Chapter 13 – Breaking and Rebuilding

Without Conway there, the team seemed to fall apart at the seams.

After the Cardinals scored twice against the Cat in the first period, Ted decided to send Moreau and Germaine out there.

It proved to be the worst combination he'd ever put out there.

Within seconds of starting the second period, he watched as Guy got distracted with trying to protect Connie out there, forgetting that he needed to clear the puck out of the zone. Even though he scored with an assist from Averman, the Cardinals shot the puck right underneath Julie's glove, giving the Cardinals a three-to-one lead over them, partially because Guy had been trying to protect Connie from getting ganged up on by the Cardinals' defense.

Ted shook his head. "Mendoza, Robertson, change it up!" he barked, watching as Robertson and Mendoza hopped over the guardrail to replace Connie and Guy, who were in a heated argument.

"I did not need a hero out there! You should've been doing your job!" Connie snapped.

"And you weren't watching yourself! You could've gotten hurt out there if I hadn't done anything!"

"Then you could've let it happen, and we could've gotten a power play for that! God, Guy! I am no lady; I'm a Duck!" Connie spat out as she hopped over the wall to sit on the bench, looking infuriated that Guy had been so preoccupied with protecting her.

"That's enough!" Ted snapped at the two of them. "Okay? Germaine, she has a point; you weren't doing your job. You've got to let her learn how to handle herself out there and let her fight her own battles. But Moreau, Germaine was following his instincts and was worried about you; it's okay to have people worry about you and want to protect you!"

"But I'm sick of being treated like the weaker sex!" Moreau said indignantly.

"Nobody here is doing that!" protested Guy, only for Connie to glower at him to get him to shut up.

"Connie, he's right; nobody here thinks you're weak," Ted said firmly, returning to watch the game. Seeing that they were getting weaker with defense, he turned to Goldberg. "Goldberg, you're our extra man for defense! Go!"

"Really? Me, coach?" Goldberg asked, looking out there in bewilderment, which was understandable: he hadn't been utilized that way at all, and this would be his first time being in a game, not in the goalpost. But it had to happen. Ted was getting desperate. And they needed a shakeup if they had any hope.

"Yes, you. Now get out there right now."

Goldberg nodded, hopping over the wall and getting out there; already, Goldberg's presence boosted their defense. He was like a wrecking ball, knocking over several Cardinals and clearing the puck away; even though the J.V. Warriors weren't scoring anything anymore, at least they were tightening up.

Turning to Connie and Guy, he said, "Look, I don't know where things went wrong for the two of you. But you can't let your bickering infect the attitudes of everyone else. Germaine, your problem is you've got to trust her – she does not need you; women do not need men; they can survive without us. If you let her do her job, and you let her learn, and you let her take it, she will be like Superwoman out there. But Moreau, Germaine also can't help it; he protects you because he cares about what happens to you. It doesn't mean you're incompetent. It means he wants to ensure you'll be okay no matter what happens. It's natural. It's normal. You can't take it personally. You understand what I'm saying?"

At least Connie and Guy had the decency to look ashamed of themselves. He watched Connie turn bright red, and Guy looked down at his feet. The two nodded sheepishly.

When the Cardinals scored again, making it four-to-one, Ted shook his head, barking for another line change, ordering Wu and Tyler to get out there.

He heard his little girl screaming from the stands, "COME ON, DEFENSE! WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING? WE'RE MOVING LIKE MOLASSES OUT THERE, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!"

Connie turned her gaze to the stands, where she noticed Lucy and Bella sitting. "Is she yours?"

Ted turned his gaze and locked eyes with Connie. "Yeah, that's my daughter. Why do you ask?"

"She plays on the mites with my little sister and Guy's little brother," Connie answered. "I've seen her play. She's really good."

"Thanks," Ted said, managing a smile even though they were losing badly. "And I'm glad your sister is on the team with her. She doesn't have too many friends who are girls. All her little friends are boys."

"Let me guess; she's the type that doesn't like playing with dolls?"

"I tried," Ted answered. "But she likes hockey."

Connie smiled at that. "And I respect that. And I saw you at the rink a couple of times because Guy and I go there for our siblings' practices and games. I didn't say anything then 'cause it really isn't my business, but . . ."

Hearing Connie say that brought some genuine warmth through him. He supposed he could invite Lucy to come if he had to schedule a practice for tomorrow with the team. He guessed Hans was right in that regard; if he was going to get these kids to trust him and his decisions, he needed to let them see another side of him. He supposed that maybe Lucy being there at the practices, offering her own critiques, could potentially help them in the long run; plus, it could help with making at least one of the practices fun.

Ted groaned as the buzzer went off, leaving the Cardinals in a four-to-nothing lead over them, and he heard his daughter yelling indignantly from the stands.

"OH, COME ON! UUUGH!"

Ted sighed, shaking his head and gesturing for the kids to go to the locker room before he began walking up toward the stands, gesturing for Lucy to come over.

"Daddy! This is, like, so embarrassing! It's like they're not even trying!" she said.

"They are trying, sweetie," he argued back.

"Well, I know what the problem is! There's not enough players out there; you're not gonna get good defense if only four people are protecting the goalie! You need at least one more!" Lucy pointed out.

"Okay, then, if you claim to know so much, why don't you go in that locker room and give those kids some advice?" Ted proposed.

"Really?" Her face brightened up at his suggestion, and Ted looked to his wife for her approval.

"Go on then, honey," Bella said.

"All right, come on, Coach," Ted said, pushing his little girl along out of the stands and to the J.V. locker room, where the team sat on the benches, despondent. He could hear the conversation brewing in there.

"If only we had Charlie back!" complained Wu.

"Well, he and Fulton are not here, Ken! They left us! Which means we've gotta do what we can with what we've got," argued Connie as Ted came into the locker room, with Lucy rolling in behind him.

"That's right, Moreau," he said. "Look, I know you guys are missing Conway and Fulton. But we don't have them here right now. That means we've got to hold on the best we can without them. It sucks, but it's the best we've got right now."

"Besides," Lucy piped up, "unless you tighten up on defense out there, you'll go home losers. So, why don't you guys stop trying to score and start clearing the net?"

The kids all looked abashed, several of them going bright red in the face. After all, it wasn't every day that you heard a six-year-old critique you on your performance.

"And who are you to tell us that, little girl?" Averman asked.

"My daughter," Ted answered, proudly patting Lucy on the shoulder; he watched as several of the kids looked at one another in surprise. "Can't you see the family resemblance?"

"Well, then, why don't you tell her to go home and play with her Barbies instead of coming in here telling us what to do?" asked Russ.

Lucy glowered at him. "I hate playing with dolls," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

Ted chuckled. "You tell 'em, honey."

"Yeah, and I play defense," Lucy argued. "Everyone has to. That's the only way you're gonna have any chance tonight. You might not score, but . . . but at least you'll keep them from scoring. Yeah, a four-to-one loss isn't good. But at least it's not six-to-one or nine-to-one."

The kids blushed even more profoundly and nodded, agreeing as Ted's advice finally sunk in for them. Who knew it would take a six-year-old coming in to whip them into shape?

"So, Coach, what do you say we do?" Goldberg asked her.

"I'd send him out there with him," Lucy pointed to Goldberg and Russ, who shared surprised glances.

"We've got names, you know," Goldberg told her.

"I know, Goldberg," Lucy said. "But you're gonna need an extra guy out there. And those two, they can't play together if all they're gonna do is fight like babies." She pointed to Connie and Guy, who both blushed fervently.

"Getting lectured by a four-year-old; this is great!" grumbled Luis.

"I'm six, thank you very much!" Lucy sassed. "And I know a lot of stuff. So unless you all wanna be cooked up well-done, I think you should get out there and play defense, and if you see your chance, score a goal if you can."

That seemed to shock the team into silence. Her words lit a fire underneath them, and they nodded. Finally, Luis said, "She's a mini-you."

"I've been told," Ted chuckled. "So, team, what are you gonna do?"

"Tighten up and play defense," answered Guy.

Ted nodded. "Good answer. Now let's get back out there, haul ass, and see how we do in the final period."

"COME ON! MOVE FASTER, GOLDBERG! QUIT MOVING LIKE MOLASSES AND MOVE YOUR BUTT!" Lucy yelled as she watched the J.V. team skate laps around the rink.

The game ended with a four-to-two loss; Lucy's pep talk in the locker room had gotten the kids to think more like defense, and even though they lost, they were showing they now understood what Ted had been talking about. They didn't have Conway and Fulton. But they were playing together better; even Connie and Guy managed to stop bickering long enough.

Ted decided to let Lucy in on their practice the following day. She didn't complain at all; she was the ultimate morning person, especially when it came to hockey. She sat there on her sled, watching the J.V. team critically, pointing out their weaknesses: Goldberg was slow, and Luis still had issues with speed control. And she had no qualms about pointing that out to them and speaking her mind.

"I'm going as fast as I can," Goldberg panted.

"No, you're not! You're barely even moving!" Lucy demonstrated by pushing herself along on her sled, her sticks guiding her around the ice; even she could move faster than Goldberg, and she was wheelchair-bound. "See? If I can move faster than you, that's a real problem!"

That seemed to ignite a fire in Goldberg as he moved faster to try and keep up with Lucy, who skated almost as quickly as Luis. When she watched Luis slam into the boards, she yelled, "LEARN TO STOP, MENDOZA! WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WHEN YOU LEARN HOW TO DRIVE?"

Luis shook himself off and got back up; the next time he started up, he stopped just in time before he could ram into the boards.

"That's better," Lucy approved as Ted blew his whistle, cutting off their time for laps. "Okay, Daddy, let's scrimmage! I wanna see them play."

"You heard her, kids! Let's scrimmage. Averman, Germaine, and Moreau against Tyler, Wu, and Robertson," Ted ordered, blowing his whistle. "Cat, get in the net. Goldberg, you're with Averman for defense. Mendoza, you're Robertson's extra man. Let's get to work!"

The scrimmage went over well. Lucy's presence seemed to boost the team's morale overall, as everyone wanted to do their best given that a six-year-old was sitting there watching them, and not just any six-year-old, but their coach's daughter, and nobody wanted to let her down. Ted found himself grateful for Hans's advice because the older man had been right: by letting the kids meet his daughter, they got to see the very thing that drove him so hard every day and why quitting the North Stars had been well worth it. It made them want to work that much harder. And for some reason, Lucy being there seemed to make the practice more fun for them, especially when she jumped in, showing Connie some of the defensive maneuvers she learned from Daddy and teaching the girl how to protect herself better; she even got on Guy's case about his overprotectiveness, saying that if he didn't stop being so overprotective of Connie, she'd never learn anything, and even said she thought Connie could handle herself just fine without him, something that caused Germaine to go bright red in the face, because he knew Lucy was right: he needed to start trusting Moreau more.

After ordering the kids to hit the showers, he had Bella drop Lucy off at home, promising he'd return home after visiting Hans. Once all of the kids left the rink, he locked up and drove to Hans's shop. He knew Hans had heard about their loss on the radio, but despite losing, something reignited in the kids, pushing them to want to do better than their best. He didn't know if it was his daughter's presence or what, but whatever it was that now drove them, they needed to keep the momentum going.

He pulled up in front of the skate shop before putting his car into park and exiting. He found the spare key buried under the doormat, knowing the shop was locked up because Hans closed the store on Sundays. He pulled the key out and unlocked the door, stepping inside.

"Hans!" he called. "Hans, I've got a lot to tell you, and –"

He stopped short, walking into the living room area of the shop. What he saw made him stop walking instantly. Hans lay in the recliner, mugs of tea still sitting there, ice cold, the radio still switched on, which was odd. Hans never left the radio turned on overnight, as he could not sleep with any noise playing on the radio.

"Hans? What are you doing?" he asked. When he received no answer, he walked a little nearer, this time noticing how pale Hans's face looked as he turned the radio off. He dipped his finger into the mug filled with tea, noticing how icy it felt against his skin, and when his hand brushed Hans's, the older man's hand was like ice under his touch.

A chill passed over him as his whole body went numb. He was barely aware that he was crying until he felt the tears on his cheeks, and when he brought his hand to Hans's neck, he didn't feel a pulse.

"Oh, God!" Ted whispered. "No, no, no! Hans, Hans, wake up! HANS!" He grabbed hold of the older man's shoulders, shaking him. "HANS! OH, GOD! OH, GOD!" His hand automatically went to the phone, and he punched in three numbers.

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"

"Um, operator, I'm at 3275 Glenwood in Minneapolis. It's my friend, he's not breathing, he won't wake up . . ."

"Okay, stay on the line with me. Do you know how to administer CPR?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, then lay your friend down on the floor and begin compressions. Help is on the way."

Ted set the phone aside, grabbed Hans, and laid him flat on the ground before opening Hans's mouth. He then started chest compressions, pressing down before giving Hans mouth-to-mouth to try and resuscitate him.

"Come on, Hans!" he yelled. "Come on! Breathe, Goddammit! Come on!" He pressed down harder, trying to get Hans's heart beating, but when he heard something snap, he gasped, realizing he'd potentially broken a rib. As he heard the sirens outside, he could hear his own breathing grow more hysterical, and he was suddenly taken back to being in the hospital after the accident, when he learned that there was a chance that Lucy would never be able to walk ever again. But like when he heard that news, he refused to accept the inevitability that he knew the paramedics would tell him once they got inside because there was no way that Hans could be dead.

He kept going on and on with CPR even as he heard the paramedics enter the shop. He heard one of them demand that he back away, but part of him couldn't bring himself to let go of Hans and kept holding the older man's hand despite their protests. He watched with a held breath as the medics tried reviving Hans, attaching the defibrillator to the man's chest to jump-start his heart while another medic put an oxygen mask over the older man's nose and mouth. Ted could only kneel there and watch as Hans's lifeless body jumped a few times off the ground, but there was no hope of restarting his heart.

"We'll contact the coroner to collect the body," the female paramedic said gently. "Just stay here until they arrive. We're sorry for your loss."

Ted could only nod numbly. Even as the medics left, he knelt there looking at Hans's lifeless face, imagining the time the older man had died and what possibly happened. He felt the guilt flood him that he hadn't been there; maybe he could've helped, maybe there was something he could've done. But of course, he knew what the coroners would say: There was nothing he could've done, that it was Hans's time to go, that it was out of his control, that they were sorry for his loss, words that wouldn't make him feel any better, knowing the older man had died alone, and nobody got the chance to say any final goodbye to him as he took his last breath.

Numbly, he rose to his feet and wandered to the kitchen, but as he neared the sink, he felt something acrid crawl up his throat as his stomach began to roll, a cold sweat breaking out on the back of his neck as he leaned over the sink, vomiting. Wiping his mouth, he numbly looked out the kitchen window, seeing the sunlight shining through the window as the warm rays touched his face, but nothing could make him feel warm as he heard the coroners come through the shop's backdoor. He turned around to greet them numbly.

"We'll take him back to the morgue. Does he have any family we should contact?"

"His brother's out of the country. But I'll call him," Ted said.

"What about other family?"

"The kids I'm coaching . . . I'll tell them tomorrow." He knew his kids were going to take Hans's death really hard; after all, he was the one who gave them all of their equipment before they became the District Five Mighty Ducks. It made him wonder who else he should call; even though Conway wasn't on the team anymore, he needed to tell the kid's mother, but that would have to wait until tomorrow because he didn't know if he could bring himself to tell her today, not when she had enough on her plate with her son's behavioral issues.

The coroner nodded. "I'm very sorry."

Ted stood there, watching as the coroners draped the covering over Hans's body and hauled him out onto a stretcher. The shop suddenly felt emptier than it had after he discovered Hans's body, and as he walked out the door of the shop, he locked up and then went outside to sit in his car. It was in there that he allowed himself to break down and sob in hysterics, screaming until his throat grew raw as he felt his whole body tremble.

By the time he calmed himself enough to drive home, it was well past dinnertime. He felt particularly guilty that he hadn't driven Lucy to her physical therapy session, as he was typically the one who took her to the hospital for every appointment. But he'd been so wracked with sobs that he wouldn't have been able to drive at all without getting into an accident. If he did, his wife would kill him for sure for getting into another accident. He'd been lucky the first time that nothing serious had happened to him.

Looking at the clock in his car, he saw that it was nine o'clock at night, which meant dinner was cold, and Lucy was in bed, fast asleep. Numbly, he exited his car and wandered into his house, where Bella sat up on the sofa, waiting for him.

"Ted, what are you doing home so late? Lucy and I had to eat without you and –" When she caught sight of his reddened eyes, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Hans," Ted choked out, more tears flooding his eyes.

"Oh, no," Bella whispered, tears filling her own eyes as she took his hands into hers.

Ted nodded, unable to get any words out because when he opened his mouth, he started to weep again as Bella pulled him into her arms, holding him gently.

"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry," Bella murmured as he buried his face into her hair, wailing loudly but trying to muffle his cries so as not to wake his daughter up. "What can I do?"

Ted pulled back, sniffling, saying, "We need to work on the funeral. Someone needs to tell Jan and those kids that . . . that Hans isn't here."

"Don't worry, honey. I'll help you take care of everything, okay?" Bella pressed her forehead against his. "It's gonna be okay."

Ted shook his head silently, suddenly so grateful for his wife's presence. Staring into her eyes, he saw the strength radiating through them as she cupped his face into her hands, brushing his tears away with her fingers. Her gentle touches sent waves of warmth through him as he stood there, shuddering.

"I love you," he choked out, leaning down and kissing her as though he'd never kissed her before.

When writing this chapter, I took inspiration from Remember the Titans with the role Sheryl played with the boys, how her presence gave them inspiration to want to do better.

I've also been going back and editing the very first volume of the Game Changers rewrite series, as I realized there were more inconsistencies than just the details with hockey, but also the timeline, because if Gordon lost that coaching job in 2011, then that would mean Teddi had to have been around four years old because I made Teddi twelve in the story; that's something I wanted to take the time to clarify and fix, and the edited version of the chapters will be posted very soon, because those finer details have been driving me absolutely crazy, so you're going to see much improvement made to the Game Changers rewritten saga very soon. That's a promise.