Both Tea and Kaiba tossed and turned in their sleep that night. It was next to impossible to sleep peacefully. Kaiba eventually gave up on sleeping and left the bed. He stepped into the bathroom and washed his face. His head was pounding so he opened the medicine cabinet to find a pain relief pill.

As he looked into the medicine cabinet a thought blew over him, 'what if I could just go to sleep and not wake up.' He saw a bottle of sleeping pills and looked at it thoughtfully. He then turned his head to look at Tea who was curled up in the bed. It was amazing how just one look at her could make even the darkest days feel a just little bit brighter. He placed the pills back in the cabinet, deciding against it, and walked back to the bed.

He looked her sleeping form and thought about Mokuba. Mokuba would have been furious with him if he knew what he had been contemplating. Kaiba would be making the funeral arrangements for Mokuba tomorrow. He wanted to give his little brother a proper burial, and for that he would need to be alive.

Tea's face scrunched up and she began to toss and turn in her sleep. Kaiba saw she was having a nightmare. He pulled her closer to him, although she was still trembling, she seemed to calm with his touch. He wasn't sure if she was having nightmares about what happened a few weeks ago, or the sight of Mokuba's corpse. The sight of his little brother certainly left a lasting impression in his mind.

Earlier that day, after he managed to pull himself together somewhat, he asked the cops if they found his little brothers head. The cops explained to him that the head couldn't be found. Not even the dogs detected the missing head. The murderer likely kept it as souvenir. Kaiba's fist clenched, he would avenge his baby brother. No matter what…

….

When Tea woke the next morning, she was just as nauseated as she was the day prior. As she started to recall the events from the previous day, the memory of Mokuba's body sent her running to the bathroom to hurl. Kaiba had already left to work at the neighbor's house and she was worried she would get sicker on the way home. It was getting colder as it got closer to Christmas and she didn't want her virus to get worse.

Kaiba came back about 2 hours later and Tea asked, "Kaiba, could you take me home?" He turned around to look at her and saw she was extremely pale. He put his hand to her head and said, "You're burning up." He lifted her up and continued, "You aren't going anywhere today. I will call your parents and let them know."

"No, I am going to be fine. Walk me home." She said with authority.

Kaiba smirked at her effort of being intimidating and continued his way toward the bedroom. She squirmed until he put her down and said, "Please, Kaiba take me home." This time it was like she was pleading to go home.

Kaiba let out a sigh and said, "Maybe the neighbor will let me borrow his old truck to bring you home tomorrow. He lets me use it for transporting supplies back and forth. The snow is too thick for me to drive and you are too sick to walk that far, so you will just have to deal with it."

Tea let out a sigh in defeat and asked, "Can I at least stay by you? After the nightmare I had last night, I don't want to be by myself."

Kaiba nodded and replied, "I have to make some for the funeral. But you can rest on the couch while I try to organize things."

Kaiba sat at the kitchen table with the computer and his phone. Tea could see the frustration and agony on his face while he worked on trying to scrape up the money for the burial. Tea offered to help him with some of the money she had saved for dancing school. But he completely refused. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the offer, he just couldn't accept something that she worked so hard for.

When Kaiba was done making the arrangements, he put his head in his hands. After all he had done to keep his little brother safe and to give him a happy and prosperous future, it was all for naught. His brother was gone, his company went under, and any sense of security he once had was diminished. The only thing he could offer his little brother now was a tiny flat grave marker and a cheap casket. He couldn't even afford to buy a decent floral arrangement.

Although, he didn't say anything Tea could sense his distress. It was getting late now and he would need all of his strength to attend the funeral tomorrow.

…

The next day, Kaiba borrowed his neighbor's truck to drop Tea off at home so she could get ready for the funeral. When he returned the truck to the neighbor's home, the neighbor came out dressed in black and offered, "I will drive your girlfriend and you to the funeral if you wish. I am sure you won't be in any condition to drive home afterward." Kaiba didn't bother correct his assumption that Tea was his girlfriend. He simply nodded in agreement and went inside to get dressed.

….

At the burial plot, Kaiba was surprised to see the masses of people who had gathered to mourn his little brother's passing. Sure Mokuba had many friends but the amount of people who came was much bigger than he expected. He was shocked to find some of his old employees and people from companies he used to work with showed up to pay their respects. Each one of Tea's friends was there to show their support. Even Pegasus made an appearance.

Flowers from several different people lined the area where his little brother's casket lay. Kaiba helped Tea out the truck and got a closer look. The casket was closed and many people sat envelopes on top with messages to Mokuba. Several kids his age were in tears, especially Mokuba's childhood friend Rebbeca Hawkins. Shortly after Kaiba's arrival the funeral started.

After the priest said his piece, he asked Kaiba to say a few words about his brother. Kaiba stood up at the podium and said, "My little brother meant the world to me. After our parent's died, I promised him that one day we would be on top of the world and that he would never want for anything. After all the things we went through to get there, he became the only one I trusted. I promised Mokuba that I would always protect him… I just hope that he can forgive me."

Seto walked away from the stand wearing an emotionless mask. Despite his expression, Tea and those who knew him well enough could see he was dying on the inside. Tea instantly walked up to him and threw her arms around his torso. She was getting sicker and sicker by the minute, but she knew he needed her there. Kaiba instead of returning the hug, he unwrapped her limbs from around him and walked past her.

That was when it happened, he took a few steps away when he heard a cry of pain. He turned around to see Tea keeling over. Her face was ghostly pale and she began to gasp for air. Kaiba went back over to her and she whispered, "Call an ambulance." She then collapsed in his arms.

…

Mokuba was in tears as he watched the funeral. He could see his brother trying to hide his distress and could see just how serious his "Death" had an effect on his older brother. "You always were there to protect me Seto. There is nothing to forgive," he whispered as he watched his older brother's speech.

When Tea collapsed even Marik looked surprised. They watched as an ambulance arrived and put a breathing mask on her before they carried her inside. Kaiba climbed into the ambulance with her and hurried away to the hospital. Marik turned to the rare hunter in the rear side of the room and said, "You know what to do. Find out what is going on."

…

Kaiba paced back and forth in the waiting room of the ER. When the doctor finally came out, she walked up to Kaiba and greeted him, "Hi, are you here for Ms. Gardener?" Kaiba nodded and she continued, "Well, we examined Ms. Gardener and determined that there isn't anything wrong with her…"

He interrupted, "She has been vomiting for over a week and then passed out at my brother's funeral. And now you are telling me that there is nothing wrong with her?"

The doctor explained, "Well, yes there is nothing physically wrong with her health wise. She is a perfectly healthy girl, she is just pregnant." Kaiba's eyes grew wide, he was stunned to say the least. What is a 16-year-old girl going to do with a baby? The doctor then asked, "Are you the father?"

Kaiba was silent, he didn't know what to say. He knew what it was like to grow up without his parents. He could never let Tea trying to raise this child by herself. He knew her parent's wouldn't be of any assistance to them. They would probably try to terminate the pregnancy or to force her to put it up for adoption. He couldn't think about putting another child through what he went through at the orphanage. Finally, he answered the doctor, "Yes, I am the child's father. Can I see Tea now?"

The doctor smiled and replied, "Sure, but I want to warn you, she seems a little out of it right now. I think it is just the shock of being with child."

Kaiba walked in and found Tea crying her eyes out. Her life as she knew it was over. She would have a difficult time finishing school, she had a crappy minimum wage job, she would never achieve her dream of be a professional dancer, all these things and more swirled around her head, and she was petrified. Kaiba sat next to her in the bed and used his thumbs to wipe away the tear streaks down her face.

Tea threw her arms around Kaiba and nuzzled into his neck. In a way his presence felt like a safety blanket. She wanted to stay near him while she sorted things out.

When Tea finally calmed down some Kaiba asked, "What are you going to do?"

Tea looked down to her hands and replied, "The only thing I can do, I am going to keep it. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I gave the child up."

Kaiba nodded and continued, "Do your parents know yet?"

She shook her head, "No, and the longer they don't know, the better."

Tea's eyes started to droop so Kaiba decided to cease questioning until she got some rest.

….

Marik watched with an arrogant smirk crossing his face. "She is pregnant huh," he said to his rare hunter, "Well, when the time is right. I am sure grandma and grandpa would love to know that their precious daughter is knocked up." He started to laugh manically and turned to Mokuba. "Your brother is too young to raise child. Soon enough he will figure out how difficult it is to be a father, and toss her to the side like yesterday's trash."

Mokuba spit on him and screamed, "You don't know anything about my big brother! He raised me. He would never do anything to hurt Tea and he certainly wouldn't hurt their child. My brother would run through the fiery pits of hell and back if it meant he would be protecting his family."

…

Christmas was getting closer and Kaiba worked extra hard to save for a car. Tea visited him in the afternoons after work. She started to wear sweatshirts to hide that she was showing slightly. They had to think of something, fast. Neither of them wanted to think about what the next step was going to be. She curled up on the couch and rested her head in Kaiba's lap. Tea then had a random thought and asked, "Kaiba, why can't I call you by your first name?"

Kaiba raised his eyebrow. He was slightly curious where that came from but replied, "I never said you couldn't. People just call me Kaiba out of respect since I used to be a public figure. After a while, I just got used to it."

"So may I call you, Seto?" she asked nervously.

Kaiba smirked slightly and answered, "Sure."

…..

Marik picked up the phone and called the Gardener residence. Tea's father picked up, "Hello."

Marik made his voice sound high pitched and said, "Hi, is Miss Tea Gardener home?" He knew she wasn't but it would lead to his desired ploy.

Her father answered, "No miss she is not, but I can take a message for her if you would like."

Marik smiled, "This is Cindy from Planned Parenthood, I just wanted to say congratulations to her and let her know about our services we offer."

"WWWWWHHHHAAAATTTT?!" He screamed. He quickly hung up the phone and ran upstairs to her room.

…

Tea's phone rang, so she sat up and reached for it, "Hello?"

"Tea, you have to get over here! There is something wrong with your father and he is currently destroying everything." Tea's mother said with panic.

Tea shut her phone and looked to the man sitting to her left. "Seto, I think he knows."

He immediately got up and went over to the neighbor's home to ask to borrow his truck.

When they arrived at the home, there was a huge fire in front the house. Tea looked into the fire and saw her clothing, books, and photographs turning to ash. She ran into the house and up the stairs to her room. She gasped as she saw her father smashing everything that was left with a metal baseball bat.

Her father turned around and his eyes glowed with fury. He charged towards her with the baseball bat. She bent over to protect her stomach and waited for the blow, she heard a grunt but the pain never came. She opened her eyes and realized that Seto wrapped his body over hers and took the blow. He then pushed her towards the door and told her to go to the car. Her father yelled as she ran away, "Don't you ever come back home! You are not welcome here and neither is your bastard child!"

Her father continued his assault on Seto, catching him in the chest and sides a few times. But now with Tea safe, he fought back. He grabbed the bat and pulled it out of Ralph's hands. He kicked Ralph in the chest, which moved Ralph away from the door. He then slammed the door and put a chair under the door knob to lock him in there.

As Seto ran to the car, Tea's mother handed him a small pink pouch and said, "Please give this to my daughter and let her know that I love her."

Seto grabbed it and once he reached the truck he threw the small pouch in her lap and started the ignition. He flew down the road until he knew for certain that Tea's father didn't escape and follow them to his home. Seto let out a breath as he pulled into the neighbor's garage. He helped Tea out the truck and pulled her into his chest. He kissed her passionately and whispered, "You're safe now." He was terrified when he saw her father coming after her. His anger boiled over as he thought 'not only did Ralph try to hurt his own child, but he endangered the life of his unborn grandchild.'

When he finally let Tea go, he led her into the house and into his bedroom. As soon as she reached the bed, she sat on it, pulled her knees into her chest, and began to cry. Her own father didn't want her anymore. She took the small pouch in her hands and threw it on the nightstand. She simply didn't have the energy to bother with it."

Seto sat next to her and rubbed circles on her back. He looked to her nervously and asked, "Tea, I know you're scared right now, but you don't have to be….I want to help you raise this child. I can't offer you a rich or glamorous life. But I can promise you that you would always have a roof over your head and food on the table. I would never throw you out in the cold like your father did. We could work together to raise the child, kind of like a real family….If that is what you want?"

Tea sat there in shock and wondered, 'Is he truly looking to help me, or is he trying to create a family to replace the one he lost.' She knew that right now was definitely not the time to make any brash decisions and answered, "My mind is going everywhere right now. Just give me a night to think about things, please."

Seto looked slightly disappointed but he accepted it. He leaned forward to kiss her on her forehead and crawled into bed.

…

The next morning when Seto woke up, he tried to sit up and howled out in pain. The noise startled Tea and caused her to accidentally whacked him in the chest. Seto was now leaning forward on one arm breathing uneasily. "What's wrong," she asked as she looked him over. It was too painful for him to speak. Tea noticed him clutching his side and walked around the bed.

When she reached him, she gently lifted his shirt and saw his entire back and torso colored black and blue. "Seto," she said breathily, "We need to get you to a hospital." She tossed the shirt to the side and went to grab her phone to call an ambulance.

Seto shook his head and in a raspy voice said, "Grab my wallet." She handed it to him and he pulled out a card. He handed the card to Tea, "Call him."

It was the number of a MD so she didn't object. She called the number and explained the situation to him. Immediately the doctor agreed and told her that he would be over within the hour. Tea sat on the bed next to Seto,silently stroking his hair. He closed his eyes hoping the pain would slowly start to subside. Tea felt immensely guilty for the damage her father had caused. She silently prayed that whatever was wrong with Seto, could be easily fixed. She hated seeing him suffering like this. It even seemed like he was struggling to breathe properly.

Within a few minutes she heard a knock and went to answer the door. She kindly greeted the doctor and brought him into the bedroom.

The doctor took one look at Kaiba and knew there was going to be some extensive damage. The doctor looked up at Kaiba and asked, "What the hell happened to you?"

When Kaiba didn't answer, the doctor simply continued his evaluation. He pulled out his stethoscope and checked his breathing. He watched his ribs as he breathed.

Once he was finished that, he turned to Tea and said, "I am going to need to press on Mr. Kaiba's ribs. I anticipate this is going to be very painful, so I highly suggest you leave the room if you don't think you can handle it." Tea turned to Seto as if to ask him if he wanted her to leave or stay. He signaled to her it was alright to leave and she stepped out the room and closed the door.

Starting from the top going down, the doctor pressed each one of Kaiba's ribs individually. "How have you been doing?" He asked. He had heard about Mokuba's gruesome death and had been worrying about the eldest Kaiba ever since.

"As good as can be expected, Doctor Brown." Kaiba replied.

The doctor continued to move down the rib cage and asked, "Who is the pretty young lady you have living with you? Is she your girlfriend?" The doctor looked up to Kaiba as he shook his head no and replied, "she is just a fam… friend." Kaiba bit his tongue as he realized he almost called her a family friend. Mokuba is gone, so there is no longer a family. It was just him alone. He cringed as the doctor pressed a certain rib. The doctor pressed it again just to be sure and Kaiba hissed in pain. "Well, here it is," Doctor Brown said, "Do you hurt anywhere else?" The doctor didn't wait for him to answer and continued down the rib cage. With the next rib Kaiba let out a loud grunt. Finally reaching the last rib, the doctor explained, "Besides the massive bruises that you have mysteriously acquired, you seem to have broken 2 ribs. I am going to put you on bed rest for a while and write down a few breathing exercises."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed, he didn't have time for bed rest, "How long are we talking?"

The doctor replied, "For at least 3 days, I don't want you leaving this bed with exception of going to the bathroom. If you do need to get elsewhere, you have to have someone with you! After that you will be slowly building up your strength by doing little things like stretches or short walks. After 2 months you can return to work."

"2 months," Kaiba screamed, "How the hell do you expect me to afford being out of work for two months."

Tea, who was secretly listening in walked in and replied, "With my help." She turned to the doctor and said, "Doctor, could you give us a moment."

The doctor left the room and she walked over to the bed and sat next to him, "Seto, last night when you asked me to move in with you. I told you that I had to think it over. Well, as I was staring up at the ceiling last night, I thought about what you said about being a like a real family. Although I am still uncertain about wanting to take this step, I know that families do things to help each other. If I didn't help you and we became serious in the future, I would regret it. But I would never regret helping a friend. You are a loyal and caring person. The way you used to care for your little brother always astounded me and makes me confident that you would commit to this whole heartedly. I believe that if we tried, we could work together like a family."

Despite the pain Seto felt in his body, he managed to smile and replied, "I know we can."

She leaned forward and carefully kissed his cheek. "I am going to fix us some breakfast," she whispered before she left the room. In the kitchen she met the doctor and asked, "How much do we owe you?"

The doctor smiled and replied, "The debt was paid by Kaiba 3 years back. My adopted son, Jacob, and Mokuba were friends and always played together. After a car accident, one of Jacob's kidneys were punctured and became useless and the other was not functioning properly. He had to be put on dialysis and we were uncertain of how much time he had left to live. Mokuba told his older brother about Jacob's problem and Kaiba came to me the next day to check if his Kidney would be a good match. Surprisingly enough, he was a match. Kaiba agreed to the surgery and my son is now living a normal and happy childhood. After the surgery, I told Kaiba that if he should ever need some medical attention that he should call me, and I will tend to him free of charge. Up until today, he never took me up on the offer." He then surprised Tea by asking, "How far along are you?"

"About 6 weeks…How did you know?" she asked. Sure she was showing slightly, but it wasn't that obvious.

The doctor laughed and replied, "I have seen enough pregnancies to recognize it," he then continued, "I will be here if you need someone to deliver your child. Are you taking prenatal vitamins?" She shook her head no and he said, "I am assuming this is your first pregnancy so you probably didn't know better, but you need to take prenatal vitamins. If you don't the child will still receive any nutrients it needs. But, it will take it away from you. That will make your bones brittle as you get older." He wrote out a prescription for pain pills for Kaiba. And, he wrote a prenatal vitamin prescription for Tea. Finally he concluded, "If you two ever need medical attention, I will be here to help. He saved my son's life so you can be sure I will always show my gratitude to him and his family." He then picked up his briefcase and left.