I started another story because I've been constently thinking about it, and it's driving me nuts. So I have to get it on paper. This story takes place right after Battle City and right before all that Doom stuff; but only a week between the two. Yugi had just woken up from a very long … let's say "endless sleep". As he begins to think that everything is going to go back to normal, he gets a strange phone call.
It took Yugi a while to wake up and find himself in his own bedroom. He must have passed out or something. The only thing he could remember was walking away from Yami because of a little argument they had that was about … a month ago. He would have to ask his guardian about that later. He stretched his thin arms as he used his hands to rub the sleep out of his eyes. 'Man, now that I've slept for so long, I'm never gonna get to sleep tonight …' He thought to himself. Soon, he saw a heavenly light appear in front of him. The glowing spirit was none other then the pharaoh himself. "Hello, Little One, feeling better?" Yugi nodded. He wasn't sure what happened, but he knew that it had resulted with a headache.
"What exactly happened while I was … out of it?" Yami's eyes widened at this question. During Yugi's 'unconsciousness', he was forced to do a few things that Yami did not want the boy finding out about … at least not until he was a little older.
"Well … you were unconscious. That is all you need to know." Yugi raised his left eyebrow.
"You're hiding something." Yami's face expression changed from calm to annoyance.
"Am not." Yugi wasn't convinced.
"Are you sure you're not hiding anything? Because I can go into your mind and see if you are, you know." Yami smirked and leaned close to Yugi's face. Yugi sat straight and looked into the guardian angel's eyes with a 'what are you doing?' look.
"Try it." The spirit whispered. Yugi squinted at the challenge he got from his guardian. Yami continued to smirk at his little charge. It was amazing how Yami knew how to push all of Yugi's buttons as once, and the guardian had no buttons for Yugi to push at all. Even if Yugi were to play – insult him, Yami would take it as a compliment. And if he turned the insult into a compliment, he would still accept it as one. Yugi thought his guardian angel had the advantage because of what he called his 'five – thousand years worth of wisdom'. The staring was getting on the boy's nerves; and Yami could tell. He continued to tease his charge by widening his smirk.
"I hate it when you do that. You get away with everything." Yami stood up and crossed his arms while chuckling.
"All in good time, my Little One. I'm sure one day you will be able to find something that annoys me as well." Before Yugi could say anything back, there was a knock on his door.
"Yugi?" Yugi smiled. It was the voice of his mother, Kay.
"Come on in, Mom." Kay opened the door to find her son in bed. She knew about Yami and how he was stuck to Yugi like glue. She liked the fact that Yugi had someone to talk to since he was an only child and the only cousin that he had lived far away. She could see the outline of the spirit, but still had to get used to when he would pop out of no where. She came over to her small son and hugged him tightly. So tightly that she almost squeezed him to death. " … Mom … air …" Kay instantly let go of her son.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Sweetie. How are you feeling? Are you warm enough?"
"Mom …"
"Do you have a temperature?"
"Mom …" Yugi's voice grew in annoyance.
"Are you hungry? I can make you a snake if you want ---"
"MOM!" Kay and Yami both stared at Yugi. "I am fine. There's no need to worry." Kay smiled and hugged Yugi again.
"Well, if I didn't worry, then I wouldn't be a very good mother, would I?" Yugi and Kay both laughed. They shared the same sense of humor. Yami smiled at the scene; remembering the times when he and Yugi would be laughing together both in this era and the last. Suddenly, there was another knock at the door. In the doorway stood Yugi's father, Mike.
"Yugi, your friends are here to see you." Yugi smiled and stood up. He wobbled a little bit but Yami caught him before he fell. Even in his transparent form, Yami could still touch only Yugi … as long as he was wearing the puzzle of course.
"I'm okay … I'm fine … I'm cool." Yugi slowly walked out of his room.
Downstairs, the gang was all there. And surprisingly, so were the Kaiba brothers. Yugi happily trotted down the stairs to meet his friends. "Hey, guys." The first to hug him was Tea, obviously.
"Oh, Yugi it's so good to see you back on your own two feet!" Yugi had to pull her arms away from his neck a little bit just so he could breath.
"Gee … thanks, Tea …" Tea finally let him go. Joey was the next to welcome him with a noogie.
"Dude, we were so worried about ya!"
"Joey, if you dig your knuckles into my skull any farther, you're gonna give me brain damage!" Everyone laughed at that statement. At least Tristan was a bit easier and only ruffled his hair.
"Good to have ya back, Man." Yugi smiled then spotted Kaiba and Mokuba.
"Kaiba … what are you doing here?" The tall teenager shrugged.
"Mokuba wanted to see if you were all right." With this said a smaller boy instantly ran into Yugi and caused them both to fall to the floor.
"Oh, Yugi I'm so happy to see you! I was really worried about you!" Yugi giggled.
"Thanks, Mokuba. But really, I'm fine. Just suffering some short – term memory loss." Kaiba scoffed.
"Well of course you would be suffering memory loss when you hit your head. See, Mokuba, he's fine. Now let's go." Joey scuffed in annoyance.
"Man, could you be any less sensitive! He just went through a life threatening trauma!" Kaiba smirked.
"Hmm … 'threatening' wow, Wheeler, a three – syllable – word. Now try the word 'gullible'." Joey and Kaiba continued to argue and after a while, Tea and Tristan joined in as well. Mokuba tried to break everyone up, but eventually ended up arguing as well. Yami laughed at this as Yugi sighed. Just then, the phone rang. It stopped ringing for a second before Mike came in and softly told Yugi that it was for him. Yugi picked up the phone and answered. While over on the other side of the room, the fighting was still going on.
"Man, Kaiba you give a whole new meaning to the word 'ignorant'!" Once again, Kaiba smirked.
"If I had a dime for every time I heard that … wait … I'm already rich." Joey was about to say something else, but Tristan stopped him.
"Dude, lay off. He's just gonna come up with more ways to piss you off and then you're finally going to make a fool out of yourself just like you do every time." Joey turned towards his brunette friend.
"Who's side are you on anyway!" Tea tried to calm everyone down.
"Listen, can we all just talk about this in a nice civilized way?" Tristan groaned.
"Oh, not another one of your friendship – speeches …" Joey laughed at this. They all started arguing loudly again until they heard someone yell.
"SHUT UP!" They all looked to who was yelling. Apparently, no one had heard Yugi yell before. Yugi's parents and grandfather came running in when they heard Yugi yell.
"What's the matter, what's going on in here?" Mike asked. Everyone else shrugged.
"We don't know; he just started yelling at us." Everyone looked at Yugi who was still on the phone with a worried look on his face. He started to twirl the phone's cord around his finger in nervousness.
"Are … are you sure?" He paused for a second. "Well, it could be a prank." Suddenly, Yami brought himself fully to the mortal plain with a little energy from the puzzle. He only recently found out he could do that.
"Yugi, what's wrong?" Yugi waved his hand to silence his guardian without even looking at him. Yami let his arms fall to his side and sighed heavily. "He won't listen to me. How am I supposed to guide him when he won't listen to me!" He asked himself. The entire room focused on what Yugi was saying. Although they could not hear what the other person was saying, they knew it had to be something big by the way Yugi's pupils were dilated in shock.
"There has to be some kind of mistake … … No, I'm not that kind of a person … … But you can be wrong, can't you? It is possible for you to be wrong, so if you can be wrong, then … … Oh, I see … … But there has to be a way to actually prove it … … Yes, please do that. And call me back as soon as you have the results. … … Okay, thank you … goodbye …" Yugi slowly hung up the phone and turned around with his hand covering his mouth. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God …" Everyone moved closer to Yugi.
"Dude, are you okay?" Joey asked. Yugi's dilated pupils seemed to stare out into space. He apparently was not going to get over his shock very easily. Whatever the person on the phone told him, it was enough to cause major emotion issues for the boy. Slowly, he began to speak.
"You guys … that was the hospital." His parents gasped at hearing the word 'hospital'. Yugi had spent the last two weeks in a coma and they thought that they found something. They soon found relief when Yugi continued with his statement. " … There's … a woman there …" He paused again as everyone expected him to continue. Tea looked from Joey to Tristan who just shrugged.
"Was that story over?" Tristan took another step closer to him.
"Yugi, what's wrong?" Yugi still stared at nothing in particular.
"She claims to be pregnant," Everyone in the room gasped; including Yami. "With my child …"
" … Whoa …" Joey said. Tea tried to comfort her shocked friend.
"Oh Yugi … are you okay …?" He didn't seem to hear her as he just continued to stare into space. Yami moved directly behind him and touched his shoulders.
"Yugi, is there anything we can do?" Yugi slowly came back to earth from his 'space trip'.
"Yeah … you can catch me." All of a sudden, he fainted as Yami caught him and frantically waved his hand in Yugi's face.
A few hours later, Yugi regained consciousness and found himself on the couch with his head in his mother's lap. "Oh, Yugi you're awake!" The attention shifted to Yugi who sat up slowly. Joey was the first to speak.
"Hey, how are ya?" Yugi rubbed his head.
"A little confused … did the hospital just call me …?" Yugi's parents had fear in their eyes. His mother wrapped her arms around her only son.
"Yes, Baby … and do you remember what they told you?" Yugi sighed heavily.
"Mom, stop worrying so much; your aura is practically screaming." Yami tried to hide his silent laughter of this. Yugi may not have had any actual powers, but he was so holy that every time he even looked at a person, he could tell what they were feeling. Tea sat next to Yugi, but moved over a few inches when she saw Yugi's need for space
"Yugi, how exactly did this happen?" Mike hovered over his son with interest in this subject.
"Son …" Yugi looked up into his father's eyes with shame. "Is there something you would like to tell us?" Yugi was taken back for a second.
"Gee, thanks, Dad! You really think I'm that kind of person!" He looked over at Yami who was standing solidly on the other side of his mother with his arms folded. "Yami, tell them that I've done nothing like that!" Everyone's eyes traveled to the boy's guardian angel who shrugged with a wise look on his face.
"I am with him every second of every day and never once have I seen Yugi do anything that was considered inappropriate." Yugi relaxed. Tristan scratched his head.
"Then how can this woman claim that you're the father of her baby?" Yugi's eyes widened as he apparently remembered something.
"Wait …" He looked over at Yami again who gave him a look that said 'what do you remember?' "Yami, do you remember a few months ago when I got kidnapped by that one psycho lady?" Yami raised his eye brow as he tried to recall what Yugi was talking about. A few days after they returned from Dualist Kingdom, Yugi has mysteriously disappeared. Yami would have been able to find him in no time if he was a little more experienced with his angel powers. Plus, Yugi did not have the puzzle with him; that, and Yami's constant worrying gave him even more trouble with finding his little one. Yugi had been gone a week. After getting some advice from his Watching Elder, St. Gabriel, Yami was finally able to find his little charge. Yugi was in very bad shape. He only told Yami that he had been molested during his absence. Yugi was more ashamed then anything. That's when Yami's hidden 'protective father instincts' took over and he has been even more protective of Yugi ever since. Luckily, Yami had been able to heal all of Yugi's wounds. But the memory stayed. Yami came out of his thoughts and nodded to the boy.
"Yes, Yugi … I remember."
"Wait, what do you two know that we don't?" Joey asked. Yugi sighed.
"Guys, what I didn't tell you was that when that woman kidnapped me, she … she raped me." Gasps were heard all around. Kay looked at Yami who was the only person who did not looked shocked.
"You knew about this!" the guardian angel nodded sadly. He couldn't bear to see nor even think about Yugi being hurt. If the little one came home with a scratch, the guardian angel was all over him tying to make it go away. It just didn't make sense to him why anyone would want to hurt someone who was so holy. "And you didn't do anything or tell us that our baby was hurt!" Yugi blushed. He hated the fact that his mother still treated him like a baby. Yami would have gotten angry, but he had learned to control his emotions.
"Mrs. Moto, I am sorry, but when this happened, I was unable to sense Yugi at the time. Had I been able to, I would have used my powers to do anything to keep him from being hurt." Yugi's parents and grandpa were the only three people who did not know that Yugi was Yami's son back in Egypt. Yugi thought that his father might feel threatened to know that he technically had two fathers with him. "And I could not tell you that Yugi was molested because I was sworn to secrecy."
"By who?" Yugi raised his hand.
"That would be me." Joey exhaled loudly.
"Dude, why would keep something like that from us?" Yugi's eyes started to water.
"I was ashamed … I was disgusted with myself and I thought you guys would be disgusted with me too." Tea pulled her little friend into a hug.
"Yugi, we would never think that about you." Kaiba cleared his throat.
"Can we possibly get back to the situation at hand? Yugi, is it true that this female rapist of yours is having your child as we speak?" Yugi bowed his head in shame.
" … Yes. When she raped me, she didn't have protection. I was tied down, so there was nothing I could do. But I never thought that this would happen …" Joey moved closer to Yugi.
"What did the doctors say?"
"Well, I asked them if there was any way to prove that the baby was mine. They said that my files held a sample of my DNA so they're going to do a genetics test. I told them to call me as soon as they got the results." As if on cue, the phone rang. The cordless was right beside Yugi on the coffee table, but to him, it seemed so far away. The phone kept ringing. "That's them …" Yugi continued to stare at the phone as everyone exchanged glances between him and the ringing object. "What do I do, what do I do?" He asked Yami more than anyone else. Yami shrugged his shoulders.
"I can not give you advice on this one, Yugi. This is about your child. Not mine, not ours, yours." Yugi started to become teary eyed. "I can tell you this though," Yugi returned his gaze to the ancient pharaoh. "If you do not pick up that phone now, you will regret it. I am not regarding this to anyone in particular. I know you, Yugi. And I know that if you do not pick up that phone now, then it will constantly be on your mind forever. You will not be able to think of anything else. That is just the way your guilty conscious works." Yugi knew he was right. Heck, Yami knew Yugi better then he knew himself. Everyone else would have to agree. As this was said, the phone kept its constant ringing.
"Oh, pick it up already it's driving me nuts!" Mokuba said. Yugi sighed and picked the phone up with shaky hands.
"H – Hello? … … Speaking … … Oh … I see … … Sure … … No, thank you for telling me … Good – bye …" Yugi hung the phone up and once again stared into space.
"What did they say, Yugi?" His grandfather asked.
" … The test results are back …" Everyone waited for Yugi to continue, but he started staring again. Joey, Tristan and Tea sighed in frustration.
"Yugi!" Joey exclaimed. Tristan finished for him.
"You gotta start finishin' your stories, Dude!" Yugi's eyes filled with tears.
" … The baby is mine …" The room went silent. Even though this might have been a good thing for when Yugi was older, he was married, and he was with someone he loved, for right now he was fifteen, single, and just trying to get through life. A baby would change his life completely. How can he support a child? Especially when he's constantly traveling. "What am I gonna do?" Kay took her son's hand in hers and looked into his lilac eyes.
"Yugi dear, it all depends on what you want to do."
"What do you mean, Mom?"
"Well, do you want to go to the hospital to see your child, or do you want to forget about the entire thing?" Mike tapped Yugi's shoulder who turned and faced him.
"It's alright if you don't want to see your child now. The mother will obviously be taking care of it."
"But Dad, I don't know if I can do that. I mean, it's as much my responsibility as it is Ruby's." (Ruby is the name of his rapist) "I feel that I have to at least meet the child. It's not the baby's fault of the way it was conceived." Yugi's little speech touched everyone; including Kaiba. He scuffed at his 'feelings'.
"Alright, I'll have my limo driver take you to that hospital." The entire room looked at him in surprise. Yugi blinked twice before he found the words to go on.
" … Why, Kaiba?"
"Because I think I owe you just this once to be nice … besides, I want to see for myself if there actually is a human baby at that hospital waiting for you." Joey poked Kaiba in the stomach.
"As oppose to the … baby bunny waiting for him at the hospital?" Tristan snickered and both gave each other a silent high – five.
"Can it, Wheeler." Just then, the phone rang. Mokuba giggled.
"Hey, maybe it's the hospital calling back to tell you that they made a mistake!" Yugi picked the phone up again.
"I sure hope not; I was just getting used to the idea of having a baby." He pressed the 'talk' button to turn on the phone. "Hello? … …. Yes … … What do you mean 'she's gone?' … … You've checked everywhere? … … Well, what about the baby? … … What kind of letter? … … Hold on a sec." Yugi put his hand over the speaker. "Dad, does your fax machine still work?" Mike nodded his head. Yugi removed his hand from the phone. "How about you just fax a copy of it over to me then I'll decide what to do. … … Yes … … Okay, thank you." Once again, Yugi hung the phone up and sat down on the couch. "You guys won't believe this but … Ruby's gone."
"What!" Everyone exclaimed. Yugi nodded.
"Yeah, they said that she just disappeared. They checked the whole hospital and one of the security cameras caught her leaving." Tea put her hand over her mouth.
"That's awful! Why would she just leave?" Yugi shrugged.
"I don't know, but she left the baby there … along with a note addressed to me. I told the doctor to fax it over and he said he would." Mike went into the closet that connected the house to the shop and received the faxed letter.
"Son, I believe it's for you." Yugi took the paper from his father's hand and read it out loud.
'Dear Yugi,
I would just like to tell you that this is your entire fault! Sure, I had my fun with you, but you left a piece of yourself behind. I'm sorry for not telling you until now. I wanted to bring this child into the world, but the baby would not lead a good life with me. I travel and am dishonest; unlike you who is honest and innocent to the core. I am entrusting you with the safety of our child. Please take good care of it. I know that the child will lead a happy and healthy life with you. Don't get me wrong, I love our child dearly, but I believe that this is for in the child's best interest. Call it maternal instinct. One day, I hope to find both of you and meet our child for the first time. I am begging you; please take good care of our child.
Yours truly,
Ruby'
Joey practically fell over in shock. "What! How can someone just give birth to a child, tell the father, and then just abandon the kid all together!" Kay nodded.
"I agree, Joseph; it does not make any sense to me how a mother can leave her own baby alone and expect the father to take full responsibility when he is only fifteen." Yugi turned to his mother in confusion.
"What are you saying, Mom? That I can't take care of the baby just because I'm still a kid?" Mike leaned over the couch and looked at his son.
"Yugi, do you know how much responsibility a baby needs? You're still in school and you have your promise to Yami to keep." Yami raised his eyebrow at the mention of his name. He took a deep breath before he spoke.
"Well," the family of three all turned to face his now transparent form. "I realize that it is not my place to say, but did we not agree that Yugi should at least go to the hospital to see the baby himself? I believe he owes it to the child who did just lose its mother, by the way." Yugi knew his guardian angel was right. Kaiba had agreed to go with them to the hospital. He nodded and stood up; turning to said teenager.
"Kaiba, how fast can you get me to Domino Hospital?" Kaiba thought of what obstacles they would go through on the way there.
"Well, let's see, considering the acceleration traffic would run at along with the speed limits and numerous stop lights that will be encountered along the way, not to mention the highway traffic causes everyone on it to accelerate at least five – point – seven miles per hour over, I'd say we would be able to get there in fifteen minutes or so."
"Then let's go!" Joey stopped Yugi and grabbed him by the collar.
"Hold on, Yugi. Are you sure you wanna do this?"
"I have no choice, Joey. This is my baby. The test came out positive; so I know that this has to happen." Suddenly, A little jingling sound was heard above Yami's head. He looked up with his arms still folded.
"Uh – oh …" Yugi walked over to his guardian with a look that seemed to say 'you're kidding'.
"What, now? What does Gabriel want this time?" Yami shook his head.
"I don't know, but it sounds important. I will be right back, I promise." With that, Yami disappeared all together. Yugi turned around to see the speechless looks on the faces of his friends and family. "So, we gonna go or what?"
Exactly fifteen minutes later, the limo arrived at Domino Hospital Main Entrance. Kaiba held out a stop watch to prove that his fifteen minute prediction was correct. "Ha! See, Wheeler? It was exactly fifteen minutes." Tristan nudged Joes in his arm.
"Heh, pay up!" Joey scowled and gave Tristan the money he bet. Yugi on the other hand frantically looked around for a service counter. He ran up around all the halls, eventually running into a row of wheelchairs. He could hear his parents yell for him to slow down, but he really wanted to find the maternal ward. He saw a map that painted to the maternal ward and ran to the first counter he saw.
"Hi, I'm Yugi Moto and I got a phone call saying that there was a baby left here alone." Yugi tried to say through puffs. Once his parents caught up to him, he saw that they were out of breath too. Yugi and his family and friends sat in the waiting room. Yugi paced around the circle of chairs; increasing in speed with every pace.
"Yugi, stop I swear you're gonna burn a hole in the floor soon." Mokuba said. Yugi grunted in frustration.
"What's taking them so long! How hard is it to find a doctor around here!" Tea shrugged.
"Well, they have to find the right doctor." Yugi threw his arms up in the air. His friends were very worried for him. Usually, Yugi was very calm and patient. In fact, he could wait forever for a decision to be made if he had to. They had never seen him so anxious and frustrated before. Finally, a doctor came into the waiting room.
"Yugi Moto?" Yugi ran up to him when he said his name.
"That's me." The doctor raised his eyebrow.
"You're Yugi Moto?"
"Uh … yeah. Why?"
"Well, you're a kid. I was expecting an adult." Yugi hated the fact that he looked younger then he really was.
"I'm fifteen." Mike and Kay stood up behind him.
"Um, my name is Mike Moto and this is my wife Kay. We're Yugi's parents. He is fifteen years old." Yugi turned to the doctor and nodded. The doctor shrugged. What was he to judge?
"Well, I suppose you read that note." Yugi nodded. "Then do you want to see her?" Yugi cocked his head to the side.
"See who?" The doctor smiled.
"Your daughter." Yugi's eyes widened.
"M – M – my d – d – daughter?" The doctor smiled and went back behind the wall. When he came back, he was holding a bundle wrapped in a pink blanket. Yugi gasped. The bundle was a small one, but made sounds like it was healthy. The doctor walked over to Yugi and placed the baby girl in his arms. Yugi looked at the small child in his arms and his heart melted. The baby opened her mouth with a big yawn. "Oh my God …" Was all Yugi could get to come out of his mouth. The baby looked at her father with the same color of eyes that Yugi had. She smiled at him as if knowing he was her father. Just by the eyes and smile, you could tell that this baby was Yugi's. Everyone formed a circle around Yugi and made "awe" sounds. Kay started to cry tears of joy.
"Oh, Yugi she's beautiful!" Yugi blushed.
"Thanks, Mom."
"I can't believe you actually have a daughter!" Joey said. Tea tapped him on the head. The baby seemed to be very comfortable in her father's arms. Not a sound of complaint was made. She cooed every now and then and tried to look at every shadow she saw. As an infant, she could only see black and white shadows and blobs. Yugi smiled and looked at everyone around him.
"Uh, guys, can I have a moment alone … just me and her?" Mike smiled.
"Of course, Yugi." Kay did not want to leave her new grandchild so soon, but Mike and Solomon had to pull her away to give Yugi his request. Tea, Joey, Tristan, Kaiba and Mokuba left as well. When Yugi was alone, he began to cradle the baby in his arms.
"I never thought anything could make me feel as loved as I am when I look at you." He told the baby. Yugi's eyes started to water. "I never imagined myself as a father, but now that it's happened, I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing." He laughed and cried at that statement at the same time. The baby moved her fist to her mouth. Yugi smiled as he bent over and gave her a kiss on her forehead. The baby closed her eyes and fell asleep. Yugi smiled again. Just then, Yami started to materialize right beside him.
"Yugi, I'm sorry I took so long, but ---"
"It's alright, Yami." Yami relaxed. He then noticed the pink blanket being cradled in Yugi's arms. He walked closer to Yugi in order to get a better look at the baby.
"Yugi … is that …" Yugi looked at his guardian with a smile.
"She's a daughter! I have a daughter!" The baby stirred a little, but did not awake.
"Yugi, she's so beautiful! She looks just like you." Yugi blushed, but he had to agree. But, his happy face soon turned into a sad one. Yugi looked at the sleeping baby in his arms and a thought suddenly scared him. Of course, Yami noticed this. "What's the matter, Little One?" Yugi sighed deeply.
"Yami, what's gonna happen once she grows up and asks what happened to her mother?" Yami blinked at this question. "I can't very well lie to her. And, what's she gonna think in a few years when she's probably taller then me, and the fact that her father has a guardian angel! This is all too much for a little girl to take in …" Yugi kissed his daughter's forehead again and she woke up with a toothless smile. Yami sighed.
"Yugi, look into the eyes of your daughter." Yugi did as instructed. "What do you see?" Yugi shrugged.
" … A baby …" Yami rubbed his hand over his face.
"Alright, let's try this again. Look deeper into her eyes and tell me what you see." Yugi looked into the baby's eyes. He saw the same color eyes that he had. The same eyes that sparkled with happiness and love. Yami waited for his little charge's answer.
"I see … love … and trust."
"Exactly." Yugi looked at Yami in confusion. "Yugi, she doesn't care if you are the only parent taking care of her. Or that you're small for your age, or that you have a guardian." Yami nudged him at that last part. Yugi smiled and blushed. "All she cares about is that you are holding her in your arms and she is giving you all the trust she has." The baby suddenly sneezed a little sneeze. Yugi giggled at this identical image of his own cuteness.
"You're right, Yami." Yami smiled; happy that he could help his charge feel better about himself and the situation. He cleared his throat as he began to speak again.
"So, have you thought up a name for her?" Yugi nodded, still smiling at his baby. Yami exhaled "Well, are you going to tell me, or should I just continue to call her 'Yugi's daughter'?" Yugi stuck his tongue out at him. Just then, the rest of the group came back. They all took turns holding the baby; although, Yugi's parental instincts took over and he quickly snatched his daughter up from the fifth person who tried to hold her. Everyone else laughed at Yugi's protectiveness of his daughter.
"So, Yugi … what's her name?" His father asked. Yugi thought for a second. He really hadn't thought of a name before.
" … Uh … I don't know …" Yami scuffed.
"I asked you if you had a name for her and you said 'yes'."
"Well … I wasn't listening."
"Well, what's her name?" Yugi thought for a moment. Then, something popped into his head.
"Abigail."
"Huh!" Everyone asked.
"I said her name is Abigail … but 'Abby' for short." Yami nodded.
"Abigail, hmm?" Yugi nodded. "Beautiful name for a beautiful child." Yugi smiled. Abby didn't seem to oppose to it either.
"That was your grandmother's name." Solomon added. Yugi nodded.
"I know. I'm naming her after grandma." Mike and Kay looked at each other and smiled … as did Solomon.
"Your grandmother would be honored to know that you named your daughter after her, Yugi." Yugi smiled.
"How about a middle name?" Tristan asked. Once again, Yugi had to think about it.
"Um … Jewel. Because she's the jewel of my heart."
"Abigail Jewel Moto; got it." The doctor said, writing on a piece of paper. "This is her birth certificate. So, Mr. Moto, have you decided whether or not you are going to be taking your daughter home?" That was the question Yugi was dreading the most. He was young and his parents had given him the reasons why he should give up his child when they were in Kaiba's limo. Yugi looked at Abby as she cooed and started to fall asleep again.
"Well, what would happen to her if I couldn't?" The doctor sighed.
"Well, with her mother gone, we would have to put her into the hands of Social Services if you do not take full custody of her." Yugi gasped. He remembered the horror stories Kaiba and Mokuba told him about Social Services. He just couldn't do that to an innocent child. He looked at his parents with a determined look.
"Mom … Dad, I want to take her home." Kay gasped.
"But Yugi ---"
"No, listen to me! If one of you ran off and left the other to care for me, would you do it?" Mike and Kay looked at each other.
"Of course we would, Son. We love you." Yugi nodded.
"And that's how I feel with Abby. I'm all she has now. Her mother left her so that I could protect her. She needs me! I've never had anyone who needed me before!" Everyone looked at Yugi as if he were talking nonsense. "All my life, I've always had to be the one who needs protecting by you guys, Yami, and even my friends. Well, now someone finally needs ME to protect them. And I'm going to do it to the best of my ability."
"But Baby, you're only fifteen!"
"I know what I'm risking, Mom. So what if I spend my eighteenth birthday in a sandbox. I'm willing to do it." Mike and Kay looked at each other, both knowing that once their son's mind was made up, there was absolutely no changing it. That was one of the things Yami had taught him and they really didn't like that. Both sighed and nodded their heads. Yugi smiled and attempted to give them a hug when he realized that he had a sleeping baby in his arms. Suddenly, a thought struck his mind.
"Wait, what about supplies?"
"What do you mean 'supplies'?" Joey asked.
"I mean like diapers, bottles, toys, clothes, the works!"
"We can donate a few outfits for you until you get around to buying some clothes for her." The doctor suggested. Yugi nodded in thanks.
"Don't we still have my old baby crib and baby bottles up in the attic?" Mike scratched his head.
"Well, we have the crib, but the bottles are a problem." Yugi blinked.
"Why?"
"We don't have any … you were breast fed." Yugi blushed. That was information that he did not want to share with his friends.
"DAD!" The doctor chuckled.
"We can donate some baby bottles to you as well." Once again, Yugi was relieved. Mike and Solomon decided to head home and bring the crib back down into Yugi's room while Kay stayed and filled out the paperwork that Yugi could not fill out due to the fact that he was a minor. The rest of the gang went home. Kaiba's limo took Mike and Solomon back home who promised to come back with the SUV. Yugi looked into the window of the nursery as the nurses took Abby back inside to get all of her shots. Yugi couldn't help the smile forming on his lips. He never thought he could love something so much. Yami appeared right next to him with the same smile.
"I'm proud of you, Yugi." Yugi looked at Yami with a confused look.
"Why? I did nothing to be proud of." The dead pharaoh laughed.
"Actually, you did. You took it upon yourself to take full responsibility of your daughter. For someone as young as you, that takes a great deal of pride. You are willing to give up your teenage years to take care of an infant." Yugi looked through the window again.
"Well, anyone would have done the same."
"I don't think I can see Joey or Tristan taking on this kind of responsibility at their age." Yugi giggled. He had to agree. Those two were like the party kings. That was all they wanted to do. Yugi smiled. He wondered how much his life was going to change after tonight. He was going to have to sacrifice a lot just to make sure that his daughter was healthy. Yugi thought about everything he had been through in the past nine months. First there was him almost losing his grandfather's soul, then he was raped, and so much more. What if he was putting his child's life in danger just by being around her? Yugi loved Abby too much from the moment he held her in her arms. His parental instinct to protect her was making him doubt himself in how he can take care of Abby. He wiped a tear away from his face. Naturally, Yami heard everything. "Yugi, you know that we will always be there to help you in any way we can." Yugi made a sniffle sound.
"'We'?" Yami smiled and nodded.
"Of course."
"You mean Gabriel isn't taking you away from me?" Yami smiled and shook his head.
"Quite the opposite, actually. He thinks that now that you have a child, you need me now more then ever." Yugi relaxed and let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.
"That's true."
Later that night, Yugi was finally able to bring Abby home for the first time. He wanted to give her a quick tour, but he found her still asleep in the car seat that Mike and Solomon had installed in the back seat of the SUV. A few hours after everyone else was in bed, Abby started to cry again from the crib that was set up in Yugi's room. She still had her pink blanket, and she was also dressed in one of those pajamas that connect everything including the feet; and it was pink as well. She continued to cry as Yugi frantically awoke from his dream that he was having. Before he could even get up, Yami appeared in front of the crib watching the baby scream her head off. He stood there with his arms folded.
"What are you crying about?"
"She's hungry …" Yami turned around to see Yugi rising from his bed. "That's what babies do when they're hungry … they cry."
"Yugi, shouldn't you be asleep?" Yugi rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and tried to walk to the door without bumping into anything … he was not having much luck.
"I have to feed her or else she'll cry all night long." Yami was worried for Yugi's physical health. He had just awaked from a coma and needed rest more then anything.
"Yugi, did you need help?" Yugi opened the door slowly without even looking at the pharaoh.
"No …" Yami sighed as his gaze returned to the baby. Yugi went downstairs to warm up a bottle Kay knew Abby would want during the night. He put it in the microwave for two minutes before he set off to his room again. When he returned, Yami had not moved from his spot above the crib. He did move aside when Yugi carefully took Abby into his arms and sat on his bed. The baby continued to cry until she had what she wanted. Yugi put the bottle in her mouth. Abby's crying seized as she drank the bottle. Yugi smiled and did his best to try and stay awake. Yami tried to comfort Yugi.
"Yugi, did you want me to take over while you rest?" Yugi shook his head.
"No. I know what I was getting myself into the moment I decided to take Abby home. I took full responsibility for her. Diaper changes, illnesses, even three a.m. feedings. She's my daughter and I want to be the one to raise her."
"But Yugi, knowing when to take the help that is offered is also a way of raising her." Yugi sighed.
"I can handle it, Yami." Yami sighed in defeat.
"Alright, Yugi. But you know that we are all here to help you." Yugi nodded. He really wasn't listening to Yami at this point. He was just trying to stay awake and feed the baby at the same time.
End of Chapter 1