miss.Understood wench: Thanks for the review. I will have to check out your story and I'll help what I can but to be honest, I have help with what I do and another person that offered to help me again!
onlyaname: I hope you do continue. Thank you for the review.
Nikki1: I had wanted to write something about Hiroaki ending up in the hospital, which is why I always hinted but then chickened out. After this, I doubt you will see Hiroaki as sickly and perhaps less of a workaholic. You will start to see a difference in Matt's feelings towards his mother after this chapter also.
wolf's lament: Thank you for the review. I am glad you feel as though they are in character; sadly, there are many that may disagree with you. Whatever makes the story though. Thank you again!
Digi-Girl101: I try to update, I really do. Most of my stories are completed. Thank you for the review.
JyouraKoumi: I don't see Izzy having a major part in this story. I'm trying to find a way to work him in but I am coming up blank.
FallenArchangelDD: He does and I hope I can make him grow on you. He is a good person and cares about his boys and I think it shows in them as well.
Stained In Negativity: It was supposed to be there but not to stay there...one of those things. You are the first person I have come across who like Hiroaki.
Inner Beauty: me give up on Matt and Sora? Ha, dont' think so. I am comfortable in writing them as a couple. Most of my stories consist of them playing a major part because I can relate with their personalities more then the others. You will see a little more of Sora and Matt after this chapter.
Curtis Zidane Ziraa" Thanks for the review. I didn't think this story would be this long.
Broken Angel01: This chapter will introduce Ryoko
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The window Matt sat beside held the sun's glare, making Matt squint in order to see through the bright light. The street below the hospital walls were ordinary, an everyday schedule of people making their way to their destination. Matt let his eyes close a moment, resting them from the brilliant rays.
"Matt?" The boy at the window turned his head quickly the man who called out his name.
Hiroaki's face held a mask of confusion as he looked around the unfamiliar room.
"Hey." Matt pulled himself out of the chair that he occupied by the window and slid down to sit on his father's bed. "How are you feeling?" Matt spoke softly, a soothing voice as if though he was talking to a child.
"What…"
"You exhausted yourself out." Matt interrupted. "I woke up to a glass braking and found you out cold on the floor. I didn't know what else to do."
His father stared at his son, trying to make sense of his son's words.
"I thought you had a heart attack or something." Matt went on, now trying to avoid his father's eyes. "So now you are here. They are um, running some test but don't think everything will serious will be made of the test results."
"Matt." His father touched the boy's arm. "I'm sorry. I never thought that this would happen."
"It's nothing." Matt cleared his throat. "You just need rest and keep better care of yourself. You had been working to hard for too long. All those double shifts and long hours finally caught up with you."
"Dad!" Tk came running into the room and threw his arms around his father. "Dad. I was so scared when I heard." Tk sobbed into his father's shoulder. Hiroaki placed his arms around his youngest son, holding him close.
"Hey everything is okay." His father hushed him, "Everything is fine now."
Joe waited outside the room, giving his friends private time with their father. He was pacing the quiet hallway when the elevator's doors dinged open to reveal Tai and Sora.
"Joe!" Tai called out and Sora shot her elbow in his rib while covering her slim finger over his mouth. "Joe." Tai said in a much softer voice, shooting a glare over at Sora.
"Bout time." Joe walked over to them.
"It was my fault." Sora apologized, "I called Mimi up and couldn't get her off the phone. She wanted to know everything, I didn't even know the answers to some of her questions."
"How is everyone?" Tai searched his friend's eyes for some kind of clue.
"Fine." Joe sighed, "It isn't as bad as it could be, just enough to shake the family up."
"I ran into Tk's mum in the hallway." Sora folded her arms, "Who told her the news?"
"I did." Joe nodded his head. "She brought Tk up but thought it was better to wait it out for Matt's sake."
Sora and Tai both nodded.
"How is Matt holding up?" Tai asked as he started for the room to peer in at the small family.
"You know Matt." Joe shrugged. "He is actually doing better now that the worst came to pass. He was so caught up on what might have happen."
Joe stopped his discussion while a nurse walked pass the group, slipping inside Hiroaki's room.
"It's time for him to rest," Joe explained to Sora and Tai. "They'll have to say their good-byes."
"We'll keep care of him, Joe." Tai slapped his friend on the back. "Davis is going to hang around Tk's apartment this afternoon to try to keep his mind occupied."
"We'll stay with Matt and make sure he gets something to eat and some rest." Sora smiled softly.
"My parents didn't even think twice when I asked them about staying at his apartment." Tai shrugged. "I guess I more told them that I was then actually asking."
Joe nodded his head with approval. "Just call if something comes up or if I'm needed."
They watched as the two brothers moved out into the hallway.
"Hey, you okay?" Tai asked as Matt moved to his side.
Matt nodded his head and rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand.
"You look like hell." Tai sighed. Matt's normal clear eyes were now puffy and red rimmed. Traces of how tired Matt felt showed below his eyes and his complexion appeared paler then normal. "Come on let's get you home. You okay Teeks?"
Tk nodded his head, wiping away salty tears before giving Sora a small smile as she placed an arm around him to lead him towards the elevator's door.
Matt took a glance back at Joe, who stood in the hallway, his hands in his pockets as he watched his friends leave.
"I'll let you know if anything happens." Joe gave Matt a small wave.
"Thanks." Matt sighed.
Joe smiled back, understanding that the thank you was for much more.
The group headed out of the elevator doors and towards the hospital's wide glass doors. Nancy approached the boys and Tk immediately embraced his mother. She hung on to him tightly, whispering in his ear that everything was okay.
Matt reached out and slid his hand down his brother's back.
"I'm okay Matt." Tk grabbed his brother's hand for a moment. "Call me if you hear anything else."
"I will."
"Promise?"
"Promise." Matt gave Tk a reassuring smile and started for the doors.
"Matt." His mother called out. "Do you need…."
"No." Matt cut her off and shook his head slowly. "I'm okay." He turned back towards the door and follow Tai and Sora out the door.
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Matt let the door push open slowly. "I didn't lock it." He explained to his two friends in a whisper. He felt strange as though he was walking in someone else shoes, in someone's dream.
"It's alright," Tai place a hand Matt's back and guided him into the apartment. "Anyone who walks into your apartment would already think it had been burglarized."
"Tai." Sora shook her head.
"Do you two want anything to drink?" Matt asked, heading for the kitchen.
"No." Tai grabbed his friend's arm. "Come on Matt. You won't do Tk any good if you don't rest up."
"Joe talked to him. He didn't seem mad." Matt rubbed his eyes. His head felt heavy and it pounded from the tension.
"He isn't mad at you, Matt." Sora exchanged looks with Tai.
"Matt, why don't you take a shower?" Tai pulled Matt towards the bathroom. "We'll try and find something for you to eat. Something light, okay?"
XXXXX
Sora watched the two boys disappear behind the closed door. She glanced around the apartment unsure what to do until she saw the broken glass on the floor.
"He's like a zombie." Tai came out of the bathroom.
Sora picked the remains of the broken glass from the floor and glanced over at Tai. "Do you think he will even eat anything?"
"No. I wouldn't if I found myself walking in his shoes. I couldn't." Tai sighed, "He needs sleep more then something to eat."
"Good, because there isn't anything here to eat." She opened the bare refrigerator.
"Well that won't do. I'll have to eat something if I remain here!"
"Tai!" Sora tried to keep a straight face but in the end, Tai won and a smile broke out on her face.
"I'll go and pick up some stuff to eat. One less thing on Matt's mind."
"I don't think he is worried about food right now, Tai."
"Not now but he will when it is time for his father to come home." Tai picked up his car keys and gave her a slight wave. "My cell will be on, call if you need anything."
"Be careful." Sora called before the door shut.
Sora turned around in the apartment once more. The running of the shower from the bathroom was the only sound she could pick up.
She quickly walked down the hall towards Matt's room. She stripped his bed and remade it with clean sheets.
XXXXX
"Tai? Sora?" Matt called out and Sora straightened her posture and headed towards the voice.
Sora came out of his room and headed down towards the living only to stop within the hallway walls as she approached Hiroaki's room. Matt leaned against the open door of his father's bedroom.
"Matt." Sora reached out to him, only wanting to touch his arm. He turned towards her and she looked into his eyes, wishing she could take his hurt away, to wash away tears that threaten his eyes. She instead took him in her arm and held him. His body was rigid at first but she whispered his name softly in his ear and he seemed to melt against her.
"I could have lost him tonight, Sor." Matt's voice was low and she had to strain to hear him at all.
"But you didn't, Matt. You didn't." She whispered back, pulling away and breaking their embrace. She took his hand, her tiny fingers wrapping tightly around his own. "You are exhausted, come and try to get some rest." She pulled him towards his room.
"I don't know if I can." Matt followed her as she led. His headache was not as bad; the shower seemed to wash some of the pain away.
Sora didn't say anything as they walked into the darken room. She had lowered the blinds in his room trying to block out the afternoon's light. "Tai went grocery shopping."
"I thought you both had left." Matt sat down on his bed and he titled his head to look at up the red head.
"Of course we didn't." Sora pushed Matt back against his pillows. "Try to get some rest. I will be here for a long time yet and Tai is spending the night and he is in his over-protective moods!" She placed a light, soft cover over Matt and turned towards the door. "I'll leave it open a little just in case you need me."
She started out towards the leaving room once again when he called out to her. Poking her head through the door, she looked in the room. Shadows played across Matt's face as he looked up at her.
"I need you." Matt croaked out.
Sora went to his bedside and sat down on the edge so she could look down at his face.
"Stay with me." Matt reached his hand out to touch her check. She closed her eyes and placed a hand on his outstretched arm.
"I'll stay."
XXXXX
"Honey I'm home!" Tai called out as he entered the apartment. "And I brought food!" He hummed a toneless melody as he walked into the kitchen to set his burden of food down on the countertops.
"Sora!" Tai started to reach in the brown bag and placing his purchases on the counter.
"Sor!" He called out again, pulsing from his task when he still had not heard her soft voice. His handsome features took on a worried looked and he dropped a can of mixed fruit down on the counter and headed towards the other rooms of the apartment. Tai glanced into rooms as he hurriedly walked to the back bedroom, once he entered the room he stopped.
Sora had slipped into Matt's bed, her arms still held him as they both slept. The corner of Tai's face hinted a smile as he pulled the door shut. He retraced his steps to make that sandwich he had thought about all through the grocery store's aisle.
XXXXX
Hiroaki let the last small puff of smoke roll out of his mouth before he flicked the end of the cigarette into an empty can of soda that one of Matt's friends had left out on the balcony. Most likely, it had belonged to Tai. Somehow, Tai had wiggled his way into the Isidia's family and now rooted himself deeply in their life. Hiroaki smiled as he pictured Tai's face and his untidy hair. Tai was a remarkable boy, Hiroaki had to smile just thinking of the boy's persona.
It had been several weeks since he had been out of the hospital and with no connects from his work, other then concern calls from his fellow employees, Hiroaki grew restless. The first week passed rather quickly with Matt and Tk playing nursemaids to him and of course, the medication the doctor had given him had helped with the need to sleep. Now, he grew restless, he was bored. The news station was always in an up roar with some new event to chase after which Hiroaki often complained about once before but now found he missed it.
The morning still held dampness in the air from the late night rainstorm the city had received. The rusty smell of rain engulfed him at first when he walked out to the balcony but now he had grew a custom to it. He picked up the empty soda can and his morning cup of coffee and walked back into the apartment.
"I thought you were going to quit." He heard his son's voice before he seen his son.
Matt stood up from the sofa he had been kneeling at, his face lost while he searched for his cell phone.
"Quit what?" Hiroaki asked, fully aware of the topic of his son's conversations was about, his smoking habit.
"I can't find my cell phone." Matt glared at the pack of cigarettes in his father's hand but ignore his father's question. It was a question that he did not have to answer. He was not a custom to telling his father what to do, so he instead he threw his father's empty promise in the air.
"You left it in the bathroom." Hiroaki walked towards the kitchen to get a fresh cup of coffee. "Do you want a cup?" He yelled out to his son.
"I just brushed my teeth." Matt came up from behind him. "Coffee breath sucks. Did I tell you that Tk was meeting me here?"
"No." Hiroaki watched as Matt gathered up his homework from the table that he had abandon last night.
"Well Tk's coming over." Matt smiled. "Do you want something besides a cup of coffee?"
"No, I don't want you to be late."
"I'm not." Matt walked out with his school items and placing them near the small black table at the door. He came back empty handed and his school jacket tossed over an empty chair. "I'll make you some eggs."
"You are wearing your school uniform." Hiroaki took the frying pan from his son. "Matt, didn't I teach you how to cook."
"You taught me how not to cook." Matt corrected him and took the pan back from his father. In a few minutes, Matt placed a hot plate of eggs and toast in front of his father. "What are you doing to do today?"
"Nothing. What can I do?" Hiroaki spoke flatly.
Matt rolled his eyes. "Did you watch any of those movies we picked up yesterday?"
"No."
"Did you read that book Tk gave to you?"
"No."
"How about that computer game Izzy made for you? Did you even put that in the computer?" Matt asked.
"No." Hiroaki shook his head.
"Did you play any of my play station games yet? I have a few in racing modes."
"No." Hiroaki sighed.
"Then I guess you have a lot to do today." Matt winked at his father. "How about we go out after dinner? Maybe that would cheer you up."
"I'll be fine, Matt. I will be even better once my life gets back to normal."
Matt glared at his father and leaned against the counter.
"I didn't mean that, Matt." Hiroaki sighed deeply. "It will be a long time before I pull any double shifts."
Matt continued to glare.
"And long hours." Hiroaki placed his plate at the sink his son stood near, "We'll be fine." He reached up to ruffle the blonde's hair but Matt pulled back quickly so his hair could not be messed up.
Hiroaki smiled playfully at his son. "Sounds like your brother's at the door."
Matt pushed away from the counter and walked towards the door. "You know he is going to ask me if you smoked this morning."
"I know." Hiroaki called from the kitchen.
"I'm not going to lie to him!"
"I know."
"He's going to lecture you again!" Matt called out again.
"The door Matt."
Matt pulled open the door and smiled, "Tk you're la…"
Matt's smile slipped from his face as he stared into a set of emerald eyes.
"Matt." The woman with red hair gave Matt an uncertain smile. She held a small bundle tight against her and a large bag dangled at her side. "I have a flight I have to catch."
Matt looked down at the child in her arms.
"I um…" She gave the baby in her arms a soft kiss on top of its head before pushing the child against Matt's chest.
Matt's arms atomically reached up to hold the child.
"Everything is in this bag." The young girl placed the bag she carried inside the door. "His birth certificate and documents. I told the nurses his name is Ryoko, is that the name you liked? Oh, I brought him some things and a letter. When he gets older, maybe he would like to read it. Maybe you would let him."
"He doesn't have to read a letter you could still…"
"No. No I can't." She shook her head. "This is hard for me, please believe me but this is the best. This is the best for him and you." She leaned forward and kissed the baby one more time on the cheek. Her slim finger traced the bridge of the baby's nose. "At first I thought this was a mistake, having a child at all but after seeing him," She slowly shook her head, "how could he ever be a mistake? He is a beautiful child."
She placed both hands on the side of Matt's face and pulled him in a deep kiss. "I'll miss you, Matt. Take care." She turned and quickly left Matt standing alone at the door with the baby in his arms.
"Tk did you eat?" Matt turned at hearing his father call out his brother's name.
Hiroaki came out of the kitchen expecting to see both of his sons but instead only saw shocked expression on Matt's face as he held a child in his arms.