Heartaches

Chapter 50

By KellyQ

Crow's outburst had their attention on Yusei when he started to cough up blood. Akiza took him back in the nurse's office leaving the others in the waiting room. Yusei sat on the examination table. Akiza had him take his coat and shirt off so Doctor Smith could figure out what happened.

"You're fine ... other than being under a lot of stress, Yusei. And be careful of that arm for a while."

Yusei nodded as he kept his head down. "Is Martha going to be okay?" he asked Doctor Smith quietly.

The old man glanced at Yusei for a moment. "She broke her left hip, and sprained her right ankle."

By this point, Akiza was putting gauze around Yusei's bruised wrist.

"Is Martha strong enough to have surgery?" Yusei asked.

"She could, but that could cause the cancer to spread," Doctor Smith explained, referring to Martha's hip.

Yusei lowered his gaze even more, feeling powerless about the whole situation. The last thing he wanted was to see her like this.

Yusei wasn't the only one, Jack and Crow felt the same way. They were now waiting to hear about Yusei. Mina glanced at the door, hoping that Yusei was alright.

"I'm sure that Yusei will be alright," Carly reassured Jack. The two were sitting next to each other. "He's probably under some stress right now, with Martha falling and Kiryu hitting his head, and Yusei being attacked by one of Godwin's guards."

"Did Yusei say who?" Jack asked, giving her his full attention. When the others heard him speak, they paid attention, too.

Carly shook her head. "No. But judging when I was cleaning his face, Yusei did seem a little tense."

Just at that moment, the door opened and Doctor Smith walked out. The others got up.

"Is Yusei going to be alright?" Crow asked. He needed to apologize for keeping some things from Yusei.

"I'm going to be fine," came Yusei's voice. Doctor Smith stepped to the side so that Yusei could reunite with his friends. He arm was in a sling, and his dark-blue jacket was draped over his shoulders. Yusei was first to notice the distant look in Crow's eyes. "Are you okay?" Yusei asked.

"I know you've always wanted to know where your parents went and stuff. I wanted to know too, so I dug up some stuff too. Sorry that I didn't tell you sooner," Crow shared, not making eye contact with his childhood friend.

Yusei stepped up and placed a comforting hand on Crow's shoulder. Their eyes met. "Don't worry about it, Crow. I would've done the same thing for you too," he said, concluding that Crow kept quiet to keep him safe.

"How long is Martha going to be here?" Crow asked Doctor Smith.

Yusei lowered his gaze and wrapped his arm around Crow in a comforting faction. "Martha broke her hip and sprained her ankle," Yusei informed. "She's going to have to be placed in a nursing home …."

Everyone, accept Doctor Smith and Akiza were shocked. Crow pulled out of Yusei's arm and turned to face Martha's doctor.

"She doesn't need to be placed in those crummy places! If it's 24 hour care she needs, I'll be happy to move back …!"

Doctor Smith sighed. "I know it's a shock, and a lot to take in," he cut in, "but she'll need to be placed in one."

Crow looked away. "What about the kids? What's going to happen to them?"

"That hasn't been decided yet," Doctor Smith informed, "but it's going to have to be done soon, unless Martha feels that you can take over," he said to Crow, who nodded. "So I'd suggest that you start looking soon."

Yusei, Jack, and Crow nodded their heads. With nothing else to discuss, Doctor Smith walked off. Crow turned and was about to slam his hardened fist into the wall, but Akiza stopped him. They glanced at each other, and after a moment, Crow hung his head in defeat.

Yusei stepped behind Crow and wrapped his arm around his old friend. "I better get back to Kiryu," Crow said, pulling out of Yusei's arm and started walking to the elevator.

Once he was on, and the door closed, Crow leaned against the wall. He bit his lip, trying to hold back the tears that were now dripping off his chin.

The elevator door opened one moment later and Crow stepped out, wiping the tears off his face. He made his way to the bathroom. He turned the tap on and washed his face. Once that was done, he walked out and headed to Kiryu's room.

The crippled teen smiled when Crow walked in. Kiryu's Doctor was checking things over, and there was a peach colored folder at the end of the bed. Crow bit his lip, hoping that he was going to take Kiryu in.

"The folder there is yours. You'll be looking after Kiryu from now on ..." Crow's face lit up. "But if you can't, he'll have to be placed in a foster care. Is that understood?"

Crow nodded his head and shook the Doctor's hand. "Thanks. I'll take good care of Kiryu."

Kiryu's Doctor shrugged it off and walked out, closing the door behind him.

To Be Continued ...