"Ella Mae Smith," Becky calls out in a motherly tone. She enters the lobby with a coffee and hot chocolate in each hand. At the sound of her full name, Ella dives behind Kelley.
"Auntie Kel, hide me!" Ella orders as she shields herself behind her aunt. "I did something bad," Ella admits guiltily.
"Ella Mae, stop using Kelley as a shield. We need to talk," Becky orders sternly. Honestly, her voice even scares Kelley a little bit. Ella reluctantly does as she's told and follows Becky to a more secluded part of the hotel lobby. "Ella, you can not give our phone number out to people. Remember what we talked about with safety," Becky admonishes when she's certain that it's only her and Ella having the conversation.
"I remember, but Momma, it was Zola. We know him. I just wanted him to talk to you," Ella explains herself. She really needs her Momma to see why she did it.
"I know we know him, hun, but you shouldn't give our number unless I say it's ok. Thank you for thinking about me, how about we consider this a learning moment and move on," Becky offers, seeing the sincerity in her daughter's face.
"Ok Momma, I promise not to give our number," Ella agrees before sprinting away. She knows not to push her Momma in regards to punishments.
"Ow," Emily and Sam say in unison. Becky had smacked the back of their heads as she passed by. They both give her look as today what was that for.
"I know you two helped her," Becky states before walking over to Carli to talk about the arrangements for the New Orleans game.
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"Aunt Lo!" Ella shouts excitedly when she sees the curly haired brunette in the team's meal room.
"Oh, my goodness, you're getting so big, El," Lauren says as she squeezes Ella into a tight hug. Once released, Ella wanders over to where JT is playing so that she can play with her 'cousin'.
"Cheney, I didn't know you were coming," Becky greets as she wraps Lauren into a hug. They haven't seen each other in a while. Becky is surprised she's the first person to know that Lauren is here. Typically, Tobin would be soaking in all the new kid time she could get.
"Becks, it's so good to see you. I didn't tell anyone cause I wanted it to be a surprise," Lauren explains. "How are you?" The brunette asks as they pull away from the hug. Becky can tell there is more to what she is asking.
"I'm good, really Chens. As long as Shawn is out of our lives and I have Ella, everything is fine," Becky replies reassuringly. She know how worried all her teammate have been, past and present. They all feel sort of responsible because they couldn't help their teammate.
"Good, let's get some food before Tobin or Moe finds out I'm here and won't leave me alone," Lauren offers with a laugh. Both women head over to get some food. Their daughters follow closely behind, seeing what their mothers are doing.
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The buzzing coming from the end of the table causes everyone to look for its source. Becky sends an apologetic look and quickly answers her phone. She starts to step away from the table but the words coming from the other side stop her.
"You're kidding right? This is a joke," Becky asks into the phone in disbelief. She must not like what the other person has to say because all color drains from her face. "This isn't funny. I swear to god if this is a joke...," Becky trails off again as the other person replies. Her breathing starts to pick up. She can't quite breathe in full breathes. "What do you....how....," Becky manages to get out as her world starts spinning. Her face feels tingly and she can barely make out what's being said to and around her. After a second, everything goes black.
