The Recruit

You Will

Tobin woke up a few minutes before her alarm went off. She looked down at her girlfriend sleeping soundly in her arms. She leaned down and kissed her head gently before reaching across her to shut off the alarm so it didn't startle her awake.

"Baby girl" Tobin said softly kissing Alex on the head again. Alex stirred a bit before opening her eyes. "There she is...good morning beautiful"

"Mmm, good morning" Alex replied tiredly. She leaned up and kissed Tobin's cheek before nuzzling herself back into her chest. "I could really get used to waking up like this every morning."

"So could I baby, your morning voice is the cutest think I've ever heard" Tobin smiled.

"Shut up!" Alex blushed. "When do we have to get up?"

"Umm...now." Tobin laughed sliding herself out from underneath Alex. Alex groaned at the loss of contact. "You wouldn't want to be late for your first game now would you?" Tobin rebutted Alex's groans.

"You're right." Alex jumped up and grabbed her clothes rushing past Tobin and into the bathroom first.

"Really??" Tobin complained from outside the door. She laughed at her girlfriend before turning around and getting changed into her warm up gear. She pulled out her headphones and wrapped them around her neck. She was scrolling through her pre-game playlist when Alex came out of the bathroom.

"Well?" Alex sighed nervously. "How do I look?" Tobin turned around to see her girlfriend standing nervously in her new USWNT warm up gear. Tobin smiled and stood up, wrapping Alex in her arms.

"You look..." Tobin leaned in and kissed Alex's deeply. "Exactly like the rest of the team" Tobin joked, earning herself a punch in the arm from Alex. "OW! I'm only kidding! You look amazing baby girl, the gear suits you perfectly." Tobin smirked, giving Alex one more kiss. The couple double checked their packs to make sure they had all their gear. Tobin had the same ritual every game day. She always had to touch every bit of gear she needed for that game. "Socks, shin guards, cleats, compression shorts" Tobin whispered to herself not realizing Alex was watching her. She zipped up her pack and put it on. "Ready ba..." Tobin was surprised when she turned around and Alex was staring back at her smiling. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing" Alex smiled. "I just think it's really cute how you prepare for games." Tobin blushed a little.

"I never really notice that I'm doing it, it's just force of habit i suppose" She leaned in and left a lingering kiss on Alex's cheek. "We've gotta go." The two made their way down to the lobby. Alex's nerves were getting the better of her so she held tightly on to Tobin's arm. Tobin knew Alex was nervous so she stopped right before the lobby. She stood there silently and let Alex sigh out her nerves. She gave Tobin's arm on last squeeze and let go. The pair entered the lobby and were greeted by their team.

"Abby. Head count?" Pia questioned.

"Everyone's accounted for, Coach."

"Alright ladies, game time!" Pia called out and the girls immediately filed out of the lobby to the bus. The team got to the field and headed for the locker room to suit up. Alex walked into the locker room timidly and looked around. All the jerseys were hung up in different lockers. Everyone began finding their's to start changing. Alex was scanning the room looking for hers.

"Hey superstar!" she heard a familiar voice call out. She turned to see Tobin standing in front of a locker. Alex looked and saw Tobin's jersey hanging in the locker next to where she was standing. "I think I found what you're looking for." She stepped to the side and Alex's eyes lit up.

There it was. MORGAN. 13. A perfectly pressed, brand new uniform. Her uniform. Right next to her girlfriend's. It was so perfect the forward got chills. She took in the moment for a minute longer before getting herself dressed and ready to go. The team filed out of the locker room and onto the field for warm ups. It was almost game time. Alex wasn't starting and although she was disappointed about it she figured that she wasn't going to since she was the new girl. The game seemed to go on forever. All she wanted was to get out their and play. But at the same time she loved seeing her girl do what she does best. Tobin had the most flawless footwork Alex had ever seen. Watching her play put Alex in a trance at times. She couldn't look away. She was watching intently when a voice broke her concentration.

"Morgan!!" Alex looked up to see Pia staring at her. Pia smiled and waved the forward over. "You're in!!" Alex's stomach dropped. She didn't think that she would get playing time as quickly as she did. She stood up, stripped her pinny off and waited midfield. She stretched her legs and took a few hops before it was time. This is it. Sydney Leroux met her and brought her in for a hug.

"Go get 'em, newbie!" She said giving her a pat on the back. Alex took off and got herself into position. She quickly searched the field for Tobin. She spotted her and the butterflies intensified. Tobin flashed her a wink and motioned for her to take a deep breath and relax. Alex closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath.

BEEEEEEEEEEP!!

Alex was jolted from her trance and the game continued. Alex was keeping up with the other team really well. She wasn't missing passes or fumbling the ball. She was looking on top of her game. Then it was time. Corner kick. This was her opportunity to put one in the back of the neck. Rapinoe lined the ball up and raised her hand. Alex was swaying in her position completely focused on the ball. Meagan gave a perfect corner and it was heading right for Alex. She leapt as high as she could, over the defender, and her head connected with the ball. Alex fell over the defender and hit the ground, she quickly looked up to follow her shot but watched it sail over the top of the goal. Disappointed, she laid there for a few seconds to catch her breath before she heard her favorite sound.

"Nice try, superstar." Alex opened her eyes to see her girlfriend standing over her with her hand stretched out for her to take. Alex immediately relax. She reached up and grabbed the midfielder's hand. Tobin helped Alex to her feet, grabbed her jersey at the small of her back and pulled her in close. "Next time, don't jump as high and that ball's in the back of the net. You're not superman, you're a soccer player. An amazing one at that. Breathe baby, you got this." Tobin's advice and encouragement warmed Alex's heart. Her face lit up and she was ready to get back in it and try again. The game continued, halftime came and went and Alex was still in the game. She thought for sure that she would have only gotten a few minutes of play time but Pia must have liked what she was seeing because Alex had played pretty much the entire game at that point. There was only about 6 minutes left in regulation time. The US was up 4-0 but Alex hadn't come close to scoring since the corner kick and it was weighing on her. Tobin could tell.

Tobin ran up behind Alex before a throw in. "Get to the goal." 

"What?? Tobin I can't" Alex panicked quickly. 

"You will, Alex!" She gave her a shove towards the goal and Alex took off. "AYE! AYE!" Tobin shouted to catch Kelley's attention. Kelley turned and hurled the ball towards Tobin. With a one touch settle and some quick footwork Tobin was on a breakaway. She looked up to see Alex already at the goal. "STAY ON SIDE!!!" Tobin shouted as she gave the ball a hard boot in Alex's direction. Alex froze for a second to make sure not to get call off sides. She watched the ball sail towards her and she knew this was it. She glanced down to check her defenders and the goalie's placement and just as the ball was falling she leapt, slightly higher than the defenders but not too high and connected with the ball. This time she landed on her feet and watched as the ball sailed into the upper left corner of the net, just past the goalie's reach and just as regulation time came to an end. The team was in uproar. Tobin sprinted as fast as she could towards Alex who was already running towards her. Alex jumped into Tobin's arms.

"I DID IT!!" Alex screamed into Tobin's ear. The rest of the team made it to the pair and all gave Alex her well deserved congratulations. The group separated and headed for the bench.

"That was incredible babe. I knew you could do it." Tobin smiled wide giving Alex's hand a subtle squeeze.

"I only did it because you believed in me and you set me up." Alex reassured Tobin that she couldn't have done it without her.

"We are so celebrating tonight" Tobin smirked.

"HELL YES WE ARE!!!" The two heard Kelley scream as they got to the bench. "I'M BUYING THE FIRST ROUND TONIGHT LADIES!!" Kelley added which received an applause along with some hoots and hollers from the team.

"I guess we're going out tonight" Alex giggled. As she bent down to grab her bag she whispered in Tobin's ear "I hope you know how to dance, Heath." She left a soft kiss on Tobin's cheek sending a shiver down the midfielder's spine.

"I don't dance" Tobin smirked back thinking she'd get out of having to even go out at all.

"Oh" Alex chuckled and ran her hand across Tobin's back as she stood up. "You will, Tobin."