Cody's POV- May 2017

I quietly made my way inside the charter bus and began looking for an empty seat in the front. The back of the bus was for the veterans and I was not that. I had been with the Dodgers for less than a month now since my call up on April 25th. AT&T park held a special place in my heart, it was where I made my MLB debut, so it was nice to be back in SF. It's crazy how life worked considering I started the season in the minors, and now here I was. I was only here until the guys on the disabled list got better though, and I was going to take advantage of the situation.

"Morning Belli"

"Morning Doc" I greeted.

Our team manager Dave Roberts offered me a smile before turing his attention back to the notebook he was holding. I took a seat two rows behind him and leaned back. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes.

"Hey Belli"

I opened my eyes and glanced up to see Joc, one of my teammates looking at me. He was also my roommate, and I honestly couldn't understand how he was so full of energy considering he slept less than me.

"Has anyone called you?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"No, why?" I wondered.

"No reason"

And just like that he made his way down the bus to his seat. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and looked at the screen. Who would call me?

"Cody"

I looked away from my phone to see a grinning Adrian Gonzalez.

"Hey" I greeted.

"Has anyone called you?"

"Who would call me?" I questioned.

He smiled and I realized what was going on.

"You did not" I stated.

"I didn't, Joc did"

I turned around to see Joc give me two thumbs up.

"We gave Maia your number"

Dr. Mendes (or Maia as many referred to her as) was the 'unofficial' team surgeon. The guys happened to find out that I had a small 'crush' on her daughter, Madeline who played Softball for the Florida Gators.

"She'll call"

Explanation time! So about two seasons ago, an old teammate happened to be talking with a girl from Alabama's softball team. The Crimson Tide happened to face the Gators in the Championship series. Florida dominated the game and blanked them 5-0. A double play initiated by the Florida's first baseman, Madeline Martinez caught my attention. It was the bottom of the seventh inning, and Alabama had one girl on first base. The girl at base hit the ball, and it was going towards left field when she jumped up and caught the ball. She threw it to her teammate at second base who threw it back at her to get both girls out. As the camera zoomed in on her she mouthed, 'you got this' to her pitcher. They showed a clip of the same pitcher striking out a girl two games ago to end an inning, and the camera zoomed in on the catcher who smiled and mouthed, 'one more'. That girl was the same girl who was currently at first base. The commentators explained that although her natural position was catching, she could play any position (except pitcher) in the infield. Their coach had decided to be spontaneous and changed up the line up. She was switched from Catcher to First Base. Apparently, the pitcher had not been comfortable about the change. They went on to win their first National Title the following game, winning 6-3. What started off as a simple crush turned into more when I got to meet her during last year's Spring Training. I was introduced to her after my turn in BP. She was taller than I imagined, and her eyes were much more prettier than I though. It was a brief introduction, but it was enough to make me want to know more about her.

"Hey Belli"

My head snapped toward Kike who raised an eyebrow.

"You ok? You look like you're about to throw up"

I nodded at him unable to talk.

"Alright guys, take a seat"

Just as he walked away, my phone started ringing. I looked down at my phone in my hand and saw it was a number I didn't recognize. Taking a deep breath, I answered the call hoping it was an operator that would tell me I had won a trip on a cruise.

"Hello?" I said.

There was a light pause.

"Hi, is this Cody"

I felt my eyes go wide and my mouth drop as I recognized the voice of the person on the line.

"Who is this?" I asked.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. Why would I ask that if I already knew.

"You don't know me, but my mom gave me your number. I'm Madeline, Maia's daughter"

I looked up when I noticed the bus had gotten incredibly quiet. All eyes were currently on me, and Joc was making his way over.

"So is this Cody?"

I cleared my throat.

"This is Cody" I replied.

She sighed.

"Ok good that would have been weird if you weren't"

I found myself chuckling to what she had just said.

"So how are you?"

"Tired" I admitted.

"Well that sucks"

I glanced up and frowned at Joc.

"Yeah, Joc is a shitty roommate" I told her.

She laughed.

"Yeah, why is that?"

"He likes waking me up early" I replied.

I enjoyed my sleep, Joc did not. He didn't understand that I needed at least 8 hours of sleep to function properly.

"He falls asleep late as well" I added.

"You're right, he is a shitty roommate"

The bus started moving.

"Joc, sit down"

I stretched my leg out on the other seat eating a frown from Joc. He took a seat in the row behind me and I leaned away from him, so he couldn't hear the conversation.

"Are you in a bus?"

"Yeah, we have a game in about an hour" I replied.

"You guys have an early game today then"

"Yup, at 12:45" I told her.

She hummed.

"Are you back in Florida?" I asked.

"I am, I got back last night. I had practice this morning"

I nodded.

"Your mom mentioned you were visiting her for Mother's day" I explained.

"It was nice being home"

I knew that, her mom had been bummed out about the team being on the road. Dr. Mendes really wanted me to meet her daughter, telling me that Maddy would 'adore me'. Apparently Madeline was single, and not seeing anyone.

"So when is your next game?" I questioned.

"Ah, so you know I play softball"

"I do" I confirmed.

"It's actually on Friday"

"What time?" I asked.

"The game is 2:30PM"

"Eastern time?" I wondered.

Time zones.

"Yes, so 11:30AM Pacific"

"I'll see if I can watch it" I replied.

"That's very kind of you. Po-"

I raised an eyebrow as I heard cat hisses followed by actual cat cries.

"Everything alright over there?" I asked.

She laughed.

"Yeah, my kitten and my roommate's kitten are stuck behind the couch"

I heard shuffling followed by a light meow.

"Hey boy, are you stuck?"

A light meow was heard.

"You know you don't fit back here anymore"

I glanced up as the bus came to a complete stop. The once quiet bus suddenly got incredibly loud as everyone began getting their stuff.

"You have a kitten" I said.

"I do, an orange tabby"

"What's his name?" I questioned.

"Poppy"

"Like the flower" I told her.

"Yeah, the California Poppy"

"I figured, you said orange" I replied.

"Belli, let's go"

I nodded and stood up.

"You should get ready for the game"

"Yeah, can I call you back later?" I asked.

"Of course you can, just remember the time difference"

I chuckled.

"I will" I promised.

"Alright well it was nice to talk with you Cody"

"You too Madeline" I told her.

"Call me Maddy"

I nodded.

"Ok, Maddy" I said.

"Ok, well you go prep for that game"

"Will you be watching?" I wondered.

"Sadly I will not, my roommate is a big Giants fan and it's prohibited in the house"

I found myself chuckling to her response.

"I see" I noted.

I cleared my throat.

"Bye now"

"Bye" I said.

I took a deep breath and smiled. Today was going to be a good day.