"Oscar, what the hell?" Mike shouted into the phone as he stormed into Laguardia airport. People jumped out of his way, looking at him in alarm as he walked past. He didn't care. He'd wanted to talk to Ginny about the trade, the pictures, everything and now the entire country knew he was considering leaving the Padres and they were blaming her.

"You wanted to be traded." Oscar replied.

"I know, but..." Mike glared around him before going straight to the American Airlines counter. "I was kinda hoping it wouldn't be news until it happened." There was a silence. Then:

"Well the front office thought that the trading rumors would sell tickets." Oscar said. Mike glared up at the ceiling. Of course that was what had happened.

"Glad to know my life falling apart at the seams is profitable for you." Mike muttered, hanging up. Glaring at the person behind the counter, he said. "I need a ticket on your next flight to San Diego."

"It's tomorrow morning, sir." The man said.

Tomorrow would be too late. "That's not good enough." He growled, slamming his hand on the counter. "I need one now." It was childish, but it had the desired effect.

The man flinched, jumping to type on the computer. "There's a flight to Oakland that leaves in 20 minutes." He said after a few minutes. " You can get a connecting flight to San Diego from there."

"Put me on it." Mike snapped.

"First class or-"

"It doesn't matter." Mike cut him off, pulling out his wallet and putting his credit card on the counter. "I need to be on that flight."

The man nodded. Mike pulled out his phone and called Ginny. It rang twice before going to voicemail. He swallowed. "Ginny, it's...it's me. I'm coming home and I...I want to see you. We need to talk."

Ginny gaped at her mother. "He called me?" She couldn't believe that this was happening. Her mother didn't seem phased, in fact she seemed relatively calm even considering that she'd dropped a nuke on her daughter's personal life.

"I didn't want you to-" Janet began.

"He CALLED ME?" Ginny shouted, turning away from her.

"Ginny." Janet put her hand on Ginny's shoulder but she pushed it off, her throat closing.

"What..." She said slowly, fighting back the tide of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. "What gave you the right to...to tell him go away. To not contact me again?"

"I was-"

"This is my LIFE, mom." She backed away. "All I've ever done is for other people. Mike is...was the one thing that was for me and you...you took that away from me."

Her phone rang. Ginny and Janet looked at the kitchen counter. She could see Mike's name on the caller id. She hesitated, the trading rumors stopping her impulse to jump on it. Did it mean he wanted to leave her? That he was angry? Janet looked at her sadly. "Even you know that I'm right."

"No." Ginny said, lunging for the phone. Her hand over shot the distance and she knocked it to the floor. She dove for it, but was too late. The phone smashed on the ground. She picked it up, frantically pushing the power button. The cracked screen stayed blank. She glared at her mother before grabbing her jacket and keys.

"Where are you going?" Janet demanded.

"I'm driving over to Evelyn's." If she couldn't call Mike. She'd go to the one place she was sure he'd go when he came back to San Diego; Leia was there. Whistling for Satchel, she paused in the door. "I know you think you did this for me, but you didn't. And until you can admit that...I don't know if I can ever forgive you." She slammed the door.

She rang Evelyn's doorbell, looking around, nervous. One of the twins opened. "Maaamaaa." He shouted. "Ginny's here."

Evelyn rang to the door. She opened her mouth to say something, but froze when she saw the look on Ginny's face. "Come inside." She pulled her in. "In in."

She shooed the boys to their room with a promise that they could play video games for as long as they wanted.

"It'll cost me parenting points down the way, but this is more important." She said, opening up the cabinet and pulling out a bottle of wine. "Okay, tell me everything."

She did. Everything from dating Trevor to those stupid pictures and how Trevor had lied, saying he was planning on going to medical school and instead had signed to the Cardinals and instead of telling her, planned on moving her to Arizona with him. She told her about Mike and how she'd tried to call him and her mother's interception of his return call. The car, the brick through the window, the way all her clients had cancelled. "Now they're saying he's going to Chicago and..." She shut her eyes. "He hates me."

"Honey," Evelyn murmured. "He doesn't hate you."

"Of course he does." Ginny said. "After what happened with Rachel, he probably thinks I cheated on him. Which is why he's going to Chicago."

Evelyn's eyes widened. "He...he told you about Rachel?" She whispered. Ginny nodded. "Ginny...Mike didn't tell anyone about Rachel except for me and Blip. He took the blame for ending their marriage and let everyone think he cheated on her."

Leia waddled in. At the sight of Ginny and Satchel, she howled in excitement and charged, knocking the larger dog over. Satchel stayed down as Leia licked his face.

Ginny watched them glumly. "What does it matter now?" She put her head in her hands.

"What does it matter?" Evelyn looked angry. "He's known you not even 4 months and he shared the deepest darkest parts of his soul to you."

"and he thinks I cheated on him."

"Not if he's smart." Evelyn said. "And certainly not once I'm done with him." She pulled out her phone. "And don't worry about your clinic. I'll fix everything." She shook her head. "You should have come straight to me." She muttered. She paused as the phone vibrated. "Speak of the devil." She held up, showing Ginny the caller Id. Mike.

"Um..." She was suddenly terrified at the prospect of talking to Mike.

Evelyn shook her head. "This needs to happen in person." She said. "Preferably where I can watch because the two of you are fire." She glanced at Ginny. "Plus, now that I know what's underneath that-"

"Ev." Ginny said, worried that the phone would go to voicemail.

"Right." She answered it, putting it on speaker. "Mike?"

"Ev." Mike sounded exhausted. "I'm on a plane to Oakland with a connection to San Diego, it's taking off in about 5 minutes."

"Leia misses you." Evelyn said.

"I miss her too."

"And..." Evelyn prompted.

"Why Ev, what would Blip say?" Mike's voice was flat, the joke uninspired. Ginny winced.

"Mike, you know who I'm talking about." Evelyn said. Mike sighed.

"Have you seen her?" He almost whispered the question. Ginny shut her eyes, unsure if she wanted to continue listening to this.

"Yeah...she looked about the same way you sound." Evelyn said. Ginny shot her a look. "Well, no actually, she didn't look that bad, she's gorgeous."

Mike let out a small strangled sigh. "I'm going to talk to her the second I get back to San Diego."

"No." Evelyn said. "I mean...You need to go to your house first."

"What?"

"Mike...trust me. Go to your house first."

"Ev-"

"MIKE." Evelyn cut him off. "Have I ever steered you wrong? Go to your house first."

"Oh...okay." He sounded confused.

Evelyn hung up. "Get your dog." She said. "I'll get Leia's stuff. We're going to Mike's."

Ginny followed her. Evelyn made her get into her car before going over to the neighbors. "Okay, she'll watch the boys while I'm gone." Evelyn said as she got into the car. "Now, we're driving over to Mike's place and you're going to stay there until he gets home. The two of you are going to talk, make up and have extraordinary make up sex. After which, you will call me to share the vivid explicit details."

"Ev-"

"That last part is non negotiable." Evelyn turned on her in car calling app before pulling out of the drive. "Call Angie." She instructed.

"Ev?" Angie replied.

"Hey girl. Listen, you have a dog, right?"

There was a pause. "I'm not letting your husband do another photo shoot with Buster, Ev."

"It's not about that." She said. "You remember how you mentioned you couldn't find a good vet?" She glanced over at Ginny. "Dr. Ginny Baker's clinic is amazing."

Angie sighed. "As in Mike's new girl."

"He loves her and she's amazing." Evelyn said. When Angie didn't respond, Evelyn said. "Would I lie to you?"

"No." Angie admitted. "If you say she's good, I believe you."

"Excellent." She said. "And spread the word to the other WAGs with pets. I'm going to call Sandra and Pilar." She frowned. "And don't front like you don't love those photo shoots."

Angie laughed. "I do, but this way if my husband asks at least I tried to stop Blip."

Evelyn grinned as she hung up, glancing at Ginny. "That's Salvamini's wife. There are at least 7 other players whose families have pets and that's not counting Javanese's sister's cat, Evers' brother's dog, and Butch's mother's dogs." She grinned at Ginny. "WAGs support each other."

Ginny was floored. "Why are you doing this for me?" She asked.

Evelyn gave her a kind smile. "Because you're like Mike. When he turned up on our doorstep after Rachel...he had that same look in his eyes that you did tonight. The two of you need people to love and understand you. You both have so much to give to the person you love and you know what its like to have that taken advantage of." She sighed. "Mike's family, whether he likes it or not. And you...you're family now too." She grinned. "Plus. WAGs support each other."

"I'm a WAG now?" Ginny asked.

"Uh huh." Evelyn said. "You're a G, G."

Ginny winced and looked around. "Where are we?" The neighborhood they were driving through was extremely upscale and clearly full of new money. Art Deco and modern architectural nightmares lined the streets. "Mike lives...here?"

Evelyn laughed. "Oh wait till you see his house."

Ginny frowned. "Well..." She pointed to what looked like a glass prison box ahead of them. "As long as it's not that one." A smirk grew over Evelyn's face. "No." Ginny said, looking back at it in horror. "No?" Evelyn's smirk grew. Ginny put a hand over her eyes.

"Still wanna fix things with him?" Evelyn asked.

Ginny nodded. "He'll have to invest in curtains, though." She mumbled.

Evelyn grinned. "That's my girl."

It was nearly 1 am when Mike finally walked into his house. Leia waddled up to him. "Hey, princess." He mumbled, looking at her in surprise. "Are you the reason Evelyn told me to come back here?"

Something stirred on the couch. Satchel jumped off it and rushed towards him, his tail wagging. Mike froze. If Satchel was here... He forced himself to walk towards the couch, holding his breath, hardly daring to hope. He didn't look down until he was in front of it.

Ginny was curled up on his couch. Asleep. She'd covered himself in her jacket and had a pillow clutched against her. Mike sucked in a breath, unbelievably relieved. She stirred as he sat next to her. "Mike?" She whispered, her eyes blinking open. She squinted at him through the dark. He brushed his fingers over her cheek. She was here. She was real. Her hand covered his.

"I'm here." He managed to force past the lump in his throat.

She tried to sit up. "Mike I-"

"Shhh." He shifted closer. "Ginny, I'm...I'm exhausted. Right now all I want is..." He pulled her up, she moved, settling on top of him so they were both lying on the couch. Mike wrapped his arms around her. "All I want is this."

She shivered, pressing her face into the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry."

Mike shut his eyes. "Not your fault." He didn't need to talk tonight. They could fix everything in the morning.

"I-"

"Shhh." He squeezed her. "Tomorrow." He whispered. She nodded. They fell into a silence. All that was in the darkness was her and the sound of their breathing.

"Just one thing." Ginny said. Mike groaned, smiling in spite of himself. That was his Ginny, she just couldn't let anything go.

"You can't leave well enough alone." He kissed her forehead. She squeezed her hands in his shirt. He looked down. Her eyes were open, clear.

"I love you, Mike." She whispered. His heart lept and his chest constricted. It was everything he'd wanted to hear the last couple of days. Everything he needed. She pressed her head back down.

"I love you too." He managed.

The next morning Ginny blinked her eyes open. The smell of bacon, eggs, and waffles wafted towards her. She swallowed, sitting up. Mike was in his kitchen, his back to her, bent over the stove. Her breath caught. She thought she'd dreamed him coming in the night before. She slowly got off the couch, walking towards him. He turned, pan and spatula in hand. They stared at each other. Ginny looked at the kitchen island. She cleared her throat, motioning to the plates.

"Expecting company?" She hoped the joke would ease the tension. He dropped his gaze, emptying the eggs onto the plate.

"Well, this crazy lady broke into my house last night." He said. "Figured the polite thing to do was feed her."

"Evelyn let me in." Ginny mumbled.

"I guessed." he said.

A silence fell. It was awkward. She hated this. Things weren't usually awkward between them. Ginny looked at the plates of food. "So..." She said. "You cook?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"That's..." She trailed off.

"I don't want to talk about my cooking skills." He said. "As amazing as they might be."

Ginny bit her lip, unsure where to start. "I talked to my mom. She said...she said you called and that she said some things to you." She took a deep breath. "Mike, those pictures. They were from years ago. I thought Trevor had deleted them, but...Are you really going to play for the Cubs?"

He hung his head, confirming her worst fears. He was going to leave her.

"Was it...was it because of me?" She asked, needing to know.

He swallowed. "I'm not going to lie and say it was unrelated." He shut his eyes. "There were tons of contributing factors. Not least of which was...that I was sure you were angry at me...and that you could do better." He paused. "Plus...some...some pretty shitty things happened in the clubhouse the last couple of days." He murmured. "I just...I didn't want to...I was worried that there was nothing left for me in San Diego."

"Mike." Ginny breathed. "I know my mom said-"

"You said you loved me." He interrupted. "Last night when I came in."

She nodded. "You said you loved me too."

"Do you?" He asked.

"Yes." She said. "I do."

He reached out across the kitchen island, she put her hand in his. "Then that's all that matters." He lifted her hand to his lips. "We can figure the rest out."

"But Chicago."

"I don't think I have it in me to do more than one more season, Ginny." He came around, pulling her close. "I'm willing to try this long distance, because... I don't see a life after baseball that doesn't include you." He looked worried, as though he'd said too much.

She moved closer, wrapping her arms around him.

"So those are my cards." He said. She pulled back slightly. He was close, his nose brushing against hers. "Think you could live with that?"

"I think I can." She whispered. "I won't like it...you being so far away, but-"

Mike's phone rang. The two of them groaned. Mike looked up at the ceiling. "What now?" He grumbled, going to the table and grabbing the phone. "Oscar, I'm..." His expression changed. "Really?" He said, listening to the man on the other line. He turned to grin at Ginny. "No. That's...that's too bad...bummer, really." His tone didn't match his words at all. He walked forward, pressing Ginny into the island. "Thanks, bye." He hung up, dropping the phone on the table.

"Mike what was that?"

"I..." He reached down and picked her up. As if it was a reflex, she wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms going over his shoulders. "Am not going to Chicago."

"Wha-" Her question was cut off by Mike kissing her. She lost herself, gripping his shirt, her head swimming. He was staying, he was here, he was hers. They broke apart, breathing heavily. "The trade fell through?" She asked, putting her hands on both sides of his face. She could melt in his eyes. Brown with flecks of green and currently trained on her.

He nodded, pulling her away from the kitchen island.

"Mike!" She yelped, wrapping herself tighter around him. "Your knees."

"Are fine." He mumbled, rocking his hips forward and oh was she not expecting that. Her brain shorted out as Mike walked towards his bedroom, depositing her on his bed. He stood at the edge of the bed, looking at her. Her throat went dry. She wanted more, but he seemed content to just look at her. She squirmed slightly.

"Mike."

"Just..." He brushed his finger against her ankles. She jumped, goosebumps forming on her skin. "I've thought about this... Can't believe it's actually real"

She hummed. "Are you sure? Senility could be setting in, old man."

His eyes narrowed. "Oh...I'll show you old man." He moved over her, his body melding with hers as he nuzzled her neck. His beard was soft and she arched her back upwards when he pulled away, chasing the sensation. He chuckled. "Trying to take off your shirt, Gin." His voice rumbled in his chest. "So you can have this beard you love all..." He pulled her shirt off. "Over..." He unhook her bra and let a small groan at the sight of her breasts. "You." He ground into her and she couldn't help the small whine that escaped her at the feeling of his erection pressed against her. Even through all her clothes she could tell; Mike was big. Bigger than probably anyone she'd ever been with.

The revelation made her squeeze her legs together. Mike chuckled, sliding slowly down. "Someone likes the beard." He teased.

"Not..." Ginny grit her teeth as he peeled her pants off her legs before resettling between them. "Not enough evidence."

"Oh." Mike purposely looked at the crotch of her underwear. It was soaked, she could feel it as she shifted. "I'd say there's plenty of evidence."

Her retorted was cut short by a cry as Mike pushed her panties to the side and pressed his tongue against her. She wasn't capable of thinking, speaking. Just...feeling. She rolled her hips, gripping Mike's hair trying to keep him in place, not that he was going anywhere. In fact, he seemed perfectly content to drive her completely out of her mind. She didn't hate the beard. She loved it. She needed it.

"Mike." She cried, her body shaking and her vision going white.

"It's your turn." Mike said, nudging her with his elbow. They decided to spend the rest of the day in bed, swapping secrets. So far he'd learned that she'd been part of a Beyonce cover group in college, that she'd let her brother cut her hair in 1st grade and had to wear a hat everywhere for 5 months (a padres hat, naturally) and that she was afraid of caterpillars. He'd told her about his dog, Jedi, the first time he'd picked up a baseball and how he'd once set his eyebrows on fire in chemistry class ("you see how dangerous facial hair is old man?" "Do you really need a refresher course in how much you love the beard.") Then there were the less silly things about their childhood. She told him more about her parents. He opened up about Dave Grissom and how his mother had used him to run scams when he was younger. They laughed, cried. They kissed when things got too heavy, but they didn't hide from each other. They were open, honest.

She hummed, stretching as she looked up at the ceiling.

"And I can ask anything?" She asked.

"Uh huh." He put his arm around her. "Especially..." He moved so his mouth was next to her ear. "If you want to ask me to pose like that poster of me you had in your room." Ginny's eyes closed and she rubbed her legs together.

"No poster." She mumbled. Mike laughed. It was adorable that she was still sticking to that story even when it was so obvious she was lying.

"I can still do the pose anyway." He pulled away from her and got up. "Let me see, it was probably my rookie poster. Which means..." He went over to his closet and grabbed a baseball bat. "That I was in the middle of a swing." He glanced over his shoulder at Ginny covering her face, trying not to laugh.

"Don't hurt yourself, old man." She said, sitting up. Her hair was tousled, her neck and chest covered in small hickeys that matched the ones she'd left on him. He also knew she probably had beard burn on her thighs, not that she was complaining.

"Guess it's a good thing my girl's a doctor." He winked, putting his bat up and pretending that a pitch was coming.

"Not that kind of doctor." Ginny rolled her eyes. "Though I do have experience treating old dogs..." She trailed off. Mike chuckled and took a swing, freezing with his bat up, shading his eyes as if he was looking after a ball. "STRIIIIIIIIKE ONE." Ginny said, imitating an umpire. Mike frowned at her. She was grinning, dimples on full display. He dropped the bat.

"That was a home run and you know it." He said, climbing up the bed, towards her.

"Wanna run the bases, Lawson?" She asked, her hands going to cup his face. She brushed her nose against his.

He captured her mouth, nipping at her lower lip. She deepened the kiss, rolling him onto his back, her tongue probing his mouth. He groaned, gripping her hips as she ground down on him. She pulled up.

"First." she said. He looked up at her, floored by her. Taking his hand she guided it to her stomach. He squirmed, his swelling erection pressing against her ass. She rolled her hips, pulling his hand upwards. He licked his lips, brushing his fingers against the underside of her boobs. She sighed, letting go of his hands, allowing him free range to do as he liked.

"Second." He said, rolling his thumbs against her hardening nipples, sitting up, he captured one in his mouth. Her hips stuttered against his. She was soaked, the slick coating his lower abdomen. He growled slightly, loving the way she gasped against him.

"Mike." She hissed. He let his other hand trail down, caressing her curves and gripping her ass. "Third." She panted out, grinding down on his fingers.

She slid down, lifting slightly. Mike's eyes fluttered closed as she guided him inside her. "Home." He whispered.

"The entire city of San Diego still hates me." Ginny mumbled later, swinging her legs on the kitchen counter. Mike was making them lunch and had banned her from any participation. ("I don't want lunch to cost me my house." "Burning this place down would be a public service, Lawson.")

Mike tilted his head, looking at her intently. "I may have an idea."

.

"It's been a week since Mike Lawson released those...shall we say personal? Photos of himself on the internet and they're still all anyone can talk about."

"Gin." Mike shouted over his shoulder. "Are you seriously watching this?" Ginny's head poked up over the side of the couch.

"Maybe?" She smirked, looking back at the TV. Mike walked over and handed her a beer before glaring at Satchel and Leia who'd taken his spot on the couch.

"Out of the way, mutts." he said. Ginny shook her head and scooted over, patting the space next to her. Mike debated standing his ground and making the dogs move but the prospect of being curled up next to Ginny was too tempting. He sat down, pulling her against his side. "Pretty soon they'll have taken over the entire couch." He muttered. Ginny wasn't listening. Her eyes were glued to the screen where they were showing the naked pictures Mike had posted to the internet. ("Tastefully nude, Baker" "Bareass naked, Lawson")

"If you want I can have them printed and blown up for you." Mike smirked. "That way you can update your poster collection."

Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Mike Lawson's impromptu photoshoot, while a clear show of support for his girlfriend's leaked personal pictures, has begun a national conversation on the sexist way we as a society react to nudity."

Ginny's eyes narrowed. "Sure. Women have been body shamed since forever, but a man strips down and all of a sudden everyone's a feminist."

Mike chuckled. "What can I say Baker? I am the savior of feminism."

Ginny smacked him with a pillow.

"Of course Lawson needs all the good press he can get, considering his less than stellar performance on first base at last night's game."

It was Mike's turn to hit Ginny with a pillow as she laughed at the replay of Mike letting a ball go through his legs. Leia added a bark and Satchel grunted his agreement, making Ginny laugh even harder.

"So now everyone's against me." Mike frowned before grabbing Ginny around the waist. " I'll remind you that I only embarrass myself on first so my knees are strong enough to do this." He picked her up and marched her to the bedroom. Ginny waved goodbye to the dogs, laughing the entire way there.