It was just like any other swim meet. At least that is what Emily told herself over and over again as she stood at the edge of the pool with her ear buds in her ears. She shut her eyes and concentrated on the music and tried to shut out everything that was going on around her. This was just like any other swim meet she told herself, only it wasn't just any other swim meet…it was the Olympics.

Her dream had been realized when Emily made the USA Women's relay swim team as their anchor swimmer. Her wildest dreams had come true and at the tender age of 26 she had just about everything anyone could want. She had won her first medal, a silver one, four years before when she was fresh out of college at age 22. About a month after coming home with that award she barely got any peace, that was until she walked into a bar in Philly and a young woman about 4 years old than herself took the empty seat next to her. They started talking and for the first time Emily felt as though she was talking to someone who wanted to know Emily Fields, not Olympic medalist Emily Fields. That night was followed by many just like it and eventually it was clear to Emily that she had fallen in love with Cassidy, the woman who sat down next to her that night. They moved in with each other after about 6 months and Emily quickly fell into the role of loving wife and mother. That's right, mother, Emily's girlfriend had a 1 year old from a previous relationship. The three of them fell into domestic life easily with Cassidy working at a local law firm and Emily working as a physical therapist and swim coach. They made their family official a year after they moved in with each other and within an month the second parent adoption was finalized so that Cassidy's son Peter was now officially their son. Emily thought she had everything anyone could ever want until the Olympics came calling again. Emily discussed it with her wife and it was clear Emily had something to prove to herself and this time she wanted to bring home the gold. After all the trials and try-outs Emily got the call that she had made it; she would be joining the team when they competed in Italy.

All that had led her here; to the starting platform, ready to swim the anchor lap for team USA. They had a slight lead, but they needed more if they wanted to win it all. Emily took a deep breath and readied herself to enter the water and as soon as her teammate touched the side of the pool Emily disappeared into the water at top speed. At the turn Emily knew she and the French anchor swimmer were tied still and she knew she needed to dig deep in order to win. She thought of her wife, her son and then her mind flashed to the first person to ever tell her she deserved the gold, Maya. With all those images in her mind Emily pulled ahead of the French swimmer and managed to hit the wall about three seconds before her opponent. Even before she surfaced Emily knew she had done it and her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest. She climbed out of the pool and was rushed by her teammates and coach and it was then she could hear the thunderous applause and cheering. Camera flashes were going off like crazy as the team celebrated and when Emily looked up she scanned the stands for Cassidy. When she finally saw her wife she ran over to her and pushed herself up on the wall that separated the pool area from the stands. She balanced her weight on her hands and leaned in to kiss her wife which caused more cameras to be shoved in her face, but Emily didn't care. She backed away and smiled at her wife while tears streamed down both their faces. Before Emily returned to her team she leaned down and kissed her wife's stomach and was gone before the reporters could ask her about it.

She and Cassidy hadn't planned on tell anyone that they were having another child until she came home, but she had just won gold and Emily was never any good a keeping happy secrets. The ceremony was everything she had ever dreamt of and at the same time Emily wanted to go home. She wanted to celebrate with her wife and son, her friends and their parents and of course her own mother and father. She had to do a few interviews before she left country and all the while she knew there were a hundred more waiting for her when they returned home and she loved it; her fans were amazing and she knew that this came with the territory. She politely answered questions about her training and what it took for her to get to this point professionally. The personal questions were always the ones Emily struggled with, not because she had anything to hide, but she had a family to protect now and some things she wanted to remain private. Usually though Emily handled the questions beautifully and was always very honest. When she was asked about the scars, that to this day were still visible on her arms, she answered honestly and became the poster child for recovering self harmers. The letters she got from teens struggling with the same issue always touched Emily deeply and it motivated her to be honest about her past so that these teens could believe in their futures. This interview however was completely geared toward the race and Emily's final thoughts on the Olympics.

"Now Emily, this is not your first rodeo, how has this competition compared to your last Olympic run?"

Emily flashed her winning smile, "I think any repeat Olympic athlete will tell you, each time its different, but at the same time there is a sense of déjà vu. The city change is the first thing that really shocks my system; it's culture shock no matter where it's held. The fact that I am away from home and out of my zone takes so getting used to. Ultimately, the adrenaline gets a hold of you and the culture shock melts away because you remember that you have a job to do and that millions of people will be watching you do that job. As for how the two compare: for me I think the competition definitely came back this year stronger and I love that. You see us with our game faces on, but honestly I am friends with most of the swimmers on the other teams and to see them at their best pushes me to perform at mine. "

"I saw that, even after you had beat the French team, they all seemed excited for you."

"I always tell my son that if you can't perform with a sense of humility and sportsmanship you should not be competing at all. Yes, it's about winning, but this is about bringing countries together under the unifying sports. In that water it doesn't matter what language you speak or the color of your skin: I see it as a great equalizer, you are on the same level playing field and where you go on it is up to your ability."

"That's a really beautiful way of looking at the games as a whole. Now, let's talk about the moment you won, what was going through your mind when you came out of that water?"

"I was half expecting to hear the alarm going off because it felt like a dream. My heart was beating so fast I thought I was going to pass out and the reaction from the crowd was awe inspiring. I felt my coach hug me and then I knew it was really real and I lost my mind, crying and laughing. Then the only thing I could think about was my wife and sharing this with her. I found her in the stands and I just ran to her. She always believed in me and she put her career on hold to support me as I trained and traveled and I mean I have shared my heart and the last four years of my life with her so sharing this with her was a given." Emily couldn't hide the smile that spread across her face as she spoke about her wife and why would she want to.

"I wonder if you realize how famous that picture is going to be of you running to kiss her? It's on every major paper in the states and a few here and around the world. Did you think of that in that moment?"

"All I thought about was sharing the crowning achievement of my career with the love of my life and the mother of my children. I didn't even register that cameras were around: I saw her and everything faded away. I've always had tunnel vision when it comes to her. I guess people just like a good love story and what I have with my wife is the closest thing to a fairytale that I have ever seen so I understand."

"Now I have to ask, you kissed your wife and then kissed her stomach before you got down of the stand partition. Now every paper that has that picture is saying that you and your wife are pregnant, any truth to those comments?"

Emily had the biggest smile on her face and it answered the question, but she spoke anyway, "we were going to wait until I got home and things settled down but in that moment I couldn't help myself. Yes, I am confirming the rumors, Cassidy is four months pregnant and we are so excited to add to our family."

"You two have a son already, correct?"

"Peter, he just turned five last month and he is so excited to be a big brother."

"I'm sure everyone is very excited for you and your wife's new addiction to your beautiful family. Now just one more question before I let you head off. We've heard a lot about your past and the things you went through that brought you here. Any thoughts as to how those experiences shaped you into a gold medalist?"

"Everyone with a TV or an internet connection knows something of my past: I lived in a small town all my life, daughter of a military man and a homemaker, I came out when I was in high school, my girlfriend was murdered and I handled it by developing a serious problem with self injury. At the time I thought I had no future and I wanted to give up because everything was just so damn difficult, but my parents refused to let me give up, my friends stood by me and loved me through it all and their parents, one of their mother's in particular really stepped up and literally saved my life. She reminded me that hard times in life is no excuse to give up, but instead is a damn good reason to fight for a future that is better and brighter. So I owe a lot of thanks to my parents, my three best friends Hanna, Spencer and Aria and to Aria's mother Ella."

"Any last advice for the viewers?"

"Find friends who will stand by you through hell and celebrate with you through the best times. Never apologize for loving someone and if you want something never give up, work hard and know that nobody ever got anything they wanted by sitting around wishing for it."

"There you have it ladies and gentlemen, gold medalist Emily Fields."

A few days later, the games were officially over and Emily was able to return home. They made it to the escalator that led to baggage claim when Cassidy tapped on her wife's shoulder and Emily looked up to where her wife was pointing and smiled. Along with the media, all her friends, their parents and her own parents were all standing at baggage claim holding signs with her name and cheering her name. With an insane blush Emily started walking over to the group, but was stopped when she heard a small voice yell 'Mommy'. She saw her son running toward them at full speed so she of course dropped her bag to the floor and ran to meet him. She dropped to her knees and was almost knocked over when her son ran into her arms. She kissed the side of his head and she managed to get to her feet while still holding him.

"Mommy I saw you on the TV and they gave you the pretty necklace." He kissed his mother on her cheek and smiled a big toothy grin which melted Emily's heart. The five year old was simply happy to have his mothers back home so the importance of an Olympic gold medal was lost on him. Emily held onto her son while she was welcomed home by her closest friends and family members; Spencer had made Emily beat France t-shirts and half the people there were wearing them. Once everything had died down they all agreed to meet up the next day for a casual party at Emily and Cassidy's house to allow everyone to catch up and relax. As they made their way home Emily asked if they could make one stop before they reached the house. Emily gave her wife the address and it made Cassidy smile as she nodded and took the next exit off the freeway. When the car stopped it stopped in front of Aria's childhood home, the house where her parents both still lived. Emily got out of her car and while she walked up the stairs and rang the doorbell Cassidy got Peter out of his car seat. When the door opened Mike was standing there with the same smirk on his face that was usually there.

"Well, if it isn't the prodigal daughter returning to her hometown to show off some serious gold."

"Hey Mike." She hugged the boy, who was no longer a boy and he welcomed her in, holding the door open for Cassidy and Peter. "Mom's outside gardening." Emily nodded and opened the back door quietly and without much thought she shut it behind her.

"Mike, I heard the bell, who was it?"

"Some crazy woman wearing a gold necklace." Ella looked up and smiled before walking to Emily and hugging her tightly.

"You were sensational, it's like you were just flying through the water. I'm sorry I couldn't be there to see you come home, but I had an appt this morning and I just got home."

"Don't be sorry, once Peter came running up to me I was a mess of tears so you didn't miss much."

"He missed his parents, but he told everyone who stood still long enough that his mommy was in the 'lympics as he called it."

"He's the light of my life and being away from him for that long was torture."

"I know, but from what I hear and from what I saw you are about to get another light in your life, when were you going to tell me?"

"When we came home I swear, but I am going to tell you something that just Cassidy and I know." Emily looked around to make sure they were alone before whispering into Ella's ear, "it's a girl." Ella smiled wide and started to tear up, "Emily, that's wonderful, congratulations."

"Thank you, we are so thrilled, we love Peter, but we both really wanted a girl this time. You are the only other person who knows so don't tell anyone."

"Your secret is safe with me, but I'm curious why are you telling me?"

"Because I have to ask you something important."

"Sounds serious."

"It is." Emily made eye contact with Ella and continued. "We have her name all picked out and I wanted to tell you what it was. We're going to name her Elizabeth and when the time comes for a nickname we want people to call her Ella. I know it's not a common nickname for Elizabeth, but I think it could work…." Ella waved her hand to stop Emily from babbling, "you want your daughter to have my name?"

"You hate it? I'm sorry I knew I should have asked." Ella stopped her by hugging Emily closer to her and crying. When they settled down Ella spoke up again, "why would you do that, what have I done that's so special?"

"You are joking right? You saved my life, if you hadn't stepped in when you did I would have killed myself and you and I both know that. You made me see that Maya wanted more for me and that I deserved more, deserved to have a future. You made me fight for everything I have and look at what I accomplished, because you refused to give up me. Without you I never would have met Cassidy, I never would have married her or adopted Peter and I wouldn't have this medal around my neck telling you that I'm gonna be a mother again. You gave me my life back and then you made it beautiful and I can never repay you for that, but I want my little girl to know that her name is one of true strength and kindness. She'll know one day what you did for me and her name will always reflect that."

"I don't know what to say."

"Just say yes, say that you are willing to share your name with my child."

"It would be one of the greatest honors of my life." Emily hugged her once more before the back door opened again and her son came running out with Cassidy behind him. He ran right to Ella, "Grammy Ella, did you see it, did mommy show you her necklace?" Ella lifted the boy up and smiled, "she sure did and she told me all about your new baby sister."

"The baby is gonna have your name cuz mommy loves you lots." Ella smiled with tears in her eyes and she looked over at Emily who was standing behind Cassidy, her hands resting on her wife's swollen stomach. She kissed the little boy's head and brushed away a tear, "well I love your mommy lots too."

Thanks for reading folks, hope you enjoyed it.