1 Year Later: Makayla's POV:

"Merci". I smile at the flight attendants and the pilots as I step off of the private plane I was sent by a friend I met on my travels.

I walk down the steps with my luggage and step onto the tarmac.

"Miss Makayla Heath"? I look to see a man in a suit in front of a black Mercedes.

"I shake his hand. "Please just call me Makayla". "Of course, Makayla".

"Thank you, and you are"?

"Oh, my apologies Makayla I'm Chris and I'll be your driver until you don't need me".

"Thank you, Chris and I'm guessing Sophie arranged this"?

"She did".

"Of course".

Charles opened my door for me letting me sit down before closing it. He then put my luggage in the boot before we set off and headed to our destination.

I decided to ring Sophie who answered straight away.

(Just a heads up all of the translations are from google translate. I cannot speak any language whatsoever so apologies if anything is wrong)

"Makayla, Salut". (Makayla, Hi)

"Salut Sophie". (Hey Sophie)

"Tout va bien"? (Is everything okay?)

"Tu m'as vraiment trouvé un chauffeur"? (Did you really get me a driver?)

"Peut étre". (Maybe)

"Oh mon dieu". (Oh my god)

"De rien". (You're welcome)

"Je n'ai jamais dit merci". (I never said thank you)

"Je connais". (I know)

"Tout ce queue je dois y taller". (Whatever, I got to go)

"Au revoir". (Bye)

I hung up smiling. I should have expected it to be honest, it is Sophie.

"Makayla we're here".

"Thank you, Charles".

Charles comes and opens my door for me and I get out of the car.

"MAKAYLA"!

I turn around to see Lauren running towards me. I smile and laugh when she collides with me pulling me into a bone-crushing hug.

"I missed you kid".

"I missed you too Cheney".

Lauren's facial expression drops. "You are definitely you're Mama's daughter". I laugh at her.

"So does anyone know"?

"Nope, just me and the team staff as well as the stadium staff and the security". I nod.

Lauren takes me to the changing room where the kits are all hung up ready. I stand at Mama's and run my fingers over the back of it. Then I do the same with Christen's and Sharky's. I then find Hailey's and smile at my twin's accomplishment of making the team. Of course, right next to hers is Dylan's.

I turn around to look at the jersey's opposite and see the number I wasn't ready to see. Number 2. My heart dropped at the name on the back of it and tears fell from my eyes.

"Makayla"?

I turned around to Lauren who smiled at me softly. "The teams going to be here soon, so you need to go with James here to your site. You'll find what you need there".

I wipe my face and nod before following James to the suite.

I'm impressed with how nice the suite here is at the Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. James gives me a little tour and shows me where the stuff I need is.

I then thank him as he leaves.

The match is about to start so I put on the hoodie, hat and sunglasses before going outside to the seats there and sitting down.

Roughly about 95 minutes later the match ends with the USA winning 2-1 to England.

There's a knock on my door and James walks in.

"Are you ready Makayla"?

I take a deep breath and nod before following him down.

Every step closer I get more and more anxious. Unfortunately, we get there before I can think about leaving.

"Makayla". I hug Lucy Bronze and Steph Houghton.

"It's good to see you kid". Steph says and I smile. "You saw me 2 weeks ago Steph".

"Yeah, that was too long ago". Lucy responds making me laugh.

"You ready"? Steph says.

"Nope but we're doing it".

"Let's go". Steph taps my shoulder and whistles and the England team gather around hiding me from everyone as we walk to the middle of the field.

The announcer then speaks up.

"Now before anyone leaves the stadium, I'm sure you can see the England team have now gathered at the middle of the field. May I ask that the USA team follow your friend James and follow his instructions".

Since I can't see what's happening I poke Lucy who turns her head and looks at me and I give her a look which she understands. "They're confused but they're doing it". I nod smiling.

The announcer continues. "Okay thank you. Now I ask that Tobin Heath, Hailey Heath and Ashlyn Harris take 4 steps forward. Thank you. Now can you move closer to each other in the middle? Thank you. Now can the rest of the team stay still until instructed? Can Steph, Lucy, Millie and Rachel all step forward"? They step forward and I step with them still hidden. "Thank you, now can Steph and Lucy take a step left at the same time Millie and Rachel take a step right when I say now

3

2

1

Now".

They all step in time and I'm revealed. Gasps are heard all around.

Hailey is the first to do something as she runs at me and jumps into my arms. I catch her and laugh as she cries into my neck. I look at the other two to see them crying frozen in place. I laugh at them and motion them over.

Ash and Mama both walk over so I put Hailey down and kiss her forehead before hugging Ash first.

"I missed you Fishy".

"I missed you too Sharky".

Ash reluctantly let me go so I hugged Mama.

"I missed you so much MK".

"I missed you too Mama".

The announcer then spoke again.

"So for anyone who doesn't know who this is let's give you some information. This is Tobin's daughter Makayla Holden Heath. She is now 20 years old and she hasn't seen or talked to the team or her family for a year now. Makayla has been very busy travelling the world. She has made very large investments in a lot of small businesses. And also started her own which is called Heath 40. They have created homes in every country in Europe with proper staff and care for homeless children, teens and adults. They also have centres for anyone who is going through addiction. Now Makayla just finished an additional small trip in France where she had to check everything. Now she is back to stay with her family for a while". The announcer finished and the crowd roared with cheers and applause and I just bowed my head and smiled.

I looked to the rest of the team who were shocked but were still stood in a line like they were told. A lot of them were crying like Hailey, Mama and Ash were.

To make it easier on myself I decided to go down the line one by one hugging everyone. Thankfully James remembered the order I wanted them in as it made it better for me.

I got to the last person and I froze in front of them. They were already crying and that broke me more. I was stood about 3 feet in front of her.

I smiled softly at her and she smiled back so I opened my arms out for her and she ran and jumped into them. I caught her and held her close to me.

"I'm so sorry Mal". Mal just cried into me and nodded. "I know you are and I'm sorry too".

"No you don't have to apologise. It was all my fault". "I shouldn't have left you though".

"Yeah you're right it's all your fault". I smiled and Mal lifted her head and slapped me making us both laugh.

We stopped laughing and looked at each other.

"Do you still"?

"Yes I do still love you, Mally, Do you still"?

"Yes, I do".

I wiped her tears with one hand and then rested it on her chin. I pulled her face in closer. "Can I kiss you"? Mal nodded so I pulled her closer. We were so close I could feel her breath. Our lips finally met for the first time in nearly two years. I could hear the cheers around but I didn't care, all I was focused on was Mal's lips on mine.

2 hours later:

I'm now at the hotel the girls are staying at and I'm rooming with Mal. Since Lauren knew about my arrival she made it so Mal was the odd one out and I hoped everything went well so we could room together. My luggage was already in my room thanks to Charles and the staff.

Mal and I are currently laying on one of the beds and she is resting her head on my chest.

"Mally"? I whisper cautiously.

Mal lifts her head up off of my chest and looks at me worriedly, "What's wrong Kayla"?

I look down.

"Kayla, What Is it"?

"I know we just got back together but I need to tell you something important".

"Okay. You can tell me anything". Mal repositions us so I'm now laid in between her legs and my head is on her chest.

I take a deep breath and Mal held her hand out for me to grab. I started playing with her fingers.

"While I was in France in the 5th month of being away something happened". Mal didn't say anything she just stayed quiet patiently waiting.

"I and one of the workers called Sophie had gone out for a walk at about 8 pm around the area where we ended up walking to a park. We got so far in the park and at the playground, we heard crying. It was dark and there weren't any lights in that area so we used our phone torches. I decided to climb the climbing frame and look through the big tunnel and I saw a young girl crying".

7 Months Ago:

The girl backed away from seeing me.

"Hey it's okay I won't hurt you I promise. Can you come here so we can help you"? The girl stopped crying and shyly nodded before crawling through the tunnel towards me. I tilted my phone down so the light wouldn't hurt her. She crawled faster to me and as soon as she got to me she sat in my lap.

"Sophie".

Sophie didn't answer but instead immediately came over. After seeing Sophie the girl hid in my chest. "It's okay Sophie won't hurt you either".

Sophie and I brought the girl back to one of our buildings with us and we gave her some food before we decided to see what she would tell us. 

We were now sat on the sofa and we gave the girl a choice of a teddy to hold. She chose a shark making me smile.

"Can you tell me you're name"? The girl shook her head smiling.

I faked being shocked. "No, Did you just say no to me"? She shook her head again. "I'll tickle you". She squealed and tried running but I grabbed her and started tickling her making her laugh.

I stopped tickling her. "Please tell me you're name"? I pouted. "Riley" She spoke clearly. "How old are you Riley"? "Four". "Wow so big already". Riley laughed. We asked her a couple of questions about where she lives and who her parents were but we didn't get any answer so since it was late and Riley was tired we took her to a bed.

Sophie and I then tried to do some research but we didn't come up with anything.  I was smart and made sure that every building had access to everyone's records so we could find out the location of the children's parents. Luckily the police have allowed us to do this so now if we find a child we can at least try and find their parents. We got one of the research workers called Chris to see if he could find anything but he couldn't either. We put posters over the area with where to find and contact us and we even had it on the news.

Present time:

"I then went to Spain for my month trip there and I kept in contact with Sophie and Riley every day.

Once I was done in Spain I quickly went back to France to find no one had contacted us about Riley. I then came to a decision and adopted her. Her full name is Riley Ash Heath". I look to Mal to see her crying.

"I'm sorry Mal". I try to get up but Mal stops me and pulls me in for a passionate kiss. We pull away slightly and we are both smiling. "Don't apologise, you have nothing to say sorry for, you were so brave beautiful and I'm so proud of you". I start to tear up.

"Where is she now"? Mal asks.

"Upstairs".

Mal looked shocked. "What"?

"Sophie got on a flight after me as we didn't want to mess up Riley's sleep schedule and the England team are on the floor above and Sophie was allowed a room".

"Has she been on a flight before"?

"Yeah, a couple of other times. She came on some trips to some other countries and the last one was she came to England with me where we met the England team as they hung out with the kids there and they fell in love with Riley. They hung out pretty much every day with us or they babysat while I was busy working late. England was going to be the last stop before coming home but France needed me for an emergency so we had to delay this trip for 2 weeks. Luckily it worked out since you played England and I could ask them to hide me".

"Wow. What was the emergency?

"Oh there was an issue with the electricity so we had to shut the place down to get it fixed as apparently, it could have blown so we had to find somewhere for everyone for a few days. Then I stayed to make sure everything was okay".

I saw Mal look hesitant to ask something.

"Mal, what is it"?

"I was just wondering if I could meet Riely"? I instantly smiled at Mal wanting to meet my daughter.

"Of course you can. Let me just ring Sophie".

I got my phone and rang Sophie and put it on speaker.

"Makayla".

"Hey, is everything okay"?

That depends". I started to worry after hearing that.

"On what"?

"On who you're asking. I'm fine and Riley's definitely fine".

"Then who isn't fine"? I was now smiling and no longer worried.

"Georgia and Rachel".

"Oh god why"?

"Well, Riley may have decided to do their makeup".

Mal and I started laughing.

"Oooh are you with Mal"?

"Maybe. I blush and Mal kisses my cheek making me blush more.

"Finally. It took you long enough".

"Shut up Sophie".

Sophie just laughed at me.

"Okay what's up anyway"?

"We were wondering if we could come up and Mal can meet Riley"?

"Yeah, of course, We're in Steph's room".

"Okay, we'll be there shortly".

"Okay Makayla, see you booth soon".

"Bye".

We hung up and I looked at Mal to see her look terrified.

"What's wrong Mally"?

"What if she doesn't like me"? I laugh "Mal she's 4 years old if you play with her she'll like you". Mal smiled. "Okay, do you need help"?

"You can help if you want".

I put one prosthetic leg on so Mal watched so she knew what to do. Then she did my other one and she did it perfectly.

We made sure one of us had our keycard then we left our room hand in hand and walked to the elevator. I could tell Mal was still nervous so I held her hand tighter and kissed her slowly and passionately.

We pulled away and I smiled at her. Mal smiled back. "Better"? Mal nodded slowly making me chuckle.

The elevator arrives at the floor above and we walk down the corridor hand in hand till we reach the middle room which is Steph's. I can tell a lot is going on from all of the noise.

I knock on the food and I hear someone stumble and fall into the door. Mal and I look at each other and smile while trying not to laugh. The door opens revealing Nikita looking a mess.

"You okay Keet"? I try and hold my laugh.

"I don't like your daughter anymore".

"Yeah, you do".

"I know. She is so cute it isn't fair". I laugh and we make our way into the room.

Sophie is on one bed with her phone out recording. And on the other bed, Georgia is sat while Riley is doing her makeup. But Rachel isn't to be seen.

Lucy looks at me and smiles. "Luce where's Rachel"? Lucy laughs and points to the bathroom. A lot of noises are coming from there and then Rachel comes out.

"It's not coming off". Everyone laughs but Georgia doesn't

"WAIT WHAT"!

"G I swear to god I've used everything and it's not coming off". Georgia gets up and they both go in the bathroom making us laugh.

"Hey, Riley". Riley looks and sees me.

"Mommy". Riley jumps off the bed and runs and jumps so I catch her.

"You okay Riley"?

"Yes mommy, I did their make up".

"I see. What did you use? Can you show me"? Riley nodded and I put her down. She went over to the bed and handed me some markers. I looked at them closer and they were permanent markers. I laughed and showed Nikita, Steph, Lucy, Mal and Sophie making them laugh.

"How did none of you notice"? I say while laughing.

"She picked them up and wouldn't show us". Lucy responded still laughing.

Riley was sat quietly.

"You okay Riley"?

"Mommy am I in trouble"? Riley pouted at me.

"No baby you're not in trouble. Come here".

Riley jumped into my arms. "Mommy who's that"? Riley was looking at Mal.

"This is Mallory but you can call her Mal or Mally".

"Is she also my Auntie"? I looked at Mal and smiled. "No Mally isn't your Auntie".

"Oh. Who is she"? "Mally is a very good friend of mine".

"Ohhhh okay". Lucy let out a laugh and Riley then went over to Mal and they started talking. I glared at Lucy and she winked at me making me roll my eyes.

Georgia and Rachel came out of the bathroom still looking the exact same.

Steph then spoke up. "You two did remember we have media day and recovery tomorrow and then training the day after and then it's our final game after that right"?

"Uhhhhh". They both looked terrified making us laugh.

Mal looked up from playing with Riley. "It's fine just if anyone asks say you're trying a new good luck charm".

"Yeah, there you go we'll do that, thanks Mal". Rachel says.

"Good luck". Nikita says.

We spent a bit longer in Steph's room telling stories and playing with Riley. We then decided to leave the 5 England players and take Riley to bed. Mal and I went with Sophie to take her.

We managed to get Riley cleaned up and ready for bed quite quickly. Unlucky, for us though Riley had a different idea.

"Mommy"?

"Yeah".

"Can I sleep with you and Mallay tonight"?

"Not tonight Riley". I knew she missed me and loved sleeping with me but we couldn't sleep here because the team would wonder where we are and If Riley slept in our room someone would come in and see her. I wasn't ready to face everyone yet.

"Mommy please, I'll be good I promise".

"I know you will Riley. But no one knows about you yet".

"I'll be a secret spy. No one will know I'm there".

"Oh really? Because what did we learn that happened last time you tried hiding"?

Riley looked down. "I scared Auntie Keet and she fell".

"Yep. I know you want to sleep with me Riley but not tonight. Tonight you and Sophie sleep together then I promise we'll tell the team and you can sleep with Mally and me tomorrow night okay"?

Riley was still sulking but she agreed. I tucked her in bed and kissed her goodnight. Mal also said goodnight to Riley before we said night to Sophie. We then went downstairs and got ready for bed. I was filled with worry about the next day but being in Mal's arms helped me relax and fall asleep within seconds.

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End of chapter 57

Hope you enjoyed

As always

You are beautiful/handsome

Live life to the fullest 

And smile

xxxx