USWNT Oneshots

Coming Back

For harliuswnt28, who posted the following comment on Still Hurting: "It's still amazing, I'm just sad Thalia and Tobin aren't together....." Hopefully this makes you feel better, bro.

Tobin's P.O.V.

I arrived at camp to a familiar scene. A rustic lodge surrounded by mountains and forests, with girls passing soccer balls around on a pitch. But there was one girl who I didn't see. "Where's Thalia?" I asked. "Dunno." Cheney said. "Maybe she wasn't invited back. Why don't you go ask Coach?" "Good idea." I said. I found our coach, Jill Ellis, in a conference room. "Hello, Tobin." Jill said. "What can I do for you?" "Coach, was Thalia invited back this year?" I asked. "Yes, but she informed me that she was retiring from the national team." the word hit me like a physical punch to the gut. "Retiring?" I asked. Jill nodded. "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't know until a few weeks ago, when I called her." she said. "That means she didn't sign the papers." I said hopefully. "Maybe she's coming back!" Jill shook her head. "She seemed pretty adamant that she wasn't coming back." she said. "But if we need her, I'll send someone to try and convince her."

Hope's P.O.V.

A few weeks into camp, it was obvious that we weren't in Olympic shape, and we wouldn't be. Our game was sloppy and uncoordinated, and everyone knew why: Thalia wasn't there. "Hope, I need you to go back to Colorado and try to convince Thalia to come back." Jill told me. "Alright." I said. "I'll try, but it probably won't work." I boarded a plane to Denver, and took the train to Breckenridge. Here goes nothing.

Thalia's P.O.V.

There was a knock on the door. Abby was doing stuff upstairs, so I answered it. Hope was standing there on the doorstep. "Hey, kiddo." she said. "Hey, Hope." I said. "How's camp going?" "About camp." Hope said. "We need to talk. Come on, let's go to Table Lookout." we walked up the trail behind the house. "So, you never answered my question." I said. "How's camp going?" "It's going." Hope said. "It's going into the abyss. We're nowhere near Olympic shape, and at this rate, we won't be in shape in time for the Olympics. The team as a whole plays like a cow on crutches. We need you back." I shook my head. "I can't." I said. "I retired from the team." "You never signed the papers." Hope said. "You can come back anytime you want." "Hope, I can't go back." I said. "She's still there." "You don't have to room with Tobin." Hope said. "Carli and I share a bed, so there's an extra in our room that you can use. If, by some miracle, you and Tobin do make up during camp, you can room with her again, but you don't have to." I sighed. "Fine. I'll go back." I said. "Good." Hope said. We walked back to the house, and I started packing. "Whatcha up to?" Abby asked. "I'm going back to the team." I said. Abby's face broke out into a wide smile. "Good." she said. "Get out of here! Go play soccer!" Hope and I took a plane back to New York, and arrived at the Lodge in time for dinner. "Look who I've got, guys!" Hope said, pushing me into the dining room. The whole team gave me a group hug. Everyone except Tobin. We made eye contact, and she gave me a slight nod and a hint of a smile before I looked away. We sat down to eat. "Hey, chica." Arod said. "We need to have a chat. You, me, Cheney, and Alex. Let's take a walk." "Curfew's at ten." Carli reminded us. "Got it, Abby." I said rolling my eyes. Arod, Cheney, Alex, and I walked down to the pitch and sat down in the center circle. "So what do you need to talk to me about?" I asked. Cheney grabbed my shoulders, looking me in the eye. "You need to let Tobin apologize, sweetie." she said. "It's tearing her apart. She really is sorry, and you won't hear her out." "Alex, you know why I can't do this." I said. "We're not asking you to give her a second chance, Thalia." Alex said. "We're just asking you to let her apologize." "She's lost interest in everything." Arod said. "She doesn't juggle or do tricks anymore, and her movements on the field are halfhearted. We want our old Tobin back." "I'll think about it." I said. "We'd better get back, or Coach will have our heads." we walked back up to the Lodge and I went to Hope and Carli's room, changed, and got in bed. I tossed and turned, thinking about the conversation I'd just had. Cheney and Arod's words kept going through my head. It's tearing her apart. She's lost interest in everything. She really is sorry. We want our old Tobin back. I got up from the bed, put my phone in my pocket, and walked purposefully towards the door. "Where are you going, kiddo?" Hope asked sleepily. "I need to go do something." I said. "You're aware that it's past curfew, right?" Hope asked. "Yeah." I said. "Alright." Hope said. "They're your muscles." I walked out the door and crept along the hallways until I reached Tobin's room. I knocked on the door, and Tobin opened it, looking sleepy. "What do you need?" she asked. "Oh. Thalia. What are you doing here?" "We need to talk." I said. "Let's go inside. I don't wanna get caught by Jill." We walked into the room and sat down on one of the beds. "So you're finally going to let me apologize?" Tobin asked. "Yeah." I said. Tobin took my hands and looked into my eyes. "Thalia, I'm sorry." she said. "It was a stupid move to leave you for Cameron. I regretted it as soon as I did it. Can you forgive me and give me a second chance?" "I can forgive you, Tobin." I said. "But if I give you a second chance, can you promise you won't hurt me again?" "I can't promise that my actions won't hurt you, but I can promise to try my best not to let them." Tobin said. "That's all I can ask." I said. "I never stopped loving you, Tobin." "And I never stopped loving you." Tobin said. She wrapped her arms around me, and our lips met for the first time in three years. "I love you, baby girl." Tobin said. "I love you too, Tobin." I said.