Road to the Start

1

London 2012 - Olympic Semifinal - USA vs Canada

"OH IT'S IN! ALEX MORGAN HAS DONE IT! BARELY THIRTY SECONDS TO GO! 4-3 TO THE UNITED STATES!'

As some of the team celebrated Alex's last second goal, Kelley and Tobin fell to the ground in a hug of their own.

"We're going to the final!" the defender exclaimed.

"We're going to the final!" Tobin repeated, not quite believing what she just saw.

"Alex did it! We're going to the final!"

Kelley smiled widely. "Come on! We can't let them have all the fun!" she yelled excitedly, pulling the midfielder to a standing position. The two ran over to where the rest of the team was celebrating, Alex still in the middle of the huddle.

They pushed through the group of teammates and both wrapped the forward in a joint hug.

"Baby horse that was amazing!" Kelley shouted over their teammates.

"Yeah, Alex, that was the coolest header I've ever seen!" Tobin added.

The younger player smiled at the two. "Thanks guys, but it was nothing, really. It's HAO you should be thanking. Did you see that cross? It was fantastic!" she deflected.

"Dude, we're going to the final because of you!" Kelley exclaimed, grabbing the forward's arms and shaking her slightly.

"Okay, okay, it was a pretty sick goal," Alex conceded.

"Come on, Lex, let's go celebrate!" Tobin yelled, wrapping her arm around Alex's neck and walking to where the team had gathered in the center of the field.

A weird feeling suddenly overcame Kelley, but it wasn't one of jealousy. Abandonment? Loneliness, maybe?

A pair of arms suddenly grabbed her from behind.

"You okay?" Hope asked, one brow raised in question.

The defender nodded, pushing down the weird feeling. "Yeah. I just can't believe we're going to the final!" she shouted.

The keeper grinned. "Hell yeah we are!" she agreed. "Alex's goal was amazing! I was worried we would have to go to penalties."

"But we're going to the final!" Kelley repeated. "We're gonna get that gold medal, I can feel it," she stated seriously. She looked over to where Tobin and Alex were talking and hugging with teammates, and her smile turned into a slight frown.

"Yeah we are," Hope replied. The keeper followed Kelley's gaze, spotting the midfielder and forward. "Come on, let's go join the team," she suggested, pulling the defender with her towards the group.

Hope wasn't sure what was going on with the trio, but she figured keeping Kelley distracted would be for the best right now.

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London 2012 - Olympic Final - USA vs Japan

They won.

Carli scores two goals, and it's over.

2-1 and the US wins their fourth Olympic gold and redemption from the World Cup.

Kelley runs to join Tobin and Alex in celebrating, but notices the two in an emotional embrace. That weird feeling from after the semi-final makes it way through her again, and she brushes it off, running to celebrate with Hope instead.

"We did it!" the defender shouts ecstatically, latching on to the keeper tightly.

Hope looks down at the shorter woman, a massive and bright smile on her face. "We did it!" she repeated. "We won!"