Two years later

Rio - September 2016

Sam wasn't normally a nail-biter but he'd practically chewed his to the nub, as he, Amy, Kitty, little Auggie, and Artie's parents sat as part of an impossibly huge, international crowd and prepared to watch Artie realize his life's biggest dream. Well, the biggest dream after he'd decided he probably couldn't be a dancer and probably didn't really want to be a director. The one thing he'd never stopped wanting to be was an athlete.

Ever since they arrived, Sam had been preparing himself for the disappointment of seeing Artie knocked out of the competition during one of the multiple qualifying rounds of the last couple of days. So, when his best friend and brother-in-law continued to advance, he began to realize that Artie just might go all the way. And he felt a little bit sorry for underestimating him.

In Sam's mind, Artie had already accomplished so much, just by being in that pool with disabled athletes from around the world. He'd already received praise and attention back home, just for earning the privilege to board a plane to Rio with his family and his girlfriend of the past two years and counting. But Artie, a true competitor since his soccer tournament days, wouldn't see it that way if he didn't leave today feeling like he gave it his all.

"Excuse me, excuse me..." Sam's wife and Artie's sister was saying, as she worked her way back down the row and into the empty stadium seat between Kitty and Sam. Their son August, who sat on Sam's knee, was normally a busy two-year-old, but being simply captivated by all that was happening around him, he just watched it all intently.

"Good, I was so afraid I'd miss something," Amy said, as she spotted Artie, still stretching out his arms before the race. "It was sort of necessary though. Oh, and uh, thought you might wanna know, honey. I'm not pregnant."

Kitty gaped at Amy. "What?" she sputtered. "You thought you were pregnant?"

Amy gave a sheepish shrug, as Sam hid a smile. He couldn't say that the news didn't come as a relief, but they weren't entirely trying to prevent another baby either. Sam had started thinking about his two younger siblings and the special bond they shared, being close in age.

The timing wouldn't be ideal, though. Amy had just started her new job coaching Aural Intensity. Sam was a student at Ivy Tech Community College, in the PTA program. Over the summer, they'd started renting a home in Fort Wayne, Indiana. They would stick to renting, for now, because they eventually wanted to return to Lima. Amy wanted to coach the New Directions, if and when Will wanted to leave, and he promised she'd be the first to know, when the time came.

"You guys know how birth control works, right?" Kitty asked. "Lots of different options out there, kids." She glanced at Auggie. "Although I could understand why you might want another."

Amy opened her mouth to comment on that, but before she could answer, she spotted a familiar face in the massive crowd. "Javier!" she exclaimed, waving wildly to show him where they were. "Over here!"

"Parking was insane," he said, inching his way to his seat, carefully working his way down until he sat on the other side of Sam. "I don't think we've properly met," he said. "Javier Ramos. But I know you. You're Sam, the roommate studying to be a PT who got the sister pregnant, yes?"

"Uh, and married the sister, thank you very much," Amy said, leaning forward in her chair to sneer at Javier. Sam could instantly tell why he and Artie got along so famously.

"That... would be me," he said. "And you're the living legend of a physical therapist that I'll never live up to."

"That would be me," Javier said, jovially, as he rubbed his hands together. "Did Artie tell you about the prize money thing? It was all he could talk about last night. Right, Kitty?"

"Right," said Kitty, wearing a serious expression as she filled Amy and Sam in on the conversation they'd had with Javier over dinner the previous night. "So, seven-thousand-something is the cash prize for a gold medal, five-thousand-something for silver and three-thousand-something for bronze. But here's the kicker. You know how that compares to Olympic athletes? Well, you've got to add another digit. Something like thirty-seven thousand for gold."

Amy gasped, then looked angry. "Discrimination," she said. "Pretty damn awful that such a discrepancy exists in 2016!"

Sam didn't get a chance to properly chime in with his own angry cry over this injustice. A voice over the loud speaker announced for swimmers to get on their marks. Silence fell over the crowd as the athletes prepared for the race.

He looked at Artie, his upper body tone from two solid years of working out, coupled with intense therapy, all while watching his diet like a hawk and devoting every spare minute to being in the pool. That last summer before Rio, Sam was pretty sure Artie swam more than he wheeled.

"Swimmers, set." What came next was a whistle, and just like that, they were off. Three years of waiting, all down to this moment. Sam gnawed at his pinky nail.

Rather than pushing off the wall, most of these swimmers started their race off with a reach. It was a most unusual way to begin, but otherwise, you almost didn't notice the difference between these guys and able-bodied swimmers. Swimmers bobbed up and down in alternating patterns in the 100 meter breaststroke. Artie immediately pulled ahead, but so did the guy to his right, in the neighboring lane. This guy, who was representing the China, matched Artie's speed but reached with impossibly long arms. With each stroke, Artie tried to keep up but was ultimately outmatched. They had, however, left the rest of the pack far behind.

"Silver medal, heck yes!"

As Kitty screamed this in his ear, Sam remembered that it was an incredible thing to place. He'd done it. Artie had placed second in a world-wide competition for disabled athletes. This surely would be a cause for celebrating Artie's fourteen years of wheeling come Thanksgiving Day!

After a few moments, all the times and names were projected on a screen, as Amy and Kitty both hurried to take a picture. As she looked at the top two times in red, Kitty gasped. "Both times set a new record!" he said. "The Chinese guy and Artie's!"

It took awhile for them to get through the crowd and to the floor, but after each race, there was a quick opportunity for family to take pictures at the podiums. They weaved their way around the facilities as Sam noted the unusually large number of ramps around the place, all of them in use. This wasn't something you saw everyday, this many people in chairs or with canes or guide dogs. He made a note to tell Zack, Artie's current roommate, who'd wanted to come but ultimately wasn't able to join them.

Sam had an important job to do, so he had to be the first one to get to Artie. He jogged ahead of the girls, without explaining himself, and in a smooth fake-high five, slipped Artie the thing he'd been keeping in his pocket. Artie and he shared a secret smile as the girls, his parents, and Javier walked up a second later.

These podiums were even different, as they had ramps for the competitors on the back. As Artie rolled right up to second place, Sam realized he'd tucked the hidden object somewhere in his chair, because his hands were empty as he went to shake with his fellow medalists.

They stood back and took pictures as the Chinese National anthem ("March of the Volunteers") played, with Artie clearly not even minding that it wasn't his own and beaming up at the first-place finisher. Sam didn't see even a fraction of disappointment on his face, especially not after what happened next, when he motioned Kitty over to the podium.

Sam nudged Amy, who promptly covered her mouth as her eyes filled with tears as they watched, from a distance, as Artie held out the small ring box that Sam had slipped him right before he got up on the podium. A photographer snapped a picture of the moment on his camera, which meant that none of them had to worry about trying to snap a crappy one on their cell phones. They could only see Kitty from behind, but as her shoulders rose and fell rapidly, they could see that she was crying as she leaned down to hug Artie. Knowing that this was their cue, the family and Javier joined the happy couple. Cameras continued to flash around them, capturing this surprise moment at the Paralympics.

Kitty wiped her eyes with her right hand as she fanned out her fingers and extended her left to show off the diamond solitaire.

"She got her nails done while we were here," Amy whispered to Sam. "I know she knew it was coming."

"Where even did you have that thing?" Kitty wanted to know, mystified as she surveyed him in his speedo with abs that rivaled Mike Chang.

Artie laughed. "Not a lot of places I could have put it," he said. "Sam slipped it to me. I have to say, I never imagined I'd be this publicly naked when I asked you to marry me."

"That makes two of us," Kitty added, as Amy couldn't resist hugging her and squealing, as she adjusted a giggling August on her hip, who was just enjoying everyone else's happiness.

"I'll finally be able call you my nephew, too," Kitty added, holding out her hands to take August and give him a tight hug.

Sam gave Artie's shoulder a squeeze, as Artie and exchanged Javier exchanged a quick fist bump. "Second place," Sam said. "How's it feel?"

Artie looked at Kitty. "Well, to quote the cinematic genius of 'Bring It On,'" he said, as she gave a knowing smirk. "... feels like first."

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this story! Leave me a nice review and let me know!