Sliding into Home (A Frank Adler AU x MLB)

When It All Falls Apart

Twenty-two days after the hit to his head, Frank was cleared by his doctors to return to practice. The final decision to play would be failing to Abby and she said she would watch practice before making a a decision.

Frank whistled as he walked into the locker room. Of course, Johnny is the first to see him. "Hey Adler, finally done being a bitch about one little baseball to the head?"

Everyone in the room laughs as Frank flips him off. "Miss you too, slow shit. Torch my ass." He smiles as the guys bro hug and receives hugs and high fives from the rest of the team.

"Glad to have you back buddy," Johnny says. "Seriously, how are you?"

"I'm good. Got cleared by the doctors but Dr. Hernandez says I have to practice for a few days before she will clear me for good." He shrugs. "A couple of days and I'll be back."

Will Smith, the catcher, comes by. "Good to hear. Gear up, we are supposed to work on base throwing. Little Johnny here has to work on his curve." He shoves Johnny a little.

"Trouble with the curve, Torch?" Frank raises an eyebrow as he strips out of his shirt and pants into his practice uniform.

"No more than you not ducking," Johnny scoffing. "Just had a couple of hits off of it is all. Smith is making a big deal out of nothing."

"Whatever you say," Frank smirks. He finishes getting ready and heads out to the field. As he walks onto the grass, he takes a deep breath. The smell of fresh cut grass and sunshine hits his nostrils and he sighs. The field has always been his place, his center, his home away from home. There is absolutely nothing that is wrong when baseball is life.

Practice goes great in his opinion. His coaches review his throwing and set him up to hit. He'll admit, he flinched on the first pitch but the sensation of swinging his bat around lets him feel like he's right back where he was, a two-time World Series champion.

Abby watches from one of the sky boxes, the look of proud smugness. Her man was back to where he was happiest, on the field. She gave a happy sigh when a throat cleared behind him. She turned to see Todd behind her. "Hi Todd."

"Abby, did you have a nice vacation?" He quirked a smile. She was supposed to be at work but had called out when Frank asked to go on a road trip. "Saw some pictures of you in Vegas."

Abby remembered some fans taking photos with Frank, but she didn't think that they might have shot pictures of them together. She began to panic. "Todd, I..."

"Its ok Abby. I just need to know if there will be a conflict of interest. Are you going to be ok treating Adler while you navigate whatever is going on in your personal life?" He sighed. "I don't want to lose you. Your work and professionalism are top notch."

"No, I talked to Frank, and he is ok with me doing the assessments. I won't be doing any of his physicals or paperwork. I've asked Alex to step in with that."

"A true professional," Todd complimented. "Come see me in a couple of days about the paperwork. Steve and Andy will be here then and we can all talk."

"Are you sure its ok Todd? I mean, we didn't plan this at all. I still have, you know, other things to worry about."

Todd smiled. "I've never seen two people more right for each other than you two. You guys don't hide it well."

"Thanks. I got to meet with the GM and then head to my house."

"Have a good afternoon."

Abby headed down to the locker room and went to the manager's office. "Knock, knock."