Work Text:
Plain ceilings, and plain walls. The whirring of constant instruments. The beep of a heart monitor. Scott Moir opened his eyes, wincing at the effort it took. He managed a small smile at the woman currently perched in her chair beside the bed.
“It’ll be okay. I’ve lived a long, full life. It’s my time.”
Avery Virtue-Moir gazed at her father, lips trembling as she tried to control the tears now flowing freely down her face.
“I’m scared dad. I don’t want to do any of this without you. It won’t be the same.”
Scott grasped her hand in his own pale one. “I know. But I will always be with you Ave. So will Tessa. And...I’ll get to see her again.”
A shadow crossed his eyes as he thought about seeing Tessa again for the first time in months. She had unexpectedly passed four months ago, and it had devastated him beyond words. She had just turned 79, to his 80. And his own condition had worsened since, until he realized he couldn’t hold on anymore. It was time to let go.
Avery wiped a hand across her face, wet with tears.
Scott continued. “We are so proud of you. Never forget that. Watching you and Seth win your last Olympics….that was the highlight of our life. More than Vancouver, more than even Pyeongchang. And seeing how happy the two of you are now, it reminds me so much of Tess and I. Every single day that I see you together.”
Avery managed a faint smile. “If you and mom hadn’t of started ice dancing, and met each other, you wouldn’t have met Kaitlyn and Andrew. And I wouldn’t have started ice dancing with their son and eventually married him. So thank you for that gift.”
Scott chuckled, an odd sound now that he realized how long it had been since he had truly laughed. At least four months ago.
Avery rested her head on his shoulder. “Tell mom...tell her that I love her so much. Love both of you so much. And tell her...how proud I am to be your daughter.”
“I will,” Scott said, straining to talk. “And tell our granddaughter that me..and Tessa..are so proud of her. Tell her that we wish we could be there to watch her this February in Vancouver. But that we will be watching...just from a bit farther away. We love her.”
Avery blinked back more tears. “I’ll tell her. Tess wanted to be here, but you know it’s her first comp of the season this weekend and she..”
Scott cut her off. “I know Ave. I wouldn’t have wanted her to be here anyways. It’s better this way.”
Avery nodded, smiling. “I told her that. As the first singles skater in this family...she has a lot to live up to.”
Scott laughed, wincing at the pain it caused. It wouldn’t be long now.
Avery leaned closer. “Did Tess ever tell you what her free skate is this season? She was keeping it a surprise but...I told her I would tell you for her.”
“No.” Scott whispered. “What is it?”
Avery took a deep breath, feeling a lump lodge in her throat. “It’s Mahler, dad. She’s skating to Mahler.”
A tear slipped out of the corner of Scott’s eye. “Mahler in another Vancouver Olympics. Nothing could be more fitting.”
Avery nodded. “She’s doing it for you guys.”
Scott’s breathe rasped in his throat. “We will always be with you...and with Tess. Always.”
“I know.” Avery said, smiling at her dad. “And I with the both of you.”
Scott closed his eyes, as he felt his daughters grip on his hand, and her head resting over his heart. Sound faded, light faded, until there was nothing at all.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The next time he opened his eyes, the first colour he saw was white. Not pure white exactly, but more like a translucent, foggy white. It seemed familiar to him. Scott could see his reflection in the glass wall across from him. He looked like he was around thirty years old again. He was dressed in simple black pants, and a white shirt. And...skates? He looked at his feet, and yes he was wearing his skates. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes, there she is. She is wearing white, her dress she wore during Mahler, he realizes in a moment. And she is also wearing her skates. Although these are brand new, not the worn ones she always insisted on wearing. She looks the same age as him, much younger than when he saw her last. Scott gazes at her, open mouthed, and she meets his eyes with her bright green ones.
“Tessa.” Scott says, as if in wonder.
“Scott.” Tessa says back, echoing his strange tone of voice.
“I’m dead.” He says, plainly.
A small smile plays at the corner of her mouth. “So am I. But we are together. And that’s all that matters.”
Scott finds himself walking forwards, slowly, and then a little bit quicker as he gets closer to her. She does the same, walking and then eventually running, until they collide. He holds her to him, in a hug so tight that they automatically begin to sync their breathing as they have so many times before. He can feel her against him, her chest rising and falling. And he can hear her. That laugh cry sound that he loves more than almost anything in the world.
“I’ve missed you every single day.” He says, realizing that the wetness on his face is from his tears. “Not a day went by, not an hour, not a second that I didn’t think of you and wish we were together.”
She wipes a tear from her own eye. “I know,” she says, emotion pooling in her voice. “I know. I was watching all the time, every day Scott. It was so hard to watch you suffer, but now? Now I’m okay.”
Scott grabs her to him, and kisses her for the first time in four months. She pulls back for a moment, and he cups her face in his hands.
“Avery...and Tess. I heard all of that. And I love them too. So much. Our family.”
Scott nods. “I know kiddo. I know.”
And he pulls her close against him once more, resting his face in the crook of her neck...and just like that, he is home once again.
“Do you want to dance with me Tess?” he murmurs against her skin.
“I thought you’d never ask,” she states, grinning at him, and pulling him out into the centre of the ice with her.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Gasping, Scott wakes up, sitting up quickly in bed. Frantically he looks beside him, and relaxes as he see’s Tessa, chest rising and falling, as she blearily opens her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, yawning, as she struggles to sit up, despite her growing stomach. It had been a few months since they found out she was pregnant, and they had just received the news today that they were going to be having a girl.
“Nothing.” Scott says, his heart rate slowing down, now that he knew everything was fine and that it was just a dream. “It was just a dream.”
“Anything interesting?” She asked, always inquisitive by nature.
Scott chuckled. “Not really. Must have been something I ate.”
“Okay, well i’m going back to bed then. You should too. We’ve had a big day.” Tessa laid back down, resting her head on her pillow and pulling their blankets up to her chest.
Scott nodded in agreement, laying back down, curled around his tired wife.
“Hey...Tess?” he said, a bit hesitantly.
“Yeah?” She said, turning her gorgeous green eyes onto him.
“You know how we were thinking about names earlier?”
“Yeah…” she said, narrowing her eyes. We couldn’t agree on one if I remember correctly.”
Scott laughed. “How about Avery?”
Tessa looked at him for such a long moment that he thought maybe she hadn’t heard him, when she finally whispered into the dark of their room.
“Avery...Virtue-Moir.”
He nodded.
“Scott...it’s perfect. How did you think of it?”
He brushed a kiss along her shoulder. “I guess it just sort of came to me.”