Ryou: WOW!!! LOOK AT ALL THE REVIEWS!!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *Ryou hugs all reviewers tightly *
Bakura: Don’t I get a hug?
NO LEMON IN THIS CHAPPIE.
The Road to Recovery
Cinetti angrily banged his fist on the couch. Steven paced the room completely ticked at his son’s reluctance to surrender. Steven had just told him how he gave the Millenium Ring to Ryou as a present and when he first heard of Bakura when Ryou cried to him over the phone. He thought his son was man enough to respect the wishes of his own father. After all, he thought, “honor your father and mother.” Cinetti knew Ryou wouldn’t be happy with one man after Steven informed him Seto Kaiba of KaibaCorp was another lover of his. “That god damn spirit protects him! If we get rid of him, we can make Ryou better again. Out of sight, out of mind, right?”
“How can we get rid of him?”
Steven grinned evilly. “We get rid of that Ring he wears around his neck. I’ll take the Ring away and dump it somewhere. I’ll do it so Ryou doesn’t suspect a thing.”
Cinetti growled. “Bakura is a punk! We’ll show him you don’t mess with Thomas Cinetti. We’ll make a man out of your son yet.”
Steven stopped pacing and turned to Cinetti. “I want my son back. How can we change him?”
Cinetti stroked his chin and protruded his lip in thought. “I think every person deserves a second chance, don’t you?”
“Second chance? Are you saying you are siding with that little traitor?”
“No. Far from it, Steven. I’ll call Carl and have him reserve Jessica again. She deserves another shot.”
“Look, Tom, we already tried that!”
“We can always try again. Bakura interfered the last time. With Bakura gone, there’s no way she can fail. After all, two maybe three times the charm.”
Steven rubbed the back of his head. “There has to be another way.”
“Do you want your son straight? This is the only way to protect your son. You’ll be helping Ryou if you do this,” Cinetti said putting his hand on Ryou’s shoulder. “He wants to make you happy. If we do this, Ryou will change and he will make you proud once more.” Cinetti stepped in front of Steven. “Ryou wants to be straight. He can’t possibly be happy the way he is. If you do this, you will help your son make you happy. Besides, what son doesn’t want to make his father proud?”
“I want my son back and I am willing to do anything to do that.”
“Congradulations, Steven, you just helped your son onto the road of recovery.”
Cinetti’s wife entered the room causing her husband to glare at interrupting them.
“Sorry to interrupt, Tom, but there’s a car parked outside your house, Steven, and people are going in and out of your house.”
Steven ran outside. People were taking things from the home. “If that little brat told anyone, I’m gonna beat him within an inch of his life.” Steven ran to his house and ran inside. “Ryou! Ryou!”
A man came over to him. “Who are you, sir?”
“What is the meaning of this? I am here for my son!”
“Are you Ryou Thomas Bakura’s father?”
Steven gasped realizing the situation. “I know my rights! I demand my attorney and to know what this is all about!”
Two men pinned Steven to the wall and put his hands behind his back. “Steven Bakura, you are under arrest for child abuse, child endangerment, battery, conspiracy to a sexual assault, and corrupting the morals of a minor. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law.”
“I never touched my kid!”
Three men brought some ripped clothing down the stairs, bloody clothes, and plastic bags marked “Evidence.” Two men were examining a pool of blood on the carpet.
“Where is Ryou?”
“We are not permitted to reveal that information, sir.”
Steven was brought out of the house and he heard Cinetti scream down the block. “I never touched that kid! I love everyone! Darling! Tell them the truth!”
“Shut the hell up, you wife beater! You beat the hell out of that kid!”
“Tell them I never hit you! Sweetheart!”
Torelli came out of the house to investigate the commotion. Torelli approached Steven.
“Torelli! You’ve known me for years! Tell them everything! I love my son!”
Torelli narrowed his eyes and he growled at the cowering man. “Alright. Officers, this man was a model father. So much so that he beat the life out of his kid yesterday!”
“What?”
“Your son celebrated his birthday at my house last night, Steven. What did you do to him? That kid couldn’t even stand on his own! If Rhea were here, you wouldn’t get away with it!” Steven froze.
********Flashback ******
Steven’s POV
I went to the window and watched them run. My Rhea and my two year old son chased each other around the yard. I was laughing as I saw my son’s white hair bouncing as he ran giggling around the swings in our yard. His arms were swinging wildly as he ran. “Mommy! Catch me!!” Ryou hid under the table and she reached under for him. Ryou ran away and skipped. Rhea’s white hair also gleamed in the sunlight. My two angels. One risen, now one fallen. Ryou chuckled and grabbed his mother’s leg squealing happily. “I gots you, mommy!”
Rhea fell to the ground and my son jumped onto her laughing so hard tears came down his face. My wife hugged her child. Rhea was so proud of her baby. She held onto her child like the gem he was….was. Mother and child started a tickling match on the ground. I always watched them from a distance.
That night, Rhea was rocking the sleeping child in her arms covered in a blanket. They looked so perfect together, my handsome child and my beautiful wife. My son couldn’t be a child forever. He had to be a man and I was afraid Rhea was “mothering him” too much. When I talked to her about it, she said that he’s only a child and needs a mother’s love. I told her that wasn’t the case….the child needed a father’s rule.
**************************************
The cops took Cinetti and Steven away in the cars. They were thrown in the containment area with a bail price of $3,000 each.
Meanwhile at the hospital……….
Bakura slept on Marik’s knee. Marik and Malik were the last to come due to a problem they supposedly attributed to the Millenium Rod. Marik rubbed Bakura’s hair gently until Bakura opened his eyes. The others left after seeing Ryou the night before and promised to check with Bakura later to see how he was progressing. Everytime the ICU doors opened, Bakura jumped from his sleep. There was no point in sleeping, so he sat up. Malik returned to his yami angry.
“That Ra-damned machine took my dollar! Now I can’t get my candy!”
Marik and Bakura exchanged glances. “You know, Bakura, why do our hikaris have a sweet tooth while Yami Yugi is a major sugar junkie? Our hikaris are dangerous when they are craving sugar.”
“Hmm…I always have a sweet tooth! I’m just too worried about Ryou to eat.”
Bakura began to pace and flex his hands. He ran to the Reception desk. “Can I see Ryou Bakura?”
“The police are in with him now.”
“Mr. Itemri?” A policewoman came out of the ICU. “Can we see you in here for a minute?”
Marik decided to help his hikari get the offending chocolate to quit his whining. Bakura walked in with the woman and saw officers with cameras and doctors. Ryou reached for Bakura who gently clutched his teary face to his chest. “Mr. Itemri, we wish to inform you that Ryou’s father and his accomplice have been arrested and charged in this case.” Ryou let out a sob. “We had a counselor speak to him, but…”
“I want to go home! I want to go home!” Ryou demanded into Bakura’s chest.
“Call me crazy, but I think the cameras were a little unnecessary.”
“We need these as evidence in case if this goes to trial.”
Bakura’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean IF? Ryou was injured by his own father and he may not get justice?”
The doctors and the officers exchanged glances. “Steven Bakura is a first time offender. He will have to face the courts eventually, but he is in prison with $3,000 bail needed to release him. We did all we could, son.”
Ryou clung to Bakura at the word “son.” He rubbed his cheek against Bakura’s chest.
“Do you require police protection?”
“No. I think we have protection. I won’t let anyone hurt Ryou. Shhh…Ryou, I’m here.” Bakura calmed Ryou by rubbing his back. “He can go home today?”
“The bleeding has stopped, but I suggest that he relax today. His breathing and his heart rate is stabilized, but I would avoid strenuous activity for the next day or so.”
Ryou looked up when he saw Bakura crying. “Yami? You…you’re crying.”
“I’m so happy you are ok, Ryou,” Bakura said kissing Ryou’s forehead.
“We’ll have an officer accompany you to the house.”
Bakura nodded and looked down to find Ryou fast asleep on his chest. The yami turned to the doctors. “Thank you for saving my hikari’s life. I don’t know what I’d do without him.”
“Was Mr. Bakura also responsible for your injuries?”
“Yes. I was trying to protect Ryou from him.”
“Very few people survive Ryou’s injuries,” one of the doctors said. The doctors gave Ryou some medication for pain and any inflammation and left the room.
“Why were those men acting funny yesterday?”
“They were afraid to touch me because they found out we were lovers. They were afraid of getting a disease.” Ryou began to tremble in Bakura’s arms. “They didn’t wanna treat me because they were afraid I’d give them….AIDS because I was gay. They were afraid to even to come near me.”
Bakura sighed. “Well, at least you are here with me now, Ryou.” The yami kissed his head lovingly. “Let’s get you home where you belong.”
Bakura returned to the waiting room to tell the other boys that Ryou was going home. The ambulance took Ryou and Bakura home with a police escort. Bakura quickly changed the sheets in Ryou’s bed and had Ryou brought up to sleep. When the medics left, Bakura covered Ryou with the blankets and kissed his cheek. Ryou slept all day. The yami returned to his bedside to wake him and make him drink. For dinner, the yami made him soup. When the night came, Ryou wanted to watch movies with Bakura, so Bakura helped him down the stairs. Bakura watched the movie with Ryou in his arms startled at every slam of a car door or bark of a dog outside. Ryou still coughed as they laughed watching the movie. Bakura couldn’t help but tense when he heard the slightest noise, too. To make his hikari feel safer, he locked the doors and windows.
Ryou cuddled beside Bakura and leaned up kissing him. “Thanks for staying with me, Bakura.”
“I won’t ever leave you, Ryou. I will always be yours.”
“And you will always be mine.”
Ryou kissed Bakura’s left cheek and rubbed his right. Bakura turned his body to face Ryou. He enveloped Ryou in his arms running his fingers through Ryou’s angelic hair. “I love you, yami.”
“Till death do us part,” Bakura said kissing Ryou’s soft tender lips.
Next Chappie: I think I’m going to do a day at the park to give Ryou at least one day to heal before the lemon. I don’t think Bakura would want to hurt Ryou so soon after hospitalization. Give me one more chappie (it will be cute..Malik and Yugi are dueling and Ryou is talking to Seto) in the park or say the hell with it and jump to the lemon? This lemon is going to be interesting because Steven isn’t in the house and they can do anything… I know you’d want me to wait, Digi, and I’m on your side. I think Ryou needs some time to recover from the hospital before they get all wild and hot and sweaty and loud…..Ok, I better stop there before I get myself into trouble.