Hi. New chapter which I've creatively titled "Nationals 2012" I hope whoever is still reading it enjoys it.

A big thanks to Luv2Liv who has successfully prodded me into posting this (and I do really appreciate it!)

Also iargyrop who continues to provide invaluable support/reviews! Thanks!

This chapter: Nationals!

Lauren Tanner had the distinctly unpleasant feeling in her stomach. It had been there since before they'd arrived in St. Louis and continued now they were finally there. Nonetheless, Sasha had forbidden her from excess training. What they had locked in before they left was what she was competing. They'd done a work out that morning and now all there was to do, was to watch the first day of the men's competition. Payson and Kaylie had opted out. Payson had physio and Kaylie didn't provide an excuse, but Lauren's Dad volunteered to escort her, to everyone's shock.

They travelled over with Jack, whose jaw was clenched and whose usual politeness seemed thinner than usual.

Max's family were there, his parents cheerful enough and recognisable from the photos Lauren had seen, but it was the other two groups, clearly marked by the empty seats in between that made Lauren stop and stare. Somehow, she hadn't thought of this.

She recovered quickly. "Mrs Monroe, how nice to see you again!" The little girl beside the formally dressed woman grinned back broadly.

"Dad, this is Carter's grandmother, Mrs Monroe, and her granddaughter, Edwina"

"It's a pleasure." They shook, with Steve Tanner's eyes narrowed. On principle, he disliked everything to do with Carter Anderson.

"And this is Mr Anderson and Luke, and Jake. Carter's father and brothers."

Her father frowned but before he could comment Lauren rushed on

"and this is Jack, Austin's partner and my Dad, Steve Tanner and I'm Lauren, nice to meet you, I've seen photos." She hurriedly introduced herself to Carter's immediate family which she'd known were coming, but didn't expect to see in the Rock box.

Carter's father nodded in recognition and Lauren was blown away by the similarity in physical expression, if not in personality.

"Carter said he got you tickets." Lauren spoke "but I didn't realise you were sitting in the Rock area."

His agent moved us." Mr Anderson spoke up gruffly.

"She's awesome." Luke joined in. "hooked us up completely."

And moved them beyond the range of the media, Lauren noted.

"Did she say when she'd be back?" Lauren questioned, desperately hoping to change the subject.

The managed through their agent, the weather in Florida (with the Spencers), how Luke was finding school (abandoned as soon as college was introduced by Mrs Monroe) and then finally they were announcing the athletes.

"So what are his chances of making the top five?" Mr Anderson asked, leaning forward "really?"

"He might." Lauren answered "Austin, Nicky Russo and Jon Horton are the podium favourites, but it's not his goal, anyway."

Before Mr Anderson could reply, Luke cut in "it's like a football team, Pops. You don't want the five best players if they're all quarter backs."

"They basically need to stock a team with three people capable of performing each apparatus." Lauren summarised "Carter's strengths are floor, vault and, sometimes, high bar. He wants to finish top three on floor and vault and top five on high bar. Top ten on the other three and somewhere on the leader board"

Mrs Monroe interjected "I read that you need to finish in the top eight to be considered seriously."

"Um, sort of." Lauren answered "yes and no. It would help. It doesn't have to be top eight but the more solid routines you can perform on the weak apparatuses the better. It's in case someone gets injured or something. It depends how many all-arounders they take."

"And who do you think they are?" Mrs Monroe leant forward.

"Honestly? Austin's a lock. He's… brilliant. It would take an act of god not to send him to London. Nicholas Russo and Jon Horton are pretty solid too, Nicky's been placing second in basically everything the last three years and Jon Horton's fantastic on rings, high bar, vault… plus he's got international experience. Unfortunately they're Carter's strengths as well. Which means there's probably only two spots everyone else is going for and we're weak on pommel. Basically cross your fingers Nicky and Austin nail their pommel routines because he can't help much there. It's as much about what they do badly as what Carter does well."

Like the girls would be, on the first day they had been segregated into groups as gyms, allowing their coaches to best stay with their gymnasts. Carter, Austin and Max had ended up with the Illinois gymnasts and a lone eighteen year-old freshman senior called Jeffery Marks. They'd started on vault and to Lauren's immense satisfaction, Carter killed it. Even though he was competing his lower vault first, for Carter it was a feather in his cap and he followed it up by the rougher but still solid triple he and Sasha had been worried about. No doubt that was completely wiped from the crowd's mind, though, the second Austin hit the springboard for his first vault. Lauren knew he had it in the bag.

They continued through parallel bars where Max worked his way through a routine so methodically it was almost mind boggling.

Carter managed to stick his, though stuck in between the two masters, his lack of finesse shone through.

Then it was Austin and once again, Lauren could just tell. He didn't leave any questions for the selectors or the judges to ask, that was for sure.

Then came high bar. It was going to well, until all of a sudden, mid-Colman, there was a second of bad timing and Carter hit mat, hard.

He lay there for a second, long enough for Lauren's hand to float up to her mouth. Long enough for some enterprising person at NBC to cut to a camera angle of her (though she wouldn't find that out until later). He got up slowly and waved Sasha off before remounting the bars and finishing his routine. The whole thing seemed laboured, like Lauren's heart.

"He's okay." Jack told her. "He's just a bit shaken. It was a hard fall"

The ones who looked more shaken than Carter were his family.

"He's got to compete floor next." Lauren stated aloud.

After Carter, Austin made his bar routine look easy. Another top routine on what seemed like a perfect day for the gold medallist.

Down on the floor, between apparatuses, they could see Carter wedged between Austin, Sasha and an NGO doctor.

Finally the doctor stood and nodded, and to Lauren's relief, Carter did a light warm up alongside Austin and Max. Afterwards, while Max had headphones in, Austin and Carter were deep in conversation.

Finally he came to the mat and saluted.

His first pass was wobbly but after that it was like he flew. At the end not only did Lauren stand and cheer, but so did a fair chunk of the stadium.

"That was good?" Carter's older brother asked.

"That was very good." Lauren informed him, the relief clear in her voice. "Oh thank god."

She slumped back into the seat in relief.

To her surprise her Dad leant over. "That was alright." He admitted. She held back a laugh.

Lauren kept an eye on Russo, on the other side of the arena, but then once again it was Austin.

"Wow." Lauren muttered to Jack. He man was leaning so forward on the edge of his seat that Lauren had more of a view of his business shirt covered back. He subconsciously twisted the watch resting at his wrist.

As the crowd held their breath, Austin threw tumble after tumble of pure skill until a big finish, a relieved salute and a fist pump into the air to the delight of the heaving crowd.

When they announced the score, it was Austin by two tenths for what truly was a remarkable performance. Lauren watched the boys exchange their bro hugs and smiled at her boyfriend, who had not a hint of remorse or jealousy on his face.

Maybe that's why, when it came to pommel, he went uncharacteristically well. Uncharacteristically well for Carter wasn't in the same league as the top of the table, but for once he didn't look like he was being tortured on the apparatus. That said, he had to compete after Max who despite not hitting the best routine he'd ever done after a slight over rotation, still looked like he'd been taking as stroll as he dismounted.

Then again, Austin. He eyed up the horse, chalked up and got down to business. This time Lauren joined Jack on the very type of her seat. She tilted her head and eyed the gymnast critically until he completed a very large dismount.

She frowned and checked the scoreboard.

"What's he ranked on p-bars?" She checked with Jack. He just raised an eyebrow.

From there it was a done deal. Carter managed sixth on rings, and, despite his fall, 7th in the all-around but there would be exactly one story that night.

Austin Tucker places first on 6 events.

The night ended quickly enough after that. There was a difference between staying up late to compensate for the night competition the next day and over tiring yourself.

Lauren had just enough time to shake off Carter's family ("he'll call you in the morning, I'm sure") and visit her boyfriend, who was one giant aching mess.

"Are you alright?" She glanced him over as though she had x-ray vision.

Carter muffled a huge yawn that turned into a grimace when the trainer adjusted his back. "yeah. I'm fine, babe, really. Just…" She knew the feeling. The bone deep post competition exhaustion when there wasn't the buoyancy of the win to carry you through.

Eventually he was left to lie still for ten more minutes, before he'd have to get ready for media.

"Are you upset?" Lauren asked. She honestly couldn't tell whether he just felt that, or the bone deep exhaustion of post competition.

He shook his head "I'm good" he told her "I just want to sleep, you know?"

"Well let me tell you how M.J. decided it'd be a good idea to put both sides of your family in the Rock box…"

- chapter break -

The next day, Lauren abstained from Carter's family activities, though having exchanged phone numbers with little brother Luke, was entertained by his running commentary of lunch with his new grandma and his father. He clearly had none of Carter's stoic tendencies. Instead she had breakfast with her Dad, attended morning training and then had an awkward lunch with Kaylie.

It had leaked to the Denver Elite club that Kaylie was leaving after nationals and she was being iced pretty severely.

Payson and Lauren reassured her as best they could.

Then there was press and warm-up and attempting to focus and relax when her whole skin was itching.

No matter how many times Sasha repeated the plan, it still sent a sickly feeling through her. She hated not being in control. Watching Kaylie throw her Amanar in warm up only made her feel worse. It felt so bad it made her regret not using the lunch to psyche Kaylie out, but Kaylie wouldn't be her main competition…

Welcome back to Day 2 of the 2012 Gymnastics championships. Already we've had a hair raising first day of some of the best men's gymnastics in the world. Today, the women compete. Let me tell you how this works. As it's an Olympic year, each gymnast will have the opportunity to complete four routines on each day, across two days, for a total of eight scores which are added together to create an all-around score.

So far in the men's competition, Austin Tucker is dominating. He posted the top score on every apparatus, cementing his status as the favourite to win in London. He was followed by Jonathon Horton, Nicky Russo and Tim McNeil. They'll be back tomorrow and will be joined by Carter Anderson, Max Spencer, Jamie Craig and Hu Fan in attempting to unseat the champion on any single event.

But tonight, the first day of the women's competition, and this will be a nail biter. Every member of the world champion team is competing; along with a host of new seniors. This should be the one to watch.

- chapter break -

- chapter break -

Well as day one of nationals wraps up here in St. Louis we've had some surprises. New senior Wendy Capshaw, has a slim lead over Lauren Tanner, and competition for podium spots is tight, with the top 5 spots all within half a point of each other, and top performances by Capshaw, Tanner, Kaylie Cruz, Beth Atchinson and Kelly Parker.

Capshaw had an outstanding day, hitting all of her routines, and I have to say, it was rough watching Lauren Tanner. She's such a determined athlete and she took on such a huge task, two new routines and a new vault. It's no surprise she struggled though I have to give her credit, she was determined to land her routines and she didn't let her mistakes rattle her.

We talked with coach Sasha Belov earlier and he said the key to Lauren's gymnastics success was her spacial awareness while in the air. She might not be the most powerful tumbler or the most graceful gymnast out there, but in his words, she can stick anything. That's what prevented the mishaps she suffered today, turning into near disasters and kept her towards the top of the leader board.

Now, we haven't heard why Lauren has such new routines and I can say, I didn't see a huge difference in the difficulty. Why change it? I don't know. We'll have to see how Lauren Tanner goes tomorrow, but it's safe to say, the performance today wouldn't have earned Lauren a gold medal in Tokyo and it won't earn her one in London.

Let's talk about our older gymnasts shall we? Kaylie Cruz looked great today, and despite a very rough vault, came quite close to challenging Lauren Tanner for silver.

That's right. It wasn't a great vault, Kaylie clearly hasn't gotten control of it yet, but it did have a huge difficulty and that catapulted her up the leader board. When combined with her fantastic floor and beam routines, Cruz is looking like a real contender this year. It is great to see her looking like she's enjoying gymnastics again. She ended the day on beam and the crowd went crazy!

Kelly Parker, in fifth place, was just tremendous, as always, on vault and bars. You just can't count her out, and of course, Payson Keeler; Another beautiful floor routine and lovely routines on beam and bars, but I just don't see her having the start values to really challenge the leaders.

We should also talk about Beth Atchinson. After being left off the Worlds team last year, she's really lifted her game, proving herself a very strong power tumbler and vaulter. She actually reminded me of Shawn Johnson today. Great energy, great skills, great to watch.

And of course, our leader at the end of day 1, Wendy Capshaw, making her senior debut, last year's junior champion. She came out here at her first meet as a senior and, her bars routine was, I think, my favourite of the day. If she can put in a repeat performance tomorrow, this could be our new national champion.

"I hate the world." Lauren proclaimed, slumped on her bed "Oh god, the press is going to be awful."

"You don't get to complain." Payson insisted "You're in second. Were they serious? One apparatus! I was almost the best all-around gymnast this country's ever seen." She froze, waiting for disagreement but then none came. "Sorry."

"No, you're right." Lauren stated "You were awesome."

They were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Kaylie?" Payson stated surprised.

"Hi. I was wondering if you'd mind if I hung out with you guys."

Payson and Lauren exchanged eye contact before letting Kaylie in.

"What have you been up to?" Lauren sat up, focusing her attention.

"Oh, Dad organised some press. The usual stuff. I was surprised you weren't there."

"M.J. wants me out of the press until I actually win the title."

"Are you watching coverage?" Kaylie asked curiously, missing or ignoring Lauren's inflammatory comment.

"Yep. Highlights."

"So does Marty know your here?" Lauren had to ask.

"No." Kaylie blushed "but it's not like I'm not going to be a part of the Rock soon anyway."

"Right." Lauren stated a little coldly.

She was interrupted by Payson's involuntary "Wow" as they replayed Wendy's bar routine before cutting to an interview.

"What is up with Little Miss Sunshine one and two?" Lauren grumbled

"Beth and Wendy Capshaw?" Payson confirmed.

"Yeah, I hate juniors." She grumbled, ignoring that most of the time she actually didn't mind Beth.

Kaylie joined in. "And Beth, acting all coy and innocent in the media interviews. Wendy was even worse, oh, I'm just the girl next door."

Lauren very deliberately didn't point out that Kaylie was responsible for the same stunt, as was Kelly.

The knock at the door startled them both and neither Lauren nor Kaylie moved.

"Fine." Payson groaned, opening the door to Carter and then turning to look at Lauren. Carter was unusually well put together causing Lauren's mind to leap forward.

Kaylie scowled at the boy, causing Lauren to flounce in the corridor.

"I wanted to say you were great tonight." He told her, tugging her close.

"Thanks." She immediately changed the topic "how was dinner?"

"My grandmother invited M.J. who actually came."

Lauren stifled a laugh. "Sorry, that's not funny."

"Actually it is." He told her. "and it was very entertaining. Plus, she totally kept my grandmother and father under control. They actually started arguing about my career. Needless to say my father wasn't pleased about the new gym."

"Screw him."

"Lauren!"

"What? It's your dream. It's not like you were asking him for money!"

"Right." He smiled fondly.

"Ready for tomorrow?"

Carter nodded determinedly.

-chapter break-

Day two of the men's was nerve wracking, which was just what Lauren needed to take her mind off her own competition woes. The media hadn't gotten the message. They kept attempting to interview her during the competition until M.J. made it clear she'd talk about the men's competition and nothing more. Still, she was one of their favourites to pan the camera too whenever they got a second.

Being split up by rankings would make it more difficult to keep track of gymnasts as well. She almost missed Max's pommel horse, which was remarkable in its sheer customariness. He just… performed it.

She almost shook her head in disbelief before turning her attention to Austin on rings. He was near flawless and from the look on his face, he knew it too. Not cockiness either, just… quiet satisfaction.

It was all Jon Horton and Nicky Russo could do to stay within reach but it would take a disaster to let them close. Austin was on roll and nothing would stop him.

The striking difference between him and all the other gymnasts was remarkable.

Carter, though, faced a different challenge.

He'd started out well enough. While Rings was neither a strong or truly weak event, Austin and Sasha's combined tutorage shone through for a very decent score that would keep him in higher all-around range and could even score him a top five finish on the apparatus with his combined rings score.

But after rings he really had three events that counted. First was vault, and as they'd planned from the beginning (unless he was having the meet of his life) he'd begun with his easier vault, playing it safe for the all-around score.

His Tsuk was so solid he could've landed it even if he did have a concussion. His newer Yurchenko triple less so, and Austin had told her (Carter had not) that there had been talk of using his reliable two and a half for the event title after his nasty fall yesterday.

But they went with the triple for one of the messier executions Lauren had ever seen Carter do in competition. But Carter seemed to shake it off and move on fast enough.

Then came parallel bars, another uphill battle and then, high bar.

Austin had come over with Sasha from his own event. Sasha was run ragged but this needed particular attention.

Lauren watched intently, wishing she could hear what was being said to her boyfriend. Even from the distance she could see he was nervous, that he wasn't speaking. Austin was speaking enough for both of them though, and right before they went up to the podium, the two did some kind of fist bump bro hug that had Sasha rolling his eyes. The camera caught it, but the camera loved the bromance.

Lauren knew how important this was, even if the crowd didn't. He had to prove himself useful. He had to prove himself useful on more than vault and floor.

Needless to say, she was leaning forward and on the edge of her seat.

"Come on." She whispered.

Carter Anderson now, on the high bar, the youngest member of the world championship team, protégé of Austin Tucker and Sasha Belov, as you can see. He took a nasty fall off this apparatus on day 1. Recovered well, but it'll be interesting to see how he goes tody.

What's interesting about Anderson is just how tall he is. While it makes his gymnastics look that much more impressive, it also makes them that much more difficult, especially on the high bar.

Well Tucker's protégé he might be, but they've got very different styles right… I love this. He's so tall he just reaches up and grabs the bar, one handed and he's got this huge swing…

Now, these Tkatchevs, you won't see them in Tucker's routine, one, two, very nicely done. Now through the pirouettes, slight over balance, a very easy mishap with his height… and into that L-grip. A very well-executed recovery. He's doing very well… look at that power. It seems like he has all the time in the world, until snap, you can see his body just be pulled around. What a superb routine, just the dismount… and well-done. Doesn't he look happy, and so does Austin Tucker!

Lauren flopped back into the chair, ignoring the look the various Anderson's were giving her.

"So that's good, right?" Jake checked.

"Yes. That's very, very good."

She had every confidence in him on the remaining floor, and judging from Carter's relieved smile, so did he.

- chapter break -

At the end of day 2, Lauren all but threw her gear in her bag. When Sasha approached her she brushed him off.

"I know, okay? I know. Think of the plan. Doesn't mean I can't be pissed off!"

"Alright" he held up his hands in surrender "but Lauren, try and remember that you won."

As we wrap up day four here in St. Louis, it's been a day of surprising, daring, gymnastics.

That's right. Lauren Tanner joins Austin Tucker as the new national champion, but I have to tell you, it was a close one. I thought Wendy Capshaw just might do it. Going into the final round I believed Wendy, if not Beth Atchinson, could manage to steal gold, but once again, Lauren Tanner's beam managed to squeeze her over the line. Despite a few wobbles, she still managed a 16.805, and I'll be honest, that just seems unfair. She has a huge technical advantage that means, barring a fall, she really had this in the bag on difficulty alone.

I disagree. Yes, Lauren's start value was a huge advantage, but one she earned. Just watching her routine, it's clear just how much more difficult it is than anything else anyone is doing. She deserves the score, and what's more, she managed to save herself on every apparatus. It could've been a complete disaster, but when it came down to it, she managed to hold those routines together. I want to know is where the Lauren from Tokyo has gone. If she'd been posting those scores today, Wendy Capshaw wouldn't have come close. Her scores on vault, on floor and even on bars haven't been where they have been in the past. This was a bad day for her, and let's be honest here, Wendy Capshaw didn't lose because of Lauren's high start value on beam. She lost because when the moment came, she crumbled. That is why Lauren Tanner is our new national champion.

I'll tell you who I'm impressed with? Beth Atchinson. Now she was just fantastic today; very consistent, placing second overall. With the exception of bars, which is a weak point, she was a standout.

Can we talk about Kaylie Cruz for a moment. This girl, baffles me. Gorgeous floor, amazing beam and then that vault. It was terrifying. I thought she might injure herself. You have to question Marty Walsh on why she was attempting a vault, she clearly wasn't ready to compete.

Well that's the nature of gymnastics these days everyone's chasing higher and higher difficulty scores.

Except Payson Keeler of course, and that'll be what keeps her of the Olympic team.

And can I make one final comment about Emily Kmetko's bar routine…

2012 National Gymnastics Championships – St. Louis. What does this mean for the Olympic Team?

Right now I'm ready to make exactly one prediction:

Lauren Tanner will be on the Olympic Team whether she'll compete on more than one event is unclear, but at this point all I can say is that beam routine still buys a plane ticket.

Beyond that, it's a tight race. Beth Atchinson, Wendy Capshaw, Kelly Parker, Kaylie Cruz, Payson Keeler, Emily Kmetko and Andrea Conway are certainly in the running along with new seniors Sophie Dillon, Jesse Pritchard and maybe even Josephine Li .However if Lauren Tanner continues to underperform on three apparatuses, they'll surely need to stock the team with all around hopes, a huge mark against Parker, Keeler and Kmetko….

- chapter break -

After Nationals, M.J. had scheduled interviews, but for once, Lauren wasn't in the mood. She slogged her way through the necessities and at least managed a grin for the official USATeam page where she conjured words about being honoured and how unbelievably happy she was.

But she felt the bitterness well when she heard the press lord over Austin. He would be story, she knew, and he deserved it as well but she was so angry. For once she felt no post-competition fatigue. She wanted to get back into the gym.

Carter was getting his own share of attention. He hadn't managed to beat Austin in the event titles, but he had been the only one to post a higher score on any apparatus on any day, posting the highest floor score of the event and losing the floor title by just .05.

The media had decided they loved the story, the student chasing after the master, even though it was probably horrifically unfair to the AA-silver medallist, the perpetual silver medallist, who'd managed no less than six podium finishes at Nationals. Then again, Lauren thought, Nicky Russo was kind of an uptight arsehole.

The interviews, to Lauren's relief, were crammed into two days and all via satellite. There would be no New York of L.A. trip this time. Sasha wanted her back in the gym.

She started throwing up her meals again. All of them, and it scared her a little because it wasn't something she intended to do. It wasn't something she planned, but it did allow her to gorge on carbs and then not feel guilty about it. She'd eaten the room service quickly, before Payson could return, and wondered if what she was felling was what addicts hiding addictions felt. She banished the thought as ridiculous immediately. Along with the pastries.

Carter was worried about her, she could tell, and her falling apart on him during sex hadn't helped. After that, she decided she'd need to be a bit more subtle and keep some food down.

They had one more nationals event though, and that was the NGO party.

Knowing Wendy Capshaw would be there was enough to make Lauren paint on a smile along with her red Rimmel lipstick.

Once they got there, however, she found something to smile about. Carter, already satisfied by his day 2 performance, was approached by Marcus McGowan and asked if he had anything preventing overseas travel in March.

Carter had managed a "no."

The NGO official, Lauren's favourite if she was being honest, just nodded and smirked "good. Keep it free" he told the gymnast who had a rapidly expanding grin. He nodded "looking eye-catching as always Lauren, and congratulations again."

She bobbed into a curtsey because she could, just as he left.

Then one of M.J.'s lackeys was grabbing Carter for "quick chat" with someone sure to advance his public profile. Lauren didn't blame them, Carter looked particularly dashing that night. Calvin Klein knew how to make a suit and given how he was wearing it, they'd probably be using him to demonstrate that to the rest of the world soon enough.

Payson was talking with Kaylie, and Lauren didn't want to go near that mess. Deliberate or not, Kaylie would be full of one-liners that would make Lauren want to verbally tear the girl to shreds, especially as everyone heard Alex Cruz repeat over and over how his "little girl" was "one good vault from being the national champion."

Austin was surrounded by sycophants of his own, though Lauren took note of the steadying Jack at his arm. There would be no tail spins by Austin this time.

That just left her, standing there. She could've found someone easily, even standing their unaccompanied was a sure fire way to enter a conversation. She was the national champion, but that wasn't what she wanted. Not that night.

Instead she made a beeline for the door.

Sasha caught her just before she made it out there, with just a raised eyebrow.

"Fresh air." She told him. He jauntily held open the door for her then followed her out.

"Having a good time."

"Can't you tell?" The look on her face was pure malice. The look M.J. liked in magazine articles about her rivalry with Genji Cho.

"It's just a little odd, I would think that the national champion would be celebrating."

She didn't reply which worried Sasha more than anything. Lauren Tanner never had a shortage of things to say.

"We talked about this." Sasha told her "You knew this would happen."

"I didn't think it would be this bad." She mumbled. "I thought, if I won, I don't know. I'd be validated or something."

"You're the national champion. Its time you learned all wins are conditional." Sasha told her "When Kaylie won, it was because Payson fell. When Genji Cho won in Tokyo, it was because you didn't make the all-around final. When we won team gold, it was because we loaded our team with unfair difficulty. Kelly medalled the year before because she had an Amanar… There will always be something, but the point is, you won, Lauren. You're the national champ. Now, you could've competed your old routines, and won, and been celebrated with glowing media reports and a point lead, but the aim is London, you need to beat Genji and Ivanka and all the rest. The whole world. That's the goal, and you'll need to be able to hack more than a few bad comments. I thought you could." Sasha muttered the last part then hid his smirk as Lauren swelled defensively.

"I can hack it." She insisted "But I don't have to like it."

"Good. I'll see you bright and early first day back then." He told her, heading back inside "I'll keep the vultures away for a few minutes."

"Sasha, thank you." She called out "and I do know everyone's just going to be as rough on you."

He nodded solemnly and left her too it.

She was still lost in her thoughts when someone slipped out to join her. She turned, full of fake personality, only to let it fall away.

"Oh" she stated "What do you want?"

"Where's Keeler?" Kelly Parker asked

"Inside somewhere. Do you mind?"

"Have your moment later, Tanner. We have a problem."

"No, it sounds like you have a problem. I'm the national champ."

"Fine, I suppose if you don't want to make the Olympic team…" Kelly shrugged and opened the door, only to have Lauren shove it closed.

"What do you want?"

"Where's Keeler?" Kelly repeated.

Lauren whipped out her cell.

"I already tried that." Kelly informed her "it's off."

"I'm not calling Payson." Lauren told her, before turning back to the phone "M.J. hey, I can't find Payson, do you know where she is?... no, just a friend emergency…. I'm outside on the balcony. I just need Pay for two minutes, then I'll do press. Promise…. Okay...thanks." She turned back to Kelly "M.J.'s sending her out."

"Lauren?" Payson emerged not thirty seconds later. "What's going on?" She baulked at Kelly.

"Kelly Parker wants to talk" Lauren told her

"We're all screwed." Kelly told them "No seriously. Our chances of making the Olympic team just plummeted."

"Mine didn't" Lauren commented mildly "you know, winning the national championship and all that."

"Did you also transform into an adorable fifteen year-old whose injury free history is matched only by your obedience and wiliness to do whatever the national team coach tells you to do."

"Kelly…" Payson asked "What's going on?"

"Seeing how everyone knows about Princess Cruz running back to the Rock, Marty poached Wendy Capshaw. Apparently he's determined to have a chance in the all-round."

"Which apparently doesn't include you." Lauren commented cruelly.

"No Tanner, I'll just have to settle for my vault and bars gold. Can I get to my point?"

"Be my guest."

"The NGO has apparently had enough of the whole gym rivalry thing and they've named a definitive new head coach."

"So?" Lauren's always short patience was at its end

"So, we're all being sent back to the USSR!"

"Alright Kelly, get to the point." Even Payson got a bit short.

"Dmitri Belov is the new national team head coach!" Kelly burst out.

"Oh my god" Lauren groaned

"Yeah" Kelly Parker told them "the only people more screwed than me, are you two"

Family feud may impact Olympic Selection.

The National Championships ended with one last surprise in the National Team make-up. While many have long suspected that the ongoing rivalry between Colorado Clubs The Rock and Denver Elite would result in the National Gymnastics Organisation searching for a third-party coach to lead the team, few expected the selection of Dmitri Belov

The Rivalry

Split between Sasha Belov (Rock) and Marty Walsh (Denver Elite) are a large percentage of the Olympic contenders for both the men's and women's team, and all the biggest names, but the pair have been rivals since the Sydney Olympics when Belov beat Walsh for all around gold. Their renewed rivalry began two years ago when Marty Walsh (then coach of current national team members Lauren Tanner, Payson Keeler, Kaylie Cruz, Emily Kmetko, Nicholas Russo and Carter Anderson) defected from the Rock to Denver elite, taking current national champ (but then low profile) Lauren Tanner with him. The Rock recruited legendary Sasha Belov, who poached Lauren Tanner right back. Marty promptly poached National Champ Kelly Parker from her Texas gym and then Nicky Russo from the Rock.

Aside from the high profile signings of Austin Tucker and then Max Spencer, the pair publically appeared willing to work together (with the exception of a brawl at a national team practice). Together they joint-led the US to World Championship success. However, when a storm destroyed the Rock in Boulder and neighbouring Denver Elite was asked to open its doors, conflict was inevitable. Kelly Parker and Lauren Tanner were rumoured to have to be scheduled so as to not come into any contact and the line between gyms blurred.

When the new Rock, owned by a consortium of gymnasts and coaches, was announced, there were two high-profile names missing. Kaylie Cruz and Emily Kmetko had defected to Denver Elite and their former coach. Then, the day following nationals, Kaylie did as about face and returned to Belov's camp. She was immediately replaced in the Denver line-up by all-around silver medallist, Wendy Capshaw.

Dmitri Belov – The Icon

Few can forget the image of the dynamic Dimtri Belov, leading Romania to Olympic glory. Even more notable, however, is his ongoing feud with his son, Rock coach Sasha Belov, begun following his parents' separation when the still young Belov (who had dual citizenship) elected to compete and win gold for Great Britain over Romania. It's not known whether Belov's relationship with his father will help or hinder his gymnast. Certainly, Marty Walsh doesn't see it as an advantage for the Rock. He declined protesting the appointment.

Both Marty Walsh and Sasha Belov will stay on as floor coaches but have no role in the team selection process.

Dmitri Belov's first task will be to appoint the two competitors and one exhibition gymnast to compete at the American Cup in just a month followed by sending three members of the senior national team to the Pacific Rims. First they'll meet at Denver Elite for a national team training.

On the men's side, perhaps as a consolation for his father being made the Women's national team coach, and Denver Elite the National Team Gym, Sasha Belov becomes the sole men's head coach with Marty Walsh dropped down to floor coach status. However, with the Men's team gymnasts traditionally retaining more independence, as well as the NGO making It clear Sasha Belov will have no role in the selection procedure on the team, it still a sharp demotion for the coach of National Champion Lauren Tanner.

- chapter break -

So that's nationals, a short chapter I know but it seemed like a good place to end it. Also, where have all the reviewers gone? I'm feeling a bit unloved (or rather, I'm wondering if I've started doing wrong).

The next chapter/chapters (I'll split it I think) will cover the lead up to trials as the girls jockey for position. THarsh realities, both personal and professional, have to be accepted by Payson, Carter has to prove himself, Kaylie is… Kaylie, and Lauren faces two new professional challenges in the form of Dmitri Belov and Wendy Capshaw.

That's next time… any requests?