Note:  Ishizu, the person who owns the Millenium necklace and gave Kaiba obelisk the tormenter and also told Yami about his past, is called Isis in the manga.  I'm so used to calling her Isis that, that's what I'm calling her even though I write about the anime series.  (can't believe they called her Ishizu, I mean, what was wrong with Isis?"  And Malik!!! Man, they had to change one letter and change his name to Marik?  Anyway, just thought I'd tell you so you knew who I was talking about.  On to chappie 3!

I awoke late the next morning and rushed down the stairs to complete my morning chores.

            "Have a good day at School Yugi!"  I called as Yugi walked out the door.  I furiously began mopping the floor. 

            "Bye Jade, see you later!"  Yugi shouted back to me. 

Joey and Tristan walked over to Yugi, greeted him, and then continued walking to school.  I still felt bad about last night and avoided Joey.  I thought he'd still be mad at me and I wanted to give him his space.  I winced at the thought of all the new bruises Joey probably had.  Why wouldn't he just get help?  I wondered.  Then it dawned on me.  Joey and his dad were the only family each other had in the area.  Joey's mom and Serenity lived far away.  And if Joey were to report his dad's violent behavior to the police or something, he'd have to go live with his mom far away from his friends and he didn't want to leave them. 

I wished there was something I could do for Joey, but if he wanted to handle it himself, then that was his decision and I had to respect that.  I sighed and began baking the cake I had promised myself I'd make for Mako.  "No one should have to face a problem like that alone…"  I murmured to myself.  I started on baking a chocolate cake with a nice cream frosting, and decorated it with a blue icing I had also made, "Get well soon" message and with the rest of the icing, I drew a dolphin and a shark on it.

I carefully packed the cake into a box and put it inside the limo.  As I was driving to the hospital, I decided to get Mako a get well gift as well.  I smiled as I thought of him and entered a nearby store.  Now…what to get him?  I searched for almost an hour at the store until I finally found something I thought he would like.  I held a black necklace with a single shark tooth attached to it. I thought it was perfect.  I smiled and thought about how cool it would look on Mako, and how happy it would make him.  I was just about to walk over to the counter to pay for it when I saw a familiar figure. 

"Imbeciles!"  Kaiba  shouted, angrily storming out of the store.  I wondered why he was even in there in the first place. 

"Hold this for me please, I'll be right back."  I told the flustered employee at the counter.  "Seto!  Seto wait up!"  I called out.  Kaiba glared at me and continued walking at a fast pace.  "Alright then don't wait for me."  I murmured.  I ran and caught up with him anyway and tried to match his quick pace.  "So Seto, what were you trying to buy in there?"  I asked him cheerfully.

Kaiba gave me his cold stare and answered, "I already took care of my part of the deal, why are you following me?" 

"Oh I don't know, I saw you call the guy at counter an imbecile and storm out of the store.  I was just wondering as to why you did that?"

"That's none of your business."

I smirked.  "Come on Seto, I won't stop bugging you until you tell me, and you know how much you hate it when I bug you."  I teased.

"You've never bugged me before, how do you even know I hate it and won't just ignore you?"  Kaiba pointed out.

"I can so make you hate it!"  I smiled and teased in a high pitched voice. 

I guess he figured that there was no way to win this conversation, or was getting more annoyed so he stopped and turned toward me.  "I'm trying to find the perfect gift for Isis ok!  We're having dinner together tonight and I wanted to get her something special."  He muttered under his breath.

"Wow Seto, I didn't know you and Isis were going out."  I commented.

"I asked that moron at the store what the perfect gift would be, but all he said was flowers, candy and poetry.  Those ideas are lame and overdone, not the perfect gift for Isis."

"But you asked a guy what the perfect gift would be.  Only a woman would know what the perfect gift for another woman is."  I pointed out.

Kaiba smirked.  "Than perhaps you wouldn't mind telling me?"

I nodded and dragged Kaiba over to a dress shop.  I wasted no time in picking out a nice short black dress that had a Chinese dragon curving around it.  It had straps in the back that made a criss cross star shaped form and a front that dipped down in a v neck.  I imagined how beautiful Isis would be.  It was just her size too.  Kaiba smirked as he brought it up to the counter and paid for it.  "Isis is going to love this."  He murmured. 

I smiled.  "Glad I could help you out."  I told him as we walked out.

"Hold on a sec, why did you help me?"  Kaiba asked me suspiciously.  "What's the catch?"

"Catch?  No catch, don't you know?  That's what friends do, they help each other out."  I answered him.

Kaiba hmmphed and turned his back on me.  "I've heard all those power of friendship lines before and they don't work on me.  And I told you before, we're not friends."  And with that, he walked away from me and didn't even glance back.

I shrugged.  "One day he'll come around.  Hopefully soon, my short attention span can't last that much longer."  I mused to myself. "Oh wait a minute, speaking of my attention span!  I totally forgot about the necklace for Mako!"  I cried and ran back the store I had been to earlier.

They were closing but I paid for the necklace anyway and ran back to where I had parked the limo.  "I hope visiting hours aren't over…"  I murmured to myself as I parked at the hospital.  I didn't care; if they were over I'd just visit Mako anyway.  I smiled and looked down at the Millennium key dangling from around my neck.  "Having a Millennium item sure has its advantages."  I said and smiled. 

Indeed, visiting hours were over, because it had now become late at night.  I shrugged when the nurse told me that I couldn't visit and went into the bathroom.  I concentrated on Mako's room and placed my Millennium key inside the keyhole.  I turned the knob "Mako…?"  I started to say as I opened the door.  I was surprised to find that Mako was right in the doorway.  In fact I almost crashed into him!  "Oh Mako, you're up!" I exclaimed happily.  "How are you feeling?"

"Jade?  I didn't expect to see you here this time of the night!  What a pleasant surprise hahaha!   I'm feeling better today, though they'd like to keep me here for one more day.  I was about to get some food from the cafeteria… or what they call food anyway…"  Mako sighed.  We went back into his room, shut the door and sat down on his bed

I felt sorry for the poor guy, having to eat yucky hospital food.  Then I remembered the cake I had baked, smiled and held it up to him.  "Here you go Mako, you don't have to eat yucky hospital food after all!"  I said.  "A nice chocolate cake and get well gift besides."  I told him.

Mako took the box into his hands and opened it.  "A nice treat instead of the chum they feed me here.  You've outdone yourself my friend!"  Mako exclaimed happily, his eyes lighting up.  He then proceeded to gulp down the cake as if his very life depended on it.  I face faulted.  What was up with guys and food? 

Mako looked back up at me with chocolate frosting smeared all over his face.  I couldn't help but point and laugh at him.  And as I was sitting there, laughing at him, I slipped off the bed and landed on the floor with a rather loud thud.

"Uh, what are you laughing about?"  Mako asked me.

I turned his head to face the mirror and said, "Look in the mirror Mako."  Mako blushed.  "Sorry, I didn't mean to go into a feeding frenzy right in front of you."

I just laughed, shook my head and began helping him wipe it off with a wet napkin.  "Don't worry about it; I'm just glad you liked it that much."  I smiled.  "And by the way, I got you something else too.   I handed him the shark tooth necklace.  Mako put it around his neck and blushed.  "Thank you my pearl of the sea.  You've done more for me than I could ever hope to repay you for."  He took my hands in his and we just looked into each other's eyes, never blinking or turning away. 

"Don't worry about it Mako."  I whispered and smiled.  I just enjoyed being with him, that in itself was enough for me.  I wrapped my arms around his neck.  I had missed him so much and was just so content to be with him again.  But still, I kept in mind that I was Joey's girlfriend, and had no intention of cheating on him or even thinking about it.

"I missed you so much."  Mako sighed and laid his head on his pillow. 

"But it's only been one day."  I smiled and teased.

Mako shook his head.  "I meant all the lonely nights I spent at sea, thinking about you.  Yearning for the day the tides would change and we would be together."

I sighed and looked away.  I didn't know what the future held, whether I would choose to remain with Joey, or if I would choose Mako, and a life out on the sea instead.  I wouldn't make that decision just yet.  And I didn't want to make Mako sad.

"I missed you too Mako.  For a few weeks I've been sitting at the docks waiting for you to come back.  Just sitting there, waiting to see the "Hammerhead".  Like it would just magically appear out of the mist and you'd come back with lots of fish stories to tell me."  I smiled and told him.

"There's so much to tell you, I wouldn't have a flounder's notion of where to begin."  Mako smiled. 

"Some other time, when your fully recovered, we'll go out on the boat, just the two of us and spend some time together."  I told Mako, who readily agreed, then he yawned and I realized how late it actually was.   

He was tired, from the day of recovery and needed sleep.  So Mako sighed happily as I draped the blankets over him.  "Will you do me…one last favor?"  Mako asked and yawned.

"Name it."  I told him.

"Sing for me again please."  He asked, closing his eyes.

I smiled and began humming softly.   A sweet melody that neither of us had heard before, yet somehow it popped into my head.  Mako smiled back and gently drifted off to sleep.  "Sweet dreams Mako."  I said to him, before using the power of my Millennium key to transport myself back to the limo.  I felt content in knowing that Mako was feeling better, and that I had cheered him up.  Then, I remembered Joey, and wondered if he was alright.  Whether his father was drunk again, and trying to beat him…  I hightailed it back to the Moto apartment and parked the limo in the driveway.  As I walked inside to find Yugi waiting for me. 

"Jade you're finally home!  We were worried about you, its late and Joey was looking for you."  He said. 

"I'm sorry Yugi, I was visiting Mako in the hospital today."  I answered.  "Do you know where he is?  Do you think it's too late to find Joey?"

Yugi shook his head no.  "Actually, he's asleep on the couch in the living room.  Grandpa said he could sleepover because tomorrow's Saturday and there's no school.  He wanted to wait up for you."

With that, Yugi yawned and went to bed.  I quietly crept into the living room and saw Joey sleeping peacefully on the couch. 

            I sat down at the end cushion of the long couch; Joey's head was near my lap.  His face looked so tranquil and quiet.  A nice relax from the Hell he must go through every night at his own house.  He was lightly snoring and mumbling to himself about kicking Tristan's lyin butt.  I chuckled, remembering how Tristan had…not exactly told the truth to Serenity about where Joey had gotten his dueling skills.  Ok, so Tristan had lied to impress her by saying that it was him who taught Joey all he knows about Duel Monsters, and some special three card combo that had nothing to do with anything, and was probably nonexistent.  Joey had been pretty mad after that.  I found the angry faces he made rather amusing.

            I brushed a strand of his blond hair away from his face and smiled.  I got a wicked evil idea and grinned evilly.  I fished around in my purse which was on the coffee table nearbye, and found my feather pen.  "I have been going through torturing Joey withdrawal lately…"  I said to myself and continued grinning evilly. 

            I brushed the feather gently against his lips and nose.  Joey snorted and sneezed.  "I told yah ta get that chicken outta my face!"  he cried out.  "Your not supposed ta eat it raw!  Your supposed ta fry it or stew it or make chicken pie out of it!"  Joey cried out in his sleep.

            "Wow Joey, that was pretty random, even for you."  I whispered.  "First you dream about beating the crap out of Tristan, and then you all of a sudden have a live chicken shoved in your face?  What I wouldn't give for a dream machine of some kind that could let me watch your dreams on a TV or something.  I bet I would get a big kick out of it."  I laughed.  "And now, on to more Joey torture…"

            His shirt was pulled up a bit, revealing parts of his belly and sides, perfect places to attack…  I began brushing the feather up and down his sides, quickly and lightly.  Joey squirmed from side to side and chuckled.  "Come on…you know how crazy that gets me!"  Joey exclaimed in his sleep.

            "You are crazy Joey."  I laughed and began tickling his stomach lightly with my fingers.  Joey burst out laughing and tried to roll over but only succeeded in falling clean off the couch and banging into the table! 

            "Oh Joey, I'm so sorry are you alright?"  I cried out in shock.  Heavy snoring was the answer.  I started laughing so hard.  "Still the same old Joey who can sleep through anything!"  I cried, shaking with laughter. 

            "Kaiba you sleezy jerk!  I'm so gonna pulverize yah!"  Joey shouted and stood up, fists clenched. 

            "What a sleep walker…"  I commented.  I decided to try to play along.  In my best Kaiba voice, I started to talk back to him.  "Ok Joey, your not a Chihuahua, you're a better duelist than I could ever be.  Here, you can have all my Blue Eyes White dragons.  You're the best duelist in the world!" 

            Joey smirked in his sleep.  "Dat's right and promptly grabbed the air as if taking the cards, then fell back down on the couch again. 

            I shook my head and smirked.  "Joey you never cease to amaze me." 

            Joey slowly opened his eyes.  "Ya really think so."  He said to me and winked.  "Your finally back huh, where were yah?  I fell asleep waitin."  He sat up and moved beside me.

            "Hey Joey, I know why you're here, and I'm sorry about last night… It wasn't my place to…"

            Joey shook his head and put his finger to my lips to silence me.  "I'm the one that should be apologizen to yah Jade.  I know yah were just trying ta help me.  I just didn't want yah ta get hurt, my dad… doesn't know what he's doin when he's that drunk.  You know I'd neva let anything happen to yah."

            "I know Joey, its just… I can't stand the thought of you going through a beating like that every night!  It makes me sick just thinking about it!"  I exclaimed, clenching my fists and closing my eyes.

            Joey gripped me by the shoulders and made me look him in the face.  "Don't worry about me ok.  I'll handle it.  I know I'm not alone, and I got you and my other buddies ta help me.  But I really just want to work it out my own way.  I won't hit my own dad, and I can't call the cops on him… So I deal with it."

            I looked downward and sighed.  "Even though I don't agree with you, I have to respect your choice.  But, I'll stand by you no matter what."  I told him.  "You know that Joey…right?"

            Joey nodded and wrapped his arms around me.  "I know… I know."  He whispered.  I hugged him right back.  Holding him tightly, but being careful of his bruises.  Joey yawned and laid his head on my lap.  I began tenderly running my fingers through his hair and humming a soothing melody.  Until he gently drifted off to sleep again.  I started to nod off myself too. 

Then I opened my eyes widely to keep myself awake.  "There was something I was supposed to do tomorrow… Now what was it?"  I asked myself.  Then I snapped my fingers.  "That's right, I'm supposed to meet Bakura at the park tomorrow.  To help him with a project on dolphins that he's doing for his science class."  With that settled, I took one last look at Joey's peacefull sleeping form, before falling asleep myself.  It had been another long day, but I was glad Joey and I had worked things out.