Love On The Pitch

A Bitter Pill

Feeling the warmth of the sunlight on her face, Alex cracked her eyes slowly and lifted her chin to the sun as she stretched her long limbs under the sheets. Bastian's arm reaches across her body and coils around her waist. Pulling her back snug against his chest he reaches around to turn her chin and face towards him for a deep
Morning kiss.  "Ummmmm good morning" he says against her lips.  "How long have you been awake?" She says. Turning to face him, she wraps her arms around his shoulders and smiles as she pulls in for a quick peck on the lips. "Hours.... But I love watching you sleep in my arms" propping up on one arm, Bastian runs his hand up and down the length of her back being sure to trace his fingers under her wife beater and feel her warm skin. "Alex?.....he says I've been thinking a lot about us and ... ummmm .... Well..... I ah...." Alex cuts him off "Bastian, what's with the shy routine right now?" She says with a huge smile on her face.  " this isn't like the forward thinking , tell it like it is guy I've fallen in love with" she laughs as she grabs his butt through the sheets. Smiling, Bastian leans forward and plants another slow kiss on her mouth. " I wanted to ask if you might like to......well... move in with me?"

"Ohh wow..." she's says with a slight smile. Pushing Bastian onto his back she rolls on top of him and hovers and inch from his lips. Slowly
Lowering her mouth to his she deepens their kiss. Picking up intensity, Bastian take control
And rolls her to her back then pins her body beneath his. Pulling away only an inch from her mouth and leaving her breathless, he says "is that a yes?" ....... YES.....I will move in with you.

Bayern Conference Room B
"I just thought I would let you all know that we are very close to bringing on a new candidate for our team." Dr. Wolff says. "As some of you are aware we've been given the go ahead from head of National team finance to select an additional
Staff doctor to head up player development from a medical standpoint.  This is very exciting for us. This means cutting edge research with some of the worlds top medical professionals. In turn this will help us to better understand our players, cut down on recovery time from injury and prevention. Alex you should be very excited here as whomever we decide to hire will work collaboratively with you." Not being able to hold in her excitement, Alex's face beams cheek to cheek.  "Thank you Dr. Wolff. I'm very excited."

Wow, this is unbelievable she thinks. Working closely with some of the worlds best is a dream come true. Scratching a few notes on the white board, Dr Wolff continues to prattle on about a few interested applicants. As Alex allows her thoughts to drift, the sound of Dr. Wolff's voice fades into the background. Remembering her early morning snuggle with Bastian, she draws slow deliberate circles on her note pad. His sweet bashful demeanour as he asked her to move in. It was the most beautiful moment. It was a step in the right direction for their relationship. An important one. Although there's still some healing to be had, their closeness and intimacy has grown stronger since experiencing such loss. Coming back to earth...

"The Senior medical directors are making our decision later this evening,  Wolff says as he packs up his files and laptop. Pushing out her chair and swinging her legs around to leave, Wolff holds a hand out to stop her retreat. " how are you? He asks in a soft voice as the room empties. With a slight smile, "I'm getting better" she says as she averts her eyes. "Have you spoken with anyone?" He says with a arched eyebrow. Dr. Wolff never seemed like the type of doctor that was comfortable with these types of conversations, but he surprised Alex with how soft and understanding he was. The caring nature of his voice was very sweet. She was touched.  "No, I haven't really had the chance to speak with anyone. I would rather avoid it if I can". Sitting himself on the edge of the conference table, Wolff laid a soft hand on her shoulder. " My wife, Ellen and I went through the same thing a few years ago. She took it really hard and it helped her immensely to talk with someone." Pausing to wait for her response, he can see the pain in her eyes. Handing her a card he says, " take this... her name is Dr. Liz Moreland. She's fantastic and wonderful to talk to." Glancing at the card for a brief moment, then slipping it into her pocket, she looks up with a weak smile. "Thank you, I appreciate it. I really do."
"Anytime" and with that Wolff steps from the room and makes his way down the long hallway to his office. Releasing the breath she didn't know she was holding, Alex runs a hand through her wavy brown hair and blinks back the tears threatening to spill over her eyes. Gathering her things she heads back to her office.

3 Hours Later

Moving through the long windy hallways of the Alliance Arena, Alex heads towards the recovery room where Thomas is having his Physio session. " there he is" she's says as she steps in the room.  Thomas is seated at the leg press machine pushing his legs in a slow controlled manner engaging his knee to work. Watching closely at his right knee, she could see the progress he has made in such a short time. Only pressing 70lbs at one time as a precaution, Thomas, with determination written all over his face, is clearly motivated to heal. "Hey Doc, feeling good. Can't wait to get back out there." Smiling back, " all in good time Thomas... you are looking great. I'm really pleased with your progress"
"So what are we looking at Doc?" Thomas says with a gritted face as he pushes his legs harder.  Taking a seat on the stool beside his machine, Alex places her hand on his leg to slow his motion. " I want to assess this in two weeks time." You've been working hard Thomas and I'm so thrilled with your recovery but, I don't want to take any chances putting you out there sooner than you are ready". Just before Thomas replies Bastian comes waltzing in the room with a towel slung over his shoulder. " Hey jackass, how you
Doing?" Thomas throws his plastic water bottle clear over Alex's head only to land at Basti's feet for some fast fancy foot work before a toss into the trash. "GOALLLLL..... "they both shout in tandem.  Alex shakes her head with a smile as she rises from her stool.  "Thomas I wanna wrap your knee ok so don't disappear." She says as she walks over to the cupboards aligned along the back wall with supplies. Bastian takes Alex's seat, smacking Thomas in the arm in a playful manner. Watching the two of them is like watching two brothers fight and banter. It's genuine, natural and kinda beautiful she thinks. " hey you hear they hired a new guy for your team Alex?" Pausing with the tensor in her hand she turns to face Thomas and Bastian. "What?!... I thought they were deciding this evening?" Looking confused Alex moves in to wrap Thomas's knee. "Well according to Jogi, the guy they vetted quit his job like yesterday and said he would start immediately."
"Wow.... I mean that's great but Geeze they don't waste time here. So since you clearly know more than I do Thomas, who is it?" She says with a smirk. Bastian winking at Alex with a little smile. "Yeah Oh mighty one... who's the new quack?"
Laughing with a spark in her eye, Alex wraps the tensor round and round his knee while arching an eyebrow towards Thomas. " I think they said his name was Michael Mullens"

Thomas and Bastian watch as Alex's face drops and her arm flings outward hitting the glass of water next to Thomas. Smash... the glass shatters on the tile floor.

" oh shit.. she says as she tries to cover up her reaction. Pushing out of his chair, Bastian rounds her side of the bench and kneels down to pick up the glass. Searching her face for any sign of distress. something isn't right. He knows it. "Geeze Doc, you look like you've seen a ghost." Thomas says as he grabs some towels from the laundry hamper at the door.
"Are you alright?" Bastian says as he and Alex stand simultaneously. " yeah ... fine..... fine" she's says while wiping her hands with the towel. Avoiding his gaze , she turns to face Thomas. " how does that feel?" pointing to his wrapped knee. " it's good Doc".Thomas says as he looks at Bastian with a perplexed face.

"Listen, guys I have a meeting in 10 so I gotta jet" stepping towards the door, Bastian reaches for her hand and that stops her exit. " Alex, you sure you're ok?" Scanning her face again for any emotion Basti narrows his eyes. " I'm fine babe... just a lot of work on my mind" I gotta go... she steps forward and plants a quick peck on his lips before stepping out into the hallway.
"What the hell was that???" Thomas says as he steps up beside a motionless Bastian. "Did you see her face drop when Ì mention that new Doc? Narrowing his eyes, " yeah I did.... Somethings got her spooked Thomas.... I've never seen her like that before. ....and I'm gonna find out what.... Or who that is".  Looking at each other for a moment as if making a pact then turning to watch Alex's departure down the hallway. They were both bound and determined to seek out the truth.  Bastian was going to pry it out of her, there was no debating that.