Chapter Text
"Come on, Charlie, let's get you some breakfast.”
Hope placed her 3 year old daughter at the dining table and walked into the kitchen. She quickly cut up a banana and placed the pieces in front of the eager little girl. As she continued to peruse the fridge and pantry for more food, she felt a sudden presence next to her.
“Hey Solo, are you making me some food too?”
Hope smiled at Kelley and her cheeky expression on her face. Even after all these years, both they and their friends often joked around by calling each other by their last names or the more common names given by their teammates. It was what they were used to and simply just another perk of playing professional soccer for a living.
“Get your own food, KO.”
“Ugh, fine! Maybe I’ll go steal some from our tiny human.” Kelley joked and walked towards the dining table.
As soon as Charlie noticed Kelley walking over, she lit up and held her hands out. “Mama!”
Kelley was quick to pick her up and twirl her around before sitting back down at the table with Charlie on her lap, “Good morning, little squirrel. Are you enjoying your banana? Do you think I can have some?”
She opened her mouth and pointed inwards. Charlie raised a piece to Kelley’s mouth, but quickly pulled away and popped it into her own. “Hey! That was for me!” Kelley fake pouted and then began tickling her.
Hope watched the two from the kitchen and chuckled to herself. She wasn’t surprised that Kelley turned out to such a good mother. Her personality was already playful and goofy- perfect for children, especially Charlie. Charlotte Amelia Ohara-Solo was born in May of 2013. Her and Kelley decided to start a family right after the 2012 Olympics, giving them plenty of time to train and get back on the team by the next World Cup. Charlotte, or rather “Charlie,” turned out to be a miniature version of Kelley. As she continued to grow, more freckles appeared on her face and her hazel green eyes only shined brighter. Just like her mama, she was also very energetic and quirky. Her bubbly, and sometimes feisty, personality helped her bond best with Kelley. She loved Hope too, but there was no question that she was Kelley’s kid.
Hope asked, “Charlie, do you want some cheerios as well?”
“Yea!”
Hope reached for the cereal box and poured some into a little bowl. She placed it on the table, “One second, sweetie, let me get you some milk.”
However, before she could walk back into the kitchen, crying could be heard through the baby monitor in the living room. Charlie’s eyes widened as she looked up at Kelley, “Baby crying!”
“Oh you’re right!” Kelley looked at Hope, “I’ll go save our tiniest human.”
Hope nodded, “I’ll start heating up a bottle.”
As she did so, out of the corner of her eye she saw Charlie grab her sippy cup and dump it over her cereal. “Charlie! What are you doing? Shoot, I forgot to get the milk.” She walked back over, but the toddler quickly shook her head.
“No! No milk!”
“That’s water, sweetie. It doesn’t go on cereal.”
Charlie continued to refuse the milk, “No! Like Mama!”
Hope looked at her in confusion and then finally realized what she was trying to do. Kelley preferred water on her cereal and it seemed like Charlie was trying to copy her. “You want to eat your cereal like Mama, huh?”
Charlie giggled and repeated, “Like Mama!”
Hope laughed and shook her head in disbelief- just another similarity between Kelley and their daughter. Kelley had finally returned with their youngest daughter in her arms, “Look who’s awake!”
Hope smiled and waved, “Good morning, baby!” She took their second little girl into her arms, and mentioned, “Kell, go take a look at what Charlie is eating. You’ll get a kick out of it.”
Kelley tilted her head in confusion, but soon realized what Hope meant. “That’s my girl! So awesome.” She quickly high fived Charlie before going outside to get the car ready. They were supposed to meet up with Alex, Tobin, Ashlyn, and Ali at the beach for the day.
Hope stayed inside to get the kids ready. As she fed their littlest girl a bottle, she lightly kissed her on the forehead. Harper Jo Ohara-Solo was so darling and Hope loved cuddling her. Kelley immediately decided to retire after their big World Cup win, wanting to focus on their family. It took a little convincing on Hope’s part to do the same, but she soon followed, and it wasn’t long before Kelley was pregnant again. Harper also exhibited many of Kelley’s physical features, but they were not as dominating a Charlie’s- and neither was her personality. She had recently turned one years old and it appeared that Harper’s personality emphasized Kelley’s softer traits. She was quieter than her older sister, but still a very happy kid and everyone adored her. Hope knew that the reason why she found Harper the easiest to love was because she was so endearing like Kelley, who had also made her fall so deeply in love many years ago.
An hour later, they arrived at the beach. Charlie ran up to her two of her favorite aunts, Alex and Tobin, who greeted her with open arms.
Tobin smiled, “What’s up, friends? Long time no see!”
Hope hugged her, “Well, maybe because you and Alex are too busy traveling around the world. How’s the team?”
Alex gave her previous keeper a hug as well, “They’re great. Everyone says hi and they miss you. We’re glad to be home though.”
Kelley agreed, “That’s something I definitely don’t miss about being on the team. I love traveling, but getting to stay at home is great too.”
Tobin looks around, “Where’s Harris and Krieger? And their little squad?”
Hope comments, “They’ll probably be late. I’m sure it takes awhile to get everyone out the door.”
Sure enough, Ashlyn and Ali showed up half an hour later. Ashlyn was holding two beach chairs and three beach bags while shouting at their adopted 6 year old twin boys to stop chasing each other. On the other hand, Ali was holding the leash to their golden retriever while holding their crying 3 year old daughter. They eventually made it to where the rest of their friends were sitting.
Kelley greeted Ali, “You look exhausted.”
Ali sighed, “Well hello to you too…little Emerson here didn’t get much sleep last might so she’s a bit cranky.”
Ashlyn called out to their boys, “Logan! Stop chasing Noah! Come here and say hi to everyone.”
After hugging them all, Tobin laughed at them, “You guys are a hot mess.”
Ashlyn rolled her eyes, “Shut it, Heath. You try having three crazy kids and a dog.”
Alex looked at Tobin, who quickly stood by her side. “Uhm, actually, we have an announcement…I’m pregnant.”
Kelley jumped up and hugged her two best friends, “Finally! Ahhh! I’m so happy for you guys!”
Hope smiled, “Welcome to the club, you two.”
Meanwhile, Ashlyn and Ali were dead silent. Tobin shrugged, “Shocking, right?”
Ali stuttered, “Uh…uh…yeah. Well we weren’t going to say anything just yet, but this seems like a good time. We…well, we…we’re pregnant too.”
Kelley put her hand up to her mouth in shock, “No way!”
“Seriously?! Another one?” Tobin’s jaw dropped.
Alex asked, “When are you due, Ali?”
“Sometime in the fall.”
“Me too!” Alex exclaimed.
Ashlyn groaned jokingly, “Great- two pregnant at the same time. This should be loads of fun.” She turned to her other friends, “Solo, you better not be knocked up too. I don’t think I can handle you pregnant as well.”
Hope chuckled, “Don’t worry, Ash- I can assure you I’m not pregnant.” She looked at Kelley who forced a smile. Hope knew having another baby was a sensitive subject to Kelley. Both Charlie and Harper’s pregnancies were pretty much smooth sailing, but the second birth put a lot of strain on her body and the doctors deemed her uterus to be “hostile.” In other words, it would be dangerous for Kelley to have another kid.
Kelley, Tobin, and Ashlyn went out swimming with the older kids, leaving Hope, Alex, and Ali with the youngest ones.
Ali wondered, “Hope, how do you get Harper to fall asleep like that? It’s amazing.”
Hope looked down at her youngest daughter sleeping soundly in her arms. “I don’t know. She’s just easy...doesn’t need as much attention as Charlie did. Kelley and I are really grateful that she’s a good baby.”
Alex asks, “So are you guys planning to stop at two?”
Hope sighed, “Kelley has always wanted three…and of course with the result of the last pregnancy, it’ll be difficult to…you know.”
“You don’t want to carry?” Ali asked.
Hope shrugged, “Well, I mean I could…Kelley has been pressuring me lately, but I honestly think two is plenty.”
Before anyone could respond, Kelley showed up with Charlie, who exclaimed, “Mommy!”
Hope held a finger to her mouth and said quietly, “Hi, sweetie, shhh…baby’s sleeping.”
Charlie lowered her voice, but excitedly asked, “Mommy, I want to go surfing with Mama.”
“Yeah, what do you think, Mommy?” Kelley also couldn’t control herself.
Hope responded seriously, “Kell…I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”
“Mommy, please!”
“We won’t go out far…plus I’m just going to let her stand on the board.”
“Please!!!” Charlie begged.
Hope gave in, “Okay, okay. Be careful, Kelley. Make sure her life jacket is on tight.”
Kelley kissed Hope on the cheek and quickly ran off with their daughter. Hope nervously watched them, jumping up every time they got tossed by a wave.
Tobin noticed Hope’s anxiety and said, “Solo, chill out. Look, they’re laughing. They’re just having fun.”
Hope sighed, “I know, I know…they’re just both so carefree. We all know Kelley is a child at heart…how could I not be nervous?”
Ali smiled, “They’re like two peas in a pod. They’ll take care of each other.”
“They are so alike, it’s incredible. Those two could stay out on the water all day long. Oh, did I mention what Charlie did this morning? She poured water over her cereal.”
Alex laughed, “Wow. Like mother, like daughter.”
Soon after, Kelley and Tobin decided to go out surfing on their own, which didn’t sit too well with Charlie.
“But Mama, I want to go with you!”
Kelley sighed, “I know, little squirrel, but it’s too dangerous farther out. The big waves could really hurt you.”
“Mama...but I want to go!”
As soon as Charlie realized Kelley was leaving without her, she started to cry. Hope picked her up, “I’m sorry, Charlie…Mama will be back soon.”
Charlie wrapped her arms around Hope’s neck and soon cried herself to sleep. The group of friends enjoyed catching up with each other and stayed at the beach until it got dark. Kelley and Hope tucked in Charlie and Harper, who fell asleep on the way home. Then, they both climbed into bed.
Hope sighed in exhaustion and hugged Kelley close, “Today was a good day.”
Kelley nodded. “It was nice being with everyone…I can’t believe both Alex and Ali are pregnant.”
“Mhm…” Hope was slowly dozing off.
After a moment of silence, Kelley broke free of Hope’s grasp and sat up. “Hope…I was thinking…”
Hope sat up too, “What’s wrong, Kell?”
“I don’t know…I just thought…what do you think about having another baby?”
In the back of her mind, Hope knew this was coming. She sighed, “Kell…you know how I feel.”
“Well…your feelings could have changed.”
“I just…don’t you think two is enough? Harper just turned one and Charlie is already a handful. I don’t know if I can handle more goofiness in this household.” Hope laughed to lighten the mood.
“Are you scared?”
“To carry? No.”
“Then why…”
“Kell, please. I’ve already told you how I felt about this.”
Kelley retorted, “That wasn’t really a reason, Hope.”
“Can we think about this for a little while longer? It’s late and we’re both tired.” Hope tried to change the subject. “Plus, Kell…let’s enjoy Charlie and Harper first. We’re doing really well as it is. We’re happy, right?”
Kelley laid back down in bed with her back turned to Hope. She mumbled, “Sure…I guess so.”
Hope was slightly concerned by Kelley’s doubtful response, but didn’t let it bother her as she, too, fell asleep.