Sorry this took so long, but I've got a lot of typing to do. Because I didn't update 'Memories' at all last week, I have to do that this week. So this along with my others probably won't got updated until next week, or whenever I can get that chapter up. Also, in a review, a question was asked that if Ryou and Malik will come in soon, they will, but not as adoptable kids, just as Yugi's classmates. And the name I picked out fot the doctor is acutally a professer in the Science department at the college I work in. So, here you go ...
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The next day, Atem arrived at the hospital at five o' clock in the morning. He had been so excited to see Yugi again. When he arrived at the Nursery, he had to give his name to the annoying nurse because she was one of the night – time people who didn't know about Atem. Once that was done, he walked over to Yugi's plastic crib and smiled when he saw the baby's tiny arm around the panda bear that Atem had bought for him. His fist held the bear's nose tightly. He had a pacifier in his mouth that occasionally made a little wiggle in his mouth when the baby would silently suck. Atem didn't have the heart to wake the baby up this instant so he sat in the chair next to the crib and relaxed. One nurse came up to the crib to check Yugi's temperature. She used one of those thermometers that can take a child's temperature from the ear. As soon as she stuck the thermometer in Yugi's tiny ear, the child screamed his lungs out, causing the nurse to flinch and the other babies to wake up and cry along with him. Atem shot up out of the seat and went to inspect what happened. "What did you do?" He asked.
"All I was doing was taking his temperature. We do this everyday, Sir. So please let me deal with this." Atem glared at the nurse before he bent over the crib and wrapped Yugi up in the fleece blanket and picked him up. "Hey, you can't do that!"
"Yes I can, I'm paying to have him treated."
"But he's our responsibility." Atem smirked.
"Check your office; I'm sure you'll find a note from Dr. Manteuffel (Man – too – full) to expect me this morning." The nurse glared at Atem this time. But he didn't seem to care. He looked down at the baby in his arms and started to cuddle him. "Shh … it's alright, Little One. I'm here now … shh …" Yugi's wailing started to calm when he heard Atem's voice. He opened his eyes and looked directly at Atem. Shapes were starting to form, and Yugi recognized the spikes of his savior and hopefully his soon – to – be – adopted – father. The baby smiled and burbled in an impossibly adorably cute way. "Good morning, Yugi." Yugi let out a tiny giggle and kicked his equally tiny feet. Looking up, Atem saw the nurse's surprised look. He smirked.
"Yugi knows who I am; I'm here to learn how to take care of him because I want to adopt him." The nurse felt stupid for yelling at him.
"I'm sorry, Sir; I had no idea."
"I know you didn't," Atem tickled Yugi's soft tummy as the baby gave another tiny giggle, "just tell me how to feed him." The nurse walked over, trying to take Yugi away from Atem, but he tightened his hold on the infant and gave a look that clearly said 'back off'. The nurse sighed.
"Well, first we have to give him a bath." Atem's gaze softened as he looked down to the squirming baby, happily cooing in his arms. Yugi's amethyst eyes met Atem's ruby ones and the baby let out a happy squeal.
"Fine, I'll do it; I need to learn how anyway." The nurse gave up and told Atem to follow her.
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The nurse led Atem into a separate room and told him to take Yugi's tiny gown off while she filled a small tub of water. Atem set Yugi down on a cushioned countertop and slowly began to unbutton the infant's gown. He kept smiling at the baby who refused to stay still. The game illustrator could tell that the baby was just happy and was playing with him so there was no reason to get angry. Atem chuckled, causing Yugi to softly giggle. Once Yugi was out of the gown, Atem waited for the next instruction from the nurse.
"Okay, he still can't hold his own head up yet, so you're gonna have to hold his head for him. Lay him across your arms." Atem did as told. He carefully put his hand under Yugi's head and guided the naked baby into his arms. The child was even softer without that infant sized hospital gown on. Baby Yugi started to whine. He wasn't exactly crying, but he stared into Atem's eyes with a look that that asked 'what are you doing'. Atem smiled and walked over to the tiny tub filled with warm water. "Good, now take this sponge and gently dab his body with it." Atem took the sponge and wrung it out so that it wouldn't be too much for Yugi. The baby made a whining sound and looked at Atem with desperate eyes.
"Shh … it's alright, Little One." Yugi kept whining and soon, tears were being shown. And that's when Atem knew it … "Shh … You should always feel safe in my arms, Little Yugi. I promise not to hurt you …" Atem rubbed Yugi's cheek with the soft sponge and the child responded the same way he did every time Atem rubbed his cheek; he nuzzled it. Atem smiled and resumed washing the tiny infant. Yugi relaxed when the silk sponge carefully lined his tender skin with water and soap. The nurse just stood in the corner and watched the adorable scene in front of her. She wished that all preemies had people like Atem to care for them. Yugi continued to coo and wiggle as Atem rinsed the baby with another layer of water. As soon as that part was done, the young man gently, with his hand under Yugi's head, laid him down on top of a soft towel and folded it around Yugi's tiny and slightly damp body. Then he picked him up again, allowing Yugi to rest his head on Atem's chest, chewing on a string of the towel, which Atem took out of his mouth. The nurse clapped, gaining Atem's attention.
"Very good, Mr. Darkling; I've never seen a man take as much caution with an infant's bath as you did." Atem smiled.
"Well, I know how he's still very delicate." Yugi continued to coo and play with the short necklace around Atem's neck. When he saw that the infant wanted to see what the necklace tasted like, he moved the baby away from his necklace and closer to his face. "No, no, no, Yugi; you don't want that in your mouth." The nurse smiled again at the scene before her.
"Well, my shift is over. Audrey should be here in a few minutes."
"Thank you … uh … what is you're name?"
"Oh, I'm Michelle."
"Well, thank you for showing me how to bathe him, Michelle." Michelle smiled.
"No problem!" After she left, Atem laid Yugi down in his tiny crib and proceeded to dress him in a one – piece blue outfit that buttoned together. Yugi giggled and kicked his little legs up in the air. The only thing Atem could do was chuckle along with the playful baby boy.
"You're just a happy little bundle of giggles, aren't you?" Yugi squealed in delight at the question. Atem picked Yugi up again and cradled him in his arms. He gave Yugi a kiss on the forehead, inhaling that baby scent of his. Just then, the nurse that Atem was used to, Audrey came in.
"Oh, hi Atem; I knew you were coming in today, but I didn't think we'd expect you this early."
"Well, I want to learn everything I can about taking care of him."
"That's wonderful!" Suddenly, Yugi let out a loud cry and started to scream a little bit.
"What, what's happening, why is he crying, what did I do?" Audrey laughed out loud at Atem's surprise.
"Nothing, Atem; he's just hungry." Audrey took the crying Yugi out of Atem's arms and went to fetch a bottle for him. Atem followed the nurse. Through the whole walk, Yugi cried because of his empty tummy. Audrey reached for a bottle and turned to Atem.
"Do you know how to make a bottle of formula?" Atem blinked a couple of times before he answered.
"Well … I know that you fill it with baby formula, put it in the microwave for about three minutes then check the temperature …" The nurse giggled.
"It's a little different for him," Atem cocked his head to the side in confusion. The nurse gave Yugi back to him so she could show him what to do, "You see, you're right about pouring the formula, but Yugi's stomach is only about the size of his tiny fist and he still has a little bit of a colic; so you have to have a small bottle for a few more months until he grows a little more. He doesn't eat a lot, so there's no point in wasting your money on big bottles." Atem nodded and mentally noted the size of the bottle she had in her hand. It was about half the size of a normal bottle. Yugi still whimpered and squirmed in annoyance that he had to wait for his food. Atem's hand patted Yugi on his back while he watched the nurse grab another bottle. This one looked like a medicine bottle. "This is a special vitamin that we give to our more serious case preemies. It helps with their growth and development and sooths their colic so that it doesn't hurt when they eat."
"How long with he have to take it?" The nurse thought for a second.
"You might wanna ask Dr. Manteuffel about that." Atem nodded. The nurse measured about one teaspoon of the liquid vitamin and put it into the small bottle of formula. She put the nipple on the top and shook it for a bout ten seconds. "You wanna shake it to make sure it mixes with the formula." Atem nodded again as she put the bottle into a microwave for about four minutes. Yugi was really getting impatient and screamed out loud for attention.
"Does he do this often?"
"Yup, everyday, five times a day."
"Five?" Audrey nodded.
"Yes; babies eat every three hours and they go through a lot of formula. But because Yugi's so small and doesn't have a big appetite, he should be eating every two hours instead of three."
"Why is that?"
"His stomach is smaller then usual, so he digests faster then most infants." Atem moved Yugi so that he was laying his head on the man's shoulder. When the four minutes were done, Audrey dipped a drop of formula onto her arm and approved the temperature. Atem moved Yugi again so that he was lying in his arms while he took the bottle from her. Yugi continued to cry until he felt a rubber substance tap his lips. Opening his eyes, he saw the rubber nipple and opened his mouth, allowing the entire nipple to enter. The baby moaned and made suckling sounds as he ate. Atem held the bottle upward so Yugi would have a better time getting the food that he so obviously wanted. Audrey watched them. "Would you like to sit down, Atem?" The young man nodded, not looking away from Yugi and sat on a chair. He gently rocked back and forth, seeing Yugi's eyes start to droop. The baby continued to make adorable noises as he ate. Every once in a while, his fist would rub against Atem's fingers and his legs would kick. He gave Yugi another kiss on the forehead.
"He's so peaceful when he eats." Audrey nodded.
"Yeah, he becomes quieter with a full stomach." Soon, Yugi's mouth pulled away from the bottle, signaling that he had had enough. The bottle was only half empty. Just as Atem pulled Yugi up to lay against his shoulder, Audrey stopped him.
"Before you begin burping him, don't pat his back; it works better if you rub instead."
"Why?" Audrey shrugged.
"I don't think he likes it. Every time I pat him, he cries; but if I rub his back, he's fine." Atem shrugged and tried Audrey's approach. In no time, a tiny burp came out of Yugi, who giggled afterward. Atem chuckled too.
"Happy now?" Yugi smiled and drooled a little bit before a burst of white stuff flew out of his mouth. Luckily for Atem, he had one of those spit – diapers on his shoulder to catch it. Taking it off, He placed Yugi on his other shoulder, who started to whine and squirm … even more then babies normally do. "What's the matter with him?" Audrey sighed and took Yugi from Atem.
"It's his colic; the vitamin helps with the pain, but doesn't make it go away completely. It should be gone in the next week or so." Atem tried to calm Yugi down, but all he did was cry louder.
"Isn't there something you can do to help him?" Audrey thought of something. She left for a second and returned with some kind of cream.
"Here; rub this on his tummy." She commanded. Atem unbuttoned the front of Yugi's outfit, took a lit of cream on his fingers and gently rubbed it on Yugi's soft tummy. While he did this, the child's cries became small whimpers and then stopped all together.
"Wow, what's in that stuff?" He asked. Audrey smirked and screwed the lid back onto the jar of cream.
"Our own secret stuff that we use on colicky babies." Audrey helped button up Yugi's outfit while the baby sucked on his tiny fist and cooed. "Now, I have to go check on the other babies; are you going to be alright by yourself, Atem?" The addressed young man nodded and smiled while he played with the baby in his arms. Audrey smiled at Yugi's tiny giggles. When she was gone, Atem took a seat next to Yugi's crib. When he tried to lay the baby in the plastic bed, he cried. Soon, it became some sort of game for the tiny baby until Atem figured out that Yugi just wanted attention. So he sat down in the same chair with Yugi in one arm and the panda bear in the other. Yugi grabbed for the bear when Atem rubbed it against his nose and began to chew on it. As long as Yugi was quiet, things were fine. So Atem figured that while the baby played with his stuffed panda, he'd rest his eyes for a while … that is, until Yugi started to cry again.
"Yugi, what's wrong?" Yugi cried and grabbed a fistful of Atem's shirt. Atem stood up and went to go find Audrey. "Audrey, where are you? I think something's wrong with Yugi!" Soon, Audrey was seen running into the nursery.
"Atem, what's wrong?"
"Something's wrong with Yugi, he won't stop crying!" Audrey looked at Yugi for a second.
"Oh, it's nothing serious, Atem; he's wet." Atem's eyes widened.
"Wet … as in …"
"As in he needs a diaper change?" Audrey asked as if it were so obvious.
"Oh … right … of course … I knew that …"
"Atem, you do know how to change a diaper, right?" Atem began to blush and Audrey got her answer. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Atem; lots of men don't know how to change a diaper. C'mon, I'll show you." Audrey took Yugi out of Atem's arms and rested him against her shoulder. "This way." She said. This was the one thing Atem forgot to think about when he said he wanted to adopt Yugi.
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A few days later, Social Services made a surprise visit to Atem's house. Fortunately, he was prepared for it and passed with flying colors. When I say he was prepared for it, I mean that he kept his brothers as far away as possible. Anyway, another week passed and due to the letters of recommendation from Bakura and his skills at law, Social Services approved Atem of adopting Yugi as soon as Dr. Manteuffel allowed him to be taken out of the hospital; which was on the day Yugi turned three months old. And so, on that day, Dr. Manteuffel helped Atem install the new car seat he had bought for Yugi after being told time and time again that he would need one. Once that was done, Atem went up to the nursery and saw Yugi so curiously looking around with a pacifier in his mouth and his tiny legs kicking in the air. The hospital gave Atem his first supply of baby formula, diapers for another two months, and the blue cap Yugi was given when he was born. He still only had a head full of fuzz, but it was clear as to what his hair would look like. Atem put the blue cap on the infant and wrapped him up in at least three blankets just to be safe. He wanted to go with at last five, but Manteuffel said 'you don't want him to burn up just as much as you don't want him to freeze' so Atem settled on three. When Yugi was ready to be put in the car seat, Atem wasn't so sure about this whole backwards car seat thing, but Manteuffel told him that it was the safest way for a baby to travel. With that, Atem didn't argue. "Thank you for helping me, Doctor." Atem said. He and Manteuffel shook hands.
"No problem, Atem. Now, I'll give you a call in about two weeks to see how he's doing. If he's still alright by then, I'll give you the number of a pediatrician he could see." Atem smiled. He really did appreciate all the help.
"Thank you." And with that, Atem drove Yugi to his new home.
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End of Chapter.
