A/N: Fanfiction's being a bum.
Disclaimer: I don't own CM.
JJ felt that familiar flutter of excitement as the plane touched down on the runway in Kauai. Having started Thanksgiving-Christmas vacation just a few days earlier, she, Will, Henry, and Meilani were back in Hawaii for the surf competition.
Meilani had thankfully slept the majority of the way from DC. The rest of the time, Will had been smitten with her, entertaining her with toys, and various little hand tricks.
As they lugged their bags and JJ's surfboard off the arrivals belt, exiting the airport, JJ felt more relieved than ever to escape DC, even if it was only for a week.
xxx
"Ok, here at Turtle Bay today, in our Division C group, we have, in black, Rebecca Hampton, in pink, Sara Gregson, in yellow, Monique Friad, in orange, Zoe Madson, in white, Jessica Court, and in blue, Jennifer Jareau. All these ladies are amateur competitors, but from the entry videos and tryouts, we're expecting a tough competition today!" the announcer called out.
Bethany stood beside Will, Alana at her other side. They were all ramped up, waiting to see what JJ would pull out in competition.
"The girls will be allowed to catch ten waves per heat, and will be scored on their best two waves, which will be added up for the final score...and we've got Zoe, in orange, paddling into her first wave!"
Will watched as the surfer, Zoe, pulled a series of snaps and carves, before going over the top of the wave to finish off.
"And the judges have given Zoe's wave a 7.2. Great start for the surfer in orange!"
JJ paddled determinedly, just taking the inside off of Rebecca. All her training with Morgan, who was her surf coach as well as self defence, had really paid off. He had trained her exceptionally well in beating out paddle battles with one arm.
Taking the drop, JJ felt great as she drew out her bottom turn, pulling a huge snap off the top, spraying water over Rebecca, who was padding behind the wave.
"Big snap off the top for Jennifer! Nice technique as she carves under the lip...she draws her bottom turn again, and...hooks it one more time!"
JJ rose up over the wave, dropping back down onto her board as she paddled back out to the line-up.
"The judges have given Jennifer a 6.5! Not a bad start for her!"
The competition went on, heat after heat, until it came to the final heat for the amateur division. JJ had caught a bunch of waves, and had easily made it into the last heat.
"I'm proud o' you, cher. You're doin' great!" Will said as she walked up onto the beach for the ten minute break.
"JJ, you're doing awesome. Much better than my first comp with one arm," Bethany laughed. JJ grinned.
"It's all thanks to Derek. He's a tough trainer. Otherwise, I would never had beat out half those battles for a wave," she explained, taking a swig of water to try and get rid of the taste of salt from her throat.
"Ok, for the final heat, we have, Zoe and Monique tied for first with an 8.6! Jessica is in second with a 7.2, Jennifer in third with a 6.5, Sara in fourth with a 5.4, and Rebecca in fifth with a 5.1. Let's see just how much that might change as we head into the final stage of the competition!"
After a strong start, JJ had managed to hold tight. When Zoe scored a 9.1, bumping her into first, and JJ into fourth, JJ saw her chance to get back, spying a nice wave headed for her. Turning at the same time as Jessica, she paddled determinedly, feeling the pull of gravity as she placed her hand flat on the stringer and stood up.
"Jennifer's dropped into a solid wave there! Nice carve off the lip...and a low 360!"
JJ spun the board again, this time dropping back to the bottom with the board facing out towards sea. Cutting a turn the way Morgan had showed, she hooked up a large snap off the top, before diving over the top into the cool salty water.
"The judges give JJ an 8.7, which bumps her back into third place ahead of Jessica, as this competition comes to a close, here, at Turtle Bay!"
JJ was exhausted, but happy with the result as she walked back up onto the beach, hugging Will and Bethany in turn. Alana also hugged her, careful not to squish little Meilani, who was nestled comfortably in the pro surfer's arms.
"You did a great job, well done!" Bethany gushed. JJ nodded, trying to catch her breath.
"Wow, I'm tired," she managed to say. Will laughed, putting his arm around her, and taking Henry's hand as they walked up to where the final results would be announced.
"In third place, with a final score of 15.2, we have Jennifer Jareau!" the announcer said loudly. JJ smiled as she took the trophy from the awarder's hand. Will wolf-whistled, making her laugh.
"In second place, with a final score of 17.1, we have Monique Friad...and in first, with a final score of 17.7, we have Zoe Madson!"
Everyone clapped and cheered as Zoe took her trophy, waving it around a bit as her friends and family made their proud support known.
"This was a great start to competition from all these ladies. We only hope they continue to compete in the future!"
As JJ, Monique, and Zoe hopped off the podium, JJ tapped Zoe on the shoulder. "Hey, Zoe. Well done. You were great out there"
Zoe smiled. "Thanks. You're not too shabby yourself. And considering you have one arm, well, you were brilliant in my standards," she replied warmly. JJ smiled, waving as she headed back over to where her proud supporters were waiting.
xxx
"So, how did you like that, cher?" Will asked, sitting on the counter while JJ showered.
"It was actually a lot more fun than I expected it to be. You know, it's hard, and really competitive, but I like competitive. I really liked it," JJ replied as she rinsed shampoo out of her hair. Will grinned.
"Is that 'cause o' your soccer days?"
"Possibly," JJ laughed as she rubbed conditioner through her hair. A whole day in the salt water had left her hair feeling like straw.
After rinsing out the conditioner, and changing into her pyjamas, JJ sat in the V of Will's legs while he gently worked the tangles out of her hair. Henry was sound asleep, exhausted from the excitement of watching Mommy surf. Meilani was also sound asleep, sighing every now and then.
JJ held her trophy in her hand. She ran her thumb over the gold plaque that stated 'Turtle Bay Women's Amateur Surfing: 3rd Place'. The figure on the top was posed in a tube ride, arms out to the side.
"You did good today, cher. For your first comp, that was an amazin' finish. I'm proud o' you," Will said softly, brushing her hair back from her neck and kissing her neck softly. JJ sighed with pleasure, leaning into his touch. When the kisses turned feverish, she stopped him.
"Henry-"
"Is lost in his dreams. We'll be super quiet," Will whispered, taking the trophy from her hand and placing it on the bedside table.
Early Years
My parents are incredible people. They've always supported me, no matter what. Dad was the one who inspired me, and taught me to surf. Mom was the one who helped me figure out a way to get into college. A lot of the things I do, and who I am, comes directly from my parents. They both worked very hard to get to where they are today, and that state of mind inspired me to strive for a scholarship when my grades slipped too far to get into college.
I was born in Pennsylvania in July of 1980, into a family of four. I had two older siblings, Jackson, my brother, who was five when I came along, and Jordan, my older sister, who was seven.
I grew up in a fairly normal, loving family. Despite the fact that my sister and I fought to no end once I figured out how to yank her hair hard enough, we all loved each other. To outsiders, we seemed dysfunctional. At some times, we were, like when my mom and dad forgot to tell each other their daily routines when they had to switch for a day, and I ended up waiting an hour at school. But we took it all day by day, and made sure it was obvious that we loved each other.
My mom and dad met In Los Angeles, on Manhattan Beach, in 1969. Dad was surfing, while Mom was sitting with her friends, admiring that 'surfer with a rockin' bod' (because he's my dad, I don't see it, but I let Mom believe what she wants). When Dad got out of the water, Mom got the guts to go up and introduce herself.
A day later, they went on their first date.
A year later, Dad proposed.
A year after that, they got married.
By this time, it was 1971. They moved to East Allegheny near Christmas of that year, in search of a quiet, uninterrupted life. And they found it. They lived in peace for a year before Jordie was born, and two years after that, Jack made the 'perfect' (yeah, right) addition to their family.
When I was about six years old, Mom and Dad took us all on a vacation to Santa Barbara during our summer break. When Dad went surfing, I was just fascinated by the sport. I begged him to teach me. He offered to teach all of us, but Jordie, being thirteen, was more interested in tanning, and Jack preferred to stick to his bodyboard.
Mom and Dad set about showing me how to stand up on a surfboard. When Dad pushed me into my first wave, even though I was only little, I knew that I wanted to surf for a long time, no matter what I ended up doing as I grew up.
It took me four years before I could catch waves on my own. It's not as easy as you think, especially when you're about 4 foot tall with arms that are probably too short for your body. Paddling needs a lot of arm power, something I didn't have until I was about nine. I was just too small, and too skinny for the needs of surfing. Dad always did say I needed some meat on my bones.
In 1991, we were preparing to go on another vacation to Santa Barbara, when tragedy struck our family. Jordie committed suicide, rocking our family to the core. Being only eleven years old, I didn't fully understand the depth of what Jordie had done, but I knew that it wasn't right. All I could understand was that she had killed herself.
As I grew older, and began to understand in more detail the full extent of my sister's death, I turned to surfing to clear my mind. Anytime we were on the coast, I was in the waves. If we were in Pennsylvania, I turned to belting the crap out of a soccer ball. My grades began to slip as my mind grasped the full details, the full horror of Jordie's suicide. I wanted nothing more than to escape East Allegheny, to escape the rumours, whispers, rejection, and stares I copped everywhere. People who were new to town only knew me as 'that girl who's sister killed herself', despite the fact that it had been nearly four years.
I realised that I wasn't going anywhere if I couldn't get into college, so I concentrated all my energy on soccer, and earned a scholarship to Pittsburgh.
It was the escape I had dreamed of.
After listening in on one of my now colleagues, David Rossi, give a lecture in the library, I decided that the FBI was my goal. I applied the next fall, and got a position as the media liaison in Quantico's Behavioural Analysis Unit.
And the rest is history.
A/N: I felt that that chapter was rushed. There'll be more indepth stuff on JJ's background later.
Please review!
SQ215 xxx