Chapter Nineteen:

Somehow, Yugi managed to grab the railing with his left hand. He made a strange sort of arc over the stairs and slammed his back into the railing, which knocked his hold loose, but slowed all of his momentum. Instead of banging backwards down the stairs and breaking his neck, he was now a quarter of the way down and perpendicular to them when he hit butt first. His arm was wrenched as his grip came loose and pain jarred up his spine. He skidded over the edge of the riser, hit the next on his hip, and then managed to shove both hands down on the next stair and stop his descent. On his hip on the stair, legs dangling down, gripping the railing post with his right hand, he didn't even hesitate. He heaved himself, got his feet under him, and stood, then went running down the stairs as fast as he could, clutching the railing with both hands and almost falling again anyway.

The stairs creaked as the man came after him, but Yugi made the ground first and ran for the front door. He yanked it open and plunged out into the early morning, looking behind him as he went.

He slammed headlong into Joey.

"Ow! Fuck, Yug-What? What's wrong? What happened?!"

Yugi goggled at Joey for a second, hardly able to believe his eyes, then clutched at him. His breath was sobbing in and out of his lungs and he could taste blood. He nearly collapsed and Joey held him up, face white.

"Yugi! What happened?! You're bleeding!"

"In the…house…" Yugi managed to gasp. "Man…"

"What?!" Joey started for the front door and Yugi held on with a death grip.

"No!"

Joey stopped to keep from pulling Yugi off his feet. He held him, trying to pull Yugi's hands off his shirt. His left felt weak and the shoulder of that arm hurt so badly now.

"Yug', let go, I've gotta-"

"No! No!" Yugi held on, terrified. The man hadn't come out, so he had to be in there. If Joey went in, Yugi didn't know what could happen. The man could have a gun or a knife. Just because Yugi hadn't seen one didn't mean anything.

Joey looked at his frightened face and his instant rage softened a little. He held Yugi close, glaring at the apartment door as he drew Yugi further back, towards the parking lot at the base of the walkway where their cars were.

"What's going on?" It was the next door neighbor, peering out of her own apartment.

"Call the cops!" Yugi cried.

The door slammed. Joey pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed for an ambulance. He was now up against the side of his car, holding Yugi in his arms, still watching the apartment. Yugi buried his face in Joey's chest and started to shake as nerves caught up and adrenaline burned off.

"It's okay," Joey said automatically. "It's okay, I've got you."

Yugi raised his head, barely registering the blood smeared all over Joey's shirt, and looked at the apartment. No one had come out, but there was the back door. Out back, there was no fence, just the brick wall that surrounded the complex the next block over. The man could have left by the back door, walked down the long combination yard, then hit the street. Theirs was an end apartment and there were seven other units before the row ended. Another bank of units formed a capital L with it, blocking the street that was behind those. He could have made the sidewalk and they never would have seen him from this vantage point.

Ten minutes later, the cops arrived. Yugi and Joey were still standing against Joey's car, Yugi steadfastly refusing to allow Joey to have him sit down in the passenger seat, steadfastly refusing to let go of him in case he tried to go back into the apartment. Once the cops arrived, Yugi told them what had happened. There were two officers in the car and they told Joey and Yugi to stay put before breaching the apartment with guns drawn. Yugi could faintly hear them calling for the attacker to show himself, but nothing else happened. A couple minutes later, the ambulance arrived. One of the EMTs looked Yugi over while the other confirmed with Joey the source of the blood on his shirt.

The cops came out, saying they found no one, and called for a crime unit. The EMTs put Yugi into a stretcher, though he didn't really need one, and got him in back. Joey sat up front with the driver and they headed to Domino General.

At the hospital, Yugi was admitted and X-Rayed, but he didn't have any broken bones. However, his left wrist and left shoulder were both sprained, bruises were blossoming over his buttocks, shoulder blades, right hip, right bicep, and right side from striking the stairs and railing. His nose was not broken, but was swelling even after the blood had stopped flowing. A bruise was blooming on his chin, which he hadn't even felt hit the wall just after his nose did. His bottom lip had mashed back against his teeth and was swelling, though it hadn't split. The blow to his head had left the point of contact tender, but he didn't have a scalp injury and no concussion. His left arm was immobilized in a brace and sling and he was given some pain meds and cleaned up.

"You will need to keep from moving your arm for one to two weeks," the ER doctor informed him. "Keep it in the brace and sling at all times, even in the shower. I want you to put this ice pad on the shoulder for fifteen minutes every two hours for at least the next three days while you're awake. Put a dish towel between it and your skin. Keep your sling on under your shirts, and you'll have to have button-ups until the sling comes off. If the swelling has gone down in three days, I want you to switch to using the heating pad on low also for fifteen minutes every two hours. No sudden movements. No lifting."

Yugi nodded dully. He wasn't exactly high on the morphine given to him while his arm was being manipulated to test the extent of the injury, but it plus the shock was making him pretty detached.

"Sleep either on your back or up at an angle with pillows keeping the arm even with your body so it's not at an angle and being weighed on by gravity. If the pain worsens, you can't move your joint at all, or you feel coolness or tingling in the arm after the ice pack is off for more than ten minutes, come back here immediately. If there is any discoloration or the arm goes numb, call an ambulance. Otherwise, I want to see you back in two weeks."

Yugi nodded again. The doctor brought Joey in, who immediately came to sit on the bed. The doctor paused for a second as he saw Joey take Yugi's uninjured hand in both of his, then added, "No sex."

"Got it," Joey said.

"He can be discharged. Do you have a way home?"

"Yeah, friend's out in the waiting room."

The doctor nodded and left. Joey didn't immediately try to get Yugi out of bed. Instead, he stared him intently. "Yugi?"

Yugi managed a smile.

"Everyone is out in the waitin' room. Yami said he's having us stay at the manor. Cops want me to come check the place out, see what was stolen or broke. I don't want to leave you, but they're insisting. Landlord and insurance agent are there, too. I'm gonna get you to Yami, then T's gonna take me back to our place."

Yugi clutched at Joey's hand. "No. What if-"

"He's gone, Yug'. And the cops are still there. There's gonna be like six people there. I'm just gonna tell them the damage, grab some stuff for both of us, then come back. Stay with Yami. I'll be back in no time."

Yugi knew he was being irrational. He nodded and loosened his grip. Joey kissed him gently at the corner of his mouth, then helped him up. A nurse had come in and she supervised putting Yugi in a wheelchair, as it was hospital policy to have all patients wheeled out, then got him the forms to sign for release.

Tea, Tristan, Yami, Serenity, Ryou, and Yugi's mother were all out in the waiting room. Mrs. Moto, Tea, and Serenity made a huge fuss, Ryou and Tristan bombarded Joey with questions, and Yami stood stony-faced.

/Aibou, are you okay?/

/I'm going to be fine. A couple of sprains and some bruises. Nothing broken./

Yugi felt the anger in Yami ripple. The Puzzle's eye flickered.

/I'm fine, Yami. Really./

"I want to get Yugi home," Yami said, clearly meaning his own home. "Now. Let him rest."

"He can come to the Shop-" Mrs. Moto started.

"I have room for Joey and Yugi both. And it's closer. He's coming to the manor."

"We'll come, too," Tea said, clearly not intending to brook any argument.

Yami didn't argue, but once they were at the manor and Yugi was settled painfully into a spare bed, Joey, Tristan, and Serenity headed for the apartment. Serenity would not allow Joey to go without her, as irrational as Yugi had been. Mrs. Moto and Tea helped Yugi affix the ice packet to his shoulder while Yami called for tea and water. Ryou fluffed a pillow and they got it under Yugi's arm.

"What's going on?" Kaiba asked as he came into the room. He raised an eyebrow at Yugi.

"Aibou was attacked in his apartment," Yami said. "The man escaped. He and Joey are staying here until I say otherwise."

Kaiba didn't even seem to care he wasn't being asked. He studied Yugi for a second, then grunted. "The head butler is Ichiro, the head maid is Kanna. They'll get you whatever you need."

He left without another word. Yami went with him, maybe to make arrangements.

"He didn't even ask if you were okay," Tea said with disgust.

"You know he wouldn't," Yugi said tiredly. "He didn't argue with Yami, though."

"Who would when Yami has that look on his face?" Ryou asked. "He looked like he'd send anyone to the Shadow Realm who dared said no."

Yugi only shook his head. He was too tired to try to make them see that Kaiba wasn't so bad. Not arguing with Yami had been his way of showing he cared, at least about what Yami wanted.

"Sweetheart, what do you need?" Mrs. Moto asked. She hadn't let go of Yugi's good hand since they'd gotten him settled in the bed.

"Nothing," Yugi said. "Really, Mom, I don't want anything." The truth. "I'm fine." A lie.

Mrs. Moto smoothed back Yugi's hair with one hand and kept hold of his with the other.

Yugi forced himself to stay awake until Joey returned with Tristan and Serenity. He announced that nothing had been taken and the only damage was a dent in the drywall and a crack in the stairs hand railing. Both made by Yugi being thrown into them. The anger in Yami burned even hotter, but Yugi said nothing.

Joey had two suitcases and a storage box stuffed with their clothes, toiletries, the Isis statue, their wallets and keys, their Decks and Duel Discs, the book Yugi was reading that had been on the nightstand, Joey's lap top, and their cell phones. Serenity and Tea helped him unpack. By then, it was clear that Joey was dead tired as well. He was pale and there were dark circles under his eyes. Yugi estimated he'd been awake for almost thirty hours. Serenity noticed and ushered everyone out. Mrs. Moto went with extreme reluctance, but she encouraged Yugi to sleep as well before going.

The spare room had two beds, like a hotel room. Yugi didn't know if it always been like that or if Yami had had it set up that way while he was in the hospital, but it was clear he and Joey wouldn't be sharing a bed for at least a few days. It was for the best. It would keep Joey from moving and landing on Yugi's arm.

"Yug', are you sure you're okay?"

Yugi nodded his head. He was so exhausted, drained, that he wanted to do nothing but sleep. Joey looked like he wanted to say more, but instead he gently squeezed Yugi's closest ankle, then crawled into the next bed.

Despite his exhaustion, Yugi lay awake, even as he heard Joey begin to snore. He looked up at the ceiling of the semi-darkened room, his thoughts in a whirl.

What were they going to do now? Returning to the apartment was out of the question. The situation had escalated from a prank to assault. Whatever the man's goal was, he'd try again. Maybe immediately, so sure that no one would be expecting it, or maybe later, when their guard was down. Yugi didn't know what he wanted either. But surely he had been intending to murder him.

Tears welled in Yugi's eyes and he choked back a sob. He didn't want to wake Joey. He was fine, he was fine, he was fine.

Yami was suddenly in his mind. He said nothing, but instead did the mental equivalent of gathering Yugi into a hug. It wasn't exactly the same as when they had shared a body, where they actually had spirit forms that could interact in their Soul rooms. That had felt no different than being in physical bodies to Yugi at the time. This was less substantial, but still welcome. Yugi curled into the sensation. Yami held him until his tremors stopped and his tears dried.

He didn't know if Yami pressed his mind into sleep, but he drifted away just the same.

tbc...