Sasha was just locking the door to the Rock when he heard the revving of a motorcycle engine. He turned to see Austin Tucker's Indian Chief pulling into the parking lot. He sighed. He wasn't really in the mood to deal with the young man's emotional turmoil tonight. Austin got off the bike and took his helmet off.

Sasha turned to him and tossed him the keys, "Lock up when you're done," he said, walking towards his trailer.

Austin looked down at the keys then back at him. "I didn't come here to train. I have to talk to you."

Sasha looked at the young man stunned. "Okay," he said, taking his keys back. "Let's talk."

They found themselves at his table, just outside the trailer. "You want something to drink?"

"Got any Guinness?" Austin asked, obviously knowing his coach pretty well.

"You want a beer two weeks before Nationals?" Sasha said, his coaching instincts taking over.

"This conversation requires alcohol," Austin said, pulling off his leather jacket and placing his helmet on the table. "Maybe a lot of alcohol."

Sasha shrugged, stepping quickly into his trailer and grabbing two bottles from his fridge. He came back out handing one to Austin, before popping off the cap on his and taking a sip. It had been an emotional evening; honestly he could use a drink too.

"What's on your mind, Tucker?" he asked, taking another long pull from the bottle.

"You told me once, that MJ, she destroyed you and after that you focused on your gymnastics. I need you to tell me how to do that."

Sasha let out a breath, "This isn't about…" he trailed off. Wouldn't that be the most ridiculous thing you've ever done, give advice to a man who loves the same woman you do? Wait, I've seen this movie before, you've already done that. Déjà vu, huh, Beloff?

Austin shook his head, "I know we never really hashed that out, but this isn't about Payson." He took a sip of his beer. "Payson's great and everything, but you two have that whole mind meld thing going on. No, this is someone else entirely."

"She's that special?" Sasha asked, trying to figure out who Austin was talking about. If It was a gymnast it could only be Kaylie. Apparently the rules of this gym are taken seriously by no one, Beloff. You may as well just toss the no-dating rule.

Austin nodded, "She's that special. I love her. What did you do, to forget?"

Sasha shrugged. "I moved to Romania." He kept a straight face, but soon a smile cracked through and Austin joined him, laughing softly.

"I don't think Romania is an option for me," he said, taking a long sip of his beer and smacking his lips together. "So what do I do? Leave Boulder?"

Sasha shook his head, "No, you can't leave Boulder. The biggest mistake I made was running away. It didn't solve any of my problems and it destroyed, at least at the time, any semblance of a relationship I had with my father."

Austin snorted, "Well I don't have a famous gymnastics coach for a dad, but running to my father wouldn't exactly be conducive to my training. Living in a van and traveling around the country isn't how you win Olympic medals."

Sasha shook his head, "Your dad lives in a van?"

Austin bit his lip and nodded, "They're hippies, the both of them. They like to fly under the radar, way under the radar, so the government doesn't know where to find them."

Sasha couldn't help it, he started to laugh. "Seriously?"

"I wish I were kidding."

Sasha looked down at his finished beer, "You want another?" he asked, getting up to retrieve one for himself.

"Yeah, thanks." Austin said, finishing his off.

Sasha handed him another beer and sat down with a sigh. "Okay, so your problem, there's a girl and she rejected you?" He leaned back in his chair studying Austin's face. He looked completely off his game, confused by the situation he found himself in. It was like looking in to the past, a reflection of how he felt ten years before, though he'd been a little younger than Austin at the time.

"I don't understand it. We had something, you know? A connection and then it was just gone. She decided I wasn't good enough for her or something, but the guy she chose, he's alright and all, but there's no way she feels…there's no way she loves him. And I know she feels something for me, because she kissed me, in L.A. but you know what? I don't care anymore. I'm done being tossed around." He pounded the table with his fist. "So, how do I move on? How do I forget her?"

Sasha stared at him, trying to take in the rambling mess. He leaned back in his chair and pressed his lips together, considering it thoughtfully.

"Sasha, you, uh, dropped something," Austin said, reaching down to pick it up off the ground. Sasha looked at him to see a scrap of pink lace in his hand and Austin smirking at him. "You carry her underwear around in your pocket?"

Sasha grabbed it from him and stuffed the garment into his jeans pocket. "Uh, no, she, um, left them here."

Austin nodded knowingly and took another sip of his beer. "I bet she did. Besides, the damn things are ripped to shreds. How's the whole not sleeping together thing going?"

"I thought we were talking about you?" Sasha said, frowning, take a deep drink from his bottle.

"We are, but really about you, because you've been there, Beloff and look at you now. You're happy, albeit in a completely inappropriate relationship with one of the girls you coach, but still, you're happy, she's happy, most people can't say that."

Sasha rolled his to the sky and shook his head, "Your point?" Is he always this articulate when he's buzzed?

"You recovered. How do I recover?"

"Time helps. It was more than ten years ago."

"Yeah, well this happened to me an hour ago, so that's not going to work. Got anything else?" Austin asked, leaning his elbow upon the table.

Sasha shook his head, "I've got more beer," he said.

"That'll work," Austin agreed, shaking his empty second bottle. "Bring the rest."

"Yeah," Sasha said, swigging the last bit of beer in the bottle, before standing and moving towards the trailer again. "We might be here for a while."

A while was an understatement, a six pack and a half of Guinness later, they were both slumped down in their chairs.

"I swear, Sasha, he's robot. Not in like the Terminator, you know, not trying to eliminate the human race, or maybe he is. I mean who is that focused, besides Payson and obviously Payson knows how to loosen up," he said, waving his hand in Sasha's general direction. He finished off his beer before slamming the bottle down on the table. "All Russo is going to do for her is make her uptight and it just won't be good."

"I thought you wanted to move on? Forget her and concentrate on your gymnastics." Sasha asked, lifting the bottle to his mouth.

"Is that what you did? Forget and focus on your gymnastics?"

Sasha shook his head, through a sit of beer. "Hell no, I took all my anger and channeled it though into my gymnastics. It let it push me through the pain and the suffering and I wanted to shove it in her face that I was better than he was, that I'd come out on top. And I did. I won four gold medals, but I blew out my knee in the process. Ended my career and in the end I didn't really want the girl I lost in the first place, even when she wanted me back."

Austin leaned forward, "She wanted you back after you won in Sydney? This part I didn't know."

Sasha nodded, sucking his cheeks in, pursing his lips. "Yep, she said that she'd made a mistake. I was stupid, took her back for a little while, but it wasn't the same. I didn't love her."

"Why'd you take her back?"

Sasha scoffed, "I was nineteen years old. The sex was incredible. She and I, the sex was never the problem."

Austin nodded, "Did you too ever…you know, after you'd ended things? I mean at Nationals last year, were you two…" he trailed off. "I thought I noticed something."

Sasha took pity on him and laughed. He's an observant little bugger, I'll give him that. "Yeah, we had a physical thing. It worked. We were rarely in the same city. Should I be watching over my shoulder? You seem to know a lot about my personal life, Tucker."

Austin shrugged, leaning back in his chair again. "Don't let this go to your head, Sasha, but I idolized you growing up. I wanted to be you, so if I'm pretty attuned to what you're doing, it's just a carryover from my days as a fan."

"Hmm," Sasha said. "So what are you going to do, Tucker?"

Austin sighed, "Since you were completely unhelpful and frankly derelict in your duties as my coach, I haven't decided yet. I don't think I can do what you did. I think maybe I have to fight for her."

"Isn't that what you've been doing?"

Austin shook his head, "No, I've been letting her take the lead. She's been calling the shots. What I have to do is prove to her that I'm the better man."

Sasha opened his eyes and then wiped a hand across his face, "You know that it might not matter. Women don't always choose the better man."

Austin shrugged. "That's okay; at the very least she'll know what she's giving up." He stood up and scrunched up his face as he stretched his arms over his head. "I think I'll head home."

Sasha looked at him like he was nuts, "No, you're not driving home. You're liable to drive that thing into the lake and then I'll be down an Olympic contender. Plus, Payson likes you and she wouldn't be very happy with me. There's a couch in the Airstream you're more than welcome to."

Payson pulled into the parking lot of the Rock at half past four, her usual arrival time. She'd slipped out of the Cruz house early, leaving Emily, Lauren and Kaylie sound asleep. After all the drama of the night before, she just didn't have the energy to rehash everything again over breakfast. She got out of her car and looked to the left. Austin's Indian Chief, Lolita was in his parking spot. She walked over to the bike and touched the back, just over the engine. Cold, so he's been here for a while. She turned towards Sasha's trailer and took in the scene. There were empty beer bottles at his table, a few standing, two or three on their sides, but it looked like about twelve in all. Did they drink themselves into a stupor?

She shook her head and approached the trailer. Sticking her head in, she saw Austin sprawled out on the couch at the front of the trailer. She looked down towards the other end and saw a lump she assumed was Sasha covered by a sheet. She stepped into the trailer and grabbed a plastic garbage bag from the cabinet and went outside quickly, dumping the glass bottles in the trash.

She shook her head. She didn't blame him and she was glad he'd gone to Sasha. She hadn't been there for it, but from what she'd been told, the minutes before her arrival at the Cruz house had been incredibly tense.

"What just happened?" she asked again.

Nicky sighed, "I should go," he said and kissed Kaylie quickly on the cheek before leaving the room quickly. "Bye Payson," he said, brushing past her.

"I'll show him out," Kaylie said, following close behind him.

Payson looked at Emily and Lauren, "What just happened?" she asked, enunciating each syllable clearly.

Emily shook her head, "Nicky was here when we got here, he was dropping off something from his dad to Kaylie's dad. So he just sort of stuck around for a little while and then Austin just showed up and Kaylie panicked because her dad is due home soon and I don't know, we were all up here…" she trailed off.

Lauren seemed more than willing to pick up the slack, "Austin said something about a robot and Kaylie went off on him. Don't know what a robot had anything to do with anything, but Austin kind of got in Kaylie's face. Did you know she kissed him in LA? Why didn't you tell us, Payson? You can't hold on to information like that."

Emily rolled her eyes, "Anyway, apparently Kaylie hadn't said anything to Nicky about the kiss because he looked like he was going to explode. He was talking with his teeth clenched, something about staying away from Kaylie and that Austin should treat you better. I think he thinks you and Austin are together."

Payson rolled her eyes, "Kaylie, she must have told him that. I hate this, why did she drag me into her drama."

"Because I didn't know what else to do," Kaylie said, in a soft voice behind her.

Payson turned around to see her friend in tears and sighed. "Well then, let's figure it out together."

They'd spent the next few hours, all three of them listening to Kaylie, offering advice and sympathy, but in the end it would be Kaylie who had to make the decision. She was stringing along two wonderful guys and though she made it sound like she'd already chosen, Payson had seen the indecision that would creep into her eyes whenever she mentioned Austin's name.

"I just don't understand why you dropped him in the first place, Kay. He was there for you through everything, when you were sick, when you came back, then it was like you wanted nothing to do with him when Nicky came back."

Kaylie shook her head, "I know. Austin is a great guy and he was there for me, but I realized it was time to stop making decisions in instinct. I really like Nicky and he's a great guy. We have so much in common and we're both dedicated to our gymnastics and winning in 2012."

Payson frowned, "And Austin isn't?"

"It's not that he isn't. It's that if I were with him, I wouldn't be able to."

Suddenly it was all clear to Payson. She'd been right all along, Kaylie was with Nicky because he was the safer option. She probably liked him enough, but what she felt for Austin was too much and it scared her. She shook her head. She'd been right about another thing too. Kaylie Cruz was not too good for Austin Tucker.

Payson had no idea what she was going to do with this information. She felt like Austin deserve to know how Kaylie felt, but she'd been sworn to secrecy. She went back into the trailer and slammed the door behind her. Austin snorted and rolled over in his sleep, but Sasha sat up quickly, his eyes flying open. "Christ, love, why'd you do that?" he asked, putting a hand against his head and flopping back down to his pillow.

She frowned, but looked at the clock. It was quarter to five and Boris would be arriving soon. It wasn't a National Team practice, but he would be observing all the gym's promising juniors today, including Payson's younger sister, Becca, who'd be attending Nationals this year, her first as an Elite. Letting the water boil, she raised the blinds in the trailer, letting the light shine through. Then she went back towards Sasha's bed, to push open the curtains hung on the window over his bed. She leaned over and almost immediately felt him snake his arms around her waist. "Now that's a nice view to wake up to," he mumbled, pulling her down onto him.

"Ugh," she said, getting a whiff of his breath. "How much did you drink last night?" she asked, pulling away, but he held fast keeping her close.

"Too much," he said, rubbing an eye with heel of his hand. "You put the kettle on?" he asked, peering up over her head.

"Yeah," she said, wriggling against him, trying to get free.

Suddenly, a voice from behind them made her freeze, "Uh, guys, don't forget I'm in here okay? I don't need to see this, you know, ever, but especially not this early in the morning when I'm hung-over." Austin was sitting up and looking at the ceiling of the trailer, distinctly not looking at them.

Payson rolled her eyes, "Calm down, drama queen," she said, pushing up off of Sasha. "Get up the both of you. Your Dad will be here any minute," she said, and Sasha wrinkled his nose at her.

"Shit, I forgot," he said, sliding out from under the covers. "Mind opening up the gym?"

She wordlessly grabbed his keys and left the hung-over idiots to their own devices to open the gym doors. She was propping open the front door when she heard the sound of a car pulling into a spot.

"Good morning, Payson," the gruff, eastern-block accent rang out across the parking lot.

"Good morning, Coach," she said, smiling at the older man. Sasha may not have had a great relationship with his dad, but Boris was her coach as well and that meant she should be respectful.

He looked down at her casual clothes, obviously not dressed for practice. "You are not training today?"

She shook her head, "Taking a day off. I twisted my knee a little yesterday and the trainer didn't want me to push it. I'll be back in the gym tomorrow."

He nodded, but his eyes held disapproval in them. "Yes, yes, okay," he said, brushing her off, but she didn't take it personally.

"I'm excited for you to see my little sister perform today. She's been doing really well since Sasha moved her up to Elite."

They walked into the gym together and Payson flicked on the lights, illuminating the large training facility immediately.

"Rebecca is her name?" Boris asked.

"Yep, she's hoping to make the junior national team this year."

"What is her forte?"

"Bars," Payson said immediately, "although her floor routine has been coming along nicely."

"Rebecca was Sasha's mother's name," Boris remarked offhandedly.

She smiled at him, "I know," she said. Sasha and his mother had been very close and he spoke about her often.

He smiled at her, "Yes, I suppose that you would know," he said, patting her on her shoulder, something his son had done countless times. "Ah, no matter. When will the girls arrive?" he asked the sentimental look on his face long gone.

"In about a half hour," she said. "Do you want anything? Sasha was making tea when I went to grab the keys."

"No, no, just ask my son when he will make his presence known. I am more than capable of running the training without him, but I think he would like to be here."

Payson nodded, with a small grin, "Yes, he definitely would."