Beep...
Beep...
Beep...
What the hell...? Where am I? I tried moving, but all I got was a twinge in both arms. Something felt cold in my veins. IVs? What the hell was I doing in the hospital? I felt perfectly fine when I went to bed. I feel a little heavy now, but other than that, I'm ok. Why would I be here?
"Violet?" a soft, Swiss accent spoke in my ear, pushing my hair out of my face.
"Chris...?" I rubbed my eyes, feeling the needles push deeper into my skin, "When did you get here?"
"Shh..." Chris settled me, "Don't strain yourself. Hold on. He's just outside. Victor?"
"What is it, Chris?" Oh my god...Victor, what happened to you? He looked like he hadn't slept in days and got into a fight. My poor husband, who hurt you? The longer I studied his face, every dark circle, every splotch, the bloodshot in his eyes, the deeper the crack in my heart was. Victor scooped me up in his arms, "Oh, thank God, Violet. You're awake."
"Victor," I laid my head on his chest, "What's going on?"
"It's ok, sweetheart," he assured me, running his fingers up and down my spine, "It's going to be ok. Right now, I'm just glad you're awake."
"Awake?" I gave him a look, "What happened?"
"You're in the hospital," Victor kissed my forehead, "Don't worry, though. You're going to be alright."
"Why am I in the hospital?" I started to get pissed, "I'm fine."
"Vi," he held me tighter, "You passed out in your hotel room. Your head is still probably a bit fuzzy from the fall. I promise that you're going to come out of here better again. And I'll do everything in my power to keep you that way."
It must have been exhaustion. I worked myself too hard and collapsed. Victor, in complete hysterics, called Chris for moral support and Chris, being the amazing boyfriend he is, came right away. That's what this had to be. Dammit, Violet. You should know your limits. A break once in a while won't kill you. Remember? Celestino being onto something?
"I'm sorry, Victor," I cuddled into him, "I didn't mean to make you worry like this."
"Why didn't you tell me you were suffering?" Victor couldn't even look at me. There's no way this was just exhaustion. There was more to this.
"Excuse me," a nurse came in with a machine I remembered all too well. One that Ife I never saw it again, it'd be too soon, "Mr. Nikiforov, be ready to hold her down."
"What?" my heart stopped, "Uh...no..."
"I'm not here for you yet," she pulled the curtain to the other bed, revealing a smaller body next to me. A beautiful, little blonde boy laying perfectly still and unconscious. When I realized who it was, throwing up would come easier to me, "This is his feeding tube."
"Yurio..." I shivered, "No. Yurio was getting better..."
I couldn't watch. I've been on the receiving end of that and I knew how much it sucked...And there was no way I was putting Yurio through that. I ripped the IVs out of my arms and pushed Victor off me. Then, I went for the nurse, shoving her away from my baby, "Violet, what the hell are you doing?"
"You keep your hands off my son, you bitch!" I snapped, "He doesn't need to be on a feeding tube! We are not putting him through this!"
"Violet," Victor took me back, "She's only trying to help. Yours will be in soon, too. We want you better."
"How can you allow something like this to happen?" my tirade continued, "And to our son, no less?"
"I know it's hard for you, dorogoy," his voice shook, "But please. I nearly lost you. And Yurio's following down the same path. I just want you both to be ok."
"No," I tried to shake him off, "No...No!"
"Violet," Victor cradled me, "Violet, wake up..."
I opened my eyes again and did a quick scan around the room. Back in our hotel room in Tokyo. My husband's arms around me, doing their best to provide me with any sort of comfort, but to no avail, "What?"
"You were screaming in your sleep," he squeezed me tighter, "Are you ok?"
"Get off me," I pushed him away and ran to the kitchenette in our room, immediately setting some water to boil.
"Violet," Victor followed me, but I kept my mouth shut. The less I talked, the less I could start crying. That was one of those nightmares that feel way too vivid for my liking and I never wanted to be in that situation again, "Violet, what are you doing?"
"Go," I demanded, hardly able to stand. However, I couldn't let Victor see me sweat. I knew how he was in situations like this. He'd try his damnedest to help, but right now, helping wouldn't help. I threw eight packages of ramen in my boiling water and carried the pot with me into the bathroom.
"Violet..."
Before he could say anything else, I shut the door and hit the lock. I just wanted to binge my ramen in peace and cry by myself. Is that too much to ask for? Apparently, when I marry someone like Victor, of course it's too much to ask for. Damn his overbearing and overprotective nature.
Between sobs, I could hear him putting the boys back to bed. Yuri was the only one to really wake up. Yurio could sleep through a freight train running through a herd of cows while there was an earthquake and a tornado going on. If someone sneezed in Yuri's room while he was asleep, it'd be enough to wake him up.
I needed to shake this nightmare. You're ok, Violet. Just eat your ramen. Yurio's in bed. He's not in the hospital. He's not on a feeding tube. You stopped that before it could escalate. You saw that boy put the katsudon away alongside Yuri, nearly keeping up with him bowl for bowl. We're going to be ok. Everything's fine.
"Vi," Victor knocked on the bathroom door, "Violet, what's wrong?"
"Go away!" I yelled through a mouthful of noodle.
"No," he slid down the door, "Please. Let me in."
"No," my voice shook. He didn't need to see this. I know he loved me regardless, but he didn't need to see this. No one did.
"Ok," Victor let me go, "Tell me when I can then, ok?"
I loved when he did this, but I hated it all the same. Victor Nikiforov's brand of charm was a deadly poison. But at the same time, it was its own antidote. One minute, it could make one swoon. The next, it makes someone the most important human being on the face of the Earth. And when consumed in large amounts, there's only one side effect...Falling in love.
Once I had the bottom of the pot practically licked clean, I cracked the bathroom door, "Ok. You can come in."
"Violet," Victor threw his arms around me, cradling me delicately in his lap while I had my regularly scheduled breakdown, "What's wrong? Talk to me. I can't help if I don't know what's going on."
"Nightmare," I sobbed, "A really bad one. I don't want to go back to the hospital, Victor. I never ever want to go back to the hospital."
"It's ok," he soothed me, "You're not going back. You're right here. Everything's fine."
"I didn't even tell you the worst part." Just when I thought I was done crying, the image of my sweet little boy laying in a hospital bed for the same ailment burned hot in my brain, "Yurio was my roommate."
"Come here," Victor pulled me onto my feet, "I want to show you something."
"What?" I wiped my eyes on my sleeve as Victor led me out to our room.
"See that?" he pointed to the bed the boys were sleeping in, "Both Yuri and Yurio are sound asleep. Yurio's not in the hospital. He's not going to be in the hospital. He's fine, too. And so are you. Now, please. Come back to bed."
"Ok," I laid in Victor's chest with his arms around me.
"I love you, sweetheart," he kissed the top of my head.
"I love you, too," I felt more tears bubble up, but they were quickly silenced. Everything was going to be ok.
Even more so when I wake up and Victor hadn't budged. I didn't even have a blanket on. His body heat was plenty to keep me warm. If anyone ever asks me why I love this man, this is a prime example why. Because of this. Because he can stay up all night with me when the worst nightmare plagues my thoughts. When I can cry in his shoulder for as long as I need to. Because no matter where he is in the world, I'm never alone. Victor and I have been through a lot together. There's no doubt. I just wish there was something I could do for him in return.
I guess I could start with this. I cuddled into my husband's chest, kissing one of those spots in his neck that drove him nuts, only to move to his lips shortly after, "Dobrye otro, dorogoy. We need to wake up."
"Good morning to you, too," Victor smiled, not even bothering to open his eyes, "Are you ok, Violet?"
"Much better," I promised, "So much better."
"Do you want to sit the competition out for the day?" he offered, "I can coach Yurio, too."
"No," I appreciated the sentiment, but I made a promise. And I'll be damned if I break that promise, "I'm ok now."
"You sure?"
"Positive," I had little to no desire to even bother getting out of bed, but I still needed to wake the babies. I wonder...Maybe, "Yuri..."
"What?" my boys groaned together. I guess it worked.
"Come here," I told them.
Yuri and Yurio crawled up into bed with Victor and me. Yuri assumed his usual position with Victor and Yurio with me. I wrapped my arms around my baby and hugged him tight, almost ready to start crying again. He's ok, Violet. He's perfectly fine. I could feel Yurio's ribcage, but I couldn't see it. Good.
"Boys," Victor took over, noticing me being closer to Yurio than what I normally was, "You ready for your first international competition?"
"Can we go practice?" Yurio begged, looking up at me.
"I don't see why not," I allowed, "Besides, it's a rink you two have never skated before. You should probably get a feel for the ice here."
"Go get ready," Victor put Yuri down, but I still didn't want to let go. After a while, though, Yurio had squirmed out of my embrace and got himself ready to head off to the rink.
Once we got there, we weren't the only ones who thought to practice early. The kid from our competition in St. Petersburg was there, too. And if I didn't know any better, I'd think Yurio had a smile on his face. And it wasn't just because of being at a new rink. Although, I could understand the excitement of a shiny new rink.
"Hey," the kid came up to Yurio. Otabek, I think his name was…
"Hi, Otabek," Yurio blushed a little, trying to hide it.
"Go ahead, boys," Victor gave them both a nudge, "We have two hours before competition starts. Make the most of it."
"Um, Mama?" Yurio took my hand.
"What, baby?" I looked down at him, "What is it?"
"Will you practice with me?" he asked.
His request hit me hard in the chest. I haven't skated at this rink since I went into the hospital. I don't even know if I had my skates with, "I don't know about that, dovahkiin."
"Vi," Victor had a pair of light pink skates hanging from their white laces on his finger, "You don't think I didn't pack skates for both of us? How else are two former greats going to coach their protégés if they can't skate alongside them?"
"I love you," I stole a quick kiss from him and laced up my skates, "Ok, Yuri. I'll skate with you."
"Yay!" Yurio's sweet, little face lit up like a Christmas tree.
"And Victor," I finished off the bow, "No cameras. This is only going to be between Yurio and me. This doesn't need to go online."
"It won't," Victor promised, putting his phone in his pocket.
"What are we pregaming to, baby?" I asked, scrolling through my playlist. Maybe all I needed was a good session to set me back on track again.
"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing," Yurio picked. This boy was going to have me on my knees in the middle of the rink in tears, wasn't he?
"Ok," I nodded, "We can do that."
And almost immediately, as soon as the music started, I was put back in Barcelona. Our last competition together. Yurio always did this routine with me without flaw and I couldn't be prouder of him, but every part of me wanted Victor to come out with me and skate the entire thing like it was our wedding day all over again, but doing it with Yurio was just about the same. Minus us being fresh out of the courthouse with a little bit of a champagne buzz.
"Attention," the loudspeaker boomed, "Clear the ice. Junior Grand Prix begins in thirty minutes."
"You ready for this, baby?" I beamed.
"Born ready." The fire burned bright in Yurio's eyes. Victor was right. Everything was going to be ok. If my little warrior could do this, so could I.
A/N: Hi, guys! I'm sorry we had to go through that really hard nightmare. I cried writing it if it makes you feel any better. Look on the bright side, though. We had Victor being all cute. I read some headcanons for Victor when dealing with someone sick on Tumblr and I wanted to gush a bit. Now, unfortunately, I'm going on hiatus for the next couple weeks. I'll be back in June. But when I come back in June, I'm going to be doing a little thing I like to call bomb week. If you're new to the way I run my fic, in the month of June, I take a week and write five new chapters for one story. So, you'll be getting updates on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Due to me vacationing and not coming back until the first full week of June, this is going to run into July, too, but I digress. I promise, though. I will be back. And once bomb week is over, I'll resume to regularly scheduled programming. Be patient with me, ok? I'm soft and smol and get frightens easy. I'll miss you all. See you next chapter! xx