Work Text:
December 14th
“Why do I do this to myself?” Lindsay whined from her spot on the zoom room. “I’m so hungry!”
Sonnett rolled her eyes. “Just cause it is Christmas dinner doesn’t mean you don’t eat lunch. You complain every year, no one cares anymore about your stupidity.”
“At least everyone is on time most years.” Lindsay grumbled.
Ali just scoffed. “The certainty of our Christmas dinners are these. Kelley is wearing sweats, Mal leaves her phone somewhere and panics, Rose laughs so hard she falls off her chair, Pinoe chugs a glass of wine, Alex is late, and you complain about being hungry. This year is no different, even if we aren’t together.” The resolution on the screen was crap, but everyone knew there were sly smiles all around.
“Hey! I’m here!” Alex called from the corner of the screen. She was rocking baby Charlie softly, hoping she dropped off to sleep. She was tucked away with Serv in England, enjoying their time before they returned to the states.
“Oh. Sorry Al.” Ali frowned. “Who is late then?”
“Christen and Tobin and their kiddos. Which is weird to say actually.” Sam chuckled with Rose next to her. “Those two are always early to this, they love the catchup and seeing everyone. They set the zoom calls up. They are so busy with Re and their family and everything, they had this one marked in their calendar from August to make sure Miss CEO didn’t book a meeting.”
“This year has been different for them. Busier, bigger, harder than most. Moving overseas with kids so Chris could get playing again even while Tobin is out, them both having their rights traded, all on top of the pandemic.” Ash said with a small smile. “I think we can give them a bit of leeway about being a bit late. Getting the four of them here is a task.”
“It’s a computer Ash. Is it that hard to log on?” Abby grumbled before she looked up at the group apologetically. “Sorry, that was mean. It’s like 3am here and I am going to be eating cereal while you guys have roasts. I’m hungry and tired.”
“Has anyone heard from them lately?” Alex asked. “Megan?”
The group turned to Pinoe who was sitting with Sue. She shrugged. “Yes and no. If it has something to do with Re, they are focused and there. Anything personal, I haven’t heard an update really for months. They use the time difference as an excuse, but I think they are still finding their feet with Hugh and Oz. And Tobin being in England and not playing is probably driving them mad.”
“I still can’t believe she retired after She Believes.” Crystal murmured. “At least internationally. She never gives a straight answer about club. I know her back was fucked up after the tackle, but she breathes soccer.”
“She had two back injuries in two years. She lost most of the ’18 season, and even though none of us played this year, she struggled getting out of bed for months.” Pinoe explained. “Her body has been yelling at her for a while. She decided to listen.”
The group was quiet, thinking back the final of the Cup which had them lift the trophy and farewell a legend. Tobin had injured her back in the first game and couldn’t pick up either of her kids. It terrified her and really put everything in perspective for her. She needed her kids and her wife, and soccer was six months away if she wanted to get back. Tobin decided she needed more time to make that decision and stepped away from international soccer and refusing to comment about her NWSL future. She signed with Manchester at the same time as Christen, and was going through her rehab with the squad, but had yet to make an appearance in the team. They were all in the dark as to her progress.
Mal spoke up, breaking the tension and silence. “I still speak to Chris once a week. It isn’t like it was, but she is still Chris. Just stressed and guarded, I guess. She did say they were logging on. All of them.”
“Give them 20 minutes. We’ll call them then.” Becky said with authority.
“YES CAPTAIN!” Sonnett and Rose called out.
“But I’m hungry!”
“Go complain to the kids!”
“I AM IN QUARANTINE! I HAVEN’T EVEN GOT FERGY TO COMPLAIN TO!”
“Tobin honey? You ready?” Chris called up the hallway of their Manchester apartment.
The sound of retching responded and Christen cringed before turning to her boys. “Play with your toys, I’m gonna check on Mama. Then we can call the group.”
Hugh and Oz just ran to their toy corner and got straight back into their imaginary play world while Christen thought about how their boys came to be with them. The boys had been adopted by the couple when they were 2 years and 13 months old. Tobin and Christen had been together since 2013 and married in 2015 after the World Cup. Both wanted to start a family but knew that carrying kids wasn’t for them at that time. It took them a few years to get registered as foster parents and they had many hoops to jump through, but eventually they got to the end of an arduous legal process. That then led to a lot of waiting, some emergency placements and a lot of interviews before the brothers were placed with them in early 2018. Hugh and Oz, born Houston and Austin, had been placed in their care and were thriving.
Tobin was injured and living in Utah in early 2018. Her back had been causing her problems for most of her career but a heavy knock in an international match late in 2017 had wiped out most of her preseason and then season. The Thorns were pushing her to return to be a figurehead and social media star, but Tobin had gone through US Soccer and had her treatment cleared to be done in Utah, giving the Thorns no leg to stand on. It was a blessing as the foster placement wouldn’t have gone ahead if Christen had been in Utah alone.
Christen shook herself free of thinking of the only injury both women had ever been glad for and walked down to the bathroom. She found her wife looking grim. “Has it passed?”
Tobin shrugged. “I have no idea. Hugh passed this bug on to me and he only had it for a day. Oz had it for 2. This is three days. This better stop soon I swear.” She whined.
Christen knelt down and handed her wife the water that was on the basin. “Just in time for a debut I’m sure.” She joked with a grin.
Tobin just huffed. “Better be.”
“How’s your back? You’ve been hunched in here for a while.”
Tobin sipped the water and leant against the wall. “When do we have to leave for lunch?” She deflected and Christen wisely let it go.
“Whenever you’re ready to go.” Christen assured. “And we aren’t leaving remember? We just have to log onto the computer.”
Tobin looked at her wife lovingly. “We are already late, aren’t we?”
Christen just shrugged. “When they find out why, they’ll understand.”
“Yeah. The kids gave me a stomach bug and I got stuck with my head in a toilet.” Tobin pulled herself off the floor and drank the rest of the glass of water. “Are the boys ready?”
“Yeah. They are in their nicest clothes, ready to spill their pasta down the front.”
Tobin beamed. “That sounds about right.”
Tobin and Christen had Hugh and Oz on their laps when they popped up on the computer screen. The boys waved at all their aunts like they were meant to before they begged off to play and colour in the corner. They watched them go with a grin and a shake of the head.
“Those two are going to be trouble, aren’t they?” Ash joked with a smile.
“They’ve got all of us as role models, so hell yeah!” Pinoe exclaimed. “Where’s the fun in being normal?”
Christen rolled her eyes. “I think they had enough trouble before they came to us that anymore is just not fair. They are going to be good, upstanding kids who change the world.”
“No pressure babe.” Tobin said with a grin. “Stanford alum as well?”
Christen shrugged with a glint in her eye. “Maybe Oxford, who knows?”
The group just laughed at the by-play and their concerns about the couple and how they were going eased just a bit. Tobin still looked a bit ragged, Christen still played out her frustrations on the field, but they did look happy.
The group decided to not jump into the heavy topic until either the second cup of coffee for those in the AM or wine for those in the PM. That was until Tobin suddenly shot back out of her chair and hurried out of view. Sonnett was in the middle of regaling everyone about the shenanigans she had gotten up to in Sweden but stopped suddenly, reacting to the movement. They were all silent and watched as Christen quickly followed Tobin out of view, apologising briefly.
“What’s going on?” Lindsay said quietly. “We all saw that, right?”
The group murmured on the zoom room about what was happening, unsure of what to do. If they had been there, they would have all been down the hall checking on them.
Before anyone could suggest to Rose or Sam to go visit the couple, Hugh and Oz came back to the screen. Hugh’s green eyes were bright behind his new glasses while Oz was smiling at his Aunts. “Mama sick!” Oz said with a smile. “She pukes green!”
The team giggled at his very adorable explanation. “Oh yeah? How long has she been sick boys?” Alex asked.
Oz looked at his brother for the answer and Hugh had a look of intense concentration on his face. He was frowning and looking at his fingers when he suddenly said. “Long time. More than me or Ozzy.”
The team all ‘ahhh-ed’ at that. “You guys had a tummy bug huh?”
Oz nodded, pushing his long curls in front of his eyes. “No fun. Mama no fun now.”
Becky smiled at her honourary nephews and decided to try and get some information out of the kids that their mothers had been unwilling to elaborate on, but in a nice and adorable way that didn’t make her feel like shit. “Has Mama been fun before she got sick?”
Hugh beamed and nodded. “Mama has been the funnest. We play goals and draws and she loves to do the flying game!”
“What’s the flying game?” Pinoe asked.
“Mama zooms us high! And we fly!” Oz explained. “Then cuddles. Always cuddles.”
Before anyone could continue the conversation, Christen came back to the screen. “I’m sorry. Tobin is sorry. She has been sick for a few days, hence why we were a bit late.” Christen took a seat and put her boys on her lap. “She is hoping to be through it soon. The doctor says it’s a normal bug but it is knocking her around. She should be back soon.”
“You could have told us Chris.” Mal said with a small smile.
Christen nodded and smiled ruefully. “Tell that to my wife. She doesn’t want anyone to know she is hurting, or if she is how bad it is. Remember after the World Cup in ’15?”
“When you got married?” Julie asked, confused.
Christen and a few of the others chuckled. Hugh and Oz laughed as well but that was because they were watching Aunty Sam put bunny ears up behind Aunty Rose. “No, about a week after at the celebrations. She said she had cramps during the parade and just pushed us away and kept partying. Turns out, Tobin had appendicitis but didn’t want anyone to know how bad it was. She was lucky it didn’t burst.”
“How is she going?” Kelley asked. “No bullshhhhh- bull. No bull. Just the truth.” She saved.
"Nice save." Christen smiled down at her boys. “Go check on Mama for me please.” The boys scurried away and Christen watched them run. Once they were in the bathroom, she turned back to the group. “She is getting there. Her back is good, she is training again, she is playing with the kids every chance she gets. But she doesn’t want to say that to people and jinx anything. She is worried she will go backwards. Not being able to play with Oz and Hugh really killed her inside. She won’t risk it unless she is sure herself. The doctors have cleared her, she is getting her fitness back to play matches, she just needs to jump that final mental hurdle.”
The team nodded their understanding. “Do you think she is close?” Alex asked.
Christen nodded but turned around when she heard movement behind her. She quickly turned back and whispered to the team. “Watch out for the Boxing Day match.” Christen then turned and looked at Tobin who was carrying both boys in her arms. “How are you going?”
Tobin grimaced. “I’ve been better.” She walked back to her chair and sat down with a small smile. “Sorry girls. Hope I didn’t miss much.”
“Nah. Just that we think that your next kids need to be named Antonio and Dallas to keep with the Texas theme.” Lindsay joked with a straight face. “Nicknames can be Tony and Dally!”
Tobin rolled her eyes. “They only get Hugh and Oz cause they can’t say Houston and Austin yet.”
“But Dallas and Antonio…” Mal started.
Tobin just shook her head and grinned. “You guys are incorrigible.”
Boxing Day Match
Manchester United v Everton
The team zoom was buzzing, waiting for the official team list to be released and they were hoping to see two Press’s on the teamsheet. Christen was starting consistently but Tobin had been in the stands with the boys all season.
“SHE IS ON THE BENCH!” Crystal screeched. “SHE IS BACK!”
In black and white were the words T.PRESS – 77 on the substitutes list. They all quietened down as they listened to the commentators do an introduction for Tobin.
Zoey - ‘Tobin Press is the name everyone has been waiting to see on the Manchester United Team Sheet. She suffered a devastating injury early this year which forced her into International retirement, but she refused to give up on football entirely. The tricky left-footer is one of the greatest to ever lace up the boots and has many achievements to her name. World Cups, Olympic Gold Medals, NWSL championships, MVPs. Many thought this back injury, her second in two years and fourth of her career, was something she wouldn’t come back from. But there she is, warming up in the Manchester United colours. This comeback could be one of her greatest ever achievements.’
Andrea - ‘I agree it could be. When she and Christen Press signed for United, it was very concerning that she had not taken to the field since early this year, and not because of COVID. She and Christen both withdrew from their NWSL teams due to COVID concerns for themselves and their kids, but Christen was able to play if she wanted to. Tobin was not. But she got to the training centre and started rehab again. And the most heart-warming part of it all was that Tobin had multiple goals, one of which was obviously to play again. However, the one that was at the top of her list and her highest priority was to be able to pick her boys up without pain. She got that and she got back to playing. Now, she has a chance to debut on Boxing Day.’
Zoey – ‘I hope she does. She has done the hard work to get back here, she deserves it.’
The team had tears in their eyes, beaming.
Tobin was back.
77th minute – Manchester United 4 – 1 Everton
Off – JAMES 16
On – T. PRESS 77
Tobin jogged onto claps and cheers from her teammates and even her opponents. Her story was one that most knew and to see her back was amazing. Tobin couldn’t keep the smile off her face if she tried and her wife was smiling just as widely from upfront. This is what they had come here for. Both of them being able to play, together. And Tobin got herself there.
The whistle blew to restart play from the kickoff and Tobin immediately got into action. She was running up and down the sideline, getting involved and making plays. She was a bit rusty, a bit slow to react to start with but that would come back. Her mind was as quick as ever and she still played her part. She created chances, she made space and she was back.
The smile didn’t leave her face once.
The final whistle blew, and Tobin jogged straight to her wife and hugged her tight for a second before going to shake hands. They were professionals and never let their relationship out on the field, but the hug after a match was acceptable and something they always did. This one just had a bit more in it.
Tobin grabbed her jacket off the bench once she made it back, spoke to Casey briefly before she looked up into the stands. The boys were up the back with some of the Manchester United staff they loved, and she wanted to get back to them ASAP. She needed her hug.
Christen had already moved up there and was sitting with them in her lap. She was talking to them quietly and they were nodding their understanding before she stood and walked them down the field. She had the gate opened for her and the boys and she watched as the little kids ran towards their Mama with big smiles.
Tobin knelt down and caught them as they hugged her tight. She kissed them both on the temple before she got her grip right and stood up with them both in her arms. Christen came across and the four of them looked across the field, smiling and happy.
They were their together.
Christen was thriving.
Tobin had made it back.
It was their Christmas Miracle.