Tape Recorder:

- Thursday -

As practice progressed, it was clear that Ginny had been working hard and earned her way to a spot on a major league baseball team. She was not a novelty, not just the first female player at her level, she was an asset to the Padres.

Mike on the other hand was off his game. And boy was it noticeable. It's a good thing today was just practice, but they had a home game tomorrow, with Ginny and Livan starting. About 20 minutes in Livan took notice… "Hey Cap, can I have a word?" motioning off to the side.

Mike headed over to Livan, who had also walked just far enough away from other teammates to not be heard. "Whatch 'ya need?"

"You and Baker… You still a thing?" Livan hadn't paid much attention to their relationship once Ginny left. He was pretty self involved, and if it didn't affect him, he didn't much care.

"Yes, well I think so. But she's pissed as hell at me. Do we need to talk about this right now." Mike responded.

"Yeah Papi…, you asked me to call either of you out if were making bad decisions based on your relationship. Ginny is rockin' it today. But you man… Get it together. Fight or no fight with her - Get your head in it. I start tomorrow, but you're up the Saturday. You have two days to figure your stuff out." And with that Duarte turned and walked away.

Mike stood there a little stunned. Did he just get called out by Duarte, yup. Blip and Ginny both watched the whole exchange go down and were thankful Livan was able to tell Mike what they weren't able to say. They were too close to Mike emotionally, for Mike to really listen to them. But Livan had no emotional ties to Mike, he just wanted to win games, and had been tasked by his Captain to help keep he and Ginny focused on winning.

Mike's focus that practice got a little better. He still wasn't playing at 100%. But he was thankful for bringing Livan into their situation. He still had job to do. After practice he ran up next to Ginny, "So, do you want to go back to the house to talk?" Hoping that the privacy and the memories of their home would help the reconciliation along. But what he really needed most was to remember what happened that led to those pictures being taken.

"Not the house… Let's go for a drive…" Ginny responded.

"What ever you want." And with that, they both went to shower and change. Mike was dressed first and waiting in the locker room. Once Ginny finished, she headed towards they guys locker room, but ran into Blip first. He spoke to her quietly in the hall. "Hey Ginny, he didn't do anything other than what you saw in the photos. I was with him the whole night. I drove him home. He loves you, you know that."

"You were with him?! Did you know how drunk he was?" She asked.

"I knew his was pretty bad when I saw him dancing. But I didn't realize he was that drunk until the blonde backed up to him to start the lap dance and he just sat there. I went over to tell him how pissed you'd be, only to realize he was half asleep. I woke him up and he walked out by himself. I had no idea he didn't remember anything until I spoke to him before practice. Look, I like you two together, and don't want to see one stupid picture screw this up."

"You promise me nothing else happened?"

"Promise. You know me… I have your back Baker." Blip wrapped his arm around her. Now go make up."

"Eventually, we will. It killed me to see those images. And then to hear the guys teasing him about all the girls he could have had last night if you hadn't taken him home early."

"Trust me, he would have just passed next to anyone trying to take advantage of him. Now, go talk to him." And with that Blip gave her a push down the hall the way a big brother would nudge his little sister.

Mike noticed the tail end of their conversation and hoped his co-captain had lobbied on his behalf. As Ginny approached he asked "So Baker… miss the ocean? Wanna go hit some golf balls at Torrey Pines?" There were still other players and staff around, so they tended to refer to each other by their last names.

"Sure Lawson. But I have dinner plans with Ev, so I need to be back at my hotel by 7."

"So Blip saved your ass today…" Ginny started once they got in the car.

"Remind me to thank him. Does that mean we can get your stuff from the hotel?" and he went to grab her hand.

"I'm not ready to move back in yet. This was a little bit of a wake up call for me. I had a moment where I didn't trust you. And we are going to have many more public situations to navigate without one another. Now that we are both in the same town, it's only going to make it harder."

"Ginny," he started while still holding her hand as they drove up the coast, "I was only drinking because I was so excited to have you home. I feel like I'm being punished for wanting you back."

"Why didn't I trust you, why didn't I ask you if there was more to the story than just those few pictures?"

With that, Mike pulled over into a parking lot of a little shopping center. She had asked a question he had no idea how to respond to. "Other than those stupid pictures - which Blip explained, I've done nothing but love you, and only you. Is it that you don't trust me, or that you are scared and looking for a reason to get out of this relationship? Because I'm not letting go of you that easily. I never once cheated on Rachel until she moved out. I've never cheated on you, and if I ever had any interest in cheating, I would leave you first, I don't cheat. So spill Ginny Baker. What is going on?"

Tears started welling up in her eyes. He had called her out, he knew her better than she knew herself sometimes. "I jumped to conclusions about the pictures and the first thing that came to my mind was 'I worked so hard to get back to San Diego for a guy, not for myself.' Then I walked into the locker room the next day to be greeted by my team and I forgotten the other reason why I wanted to get back to San Diego. Somehow I lost sight of the game. What if our relationship causes me to loose focus on the game? I don't know if I can choose between both of you. I just need a little time."

"I'll give you time., but I don't think you need it. You can be a ball player and be in love." He lifted her hand to his beard and gently kissed it. "I'm not going anywhere and I'm not loosing you. Not to a stupid drunk night, not to a few pictures captured at just the wrong moment. Not to a baseball game, nope. I told you, I'm all in." He started the car and turned back around and took her back to her hotel. "Baker… this isn't some middle school, crush where I give you a carnation as ask you to go to the dance."

"I never went to my Middle school dance." Ginny laughed.

"Well at least I can still get you to smile."

"Always, Old man."

They never made it to hit golf balls. He dropped her off out front of her hotel. It's not like he could lean over and kiss her. It was too public. He looked at her, and just wondered how all of this went sideways so fast. What was going on in her head that she wasn't telling him?

"See you at the game tomorrow." She squeezed his hand and left holding back tears.

- Friday -

Mike wasn't going down without a fight. He planned on making sure she knew she was loved. He may be giving Ginny her personal space to figure out what ever she was going through. He still didn't really understand. All he knew was he was sleeping alone at night while the woman he loved was across town in a sterile hotel room.

When Ginny arrived to the locker room that afternoon, two dozen pink carnations had arrived.

The card read: "Will you go to the dance with me? Check [ ] YES or [ ] NO"

Most of the guys in the locker room had a ton of fun teasing her about the flowers and how cheesy the carnations were. Tommy was concerned they might be from a stalker. Blip could tell by the look on Mike's face, and that he wasn't teasing Ginny, they were from Mike.

Ginny just smiled. She knew they were from Mike. She went to her locker room to change for the game and sent Mike a text [YES… I'll be your date to the dance, but only if I can wear an '80's style blue taffeta dress.]

Fast forward a few hours… Ginny had a great first game back with the Padres, but they had another game tomorrow, so no fun tonight.

- Saturday -

The next day, Ginny arrived to the locker room to find an old school, 1980's tape recorder with a post it note on it. On the post it, there was an arrow that said 'PUSH ME' pointing to the PLAY button. Again, the team had fun teasing her and gathered around to see what would play. A song came on that Ginny remembered from a movie Mike made her watch more than once during the off-season.

Mike loved the movie Top Gun. So when the song "You've lost that lovin' feeling" by Berlin came on, Ginny couldn't help but laugh so lough that she put her hand over her mouth. Tommy was still convinced she had a stalker. The other guys were wondering who this guy was?

Back in her locker room she sent Mike another text to acknowledge his gift… [Room 405, after the game.]

Mike didn't see the text until after the game, which is probably a good thing since he was catching instead of Duarte. He had seen Ginny smile, and that was enough for him to focus on the game in front of him. It wasn't until he was back in the locker room after the game that he saw her text. He shouted out a huge "Yes!"

About an hour later, he was knocking on her hotel door. "I knew you couldn't resist the beard for too long." He leaned in to kiss her.

She kept the kiss short. "Don't get too many ideas. I want to take it slow. I ordered a pizza and want to watch a movie – not Top Gun. But you're going home tonight. Got it."

"You're the boss." Mike settled in on the couch and Ginny leaned in next to him. She forgot how comfortable she felt next to him. She needed to tell Mike what was really bothering her. Not tonight. She just wanted to be next to him for this moment. After they had eaten pizza and the movie ended, he stood up and put his hand out to pull her up close to him. "I'm leaving tonight. But not because I want to." Then he kissed her and she didn't cut this kiss off short. It was the reunion kiss he had wanted since her plane landed.

When the kiss finally ended, Mike leaned up to kiss her forehead, "See you tomorrow." And he headed to the door. Just before he exited, he turned to her and said "hey Baker…"

"I know, you love me…" She was starting to get as snarky as Mike.

- Sunday -

Ginny arrived before Sunday's game to find a hat that said BOSS in bold letters with a card that's said "I'm you're biggest cheerleader." She headed to change for the game and texted Mike, [I can't wait to see you in a short skirt with pom poms]. This text he got before the game. He had to show Blip, and they both got a good laugh out of that. Blip responded "man, I never want to see you in any sort of skirt, your legs are too hairy."

Neither Mike or Ginny was starting the game that Sunday. But Ginny didn't say anything about what would happen after the game. Mike looked at her during the game to see if he could get a response. Nothing, she was engaged with the game, and he wasn't going to push it. After the game he didn't have a chance to talk to her with out anyone else around, so he texted [plans this evening Rook?]

No response. He'd call her later. He didn't want to risk being seen at in her room again, so he'd need to settle for a talking.

He got home and called. Still no response. They were leaving for Florida in the morning, so he went upstairs to his room to put a quick bag together. He was almost done when he heard something at the door. He went out to the stairs to see Ginny standing in the entryway with her bags.

"Hotel was getting expensive." She joked.

He practically flew downstairs to her and grabbed her in a huge hug. "Can't breath Lawson."

"So are you home for good?" He asked.

"We need to talk first." She went to the fridge and grabbed a beer for both of them. They moved over and sat on the couch.

"Mike, I was late last month…" She looked at him and it was clear he didn't get it. "I thought I was pregnant for about 48 hours, and I panicked. I'm not, by the way, and I went and got on the pill, but we're still using condoms."

"Why didn't you tell me, babe."

"Mike, I know you can't wait to start a family, but I'm not ready, and I may not be ready to have kids for another 5 to 10 years. I'm not sure how I can be a mom, be pregnant and a professional ball player on your timeline. So when I saw those pictures of you, I worried that you might be thinking the same thing. Maybe we're not compatible long-term when it comes to marriage and family and the real important things."

"Gin, you're right, I want a family, but while the guys joke about me being 'old.' I'm not that old. I'd rather wait 'til I'm 50 to have kids with the right person, than rush into something with the wrong person in the next few years."

"So you're my biggest cheerleader?" She asked, and clinked their beer bottles together.

"The absolute biggest." And he took her beer from her and leaned in to kiss her. That night, he finally got share his bed again with the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Too bad they had to spend the next few nights apart in Florida. But they had their home to come back to, and that was good enough for now.

- - - Up Next - - -

They tell the team about their relationship.