Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine. This chapter is a little slow, but after this, I promise it gets faster! Reviews are love!

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Chapter Eleven: Post Altercation

"Thank you…Yes…Don't—Don't worry about it…He's fine just…Of course…Bye." Sora's dad Chris hung up his cell phone and turned back to us, "Riku's stable. They—They've got him sedated. That was Don."

I had managed to steady the trembling in my hands after my and Sora's parents showed up. I watched the paramedic, Andy, as he threaded the stitching needle. The blow to Sora's head had cut a deep laceration from his hairline down his temple. Andy had cleaned up the blood and was beginning to stitch the wound closed.

My dad and Sora's mom Daylia had maneuvered Sora into a sitting position on the floor, leaning against the couch. Chris had been pacing for the last half hour making phone calls and my mom had soon gone to comfort Tara.

I sat next to Sora, stroking the back of his hand while Andy inspected the laceration. He'd regained consciousness not long after Don had left, though he was only semiconscious and not making any sense. He seemed to be getting better now.

"He thought I was Xehanort huh?" He asked, keeping his eyes determinedly on my face, away from Andy's hands, holding the needle.

I nodded, wiping my eyes for the thousandth time. I wasn't crying, my eyes were just incessantly watering, "Uh huh. He was…he was delirious. Don pulled him off you and then Dr. Young tranquilized him and they took him in an ambulance."

"Where'd they take him?" Sora asked, sitting up a little.

"Stay still, kiddo." Andy said, and Sora reclined his head again reluctantly.

I looked to Daylia, who had kept Sora's knee in a vice grip since she'd seen him. She answered, "The Indigo Center on the larger eastern island."

"An asylum?" Sora started to sit up, but winced as Andy accidentally jabbed him with the needle.

Andy sighed, "That's gonna happen every time you move."

"Sit still, baby." Daylia said, patting his knee, "It's not an asylum. It's a…an institution where Dr. Young works which…specializes in helping people with certain…psychological problems."

"So it's an asylum? He's not crazy, Mom."

"He thought you were Xehanort and attacked you, son." Chris said, pausing in his pacing.

My dad gripped my shoulder, "Debating Riku's sanity is Dr. Young's territory, her field of expertise. For right now, let's just be thankful none of you were seriously hurt."

I looked at him incredulously, "Thankful? People think Riku is insane and Sora's head's been busted open."

Sora blinked and started to lift a hand to his temple to inspect the damage for himself. Andy swatted his hand away and finished tying off the end of the stitch.

"There, almost good as new." Andy said.

"So he'll be all right?" Daylia asked.

Andy nodded, rubbing his neck, "You're gonna have one heck of a headache and a nice black bruise for a few weeks, but you should be fine."

Sora sat up straight, touching his head gingerly. Satisfied that his head was not 'busted open', he turned to his dad, "We need to go there."

My dad blinked, "What?"

"We need to go to the Indigo Center and see Riku." Sora demanded.

Daylia looked at Chris, "Sora, you have a concussion. You need to take it easy."

"Take it easy? How am I supposed to take it easy?" Sora balled his fists.

I raised myself up on my knees beside him, "I agree with Sora. We should go wait with Tara."

My dad looked close to arguing, but Chris was reaching for his keys, "All right. I'll take you in the van. Paul, can you take Daylia home?"

My dad nodded, bewildered as I stood up.

"I hate to impose, but Dr. Young rushed off in my ambulance. I could use a lift to Indigo." Andy said, clicking his medical kit shut.

"I don't like her." Sora hissed.

Andy arched his eyebrows, "Dr. Young isn't a bad woman. She's a wonderful doctor and a kind person." Sora looked dubious, but Andy shrugged, "She just comes off as harsh sometimes. Then again, she did leave me stranded." He looked at Chris, "Could I bum a ride?"

"Sure, sure, of course." Chris nodded.

Andy and I helped Sora to his feet. He swayed once, but refused any help after that while he and I pulled on our thick coats and gloves. After bundling ourselves up as much as possible, Chris led us out the door, not allowing so much as a last ditch restraint by Daylia or my dad.

Andy, Sora, and I piled into Chris's van and Chris knocked snow off the windshield before climbing into the driver's seat and turning on the van. He backed out of the driveway, nearly taking out a white blanketed mailbox as he did so.

After adjusting to the snowy driving conditions, Chris steadied his driving down the icy roads and through the hazy wind. Andy was at shotgun. Sora and I had crammed into the back seat. The Indigo Center on the eastern island was a ten minute normal drive away, but in snow it took twenty.

The suspension bridge connecting the main island with the eastern island was shuddering under the wind and Chris had to slow to a crawl to see ten feet ahead of us. The headlights cut a hazy beam through the never ending swell of snow and flying frost.

Not until after I'd clenched my knuckles white around the arm rests did Chris get on the off-ramp and cruise in an arc towards a flashing intersection. After two more intersections and a rickety left turn, we pulled into the parking lot of the Indigo Center.

Sora was rubbing his neck and looked like he was going to be sick of a migraine, but he was the first out of the van after Chris killed the engine. I climbed out after him.

I sunk and the snow rose above my ankles, some of it spilling into my boots. Sora snatched my gloved hand in his. This wasn't an affectionate gesture so much as to not get lost in the snow-induced fog swirling around us. We tromped together through the snow, with Chris and Andy trudging along after us.

I'm sure we were a sight to behold when we crossed the threshold of the sliding doors of the entrance to the Indigo. Sora's hair was almost white with snow and mine was all thrown over to one side because of the wind. We shook snow off our persons and kicked it off our boots before moving past the entrance.

The emergency room we'd just entered wasn't deserted. Apparently several people had tried to drive in the snowy tempest outside and not been as lucky as Chris in the trip and come to Indigo as the nearest medical center.

"Excuse me." Sora approached a passing nurse.

She walked on, hastily scribbling on her clipboard notes. A taller, male doctor passed.

"Hey, we're looking for—" Sora trailed off as the doctor kept his beeline path, not even giving Sora a side glance.

The woman behind the lobby desk was shuffling through stacks of files and paperwork, looking harassed and irritable. Sora stalked over.

"Excuse me, ma'am. We need—"

"Here's a board. Fill out the paperwork, a nurse will be with you shortly." The woman said automatically, handing him a medical form attached to a clipboard.

Sora took it, confused, "No, I'm sorry. I'm not—"

"Myrtle!" Andy called, shuffling in with Chris and walking over to the desk.

"Andy! I tell you. What part of 'don't drive in stormy weather' don't people seem to understand?" Myrtle fumed, "I tell you. People running off the road, hitting trees, falling down icy stairs."

"Yes, it's terrible. Look, these two are friends of that young man Dr. Young came in with about an hour ago. Now, his parents and another woman came in too. D'you know where they are?"

"Do I look like I know where anything is in this mess?" Myrtle said ill temperedly.

"Kairi! Sora!" I spotted my mom waving at us over near one of the corridors.

I latched on to Sora's arm and pulled him through the people to where my mom was standing. Chris followed. Andy waved us off, but stayed near the desk.

"Mom!" "Have you heard anything?" "Where're Tara and Don?" "Is Riku okay?" We bombarded her with questions, barely pausing for breath.

Mom gripped each of our shoulders, "Deep breaths, either of you having a stroke is the last thing we need. Sora, sweetheart, are you okay?" She asked, cupping Sora's face in one hand and inspecting the stitch work to his face.

Sora waved her off, "Peachy. How's Riku?"

"Yeah, where are his parents?" I asked, looking around.

Mom chewed the side of her lip, "Riku's…stable. He's not…He's been sedated. Don took Tara to get some air. She was upset."

Well, that was certainly understandable.

"Can we see him?" I asked, my voice cracking.

Mom looked at us both sympathetically, "I'm sorry, kids. Dr. Young's examining him."

"She did enough damage when she examined him the first time!" Sora barked.

Mom lifted a hand, "This isn't Dr. Young's fault."

Chris appeared, "Zura, how's it looking?"

While Mom relayed what she knew, Sora and I backed out of the conversation and leaned against the wall. My heart was hammering painfully against my ribs still and Sora was breathing heavily beside me. This was it: the fine line, the reality of it all.

Schizophrenia? Was it possible? It—it couldn't…to Riku? The most normal—well—healthy person we knew? What else would possess him to attack Sora like that? Was it Xehanort? I instinctively looked around, as if Xehanort was hiding behind the plants or crouching behind Myrtle's desk. No, Xehanort was dead…That left the answer of Riku being…

"Gah!" I burst out exasperatedly, pushing my wind blown hair out of my face.

Sora stood up straight and I followed his gaze. Dr. Young had approached Tara and Don, who had appeared at the end of the corridor. Tara looked so frail and Don looked so stony faced, I wanted to rush over and tackle the doctor. She had no right to give them more bad news!

Before I could crane my neck to study their expressions, Dr. Young was walking in our direction. My mom and Chris turned and greeted her with similar questions that Sora and I had posed. Dr. Young was wearing a sympathetic look that made me want to slap her. Sora was right, I didn't like her either.

"I can't allow any visitors right now. His condition is stable but very fragile."

"He's not fragile." Sora grumbled under his breath. I touched his arm. "When can we see him?" Sora asked a loud.

Dr. Young faced him, "We'll see how he is in the morning. Then…we'll see."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere." Sora folded his arms. When I agreed, he added, "We'll just camp out here until morning then."

Dr. Young turned to go, "Very well, but stop by my office before then and we'll talk." She paused, "You might want to put some ice on that." She pointed at his head before walking away.

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A/N: And this chapter brings the fic up to date with chapter one. Chapter twelve will pick up right after the events of the first chapter. I feel like I kinda made Dr. Young out to be a bitch (pokes chapter) but I guess that was my unintentional intention. Ah well.