Merry Christmas everyone, I'm back with another chapter for you guys. I'm so sorry for the terribly long update, but I was having a huge case of writer's block and I haven't been feeling well, so thanks alot to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter:

Kaeleer's Heart

takerschick

LuckyKazeLight

jesi-kun

dancers of the night

Mistress of the King Severian

CraziAznGirl

fantasia-49

Koragirl

Kender20

Important Message:

Before I start this chapter, I just want to pinpoint out something. A few days after I posted my last chapter, an anonymous reviewer stated this in his or her review:

"My friend said that that was bad and nasty. She also said not to put alot of lemon in it next time."

Now, I'm not going to say who posted this review since it's anonymous, but I need to say this because clearly this person doesn't read the warnings I post in all of my lemons. I specifically said that if you are not comfortable with the lemons, then DO NOT read them. I even marked them to let you know when they START and when they END. I don't want to be rude, but I worked too hard on these chapters for everyone's interests and if your friend didn't like the chapter, then she shouldn't have clicked on the story and read it. All of the other readers don't have a problem with the lemons I write so if you're going to continue reading this story, then it would be best that you skip through the lemons that I write in the future or just don't read the story at all.

Okay, now for the rest of you guys, here is the next chapter for you all to enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Summary: Five years have passed since Atem and Tea got married and had their twins Yuki and Kimika, but there is a woman who is infatuated with Atem and is doing everything in her power to take Tea's place in his life and in his heart. Will she succeed?

Chapter 10

The morning light was beginning to shine through the window showing two figures still in a relaxing, peaceful slumber. It was 5 AM and Tea groaned as she began to wake up feeling just the way she felt the first time she made love to Atem. As her vision started to clear, she didn't realize where she was at first, but when she felt a warm, strong arm laying across her waist, Tea remembered that she and Atem were in their luxury hotel room. She turned around slowly in Atem's arms to take a glimpse at him and blushed, but smiled warmly as the events from last night came flowing back into her memory. It was definitely a night to remember forever. Reaching her hand up to her neck, Tea touched the golden musical heart shaped locket that Atem gave her last night and remembered how it was suddenly placed on her.

Flashback

It was around eleven at night and Tea was propped up against her pillow clutching the blanket to her chest feeling a little tired, but relaxed as she waited for Atem to come back from getting the dessert he ordered from room service. As she was waiting, Tea decided to go over to the balcony door after slipping on Atem's shirt to cover herself. Standing near the door, Tea looked outside and was amazed at how the lights were glowing over the city. There were hardly any cars zooming by in the streets which made the atmosphere calm and quiet. As Tea was looking at the lights glowing in the city, she thought back to the shopping trip she had with Katie earlier which made her think of...Vivian. She was bothered by the fact that the slutty, drama queen con-artist suddenly acted in the clothing store. The look on her face she suddenly gave off like she knew something that Tea didn't and was just waiting for the right moment to pop out and ruin everything she and Atem had created.

Tea's train of thought was interrupted by strong, warm arms wrapping around her from behind. Those same strong arms that always made her feel so safe and secured whenever they were touching her and she couldn't imagine her life without the man who these arms belong to.

"The desserts are here, are you going to come join me?" he asked as he kissed and nipped lightly at her ear. Tea smiled and turned around in his arms pretending that nothing was wrong with her hoping that Atem wouldn't be able to pick up on how she was really feeling.

"Yes, I would love to join you." As Atem was staring at Tea, he could tell that there was something on her mind that she wasn't telling him. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, he could always feel when she was troubled. Her eyes seemed happy because she was here with him, but the sparkle that Atem always sees in her eyes wasn't shining at the moment. Not like it was a few hours ago when Tea came and found him here waiting for her. Raising his hand, Atem caressed her while giving her a concerned look.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Tea, surprised from the question, just shook her head and put on a smile for him.

"Nothing's wrong, everything is perfect right now. Why would there be anything wrong?" she said.

"I can see it in your eyes, there's a little spark missing from them and I know whenever that happens, there is something bothering you." Tea closed her eyes while letting out a long sigh knowing full and well that she couldn't hide anything from Atem. He knew everything about her; mind, body and soul just like she knew him the same way. She walked back over the bed and sat down lifting her legs and hugging them to her chest keeping enough space for Atem to sit next to her which was what he did. Taking his hand, Atem rubbed it up and down Tea's back giving her as much comfort as she needed.

"Talk to me my love, what's on your mind?" he asked gently. Tea turned to him hesitating on whether to tell Atem about her encounter with Vivian or not, sooner or later he was going to find out so sighing again, she decided to let him hear it from her.

"Earlier...when I was shopping with Katie in the clothing store, I.....crossed paths with Vivian." she said. When Atem heard this, he wanted to seriously hunt Vivian down for upsetting his wife. For now, he settled for embracing Tea feeling her snuggle against him.

"Did she say or do anything to you?" he asked.

"The only thing she did was try and ruin my day with one of her little stunts of trying to split us apart. I'm sorry honey, I...I didn't want to bring it up seeing that we're having such a romantic night and here I am ruining it by bringing up Vivian's name." Atem pushed her slightly from the embrace so that he could kiss her lips soothingly slow. When he pulled back, he gave her a reassuring smile.

"Sweetheart, you didn't ruin our night, I'm glad you told me this. You how I feel when you you're upset, especially when it comes to Vivian or anyone else. I would move heaven and Earth to make sure I see that beautiful smile of yours. The only way this night could be ruined...is that if you walk out of here right now leaving me alone." Tea pulled Atem back down and kissed him so passionately making him erase that thought from his head. It was working perfectly because he was pulling her closer and kissing her back with just as much passion she was giving to him. They pulled out of the kiss, but kept their foreheads together while trying to catch their breath.

"I would never think of leaving you, I almost made that mistake before. When I found out that Renku and Rachel were cousins and how they were responsible for the explosion....the only thing I thought about was your life and making sure that they never hurt you the way they hurt me. You made me see though, that we belong together and that we could and still can overcome anything. Looking at Vivian and the schemes she's pulling by trying to break us apart, it just makes me think about what we went through before. It makes me furious because the only thing she cares about is trying to sink her hooks into you. Like she doesn't even remember that she hurt you in the past." Atem could see the anger building up in her eyes and to calm her down, he took her back into his arms and moved so that they were both propping up against the pillows. Tea sighed peacefully as she sunk into Atem's embrace and her anger was slowly melting away.

"This is why I love you so much, you're compassionate and understading. You always put others before yourself and you have such a caring heart, no other woman is perfect for me like you are Tea and no matter what Vivian or anyone tries to do to break us, you will always be the most important woman in my eyes. You and I have a special connection that I can't have with anyone else, you're the love of my life." Tea raised her head so that she could meet Atem into another heartfelt, passionate kiss only this time, it was slow just like how they kissed each other for the first time. Pulling back, Atem moved strands of Tea's hair behind her ear and gave her a smile.

"I have something for you." he said. Tea giggled and shook her head.

"Atem, I wasn't expecting anything."

"Well that just makes it even more of a surprise, close your eyes." Tea did what Atem asked her to do and waited patiently for whatever it was Atem had for her. She heard a drawer opening and closing indicating that the gift was inside the night table. She felt Atem moving back into his spot next to her and lifting her hand to give her a box to hold.

"Okay, open your eyes." he whispered. Tea opened them and looked down to see a black velvet case in her hands. She then looked over to Atem who was bearing a smile and was curious as to what she was giving to her.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Open it and find out." he said while giving her a light chuckle. Tea looked back down at the case and lifted the lid to be presented with the most beautiful surprise. Inside the case was a golden heart shaped locket and was afraid to even touch it seeing that it was giving off a breath-taking shine.

"It's....so beautiful." she whispered. Atem, seeing her expression, smiled and took the initiative of taking the locket from the case and placing the chain around her neck making sure it was securely clapsed.

"You've already claimed my heart, now I want to make sure that it's always with you." Tea thought that she would burst into tears from what Atem said to her, but when she opened the locket to see what was inside, tears started to rapidly stream down her face. The locket started to play a lovely musical melody and there was a picture inside of her, Atem, Yuki and Kimika.

"This is what's inside my heart, my most precious gifts and there isn't anything in the world that can replace them." Atem said. Tea just continued crying and held the locket close to her heart knowing that this was more than just a gift, it was something that was now going to be one of the most precious things in her life that she will keep forever. She felt Atem wiping her tears away and she kissed his lips once more. She then hugged around his waist burying her face into his warm chest.

"Thank-you Atem, I love it. I'll treasure it always and you know that my heart is with you as well." she said. Wrapping his arms around Tea, Atem kissed the top of her head and nodded.

"I know, I keep it with me everyday." He was talking about the locket that Tea gave to him for his birthday 5 years ago that was now still hanging around his neck and it was still shining with the same silver color. Tea started to twirl his locket around as she remembered the night she gave it to him. Wiping the remaining tears away, Tea kissed Atem's cheek and giggled.

"Okay, I think that's enough water works for me. So where's that dessert you ordered?" she asked. Atem chuckled and pulled the tray over to the both of them. They sat back and fed each other while talking more about their past memories and things that they would plan in the future...with a little bit of flirting involved. Tea didn't need to worry anymore because she knew that no force could ever break the bond and the love she shares with Atem.

End Flashback

So here she was, lying in the arms of the man she loves dearly while staring at him lovingly as she clutched her locket close to her. Taking her other hand, she ran her fingers through his tri-colored hair and this action caused Atem to moan in his sleep as he slowly opening his eyes. Tea smiled at the way he was waking up, both of his arms tightened around her and moved so that his face was buried against her neck.

"Morning beautiful." he said while placing warm kisses along her neck. Tea moaned lightly lifting her head to give Atem more access.

"Good morning, something tells me you're not going to let go of me any time soon." Atem smirked as he raised his head to look into her eyes and giving her a somewhat hypnotizing gaze.

"You're absolutely right my love, it's still pretty early anyway. Couldn't sleep?" he asked resting himself back in the crook of Tea's neck and breathing in her floral scent. She still had her lavender scent mixing with the smell of the roses she had picked out of the vase. Tea ran her fingers along his muscled arms in an up and down motion and sighed blissfully.

"No, I slept very well, I had you beside me." she said smiling. Atem raised himself up again until he was on top of Tea and resting his arms on both sides of her. It was then that he got a look at her eyes again, only this time he gazed at them much more closely and smiled when he saw what he was looking for.

"Now that's the woman I fell in love with, that sparkle in your eye is back." he said. Tea blushed and let out a light giggle as she brought her arms around Atem's waist gliding her hands up his back making them both moan from the feeling of their bodies so close together.

"Yeah, I do feel better. I'm sorry I brought up what happened with Vivian though, I didn't want to seeing how you would feel about it and I-" Tea was silenced by the feel of Atem's lips upon hers. Whatever she was thinking of saying was suddenly forgotten and all of her attention was placed on Atem right now. Atem pulled back from the kiss, but quickly kissed her cheek.

"Like I said last night, nothing was ruined. I'm glad you told me, Vivian is really testing my patience with her." he said.

"Well let's just hope she doesn't show her face around us anytime soon."

"She won't, I'll make sure of it. I don't want her coming anywhere near me, you, the kids or anyone else that I care about. So for right now, let's just cast Vivian out of our minds and pretend like she doesn't even exist."

"I think I know how we can do that, how does a nice hot shower sound? You know, to ease some of that tension away." Tea said still raking her hands up and down Atem's back.

"Only if you join me." Atem said while giving her a wink to make her laugh. To answer his question, Tea kissed his lips and took his hand to lead him off the bed and into the side bathroom. Both of them knew that it would lead to more than just an ordinary shower.

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Stepping out of the shower, Atem and Tea both got dressed and prepared themselves for when they had to leave. Tea was in the bathroom checking herself in the mirror while brushing her hair and smiled from the terrific time she spent here with Atem. Suddenly, she felt a tickle in her throat which caused her to start coughing. Thinking of it as nothing but a simple cough, Tea continued getting herself ready to go. When she was finished with that, Tea walked out and found Atem packing the rest of his things. It was then that Tea started coughing again which made Atem look over to her a bit concerned.

"Honey, you alright?" he asked. Tea nodded while carelessly waving her hand.

"Yeah, it's just a little cough, I'm fine." she said smiling. Atem wasn't convinced at all hearing the way she was sounding, but took her word for it and eased his worry a little. He would know if Tea was feeling alright or not if her coughing continues. Taking both of their bags and making sure everything was inside, Atem walked over to Tea giving her bag to her while the top of her head.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm ready...even though I wish we could stay a little longer."

"I know, I wish we could too, but we can always do this again. In fact, I think I have another idea planned for our next redezvous." Tea giggled and shook her head.

"I'm sure you do and I can't wait to know what it is. Right now, I want to see our babies, I miss them so much."

"Well then, let's not keep them waiting." Taking her hand, Atem led the way out of the hotel room. After giving the key to the front desk, they exited the hotel building to their car parked outside. The air was brisk and cold, but not freezing cold. Placing the bags in the trunk, Atem opened the door to the passenger side for Tea before he went around to the driver's side. Right when Atem was about to put the key into the ignition, Tea was coughing once again, but this time it was more intense than when she was coughing in the room. When she stopped, she looked at Atem with a look telling him not to worry, but Atem knew better. He knew that Tea was becoming ill and he was going to do everything he could to take care of her. Starting the car, Atem pulled off and drove out to the ranch to pick up Yuki and Kimika.

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After an hour of driving, Atem and Tea finally arrived at the ranch. Stepping out of the car, they walked up to the house, but on the way they heard the sound of laughter coming from the stables. Looking inside, they found Yugi, Joey and Tristan cleaning the horses while Yuki and Kimika were feeding Bronco and Angel a carrot. Hearing footsteps, the five of them turned when Atem and Tea were coming inside.

"Mommy, Daddy!" Yuki and Kimika ran over to their parents with smiles on their faces happy to see them. Giving out a laugh, Atem and Tea hugged both of their children tightly feeling just as happy to see them as well.

"Hello my precious ones, did you guys have fun?" Tea asked.

"Yeah, Uncle Yugi let us ride the horses yesterday. I got a chance to ride Bronco, Dad." Yuki said.

"And I rode on Angel, Mommy. She's very pretty." Kimika said. Atem and Tea smiled seeing the glow of happiness radiating from their children.

"I'm glad you guys had a great time, but now it's time to go so you two go get your things and meet us out by the car, okay?" Atem said. Replying to their father, Yuki and Kimika both ran out of the stable and into the house to grab their stuff. Then Atem and Tea walked over to Yugi, Joey and Tristan so that they could greet them.

"Hey guys." Yugi said.

"Hi Yugi, thanks for taking care of Yuki and Kimika. They weren't too much trouble, were they?" Tea asked. Yugi chuckled.

"No, of course not Tea. They were no trouble at all, I love having my niece and nephew over." he said.

"What about you guys, had a nice time last night?" Joey said with a wink. Atem and Tea's faces were completely red which was making Joey and Tristan laugh so hard that they thought their stomachs would cramp. Yugi gave out a little laugh too, but he gave an apologetic smile to the two lovebirds. It wasn't until a warning growl from Atem that Joey and Tristan stopped laughing. They rubbed the back of their necks and laughed again, but this time it was nervous laughs because they didn't want to know what Atem was going to do to them if they kept up with their teasing.

"Hmm, I see this place hasn't changed a bit." Everyone turned around when they heard a voice coming from the doorway and saw that it was Kaiba standing with a smirk and his arms folded as he was leaning against the the wall. It was a huge surprise because none of them expected him to show up at the ranch. Joey growled and clenched his fist in anger from seeing him.

"Kaiba, what are you doing here rich boy?"

"Well if it isn't Joey the mutt, have you learned any new tricks over the years?" Joey was about to go over and punch him in the face, but Tristan and Yugi were holding him back.

"Oh, I'll show you some tricks, come on over and say that to my face!" Kaiba did come over, but it was to stand in front of Atem and Tea.

"Kaiba, I didn't expect you to be here." Atem said.

"I wasn't planning to come out here, but I brought Mokuba back right after I had everything set with my company and he couldn't stop talking about the horses here." he said. Just as soon as Kaiba said that, an 11-yr-old boy with long raven hair came running in through the doors and catching up with his older brother. He then noticed the others standing there with him and was excited to see them again.

"Hey guys, it's been a while, huh?" he said.

"Yeah, it's great to see you Mokuba." Yugi said.

"Can't say the same thing about your stuck up brother though, but yeah it's good to see ya Mokuba." Joey said. Mokuba laughed and then turned to look at Atem and Tea.

"Hey Atem, good to see you. I heard from Seto that you got married and I'm guessing this is your wife." he said. Atem smiled and nodded while draping his arm around Tea's waist.

"Yes, this is Tea." Mokuba and Tea shook hands in greeting.

"Nice to meet you Tea, it's about time Atem settled down and had a woman in his life who isn't the type to go all crazy on him." Everyone except Atem and Kaiba laughed from the comment. Kaiba was just standing there tuning out the conversation while Atem had a blush on his face. Seeing the look on Atem's face made Tea giggle.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Mokuba, I can see that you're going to be really fun to have around." Mokuba gave her a cheeky grin.

"Yeah, I can be fun when I want to be, trust me." Tea laughed again, but stopped as she started to cough again and it was making Atem extremely worried now because the more she was coughing, the harder it was for her to control it. He brought her to his chest and gently patted her back to ease her coughing.

"Tea, honey this cough is getting worse." he said. Tea just smiled and shook her head telling him that it wasn't anything to worry about.

"I'm okay Atem, really." Atem placed his hands on her shoulders while giving her a concerned, but firm look.

"You may say you're okay, but you don't sound okay." he said.

"It's only a little cough, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. I'm going to check on Yuki and Kimika and see if they have everything ready to go." Kissing his cheek, Tea went off into the house where the twins were leaving Atem and the others watching her. Yugi came over next to Atem bearing the same look of concern as his brother and everyone else. He put a hand on Atem's shoulder letting him know that he wasn't the only one feeling worried about Tea.

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Entering the house, Tea found Yuki and Kimika coming downstairs both carrying their things. She gave out a smile at the little game they were playing of who would be the one to get to the bottom first. She went over to them and saw the game end in a tie and before they could argue about who was first, they looked up to see her standing in front of them and the whole game was completely forgotten. Coming off the steps, Yuki and Kimika both wanted a hug from Tea and letting out a giggle, Tea stooped down and welcomed both into a warm embrace.

"You two have everything?" she asked. Tea felt them nodding their heads against her shoulders and pulling back a little from the hug.

"Uh-huh, we're ready to go now Mommy." Kimika said. Yuki let out a gasp making Tea and Kimika turn to see what was on his mind.

"Wait, I almost forgot the cookies Uncle Yugi bought for us last night. Can we go get them Mom?" Yuki asked. Tea smiled and nodded.

"Okay, but hurry up." The twins hurried off into the kitchen to grab the bag of cookies Yugi left out for them. Standing up again, Tea looked over to where a few pictures were displayed on the wall. There was one picture that really got her attention. It was of her, Atem, the twins, Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Koji, Katie and Alicia along with a few of the horses taken a few months ago. It was a little small gathering they all planned together. Suddenly, Tea started coughing again, but this time, it was uncontrollable where she had to cover both of her hands to her mouth in order to stop it. When she did stop, her vision started to get blurry.

'What's wrong with me?' she thought. Tea heard the sounds of her kids' voices indicating that they were on their way back into the room. She tried to hold out and push whatever she was feeling aside, but it was too much and with that, Tea collapsed.

"Hey Mom, you got to try these cook-" Yuki and Kimika dropped their things when they saw their mother on the floor.

"MOM!" they both yelled out. Running over to Tea, Kimika and Yuki tried their hardest to wake her.

"Mommy, wake up, wake up!" Kimika said as she shook Tea's shoulder while crying her eyes out.

"Kimika, go get Dad and bring him inside." Yuki said. Kimika hesitated at first, but she nodded and quickly ran outside to the stables to tell her father what has happened with her mother.

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"Alright Kaiba, it's GO time!" Joey was angry once again at another dog comment that Kaiba said to him and Tristan and Yugi were doing all they could to hold him back. Kaiba wasn't at all fazed thinking it was just a waste of his time.

"Hmm, I guess it's true that you can't teach an old dog a new trick." Kaiba said witha smirk. Joey growled and Yugi and Tristan were starting to lose their grips on Joey since he was seriously pulling away so hard and trying his best to sink his claws into Kaiba.

"Why don't you come on over and said that to my face? Then you'll see the new tricks I got up my sleeve!" Mokuba was tuning out the whole argument seeing as how he was tending to one of the horses while Atem just stared at them not wanting to get involved unless it became too serious. As he was watching Joey and Kaiba go back and forth with insults, Atem felt something that he dreaded the most. The sharp jolt in his chest when he knew that something was wrong with Tea or the children.

"DADDY!" Hearing a small cry, Atem looked up and saw Kimika coming inside very upset and immediately ran over to him. This caused the whole fiasco with Joey and Kaiba to stop as the guys turned to her wondering what was wrong. Kneeling down, Atem brought his daughter into his arms and tried to calm her down.

"Kimika, sweetie what's the matter?" he asked.

"D-Daddy...i-it's Mommy, she..." Kimika was just too upset to speak, but Atem didn't need for her to explain since he knew that something was wrong with Tea. Picking up the crying little girl, Atem along with the others rushed inside the house to see what happened. As Atem opened the door, he was met with Yuki sitting next to Tea passed out on the floor. Placing Kimika down after making sure she was alright, he went over to check on Tea. The guys, except for Kaiba who was watching Kimika, gathered around to see if Tea was alright. Taking her into his arms, Atem put his hand on top of her forehead.

"She's burning up." he said.

"Take her to one of the rooms upstairs Atem, I'll call a doctor-"

"There's no need, I already have one of my medics coming over to check on her." Kaiba said before Yugi could pick up the phone. Atem nodded as he carried Tea bridal style and before he went to the stairs, he turned around to face Kaiba.

"Thank-you for doing that Kaiba." he said in gratitude. Kaiba just stayed silent and turned to the door waiting for his medic to show, but made a notion with his hand that told Atem that he was welcome. Continuing on his way upstairs with Yuki and Kimika following him, Atem went into one of the empty rooms and placed Tea down on the bed making sure she was comfortable. He turned back to the twins who were watching Tea with worried glances.

"Hey, can you guys do something for me?" he asked. They both nodded their heads and waited for what he wanted them to do.

"Okay, Yuki I need you to go tell Uncle Yugi to bring me a bowl of cold water and Kimika, you go and get a cloth from out of the bathroom, okay?" he said. Not waisting any time, Yuki and Kimika went forward to their task leaving Atem alone with Tea. As he moved a strand of her hair away, Tea groaned and slowly opened her eyes making Atem feel relieved that she was okay for the moment.

"Atem?"

"Shhh...don't try to get up honey." he whispered to her. Tea nodded and laid down when she tried to move from her position.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I found you passed out after Kimika told me what happened to you. You have a very high fever right now. A doctor is coming now to check you." Tea closed her eyes and turned her head the opposite direction away from Atem which got him wondering why she did this.

"I'm sorry." she whispered. Surprised from the apology, Atem wanted to know why she said it. As if she read his mind, Tea continued.

"You told me that something was wrong with me and I didn't listen, I was too stubborn to listen and I worried you and the kids." Understanding what she was saying, Atem just smiled and gently turned her head back to him. He leaned down until his lips were pressed lightly against hers and pulled back to gaze into her eyes.

"Don't apologize, I just have to take care of you now. Plus, I already knew you were becoming sick from the way you were sounding earlier, call it a 'Husbands' Intuition'." Tea giggled and shook her head.

"How is it that you can always find humor in any situation?" Atem just shrugged his shoulders and smiled.

"It's a gift, now why don't you get some rest? We need to bring your fever down." he said. Feeling herself becoming drowsy, Tea closed her eyes letting sleep take her over. Atem just stared at her lovely face promising himself that he will get Tea better very soon.

Another chapter down and done with, tell me how you like it and I'll have the next one up for you all very soon. I want to wish everyone again a very Merry Christmas and hope you guys have a wonderful holiday.