If Only Tonight

Into The Storm

Chapter Nine: Prescription For Disaster

Leaning in to her chair, Mia relaxed. Turning up the radio, she heard one of the songs she loved come on.

~I don't need a parachute, baby, if I've got you, baby, if I've got you; I don't need a parachute...you're going to catch me. You're going to catch, if I fall...down, down down...~

There was only one game this week, it was tomorrow, Tuesday. Monday had been going slowly. Mia yawned as she looked over the files Jon had sent her. None of the players had serious injuries, so far; just a sprained ankle, bruised shoulder, and one or two pulled muscles. Singing along, Mia put all her papers and files in order.

So far things had been easy. Some what easy, Mia corrected herself. Matthew had made sure to drive her crazy, but she hadn't had much to deal with since Saturday. It amazed her that he had gone out of his rude way to take her to see Stacie. Why would he do that? The question was still lingering between them. He hadn't been jerkish for a while. Of course he had plenty of chances to be a jerk tomorrow when they would be stuck with each other during the game.

"Hey Mia."

Mia turned to see Oliver standing by the door. Quickly turning off the radio, and very much hoping he hadn't heard her; Mia faced him.

"Sorry! Hey, Oliver. What's up? Didn't I already see you this morning?" Mia asked. She was sure she had told him he was fit for the game.

She smiled at the older player. He smiled back...not letting on if he had witnessed her sing-a-long, she was more than happy to pretend he hadn't.

"Yea, I know. Just came by to ask you when you get off today. Matt is insistent on getting pizza. What do you eat on your pizza?" Oliver asked her.

Mia felt bad for not having spoken properly to Oliver since last week. She must have looked like a wreck.

"I like chicken…I don't really like olives and anchovies…oh…and pepperoni..." She told him. Oliver laughed upon hearing this.

"Don't worry neither of us like those either. So everything else is okay?" Oliver asked.

Everything else? Mia thought. Does he mean me or the food? She wondered.

"Yea…everything else is alright." Mia told him, unsure what question she was answering.

They were silent for a moment.

"Umm…Oliver about last week…I'm sorry I avoided you…it was just…" Mia started. Oliver looked at her.

"It was just?" He asked her.

"I don't deal well with my own problems…" Mia said, looking down at the floor.

"I see…you know it's alright. We're all like that sometime. I just want you to know that you can talk to someone." Oliver told her. He understood her and Mia felt grateful.

"I know. Thanks." Mia knew he was sincere. She couldn't help but appreciate him for the way he handled things.

Oliver came over to look over her shoulder.

"Looks like you're done. Come on, we'll go grab a pizza before Matt goes on a rampage." Oliver smiled.

"Alright!" Mia agreed happily.

"By the way...nice voice." Looking at the older player, she could see the grin. So much for pretending it never happened, she thought. Well at least it wasn't Matthew who caught you, so be grateful, her mind shot back.

Knowing she was forgiven, Mia collected her things and they left together.

-----

A growl emitted from his stomach. Matthew knew he was starving; but he was sick and tired of eating sandwiches.

Where is the pizza? Matthew wondered. He had asked Oliver to pick it up, since Oliver would be the last one done for the day. Well other than Mia, Oliver would be the last one in.

Matthew felt as though the two of them had built some rapport between them. He had been quite harsh towards her. He honestly didn't know which was better; the two of them becoming friends or him keeping her away. There had to be some middle ground, didn't there? Why am I keeping her away? Maybe it's because I know I'm not good- The thoughts vanished as Matthew saw the door open. Food! He thought with relief.

"Finally!" Matthew said as he bounded towards the opening door. Mia and Oliver stood there, one holding two boxes of pizza, while the other held two large bottles of Coca-Cola.

"Hello to you too!" Oliver said to him, snidely.

"Yea, yea...Hello...thanks for the food. Now hand it over."

Matthew took the food from Oliver and set it on the kitchen counter, while Mia brought the drinks. Grabbing the plates and glasses, Matthew feeling obligated, waited for the other two to wash up and join him.

The three of them sat on the bar-stools that were kept under the kitchen counter. Matthew sat on one end while Mia sat in the middle with Oliver on the other end. They ate in silence.

"Ready for the game tomorrow?" Matthew decided to ask Oliver.

"Yea. It should be interesting. We're facing West Ham." Oliver replied. "Don't worry Matt, only three more games and you'll be with us on the field."

The thought was slightly comforting; he was almost done his five game ban. The thought cheered him up. Just three more, Matthew thought as he reached for another slice of pizza. At the same moment Mia had reached for a slice. Their hands brushed against each other. Matthew didn't pull away; he let his hand linger near hers. He didn't look up at her; instead he took his slice before her. Pretending he didn't feel anything was easy for him.

He knew he was letting his defenses down, but being cruel to her was not something he enjoyed. As much as he didn't want to hurt her, it seemed as the best way to accomplish that was to make her hate him; but Matthew wanted to get to know her. Mia was a fascination to him. They had been living together for almost two months and he knew little about her. He envied Oliver for his relationship with Mia. Except he knew it was best if he kept her at a distance. Just not tonight, he told himself.

"So, tomorrow...a park or the field?" Mia asked him.

Matthew looked over at her. She looked at him intently. Her green eyes were warm.

"Field, I guess. Next time we can go to a park." He told her.

They were quiet once more.

"Hey, you guys spoke to each other without any argument!" Oliver exclaimed, he sounded proud of them. "That's a major accomplishment."

Matthew caught Mia's eye, they looked at each other for a brief moment, before turning on Oliver.

"What are you talking about?" Matthew and Mia started.

Oliver laughed at the two of them.

-----

Scrolling down the page, Mia saw a whole set of emails she would need to reply to. A few were from her father, one from Dr. Phillips, and a couple from Stacie. I miss her, Mia thought as she looked over who else she would have to reply too.

Having dressed warmly, Mia was waiting for when Matthew would show up. Dinner the other night had been an interesting affair. The dynamics between them seemed to be shifting slowly. Matthew hadn't been rude at all. It was surprising. Maybe things will change; Mia couldn't help but think hopefully.

There was a knock at the door. Mia turned around expecting Matthew, only to have her hopes dashed.

"Hello, Dr. Brooklyn." Mia cringed as she heard the words.

Jason stood in the doorway.

"Hello, Jason." Mia said, rather unhappily.

That guy always shows up at the weirdest moments, Mia thought to herself.

"Are you coming to the game?" Jason asked her, sounding rather hopeful.

Glad that she had an excuse, Mia tried to feign disappointment.

"Unfortunately no, I have some other things to attend to." Mia told him, trying to sound diplomatic. As much as she didn't like the guy, she didn't want to make another enemy. Matthew was enough.

"Oh, really? Like what?" Jason asked her, stepping in to her office.

"Umm...I have to-"

"Hey Mia...what are you doing here Roberts?"

Oliver stood by the door, with Matthew behind him. Both of them glared at the other footballer. Mia let out a silent breath of relief.

"Just visiting my sports doc. See you on the field, gentlemen. Oh wait...I won't be seeing you Rossi!" Jason hastily left the office.

Mia watched as both Oliver and Matthew turned their attention towards her. Why do I get the feeling I'm in trouble? Mia questioned. She decided to speed up the process.

"Before you both jump to any conclusion, Jason just came to ask if I was going to the match." Mia told them quickly.

"What did you say?"

It was Matthew who asked her this. His face didn't give anything away, but Mia knew neither he nor Oliver wanted her to be near Jason. Although she still didn't understand why.

"I told him I was busy and then you two showed up." She replied.

"Good thing we did. Just steer clear of him." Oliver told her.

"Don't worry. I will."

Mia saw Oliver and Matthew exchange looks.

"Alright, well I'm going to head for the match. Be good." Oliver said, warning them both. He walked out of the office.

"But I am good." Mia muttered, under her breath.

"I believe that was meant for me."

Mia looked up to see Matthew, a hint of a smile on his lips. Did he just talk to me...without glaring at me? She wondered.

"Coming?" He asked her. Matthew was watching her.

"Yea."

She packed her laptop into its bag and walked out behind him.

-----

Relief. That was what Matthew felt as he kicked the ball. It was small consolation that he didn't have to watch the others play. He hated feeling useless while stuck on the bench. It was easily the worst feeling in the world.

Kicking the ball higher, again and again, was amusing. Matthew looked over to see what Mia was doing. She was quickly typing on the keyboard of her laptop. The light of the sun gave her auburn hair a more copper tone. Her pale skin gave her a more ethereal look. Matthew shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. At this rate he was going to be driving himself crazy.

Matthew continued to kick the ball, chasing it after now. The more he energy he expended, the less he would think of her; or so he thought.

Each time he caught up to the ball he would look over to her; secretly hoping she was watching. I'm insane, he thought. Instead of going up to her, Matthew aimed the ball close to Mia's feet and kicked it. It had the desired effect. Almost immediately Mia looked up at him with annoyance.

"Kind of working here." She told him, sounding faintly amused.

"You're supposed to be making sure I don't get hurt." Matthew tried. How was he supposed to get to know her now that he had her attention?

"I know that, but I don't need to watch your every move."

"Then how will you know if I'm hurt?" He countered smartly.

He heard her sigh loudly and watched as she closed her laptop and put it back in its bag. Putting it in a corner, Mia stood up from the ground and headed for him. It had worked!

"Okay, what do you want?" Mia asked him, her arms crossed.

That was a good question. What did he want, exactly? Matthew was unsure now that she had come over to him. Think fast! He shouted at himself.

Trying to figure something out, Matthew thought he saw something by the entrance. It was gone when he blinked.

"As much as I hate to ask…do you think you could tend the goal?" Matthew asked, stringing a sentence together with difficulty. She looked at him in disbelief.

"What?" She asked him, as if trying to make sure she had heard correctly.

"It's kind of hard to practice when there's no one blocking the net, and you can keep watch so you don't miss any injuries." He told her pointedly.

He saw the murderous look in her eyes, she wasn't thrilled. He needed her to hate him, but still he wanted to know her.

"Alright…fine I'll goal tend…but this means you're showing up to your appointment on time." She gave him an annoyed look.

"Deal."

He watched her head off on to the other end of the field.

-----

Sprawled across the couch, Mia munched happily on M&M's with the bowl right beside her. I love weekends, she thought while watching 'Bewitched' re-runs. Oliver had watched with her, after talking to his wife for a while, and then headed for the bathroom to take a shower. On the other hand, Matthew had gone out with Nathaniel to watch some new movie.

He hadn't even bothered to ask her. It seemed that they had filled their quota of interaction during the week when she had watched him play and evidently when he had shown up for his appointment.

Nonetheless, Mia was happy she wasn't in his firing line at the moment. Instead, taking her place was Jason. There has to be something there, she pondered. The two of them genuinely hated one another for some reason. Neither Matthew nor Oliver would divulge much, when she tried to ask them.

Maybe Nate knows, she thought about asking him. Would he tell her anything? Probably not, Mia answered her question. Nathaniel was far too loyal to both Oliver and Matthew to tell her anything just yet.

A knock sounded on the door. It was late. Did he forget his keys? Mia scoffed. Matthew usually gave her an exasperated look when she turned up without her keys. Payback, finally! She thought cheerily.

"Did you...oh...hi..." Mia said dully as she saw who was at the door.

"Hello to you too, Dr. Brooklyn."

Jason stood in front of her, wearing a huge grin on his face. What could he possibly want at this hour? Mia thought in annoyance.

"If you're looking for Matthew, he's out at the moment." Mia told him, starting to close the door.

"I'm not looking for him. I was actually hoping to see you."

Lucky, lucky me...Mia thought sarcastically.

"Okay...what's up?" Mia asked, halfheartedly.

"I was kind of hoping you would look at my jaw. I got hurt in a bar fight."

So why are you here? Mia wanted to ask. If he had gotten hurt, he should have gone to Jon or to the hospital. His injury wasn't a sports injury and she wasn't the one who was supposed to deal with it.

"Shouldn't you show that to Dr. Lever?" Mia asked tentatively.

"I would but he's gone for the weekend. So can you please look at it? It'll only take a moment." Jason pleaded with her.

"Fine..."

Sighing, Mia let him in against her better judgment. It would only take a minute or two to see how badly he was hurt and then she would send him on his way.

Leading him in to the light of the room, Mia turned to face him.

"Okay, let's have a look."

Jason turned up his jaw. Mia looked at it, there was nothing there. Perplexed, she turned his head and angled it so that it was illuminated further. Yet still there was nothing wrong. No bruise, not even scratch. I bet he wasn't even in a bar fight, Mia thought.

"You're fine. There isn't even a bruise."

"Are you sure?" He asked her.

Before she could answer him, Jason pushed Mia against the wall next to the closet. Pinning her against it, Mia could feel his hands on her.

"What are you-" Mia tried, but Jason tried to kiss her at that moment. Mia moved her head quickly. One of his hands roamed her body while the other tried to make her face him.

"Get off of me!" She shouted, trying to push him off of her.

"Come on Mia, it's just between us." He told her. She punched and kicked him, but to no avail. Her arms flailed helplessly.

"Oliver!" Mia knew he couldn't hear her. The shower probably drowned out the commotion they were making. Jason snickered; he could see how helpless she was.

"Oliver isn't here to help you, is he, Mia? Oh come on Mia, I know you want me. Why fight it?" He sneered. "Why keep playing so hard to get?"

Mia screamed as he pinned her against the wall. Dread filled her about what he was planning to do. She heard something rip.

"What's the matter, Mia? You should be happy I want you...or were you hoping for Matthew? Is that it? You want Matthew and not me?" It seemed like the question itself enraged Jason further.

Tears streamed down Mia's face as she screamed some more. The effort was proving to be futile. Mia clenched her eyes, closing them from looking at Jason's menacing face. Please don't let him, Mia prayed fervently.

"Get the hell off of her!" She heard someone shout. In a moment, the weight pinning her against the wall had been taken off of her.

Mia opened her eyes only to see Matthew standing over Jason.

-----

Matthew and Nathaniel walked in to the building. It had been a long day. The two of them had gone to watch 'Sherlock Holmes'.

"When do you think the international games are going to start?" Nathaniel asked Matthew in their native tongue.

"Honestly, I haven't gotten a clue. I talked to Felix; he said that we have his permission to go." Matthew replied. It felt good to be able to talk in their own language.

"So it's up to the squad to tell us whether we're playing or not?" Nathaniel questioned.

"I suppose so. Don't worry; we'll be on the squad. They know they need us." Matthew said, switching back to English, reassuring the younger boy.

Nathaniel was like a younger brother to him. They were close, since they came from the same country but also because Nathaniel had been on the same team as Matthew when they played in the Italian league.

As they walked to the North West Wing, Matthew noticed someone lurking in the shadows. It was Jason's side kick, Drake.

"Hey, where's your master?" Matthew called to him.

"Get bent, Rossi." Came Drake's terse reply, before he vanished up the stairs.

It was unsettling to see him hanging about Matthew's floor. Matthew couldn't shake the feeling that something was up. Usually wherever Drake was, Jason could be found nearby; Jason was the leader.

As Matthew and Nathaniel reached his room, Matthew thought he heard something. Instantly he knew something was wrong. Reaching for his keys, he rushed to open the door, it wasn't locked.

Her scream met his ears, before he could see anything. Matthew rushed inside with Nathaniel hurrying him, only to find Jason pinning Mia against the wall. She was screaming and crying.

"Get the hell off of her!" Matthew roared as he shoved Jason away.

Jason ran at Matthew, but Matthew was too quick for him. He punched him squarely in the jaw. Jason fell to the ground.

"What's going on? Mia!" Oliver had come out of the bathroom, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. He dashed towards Mia, who had sunk on the floor. Nathaniel was already there holding her close.

"Don't ever come near her again!" Matthew grabbed Jason by the collar and picked him up, pushing him to the door. He shoved Jason outside, but before he could close the door Jason turned back to face him.

"What Matt? Scared that I'll get her before you?" He sneered. Matthew's blood ran cold. He grabbed Jason's collar and shoved him hard against a wall.

"If you or your little minion ever hurt her, I will tear the both of you to shreds." Matthew warned him viciously.

"Touched a nerve, haven't we?" Jason continued to smirk.

Matthew wanted to hit him hard. Every bone in his body wanted to give Jason a good thrashing, but he controlled himself. Shoving Jason once more, Matthew turned to go back to his room. Not looking back, Matthew closed the door and locked it.

Turning his attention to Mia, Matthew walked toward the group. Oliver was asking her if she was alright. Her eyes were closed. Her shirt was ripped, and her bare arms were red from where Jason had held her.

Rage filled Matthew again. He knew what Jason was like. I should have known he would be after her, Matthew berated himself. It had been a long time since Matthew and Jason had been friends, but Jason had not changed.

Matthew crouched on to the ground near Mia. Tears were still streaming down her face. She held on to Nathaniel by one hand, while she leaned her head on Oliver's shoulder.

"Is she okay?" He asked the other two.

Upon hearing his voice, Mia's eyes opened. There was something in them that he had never seen before.

"Thank you." Was all she said, as Mia flung herself in to his arms.

She sobbed into his shoulder, her whole body shaking. Matthew sat there stunned, not knowing what to do. He put his arms around her awkwardly.

"Shh…it's okay." He told her, not knowing how to comfort her.