Start Over

Ryou woke Aria early for school. Bakura was still snoring loudly in bed as the little girl groaned that she wanted to continue to sleep.

“Sweetheart, you have to get up for school! Miranda is going to drive you and pick you up from school.”

Aria yawned. “Why?”

“Aten has his heart operation today, sweetie.”

Aria gasped and covered her mouth. “He does?”

“But Aten will be okay, sweetie. He should be home tonight.”

Aria sat up and stretched. “I want to see Aten before I go to school.”

“He’s downstairs, sweetheart. Go to the bathroom, get dressed, and come downstairs for breakfast. Pancakes and syrup.”

Aria squealed happily and hugged Ryou around the neck.

Bakura staggered into the room, yawning. “How come she doesn’t fight with you when you wake her up for school?”

Aria smiled and kissed Ryou on the cheek. “Because he’s the bestest mommy ever!”

Bakura groaned as he left.

“Get dressed, baby.”

Ryou left and ran to Bakura. “Baby, how do you feel this morning?”

Bakura scratched his throat. “A little sore this morning, but other than that, pretty good.”

Ryou smiled and kissed Bakura’s lips. “I love you, yami.”

Bakura kissed Ryou back. “Same here, hikari.”

Ryou went downstairs to check on Aten. He brushed back the little boy’s hair. “How are you feeling, baby?”

“A little stared about my opteration today. Tant you be with me in the opteration room?”

Ryou picked up the light chibi and carried him. “I can’t, baby, but I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you my Millenium Ring to hold while the doctors are working.”

“Tan I…Tan I hold my daddy’s Mill-Mill-Millinum Rod?”

Ryou grinned, despite his son’s mispronunciation. “I don’t think daddy would mind separating with his Rod for a while.”

“I’m hungry, mommy.”

“I know, baby, but you can’t eat or drink anything before your surgery. Malik is going to make you some jello after your surgery. You’ll want something light on your little belly.”

Ryou tickled Aten’s belly and the chibi let out a laugh.

“That tittles!”

Aria scampered down the steps in her red dress, her spiky hair flopping around her shoulders. Malik combed her hair and put red ribbons on her batwing spikes.

She ran to the table and Malik made her a stack of pancakes. Ryou put Aten on the ground as someone knocked on the door.

Ryou opened the door as Marik came down the stairs, stuffing his purple shirt into his jeans.

Miranda stood at the door, covering her mouth.

“Hello, Miranda, how--?”

Miranda ran past Ryou, up the steps, and into the bathroom.

Robbie stood on the doorstep, smiling up at Ryou. “Hi, Aten’s mommy! Sorry about my mommy. Her tummy must be upset. She’s been throwing up all morning.”

Marik started chuckling on the steps and crossed his arms. “I knew it……”

Robbie cocked his head to the side. “Knew what?”

Marik started to laugh as he looked at the bathroom door.

“Come in, Robbie. Let me check on your mother.”

Ryou climbed the stairs and muttered, “Behave,” to Marik.

Ryou knocked on the bathroom door when more retching sounded behind the door. “Miranda? Miranda, are you okay?”

Miranda flushed the toilet and rinsed her mouth out with water. She opened the door and swayed. “Sorry, Ryou. I haven’t stopped throwing up all morning.”

“Are you sure you can take Aria this afternoon?”

Miranda nodded. “Yeah, maybe my breakfast didn’t sit right.”

“What did you have?”

“Two large bags of popcorn with butter.”

Miranda wiped her mouth as she saw Marik’s grin. “What?”

Marik snickered. “Oh, yeah, Miranda! Congradulations.”

Miranda stopped beside him at the step. “Congradulations for what?”

Marik grinned. “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

Robbie gasped. “WOW! MOMMY, ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER BABY?”

Miranda shook her head. “No, Robbie, I’m not pregnant. Mommy just has an upset stomach.”

Miranda walked down the stairs and sat on the chair. She winced and Ryou could see her tug on the bottom of her bra.

Marik chuckled as he passed her. “You’re pregnant, Miranda. I’ve had one pregnant wife and Ryou. You’re in denial.”

Aria ran into the living room. “Robbie, your mommy is pregnant?”

Robbie looked at his mother excitedly. “What are we going to name the baby?”

Aten ran to Miranda’s belly and put his ear to it. “I don’t hear anything. Hello? Baby?” Aten tapped on her belly. “Baby? Are you in there? Is there a baby in this belly? Hello?”

Miranda laughed. “Aten, I’m not pregnant. You have yourself ready for school?”

Aria squealed. “I have to brush my teeth and canines! Be right back!”

Aria ran upstairs and brushed her teeth. She ran down the stairs and grabbed her lunch box from Ryou.

Ryou kissed her forehead. “Be good, sweetheart.” Ryou put her schoolbag on her back.

Marik kissed her cheek. “Be good, Aria. Can you bring home your brother’s homework?”

Aria nodded.

Malik kissed her other cheek. “Goodbye, Aria. Have a good day, baby girl.”

Bakura buried his face in the side of her neck and growled. “Be good today, Chibi Yami. Remember the rules?”

Aria looked up at her father with large brown chibi eyes. “No sending things to the Shadow Realm.”

“And?”

“No sending people to the Shadow Realm.”

“And?”

“No stealing people’s souls.”

Bakura grinned and kissed her cheek. “That’s my girl! I love you, Aria.”
Aria hugged Bakura, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I love you, too, daddy!”

“Be good. Daddy and mommy love you very much.”

Miranda stood up and rubbed her back. She heard Marik snicker again. “I’m not pregnant, Marik!”

Aria went to Aten and hugged him. “Aten, good luck today. I know you are scared, but don’t worry. You’ll have your sister right with you!”

Aten smiled and kissed her cheek. “I love you, sister.”

“I love you, too, Aten.”

Robbie went to Aten and kissed his other cheek. “I’ll be there with you, too, Aten. See you after your surgery.” Robbie hugged him and skipped beside his mother.

Aten watched Aria and Robbie run to the car with Miranda behind them. Ryou stood on the doorstep, putting his arm on Aten’s shoulder.

Miranda turned around. “Call me when you get back from the hospital, Ryou!”

“I will!”

Aten sadly wrapped his arms around Ryou’s leg. “Goodbye, Aria. Goodbye, Robbie.”

Ryou stroked Aten’s hair. “It’s okay, baby. You’ll be fine.”

“Goodbye, sister.”

*****************************

Aria ran into the schoolyard and over to Umi. Umi laughed and ran with her around the corner of the building.

“Hello, Aria! Your brother isn’t with you this morning. Why? Is his heart bad again?”

“Aten needs a pacemaker put in. Mommy told me it will help keep his heart beating. I hope he’s okay.”

Umi smiled. “Sure he will be! The gods of the sea will watch over him! Trust me!”

Aria crossed her arms. “Aten doesn’t like water. He’s afraid of baths.”

Umi grinned proudly. “I asked the gods of the sea to watch over him for you! They watched over me when I had the chicken pox last year! Remember? I was all itchy? I had them all over me! My butt was so itchy for days! Stupid chicken pox!”

Aria cringed. “Oh, yeah, I remember! You were so sick! But, I brought you some chocolate pudding and it was good, wasn’t it?”

Umi rubbed his belly. “Sure was!”

Eric, Jason, and Rhonda turned the corner and smiled at Aria.

Rhonda snickered. “How did your brother like his sandwich yesterday? I hear he got a little sick.”

Jason laughed. “Who would have thought that the freak would be allergic to pickles!”

Eric laughed. “Poor little Aria! Poor lonely Aria!”

Aria growled. “You made my brother sick! Damn you, Eric!”

Eric laughed. “What are you going to do about it, Aria?”

Aria growled and her hair spiked. Her canines sharpened and her eyes grew black. Her fingernails lengthened and the bullies stopped their laughter. Aria’s shoulders became higher. “You know what I am going to do about it, Eric Barnes? Let me show you!” Aria’s deep, demonic voice snarled.

The loud school bell rang and Mrs. Jennings came into the yard.

Eric grinned. “Better luck next time, Aria!”

Aria growled. “I’ll get him someday, Umi! I promise you!”

Aria’s hair and body relaxed. She and Umi ran to her class.

From the bushes outside of the gates, Panik pat his coat pocket gently. Today was the day that he would take the girl….and get his payment.

Today was going to be a good day.

******************************

Bakura sat by Ryou holding his hand tightly. Ryou crossed his legs and bit his thumbnail nervously. Marik paced the waiting room, anxiously waiting for news of the surgery. Malik wrapped his arms around himself, watching his other half pace. Through their mindlink, he could feel Marik’s nerves building. Tension swept throughout his body and, unconsciously or not, Marik was filtering his tension to his hikari.

“Marik, Aten will be okay. Zira said there’d be nothing to worry about,” Malik said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Marik gripped the Millennium Rod tightly as he walked to the desk.

“How is my son, Aten Bakari Ishtar?”

The same woman looked up at him from behind the window in the waiting room. “Oh, it’s you,” she said unceremoniously.

Marik slammed his Millennium Rod down on the desk. His fist crashed through the window and he grabbed the woman by the collar. Marik’s hair went spiky and his eyes grew dark.

He calmly growled. “I asked you a question politely about my eight year old boy in surgery. My son needs this operation to keep breathing. It’s a shame that you sit behind this window, berating a parent whose child’s life depends on this operation! It’s an injustice you remain healthy while my son dies in front of my eyes! Now, get off your lazy ass and go check on my son!”

Marik released the woman and she staggered back. She ran away and Marik saw security guards running towards the window.

Marik snarled and disappeared into the Millennium Rod. Malik heard the Rod clang to the floor.

The guards looked around as Malik picked up the gold Item.

The nurse returned behind the desk.

Malik shivered as he felt his yami’s rage inside the Millennium Rod.

Malik stood up as the woman looked around for her assailant.

“Where did he go? He was right here!”

The guards ran away to search for Marik. Malik approached the broken window. “Miss, how is Aten Ishtar?”

The woman’s eyes widened. “Please…don’t get angry! I’ll check now!”

The woman ran away and returned promptly. “He’s…he’s not done yet.”

Malik sat down beside Ryou.

//Well, hikari? What did the bitch say?//

/Aten’s not out of surgery./

An annoyed growl came from the yami. //Zira told us it would only take two hours tops!//

/Give him some time, yami. We want Aten to be stable before we take him home./

Ryou stood up and started to look at the paintings in the waiting room. He wrapped his arms around himself and walked around worrying about his son.

Was there a complication?

What was taking Zira so long?

Zira had said they had to sedate Aten, but they didn’t anticipate any problems.

When the door to the operating rooms opened, Ryou turned quickly and ran to Zira.

“How is my little boy? Is he okay?”

Zira nodded. “Yes, Ryou, he’s in the recovery room now. The surgery was a success. Aten started bleeding more than he should and we had to attend to it before he experienced excessive blood loss.”

“Is he awake?” Marik asked, emerging from his Item.

“He should be coming out of anesthesia. We had to sedate him.”

A woman came out of the doors and stood by Zira. “Hello, Mr. Bakura.”

Dr. Carrols stood beside Zira with her hands folded in front of her. Dr. Carrols was Aten’s new pediatric cardiologist. She was the Head of the Pediatric Cardiology at Domino Hospital and was more than willing to accept Aten’s case.

“The operation went well, Ryou. His incision is going to be a little sore for a few days.”

Ryou sighed in relief. “Thank god he is okay!”

“Can we go see him?” Marik asked taking Ryou’s hand.

Carrols opened the doors and lead the family to the recovery room. “You know, Ryou, the staff is right. Aten is a flirt.”

Marik smiled proudly. “He learned from the best.”

“I had given him his sedative and the last thing he said before he lost consciousness was ‘You have pretty long hair lite my mommy.’”

Ryou and Marik smiled and laughed. “That’s our kid.”

Malik snickered. “It’s not too hard to tell he’s my yami’s offspring.”

Bakura pat Marik on the back. “Be proud of your son, Marik. He’s learning the art of flirting.”

Carrols smiled back at Marik. “You DO realize that if your son keeps flirting with the nurses, he’ll be able to get anything his little heart desires. You know this, right?”

The blond yami brushed back his hair proudly. “That’s my boy!”

Carrols lead them to the recovery room where Aten’s hand weakly held onto the Millennium Ring. Monitors beeped and wires were attached to his hands and chest. IV’s were placed in his hands as the bandages over the incision area slowly turned crimson.

“We’re going to keep him overnight at least to make sure he doesn’t become infected. We don’t want to risk his body rejecting the pacemaker.”

Ryou nodded. “Okay.” The mother stroked Aten’s hair as his eye opened weakly. Aten’s eyes looked unfocused as he came out of his drug-induced slumber. “Hello, baby boy.”

“Wha--?”

Malik rubbed Aten’s leg. “It’s your family, Aten. Mommy, Daddy, Bakura, and I.”

Marik leaned down to Aten, giving his son a kiss above the oxygen mask that covered his mouth. “How are you, little monkey?”

Aten clenched his fists slowly as a weak little “ow” came from him. Ryou brushed away a few tears. This hadn’t been the first time he saw his son attached to wires and tubes. Every time he saw his son in a hospital bed, hooked up to beeping monitors and plastic tubes, it never became easier.

Bakura stroked Aten’s hair. “We heard you were a good boy, Chibi Ishtar.”

“Money….,” Aten whimpered.

Ryou reached into the overnight bag he packed for Aten. Aten weakly reached out for the soft monkey plushie, the wires hanging down.

“Ow…..arm.”

Carrols tucked the chibi’s blankets around him. “Your arm is going to be sore for a few days, Aten. Don’t move your arm too much, okay?”

“Otay.”

“Aten, you’re going to your room as soon as you are alert enough to be moved, okay?”

Aten snuggled into his plushie. “Otay.”

“You were a good little boy, Aten. You’re very brave.”

Aten yawned. “Otay.”

Bakura snickered. “Are you tired, Chibi Marik?”

“Otay.”

She checked his heart rate. “It’s steady. That’s a good sign. I’ll be back to check on him soon.”

Carrols left and Ryou rubbed his son’s belly through the hospital sheets.

Marik brushed back his son’s hair. “Dr. Carrols tells me you were flirting with her again.”

Aten smiled under the oxygen mask. “She had pretty hair lite mommy. I had to tell her.”

“Do you like her?”

Aten yawned. “She’s otay. She’s a girl, though.”

Ryou snickered. “Is that a bad thing, Aten?”

Aten nodded. “Yeah…it means she has girl tooties. Robbie no lite girl tooties.”

Bakura grinned devilishly. “There’s nothing wrong with girl cooties, Aten,” Bakura pushed back Ryou’s hair and kissed the back of his neck, eliciting a little moan from the mother.

“Bakura, I am not a woman!”

Marik snickered. “Yeah, Itemri, if you want girl cooties, go kiss Otogi.”

Ryou shook his head. “Poor Otogi.”

*************************

The last school bell of the day rang and the children poured out of the school running to their parents. Robbie followed Aria out of the school, limping as fast as he could to keep up.

“Aria! I can’t limp that fast!”

Aria stopped as a flood of kids ran by him. Aria gasped as Eric and Jason ran past him knocking him on the ground.

“See you tomorrow….LIMPY!”

Robbie fell forward on his chin. Aria ran to him and helped him to his feet.

Aria picked up his schoolbag and he straightened his shirt. “Jerks!”

Robbie brushed himself off. “They’ll never learn, Aria.”

“They made Aten sick! I should send their worthless butts to the Shadow Realm and have my Nightmare Dragon eat them all up!”

Robbie leaned on her as he put the schoolbag on his back. “Yeah. We should ship them out to sea and blow it up. POW! Then they won’t hurt Aten anymore.”

Robbie and Aria left when they saw Daniel standing outside the gate waiting for them. Aria looked up at Robbie’s dad.

“Hi, daddy!” Robbie squealed as he hugged his father’s leg. “This is

Aria, Aten’s sister.”

Daniel’s eyes widened at the unruly spiky hair of the little girl. When she smiled, her canines showed clearly. He could sense this child was not all the smiles and sunshine that she appeared. Her canines attested to that.

“Hello, Aria. I’m Robbie’s daddy, Daniel.”

Aria smiled. “Hi! You got candy?”

“Pardon me?”

“Do you have any candy?”

Daniel shook his head. “No, sorry, Aria. I don’t have any candy on me.”

“Where’s mommy?”

“Mommy is at home.”

Robbie handed his schoolbag to his father. Daniel took his limping son’s hand. “Is mommy still throwing up?”

“What?”

“Mommy was throwing up all morning yesterday and today.”

Aria put her hand in Daniel’s other hand. “Yeah, she ran upstairs and threw up in our bathroom.”

Daniel shook his head. “I didn’t know she was throwing up. Of course, I’m a heavy sleeper.”

Aria looked up at him with large brown eyes. “Have you heard from my mommy about my brother?”

“They haven’t called us yet, Aria. We’ll update you when we get some news.”

Daniel drove the kids to his house, followed closely by a white truck.

Daniel arrived home and the white truck parked across the street.

He took the children inside.

Miranda was no where to be found.

“Miranda?”

Aria pulled on Daniel’s jacket. “Can I go outside and play?”

Robbie jumped up and down. “Can I go play, too?”

Daniel nodded. “Sure can, little soldier. Just don’t go too far.”

Robbie hugged his father and ran out of the door with Aria.

Daniel went into his bedroom and found the bed littered with empty bags of popcorn and Doritos. An empty box of tissues sat on the bed.

He knocked on the bathroom door. “Miranda? Sweetness? Are you okay?”

Daniel turned the knob and saw his wife holding something in her hand. She was hardly breathing. “Miranda?”

Miranda’s face went white as she covered her mouth slowly. “Daniel?”

Daniel went to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “What is it, sweetheart?”

“I’m pregnant,” she whispered.

Daniel’s jaw dropped. “You’re….you’re…what?”

Miranda rested her head on Daniel’s chest and sobbed. “What am I going to do?”

Daniel held his wife against him. “I don’t know, Miranda.”

Miranda’s blue eyes looked up at her husband. “What do you want to do?”

Daniel caressed her cheek. “I want what you want, angel. I know we wanted to have another baby.”

Miranda’s eyes filled with tears. “We already lost Christa, Daniel. Robbie has a clubbed foot. I already miscarried once before Christa. I don’t know if I’m ready for this yet.”

Daniel sighed. “Baby, that miscarriage was not your fault. You couldn’t help that your old boyfriend was an asshole. I miss Christa. Even though I only held her once, I still feel like she is part of our family. And Robbie…” Daniel planted a tiny kiss on her lips. “Robbie is my life, Miranda. I still love him even with his bad foot. I would love him no matter what.”

Miranda started to sob. “I blamed myself, Daniel! I wanted so much to have a son for us!”

“Robbie is perfect, Miranda. We should be lucky that his handicap is not more severe. Robbie is alive. We should be grateful for that.”

Miranda sobbed. “I am grateful. I love our son. He’s my world. I’m just…I’m not ready to hear that something may be wrong with this baby.”

Daniel kissed her forehead. “Let’s not focus on what could go wrong, sweetness.” Daniel smiled. “Come on, baby! We’re having a baby!”

Miranda wiped away a tear and smiled at her husband’s attempt to cheer her up.

“I know this baby is going to be as beautiful as Robbie, Miranda. Let’s have a little faith.”

Miranda rested her head against Daniel’s chest. He muttered those same words before Christa had died at the age of four days. He also said those words when the doctors told them that Robbie would never walk. The doctors said Robbie’s leg was so bad, he would be confined to a wheelchair for life.

‘Let’s have a little faith,’ Daniel had said that night to her as Baby Robbie cried from his crib.

The doctors tried to fix the clubbed foot, but by the end of the surgery, the doctors concluded that the foot was beyond repair. It was only the year before that she discovered had the doctors not operated on his foot, he would be without his noticeable limp.

Daniel pulled back from her and took her hands. “Baby, I really want this. I know you’re nervous about having another child.”

“I’m afraid, Daniel. I don’t want to lose a baby like I lost Christa.”

“I don’t want to lose another baby either, darling. But, we can’t give up this chance to be parents again. We did want another child. What do you say, sweetness?”

Miranda looked into his sparkling blue eyes. She had missed those blue pools staring down at her when he was out at sea. Many nights, she would give anything to have him by her side.

Yes, she was scared, but she did want another baby. She enjoyed mothering Robbie. With a new baby, she could start over. There was nothing more exciting than having Daniel touch her stomach and having Robbie move inside her.

Miranda managed a little smile. “I want to keep this baby, Daniel.”

“I know you’re afraid, baby, but this baby is going to be perfect in every way because he is a part of both of us.”

Miranda raised her eyebrow. “Oh, so you think it is a boy, hmm?”

“That’s my girl. You know, Miranda, you do make a beautiful pregnant woman.”

“Even when I’m a big fat cow?”

Daniel hugged her. “You were not a big fat cow.”

Miranda pushed him away playfully. “I was a big fat cow when I was pregnant with Robbie! My stomach deserved to have its own zip code!”

Daniel grinned. “It wasn’t that bad!”

Daniel took Miranda’s hand and kneeled in front of her. “Look, I loved you when you were pregnant. I still love you as much as when I asked you to marry me. You and Robbie are everything to me, Miranda. If another baby is meant to join our family, there’s nothing more than I could wish for.”

“Do you really think we could do this again? What are we going to tell Robbie?”

“The truth. He’s been asking for a brother or sister. Now’s his chance.”

Miranda leaned down and kissed her husband on the lips. “We’re going to have a baby, Daniel.”

“And a beautiful baby it will be.”

**************************************

Robbie stepped outside and stretched, feeling the warm breeze run through his hair. He turned to Aria excitedly.

“What are we going to play?” Robbie asked her with bright blue eyes.

Aria looked around. “I don’t know. What haven’t we played?”

“I have my scooter. Do you wanna ride that?”

Aria nodded excitedly. “Can I?”

Robbie limped to the back yard and grabbed the scooter. “You can ride the scooter.” Robbie grabbed his water gun. “I’ll stay by you and make sure the enemy doesn’t find you.”

“The enemy?”

Robbie smiled. “Yeah, you know. The enemy lurks all over the place.”

“Is this another military thing?”

Robbie nodded happily.
Aria sighed. She couldn’t understand Robbie’s obsession with tanks, army dolls, and naval ships, but he was Aten’s friend. Robbie had become her friend through Aten.

Across the street, Panik watched the girl ride the scooter slowly. The boy carried a water gun as he looked around. He took the sedative and dipped the end of a tiny dart with the sedative. This would sedate the child enough to grab her.

He started the truck and started following the children.

The boy stopped and turned around, pointing his water gun at a garden gnome statue.
”Halt! This is Captain Robbie Allen Morgan! I will protect Aria!”

Panik grinned as he loaded a blowgun. He parked the car ahead of Aria. Aria passed the truck door and Panik blew the sedative-tipped needles.

Aria’s hand flew to her arm and she gasped. “Ow!”

Panik grinned. She would become tired soon. Robbie turned around and saw her rubbing her arm.

“Are you okay, Aria?”

Aria coughed and nodded. “Maybe it was a bee. If I find that bee, I’ll send it to the Shadow Realm!”

Robbie snickered. “Good luck finding a single bee! There must be…hundreds of bees in the whole entire world! You’ll never find ONE bee! I’ll bet there’s like….fifty bees in this whole area!”

Aria yawned and sneezed. “Let’s go to the park. We can play hide and….” Aria yawned loudly. “Seek.”

Robbie cocked his head to the side. “Are you sure you don’t want to go back to the house and rest?”

Aria shook her head as she leaned forward on the scooter. “Tired.”

“If you’re tired, Aria, we could go home. Come on, let’s go home.”

Panik turned to the men in the back of the truck. “Grab the both of them.”

“We’re only supposed to grab the girl! We’re not meant to grab the boy, too!” the goon said.

“Karl, stop bitching! Karl, grab the girl. She won’t fight you. Branson, grab the boy. Make sure he can’t see your faces.”

Karl and Branson opened the back of the truck. Aria sunk to her knees as the sedative took effect.

Robbie pulled at her dress. “Aria, Aria, wake up!”

Branson ran out of the back of the truck and placed his hand over Robbie’s mouth and eyes, muffling his screams. Branson picked the struggling boy by the waist and carried him into the truck. Robbie kicked and flailed his arms as he was carried.

Karl picked up Aria, who fell forward unconscious on the ground.

Karl shut the door to the back of the truck. The truck sped away, leaving Robbie’s scooter laying on its side.

Updates: May 19^th…see you guys then!!!