Most of the day was spent with Viktor watching over Yuri and changing the water in the hot water bottles. Even though his temperature had fully normalized just one hour after Dr. Fedorov had left, he kept checking it…just to be sure. Yuri for his part, slept through most of the day. Viktor had honed in on Yuri's breathing and normal sleeping sounds, so whenever he heard something that seemed out of the ordinary, he was on his feet checking the young skater over. His nerves were absolutely frayed and he was more stressed out than he'd been in a long time. Dr. Fedorov is right, Yuri needs help. We can't live like this…him being tormented in his sleep…and me getting jumpy over every little noise. Viktor was too tense, he knew it. He needed something to do…his skin was crawling from the pent-up energy. So he went to the kitchen and decided to make some chicken quinoa soup for when Yuri finally woke up. Knowing how stomach-driven the younger man was…he'd for sure be pretty famished. Viktor busied himself with cutting the chicken breasts and vegetables. He was soon fully engrossed in the food preparation.

Yuri was so warm and cozy under the blankets. He wished he could stay there forever, but his bladder seemed to have other ideas. He tried ignoring it for as long as he could, but eventually had to leave his comfy blanket nest. As he sat up and pulled the blankets down, he noticed a few strange things. One, there were two layers of blankets instead of one and he had been flanked by a triad of hot water bottles. Did the central heating malfunction or something? Yuri stood up and winced. His whole body was sore. Even his jaw was sore. He didn't have much time to contemplate his soreness though, as his bladder needed immediate attention. He shuffled into the bathroom and as he relieved himself, he noticed that his mind was a bit muddled and his thoughts a bit lethargic. Looking around, his eyes fell on the towel rack and spotted his and Viktor's new toys drying on it. Huh? When did I take that out? Yuri washed his hands and then his face. He brushed his teeth and then combed his hair so that it was no longer a disheveled mess. When he turned to leave the bathroom, he saw Makkachin sitting at the door.

"Hey there Makkachin. What are you doing in the bedroom?"

The dog stood up and wagged its tail nubbin' happily at him.

He knelt down and gave the dog's ears a good scratch. Makkachin's eyes closed and one of his back legs picked up and half air-scratched and half-thumped the floor.

"Oooh that feels good, doesn't it?"

Yuri gave the dog's head a kiss before standing back up and looking for some clothes to put on. A wonderful smell suddenly reached his nose and his stomach growled loudly. Man, I'm starving! What time is it anyway? When he looked at his phone, his eyes nearly fell out of his head when he saw that it was already nearly 4 pm. The darkness he had seen outside was actually dusk and not pre-dawn as he had originally thought. Yuri was filled with an intense feeling of trepidation. The last time he had woken up under baffling circumstances, he'd found out that he had some kind of night terror experience. He hurriedly put on a pair of jogging pants and a t-shirt and set off to find Viktor.

He knew he was on the right track as he approached the kitchen and heard noises coming from it. The door was open, and when he reached it he could see Viktor about to remove a dish from the cupboard.

"Viktor, hey."

Viktor startled at Yuri's voice, and the dish he had grabbed flew out of his hand. It smashed onto the floor, shattering and scattering pieces all over the kitchen floor.

"Sorry Viktor! I didn't mean to frighten you. Here, let me…"

He was cut off by Viktor's loud shout of, "Stay where you are!"

Yuri stopped dead in his tracks. He was shocked. Viktor had never raised his voice to him like that before. Yuri's heart felt a stab of pain.

As if suddenly realizing what he'd just done, Viktor covered his face with one hand and extended his other out to motion for him to wait.

"Sorry, I mean…just wait there. You're barefoot…I don't want you to cut your feet."

Yuri looked down and realized that he had indeed forgotten to put his slippers on.

"O…K."

Yuri stood there and watched intently as Viktor grabbed the broom and began sweeping up the mess. He noticed that Viktor seemed to be going out of his way to avoid eye contact with him. Why won't he look at me? Feeling like he should still help somehow, he grabbed the dustpan and tentatively stepped toward Viktor with it. The man seemed to sense Yuri's hesitation, and it only served to make him more agitated.

"I've got this."

Viktor took the dustpan from Yuri and stooped down to sweep the broken glass onto it. That's when Yuri saw it, the hand that held the dustpan was shaking.

"Viktor, your hand…"

The Russian man cleared his throat and reached over with his other hand to try and steady the shaking one.

"It's fine."

Yuri could clearly see that things were not fine. Viktor now had two visibly shaking hands as he valiantly still tried to get the broken glass onto the dustpan. He squatted down in front of Viktor and gently covered the taller man's trembling hands with his own.

"Something happened again, didn't it?"

Viktor's entire body tensed up and Yuri could feel his fists clench beneath his hands. There was a nearly imperceptible nod from the man in front of him. It was a movement so minimal that Yuri almost missed it. A split second later he saw tears falling down onto the pile of broken glass. Yuri pushed the dustpan out of the way and reached for Viktor, pulling him into a tight hug. Whatever remaining drop of composure the man had been holding onto evaporated and his body was fully engulfed by a heaving breakdown. Yuri sat down on the floor and just held Viktor, silently letting him work through it. Whatever had happened this time around was on a much bigger scale than the last, for he'd never seen Viktor this shaken before. Yuri stroked Viktor's hair and rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. He tried his best to be as comforting to Viktor as the man had done for him so many times before, but it felt a bit awkward, being the doing the holding. Yuri didn't have much experience to draw from, and felt a bit inadequate as someone's source of consolation. What he did know was that he cared deeply for the man currently falling apart in his arms, and would do whatever he could for him. After a while, Viktor's breathing had returned to normal and he was no longer shaking like a leaf in his arms.

When Yuri broke the silence, his voice was heavy with regret and grief.

"I'm so very sorry Viktor. I don't know what happened, but I've somehow managed to hurt you bad enough for you to not even want to look at me anymore."

Viktor lifted his head and shook his head adamantly, making a point to stare directly into Yuri's eyes.

"I have…been teetering on the edge…all day. It has taken every shred of self-control to keep myself from falling apart like I did just now. It's not that I didn't want to look at you Yuri…it's that I couldn't trust myself to do so."

Yuri nodded. "I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions, I should have asked you about it instead of assuming."

As soon as the words had left his mouth, Yuri was flooded with a very eerie sense of déjà vu. Where did that pearl of wisdom come from? Viktor was also looking at him funny, but didn't say anything. The Russian then stood up, bringing Yuri up with him.

"Let's get some food into our stomachs. You haven't eaten all day and neither have I. We're probably both cranky from low blood sugar. Once we're done eating, I need to have a very important discussion with you."

Viktor's wording rendered Yuri immediately apprehensive. His mind started racing ahead at a million miles per hour. This is it…he's going to tell me he doesn't want me anymore. He's going to tell me that I'm too much trouble, effort…whatever! He's going to…Yuri was jolted from his thoughts by a firm squeeze to his shoulder.

"What I meant is that…I need to tell you what happened and we need to find a way to help you…together."

Every bit of tension was instantly drained from Yuri's body and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks for...uhhh...clearing that up."

The two men ate in silence, each too engrossed in their own thoughts to attempt a conversation. Yuri struggled a bit as his jaw was really bothering him now and any contact the teeth of his upper jaw had with those of his lower jaw sent jarring pangs of agony through his skull. He had tried his best to hide the outward signs of pain, but it was becoming nearly impossible. Viktor picked up on the fact that something was wrong,

"Where does it hurt, Yuri?"

Embarrassed that he was causing problems and worry for Viktor yet again, Yuri tried to play it off like it wasn't a big deal.

Viktor sighed and put his spoon down.

"Yuri, I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong. I can't read minds. I'm an ice skater not a clairvoyant."

Yuri closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. It felt humiliating, knowing he was being a burden to Viktor yet again. He opened his eyes to find Viktor sitting with his arms crossed, staring expectantly at him. Yuri growled in frustration as he begrudgingly disclosed his source of discomfort.

Viktor stood up and walked over to Yuri and kissed the top of his head.

"That wasn't so terrible, was it? Wait here, I'll be right back."

Yuri put his elbows on the table, lowered his head into his hands and groaned. A short while later Viktor was back with some pain killers.

"Here, take these two tablets. They should help with the pain and won't make you drowsy."

He grabbed a glass of water for Yuri and as he set it down on the table, he took Yuri's bowl of soup away.

"Viktor…I'm not finished yet."

"I know, I'm going to make it easier for you to eat it."

Yuri took the medicine that Viktor had brought for him as he followed the taller man's movements around the kitchen. His intentions became clear when Yuri saw him take out the blender. Oh! That's actually pretty clever! Viktor ran Yuri's soup through the blender and poured it back into the bowl. As he set it back on the table, Yuri grabbed his hand and kissed it.

"Thank you."

Viktor smiled and returned the gesture.

Yuri found that it was much easier to get the soup down without the chewing aspect, but still felt like he was missing out on the tasty individual morsels. Viktor assured him that there would be plenty left over for him to eat later on once his jaw wasn't bothering him anymore.

Once the meal and cleanup was done, the two men moved into the living room. Viktor sat down on one loveseat and instructed Yuri to sit across from him.

"As much as I want to hold you and cuddle you right now, we need to talk face-to-face."

Yuri was disappointed, but understood. He took his seat and sat rigidly with his hands palm-down on his lap. Viktor wished he could tell him to relax, but given what he was about to tell him, that seemed like a completely preposterous thing to say. So, he just took a deep breath and bit the bullet.

"In the early hours of the morning today, you had…what I would constitute as…your third sleep-related incident since you left the hospital in Barcelona."

Yuri was alarmed. Third? I thought this was just the second one! He was about to open his mouth in protest when Viktor held up his hand.

"At the airport in Barcelona, you fell asleep while we were waiting for our boarding call. You were mumbling in your sleep and your face was all twitchy. We'd just gotten our boarding call and I decided to wake you. You had a very…intense…reaction to being woken up. You didn't recognize me at first and had a bit of a panic attack afterward. I'm not sure how much, if any, of that you remember."

Yuri searched his brain for any kind of memory regarding the event Viktor had mentioned. He remembered being really tired and then feeling stressed when he woke up…and then just being restless on the plane and unable to sleep. He shook his head.

"I didn't think so." Viktor sighed and stood up.

"I need a drink, the next part is going to be…challenging. I'd offer you one as well, but you're not allowed."

As Viktor walked back into the kitchen, Yuri was left wondering what he meant by he wasn't 'allowed' to have alcohol. He was getting really antsy and just wished Viktor would get it over with. Not knowing was starting to really mess with his head. Viktor didn't keep him waiting for long. Just a few minutes later he was back with a glass of white wine. He put the bottle down on the table and took a swig of the wine before sitting back down.

"The second episode was the one you had about a week ago. Do you remember what I told you about it?"

"Yeah."

"OK, next is the one from this morning."

Viktor drained his glass in one mouthful and poured himself another one. Yuri gulped. If there was ever a more perfect situation in which to use the expression 'liquid courage', this was it. He listened intently as Viktor recounted the events from earlier on. As Viktor went on, Yuri noticed that he was starting to struggle. His voice started to crack and he seemed to be forcing the words past his lips. Yuri waited as patiently as he could. He was now sitting at the edge of the sofa and had clenched his hands in his lap. Viktor took a deep breath in through his nose and expelled it slowly out his mouth.

"…and that's when I found you….face down in the snow."

Yuri felt like he'd just been sucker-punched in the gut. All the air in his lungs seemed to fly out of him in a whoosh. He was left breathless and gasping.

"W-wh-whaaaaaaaaaaaat?!"

Viktor clasped his hands together and brought them up to his forehead as he rested his elbows on his knees. He took another deep breath and then continued speaking from that position. Yuri listened, horrified, as Viktor described detail after shocking detail. The part about his cold and lifeless body was too much for Yuri. His stomach turned and he covered his mouth with both hands as he shot up from the sofa and ran to the nearest bathroom. He heaved endlessly into the toilet bowl, emptying the contents of his stomach in roiling waves. His eyes watered and his whole body shook from the act. He reached over to flush the toilet and saw Viktor standing by the door.

When he noticed the taller man take a step toward him, he held up his hand.

"Please don't. I just need...some time to...process."

He sat on the floor with his back leaning against the toilet and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He still felt quite queasy and didn't trust himself to stand up. Yuri brought his knees up and hugged them to his chest. He felt absolutely awful.

"I'm sorry."

"Yuri, it's not your fault. We're dealing with something bigger than the both of us. That's why we need help."

Yuri lifted his head to look up at Victor.

"What kind of help?"

"Dr. Fedorov, my private physician, made a house call to check on you this morning. He gave me the number of a specialist we could contact in town. I'll book you an appointment first thing Monday morning."

"What kind of doctor?"

"A Neuropsychologist, like in Barcelona."

Yuri stood up slowly to look at Viktor.

"But my head is fine. I got a clean bill of health. I don't need a neurologist nor a psychologist."

Viktor took a step closer and put a hand on Yuri's shoulder.

"I think maybe...you just need someone to help you find out what's going on with your head that's giving you such bad dreams."

"Oh, so you think there's something wrong with my head?"

"Well, not wrong per se...but something is not right...not normal."

Yuri was not impressed. He removed Viktor's hand from his shoulder and crossed his arms.

"There's nothing wrong. I'll deal with the nightmares on my own."

"But Yuri, you need help."

Yuri let out an exasperated sigh and spoke through gritted teeth.

"I told you, I'm fine. I especially don't need this kind of help. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to take a shower."

Yuri pushed Viktor until he was out of the bathroom and then closed the door. The Russian was left staring at the closed bathroom door, wondering what the hell had just happened.