Chapter 39 – Help Him

"What happened?" was all Mokuba asked as the two stood in the hallway outside the room Tea and Seto had slept in. It was nearly ten o' clock in the morning; both Tea and Mokuba had called into the school saying they were taking the day off, along with a certain CEO who was currently in the room. She had woken up for school, showered, and changed, yet when Mokuba had walked in to find his brother still asleep, he had done everything in his power to wake him up. The two quickly found out that his 'sleep' was just his 'out cold' and that something was seriously wrong. Rather than waiting for his appointment later in the day, Mokuba had called the family doctor for a house check-up. Neither Tea or Mokuba said a word until the doctor showed up, who was now checking on Seto in the bedroom.

"You mean last night?" Tea asked, glancing down at the boy. He was sitting on the floor, staring intently at the door into the bedroom, worry and fear written all across his face.

"Yeah," he said, this time a bit softer. "What happened?"

"We…we got involved in some gang activity," she answered, not knowing how to reword it in a way to make it sound pleasant. The boy's eyes became wide as his gaze shot up to look at her. "A car and a motorcyclist were in a chase, and we got caught in the middle of it on accident. He… We went down a couple of alleys, but he must have realized we would be trapped, for he held onto me before slamming on the brakes. I guess he was so busy worrying about me that…that he didn't think of himself."

"It's not your fault, Tea," Mokuba reassured her, smiling sadly up at her. "But how did he get that cut?"

"My only guess is that his head went flying forward when he halted the car, hitting the steering wheel," Tea replied, biting her lower lip. "Everyone tells me it's not my fault, but why does it feel like it is?"

"Seto…" Mokuba's eyes wandered back towards the door before he let out a small sigh. "Please, I know I'm often guilty of this, but don't think it's your fault Seto is like this. He's always been like this; he's almost self-destructive when it comes to protecting the ones he loves. He'll do anything to shield those that he cares about… It's how I've survived so long."

"I guess…"

"Just know that if he did that, it means he really loves you. The only people I've seen him get hurt over were myself, Sophie, and you. Jade always protected him, and Lucy…well… He kind of just looked out for her."

Before Tea could say anything, the doctor came out into the hallway, shutting the door softly behind him. He looked to be in his forties or early fifties, for his hair was turning from brown to gray, and wrinkles were beginning to form along his forehead and eyes. He was dressed in black pants and a white, long-sleeve, v-neck shirt that had a breast pocket. He smiled down at Mokuba. "Your brother will be fine," he stated. Both Tea and Mokuba let out a unified, relieved sigh.

"So his cut isn't as bad as we thought?" Mokuba asked as he quickly stood up and brushed himself off.

"Well, I wouldn't say that… It is rather bad," the doctor answered. "But he woke up during my examination of the cut and told me what happened. To be honest, I'm surprised he only got away with that. I decided to just give him his check-up now, which was why it took so long for us to get done."

"And…?"

The doctor's smile widened. "He doesn't need anymore medication, save for the painkillers he has for his injury."

Mokuba jumped up in the air while Tea clasped her hands together in front of her chest. "So he's off the prescription stuff now?" Tea questioned.

"For now, yes," the doctor stated. "But I warned him that, in his specific case, the feelings are going to come back from time to time, and that if he feels anything in the way of depression or anxiety, that he should contact me immediately. Don't let your brother think he can just let this thing go; that's not how emotions and memories work. I've been a therapist and doctor long enough to know that. Just make sure he keeps his mind off the past for these next couple of days, for his body is going to have to get used to the lack of treatment."

"Even the family doctor knows about Seto's bad past," she observed as Mokuba nodded his head in understanding at the doctor's words. "I wonder…"

"Now Mokuba, I want to talk to this young lady here for a bit," the doctor stated, smiling over at her before returning his gaze to the younger Kaiba. "Could you please leave us alone for a bit?" Seeing confusion on the boy's face, Tea herself was curious as to what the doctor wanted. Nevertheless, Mokuba nodded his head, thanked the doctor for coming over, and walked down the hallway and into a nearby room. Silence filled the hallway once the door shut, and the doctor quickly stepped forward and held his hand out. "My name is Dr. Kelan. I've been the Kaiba family's doctor for nearly twenty years, serving Gozaburo before Seto became the head of the mansion. And you are…?"

"Tea," she answered, shaking his hand and wondering why he was suddenly acting so formal.

"Tea," he repeated, releasing her hand and letting his own fall at his side. "Well, I wanted to talk to you about your relationship with Mr. Kaiba if I could. Are you two in a serious relationship, or are you more friends or even just acquaintances?"

"We…we are currently in a relationship," she answered. "As in he's my boyfriend, and I am his girlfriend."

The doctor bit his lower lip at this bit of information before letting out a sigh. "Has he mentioned anything at all about his past…relationships?"

"I know that a girl named Sophie died while he was dating her," Tea answered, concerned over where this was going. "Why is a doctor asking me about what I know of Seto's past?"

"Nothing else?"

"Just that it obviously caused a bit of tension in him, but other than that, no. Why?"

"You see… I'm honestly not really sure whether Seto should be taken off medication or not," the doctor replied, making Tea blink in surprise. "Seto… I've taken care of Mr. Kaiba since Gozaburo adopted him. When Sophie, that girl, died, he was basically in a state of shock. Gozaburo was forced to send him to a hospital because he wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep… He couldn't force himself to function; he had literally given up on life. It was later on that we diagnosed him with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder because of the nightmares he often had while both sleeping and during the day."

"During the day?" Tea remarked, letting the doctor's information sink in.

"Whenever Mr. Kaiba heard anything violent, such as gunshots on a television or screaming, he would lose himself in I guess what you would call a trance. Whatever happened to make that girl die replayed itself in his mind constantly, and it really ate away at him."

"That's why he turned white in the car," Tea thought. "That gunshot must have reminded him of Sophie… Was that why he suddenly became so protective of me? But wait a minute… What does gun violence have to do with Sophie's death?!"

"What I'm trying to say, Miss Tea, is that his symptoms are ones that never die," he stated, crossing his arms over his chest. "He will remember those feelings for the rest of his life, and the only reason I took him off the medication was because it was doing absolutely nothing for him. But now he knows he's on his own, and I'm worried that he won't be able to handle it. Which is exactly why I asked about your relationship to him." Sighing, he said, "Make sure you keep an eye on him over these next couple of days. I'm sure Mokuba will more than willingly do so, but I believe a girlfriend would be better suited for the job."

"Why is that?"

"Because I know Mr. Kaiba has kept many emotions hidden from that boy for his own protection," the doctor whispered. "I know I'm not at liberty to say these sort of things, but I've cared for this boy enough times now to think of him as being close to me. Mr. Kaiba hides things so that others don't worry about him; it's the way he was, unfortunately, raised to think. Hiding something from a girlfriend is a lot harder than hiding it from a family member."

"Seto…lied to Mokuba?" she asked, glancing down the hallway that Mokuba walked down before returning her gaze to the doctor.

"Not lie. Just… I don't really know how else to put it." The doctor sighed before allowing a small smile to appear on his face. "Are you, by chance, hurt anywhere? I understand you two got in quite a mess last night."

"No, thank you," she answered. "But is Seto awake now?"

"Most likely, yes, although I told him no work for today at least. His head needs to heal on its own; no more bandages to cover the wound, alright? Let it breathe and heal itself."

"Okay then."

"Oh, and uh…" Chuckling, the doctor stated, "Have you done anything sexual with the boy?"

A deep red blush covered Tea's cheeks, and even though she put her hand up to cover it, it was a futile attempt. "N-No, not really. Why?"

Dr. Kelan laughed at her reaction. "It's nothing serious, but I would just not do anything like that over the next couple of days. Sex is done sometimes to get one's mind off of troubling events, and I don't need Mr. Kaiba to become a sex addict because he can't handle a death that occurred a year or so ago."

Although the idea itself was rather humorous, Tea understood the importance of what he was trying to say. "Don't distract Seto from the problem, just help him deal with it," she thought as the doctor let out a sigh and looked down at his watch.

"It looks like I should be heading out about now," he stated. "But please, take care of Mr. Kaiba. I… I know he may seem to be invincible in the public eye, but I have seen him suffer on more than a few occasions. I don't want him to have to go through what he did years ago after that tragic accident."

"What…all happened to him?" Tea asked.

"I do not know the details, but I remember Seto…" He turned back towards the door before chuckling. "Let us walk down the hallway. I'm sure Mr. Kaiba doesn't want to know about us talking." Dr. Kelan began strolling back towards the main lobby, and Tea had no choice but to follow.

"Seto called me one day stating that Sophie was bleeding and needed to be taken to the hospital," he began to explain. "He sounded so desperate that I made sure a team of us immediately responded. When we arrived, there was literally blood everywhere. I have no idea what happened, and I've accepted the fact that I will probably never know. But she died that very same day, and Seto…he just broke down." The doctor let out a sigh before shaking his head. "We had to restrain him because he tried to kill himself every chance he had. He relived that part of his life every day, and he didn't want to live with that. Nobody should have to." The doctor frowned and turned to face her. "Do you know if he still has nightmares?"

"So far as I know he does," Tea answered, still trying to comprehend the doctor's words.

"That's what I was afraid of, but…hopefully you will do wonders for him." The two had reached the main foyer area by now, and he turned and smiled at her. "Please take care of him. He needs somebody, but he never could see like that. It wasn't…the way he was trained. Now, I must be going. Tell him to take some medication for his head, but not too much now. Good day, Miss Tea." Tea just stood and solemnly watched as the doctor walked down the staircase and out the door, leaving her alone in the silence of the mansion.

"If everyone was so worried about him…why did nobody do anything about it?" she thought. "If he was suicidal, didn't anybody help him? What…what really happened to Sophie? What did Seto see that he cannot seem to forget? Why… Seto… Did you want to die?"