Disclaimer: I don't own Yugi or any of the characters.

/Yugi to Yami/

[Yami to Yugi]

'Thoughts'

Last Chapter

"Yugi?" Yami asked, "Come on Yugi, I know you can do it." He whispered. Yugi started to stir slightly and Yami rushed to find a doctor. They both came running in the room as Yugi slowly opened his amethyst eyes. He looked around the room with a confused look in his eyes. 'Where am I?' Yugi thought. Yami quickly ran to Yugi's side and gently grabbed Yugi's hand. He was very surprised when Yugi flinched away from his touch.

"Aibou?" Yami said quietly.

Chapter 2

"Yami?" Yugi whispered, "what are you doing here?" He continued to look at Yami with confused eyes. 'I thought he hated me why would he come and see me?' Yugi thought unknowingly into the mind link.

Yami could tell that Yugi was upset and hurt by what he heard Yugi say through the link. He was about to say something but the doctor motioned for Yami to meet him in the hall. Yami got off the bed and followed the doctor.

When the door was shut, the doctor turned to Yami. "Yami could you wait out here?," He asked, "I am going to do a quick exam on him then I will come and get you." Yami nodded and went back to the waiting room to see if their friends were still there. Yami walked up to them and quietly waited for them to notice him. They all turned and saw how sad Yami was.

"Yami, what's wrong?" Joey asked worriedly.

"Yugi woke up," Yami explained, "I can tell that I really hurt him, he thinks that I hate him."

"Did he tell you that?" Joey asked.

"No," Yami shook his head, "he unknowingly said it through our link."

"Yami what happened that made you say those things in the first place." Joey asked. "I mean you never talked about Yugi that way before."

"I just felt so helpless, I wasn't there to help Yugi. I let him down" Yami tried to explain. "I guess I was a little mad at him for not wanting to learn to defend himself."

"Yugi doesn't like violence." Joey stated, "even if it means defending himself. Since he was bullied for most of his life, he knows how it feels and he doesn't want to put someone else through that same pain."

"Not even if it's the person hurting him?" Yami asked.

"Nope, he doesn't even want to hurt the person hurting him." Joey answered, "Sometimes Yugi is too nice for his own good, that's why he needs friends like us. He needs us to do what he himself cannot, and that's protect and defend him from harm."

"Yami, you haven't known Yugi as long as we have" Joey continued, "he's very sensitive and gets upset easily. The Yugi you know now is nothing like when I met him. You see, he hates to bother people with his problem but would drop everything and do anything for his friends. He never wants to be a burden to anyone."

"That's why I upset him so bad." Yami said and Joey nodded. "That's why he was so hurt. I have to go and apologize."

Just then the doctor came out of Yugi's room, and he walked up to the group. "Well, he is slowly improving, but I still want to run more tests." The doctor explained, "he keeps asking for his puzzle, do you know what he's talking about?"

"Yeah, I know what he's asking for," Yami replied, "can I give it to him now?"

"Yes, but he was getting agitated so I had to give him something to calm him down, he is sleeping now."

"Why was he getting agitated?" Yami asked, "he seemed fine when I left."

"He brought his leg up to his chest and wrapped his arms around it, then he started to rock back and forth whispering 'I'm just a burden' over and over." The doctor explained, "I had to give him something because he wouldn't let me do my exam and he was getting really worked up."

'Oh, Yugi.' Yami thought, 'I'm so sorry.'

He turned to the doctor and said, "I'll be quiet." He walked back to his hikari's room, and he saw Yugi calmly sleeping in his bed. He went to the bed and sat on the edge. Yami reached out for Yugi's hand, he placed the puzzle in his small fingers and then closed them around the puzzle. Yugi stirred slightly but didn't awaken.

Yami sighed. 'You are never a burden to me Yugi,' He thought, 'I wish you wouldn't keep things from me, especially when your hurting emotionally.' He felt Yugi stir again saw he was waking up.

Yugi slowly opened his eyes. He felt something in his hand and looked down. He felt someone in the room with him and he looked up. /Why is Yami here?/ He thought, /I thought he would be happy that he doesn't have to put up with me anymore./ A tear silently rolled down Yugi's face, his emotions were so strong and painful that Yami could hear all his thoughts.

"Yami?" Yugi said softly, "what are you doing here?"

"Yugi, I came to apologize to you." Yami explained, "I didn't mean any of it. I..."

"Then why did you say it?" Yugi interrupted him. "Why would you say it if it wasn't true, you do think I'm a burden." Yugi's voice was raising with each word. The heart monitor started beeping erratically. Yami could tell that Yugi was getting really upset. Yugi was struggling to sit up. "You think I'm a burden, you can't stand me, you..." Yugi's voice kept rising, suddenly his eyes rolled back into his head and he just slumped forward. Yami caught him and gently lay him back down.

Yugi's doctor came running into the room when he heard the heart monitor beeping loudly. He quickly ran over to Yugi and started checking his vital signs, but as soon as he touched him, Yugi started thrashing around and whimpering. He turned to Yami and asked, "What happened?"

"I was trying to apologize to him and he started getting really upset, then his eyes just rolled back and he passed out." Yami tried to explain.

The doctor was trying to hold down Yugi to calm him down, but he couldn't. "Yami can you please help me for a second? Just try and hold him down while I get a sedative." He asked.

Yami nodded and gently grabbed Yugi's wrists. Yugi started struggling harder. The doctor was preparing a shot to give to Yugi, when he finished he took Yugi's arm and administered the shot. Yami continued to hold Yugi until the sedative kicked in, eventually Yugi calmed and settled into a comfortable sleep.

The doctor then glared at Yami, "In case you forgot he's still in the ICU," He said angrily, "if you continue to upset him, I won't let you visit him anymore. He may be stable now but that doesn't mean he's out of the woods yet."

"What do you mean?" Yami asked confused.

"Nothing I can say for sure right now, at least not until the results of the tests comes back and there are a few more tests I want to do." He replied.

"There's something that your not telling me?" Yami stated.

The doctor sighed, "Yugi's heart has weakened," The doctor said sadly, "When he first stopped breathing, he stopped long enough to affect the blood flow to his heart. Then we kept having to revive him, and it was just too much for his heart. He can't handle too much stress, his heart can't take it right now."

Yami felt horrible. 'It's my fault this happened to him,' he thought, 'if I didn't say those awful things about him he would be fine right now.' "Now if you'll wait outside, I'll check his vital signs and draw some blood for a few more tests." The doctor said. Yami nodded and left the room again. Yami returned once again to the waiting room. It was late at night so his friends went home for the night. Yami slumped down into the uncomfortable seats and waited for the doctor to return.

About thirty minutes later the doctor reappeared. "You can see him again, but if you upset him again I will not allow you visitation." The doctor stated. Yami nodded his head in reply and headed to Yugi's room. When he opened the door, he noticed that there were more wires and machines connected to his light. Yugi's breathing was labored and he looked really pale. Yami walked over to the bed and once again sat down in the chair.

He sadly looked at Yugi's small form. [Yugi, please be all right. I didn't mean any of the things I said to you, and I don't even know why I said them. I was mad at myself not you.]Yami tried the link to see if Yugi would respond.

/Why do you bother with me?/ came the soft reply. /I'm just a burden, always in the way, just a burden/

[You are not a burden Aibou, you never have been a burden.]Yami tried to convince his light [and you never will be a burden.]

/just a burden, no one cares/ Yugi whispered over and over almost in a trance like state.

Yami reached out to hold Yugi, at first Yugi's body tensed up but then he slowly relaxed. He held him in a comforting embrace, whispering soothing words into Yugi's ears. He rocked the small boy until Yugi's chanting had stopped and he fell back asleep. Yami gently lay Yugi back down on his bed and just continued to hold the small boy's hand.

A few hours later the doctor opened the door. "I have the results of Yugi's tests." He replied.

TBC