SIX

Yugi slept through the alarm the next morning and was awakened by Aemi close to nine o'clock. She told him that Kyo had been crying and had woken her up. Stumbling to his feet, Yugi hurried to get the baby and rocked him until his tears were gone. He couldn't believe he'd slept so long, or that they were an hour late on the schedule.

"Grab your backpack," Yugi commanded Aemi as he dressed the baby. "We're in a hurry."

She did as she was told and met Yugi by the door before looking at him with squinted eyes. "Are you okay, papa?" she asked.

"I'm fine, why?"

"It's just…you look…" She stuck out her tongue to one side, trying to explain that he looked ill.

"I'm fine," Yugi reiterated. "Just tired."

He did not feel fine but he didn't want to worry Aemi. He packed them into the car and then had the driver rush to Aemi's school, where he walked her inside, had to sign her in because she was late, and then got a lecture on the importance of being on time from the front attendant. When he was allowed to leave, he felt worse than before.

Dropping Kyo off took longer than expected because the daycare was doing a fire drill when they arrived. Yugi had to wait until the children went back inside before he could check Kyo in, and by that time he was feeling seriously sick.

He could not call out from work, however, because Seto was not there to take care of things. The vice president had to step in when the president was unavailable. No matter how sick he felt.

As soon as Yugi stepped off the elevator, Sarah looked up and grimaced. "You look like hell," she said, and Yugi sighed.

"I feel it," he nodded.

"There's a call on line one for you," Sarah called after him. "It's Mr. Kaiba."

Yugi nodded and got himself situated at his desk before picking up the call. "Seto?" he asked.

"It's me," Seto confirmed. "I just landed in Domino City."

"Oh," Yugi sighed.

"Is everything alright?" Seto asked, worry in his voice.

"Everything's fine," Yugi tried. "I got up late today…The kids were late, too."

"You sound…" Seto began, but he didn't finish.

"I'm okay, just a bit under the weather. Nothing to worry about," Yugi said, this time he put as much energy into his voice as he could.

There was silence on the other end for a moment. "If you're ill, you should go home," Seto finally said. His voice was soft.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Yugi responded. "Just a bug. I'll be better by the time you get back." Seto did not sound convinced, but Yugi was not giving him the change to worry. "How are things going over there?"

Sighing into his end, Seto said, "It was just an honest mistake. These people are idiots." His voice was back to being hard again. "They misread an entire line of promotional data sent to them, and that's what caused this whole mess."
"How do you know?"

"I was talking with Takahiro on the phone…He told me that's what happened. I'm just going to stay to look over everything to make sure they're doing it right before heading home. I mean, I did make this long flight for nothing."
"Take you time," Yugi smiled. "You could use the break."

The line was silent again, and as much as Yugi hated silences, he felt too sick to break it. He could hear Seto getting antsy on the other end as well. "How are…the kids?" Seto asked, and it was a first.

"You've only been gone twenty hours, Seto," Yugi reminded him. "Kyo did not learn to walk yet and Aemi has not won a Nobel Peace prize."

He could almost see Seto smirking to himself.

"I miss you," Yugi said, sighing deeply. "I miss…" he had to stop, because he felt a strange abundance of saliva in his mouth and an acidic taste in the back of his throat. "I have go to," he said quickly. "I'll…" he didn't get to finish before he'd thrown up into his waste basket beside his desk.

"Yugi?" Seto questioned. "Are you alright?"

"I have to go," Yugi said, and he hung up just before he heaved again.

When he felt strong enough to walk, he called a driver to meet him in the parking garage as soon as possible and then headed towards the elevator. He let Sarah know she could go home early, because he was ill and needed to rest. While waiting for his driver to pick him up, he made arrangements for Mai to pick up the kids.

When he slid into the back seat of the black transporter, he groaned and rested his head on the other cushion where Seto should have been sitting.

"Take me home," he begged the driver, and he felt sick again as the car began to move.

His phone ran twice, but he didn't answer it. He wanted to just bury himself into his bed sheets and nurse himself back to health. Mai had offered to keep the kids for the night, but he had declined. He didn't feel comfortable being away from Kyo for so long, and Aemi had never been away from home before. He knew he'd feel better after a bit of rest.

When the driver pulled up to his flat, he stumbled out and just barely made it to the bathroom before he threw up again. He grabbed a cloth and wiped his mouth before resting his head against the toilet, not even caring if it was clean or not. He felt like dying.

Finally feeling that he was able, he stood up slowly and clung to the wall as he made his way to the bedroom. He dropped down into bed and groaned as he shut his eyes tightly against the light. He just wanted to…he sighed. He wasn't sure what he wanted. Seto was too busy to take care of him and he didn't have any friends who lived nearby besides Joey and Mai. And Téa. But he didn't want any of them to see him in his present condition.

When he'd worn his mind into a worry, he finally was too exhausted to keep his eyes open and he fell asleep. He had bizarre dreams until Mai came at seven to bring the kids home.

He struggled out of bed and greeted her with a weak smile.

"You look awful," she said, putting her hand on his head. "You're burning up!"

Joey was behind her holding Kyo and he looked concerned as well. "She's right, man. You need to go to a doctor."

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Yugi shook his head.

After a little bit of a debate, Mai and Joey finally left and Yugi sat down in the living room after laying the baby on his belly for "tummy time." Aemi began watching a cartoon on the television and Yugi found it hard to keep his eyes open. He didn't want to fall asleep while Kyo was on his belly, so he picked him up and readied a bottle to put him to sleep.

His legs dragged the two of them up the stairs and into Kyo's nursery where Yugi rocked him in the rocker until the baby's eyes were drooping low. He put him in the crib and then went back down to see if Aemi was hungry for a bite before her bath. She ate leftovers and then hurried up to the bath Yugi had drawn. He sat on the edge of the tub while she tried to wash her own hair.

"Need some help?" he smiled gently when she struggled to put the shampoo in her hair. He scrubbed it in and then sprayed it out with water.

When she was done bathing, he wrapped her in a towel and then helped her dress in her pajamas. When she was finally tucked into bed, he began reading a story, but he could barely keep his eyes open and instead just sang to her.

"Papa?" she said nearing the end of his song.

"Yes?"
"When is Papa Seto coming home?"
"Hopefully by Friday…" Yugi sighed.

"Why did he go away?"

"He had a business trip to fix something."

"Oh," she said. "I wish he would tuck me in."

"How about we call him tomorrow to say good morning?"
She nodded and then yawned. "I miss Papa Seto when he's not here."

"Me too," Yugi agreed. He kissed her forehead and then stood up. "Sleep well," he said. He left the door open a crack and groaned to himself.

He was too tired to do anything besides drop onto the bed—face first—and close his eyes.

Days passed and Yugi continued to get sicker until he was no longer able to get out of bed. Téa had come over to help with the kids while he rested, but sleeping off the virus didn't seem to be helping. Yugi refused to be taken to the hospital and he refused to allow anyone to tell Seto he was ill. He didn't want the older man to worry about him.

Téa had made breakfast tea for him after she'd dropped the kids off at school and daycare and fluffed his pillow so he could sit up.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Fine," he lied easily. He'd been saying it since the first day of his illness and it wasn't so hard to lie anymore.

"You look awful," Téa said honestly. "I wish you'd let me take you to the doctor…"

"I'm fine," he groaned. "I'll be better tomorrow."

"You said that yesterday."

"I feel way better than I did yesterday," he lied again.

It was getting harder and harder to decide when to tell the truth. He didn't want her to know he was in awful pain, his muscles killing him, and his throat burning from the acid he'd been throwing up. He hadn't eaten since his first day being ill and he was sickly pale. He knew he needed to eat to keep up his strength, but he couldn't keep anything down and he hated throwing up.

"Téa?" Yugi asked. "Who's getting the kids?"

"Mai is."

Yugi sighed. "I feel like I'm taking advantage of you guys…"

"Yugi, I've known you forever, and not once have you ever asked for my help in something like this. It's time I repaid all the times you took care of me. That's what friends do."
Yugi managed to smile. "I guess…" he sighed.

"Now let me take care of you. You have to eat something or else you're not going to get better."

"I need to call Seto," Yugi sighed. "He's supposed to be getting back on Tuesday."

"I thought he was going to be back yesterday," Téa said.

"His trip got extended…again."

"Why?"

"I have no idea…He's trying to make sure everything goes right with the release of the new products in Domino City."

Téa grabbed Yugi's cell phone from the table and handed it to him. "I'll go…do something else…" she said and she sauntered out of the room.

Yugi dialed Seto and waited until he picked up on the fifth ring. They talked for nearly an hour—about everything, work, the kids, Yugi's health. Yugi could hear the worry in Seto's voice when he asked how he felt, and he did his best to make himself sound healthier than he was.

"I'll come home if you need me," Seto said, and Yugi couldn't stop himself from smiling.

"You'd do that for me?"
"Should I not?"

"No, stay there. Finish work. We'll see you on Tuesday." Seto sighed, and Yugi tried to change the subject. "I miss you, by the way."

"I'm bored," Seto said.

"I wish I could help with that…" Yugi said, trying to be seductive. He heard Seto chuckle, so he knew he'd failed in the attempt.

"I have to go," Seto finally said. "I'll be home on Tuesday."

"Take you time," Yugi reminded him.

When the two hung up, Yugi had to close his eyes again. The call had wiped him out.

Téa had left to meet Mokuba for dinner after Yugi insisted she go. It was officially Tuesday, and Seto was not coming back. His trip had been extended again. Yugi had found a way to lie to everyone and make them think he was feeling much better than before, and though it made him feel awful, he was glad he was home alone with the kids again.

He missed taking care of his kids on his own. It was nice to have help, but it was even nicer to see their smiling faces.

Except, at that moment, their faces were not smiling.

Yugi's hands were pressed against the side of the toilet as he vomited his lunch into it. Kyo was screaming in his infant carrier next to him, begging to be let out, but Yugi had been sitting the floor for over ten minutes. Aemi watched from the bathroom door with worried eyes. She handed Yugi a cloth when he asked for one, but otherwise she didn't move.

Yugi groaned and wiped his mouth once more before he unbuckled Kyo and picked him up. He had to pat the baby's back for several minutes to get him to stop sniffling before he managed to make it to his feet and then carefully laid down in his bed. Aemi followed and sat by his feet.

"Papa?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, honey. Just a bit sick."

"You look really sick," she said.

"I'll be better tomorrow," he said as his eyes drooped low. "Don't let me fall asleep," he pleaded, but he fell asleep anyway.

"Yug? Hey, Yugi, wake up." Yugi's eyes opened and he looked around, surprised to see Joey's face inches from his own. "You're alive," Joey said. "We were worried!"

"W-where's Kyo?" Yugi managed to ask, worry coursing through him when he did not see the baby in the bed.

"Mai's got him. She and Aemi are downstairs, man."

Yugi sighed. "I'll get up…"

"No, you stay put. Mai wants to take your temperature."

"Joey, I'm fine," he insisted. Everyone was making a bigger deal out of his illness than needed.

Joey left the room and Mai entered after him. She had a thermometer in her hands and wouldn't take no for an answer. He closed his eyes for just a moment, and when he woke up he was in Joey's car.

"…Joey? Where are we going?"

"The hospital, Yug. You've got a pretty high fever."

"What about…the kids?" he managed to ask.

"Mai's gonna stay with them 'til we get back."

"I don't want her to have to…" he said, his voice growing quieter.

"She loves 'em," Joey insisted. "You need to go to the doc."

"I'm fine," Yugi muttered. He closed his eyes again and slept hard. He was barely awakened by the sound of Joey's breaks squealing and then he felt weightless—almost perfect. He smiled before drifting off again.

When Yugi opened his eyes, he was magically at the hospital. He wasn't sure how much time had passed or why he suddenly felt…achy. He wanted badly to understand what he was seeing, but everything was blurred around him. He could her voices talking to him, but they sounded far away.

"Yug, hey, Yug," Joey said, and Yugi recognized the voice. "Are you in there?"

Yugi tried to nod, but his neck felt stiff.

"Hold on, buddy. The doctor's still checking you out. It was a pretty crazy crash."

Yugi squinted, trying to understand. Crash? What crash? He had to close his eyes again, and the voices became whispers until they faded away.

"…called Kaiba a few hours ago. I figured he'd want to know." Joey was talking and Yugi didn't like the sound of his voice. "That idiot blames me for what happened!"

"Well…it was your fault. You ran through the light," Mai responded.

"Yugi passed out!" Joey defended. "And anyway, what's it matter? We're both still alive."

"Poor guy," Mai said, and Yugi felt a hand land next to him. "I'm just so glad you're okay…"

"Takes more than a Jetta to kill Joey Wheeler!" Joey boasted.

Yugi tried to open his eyes and sit up at the same time. The whole room swam before him and he dropped back down into the bed.

"Hey, hey," Mai's gentle voice said. "It's alright. You're at the hospital."

"W-why?" he demanded hoarsely.

"There was an accident…But you're alright. Just pretty bruised up."

"Joey?" he asked.

"He's fine. Not a scratch."

"Hey, I got one right here!" Joey put in, but Mai shoved him away playfully.

"Where are the kids?" Yugi asked in a panic. He couldn't remember if they had been with him.

"They're both fine. Téa is with them."

Yugi sighed. "When can I go home?"

Mai smiled. "The doctor wants to keep you for a couple nights, Yugi. You're not just bruised up, but you're battling double pneumonia as well."

"Pnumonia?" he said thoughtfully. "I'll be okay."

"We know you will," Joey smiled. "But leave everything to us. Between Téa and Mai, the kids will be just fine."

Yugi blinked a long blink and almost fell asleep again before reopening his eyes. "S-Seto?" he asked.

"Kaiba's on his way back," Mai said. "He'll be here soon, I bet."

"Why?"

"Joey called him when you went under for surgery."

"Surgery?" Yugi said, sounding worried.

"The doctor said not to worry—it was just some light internal bleeding. He patched you up."

As if on cue, the doctor walked into the room and Mai and Joey left. Yugi kept his yes on the doctor as he walked around the room, looking at X-rays, before bringing his eyes to meet Yugi's.

"You're one sick young man," the doctor said. "You're lucky to be alive at all."

"So I'm okay to go home with some medicine?" Yugi asked quickly.

"I am recommending that you stay," the doctor said. And then he left the room, as if his recommendation was final.

Yugi groaned loudly. He could not afford to be sick. But he also could not afford to be dead.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, guys. I have decided to continue the story! The chapters will not be coming out as fast as they were before, but I should get one up every week or every other week…I foresee about ten or twelve chapters total…maybe more.