A/N: The last section of this chapter is loosely based on an experience I remember from when my grandad battled cancer in early 2020.

April had flown past, bringing with it a string of news and events. The Pacific Rim Championships had been a huge success for the American team, with the US girls having won the team title. Simone had had her 2016 debut go off without a hitch, debuting her new upgrades on the way to winning the Pacific Rim all-around title. 2016 was shaping up to be the capstone on an illustrious quad for the talented young gymnast.

The Olympic test event in mid April had flown past, qualifying the remaining four teams and individual countries and gymnasts to the Games. Much to the surprise of girls like JJ and Aly, who had somewhat followed the sport most of their lives, the teams from Romania and Australia had failed to qualify, meaning both would only be sending a single gymnast to the Olympics. For Romania, it was going to be the first time in four decades that they wouldn't win an Olympic team medal.

Will's birthday had come up so quickly by the end of April, JJ had very nearly forgotten about it. But, thankfully, she remembered with enough time to organize a celebration for him, including getting his parents up for the weekend from New Orleans, and bringing Aly down from Boston. Coupling them with some of their friends from school, it had quickly turned into a loud, raucous celebration.

"Will looks like he's having fun," Aly snorted as Will lost his balance taking a shot at beer pong with his mates. JJ giggled, taking a sip from her drink, nearly inhaling it when Will completely fell over and caused everyone to start laughing.

Over in the corner of the patio, both of their parents, as well as Aly's mom, were sitting on the outdoor lounges, watching the younger crowd with much amusement. JJ was just happy to see her father smiling and laughing. He certainly didn't look well, but tonight, there was more light and joy in his eyes.

"Hey… hey," Will said through a dopey grin as he made his way towards JJ. Looping an arm around her waist, he kissed her cheek as Aly giggled.

"I love you," he said as seriously as he could manage.

"I love you too," JJ replied with a grin, patting his cheek. "Go play with your friends"

Aly laughed as Will planted a kiss to JJ's lips, before heading back over to the new round of beer pong that had broken out in his absence.

"That tasted like beer," JJ said, wrinkling her nose in disgust and taking a sip of her drink as Aly giggled.

"Lovely," Aly chuckled.

It was going to be a good night.

I feel so terrible for JJ… do you think she can make the team?

I know, it's so sad. I think now, for JJ, the question isn't if she can make the team, it's if she can hold it together long enough to make the team. She's always been very real as a person, and lately, she's been opening up more and more, which makes me wonder if it's getting harder for her to keep her emotions in check and her only good outlet is to be real with her followers on social media. She's absolutely capable of making the team, in fact, I think she's very much a lock for the team, it's just going to depend on whether she can hold it together emotionally with everything else going on in her life right now.

At this point in time, what would your Olympic team be and who would you say would make finals?

Right now, I'd probably take Simone Biles, Jennifer Jareau, Aly Raisman, Mykayla Skinner, and a bars worker like Ashton Locklear or Madison Kocian (Kocian is injured right now, otherwise I'd be a hundred percent for her).

As for finals, well… it's looking something like this right now:

AA – Biles, Jareau
VT – Biles, Jareau (I know Mykayla is more typically a vaulter, but JJ is generally a lot cleaner and would probably score higher)
UB – Locklear/Kocian, Jareau
BB – Jareau, Biles
FX – Biles, Raisman/Jareau (they're both about equal now)

There's a lot up in the air. I think the first three spots on the team are pretty much guaranteed to go to Biles, Jareau, and Raisman. The fourth spot could go to Nichols, Skinner, Hernandez, Smith… basically anyone who's a decent all-arounder and complements the first three, and the last spot will be whichever bars worker looks the strongest after the three selection meets.

"We're going to training. Will's upstairs with the hangover of a century… someone might wanna check he's still breathing in about half an hour," JJ said with a grin as she poked her head into the lounge room, where her mom was sitting with Will's parents.

William chuckled. "That'll put him off anything alcoholic for a while"

"Have fun, please don't hurt yourself," Sandy said seriously, giving her daughter a smile.

"See you in a few hours," JJ replied, turning towards the front door with Aly just behind her.

There was only one more camp between them and the start of the selection process. All the girls on the national team would attend the final camp at the end of May. The next camp, held in mid July, would be only for the eight members selected for the Olympic squad – five team members, and three alternates.

For that reason, it seemed as though everyone was under the pump to bring their absolute best to the final camp, leaving Marta with a good impression before they headed into the selection meets.

For JJ, Aly, and Gabby, it was an all too familiar process. They had received many supportive messages from McKayla and Kyla, both of whom had officially retired in February after a long period of struggling to get back to their best level.

To JJ and Aly, it was the last and steepest bit of the hill, a hill that JJ had been climbing since the conclusion of the 2012 Olympic Games.

She was so close to reaching it… now was the time to put forth everything she had. She was too close to even think of giving up now.

Just days later, it felt like she was just barely hanging on.

Somewhere down the hall, a bell kept dinging. She didn't know exactly what it was, but it was starting to really get on her nerves. Rhythmic and persistent, it felt like it was drilling a hole in JJ's skull. An orderly with a trolley rattled past, ambling along down the hallway where JJ and her mother were currently sitting.

She bounced her knee up and down, the bottom of her sneaker making the faintest sound against the linoleum floor. Her hands were tucked beneath her legs, her posture rigid as they sat there in silence. She shivered, the cool air of the hospital getting to her even as she drew her jacket a little tighter.

Her dad had been admitted to hospital two days after Will's birthday, unable to keep even water down and dropping body weight faster than JJ had ever thought possible. That morning, they had gotten a call from the hospital telling them that he had been moved to a high dependency care unit.

It had chilled JJ straight to the bone. Surely this wasn't the end already.

Her mom's hand came to her knee, steadying her anxious movements and breaking her from her thoughts. She turned to look at her, the anxiety etched clearly all over her face.

"You ok?" Sandy asked gently, keeping her hand in place as a form of comfort.

JJ let out a heavy breath. Slowly, she brought her hands out from beneath her legs, running them nervously down the front of her jacket. "I'm scared to go in. I don't... I don't know what we're going to see. What he'll be like"

Sandy sighed, nodding in agreement as she reached out and took JJ's hand. "I know. Trust me. But when they called to say he had been moved… they didn't say anything to make me think this was for an urgent, sinister reason. I really think everything is ok… there will be a reason for this, and it'll be to help him somehow"

As JJ opened her mouth to reply, the door to the HDU whirred open, and a young male doctor came out. He looked not much older than JJ, with a crop of dark hair that reminded her of Will.

"Mrs Jareau?"

"Yes?" Sandy said softly.

"My name is Dr Cameron, I'm looking after your husband while he's here in the high dependency unit," he said, flashing JJ and Sandy a gentle smile. "We'll be able to take you through in just a moment to see Michael, but I wanted to come out and explain to you what's going on and answer any questions you may have"

Sandy nodded, still holding JJ's hand.

"What do you know about your husband's condition so far? What have you been told by Michael, and other doctors?"

"We know he's got end stage colon cancer. He's been having maintenance chemo to try and keep him from being overwhelmed by the cancer too quickly. He thinks the chemo is doing nothing but making him sicker. He's been in hospital since Thursday because he can't keep anything down and he's having a lot of abdominal pain," Sandy said softly. Cameron nodded slowly, clasping his hands in front of him.

"Basically what's happening is Michael is reacting badly to the chemotherapy. It's not uncommon, every patient who has chemo reacts differently, and quite a few people have a bit of a tough time with it. Now, Michael already had diarrhea as a side effect of the cancer itself, but what has happened now is that the chemo is attacking the cells in his bowel and his colon. This is because the cells in our guts and digestive systems are some of the fastest reproducing cells in the body, and that is what chemo is designed to attack. Because the chemo is attacking the cells in his colon and bowel, he's developed a chemo injury known as neutropenic colitis. So his large bowel is fighting back against the chemo, and it basically causes really bad diarrhea, on top of the issues he was already having because of the cancer itself"

Sandy nodded, indicating she had understood as she squeezed JJ's hand a little bit tighter.

"He's losing a lot of fluids because of the diarrhea. And with those fluids, he's losing a lot of his electrolytes. His potassium is incredibly low and it's making his heart rate fluctuate quite dramatically, which is why we have moved him here to the HDU. We need to run high flow potassium through his central line, but it can only be done in a high monitoring unit like this one so that we can closely monitor his heart and his cardiac health while he's having the infusions"

"Is this normal? For… end stage?" Sandy asked. "This doesn't mean he's…"

Cameron thought for a moment, before nodding slowly. "It's not unusual. I promise you that he's in good hands. He's safe and cared for in this unit, and he hasn't been moved here for any sinister reason"

As he finished speaking, a nurse came out through the doors. She was also young, with a round face and a kind smile. "Michael is ready for visitors now, if you would like to come in," she said gently.

"If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask me, I'll just be at the central desk," Cameron said warmly as Sandy and JJ stood up.

Together, they walked behind the nurse, into the small circular ward. Just to their left was a glass room, and inside it lay Michael.

JJ's breath caught in her throat. She had only seen her dad two days earlier, but he looked so much sicker than he had before. His face looked grey, dark circles forming under his eyes as he lay there with his eyes closed.

"We'll be in and out for a while, but come and get us if you need anything," the nurse said warmly as she left them at the door. Sandy thanked her, before turning towards her husband and slowly approaching the edge of his bed.

"Michael? It's me," she said gently. JJ came to a stop at the end of the bed, watching as her dad's eyes flicked open. He gazed upwards for a moment, before his eyes slid to the left and locked on to her mom.

"Hey," Sandy said softly, smiling as she reached out and carefully cupped his cheek in her hand. "Are you just trying to be the centre of attention again?"

"Always," Michael mumbled, his eyes drifting closed again. His face contorted into a grimace, prompting Sandy to take his hand.

"JJ's here as well"

"Hi Dad," JJ said, her voice small and quiet. The whole situation was making her incredibly anxious, even as she witnessed the fact that her dad was in fantastic hands.

Sandy straightened up, turning to JJ. "Something's just occurred to me… I'm going to go and ask his doctor another question or two. You're ok to stay here?"

JJ nodded, trading places with her mother as she left the room. She watched over her shoulder for a moment as her mom walked up to the desk and caught Dr Cameron's attention.

Turning back to her dad, she managed a small smile, sliding her fingers into his open hand and running her thumb along the back of it.

"I hope you get to come home soon," she said softly. "I miss you"

He stayed silent, his chest rising and falling, his eyes remaining closed.

"I promise I'm still working hard in the gym, just like you asked," she said, a small chuckle escaping her as she spoke. "Nick sends his best wishes"

As she finished speaking, Michael's breathing sounds changed. Before she could react, he was gagging, bright red blood bubbling up from his mouth as the monitors attached to him started to alarm. A cry left JJ's mouth, the anxiety turning to pure fear as someone pushed her aside.

"Help him! Please!" she shrieked, even as someone grabbed her shoulders and pulled her out of the room. Alarms seemed to be going off in all directions, and just seconds later, her view of her dad was completely blocked by doctors and nurses surrounding him.

"Please help him!" JJ sobbed as the person who had pulled her back wrapped their arms around her. Her mom suddenly swooped into view, hovering anxiously by the door as the HDU team worked on Michael.

"It's ok sweetie, they're helping him, I promise," said a soothing voice, which JJ recognised as the round faced nurse who had brought them in. "It's ok"

The alarms began to subside, and the throng of medical staff slowly began to reduce to just a few. JJ could feel her entire body shaking as the nurse tried to calm her down. Tears continued to leak out, running down her cheeks as she kept her eyes firmly fixed on her dad.

"It's alright," came Dr Cameron's voice, making JJ turn towards where he was standing with her mom. There were still two nurses in with Michael, but, just as quickly as it had happened, the scare seemed to have subsided.

"He's been nauseous all morning, he just threw up. Because his platelets have been a little low, there was blood in the vomit, and because he was laying down, he couldn't breathe straight away, which caused a spike in his heart rate. Which subsequently set off all the monitors. He's alright," Cameron explained gently, looking towards JJ as Sandy came over to her side. "I'm sorry, I know it can be frightening, but I promise he's ok, he's stable"

JJ took a deep breath, wiping her cheeks with shaking hands as the nurse let her go and Sandy wrapped her in a tight hug.

"I can't do this," JJ breathed, just loud enough for her mom to hear. "I can't see him like this"

"I know," Sandy whispered, smoothing down JJ's hair. "I know. It kills me too"