A/N: Sorry this took a month, it's been a little crazy!

"Do you ever think about how weird kissin' is?"

JJ turned her head to the right. She was hanging upside down from the monkey bars by her knees, happily showing off her agility in front of Will. Now, he was standing on the ground off to one side, looking at her with a dopey grin.

"Sometimes," she giggled. "I mean, I see Jason kissing his girlfriend all the time… it's so gross, he looks like he's trying to eat her face off"

Will laughed, taking a couple of steps forward until he was standing just below her. "My brothers do that too. But it must be nice, because they keep doin' it"

JJ giggled, swinging back and forth ever so slightly as a thoughtful look crossed her face.

"We could try it," she said softly. "See what it's like"

Will looked surprised, before he took another step towards her.

"Well, are you gonna come down?"

JJ laughed, shaking her head. "You'll have to catch me"

Quick as a flash, Will had reached out, grabbing her cheeks. Then his lips were against hers, a quick brush of soft skin, before he just as quickly pulled away.

Surprised, JJ momentarily forgot where she was, and relaxed her legs. With a squeal, she slipped from the bars, landing on the rubber play surface with a thump.

"JJ!"

But she was already giggling, rolling onto her back as she rubbed her head.

"I'm fine," she laughed, accepting his hand to pull her back to her feet. When she was standing up once more, she brushed herself off, before looking into her friend's bright blue eyes.

"Maybe we won't do that again," Will said with a laugh.

"Yeah… it's weird!" JJ giggled.

"Come on… I'll race ya back to your house!"

With a sudden intake of breath, JJ snapped her eyes open to surrounding darkness.

Aside from the constant hum of the engines, the cabin was mostly silent.

Shrouded in the darkness, permeated only by the scattered soft light from the odd entertainment screen, JJ had restlessly tried for what felt like hours to get some decent sleep. Even so, it had only been about three hours since they had taken off from Houston, and only about an hour since the meal service had concluded. She guessed she must have fallen asleep, but it was certainly not the best sleep she'd ever had.

Lifting the window shade, she leaned forward to look out the window. Far below them, she could see the pale outlines of the clouds. The lights on the end of the wing were flashing repeatedly, briefly illuminating the dark night with bright light.

The frigid air from outside seemed to be radiating off the glass, so she lowered the shade again and pulled the airline blanket a little higher up her body. She wasn't exactly cold. She really just wanted to be snuggled up. Maybe it would help her sleep.

"You ok kiddo?" came Nick's quiet voice from beside her. Turning to look at him, she managed a weak smile, followed by a yawn that betrayed her level of alertness. He chuckled, teasingly nudging her leg with his knee as she grinned and got herself comfortable again.

"Just tired. I hate sleeping on planes," she mumbled, tipping her head to the side so it was resting against the flap of the headrest.

"Tell me about it," Nick groaned. "But best to try and catch some Zs before we land, you know Marta will probably have you all in training three hours after getting off the plane. No excuses if you can't throw a gold medal winning beam set two seconds after you disembark"

JJ chuckled softly, nodding in agreement.

"But seriously kid… are you alright? You've been really quiet the last few days"

JJ stayed silent for a moment, her mind wandering back to the thoughts of her best friend that seemed to invade her mind at every minute. The lingering self doubt that threatened every minute of her waking existence.

It was stupid, really, but she already felt a little homesick. She hated that she felt it… she was almost eighteen, she would be of legal drinking age in the UK in just under two weeks. Almost a legal adult, travelling across the world to represent her country at the Olympic Games, and all she wanted most days was a hug from her mom.

"I'm alright. Just kinda nervous… it's a lot of pressure," she said eventually.

"Have you been eating properly?" Nick asked cautiously. He remembered all too well the day Sandy Jareau had marched into his office, ripe with anger over the fact that John Geddert had scared JJ out of eating. He also knew that while she was on edge from camp and the pressure of the Olympics already, being around John could certainly heighten that.

"Yeah," JJ said, looking up and giving him a soft smile. "I'm ok Nick. I'll be even better once we get into the arena for competition"

Grinning, Nick held up his fist. "That's my girl"

JJ beamed, bumping her fist against his before she snuggled down in her seat to try and get some sleep. She listened as Nick settled in beside her. Barely ten minutes later, his breathing had evened out, slow and deep, indicating that he had managed to fall asleep.

'That's just unfair,' she thought, grinning to herself as she shuffled around to find a comfortable position.

Her mind wandered back to the frenetic thoughts from just a few days earlier. The panic that had closed in her chest when she'd felt those feelings swirling through her brain.

She didn't know why it scared her so much. Maybe because the friendship she had with Will was good and true. He was someone she always wanted to have in her life… was she afraid of messing things up?

She knew she was stressed out from the impending Olympics. And stress always had her reaching out for comfort wherever she could get it. Something that reminded her of the familiarity and safety of home, something that made her feel warm and comforted.

Perhaps that was all that had happened. Strung out on stress and wired for competition, she'd read too far into Will's little nuances and behaviors and let her mind run away from her. He was her best friend, always there for her, and her mind had taken it further than she'd anticipated.

'Yes,' she thought resolutely to herself. 'That's all. I'm stressed, worried, and homesick, and I just want my friends and family'

With a heavy sigh, she sunk a little further down, her heavy eyes already dragging closed as the plane continued to cruise towards her ultimate dream come true.