At the 2006 U.S. National Championships in St. Louis, Katarina struggles less with pressure than with the long wait before the ice dance final. After skating two programs on the first day, she has two full days to think, and she uses that time to isolate herself in the hotel Sheila arranged away from the main competition crowd. Katarina stretches, eats carefully, and repeatedly visualizes not just a perfect free dance but the entire chain of victory she believes will follow.

By the time Katarina arrives for the free dance, those fantasies feel almost real to her. She feels untouchable in the dressing room and refuses to let Heath and Bella, who are receiving a pep talk from Sheila, affect her concentration. Katarina convinces herself that she and Garrett have the stronger technical program and that a clean skate will guarantee their win.

When the final group takes the ice, Katarina frames the event entirely as a showdown she is destined to win, even though Heath and Bella will skate last. Garrett notices her intensity during the warm-up and asks if she is all right, saying she seems distracted, but Katarina rejects that idea. In her mind, she is finally focused on the goal she had before Heath ever entered her life: Olympic success.

During the warm-up, however, Katarina remains fixated on Heath and Bella as they pass close by. While she and Garrett practice their elements, Katarina keeps replaying her imagined future: another national title, Heath and Bella settling for silver, the Olympic team announcement, the trip to Torino, and Olympic gold. Smiling as she believes she is on the verge of claiming everything she has wanted, Katarina reaches for Garrett during the twizzles, sees a flash of green and black behind him, and then suddenly sees only blinding white rushing toward her.