To be able to go to school on Monday, she borrowed a uniform from Joey's sister, Serenity. She told Serenity that her Uniform was ruined because she sat in gum at school.

Tea looked at Kaiba before she left. He was still passed out from the pain pills Doctor Brown prescribed. She smiled and walked over to the side of the bed, he looked so peaceful when he slept. She bent over and gently kissed him on the nose. She noticed him fidget, but he didn't wake. She picked up her book bag and keys and walked out the door.

When she made it to school, people were looking at her strangely. She felt uneasy, but continued to her classroom. When she reached the class, her friends were there waiting for her. She looked at them nervously and said, "Hey guys…yall are here early. What's going on?"

Their eyes got wide and Joey asked, "Wait, you don't know?"

"Know what," she asked, "what's going on?"

Serenity walked in the room and noticed Tea standing next to Joey. She immediately placed her books on the desk and threw her arms around Tea. Serenity whispered, "I am sorry for your loss."

"My loss?" she asked.

Serenity paled, she didn't realize that Tea didn't know about her parent's death and now she is going to have to be the one to tell her. Serenity cleared her throat anxiously and replied, "Yes, Tea. It was on the news last night… A fire caused your home to burn down last night. The firemen found two bodies and it is believed that both of your parents died inside. The cause of death was never confirmed…..Your parents are dead Tea."

Tea ran to the trash can as she felt a surge of vomit come up. Gone…they are both gone. Another wave of nausea came over her and she started to shake. Yugi walked by her side and said, "The teacher didn't take role yet. How about we play hooky today and I can give you a ride back to the game shop. You can stay with us for a while until you get back on your feet.

Tea shook her head no and replied, "I already have a place to stay for now, but I would love a ride home."

Yugi nodded and picked up her book bag. On the way to the car, they had to make a few stops for her to upchuck. Finally, she just took a bag out of the garbage can, by the school office, and took it with her. She didn't want to get vomit in Yugi's car.

Yugi sat in the car and rolled the windows down. Hopefully it would prevent his car from smelling like puke. "Where to?" he asked curiously.

"Seto's house," she answered.

Yugi did a double take, "Seto? As in Seto Kaiba?!"

She nodded and he began to drive. Tears rolled down her face as she sat in the car. She like Seto, had no one left…Well that wasn't entirely true, she did have her unborn child. But nothing could sooth the pain she was currently feeling in her heart. Her mother was her best friend and now she is gone. She will never be able to meet her grandbaby.

Yugi was still thinking about Kaiba, 'why would she pick staying with him over staying with me,' he thought. His knuckles tightened on the steering wheel, he knew Kaiba had feelings for her. Could it be that she was developing feelings for him too?

When Yugi arrived to Kaiba's house, he was angry. Part of him thought this would be just another guy Tea dated and dumped. But nooooo, now she was choosing to live with Kaiba over him. He could have made her happy if she would just give him a chance. He heard Tea's sobs get louder and let out a breath. Right now was not the time to think about himself. Tea needed him right now and if she wanted to go to Kaiba's house, let her.

When she arrived at the house. She quickly fumbled around her purse to find the key. Yugi followed her inside.

Kaiba heard the front door open from his bedroom. He looked at the alarm clock on the night stand and thought, 'Who the hell just entered my house? It can't be Tea, she is at school right now.' He reached in his night stand and pulled out a gun. He tip toed through the hall and saw Tea with her head on the table and Yugi putting on a pot of coffee. Kaiba frowned when he saw Yugi. Even though he knew that he was Tea's friend, he still felt like Yugi was competition. He put down the gun and said, "A simple, "I'm home" would have been nice." That was when he realized Tea was crying. He froze because he was unsure what to do. 'Did something happen or is it just her hormones going nuts?' he thought to himself.

Since Tea didn't say anything and Kaiba didn't look like he knew what to say, Yugi explained, "Tea's home caught on fire last night. Her mom and dad were found, but the cause of death still hasn't been determined."

Kaiba walked up behind her and started to massage her shoulders. He wanted to lean over and hug her, but despite the fact that Yugi had already seen him cry. He still didn't feel comfortable showing any emotions or signs of affection when other people were around. Kaiba's ribs burned from standing too long. "Have you seen the house yet?" Kaiba asked

She shook her head no and replied, "I'm scared. I don't know if I could handle seeing it."

Kaiba looked towards Yugi and asked, "Yugi, could you give us a ride to the house. That way she won't be alone. I am sure the police are looking for her."

Yugi was still pissed and wanted to tell Kaiba to just take his keys and go jump in a lake. However, he knew Kaiba was right. Yugi turned off the coffee pot, grabbed his keys, and walked out the door."

….

When they arrived at what used to be Tea's house, they were stunned by the damage. Where the house once stood, there was nothing but a pile of rubble. Tea's legs were wobbly so she needed to lean on the car for support.

Some police saw her pull up and the officer walked over to her and said, "Ms. Gardener, I presume?" She nodded and he continued, "As I am sure you can see, your home has burnt down. Your parents were found inside. From the autopsy, we discovered they died before the fire."

"Before?" Tea asked.

The cop nodded and said, "Yes, According to the firemen and the autopsy report, your mother was found tied to a chair with a bullet in head. The bullet killed her. We believe your father lit the sofa on fire and walked back to the kitchen where your mother was found. A gun was found in his hand. We assume that he shot her and then turned the gun on himself."

"Why did he burn down the house then?" Yugi asked.

The officer answered, "Well, we were hoping you could answer that Ms. Gardener."

He handed her an envelope they found in the mailbox. Tea's hands shook when she saw her name in the front. She pulled the paper out the envelope and read, "Tea, there was a time when you were my world. But, now you and your bastard child mean nothing to me. I did this because someone who means nothing doesn't deserve anything. May god have mercy on your soul!"

"Bastard child? What did he mean by that?" Yugi asked confused.

Before Yugi could say anything Kaiba said, "It means that I am going to be a father."

Yugi quickly realized what Kaiba meant by this and he couldn't take it. He walked back to his car and sped off down the road.

Tea, who was now thoroughly pissed turned to Seto and said, "Smooth Seto, real smooth! Now how are we supposed to get home?"

The cop who was talking to them said, "I could give you a ride home. My shift is about to end anyway."

Seto could feel the tension in the car on the ride home. He knew she was mad and that she was probably going to give him an ear load when he got home.

As predicted, when they entered the house Tea screamed, "Why did you do that? Yugi and you have been fighting each other ever since we first met. Now he thinks that I betrayed his friendship, by sleeping with his rival. Do you realize how bad you must have damaged his ego?"

"Yugi wasn't upset because his cheerleader is pregnant by his dueling rival." Seto said irritably.

Tea was hysterical at that point and asked, "Oh really? Then do tell, what else could have possibly made him angry?"

At this point Kaiba was getting tired and his ribs were killing him. He yelled, "It's because he has feelings for you, alright?! I said what I said because he was trying to encroach on my territory. Yugi has lots of friends and even has a grandfather to care for. You're all I've got. And I will be damned if I am going to let him take the one person I have left to care for in this world."

She screamed, "He was trying to encroach on your territory? So what, now am I your property?!"

Kaiba answered "No Tea, that's not what I meant…"

She interrupted, "Save it Kaiba! Let's make one thing clear, I agreed to work together like a family, not to become family. If you want something further than what we have now, you're going to have to put a ring on it."

Kaiba rolled his eyes and walked past her. Tea followed him and screamed, "I wasn't done talking to you!" He continued walking until he made it to his closet. He pulled out a metal box with a lock on it and opened it. Meanwhile Tea was mumbling on and on about Yugi. He tuned her out slightly as he dug through the metal box.

When he finally found what he was looking for he opened it and showed her the ring, "Will this do?" he asked. Tea stood there in shock, for once she was speechless. "It was my mother's Wedding ring. She was a wonderful person who always tried to make Mokuba and me feel like we could conquer the world. She used to bring us books home about firemen, astronauts, airplanes and it just made us feel like we could be anything we wanted. I loved her and in her memory, I always wanted to give the ring to my wife. Tea…Will you marry me? " He would have knelt if his ribs weren't broken.

Tea looked at the beautiful ring. It was a large heart shaped pink sapphire with small diamonds all the way around it. It was something he got from the woman who meant everything to him as a kid. And now he wanted to give it to her. She looked up at him and asked, "Seto Kaiba, do you love me?"

He was silent and refused to answer her question. The truth was, he thought he did but he couldn't help being uncertain. Gozaburo had taught him to feel nothing, no emotion and no pain. Although, Tea broke some of that wall down, he still had Gozaburo's voice mocking him inside his head. He took the ring out of the velvet box, slid it on her finger, and said, "Just think about it." She was stunned that the ring fit.

….

Mokuba had been watching the whole thing and let out a cheer when his brother proposed. Although she didn't answer his big brother, he knew it as only a matter of time. Marik watched in anger. He is going to make Kaiba crumble if it is the last thing he will ever do.

…..

Kaiba walked out the door and decided to sleep on the couch tonight. He didn't want to answer any more questions nor did he want to be sleeping next to an angry hormonal pregnant woman.

Tea laid back in the bed and thought about what he just asked her. Did he want to marry her because he loved her or was it that he just didn't want to be left alone? She had to know. She then started to chuckle as she thought, 'Leave it to Kaiba, to propose to me in the middle of a fight.' That boy gets more confusing every day. That was when she decided to use her last resort and called up Serenity and Mai. Luckily, Mai was actually with Serenity that night.

Tea greeted "Hey guys, do yall want to skip school tomorrow and go to the mall? I really need somebody to talk to."

"Of course, hun! You know us girls have to stick together. What time? I will come pick you up," Mai asked.

Tea answered, "As soon as the mall opens. So let's say 10:00."

Tea looked around the room and noticed the small pink pouch on her nightstand. She had completely forgot about it from the other night. She opened up the pouch and realized it was her money she saved for dancing school. There was also a piece of paper inside, she unfolded it and read, "Tea, Stay away from home. Your father has completely lost it and I don't want you or my grandchild getting hurt."

Tea gasped and thought, 'How did she know?' as if her mother knew what she was thinking the next part of the note read, "Mothers just know these things. I have known since Thanksgiving. What comforts me at this time is knowing how much that boy cares for you. When I saw the way he looked at you, I knew he was going to be the one. Your father never looked at me that way and I spent the majority of my life miserable. I saved your money and your locket before your father could destroy it. Whether you and choose to use the money to make your lives together better or you use it to get started on your own is entirely up to you. But if I were you, I would do anything I could to hold on to him. He is a good person and he will protect you to no end. I love you my darling, and I love my grandchild too. Take care and good luck.

With Love,

Mom"

Tea dropped the letter and shook out the purse. Sure enough, the locket was inside. She put it around her neck and a tear rolled down her cheek. "Thanks mom," she whispered in the dark.

….

The next morning, Seto woke up early and fixed the bandages on his chest. He was still wearing his pajama pants but decided not to bother with a shirt. He pulled out a box of pancake batter. She would have to decide how she wanted to deal with what was left of her parent's bodies. He had to sit by the stove as he cooked, to take some of the pressure off his ribs. If he couldn't tell her how he felt about her, he could at least try to convince her that he would make a good husband. Suddenly, he heard her vomiting in the bathroom and cringed.

About 15 minutes later she came out of the bathroom with her now washed outfit she had on Sunday. 'She is definitely going to need some clothes,' he thought to himself.

Tea surprisingly greeted him cheerily. Seto let out a breath of relief, at least she isn't still mad at him. She poured herself a cup of coffee and started talking to him, "Seto, do you remember that pouch my mother gave you?" He nodded and she continued, "Well, it had my money I was saving for dancing school and since there is no chance of that happening anymore, I think we should use it to buy that car you have been saving for. After all, I am going to need some way to get to the hospital when the time comes. Why don't you call today and ask him if he would drive it over for you to look at. If it is as good as they say it is then buy it."

Seto was speechless, after that big fight they had last night she still is trying to help him. "But what about your parent's. I assume you want them to have a funeral.

Tea looked disheartened by the question. She shook her head and replied, "I have no family to invite. It doesn't make sense to have a big meet and greet for them when no one except judgmental people from the church is going to attend."

Kaiba accepted her answer and asked, "So what are you going to do with them?"

"Well for my mother I wanted to get her cremated. She is half way there at this point anyway. With your permission, I would like to spread her ashes by the beautiful cherry blossom tree in the yard. That way she can watch over us and our child," she explained.

Kaiba smiled and thought, 'She said OUR child. That has to mean something.' "What about your father?"

Tea's eyes lit up with anger, "Donate his body to science or something. I don't care if they throw him in the garbage at this point. He killed my mother."

Kaiba looked surprised, but he knew better than to question her decision. She then remembered the real thing she wanted to tell him this morning, "Oh Seto, Mai and Serenity are coming by to pick me up. We are going to the mall to have a girl's day out."

"What about school?" Kaiba asked.

She answered, "People know my parents just died. They won't question it. Right now I just really need someone to talk to."

Kaiba replied, "I understand," And he really did. After Mokuba died, he didn't have any other males to talk to. Tea is great to talk to, but sometimes he just couldn't tell her things that he could tell another guy. He then reminded her, "Make sure you get yourself a school uniform and some clothes. As lovely as you look in that outfit, I am pretty sure you will want to change it every now and then."

Tea smiled and when she was finished with her food, she kissed him on the cheek, and went to grab a little money out her pouch. Kaiba blushed and watched her until she entered the bedroom.

After he finished breakfast, he called the man with the car he had his eyes on. It only had 4000 miles on it and was a reasonable price. The man agreed to bring it by and within a half an hour he checked the car close. Apparently, it belonged to his mother and now she was left unable to drive. She wanted to sell it and get enough money to pay for medical expenses.

Tea came out ready for Mai to pick her up and took a look at the car. She handed him the pouch and said, "If it is a good deal ask him to give you a ride to switch the car over into our name."

Mai pulled up and she gave him a kiss before she left. Serenity and Mai's eyes were as big as saucers. "I guess you do have some talking to do," Mai yelled at Tea. That was when she finally noticed Tea's baby bump, "Tea, are you pregnant?" Serenity squeaked in surprise.

Tea didn't answer but said, "I will tell you everything when we get to the mall."

She hopped in the back seat and as soon as she buckled her seatbelt, Mai took off.

She was driving slightly faster than she normally did because she was dying to know what was going on between Tea and Kaiba.

"I need to get new clothes, yall want to go check out the sale going on at JCP?" Tea asked.

Mai wanted to say absolutely not, not until she spilled the beans. But Serenity said, "Sounds like fun."

Mai rolled her eyes and followed them through the store. They searched the racks for cute things in their sizes and while they searched Mai asked, "So, what is going on between you and Kaiba?"

"We are a….well actually I don't know what we are at this point. He is so damn complicated. But we have been seeing each other for about almost a year now," Tea answered.

"Really," Mai pointed to Tea's stomach and asked , "When did this happen?"

Tea laughed and thought, 'Leave it to Mai to get straight to the point.' Tea picked up a shirt on the clearance rack and noticed it was a maternity shirt. She added it to her things to try on and said, "Well, as I told you, we have been seeing each other for quite some time now. After that day when Mokuba called to try to escape from Marik's grasp, I went home with Kaiba and accidentally fell asleep on him. I started to have a terrible nightmare. In the dream Seto was shot because he was trying to protect me from Marik. Kaiba woke me, and when I saw him I became overwhelmed. I kissed him and things got heated. He then carried me to the bedroom and I am sure you can put the rest together."

Mai shook her head and replied, "Oh no, I want all the juicy details!"

Tea blushed and said, "I just need your opinion. Yesterday, I had a huge fight with Seto because Yugi found out about me being pregnant. Yugi looked devastated. Seto decided to make matters worse by telling Yugi that he (Seto) is going to be a father. Yugi drove off without saying a word, leaving us stranded. Once we made it home, I chewed Seto out. One thing led to another and I told him if he wanted something further, he needs to put a ring on it. I figured that would be enough to make him leave me alone that night. Instead, he walked into his room and handed me a velvet box. This was inside."

She pulled out her ring to show them and they squealed, "You said yes?" they asked.

Tea laughed and replied, "Well no, I wanted to know the truth. I wanted to know if he wanted to marry me because he loved me or if he just didn't want to be left alone. So I asked him, 'Seto do you love me?'"

"What did he say?" Serenity asked.

"He didn't answer me," Tea explained, "He looked confused and just slipped the ring on my finger. He told me to think about it and slept on the couch that night."

They had completed their shopping at JCP and headed towards the food court. When they got their food, they sat at a table and Mai then realized, "Wait he proposed to you while yall were fighting." She busted out laughing because that was so like him to do something like that.

Tea smiled knowing what she was thinking and finally asked, "I want both of your opinions, what should I do. I don't even know if he really loves me and he asked me to marry him."

Serenity answered first, "Tea, you don't want to marry a guy like him. I mean look at him he is living on a farm. Obviously from the way it looks, you two are struggling. Besides look at him, I mean sure he is cute, but he can't even find the courage to tell you how he feels. How is he going to be able to protect you when he is nothing but a coward himself?"

Tea frowned and replied, "He is not a coward by any means. He has already protected both the baby and me from getting hurt. That is why when you saw him this morning he had bandages around his chest. He had broken two ribs trying to protect us."

It was Mai's turn to talk and she asked, "Tea, do you love him?"

A tear rolled down Tea's cheek and she whispered, "I do."

Mai smiled and handed her a tissue from her purse. Mai then said, "I disagree with you Serenity. If there is anything I know about Kaiba, it is that he doesn't do anything that he doesn't want to do. I also know that he values his family far above anything else. This is ring is not something he would give you if he wasn't serious. He loves you Tea. I think he is just afraid of rejection."

Tea smiled and said, "Thank you girls for coming out with me, I think I know what I am going to do."