Hey, chill out! The one thing you gotta know about the way I write is that yes, I do put Yugi in danger, but I take him right back out of it again! Like I said last time, no going off on me at the end! I'm still not done! Anyway, here's theturn-around that you've all been waiting for, sheesh!
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"NOOOOOOOOO!" Yugi screamed as he flew out of his seat and ran right into Atem's arms. The sad father desperately clutched the small boy in his arms, both crying. "I don't wanna leave you, Dad …" Atem ran his hand up and down Yugi's back, trying to soothe him,
"I know, I know … I don't want this either; but we have to be strong about this, alright?" Yugi buried his face in Atem's chest even more.
"I don't know if I can …" Atem pulled Yugi away from him and held his face in his hands.
"Listen to me: I love you with all my heart. And I promise that I will whatever I can to get you back. Until then, we have to be strong for each other." He rubbed Yugi's cheeks with his thumbs, sometimes wiping tears away, "Please don't surrender to this, Yugi. You have come so far; I didn't raise a son to surrender." He couldn't hold back the tears anymore and he held Yugi tightly again.
Just then, Jack stood up and pointed at Atem. "Your Honor," Everyone in the courtroom looked at him, "I demand that a restraining order be placed on Mr. Darkling to keep him away from my son!" Atem growled and pulled Yugi closer to him.
"Absolutely not, Mr. Moto," Everyone turned to face Judge Heth, "Mr. Darkling has proven that he loves the child dearly; therefore, I am granting that Yugi stay with him every Wednesday night and every other weekend." Jack cringed. Atem would have cheered at the fact that he at least got to see Yugi, but it wasn't enough. Atem looked at the couple at the opposite table and glared.
"I'm taking him home to gather his stuff; then we'll be back." As they left, Bakura stayed behind to collect his paperwork. Friedman thought it to be a good time to rub it in Bakura's face that he won the trial.
"See, Darkling; that is how a real lawyer handles a case." Bakura rolled his eyes and threw the strap of his bag over his shoulder.
"Yeah, manipulating the system and making little kids cry. Just the kinda thing I'd expect from a virgin lawyer!"
"Hey!" Bakura snickered. He knew that was a sensitive spot for his opposing council. Bakura said nothing farther and left to go find his brothers.
---
At home, Atem and Yugi hardly said a word to each other as they packed up all of Yugi's things. Atem placed some clothes in a suitcase, but stopped when he saw Ping. The bear was aged, that much was obvious, but it still held together and kept Yugi company at night. He reached for it and held it in his hands, remembering when he had given it to Yugi back when he was in the hospital.
"What's the matter, Dad?" Yugi asked. Atem looked over in Yugi's direction and smiled sadly.
"Nothing; just thinking about the day I gave you this. It was the day after you were born. You were still in an incubator, but I knew that you'd need company, even if you were barely conscious." Yugi smiled and took Ping from his father.
"Maybe that's why I can't sleep without him. I've had him all my life." Tears started to make their way down Yugi's face. He ran into Atem's arms and hugged him tightly. "I don't wanna say goodbye, I'm gonna miss you so much, Dad!" Atem rubbed Yugi's back and quietly shushed him.
"Shh … it's going to be alright; remember that we still have Wednesday nights and every other weekend together." Atem rubbed Yugi's cheeks with his thumbs. Yugi leaned in to give Atem another hug. Both didn't stop the tears this time.
A few hours later, the Darklings returned to the court house. The Motos were standing outside with impatient looks. Yugi looked out the window of the car and gulped. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he wasn't sure if he was going to survive the night. In his hands, he squeezed Ping close to him. As he stepped out of the car, he wouldn't let go of Atem's hand. The depressed father sighed and looked at a small sheet of paper that was in his hands.
"Alright, here's a list of his medicines; I wrote down the times and how often he takes them." He offered to give it to Jack who snatched it and stuffed it in his pocket.
"Whatever; c'mon, let's go." Yugi looked at Atem one last time.
"I love you, Dad." Atem couldn't help but smile.
"I love you too, Yugi." Yugi smiled when suddenly, Ping was ripped right out of his arms.
"Hey!"
"You don't need this anymore." Olga said as she threw the stuffed animal onto the sidewalk. Yugi gasped. "Hurry up!" She took hold of Yugi's collar and dragged him into the car. Once all three passengers were in, the car sped off with a screech of the tires. Atem slowly walked over and picked Ping up from the sidewalk. He embraced the stuffed panda bear. Marik and Bakura looked at each other. They didn't know what to do.
"Hey 'Tem, anything we can do to help?" Marik asked. Atem didn't answer. All he did was drop to his knees and screamed bloody murder.
---
The next morning was quiet; much too quiet. Without Yugi, it seemed that all life signs of life in the house were lost. There was no laughter, no annoying questions, and no sunshine. Marik and Bakura sat at the table, neither speaking a word. Atem was not with them. Both had cups of coffee in front of them, but they couldn't bring themselves to drink it. Something was missing; something so simple: Yugi. Bakura sighed.
"I can't believe he slept with that panda bear last night." Marik nodded.
"I can't believe he slept with that panda bear in Yugi's room last night." He replied. It had been true. Atem spent the rest of the other day in Yugi's room, crying over the loss of his son. Being able to be around him was not the same as having him home. The other two Darklings couldn't think of anything to help their brother. He had cried himself to sleep last night. Yugi was his whole world, and now that world came crashing down on him. Yugi was gone. Sure, he'd be back on Wednesday, but it wasn't the same as it used to be.
He kept thinking of times when Yugi was a baby. He was so adorable. People would often come over and express how adorable he was. Sure, they had their arguments, who didn't? But Atem still loved him no matter what. It wasn't the same not having Yugi there. Now Atem's world had no light or color. All there was was black and grey. He wouldn't come out of Yugi's room for anything. He didn't eat or even move.
Soon, days passed. Atem would spend his days in Yugi's room. His son had promised that he would call every night, but no call ever came. Atem was worried; no, he was terrified that something had happened to his precious baby boy. He wanted to do something. He thought he was going to go out of his mind.
---
Finally, Wednesday came, and Atem was so excited to see Yugi again. His new 'parents', and I use that term loosely, were going to drop him off after school. Atem was going to make Yugi's favorite meal: lasagna. The sides were going to be sweet peas, mashed potatoes and garlic cheese bread. He even bought some Hawaiian Punch, since Yugi was still a juice-fanatic.
Finally, he heard a car door slam and walked to the front door. The door slowly opened and revealed Yugi, who had a look that seemed very … lost. His eyes, those sparkling jewels of sunshine and happiness … were gone. Only a blur of purple and grey were left.
"Yugi, what's wrong?" Yugi visibly flinched. Atem took one step closer to him, and the boy took a step back, putting his hands up in defense. He was shaking uncontrollably. "Yugi, please speak to me!" But he wouldn't; it was as if he were in some sort of trance. Then, a thought came. Atem gasped. He clutched Yugi's shoulders and shook him lightly. "Yugi, say something!" Yugi's lost, tired eyes raised to Atem's.
"W-where am I?"
"Oh no … you're having one of your episodes!" Yugi almost fainted. Luckily, Atem caught him and carried the child over to the sofa. It was obvious that Yugi wasn't taking his medicine. He ran over to a cabinet that he kept over-the-counter drugs in. It was a good thing that he had extras of all of Yugi's medicines. Finding the right pill, he quickly gave it to him. Once he was able to keep it down, the small boy fell into a deep sleep.
About an hour or so later, Yugi awoke to find that he was back home. He was expecting to be in that terrible basement with his 'parents' towering over him, ready to strike at any moment. But he didn't; there was Atem on the other side of the sofa, reading a magazine.
"Dad …?" Hearing his name, Atem quickly put the magazine down and kneeled down on the floor to Yugi's level. He started to run his fingers through the boy's hair.
"Yugi, are you alright?"
"I-I don't know … what happened? How did I get here?" Atem quirked a brow.
"What's the last thing that you remember?" Yugi had to think for a second.
"I was in the school yard … and then … nothing."
"You don't remember Jack dropping you off and coming here?" The confused boy shook his head.
"How long has it been since you last took any of your medicines?"
"I don't know … probably the day I moved out." A week; Yugi hadn't taken his medicine in a week!
"Why not?" Angelic lilac eyes turned away.
"I'm not supposed to say …"
"Not supposed to say what?" Yugi was squirming now.
"No …"
"Yugi, are they hurting you?"
"I can't talk about it …" Now Atem was getting angry. He wasn't sure whether he was angry at those people for hurting his child, or if he was angry at Yugi for not wanting to talk about it.
"Yugi, if they're hurting you, you need to tell me so that I can help you." Yugi shook his head.
"I can't say …"
"Why not! What can't you say!" Atem was starting to yell now, and it was scaring Yugi.
"Because they'll kill me!" Atem gasped. Yugi was too young to know what the word 'kill' meant.
"What?" The boy was sobbing now.
"T-they said that i-if I ever told w-what they do to me, t-they'll shoot me!" Atem's jaw dropped. "That lawyer was wrong in court."
"What do you mean?" Yugi sniffled.
"He said that my 'father' may have been shooting at someone else the day that I met them … but he wasn't … he was shooting at me …" Yugi was thrown into hysteria now. Atem tightly embraced him. He was surprised when Yugi curled into himself.
"Yugi, it's alright now … I'm not going to hurt you." Hearing that and feeling the soft rubbing on his back, Yugi felt safe for the first time in a week. To him, that week was like a lifetime.
At dinner, Atem allowed Yugi to sit in his lap. The boy attacked the food like he hadn't eaten in days, which he probably hadn't. After dinner, they checked his blood sugar level. It was dangerously low. Yugi was glad that he was with Atem that night. One more night without his medicines and he probably would have been dead from abandoning them cold turkey. Atem gave Yugi all his medicines. That night, he gave Ping back to him. Yugi was so happy to see Ping again that he didn't put it down for the rest of the night. When it was time for bed, Atem allowed Yugi to sleep in his bed. He decided that he would talk with Bakura about this tomorrow. Something had to be done, and if Atem had anything to say about it, something would be done. He'd get his child back one way or another.
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End of Chapter
