Payson pulled into the Rock parking lot and looked up. There it was, her sign, Payson Keeler, 2011 National Champion. After a week that included a parade, less fun than it looked the year before, what felt like several hundred interviews, exactly as horrible as that sounded and almost no time to spend alone with the one person she wanted to be with, she was done. It was Sunday morning and there would be no one around for hours. She made her way immediately across the parking lot and knocked lightly on the trailer door. No answer. She tried the handle and it was unlocked. She supposed Boulder was a safe enough place to not lock one's door, besides who breaks into a trailer in the parking lot of a gym?

She stepped into the trailer and spied him lying on his back, across his bed sound asleep. Payson smiled and kicked off her shoes, slipping out of the light jacket she wore and slid into bed next to him. Almost immediately, he rolled towards her, instinctively pulling her body into his own, their legs intertwining, chests pressing together. She lay there for a moment, reveling in the feeling of being close to him, before placing a light kiss on his chest and then another, and then another, moving up towards his collarbone and then his chin. The hand at her waist twitched before she felt his fingers moving against her skin. She looked up as his eyes fluttered open.

"Good morning," she said, before brushing her lips against his. He deepened the kiss immediately, his free hand cupping the back of her head, his thumb stroking the back of her neck.

"Mmm, good morning," he said, releasing her. She tucked her head into his shoulder. "I feel like I haven't seen you all week."

She sighed, "That's pretty close to the truth. But it's over now. MJ goes home tomorrow and then things can get back to normal."

"You're going to talk to your parents tonight?" he asked, his hand slipping under her shirt at her hip, stroking the skin there softly.

"Yeah, I could barely find the time to breathe this week let alone approach them about it. I did do some research though and I think I found a great option. I can definitely afford it. I'm going to talk to MJ about it before she leaves and that'll get the ball rolling."

They lay there for a few more minutes, relishing the peace and quiet, until a loud groan from Sasha's stomach interrupted them. Payson laughed and he shrugged. "Breakfast?"

Two hours later, they were both in the fitness center, him on a stationary bike, her jogging on the treadmill, getting her heart rate up. She felt a twinge in her knee and frowned, stopping the machine and getting off.

Sasha froze mid-pedal, "Your knee?" he asked, concern flying across his face.

She nodded, "The MRI was clear, Sasha, stop worrying. It just hurts sometimes. This isn't like my back. You know I have to work through this kind of pain."

He nodded, grabbing a towel and wiping off his forehead, before tossing it towards her, as she wiped the sweat off as well. "Come on, we'll stretch it out well before working through a rotation."

They walked into the main gym, discussing work on her tumbling pass when they both paused, seeing MJ standing next to the parallel bars as Austin Tucker worked his way through his routine. Austin dismounted, taking a large step backwards.

Sasha frowned, "Watch your hips," he cautioned and Austin looked up and nodded.

"Morning, Payson, Coach Beloff," MJ said with an ironic smile. "Just the girl I was looking for. Excuse me for a minute, love," she said, touching Austin briefly on the shoulder before walking in their direction.

Payson was already sitting on the mat, stretching and then moved to her back, to let Sasha help her work on her knee, one hand on the inside of her thigh, the other at the back of her calf as he rotated it for her. MJ stood at the edge of the mat. "I wanted to talk to you about your lack of media commitment in the upcoming month."

Payson sighed as she felt the tension leaving her knee under Sasha's hands. "What about it, MJ? You always knew this was the deal. I do these things my way. Will any more interviews hurt my endorsements?"

"No, but it won't help them either," she said. "You could be brining in millions, Payson. You are every sponsor's dream. You look the part, you act the part, you win, and your reputation is squeaky clean. They love you."

Sasha released her leg and held out a hand to help her up. She took it and stood, shaking out her leg and then shifting all her weight onto the knee. It felt good. "How much did I bring in last year?" she asked.

"A million, seven," MJ said without hesitation.

"And how much will I bring in this year?" she asked as Sasha stepped forward allowing her to brace her leg against his shoulder as she extended fully. Their eyes met and his twinkled at her mischievously.

"Three, five," MJ said, a knowing smirk crossing her face. "That's not the point, Payson. Money is money, but image is everything. You're going to start coming off as unapproachable, in fact you already are. Several media outlets were concerned when you turned down their interview requests."

Sasha stepped towards her, pushing her leg higher, their bodies in direct contact, "And being unapproachable is bad?" he asked.

MJ rolled her eyes, "All due respect, Coach Beloff, but this isn't your area of expertise."

Payson snorted, "It's exactly his area of expertise, he was the ultimate unapproachable athlete," she said. "People were terrified of him, still are actually."

MJ narrowed her eyes. "What are you saying, Payson? You're making a conscious decision to alienate the media?"

"I'm saying that I'm not exactly upset that the media thinks I'm unapproachable. I don't need them and I don't want to need them. I'm here for another year to do what I love, not to cow-tow to reporters. Tell them whatever you like, MJ. Tell them I don't give a crap or tell them that I'm focused on my training, but either way I'm done with the media mess. I was done yesterday. Besides, I'm not that perfect girl they think I am and I have no intention of trying to live up to that impossible standard."

MJ raised her hands in defeat, "Fine. I'm just doing my job," she said.

Payson nodded, "I know, and speaking of your job, would you mind meeting with me and my parents tonight at around seven to discuss something?"

Her agent nodded, "What about?"

Payson smiled, "I'm going to buy a house, well a condo really, down by the lake."

MJ squinted, "I thought you got along well with your parents? You're moving out?"

Payson nodded, "I get along great with them, but I'm almost eighteen and if I weren't doing this," she motioned around her, "I'd be heading off to college right about now. It's time to be out on my own a little bit."

"Did you have a place in mind?"

"Yeah, I have all the information. It's a new development by the lake."

"We're going to be neighbors, Keeler?" Austin said as he approached the group.

"Pretty close," she told him.

"Alright, enough, how does your knee feel?" Sasha asked.

She bent and flexed, before nodding, "Great. Let's get going," she said, moving towards the beam. "I'll see you later, MJ."

"I've got an appointment I have to get to," MJ said, looking at her watch. "I'll see you at seven," she said to Payson, before moving towards Austin. She gave him a lingering kiss on the cheek and whispered something. As her lips brushed against his cheek, the gym doors opened and a steady stream of the Rock's elite began to filter in. Kaylie first, closely followed by Nicky who Payson assumed had been in the car allowing enough time to pass before it got suspicious that they'd arrived at the same time, then Carter and Emily, chatting together and then finally Lauren. Sunday's had always been relatively quiet at the Rock, but it had hit most of the gymnasts that there was only a year left until the Olympics. They were in the home stretch so to speak.

All three of them watched her go. Austin patted Sasha on the shoulder, "I never did say thank you, did I?" he asked and Sasha laughed.

"Don't thank me yet," Sasha muttered.

Payson saw Austin's eyes flick to Kaylie, who'd been staring at them her mouth set in a firm line, as Nicky spoke to her. "You're playing a dangerous game," she muttered to Austin as Kaylie finally focused back on Nicky.

"So are you," Austin said, but his eyes never left Kaylie.

"Payson, are we going to start this rotation today?" Sasha called from the edge of the mat.

"Sorry," she called and moved back towards the beam.

It was rare for Kim Keeler to have her entire family at the table for dinner. Though "family day" Sundays had long gone by the wayside with Mark's move to Minnesota and both Payson and Becca training as elite gymnasts, but Sunday dinner was something she insisted on and with Mark home to celebrate the girls' success at Nationals, it was a treat.

They'd been eating for about twenty minutes, she'd made Becca's favorite, roast turkey breast, carrots and scalloped potatoes, when Payson set her fork down. "There's something I want to talk to you guys about."

Mark looked across the table and wiped his mouth with his napkin, "Sounds serious," he said, his expression affectionate.

Payson smiled at him and Kim smiled as well, Payson was always serious. "It is, actually. I've been thinking about doing something and I wanted to talk to you guys about it before I gave MJ the go ahead."

Kim focused her attention on her elder daughter, "The go ahead to do what?"

"I've decided to buy a house, a condo really, down by the lake. I would have gone with a house, there are some beautiful ones near Austin, but I don't know how long I'll be in Boulder after the Olympics," she trailed off, though she seemed to be holding something else back.

Not much surprised Kim Keeler anymore, but this shocked her. "A house? Payson," she trailed off, her meaning clear. There was no way her eighteen year old daughter was going to buy a house. And what was it she said about not staying in Boulder? What was going on?

"Hear me out," she said. "I'll be eighteen in two weeks. If I weren't training to be an Olympic gymnast I'd already be at college, living in a dorm. This isn't that much different, except it'll be a lot nicer."

Mark frowned, "A house, though. Really, Payson, don't you think that's a little much?"

"I want to do this and there's something else I want to do too."

Kim raised her eyebrows. What else could their possibly be? "And that is?"

"I want to pay off the mortgage of this house. And before you say no, I want you guys to know how much I appreciate every sacrifice you made to help me get to this point. I know how much money you probably lost because we moved here and then Dad, you got laid off. It's only right. You both, all three of you really, sacrificed so much for me."

Mark shook his head, "Payson, we wanted to do this. I wouldn't feel right taking your money."

Payson soldiered on, "But it's our money. All of us earned it together. It's stupid to just let the money rot in a bank account." Kim put her hand over Mark's and he looked at her. "Please let me do this."

"Are you really buying a house?" Becca asked suddenly. Payson nodded, "That's so cool. Will I be able to sleep over?"

Suddenly there was a knock at the front door. "Well, who could that be?" Kim said, put down her napkin and getting up to answer it.

"It's probably MJ. I asked her to come over tonight and meet with us to talk about everything and so I could give her the information on the condo I want." Payson cringed as Kim glared at her, annoyed as hell at being ambushed.

Two hours later, MJ left the house, papers signed and as Kim closed the door behind the agent, she twisted her lips in concern. She walked back into the kitchen where Mark and Payson were sitting. Mark was looking at the brochure for the condo Payson was looking to purchase. It was more of a townhouse really, with a stone front and a two car garage. Understated, but definitely pricey, especially since it overlooked the lake. What happened to her daughter? In the past she'd always joked about Payson being a thirty year old in the body of a teenage girl, but this was something else. She studied the young woman carefully. There was something different, but it wasn't necessarily a negative difference, just in the way she carried herself. It was strange.

Kim approached the table and sat down. "I have a concern," she said, taking the brochure into her hands. "Is this about Austin? Are you moving because of him?"

Payson laughed. She actually laughed. Little more than a year ago she would have blushed or stuttered or rolled her eyes, "Mom, I don't know what else I can say to make you believe that I'm not involved with Austin Tucker. In fact, after MJ left here, her first stop was probably Austin's house to uh – say goodbye, properly."

Mark squinted in confusion, "Say goodbye, proper—oh!" He let out a small chuckle. "Coo-coo-ca-choo, Mrs. Robinson," he said.

Payson grinned, "Exactly. Austin and I are just friends, besides if it were about him, I'd move in there instead of spending a quarter million dollars."

Mark looked completely aghast at the idea of his daughter living with someone, but Kim pressed on, "You mean Austin and MJ are..." she trailed off and started to laugh. Apparently being surprised was the theme of the night. "Is this really what you want to do, Pay?"

Her daughter nodded, "I do."

"Well then, tomorrow, after training we'll go take a look at it, together." Kim said as her daughter's face lit up in a smile. "Now what did you mean before, about not being sure how long you'll be staying in Boulder?"

Payson's smile disappeared as she cringed and wrinkled her nose. Aha, there's something to that! "I don't know. I guess I just always assumed you and Dad would want to move back to Minnesota eventually. After the Olympics I want to go to college and I think maybe I want to start coaching."

"And you couldn't do that in Boulder? I'm sure Sasha would have a job for you at the Rock," Mark suggested and Kim nodded in agreement.

"Dad, do you really think Sasha is going to stay at the Rock after the Olympics?" Payson asked.

Kim frowned. She hadn't considered that. "Why wouldn't he?"

"He came to the Rock to train us, me, Emily, Lauren and Kaylie and now Austin, Nicky and Carter. We're his dream team. After 2012, that's all over. He's too good to be a club coach in the middle of Colorado. The only reason he puts up with our National Committee is because he believes in us as a team. There's a reason he lives in a trailer, Mom and it's not because he likes cramp spaces. It's because he's not staying."

"Did he tell you all this?" Kim asked, confused.

Payson shook her head, "He didn't have to." Suddenly, Payson's phone buzzed in her pocket. She looked at the message and frowned. "It's Kaylie, she – I'm going to head over there. Boy issues," she said and grinned at her parents.

Kim watched her daughter stand up and leave the room, concern etched across her face as she grabbed her car keys and left the house.

"Wow," Mark said after a moment. "A house." He picked up the brochure again and flipped through it.

Kim shook her head, "We can't say no, can we?" she asked him reaching across the table to grab his hand. He shook his head, "I know we can't, but moving out. Paying off our mortgage? Doesn't this concern you a little bit?"

"In what way?"

"That she even wants this? It's a huge thing, a house and then she's talking about not staying in Boulder? Mark, she seems like she has this whole life plan that she hasn't shared with us that she really still hasn't shared with us. She practically ambushed us with this tonight, asking MJ to come over, having most of the paperwork done. Doesn't this concern you?" Kim felt a little stupid, maybe she was overreacting, but there was something off about this entire thing, like she was missing something, though she had no idea what it could be.

Mark shook his head, "I just think it's time to face the facts, Kim. Our little girl, she's grown up. I think we've known that for a while now. She'll be eighteen next week. Old enough to vote, old enough to enlist in the army and old enough to buy a house," he said, lifting up the brochure. "She made more money last year than I have in the last ten combined. She's grown up into a beautiful, accomplished, well-adjusted young woman and I couldn't be prouder."

Kim smiled at her husband, "I just feel like it all happened so fast and I feel stupid for not noticing."

He shrugged, "Sometimes we see what we want to see and not what's really there."

She stood up and walked towards him, "Were you always this wise?" she asked, running her fingers through his hair and leaning down to kiss him lightly.

He nodded and brought her lips back to his again.

"Ugh, gross," she heard from the kitchen entryway, "when you're done kissing, can I invite Lilly to sleep over. We'd have to take her to the Rock tomorrow morning," Becca said, sticking out her lower lip.

Kim nodded and Becca took off out of the room, "One down, one to go."