Aha! I have done a long chapter! Go me! I know diddly and am taking educated guesses here so forgive huge screw-ups. Again, leave a review to tell me how I'm doing and to encourage.

Chapter 4 : Combat

YVO

//My baby is a peanut. Mai, Yugi and I went for the scan two weeks ago that, quite disturbingly, showed us all a moving image of my inner organs. The doctor kindly pointed out child and, to my surprise, it was the shape of a peanut with some dark dots for eyes and some kind of tube running out of the center of it. Assured that that was normal and that it is growing fine, I am no longer quite so worried but if it looks like a kiwi-fruit next week I will get very upset.

Everyone was sympathetic after Yugi told them what had happened with Seto but wisely they left me to myself. Of course they ask how I am to the point where I am damning whoever started that phrase, with the sympathetic held tilt-accompanied question and head-bobbed response becoming an hourly occurrence. Joey still feels partly responsible and although his obsession with following me around at the Turtle shop when new stock came in to ensure that I didn't lift anything big was sweet at first, but now it is just another reason for me to want to harm him. Seriously.

Mai dragged me shopping again yesterday, telling me that I was going to burst out of my current attire soon if I didn't change which, quite honestly, I felt also. She dared come near me with a maternity smock, learning very quickly not to do it again after my reaction.

Honda's remaining firmly in my good books as he brings me strawberries, which I am rapidly becoming addicted to. Tea is, well, Tea. I'm not sure what she thinks; this whole thing must seem pretty strange to her. It certainly is to me.

That leaves Seto. After I stormed out with so much dramatic flare that I actually feel quite smug, we have not spoken nor seen each other. Part of me feels that I should have stayed and talked things out properly, but then the sane part of me argues that he wouldn't have backed down at all, especially after receiving such a shocking piece of news. I want to talk to him and get this all figured out to the point that I start for the door without even thinking, but then I remember his harsh words and instantly back down from that course of action. Besides, outside of the business world I am his greatest nemesis. Come to think of it, Seto's business is gaming so that would make me his worst enemy there too. Fantastic.

Yugi is on my side. He says that if Seto wanted anything to do with us then he would have to come and apologise himself. Fair enough, but with his stubbornness I sincerely doubt that that will ever happen.//

****

Yami waved slightly at the reversing truck indicating it to stop, the engine hissing as it stopped moving at the entrance to the Turtle Games shop. Yugi was inside preparing a space in the store-room whilst Yami helped outside. Clicking open the metal door and shoving it up, the sides rattling as it ascended, she gave the boxes inside a quick glance over to ensure that they were undamaged.

Satisfied that all the ordered stock was present and in good condition, she reached over the ledge of the truck and dragged back the first box. Lifting it properly, she started back inside when a voice shouted behind her, accompanied by the sound of running.

"Ah no ya don't!"

Before she could blink, Yami found herself minus a box staring at Joey in shock as he struggled to get a decent grip on it.

"Joey! Give that back! It's my job," she shouted at the overly concerned teen, moving forward to take the box out of his arms only to have him step away from her.

"You're not lifting any of the stuff in that truck. I don't care how light it is. I'm not gonna let you strain yourself," Joey replied flatly, holding the box with one hand to his chest and pocking her slightly rounded stomach to relay his point with the other.

Fuming, Yami knew that she would not win this argument and headed to the door, pulling it open for him to carry the box inside and through to the store-room. "You do realize that the only reason your head is still connected to your shoulders is because you're helping Yugi out."

Joey grinned as he reemerged and returned to the truck to fetch another box. Kicking a doorstop under the heavy door, Yami climbed up into the truck after Joey returned inside and proceeded to start moving the boxes to the edge ready to be collected.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Groaning at the exclamation, Yami braced her hands on the cardboard and looked up at Tea who was standing infuriated on the other side of the box, hands planted firmly on her hips.

"I am moving these boxes to the ledge which is approximately two meters away from my current location. Joey is collecting them and taking them inside whilst Yugi stacks them. Happy?"

Shoving the box forward again she sighed heavily when it stopped against the toes of Tea's shoes. "They aren't heavy!"

"I don't care. Get out of the truck," she instructed, one hand pointing behind her whilst the other remained firmly on her hip.

Staring at her in amazement and making a noise of surprised indignation, Yami stalked out shaking her head and hopped back down onto the pavement where Joey was smirking triumphantly.

"One damn word and I don't care how much you're helping, your head will go through that wall."

Joey held up his hands in the universal sign of surrender, shaking his head and resuming his work. Supremely pissed off now, especially considering the fact that this was the fourth time this had happened, Yami returned inside and moved into the living area at the back of the shop knowing it was deserted.

Filling the basin with hot water and washing-up liquid, she started dumping the remains of last night's film-frenzy into the sink, collecting the washcloth from the side and scrubbing at the plates.

She had started to wash up a lot now; her mind always drifted whilst doing it and it was one of the few things she was actually permitted to do. Their concern was touching but it was an omen that the next few months were going to be absolutely hell.

//If one more person stops me from doing something, I swear I will tear them apart, eat their soul and whittle their bones into toothpicks.//

"Yami, if you could just stop what you're-"

"Will you people quit it!" she shouted as she turned, cheeks warming when she saw her amused grandfather standing in the doorway. Bowing slightly in apology, she picked up a towel to dry her hands whilst waiting for him to continue.

"It's alright Yami-Chan. Honda just dropped off some strawberries for you and is now outside helping Yugi with the stock. I agree with you in that most of the boxes aren't heavy but I would rather you did not help remove them from the truck anymore."

"Alright Grandpa. You'll need an extra hand though to get it done."

The old man laughed a little. "Joey seems quite intent on keeping you from doing any serious work, and Tea and Honda seem happy to be of assistance. I believe I have all the help I can ask for."

Yami smiled slightly and nodded, extending a hand to take the offered fruit from Grandpa. The phone started to ring then, Grandpa answering it as Yami returned to the steaming bowl of dirty dishes. Her hand moved to her chest before going into the soapy water, rubbing at an ache that permeated deep into her being.

It had been occurring on and off for a few days now, the pain seemingly intensifying marginally each time. It could be tolerated though, and therefor ignored.

Looking over to her whilst holding the phone, he asked if Yami could fetch Yugi back from the shop.

Snatching the towel back up as she walked, Yami stepped into the front of the building, glancing about for her light. She spotted him perched on the counter with a magazine, the truck apparently unloaded now.

"The others went off shopping for us. They should be back soon," he said glancing up quickly from his reading.

"Alright. Someone's on the phone for you. I'll stay out here until you're done."

Dropping the magazine he hopped off the high counter and ran out of the shop leaving Yami alone. Wiping the remaining suds off of her arms, she moved behind the counter and sat up on a stool, pillowing her head on her folded arms as she lent forward.

All was quiet until Yugi returned a few minutes later coming immediately to her side, speaking as he walked.

"That was Mokuba. Seto's really sick; that's why he hasn't been around for a while. Mokuba didn't want to call before because Seto said that he and Yami had had a fight but he doesn't know what to do."

"Has a doctor been round yet?"

"Yeah, a few days ago. He said he would be fine but now he's gotten worse."

Yami sighed, sensing exactly what Yugi wanted her to do. She was mildly surprised that he hadn't come right out and asked directly, or at least queried him across their link.

"I take it you want me to go over there, Aibou? Hopefully to kill two birds with one stone," she asked flatly, head rising to look him directly into the eyes.

Smiling sheepishly, Yugi nodded slightly.

Heaving a sigh, Yami rolled her eyes before pointing a finger sharply at him. "I'll go, but you're coming with me."

****

The Kaiba mansion was eerily silent when the pair entered, Yugi effectively shattering that by shouting for Mokuba the moment they were inside. Mokuba came running down the stairs clearly upset, stopping directly infront of them.

"He's upstairs. Yami, can you go and see him whilst I tell Yugi what's been going on?" he asked hesitantly, large eyes pleading.

Yami nodded once and headed immediately for the stairs feeling a disturbing familiarity with the route. Knowing which room to head for, she opened the door slowly and found herself in darkness, the only illumination in the room being the thin sliver of light coming in from between the drawn curtains.

Coming round to the side of the large bed, she perched on the edge of the mattress beside the unconscious figure and laid a hand over his forehead. The heat was frightening so it was no wonder he was unresponsive.

Biting the tip of her tongue as she determined what to do next, Yami went into the adjoining bathroom and started the cold tap on the bath, dropping the plug in and returning to the bed. It was necessary to get the fever down quickly, and with it this bad serious action would be required.

Yami discarded the thought of calling on Yugi for assistance the second her pride had kicked in. She had nursed Yugi through fevers and was quite capable of getting Seto into the freezing water. Yanking the sheets off in one fluid motion, she was relieved to see that he was clad only in boxers which meant that she didn't need to undress him which would have only cause a delay.

Well aware of her diminished upper-body strength in this form, Yami settled for shifting the taller body over her shoulder and half carrying, half dragging him into the bathroom. Dumping him in the tub was significantly easier, her back screaming at her when she finally got him in the water and straightened.

//I hate it when Joey's right.//

Collecting a small towel from the wall, she soaked it in the water before sitting on the edge of the bath, her spine refusing point-blank to do anything else. Lifting it to his face, she dabbed at the beads of sweat that ran down his cheeks, throat and chest. Finding a smaller cloth, she soaked that too and planted it on his forehead, bathing him with the larger one carefully.

After a few minutes he groaned softly, a hand rising out of the water to come to his face. Ceasing her administrations, Yami waited patiently for him to regain his bearings. His eyes were still clouded when he finally opened them but were rapidly clearing, evidence that the fever was breaking.

"Good of you to wake up. You're terrifying your brother you know," Yami greeted softly with a smile, removing the cloth from his head and soaking it again before replacing it.

Seto remained quiet for a few minutes simply watching her. He had never had any one care for him like this before, not that he could remember at least. It was an entirely new experience for him and as of such he reacted through instinct.

"What the hell are you doing in my house?"

Eyes hardening marginally at the cold tone in his voice, she continued soaking his skin methodically. "Because I was the only one around who knew how to handle a fever."

Seto nodded to acknowledge the answer before falling entirely silent, eyes facing a point on the wall infront of him.

Suddenly Yami paused, the cloth hovering just above his skin. Her face was blank and unmoving, eyes unfocused as she stared at nothing. After a few seconds it passed and she looked down at him again.

"Yugi asked how you were. He and Mokuba are going out for an hour or so. I swear he's up to something," she explained, trailing off absently as she resumed tending to him.

"Shouldn't you be bigger?" Seto asked suddenly, his voice slightly raw from under- use.

Yami frowned at him in confusion, worried that he was still delirious. "Pardon?"

"You're about three months along, correct? I thought you'd be bigger. I may be mistaken; I don't know too much about this sort of thing," he replied, motioning to her stomach which was just below his eye-level in his current position.

Yami shrugged slightly. "I'm learning about all this for the first time so I have no idea of what is normal in terms of size, but the doctor says that everything is fine."

A slender eyebrow rose slightly in surprise. "You've been to the doctor recently?" His voice still held its usual note of steel, but now there was a note of curiosity lacing his tone.

"Yes. I had another scan last week. I have a picture if you'd like to see," she said reaching into the back pocket of her trousers. She had taken to carrying the most recent picture around with her now for some strange reason.

Shifting slightly so that her back was against the wall behind Seto, she pointed at the main mass in the center of the picture she held before them both. Shifting up a little in the tub, Seto looked curiously at the dark picture before looking up at Yami. "It looks like a peanut."

Yami snorted slightly, biting her lower lip to restrain the laugh that threatened to escape. Replacing the picture she placed her hand back on his forehead.

"Well you feel cooler. How do you feel?"

"Like crap, but better than I did."

"You recover well; Yugi takes hours to even speak after a fever breaks."

"I never get sick. I can't afford to. That's good incentive to recover."

Frowning at him sharply, Yami stared in disbelief. "Do you ever take a break? You're ill. You cannot be working at KaibaCorp. at this exact minute so stop worrying about it."

"What do you mean 'stop worrying about it'? It's my life's work," he started, sitting up more indignantly in the tub.

Rolling crimson eyes slightly, Yami heaved a sigh. He'd never change, that much was obvious. "Do you need help or shall I leave you to dry yourself off."

"Why the hell are you doing this anyway? Is this part of some scheme to get funding out of me for that baby?" he practically growled, infuriated at his own weakness. They both knew full well that he couldn't get out on his own.

Eye narrowed to slits now, Yami pulled a tight rein of he urge of hit him again. That wouldn't be fair in his present condition. He may hate her but she... Well, that was currently under review.

"I am helping because your brother asked me to. Now let me help."

Nodding, Seto began to stand in the bath but soon found that he simply didn't have the strength, something that made his lip curl. Stepping forward and putting an arm about his waist, Yami allowed him to use her shoulder as leverage before getting him out of the water, toweling him dry whilst he held onto the towel rack to remain standing.

Placing him inside a large robe, Yami escorted him downstairs into the kitchen and set about preparing a simple stew, dropping a few handfuls of fresh vegetables into the stock and leaving it to simmer.

"Do you get morning sickness?" Seto asked, not entirely sure what to say.

Yami gave an unseen smirk before turning to face him, the billionaire sat on a stool at the breakfast table watching her with mild interest.

"I don't get morning sickness. I get evening sickness, which is not helpful when Yugi's favorite food is pizza. It should stop soon; all these things are divided into trimesters. Before you ask, yes I am eating now. And hating every minute of it," she replied, some unpleasant experiences involving chocolate, pizza and too much soda coming to mind. After that she had started to eat nothing but healthy food without any encouragement.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Really. I don't like to see my opponents out of top form," he replied coolly. She turned to face him, mouth partially open in shock.

"Ah yes, because then it wouldn't be a challenge, would it? Too tedious? Well, incase you haven't noticed we're on the same side this time. There is no duel, there are no cards and all the attacks are personal. I don't want to fight you and quite honestly, I don't think I ever really did."

Glaring at him as she turned back to the stew, turning the heat off and moving the pan off of the hob. Dumping the contents into the waiting bowl, she turned again and stalked past him. "Eat that and drink plenty. Take a few days off and see a doctor if you want."

After watching her retreating back, Seto moved off the stool and to the bowl, contemplation the contents idly. How the hell was he supposed to accept this? Yami seemed to think that he should come to terms with it and be happy, but it simply wasn't that simple. Nothing ever was for him.

Snorting at the situation in general, he made a quick mental note to have a car drop Yugi home before taking a cautious sip of the stew. Finding it tasting good, he was mildly surprised that the stuff wasn't poisoned.

That would have been a simple and straightforward method of sorting it out, even if it was grossly selfish.

****TBC****

Leave a review! I had to re-write this chapter because of a very brief and yet thought-provoking email I had, so your input obviously makes a difference!