Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or TBAA. So sorry to disappoint you.
Author's Notes: Hello everyone! Thank you all for reading and reviewing! You make my day! Yes, the angels will be in this story, but not until later. We must have lots of angst, torture, and general mayhem first. Hee…Hee….A special thank you goes to my beta-reader, Hyatt Insomnia!
Warnings: Mild violence and language, so far.
To Steal, Kill, and DestroyChapter Eight: A New Arrival
When Joey Wheeler opened his eyes again, he found himself in his own bed at home. Someone had removed his jacket and shoes, and a strange man was leaning over him.
"GAH! Get away from me!"
"I see the puppy's awake."
Joey shot up. "Hey! What's he doin' here!?"
"Relax, honey," his mother comforted him, "He's only trying to help."
"Help do what? Blow up the house? Ya better check for explosives after Moneybags leaves!"
"Now, Joseph…He helped me get you home and into bed…he even got Dr. Porter here to come out and take a look at you," Carla gestured to the man that Joey found hovering over him when he woke up.
"I toldja, I don't need no doctor!"
"Looks like the Chihuahua is back to his old yappy self."
The blonde growled at Kaiba in response. Dr. Porter turned to Joey's mother. "It looks like he has a slight concussion. Just have him get plenty of bed rest today, and he should be fine. If you'd like, I can come back then and do a follow-up."
"NO!"
Carla smiled. "Thank you, doctor, but I don't think that will be necessary."
"Very well, then. Here's my card, in case you change your mind."
"Thank you, doctor. And thank you for coming out on such short notice."
After Dr.Porter exited, Joey turned to his mother. "Ma…I know ya were worried an' all…but I toldja before, I don't need no doctor! Ya shouldn't o' called 'im out."
"Actually, I didn't, sweetheart…your friend Kaiba did."
"Great. He probably poisoned me."
"If I wanted to poison you, pup, you wouldn't be able to bark right now."
"Honey, do you remember what happened?"
Joey scratched the back of his head. "I remember I was in Moneybag's office….I jus' woke up..an' then…ya started bawlin' an' ran out…," the young duelist cast his eyes downward remembering how upset his mother had been, then shrugged, "An' that's about it."
"You don't remember anything after that?" Kaiba asked.
"Nope. Guess I musta passed out again, huh?"
"Yes. You did," the billionaire replied, and then turned to Mrs. Wheeler, "I should get back to Kaiba Corp. now."
"All right, then. I'll see you out. You stay in bed, Joseph."
"Mooommm….," the blonde whined.
Mrs. Wheeler walked Kaiba down. "I'd….like to thank you for all your help. And thank for not telling Joey….about the incident in the street…"
"I didn't feel it was necessary."
"I do have one question for you, though…why did you hire that awful 'Louis' person?"
"It's complicated," was the only reply the CEO gave her. He quickly walked to his limo with his white trench coat billowing out behind him. Carla sighed and went back into the house.
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She found Joey in the kitchen getting himself a glass of water. "I thought I told you to stay in bed, young man!"
"Aw, mom," he groaned, "It's too borin' ta stay in bed! 'Sides, I was thirsty."
"Are you hungry? I could fix you something."
He shrugged. "Yeah, a little."
"Why don't you sit down, and I'll fix you a sandwich." She felt a bit relieved. Joey being hungry was a good sign.
"Okay. Thanks, mom."
She made a ham and cheese sandwich for him and set it down before him. "Joey…I'm sorry I…haven't always been the mother that I should have been…"
"Aw, ya don't haveta apologize ta me, Mom," he replied, biting into his sandwich, "I'm the one who's sorry…fer makin' ya cry. C'n I ask ya a question?"
"Of course, sweetheart. What is it?"
"Am I…am I…the reason that ya left?"
Her eyes widened. "No, sweetheart, of course not! Where on earth would you get an idea like that?"
"Well…"
"Don't tell me, let me guess. Your father."
"Well…I was kinda a wild kid…"
"I should have taken you with me, Joey. But your father insisted on keeping at least one of you…you were so much tougher and stronger than Serenity…so I left you with him. I should have fought harder for you; I know that now…but I was so tired…I just couldn't fight your father anymore…"
"Hey, it's okay. I know dad ain't exactly the easiest person in the world ta fight with!"
"He wasn't always like that, Joey. He was once a kind, loving, and caring man. He had a heart of gold…and he was always so gentle."
Joey looked at her as if she'd grown antennas on her head. "Uh…we talkin' 'bout the same guy here, Mom?" He could use plenty of words to describe his father…none of which were the ones she had just said.
"I told you, he wasn't always like that…as a matter of fact, you remind me of him…the way the used to be."
"That's a scary thought." Joey always promised himself he'd never be like his father.
"Life can beat people down sometimes, Joey…that's what happened to your father. He once had a good job…but someone betrayed him in his workplace. One of his co-workers framed him for stealing company funds."
"Maybe he wasn't framed."
"No, Joey, he didn't do it. He wasn't like that back then. But he fired…and to make matters worse, they leaked it out to other companies that he was a thief and not to be trusted..so, in a sense, they blacklisted him. He had a very hard time finding another job…and it was such a blow to his pride that he couldn't support his family. He started to lose hope…and then the drinking started….well, it was all downhill from there."
"I sure wish he wouldn't of lost hope like that." Joey stated quietly.
"Me, too, Joey, me too," she sighed, "Well, we can't do anything about the past…so let's just try to do our best for each other now. Deal?"
"You got it!"
She smiled at him and wrapped her arms around him. "It's so good to have you home, son," she whispered.
He returned the hug. "It's good being home, mom."
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"We oughta get somethin' like a German Sheppard….ya know, somethin' that c'n protect ya if I'm not around."
"Yeah, but who's gonna protect us from it?"
"Well, that's da thing, sis," Joey explained, "Ya train it ta sic anybody that ya want. But it's supposed ta obey you."
"We are not getting anything of the sort, Joseph," his mother corrected him.
"Awwww…."
"I agree with Mom. I don't want to come home to some dog that's bigger than I am!"
"Okay, fine. But don't come cryin' ta me when yer in a jam, an' yer poodle ain't helping ya out!"
Mrs. Wheeler pulled in the car into the Animal Shelter's parking lot. "Remember, Joseph this is a family decision…we all have to agree on what kind of pet we want, or we won't get anything at all."
"How 'bout a pit bull? I hear they c'n be pretty ferocious."
"Yuck," commented Serenity.
Carla rolled her eyes as she stepped out of the car. "We may end up doing the latter."
They all went into the shelter, and were greeted warmly by the receptionist. She took them to the back, where all the animals were kept. Joey and Serenity began to look around.
"Oh, look at this cute little dog, Joey!" Serenity called to her brother in delight.
"It's very rare that we get one of those in here," the shelter worker explained, "That's a Chihuahua."
"A what!??" The blonde spun around in disbelief.
Mrs. Wheeler knelt down and smiled at the tiny dog. "Aww..I think it's kind of cute myself…what do you think, Joseph?"
Joey had a vision of himself walking down the street with the little dog…and running right into Kaiba. "Well, what do we have here? Two Chihuahuas out for a walk. Is that your new girlfriend?"
"NO!! No way are we gettin' that thing!! Over my dead body!! If ya get that thing, then I'm gonna move out! I'll live in the streets if I haveta!!"
"All right, all right, Joseph! We get the point! You don't have to be so dramatic about it."
They walked on past the small dog's cage. As Joey passed by, he growled at it. The poor thing whimpered and backed away from the obviously insane human.
"What about this? This is kinda cool," Joey pointed to an iguana sitting in a cage.
"Ugh! I don't want that thing in the house!" Serenity made a face.
"Why not? Ya said ya didn't want somethin' that's bigger than ya."
"No, Joseph. If you two get that, then I'll move out."
"Aw, mom…"
Things went like that for a little while longer, with none of the Wheelers agreeing on any of the animals. It started to look like they were indeed not going to get anything.
Finally, Serenity came across a little orange and white cat. The cat had white paws, and little flecks of white mixed in with his golden orange fur on his face. It also had a white tip just at the end of its tail. Serenity knelt down to check it out, and the kitty immediately pressed its nose up against the wire cage and reached for her with its paw. "Oh! This one's really cute…could I hold it for a minute?"
"I don't see why not." The shelter worker opened the cage door and Serenity reached in for the little kitty. "C'mon..I won't hurt you." She picked up the cat and began to pet it. The cat responded by closing its eyes and purring contentedly.
"Aww….It sure is cute…it seems to have taken a liking to you, Serenity."
Serenity smiled at her mother. "I know. I like it, too." She checked underneath. "It's a boy, so we don't have to worry about it having a lot of kittens, either! What do you say, mom?"
"Joseph?"
Joey looked at the small cat in his sister's arms. "Eh, he's okay…but what's that thing gonna do if someone comes tries ta break in the house? Meow 'em ta death?"
Serenity rolled her eyes. "Stop being so paranoid. And I thought we decided that we weren't getting a pet for protection."
The blonde crossed his arms. "You guys decided that. I didn't."
"So how would an iguana protect us?"
"It wouldn't. It just looks cool."
"Yuck. You need glasses."
Carla sighed. "All right, you two…let's get back to the task at hand…we have to decide if we are taking this cat or not. I have no objections, so it's up to you, Joseph."
His sister looked at him with her best puppy-dog eyes. "Please, Joey?"
"I dunno…"
"C'mon…look how cute he is!" She set the cat on the floor. He immediately ran up to Joey and started rubbing against his legs. "And look! He likes you!"
Joey chuckled and picked the little kitty up. He absent-mindedly began to scratch its furry head. "So, tell me, Tiger…whatcha gonna do when the bad guys are threatenin' my sis ova there? Ya gonna claw 'em ta death?"
"Oh! That's a great name for him!"
"Huh?"
"Tiger! I like that name."
"Well, Joseph, it's up to you…I won't take him if you don't want him."
Joey looked down at the little cat now purring contentedly in his arms. "Eh…. He's okay, I guess."
"Then it's settled. He's now the newest member of the Wheeler family."
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I just love kitties!! I can't have one right now, so I wrote it into my story!! Hee…Hee…
Next up: More visits from Monique…