RTC: Well, you guys know that I can't type at home anymore, so that's what' causing the delays. Also, bear in mind that this chapter was written when I was depressed and tired, so it might not be very good. Now do the disclaimer!

Kai: Let's see, Ray-Tiger-Cat STILL does not own Beyblade. Get it?

-----

Explanations And A Surprise

Hilary's POV

Lizzie didn't know that we had followed her outside. We heard the last bit of the conversation. I know it's not nice to eavesdrop, but we couldn't resist. Lizzie collapsed suddenly.

"Lizzie! Wake up!" I shouted. Mary Anne came up behind us.

"Get her back to bed!" she ordered. She grabbed the phone and started speaking quickly in Chinese.

"What's a diabetic coma?" Daichi asked after we'd gotten Lizzie into her bed. I was stunned. Ray was a diabetic?

"Uh, hello?" Daichi yelled.

"Ray must be a diabetic," Kari explained. "It's a disease that stays with you for life if you get it. I don't know much about it, but if you skip a meal or your medication, you can get seriously ill."

"That's why he was so spacey!" I exclaimed, remembering our last adventure.

"That's correct," Mary Anne said, entering the room.

"But I've seen all the medical forms you have to fill out for tournament," Kenny said, "They never said that Ray was sick."

"He only got sick recently, right before the last World Championships," Mary Anne replied.

"If he was ill, why was he still fighting in the Championships? Why didn't he tell us? He could have gotten hurt," I asked, "Didn't anyone think to tell us?"

"He didn't want you to treat him differently than before," said Lizzie quietly, who had regained consciousness, "And sure, I knew and the White Tiger knew, but we were sworn to secrecy."

"What?" exclaimed Tyson. "That's so stupid! If he had gotten sick, we wouldn't have known what to do!"

"Well, it explains why he was acting so weird when he was in the hospital," Kai remarked.

"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that," Tyson said.

"Will Ray wake up?" asked Kari.

"Well, he's in pretty bad shape. If he wakes up, it might not be for a while. They've got him on life support and they're pumping medication through him 24/7. The doctors think it might be at least a week before they'll know anything ore," Mary Anne said grimly.

"What's going to happen to me and Lynn in the meantime?" asked Lizzie, looking worried.

"Your dad was hoping you two could go with Ray's team mates back to Tokyo while he deals with Ray and tries to find your mother. Is it okay with you guys?"

"Yes, of course," Tyson replied. "We'll take care of them."

"Oh, and Mr. Dickenson called. He said he had found a house for those of you who don't live in town to stay in," Mary Anne said. "He had only planned on Kai, Kari and Ray staying there, so it's only got three bedrooms. However Lizzie and Lynn could share the den and Daichi will still be a t Tyson's."

"So, how long are we staying here?" Daichi asked Kai.

"I was hoping we could leave as soon as Max gets better," he replied.

"Maybe we should ask Judy when that would be," I suggested. So we asked her and about a week later she had arranged for Max to be transferred to a hospital in Tokyo and for us to catch a plane.

Tyson's POV

We're all at the airport now. Max has already flown out, but the rest of us were milling about. Hiro said he was staying in New York and, surprisingly, I was actually sad when we had to say good bye. Mary Anne was also staying, but she would catch a plane in a few weeks to China. Bet Hiro's going to miss her. Lizzie looks like she might cry, but she's trying no to let us see that. We boarded the plane and returned to Tokyo after several weeks of traveling.

Mr. D met us at the airport and took us to the house he had found. It was on the small side, but at least it was within walking distance of my dojo. Inside, there was furniture which Mr. D had bought and a few boxes for Lizzie and Lynn that their dad had told someone to pack and send. Kari also had a bunch of boxes to unpack, so she and Lizzie got started on that, while Kai crashed on his bed. He has been looking tired, partly because his injuries hadn't completely healed and I think partly because he's been worrying so much lately. Kenny rushed home and Hil said she should probably leave, too, because it would take her forever to hobble home on her crutches.

"Hey, I'll walk you," I offered.

"Tyson and Hilary, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Daichi teased and Kari slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Go ahead, we've got things under control," she said. Who would have thought that Kai's twin would be such a softie underneath?

"So, uh, well," I stuttered. Why can't I ever say anything right or nice around her?

"Yeah, um," she said. Wow, this conversation is going well. I might as well be talking to Kai.

"Hilary, you know, I was worried about you when we were all stranded. I heard you scream and it freaked me out," I told her.

"I was worried about you, too, Tyson." Suddenly, her crutch caught a crack in the sidewalk and I caught her. We were so close; I could feel her breathe on my neck. She tipped her head up and we kissed. She dropped both of her crutches and put her arm around me and we kissed again.

"Oh, wow," she said.

"Yeah," I agreed, stooping to pick up her crutches. "Come on, we'd better get you home."

The next morning, we met at the hospital to see Max. Hilary and I had decided to keep last night's events a secret. Max was getting better; he was more like the hyper, happy-go-lucky person he was before. We only stayed an hour before Max asked why we weren't training and Kai practically dragged us back to the house.

"But, Kai, you're not supposed to be training," I whined.

"I'm not going to train, but someone has to get you people moving and teach you discipline."

We were in the middle of drills and ready to collapse when the phone rang. Kenny grabbed it.

"Lizzie, it's your dad."

"Put it on speakerphone, please. You guys deserve to know what's going on," she said.

"Lizzie, I'll be blunt, Mom is still MIA and without a trace. I'm not just calling to check in though, I've got news. Ray woke up!"

"What? Can I talk to him?" Lizzie yelled.

"Well, no. They've got a breathing tube down his throat so he can't talk. Besides, the doctors put him back to sleep so he can recover faster."

"Oh," Lizzie said disappointedly. "What's going to happen now?"

"I want you and Lynn to stay put and when Ray's released, he'll probably want to join you. I'm going to step up the search for your mother."

"What about work?'

"I've got a few weeks off, but I'll have to return to work after that whether or not we find Mom."

"When's Ray getting out?"

"Maybe next week." So, Ray will be back soon! Yes, finally some good news. Wait, will Ray still be the same as he was before?

-----

RTC: Okay, so did you like the romance? There won't be too much of that, so don't worry if you didn't. This is an angsty fic after all. If you have specific comments or questions, tell me in your reviews and I'll get back to you. Gotta go!