The ball went right and so did Hope. The ball hit Hope's hands and bounced away. Hope pumped her fists. Now it was young Rose Lavelle's turn. She got the ball and put it down on the spot. Chika Hirao lined up in her goal and watched Rose. Lower left corner. Rose thought. She looked straight at the keeper. She started her run. Hirao went right and Rose hit the ball left. Rose had just put the US up 1-0 in the shootout. Rose jogged back to the four USA players and gave them all high fives. The US players watched Hope get ready.
The ref handed Kumagai the ball. She walked up to the spot and put the ball down. Kumagai ran up to the ball and hit it upper left. And Hope had gone lower left. Kumagai put the score to 1-1. Kelley O'Hara was next. She retrieved the ball from the ref and took a deep breath. She found Hope's eyes. Hope gave her a thumbs up and Kelley nodded. Kelley put the ball on the spot and backed up. Top right corner. Kelley thought. She ran up to the ball and struck it just right. It soared passed the keepers outstretched arms and hit the back of the net. Kelley pumped her muscles and pulled her arms in.
Let's go Kel! Hope thought to herself.
Kelley jogged back to the team and got high fives from them. She looked to the side lines and saw the USA players all with their arms around each other's shoulder's, looking on. The score was 2-1.
Hope set herself back up in the box. Sakaguchi got the ball from the ref and placed the ball on the spot. She walked back and watched Hope. She jogged up to the ball and shot top right and Hope went top left. Hope signed in frustration and walked away from the goal. She kept her faith in her team as JJ walked up and retrieved the ball. JJ put the ball down. Lower left. JJ thought. JJ chose wrong. She shot the ball but the keeper, Hirao, made the same decision. JJ rubbed her hands over her face and jogged back to the team.
"It's ok JJ. It's ok." Kelley said as JJ got back to them. The score was level at 2.
Yuika Sugasawa got the ball. Hope set herself up in the net and watched her. Only two more Hope. You got this. Hope thought to herself. Sugasawa ran up to the ball. She shot lower left and Hope went right. Hope got up and walked off to the side. Ok Alex. Tie us up. Hope thought. Alex Morgan took the ball from the ref. She watched Hirao. She set the ball down and walked back. Alex closed her eyes. She tuned out the stadium.
Come on Lex. Tobin thought. You got this baby girl.
Alex opened her eyes. Top left. She thought. Alex ran forward. On her favorite left foot, Alex hit the ball. The ball shot forward and hit the net. Alex pumped her fist slightly and jogged back to the team. It was 3-3.
"Way to go Alex!" Kelley yelled, giving her a high five.
"Great job baby." Tobin said. The team put their arms around each other's shoulder. The next two moments could change everything.
Hope took her stance in the goal. Win, lose, or we go again. Hope thought. Bottom right. She decided before Yui Hasegawa even had the ball. Hasegawa got the ball and placed it on the spot. She walked back and prepared her shot. She ran forward and her foot connected with the ball. The ball sailed to the bottom right. Hope grabbed the ball and pumped her fists up. The score was still 3-3. She jogged over to the team and put her arms around Kelley's shoulders as she was on the side. "Come on Tobin." Hope whispered. "You got this."
"Come on babygirl." Alex whispered. She watched Tobin walk forward in what seemed like slow motion. Alex looked over to the sidelines and saw Andy. The two locked eyes. They took deep breaths in at the same time.
Win or tie Tobin. Tobin thought to herself. Here we go. It's all up to you. Tobin got the ball from the ref. She walked forward and placed the ball on the spot. She looked up to the sky and said a quick prayer. She tapped her chest and pointed up. She focused her eyes back on the goal. Tobin backed away from the ball. Hirao watched her every move. Tobin watched her. Right knee is holding most of her weight. Hips are shifted. Right leg is slightly in front of the left. Upper left 90 it is. Tobin thought. She closed her eyes and tuned out the stadium. She pictured her, Alex and Andy at home in Portland. She thought about the one night when Andy felt so cooped up, she and Alex decided to take Andy to the fields. It'd been about 3 months since Andy had gotten injured. Tobin thought about how Andy watched every move her and Alex made that night. She remembered Alex saying they should work on crosses, set pieces and penalty kicks. She thought about the first time she and Alex had sex. Tobin smiled at the thought. And finally, she thought about the last conversation she had with her girlfriend.
•"Toby please." Alex had said, pouting. She stuck her bottom lip out. Tobin rolled her eyes.
"Baby we have a kid. Do you really think we can take care of another one?" Tobin had asked. Alex smiled and nodded.
"Tobin. You had Andy a long time ago and never got to see her grow up. In a few years, I want to do that. I want to carry a child. Our child. I want to have another kid with you Tobin. More than anything. More than the World Cup which is saying something." Alex said making Tobin chuckle. "Tobin. What do you think?" But Tobin knew her answer already. •
Tobin's eyes shot open. She looked at the goal and heard the whistle. She ran up to the ball and felt it connect with her foot. She watched as the ball sailed up to the left. She watched Hirao jump right. And the next thing she knew, she was being tackled by her teammates. She had scored. She had brought the USA to a 2 (4) - 2 (3) shootout win over Japan. Once she was able to find Alex in the mess of celebrating players, she ran to her. "Yes Alex." Alex looked at her confused. "Yes. I want to have another kid with you." Alex's eyes went wide and her smile grew. She jumped into Tobin's arms. "Let's go find our girl." Tobin whispered to Alex and the two jogged to Andy and engulfed her into a huge hug.
"Congrats moms!" Andy said, tears of joy rolling down her face.
Captain Heath had scored her goal in the Quarter Final against Japan, redeeming the USA once again.
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CHASING GOLD: World Cup
FanfictionAndy was your average high school student. She played soccer, did well in school had crushes etc. She wasn't just like everyone one though. Her mother was Tobin Heath. She doesn't know that, though. She's bounced around foster home after foster home...
