Super JM: I thought I should start a new story off with a bang…and a good cliffie.

Elizabeth Marie Rose: There was so much in this chappie. I tried not to add too much background. I loved the cliffie. It was too tempting to use it.

Valea: Yup, Daniel is only injured. I need him for the future stories. Well, as far as the letters go, formal letters are like that. Besides, the drama…too tempting.

Broken Time: *hugs* I wouldn’t do anything to Robbie…not yet anyway. *evil grin* But, don’t worry. He’ll be fine.

Mononoke: I always try to give a little background for new reviewers. I try not to overwhelm the text with background.

Roxria: *hugs* I love new reviewers! I need Daniel for the rest of the sequels and this story. I couldn’t get rid of him. he is a really cool dad.

thunderchaos: No, Daniel’s not dead, just injured. Hostage is a good idea for later on to use, though. Maybe another story.

Seto lover and Bakurasgirl worshipper: Tristan will have an important role in this story, too. And yes, he’s still coffee-hungry.

Star: He won’t die. I need him. Are you saying if I do a Yami x Bakura NCS, make it a one shot instead of putting it into this story?

bakachibi voidfox: Daniel is fine. When he comes home, that’s when the fun starts. He comes home in chappie 6. He’s a cool dad.

Kschur32: Aten will be fine. I can’t kill him off so early. So much to do!

Dragon Tears: Aten will have dyslexia for the rest of his life, but when he gets older, he and Robbie make a big joke out of it. Aten’s much more secure with it when he gets older.

sweetmisery: Aten will always be there for Robbie and vice versa. No doubt about that.

Isawa17: Thank you!

Ryou’s Mistress: Kids do that from time to time…walk in on parents. Few people have told me that the kid never asked questions.

Lady Elfskye: Babe, you should know me better! I like to start things out with a bang!

Marik Ishtar 77: Yup…gymnastics. Mmm…Bakura in leather.

Terra: I’m sure he’d do great on the uneven bars…I wonder how he would do with the Monkey bars or the High horse!!!

Shadow of Light: Daniel’s not dead. I thought the whole gymnastics thing was priceless!

Aten’s Diagnosis

The soldier walked across the unsteady surface, taking care to hide in the cracks and crevices of the environment. The soldier gasped as a giant monkey jumped in front of him.

Robbie laughed as he played with the soldier. “’Oh no! A big, scary monkey!”

Aten put his monkeys on the bed and raised his hands. “I have an army of moneys! Feel da wraff of my angry moneys, Misser Shoulder man!...ow.”

“What is it, Aten?”

“I forgot that I have the I.V. in my hand.”

Robbie sat on the bed. “Sorry, Aten.”

“It’s okay. I’m used to the hopidal.” Aten clutched his toy monkey with the cymbals close to him. He pulled the cord and the monkey banged its cymbals together. The Egyptian boy smiled and clapped his hands.

“I luff my moneys!”

Robbie snickered. “’Love,’ Aten. L-O-V-E. You love your monkeys.”

Aten shrugged. “That’s what I said.”

Robbie shook his head. Aten was still having a difficult time with language. If you asked him to write a text in Egyptian hieroglyphics or in Arabic, Aten could do it. But, ask him to write in English, he would become frustrated. “C” and “K” were still impossible for him to master. Aten’s dyslexia had made his school work take twice as long as his sister and his language skills continued to be a struggle.

Ryou and Marik worked with him since he was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was three years old. It took a lot of patience and time, but Ryou saw some improvement.

Katie came in to check Aten’s medicine bag. “How are you feeling today, Aten?”

“My….shest..is no longer hurting. I can beave now.”

Katie smiled. “That’s good.”

“This is my bestest friend in da world, Robbie.”

“Hello, Robbie. I’m Katie, Aten’s nurse.”

Robbie smiled back at her. “Nice to meet you! I’m Robbie Allen Morgan!”

The nurse chuckled. “Well, it was nice to meet you. I have lots of other kids to check on.”

Aten waved to her as she left. “Taytee’s really nice. She gives me esstra applesauce with my dinner sometimes.”

Robbie nodded. “Applesauce is okay.”

Aten put his monkeys on the side table. “Robbie…umm…tan you…?” Aten opened his arms wide.

Robbie crawled up to Aten’s left hand side and laid down beside him. Aten turned on his side and snuggled into Robbie’s chest. Robbie moved Aten’s I.V. line out of the way and held Aten close to him.

Robbie always held Aten when he was sick or when he was in the hospital. When Aten was in the hospital after having “MINE” carved into his back by his grandfather, Robbie held him and both boys fell asleep together. Since they were both three, it was nothing big to see the two boys wrapped up in each other’s arms fast asleep.

Neither boy cared what anyone thought about their cuddling up together. Both boys sighed contentedly as their parents talked outside.

**********************

Miranda wiped the tears from her eyes. Marik gripped her shoulder reassuringly. Bakura and Malik stood beside her.

Ryou hugged her. “I’m sorry, Miranda.”

Miranda let out a sob on Ryou’s shoulder. “I’m just relieved he’s not dead. I don’t know what I would do if I lost Daniel. How could I tell Robbie that his father was dead?”

“But he’s not dead, Miranda. He was just wounded,” Malik said, trying to cheer up the woman.

“I know. That’s why I’m crying. I’m relieved he’s not dead.”

Marik tapped the Millennium Rod against his leg. “When did the military say he would be home?”

“He’s coming home in two more days. They want to keep him in the hospital for observation.”

“Did you tell Robbie yet?”

Miranda shook her head. “No, I’ll tell him tonight. I’ll just tell him his daddy is coming home and he will have a few bandages on him. That’s all.”

Aria ran to them. “Mommy, do you have money for the snack machine? I’m hungry.”

Bakura gave her some money. “Come right back, chibi yami.”

“Yes, daddy.” Aria returned a couple of minutes later with a package of M&M’s.

Aria stood by her father. She chewed her chocolate. “Mmmm…M&M’s!”

Zira approached the group. “Hello, Aria! What are you feeding her, Ryou? She’s getting to be tall!”

Aria nodded. “Yup! And if I get on my tippy toes like this, I can be even taller!”

Bakura bit his lip, trying not to reach down and squeeze her as she tried standing tall on her toes.

“I see. Well, Marik and Ryou, can I talk to you in my office?”

Ryou and Marik exchanged glances. “Sure.”

Bakura headed towards Aten’s door. “Let’s check on the little monkey.”

Bakura opened the door and found Aten asleep in Robbie’s arms. Miranda stroked Robbie’s hair.

“It looks like you put him to sleep, Robbie.”

Robbie shrugged and buried his face in Aten’s hair.

Malik sat in the chair by the bed. “The nurses said Aten didn’t sleep too well last night. They said he was having nightmares. He was afraid to go to sleep.”

Bakura shook his head. “We’ll have to schedule another appointment with his psychologist, Dr. Chapman. It’s been a month since Aten saw him.”

Aria stood at her father’s side. “Daddy, is Aten going to be okay?”

Bakura ran his hands through her spiky hair, feeling Ryou’s tension grow with each passing moment. “Aten will be okay, baby girl.”

***********************

Ryou and Marik held hands as they walked to the office. Ryou didn’t care about the strange and disgusted looks some of the patients gave him. Marik gripped the Millennium Item nervously.

Zira put the x-rays of Aten’s chest on the illuminated panel in his office. He put the file in front of him and watched Ryou and Marik sit down in front of him.

Ryou bit his lip nervously. His hand trembled as it gripped Marik’s tightly. Marik was worried, but his demeanor rarely displayed what was going through his mind.

Zira pointed to the x-ray of Aten’s heart. “Aten’s heart is enlarged. It’s about twice the size it’s supposed to be. The medicine you gave him last night may have saved his life, Ryou. That medicine opened Aten’s left ventricle, allowing more oxygen into his system when he breathed. It relieved a lot of stress on the heart. Do you see this dark area surrounding the heart? That’s a pocket of fluid that is surrounding the heart. I took blood from Aten to determine if his condition is viral. It is not. I ran an electrocardiogram on Aten’s heart last night and found that his heartbeat was erratic. His heart is not contracting normally.”

Ryou squeezed Marik’s hand as Zira returned to his seat. “What’s the matter with Aten? Can you help him?”

Zira folded his hands on his desk. He gave a sigh and looked up at the mother and father. This was not going to be easy.

“No…there’s not. Ryou….Marik…Aten’s in the early stages of congestive heart failure.”

Ryou covered his mouth, his eyes fighting back the tears that threatened to overwhelm him. “Congestive…Heart….failure?”

“I’m sorry, Ryou. The best I can do is keep him comfortable. It doesn’t mean that he can’t be a normal child.”

Ryou turned and cried on Marik’s shoulder. Marik brought Ryou closer to him. The blond rubbed the mother’s back.

“Are you certain of this, Zira? If not, this is a cruel joke.”

Zira shook his head. “No. I wouldn’t joke about something so serious. Ryou, please listen. Aten can still be a normal eight-year-old.”

Ryou wiped his eyes. “Is this….terminal?”

Zira lowered his eyes. This was the hardest part of the job.

“Yes.”

Marik’s heart sank. “How much longer….does my son….have?”

Zira shrugged. “It depends. Seven or eight years tops. His condition is one where it could deteriorate in a matter of months or it may take a few years to become severe.”

It was difficult telling a wife that she lost her husband…or a husband who lost his wife. But, nothing was more difficult and heart-wrenching than telling a mother and father that they had lost...or was going to lose….a child.

Ryou buried his face in his hands and cried. Zira walked around and took Ryou’s arm gently.

“Ryou, we can make Aten as comfortable as possible. I know this is difficult,” Zira said offering Ryou a tissue. “But, we have to think about Aten’s best interests. We can put Aten on water pills. That would help him flush out some fluids. Have you noticed Aten’s joints swelling up lately?”

Marik nodded. “Last night, he couldn’t walk. His ankles were swollen pretty bad. He went to bed early because he wasn’t feeling well. He was dizzy.”

Zira nodded. “Okay. Limit Aten’s liquid intake. One drink at each meal. That’s it. What has he been drinking?”

“Milk and water. That’s all he drinks,” Ryou sniffled.

Zira nodded. “Okay. Limiting his fluid intake is very important. This way, the water pills will help his body get rid of this excess fluid. He’ll be using the washroom more often, so don’t be alarmed. He should only drink one small glass of fluid per day. Nothing more than that.”

Marik held Ryou close to him again. “What can we do to make Aten’s heart better?”

Zira sat behind his desk again. “I would like to run some tests. I want to do a heart catheterization test. What I’ll do is put in a small plastic tube from a small incision in his arm. This will record the pressures and oxygen in different parts of the heart. I’ll just inject a little dye in him so I can see his arteries and make sure the muscle itself is working fine. It will just be a small procedure and we can put him in his room. We can place a pacemaker device in Aten’s chest like yours, Ryou. That will keep the heart going for as long as possible. In the meantime, I think we should put Aten on Captopril, which will delay the deterioration of the heart’s function. I also want to put him on a medicine called Amiodarone. It will help his irregular heartbeat, but it can have some serious side effects.”

Marik raised an eyebrow. “What kind of side effects?”

“Dizziness, sensitivity to sunlight, trouble walking, trembling of the hands, uncontrolled movements of the arms and legs. He may have trouble sleeping. It’s up to you. Aten will have to go on this medication, but I suggest the pacemaker to keep his heart going. Without it….well,….Aten…could….die.”

Ryou looked at Marik sadly. “What do you think, Marik?”

Marik gripped the Millennium Rod tightly and turned away from Ryou. Neither Ryou nor Zira could see the tears streaming from his eyes.

“Surgery. If that is the only way to save Aten’s life…..give him the pacemaker,” Marik said, trying to collect his thoughts.

Ryou nodded. “Okay, Dr. Zira. Aten will need the pacemaker.”

Zira nodded. “Okay. The procedure should take a couple of hours. But first, I wish to discuss something with you both.”

Marik turned to Zira. “Don’t tell me there’s more, doc.”

“Standard procedure, Marik. Now that we have diagnosed Aten with this, we must plan for the future. In the event that Aten needs blood for a surgery, or heaven forbid, has a terrible accident, I would like to store some blood for him in advance. Aten’s blood type is AB negative. Aria Kanika also has his same blood type as her brother. I would like to store some blood from Aten and some from Aria in the event that it is needed.”

“What about your blood bank?”

Zira sifted through Aten’s file. “I would much rather use blood from family for Aten rather than blood from other sources. No other member of your family is an exact match for Aten’s blood. In case Aten is ever in an accident, only Aria can save her brother’s life.”

Ryou nodded. “Okay, Dr. Zira. That won’t be a problem.”

“Do you want her blood today?”

“Next appointment you make with me we’ll take the necessary blood. See if Aria will consent.”

Marik raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t his sister want to help him?”

Zira shrugged. “Well, she has to know why she’s doing this, Marik. She had to understand she could save her brother’s life by doing this.”

Ryou sighed and wiped his eyes. “Okay. I’ll talk with Aria.”

Zira closed Aten’s file. “I know this is not easy on either of you. Children with Aten’s type of cardiomyopathy hardly live beyond five years of age. Aten should have died three years ago, by all the studies done my medical science, but he’s still with us. That is something to be grateful for.”

Ryou sniffled and looked down sadly nodding.

“Remember when I saw you after you delivered them, Ryou? After their birth, I told you that Aten had a heart defect? Ryou, I didn’t expect him to survive the first week he was in the hospital. He weighed two pounds, had no body fat, and he fit in the palm of my hand. His heart rhythm was erratic. Ryou, he was not supposed to survive his first hour of life. But, he held on. He’s still with us. He’s a happy, beautiful little boy. I’ll always see Aten as when I did when I brought him into this world. I promise to do all I can for Aten’s health and well-being. We can send him to a pediatric cardiologist. I can recommend a good one for you. Her office is here in the hospital. Ryou, I’m going to help Aten as much as possible. I’m aware that Aten some learning disabilities, am I right?”

Marik nodded. “He has dyslexia.”

Zira nodded. “This condition may result in more developmental delays for Aten because of his organs getting less oxygen than they should be getting. Hopefully, putting him on these new medications and implanting the pacemaker, his body will get more oxygen. This condition can affect the brain and the lungs, as well, so we’ll have to keep a good eye on him.” Zira saw Ryou sniffle and cry quietly. “I’m going to do all I can to make him live as long as possible.”

“I know you will, Doctor Zira. You have always been there for us. I just…need to see my son right now.”

Zira nodded. “Okay, let’s talk to the patient.”

*******************

Zira, Ryou, and Marik walked into Aten’s hospital room. Miranda watched as Ryou walked to Aten’s side of the bed, covering his mouth, sobbing. Bakura went over to Ryou and gripped his hikari’s shoulders.

“Please, Bakura…..don’t.”

Aten opened his eyes and yawned when he saw Zira standing at the head of his hospital bed.

“Hello, dotor.”

Robbie looked over his shoulder. “Hi!”

Zira looked up at Miranda. “Can you and your son excuse us for a moment?”

Miranda nodded. “Sure. Come on, Robbie, dear. Let’s go get something to drink. I’m thirsty.”

Miranda put Robbie on the ground.

“But, mommy, I wanna stay with Aten!”

“No, honey, we have to leave. I’ll get you a chocolate milk.”

Robbie waved to Aten as his mother removed him from the room.

Zira closed the door behind them. He pulled out his stethoscope. “Can you sit up, Aten?”

Aten sat up and stretched. “I just had the best dream! I dreamed I was at Unkie Seto’s summer home and I was riding the pony he bought me! Then I dreamed I had a money! The money was really funny! It was statching its head and making funny money noises! You wan to hear how I sound like a money?” Aten proceeded to mimic monkey noises while scratching his head and his hip. “EE…EE…EE!” he squeaked, “I is a money!”

Ryou wiped a river of tears away from his face. Aria ran up to Ryou. “Mommy, why are you crying? Something in your eyes?”

Zira nodded, smiling. “I love your monkey impression, Aten!”

“When I get older and be a big boy, I wan to live with monies!”

Malik bit his lip, trying not to laugh. He wanted nothing more than to grab the chibi and hug him until he turned red because he was being so cute.

Zira chuckled. “You can do anything you want, Aten. But, first, I have to talk to you about your heart.”

Aten grabbed his monkey plushie and cuddled it against his chest. “My heart?”

“Yes, Aten. Your heart….is very sick. You have some liquid around your heart that is making it hard to breathe. Your heart has grown really big.”

Aten gasped. “I haff a super heart! SUPER HEART! Faster den a spee-ing tain!”

“No, Aten. Listen. Your heart needs you to take good care of it. I’m going to put you on some new heart pills to keep it strong. Okay? I’m also going to send you to a special heart doctor. Now, you don’t put salt on anything you eat, do you?”

“No. Mommy said it’s bad for my heart.”

Zira nodded. “Yes. No salt, Aten. Also, for a while, you want to drink less.”

“Drink less? Why?”

“Too much fluid will make you unable to breathe like last night. It will make it hard for you.”

Aten shook his head. “Oh. I don’t wan that. That stared me last night.”

“I know it did. Aten, it’s very important that you take care of yourself.”

Aten nodded. “I promise to tate tare of my heart.”

“If you are playing and you get tired, Aten, relax, okay? Lay down. Sit down. Rest for a while then go back to whatever it is you are doing. Take your medicine. When you feel tired, rest, Aten. That is very important.”

Aten nodded. “Otay. Tan I go home, Dotor Zira? I wan to play on my money bars.”

Zira checked Aten’s vital signs and nodded. “Your chest congestion looks like it has improved. Can you take a deep breath for me again?”

Aten took a deep breath and yawned.

“You look good to go home, Aten. Ryou, I’d keep him home tomorrow from school. If he’s better tomorrow, he can go to school.”

Zira was removing Aten’s I.V. when Robbie and Miranda entered the room. The boy let out a little whimper as his needle was removed.

“Ow…..I don’t lite dat. It hurts.”

“I know, Aten, but it’s necessary.”

Miranda smiled at Aten. “Going home, Aten?”

Aten nodded as Malik gathered his plushies. Robbie collected his army men and put them into his school bag.

Aten dressed into his clothes and held Ryou’s hand as he left his room.

Katie came up to him. “You going home, sweetheart?”

Aten nodded. “Yes, Daytee. Bye.” Aten reached up to her. Katie leaned down and Aten took her face and kissed her on her cheek.

Katie ruffled his hair. “Bye, cutie.”

Ryou stopped at the hospital pharmacy to pick up Aten’s new heart medication.

******************

Aten went home and ran to the backyard. He put his monkey on the grass and ran for the monkey bars on his swing set.

Ryou carried Aten’s overnight bag into the house and took it upstairs to Aten’s room.

Ryou returned downstairs and went to the kitchen to help Malik cook dinner.

Bakura turned to Marik when they entered the house. “What did Zira say?”

Marik ignored Bakura, walking up the stairs.

Bakura heard Marik’s door slam shut and a mournful wail emerge from the room.

That wasn’t like Ishtar to cry. Bakura went into the kitchen and watched Ryou peel carrots.

“Ryou? What did Zira say?”

Ryou put down the peeler and he gripped the countertop. “Aten has been diagnosed with heart failure. My son…..” Ryou buried his face in his hands. “Zira said it’s terminal.”

Malik gasped. “Is he sure?”

Bakura stepped behind Ryou and wrapped his arms around Ryou from behind. “I’m sorry, Ryou.” Bakura kissed the back of Ryou’s neck.

Ryou turned around and wrapped his arms around Bakura tightly. “Yami, what am I going to do?”

Bakura sighed. “We’ll do what we can to make him comfortable, Ryou. What else did Zira say?”

“He said Aten could still be a normal boy, but how can that be?”

Bakura caressed Ryou’s hair. “He’s young, Ryou. He can still be a normal boy. Look..he’s outside playing…with Aria.”

Ryou’s eyes snapped open. “He’s outside?!”

Ryou ran out of the backdoor and found Aria swinging on the swings, squealing and laughing with her favorite Barbie doll she called ‘Jessica.’

Aten was hanging by his hands on the monkey bars, swinging his legs, and squealing happily. “LOOK, MOMMY! I’M A MONEY!”

Ryou ran to him and pulled him off of the bars and into his arms. Bakura stuck his head out of the door.

“Aten, you could hurt yourself!”

Aten looked sadly at the monkey bars. “But….mommy….I’m a money. I wan to play.”

Ryou turned and carried Aten to the house. Aten looked sadly at the monkey bars with a trembling lip. His legs dangled as Ryou carried him into the house.

Ryou closed the door behind him and put Aten on the couch in the living room. “You just lay here.”

“But, mommy, I wan to play on the money bars. I was having fun.”

Bakura watched Aten plead. He crossed his arms.

“Honey, you just got out of the hospital. You should really rest.”

“But, mommy,” Aten whimpered and he started to cry. “I was being a money!”

Bakura entered the room. “Ryou, let him go out and play. He wants to play outside.”

“But, yami, he just came out of the hospital.”

“But, he feels good enough to play a little.”

Ryou shook his head. “He needs his rest, Bakura.”

Bakura raised an eyebrow. “Ryou, he’s a kid. I know you want him to stay here, but he wants to play.”

Aria came inside and stepped into the living room. She crawled up on the couch and hugged Aten. The boy wrapped his arms around his sister.

“Don’t cry, Aten,” Aria whispered gently.

Ryou sighed. “I have to help Malik make dinner.” Ryou disappeared into the kitchen.

Aten looked up at Bakura with his large eyes. His right eye was chocolate brown like his mother, Ryou. His left eye was purple like his father, Marik. His white and blond hair fell over his shoulders.

Bakura sat beside Aten. “It’s okay, Aten. Your mommy is just being protective of you.”

“But..*sniff* Daddy Bakura…I was…being..a..money.”

Bakura caressed the boy’s hair. “I know you were, Aten. You have had a long day today. You can always play tomorrow if you’d like.”

Aten wiped his tears away. “I tan play tomorrow?”

Bakura nodded. “You sure can, little monkey. You should feel much better tomorrow. You know, Aten, we’re all happy to see you are feeling better than last night.”

“Were you stared?”

Bakura bit his lip and nodded. “Yes. I was. We were all afraid. But now, we’re all happy you are back home.”

Aten smiled and hugged Bakura. Bakura let out a little cough.

“You okay, daddy?” Aria asked.

Bakura smiled as he gathered both chibis on his lap. “Yeah. I probably just have a hair in my throat. Nothing big.”

Bakura cleared his throat and sighed. “Much better.”

Bakura hugged the chibis until dinnertime.

Updates: Monday

Next Chappie: Bakura dreams about Steven and his curse. Aten has a nightmare and hears about his heart condition.