"Payson tilt your head a little to the right. Good. Perfect. You are gorgeous." The photographer called out as he took multiple shots in quick succession.

It had been like this non-stop ever since she returned from Rio the team arrived in New York for the start of the interview tour. She was met by M.J. who presented her with a very lucrative sponsorship package. The tour lasted roughly a week including many stops on the early morning news show and latenight talk show circuit. She spent the time between shows shooting campagins. The girls who didnt have any sponsorship commitments had left about a week ago headed back to their respective clubs. M.J. wanting to make the best of this opportunity had kept her in New York for an additional week and a half to shoot print ads and commercials for various sponsors. She hadn't had a moment to herself except to sleep and she was equal parts tired and grateful for that fact. Kelly was proving herself to be an asset in this department, she was a natural in front of the cameras and while their sponsorship commitments varied greatly their paths did cross at a couple team events. The press loved their newfound camaraderie and Payson was happy that it wasn't all for show. There was no mention of their last night in Rio.

Being on the road had been the best distraction she could ask for, it gave her time to clear her mind, recenter herself, and it was surprisingly fun. She had never been the type of girl to enjoy playing dress up in front of the camera but with Kelly's snarky commentary and outlandish antics she had found herself having fun when she least expected it. Their duo happened accidentally but naturally and she had been sad to see her go yesterday.

"I think that's a wrap." The photographer said drawing Payson back into the present.

She stood from her position on the floor and headed back to her dressing room to look for M.J. She found her sitting on the couch right outside her door she was laughing and speaking in low tones on the phone. As she drew closer she caught a name ...Sasha. Her sharp intake of breath must have alerted M.J. to her presence because she looked up and smiled brightly, "Take care Belov, I'll see you later."

Shutting off her phone she turned her full attention to Payson. "All done girlie."

"Yeah," she replied after mentally shaking herself.

"Well get dressed and I'll go see about the shots. We will head to the airport straight after." M.J. said as she stood to head down the hall.

She tried to stop the words but before she could catch them they already hanging awkwardly in the air, "Did he ask about me?"

M.J. raised a perfectly arched eyebrow "Ask about you?" Then understanding dawned in her eyes "You want to know if he's upset about all the time out of the gym. No worries you will be happy to know he told us to take all the time we need this week." She leaned closer and lowered her voice, "You didn't hear it from me but Coach Belov is a big softie all bark and no bite."

"Yeah of course." she replied absently. That sounded nothing like Sasha Belov, hater of all training interruptions and giver of punishments galore.

"Well go on get dressed I'll meet you at the car."

The ride to the airport and the subsequent plane ride was uneventful. She met her mother at the baggage claim and spent the trip from Denver to Boulder discussing every detail of the trip. She hadn't realized how tired she was until she stepped into her bedroom sat down on her bed and ended up sleeping through dinner. She woke up to find the room shrouded in darkness laying in her bed she stared at the ceiling it felt weird being back home after everything. When she left this room almost three weeks ago she had been untested and unproven as an artistic gymnast but tonight she had returned a World Champion. So much had changed since then.

She walked over to her suitcase and began unpacking, her medals were last, as she hung them on the case that housed her other trophies she took a moment to study them a testament to her comeback. Her eyes scanned the medals and then fell on one that hung in the center in a place of prominence. It was gold with a red ribbon; the most precious of all the awards that hung on the shelf and it wasn't even hers. It was an Olympic medal, Sasha's Olympic medal. Staring at it each morning had given her permission to believe in herself and her dream. That faith, his faith was the driving force that led to the comeback. She walked over and fingered the medal that signified his absolute belief in her. It was tangible proof that he did care, they were special, and filled her with warmth. Looking at the medal now she felt a glimmer of the same emotion she had felt when he gave it to her. That feeling of rightness and that everything would be ok. They would survive this because they could survive anything, they already had and they had done it together. She climbed back in the bed feeling better about going to the gym in the morning. Everything was going to be alright.

She was wrong. When she arrived at five a.m. the following day the gym had still been locked, which was unusual because Sasha knew she got there at the same time every morning. Secondly, it was Mandy one of the assistant coaches who came by at five- thirty to let her in, and now she had been at the gym for five hours and it was almost time for lunch and Sasha hadn't looked her way once. There was no greeting when he deigned to show up at eight -thirty, no instructions for her when he joined them on the floor, and then he called every elite level girl except her over to the bars while she was sent to work on the beam. She had mostly been left to her own devices only working with Mandy on beam or an assistant coach as a spotter on the other apparatuses.

"Payson point your toe. Extend your arms fully. Finish the rotation." She was making stupid amateurish mistakes but she was distracted. These new moves were very different all of the focus was on lines and transitions. It was almost like the actual skills were just placeholders between the artistic elements. It would have taken all of her concentration on a good day and today was definitely not a good day. Even on the tape she couldn't seem to get her body to cooperate. It didn't help that he was in her line of sight constantly either. Everytime she moved her eyes from the beam or Mandy she found herself looking at the back or the side of his stupid blond head, as he actually coached the other girls, but for all the times she caught herself looking at him he was never once looking back. Having had enough she stepped down off the low beam and stalked over to the vault.

"Yes," he stated not even looking up from the clipboard.

"I was wondering if you could observe my beam when you finish here?"

"Is it finished?"

"What?"

"You said you were re-designing your routine. Is it done?"

"Nn-o." she stuttered

"Then what would I be observing." He looked up at the vault not sparing her a glance.

"Good Lauren, but you need more height if we are going to make it a triple. "

"A triple! Are you serious that would make my vault d.o.d the highest in this gym."

"The country." He stated matter of factly as Lauren beamed excitedly. "You can do it. Head to the annex do some upperbody conditioning you will need to generate more power off the springboard.I'll be there shortly."

"Emily you're up. Was the something else that you needed, Payson?"

"N...no." She said suddenly unsure of the situation

"Then you should head back over to Mandy and finish your beam." He said turning away.

She mulled over his actions as she climbed back on the training beam. He hadn't't been rude per se but he was cold. Their interaction lacked his usual warmth and familiarity. He was short and clinical. She made her way back to the beam and proceeded to go through the motions. She didn't see or speak to him for the rest of the day. He was either in the annex working with the other girls or holed up in his office. The rest of the week followed a similar pattern she came early every morning and was greeted by Mandy not Sasha, she was lucky if she even caught a glimpse of him before he barricaded himself in the office. She thought about asking her mother but that would just lead to more questions and an even more awkward situation if her mother decided to meddle.

The following week he moved her and Mandy out to the annex more than they were in the actual gym. While her new routine was coming along fine she found her anger growing with every passing day that he refused to acknowledge her presence. It had gotten so bad that Emily and Lauren asked her what happened. She told them she was working with Mandy by choice but their skeptical looks let her know they weren't buying it.

Tension was building and not the good kind. It had been three weeks and the closest thing to acknowledgement she had gotten from him was a head nod and an insincere, 'coming along nicely,' after she showed him some of new elements from her beam. He handed Mandy a sheet with corrections and things to work on, then walked away.

One week later she had been working late in the gym when she turned and found him standing in the doorway of his office observing her. She froze in place. Surprisingly he didn't immediately turn away but held the eye contact, his eyes were indiscernible. It may have been silent but it was still the most communication that they'd had since she'd been back. Her heartrate sped up and she felt herself begin to blush all over as if his gaze was pulling the heat to the surface along with repressed memories and emotions. Making up her mind that it was now or never she hopped off the beam just as she'd reached the steps Becca pushed open the doors to let her know it was time to go, when she looked back to towards the office the door was closed. Grabbing her bag from the mat she stomped out of the gym being sure to slam the door behind her.

By the time Sunday arrived she slamming doors wherever she went and stomping through her own house. He hadn't even bothered to show up for practice yesterday leaving Jake in charge. This game they were playing had to stop. Throwing on a pair of jeans, a purple sweater and purple flats, she drove herself to the closed gym. She would talk to Sasha and sort this mess out. She pulled up in front of his trailer and saw that his truck wasn't there so turned off the car and took a moment to get her thoughts together. Steeling herself she got out and headed over to the trailer.

"Payson, what are you doing here?" She was not expecting the chipper voice that called out from the gym behind her. Mandy. The assistant coach was nice enough but she was not the person she wanted to see right now.

"Waiting for Sasha."

"Sasha," she said confusedly, "I thought he would have told you girls."

"Told us what? "

"Why don't you come inside, It's freezing out here."

Payson reluctantly followed the woman inside. As they headed upstairs to the office, she repeated her question from earlier. "Told us what?"

"Hmm, oh yeah Sasha. He's on vacation for Thanksgiving, said he had some days he needed to take, so he was going fishing or camping something outdoorsy."

Vacation? Thanksgiving? Sasha? Did he even know the meaning of the word,vacation, not to mention he was British so he couldn't care less about Thanksgiving.

"Um, he left contact information in case of an emergency," she said looking through the papers on the desk and then holding one up hesitantly, "but he said he didnt want to be bothered unless it was an absolute emergency."

"It's about my back." she rushed out quickly.

"Payson," she said alarm ringing clear in her voice, "Do you need me to call your mom or a doctor."

"No, I just need to know if a move is safe for my back." There was no need to let that issue get blown out of proportion. "You know what I'll just wait to try it until he gets you open the annex? I wanted to work on some things in the pit."

"Sure we'll play it safe today." She did not want to be responsible for causing an injury to the world champion, "Technique and precision only."

"Thanks Mandy." She almost felt bad for what she was about to do, but she was on a mission to see Sasha Belov today. As soon as Mandy left the office Payson picked up the piece of paper she'd placed on the desk and copied down the information. At least it was in Colorado she could drive there and give Sasha Belov a piece of her mind.

Running down the stairs she told Mandy she changed her mind and she would just wait for Sasha. Dashing out the door she input the address into the G.P.S. Ninety minutes later she was ready to throw the condesending contraption out of the window. It was harder to find than she anticipated but two u-turns later and she was there, wherever there might be. She pulled up beside a red pick up truck and killed her engine. It appeared to be some kind of lodge, in the middle of the damn forest. She had just made up her mind to go inside and ask for his room number when she saw him come out wearing a hat and carrying a rifle.

He stopped short when he saw her and rolled his eyes heavenward cursing whatever deity he had pissed off and apparently now had it in for him. He was sure it wasn't a happy accident that she was here.

His first thought had been to ignore her but that obviously wasn't working. Ignoring her had sent him running into the woods looking for absolution. Ignoring her had landed her literally right in front of him all but alone in the woods. Ignoring her had him scanning his surroundings to see if he could make a quick getaway but her eyes were locked on him as she got out of the car and headed straight towards him determination evident in her every stride. He grimaced at the ridiculousness of running from his seventeen year old gymnast, 'Whom you bedded' his mind reminded him.

She stopped about two feet away from him and just stood there taking him in, there was anger and frustration simmering behind her eyes. Furrowing her brow she opened her mouth to say something and he braced himself, "Why do you have a gun?"

That was the last thing he expected her to say he glanced down at his hand, "It's America you give everyone guns." It was true part of his package at this lodge included fishing and hunting. He had planned to leave the gun locked in his cabin as soon as the man gave it to him.

He turned and headed down the path closest to the building without a word. He was torn between wanting her to follow and hoping she would get back in her car and leave him in his solitude. It wasn't long before he heard her clomping behind him in the woods with muffled curses. He spared a glance back and down at her footwear ballet flats at the rate they were going she was likely to fall and break her ankle on the uneven terrain. As they approached his cabin he went inside and slammed the door behind him. Let her take that how she wanted. Rummaging around in his bag he found what he was looking for and headed back outside. She was just starting up the steps when he opened the door.

"Sit down." He barked out.

She plopped down on the top step before she realized it. He climbed down the steps and kneeled before her grabbing her ankle he took off her shoe and placed her foot down in her oversized boot lacing it up tightly as he muttered about something about broken ankles women and fish under his breath. She studied the top of his head with a faint smile as he followed suit with the other foot. He was always taking care of her, even when he obviously didn't want her anywhere near him. The gesture softened her anger towards him somewhat. He stood quickly and thrust a large jacket in her direction and then started back down the path. She took that as her que to follow him. The boots were way to big but they were warm.

"So what are we doing?" she yelled at his back.

"We are going hunting." He called over his shoulder.

"Do I get a gun?"

"I'm not giving you a gun." He scoffed.

"That hardly seems fair." She shot back

"You'll live."

"What is your problem?"

"I don't have a problem."

They walked on deeper into the woods in silence.

"Are we really going hunting? Have you ever been hunting before?"

"Be quiet." he growled.

"I don't do what you say."

"I'm your coach by definition you do what I say." He spun around quickly on his heel,nearly knocking her off balance because she was following so close behind him. "Why are you here Payson?" he asked the exasperation clear in his voice.

"Same reason you are to hunt and fish."

"Try again." he was dead serious.

This was it the moment she came here for, "You haven't talked to me in a month Sasha! All I get is vague responses and head nods from you. I have been with Mandy everyday since I got back you coach everyone but me. I came her to tell you I need more and if that is all you can give me then..."

"Then what hmm I should go, you dismiss me, you dont need me anymore. Sorry darling but it's not your call!" Disdain dripping from his every word. He could feel the anger rising in his gut and he could do nothing to stem the tide. She had followed him here, she initiated this, and before they were done today she was damn well going to hear what was on his mind.

"That is not what I was going to say. I need mor..." she started but he wasn't done.

"What do you need from me? You asked me to forget it to leave you alone. I have done that, you wanted to redesign your beam. I have given you a beam specialist. You said it needs to be all about the gymnastics, has it not been!" His voice was starting to take on a hysterical edge. "Can you not see ALL that I have given you my self-respect, my pride, my honor," he stepped closer ignoring the effect of her scent and the tingles running up and down his spine that came from their close proximity.

"I thought we agreed nothing happened. So why does anything have to be different. I dont understand."

"You got that much right you don't understand. What we have done Payson... Everything is different and we have made it that way! Our actions are irreversible so dont stand there with your princess hopes and your fairytale dreams asking me why things can't be the same. They can't!" he roared turning away. He didn't want to yell at her when most of his anger was still directed at himself but she was standing there looking up at him with those big beautiful eyes telling him nothing was different when his whole world had been turned upside down. He inhaled deeply and lowered his voice, "Before, everything they were saying was rumors and lies, but in one night we have given them power over us. Now everything that they say is true. I can't touch you without feeling dirty. I can't look at you without seeing my own weakness..." He jammed his fingers through his hair and shut his eyes. His heart softened as he looked and saw the tears gathering in her eyes as she bowed her head to hide them. "But, we can work through it." She glanced up sharply at his admission. "It will take time and it will be hard but Payson I promise you I will fix this and I promise I will get you to the Olympics. It won't be over night and we can't fix it by pretending it didn't happen but we can give it time and we can get through it."

"I can accept that, but you can't just shut me out in the gym. The whole reason this is even such a big issue is that you are my coach, so I need you to be my coach. When we are in that gym I need the old Sasha back."

He placed his finger under her chin and stared into her eyes,"I can promise to try."