A/N: So this was supposed to be longer, but due to how long it has taken me to get this far, I've decided to split it in two so you guys have SOMETHING to read! I've been super stressed at work, but now I'm in Hawaii for a holiday and I'm feeling very refreshed and inspired, so definitely more to come!
*photo of Will in his police uniform, JJ standing beside him, both of them smiling proudly*
Jenniferjareau94
Super proud of this guy! It's been a long road with a lot of hard work, but he is finally an official member of the Pittsburgh police force! The criminals don't stand a chance!
Alyraisman ummm, Will's sex appeal just got like a thousand times bigger *cry laughing emoji*
Will_lamontagne12 hahaha you know it Raisman. I'm a snack.
Simonebiles omfg hahahaha
Jenniferjareau94 you're so lucky I love you
As passengers began to trickle up the jetway from the plane that had pulled up at the gate a few minutes earlier, JJ sat up a little straighter in her chair, watching for the familiar face she knew would be bounding towards her any minute now. Having just arrived from Atlanta, the majority of passengers seemed to be business travelers, with the odd family here or there starting their winter break. She was there to pick up one very excited eight year old, who was coming up to Pittsburgh for the week to spend her winter break with her Uncle Will and Aunt JJ. Sam and Lisa had very generously given their two girls a say in what they had wanted to do for the break, and when it had resulted in two very different requests, they had decided to acquiesce both of them. So, while Sam and Pippa headed to New York to see Juliette, Bailey-Rose had begged to come to Pittsburgh. Getting her there had turned out to be a logistical nightmare - until the headstrong eight year old had agreed to fly as an unaccompanied minor, allowing her mom to also take advantage of the break by heading to California with a couple of friends.
"Aunt JJ! Aunt JJ!"
Turning towards the exuberant cry, JJ broke into a wide smile when her eyes landed on the face of Bailey-Rose, bright with excitement as she ran towards her favourite person in the world.
"Hey sweetheart!" JJ gushed, bending down to catch the young girl as she threw her arms around her. "How are you? Did you have a good flight?"
"Uh huh!" Bailey-Rose replied, nodding eagerly as she tipped her head up towards JJ. At that moment, the flight attendant accompanying the young girl reached the pair, smiling as she watched the greeting unfolding before her.
"I only cried a little bit when I got on the plane. After that it was fun. This is Stephanie. She stayed with me the whole way," Bailey-Rose said, barely pausing to take a breath. "I got to go up the front and see where the driver of the plane sits!"
JJ laughed, tousling the top of Bailey-Rose's head as she straightened up to greet Stephanie. "Did she behave?"
"She was great," Stephanie chuckled. "Talked the whole way"
"Doesn't surprise me," JJ said with a grin.
"Can I just get you to sign here to say you've collected her? And I'll just need to check your identification"
"No problems," JJ replied, pulling her driver's license from her pocket and handing it to Stephanie. After signing the page, she handed it back to Stephanie, trading it for her license with a smile.
"Alright kiddo, can you say thank you to Stephanie for looking after you?"
"Thank you! I had a very good flight," Bailey-Rose said, beaming a toothy grin that had JJ and Stephanie chuckling.
"My pleasure Bailey-Rose! It was lovely to have you on board. You enjoy your holiday, ok?"
"I will! Bye!" Bailey-Rose said exuberantly as Stephanie started heading back towards the jetway, leaving JJ to guide her niece back out of the terminal. They made quick work of collecting Bailey-Rose's bag, leaving the terminal as quickly as possible to beat the rush of cars leaving the parking lot. It was cold outside, and having come from the warmth of the south, Bailey-Rose shivered as they walked outside, but continued to skip happily alongside JJ as they made their way to the car.
"So, what do you want to do while you're here?" JJ asked as they climbed into the car a few minutes later. "Any special requests?"
"Can we have a movie night? And make cookies? And brownies? Ooh, I want to go to your gym and do gymnastics!"
JJ laughed as the young girl buckled herself in, turning the ignition and looking over her shoulder to check the way was clear. "We can do all of that, and more! Dream big kiddo"
"Is Uncle Will at work today?"
"He sure is, he should be home around six. He's really excited to see you," JJ said with a smile as they pulled out of the space. They fell into a short silence as they made their way to the lot exit, and before too long, they were on the highway headed towards Penn Hills.
"JJ, are you gonna do more gymnastics?"
It was a sudden question, one that made JJ pause before she answered.
"You know, kiddo… I don't really know"
"What do you mean?"
"Well… before I went to Worlds, I had decided that I was ready to retire, and start having a normal life. But then, after I got injured, I thought I really wanted to come back. And now… now I'm not so sure anymore"
"Why aren't you sure?"
"Because… I might get hurt again. Because your Uncle Will deserves to be married to someone who's not in a gym twelve hours of the day. I promised him I would retire and we would be able to start our lives together properly. But… part of me still feels like I have more to do"
"Uncle Will wouldn't be upset," Bailey-Rose replied nonchalantly. JJ chuckled.
"How do you know?"
"Because I heard him talkin' to my dad! He called my dad like… not that long ago, and they were talkin' on the car phone, Dad was takin' me to gymnastics. And Dad asked about you and if you were still gonna do gymnastics, and Uncle Will said he didn't know, and then he laughed and said 'but it wouldn't surprise me if she does'"
JJ raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yeah! And then he said how he loves watchin' you do gymnastics because you look really happy and he likes it when you're happy"
Warmth spread through JJ's chest. She couldn't help the smile that was growing on her face. "Well, I guess I'll have to talk to him, won't I?"
"Yeah! And then you should go to the Olympics again!"
JJ laughed. "I don't think so, kiddo, but… maybe another Worlds, hey?"
"Yeah!"
Clearly exhausted from her flight, it was barely eight o'clock when Bailey-Rose passed out on the couch as they were watching a movie. While Will took his niece upstairs to the guest bedroom, JJ meandered into the kitchen, retrieving a bottle of wine, a corkscrew, and two glasses, before making her way back into the lounge room. She was just settling back down on the couch when Will re-entered the room.
"She's dead to the world," he chuckled, dropping down beside JJ on the couch and spreading his arms across the back. "I'm shattered and I've only been home two hours, you've had her since just after lunch!"
JJ laughed, pulling the cork from the bottle as she did. Leaning forward, she began to fill each of the glasses. "Yeah, and she pretty much talked non-stop that entire time. Forget the flight, that's why the kid is so tired"
"She's just excited to be back with her favourite person ever," Will chuckled, sitting up and taking the glass JJ was holding out to him. "You're so good with her… makes me excited for the day we have kids of our own"
JJ smiled, leaning back against him as she held her own glass near her chin. "Well, if I go through with this retirement plan… maybe that day won't be so far off"
Will quirked an eyebrow, a knowing grin spreading across his face. "What do you mean, 'if'?"
There was a momentary pause as JJ mulled over how to reply. Eventually, she took a breath, tipping her head up to look at her fiancé. "I… since I got injured, I've… been toying with the idea of going back"
Will chuckled, taking a sip of his wine, before leaning forward and sitting the glass on the coffee table. "I can't really say I'm surprised"
"I'm sorry," JJ said softly.
"For what?"
"For… never keeping my promise. I promised last year would be it… we would finally have time to settle down and enjoy a normal life… and now I'm thinking of messing all that up"
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Will pulled her into his side, tipping her chin up with his other hand so he could see her face. "As far as I can remember, you never promised me that. And I never would have made you promise me that either. All I want is for you to be happy. And I know gymnastics does that for you. We've made the schedule work for five and a half years, Jayje… I actually don't know if we would cope if you were suddenly home all the time, I think we'd probably want to kill each other"
JJ giggled, tipping her head to rest on his shoulder.
"If you feel like you want to go back, clearly that means you feel like you've got some unfinished business. And I'm not goin' to hold you back from achievin' more goals. I'll be right by your side cheerin' the whole way. Plus, that little girl upstairs would be thrilled if you decide to keep competin'"
JJ let out a sigh. "I just… part of me is scared. That I might hurt myself again. I was certain after my surgery I wanted to come back, but now I don't know. And I know I could wait this year and go back next year but I don't want to go back to the Olympics, but what's the point in retiring the year before them?"
"Who cares? Do what you want," Will chuckled. "Go be a beast next year, take all the golds, and then retire. No-one will expect it. Keep 'em guessin'"
Laughing, JJ straightened up, reaching out and setting her glass down next to Will's. "I mean, I have kept them guessing for about two years now… why not continue it?"
Will grinned. "Well… why don't you go and talk to Nick? I'm sure he'll be able to help you make a decision"
"Yeah. B-Rose wants to go to the gym anyway. Maybe I'll go tomorrow and have a chat to him"
"Just promise me you won't hinge your decisions on what you think I want, because all I want is for you to be happy, and if that means competin' until you do a layout full directly into your grave, so be it Baby Chusovitina"
JJ laughed, snuggling into his side as they settled down and allowed their attention to drift back to the TV.
Hopefully a new day and a conversation with Nick would help bring some clarity to the decision in her head.
The next morning dawned bright and early. Will had woken JJ with a kiss goodbye just before 5:30 as he headed out to work. She had stayed in bed, in a blissful half asleep state for nearly two hours, before pulling herself up and starting her day.
After making the bed, washing her face and brushing her teeth, she was just about to head downstairs when the door to the guest room slowly clicked open, revealing a very sheepish looking Bailey-Rose peering out from the dark room.
"Morning," JJ said with a smile. When Bailey-Rose didn't respond, JJ softened, her face furrowing into an expression of concern. "What's the matter?"
"I… I wet the bed," Bailey-Rose said, her voice barely above a whisper, her eyes trained on the floor. "I'm sorry"
"That's ok," JJ said softly, slowly walking over towards the young girl. "Accidents happen. You had a lot of water last night with your dinner, and then you fell asleep before we could make sure you went to the toilet because you were so exhausted from your flight. You slept for twelve hours kiddo!"
Seeing the smile on JJ's face, Bailey-Rose let out a little giggle. "Yeah. I was pretty tired"
Stepping into the room, JJ put a hand on Bailey-Rose's shoulder. "Why don't you go jump in the shower, and I'll get these sheets off the bed"
"Ok," Bailey-Rose said, sounding much more upbeat as she went over to her suitcase.
After stripping the bed and changing the sheets, JJ made her way down the stairs, Bailey-Rose just a couple of minutes behind her. Embarrassment forgotten, Bailey-Rose had happily chatted endlessly while JJ made them both breakfast.
While the young girl tucked into her toast, JJ grabbed her medication from the shelf above the fridge, bringing it back over to the counter.
"What is that?"
JJ looked up as she popped the tablet out of the blister sheet, smiling at the inquisitive kid sitting before her. "It's my medication"
"What is it for?"
Pausing for a moment, JJ wondered how to respond. But as she focused on Bailey-Rose's bright eyes staring up at her, she knew she wanted to be honest with her. Not so much so that she was imparting information the young girl didn't need to know… but enough that Bailey-Rose would know she could always expect the truth from her.
"It's for depression," JJ said simply. "It stops me from feeling really sad all the time"
Bailey-Rose's eyes widened, her face quirking into an expression of sympathy. "Why are you sad all the time?"
"I'm not anymore," JJ replied, popping the pill in her mouth and washing it down with a mouthful of water. "But for a little while, I felt really sad most days. I really missed my dad, and your Uncle Will and I were having some problems, and it made me really sad. So my doctor put me on this medicine to help me feel better"
"Do you feel better now?"
JJ nodded. "I sure do"
"Was it like… sad like when you watch a movie where the dog dies?"
JJ chuckled. "Um… not quite, kiddo. It's kind of hard to explain in words"
"My dad says that when I ask him an adult question and he doesn't want to answer it"
Biting her lip, JJ couldn't help but grin at the young girl's honesty. "I promise that's not what I mean, ok? It is a bit hard to explain. But it was a kind of sadness that made me feel really heavy. You know like when you have the flu and you feel like you can't get out of bed?"
Bailey-Rose nodded.
"Well, it's a bit like that. Only you're not sick… you're just… sad"
"I hope that doesn't happen to me," Bailey-Rose said softly. JJ softened, reaching over and squeezing the little girl's hand.
"I hope so too, B-Rose. Because you're a bright little ray of sunshine, and I hope nothing takes that away from you. But I want you to know that if you ever feel really sad, you can always tell me, or Uncle Will, or your mom and dad. No-one will get upset with you for being sad. We'll always be there to help you. Ok?"
Bailey-Rose nodded, smiling from ear to ear as JJ picked up her medication from the counter and slid it back into its place above the fridge.
"Alright. Do you want to make brownies today? Maybe we can make some and take them into the gym later for the girls"
"Yeah! And then can I do gymnastics?"
"Of course you can!" JJ said with a grin. Bailey-Rose cheered, pumping her fist into the air as JJ laughed. She had sorely missed the young girl's enthusiasm and excitement, and was most definitely excited to see what the rest of the week held.