A Spark of Hope
Chapter 3: A Long-Awaited Victory!
song featured: "At the Beginning" by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx--Anastasia OST
�No way! You�re not serious, are you?�
Dana only nodded. �This is such an honor for you two, being asked to do this. Are you up to it?�
�Are you kidding? I�m definitely in,� Rachel exclaimed, still giddy from hearing the news that she and Joseph had been invited to carry the Canadian flag in the parade of nations in the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Games. �Gosh, I still can�t believe that the Games are pretty much over,� Rachel breathed, thinking of all that she had experienced. During the ice dancing competition, she and Joey had gone to watch and to support their fellow Canadians, another pair in the middle of controversy. The two couples promised to support each other no matter what happened, and sure enough, the Canadian ice dancers didn�t place for a medal. �I know there�s something going on behind this,� Juliette Lebrun stated, as soon as the pair had received their marks, with Joey and Rachel flanking them.
�Aren�t you disappointed?� Rachel had asked in disbelief. Rachel surely knew that she had been utterly disappointed when she found out she had placed second. And even to her not so trained�and unbiased�eye, Rachel knew that her comrades had done their best in their sport. They deserved at least the bronze medal.
Romeo DuBois, who had been listening to the girls� conversation, pitched in by replying, �I kind of expected this to happen, so I�m not surprised, but I am very disappointed that we tried our best and yet it all comes down to stupid alliances, bribes, and the like.�
Joey shook his head in disgust. �This is so unfair to the skaters.� He could feel that Rachel was starting to get worked up about their own loss that Joey put a comforting arm around her, whispering in her ear, �It�s okay,� and stroking her back gently. Rachel was so grateful to have Joey by her side not only as her pairs partner, but as a person she could turn to if she needed to. They all had planned to start an investigation of their own into the judging of figure skating�though it was, is, and always will be subjective, taking bribes and making deals wasn�t part of the subjectivity.
As the Games continued, Rachel and Joey attended a Canadian hockey game, cheering exuberantly as their fellow teammates won the gold medal in both men�s and women�s hockey. They also skated in the exhibition that occurred at the end of the Games, and now, they would carry the Canadian flag at the Closing Ceremonies.
With her eyes wide open, Rachel waved to the thousands of people in the stands, while Joseph, proudly bearing the Canadian flag, walked beside her. After reaching the stands, watching the entertainment, and finally, seeing the Olympic flame go out, Rachel felt a slight touch of melancholy. She would have to leave this place and all the new friends she had made�but not her Joey, who was coming back home with her to Vancouver.
~*~
With their decision to not compete in the World Championships this year, Joey and Rachel had time to kick back for a bit and relax under all the media pressure. During that break, tons and tons of talk shows, TV newsmagazines, radio stations, and magazine press all hounded them for interviews, as well as many spokespeople for products that they could endorse, such as Kleenex, Crest, Conair, and so many other things. To release some of that strain, Joey would go drag racing and golfing while Rachel went shopping and painted pictures and landscapes at her apartment. One day, after what seemed like forever since the Games, but was really only a month and a half, Rachel was painting again, singing softly to herself, when there was a knock at the door. She was in such a good mood that she scampered to it, jumping and thrusting herself into a double axel on the way there. When Rachel threw open the door, there stood Joey, holding something behind his back. �Hi, you,� he said, smiling.
�Hey, Joey!� Rachel exclaimed brightly. �Come on in. Sorry about the mess�I was painting.�
Joey stepped into Rachel�s living room and laid his eyes on her unfinished masterpiece. Even in its state of disarray, he could tell what talent Rachel had. He stood in awe as Rachel, who had proceeded to pack a snack for their first practice later that day, didn�t look up. After the long silence, Rachel looked curiously at Joey, who was doing double takes between her and her portrait. �Rach, did you do this?�
�Yes,� she replied, meekly. �It�s not that great.�
�Shut up, Rachel, this is awesome!� he complimented her, turning to look at her. �You have a lot of talent.�
�Are you sure you�re not biased?� Rachel teased, packing her food in her bag and heading to Joey, wrapping him in her embrace. �Thank you,� she said, looking up at him and smiling. �It�s something I took up after high school.�
Joey smiled back at her and said, �Look, this is for you.� He presented her with a tiny box. �Open it.�
�Okay,� Rachel said, concentrating as she found the way to open her present. When she opened it, she gasped. In it was a small heart charm. �I know how much you treasure your charm bracelet,� Joey began, remembering all the times she had fussed about having her bracelet with her. �I also know how you only put things on it that symbolize things very important in your life�family, skating, friends, music. But I noticed you never had a heart on it, and I guess you never had someone to love. But now� I give you this heart as a symbol of my own.�
Rachel grinned. �Thank you, Joey. How can I be so lucky, having the best skating partner and the best boyfriend in the world?�
Joey shrugged. �That�s your fault.� Rachel kissed him in gratitude, and then said, �We better get going. I haven�t hit the ice in a month and a half, and we have a competition in 2 months.�
�That�s right,� Rachel breathed. �I completely forgot! We better leave, then!� With that, she grabbed her bag off the kitchen counter and headed to the door, then turned back to Joey. �You coming?�
He grinned. �Sure am. I wouldn�t want you skating pairs elements without me.�
�Well then�� Before she could finish her thought, Joey was standing at her side, planting a kiss on her forehead. �Besides, I�d miss you too much.�
Rachel hit him playfully. �Shut up, Joey.�
~*~
Stepping onto the ice was always a thrill for Rachel. It energized her, got her ready for whatever she was doing�whether it was just practicing or competing on the world stage.
Though they were a bit rusty from not skating for a month and a half, after their warm up the feel for the ice eventually came back to them. While Dana went to go find Kristen Campbell, their choreographer, Rachel stood in the center of their familiar training rink and smiled softly to herself. Joey looked across the rink to her and silently skated to her, picking her up on the way. �Joey! Put me down!� she yelled, as he just brought her into some of their lifts and she kept changing position. Finally, Joey whispered, �You ready for a throw?� Smiling down at Joey, her eyes sparkled, as if to say, �I dare you.� With that, Joey threw her and Rachel landed a perfect triple flip. �Whoa!� they both yelled, as Rachel skated to a stop directly in front of Joey, and he took her into his embrace and kissed her forehead. �That was great.�
Smiling, she looked up at him, and their lips met in a sweet but passionate kiss. Their moment was reluctantly broken by the chords of a song. �Ahem,� Kristen called, in her loud voice. �We have work to do.� Leaning over, she sighed and set the track back to the beginning and then paused it.
�Sorry,� Rachel yelled across the rink. Then she pointed to Joey. �His fault.�
�What?� he retorted. �If it weren�t for you��
�Hey, hey, it takes two to tango,� Kristen stated, breaking up the argument. �Now I want you to listen to this song and it�ll be our short program for Skate Canada.�
The two of them nodded. As the music filled the almost-empty rink once again, the words ran through both Rachel�s and Joey�s hearts and Rachel thought it described them perfectly.
We were strangers, starting out on a journey
never dreaming what we�d have to go through
Now here we are, and I�m suddenly standing
at the beginning with you
No one told me I was going to find you
Unexpected what you did to my heart
When I lost hope, you were there to remind me:
This is the start
And life is a road that I want to keep going
Love is a river I want to keep flowing
Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey
I�ll be there when the world stops turning
I�ll be there when the storm is through
In the end, I want to be standing at the beginning with you
We were strangers, on a crazy adventure,
never dreaming that our dreams would come true
Now here we stand, unafraid of the future
at the beginning with you
And life is a road that I want to keep going
Love is a river I want to keep flowing
Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey
I�ll be there when the world stops turning
I�ll be there when the storm is through
In the end I want to be standing at the beginning with you
Knew there was somebody somewhere
that we loved in the dark
Now I know my dream will live on
I�ve been waiting so long
Nothing�s gonna tear us apart
Life is a road that I want to keep going
Love is a river that I want to keep flowing on�
starting out on a journey
Life is a road that I want to keep going
Love is a river that I want to keep flowing
In the end I want to be standing at the beginning� with you
.:flash forward�2 months later:.
Beaming, Joey and Rachel bowed to their audience, then headed over to the kiss and cry bench. Joey put on his skate guards while Rachel waved enthusiastically to the cameras on them. They were the last to skate for their short program, and they waited with bated breath for their scores. The hush of the audience was deafening, but the applause that thundered from the same people was even more deafening as the scores for Joey and Rachel were posted: 5.8, 5.9, 6.0, 5.8, 5.9, 5.9, 6.0, 6.0 for technical merit, and straight 6.0�s across the board for artistic presentation. Rachel started jumping up and down as Joey embraced her. �Oh, my gosh!� she exclaimed. �We�ve never gotten marks that high, ever!!�
With a grin pasted to his face, Joey could only nod in agreement. This was only just the beginning.
.:two more months later:.
�So, how did you like it?� Joey asked expectantly, unlocking the door to his apartment and escorting Rachel in.
Rachel beamed, then twirled around in delirious happiness. �It was so awesome. The whole night was awesome.� She smiled and then, like magic, the two of them were drawn together again, caught up in a kiss so powerful that neither one could let go. As it got lengthier, it got more passionate, with Rachel on her tiptoes, her hands running through Joey�s hair while Joey�s arms tightened their hold on Rachel�s waist, his tongue intently exploring its new territory. Finally, Joey pulled away, and Rachel looked at him and asked, �Why�d you stop?�
��Cause I think we need to get a bit more comfortable,� he said, winking and gesturing to the sofa. With a seductive smile, Rachel beat him there and sat while Joey stood before her. �Come and get me,� she said, and before she could say anything else, they were engaged in another passionate kiss, while Rachel tried to remove Joey�s t-shirt from him. While the struggle went on�
Ring!
They stopped, and Rachel started giggling over the fact that Joey�s t- shirt was stuck on his head, making him look like a ghost. �Damn phone,� he muttered from behind the cloth.
�Aren�t you going to get that?� Rachel asked sweetly, mischief alight in her eyes.
Ring!
�Do you think I can?� he replied. �Why don�t you?�
�It�s not my house,� she retorted.
�Well, at the rate this is going,� Joey said, finally free of the shirt on his head, with his bare chest now exposed, �it won�t be long until it is.�
Rachel couldn�t say anything� her eyes were glued to Joey�s chest. The ring of the phone once again startled her out of her world and before she could think about it, she answered the phone.
�Hello?�
�Is this the residence of Joseph Sterling?� a heavily accented French voice asked.
�Yes, it is. May I know who is calling?�
�This is Michel Fortes, president of the International Olympic Committee. I�m calling in regards to the disputed gold-silver results in pairs skating at the Olympics. To whom am I speaking?�
Rachel gasped so loudly that Joey looked at her in alarm. �What?� he mouthed. Rachel put a finger to her lips to silence him as she replied, �This is Rachel Pierce.� As Joey watched her, she continued to nod, but her eyes kept getting wider. Finally,
�Oh, my goodness. Really?�
Joey cocked his head inquisitively. �Wow! I mean�what an honor! What? Oh, no, that�s perfectly fine. I understand�oh, okay.� With that last note, disappointment crept into her voice. �Yes, that�s fine. Thank you.� She hung up the phone, looked at Joey, and grinned. �Guess what?�
�I won a trip to Hawaii for two?� he asked, with feigned hope.
�Not quite. But I think this will make you just as happy.� Rachel grinned again.
�What?�
�We won our gold ranking!!!!� Rachel exclaimed, hugging Joey.
�We� what?!?!?!� Joey said, after a moment of thinking.
�Yeah! That was the president of the IOC, and he called to congratulate us on winning! Apparently, they finally came to a decision about our programs.�
�So, when do we get our golds?� Joey asked.
�Well� that�s the thing. We don�t.�
Joey�s face took on a puzzled expression. �Why not?�
�Well, since the Olympics have been over for the past four months, the committee decided to not go through all the trouble of the medals and everything and just have us qualify for the ranking. And they didn�t let the Russians step down. We both have the gold medal standing.�
Nodding, Joey took a minute to absorb the information, and then he broke out into a grin. �Rach, do you know what this means?� he exclaimed.
�That we don�t have to be depressed anymore?� she tried.
�Well, yeah, but you have me for that,� Joey bluntly stated.
�True.� She smiled at him and kissed his lips gently. �But I was thinking about something else,� he continued.
�What?� Rachel questioned.
�That we�re the best in the world! And I don�t mean just because we won the worlds�we won the OLYMPICS!!!� He practically yelled that last part. His excitement caught on to Rachel and the two of them started jumping up and down, Rachel on the couch, Joey on the floor in front of it. �We did it!� Rachel said, smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. Finally, Rachel collapsed on the couch, with Joey collapsing on top of her. �I love you, Rachel,� he whispered, brushing away a lock of stray hair from her face so he could look deep into her expressive chocolate eyes. �I couldn�t have done this without you.� Then he kissed her gently. Before it could get any further, Rachel broke away. She knew inside her heart that she loved Joey, but was too afraid to show it. Now, though, knowing that she had won the Olympics, and knowing that she couldn�t have done it without Joey, this amazing person that was by her side always, she knew that he had to know. She looked deep into his eyes, and he asked, �What is it?�
Rachel smiled and said, �Joey� I love you too.�
He exhaled slightly and said, �Rach, you don�t know how long I�ve waited for you to say that.�
She only nodded. �I know. But I just wanted you to know how I felt.�
He looked deep into her eyes again and kissed her. As their kiss got more passionate, Rachel knew that with their new love, nothing could stop them. And she was right.
chapter 2: the revelation | chapter 4: obstacles
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