"Hey kid, I was coming to check on you."
Mokuba smiled then jumped and yelped at the next clap of thunder.
Seto bent down next to him. "It's okay kiddo."
Mokuba held out his arms.
Seto smiled and pulled the little boy into his arms. As he started to rub his back, Mokuba arched and shifted. Concerned Seto pulled the boy up. "Is your back hurting?"
Mokuba, fearing that Seto would say they'd go to treatments, shook his head no. The last thing he wanted was to go to treatments. He never thought he'd miss Ryo's treatments.
It'd been almost a week since they'd gone to treatments. Seto was concerned something might be infected or something. They hadn't changed his bandages since last treatment. Yeah Mokuba shook his head no, but he knew the kid well enough to know when he was saying whatever he had to avoid treatments. Seto scooped the boy up and went into his room. Mokuba hoped Seto would just lay him down but he knew it was wishful thinking. Just as he feared all Seto did was slip into his house shoes. Then he headed out and down the stairs. Seto found it strange that they were having a thunderstorm. He thought it'd snow first, not rain.
As they were walking Mokuba asked, "Seto, do w-we have to go?"
Seto sighed, he knew the kid hated treatments. He wasn't crazy about them himself. He could feel the poor kid's pain. "Sorry kid, but if just rubbing your back causes you pain and you've not even been to treatments yet then we need to check it out."
Mokuba was almost afraid to ask but he'd had the same nightmare every night since he ran into Noah at the fair and he decided to ask. "S-Seto?"
"What's up kid?"
"D-Do you r-really love me?"
Seto blinked and frowned. "What kind of question is that?"
Mokuba only whimpered and squeezed Seto's nightshirt tighter.
"Of course I love you kiddo." Then he stopped and leaned back to whisper in his ear, "I love you more than life itself. So does Yami." Then he kissed his head. "I don't know why they thought you were a demon or why they would beat you but you are a very special angel. Why would you ask such a question?"
"S-Since w-we saw Noah at the f-fair I've had d-dreams of him telling me that this wasn't real, that you don't really love me. That you r-really hate me, cause I k-killed your mom."
"Never think that, sweetheart. I love you heart and soul."
'Those bastards that beat you deserve to rot in hell for what they did.'
Soon they arrived at the doctor's office. Seto was surprised to see the doctor was still up at midnight.
"What are you doing still up?" Seto asked.
"Oh just catching up on some paperwork. And I have a patient that's got a high fever. I'm keeping tabs on him to make sure he doesn't get any worse. What can I do for you? I wouldn't have expected the two of you to be here this late."
"Well Mokuba was frightened by the storm and we ran into each other. He was coming to me and I was going to check on him. I was rubbing his back and he was complaining it was hurting."
"Oh well let's see."
Seto sat Mokuba down and took off his shirt.
The doctor walked over and after removing the bandages he examined him. "Mmm…Well I've never had a patient before that required salve for more than a short period of time. This is the first so I'm having to play it by ear. Not to mention the new stuff seems to be a different quality. So that's also a factor." The doctor examined him. "Well it seems that we shouldn't wait so long before changing it out."
"Why, what's wrong?"
"Well it seems that for some reason his back is red. I guess waiting so long to change the bandages, the salve goes away and the bandages get dirty and that causes infection. Perhaps it's the new stuff that's causing this. It didn't happen with our regular stuff. I'm going to have to use alcohol and peroxide to clean the wounds before applying more salve. I'm afraid we can't let more than a day or two go by without treatments from now on."
"I understand."
After treatments, Seto laid Mokuba down in his bed and climbed in next to him and pulled him tight.
"I will always love you kiddo. Always!"
Mokuba smiled and snuggled closer to him.
Seto sighed he wished he could find a way to show Mokuba how much he loved him.
x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x
Seto and Yami had wanted to go back to the fair but then something came up. They had to once again deal with an obstinate king's treaty. It had arrived that morning. They could have put it off but it was getting a lot colder so they felt it better just to stay home. They could go over the details of this new treaty and spend time with the kids. While the kids were playing or coloring in the family room, they could go over the treaty. Yami hoped today he could keep his promise to show Mokuba what hot chocolate was.
Currently they were glancing over said treaty; one of the king's top advisors had been there earlier and only stayed around in case they had any questions or problems. They dismissed him and told him they'd call him if they had any questions or problems. Of course he was thrilled, meaning he could get back to his family.
x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x
Early that morning Mokuba got up, his back stung a little and noticed that Seto was already up. He went and got dressed and saw Maura's door still shut and Yami's open. He went downstairs but they weren't there.
He saw Mai and walked over to her.
"Hey, sweetie breakfast will be served in a half-hour."
"Okay, y-you think it'd b-be okay to g-go outside?"
"Well the king and Master Atemu are in one of the offices doing some business. I'd rather not disturb them at the moment. All right, but promise you wont stay out too long. It's getting colder out and I don't want you to come up with a cold on me. You bundle up good and wear a hat." Mai told him.
"I w-will I promise."
"All right, go ahead."
Mokuba smiled and hugged her. "Thanks." Then he ran off.
Mai shook her head. "I don't understand why those people hated him. He's so sweet and lovable."
So, he took his baby dragon and set it down and got dressed to go outside. He grabbed his dragon and headed out. As he was playing a movement in the maze caught his attention. He was scared but carefully looked in and was shocked at who he saw there.