A/N: Just a little filler!

Hey Mac, it's JJ. I just wanted to send you a message and let you know that I'm thinking of you. I can't even begin to imagine what you've gone through, and I'm so proud of you for speaking up. I know we haven't talked a lot these last couple of years and we've both had a lot going on, but I want you to know that I'm here for you and I love you. Don't ever feel like you can't call if you want to talk *heart emoji*

October bled into November, the cool weather of fall starting to give way to the freezing winter temperatures Pennsylvania was so capable of. At the four week post surgery mark, JJ's cast was changed to a walking boot, meaning she could now ditch the crutches and start weight bearing as normally as possible, which she was incredibly grateful for.

On a particularly blustery Sunday afternoon in mid November, JJ and Will were elbow deep in the plans for the wedding at the kitchen table, while also simultaneously poring over real estate listings. The wedding date was set; Friday the 11th of May, and invites had been sent out across the country. Surprisingly, they had had little trouble securing a venue, considering it was somewhat short notice, and had secured The Chadwick as the place to host their special day. The ball was really rolling, and with six months left, the young couple were incredibly excited.

In the next room, Sandy was sitting on the couch with Paul, chatting softly with him over steaming mugs of coffee. They had been on two more dates since their first, and by now, Sunday afternoon coffee in one of their lounge rooms was becoming something of a fixture in their lives.

"If you suggest one more time that we hire a Chuckwagon dinner for the catering, I'm gonna divorce you before it's even done"

Sandy snorted into her coffee as the remark floated to her from the next room. Turning her head, she could see Will laughing at the table, while JJ shook her head with a helpless grin spreading across her face. Sandy looked back towards Paul, who was chuckling to himself as he listened to them.

"Either that or we have our first dance to Dixie Land"

A dull thwack echoed out.

"Ow," Will laughed, rubbing his head where JJ had smacked him with the newspaper. "JJ, I'm allowed to make that joke, I'm from Louisiana"

"You'll be back in Louisiana if you keep going. Can you please be serious?"

"I really can't," Will replied, flashing JJ his best puppy eyes. "I'm hungry"

"You're always hungry," JJ groaned, but there was a smile playing around the corners of her mouth.

"Speakin' of Louisiana though… once we have the weddin', that's when we get to the fun stuff, right?" Will said cheekily, waggling his eyebrows.

"How is that related to Louisiana?" JJ laughed.

"You know what my mamaw is like. If you haven't got eight kids within a year of marryin', you're not worthy of bein' from the Deep South," he replied with a laugh, deepening his accent on purpose.

"Well that's a no from me," JJ said dryly, making him laugh more. "Also, what have we been doing the last five years? Not fun stuff?"

"We are still here you know," Sandy called out as a reminder. Will's cheeks flushed red, but JJ simply waved her hand, a grin spreading across her face.

"Come on. Let's go get something to eat and we can do this later," she said, rising from her chair and tugging Will up to his feet. Grabbing her phone and purse from the table, she turned to face her mom and Paul. "Do you guys want anything?"

Paul shook his head, waving her off with a smile.

"We're fine, thank you," Sandy said warmly. "Go give yourselves a good break. It's the only way you'll get anything done"

Nodding, JJ was caught by surprise when Will wrapped his arms around her from behind, pressing a kiss to her cheek. Laughing, she pulled away, taking his hand and tugging him towards the front door. Sandy shook her head, grinning as she leaned over to put her mug down on the coffee table.

"Is he always like that?" Paul asked with a grin.

"What, the being a goof, or a cuddly sap?" Sandy laughed as the front door opened and closed, leaving them alone in the house.

"Both"

"Yes," Sandy chuckled. "Some days his sense of humour is terrible. But he always makes JJ laugh. And he's always so sweet to her"

"I don't think I've ever seen a couple so meant to be"

Sandy laughed. "You have no idea. They've been joined at the hip since they were about eight. And even since then, Will always had stars in his eyes when he looked at JJ"

"Oh, that's sweet," Paul said with a smile.

"It is," Sandy replied. "He's a good kid. Always has been. For most of the time they've known each other, JJ's been holed up somewhere in a gym training for something or other. And he's always just… gone with it. He loves seeing her compete. We took him with us to nationals in 2011, and you should've seen his face when JJ did her first event. He was completely enamored"

"Did you know then? How far they'd go?"

Sandy thought for a moment. "I… well, I think so. But I also didn't dwell on it. Anything could've happened. And even though by then I could tell JJ had a little bit of a crush on him as well, I also knew she was too shy to act on it, and too focused on London. I knew if it was meant to happen, it would… and it did. Will knuckled up the courage to tell her how he felt when she came home from the Olympics, and… the rest is history I guess"

Days later, the trickle had turned into a fast flowing river. Aly had broken her own story of abuse to the public, followed days later by Gabby Douglas in the wake of an altercation on Twitter between Gabby, Aly, and Simone. Three of the five who had valiantly gone to London to bring home gold had now revealed that it was at the cost of their innocence and their happiness.

JJ had resumed weekly therapy sessions with Dr Hernandez who, after having JJ recount as many encounters with Nassar as she could remember, had assured her that she was not also a sufferer of the abuse the girls were speaking of. But that had hardly done much to lessen the apparent survivor's guilt weighing on JJ's shoulders.

JJ knew that all she could do going forward was expect the worst and hope for the best. If she had to wake up every morning expecting every one of her friends to come forward to try and lessen the emotional blow it was going to deal, that was what she would have to do.

And in the meantime, she would just hope she was wrong on every count.