US.

Chapter Seven

"Alex? W-Where am I?" Tobin slowly opened her eyes and looked around the hotel room. The clock read 2:15 AM.

Alex, who was cuddled up against her, yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Alex?" Tobin asked again.

"Yeah, babe, I'm here." Alex kissed Tobin's cheek.

"I can't open my eye all the way." Tobin stated, confused.

"Yeah, uh, do you remember anything from last night?"

"I remember taking the bus to dinner and sitting down, then some guy came over to the table... That's all. Wait, why can't I remember? What happened? Is everyone okay?" Tobin sat up, worried.

"Yes, yes, everyone's fine. It was Servando again. He- He found out where we were going to dinner and he was still mad at me and you because we're together, and he tried to hit me but you jumped in front and he punched you in the eye. It's a little black, but you're gonna be okay." Alex held Tobin's hand.

"Then what happened?" Tobin asked, touching her swollen eye.

"Well, you were knocked out, so me, Kelley, and Cheney brought you back to the hotel and ordered room service and you slept. The rest of the team came back from dinner and came in here to check on you, and you woke up for a little while, but then went to sleep again. Dawn said you might have a minor concussion. Now it's 2 in the morning, and, here we are."

Tobin's eyes widened. "Wait, concussion!? That means I can't play! But I feel fine, I just can't see out of one eye!"

"She said you might. Hopefully you're just fine." Alex gave her a hug. "Now go back to sleep, we have training at 10."

The bedside alarm went off at 8:30 and Tobin nudged Alex's shoulder. "Hey, we gotta get up for breakfast."

Alex slowly sat up and they slid out of bed. Tobin put on sweatpants and Alex's 'Cal' hoodie and Alex wore leggings and Tobin's UNC hoodie.

"Cute outfit." Tobin smirked at her girlfriend, who smiled back. "Touché."

They made their way down to breakfast and sat with Ash, Ali, Hope, and Kelley.

"Oh, I see, it's a couples table! Very nice, very nice... Can I join!?" Pinoe pulled a chair to the head of the table. "How are all the lovebirds doing?" She grinned.

Kelley was the first to speak. "Hope and I are doing great." She grinned and linked arms with the goalkeeper.

"And we're good too." Ash said calmly, smiling at Ali.

"How about our injury-prone friends over there?" Pinoe looked over to Tobin and Alex, who chuckled.

"All good!" Tobin gave a thumbs up and her goofy smile.

Tobin turned back around to see Alex looking at her with those sparkling blue eyes.

"Hey there." Tobin grinned. Alex didn't say anything; she just rested her head on the tan midfielder's shoulder.

Alex seemed to always find herself watching her girlfriend. She watched everything Tobin did. Tobin's way of life, it fascinated Alex. How she was always smiling yet sometimes she was so serious and focused. How she interacted with the rest of the team and how everyone had such a good relationship with her. Tobin was truly amazing.

When breakfast was over, the team made their way to the weight room to get a lift in, and then hopped onto the bus to go to the training pitch.

"The world champions are baaaaaaaack!" Tobin was the first one off the bus. Everyone followed behind her, laughing as she threw her stuff down in the locker room and grabbed a soccer ball, running out onto the field.

Pinoe was now just as hyper as Tobin. She sprinted onto the pitch and tackled Tobin, resulting in a team dog pile.

"Okay ladies, I'm glad we're all happy to be back together out here, but the last thing we want to do is lose matches on OUR victory tour. Let's get started. Everyone get a partner and pass." Jill said as everyone rolled out of the mess of people.

"Partner?" Alex smiled at Tobin.

"Me? Be your partner? The one and only Alex Morgan wants ME to be her partner!?" Tobin acted surprised, then grinned, proud of her performance.

"Someone's got a lot of energy today," Alex chuckled and Tobin kicked the ball to her feet.

Everybody passed back and forth for a bit while Jill and Dawn set up teams for a scrimmage.

Tobin passed to Alex and winced in pain, grabbing her head.

"You okay, Tobs?" Alex asked, walking over.

"Yeah, fine. My head just hurts a little." Tobin said quietly. Alex nodded.

"Are you sure you can play? Maybe you should just take a little break for now-"

"Lex, I'm good. Just a headache." Tobin interrupted and Alex sighed, kicking the ball.

The team took a water break and split up into the two scrimmage teams.

The red team was winning 2-1 as Tobin dribbled down the field, looking for her partner in crime. She looked down at the ball, made a quick move around Pinoe, then looked up at Alex, who was making a run. Tobin fired the ball into the space in front of the forward and Alex took a strike. Goal. 2-2. Like Tobin had said, they worked perfectly together. Alex turned around and was engulfed in a hug from her teammates, but her favorite tan midfielder wasn't part of the group hug. Alex pushed her way out and noticed Tobin sitting on the field with her head in her hands.

Alex jogged over to her girlfriend. "Tobin..." She kneeled down.

"It hurts really bad," Tobin whimpered.

"Baby, it's okay. Don't worry." Alex rubbed her girlfriend's back and motioned for the medical staff to come over.

The trainers talked to Tobin for a couple minutes as everyone took a water break. Alex stayed next to her as they gave her a quick concussion test; the whole "follow my finger" thing.

The trainers whispered a few things to each other. By now, Kelley, Lauren, and A-Rod were standing with Alex, huddled around the midfielder.

"Lex..." Tobin said quietly, still sitting on the grass, holding a bag of ice to her head.

Alex knelt down next to her. "Yeah?"

"I can't be hurt. I have to play on this tour." Tobin mumbled, and Alex noticed her eyes getting watery.

"Tobs, don't cry," the forward wrapped her arms around the midfielder. "You'll get your 100 caps, I promise."

"Alright, everyone, we're going to continue the scrimmage. Chalupny, you're in for Tobin." Jill yelled as everyone got back into position. Alex helped Tobin up and they walked off the field. Tobin sat down on the bench and Alex handed her a water bottle. Tobin thanked her softly.

"Hey, kid," Alex tapped Tobin's shoulder.

The tan midfielder looked up and her big brown eyes met Alex's, which glistened in blue.

"I love you. I'm here for you." Alex said, and jogged back onto the pitch.

Tobin sat quietly, holding the ice against her head and watching her teammates, her best friends.

Everything was going to be okay. This was her dream, it had been her dream forever. They won a world cup. She scored a goal in the world cup final. She was in love with her best friend, and her best friend loved her back. This was a perfect year. Some ups and downs, but overall, the best year of Tobin's life. A concussion wasn't going to keep her away for long. Two games. Two more games, and she'd have her hundredth cap with the national team.

"You're out for at least eight of the ten games. At least. We'll see how you're feeling. I'm sorry, Tobin."