Chapter Thirteen-Espa's Wish

While his brothers were at Kaibaland,Espa was back at work with Bakura. Business had been pretty slow that day, and when Bakura returned from lunch, the eldest Roba was sweeping the floor. "Hey. How was lunch?"

"It was nice. Was it busy while I was gone?" He re shelved some books, and straightened the reading tables. The shop was set up like a little library. People could read through the books before and after purchasing.

"Not really...." Espa replied, as he scooped some dirt into the dust pan. "Bakura....how long do you think they'll keep my brothers away from me?"

"I don't know. There's no telling how long the system will do it. I remember when they took Elizabeth away, it was supposed to be for a year. But then again, I had Seto too. So do you. I'm sure he won't let it be that long."

"Do you think they'll make an exception?" Espa asked now, as he put the broom away.

"For what?" Bakura asked curiously. It surprised him that Espa had even asked about his brothers. The day before, he'd assured Bakura they'd be fine. Now he sounded uncertain.

"My birthday is in a couple of weeks. I wanted to celebrate with them, you know?" Espa sighed sadly. "Knowing Atamire, it'll be a no."

"Maybe Seto will let you go visit." Bakura suggested. "He's got more authority than Child Services. " Well, Bakura wasn't too sure about that. Wouldn't Kaiba have told them to let the little Robas stay? He hoped Espa bought it though. He felt really sorry for him.

"Yes...I suppose I could ask. That's all I want for my birthday though. My brothers."

"It's a reasonable birthday request." Bakura replied with a sad smile. "I'm sure Seto can work something out." He looked at his watch. "Your shift is over now. Why don't you go visit with some of your friends? I bet you Joey and Rex miss you." The British boy nudged Espa towards the door before he could protest. "Go on now. Shoo."

Espa laughed a little. "I'm going I'm going." He walked out on to the street, and took his bike towards Rex's place.

Seto rubbed his eyes tiredly. "This is ridiculous. I've made every offer I could think of, and she won't budge!" He was venting to Roland, his main security personnel.

"Perhaps it's because you're only offering to pay her to get them to lift the sentence, Sir." Roland suggested timidly. "Perhaps it would be wiser to donate some funds to the Home itself."

"That's not a half bad idea, Roland. " Seto smiled now. "Espa Roba's birthday is in two weeks, and I want to make this a birthday surprise for him."

"A surprise, Sir?"

"Yes. If I can get her to lift the restriction, then his brothers can go home. I know him. That's probably the wish he'll make on his birthday cake."

"Hmmm. It still might be a long shot. But if anyone can pull it off, you can." Roland replied.

"Thank you for your confidence. Now get out. Tell Lyle to bring the boys home. Before I do this, I want to talk to them, and see if they agree." Seto was fairly certain the boys would agree though.

"Come on, Andy. We've been playing this for hours." Christien kept trying to pry Andrew from the Pac-Man console they'd been glued to for hours it seemed. "Let's go try something different."

"No!" Andrew pouted at Christien. "I playing this!" He pushed the start button again, and returned his attention to the game.

Christien sighed deeply. "Fine. Stay here, and I'll go find something new to do." He knew Andy was acting out, but he didn't feel like hearing him scream for an hour.

"Tay, brother." Andrew replied,as Christien walked off. He didn't seem to notice this happen.

"Boy, Andrew's certainly gotten a mind of his own since we've been here...." Jonathan remarked to Mokuba.

"You said it. I think he's rebelling." Mokuba replied, as he reached into his pocket to get the his ringing cell phone. "Hello? Yes....okay, Lyle. Thanks." He turned to Jonathan. "We gotta go. Seto wants to talk to you guys." He smiled. "I think he's come up with a way to return you to Espa!"

"Just in time for Espa's birthday!" Jonathan was elated. He headed off to dig EJ out of the ball pit, and then found Christien, who in turn went to get Andrew. Soon, they were all ready to go back to Kaiba Mansion.

"Did you have a nice time?" Seto asked the Robas as they settled around the dining room table.

"Sure did! EJ loves the ball pit over there. It's almost like the one we saw at the playground store one time. We couldn't get Andy out of it." Christien smiled at the m emory. "So,Mokuba said you wanted to talk to us..." Jonathan spoke up now, shifting EJ in his lap.

"Yes. I had an idea for your brother's birthday. How would you boys like to go home?"

"We'd love to!" Jonathan exclaimed. He hoped he didn't sound too ungrateful.

The CEO chuckled. "I thought you might. Here's the idea." He proceeded to explain what he wanted to do. "I'd invite him over here, and then after dinner, make the announcement that you were officially back in his custody."

"That sounds awesome!" Christien replied enthusiastically. "It'll be an excellent birthday for him!"

"Yes, it would...." Jonathan was frowning though. "Are you sure Atamire will let us go back to him?"

"Yes. The amount of money I offered her....she'd better." Seto replied confidently. "Let me worry about that."

"Alright. So in two weeks, we'll be home?" Jonathan asked in excitement.

"That's right. Two more weeks." Seto smiled, glad he was making everyone involved happy. "Now remember, you can't tell Espa anything."

"We won't! We promise!" The boys chorused, before scrambling off to tell Mokuba the news.

( A/N:The conclusion to this story is coming in the next chapter. I hope you've enjoyed this fic . I've loved writing it!)