QoH: ^_^ the title for the last chapter was actually from one of my favorite songs, called "I Want To Spend My Lifetime Loving You," from the movie "Mask Of Zorro." great song ^___^ great movie. neways, on with the story!
Chapter 16: Troubled Reunion
Breaking Serenity's fierce stare, Tea flung her away and tackled her, wrestling her to the ground. In turn, she received a hard jab of the knee to her gut and a fist across the cheek. This made her gasp for breath, and primal satisfaction flickered in hazel eyes as they broke apart to eye each other, "You thought you could do whatever you felt like when Yugi believed in you. And why shouldn't he have? He loves you with all his heart and soul! Don't you care about anything besides yourself?!"
She tossed her a flippant smirk and got to her feet, wiping a little blood from her broken lip, "I don't see why I should. Anyway, you might want to stop now before I tell Yugi that you attacked me like some madwoman."
Serenity growled and stood her ground, glaring at her enemy, "I don't care what you try and make him think of me. As long as he's away from you, that's enough. All I want is for him to be happy."
Tea flicked her short, brown hair over her shoulder in a careless move, "So, you'd break the heart of this 'great guy,' as you've been lecturing me about all this time, so he can be happy? Yeah, right."
"He'll survive you," she gathered her strength and launched herself into the air, only to be caught around the waist in midair by a security officer who seemed to have materialized out of nowhere. Fighting to get free, she saw Tea struggling to escape the grasp of an orderly who'd appeared at the same time.
When Serenity saw that she wasn't going anywhere fast, she calmed down and relaxed against the tall, dark-haired officer, who obligingly set her down. Tea, on the other hand, was still thrashing about like a netted fish, which amused Serenity greatly.
"Let me go! I didn't do anything!" the girl squealed indignantly and attempted to kick him in the shins, "She started it! I was only defending myself!"
The orderly gave her an ironic glance and continued to hold fast, taking the punishment, "Maybe so, but at least she knows when to quit. As opposed to you, wasting energy on a fight you can't win."
Serenity laughed silently to herself, shaking her head in exasperation as she watched Tea process this, weighing her chances. No way. She actually thinks she might be able to get away from this guy who happens to be at least twice her size. Not to mention that lock he's got on her arms. I was caught like a football, but not her. Maybe he's from the psych ward, or something. He seems to be used to restraining people like this, and she's still fighting him. I guess I really shouldn't be surprised, though.
Tea finally settled down, glowering balefully at her captor, then at Serenity, "Fine. Whatever. Can I go now?"
The pony-tailed attendant glanced at brunette a bit warily and looked over to her, brows raised questioningly.
"There's not really any point to it right now." Serenity shrugged and righted her hospital gown as best she could, holding it together, it having somehow gotten torn down the side in the brawl, "I don't suppose I could get my clothes? I'm supposed to be released today, and this thing's getting more uncomfortable by the minute."
The orderly grinned down at her, "Sure, kid. What's your name?"
"Serenity Wheeler, sir. Dr. Tamahome said she'd be bringing my papers around about now, come to think of it."
The officer blinked in surprise, "A surgeon? You don't look as though you've had surgery. Why would she be your doctor?"
She laughed and shook her head, "Well, technically she's not mine. We happen to be friends, and she's the one who's looking after another friend," she bit her lip and shifted from foot to foot as she looked up at the men, "Actually, I'm really anxious to see him. I haven't seen him since we were admitted, and he just woke up today." Yeah, like I'm going to admit I broke the rules to see him in the middle of the night, with her help no less? Not likely.
"Ah," they nodded and smiled knowingly at each other, chuckling while Tea fumed in the background.
"What's so funny, guys?" Dr Tamahome appeared in the doorway with a folder and a bemused expression, a plastic personal effects bag at her feet.
Serenity grinned sheepishly, blushing as she answered, "I was just telling them how antsy I was to get out of here."
She laughed and lightly bopped her on the head with the file she carried, "And see Yugi, I trust? Don't worry, I've got it all right here," the doctor flicked it open and showed her where to sign, which was done in short order and she tucked it into her lab coat and smiled widely as she handed her the bag, ushering her to the bathroom door, "Now that that lot's over with, what do you say we go see a certain remarkable young man? Who's been quite worried over you, I might add, despite all of our reassurances that you were doing just fine."
She giggled and shut it behind her, her blush doubling at the notion that Yugi had been so concerned for her well-being, even though he was most decidedly the worse off. She imagined she'd set some sort of record; she didn't think there'd ever been a faster clothing change in the history of the planet Earth.
When she came out, only Dr. Tamahome remained, who explained at the sight of Serenity's faintly surprised face, "Darien and Shawn had to get back on duty. They said to tell you to 'stay tough,' whatever that means."
"Ah... never mind." Serenity shook her head after a moment's consideration, "It doesn't matter. What happened to Tea?"
She frowned thoughtfully and folded her arms as they started out the door, "That was the weird part, really. I asked how her mother was doing, and she just answered 'fine,' real short. She left looking like a oncoming typhoon, to be honest. How strange, since Yugi's woken up today and all. You'd think she'd be ecstatic."
The girl nodded and muttered to herself on a private scowl, walking up the hall, "Yeah, you'd think."
Dr. Tamahome hugged her shoulder and smiled reassuringly, "Well, don't worry about it. I'm sure whatever's going on will work itself out in the end. Besides, you've got more important things to think about."
Serenity looked up at her, worried still despite the fact that he was conscious now, "I asked my friends how he was doing earlier, but I'd like to hear it from you, Doctor."
"The name's Ayashi, please," she laughed and shook her head, "and he really is doing wonderfully. Better than expected, even, considering his injuries. We didn't think he'd wake up for at least a few more days, but Yugi surprised us all when he opened his eyes during one of our nurses' rounds this morning. He gave poor Yukina, the nurse who was checking on him, quite a shock. She thought she was seeing things. That boy certainly has a resilient spirit."
"Yes, he does," the girl smiled slightly, looking down the hall toward the elevator, "He's not in too much pain is he?"
"Oh, no. We've got him loaded up on anesthesia, so he's kind of groggy, but he feels all right."
Serenity sighed in relief, "That's good to know. Is he out of ICU then?"
"No, despite his spectacular recovery, we do want to keep an eye on him for a while. That's best done where he is now," Ayashi glanced down and grinned at her young friend's troubled expression, "It's only precautionary, you know. Hospital regulations and whatnot. My colleagues and I don't particularly like lawsuits and would sooner avoid them."
"Ah," she nodded in understanding and shrugged a bit, "It's just that this whole thing has me really creeped out. Seeing him like that the other day was...." Serenity's voice trailed off as she rubbed her arms to rid herself of a shiver.
"Frightening," the doctor finished for her broodingly, "I know. The sight you two made coming through that door is not something one easily forgets. The look on your face, alone, could haunt a person's nightmares. How did you manage to get him here all by yourself, anyway?"
She stared her feet, not wanting to look her in the eye, "I don't really want to talk about it."
The surgeon raised a brow in faint surprise, then shook it off as she opened a door, "Oh well, it doesn't matter. We're here."
She peered around Dr. Tamahome's shoulder into the brightly lit room, now slightly nervous for some reason, "Yugi?"
He looked up from the novel he had been reading and smiled widely, setting it down on the table beside him, "Serenity, am I ever glad to see you!" He grinned apologetically at the doctor, "No offense, ma'am."
"None taken." Ayashi winked discreetly to her and backed out the door, "I'll let you two talk for a while."
"How are you doing, Yugi?" Serenity tilted her head, her hands clasped at her waist as she stood by the doorway. He does look better, for all the bruises and everything.
He frowned slightly, wondering at her odd behavior, "I'm all right. I'm more worried about you right now. You seem kind of troubled. Has something happened?"
"Aside from our being attacked by some stupid gang and my being scared me out of my wits over you for the past two days?" she answered wryly and lifted a shoulder in a helpless gesture as she came to sit at his bedside, "What else could there be?"
Yugi sighed and studied his fingers as they rested on the sheet in his lap, "I hate that I upset you so much, but I couldn't just let those vile creatures have their way with you. For one thing, Joey would go ballistic, and I wouldn't blame him. I couldn't ever forgive myself if anything happened to you, Serenity."
Her brows rose in surprise and she shook her head as she took his hand earnestly, "You amaze me, Yugi, you really do. I was so upset because I was beating myself up over the fact that I'd somehow managed to get you dragged into that mess, possibly having given your life!"
He lifted his own turbulent gaze to hers, giving her a faint smile, "To spare you from that, I would have gladly done so."
Yugi! Her throat closed painfully as she doubled over and sobbed. She'd been struggling to maintain her grip on her pride, sanity, whatever it was, but now, with his heartfelt declaration, that hold crumbled like a sandcastle built too close to the shore.
"Serenity…" Yugi whispered in concern and sat forward to gather her in his arms as best he could, hoping to comfort her somehow. Yet, for reasons beyond his knowledge, this act only made her cry harder, huddling against him as though he were shelter from some terrible storm. Not that he gave up, of course. Determined to cheer her, he began to hum a soft little melody that he knew he'd heard somewhere before, but couldn't quite place. To his utter shock, his voice blossomed into a low, soothing tone as he gently rubbed her arm, "I wanna look in your eyes, now, and see you smiling again..." How had he known the words? However, as soon as that thought entered his mind, he dismissed it. What did it matter what their origins were? He was certain they were the right ones. Yugi smiled at her bowed head as her breathing slowed and evened out, knowing that she'd fallen asleep. He edged carefully backward into his pillows, taking her with him. Resting his head back on the inordinately fluffy things, he stared thoughtfully up at the tiled ceiling until he drifted off as well.
A few minutes later, Dr. Ayashi Tamahome inched open the door and stuck her head in. Her notion confirmed, she closed it again and tiptoed away with a smile. When she hadn't heard any sounds coming from her patient's room, she'd suspected that the weariness she'd noticed in Serenity's eyes had finally caught up with her. Technically, she wasn't even under hospital care now, and that was an Intensive Care Unit Yugi was in. This might be against the rules, but how could I disrupt such a peaceful scene? Besides, those two need their rest.
QoH: ^________^ wasn't that KAWAII?
PS: i got new computer, people! *happy dance* with all hope, that means faster updates! XD *crosses fingers, toes, arms, legs, eyes and anything else humanly crossable*