Alex POV
"Momma! Where are they?" Charlie whines.
I squeeze her in my hip, "They're coming. Their plane landed so they're coming."
"But when?!" She whines again.
I kiss her head, "Have to be patient b-"
"Riley!" She yells.
I turn and see Mack, who looks exhausted and Riley pointing.
I smile as they reach us, "Hey, you made it."
She yawns and nods, while setting Riley down.
I set Charlie down and watch as they hug each other.
I walk closer to Mack and give her a hug, kissing her cheek.
I pull away, "Let's get to the hotel, you can nap."
She smiles, "I'm so tired. Riley had a couple of nightmares and wouldn't sleep on the plane."
I grab her hand, "Okay, let's go."
We get their bag and head to the rental car.
We get in and make our way to the hotel.
"Is that coffee?" Mack asks, holding up my cup.
I chuckle and nod, "It's mine though."
She pouts, "Please."
I smile, "Look at that face. Of course you can have some."
She closes her eyes and sips it, "Ahh."
I chuckle and grab her hand, intertwining our fingers.
I continue driving and look over not even five minutes later to see her sleeping peacefully.
I look in the mirror and see Riley and Charlie out too.
I sigh out of happiness.
We finally make it to the hotel and I get out, opening Mack's door.
I rub her cheek and lean in, pressing my lips against hers.
I feel her smile and pull back, "Hi, sleepyhead."
She smiles sleepily, "Hi."
She turns around and then turns back, "Nap?"
"Nap." I confirm.
"You have a few hours until you can check in, but you can nap in mine and Charlie's room."
"Okay. Thanks."
I grab their things and Mack grabs Riley and Charlie.
We get inside and ride the elevator up then get to our room.
Mack places Riley and Charlie in a bed and packs pillows around them then falls into the other bed.
I crawl in next to her and run my hands through her hair.
I kiss her forehead, "Night, Mack."
I watch as her eyes close and her breath evens out.
I pull my phone out and start scrolling.
I go through my email and review anything important that needs my attention.
"Momma." I hear mumbling.
At first, I think it's Charlie, but look over and quickly realize that it's Riley.
I get up from the bed and walk over to Riley.
I start rubbing her back and shushing her until she settles down to sleep.
Thankfully she does and I sigh.
'I hate that she lost a mom.'
I walk back to the bed and watch Mack snore away lightly.
'I hate that she lost a wife.'
I sigh again and smile thinking about my life since meeting them.
'They both make me so happy.'
I reach for Mack's hand and pull it to my lips, then slide closer until I can wrap my arm around her.
I close my eyes with a smile on my face.
Mack POV
"You're sure Dani is okay with both of them?" I ask while we walk.
She squeezes my hand, "Yep. She's got it and she'll call if she needs something."
I let out a breath and nod.
She stops and looks around then leans in and connects our lips.
I close my eyes and savor the kiss and feel her pull away.
I open my eyes and see her looking at me with so much care, "Hi."
I chuckle, "Hey."
"We're going to have fun and our girls will be okay."
I nod, "You're right, I just worry."
She rubs my cheeks with her thumbs, "I know you do. It's okay to worry."
I smile and she pulls me along as we make our way into the stadium.
She keeps pulling me until we're walking into a section.
My eyes widen and I shake her hand.
She looks at me, "What?"
"This. This is like so cool. Like the stage is RIGHT THERE."
She chuckles, "Yep, it is."
We walk and sit in the seats and I lean back.
I reach into my pocket and feel for the bracelet.
I feel the beads and fidget with them, looking at Alex.
She turns to look at me, "Hey, you want a beer?"
I smile and nod.
"Okay. Be right back." She says and walks off.
I close my eyes.
'Hi babe, if you're there. Always will love you, but she's a good person and she will love us.'
I feel a hand on my shoulder and open my eyes seeing Alex looking at me worriedly.
She holds out a beer and I take it, "Thanks."
She sits down and faces me, "Are you okay?"
I smile, "Yeah, I'm great."
She smiles and turns to look at the stage.
"Hey Lex?"
She turns to me, huge grin on her face.
"I made this for you."
I pull the bracelet out of my pocket and look at it.
I grab her hand and slide it on.
She pulls her arm away and looks at it.
She looks at me with wide eyes, "You're sure?"
I bob my head, "I've been talking to Ally, or her spirit. Really probably to no one. I've been waiting for a sign that it's okay for me to move on."
She nods, "I heard you talking on our first date. I figured you were talking to her, but I didn't want to ask." She says.
My eyes widen, "I'm not crazy."
She shakes her head, "You're not. I don't think that."
I nod, "I know she'd want me and Riley to be happy. And you make us happy, I heard you with Riley. That was my sign."
She grabs my hand, "I'm going to take care of you two. I promise you."
I feel my eyes fill with tears and nod, "I know that you will and I'm going to do the same."
'Girlfriend.'
Alex POV - two weeks later
"Babe! Come on!" I call.
"I'm coming!" I hear from upstairs.
"She has no concept of time."
I startle and turn to see Mack's mom.
I groan, "Well, I need her to."
Sh chuckles, "Yeah, Ally used to say that too."
I smile, "Is that so?"
She nods, "Obviously, she wasn't able to kick her ass into gear."
She walks away and I watch Mack run down the stairs, tripping and nearly face planting at the bottom.
I shake my head, "It's 7:10."
She stares at me, "What?"
"Be ready by 7, remember when I said that?"
"It's only 10 minutes! I almost made it!"
"Almost is not on time, honey." I say.
She walks closer to me and kisses my cheek, "I'm sorry. I'll try harder."
I sigh, "Please."
"Promise." She says and walks to the living room.
Charlie and Riley are watching Encanto and Mack pauses the tv.
"Okay, hugs and kisses. We will see you two in the morning."
Riley gets up and Mack scoops her up, kissing her forehead and I smile.
Charlie walks over, "Momma, I sleep with Riley tonight?"
I nod and pick her up, "Yup! And you listen, okay? I'll see you in the morning. I love you."
"Love you momma, love you Mack." Charlie says and goes to hug her.
Mack's eyes widen and she hugs Charlie, "Love you too, Charlie."
"Alex?"
I look down and see Riley reaching for me.
I pick her up and she wraps her arms around me.
"Sleep tight, Riley. We'll be back."
She nods and turns her head.
"I love you, Alex." She whispers.
I squeeze her tight and turn my head, "I love you too."
I set her down and she runs to the couch, sitting with Charlie.
Mack pushes play and we walk out.
We get in the car and start driving.
"That was uh-something, huh?" Mack says.
I turn and look at her and nod, "It was."
"What did Riley whisper to you?" She asks.
"I don't tell other people's secrets." I deadpan.
Her eyes widen, "Come on, just tell me."
I laugh, "Are you whining?"
She pouts, "So what if I am."
"I'm surrounded by children." I mumble.
We get to the bar and she turns the car off.
"Your friends aren't going to like interrogate me, right?" She asks.
I shrug, "They should be on their best behavior."
She nods and sighs.
"Whatcha thinking about?" I grab her hand.
She looks at me, "I'm just going to miss you, you're leaving on Tuesday for like almost two months."
I lean over and pull her in for a kiss.
"I'm going to miss you too. But you're going to come to Palo Alto the weekend of my birthday and for the send off game. I'm working on the actual coming to New Zealand piece too, my agent is on that." I say softly.
She nods, "The time change is going to be brutal. We're only going to talk like early mornings or late nights."
I nod, "We'll make it work. I'll have time for you and for Riley."
She smiles and then frowns, "Are we going to see Charlie while you're away?"
I sigh, "I'm talking to Serv tomorrow about that. It shouldn't be a problem. Aside from you and I dating, Riley and Charlie are friends and he should understand that."
She sighs, "Yeah, okay."
I shake her hand, "Ready?"
She looks out the window and nods, then pulls away and gets out.
I get out and walk to her, pulling her in for a hug.
I feel her relax and pull away, leaning in to peck her lips.
"How do you make me feel so much better?"
I shrug, "Guess I just have an instinct when it comes to you."
She smiles and looks down, "Guess you do."
We walk in and I immediately find our crew.
"Alex is late! That's right, folks!" Pinoe yells.
I roll my eyes, "It's not my fault."
"It really isn't, it was mine." Mack says.
I squeeze her hand, "Okay, this is Mack. Mack, this is everyone."
Pinoe walks over, "Megan. So tell me, is our little Alex a top or a bot-"
I kick her in the shin.
"Owwww! Morgan, what the hell!"
I glare at her, "You deserved that and you know it."
I look at Mack who's ears are bright red and pull her to sit down.
"Hey, forget Pinoe. I'm Taylor."
Mack nods, "You're Alex's teammate."
Taylor smiles, "Yeah. Can't miss me, I'm a giant."
She laughs, "True."
"Okay, then this is Rose and this is Naomi." I say.
She waves at them.
"Can I get you guys something to drink?" A waitress walks up.
I look at Mack, "Uhhh."
I chuckle, "Yeah, can I get a margarita on the rocks and this one will have a Pacifico."
She nods and walks off and I turn to Mack.
"Thanks." She says.
I lean in and kiss her cheek, "No problem."
"Okay, so I gotta know how this all happened." Pinoe says.
"Our kids met at the park." I say.
"Wait, you have a kid?" Rose asks.
Mack nods, "Yeah, Riley, she's three."
"Same as Charlie." Pinoe says.
I smile and nod.
"So, you're divorced too?" Pinoe asks.
Mack shakes her head, "My uh- um- she died last year."
I squeeze her hand.
"Oh. I'm so sorry to hear that." Pinoe says and glances at me.
Mack shrugs, "Thanks."
Our drinks get set down and Mack grabs her beer, taking a large gulp.
"What do you do for work?" Naomi asks.
"She's a teacher." I say and smile at her.
"An amazing one." I continue and squeeze her hand.
She smiles and looks down.
"What kind of teacher?"
"Uh, high school English." She says.
"Whoa, that's cool." Rose says.
She nods, "Yeah. I enjoy it. Reading, that is. And writing."
I chuckle at her nerves.
Pinoe narrows her eyes, "You're not going to hurt Alex, are you?"
My eyes widen.
Mack squeezes my hand and I look at her.
"I would never hurt her."
I smile softly and nod.
'I won't hurt you either.'