A/N: Can't wait to get to the Olympics!

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA JJ!"

The shriek was accompanied by a flying body landing squarely on top of JJ, waking her up with a yelp as other voices started to laugh.

"Thanks Simone," JJ groaned, curling up on her side and pulling her pillow over her head. Even though she'd rather have still been sleeping, she was already fighting off a smile.

"Did I hurt you, I'm so sorry, oh my god-"

"No, just a knee straight into my stomach," JJ said with a groan, pulling the pillow back so she could look up at Simone, who was still sitting on top of her wearing a grin larger than life itself. "Who let you in?"

"Aly," Simone giggled.

"Of course," JJ said with an eyeroll, looking over towards Aly's bed where her best friend was sitting with a grin.

"We got you presents!" Laurie chimed in gleefully from the doorway. At that, Simone shifted, finally allowing JJ to sit up. As soon as she was sitting, Laurie and Madison approached, handing her a small gift bag.

"You guys didn't have to do that," JJ said sincerely, a smile creeping onto her face.

"Well, you're celebrating your birthday at camp, training your ass off, and you've had… a shit year… so yeah, we kinda did," Aly insisted, getting up and adding a wrapped present to the gift bag now sitting at JJ's side. As she did, Simone reached down onto the floor beside JJ's bed, producing another gift bag which she added to the small pile.

"Thank you guys," JJ replied, picking up Laurie and Maddie's gift as she gave them a warm smile. "Really, it means a lot"

Laurie and Maddie, not being as close to JJ as Simone and Aly, had opted for a cute set of sweat bands for JJ to wear under her grips on bars, as her old ones were starting to get a little gross. They were a deep blue, with white stars all over them outlined in red; very patriotic.

"Just what you need for the Olympics," Laurie giggled as JJ reached over and gave both girls a hug.

Simone had bought JJ some new makeup, including a Too Faced eyeshadow pallet she'd been eyeing off for quite some time but had never got around to buying, as well as a bag of Jolly Rancher candies.

"I know you like to keep a bag of candy in your bag at meets for when you have "low blood sugar"," Simone giggled as she air quoted the words. JJ had to laugh; she mostly kept the candy around for when she needed a little boost, or to stop her chewing her lip when she was nervous.

"Thanks Simone"

However, it was Aly's gift that practically reduced her to tears. With Aly squeezed in beside her as the five of them sat huddled on her bed, JJ had pulled off the wrapping to reveal a gorgeous leather bound photo album.

Opening it, she found photos chronicling her journey through gymnastics, dating as far back as 2009.

"Oh my god, is that you guys at your first nationals together?" Laurie gasped.

"Yes," JJ laughed. "I look like a fetus"

The girls all laughed, flicking through the pages of the book. Laurie, Madison, and Simone oohed and aahed over the photos from the Olympics, but it was the last page of photos that brought JJ to tears.

All photos of her and her dad, her dad cheering ecstatically in the crowd, her dad crying with joy when she had made the Olympic team. All surrounding a note that Aly had written and placed in the middle.

He was always so proud of you, no matter what, and we know you'll make him proud again in Rio

"Aly," JJ said tearfully as Aly put an arm around her shoulders. "This is amazing"

"I knew you'd like it," Aly said softly. "I didn't want to make you sad with the last page… but I think it's an important part of your life in gymnastics"

"It just… doesn't even feel real that he's gone, you know? I feel like it hasn't hit me properly yet"

"Well, when it does… you have an amazing support network that's here to pick up the pieces," Aly said warmly. "And in the meantime? The four of us are here for you no matter what in Rio. We're your team, and we're going to get you through this"

As they all enveloped her in a tight hug, JJ was smiling through her tears.

"I love you guys. I love you all so much"

As a celebration for JJ's birthday, and to give the girls a bit of a break from the Ranch, Marta and Rhonda had elected to take the girls, their coaches, and the national team staff out for dinner in Huntsville, a half hour drive from the training center.

Seated in a quaint little Italian restaurant, everyone was chatting happily to one another. Nick had somehow gotten himself stuck between Aimee and Maggie, Laurie's coach, who were talking animatedly to each other before giving Nick the chance to shuffle down beside Mihai. Catching JJ's eye, he rolled his eyes jokingly, making her giggle as Aimee swatted his shoulder with a grin.

"Wonder if Marta would let me have a glass of wine?" Aly mused, swilling some water around in her glass with a mischievious grin on her face. JJ chuckled, shaking her head as a waiter approached the table.

"You're a loose cannon Raisman," she teased, getting a nudge in return.

"Are you ready to order?" the waiter asked Rhonda, who was sitting across from JJ a little further down the table. She was the only person not in conversation.

"Just one minute, we're waiting for a couple more people," she said with a smile, her gaze falling somewhere in the direction of the restaurant door.

"Who are we waiting for?" JJ asked Aly, who shrugged as she poured herself another glass of water.

Moments later, a whiff of something very familiar met JJ's nose. She knew that smell so well… in fact, she was sure she'd bought that.

"Happy birthday beautiful"

"Oh my god!" JJ cried, leaping out of her chair and whirling around to find Will standing behind her as the entire table laughed and clapped. She threw her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder and willing herself not to cry.

"How are you holding up?" Will asked softly, rubbing her back gently to keep her calm; he had sensed all the repressed emotion she was holding back.

"I'm ok," she said gently as she pulled away. When she did, she suddenly realized her mom was also there, a few steps behind Will. Unable to fight off her smile, she turned, accepting a warm and incredibly reassuring hug from her mom, a hug she had arguably needed all camp long. "What are you guys doing here? I thought you weren't coming until Sunday night?"

"We spoke to Nick. He said Marta was planning a dinner for your birthday and wanted us to be there, so of course we came," Sandy said warmly.

As she stepped back, JJ was aware of how thin her mom looked. While she had been able to throw herself head first into training for the Olympics, her mom had been alone in that big old house in Pennsylvania, with nothing but grief to occupy her mind.

"Don't worry about me," Sandy said with a knowing smile, brushing JJ's hair out of her eyes. "Will's been keeping me company, and your brother calls every day"

JJ smiled, her eyes growing awfully bright. Seeing her mom was just bringing all the pain, the loss, bubbling back to the surface. Swallowing thickly, she forced it as far out of her mind as she possibly could; now was not the time to deal with it.

With a little reshuffling, everyone was finally comfortably seated; Will between JJ and Aly, and Sandy beside Nick, across from her daughter.

Dinner was a conversational affair, and after spending two hours talking and laughing with her teammates, her mom, and Will, JJ was feeling considerably lighter. They had entertained the restaurant with a rousing rendition of 'Happy Birthday', much to JJ's embarrassment.

Later that evening, they were all headed back to the ranch, where Sandy and Will were being put up until Monday afternoon when the team would leave for Rio.

Feeling refreshed and reassured, JJ had fallen into her bunk.

She was asleep before she'd even fully settled onto her pillow.