A/N: Trying to get the muse kickstarted so I can move this along, because there is SOOOOO much planned that I cannot wait to share!
"Mom?" Will called out as he let himself into his childhood home. "You here?"
"In the lounge," Janine called back, her voice filled with surprise. Will closed the front door behind him, popping the key in his pocket as he walked towards the sound of his mom's voice. When he rounded the corner and laid eyes on her, he couldn't help but break into a big smile.
"Billy," Janine said happily, rising from her spot on the sofa and walking over to wrap her youngest in a tight hug. "What are you doin' here?"
"Spur o' the moment visit. The girls in B's gym class didn't believe JJ was her aunt… so JJ had to prove them wrong"
Janine laughed. "Did she succeed?"
"Very much so," Will chuckled, moving around his mom to take a seat next to where she had been sitting. She followed suit, sitting back down, turning down the volume on the TV as she did.
"We've missed you down here," Janine said with a warm smile, leaning back against the sofa. "How's everythin' up in Pittsburgh?"
"Goin' good. Work's been busy, I've been doin' overtime and putin' in extra shifts wherever I can. Makes it easier to get time off to go with JJ to competitions"
"She lookin' to go to Worlds this year?"
Will chuckled. "She's pushin' to go back to the Olympics again"
Janine raised her eyebrows. "Wow, that's… wow!"
"I know," Will said with a grin. "But she and Nick have really worked out a good schedule. She's actually not spendin' as much time in the gym as she did in the years leadin' up to Rio, which is nice, because we get to spend more time together as well"
"That's good, it's important to make time for each other, especially when you're both so busy and you've only just gotten married," Janine replied. "God, I remember juggling time with your father when we first got married, it's not easy!"
"Not at all," Will agreed. "But it makes us both appreciate the time that much more, which is good"
"Absolutely," Janine said. "So, if JJ's goin' for the Olympics again… I guess I need to put my hopes for more grandchildren soon on hold"
Will laughed. "Yeah, don't bring that up with JJ, she'll give you a servin' over it, I've already copped a couple. No grandchildren until she's done with gymnastics, so at least two more years. I'd love kids now, but it's also nice to just have it be the two of us when we have time away from work and sports"
"Absolutely, my boy, I didn't get a lot of that time with your father before we had Charlie, and sometimes I wish we'd appreciated what little we had just a bit more". Janine smiled, propping her left arm up against the back of the couch and resting her cheek against her hand. "You look happy"
"I am," Will replied with a smile. "We've been through it… but now we're bein' rewarded for it. We're both so happy, and everythin' is just fallin' into place. I'm excited to see where the future takes us"
"To more Olympic gold by the sounds of it," Janine said with a grin. Will laughed.
"Certainly seems that way"
"And work's good?"
"Yeah, I've been so lucky. Got put in a real good precinct. All the officers I work with are real good people. Haven't had too many crazy criminals yet, but there's still time," Will chuckled. Janine shook her head, swatting his leg.
"Don't wish for more crazy, you've heard your father's stories"
"Why do you think I wanted to be a cop?"
Janine sighed, shaking her head as her son laughed. "I just don't want you to get hurt out in the field. I worry about you at times"
"I promise, Momma, I'm bein' careful. All the officers have each other's backs"
"Good…," Janine said softly, smiling at her son. "All I want in this world is my kids to be safe and happy. I might not love the idea of you chasin' down criminals, but as long as you're comin' home safe every night… I can live with it"
"Promise Momma… I'm always doin' my best to stay safe"
"When are you leavin'?"
The question came at JJ all of a sudden over dinner on their last evening in New Orleans, and JJ couldn't miss the sadness that accompanied it.
"Tomorrow. I'm going to Boston for Nationals," she replied gently, locking eyes with the little girl staring up at her pleadingly.
"You can't stay just one more day?" Bailey-Rose asked hopefully. JJ shook her head.
"Sorry babe. I'd love to, but I have to get to Boston in time for podium training, and Uncle Will has to go back to work"
There was a silence that followed as Bailey-Rose pouted over her dinner, before a bright idea hit her and she lifted her head excitedly.
"Momma, I wanna go to Nationals and watch JJ!"
Lisa raised her eyebrows. "Uh… babe, Nationals is this weekend. It's goin' to be too expensive to get flights and everythin'. And you and Pippa are goin' back to school this week"
Bailey-Rose's face fell, her eyes widening into the already perfected puppy eyed expression. "Please? I won't ask for anythin' for my birthday for like… ten years!"
JJ stifled a giggle as Will bit his lip to stop himself from grinning. She caught Lisa's eye across the table, giving her sister-in-law an apologetic expression as she mouthed 'I'm so sorry'.
Lisa sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry B. It's too expensive for us to go this year. Maybe we can go next year"
Bailey-Rose's face crumpled, her lower lip poking out in an impressive pout as she dropped her fork on her plate and sat back in her chair with her arms folded across her chest.
"Hey, none o' that," Sam chided gently, nudging his daughter's shoulder. "We're not gonna pout over things we can't control. Finish your dinner"
"Not hungry," Bailey-Rose said, her face incredibly dark as her brow furrowed. Even as she tried to fix her best angry expression on her face, the adults around her could clearly see the disappointment hiding underneath.
"I know you're upset, B, and I'm sorry. We just can't afford to take you to Boston on such short notice. We would if we could, I know goin' to Nationals to watch JJ would be so excitin', but we can't manage it this year," Sam said calmly. "But I promise, we'll save up to go next year, ok? We'll make it an end of summer special trip"
Bailey-Rose lifted her face, her little eyes so sad that it broke JJ's heart, a little sigh escaping her. "Ok"
"Are you finished with your dinner?" Sam asked. She nodded, propping her elbow on the table and resting her cheek against her hand. "Alright then, why don't you go upstairs and have a shower so that you're all done by the time Pip finishes makin' whatever godawful concoction she's makin' out of her potato mash"
Pippa giggled, brandishing her mash loaded fork up towards her dad.
"Ok," Bailey-Rose said glumly, sliding out of her chair and grabbing her plate off the table. They watched as she carried the plate over to the sink, setting it down with the rest of the dishes, before turning and leaving the room to head upstairs.
"I'm so sorry," JJ said after a short silence, once they were sure Bailey-Rose was in the bathroom.
"What are you apologisin' for, you didn't tell her to ask," Lisa chuckled. "She's a bright kid, and she loves it when you guys are down to visit. It was only a matter of time before she asked for somethin' like that"
"I think she took that about as well as you could expect an eight year old to take it," Will added. "Lots o' kids would've been a bit bratty about it"
"Yeah, she's a good kid," Sam said with a smile. "She'll be sad about it, but she ultimately understands we can't make somethin' like that happen on such short notice"
Just over an hour later, Sam was finishing putting the girls to bed as Lisa, JJ and Will relaxed in the lounge room, chatting easily.
"B was right in a right strop when I put her to bed," Sam said as he walked into the lounge room after a short while with two beers in his hand. Handing one to his brother, he dropped onto the sofa next to his wife, letting out a sigh as he settled back against the cushions. "She's so happy that you guys are here to visit, but she's sad about not bein' able to go to Boston"
Lisa shook her head as she scrolled through something on her phone. "It's so expensive. I was hopin' we'd be able to make it work so we could tell her in the mornin' that we'll be able to go, but look at the cost of the flights alone," she said, angling her phone towards her husband. Sam glanced at the screen, rolling his eyes and taking a swig of beer.
"Fuckin' extortionate for air tickets these days, it's ridiculous"
"Let me help you," JJ blurted out, making the couple look up in shock.
"No, JJ, we couldn't possibly ask you-"
"You're not asking. I'm offering," JJ replied firmly. She felt Will slide an arm around her lower back and give her a gentle squeeze, and she knew straight away that he would stand behind whatever she had to say next.
Lisa and Sam shared a prolonged look, neither of them quite sure what to say.
"Please," JJ said softly, breaking the silence that had descended on the room. "In the least obnoxious way possible… I've been so incredibly lucky to have the career that I have in gymnastics, and it means I've got more money than I will ever know what to do with"
"She's not exaggeratin', you saw where we stayed in the Maldives," Will piped up from behind her as he swallowed a mouthful of beer. JJ cracked a small smile, glancing at him before turning back to the older couple.
"I would love for B-Rose to experience Nationals… it's such an incredible atmosphere, and she'll get to see all the best gymnasts in the country. You don't have to tell her that I had any part in getting her there… I'd rather let you guys be the heroes in that regard"
There was another silence as Lisa and Sam stared at each other, neither of them quite sure what to say to the generous offer.
"I mean it," JJ reiterated softly. "And you wouldn't need to feel obligated to repay it… because giving it back to me only means I have to find something else to do with it, and I'm not kidding at all when I say I don't know what to do with the majority of the money I earn"
Sam chuckled, the awkwardness in the room dissipating the second he did.
"I… ok," Lisa said, her voice somewhat breathless as she looked between her husband and JJ. "Ok. Yes"
JJ broke into a wide smile, watching as the realisation that they would be able to make their daughter's wish come true spread across the older couple's face.
"You'll have to take her Sam, I don't think I'll be able to get the time off work," Lisa said to her husband.
"No problem. 'Bout time I start to understand what the heck my sister-in-law has all these medals for," he said with a grin, getting a laugh out of the younger couple.
"Pick some flights that work for you guys and we can get it booked tonight," JJ replied. "Your gymnastics education starts now"
Sam grinned, leaning over Lisa's shoulder as she began looking through the flight options again. Before long, they had picked flights that worked, departing New Orleans on Thursday afternoon, and returning on Monday morning, Lisa handing her phone over to JJ as Sam began looking at hotels on his. JJ pulled out her phone as she continued through to the payment page, pulling up her card on her banking app to get the details.
"Your kindness and generosity never fails to amaze me," Will murmured in her ear as she began to tap her card details into the booking, his arm sliding a little tighter around her waist. "I love you"
Looking up at him for a moment, JJ smiled, leaning in and pressing a quick kiss to his lips. As she turned back to her phone, she felt his lips graze her temple, warmth rushing through her body.
She couldn't wait to see Bailey-Rose's face.