Angel

Chapter 2

The car ride over to Dr. Chazov's clinic was a little uncomfortable, but they had made it work. They didn't have a car seat for Yuri yet, and he was still too little to sit in the backseat by himself, so Yuuri had ridden in the back of Viktor's sleek black car with the boy on his lap. He didn't think Viktor had ever driven so carefully, going slow and looking back at them through the rearview mirror more than was actually necessary. For his part, Yuri didn't whine or complain. He didn't seem to mind being fastened to Yuuri's lap. He played with Kotonok, making him walk across Yuuri's knees and stopping every once in a while to press the soft toy against his nose.

Now he looked curiously around the waiting room. The room was brightly lit and cheerful for a doctor's office. Soft leather couches lined the walls, and vibrant watercolors decorated the room A coffee pot percolated on the table next to the receptionist's desk, and Yuuri thought longingly of the half-drunk mug of coffee he left at home.

The waiting room at the doctor's office was mostly empty when the Nikiforovs arrived. A young woman with dark hair pulled back tight and a brace around her wrist was the only other patient waiting to be seen. She smiled when she saw Yuri balanced on Viktor's hip.

A pretty blonde woman greeted them when they came in. "Good morning. Can I sign you in?"

"Sure," said Viktor. "I'm Viktor Nikiforov. I have an appointment for Yuri Plisetsky at 10."

Yuri looked up at the sound of his name. "Where is we?" he whispered to Viktor.

"The doctor's," the coach answered, patting the little boy's back. "We're going to see if we can't get you feeling a little better." He put him down on a couch so he could sit between his foster parents.

"Betterer than what?"

"So your throat doesn't hurt anymore," Yuuri tried to explain, "and so you don't throw up anymore."

"No more tummy aches?"

"That's right." Viktor pulled his phone from his pocket and took a picture of the boy. He showed it to Yuri.

"That's me." Yuri reached for the phone, but Viktor handed it to Yuuri instead.

Yuuri smiled. "Cute. You're so cute, Yura." He sent the photo to himself before giving Viktor back his phone.

Yuri watched the phone sullenly as it vanished back into Viktor's pocket. His bottom lip jutted out a little, but he stayed quiet, busying himself with Kotonok until a nurse called his name and his guardians picked him up. They followed the nurse down a hallway and into an examination room. Yuri looked around, warier of this room. There were too many unfamiliar things. His thumb went to his mouth.

"Okay, Yuri," the nurse said, pulling a clipboard out of a drawer. "Jump up here and let's see how big you are."

Viktor set the child down next to the scale, but Yuri backed away from it into Yuuri's legs.

"It's okay." Yuuri stroked his hair. "You can do it."

Yuri shook his head.

"How about this?" The nurse opened another drawer and took out a page of stickers. "If you can get on the scale for me, I'll let you have a sticker." She showed the boy the page for his consideration.

"That sounds like a good deal to me," Viktor encouraged.

Hesitantly Yuri inched towards the scale. Yuuri walked behind him, keeping his hand on his head.

"Good job!" the nurse praised as he finally stepped onto the scale. "Hold still, still, still." She recorded his numbers. "12.4kg and 88.2cm tall."