BOSTON - - As Laura Handy's new partner lifted her high in the air, a smile crossed her face. Far above the ice, Paul Binnebose sat in the stands, watching with pride.

It was only two years ago that Binnebose was supporting Handy, standing tall while they glided across a smooth sheet of ice. They were young and at the cusp of a promising career.

But a horrific, near-fatal accident changed all that. And for Handy and Binnebose, moving on meant moving apart.

"For her to stick around out of some form of loyalty is noble," he said. "But it's not good business."

	Paul Binnebose skates with his partner Laura Handy during the 1999 US Figure Skating Championships held at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Handy and Binnebose were silver medalists at the 1999 junior world championships, and finished third as seniors at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships that year. They were on course for the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Until Sept. 29, 1999.

As they practiced a lift at the University of Delaware, Binnebose's back began spasming, his feet tangled beneath him and he tumbled to the ice. His head slammed against the ice so hard spectators in the stands could hear the sickening thud, and his skull split open.

To save his life, doctors removed a large piece of his skull to relieve swelling and placed him in a drug-induced coma. He was in a coma or sedated state for five weeks.

While Binnebose remembers little of the crash or his weeks in the hospital, the accident horrified Handy. Not only was Binnebose her partner, he was her boyfriend.

"I didn't really think about skating for the first month after the accident," said Handy, now 20. "I wasn't even thinking about, `Am I going to skate again or am I not going to skate again?'

"I was thinking about quitting."

But as Binnebose recovered, she got the itch to skate again. She took it slowly, going on the ice only a couple of days a week at first.

"Then I came back to nationals last year and watched," she said. "When I was watching the pairs event, the final group in the long program, I was hysterical because I really, really wanted to be out there.

"That's when I knew I wanted to get back on the ice."

Binnebose desperately wanted to join her, but doctors told him it was too big a risk. It would be at least a year or more before he was well enough to compete at the elite level again.

Handy considered waiting, but they both knew it wasn't what she truly wanted. She wanted to chase the dreams they'd once both had. So Binnebose, now 23, told her to go.

"He didn't want me to wait another year, so it was kind of actually a mutual decision for me to look for a new partner," she said. "It made it a lot easier."

Another pairs skater at their rink, Jonathon Hunt, had just split with his partner. Handy had known him for five years, so the two began skating together on a casual basis.

The more they skated together, the more comfortable the partnership seemed.

"Things just blended well, and we decided we were going to skate together," Hunt said.

Despite the horror of Binnebose's accident, Handy didn't have any lingering flashbacks when she started skating again. When it came time to work on lifts, she did them without any hesitation.

"I thought that she would be a little bit apprehensive when we were doing those lifts, but she was very daring with it," Hunt said. "I'd probably say I was the one who was a little bit more afraid."

The two made quick progress, winning the international Vienna Cup in October. They won the Eastern Sectionals, qualifying them for this week's nationals.

Handy and Hunt were in fourth place after Wednesday night's short program. The free skate is Friday night.

"I'm a little nervous, but it feels really good to be back skating again," Handy said. "I think I appreciate skating in general more in the past year than I ever have."

As Handy picked up the pieces of her skating career, Binnebose got on with building a new life. Unable to skate competitively, he did the next best thing, moving to Houston to coach.

But the call of the ice was too strong. Ten weeks ago, he moved back to Aston, Pa., to train. He's still looking for a partner, but hopes to find one in the next couple of months.

Teaming with Handy again is no longer an option. Like the relationships of most young people, Handy and Binnebose's didn't last. There are no hard feelings, these things just happen.

Plus, she has a new partner and the Olympics are only one year away.

But that doesn't stop Binnebose from chasing his own dream.

"I'm going to try and go this next season," he said. "Why wait around? I could wait another 10 years and not feel better than I do now."

His doctors have told him he's "crazy" to skate again. He's lucky to be alive after his accident, and another hard spill could cause serious damage. Binnebose knows that.

But he'll always be a skater.

"I've got to do this," he said, turning to look at the ice Handy left a short time before. "I have to."