Miracle On Ice One Shots

Distance & Determination (John Harrington- #28)

Olivia threw her goggles in her locker angrily and began to strip herself of her lab coat and regulations. Another day without any progress in the lab.

She had been going at this for almost a year now- searching and searching for the linkage between pollution and lung cancer. Most of her research has been looking into past studies that had been done, but she struck out there. No one had found the molecular linkage which quickly became her thesis for her PhD program at University of Minnesota.

Olivia had graduated from University of Minnesota Duluth the year before with a B.S. in biology and chemistry, and when she got offered a position in the PhD program at the U, there was no way she was going to pass up that opportunity. She was sad to be leaving her boyfriend, John Harrington, who was graduating this year ('79) but he promised that the distance wouldn't mean a thing. And he had kept to that for the most part.

John played hockey at the University, and his seasons were always busy. Her and John had been together for about 3 years- she had tutored him in biology his freshman year, her sophomore year, they connected, he asked her to go to dinner, and the rest is history.

He was always so encouraging and wanted her to pursue her dreams in research- that was one thing that made her fall in love with him. She, of course, wanted the same for him- he always dreamed of playing professional hockey, and he was definitely good enough from the games that she saw. Sadly, she hadn't made it out to very many of his games. PhD students don't really have a ton of time on their hands, after all.

Sighing, she slipped on her sneakers and began to make the trek back to graduate housing. She really missed him. Thankfully, it was the end of April, so she would be seeing him in just a few weeks for his graduation. She won't get a ton of time off- but she would take any second with him that she could.

The cold Minnesota air was something that Olivia was accustomed to, but she still wanted to make it home quickly. The 10 minute walk felt more like 10 years. Finally, the familiar grey building came into view when she turned a corner. Sighing in relief, she quickened her pace and dug in her bag for her keys.

Once inside, she started making some dinner and turned on the radio so she could listen for updates on everything that was going on around the world.

About 5 minutes in, her landline rang. She quickly wiped her hands on a towel and went over to the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, honey." I grinned as I heard the familiar pet name and the even more familiar voice from the other side.

"Hey, bee! It's so good to hear your voice. How was your day?" He laughed. "You're still trying to make that stick?"

"Oh come on, John! It's cute- honey and bee! Maybe for Halloween next year we can dress up as them." I could practically see him shaking his head as his deep laugh rang through the phone.

"It still seems like you're trying to replace my nickname with the guys!" I rolled my eyes at him. "You know my firm opinions on your nickname, but it's not my place to tell you what to do with it, you weirdo! I just want something that only I get to call you." He sighed.

"Alright, honey, you win on this one. Honey and bee it is." I laughed. "Good! I always win." I went over to the stove and switched off the heat- dinner can wait. "You're right, you always do." I grinned even more. "You still haven't answered my question, grumpy!"

"I'm very much not grumpy right now, Liv! I decided to try out for the Olympic hockey team." My eyes widened. "What?! John that's amazing! How are you feeling about it?"

"Honestly, I'm so nervous. You know this has been my dream." I sat on the floor underneath the phone. "You'll do great, John! You're one of the best players I've seen. Where and when are tryouts?"