Wake Up, Nat and Darcy Summary, Characters and Themes

Wake Up, Nat and Darcy by Kate Cochrane is a story of reunion, rivalry, and romance set under the intense glare of the Olympic spotlight.  At its center are two former elite hockey players—Darcy LaCroix, a Canadian team legend trying to make her mark in broadcasting, and Natalie Carpenter, an American star recently cut from her team and struggling to find purpose.

When both women are thrown together to co-host a lighthearted Olympic segment, old wounds resurface.  Their tangled past, filled with competition and a secret romance, complicates a present that demands collaboration. What unfolds is a journey through professional ambition, emotional reckoning, and rediscovered love.

Summary

Darcy LaCroix, a decorated Canadian hockey player, has spent years grinding behind the scenes at Wake Up, USA, hoping for her on-camera breakthrough.  Her opportunity finally arrives when she’s tapped to cover the newly announced U.

S.  women’s Olympic hockey roster.

During her live segment, she breaks the news that Natalie Carpenter, her former teammate, fierce rival, and one-time lover, has been cut from the team.  The announcement lands like a grenade—not just professionally for Natalie, but emotionally for both women.

Natalie, nursing a hangover and shattered dreams, watches the announcement from her couch.  Seeing Darcy deliver the news ignites a storm of regret and resentment.

When Natalie’s agent offers her a chance to join the Olympic media team, she reluctantly agrees—only to discover that Darcy will be her co-host on a quirky, sport-based segment.  Their pairing is not by chance; their shared history and chemistry are too compelling for the producers to pass up.

Both women enter the assignment with baggage.  Darcy is determined to prove she’s more than her father’s legacy and her past with Natalie, while Natalie clings to the chance to reclaim her relevance after the devastating roster cut.

As they begin rehearsals, including awkward but amusing sport challenges like Ping-Pong and bobsledding, their interactions crackle with tension.  Darcy’s meticulous, stoic demeanor clashes with Natalie’s charm and spontaneity.

Their banter is sharp, their rivalry palpable—but underneath, feelings they both buried years ago begin to stir.

Flashbacks reveal the emotional roots of their connection.  As college teammates, their flirtation grew into something real during quiet moments—on bus rides, in hotel rooms, away from their teammates’ scrutiny.

Yet Darcy, fearful of exposure and professional fallout, chose safety over love, leaving Natalie hurt and hidden.  Their college romance ended in ambiguity, marked by Darcy’s distance and Natalie’s heartbreak.

Back in the present, their professional pairing thrives despite personal friction.  They film their first segment—bobsledding—which devolves into chaos and competition.

Natalie’s motion sickness gives Darcy a moment of petty triumph, but even in that, a tenderness lingers.  They continue filming, building a dynamic the producers brand “Friends or Foes?” Viewers are captivated.  Their growing popularity on social media, driven by sharp exchanges and flirtatious tension, pushes them to lean into the dynamic—but it also forces them to confront buried feelings.

Natalie’s best friend Grace warns her to tread carefully.  Natalie insists she’s immune to Darcy’s charm, but her heart says otherwise.

Darcy, too, finds herself emotionally unmoored.  Late-night video edits showing their chemistry stir conflicted feelings.

Darcy scrolls through fan-made GIFs and tries to deny what’s obvious: she still wants Natalie.

During a ski jump rehearsal, their flirtation escalates into a kiss—sudden, electric, and long overdue.  They attempt to label their revived intimacy as casual, but it’s anything but.

Each moment—playful teasing, gentle adjustments to ski suits, private talks—pulls them deeper into something familiar and fraught.  A night out at a hockey game with sponsors adds new complications.

Natalie wrestles with the pain of seeing her former team move on without her, while Darcy contends with always being compared to her legendary father.

Their connection intensifies after the game.  They end up spending the night together in Natalie’s hotel room, a moment both raw and healing.

But the morning after is filled with doubt.  Darcy questions if they’ve repeated old mistakes, while Natalie hides behind bravado, unwilling to be vulnerable again.

Despite their hesitations, they continue filming, sustaining a fragile rhythm of professional cooperation and personal uncertainty.

As the Olympic coverage continues, cracks widen.  During a biathlon shoot, Natalie feels excluded after learning Darcy was summoned to a meeting without her.

When Natalie suspects Darcy might be entertaining attention from a younger player—ironically, the one who took Natalie’s roster spot—it sparks an explosive argument.  Accusations fly: Natalie accuses Darcy of minimizing their relationship, while Darcy claims Natalie shuts her out emotionally.

The fight leaves both women devastated, with Natalie deciding to leave the Games entirely.

Darcy, professionally thriving but personally unraveling, receives a dressing down from both her sister and her boss.  They force her to face how she’s repeated old patterns—choosing ambition over love, control over vulnerability.

Spurred by these conversations, Darcy changes course and goes to find Natalie.

Meanwhile, Natalie leans on Grace, who delivers some hard truths about accountability and emotional maturity.  Natalie finally admits she sabotaged their second chance out of fear.

Determined to make amends, she sets off to find Darcy—only to discover Darcy had the same idea.

Their paths collide at the airport, each attempting a grand gesture of reconciliation.  There, in the middle of public chaos, they confess the truths they’ve hidden: that they never stopped loving each other, that their ambition doesn’t have to come at the cost of connection, and that love—real love—requires work, risk, and trust.

Months later, a double proposal at an apple orchard seals their reunion.  With families around them and joy in abundance, they carve a new future rooted not in past mistakes but in shared dreams.

Natalie finds peace beyond the rink, and Darcy redefines success on her own terms.  What began with unresolved tension ends in a story of growth, forgiveness, and love strong enough to withstand the spotlight.

Characters

Darcy LaCroix

Darcy LaCroix is a deeply ambitious and fiercely driven former captain of the Canadian Olympic hockey team, whose transition from celebrated athlete to media professional is fraught with emotional landmines and personal reckonings.  Having earned three Olympic gold medals, Darcy’s post-athletic career is marked by a humbling climb through the ranks of the television industry.

Her early days at Wake Up, USA involve menial tasks and unseen labor, making her eventual on-screen opportunity feel not just earned but necessary for her sense of self-worth.  What defines Darcy is her persistent need to prove her legitimacy outside the influence of her Hall-of-Fame father, whose legacy looms over her professional identity.

Her desire to be acknowledged on her own terms shapes much of her professional demeanor—disciplined, sometimes cold, and ruthlessly prepared.

Emotionally, Darcy is a paradox of control and vulnerability.  Her past relationship with Natalie Carpenter is a source of unresolved emotional tension that manifests as competitiveness and guarded affection.

Darcy’s behavior is often shaped by fear—fear of being perceived as weak, of letting emotion derail her ambitions, and of risking everything for love again.  This fear led her to sabotage her relationship with Natalie in college, a decision she continues to wrestle with as their paths converge again.

Yet even amidst this fear, Darcy is not without tenderness.  Her small gestures—helping Natalie with her ski suit, defending her on live TV, or wearing Natalie’s clothes after a night of intimacy—reveal a deep capacity for care and regret.

By the story’s conclusion, Darcy evolves into someone willing to risk her career image for the sake of love, proving that her emotional growth is just as compelling as her professional arc.

Natalie Carpenter

Natalie Carpenter is introduced as a fallen star—an American hockey player once at the top of her game, now grappling with the humiliating reality of being cut from the Olympic team.  Her descent into obscurity is emotionally charged, complicated further by the fact that her exclusion is broadcast by none other than Darcy, her former teammate and ex-lover.

Natalie’s response to this rejection is a mixture of anger, heartbreak, and desperate resilience.  At her core, Natalie is someone who wants to be seen—not just for her accomplishments but for her continued worth and potential.

Her identity has been deeply tied to her athletic success, and being dismissed by the team she once led is a profound personal blow.

Yet Natalie is not one to languish.  When presented with the opportunity to co-host a light-hearted Olympic segment for Wake Up, USA, she chooses to engage—even after learning that Darcy will be her partner.

This decision underscores Natalie’s underlying courage and determination.  What makes her character especially rich is the tension between her fiery competitiveness and her deep emotional wounds.

Her interactions with Darcy are electric, blending flirtation, bitterness, and longing into every exchange.  Natalie is still nursing the wounds of Darcy’s past abandonment, yet her vulnerability allows her to reconnect, to admit when she’s been hurt, and ultimately, to take emotional risks again.

Her character arc is about reclaiming self-worth not just through career rehabilitation but through emotional honesty, culminating in a powerful reunion that illustrates her strength in vulnerability.

Raquel

Raquel, the producer at Wake Up, USA, serves as both a catalyst and a mirror for the central duo’s journey.  Professionally, she is savvy and intuitive, quickly recognizing the potent chemistry between Darcy and Natalie.

She leverages their shared past and dynamic tension to pitch a segment format that capitalizes on their natural friction and deep emotional current.  Raquel is the kind of figure who operates behind the scenes with clarity of vision, understanding how storytelling, even in light entertainment, can resonate when it reflects genuine emotional stakes.

Yet, she is not portrayed merely as opportunistic; her willingness to listen to Darcy and Natalie’s suggestions, such as incorporating structured competitions into their show, speaks to her ability to collaborate and empower.  Her presence is more symbolic than central—representing the larger media machinery that both exploits and elevates the personal journeys of the women on screen.

Raquel is crucial in amplifying the stakes, giving structure to the chaotic interplay between ambition and intimacy.

Grace

Grace, Natalie’s best friend, is a moral compass and grounding force in the narrative.  Though she exists on the periphery of the television world, her influence is deeply felt in Natalie’s emotional trajectory.

Grace is fiercely protective of Natalie, often calling her out when she drifts toward self-destruction or romantic denial.  Her furious phone call early in the story—criticizing Natalie for getting involved with Darcy again—highlights the intensity of her loyalty and the depth of her concern.

But Grace’s support is not one-dimensional.  She is not simply a cautionary voice but a friend who offers the space for healing.

In the aftermath of Natalie and Darcy’s fallout, it is Grace who helps Natalie recognize her own flaws, guiding her toward reconciliation.  Through Grace, the story explores the value of chosen family and the quiet, consistent emotional labor that underpins real friendship.

She is a stabilizer, a truth-teller, and a voice of reason amid the swirling chaos of public careers and private heartbreaks.

Darcy’s Father

Though not frequently on the page, Darcy’s father casts a long shadow over her emotional world.  A legendary Hall-of-Fame hockey player, he represents both inspiration and burden.

Darcy’s professional achievements are constantly measured against his legacy, and the pressure to uphold that family name adds a quiet desperation to her ambition.  Her refusal to use his name as a shortcut, her insistence on earning every opportunity, and her desire to carve out her own space in the world of sports media all stem from this familial tension.

The emotional toll of constantly being compared to him—of never feeling entirely her own—adds texture to Darcy’s need for control and perfection.  While their relationship is not explored in depth, its impact is crucial, shaping Darcy’s psychology and contributing to the fear and pride that complicate her relationship with Natalie.

Cox

Cox, the young hockey player who replaces Natalie on the U. S.

team, serves more as a symbolic figure than a fleshed-out character.  Her presence in the story triggers Natalie’s deepest insecurities, embodying the threat of youth, relevance, and professional replacement.

When Natalie believes Cox is flirting with Darcy, it sets off a spiral of jealousy and emotional volatility, bringing latent fears of abandonment and inadequacy to the surface.  Cox’s interactions, though minimal, are instrumental in escalating the central conflict, forcing both women to confront their unresolved feelings.

In this way, Cox becomes a catalyst—a reminder that time, opportunity, and love are always moving forward, unless actively reclaimed.

Themes

Competitive Identity and Professional Validation

In Wake Up, Nat and Darcy, competition is not merely a residual behavior from their time on the ice but becomes a defining feature of how Natalie and Darcy measure self-worth, process their past, and navigate their future.  From the outset, both characters are bound by a deep need to prove themselves—Darcy to the broadcasting world that has long sidelined her, and Natalie to a society that has discarded her post-Olympics.

Darcy’s pursuit of on-camera validation is shaped by the shadow of her father’s legacy, pushing her to prove that her success is not inherited but earned.  Her years off-screen, spent doing menial work despite Olympic fame, serve as a crucible that distills her ambition into a volatile mix of desperation and pride.

Natalie, conversely, is thrust into a career identity crisis after being cut from the Olympic team, leaving her scrambling for purpose and recognition.  This competitive streak, however, is not merely outward-facing.

Both women are engaged in an internal battle against self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and emotional scar tissue.  Their on-screen chemistry and the gameshow-like segments they co-host are laced with barbed wit and physical trials that reflect a deeper emotional sparring, where each win or loss in sport symbolizes a step toward or away from emotional resolution.

The network’s exploitation of their rivalry through the “Friends or Foes? ” tagline is emblematic of a culture that thrives on conflict, forcing them to perform their pain and passion for ratings.

Even as they are pitted against each other, the drive to compete becomes a language through which they communicate affection, resentment, longing, and respect—one that bridges their unresolved past and a future still fraught with challenges.

Unresolved Romantic Tension and Emotional Reckoning

The relationship between Natalie and Darcy is a layered study in suppressed emotions, miscommunication, and the long tail of unresolved romantic feelings.  Their shared college past—part romantic, part secretive—casts a long emotional shadow that neither has truly stepped out of.

Their present-day reunion, under the most public of circumstances, reactivates a bond that was never given the space to either flourish or properly end.  The complexity lies in their mutual awareness of the stakes: reengaging emotionally means confronting the pain they both caused and experienced.

Natalie’s initial resentment is not just professional indignation but romantic betrayal, deeply tied to the secrecy Darcy insisted upon in college, which left Natalie feeling disposable.  Darcy, for her part, buried her feelings in ambition, only to find them resurfacing through candid social media edits and nostalgic memories that blur into present-day longing.

The story resists easy reconciliation, instead painting a realistic picture of how past wounds resurface in the most inconvenient of times.  Their moments of intimacy—from flirtatious ski segments to their vulnerable night in the hotel—are riddled with hesitation, denial, and yearning.

Emotional honesty, when it finally arrives, comes only after both women have been pushed to the brink by misunderstandings, jealousy, and fear.  Their eventual confrontation and reunion, marked by mutual apologies and a public declaration, signal a turn toward emotional maturity.

They move beyond passive-aggressive quips and hesitant touches to articulate love in words and actions.  This journey transforms their relationship from a beautiful failure of youth to a sustainable, honest adult bond.

Fear of Irrelevance and the Collapse of Athletic Identity

Natalie’s emotional arc in Wake Up, Nat and Darcy is haunted by the fear of becoming irrelevant—a dread that extends beyond the arena of sports and into her personal life.  Her Olympic career, once the bedrock of her identity, is stripped away in a moment with a televised announcement made by an old flame.

The abruptness of her exclusion mirrors the broader reality many athletes face: fame and utility are fleeting.  Natalie’s spiral into shame, bitterness, and confusion is not just a reaction to lost status but to the erasure of a version of herself she worked her entire life to perfect.

The transition from athlete to “civilian” is depicted as a psychological unraveling, where the absence of a team, a title, or a goal renders her directionless.  This fear feeds into her defensiveness, her hyper-competitiveness, and her reluctance to trust even those who love her.

In the media world, Natalie is forced to recalibrate how she is valued—not for speed or goals scored, but for personality and charisma.  Even then, the precariousness of her position becomes apparent when she believes she was invited to a network meeting only to discover she wasn’t on the list.

This perceived exclusion devastates her and fuels her sense of being a relic of a golden era now out of vogue.  Yet her journey also becomes a quiet rebellion against that fear.

She negotiates for fairer treatment, demands on-screen equality, and eventually steps back into the limelight not as an athlete, but as a full, complex human being reclaiming agency in a world quick to forget.

The Cost of Ambition and the Legacy of Familial Expectations

Darcy’s narrative is deeply shaped by the pressures of living in the shadow of a legacy.  Her father’s status as a Hall-of-Fame player looms large, a silent measuring stick that turns every one of her accomplishments into a comparative footnote.

This weight colors her entire professional arc, from her grueling off-camera grind at Wake Up, USA to her obsessiveness about screen presence, polish, and perfection.  Her ambition, though admirable, becomes isolating.

It fuels a worldview where sacrifice is normalized—of relationships, vulnerability, and even joy.  Darcy’s earlier decision to conceal her relationship with Natalie in college, born from fear of scandal and professional consequence, reflects the internalized belief that love is a liability.

Her present-day discomfort with emotional expression stems from this long conditioning.  She is practiced at projecting control, even when she is emotionally adrift.

The broadcasting world, with its superficial demands and cutthroat hierarchy, only intensifies these instincts.  Yet as the story unfolds, Darcy is forced to confront the cost of this ambition.

She sees how it has distanced her from love, damaged her integrity, and fed into cycles of emotional denial.  Her eventual decision to abandon a network-mandated segment and chase Natalie to the airport is not just romantic but revolutionary—a renunciation of a life dictated by optics, legacy, and fear.

By proposing in an apple orchard, far from cameras or sponsors, she reclaims the right to prioritize personal truth over performative success.  Her story is one of reclaiming self-definition, not through achievements but through emotional courage.

The Challenges of Queer Love in High-Pressure Environments

The romance in Wake Up, Nat and Darcy unfolds within a context where visibility is both a platform and a risk.  As queer women in sports and media—two traditionally scrutinizing and heteronormative arenas—Natalie and Darcy’s relationship is laced with unspoken social tension.

Their college-era secrecy is a painful reminder of the consequences many queer athletes face: isolation, team conflict, and professional jeopardy.  Darcy’s insistence on keeping their relationship hidden was not only an act of self-preservation but a reflection of broader cultural pressures that equate queerness with scandal.

Natalie, more emotionally forthcoming, experiences this secrecy as a personal invalidation.  The book portrays how queer relationships can be distorted by external fears, not just internal incompatibilities.

In their professional reunion, the fear has evolved but not disappeared.  Their chemistry is mined for entertainment value by producers, but their true feelings are ignored or sidelined.

There’s a silent tension between authenticity and performance, where affection must be coded as banter, and connection disguised as rivalry.  Their journey toward open love involves not only healing past wounds but renegotiating what visibility means on their own terms.

The dual public declarations at the airport and later at the orchard mark pivotal moments of reclamation—acts of love made visible not as spectacle but as truth.  Their arc highlights how queer love, especially in high-pressure, public arenas, requires immense emotional labor: to trust, to forgive, to be seen.

And in doing so, it champions a vision of love that is neither hidden nor performative, but proudly, vulnerably real.