Allie took a deep breath.

She prayed God today. She knew something way bigger than herself was on the line. Three years ago, in the Olympics, they left the competition at that very stage. She didn't want it to end again. She didn't want to deceive all those little girls and boys that she named her fans. She didn't want to dishonor her country. She didn't want to disappoint her teammates or something. Once was enough. She didn't want to see the tears in the locker room, and the angry and disappointed faces.

She was sitting on her room, on her own, playing with the ring Kelley's mom Karen gave her. Will you propose to my daughter, Allie ? she said that one day, when they were trying some dresses on for her son's wedding. Ever since, the blonde would just eventually look at the piece of jewelry, wanting to propose to Kelley more and more every day. But she knew now was not the good time.

Allie jumped when she heard the door being slammed open. Alex came in, and immediately noticed what her best friend had in hand. She made sure nobody was here before closing the door and approaching her. Alex wasn't the most supportive person about Allie and Kelley's relationship, and even tried to screw everything up several years ago. But now, she seemed pretty shocked, and excited.

Her blue eyes went wide, as Allie was cursing herself.

"Holy shit" the forward let out, sitting next to her friend. "Can I see it ?"

Allie handed her the little black box, and Alex's eyes seemed to be glued to that masterpiece she was holding in her hands.

"It's a legacy" Allie said, trying not to freak out too much. "Her mom gave it to me because she thought I was 'the one' for her daughter."

The brunette lifted her eyes. "You are the one for her, Al." When she saw the blonde was nervously playing with her fingers, she asked : "Will you propose to her ?"

"Not now, at least" the middy answered, knowing very well that this answer wouldn't be enough for the curious pregnant woman. "I don't know. I really do want to make her mine, but I don't know if marriage is a thing she wants."

Alex nodded.

The crowd was huge today to assist one of the best rivalry in women's soccer. Every time those two teams met has been a dramatic game, either victorious for the US, or a draw or even a loss for the former number one team. And people in Lyon - who loved women's soccer, thanks to Olympique Lyonnais, the star team in France and in Europe - knew that really well.

The girls settled on the bench, knowing that tonight would be an emotional game. Jenko sat down next to Cari, who already was feeling the roller-coasters in her stomach. Seeing Moe on the field for that important game made her stressed : what if she missed a pass or something, and then would blame herself for it ? On her left, Sam and Kristie were in a deep sister's talk, while Stephanie just seemed disconnected, her eyes locked on the big screen. Christen, who would normally be subbed in later in the game, seemed nervous : they lost to penalty kicks to Sweden, and she missed hers. She felt like she had to make her redemption. She talked with Julie earlier today, and the defender seemed worried.

Mark, on the other hand, seemed pretty calm. He was standing at the line, Abby by his side. The girls also spotted Alex and Serva on the stands, wearing Syd's and Christen's jerseys. When Crystal looked again, her eyes went wide : the couple wasn't alone. She immediately recognized Ash's messy bun and almost white hair. She was alone - Crystal assumed it was because Ali had some conference or something like that back in Germany, and kept Maisie with her - but not really, because another couple was here, holding hands, looking excited. Harli was the first word that came into Crystal's mind. Carli seemed really serious, already looking all around her, while Hope was playing with a dark-haired little boy, that must be their son, Gordon. Ash was wearing Allie's jersey - her very own Pookie - while Hope opted for Alyssa's, and Carli for Lindsey's - she was always joking about her being her 'legacy' or something.

Speaking of which, Lindsey was standing in front or Moe for kick off. The two friends knew what was in line.

"It's gonna be okay" Moe whispered, more for herself than for her friend.

"Yeah." Lindsey answered, looking around her. "Just, don't fuck up."

"You too".

That made them giggle.

The whistle blew, and the US immediately lost possession. The first fifteen minutes were very hard, and Mal didn't touch the ball once. Japan was always on their side of the field, as Alyssa already had to come up with several saves, while Julie was busy giving order to the back line. The Japaneses had improve. That was for sure.

Around the 30th minute, one of their forwards broke through and scored. As they were down 1-0, and already exhausted, they scored another goal. They went into halftime down 2-0, and their faces pretty closed.

°

Carli burst into the room, determined.

"Guys" she said in a very harsh tone. "This is not how it ends. I am telling that to your face right now : you suck back here. It's time to regain your bodies and control the game." She then distributed orders - quite pertinent ones of course - while Mark and Abby were just silent. The former captain then said : "I believe, and you should believe too. I love this team more than I love myself. I need you to love it too."

They then yelled their usual '1,2,3 TEAM' before going back to the field.

Things got better.

Right after halftime, Lindsey won an important ball and passed it to Mal, who made a terrific run on the left side. She then crossed it, and it landed on Moe's head. The stadium went nuts, as the middy was running toward her teammates. She spotted Carli, her eyes quite teary, looking at her with pride. She sent her a air kiss, before going back to her position.

Nothing much happened next, until the 80th minute, where a Japanese forward made a bad decision and her feet landed on Alyssa's head. As the keeper was on the ground, crying out of pain, Julie immediately knelled by her side, trying to know what she needed. But it was pretty clear to her : concussion. She made the sign to the medical staff, as Tobin was putting her hands on the top of her head. They still were down 2-1, and needed their goalkeeper. The Japanese earned a red card, as Mark was yelling from the side.

He turned to face Michelle and Jenko.

"One of you have to go out there and save the game" he said.

The brunette - and older girl - just looked around her.

"Gabie should do it."

"What ?" the blonde blurted out, completely stressed out. "Me ? You're a way better keeper than I am !"

"I am not. Go." Michelle ordered.

Jenko didn't have a choice. She put on her gloves, and ran to the goal. Alyssa was put into the ambulance, as Hope and Crystal decided to go with her. The young keeper took a deep breath : she couldn't miss any save. Alyssa had been tremendous until now, and she needed to do the exact same thing. Her gaze met Mal's, who seemed worried. The dark-haired winked at her, before returning to her position.

Mark made the subs he intended to do : Syd for Christen, Sam for Moe, Cari for Maura. The game resumed, and Japan was playing with ten. Tobin clapped her hands together, as the Japanese were already running toward the goal. A shot was taken, and Jenko made her body big to prevent it from going inside. The ball landed in Cari's feet, and she was more than happy to clear it away. Sam collected it and made an impressive run on the left side, while Allie and Christen were following up.

She spotted Lindsey, alone on the top of the eighteen. The ball was pretty elevated, so Lindsey made a weird lateral jump, and her feet touched the ball. She thought it had too much strength on it because it seemed to be going way higher than the goal, but then it went down and lobbed the goalkeeper. That was in. The referee was allowing that goal, while Lindsey was slowly getting up. But she didn't have the time to do so, because Allie and Tobin jumped on her, followed by the entire team.

The captain just smirked.

"That was something, kid." she let out, visibly proud.

The final whistle blew. 2-2.

"Baby"Julie grabbed Christen's shoulders. Mark was getting the team ready for the penalty shutout, since the prolongations didn't lead anywhere. The Hispanic girl seemed beyond freaked out, and the defender just knew her too well. "Remember what I told you that day, when you missed your penalty ?"

Christen wiped her tears away. "You told me I was okay"

"Exactly. So now, go and prove me you can do this, because I know you can." Julie went on, putting her hands on Christen's cheeks.

She knew there were cameras all around, but didn't care. She pulled Christen closer and kissed her, and the crowd was cheering loudly. When they broke apart, the dark-haired just asked herself how she got so lucky.

The tension came back immediately, though.

"Allie."

The middy advanced to the line. They had four shots each. She saw Jenko looking focused next to the goal, as the Japanese goalie was just looking straight at her. Come on Allie, you've done this hundred of time. Just act like it was in Portland. She knew how crucial that first shot was : Alex missed it last time.

She saw Kelley looking at her intensively.

As soon as the ball left her feet, she knew it was the perfect shot. There was enough pace on it to bury it on the back of the net, lobbing the keeper. The crowd cheered, as she was going back to her teammates.

"Lindsey."

Japan succeeded in scoring as well. 1-1. The young girl advanced to the line, and took a deep breath. Nothing mattered anymore, but her mission. She took a shot, and scored. She set her jaw, feeling her heart beat really fast in her chest.

Japan scored again, as she was now standing next to Sonnett. She took the defender's hand in hers, hoping that nobody would notice. Emily didn't even move ; she knew Lindsey needed it. Penalty shutouts were the worse thing about soccer.

"Mallory."

The dark-haired looked at Jenko, who seemed to be angry at herself for not stopping any shots, even though the balls really were out of reach twice. She put the ball into position, and took several steps backwards. You've got this. She sighed.

The goalkeeper went the wrong way. 3-2 for now. The grip was all over them, and it was like walls coming closer to them.

Japan scored. Again, a clean shot. 3-3.

"Christen."

Time seemed to stop.

The dark-haired reluctantly left Julie's side, and ran to the penalty spot. She kissed the ball, and put it on the ground. Not Brazil again. Your bae said it : you're strong, you're not a quitter, you're a hell of a player. Now, bury that baby on the net. She focused.

She shot the ball, holding her breath. The keeper jumped on the right side, but wasn't able to have a hand on it. The ball hit the crossbar, and then landed inside the goal. The team cheered loudly, as Christen was calmly going back to her spot. Julie gave her a 'I told you so' look, before kissing her softly.

4-3.

The Japanese player, the team's captain, advanced to the line. Jenko stretched her arms : she knew what was on the line. She knew what she had to do. If she saved that one shot, the team would advance the semi-finals. If not, they would have to do another penalty session, and that wouldn't go well.

Jenko closed her eyes one second. She knew Mal was observing her, as well as Michelle. The whole stadium's eyes were on her. But she isolated herself. You've got to save this one. No matter how you do it, you've got to save it.

The other team's captain started her quick girl. Everything went slow-motion afterwards. Jenko read in her eyes that she would go left. The blonde stretched her body and touched the ball, enough to get it away from the goal. As she landed hard on the ground, she looked at the ball rolling away from her. She did it.

They did it.