"This might be the worst idea I've ever had," Payson mumbled as she locked her bedroom door.

Sasha pushed off the hallway wall grabbing his bag from the floor, "I think it's a great idea," he said, "Honestly, I think it's about time you four got together again, and you're much stronger as a team than individuals."

She smiled at him tightly, "Maybe so, but we're also not exactly as close as we used to be. This night could be a complete disaster."

Sasha moved closer, his hands resting lightly on her hips, "Somehow I don't think that's going to happen. Somehow I think you're going to handle it all beautifully and this team, our team is going to come out the stronger for it."

She leaned her forehead against his chest, the cotton of his t-shirt soft against her skin, "Your faith in me is really frightening sometimes."

His hand crept from her waist up to cup her cheek gently. She looked up at him and he smiled, "I've told you before, Payson. You're a leader. Like it or not, those girls, they listen to you and tonight might be your last chance to unite your teammates before the Olympics."

She laughed softly, her eyes fluttering closed as she shook her head, "You used to be a lot better at these pep talks."

His jaw dropped in mock outrage, "Oh really?" he asked, leaning in as she wound her arms around his neck.

"Yeah," she said, her smile fading only as his lips covered hers. It was a sweet kiss, just a simple caress of his lips and hers, both knowing they didn't have time for anything else. Payson pulled away. "You have to go. They'll be here soon and I just de-Sasha'd the whole house. You standing here when they arrive might ruin the effect."

"I'll be at the trailer," he said, leaning in for another quick peck, but lingering for a moment before she pulled back, glaring at him. "Okay, okay, I'm going."

He jogged down the stairs and she heard the front door shut, the engine to his truck revving to a purr and then the noise fading down the street before she moved from the spot. She sighed and went downstairs to get the living room ready.

Despite Sasha's words of encouragement, she still felt like this could all blow up in her face. She didn't know what possessed her, but things were pretty shaky at the Rock today. MJ's mere presence in the gym set everyone on edge.

"What's with Lauren today?" Payson asked, as she watched Lauren move through her beam routine, rushed, barely focusing.

Emily blinked, as if unsure Payson was addressing her and then shrugged, "I don't know, she was fine this morning."

Then they heard a loud thud from the bars and they both whirled around to see Kaylie lying face first on the mat. She slammed it in frustration, "Damn it."

Payson bit her lip as she turned again to watch Lauren simply leap off the beam, not even attempting her dismount. She watched Lauren walk away, her mind obviously not on her training before looking toward Emily who was staring into space, then back to Kaylie who was walking away from the bars to the chalk bowl, violently rechalking her grips. Her eyes moved past Kaylie towards where MJ was setting up her camera angles for tomorrow's filming and interviews. At this rate the upcoming week would be a complete and utter catastrophe.

"Emily," she said suddenly, pulling her friend's attention from whenever it had been moments before. "Why don't you come over tonight? I'm thinking that it's been a while since we've all hung out."

Emily raised her eyebrows, "All of us?" she asked, looking towards Lauren and Kaylie.

Payson nodded. Her instincts, the ones she depended upon, the ones that had very rarely lead her astray were telling her this was the right thing to do, "Lauren," she said, as the beam specialist walked past, "do you want to come over tonight?"

Lauren stopped and looked at her like she had ten heads for a moment. Her eyes pierced into Payson's obviously looking for her motives. She must have been satisfied with whatever she saw.

"Sure. I'll bring Breakfast Club," she said and Payson felt a small smile creep over her face. The first time they had a sleepover, just after Payson moved to Boulder, she'd brought Breakfast Club to Lauren's house. Neither she nor Kaylie had ever seen it. That Lauren remembered was kind of sweet.

"Breakfast Club?" Kaylie asked as she stopped halfway to the bars.

Payson nodded and smiled, "Yeah, slumber party tonight at my house. Just us."

Kaylie looked away and the others followed her eyes across the gym to where Austin was training on the floor. Payson looked back at her just as her eyes shifted back towards them, "Sounds good," she said with a shrug before moving back towards the bars.

Payson was jolted out of her thoughts when the doorbell rang. It was an odd senstation, having to answer the door. For the most part the only people who came to her house were Austin and Sasha and both of them simply let themselves in. She opened the door to see Lauren and Emily.

"You came together?" Payson asked, seeing only Lauren's car in her driveway.

"We're 'sisters' now remember? We live in the same house," Lauren said and stepped past Payson into the house. The last time Lauren had been inside was just before they'd left for Istanbul. Payson had combed the house for evidence of Sasha and put away anything remotely associated with him, but she still had a sinking feeling in her stomach. Suddenly those instincts that urged her to do this were annoyingly silent.

Emily smiled at her and shrugged, following Lauren in. Payson saw Kaylie pulling up in her convertible, and smiled as the last of their group scaled the stairs.

"Hey Pay," she said, practically radiating false cheerfulness.

"Hi Kaylie," she said, stepping back, allowing Kaylie past her.

They moved into the living room where Lauren and Emily were standing and for a moment all four of them stood there awkwardly, just looking at each other. It was the first time they were all alone in a room together in a very long time.

Payson sighed. This could be a long night. "I figured we could order from Celery, there are menus on the table," she said, "Anyone want anything to drink?"

"Water," all three girls responded together and oddly it broke the tension.

"I'll help you, Pay," Kaylie said and she nodded.

"Lauren, can you put the movie in?" Payson asked and Lauren pulled the dvd box out of her bag with a smile.

"Breakfast Club," Emily said. "What's that?"

"You've never seen Breakfast Club?" Lauren asked and as Emily shook her head, she clucked her tongue in disapproval.

Kaylie and Payson made their way into the kitchen. Payson moved to cabinet to retrieve four glasses.

"Look Pay, I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything about what happened last night between me and Austin," Kaylie said.

Payson turned to look at her friend, her brow furrowed. "Something happened? The last I heard you guys weren't speaking."

Kaylie bit her lip and looked annoyed. She shook her head with a huff. "You mean he didn't tell you?"

She set the glasses down on the counter. "I didn't see him after the wedding. He got a room at the hotel. Sasha said that he was drunk. Next time I saw him was this morning at the Rock." She suddenly had a sinking feeling in her stomach and she looked towards Kaylie quickly. "Kaylie, did you and Austin…"

"No," Kaylie cut in, "no, we didn't, look it doesn't matter. I'm sure he'll tell you eventually, but Austin and I, we both got a little tipsy last night and nothing happened, just that this morning, before training we sort of decided that it was over."

"What's over?" Lauren asked, coming into the room. "The movie will be over if you guys take any longer getting four glasses of water."

"Nothing," Kaylie said and Payson shrugged, moving towards the freezer to fill each cup with ice.

Lauren rolled her eyes, "Right," she said, taking two glasses and filling them from Payson's water filter, handing them to Kaylie who left the kitchen quickly.

"Here," Payson said, handing over the other two glasses.

"We used to tell each other everything," Lauren said, filling one glass and handing it to Payson. "It seems like a really long time ago now."

Payson nodded, "Yeah I know." It really did. It felt like it had been decades since the times when every secret was spilled within minutes. When their bond was stronger than anything any of them ever imagined.

"What happened?" Lauren asked and Payson looked at her sharply. A lot of the blame rested on Lauren's shoulders. Three years ago things had changed forever when she'd slept with Kaylie's boyfriend. Lauren just rolled her eyes at Payson. "It wasn't just that," she said, though there was a note of uncertainty in her voice.

Payson nodded, "No, it wasn't," she agreed. Much of it was her own fault. She'd removed herself from her friends, first because of her injury and then when her path to the Olympics diverged so completely from theirs, but the thing that separated her the most was her relationship with Sasha. She'd made a choice, a conscious one. She chose her feelings for him over her friendship with them, though at the time they hadn't known it. Had she failed them as a teammate because of that decision?

Lauren put her hand on Payson's arm lightly, "It wasn't you either," she said and Payson frowned at her in confusion.

Lauren sighed and ran a hand through her blonde hair, "I know that look. It's the Captain Payson face. You didn't abandon us or whatever you're thinking right now. You won, fair and square; you were better than us before your injury and you were better after it and just because we couldn't keep up doesn't mean that you aren't still our leader and a really good one. My dad has this saying and it's really stupid, but he uses it all the time: you can lead a horse to water,"

"But you can't make him drink," Payson finished for her. "My dad says that too."

Lauren shrugged, "You lead us to water for years, Pay. You still do, even tonight with this little get together, sleep-over, whatever. Even when Kaylie was team captain; you were giving her advice on how to lead. You were always our leader and look at us, we're all going to make the Olympic team, Payson. A lot of that is because of you."

"Lauren, are you feeling okay?" Payson asked, with a small laugh. Lauren wasn't usually the type to wax philosophical about anything, let alone what someone else was feeling.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking these last couple of days. Just thought I'd let you know." Payson felt her squeeze her arm lightly before moving past her back towards the living room where she could hear the opening sounds of the movie.

Sasha pulled into the Rock parking lot and was startled to see Kim's car was still there. He'd left her there hours ago, but he figured she'd be long gone by now. He had studiously avoided her at the gym today after Payson told him of their conversation. It was cowardly he knew and it was better that they talked sooner rather than later, but despite that he'd knew this day would come and that it fast approaching the closer they drew to the Olympics, he was terrified. He counted Kim Keeler as one of his friends, an ally in a world where he knew those were on short supply and today might be the end of that, despite what Payson had described as a very even tempered reaction.

He took a step towards the he trailer and then shook his head. This wasn't who he was and it wasn't who he wanted Kim to believe he was. He was the right man for her daughter, he knew that. He wanted her to know it too and in order for that to happen, he couldn't hide.

He tossed his bag back into the car and went into the Rock. He looked up at the office, but the lights were off. He scanned the darkened gym, just the recessed lighting was on, giving the gym an unearthly feel. He saw here then, leaning up against the balance beam staring out at the rest of the floor.

"Hey," he said, approaching her slowly, giving her time to recognize his presence.

She blinked, having obviously been deep in thought. Her eyes focused on him for a moment before narrowing. "Hello," she said, formally, drawing an obvious line from what their relationship had been just the day before to what it was in this moment.

He nodded, respecting that and stood near the uneven bars, allowing her to dictate how this would go. They stood there in silence as the minutes ticked away, their even breathing the only sound in the entire gym.

Sasha watched her, but she kept her eyes off him, staring into space. He sighed. Obviously she didn't want him here. He took a step towards the door when her voice stopped him.

"Payson was always incredibly mature for her age," she said and he turned to face her. She still wasn't looking at him, but it was a start. "She was just this serious little thing from the day she was born. Never really cried, even when she wanted something, very self sufficient. She never really gave us any trouble until one day I walked into the dining room and there she was literally swinging from the chandelier, a bright smile on her face. I'd never seen anything make her that happy. I was pregnant with Becca at the time, so I took her down to the local gym and signed her up for the only program they had for little ones, the toddler tumbles program. They kicked her out after a few weeks because she'd always find her way to the high balance beam or the uneven bars, getting in the way of the older girls who were training. I wonder if those people know who they kicked out of their gym?" she asked with a smile, finally looking back at him.

He shrugged and opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off, her smile fading. "How old are you Sasha? Thirty?"

He sighed and nodded, "I'll be thirty, this December," he said.

She nodded and looked away again, shaking her head, "She always was mature for her age." Then she sighed heavily and looked at him again, their eyes meeting in the darkened gym. "I know my daughter, Sasha and I thought I knew you, I think I still do. You're a good man, the kind of man I've always wanted for her. I don't think you'd ever hurt her. That much I know. It's the lie, that's going to take me some time to get over."

Sasha crossed his arms over his chest and nodded, "I understand."

She smiled at him thinly, moving towards him. She stopped directly in front of him, placing a hand on his forearm lightly. "My husband though…" she trailed off, her meaning clear.

"I understand that too," he said. She looked up at him and nodded, before squeezing his forearm lightly before walking away, out of the gym, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

He supposed it was the best he could hope for as he locked up the gym for the night and retreated back to the airstream. He hadn't slept there for months. He kept it around for the sake of appearance and it struck him then. The lies had crept into almost every aspect of their lives. It wasn't something he'd ever imagined himself capable of. He had hope that one day Kim would forgive him, but a knot settled into his stomach and he knew he'd have to talk to Payson about it soon. They couldn't ask Kim to keep something like this from her husband, it was too big, the kind of thing that could destroy a marriage. He'd talk to her tomorrow. Her father was in Minnesota for work and would be home in a day or two. It would have to be then.

Once the food arrived, any lingering tension between the girls dissipated as they dug into some of the best food in town, shamelessly stealing from each other's plates and keeping a running commentary on the movie.

All in all, Payson was thrilled things were going this well.

"You know Payson can actually do that," Lauren said as Molly Ringwald used her breasts to apply lip gloss, successfully drawing an ovation and then ridicule on the screen.

Payson laughed out loud remembering the night she had discovered that particular talent at a slumber party much like this one. Lauren leapt up and got a tube out of her bag, tossing it to Payson who snatch it out of her air shaking her head.

"C'mon Pay, you have to," Kaylie said as they all dissolved into giggles.

"Okay, okay," Payson said, rolling her eyes lightly and smiling. Seconds later they burst into raucous applause as she smacked her lips together, displaying her now perfectly glossed lips.

"Perfectly kissable," Lauren said and grinned, as Payson handed her lip gloss back to her. "Too bad there aren't any boys around to kiss."

"Since when do I not qualify as a boy?" a deep voice echoed from the entryway. All four girls leapt at the sound and Emily actually squeaked in surprise, but they all relaxed when they realized it was Austin, besides of course Kaylie. She remained seated, her back ramrod straight looking like a deer caught in the headlights. "Sorry, Pay. I didn't realize you had company."

Payson jumped to her feet and moved over to him, "Yeah, we're having a girls' night," she said loud enough for the others to hear her. "Kaylie told me what happened, are you okay, Austin?" she asked, her voice much lower, inaudible to the girls behind her.

He nodded, looking past her, ostensibly at Kaylie. "Yeah, I just wanted to uh, talk, but I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" he asked and nodded to the group behind her, "Ladies," he said, "have a nice night."

Just as quickly as he appeared he was gone, leaving them all in a tense silence. "Does he come over a lot?" Lauren asked.

Payson nodded, "Yeah, he eats my food and uses me for my cable when his satellite goes down. He's…" she trailed off and shook her head. She was tired of lying. Her mother knew and her sister knew, her father would know soon enough. Both Kaylie and Emily knew. "Austin and I aren't together Lauren. We never were, even if sometimes we acted like it, it was easier that way, so people wouldn't figure out who I really was with." She looked to Kaylie who was still sitting stock still and then to Emily whose eyes cautioned her, but then she shrugged as if to say, it's up to you.

Lauren looked at her, tilting her head as if trying to figure it out, before her eyes grew wide in disgust. "It's not…"

Payson laughed lightly, "No, Lo, it's not Boris; I know you thought that for a little while." Lauren glared at Kaylie who shrugged. "It's Sasha. Sasha and I are together, have been almost two years now."

Lauren looked at her, her mouth open ever so slightly, and then she looked to Kaylie and Emily who both nodded. Her eyes focused back on Payson, "I am such an idiot," she said and laughed. "Of course you and Sasha are together, duh, Lauren. It all makes sense now."

"You can't tell anyone, Lauren," Payson warned, though she knew it should have been implicit.

"Obviously," Lauren said and rolled her eyes, and then a large smile spread across her face. "Oh my God, Payson, I mean I know he's our coach and everything, but he's, he's so hot."

Kaylie snorted and Emily let out a little giggle. Payson smiled and shook her head. "Yeah, Lauren, that much I'm aware of."

"So that cologne and the condom, oh my god, you're sleeping together aren't you? Is he good in bed? I bet he is, the man is like a volcano, probably goes all caveman on you?"

"You shouldn't have been snooping to begin with," Payson admonished lightly.

Lauren rolled her eyes and waved the rebuke away like it was a bothersome fly, "You didn't answer the question, missy. We're not allowed to tell anyone, but it's only fair you give us some details. Even if these two knew all this time, I know they wouldn't have the guts to ask you, so come on spill, is he amazing in bed?"

She wasn't going to answer, she really wasn't, but then she looked into the eyes of her friends, the girls she'd wished for months and months she could share this with. Slowly a smile spread across her face as a light blush stained her cheeks.