"Are you humming the music from Fantasmic?" Her eyes wide with surprise, Emily turned around to look at Kaylie as the group stood waiting for a bus back to their resort.

"Yeah," Kaylie blushed a little. "From the end."

"You picked that up quickly," Emily said.

Kaylie shrugged. "I've always had a thing for music. I didn't really think about though because of how big of a part gymnastics played in my life. I guess I just always figured that my mom had been a singer so of course I could sing."

"Have you done much with music since the Olympics?" Luke asked.

Kaylie's eyes took on a more guarded look. "No, I've chosen a different direction."

"Shame really," Lauren said, her voice edging close to fake. "You and Damon collaborated so well together."

"Damon?" Payson resisted the urge to groan as Luke naively walked right into Lauren's trap. Being the outsider in the group, Luke would be curious, and Lauren of course knew how to exploit that naivety.

"Damon Young, the big rock star," Lauren supplied with a helpful grin.

"Oh yeah, he's from Boulder," Luke made the connection. "Wow, didn't realize you knew him, Kaylie."

"It was a long time ago," she said quickly, her eyes skittering over to Emily just as Lauren added, "We all knew Damon."

"Well, not me," Jake put in.

"That's because Emily got-" Lauren started.

"Damon shifted out of our lives before the Olympics," Payson spoke over the other blonde and raised an eyebrow at Jake. She knew he had to know the full Damon connection, and she had to work not to glare at him. However, Jake gave an apologetic grimace, and Payson's heart softened.

"He just didn't think before speaking," she realized and then let out a sigh of relief as a bus pulled up to their stop.

"What's all that about with Damon Young?" Luke asked as they slide into a seat.

"Lauren just being jealous that Kaylie got to do something she didn't," Payson said quickly, choosing to gloss over the real issue of Lauren wanting to stir up trouble again.

Luke eyed Payson but she ignored him. Across the aisle from them, Kaylie and Austin were one seat ahead, Emily behind them. Kaylie had just swiveled around to look at Emily. Her dark eyes burned with emotion.

"I'm sorry, Em," she said softly, barely loud enough for Payson to hear as the bus finished loading passengers.

"Kaylie," Emily started and then stopped, shaking her head. "I can't."

"I'm not asking for forgiveness," Kaylie said, holding her head high despite a slight tremor in her jaw. "But I need to tell you that I'm sorry I didn't look at the bigger picture back then. I was selfish."

Emily's mouth dropped open for the second time in the last twenty minutes thanks to Kaylie. She forced it shut, swallowed slowly, and then stuttered, "Kaylie, I'm grateful but I was so hurt."

Kaylie nodded, her lips tight, and then repeated, "I'm not looking for forgiveness. I just wanted to tell you that I've grown since then, and I know you've got a great support network, but I'm here if you need me." Then she turned around.

Payson leaned across the aisle to lay a hand on Emily's arm. She murmured, "You ok?"

Emily nodded although her eyes glistened. "Yeah, just need to process."

Payson watched her friend for a moment longer and then slid back against her seat. Luke didn't say anything, just wrapped an arm around her.

Back at the resort, the group moved towards their rooms, but Emily paused at the entrance. "I think I'm going to walk for a little bit."

"Care for some company?" Payson asked.

Emily gave her a wobbly smile, "Sure." Payson noticed Kaylie's concerned look but the brunette stayed silent, giving her former teammate space.

Payson and Emily headed back down the sidewalk. The night air was cool but comfortable, quiet after the rousing music and special effects of Fantasmic. The women had walked all the way past the Hospitality House and its pool area before Emily finally spoke.

"Lauren's a piece of work."

Payson snorted, "She hasn't matured much since our competitive days."

"Putting Damon behind me has been the hardest thing I have ever had to do," Emily said, her voice catching.

"You're not over him," Payson stated what Emily's words had sidestepped.

"He's my first love, the only guy I've ever loved," Emily replied. "He's the father of my son. Pay, I tried to get over him, I did, but I couldn't move forward. It wasn't until I decided to accept that he will always have a place in my heart that I was able to stop wishing and dreaming that things were different, that we could be together."

"You couldn't change how you felt for him but you could put it aside," Payson replied.

Emily nodded, "And usually I can do that, but sometimes the past intrudes too much. Like when I saw Kaylie, I couldn't forget that she kissed him while I was pregnant."

Payson stayed quiet, caught between two friends who had both been in difficult situations. Scared, Emily had not told Damon about the pregnancy before fleeing Boulder. Confused, he had bonded with Kaylie who was struggling with adjusting to life following treatment for anorexia.

"She tried to apologize to me after London," Emily said.

Payson twisted swiftly in surprise, "She did?" Payson knew that Kaylie had reached out to Emily before the Olympic Trials but this admission was new information.

"At that big welcome home celebration the Rock threw," Emily said slowly. "She came up to me and started to say she was sorry, but I just walked away."

"Em," Payson started.

"I wasn't ready," Emily continued, "and I'm not sure how much she meant it then or was just apologizing to make herself feel better."

Payson stayed quiet. She loved Kaylie but guessed that Emily's words hit close to the truth. Four years ago Kaylie had battled down many of her demons but had still focused primarily on either herself or those absolutely closest to her. Emily had fallen out of that circle.

"Tonight though," Emily spoke up again, "she was being completely honest. She admitted that she hurt me by being selfish. She didn't try to excuse it."

"Did it help?" Payson asked.

Emily blew out an exasperated sigh. "No. Maybe. I'm not sure. Payson, am I supposed to suddenly just want to be friends with her again?"

Payson chuckled, "No, forgiveness doesn't mean that everything goes back to the way it was."

"Good," Emily said quietly. "I can forgive her now, but I don't want to be her close girlfriend."

"I think she understands that."

"I'm not even sure why I was invited on this trip," Emily added.

"Because you're part of the team, part of the Rock Rebels," Payson answered without hesitation.

"I didn't even make it to the Olympic Trials."

"Making the Olympics isn't what made you a Rock Rebel. Being true to who we were was what made you part of the team," Payson replied. "You had hard choices to make, Em, but you chose what your heart said not what the NGO wanted or any other set of rules."

Emily gave Payson a small smile. "And that's why you were team captain."

Payson smiled back, "Are you ready to head over to the room now?"

Emily nodded. They were quiet again for the walk back but Payson could sense that Emily was carrying a lighter load than earlier. As they approached their unit, Payson realized that Luke was waiting outside.

"Evening, ladies," he greeted them.

"Hi."

"Is something wrong?" Payson asked.

"Not really," he answered. "I'm getting the feeling that Lauren being angry with Jake is something that happens on a somewhat regular basis?"

"Probably," Payson said as Emily nodded.

"Then everything is normal."

"Why are you outside?"

"Thought maybe we could go for a walk?" he suggested, looking straight at Payson.

"Kind of late," she hedged.

"We only have so many bathrooms and a lot of people," Emily spoke up. "I bet they're all being used as we get ready for bed."

Payson wanted to glare at Emily. Luke made her tingle, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to feel that way. Being alone with him would not help that feeling.

"It's ok if you're tired," he said.

Payson shook her head, "No, it'd be nice to go for a little walk."

His eyes brightened, and Payson felt her stomach flutter.

"So what was your favorite part of today?" Luke asked as they headed down the sidewalk, this time veering more alongside the guest buildings.

Payson thought for a moment before answering "Toy Story Mania," and handing the question back to Luke. The conversation flowed comfortably, just as much as his hand fit around hers when Luke reached for it a few minutes into the walk. They focused on the events of the day until suddenly Luke asked, "So what's the real story with Damon Young and your group? He was more than just an acquaintance."

"What makes you think that?"

"Lauren seemed determined to keep him in the conversation."

Payson hesitated before answering, "He and Emily dated."

"Like a serious relationship?"

Payson nodded slowly.

"So what happened?"

"We knew Damon before he hit it big. With Emily's career as an elite gymnast and Damon's starting career as a major singer, their schedules were just different," Payson replied and then added silently, "Plus the whole she got pregnant and didn't tell anyone and then he sort of got involved with Kaylie."

"Long distance relationships between two people very focused on separate goals can be almost impossible," Luke said. They had circled back to their building and were now standing right outside the door to their rooms. Luke didn't reach for his key to let them in though. Instead he paused and looked at Payson, his eyes holding hers.

"Almost impossible?" she asked, feeling that his comment had not been only about Emily and Damon.

Luke held her gaze and then leaned down to brush a kiss across her forehead. "Almost impossible is not the same as impossible."