Authors Note: This is set the summer between D2 and D3. It will parallel D3 and then go beyond. This is my first Might Ducks fic, but I have been a lurker for a while now. Please review and let me know what you think. And now on with the show!
Elena Martinez looked out the window of the old car and sighed. She was nervous, more nervous than she had ever been. The sad part was that she was nervous about going home. It had been over a year since she had seen her father. In that time he has managed to be hurt ending his hockey career, then turn around and couch the ducks to victory at the Junior Goodwill games. She sighed again thinking about the ducks. She owed a lot to that rag tag team. They had turned her father's life around for the better, making him the kind of man that she was finally proud to call daddy, the man that she remembered from her youth. And today was the day that she would meet the famed ducks. The sound of a question brought her out of her thoughts.
"Does the sighing help, or are you just trying to pass out so you can get out of this little introduction?" Casey Conway asked looking over at the teenager, with a smile on her lips.
Elena fought the urge to sigh again. She had known Casey since Gordon had been sentenced to community service and ended up couch of District 5 peewee hockey team. Elena knew her father regularly thought of Casey as the one who got away, something that made her sad, she would have liked Casey to be her mother as much as Charlie would have liked Gordon to be his father. She responded to Casey's question saying, "hey, that's not a bad idea. They I don't have to deal with the awkwardness of explaining to the Ducks who I am, and why they have never meet me before. How do you think Charlie is going to take to the fact that all these years you knew Gordon had a daughter and never shared the information."
Casey Conway laughed a little at that and glanced at the young woman sitting in the passenger's seat. At 5'3 with long black hair, tan skin and beautiful brown eyes, Elena looked nothing like Gordon, but she has his attitude down and sounded so much like him sometimes it was scary.
"Charlie will get over it. He bounces back." Casey pulled the car to a stop outside Han's skate shop, she could see Gordon talking with all of the ducks who had been assembled in the store. "Well looks like its time, come on you have to get out of the car." She said with a smile as she watched the grumbling teen unbuckle her seatbelt and push part of her hair out of her face. Elena begrudgingly opened the door and self-consciously smoothed her hands down her khaki shorts and pulled on the hem of her Red Wings t-shirt making sure it was laying down flat. She slipped her sunglasses on her face and for the first time since picking her up at the airport Casey saw her smile.
Charlie Conway looked around the skate shop impatiently. It was June and all of the Ducks, including Dwayne, Luis, Julie, Russ, Ken and Portman were all assembled at Han's wondering why they had been called for a team meeting. More confusing was why all of the out of state ducks had been called back to Minnesota for Bombay's little announcement.
"Coach, it is June, and way to hot for hockey, so why have you piled us into Hans' in the off season?" Connie asked from her perch next to Guy by the window.
"You will all find out in a few minutes. Just waiting for two more people to get here and then we can get started." Gordon said trying not to laugh at the ducks who rolled their eyes at his last statement. They were all sitting on the floor near the window in Han's and were becoming increasingly restless, making Gordon himself more nervous by the minute. He released a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding when the bell above the door to the shop opened.
"Finally, can we get this thing started now? I am missing out on tips at work." Goldberg said fed up with waiting, despite the fact that what ever they were waiting on was only fifteen minutes late.
"Sorry to keep you Goldberg, but I have two important announcements to make." Gordon said making sure his voice held the proper amount of sarcasm for addressing his goalie. "The first announcement is that all of you have been offered full athletic scholarships to play for the junior varsity team at Eden Hall Academy, my former high school." He paused shortly and allowed this to sink in. The ducks seemed too shocked to speak. Deciding it was best to hit them with everything and then let them ask questions he rushed on just as Elena and Casey made there way to him. Pulling Elena into a quick hug and then placing his arm around her shoulder he spoke. "Ducks the other announcement is that I have someone I would like to introduce you to. This is Elena Martinez-Bombay, my daughter."
Elena had to stifle a laugh. The ducks looked so shocked by the news. There was soft murmuring occurring among them. She scanned the faces noting that Portman and Fulton were eyeing her suspiciously, Charlie looked stunned, and the rest just looked puzzled. Her eyes stopped when she landed on the thin blond boy with blue eyes that she knew well. But the normally friendly eyes of Adam Banks were wide with shock and flashed anger before returning to normal. She detangled herself from her fathers protecting arm and headed straight to Adam, who pulled her into a tight hug. At which point the questions started to fly.
"How is that possible?" Guy asked confused knowing that Bombay has never been married.
"Why didn't you ever tell us?" Connie asked sounding more than hurt.
"Where has she been all this time?" Fulton wondered aloud, he had been a duck since the beginning and no one had ever seen her around.
"How long of you known about this mom?" Charlie asked furious eyes boring into his mother, who he had seen come in with Elena.
"And how come the cake-eater knows her?" Russ asked watching the two hug, suspicious of their interactions.
"Calm down all of you. I can't answer any of your questions if you are all shouting at once. Elena is not my daughter by birth. Maria, my sister married Martin Martinez. Elena was the product of that union and has been like a daughter to me since she was born. Her father died in a car crash when she was young, and I helped her mom out until she passed away five years ago. I adopted Elena when her mother passed." Gordon said with his hands in his pockets, a nervous habit from his youth that he had never gotten over.
"Wait, Martin Martinez, the Cuban hockey player turned pairs figure skater?" Luis asked admiration clear in his eyes.
"Sí que es mi padre. My mother was a figure skater, when papá was injured his wrist he couldn't play hockey, he left the Red Wings and made the jump to figure skating. He became my mom's figures partner. They won gold at Lake Placid." Elena said proudly still standing next to the Adam.
"That's right. I never mentioned Elena to you all because, well it just never seemed like the right time. I had to fight to get you all to trust me at first, and I didn't want to bring Elena into that environment. After that it just felt to late. I was wrong I should have introduced you all a long time ago, and I'm sorry. Part of why I didn't tell you is that until last year she was in Miami, with her grandmother. We didn't see eye to eye in my pre-duck days…."
"The win at all costs philosophy didn't work so well for me." Elena said interrupting Gordon, giving him a wink.
"Don't worry it didn't work for us either" Averman said giving her a goofy grin.
"Thanks guys, now where was I. Ahh, Charlie, I told your mom when I was seeing her just after I took over coaching the ducks. It didn't seem fair not to tell her, and I asked her not to mention it to all of you. I should have told you all, but I already apologized for that. And as far as how she knows Banks, well Russ that is one I would like an answer to myself." Bombay said turning to look at his daughter and his star player, while crossing his arms.
"Well, umm. Before I was a duck I used to go to summer camp…" Adam said rather shyly, he was uncomfortable being put on the spot, especially when he has so many questions for Elena himself.
"Let me take it from here Adam." Elena said interrupting Adam, sensing his discomfort. "When I was ten my mamá died and I came to live with Gordon. I wasn't doing so well and after ten months of watching me pull away from everything and everyone Gordon decided I needed to start to live again. His brilliant idea was summer camp. I went but I was not happy about it. I met Banks, McGill and Larson. Adam and I became friends when he saved my life. I couldn't swim, a fact I made very clear when they forced me to attempt water sports. McGill and Larson thought it would be cute to throw me into the lake, the deepest part of the lake I might add, and then just left me there. Needless to say I panicked and started to drown. Adam came to my rescue, and dragged me back to shore. We have been friends ever since. Right Banksie?"
"Right, Ellen." Adam said giving her a look that made it very clear that she was not to call him Banksie again. "But you never mentioned that Coach Bombay was your dad, even after I joined the ducks."
"I'm sorry, I should have told you. I guess like daddy I didn't know what to say. I wasn't sure how any of you would react." She said addressing the group.
"Well I wish you would have told us sooner, but we're glad to finally get to meet you. And I for one can't wait to get to know you better." Charlie said pushing his anger away for the moment. He wanted to have a chat with Bombay but now was not the time.
"So, babe, are you going to this preppy school with us?" Portman asked her, inserting babe in just to see if he could get a rise out of Adam.
"Her name's Elena, not babe, damn it. What is wrong with you?" Adam asked rising to the occasion and then blushing when the rest of the team laughed.
"Just like to make you made cake-eater, just like to make you made." Fulton said clapping the blond boy on the back.
"Well this should be an interesting school year." Elena said with a wink at her father. "Yes, I'll be at Eden Hall, well returning for my second year that is, I am a sophomore. It's a bit stuffy, but you all will do just fine." Elena added the last part as she looked at the Bash Brothers.
"I am sure you'll be fine. Just talk it over with your parents. And why don't you all come over to our house for a pool party tomorrow, that way you can get to know Elena a little better." Bombay announced ready to end this meeting, the ducks were getting restless.
"Wait, where exactly is this house? As I recall you were staying with Hans last time." Averman pointed out.
"The house Elena grew up in, which belonged to my sister, is in Edina. Two doors down from the Banks. We'll see you all at noon tomorrow. Elena ready to head home?"
"You bet. I'll see you latter Adam." She said giving him one more hug. "It was nice meeting you all." She said to the ducks as she and Gordon left the shop. She was excited to finally be heading home with her father. She would finally get to spend some quality time with him, as well as getting to see Adam and getting to know the ducks. It was going to be a good summer.