Hi All!

Reviews are wonderful things! So for all of you who were kind enough to do so, (shame on you if you didn't), here are the answers to a few of your questions!

Emily 10: No, this is not going to be a Seto/Serenity fic, but I would not be opposed to taking a crack at one. Inspiration has not yet struck for me in that area. I do, however, have plans to write a brother's fic about Seto and Mokuba in the near future. Let me get through this first.

Millenium mutant: I'm sorry that wouldn't help, but if all else fails my sister B-Chan5 says you can borrow her 'Magical Crystal Sword Corona' to remind them of who's boss! BTW, I take back what I said before about 'a fresh coat of paint'. Indoor paint ball. Now THAT would be fun!

Mamono: I'm glad it helped so much! Your stories always make me smile! Anyone who has not read 'Fairy Tales in Waltz', or 'Experiment Chibi' should go do so right after this! Don't worry too much about the monkeys. I LIVE with a red monkey, and she's NOT the kind I can get rid of by uploading a new chapter! Not fun.y7u6yuhMEOW! (Sorry. The cat had to add her two cents worth just now!) Just remember; "It's all in the heart of the Cookie!"

Thanks to everyone else for your wonderful praise, and no, I don't plan on abandoning this fic. Ever. However, by the end of this story I WILL tell you what song INSPIRED it! That is, if someone hasn't already guessed.

Aura Black Chan: Uh, hi. Is there a problem?

Tristan: How could you DO this to ME?!

Aura: Do what?

Tristan: You know what! Why are you sending Serenity to a dance with JOEY?!! I mean, he's her BROTHER for crying out loud! That's just WRONG!!!

Aura: (glaring at him) Don't ANY of you finish reading my chapters as they come out? At least Serenity had an excuse, but you were IN that chapter! Go back, and reread it!

Tristan: (a few minutes later, and looking red) Oh, um, about that little hissy I threw a few minutes ago….

Aura: (waves him off) Forget it. Just do the disclaimer and I'll forgive you.

Tristan: (relieved) Sure! Okay! AURA BLACK CHAN DOES NOT OWN YU-GI-OH!

Aura: (sighs) Again with the yelling.

A.N.- Thoughts. Whoever's. Also, much fluffy-goodness included!

Like No Father

Chapter Three: The First Promise

A beautiful park stretched out, endlessly it seemed, along his side of the train. Bike paths and walking trails crisscrossed through the lush gardens and manicured lawns. He could see people taking advantage of the glorious weather; parents with their small children on blankets, couples going hand in hand down secluded trails, some were even out playing Frisbee with their dogs.

He smiled to himself. 'It's not that far by train.' He thought. 'Maybe tomorrow we could all come back here and just hang out for awhile. Yeah, that'd be sweet.'

Looking at his watch, he sighed happily. He'd be there soon. In just two more stops, he'd be home.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Shut up."

"Awww, Tris, you should have seen the look on your face! It was just too much!"

"I said shut up!"

He couldn't though. He was on a roll!

"Well, I'm sure Serenity will be happy to hear you consider her a little sister."

"Joey…"

"I know Duke will be happy to hear it!'

"Grrraaahhh, THAT'S IT!"

Tristan leapt up, grabbed Joey by the front of his shirt, and soon had him pinned to the ground! Joey, however, could not have cared less. He was too busy laughing!

Watching this amusing spectacle from the kitchen table were Yugi, Tea, and Bakura.

It was actually a nice change from the norm. Joey usually got a murderous look on his face if he thought someone was so much as THINKING about his sister in a more than friendly manner! He was taking Tristan's obvious reaction to the upcoming dance well though, better than anyone of them would have expected him to. He was actually flippant about it!

"I wonder how long Joey will be able to joke about this?" Yugi said after a minute.

"Probably until Serenity calls back later." Tea said. "At which point he will remember that he thinks any of his friends dating his little sister is a BAD thing!"

Once Joey had pulled himself together, and assured his mother that he would love to take Serenity to the dance, she had promised to have her call him back at Yugi's later that night. He had explained afterwards, over their pizza, about the dance at her school, and he'd taken great pleasure in teasing Tristan about his look of sheer disappointment.

"You know, some of this is most likely post-final-exam stress." Tea went on. "Maybe we should just leave them to it for a little while?"

CRASH!

"Or, perhaps not." Bakura said, as a lamp got knocked off an end table, and shattered on the floor. The 'wrestling match' immediately ended.

"Whoops." Tristan, the master of understatement, said.

"Eh, sorry Yug. We'll, ah, clean it up." Joey said, somewhat mortified.

"Yeah, sorry Yugi." Tristan said. He'd just reached over and unplugged the remains of the ruined lamp.

Yugi only shrugged. "Forget it. It was old, and kind of ugly. Grandpa actually wanted to get a new one anyway, but since that one still worked, there was no real reason to." He smiled reassuringly. "Now there is."

"We'll pay for the new one." Tristan said as Joey nodded in agreement.

"Forget about it. Are we gonna watch movies now, or what?"

"Sounds good to me!" Tea said, brightly. "Bakura, that was your job. What did you get?"

"Oh, uhmm, they're in the bag on the T.V. table." He said as he walked into the next room. "I wasn't sure what anyone would want to see, so I picked out a few that looked good." Removing four D.V.D.'s from the bag, he politely handed them over to Yugi.

"So what've we got?" Joey asked.

Yugi shuffled through the selection, and smiled.

"These are great Bakura! Good choice!" he praised. Bakura only blushed slightly.

"Let's see." Tea said.

Yugi read aloud. "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"

"YES!" Tristan shouted.

"Robin Hood: Men in Tights"

"Hahahaha! Good one!" Joey laughed.

"The Princess Bride"

"Oh, I LOVE that movie!" Tea exclaimed.

"And 'Spirited Away'. Oh, I haven't even seen that one yet!" Yugi said excitedly. "Anyone mind if we watch this first?"

"Sure thing Yugi." Tristan called from the kitchen door, which led outside. He had just disposed of the remains of the demolished lamp in the outside trash. "After four weeks of non-stop studying, I could use a break from reality!"

Everyone agreed, putting the other movies aside for later. Since it was Friday night, they had decided to have an all-nighter with movies. Tristan, Joey, Bakura, and Yugi were going to sleep in his room, while Tea took the spare bedroom down the hall. That is, IF anyone got around to sleeping.

As they settled in with sodas and snacks, Joey's mind drifted briefly back to what his mother had said.

'How long would you like to stay?'

If he were going to be totally honest with himself, forever, but… that would mean leaving Domino, and his friends.

He turned this over in his mind for a while; and decided he couldn't do it.

He'd been through too much with all of them, especially this last year. Hell, if it wasn't for them, especially Yugi, he never would have made it through 'Duelist Kingdom', much less been able to get the money for his sisters eye surgery.

They had all been there for each other for some of the best and worst moments in their lives. He couldn't, wouldn't, walk away now.

Where did that leave him then with his mother and sister? It wasn't as if visiting was impossible, but it was difficult being so far apart. At the end of the 'Battle City Tournament', he and Serenity had said their good-byes, and she went home to their mother.

Would he really be able to say good-bye again at the end of his visit? More importantly, how would he deal with going back to living with his father when he came home? So much to think about.

"Joey?"

"Huh?"

"Joey, are you in there?" Tea was gently nudging him.

"What? What'd I miss?"

"The entire movie apparently." Tristan answered.

"What? No way!"

"Yes way!" Tristan replied. "Somewhere around the time Chihiro and her parents walked through the tunnel to the spirit world, you just sort of zoned-out. You okay, buddy?"

"Yeah, just thinking way too much, I guess."

"Weren't we supposed to avoid that tonight?" and if anyone other than ever-polite and serious Bakura had said that, it wouldn't have been half as funny. It started a brief outburst of laughter.

"Why don't we stop for a little while?" Tea suggested, after a minute.

"Great idea!" Tristan answered, before making a quick exit down the hall. "I gotta pee!" could be heard, right before the bathroom door was closed.

"Are you sure you're alright, Joey?" Yugi asked. "You don't usually get that distracted."

"Unless there's food involved." Tea said, with a somewhat sarcastic half-smile.

"Yeah, I'm okay. No worries. I'm just not sure about-"

He was suddenly cut off, when the phone rang. Yugi went to answer it.

"Your not sure about what, Joey?" Tea asked.

"Huh? What's going' on?" Tristan had just returned from the bathroom. "What aren't you sure about?"

Joey suddenly felt uncomfortable. He had not told his friends that his mother had subtly implied that he could come to live with them if he wanted. He was old enough now, so that if he wanted to, his father couldn't, legally, do anything about it. The only question now was, did he really want to.

Yugi saved him from having to answer this immediately.

"It's for you, Joey. It's Serenity."

"Thanks, man." Joey took the phone from him, catching a quick look of the expression on Tristan's face at the mention of his sister's name.

He glared at him. "Keep your hands, thoughts, and everything else off of my sister!"

"Yep, he's over it." Tea observed.

"We'll wait till you guys are done talking before we start the next movie." Yugi told him, as they left the kitchen.

"Yeah, think you'll be able to stay awake this time, man?" Tristan called over his shoulder.

"Shaddup!" Joey yelled back before turning to the phone in his hand.

"Hello, Serenity?"

"Joey?"

He smiled. Everything suddenly seemed a little better. "Hey, sis. What's this I hear about a dance at your school?"

"Oh, Joey, I'm sorry!"

"For what? Not telling me?"

"Pretty much." She answered. "I just didn't want you to feel, I don't know. Obligated I guess."

"What? Why do you think I'd feel obligated? You're my sister! Of course I'd want to take you!"

"I know that, and I knew that you would if I asked you to."

"So what's the big deal then?"

She sighed before she continued, "I don't ever want you, or anyone else to feel that they have to be responsible for making me happy."

"Aww sis, you shouldn't feel that way. You could always ask me for anything you needed. Anytime!" he emphasized.

"The dance was really no big deal to me. Honest!" she continued. "It was just one more Father-Daughter event that I wouldn't be able to go to. It really didn't mean that much to me."

"So then, why didn't you mention it to me before?" Their mother had told him, but he wanted to hear it from her.

On the other end, she paused, as if gathering her strength.

"It was because if I asked you to do this, it would mean that you would have to come stay here for a couple of days, and I knew how much that might hurt you. Just visiting, I mean."

"Serenity-"

"You've already done so much for me Joey!" she went on, sounding as if she were crying. "You've gone above, and beyond what anyone should ever have to expect from their big brother! I was never going to ask you to do this, because you have already done more than enough!"

"Oh, sis…"

"I feel like I owe you everything, Joey! I can never pay you back for what you've done for me! Not ever!"

Joey was quiet for a minute. He had never wanted Serenity to feel that she was obligated to him. If she only knew how often it was that it was thinking of her that had made him want to keep going, she wouldn't wonder about why he had done so much for her. Maybe now was a good time to remind her.

"Do you remember that time we went to the beach, back when we were little?"

"Yeah, that was right before Mom and Dad split-up, right?"

"Do you remember the promise we made that day?" he asked. "I promised you, that day, that if you ever needed me, I'd be there for you, and I meant it."

"Oh, Joey…"

"Say, speaking of things we did together back then, do you remember us going to a play with Mom and Dad once?"

"I think so. It was one of those outdoor, community theater type of shows, right?"

"Yeah, do you remember what play we saw?" he asked.

Serenity had to think about this for a minute. She'd only been five, or six at the time, after all.

"Oh!" she suddenly remembered. "We saw 'Oliver'!"

"Yeah, that's right. 'Oliver'." He smiled into the receiver, as he remembered that day, the show, and how much she'd enjoyed it. Then, much to Serenity's surprise, he started, very softly, to sing one of the songs.

"'Oh, I'd do anything…'"

"Oh, Joey…"

"'…For you, sweet, anything!'"

"Joey."

"'I'd do anything!'" he went on.

"'…Anything!'" she joined him.

"'…Anything!'" he continued.

"'…Anything!'" she sang back, then the two of them, together.

"'…Anything, anything, at all!'" they finished. They were both silent for a moment, or two after that. Then, Joey finally spoke.

"So, does this mean you want to go to the dance with me?" he asked.

She smiled on her end. Not that he could see it, but he imagined it there, all the same.

"I love you, Joey. Yes, I would love to go to the dance with you."

Joey felt happier than he had in years.

'That's great! I'll talk to you again, soon, I promise!" he paused for a moment. "I love you too."

"I probably should let you get back to your movie now. Tell everyone there I said hello."

"Will do." He answered. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She said back, before hanging-up.

Joey returned the receiver to the cradle, still smiling. He could hardly wait to take his sister to the dance.

Dance?

It suddenly occurred to him that dancing might be involved…

"Joey?"

"Wha?" It was Bakura talking to him this time.

"You don't look well, is there something wrong?"

"Err, you could say that."

"Well, what is it?"

Joey looked his friend straight in the eye. "I can't dance."

A look of comprehension crossed Bakura's face. "Aaaaahhhh."

Sorry this chapter is so late, but I suddenly got 'writer's block', and didn't know what to do with it. It all turned out for the best though, and everyone got a nice, long chapter to read (over 2,000 words, incase anyone is wondering!).

No, Joey's last thoughts on the train do NOT necessarily reflect his final decision, but I wouldn't mind hearing anyone else's thoughts on this.

Before I forget to mention it, I do not own any of the movies mentioned in this chapter. They are some of my favorites though! I also don't own the play, 'Oliver', or any of the music in it.

Oh, and one last thing…. GO RED SOX!!!!!!

Read and review, please!