A/n: this is the last "Night to Remember", yay! I'm sure you all're sick of those. ;) BTW, Mokuba didn't get arrested, I was just jokin'. :D XD Poor Seto's got enough to deal w/. X) BTW, Seto is really my fav., I just like to torture him because he can be a jerk . . .but deep down he's a nice guy! To the pple he loves!

Seto: I really loathe you, authoress . . .

A/n: . . .Like I said! A really nice guy! To the ones he . . .luves . . .hey, waitaminnit. :

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, no $$$ was made from this fic since I'm poor, don't sue.

Chapter Twenty Five: A Night to Remember: I Wish

Domino University . . .Night...

Nineteen-year-old Joey Wheeler stared outside through a small, square window, a hand on a hip and the other touching the windowsill. Tea Gardener's voice kept ringing over and over: "You're not gonna come!? She's your SISTER, for godsakes!" A fist balled; Joey stared down. You better not be a weenie and take care of your responsibilities, Kaiba! . . . His mood dampened. I can't even go an' beat 'im up if he's insensitive to Seren, 'cause the baby doesn't need it…

He shuddered. It was the first time he said the "U" word mentally, or yet aloud. Me. Uncle to Kaiba's baby. Gag me. The day we all feared has come.

"How's the studying goin'?" Tristan barged in with some packages from KFC. "Got some vittles."

Joey snatched them. "What! No buffalo wings?! Dis is, some, kinda, SIGN to go Kaiba Mansion an' check up on her, isn't it? ISN'T it?!"

The bags dropped on the carpet with a faint crunch. "Yo, I don't have any idea who you're talking about, man, but I don't wanna be around you when you're starving no more!" Huffing, he turned right around. The door banged.

Man . . .I feel bad . . . Joey stuck a whole drumstick in one mouth, and kicked the door shut with his foot. Oh, well, more fer me!

Meanwhile . . .
Mai's Cottage...

In her living room with the fireplace going, Mai was knitting, or rather, sewing some booties for Serenity's baby. I know I'm not worried about what Tea said; that Kaiba finally got it through his thick skull about his child. Maybe he is a real life Mr. Freeze, but he loves her. They'll work it out. She propped her feet up on an ottoman. In fact, I can't remember the last time they ever fought, if ever . . .maybe it was a year and a half ago, when they broke up for a short time. Kaiba sure can be insensitive sometimes. The needle clacked against her thimble. She glanced out her window for a moment.. Maybe we should've cleaned up the mess me and Joseph saw right when we were scared off by the snake. She concentrated back on her sewing, cinching the belt of her fluffy robe tighter around her small waist. I hope someone did! Kaiba would blow a gasket. It was a really big mess. I haven't heard any explosions from across the street yet . . .(Coincidentally, her estate was right across the Kaibas'.)

Meanwhile . . .
at the Kaiba Manor...

"Mummy . . .what's going on, Mummy?" A scared little boy's voice whispered in the silence, punctuated by the occasional shiver or shudder. The other servants' faces reflected fear in the firelight.

"Master. Kaiba and Miss Serenity are having a fight, dear," said his mother, a hefty woman in her forties. Loud voices could be heard right outside the servants' quarters, along with the intermittent thundering of the sky.

"I say," said another, "we ought to go and help the poor girlie. She's counted on us to clean up, and plus . . ." A long drawn out sigh. "Master Kaiba has been better to us since she came, and we let her down."

"Yes, and now the poor girl's taking the brunt of it," agreed one with a Scottish accent. They all got fired up.

"Let's go and help her!"

"Yeah!"

The sky, which, thundering, had taken out the electricity. The strange thing was, there was no sign of rain. And in the wintertime? "Who's going first?" No one answered, darting accusing looks at one another. It was all very well to say it, but it was another to actually go and help, and risk his wrath . . .rather like mice talking about who will bell the cat. A mutual silence ensued.

Meanwhile . . .in the main house, which was in a separate building than the servants quarters', Serenity was trying to think of any way to convince him, but all her old tactics—crying, begging, pleading—were falling short. He was as equally adamant as she was, except about on opposite sides of the issue. This was rare; that they were fighting, that is; something they hardly ever did. They were so alike, that they usually agreed on things rather than fight about them, unlike Joey and his girlfriend, Mai, who had a spat every other day. But she and Seto did fight, it was usually big…and didn't end well.

He said a baby would only bring more trouble, than there already are; they were unmarried and people would talk because of this. "Think about it, Serenity. Think about all you'll give up. Do you have any idea how much this baby will cost…us?"

"Cost. COST?!" she said for the fourth time, gesticulating around the fine, expensive room with the high ceilings.

"I'm not talking about money," he said bitingly. "I'm talking about your future, all your hopes and dreams. You think that a -- this won't stop you? What about all those beautiful songs you've written? Because if you have this—this—you can kiss a singing career goodbye. There'll be no time for that…and a baby…needs patience…care…."

He sounded like a parent, to both sets of ears, and stopped.

With his back to her, she closed her eyes and prayed. "Look, Seto. This isn't about you. This isn't even about me! This is about the baby! And will not NOT have it just because…because…" Her voice was rapidly climbing heights and shuddered off, losing hope.

"Of coursssse." She's already thinking of the baby. The baby, the baby, the baby! And it's not even a baby yet; what is it; a tiny dot? There's still time . . .then. "Did you go to the doctor?" was his next question, sharp eyes pinpointed on her over one suited shoulder.

"…And the fact is, we're going to have one, and it's going to be soon." She said as clearly as she could, staring at the back of his dark gray coat, willing him to look at her. "And yes, I did . . ."

A silence fell, and he did. Well, did a partway-turn. "What do you mean, 'soon . . .'?" Quickly, he did some mental calculations while she silently played with the buttons on her pale pink dress, knowing that he was going to explode. Probably was numb with shock on the plane ride over . . .oh, I wish he didn't have to find out this way! The cloth napkin, stolen from the restaurant, was being wrung into pieces as if Kleenex; she let it fall to the floor with the other calf high garbage.

To speed, she spoke. "He said . . ." She ran a hand through her dank curls. "That I'm eight months. Along."

" . . .Eight months . . ." Oh, My God . . . She watched him pace now in frantic circles around, until she felt nauseous from view. Not to mention dizzy. "Seto . . .please . . .stop and stay still."

"Are you telling me," he practically breathed so hard, "that you didn't know for eight months?!"

"Yes." She nodded, and he made a loud sound of disbelief. "It's true! I just found out, I swear . . .otherwise, I would have said something." There was a stony look of doubt from his wing. "You think I want this? You think that I want to be pregnant right now? Well, I don't. I'm in school, and I want to continue it." She realized painfully of her expulsion. "B…But I am, and we have to face it. 'We'," she emphasized more gently.

He spoke with conviction, "Actually, I really do think you want to be pregnant," He nodded brutally, "Otherwise, you wouldn't be such."

Serenity blew her breath out and sucked her teeth. He wasn't looking at all at her, but he hadn't for forty-five minutes. She would stand in his way, and he'd turn the other way. She knew it was because she hadn't bothered to change out of her party dress, and her stomach was showing a bulge in the filmy material. She also knew what her 'was talking about.' Even the baby had ceasing its kicking as if to say, Leave me out of this! "…Anyway, the doctor said weeks ago I had to get an ultrasound, but I skipped that. "He didn't say or move. He knew about her phobia of pills, hospitals, and medical doctors. If only there was one about babies. "I figure, since I'm so far ahead, I don't have to . . ." Her shoulders slumped a step on the dirty, dusty floor, "Come on, Seto . . .this supposed to be a happy time; don't look like you're going to a funeral. Please."

But no amount of begging would move him from his rock-like statue. "I am," he said hollowly. "You know how I feel about having children, Serenity." His long form limped lankly across the strewn foyer. "…It's not fair…"

Meanwhile . . .
Mendy's Restaurant...

"So what does Mrs. Wheeler say about all this?" Tea asked as her hand moved across her plate with the silver knife glinting, catching the low-set chandeliers' lights. She eyes Yugi from across their little table in the corner. He looked a bit fatigued, made even more pronounced in the shadowy dining area. About Serenity having a baby and Joey getting married . . .

"Mrs. W? She's pretty happy. You know Kaiba's her boss . . .right?" She shook her head. "Well, he hired her advertising firm for his dueling equipment, and besides, she likes him alright, remember?" Yugi smiled down at his plate. "And she's happy about Joey getting married, and gets along well with Mai too."

"How do you know all this, Yugi?" Tea lifted her fork to her plate, eyes still on him, and "Do you . . .spy?" She was just kidding of course. Yugi doesn't spy; just minds his own business. She was only teasing, "Or did you just, you know, kinda mellowed out and watch people's lives from afar?"

Bingo, said a little voice in his mind. "I . . .suppose." That's where they differed, was implied in an unsaid sentence. In the other hand, Tea had to know constantly what was going on in people's lives all the time.

I better change the subject. I haven't been on a date in so a long time, I forgot how to act Tea smiled sheepishly underneath her napkin, pretending to wipe her mouth. Let's see . . .first you ask about the other person. But I already know everything about him! We've exhausted every topic, working in the Game Shop together these past weeks and talking about the past. She set the cloth napkin down. "Do . . . you . . . want to hear about the sights I went to see in New York?"

"Yeah . . .sure!" He sounded sincere, so she launched into a spiel about Times Square, the Empire State Building, and Madison Gardens. I probably sound like a tour guide or a travel agent, she figured and said sheepishly so. "No . . .it's sounds like you had a lot of fun," he declared. "Did you . . .make any new people?" The glass almost tipped. "Er, I mean…"

They laughed. "Did I make any new friends?" Tea questioned. "That is what you were trying to say, Yugi?" He nodded, sheepishly. "…And you were trying to say 'did you meet any new people' at the same time…" Tea chuckled nostalgically and absently wiped the liquid with her rag. "Yeah . . ." She decided to keep it a secret, though. "They were nice, but I really missed you guys. Especially . . .you, Yugi." He blushed just as she saw her reflection on her soup. "Oh, my hair! I look like I just took a ride in Mai's Corvette with the top down. Excuse me," she got up, "I'm going to go and freshen up."

He felt elated when she flashed him a quick smile and a departing wink, even though she had left him alone. Then came the
"maybes." Maybe she went not to freshen up, but to go home. Instead, while you're sitting here, she's climbing out the bathroom window, said insecurities. He checked his watch. She had been gone for almost two minutes, now . . .

Ergh, stop it. "Hey, Yugi." He looked up, startled, to see Tristan, stand right in front of his face. And he wasn't exactly a light walker.

"Hi. Uh . . ." Don't mean to be rude, but . . ."What are you doing here?"

The once tall teen, now an even taller guy, towered over his friend, hands in pockets. "Joey's crabby about something." Tristan scowled, "Another fight with Mai, or whatnot. So I decided to mosey down here, and what did I see? Nudge nudge wink wink." So he liked to tease, too.

Yugi turned a color that made him looked sunburned. "I-it's doesn't-- I mean, uh--" He faltered, "It not what it seems."

"Yeah right, dude." Tristan looked now distant, moving on to the next topic. "Uh oh . . .Hey, isn't that . . .she looks familiar." He pointed, sticking out a finger somewhere in the direction of the bar.

"That's nice--! Now, if you don't mind--" Yugi was thinking he spotted some old girlfriend of Tristan's, and was eager not to let his date go and get interrupted and, all in all, be alone. He was actually pushing Tristan away on the back and thinking fast. "Joey's not cranky about that -- Kaiba has just found out that he's gonna to be a dad, and he's worried about Serenity--"

"Whoa." Tristan said in his slow tone, "You serious? That's . . .whack."

"Indeed. So go and bug--Joey--" Just then, something caught Yugi's eye. A blur of blond hair, set in pigtails . . .then gone. No . . .Rebecca's here? No, must be a mistake.

Meanwhile . . .
Kaiba Manor...

"I know this isn't fair. That's why I'm asking you--imploring you-- to do this for me."

She looks so much the same, he thought, on the day I met her. Amid all the heaping garbage bags, he couldn't help reflect on the past. Maybe the mess symbolized his life right now; he couldn't stand it and picked up and dialed on his cell phone a cleaning crew. If only it were that easy. Everything. I would give her everything, buy her anything… EXCEPT this….

"And it doesn't matter who's the blame for it . . .the point is," she whispered softly, "I know what I'm going to do…"

"Of course," he muttered, shutting the phone down. She had it all planned out. Did she. So much for 'deciding togetherness'.

" . . .About our baby girl?" She came up so she was right in front of his elbow, him staring out the window. Her tone of bravado had all but disappeared, taken place by a holding of breath, like he was going to hit her, and that above all else drove him mad.

"I'll tell what I'm going to do; I'm going to get rid of it, since; you won't." He stopped ranting. "It's a girl?"

Hope rose…Her eyes widened slightly; a fleeting vision of a little version of Serenity, with long red hair, trailing and big brown eyes passed before his eyes, blocking everything else out, even the mess of his house…. For a moment, he was so caught up that he didn't hear the door click; she was grateful for Mokuba's intervention just then, because she didn't know, for sure; whether it was a boy they were going to have or not.

"Whoa! What happened here?!" Kaiba's head turned at the sound of his sixteen-year-old brother's voice, still high, "Why didn't you guys tell me you're having a party?!"

There was just enough of awed delight to make Serenity close her teeth and back off to one corner. Mokuba was late again; past curfew and sounded unaware of it. This was going to be bad. Also.

"Mokuba. Upstairs. NOW."

"Harold!" Bending down, Mokuba looked at his foot. He picked up his pet boa constrictor, imported specially from Brazil. It licked him affectionately and he snuggled it. Serenity shuddered. "Why?"

"We're having a serious discussion. And then, you and I will have a serious discussion VERY THOROUGHLY about why you're home so late." That was as scary as it sounded, only ten times as more. His temper already tried once, Kaiba felt it boiling up again. "And, about your new boarding school! You'll be attending."

Mokuba pouted, frowning. "Just tell me why. It's my house, too." He turned to Serenity skulking in the corner, white-faced and put two and two together. Lessee...big bro looks like he's been hit by a trailer, Serenity's hiding . . . "Ohhhhh! I get it; so you finally believed--" Harold slithered with an ominous ssh-ing sound.

"ROOM. NOW."

"All right, alright . . ." He scuttled off at the boom, but before he did, he said to Serenity as he passed, "Don't worry. It'll all work it one way or the other." She blinked, perplexed at the enigmatic look in the dark grey eyes. Once safely up the long, sweeping stairs, he called back down in a singsong, "Don't worry, big bro, you'll make a great father!" he said sincerely. " I turned out fine!"

Serenity wished he didn't say that while with a snake wrapped around his head.

"All the way! No spying, do you hear!" Kaiba shouted, as more stomping steps caused pictures to shake precariously. "Oh, that kid . . .'ll be the death of me . . ."

"I'm sure he means every word," she said to say something. "And don't say that…"

"I'm sure," he agreed. Sarcastically. "Ohh . . ."

"Are you okay?"

". . .okay . . .You're right. There's nothing we can do about it," he grumbled formally. "I'll support you. But I'm not ready…"he broke off and sat on a melting cooler. "I can't be a father yet….I just can't."

His agreement had a forced way, actually muttered, that she didn't like. It's like I'm forcing him . . .and I don't want to force him to do anything he doesn't want to! But at least . . .we stopped fighting. "Thanks," she whispered, going to where he was sitting and putting her arms on his shoulders. He didn't move. "I know you'll be a wonderful father . . ." she laid on cheek on top of his head. " . . .Even after all you went through."

The wind outside blew especially hard like the words-- Kaiba didn't miss that look of uncertainty in her eyes a few minutes ago. It probably is a boy, he thought darkly. Why not? After all that's happened tonight, what next? Lightning hits my house? Thunder boomed in response and the entire servants quarters shivered. "I just wish . . ." Her belly poked him in the side as he made to sit on a 3-legged chair, which crashed when left the seat to sit somewhere else (but he didn't notice) "I wish . . . none of this happened . . .I wish… we never met." Rubbing his forehead with one hand, he didn't notice the way she turned white. "Then, this wouldn't have happened . . ." And I would be alone. He was so busy caught up in his own daydreaming; he didn't notice her flinching, and grow quiet, and hurt.

When she spoke it was like a shockwave.

"Well, fine, if you really don't want this baby THAT much, fine; I can take care of myself! I don't need your help!" She suddenly screamed, and he was taken aback, recoiling, shocked by her angry voice. Tears stood out in her eyes, and she looked at him like she'd never before--like she'd like nothing better than to knock his head off. You coward.

He recovered in understanding. "Wait, that's not what I-----" He grabbed her arm, tightly; but she wrenched painfully away. It must've hurt; so tight he was gripping. Then, whirling until she was sure her leg would break off, she dashed out the door.

She wasn't listening, "ASS!-" Her voice blended in with the howls of the windsSlam! More pictures fell off the wall, drawing a flinch. In fact, all of them with a bustle. "-Jack!"

"--Meant." Breathing in a heavy sigh, it was time to go after her. What did she call me? He thought, angrily, slowing. Then, she might get hit by a car… he broke into a run into the freezing, sub-zero night. A ten-ton truck missed by inches. He couldn't see, through a thick blanket of fog, her any more though…

To Be Continued

A/N: (moan) Ohh, Serenity…its 'jackass' not ass-jack! (Shakes head) count on Seren' not to get it right.
(Joey) Yeah sis. Repeat after me…(teaches)
A/N: Usually I notice in fics Serenity has this big attitude like Mai or Tea, but I like to keep her sweet and petite. :) I have a soft spot for the meek! (huggles Ryou and Yugi) :D Besides, wouldn't you be ooc too if you were 8 months pregnant?? And your boyfriend's an insensitive oaf?? (Grin) Only if you're a girl, of course. If you're a boy, then you'd have other things to worry about…XD
(Seto) You.are.so.dead.authoress….
A/N: Me wuv you too. Anywho, I know I said that this'll be the last Night to Remember, but can you stand one more?? Pretty please?? It'll be the last one. I swear! (Holds up two fingers) R&Rs make me write. :)