After a brief stop in Houston to see her family, Gabrielle returned to Stanford. She had her official U.S. Soccer bag slung across her chest as she pulled her small beat-up suitcase behind her as she walked from where her Uber had dropped her a few houses down from hers. Once she got herself and her luggage up the slightly crumbling concrete stairs, she unlocked her door and walked into the very college housing kitchen of the very college house she rented with four other English students from her year.

"Oh-hh shit, wh-who has fuc-fuc-fucking re-re-returned to us," Twickenham called as he turned around from his seat on the couch and spotted her.

"We know we are not your jock friends, but you could not have told us you were this good at soccer?" Orion stated as he and the rest of her housemates converged on the living room.

"Of course, she kicks ass," Stalonus called excited. "Ya'll are just never paying attention."

"She never gave us any evidence to the contrary. We are just not the demographic to take note of such things," Euripides stated.

"Okay," Gabrielle called with a smile and a laugh. "Okay, all of you. Look, I did not even know that I was going to do this good and suddenly be skyrocketed to fame."

"Yo-yo-yo-yo-yo-you don't sound a-a-a-all that hap-ap-appy about that?" Twickenham asked.

Gabrielle sighed she slumped down into the worn-out couch in their living room. "No," Gabrielle replied shaking her head. "Of course, I'm happy about it. It's just weird."

Euripides peered at her intensely as he sat on the chair across the living room from her. "But is this not the dream you have always been working towards?"

She shrugged. "I just spent three weeks with the with the U.S. Women's National Team. I'm like friend with Amarice now. Ephiny is basically my mentor and she is on my Gatorade bottles," she stated pointing toward the kitchen. "And, and then there's Xena—"

"Hey, we ordered way too much fucking pizza," Stalonus called from the kitchen interrupting her as Orion was filing cups of box wine beside him. "You want me to heat you up some? It's mushroom and onion."

"Also, this wine, Gatorade, or rather flat Diet Coke?" Orion asked. "You haven't been here to supervisor the shopping and it fell to pieces without your delicate care."

"Uhm," Euripides uttered understandingly at Gabrielle back in the living room.

Gabrielle laughed. "Actually, yes. To pizza and Gatorade. Thank you," she called into the kitchen.

Orion entered the living room placing a cup of Diet Coke in front of Euripides, placing three cups of wine of the scratched-up coffee table for himself, Stalonus, and Twickenham, and held out a bottle of Gatorade to Gabrielle.

She spun it around until she could fully show the photo of Ephiny on the label to Euripides. "She bought me a vodka-soda at a dance club in Atlanta," Gabrielle called point at it. "She knocked me on my ass in practice like 10 days ago. I still have the brush."

"What's going on in here?" Stalonus questioned as he handed paper plates of pizza to Gabrielle and Twickenham and kept one for himself.

"Ga-Gabrielle has me-me-met her heroes and is st-struggling to come to terms wit-wit-with it," Twickenham stated.

"Yeah?" Stalonus called with raise eyebrows as he dropped to the floor beside the coffee table.

Gabrielle groaned and focused on her pizza for a moment.

"Darling, Gabrielle," Euripides began. "If you may ignore these simpletons for a moment, 'and then there's Xena?'"

"Wa-wait, Xena?" Twickenham questioned. "I know that name."

Orion nodded. "So do I."

Stalonus groaned. "She is the best player. She had been on the team for like 15 years."

Orion glared at him. "You are overestimating how much I know I about soccer."

Gabrielle clasped her face in her hands and shook her head. "That Visa ad," she called at her housemates. "The one that ran during every commercial break on Hulu during our 'Buffy' rewatch."

"Oh," Twickenham and Orion loudly called in unison as Euripides nodded in remembrance and Stalonus shook his head, still annoyed at their lack of knowledge.

Gabrielle groaned at them. "Ugh, this is why I need a cup of the box wine right now. All of this is so weird right now. You guys know her from a Hulu ad and I swear she nearly kissed me at a team party."

"What?!" Orion and Stalonus shouted.

Twickenham glared at her. "Th-th-that was her wi-wi-wife in that ad."

"Lao Ma," Stalonus clarified. "Of the Chinese Women's National Team. But she's her ex-wife now." He visibly reacted to his realization about the timeline. "It was made public only a few weeks before Gabrielle got the call up. Ohh Gabs, you home wrecking right now?"

"No," Gabrielle called at him seriously. "Nothing has even happened between us—"

"Yet," Euripides added with a smile.

Gabrielle scoffed at him and then continued. "And Xena told me they are done."

"Oh, the lady from the Visa ad told you she and the other lady from the Visa ad are done?" Orion questioned.

Gabrielle leaned back into the couch. "Look, I told you my life is weird. So, where is my wine cup?"

Stalonus bounded over the back of the other couch and ran into the kitchen to get it.

Xena got a few weird looks from the handful of people smoking on the sidewalk outsider her destination in Lexington, Kentucky.

"Ya'll havin' a good night?" she questioned them with a smirk, knowing she'd be confusing them.

She patted the shoulder of the young man sitting on the wooden stool outside the front door as she walked past him. He was technically the bouncer, but the place was barely ever rowdy enough for her that. But, he had been her late little brother's best friend and given his rough home life she knew her mother would never let him go.

"So, you did decided to grace us with your presence?" Cyrene jeered as her daughter walked up and took a seat at the bar. "Do you know how long it's been since I've seen you?"

Xena kept her eyes on her but pointed up to the television on the wall that was replaying highlights from the qualifier tournament. "Probably only a few minutes."

Cyrene sighed at her as she turned to grad a can from the cooler behind her, cracked it, poured it into a glass, and pushed it to Xena.

"New milk stout out of Louisville. You'll like it."

Xena took a sip and smiled. Of course, her mother was right. She peered up at her impressed. "Minya thinks you're a beer god."

"I'm surprised she didn't visit before you did," Cyrene stated rising her eyebrows in annoyance at her.

"Xena sighed. "Mom, I didn't know Lao Ma and Ming Tien were coming."

"Yes, I know. Evie texted. Texted. Something you could easily do, Xena," her mother criticized.

Xena grumbled and peered around the bottle shop for a moment. She spotted four people staring at her intensely: a lesbian couple to her left and two pre-teens with their parents to her right. Xena made brief eye contact with all of them before turning to her mom behind the bar.

"You want to get this naggin' out now or you wanna wait? 'Cause I think I need to go sign some autographs."

Cyrene noticed the two groups and smiled at Xena. "Go," she told her. "You should get that out of the way because I've gotten word from Aphrodite about some visitors we are getting later."

Xena peered at her intrigued. "Okay," she told her.

After Xena was done signing three autographs, taking two photos, and having one causal conversation with the couple in their 30s and one awkward nervous conversations with the cousins of 12 and 14, she returned to her seat at the bar before her mother.

Cyrene gestured to her right. Xena turned to peer at the tables that could be considered the most private in the tap room if anyone were considered private.

Aphrodite stood out since she was dressed in hot pink, like usual. Beside her was Caesar, the U.S. Soccer President, and Velasca, the recently appointed NWSL Commissioner. Ephiny was at the table as well. Xena assumed it was in her role as the USWNT player's association president.

"Huh," Xena uttered turning to her mother, who was shrugging her shoulders as she poured a bottle of cider into a glass for a consumer. "Interesting visitors."

Cyrene shrugged back. "My guess would be expansion team?"

"Here?" Xena questioned. "Really?"

Cyrene turned to fill a draft beer for another customer. She turned and placed it in front of her with a smile. "Mostly likely not here," she said directing her attention back to Xena. "Louisville has been campaigning very hard as has Cincinnati."

"Them both too far to be there though," Xena pointed out.

Cyrene shrugged. "You've made this place this popular, Xena."

"Okay, yeah that's true," Xena added with a similar motion. "And a couple teams have turned more regional recently."

"And if they think of what teams in other leagues have done?" Cyrene offered up.

Xena scoffed. "Come on, Mom. We've been in this a long enough. We know they only think women can grow out of pre-existing men's markets."

Cyrene nodded in agreement. "Cincinnati would make the most sense then."

"Louisville's got a strong market too," Xena added. "And both teams are getting dedicated stadiums."

"Oh goddess, save me," Ephiny called dramatically as she draped herself on Xena's back and set her glass on the bar.

Xena chuckled as she reached back and patted her shoulder. "Ain't got nobody to help you out?"

"Ugh," Ephiny called as she graciously took the glass Cyrene filled and placed before her. "Of course not. Impromptu meeting in north central Kentucky?! Paulina could not get here in time and Terries is still recovering in Orlando. If you had agreed to join the goddamn board than you would be here." Ephinyh sighed and slumped onto the bar stool beside her.

"Do you need my help?" Xena asked her teammates seriously.

Ephiny shook her head. "No," she replied. "It basically seems decided from what I could decern from the politics. Velscasa used to work for the Louisville men's side."

Cyrene snorted at she cracked open a beer can for a customer.

"Yeah," Xena replied with a nod at her mother. "We know."

"Good," Ephiny replied sounding defeated. "So, you understand? She wants a team here. I mean, Kentucky. Not here, but Louisville."

The three of them were silent for a moment as they contemplated the possibility.

"That would be must closer to home," Cyrene stated. "You could come home, Xena."

Xena sighed guilty. "I like Chicago, Mom."

Ephiny scoffed. "Yeah, but you more than like the number one draft pick."

Xena peered at her angrily. Ephiny was confused by her expression until Cyrene spoke up.

"What?" Cyrene exclaimed. "Gabrielle?"

"Oh fuck," Ephiny whispered under her breath as she covered her face with her hands. "I'm sorry, Xena. I shouldn't have assumed."

Xena struggled to smile at her. "It's okay."

"Xena?" her mother questioned.

Xena sighed into her glass and then looked up at her mother. "It's nothing. Nothing is happening between us. She's nice and super intelligent, and sweet, and cute, and an excellent right back. We grew close during the tournament. But, there ain't nothin' goin' on between us."

"You've never been a good lair, Xena," her mother told her with a wide smirk.