Disclaimer: I own nothing of Digimon. Well, except for a love for Taito but that's about it…

A/N: My second Digimon fic! I was debating with myself if I should do a sequel or not (I decided not to) but, being high on coffee and chocolate, I came up with a plot for another story. If I seem to have "borrowed" the plot from someone else, I'm really sorry but, seeing as I am relatively new to the world of Taito and writing Digimon fictions, I, in no way shape or form, did or tried to do.

Note: Tai and Matt are in their early twenties in this fic. Not sure what their ages are on the show but I've decided to make them the same age. Also, I am not a doctor, not anything close so excuse me if I'm vague or make my characters say something that a normal doctor would not. This is a made-up world and in MY world, everything goes.

"Hey Taichi, we're going to get some grub right now. Wanna come?" A young man with bright chocolate brown eyes and bushy brunette hair smiled politely and shook his head, declining the invitation.

"Sorry, I've got to go home and finish my homework. Can't believe practice went overtime again. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?" the boy turned and walked down the cement sidewalk. He hummed happily to himself, shifting his large black duffel bag to the other shoulder and bouncing the football he had with him. Stopping at a corner, he juggled the ball, eyes narrowed in concentration as the ball bounced from one foot to the other to his knee. Noticing the light had changed, he caught the ball and stowed it away in his bag. Shivering slightly, he pulled his coat closer to his body all the while wishing he was at home where it was warm. Intent on getting home as fast as possible, he stepped off the curb.

"NO!" a blinding flash of white light, a horrible shrieking sound and then everything went black.

I groaned as I opened my eyes. The room was too bright, everything was too bright, why the hell were they flashing lights directly into my eyes? I tried to sit up but my body wouldn't listen. Confused and disoriented, I gave up any thought of movement and focused instead on blinking away the spots that formed in my vision.

"Oh good, you're awake. I was hoping you would be okay, Yagami Taichi." My eyes snapped to the source of sound and standing beside the bed was a tall, thin man in a lab coat, holding a clipboard. "Now, I must impress upon you the seriousness of your condition. Do not, whatsoever, try to sit up, or stand. You may move your arms or hands but that is about it." He was stern and I grunted to show that I understood. "I'll be back later but I'll send someone in with some food. I'm sure you're hungry, no?" I said nothing but I WAS hungry. The doctor nodded curtly then left the room. Fifteen minutes later, the door opened again and feeling lonely, I was glad to see someone who looked to be about my own age, give or take a few years.

"Hey." The newcomer said by way of greeting, tilting his head back in the purely manly way. He pressed a few buttons on the control panel by the bed and I had the strange sensation of being propped up and indeed, the bed had risen enough that I was given the impression of sitting upright. "There, should make it easier for you to eat." The tray he was carrying was set on a small tabletop that attached to the bed and I was given utensils. However, try as I might, I could not, for the life of me, manipulate my fingers to hold the silverware; they kept slipping from my fingers. "Need some help?" Could this guy talk in complete sentences? I wondered angrily and glared at him.

"No," I lifted my chin stubbornly although it was obvious that I did. I wasn't about to admit that to a complete stranger and half-expected the guy to sigh in frustration then help me despite any protestations.

"Suit yourself." Lithe shoulders shrugged and a slender body settled into the chair beside the bed. Bright eyes watched me with amusement and laughter as I continued to fumble with the fork and knife for a few more minutes before throwing them across the room in a fit of frustration.

"Shit!" I exploded and covered my eyes with shaking hands. What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I manage the simple task of holding a fork and knife?

"Hey, it's okay. Here, let me help you." Pale hands picked up the utensils. I mustered my best "death" glare but the guy hardly seemed fazed. "Don't you think it's a bit too dark in here? Could I turn on the lights?" Those hands dropped the silverware onto the tray and then disappeared for a moment. Slowly, softly, the lights turned on but they stayed dim, low enough so that my tender eyes could stand it but enough so that my "helper" was satisfied. Again the hands picked up the fork and guided a piece of unknown substance toward my mouth which remained firmly closed. "Suit yourself." He said again and the hands abandoned their task.

I watched as this stranger settled once again into the chair. This person, this man sitting next to me was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. He had long blonde hair which hung lazily around his face, overgrown bangs hanging in eyes the color of the ocean, framing a thin, pale face. His body was lean and covered in a white uniform. He seemed to have noticed my lingering gaze, which I snapped away from his face when he looked up, and returned it with a look of his own.

"I'm Ishida Yamato, by the way." he informed, sounding bored. Those wide blue eyes boring right into my skin, seemingly looking at my very soul; his unblinking stare was getting uncomfortable and I squirmed slightly and immediately regretted the action. Stars popped in my eyes and I gasped from the pain that shot down my spine.

"That might not be the wisest thing to do. Don't you remember what your doctor just told you? Now will you let me help you or not?" I glanced back down at the food in front of me. Green mush, yellow mush, and brown mush separated in little compartments on the urine colored plastic tray. No way in hell.

"This isn't food," I grunted and poked distastefully at the green mush with my finger.

"Sure it is. It just doesn't look like food. There's a difference." Yamato's voice lost its bored tone and he cocked his head slightly to the left. "Well, it does look a bit disgusting, doesn't it?" I snorted and rolled my eyes.

"A bit disgusting?! It's loathsome."

"That's going a bit far, don't you think?" Yamato raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at me and I distinctly saw a twinkle hiding behind the nonchalant expression that masked his blue eyes. Since when did a male have to look so goddamned pretty? "You haven't even tried it yet? You know, looks can be deceiving." I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists knowing that Yamato was right and not willing to admit it. "At least take a bite." The blonde's tone switched from mocking to imploring and I made the mistake of looking at him. Shit. How can I say no to THAT? I sighed and reluctantly nodded, closing my eyes from the humiliation of having to be spoon-fed by an inhumanely beautiful stranger. The mush was tipped into my open mouth and almost immediately I spit it out, crossing my eyes as I did so.

"There, now I can honestly say that it's not only disgusting, it's loathsome and vile as well." I wiped my mouth and gulped down the glass of water that had been brought along with the meal. Yet the taste lingered in my mouth and I felt like gagging. Yamato made a funny noise and then he began to laugh. I made a face at him. "What the fucking hell is so funny?" I snapped, his amusement at the predicament I was in was doing nothing to improve my mood.

"Language, Yagami, language." Yamato wagged his index finger at me and in reply, I made a rude gesture with my middle finger. It only served to make Yamato laugh harder. "Well then, since you refuse to eat the food we provide for you, I guess I'll have to go and get you something you WILL eat."

"Wait—what?" I was confused. Why would this—come to think of it, what WAS Yamato's place at the hospital?—bother to go out of his way to get ME, a mere patient, food?

"I'm your therapist, you know." Yamato said suddenly and I jumped. 'Holy hell, how'd he know what I was thinking?' "Oh bloody shit," Yamato cursed, overlooking the fact that just moments before, he had been lecturing ME about my language, "forget what I just said, okay?" He turned red and chewed on his lip. "I guess I'll go and get you some real food then. I'll be back soon." He spun around on his heel, the rubber of the perfectly white sneaker squeaking on the antiseptic floor. The door swung closed behind him, leaving me to some very confused thoughts.

'Oh well. Might as well get some shut eye.' I leaned back and closed my eyes. I was just dozing off when a squeal shattered the tranquility that had developed as soon as Yamato had left. Groaning silently, I cracked open an eye and was engulfed in a choking hug.

"Oh baby, Tai, honey. You scared me half to death." A woman breathed into my ear as she squeezed the breath out of me. I smiled and returned the hug knowing she would let go once I responded. She was shaking and I felt guilty for worrying her.

"Hi mom," I managed to gasp before I was attacked with another hug. "Hey Kar. What's cookin'?"

"You—baka!" she cried tearfully and smacked me lightly on the forehead.

"Hey, I may be a baka but I'm YOUR idiot onii-chan so you'll have to live with me for the rest of your life." I winked jauntily at her and she rolled her hazel eyes affectionately at me, sighing exasperatedly. They chattered happily away to me, talking over each other until their words were so mixed together that I couldn't understand a word they were saying. Suddenly, I noticed that one member of the family was not there. "Where's dad?" I asked, cutting into their theatrics. Silence fell, cold and tense and suddenly I was gripped with a sense of foreboding.

"Taichi, sweetie, you have to understand that your father is a very busy man. He—well, he's at work right now and--" my mother stammered nervously and the apprehension was replaced with simmering anger.

"So he put his precious company and the money and all that fucking shit over his own son?!" My voice rose, drowning out his mother's stern warnings about the language that I'd used. "He'd rather see how much money that fucking company can make rather than see me? Screw that bastard," my voice broke and I turned away from my mother and sister, trying to hide the hot tears of hurt. "He cares more about money than his own flesh and blood. I don't need him." But as much as I wanted to convince myself of that fact, in the deep recesses of my heart, I still wished that my father was more involved in my life.

Deep inside the shell I had built around my soul to protect it, I still longed for a father who would be willing to kick a soccer ball around with me, or help me with homework, anything to be a part of my life instead of just in passing. I wanted him to earn the title of 'father,' wanted to see him, not as some stranger to be dealt with formally, but as a friend whom I could call 'dad.' Someone I could talk to about my problems. I was a little old to be thinking this way but I had grown up with a person who was gone half my life on some business trip or another. And the part of me that never grew up wanted a father to be a role model and to show him how to act in a society where impressions were the most important thing.

"Oh Tai," Kari put her hands on my shoulders. "I suppose he has his reasons." I turned to her, eyes flaring angrily but seeing her caring, understanding expression melted away the resentment and I sighed. She wrapped me in a hug, a tender one, and I accepted it gratefully.

"Thanks Kar," I said, breaking away from her. She beamed her thousand watt smile at me. Jokingly, I held up my hands in front of my eyes, as if shielding them from a blinding light and Kari laughed, smacked away my hands. It was our personal joke, ever since she confessed to me that the only reason she went out with the boy who would become her ex-boyfriend was that he told her she had a smile that outshone the sun. It was the cheesiest line I'd ever heard and I never could resist teasing Kari about it. Although I had to admit that she did have the ability to light up a room when she smiled.

"I suppose we'll go get something to eat now but we'll be back later, maybe tomorrow. Get some rest, ok?" Mom kissed me on my forehead but I pushed her away, laughing as a bright red blush crept up in my ears.

"Mom!" I complained but she only looked at me innocently.

"What? Afraid that the big bad bullies will tease you cuz you're a mama's boy?" she jeered good-naturedly and ruffled my hair. "Aww, I love you too, Tai."

"Love ya, mom, Kar. See you later." And they left, waving good-bye. When all was still again, I closed his eyes and drifted off into welcomed sleep, a sad smile playing around my lips. I slept soundly, tired and still hurting everywhere. Little did I know that this was going to be the last time I smiled for a long time.

A/N: Ta-da! So how'd you like the first chapter? Not angsty yet but I promise the despair will come! Bwahahaha. I shall make them suffer. Feedback and constructive criticism are always welcomed and very much appreciated. If you want to flame me, go right ahead. I'm not stopping you.