Disclaimer: I do not own the Mighty Ducks. Although it would be nice to recieve a certain floppy haired enforcer who's name rhymes with Keane Fortman for my birthday...which is coming up in a few weeks. Also I do not own Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, although I wish I did...That would be pretty awesome. I also do not own Coccoa Puffs cereal, but I do eat it occasionally. For the record I happen to love every name that is thrown out in a certain part of this chapter, so no hatemail if your name is used.
AN: I cannot believe that it has taken me four years to finish this story. When I started this story my sister's youngest son was a toddler and now he's recently started the first grade. My opinions on this story have changed since I started it. I'm still not crazy about how it started but it is what it is. But I can promise you that this story is going to finish strong. My apologies for drawing this out so long.
Two Years Later
Looking back on his life Adam realized that he had lived the first quarter of his life the wrong way. He had done what was expected of him and hadn't done anything for himself. At thirty he fnally felt comfortable in his own skin. He was finally off medication so his head was clear and he could make rational decisions.
The first decision he'd made was to put his mother in a hospice. He was the only one taking care of her most of the time and when the last live-in nurse quit because his mom was hard to control he knew he didn't have any other choice. The second things he'd done was quit his job and start his own private investigative business. He made his own hours and work was sporadic at first but had started to pick up as of late.
He was finally in control of his life. The only thing he regretted was hurting Julie in the process. They were friends now and he didn't have a single problem with Portman. He could see that they made each other happy and after two years of dating he was starting to wonder if Julie wouldn't be coming to him to have a talk about remarrying soon.
His relationship with Peyton and Nathan was stronger than ever. At eight and three they were at an age when they needed both of their parents. He saw them a lot more than he had when he and Julie had first divorced. He'd moved closer to town when Julie had moved in with Portman after six months of dating so that he could be closer to the kids.
His love life was pretty much nonexistant but he was okay with that. He had gone on a few dates but nothing had panned out. He was content to be alone for now, he was still young so he wasn't going to close himself off to the idea of it ever happening.
He still called Charlie at least once a week.. Charlie had a life of his own and Adam didn't want to disrupt it anymore than he had to. Charlie was going to be a dad in a month. He and Connie had a unconventional relationship where they did everything backwards but it worked for them. They both thrived off of chaos and lived fast paced lives so living in New York suited them.
Adam had take over Fulton's coaching possition when he moved to Texas for work. Months would go by without a word from him and then out of the blue he would call and they would end up talking for half an hour. Fulton, like Adam was a man of few words and that was never going to change.
Guy and Sky had surprised everyone and gotten married after only dating for six months. Their son Myles was almost one and marriage and fatherhood agreed with Guy. He was still managing Antabellum but he'd sold his other restaurant to the manager. He worked at the skate shop on the weekends, happy to still have the group of friends that he had.
Adam considered himself lucky to have the second chance he'd been given. He refused to go back to the person he used to be.
XXXX
Julie Gaffney's life was good. She had two loving, caring, precious children who had been through a lot in their short lives. She had an amazing boyfriend who always put her first after his work. She had worked her way up the ranks to achieve something very few people had done in only three years. She was now the vice president of her ad agency. She worked hard and had the option of working from home unless she had meetings with clients.
She had learned a lot of things about herself in the two years she had been dating Portman. It's okay to move fast sometimes but you have to know when to put on the brakes. Loving him wasn't easy at times. He could be a pain in the ass sometimes and he had a certain way he liked things to be done; but she knew that she wasn't perfect. They made things work because that was what you did when you loved someone. Little did she know that he had something up his sleeve.
Portman wasn't the type to overthink things. He was used to making lightning fast decisions and worrying about the outcome later. He had spent the last two hours shopping for Julie's birthday present when he finally found what he wanted. Sometimes it was good to take your time to decide on something, it made the moment mean more. He knew Julie would love it.
He wasn't the type of guy who showed his emotions well. He wasn't a drama king like Charlie or as in touch with what women wanted as Guy. He, Fulton, and Adam all fell into the same category. They were awkward, bumbling idiots when it came to professing their love.
He had been ready for this for a while but he had wanted to make sure that Julie was more than ready. It had taken them a while to get used to things since he had never lived with anyone outside of his family, except when he went to Eden Hall and college. It had been a huge adjustment for him but Julie and the kids had been patient. Everything was almost ready so he wouldn't have to sweat much longer.
Julie's birthday was less than a week away. Her family was coming in since they hadn't seen Julie or the kids since Julie got her job promotion a year before but Portman had something planned for them that night. Julie hated surprises but he felt that this was worth it.
XXXX
Charlie came home to find Connie asleep on the couch with a sketch pad resting on her protruding stomach. After a day teaching the upper East Side most elite's children for nine hours he was ready for a night of nothing to do.
If one more kid asked him if he knew who their parents were he was going to ask them if they knew who he was. The kids at Masterson Prep were a hundred times more snobbish than his students at Eden Hall. None of them had any respect for him. The son of one of the countries most well known baseball players had told him to go fuck himself when he'd told him that he was giving him an incomplete on an assignment that was already a week late today.
He'd stayed after to grade papers so that he could spend his time at home with Connie. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed with her and shut out the rest of the world. He gently moved the book of her before scooping her up. She stirred with a groan and a sigh.
"Falling asleep on the couch was a bad idea," she said with a wince.
"I'll take care of it," he promised as he placed her gingerly on the bed.
"Will you go and get the ice cream out of the freezer?"
"Be right back."
He groaned when he found a pint of Ben and Jerry's Cotton Candy ice cream. He didn't see how Connie could eat it. She smiled graciously when he held it out to her.
"Is it your lower back again?"
"Mmhmm," she answered around a mouthful of ice cream.
"Who did you talk into going all the way to First Street to get you ice cream?"
"Salvatore was going that way anyway."
"How's she doing?"
"She's sleeping," she said with a smile, rubbing her stomach affectionately.
One of Charlie's arms snaked around her side to cover hers. She had been on bed rest for three weeks with another five to go. She had been working herself ragged so she hadn't been able to keep the weight that she was gaining on. She'd come up with the idea for a maternity/baby line and Charlie found wadded balls of paper and finished sketches everywhere.
"Who's turn is it to look through the book?" he asked.
"Mine," she said grabbing the baby name book from her nightstand.
They would take turns going through the book at least once a day. So far Charlie had shot down Adalaide Rose and Sophia Jade; which were better than Amelia Caroline and Scarlett Samantha which he liked.
"Georgia Nicole?"
"No," he said thoughfully.
She handed him the book with a frustrated growl. They had been through the entire book almost and they couldn't agree on anything. He wanted something traditional while she wanted something unique.
"I think I've found something that you might like. I just have to find a middle name."
"Don't hold your breath," she mumbled.
"Aeryn Reese."
"Erin? You actually thought I would like that?" she asked with a scoff.
"Don't you want to know how it's spelled?"
"I'm pregnant, not stupid Charlie," she said darkly.
"A-E-R-Y-N," he said smugly.
She opened her mouth to say something then closed it again. She was silent for a minute before leaning against him. Technically, they would both get what they wanted. The name was traditional but it was uniquely spelled.
"I always knew you were smart," she said with a sigh.
He rested his chin on her shoulder and saw the offensive ice cream on her nightstand. He reached for it and spooned a small amount into his mouth. He swallowed slowly as Connie watched him with a humorous look.
"It's even nastier than I thought it would be," he said after a few seconds of silence.
She shook her head with a light laugh as he put the container back on the nightstand. Charlie had never had much of a sweet tooth but he was always willing to try whatever she brought home. She'd had some pretty weird cravings during her pregnancy. He'd had to spend an hour finding an all night convience store because she'd had a craving for Cocoa Puffs the week before. He never complained, but he did find it a little daunting when her demands were a little extreme.
XXXX
Julie had no idea what Portman was planning. He'd been vague when he asked her to meet him at her favorite Italian Bistro after work. She arrived a few minutes early to find that he was already there. She was lead to an empty back room where Portman sat at a corner table. She sat across from him, eyeing him scrutinizingly.
"What?" he asked with a laugh.
"I thought you had asked me to come here because you were throwing me a surprise party," she said with a bashful laugh.
"You expect to have two birthday parties? You're turning thirty-one, not twenty-one," he reminded her playfully.
"Then what are we doing here?"
"I wanted some time alone with you before your family comes in tomorrow."
"I can't argue with that."
They ordered dinner and he opened the bottle of wine that was chilling in a bucket beside the table. He held her flute under the table as he poured and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Something at the bottom caught her attention as he held it out to her.
"Dean," she whispered at the sight of the ring.
"You know that I'm not good at telling you how I feel but I want you to hear me out. I never thought that I would get engaged again and then when we started talking again it felt like nothing had changed. You're still the first person I come to if I have good news or if I've had a bad day. You care for me so much that sometimes I wonder how you have love for anyone else; but you do. I let you get away from me once and I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. Juliette Danielle Gaffney, will you marry me?"
"Yes, I will; if you promise me one thing."
"Anything."
"Don't ever call me Juliette again; you know I hate it, but I'll let it slide just this once," she said looking at him from under her lashes.
He fished the ring out of her glass and dried it off before slipping it on her finger. She laughed breathlessly as she stared at it. It was a single three carat diamond with a white gold band. It was simple even if the diamond was on the large side. She looked up to see him watching her. She leaned across the table and he met her halfway. The kiss was brief since the waiter came back with their food. Once he was gone Julie leaned back in to rest her forehead to Portman's.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
He hadn't expected her to thank him but she rarely did what he expected her to do. The unassuming girl he had met eighteen years before had grown into an amazing, smart, self deprocating, strong woman. It had taken him a long time to realize that the person he was meant to spend the rest of his life with was right in front of him. Now that he had, he would spend the rest of his life showing her how much he loved her. He couldn't think of anything better.