"Hey, Dad." "I'm back." " Hey." "I'm starving." "What you doing?" " Next year's planting." "I'm trying to figure out what's the best cash crop." "Trying to." "Every year it gets harder to outsmart the market." "So, how was the pond?" " It was good." "Listen, I've been thinking about graduation." "Yeah." "I haven't." " Yeah, well, I know that." "We gotta start thinking about what colleges..." "Nick is coming home." "Okay." "And what does that have to do with college?" "Nick goes to college and he's home for a pick-up game tonight at the rink." "When you go to college, you're supposed to stay there until you darn well graduate." "Do you wanna come?" "I think I'm gonna try to get a little practise in beforehand." "Well, that I wouldn't miss for the world." "You got to pull in tighter if you're gonna turn that into a triple." "Okay." " Yeah." "There he is." "Nick Peterson, last year's Eastern MVP." "Too bad nobody saw it." " You saw it." "Who cares?" "Back from Michigan State for a potential career-ending injury in a few pick-up games with his boyfriends." "Do you still skate like a girl or what?" "Yeah." "And you know, now we actually wear dresses at Michigan State." "That's my boy, I think." "You want a coffee?" "Sure." " You actually came." "Yeah." "I gotta show these boys a thing or two." "You bring your homework?" " With you here, are you kidding me?" "Are you learning anything besides hockey?" " No, 'cause I'm going pro." "Hey, so was that a double or triple you just did?" "Triple." " What?" "All right, everybody, clear the ice." " All right." "Everybody off the ice." "Thank you." "But you're all welcome to stick around for the Ashton's pick-up game, but we need everybody off the ice right now." "Thank you." "The Iowa Invitational Junior Championships are in Cedar Rapids this weekend." "Yeah." "I saw the posters for it." "You want to go?" "I want you to sign up." " Yeah, right." "You've been skating since you can walk." "You're darn good." "Maybe it's time you showed someone." "What's the point?" " The point is I know my sister." "She always thought you could do more than skate around that darn pond." "Compete." "I just do it for fun now." "We can use the programme we used for Christmas, the one your mother played." "But I don't wanna do it." "Come on!" "Lt'll give me a chance to cheer you on for a change." "Hey." "Hey." " Come on." "Hey, let's play." "Come on." " All right, let's go." "Marco!" "Polo." " Marco." "Marco." " Polo." "Come on." "You'll have fun if you go." "You're gonna be at school, though." " I know." "But I'll come back." "Marco!" " Polo." "You took it off." "Hey, you're going." " No." "Yes, you are." " Hey." "Yes, you are." " Give it back." "You're gonna regret it if you don't go." "All right." " Yeah?" "I haven't been to Cedar Rapids in a while." " That's my girl." "Ladies and gentlemen, there is someone very special here today." "Let's give a big Cedar Rapids welcome to Olympic silver medallist Aiden Reynolds!" "Hey, how you doing?" " I'm all right." "Are you having fun yet?" " I'm nervous." "Keep breathing." " She's really good." "Scores for Carol Sanders." "Technical, 39.92." "Components, 38.88." "For a composite score of 78.80." "Our next competitor, representing Ice Castle Skating Club in Windsor, Iowa, is Lexi Winston!" "That explains her outfit." "Have fun, okay?" "Hey." "I love you." " I love you, too." "I didn't know she was gonna skate to this piece." "Your mom would have been so proud, so proud." "Scores for Miss Winston." "Technical..." " You did great." "... 30.25." " You did it." "Components, 41. 76." "Oh, come on." "That's horrible." " For a combined total of 72.01." "A wonderful effort nonetheless." "You coached that new girl, right?" "Carrie something?" "We're no longer working together." "I take it you haven't competed much." " She was great." "I didn't say she wasn't, but everything she was doing was level one." "With the right training, hard work, and a higher profile," "I think you could be a serious competitor." "I just skate for fun." " It showed." "Think how much fun you'd have if you won." " She did just fine." "She could do better." "You owe it to yourself." "There's a whole world out there." "Wouldn't it be nice to see how far you can go?" "Mr Winston, your daughter is a natural on the ice." "I'm guessing she's a bit late in the game, but she's also got the strength and poise the younger girls don't have." "She can land a triple." " That's good." "But skating today is a total package, athleticism, emotion, and glamour." "Lexi's got two out of three." "It may sound cynical, but that's just the way it is." "You really want to coach me?" " Regionals are coming up." "There's barely enough time to train, but I'm willing to give it a shot." "Are you?" "It's your life." "Thank you." " Thank you." "You train at Boston Memorial Rink, right?" " I do." "If I don't hear from you by tomorrow, I'll move on." "My dad will be all by himself." " Your dad's a sharp guy, I think he'll survive." "Look, I gotta get going." " He hasn't been alone since my mom died." "You planning on living with your dad for the rest of your life?" "What about us?" "I'll tell you one thing, I'm not moving in with him." "I'm serious." " You and me, we're like a rock." "And plus I'm gonna be at school most of the time." "Which reminds me, if I don't get going right now, I'm gonna drive off the road." "But you'll miss me too much." " Well, maybe." "You know I always miss you when you're out of sight." "And we'll see each other in a few weeks when you come down for our first game." "You know, it's kind of exciting, you and me, famous Red Wings star and world..." "Hey, Olympic champion figure skater." "Think fast." " Nick." "Stop!" "Oh, my God, you are dead." "You are dead." "You must be Lexi." "You're gonna have to work on closing your mouth when entering the hotel." "Sorry." "It's just that..." " I know." "It's just all too much." "Just wait." "We are part of the hotel, but we're just kind of off by ourselves." "Everybody's really nice." " Hi." "But you're the new girl, so..." " Oh, it's her." "Hey." " Oh, please." "Everybody has their own room." "We eat in the slum section of one of the hotel coffee shops." "And don't even think about escaping into town for a good dinner because you're gonna be working all the time." "We have the workout room, aerobics, strength, stretch." "Big deal for Mr Reynolds." " Does everyone here train with him?" "No, there are several coaches that use Boston Club as a base." "So what's the big deal about Carrie Turner?" "You don't get a lot of news in Idaho, huh?" "Iowa." " Same difference." "Carrie jumped ship last week to train with Frank Carroll, right after she took first in the Colorado Invitational." "Coach is pretty bent up about it, so I'm not sure I'd bring it up." "We have two full-time physical trainers." "They also do massage, so if you pull something, it gets fixed fast." "Not a lot of wasted time." "And some ballet." "One and two and three and four and five and six and seven and eight..." "Hey, look, I know you're from Ohio or somewhere, but this is real life, okay?" "You want to do something, you want to get somewhere?" "This is your chance." "Don't blow it." "... Seven." "Eight." "Heads up." "One." "Come on, Bret!" "Hit it." "Go, Peterson!" "Look, if you want this thing, you gotta get there!" "Get your man." "Get your man." "Peterson, you got him." "Nice." "Nice." "Turn it back up." "Turn it back up." "Nice hustle." " There you go." "Hey!" "Yeah!" " Come on, Peterson." "High five!" "The coach is only as good as his best skater." "He needs a new star and he's hoping somebody he's working with here is gonna emerge." " Emerge?" "Yeah." "A star to show she can take them all the way." "All the way where?" " Nationals." "Worlds." "Seriously?" "Good morning, ladies." "Welcome to Boston." "Let's get to it." "And, Lexi..." " You have to step up!" "...you see those girls out there?" "Those coaches?" "How you take the ice right now, the first time, is gonna go a long way in determining whether it's you or them skating here after regionals." "Did you see that?" "She's replacing Carrie?" " She is." "And we're off." "That's cute." "Hey, you." "So I scored two goals today." "Really?" " Yeah." "That's awesome." "How's it going out there?" " Good." "It's kind of strange, but it's great." "It just takes a little getting used to, you know." "Mr Reynolds is a really great coach, though." "I had no idea I could skate like this." "We're both on the way up." "So I'm really looking forward to my first game so I can finally see you." "To tell you the truth, I actually might not stay at school too long." "If everything goes the way it looks, I might get drafted early." "That's great." "Nick Peterson!" "Well, I miss you." "Three and four and five and..." "Okay, those turns need to be clean." "Deeper." "More upper body." "Come on, more drama." "You need to be at least level three if you wanna be competitive." "You've got regionals in less than three weeks." "I want you going over these sequences every waking moment." "Four, five, six..." "More drama!" "That's it!" "That's level three!" "You gotta get there to be in the top four, otherwise you don't move on." "Good." "No, it's looking better." "All right." "Okay." "Give us..." "Just go over it one more time." "Hey, it's Lexi." "I'm probably skating, but if you leave me a message, I'll call you back." "Hey, guys." "Come here." "It's Carrie." " Oh, my God." "Carrie is back." "Carrie!" "Maybe she came back to say goodbye." " I doubt it." "Just wait here." "Call a break?" "You should be practising." "Go." "Practise." "Go." "Go." "Go." "What are you doing here?" " That's the new girl?" "Yeah, Lexi Winston." "I hear she's competing week after next." " Yeah, she is." "Now watch your location." "Talent pool is a little slim these days, huh?" "Careful." "It's slippery out there." " Make that turn." "Just get up." "Come on." "Good luck." "Don't worry about it, Lex." "That's good work for today." "She's all yours." "Excuse me?" " We've got to create a buzz." "I want the whole skating world to know you're a force to be reckoned with." "Hey, you." " Hey." "What time is it?" "I don't know." "I'm having a serious affair with your voicemail these days." "I know." "I'm sorry." "I had a lot of practise and then Coach sent me shopping." "Shopping?" "I guess I could see how you can't find time to answer my messages, huh?" "Well, I'm sorry." "I just haven't had time." "What the heck's that noise?" "I'm getting my hair done." "I thought you're there to skate, Lex." "But, Nick..." " You know..." "I don't know, this sounds like bull to me." "You know, I gotta practise in a couple of hours, Lex." "I can barely hear you." "What?" "Yeah, exactly." "I gotta run." " Wait, Nick..." "Wonderful." "I love you." "You're beautiful." "You're great." "Oh, good." "There you go." "Just one more smile for me." "Thank you." "Perfect." "Good." "Now, spin, turn." "Pose, smile." "Oh, get that out of your face." "Okay." "Good." "Teeth." "Very nice." "I think we have it." "Danny." " Yes, sir?" "Do me a favour, love..." "Do you want me to keep them all apart?" " Yes." "Is it awful?" "Awful?" "No." "It's not awful." "Believe me, it is a far cry from anything but beautiful." "This is Lexi Winston, my newest skater." " Miss Lexi!" "Miss Lexi." "Lexi." " Do you think she'll make it to sectionals?" "Isn't Carrie Turner favoured?" " I wish her only the best, but I'm very excited about Miss Winston's regional debut." "Dad." "Aunt Jane." "You guys made it." " You couldn't have kept us away." "Hi, Mr Winston." "How are you doing?" " Good." "Thank you." "Jane." "Bad or good?" "Who is this incredibly beautiful young woman here?" "Really?" " Yeah, really." "Lexi, hurry." "We're up next." " Lexi, let's go." "Okay." " Come on." "Good luck." " Thank you." "She's all grown up." " Performance makeup." "Come on." "Yes!" "Yes!" " Scores for Ms Turner." "Technical, 63.8." "Components, 64.6." "For a combined first place total of 128.4." "Be careful." "It's slippery out there." "She's trying to rattle you." " Yeah, well, I'm rattled enough as it is." "Well, shut it out." "You can do this." "Hey, Lexi, skate the programme and you'll be fine." "You're better than she is." "Okay?" "Our next skater this evening, representing the Boston Skating Club," "Boston, Massachusetts, Lexi Winston." "Yes!" "You see?" "Wow!" " Sweetie, you were fantastic." "That was so..." "So good." "The scores for Ms Winston." "Technical, 49. 15." "Components, 71. 18." "For a combined total of 120,33, putting her solidly in second place and on her way to sectionals." "You did it." "You did it." "Is this really your first competition?" " Are you guys together?" "How long have you been training with Aiden Reynolds?" "Where'd you find this gem, Aiden?" " On a pond in Iowa." "Is she your new Carrie Turner?" " Do you think she has what it takes?" "What do you think?" "I think I'd like to do a story on her in Skating magazine." "All right." "Absolutely." " That was a great run, Lexi." "You ever pull a stunt like that again and you're out." "What?" " You don't add, change or place a jump unless I tell you to." "I tell you to do a triple, you do a triple." "I don't, you don't." "I knew I could do it and I did it." " It was sloppy." "I placed second." " Well, you think you know something because you've been doing this a little while?" "You don't." "You need to always skate the programme." "I have calculated every point, and competition is not the time to throw in something untrained." "I'm sorry." " This is your job and mine, and if you don't want to do it, go home with your dad right now." "Please just let me stay." "Go." "Go say goodbye to your family." "Hey, Nick." "It's me." "We seem to keep missing each other." "Busy schedules." "But we knew that would happen." "I miss you." "After regionals, it seems more than usual." "I can't wait to come to your game." "I miss you." "I already said that." "Call me back." "Bye." "Lover boy?" "He scored a goal at practise." "You better not let coach catch you talking on the phone." "He wants you here 150%." "I barely talk to him." " Yeah, well, barely is better than never, which is how it usually ends up." "We haven't seen each other in so long." "With all that's happened, do you really miss him that much?" "What are you talking about?" "I never thought I'd make it to sectionals." "Maybe I could change my flight, then I'd only miss a few practises." "Good luck." "Hey, it's Lexi." "I'm probably skating, but if you leave me a message, I'll call you back." "Hey, I got you a really good seat right by the tunnel, so I'll give you a wave when I come out." "And I look forward to seeing you tomorrow night." "What's the matter?" " Nothing." "What?" "How do you know?" " Please." "I'm supposed to go to Michigan for Nick's first game." "You've got sectionals coming up." "I'd only miss two days of practise." " I thought we had this conversation." "Truman, Eliot, you're up." "Change!" "Push!" "Push!" "Peterson, get in there." "Well, that's it, folks." "A warm round of applause for another Michigan State victory." "Congratulations, team." "Hey." "It's me." "I'm so sorry." "I really wanted to be there." "I did everything I could." "I'm sure you did great." "You always do." "So, Ms Winston, do you have a boyfriend?" "I do." "He's a hockey player at Michigan State." " Excuse me." "Sure you want that on record?" " Why not?" "I don't know." "Something happens between you two..." "We're fine." " I'm sure you are, but a little mystery never hurt either." "So have you got your story straight?" "I'm with Lexi Winston who can barely contain her excitement." "First major competition..." "So doing this well, do you have goals now?" "Have your goals changed?" "No one even knew your story." "You came in." "You had grown up in Iowa, skating on ponds, as you say." "Did you dream about a day like this?" "It's fun to be recognised." "Media darling Lexi Winston is taking the ice skating world by storm." "Very nice to meet you." " You know, you always dream about it, but you never really think that it's gonna happen." "How do you handle that pressure?" "I don't think of it as pressure." "I think of it as excitement." "Oh, my God!" "Oh, my God!" "This is so awesome." " Turn to page 25." "Oh, my God." "I told you it'd be worth it." " This is amazing." "This is so cool!" "This is awesome!" "Read the cover." " Oh, God." ""Lexi Winston, from Iowa to I-oh-wow." - "To I-oh-wow."" "Did you get the magazine?" "Yup." "You're like a celebrity now." "I kind of am." "It's crazy." "What happened to you?" "Nothing." "I'm just sore." "I have sectionals next weekend." "What about Thanksgiving?" "Well, I was hoping maybe you could come here to Boston." "I thought you were coming here to Michigan." "I can't, I have practise." " Yes." "So do I." "Well, I want to see you." "Why does it say you're single?" " What?" "The magazine says you're single." "That wasn't me." "That was Aiden." "He said that I should probably just try to keep us quiet." "You kidding me, Lex?" "Nick, you know what?" "We knew this was gonna be hard and it is." "It stinks, but we said we would make it work." "We said we would make it happen." "Yeah, well, look, it's not working." "You know we haven't seen each other in a really long time and we haven't talked at all, and every time I do talk to you, you're not even there." "I can't help it." "I'm doing the best I can." "You can't help being a different person?" "I'm trying." " Maybe we should just take a break." "This isn't working." "Are you all right?" " I'm fine." "Are you sure?" " Yeah." "I said I'm fine, okay?" "So that's it?" "I didn't get recruited to get my butt kicked for nothing." "I'm good enough to play." "Sorry you see it that way." "Don't think I'm gonna beg you to stick around." "I've got a winning team here." "So as far as I can see, you're doing me a favour." "Sit." " Are you kidding me?" "The only way I'm getting on this is if I'm driving." "You know how?" " I'm from Iowa." "Hold on." "Boy, you're full of surprises." "You don't know the half of it." "Are you concerned about her, though, as you get ready for sectionals?" "I don't think so." "I'm just..." "I can take it in stride, and I'm working really hard and I have full confidence going into sectionals." "So..." "So you don't feel like you have to look over your shoulder at her?" "No, definitely not." " Okay, good luck." "Thank you very much." "Lexi!" " Hi, Lexi!" "Aiden, do you think Ms Winston has a shot at nationals?" "We wouldn't be here if I didn't." "But do you think she's skating well enough to beat Carrie Turner?" "I think Ms Winston can beat anyone competing today." "What about regionals, a little bit of beginner's luck there maybe?" "No." "Pure talent and hard work." "Hey, Lexi, are the rumours true?" "Is there a romance brewing?" "I don't comment on my personal life, but thank you." "Facing one of the more interesting challenges in her career," "Carrie Turner is delivering the best performance we've seen." "I have to agree." "Now, the unknown element this evening is Lexi Winston, who came in a close second in the regionals, who can possibly top her second place finish here." "Let me tell you something, she is skating absolutely flawlessly this evening." "Our next competitor, representing Boston Skating Club in Boston, Massachusetts, is Lexi Winston." "Lexi!" "Lex!" "Amazing." "The scores for Miss Winston." "Nick?" "Nick, wait." " Technical, 70. 1." "Components, 81.3." "For a combined total of 151.4." "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new sectionals champion, Lexi Winston." "Lexi!" "Lexi, right here, please." "Aiden!" "Aiden!" "Turn around, just..." "Lexi, you look amazing." "You okay?" "Aiden, I'm nervous." "But that's just so great." "It's all new, exciting." "Let's get to work." "Aiden, how are you?" " Good, how are you?" "Please, introduce us." " How are you?" "Of course, Diane, this is Lexi Winston." " Hi." "You are just fantastic." "Aiden's lucky to have found you." "Lexi, you are adorable..." " So where?" "Your future is limitless, my dear." "Monday morning, your office, 8:00 a." "M?" " Absolutely." "That's just an astounding performance." "The sky's the limit for you, dear." "You all right?" " Yeah." "Aiden, I want first dibs for our New Year's show for next year." "You promised me." "You know how we feel about your show, Eddie, but Ice Capades is very interesting." "You are just darling." "Excuse me one second." "What was that?" " Can we just go?" "Honey, do you have any idea who these people are?" "What they could do for you?" "I know, but..." "He is a big time ice show producer." "If he likes you, you'll work year-round as long as you can skate." "Trust me." "Show that smile of yours, he's gonna love you." "Look, you've got maybe a couple good years in this business." "Right now, you're an entertainer." "We all are." "Think I like this?" "Can we just go somewhere?" "Just us." "Yeah, okay, we will." "We will." "Just give me one minute, okay, just talk to this producer, then we'll go, okay?" "Be right back." "Hello." " Hey, Daddy." "Well, hello, sweetheart." "How are you doing?" "Good." "No, everything's fine." "Well, sounds like that means we won't be seeing you." "Well, we still have a lot to do and Aiden says we have to get ready for nationals." "Daddy." " What is it, sweetheart?" "This might be a funny question, but do you think I'm all right?" "Well, no, I think you're the most wonderful person in the world, but I'm not sure that I follow you." "Me, neither." "Say, maybe what you need to do is come home, you know, for a little bit and just..." "If only." "I'm sorry I'm not there, Daddy." "Yeah, me, too." "Me, too." "Hey, listen, whatever you, you know, need to do or want to do, I'm there for you, okay?" "Thanks." "I'm your dad." "I love you, Daddy." " I love you too, honey." "I'll talk to you soon." "Who is that?" "Aiden." "Can you say "desperate for attention?"" "Lexi!" " Lexi!" "Lexi!" "Baby, don't move." "Call an ambulance!" "Somebody call an ambulance!" "Why can't I see?" "No, I don't..." "I don't remember." "Lexi, you bumped your head, and they think you've got, they think you've got a concussion." "You had an accident." "You took a fall at the lake." "Everything's gonna be all right." "Go back three slices." "Well, her tests are consistent." "And that's a good thing?" "Once these things plateau, it's rare to see improvement, but this light perception she has will remain." "So you're saying this is it?" "There are always miracles, new discoveries." "The brain is complex and unpredictable." "The fact that she can see some light will certainly help her." "What next?" "Go home." "Help her adjust to being blind, get back to some sense of normalcy." "This is gonna be a big adjustment for her." " Yeah." "And for you." "I spoke to the press." "I still don't understand why it's any of their business." "I told them she broke her arm." "The doctors are keeping quiet." "That should buy us some time, at least until nationals, and by then they'll be on to other stories, so..." "In the meantime, you can relax and lay low back in Iowa, and we'll see what happens." "I can't see." "It's over." " No, no." "The doctor said there's a chance." " A chance?" "Are you saying that for me or for you?" "I don't even know why you're here any more." "Hey." " Just leave me alone." "It's over." "No." "No." "No, Lexi." "It's not over." "You love skating and winning." "Nationals are coming, and then the season is gonna be over and it'll start up again." "You'll find yourself a new skater and she'll win gold for you." "That's all you ever wanted." "Please just go." "Aiden, just go." "Well, the big question in the figure skating world right now, what happened to Lexi Winston?" "What we hear is that Lexi broke her arm at a non-competition event, but there seems to be more to it since it can't be confirmed." "There has been no press conference, no calls answered." "In fact, Lexi has virtually disappeared from the scene." "Mysterious, to say the least." "They said it wasn't gonna snow, but it sure doesn't feel that way." "I wouldn't know." "What's that?" "I said I wouldn't know." "Come on." "You can smell it in the air." "I know you can." "I should have never gone to Boston." "Lexi." "Stop listening to your mind telling you what you don't have and what you should have done." "Let's just focus on what's here and right now." "Just try and feel the ground." "I couldn't be more proud of you." "You know that, don't you?" "All I know is that I'm stuck here in the middle of nowhere, in the dark." "That's very helpful." " It's true." "Probably be stuck here forever." "Listen, before you left here a few months ago, this wasn't nowhere." "In fact, it was a place that you had a hard time leaving." "Remember that?" "There, there." " Remember that?" "Welcome home, cutie." "Hey." "How was your sleep?" "Okay." "Good." "So I'm going out in a bit, and I could use the company." "No, thanks." "Come on, Lex." "Why don't you come out for a bit?" "Ask Aunt Jane to go." "Okay." "Hot chocolate?" "With whipped cream." "I'm fine." "It's beautiful out there today." "Colder than cold, but at least it's not windy." "We could go for a walk later." "You could use the exercise." "No, thanks." "It's been weeks, honey." "The girls have been asking about you." "What did you tell them?" "Nothing." "But everyone's gonna find out sooner or later." "So where is she?" " In her room." "You're down here watching television, she's upstairs in her room doing what?" "I don't know." "I've read to her, I've talked to her." "You know, what is the point of you coming over here if she's gonna be sitting upstairs by herself?" "I can't make her do anything." " She's dying up there." "Then you do something!" "I thought I was." "You know, why don't you come over?" "Okay." "All right." "I've had enough of this." "Come on, let's go." "Dad." " Come on, let's go." "Dad." " Your mother would be ashamed of us." "You sitting around here feeling sorry for yourself for so long, and the fact that I actually helped you." "Come on, let's go." "Leave me alone." " Come on." "It's lonelier in this house now than when you were in Boston." "Dad!" "Dad!" " Come on, let's go!" "Where?" "Where are we going?" "Dad." " Anywhere but here!" "We are not gonna sit and rot in this house!" "Come on!" "Here." " Dad." "Dad, I'm not ready for this." " Sure you are." "Sure you are." "It's slippery." " That's why you're wearing skates." "Is the ice thick enough?" "We're gonna find out soon enough, I think." " Dad." "I just remember when your mom and I used to bring you out here." "Yeah, you weren't too interested in walking, but you loved the feel of the ice." "You loved it." "My legs are tired." "Yeah." "Well, come on." "It's just another minute." "That's it." "One foot in front of the other." "You can remember." "Dad." "Dad, I'm just not ready." "When did you become such a wuss?" "Nick?" "What are you doing here?" "You know, I'm getting kind of tired, and my legs are kind of beaten." "It's cold." "Why don't you..." "Can you help me out here?" "No, Dad." "Dad, I'll come with you." "What?" "You're gonna leave me out here by myself, huh?" "I said..." "Dad, just let me..." "Hey, I got you." " I'm fine." "I said I'm fine." "It's my skates." "It's my skates." "I just..." "Yeah, it's gotta be your skates." "Can you help me get them off?" "No, get up." "Get up." "Get up." " Stop it." "All this time, Lex, I kept thinking to myself, "She's home." ""And she gets cabin fever," ""I guess she really doesn't want to see me."" "Maybe she figured you wouldn't want to see her after what happened." "Maybe he thought that he caused it, and he couldn't admit it to himself." "Nick." "I'm right here." "Help me." "I'm right here." "Don't let me go." " I'm right here." "See?" "Look, look!" "You can stand on your own..." "You okay?" "You used to fall all the time." "Nick, I can't see anything." "Come on." "Just follow my voice, okay?" "Do you think that maybe we could try this again?" "Skating." "Skating, I mean." "Are you sure that no one's gonna be here?" "Jane said the girls will be coming in at 10:00 and we'll be out before then." "You can still tie up your skates." "Now all I have to do is skate." "You feel good?" "If you're gonna skate, we gotta figure out a way for you to see the walls." "That's a good idea, except I'm blind." "I know." "What I mean is, is you're able to see light and shadow, so maybe you can use that to get a feel for the rink." "See, there you go." "That's good." "You're starting to get a sense of where the wall is now?" "Sort of." " All right, good." "Nick?" "Nick?" " You're fine." "Lex, turn, turn..." "You okay?" " Yeah." "Now I know why you guys wear so much padding." "Skate toward me and count out loud." "One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand, four one thousand..." "You're halfway." "...five one thousand, six one thousand..." " Twenty feet, ten, five, stop." "Good." "No, this is too fast." " You get 10 feet, there you go, yeah." "You just turned on your own!" "Good!" "Come here." "Come toward centre ice." "Hey, if you can balance in spread eagle, you should be able to try a sit spin." "You're crossing the blue line now." " Don't tell me." "Look at that." "Here, skate toward me." "What was that, another blind joke?" " Hey, try a jump!" "No." "Just get some air." "What's the worst that could happen?" "Well, I could fall on my butt, hit my head and go deaf." "How's that?" " Well, hand me a stick and a puck, too." "If you can hand them over here." " Yeah." "Here you go." " Okay." "And let me know when I'm at the centre of this blue line, okay?" "Okay." "Blue line!" "I knew it." "I knew where it was." "Come with me." "I want to try something." "What are we doing?" " You will see." "Follow me." "I'm better off in the rink." " No, no, give it a shot." "I don't even know where the edges are." " Sure you do." "Come on." "I'll start you." " Keep talking." "Hey, don't try to see." "I mean, if you can't see, maybe making the effort to do that is just getting in the way of using something else." "Like what?" "The sound when I slam into the boards?" "No." "Like your memory." "Just close your eyes." "Just picture it in your head." "Lex, we've been skating on this pond our whole lives." "Nothing's changed." "It's the same shape, the same dimensions." "Come on." "You've done this blindfolded before." "What's the difference?" "I could cheat before." "It's like lacing up your skates." "You know, if you think about it too much, then you get all tangled up." "If you just do it, then it's second nature." "There you go." "You're approaching the middle." "You're about a third of the way to the end, Lex." "Don't tell me." " Okay." "Okay." "Where am I now?" "You just told me not to tell you." "I know where you are." "Come on." "Where do you think you are?" "By the stream outlet." " Yes." "Look who's showing off, huh?" "Watch the edge, 10 feet." "Good." "Come on, come towards me." "Lex, you landed it!" "You okay?" "Yeah." "Yeah." "That's incredible!" "I felt like that even when I could see." "You felt it?" " Yeah." "It just kind of happened." "How'd it look?" "Incredible." "It's good to see you smile, Lex." "Is she ready yet?" " You should have some coffee." "No, thanks." "We gotta get going." " Come on." "It's not gonna kill you." "Hey, I gotta tell you, she is, you know." "I mean, I think you've pulled her out of her funk." "And that jump, you know, that she tried." "I mean, if you give her another couple of weeks and..." "That was a heck of a thing." "Well, if she could do it once, she could do it again." "Well, I guess that means you're not planning on going any easier on her." "Oh, she's tough." "She can handle it." "If you can just believe that you're on the pond, you can do it." "I'm not promising anything." "Just pretend that the streamlet is to your left and go for it." "Yes!" "You did it!" "Oh, rats!" " Okay, okay." "Okay." "Lex, you're skating beautifully." "Nick?" "Nick?" "Yeah?" "I'm so proud of you." "Hey, Coach." "Just hoping you might have a minute." "Made a mistake." "I wish you could see the sunset, Lex." "I'd rather see your face." "I miss you, Nick." "I know you're right here, but I still miss you." "I'm glad you got to see me skate at sectionals, I mean." "No..." "Don't..." "It's too bad it's all over, though." "The skating part, I mean." "Not the other stuff." "Maybe it doesn't have to be." " Yeah, right." "Hey." "You earned a spot at nationals." "I checked." "You're still registered." " You checked?" "I mean, yeah, that guy called about your music." "You can do it." "Have you been thinking about this?" "It wouldn't work." "I..." " Lex, I'm serious." "So am I. It's ridiculous." "Come on, it's not that crazy." "You know, it's a little bit crazy, but why not?" "Well, it's one thing for her to skate with you on the ice." "She's skating great on her own." "What difference does it make where she skates?" "It's a big difference." "Hey, she landed a triple." "She's skating as well as ever." "I don't have a programme and I don't have a coach." "But what about Jane?" " I could try, I suppose." "I don't know." "Do you trust me?" " Sure I do, but it's ridiculous." "She can do it." "She skated well enough at sectionals to win." "She beat out everyone in the middle of this country." "She qualified for nationals." " But they'll pity me." "Yeah, they would if they knew." " They will." "I don't know how they couldn't." "The girls in the rink have seen you skate, they don't know." "Give yourself a chance to prove..." " What?" "...that it was all worth it." "Blind or not, if she could do this, she could do anything." "This feels big." "It's just like ours." "Well, we've got as much time as we want between 1:00 and 4:00 in the morning for the next few days." "All right, just like home." "We'll count off the length and width dimensions and you enter from the centre end." "So I just come straight out?" " Yeah." "If we start you off right, you'll be fine." "It'll be the same count." "It's really just about balance and instinct." "Here you go, just come here, come towards the centre." "Ten feet, five, you're here, good." "You'll start facing the entrance." "Here we go." "And the judges will be right over here to your left." "Twenty-five, ten, five." "Yeah!" " Come on!" "Yeah!" " Yeah, yeah." "Hey." "Attagirl." "Today's national championship has attracted skating's royalty," "Michelle Kwan, five-time world champion and nine-time US national champion as well as..." "Carrie Turner is skating beautifully at this point in her career." "She's in great position for the world championships and making the Olympic team next year, if she can avoid injury." "Lexi?" "You look..." "How are you?" "I mean, does this mean you can..." "No." "Wow, you can't tell, it's amazing." "Aiden, this wasn't your fault." "You were my responsibility." "I was my responsibility." "But I want you to know that I appreciate everything you did." "It was all worth it." "It was good seeing you, Lexi." "No one knows." " How would they?" "She wants to keep it that way." "Kick butt out there." "Hey, beautiful." "How you doing?" "Just like practise, okay?" "In this season, she seems to have come from nowhere, and then she disappeared and now she's back." "Well, since sectionals, everybody's been talking about Lexi." "The crowd adores her and there's something real special about her skating." "There's a pureness, there's an honesty, and she's able to emotionally connect with every single person in the audience." "Our next competitor, representing Ice Castle Skating Club in Windsor, Iowa, is Lexi Winston." "She certainly skates with joy and freedom and love, and it seems to her it doesn't matter about winning or losing, but enjoying what she does." "But the question is, is she capable of performing like that here now, just coming fresh from an injury, having absolutely no experience?" "Can she do it now when it counts?" "Well, I guess we'll soon find out." "Lexi!" "Yeah!" "Lexi!" "Lexi!" "Lexi!" "Lexi!" "Lexi!" "Are you okay?" "Lexi!" "Hey, you." "I thought you'd never come." "We forgot about the bears." "Come on, Lex!" "I think they know now." "Come on."