"Ryou?" Bakura asked quietly.
"Hm?" Ryou responded, still too tired to form proper sentences.
"You're going to make it, aren't you? You'll make it through this." Bakura whispered, squeezing his light's hand, almost clinging.
"Of course. I'm not gonna give up that easily." Ryou said in a raspy voice. His throat was still sore from the damage that had been inflicted.
"You'd better sleep." Bakura said as Ryou yawned. Ryou just nodded and settled into a comfortable position. He fell asleep almost immediately and that worried Bakura. Usually, it took ages for his light to even get comfortable.
"You should go home and get some rest." Malik said, coming over from the wall he had been leaning against. "You've been awake for the past three days, I'm sure he doesn't want you to make yourself sick over this."
"I'm not abandoning him." Bakura snapped, subconsciously clutching Ryou's hand in a more firm grip.
Malik sighed. "Bakura. Go. Home. Staying here all the time won't do anything for you or him. Get some sleep, take a shower, eat, and then come back."
Bakura glared at Malik for a moment before looking at Ryou. He knew Malik was right but he didn't want to leave his light alone at the hospital. It'd work hell on his conscience if he left Ryou to suffer alone and it wouldn't feel right being at home when Ryou was hurting somewhere else.
"I'll stay with him." Malik assured, worried for Bakura's mental condition just as much as he was for Ryou's seemingly inability to get better.
Bakura sighed and dropped Ryou's hand, standing slowly. "I'll go, but you better be here when I get back."
Malik nodded and took the chair Bakura had been occupying. With a final look at his light, Bakura turned and went out the door.
When Bakura returned, he had eaten, showered and slept. Not as much as he knew Malik would have liked, but enough to get him through another couple of days. He came back to find that Malik had fallen asleep, his head resting on Ryou's bed, his hair falling around his face.
"You're one to tell me to go home." Bakura muttered, pulling an extra chair away from the wall and placing it next to Malik's.
After an hour or so, Yugi and Yami showed up. Yugi was holding the diorama that Ryou had made after the whole Monster World thing. How he had gotten it was beyond Bakura, considering it had been at their house on a shelf in Ryou's room, last time he'd checked.
"He's not getting any better, then?" Yugi asked quietly, placing the diorama on the nightstand next to Ryou's bed.
"No, the doctors are worried. They-" Bakura stopped talking, knowing that if he hadn't his voice would have cracked. Taking a deep breath, he started again. "They don't think he's going to make it."
Yugi's eyes flashed with worry as he looked at Ryou, who was still sleeping. "He has to make it. He can't- he can't leave."
Bakura didn't say anything, opting to watch his light again. Yugi was right, Ryou couldn't leave. He just couldn't. Ryou was the only one who understood him to an extreme degree. If he "left", as Yugi had put it, there would be no else Bakura could turn to. Malik could probably fill part of the void he'd feel, but it wouldn't be the same.
There was a few minutes of silence, before the door burst open and Joey, Tristan and Téa came in. Joey winced and smiled sheepishly as he closed the door.
"Sorry." He said, walking up and peering at Ryou. "He doesn't look like he's getting any better."
"He's not." Bakura said, smoothing down his light's hair in a desperate attempt to make him look a bit more normal. "He hasn't been reacting to any of the medicines or IV's or anything else they give him."
"They think he won't make it." Yami said, looking at Ryou sadly.
"Won't make it? But Ryou has to make it!" Joey exclaimed, his face suddenly looking horrified. "You hear me Ryou?" he said grabbing Ryou's arms. "You can fight this! You're strong enough to!"
"Joey! Cut it out." Téa said, grabbing his arms and pulling him away from Ryou. "You're not helping him any by shouting at him."
Joey just swallowed thickly and looked away. Bakura watched the scene, not bothering to do anything. He knew Joey was just desperate, almost as much as he was and he felt oddly comforted by the fact that they cared about Ryou enough to come and see him late at night when they were supposed to be asleep.
"Guys?" a weak voice asked from the bed. They all looked and were relieved to see that Ryou was awake again. "What's going on? I thought I heard shouting."
"That was just Joey." Malik yawned as he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "He's just being crazy again."
Ryou smiled slightly but then winced as pain flared through his stomach. He clutched it tightly, gritting his teeth until the pain passed.
"Still hurts?" Yugi asked gently. Ryou nodded as he settled back down.
"Excuse me? But I'm afraid you have to leave, visiting hours are over." A nurse said as she poked her head through the door.
"We'll come see you tomorrow." Tristan said, finally speaking.
Ryou just nodded and yawned.
With one last look at their friend, Yugi and the others filtered through the door slowly, reluctant to leave. With a sigh and a sad look, Malik squeezed Bakura's shoulder and gave Ryou a quick hug before following.
"You need to get home tonight, Bakura. Malik told me that you do nothing but wonder the streets now days." Ryou croaked, his eyes filled with worry as he looked at his dark.
Bakura nodded absently. "Ryou, promise me you'll still be here tomorrow."
Ryou blinked but nodded slowly. "I promise, Bakura. I'll see you again."
Bakura didn't feel at all reassured by this. He sighed and gave his light a hug before walking slowly out the door. He glanced back, not wanting to leave Ryou alone in the hospital room. Ryou just smiled at him and Bakura thought he looked normal again for a moment.
With a heavy sigh, Bakura slowly closed the door.