Bakura: Look who's come sneaking back from wherever it was she was hiding.

Sorry! I've been extremely busy with the moving, the county fair, work, life in general.

Ryou: Did you enter anything this year?

Yeah, a rippled blanket that I crocheted and a multicolored scarf that I made on a knitting loom. The blanket got 3rd place and the scarf won 1st place!

Yugi: Congradualtions PhantomBrat.

Thanks.

Ryou:Before you all go and read chapter 36 of 'Broken', a reviewer had some confusion about why Yugi's mother is distant from Yugi. There are several reasons for this...She lost her husband in a car accident while her little boy was the only survivor of said crash, she wanted to keep the memories of the loss from burdening her and it didn't help to see Yugi trying to recover from the accident.

There are also some real-life examples of parents favoring all but one child due to some resemblance to a certain family member. For example, two parents divorce and one keeps their two young children. The parent, let's say the mother' favors the younger child because the eldest child not only severely misses their daddy but also looks more like his side of the family. Later in life the mother may further distance herself as the child is a constant reminder of this by appearance.

Yugi: So in other words, my mom feels like she's protecting herself from emotional distress?

Yup.

Malik: Hope you all enjoy Chapter 36!

Zoë was furious when she got to her hotel room. She had gone to get her son and was confronted by that Kaiba kid, the boy that she 'adopted' was rude to her, and Solomon refused to adhere to her request to keep the information of the accident from her son. Yugi was hurt and missing on his watch and she felt that it was time to take him back with her.

Brent had watched the fuming woman storm from Kaiba's mansion and speed out of the driveway. He followed her in his own car and was surprised to find that she was staying at a hotel not far from where they had just been. He got out and knocked on the door to her room. She answered, "What do you want?"

"Why, to help you, my dear," Brent stated. "I saw everything at the mansion. Kaiba must have something you wanted."

"He has my son and I want him back," Zoë stated.

Brent nodded, "I figured as much. How much are you willing to pay to get him back safe and sound in your arms?"

Zoë pulled out a checkbook and wrote a figure on a check. "I'll double it if I get my baby boy back from those people."

"He'll be yours fairly soon, ma'am," Brent soothed as he pocketed the check.

Yugi kicked his feet in the indoor pool as he watched his friends play with ease. Seto and Yami refused to let him swim unaided and currently everyone was playing water-volleyball. So it was dangerous for the recuperating teen to participate for a while. He was fine playing scorekeeper-slash-referee. "Joey! You touched the ball to the net," Yugi announced, "Point and ball to Yami's team."

Joey groaned but tossed the rubber ball over the net to Tea. The small Light was basking in the company of his friends. Yami noticed that whenever the group was together, Yugi's recovery was faster. Bakura was right in saying that Yugi thrived on him and their friends being there for him. He smiled as an idea crossed his mind, "Timeout."

Yugi was confused as he watched his brother motion the others around him. "Mokuba, can you get that inflatable ring out for Yugi," Yami asked his younger cousin.

The preteen grinned, "Yup. I inflated it just in case someone wanted it."

Yami nodded and looked at Joey and Tristan, "can you two hold it while I get Yugi into it?"

"You got it pal," Joey stated.

Tristan smiled, "Of course."

The group pulled the net down and swam or waded closer to Yugi while Mokuba got a ring out. Yugi felt gentle hands under his arms, "Relax, Yugi."

Yugi let himself go limp as Yami guided him into the inner tube as Joey and Tristan held it steady. Once he was safely in the ring, he slowly kicked his feet and moved away from the side of the pool. Yami felt a sense of pride watching his recovering brother having fun with them once more. Yugi beamed as he managed to turn the inflatable ring around, "Yami? You ok?"

"Yeah, just thinking." Yami smirked at the gang, "CANNONBALL!" He ran and jumped in, creating a wave that sent Yugi bobbing in the water.

The Light laughed at his brother's antics, earning cheers from the others.

Yugi was exhausted from paddling around the pool in the inner tube, but he was happy to be able to spend time with his friends and family. While everyone watched a movie, Yugi dozed off on the couch that he occupied alone. Yami insisted that he lay down and relax. Tea tool a peek and saw that their smallest friend had fallen asleep and smiled, knowing that he needed to rest.

They watched their movie and once it was over, the three friends had to go home to their families. Yami felt bad having to wake Yugi, but he needed to eat before going to bed. "What's for dinner," Yugi asked yawning.

Yami helped him up carefully, "How's about a grilled cheese sandwich and some tomato soup?"

"Only if you make the sandwich with your 'top-secret' twist," Yugi smiled.

He loved it when his brother made the cheesy sandwich a little crunchier than it was supposed to be. It had taken two loaves of bread, four packs of cheese, one tub of butter, two of their grandfather's best frying pans, and a fire extinguisher to get it right. Yugi grinned, remembering that day with ease. Yami had panicked and nearly gave up when he finally got the last one perfected, albeit a little on the crunchy side. Yugi snatched it up the second Yami pulled it off the stove and laid claim to half of the last piece of food in the house just to see the former spirit's reaction.

Yami smiled and nodded, "Very well, Yugi. If that's what you want, that's what you'll have."

Yugi, Yami, and Mokuba ate their soup and sandwiches together in the kitchen before calling it a night. The preteen hugged his cousins goodnight and headed for his room, leaving the pair to make their way to their own. Yugi wound up being carried a third of the way to bed after Yami noticed that he was slowing down and showing evidence of discomfort while walking.

Yugi had pushed his healing body harder than usual and it was evident in his composure. By the time Yami made it to their room, Yugi was dozing in his arms. Grateful that he had the foresight to have Yugi put on his warmest pajamas, Yami laid Yugi in his bed and pulled the railing up. Yugi let out a sigh of contentment as he snuggled into his pillows, "'Night Yami."

Yami pulled the blankets to Yugi's reach, "Goodnight, aibou."

Yugi smiled as he closed his eyes, happy that Yami had called him by his old nickname from the time they shared his body. His sleep was filled with peaceful dreams that night.

Yami: Not fair! Yugi stole my cheese sandwich!

Yugi: Only half!

Yami: T.T

Ryou: While PhantomBrat is scouring her flash drive for more recent chapters to her stories and Yugi is trying to calm Yami down, please consider this:
-In every day, there are 1440 minutes. That means we have 1440 daily opportunities to make a positive impact. -Les Brown

Malik: Until next time!