(A/ n :Ah! A new Roba fic ! I love the smell of new Roba fics in the morning. J/ k . Anyway,the Robas, other than their names,personalities and love interets are not mine. The character of Victoria is,as are the Roba parents,Carlton and Nora.)

Chapter One-The Call

"Catch it, Andrew! Alright!" Christien Roba smiled at his six year old brother. "You're going to make a good baseball player som eday, Andy."

"I gonna play Soccer." Andy told him, running to his elder brother. "When's Tori coming?"

Christien looked at the clock on the fence. "Pretty soon, I guess. Do you have your lunch ready?" Victoria Ishtar, whom was also Christien's girlfriend was coming over to take the littles to the museum. He shook his head, remembering how it had all gotten started. Victoria had not been his elder brother Espa's favorite person. It had taken nearly a year and a half for him to trust her. Around that same time, Victoria had risked herself for the Robas. An old enemy had attempte d to hurt them, but Victoria wasn't having it. After that, Espa couldn 't hate her anymore. He became indifferent to her instead. A few months later, Victoria was "hired" to be a nanny for the littler Robas.

"I ready, Chrisien." It was EJ who called out to him now. "We going to the seum !"

"I heard! You two better be good for Victoria, and do whatever her older sister says. " Christien smiled, and picked the baby up. "Ugh....you're getting so heavy!"

"We promises!" Andy said, then his eyes lit up, hearing Tori's moped outside. "Hers here!" He ran out of the large backyard, and went to greet his favorite babysitter. Christien chuckled, following with EJ in his arms.

"Hey." Victoria smiled. "I see I have a welcomin g committee."

"Yeah...they've been on pins and needles all morning." Christien replied, reaching over to kiss her on the cheek. "I'm glad you're here. I have really got to study my lightening board for this play."

"Yeah.....I know." Victoria smiled knowingly. She and Christien had both joined a theater company for the summer, and the first play was difficult in all aspects. It was Grease, and even though she knew the movie word for word, and song for song, the stage p resentation was much more difficult. "I have a lot of practicing to do too." She scooped Andrew up now. "But! I have all afternoon to play."

"We going to the 'seum ?" Andy asked now, sensing that plans were about to be altered.

"Well....they had to close it down for the day. There was collapse on the third floor, so..." Victoria sighed, seeing the disappointment. "But don't worry! We can have lots of fun right here. With all this stuff Seto Kaiba bought you guys, there's no way you can be bored with it all already!"

"That's right." Christien looked at Victoria, wondering if her sister had been involved in the collapse. He couldn't remember what floor her sister's department was on. When the littles tore off to the backyard, he led the girl inside. "Is Ishizu all right?"

"Thankfully, she was off yesterday." She sighed in relief, and began to prepare the littles' afternoon snacks. "Did Espa buy the bananas?"

"In the refrigerator downstairs. I'll go get them." Christien went to do so.

Victoria walked to the back door, and checked on EJ and Andy. The two younger Robas were playing in the tree house the four had built a few months ago. "You two be careful, Andy!"

"We wills!" Andy helped EJ up the ladder, and grinned at Victoria. "You gonna play?"

"Soon as snack time is over." Victoria told him, turning to get the blender out. She was making a strawberry banana s moothie for her and the boys. "Chris, do you guys have soy milk?" She went to the basement stairs. She had recently become a vegetarian, following in her older siblings' footsteps.

"Uh.....I think we do...." A minute later, he emerged with his arms full. "Can you take something for me?"

"Oh! Sure!" Victoria took the bananas, and the carton of ice cream. "This is non-dairy? Espa didn't have to do that for me..."

"It's okay. Jonathan bought for himself too. He's going vegetarian because he and Mokuba heard a report that red meat is really bad for you. They both are."

"I see..." Victoria smiled in amusement. "You guys are nuts, you know..."

"Hey, they're nuts. I'm probably the most sane person in this house." Chris smirked, then ran into the hall to get the phone as it began to ring. "That'll be Espa!"

"Probably..." Victoria muttered to his back. Even though Espa had given her the job she'd desperately wanted, she knew it would be a long time before Espa completely trusted her with no strings. She began to mash the bananas into the blender, then adde d the regular milk. She would make the boys their drinks first. In the hallway, Christien was as white as a ghost. "W-who did you say you were?"

"I'm Marcia Roba. Is this Espa?" The woman on the other end wanted to know.

"Th-this is Christien....he's not available right now." No way would he tell anyone his brother wasn't home.

"I see. Well, would you tell him I called? I want to talk to you boys." There was a click, and Christien was left to listen to th e dial tone for a few minutes before he hung up. After a minute, he returned the kitchen.

"Who was on the phone?" Victoria wanted to know. She'd picked up on his distress.

"My mother." Chris replied very quietly. He leaned against the wall, deep in thought. "Why would she be calling after all these y ears?"

Victoria just listened to him mutter, not feeling right about commenting. She mixed up the boys' smoothies, then poured them into individual sippie cups. "I don't know, Chris..." She finally replied sympathetically. "What did she say?"

"Not a lot. She wanted to speak to Espa." Christien took his drink from Victoria, smiling lightly. "Don't worry abou t it, Victoria. It's not a big deal, really. "

"Tori, is our snackie done?" EJ had come in with Andrew.

"Yep! It sure is." She handed the kids their drinks, trying not to sound as stressed as she felt. She felt so bad for the Robas already, and now this was happening. Well, she would stick with Christien, just like he'd done for her. "They're banana smoothies."

"Yummy!" Andy went into the living room, his baby brother following. They turned on the TV to watch some cartoon Victoria wasn't quite familiar with.

"Are you going to be okay, Chris?"

"Sure." Christien smiled brightly. It was the same smile that melted Victoria every time. "We Robas have been through the mill. This is just icing to us now." Secretly, he worried about Espa's reaction. "Can you stay for dinner?"

"I had planned on it.." Tori sm iled. "I was planning on making dinner, actually, but..."

"It's okay. Jonathan'll be home in a few hours, then we can make dinner together, all three of us."

"Sounds good." Tori mixed up her smoothie now, but she wasn't in the mood for it now. She was worried about her precious Robas, and what was going to happen when Espa found out about the call. She was glad she'd be there for Christien. "Well, to better days!" She and Christien clinked glasses, and went into the dining room to work on their play.