Ella skips through the front door after being dropped off from school. She and a friend carpooled today.
"Momma, guess what?" Ella calls out as she makes her way into the kitchen. The sight of both her mom and Zola standing there stops her abruptly. There's something about their expressions that makes Ella nervous.
"What, El?" Becky asks as she picks her daughter up and places her on one of the counter stools.
"Nevermind," Ella replies furrowing her brow. She looks between Zola and Becky cautiously. "What's wrong? Do we have to leave? Does Zola?" the little blonde questions anxiously. She doesn't want to leave here or Zola. Everything's so much better now.
"Oh, no sweetheart, nothing's wrong. We're staying in Portland. I think Zola's going to be around for a long time too," Becky soothes. She sends a smile to Zola about his presence in their lives. Both Ella and Becky want him here for the long run. At her mother's words Ella relaxes slightly but gives a look as to say 'so what is it?'
"So, your mom and I have something to tell you," Zola begins. He's hoping Ella reacts the way he thinks she will.
"Remember when Aunt Amy and Aunt Syd had to take time off from the team," Becky continues, taking over for Zola. Ella nods her head, trying to piece together what they're telling her. "Do you remember why they did that?" Becky asks.
"Yeah, they were having Cassius and Luke," Ella replies thoroughly confused by why her mom is talking about that. 'So what if they took a break to have a baby' Ella thinks to herself.
"Well, I'm going to take a break like Aunt Amy and Aunt Syd," Becky continues, seeing that Ella needs some help with this.
"Why? You aren't having a...," Ella trails off. "You're having a baby?" Ella asks in shock. It's brief though because seconds later she flings herself into her mom's arms. After a minute she wiggles her way down so that she can get to Zola. Ella tightly wraps her arms around Zola's neck when he crouches down to meet her. A watery smile crosses his face as Ella whispers, "Thank you," in his ear. Tears start falling down the little girl's face as she's overwhelmed with emotions.
"El, what's wrong?" Becky questions in concern. Ella hardly ever cries. It's a rare sight for her mom.
"I'm just really happy, Momma," Ella answers simply before hugging her mom again.
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"Momma, can we see the team before they leave?" Ella asks as she eats her cereal. Her games had been canceled for the day, so the little girl was itching to do something soccer related.
"Actually, I have to talk to Jill so if you wanted we could go see the team at camp?" Becky replies, knowing fully well the girl's answer.
"Ew, can we just see the team. I don't wanna talk to Jill," Ella admits. Her face scrunches up at the thought of her mom's coach. 'The woman always puts people in the wrong place. It's like she doesn't get soccer,' Ella thinks to herself.
"No, El, you don't have talk to Jill, but you will be polite and say hello," Becky laughs, attempting a serious motherly tone but fails. Her daughter's contempt for Jill is something the whole team finds hilarious.
At her mother's answer Ella gives a faux serious nod then downs the rest of her cereal. She runs as fast as she can up to her room to get changed.
"Ok El, stay here with Aunt Ali while I talk to Jill," Becky instructs once they arrive at the team's training facility. "Thank you for watching her," Becky adds as she turns to Ali. They had there right before the team was sitting down for lunch.
Ali takes Ella hand and leads her towards the team's meal room. The girl skips gleefully beside her aunt. She's missed the team. Her presence surprises them as no one knew Becky was coming in. They thought she still had the flu. Dawn abruptly stands, seeing Ella enter the room. She needs to see Jill's face during her meeting with Becky. Everyone else hugs the girl and continue with lunch.
"Sonny, I gotta make an announcement," Ella informs. She had purposefully sat next to Emily, knowing the older blonde would give in to her.
Emily nods her head before saying, "hey, Ella has a announcement to make!" A laugh falls out of her at the end. She had been trying to be serious but it was pretty funny. 'Ella's probably going to tell us she scored a goal or something', Emily speculates, thinking nothing of Ella's announcement.
"I got a 100 on my spelling test yesterday," Ella announces once she has everyone's attention. Ali lets out a sigh of relief. She thought Ella was going to tell everyone about Becky. Her relief is premature because Ella adds, "Oh, and I'm going to be a big sister," after a moment. The whole team looks at her in shock.
"Ella, what are you talking about," Kelley asks. She's the first one to recover from shock. Ali chooses to remain silent during the situation. She's not getting in trouble for this.
"Momma and Zo are having a baby," Ella explains. Her face looks at the team as it they're slow for not understanding. Becky enters the room then with Dawn and Jill following behind. Jill's face looks like she's either going to cry or hit something.
"So, I guess Ella told you," Becky surmises as she takes in the scene. Ella remains standing on a chair while the team's faces look shocked. Becky's words cause the whole team to stand and hug her.
"You deserve this," Kelley states when it's her turn to embrace the blonde. When they break apart Kelley joins in with Emily and Ella. The trio jump up and down in excitement. Sonny and Kelley truly are children.
