A Miracle On Ice

Chapter 2 "A Costume Party"

"Honey, can you go get that?" Petti asked her oldest daughter Ally.

"Yeah, sure mom." she replied and found none other than Robbie McClanahan standing in front of her door, "Oh, hey Rob."

"Ally." he went in for a hug, "Where's your sister?"

"I'm here, Robbie!" Kelly - Herbs youngest daughter - came running up to him. Rob laughed and picked her up, spinning her around, "Hey, Kelly. And the rest of your siblings?"

"Tommy, Danny, Carly and dad are hiding in the basement." the 12-year-old girl said sternly.

Rob laughed, "And why is that?"

"We're having a costume party. I'm Alice in Wonderland. Didn't you notice?" she started off excited and finished slightly disappointed at Rob's lack of appreciation for her dress.

But Robbie being Robbie knew to charm his way out of trouble, "Sure, I noticed. You look beautiful, princess. But that's no reason to hide."

Ally jumped back into the conversation, "Well, you know those four. They'd pull their own teeth out, before they go to a costume party."

"Good thing us hockey players don't care for teeth too much anyway." Mac laughed.

Petti made her way through the crowd, ending up at the kitchen sink, as the phone rang, "Excuse me. Linda, can you get that for me?"

"Oh, sure." her friend picked up, " Hello? Yes, just a moment, please. Patti, it's for Herb. Someone from the USOC."

"No." Herb said acting frustrated.

Danny - the youngest Brooks kid - was excited as ever, "It's eight-nothing!"

"It's gonna be a dramatic comeback." his dad promised.

Carly laughed at that, "Yeah, right."

"Come on, kick his ass, Danny!" Tommy - the 16-year-old boy - cheered his little brother on.

"Yeah, show him who's boss!" Carly added.

Danny started the next round off, feeling confident in the win, "Go."

Their game was interrupted by Petti walking in, "Herb."

"Yeah." he replied, focussing on the game.

"Herb." she said again, making him look up at her.

"You've got a call from Colorado." Petti explained calmly.

After looking at his wife, Herb turned towards his youngest son, "We're not done here."

As he passed Petti, he noticed Rob McClanahan - Carly's best friend and his best ring winger - walking the opposite way. They nodded their hellos as Herb went to go upstairs.

"Alright, Danny, I'll jump in for dad." Tommy explained loudly.

Carly shook her head, "Yeah? How you gonna save that desaster?"

"Just watch, Carls. I'll get him." the boy stated overconfidently.

After accepting that nobody had acknowledged his presence, Rob pouted, "Hello? Anyone notice your favorite non-Brooks guy walk in?"

"Robbie!" Carly ran up to hug her best friend, "Thought your family was still in France?"

"We were." he explained, "We just got home. Caught an earlier flight. What are you wearing?"

He started grinning at Carly, who was still in the nutcracker dress.

"Don't ask." she warned, "Wanna get out of here?"

"What were you thinking?" Mac asked intrigued.

"Burgers and Shakes with Baker, Strobel, Christoff, Rammy and the rest?" she suggested.

Of course, Robbie wasn't going to say no to that, "Oh, yes! I could definitely go for a burger right about now."

"Let's go." Carly pulled him after her.

"Hey, I want a burger!" Danny yelled, causing them to stop.

Tommy leaned at the door frame, agreeing with Danny, "Yeah, me too."

"Ask mom if we can take you, then." Carly shrugged, "I'll find some normal clothes in the meantime."

"I'm 16. I don't need to ask my mom, if can hang out with my sister and her friends." Tommy huffed annoyedly.

Carly huffed back, being completely aware of his teenager mood, "Alright smartass, but Danny's 8 and if one asks two can ask as well."

Upstairs, Herb was sitting in his office talking to Walter Bush.

"So then he went along with that? I appreciate that, Walter. Thank you." Herb talked into the phone, before he hung up.

Petti stepped into his home office, curiously, "What'd they say?"

"I got the job." he exhaled, "I got the job. How about that?"

"Oh, great. When do you start?" she hugged her husband.

Herb replied happily, "Two weeks."

"They want you to start that soon?" Petti was a little shocked.

"The Games are in February." Herb explained.

"But it's June. Is there even ice?" Petti chuckled, as Kelly walked in.

"Mommy. Mommy, Mommy." the girl pulled at her mom's dress.

"We're supposed to take the kids to the Black Hills." Petti realized at that.

But Kelly kept pulling, eventually gaining her attention, "Cleopatra wants to say goodbye to you."

"Okay. Okay." Petti hugged her, passing her and walking downstairs.

"I gotta call Craig Patrick right now." Herb picked up the phone again.

At dinner the next day Petti brought the topic back up, "I think this will be a rough couple of months if you're gonna train a whole new team till February."

"Wait, does that mean-" Carly stared at her father.

"I got the job." he answered.

Watching his daughter jump up in excitement, she ran up to the phone, "Yes! I gotta call Mac and-"

"No, no, no. Hold on. You are not telling anybody just yet. Understand?" he stopped her.

She hung up the phone immediately, "Okay, why?"

"Because I gotta prepare first." Herb stated clearly.

Accepting this answer, Carly shrugged, "Okay, no problem, dad."

"Good, now help your brother with the dishes." her father demanded.

A few hours later, he heard a knock on his office door, "Hey, dad?"

"What's on your mind?" he asked without looking up.

Carly Brooks went up to his desk and sat down in the chair opposite her dad, "I know it's technically always been a mens team, but I was just wondering-"

"You wanna try out for the Olympic team." he cut to the point, sensing the rambling his daughter was about to fall into.

"Yeah." she nodded.

"I figured." he explained calmly, "I'm gonna have to make some calls, but trying out wouldn't hurt anybody."

"So, is that a yes?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah. I'll just have to convince the board to let a girl play on the team. That is if you make it that far." her dad challenged her.

Carly got up to leave her father's office, turning around one more time, "Oh, trust me. I will."