Tales of the Tournaments

August 12, 2023

Stadium Australia, Sydney

Rachel Daly twisted nervously at the hem of her jersey, exhaling. "You can do this Daly," she said aloud to herself. "We can do this. Don't panic."

"Too right you better not panic, Rach," Millie said firmly. "I need you lot to keep your heads. Colombia have been doing loads better than expected, but we can still beat them, and we will, got that?"

"Yes Mil--yes Captain," Rachel said dutifully, followed by the others as the rest of the starting eleven followed Millie out onto the field. When the match kicked off, she did her best to focus on getting control of the ball.

The first few minutes of the match were absolute chaos. Throw-ins here and there, and then, in the seventh minute, Daniela Arias was down. The Colombian was in bad shape, and with the number of Lionesses in the box, Daly couldn't quite tell which of her teammates had been responsible.

Daniela was lifted to her feet and helped to flex her legs, working them back and forth, as the medics supported her in a standing position. She was walked back and forth carefully at the side of the field, with no substitution called yet, Colombia playing with ten for the moment.

A few minutes later, another Colombian defender, Carolina Arias collided with Lucy Bronze and went down. She was subbed off the pitch in extreme pain, the eighteen-year-old Ana Guzman coming on instead. (Despite sharing a surname and position, Carolina was no relation to Daniela, as far as Rachel was aware. Still, that was some coincidence.) Daniela was returned to the match, still seeming a bit wobbly in Rachel's opinion.

"Wonder what Mil's gonna do about those two," Rachel mused to herself.

In the fifteenth minute, Colombia's Linda Caicedo made an attempt on goal, but it went wide of the post, and Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. The young Colombian was making quite the name for herself, and it wouldn't have boded well for the Lionesses if she'd managed to score ahead of them. 

For several more minutes the two sides battled fiercely back and forth - Guzman slammed into Lauren Hemp, bringing her down, though she was on her feet again a moment later, and then a couple minutes after that, Guzman barreled directly into Rachel.

Ow, fuck, Rachel thought, the breath knocked out of her as she crumpled to the ground. It was the twenty-second minute, and there had been no whistle, no foul, for Guzman for either of these collisions. Rachel slowly rolled over and pushed herself to her knees as the ref belatedly whistled for a halt, a medic rushing over.

After a brief check, Rachel was back on her feet, cleared of concussion and allowed to resume play. She was sore from the body block the Colombian teen had thrown, and as the announcer mentioned it, Rachel remembered that the pre-World Cup Colombia-Ireland friendly had been aborted after twenty minutes due to excessive violence from the Colombian side.

Well, that explains a fucking lot.

A free kick was awarded to England, and Alex Greenwood took it. The ball was cleared away, and came flying right at Rachel, who pounded a header forward. It was a beautiful shot, but Colombia were quick to intercept, though Georgia Stanway took possession of it just as quickly. Stanway tried for a goal, and it ended up off target, going back to Rachel, who tried for it herself.

Off the top corner, over the net.

Rachel growled under her breath, stalking away from the net. She knew she could have done better than that. And Millie probably wouldn't excuse her just for having been body-checked by the eighteen-year-old Colombian brat. Maybe one miss could be excused, but not two.

Alex Greenwood was thrown to the ground as she challenged Mayra Ramirez for the ball, the Colombian forward swinging a hand back into Alex's face and landing her on her back. No card was called for, but only because Alex had clearly grabbed onto Mayra first, so although Alex was the one down injured the ref treated it as self defence. 

Rachel grumbled under her breath at that. "If Alex's gone and got her nose broken Mil's going to be furious. That was dangerous, fucking with Ramirez like that."

Then Georgia Stanway broke through a knot of two or three Colombians, and Santos grabbed Georgia's arm and the back of Georgia's jersey, pulling her down. The whistle rang out. 

“Free kick for England.”

"The fuck wasn't that a yellow card?" Rachel felt exasperated. Surely Colombia should have earned at least three yellows by now. "Fuck's sake." 

Alex took the free kick, but it was cleared away by Colombia. Linda Caicedo had it, and Georgia Stanway threw herself forward, practically lying on her back, skimming across the grass to cut Caicedo off, and kicking her legs out from under her.

No card.

"It would be difficult for Koroleva to show a yellow card for that when she hadn't for the others," the announcer was saying, and Rachel had to agree. But she also agreed Stanway's action was worthy of at least a yellow card.

Still, when it was Colombia, you kind of had to get violent right back in order to keep them from tearing you apart, it seemed. 

The Lionesses were battling back and forth with Colombia again, doing their best to keep from tangling too hard with the violence-happy team.

"Five minutes left in the half," the announcer said and Rachel was glad of that. 

Bronze to Walsh to Stanway, the Lionesses passed the ball amongst themselves, then Ramirez got into a confrontation with Keira Walsh, and the ball went to Caicedo, who tried for a goal.

Offside.

Thank fuck for that, Rachel thought.

The ball went out of bounds and Rachel was nearest, fetching it back and throwing the ball in, toward the nearest of her teammates. Colombia was quick to sweep in, though, and then the ball continued changing hands - or feet, rather - as quick as lightning. Neither England nor Colombia were keeping hold of it.

Then it fell at Laicy Santos' feet, and the midfielder fired it home, smashing it into the upper left corner.

The shot Rachel had tried to make and failed at earlier, she thought, stung and angry. As the goal buried itself in the net, the Colombian supporters were screaming, and the England bench were stunned into silence.

The Lionesses on the field were angry. They knew they could do better than that, had to do better than that. And Rachel could just imagine how Mary Earps must be feeling. The keeper had blocked that kind of shot a hundred times before at least, and now--

Well. Rachel exhaled, shaking her head. Mil would handle it.

Not that Rachel was looking forward to that.

As the Colombian players screamed and piled on top of each other, Rachel scanned the fringes of the pitch, finding Sarina's gaze.

Do better, the Lionesses' coach's expression said, laden with disappointment, and Rachel swallowed down the urge to cringe away. She nodded.

She joined the huddle as Millie waved them over, taking the moment they were given. It wasn't quite halftime yet, there were still two minutes plus whatever stoppage would be tacked on, but they had a moment to breathe while the Colombians celebrated.

"So we're behind," Millie said, looking at all of them. "We don't stay there. We equalise. We win. We don't let them get on the board again, is that clear?"

"Yes Cap", "Yeah Skipper," "Yes ma'am", and "Yes Mil" (the last from Rachel) came from various Lionesses with various degrees of hesitation.

"I said, is that clear Rachel Ann Daly."

"Yes Captain," Rachel corrected herself, wincing. Millie nodded, then clapped her hands together. "Let's finish this half out."

The Lionesses scattered to their places as the Colombians did the same, in time to hear six minutes' added time announced.

"I'm not sure if the ball came off Rachel Daly or not," the announcer was saying as they reviewed Santos' shot, but Rachel immediately felt worse for it. If she'd failed to keep Santos from the ball, this whole play had been her fault.

And then, Rachel saw Sarina beckon her.

She pointed to herself and the Dutch woman nodded, Rachel carefully stepping to the side to look at the coach. She didn't think she was being subbed off - no, none of her teammates were in a warmup position.

"Rachel," Sarina said quietly. "Are you alright?"

What? Oh. "From earlier, ma'am?" Rachel ventured, and nodded slowly. "Yeah, reckon so."

Sarina nodded. "Then pull yourself together and play like it."

Rachel winced. "Yes ma'am. I'm sorry." She ran back into the match when Sarina gestured for her to go. Coaches couldn't smack, no, but sometimes Sarina's lectures, brief as they were, could be just as bad.

Rachel paired up with Ella Toone, keeping the ball away from the Colombians as best they could, passing to Keira Walsh, though the ball fell back into Colombian possession before long. Then England got it back, then lost it again. Rachel tried to keep her thoughts on track and not wallow in guilt for allowing Santos her opportunity. There would be time soon enough to handle that problem.

What mattered now was ensuring Colombia didn't keep their lead. 

Lauren Hemp got the ball as stoppage time wound to a close, and pounded it past the Colombian keeper, with the final kick of the half before the whistle blew.

They were level.

As they headed into the locker room for halftime, Millie checked on Lucy, Alessia, Lauren, Georgia, and Rachel to make sure they were alright. They'd taken the hardest knocks (for the Lionesses) in the match so far, but they all seemed relatively intact - so far as injuries went.

"Alright, team," Millie said. "We're in the quarterfinal. We're level now, but we can't get complacent. Colombia are a difficult team--"

"We noticed."

"Shut it, Bronze, unless you want to go first when we’re finished here." 

"Sorry Captain."

"That's better," Millie said firmly. "Now, let's go, Sarina wants to talk to us."

Brilliant , Rachel thought dully, following Millie and the other girls as they went to get the game plan from Sarina. The coach's lecture mostly went over her head, as she struggled to keep herself together.

Fuck you Daly you were an idiot in the first half don't fucking fuck it up again , she scolded herself.

She was standing in the back as Sarina lectured, half-listening, and gave a surprised yelp as a hand connected unexpectedly with her bottom.

"Rachel Ann Daly."

She spun around, finding herself face to face with Millie, and Rachel's face flushed pink.

"What have I told you about punishing yourself?" Millie hissed.

"What?" Rachel squeaked, as Millie took her by the shoulders and gave her a sharp shake.

"Whose job is it to punish you, Rachel?" Millie demanded in an undertone, not wanting to interrupt Sarina.

"Y-yours, C-Captain," Rachel stuttered, eyes lowered as her best friend glowered at her.

"Then are you allowed to punish yourself, Rachel Ann Daly?"

Rachel shook her head quickly. "N-no, sorry!"

"Don't worry, Rachel," Millie said, giving Rachel's shoulder a pat. "You'll be getting a good punishment later, without you adding to it. And you won't be the only one who's in for it," she added reassuringly. "You're not a bad girl Rachie, you just need a little help, and that's alright, I've got you."

Rachel nodded, sniffling. She just had to trust Millie, she supposed. And if she couldn't trust her best friend, then who? 

"Now, no more calling yourself bad names, even inside that sweet head of yours, Rachie," Millie cooed. Rachel's blush deepened and she squirmed.

"Okay," she whispered. "Sorry."

"Good girl," Millie praised her. "Now listen to Sarina please."

Rachel nodded and did her best to pay attention to the exasperated coach.

When the lecture was done, the Lionesses hydrated up and headed back out for the second half. Rachel's head was clearer, though one thought lingered.

Don't worry Rachie, you'll be getting a good punishment later. 

She couldn't help squirming at that, Millie's voice burying all the mean, angry voices in her head. 

Back at Houston, Rachel had been the Captain. She was - generally speaking - the Top in her relationships, she was used to being in control. 

But she did have an insecure side, sometimes, and matches like this were when it ended up coming out. Matches where England were being taken apart, barely holding on, where she had--

Rachel shut that train of thought down before it could start pulling out of inappropriate stations. Stop that Rachel Ann Daly, Millie already told you not to.

"England are without Lauren James and if they win, will be without Lauren James for the semifinal," the announcers were saying as play resumed. Rachel groaned and shook her head. LJ. Of course, this would come down to LJ getting attention.

Since they hadn't arranged for any halftime implement swap with Colombia's captain (Rachel seriously doubted Colombia disciplined their players anyway, that would explain a lot), LJ wasn't sitting up in the box out of the way.

Instead, she was sitting on the sidelines, out of uniform, in a chair near Sarina's with the coach keeping an eye on her. LJ had kept her mouth shut and her head down, sensing the disapproval practically radiating off Sarina, and Rachel was grateful for that much at least.

"Hemp has Daly for support--"

You betcha, kiddo, Rachel thought, moving into position as Lauren tried for the ball. Colombia's Jorelyn Carabali had it, and there was Lauren looping her arm around Carabali's arm as she dove for the ball, and taking Carabali down with her.

Lauren Hemp threw her other arm up in the air as she hit the ground, moving backward, clear of the Colombian.

No whistle - it was clear by the angle that Lauren hadn't seen Carabali's arm right by hers and hadn't intentionally grabbed her, she'd just been trying to tuck her own arm out of the way, probably to avoid any chance of a handball. Instead, she'd potentially drawn a foul. 

Then the ball got back to Alessia Russo, who was battling Daniela Arias to keep it. She sent Arias to the ground, getting a corner kick for England in the process. 

Alex Greenwood put it in, and it sailed right at Rachel.

Header. She pounded it forward, but the Colombian defence scrambled it away.

"Fucking hell, can't I get anything right tonight?"

"You could try not being rude to yourself, Rach," Lucy suggested, close enough to hear. "Millie doesn't like it."

"Yeah, I know," Rachel sighed.

As the match continued, Rachel tried her best to stay in the thick of things and help out as much as possible. She was a forward, usually, Rachel reflected as the announcer mentioned it. Why Sarina had put her in the midfield was a little baffling, but especially with LJ out wouldn't she have been a natural choice? Even the announcers didn't seem to be sure why she wasn't playing her usual position.

Well, she'd do what she could when she could, even if it meant just backing Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo up as much as she was allowed. 

Lauren Hemp, Alessia Russo, Ella Toone, Lucy Bronze - the ball got passed back and forth. There were free kicks for England and for Colombia - nothing came of them. Then, the Colombian keeper stopped a shot on goal - just barely, fingertips brushing the ball as she stretched out her arm and leg, overextending herself. She collapsed in the goal as the ball was batted away, and the whistle blew to stop play.

After a couple of minutes, Perez was back on her feet, and play resumed. The Colombian keeper had taken "a slight knock" - from the ball, Rachel presumed, since no one else had hit her.

Now Carabali had tangled with Lauren again, the two knocking heads as they dove for the ball. Rachel's first instinct was to run to the younger Lioness, wanting to ensure Lauren was alright, but she clamped down on it. 

Sure enough, both girls were back on their feet and Rachel made her way over to Lauren.

"Alright, little one?"

"I think so," Lauren said, grimacing as she rubbed her head. "I've had worse." 

"That doesn't mean you're alright necessarily," Rachel said, resolving to keep a closer eye on Lauren for the rest of the match. They were over an hour in, now.

"Maybe I deserved it," Lauren grimaced. "You saw it was my shot Perez blocked when she went like that?"

Rachel hadn't been entirely sure, actually, since the ball had been passed back and forth between Lauren, Alex, and Lucy a couple times before being sent in, but of course Lauren would be sure. "You didn't make her fall down, little cub," Rachel soothed, summoning her captainly-authority voice and fully shutting up her own anxieties in the face of Lauren's. "You didn't do anything wrong, sweetheart." 

Ramirez was whistled for a handball, and the ball went to Stanway, to Russo--and in.

"RUSSO!!!" the announcer screamed, and the Lionesses ran to hug Alessia, Lauren and Rachel only steps behind Ella and Georgia. Their teammates flocked to Alessia, wrapping her up in jubilation.

It was the sixty-third minute, and England were leading, 2-1 in Sydney. 

Play resumed, and it didn't take Lucy Bronze long to bring the ball toward the Colombian goal. She was blocked by the keeper, but then:

"Perez has gone back down."

Fuck.

Rachel watched as the medics surrounded Perez in the Colombian goal, checking her over. She was sitting up, her legs pulled in, knees pointing up, and Perez was lucid and answering questions as far as Rachel could tell. Judging by the signals between the med team and the Colombian bench, though, Perez was done.

Interestingly, the substitute keeper being prepared to go in, Natalia Giraldo, was Colombia's youngest keeper. Only 20 years old, she was younger even than LJ, Rachel thought. She was practically still a baby. 

Then again, two of Colombia's most dangerous players were the eighteen-year-old youngests, Ana Guzman and Linda Caicedo, Rachel amended. They shouldn't underestimate this kid either.

"It's not what you'd expect, the 35 year old, 73 times capped Sepulveda," the announcer was saying. "A big surprise, choosing to send in 20 year old Natalia Giraldo, with only three previous appearances for her country."

And now the kid looked suitably terrified, Rachel thought. Well, even if she was the enemy, Rachel didn't like having rookies scared half to death by the commentary, building the players' confidence was important, especially for the youngests. 

Of course, one had to be careful that confidence didn't turn into arrogance, and most of Las Cafeteras were too arrogant for their own good.

Lucy Bronze stepped on Caicedo's foot, bringing her down for a minute, and a foul was called. The ball went past Keira and Alex, landing back at Rachel's feet and she would have tried for a goal if Guzman hadn't blocked her.

Damn it, she thought. Guzman passed to Durango, who smashed the shot into the goal--

Right into the hands of Mary Earps, who threw it back out again. Relief swept over the Lionesses and Rachel grinned.

Not the time to get complacent though. Still time left.

"Daly had to recover there as Greenwood mis hit it--"

Rachel had managed to sweep the ball out of the Colombian players' way, and she passed back to Alex, who gave her an apologetic shrug. 

"Ten minutes to go, here in Sydney."

Ten minutes, plus whatever stoppage time, Rachel thought. Hopefully they would keep Colombia out of their side for that long. Keep them from trying to score past Earps, that was the main thing. Some more goals for England would be nice too, but the kid had just stopped a potential goal before Alex had got the ball back, so Rachel supposed she'd been right about not judging the Colombian rookie too fast. 

.

Ivonne Chacon battled past Rachel, then Millie, and then Alex for the ball, the Colombian managing to press past the English players one by one. Rachel was just amazed the Colombian managed to do it without trying to injure anyone, as most of her teammates' modus operandi seemed to be. Chacon to Caicedo to Santos - who was whistled foul by the ref, getting a sharp talking-to for pounding the ball on the turf.

At least the ref is giving Santos some discipline, she needs it, Rachel thought.

"Chloe Kelly prepares to come on, there's a player down for Colombia," the announcer was saying, and Rachel whipped around to look. "It is in fact Daniela Arias, who is writhing in pain, but Colombia cannot make any substitutions. Meanwhile, Alessia Russo's number 23 is up, she has the game winning goal as it stands..."

Yeah, and I'm pretty sure Lessi knocked down Arias, judging by the way Lessi’s scrubbing at her face right now, Rachel thought grimly. That looked like blood, but she didn't see Alessia being checked.

Hopefully the med team would when Alessia was swapped out for Chloe. 

As Alessia swapped out for Chloe, Daniela Arias was being walked back and forth at the sideline, and then was sent back in, with no other alternative. Santos was all over the place, causing trouble as usual, but when Santos tried for a goal, it bounced off the outside of the net. She recovered the ball and went for it again, only to be stopped by Earps.

Rachel smirked, pleased that the Colombian's efforts were being stymied. "Guess the ball doesn't like you."

"Rachie," Millie said warningly from behind her, making Rachel jump, "be nice."

"Football isn't about nice, Mil," Rachel shook her head. "It's about winning."

"Then let's get it done," Millie said. Rachel nodded.

Santos kept the ball in Colombian possession, tracking it past Ella Toone, Alex Greenwood, and Millie, who'd tried to intercept her. Lucy Bronze headed Santos off, but she won the ball back and swept it to Caicedo, who got tangled up with Lauren Hemp, yanking Lauren to the ground by her jersey as they rolled on the ground, each trying to push the other off.

Two minutes plus stoppage time to go, as the ball got loose and back to Ramirez, fought back and forth over again. "Bronze got clipped by Chacon, no foul."

Rachel scowled. Chacon's shot was deflected, and eight minutes of stoppage time were announced.

"Lauren Hemp's night is done, Bethany England on to see these final minutes out."

Rachel was glad of that as their Lioness cub headed off. She'd been getting into entirely too many scrapes, Millie was sure to give Lauren at least a few warning smacks to settle her, if nothing else. A few minutes to cool her down would be a good thing. And she had Lessi, so she wouldn't be alone.

"Swing and a miss from Santos, Ramirez fires and puts it wide!"

Rachel had to admit she'd thought it was a goal before seeing the angle on replay. It had gone around and behind the net, not into it, and it was clear Ramirez hadn't realised it herself either at first. But now she did, and she looked furious with herself.

That's football, Ramirez, Rachel thought. She'd been angry enough with herself over similar shots. It was hard not to be. But she suspected Ramirez was even angrier with herself because the commentary was all about how slow she'd been this half, how non-contributing when she usually did so well for this Colombian side.

England and Colombia fought hard the last few minutes, but in the end, neither side had any more successful attempts on goal. Colombia was preparing to take a goal kick when the final whistle blew, and to their relief, the Lionesses had made it through in front of a majority pro-Colombian crowd.

Of course, now that it was all over, that meant there was one more thing to get out of the way before they could celebrate their road to the semis, Rachel thought with growing worry. She followed the other Lionesses down the tunnel, needing to ensure that Lauren and Lessi were alright before anything else. 

When they arrived in the Lionesses’ locker room, Millie sent them all to stand in front of their cubbies.

“Russo. Bronze. Stanway. Daly. Greenwood. Toone. Walsh. Hemp.” Her gaze swept the eight and Alessia, Lucy, Rachel, Alex, Ella, Keira, and Lauren stepped forward. “And James,” she added, looking at the younger Lauren. LJ was still in her casual clothes, not kitted out, but she was sitting in front of her cubby like the rest. “You stay here. The rest, ice baths.”

A clap of Millie’s hands dispersed the unnamed Lionesses, and Millie surveyed the nine remaining intently.

“Would someone care to explain to me how Arias ended up on the ground back at the beginning of  the first half?”

“Which one?” Lucy snarked, and Millie raised her eyebrows.

“Not the time, Bronze. You know perfectly well which one, I’ll get to you in a minute.”

Reluctantly, Alessia raised her hand. “Me,” she said quietly. “But it was an accident, mostly, ma’am. There were just loads of us in the box and she was kind of right there.”

"Accident or not, she still went down, and it was still naughty, Alessia Mia Teresa Russo."

Alessia flinched, only relaxing when she felt Ella's arms wrap around her from behind. The younger Lioness pulled her best friend close, and Alessia turned around to return the favour, the two of them soaking up each other's comfort while they could. 

Millie cleared her throat. "Touching as that is, Alessia, it doesn't absolve you of responsibility."

"You sound like Katie," Alessia muttered.

"Good," Millie countered, "seeing as she's just in the next room now. If I need her to ensure your cooperation..."

Alessia shook her head quickly. "No, Captain, ma'am."

"Would it do any good at this point to apologise?" Alessia ventured. "Because I am sorry Arias got hurt. You know me, Skipper, I wasn't trying to hurt her, I just needed her to go away."

Lucy covered a grin and Keira snorted under her breath, shaking her head. The two of them mirrored Millie's exasperated look as she raised an eyebrow at Alessia.

"Lessi..." Millie sighed. "You know you can't just try to make someone go away."

"But she was going to hit me if I didn't do something about her first." Alessia clung to Ella, who rocked her gently.

"Lessi, it would have been bad enough if it had stopped with Arias, or even Arias the first time. But it didn't, did it now?" Millie prompted.

Alessia worked her lower lip between her teath anxiously. "Erm...maybe?" She peered over at Millie cautiously. "Are you asking me cause you forgot?"

"I'm asking if you learned anything today, little." Because Lessi very clearly was right now, Millie thought. Not tiny little, no, but enough.

"Erm..." Alessia squirmed in Ella's comforting, protective embrace, twisting around to look at Millie properly. "That I shouldn't have hit Arias twice?" she offered. "And, erm, that I should've made a better shot maybe, cause then I could have scored two goals instead of one." She paused. "I did score one, Millie. Remember? It was good?"

"It was very good," Millie agreed, giving Lessi a pat on the head. "But you're right, your other shot could have been a little better. More to the point, you really shouldn't have taken down Daniela Arias. Not once, but twice - that feels like you were targeting her."

"Maybe she was targeting me, Millie," Lessi offered without much hope.

If Alessia had been feeling big, Millie would have taken that as sass without question. But the small voice with its dispirited tone had Millie feeling slightly more sympathetic.

"Given the way Colombia were playing, I can't say she wasn't, Lessi, little. But what she was doing isn't my business. What you were thinking and doing is." She rubbed Alessia's shoulder gently. "Were you targeting her?"

Alessia swallowed nervously. "I don't remember, Millie," she said anxiously. "Maybe? I might have meant it at the time? I don't know? But I don't mean it now, Millie, please--"

"Shh. Give her to me, Ella," Millie instructed, and Ella Toone reluctantly surrendered her best friend to Millie, who gathered the babbling little in her arms. "Deep breaths, Lessi, shhh. In and out, breathe for me."

Alessia clung to Millie and did her best to calm her panicked breaths as Millie supported her through the exercise. Then, Millie returned with Alessia to the younger girl's cubby, and sat down with Lessi in her lap.

"Okay little love. There you go," she soothed. "You're alright little one. We do still have to take care of this, but you're going to be alright Lessi. Just remember to breathe, you're safe with me."

"I think maybe we're feeling anxious, because there's some big changes coming when we go home, hmm?" Millie prompted.

Alessia swallowed hard and nodded. "Uh huh," she whispered. "Never gonna see Ella again."

"Now that's just silly, little one," Millie said with a faint smile. "You'll see her all the time. But it's not going to be the same when you're not putting on the same jersey anymore, is that what you mean?"

Alessia nodded. When the squad had been submitted, and for what felt like forever before that (though it had only been since 2020, really) she'd belonged to Manchester United. She had loved playing in Manchester with Ella, her very best friend.

But her contract was up when the season ended, and then the World Cup came before she'd really registered the fact that she wouldn't don a United jersey again when she came back.

When she went home - to her new home - she belonged to Arsenal. 

"Alright, well, we'll figure that out, Lessi," Millie promised. "But I think we have something to finish first, hmm?"

Alessia sniffled. "Please, Millie..."

"No, sweetheart." Millie shook her head. "Push it again and we'll be doing it by jersey number," she added.

Alessia cringed, feeling the "23" on her back pressing in on her. It felt suddenly heavy, as though the number wanted to imprint itself on her. "I'll be good, Millie, I just don't want it."

"I know. I know you don't," Millie sighed, rocking Lessi a little bit. "Come on sweetheart, over my knee, we'll get this done and you can go to the ice baths, and Ella will come to you there when she's done, alright?"

"Yes Millie," Lessi said meekly, knowing there was no getting out of it, and she was gently turned over Millie's lap there on the bench, squirming as her shorts were tugged down. Millie left her knickers in place, patting her bottom gently.

"Settle, Lessi," she soothed. "Take a breath, and another, that's right. Here, hold my hand." She offered her free hand to Alessia, who grabbed on tight with both of hers, clinging to Millie as her smacking began.

She squirmed and kicked her way through a dozen gentle smacks with Millie's hand, just enough to raise a sting, and then yelped as Millie tugged her knickers down to below her bottom.

"Millie," she whimpered as her barely pink bottom was exposed completely.

"Easy now, Lessi, almost finished," Millie promised. "You're doing a good job for me, just hold on tight, I have you."

Eleven more gentle swats impacted Alessia's bottom cheeks and sit spots, just enough to start tears in the little one's eyes. They spilled down her cheeks freely and then Millie pulled Lessi's clothes back up, helping the younger Lioness sit up on her lap.

"Shh, there you are little one, you're alright," Millie cooed, resting Lessi's head on her shoulder and stroking her hair. "It's alright Lessi, I've got you."

Alessia stayed on Millie's lap as long as she was allowed, but finally she was coaxed back to her feet and sent into the ice baths. Without being asked, Ella came forward quickly. 

"Can I ask why, ma'am?" Ella ventured. "Or...or is it just maintenance?"

Millie nodded, giving Ella's shoulder a pat. "It won't take long, Ella," she said, picking up the England paddle.

Reluctantly, Ella draped herself obediently over Millie's lap, and felt her shorts being tugged down. Then Millie began, giving her six swats over her knickers, just with her hand, before baring Ella's bottom fully. The younger woman squirmed, but did her best to stay as still as she could otherwise. 

Then the paddle came down, just two half-strength swats to each bottom cheek.

Ella was crying quietly by the time the maintenance smacks were finished, and sighed as Millie righted her clothing. "S-sorry Millie..."

"Shh, no, Ella, it's alright," Millie soothed. "You took that well, just like a good girl. You're alright Ella." She rubbed Ella's shoulder. "I think you'll feel a lot better when you're back with Lessi, don't you?"

Ella nodded, and scrambled into the other room once given permission. Millie exhaled.

Two down, six to go.

"Bronze, Stanway." 

The two stepped closer to Keira automatically, as if protecting her from Millie's wrath.

Which Millie privately thought was ridiculous. Keira hadn't behaved nearly as badly as they had. She ignored Keira taking her girlfriend and best friend's hands and squeezing them reassuringly. Aha. Of course, it's Luce and G who want the protecting, they just don't want me to know that...as if it wasn't obvious.

Very kindly, she ignored the obvious bravado.

"Would you like Walsh to go first then, and get hers out of the way?"

Georgia pulled herself together as best she could. "We're not too scared to go first," she insisted. "K doesn't have to."

"Really." Millie looked thoughtful. "Because you know, despite the fact the ref wasn't using cards at all--"

"Kind of hard to do once she'd lost control of Colombia," Georgia retorted. 

Millie nodded. "Fair enough. But you know, you deserved at least a yellow for your foul up out there, Georgia Marie Stanway."

Georgia squirmed. "Oh...yeah, right." 

"You object to going before your girlfriend, Bronze?"

Lucy looked warily at Millie. "Just how fucked am I?"

"I don't care what you do with Keira in your free time," Millie retorted, making Lucy blush in a satisfying manner. "But considering you fouled up seriously at least twice, you could have easily earned two yellow cards and got sent off. How do you think we'd like that, Luce, not having you in the semifinal, maybe the final either depending on what happens? Want to end up like LJ?"

Millie gave Lucy a meaningful look. "Because I guarantee you won't like sitting on the sidelines next to Sarina, who herself won't like it, nor the rest of us without you on the pitch. Should we ask little LJ how that felt, hmm Bronze?"

Lucy shook her head. "No ma'am."

"How about you Stanway?"

Georgia shook her head in turn. "No thank you Captain."

"Then come on, both of you." Millie picked up the England paddle. "Bare and over my knee, Stanway."

This was, Georgia reflected, not the time to brat at Millie.

With a supportive squeeze from Kiera's hand, Georgia reluctantly obeyed the order, getting her shorts and knickers down and bending over Millie's lap. Millie's left hand pressed firmly down on her back, and then the England paddle came to rest on her bare bum, getting a warning tap before she got the first firm smack.

"Ow, fuck, Millie!" Georgia yelped. 

Seven more quick, firm smacks followed, covering Georgia's entire bottom, and she let fly with a stream of profane German.

"I should do something about that," Millie said after the seventh and eighth swats had impacted the top of Georgia's thighs. "But I think I'll let Magull handle you instead."

Georgia shut up immediately.

"Sorry, Millie," she said, collecting herself after a few moments to swallow down her tears and control her breathing. When she was allowed, she got off of Millie's lap and pulled her clothes back into place, rubbing her smarting bottom.

"Alright, but we're still telling Magull," Millie replied calmly. "She'll want to know."

Yeah, Georgia just bet.

What have you been doing when you were away, my little Lioness Cub? she heard Lina's voice in her head. I want answers, truthful ones, now, before I paddle them out of you. 

She squirmed, heat rising in her face at the thought.

"Bronze."

Lucy looked back at her. "Millie," she countered. "I don't think jersey numbers is going to be much of a deterrent." 

"I don't suppose Keira is enough of a deterrent."

"I mean, her jersey number's four, and that's twice mine," Lucy shrugged.

"Four and two is six," Millie said. "Would six of the best be enough of a deterrent for a naughty brat like you?"

Lucy paled.

"Jesus fuck , Millie, don't joke about stuff like that."

"Not joking."

"Not jo--Millie!"

"That's Captain, or ma'am," Millie corrected.

The older Lioness groaned. "Captain, please...what if I say I won't do it again?"

Millie rolled her eyes. "Do you think I should take that from you? Would Keira? Would Leah?"

Georgia and Keira shared a look as Lucy shook her head reluctantly. "No ma'am," Lucy said reluctantly.

"Keira, bring me the strap from my bag."

Reluctantly, Keira did as she was told. She squeezed her girlfriend's hand, comforting Lucy as she passed the short strap over to Millie.

"Considering you really weren't all that naughty, Keira, I think I have the perfect idea how to deal with you."

"Ma'am?" Keira ventured, looking at Millie, then past her to Rachel Daly.

Rachel had been conveniently left out of the line of fire when it came to her best friend's attentions so far, but she was under no illusion that it would last. She locked eyes with Keira, pretty sure she knew what Millie was up to.

Sure enough, Millie's next remark confirmed it. 

"I want you to take your girlfriend over your knee and give her the strapping she deserves right now."

"What!" Lucy yelped, staring at Millie. "You can't be serious. Absolutely fucking not."

"I didn't say you had a choice, did I Lucia Roberta Tough Bronze?"

Lucy grimaced. When even Millie started calling her by her Barca name, things were bad.

"No ma'am."

"And just for that, it's going to be bare as well."

"Captain," Keira said. "Can me and Lucy take care of this privately, please."

"No, I think not. Wouldn't want you letting her off easy, now would we Walsh?"

Keira grimaced. "No Captain, I mean...without Rachel, Alex, and Lauren," she clarified.

"Oh. I see," Millie hmm-ed. "Lauren, you first." 

First Lauren, then Alex, found themselves over Millie's knee for a brisk shorts-down smacking over their knickers. Lauren got eleven swats, while Alex got ten - five with Millie's hand, and five more, lightly, with the England paddle.

"Georgia, you, Lauren, and Alex can go through please."

Georgia glanced at Keira, who nodded, and reluctantly went through to the ice baths with Lauren and Alex as Millie directed.

"Now get on with it please," Millie directed her attention back to Keira and Lucy.

"What about Daly?" Lucy demanded.

"What about her?" 

Lucy opened her mouth, shut it again, and sighed reluctantly as Keira pulled her into position, her clothes still in place. She landed over Keira's knees with a whine of protest.

Keira ran a gentle hand over Lucy's back, before tugging her shorts and knickers down to mid-thigh. Lucy squirmed at this indignity, not least because it came from Keira rather than Millie.

Keira began smacking Lucy with her hand, making Lucy squirm and kick.

"Ow, please no, Keira, you don't have to--" 

"Millie made it an order sweetheart."

Lucy clung to Keira's leg as her girlfriend smacked her bum to a rosy pink colour. 

That would have been hard enough, in Lucy's opinion, if Keira had stopped there.

She didn't.

Six firm smacks of the short strap cracked down across Lucy's bottom cheeks, and she yelped and sobbed her way through them.

"Keira!" she cried. "Sorry, I'm sorry Keira, please, no more..." 

"Almost," Keira soothed. She'd planned to stop, but then Lucy had tried begging off.

One more smack landed on the top of each thigh and then Keira handed the strap back to Millie. She pulled Lucy close, not bothering to right Lucy's clothes for her, just rubbing the reddened cheeks with her palm.

"Alright love," Keira soothed, "breathe for me, calm down."

"S-sorry..." When Lucy was calm, Keira set her clothes to rights, and they went through to the ice baths, leaving Rachel alone with Millie. 

The two best friends looked at each other, and slowly Rachel crossed to Millie, the former Houston captain draping herself over Millie’s lap without a word. She hated feeling like this, doubt and anxiety filling her up, and jumped slightly when Millie ran a gentle hand over her back.

“I made you a promise earlier Rachie, do you remember?”

Slowly, Rachel nodded, blushing at the nickname. “Uh huh,” she whispered.

“Mhmm. Because I can’t have you punishing yourself for what you see as your shortcomings, Rachel Ann Daly,” Millie added, more sternly. “That wasn’t even remotely alright even when you were out in America, you always had someone watching your back and ensuring that you let this sort of thing be handled. It’s okay to feel, Rach,” she said quietly. “But you need to not let it overwhelm you. That’s what your friends are for.”

“Sorry,” Rachel whispered.

Millie nodded, continuing to rub Rachel’s back for another minute before her other hand landed on Rachel’s clothed bottom.

The swat wasn’t very hard, but it was a shock, Rachel had half forgotten to expect it, and she squirmed as the swats continued to fall. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine.

Rachel blushed at being over Millie’s knee, having her bum smacked over her shorts like a little girl. But then Millie tugged down her shorts, leaving her knickers up, and repeated the swats. Nine more, still with just her hand, sharper this time and doing a credible job of warming Rachel’s bottom. 

“Ow, Millie, fuck, that hurts,” 

“Good,” Millie said calmly. “Then maybe little Rachie is learning her lesson, hmm? You don’t hide your feelings from me. You don’t wallow in your own guilt when you need help. You don’t,” she added, pulling down Rachel’s knickers and baring her bottom, “act like you’re the only one who’s allowed to care about you, just because your girlfriend’s not here and your ex is.”

Rachel inhaled sharply.

Kristie. 

Fuck. Millie knew.

The first smack on her bare bottom was from the paddle, and it was not a light one. Rachel gasped and cried as swat after burning swat descended. Another set of nine.

“Owww, please Millie, I’m sorry, I’ll tell you, I won’t hide anymore! I’ll be good,” Rachel sobbed. “Please no more!”

Millie paused, rubbing Rachel’s bottom lightly. “We’ll see, Rachie,” she cooed. “But I did promise you a good punishment. And I don’t think you’ve quite got it yet.”

Rachel swallowed hard as the strap cracked down. Her cries were just as repentant as Lucy’s before her.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. The smacks burned her sit spots and upper thighs, and Rachel sobbed helplessly over Millie’s lap, shuddering as her clothing was righted and Millie pulled her upright, kissing her forehead and tearstained cheeks.

“Okay Rachie,” she soothed, stroking strands of hair back out of her face. “It’s all done sweetie, you took your smacks so well for me, you took it all like a brave girl, sweetheart.”

Rachel clung to her best friend and cried on her shoulder. “Did…did it have to be that much?”

“M-hmmm.” Millie rubbed the back of her neck gently. “We have semis coming up, Rachie, I couldn’t let these thoughts run round in your head any longer. There’s no shame in feeling, darling, but you can’t lose yourself in them, and you needed a big reminder to take them away from you.”

“Oh,” Rachel whispered, sniffling. “I guess.”

“Come on sweetheart. Let’s get you in with the others, we’ll take some time to calm down,” Millie coaxed, and they went to the ice baths with the other Lionesses.

Later that night, Millie tucked Rachel into bed, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Get some sleep, Rachel, sweetheart,” she soothed. “It’s all alright.”

She couldn't quite make it there, though, without Millie making a brief call to Rachel's club captain and former fellow NWSL player, Rachel Corsie.

The Scot answered promptly, heedless of the hour. 

"Rachie-lass, what've you got yourself into now?" she asked.

Rachel blushed. "Mummy," she protested, heat rising in her face to match her bum. Corsie chuckled knowingly. There were very few people Rachel went truly little for. Somehow, she'd found herself as one.

"Oh, don't try and fool me, I figured this call was coming. So how bad was it?"

"Millie used practically everything," Rachel sniffled. "Everything everything."

"Tawse?" Corsie's eyebrows went up.


"No, but don't give Mil ideas, Mummy," Rachel wailed and Corsie shook her head.

"No, my wee darlin', that's for me to use." She smiled reassuringly over the video call. "It's alright, Mummy's here," she cooed. "It's all finished, you're our good girl. Let's get you to sleep, hmm, that's where you ought to be after a smacking, Rachie-lass."

"I'm in bed, Mummy," Rachel whispered. Her platonic Caregiver smiled adoringly. 

"There, it's alright. Go to sleep, darlin', you're safe." 

Rachel yawned and nodded, drifting off to the sound of Corsie softly singing "Loch Lomond" over the call. Before she'd finished, Rachel was asleep.