Yugi was very careful to control his thoughts the next day. He didn't want Atem to catch wind of what he was planning. He even took off the puzzle to make sure part of it stayed secret. He got what he wanted from his grandpa, and then went to talk to his friends. Slowly, he came up with a plan, and was more than ready to execute it the following day. He was going to make it a day to remember.

He got up early that morning and slipped the first surprise into his dueling deck. Then, he went inside the millennium puzzle to find Atem. He found him with surprising ease. He was wandering the corridors of the puzzle when Yugi found him.

"Yugi? What are you doing here?" He asked, surprised.

"I was looking for you. I have a surprise for you."

Immediately, Atem got the sensation that something was up. He let Atem take over and then came out of the puzzle. He grabbed his deck and put it in his card holder, put on his duel disk, and went downstairs where his first surprise was waiting. All of his friends were gathered in the living room. His face broke out in a smile.

"What are you all doing here?"

"We came because Yugi asked us to." Explained Tèa, eyes alight.

"He wanted to give you the best day ever, so we're here to make it happen!" Said Tristan.

"And it all starts right now!" Said Joey.

Atem smiled at Yugi, who stood beside him in a Phantasmal form.

Thank you, Yugi. He thought with a smile.

Yugi gave a happy nod, then went inside the puzzle to watch his plan unfurl. Joey headed out the door first, excited to see the first stop of their journey. The rest of them followed until they got to a back alley.

"What are we doing here?" Asked Atem.

"What do you think, pal? We're kicking things off with a bang! We're dueling here!"

"Alright. But why here?"

"Because this is right where those rare hunters came to snatch my red eyes. You won that back for me, Yug. So I wanted to come back here and make a place that had a bad memory into someplace that had a great one."

Yami smiled. "That's a great idea, Joey."

"Thanks, Yug. Now hand over your deck so we can do this thing!" He said. The two of them shuffled one another's decks before loading their decks into their respective duel disks and turning them on.

"It's time to duel!" They chorused. When Yami drew his first hand, a flash of something shiny caught his eye. He turned to look at it, and was dumbfounded. The card's lettering was raised up and written in gold. The picture was shiny and beautiful. When he looked down at the bottom of the card, he saw that it was a first edition. And it wasn't just any card. It was his most trusted monster.

Another Dark Magician.

Yugi, who was watching from inside the puzzle, couldn't stop grinning when he saw the look on his Daddy's face.

Yami broke out into the biggest smile, and silently thanked his son for the beautiful gift before beginning the duel. It was a close one, coming neck and neck until the very end. But in the end, Joey lost by a narrow window of 100 life points. When their duel was done, Tèa took the lead to take them to the next spot. She led the four of them to the Domino City museum, where they enjoyed the remnants of the exhibit on ancient Egypt that was back for a limited time.

After that, Tristan took them out to the Burger World restaurant for lunch. Finally, the four of them spent the rest of the day at the park, enjoying nature. It was nice to spend the day doing normal things for once. To not have to worry about saving the world and to just relax was a blessing. They spent their time talking and laughing and just being teenagers. When the day faded out they all made a point to walk Yami home before departing for the day.

When Yami arrived, he was gladdened to see Yugi's Grandpa, who he thanked for the card. Solomon chortled and made light of it before sitting down to a dinner of all of Yami's favorite dishes. Then, with a twinkle in his eye, Solomon said that he had to go to a meeting with a friend and wouldn't be back until later that night, giving father and son the chance to interact. Yami thanked him for the meal (and, unknown to Yugi, for the time alone) before heading to the bedroom.

When the door was shut, Yugi emerged from the puzzle. He was about to ask how his father liked the surprise when Yami surprised him by pulling him into a tight hug.

"Thank you." He said. Yugi smiled. He knew it would work.

"Thank you. You've done so much for me and given me someone to depend on. I didn't know how to thank you, so I did this as a small token of appreciation."

"This was the best day I've had in a long time."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

Yugi was changed into his favorite outfit and given his toys while Atem went to go and fix him a bottle. When he came back, Yugi climbed into his lap for a feeding. The bottle was drained quickly, but Yugi stayed in his Daddy's lap. He was so happy and joyful. He felt safe and secure, and knew that despite all the bad and evil he'd faced he had somebody who he could depend on. He fell asleep in his lap, which made Atem smile. He had been blessed with a second life, good friends, and most of all a wonderful son. He couldn't believe how his life turned out, but was grateful nonetheless. And to think it had all started with a dream.

Author's Note: Well folks, that's all for now. I'm so glad you all loved this story, and I love all of you amazing readers! However, I might be getting a job pretty soon. If I get it, I'll be taking some time off from my writing to get back into the swing of things. But don't worry- I'll be back! Thank you all so much for reading!

With Love,

Holly