A/N: It's been… a week. Need to really get stuck into this so I can distract myself.
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"Ladies and gentleman, now we welcome our delegation of athletes making up the Parade of Flags!"
Exhilarating. The air was tense with excitement. The stadium was cheering loudly.
This was the moment she'd been waiting for for the last three days.
JJ was right towards the end of the line, so it was quite a while before she finally reached the stadium entrance, but finally, she did. She stepped out into blazing lights, an enthralled audience cheering ecstatically, and the entire Olympic spirit captured in one building.
Waving the flag of the United States of America as she walked, she was smiling so hard she felt like her face was going to crack.
Way up in the stands, Sandy was filming every moment of her daughter's shining day as flagbearer on her phone, wanting to be able to send it to Michael back home in the States.
Flags flew in the breeze rippling through the stadium, the music pounded through their hearts, and JJ couldn't stop smiling. This moment was filled with just as much pride as the two nights she had stood on the top of the Olympic podium. Carrying the flag meant just as much as winning gold, and JJ was so incredibly honoured that the USOC and the athletes from the USA had chosen her for this privilege.
Before too long, the US flag was nestled in its holder, snugly between the flags of the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay, and the flag bearers were wandering off to join the Parade of Athletes, which had followed them into the stadium.
It took her a while, but JJ finally managed to locate her Fierce Five teammates. They excitedly took pictures of the entire scene, as well as some with other athletes (Tom Daley wanted a selfie with JJ, which made her feel incredible), before the theatrics died down to give way to the proceedings.
It was only an hour or so for the traditional proceedings to be carried out. Speeches were given, final awards presented, and then the Olympic flag was handed over to the mayor of Rio de Janeiro.
"I call upon the youth of the world who dream to be at the pinnacle of sporting endeavours, to convene in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in four years time for the next edition of the summer Olympic Games! As IOC President, I officially declare the Games of the 30th Olympiad, closed!"
The crowd cheered loudly as the mechanisms of the Olympic cauldron sprung to life, pulling the cauldron into its separate pieces and effectively extinguishing the Olympic flame.
Song and dance blared to life, a spectacular display of what Rio had to offer come 2016.
JJ watched, happy and a little lost, as the final memories of her Olympics played out before her.
Despite her previous uncertainty of what her future held, however, the ceremony had made her mind up for her. She wanted to feel again this spirit, this pride, this undeniable joy that came from being at the peak of her sport.
No matter what happened, she was going to have another run at the Games. It would be testing… but waiting for London had been a ten year endeavour. Waiting for Rio was only going to be four.
And come hell or high water, she was going to be in Brazil when that flame reignited in 2016.