SILHOUETTE

A/N: Thanks to graceadee, soysauce, Water Sorceress, ilovemanicures, CrimsonSrawberry17, Guest, Arlownay1991, manga-animelove, pro-alipro, and dragonlady222. Thank you guys all for your fabulous and motivational words *bows* hopefully I can keep this up and write well enough for all of you to continue loving this story. Thanks again!

Warning, this is going to be a slower chapter, given the circumstances I think you all will understand why. The next one will be a little more fast moving.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

03:45am – January 22nd- Rockyview Hospital

The clock continued to tick by, three hours on the mark. Impatiently he paced back and forth in front of the operating room door, hands in his pockets and head down, not acknowledging anyone. Grey was sitting with Soren nursing his freshly bandaged chest, bruised and broken ribs making him breathe slow and shallow as he watched Bakura move to and fro, barely avoiding the doctors and nurses that passed. Soren, out of uniform and clean sat beside Grey, Abby sitting quietly beside him stroking his hair as his head rested on her shoulder. Crissy and Russell, along with Elenor and Mike sat in some of the other nearby chairs in the waiting room, Kieran and Jack had gone off to the cafeteria to grab coffee for everyone.

All of them were grateful and not that the operating rooms in this hospital, unlike many seen on television, did not have glass viewing into the room. You could not see what was going on, which meant that they were both depressingly in the dark but also unable to see the extent of the damage. The three hour and counting operation was hint enough to them just the amount of work the doctors had to do.

Carrying heavy trays of coffee Kieran and Jack re-entered the waiting room. Jack, after setting the tray down and allowing everyone else to help themselves, grabbed two cups and strode over to where Bakura was currently stopped in front of the operating room door. Using the coffee to tap on the young detectives shoulder Jack gave a weak smile to Bakura as he turned around, "Drink, it might help your mind settle. And, help keep you awake."

Blinking dumbly Bakura nodded and gratefully took the Styrofoam cup, opting to drink the hot black liquid. When Jack did not move away Bakura cleared his throat, "Thank's for getting here so fast, and so early in the morning."

Sipping his own coffee Jack sighed jadedly, "Of course, would have gotten here faster if waking Kieran up was as easy as it sounded. How are you holding up?"

Pursing his lips Bakura lowered his gaze, "Can I lose my sanity yet?" A large strong hand reached up and rubbed his back, glancing at Jack he saw the sympathetic expression. "How the hell am I supposed to stay calm when they haven't said anything yet?"

"Well, considering patience is not one of your strong suits," Jack said, his tone holding affection but still pointed. "Then you just have to keep yourself in check and pray, if that is something you do, if not, keep a level head on your shoulders and stay strong for him. It won't be long now; they won't put someone that has endured that much trauma through much more. With what Soren said were his injuries, I would imagine that this is far from his only surgery; he's probably going to have several more. They don't want to overload his system, especially with how fragile it is. They will fix what is necessary to keep him alive, then after that they will cease the surgery and slowly repair everything else in the coming weeks."

Tipping his head back Bakura downed half of his coffee, "Yeah, may consider that praying thing for the first time in my life."

Footsteps came from behind them and both men turned to see Crissy come up behind them, her green eyes that mirrored the colour of Soren's looked up at them both. Her arms were wrapped around herself and she was shivering, though Bakura guessed it was not from the cold. Bakura side stepped a little and allowed her to come between him and Jack, Jack putting his arm gently around his daughter. "He's going to make it right; they would not have had him in surgery for this long if he wasn't going to."

Jack nodded, "He will, just have some patience lassie girl."

On cue the doors to the operation room opened and a doctor strode out to them, a familiar one. Dr. Ryant glanced around the group with tired eyes, pulling off the blood stained gloves with a snap he encouraged Bakura, Jack and Crissy back with hand signals. Behind him the door was held open by several nurses and a bed was wheeled gently out of the room, the nurses strategically blocking the view as they moved it away. Taking in the expectant eyes Dr. Ryant glanced between all of them before speaking, "He made it through, but he's not out of the woods yet."

"What do you mean?" Kieran questioned.

"Meaning that we have repaired everything that was internally bleeding, and stabilized all the injured joints. We also had to drill a small puncture hole in the side of his head to get the swelling down and remove some of the excess blood to reduce the risk of brain damage. At this point, that's all we can do," he expounded, crossing his arms. "There is no immediate evidence of brain damage, which is surprising in and of itself. The risk that still runs is infection. Unfortunately the tools used were, even though apparently sterilized, could possibly still cause problems, not to mention the environment he was in."

"Can we see him?" Bakura murmured.

Dr, Ryant shook his head, "In an hour maybe. We need to allow him some rest and time to recover from the anaesthesia."

Hands rubbing his face Soren pipped up through his fingers, "How many more surgeries does he need?"

Sighing Dr. Ryant shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck, "At least five, maybe more. Depends on how difficult reconstructing his one excessively damaged knee will take. I do have to warn you all now, even though there is still a chance that he could make a full recovery because I believe it's a slight possibility. All of you need to accept the fact that he may never walk properly again, or have full function of his shoulder. At a minimum, with the damage done to the one knee, he may need to use something to assist him with walking for the rest of his life, or he may walk with a permanent limp. Either way, even though its possible he may push through, I need you all to understand that he may never be able to be an EMT again. It'll all depend on the surgery, his persistence and how well he recovers."

Through the stunned silence Bakura asked, his voice strained, "What exactly happened to his knees."

"Well, the one had the LCL and MCL cut," Dr. Ryant began, shoving his hand into his sub pockets. "The other, all the ligaments were cut, along with the tendon. The patella was removed along with the meniscus cartilage. Basically, to put it simply, everything that makes up the knee was surgically removed. We are going to have to reconstruct him an entirely new knee. The other will just need some graphing to repair the ligaments that were damaged." Seeing the expressions of horror and shock he sighed deeply. "His shoulder is going to need some extensive surgery as well. Whatever hit and pierced the muscle and pulled the joint out of socket, caused a fair amount of damage to the muscle, and the velocity created injuries to his rotator cuff and the actual bones of the joint. It's going to be a long road to recovery. Also, with the amount of surgeries coming up, we may have to put him into a chemically induced coma for a few weeks, to reduces the stress to his system."

"Christ," Mike cursed quietly, running a hand through sweat dampened hair. "When will you decide that?"

"In the next day or so, we have to assess everything and decide the best course of action."

"Thank you doctor, for doing what you can and being honest with us," Jack said, extending a hand and shaking the doctors with gratitude. "I'm grateful for your forthcomings."

"Of course, any questions you can come find me. I'll be doing my rounds," he said, making to turn and walk away when Bakura called him back.

"The bandages on his back, that Alphonse put there, what did he do?"

Shoving his hands in his lab coat Dr. Ryant seemed to debate internally with himself before exhaling deeply, "The paramedic symbol was carved onto his back. Not deep enough for stitches, but deep enough that it will scar." Seeing the tremor increase in the detectives hands Dr. Ryant reached out and gripped his arm. "There are ointments that we will be trying to reduce the intensity of it, but there are no guarantees." Throat gone dry Bakura managed a stiff nod, watching the doctor give his arm another squeeze then disappear down the hallway.

Immediately replacing the doctor, and coming from the same hallway fast enough that the group could not process the news, Anderson strode up to Bakura and signalled for Grey to come over. Looking at Jack he gave the man a smile, along with Crissy, "Sorry to be pushy, but may I talk to these two alone for a moment." Giving a nod Jack took Crissy back to the chairs. Grey finally groggily meandered over to them with a glare. "I've got good and bad news boys. Which do you want first?"

Bakura scowled, "Good first."

"Well, because Alphonse was not able to get away we found a fuck ton of evidence at the scene. He's not getting away from us. Speaking of the devil, he made it out of surgery as well, damn bastard got lucky the kid missed his heart and only blew one lung. He's in recovery right now with officers watching him, and he's cuffed to the bed."

"And the bad news?" Grey asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

Swallowing hard with nervousness Anderson crossed his arms over the Kevlar vest he was still wearing, "How do I put this. One of the TACT guys found a video camera. Yes it was set up, and recording. The fucker recorded the entire thing."

"What," Bakura growled, russet eyes blazing in anger. "He recorded that, if it wasn't such good evidence I would burn the damned thing."

"I agree completely," Anderson stated, . "Now, down to business on that. You two are going to have to watch it. In terms of that, if you want me to sit through it with you for an extra eye and support, I will."

"Definitely," Grey agreed, yawning and rubbing his sore neck. "It'll have to wait till tomorrow though, today's just not happening."

Anderson nodded, "I assumed not. How is the kid doing anyway? I'm guessing by the doctor that I saw that he is out of surgery finally."

"He'll make it," voice choking Bakura almost couldn't finish. "But Alphonse may have permanently crippled him for the rest of his life."

Gripping Bakura's shoulder Anderson looked at his friend sombrely, "The kid is as tough as an ox, he'll push through. I had better head back out though, I will go babysit forensics for a while then come back and check on the jack ass in a few hours. Take it easy you two."

"You too," was the unified response.

As they turned the detectives were received by expectant gazes, everyone was looking at them with demands in their eyes. Freezing in place Grey and Bakura shared a thought and a glanced, both exhaling nervously. After a silent internal debate that they both came to the same conclusion on they stated in synchronization, "Alphonse is alive, but still under police custody. He is here in this hospital, but he is restrained the bed he is in and under constant surveillance."

Grey continued from there, hands around the hot cup of coffee and its smell calmed him, "Sorry Soren, your first shot wasn't as good as hoped. Also, there was a piece of evidence found at the scene that is both distressing and exceedingly useful."

"What is it?" asked Kieran and Soren.

"A video camera, that was on and recording through all of the time Yami was with Alphonse," Bakura said stiffly. "We have to view the tape with Anderson tomorrow."

"What?" Bakura and Grey cringed at the unanimous and boisterous response everyone let out simultaneously.

Putting his hands up in a placating manner Grey continued, "We will be the only ones viewing this tape, along with lawyers later on when we get close to the court date. Otherwise, this is evidence and will be kept strictly confidential. It will be locked up so that no one can copy it and broadcast it over the internet."

"The son of a bitch recorded it?" Mike's voice stunned and angered. "Why?"

"To relive the fantasy," Soren answered sombrely, gaze locked on the ground, even when he could feel everyone's eyes shift to him. "He's been dreaming about doing what he did for months. It's his trophy, so he can relive it over and over again."

With a nod of agreement Bakura shoved his hand into his pocket and took a shaky drink of his coffee, "We will not be able to tell any of you what we see in the video. It is strictly police business. The only way all of you will truly find out what happened is when Yami is ready to tell you. Until then, the rest of it has to be left in the dark." This caused everyone to lower their heads and silence to descend upon the waiting room.

"So, what now?" Kieran questioned, breaking through the silence, his face almost pleading.

Folding his hands and resting his chin on them Mike looked at the young man sitting beside him, "We hope and wait."

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10:04 am – January 22 - Rockyview Hospital

Bakura sat quietly with his hands folded under his chin and elbows on his knees. His gaze drifted around the room, vision hazy from exhaustion. Soren was stretched across several of the chairs nearby, head in Abby's lap as they two of them slept soundly, each with a blanket over them. Bakura could see the soft swell of her belly now; she was no longer trying to hide it after finally telling her parents. One of her hands was resting on it while the other was draped across Soren's shoulders. Even through the stress of the situation both looked comfortable and serene. Drifting over to the two chairs on either side of him both Grey and Mike were out cold, Mike with his black cowboy hat covering his face and Grey in a very cramped position holding his ribs. The bruising on his partners face was finally showing completely, his one eye black and sunken and his cheek was an odd shade of green and purple. Grey's gear, including the removed Kevlar vest was piled up on one of the nearby chairs, Abby's purse resting on top of it as well. Realising that he was still wearing his Bakura stood up as quietly as he could and slowly pried off the Velcro before slipping it off and adding it to the pile.

Dr. Ryant had, a few hours ago, told everyone else to go home and he would personally contact them when Yami woke up and was ready for visitors. So the room had become even more quiet over the past few hours, the only sounds was the soft sleep filled breathing of everyone else. Crossing his arms Bakura glanced between all of them, quietly admitting to himself that he was glad for their companionship even if they were sleeping. It was relieving some of the sensation of aloneness that had been overwhelming him when they had first arrived at the hospital. Looking up at the clock he decided to go grab some more coffee from the cafeteria, he needed to stay awake, there was no way he was going to be able to sleep peacefully until he saw him safe and alive. His nerves had yet to settle, and he could guess that that was the reason why. Spinning on his heels he made to exit the waiting room, a familiar figure was there blocking his path, "Dr. Ryant?"

"I'm glad its only you awake right now," the doctor whispered, an exhausted smile on his face. "Yami woke up a few minutes ago. He's asking for you, he's pretty disoriented." Seeing the elated but still jaded expression sweep across the detective's face Dr. Ryant signalled for him to follow and strode away, the detective stumbling a bit before following.

Heart racing excessively and almost making him feel faint Bakura rushed after the doctor, his feet barely keeping pace with the fast walk the doctor had set. Weaving through the hallways they entered an elevator, hitting the button for the I.C.U. and watched the doors close. Glancing at Bakura he saw the look the button he pushed caused, "He's only up there for a few days, just till everything completely stabilizes from the surgery and his body purges out everything. He was in a pretty advanced stage of shock, some of his organs were beginning to shut down. This is just to keep a closer eye on him, don't worry, he will pull out of this." Numbly Bakura nodded, hands shoving nervously into his pockets. The doors to the elevator opened and the two of them stepped out, walking only a few feet to one of the nearby rooms, Dr. Ryant giving a wave to the nurses at the desk before grasping the door handle. "Be warned, like before he is hooked up to a lot of machines. But he is breathing on his own; his lung recovered better this time from collapsing. He does have an oxygen mask on though. You ready?"

"Yeah," Bakura mumbled, body freezing when the doctor shoved the door open. Inhaling sharply he felt his blood go cold, no amount of mental preparation could every make someone ready for the sight before him, even through the gloom of the room the daylight softly peeked through the closed curtains and reveled everything. Back in the slaughter house Soren had kept Yami pretty well covered by the blanket, the full amount of injuries were not visible to his eyes, plus Alphonse had excessively bandaged him. All the bruises has settled now, his face swollen and an array of black, purple and yellow, his natural skin colour barely visible. He could see the bandage and shaved hair were the drill hole had been done, releasing the swelling, a drainage tube poking out from under the bandage. What was visible of his one arm was dark bruises and scratches, especially at the wrist, it was a thick dark circle of contusions and raw skin. Not realising that he had covered his mouth with his hand until Dr. Ryant's hand rested on his shoulder he glanced at the doctor, "Go in Bakura, I know how shocking it is, but he needs you."

Breathing rapid and body shaking the detective crept into the room, seeing that Yami's eyes were closed he wondered if he had fallen back asleep. Grabbing a chair from nearby he moved it with all the skill he had to keep it quiet and placed it beside the bed. Settling down in it he took a moment to look at Yami's face, even through the softly fogging non-rebreather mask he could see that Yami's lips had scabbed over in spots and were swollen. The fogging of the mask was a relief to him, it was all he needed to be able to tell Yami was alive. Holding back the relieved sob that tried to leave him he reached out to take Yami's one hand that was outside of the blanket, the other was hidden from view under the sheets. His breath hitched when he realised hazy crimson eyes were staring at him, the sound of the door closing made those same eyes flick to the door before drifting back to his face. Feeling the trembling in his hands increase he finished taking Ymai's still cold – but warmer than before – hand into his, his other hand stretching out to gently caress Yami's cheeks. A soft smile crossed his features, tears filling his eyes he simply stared into that deep wine coloured gaze, no words came to him.

Shifting in the bed, wincing as he did so Yami pulled his hand from Bakura's and with strength he did not think he had gripped Bakura's shirt and pulled him forward, glad when the detective took the hint and gently wrapped his arms around him, avoiding all the major injuries. He shuddered when he felt Bakura tenderly kiss him on the brow, his lips lingering as his arm gently snaked under Yami's neck and pulled him closer, freezing when Yami winced again. "Don't let go," Yami whispered hoarsely, not caring how pitiful it sounded.

Feeling his heart sink Bakura moved his one hand and tenderly run it down Yami's side and rested it on his hip, "I won't," he said softly. "I need this too." It was scary admitting to it, but over the past couple weeks he had done a lot of admitting he never thought he would. Sitting back a little he stared down at the young man in his arms, melting at the softness he could see in those eyes. "How are you feeling, be honest."

Considering for a moment Yami peeked down at his body, the shock of it hitting him less and less since he had woken up almost half an hour ago. "Loaded on morphine and antibiotics, and very nauseous. Doctor said it was probably because of the concussion and the procedure they had to do to reduce the swelling. And probably the several more feet of my intestines they had to remove. I just, don't feel well."

"He said you were disoriented?" Seeing Yami nod he quirked his brow in question.

"Just…it's probably shock, but, I feel like it had all been a nightmare, even though I know it wasn't," he murmured, an ashamed look and his gaze dropped. "I'm sorry; I never should have gone back out into the field. I practically gave myself to him, fuck I'm so stupid."

Gripping Yami's chin with the gentleness as if he was holding a butterfly he forced the young man to look at him, briefly catching the stunned look he received. "Do not talk like that. You needed to go back out, as much as I protested Yami I knew you needed it for your sanity. This was a freak fluke, he had no idea that you were there, and the fact that he found you there was sheer dumb and unplanned luck."

"Then how the hell did he know I was in the ambulance?" Yami protested weakly, his fist still holding Bakura shirt tightening. Body going rigid Bakura pursed his lips, seeing this Yami glared at him. "What?"

"Soren um," Bakura stammered, head lowering. "He did not recognize him. Alphonse came over pretending to be an off duty doctor, even flashed his I.D. Soren sent him over to wake you up, one of the patients had dropped and gone into cardiac arrest. He needed your help." Jaw dropping as best it could with the mask Yami stared at Bakura in stunned disbelief, quivering entering his frame. "He's kicking himself for it Yami, he realised too late who it was. Alphonse was able to get access to you out of sheer dumb luck. With the evidence found at the slaughter house, it looks like he never left, he wasn't stalking you either. It was random chance Yami; there is nothing that can be put to blame for this happening so don't you dare try and blame yourself."

"Where's Soren? I need…"

Interjecting Bakura placed his hand on Yami cheek, trying to steady the young man as Yami squirmed to try and sit up. "Sleeping, he's in the waiting room. I've already beaten him over the head with it Yami, he knows it's not his fault, he just needs to see you and apologize to you. That can wait, relax before you hurt yourself." A strangled cry echoed in Yami's throat and Bakura eased him back down, Yami had not moved much but apparently it was enough to cause pain. Trembling continued under his ministrations as he rubbed Yami's hip, trying to relax him, crimson eyes had closed tightly against the agony he had caused himself. "Don't move, you'll just hurt yourself more."

An intense feeling of overwhelmed loss filled him and Yami curled in on himself, clinging to Bakura with his one working hand and he could feel the tears welling in his eyes. Trembling and bearing through the wave of pain he whispered out pitifully, a small amount of childish insecurity running through him, "I want my parent's, I need them here," hot tears began to fall and wet his cheeks, Bakura's large hands wiping them away as he held him.. Detaching his hand he fumbled to his chest searching for his mother's necklace, not finding it he felt the muscles in his body tighten in dismay heart ached. The comfort Bakrua was giving him was amazing, but it was not enough. He needed that wrapped security blanket that he could only get from Tawni and Garrett. So, unable to do anything else he cried, grateful for the strong arms wrapped around him and the soft words the man whispered into his ears, rocking him back to sleep.

The soft leveling out of Yami's breathing and the reduced strained sounds from him signalled to Bakura that he had fallen back asleep. Sighing with relief he pulled away, his one hand brushing aside a damn golden bang so he could stare down at his love with an unobstructed view. Glad to see those features he loved so much smoothed out in slumber, marred only by the tear tracks and bruising, it brought a small comfort to him. It was then he was able to heave a deep breath and reduce the trembling in his own body. He was not entirely surprised by the statement, but he was in the fact that Yami actually felt that lost enough to admit to it out loud. Since Garrett had passed away that was one thing that Yami had never said aloud, never really needed to by the body language he sometimes let slip. He would say that he missed them, and have moment of looking lost and disoriented, but never once saying that he needed them there and being that heartbroken. Hearing it brought a sympathetic pain to his heart, it worried him to see Yami that disoriented and easily distressed. He could tell that Yami's mind was still reeling and sorting out everything that had transpired over the last two days, and apparently by how disoriented he was, he was having a hell of a time dealing with it.

"Damn you Alphonse," he cursed quietly, tightening his hold on Yami. "Damn you, I'll make sure you rot in that fucking prison cell for the rest of your life, if not, I'll kill you myself."

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13:00pm – January 22 – Rockyview Hospital

With a glance between the two of them Soren took hold of the door to the hospital room and entered quietly, Grey and Mike following closely behind. The doctor had led them up a few minutes before, but had gently hinted that Abby in her fragile state should not go into the room yet. He had taken her with him to the cafeteria to distract her for a little while. Stepping into the dark room Soren instantly spotted Bakura slouched over on the bed, eyes closed and head sharing Yami's pillow, the two of them tangled together as well as they could be through Yami's lack of mobility. The sight almost made him turn back around, wanting to let the two of them sleep.

"Keep going Soren," Grey encouraged in a whisper, his hands on the young man's back and pressing forward subtly. "We'll visit quickly then leave, they can sleep afterwards."

Mike pushed past them with the grace of a gentle giant, striding across the room he tapped on his nephew's shoulder, the detective instantly waking he glancing up at him blearily. "Time to share bucko." Giving a smile he stepped back and let Bakura yawn and rub his eyes with his one arm that was not pinned underneath Yami's head. "How's he doing?"

Seeing Grey and Soren come over Bakura shrugged, still incoherent himself he sighed and softly ran his digits through Yami's hair, "A wreak, to put it nicely. He's holding it in pretty well, sort of. But, he's not handling the shock of the situation yet."

"It's not nice to talk about someone when they are in the same room," came Yami's groggy interjection, eyes barely opening and seeing the ashamed look on Bakura's face released a quiet sigh. "At least it was not a lie."

Coming around the side of the bed Soren braced himself on the side of the bed with one hand used the other to adjust the shifted oxygen mask on Yami's face, when finished he checked the gauges on all the monitors. Seeming to be satisfied he sat down on the other side of the bed, one hand barely touching Yami's injured shoulder, Yami immediately acknowledged him. "I'm sorry bud, I know it's not my fault that this happened to you, but it is my fault for sending him your way. I know that…"

"Soren, shut up," came Yami's firm shut down, voice gaining some clarity. "Don't say another word. I don't care what happened; none of it is your fault. You saved my life Soren, I will never hold anything against you, ever. So drop it." Immediately Soren started trembling and tears welled in his eyes, taking a immense breath Yami unhooked his one hand from Bakura's and rested it on Soren's outstretched arm. "If you had not shot him, I'd be dead. If you had not been there and able to give me the rapid medical treatment I needed, I would be dead. Remember that next time you try and think like that. If I am not allowed to, neither are you." He smiled softly through the mask as Soren took his hand with a near vice like grip. "Thank you, by the way, all four of you."

Leaning against the back rail of the hospital bed Mike gave a small smile, "All that matters is that you are alive kiddo, there is no need to thank us."

In a moment of remembrance, and mind briefly reflecting to before he fell asleep, Bakura reached into his jacket and pulled out the necklace he had been holding onto. "I should have let that click earlier," Yami was staring at the necklace, nearly in tears as he did so, breath caught in his lungs. "It was with everything he removed from you in the ambulance you were sleeping in. Let's get this back where it belongs." With gentleness and care Bakura pulled out his numb arm from under Yami's neck in order to support it as he put the necklace on, the Celtic knot resting on the bandages on Yami's chest.

Taking it in his hand Yami visibly fought back the tears and the need for them that he was still overwhelmed with. Closing his eyes he relaxed his breathing while Bakura slinked his arm back where it had been and let the other rest on his hip. He froze in surprise when Bakura leaned forward and kissed his brow before whispering in his ear, quiet enough that no one else in the room heard, "They are here love, not in the physical manner that you need, but they are always near you." A small almost whimper released from him and Yami nodded against Bakura's chest, clinging to him with all the strength he had.

Kneeling down beside Bakura, Grey folded his arms on the mattress and rested his head there, "Breathe Yami, you need to relax before you hurt yourself." He could see Yami nod again even through the small shield Bakura was being around him, and his chest relaxed and slow forced breaths came, along with a wave of clear exhaustion in those ruby orbs. "Are we overwhelming you?" catching another nod Grey slouched and frowned in melancholy. "What do you want us to do bud; we will do whatever you need."

Voice strained and fist still clinging to Bakura, Yami croaked out through the need to cry, "I don't know, I just…"

Bakura stiffened in shock when Yami when limp, out cold in his arms. Blinking he reached out and check for a pulse out of impulse, exhaling the breath he did not know he was holding. "He passed out."

Scowling, but not seeming overtly concerned Soren expounded, seeing that the others in the room did not completely understand, "It's going to be his body's natural reaction I think, aside from sleep, to dealing with everything. It's going to be a long road to normal I think."

"Is he ever going to be normal again?" Mike said, his voice holding an edge to it. "The kid just got tortured for twenty-four hours almost. How normal is he honestly going to be?"

Soren hung his head and shrugged, looking at Yami's now sleeping face, "We will find out as he recovers as to how well he is going to handle what happened to him. Yami's the strongest person I know, he will pull out of it, but there are going to be things that bother him or change about him that we will all have to adjust to. It just that simple, and just that complicated."

Catching the balled fist beside him Grey looked up at Bakura, blazing fury burned bright in russet eyes, swallowing hard he placed a restraining hand on Bakura's arm, "Calm down, we got him, he's never getting out of prison."

"That is currently feeling very much like a slap on the wrist for him right now Grey," Bakura snapped quietly. "I want so bad to tear that man into itty bitty little pieces with my bare hands."

"It's not worth it Bakura, Yami needs you here not behind bars," Mike said pointedly, gaze holding steady as Bakura snapped towards him. "I understand what you are feeling. Just don't act on it."

"Yeah," was the tight jaw and clenched teeth answer they received, Bakura averting his attention back to Yami, hand ghosting over his frame.

Sensing the tension Grey stood up, wrapping an arm around his partner's shoulder he said softly, "I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning from here. Stay here for the night, Dr. Ryant is actually pretty insistent on it. Get some rest, and take care of him until then."

Turning Bakura peered between the three of them, "I'm sorry," he sighed in realisation. "I'm being irrational."

Soren shrugged again, leaning down he gave Yami a brotherly kiss on the forehead then came around to stand beside Grey, "We understand Bakura. Pretty sure we are all feeling the same way, you are just more…vociferous about these things, and more willing to act on them. It's healthy, sort of."

"We will let you be kiddo, you both need some alone time and time to sleep," Mike stated straightening out and yawning. "I will see you tomorrow, you are going to have to shower and get some clean clothes on."

Swallowing hard, keeping back the emotions welling within him Bakura nodded, "Sounds good. Thanks guys, I will see you all tomorrow."

With a wave, and a show of reluctance, the three men exited the room. When the click of the door locking reached his ears Bakura rained a few chaste kisses on Yami's face and hand, relishing in the feel of his skin and the sensation of his beating heart radiating through his veins. Caressing the young man's face he sighed and laid his head back down on the pillow, "I love you," he whispered, glad to be able to finally admit that out loud. "I'm here for you, sleep well."

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06:34am – January 23rd – Rockyview Hospital

Groaning Yami blearily opened his eyes, taking in the white ceiling of the hospital, his chest tightening in reflex again as what he was hoping was him waking from a nightmare was him waking from a memory. The sound of Alphonse singing and of ligaments snapping still rang loudly in his mind, bring a note of panic into him and causing him to stiffen more. His movements must have awoken Bakura, the detective grumbled beside him and sat up, staring half coherently at Yami, "You alright love?"

A strained smile crossed his lips, sarcasm laced in his tone, "Best dream of my life, I love relieving memories."

Alertness surging through him Bakura grew serious, "I wish I could tell you it was just a nightmare."

Taking Bakura's hand in his Yami pulled him back down, glad when those arms where back around him, "I can't get the images out of my head, the sensations. Every time I've fallen asleep that's all I see. I'm losing my mind." Cringing Bakura lifted the oxygen mask, seeing the look of confusion he smiled and leaned down and kissed him gently, pouring all the comfort he could into the single gesture of affection. Yami trembled and relaxed, eyes closing at one point because when Bakura pulled away and the mask was back where it was he realised that they were closed. Looking back up at Bakura he murmured out, "He tore we down, beat me down into little pieces with barely an effort, I could barely fight back. God Bakura he won, I may not be dead but I'm a broken crippled little child."

"Don't let him win Yami," Bakura said forcefully, hand tightening to a fist on Yami's hip. "You let him break you, let what he did shatter your mind, and he won. You can still pull away from this, don't let him destroy you anymore without having to lay a finger on you."

"Then what am I Bakura!" Yami almost yelled, voice strained as he glared intensely up at the man he had fallen for. "He sliced my knees apart so I can never walk again. He destroyed my shoulder so I will never be a paramedic again. He marked my entire back with his symbol. All I can think about so far when my eyes are closed is how easily he over powered me and beat me into submission, casting me on the ground like a broken toy! What the hell am I then Bakura if I am not bloody broken! I used to think that I was strong, that I could take care of myself. He took all that confidence away and then some!" Barely feeling, or caring about, the tears that were flooding down his face Yami tightened his grip on Bakura's shirt, pulling his face close to his. "What the fuck do I have left about myself that is worth anything!"

His resolve fell as Bakura sombrely stared at him before placing his free hand over his beating heart, his touch light as a feather. Throat tightening in reaction Yami shook his head, covering Bakura's hand with his own, chocking back a sob. The detective nuzzled his forehead against Yami's, the sharp pain that had developed in his chest lessening. "You are still you Yami, you can still come out of this as the strong man you were and still are. He only over powered you Yami because he had five men beat the shit out of you and shoot you before he took you on. You still were not healed when he took you, still not back to the strength that you hold. And, you were sleeping, you can overwhelm anyone when they are sleeping. You are still you Yami, don't let him take that away from you."

"But.." Yami began to weakly protest, a single finger ghosting down the side of his face stopped him.

"You can pull out of this on top Yami. You can push yourself and beat the odds and be everything that you were again. Where is the determination in you that I fell in love with!" Bakura, with trembling digits, began to wipe away the tears, even though more immediately joined. "You can rise above this Yami, you just need to make the decision not to let him break you."

Trembling Yami buried himself as best he could against Bakura, weakly murmuring out, "Am I still enough for you?"

Shoulders slouching Bakura held Yami tightly, "Always. Just come back to me, don't let him win."

"I'll try," Yami whispered, eyes closing in sleep again, his senses and mind overcome again.

For a while Bakura sat as he was, just holding Yami as he slept. His own mind was reeling from the outburst, dread filling him. The answers to what happened were going to be revealed to him today, but with how distraught Yami was he was no longer certain if he wanted to know. He could sense the rage within him growing, he did not know if he himself could handle much more before he snapped and stormed through the hospital and put two bullets in Alphonse's head.

Hearing the jostling of the door he glanced over his shoulder, Grey and Soren entered the room both looking like they did not get much sleep. Realising what time it was Bakura stiffened, he did not want to leave yet, not with the state Yami had been in the three times he had been alert so far. Grey seemed to sense this and while walking up pointed to Soren, "The brats going to stay here while we go view the video. We will only be gone as long as you are comfortable Bakura."

Head shaking Bakura sighed deeply, "I'm not sure if I can leave, he was pretty distraught when he woke up an hour ago. He's got it set in his mind right now that Alphonse broke him, took everything away from who he is that is worth a damn. I don't want him to wake up and have me not here."

Sighing Grey gave Bakura's shoulder a squeeze, "I understand Bakura, but we need to view this tape so we can finalize the charges we are going to lay on him, and to find out what the hell happened. You know you need to know what he did, it will help you in terms of dealing with him and helping him cope. Like I said, we will only be gone as long as you are comfortable."

Reluctantly Bakura disentangled himself and stood up, back popping in protest he glanced at Soren, who seemed nervous. "If he wakes, call me." Soren nodded, sitting down in the chair and taking Yami's limp hand into his.

With that assurance, but with extreme reluctance, Bakura strode out of the room with Grey following his partner silently and with his head down out of the hospital.

A/N: Alright, on to the next chappie, hope this one was good even though it was slow.