One year had passed since the team had been broken up. They'd all tried their best to move on, even if it was a difficult thing to do after the team had been so close as it'd been.

     Charlie had gathered them together again, with the intention to some sort of reunion. Maybe they could even start playing again? Although, that was pretty naïve to expect, since most of them had moved on from hockey to something bigger and better.

     No one was sure if the Swedes would show up. Charlie had managed to track them down, but Marcus had declined at once. A national team in Sweden had scouted him and he couldn't leave. Erik hadn't been sure, he was busy with school, and they were all in upper secondary school now.

     Charlie hadn't gotten hold of neither Fred nor Catalina. The last thing he'd heard about them, they were broken up. That'd happened before they left the States, during the last week. Marcus had told Charlie something about them getting back together, but later splitting up again.

     Nineteen of the original team's players were already gathered at the airport, greeting each other hello. Guy and Connie had been the last ones to arrive. They were still together, attending a public school back in Minnesota with Charlie. Besides from the four of them, the team had been scattered all over the world after their last meeting.

     Jesse had moved to New York with his family, and Scott had also moved back to N.Y. to stay with his mother.

     Fulton had dropped out of school, but was still around with his friends when they played pond-hockey.

     Adam had been forced by his dad to attend a prep school in Edina, but he was also hanging out with the former Ducks as often as he could.

     The rest of the players had moved back to their original homes in different cities. The Tamarackers had moved back to Canada, teaming up with the Screech Owls team again.

     They had a lot to talk about, and the subject was of course what the past year had been like, without the Ducks.

     "Are we the last ones?" Portman asked.

     "I think so," Charlie answered with a sigh. "I couldn't get hold of Fred. Marcus isn't coming, and Erik wasn't sure. I guess he thought it was too expensive."

     "What about Catalina?" Sarah said. "Have you talked to her?"

     "No," Charlie replied. "I haven't heard from her at all since she left. Have you?"

     "No," Sarah sighed. "I don't get her, I thought she'd call."

     Charlie shrugged. Even though Catalina had improved a lot since they'd first met her, she was still a huge mystery to figure out. Sarah must know that by now.

     "Luis is still not here," Connie pointed out. "His flight got cancelled."

     "He'll be here soon, we can just as well wait for him here."

     Just as Charlie had said that, Guy jerked his head in the other direction. "There he is. And there's Fred too!"

     Charlie quickly turned around. It couldn't be possible, could it?

     "Oh my God!" Connie shrieked and went over to them. She leaped into Fred's arm. "I thought you weren't coming!"

     Fred smiled at her and returned the hug. "Well, I guess you were wrong, Con. Could you please let go, you're kinda choking me."

     Connie let go of Fred and touched the floor with her toes. If it was possible, she looked even tinier next to Fred.

     "Yeah, what the hell haven't you told us you're coming?" Portman exclaimed. He nodded at Luis, who was standing next to Fred. "Well, it's nice to see you both anyway."

     "Where have you been?" Charlie asked Fred. "I've been trying to get hold of you since. Like forever!"

     "I took a sabbatical year off school and cleaned my trust fund. I've been living in Stockholm all year. We kind of broke up into different directions when we got back to Sweden. All of us, I mean."

     "Oh," Connie nodded. Not a word about Catalina. Marcus had been right about them being broken up.

     Okay, so let me ask the question everybody's thinking of, and trying to avoid. What happened to Catalina?" Portman asked.

     "Catalina?" Fred sounded genuinely confused and surprised about that question.

     "Your girlfriend. Well, former girlfriend, I've heard."

     Fred shrugged and seemed a bit uncomfortable with talking about her. "I don't know, I haven't seen her since. Well, we broke up and she moved out from her parents. I haven't really heard from her at all after. I think it was right after Bailey was born."

     The last sentence had been said with a mused-tone, like Fred really had to think hard before he could remember. Charlie had a feeling he knew way too well. The only question that came to mind was; who was Bailey?

     A blonde girl, who stumbled up next to Fred with a load of bags, interrupted them all. "I have your bags, they were the last one."

     Everyone just stared at her. They didn't have to think twice about who the girl was. It was obviously Fred's new girlfriend. Fred smiled at her, the same smile he used to give Catalina, and took the bags away from her.

     A very odd silence grew among the players, when they were all impatiently waiting for an explanation. Fred seemed even more uncomfortable now.

     "Aren't you gonna introduce us?" Connie asked.

     Fred nodded. "Yeah, this is. This is Jenny," he stuttered. Jenny smiled at them.

     "Nice to meet you all, I've been wanting to meet the team Fred's always talking about. Didn't you say that everybody was coming?"

     The last question had been directed to Fred. He cleared his throat. "This is everybody, Jen."

     "What about Catalina? She played for this team too, right?"

     Fred sighed forcefully and gave Jenny a meaning stare. "Yes she did, Jen."

     "I see." Jen bit her lip and seemed a bit embarrassed. "Sorry."

     Instead of letting Fred keep on apologizing, they all decided to greet Jenny welcome. They were all busy trying to get back from the shock Fred had brought upon them, when another voice was heard.

     "After all that begging for me to come, and you all ignore me like this?"

     Charlie turned around again, this time to see Erik stand right behind them. This time Sarah gave up the welcoming shriek, and she threw her arms around him.

     "If you're this happy to see me, just imagine what expression you'll show in about a minute," Erik laughed.

     "What?" Sarah asked curiously.

     Erik didn't answer; instead he went over to Fred and Jen by the counter. "I see you decided to show up anyway."

     "Well, my life doesn't revolve around her anymore, does it?" Fred said bitterly.

     Charlie already knew that they were talking about Catalina. Maybe she'd decided to show up anyway?

     "Did you see her?" Fred asked.

     Yeah, in Stockholm."

     "Did she bring him with her too?"

     "What else are she supposed to do? Ask her parents?"

     Fred shrugged again and his arm around Jen's waist seemed to get firmer.

     Charlie was really confused now. Fred had told them that he hadn't seen Catalina in a while, but he still seemed to have a pretty good picture of her life anyway.

     "I thought she wasn't coming," Jen said. "Can I meet her?"

     "No, she's not a very suitable person for you to meet," Fred answered. "She's the alone, bitter kind."

     "Unlike you?" Jen teased. Charlie already had an opinion about the two of them; they were completely wrong for each other. Even though Jen seemed nice, she was not what Fred was looking for.

     "Yeah!" Fred smiled, trying to shake it off.

     Erik rolled his eyes. "Well, she changed her mind, she was coming here anyway. She got a job offer in New York."

     Fred got an annoyed look in his eyes. "Great."

     "Hi."

     No other then Charlie had overheard the conversation, so when Catalina finally showed up, the others got very surprised. Extremely surprised.

     Charlie saw how Jen pulled Fred's sleeve, but he just gave a warningly look. Jen decided to back off.

     Catalina seemed very insecure when she finally stopped when she got up to them. She was carrying one bag on the shoulder and one backpack on her back, while dragging a suitcase in her hand. That seemed a lot to carry, but it wasn't what got their attention. It was the little child she was carrying on her free arm.

     Instead of asking her about it, everybody turned to stare at Fred, who probably wished he could sink into the ground. He let go of Jen and went over to Catalina.

     Catalina didn't say anything when he got up to her. The little child, probably a boy, reached out his arms towards Fred.

     "I thought you weren't coming," Fred told her.

     "Well, hello to you too," she answered. "I didn't want to, but Erik forced me. I thought YOU weren't coming."

     "I changed my mind."

     "Uhm, hello!" Erik told them. "There are people here."

     "Yeah, hello! Aren't you gonna explain?" Adam continued.

     "What, you need a biology lesson?" Catalina asked.

     "Obviously, yeah," Adam replied.

     Catalina put down her bags and gave Jen a gaze of recognition. "Hi."

     Jen cracked a huge smile and went over to Catalina. Without any change to stop her, Catalina found herself in a tight embrace by Jen. Fred sighed loudly.

     "I was hoping you would show up!" Jen exclaimed happily. "Fred told me that you weren't coming! God, it's so great to finally meet you!"

     Charlie smiled a little. Jen was way too up beat fro both Catalina and Fred. Way too cheerful and way too annoying.

     Catalina tried her best not push Jen away at once, but after a while she made an effort to get the blonde energy pack away from her.

     "I guess you're Jenny. I've heard about you."

     "You have? Fred never tells me anything."

     "Actually, I thought you were only some rumor Fred spread out among his friends to seem less pathetic. It's nice to see that he's not suffering from disillusions."

     Fred mumbled something under his breath, and grabbed Jen's arm. "I told you she was bitter."

     "She's kidding!" Jen laughed.

     Charlie was pretty sure that Catalina hadn't been kidding.

     "Keep away from her anyway, I don't need her to influence you."

     Before Jen could answer, Connie cut through. "It's great to see you again!" she said and gave Catalina a hug. This time Catalina didn't look horrified.

     "Yeah, we were hoping you would show up!" Charlie told her. Catalina smiled at him. "I never got the chance to tell you about this."

     "I moved out," Catalina explained. "I live in Stockholm now. Well, I used to live there, I'm moving back here now."

     "Great!" Connie went on. "Maybe we can all meet up?"

     Jen decided to butt in again, grabbing Catalina's arm. "I have to tell you, he's so cute."

     "You've already met him several times," Fred hissed at her.

     "Well, I have to tell Catalina too, it's her baby."

     "Actually, he's partly Fred's too, but he always leave that bit out in conversations," Catalina answered. "Don't you?"

     "Not intentionally. I just leave you out of conversations intentionally."

     Charlie clapped his hands together. "Well, we're all here now, so maybe we should get going?"

     "Sounds good," Adam agreed.

     They all left towards the exit-sign. Charlie heard the quiet conversation Fred and Catalina had with each other.

     "Is that your new substitute for me? Keep her away from Bailey; she'll be a bad influence. He might grow up to be a happy child."

     "Unlike his suicidal mother, you mean? Don't worry, she'll be kept far away from both him and you."

     "She's very annoying. How can you stand to date a person like that?"

     "I don't know? The same way I managed to stand up with you for two years?"

     "Just don't knock her up too, 'key?"

     "Don't worry, I never make a mistake twice."

     Catalina went past him and walked over to Erik. She said something to him, he shrugged and she pushed him towards the door.

     This was not what Charlie had expected, far from what he'd expected. Reunion or not, somehow they had to solve this thing between Catalina and Fred. They didn't have to get back together, just stand each other for longer amounts of time.

     And they all had to stand Jen for long amounts of time too.