Chapter 47

Blessings

Author's note: just to not get in trouble, I should remind everyone that I don't own anything YuGiOh. I just own my characters and Dark Mage of the Sea owns hers.

When a sentence is **like this**, it's sign language. When a sentence is ~like this~, it's phoenix speech.

Thank you, Dark Mage of the Sea, my coauthor and best friend.

One day, Atem came back from an overseas tournament to find Tima napping on the couch. He smiled at her before noticing the papers on the table. There were flyers for apartments and houses. "What is this?"

His comment woke up Tima. "Oh…welcome home, Atem. When did you get in?"

Atem continued to look at the flyers. "Just now. What are you looking at?"

Sitting up and stretching her arms, Tima looked at the flyers and shrugged a little. "Ripples is selling really well, partially because of your fame…" Atem smirked, "…and your professional duelist career is really taking off. Thanks to that and because there is probably another KaibaCorp family who would benefit from this apartment…I was thinking it was time we got a house."

Atem looked up in surprise. "A house? Well…"

Tima tilted her head. "Do you not want to move to a bigger place?"

Atem shook his head. "No, it's not that. It's just…it's a big change. After all, we've lived here for quite some time."

Tima nodded and stood to take his hand. "Yes…but change is necessary and good. I changed my mind about my job and you changed your mind about your destiny."

Atem smiled and kissed her hand. "You always did have a way with words, my little writer. Speaking of, how's Ripples Expanding coming along?"

Tima blushed a little. "Still ironing out the details. I've recently been more focused on the house-hunting to really let my muse take over."

Understanding, Atem asked, "Is there a house that's caught your eye?"

Tima got a flyer from the table. Looking over her shoulder, Atem pointed out, "Multiple bedrooms…"

Tima blushed a little. "Well…we want to have children, right?"

Atem peeked up at her and smiled with a sparkle in his eyes. "Well…let's take a look at the house." His smile became a smirk. "Maybe Kaiba can even give us a letter of recommendation."

Tima gave a little laugh at that. "If it means us getting out of here, I think he'll do it. Lord knows we've been here for a while."

Atem teased, "Then why haven't you started searching for a house sooner?"

Tima gave him a look and teased back, "Hard to look at a house as a couple when you're constantly busy, Mr. Professional Duelist."

Atem smirked with pride, making Tima roll her eyes.

A week later, Atem and Tima went with a realtor to the house. Atem teased, "I didn't know it was three floors."

Tima giggled. "For a professional duelist, you'd think you would notice something so obvious."

Atem gave her a look as the realtor looked at him. "Muto Atem…I thought you looked familiar. My son is a big fan."

Atem smiled at him before looking at the house. It was plain but he had to admit there was a certain charm to the plainness. "I suppose the operative word is…cute."

The realtor looked a little discouraged. "You don't sound impressed."

Atem hesitated, still looking over the house. Thinking fast, Tima said, "We've only lived in Japan for a little while. I think he's just used to Egyptian houses."

Nodding in understanding, the realtor started to unlock the house. "Well, let's hope the inside will charm you."

Atem nodded as they went inside. Half of the bottom level was a bedroom. The other half was the bathroom, which was split into a lavatory, a bathtub room, and a powder room. Tima peeked into the powder room as Atem looked at the bedroom. "Would this count as the master bedroom?"

The realtor nodded. "Yes, as it has the main bathroom."

Atem was intrigued as Tima looked up at the ceiling. "So what's upstairs?"

The realtor took them upstairs. The second flood was an open floorplan with the living room, dining room, and kitchen, like the apartment they were currently living in. The main difference was that the second floor was about the same size of their entire apartment. Tima teased, "All the furniture we need to buy…"

The realtor asked, "Are you not bringing the furniture that's in your apartment?"

Atem shook his head. "Most of that furniture came with the apartment."

Tima looked out the window at the balcony as the realtor took Atem upstairs. The third floor was two bedrooms and a lavatory. "One can be an office and one can be another bedroom."

Atem looked in the bigger room and nodded. "Okay…we're sold. Right, Tima?"

He looked down the stairs and heard Tima getting sick in the downstairs bathroom. He grimaced and awkwardly said to the realtor, "I guess that means it's ours now."

The realtor chuckled and teased, "That's a first for me. But, if you are truly interested, I'll draw up some papers."

Atem nodded and followed the realtor downstairs. The realtor knocked on the lavatory door. "Are you okay, Miss?"

Tima made an affirmative noise. "I am so sorry."

The realtor waved it off as Atem reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. "Before I forget, I have a letter of recommendation."

Intrigued, the realtor took out the letter and his eyes slightly widened. "From Mr. Kaiba…wow."

Atem shrugged. "He is my current landlord…and technically at times my boss." He then turned serious. "Do not ever repeat that to him; I don't need his ego even bigger."

The realtor smiled and put the letter in his folder.

A month later, Tima was resting on the couch, feeling ill. Atem looked over at her from the kitchen, making tea. "How are you feeling, my love?"

Tima shrugged a little. "Stomach is queasy but I have my doctor's appointment with Dr. Hope in a couple hours. She'll figure out what's going on."

Atem smiled softly and brought her the tea. Just then, his phone went off, catching his attention. "That's odd, I thought Kaiba's final prototype test was in two days."

Tima looked up from her tea as he answered the phone, going into the bedroom. He came out moments later, looking happy. Curious, Tima asked, "What is it?"

Atem looked at his wife. "We got the house."

Around mid-afternoon, Atem was in Kaiba's office, having been told to come at the last minute. Without looking up from his computer, Kaiba stated, "There is a new prototype in the making. My designers were eager to get your opinions on it."

Atem took a seat and looked through the short stack of papers in front of him. "Why are the designers not here?"

"I will only give an audience to the designs that are worth taking a look at. I have already given my opinion on some of them."

Out of the corner of his eye, Atem noticed Kaiba's trash bin was almost overflowing. As he flipped through them, he asked, "How's Noa?"

Kaiba could not help but smirk with pride. "He already has the makings of a great duelist."

Atem gave Kaiba a look. "Kaiba, he's one."

Kaiba continued to smirk. "And my son. The apple has not fallen far from the tree."

Atem had suspected that Noa would be exposed to Duel Monsters but wondered if Kaiba was moving too fast. Before he could say anything, however, his phone dinged. Kaiba looked annoyed. "I thought I asked you to silence your phone during meetings."

Atem pulled out his phone and retorted, "I don't recall being told this was a meeting. Besides, Tima is at the doctor's. She probably just wanted to tell me her results."

He opened the text message and Kaiba went back to work. A minute later, the brunette looked up and saw Atem's eyes were wide. "What?"

Atem looked up from the picture text. "She's pregnant."

Kaiba at first did not react. But then his smirk returned. "I'll tell the designers to wait. Go and be with your wife."

Atem was taken aback even more by Kaiba's generosity. He could not help teasing, "What has Tiki done to you?"

Kaiba's smirk became cold. "Don't push it."

Atem smirked back and started to leave. Suddenly remembering, he turned back. "By the way, thank you for the letter of recommendation. We got the house."

Kaiba continued to work but nodded in response. "Good. I'll be able to tell my new intern he has an apartment. Let me know when you're moved out."

Within a week, they had moved out of the apartment and into the house. While they had hired movers to help, they knew they needed a lot of furniture. They had yet to go shopping because of Atem testing the prototype for Kaiba and because of Tima's pregnancy sickness. That morning, Atem looked up from a furniture catalog and looked at Tima, who was trying to make some tea. "Tima, maybe I should make the tea."

Tima smiled softly. "Atem, I am not so queasy that I can't make use a pot of tea.

Atem smirked as there was a knock at the door. He went down and opened the door to find Yugi, Merina, and their phoenixes. Atem smiled. "Welcome."

He let them in and, once their shoes were off, led them upstairs. Tima looked up from the tea and brightened. "Well, this is the surprise!"

The phoenixes chirped and flew over to the kotatsu. Yugi nodded. "We wanted to come and congratulate you for both the house and the pregnancy."

Tima gave Atem a look. "I thought we said we would tell everyone after a couple months. It's bad enough you told Kaiba, who then told Tiki."

Atem shrugged, not apologetic. "I couldn't help myself."

Tarra made a chirp-like laugh. ~Proud of being a father. I remember you being that way when Tima was pregnant with Heba.~

Merina smiled and held up a cake box. "Brought some cake to celebrate!" She winked at Tima's worried look. "Don't worry, it's lemon and blueberry, not too sweet for your stomach."

Tarra and Torru looked up and "said" at the same time, ~I want some too!~

Tima smiled and sat at the kotatsu to ride out a queasy spell. "Thank you." Torru went over and nuzzled Tima's head, making her smile. "That feels good."

As Merina joined her at the kotatsu and unboxed the cake, she asked, "Do you think Tiki and Noa can join us?"

Tima shook her head. "I invited her but Noa has a cold. Poor thing…"

Merina and the phoenixes made sympathetic noises as Merina started to cut up the cake. She looked around and teased, "Looks pretty bare."

Tima chuckled as she looked at their two comfy chairs by the kotatsu. "We'll get more when we're able to go shopping. Things just keep getting in our way, whether it's Atem's dueling or my pregnancy sickness."

Merina passed out the slices as Atem finished the tea. "Luckily, we already got most of the stuff for the kitchen. Though…we'll also have to get stuff for the baby."

As Atem started to pour the tea, Yugi got an idea. "There may be some stuff in storage from when I was a baby. Maybe my parents will be willing to let you have them."

Atem smiled and nodded. "Thank you." As he started to hand Yugi the cups, his smirk became a smile as he asked loud enough for Merina to hear, "So when are you proposing?"

Yugi almost dropped the cups but recovered, though some tea was spilled. Merina blushed slightly but there was a big smile on her face. Tima saw this and also saw that the two phoenixes had sparkles in their eyes. Reaching for paper towels, Yugi looked at Atem. "Well…"

He held up his left hand, revealing a ring on his ring finger. Atem and Tima's eyes widened. Tima grabbed Merina's left hand. On her ring finger was a gold ring with a lavender-colored diamond surrounded by diamonds and designs like petals. "Merina, it's beautiful!"

Merina grinned. "Thank you!"

Atem gave Yugi a grin. "So spill the details. When did you do it?"

Assuming, Yugi answered, "Last week, when I visited Merina in New York for her final performance." He scratched the back of his head. "It was a spur of the moment decision."

Tima was a little suspicious of that comment; Atem, however, assumed Yugi meant the proposal was not planned. Tarra pointed out, ~It was so out of nowhere, Torru and I didn't even know it was happening until just before it happened.~

Yugi gave Tarra a look. "I thought I asked you to stop bringing that up."

His tone was teasing so Tarra responded with the same amount of humor. ~Then let me know when you do something like that when you do something like that and not as an afterthought.~

Merina smiled at him as Atem asked, "Let us know if you need any advice with wedding planning."

Tima chuckled. "That's if they want to have a courthouse wedding like us."

Atem smirked. "Got any idea when the wedding will be?"

Yugi brought the cups over before stating, "I already told you: last week."

Atem followed, confused. "What?"

Merina nodded. "We, uh…went to a drive-thru chapel after the performance."

Their friends did not expect that. Tima asked, "There are such chapels?"

Merina took a bite before saying, "Yeah. They're mainly in Vegas but New York City recently opened one."

Tarra looked up from her slice. ~That's what I meant. Torru and I were flying above the car and were halfway to the ice cream parlor we were supposed to go to when Yugi suddenly reached out to me and told us what they were doing instead.~

Torru continued to eat but added, ~Merina was so giddy, she forgot about me until Tarra and I landed on the roof and asked to be let in the car.~

Merina blushed. "I said sorry about that…"

Torru gave her a smirk-like sparkle. As the men sat, Yugi explained, "We're busier than you two, with my major in business and minor in archaeology."

That caught Atem's attention. "You're not a double major anymore?"

Yugi shook his head. "It became too much. But I still want to study archaeology; it might give me ideas for my game designs. Anyway, like I said, we're busier than you two and we're also not lucky enough to already have a career. It just made sense to us."

Tima poked Merina's shoulder. "You should at least tell us how this happened."

Merina and Yugi looked at each other as they remembered.

Having finished the final performance, Yugi and Merina took Yugi's rental car and started to look for an ice cream parlor Tiki told them about. Yugi felt the ring box in his pocket. He thought about the proposal he had in mind when, at a red light, Merina looked out the window. "Oh wow, I didn't know those were outside of Vegas."

Yugi looked out and saw a building with a drive-thru with a semi-long line that did not look like a food place. "What is it?"

Merina grinned. "A drive-thru wedding chapel."

Intrigued, Yugi looked at the building and got an idea. When the light turned, he turned the car and got in line. Surprised, Merina asked, "What are you doing?"

Parking in line so they could have a moment, he turned to her. "Wanna do it?"

Merina was taken aback by this, though part of her was impressed with his confidence. Seeing him waiting for an answer, she chuckled softly. "Yugi…be serious."

Yugi reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring. He held it out and said, "I am."

Merina's eyes sparkled. She then smiled brightly and nodded. "Yes…yes, let's do it."

Yugi smiled. Using the time they had in line, they used Merina's phone to get a marriage license. Once it was their turn, they got the pastor to print the license before getting married under their phoenixes' proud gazes.

Tima smiled. "Wow."

Atem reached over and ruffled his friend's hair. "Welcome to the married life, my friend."

Yugi blushed but smiled. "Thank you."

Tima thought of something. "So how did everyone take it?"

Yugi subconsciously rubbed his neck, making Merina and the phoenixes laugh. "Both Dad and Joey gave him headlocks in congratulations. I had to tell them to not make me a widow just days after my wedding."

Everyone but Yugi laughed at that; Yugi was too busy trying not to remember how tight those grips were.

A few months later, Tima found herself laying on their new couch. She was a little giddy because she and Atem had their second appointment with their doctor. She looked down at her small four-month bump and smiled. "I can't wait to see you."

She took a deep breath, taking in a whiff of the breakfast Atem was making. She groaned, making him look at her. "Are you all right?"

Tima sat up and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. "Yeah…yeah. Just…hard to smell food these days."

Atem nodded sympathetically. He then paused. "Tima…is it okay if we don't find out what we're having?"

Tima looked at him in surprise. "Really? You don't want to know?"

Atem nodded. "Yeah, that was a good thing we had in Egypt. The surprise made it…extra special, if you will."

Tima smiled and got up. "Okay…we'll stay in the dark."

Reaching him, she kissed him deeply. Their kiss was interrupted by Tima's phone ringing. Seeing it was Pegasus, she wondered, "What's he calling for?" She answered it, putting it on speaker. "Hi, Pegasus."

Pegasus said in a loud, excited voice, "They want to make Ripples into a movie!"

Tima almost fainted. "What?!"

Atem touched her shoulders. "Tima, breathe! Relax! No stress on the baby!"

Tima took a breath as Pegasus made a happy noise. "What is this? Miss Tima is pregnant? Congratulations! That's even more wonderful news!"

Sitting on one of the kitchen chairs, Tima nodded. "Thank you, Pegasus. But go back: did you say they want to make Ripples a movie?"

"Yes! An American studio has picked it up. From what I understand, a script is already in the making."

Atem smirked with pride but saw Tima's worried look. "Really? Already in process?"

Pegasus heard her worry. "Is something wrong?"

Tima took a breath. "Well…this is a great honor, I know. But…I'm not sure how I feel about someone else making a script based on my story."

Atem thought about it and understood her worry. Pegasus suggested, "Do you want to help out?"

Tima quickly said, "Yes." Blushing at Atem's chuckle, she recovered. "Yes, I do want to help with the script."

"Great! I will tell the studio."

Tima thanked Pegasus before hanging up. "Well…"

Atem hugged her from behind. "They better make the right decision and have you help."

Tima chuckled and hugged his arms. "You're more protective of my story than I am."

Atem shrugged. "I do not want to see your story become butchered, especially since it is about our lives. You are a gifted storyteller and I will not allow anyone to disrespect your hard work!"

Tima smiled and kissed his cheek. "You're cute when you're protective. I hope you're this protective when Ripples in a River is done."

Atem gave her a confused look. "What happened to Ripples Expanding?"

Tima shrugged. "The new title is better and it fits more with the other books I have in mind." She chuckled at his look. "Yes, I have more. I want to make short books of each major event we went through in the modern world."

Atem looked impressed as he stroked her hair. "Just don't push yourself, love."

At the appointment, Tima and Atem were waiting for the doctor. She was looking at a pamphlet, catching Atem's attention. "What are you looking at?"

Tima continued to read as she answered, "Different methods of giving birth."

Atem's curiosity was peaked. He was about to look over her shoulder when their doctor came in. "Good afternoon. My name is Doctor Izumi. How are you doing today?"

Tima smiled and set down the pamphlet. "Really well. Excited to see our baby."

Izumi started to set up the machine. "Your first baby, correct?"

Atem and Tima nodded, giving each other a special look. When Tima laid back, Atem brought up, "Doctor, my wife and I talked about it and we don't want to know the gender."

Izumi looked up as she prepped. "Want to keep it a surprise, huh?"

The couple nodded as Izumi started to procedure. Within a minute, the screen showed their baby. Atem and Tima smiled as Izumi moved the mouse around, studying the screen. "Vitals growing normally…in the right position…healthy growth…"

Atem smiled and kissed Tima's head. "They're perfect…like their mother."

Tima smiled as Izumi finished and gave her some tissue. "Have you given thought to how you're going to give birth?"

Now clean, Tima got the pamphlet as Atem quickly said, "Let's not do natural."

Tima snickered as Izumi gave him a look. "Why do you say that?"

Atem took a minute to think. He knew he could not tell the truth, that he remembered hearing Tima's screams while she was in labor in Ancient Egypt. Getting an idea, he explained, "My neighbor in Egypt had a home delivery and…well, our apartment walls were really thin."

Tima snickered again as Izumi gave him a sympathetic look. Tima opened the pamphlet and got the doctor's attention. "I saw this and it caught my attention."

Izumi looked and smiled. "Ah, a water birth. My friend Sandy takes care of those. I can recommend her birthing center if you want to do this."

Atem pulled the pamphlet over enough for him to look at the description. He read that a water birth would take place either at a hospital or a birthing center and the birth would be in a tub without medications. That made Atem tense up a little. "No medications?"

Izumi explained, "The hot water helps with labor pain. There are midwives or doctors around just in case something goes wrong but that doesn't happen very often. We also don't recommend having water births if there are medical issues brought on by pregnancy but, as your wife doesn't have any, she is a perfect candidate for a water birth."

Atem looked at Tima and saw the sparkle in her eyes. "I can't talk you out of it, can I?"

Tima smiled at him. "Smart man."

As the months came and went, the couple continued to thrive. Atem's dueling took him around the world but he did make sure that he would not be away around the baby's due date. Tima kept herself busy when he was away, either with tending to the baby room (they were able to get Yugi's old things) or working with the studio for the Ripples movie. The script needed a lot of work but it eventually satisfied her. While things were either removed or rearranged so the movie would not be too long, they left the main points in. She especially enjoyed the post-credit scene revealing Yima and Bakura, both as a shock ending and a set up for the sequel. She even got to help with casting the characters, watching audition reels and giving her opinions. Once everything was announced and filming began, Tima put her full attention back to her birth. On her due date, she got up and looked at herself in the mirror. "I hope today is the day…"

Her smile widened when she felt Atem hug her from behind. "Do you know how beautiful you are?"

Tima chuckled as they felt a small kick. Feeling it, he asked, "You're sure about the water birth?"

Tima rolled her eyes. "You ask me all the time and my answer is always the same." Atem shrugged so she continued, "Everything is going to be all right. I promise."

Atem took a breath and kissed her. "If you say so."

Later that day, Atem was working on lunch while Tima was working on Ripples in a River. She suddenly grunted in pain, catching Atem's attention. "You okay?"

Tima nodded, taking some deep breaths. "Yeah…yeah, it's probably…"

She continued to breathe so Atem continued her thought: "False labor?"

Tima nodded and excused herself to go to the downstairs bathroom as he continued to work on lunch. With the rice heating, he went down and knocked on the door. "Anything specific you want?" At first, there was no response. "Tima?"

The door opened a crack and Tima's voice said, "Atem…I think my water just broke…"

Within 20 minutes, they were at the birthing center. Settled into their room, Tima was dressed in a hospital gown and being checked by the midwife Sandy. Seeing Atem pacing, she could not help but giggle. "Why are you so nervous? I am (ow) the one giving birth."

Atem shrugged. "Flashbacks."

Tima and Sandy accepted his answer, Sandy being told the "thin apartment walls" story. The midwife finished her procedure. "You're about 5cm. The tub will be filled when you're at 7cm. For now, we just keep you comfortable and calm."

Tima took a few deep breaths. 'At least these are not as bad as when I was Queen.'

As the assistant midwife Kelly closed the blinds and lowered the lights to make a calming atmosphere, Atem looked at the medical tub. It was three times larger than theirs at home, had three removable doors, and bars that held a dangling bar. His faith was growing but he was still nervous about hearing the screams. Tima looked at Atem and smiled. "You want to let everyone know?"

Atem knew what she was doing and appreciated it. "Good idea."

He took a seat and started to text all their friends. They all responded with congratulations and asking if they could come. He asked Tima if she wanted them to come but she did not respond. He looked up and raised his eyebrow: she was rocking on an exercise ball and looked like she was a hypnotized state. "How…?"

Sandy smiled. "It helps with the pain and keeps her relaxed."

Atem was impressed and decided to answer their friends. As he texted, he told his wife, "I'm telling them that they can come over once our child is born."

Still rocking, she made an agreeing noise. They then started the waiting game, which lasted a couple of hours. Checking Tima again, Sandy announced she was at 7cm and Kelly started to fill the tub. Watching, Atem asked, "This really helps the pain, does it?"

Sandy nodded. "Heat is a good way to help relieve cramps, which is basically what labor pains are. In fact, in a lot of ways, this is better than medications because there are less risks involved."

Getting another fear, he asked, "The baby won't drown…right?"

Tima opened one eye, both annoyed he asked and worried as well. Sandy smiled at him. "No, the baby will be fine. They do not start breathing until they make contact with the air. No one is sure why but I believe that the baby thinks they are still in the womb and, therefore, continue to receive oxygen from the umbilical cord."

Tima closed her eye and Atem accepted the answer. "Do you get that question a lot?"

Sandy nodded as Kelly turned off the water once the tub was full enough. Sandy checked the temperature of the water and smiled. "All right, let's have a baby."

Tima took her hospital gown off, glad she had her bathing suit top on. Sandy and Kelly helped her into the tub. While the contractions were getting stronger, she continued to rock her hips and meditate. Atem sat behind her outside the tub and massaged her shoulders. "Let me know if I need to do anything."

Tima kept wincing but nodded. Sandy monitored the baby's heartbeat under water while Tima whispered, "Almost…almost…"

Atem smiled proudly. "You're doing great, my love."

Tima smiled, though it looked more like she was gritting her teeth. Sandy checked one more time and nodded. "Okay…let's do this."

She had Tima lay back in the tub and helped her prop her legs up. As she started to push, Atem kept massaging her shoulders and braced himself for the screams. To his relief, all she did was occasionally moan and grunt. The whole pushing process took about ten minutes. When the final push was made, Sandy brought the baby out of the water into Tima's arms. Tima's eyes sparkled. "Hi, little one."

Sandy started to suck water and mucus out of the newborn's mouth and nose with a bulb syringe. "Hello, little girl."

Once enough water and goop was sucked out, the newborn took a deep breath. She did not cry, however, and remained calm. Atem looked at her and felt his heart squeeze. "She's beautiful…"

Tima held her daughter close as Sandy took the opportunity to clamp the umbilical cord and give Atem some scissors. "Want to cut the cord, Dad?"

Feeling a sense of pride at being called that, Atem did as he was told. Kelly then took the newborn to the warming bed while Sandy and Atem helped Tima get out, dry off, and get in bed with the hospital gown back on. Once after-birth was done, Sandy started to fill out the baby's measurements Kelly found and asked, "What's her name?"

Tima smiled. "Aziza."

Kelly smiled. "That's beautiful."

Atem looked at the newborn. "It means precious." As Kelly and Sandy continued to check on Aziza, Atem sat next to Tima and put his arm around her, kissing her head. "I am so proud of you."

Tima smiled and leaned into him. "Thank you for being by my side."

Atem smiled and said in a low voice, "In the past, I always felt torn about not being able to be by your side when you gave birth to Heba and Aziza. I never told you this but…I was greatly worried when you gave birth to Heba because I thought my mother died in childbirth and I did not want to lose you."

Tima's smile softened and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry about that. You were here this time and I am grateful for that."

"And I am grateful for you, my one and only."

Tima and Atem took a moment to enjoy each other's company until Kelly came over with a diapered and swaddled Aziza. Tima gently took her in to her arms. "Hi there, sweetie."

Aziza was sleeping. Sandy looked up from filling out the birth certificate and commented, "Your daughter has the most unique hair style I've ever seen."

Atem looked up. "What do you mean?"

"Most of her hair is brown but the patch that would be her bangs looked red."

Atem and Tima looked at each other. They knew what this meant: their daughter from Ancient Egypt had returned to them. Tima kissed the baby's forehead as Atem wiped away tears forming. "Our little girl has returned to us."

Tima pointed out, "She will be different from how she was."

Atem shook his head with a bright smile. "It doesn't matter. We'll still love her with the passion of a thousand suns."

Tima agreed and then thought of something. "You want to tell everyone that they can come visit? Oh, and did you remember to send something to Marik?"

Atem grimaced, a little embarrassed that he forgot about Marik. "I'll send something right now. In fact…" he took a picture of Aziza, "…I'll send everyone a picture."

Tima smiled, listening to the phone go off with congratulations. Looking down at her daughter, she whispered, "You are your name…you are precious to us…then, now, and always." Aziza made a sleepy noise, making Tima's heart squeeze.