Chapter Text
Joey pulled into the driveway, completely exhausted. Putting the car into park, he leaned back, basking in the peace and quiet for just a few seconds. He knew it wouldn’t be long before one of the backseat occupants stirred, but for now he just wanted to breath. And cry. And scream. And… whatever else people who had been thrust into his situation would do.
Not for the first time the past few weeks, he cursed his parents under his breath, the drunk father who beat on him until he ran away, and the (in many ways) worse mother who had abandoned him, only to come back into his life just long enough to destroy the happiness he had finally found with someone who loved him.
Joey took another breath, getting a taste of the latest perfume his wife was wearing. Mai changed scents the way most people changed clothes, and Joey loved to tease her by pretending to guess which card she was about to play by the way she smelled that day. Mai would always laugh, patting him on the knee and joking about how she had taken it easy on him in that duel but next time he would pay.
Joey instinctively reached for his wife’s hand but came away with empty air. She wasn’t there, just like she had not been there every day for the past few weeks. Taking a deep gasping breath, he blinked, looking around in a panic, locking eyes with his 7-year-old daughter Lila in the back seat. She had woken up while he had been thinking, and was now staring at him with wide eyes, the scratches on her face an angry red against her pale skin.
His precious baby girl had been there, along with Serenity, on the day a drunk driver had ran a red light and smashed into his mother’s car. Luckily, or so the police had told him later, the other driver had hit their brakes to slow down the vehicle before the impact. They still had hit the car right on the driver’s side, causing it to spin around almost 360 degrees.
His mother had died at the scene while Mai had been transported to the local hospital to be stabilized. Serenity had been in the backseat with Lila and had suffered several broken bones, a concussion, and internal bleeding. Lila had been lucky, besides a broken arm and cuts on her face, she was physically fine.
However, she remembered more of the accident than Joey would like, and would wake up with screaming nightmares every night, getting to the point where Joey had given up trying to get her to sleep in her own bed, instead allowing her to sleep in his room. The nightmares continued, but a least it was less likely she would wake up anyone else.
“Hey baby.” He said gently, smiling at his daughter. Lila had barely spoken since the accident, but Joey kept trying to get through to her. No luck this time as well, and the blond sighed, unbuckling his seat belt and getting out of the van.
“Can you go unlock the door for me while I get the rest of the herd inside?” He asked, and Lila nodded, silently extending her hand for her father’s keys and slowly walking to the front door. Joey watched her go, looking back into the van to the rest of his sleeping children. 5-year-old Janna was stirring, which was a relief. She could help bring in the 3-year-old twins, Aimee and Jayme (Mai had picked out the rhyming names, and Joey had learned by then not to argue with a pregnant woman about what to call her children) and that would leave his 10-month-old son, Segen their little miracle.
Joey had never asked for a son, but he couldn’t help but look at the little man in wonder when he was first handed over in the hospital. Mai had lost their first baby boy years before they even had Lila, and she had obsessed over giving Joey another child who would carry his name, no matter how many times her husband had told her he loved his little girls she brought into the world. The day he had been born, Joey felt like it was someone, somewhere telling him that everything was going to be alright, that all the bad things that had happened in his life- his father, the gang, his relationship with Kaiba- was over, and all that was left was the relative happiness raising a family brought to someone’s life. That had lasted 8 months before the accident left him a single parent of 5. Well, 6, if Mai survived long enough to give birth to the baby she was still somehow carrying. He would worry about that later, right now he had to take care of the little ones.
“Hey Janna.” He said, smiling at his second oldest. Janna blinked slowly before smiling back at her father. She had inherited most of her looks from Serenity, but hopefully not her health problems.
“Hi daddy.” She said, and Joey almost cried.
“Hey nutterbutter. Can you help me out?” Janna nodded, climbing back into the backseat to rouse the twins. Joey moved around to the other side of the van, pulling out his son while all three girls slowly got out.
“Let’s go inside.” Joey said, checking the baby before shutting the door. Janna took both of her sisters hands, leading the barely awake girls towards the front door. Joey let out a sigh, lugging the car carrier over to the mailbox before walking up to the house himself. Maybe tonight the kids would go down easy, and he could curl up in bed and finally start crying over his wife.
Serenity had received plenty of tears as he took turns watching her in the hospital, but now she was back in Domino, staying with Ryou and Tea while she attempted to get well enough to go back to her apartment. They talked daily, Serenity joking that their friends house was the only place around that was nosier than Joey’s, with 7 kids running around, and the blond would just laugh.
Placing the car seat on the counter, he pulled out his phone, checking it for messages. Ever since the accident, he had gotten into the habit of putting his phone on Do Not Disturb and turning off the ringer. He didn’t want any more bad calls while he had his children in the car with him.
The only call was from a number he knew well- the hospital where Mai was currently fighting for her life. He froze, worried that this was going to be the call that told him it was over, she was gone and he was alone. The twins were looking at him, worry spreading over their faces.
“How about you guys go watch tv and I’ll make mac n’ cheese and hot dogs?” Joey suggested, looking down at his daughters. They both nodded, walking quietly into the living room, Aimee looking back at him once before allowing herself to be pulled away by her twin.
Joey look a deep breath, picking up his phone and listening to the message. He had learned quickly that just hitting the callback number would only cause mass confusion, as it went to the hospital main switchboard instead of who had called. Sure enough, the message was from Mai’s case worker, who was asking him to call her on her private cell. Joey punched in the numbers, holding his breath while the phone rang.
“This is Jennifer.” A crisp voice answered, and Joey took a breath, barely managing to get out his name.
“Hello Mr. Wheeler, thank you for giving me a call back. I was calling to speak to you about a transfer request we received.”
“Transfer request?” Joey asked, not sure what she was referring too.
“Yes. The specialist that you contacted is not credentialed at our hospital. He has requested an evaluation to determine if she is stable enough to move. I wanted to touch base with you to determine what the best course would be. Her doctor here-“
“Wait. What specialist? I didn’t call anyone.” Joey said, completely confused.
“You didn’t? We received a call today from Dr. Ramriez stating that he had been contacted to do an evaluation.” Jennifer told him, slowly as if expecting him to suddenly remember what she was talking about. When Joey didn’t respond, she continued, listing off the doctor’s credentials as if that might trigger something for him.
“Let me give you the doctor’s office number. I’m not sure where the confusion is, but he knew enough about your wife’s case that I don’t believe it is a mistake.” Jennifer finally suggested, and Joey nodded, jotting down the numbers she gave him quickly before thanking her and hanging up. He couldn’t even begin to wrap his head around what she had said, but he numbly punched in the numbers Jennifer had given him. He left a message on the answering service and hung up, turning to start dinner. The water had barely started boiling before the office called back.
“Mr. Wheeler? This is Dr. Ramriez.” Joey blinked, taken aback by how perky he sounded, and the fact that the doctor was calling him back after hours.
“Yes. I apologize for calling so late, I just got the message.”
“Understood. I know what life is like with a couple of kids running around. Have you called to discuss setting your wife up for an appointment?”
“I’m sorry, I’m not really sure what’s going on. I never called you to set up an appointment, you must have been mistaken.” Joey said, tapping the counter nervously. Mistake or not, he wanted Mai to get the best treatment possible, but he couldn’t help but question what was going on.
“Let’s just say my son is a big fan of Duel Monsters. Even though he’s grown now, he still remembers your final Battle City duel. He’s a big fan of Mai’s at well.” Joey paused, thinking it over.
“Ok.”
“Excellent. I will have my office contact the hospital in the morning to set up an evaluation to determine our next steps. Will you be available for a conference tomorrow?” Joey nodded, looking over at his calendar.
“I’ll be at the hospital for a couple of hours in the afternoon. I can have someone watch the kids while I’m there.” Joey stated.
“That will be fine. Is this the best number to reach you at?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I look forward to meeting you.”
“Thank you for the call.” Joey said, sighing a little.
“Thank your friend. Sometimes persistence pays off.” Dr. Ramriez stated before saying goodbye and hanging up. Joey took a breath before turning back towards dinner, trying to save the noodles before they boiled over
X
Joey finally collapsed into bed after kissing all the kids goodnight, completely exhausted. Lila had decided to sleep in her own bed that night, even though Joey had made her promised to come get him if she needed him.
Taking a moment for himself was a rarity the past few weeks, and he tried to relax, reaching for Mai’s pillow to pull it close, pretending that she was still next to him. He closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths so he could get some sleep before the baby cried.
Something was picking at the edge of his brain, but he was too tired to remember it. Shutting his mind off, Joey drifted off to sleep, too exhausted by his day to think anymore.