Chapter 10: Carry me home

Emily checked her phone as soon as she woke up. There texts from Robin and Payson. But none from Damon. He was still freezing her out. Whatever, she thought to herself, he would calm down eventually. It took Damon a lot to lose his temper but when he did, he did it all the way.

"Emily."

"Mmm" Emily wasn't sure whether to be mad at Chloe or not. As a teenager, Emily normally blamed Chloe for whatever she could, but those years were behind her. It wasn't Chloe's fault that Marcus had decided to show up after sixteen years, and it wasn't Chloe's fault that Damon was in a sulk.

"I was wondering if you wanted to have lunch with Marcus and I today?"

Emily sat bolt upright in her bed, which was unusual for her. Normally any form of movement in the morning was slow and reluctant. "Are you serious?" Emily asked incredulously. Man Chloe was naïve.

"Yes, otherwise I wouldn't have asked, silly."

"Um, no Mum. I have absolutely no desire to see that piece of scum today for lunch, or ever. If you want to waste your time with him that's absolutely your choice but I have a competition to watch today. You see my friends are actually doing something productive with their lives, committing themselves to serious competition and achieving their goals, instead of quitting when things get hard and then coming back when they want skive off other people."

Chloe raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "Wow, people will be debating the subtle complexities of that statement forever. Enjoy the competition." Chloe felt slightly evil not telling Emily that Marcus was going to be at the competition, but there was no way she would see him otherwise.

XXX

Ronnie pulled up to the Rock in the old car. Kaylie wasn't a snob, but she felt kind of embarrassed being in such a cheap car. At least they would have the Audi back soon. As soon as Ronnie moved into the park that was reserved for Cruz the car was swarmed with reporters, waiting to see Kaylie in her first competition since the Olympics, even if it was just an in-club meet. Austin squeezed Kaylie's hand.

"Ready."

"If you're with me." Kaylie kissed him, making the cameras flash like crazy. Then Austin opened the door, Kaylie followed him out, both of them wearing their fake media smiles. Leo who had been sitting in the front seat worked his way through the crowd towards Lauren. He hugged her.

"How're you doing?"

Lauren smiled "feeling slightly queezy. C'mon let's get inside before the press stampede Kaylie."

"Too bad Kelly's not here, she'd be loving this."

Darby wanted to slap Sasha. He hadn't stopped whinging about Kim for at least half an hour.

"She looked so pale Darby. I don't know how Payson can cope with this. And I can't believe I'm here. I should be there with her."

Darby rolled her eyes. "That's it!" She said sternly.

"What?"

"You are the head coach of the best gym in the country. You, and no one else decided to have a competition to decide who would be going to the selection camp. Your girls are going to get some major publicity. Payson and Kim will be fine. The last time I checked you weren't a doctor. And I'm pretty sure all the literature says that negative and annoying people make patients worse! So get your arse down there, talk to the press, then get MJ to introduce the event."

Sasha was gobsmacked. He knew that Darby could be tough, but he'd never been on the receiving end of it before.

Darby was not in the mood to tell him twice "move, Belov!"

"Ok, ok I'm going!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Rock's American Camp Selection Meet. This is a very important event for the six young ladies chosen to compete here today. Each of them has an impressive resume. We have Ronnie Matheison a second year senior who transferred here from Florida. She competed at nationals last year and placed ninth on floor exercise. Her dance is impressive. Her younger sister Tori Matheison is a first year senior who's been on the junior scene for many years. Her swing on bars is better than most seniors'. Nessie Jackson is another second year senior from New York, she made a splash at the Olympic Trials last year. Rachel Jemson is a long time Rock team member who did really well at nationals last year and is expected to make the national team and fight for a spot on the world's team this year.

There were cheers as each girl's name was read out. Each girl came and saluted the judges.

"Our next two athletes are veterans of the sport. They have done us very proud in the past two years. Ladies and gentlemen please welcome Lauren Tanner, World Team champion and World Silver Medallist on the balance beam."

The cheers for Lauren were the loudest so far. Lauren stood up and waved to the crowd, saluted the judges, and went to stand beside her younger teammates.

"And Kaylie Cruz, a national, world and Olympic Champion!" The Rock erupted into crazy loud cheers. Kaylie saluted the judges and blew a kiss to the crowd, before going to her friends. It felt good to be back out on the competition floor again.

Sasha had arranged it so that the girls would all compete on the same apparatus, and then move to the next one. It meant the competition would last most of the morning and allow people to come and go and get a glimpse of his Olympian and other girls. It also meant he'd save money on judges because they could rotate apparatus with the girls. Ronnie started first. Sasha was really excited about these sisters, they were the first new elites he'd allowed through to the Rock. The short gymnast ran a nervous hand through her frizzy brown hair before sprinting down the vault runway to land her Cheng. She landed in a squat but Sasha punched the air anyway. Ronnie had really struggled to get that vault to her feet consistently so it was great that she could do it in competition. It was still early in the season and she had a lot of time to improve.

Tori was next. She was younger than Ronnie, but had already exceeded her in height. Her springy DTY was landed almost perfectly, with just a tiny hop backwards. She grinned at Darby, her personal coach. Tori wasn't all that powerful, so a DTY was great for her, especially since the Amanar was downgraded in the new code. Nessie followed with another DTY. She was capable of more but Sasha instructed her to play it safe. Partly because he didn't want her to get injured, but more importantly he wanted to see how well she followed instructions. She followed his to the letter. 'Good girl' he whispered.

Rachel landed her Amanar vault flawlessly. It was quite possibly the best she'd ever done it. She grinned at her coaches, who grinned back. Unless Sasha was very much mistaken, Rachel would be winning the Rock rankings in two months' time. Then it was Lauren's turn. She saluted the judges and Sasha' heart swelled with pride. He'd seen Lauren come so far as a person. She was now (mostly) gracious, mature and supportive of her teammates. She'd overcome missing out on the Olympic team and then hand the strength to come back and coach her friends at the Olympics even though it was a constant reminder of how much she'd lost out. Then she'd overcome a serious depressive episode. But through it all she'd never complained. She brought her good attitude and determination to training every day. She winked at Sasha before saluting the judges. Sasha couldn't help but wink back. Lauren ran towards the vaulting table and then, to Sasha's astonishment she landed a Prudonova perfectly. She bent her knees slightly but there was no squat, no step backwards, no nothing. Sasha was stuck between being furious that she hadn't told him she'd be doing this vault and elated that she could do this vault so well.

Finally it way Kaylie's turn. Kaylie had a somewhat tempestuous relationship with the vault. It had never been her best apparatus, she had to downgrade it when she got sick but it was the only individual medal she'd won at the Olympics. She stared down the vaulting table. She looked at Austin who nodded slightly. He believed in her, she could do this. She ran towards the table, did her roundoff back handspring, squeezed her legs together and pointed her toes. Then she landed with just a slight hop forward to see Austin, Leo, and Ronnie clapping wildly for her! She hugged Sasha tightly and then walked with the other girls to the bars. She was so glad she'd decided to return to gymnastics. It was such a big part of her and she wasn't ready to give it up.

Marcus was glad that he'd been sent to watch the competition. He wanted to see what the new generation of Rock gymnasts had to offer. He also desperately wanted to see Emily. He wanted to explain, he knew he could do nothing to change the past, but he wanted a relationship with her again. But he knew that Emily was tough. One did not get to the Olympics without being extremely stubborn, and from what he'd heard, Emily pretty much supported the family for many years as well as doing her training, and she still managed to have a kid along the way. He could barely get his head around it. His heart leapt when he saw his daughter in the stands cheering her friends on. She looked tired and pale but she grinned like crazy when Lauren did her bar routine and stuck her double layout dismount. He took a deep breath and thought about going over to speak with her, but he realised that if the situations were reversed, he wouldn't want to be disturbed until the end of the competition. He decided that he may as well enjoy the amazing gymnastics on show. It was a shame the Rock could only send two gymnasts to the selection camp. Kaylie, Lauren and Rachel were all capable of hitting above sixty in the all around. Rachel dismounted with a double front half leaving just Nessie to go on the uneven bars. The young gymnast did well but she fell on her last release skill. Marcus winced. She had been doing so well, but she got up and finished her routine, the crowd supporting her the whole way. That was probably the biggest lesson one learned from gymnastics Marcus thought to himself – no matter how many times you got knocked down, you had to get back up to make it to the end. Nessie probably wouldn't be making it to the selection camp, but she'd learned to pick herself up after an embarrassing fall, which was an important thing to learn. And the fall would make her all the more determined.

The balance beam. It was Rachel's nemesis. She was really nervous, sure she was ranked #1 at the Rock at the moment but she was competing against Lauren Tanner, reigning World Silver Medallist on this event and Kaylie Cruz who had two Olympic medals. It was enough to make anyone want to run away and hide. She mounted the beam with a simple hop up. She almost came off on her first flight series but she squeezed her toes hard on the side of the beam and managed to stay on. She forced herself through the rest of the routine and dismounted. She was so mad at herself! She could have done so much better.

"You did really well." Kaylie hugged Rachel.

Rachel smiled at the older girl "good luck Kaylie, you'll be awesome."

Kaylie loved being on the beam and showing off. It had grown to be her pet event last year, she was the national champion and Olympic trials champion on the event and she grinned at the crowd while she was performing. But then on her dismount she realised she didn't have enough height and she landed in a deep squat. She saluted the judges, forcing herself to smile.

Sasha put his head in his hands. Why, why, why did gymnasts always falter on the beam? He watched Lauren go. The blonde girl looked fierce as she powered her way through her routine. It was so different from the way Kaylie performed but it was breathtaking in a completely different way. And unlike her two biggest rivals, she finished the routine as well as she could. Sasha grinned and punched the air. It was so rewarding to see Lauren do so well, and for her to be so happy. She'd been through hell and back in the past year and she had worked really hard to even be competing in this small meet.

The three newest Rock girls went first, second, and third on the floor exercise. Lauren cheered each of them loudly. She was no longer the gymnast who snarkily tried to undermine her teammates. She was really happy that they'd all done their best, irrespective of who won the competition. Rachel was next, she competed a gorgeous double twisting double layout as her opening pass. Lauren was mesmerised by how far her dance had come along. She'd worked really hard on her ballet and her flexibility. Payson was really good at helping the power gymnasts at the Rock work on their artistry because that's what she'd needed to do herself. When Rachel finished her routine Lauren picked her up and spun her around. Summer van Horn looked on from the stands, her heart warmed. It was amazing how Lauren had grown as a young woman. The trials of last summer had forced her to grow up really quickly.

Kaylie was next, barely five seconds into her routine the crowd was clapping along. She danced her way through her routine, a huge smile on her face. Then Lauren stood up, walked over to the mat, and saluted the judges. It was a huge honour from Sasha that she was allowed to be the last performer. She saluted the judges and completed her opening pass, ending it in a 3.5 twist. She grinned as she stuck it. It was hard to master but she was glad she'd put all that effort in. Then she did her quadruple spin, Payson had come down on her hard for hours and hours to master it in time for that competition. But it had paid off. She fought through the rest of her routine, even though she was really exhausted. She hadn't competed the all-around since Olympic Trials last summer. When she finished her routine she was humbled that the cheers for her were the loudest for any of the girls. She ran over to Sasha who picked her up and spun her around.

"Amazing, Lo. The best you've ever competed. I guess like cheese you just keep improving with age."

Lauren snorted "way to ruin a tear-jerker moment." She punched him lightly in the shoulder and he put her down. He placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Look up at the scoreboard."

Lauren did as she was told. She couldn't believe her eyes!

Rocky Mountain Gymnastics Club: American Cup Selection Camp Meet

1st Lauren Tanner: 60.105

2nd Kaylie Cruz: 59.800

3rd Rachel Jemson: 59:450

Lauren couldn't help it, tears sprung into her eyes. She'd never won a meet at the Rock, ever. All those hours of hard work and sacrifice had paid off. Numbly she hugged all the girls. She hugged Kaylie the longest.

"We did it." Lauren whispered in her ear.

"You're amazing Lo. You deserve this so much."

XXX

The doctor walked into the ward. Mark gripped Kim's hand tightly, Payson had one hand gripping Mark's shoulder and the other arm was wrapped around Becca who was resting her head on Payson's shoulder.

"Mrs Keeler. We've found a growth by your temporal lobe –"

There was a horrible sound, a guttural groan. Payson realised that it was coming from her father. She gripped her shoulder harder.

"Mark, let him finish." Kim said impatiently, ever the practical member of their partnership. Payson would have laughed if the situation weren't so serious.

The doctor cleared his throat "it is fairly small and we think it's benign. We're going to keep you here for a couple more days to run some tests but if everything's ok then we should have you in surgery within a couple of months and you'll be back on your feet before you know it."

Payson kissed her mother on her head. There were tears in her eyes.

"Oh honey."

"I love you Mummy" Payson whispered. Kim was touched. Payson wasn't one for public displays of affection as a general rule. She was staunch, stoic and fierce, but underneath everything she had a heart of gold.

"I love you too Payson, more than you can imagine. Now go and be with your gymnasts, they need you more than I do. I've got your Dad and sister to look after me.

XXX

Emily was so pleased for Kaylie and Lauren. They both had unfinished business with gymnastics, and Lauren especially deserved her time to shine. She'd always been a bridesmaid amongst their group. Kaylie, Payson, and Kelly had each been the best gymnast in the country at some stage in their career and Lauren had always been in their shadow. Not today. Her mood was suddenly soured when she saw that Marcus was standing between her and the door. She swore under her breath. Of course he would be arrogant enough to make a scene. And he knew Emily wouldn't yell at him. Not in front of the press.

"I don't suppose you're going to let me pass." Emily said icily.

"Emily I need to talk to you."

"That's funny I don't remember you needing to talk to me in the last, let's see fifteen years. I don't see any reason to start now."

"Don't be like that."

"We don't miss you, you know, and we certainly don't need you messing with our lives. Now can you please let me go? I need to get home to my family. You know the ones who actually care about me. Who were there for me during the rough times."

"Don't be like that. Come on Emily. I'm your father."

Emily glared at the tall man. "I don't have a father. Now step aside. Please."

Marcus looked at Emily. He couldn't believe his daughter hated him this much. Emily had always been a loving child. Slightly shy but always happy to see him, and around her friends and teammates she was bubbly and supportive. But she was looking at him like he was a criminal. "No, Emily."

"Excuse me?"

"No. I want to speak with you, and since you haven't been returning my calls I had to come here. Now stop embarrassing yourself and get a coffee with me."

Emily glared at him. "You. Are. Pathetic. I will have coffee with you, but only because I don't want to make a scene. I would hate to ruin my friends' day because of a selfish, pathetic loser who can't stand by his family but comes running back as soon as he thinks he can get some money."

"Come on Em, that isn't fair."

"Don't call me Em, Marcus. And I presume you're paying."

Marcus sighed. Emily was so much like Chloe when she was angry!

A/N so Marcus crashed the gym meet. Are you surprised? And Kaylie and Lauren made it through to the selection camp, yay! I thought Lauren deserved to win something for once. Please let me know what you thought and I hope y'all have a good weekend!