YOU TREATED SAM LIKE HE WAS FUCKING NOTHING.

[  season 1 — episode 05  ]

DAISY WAS PERCHED ON THE EDGE OF HER FATHER'S DESK, dressed in a Richmond jersey with Sam's number on the back that he signed early on, tucked into her jeans. She always wore his or Roy's number. Michelle and Henry were currently waiting in line to buy snacks and then they'd hit up the merchandise stand — since Ted was the coach, they wouldn't have to pay for anything, making Michelle regret buying the Jamie jersey earlier.

Ted had just finished explaining the trouble in his marriage to Nate and Beard, finally ready to open up to a few more people about it. "I mean, I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

'Let her go,' was what Daisy wanted to say, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Marriage," Nate muttered. "Just so, you know, so complicated. So many different challenges and... I think... I don't know. Sorry." After he finished stammering, Nate looked at Beard for assistance. "You ever been married?"

And Beard just let out a loud, obnoxious, "Ha!" which startled Nate.

Ted shook his head. "Yeah, Nate. Coach's views on romantic relationships are not too dissimilar from his views on cooking steak. You know, you spend any more than five minutes on one, loses its flavor. That sound about right, Coach?"

"Yeah," he agreed.

"Gross," Daisy told him, just earning an innocent shrug from him.

"Do you mind if I ask you a personal question then?" Nate questioned, looking at Ted.

"Fire away."

"If you were worried about your relationship, then why did you fly 4,438 miles away?"

"That is a very specific number to know off the top of your head," he noted.

"And in miles when you don't use miles," Daisy added.

"To make it easier for you," he said, shrugging. "And, well, uh, my dad used to be a cartographer. Used to say I was .001 miles tall."

"Cute," she said, laughing a little.

"Yeah. Well, it's a good question," Ted sighed. "Why do it? I think at some point I realized that me being around so much was doing more harm than good. Like, anytime I tried to solve any of her problems or do something sweet for her, it just would backfire. And then she and this therapist we were working with decided that maybe the best thing to do would be to give her a little space. And so, um, well, I gave her 4,400 and, um—"

"Thirty-eight," Nate finished for him.

"Thirty-eight miles worth of it," Ted stated. "But couldn't deal with space from my little Oopsie Daisy, here."

"You raised me to be just as clingy as you," she told him.

Then Higgins entered the office, knocking on the door as he did so. "Sorry to interrupt. I was told one of you had my phone." Beard was the one to hold up the missing device. "Ah. Thank heavens."

"I deleted some apps to optimize performance," Beard said while handing it over.

"Not Battleships, I hope," he muttered while searching for it. Evidently, it was gone, though. "Ah. Oh, well. I was playing that too much anyway."

"Higgy, put a case on your phone," Daisy whined. "It stresses me out on your behalf."

"Hasn't broken yet," he told her. "I'll leave you all to your match day planning."

"Now, well, hold your horse there, amigo," Ted said, wanting more opinions on this. "You mind if I get your take on something?"

"Wow, of course. Uh, very exciting to be, uh, invited into the inner sanctum. Um, Team Lasso, as it were," Higgins said, clearly excited. He tried to join Nate, who was sitting on top of some filing cabinets, but he couldn't quite get up that high and went back to standing awkwardly.

"You and the missus. Y'all been together a while, yeah?" Ted asked him.

"Oh, yes, uh, twenty-eight years."

"Sweet," Daisy cooed, thinking of him kissing her goodbye before coming into work.

"Five boys, three dogs, one twenty-year-old cat whose impending death will wreck me emotionally—"

Daisy couldn't help but frown, worried about the cat. "Oh, no."

"—and, uh, one small house that manages to fit us all in it," he finished with a content smile on his face.

"Sounds like a full life right there," Ted noted. "But I assume y'all have had your fair share of hard times though, yeah?"

Higgins peered at him. "Did you not hear the five boys, tiny house, dying cat part?" Then he let out a mewl and shaped his hand like a cat paw, making Beard and Daisy laugh. "That's the thing though, isn't it? If you're with the right person, even the hard times are easy."

Daisy looked back at her father, both knowing that nothing had been easy with Michelle as of late.

Ted let out a low, impressed whistle. "Someone call 911. I want to report a truth bomb."

Nate and Higgins looked quite confused, so Beard cleared it up. "I think - think they do 999 here."

"It is 999," Nate agreed.

Higgins also nodded in confirmation. "Yes. It is, yeah."

"For emergencies?" Ted asked, sharing a surprised look with his daughter. "Boy, that seems troublesome to me. You know, toddlers and, just, butt dials and—"

"Oh, 'cause it's one key," Beard realized.

"I definitely would've called a million times accidentally growing up," Daisy told them.

"Yeah. You'd probably have police cars and ambulances just zipping all over the place."

"Well, that happens a lot, doesn't it?" Nate said, looking at Higgins.

"It does. Yeah, yeah," he agreed. "That explains it, actually."

"There you have it," Ted said, nodding to them.

"At least I know it's a little safer here than I thought," Daisy told them, having thought that crime was just running rampant and that people were dropping like flies. "I was starting to think Richmond was the new Detroit or Memphis."

"Those are US cities, fellas."

✵︎

Daisy got to remain in the locker room until it was time for the match to start. It wasn't like the team minded her being there — if anything, they preferred her over her father most days, calling her their little cheerleader.

"All right, everyone! Get in a fucking circle," Roy ordered, everyone on the team rushing to join him. "Let's throw this down!"

Daisy grinned as they all put their hands in, but it fell when she saw that Jamie stayed seated in front of his locker. He didn't join in as Roy started the countdown. "On three — one, two, three—"

"Richmond!"

"Let's go!" Ted cheered as the players began shouting excitedly and ran from the locker room.

Sam stopped by Daisy, who stood on her toes and pinched his earlobes like his father used to, it having turned into a tradition shortly after learning about it at the first match Ted coached. Then Daisy told him good luck in the Yoruba language, which he'd taught her a few days before.

As the rest of the team left for the pitch, Jamie stayed seated while taking a selfie before tucking his phone away. Ted was watching him, clearly not in the mood for his behavior. Beard began to inch for the door on the off chance that Ted let his anger over his marriage falling apart dictate how he dealt with Jamie.

"Jamie, you a germophobe?" Ted asked him, trying to keep it light. "'Cause I'm trying to think of a reason you didn't put your hand in with the rest of the team."

Jamie got up and looked in the locker mirror, fixing his hair. "Didn't want to."

"Mm-hmm. I gotta say, man, sometimes you remind me of my grandma with the channel hopper. You just push all the wrong buttons," he told him, trying to contain his temper.

"Well, then how's about you and me make a deal?"

"Okay, I'm listening."

Daisy and Beard shared a look and then shook their heads, knowing this wasn't going to be a good deal.

"You get to keep on preaching all of your yeehaw bullshit, and in exchange, I'll keep ignoring you, because this team is tragic. I score all the goals, and I'm the only one they come to see. Does that sound fair?" he asked in a sarcastic tone. "Hands in."

Ted took in a deep breath. "You know, I'd love to hash out some of the nuances there, but I'm not having the best of days—"

"Actually, it doesn't matter what you say," Jamie cut him off. "'Cause in my head, I'm just hearing the crowd cheer my name after I score a goal tonight."

Then Jamie began singing the very catchy cheer that the fans gave him, which was to the tune of the Baby Shark song. If Daisy wasn't so worried about her father's state, she'd have sung along as she usually did. But Jamie's singing and dancing was the last thing Ted wanted as Jamie began thrusting his hips.

"As undeniably catchy as that tune is," Ted cut him off, a stern expression on his face, "I need you to cut the crap right now—"

Before Ted could lay into Jamie for his behavior, for the second time that day, Henry came in at the worst time possible. "Dad!" he exclaimed while running in.

"Hey, big guy," Ted said as Henry ran into his arms for a hug. And it helped him calm down a bit too. "There he is. Hey."

When Henry pulled away, he looked at the player in awe. "Jamie Tartt? Daisy, it's Jamie Tartt!" he said, glancing back at his sister with a big grin.

"I know, bud. It's cool, right?" she said, glad to see Henry happy even if Jamie was being a bit of an ass.

"Hello, little lad," Jamie said, smiling down at him.

"Would you sign my shirt?" he asked hopefully.

"All right, turn around," he said while grabbing a marker from his locker.

Ted smiled down at Henry as he turned around, glad that Jamie was at least being kind to his son. "That's pretty cool, huh?"

Once he was finished and Henry turned to face him again, Jamie stayed crouched down to speak to him. "Now, next time I score a goal, it won't just be for me. It'll be for you too... And for me. But just for us."

"Cool," he said as Jamie winked at him.

"Good lad," Jamie said, patting him on the shoulder. Then he left the locker room, nodding to Beard as he passed him. "Good boy."

"Thank you," Daisy told him softly as he came near her and the door.

"Like I said, I'm the one they come to see," he said, a cocky smirk on his face. "It's my kit they wear."

"Funny," she said, smirking as she leaned a little closer. "Pretty sure I've been alternating between Kent and Obisanya since I got here."

As she mentioned his two least favorite players, Jamie scoffed and rolled his eyes. He didn't bother to say anything else as he left the locker room, finally going to join his team.

"Come on, let's get out there," Ted told Henry, leading him out of the locker room.

Henry ran over to Daisy and grabbed her hand, knowing they'd be going up to the owner's box together. And as he walked, he began singing, and she did too now that Jamie wasn't within earshot.

"Jamie Tartt, doo-doo doo-doo-doo doo. Jamie Tartt, doo-doo doo-doo-doo doo."

✵︎

One of the nice things about the owner's box was the bar just behind the seats. After Henry was seated and wrapped up in a warm jacket, Michelle went to get in line to order a drink, and Daisy followed her. She nervously picked at her fingers as she joined her.

"Hey, Daisy, did you want me to grab you something?" Michelle asked, smiling at her. "I totally forgot you're over the drinking age here. Hate if I missed your first beer."

"It tasted really bad, and I spit it back into Daddy's cup," she admitted sheepishly.

Michelle threw her head back and laughed, already able to picture it. "Yeah, that sounds like you, baby," she said, nudging her side. "We'll find you something tasty."

Daisy nodded and forced a smile before taking in a deep breath. "If - if you aren't in love with him, then you have to end things," she said, watching Michelle carefully, whose eyes immediately began to water. "Just, you know, the longer this goes on, the more hurt you'll both be, and I don't want that. So, if it's not going to work, just be honest with him."

"Oh... Daisy," she said, getting a little upset. "No, I'm not gonna give up—"

"It's not giving up," she said, squeezing her hand. "But you're miserable. And Daddy is miserable because you are. It - it'll be hard on him for a little bit, but that's okay because it's better than him holding onto hope that things will be like they used to be."

Michelle pulled her a little bit closer and cupped Daisy's cheek. "I don't wanna lose out on you if I lose your father too."

"You're not gonna lose me, Mama," she said, shaking her head. "Besides, you know the Lasso Way."

"We aren't concerned with wins and losses," she said, chuckling a little. Then she wiped her teary eyes. "Shit, this has just ruined the trip."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "No, you know how much we've missed you. And Henry has had the best time. Don't think it's a wasted trip."

"Order?" the bartender interrupted as the person ahead of them walked off with their drink.

Michelle quickly shook her head and wiped her eyes once more before facing the man. "A scotch. Make it a double," she requested. Then she glanced at Daisy, only reminded once more of Ted. "Triple. Give me a triple."

✵︎

Daisy thought it was quite funny that Henry had an easier time explaining what was going on during the match than anyone else had with her — Beard, Ted, Higgins, Sam, and Roy included. Of course, the opposing team was winning by two points, so Henry was frowning as he explained each play of the first half.

"Jamie has the ball!" Henry exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

They were so far up that it took Daisy a moment to locate the star player, but she spotted him speeding down the pitch and toward the goal. It looked incredibly similar to the morning before, right down to Sam being wide open and waving his arms at Jamie, who had three different opponents surrounding him. But even still, he didn't make the extra pass. He did it himself, scoring Richmond's first goal of the game.

As everyone was cheering, Daisy looked up at the huge screen hanging above the scoreboard. The camera was focused on Jamie, who was pointing to the back of his jersey and shouting something. After some easy lip reading, Daisy realized he was chanting 'ME' like the arrogant man that he was.

The half was nearing its end, and the other team was desperate to keep Richmond from getting another point. So desperate that Sam was tackled far harder than he should've been, earning a yellow card from the referee.

Daisy shot out of her seat and watched as Sam remained on the ground, curled up in pain with no sign of moving. She began to worry about him, but then Jamie went to check on him.

Except he didn't check on him. He stepped over Sam's body to grab the ball and take the penalty shot. Suddenly, Roy was angrily shoving Jamie back, likely yelling at him to check on his teammate. It appeared to work as Jamie dropped the ball and went back to check on Sam.

But then he reached a new low as he just flipped Sam over, not caring if he might've injured him even more. Daisy couldn't help but scream at him from the top of the stands, hating this side of Jamie. Was this really the behavior that would impress his father?

Roy was just as mad at Jamie for his behavior, and soon, a fight broke out — this one not in the locker room where no one would know about it. Soon, all the Richmond players on the field were trying to break up the fight while also pushing and shoving each other.

Finally, it was broken up by the referees, and both Jamie and Roy got yellow cards for their behavior. Roy seemed to accept it, but Jamie was pissed at the man, acting like he'd done nothing wrong since it was his own teammate.

As soon as it was over, Roy went right back to check on Sam. He stayed down for a few more moments, but eventually, Sam managed to get to his feet. For the first few steps, he limped but managed to power through it. Daisy clapped along with the rest of the crowd, glad that he was alright.

Honestly, at that point, Daisy didn't even care as Jamie lined up to take the free penalty shot. She couldn't even find it in herself to clap when he made the goal, tying the game up. She just sat next to her excited brother with a frown on her face, wondering what happened to the Jamie she'd been talking to the day before.

What happened was his father called him just hours before the match, letting him know he'd be watching with his friends and also let him know he had better not disappoint or embarrass him by being soft.

Daisy was honestly zoned out and didn't start paying attention until the crowd began muttering in confusion. She looked around and soon spotted her father running up the many, many stairs of the stadium leading up to the owner's box.

"What is he doing?" Daisy asked, glancing at Rebecca, who was equally as shocked. "That's — his lungs are gonna collapse or somethin'. That's a heck of a lot of stairs."

"But he ain't slowing down one bit," Keeley said from her seat behind her, sounding quite impressed. "Wow, that's some good stamina."

When Ted arrived, he had to grab onto the lip of the section and raise himself up so that they could look him in the eye.

"Hey, Rebecca," he grunted.

"Hello, Ted," she said, sounding quite calm for whatever this was.

"You're doing great, Dad," Henry chimed in.

"Yeah, you got this," Michelle added.

"Thanks, guys," he said, smiling at them. Then he looked back at Rebecca. "Uh, I wanna bench Jamie. But I didn't wanna do it without checking with you first."

Daisy's eyes almost popped out of her head, but Rebecca remained more composed. "But, Ted, you're the manager. So whatever you decide, you have my full support."

"Thanks, boss. All right," he said, getting a little out of breath. "Later, alligators."

As Ted let go and headed back down the stairs, Henry waved at him. "Bye, Dad."

"I, um," Daisy paused, watching as her father reached the bottom and went to tell the referee he was making a swap in the lineup. She thought Jamie needed to learn to respect his teammates, but she didn't think him being benched was going to end well — and not just from a winning-the-match standpoint. "I'll be right back."

By the time Daisy made it down to the bottom floor, she could hear the crowd yelling 'Wanker' angrily at her father even from inside. Since the half was nearly over, she ended up going to the locker room to wait it out and check on Sam and also Jamie, who was likely throwing a fit on the pitch.

The locker room didn't sound empty, though, as Daisy made her way to it. It sounded as if someone was throwing stuff around, but before she could get closer to investigate, Jamie came barrelling out of the door and ran right into her.

"Fuck!" he cursed, quickly catching her waist before she could fall over.

For half a second, Daisy got distracted when she steadied herself with her hands on his bare chest. But then she realized he wasn't wearing his jersey and stepped back.

"Jamie? Where's your kit?" she asked, looking up at him.

Jamie just scoffed and walked away from her. "Like you didn't know he was gonna pull that shit!" However, he only made it halfway down the hallway before he stopped and turned around to glare at her. "I'm Jamie fucking Tartt. I don't sit on the fucking bench!"

"Well, you are for the next half," she told him, meeting him halfway. "Because what you did was so messed up!"

"What?" he asked, scoffing as he towered over her. "Scored two goals in a row? Kept us from being fucking losers? Dominated out—"

"You treated Sam like he was fucking nothing!" she snapped, raising her voice even more. He raised a surprised eyebrow, never having heard her yell or curse. "You don't have to be best friends, but he is your teammate, and he could've been seriously hurt. Not only did you not check on him, but you moved him like he was a rock in your way. I don't know who you think you were impressing or making proud out there, but it was fucking disgusting!"

Jamie's chest heaved, her shouting just making his anger at the Lasso family even fucking worse. "I don't fucking care what you think of me, Daisy," he said, stepping closer while she stepped back, bumping into the wall. "I'm Jamie f—"

"Yeah, you're Jamie fucking Tartt," she cut him off, scoffing. "I'm starting to get that. Every time I start to think you're capable of real human emotions like empathy and compassion from time to time, you do somethin' absolutely horrible to remind me of how much of a dick you are."

"You can't talk to me like that," he said, shaking his head.

"Really?" she asked, raising a challenging eyebrow. "I think I can given that I'm the daughter of the man that just benched you for the first time in your life."

"Shut up!" he yelled, getting even closer.

"Make me!" Daisy said, getting just as upset. "You think you're so untouchable just because you're good-looking and a star out on the pitch, but you aren't any more important than—"

"I said shut up!"

"And I said make me!"

Before either of them really knew it, Jamie was kissing Daisy, which certainly shut her up. Her back hit the wall, and after she realized what was happening — what he'd impulsively done — Daisy was kissing him back, much to her own surprise. His hands were pressed to the wall on either side of her head, caging her in. Not that she was going anywhere as her hands fell on his hips.

Jamie nipped at her bottom lip before pulling away quickly, finally comprehending what he was doing. Daisy's blood was pumping in her ears as she looked down at his parted lips in confusion.

"I - I didn't—" Jamie couldn't help but stammer as he stepped back. "I shouldn't have — I'm sorry."

Before Daisy could assure him that she wasn't mad at him, they heard the rest of the team coming around the corner to wait in the locker room. She looked in that direction, and by the time she looked back at Jamie, he was taking off in the other direction, disappearing before the team and Ted could see him.

Daisy was left standing against the wall, staring at the spot he'd been standing in, her fingertips pressed to her bottom lip, unsure of how to feel.

And she didn't really break out of that trance until Sam was in her line of sight, walking perfectly fine, much to her relief.

"Are you okay?" she asked, following him into the locker room. "You were down a really long time."

Sam smiled a bit sheepishly. "It stopped hurting but I stayed down because a big deal was being made. Roy told me to walk it off to garner sympathy from the fans."

She scoffed in amusement and looked over at Roy, who just smirked at her before sitting in front of his locker next to them to rest. "Well, I'm glad you're alright. Just means I can sell this jersey for even more money one day."

It didn't take the team long at all to realize Jamie was nowhere in sight, and his kit was on the floor. Coach asked Daisy if she'd seen him leaving since she got there first, but she found herself lying for some unknown reason. They knew he threw a fit and left, so why didn't she just say that?

Though the game was tied, the team wasn't exactly happy about that as they all practically sulked. Daisy sat between Roy and Sam, eyeing her father as he finally stood at the front of the room, ready to say something. Since many of the players were muttering and murmuring amongst themselves, Roy got them all to quiet down.

"Oi, sit down and listen!"

Ted nodded in thanks before starting up. "We got ourselves a tied game. Nice work. Fellas, we're broken. We need to change. And, look, I know change can be scary. One minute, you're playing freeze tag out there at recess with all your buddies. Next thing you know, you're getting zits, your voice gets low. And every time your art teacher, Ms. Scanlon, leans over your desk to check and see how your project's going, you feel all squiggly inside."

As many players chuckled, Daisy slid her hands over her face and groaned.

"She was a striking woman. Not classically beautiful, but striking," he went on. "First time I ever saw tan lines."

"Ew," Daisy whined, making more of the boys laugh.

"Okay, what's the little girl equivalent? Seein' that Chad fella's armpit hair in High School Musical?" he asked her.

"Dad, I told you that in confidence!" she hissed, a little embarrassed as the boys around her laughed. But she didn't take it that seriously, eventually laughing along with the others. But a part of her wished Jamie was in the room, knowing he liked those movies.

"Anyway, most of the time, change is a good thing. Now, I think that's what it's all about. Embracing change. Being brave. Doing whatever you have to so that everyone in your life... can move forward with theirs," Ted said softly, sharing a sad look with Daisy. He knew just as she did that things in their family were coming to an end. "'Cause maybe it's the only way you can truly help her be happy."

Granted, Ted lost most of the team when he said 'her,' obviously thinking more about Michelle than the game. Both Daisy and Beard looked at him with wide eyes, knowing this wasn't the time to overshare with the team.

Ted quickly cleared his throat. "Obviously by 'her,' I'm referring to Lady Football."

Daisy had to bite her tongue so hard that it hurt to keep from laughing as everyone on the team nodded in understanding. Beard just whispered, "Good save."

With that over, Ted got back into game mode. "Sam, we're gonna shift you to midfield for the second half. And Beard's gonna walk y'all through the rest of the changes," he said, moving toward his office. But he stopped himself. "Oh, hey, hey, hey. One last thing. And I want everyone's eyes on me when I say this. Look at me."

It was completely silent as all of them watched Ted. But instead of speaking, he raised his hand and smacked the believe poster so hard that it startled some of them. Then he disappeared into the office, and Beard wiggled his finger to get the team to crowd around him at the whiteboard.

"Never really liked Tartt," Roy claimed as he got up.

"We know, Roy," Sam said, rolling his eyes playfully.

While they did that, Daisy went to check on her father. But first, she jumped to smack the believe poster. Except she was 5'4" and never made the basketball team, so her fingertips barely grazed the doorframe. She let out a huff and tried again, ignoring the snickers coming from behind her. When she failed again, she lowered her arm, having too much pride to try a third time.

But before she could go into the office, two sets of hands were lifting her. She looked down and saw Sam and Richard grinning up at her. So, she happily smacked the believe poster before they set her on her feet.

"Alright," Beard said, hiding his own smile. "Everybody, come on."

Daisy left them to their planning, going over to her father who was sitting with his desk chair facing away from the door. She didn't say anything at first, just hugging him from behind. And Ted covered her hands on his chest with his own, rubbing his thumb back and forth comfortingly.

"We're gonna be okay," Daisy mumbled.

"Yeah. Yeah, we are," he whispered. "I know that I didn't ask you to follow me from Kansas, but I sure am glad to have you here, Darlin'." He didn't know how he'd handle what was coming if not.

"Little kids need someone to teach them ballet all over the world. So, no way was I letting you come over here without me. It's way cooler than any of the vacations we took growing up," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Well, hey now, don't forget that hiking trip we went on and we saw the Beaman Monster!" he said, turning his head to look at her with bright eyes.

"Daddy, that was a hunter wearing a ghillie suit, not a twelve-foot-tall circus animal," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Says you," he muttered. Then he sighed and squeezed her hand. "Wanna watch the rest of the match up there with them or on the bench with us?"

"Well, Henry was explaining some of the rules to me, so might as well get up close to see if I really understand."

✵︎

Sitting on the bench with the alternate players was a little bit boring at first, but that was just because neither team managed to score any more goals for most of the last half. And because she wasn't up in the stands with Keeley and her family to distract her, all Daisy could think about was Jamie and his stupid lips.

His stupid lips that were warm and soft and really good at kissing, as it turned out. And Jamie didn't even have the decency to stick his tongue down her throat before running off — Daisy kind of hated herself for wishing it lasted longer.

He was Keeley's ex-boyfriend, for god's sake. He was horrible and nearly cheated on her with that Bex girl. And he made Sam feel absolutely horrible every single day at training. Jamie Tartt wasn't the type of boy that she should've been thinking of that way.

And she hadn't been thinking of him that way at all until he kissed her.

"Dang it," Daisy muttered under her breath, rubbing her nose that was cold from the weather. She let out a huff, determined not to think about the selfish footballer anymore, and looked back at the pitch to pay attention.

The game was nearly over and it was still a tie — but a tie was better than losing, so she was hoping that the other team wouldn't be able to score another goal.

But then the most amazing thing happened. Roy got the ball and ran faster than any of them had seen in a long time, headed straight for the goal as the other team chased him down.

"C'mon, Roy!" Daisy shouted, getting to her feet. "Go, Roy!"

But rather than take the shot himself, Roy passed the ball to Sam, who was wide open and unguarded without the goalie's attention. He was able to kick it straight into the net, putting Richmond ahead by one point as the last minute on the clock ran out.

The whistle was blown, signaling the end of the match, and everyone realized that Richmond finally won.

"Oh, my god! They did it!" Daisy exclaimed, jumping up and down with Nathan as her father and uncle hugged.

"Yeah!" Ted shouted happily, turning to face them. He hadn't been expecting for Nathan to jump into his arms.

"I'm so sorry! I'm just so happy!" Nate told him, not letting go.

"No, I love it! I love this energy!" he said before handing him off to Beard. "Here, Coach. Take this guy from me."

"You did it!" Daisy said, replacing Nate as she jumped on her father's back, hugging him from behind. He spun her around in a circle for a bit before running out to the pitch, her still holding on.

"That's the way you do it! Nicely done, gentlemen! Nicely done!" he cheered as they passed the celebrating players. Daisy slid off his back and began hugging players when they came up to her. "Way to do it! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

The next player to spot Daisy was Roy, who picked her up and spun her in a hug seconds after she finished with Sam. She squealed and held on until he put her back down.

"You look like you're having a better day than you were yesterday," she said, grinning at him.

"Yeah, a lot fucking better," he said, his hands still on her waist. But then Roy took a step back and cleared his throat, not meaning to keep her so close. He then sought out her father, shaking his hand. "Took balls, what you did."

"That's all we got is balls, Roy," he replied. "It's all we got."

"That's actually not what I got," Daisy chimed in, a grimace on her face.

Ted just rolled his eyes and slung his arm over her shoulder as they went over to Beard, who was looking out at the stands. "How about that, Coach?" Ted asked him.

"You hear that, Coach?"

Daisy finally tuned out the sound of all the Richmond players shouting and cheering and focused on the sea of red and navy blue. They were chanting and rhythmically clapping loudly, but they didn't sound angry as they repeated the familiar name. They sounded happy.

"Wanker! Wanker! Wanker!"

"Well, same word, ain't it?" Ted asked them.

"Yeah, but different," Daisy said, smiling softly. She'd been tired of hearing everyone talk down about her father and doubt him. "A really good different."

"Yeah," Ted agreed. "Kinda like back in the eighties when bad meant good, right?"

"Who was president back then?" Beard suddenly asked with a confused look.

"Ronald Reagan."

"Ronald Reagan?" Beard shouted in a familiar accent. "The actor?"

Both Ted and Daisy laughed giddily. "Oh, man. I love it when you do Doc Brown," he told him. "You walked me right into that."

Beard just chuckled before walking off, leaving the two as they looked around the stadium. That was when they saw Higgins and Nate with Henry, both pointing over at them.

"Daddy! Dad! Daisy!" he shouted while running over to them.

Ted crouched down in preparation for the hug. "Hey! There he is! Yoo-hoo-hoo! How about that, huh? We won one," he said, so glad that this was the match Henry saw in person.

"Daddy?" he then asked.

"Yeah?"

"What's a wanker?"

Ted glanced at Daisy, who just shook her head and avoided eye contact. "Well, kiddo. That is a, uh, that's a man that likes to be alone with his thoughts. Make sense?"

Daisy just cringed, happy that Henry didn't ask more questions or repeat the word. Michelle was in for a world of trouble if he went around school teaching his friends about the word and his incorrect understanding of it.

"Let's give you a better view of all this. Ready? Get up there, kiddo" Ted let out a grunt as he lifted Henry up onto his shoulders. It wasn't long before their image was up on the big screen and the fans left in the crowd were cheering and waving at Henry. "Look at that. Wave to the people. That's it. Let them know. Let them see, huh?"

✵︎

Daisy might not have been able to hear what Ted and Michelle were saying, but it was evident what they were talking about. She was to the side, watching as Shannon taught Henry a few soccer moves in the rain.

"Yeah. One touch. Quick feet," she encouraged.

But Daisy couldn't really pay attention as she kept looking at her parents, both of whom were in tears. She didn't know if Michelle asked for the divorce or if Ted offered it, but it was happening nonetheless. Ted looked heartbroken, and Michelle looked guilty — and Daisy was crushed for the both of them.

"Come on," Shannon said, knowing that the cab driver waiting for them would get impatient soon enough.

So, for the third time, Henry unknowingly came back at a fucking horrible time

"You ready?" Shannon asked Ted.

"Yeah."

"Yes. Thank you," Michelle said, glad that she helped keep Henry away from the serious conversation.

"I appreciate you, Shannon. Thank you," Ted told her as she waved and walked off. Then he bent down to say goodbye to Henry. "Hey, buddy. I'm gonna see you the second after the season's over, okay?"

"And we're gonna talk every day?" he asked hopefully. He missed Ted so much.

"Absolutely. Just like we do, big guy. You know it. Okay? Well, gimme a hug, please," he said, hugging Henry tightly. "Yeah. Okay now, okay." Ted didn't really want to let go, but he had to. "Hey, I love you. Go ahead, get on."

Daisy took Henry's hand and walked him over to the cab, helping him get inside. And once he was and out of the rain, she leaned in and hugged him.

"You take good care of Mama like you have been," she told him.

"And you'll take care of Daddy," he said, pulling back.

"Of course," she promised. "I love you, Little Bit."

"Love you, Big Bit," he said, making her laugh.

Daisy kissed his forehead before turning to Michelle, who finished hugging Ted, wiping the tears from her eyes. In a second, Daisy had replaced her father, hugging the woman tightly.

"I'm so sorry," Michelle whispered, hiding her face in Daisy's shoulder.

"Don't apologize," she murmured. "Just be safe getting back, take care of yourself, and know I'll always love you no matter what."

"I love you too, Daisy," she said, stepping back. "Don't forget about me over here. You know? You still need a mom sometimes."

"Tell you what. When you get off the flight, you'll have some juicy gossip only meant for mamas on your phone," she said, needing to tell someone about Jamie. And she knew Michelle was a pro at keeping boy talk a secret from Ted.

"Ooh, I can't wait," Michelle said in a joking tone. "Bye, baby."

Daisy moved to stand underneath her father's umbrella as Michelle got into the cab with Henry and drove off. They both smiled and waved until it was out of sight. Then Daisy looked up at Ted, seeing the tears in his eyes.

"You okay?" she whispered.

He took a second before nodding. "We will be."

Ted then led them over to the nearby bench, just wanting to sit for a little while and think. But they wouldn't be alone, because Beard wandered over with two pints from Mae's in hand — they were on the house for winning. He sat on the other side of Ted and passed it to him, not having one for Daisy.

Then the same older man from that morning walked by. "Oi, wanker. Good job tonight."

"Thank you, sir," Ted said as he passed. "Keep an eye on us. We might be turning this thing around."

"I sure hope so," Daisy muttered.