A/N: Enjoy! And please leave those reviews, I love them :D

The door was firmly locked but behind it she could hear the terrified sobs of her best friend.

"Aly! Aly? Open the door!" she cried desperately, jimmying the handle in an attempt to force the door open. "Aly!"

"She'll be ok. It'll help her injuries"

She whirled around, slamming her back against the door as the twisted face of Larry Nassar swam before her. In the corner was the cowering form of McKayla, her body shaking with sobs as well.

"Don't…. you hurt them… you're a monster!" JJ screamed, pressing her body as far into the door as she could as he seemed to draw closer and closer.

"It's medicine, JJ. And now it's your turn"

"No," she cried, her voice breaking in her throat. "No!"

"Don't be afraid. I can heal you. I can make you feel better. I'll make the pain go away"

His hands lunged for her, a scream tearing from her throat as she thrashed awake, the blankets wrapped like a straight jacket around her sweaty frame.

"JJ!"

But she couldn't pinpoint where she was, her chest was tightening, her throat closing. She fought wildly, terrified sobs surfacing through gasping breaths as she blindly tried to push the sheets away and sit up.

"JJ, it's ok, you're ok," came Will's familiar voice from her right.

"I can't…. help… I can't breathe… can't breathe," she gasped desperately, finally disentangling herself and bolting upright as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, the weight of the cast on her injured foot threatening to drag her to the floor. She clutched her chest, the room swimming even as the door was thrown open and the light came on.

She felt like she was going to die.

"I can't breathe… I can't breathe," she continued to gasp in panicked breaths, her face whiter than the sheets she'd just thrown off her body.

And then Will was in front of her, his concerned face grounding her in the present as he placed his hands on her upper arms.

"You're ok," he said calmly. "You're safe. I'm right here with you"

Lifting his hands to her shoulders, he squeezed them gently to ground her.

"Lean forward. Close your eyes," he said softly, pressing on the backs of her shoulders to tip her weight forward slightly. Her white knuckled fists still pressed tightly to her chest, tingling as they started to lose feeling, she obliged, desperately trying to draw in air.

"What happened?"

Her mother's voice permeated the fading sounds around her, shrill and concerned.

"It's ok… she's havin' a panic attack. JJ, try to focus on breathin' out. Try to breathe out and completely empty your lungs before you breathe in again"

She was starting to feel like she was drowning, like someone had pulled her to the bottom of a deep pool and pinned her down… but finally, she was able to take control of her own muscles and force the air out of her lungs.

"See, you're ok," Will said gently, keeping his hand steady on her arm as she slowly began to normalise her breathing. "You're alright"

It seemed to take forever… but eventually the iron hand around her lungs opened up. The feeling returned to her fingers, and she was able to draw in a deep, shaky breath.

As soon as she let it out again, she crumbled, dissolving into tears as she slid off the edge of the bed and into Will's strong arms. Burying her face in his shoulder, she sobbed fearfully against his skin, feeling smaller than ever as she cowered in his arms.

"How could he do that to them?" she sobbed in a breathless whisper. "To any of them?"

"I don't know Jayje," Will breathed. Holding her tight, he smoothed her hair down as she cried into his shoulder. "I'll never understand why or how he did what he did… he's a monster. But they're stronger than he is… braver… more courageous… they won't let him win. And you won't either"

Struggling to keep it together, Sandy turned, leaving the room and heading across the landing for the stairs. Her child may not have been sexually abused by Larry Nassar… but he had still hurt her. He had forced her to watch her friends transform from carefree, loving girls, to broken, pained shells of the champions they were. For whatever reason, he had spared her… but the anxiety was still real. The panic inducing fear. The pain.

It was all real.

"Did you get any sleep?"

JJ shook her head, fighting back a yawn as she sipped at her coffee.

"Maybe you need to go back and see your therapist again," Sandy suggested gently as she walked over to the coffee pot. "Just to talk about everything that's happening and get it off your chest with someone who's… qualified. Otherwise you're going to keep having nights like last night"

JJ shrugged, setting her mug back down and heaving a sigh. "I just… I'm overwhelmed. I know I knew about Aly, but… hearing about McKayla was like… just compounding the truth. I don't know if I'm ready to know how bad this is going to get. Because I know it's going to get worse. They can't be the only two, as sick as it is to say that"

"I know," Sandy said sadly. "Have you spoken to McKayla at all?"

JJ shook her head, drumming her fingers against the side of her cup. "I don't even know what to say"

"Just let her know that you're there for her," Sandy said softly. "That you love her and care about her. Even if she doesn't want to talk… I think it will be nice for her to know that you're thinking of her"

Sighing, JJ shrugged again, stifling another yawn before picking up her phone from the table. "I'm going to call Aly today. I want to see how she's doing"

"Tell her I said hi," Sandy said with a small smile, picking up her mug from under the machine. After stirring in sugar and creamer, she left the room, leaving JJ alone at the table. Still yawning, JJ picked up her phone, scrolling easily to Aly's contact and hitting the call button.

It was a good ten seconds before Aly picked up, and for some reason, when she did, JJ felt her body sag with relief.

"Hey Jayje"

"Hey. You ok? You sound a little rough"

There was a sigh on the other end, followed by a short silence before Aly spoke again. "Yeah, I'm… I'm not great. But I'm ok. I'm guessing you saw Mac's statement yesterday"

"Yeah," JJ said quietly. "I… part of me knew, Al. Ever since you told me, I figured that was why Mac was pulling away, but… seeing it in writing was really upsetting"

"I know. I got really upset… started having flashbacks and everything. It was horrible"

"How have you been doing lately? I know you've been working on your book"

"Honestly, Jayje, I've had days where I can't even stand up in the shower. I'm so exhausted all the time, and I haven't even come forward publicly yet. I want to, and I'm preparing to, but… it's so emotionally draining, and I'm in therapy twice a week to try and process it all but, shit, it's really hard"

JJ swallowed back a lump in her throat. She hated that her friend was hurting. "I'm sorry you're having a rough time. I… I wish I knew what to say"

Aly chuckled. "It's ok JJ, I don't expect you to say anything. I just… I feel safe talking to you because I know you know exactly what the really bad days feel like. I know you're not going to judge"

JJ smiled. "I'd never judge you, you know that"

"I know. But hey, onto happier things… how's Will? How's the wedding planning going?"

"He's good. He's at the police academy during the week now, and he's loving it. As for the wedding planning, we really need to get a move on because we've set a date, and it's only like… six months away"

"Oh my god, really?! Why so soon?"

"We just… don't want to wait. Like, we still want to do it properly and have a proper celebration, but after Nationals, we made an agreement that by that time next year, we'd be married. So we're sticking to it"

"Aw, that's super exciting though! Oh my god, in six months, you'll be Mrs LaMontagne!"

JJ grinned. "I'm not sold on the name change"

"Yeah, how would you be JJ if you changed your name?"

"My thoughts exactly," JJ laughed. "Speaking of the wedding, Al, I wanted to ask you something"

"Shoot"

"I'm sorry that it's not with some kind of fancy hamper thing, but… I wanted to know if you would be my maid of honor?"

There was a shriek on the other end, making JJ laugh as she ducked her head away from her phone momentarily.

"Oh Jayje, I don't care how you ask, I would love to!"

"Really?"

"Of course!"

A bright smile crossed JJ's face, her chest flooding with a feeling of genuine joy and warmth. "I'm excited to have you be part of the day. And honestly, I'm just going to need some moral support from my best friend to get through it, because I know it's going to be a lot"

Aly laughed. "Typical JJ, goes all out and gets wigged out by everything"

"Wait 'til you get married, you'll be the same," JJ shot back with a grin.

"Well, if you need me to come to Pittsburgh for anything, whether it's dress shopping, or flower choices, since we know Will is probably going to love choosing flowers, just say the word, I'll be on a flight"

"I don't doubt that for a second," JJ laughed.

"Have you asked anyone else to be part of your bridal party?"

"Not yet, but I know who else I want to ask"

"Can I ask who?"

JJ chuckled. "Well, I want to ask Simone. And Katie, Jason's wife"

"You know, I really liked Katie when we went out in New Orleans. She seems like a lot of fun"

"She is. Jason can't keep up with her sometimes," JJ laughed. "Much to Katie's amusement"

"Well, I can't wait for the big day, it'll be great. You just better hurry up and tell everyone when it is!"