But the broken cry that came from Portman was not what he expected to hear; the cries coming from him made him sound like a wounded animal, loud, keening, ripping through him as his body shook. Ted could feel the tremors quaking through Portman as the kid broke down, clinging to him, fingers clawing at the back of his shirt.

"She told me she took a test. She thinks she's . . . she's . . .! Shit! Shit! I fucked everything up! Oh, God!"

OR:

Portman and his girlfriend have been secretly sleeping together since a little after the Ducks won against Varsity, and he fears he made a huge mistake.

Pregnancy Scare

Tense silence chilled the waiting room in the local Planned Parenthood clinic. Although Ted Orion considered himself vehemently pro-life, being a father of two children, he felt every ounce of sympathy for what one of his Bash Brothers was going through.

A few days ago, after their practice, Portman visited him in his office, looking closest to scared that Ted had ever seen him. Much to his surprise, the Bash Brother looked like he was going to cry any moment. When Ted saw the tears glassing in the Chicagoan's eyes, he knew it must've been severe because Portman never cried. Portman was a tough kid who grew up on the south side of Chicago, helping his sister and grandparents take care of his nephew and little brother ever since his parents died; he could take a hit on the ice and never let out a whimper. Why in the world would he be crying? But it made Ted uneasy, seeing the large teen teary-eyed and looking torn-up over something, keeping his arms tightly around himself as though he were trying to hold himself together from the outside, fingers squeezing at his biceps.

He still recalled their conversation, how Portman blubbered, "Coach . . ." And he broke down, bawling like a baby right there.

All Ted could do was hug the boy close, asking him what was wrong as he felt the boy's tears soaking into his shoulder.

He still felt the chill rush through him when Dean sobbed, "It's Mary . . . she . . ."

At first, Ted thought they'd potentially broken up; Dean had only been dating the girl for about three months, shortly after they won in the J.V.-Varsity showdown. Dean's performance stripping in the penalty box had endeared him to many pretty girls. Still, the one who caught his eye the most was Mary, a sophomore from the girls' basketball team who had just as provocative a reputation as Dean did – she was boy-crazy and went through a couple of different boyfriends. Still, Dean was the first boy she'd started getting serious with. But then again, Dean was known for being a heartbreaker – why would he cry over a girl wanting to break things off?

But the broken cry that came from Portman was not what he expected to hear; the cries coming from him made him sound like a wounded animal, loud, keening, ripping through him as his body shook. Ted could feel the tremors quaking through Portman as the kid broke down, clinging to him, fingers clawing at the back of his shirt.

"She told me she took a test. She thinks she's . . . she's . . .! Shit! Shit! I fucked everything up! Oh, God!"

It took everything within him not to start lecturing Portman. Hearing Portman had been sneaking his new girlfriend into the boys' dormitories, that he'd been spending the night with her, and that Kenny Wu had been covering for them both this whole time, Ted initially was infuriated at Portman's irresponsibility; he was also infuriated with Kenny. There was a reason the dorms were separated for boys and girls. The prefects kept a tight watch on everyone coming in and out of there, and there was a strict curfew everyone in the dorms needed to abide by. But Portman had always been a rebellious spirit. He wasn't what one would call a rule-follower. Still, of all things, Ted hadn't expected Portman to be sleeping with a girl he'd only been dating for a couple of months, much less being sexually intimate with her. What he'd been thinking, Ted did not know.

But when Portman asked him if he could accompany him and Mary to the clinic to see for sure if she was pregnant, Ted didn't hesitate. He knew Portman's older sister and grandparents were miles away in Chicago, and the last thing the kid would want was for this to potentially get out there because if Dean Buckley found out that he'd been having sleepovers with Mary, no doubt, the board wouldn't hesitate to give him an in-school suspension. And if Dean's sister ever found out, she'd be disappointed. Ted didn't know all the details, just that his older sister had a kid and was raising her son

Still, sitting there in the waiting room, Ted felt his anger creep up again at Portman's lack of self-respect and his irresponsibility. But he also didn't want to make the boy feel worse than he already felt.

Portman sat there, arms crossed over his chest as he stared at the various pamphlets on the side tables in the clinic, pamphlets that had things on them like testing for STDS, cancer screenings, day-after-pill options, abortion services . . . The boy's eyes were wet and red, and he didn't sip the coffee Ted had gotten him on the way there. In fact, the kid looked like he'd be sick.

"Tell me," Portman said roughly, sniffling, cutting through the tense silence so abruptly, Ted flinched. "Tell me I'm an idiot. That if she's pregnant, it's my fault. That I should pay the child support if she chooses to keep the baby. That if she chooses to terminate, I get no say because I should've kept it in my pants and I'm a man and I can't have an opinion on it."

Ted sighed; sure, he'd lecture Dean about his irresponsibility. But he wasn't about to tell the boy that he should have no say in the matter; after all, Mary didn't get into this big mess by herself. They both chose the path of intimacy and had been irresponsible about it. They both needed to face the ramifications if it came down to Mary being pregnant because she'd have to choose.

"I won't," Ted said sternly. "But what you did do was incredibly irresponsible, Dean. You know that, right?"

"I'm sorry." Dean wiped at his face, but more tears kept falling. "I –"

"Don't apologize to me," Ted said firmly. "Still, you guys chose to be intimate. And, you know, when you choose intimacy, you've gotta use protection, Dean. Otherwise, things like this happen. And if it turns out Mary is pregnant, you need to support whatever she chooses. And if that means termination, you can't judge her for it because it should be her choice."

Portman looked at him in shock, his face paling. "But you're a dad. Why would you –?"

"I don't like it," Ted argued. "I don't agree with it. But if my wife's life were at risk during a pregnancy, I would want her to decide what's best for her; truthfully, I wouldn't want to lose her. And with you kids . . . there needs to be exceptions; God forbid the girl is raped or worse. But it also shouldn't be used as a quick fix for screw-ups – no girl should ever use it for convenience; you have to respect life, which means being responsible for your actions and knowing what could happen if you don't. It's like drinking. Once in a while, a drink is okay. But too much of it isn't healthy. Sex is the same way, especially at your age; it could be addictive, and it makes you vulnerable in more ways than one. Consider this a lesson I hope you don't need to revisit. Do you understand that?"

Portman nodded, biting at his lower lip. "Yeah, yeah, I do." He raised his hand to catch a few more tears rolling down his face.

"And you also know I'd have to say something to Dean Buckley if it turns out Mary is pregnant."

At this, Portman looked as though he'd die. "No! You can't! They'll suspend me!"

"Then you really should've thought of that before inviting her to spend nights with you," Ted said sternly. "I don't wanna be the bad guy here. But I'm your coach, and I need to follow through with the set policies. I won't say a word if it turns out to be a false alarm. But if Mary is pregnant, someone needs to say something because that means that the prefects will need to tighten up on the security of the dorms. And her parents would have to know, too."

"But if I get suspended, my folks will kill me!"

"But you need to face the consequences."

"Isn't this punishment enough?"

"Dean, I don't want to see you punished. But frankly, having Mary come back to the dorms with you and having Wu cover for you, you know, is against the rules. And it's disrespect."

At this, more tears glassed in Portman's eyes, and Ted felt terrible for needing to report the kid potentially. The boy looked like a puppy that had been kicked multiple times; Portman and Fulton might've been massive in size and like giant pit bulls on the ice, especially when they were together, but Ted knew from experience with them that they had a side of them where they were massive teddy bears, mushy and sensitive with a capacity for kindness. Although Ted felt the boy had learned his lesson, that didn't negate the fact that he needed to do his job as the J.V. coach.

"I know," Dean choked out. "And I'm sorry, all right?"

"I don't need you to be sorry," Ted said. "I just need to know that this won't ever happen again. Because it's your life. Life is what you make it. Sex is one of the best parts of life, but you need to be responsible when you choose to do it. Trust me; it's not worth having sex just because you want to prove to people that you're cool. I get it. But you need to have more respect for yourself. You get it?"

Portman nodded, wiping at his eyes, glancing back at his shoes, looking ashamed and embarrassed. While Ted was mad that Portman had broken the rules and made such an irresponsible choice, part of him felt a sense of pride that Portman felt that he could turn to him with his problem and that he trusted Ted enough to help him get out of his pickle. It showed him that the Ducks trusted him more than they did at the start of the semester. Ted leaned a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder bracingly. Finally, Mary came back into the waiting area, wearing what Ted thought to be a relieved smile on her face. That told him and Dean all they needed to know: the test was negative.

Dean heaved a sigh of relief as he walked over to Mary and hugged her tight, kissing her gently. "Thank God," he whispered.

"Yeah." Mary nodded. "So, I don't need to worry about telling my parents anything."

"You should," Ted said sternly, thinking of his own daughter – he wouldn't want his daughter keeping secrets from him, especially when she got older and started dating; he'd want to know everything, and he was sure Mary's parents were the same way.

Mary's eyes widened. "No way! You don't know my parents. Dad's a church leader; Mom leads the women's group every week!"

"And you shouldn't keep secrets from them," Ted said. "Honesty is better. Because if you lie to them about this, you'll just go down a more dangerous path. Yes, they'll be upset about it. But let me tell you this as a dad: I'd want to know if my daughter were in your position. And Dean, it's best you two stop the sleepovers. It's unsafe for both of you. And it's only a matter of time until the hall monitors and prefects find out and report you. And then what?"

Mary and Portman both looked down at their shoes, abashed, but nonetheless nodded.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Portman mumbled, his face coloring significantly as he tightened his hold around Mary, hugging her closer and looking so relieved that he didn't have to deal with the burden of either needing to become a father or support his girlfriend's decision to terminate. Still, it would be a lesson the kid would carry around forever, and Ted could only hope the Bash Brother would make better decisions from now on.

"Come on, kids," Ted said. "I'll buy you pizza, and I'll drive you back to the dorms so you don't get in trouble for missing curfew."

Portman and Mary both nodded, grateful, still holding each other even as they exited the clinic. Before he took his seat on the passenger's side, Portman stopped short, his face suddenly dryer than it had been back at the clinic.

"Thanks, Coach," he said tightly. "Really, I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't –"

"Don't worry about it," Ted said gently. "Just don't do that ever again." Before stepping around to the driver's side, he gave Dean a reassuring smile. "And you're welcome."