Let her go

Ali

Maybe Ali didn't understand. She wasn't as close to Karima as everyone else.

But she was the first person she met.

"Describe yourself in three words." Ali asked Karima.
The rookie frowned. "Anxious, nervous and terrified."

Ali felt like a mom, seeing Karima blossom from a shy caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly. Maybe her and Ash didn't have a kids but Karima felt like her daughter.

So maybe that explained the hurt. Ali tried to continue on with life, to not let others see past her guard she had to construct so quickly.

Today was very big though. Krashlyn were in the process of adopting a child.
It was long and nerve racking and many times, Ali thought about pulling out.
Yet her second thoughts were triumphed by how much her wife wanted a kid. A child to call her own and raise up.

So they were at the centre. And the woman had their child, softly sleeping in her arms.
She passed the kid to Ash who was now cradling their bundle of joy.
Ali didn't look at her kid, didn't register an emotion of her face when the paperwork was signed.
Ash knew something was wrong.

So upon arrival, after putting their little one to bed, Ash confronted her spouse.
"What's wrong?" She frowned. "Ali, I thought you wanted her."
Ali averted eye contact. "I do." She then added quietly, "This is nothing to do with her."
Ash raised an eyebrow. "You're right. This has nothing to do with her."
She sat down at the table. "It's to do with Karima."
Upon hearing the name, Ali lurched back, thinking for a moment, her organs were going to tumble out her system.

The former goalkeeper wasn't fazed. "Why have you been avoiding this? Like the plague?"
Ali gulped. "I've been avoiding nothing."
The lie couldn't scare of Harris, who softly grabbed her hand. "This is about a new beginning...yes? The only thing I ever heard you say about her passing was that everyone needed to move on, start afresh. So why are you still holding on?"

Ali tried to shrug it off. "I'm not suffering as bad as other people."
"You are."
"Are not."
Ash held her hands up in surrender. "Fine, but I'm not going to watch my wife mope around my kid."
Her face then softened. "She doesn't have a name..."
"Ashlyn!"
"What?"
"No! Are you insane! We're not going to name her after our deceased teammate! Let her rest in peace! We're going to get mad at this child-every parent gets mad at their own...and I don't want to ever use her name against her."

Ash nodded. "That's fair enough. I'm sorry Ali..."
"No..." Ali was shaking her head now. "I don't want to hear apologies. I just want to turn over a new page."
The couple were then disrupted by soft cries from upstairs.

They arrived at the cot where they saw the tot peacefully sleeping, the dark curls flopping onto her forehead.
Then the kid opened its eyes. Big, hazel eyes that reminded Ali of someone. And an adorable smile.
That reminded Ali of the same person.

Her name was Karima Mendoza.
And they needed to let her go.

Authors Note: Well...that's it! The trilogy has been completed and with a heavy heart, I've go to let Karima go (look at me being a mess over a fictional character lol) . Thanks to everyone that supported this series, I could've never have done with without you ALL. So in the mean time...you can comment any ideas! Also massive thanks to Itswooolf as I got inspiration from "26" for this final part!