Malik's POV
Marik paced the waiting room anxiously gripping the Millenium Rod
in his hands. Marik was nervous.
He was biting his lip and blocking our mindlink. Marik had been
quiet all night and fought the doctors when they came into
the room to tell us Ryou could have only one visitor. As usual, he
threatened to send them all to the Shadow Realm, but somehow
I managed to calm him down. Joey had fallen asleep with his head
thrown back snoring quietly, but audibly. Yugi was also asleep
cuddled beside Yami, but he wasn't making half the noise Joey was.
Seto returned from the cafeteria with our coffees.
Marik finished his quickly. I never understood how he could drink
coffee loaded with sugar and no creamer.
I liked mine with all creamer no sugar, so it worked out well for
both of us.
"I wonder what's going to happen to Ryou now," I said
uncomfortably.
"He's going to be fine," Marik said flatly. "He has
us beside him."
"Marik's right for once."
Marik turned to the pharaoh and I held him back jumping off the
seat. "Watch what you say, Yami.
I am in no mood for your mind games!"
"Aren't you going to do a rod joke?"
"This is neither the time nor the place! Our friend is in that
room and you think that I am ready to make a joke?"
Bakura entered the waiting room, his eyes cast down to the floor. I
broke away from Marik and both of us ran to Bakura.
"How is he?"
"Is he ok?"
"Can we see him?"
Yami woke up Yugi and Seto punched Joey awake eliciting a groan.
"We can all see him, but we have to let him sleep soon."
Bakura led us inside to where we saw Ryou in his hospital bed
connected to a heart monitor.
Yugi and I ran to him and we gripped the bars of the hospital bed.
Ryou's white hair filled
the entire pillow as he laid there with half sedated, his chest
rising and falling slowly as the oxygen mask pumped air into him.
Nevertheless, my Ryou smiled at us. Yes, he smiled! That made all
of us breathe a sigh of relief.
Ryou pat Yugi's hand on the bed that was near him. "I'm glad
to see you here, Yugi."
"We had to come see you, Ryou! When you get out of here, we
will come see you at your house, too.
We won't give up on you that easy."
Ryou chuckled softly. "Well, at least someone hasn't given up
on me. That means a lot to me, guys."
Yami walked up to Ryou and held Yugi to him. "We would never
give up on you. You are our friend."
Ryou yawned. "Thank you, yami."
"Ryou?" I asked him. "Is there anything I can get
you?"
Ryou was silent. He looked down at his hands and then to the wall
of the ICU. "I want a father."
Ryou's eyes watered and he began to cry. Bakura went beside him and
wrapped his arm around Ryou's shoulder.
Marik looked away from the crying boy. I knew he hated to see
people he cared about in pain.
The pain Steven had caused him was unforgivable. I rubbed Ryou's
arm to try to comfort him, but to no avail.
We heard the ICU doors open and two women entered carrying
clipboards. One was dressed like a cop and the
other was in a business suit. Seto stood in front of Ryou's bed
blocking their way. "What do you want here?"
"We are here to talk to Ryou Bakura," the cop said. I
felt Ryou's arm tense and he reached across his shoulder to
clutch Bakura's hand.
"We are here to inform you that your father has been arrested
and shall be thrown into prison pending a sentence."
Ryou's eyes went wide and he gasped. "He was arrested
again?"
"In doing so, do you have any relatives with whom you can
stay?"
Ryou looked past her. "I have no family. Just my dad. My dad
forbade me to talk to my family. He thought family
made you weak. So, I don't know my family."
The women exchanged glances. "Well, Ryou, when you are
released, you will be placed into the Mayberry Home."
"May-berry? I can't go there! It's a children's home."
"I'm sorry, Ryou, but you have no one who can care for you.
You are a minor and until you turn 18 you are in the custody of the
state."
The woman showed Ryou the paper. "Your father signed the
permission slip."
Terror filled Ryou's eyes. "I can't go! Please! I've always
lived by myself! I've always been on my own.
I can't go to a strange place! Please! My father did this to spite
me! Don't take me there!"
"It's not so bad, Ryou. You'll be 18 next year."
Ryou pulled on Bakura's shoulder. "Don't let them take me! Don't!
I wanna stay with my yami!"
Bakura turned to them. "Can't we work this out? He doesn't
want to go."
"It's the law. He has no caregivers. He is underage. He must
come with us once he is released."
I pulled my yami aside. I couldn't stand to see Ryou so upset. The
heart monitor began to pulse quickly and the oxygen tank was being
stressed like the rest of him.
"Can't we do something?"
Marik thought for a moment and smiled. "Your sister.
Isis."
"What does my sister have to do with this?"
"Your sister is older! If she claims that she can care for
Ryou, then he won't have to go to that orphanage!"
I couldn't resist! I grabbed Marik and kissed his lips deeply. Of
course, he thought I was serious and before we knew it,
the women were looking at my yami locked in a passionate, deep
kiss.
"Wait a minute. Ryou does have a guardian. My hik-Malik's
sister is older. She can take care of Ryou."
"We need to speak with her first before we can allow
this."
I remembered my sister's phone number because it was Ryou's birthday…555-0903.
I couldn't use the cell phone in the
hospital, so I ran outside with Marik. My sister was busy, but it
was urgent.
"Isis Ishtar."
"Sis! I need you to do me a favor. I need you to say you will
take care of Ryou."
"Malik Ishtar, what did you sign me up for this time?"
"Sis, they are going to take Ryou into a children's home and
he doesn't want to go. We need you to say
you'll be his guardian. Please, Isis! Ra, mercy, sister!"
Isis sighed. When I pleaded, she usually gave into me.
"Alright."
"They will be releasing him today. Meet us at Ryou's
house."
"I will be there tonight."
"Thank you, Isis! I love you!"
I ran back inside the hospital excited! Ryou could stay with us! He
didn't have to leave us! When I ran back into the ICU, they
all looked up at me.
Marik spoke first. "We have a caregiver. Come over to our home
tonight. There, you will meet our sister Isis who is our caregiver."
"The doctors told us he may be released today. They are
holding a meeting about him right now with the police."
"Where are your parents?" the cop asked.
"My sister takes care of me," I said. My parents are back
in Egypt. My sister and I moved here when I was younger.
"O.k. We will be there." The women left and I turned back
to Ryou. "All taken care of! Isis will care for you, Ryou.
She does a great job taking care of me."
"Yeah. When she does come home," Marik said
sarcastically," She lives in that museum of hers."
Ryou reached out his hand for me. "Come here, Malik."
I looked at the hand connected to the tubes. I was almost afraid if
they touched me, it would hurt him.
He opened his arms to me and pulled me to his chest. He began to
stroke my blonde hair and somehow
I found the courage to wrap my arm around his chest. I could feel
his breath on my neck and it tickled. I could hear his breathing
and the uneven pattern of the heart. I never heard that before.
That was new.
"Thank you, Malik. Thank you for helping me." He leaned
down and kissed my forehead. He was so gentle….not like Marik.
Very rarely did Marik be gentle with me. I don't mind it and I
tried to teach him how to be gentle, but he can't learn that lesson.
"My pleasure, Ryou. I don't want anything to happen to
you."
Ryou turned to Seto. "Thank you, Seto, for all you've done for
me. I have put you in danger and I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused to your
company."
"We just want to see you happy, Ryou," Joey chimed in.
"KaibaCorp can always be repaired. The damage was not much.
Don't worry."
Bakura yawned beside Ryou. He had been up all night waiting for news
about Ryou. I pulled over a chair for him and he
sat down resting his head on the only place didn't have tubes..his
stomach. Bakura fell asleep with Ryou's fingers entwining
in his hair breathing deeply into the sheets below.
Ryou looked up at us and looked all around us. "They were
going to take me away. I don't want to leave."
Yami put a hand on his shoulder. "You won't leave. We'll make
certain of that."
"The doctors said I was poisoned. Is that true?"
All of us exchanged glances. How could we answer that? "Yes,
Ryou."
Ryou looked down at Bakura sleeping. Ryou ran his long thin fingers
through his yami's hair feeling every strand between his fingers.
"I'm sorry for putting you through this, my love. I am truly
sorry."
The doctor came in. All of us held our breath and looked at him. He
held his tablet and said, "Ryou, how do you feel?"
Ryou looked down at Bakura sound asleep on him and smiled.
"I'm fine. My head really hurts."
"That's a natural side effect considering how we brought you
in here. Ryou, your system was weakened by the toxins
in your body. Other than the problem we discussed earlier, you are
free to go home if you want to. Do you want to go home?"
Ryou smiled and nodded. "I want to go home. That house has all
my memories. I want to go to my home."
"The ambulance will take you there. We want to hold you for
another couple hours to make certain everything is fine.
Will you boys please excuse us?"
I headed out the door when I turned around to see Bakura still
asleep. The doctor was trying to wake him. "Don't wake him, doctor,
please.
I want him here beside me." Ryou smiled at his Bakura as I saw
him rub his hair. "We're going to go home, yami. Together. Forever."
Next Chappie: Not really sure. It'll come to me. Suggestions
welcome. (foursome after next chappie-ryou will be healed)TWO CHAPPIES TO
LEMON. NEXT CHAPPIE: NO LEMON