A/N: Sorry it's taken so long. Life has been busy, and hard, and it's hard to get in the headspace to write. But I'm going to try a little harder to get some more writing done!

It snuck up on her so suddenly. Almost as if the realisation that today was the day of the beam final had been encapsulated in her tube of toothpaste. She'd woken up feeling nervous, but had managed to push it to the back of her mind. Now, as she stood in front of the mirror brushing her teeth, it was rattling up her chest like lava, demanding to be acknowledged.

Dropping her toothbrush on the edge of the sink, JJ turned, fumbling for the lid of the toilet. She managed to lift it just in time for the contents of her stomach to make a reappearance. It was hardly anything, leaving her grimacing from the sour taste as she flushed the toilet and turned back to the sink. Bending down, she ran the tap and quickly rinsed out her mouth, before reapplying toothpaste to her toothbrush.

"Did I just hear you throw up?"

Looking back over her shoulder, JJ found Aly looking at her from the bathroom door. She remained silent, returning to face the mirror as she continued brushing her teeth.

"Are you sick?"

"No," JJ replied through a mouthful of foam. She hurriedly finished, rinsing her mouth out again at the sink and putting away her toothbrush before she turned to face Aly. "Please don't say anything to Nick"

"I won't… are you sure you're ok though?" Aly asked quietly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," JJ muttered, sliding past Aly and out of the bathroom so she could start getting ready for the day ahead. Her stomach was still in knots as she started digging through her bag in search of her things, but not wanting to dwell on her nerves, she tried to force it out of her mind.

"JJ"

"I said I'm fine!" JJ snapped, whirling around with her face set in stone. Aly recoiled, looking slightly shocked at JJ's outburst.

"Sorry… I… I'll see you at breakfast," she said softly, hesitantly gathering her things before leaving the room to get changed elsewhere. JJ felt a small stab of guilt in her stomach. It wasn't Aly's fault she was such a nervous wreck.

"Wait... Aly," she called out, stepping out of the room into the little communal area they all shared. But Aly was already gone, and the guilt was settling further in her stomach.

The day had passed in a blur of training, and before JJ knew it, she was standing in the warm-up gym while the beam final got underway outside.

She'd run her routine in training, and it had been ok, but now that the ultimate moment was looming, she felt like she was frozen inside.

Her hands came to rest on the beam before her, but she couldn't find the strength to pull herself up and start practicing again.

"You ok kiddo? You look a little pale," Nick said gently, coming to stand beside her. She glanced up at him, finding his face written with concern. And somehow, just seeing how much he genuinely cared for her wellbeing made her feel just that little bit better.

"I'm really nervous," she breathed, not even seeing the point in lying. "I woke up this morning and I just… I feel so much pressure"

"From who?"

"Myself… my family… fans… Marta… even you. I mean, I know you're not trying to put pressure on me, but I just feel like I have to do well because I'm your first Olympian… I don't want to let you down," she said softly, dragging her fingers lightly across the top of the beam.

Leaning down and resting his elbows on top of the beam, Nick let out a long breath.

"JJ, you could never let me down," he started gently. "When we started this journey, we always agreed that no matter how far we got, this dream was always yours. And I know that by this being your dream, it also kind of becomes mine… but for me, it's always been just to see you happy, and confident, and enjoying what you're doing"

He brought a hand to the back of her shoulder as he peered down at her. "I have no expectations for you today other than for you to finish this final and feel like you gave it your best. But my expectations don't matter. Neither do anyone else's. The only expectations that matter are your own, and it's ok if they're not to win"

JJ let out a deep breath, nodding as she lifted her gaze a little higher.

"Were you sick this morning?"

She snapped her gaze up to Nick, her eyes widening. "I told Aly not to say anything"

Nick shook his head. "Aly said nothing. You just didn't look great when you came down for breakfast and I know you sometimes get an upset stomach when you're really nervous"

JJ exhaled heavily. "I… yeah. I'm ok now… just wanna get this through with"

Smiling, Nick straightened up, holding out an arm to JJ. She gratefully accepted a hug, feeling a sense of calmness wash over her as he gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Make sure you still enjoy it. It's not every day you get to compete in an Olympic beam final"

Pulling back, JJ managed a small smile.

"Now come on. You've got time to run your routine once before we head back out onto the floor"

A few minutes later, with a successful training routine under her belt, they were walking back out into the arena just in time to catch Ksenia Afanasyeva of Russia mounting the apparatus. As she dropped her backpack on the row of chairs, JJ instinctively glanced up at the standings.

Deng Linlin of China was holding down first place with a very strong 15.600. Catalina Ponor was sitting in second with a 15.066, while Sui Lu, the silver medallist from the previous year's world championships was sitting all the way down in third with a 14.500. Judging from the tears she was wiping away, JJ surmised she must have fallen from the beam, and knew that her medal chances were hanging on the remaining four gymnasts making mistakes.

Larisa Iordache was sitting below Sui Lu with a very low 14.200, telling JJ that she also had to have fallen as her starting potential was quite high.

Taking a deep breath, JJ moved towards the stairs as Ksenia wound up the end of her routine. Nick followed just behind her, standing a short distance away while she swung her arms around to stay loose.

After a somewhat nervy routine, Ksenia had dismounted and JJ was making her way up the stairs. While Nick went about setting her springboard, she coated her palms and feet in a layer of chalk.

Once she was ready, she turned to face the beam, nodding once as Nick smiled at her on his way down the stairs.

"Representing the United States of America… Jennifer Jareau!"

Lifting her chin, she saluted the judges over to her left. The timer began ticking down from 30, indicating she had just half a minute to mount the beam and start her routine.

She took one last deep breath, before springing off her feet and running towards the springboard.

She punched off it hard, flipping cleanly through a pike front mount. Her feet hit the beam and she immediately sprung back up, connecting it to a wolf jump.

"Very nice… great start for Jennifer Jareau"

Pushing forward into a switch leap, followed by a switch half, she straightened up, confidence surging through her chest when she had not a flicker of a wobble. Using her choreography and flourishes, she turned towards the end of the beam, bringing her feet together. She swung down immediately, flipping twice across the beam before launching into her full twisting layout. She landed it with a slight hesitation, but the applause from the crowd brought her confidence straight back up.

She settled herself momentarily, before stepping out into a front aerial, followed by another front aerial. She connected it easily to her Onodi, finishing it was a flourish as she garnered more applause.

"She is just… so good. Absolutely world class on this event"

She worked her way through more choreography, spinning easily to complete the turn requirement, before dropping down to the surface of the beam for the lower movements.

Before she knew it, the ten second chime had sounded and she was on her feet for the dismount.

One last deep breath, and she swung back into two flips. Her feet punched hard off the end of the beam and easily wrapped a full twist through her double tuck.

She hit the mat with a small hop back, and as she straightened up to salute the judges, she couldn't help huge smile spreading across her face. The crowd were applauding loudly, and for the first time, she felt absolutely no self doubt.

That had to be worth gold.

Making her way down the stairs, she was immediately swept into a huge hug from Nick, who was beaming from ear to ear.

"You were amazing… that was… the best beam routine I've ever seen you do!" he gushed, swinging her around as she laughed in his arms. "I'm so proud of you kiddo"

As he set her down, she beamed up at him. "I'm proud of me too"

Grinning, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, squeezing her tightly as they began walking back over to the bags. Aly came up to give her a quick hug, but no words were shared between the two, as JJ knew Aly was still focusing on her own routine to come.

It seemed to take forever for her score to come up, a wait that would normally have had her stomach in anxious knots. But considering how nervous she had been that morning, all she felt right now was a strange sense of sureness.

And then her score came up with a roar of appreciation from the crowd.

15.900

"Oh my god!" she shrieked, turning and throwing her arms around Nick's middle as the crowd applauded a truly fantastic score. Nick laughed, spinning her around and holding her close as they celebrated what was truly a historic score.

"That is UNBELIEVABLE! Almost a 16, that's incredible! I think it's safe to say she's the Olympic champion with that! That's going to be extremely difficult to beat!"

When she pulled away from Nick, she was immediately swept into another crushing hug by Mihai. Tears of joy were cresting her eyes and her heart was pounding out of control in her chest.

She wasn't able to watch Viktoria's routine, too excited to focus or sit still, but the score that flashed up afterwards told her the young Russian had fallen.

Finally, it was Aly's turn to go. JJ was still in first, and the American camp were fairly confident the gold medal was without a doubt hers. Aly was good on beam, but not 15.900 good. Deng Linlin was still holding second, followed by Catalina Ponor with a 15.066.

Aly's routine was solid as usual with only a few minor form breaks, and when she dismounted, JJ and Mihai were the first ones to her.

"That was so good Aly!" JJ said happily, hugging her friend tightly. Aly beamed from ear to ear, hugging JJ in return before hugging each Mihai and Nick.

It felt like an eternity until the moment when Aly's score came up, but when it did, the look on her face was nothing but crestfallen.

14.966. Just a tenth below Catalina.

"Mihai! Mihai! File an inquiry!" came two voices from the stands amidst the audience's applause for the score. "Her difficulty is not right!"

Without hesitation, Mihai raced off in search of an inquiry form, while JJ pulled Aly into a hug.

The inquiry was filed just over two minutes later, and then began the anxious wait to see if the inquiry would be accepted. It was a nervewracking wait, an anxious five minutes in an arena that seemed deathly silent.

They were lining up to leave the arena for the victory ceremony, of which it was now certain JJ would be the champion, when Aly's score finally changed.

"Yes!" Aly cried, throwing her arms around Mihai as her name moved into third place ahead of Catalina Ponor, however, with the same score, a 15.066. She had won the tiebreak based on her execution, and now, she and JJ would be on the podium together.

WOMEN'S BEAM FINAL
RK
1 - JAREAU J. - USA - 15.900
2 - DENG LINLIN - CHN - 15.600
3 - RAISMAN A. - USA - 15.066
4 - PONOR C. - ROU - 15.066
5 - AFANASYEVA K. – RUS - 14.583
6 - SUI LU - CHN - 14.500
7 - IORDACHE L. - ROU - 14.200
8 - KOMOVA V. - RUS - 13.166

JJ was filled with pride. She finally had her individual glory, a gold medal that she had won all on her own. She would share the podium with Aly, one of her closest friends. Nick had coached an individual Olympic champion, and she was so proud to be representing him in the process.

"Feeling better than this morning?" Nick asked as he pulled her into another hug. JJ grinned, nodding as she squeezed him back. Aly was nearby, beaming ear to ear as she tugged her tracksuit on over her leotard, and JJ was almost more proud of Aly than she was of herself.

After a few slightly chaotic minutes of wandering alongside the beam podium, the eight gymnasts were finally led from the competition floor, the three medallists at the lead.

When they reached the back, the other girls were taken away to either return to the warm-up gym for the floor final or go to the holding area for the shuttle bus back to the village.

As JJ changed into her grey podium wear alongside Aly, her stomach was fluttering with excitement.

She was about to get a gold medal that was entirely hers to claim. A gold medal she had dreamed of having since she was just a little girl.

"Winner of the gold medal, and Olympic Champion! Representing the United States of America… Jennifer Jareau!"

Waving around to the cheering arena, JJ walked around the podium and shook Aly's hand, accepting the hug her friend leaned down to give her, before crossing over to Deng and shaking her hand also. Beaming from ear to ear, she ascended to the topmost step of the podium. The IOC officials approached her, first placing the gold medal around her neck, then handing her a bouquet of flowers, each shaking her hand in turn.

The anthem passed in a bit of a blur, but it was a moment JJ knew she wouldn't forget very quickly. Almost immediately after it was over and their photos were complete, the three girls were ushered back out to the foyer under the arena. Deng left straightaway with her coach, heading for the village shuttle, while JJ and Aly were led out to the warmup gym to join the other floor finalists in preparation while the men's parallel bars final carried on out in the arena.

Her double pike glided easily around as she glued her feet down to the carpet in what was her last gymnastics skill of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Finishing her routine, JJ found herself a little choked up as she saluted the judges and left the floor with a wave to the crowd.

It had been an incredible experience, and she was sad that it had to come to an end.

With the gold medal she had already won looming in the back of her mind as fuel, JJ had completed what was probably the best floor routine she'd ever done to earn a nice score of 15.300. She had truly embodied the character of the routine, and it was clear the crowd had enjoyed it, because their applause afterwards was completely uplifting.

Aly had gone out in exciting fashion, also performing the routine of a lifetime to score a massive 15.600, the highest floor score of the quad, and cement herself into the lead ahead of JJ.

By the time Sandra Izbasa had taken to the floor as the last competitor and taken an unfortunate fall on her last tumble, it was clear that Aly would be the champion, and JJ the silver medallist.

Aliya Mustafina was easily into third, however, she had been tied with the Italian girl, Vanessa Ferrari. Winning the tie on execution would award Mustafina the bronze medal. JJ had been secretly hoping that Lauren Mitchell, the Australian who was sitting less than a tenth behind Mustafina and Ferrari, would take a history making bronze, but unfortunately, it was not to be.

JJ was ecstatic that she had done enough to win her fifth Olympic medal, but part of her was sad that for her and Aly, the Olympics were over.

Sandra's score went up, and the final standings released to the scoreboard.

WOMEN'S FLOOR FINAL
RK
1 - RAISMAN A. - USA - 15.600
2 - JAREAU J. - USA - 15.300
3 - MUSTAFINA A. - RUS - 14.900
4 - FERRARI V. - ITA - 14.900
5 - MITCHELL L. - AUS - 14.833
6 - PONOR C. - ROU - 14.766
7 - AFANASYEVA K. - RUS - 14.566
8 - IZBASA S. - ROU - 13.333

"We are gonna have to get a seat for your medals," Aly laughed as she and JJ hugged. "I'm proud of you"

"Aly, you just won gold! I'm proud of you!" JJ replied with a chuckle.

"We finished up strong. Hopefully I can stand here with you in Rio and we can kill it there too," Aly replied softly.

"If you haven't put a hip out by then," JJ teased.

"Oh shush, I'll be pushing your wheelchair down the vault runway," Aly chuckled as they gathered their things and prepared to head out for their medal ceremony. Behind them, Nick laughed at the girls' banter, while Mihai just shook his head with a defeated grin.

And off they went, to receive two more medals to add to Team USA's total.

Her hands shook slightly as she placed the last medal down on her bed.

Five. Five Olympic medals, two of them gold. Five medals to represent two of the most magical weeks of her life. They represented almost everything in her life up until now. They were the culmination of years of tears, sweat, sacrifice, determination, and a bucket ton of hard work.

She ran the tip of her finger around the edge of the gold medal she had earned on beam earlier that day. For years she had dreamed of being Olympic champion on her favourite apparatus… now she had finally done it. She had beat two fabulous routines from the Chinese gymnast, she had beat her best friend… she was the best beam worker in the world.

"Hey Jayje, the girls are going to head down and get something to eat if you wanna go with them," came Nick's voice from the doorway.

She turned, looking at her coach without words. Pride was shining in his eyes, but for some reason, all she could feel was the lump rising in her throat.

And then before she knew it, the tears were spilling down her cheeks. Unwarranted, completely out of the blue, they seemed to sap the energy out of her body as she turned her gaze back to her five medals.

"You ok kiddo?" Nick asked gently, stepping into the room and nudging the door behind him. Without closing it, he slowly walked over to JJ's bed and knelt down before her on the floor.

"I don't even know why I'm crying," she said tearfully. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing, JJ," Nick said sincerely. "You've had an emotional roller coaster of a month. You've gone from thinking you weren't going to be on the team, to being on the team and still thinking you didn't deserve that spot, to being the most decorated member of the team. You've had a hard month, kid… no-one's gonna care if you want to have a meltdown once in a while, god knows you've earned one"

JJ let out a little laugh, wiping her cheeks as she looked at her medals again. She took a deep breath, a few more tears spilling over as she did.

"I think you, of everyone on this team, lost the most on the way to these achievements," Nick said softly, tilting his head to look at JJ. "I know Roslyn would be really proud of you"

JJ nodded, unable to speak as the tears continued to roll forth.

"I think… after everything it took to get here, all the hard work, all the time… I can't believe it's over," she said softly, her voice shaking. "Is that really it?"

Nick smiled, reaching over and squeezing her hand. "Not even close. You're gonna ride this golden high for the rest of your life, kiddo"

JJ smiled, wiping away the last of her tears. "I really get to say I'm an Olympic Champion"

Nick grinned, nodding. "Yes you do"

Shuffling forward, JJ allowed herself to be wrapped in a tight embrace from the coach who had become a second father to her. Comfort washed over her, and the last of her emotion seemed to disappear.

It was over. The hardest thing she had ever achieved, the culminating moment of fourteen years of work… it was all done. But it would never be forgotten, and it could never be taken away from her.

It was something she was going to cherish forever.