A/N: Ahhhhh! I'm so sorry this chapter is so delayed! I had so much of it written even before I posted the last chapter but work and just adulting got in the way. I meant to mention at least two chapters back that I had been watching A LOT of hockey. The Minnesota Wild has a player named Kirill Kaprizov and that's how I picture an older Corin to look. Also, if y'all will remember Guy finds an old hockey stick in the shed. Well I was gifted an old hockey stick found in a barn a few weeks ago for my birthday! How wild! Especially because I live in rural Texas so...where did the stick come from and what am I going to do with it? haha

Since I've been MIA I think I only replied to one of the reviews that I could so I'll respond at the bottom like usual. Also I know I have some messages to get to and I will in the next day or so!

This chapter is very angst filled. So you've been warned.


The Banks family were hosting a celebratory party at their house for the Ducks. Of course since half of the team had flown home it wasn't quite the same. Adam had tried to talk his mom out of it but she had insisted. Phillip Banks agreed saying something had to be done to celebrate.

After ten minutes in the mansion Averman disappeared. It took another five minutes before Goldberg asked where he was.

"Bathroom? Maybe he got lost."

Connie found her friend in the upstairs game room. It only slightly differed from the downstairs game room she had just left her friends in.

"Do you ever just get so bitter about where we come from…" He gestured in around them when she sat down next to him. "…and then see all of this?"

She stayed silent for a minute before talking. "When I first moved in with Ann and Roger, there was a bottle of Sunny D in the fridge with only half remaining. So, I filled the rest up with water like I normally would."

"To make it last longer." Averman nodded.

"Then Guy walked in and asked me what I was doing and I told him. He didn't understand what I was saying. It never even occurred to me that that wasn't normal. A few days later I had a meltdown watching Corin throwing away some of his toys just because he was bored of them. So yeah to answer your question, yes."

"God, Corin is the worst."

"He wouldn't last a day at the apartments."

They both laughed at the thought before the mood turned somber again. "Imagine growing up here. Hell, imagine having a bed. God, what I would give to not have to shove my clothes under the couch just to have a place for them."

"It isn't Adam's fault we have such shit parents." Connie said.

"I know but sometimes it's nice to blame someone I'm not related to." Averman responded.

"Yeah, I get it. But hey, you've been saving money for a while now. You have to have enough for something." Connie prodded. When Averman began working at the movie theater his only goal was to save enough money to move out of his parents apartment. He knew a guy that would let him move into an apartment in a building he managed, no questions asked, if he could get the money.

He nodded, "Before Los Angeles I had enough for a few months rent, but I may have bought too many souvenirs."

"Les! I shouldn't have given you anything when you asked." She groaned, annoyed at herself more than him. Averman gave her the money for safe keeping. He didn't trust keeping any amount of money around his dad. Averman knew that if he found it he'd take all of it and spend it at the bar.

"I know, I know. I've been working all week since we've come home to try to make it back."

Jesse found the two then. "Man, what are you two doing up here?"

"Oh you know just thinking about abundance and wealth." Averman said without missing a beat. "We're experts on it, don'tcha know?"

"Yeah, this place ain't too shabby." Jesse went over to the foosball table in the center of the room. He turned one of the rods for no real reason other than he wanted to before joining the two on the leather couch. "For a cake-eater lair."

"It has quite the ring to it." Connie changed positions from sitting slouched in the couch to now sitting upside down with her head hanging off the couch and feet on the back. "Do you think school will be weird?"

"You mean regular first day of school weird or 'hey look those are the hockey freaks that somehow have a professional team named after them' weird?" Averman asked. It had only been a few days since the announcement of the NHL's newest team being named after the Ducks. Coach hadn't even known until it was all over the local news.

"Both. We're in high school now. Things are going to be different."

"As if they haven't already?"

"Yeah, I know. It's just…I'm going to talk to Ann and Roger about going through with the adoption. It's bad enough everyone at school knows I live with Guy and that we're together. Add on to being back to the only girl on the team again. It's just something I worry about."

During the last school year there had been particularly nasty rumors about Connie spread at school. It didn't bug her then because she had a feeling they were started by a girl who liked Guy but Connie worried it might get worse now that they were semi famous.

"Do we even know what we're doing with hockey now?" Jesse asked them. "Coach never said anything about next season."

Averman shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Connie flipped around so she could get to the floor. "Come on, we better go back to the others."


Ever since he returned home Gordon Bombay had been making calls and setting up meetings to discuss the future of the Ducks. His team transformed in ways he hadn't even thought of when he first met them as District Five. Seeing the way the original players took to the new ones and the way they played together Gordon knew that it was special. He also knew that if he could find a way to get them back together history could be made. The Ducks could do great things together. They needed a great place to help them grow further.

Gordon walked into the back of the sports shop intending to be inspired by the newspaper clippings hanging on the wall. He realized that his mentor Hans was fixing a pair of skates.

"Hans, you're back!" Gordon grinned at the sight. He thought Hans wouldn't be back for a few more weeks. "I've missed you."

"Ah, that must mean you need advice." Hans sat the skates down and moved to sit down.

"I do. I've come up with a solution to keep the Ducks together. I was able to get them scholarships with Eden Hall Academy."

"…and what is the problem?"

"I was offered a job with the Junior Goodwill Games. A great job, actually."

"Can you do good with this job, Gordon?"

Gordon nodded, "They were impressed by the Ducks and the loyalty they have to one another. Most importantly they liked their story. I'll be tasked with looking for players that may not have the skill yet but have the potential to be great if given the chance. I want to help more kids out there, Hans. I want to help the Charlies of Montana, the Karps of New York, the Connies of Wisconsin, and the Jesses of Washington."

"Then you need to go."

"The kids won't be happy. I've let them down so many times…"

"You have, this is true, but you're not abandoning them. You're not disappearing into thin air, are you?" Hans shook his head, "No, you are not. You're giving them a great opportunity. You have done so much for them."

"No, it was all them."


"I mean it's just coke. Nothin' wrong with that. My mom's cousin did cocaine and he was a cool dude. Of course he did get high and drive off a cliff though." Portman said through the phone in Chicago.

Over on the east coast in Maine, Julie Gaffney played with the cord to her phone. As she rolled her eyes she said, "It wasn't just coke, apparently."

Since returning home Julie and Dean had talked on the phone nearly every day. The teenagers usually talked about their day and passing on information on their friends to one another. Julie mentioned that Connie was going to be adopted by Guy's parents.

"What do you mean?"

"You can't tell anyone this but a few days ago, the private investigator that was hired a few years ago contacted the Germaine's. Connie's mom got arrested while we were in LA. For heroin. Guy's parents don't know Connie knows. She said her and Guy overheard them talking last night."

"Shit, that's rough."

"Yeah," The blonde wished she could give her new best friend a hug. "I just don't know what I can do for Connie. It sounds like things have been tough the last few years and things are just coming to a head now."

"I guess, all you can do is listen to her."

Julie's phone made a noise then and as much as she wanted to continue talking to Dean it could be Connie. "Crap. I've gotta go. That's my other line. We'll talk tomorrow, yeah?"

They said their goodbyes quickly and Julie answered the other call.


Guy fiddled with one of his rings. His friends liked to poke fun at the fact that he had more jewelry and other accessories than nearly anyone else they knew but Guy didn't mind. He couldn't help that his friends had no taste.

He was sitting on the stairs waiting for Connie. They had made plans to hang out just the two of them but that was before they found out the night before Connie's mom had been arrested. When the duo overheard the conversation both were stunned at the words they were hearing. Roger and Ann were talking while watching a movie on the couch. Connie and Guy came downstairs to creep but not actually thinking that they'd hear anything good. They sat near where Guy was sitting now and couldn't believe their ears. After listening for a while, Connie moved to return back to the second floor and Guy followed her. Guy gave her a look which only annoyed her. "Don't. She's dead to me." She stated before going into her room.

At breakfast that morning, Connie said she was fine before Guy could even ask. Which brought Guy back to the stairs waiting for her to fix her hair before they headed out. He heard her door close a few feet behind him.

"Okay, so I thought we'd go to Shinder's, Pop's Arcade, Sun's and then maybe we could stop to see Les at work too?" Connie rambled as they walked out of the front door.

Guy nodded, "Sounds great. Just can't tell my parents we went downtown."

If Roger and Ann knew the teenagers were going to downtown alone then they would never allow it. Downtown was shady even in daylight, Guy was sure his mom would say. Connie rolled her eyes but agreed. She was aware that downtown was sketchy at best but she could deal with anything it threw at her.

Connie knew he was going to try to treat her with kid gloves today given what they heard but she wasn't going to give him the chance. She turned to him, "Can we just pretend that last night didn't happen? Just a few hours of not thinking about it. I don't want you to worry about me."

"Cons, you know I'll never stop worrying about you and how you handle things." He said only to get a sigh in response. "But I can give you today."

"Thank you."

The first stop of the day was to Shinder's. Guy had been wanting a new Mario Lemieux trading card for months. Connie looked through a box of X-Men comics but didn't see anything that caught her eye. After Guy paid for the card and they left Connie shuddered. "I feel like I need a shower after being in there."

"What? The cigar smoke and the old men looking at you as they go into the back room totally screams clean."

Connie shoved him, "Yeah pretty sure that last guy that came in spent a little too much time looking at you as you searched through the cards."

Guy grimaced, "I noticed that too."

They walked down to Sun's Rock 'n' Roll. There they spent more time looking at everything the store had to offer. "One day we need to go to a concert."

Guy glanced at her, "Who'd you want to see?"

She shrugged, "Anyone, really."

The Smashing Pumpkins were playing in the store. As the speakers vibrated with every drum beat Guy pointed at a poster behind her. They walked to the counter. "Looks like Poison is coming to the Twin Cities in October. We should talk mom and dad into taking us!"

"Yeah if only." Connie said.

"Hey, it could happen!"

Connie had picked out a Pearl Jam keychain and Gin Blossoms shirt to give to Charlie for his birthday. Her boyfriend chose to buy a Whitesnake album. As they were paying, the girl working the register commented, "I wish I got along with my brother. If we'd be screaming at each other just being in the same room together."

Connie grimaced at the words. She suppose she couldn't blame the cashier for the mistake, especially if she overheard Guy talking about Ann and Roger. Guy gave the girl at the counter a small smile before grabbing his girlfriend's hand to hold on the way out of the store.

They stayed holding hands the whole way to the arcade. Guy knew the cashier's comment was bothering her but he also knew better than to bring it up today. The couple entered Pop's and both were sure that they saw a drug deal right in front of them. Connie in an attempt to not make eye contact with anyone immediately dragged Guy to a pinball machine she knew would be a challenge for him.

As Guy started a game and concentrated on not losing the ball Connie leaned against a wall to watch him play instead of finding a game to play herself. He made a face as his fingers frantically hit the side buttons to operate the flippers. Guy managed to save the ball and hit a difficult target. "Why aren't ya playing?" He asked without turning to look at Connie.

A loud group of older teenagers entered the arcade then and Connie glanced at them just to be aware of the change in her surroundings before she looked back at her boyfriend. "I like watching you. You're in your element."

"Nah, that's when I'm with you."

"Maybe you shouldn't be."

Guy dropped his hands from the pinball machine and turned to face her. The ball immediately dropped he lost the game. "Don't say that, Connie."

"I know, I know." She said. "It's not that serious. But, wouldn't you be happier with someone that's ya know not pretty much your sister?"

Guy wrapped his arms around her, "First, you're not my sister. Legally, yeah but I don't think of you like that. Heck, Averman and Charlie are more your brothers than me. Second, no. I could never be happier with anyone but you."

Connie bit her lip and pulled away from Guy's embrace, "I think we need a little time a part. With everything going on…I think…I need space."


"Charlie called me."

"Oh yeah?" Connie examined her hair as she listened to Julie tell her about the conversation she had with Charlie. She managed to get to the phone before Guy could call Russ like he wanted and she knew Corin would probably cut the line if she didn't make the conversation quick so he could talk to his friends as well. Connie wondered if she should ask Ann for her own phone line.

"He meant to call Dwayne but dialed my number. We ended up talking anyway." Julie told her.

"What did he have to say? I feel like I haven't talked to him since the party at Adam's." Connie thought about it and she was sure she hadn't talked to Charlie in days. She couldn't remember the last time that had happened and she was sure it never had before. She frowned, in fact, since the party the only person she had hung out with was Guy.

"Well, you know, I don't know him as well as you, obviously, but he did seem off. We only talked for about an hour but I did make him laugh so there's that." Julie paused before she went on. "He said Bombay dropped by his house to talk to his mom. Do you know what that could be about?"

Connie blinked, "No," she said slowly thinking about what that meant. "Did he hear anything?"

"Charlie said that at first he thought it was hockey related but then he heard his mom say something about Ms. McKay or at least he thinks that's what he heard."

"Hmmm, interesting."

"His mom said Coach would be back later in the week to talk to them."

"Wait, what? It has to be about the new season of hockey, right?" Connie asked. She was about seventy-five percent sure it was about hockey and not about whatever was going on between Bombay and Casey.

"I guess. Which reminds me, my team is about to start our practice in the next few weeks for the new season. Gonna be weird not to have the Ducks anymore."

"Don't make me sad, Julie." Connie was about to tell her friend about the conversation she had with Guy but Corin started walking toward her with a look in his eyes. "Ugh. I have something important to tell you but Corin is coming. I gotta go."


"I'm not going." Jesse said firmly, as he and his dad sat across their kitchen table from one another.

Gordon Bombay had just left after talking to Earl and Jesse Hall about giving Jesse a scholarship to Eden Hall Academy. As Bombay was going over what being a student at the school would entail Jesse interrupted him to say he couldn't go. Both Gordon and Earl were confused but Jesse said he wouldn't be caught dead at a school full preppies.

"Jesse, you can't give up this chance."

"Between time on the bus to and from school, hockey practice, and your work schedule we would never see each other." Jesse said. "When I was in LA I did a lot of thinking. I missed you."

"Do you know why I work two jobs? It's so you and your brother can have better opportunities. This scholarship is one step towards the rest of your life. Even if you don't pursue hockey after high school the education that school will provide you will be beneficial."

"Is it worth it if I never see my father but for just a few minutes a day?" Jesse asked. "If I go to public school and cut hockey out then you can help me with my homework and we can have dinner together before your next shift. I just want time with you."

Earl didn't say anything.

"Besides," His son continued, "the scholarship is open ended. I can accept it at any time."

Earl reached for the copy of the scholarship and flipped through the papers. "You're right."

"See, I don't need a fancy education. I can read."


Ted Orion looked at the man in front of him. He knew him in passing and he knew what the man brought to the table.

"Look, Gordon I've watched the videos from the Junior Goodwill Games and I've read every newspaper article about your team. What you've done with them is very impressive, but they have quite a long way to go."

Gordon Bombay nodded. "Sure, some of the kids are a little rough around the edges. When I met the original team they learned to skate on a frozen pond, for Christ's sake! They've never had access to rink time."

"And I understand that; however, they're teenagers and have a professional hockey team named after them. They were chosen as Team USA! Now they've been given yet another amazing opportunity to attend Eden Hall and play here. Don't you think they might need a dose of reality?"

"Ted, I can guarantee you that the kids might be a little cocky at first and overly excited because of the press but they are good kids."

"I'm sure they are but I'm not going to cut them any slack. If they want to be on my team they have to work for it. New coach means new everything. My coaching style is different than yours and they have lots of things yet to learn."

"I don't disagree with that." Gordon paused, tapping his fingers on the desk. "Jesse Hall won't be coming to the academy this year. The scholarship will still be available to him if he decides to join the others in the future and I do think he will."

"The team dynamics will change then."

"Yes but that's not all. Jesse is one of the original District 5 players. He is close to most of the team and I do suspect he'll eventually take advantage of the scholarship." Gordon explained. "Of course, there's also the fact that some of these kids have volatile families or unique situations."

"Like what?"

"Well there's Lester Averman, his father is an alcoholic and mother is verbally abusive. With Adam Banks there is a lot to unpack there but for starters his dad has put it in his head that if he doesn't get scouted out of high school it is the end of his career. I have a feeling that if Adam ever decides to quit hockey Phillip Banks will have a heart attack. Make sure you have a lawyer around anytime you have to interact with him. I get the feeling that there's not a whole lot of love shown there. Connie Moreau, has lived with Guy Germaine's family for years. Her dad abandoned the family and her mom is an addict who then just disappeared. That's just the tip of the iceberg but there's information on everyone in the reports."

"I see." Ted Orion gestured at the thick stack of papers on his desk that Gordon had brought for him. "What else is in these?"

"The usual stuff really. You'll find everything from individual player stats to their favorite color listed plus a personal observation I've written down." Gordon answered. Then he added, "The team averages out to C students. In other words, you will have to push them to do better."

"You've been really thorough."

"They are important to me. It's important to give you everything upfront so you can better understand them."

Ted picked up the first bundle of papers. The name Charlie Conway was in bold. The coach skimmed through the paragraphs on the first page. Looking up at the man across from him, "You wrote that Conway is the heart of the team and the players look up to him." He paused, "You say he's the real Minnesota Miracle Man."

"Sure, he's a good kid. When I met District 5 I could tell Charlie was the heart and soul of the group of friends he had collected. Without Charlie there is no team, plain and simple."


Connie was sitting at the dining room table across from bother Roger and Ann. She just told them she wanted to move forward with the adoption. The teenager had wanted to have the conversation earlier in the week but Roger had gone on a business trip and then they found out the Ducks were given scholarships to the prestigious Eden Hall Academy so the conversation was delayed.

"I have a few requests though. The first is that I would like to keep my last name, at least for now. I just want to avoid confusion at school when our classmates see Guy and I holding hands and then learn we have the same last name. The second thing is that I want to live at Eden Hall at least for the first semester. I read through the academy's student manual and they offer out of state students dorms at no cost but any student that lives in Minneapolis and chooses to live in a dorm must pay $300 per semester. I'll get a part time job to pay you back, of course." Connie paused leading Roger and Ann to think she was finished but then she continued, "The last thing I have to ask you is for you to pay for Les's dorm as well. He can't live at home. He's been saving up for the last year to one day get his own place so he has some of the money already!"

Roger and Ann looked at each other. Ann grabbed Connie's hand that was on the table and gently squeezed it. "Oh honey. If you want to live at Eden Hall you can, but you are our daughter you don't need to pay us back. Neither does Lester. We'd be more than happy to help him."

Roger nodded, "I do wish you'd take our name. At least hyphenate it."

Ann rolled her eyes and said, "But whatever makes you happy. That is all we care about. That you are safe and happy."


A/N #2: Woah, okay. While I was MIA I had an idea for a fic. Originally I was going to use another ship but the lack of Connie/Guy stories is really...not good. It'll be an AU and I'm pretty excited about it. When I'll have the new story up is a different conversation lol.

Portman's mom's cousin...that happened to my dad's cousin in the 80s (or so I was told many times). Couldn't help but include it.

The places Guy and Connie visit were real places in Minneapolis. I spent a lot of time researching to get the vibe of Minneapolis in the 90s so the descriptions and events in that scene were taken from various comments on the internet describing them.

Also, I do want to mention that Marguerite Moreau had said that even she didn't know why Connie was mad at Guy but that they were NOT broken up during D3!

Okay, review time. Guest, I've spent a lot of time thinking about the Ducks in Game Changers and ughhhhh. The moment they became all about winning all of the HEART and FAMILY went out of the team. You're totally right about the Flying V. It's just so totally...soul crushing thinking about how the Ducks became everything the original team was against. I wish the episodes were longer because then I think we'd see more about Bombay and more references to the events in the movies. Did you see that Alex works for Ducksworth? I thought that was such a great nod to the first film. Honestly, I'm not really sure about the time between movies. I don't even think the movies know. In D3 during the game Julie says, Fulton scored, Fulton scored. I am really bored. Fulton's great. Fulton's great. A year ago he couldn't even skate." Which...isn't true. He couldn't state in the first movie but in D2 he could. So, either that was a line meant for the second movie or one of the writers made a mistake. If I had to guess there's at least a year between the story in D2 and D3. For this story I had to change the timeline around a bit. I really think that if the scholarships didn't come for a year after the Junior Goodwill Games there would be more Ducks that chose not to go to Eden Hall. A lot changes in a year. So, again for this story, D2 takes place during the first half of summer and we'll have another chapter or so of the second half and go straight into D3. Yeah, we'll see a bit more of Portman in the next chapter!

Memoriesarecheap- Thank you! One of my favorite scenes!

GuyandConnieSimp- Thank you! Yes, hopefully more people will write Guy/Connie focused fics because I NEED them in my life.

Okay, so...next chapter...Ducks go to Eden Hall to sign their scholarship contracts, Guy gives Connie space...kinda, Connie talks to Charlie, Julie and Portman have a moment, Charlie + growing pains, and we'll learn more about Gordon + Casey's first meeting Julie mentioned Charlie telling her about. Plus more I'm sure.

I have no idea when the next update will be out but please keep reviewing and message me! It really keeps me going even if I'm not around. This fic is such a labor of love and it makes me so happy people are reading and keeping up with it!

Until next time!