A/N: This chapter ends a little short, because these girls could talk for hours!
Hope you enjoy it!
It was an assault on the senses when she walked back into the gym the next morning. A wave of comfort washed over her as she took in the sounds of everyone working hard, saw the puffs of chalk hanging in the air. It struck her as odd; normally she was in the thick of the chaos. But, just because she had achieved her goals and wasn't in the gym at the moment, it didn't mean no-one else was.
"Hey kiddo," came Nick's familiar voice from the door to the offices. She turned, smiling widely as he walked over and gave her a tight hug. "I was starting to think you'd forgotten where the gym was"
"How could I?" JJ said with a grin.
"Have you gotten taller?" Nick replied, holding out his arm as if to measure her height. For someone who had previously been a gymnast himself, Nick was a rather tall guy, almost as tall as Will, and JJ barely reached his shoulders.
"Honestly, I think I have," JJ laughed. "It's all that pizza I'm eating now"
Nick grinned, shaking his head as they began to walk towards the open floor of the gym. "So what brings you in? Other than to gaze upon your achievements, blown up into the largest possible form?" He gestured out towards the wall, where a new banner had been hung up. It was one of the photos that had been taken on the podium the night JJ won the beam gold medal, her smiling face beaming above the entire gym. Above the photo, a strip of text read 'HOME OF OLYMPIC CHAMPION JENNIFER JAREAU' while below it, her achievements at the Games were listed in colour order.
"Subtle," JJ said, getting a laugh out of Nick. "Bet you couldn't wait to get home and pimp out the gym"
"Hey, it was still your dream kiddo... you just took me along for the ride," Nick said with a smile, leaning back against a stack of foam blocks. "So do tell... what's brought you in today?"
JJ smiled, sliding up to sit on the stack opposite Nick as a group of kids followed Elliott out to the floor to start their practice. "In London, I was dead certain that I wanted to go to Rio, or at least, give it all I had to try and get there. But then when I got home, I... I just had so much uncertainty. I couldn't see what my future held. And I didn't know what to do anymore"
Nick's face started to fall. "Have you come in to tell me you're retiring?"
JJ chuckled, shaking her head. "No. There was about a day where I seriously thought about it. When I was really sad about the Olympics being over. But no. I'm only eighteen. I could get another year or two easily out of my career, and if that year or two stretches far enough to let me get four years and go to Rio, then... that's even better"
Nick broke into a wide smile. "If we pace you right, we'll get you to Rio. You could take this year off-"
JJ shook her head. "I want to compete this year. Even if we drop my difficulty or I just do two events or something. I just... I miss it. I miss competing. And I know, I know I probably should take a year off if going back to the Olympics is the ultimate goal, but I want to make it work as best as I can"
"Ok," Nick said softly. "Look, we can do that. You'll just need to give me a few days to work out a training plan to pace you right. I think dropping an event for a year... I mean, it could go either way. You would obviously still need to train it if you want to stay in the all-around down the track"
"When do you think I would need to come back to training by to be able to contend this year?"
Nick looked at her thoughtfully. "Well... you've grown. Not much, maybe an inch, but it's enough that I can tell. You've changed a little bit physically. Not in a bad way, of course, you've had time off for the first time in your life, but it means your skills will feel a little bit different. So we're going to need time. I think you would need to be back in the gym, putting in serious hours, by the end of February. If you can come in towards the end of this month for conditioning a couple of times a week, that would be even better, but it's completely up to you kiddo"
"Yeah I can do that. I'm kinda bored stuck at home anyway"
Nick chuckled. "What, even when you're with your boyfriend?"
JJ narrowed her eyes. "How did you...?"
"I bumped into your mom at the supermarket the other day," Nick laughed. "She mentioned that you and Will are dating now. About time, right?"
JJ groaned. "God, she's going to tell everyone. She told my brother before I had the chance, my grandma... I swear she sent out a family email"
Nick laughed, tipping his head back. "Your mom is great. But I'm just teasing. I'm glad you're happy and enjoying your downtime. You deserve it kid. You really do"
"Soooo, how's the lovebirds?"
JJ laughed as she propped herself up on her elbows in front of her laptop. "We're going fine, Aly. Nothing new to report"
"Damn, I was hoping you'd tell me that at least one of us has finally lost their v-card," Aly teased. JJ felt her cheeks flame red, which only made her friend laugh more.
"No, uh... it's only been like two months," JJ said awkwardly. "I'm not ready"
"I know," Aly said softly. "I'm just teasing"
"I went and saw Nick today about going back to training," JJ said, easily changing the subject. "I think I'll be back before the end of the month"'
"Really? I thought you would've taken a year off or something! I mean, you had the best Games out of all of us!"
Her eyes flicked up to the shelving where her medals sat. The weight of the achievements seemed to resettle in her stomach every time she looked at them, and as she did, a thrill raced through her heart. She had really done that. And she couldn't wait to get back.
"Yeah, but... I don't know, Al, I just like that consistency. I miss it. And there's still things left that I want to achieve"
"I'm not judging, I'm just surprised. But if gymnastics makes you happy, then all the power to you. I hope you become the queen of the quad!"
JJ laughed. "I'm sure there's some new seniors ready to knock all us old girls out of the picture. Like Katelyn Ohashi. If someone is going to come after me on beam, it's going to be her"
Laughing, Aly nodded. "Wouldn't be surprised, I mean... we basically did that to all the 2009 girls"
"So what have you been up to in your downtime? Other than preparing for your big dancing debut," JJ said with a grin.
"I enrolled to do some classes at Babson College. I still have no idea what I want to do later in life, but I figure it can't hurt to take some classes and try to get some direction"
"Are you taking the whole year off from gymnastics?"
"Yeah, I think I'll go back early next year. I'm looking forward to just spending some time doing other things for a while... but I'm definitely still keen to chase another go at the Games if I can! Seriously though, I admire you for wanting to jump straight back in! I'll definitely be at Classics and Nationals to be your number one cheerleader"
JJ laughed. "You might have to fight Will for that title. He's already trying to learn about the sport so he understands it more when he watches it"
"I still have to meet him in person. We can be your number one cheer squad"
Laughing, JJ nodded. "Sure Aly, whatever floats your boat"
"I'm just gonna live vicariously through you"
"No men for the great Alexandra Raisman?" JJ teased. Aly laughed.
"Until I have more Olympic medals than you, no man is getting any of this"
JJ laughed, shaking her head at her friend. "Well you know what, Aly, it's on"
"Like Donkey Kong?"
"Like Donkey Kong"