Chapter 20:

The plane took off. Maura looked at the warehouses until they became too small for the eye, until they turned into colored ants of some sort. Then she sighed and she closed her eyes.

Goodbye, PyeongChang. Goodbye, South Korea. Goodbye, Olympic Games. Goodbye, the mountains and the beach in the background. Goodbye, the buzzing life of an incredible time of her life.

Her sadness had taken over her fatigue as soon as she had woken up in the morning. If a part of her was eager to go back to America, another part didn't want to let go of all the things that she had lived for the past two weeks.

Unexpected things.

For someone who loved planning her life, Maura had to admit that losing control wasn't always that bad.

She opened one eye and she cast a glance at Tommy.

He was reading a magazine with such serenity that Maura immediately envied him. Why couldn't she be more like him? Why did she have to deeply analyze the slightest ounce of feeling that passed underneath her skin?

You think too much. You overthink everything.

Olga's words echoed in Maura's head. Her coach was right but Maura couldn't help it: she had always been that kind of person. If she didn't overthink things then she turned anxious.

And anxiety was her worst ennemy.

She opened her travel bag and she took a notebook out of it. A postcard of PyeongChang escaped from the pages and it fell on her lap. She picked it.

The photo was a tad kitsch but she loved it. It reminded her of her childhood when technology hadn't reached homes yet and there wasn't any cell phone around. When people used to send each other postcards and handwritten letters.

Maura turned the postcard around and she couldn't help but smile as soon as she saw Jane's handwriting on it. The message was short – almost formal – but Maura found it sweet.

See you in Boston, I miss you already

Maura frowned. Was she turning cheesey? Because it was something that she had always hated until now and she certainly didn't want to become one of these girls who longed for so-called proofs of love.

She brushed Jane's message with her fingertip before putting the postcard back into her notebook.

Jane wasn't on her flight. Hers left in the mid-afternoon. Thus they had said goodbye in the first hours of the morning with the promise to see each other again very soon.

But what if it didn't happen? What if all of this vanished along with the Olympic Games? What if it was nothing but a parenthesis? What if it wasn't meant to be? Maura swallowed hard and she bit the inside of her mouth to hold back a sigh of despair. She had kissed Jane live on tv. If their relationship didn't last then she would be mad at herself for the rest of her life.

She hadn't heard anything about the kiss but then the Olympic Village was somehow secluded. They were cut from the rest of the world but the rest of the world didn't miss one bit of their activities.

Jane hadn't been mad at her for the kiss. She had been surprised at first but then she had responded to it. Eagerly.

Then they hadn't talked about it, about the impact it may have on their public image.

Maura tried to breathe as slowly as possible. Overthinking was one thing but getting worried because of it was another thing and she couldn't let it happen. Even less on a flight. She couldn't let panic win this one.

So she closed her eyes again and she let go of everything.

...

Four years later...

Maura walked outside one of the main buildings and she headed towards the plazza of the village.

She liked the architecture of the buildings even if the low temperatures pushed her to rush inside the first coffee shop that she could find on her way.

Beijing was very different from PyeongChang but the same buzzing life had wrapped her up as soon as she had arrived and she loved that.

She reached the little coffee shop on the plazza and she walked inside. Annabelle Manderley, the journalist, was waiting for her at a small table in a corner. Maura gave her a bright smile and she went straight for her.

"Maura! It's good to see you! How are you?"

Maura sat down at the table. When Annabelle had asked her whether she wanted to give an interview outside the press conference path, Maura had said yes right away.

Because so many things had changed from the last time they had met. In South Korea.

"I'm fine, thank you."

"First of all – and I guess I can speak for many, many people – it's a pleasure to see you competing here in Beijing."

Maura blushed. She still had a hard time dealing with compliments and Annabelle alluding to her last career plans was delicate yet touching.

"Tommy and I are really happy to be here too. It's almost a miracle that we've managed to qualify for the Games after the last four years. A miracle and a lot of work but... We discussed it, you know, and we both felt that we still had something to give. It wasn't over yet."

Annabelle nodded. The decision to come back to compete at 33 and 35 years old was a decision that had been taken by a whole team after weeks of doubts. Ice dance was a very demanding sport and most of athletes stopped when they reached the age of 30 or so because their bodies said stop. But Maura and Tommy were stubborn and they wanted to be part of the Beijing Games.

Then they would retire. Peacefully. Happily.

"I can only imagine and even more after having a baby. How's your daughter? Did you bring her here?"

"Yes! We just couldn't leave Soo in Boston. We wanted her to be with us. It was important for us to have our family here and to be together; the three of us."

"Is she happy to be in Beijing?"

"Well... She's only 2 years old so she doesn't really know what's going on but I guess she's happy to be with her moms, yes."

"And what a beautiful name the two of you chose."

Maura smiled.

"It was symbolical... We wanted a Korean name because our story is linked to South Korea and that without PyeongChang then Soo wouldn't be here today. Soo means charitable and kind in Korean. We thought it was perfect."

By the time Maura had got pregnant, coming back to the competition hadn't crossed her mind. She and Tommy toured with America On Ice but it was different from competing and she had felt like she was ready to start a family.

Then Soo was born and it changed Maura's perspectives on life achievements. Qualifying for the Olympic Games had been a crazy journey but Maura didn't regret it one bit. Because it felt so right.

"And where's your wife?"

"Oh... Jane is practicing with her team. They have a gold medal to defend. There's a lot of pressure on their shoulders."

"You have a gold medal to defend too."

Maura smiled again and she suddenly thought about PyeongChang, about the moment the plane had taken off and she had seen the warehouses vanish in the distance.

When she had thought about Jane, about their relationship.

And now four years had passed by.

Nothing had failed. On the contrary. PyeongChang had only been the beginning. She and Jane had met again and soon Maura had moved back to Boston. They had got married within a year and Soo was born the year after.

The doubts she had had once had vanished and she was self-confident now. It boosted her energy, and her faith in her capacities.

Jane hadn't been a mere fling, a mere parenthesis.

Maura could say it now : their relationship was meant to be.

The End

Author's note: thank you very much for all your reviews, I'm glad you all enjoyed this story after such a long break from me. I may write another fic that would come back on what happened between PyeongChang and Beijing, some sort of sequel even if the final part of this chapter goes in the future. Thank you again for your kind words, they mean a lot to me.