys I had ever seen." At that point Tex's face turned bright red.

"What's the matter cowboy? Can't take a compliment?" Goldberg asked.

"Shut up I ain't done yet. I apologized after he helped me up and I found out he just lived a few blocks away. So in the next year we became really close just about as close as me and Fulton were before I moved. He was such a good friend he came to all my baseball games and even though I hadn't really recovered from Matt's death I returned the favor. We eventually ended up dating for about five months. Well until he got scouted for team USA. Then my dad got offered a better paying lawyer job in southern Ohio. And so right before the final game against Iceland my dad uprooted us again. What sucked the most was the fact that I didn't even get to say good bye to the guy that had always been there for me.

"The year after we moved to Ohio Chris decided he was going back to school so at 21 he did on a full ride baseball scholarship. I was 13 when we moved and in seventh grade so the school let me pitch for their softball team. I was 14 when Chris got accepted and Seth was a senior in high school, Ben was a junior. When I started high school Chris was starting his second year in college and Seth his first both on athletic scholarships Chris baseball, and Seth hockey. Ben was in his final year of high school and catching for our baseball team. When I joined the high school softball team that year I earned my nickname, ER 'cause after every game someone was usually sent to the emergency room because of me, they said that my arm was too powerful and I would have to tone it down a bit. I really tried. The principle got a suggestion from the catcher's mom and my coaches to put me on his baseball team but he said no. It wouldn't have done any good to take the school board to court over it because the school had a softball team and they let me play on it so I just had to suck it up and stop throwing so hard. The next year, well this year I guess Ben got accepted to UT where Chris was and I haven't seen them since summer but Seth on the other hand comes home every weekend. You see when I moved to Ohio and started 7th grade I met my friend Aaron and he became another close friend. I still kept in touch with Dwayne and Fulton called occasionally but he was some one I could talk to in person. My mom and dad don't care if he comes over, usually through the window because there's a tree there and he's like a monkey, we were in my room one weekend and we were wrestling and I had him in a headlock. Seth just happened to barge into my room and caught us like that and he didn't like it at all. His exact words were 'Elizabeth let him go.' The next part is why I flipped out like that Charlie I'm sorry. So I let Aaron go and he went out the window because we both knew what was coming next. I'd gotten used to what he did so, although I've only told Aaron and Dwayne, I don't hate him for it I just don't understand why. So like he always has done he pulled out the belt and…and…and…" I stuttered. It had always been hard to tell the next part.

"ER what did he do to you?" Connie asked.

"Come on, it's ok. Charlie needs to know." Tex said.

"Did that s.o.b. hit you? I swear if he laid that belt across you I'll kill him with my bear hands the next time I see him." Charlie exploded. 9 jaws dropped. By the looks of it they had never seen Charlie explode. Unfortunately Fulton, Goldberg, Banks, and I all had and Dwayne just wasn't paying that much attention to Charlie.

"Charlie shut it would you? You're making it harder for her to finish." Tex said extremely calm. Charlie immediately shut up and sat back down.

"Yes Charlie that's exactly what he did. He threw me face first on to my sleigh bed and beat me with his belt. Halfway through I must have screamed instead of staying quiet like I normally would have so my mom and dad came in right as he brought it down against my back. When I saw their faces I thought dad's head was going to explode. Dad is normally the one who yells except at me my mom always does that. This time thought before dad could even start Mom erupted. I swear I bet the entire neighborhood could have heard her. She has a set of lungs when she wants to yell. I finally sat up as soon as I realized she was yelling at her favorite son. He couldn't believe he was yelling at him. He never got yell at, especially not over me. He thought she hated me. See me and my mom never really got along I guess it's because I grew up a tomboy and all she wanted was a preppy daughter who stays quite and perfect and grows up and dates some lawyer's son who becomes a lawyer not some…how'd she put it oh yeah not some 'tomboy who only likes hillbillies and hockey players.' That never made that much sense to me seeing as her favorite sons were hockey players. Anyway when she stopped for air dad asked me how often he had been hitting me. So I told him the truth, every time Seth comes home and finds Aaron in my room, which is almost every time he comes home. They were soooooooooo mad at him. They almost literally threw him out of the house until Christmas break when both Chris and Ben would be home." I said finally almost done with my story.

"How long ago was that?" Fulton asked.

"Last weekend." I answered.

"You mean like 3 days ago last weekend?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah. My parents came back after kicking him out and sat down on my bed. My dad spotted the back of my white shirt which was starting to turn deep red. He lifted it up and saw that it was bleeding. That's why I freaked when you almost touched it, Portman. He tended to it while my mom took a look around the room. She just happened to see the scholarship that I had turned down at the beginning of the school year, and said 'we can't chance him being here alone with you so you're accepting that scholarship and going to school with Charlie. There are no if's or but's about it.' The next day was Monday and so my dad let me stay home to pack and took me out to breakfast, then bought me seat covers for my convertible mustang, that was a 16th birthday present, that TV, and that stereo, and some baseballs. That afternoon I sent an email to Dwayne explaining the entire thing, it was one of the longest emails I've ever sent. Then I spent the next 3 hours on the phone with Rom-I mean Aaron." I finished.

"Wow I'm sorry." Portman said.

"It's ok you didn't know." I said.

"How long has he been beating you?" Fulton asked.

"Since sometime before Thanksgiving last year I'm sorry." I responded.

"Baby don't you dare apologize for that it's not your fault you did nothing wrong there's just something wrong with him." Fulton said coming to my side. I nodded.

"So what kind of scholarship is it, and what are you doing on this floor?" Jesse asked.

"It's a full ride baseball for the varsity team and this was the only open room so I get it all to myself." I answered.

"Oh I'm so jealous it's an all guy team." Julie said "you are so gonna get hit on like crazy."

"Ummm Julie, if you didn't notice this is a male dominated team too and the varsity hockey team has already hit on me today." I said then looked at Charlie, "oh carp big brother mode kicking in."

"What the hell?" Charlie yelled.

"Charlie 3 days, days Charlie." I yelled over him.

"I'm gonna go to bed. It's getting late." Charlie said relaxing.

Most of the team agreed with him. So they walked out the door and down the hall. "Hey Portman?" I asked.

"Yeah?" He said, pausing at his door across the hall.

"I hate to bug you so late but you think you could hook up my TV and Stereo and not mess it up?"

"Yeah." He said getting to work. "So Aaron's got another name?"

I sat down at my computer and checked my email. "Huh oh yeah. Romeo because he likes to climb in and out my window. That's the only reason."

"Oh really?" Portman said coming up behind me after he finished.

"Yup." I said as I opened an email from Ben. I clicked on the link he sent me and it was a link to the original laughing cat. It was incredibly funny. "I love Bean so much sometimes he really knows how to make me laugh."

"Interesting."

"What is so interesting?" I asked as I closed the link and turned to him.

"You."

"How so."

"You just are."

"Oh really."

"Yup." He said before his lips came down on mine. It only lasted a few seconds then he pulled away. "Sorry I shouldn't have. If Charlie finds out he'll flip."

"Oh the bloody hypocrite can go eat himself."

"Are you sure?"

"Portman shut up." I said standing and kissing him again. He complied and deepened it and wrapped my arms around his neck and he wrapped his strong arms around my waist pulling me as close as humanly possible.

About 20 minutes later he broke the kiss and said "I better be getting to bed."

"Yeah I guess." I said.

He kissed the top of my head and said "Good night ER."

"Night DP." I said as he walked out the door and shut it behind him. I changed and climbed into bed.

Well thanks for reading this chapter. I will see you soon have a good day.