A/N: We are now officially level with the original version of UC, and from this point onwards my updates will be nowhere near as manic as the last couple of weeks, because everything from now on will be written from scratch.

The name of this story will be updated. The original version of the story will have the name changed while I decide whether to take it down or not.

Enjoy!

His head was on her shoulder, his body covering hers in the aftermath of their passionate lovemaking. Their chests were heaving, their skin slicked with sweat, but neither of them wanted to move. In this bubble, their world was perfect. And neither of them had any intention of bursting it. Four years had brought them to this point. On top of ten years of friendship. Four long, wonderful, beautiful years in which they had felt love they'd never even dreamed to imagine was possible. And now, four years was going to turn into forever.

Still breathless, Will slowly lifted his head from JJ's shoulder, keeping the rest of his body completely still in the silence that surrounded them. Shrouded in linen, enveloped in the soft darkness of the room, his eyes found JJ's. Protected beneath him, she gazed up at him with that piercing blue gaze he knew all too well.

"Hey," he breathed, his heart flip flopping in his chest when her mouth softened into her oh so familiar beautiful smile.

"Hey," she breathed back, bringing her left hand up to carefully caress his cheek. As she did, the ring on her finger caught in the soft light streaming through the window, filling her chest with a feeling of indescribable warmth. They stared at each other for a moment, neither of them able to fight back the loving smiles on their faces. The room was completely silent around them, but from every corner, every nook, their love screamed loud and clear. Even in the darkness, Will's eyes started to grow bright. He never moved a muscle, not making a single move to hide his emotion.

"I'm gonna marry you," he whispered, his tone giving away his disbelief that the thing he had longed for so long was becoming a reality. Beneath him, JJ swallowed hard to fight the lump in her throat.

"Don't get soft on me now LaMontagne," she teased gently, making him chuckle as he lifted a hand to tuck a strand of her hair away from her face.

"I love you Jennifer Jareau," he crooned in his sweet Southern drawl, unafraid to allow the tears to continue to well in his eyes. "More than life itself"

He moved closer, capturing her lips in a sweet kiss. They stayed locked together for just a moment, savouring it all, before he pulled back and carefully rolled to the side. She watched as he reached down to the bag he'd left beside the bedside table and rifled through it for a few moments. Eventually, he came back up, holding a white envelope in his hand. Flicking on the lamp on the nightstand, he turned back to JJ, cuddling up beside her once more and pulling her into his arms.

With a deep breath, he held the envelope out towards her. "This... this is for you"

Gingerly, JJ took it between her fingers, her eyes briefly flicking up towards him in confusion. She turned it in her hands; there was no writing on it to say what it was.

"I don't want to make you sad... not tonight... but your dad asked me to give you this the night I proposed to you," Will said softly. JJ looked back down at the envelope, her heart suddenly thumping in her chest.

"I don't... I don't know if I can open it," she admitted, her voice wavering dangerously.

"Yes you can," Will said reassuringly, pressing a kiss to her temple. "I'm right here... and if you cry, you cry. There's no shame in your emotions"

JJ hesitated, taking a deep breath as Will pulled her a little closer. With shaking hands, she pulled at the flap of the envelope, sliding her thumb in and tearing it open. A folded piece of paper slid out into her hand, and even without opening it, she could already feel the tears welling up.

"You're ok," Will said gently, nuzzling her temple. "You're allowed to feel whatever you need to"

Exhaling heavily, JJ unfolded the paper, her eyes falling to the neat slanted handwriting she had always been able to recognise as her father's.

Dear Jaybird,

I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry that I'm not there with you to celebrate such an amazing moment in your life. I can't believe that when you read this, you and Will will be engaged! And here's me still thinking you're my twelve year old princess who's not allowed to date boys EVER!

You are such a special young woman, and I am so proud of who you have grown up to be. Olympian or not, you have grown to have such a big heart, and so much loyalty to the ones you love, and those are traits that will stay with you for the rest of your life. I used to think when you were younger that you would need someone to protect you, to stop people taking advantage of you... you well and truly grew up to prove me wrong. You're strong, independent, and so painfully stubborn just like your dear old dad. They're amazing traits to have, but please, make sure you don't drive Will crazy with them!

When Will came to see me earlier this year, I knew straight away what he wanted to ask me. He didn't even need to ask. From the moment you two met when you were just little rascals running around the backyard, everyone knew you were destined to end up here. As much as I never wanted you to date, you couldn't have done any better than Will. He treats you with the respect and love that you deserve, and I know that you're going to make each other so happy.

My advice to both you and Will is to never go to bed angry. I know it sucks trying to talk it out after a fight, but sleeping on it only makes it worse. Never go to bed feeling that way. And never stop showing each other how much you love each other. Keep the honeymoon phase alive for the rest of your lives.

So please, baby girl, don't be sad. I'll still be watching over you. Please don't let any of what has happened this year take away from such special moments in your life.

I love you, Jaybird. I'm so proud of you. And I'm excited for what your future holds.

Love,
Dad

By the time she made it to the end of the page, she could hardly see for the tears swimming in her eyes. Dropping the paper down on the bed, she turned, burying her face in the crook of Will's neck as her shoulders began to shake with tears.

"I know," Will said softly, rubbing the warm skin of her back and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I know, babe"

"I didn't want to be sad tonight," JJ choked out. "It's supposed to be a happy day"

"It is," Will said reassuringly, tipping up her chin and brushing away the tears on her cheeks. "But we can still leave space to feel other things as well. You've been through a lot this year. You're allowed to feel lots of things at once"

JJ took a shaky breath, managing a smile through her tears. "I love you. I can't wait to marry you"

Will chuckled, wiping away the last tear as it made its way down her cheek. "I love you too"

Best beam routine JJ has ever done?

2016 beam final hands down. That routine was freaking fantastic.

Have you ever met Will? If so, what did you think of him? What's he like?

I actually have! To be perfectly honest, the first time I met him was in 2013 when I interviewed JJ at nationals, and my first impression of him was that he was just this huge dumb guy who liked JJ for her looks (because who are we kidding, she's absolutely stunning), but he very quickly changed my mind about that. In actuality, he is a smart, funny, wonderful guy who is absolutely head over heels for JJ. He's so supportive, while I was talking to her about the meet, he was just watching her and taking in everything she was saying. He loves watching her compete, and he completely adores and dotes on JJ, it's really sweet. She's lucky to have a guy like him in her life, but if you ask Will, he's lucky to have her.

Which of JJ's titles made you really happy to see her win?

Definitely her all-around gold from the Olympics. She went all quad having people discount her as an all-arounder and she pulled out the goods when it really mattered. She's a fabulous all-arounder, and she absolutely deserved that win.

Was there any possibility of JJ getting silver, or even winning gold in the 2012 Olympic all-around final?

Ok, so immediately following this final, I would have said no, because considering previous performances, she kinda operated at the peak of her ability through that final and it earned her a very well deserved bronze medal. BUT, considering this now, and taking into account what she earned in the event finals, it was actually possible for her to have won silver. If she scored on bars and floor what she did in the event finals, that would have bumped her up to a 62.032, coming in ahead of Komova and just two tenths behind Douglas. And, add to that that I believe her vault was a little underscored, I think had she gotten a higher vault score, she could have come extremely close to gold. Which would have just made the gymternet implode since everyone was convinced she wasn't a good all-arounder. Now I'm just reminiscing on the feeling of satisfaction when she won in Rio!