I know it's been a while, and believe me, I planned to have this up earlier since it's been in the works since Halloween, but for a long time, I was only updating it twice a week. But in the past few weeks, shit has just been all over the place lately. My boyfriend is just moving too fast for me and I know that I have to break it off with him because it's just not what I want anymore. I forgot how hard this relationship stuff was. I wish it was like the stuff we read here in FanFic, but it's not! I only met this guy not too long ago! I also think maybe I'm a little scared of having a relationship and the changes that'll come with it. Anyway, sorry about my ranting, but it's the only way I can get it out; I feel a little better now. So anyway, let me give you a summery on this chapter:
After a car accident that involved him and his rich bitch of a girlfriend, Atem's at the hospital when he meet Yugi, a little boy who has never been out of the hospital before.
There you go, enjoy!
---
Atem Darkling had been sitting on a cold table in one of the rooms in the ER of St. John's Mercy Medical Hospital. He and his girlfriend, Alicia, they had been going out on a date when they had been unexpectedly hit by an oncoming large, dodge truck. Atem's Monte Carlo did not stand a chance. It had to be taken straight to the body shop while Atem and Alicia were taken to the Emergency Room. Atem kept saying he was fine, but the doctors were checking every inch of inch of him. They were checking for concussions and internal bleeding. He had neither of those; just a few cuts and scrapes all over the place. Right now, there were a few nurses patching up his many cuts, and they were big ones.
"Oww," He complained as a nurse put gauze on his currently bare chest.
"Sorry, this one was pretty open." One nurse explained in a British accent. Atem sighed, he did not care. All he cared about was if Alicia was fine or not. She was taken to the OR as soon as they arrived and he had not heard a word since.
"Has there been any word on Alicia yet?" The nurse shook her head as she finished patching him up.
"Now, just stay still for a while to let those settle and you should be fine." She said and then left. Atem rolled his eyes. There was no way he was going to stay still while his girlfriend was in the OR, possibly dying. He stood up, slowly, winced, and began to slowly make his way to the OR.
There, he asked if Alicia was out of surgery. The receptionist told him that she was and that she was in a recovery room down the hall. She called the surgeon that performed his girlfriend's surgery and chatted with him. The doctor told Atem that Alicia's surgery was pretty much minor; all she had was a concussion, a few fractured ribs, and a broken leg. He also mentioned that she could go home in a matter of days. Atem was glad to hear that it was nothing fatal. He went to Alicia's room, but once he entered, that was when the storm began.
"Finally, you showed up! I've been up here waiting for you for about forty-five minutes; where were you?!" Atem sighed. Sometimes, Alicia could be a bit of a shrew. He really did not know why he put up with her so much.
"I was in the Emergency Room getting fixed up; didn't it ever occur to you that I might have gotten hurt in that accident too?" Alicia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm glad you're okay …" Atem's ruby-colored eyes narrowed. Alicia was your average stereotypical blonde rich-bitch. She was self-centered, narcissistic, and very spoiled; very much a 'daddy's girl'. Atem tried to hold back his anger, but Alicia was really beginning to push her luck.
"Alicia, I cried my heart out for you, and all I get is 'I'm glad you're okay'?!" He exclaimed.
"Hey, at least none of your bones are broken! You get to go home tonight and sleep in your own bed! I have to stay here for God only knows how long!" Atem knew that when Alicia was in, as he called it, 'princess mode', there was no talking to her. So at this point, all he could do was get up and walk away. He exhaled with a frustrated tone and walked out of the room. "Hey, where are you going, Atem?!" Alicia asked with her snotty attitude.
As Atem walked through the hospital, he had absolutely no idea what part of it he was in for he had other thoughts on his mind. For instance, the person he actually considered loving was really not worth loving at all. It was no wonder that his friends never seemed to like her at all. He was completely blind to the reason why until this moment. As Atem was lost in thought, he was brought out of his trance as a voice called out.
"Come back here!" Suddenly, he felt something pull on his leg, almost causing him to fall over. He looked down to see a small head of short hair almost exactly like his own: small blonde bangs, black, but instead of the tips being red, they were purple. He saw tiny feet attached to a very small body that was violently shaking in fear and clutching his leg for protection. He figured it could only be a small child.
"Can I help you?" He said. The child looked up. Atem gasped at the adorability of the large amethyst eyes that the child had. The small child could be no older then at least two or three.
"Yugi, come back here this instant!" The voice from earlier called." The child, whom was now known as 'Yugi', widened his eyes and clutched Atem's leg even further, shaking and looking away. Two nurses came running down the hall, all out of breath. They both looked pretty young, perhaps Atem's age of twenty-one. One of them was wearing blue scrubs. The ID lanyard around her neck said that her name was Amber. The other was wearing a top with a star design on it with purple bottoms. Her ID lanyard told Atem that her name was Jennifer.
"There you are; come on, Yugi; you need to have your shot." Amber said, trying to catch her breath. Atem felt Yugi shake his head rapidly against his leg. Jennifer knelt down on her knees.
"Please, Yugi? It'll make you feel better." Once again, Atem felt Yugi shake his head.
"What's going on here?" He finally asked. Amber blushed.
"We're really sorry about this, sir. Yugi here really hates to take his daily shot and always tries to avoid it." She explained. Atem looked down and saw Yugi shaking in fear.
"This kid is terrified."
"He doesn't like shots, but he needs a few everyday." Jennifer replied. Atem glared at them. He would be scared too if he was constantly told to take his shots.
"Why?" Amber glared back. Since she started working in the Pediatric Ward, she became very protective of the children.
"I'm sorry, but we can't give out that information; now if you'll excuse us, we need to treat our patient now." Atem sighed and knelt down and looked Yugi into the child's teary eyes.
"Yugi, are you scared of getting a shot?" The child nodded his head. The tiny child rubbed his upper arm as if he had already been poked with the long needle.
"Owie …" Atem chuckled.
"I know … they hurt; I've had a few during my life. Want to know something? I'm scared of them too." Yugi's jaw dropped as if he were gasping. All three adults found this to be cute and laughed. "That's right; I'm scared of shots too. Would you like to hold my hand? It makes the pain go away." Yugi groaned and shifted from foot to foot. "I'll even carry you … would that be alright?" Atem asked, tilting his head. Yugi still hesitated for a second, but finally agreed by lifting his arms and demanding to be picked up.
Atem followed carried the child in his arms and followed the two nurses to the Pediatric Ward. Inside, Atem saw all kinds of children playing and running around, some were playing with blocks, some were playing with stuffed animals, some were watching TV and others were coloring in coloring books. There were also a number of adults around as well. Atem could differentiate the difference between them. He assumed that the adults in the white coats were the doctors, those in the scrubs (some of them were teenagers) were nurses and the rest were parents.
"This way." He heard Jennifer say. He followed the nurse into a small room. Yugi's grip on his collar increased as the baby began to shiver. Atem smiled and rubbed his back. The little room looked like a normal Pediatric Examination room. Atem set Yugi down on the paper-covered table and the moment he let go, Yugi whined loudly and begged to be held again. The man smiled and rubbed Yugi's cheek with his index finger.
"Don't worry, I promise I won't go anywhere." He never let go of Yugi's tiny hands. Yugi's whining did not stop either. The tears in his eyes began to run down his round, pink cheeks as Jennifer rubbed his arm with antiseptic and Amber measured out the medicine in the syringe. Atem took Yugi's tiny hands in his own and kissed them. "It's alright, I'm right here. Remember, you can squeeze my hand if it hurts too much. How about we sing a song to help pass the time?" Yugi cocked his head and blinked his eyes.
"He doesn't really know any songs. His … mother doesn't sing to him that much." Amber replied. The way she pronounced the word 'mother' made Atem a little suspicious.
"Well, I do. Let's sing 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'; it's one of my favorites." Atem winked and picked the baby up from the table and held him to his chest as he began singing. Yugi noticed that Atem's throat vibrated as he began to sing. The young child tilted his head and watched Atem's Adam's apple move up and down as he sang. Soon, Yugi tried to sing along too, only it sounded nothing like 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star'.
"Ya-wa-da; wa-da-wa-ya-ba; dub-dub-do-gub-wy-ub; wa-ya-ba-wy-wy-duh." He sang. With the small baby distracted, Amber took this time to give the baby his shot. However, the pinch surprised Yugi, who suddenly stopped his singing and screamed in Atem's ear while clutching onto Atem's shoulders. The man clenched his teeth together at the child's screaming, but comforted him nonetheless. He knew how scary shots were to children and how they were even scarier to someone who was under a year old. He rubbed circles on Yugi's back as the baby continued to cry his lungs out.
"Shh, it's alright; I'm right here …" Yugi hid his face in Atem's shoulder. The two nurses in the room looked at each other with sad eyes. Seeing a child cry in pain was always the hard part of the job. Atem continued to sooth the baby. "Shh, it's alright …" Soon, the cries turned into little whimpers and then into small hiccups. Yugi rested his head on his savior's shoulder. Atem swayed to and fro with the baby in his arms. "It'll be alright …" Finally, the baby stopped his tantrum. Jennifer put her hand on Atem's other shoulder and nodded her head, silently telling him to follow her to Yugi's room. Atem agreed.
They made their way through the 'play area' as Atem heard Amber and Jennifer refer the main room of the ward as, when he had to wait for them to fill out the papers to say that Yugi had taken his nightly dosage. He saw that some of the children were in wheelchairs, some of them looked like they had the effects of chemotherapy and some of them looked as if they were just fine, but Atem knew that was not the case. He looked at the boy in his arms, who had not moved since his shot. Amber had covered it with a rainbow bandage and given him a cookie. Yugi currently had the cookie in his hand, bur he would not eat it. His head was propped against Atem's shoulder. The young man was a little worried that the child did not want to play.
"Yugi, did you want to play with your friends?" Yugi just shook his head and snuggled deeper into Atem's lap. Atem sighed and decided to wait for Jennifer and Amber. After they were finished, they escorted Atem and Yugi back to Yugi's room. When they arrived, it looked as if Yugi had been there for a while.
"Ladies, can I ask you a question?" Atem did not wait for them to answer that question before he asked his next one. "I saw that the other children had their parents all around them, but where are Yugi's parents? It's very strange to me that someone would not want to be with their child if they're sick." Amber and Jennifer looked at each other.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Darkling, but we can't give you that information; doctor/patient confidentiality, you know." Amber told him. Atem frowned.
"But Yugi's the patient, they're not."
"Still, he's under their insurance." The young man became very suspicious about this. There had to be a reason as to why they would not tell them about Yugi's parents' whereabouts. Atem set Yugi in his little crib and was about to leave when he heard a small whimper.
"Ehh!" This made Atem stop in his tracks. He turned around to see Yugi leaning against the bars of the crib and reaching for Atem. "Up!" This was absolutely the most adorable scene that Atem had ever seen.
"You're very lonely in here, aren't you?" The little baby stumbled back on his chubby legs and fell on his butt.
"Uh-oh." He said and then giggled.
"How could I say 'no' to that?" He sighed to himself. "Well, since Alicia's upstairs for the next few days, I guess I could stay for a little while." Atem picked the baby up and sat in the rocker that he had seen in the far corner of the room. Yugi reached for the stuffed panda bear in his crib, which Atem gave to him. Yugi played with it while sitting in Atem's lap as the young man watched him. It was such a wondrous sight to see such a small person find the simplest things so interesting. It made Atem's heart melt. Yugi looked up at the man whose lap he was sitting in and giggled. "What are you laughing at?"
"Bah!" Atem tickled Yugi's squishy tummy, causing the baby to giggle even more and kick his tiny feet. Atem laughed at the baby's squealing giggle. Yugi turned around in Atem's lap and hugged the man's chest. Atem hugged him back and gave him a kiss on the head. Suddenly, Yugi began to cough. At first, Atem thought nothing of it, but once he realized that the coughing was not subsiding, he began to question it a bit.
"Yugi, are you alright?"
"Heh …" The coughing continued to get worse, even as Atem grabbed for a cup of water and allowed Yugi to swallow some of it, the coughing still did not stop. "Oh dear …" Quickly gathering the child up in his arms, Atem sprinted out of the room and looked for a doctor or a nurse, or whomever was closest at the time. Luckily, Jennifer was still at the nurse's station, filling out papers. Hearing him come over, the brunette nurse raised her head.
"Jennifer, something's wrong with Yugi! He's been coughing and he won't stop!" To prove his claim, Yugi let out a very hoarse cough that left him looking extremely miserable. He was also wheezing a bit, which caused Atem to panic even more.
"Relax, Mr. Darkling; all he needs is some cough medicine and he'll be fine in about twenty minutes." Jennifer left behind a door for a few minutes. After she was gone, Yugi pawed at Atem, gaining the man's attention. The baby pointed to his throat and chest.
"Owie …" Atem's eyes teared a bit to see the child in such pain, but he hugged the child to reassure him that help was on the way.
"I know it hurts, but Nurse 'Jenny' will get something to take the pain away, okay?" Yugi made a whining sound that made him sound helpless; but as a baby, he practically was helpless to his inner pain. Just then, Jennifer came back with something in her hand.
"Here you go, Yugi; eat this and you'll feel better." It was a cherry lollypop in the shape of a bear. Yugi smiled and happily took it. However, Atem was none too thrilled.
"That's your solution? Give him candy?! His throat may be sore, but I think his air passages are blocked too! I thought you were going to give him medicine!" Jennifer glared at him.
"For your information, it is medicine. The younger children have a bad habit of not wanting to take the nasty cough syrup, and Yugi is, by far, one of feistiest of them all. So we use these suckers to make them take it instead. It's the same thing; they just think they're getting a treat instead of a treatment!!" By this time, Jennifer was directly in Atem's face. Atem himself was speechless at the nurse's explosive explanation. Both adults heard little suckling noises from the ground. Apparently, Atem had put Yugi down while Jennifer was yelling at him. They looked down to see Yugi enjoying his cherry lollypop very noisily.
"Mmm, mmm, mmm." Both Jennifer and Atem laughed at seeing Yugi enjoy his medical goody. As the night grew on, Atem rocked Yugi in the rocker that sat in the corner of Yugi's room. He covered the small child up with a blanket, hoping that he would fall asleep. However, Atem was the one to drift off first. Yugi's eyes were droopy, but they were still open. When he looked up and saw Atem asleep, he yawned and closed his sleepy eyes.
About an hour later, Atem woke up to realize he was still in the hospital. As he was about to stand up, he remembered the little boy that was in his lap. A smile spread across his face as he picked Yugi up and gently placed him in the crib.
---
The next day, Atem had gone to the hospital, fully intended on visiting Alicia. The elevator had arrived at the floor that his girlfriend resided on; the same floor that housed the Pediatric Ward. He stepped off of that elevator and faced a dilemma: there was an intersection; one direction went to Alicia and one direction went to Yugi. Guess which one he chose.
He walked up to the nurse's desk and announced himself. She allowed directed him towards his destination. After thanking her, Atem followed the directions given to him. Slowly, he opened the white door to the small room. When he opened it, he found Baby Yugi, asleep in his crib, holding the panda bear in one arm and sucking his thumb. Atem really did not want to wake him up and disturb the adorable scene before him. The young man smiled. Yugi had yet to awaken and acknowledge his presence. Wanting to feel that soft skin, Atem took his finger and began to gently stroke Yugi's chubby cheek. Unconsciously, the baby smiled in his sleep.
Upon feeling the finger on his cheek, Baby Yugi instantly woke up. Using his tiny, chubby arms, he propped himself up and looked at Atem with a confused face.
"Hello, Yugi; how are you doing this morning?" Atem asked with a smile on his face. Yugi continued to look at him with confusion in his innocent eyes. Atem saw this and his smile instantly faded. "Yugi, what's wrong?" Suddenly, giant tears began to make their way into the child's eyes. His bottom lip began to quiver and his body began to shake violently. Finally, the small boy screamed his lungs out. Atem had to cover his ears at how loud Yugi's cry was. It was not too long before a nurse came in. "What's wrong with him?!" Atem asked above Yugi's crying. The nurse took the baby out of his crib, held him to her shoulder and patted him on his back.
"We should have told you about his memory problem!" She answered, also yelling over Yugi's loud crying. Atem still had his hands over his ears.
"What memory problem?!" The nurse shushed the crying baby on her shoulder before answering him.
"He has a very short memory. Unless he sees someone constantly, he forgets them easily! It's part of the brain damage he has!" Yugi continued to scream.
"Why is he screaming?!"
"Because you're a stranger to him!" Atem was awestruck; how could the boy just forget him overnight?
"Can you get him to stop screaming?!"
"I'm trying!" She continued to sooth the child, who eventually stopped his screaming, but continued to whimper. "It's okay, shh; you're okay …" A hint of jealousy ran though Atem at this time. He wanted to be the one to comfort the child the way he did yesterday. "It's okay, Yugi; he won't hurt you." She let Yugi look at Atem for himself. Atem smiled at the baby, but he seemed to be so shy. Yugi smiled back, showing his newly grown teeth; he only had so many.
"Hello, Yugi; my name is Atem. Can I play with you?" Atem asked. At hearing the word 'play', Yugi's shyness disappeared immediately. He held out both arms for the young man to hold him, which Atem gladly accepted. Once in the warm arms of Atem, Yugi felt completely at ease, nuzzling his cheek in Atem's neck. Atem ran his hand up and down the baby's back to show him that he meant no harm. The nurse found this to be very adorable.
"Well, before you two can officially 'play', Yugi needs his breakfast first." Both Atem and Yugi looked at her with blinking eyes. Yugi had been so terrified at first that he had completely forgotten about being hungry.
"You know what," Atem began. Yugi quickly turned to look at him, "that sounds like a good idea; may I have some breakfast too? I have not had any this morning." The nurse nodded and escorted both males out of Yugi's room.
---
Yugi simply loved his breakfast. Since he was just under a year and did not have all of his teeth yet, his food was still soft and mushy. Atem helped feed him, even though Yugi held a baby-spoon in his left hand. He had apple sauce, mushy cereal, orange wedges and milk. However, Atem's breakfast was not so tasteful to him. Since he did not arrive early enough to order his breakfast, he had to take whatever the cafeteria had left over, which was cold pancakes, cold sausage, and orange juice. Even though it was cold, it was still pancakes, which were Atem's favorite; so he ate them. He was having so much fun watching Yugi eat his breakfast. It was very entertaining to Yugi as well.
"Alright, Yugi open up for some more." Atem said, holding out a spoonful of apple sauce.
"Ah!" Yugi squeaked as he opened his mouth, allowing the fruity mush to enter it. Yugi loved apple sauce; it was sweet and he loved sweet flavors.
"Yum-mum!" He said. Atem just laughed loudly, causing Yugi to laugh with him. Those little laughs were the most wonderful sounds Atem had ever heard. He found that he loved the sound of innocence and youth filled with such happiness. Eventually, Yugi's breakfast ended up more on him then it did in him. After a quick change of clothes, Atem and Yugi were ready to play.
They spent most of the morning playing with Yugi's blocks. Every time Atem would make a tower of blocks that reached a certain height, Yugi would eventually knock it down. It shocked Atem at most times, but Yugi laughed his lungs out. After about forty-five minutes of that, they moved on to coloring. Yugi kept switching between his left hand and his right hand.
"Yugi, can I have the blue?"
"Uh-uh." Atem smiled and looked at his little friend to see that Yugi was using the blue crayon to scribble all over the page in his coloring book.
"Having fun?" Yugi held up his coloring book with the color blue scribbled all over the page.
"Ook!"
"I see! Very pretty, you made a sky!" Yugi giggled and began to color again. At times, Atem had to slow Yugi's scribbling arm down so that he did not accidentally color out of the book.
After a few more minutes of coloring, Atem wanted Yugi to get out and stretch his legs. At this time, Amber had started her shift so he asked her.
"Amber, would it be alright if I took Yugi on a walk around the hospital?" Amber looked a little hesitant.
"Well, we don't want him to go too far … See, the thing is … Yugi can't really focus on something for too long …" Atem shrugged.
"So, he's a baby; a lot of babies can't."
"But Yugi's different; he suffers from a lot of pain that he masks with his smiles. I really would prefer if you didn't take him out of the Pediatric Ward." She said. Atem still did not understand, but agreed not to take Yugi out of the ward. So instead, they played with Yugi's baby toys instead.
It was around noon that Yugi had to be put down for his afternoon nap. Atem decided to take a nap in the rocker. Suddenly, he felt the vibration of the cell phone in his pocket. Without even looking at it, or opening his eyes, Atem quietly answered his phone.
"Hello…?"
"Atem, where the hell have you been all day?!" The young man's eyes widened at the impossibly high-pitched, aggravating voice.
"Alicia?" He asked, now fully awake.
"Of course it's me, who else did you think it was?" Just hearing the words come out of her mouth made him agitated.
"I'm sorry; is there something you want?"
"Well, yes; I'm trapped in this horrible hospital and I'm completely bored! I can't go shopping, I can't get a manicure, and I can't even get a decent meal!" Atem rolled his eyes, even though he agreed with her on the last part.
"What do you want me to do about it?" He knew what she was going to say, that she wanted his company so that she could complain his ears off, but he decided to play dumb, knowing how much she truly hated it.
"Quit being such an idiot, Atem; I want you to come and keep me company."
"Sorry, I can't."
"Why not? … And why are you speaking in such a low voice?"
"Because I'm with someone else and they're asleep right now." As soon as t he words left his mouth, he immediately regretted it. Alicia gasped long and hard on the other end of the line.
"I knew it! You're with another girl, aren't you?!"
"No, you don't understand, I"---
"It's that slut, Tea, isn't it?! I knew you were hanging around her too much!" Atem's blood was boiling. Alicia had no right to insult Atem's friends like that.
"Alicia, you're jumping to conclusions, please just le"---
"Or maybe it's that bum, Joey and his trashy friend … I forget his name." Obviously, the girl did not know manners very well.
"His name is Tristan, and Joey is not a bum!" He said through his teeth, trying to hold back his anger so that he did not wake Yugi up.
"I don't want you seeing that group ever again." Atem's eyes widened.
"Excuse me?!" He stood up. Now knowing that he could no longer hold back his anger, Atem left Yugi's room so that he could properly yell at Alicia. He let her talk while he walked away from the Pediatric Ward.
"Oh, come on, Atem; you could do so much better then that crowd. You're much too good for them. You should start hanging around me and my friends more often. It would do wonders for your social life." With each step that he took, Atem's anger continued to rise. Finally, he reached the room she was staying in. "Atem, say something."
The door suddenly opened with a loud SLAM against the wall. Alicia gasped and looked up to see a very pissed off Atem in her doorway. Putting her phone away, she folded her hands in her lap, just like she was always taught to do. "Ever heard of 'knocking'?" She said in that snotty tone of hers.
"If you weren't already in that bed, I'd slap you across your face, Alicia!"
"I beg your pardon!"
"How dare you insult my friends like that?! What do you think gives you the right to go around saying things like that about people?!" Alicia shrugged her shoulders ignorantly.
"I can say whatever I want about those low-lives; you're lucky I let you go out with me." Atem's eyes widened in rage.
"You are not the 'princess' you think you are, Alicia! And frankly, I'm sick and tired of your bitching!" Alicia glared at her soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend.
"How dare you use that kind of language with me!" Atem let out a low growl under his breath. This woman was making him so angry that she was actually releasing the beast within him.
"Ever since we started dating, all you've ever done is bitch at me! 'Atem do this', or 'Atem do that', or 'Atem take me here', or my personal favorite, 'Atem I won't forgive you until you buy me this'; do you realize how much of a debt you put me in?!" Alicia continued to look at him with a clueless expression on her face. "I've been your willing servant all this time and I've gotten nothing out of this relationship while you've gotten everything! I've put up with your stuck-up friends and your rich-snobby family, but I will NOT tolerate you putting down my real friends as if they were lower then dirt!"
"Are you saying you'd rather hang around those 'rats' then with me?!" She said with such distain in her voice, that Atem just lost all control.
"I'm saying that I'd rather be around real friends, like mine, then fake acquaintances, like yours!"
"Well that's too bad, because if you want to be with me, then that's what you're going to have to do." Atem smirked. Alicia many not have known it, but she had just given him a ticket out.
"Well, I can solve that problem instantly: WE'RE THROUGH!" He swiftly left the room.
"No, we're not through! Not until I say so! Where do you think you're going, Atem?! You come back here right now! Atem!" But Atem never came back. Alicia looked around her room and folded her arms, feeling completely humiliated.
When Atem returned to Yugi's room, he let out a long, deep sigh. However, it w as not a sigh of distress; it was actually a sigh of relief. He no longer had to worry about Alicia and her snobby ways, her lack of empathy for others' feelings, or her expensive tastes. A smile reached his face. Now he could spend more time with Yugi.
---
A few weeks passed and Atem came to the hospital to spend almost everyday with Yugi. He had to admit that the child did seem to look better now that he had someone to keep him company. When Atem first met Yugi, he was very pale, and always had a look of pain in his eyes. Now, that pain seemed to lessen and his face seemed to hold more color. Jennifer and Amber reported that he smiled and laughed more, and that his memory had even begun to improve. All in all, Atem felt very good about what he was doing. However, there was one thing that still bothered him: of all the time that he had spent with Yugi, he never did see the baby's parents. He kept asking the two nurses and Yugi's doctors about them, but all refused to give information out about them.
After getting nowhere with asking nicely, Atem decided to take matters into his own hands. One evening, while the ward was constantly busy, Atem snuck into the file room and quickly looked up Yugi's file. It was a good thing that he had worked in an office for Alicia's father for so long. All the filing experience he had allowed him to find Yugi's file quite quickly. What he found really shocked him. It seems that the parents of this poor child were actually very abusive to him. Yugi had suffered a lot of damage inside of his mother's womb because of her drinking and smoking, causing him to be born prematurely. Because of this, Yugi was officially taken away from her by the authorities as soon as he was born and his mother was charged with 'Child Endangerment'. There was no mention of Yugi's father in the file. Atem suspected that he had left the mother when she found out about the pregnancy. This made the young man burn up with anger. How could anyone do that to a child? It was reported in the report that Yugi was not expected to live as long as he has. After looking through all the paperwork, Atem found the report on Yugi's memory problem and what had caused it. His brain was not fully developed when he was born. There were many other reports in the file that the child had been abused, even if he was no born yet. As Atem read through the file, tears began to fall from his eyes. Poor Yugi; it was no wonder he was the way he was: so clingy and confused all the time. He was determined to do something about it once and for all.
Later that evening, when Atem went home, he decided to talk things over with his grandfather, Solomon. He had told Solomon that he had been visiting the child for a few days now and that the boy had completely stolen his heart; especially after this morning. This morning, Yugi had learned to say Atem's name … sort of. He pronounced it 'Ti-ti', but the fact that he had a place in Yugi's, very, short-term memory meant the world to him.
"I want to adopt him, Grandpa." Atem said. Needless to say, Solomon was less then amused.
"Do you have any idea how much work raising a child is?! You're only twenty-one and still in college!"
"Don't you think I know that?! But I'm willing to work hard for him in order to make him happy! This child deserves it." Solomon sighed. There really was nothing he could do. After all, his grandson was an adult now and he was going to do whatever he wanted, despite the old man's opinion.
"You know I can't stop you from doing what you're going to do; it's not my opinion you have to worry about, it's Social Services'." Atem's eyes widened. He had completely forgotten about Social Services. They were the ones that decided if he would be able to adopt Yugi or not.
"What do you think they'll say?" He asked softly. Solomon sat down.
"Who knows; they may think that because you're still a student, that you're not qualified to adopt a child." Atem sat down with his grandfather. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
"Well then, I'll just have to make them see how good of a father I can be."
"And how will you do that?"
"What if he stayed here for a while? Please?" Atem begged.
"Atem, you know that the hospital would never let you take that child out of there without permission from the parents themselves." Atem sighed.
"You're right …" They sat in silence for a while before the light bulb in Atem's head lit up. "Maybe … you could adopt him." Solomon's head shot up.
"You're not serious, are you?!"
"Why not? It's full proof!"
"Atem, I'm too old to take care of a baby." Atem scoffed.
"You wouldn't really be the one taking care of him; I would. You'd just be his real legal guardian."
"If the legal system thinks I'm too old to raise a child, they might say no."
"But you raised me; I'll make sure they know that." Solomon sighed.
"Atem, you're not getting this; we're not exactly the perfect family to raise a baby. He needs a mother." Atem shrugged.
"I will give him all the love and care he will ever need." Solomon rubbed his eyes. Atem slid to his knees on the floor and knelt in front of the man whom had raised him. "Please, Grandpa; you'd be making a child's life better." Solomon hated it when Atem begged like that. For some reason, it was just so pathetic to see this young man on his knees with his hands folded in front of his face and tears forming in his eyes. It was enough to make the old man break down himself.
"Oh, alright …" Atem's sad look instantly vanished from his face and was replaced with a look of joy. He stood up and hugged his grandfather.
"Thank you, Grandpa! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" With that, he rushed back to the hospital to tell Yugi the good news, whether he understood it or not.
---
After a few months of battling Social Services, Solomon Moto was officially recognized by the court as a suitable parent for Baby Yugi. By this time, Yugi was one year old. Jennifer and Amber stood beside Atem and Solomon throughout the entire ordeal. The two nurses were in Yugi's room, packing up his things. The child had been here since his birth and both nurses had grown quite attached to him. It was going to be hard to come into work the next few days and not see Yugi's bright and shining smile.
"Hey Amber, do you remember when Yugi was born? Remember how small he was?" Amber smiled. She had been in the delivery room to assist the doctors on the day of Yugi's birth.
"Yeah, he was so small that no one thought he was going to make it." Jennifer nodded.
"He fought so hard his first few weeks of life; I guess he wanted to prove everyone wrong." She added that last part with a small giggle. Amber looked at her watch.
"Shouldn't Atem have finished Yugi's bath by now? Where are they?"
"They were done a while ago; I sent them down to the cafeteria to get Yugi some of his favorite Jell-O to make the move easier." Just then, they heard the squealing giggle of Yugi that both nurses had come to cherish so much. Along with that giggle was Atem's deep laugh. They walked into the room with Yugi sitting on top of Atem's shoulders and holding a small cup of orange flavored Jell-O in his hand. Both nurses looked up and smiled.
"Having fun?" Jennifer asked. Atem smiled at them.
"Very much." He put Yugi down, who opened up his Jell-O cup and started to drink it as if it were liquid. Atem smiled at his new 'son'. (Sounds weird I know, but remember, it was Atem's idea for Solomon to adopt him and Atem will be the one to actually raise him.) "Listen, I wanted to thank you ladies for all the help that you've done for me and my grandfather. Actually, now that it's happened, Grandpa can't get enough of Yugi. I think he loves him more then he ever did me." The nurses laughed.
"Well, we're just happy that Yugi can finally leave this place and be around people to help his memory along." Amber replied.
"Aw gone!" Yugi's small, happy voice said. When the adults looked down, they saw the area around Yugi's mouth and his hands had been dyed orange because he had smeared it all over his face to get it in his mouth. While both Amber and Jennifer thought it to be cute, Atem could not see the cuteness in the moment since he was the one that had to clean Yugi up.
"Yugi! Now I have to give you another bath!" Amber and Jennifer both laughed aloud.
"Don't worry, just wash his hands and face in the sink in the bathroom." Amber said. Like most hospital rooms, Yugi's room had an adjacent bathroom attached to it. Atem sighed, picked Yugi up around the waist (holding the child under his arm) and rolled his eyes.
"This parenting thing seemed a lot better when it wasn't so messy." He said before turning to the bathroom, hearing both of the nurses laugh at him as he left the room.
---
Later that day, Yugi had arrived at his new home. Solomon had been preparing the baby's room all day. Joey and Tristan helped the old man bring home a new crib just for him, along with some new toys, as well as some of Atem's old toys. Atem was so sure that his grandfather would win custody of Yugi that as soon as the decision was made, they started to paint the guest room a baby blue color with crayon wallpaper siding. At first Solomon was not too crazy about the idea of having a baby in the house, but once he met Yugi, the child stole his heart and he could not wait to bring him home. While Atem spent Yugi's last day at the hospital with him, Solomon, Joey and Tristan all helped get the house ready for Yugi's arrival.
"So tell me sum'm, Gramps; how's this gonna work? You're this kid's guardian, but 'Tem's gonna be his dad? … I'm confused!" Joey said.
"It's simple, Joseph: as soon as Atem graduates college and has a good career, I will award him custody of Yugi. But until that time, I will be legally responsible for the boy, but Atem will be his true 'father'." Solomon explained. Joey blinked a couple of times.
"I still don't get it …" Tristan slapped him on the back.
"You don't get a lot of things, Pal." Joey gave into his rage and put Tristan into a headlock.
"No one asked ya, ya dimwit!" From under Joey's arm, Tristan was able to respond.
"You're the one who's lost in confusion, idiot!" Joey squeezed his arms together.
"Take that back!"
"Make me!" At this point, Solomon just left the room, but was still able to hear Joey's response.
"I thought you'd never ask!" Solomon sighed.
"Boys will be boys …" He said to himself. Just then, they heard the front door to the shop open and then the door to their home quickly followed.
"Grandpa, we're home!" Upon entering and seeing Joey with Tristan's head under his arm, Atem stared at them, in the middle of giving Yugi a piggy-back-ride. "Guys, I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't rough-house in front of my son." Atem smiled at the new title he was able to give Yugi. Finally, Joey let go of Tristan and they stood up.
Yugi looked around his new home. If Atem was with him, then he was sure he was going to like this new place. Above the sofa was a home-made banner that said 'Welcome Home Yugi' on it. There was also a small cake to help break the tension.
"Hey there, Kiddo; how ya doin'?" Joey asked with a big smile on his face. Yugi responded by hiding his face in Atem's hair. Atem chuckled.
"Don't take offence, Joey; he's just shy." Tristan smiled at Yugi.
"Well, don't worry, Yugi. You're not the first kid to be scared of Joey just by looking at him." Joey raised his fist to Tristan's face.
"I thought I told ya to zip it!" Yugi began to quiver on Atem's back. The new foster-father placed his son on the floor and held his hand.
"Where's Grandpa?"
"Right here." Solomon said, coming into the room with a gallon of strawberry ice cream in his hands. Yugi cocked his head and looked at him. Though his memory was improving, he had not seen Solomon in a few days and the memory of the old man had faded a bit in the child's mind. Solomon smiled at Yugi.
"Hello there, Yugi; how have you been?" Atem could see that Yugi was having a hard time remembering who Grandpa was and decided to help. He knelt down on one knee and rubbed the child's back.
"Yugi, do you remember Grandpa?"
"No …" Yugi's baby voice answered. Solomon seemed upset. He knew about Yugi's memory issue, but it had yet to affect him like this.
"Well, this is my grandpa; and now, he's your grandpa too. He won't hurt you, I promise. He just wants to give you a hug. Can you give him that?" Yugi looked at Atem, seeming to ask if he was sure that the old man would not hurt him. Atem responded with a soft smile and a wink before gently pushing him forward. Yugi took small steps and fiddled with his fingers before he stood in front of his new grandfather and looked at him. Solomon did not want to frighten the child, so he decided to let him make the first move. Slowly, Yugi opened his arms for a hug. Solomon gently lowered himself to his knees and opened his arms as well. This was a gesture that Yugi knew all too well. He loved to give hugs to just about anyone. The baby smiled and waddled into the old man's arms, giving him a nice big hug. It felt nice and warm; and Yugi could feel comforting hands rub his back.
Atem smiled at the seen before him. He knew that everyone was going to get along just fine. He made a promise to himself that he would keep Yugi happy forever, no matter what.
---
The End