Greetings!

I am back with another Mighty Ducks story. As for the other two I've posted, I've decided those will be discontinued because I really couldn't see a clear ending for either of them, but this one was actually requested by Hallwings on AO3. The request was a What-if story: What if even after Gordon threatens to sue the Eden Hall board members, they follow through with revoking the scholarships and not only that, but fire Ted Orion, as well, and Gordon decides to follow through with his lawsuit and contact an old friend who is a reporter for the newspaper who'd pissed off the board members by writing telling pieces about the Varsity hockey team's hazing and bullying and how most of the Varsity team gets by due to their parents' money?

As of right now, I know how the story should end, but it's a matter of figuring out the in-between details. I do not entirely know how I'm going to develop the story yet, but I wanted to start with this first chapter and get the idea out there. Let me know what you think in the reviews!

Quack, quack, quack!


Chapter 1 – Not Reinstated

"I move that the scholarships . . . not be reinstated."

The whispered chorus of "What?" and "Are you kidding me?" filled the board room, chilling the air. Ted and Gordon glanced at one another, shaking their heads, with Ted closing his eyes. How was he supposed to explain this to his wife? Bella was not going to be happy to hear this at all – when he told Bella his ultimatum, she'd been furious that he would be willing to lose his job. She was eight months pregnant. She couldn't support their family all by herself even though she made a good nursing salary.

But the looks on the Ducks' faces upon hearing the news hurt worse. Ted could see Charlie's face dropping, matching his mother's – Casey looked near tears. Julie and Connie were sharing a tearful glance as they shook their heads, unable to believe that this was happening. Dwayne only stood there, looking blankly. Luis and Kenny looked furious, as did Fulton and Guy. Watching their faces fall, Ted felt his fury spike. Even after Gordon threatened to sue these board members, they were still willing to test Gordon's threat of an injunction and kick these kids out. Ted's disgust rolled through him; his stomach nauseated as he watched the kids start crying, especially when he saw Riley, Cole, and the others celebrating it.

"We'll miss you, Ted," Tom Riley said smugly.

"What are you talking about?" Ted demanded.

"If I recall correctly, Dean Buckley informed us that either these Ducks stay or you go," Tom explained. "We'll jumpstart that for you now."

The looks on the Ducks' faces transformed from saddened to shocked. Julie's mouth fell open. Dwayne, despite being so dense, seemed to understand. Russ and Fulton looked pissed. But the ones who looked angriest were Charlie and Bombay; Charlie's eyes were glassing with tears that threatened to surface, and Bombay's face was turning a hot shade of red; he'd been the one to help vouch for Ted to get this job two years ago after he retired from the North Stars, and had even written a letter of recommendation for Ted to get the job, knowing Ted had to provide for his family and pay for Lucy's physical therapy, and Ted was still paying off insurance from the car accident even though the offender needed to help pay off the expenses. He'd have no way to pay the bills if he lost this position.

"Are you kidding me?" Gordon demanded. "You can't fire him!"

"Don't do this, please!" Julie pleaded, tears streaming down her face. "You can't!"

"Your coach made it clear he doesn't want another team. He might as well have quit anyway. So, what's the difference?" asked Tom, shrugging.

"But what about the rest of our season? Who will coach us?" demanded Charlie.

"You'll be leaving at the end of the semester anyway," said Dennis Cole, crossing his arms. "There's little point in you continuing your season. You have until the end of next week to clean out your desk."

"But that's not fair!" Charlie snapped.

"Charlie, shh," Ted demanded, hushing the kids. He turned to the board. "So, that's it?"

"It's really a shame, Ted," Tom said coolly. "You were one of our best players at Eden Hall, and you could've gone all the way had you not retired. Instead, you settled for coaching. And you're willing to settle for this little group that can barely meet our standards. I wonder what your wife would have to say about that."

"Mention my wife, and I'll kick your teeth in!" Ted snarled, feeling his anger flare. How dare Tom Riley talk about his pregnant wife like that? As if it weren't bad enough that Tom was rubbing his early retirement in his face. This was low, even for him. "What happens with me and my family is none of your damn business!"

"You know you're too good for this, Ted," Dennis said. "You could always go back to playing pro. So, why don't you?"

Ted's words caught in his throat. For this reason, he kept his personal life personal because, from his experience, people loved to use it against him. If he ever dared let his guard down and told anyone about Lucy's condition or his wife being eight months along with his boy, they would more than likely say he was letting his family down by choosing the Ducks.

But Charlie stepped forward fiercely. Ted knew that Gordon had taken Charlie to the Eden Hall rink early in the morning before they left for their away game against Stillwater (which they won). Charlie had seen Ted with Lucy and had seen his reason behind doing all he'd done in the last few years and why he chose to retire, not because he wasn't good enough, but because his family needed him much more. Ted could see that Charlie's exposure to this information suddenly made him protective, which triggered the rest of the Ducks to get provoked, and the Ducks didn't even know the reason behind Ted's early retirement.

"Don't say that to him!" Charlie snapped. "You don't know half of what he's sacrificed! He's more of a man than you'll ever be, you son of a bitch!"

"You watch your mouth, young man!" snarled Tom, getting up from his seat and slamming his pen down.

"Why should I?" Charlie demanded. "You wrote us those contracts because you think we're one big joke! You wanted to set us up to fail and knew what would happen; you're loving this right now! Well, guess what? I'm not gonna let you disrespect him because you haven't got a clue what it means to work a day in your life for anything! The only success you've ever had in life was inheriting money. You're lucky you have it."

His angry words triggered an uproar. Suddenly, the Ducks were all yelling at once, and several parents, including Charlie's mother, started yelling. Several other students, too, protested, including a young lady named Linda Chavez, who'd been trying to get the school to change the mascot's name since before the semester started. Charlie's cry of indignation caused everyone else in the room to join him, and Ted could see how the boy could influence a crowd of people. The kid was charismatic and had a way about him that got others to listen to him. Gordon was right. The boy was the heart of the team.

"Guys, enough!" Gordon demanded, stepping in front of the Ducks captain. He turned to each of the board members. "You think I don't mean what I said? Well, guess what? Be prepared for your life to be hell on earth for the next month. Because if you don't think I won't go through with this, then you're really, really wrong."

"Oh, really?" Tom sneered. "I'd like to see you try."

"This school made me what I am," Gordon smirked. "That's your mistake: teaching me everything I know now. Just trust me. There will be hell to pay for this in a few short days. And you're gonna regret it." He took his briefcase back from Dean Buckley and shoved his copies of the scholarships inside it before leading the Ducks and Ted out of the board room. Once outside, Julie and Connie embraced each other, sobbing into one another's shoulders, already preparing for the heavy goodbye they'd need to exchange, and Ted felt his heart burn, especially as he noticed Fulton holding Kenny close to him and Luis and Dwayne fighting back tears.

"So, what's gonna happen now?" Connie asked, sniffling as she squeezed Julie tighter.

"I go through with the lawsuit," Gordon said. "Though I'm gonna need a few days to prepare everything. So, until then, keep your heads down and do your best to stay out of trouble. I promise I'll take care of everything."

Ted nodded, knowing Gordon would fulfill his promise. Still, the lump formed in the pit of his stomach as he thought about how he'd need to tell Bella that he'd gotten let go because of some idiot prejudice.

"But what about you, Coach? Huh?" Goldberg asked. "What's gonna happen to you?"

"I'll have to find another job until they reinstate me," Ted said. "That is if they reinstate me. Somebody needs to look after the skate shop with Hans gone and Jan still returning from Norway."

"You deserve better than that, Coach," Adam argued, shaking his head.

"Well, what about you, Banksy? I mean, your parents can afford to keep you here," said Charlie.

"I'm sticking with you guys," Adam said. "Where you guys go, I go."

The Ducks all nodded, but as they stood there, some of them crying their eyes out, the Varsity team passed them, grinning like a pack of wolves who found lunch. Ted and Gordon stepped in front of the kids, determined to shield them as best they could while Riley and Cole sneered at them.

"Too bad about your season, losers!" Riley laughed.

"This isn't over, Riley!" Charlie spat.

"Oh, it is. Even your former coach can't save your sorry asses from this one. You're nothing but a bunch of white trash, and you always will be white trash."

"Who are you calling white trash?" spat Russ. "Only reason you're here is 'cause Mommy and Daddy gave you everything!"

"Well, the good news is, the J.V.-Varsity showdown isn't happening. And that's for the best. Dad did you a favor, anyway. Might as well not embarrass yourselves any more than you have already," laughed Riley. "You don't belong in our school, and you never will. And you can take Banksy with you. He never had the heart of a Warrior anyway." They watched as Riley swallowed a few times, and before anyone could do anything, a spray of spit flew onto Adam's face as Riley and the Varsity walked away.

"Hey!" Ted snapped. "Riley, get back over here, now!"

"Last I checked, Coach, you don't work here anymore," Riley snickered, and he continued to walk away, but not before he raised his middle finger, directing it toward Ted.

The Ducks just glowered at Riley and the Varsity as they left, laughing, the laughter a reminder that these Ducks would have to go back to public school and that the flock would be separated at the end of the semester. Undoubtedly, the Varsity team would hold this over the kids' heads until Christmas break, which was when the first semester ended, and the kids would all have to return to the public school system. Ted could feel his face burning with anger at the thought, and the sick feeling in his stomach worsened as he thought about the kids and how they'd grown on him in the recent weeks, especially Julie, Goldberg, Averman, and Dwayne, and most recently, Charlie, the glue that held the whole team together.

Ted could hear the kids' irate whispers of, "What an asshole," and, "He can do that?" But Ted knew that Riley especially hated him and had been hoping for this day since Ted's first day of coaching at Eden Hall Academy. It looked like Riley finally got his wish after two years, but it only made Ted want to fight this even more. But he also felt an overwhelming sadness crash through him as he thought about the Ducks, the kids Gordon entrusted him to take over coaching. He'd never intended to grow close to any of them; swore he'd be nothing but professional . . .

Ted closed his eyes, having not realized how much he would miss the Ducks until now. He'd grown attached when he swore he wouldn't and knew now that he felt a father's love for these kids, and he'd only known them for a few weeks. He could feel his own eyes burning as he turned his gaze toward Gordon, who only stared back at him in determination.

"Gordon, give them hell," he gritted out, tears filling his eyes.

"I will," Gordon promised firmly. "I swear."


Ted was cleaning out his desk in the coach's office when he heard a knock on the door, and he peered up to find Charlie standing there on the threshold, blue eyes red-rimmed. He was still wearing the clothes he wore to the board meeting; only his tie was loosened, and his jacket was removed. He wandered over to the box containing the Duck jerseys, looking at Ted with an uncertain expression.

"Since we're leaving anyway, can we have them back, please?"

Ted sighed. "You know Gordon's gonna fight it, right? It won't be like this for long."

"What if he can't win this one? Huh? Then what?"

Ted stared back at Charlie, watching as the boy dug into the box for the jersey he'd given Ted the other day before their away game. The number 96 glared at him as Charlie gingerly tucked the jersey under his arm.

"Look, Charlie," Ted said gently, walking around his desk to touch the boy's shoulder. "I said it myself: you kids are my team. I meant it. I wouldn't want to coach anyone else. You know that, right?"

Charlie nodded, tears pooling in his eyes. "It just sucks that you had to lose your job. It's not right."

"I know it isn't." Ted raised his hand and gently cupped Charlie's face, wiping at the tears that fell. "And my wife won't be happy knowing this happened. But we'll figure it out together. In the meantime, I need you kids to do one thing for me: try your best to behave, even if the Varsity team doesn't behave themselves. Because you shouldn't give the board any more justification to expel you guys."

"I will behave if Riley does," Charlie sniffled.

"Charlie, I mean it," Ted said sternly. "Okay? I don't want you kids making this worse for yourselves."

"So, we're supposed to stand there and take Riley and his abuse?"

"No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying you need to do your best to take the high road. And if you kids ever need me, I'll be looking after the skate shop while I look for employment elsewhere. Who knows? Maybe I'll look into applying for a substitute teacher's position at the District Five High School. Sure, it won't pay as well as Eden Hall does, but it's something."

"I don't want you to settle," Charlie whispered. "Your daughter doesn't deserve that."

Ted nodded, offering Charlie a gentle smile. "She'll understand. I could do no wrong in her eyes. Trust me."

Charlie nodded; Ted could see the lump forming in the boy's throat as the tears spilled, and without warning, the teenager launched himself forward at Ted, arms flinging around his neck, and Ted could feel the boy's tears soaking into his shoulder.

Ted balked at the gesture – a couple of weeks ago, they couldn't stand to be in the same room. Now, the boy was hugging him. Slowly, Ted raised his arms to return the hug, a hand reaching upward to cradle Charlie's head while his other arm wound tightly around his back. At this, he couldn't contain his own tears as he wept silently for the Ducks, knowing that if Gordon failed, they would get tossed out like the white trash Rick Riley thought they were. He couldn't blame Charlie and the others for being scared over this, especially since the only faculty member who'd vouched for them and looked out for them was being wrongfully fired – who was going to look out for them now that Ted would be gone from the school? The Varsity would be out for blood even more and would up the harassment, and Ted did not want to imagine what the Varsity team would do now that he was gone.

Ted just tightened his arms around the Ducks' captain a little more, running a hand up and down Charlie's back gently, wincing at each sob that ripped through the kid. While Charlie might've not wanted to be here weeks ago and thought Ted to be nothing more than a washed-up bully, Ted knew that Charlie now knew that his future was in jeopardy, and that terrified the kid – the kid might've acted like he hadn't cared weeks ago, but Ted also knew that Charlie desired for nothing more than to make his mother and Bombay proud. And now that he was being thrown out (despite his GPA going back up to the 'C' average needed to compete), it was a slap in the face to everything he and the Ducks had done over the last four years. Ted couldn't blame the boy for being hurt – they were gifted these scholarships to turn them into a huge spectacle, a publicity stunt; nobody was ever going to take them seriously and to make matters worse, the flock would be separated should Gordon's lawsuit not succeed.

Closing his eyes, Ted felt Charlie tighten his hold around him almost suffocatingly. But he didn't care. After weeks of animosity, they finally had something binding them together, and they found something in common.

At that thought, Ted whispered, "It'll be okay. Gordon's gonna win this one. Just take care of yourself, Charlie. And take care of the others. They'll all need you."