Motje: Yeah, I do feel bad for Yami. He’s
not a bad guy, he just has his times.
Valea: Withdrawal for Joey….not a bad idea. After all, I need time for Jeanie’s pregnancy
to advance. I’m going somewhere with Vidello in the next story.
If you want to know more, just IM me when we talk next and let me know.
Broken time: yeah, I should bring Anzu
in again. I can do that next chappie. Hmm…get rid of Anzu?
There goes my comic relief….well, I always have Tristan and Otogi.
Beysie: Marik is pretty open-minded. He’s
just protective of his kid.
I Is me: *is alive* YEAH FRIENDSHIP!
Draza: *evil grin* yes, I did leave it
there!!!! Ah! Poked my eye! *hands Ryou plushie
blindly*
Shadow of Light: Hayden will not recover. He’s not out of the picture though.
Anubiset: I know I’m evil. Would you be
reading my story if I was a good little writer???Yes,
Robbie is ‘the one’. Only Robbie can
open that door in Aten’s mind.
Lady Elfskye: I love the Nightmare
Dragon! One of the coolest monsters I
made up. I’m going somewhere with Vidello in the next story.
So, I brought him in as an introduction, basically. Nope, Hayden won’t
get better.
Sakiyama: *hands rusty axe*
Caterfree: Aww…I
hope you feel better. Aria will always
teach Yami whose boss. She has her way.
Pharaoh Yamis Princess: *Aten
cuddles Winged Dragon of Ra plushie* You made my chibi Aten muse happy.
I love your idea of Serenity facing Yami Aten! That is an awesome idea! Consider it done.
Kat: If I use Aria’s slogan for a shirt, I’ll be a
millionaire. Yami will never forget that
Aria is older and more deadly now that she is older. Go ahead…squish Jaimen. He deserves it.
Missing You
Dr. Zira checked Hayden’s pulse.
“That seems steady enough, Hayden.
Oops…you got a little bit of drool there, Hayden. Let me get that for
you.” Zira
used a towel to wipe the trail of drool dribbling down Hayden’s chin.
[DR. ZIRA!] a female voice called to him running down the
hallway.
Zira turned to see Katie running into the
room. “Aten is awake!”
Zira gasped. “Hayden, I will be right
back.”
Zira and Katie ran into Aten and Robbie’s
room. Zira saw
the boy laying in the bed, his eyes fluttering weakly. A long quiet moan was coming from the boy.
“Aten? Aten, how do
you feel?”
“Waga….” (Pain.)
Zira brushed Aten’s
hair behind his ear. “You hurt?”
“Haasis inni
da’eef.” (I
feel weak.)
Zira shook his head. “Katie, go get Dr. Sadyr. He knows
Arabic.”
Katie ran out.
“Aten, take a deep breath.”
Aten blinked. “Ey?” (What?)
“Take. A. Deep. Breath.”
Aten closed his eyes and continued to wheeze.
Zira opened Aten’s
eyes and looked into them. They weren’t
dilated anymore. He checked Aten’s pulse. “It’s
still weak, but not half as bad as when your mother brought you in.”
“Umm.” (Mother.)
Robbie cheered. “YEAH! ATEN’S AWAKE! Aten, say something!”
“Ana ‘aayiz….umm.” (I want mother.)
Aten turned his head slowly to the other side. The corner of
his lips curled into a weak smile.
“Rob-----*pant*----bie.”
Zira watched as Aten tried to lift his
arm. The arm refused to move. “Aten, son, don’t try to move. Just relax.”
Dr. Sadyr and Katie ran into the
room. “
Aten weakly turned his head to face the doctors.
“Haasis inni
da’eef.” (I
feel weak.)
“He says that he feels weak.”
“Sidr i biyuwaga’ni. Dirā I biyuwaga’ni.”
“What did he say?”
Sadyr turned to Zira.
“He said his chest hurts and his arm hurts.”
“Id dinya bard.”
“He says he’s cold.”
Zira turned to Katie. “Go get Aten
another blanket and go call his family and tell him he’s awake.”
Katie ran out of the room.
Sadyr stepped at the foot of Aten’s chair and looked at his chart. “How long has he been
unconscious?”
“About three days,” Zira said. “I’m amazed he’s awake.”
Sadyr stepped beside Zira. “This was one of the kidnapped boys on the
news!”
Zira nodded and leaned into Sadyr. “I was sure he wouldn’t wake up. I was going to tell
the family to start making final arrangements today. I didn’t think Aten would make it.”
Katie returned with the extra blanket and covered Aten with
it. “There you go, Aten.”
“Shukran.”
Katie smiled. “You’re welcome, Aten.”
Zira
turned to Katie. “You know Arabic?”
“He taught me a little,” she said pointing to Aten. “I’ve been his nurse since he was two years
old and he was first in here. I called
his family, too. His mother said that he
and his father would be over quickly.”
Zira looked down at the exhausted child.
“Follow my finger, Aten.” Zira put his pointing finger in front of Aten’s nose. “Follow it with your eyes.”
Aten’s eyes followed it with a delayed
reaction.
“He’s not alert. Then
again, he just regained consciousness.”
“Could it be his medication?”
“Waga…”
Katie walked beside Aten and brushed her fingers through his
hair. “Aww..you
in pain, son?”
Aten weakly blinked and turned his head towards her stroked.
“Eed.”
Sadyr looked up at Katie. “He wants your
hand.”
Aten took Katie’s hand in his. He squeezed it weakly. “Ana ‘aayiz….umm.” (I want mother.) Aten moaned tiredly with a
whimper of discomfort.
“He wants his mother,” Sadyr
said.
“I called your parents, Aten. They will be there.”
Zira checked the bags that they had
hooked to Aten’s vein. He removed one of the bags. “He doesn’t need this anymore. The last thing we need is Aten addicted to
painkillers.”
Robbie stretched to look around the doctors to see Aten. “Is
Aten okay?”
“He’s fine, Robert. Eat your breakfast,” Zira
said.
“Mashroob…”
Saydr handed Aten’s
file back to Zira. “He’s thirsty. He wants a drink.”
Katie smiled down at him. “Are you thirsty? I’ll bring you something, Aten. Honey, I need my hand, sweetheart.” Katie gently released Aten’s
grip. Katie freed her hand and Aten
started to cry.
“Honey? Aten, don’t
cry. Dr. Zira?
Could you?”
Zira held Aten’s
hand and the boy quieted down. He laid
in the bed, blinking slowly. ‘It’s a
miracle this boy is alive.’
**********
Marik and Ryou burst in through the front doors of the
hospital. Ryou’s
long white hair flowed haphazardly behind him, the Millennium Ring jingling
around his neck. Marik gripped the
Millennium Rod as he ran quickly to the elevator with the other parent.
“Security! Stop!” the police officers called as they burst
through the door, running frantically.
Marik held up his Rod. “We do not have to stop!”
The officers stopped their pursuit in a trance.
Ryou dashed into an elevator, pressing the button. Marik slid in as the doors closed.
Ryou wrung his hands nervously, his forehead covered in
nervous sweat.
Was Aten okay?
Was he in the same state as Hayden?
Marik growled at the elevator control panel. The elevator stopped and the door
opened.
The yami growled at the doctor waiting for the elevator. A threatening snarl made the doctor back
away.
“I-I-I’ll wait…for the next one.”
Marik narrowed his eyes. “Good move.”
The doors closed and he looked down at the pale mother, his
body shaking like a leaf in the wind.
“Please, God, let my son be okay….Please…”
The doors opened as they ran down the hallway to Aten’s room.
Ryou ran to his son’s bed and immediately kissed him on the
forehead. “Baby? Baby boy, you’re awake? Oh, thank goodness!”
Zira backed away as Marik took his son’s
hand.
“Aten? How do you
feel, son?”
“Haasis inni
da’eef. Sidr i biyuwaga’ni. Dirā I biyuwaga’ni,” Aten whispered quietly, his eyes barely open.
Zira turned to Saydr. “Thank you, doctor. His father speaks Arabic. We can understand what he is saying now.”
Saydr left and Katie returned with some
cranberry juice.
“Here you go, Aten.
Sip this slowly.”
Marik took the small paper cup in his hand.
Ryou helped Aten sit up slightly so he wouldn’t choke on the
liquid. “Sit up, Aten. That’s a boy.”
Aten tried to raise his arm to drink, but he appeared
exhausted with the attempt.
Marik put the paper cup to Aten’s
lips. “Bishweesh, Ibn.”
(Slowly, son.)
Aten slowly sipped from the cup.
Ryou wiped Aten’s chin with his
hand. “Messy boy.”
“We called you as soon as he seen that he regained
consciousness. He’s not as alert as I
would like him, but the kid needs some time.
He seems to be too weak to really raise his hand or do anything
resembling a tight grip.”
Katie nodded. “I gave
him an extra blanket. He was complaining of being cold.”
Aten sipped the juice slowly, bringing a weak little hand up
and covering his father’s hand with his own.
“Is Aten okay?” Robbie asked.
“He’ll be fine, Robbie. He’s just tired,” Ryou said, rubbing
the left unscarred part of Aten’s
back.
Zira looked around. “Where’s Bakura and
Malik?”
Marik shook his head. “Only Ryou and I were awake.”
Ryou’s bloodshot eyes looked up at Zira. “I couldn’t sleep.
I haven’t slept at all since we found the boys.”
“Ryou, that’s not healthy with your own heart condition, you
know that.”
“But I couldn’t sleep knowing my boy may not have regained
consciousness.”
Zira sighed as he looked into Ryou’s worried eyes.
Ryou’s dedication to both of his kids
astounded Zira.
Ryou was here with Aten through all of his heart operations. When Aria’s fever during the chicken pox had
skyrocketed, Ryou was here with her and fought Bakura to let him stay with his
daughter. Ryou remained with Aria while
she stayed overnight to control the fever.
Aten finished drinking and laid his head back against Ryou,
completely exhausted from the effort to drink.
Ryou laid him back on the bed. “The others will come when Aria wakes up.”
Marik nodded. “I tried waking her up yesterday before her
alarm and SHE sent ME to the Shadow Realm!
ME! Luckily I had my Rod so I appeared back in her room.”
Ryou shook his head. “I don’t know how much more of
this…’feminine time’ I can take.”
Zira raised an eyebrow and bit his lip in
laughter. “Oh…so…Aria has…begun……”
Ryou and Marik both nodded in defeat. “Yes.”
“Well, Ryou, it’s a magical time in every girl’s life.”
Ryou raised an eyebrow. “’Magical?’ When I discovered it, it didn’t look like
magic.”
Marik sighed. “It was a magic mess.”
“Aria’s becoming a young lady, Ryou. That should make you
feel proud.”
Ryou sighed. “She went home and ate up all my beef
jerky. She ate…two bags of Hot and Spicy
Beef Jerky!”
Zira snickered. “You still eating that
stuff, Ryou?”
“I ate it when I was pregnant with Aten and Aria, but I never
liked Jerky. Yet, once a month I still
crave it.”
Aten closed his eyes and gave a low moan. “Waga…”
“Zira, can’t you give him anything
for the pain?”
Zira looked up and saw Robbie watching.
He pulled over the curtain to hide Robbie’s view. He pulled out a needle and
filled it.
“What is that?” Marik growled.
“It’s a weak painkiller. It will just be enough to make Aten
relaxed and out of pain for a while.”
“La…La siringa…” (No, no needle.)
Marik held Aten’s hand. “It’s okay, son.”
Aten’s body relaxed as the drug hit
him. He let out a small sigh of relief.
“There we go, Aten.
Dr. Chapman called me up this morning, Ryou. He’s coming in today to see
the kids.”
Ryou brushed Aten’s hair behind his
ears. “Hear that, Aten? Dr. Chapman is coming to see you. You like him. You always feel better when you
are done talking to him.”
Aten held onto his father’s hand and sighed.
Marik looked into his brown and purple eyes. “He really does
not feel well.” Marik reached up and ran his thumb over the corner of Aten’s eye. “His eye’s all crusty.”
Zira examined Aten’s
eyes. “They look fine. That’s just from him being asleep for so long.”
Ryou ran his fingers through Aten’s
hair as Vidello entered again.
“I’m here to see Robert. Is he here?”
“He’s behind the curtain, Father.”
Vidello walked around the curtain and Robbie
smiled.
“Hello, Father! It’ssss nice to
s-see you!”
The priest pat Robbie on the head. “Hello, Robert. You are looking better today.
You sound a little better.”
Robbie nodded as he took a scoop of his cherry Jell-o. He put his G.I. Joe against him.
“I f-feel bb-better….a l-little.”
“That’s good. I
brought this for you.” Vidello handed Robbie a Bible. “Here you go, Robert.”
“Father Vidello, I’m…not feeling ver-ry well. Can I ask you a ques-tion?”
“Certainly, Robbie. You can ask me anything you want.”
Robbie motioned for Vidello to sit
closer to him. “Father, I have a
pr-problem.”
“Well, Robbie, I will certainly try to help you if I can.”
“I…Father, I have fee---feelings for Aten.”
Vidello nodded. “Okay.”
“I reall—I really li-ke him. Is…Is it
wrong?”
The priest folded his hands on his lap. “Umm….God will love you either way,
Robert. You are a young man still. You will find the path that is right for you,
Robbie. Right now your body is maturing
and--.”
“I know all that, F-father.
But…is it wrong…for me to have fee-feelings for At-Aten?”
Vidello looked at his watch. “Look at the
time! Robbie, I’m going to leave the Good Book here. All of the answers you seek are in this
little book. Read this and you will find
your answer. God Bless you, child.”
Vidello stood up and left the room
hastily. Robbie looked down at the book
in front of him.
‘This is going to take me forever to read! Oh well….it’s not like I’ve never read this
before.’
Zira pulled back the curtain. “Done breakfast yet, Robbie?”
“Oops…not yet. S-Sorry.”
Robbie began to eat his Jell-o hungrily as his eyes looked at
the Bible resting on the bed. ‘I know
what I feel isn’t wrong….’ Robbie turned
his head and saw Ryou rubbing Aten’s back.
‘I love Aten. So, how can love be wrong? It can’t be wrong….can it? I’ll read this again…maybe I missed something
before.’
Robbie watched Aten turn his head weakly to look at him. Aten blinked tiredly. A tiny smile crossed Aten’s
face as he looked at Robbie. “Ahlan….Robbie.” (Hello, Robbie.)
The blue-eyed boy smiled and nodded. “Ahlan,
Aten.”
The Egyptian boy smiled and snuggled into Ryou slowly.
Robbie looked at the book in front of him. ‘Love can’t be wrong…can it?’
**********************************
Dr. Chapman stepped out of the elevator and saw Seto Kaiba leaning against the wall outside Hayden’s
bedroom. Inside the room, Dr. Chapman
could hear Hayden fighting and screaming.
Joey’s voice sounded inside the room, trying to calm Hayden down.
Seto stood outside with his eyes closed and rubbed his
temples, mentally trying to drown out the sound of screams.
Dr. Chapman extended his hand to Seto. “Hello, Mr. Kaiba. What’s going
on? Is Hayden in pain?”
“No, they’re just trying to get him cleaned up. They removed his catheter last night
and….well…..he soiled the sheets.
They’re putting some disposable underwear on him now. That’s why he’s screaming like a banchee.”
“Can’t Hayden stand up on his own?”
“He can walk. That’s
been proven already, but he does it poorly.
They removed it because Hayden is capable of walking to the bathroom,
but he either couldn’t or didn’t do it.”
A shrill cry came from Hayden.
“How have you and Joey been holding up?”
Seto narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms, putting up his
barriers. “He started drinking
again. Hayden’s disappearance put a
strain on both of us. My baby brother is
going to be a father and now I have a son who cannot say one word of
intelligible English. I cannot ignore Jaimen, either.”
“Seto, I want to see Joey in my office as soon as you
can. In the meantime, you both need to
work out your emotions.” Chapman snickered at the thought of Seto ‘working out’
his emotions. In Seto and Joey’s first
session together, Seto denied he had feelings of any kind. The only feelings he had were for Mokuba
because of all that they went through together under Gozuboro’s
fists.
“You and Joey need some time to yourselves.”
“We had some time last night.
It’s been a while…a long while.”
Chapman pat Seto’s arm. “You needed
that, Seto. Each day you and Joey need
to spend at least ten minutes of quality time together, even if it is just
holding each other or watching the financial shows on t.v.”
The screaming in the room died down.
Chapman turned to Seto. “Come in when you are ready, Seto.
I’ll be in here.”
Chapman knocked on the door quietly. “Hello?
It’s Dr. Chapman.”
Joey waved to him. “Hi, Dr. Chapman. Come in.”
Chapman walked in and saw Hayden laying in bed looking up at
the ceiling. His face was red from his
screaming and the nurses looked exhausted as they filed out of the room.
“Hello, Hayden! It’s
nice to see you.”
“………..”
Chapman took a chair and drew it close to Hayden’s bed. “I’m relieved that you are back with us
again.”
“Uhhhh….”
Joey held Hayden’s hand as his eyes looked up at the
psychologist.
“Hayden, would you like to talk about what happened?”
“Uhhh…Cha…..ra……Vin….Ya…rl…..ga.”
Chapman raised his eyebrows and nodded knowingly. “Oh, okay.
Whatever it is sounded awful.
Hayden, let me tell you a story.
Once upon a time, I knew this little boy. This little boy survived the worst kinds of
torture imaginable. But you know what,
Hayden? This little boy grew up to be an
astounding young man. He was funny. He was polite. He was happy living with his two fathers who
loved him very much. His two daddies
would do anything for him. This little
boy was special, Hayden. This little
boy’s fathers brought him to me three years ago because this boy was having a
difficult time. This little boy improved.
Would you like to see him?”
Chapman reached into his pocket and grabbed a small mirror. He held it in front of Hayden’s eyes. “This
is that little boy. And just like his
fathers, Hayden, I’m not going to give up on you.”
A line of drool and a blank stare responded to Chapman’s
speech. Joey took the towel by the bed
and wiped the line away.
“Has Hayden said anything, Joey?”
Joey shook his head. “No.
All he’s been able to say is nonsense.”
Chapman nodded. “I see.
Why types of behavior have you noticed?”
“He doesn’t like needles. He never had a problem before. He fights Seto and I when we clean him. Seto and I tried to clean him up because he
soiled the bed and he fought us. Seto
had caught a glimpse of Hayden’s backside and saw the damage and Seto bolted
from the room.”
Chapman sighed. “Well, Joey, it probably reminded Seto of what he went through with his
stepfather. It’s understandable that he
would run.”
“How did you know about that?”
“I’ve talked to Seto a couple of times when he was
thirteen. His brother, Mokuba, was
worried about him and called me up. He begged me to talk to him.”
Joey sighed. “Hayden can’t feed himself or walk very far on
his own. He made it to the bathroom
yesterday with help. He must be having a
hard time controlling his bladder.”
Chapman scratched behind his ear. “Okay. Has he exhibited any….infantile tendencies?”
“He sucks his thumb when he’s against my chest. Dr. Chapman, we don’t know what to do! He
fights us when we try to clean him up. Now, I’m not an idiot. I know what happened to Hayden in
that….wherever he was. But we’ve never
seen him this bad!”
“Well, Joey, Hayden is depressed, for certain. Withdrawal from family and friends is normal,
but I’ve never seen it on this scale before. Hayden has severe PTSD which is no
surprise if he was abused in a similar fashion when he was a child. Hayden’s retreated into himself to a large
degree. Children who have been abused like
Hayden can exhibit infantile tendencies.
When did you adopt Hayden?”
“He was five. His
parents and his twin sister were killed in a car crash when he was about two
and a half.”
Chapman nodded. “Then
he was still an infant when his mother passed away.”
“He was the only survivor of the crash.”
“Hayden was an infant when his mother was alive. He felt
comfortable, loved, he was safe. Then
his parents die and he is given to his uncle.
That’s when the abuse began. It’s not surprising that Hayden retreated
to an infantile state such as he was before the abuse began.”
Joey rubbed his forehead. “My mom left when I was seven. I never retreated like this. I continued to do the same things all seven
year olds do when my father didn’t want to make love to me. I played with my little planes and that was
all I had. My father never bought me
toys. My mother gave me those planes and I kept them hidden. I can see why Hayden is acting this way.”
“Much of what you describe occurs in very small children who
survive this type of abuse. They regress.
This is what has happened to Hayden.”
Joey looked down at Hayden, his eyes blankly staring at the
ceiling. His jaw moved, but no sounds or
words were coming out.
Seto walked into the room. “Doctor, is there anything we can
do for Hayden?”
Chapman scratched his head.
“The best thing we can do for Hayden is to be there for him now. This is going to take a lot of time….alot of patience…and a lot of effort. Joey, Seto, I know you both want to be here
for Hayden. But this is going to be
taxing on both of you. I want to see
Hayden every day. With time and
patience, Hayden will hopefully come around.”
Seto and Joey sighed.
“Now, Joey, come here.”
Joey stood in front of Chapman. “Yes?”
“Joey, I want you to come see me in my office tomorrow. Do you know why?”
Joey lowered his head and nodded. “Yes,” the voice said,
cracking.
Chapman put his hand on Joey’s shoulder. “Joey.” He put his hand on Seto’s
shoulder. “Seto. I want you both to turn to each other.”
Joey and Seto turned to each other.
“Look each other in the eye.”
Joey sniffled and raised his eyes to Seto’s
sapphire gems. He lifted his head slowly
as he looked into the eyes of his lover, the one who had helped him recover
from the abuse from his father, the one who had helped him many times to get
off of the bottle permanently.
The one who loved him unconditionally.
“Tell each other how you feel.”
Seto slowly reached out and took Joey’s hand. “I love you,
Joey. I know this is going to be rough
on both of us. But…..if I didn’t have you with me….”a tear crawled down Seto’s cheek. “If I
didn’t have you in my life, it would be empty…and I would be so lonely without
you.”
Joey sniffled and wiped his eyes. “I know I’d be nothing more than a bum on the
streets without you, Seto. I would have
nobody. I love you so much.”
“Now, I want you two to hug each other.”
Seto opened his arms. “Come here, angel.”
Joey stepped up to Seto and wrapped his arms around the CEO’s
waist. Seto wrapped his arms around his
lover and hugged him.
Seto kissed Joey’s ear. “Love you, puppy.”
Joey buried his face in Seto’s neck
and let out a sob. “Seto.”
“It’s okay, Joey.”
Chapman crossed his arms with a satisfied smile. “There we go.
I want you both to do this for ten minutes at least every day. I do have other patients to see today. I will see you tomorrow in my office, Joey.”
Seto and Joey didn’t react as Chapman left the room.
****************************
“Aten, do you wanna try more of
your lunch?” Ryou asked the yawning boy in the bed.
“La.” (No.)
Ryou moved the table away from Aten and sat beside him. Behind him, he heard Robbie thumbing through
the pages of his Bible.
A knock sounded at the door.
Ryou and Marik looked up and saw Dr. Chapman standing in the door
way.
“Hello, Ryou. Hello,
Mr. Ishtar.”
Marik sighed. “Why do you insist on calling me that?”
Chapman smiled. “Because I know it gets on your last living
nerve.”
Marik stood up and poked Chapman with the Millennium Rod in
the chest. “I haven’t had a living nerve in five thousand years, Chapman. You know that!”
Chapman smirked. “Has it been that long? Time flies, huh?”
Marik sat back into his chair and sunk in. “I get no respect.”
Chapman approached Aten’s bed.
“Hello, Aten. How are you feeling today?”
“’Andi dōkha. Haasis inni da’eef.” (I’m dizzy. I feel
weak.)
Chapman shifted his eyes between Ryou and Aten. “Okay. Is that good or bad?”
“He just said he’s dizzy and weak. He’s been like this all morning.”
“Oh. Sorry to hear that, Aten. I know this entire ordeal has been rough on
you. But, can you tell me what
happened?”
Aten blinked slowly and gave a tired yawn. “La.” (No.)
“Aten, do you want your mother and I to leave so you can talk
to Dr. Chapman alone?”
Marik stood up and Aten gripped onto Marik’s
arm, whimpering. “Aten, don’t you want to talk to Dr. Chapman?”
“La! La!”
Marik sat back down and Aten calmed down.
Dr. Chapman nodded. “Separation anxiety. Aten will talk about it when he’s ready. I don’t want to push him. I’ve never pushed
him before to tell me anything.”
Dr. Chapman walked over to Robbie. “Hello. You must be Robbie. Aten’s talked a lot about you. I’m Dr. Chapman.”
Robbie shook the psychologist’s hand. “He—ello. I’m Robbie Morgan.”
Chapman grabbed the curtain. “Excuse me for a moment, guys.” Chapman pulled over the curtain and sat on
Robbie’s bed. Robbie, Aten won’t tell me
what happened. Will you tell me?”
Robbie took a deep breath and proceeded to tell Dr. Chapman
everything from Aten’s call for help at the Crestwood
Apartments to his father’s arrival with great detail. Dr. Chapman sat there intently listening to
the boy give his account of Vinnie’s verbal assaults
about his mother. He told Dr. Chapman
about Aten being dragged out of the room and his muffled cries of protest in
the next room where Hayden was kept.
Robbie’s account stopped short when he mentioned cameras. The boy bit his lip and shook his head.
“Take your time, Robert. I know this is difficult for
you. Tell me about the cameras.”
Robbie’s face turned red.
“Robert, I am not going to judge you based on what you
say. I’m a psychologist and I care very
much for my patient in that bed over there.
You don’t have to worry about me telling anyone about this without your
consent.”
Robbie took a sip of his water. “Okay. Well….Charlie, the big-g-
g-guy, he…he made Aten and I…kiss in front of him. He said that this would g-go well on his
website.”
Chapman nodded silently.
“He trained cameras on Aten and I. It felt….creepy.”
The man nodded. “He
violated your privacy, Robbie. I can
imagine that feeling creepy….and it is very wrong.”
“It’s like….other people were going to wa-watch
At-Aten and I kiss. At-Aten and I only
k-kiss when we are alone.”
The psychologist gave a little smile. “Do you like Aten?”
Robbie blushed again. “Yeah…..I do. Is something….I d-dunno…wro-ng with th-that?”
“No, there isn’t, Robbie.
There’s nothing wrong with that. Never
think that liking someone is wrong. I
know Aten cares for you very much, as well. Now, Robbie, you’re a smart boy. I need your consent to do something.”
“Y-Yes?”
“I need to report this to certain higher authorities so that
we may confiscate the equipment and get rid of it. Does that sound good to you?”
Robbie nodded.
“Good.”
Robbie bit his lip. “There’s more.”
“Yes?”
“Char-Charlie also taped….he c-c-caught At-Aten and I….being……close.”
Chapman saw Robbie’s body start to shake again. “Sorry, Robbie.”
“No-Nobody was s-s-supposed to s-seeee
th-that. I did—didn’t
know.”
Chapman watched Robbie turn on his side and curl up into a
ball. “You’re right, Robbie. That was something nobody should have recorded for
their pleasure.”
“I wan-want-ed to be cl-c-close to
Aten…and they wat-wash-watched!”
The psychologist put his hand on Robbie’s arm. “You’re right again. Nothing is wrong with you wanting to be close
to someone you really like. It’s
disgusting how they interfered in you and Aten’s
intimate encounters.”
“We kissed. And….-touch-touched
each other k-kind of stu-ff. You know, stu-ff I
wouldn’t do with girls. Girls have c-co-cooties.”
“But boys don’t?”
Robbie nodded in agreement.
“Aten doesn’t have them. I’ve che-cked.”
Chapman raised an eyebrow. “Okay. I can see that. Nothing’s wrong with checking Aten for
cooties, Robbie. You have to be careful
about them, you know.”
Robbie smiled. “One t-t-time, this gir-l
in sch-school, she was co-ver-ed
in them! They ate her up! Sh-She was dev-oured by her own c-co-cooties. Icky, isn’t it?”
“Sure is,” Chapman smiled at the boy.
“I kee-p c-cooties away from
At-Aten.”
Chapman laughed. “You keep up that splendid job you are
doing, Robbie. Because we all know that ‘Cootie-Patrol’
is a dangerous job.”
“It sure is. It’s ha-hard to k-eep
the c-cooties away from At-en.”
Chapman nodded. “You keep up the work, Robbie. I know you’ll
be able to do it.”
Robbie smiled. “Th-Thank you, s-s-ir.”
“Robbie, I see Aten on a regular basis, if you ever need to
talk, you call me, okay? Here, I’ll
leave my card here. If you need me or
want to call just to say hello, you are welcome, okay?”
“Y-Yes, s-s-ir,” Robbie said as he
saluted the psychologist.
The psychologist raised an eyebrow. “Military family?”
“Y-yes. My aunt, My un-uncles, my grand-fa-father,
my dad, all the b-boys g-g-go into the mil-tary. I ha-ve a bad foot….see?
All tw-twist-twisted.” Robbie removed his foot from under the bedsheets. “C-Clubbed-f-foot.
I c-can’t do what my d-a-daddy does.”
“Robbie, you can do anything you put your mind to! If you wanted to join the military, I’m sure
there would be a way.”
Robbie shook his head. “No.
I d-don’t wanna. I’d be away fr-from At-Aten.”
“Well, Robbie, I know you’ll be good at anything you do. There’s my card. You call me if you need me,
okay?”
Robbie nodded. “Okay.”
Chapman left him and pulled back the curtain. “Ryou, you have my number. If Aten needs me,
have the hospital call me or--.”
“I’m not leaving my son,” Marik said sharply. “If he needs you, I will call you.”
“Marik, we’ve been through this. Aten’s in good
hands here. Your family needs you at
home.”
Marik put his hand on Aten’s hot
shoulder. “This is my family member who needs me most right now. Besides, do you think the staff here can
understand Arabic? Not likely. I will be his translator.”
“Mr. Ishtar--.”
“Don’t ‘Mr. Ishtar’ me, College
boy! I am not leaving my son!”
Chapman sighed. “Okay.
You can stay. Just remember not to neglect your family at home.”
“I don’t neglect. I’ve
never neglected my duties as a father.”
Ryou shifted his eyes to the side and bit his lip. He thought
about the time when Marik refused to get out of bed after Malik raped him under
Aku’s control.
It took a complete mental breakdown of Ryou to get him out of bed.
“Let me know when he needs me.”
“We will, doctor,” Ryou said.
Marik brushed a lock of Aten’s hair
behind his ears. “I’m not leaving you, Aten.
Daddy’s going to stay right here beside you…..always.”
**********************************
Aria staggered downstairs with another day of cramps. She grumbled as she saw her father in the
kitchen.
Bakura crossed his legs in an automatic reflex. “Morning, dear.”
“Ugh…..damn birds outside my window woke me up. Lousy…beaked….worm-eating….winged beasts of
Ra.”
Malik listened. “I hear no birds.”
Aria reached into the fridge and grabbed the fruit punch. “No,
they won’t be bothering me anymore.”
Bakura groaned. “What did you do?”
Aria shrugged indifferently. “Fried bird, anyone?”
Malik gasped. “Aria, did you kill those birds?”
Aria drank her punch thirstily. “I didn’t…my Shadow Magic did.”
“Young lady, we do not fry nature with our Shadow Magic!”
“Yeah, but they won’t bother me anymore, will they? Malik? Can you make me some eggs for
breakfast?”
Malik sighed. “Yeah.
You like them runny and wet, right?”
Aria nodded. “Thank you!”
She reached into the fridge and grabbed the ketchup and
mustard for her eggs.
Malik cracked the eggs in the pan and just watched them
cooking.
Bakura stood up. “I better go check on Ryou and Marik. I’m
going to call the hospital and see how Chibi Marik is
doing.”
Bakura left the room.
Malik scooped Aria’s half-cooked eggs onto a plate and heard
the buzzer on the dryer go off. “Laundry’s
done!”
Malik opened the basement door and walked down the stairs.
Aria’s hair twitched in frustration at the birds waking her
up. “Let’s see them wake me up again!”
She opened the ketchup bottle and turned it upside down. The ketchup was not sliding down the bottle.
She squeezed it and shook it with both hands over her eggs.
“Damn it, come on!” she growled.
The ketchup was not sliding down no matter how hard she tried
to shake it.
“Grr….,” she growled.
“Ra-damned worthless ketchup!”
The ketchup in her hands disappeared. She looked around.
“Oops. At least I got mustard for my eggs.”
She grabbed the mustard and shook it upside down. The mustard was not coming out.
“Fucking mustard!”
The mustard disappeared.
She looked around the table.
No mustard.
No ketchup.
She looked around the countertops.
No mustard.
No ketchup.
She jumped off of her seat and ran for the fridge.
No mustard.
No ketchup.
Aria returned to her seat.
“I’m in deep shit.”
Updates: Tuesday
Next Chappie: Anzu
Bashing…and we find out what happened to that ketchup and mustard that Aria
sent to the Shadow Realm.