3rd & Long

Chapter 11: Encroachment

The week had passed and Nat found herself back to work in San Francisco. With the situation in LA with the Lopezes calm, Nat felt like she could finally breathe easy as she plopped into her chair. She checked her phone hoping to see a response from Nick but had yet to receive one. Nat had talked with him every single day since his surprise back at the hospital. But ever since the primetime game against the Boston Generals which at this point had been a few days, he was mostly silent.

Instead Nat passed the time checking her email trying to catch up on the work she missed. The season was slightly past the halfway point, so work would only ramp up from here. On top of that, Nat knew the workload would most likely increase even more once the Pioneers made it to the playoffs. Although there were many games still left to play, the general vibe amongst the team and the media was that the Pioneers' win streak was not looking to end at any minute.

The only team that had a better streak than the Pioneers at this point was the Philadelphia Vultures. Where the Pioneers sat 6-2, the Vultures were 7-1. Talks were already heating up that the two teams would both be making playoff appearances, but Nat tried to push that thought to the side considering they still had a long way to go. She remembered the new frenemy she shared with Jeff Giordano and she was less than thrilled at the idea of coming face to face with her and her flashy boyfriend.

As Nat was checking her work email, she didn't notice Ellie James walking into her office for what would now be the second time. The blonde trainer wore her hair in a ponytail today and was carrying a cup of coffee in one hand and a binder in the other. She smiled brightly at Nat as she took a seat across from her.

"Can't tell you how much I missed you!" Ellie exclaimed.

Nat was excited to be back after being away for so long. She arrived early, hoping to impress Mr. Stoll, but so far the only other staffer in the building was Ellie.

"So I feel like you have a lot to catch me up on. Like, whatever happened between you and Mr. Beefcake" She said as she attempted Bosa's iconic shrug.

Nat couldn't help but smirk at her antics. "I wish there was something more exciting to tell you. We haven't really spoken much since I got put in timeout by Callaghan. I've been texting him but he hasn't been responding."

Ellie nodded intently then chimed in, "Oh, well actually I saw him after the Generals game. Poor guy was coughing up a storm. I think he might be coming down with something."

Oh great. Guess I won't be seeing him for a bit.

Nat tried to hide her selfish displeasure and then followed up, "Is he okay? How long do you think he'll be out for?"

Ellie shook her head and pursed her lips. "Well it's not anything serious, we already tested for everything. I think it's just a cold or something. He'll probably be back after the bye."

Of course, the bye week. Well I guess it's the perfect time to get sick, if you were going to choose a time.

"Well maybe I can pay him a home visit? I could stop by with some soup or something." Nat said hopefully.

Ellie laughed at the thought then replied, "I mean I guess you could do that, but don't you think that's coming off a little strong? I thought you said Callaghan told you to stay away from his boys"

Nat sighed. "Yeah that's true, but he was being so sweet this past week. I feel like I have to do something for him. Got any other ideas?"

Ellie thought for a moment before replying, "Have you tried calling him? Maybe order him food or something. I don't see why you gotta do something special."