Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! and all its elements are copyright of Kazuki Takahashi. No infringement is intended and I promise to return all the characters in one piece, albeit with some new and interesting psychological problems.

Flashback: Chapter 2

Tea Kaiba pulled the dustsheets off of the white suede couch in the living room and shook her head. She would have to either get some throw blankets or go shopping for a new sofa very soon. White suede was definitely not child friendly. She dreaded to think of all the fun new ways that her daughter could find to destroy this piece of furniture.

She wiped the sweat off of her forehead. It was mid-July and the heat was intense. She knew she should have listened to Seto when he told her to let the workers come ahead and sort everything out before they got here, but she just couldn't let other people organize her home. Call her a control freak, but she wanted things how she wanted them, and nothing was going to stop her getting her way on this. This was a fresh start for her family, and they would have a fresh, beautiful home to go with it.

Tea did not count the fact that they had lived in Domino before, that her husband had lived in this house before. That was another time, and she had been a different person.

Since then she had wised up a bit, thickened her skin. She had been reluctant to come back to Domino and leave the life that she and her husband had built together, but the sensible side of her admitted that it was for the best in the long run. They had to face their past sometime, and their daughter had a right to know where she came from.

Thinking of her daughter, she looked around for a glimpse of the brown hair or the yellow dress that she had put on the child that morning. She didn't see her, even though the girl had been with her just minutes before. The Tea that gave birth to the tiny creature she had held with awe for the first time three years ago would have panicked, but the last year or so of living with a toddler had strengthened her mothering instincts. She and Seto had raised their child well. Her little girl would not be far away.

"Jessica!" she called out her daughter's name, making sure to keep her voice soft so as not to alarm the girl.

There was a shuffling sound and Jessica Kaiba appeared from the hallway, trailing bubble wrap as she unwrapped something in her small hands. Her face was intent and her delicate fingers could not tear the packaging. Tea smiled and knelt on the carpet (white, Tea realised with a grimace) in front of her offspring.

"What have you got there, baby?"

Jessica looked at her mother with large eyes

"I just wanted to help, mama, but it won't open" The child seemed honestly upset by the fact that she wasn't able to help her mother unpack.

Tea grinned, feeling the familiar swell of pure love and pride she always felt when she looked at her daughter.

"That's okay honey, this is all boring grown up work anyway. Why don't you go and play outside?"

Jessica nodded and handed the small package to Tea before running towards the open front door.

Tea watched her daughter run out into the sunshine before tearing the bubble wrap off with ease, revealing a framed photograph of herself in the hospital, holding a newborn Jessica. She had mixed feelings about that picture. Tea thought she looked terrible in it. She was pale, with dark circles under her eyes and her hair was limp and dark with sweat. She looked exhausted.

Tea would have much preferred that they had framed one of the photographs that had been taken a few hours later, after she had gotten some rest. But Seto insisted that she was radiant in that first one, exhausted but happy.

Tea shook her head and placed the frame on one of the empty shelves that lined the walls. The white walls, she noted with disdain. She sighed; she was really going to have to do a serious overhaul on the whole place. Unfortunately, she had to get the family's sizable amount of possessions into the house and organized before she could even think about re-decorating. Until then, she would just have to keep Jessica in the kitchen. Or outside, she thought with a chuckle.

She walked into the hall, trying to discover where her daughter had found that picture frame. Jessica would be alright, she thought. She would just need to tell her to be careful. Jessica was a good girl with a sensible head on her shoulders. She would heed her parents…hopefully.

As she walked into the kitchen, Tea saw immediately where Jessica had 'tried to help'. A cardboard box was laying on its side with packaging spilling out onto the tiled floor. Tea couldn't help but smile as she started cleaning up the mess. She found it extraordinarily difficult to get angry with her daughter. Fortunately, Jessica's behavior did not warrant anger very often.

Lifting the box onto the kitchen counter, she examined the contents. Photographs. Tea smiled as she hefted the box into her arms and carried it back to the living room. Sitting on the soon-to-be-put-in-storage couch and setting the box on the floor in front of her, she reached in to lift out the top item.

"Mrs. Kaiba?" a gruff voice said from behind her.

She turned and saw two of the workmen holding an exotic carved wooden coffee table. She indicated the space directly in front of her

"There would be just perfect, thank you"

"Yes ma'am"

They set the heavy piece of furniture in front of her and she smiled her thanks. After relaying a few preferences for the placement of beds and dressers, she turned a critical eye to the coffee table. It looked undamaged, the mahogany wood still shining from the last time it was polished. She ran her hands over it, fingers tracing the carvings that depicted ivy and wild flowers. This piece held a special place in her heart. It was the first item that she had purchased for their home when they had left Domino four years ago. She had been initially attracted to it because of its beauty, and had purchased it because of its solid durability. Perfect for a house that would be housing a boisterous pre-teen and a young baby.

She remembered that time with a frown. She fully recalled the happiness she had felt at Jessica's birth, and the three years that followed were filled with beautiful memories for her. But she also remembered the fear and sorrow she had felt when she left Domino City behind, along with her friends and family.

Tea sat on the cold bathroom floor in numb shock. This couldn't be happening to her. They had been so careful. But there it was, staring her in the face.

The thing that had the potential to ruin her entire life sat before her. That stupid white stick with the little plus sign on it. God, why?

Tea shook her head and took a deep, shuddering breath. What should she do now? She knew the options. Could she raise a child? Could she give one up for adoption? Could she willingly and knowingly have it ripped from her body?

She pressed a hand to her mid-section and bit her lip. She would have to talk to Seto. He had a right to know. She closed her eyes as she felt tears begin to sting them.

The bathroom door opened suddenly and her Helene Gardner walked in.

"Tea, you've been in here for an hour, are you all right—" the words died on her lips as she stared at the home pregnancy test sitting on the floor.

Tea looked up at her mother, emotions and reactions dulled by shock. She idly thought that she should have locked the door. She watched the emotions flicker over her mothers face. They ranged from shock, through sadness and disappointment, before finally settling on anger.

"You little slut" she spat. Tea blinked.

"How could you Tea? This will break your fathers heart!"

And with that she stormed from the room.

Tea looked after her, hurt beginning to penetrate the numb fog that had clouded her brain. Finally processing what had happened, she leapt to her feet and tore down the stairs after her mother. Hearing her mother's voice, she rounded a corner and skidded to a halt in the kitchen doorway.

Her father looked at her from where he sat at the kitchen table. There was hurt and disappointment in his eyes. Tea couldn't bear it. She dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Tea, how could you" her mother repeated what she had said upstairs

"I'm sorry" Tea whispered.

"That's not good enough. Look at me. Tea, look at me"

Tea complied, reluctantly dragging her gaze up to meet her mothers. She was not prepared for the anger and disgust she saw there.

"You idiot girl, how could you be so stupid?" her mother hissed

"Helene, please" her father spoke softly. He looked at his daughter pensively.

"Now tell me honestly Tea, did someone force you?"

Tea turned shocked eyes on him. The very thought of Seto doing something so…she shook her head vigorously.

"No! No daddy, nobody forced me"

"Well it's not like you to be so irresponsible. If you were going to sleep with someone, why on earth didn't you use protection?"

"I did! I swear daddy, we were being careful!"

"Then how did this happen?" her mother spoke up again, glaring at her daughter.

"I don't know! It must have ripped…I don't know! I swear we were being careful!"

Her mothers face was twisted in a mask of fury.

"Well, I'm making you an appointment to get rid of it, young lady!"

"Helene!" came her fathers voice. Tea looked on in shock.

"No, Jack! I will not tolerate this. She is not keeping this child!"

"You can't do this!" Tea surprised herself at the conviction in her voice.

"I…I have to talk to…to…"

"To the father?" Jack supplied quietly, his intense gaze fixed on his daughter. Tea nodded. Helene took a step towards Tea.

"Who is it? It's Yugi, isn't it?"

"No, mum. It's not Yugi"

"Well then one of those other boys you hang around with! I told you it wasn't right for a girl to spend all her time with boys, Jack, I told you!"

"It's not one of the guys, mum!" Tea felt the tears come to her eyes, and she blinked them back furiously. Her mother's eyes flashed

"Oh! so it's someone you barely know! Well that's just—"

"It's not! Just stop, please!"

"Helene—"

"You just listen young lady, you're coming with me to the doctor to get this fixed! What about your dancing career? You're ruining your life!"

She made a move to grab her daughters wrist, but Tea was too quick. With a dancers reflexes, she jerked back and ran out of the room. She didn't stop there. Possessed by a sudden fierce protectiveness for the life inside of her, she tore open the front door and ran out into the street, heading for the safety of the Game shop…

She had been shocked and hurt at her parents' reaction to her pregnancy. She had thought her friends would be a little more supportive, but as soon as they heard Seto's name, they had gone ballistic. She never even got the chance to tell them she was pregnant. With that, she had gathered all her courage, and gone to see her lover.

Her memories of that encounter were less coherent, clouded by emotion. She had vague recollections of whispered promises and heated kisses.

"…Seto, I don't know what to do!…"

"…Do you want to have a termination?…"

"I don't know…no…"

"I can't go home…my mother…"

"I'll take you away…we can go anywhere…"

"…I love you…"

"…Marry me…"

Tea smiled. She had refused his proposal at first. She didn't want him to feel obligated to marry her, just because she was pregnant. But then he had reached into a draw, producing a diamond ring. He had been planning on asking anyway. She had fallen into his arms and cried.

He held her until the tears ran dry. Then had come the prospect of dealing with the situation they had found themselves in. They both decided that it was best to leave Domino City for good, and make a new start in a place where they could raise their child in peace. When asked where she wanted to go, Tea could not summon the energy to decide. All decisions concerning their departure were delegated to Seto.

He handled it faster then she thought humanly possible, demonstrating the spectacular amount of power he really had. In a few hours, he had informed the necessary people at Kaiba Corp. of his decision to leave the city, apparently organised a house in a far away place that she was told she would love and made arrangements to fly out as soon as was possible.

Now came the hard part. Telling Mokuba.

Tea grimaced at that memory. The encounter had been…uneasy at best. Mokuba hadn't believed them at first, convinced they were playing some kind of practical joke on him. Once they had convinced him they were, in fact, telling the truth, he had sat in dumbfounded silence for a number of minutes.

Just as Tea had begun to shift in her seat uncomfortably, Mokuba had merely shrugged. Giving them both a grin, he had slipped out of his seat and given Tea a hug. Tea had burst into tears again.

He truly was remarkable. He had taken the news of his brothers relationship with her in his stride. The news of a child on the way had thrown him slightly, but he had recovered soon enough from that. She smiled as she remembered how excited he had been with the prospect of being an uncle. They had next given him the choice to either come with them, or to remain in Domino City under the supervision of a chaperone. Mokuba hadn't hesitated in his decision to go with them, even though it would mean leaving everything he had ever known. Tea had long suspected that his life in Domino wasn't particularly happy. It was hard to be the younger brother of somebody so well known. Tea decided then and there that she would try her hardest to take care of Mokuba as much as she would her own child.

Looking into the box now she un-wrapped memory after memory. Photographs in albums and frames were lined up on the shelves. She smiled as she looked at each one, taking time to remember when and where each one had been taken. The memories washed over her. Their new home by the lake. Seto and Tea as they were married in a small private ceremony. Herself in her third trimester. Seto hanging pictures in the nursery as she instructed him from the rocking chair by the window. Jessica, just minutes after she was born. Seto, holding his daughter for the first time, a look of wonder on his face. A family shot in the hospital the day after the birth; Tea propped up comfortably with pillows, with Seto on one side, his arms around her, and Mokuba perched on the bed on her other side pulling a stupid face as he cooed baby nonsense at his niece.

Tea giggled at that one, and moved it to a more prominent place. There were more to come.

Tea walking through the front door as she brought Jessica home for the first time. Jessica being given her first bath. Jessica covered in the mashed peaches that she had smeared over herself. Jessica learning to walk.

Tea smiled as she found one of her favourites. It had been taken just recently. Seto early one morning with Jessica by, or rather, in the lake. She giggled as she remembered that morning. He had been getting ready to go to work, and his three-year-old daughter had begged him to play her favourite game with her before he left. He had been set to say no, but one look at his daughters adoring face and he had promptly set down his briefcase and scooped her up. The photograph had captured him with the trousers of his expensive suit rolled up to the knee, standing ankle deep in the water with Jessica in his arms. He was dipping her toes in the water, her face alight with laughter as she squealed in delight.

Tea took that picture and set it on the mantle over the fireplace. Her eyes moved upwards to the blank space of wall above the fireplace as she pondered what she wanted to put there. She had a couple of nice paintings that would look good there. But no…she dug out a large package from the very bottom of the box and unwrapped it. Looking at it with satisfaction, she set it on the coffee table and looked around. Calling out to one of the workmen who was just headed back outside, she beckoned him forward.

"Can I help you Mrs. Kaiba?"

"Yes, you couldn't do me a favour and quickly hang this for me, could you?" she asked, gesturing to the picture on the table.

The workman nodded and disappeared outside, returning a few seconds later with a hammer and some nails. Tea stood back as he held the picture against the wall so she could decide where she wanted it. When she was happy with the position, the workman marked the wall with a pencil and, after gently setting the picture on the floor, hammered a nail into the wall. Hanging the picture and making sure it was straight, he stepped back.

"Is that okay for you ma'am?"

Tea beamed "It's wonderful, thank you."

"It's a lovely shot. That sure is one pretty little girl you've got there"

Tea's smile widened. If there was any way to get on her good side, praising her daughter was it.

"Thank you very much. She's not bothering you out there is she?"

"No ma'am, she's just fine."

She nodded and looked up at the picture. It was a large photograph that they'd had taken professionally. The workman was right, it was a lovely shot. It was a black and white image of Jessica at about six months old, sitting on Mokuba's lap. They were both smiling at something off camera, and the shot, despite being staged, had a natural feel to it that Tea liked.

That taken care of, she turned around and saw Seto's limousine through the window. She wiped her hands on her skirt and went out to meet him.

Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor collapsed on a bench in Domino Park, gasping for breath. Seeing the Kaiba family had been the shock of their lives, and they had torn away from the Kaiba estate like two bats out of hell. After catching their breath they were silent, trying to make sense of this new development.

"Dude…" Tristan breathed after a while.

"I know" replied Joey in a quiet voice.

Tristan leaned forward, rubbing his face in a tired way. Then he leaned back and shook his head, sighing. Then he looked at Joey, who was sitting silent and still. Tristan shifted uncomfortably. Joey was not one to take things calmly. He was a hothead through and through. It worried Tristan when he took anything quietly. The calm before the storm was an understatement.

"Hey man, are you…okay?" He prompted cautiously

Sure enough the anger was bubbling just under the surface.

"How could she?" he exploded "I can't believe it. I mean, Kaiba! Kaiba, Tristan. She married Kaiba! She has a child with Kaiba!

"Yeah, I know, I was there" Tristan muttered

Joey didn't seem to hear him. He was on his feet now, pacing angrily in front of the bench.

"Why is she still with him of all people? She's too young to have a kid! Why didn't she ever tell us?"

"I think she tried" Tristan cut him off. He looked up at his friend "Dude…god, I think she tried."

Joey's face had drained of colour as he sank onto the bench.

"And we didn't listen. We…we just yelled at her and…" He broke off, not knowing what to say. No wonder she hadn't contacted them in years. Why would she want to, after the way she had been treated?

"She was pregnant when she left" Joey whispered "That's what she came to tell us that day at Yugi's place…but we never gave her the chance"

There was dead silence as they sat there, side by side, each feeling the guilt wash over them. Afterwards they would not be able to recall how long they had sat there. It could have been minutes, or hours.

Finally Joey spoke again "How did she…look, to you?"

Tristan was quiet a moment

"She looked happy." He said simply. Joey nodded. Then he smiled a little.

"What?" Tristan asked.

"Well now we know why Kaiba's kid is cute. Must have inherited just enough of Tea's genes." He gave a rather humourless laugh.

"I don't think that we should tell the others about this yet" he said suddenly. Tristan stared at him

"Don't look at me that way, man. I mean it. I think that maybe we should find out a bit more before we say anything"

Tristan nodded slowly "Yeah, yeah okay" he said "Just as long as we don't leave it too long"

Joey gripped his friends shoulder briefly before losing himself in thought again.

Well here it is at last! I found a lot about this chapter very difficult to write, which is why this one took so long to get out despite being so short. I did debate on whether or not to leave it there for a while, but I think this was the right place to end it. But don't worry the next chapter is going to be a lot longer, if my plan is anything to go by. Also, now that I'm free and easy for the rest of the summer, hopefully the other chapters won't take as long to get out.

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the first chapter! I was a little nervous about the response, but everyone was so nice. I'm so glad that people seem to like this.

Living Arrow – I'm glad you think so, that's exactly the effect I was going for. And you think this chapter is perfect? Blushes aww! Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Soon-to-be-Yami's girl – Yep, they're married. Hope it was a good kind of surprise!

theresa – I'm glad you like it! I think you'll like the next chapter too!

Aninha Kaiba – Aww! Thanks! I promise the next chapter won't take as long as this one did!

DarkPrincessPyro99 – Here it is, hope you like it!

izumi – Wow, it's really all of that? It's so gratifying to hear you say so! You'll enjoy the next chapter too!

blackrosewotch – Thanks a lot!

Lady Nagome of the West – She is super-kawaii, isn't she? Thank you so much for your wonderful review, it really cheered me up! I don't plan on including Yami in this, but hey, you never know. I might change my mind! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

xXR.I.PXx – They sure are! Thanks!

Padewan CarrCarr – I'm happy you think I got it right when it comes to Seto and his family. I was a little worried that people might not think it was too OOC. Thank you for your review!

ice-princess010692 – Thanks

mischiefmagnet – Thank you so much for your review! I really love your work (as you probably know) so it was a real thrill for me when you reviewed! You know, you're right…you don't see much of him as a father…hmm. Well, I always thought he would make a great dad, so this is what I'm aiming to show! Thank you so much again, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

suzieq2005 – Good guess! I'm glad you liked it!

Monkeyluv4646 – Blushes Thanks so much!

mookey216 – I'm glad you thought this was interesting. I was afraid that people might get bored with the beginning .

stvbnkz4eva – Thanks a lot!