A/N: Sorry about the break! These competition chapters are the hardest to write, because there's so many elements!

The arena was still calm, despite the hum of quiet voices talking all around. Sandy could hardly sit still, her knee bobbing up and down as she sat beside her husband in the stands.

Today was the day they had all been anxiously awaiting... not even just since the start of the Games, but since the day JJ had decided the Olympics were her end goal. Today, the USA would go out and attempt to win a gold medal that had eluded them since 1996.

Silently, Michael reached over and took Sandy's hand, giving it a comforting squeeze as he stared straight ahead towards the competition floor. They were sitting practically right in the middle of the side closest to the vault, giving them a wide sweeping view of the entire arena. The floor lay beyond, bookended by the uneven bars to their left, and the balance beam to their right.

Sandy just hoped JJ's competition nerves wouldn't serve to unravel her today. She had to be on for the team, not just herself. She was a great gymnast... but would the looming prospect of an Olympic gold be the undoing of her? It certainly wouldn't be the first time someone had come undone at the prospect of Olympic glory.

"You alright?" Michael asked quietly, breaking her from her subdued silence.

"Yeah... I think so," Sandy replied, letting out a long breath. "I can't believe how nervous I am... I thought this would be easier"

Michael chuckled. "Me too. But we just have to have a little faith. JJ's always been amazing at what she does. Today isn't going to be any different"

Sandy took a deep breath, nodding slightly as her eyes scanned the competition floor for any sign of the impending final making a start. She glanced at her watch.

4:25.

Turning her head towards Michael, she swallowed thickly. And before she even knew it, the worries that had been rattling around in her head since arriving in London were suddenly spilling forth from her lips.

"What... what's going to come next?"

Michael glanced at her, and the expression on his face was not one of surprise, or confusion... rather, it was one of understanding. Like he knew exactly how she was feeling.

Because what was going to come next? JJ had worked her entire life for this moment. What was going to happen when it was over? Her biggest goal, now done and dusted. At eighteen years old, nonetheless.

"I... I'm not sure," Michael admitted softly. "I've been thinking about it for a while, but... I didn't want to make you worry. Honestly, I'm not sure what she'll do without such a big goal... but I guess... all we can really do is sit back and just take what comes as it comes"

Smiling, Sandy squeezed his hand, leaning over and resting her head on his shoulder for a moment.

Down in the belly of the arena, JJ bounced nervously on her toes as she stood behind McKayla in the line. They were already lined up in presentation order; the three vaulters in competition order, JJ as the backup vaulter, and Kyla as the only girl who hadn't competed vault in qualifications.

"All the gymnasts are ready to go," JJ heard one of the nearby event managers say into his radio. The butterflies in her stomach grew, but she kept her game face on. Behind her, Kyla took a deep breath, and JJ immediately knew she was feeling the same nerves.

They were dressed in dazzling red. Swarovski crystals lined the front and back, loosely outlining the iconic shape of the Chrysler building. JJ had fallen in love with this particular leotard the minute she had seen it, and she loved how they all looked in it. Tonight was their night. There was no denying it.

"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the North Greenwich Arena for the women's artistic team final!" the announcer called out, his voice so steady it sounded almost recorded. "Please put your hands together and make some noise for the gymnasts as they enter the arena!"

The calm steady music gave way to something more upbeat, and then the girls in front of them began to walk.

This was it.

As they were closest to their first event, they were the second to last team to walk in, closely followed by the girls of the Russian Federation, dressed in their red and white patterned warm-ups. JJ had immediately recognised the focused face of Aliya Mustafina, the 2010 World all-around champion who had gone down to an ACL tear at the previous year's European Championships. It had made JJ happy to see Aliya recovered and back at it with her team. She knew the journey back from an injury all too well.

Finally they emerged into the hot pink surrounds of the North Greenwich Arena, the audience roaring for the impending final. They walked down the length of the vaulting runway, before turning back and lining up by the stairs closest to the vault table.

The ten girls stood down the side of the podium, waiting to be led up and presented to the judges for the start of competition. For JJ, it was all a blur of excitement and nerves. She focused on her breathing as they were finally led up to stand in front of the judges and have their names announced to the arena. She had to stay focused, but still enjoy it. They were at the Olympics, and this was their moment.

The judges smiled up at them as they stood in line, Aly still bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Starting the women's team final on the vault... the team from the United States of America!"

The roar from the crowd filled JJ with elation as all five girls reached up and waved. Even from her perspective, JJ could see the lights dancing off the crystals on their leotards, and in that split second, she felt a wave of electrifying excitement roll through her.

"Alexandra Raisman!"

Aly stepped forward, waving with a smile to the still roaring crowd.

"Gabrielle Douglas!"

Gabby beamed her million dollar smile, waving excitedly all around.

"McKayla Maroney!"

McKayla stepped up, her smile almost reminiscent of an arrogant smirk.

"Jennifer Jareau!"

JJ couldn't help the smile as she stepped up to wave, her feelings of insecurity seeming to vanish as the crowd amped up again for her.

"Kyla Ross!"

Kyla's expression was one of simple childlike glee as she waved to the crowd. She stepped back in line beside JJ, both of them sharing a smile as the announcer moved along to Russia.

"The team from the Russian Federation! Aliya Mustafina... Viktoria Komova... Maria Paseka... Ksenia Afanasyeva... Anastasia Grishina!"

"Starting on the uneven bars, the team from the People's Republic of China... Huang Quishuang... He Kexin... Yao Jinnan... Deng Linlin... Sui Lu!"

The Chinese were wearing gorgeous red and gold leotards that JJ had heard were designed by He Kexin herself. The red emblem of China was affixed to the center of their chests, something that had long since been a staple of the Chinese leotards.

"The team from Romania... Diana Bulimar... Diana Chelaru... Larisa Iordache... Sandra Izbasa... Catalina Ponor!"

JJ clapped as she watched the Romanian girls step forward one by one. Romania had such a rich history in gymnastics, of course starting from way back when Nadia Comaneci scored the first perfect 10. The perfect 10 had since been abolished, but Nadia's legacy carried on. Catalina Ponor was probably the most well known member of the team, having won three gold medals all the way back in 2004.

"Starting on the balance beam... the team from Great Britain!"

A roar filled the arena unlike any that had come before it, sending a flutter of emotion through JJ's chest. How special this day was for these girls, to be in the team final at the Olympic Games, in front of a proud and adoring home crowd.

"Imogen Cairns... Jennifer Pinches... Hannah Whelan... Rebecca Tunney... Elizabeth Tweddle!"

The girls from Great Britain were dressed in a deep royal blue, sparkling almost as much as the American girls beneath the strong lights of the arena. Beth earned the loudest roar of all the GB girls, being their World champion and best hope for an Olympic medal.

"The team from Japan... Aiko Sugihara... Yu Minobe... Asuka Teramoto... Koko Tsurumi... Rie Tanaka!"

Spying the Japanese girls across from them, JJ felt a funny urge to laugh when she spotted the youngest member of their team, Asuka Teramoto. For once, JJ wouldn't be the shortest gymnast in the final – for surely, Asuka could stand no taller than four feet, six inches.

"Starting on floor exercise... the team from Italy... Carlotta Ferlito... Vanessa Ferrari... Erika Fasana... Giorgia Campana... Elisabetta Preziosa!"

All the gymnasts shared a little grin as the announcer stumbled over Elisabetta's surname, even Elisabetta herself laughing as she waved to the audience.

"The team from Canada... Elsabeth Black... Dominique Pegg... Victoria Moors... Kristina Vaculik... Brittany Rogers!"

The Canadian girls were wearing an almost identical shade of red to the Americans, perhaps an unconscious nod to their shared international border. Instead of the mountains of crystals on the USA leotard, the Canadian leotard sported a modest scattering of crystals across the chest, complete with a bedazzled maple leaf smack in the middle.

"Gymnasts. You may commence warm-up"

Kyla and JJ left the podium, the Russians behind them as the three American vaulters began their one touch warm-up.

"You ready for this?" Kyla asked quietly as they reached their bags and began to pull their team warm-ups back on; neither of them were competing until the next rotation on uneven bars, and it was important that they kept warm and relaxed until then.

"Shit scared," JJ admitted with a grin. "But more ready than I've ever been for anything in my whole life"

Kyla laughed. "I think I have to echo that sentiment. Is this what it was like to compete at Worlds?"

JJ shook her head with a giggle. "Worlds was scary but exciting, and this is on a whole new level"

"Gymnasts! Warm-up is over. Prepare for competition!"

Aly was already standing alone at the head of the runway, her eyes focused and fixed on the table. The four remaining team members on the sidelines watched on as she saluted the judges and took off down the runway with no messing about.

A flip onto the table, two and a half twists through the air, put beautifully to her feet to rapturous applause.

"Good job!" McKayla said happily as Aly hopped off the podium to join her teammates. Up the other end, Gabby had ascended to await her turn.

After getting quick hugs and encouragement from the other girls, Aly turned her attention to Gabby, her face of leadership already back in place as they waited for Gabby to go. JJ and Kyla stood alongside her, while McKayla hung around by the stairs at the starting end of the runway.

15.800 was Aly's score, an exceptionally strong start to their bid for team gold.

Gabby's vault went by with little fuss, receiving a solid 15.966 to get the ball really rolling ahead of McKayla's turn.

Back in Pittsburgh, Will was glued to the TV from the floor of Lani's living room. Whereas they had been quite talkative and loud during the opening ceremony, this time, they were quiet, eagerly awaiting the next routine that would take their friend and her teammates one step closer to the ultimate dream.

"So far two gymnasts from America have vaulted, 15.800 for Alexandra Raisman as we saw, 15.966 for Gabrielle Douglas, but this, the third vaulter, McKayla Maroney," the British commentator said as McKayla saluted the judges. "And this girl carn half vault"

Taking a step back, McKayla tapped her foot once, before she took off down the runway, her run powerful, her expression fierce.

"Stand by the top seats of the North Greenwich Arena to get a good view!"

Even through the TV, Will could see the table shaking as McKayla flipped onto it and rebounded from it. The height was so much more than the others that the crowd audibly gasped as she cleared the peak of her vault.

"Up, up, up and-"

With a defiant thud, her feet hit the mat and she straightened up to present without so much as a hint of a shuffle.

"-lands perfectly! That was... fantastic! Best vaulting I have ever seen! Legs glued together, rockets into the air, they are on fire!"

JJ and the girls went wild on the sidelines, pumping their fists into the air and cheering as McKayla ran from the podium, giddy with excitement.

"Holy shit, that was really good," Brenner commented from the back of the room, breaking the silence and making them laugh.

Back beneath the competition lights, JJ couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she ran up to her teammate – that had to be the most technically perfect vault she had ever seen!

"Good job Mac, that was amazing! That was so amazing!" Aly gushed as she hugged McKayla. "Perfect ten!"

JJ laughed as she reached out and hugged her friend. The nerves were slowly ebbing away, having seen her teammates put up strong starts to the competition.

She was more than ready for what the next two hours held.

Wanting to keep her nerves in check, JJ hadn't watched any of Kyla's routine on bars, instead choosing to remain in the corner as she carefully warmed herself up for her routine.

It seemed like no time at all before she was atop the podium, facing the judges with her eyes trained on the screen that would give her the go ahead.

It flashed green, making her turn and smile as she saluted the judges. With a deep breath, she turned to face the bars. Now was the most important time. She had to be brilliant.

As she mounted the apparatus, up in the stands, her mom was clenching her father's hand. No matter how many times she watched JJ do bars, they still made her nervous. It was here that JJ's biggest potential to unravel completely lay.

"Come on baby girl," she muttered as JJ transitioned to the high bar. She drew in a sharp breath as JJ pulled up to handstand, holding it as she swung around the bar and into her first release. When JJ's hands closed securely around the bar on the other side, she let it out again.

She'd even managed an extra connection compared to the routine she had done in qualifications, the immediate transition to the high bar after her Pak salto. But just like she trained, she had shut off her mind to stop herself from overthinking, focusing solely on the routine, and now, she was winding up for the dismount.

With a satisfying ping, she let go of the high bar, soaring up into her dismount. She hit the mat with a THWACK, completely upright, her arms already in the air and a million dollar smile on her face.

"Yeah Jayje!" Will yelled excitedly as he watched JJ turn and salute the judges before leaving the mat. "So good!"

"She's gotten better there! I remember last year she was a bit of a mess," Tessa mused from beside him. "Man I was nervous watching that... I still can't believe half the stuff she does, I'm too afraid of heights to even consider it"

Bounding down from the podium, JJ was enveloped in a crushing hug by Aly and McKayla, who were both as equally excited at the improvement she had shown with her routine.

"You keep up like that and you're going to be in the hunt for a bars medal," Aly muttered quietly, a devilish grin on her face. JJ scoffed, playfully swatting Aly's shoulder as she began to take off her grips.

Having earned a strong 15 to follow Kyla's 14.933, JJ was feeling all the more confident as they watched Gabby take her turn. She seemed to soar through the air above the bar, reminding everyone exactly why she had been picked for this team.

Soon they were heading around to beam, and JJ chose again after the warm-up to work quietly by herself in the corner. She knew her teammates would hit. They had all trained so well for this moment. But she couldn't watch them. She had to stay focused, she had to stay calm. If she didn't nail beam... what good was she on this team?

Gabby was first, and just as they all knew she could, she nailed a solid set. She and JJ were very much the same in that so long as they didn't get too much into their own head, they had the goods to make it happen.

Her 15.233 was followed by Kyla's very respectable 15.133, a score that had Kyla tearing up with pride at the knowledge that she had done her job for her country. She had even pointed to her tears, laughing all the same, and said "look Aly! Tears!" a statement that had made them all laugh – Kyla was known for being very in control of her emotions.

And then, stoic and determined, JJ was staring down the end of the beam. Nick was off to the side, watching her closely, but at this point, his work was done. It was up to JJ now.

Up above the floor, Jason was gripping Katie's hand as he watched JJ salute the judges.

All he wanted was for JJ to nail this routine. Being her signature event, it was also the one she cut herself the least slack on. One mistake would have her pissed off about it for days.

"Now here... the world beam champion. Jennifer Jareau, of the USA"

"She's fabulous on this event. I know Amanda Redding, the head coach for our girls, was watching Jennifer in qualifications the other day and wondering how on earth they can get our girls doing beam like that"

"Her difficulty is just ginormous"

She hit the beam with a defiant thud, making Katie flinch in her seat as her grip on Jason's hand tightened. She and Jason never got to see JJ compete live anywhere near as much as Sandy and Michael did... and all that achieved was making them more nervous when they actually did see her.

"Nice Jayje," Jason muttered as she executed her leap series. Steadying herself momentarily, she swung back into her flight series; two flips, into a layout full.

"That's just... wow"

"Not many girls competing that move, in fact, she's the only one at the Games doing it, and it's probably the best laidout full I've ever seen"

Without so much as a breath in the middle, JJ went straight into her front aerial, followed by a second one. As she swung immediately back into an Onodi, Jason held onto his breath, leaning back in his seat momentarily before JJ's feet made safe contact with the beam on the other side.

"You're going to raise your blood pressure," Katie chided him softly. "This is JJ... she's great!"

"JJ's the reason my blood pressure is going up," Jason muttered as JJ did a full spin, finishing it perfectly on the ten second chime. Katie chuckled, swatting his side as she leaned into him.

With two clean flips down the length of the beam, JJ rebounded into a full twisting double tuck, landing it perfectly upright and stuck to the floor. Her family broke out into loud cheering, joining the applause coming in from all sides as she saluted the judges and jogged off the mat beaming from ear to ear.

"One more baby girl... just one more. You're almost there," Sandy whispered as she clapped for her daughter. It was more for herself than anything, but it rang true.

They were three routines away from what looked like a gold medal.

Russia had been nipping at their heels. But in one fell swoop, it had all come unravelled on floor. Anastasia Grishina had fallen out of her stepout on her combination pass, meaning not only did she have hefty execution deductions, she was missing a required component of the routine.

So Ksenia Afanasyeva had risen up as the reigning world champion, ready to cement Russia's place in the standings. And it had looked so good, so strong... until her final pass. Like a flash, she had crumpled on her rebound, landing her double pike on her knees in a defeated final attempt at Russia's bid for gold.

Then the warm-ups had brought their fair share of trouble. Aly had rebounded out of her double front and directly onto her head. Completely unhurt, she had simply got up and walked it off, but it had made JJ's stomach start doing flip flops.

Then she herself had done a timing run of her double pike, the pass she used to close her routine. And crashed it to the floor, exactly like Afanasyeva had done not even five minutes before.

A little more nervous than before, she had pulled herself up to try it again. This time, she managed to get her feet to the floor, before throwing her hands down to catch herself.

"Oh JJ, come on," Sandy breathed. "You can do it"

"JJ," came Mihai's voice from behind her. She pulled herself up, turning to face the Romanian with a defeated look.

"Do the double tuck instead," he said calmly. "It won't hurt our chances, and you're less likely to make a mistake"

She nodded once. He gestured her back to the floor, where she lined up in the corner once more.

Taking a deep breath, she took off again. This time, she got a strong punch, easily pulling a double tuck around and to her feet. Catching Mihai's eye, she shot him a smile as she walked from the floor, the flip flops in her stomach lessening slightly.

The warm-up was over. And so, after the roar for GB's Hannah Whelan, Gabby stepped up to take the floor.

"This, to help the USA earn a score of 39.466... for gold"

With her music throbbing through the arena, Gabby took off. This time, JJ was watching, her heart racing. Less than 10 minutes to go until they knew... if their dreams would come true.

Gabby's first pass was solid, but as she lined up for the second, JJ felt her stomach lurch. This was the one that she had flown out of bounds at the end of on Sunday night. They had the room to cushion mistakes, but any mistakes would only make the job undoubtedly harder for herself and Aly.

But thankfully, Gabby kept it in, her smile seeming to reflect the lights of the arena as she bounced around into her choreography.

Turning away from the end of Gabby's routine, JJ took a few breaths to steady herself, her eyes trained on the floor.

A pair of hands landed on her shoulders, making her look up into the smiling face of Jenny Zhang.

"Don't worry," she said kindly. "You are going to do great"

JJ felt a warm feeling wash over her as she gave Jenny a genuine smile in return. Today was her chance to prove that she was more than just a beam worker. She could do floor in the team final... she could be counted upon for a great score.

Gabby's routine ended to rapturous applause, signalling that it was time for JJ to start moving. Forcing herself out of her own head, she ascended the stairs, high fiving Gabby as she passed her.

She shook herself out as she stood there, comforted by Jenny's presence on the floor behind her.

Gabby's score went up just over a minute later, and, unable to help herself, JJ chanced a glance up at the scoreboard.

What she saw made her heart leap.

Their total was 154.130, with two routines to go.

The gap to the Russian Federation was just 24.400. She and Aly only needed to average 12.200 to win!

"On floor exercise, representing the United States of America... Jennifer Jareau!"

Beaming from ear to ear, she turned to face the judges, saluting them quickly before stepping out onto the carpet and into her starting pose.

"Come on Jayje," Will breathed as he shuffled a little closer to the TV. The room was practically silent, all of them waiting with baited breath to see if it was really going to happen.

"This is such a delightful routine... for any long time gymnastics fans, you may remember this music from the Sydney Olympics! Andreea Raducan performed a very famous floor routine to this song"

The music started and JJ sprung to life, immediately setting herself in the corner for her first pass. Determined, she sprung off her feet, tumbling down the diagonal and rebounding into the highest double layout she had ever done. She landed it with a flicker of doubt, flourishing straight into her choreography to follow.

"She reminds me a lot of the Romanians on floor. She's so little, but deceptively powerful, and she's just so clean on everything she does!"

"Come on Jayje!" Michael yelled as JJ tumbled back across the floor for her double Arabian, soaring through it with only a little shuffle of the feet on the landing. As she landed, the crowd began to roar, so much so she could hardly hear her music. But, with barely a second to register that thought, she continued on, counting out the music in her head as the deafening roar increased in volume.

Next was her triple twist, which was maybe slightly under-rotated, but she covered it quickly. A leap series carried her around to the next corner, where she continued to block out the cheers and narrowed her focus down on her landing spot.

Off she went. The tumbling was strong, and when she rebounded out of her backflip, muscle memory took over. Instead of the double tuck she had warmed up, she rotated through an easy double pike, hitting the floor with so much power that she rebounded into a strong split leap, her smile already spreading uncontrollably across her face.

With a final flourish, she hit her final pose, positively beaming as the crowd ramped up again in applause.

That was all for her!

"Jennifer Jareau!"

Unable to wipe her smile off her face, JJ jogged off the floor towards the other girls, immediately being wrapped into a crushing bear hug by McKayla, Kyla and Gabby.

"You did it! You did it! You did your pike!" McKayla shrieked over the din.

"I did!" JJ cried back, laughing as they went in for another hug.

Her score was up just minutes later, a score that had them all aflutter with the realisation that their Olympic dream was just 90 seconds away.

15.133. Putting them just over 9 points away from the Russian Federation.

Confident, determined, and more surefooted than ever, Aly stepped out onto the floor to take her place.

"I would say their Olympic gold medals are just about two minutes away"

"They're so close!" Tessa cried excitedly as Aly's name card flashed up on the screen before them.

"I don't think I can watch, I feel sick!" Lani exclaimed from the other side of the room. "Start passing the tissues around"

"God I would not want to be Sandy and Michael right now," Michelle, Lani's mom, mused. Janine LaMontagne nodded in agreement, taking a deep breath as their attention turned back to the screen.

"Stand by for a blistering finish for the USA"

Hava Nagila filled the arena, and Aly was off. A breath to set herself, before taking off into her combination pass. As JJ had expected she would, she omitted the punch front at the end that she had so ceremoniously crashed in warm-ups.

"Nice Aly, come on!"

Swinging herself through her choreography, she took off again, back the way she had come, in a piked double Arabian. The music began to speed up as she danced her way around the edge of the floor, encouraging the crowd to clap along.

"Come on Aly, you got it!" Kyla yelled out as Aly leapt her way around to the nearest corner, before dropping down into her low choreography.

And then she was lining back up for her third pass, the music picking up pace again as she took off. She rocketed off the floor into a triple twist, landing it defiantly in the corner as her teammates cheered on the sidelines.

Even if she fell on her last pass... they had gold. They had to.

"One more Aly, let's go!" JJ yelled as Aly got herself into the corner again for her final pass. A deep breath and she was off, the music entering its last section.

She took off again, rebounding across the floor and up into a soaring double pike.

Her feet hit the floor and the arena exploded into deafening applause. She soared through a connected split jump, before swinging her arms into her final pose and becoming still once more.

"YEAH!" McKayla yelled, jumping up and down with Gabby as they began to run for the stairs. Aly was heading back towards them, her face twisted into an expression of overwhelming emotion.

"I think we did it!" Gabby said excitedly as they all wrapped each other in hugs, Aly trying to contain herself. JJ wrapped her in a tight hug, before pulling away and gripping her hand as they began to walk over to where they could see the jumbotron.

"I'm already crying," Sandy laughed as she and Michael rose from their seats. Not wanting to obstruct anyone's view at the very end, they had decided to move into the aisle, where they were a little more free to move around.

"Any minute now," Michael replied, somewhat breathlessly. They came to a stop on the stairs, Michael wrapping Sandy in a hug as their eyes remained trained on the scoreboard.

The girls stood together, hands linked, in the now eerily quiet arena. It seemed as though it was taking forever, at least to JJ. Her stomach was aflutter with excitement, but also, a sense of longing.

She wished Ros was in the audience. More than anything in the world.

Suddenly, the deafening roar was back, her hands were being thrown into the air, and she just managed a glance at the scoreboard before Aly wrapped her into a bone crushing hug.

WOMEN'S TEAM FINAL
RK - TOTAL - GAP
1 - UNITED STATES -184.563
2 - RUSSIA - 178.530 - 6.033
3 - ROMANIA -176.414 - 8.149
4 - CHINA - 174.430 - 10.133
5 - CANADA - 170.806 - 13.757
6 - GREAT BRITAIN -170.495 - 14.035
7 - ITALY - 167.930 - 16.633
8 - JAPAN - 166.646 - 17.917

They were in first.

"YES! OH MY GOD!" Michael yelled amongst the din, wrapping his now sobbing wife into his arms as excitement pumped through his body. Next minute, another body had joined them, and Jason was hugging them out of overarching joy. Over his wife's head, Michael's eyes were fixed on the scoreboard, his eyes beginning to swim with tears.

"Hey, is that your kid?" the man sitting on the end of the row to his left said with a smile.

"The little blonde one on the US team... that's our daughter," Michael said thickly as Sandy straightened up and turned to face the arena, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.

"That's amazing," the other man gushed, extending a hand to Michael, who gladly shook it. "Congratulations, I bet you're incredibly proud right now"

"Oh, we are," Michael said somewhat breathlessly, unable to stop smiling. Turning back to Jason and Sandy, he beamed, wrapping them into another crushing hug.

Lani's living room back in Pittsburgh had descended into chaos. Will had jumped to his feet, pumping his fist into the air, while Lani had dissolved into tears of joy amongst the din they were creating. For after years of talking about it, JJ had finally achieved her biggest dream.

Unable to control herself, JJ was sobbing, more than she ever had at the Olympic Trials. Joy, longing, glory, and massive rushes of adrenaline were coursing through her veins, accompanied by the disbelief of what she had just achieved.

A pair of arms wrapped around her, and she gratefully turned into them, recognising them immediately as belonging to Nick.

"I am so proud of you kiddo," he said thickly, his voice sounding awfully strained. "You just won an Olympic gold medal, JJ!"

He pulled away, bending down slightly so he was level with her.

"Ros would be really proud of you," he said, just loud enough for her to hear. Swallowing back her tears, JJ nodded, managing a smile as Nick reached up and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Go on. Go celebrate with the girls. You've earned it"

Chariots of Fire was playing in the background. She could see American flags waving all around the arena as the applause for the newly crowned silver medallists from Russia started to die off. Her stomach was full of butterflies, and she was on the edge of the tears that had overwhelmed her so easily at the conclusion of the final.

"Médaillés d'or et champions olympiques représentant les États-Unis d'Amérique"

Gabby grabbed her hand, an excited squeal leaving her mouth that made JJ laugh.

"Gold medallists... and Olympic Champions! Representing the United States of America!"

The North Greenwich filled with excited applause and JJ had to swallow hard. She still couldn't believe they had done it.

"Jennifer Jareau!"

Waving to the crowd, she began to walk around the podium to shake the hands of the girls from the Romanian team.

"Gabrielle Douglas!"

She couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she shook each girl's hand in turn, even getting a kiss on the cheek from Sandra Izbasa, the reigning Olympic floor champion.

"McKayla Maroney!"

Gabby was now right behind her as she shook Catalina's hand and began walking over to where the Russians were standing on their podium. The oldest member of the team, Ksenia, immediately smiled and leant down to kiss her cheek in congratulations.

"Alexandra Raisman!"

As devastated as they were with their silver medals, the Russian girls could not have been more gracious as they shook the hands of the American girls. Even Viktoria Komova had managed a smile as she exchanged congratulations with JJ.

"Kyla Ross!"

JJ was the first back up on the podium, and in no time at all, the other four girls had joined her. Cameras clicked all around, and then the volunteer and the IOC official were walking towards them with a tray bearing five picture perfect gold medals.

The IOC official came to JJ, smiling up at her as he picked up the first gold medal from the tray.

"Congratulations," he said in a thick accent that sounded somewhere between German and Belgian. JJ leant forward, her heart soaring as the purple ribbon settled heavily around her neck. Straightening up, she shook his hand, a lump forming in her throat as she took the medal in her hand. It was so much heavier than she had ever expected. Heavy with the weight of everything it had taken for her to get it.

Tears welled in her eyes again as she thought of her parents sitting in the crowd. How she wished so badly that Roslyn could be sitting there with them.

"Hey, you're not allowed to cry before Aly," Gabby giggled, reaching over and squeezing JJ's hand. It was a small action, but something that brought JJ a great deal of comfort. "I still can't believe we did it Jayje!"

JJ sniffed back her tears, a little laugh escaping as she turned the medal over in her hands again. It was the largest Olympic medal ever made to date... and one of them was all hers.

She'd really done it.

Flowers were awarded to them, and they had another presentation to the crowd. JJ wanted to sob out of sheer joy, but she kept her smile firmly in place.

"Ladies and gentlemen... please stand for the national anthem of the United States of America!"

There was a brief moment of confusion, but the girls eventually worked out that the flag was going to rise from their right. The lights around the arena dimmed, leaving a spotlight on the podium, and another one over to the right where six military officials stood alongside the event podiums.

Hand over her heart, JJ took a deep breath as The Star Spangled Banner began to play. Accompanied on either side by the flags of Romania and the Russian Federation, the flag of the United States of America rose above them all. JJ felt as though she was going to burst with pride as she mouthed the words to their anthem, watching their flag rise into the air.

The final notes of the anthem sung out across the arena, and the crowd began to roar. Beaming from ear to ear, the five girls raised their hands into the air, waving proudly to the adoring British crowd.

Sixteen years. Sixteen years after the Magnificent Seven... the Fierce Five had done it. And they had done it without any sliver of doubt that they were the greatest team in the world.

Real World Results

In the 2012 Olympic team final, the team from the USA - Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Jordyn Wieber, Kyla Ross, and McKayla Maroney - stormed their way to gold finishing with 183.596 points to finish 5.066 points ahead of the second place Russian team. Team Romania snapped up a bronze, which would be their last team medal in a 40 year streak of never finishing off an Olympic team podium.

Team USA competed the following lineups in the real team final:
VT - Wieber, Douglas, Maroney
UB - Wieber, Ross, Douglas
BB - Douglas, Ross, Raisman
FX - Douglas, Wieber, Raisman