So another chapter for you. I do hope you enjoy.

Chapter 33: Clarity

Friday night varsity hockey warm ups rolled around. Wilson sat on the bench watching his team warm up including the girls. It was a fight he wasn't going to win against the team. The team as a whole worked well together but not any better than they did with the girls on the bench. They cut out about 10 minutes before the end of warmups but Kyle stopped on the ice to speak with the assistant coach. Coach Deacon shook his head as he stared at Kyle in disbelief. Wilson couldn't hear what the two were saying but Coach Deacon looked resigned to whatever it was. Kyle skated off and Wilson looked up at the assistant coach as he came over. Deacon could only shake his head.

Five minutes to game time, Dean Buckley looked over the protective ice barrier from his seat in the stands. A ref came up as well. "Eden Hall, where's your team?" the ref asked.

"They'll be here soon, they're just psyching themselves up," Deacon pacified.

"Three minutes," the ref said. He skated away and both Wilson and Buckley looked at Deacon.

"Well?" Buckley asked. Before Deacon could answer Lizzy and Julie skated over to the bench. "Jacobs, where's the rest of your team?"

"They're protesting," Lizzy explained. "They say if Wilson's on the bench, they forfeit."

"They can't be serious. I won't let them throw all my hard work down the drain," Wilson fumed.

"Christopher, we do not have time for this tonight. Hand the clipboard to Coach D. and just go home, I will speak with the team and sort it out after the game," Buckley said. Wilson glared at him but did as told. Liz borrowed Deacon's cell phone and sent Kyle a quick text alerting him of the situation. Soon Kyle and the rest of boys poured onto the ice.

Deacon looked over the roster and lineup, then grinned. He leaned over to Liz. "I've got you on the third line. I know it's not what you wanted but at least you get to play. I need you to be my secret weapon. We need to win this game."

"Understood."

He gave the first two lines about five minutes of game time each, then with time winding down, he gathered his third line. He flipped his clipboard towards them and explained the play he wanted them to run. Liz hit the ice with speed and energy the team was lacking and helped her team score a goal with only a few seconds left on the clock. She played for a while during the second period and then at halftime Deacon commended her.

After the game, Liz and Julie left the bathroom after changing only to be gathered with the rest of the team. Dean Buckley stood at the front of the locker room with Coach Deacon and Tom Riley. "Gentlemen, ladies, you are no longer in Peewees. You are teenagers. Some of you will be going on to college next year, maybe NHL minors or even the pros so you are beyond the age of being treated like children and I'm not going to. Your performance during the game was spectacular as always. I think you showed everyone here why you are this year's varsity team. Continue to perform this well and I see another year as State Champs. However, your behavior between warmups and the game is unacceptable. Coach Wilson is a great coach—" Buckley was cut off by Kyle.

"Someone once told me you're the only one who can change your future. They also told me that to make the world a better place, change has to start with me. Coach Wilson may be a great coach but his stance on women in hockey is more befitting of the last century or at least four decades ago. We're not going to stand for this kind of blatant misogyny when we can do something about it," Kyle explained.

"I understand that, Mr. Riley, but there is a time and a place for everything," Buckley answered.

"And for a coach obsessed with his hockey team and record, protesting his treatment of the girls on said hockey team during a hockey game makes sense."

"Dean Buckley," Lizzy interrupted before the dean could get another word out, "Coach Deacon, Mr. Riley, the last thing Julie and I want to do is to jeopardize this team or their record, but our performance tonight speaks for itself. Wilson had no cause to keep us from the ice except for his own prejudices. We played as well as we always have, no matter who we're up against. If you want to punish someone—"

"You`ll have to punish the entire team," Kyle backed her.

"Yeah!" the rest of the team agreed.

"No one is being punished here. I want all of you to come up with a better way to handle your grievances though," Buckley pacified.

"We tried," Lizzy said.

"Liz and I both talked to Coach Wilson and Coach Deacon, they wouldn't or couldn't do anything. Coach Orion tried to help but Wilson wouldn't listen," Julie added.

"And my dad even came to both of you but you said to give it time. We're sick of giving it time. When adults refused to budge or help we took into our own hands," Lizzy finished.

"Building a community is better than keeping a hockey record," Kyle said in support. He turned to his dad. "Dad, we talked about this."

"I know, Kyle," Mr. Riley answered.

"Do you all feel this way?" Dean Buckley asked, looking around the locker room. Most of the guys nodded.

"Dean, Mr. Riley, I don't want to say this but we're not going to budge. Enough is enough. If Wilson can't agree to let us play, the protest will continue while the courts work it out," Lizzy said reluctantly.

The three adults shared a look then looked at the team. "We will speak with Coach Wilson and try to work things out. If we can't work it out with him, Coach Deacon will take over coaching."

"Thank you, Dean Buckley," Kyle said.

Coach Deacon ended up coaching for only one game before deciding he wasn't cut out to be head coach. He didn't mind coaching practices but he didn't have the time to truly devote to the team to be a head coach so they brought in a new coach.

Before the practice where they introduced the new coach, Kyle pulled her aside. "I really like you," he said. "You're different from the other girls here; it's just that I think there's no spark there. Not where one needs to be and we should just be friends."

Lizzy stared at him in disbelief. She couldn't believe she was getting this talk from Kyle but then again she was feeling it too. It was time to end it since their relationship had gone stagnate. She didn't blame him but she didn't like that she had to have this conversation. "Was part of the reason you asked me out because you knew it would help the team rally when Wilson banned us?" Lizzy asked.

"That was never part of my reasoning for asking. I won't lie and say that I never used our relationship for that gain, but it wasn't a factor to begin with."

"Do you know who our new coach is?"

"Yes, and he's temporary."

"Why?" Lizzy shook her head.

"They're not sure they want him for the rest of the season and they tried to get someone else but he's the only one they could get on such short notice. They're going to let him coach until they find a new one."

Lizzy nodded. That made sense. It also meant she didn't have to get attached but she also ran the risk of liking this coach as a coach but not getting to keep him. "We should get to practice."

"Okay," Kyle agreed.

They spent most of the practice working with Coach Deacon and every time Lizzy looked around she didn't see anyone watching them. Deacon called an end to practice five minutes early. "Alright bring it in," he called. Everyone skated over to him. "I've spoken with Dean Buckley and school board president Tom Riley. They spoke with Coach Wilson and have unfortunately been unable to come to any agreement. Because of this they have had no choice but to let Coach Wilson go. It was not an easy decision for anyone. As many of you know, I have little ones at home and was hired on the condition I wouldn't have to give up too much of my time with them. Being a full-time, head coach means spending what little free time I have coming up with strategies instead of playing with them. That's not what I want my kids to remember from their childhoods. A lot of you grew up that way and didn't like it. Please, don't ask me to do that to my kids."

"So if they didn't replace him with you, who did they get?" Lizzy asked.

"It took some time but they went through every coach available and even some who haven't coached in Minnesota, but they needed more time to find a fully qualified coach they could agree on. So they brought in an interim coach. Look up there." He motioned to the stands where a camera was set up. "That has relayed this practice to him. He has also seen the last couple of games. He wanted an unbiased look at this team without you knowing who he is. Without further ado, your new coach." Deacon nodded behind them and everyone turned. Lizzy's hand instantly wrapped around Adam's wrist.

"I know most of you know who I am, for those of you who don't, I am Gordon Bombay. I'm going to tell you right now, you don't have to like me as a person, you don't have to like my coaching style, but while you're on that ice, you must attempt to respect my coaching decisions," he said as he stepped out onto the ice.

Lizzy wasn't all that surprised that he was dressed in a pair of jeans and a light jacket. Then she realized what he had said. She knew most, if not all, of that was directed at her and it made her grit her teeth. Then out of the corner of her eye, she saw Adam flinch so she loosened her grip. "Can we talk?" Lizzy asked Bombay.

"My door is always open to anyone on the team, just knock first," Bombay said. He nodded to her then looked over the rest of the team. "We have two more practices before this week's game, so if there are no questions, you're free to hit the showers."

All of the Ducks on the team greeted him as they skated by and the rest of the team occasionally said hello. Finally, it was just Lizzy and Bombay on the ice. "Coa—"

"Don't. You have never called me Coach. Don't start now unless you mean it."

"I … I don't respect you as a person. I can't after our history. Not yet at least. I want to but I don't know how."

"I'm not going to replace you. I'm not even going to keep you on third line. This is the team as it's going to be for the rest of the season. I may change up the lines a little but I am not going to cut anyone. I don't want to bench you either."

"Then what?"

"I'll evaluate you for the next few days in practice like the rest of the team and you'll see your position before the game on Friday."

"Fine."

"Walk with me and we'll talk about the other problem I know you're having with me."

"Other problem?"

"Don't play dumb. I talk to your aunt every night."

"So you know that I know." Lizzy and Bombay walked to the edge of the ice and headed for the locker room and the coaches' office. "You're going to marry my aunt."

"It's headed that way but you're not okay with that. I can hold off and hope that the team and your friends and your family can help you come to some sort of agreeable stance on this. I love your aunt, I have for years, I just never realized how much until I was away from her for more than a year. What do you want to know, Liz?" Bombay asked.

"My aunt says you haven't stayed in Minnesota for more than two weeks at a time."

"I haven't and I want to rectify that. I will still be working for the Goodwill Committee for next summer's games but for the most part I will be here, focused on coaching you and the team and continuing to be with your aunt. I do not plan to leave your aunt. You're important to your aunt and I know she's worried about you. I don't want to hurt either one of them again."

"But you might."

"Tell me something, you still like Port, right? What if I was, or Fulton was, questioning your relationship with him?"

"I can't think about that right now. I'm really trying to work through this but I can't right now."

"Okay. Again, my door is always open for you," Bombay said.

After changing Lizzy made a phone call then drove up to Stillwater. She knocked on the door of the pale blue house and it was opened by a smiling woman. "Come on in," she said.

Lizzy smiled and slipped inside. "Who's at the door, Butterfly?" Jim called from the couch.

"Your favorite," Nat answered.

"Lizzy? Come sit, kid," Jim answered.

"How'd you know it wasn't Fulton?" Lizzy asked.

"Well, first, he usually comes in through the side door, second, if he doesn't, he never knocks, and third, she would have said my heir and not my favorite," Jim answered as Lizzy walked around the end of the sectional and plopped down next to her godfather.

"I've come to you, in my time of need …" Lizzy tried to imitate the movie quote but didn't quite nail it.

"Not exactly the quote," Jim said.

"Then what is it?" Lizzy asked.

"Now you come and say 'Don Corleone, give me justice.' Then it goes on to say, which is more quoted: You come into my house on the day my daughter is to be married and you ask me to do murder," Jim quoted.

"Oh. No, seriously, I need your advice."

"We have known each other many years, but this is the first time you've come to me for counsel or for help."

"Uncle Jim."

"You don't even think to call me "Godfather."" Jim went on.

"Stop quoting The Godfather and help your goddaughter out," Nat chastised. Her smirk said she wasn't exactly upset about it though.

"Okay, okay," Jim agreed. "So, how can I help?"

"Natty-cat," Lizzy said. Nat nodded and sat down next to Jim and they both turned to look at her. "I had dinner with my aunt the other day. She told me that she's dating Gordon Bombay. It's not that I hate him, I don't. I just don't know what to do." Lizzy shrugged.

"Do you know the worst part of being a parent?" Jim asked, taking Lizzy's hand. Lizzy shook her head. "Knowing that your kid's heart is breaking and there's nothing you can do to fix it."

"But—" Lizzy started.

"That's not the worst thing," Nat cut her off.

"What do you mean?" Lizzy asked.

"Knowing there's nothing you can do to fix it is pretty bad but the one thing that's worse, is seeing that heartbreak and knowing it's your fault. No parent ever wants to hurt their kid," Nat said.

"Of course not and for Casey that includes you," Jim added. "I know she admits that her now ex-husband was a bad idea, so certainly you can understand that she doesn't want to do that again."

"Maybe," Lizzy answered.

"Do you think Bombay is vindictive? That he intends to hurt those around him?" Jim asked.

"I didn't say that."

"Then what?" Nat asked.

"Maybe it's an unintentional consequence of him being ... finicky," Lizzy said.

Jim and Nat shared a look. They could see they weren't getting through to Lizzy but knew they had to keep trying. "You admit that Bombay knows you. That he knows you're protective?" Jim asked. Lizzy nodded. Anyone who knew her knew that. "Then perhaps he took that into consideration. I'm not saying that it was a major factor, but I'm sure it factored in when he considered coming back and sticking around. To incur your wrath, I wouldn't want to do it."

"I know that you have been looking after Charlie since you were kids and seeing him break hurts, but the old saying is true: what doesn't kill us makes us stronger," Nat told her.

"What if it doesn't? What if he can't take it this time?" Lizzy asked.

"Casey loves her son and it hurts to see him so hurt. There is no way that Casey would want to put her kid through that again. She mentioned something about taking a hockey stick to his bad knee if he hurt either you or Charlie again," Nat answered.

"You can't protect against the what ifs, Lizzy," Jim told her.

"I want to." Lizzy pouted.

Jim sighed seeing he had partially gotten through to her. "I know, Lizzy-Gator. The best you can do is hope. You sit back and you watch and hope he doesn't get hurt."

"And if he does? If I turn out to be right about Bombay?"

"Then you're right and no one will doubt you again."

"I don't want to be right."

Jim and Nat shared a look when they heard the tears in Lizzy's voice. "We know, sweetie," Nat said.

Jim pulled Lizzy to his side and wrapped an arm around her. "It's going to take time. It's going to take trust. I know that is hard for you. Waiting and trusting. You were told that your brother was dead. That was a lie. You were told that Alicia was your mother and not your step-mother. Another lie. You were told things were going to work out with Bombay and they failed, twice. More lies. You're just looking for something to hold onto that isn't a lie. One of those things is that Nat and I love you just as much as we love Fulton and we will always have your back," Jim told her. He rubbed her back, trying his best to comfort her.

"So I just resign myself to waiting," Lizzy said, leaning against him.

"Yeah," Nat answered.

"Can I stay here tonight?" Lizzy asked.

"Of course," Nat agreed.

Lizzy leaned further into Jim. "Something I didn't think about till just now."

"What's that?" Jim asked.

"My dad told me about this, about a month ago." Nat and Jim both smirked. Lizzy shrugged and went to bed.

When Nat woke Liz the next morning it was early, but the good night sleep did Liz wonders and she came to a conclusion. She went through the day and sat down next to Fulton after school before practice. "If I fell back in love with Port, would you question it?"

"Of course I would. Both of you were so hurt by what happened and I'd be worrying about what could happen again. I'd like to think that I'd be open to the two of you but I can't say I wouldn't worry."

"But you'd wait?"

"As hard as it would be I would wait and see."

"Thanks."

"I hope that helps." Fulton said. Lizzy nodded and went to practice. Once it ended she walked with Bombay to his office and plopped down across from his desk. Bombay lowered himself into his chair and watched her.

"I am hurt by what you did and I don't think you deserve another chance. That's a fact. However, I am not a brat and I know that my aunt still has feelings for you. I don't want to stand in the way of her being really happy for the first time in a while so I'm not going to. You want to marry her, fine. I won't be happy about it but I won't stand in your way." Lizzy said.

"Okay. I don't want to hurt any of you again so I won't push you to accept or be happy about it. I just hope you can come to terms about it."

"Sure. I'm trying."

"Thank you. And talk to your aunt. She loves you and is stuck between a rock and a hard place." Bombay said. Lizzy nodded and stood. "And Liz, you start tomorrow in the game."

"Thanks." Liz said.

So there you have it. Unfortunately no Goldberg this time. Next character with the same hockey number as the chapter, 44 Fulton. That's pretty much a give if I get that far.