A/N: Back to work in a couple of days! Hoping to smash through some more chapters as quick as possible!

Camp had been gruelling. From the very first day she had arrived in Huntsville, JJ had found herself under a massive expectation to prove herself. Even without words, Marta had made it plainly clear that her injury had wiped her slate completely clean and she was expected to show why she was worthy of being put on the team. Initially, JJ had found herself feeling rather bristled at the expectation; she had had an amazing Nationals, and bar the one mistake on beam, an equally fantastic Classics. Why was she being put under so much pressure again when she had proved herself year after year?

"Marta just wants you to be at your best. She knows you work well under pressure, and you've had a couple of great seasons in a row. She doesn't want you to get comfortable and start slipping," were the words of advice Nick had offered her when she had vented her frustrations to him at the end of the first day. It had made sense; of course Marta would want her at her best. But no-one in their right mind would consider themselves in a comfortable position on the US National Team.

At the conclusion of the selection portion of the camp, all of them sweating in the baking Texas heat despite the air conditioning working at its hardest, all the girls lined up in height order before Marta at the edge of the floor. As usual, Simone was right at the end, JJ the next shortest in line being only a couple of inches taller.

"This year, we enter back into team competition at World Championships. This means, it is very important to take a strong team so that USA can defend the world title. To the girls who haven't made the team this year, please, keep working, there are many other opportunities to compete, and there is still next year," Marta said, her voice carrying commandingly through the large open gym.

JJ was exhausted, but deep inside her, that fire that had burned all year was still there. She was desperate to make it to Worlds again. To prove herself on the world stage. If she made it through this, she was one year closer to Rio.

"The girls who will compete on the team are Simone Biles, Alyssa Baumann, Madison Desch, Jennifer Jareau, Madison Kocian, Kyla Ross, and Mykayla Skinner. I want to make it clear right now that one of you will be the travelling alternate, but I will make my final decision after podium training in China. Brenna Dowell and Ashton Locklear will act as non-travelling alternates"

Taking a breath, Marta smiled at the girls. "We have few more days of training before we leave for China. Please use it wisely and prepare to work your hardest"

"Thank you Marta, coaches, and national staff. Goodbye," the girls all said in unison, before walking forward as they always did to receive individual comments and praise. JJ was one of the first to reach Marta, and despite the woman's commanding presence, she plastered a smile on her face as she approached her.

"You did as I asked," Marta said approvingly, reaching out and cupping JJ's face in her hands. Her nails dug into the back of JJ's neck, making JJ bristle at the touch, but she kept herself from reacting as best as she could. "You proved yourself and showed me what you are capable of. You have done very good work. Keep it up. And do not let that boyfriend of yours distract you"

JJ bit her lip as Simone giggled behind her. "Yes Marta"

As soon as Marta let her go, she made her way over to Nick, who was positively beaming.

"Great work kiddo. How are you feeling?" Nick said warmly as he wrapped her up in a tight hug.

"Amazing," JJ said through a big sigh of relief. "I'm just so glad I made the team"

"You've worked your ass off all year to get back to Worlds, kid, you deserve it," Nick said happily, slinging an arm around JJ's shoulders as they started to walk out of the gym. "Aren't you glad I talked you out of that funk when you were recovering from the broken leg?"

"Oh my god, yes," JJ laughed, thinking back to the day she'd told Nick she didn't want to do gymnastics anymore.

After grabbing their bags, they left the stuffy gym and headed out towards the cabins with the other girls and their coaches. After an exhausting and gruelling selection camp, the atmosphere had lightened considerably, and the girls were laughing and joking together on their way back to the dorms. The girls who hadn't made the cut looked dejected, as was expected, but JJ knew they'd bounce back in no time. As Marta had said, there were plenty more opportunities for them to compete and make teams.

Just a few more days and they would be on their way to China. JJ couldn't wait for the opportunity to call her parents; she knew they would probably find out from the press release before she got a chance to speak to them, but she was excited nonetheless.

I'm really excited about this Worlds team! Who do you think will end up being the alternate, and what are your predictions for lineups?

Out of all seven girls, I have a feeling it's going to be Desch that ends up being the alternate. She's a solid all-arounder, but she doesn't have a standout event in the way that literally every other girl going does, or a hit record in the AA like Kyla does. But realistically I could see Kocian or Baumann being relegated to alternate as well.

Going off my gut feeling though, these are my predicted lineups for qualifications:

VT: Kocian, Ross, Jareau, Skinner, Biles
UB: Baumann, Biles, Ross, Kocian, Jareau
BB: Kocian, Ross, Biles, Baumann, Jareau
FX: Kocian, Ross, Skinner, Jareau, Biles

If Desch is the alternate, I don't think these lineups will change very much, because they maximise finals opportunities between all the strengths on the team. Even if Desch is on the team, I'd still see Biles, Jareau and Ross doing AA in qualifications, and then the other three would be spread across their strongest events.

Do you think JJ can make vault finals this year?

Hmm... it might be a bit of a push. I'm not sure if vault finals are in her cards for this year, she seems to have brought out the new vault with the intent of being competitive by the Olympics. She's definitely amongst the top vaulters in the world through a combination of great form and a relatively small pool of vaulters who actually have the difficulty to make finals. However, she's got the lowest difficulty on vault of the three US girls who have two vaults, so she could end up being two per countried out of the vault final. I don't think she will be upset if that happens, I think this year will be a good gauge of where she stands internationally on the event. And I also don't think she's hit her peak difficulty yet, so it'll be fun to see where it all goes!

Was JJ ever committed to a college?

She was! She actually switched her commitment twice as her circumstances changed. When she first turned elite, she was originally committed to Louisiana State University. She said she had planned to go there because Will's family live in Louisiana and she would have had people nearby, but not long after that, she changed her mind and landed on University of Florida, with Aly. When Aly went pro, JJ changed one last time and decided ultimately to commit to UCLA, but she ended up going pro in early 2012 when it became clear she was in the running to make the Olympic team. Bit of a risky choice, because she wasn't a lock, but it paid off. And yes, she changed quite a few times, but you have to remember, NCAA asks these kids to make college decisions at a very young age; JJ was only 15 when she made her first commitment, and she was a very shy, introverted girl, which is probably why she based her college choice on where she would have people nearby who she already knew. Hence why her choice changed as her circumstances did.

What's the worst injury you've watched happen at a meet?

Rebecca Bross dislocating her knee at nationals, Georgia Simpson dislocating her ankle at Pac Rims and getting blood all over the floor, and JJ dislocating her shoulder on vault at worlds. All of them were horrible in their own way. Rebecca's was gruesome in that every single person in that arena heard her knee cap pop out and had to watch her scream in pain. Georgia's was just gruesome straight up, because the bone popped right out the side of her foot. And JJ's was terrifying because she dislocated it on the block off the table but her muscle memory kept her going up, and you could see how terrified she was in midair trying to work out how to land with a seriously injured shoulder. She ended up coming straight down on her back, which inevitably pushed the shoulder further out and tore some muscles, so she had to have surgery almost straightaway.

Do you think leaving Jordyn Wieber off the team in 2012 was the right decision?

Yes and no. If you looked at just the routines and didn't put any names/faces/previous titles to it, I still wouldn't have taken Jordyn to London. She was outscored by two gymnasts at Trials (Gabby Douglas and Jennifer Jareau), and her routines just weren't as solid. If you look at the fact that she was the reigning world champion, I probably would have taken her if I knew she would deliver the goods once we got there. But, that's a risk to take, especially when in 2012, the gold was truly on the line.

"We've booked flights to Nanning... honestly, I'm a little nervous about transiting through Beijing," Sandy said from the video call as JJ settled back in the seat in the departure lounge. The day had come for the journey to China, and the girls were sitting in a group in the terminal, abuzz with excitement.

"Yeah, it's a little intimidating, but at least it's just a transit," JJ replied, smiling at her mom. Her dad popped into the frame, beaming from ear to ear.

"Worlds! Yeah! I'm packing already Jayje, I'm so excited!"

JJ laughed. "Dad, it's my fourth Worlds team, is there ever going to come a day when it's not that exciting?"

Sandy laughed in agreement, looking pointedly at her husband.

"It'll always be exciting my girl, you're representing your country at the highest level of this sport, and I'm always going to be so proud of that," Michael replied.

"Hey JJ, Will's got something he wants to tell you, so I'll give you to him, ok? Have a safe flight, and we'll talk to you when you get there"

Her parents' love and excitement only warmed her heart further. Giving them her thanks, she waited as her mom passed the phone to Will.

"Hey you," she said happily once he appeared on the screen.

"Hey beautiful, how you doing down there in Texas?"

"Can't complain, but I'm quite happy that we're about to leave the heat and humidity behind," JJ giggled. "What about you?"

"Well, I booked myself a holiday!"

JJ laughed. "And where are you going? You never go on holidays"

"See, I was havin' trouble decidin', but my travel agent, Michael, helped me out. He told me I should visit this beautiful city in China, and, oh!" Will said, feigning surprise as he held up five slips of glossy card. "He also got me great seats for the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Nanning! Wasn't sure on it at first, but now I'm pretty excited. I've heard about this amazing gymnast, her name's Jennifer Jareau..."

JJ's face lit up, her smile brighter than ever. "You're coming to Worlds?!"

Chuckling, Will nodded. "You bet I am. Wouldn't miss it for anything"

Beaming with joy, JJ put a hand to her heart. "My god, I love you"

Will smiled back just as widely. "I love you too, JJ. So much. And I'm so excited to watch you compete!"