A/N: Bit of fun at the end!

Exhausted, her muscles aching, JJ sank down onto the floor and began slowly stretching out.

She was so tired. She had been back in the gym for almost a month, and while her progress was going better than she had initially expected, her passion that she'd had in January had unexpectedly fizzled out. She'd barely seen Will since Valentine's Day, except for that one night about a week later. Early morning trainings had her completely wiped out, and by the time she got home in the evening, she was too exhausted to do anything. Of course, she still spoke to Will on the phone, it wasn't like they weren't talking at all. But she missed him. She'd had as much of him as she could possibly get and all she wanted was to spend some time cuddled up with her boyfriend, even if all they did was watch a movie.

She'd never thought of herself as someone who couldn't juggle everything life threw at her. But managing her time was becoming difficult. She'd had a taste of being a normal eighteen year old. And as much as she missed competing, she just wasn't sure if her heart was completely in it anymore.

Before she knew it, hot tears were spilling down her cheeks, dripping onto the front of her sports bra as Nick strolled up with a smile.

"You did good today kiddo, your strength is really coming back fast- what's wrong?" he said, his face falling as he realized JJ was crying. "Did you hurt something?"

"No, I just…," JJ stammered, her voice catching in her throat. She sniffed, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. "This is so stupid… I'm nearly nineteen years old, and I'm crying over fucking gymnastics"

"What's on your mind?" Nick asked gently, completely unperturbed by her cursing as he took a seat on a nearby foam block.

"That… it's almost like I forgot how much of my life would be spent in this gym if I came back, and… I hardly get to see Will. I think I've seen him twice in the last month, and it sucks because our relationship is still so new and we really like spending time together… I like being able to spend time with him," JJ said softly, wiping away the last few tears from her cheeks. "I just… I miss being normal. But I miss competing. I don't know how to do this. I don't know how to juggle everything"

"Well, you don't have to come back this year," Nick offered quietly. "We can work you back in next season, or 2015"

"I know, but I want to be back this year," JJ replied.

"Do you?" Nick asked gently. "Because right now? It sounds like you've got one foot out the door. And to be honest, even though physically you're getting back to where you need to be, I can see it on your face at times that maybe mentally you're not on the same page"

"I… I want to do this. I need to. It's part of who I am, it drives me every day… but I… need to spend time with my friends and family… with Will"

Nick smiled. "Well, then, you have to do what's best for you, kiddo. If being in the gym for so many hours a day isn't going to work best for you, then we'll rework your schedule until we find something that does. Because I don't think we can take the same approach to Rio that we did to London. You're not getting any younger and I don't want to burn you out. But most importantly… I want you to be happy. And I want you to be sure you're here for the right reasons, and I want you to be here for you. And if that means we have to make sure you have time to watch trashy Netflix shows with your boyfriend, then we'll do that"

Looking up, JJ gave him a watery grin as he chuckled.

"Let's take it one day at a time, ok? Don't think too far ahead. It's good to have goals, but sometimes they can be overwhelming instead of motivating. Let's focus on making sure that each day counts and that you're feeling good about what you're doing"

Wiping her forehead as she locked her car and turned towards the front door, JJ let out a heavy sigh. She felt defeated after her meltdown at the gym. As she reached the door and turned the handle, a flicker of worry shot into her stomach.

Was this a sign of her burning out by the end of the quad?

'No,' she scolded herself firmly, letting herself into the house.

She had promised to take it all one day at a time. And that was exactly what she was going to do. Besides... half the battle was overcoming her own expectations. She was a five time Olympic medallist, meaning she had a reputation to uphold. And that meant that she was probably being much harder on herself in her quest to regain her skills and strength.

"I'm home!" she called out as she closed the door behind her.

"It's about time!"

JJ froze; she knew that voice, but it didn't belong to any of her family. Dropping her bag on the floor and her keys on the table, she made a beeline for the kitchen, rounding the frame so fast she nearly ran into it.

Standing with her mom, in the middle of the kitchen, was Aly Raisman.

JJ let out a shriek of happiness, throwing her arms around her best friend as her mom watched with a smile that went from ear to ear.

"Oh my god!" JJ said as she let go and stepped back, her eyes bright with joy. "Look, you're making me cry"

Aly grinned, putting an arm around JJ's shoulders as JJ wiped away a stray tear.

"Nice surprise?" Sandy asked with a chuckle.

"The best," JJ agreed, looping her arm around Aly's waist, her smile never leaving her face. Seeing Aly seemed to be just the lift she had needed.

Before too long, the girls were sprawled across JJ's bed, the smile still wide and bright on JJ's face.

"I'm guessing you've been busy, I haven't heard from you in a while," Aly teased. "I was excited to hear about your first Valentine's Day with a boyfriend, and then I got nothing from you"

"Sorry," JJ laughed. "Training is kicking my butt"

"Well, my Valentine's Day was so sad, honestly, apart from all the creepy marriage proposals on Instagram and Twitter, the only action I got was my mom buying me a rose so I didn't feel lonely," Aly scoffed. JJ laughed, leaning back on her pillows. "What about you? What did you and your Southern dreamboat do to celebrate?"

JJ smiled, her hand finding a loose thread to play with as she thought back to that sweet night with Will.

"We stayed in. I was exhausted from training, so Will cooked us dinner and then we just chilled out and watched some Netflix. It was really sweet, he'd set up a bed in the lounge room so we wouldn't have to move if I fell asleep," she said softly.

"Oh that is so sweet. I need a Will in my life. Does he have a brother?"

JJ laughed. "He has two, but they're both older and married"

"Damn"

Aly fell silent, and suddenly the words that had been precariously balanced on JJ's tongue came rolling off.

"We… uh, did do something special though… on Valentine's," she said softly.

"Because Will treating you like a queen wasn't enough?" Aly chuckled.

"No… we had sex"

Aly screamed, making JJ hastily wave for her to keep her voice down as she laughed.

"Oh my god, REALLY?" Aly shrieked a few moments later. "How was it?"

JJ frowned in thought. "It was… it was special, like I want to make that clear straight away, I don't regret it at all, but… oh my god, Aly, it hurt, and I bled, and he was so big, I wasn't expecting it!"

Aly broke into abashed giggling. "Is he too big for you?"

"Well… no, I'm sure we'll be fine once I'm st- once I'm used to it," JJ giggled. "But he is bigger than I was expecting"

"Were you nervous?"

"Not really," JJ admitted. "I kind of had a feeling it was going to happen, and I didn't feel scared or worried about it. So I knew I was ready"

"Does your mom know?"

"Yeah, I told her as soon as I got home. Mostly because… it's kind of weird, I didn't regret it or feel sad about it… but I felt like something had changed in me. Like I've grown up a bit or-"

"You've become a woman!"

"Oh shut up," JJ said dryly, making Aly laugh. "I just feel different, you know? And when I came home… I just really wanted a hug from my mom"

"Aw," Aly said softly. "Was she ok about it?"

"She was fine. I'm 18 anyway, it's not like there's a whole lot she can do about it. But she was just glad it was with someone I love and trust. And I'm glad it was with Will"

"You guys are so cute," Aly giggled. "I'm jealous. But I know I'll find my Will one day"

There was a knock at JJ's bedroom door, before it swung open to reveal her mom. "Sorry to interrupt girls, but I have someone else here to see JJ"

JJ looked up, spying Will's face over her mom's shoulder. She broke into a wide smile, getting up from the bed and walking towards him as her mom stepped to the side and started heading back down the stairs.

"Hey," she said happily, stretching up on her toes to press a kiss to his lips. "I wasn't expecting to see you today"

"Yeah, I thought I'd come over, I didn't realize you had company," Will said meekly. "I can go if you girls want some time to hang out"

"Please stay, I've been asking JJ to introduce us for like two years," Aly piped up from the bed, making the young couple laugh. "I'm Aly"

"Ah, so you were the one I could always hear in the background of our phone calls during the Olympics," Will said with a grin.

"Guilty"

"I'm Will, which I gather you already knew," he chuckled. "Nice to meet you"

"Nice to meet you too," Aly said with a smile, shuffling over on the bed as the other two came to sit down.

"So what girly gossip did I interrupt?" Will asked. JJ blushed, giving him a bashful smile.

"Valentine's Day," she said softly, earning a little laugh from Will.

"Got it"