[Author's Note: The last, this, and the next chapter will be Payson heavy because it was originally a companion story focused on Sasha and Payson. I originally planned for this story to have a Sasha/Payson pairing, so it fits. I am not sure how far I am going to take the relationship though.]
"Payson, Payson, can you hear me?" Sasha spoke as he examined the fallen girl. Kaylie said she was half way up the rope when she crashed to the ground. "Sasha?" Pay mumbled wearily as she opened her eyes. She was on her ninth time of climbing the rope when her muscles started to give out and her vision went blurry. She had tried to climb down before she blacked out, but it didn't seem she had made it to the ground before passing out. "Payson, what year is it?" MacIntyre asked concerned that she might have a concussion. "2012. The president is Obama, and my birthday is October 26. It is Saturday." Payson answered softly as she knew all the typical questions that were asked when there was a possibility of a concussion. It was a common injury in the sport. Mac chuckled as she answered all the questions he was going to ask her at once. "Kaylie and Colleen, you can work on vault. Jordan and Lauren, I want you two on floor. Coach Belov and I will take care of her." Mac dismissed to try to clear the area. "You have a fever, Payson." Sasha pointed out as he laid his hand on her forehead. "Why didn't you tell us you were sick?" Sasha continued as he checked her over. "No one is home but me, and I need to train." Payson murmured in response. "You are in no condition to train while you are sick. Did you eat breakfast?" Mac asked as he remember when Lauren first blacked out. "No. I knew I would throw up if I ate anything, so I skipped it. I did drink some Gatorade." she said weakly before trying to push herself off the mats. She didn't have time to lay here and answer questions; she needed to be training in her mind. "Stay down, Payson." Sasha ordered as he set a hand on her shoulder to keep her from standing up. "I need to train." Payson barked back trying to push Sasha out of her way.
Sasha shook his head and looked towards Mac for help. "Payson, you need to rest. You are going to lay down on the futon in our office, so we can make sure you are resting and not training." Mac offered before looking to Sasha for approval. Sasha nodded before getting into a squatting position, so he could assist Payson in standing up. Placing his right hand on the small of her back, Sasha tucked his shoulder under her arm and stood up. "Don't resist me helping you, Payson. You are not strong enough to walk on your own after passing out." Sasha lowered his tone as he guided her to the steps. Mac followed behind as they climbed the steps and entered the office. Payson felt like as if she was being treated as a small child instead of an eighteen year old, but she gave up resisting when Sasha's tone of voice changed. Pay allowed herself to lean into him and trust him with her weight. Upon arriving in the office, she sat on to the futon that was currently in bed form and leaned her back against the wall. "I will call my wife and ask her to bring you something to eat and some Advil." Mac informed before leaving the office. Payson glanced at Sasha, who did not look pleased with her. "Rest. I will call your mother during lunch, and I will see what she wants me to do with you. In the meanwhile, we will be monitoring you." Sasha explained before leaving the office too.
Payson sighed and looked around the lonely office. She knew the minute that she stood up that one of the coaches would run in and reprimand her, but they left her with nothing to do. Payson tried to read the forms on Sasha's desk when the office door opened. "I brought you a couple pillows and a blanket." Sasha announced as he tossed the items onto the futon. "That is great, but how am I suppose to stay entertained till lunch?" Payson countered while arranging the pillows behind her. "Take a nap. Your body needs to rest." Sasha reminded. Taking the blanket from the futon, Sasha motioned for Payson to lay back. He softly draped the micro plush blanket on top of her before leaving the office. Payson must of dosed off because she was awoken by Mrs. MacIntyre, who was holding a bottle of water and two small white pills. "What time is it?" a sleepy Payson wondered. She took a slug of the water and swallowed the medication. "9:23. You have been asleep for about four hours according to Coach Mac. Do you want some food? I brought you some yogurt and granola." Mrs. MacIntyre answered. "If it means I can train, I will gladly eat." Payson mentioned. Mrs. MacIntyre handed the gymnast with the food, but not without a lecture. "You can not train today. What if you black out while your in the middle of a vault? What if you throw up from doing giants on the uneven bars? It would be a big risk if you got dizzy and lost your balance while training beam." Mrs. MacIntyre pointed out. "I am feeling better. I think it was just a bug. Whatever it was, I feel better." Payson explained as she shoveled down another bite of yogurt. "You still have a fever, Payson." Mrs. MacIntyre called her out on as she felt the teenager's forehead. "I understand. Thanks for the food and Advil, Mrs. MacIntyre." Payson thanked in attempt to get the overbearing woman out of the office.
The office became quiet again as soon as Mrs. MacIntyre left. Payson untangled herself from the blanket that Sasha had draped over her earlier. She needed to stand to use the restroom, and if nothing else, to stretch her stiff legs. Being careful, Payson used the bed to push herself up from before extending her hand to the desk to support herself. Payson knew the moment she opened the door to climb down the steps, one of her coaches would rush over to scold her, so she decided to knock on the glass that allowed you to view the training area from the office. Immediately she caught Sasha's attention. The British coach finished giving instructions to the small group of level nines he was spotting before coming up to see what Payson needed. "I thought we told you to rest. Why are you up?" Sasha questioned. "My legs are stiff from being in bed too long, and besides, I need to go to the bathroom." Payson retorted. Sasha shook his head and motioned for Payson to follow him out of the office. He extended his left hand to assist her in walking down the steps even though she no longer needed the help. Payson gripped his hand anyway to please him. Her eyes wandered to the gym in front of her. Kaylie and Lauren were training on bars. Jordan and Colleen were polishing their floor routines. Sasha noticed her wandering eyes and gave her a gentle tug towards the bathroom. "Hey!" Payson reacted as she let go of his hand, so he couldn't do it again. His hand was still like a vice grip around hers. "We finished walking down the steps. I am capable of walking by myself now, Sasha." she whined. Sasha silently chuckled and kept his grip on her. Payson was getting aggravated by her coach. "You are not going to follow me in there, are you?" Payson questioned as they reached the girl's bathroom. "No, now go before I change my mind." he said, releasing his grip. "Cheeky brat!" Sasha chuckled when Payson disappeared behind the door.