The next morning Cosima woke up with a splitting headache. She looked at her clock, only to realize she had just an hour before practice. She was lying in her bed above the blankets wearing nothing but her underwear. Since awakening, she'd pieced together some of what had happened the night prior. Still a bit hazy due to the copious amounts of alcohol she'd consumed, she rolled lazily toward her cell phone. Unsurprisingly, it was dead and she had to will herself to move in order to plug it into the charger. Once she was able to turn it on she was startled to see several unread text messages. There were some from her teammates, one from Felix and a few from Delphine. She started with Delphine's since she certainly was the first person on her mind.

1:05AM

D: I'm home Cosima. At Thomas' house actually.

1:30AM

D: I had a great time tonight… Even when considering what occurred, I really do enjoy your company.

2:30AM

D: I know I should be asleep, but I'm beginning to worry. I hope you are okay. Please at least let me know when you are home.

Seeing the messages made Cosima feel ill, and she immediately ran to the bathroom thinking she was going to vomit. After a few moments leaning over the toilet, she realized it was a false alarm and got up to wash her face. As she looked at her reflection in the mirror she was saddened by what she saw. She had anticipated the evening so much after the day she'd had with Delphine, yet there she was hungover and alone. It was a situation she was all too familiar with despite all of the women she'd been with.

After a shower filled with her own passionate rendition of "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" by the Smiths, She began to dress and thought of how she would respond to Delphine. She was hesitant because she could hardly remember anything that happened after the woman had left the club. She had attempted to drown her sorrows with tequila shots and she lost some of the night as a result. She decided it was safer to just go to practice and let her teammates fill in what they could. She would decide how to respond afterward.

As she sped to the field, she instructed SIRI to call her brother. She knew he would talk her down from her frenzy.

"Well hello Sis, how did our little non date go yesterday?"

"Hey Fe… it went well. I mean too well, that's why I called. I saw her again last night."

"Oh no…Did you shag her Cosima? Jesus, you're like a drug addict…"

"No! Will everyone stop assuming the worst of me? Just listen…we met for lunch and she loved the flowers I bought her by the way… and we really had a good time. She flirted with me and when we said goodbye we had like… this moment."

"Flowers? Really? I'm shocked, but good on ya. So what's the problem? Did she have a change of heart?"

"No I actually invited her to Margeaux's thing at the Abbey and she came. She looked amazing Fe, like a 20 out of 10 and she pulled me out to dance and even tried to kiss me but…"

"But what?" He asked in frustration, curious as to what could've possibly happened.

"She was tanked and I thought she would do something she would regret later, so I turned her down. The worst part is she tried to reassure me. I almost gave in but Samantha came and interrupted us."

"This doesn't sound like you Cos…If she wanted to take things further who are you to stop her? It's not like you didn't want it…Is it the boyfriend?"

"Yes...Well that and the fact that I feel out of control when I'm with her. It's like I can't see past the accent, the smile, the hair, oh and the way she licks her lips…God…Fe I'm losing it." She rambled, as she felt her heart rate increase at the thought of the attributes she was describing.

There was a pause as Felix allowed his sister to vent. He almost wanted to laugh at her because he knew just how she felt. Although he'd never heard his sister sound so much like a school girl with a crush, he knew she was probably really falling for this woman. For the first time Cosima was unsure of herself and it was causing her to be insecure and anxious.

"Well Hun, I think you are afraid of rejection. It's not something you're used to and it terrifies you because you're falling for her. The fact that this is happening so soon tells me it may be the real thing. You can't try to control this…it's fate."

"That seems a bit like fairytale nonsense to me but okay." She laughed him off while secretly fearing that there may be some truth to his statement.

"Okay well we will see now won't we? I'm going to wager that you'll call me to tell me I'm right before this ordeal is all over."

"Okay Dude, if you say so…Hey, I'm at the field, I'll talk to you soon."

"Alright, cheers Sis."

…

Walking onto the field Cosima could feel eyes on her. She was terrified that she would be hearing about something terrible she had done the night before.

"Hey Sam!" Cosima called to the woman as she waited for her to come over to her.

"Hey Chica, I'm surprised to see you today. We were already trying to cover for you with the coach."

"Oh my God, what did I do?"

"What? Nothing dude, you just got shit faced and whined about Delphine all night. I took you home so I could pick up my car and I hauled your heavy ass up to your room. You don't remember?"

"No obviously. Why is everyone staring at me then?"

"Did you miss the part where I said you were complaining about fucking things up with your new French girlfriend?"

"No I heard you but I figured I was just bitching to you…I told everyone?"

"Yeah Man you were on and on about it. You were worse than you were when Kat did that interview about you. It was the most sentimental I've ever seen you."

Immediately Cosima felt embarrassed. She was ultimately relieved she hadn't made a complete fool of herself as she'd feared. Fortunately, she was just a partial fool that was in far deeper than she'd ever imagined.

…

Practice was killer, due to her hungover state. Her teammates drank too, but they hadn't gone full on Animal House like she had. Cosima finished the team strategy meeting and decided it was as good a time as any to call Delphine. She could just text her but after ignoring her all day it was only polite to call.

After several rings she heard a click.

"Hello…"

"Uh…hi is Delphine around?"

"No Cosima, she isn't, she went to the studio today and left her phone. She tried to reach you all night."

"Thomas? Yes I know, I'm so sorry, I passed out and then my phone died. My friend Sam, that you met, had to take me home."

"Right…well I'll let her know that you called."

"Okay, thank you!"

"And Cosima…She told me about what happened before your friends showed up. For what it's worth…I respect your restraint, despite the fact that you'd have to stupid not to realize she's mad about you."

"Um thanks I guess…The feeling is mutual. I'm just not a homewrecker you know?"

"Yes, but what he doesn't know won't hurt him…I may be biased though, because I can't stand the bastard."

She laughed at his confession before replying.

"Yeah he sounds pretty dense. Either way, it's Delphine's decision…Thank you for your honesty though. Please tell her I'm sorry."

"Will do Fonzie…will do."

She hung up and shook her head at the nickname. Had everyone heard about this Fonz thing now or just the gays? Either way she was feeling more like Urkel than anyone else at the moment.

During the drive home Cosima began to feel like she was running out of time to figure things out with Delphine. Her first match was Sunday and it was in Vancouver. The time apart would only make figuring out their relationship more difficult. She resolved to spend as much time with Delphine as possible before she had to leave, in order to determine whether their bond was strong enough for Delphine to end things with Olivier.

….

After a radio interview and a meeting with her agent, Cosima was exhausted. She'd gotten home later than expected. She decided to relax and get ready for bed much earlier than usual, in an effort to have a quiet night in. She had been out every night since Friday last and she was beginning to worry it would affect her negatively during the match. Just as she began to doze off she heard her phone ring.

"Hello"

"Allo Cosima, I'm just returning your call"

"Oh thank you…I just wanted to apologize for not responding to you for so long. I got a bit too drunk and my friend had to get me home. I was completely out of it… Please don't be upset." The plea was evident in Cosima's voice despite her tries to sound neutral.

"Il est très bien. It was a long night filled with alcohol and emotions…I'm just glad you're okay." Delphine replied slightly distrusting of Cosima's true reason for not responding to her messages.

"I'm assuming you said you're not upset and I hope you still want to spend time with me. At least until the Cup starts?" Cosima asked hopefully as she awaited a reply.

"Oh right…professional athlete. When does it begin?" Delphine said matter-of-factly, before gathering more information.

"Sunday…in Vancouver. I'd love to see you before then. I think we should talk…"

"I will see Cosima. My schedule is very tight now that we are so close to our release date. I have trailers to edit."

"I see…the perks of us having demanding careers right?" She joked with the hope that Delphine wasn't rolling her eyes at her attempts to act like they were okay.

"Oui…well I have to go now but if you have free time tomorrow night I can spare a few hours." The blonde offered, despite her reservations. Although she wasn't sure she believed Cosima's excuse, she was desperate to see her before she departed.

"Of course, I'll make time…just tell me where you'd like to go." Cosima attempted to placate the blonde by being flexible.

Delphine couldn't help but swoon at Cosima's inadvertent sweet words. Hearing that Cosima would make time for her, and go wherever she wanted, made her dissolve into affection for her. There was no denying that she wanted the woman with a force beyond her control.

"Why don't I make you dinner at your house? I'd invite you to mine but…"

"Yeah of course… I totally get it. Wait… if you're making me dinner does that mean I'm not in trouble?"

"Non, you are in trouble and will be punished…As soon as I get a hold of you."

"What will my punishment be Ms. Cormier?"

"Well Mademoiselle Niehaus, I believe you've earned a spanking. It is only fair given what you've put me through today." Delphine toyed, feeling like changing the tone of their conversation. She was trying to start anew and she knew she wanted to do all kinds of things to Cosima. Spanking was chaste in comparison to a few of her ideas.

"Don't threaten me with a good time." Cosima teased, relieved that they were back on track.

Despite her excitement Cosima was now just anxious about the dinner. The thought of having the other woman alone with her in her home was making her mouth go dry. As her mind wandered, she hoped that the boyfriend problem would be solved by tomorrow night's date.

"Bonne nuit et beaux rêves, ma peu de fauteur de troubles."

"I know part of that was, goodnight maybe? Same to you."

Delphine simply giggled and offered a "Oui, corriger," before hanging up.