Disclaimer: *look at other chappies*
Italic : means that the person is thinking to him or herself.
A/N: Sorry for the delay! My computer broke down for A LONG TIME! Ahhh...life's a beach.
Chapter Nine: Last Chance
Yami's head felt like it was spinning as he reached the Emergency Room. He figured that it was partly from his lack of breath, and the fact that his mind was cluttered with emotions of hurt, guilt, and remorse. As he placed his hand on the door, his shoulder was jerked back. He turned around to see a young man, wearing a doctor's uniform, give him a fixed stare. He opened his mouth to speak, but the doctor beat him to it.
"I'm sorry, but you are not allowed in the ER." The man had a coarse voice that did not fit his young look.
'Not allowed!? Not allowed!? But this was important! Joey needed him NOW!'
"My best friend is in there, sir," he gave the doctor a pleading look, "I need to see him."
The doctor was unaffected. "Again, you're not......."
The rest of the doctor's words ran deaf to Yami as he felt a sharp pain in his chest. It was the same pain he felt when Yugi collapsed during the fight with Pegasus. He clutched his chest and propped his back against the wall so his legs would not give in under him. The doctor put a hand on his shoulder, but Yami was unaware of it.
"I'm sure your friend-" He stopped.
"Doctor....it's that young boy," said a woman as she appeared in the doorway, "his heart stopped."
"What?" The doctor exclaimed as he disappeared into the ER, along with the nurse.
Yami turned his head painfully toward the ER. 'Joey....'
He closed his eyes tightly so he could remove the sight of the hospital from his mind, but this only led to salty tears of defeat. No. He could not give in. Not on himself, and definitely not on Joey. As he opened his eyes to enter the ER, the doors swung open abruptly. He stood back to let a stretcher and some doctors pass by.
But wait.......
The stretcher had a body covered by a white sheet.
It couldn't be.....
Yami's hands started to shake as he felt an unusual chill come from the stretcher. He swallowed hard and watched it go by slowly. His gaze broke off from the stretcher when he heard the ER doors swing open once more. He turned around to see the doctor from before remove his gloves desolately.
"It's a darn shame," he mumbled to himself as his brown eyes met Yami's violet ones.
He nodded sympathetically and started to walk past Yami.
"Wait....who was that?"
The doctor turned around and stared at Yami. He was about to say something about "patient confidentiality" and other rules that he was supposed to obey in the hospital, but for some reason he wanted to tell Yami about the death of that young boy who fought so hard to live.
"Jiro Umbridge," he paused, "nice young boy too...about your age."
Yami's eyes widened with shock. It wasn't Joey. I mean, he was sorry about the young boy, but this just brought his spirits up a little bit. He looked at the doctor and decided to ask him about Joey.
"Wheeler, you say? Yes, he checked in a couple of hours ago." He said as Yami's lip started to tremble.
"Is he...okay?" Yami asked fearfully.
The doctor put his hands in his pockets. "I believe that he has a minor concussion, but you would have to ask one of the nurses for more information on his condition."
Yami started to breathe a little easier after this statement. But something still bothered him. Why did it feel like his bond with Joey was lost when he reached the ER? It felt like Joey was suffering.....or even dying. Why?
"Well, you better get going...." He looked at Yami who looked like he was in a daze.
"Oh yes," he cleared his throat, "do you have any idea where I can find-"
"Try the Recovery Rooms." He answered quickly.
"Thank you."
With that, the doctor walked off and disappeared around the corner. Yami sighed and looked at the ER doors one more time before he left the area, in search of the Recovery center. As he looked at a plan of the hospital, he found that the Recovery rooms were on the other side. He walked quickly to the nearest elevator and pressed on the floor that he wanted. As the doors closed, he leaned against the wall of the elevator and thought of how Joey would react when he saw him. Would he be relieved or angry?
'Please be the first one....'
As he walked toward the Recovery center, he found Yugi looking through the hospital window that showed Joey sleeping soundly, with Mai by his bedside. Yami peered through the window then looked at Yugi.
~Meanwhile~
"Ohhh...Joey.....why did this have to happen to somebody like you?"
A tear slid down Mai's cheek as she watched a pale Joey lie on a hospital bed with tubes and bandages all over his bruised arms. As she ran her soft finger around his bruises, she could only hope that they did not hurt as bad as they looked. Another tear slid down her cheek, but this one hit Joey's arm. She wiped it away and watched him sleep peacefully on the hospital bed, unknown of his current condition.
"I'm so sorry, Joey." She whimpered. "I just wish that there was something I could do..."
'Go on a date with me....'
His voice rang in her head. She smiled, but frowned again when she realized that she turned him down and called him a "loser." Now she wished she hadn't. She wished that she had given him the time of day and tried, at least, to be his friend. She sighed and remembered the time that he had told her that she needed someone to care for, excluding herself. She would always ignore him on the outside, but she was listening on the inside.
His words really hit her.
'But he never knew that I already had someone to care for....'
She sighed and took hold of his hand that felt unusually cold. She grimaced and put her other hand around it so she could warm it up. As she continued this procedure, she thought she saw his eyelids move. She placed his hand down and whispered his name. He didn't answer. She sighed sadly.
"Joey, please wake up soon." She bent down and kissed his cheek. "I need you."
As she stood up to leave, she couldn't help but take another look at Joey. She wasn't used to seeing him this helpless. He was usually doing this on his own to make his independence known to everyone and he would stand up to anyone to help a friend out. Even if it meant risking his own life. As she walked toward the door, she thought she imagined Joey whispering her name. She shook her head, knowing that the nurses said that he would be out for a couple of more hours. But, then she heard it again. She turned around and....
"Joey..." She whispered.
He was looking straight at her with one of his trademark smirks. She smiled and felt her stomach doing a trapeze act. She was so overwhelmed that she stood there and stared at Joey, until it was time to blink. As he tried to sit up, not taking his eyes off of her, his eyes started to fill with confusion at his surroundings. Where was he?
"Mai....what happened?" He asked groggily.
Mai gasped. "You....don't remember?"
'Duh!? Why do you think he is asking you!?'
"You were in a car accident with a truck," she said as his smile decreased, "after they pulled you out of your car...the doctors were unsure if you were going to live or not.....but you did."
"Yeah, I remember being in-and-out when they were pulling me out of the car."
She became teary-eyed.
"Don't...ouch...cry..." He said as he tried to lift his hand to wipe her tears away.
"Try not to....move that arm, the doctor....said you sprained it." She said, in between sobs.
"Thanks for the warning," he said as he rubbed his arm with his other hand.
She flashed a smile.
"Oh dear, I should tell the others that you are awake...."
Joey coughed. "Wait..."
She looked at him with a hint of confusion in her eyes.
"I wanted to tell you that...." He pulled her closer to him. "You were the first thing I thought of when my car started to flip over. I thought that I would never see your beautiful face again."
She was speechless.
"I thought....I thought that I would never see you again either..." She finally spit out.
"Don't worry, I would have probably come back to haunt you in your dreams." He said comically.
Joey. Even at the worst times, he had to be the funny man.
"I'll go get the others...." She said as she left his bedside.
He watched her go, a little upset that he didn't get to tell her how much he loved her. He should have. He nearly died..and now he would have to wait until the next car accident to tell her how he felt. (A/N: ^_^)
~Meanwhile~
"....so that's when they brought him here...."
Yami listened to Yugi's story carefully. There was no details about if he felt a pain in his chest during his wait at the hospital or if he thought that Joey was on the verge of dying. He decided to ask, just in case Yugi left that out for a reason. As he opened his mouth to speak, Mai's words hampered his.
"Joey's out of coma!"
Yugi smiled and ran inside, while Yami watched from the window at their little reunion. He couldn't bear to go in there now. He just couldn't bring himself to it, even if he did go out of his way to see him. He sighed and dropped into the chair beside him, not noticing the young girl before him.
"Yami? How is Joey?"
Yami quickly looked up to see the girl that came in between Joey and him. The girl that built up enough rage inside Joey to go against his best friend. The girl that he used to love and admire, until she left him one faithful day to care for another. A girl named.....Serenity Wheeler.
(Hm....should I continue? I guess so....since I am on a roll!)
"Yeah, he's just fine." Yami said coldly as she looked through the hospital window.
"Ohhh..that's good....I was so worried when I got a call from Yugi......he told me that Joey was in a car accident. Ohh...I was just so worried, but at least he is alright." She said as she paced around the room.
"Why don't you go in to see him?" Yami asked curiously.
"I want to see him in private," she sighed, "right now he is with his friends..."
"I see." Yami said softly.
'What did I ever see in her?'
"Oh Yami...." She said as she sat down and hugged him. "It is so painful to watch him in there..."
Yami sighed. "It's okay, Serenity....I mean...it could have been worse."
That's when he felt his shirt getting wet. She was crying on him.
"It's okay Serenity," he patted her back, "At least he is in good condition."
She looked up. "Yes. You're right."
"Will you be alright?" He asked softly.
She hugged him tighter, while he continued to pat her back impatiently.
"Thank you, Yami." She mumbled. "I really appreciate it."
"Don't worry. I always be there for you." He said.
'What?'
He shrugged it off guessing it was a spur of the moment thing, but he wished he hadn't.
Why? One Word. Tea.
~To be continued....~
Hehehehehhehehehe! I'm so evil!! Oh well....at least I didn't kill Joey off. ^_^ Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter. It should be a juicy one....especially when Yami confronts Tea after Serenity walks in to see Joey. Woops! Did I say too much? Nah...I leave you guys to think about that.