Date Night

There wasn't a six year old who was more protective over their mother as Mallory Pugh was over Christen Press.

For Mallory, Christen was her best friend, her mentor, her number one fan and her hero. Mallory's primary concern was making her mother proud and trying her six year old best to shield Christen from anything that would make her unhappy, even if that included Mallory's occasional disobedience.

On Christen's end, Mallory was her world. The little girl with kind dark eyes and a sweet yet determined grin had become her sole focus. Mal was her motivation to excel on the pitch and be the best person she could be for the last few years.

Mama Press and little Mal were a tight-knit family of two with the unspoken agreement of "no new friends." Sure they had the National Team and the Red Stars crew but other than that, their family was complete. Mallory had never been privy to Christen's dating life, spending her life blissfully unaware and forever satisfied with her Mommy and Me world.

Or at least that's what Mallory assumed until she noticed that her Aunt Tobin was coming over more and more frequently while Mal was spending the equal amount of nights at her Aunt Kelley and Aunt Alex's. To say she was confused may have been the biggest understatement of the six year old's life.

Of course Mal adored her Aunt Toby. Tobin was teaching her how to beat Alex in Monopoly Deal, how to longboard and how to juggle her soccer ball. But what Mallory couldn't wrap her head around, was the fact that lately Tobin was only interested in hanging out with her mother without Mallory.

Tonight was one of those nights where Christen and Tobin left their favorite girl behind. It was the first night off while the National team was at residency camp in Los Angeles. Kelley, and a seven months pregnant Alex had offered to let their goddaughter sleep over in their room while Press and Tobin went on a much needed date night.

"Auntie Lex," Mal asked as she watched the end of from the end of the hotel bed "do you like me?"

Alex was taken aback, Mallory was usually a little too confident in herself. Probably getting her arrogance from her group of soccer aunts who practically worshipped the ground the first grader walked on. So seeing this insecure side of her goddaughter meant something was on her mind.

"Mal, you're my favorite kid. Of COURSE I like you. You might even say that I looooove you" she tickled the little girl's feet until Mallory was gasping for air in between giggles.

After catching her breath, Mallory nodded her understanding while crawling to the top of the bed, curling herself as best she could into Alex's side. Honestly, with all the change going on in her life, Mal wondered if this new cousin was really worth sacrificing her Auntie Lex lap time. Her head of long dark hair rested against Alex's shoulder and a heavy sigh came from Mal's tiny body.

"What's going on little girl?"

"I don't think Aunt Toby likes me anymore."

"Who doesn't like who anymore?" Kelley, who had been taking a shower, entered the main room. She swiped Mal's pajamas from the bag Press had packed and sat on the other bed, motioning the little girl over. Mallory slid out from under Alex's embrace and stood in front of her godmother.

"I said I don't think Aunt Toby likes me anymore." the first grader repeated as Kelley helped her slip into an old Stanford shirt of Christen's.

The defender gave her wife a confused glance over Mal's head and Alex shook her head in response while waiting for Mallory to explain herself.

"What makes you say that babe?"

Mal shrugged, stepping into the Eagles shorts given to her by her Uncle Zach. If she was being honest,

Mal hated to admit that her feelings were hurt. She was Mallory Pugh, happy go lucky first grader adored by the best soccer team in the world. The girl prided herself on how relaxed she was, a low maintenance kid who made her mother happy. Although she was too young to fully understand what it was, the thought of making Christen unhappy often sent the young girl into a panic attack.

"Because Aunt Toby and Mama always leave me behind. Before I got to go play too and now Toby sends me away whenever she comes over"

Kelley and Alex couldn't help but let out small sympathetic smiles as their goddaughter was reduced to tears. They knew that Christen and Tobin had wanted to keep their relationship as underwraps as possible, only telling teammates and family. But they had been a little extra apprehensive when explaining the situation to Mallory, not knowing how to go about telling a first grader about their relationship and expecting her to keep it a secret.

After Mal got dressed, Kelley ushered her into the bathroom where she helped the little girl brush her teeth. Once her teeth were clean and her face washed, Kelley scooped her niece and tucked her into bed next to her wife.

Alex pulled Mallory to her side and ran a hand through the six year old's hair while they waited for Kelley to jump into bed after queuing up Frozen.

"So Mal-dog" the striker teased " you know how your Aunt Kelley and I go to dinner and a movie sometimes, just us?"

Mal bit her lip in throught before nodding slowly "Yeah, you said it's called 'dates' then I go play with Auntie Jules or Auntie Whit"

"Right," Kelley cut in "so Pressy and Tobs--"

"Who's Pressy?"

"Sorry, Mommy and Aunt Tobin. Anyway, they're doing the same thing."

The first grader gave her godparents matching skeptical glances.

"But you and Auntie Lex are married? You only do dates if you're married."

Kelley responded with an eyebrow raise and tried to look to Alex for help in explaining date nights to a six year old. Her wife shrugged and placed a kiss to Mallory's head before encouraging Kell to go on.

"Okay, yes, Aunt Lex and I are married. But before we got married we went on a lot of dates. That's what you do before you get married. You go on date nights with just two people so they can get to know each other better."

To say that Mallory's mind was blown may have been an understatement. Mal had been under the impression that only married people went on dates. Her Aunt Kelley and Aunt Lex, Aunt Ali and Auntie Ash, and even her Auntie Jules and Uncle Zach were the only people she knew who went on dates.

"So Mommy and Aunt Toby gotta go on dates 'fore they get married?" Mal quizzically asked, looking up to Alex for confirmation.

"Exactly" Alex nodded

"So how many dates do you gotta go on 'fore you get married?" Kelley and Alex began to grow a little nervous when they saw the little wheels in Mallory's head begin to turn.

"Ummm, twenty." Kelley threw out "You have to go on twenty dates before you can get married"

Mallory, now put at ease, sighed happily and snuggled deeper in between her godmothers.

"So Mama and Toby have twenty dates and then they can get married."

"Do you want them to get married sweet girl?" Alex cautiously asked, pulling the girl closer. "It's okay to say no"

"If Toby marries Mama does that mean I'll have two mommies?" Mal was now distracted by the opening credits of Frozen, quietly singing along.

"You'd have two pretty cool mommies yes" Kelley kissed Mallory's head

"Oh okay."

Mallory was now totally immersed in her movie, leaving Alex and Kelley slightly relieved that their favorite first grader didn't have anymore pressing questions about the intricacies of dating and marriage.

The family of three turned their full attention to the Disney movie at hand, singing along and giggling whenever Sven or Olaf came on screen.

"Auntie Kelley?" Mallory suddenly got a worried look in her eye as the Duke of Weasleton ordered his men to capture Elsa.

"Yes?"

"Since I've been on dates with Toby does that mean I have to get married too?" Mallory was deeply concerned at the possibility.

Kelley and Alex couldn't help but laugh as they shook their heads and peppered Mal's face with kisses and wrapped her in a big hug.

"No kiddo, you won't have to marry Toby"