A/n: Thank you for you wonderful reviews everyone! I'm happy that you are enjoying the story this far. I think there will be a couple more chapters after this one before the story wraps up. Thank you for all your support! -Kate

...

Yuuri stood in the bathroom, willing his heading to stop spinning.

He was meeting with his doctor today. In his last appointment, the doctor had told him that he wouldn't be able to start skating again until his symptoms went away, and there was no way of knowing when that would be. Every person and every injury was different, the doctor had said. But Yuuri needed to go back. He needed skating. He couldn't just sit around the house for forever waiting for the symptoms to stop. He was going to lose his mind.

"Yuuri, are you almost ready?" Victor called from outside the door. Yuuri had locked the door to make sure Victor didn't barge in.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a second," he called, gripping the sink. He felt a feeling of guilt wash over him. He had been fully intending to pretend this episode had never happened, so he could lie to the doctor. It had been a flawless plan in his mind until he remembered Victor, and the way Victor had yelled at him the morning he had snuck in to the rink to practice. He didn't want to worry Victor anymore. He just wanted everything to go back to normal.

Finally, the dizziness passed, and Yuuri unlocked the door. He started when he saw Victor standing right outside the door, waiting for him.

"Sorry," Victor said, "you were in there so long I was starting to worry." Victor studied him. "What's wrong?"

Yuuri wrapped his arms around Victor, knowing in his heart that he couldn't lie. It wouldn't be fair. "I had another dizzy spell."

"Oh, Yuuri," Victor said, his voice sounding sad. He wrapped his arms around him in return, holding him close. "I'm sorry. I know how much you want the doctor to clear you. It might not happen today, but it will. I promise."

"I'm sorry," Yuuri said, still feeling guilty even though he had told Victor the truth.

"For what?" Victor asked him.

Yuuri didn't answer. He just hugged Victor tighter.

….

"I'm sorry, Yuuri," the doctor told him sympathetically when he asked about returning to the ice. "I know it's hard but we have to do what's best for you. It's dangerous for you to skate when you are still recovering and experiencing symptoms. It's not worth the risk, especially since it would be quite easy to you to hit your head while skating. People with your condition usually see symptoms going away after 3 months. Chances are that you will not be experiencing them for much longer."

Yuuri looked crestfallen, even though he had known the answer. Victor grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Yuuri smiled at him sadly. Victor wished nothing more than to see a real smile out of his Yuuri again.

"The good news is that your fractured ribs have completely healed now, so today is not a loss!" the doctor continued, trying to cheer Yuuri up. "I know you've been through a lot and you should be proud of yourself."

"Thank you," Yuuri told the doctor, trying to look happy but not really achieving it. They scheduled the next appointment and left, Yuuri looking at his feet as they walked.

"Yuuri, let's go out for lunch!" Victor said suddenly, stopping Yuuri and turning him around to look at him. "We haven't gone out in a while, and we deserve it. Plus, the sun's actually out today, and we should take advantage of it!"

Yuuri looked so defeated, but he smiled anyway. "That sounds fun."

They went and ate lunch at a nearby café. Victor did his best to be cheerful and bubbly, and it seemed to help. Slowly Yuuri's sadness went away and his smile became more genuine. After lunch they decided to walk around town, window shopping and stopping for ice cream. Victor could honestly say that he was happy. It had been weeks since he felt so light and warm. Every day had been dealing with the fear, dealing with the pain, waiting for something to get better. He had spent so much time being scared for Yuuri, worrying about him, and scared of his own nightmares, that there hadn't been much time to feel happy. But he was, his arm around the man he loved, laughing as Yuuri spilled ice cream on his shirt. Victor was able to remember a glimpse of their life before Alina had ever walked into it.

"Thank you, Victor," Yuuri said as they finally headed home. "I haven't had this much fun since…."

"I know, me too," Victor said, wishing the moment could last forever. He stopped, realizing they were passing the ice rink. He wondered if it would make Yuuri sad, but Yuuri turned to him and smiled.

"Can we stop in and say hi?" he asked. "I feel like we haven't seen anyone in forever."

"Sure," Victor said with a smile.

Yakov, Yurio, and Mila were all at the rink when they got there. Mila called to them enthusiastically, waving. Even Yurio looked happy to see them. They both skated over to join Yuuri and Victor.

"What are you guys up to?" Mila asked them, propping her head on her hands. "I haven't seen you here in forever."

"We were just out and thought we'd say hi," Victor said with a smile. "How's training going?"

"Same as usual," Mila said, rolling her eyes. "Yakov is such a mean coach."

Yakov scoffed and ignored her. "So what's the deal, are you coming back?" he asked Yuuri. Yuuri looked a little uncomfortable but still managed a smile.

"No, not yet. But soon. The doctor said my fractures have healed and I just have to wait for my concussion symptoms to go away."

Yakov nodded. Yuiro, who had been quiet, looked saddened by the news. Victor could tell that he missed having Yuuri on the rink with him, even if he wouldn't admit it. Yurio noticed Victor looking at him and scoffed.

"You're gonna have to work your ass off to beat me," Yurio warned, and Yuuri laughed.

"I plan on doing just that."

"Alright, you two, enough distractions," Yakov said. "We still have half an hour of practice left!"

Yuuri and Victor stayed and watched as Mila and Yurio finished their practice for the day. Both of them were phenomenal; they had definitely been working hard. Once they finished their practice, Yuuri turned to Victor, his face lit up. "Can I watch you skate?"

Victor was surprised, but the look on Yuuri's face was hard to deny. "I think I can do that for you, as long as Yakov doesn't mind."

Yakov grunted. Victor took that as a form of approval and smiled widely at Yuuri.

….

Watching Victor skate was mesmerizing to Yuuri. It didn't matter how many times he had seen Victor skate; the way he moved was so beautiful, so graceful, that Yuuri's heart overflowed with love he couldn't begin to describe. He had no idea how on earth he had gotten so lucky to have fallen in love with Victor Nikiforov, and to actually have Victor love him back.

Their eyes met and Victor smiled. Yuuri hadn't even realized he was crying, tears flowing freely down his face. He didn't care. He was so happy to be there with Victor, especially after everything they had gone through.

"Alright Yuuri, that's enough," Victor said, skating over. Yuuri could tell Victor was tired. "I think it's time we head home."

Yuuri nodded, a smile still on his lips. He didn't stop smiling the whole way home.

Once they were back at the apartment, Yuuri turned on the TV and curled up on the couch as Victor started to get dinner ready. Yuuri turned on a movie but didn't really watch it. He was starting to feel a headache coming on, so he closed his eyes, hoping it wouldn't get too bad. Sometimes the headaches were nothing more than a dull ache, but sometimes they got so bad he ended up in bed the whole day, only getting up to throw up in the bathroom. He remembered the doctor's visit this morning, and he stomach squirmed uncomfortably. He was starting to get afraid that he would never get better, and never be allowed to go back to skating.

He had had such a nice day with Victor, and he didn't want anything to ruin it now. He tried to remember how nice it had been to spend the day with Victor, and watch him skate on the ice. But his headache was getting stronger, and with it came his worry. He hadn't even really thought of what he would do if he couldn't skate anymore. He didn't have enough money saved to go without working for very long. He'd have to find some kind of job. What would he do? What was he good at? Skating was all he'd ever focused on.

Eventually his thoughts started to get hazy as sleep overtook him. And then he was dreaming, dreaming of the ice, of skating alongside Victor. It was a good dream. He would gladly spend the rest of his life gliding over the ice with Victor by his side.

….

Yuuri was asleep by the time Victor came to tell him dinner was ready. Victor decided not to wake him, and set a plate in the fridge for him instead. He threw a blanket over Yuuri and kissed the top of his head. He smiled, taking a moment to appreciate how cute Yuuri looked when he slept.

Victor took his dinner into his room and grabbed his laptop. He, too, was tired. It had been a long couple of days. It had been a long few weeks, actually. With the trial over and Alina officially sentenced, Victor had hoped that he would feel different. He had hoped that he would feel free. And in some ways, he did. But he wasn't quite there yet. His fear was still there. He was still worried for Yuuri. There was still an uncertainty hanging over them. But today had been progress, and he wanted things to keep progressing. He looked at the gold ring on his finger and smiled. He wanted to plan something special for Yuuri.