Chapter 3 - Team

Gabi's POV

Troy hurled the ball towards home plate his velocity and his accuracy not effected by the pain he was experiencing in his left shoulder. He struke the batter out causing Grey and Makenli to cheer with enthusiasm. Adalyn and Piper were quietly playing with each other while I lifted my eyes to see Casen standing in the outfield. Britt was talking to Logan about something, but I could only focus in on my husband who was gone when I woke up this morning.

His blue eyes were troubled but the only thing in his mind was baseball right now. He focused on Tyler, his catcher, and just went to town. Tyler tossed him the ball back as he shoved his foot into the ground and tried to get better footing while he adjusted his sleeve. "He looks great tonight." I glanced up at a new wife to the team and I smiled, "Thank you, he's off-speed pitch is struggling tonight but hopefully he can figure it out."

The wife blinked, and I grumbled turning back around. Britt shared a look with me and I just laughed in response quietly underneath of my breath. Grey moved, and he settled in my lap while letting his head rest on my shoulder. "Does your tummy still hurt?" he nodded his head, "Yes," he mumbled, and I rubbed his arm gently. "I'm sorry baby," he just wiggled in my grasp before settling with most of his body leaning against mine.

My eyes took in the purple, pink, and orange sky as it slowly began to move into a dusk period. The sun disappearing causing a cool wind to whip through the stadium. The lower bowl was full, but Minnesota was struggling to get wins this year causing a low number of fans in the stands. Troy might have brought more attention as everybody would want a piece of him, to see him again. The flags were whipping in the wind and the large jumbo Tron announcing the stats of the current batter. Troy's stats flipped on the other side. Grey nestled into my body again and I let my hand run down his back.

I had yet to regret my decision to step away from broadcasting to enjoy Troy's career. This had been the first time since high school that I was able to just watch him pitch and truly enjoy it. I loved it. I loved just getting to watch my husband and cheer him on. Troy finished the inning with three straight strike-outs before going back to the dugout. He took his glove off and pulled on a jacket before settling in on the bench. "Mom," my eyes looked over at Adalyn and she looked out at the scoreboard.

"I'm hungry." I nodded my head as Britt popped up, "I'll take her. I need to go to the bathroom and grab a drink anyways." I smiled with thankful look and she took Adalyn and Maddox with her. Grey was almost asleep against me as he got like this when it came to his chronic constipation that he seemed to suffer from since he was a baby. We had tried everything in the books to help him and most doctors were sure he would grow out of it eventually.

We forced fluids on him 24/7 and he ate a lot of fiber in his everyday diet. We tried medications and everything. We would be good for a while and then it would happen all over again. It was a vicious cycle and I felt bad for him. I wrapped my arms around him as it was a cool June night in Minnesota. Logan was talking to Makenli and Piper now. They were all happy to talk and travel with each other. I bit down on my lip when Adalyn came back with Britt. She was holding a pretzel while giggling at something Britt said.

They all took their seats again and my eyes flirted back to Troy in the dugout. He was drinking out of a Gatorade cup. Nobody was talking to him as he held that superstition till the very end. He only talked to the people who lived in our house, Cody, his catcher of the day, and his pitching coach. That was it. He didn't speak a word to any of them until he gave up a hit. My eyes skirted to the scoreboard to see he still held them hitless in the fourth inning.

You'd think after all of these years I wouldn't get that nervous, but I was plagued with nerves. I wanted him to succeed. I wanted him to do so well still. "Gabs," my heard swirled over to Britt and she nodded down towards Grey who was passed out against my chest. I sighed softly while pressing my lips into his sweaty hair. I leaned back as I twisted him around to have his front pressing against my front. My arms circled him towards me while the girls did their own thing.

The game continued in normal fashion with Troy giving up his first hit in the sixth inning. That was the only hit he gave up with one walk as he was only at eighty pitches in the eighth inning. My eyes lingered down to the bullpen to see it pretty quiet. Troy had relaxed in the dugout with his teammates smiling and laughing. Adalyn and Piper had made up some game to play together while Makenli was chatting to Logan about anything Logan would listen too.

"Mommy is daddy done?" Makenli asked and I shook my head, "Probably not." My eyes went back to his as that hand went to his shoulder and rubbed it. I cringed because I knew that as long as he pitched well he could push through the pain. I just hated knowing that he was in pain. Hated. He was never going to complain though and that made it even harder on me. I wanted to know when he hurt that badly, but he would never tell me.

"Why?" she asked with an annoyed sigh causing Britt and I to laugh at her dramatics. "Because Mac, he is pitching really well, and we are only winning by one." My eyes took in the one to nothing score as if you allowed the bullpen to come in and show them a different arm it could change quickly. "I just want to go talk to daddy," she proclaimed as she scanned the field again. Her Bolton t-shirt on her small shoulders with a pair of white shorts that went to mid-thigh on her. A pair of flip-flops on her feet.

She was seven and sassy as hell.

"I know sweet girl," my eyes peeked down at Grey and he was still passed out in my lap. "Do you think that he can come talk to us today?" Logan asked, and I nodded, "Probably," I mentioned as the inning ended with Casen popping out to left. Troy quickly grabbed his glove and straightened his hat before returning to the field. Logan, Makenli, and Adalyn got excited again forgetting the conversation we were having.

All of their eyes trained right on their daddy. The man who had all of their hearts captured tight in his hold. They all had him wrapped around their fingers and he was putty with them. He absolutely loved his girls to no end. He would move mountains for them and they didn't even realize it. He had one goal in his mind when it came to them and it was to constantly protect them and see them smile. To laugh with them. To make the best of the memories with them.

My eyes filled with tears as I looked at my husband and then at our girls because I couldn't imagine our lives without all three of them and our little man. I pinched the bridge of my nose and had Britt capture a picture of all three of them watching Troy intently. He struck out the first two batters with ease, they were all cheering for him as he was up in the count 1-2. He hurled the ball towards home plate causing the Minnesota twin to swing and miss. All the girls jumped up and cheered as Tyler went to the middle to greet Troy as they both laughed. Troy was quick to twist his hat around on his head while untucking his jersey.

He slapped hands with everybody while our group began to gather everything to get downstairs. Britt happily helped me as I was limited with Grey while I handed the girls their things to carry. Makenli shrugged on her jacket while Adalyn leaned against me. "You have quite a tired crew." Jamie mentioned as she walked by. She was Tyler's fiancée and she was pretty cool. "Yea, they went to brunch with us this morning and then spent all afternoon at the pool with their grandparents."

Jamie laughed as we all moved downstairs. Grey never flinched as he only fisted my shirt while turning his head. The girls walked in front of me almost leading the way of the entire group because they have been too many times. We were escorted to the family area before I stood to talk to Jamie and Britt. The kids all ran around to the kid's area to play with whatever they could get their hands on. "Troy pitched well tonight." Jamie said, and I nodded, "I'm just worried about that shoulder."

"As a wife, I think that's normal."

"I know that he wants to finish, I just don't want him to be in pain for the rest of his life y'know?" they all agreed while I sighed turning just slightly to see him come out of the locker room. A pair of jeans framing those hips and a snug button up shirt with his hair wet from a shower. Makenli caught sight of him first and jumped up to greet him. He laughed picking her up and she hugged him tightly while the other two girls went up to greet him. I smiled until those eyes looked up and glanced around with a bit of worry on his face. Normally, Grey was waiting at the door for him. Those blue eyes found mine and he quickly stood up.

"Is he okay?" he moved over to me and I nodded, "He just doesn't feel good and he's tired." I told him, Troy rested his hand on Grey's back, "Do you want me to take him?" Troy asked, and I just nodded as we made it a smooth transition and Grey easily rested his head on Troy's shoulder. I wiggled my arms trying to get the feeling back in them from holding him for so long. "You pitched well," I whispered as he turned to find his three girls playing again with Casen.

"I felt good." My hand instantly went up to the left shoulder and my fingers rubbed it, "Gabi," he warned, and I just shook my head, dropping my hand. I walked away as I went to make sure the kids had everything. "Gabi," Troy called again, and I turned around trying not to get angry with him. "Later," I told him firmly and walked away. I heard him groan as I just didn't know what to do. "Makenli, Addy, Lo, are you ready?" I asked as I slipped my purse over my shoulder. I went back over to grab Grey, "Brie, please," I inhaled sharply, "C'mon buddy," Grey woke up and started crying when he realized he was with Troy.

'It's okay buddy," I whispered into his ear as he relaxed against my touch and settled into my shoulder. Troy ran his free hand through his hair as he gave each of the girls a hug and a kiss before those blue eyes pleaded with mine. "I love you," he started, and I gave him a forced smile, "I love you too." Troy just shook his head back and forth as I brushed past him going towards the doors. "Britt, will you take Grey for me please?" I heard Troy say and I spun around, "no," I emphasized, "We will talk after the kids go to bed."

Troy just bit down on his lip and I turned to leave again. Logan gave me a wide-eyed look and I let a smile plaster to my face. We left and went to the car as I got everybody situated. "Mom are you and dad okay?" Logan asked quietly so her sisters didn't hear. "We're fine sweet girl," I told her because I didn't know what we truly were. "We just need to talk tonight and then we'll be fine." I forced, and she gave me a really worried glance. "Logan, sweetie, I promise, we're a normal couple who fight. Just like Josh and Melissa."

"Yea, but you aren't Josh and Melissa. You and dad never fight." She said as the uber driver lurched forward and I sighed, "Lolo, did you know your dad and I almost got divorced?" her lips went into a big o shape and her eyes were wide with something. "When?" she asked curiously, and I brushed my fingers over my jeans. "You were four," I started, "And your dad has his first really big injury, I had my own fair share of problems going on that really tested your dad and me. Then you were diagnosed with Type 1 and it was just a chaotic time in our lives." My eyes flickered out to the window, "One night you asked me if your dad and I were fighting because of your betes," Logan was deathly silent, and I looked up at her trying to keep my tears away. "I told your dad that night we either fixed whatever was going on or we were getting a divorce because you didn't deserve that."

"And you fixed it?"

"Yes, it took a lot of talking and trust. It took a lot of communicating and coming to terms with things that we couldn't control. I had a really bad time of pushing your dad away when things go bad which frustrates him endlessly. Then when he had his own injury we just both were pushing each other away. It was hard on us, but we figured it out. What that was tonight? That was nothing sweet girl. We know what we have to do and there is nobody I love like I love your dad."

Logan gave a soft smile, "I never knew that about you and dad," I shrugged, "We moved past it. We have quite the love story Lolo," she giggled, "I would love to hear it." I smiled softly, "One day," we pulled back into the hotel as I got everybody out. Everybody mostly changed, brushed teeth, went to the bathroom before heading straight into their beds. I tucked Grey in and kissed his forehead, "I'm sorry baby," I whispered, and he curled to his side.

Logan climbed in and the two girls were already asleep by the time our door was clicking open. I shut the adjoining door to our room and Troy stepped in, those blue eyes full of trouble and worry. "Gabs," he said quietly, and I just sighed, "I don't want to talk about your retirement Troy," I argued, "I just want to know how the hell your shoulder is doing because I can see it Troy, I can see the pain you are in and it hurts me."

"You know it hurts Gabi, what else do you want me to say?"

Tears filled my eyes as I went to my suitcase and pulled out a t-shirt with a pair of shorts for bed. "I want to know if I can do anything to help you. If I can be of any support but no, if you're injured then we just don't talk about it. Yet, if it was me and we were this far past my date of injury then," I stopped rambling when his hand found a bare spot on my skin, "Okay, yes, my shoulder hurts all the damn time and pitching makes it bad. I'm getting another steroid injection soon. I'm fine."

"Fine," I mumbled, and Troy sighed as he sat on the bed. "I'm finishing this season Gabi,"

"I know you are Troy,"

His eyes met mine and I inhaled as I just shook my head, "I'm sorry, I just…I hate that you are in pain all of the time. I want to take it away for you and I want you to be okay, so you can just finish this season Troy. I hate that I can see it in your eyes that your shoulder hurts so damn much that you can't even hide it." The tears were seeping through my words and if I looked at him I wouldn't be able to stop the sob that was collecting in my chest. I just continued to dig around the suitcase. "Brie, baby," his voice was quiet, and I bit down on my lip closing my eyes tightly.

"Gabi," he said again, and his hand touched my wrist, he yanked me gently towards him and when our eyes met I knew the sob tumbled out of my mouth as he pulled me into his body. His arms holding me flush against him as I pressed my nose against his skin. "I wish that I didn't have the shoulder injury, but it only hurts after I pitch. During, once my muscles are loose and adrenaline is running I am okay. I promise."

I closed my eyes tightly, "I just don't want it to get worse."

His lips buried into my hair and I felt him inhale the smell of shampoo. "Now you know how I feel when you're in pain all the time." He whispered, and I just shook my head, "Troy, please, I just…I just want to know when your body just hurts. I'm not pushing you to talk about retirement and I'm not pushing you to tell me everything going on inside your head. I just hate when I look at you and only see how much pain you're in." His hands kneaded my thighs gently while he pulled me closer to him.

"I love you," he whispered tilting his chin back to look up at me. My face softened at his words and I just nodded as I sat on his lap. He pulled me back against him and I closed my eyes. "I love you too," I whispered as I locked my hand with his and he exhaled the worry that was built up inside of him. "Logan asked us if we were okay tonight," I told him, and Troy laughed, "Wouldn't she like to know everything about when she was four."

"I told her." I spoke quietly because I knew he wasn't going to be happy about it. We really just tried to bury it behind us most of the time but…it would come out one day. I felt him stiffen behind me and I let out a breath of air as I turned to face him. "She was just being curious because we don't really ever fight, and she was concerned tonight. I told her we were close to a divorce once because things were just hard between us. That today didn't even compare." Troy let out an exhale and closed his eyes painfully.

"Troy," I said quietly, "It's a part of our past. It's nothing to be ashamed of,"

"I was a dick to you," he spoke up quickly, "I hated that I hurt you."

My fingers laced with his, "And guess what? We got through it. Please, don't let us repeat that road because you don't want to talk to me about how you are feeling." I whispered, and he reached up to touch my cheek gently. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around it." He told me honestly, "I don't know how I am feeling yet, I am just…" he paused trying to find the correct words to say and he gave off a sad smile, "I'm just trying to enjoy it right now. I love that you guys are going to be there all summer. I love that I am going to have you by my side all year. I just…I want to soak up the entire rest of this season Brie," I titled my forehead to press against his as I tried to stop the tears from flowing out of my eyes, but I just nodded my head.

His strong arms pulled me in and he squeezed me tightly. My nose pressed into his skin and I exhaled against him. I found his lips and we were both urgently in need of reassurance that everything was going to be okay. That we were going to be fine and come through standing tall at the end of the year. He quickly turned me onto my back before his lips spread over mine, his hands working down my body, and I moaned against him.

Troy let his eyes close to the sound from my lips and he turned the urgent kisses to soft kisses across my body. I loved him and that would absolutely never change.


Troy's POV

Tuesday, June 7th, 2033

My back was pressed against the wall as I watched Grey, Makenli, and Adalyn all play on the floor. My coffee settled in my hands while Logan and Gabi were still fast asleep this morning. The kids were all laughing and giggling about something when Adalyn looked up at me. Her brown eyes full of curiosity, my eyebrow rose in her direction as I tilted my coffee cup back. "Dad, can we go get pancakes…now?" I smiled, "You better go wake up your momma," I said, and Addy huffed with annoyance.

"Why can't us girls go?" I smiled, "What about me?" Grey asked and Makenli giggled, "Grey, you always like to stay back with mommy when we get pancakes." Grey rolled his eyes causing me to laugh quietly, "What? I like getting pancakes," Grey argued, "Only sometimes," Adalyn basically sang to her brother. "Right daddy?" I looked at Addy and then over at Grey, "Grey, there is nothing wrong with wanting to stay back with your mom, but you typically want to stay with her if she isn't going."

Grey let out a huff of air, "I just really love mommy," he mumbled, and I couldn't stop my own grin on my face, "Me, too, little man. Me, too." He looked at me with a smile on his face, Grey came over and he plopped down into my lap. His arms snaking around my neck as he took a strong hold of me. "Have you always loved mommy?" he asked me, and I smiled with a nod, "Since the day I met her," I said as I ruffed my hands through his hair.

"When did you meet?" Makenli asked sitting down with her doll in her hand, "A long, long time ago." I told them with a tiny smile working on my lips, "Maybe before mommy goes back to work we can visit where I used to live. Where I met your mommy." The kids all seemed to like that as Grey snuggled into my side again. I squeezed him closer to me, "How about you guys work on waking up Logan and I'll go wake up mommy to go eat some pancakes?" I questioned back and they all agreed as they hopped on the bed to bother Logan.

Standing up, I walked across the room and into the adjourning room where Gabi was curled up sleeping. "Dad, I want to help you," Grey tugged on my hand and I smiled, "Okay, I bet she'll love it." Grey climbed into the bed as I sat on the other side of the bed as I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Mommy," Grey said rubbing his hand down her arm and Gabi made a noise and then twisted to her back. Her eyes fluttered open while looking at me and then over to Grey leaning against her.

"My favorite boys," she whispered and Grey giggled thinking that was funny. "Grey wants pancakes, actually, the girls want pancakes." I said sitting back and Gabi nodded, "What time is it?" I picked up my phone and I glanced at the time. "It's a little after nine." I told her, and she opened her eyes wider, "I'm confused, when did you become a morning person?" she asked, and I chuckled this time, "A while ago." Gabi rolled her eyes with a smile breaking onto her face.

"Daddddd," Logan yelled, and I laughed, Gabi smiled, I walked into the other room as the girls were still pestering Logan. "Mickey, Addy, your mom is up," they both took off running to greet their mom and Logan crumpled a pillow over her face. "C'mon Lolo, you need to eat anyways." Logan grumbled and twisted over. "I'm not hungry." She shook her head back and forth, "Wrong answer," I told her, and she grunted in her bed. I found her phone as I slid it over to see her blood sugar was hovering at 90.

"You need to get up and eat." I told her again and she sighed rolling onto her back. "C'mon Lolo," Gabi called, and she sighed as she sat up. Her eyes were heavy with sleep still, Addy climbed onto my lap and tugged on my shoulder causing a sting of pain to roll through my shoulder. I tried to not let anybody know but Gabi saw. Her eyes were lasered on me and I just gave her a smile. "Addy, c'mon," Gabi moved into the other room as I exhaled quietly.

Throwing back Logan's covers I got up from my spot as I watched Gabi in the mirror in the bathroom. Her eyes flickered down to Addy below her and a smile spreading over her lips. I inhaled sharply as she laughed, and she put her daily moisturize on. Addy skipped out of the bathroom and I smiled softly as she went to join her siblings. I leaned into the bathroom and she gave me a gentle smile, "Thanks for getting up with the kids this morning."

Chewing on my lip I just nodded, "You don't have to thank me. I am their dad. It is my job." Gabi stopped putting on her make-up and her eyes pierced mine. Words were difficult for her apparently and she just nodded, "I'm sorry, Troy, I am just…things are changing, and I don't know. I don't want to lose who we are in this change." My chest expanded, and my stomach twisted with her words because this was going to alter our relationship. This was going to bring a new set of challenges, but I didn't have any doubt that Gabi and I wouldn't make it through that. I just had to fucking figure out my own head.

"I know," I told her as I walked into the bathroom as I picked up her daily necklace: the one with all four kids names on it that I gifted to her not too long after Grey was born. I placed it around her neck as I leaned in close to her ear as I whispered to her. "Like I told you last night though, I am still trying to process everything. I can't tell you how I am feeling because I don't know how I am feeling. I only know one thing: that I want to be there for my family. That I love you. That I love our kids. That's all I have right now and that has to be enough for now."

Her lips rubbed together, "How about after this road trip we go to dinner and then we can go out to Longview for a bit. We can just talk there. I don't know if I will have all the things I need to talk about ready yet, but we can just talk. You and me. Under the stars." A deep breath echoed out of her mouth, but she just smiled softly and nodded. I turned her around as I pressed my lips to hers gently. "C'mon we have some really hungry kids."


Friday, June 10th, 2033

Gabi's POV

No sooner than the luggage dropped to the ground were the kids already begging to be somewhere else. My head was pounding as I agreed for Grey to go spend the night with Finn. The twins wanted to go play with their friends from down the street and Logan was begging, pleading, to go hang out with Rollyn since she had a swim meet tomorrow afternoon. I rubbed my temples as I wanted the five seconds of quiet in the house, but I didn't have the energy to get them there.

"Mac, Addy," I called, "Put your shoes on and I'll watch you walk to Mrs. Davis house, okay?" they grinned running off as I shot her a text making sure it was okay for like the millionth time. "Grey, buddy, get your stuff together. I'll drop you off after I drop Logan off at Rollyns." He smiled the same smile his dad gives me every day and darted off towards his bedroom. "Logan, nothing dumb with Rollyn okay?" she just nodded as I fished out my keys as I made sure the twins made it to the Davis's house before I loaded up the other two.

"Mom, do you care if Rollyn spends the night? We'll hang out here for a bit and then when you pick me up she can just come with us." She protested, and I just nodded my head, "Yea," I didn't have the energy to say no or argue so saying yes was just a hell of a lot easier anymore. My eyes watched Rollyn come out to greet Logan and they laughed with each other before going back inside. Rollyn was on the shorter side but Logan had no chance of being short with Troy's height. They disappeared inside, and I backed out of the driveway as I headed to the Newman plantation out south.

It only took fifteen minutes to get there and as soon as my car was in park Grey was darting for the door. I shook my head as I turned the car off and headed inside. Grey and Finn were already laughing about something before taking off towards Finn's bedroom. Cody was sitting on the kitchen counter laughing when he spotted me, "Hey there," I smiled as I ran my hands through my hair. "That looks like a face of exhaustion. Long road trip?" I just nodded, "And I shit you not the moment we walked in the door they wanted to go one hundred different places." Cody grinned as Becca sat on the bar stool.

"Thanks for coming over to entertain our son. He's been asking nonstop about Grey." I couldn't stop my laugh and with a shrug of my shoulders, "What can I say? You two men in my lives did that." Cody grinned, "The friendship lives on." Becca snorted, and I shook my head, "Have you talked to him?" I asked as I skimmed my nails down my legs and Cody pressed his lips together. "No." he said honestly after a few beats, "He doesn't seem to want to talk about it. Every time I call him he changes the subject."

"He told me when he gets home from this trip we can just go talk for a bit, but I don't know. I just think his emotions haven't caught up to his brain yet. He knows what he needs to do but he doesn't know how to do it." Cody sighed as he looked over at Becca, "When he first complained of his shoulder, he mentioned how he wasn't ready yet and then a week later there was a 180 for it." Becca looked at me, "I wouldn't stress too much yet Gabi, just be with the kids and have fun."

I just nodded, "I am going back to my very quiet house with a bottle of Merlot and locking the door." I told Cody and Becca causing both of them to laugh. I then groaned, "I forgot. I have to pick up Logan and Rollyn." Cody stuttered a laugh at Rollyn's name. "Okay, something Troy will talk about is how Rollyn keeps trying to bring boys into Logan's life." I giggled, "He wasn't very happy about that. I don't think she's interested at all but oh boy…it's coming right when we are about to switch roles."

Cody chuckled to himself, "Poor Logan," I nodded in agreement with a laugh on my tongue. "It's probably time we all sit down together and just talk. Not the talk but just about dating in general. She asked us about our dating story." Becca grinned, "That's a good one." I just rolled my eyes, "It's rocky." I told her causing her to laugh with a smile. "You two just fell really hard and really fast. Logan will love it." I shook my head as I played with my nails. "She caught Troy and I in a tiff the other day. I wouldn't even call it a fight, but he was just…not dealing with his emotions again but she caught it. She asked me if we were okay and I just couldn't help but laugh a little." My teeth bit into my bottom lip, Cody gave me a glance of worry as I smiled, "Because we already fought hard for our relationship once and I really don't want to do it again. I came clean about our almost divorce with her."

Becca looked over at Cody, "How close were you two?" she asked quietly, and I sighed as I held up my thumb and my pointer finger together. About an inch apart from each other causing her to wince from the little space. "I told Troy we either fix it or we divorce. That I wasn't going to put Logan through the fighting because neither of us could be adults. It worked though. I love him so god damn much that it hurts most days."

Cody came and tugged me into a hug, "He's just a little lost."

I wiped away the two tears that fell down my face, "I know. I'm just scared."


Troy's POV

It was never good when I saw my best friends face pop up on my screen during the middle of the afternoon. I grimaced as I knew Gabi took Grey over to hang out with Finn. I can only imagine how her mind is turning right now. After comforting her on Tuesday, she seemed to just withdraw from her normal self. She wasn't absent, but she just couldn't muster up a big smile. I knew I just needed to tell her how I was terrified. That I was scared. That I was fucking jealous as hell.

I just didn't know how to word any of it.

Finally, I slid the thing over and I answered the phone call. "Newman," I said as I looked over the Astro's stadium. "Hey man, how's Texas?" he asked, and I breathed in the indoor stadium as my eyes moved around it. "Good." I answered honestly, "What's wrong with Gabi?" I asked nervously, and he chuckled, "I'm glad you can read your wife as well as I can." I brushed my hand through my messy hair and then down my face that needed to be shaved. I wouldn't shave it till Sunday though.

"She got mad at me earlier this week because I don't know what to tell her about everything right now and she just wants to know. I don't blame her. I would be the same exact way, but I just don't know what to say yet." My best friend on the other end sighed, "She's just scared about the future. I think there are so many changes being thrown at the family right now she isn't sure how to feel either. She doesn't know if this is what's best for the kids or not. I think she's stressed about her new job offers."

"Offers?" I asked, my chest tightening as if she got more and had yet to tell me. "MLB Network and she said that the Royals gave her an offer already." I exhaled because I knew about both of those. I just forgot that the Royals technically made an offer. It was in passing but it was something to think about. "Is it selfish of me to just want both of us to stay home?" I asked quietly, and Cody laughed so hard on the other end of the line I figured he was crying.

"Jesus, Bolton, she quit, and you promised her she could have her chance. If you go back on that word now, then you will have problems. Big ones." I sighed deeply, and I shook my head, "She's supposed to fly down, just her, to watch me pitch on Sunday. She's worried about me."

"Rightfully so,"

I groaned, "Why is this causing problems?"

"Because you're bottling up your feelings man. Just be honest with her about everything. That's all she wants." I inhaled and then nodded, "But on another note…Rollyn and Logan are hanging out tonight." I tried to refrain from rolling my eyes. "I like Rollyn, don't get me wrong, but I swear to God if she pushes a boy upon Logan I am going to be livid." Cody chuckled from the other end of the phone. "Cave man," he muttered, "Oh come on, like you're ready for Anna to date."

"Er…I don't know. I know she isn't ready and definitely doesn't have a friend like Rollyn." I grunted and shook my head, "I gotta go man. I'll talk to you soon. Any chance you'll fly out with her?" Cody didn't speak for a second and then sighed, "I'll see what I can do." I rubbed my fingers together and nodded, "I know man, you have to be there for your kids. Don't stress about it. I have many more opportunities at home."

"I'll come more. I promise."

"Yea, I'll talk to you later, okay?"

We bid good-bye and I sat on the first step when the Astro's manager came out from his dugout. He spotted me, and he smiled before walking over to greet me, "Troy," he shook my hand and I shook his back, "I can't believe this is the last time you'll pitch here." He started and the instant tightness in my chest occur and I nodded, "I know, it's crazy." I told him, and I knew that retiring is what needed to happen, but I was conflicted. I was so conflicted.

"Twenty seasons in the big leagues, not many people, especially pitchers." He added, and I gave a tight smile, "I just want to keep pitching. I'd rather push off the retirement talk until like September." I joked with him, "I almost didn't announce but I also didn't want to catch people by surprise at the end of the year."

"One hell of an ace, a legend, for sure." I smiled thanking him again and he walked off as I wanted to hide, far, far away.


Gabi's POV

I sipped on my wine as I could hear Rollyn and Logan in the basement giggling away while the twins were both fast asleep upstairs. Grey ended up staying the night at the Newman's when my phone buzzed. I reached over to pick it up to see Troy calling. I smiled softly pressing the phone to my ear. "Hey," I took another long sip of my wine, "Brie," he whispered, and I smiled, "Missing me?" I asked quietly, and he grunted, "That's an understatement."

"Well that's good. I'll be there tomorrow night." I told him as I circled my finger around the glass rim, "Good. I need one on one time with you." I inhaled and nodded, "I love you Troy," he was quiet for just a moment before he exhaled. "I love you too," I swallowed on the lump in my throat, "I'm sorry that my mood has been really off recently. I just think I am scared." I told him honestly while I let my finger run around the rim of the wine glass.

"It's a scary time," he admitted, that didn't help any of my nerves and I just took a drink of my drink. "I have to get Logan up early tomorrow for swim and Rollyn is over." I told him, "Brie, baby," he whispered quietly, "I don't know what to say Troy, I just…I think I just need to think for a little bit."

"About what?" he stressed, and I grunted, "I just think that you really sprung the retirement on me. We never even talked about it happening when you first complained that your shoulder hurt." I paused as the tears were surfacing. "It's not that I don't support your decision because I do. I don't care if you retire or not but I just…we never talked about it." Troy didn't say anything for a couple of seconds. "That's fair. I…I didn't know how to talk about it. I don't know how to talk about it." He corrected, and I took another drink of my wine.

"It'll be fine Troy," I whispered, "I just…I guess I need to think about what I need to do for our family next year. That has been really heavy on my mind ever since the moment you said retirement."

"I bet it has been. Especially with people already offering."

I tugged on my sweatshirt, "I really do have to get up in the morning." I reminded him, and I could see him smiling from the other end. "I know, I'll see you tomorrow okay?" I inhaled deeply as I nodded, "I love you Troy, I'm sorry." I expressed because things have been weird, and I didn't want them to stay that way. "I love you too baby girl," I smiled as we hung up and laid back in the bed. I scrubbed my hands over my face before getting up and going to Logan's room.

Rollyn and Lo were laying on her bed giggling over magazine together. "Girls, it's time for bed." They both groaned with protest causing me to smile. "Logan, you have an early morning for swim. Rollyn, you too." She gave me a smile with her bleach blonde hair and green eyes. "Thank you, Mrs. Bolton," I nodded as they both got up and began to get ready for the night. I went and peeked on the twins as they were both sound asleep still.

My phone buzzed, and I scrunched my eyebrows as I looked to see an unknown number. I slid it over and answered it, "Hello?"

"Am I speaking to Mrs. Bolton?" I frowned, "Yes," I answered, "I am Jenson William with Fox Sports and I apologize for calling so late, but I wanted to snag a meeting with you sometime soon. I want to know if you would be interested joining our team next baseball season after your husband retires." My heart raced inside my chest as this was already the third person to contact me. KC Fox Sports, MLB Network, and now Fox Sports? This was too crazy.

"Uh…yes," I stammered quickly, "I will have to look at my calendar to find an open date that would work for me and my family." I told him, and he laughed, "I'll fly to you. I'll be in Kansas City soon. I'll make sure the team is at home before I do fly out. We can casually meet there if that works for you?"

"Yes, that is perfect."

"I'll be in touch soon, Mrs. Bolton."

I hung up the phone and my jaw must have been on the floor because holy shit.


Saturday, June 11th, 2033

His fingers trailed a path from my arm, across my shoulder, and then down in between my breasts. "You've been quiet tonight." He said, and I tried not to push too much tonight. I had missed him and our time together, but I just wasn't sure why I was feeling this way. I wanted it to go away. I shrugged my shoulders and he tipped my chin backwards with just one finger. "Brie," his voice was soft, and I looked into his bright blue eyes. My world was spinning in a direction I wasn't sure about right now but just one look into his eyes and I knew that I would be okay.

"Fox Sports called me last night." I finally spoke, and Troy laughed, "That's amazing Gabi," I inhaled and nodded, "Yea, it is amazing." I was flat, and Troy saw right through it. He twisted me onto my back while he laid on his side. His warm body hovered close to mine as he just looked at me face searching for answers to the questions he had. "Do you think I should go back to work?" I finally asked, and Troy raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to go back to work?" he questioned, and I nodded my head because I did want to go back to work. "Then what's the problem?" he asked me, and I inhaled sharply, "What if the kids hate me for it? What if I am never home? How do we make this work?" I asked him with my chest filling with fear.

Troy stroked my arm and then his thumb wiped away a lone tear. "Gabriella, for the past six years we have made this life work. Why are you freaking out over switching roles?" he asked me, and I laughed because I didn't know. "I wish I knew Troy. I don't know if it's because I have only been with them for six years and I don't know how to do anything else. What if I suck in the booth again?" My questions were rapidly fired off from my mouth as Troy just took them all in.

"Brie, baby, you are a natural in the booth. You always have been. For the kids' part…they will adjust. Everything is going to be new and different next year, but we will all adjust accordingly. The first year you didn't work was an adjustment for everybody. We had to figure out how to make it all work if we wanted it to work. We smoothed out the bumps and here we are today." He reminded me, and I leaned into him. I always wanted to be closer to him.

Troy's finger ran down my side and he inhaled softly, "When my shoulder started to hurt, the first thing I thought of was okay, why is this happening. If it is a serious injury, what am I going to do?" he stopped talking as I didn't move because this is what I needed from him. "I just couldn't shake the thought that it was something serious. It had to be. I was in a lot of pain after every start and it lingered." I squeezed his hand and Troy stroked my hand. He was thankful that I was right here. That I would always be right here. "The first thing I thought of was pushing through the rest of the season and then reporting the pain. Yet, it got worse after another start. I knew it was bad."

"Then I questioned how much I wanted to work this off season. How much do I want to push and how much pain am I willing to endure to squeeze out one more season?" I let my eyes look up at him and those blue eyes were just staring straight ahead. The pain deep in his eyes as he just simply thought about it. "And I didn't have the energy. I don't have the drive. I think about all of the swim meets that I have missed of Logan's and how much more I could be there if I just stopped. I thought about the twins and how big they are getting. I could have sworn they were just four last week but somehow they are turning eight in a few weeks." He shook his head back and forth just thinking about it.

"Then my little man…he was the only reason that I thought about pushing forward. To give him more memories. To give him all the things his older sister will forever remember but then I thought about the t-ball that I was missing. The friendship with Finn. How he loves to just learn more and more about baseball. I want to be there for him. I want to watch him learn and I'll be the one to teach him. Coach him. Support him."

I finally sat up and faced him as his blue eyes shifted towards me. His hand reaching up and he stroked my cheek gently, "Then I thought about you." His soft touch against me caused goosebumps to fly down my body. "I thought about how much effort and work you have put in over the years. I thought about how you gladly just took a step back to raise the kids. I thought about how much working made you happy six years ago. I thought about my promise to you. That you will still give these kids a memory of a ball field, but it'll be a little different." I bit down on my lip and he wiped a lone tear that fell down my face.

"Everything outweighed my reasons to stick around. I talked about it forever with Casen. I talked to Josh. Zach. I talked to all of them because I needed to know how I was supposed to feel. Was this how it was supposed to be? It was just hard for me to make the decision so when they told me what happened I just let it out. I haven't thought about it. I don't want to think about that next year I won't pack my bag and go to Spring Training. That I won't be there for Opening Day. That I won't start 30+ times. I won't pitch 200 innings. I don't want to think about it and yet…that's all anybody wants to talk about. I don't know how to feel about it." He spoke honestly, and I stroked his cheek with my own thumb. His straight honesty was brutal, but it was what he knew right now. It was what I was asking from him and the truth never felt great.

The words were floating between us as the honesty of it all was just what I figured it would be.

"I made the decision because I knew it was best for everybody. Not because I am ready." I leaned forward and pressed my forehead to his. "I love you," I whispered into his ear and he squeezed me gently, "Can you promise me something though?" Troy asked, and I nodded my head, "Go into those interviews like I went into mine six years ago. Think about it for you. Our family will adjust. We always adjust. You know what is best for this family, but I would still like to talk about it."

I nodded, "I would never make a decision without talking to you." I reaffirmed with him, and he pulled me closer to him. I rested my head on his shoulder while his arms circled me in to him. "When I have more answers, when I have more things to say, I will come to you Brie, I promise. I just…I don't know right now. I just want to focus on the games today. I just want to enjoy it. Love it." I just squeezed him as the tears filled my eyes again. He knew as he squeezed me a little bit harder back.

"I love you so much," I whispered into his neck, "I love you too," his lips found my hair and I just inhaled before pulling back. I wiped my tears away and then I forced a tight smile onto my face. "We're going to get through this, okay?" I nodded my head and I relaxed. "Any more on the boy front?" Troy asked, and I laughed, "No." I told him. "Rollyn and her behaved at the house. I never heard much and then they both swam this morning."

"Good."

"We probably need to sit down and talk to her about it though." Troy's face paled and I smiled softly at him, "Nothing like that," I told him with a laugh bubbling in my throat, "I mean, just about boys and dating in general. Set some ground rules. She is thirteen Troy," Troy shook his head back and forth, "Just a talk. I do not think she is ready for anything else." My voice carried through the room and this caused a groan from him.

He then dove in for a quick kiss and I smiled as I kissed him back. "Please, stop talking." I giggled, and I kissed him again. There was nothing but love for Troy and me. We may have our moments and we may struggle through momentarily, but we always held hands and did it together. We were a team. We would always be a team.


Hey Guys! Happy Sunday! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. There is a lot more to unfold for them and there is going to be more with their families and friends soon! I'm loving writing to this story and can't wait to share more with you! Hope you guys are enjoying it!

Please leave a review!

J

Next Update: Sunday, October 28th (Or sooner…depending on how eager you are to leave a review wanting more:)