Single dad Gale x Baseball coach Bucky AU Part 3 (Finale!)
Read Part 1 here.
Read part 2 here
Amie is convinced her dad is starting to get suspicious.
She saw the way he stared at Coach Egan when he picked her up from school. He barely blinked. He was definitely getting suspicious.
The Coach Egan tells the team their first game is in four weeks, and a very big clock in Amie's head starts to tick.
Because she's excited about the game and she wants her dad there. But when he finds out she lied, she's positive it's going to be one of the rare times he absolutely loses it.
Then, her next day in school Coach Egan wants to see her after practice. And he doesn't tip toe around the subject.
"Why does your dad think I'm your track coach, Amie?"
A habit she'd inherited from her dad, Amie flushes read like she's just been caught in the cookie jar. She tries to stammer and bluster her way out of it, but there's no mirth on coach's face and she stops talking completely.
"Does he even know you're on the team?"
She shakes her head.
"He should. He'd be proud of you."
She doesn't mean to scoff but it comes out anyway. Her dad will be too busy being furious to be proud of anything.
And that's when Coach Egan upends her whole twelve-year-old world.
"You tell about the team, and have him sign a new slip, which he'll hand in to me himself by next practice. Or I'm sorry Amie, but you can't be on the team. And I'll have tell your dad about this myself."
She doesn't like this stern side of the coach and runs out of his office upset and embarrassed.
At home, she storms right up to her room, ignoring her dad calling after her.
After a good scream into her pillow, she writes I Hate Coach Egan several times over in her journal. But then she feels terrible and rips the page out and stuffs it in the trash.
She resolves that she's not going to next practice, or any practice ever again, so there's nothing to tell her dad. It breaks her heart a little (a lot), but she'd rather that than face the music.
It takes her dad a few days to clock on. But he does notice her despondency. When he asks about track which usually always has her so chipper, she tells him she was cut from the team.
Gale is incensed and threatens to march down to the school and give them a piece of his mind. But Amie begs him not to and he reluctantly agrees.
Until he finds a crumpled up bit of paper that says I Hate Coach Egan on it over and over again.
He takes a day off work - a day he knows Amie never used to have practice and schedules a meeting with Egan for 11am when she's still in class.
He storms into that office and Egan goes from pleased to alarmed in half a second.
"What the hell did you say to my girl?!"
Egan looks a little miffed himself at that and starts to get out of his chair, but Gale slams the bit of paper down on his desk.
Egan looks at it and frowns, and dares to look hurt, even. "Jeez, Cleven. A little harsh."
And that unleashes all of Gale's fury. He lets all his frustrations out and berates Egan for getting kids' hopes up and claiming to build their confidence, only to tear them all down. Only caring about winning and not about the kids. He calls Egan callous and cruel and grits his teeth and clenches his fists to stop himself from reaching across the table and strangling this man.
When he says Amie refuses to so much as even talk about track anymore, Egan finally cuts him off.
"That's what she told you? Track? Do I look like a track coach to you? Buck, I only run if there's a base at the other end or there's a dog on my ass."
Gale does not understand a single word he's saying. "What?"
"Bad weekend in Germany." The Egan calls in the Assistant Coach and tells him to fetch Amelie Cleven, pronto. "I think you're better hearing this from her," he says.
He invites Gale to sit but he doesn't. He just stares at Egan, half scowling, half bewildered until finally a very sorry looking Amie is ushered into the office.
She refuses to look at her dad or Coach Egan, but the latter is well versed in sullen pre-teens by now. He asks Amie if there's anything she wants to tell her dad. Gale wants to tell him to back off, but he sees how guilty Amie looks and he doesn't know which way is up.
"What is going on, Amie?"
And it all comes spilling out. Amie loving baseball and knowing he wouldn't approve of her trying out, never mind joining the team. About forging his signature on the permission slip for try outs (John shows him the form) and lying to him for weeks.
Gale hasn't ever felt such a mix of sadness, disappointment, anger and guilt. But it's all aimed at himself. He feels like a failure, that his daughter didn't feel like she could come to him. And that she was probably right - he wouldn't have reacted well.
"You shouldn't have lied to me, Amie," is all he can say.
Amie's eyes fill with tears and Gale thinks his might, too, and Egan gently breaks in.
"Mr Cleven. I know it's not my business. But Amie is good. Really good. And the team love her. you said yourself that she enjoys it and it's helped her build confidence. is it really so bad if she plays?"
Gale's slumped on the chair in front of Egan's desk and Amie sidles up to him and plays with the hem of his sleeve like she's not sure she's allowed.
"I'm sorry I lied. But I really want to play, daddy."
An oh, she hasn't called him daddy in years. She knows, it, he knows it, and judging by the smirk Egan is trying to hide, he goddamn knows it to. But she's pulling out the big guns.
Gale can't help himself. Never can when it comes to his daughter. He folds her into his arms and holds her tight. He murmurs his own apologies into Amie's ear and where she can't see, he waves for Egan to get him a fresh slip and a pen.
Gale gently pushes Amie back and holds up the other piece of paper that brought him here. "I think you have something to say to Coach Egan, don't you?"
Flush and wide-eyed, Amie rushes out, "I don't hate you! Was...just mad when you said I couldn't play 'less my dad said so."
Egan accepts her apology gracefully and tells her he expects her at the next practice, and she can stay late to help him clean up to make up for everything - and Gale agrees.
Equal amounts relieved and humbled, Gale ushers Amie back to class, and mumbles a very hasty goodbye to Egan. Without looking him in the eye, he beats a hasty retreat
He's outside and halfway back to his car when he hears, "Mr Cleven!" behind him.
Egan jogs after him and stops a foot away, hands on his hips.
"I can't keep calling you Mr Cleven. What's your name?"
"Gale."
Without missing a beat, Egan says, "Nice to meet you, Buck. Name's John."
And then Gale is trying to stumble out an apology. "Look. I'm sorry I -"
"Can I take you out?"
Gale feels thoroughly derailed. "I..is that - is that allowed?"
John says "Yes!" very quickly and is almost shy as he rubs the back of his neck. "Uh, I mean, I can check. Again."
Despite himself, Gale chuckles. He feels a thrill of excitement and nerves. He's not dated anyone since Marge. But John is beautiful and charming and apparently very forgiving.
So he bites his lip and cocks his head and says, "Sure. Let's paint the town red."
-
Fin.
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