A/N: Ramping up now! I know 2016 is kinda blowing by quickly, but that's because for JJ, it feels like a blur – wanted to replicate that feeling!
"Michael? Will's here to see you," Sandy said gently as she walked into the room where her husband was resting. Michael turned his head, smiling at his wife. With a great deal of effort, he pushed himself up to sitting, his smile remaining in place as Sandy pressed a kiss to the top of his head and retreated from the room. Will had followed in behind her, and taking a deep breath, he pulled up the chair beside the bed and lowered himself into it.
"What can I do for you Will?" Michael asked, his voice much weaker than Will had ever remembered it being.
"I… I want to talk to you about JJ," Will said quietly.
"What about JJ?" Michael responded calmly.
"About the fact that I… I love her. That I've always loved her and that's never going to change. And I just want her to be happy, and cared for, and safe, which I know you want for her as well, and I… I want to be the one that does that. For the rest of my life. Because JJ's been through so much already, and I want to make sure that she's happy and isn't getting hurt in the future"
Michael smiled. "What are you asking?"
Will took another deep breath, running his hand through his hair. "I want your blessing to ask JJ to marry me"
He was surprised, but slightly relieved when Michael chuckled.
"Will, you've always had my blessing. You love JJ fiercely, and you protect her while also building her up and giving her the confidence she needs to tackle whatever she sets her mind to. That being said though, I respect that your parents raised a gentleman. So thank you for showing me the same respect you show my daughter"
Will smiled. Michael took a long laboured breath, grimacing as he shifted around to try and get more comfortable.
"I'm sure you know there's not much time left for me. But I know you and JJ will be so happy together"
"I can ask her… whenever. I'll plan something. So at least… she can share that with you"
Michael reached out, placing a hand on Will's arm to steady him. "Please don't rush it on my behalf. I'm happy just knowing that you two will be together, knowing that my JJ is going to be taken care of for the rest of her life. You ask her when the time is right for you. This is a beautiful thing, Will. Do it perfectly for you"
Swallowing hard, Will nodded. He reached into his pocket, pulling out the ring box. "I've had this ring for two years… I wanted to propose when I took her to Conneaut Lake for our anniversary. And then again when we were in Hawaii. But it wasn't the right time… I think maybe part of it was that I felt I needed to ask you first. I'll find the right time. I will. But here… this is the ring I'm going to give her"
He passed it to Michael, who gently flipped the box open to reveal the diamond ring inside. He broke into a smile, looking up at Will with bright eyes.
"You spoil her," he said with a little laugh, passing it back to Will. "But you make her happy. That's the most important thing"
Will smiled, reaching out to shake Michael's hand. He was surprised when the older man pulled him into a hug, but touched nonetheless.
"Thank you Will. It makes it a lot easier to accept that I'm leaving this world when I know you'll be there for JJ in every way"
The last national team camp had arrived in such a flurry that it was hard to believe it was almost over. It was now their second last night at the ranch, with one final training session the following morning.
Sinking back onto her mattress, JJ closed her eyes as Aly rustled around in her bag. On the bunk above JJ, Gabby was immersed in her music, her headphones blocking out her surroundings as she nodded away to the beat of the song.
She'd expected to be inundated with sympathy upon arriving at the camp, which was something she'd been dreading. Luckily, all the girls had been incredibly understanding about giving her space and carrying on like nothing was wrong. Because that had been exactly what she needed; to march into the US domestic season with her head held high and nothing fazing her.
"Oh my god, JJ, Will keeps sending me selfies," Aly laughed, breaking JJ's reverie. "And they're really unattractive… oh wait, no, he sent them to our group chat, so you'll get them too. Please keep them as blackmail"
"He sent me one this morning that was so blurry I couldn't tell what it was, but I'm hoping against hope it wasn't a picture of his ass," JJ replied, giggling. "Or his dick"
"Hope he didn't send that one to me, I'd have to disown both of you," Aly laughed, sinking down onto the edge of her bed.
Opening her eyes again, JJ looked over at Aly with a grin. She actually felt considerably more relaxed and happy than she had felt since March, like half of the weight had lifted from her chest.
Just as she was opening her mouth to speak to Aly again, something moved out of the corner of her eye, drawing her attention to the slats running beneath Gabby's bunk.
She wasn't expecting to find herself face to face with a lizard roughly the size of a football.
"Holy SHIT!" she shrieked, launching herself out of her bunk.
"What!" Aly yelled, jumping up in shock, nearly dropping her phone as she did.
"There's a massive lizard in my bed!" JJ cried, pointing towards the bunk. By now, Gabby had removed her headphones, looking in confusion between her two teammates.
"A lizard?" she asked, frowning. JJ nodded, watching as Gabby leaned over the edge of the bunk and lowered herself down until she could see beneath her bed.
When she did, she screamed.
"OH MY GOD!" she shrieked, leaping up and moving as far towards the other end of the mattress as she could. Meanwhile, Aly had inched closer, leaning down to get a look.
"Eww! You were lying in there Jayje, what if it had fallen on you?" she asked somewhat hysterically as she straightened up.
"Don't even go there," JJ said threateningly.
They were interrupted by the lizard deciding he no longer liked his perch and dropping onto JJ's mattress with a flick of the tongue. All three girls screamed.
"What, what!" came the voice of Simone as she burst into the room, her phone held aloft in her hand, Christina Desiderio and Alyssa Baumann right behind her. Her eyes fell almost immediately on the lizard, prompting her to join the shrieking.
"I'll go get Norah, she's braver than us!" Alyssa yelled over the commotion, turning on her heel and sprinting out of the room.
"I'm never touching those sheets again," JJ moaned, inching slowly towards the door. "I'm gonna have to set everything on fire!"
"That is one big lizard!" Simone exclaimed breathlessly.
"That's not a lizard Simone, it's a fucking dinosaur, and it's IN. MY. BED!" JJ cried, making the other girls start to laugh despite the situation. "Are you snapchatting me?"
"Maybe," Simone giggled. "To send to Will"
JJ shook her head, but she couldn't fight off the grin. Moments later, Alyssa returned, Norah at her side. The second she saw the lizard, Norah's eyes widened.
"Why am I the resident reptile catcher?"
"You can make it a little louder," Aly was egging Simone on as the younger girl stood across the floor by the stereo, plugging her phone into the aux connection.
"It's at 40!" Simone called back.
"It's the last day, come on! A little louder… it's not that loud!" Aly persisted.
"It's never been at 40 though," Simone said reluctantly, turning towards the volume knob.
"It's the last day-"
Aly was cut off by loud music blasting through the gym as the group sitting on the floor burst into laughter. Around them in the gym, cameras followed their every move; NBC were filming a documentary called The Ranch, documenting the process of making it to the Olympic Games. Filming had started just before Worlds the previous year, but as stressed as she had been at the time, JJ had declined to participate in any interviews. Now, however, she had agreed to take part. She and Aly were to be interviewed following practice that day.
A short while later, their coaches began to file into the gym, followed by Marta and the rest of the national team staff. After that, it was all business. Warmups, stretches and conditioning, followed by event drills, and then closed off with a verification competition, involving all of them getting up one at a time on each event and performing for everyone else in the gym. For JJ, this was the scariest part of being an elite in the US; not even the Olympics had been as scary as Marta's verifications.
"Alright!" Marta said at the end of the session once all the girls were lined up before her. "Good training camp. Being the last one, I am glad that we are finishing this stage on a very good note. Now, we down to the very very last stretch. Mental strength will be very important, and the desire from your heart. Some distractions will arise. Push them aside. Good luck with everything"
"Thank you Marta, coaches and national staff. Goodbye," the girls all said quickly in unison, before rushing forward in a huddle to have one last word with Marta before departing the following morning.
One by one, Marta spoke calmly with each of the girls, giving each of them something to work on before the US Classic, before dismissing them to enjoy their remaining free time at the ranch.
JJ's turn came up shortly after Aly, and it was then that the national team coordinator placed her hands on JJ's shoulders and gave her a comforting smile.
"This season is to hammer out those competitive nerves. I know you can go out there and be champion, so remember that yourself. Believe it in here," Marta said softly, tapping just below JJ's collarbone to indicate her heart. "I know there is a lot to be going on back home for you, and I don't want to tell you to push that aside for your gymnastics. Family is very important, they have helped you get this far. Make sure you make some extra time to spend with them now, ok? You will be glad you did"
Tears burned JJ's eyes as Marta gave her a quick yet reassuring hug before dismissing her with Aly.
To have Marta understand what she was dealing with… somehow, it had just given her all the confidence in the world.