A/N: JJ's a lil spicy in this chapter.

Despite the surgery's success, a night of higher than acceptable levels of pain meant JJ's surgeon had decided to keep her in hospital for one more night so that she could be monitored.

She'd had a fitful night's sleep. Between the pain and discomfort in her leg and being woken every couple of hours to have her blood pressure checked, she was in a pretty foul mood come morning. She'd picked at her hospital standard breakfast, before taking to absently surfing through the TV channels in search of something to watch. After a while, she ventured onto her social media. She didn't know if it was out of boredom, frustration, or wanting to feel less alone, but eventually, she posted a picture of her cast to Instagram, effectively announcing to the gymnastics world that she was down with an injury.

jenniferjareau
As gymnasts, we may seem superhuman, but we're actually not, as I proved yesterday by breaking my leg while messing around with some skills in the foam pit. How did I break my leg in the foam pit, you might ask? I completely overshot my takeoff from the trampoline and smacked my leg into the pit barrier. Not ideal, but at least it happened now and not right before Nationals. Hoping to be back stronger by the summer!

"Knock knock"

Turning her head towards the door, she couldn't help but light up when Will walked into the room, closing the door behind him.

"Hey... what are you doing here?" she asked, beaming from ear to ear. "Shouldn't you be at class? It's your last week before Thanksgiving break"

Will shrugged, making his way over to the bed and shuffling up beside her. "I can do my classes online this week. Besides, I thought you might want some company"

"Will," she scolded gently, but she was smiling nonetheless. She tipped her head onto his shoulder, her horrible mood seeming to evaporate into thin air as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You shouldn't be blowing off class to see me"

"My girlfriend is in hospital having just had a metal rod put through her leg. I think I can blow off whatever I like to come and see you," Will replied, turning to look at her as she tipped her face up towards him. She smiled, bringing a hand to his chest and toying gently with the fabric of his hoodie. His lips came to her forehead, a soft sweet kiss that brought her a sense of comfort she didn't know she had been missing. She let out a happy sigh, relaxing into his arms as the TV chattered away in the background.

"You know… you haven't really said much about how you're feeling," Will said gently after a few minutes. "This is a pretty big thing, and no-one would blame you if you wanted to be upset about it"

"I'm fine," JJ replied, not moving from where she was resting. "It is what it is"

"Ok," Will conceded, his fingers tracing gentle circles on her upper thigh. "Just know I'm here if you want to talk about it"

As he finished speaking, JJ's phone began to ring, buzzing loudly against the table. She reached out and grabbed it, grinning when she saw an incoming FaceTime call from Aly.

"Hi Aly," she said with a smirk as she answered the call, propping her phone up against the water jug.

"Excuse me Jennifer Jareau, don't you 'hi Aly' me. Were you going to tell me that you broke your leg? Or was I supposed to just figure it out on my own?"

JJ managed a grin. "Sorry. It's been a little hectic. I wasn't really in the mood to talk to anyone when I made that post"

"Are you ok? What the hell happened?"

"I was at the gym yesterday just messing around, and Nick jokingly told me to do a double double layout off the tramp, which I've done before. So I did, and then on the second attempt, I pitched it too far back on the takeoff and smacked my leg into the side of the pit"

"Ouch!"

"Yeah. So they've put a rod through the bone to hold it together while it heals. At least it happened now, not in the spring"

"That's the silver lining for you. You ok though? You seem a bit flat"

"You would be too if you'd just snapped your leg," JJ snapped, immediately regretting how irritable she sounded. Aly frowned, making JJ take a deep breath. "Sorry… I didn't sleep very well last night, I was in a lot of pain and they kept waking me up to check my blood pressure. My eyes feel like they're gonna fall out of my head"

"It's ok, I get it. I won't keep you ok? Get some rest. Let your Southern dreamboat pamper you and cater to your every whim"

"What did you just call me?" Will asked, leaning further into the frame with a cheeky grin. Aly laughed.

"You heard me. Alright, I'll leave you to it. Hopefully you feel better soon Jayje, and let me know when you're home!"

As Will reached out and hung up the call once they had bid their goodbyes, JJ squirmed uncomfortably beside him.

"You good?" he chuckled.

"No," JJ groaned. "I have to pee. And it's such a fucking nightmare with the cast, I need someone to help me get down and up"

"I can help you," Will offered sweetly. JJ raised an eyebrow.

"You really wanna do that? Help me get my ass over the toilet so I can pee? Not exactly my idea of a romantic date, or a flattering way to see your girlfriend"

Will laughed. "Jayje, in case you've forgotten, I've seen you in some pretty compromising positions. It's fine, ok? I can help you, saves you having to wait for a nurse"

Relenting, JJ turned to the side, carefully lowering her casted leg over the edge of the bed. By the time she had her foot on the floor, Will had come around in front of her, his strong hands supporting her as she carefully got to her feet with all of her weight resting on her good leg. He let go with one hand, reaching over and grabbing her crutches, before stepping out of the way to allow her a path to the bathroom. She slowly ambled her way into the tiled space, stopping in front of the toilet and shuffling around so she was facing away from it.

"What's the best way to do this?" Will asked, moving her crutches to the side and out of the way.

"Hold onto my waist while I get my underwear down, and then I'll hold onto you," JJ replied. "At least I don't have shorts or anything on, that would be a nightmare"

Chuckling, Will did as he was told, placing his hands just above her waistband and holding her firmly so she was on balance. She leant down, shrugging up the fabric of the oversized T-shirt she was wearing in place of a hospital gown and tugging her underwear down as far as she could get them. Her hands came back to Will's arms, holding tightly to his forearms as he helped her lower herself onto the seat.

When he was sure she was seated, he stepped out of the room, giving her some privacy. Not too much later, she called out for him to come back. The reverse action was far easier than the initial getting prepared, and before too much longer, he was sweeping her up in his arms and lifting her back onto the bed, cast and all.

"Thank you," she said softly, cuddling up beside him as he got situated next to her again. "Sorry I've been a bit of a grump"

"It's alright," Will replied, kissing the top of her head. "I think you're allowed to be"

"Oof… you're heavy," Will teased as he carried JJ into her lounge room the following morning. With Michael at work and Sandy not of the stature to physically help JJ, Will had gladly volunteered to pick her up when she was discharged. "You could stand to lose a few pounds"

"Pig," JJ laughed, slapping his shoulder as he took her over to the couch and set her down. He made to move to the other end of the couch, but JJ tugged him back, making him laugh.

"No, come and sit with me," she whined, flashing him a cheesy grin. Will chuckled, helping her shuffle along the couch until he could sit behind her. When he eventually got settled, he pulled her back against him, smiling when she tipped her head back against his shoulder.

"How's the leg?" he asked, gently rubbing her upper arm.

"Itchy. Sore," JJ replied, flopping back completely against him as her mother bustled into the room.

"Sorry to burst your happy bubble JJ, but… I have no idea what's going on, Steve Penny just called me and he sounds angry about the fact that you posted your injury on Instagram?"

JJ sat up, her face twisting into an expression of pure confusion. "What?"

"He said something about how USAG should have been notified first and should have had the chance to make a statement"

"Statement?" JJ spat in disbelief. "It's my fucking broken leg, do they want to come down here and wear the cast for me too?"

"I don't know Jayje… I told him pretty much that but he wasn't really having a bar of it. I don't know if he's going to try and contact you or if it was just a phone call to say 'why did you do that?', but it was… weird. Controlling, actually?"

"Screw him, he's a dickhead anyway," JJ muttered.

"JJ," Sandy said gently, lightly scolding her daughter. "It's fine, ok? I'll talk to your dad about it when he gets home. Legally I don't think USAG have any right to say that to you, but your dad will know for sure"

Sighing, JJ sat back against Will's chest, rubbing her forehead as he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Don't worry about it. They're just being a typical corporation. It's your life, your business, you post whatever you want"

JJ exhaled heavily. "I know, it's just… it's USAG. They're a bunch of idiots at best"

Will chuckled, kissing her temple. "Just relax. Time for you to rest up, then you can go out there and show them"