As Roosevelt handed him a cup of coffee, a resolute knock sounded at the front door. Christian gave her an encouraging smile. Silently, he was praying that his mom wouldn't do anymore future suggestions. Oddly, even after the previous evening, she felt nervous. Glancing down at her ensemble and noting that her short sleeve white u neck shirt and denim cuffed jeans were still clean and void of wrong doing, Roosevelt decided she looked decent enough and swiftly answered the door. Alecia and Cameron Yelich each delivered her a hug and then moved on to find the injured athlete. Christian remained planted on the couch, knowing that if he moved to stand, he'd hear it from both women.

"Christian, you look much better today." Alecia commented as she took a seat beside him. Cameron parked himself at the bar, and Roosevelt in the kitchen.

"I have a good nurse." His tone was light, and a smile ghosted across his features. The older woman nodded and smiled widely at her oldest. The older woman was trying to figure out how to keep the two together; it was plain to see that the two complimented each other well.

Cameron watched his mom; he knew what she was thinking of saying.

"So, when do you join up with the team?" Cameron asked while keeping an eye on his mom.

"Probably once the cast comes off." Christian offered with a smirk knowing that his answer would cause his girl to bristle. He was right, and she was quick to authoritatively add, "He means when the doctor clears him."

"Yes, dear." He retorted with a slight eye roll. Cameron nodded at the couple, while Alecia suggested, "Why not come home and recoup?" Roosevelt held in a mental snort-did she not know her son? He'd already blamed himself for his injury-there was no way he'd miss out on supporting his teammates. Plus, she had to travel with the team. Both had received a call from Craig Counsell early that morning ironing out expectations: She remembered his ending, "The Brew Crew is lucky to have you. You'll fit right in." He'd also told Yeli to keep it easy and to listen to "Doc." Until, he rejoined the Brewers, which by her estimation would probably be in the coming days; she'd focus on the injured. Then she'd be acting trainer/chiropractor.

"Christian, you really could do with a rest." His mom finished with an earnest look. Roosevelt quit zoning out to see Christian calmly rebuff her, "Yeah...no. I'm going with the team. There's not much of the season left-the least I can do is be supportive. Plus, she's..." He paused and pointed at Roosvelt, "... assigned to travel with the team. If you think I'm going to stay in LA.....ridiculous."

"Fine." Alecia conceded with a small sigh. At least, the two would be together. Part of her hope had already been confirmed. Turning, she confidently addressed the relaxed Olympian, "I take it that I'll have to wait til after the Olympics for grandchildren." Roosevelt's widened into large saucers. She looked like a deer caught in headlights; her heart rate increased from the sudden stress of the woman's words. How does she even begin to answer that? Christian, in the meantime, groaned with exasperation, "No, don't--"

"What's the big deal about my question? Hmm? You too look like you're having a stroke. You two are approaching 30, and her biological clock is ticking-." Alecia interrupted as she crossed her arms in defense.

"We haven't discussed ANY of that." Roosevelt interjected with a look of embarrassment.

"You don't want kids?" The older woman questioned. Her eyes flickered to her younger son who was shaking his head at her as if to say, 'stop.'

Roosevelt's eyes met Christian's; both seemed to be frozen. Did they? Could they? Should they?

"I didn't say that. I'm not having children til I'm married, and that's not a dig at Christian. We're not at that moment in life." Roosevelt shrugged as she took a long sip of coffee, silently wishing there was Bailey's in it.

Alecia muttered to Christian, "You better get it together." In response, the all-star pouted and looked at Roosevelt with a look of asking for help.

"This is awesome. Collin is so missing out." Cameron commented with a sly grin.

"Shut up." Christian snapped at his younger brother causing the younger to smirk. Roosevelt bit the inside of her cheek. Christian looked incredibly stressed-if the roles were reversed, she'd want him to find them a way out. 'Here goes nothing.' She pessimistically thought.

"Alecia, we'll talk about all this and get back to you. Let's get through the post season and get Christian healed up."

"Good. Okay." She returned with a paused and teased, "Makes sense. You can't do all the work." Before either of the couple object to the implication, she announced, "Cameron, you and I have a flight to catch."

"Leaving so soon?" Christian asked in a passive aggressive tone.

"You're in capable hands, and Cameron has school work to catch up on. You better call me, mister." She hugged him and whispered, "I love you, Chris."

"Love you, too, Mom." He returned.

Cam gave him a fist bump and muttered, "Later, bro. Text me."

"Will do Cam."

A hug was given to Roosevelt, and as Alecia pulled back, she requested with a smirk, "Keep me updated."

"Will do." Inside, she was cringing at the inference. Cam simply gave her a head nod and an elbow bump.

Once the duo departed, the couple was left in uncomfortable silence. The two found themselves staring at one another. Where to begin? Roosevelt broke the ice. She lilted, "Your mom has a way with words." Her light brown eyes watched him tense up and then relax, "Only when she's sure about something."

"Ah. So, we're destined to procreate?" She challenged as she made her way to take a seat beside him on the couch.

"You said it, not me." He fired back with an animated shrug.

"Not uh." She childishly replied; crossing her arms.

"Yeah, huh." He teased back with a tongue sticking out.

"Are we back in junior high?" A raised eyebrow accompanied her question.

"Not to my knowledge." He retorted as he closed his eyes. Christian seemed to be thinking deeply about the various issues that were raised. What should they do? How fast should they move? Grabbing her hand, he pulled her close. She rested her head on his side. A comfortable, contemplative silence took them over. Roosevelt felt conflicted. The lovesick side of her wanted to do exactly what his Mom had suggested, but the practical side wagged its finger, ranting about responsibility. Both were role models for young people. While they were both in a healthy relationship, would rushing things cause it to go into dysfunction?

"I'm inclined..." He paused and placed a kiss on the top of her head, "...to facilitate a name change..." She twisted to see his face. His normally relaxed, attractive face was serious and focused. Before he continued, he motioned for her to straddle him. With a small smile and ease, Roosevelt did so. His hands found her hips, but instead of doing anything more, he rasped out, "But, I gotta be able to surprise you. And, I need to meet your parents. After that? I'll do whatever you want."

Her jaw dropped. Why was everything so easy with him? Christian made their relationship flexible, workable, and forward moving. Leaning forward, she tenderly kissed his forehead and then moved to look him in the eye. The look he was giving her was gripping. The all-star was waiting for the Olympian to agree or disagree. Burrowing her head into his neck, she whispered, "You're incredible."

His strong arms wrapped around her and he slyly pushed, "Is that you being in agreement with the newest version of the 'plan'?"

Pulling back, Roosevelt gently ran her right hand through his hair; his eyes fluttered closed. "Christian Yelich, I don't think you understand how much I lo-"

His lips cut her off for a long, drawn out kiss. Pulling back only slightly, his lips brushed against hers, "I'm saying it first."

"Huh?" She was dazed and her head, swimming.

"I love you." Roosevelt sobered up from her daze. His tone was different from any of their previous interactions. It was deep and serious; it was saturated with an unwavering lining of conviction. Could she match that? Mustering all her feelings together, she took a deep breath and resolutely returned, "I love you too."

As their lips reconnected, Roosevelt felt herself fall hard for him. There had been some internal hesitancy, especially with how Mattie was convinced that the MVP would have grown tired of her. From what she could tell, the exact opposite was happening. Both were in uncharted territory; neither had a previous relationship this deep.

Breaking away, he took a deep breath and chuckled, "I've never told a woman that before."

"Oh?" She murmured as she moved to kiss his neck.

"Yeah. Have you-" Her hand covered his mouth from continuing his question. Giving him a fiery look, "No. I've never told a guy 'I love you.'" She paused to gain eye contact with him, "I'm telling you now. I'm all in."

His hand grabbed hers, removing it from his mouth. Managing to keep himself composed, he whispered, "That custom jersey was no lie. I want you all to myself."

Smirking, she climbed off him, tugged him off the couch, and led him to their room. For some reason, this felt different than all their previous encounters. The atmosphere was different. Every touch was felt and both memorized the sensation. Roosevelt had no problem taking the lead, and by the end, both were breathless. As she turned on her side, she took in his form and committed to memory. Even the cast was sexy on him.

"When this cast is off and I'm given the green light, you're done for." He announced as twisted to capture her lips one more time. Then he fell back on to the pillow. It was easy to see that he was still tired.

"Nap time?" Her voice asked as he seemed to lose power.

"Yeah, between you, the injury, and medication..."

Humming in response, she helped get him tucked in. Begrudgingly, she'd made the decision to work out and keep up with her training, especially now that she wasn't readily near Betty.

"You're not staying?"

"I need to work out. Does your complex have a gym? If not, any recommendations?"

Nodding, he muttered back, "Top right drawer in the kitchen has my gym pass. I don't work out here. I belong to a private one. They shouldn't trouble you-my pass includes a guest. Address is on the back."

Smiling, she gave him a chaste kiss, and moved to get dressed for the gym. Dressed in all UA gear-white sports bra, black sport hooded tank, black leggings--, Roosevelt borrowed a Brewers drawstring backpack and placed all the necessary items for a successful workout. Placing her hair into a high ponytail, popping in her air pods, and kissing him goodbye, Roosevelt found herself pacing to his gym. As she walked amongst the random people of Milwaukee, she wondered how she'd proceed: cardio, weight lifting, or both?

Easily finding the gym, she signed in at the desk, and made her way to the Olympic weights. She began with 5 sets of five hang cleans. By the fourth set, Roosevelt was cursing herself-she'd needed to be at the gym every day in some way til Betty and her reunited. Following her hang cleans, she completed dumbbell forward lunges, military press, single-arm dumbbell snatch, reverse hyper, med ball Russian twists, and finished with box jumps. By the time she finished her old college strength training, Roosevelt was sweating and breathing deeply. Her body protested as she headed toward the treadmill area, but she knew it was super important to follow up with cardio.

"Excuse me?" A male voice questioned from behind her; pausing her music, she answered, "Yes?" Her eyes landed on a tall blonde guy who clearly spent way too much time at the gym. Immediately, she regretted ever pausing her music.

"I've never seen you around here, but you handled those weights like they were nothing." Mentally screaming, she contemplated how to shut this guy down quickly and painlessly.

Raising an eyebrow, she questioned, "I just moved here. My boyfriend is a member here, so I now work out here."

"Oh. Where is he? You guys don't work out together?" He questioned, making a point of looking around the gym.

"None of your business." Resuming her music, she turned away, climbed onto a treadmill, turned to her G-Eazy playlist for when she was mad, and set her pace. A few minutes into the run, she spotted the blonde taking the treadmill beside her. 'This guy can't take a hint.' She thought angrily to herself. Christian would have already handled this shit, but here she was just trying to dodge it. This guy clearly didn't believe her.

"Hey, I wasn't trying to make you mad." The guy practically shouted.

"Too late. Leave me alone, I'm not interested." She snapped with a dark look. The guy smiled at her and pushed the button to cancel her run. "You don't have a boyfriend."

"You don't fucking know me. I'm not interested. I'm going to the front desk." She announced loudly drawing attention from those around her. Another woman shouted, "Leave her alone, Derek. She's not into you." Roosevelt shot the woman a thankful look.

"Why not?" He asked with irritation reaching his facial expression and tone.

Roosevelt scoffed at him as she moved to leave the area, "I told you. I'm happily taken."

A teenage boy was walking by and looked at her, did a double take, and circled back. Clearly ignoring the blonde guy, the teenager excitedly stated, "You're Yeli's girl!"

Watching the realization hit him, Roosevelt waited for him to ask. The blonde guy raised his eyebrows, "You're Christian Yelich's girlfriend?"

"I am." She confirmed with a smirk. The teenager quickly asked for a picture, and she easily let him take one.

"I am so--"

"Oh no. You don't get to apologize. You harassed me, and I have witnesses. When I come back, alone or with Christian, you do not look at me; you don't speak to me. And you leave Christian the hell alone."

Not waiting for a reply, she left the gym. Men. Feeling creeped out, she knew she was in need of a shower and cuddles. Upon entering the apartment, she took off her shoes, paced to the bedroom, and found Christian on his phone.

"How was the gym?" He asked, not looking up. He figured she'd say she was tired.

"Had a guy relentlessly hit on me." Roosevelt stated in a frustrated tone. The phone disappeared.

"What?" His voice somewhat tense, and eyes wide.

"Some blonde gym bro." She vaguely offered as she violently removed her socks and leggings. Christian tried to climb out of the bed to console her, but was not fast enough. "What did he--"

"He followed me from the free weights to the treadmills. Pointed out I was new and that I knew how to work out. Apparently, in his pea sized brain, that meant we were destined. I told him I was happily taken and uninterested. Derek, didn't back off until one of your fans identified me. Then he looked petrified." She rambled as she finished undressing and headed toward the shower. He had stopped moving to get up.

"Derek?" Christian questioned confused like he was trying to think things through. His tone caused her to freeze.

"You know him?" Roosevelt asked in disbelief. A part of her was relieved-Christian can tell that guy what was up, but a part of her wondered if she'd be seen as the bitch in the situation.

"He's my trainer."