A/N: Enjoy!
"We've worked hard on your bars this year, and they looked brilliant in training this morning. Just remember the corrections I gave you, but most importantly, just remember to let the routine flow. If you have to break a connection to save a mistake, just do it. Just do exactly what you did in training and you'll be fine"
Nick's words were meeting her ears but they weren't truly sinking in. All around her, the hustle and bustle of the arena as the competition continued on seemed to be in overdrive, every sound magnified as it came screaming to her ears.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, squeezing her hands tightly around the dowels of her grips.
"Nick," she said softly, interrupting him as he rambled on beside her. He stopped, looking down at her as she opened her eyes and turned to look at him.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"You're kinda stressing me out," she admitted.
"Oh," Nick said lamely, his shoulders seeming to relax slightly. "Sorry"
"It's ok," she said with a small smile. Glancing down at her hands, she toyed with the buckle of her grip. "I'm just… I don't know. I'm nervous… but I'd say nervous is actually an understatement"
Nick gave her a reassuring smile. "I know. But you can't be so hard on yourself, JJ, you know that. You're so much better than you think you are… the moment you first realize that, everything will suddenly seem less terrifying for you"
Looking up, JJ realized that Sarah Finnegan, the girl competing before her, was coming down the stairs. With a heavy sigh, she walked towards the steps, giving Sarah a smile as she passed her.
Preparing the bars went by in a blur, and before she knew exactly what was going on, she was standing beneath the bars, lifting her arms into the air to salute the judges.
As she turned to face the low bar, her surroundings seemed to blur. The bright stadium lights above her seemed to burn into her retinas as she narrowed her focus down onto the bar in front of her.
Breathing in deeply, she shut out everything around her, swung her arms forward, and mounted the bar.
Keeping everything tight, she cast up to handstand, extending from her hands all the way up to her toes as she brought her toes down to the bar and swung beneath it. A full turn on top of the bar at the conclusion of the skill made it a toe-on full, before she brought her feet down to the bar through another swing, flicking her body up towards the high bar as she reached the top again.
Casting up to handstand, she swung through a backward giant, releasing into a soaring straddled Tkatchev, which she caught and then immediately released into a Pak salto. Catching the Pak with ease, she circled around the bar again, this time with her legs held in a tight straddle, before releasing again and executing a half turn as she caught the bar.
Pulling up to handstand, she swung through two strong backward giants, winding up before releasing into a stretched and flighty double layout.
When her feet hit the mat with a satisfying THWACK, she was smiling from ear to ear. Even though she wasn't one of the big names in the meet, like Aly, Jordyn, and Gabby, the crowd went wild as she straightened up and saluted the judges.
Heading back over towards Nick, she couldn't help but notice how one killer routine had dissipated the knot of anxiety in her stomach. Still grinning from ear to ear, she slapped her hands against Nick's, before getting a tight hug.
"My rambling worked obviously," he teased lightly, making her laugh. "Alright. One more routine and then you can breathe kiddo. Let's go"
She'd finished her night as the final competitor on beam, getting a raucous round of applause from the crowd. Once her physical competition was over, a wave of relief had washed over like a wall of water. But then, just as quickly as they had disappeared, the nerves and anxiety had reared their ugly heads. Because while the physical demands were over, now came the anxious wait. At the end of the wait, she would either be riding on the high of a dream come true, or trying to keep it together after her dreams were broken.
Chewing anxiously on her lip, she'd joined the girls as they were led out of the competition area and into a room in the depths of the building. Ahead of them, the selection committee, comprised of Martha Karolyi, former Olympic coach Steve Rybacki, and athlete representative Terin Humphrey, had been led into a conference room further down the hall.
The tense 12 minute wait had led the arena to a state of nervous chatter, in the midst of which sat JJ's family. They had sat in near total silence for almost the entire time, until Nancy spoke up as the timer ticked down to the three minute mark.
"She did so well tonight… I think that's almost the best I've ever seen her do"
Sandy let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding, clutching tightly to her husband's hand as she glanced over at her mother.
"I just hope she remembers that if…," she said softly, her voice trailing off as she avoided voicing the worst case scenario.
Closing her eyes, she tipped her head back slightly and took a deep breath.
She'd put JJ in gymnastics at four years old. JJ had been fascinated with the sport after seeing the 1998 National Championships on TV, and fearing her youngest child would injure herself if she continued trying to replicate what she had seen on the TV, Sandy had walked her into Romero's Gymnastics Academy and signed her up.
What had started as a fun after school activity had led to a genuine passion and motivation to go far. JJ had decided after the Sydney Olympics that going to the Olympics was her ultimate goal, a dream that was further solidified when she had watched Carly Patterson win gold four years later in Athens.
It had never been Sandy and Michael's dream. Proud parents and supporters, they had been there to support and encourage her as she got herself this far. And now, they were just minutes away from finding out if it had all paid off. All the vacations they'd missed, the birthday parties JJ had never had, the injuries, the time away from friends and family, everything their daughter had given up had been for the pursuit of one thing.
An Olympic team berth.
Around her, the arena's noise level was rising. The timer surely had to be almost done.
"Sandy," Michael said softly, squeezing her hand to pull her from her reverie. "They're about to announce it"
Snapping her eyes open, Sandy sat up straighter in her chair as her eyes fell to the floor, where a man she recognized as Steve Penny, the president of USA Gymnastics, was walking out onto the carpet. After a short delay, during which he tested his microphone, and spoke quickly with the organizers around him, he lifted his attention to the cheering crowd.
"Good evening," he said, generating an excited rise in the volume. Sandy's eyes were already burning with tears, both of her hands wrapped tightly around Michael's as she fought for her composure. Over to her left, Nancy was squeezing Jason's hand, and Jason, for the first time Sandy could remember, looked nearly beside himself.
"Please welcome, the five members, of the women's 2012 U.S. Olympic team!" he cried, glancing quickly down at a sheet of paper in his hand. "Gabby Douglas!"
The cheers began to turn into screams, while Sandy's stomach churned relentlessly.
"Jennifer Jareau!"
"Oh my god, MICHAEL!" Sandy shrieked, bursting into tears as she and Michael leapt out of their seats and threw their arms around each other. Jason and Will both leapt up simultaneously, punching the air in excitement as Nancy let out an excited shriek.
"McKayla Maroney!"
"She did it Sandy… our baby girl is going to the Olympics," Michael said tearfully, clutching his wife as the applause began to reach deafening levels of volume.
"Aly Raisman!"
Sandy let out another sob as Aly's name hit their ears. Somewhere in the crowd, Aly's parents, Lynn and Rick, would now be sharing a similar embrace. JJ would be going to the Olympics with her best friend at her side.
"And Kyla Ross!"
A collective gasp rang around the arena that didn't go unnoticed by Sandy as she and Michael pulled apart, both wiping tears from their eyes. Of the five names called, one of them hadn't been Jordyn Wieber's; the reigning national and World all-around champion.
It seemed to take forever, but finally, the doors to the conference rooms opened and out came the five girls, each clutching a bunch of flowers, each of them in near hysterical tears of joy.
JJ's hands were shaking in total disbelief, but even that couldn't stop the tears cascading down her cheeks as she ascended the steps to stand atop the floor with four of her closest friends, now her Olympic teammates.
"They will be joined in London by three replacement athletes! Jordyn Wieber, Sarah Finnegan, and Elizabeth Price!"
So overcome with emotion that she hardly noticed when the three alternates joined them, JJ followed Gabby and McKayla's lead as they all lifted their hands into the air and waved to the crowd, who by now were screaming and cheering so loudly, she was sure they could be heard in London.
She couldn't believe it. A lifelong dream had now become a reality.
She was going to the Olympics.
Still overcome with tears, but smiling her way through them, JJ had survived through her media appearances in the foyer, before the girls were finally released to go and find their families.
Still dressed in just her team warm-ups and her socks, she darted between the throngs of people in the foyer, smiling her thanks when the other girls who had competed stopped her to congratulate her.
But finally, she'd spotted her family, and the second she saw her mom, the tears came in at full force again.
"I did it," was all she managed to say as she threw her arms around her mom and buried her face in her shoulder. "I can't believe it, I really thought I wasn't going to make the team"
"I knew you could do it. We are so proud of you," Sandy said tearfully, rocking JJ ever so slightly from side to side as she smoothed JJ's ponytail down soothingly. "You were incredible… you've worked so hard… you deserve this, and you're going to have the time of your life"
Still sobbing, JJ managed a smile as she pulled away, before she was immediately swept up in a warm, loving hug from her dad.
"Everything your mom said… I love you so much Jaybird, I'm so proud of you"
After also getting tight hugs from her grandmother and Jason, she finally reached Will, who'd been waiting off to the side to allow her a moment with her family.
"I'm starting to think you're just looking for more and more ways to outshine me," he said with a lopsided grin. She let out a watery laugh, moving in for a hug as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.
The tears had slowed, and for the first time, she noticed how good he smelled. Whatever cologne he was wearing, it suited him.
Suddenly aware that they'd been standing together for longer than was usually necessary, she pulled away, a shy smile crossing her face as she looked up at him. He gave her a sheepish grin, clearing his throat as he took half a step back.
"You… you were amazing Jayje. I can't wait to watch you compete in London," he said quickly.
"Thanks," JJ said softly, smiling as she turned back to look at her family.
As they started to walk back towards the room where they could spend some more time together with the other girls and their families, her mom gave her a curious look.
"Shut up," JJ muttered, making Sandy chuckle.
"I didn't say anything," she murmured, looping an arm around JJ's shoulders and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She let out a happy sigh, holding JJ tight.
"I'm so proud of you, baby girl"
TERMINOLOGY GUIDE
Toe-on full – from a handstand atop the bar, the gymnast brings her legs down through a pike position. Her toes touch the bar between her hands as she swing around the bar, before going back up to handstand at the completion of the rotation.
Maloney (the skill JJ performed after the toe-on full) – technically named a toe-on Shaposhnikova. Bringing her toes to the bar like above, the gymnast circles around the bar, before releasing and transitioning up to the high bar with a stretched body position. She catches still facing the low bar. Named for Kristen Maloney of the United States of America, who competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and won a bronze medal as part of the American team.
Pak salto – facing the low bar, the gymnast swings forward and releases the bar, performing a single layout back salto between the bars before catching the low bar. Named for Gyong Sil Pak of North Korea.
Double layout (uneven bars dismount) – from a backward giant, the gymnast releases the bar and completes two stretched flips before landing on her feet.