SUNSHINE

twenty seven

[ Welcome to another crackhead hour update from yours truly. You guys just might hate me for this one... UPDATE - I just finished the chapter, and even I hate myself for writing it. Enjoy. ]

Jackson was released from the hospital a couple of days later and had about four weeks of recovery time, which meant four weeks of Casey being able to treat him like a king, something she did not get to do often. Daniel had been doing the same thing because he still felt guilty about everything that happened, but they all tried to get through to him and remind him that everyone was fine and it could have been worse - way worse.

The holidays came and went, and classes started back up, leaving all of them to go their separate ways until spring break, but by then, Casey would be starting her season with the Orlando Pride, so she would not be able to see them all as much as she would like to. She was starting preseason in just a couple of weeks, and she had a couple sessions left of her online classes to complete her junior year, then she would not pick classes up again until late July, so she would at least get a couple months off to focus on sports instead of school.

"Casey, welcome home." Alex said when she walked in the door to their home. Blue came running through the house and attacked her with kisses, and Casey instantly got down on the floor to pet him.

"Thanks. Ready for the new season?" She asked as she stood back up straight, hugging her teammate and housemate.

"Yeah, Marc's already got training planned for the first day we can train next week." She chuckled.

"Hey, how's Blue around other dogs?" Casey questioned, and her teammate gave her a look.

"He's pretty good, why do you ask?" She responded with a laugh.

"Well, my parents kind of got me a dog when I got home after the season ended last year, and I was hoping I could bring him down." She explained to her, and Alex just laughed.

"Yeah of course. Just long as you pitch in on dog food and he's trained." She responded, and she watched as Casey set her backpack down and went back out the door. A few minutes later she walked in with a massive Swiss Shepherd.

"Good, because I brought him with me. Meet Atlas." She said, and they both laughed as they introduced the dogs to one another. "And trust me, he's well trained. He used to be either police or military, so he takes commands well."

"Casey he's gorgeous. It must have cost your parents a fortune." Alex said as she kneeled to meet Atlas herself.

"I'd rather not think about that." She answered lowly with a sigh, and Alex stood back up.

"Alright, I'll let you get settled back in, I'm going for a run then probably get a smoothie or something on the way back." Alex informed as she grabbed Blue's leash.

"Hey, if you give me a couple minutes, mind if I join you? We've been cooped up in a car for the last two hours, I'm sure he'd love to stretch his legs." She asked, and Alex smiled.

"Sure, I always enjoy the company." She said, and Casey disappeared to her bedroom to change and come with her.

--

Another couple of weeks had passed and it was finally time for their first game of the season, and the Pride could not be more amped up. Casey had been assigned DJ for the locker room since she joined the team a season and a half ago, so she had the game day playlist blaring through the speaker system in the locker room as her teammates were coming in to get ready for the game. They were all singing and dancing along to the music as they got ready to take the field for warmups and then kick off against the Utah Royals.