Two weeks later

Megan sits down next to Lindsey, who looks exhausted.

Their training sessions are doing great, and that probably is the only thing doing great : nobody has heard of Abby for two weeks, Julie is in the O.R. again because of the baby, probably delivering pretty soon, Kop and Maro are running an open war to win her back, and while everybody is trying to build their lives again, Megan can't help but be haunted by Kailen's memory.

But today, she knew something was wrong with Lindsey, because the brunette usually is smiling and making people laugh ; today, on the other hand, she just was quiet and looking at the ground the whole time.

"Linds" Megan whispers, before touching Lindsey's arm on purpose, trying to reassure her. When she lifts her beautiful eyes toward her, the blonde adds : "You can talk to me, you know that."

Lindsey nods.

But the words don't come out of her mouth. But her thoughts, on the other hands, are pretty active : You just lost your girlfriend, how could I even complain about having to keep the people of that team together ? We don't deserve that. Steph and Abby don't deserve that, especially because now that everybody knows she's Hope's daughter, they're judging her. And where the fuck is Harris ? Nothing is right. Lindsey sighs. And we're not even talking about how devastated Kristie is because the first right girl for her she found is on a coma and not waking up. How bad is that ?

Instead of saying all this, she only lets out a humble 'Mmh' and stares at her feet.

Megan, who knows that the middy is obviously lying, puts her arm around her shoulders, before her chin finds shelter in between Lindsey's neck and shoulder. The brunette shivers, and Megan feels it, but doesn't say anything.

"We're going to be okay, I swear."

Lindsey frowns.

"You shouldn't be the one saying that... You lost someone... Me ? My friend just escaped the haters. I don't have the right to-"

"Linds" Megan interrupts her, angry. "We're not counting the level of pain here. It's about how strong you are to keep us all together, that's it. So now, you'll stop making up excuses, let it all go for a moment, and then go back to Steph because she needs her friends right now and Kristie is not here."

The middy sets her jaw.

"You're right. Sor-"

"Don't you dare apologizing !" the blonde exclaims, and that makes both of them laugh.

Until Lindsey's laugh turns into a quiet crying. But when she feels somebody watching them and turns around, her smile is immediately back on her lips ; Allie and Tobin are here, their arms wide open.

The brunette has not been that happy in months.

*

This week, all NWSL players have an off-week because of the international games coming up soon. So in order to show their support to the college teams, a lot of players came back to UCLA and Stanford.

And right now, most of them are in the hospital to support not only Julie, but also Zach - who is about to be a (worried) dad - and Becky, who is freaking out at the moment. There of course is Shelina, here to support her girlfriend and one of her dearest friend in Kop - who is obviously scared to lose Julie because of Maro's comeback - and then Kelsey and Kealia because they want to be here for their former teammates. On Stanford's side, and beside the Canadian, Christen and Pinoe showed up, but when to their former campus immediately.

Having old teammates around is oddly reassuring, and hearing them talk about their professional experience only bring more excitement and motivation to everybody. But in the hospital, at the moment, things are quite tensed.

"She will have the baby today"

The three of Zach, Kop and Maro get up in the same time, as the doctor nods his head before exiting the room. The goalie immediately sits back down next to Shelina, who is lost in her thoughts.

The German, on the other hand, is still standing.

"Back off" Shelina hisses, catching the death glare Maro is throwing at Kop. As the German frowns, she adds : "We don't need World War III in a hospital."

Kop, who is under stressful feelings for the past three weeks, starts agitating herself a little bit, and Kelsey has to canalize her.

"We German are peaceful" Maro fires back in a harsh tone.

"Say that to Hitler, bitch" Kop lets out under her breath.

That immediately pisses Maro off.

"I'm sorry, but coming from a girl that has Trump as a president, it's not really clever" she lets out in a despising tone. "I shouldn't be surprised tho : you stole my girl while I was away."

This time, Kop gets on her feet, and so does Shelina, just by precaution. Kelsey places herself in the middle of it, preventing the fight from starting.

But Kop will not remain silent.

"First of all, I didn't steal anyone's girl, okay ? You left to fucking Wolfsburg, you guys are an ocean apart. Second : I don't think Julie needs this drama. She's about to give birth to her baby girl."

There is a meaningful silence, before Kop says :

"I love her too much to make her suffer with useless things" Her voice breaks a little bit, as she adds : "She's all yours, I'm out."

Before anybody can say anything, the goalkeeper exits the room in a rush, tears in her eyes. Everybody is in such a state of shock - even Maro, who looks troubled - that there is no motion for at least thirty seconds, before everybody sit back down.

That was a real proof of love.

*

Saying that Steph is a mess is an understatement.

Those last two weeks, she spent them either studying, or crying because she has an awful feeling about her girlfriend leaving. Not knowing if that note was or wasn't a breakup note or not, she is truly wounded : how is she supposed to keep on living without the only person that made life acceptable for her ?

As she is crawling on her bed, she sends maybe the hundredth vocal message, trying to hold her tears back.

"Hey baby girl, it's Steph. You must know that by now" she starts with a nervous laugh. "I miss you, so, so much. Even blue skies have become grey, and it's only been two weeks. Everyday I wish you were here, holding me tight just like during the thunder storms you love so much. I don't know where you are now, but here the weather is shitty. At least some former teammates of ours are back. Everybody is worried about you babe.

"Mhm... Maybe I could fill you in ? Yeah, let's do that, because telling you how much I miss you is becoming pathetic. So... Julie is having her baby as we speak, and it's quite fun because there's a battle... Did you know Maro is back ? Anyway, Zach is a good guy, so I'm happy for them, even though it wasn't planned... Oh, and you were right : Jessie and Mal totally are together. I mean, they're eye-fucking each other all the time.

"Kassey's still in the hospital, and Kristie is so sad... I didn't know she loved her, and even though she is trying to deny it... well, eyes don't lie. I wear the bracelet you offered me last year every single day. I'm glad you took your swan neck-brace with you, because otherwise I'd have just looked like an idiot. So thank you, I guess.

"Look, I need to go. Take all the time you need, but please at least tell me you're alive. My soul is empty when you're not here, Abby. I wish we could turn back time so that I could've told you that I don't care who your parents are : I love you. So... yeah, bye."

Little does Steph know that on the other side of the phone, Abby is crying too.