AN: Thank you so much for the reviews guys. I really though that know one would review this, but once again I've been proven wrong. If you're looking for more Sashaness go check out my other stories Love and Sacrifice and Mission Impossible. Read and Review!
I remember the Sydney Olympics as if it had happened only yesterday. In reality though, I'm penning this specific chapter sixteen years later in my hotel room while my wife is curled beside me and our infant daughter is resting on top of her chest. I'm brought back to the bright lights of the arena, the roaring crowd yelling and cheering as if they were witnessing a major football game, and the raw adrenaline pumping through my veins like a raging fire ready to destroy anything in it's path.
Only a few things lift my heart and spirit in this cold world: my wife, my daughter, and gymnastics in that specific order. Although it is a tie between my wife and daughter. As I remember Sydney, I remember how it felt to be on top of the world with everything at my fingertips for the taking. I relished in the sport and all of its finer assets. I enjoyed everything until the very end. I remember the first routine I preformed at Sydney. It was my infamous ring routine that stunned millions and made me the legend I am today. The wood in my hands felt smooth and unbreakable, just like my determination to win four gold medals. As I landed solidly on the mat below I turned to the crowd and spotted Marty looking broken and miserable in the United States section. I glared at him, knowing he could see me across the arena. I smiled smugly after his feeble attempt at a gold medal worthy routine on the rings. He turned to me just as I had done and nodded, trying to convey something similar to an apology. I scowled and turned on my heel marching past Nikolai and my teammates towards the locker rooms.
After a few moments of silence the door crashed open to reveal my coach. He walked over to me before placing a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and was surprised to see simmering anger in his eyes. I shook my head and looked at the picture of my mother I carried with me. Nikolai seemed to understand my heartache as he slowly sat down next to me on the wooden bench. He asked what was wrong and I stubbornly said nothing. I shook my head before kissing my mothers picture and standing up and retreating back into the arena. I glanced up at the score board and smiled when England was in the lead. I smiled even more when I saw that I'd beaten Marty's ring routine by an eighth of a point.
After much stress and chaos of the first day of competition, I retreated back into my hotel room. I figured that if I stayed tucked away in my room then I wouldn't do anything stupid like kill Marty. As the days of competition wore on my strong front and strength in my knee was slowly ebbing away. On the last day of competition Nikolai insisted I see a doctor. I grudgingly agreed even though I had my mind made up of competing in the finals for all events. As the doctor looked at my x-ray, he shook his head grimly. I narrowed my eyes as I yanked my leg out of his grasp. If this was my last day of being an Olympian and an elite athlete I was going to go full out. I'd be damned if I didn't compete one final time.
Knowing that I was going to be competing for the final time in my life, the ride to the arena was stoic and silent. I made my way into the locker room one last time as a gymnast. As I wrapped my knee I sensed a presence behind me and sure enough when I looked over my shoulder, Nikolai was standing there with tears in his eyes. He sat across from me and took the athletic tape silently and began wrapping my mangled knee. Once he was finished he placed his hand on my shoulder reassuringly and nodded. Once my gym bag was packed with my water bottle, grips, and athletic tape I found myself in the glaring lines and roaring crowd once again. Only this time I knew that this would be it for me. After I finished all four routines, there would be no more competing, no more endorsements, but worst of all no more gymnastics.
I stepped out into the arena with my teammates by my side. I looked into the crowd and saw the familiar face of MJ Martin. She was cheering for Marty enthusiastically as I walked by. I turned to her and for once, I saw remorse in her bright green eyes. I scoffed and continued down the line until I was seated in one of the chairs for England. Looking back, that moment in which I saw MJ again was the one moment that fueled my desire to win gold for my country and for my mother.
As I sat waiting to start my rotations I tried to remember my mother and my too quick childhood. My mothers kind smile is what drove me through to win my gold medals. I told the media it was my torn friendship with Marty and my broken heart from MJ that fueled my passion just to give them what they wanted. In reality it was my mother and the promise I made to her on her deathbed. I envisioned my mother's eyes as I flew through my floor routine. As I landed each tumbling pass I did it in memory of her. When I threw myself at the pommel horse I will admit, I pretended I was tackling Marty's sorry face into the ground. The rings was the one place my mind was blank. Before I hoisted myself up on the unstable rings, I pictured my mothers smiling face and tried to imagine her voice and what her words of encouragement would be. Once I shook myself I began the ring routine that would put my name in gymnastics history. I went in knowing I could do it flawlessly and that it would be nothing to do again. I preformed it on the first day of competition only to replicate it and get the same exact score in the finals. A while later when I was standing at the parallel bars, it finally sunk in that this would be the very last routine I preform as an elite athlete. I took a shaky breath before mounting the bars. With each swing of my legs and flex of my arms I came one second closer to achieving my goal of gold. As I landed strongly on the ground the explosive pain in my knee made my stomach turn. I ignored it as I saluted the judges for the last time in my life before limping to the sidelines. I waited as the judges calculated my scores and my fate. It seemed like time stopped when the roar of the crowd broke through my haze. I glanced up and saw my name at the top of the small list indicating my gold medal. I sank in my chair when it hit me that I've earned four Olympic gold medals, not only for myself, but for England. Most importantly I kept my promise to my mother. I looked at the great flag of England and saluted it for not only my country, but for my mum. As I stared at the flag the tears began to flow down my face. I felt a hand on my shoulder and knew that it was Nikolai. I fell in his arms finding comfort in the father figure I've grown to respect and love, celebrating my win and achievement.
As the hours morphed into days, the fan fair of the games was slowly ebbing away. I knew that me competing at an elite level or any level for that matter would be out of the question. The pain in my knee was a consistent one that was both a curse and a talisman. It served as a reminder of what I achieved and had accomplished, but it also was a reminder of my dead career. I made history in the 2000 Olympic games when I was the only person to take away all possible gold medals in a sport. I became a legend and a major figure in the sport of gymnastics. I was the person that everyone was being compared to. I was a hero and a legend. Although the height of it only lasted so long. I was only great for a moment in time. The minute my knee injury flared up with a vengeance was the minute my legendary status died.
My premonitions of returning home to England a legend was true. Although I never knew that it would leave me so physically broken and torn. I did achieve my Olympic dreams and I did fulfill my promise to my mother. I was a legend and a hero. But I was broken and nothing or no one could repair my empty soul. The 2000 Olympic Sydney games was the birth place and the death bed of a legend.
AN: Yea Sasha is in turmoil and it's going to keep coming for a couple more chapters. He does have a lot to learn, but he does obviously find happiness. If you all couldn't tell it was hinted at in the beginning of the chapter. Now the question is who is his wife? Is it Summer who is appropriate for him or is it Payson the girl who is of his own heart? Or is it someone else entirely? Read and review giving me your thoughts and opinions.