A/N: Mostly impending tears from here on out, just saying.

After her disastrous bars on night one, JJ had come flying back with a vengeance, and with a vengeance it was, for even with her mistakes, she had scraped through to win a silver all-around medal by 0.031 over Aly. Simone had, as expected, taken out her historic fourth straight all-around title, adding titles on vault and floor to her haul as well.

Smiling more than had been custom as late, JJ had worked through her night beautifully. Usually a staple on the medal podium for bars, her low scoring routine on night one had effectively ensured she wasn't going to be in the top three this year. But, she had taken silver behind Simone on vault, and a bronze behind Simone and Aly on floor.

That aside, the biggest talking point of her night was that she had won her seventh straight national beam title, a feat that seemed to be just as fantastic as Simone's four straight AA wins. She was sure that Tumblr had already taken off running with that little fact.

The national team had been named. Alyssa Baumann, Simone Biles, Christina Desiderio, Gabrielle Douglas, Brenna Dowell, Rachel Gowey, Lauren Hernandez, Amelia Hundley, Jennifer Jareau, Madison Kocian, Ashton Locklear, Maggie Nichols, Alexandra Raisman, Emily Schild, Mykayla Skinner, and Ragan Smith. Every girl on the team had been invited to attend the Olympic Trials, which were taking place in San Jose in two weeks time.

In exactly two weeks, the Olympic team would be named. A moment that four years ago, had felt like a lifetime away.

Up until now, the year had felt like a blur, a never ending stream of both good and bad that was only just now coming into blinding clarity. With every flip, every tumble, every dismount, every stuck landing, she was one miniscule step closer to Rio, one step closer to the continuation of the dream she'd been chasing since she was only six years old. To the outside eye, she knew it looked as though her heart just wasn't in it, but deep down inside her, the fire and passion were raging relentlessly.

It made her dad happy to see her competing, but it also made her own heart soar. Two hours out on the competition floor were two hours in her day where her brain didn't linger on the tragedy awaiting her back home. Every hour in the gym gave her something else to focus on, something to work towards. If she made the team, come Rio, it would all be worth it.

But most of all, considering her father's rapidly deteriorating condition… it would give him something to smile about, something to wholeheartedly enjoy in the remaining weeks of his life.

And that was all she could ever ask for.

Arriving home from St Louis hadn't been as smooth going as she had expected.

Her dad's condition had taken a severe downturn, meaning he now required round the clock care. When he wasn't sleeping, he was either vomiting or in pain. Sandy had been doing an amazing job of tending to his every need, Nandy stepping in when she couldn't, but the emotional toll was clearer than ever on their faces.

"Ok… thank you so much… you too… goodbye," Jason was saying into his phone as he walked into the front lounge room where JJ was stretching out after her morning training session. Hanging up the call, he looked towards his sister with a wan smile. "How was training?"

"Same as usual. Except Nick seems stressed… I'm starting to have flashbacks to 2012," JJ said softly, pulling herself up into a sitting position. "Who was that on the phone?"

Jason sighed heavily, glancing at the phone and back up at JJ. "The, uh… the funeral company," he muttered, somewhat reluctantly.

The effect of his words was almost immediate as JJ's face crumpled. Burying her face in her folded arms, she fought the overwhelming wall of emotion back as Jason sat down beside her and put an arm around her shoulders.

"It's just something we have to do," he said quietly.

"I know," JJ sobbed. "Doesn't make it… any easier"

"I know," Jason breathed, resting his head against the top of JJ's. "I know"