Holy crap I updated! What?!

Water the color of rust swirled down the drain as Téa washed the blood from her hands and arms. The task was made more difficult by the ceaseless shaking of her hands, not to mention the somersaults her stomach was doing at the sight of the red on her skin. Ishizu stood outside the bathroom door waiting patiently. After finally deeming herself clean, the dancer carefully removed her ruined clothing and slipped into the slightly oversized scrubs. They were comfy and soft against her skin, a welcome feeling after everything that had happened. Téa bent and gathered her old clothes in a heap, a mix of leggings, her favorite leotard, and a pair of shorts and, with a frown, tossed them into the trashcan.

"Are you alright Téa?" Ishizu asked as the teen stepped out of the bathroom. She could still see the girl shaking slightly and knew she may still be in a bit of shock. Of course, the girl wasn't one to center attention on herself.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," she smiled up at the older woman. "Thanks for getting me a change of clothes," she added.

"We will get you replacements for whatever you lost," the Egyptian woman smiled softly, to which Téa immediately shook her head.

"Oh no, don't worry about it! Really, I have plenty!" Téa waved her hands in front of her quickly. "You shouldn't have to worry about that," she said softly, thinking of how hard it must be to have someone you love so much in the operating room with an uncertain future.

"You are a very kind soul Téa, I thank the gods you were there for my brother," Ishizu laid a hand on her shoulder before turning to head back down the hall.

"I'll be back in the waiting room in a minute, I'm going to call Yugi and let him know what's going on if that's ok," Téa called after her as she pulled her cellphone from her bag.

"Of course," Ishizu smiled softly before continuing down the hall.

Téa quickly dialed her best friend's number, the phone ringing twice before she was greeted by Yugi's slightly sleepy voice.

"Hello, Téa?" he answered the phone, a bit of surprise in his voice. It was getting quite late and Téa wasn't one to call past dark.

"Yugi, I'm sorry to wake you but I thought you should know," she said somberly, twisting the green fabric of the scrub top in her fingers.

"Know what Téa?" he asked, his voice now serious.

"When I was coming home from dance, that guy that drives like a maniac finally hit someone. He hit Marik Yugi. I stayed with him up until they took him to surgery. It's pretty bad," she relayed the grave news. "I'm at the hospital with Ishizu and Rishid. They are pretty messed up about it," she finished.

"I'll be right over, give me fifteen minutes," Yugi hastily said before ending the call. Téa sniffed while dropping her phone back in her bag before leaning against the wall. She couldn't get the scene out of her mind. The crash. The blood. The fear that Marik was going to die at any second right in front of her eyes. The girl raised her hand and looked at it sadly. She could still feel him clinging to her, his hand cold and trembling.

"Please don't die," she whispered quietly before gathering herself and heading back to the waiting area.

It wasn't long before Yugi came hurriedly walking into the waiting area, but to Téa's surprise with Joey, Tristan, and Bakura in tow. The Ishtars looked equally surprised, but soon Ishizu smiled warmly at the group of friends who had come to see about her brother.

"Have you heard anything?" Yugi asked breathlessly as the group came to form a circle around the other three.

Ishizu shook her head somberly. "We haven't heard anything yet," she said softly. "Rishid and I can't thank you all enough for coming," she smiled at the new group, her heart warming that her brother had friends who were worried about him.

"Marik is our friend, of course we'd come!" Yugi smiled at her before sitting next to Téa, the others sitting close by as well. "You ok Téa?" the boy asked, noticing the scrubs she was wearing and the unsettled air about her.

"I…I'm just worried about him. He was hurt bad Yugi," Téa said, her usual cheery voice gone. "It's so surreal," she sadly grinned at her friend. Yugi nodded understandingly.

Suddenly a pair of footsteps was heard, hard boots clacking against the slick marble floor as a pair of policemen came up to the receptionist who then pointed at the group. The two men, a young man and the other appearing in his forties, turned and approached the group, the elder taking off his sunglasses.

"My name is Deputy Wilson, and this is Officer Clark. Are you here for the boy involved in the hit and run case?" he asked in a calm and gentle voice, his brown eyes scanning the large group and settling on the two elders, who were getting out of their seats.

"Yes! He's our brother!" Ishizu exclaimed as she and Rishid stood, fresh tears coming to her her cerulean orbs. "Have you found the man who left my brother for dead?!" Ishizu asked getting upset, Rishid taking her in his strong arms.

The group looked at the officers in earnest, desperate to hear his reply.

"Unfortunately no we haven't, but we heard there was a witness who was present at the time of the collision and stayed with the victim. We were hoping to ask them a few questions that will help us in the search," the deputy said while folding his sunglasses and putting them away in his shirt pocket.

Téa felt an icy rush down her spine, but she swallowed hard and stood up. "That's me," she said quietly, Yugi squeezing her hand reassuringly before she walked up next to the Ishtars.

"Would you mind speaking with us over there for a few moments please," he asked her kindly, with which she nodded and followed them over to another sitting area. They asked what she expected. What she saw. What the college kid looked like. Did she know where he lived or worked, etc. The girl relaxed a bit as they went on and she described everything in detail, praying her words would help them catch the man who had possibly ruined Marik's life and that of his siblings.

After talking with Téa the officers talked with the Ishtars and gave them their numbers. They said their condolences and then left, the group sitting in a somber silence for a few minutes as Ishizu collected herself once again, Rishid holding her close. The hours then began to drag on one by one. At first the group tried to keep the spirit up by chatting quietly, Joey, Tristan, and Bakura visiting the snack bar frequently, but as the hours ticked on, everyone became quiet. Eventually Joey and Tristan dosed off, each leaning against each other while softly snoring. Bakura also nodded off on a small couch. After six hours and with little more information than "he's still in surgery", the Ishtars and the two teens left awake were quite antsy.

"It's been so long," Téa said quietly, her eyes beginning to grow heavy, but there was no way she could sleep without knowing something.

"That's such a long time to be in surgery. My grandpa's knee replacement was only two hours," Yugi sighed worriedly.

Finally, a nurse in pink scrubs came out of a door by the receptionist's desk and after speaking with her headed over to the group. Of course the Ishtar's jumped to their feet, the brunette woman smiling softly at them. By then Yugi had woken Joey, Tristan, and Bakura, the three coming to attention quickly when they realized what was going on.

"Are you Marik's siblings?" she asked them with a grin. "He's asking to see you two," she smiled, Ishizu nearly falling into Rishid's arms, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks. "The surgeon will speak with you first then I'll take you back to see him. He's doing great after the surgery," she finished.

"Oh thank God," Téa breathed as her hand went to her chest. It felt as if a huge weight had fallen from her shoulders.

"Aw yeah, we knew he could do it!" Joey high fived Tristan.

Téa was honestly shocked to see them so worried and now excited for the Egyptian boy. Joey didn't forgive easily, but Marik had helped them so much in helping Atem find his lost memories. He was nothing but kind to them the whole time and even seemed to grieve along with them afterwards. He really had changed…

"Téa?"

The dancer was brought out of her reverie by Ishizu's silky voice. The girl snapped her head up to see the Egyptian woman smiling softly down at her.

"Would you like to go with us?" she asked, Téa feeling her heart rate begin to increase.

"Of course, thank you so much," she replied as she stood and followed before quickly turning. "Um, you all don't have to wait on me guys," she waved at the group before sprinting to catch up with the Ishtars.

They were led to a small consultation room, a vase of lilies on the coffee table in the middle of the room where they sat on plush leather couches. "Dr. Sardis will be in in a few minutes," the nurse said before closing the door.

For the first time, Téa began to feel a bit nervous. She honestly didn't know the Ishtars that well; she was in awe that Ishizu had even asked her to come. But the thought of seeing Marik after everything that had happened… She could feel her heart begin to beat faster again and a warmth come to her cheeks. The dancer tightened her fists beside her legs, trying to make sense of this when the door opened.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Sardis," a middle aged and slim man with grey hair said as he shook each of their hands. "I'm glad to report that your brother did very well, though his injuries are quite traumatic," the man said while sitting behind a desk and opening a file. "So our biggest hurdles are going to be the compound fractures in the left femur and tibia. The femur break severed the femoral artery which caused massive bleeding. Your brother was in severe hypovolemic shock when he came to me. Thankfully I was able to repair the severed artery and with blood transfusions he stabilized quickly. Unfortunately, despite stabilizing the fractures, it will take an orthopedic surgeon to repair the breaks properly, but it will take a few days before he is strong enough for that surgery. Now there was also a laceration to the spleen that was bleeding, which was also repaired no problem. He's going to have quite the scar as we didn't have time to prepare for laparoscopic. The right hip is cracked, but it will heal on its own. And finally he has serious abrasions to his right shoulder that will take quite a while to heal and will leave permanent scarring. He's probably going to struggle with this for some time, but he is truly lucky to be alive," he finished, closing the manila file.

Téa felt her hand go to her mouth as the doctor described just how severe his injuries were. She heard Ishizu begin to cry softly and when she turned to look the absolute devastation in Rishid's eyes was heartbreaking.

"My baby brother," the woman sniffed softly as Rishid handed her the tissue box next to the lilies.

"Is quite the fighter," the doctor smiled before opening the door. "I will get Trish to take you to see him," he said before closing the door again. A minute later the same nurse in pink scrubs opened the door.

"Are you ready?" she grinned before leading them to an elevator. "He's in the ICU for now, it's on the 4th floor room 405". The butterflies in Téa's stomach only worsened with the movement of the elevator and in no time the doors were opening on the 4th floor. The group passed the nurse's station, full of computers with everyone's vitals displayed on the screens. The air smelled strongly of antiseptic. Finally they stopped outside of his room, Trish opening the door as Téa stepped back.

"You guys go have some time by yourself first," Téa said while stuffing her hands in the pockets of the scrub top. "I'll hang out here, it's no problem," she smiled at the two Ishtar siblings. Both of them smiled gratefully before following the nurse into the dimly lit room, the door closing behind them.

Again Téa was left with her thoughts as she leaned against the wall, her eyes following the bustling movements of the staff as they tended to patients. Not long after Trish slipped out of the door, her hands placing her stethoscope back around her neck before she looked up at Téa.

"Are you Téa?" she asked while scribbling on clipboard.

"Uh, yeah," she answered quickly.

The nurse grinned sweetly. "He asked his sister if you were here. He looked so surprised when she said yes," the nurse said as Téa felt her cheeks burn. "Seeing you will definitely make him feel better. Bless his heart, he's been put through the wringer," She finished before smiling again and heading off to the big desk of computers.

Now Téa couldn't stop the fire that was in her cheeks. She knew she must be bright red.

By the time Ishizu opened the door, Téa prayed her face was back to normal. Thankfully it must have been as the woman didn't ask her if anything was wrong, although Téa could see she had been crying again. "Would you like to see him?" she asked as the door closed behind her. "He's still very tired from the anesthesia but he's very aware surprisingly," she said just as Rishid stepped out. "We're going to tell the others everything, we will be back in a few minutes," Ishizu said as they headed down the hall.

Again the girl's pulse raced as she turned toward the door and grabbed the handle. For the life of her she didn't understand why she was so nervous. But that didn't matter now. Determinedly she inhaled swiftly and opened the door and stepped inside. The first thing she noticed was that it was quite dark in the room, the lights dimmed low. She couldn't immediately see him, the bathroom wall blocking everything except the foot of the bed. It was so quiet as she stepped forward, but then he finally came into her line of vision.

"Oh Marik, what has he done to you?" Téa breathed as her and covered her mouth in shock. The first thing her blue eyes fell on was his leg that was propped up with pillows. A huge splint encased what appeared to be the entire leg all the way up to the hip, blankets gathered around his waist for modesty. The lower part of his leg was bandaged as well, and Téa could see stitches in his thigh. Scanning her eyes upwards she saw a long strip of gauze taped straight down his abdomen, the blankets pulled up about halfway masking part of it. The dancer felt herself shudder at the thought of being cut open. His chest was covered in wires and leads, his arms full of tubes and tape. His shoulder and upper chest were bound in thick gauze as well. Téa just stood there thinking of how pale he looked. How fragile. Then her gaze fell to his face and she was startled when she saw violet orbs looking back at her.

"It's...a lot…huh?" the Egyptian rasped weakly, Téa snapping out of her trance.

"Oh, hi Marik," the girl blurted out in a rush, her cheeks warming again as she saw him smile lightly at her.

"Hi…Téa," he softly grinned back at her, Téa noticing the oxygen tube that ran across his pale face whose color matched the white pillows more than his usual rich tan complexion.

"I um, I'm sorry for staring," she said quietly, knowing her cheeks were definitely bright red by now.

"Rishid…and Ishizu…did the same. Don't…worry about it," he said between raspy breaths. "You…can sit down...if you want," the boy said, Téa realizing she was still just standing there like an idiot. Finally the girl's legs moved and she came to sit in the chair that was next to him, careful not to disturb any of the equipment.

"So um, how are you feeling?" she asked quietly, sure that he was in an immense amount of pain and that it was a stupid question to ask.

"Like I've…been hit…by a car," she saw him smirk lightly, the slightest snort coming from Téa as she fought not to laugh. She was elated to see him feeling well enough to joke with her.

"Well, you look it," she smirked back at him, the both of them laughing softly, a slight wheeze to the Egyptian's voice.

"Don't..rub it in," he smiled before a grimace took his features.

Téa instantly took his hand despite the tape and tubes, his violet eyes opening in surprise after the pain had calmed. "Really Marik,"she begin seriously, "Are you ok?" she asked, the boy again shocked at the seriousness in her eyes.

Marik leaned back into the pillows exhausted. "Well, they gave me… a nerve block from the waist… down so I don't feel much honestly. But my shoulder… is a different story," he finished as he looked up at her, seeing her face laced with worry. "I'm not too excited…for when the…block wears off," his slightly accented voice sighed.

"Hey, I'll be here for you," she smiled while squeezing his hand gently, the boys eyes widening in shock before they lowered.

"Téa?"

"Yes?" she answered uncertain, noticing the boy's change in demeanor.

"Why are you…being so nice to me?" he asked quietly before looking up at the dancer. He panicked when he saw her staring in shock so he continued. "I mean…I was…horrible to you…and your friends. I…used you so cruelly. I hurt you…"

"Marik stop," Téa laid her other hand on his good shoulder as she got up. "Stop, please," she said softly, the boy feeling his own face becoming warm. "That's in the past now. You've suffered enough for it. You apologized. You turned your life around. You showed Atem how to get his memories back. You're our friend Marik. Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Bakura are in the waiting room desperate to know if you're ok. I wasn't going to let you go through this terrible accident alone. I had to know that you weren't going to die," Téa felt the sting of tears at the corners of her eyes as she finished. "You're a good person Marik," she said as she sat back down with a sniff. "And we're all going to help you get through this together," she smiled softly while looking back up at the Egyptian who was stunned. Téa noticed that his heartrate had increased on the monitor before adding, "Now get your pulse back down before I get in trouble," she half smirked.

Finally the boy snapped out of shock and smiled softly at the girl beside him, her soft and warm hand still in his. "I'll try…I'm sorry," he exhaled before wincing again. "Téa?" he asked again.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you,"

The dancer was about to reply when she heard sniffle behind her. Before she knew it Ishizu had pulled her into a hug.

"Thank you for being so kind to my brother," her tear cracked voice said as Téa watched Marik smirk at her surprise as his sister squeezed her. She mouthed the words "were they in here?" at him, with which he nodded his head.

"I'm going to kill you," she silently formed the words at the blond Egyptian, who chuckled quietly and gave her shaky a thumbs up.

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