CHASING GOLD: World Cup

Chapter 15

Saturday
Alex got up and put on her warm up gear. Tobin did the same and went to help her daughter when she was ready. "Hey kiddo." Tobin said. Her daughter was in a sports bra and a pair of Alex's USA game shorts. "Damn kid. You're ripped." Andy smiled at her mom.

"Morning mom." Andy said, smiling.

"Ready for game day?" Tobin asked. Her daughter nodded. Alex came up behind Tobin and kissed her on the cheek.

"Morning Ands." Alex said. "I like your shorts." She said looking down at the number 13 on the side. Andy smiled.

"Morning mama." Andy said. "I'm glad. I was actually hoping I could wear one of your jersey's mom. You know? Rep my moms. Mama's shorts and mom's jersey?" Andy explained. Tobin smiled.

"Yeah sure. Why not?" Tobin said. She went over to her suit case and grabbed one of her older jersey's and her UNC hoodie. "How about this too?" Tobin asked. Andy smiled and nodded. She reached for Tobin's shirt and hoodie and put both on.

When Alex and Tobin were both ready, Tobin went over to her daughter. She reached a hand out for Andy to grab so Tobin could pull her to her feet. Alex handed Andy her crutches and the three headed down to the conference room for breakfast. Tobin sat down next to her girlfriend and held her hand under the table. Tobin and Alex shared a smile as Alex rubbed Tobin's hand with her thumb. Andy and Theo were talking and Tobin noticed how Theo had on one of Kelley's jersey's. Tobin smiled and went back to eating breakfast.

When everyone was done with breakfast, and Jill made an announcement, the team, along with Andy, Theo, Jenna and Logan, loaded onto the bus. Tobin and Alex sat by each other and Andy and Theo sat by each other as usual. Andy watched her moms talking to each other and couldn't help but smile. The bus arrived at the stadium soon after and the team unloaded from the bus. Tobin and Alex walked side by side with Andy. Theo wanted to walk in with Hope and Kelley anyway. The little ones were actually with Sam and Kristie because the two siblings wanted to bond with the twins. JJ and Press were fine with it as they thought it would be a fun idea for the twins to get to know the whole team. The team walked into the locker room and began getting ready. Mal and Sonnett decided to put on music to hype the team up.

*****

Alex put her shorts and jersey on and then her left sock, then right. Left shoe, then right. And left guard, then right. A pre-game ritual she always did. Alex watched Tobin put her gear on. Jill came in and walked over to Tobin.

"Tobin." Jill said, tapping Tobin on the shoulder. Tobin pulled her head phones off and gave her attention to Jill.

"Hey coach." Tobin said.

"Hey. So I wanted to ask you where Andy, Theo and the twins will be during the game. Are they going to be in the stands?" Jill asked.

"Uh I don't know actually." Tobin said, literally scratching her head. "I uh didn't think about it." Tobin chuckled lightly. Jill smiled knowing how much the pro could be in her own little world almost all the time.

"Well. If you want Andy to be on the side lines, she can be. So can the others but obviously Andy is your daughter so she your priority obviously." Jill said. Tobin nodded.

"Yeah that sounds awesome." Tobin said. "Thanks Jill. I'll let the kids know." Jill nodded and walked away. Tobin got up and walked over to Andy. "Hey kiddo." Andy looked up at her mom.

"Hey mom." Andy said, smiling. "What's up?"

"Well I wanted to tell you that you are going to be sitting on the sidelines." Andy smiled.

"Really?" Andy asked.

"Yeah." Tobin said. "I'll walk out with you during warm-ups and then you'll just stay out there so you don't have to come all the way back. Theo and the little ones will be with you too." Andy smiled and nodded.

"Sounds good mom." Andy said. Tobin left to finish getting ready and soon it was time to head out onto the field.

*****

Andy walked in between her moms as they walked out of the tunnel and onto the field. Andy looked around in wonder. Tobin and Alex shared a smile as they watched their daughters eyes light up. "What are you thinking about?" Alex asked Andy. Andy smiled.

"I just- I hope someday I'll be walking out onto this field and playing." Andy explained. Tobin and Alex smiled. "Well maybe not this exact field since the WNT doesn't play here all the time but you know what I mean."

"You will one day kiddo." Tobin said to her daughter. The three reached the bench and Tobin helped Andy sit down.

Andy watched as Tobin pointed up to the sky and jumped onto the field, and she watched as her moms began warming up. When Theo and the little ones joined her, all they did was watch the team. They didn't talk. Theo was also so immersed in watching Kelley and Hope warm up so she didn't really think about talking anyway.

"So T," Andy started, grabbing her friends attention, "how is everything?" She asked.

"Good, good." Theo said. "I called Kelley 'mama' the other day." Theo whispered. Andy turned and smiled at her friend.

"How'd she take it?" Andy asked.

Theo took a deep breath. "She loved it." Theo said, looking at Andy. The two shared a smile. "I wasn't even thinking and then it slipped out. I apologized but she said she was glad I was getting more comfortable. Especially after what happened to my parents." Theo said, looking back out onto the field. "She said she'll be here for me. Whatever I need, she said she'd be there. And the same with Hope."

"I'm so happy for you T." Andy said, grabbing her friends hand. "How are the little ones holding up?"

"They're ok. I don't think they quite understand what's happening. They know that mom and dad aren't coming back but I don't think they understand what happened." Theo explained. The two talked for a long while as the stadium started to fill up and the teams continued warming up. The teams went into the locker rooms, and soon came out of the tunnels side by side. Andy saw her moms and smiled as they shared a smile with each other. She thought it was weird that her mom was leading the USA team out but shook it off.

Andy noticed something on her moms arm as she took her warm up jacket off. The captains armband? Andy thought. She smiled. Tobin turned to look at her daughter. The two shared a smile and Tobin jumped onto the field. Andy watched as her moms talked on the field, awaiting the whistle and the start of the game.