Authors note: Until the line it's the same as version 1 and thatfor also has been beta readand fied by dancing elf until that point.

Version 2


10 Years

10 Years

"Peep…peep…peep…peep…peep…peep…"

He was used to the sound by now. So used to listening to the peeping of the machines that kept the other alive. Tomorrow, or since it's past midnight, today at 10:26 it will be 10 years since the accident. 10 whole years since those amber eyes had been open on their own account. 10 years since he had heard the laugh of the blond man that lay lifelessly in his hospital bed. Joey's face was as white as the sheets beneath him. It always is. His former ruby lips could be any color, but Seto wouldn't know because an oxygen mask always covers them. Without it Joey would be dead by now. Without one machine that forces air into his lungs, and another that triggers the muscle of his heart to work for one more beat, Joey would have died 10 years ago.

Seto sat there watching the pale face that was framed by blond hair, a face that didn't look nearly as healthy as it had 10 years ago. The hair was cut irregularly, probably by a nurse who was bothered by the long hair while washing the skinny body that had hardly any muscles left. Or rather, the muscles are there, but they are dreadfully underdeveloped, especially compared to how the young man had been 10 years ago. The well-defined chest and abs that were always hidden by an over-large shirt were reduced to near extinction.

"How can you even sleep with all these noises?" Seto asked Joey in a whisper. He always spoke to him occasionally while sitting by his bedside. It probably was hopeless, but he couldn't stand this strange kind of silence. Not that it really was quiet. Like he said to Joey, the machines were ridiculously loud, but no one really spoke.

It's just past one in the morning. The only time when Seto had time to see Joey was late at night, and he liked the fact that he was alone with him then. He didn't mind the peeping so much anymore, especially since it was the sound that accompanied each one of Joey's heartbeats. Every peep meant that Joey lived for the duration of one more heartbeat; they were music to Seto's ears. But the other sounds in the hospital at night annoyed him greatly: the steps of the nurses walking from one room to the next; or the snores of some of the other patients-the ones that haven't been in a coma for the last 10 years. Every night so far, Seto had heard a bed being moved along the hall, another emergency that must have arrived and been brought here. Those sounds annoyed him the most.

A little while later the door to Joey's room was opened quietly. Seto heard it but still stared at Joey's face, uncertain how many more nights he would see it. He had been wondering how much longer he should come to see him-even his sister only visited twice a year now. Yugi, who had been there every week for the first 5 years, now came once a month to visit his friend. Duke hadn't been there for at least a year, probably longer. Even Joey's father didn't visit the blond. The reminder of Joey's father made Seto glare. Just one month after the accident he had wanted the doctors to turn the machines off-to end the peeping that accompanied Joey's heartbeats-and end Joey's life. And for what? It wasn't because he couldn't stand to see Joey waste away here on a bed, unable to move, and seemingly dead to the world around him. No, the reason had been money. The machines were too expensive and he couldn't afford enough booze for himself. His liquor was more important to him than his own son. Even though most of it was paid by Joey's insurance, Joey's father resented having to pay the rest.

Seto heard a quiet cough from the direction of the door and assumed that the nurse just wanted to announce her presence-like he hadn't heard her already. "I thought you might like a coffee," a female voice said.

Seto didn't need to look up to know who was there. He never looked away from Joey's face from the moment he entered the room. He knew every nurse by name and recognized her by the sound of her voice. "Thanks, Lilith," Seto said, not moving, and heard her put down a paper cup on the table next to Joey's bed. He saw the hand from the corner of his eye, but didn't say anything else. Then it was quiet again-for a moment—with only the peeping of the machines and a few quiet steps outside of the room. Part of Seto wanted to ask the same question he always asked. And he knew that she waited for it, just like every nurse who brought him a nightly coffee waited. "How is he?" He finally asked, already knowing the answer and fearing it at the same time.

"No change in his condition," the nurse replied, waiting a few moments before she left.

Every night the same answer…why do I even bother to ask? Why do I let myself hope that there might be a tiny change? 10 years and still no sign of a change in Joey's condition. The odds that he'll ever wake up again are slim and I know that even Joey's sister has started to wonder why Joey is still being kept alive. Mokuba has mentioned to me that she doesn't like the fact that Joey has to endure being so utterly weak and defenseless with hardly any hope of improvement. But she hasn't asked who pays for all this yet. No one knows that I pay for the treatments, not even Mokuba. Of course the hospital knows, and they would tell Joey's family if any of them would ask. But as far as I know, no one has asked.

Joey's father hadn't been to see him since he said that he wouldn't pay for the machines any longer. Serenity only came twice a year, since she lived too far away to visit more often. And since she found it hard to see her older brother so weakened, she never stayed very long. His mother had accompanied Serenity a few times, but the number of times she had been here to see Joey could be counted on one hand.

The sound of the peeping goes on with no end to it. One heartbeat after another, one more moment of stolen life, one more moment in which Joey isn't allowed to move on to another life or to whatever might come after this life. I don't really believe that there is an afterlife, so that's why I will never allow anyone to turn the machines off. I will keep them running for as long as Joey's heart keeps beating with them. As long as Joey manages to live with the machines, I will keep him alive.

But how much longer should I come and see him during the nights? Maybe the question is not how much longer I should come, but rather, how much longer can I continue to do it?

Seto gave a sigh and took the cup of coffee, happy that he could just about see the cup without moving his eyes from Joey's face. He drank it slowly and started to whisper to Joey, just little things that happened during his day. How he had caught some people talking about him when he entered his office. He had been slightly late, even though he wasn't scheduled to be at his office until 10. He never was scheduled to be there any earlier for 10 years, as he needed at least 4 hours of sleep each night. To his luck, the mansion was only 10 minutes by car from both the office and the hospital. As long as the traffic wasn't too bad, that gave him about 40 minutes to get ready for bed and later to shower and get himself dressed for work. The fact that he had a driver was helpful as well; he could eat some breakfast and have a coffee on his way to the office.

Seto also mentioned that Mokuba had told him today that Yugi has owned the shop for a few weeks now. His grandfather had officially gone into retirement and passed the shop to Yugi, as Yugi's father, Solomon's son, had no interest in it. There were a lot of other little things Seto told Joey slowly, talking about each topic with one or two sentences before falling quiet again for a while. He didn't want to be too noisy for Joey and he gave him some time to let his words sink in, if they reached him at all.

Seto gave a sigh…it was probably pointless. "It's been 10 years since the accident, you know?" Seto asked close to 5 in the morning. He knew that he had to leave soon, and was getting incredibly tired. Just 4 hours sleep each night for 10 years was getting exhausting. Maybe he should cut down at least, but even now it was hard to leave, to force his eyes away from Joey's beautiful face. He probably wouldn't be able to cut down, but this couldn't possibly be healthy for Seto. Joey was hardly alive, and he might never open his eyes, so it was pointless to long for a man who might never be truly alive again. And even if he wakes up,Seto thought, he'll never return my feelings for him.Seto gave a sigh and then added, "I might not come back to see you, Joey. I try not to, even though I still love you." Silence again, apart from the peeping machines and the muted sounds from the hallway. "You don't need to worry though, I won't let them turn off the machines." The silence stretched on for another moment, filled by the usual sounds until Seto stood from his seat close to the bed. He leaned over to give Joey one final kiss on his forehead, like he did every morning at around 5. "Please understand me Joey, I have to move on sometime, and it has been 10 years."

Why do I even worry if he'll understand, he'll never care anyway, even if he wakes up, Seto thought as he turned to leave, fighting the urge to turn around and see Joey one last time from the doorway. He needed to just go now, or he wouldn't be able to go at all-not this time-not after saying good-bye for good.


Seto was just around the corner, just out of hearing range when the alarm on the machines in Joey's room went off. The nurse called Lilith rushed in and looked towards the machines first, noticing right away why they had gone off. The air couldn't float effortlessly because whenever the machine tried to pump some inside of Joey's lungs, there was already a bit of air in them. And the machine that had kept the patients heart beating for 10 years now stopped to do so because it registered the electrical impulse from a fully functioning heart. She stared at the blond man and then pressed a button that would alert a doctor to rush over right away before she carefully took the oxygen mask from the blonds face. "It's all right mister Wheeler." She said in a muted voice, trying not to alarm the man whose eyes where opened and glued to the door. His heart was going a little to fast, not much but a bit and his breathing was labored, "You don't need to be afraid about feeling week, you'll be just fine again soon." She noticed his lips move slightly whenever the air left his lungs and sometimes heard a quiet sound come from his mouth. "Try to calm down." She told him noticing that he obviously was distressed about something and hoping to calm him.

By the time the doctor had arrived the amber eyes were watery with tears and still focused on the door while his lips still moved.

The doctor gave orders to get mister wheeler on oxygen with a nasal cannula to ease his breathing a little and then injected something to calm him and something that would help him sleep through the night hoping that he would be calmer after waking up in the morning.

The drugs started to work fast and the doctor left the nearly half asleep patient. Lilith noticed that even though the blond man could hardly keep his eyes open he still looked towards the door and moved his lips, probably in an attempt to talk as she assumed by now. "He'll be back." She told him, by now assuming that his distress was about mister Kaiba, and for the first time those amber eyes focused on her. He looked afraid and begging. "I could give him a call tomorrow. But I really think that you should let him go home and sleep now." She offered and the man looked more relaxed in an instant. "I promise I call him tomorrow." She said and then the eyes closed. The machin still peeped, like it always did, but one look to the monitor confirmed that the peep didn't mean that the patients heart was forced to beat one more time, now it meant that it beat on his own, for one more time. He was still week, dreadfully weak even, but he could find his strength again and now he had a real chance to get better.

Lilith knew that Joey would sleep for a few hours, and that Seto Kaiba needed his rest too and so it was past noon when she took the number she had copied from Joey Wheeler's papers right after making that promise. It rang a total of five times before she heard Seto Kaiba pick up and say "I'm busy, so whoever you are make it quick." Followed by a "Just put those papers over there I look through them in a moment."

"I'm sorry to interrupt by I promised mister Wheeler last night that I'd…" she started to say.

"Hold on." Kaiba interrupted. "How could you seriously promise him anything Lilith?"

She wasn't surprised that he recognized her by her voice. He probably wouldn't know who she was if she stood right in front of him, simply because he had never looked into her face. He only ever looked into Joey Wheelers pale face, but he#d heard her voice often enough. Everyone nurse on the station was making a wager now that Joey was awake about how much longer it will be until one of them walks in on them kissing. The way that powerful man watched over the blond every singly night must mean that they where secretly together for god knows how long. "I can." She answered, "Because he is awake, which is what I promised to tell you."

It was quiet for a moment and then she heard a loud noise. "LAST NIGHT? YOU TALKED TO HIM LAST NIGHT AND ONLY TELL ME NOW?" Kaiba screamed.

She wasn't nearly as shocked as Mokuba who stood at the door and had turned when Seto's chair had crashed into the window behind him; luckily the glass is bullet proof and didn't break that easily. Hearing his brother's words did confuse him though; he had no idea what it was about.

"I'm sorry but mister Wheeler needed some rest and since you had just left I thought you might need some as well." Lilith explained. "But I'm sure mister Wheeler would like to see you, it was very clear that he wanted you informed about the fact that he woke up."

"I'll be there in 10 minutes." Seto said and ended the call.

I hope not. Lilith thought, he'll never make it from his office to the hospital in 10 minutes. At least not alive.

She knew that to reach the hospital he would have to drive past his mansion which was about half way to the hospital and even from there she would need at least 15 minutes, so even if he was a faster driver, he wouldn't be able to make it that fast from the office and since he had talked about some papers, he probably wasn't at home.

Mokuba stared at his brother who walked past him towards the elevator. "Hey Seto, what about that meeting you have in 5 minutes."

Seto glared at him for a second not even stopping and then looked to his secretary who looked as stunned about his actions as Mokuba was. It wasn't like Seto Kaiba to go against his carefully organized plans. In fact the secretary was often surprised that his toilet breaks weren't scheduled. "Move my appointments for today, I'm gone." He said surprising her even more.

"But they'll be on their way by now." She said stunned.

"Screw them." Kaiba all but screamed at the poor girl, already entering the elevator. "I'm busy."

Mokuba was stunned for so long that he needed to hold the doors open with a hand before he could get inside with Seto, earning himself a death glare. "What's going on?" He asked looking at his brother and noticing from the corner of his eyes that the button to the parking space bellow the building was lit, meaning that Seto intended to take his own, spare car that was usually parked right next to the elevator, instead of using his limousine.

"I need to go somewhere." Kaiba just answered glaring at the control buttons of the elevator and pressing the one for the floor he wanted to reach again.

"It won't get any faster just because you repress the buttons." Mokuba said with a grin, remembering how often Seto had told him the same thing when he was running late to see his friends due to a hold up at the office, and earning himself another death glare from his brother. Which was rare enough once a day, never mind twice. He must really be in a rush. "Tell me big brother, where are you going in such a rush, because I won't let you go there alone anyway, never mind letting you drive in that condition."

"I don't know what you mean." Kaiba more growled then said, "I'm in a perfect condition and will drive myself."

"Yeah right." Mokuba said "I don't know why you're so strange right now but you act like someone is dying if you won't make it there in time. I'm not going to let you drive like that. It's bad enough that Joey is in a coma due to a car accident, I don't need you lying there too."

"He isn't." Seto simply said.

"Who isn't what?" Mokuba asked not getting what he meant at all.

"Joey isn't in a coma." Seto replied.

"Hell he isn't." Mokuba said "You might be unwilling to go there and see it for yourself but I've seen it plenty of times. He's just lying there, looking like he's already dead. You have no idea how it is to see that Seto, and I couldn't bare to see you like that, so I won't let you drive."

"I've seen it." Seto answered "But I just got a call, he woke up last night some time past 5."

Mokuba stared at his brother. "I beg your pardon. When have YOU been there? You've always refused to go with me when I asked."

"I've been there." Seto just repeated himself and then said "And he wants to see me, so I'm driving."

"No way." Mokuba said and once the elevator opened he ran to the car and was in the drivers seat first.

"Get out or move over but I'M driving." Seto said with another death glare.

"Give me the keys or call the limousine to pick you up but you aren't driving." Mokuba insisted holding on to the steering wheel for dear life, eying Seto's clenched fists. So far Seto had never hit him, so he shouldn't worry about them, but so far Mokuba had never seen his brother in such a state so who knew. Mokuba had no idea why Seto was so into seeing Joey all of a sudden but he sure as hell wouldn't let him drive the way he was now. Seto's arms where shaking with anger and he glared at his brother like he had never done before, in fact Mokuba couldn't remember to ever see such a bad glare on his brothers face and that really meant something. "Even if you hit me, I won't let you drive." Mokuba pointed out happy that he had made a drivers license even though Seto had pointed out to him that he didn't really need one on multiple occasions. "You're not going to get me out of here."

Seto stared but his glare lessened momentarily, shocked that Mokuba feared to get hit by him, and his look became more surprised then angry for a split second but then his glare increased again. "Fine." He finally said, threw the keys into his brother's lap and walked towards the passenger seat.

Mokuba turned the engine on before Seto even was inside but waited for him to be buckled up before he started to drive. Mokuba had never liked to drive with Seto on the passenger seat; in fact he had only done it once before shortly after getting his license. Seto was impossible as a passenger at his best, unless of course he was in the back of a limousine. "Any slower and we're going backwards." Seto said after they just got onto the street.

"I can only accelerate that fast," Mokuba pointed out "And just to remind you, there is such a thing as a speed limit."

"Forget about speed limits just hurry." Seto ordered.

"Forget about that." Mokuba answered with a pout. "I like having a license and don't want to loose it due to speeding too much."

"Who cares I lost mine too." Seto pointed out.

"When?" Mokuba asked surprised he hadn't heard of it "And how could you even consider driving knowing that you don't have it?"

"I lost it about 8 years back." Seto answered. "And guess what, the engine still starts with a key and not a license."

"You're absolutely impossible." Mokuba said, "You're not supposed to drive without a drivers license."

"I'm not supposed to do a lot of things and it never stopped me before." Seto pointed out.

"But there are rules Seto." Mokuba said. "And you really should stop driving or at least get yourself a new license first."

"Screw the rules." Seto simply answered "And now floor it."

"Never." Mokuba answered, "You might not care about rules but I do actually enjoy living, so I'm not going to kill us both, the rules are there for a reason."

It was quiet until they reached the first red light. "What are you waiting for?" Seto asked.

"Are you blind?" Mokuba asked, "The traffic lights are red."

"That one is green." Seto said and pointed towards the light for the cars that went straight on.

"But where headed left." Mokuba answered, "and our light is red, as you KNOW that."

"Just floor it." Seto said again. "The others have breaks too and I doubt that they want us to destroy their cars."

"I'm not going to drive until it's green." Mokuba answered getting even more annoyed with his older brother then he had been the last time Seto was on the passenger seat while he drove. "You might as well shut up about my driving stile because it isn't going to get you there any faster."

"I would be faster if I walked." Seto said angrily.

"I bet the difference." Mokuba answered through gritted teeth and was happy when the lights turned green and hoping that traffic wouldn't get to bad, he certainly didn't want to get caught in a traffic jam with Seto next to him. "And now shut it we're nearly there anyway."

"The way you drive it will still be dark before we'll get there." Seto said still sounding angry.

Mokuba didn't answer him this time around and just chanted to himself He's not himself right now, don't get mad, he's not himself right now, don't get madd he's not himself right now... And started to wonder why exactly Seto was acting so strange.

Seto kept pestering Mokuba about his 'slow driving' until they finally reached the hospital and by the time Mokuba had turned of the engine Seto was half way at the entrance. Mokuba rushed after him certain that he would catch him at the reception where Seto could find out where Joey was and was surprised to see through the entrance door that Seto rushed right past it. Mokuba nearly had to run to catch up with Seto who had much longer legs even though Mokuba wasn't a little kid anymore either. At least he isn't running, Mokuba thought still wondering what coursed him to hurry so much.

Once they reached the station where Joey's room was located Seto grabbed the first nurse he passed by her arm and asked, "How is he."

Mokuba was about to point out to his brother that she probably didn't know who Seto was referring to when the nurse answered "He seems to be fine and already started therapy this morning to build up his muscles again. He also seems to be expecting you."

"How do you know Michelle?" Seto asked. "I assumed him to be unable to speak considering that he didn't even breathe on his own for 10 flipping years."

Mokuba looked over the nurses clothing trying desperately to find a nametag that didn't exist. How on earth does he know her name? Even I don't know any of the nurses' names and I've actually been here before. It didn't take long though until Mokuba remembered that Seto actually had said that he had seen Joey and now it was clear to Mokuba that he hadn't just seen Joey once, he must have been visiting the blond duelist all the time.

"He answers yes and no question by blinking with his eyes." The nurse explained. "One blink means no, two mean yes. But he needs a lot of rest from all the work. He's very motivated to get his strength back."

"Of course he is." Seto answered. "He's a fighter after all."

And then Mokuba needed to rush after Seto again to keep up. Giving Michelle a quick apology for Seto's behavior in the passing. Once they reached Joey's room Seto stared towards Joey who sluggishly opened his eyes and then stared back to Seto who stood in the door. A tiny movement of Joey's hand was enough to pull Seto the remaining few steps towards Joey's bed and in an instead Seto had both arms around the blond man on the bed, lifting him slightly and supporting his head with one hand, unable to control his emotions any longer.

10 years he had been visiting Joey without seeing as much as a twitch of his. 10 years had Seto spend night after night watching that face longing to see his amber eyes. 10 years had Seto hoped that Joey would finally weak up. 10 years had he feared that he'd lost him for good. Now, after 1 night where he started to loose hope to the point that he didn't want to come the next night but already wavering in his decision by the time he entered his office at 10 o'clock that morning, Joey was back.

Seto could see him move, look into his eyes and actually see some recognition in him. He was fine, his brain didn't seem to be damaged at all and what was more impotently, Joey seemed to long to see him nearly as much as Seto longed after him which was surprising enough but easily explained by Seto with the assumption that he was simply imagining it. Seto was sure that it was just wishful thinking that made him believe that Joey had longed to see him, at least he thought that until he felt Joey's lips brush the skin below his ear. The only part of Seto's skin that was close enough during the embrace for Joey to reach it in his weakened state. Seto held him even tighter while he heard Mokuba gasp in surprise.

"I love you." Seto whispered quietly into Joey's ear, "Do you think you could give me a chance once you get better?" Seto slowly moved to look into Joey's eyes for an answer and was glad that he could stare at him in that way. He froze once he saw Joey blink once and hugged him tighter after a second one.

"You do realize that Michelle informed me that two blinks mean yes?" He looked into Joey's eyes again, easing up on the hug momentarily to be able to do so. First he heard a little muted chuckle from Joey's lips and then saw him blink quickly two times. Seto looked at him for a moment, marveling at the beauty of his amber eyes and then leaned closer to give him a short kiss on his lips, hardly touching them but enjoying it greatly anyway. He stopped again much to soon for his own taste but whispered quietly, "I can't wait until you regain your strength."


Authors note: I hope you enjoyed the story, and liked both versions at least a little. Reviews are allways greatly appreciated and please don't forget to vote for your favorite version.