Look at me go! I'm on a roll!

I send my sincere apologies if I'm depressing anyone…

Kings Are Blind

Three EMT's, equipped with a stretcher and a bag of various hospital objects, rushed into the room, spotting Joey and Yami through the open bathroom door.

Joey unwound his arms from Yami and allowed the professionals to take over.

"How are we doing here?" One of them asked, a young girl, probably there for volunteer work.

Yami was still crying too hard to answer any questions, so all he could manage was a pained cry when one of the boys tried to move him.

"Not so good." Joey replied to the girl. She nodded and placed a hand on Yami's shoulder.

"We need to get you loaded onto the stretcher, okay sweetheart?" She said calmly.

Blood dribbled down Yami's chin as he continued to cry. "I can't move…" He whispered.

Joey sat down next to him and slipped an arm around his back.

"It's okay, buddy," He said. "They just need to get you onto the stretcher, and then they're not gonna move you anymore. Alright?"

"'Kay," Yami replied, wiping his eyes with the tips of his fingers.

Yami allowed the two boys to move his legs out from under him then lift him slightly and place him onto the waiting stretcher.

The girl wrapped an extra blanket around the one that Joey had supplied for him. After the boys had raised the stretcher off the ground, she pulled an oxygen mask from the bag and laid it over his face.

Yami instantly took in a breath of air as he felt Joey take a hold of his hand, interlocking their fingers together.

"Everything's gonna be fine, Yami. I promise." Yami heard him say. His eyes were closed, so he couldn't see the blonde; however he knew that he was there.

The EMT's led Yami out into the waiting ambulance, also offering a ride to Joey, which the blonde greatly accepted.

XXX

Joey watched as the stretcher carrying Yami sped down the hall. He was forced to wait in the waiting room, after the nurses had to practically drag him away from Yami.

He sat, waiting for a doctor to come out and explain what had happened. It was the first 911 experience the blonde had ever had, and probably the most terrifying experience of his life.

He knew that the stress being weighed upon Yami couldn't possibly be the reason for his incredible sickness. There had to be something else going on.

What else had he eaten that day? What did they talk about that maybe the blonde missed out on? Did he have some kind of secret illness? Thoughts of guilt coursed through Joey's brain as slouched down in his chair and covered his face with his hands.

A doctor walked through the double doors. He looked to be in his mid-thirties; his glasses propped on the top of his head.

"Mr. Wheeler?" He questioned.

Joey looked up. "Yes?"

"Hi, there. My name is Dr. White and I'll be taking care of your friend Yami today." He said politely, reaching out to shake Joey's hand.

"So…" Joey started. "What's going on?"

Dr. White took a seat in front of Joey and began sorting through the clipboard in his lap.

"Well," He said, bringing down his glasses and reviewing the papers. "We had to pump his stomach. He appears to have quite a severe case of food poisoning."

Joey's eyes widened. "Oh my God…" He said. "Is he okay?"

"We're not entirely sure where the blood came from. But as long as he doesn't throw up anymore, he should be alright. He probably vomited so hard that his stomach didn't respond so well."

"Yeah, he threw up a little while before that, too." Joey stated.

"And…there was no blood then?"

"No."

"Good." The doctor copied Joey's words down onto a piece of paper.

There was some silence as the doctor continued to flip through the various sheets.

"We'll need to keep him with us for about a week or so. It usually takes about 8 days for food poisoning to heal, however he doesn't need to remain hospitalized the entire time. He should be well enough to go home by the end of the week. Will he be staying with you?"

Joey paused. "Uhh…well, I'm not sure. It's up to him, really. He's kind of having some…problems at home right now."

"I see," The doctor said. He stood up. "Well, we gave him a good dose of medication, and he's on an IV right now, so whatever pains he was feeling in his stomach will go away for now. You're more then welcome to come see him."

"Great," Joey said, relieved.

"If he starts to complain about any pain again, let us know and we'll get someone in there to give him some more medicine, okay?"

Joey nodded. "Sure."

"Just be careful when you touch him," The doctor warned. "His stomach might still be a little sore from the pumping."

Joey nodded. "Okay,"

The doctor led Joey back to Yami's room. He appeared to be asleep; a little green device on and inside his nose, obviously providing him with oxygen. His skin was still pale, aside from his flushed cheeks.

Joey opened and shut the door, pulling up a chair and sitting down beside the boy.

Yami cracked an eye open, turning his head towards Joey.

"Hey," He croaked.

Joey smiled. "Hey." He moved his chair closer to the edge of the bed, reaching up to take hold of the king's delicate hand. "How're you doing?"

Yami managed a smile. "I'm okay for now, just tired. They gave me something, didn't they?"

"Yeah," Joey said quietly. "Some pain killers. They had to pump your stomach, too. Did you feel that?"

"Not really," He answered. "I've been out of it for a while."

Joey rubbed his free hand over the top of Yami's. "You're doing so much better then back at the house, you know? You scared the livin' shit out of me."

Yami chuckled. "Did I?"

Joey laughed back. "Well, it's not everyday someone pukes up a gallon of blood right in front of your face."

"Yeah," Yami whispered. "It scared me, too."

Joey watched him choke up. "Hey, come on." He soothed. "You're gonna be just fine. The doctor said everything's fine. You're just gonna be stuck here for a little while."

Yami frowned. "What's 'a little while'?"

"A week." Joey sighed.

"A week?" Yami repeated, groaning.

"Hey, doctor's orders, buddy."

"I know." Yami turned slightly onto his side so he was facing more towards the blonde.

Joey rested his chin on the bed and gazed into Yami's tired eyes.

"What did that feel like, anyway?" He asked.

"What? You mean what happened in the shower?" Yami questioned.

Joey nodded. "Did you feel like you were gonna puke…or…did you know it was gonna be blood?"

Yami shook his head. "I didn't think it would be bloody, no. I was just in the shower when I felt this horrible, nauseating pain. My vision blurred and everything. I didn't know what was happening, so I just figured I'd get you."

Joey remained silent.

"Does Yugi know?" Yami whispered.

Joey raised his head up. "No. No, he doesn't. Should he?"

Yami nodded. "Well, if I'm here for a week, he'll be worrying up a storm. I'm sure one night was worry enough…"

"You're right." Joey said. "I'll go call him."

XXX

Yugi was slumped on the couch in the living room while grandpa watched over the shop. He had gotten home from his walk about 10 minutes ago, still debating what to do about Yami.

His thoughts were interrupted when the phone rang.

"I'll get it, grandpa!" He shouted, reaching for the phone on the end table.

"Hello, this is Yugi." He said.

"Yuge, oh great. Listen, it's Joey…"

"What's up, Joey?"

"Err…listen, Yuge. I have a bit of a story to explain to you, but the biggest part is that Yami's in the hospital."

Yugi paused for a second, soaking in the information. "WHAT?!"

"Hey, hey, just calm down, alright. He…he's got food poisoning…"

Yugi's eyes widened up into his hairline. "How?! What?! Where…?! Joey, what is going on?"

Joey gave an aggravated sigh. "Yuge, just come to the hospital now, please, okay?"

"Alright…" Yugi said, hanging up the phone and running to tell grandpa.

XXX

Yugi slammed his way through the double doors and into the emergency room, running up to the lady at the reception desk.

"I'm here to see Yami Moto." He said, figuring that Yami used his last name as his own.

The woman handed him a sticker and opened the doors to the left. "Room # 5, on the right." She said politely.

"Thank you," Yugi said, placing the little sticker on his shirt and running through the doors.

He opened the door to room # 5, slightly surprised by the scene before him.

Joey was sitting on the edge of the bed, his hand intertwined with Yami's while his other hand covered them. Yami's head was resting on Joey's shoulder.

"Yami?!" Yugi cried. "Are you alright?!"

Yami smiled at him. "I'm okay, Yugi. Don't worry."

"Don't worry? DON'T WORRY?!" Yugi shouted. "YOU'RE TALKING TO THE GUY WHO STAYED UP ALL NIGHT WORRYING!"

Joey shushed him. "Take it easy, Yuge. Yami doesn't need to be screamed at right now. He doesn't need to be screamed at, anyway."

"Oh, really? You think it's okay to just run off and not tell anybody where you're going, and then make someone stay up practically all night because they're worried half do death about you, and then you wind up in the hospital?!"

"YUGI!" Joey shouted. "Just…stop it, okay?"

Yugi sighed heavily and frowned.

Joey whispered something in Yami's ear, then waited for him to respond with a nod before standing up and leading Yugi out of the room.

Joey shut the door behind him and pushed Yugi up against the wall.

"What. Is it. Joey?" Yugi said, angry.

"Do you even know what's been going on in the first place? Did you give him a chance to explain everything to you? Did you watch him breakdown in front of you, then scare the living shit out of you and puke his damn brains out?"

"He was crying?" Yugi said.

Joey groaned, frustrated. "Yes, he was crying. Yugi, you didn't give him a chance to tell you anything."

"How did you end up here in the first place?" Yugi questioned.

"Because the other day when Yami ran off, he went down to the beach. I found him, crying, and that's why I came and told you that I had to leave. He's been with me. I'm the one he poured his heart out to. I'm the one who actually made him feel welcome. I'm the one who called the ambulance when he brought up a gallon of blood in my bathroom."

Yugi stood in silence. "What did he tell you?"

Joey paused. "He told me the real reason he faked the whole memory loss thing."

"Well, would you like to share it with me?"

Joey paused again. "No. I think he should tell you. When he's well enough to, of course. Listen, Yuge. He's not exactly mad at you, he just thinks you won't understand."

Yugi sighed. "Of course I'll understand. The only thing I'm concerned about now is what you said about him throwing up blood in your bathroom…"

Joey nodded. "Yeah…He had been crying earlier, then ran into the bathroom and started throwing up. I just figured he was really, really upset. But then he got in the shower, started screaming my name, and when I got him out he started puking up blood. Scared me senseless…"

Yugi swallowed the lump in his throat. "But he's okay now, right?"

"They just need to keep him here for about a week, and then he can go home. Go home with you, I'm guessing."

Yugi silenced. "You two have been getting pretty close, huh?"

Joey crossed his arms and stood against the wall. "Kind of, yeah. Ten times closer than we were before."

"I'll say," Yugi laughed. "You guys never held hands before."

"Hey!" Joey chuckled. "He's been really upset. I'm trying to be the nice one." He punched a guilty Yugi lightly in the shoulder.

"Let's just go back in with him. I'd be more than happy to just put the fight behind us for now."

"Alright."

Joey opened the door back up and led himself and Yugi into the room.

Yay! I updated in less than 24 hours!

R&R!

GK09