" What was she like?"

Mokuba was on his knees placing a small offering of geraniums onto the cold ground when he asked Kaiba.

" I've told you everything I know."

Without looking back Mokuba replied, " I know that but I feel like I'll forget."

Kaiba stood at a distance, having taken a slower pace towards the tombstone than the younger boy. He watched over as Mokuba carefully placed the flowers on their mother's first, then their father's gravestone, making sure to not disturb anything.

When we first became orphans you didn't understand what a cemetery was. We came with our social worker who told us this is where our parents were. You ripped your hand out of mine and hugged Mother's tombstone as hard as you could because you thought they had turned into stone.

" Well, what exactly do you want to know?"

" Was she a happy person?"

" The happiest." Kaiba allowed himself a smile.

There were ten days left until Christmas but more importantly, it was her birthday. The Kaiba brothers had been up since around four a.m. when the eldest could no longer pretend to sleep. They were out the door and at the cemetery by seven when a light snowfall began.

" And dad?"

" I don't know." Kaiba paused, thinking harder to a time too far away to be pictured clearly. " He was a quiet man; always working or reading something but I think he made toys."

"Really?" Mokuba stood up, wiping his knees of dirt. He turned to face Kaiba smiling. Despite the brisk weather he only wore a sweater and scarf against the cold, shoveling his hands into his jean pockets.

" Or something of the like. There were always smaller tools in his hands. Do you remember the toy plane I had at the orphanage?"

" The one Toby broke?"

"Yes, dad made it. I think it was a birthday present." Kaiba's left hand curled in his pocket, the phantom feeling of the a tiny airplane all too real.

"I wish I could have known them better."

Mokuba walked over to Kaiba and stood next to him. He wanted nothing more than to bury himself in his brother's arm but he knew he was too old now; too old to go running to Seto Kaiba for affection. He had to settle for leaning a little to the side so that his shoulders just barely touched the other's arm. Not that Kaiba would mind. Gone were the days where there was a reassuring pressure clutching at his legs and arms and he missed those just as he missed his parents.

" I think it's DIDs."

" Yeah? Wass dat?"

" It's Disassociation Identity Disorder but you said there's only one alter ego?"

" Martin." Joey swallows back the bile the name brings up.

" Well, with the diagnosis of DIDs, there needs to be at least two identities that take over the individual, depending on the situation…dad only has Martin? Are you a hundred percent certain about that?" Serenity leans over her crowded kitchen table. Over the weeks she had amassed a notable library of books, all dog-eared and highlighted to various pages concerning her father's symptoms.

" Well, doesn't Dad's own personality count? I mean, when he's not Martin he's pretty much in control."

" No, not really. Dad is technically the actual personality…at least I hope so."

" You hope? What's dat s'pose to mean?"

"I don't know Joey! From what you've told me dad falls under every category except having more than one personality."

"Well, I ain't seen anyone but Martin."

"Wait."

Serenity wades through the sea of books, flipping through pages and binders searching. Joey watches her silently.

Serenity called him the night before, a very small voice over the din of his house phone asking him to come over. He in no way could decline so after calling out of work, left early that morning. It'd had been the first time he had ever stepped into the Kane house and suffice to say, he wasn't impressed.

It was too large and empty for him to imagine anyone living there, let alone someone as vibrate as his sister. Everything in the house, from the fridge to the chair he was sitting on, felt unused.

"Found it." Serenity flips through a smaller book, skimming the pages until she finds a page previously bookmarked. " Dissociative fugue: physical desertion of familiar surroundings and experience of impaired recall of the past. This may lead to confusion about actual identity and the assumption of a new identity."

"And dat means what exactly?"

"Does Dad or even Martin disappear for long periods of time?"

"Uhhh, maybe?"

"Work with me Joey. "

"Um, I mean der were weeks where I'd see no sign of them. I always thought it was 'cuz dad was out drinkin' or Martin was…well I'd like ta not think about what he's up to."

"Hmmm." Serenity bit her lip, weighing what she would say next. From the night at the Kaibas when Joey finally told her everything or as close to everything as he was willing to share with her, she knew what had to be done.

" Joey, please listen before you say anything, okay?"

He gives her a skeptical look but doesn't say anything.

" I found a treatment center that specializes in psychiatric disorders like DIDs and schizophrenia. I looked up some of the doctors there and they're a couple of them actually working on an experimental regiment for personality disorders that dad would be perfect for. Nothing crazy but it combines mild medications with psychotherapy, and a rehabilitation program. I've even made a few phone calls and found a way to pay for it."

" Dat don't sound so bad."

Serenity nods, smiling a little to hear the hope in Joey's voice.

" It's in New York."

" Oh." Joey frowned. " Dat's kind of far…" He looked away from his sister, focusing instead on the empty kitchen counter and how perfectly spotless it was.

" Joey?"

" I mean, I guess we could y'know…make da commute. Stay somewhere over der while he gets checked out an…"

" We'd have to admit him as an in-patient."

" You mean we'd be leavin' 'im there?" Joey brought his attention back towards his sister.

" Yeah, well we could visit on weekends and he's allowed phone privileges and part of the rehabilitation is bonding exercises with fam… "

Joey's fist slamming down on the table cut Serenity off. An apology flashed across his face before he took back his hand, hiding it underneath the table.

" I'm sorry Rini, but I ain't leavin' him there ta rot."

" I don't like it either but it's better than letting him beat you to death, don't you think?"

Joey doesn't have a response. There's a deep, dark feeling in his chest berating him for having told his sister anything in the first place.

" Rini, he's our dad."

" And you're his son but that doesn't stop Martin now does it?"

" But that's not dad! That's Martin, Martin's the fuckin' bastard doin' da damage! I can't put dad away for da shit he has no clue about. He's got a job an' he's been keepin' sober and maybe, ya know, things are gonna get better. I can stay at Tristen's or Yuug's or hell even Kaiba's to avoid Martin till…"

"Until what Joey? This all blows over? You cannot seriously sit there and tell me that something as severe personality disorder can just go away? "

" It's not like that Serenity, just hear me out. I don't want to abandon… "

" We are NOT abandoning him. We are getting him the help he needs."

" What if he ends up like dat guy from Cuckoo's Nest?"

" That's a movie Joseph Adam Wheeler! They'll do more than either one of us are doing right now!"

At this point Serenity's voice had reached a soft shrill.

" What if dad never comes back? What then? Are you supposed to just take it? Run away from him? Then we have violent man out there doing God knows what to innocent people who looks just like our father and juries HATE the insanity plead. For once in your life Joey do something with your own best interest in mind because right now, I am the ONLY one who knows and this has been going on for a little over a year? HOW ARE WE SUPPOSE TO BE OKAY WITH THAT?

" But it ain't that bad , when he's dad he's…"

" That's it isn't it Joey? He isn't dad sometimes and it's in those moments where ANYTHING could happen to you and I can't just sit here and PRETEND that you're not being hurt…"

Serenity's voice catches and she stops. Her breathing's heavy and she can feel the heat washing over her skin. She looks at her brother whose wide-eyed expression does nothing to quell the sudden rage overtaking her body. She leans back into her chair, letting her hands fall on her lap. A tear falling onto her left hand lets her know that she is crying.

Hours. Days. Weeks. She has spent researching and digging and calling and asking random strangers over the phone and the internet about her father's condition, all so that she could find a solution and here was her brother whom she was working so diligently for, not understanding. She began to sob weakly.

She heard a scraping noise and felt rather than saw her brother make his way over to her, kneeling beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist and holding her hand with the other.

"Rini?"

She refused to look at him.

"Rini, just…just let me think about it….please…I can't just…you never lived wit dad. You don't know 'im like I do an'…"

"God Joey you sound like you have Stockholm's for fuck's sake."

"An' you sound like ya been readin' too much."

"Christmas." Serenity finally let her eyes meet Joey's, looking down at him with red eyes. " You have until the day after Christmas to decide. If you don't…" Serenity swallowed the lump in her throat, not at all savoring the taste of sodium. "If you don't, I'll tell mom."

"What the fuck?"

"You're not giving me much of a choice Joey!"

"You ain't givin' me much of one either! Da fuck is mom gonna do? She doesn't even LIKE dad."

"But she's an outside party, unsympathetic to yours or dad's or even my feelings and can probably make the most rational decision."

"Rini, you can't be fucking serious!"

"I am Joey! I really am! I love you and if I have to choose between a father I never knew and the brother who has sacrificed for me, I'm choosing you, whether you're okay with it or not. "

He was half-awake when his phone started ringing. Vibrating actually as he had promised Mokuba before walking out the door this morning that he wouldn't take any calls for the day. Habit made him pull it out of his pocket and check to see whom it was.

"Wheeler?" He frowned, noting the time to be 2:45 am. Mokuba stirred from his spot on the couch next to him, having fallen asleep two hours into their B-Movie Monster Marathon. When he didn't wake up, Kaiba answered his phone.

"To what do I owe the displeasure?"

"Kaiba?"

"Last I checked, yes."

There's a small laugh then, "I uh, I wanted ta say hi so...Hi. What's up?"

"My stock is up by fifty percent as well as Duel Disk sales in the UK."

"Gee thanks Kaiba for bein' so literal."

"You're welcome. I like to keep things simple when speaking with you."

"Hey! Don't think I don't get that."

"Of course you do."

There's another laugh, quieter then the last followed by a sigh. Kaiba's eyes wandered over to the sleeping form of his brother who was currently nestling his face into a five hundred dollar throw pillow. The flat screen in front of them was still on, playing a scene of some black and white featuring a poorly disguised fish man. He'd forgotten the title altogether and was fine with just staring blankly at the screen.

"Hey Kaiba, you ever….I mean..."

" Wheeler, it is three in the morning." Kaiba stated matter-of-factly, " We have school in exactly five hours. If you have something to say, say it. If not, go to bed."

Kaiba was answered by a ruffling noise and footsteps of Joey moving around his apartment. He'd just taken off his jacket and shoes and was now sitting alone in the dark on his kitchen counter.

"Wheeler?"

"I…uh…I jus wanna talk." Joey ran a hand across his face, " I know it's late but…I can't sleep an' I wanna talk an' I figured…"

"You'd figure I of all people would be awake and willing to entertain your late night ramblings?"

"You picked up da phone didn't ya?"

"I suppose I did. I don't know why but I'll assume it's too late to go back and let it go to voicemail."

"It's a friend thing Kaiba. I'm your friend, callin' ya an' you answerin', no matter da time."

"So you and Moto lose sleep all the time over small talk?"

" We used to…" Joey's jaw clenches. "Come ta think about it, you're da only one still willin' to listen."

"I'm sorry, what was that Wheeler? I wasn't listening."

"Asshole."

"Care to sniff?"

"Gah, you're fuckin' disgustin' man."

"I'm friends with you remember?"

There's a genuine laugh this time. It's soft but real enough that tension in Kaiba's shoulders relaxes, alerting him that he was tense to begin with. He didn't understand what was happening but he knew something was up with Joey. This isn't just another bout of Wheeler being an idiot.

"Kaiba, what's it's like?"

"What's what like?"

" Havin' everythin'?" Joey fiddled with the phone cord in his hand, letting his fingers slip in and out of the curls. " I mean, you're rich, you're one of da smartest guys in da world, an' make like da best games out der. Sure, you're a jerk an' a control freak wit a horrible sense of fashion but somethin's gotta give right?"

"I'm sorry, was that a compliment? I couldn't really tell over the insults."

" Sorry." Joey leaned his head back against the wall. "But, what's it like? Everythin' just...there. Fixable. Manageable…Okay."

Kaiba chose not to response immediately. He's entire existence broken down into an unattainable ideal. He looked over at his brother again, snoring now with his mouth slightly open to let out the sounds with strands of hair trailing inside. If you only knew Wheeler, the things I had to do to get here.

"Very little sleep. Many a thing can be accomplished when everyone else is too busy sleeping."

"Dat simple?"

"Yes and no. You realize however, that everything I've ever accomplished hasn't necessarily happened overnight?"

" Sometimes….but it's like you got everythin' covered. At all times. Like you're ready for anythin' an'…I don't know…dat's pretty impressive."

"Thank you."

"Wow."

"What?"

"I wasn't expectin' dat."

"There's a lot you don't Wheeler."

"You got dat right." Joey closed his eyes and could heard his sister's screaming inside his head. "I'm just…" he stops himself short, not wanting to throw a pity party where Kaiba was invited. He sat up, swinging his legs off the counter and jumping off. He walked off but realized the cord only went so far. "Kaiba?"

"Yes Wheeler?"

Joey only nodded, not that Kaiba could see. He walked back to the counter, then away, then back again before he said anything.

"Can…can you help me wit somethin'?"

"As long as it doesn't involve a dead body…" Kaiba warned sarcastically. He had felt Joey's unwavering hesitation from the start of their conversation and now it was almost unbearable. What is wrong Wheeler, out with it!

"Ya know how…"

"Joey, dat you?"

It's a gruff, sleep-laden voice in the background that not only cuts Joey off but sends him jumping into the air with a yelp.

"Dad?!"

Joel Wheeler flicked a light switch to find his son in the kitchen with deer-in-the-headlight-eyes clutching at the house phone.

"Joey, it's damn near mornin', get off da phone an' into bed young man. Ya need ya rest."

"Yeah, dad….I'll be der in a minute."

"Good. I gotta take a leak then I'm out myself." With that, Joel shut the light off and shuffled into the bathroom, closing the door behind him blindly. Joey let out a sigh of relief. He almost hung up before he remembered that he was actually in the middle of a conversation with Kaiba.

"Kaiba?"

"Still here, unlike some people."

"Sorry man...what, what was I sayin'?"

Kaiba held back the exasperated sigh. "You needed help with something."

"Oh, yeah, yeah…" Joey looked at the bathroom door, expecting Martin to bust through any minute. When nothing happened and Kaiba cleared his throat, he brought his attention back to the boy on the phone. " Can you help me wit my math homework? It's due on Friday but I ain't even looked at it 'cuz it's on fractions."

"You're kidding me right?"

"No? I…uh…I really need help, you know I'm no good."

Kaiba let out a long frustrated sigh. He was almost certain Joey was finally going to reveal some dark truth, maybe even one that would explain all the bruises Kaiba begrudgingly ignored; not something as blasé as homework. Your doing it again Wheeler, you're lying, covering up and you're horrible at it.

"Yes, all right. "

"Thanks man."

"Yes, yes. Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going to bed. I will see you in class Wheeler."

"No, wait….thank you….really."

"Wheeler, I signed up to tutor you of course…"

"No, for pickin' up the phone…for listenin' ta me even though…thanks." Joey's voice was small, fragile, and scared. Kaiba wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face for not telling him what was really going on but chose only to answer politely enough.

" You're welcome, just don't make it a habit. I enjoy sleep when I can get it."

"I know, sorry...I'll see ya in class?"

"It's quite the possibility."

"Good."

"Wheeler?"

"I'm sorry I kept ya up for nothin', I know I can be annoyin'…"

"Joey?"

"Yeah Kaiba?"

"Go to bed. I'll see you in class."

"Yeah, okay…G'night."

There's a click and the phone flickers back to its main screen. Kaiba brings the phone down from his ear and stares at it for a while before tucking it back into his pocket.

AN: I cannot apologize enough for having been on hiatus for so long but I do hope this chapter and the following three I am currently working on, will appease you all. Especially those of you who have been here since the beginning.

AN2: A lot of the information on DIDs and fugue I found on wiki and the rest was just imagination so forgive me.