BENDING THE RULES..A USWNT FANFIC

After A While...

For the next week, Whitney waited for a call from her mother. But it never came. Yes, she was still a bit mad, but she couldn't help but feel excited whenever the phone rang just in case it was Barb. Quite honestly, she missed her mom.

"Why don't you call her babe?" Ash says as she sips her coffee that Tuesday morning. 

"I can't. It would almost be like apologizing. I don't regret anything I said. I don't want to give up the fight." 

"But you don't want to fight, so why not just give up?" Ashlyn wonders.

"Because that would be like proving her right. All of her opinions are completely wrong and she needs to understand that they are not ones welcomed in our home." 

"Give it a few more days, I'm sure she'll come around." 

*7 months later* 

Well, it's been a long time since we caught up with the Harris family. It's been all good things.

Noah is finally settled into the family, perfectly comfortable with everyone. He began playing football for his school in the fall and just finished his first season, earning MVP. 

He along with Brendan, Jordyn and Taylor are now in the 10th grade, with Dalton in 11th, Jonah in 7th and Bryce in 6th. 

Whitney and Ashlyn's marriage couldn't be stronger, but it's November and they still didn't renew their vows. But as much as they want to have the ceremony, there's no rush. 

Bryce and Taylor have both successfully recovered from their injuries, Taylor with her ACL and Bryce with his appendix. Jordyn is going into her second term as Vice President of her class and Brendan is, well just Brendan! Loving life and living it to the fullest. 

It's a lot of firsts lately in the Harris household this upcoming year. Dalton's 17th birthday was a while ago and he is the first in the family to get his driver's license. And there's a whole bunch of 16th birthdays after that, meaning learner's permits and more driving. Whitney's a wreck, Ashlyn thinks it's hilarious. 

It's been 7 months since Whitney last spoke to her mom, and it has been taking quite a toll on her. Anything that happened in the kid's lives, if they scored a goal in their game or got a good grade on a test or even said something funny, Whitney would just shoot her mom a text. But she can't exactly do that anymore. It's not the same with her dad. 

"Babe, I don't wanna rush you into anything, but Thanksgiving is in 3 days and we still don't know if your parents are coming," Ashlyn says from the couple's bed as she watches her wife brush her hair and put her mascara on. 

"I know...I'm just hoping they show up without telling us," Whitney replies as she continues to focus on what she is doing. 

"Yea, they would totally take a flight across the country not even knowing if they're welcome. Just ask them Whitney. If they say no, they say no." 

"I can't...maybe I'll have the courage by Christmas." 

"But Whit, if your parents don't come and my mom doesn't come, then it will just be us for Thanksgiving." 

"What's so wrong with that?" Whitney scoffs as she looks back at Ashlyn.

"Well, we don't know how to cook Thanksgiving dinner...there's no way we can prepare in 3 days."

"Why not? This is the perfect time to learn," 

"But..." Ashlyn replies.

"But what babe? We have enough mouths to feed already...this could be fun."