A/N: Yes, there is a slight deviation from canon here – I wanted to put it in after seeing one of AJ's Instagram posts!
Before JJ knew it, it was the end of November. Snow had reached Pennsylvania, and Christmas preparations were well underway.
Her brother and his wife had joined them in Pittsburgh shortly after JJ arrived home from Worlds, wanting to spend some time with Michael and see that he was managing treatment. Which he was; even when the chemo made him feel awful, he still managed to keep his spirits up.
With all the craziness, JJ had only just noticed that something had changed with herself; during Worlds, she had been vaguely aware of the fact that she was suffering from dull headaches and had had to make the text larger on her phone to stop her eyes hurting. It hadn't even registered with her due to all the stress of the competition, but upon arriving home, she had realised the difference. A trip to the optometrist had unearthed the cause of the problem; hyperopia, or long sightedness, which required corrective glasses for doing tasks up close, like reading, writing, using her phone, etc.
Having only picked up the glasses that morning, JJ was wandering around the house in the midst of the comings and goings, unsure of how she felt about her new accessory.
Sipping on the hot cup of coffee she'd just brewed for herself, Sandy smiled as JJ walked into the kitchen, toying the frames in her hands.
"Not sure?" she chuckled, setting her cup down.
"It feels so strange. I know it's only for reading and things, but it just feels weird. They make me look like a fly," JJ said dryly.
Sandy laughed, shaking her head as she stepped forward.
"No they don't, JJ, you're just not used to seeing yourself wearing them," she said, clearly amused. Reaching out, she took the frames from JJ's hands, lifting them to JJ's face and slipping them back on gently.
"You look fine," she said with a smile. "They actually suit you"
"Hey Mom, hey JJ, we're back, and we're going out again, oh, and Will's here," was Jason's hurried greeting as he raced in and back out of the kitchen, Katie hovering out in the hallway. Sandy chuckled as she watched her son take off, seconds before Will came into the room.
"I would say good morning, but it's almost lunchtime," he said lightly as he walked in.
Hearing his voice, JJ turned.
"Oh hey, they're new!" Will said in surprise when he saw JJ's glasses, getting a laugh out of Sandy. "I'm guessing that optometrist appointment didn't quite go how you thought it would"
"No, my eyes have crapped out on me," JJ said with a grin. "Apparently I'm long sighted, so I need these for reading. It's only minor, so only a weak prescription... but I'm trying to decide how much I hate them"
Will grinned, lifting a hand to tuck JJ's hair back from her face as Sandy moved over to the coffee machine to make the young couple a coffee each.
"You still look beautiful," Will said sincerely. "They suit you"
"See?" Sandy said over her shoulder. "I'm not the only one who thinks so!"
"You're both biased as all hell though," JJ laughed. "But thank you"
Taking them off, she set them down beside her phone as Will leant against the counter beside her.
"How's Michael doing?" Will asked as he looked over to Sandy, who had turned back to face them after setting the machine.
Sandy shrugged. "Good days and bad days. The chemo makes him feel terrible, but somehow he's still up and about most of the time. He's still in good spirits, so the rest of us are staying the same"
Looking down at the bench top before her as her mother talked, JJ's thoughts drifted back to the day she'd come home from Glasgow. After finding herself coming to terms with their family's new predicament in the hospital, upon arriving home, she had found that all changing.
"So what's actually going on Dad, what have the doctors been saying?" JJ asked as her dad made himself comfortable in his favourite armchair.
Michael scoffed, waving a hand towards her. "We can get to that later, tell me about Worlds!"
She'd been trying to get the full story out of her dad all day, but to no avail. Her voice starting to rise in frustration, she gave him a pointed look. "Same as the last four, Dad, please don't avoid it-"
"I'm not, JJ, you just got home from the World Championships and I want to hear all about it," Michael cut in.
"I don't want to talk about Worlds, I want you to treat me like an adult and tell me what's going on!" JJ yelled, immediately bursting into tears as the tension disappeared from her body language. "You were diagnosed with cancer, Dad, and I deserve to know what's happening to you. All I thought about during Worlds was if you were ok. Do you know what even happened after you told me? I just cried, Dad, because I was scared and didn't know what was going on. Marta even gave me the option of going HOME because I was that upset. I just want you to realise I'm an adult too, I have the capability to understand what's happening to you, and I have the right to know"
"JJ," Michael said softly, rising from his chair and approaching his daughter. "I'm not trying to shut you out, and I'm not trying to keep things from you. I'm sorry this is hurting you, but don't cry. It's not worth our tears"
JJ let out a weak sob as he pulled her into a hug, clutching at him for the comfort she'd been longing for the entire time they'd been in Glasgow.
"It's not good... but it's not terrible either," Michael said gently as he pulled back and brushed JJ's hair out of her eyes. "Radiation, chemotherapy, and maybe surgery is the plan of action. The doctor is hopeful that we've caught it in time, and if we have no major hiccups during treatment, I should be cancer free by May... just in time to get healthy to hopefully travel to Rio in August"
"Don't talk about Rio," JJ whispered through diminishing sobs. "I don't even want to think about it"
"I did actually come over here for a reason, I'm not just here to scab a free coffee," Will said with a grin, breaking JJ from her thoughts as Sandy placed the aforementioned coffees down in front of them.
"Oh yeah? You need a reason to come here other than seeing me?" JJ said with a cheeky smile. Will chuckled.
"Seeing you is more than enough, but I honestly do have another reason for coming over," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. Setting it down on the counter, he pushed it towards JJ.
"I wasn't going to tell you and just surprise you when the time came, but I figured after the last few weeks, it might be nice for you to have something to look forward to," he said gently.
Confused, JJ picked up the piece of paper, opening it and scanning it quickly. Moments later, she gasped, snapping her eyes up to meet Will's, a smile spreading across her face.
"We're going to Hawaii?" she asked, her voice brimming with excitement.
"For a week. We leave next Tuesday," Will affirmed, still smiling. "Our Christmas present from my mom and dad"
"They didn't have to do that," JJ said, setting the paper down on the bench.
"They wanted to," Will assured her. "When I spoke to them last week, I mentioned that it hadn't been the easiest year for you, and they wanted to do something like this for us anyway"
JJ beamed, letting out a squeal of excitement and bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "I've never been to Hawaii! Oh my god, Will, this is amazing!" she shrieked, throwing her arms around her boyfriend. Will laughed, holding her tight and spinning around as she hugged him. More than anything, he was just thrilled to see her so happy after an incredibly tough year.
Do you think Sanne Wevers has a shot at the Olympic beam title next year? We know JJ and Simone are good, but Sanne definitely has potential!
Yes, Sanne definitely does have the potential to take an outside shot at an Olympic medal, but I wouldn't go as far as to say it's an outside shot for gold. Between JJ and Simone, granted they stay healthy and make the team, I think beam gold and silver are almost locked down to the US. I say almost because Simone is the only real question mark of the two; she's amazing and scores excellently when she's on, but when she's tired or under a lot of stress, beam is where she makes mistakes, and you have to take into consideration that beam will most likely be at the end of the artistic program in Rio. As for JJ, well, she's pretty much always on, and when she's on, a high 15 is no big deal for her to reach. We haven't seen anyone outscore her on beam since 2011; she's literally topped beam in qualifications, team, all-around, and beam finals at every major competition she's attended since then, so for Sanne to shoot for gold, she'll have to pull out everything she's got.
Why didn't JJ get a silver medal for bars at Worlds?
Because in terms of rankings, she was fifth. When the rankings are released for finals, everyone is ranked according to how many gymnasts competed in the final. For an event final, that's eight gymnasts. When there is a tie at the top, as there was in Glasgow, the number of gymnasts who tied basically eats up the equivalent number of ranking places. Four gymnasts tied for gold, meaning that technically, four gymnasts placed above JJ for three possible placings. Hence why she didn't receive a medal. If it was done based on scores alone, she would have won a medal, but that literally would have been a bizarre podium haha. Well. More bizarre than it already was.
If the Olympics had been last month, who would you have had on the team out of the Worlds team?
Without a doubt, JJ, Simone, Maggie Nichols, and Madison Kocian would've been on the team. The last spot, probably Aly; I know she was a mess in Glasgow, but we know what she's capable of and she absolutely killed it in team finals.
Having uploaded a picture to Instagram with her new glasses, JJ was absently fielding through a flurry of comments as she and Will lay in bed watching Orange is the New Black.
gymrudestics ok jenniferjareau94 looks adorable in glasses, but hopefully they don't become needed for her gymnastics!
Grinning, JJ tapped out a reply.
Jenniferjareau94 Thanks! Don't worry... don't need them to see the beam just yet. Give it another ten years *laughing face*
"You know, you really were incredible at Worlds," Will said softly, catching JJ's attention.
Locking her phone and setting it down beside her, she turned to look at him. "Thanks, but... I could've done so much better," she replied, smiling.
"Maybe you could've done better, but you still won four medals. It still blows me away every time I watch you compete, I'm like... 'that's really my girlfriend'"
JJ laughed, draping an arm over his stomach as she cuddled up beside him, resting her head on his chest.
"I have no idea what the next year is going to be like, but promise me one thing JJ"
"What's that?" JJ asked, lifting her head to look at him again.
"Don't ever change," Will said with a smile, kissing the top of her head. "Not only are you amazing as an athlete, but as a person too. Like I said, I don't know what the Olympic selection process is like, but I can guess it's pretty intense. Don't let it change who you are... because I love who you are"
Smiling, JJ nodded, stretching up to kiss him briefly.
"I promise"