Thank you everyone for the reviews! I am so happy when I find a new review. Gothic Girl, My father had colon cancer so I can relate. I wish your mother the best of luck in her battle. I am truly blessed to still have my father with me today.
….
Kaiba managed to finish his homework, work some on the car, and cook dinner before Tea made it there that evening. According to Tea, to check the chicken eggs, the barn needed to be dark. The best time to do this then was about 7:00 in the evening. She had a basketball game that evening so the timing on perfect.
Tea knocked on the door at 6:30 and he let her in. He figured she would be hungry after the game, so he had attempted (key word here being attempted) to make a box of macaroni and cheese. Everything had been fine until he went to add the cheese powder. He didn't realize should have turned off the stove top, so the noodles on the bottom of the pot burned.
Tea noticed the two plates and forks sitting beside the stove, she smiled and said, "Awwww, you cooked me dinner."
Kaiba was nervous, but he hid it well. He frowned and replied, "Don't flatter yourself Gardener. I made dinner, grabbing a plate for you was simply an afterthought."
Her smile faded and she looked down. "Thanks anyway," she said solemnly. Kaiba instantly regretted what he had just said, but it was too late. To try to repair the mistake, he fixed her a plate and carried it to her. She smiled, but it was much weaker than the smile she had originally.
They sat together and ate. It was silent, but not as awkward as it was the first time they ate together.
….
Mokuba sat in his cell, watching the hidden cameras the rare hunters set up in his brother's home. He knew his brother well and could see Seto was starting to trust Tea. This was a huge development, it was so rare Seto decided to trust anyone. Part of Mokuba wondered if Tea and Seto's acquaintanceship would ever become something more.
…
Inside the chicken house, it was pitch black. Tea dug in her purse and pulled out a piece of card board with a hole in it and a flash light. She then pulled Kaiba down to the ground for him to take a better look. She sat the egg in the cardboard hole and placed the flashlight underneath it. She smiled and said, "Oh great, we got a baby chick on the first try." She pointed to a part of the egg and said, "You can see how you can a spot with veins coming out. That is going to be a baby chick soon."
Kaiba was fascinated. She then picked up a second egg and it didn't have any sign of life. The only thing you could see was a single yolk. After going through several eggs, she found one really developed egg and held it to the light. She squealed "Oh look he is kicking! It should only be a few more day until this little hatchling comes." Despite the darkness, Kaiba could see her smiling like a Cheshire cat. He couldn't help but smirk at her enthusiasm.
Once they finished gathering the infertile eggs, they stepped out the barn and made their way towards the car. Tea suddenly heard Kaiba stop and turned around to see what's wrong. He was looking up at the sky. He appeared to be awestruck. Tea asked, "Kaiba, are you alright?"
He nodded and replied, "I am fine. I just haven't ever seen so many stars. With all the smog in the air from factories and cars, I never saw this in the city."
Tea walked back to him and said, "Yeah, isn't the country beautiful."
He looked down at her and explained, "My father used to say that every star is an ancestor looking down on us...I wish Mokuba was here to see this. He would have loved tonight."
Tea hugged his arm and replied, "Your father was a smart man. When we do find him, I promise you I will show him everything I showed you tonight."
Kaiba frowned and asked, "And if we don't find him, then what?"
Tea squeezed his hand and answered, "If we don't find him, then according to your father he is already with you and watching over you. He already knows."
Kaiba stated to feel himself lose grip of his emotions. Instead of letting that happen, he walked over to the car and opened the driver's side door for Tea. Tea took the action as a sign of respect, when in truth it was an attempt of escape. He shut the door and watched her drive down the road until the car lights vanished.
….
Marik watched the whole scene from outside Mokuba's cell. He slammed his hand on the wall in anger. She was starting to slowly piece Kaiba back together. He points to a rare hunter and says, "She has to be stopped! I want you to go out and give her a good scare. Let her know we are no one to be trifled with."
Mokuba panicked and tried with all his might to free himself from his chair, but only caused himself to fall over backwards in his chair.
….
Kaiba stepped inside and grabbed his chest. Ever since Mokuba went missing, he has been having anxiety issues. His doctor prescribed him medication to help. But every now and then, the feeling would become overwhelming. He took his night time dosage and went to bed.
….
Tea was almost home when she saw a truck coming down the road in the opposite direction. She wasn't alarmed until she saw the windows roll down and the men inside started throwing bricks. She tried her best to escape but while trying to avoid a brick, her car peeled out and she crashed into a tree.
The front window shattered everywhere. She sucked in a breath and silently prayed they wouldn't try to harm her further. Her prayer was answered and the trucked passed her. As the truck passed the driver yelled out the window, "DUEL DISK 66." She let out a sigh of relief and things started to go black.
….
Yugi was woken up from their sleep when the phone rang. "Hello," Yugi asked sleepily.
"Yugi dear, is Tea spending the night over there?" a woman asked.
Yugi recognized the voice as Tea's mother, Melinda Gardener. "No Miss Gardener…You mean she didn't come home last night," he asked.
She responded, "No she didn't Yugi. She said she was going to help one of her friends settle into his new home. She should have been home several hours ago! We are really worried."
Yugi got up and started to grab his keys, "Don't worry Miss Gardener, I am going to drive over to Kaiba's house now to see if he knows anything." He hung up the phone and ran out the door.
He then called Joey and Tristan to help search the streets. Yugi's first stop was Kaiba's farm. He banged on the front door frantically and came face to face with a severely pissed off Seto Kaiba.
"What?!" Kaiba yelled as he exited the front door, dressed in only his boxers. Yugi flinched and asked, "Kaiba is Tea still here?"
Kaiba raised an eyebrow and asked, "If she was still here, do you really think I seriously think I would be dressed like this? She left 2 hours ago!"
Yugi turned red with embarrassment and replied, "Sorry to disturb you Kaiba. She never made it home and her parents were worried."
Kaiba let out a sigh and said, "Give me a second."
He threw on a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans. He then locked his home and got into the car to help Yugi search. They drove everywhere they could think of and without finding anything, they started to head towards the Gardener home.
That's when they saw it. The front of Tea's car was smashed against a large tree. Kaiba didn't even wait for the car to come to a complete stop before he jumped out. He ran up to the car and tried to open the door. The door was jammed, so he used all his strength to pull the door off of the hinges. He placed two fingers up against her carotid artery and was relieved to find she still had a pretty steady heartbeat. Yugi had called for an ambulance while Kaiba looked her over for any external damage. It was too dangerous to move her in this condition. She had a deep gash in her forehead although he was uncertain if it was from the glass or from hitting her head on the steering wheel. It was obvious the airbag was faulty. Further down, he could see some bruising on her arms and legs. One of her legs looked especially damaged.
He started to breathe heavy and his vision began to become blurry. He leaned up against the truck and tried to calm down. He was having another panic attack. He started to count backwards from ten and when he got down to one, the ambulance had arrived. He let out a sigh of relief and his vision returned to its normal state.