Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Make It Or Break It. I certainly wish I did.

Author's Note: Part of me absolutely loved Lauren and Carter. Okay, it might be a very large part of me, that also wanted to see some sort of maturity and resolution (seeing as Lauren has considerably matured, along with Payson, in the last season). So this is a 7-part mini-series, if you will, starting from the end of series finale and following the dates according to real-life schedule.

Read and Review: Constructive criticism is very welcome. Please drop a line and give me your opinion.

The Long Way Home

Part I

'We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.'

Oscar Wilde

July 2nd 2012

In an unusual twist, all five members and its travelling alternate of the US Women's Gymnastics team had decided to travel together to Boulder. It had sort of happened by accident. Payson, Lauren and Kaylie would always have gone back to The Rock, for their final weeks of preparation before travelling to the UK. Kaylie, with her latest, shiniest BFF in hand, Lauren had thought sardonically, had invited said latest BFF to Boulder as well, as understandably, Jordan didn't have any other place to be. Lauren had wondered if that was at least partially because Payson had chosen to stay with her instead of Kaylie but decided not to dwell on it.

It was after much nodding and pointed looks from Payson that, sighing, Lauren invited Andrea Conway to join them in Boulder, offering up her substantial home as a place of residence. Begrudgingly, Lauren could see that it would be incredibly rude and essentially ostracisation to exclude her when the rest of the team would be in Boulder and it helped that she didn't find the gymnast annoying as hell. A grateful smile and thanks later, Andrea had joined them in what became a team trip to Boulder. Lauren would later blame it on medications from her heart surgery or hypoglycaemia, maybe even a claim to a moment of insanity, but seeing little Beth Atchinson walking slowly, head down, towards her parents, Lauren had decided why the hell not on a whim. Invite the travelling alternate to the party in Boulder as well. Her home had plenty of room and things between her and Kaylie were just as murky and unresolved as ever. The more people between them the better, as far as Lauren was concerned. Little Beth had flushed red, all but squealed in excitement and bombarded her parents with pleas until they had reluctantly agreed to allow it, with the caveat that at least one parent would be joining her in a couple of days. Lauren had just looked bemused and then defensively shrugged a shoulder at Payson's all too knowing smile. She was hoping it'd be team bonding of the fun variety.

And that was how all six gymnasts had boarded the coach The Rock owned at the nearest airport in Colorado, the Tanners and Cruzs travelling behind them in cars separately.

The raised and excited voices formed a collective din as they arrived at The Rock, too late in the day to do anything but give the gymnasts new to the place a tour. The din turned into a distant buzzing as Lauren exited the coach, noticing a familiar jeep in the car park. She wasn't the only one, as Kaylie muttered a hushed 'oh my god', her new BFF instantly leaning towards her in concern. She would have scoffed at the image if her throat hadn't felt like it was sanded over and if Payson hadn't done the same towards her. Andrea, quick to notice, had tactfully guided Beth into the gym with only the one curious glance behind her as she entered it.

'Carter? What are you doing here?' Kaylie had moved almost automatically towards the jeep in question, the door having opened and its owner standing outside, casually leaning against it.

'Hi Kaylie, congratulations,' came the reply, the deep baritone making its way to Lauren. She wondered if her heart had actually physically skipped a beat or whether it was all metaphorical.

'You know I've got a boyfriend now, Carter,' Kaylie had stated, a mixture of smugness and condescension that she had been perfecting the past several years.

Lauren would have scoffed again but her lips refused to do what her brain wanted it to.

'Are they really back together? It didn't sound like it to me,' Payson had sceptically questioned in a hushed tone, careful not to let Kaylie or her seriously overprotective BFF hear it. This time, Lauren did let out a scoff of agreement, eyes glancing to her fellow blonde before reverting back to the scene unfolding before her. It might have been wishful thinking but did Carter look a little nonplussed?

'That's...great Kaylie,' he said, with a furtive glance at Lauren that she missed but Payson noticed. 'I'm happy for you,' he added with sincerity.

'Okay,' the doe-eyed brunette looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to bow out gracefully and leave in his jeep but instead, she saw him stuffing his hands in his pockets and congratulating her again distractedly before making his way towards the coach.

If Kaylie looked agape and Jordan a mixture of confusion and hostility, Payson looked defensive. It was only Lauren who managed to put on a facade of cool indifference she was far from feeling.

'Carter,' her tone was chipped as she greeted him. 'I'm sorry you didn't make the men's team.'

'It's fine. There's always next time,' he shrugged the thought away and for a moment, Lauren's confusion shone through. 'Congratulations on making the team. You deserve it.'

'Thank you,' she chose her words cautiously, wary of a Carter that seemed...friendly. For so long, there had been resentment on one side or the other, unrequited emotions and misunderstandings, acts of betrayal with repercussions neither of them had fully considered or realised, that it felt alien to be on some sort of neutral ground with him. If only she could stop her heart from hammering inside her chest or her fingers from tingling, symptoms real or phantom, she wasn't sure which.

'What do you want, Carter?' Payson interjected aggressively, scowl firmly in place as she glared at him. Lauren's lips finally found movement as they twitched upwards in response to Carter's wide-eyed, shocked face. Clearly he didn't get the memo about how close the two blondes had become.

'Yeah, you've congratulated me and Kaylie, one's due to Payson and then that should be it?' Lauren showed her solidarity more visibly, moving closer so that her shoulders brushed against Payson's.

'I deserved that,' Carter had that horrible intense look on his face again, the one that always made Lauren's knees a little weak and she automatically strengthened the frown on her face. 'I know we ended things on bad terms and things were always a little messed up between us but... I guess I just wanted to clear the air, you know? Apologise for being such an idiot-'

'More like a douchebag,' muttered Lauren, but her face was considerably softer.

'Okay, I apologise for being a douhebag,' Carter bowed his head to the little blonde, hint of a smile lurking on his face despite the insult. 'I just want you to do your best in London. I didn't want anything hanging over your head, holding you back or anything distracting you or...anything. You deserve the gold I know you're going to get.'

By the end of his speech, even Payson's stance had softened, the authenticity blatant to even her biased eyes and it hadn't gone unnoticed by her that he hadn't cleared the air with Kaylie, who was closely watching the whole thing. She wasn't sure how much the brunette could hear but the displeased expression on her face was unmistakable to everyone except for the two having the conversation, who looked like they were in the midst of an intense staring match that a five year old would've been proud of.

'So you...want to...let bygones be bygones?'

Lauren's tone was disbelieving and though he tried to hide it well, both blondes noted the hurt flash across his face briefly. 'Yeah, I just...want the best for you.'

'Oh,' Lauren appeared to digest the information for a few moments. 'Okay. So we can just be friends, maybe?' She offered a tentative smile.

Carter's was more rueful, with a hint of disappointment or nostalgia, missed by Lauren but not by Payson. 'Yeah, if that's what you'd like? We can just be friends.'

It looked like it left an awful taste in his mouth and Payson could feel a tension headache forming from all this...tension. And not even back for ten minutes at The Rock, she thought disgustedly. What was it about this place that made all this unnecessary drama unfold? To be fair, they'd had their share at the OTC but it had felt a lot less ménage a trois to her.

'Cool,' Lauren felt a smile spreading across her face, her chest feeling just a little easier to breathe. 'Well, see you later, friend.' She relished the chuckle he let out, choosing not to examine her feelings too closely.

She was walking towards the entrance when Carter and Payson joined her.

'Congratulations to you too, Payson. I expect a gold medal for floor around your neck,' he nodded at her, before turning to Lauren with a look he seemed to keep just for her. 'I'll see you tomorrow, friend. I've moved back here.' He threw a quick grin at her, eyes a little too intense, before waving goodbye to Kaylie and heading to his jeep.

'What did he want with you?' Kaylie demanded, as they reached the entrance. Payson could have banged her head against the wall at the déjà vu of it all.

'He was just congratulating us,' Lauren was careful to keep her tone even, looking briefly into Kaylie's eyes before opening the door and entering the building.

'Just congratulation you, huh? Seemed like a long conversation to do just that,' Jordan added her two pence.

'Don't stir things you don't know anything about,' Lauren spat out, lips thinned and eyes narrowed.

'I know plenty,' the dark skinned girl replied. 'Kaylie told me all about it.'

'Yeah because that's an unbiased source of information,' Lauren muttered, rolling her eyes before heading towards Andrea and Beth, both watching the proceedings with curiosity that they tried to politely minimise. 'Want us to show you our glorious gym?'

'Lauren, are you really going to ruin our friendship with this stuff again?'

Before Kaylie's words had faded, Lauren had turned around heatedly, her stance very much on the offensive. 'What friendship, Kaylie? And how am I doing anything of the kind when you're the one questioning our friendship, again?'

There was a faint sort of ringing in her ears as Payson turned tired eyes from Kaylie to Lauren and back. God, it felt like nothing had changed in the past year.

'Well, I guess you've made your decision clear,' Kaylie's lips trembled as she uttered the words morosely, resignation clearly in place.

'I haven't made any decision, Kaylie. You're the one insinuating things and seeing decisions where there aren't any.' Lauren let out a tired sigh, fully conscious of Andrea and Beth standing behind her and parents who could arrive at any time. 'I haven't done anything. Carter's the one who's come back here.'

'And I'm meant to just believe that?' The brunette scoffed, adding caustically, 'Because your track record for honesty is so great.'

'Enough,' Payson interrupted before things escalated further. 'Maybe you don't trust Lauren but I'm telling you that Carter came to congratulate us both and Lauren didn't know he was going to be here.' God Lauren was rubbing off on her, with the half-truths and bending the truths, although she thought this one might have counted as an outright lie.

The silence felt like lead in the room, weighing down on everyone as they all wondered who would be the first to break it. It was Kaylie in the end. 'Okay then,' she nodded firmly. 'I believe you, Pay,' she emphasised.

Payson let her hug her, giving Lauren an apologetic glance over Kaylie's shoulder. 'You should apologise to Lauren, Kaylie,' she said gently. 'You totally misjudged her for no reason.'

'For no reason,' Jordan again aggressively joined the conversation. 'I'd say she had plenty of reason.'

'But you haven't been privy to their friendship the past however many years.' Four surprised faces turned towards Andrea, who had hitherto remained consciously out of the conversation. 'I'd say it's between the three of them,' she shrugged nonchalantly as Beth gaped at her in awe.

'Thank you,' Payson threw her a grateful look. 'Besides, we can't let Carter become such an issue just before Olympics. We're going to have to get used to him being around here when we train.'

'Wh-what do you mean by that?' Kaylie turned her wide-eyed panicked look onto Payson. 'He's coming back?'

Her gulp was audible to all those present and Lauren fought down a triumphant smirk. 'Or so he says,' she said nonchalantly. 'Anyway, shall we get on with the tour now?' She demanded with impatience. She turned around and after a momentary pause, Andrea and Beth followed.

'Look, Kaylie, you have to let it go. It's like you told him – you're with Austin now, aren't you? And you told me you loved him,' Payson told her softly. 'Just...let the whole thing with Carter and Lauren go.'

'It's not that easy, Pay,' she replied with a hitch in her voice.

'I never said it was easy,' she snapped back, impatience getting the better of her before she softened again. 'It's just... Lauren's let that stuff go, and it wasn't easy on her either. I let the stuff Lauren did go as well, and it wasn't easy on me either. You need to learn to let it go.' She didn't add that it was time for her to grow up, however tempting.

'Okay, okay,' She took in a deep breath. 'I can do it. It just...hurts a lot, you know. The betrayal?' Getting no response, she carried on, 'But I'll let it go. It's not like he really loved her or anything. It was just sex for him.'

Payson bit down on her tongue, eyes flashing and revealing too much of the anger she felt. Diplomatically deciding not to stir the coals for now, she made her way back to Lauren's side, breathing more easily once there. She wasn't quite sure when it happened or how, but at some point, she had become far more appreciative of Lauren's candour and, paradoxically, the her multiple layers too. Animatedly describing the balance beams in terms that sounded borderline erotic as Andrea listened with amusement and Beth with bemusement, Lauren still found the time give Payson a quizzical look. She responded with a shrug and a roll of her eyes, trying her best to mask the discomfort and mild panic she was feeling, because Lauren might have been oblivious to it, but Carter had definitely had intentions beyond congratulations and becoming just friends. She just had no idea what the outcome of it all would be.

Gripping her hand in a sudden show of affection, she just hoped it would all turn out for the best for Lo, because past mistakes aside, she was fast learning that there was no-one more loyal or self-sacrificing and she deserved gold medals and true love and happiness, after all that she'd been through. She just didn't know what role Carter would play in achieving all of it.