Finally, a new chapter! This one was another gritty but necessary step in the story. I hope it reads well and you guys enjoy it after such a long wait.

I would also like give my thanks as always to these lovely people for their favourites and follows over the last few months:

ShalPal

darkangelsasha

BabyKiwii

Eldine

becks121

Caitlinn89

And not only these who have been following and favouriting, but thank you to any of you have been reading 'A Side I Never Knew' and have been patiently awaiting this chapter. You really do not know how much it means to an an author to have your support.

Chapter 11 - let's roll!

The week continued like almost normal. Skye and Ricardo continued to be friendly with each other, much to the former's relief. It had been a worry initially that Ricardo may hold it against Skye that she cut things short so soon, but it appeared that he had quickly gotten over it. However their cordiality did not go amiss by Daisy and Lee to say the least. Skye could tell they were gagging to find out what had happened, and truthfully, even though they were as close to friends as could be, they were the last people she wanted to explain herself to.

Skye was sat gently sipping a cup of tea in the common room with the children before they were due to go to breakfast, when she saw a message from a number she didn't recognise come up. She quickly unlocked her phone and read the message:

Hey Skye, it's Mokie. Pizza and duel monsters night is tomorrow night if you still want to come? You can meet Yugi and the gang :)

Always a sweetie, Skye thought with a small smile, but then her heart started thudding as well. More new people to meet was always a dread and her nerves were already frazzled.

Ada spotted this and asked, "What's made you smile, Miss?"

"A message from a friend." Skye replied, putting down her phone and deciding she would respond later. The children were her priority.

"How did your date go this week?" Bianca, precocious and never too far away from gossip Skye noticed, soon joined the conversation.

"It went well, thank you, little miss. I got to eat tapas and enjoy good company." Skye took another sip of her tea.

"Did you kiss him?" Bianca continued cheekily, grinning when Ada gasped at her.

"You can't ask her that, Bee, she's our teacher!"

"Why not? Teachers have dates and kiss and stuff just like every other adult."

"You're just too nosy!"

"I am not!"

"You so are!"

Chuckling at their reactions, Skye finished her tea and said, "You girls…as I say, it was a lovely date. Now, let's round up the troops and get ready for breakfast."

Nodding eagerly, Ada and Bianca quickly went to work, which gave Skye a moment to breathe. Goodness knows how she would explain the birds and the bees and the where's and what fors in relationships to these kids when the time came. She barely understood the subject herself at times, at least the feelings that were involved. Everything in her personal life was always so complicated.

Then she saw Touma sat quietly to himself, staring out of a window. Normally Skye would have left him to his own devices, but she knew the boy well enough when he wasn't ok, even though he was a quiet child anyway. It had been happening for a couple of weeks since he had arrived, intermittent moments where he would sit and stare intensely into nowhere, as if he was lost. Skye had been hesitant to approach him up until now, unsure if he would want another woman who wasn't his mother offering him a bit of mothering. She decided today maybe was the time to try. Perhaps a bit of mothering was what he needed.

Skye walked over slowly and carefully seated herself opposite Touma on the window ledge. When he acknowledged she was there by looking at her, she gently said, "You look sad, sweet. Is everything ok?"

Touma shuffled in his seat looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to." Skye continued, seeing that the boy wasn't entirely shutting her out. "But if I can help you in anyway and you tell me how, I'd very much like to."

"I don't think you can help." Touma replied with little expression, save for his big grey eyes that seemed to whirling inside him like a storm.

"Maybe try me?" Skye asked gently still.

"Can you bring my Mumma back?"

Nothing and no one could have prepared Skye for such a question and she felt a pang of panic and crushing sadness. The question itself not only shocked her, but the way Touma said it. Again, no tone, no obvious emotion to be seen. He was so closed off from it all that she had to wonder what he had gone through to become this way. Truthfully, she did not know much about Touma's background, in fact she rather assumed, like the rest of them, that he would maybe approach about it in his own time.

Then it dawned on her that it was no wonder he hadn't approached her, because when she thought of his character, it became all too clear. A reserved child of Touma's sort would not likely reveal much of anything anyway, and even less so if there had been trauma in his past.

Skye started, "Well, I - I -"

"You can't, can you?" Touma's eyes now began to harden, looking more like stone than a storm now.

Biting her lip and clearing her throat, Skye tried again. "It's not that easy, sweet."

"Why isn't it? She's my Mumma and I should be living with her, not here. Where is she?" Although Touma's tone was aggressive, Skye understood the boy was more distressed than angry. And she couldn't blame him. If his mother was out there, where was she?

Trapped and completely out of her depth, Skye thought quickly. If she couldn't give Touma answers now, she needed to find them soon, if at the very least so she could understand what he had gone through. Yet judging by the hard glare that Touma was giving her, it was likely that making him wait would not go down well.

"I don't have the answers right now, sweet. But I can try and get them for you…if you want?" Skye offered, attempting to placate the boy with a small smile of reassurance. Not quite hitting the mark she wanted, Touma ceased his glaring but that was all. He stared at her a moment longer, before almost leaping away from the window ledge and running away, small protests ringing in the air as he barged through the rest of his roommates.

Rubbing her forehead wearily, Skye pulled herself together and rounded up the rest of her children to go to breakfast, despite the fact that she wanted to sit in a quiet corner somewhere and ride out the wave of anxiety and distress that went through her like a deluge.

Ricardo, Daisy and Lee noticed Skye's change in demeanour as she approached the table, although it was very subtle. The three were perceptive enough to see that something must have shaken her greatly.

Lee began shaking her head as Skye placed her tray down on the table. "Don't tell me them kids are givin' ya trouble now, girl! I thought you had them down as angels cos they always so good with you."

The question was blunt and direct, yet surprisingly effective, as for the first time since they had met the woman, Lee, Ricardo and Daisy saw the usually composed Skye crack. She placed her head in her hands and sighed so heavily it was as if a great weight lay on her shoulders and forced the breath out of her.

"Are we allowed to access the files on the children here?" Skye asked through clasped hands, determined to keep it together. She had to. For Touma.

"Depends what sort of information you need, I guess. What's eating you, love?" Daisy responded first, her frown mimicking the rest of the group's concern.

"I need to know the history of one of the children."

"Oh?" Ricardo raised an eyebrow. "What sort of history?"

"All of it. Where they came from, where they have lived, their parents -" Skye stopped to gather her breath, feeling her heart rate and breathing accelerating. If she continued like this, she would need to leave to go and deal with a panic attack, a fact that she didn't want out in the open.

Sensing her distress, Daisy tentatively put a hand on Skye's shoulder, which caused the younger woman to flinch a little, not familiar with being touched for comfort.

"Does the child you're asking for know what happened to their parents?" She asked.

"I don't know." Skye admitted. "He doesn't talk much, but of the little he has said, I would hesitate to guess he has little to no clue about what happened to his parents."

Ricardo and Lee exchanged a look, while Daisy gently continued the conversation.

"Perhaps the child's past is best untouched for now. Perhaps it's best to focus on their future and getting them into a new home"

Skye shook her head a little. Her temples thudded to the beat of her heart, all the while her veins and arteries felt like they were being squeezed until she felt light headed.

"I have to know what I'm dealing with. I'll catch you all later" She stated hoarsely, abruptly rising from her seat and leaving her breakfast. Daisy, Lee and Ricardo stared after her worriedly, unsure why she was reacting this way.

As Skye passed through the corridors, fragmented memories came to the surface, ones that she had long forced away until Touma's haunted eyes brought everything back like a freight train heading for a crash. It hadn't occurred to her that the children in her care could be subject to either abusive or neglectful homes until Touma reminded her of her own childhood, where she spent many hours in her bedroom wondering what she had done wrong. But what was even more distressing to her was her ignorance. How could she have been so blind?

Ruffling her head and making she her eyes weren't welled with tears, a loud rap of the door was all Skye gave by way of warning before opening Aleksandr's door to his headmaster's office. He looked up raised eyebrow when he saw an unusually dishevelled Skye.

"Miss McLaughlin. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

His tone was ambiguous and Skye was momentarily unsure whether she should proceed, for fear of being impertinent. But her heart was more set than her mind and with an odd moment of giving zero fucks if she got reprimanded, she answered, "I need access to the files the children in my dormitory."

Mokuba all but bounced into the Wheeler residence, while Skye slowly wondered in behind him, nervously scratching at her wrists. He had told her all about his friends - except for the bits where the Millennium items came in to the story, it was too long and complicated to explain in one sitting - and truthfully, Skye's anxiety was worse than it already been that week. The thought of meeting new people, especially Joey, who Mokuba had made sound like a bonehead, filled her with dread. What would she talk to them about? What if they thought her too snobby and above them? Or that she was some kind of freak?

Nerves began to mount up to a pounding headaches. Mokuba looked back at her with a question in his eyes. Are you ok?

Skye forced a smile on her face. She did not want Mokuba worrying about her on what was supposed to be an evening of fun.

"Who's the chick, Mokuba? She's pretty." A tall dark haired man with dice earrings spotted Skye as she and Mokuba walked in. She guessed that this must be Duke Devlin, for Mokuba had briefly mentioned about the Dungeon Dice Monsters game that 'barely rivalled' with Duel Monsters and the cocky, womanising CEO of it all. The suggestive smile in Skye's direction was enough to give it away.

Skye did not respond , both confused and nervous, while Mokuba gave Duke a warning look and said, "Keep it in your pants for the lady, Devlin, she's off limits."

"Oh? So you two…" Duke pointed between the two of them, an amused eyebrow raised.

"No, she's just off limits to you because she has a brain, unlike your usual bimbos." Mokuba cut in, giving Skye a sly wink as he walked past.

Sometimes banter was lost on Skye, but on this occasion it was clear that Mokuba and Duke were only joking around and so she could relax a little knowing that this wasn't going to end in an argument.

"I'm Skye, and you are?" She asked Duke sweetly.

"You're telling me you've never heard of the great Duke Devlin?" Duke looked genuinely shocked, for he truly believed everyone, or at least every woman (even the ones who didn't have a crush on him), had heard his name at least once.

"I'm afraid not." Skye's smile remained sweet. A female laugh came from around the corner of the corridor in the Muto household.

"Talk about getting burned, Duke, not everyone thinks you're important." A tall brunette in shorts and a t-shirt appeared, her smile cheeky and full of mirth. She turned to Skye. "Hi there, I'm Tea."

"Hello Tea, lovely to meet you. I'm Skye."

"Likewise! Ignore Mr Ego here, he's the mildest of the lot. We have at least two more for you to meet."

"A good thing I work for the most egotistical of them all, I'll be well practised." Skye quipped, liking this Tea a lot. It was easier to get along with women who had a good sense of humour, and this one's manner (from what Skye could tell) was brimming with it.

Tea laughed even harder this time, while Duke, although stunned at first by Skye's wittiness, then smirked and asked, "And who do you work for again?"

"Seto Kaiba."

""You work for Kaiba? Oh, you poor girl." Tea stopped laughing, now surprised. "What do you work for him as?"

"I teach at his orphanage - well, more than that really. I look after the children also, day and night."

Duke raised an eyebrow. "Kaiba set up an orphanage? How noble."

Not quite sure she liked his tome and then feeling - bizarrely - a need to defend Seto from unfairness, Skye forced her expression to go blank and she said, "It gives the kids a home, and I'm very privileged to be looking after them."

Sensing that Duke had unknowingly stepped into sensitive territory, Tea came to the rescue and quickly suggested, "How about we take you to meet the rest of the gang, Skye? Serenity is desperate to meet you, she's been looking forward to have another girl in the mix."

"Why not?" Skye smiled again, but this time it was guarded. She had not meant to come across as even hostile, but frankly, in her opinion, Duke's comment was distasteful. She would let it go, however. Her response had successfully shut him up and the night was still young. Perhaps she even got the wrong impression of him, or so she hoped.

Following Tea through the house, Skye's thoughts returned to her anxiousness and without realising, she began scratching at her wrists again. Duke, ever observant when people least expected, frowned as he watched her. Her wrists were beginning to look red and raw. What was wrong with her?

Just he was about to quietly say something to Skye, Tea announced to the living room, "Hey everyone! Say hi to Skye, she's Mokuba's friend her brought along."

""You never said ya arrived with a friend, Mokuba!" The tall blond man in the room, munching on pizza, jabbed a finger in Mokuba's direction.

Mokuba chuckled and looked a little embarrassed now. He gave Skye an apologetic look. "Yeah, I kinda forgot to introduce you, Skye. I'm sorry."

Skye's smile was a little tight and Mokuba wondered whether she was annoyed with him, or if something else is on her mind. She did look a little faraway in her eyes at the moment.

"Well let's remember our manners and welcome our new friend." The shortest man with violet eyes stood up. She recognised him instantly: this was the infamous Yugi Muto. He stretched out his hand to her. "I'm Yugi, it's a pleasure to meet you, Skye."

It all became too clear why Seto seemed to shun any friendship with Yugi. The man was everything Seto was not: calm, unassuming, happy to go about his life in peace. While Seto seemed to revel in chaos, Yugi remained at ease. Skye felt instantly calmed in his presence and some of her anxiousness subsided. She had a feeling that maybe they would, indeed, be good friends, even though they had only just met.

"Thank you, Yugi." Skye shook his hand.

Meanwhile, the loud blonde who had spoken up earlier came over with a swagger and offered a slightly greasy hand as well as a cheesy grin. "Pleased to meet ya, Skye. The name's Joey Wheeler, duellin' extraordinaire!"

"Joey!" Tea hissed, looking mortified. "Clean your hands, for Christ's sake! Now she'll think we're savages."

"Oh, right, yeah. Sorry." Joey realised and mumbled as he quickly wiped his hand on his jacket.

He would give her a headache, no doubt, and she had heard the man was a constant irritation to Seto (she could see why), but Skye couldn't help finding Joey's exuberance endearing. She shook his hand with a gentle smile. "A pleasure, Joey."

"And I'm Serenity, Joey's sister." A pretty auburn haired girl with a sweet face introduced herself next.

"Hi Serenity." Skye responded gently still, struggling to take in all the energy in the room. She was not used to being so welcomed, or so wanted by people of her own age. She began to feel light-headed.

"And over here," Joey turned and pointed around the room from left to right where the remaining party sat, "We have Tristan, Mai and Rebecca."

Skye stilled smiled, though she was beginning to tremble. She really needed a glass of water. To her surprise, Serenity took her wrist, halting her scratching, and said enthusiastically, "Come sit and have some pizza, there's no need to be formal! We have pepperoni and ham and pineapple and - well, all sorts, really."

Allowing Serenity to pull her to the centre of the room near all the delicious food, Skye sat down with everyone. At the very least if she ate with everyone, she had the opportunity to steady her nerves.

"Here, Skye, would you like some soda? Or maybe a beer?" Tristan offered, holding one of each to show her.

"A side would be welcome, please. Thank you." Skye replied, relieved to be getting some hydration. She took the soda and sipped gently, slowly regaining her senses and stability. Luckily the group were chittering away to themselves while she was recovering, so no one noticed her anxiousness. All except Duke, who was trying not to look at her wrists too often while he chatted to Tea.

Yugi then sat next to Skye and said cheerfully, "So Mokuba says you work for him and Kaiba."

"Indeed I do." Skye replied, once again feeling at ease around Yugi.

"That's good."

"You think so?"

"Of course." Yugi smiled ruefully. "Kaiba is a friend, I suppose, and he has a decent heart underneath it all. He's helped us out plenty. He's not the worst to be working for."

"And yet he has never mentioned any of you." Skye remarked thoughtfully. Then she reminded herself that it was obvious why Seto would never say anything to her. "Not that we talk about anything of that sort. Or very often talk at all, actually. He prefers his own company, after all."

Not entirely perhaps when it came to her, she thought, her memories casting her back to that night in New York, chatting at the bar all evening. It had seemed so natural back then.

"If anyone can talk to Kaiba even a little about anything, I'd be impressed. He's not one for idle chit chat." Yugi chuckled a little, Skye following suit.

A comfortable silence befell them for a short while, until Joey loudly proclaimed, "Enough pizza now, it's time to throw down!"

"Slow down, Joseph, you don't want to rush towards getting crushed again, do you?" Mai drawled, though her smirk was not malicious. She intimidated Skye a little, not least with how pretty and cool she was, and a badass attitude to boot. This was not a lady to even think about messing around.

"I'll have ya know that it is you who will be crushed, Mrs I've-lost-to-Joey-Wheeler-two-times-in-a-row!" Joey smugly pointed a finger at Mai.

"Only two times. And I was going easy on you."

"Oh yeah? Ready to prove ya self, or you afraid I'll beat ya a third time?"

"Oh, you are so on, Joey Wheeler! I'll have you this time!"

While everyone else quickly chose their partners and settled into their duels, Yugi and Skye remained sat together quietly for a moment.

"I take it Mokuba warned you to bring a deck just in case we got going tonight?" Yugi asked Skye.

Skye patted her pocket and replied, "All in hand"

"Perfect. Then we can duel together."

"My first match with the King of Games, a child's wildest dream." Skye smiled, thinking of how excited her children had been when Seto visited days ago. She could only imagine their faces if someone like Yugi Muto graced their classroom. How she would love to see them full joy.

"I must admit I forget that I'm kinda a celebrity now and many are craving to duel me." Yugi looked thoughtful as he set up a duelling table. "It's a nice change to meet someone who doesn't idolise me like that."

"Do you not look for a new challenge now and then?" It shouldn't have surprised Skye by now at how chilled Yugi was. Yet surely even the King of Games had some sort of drive to be the best he can be?

But as she kept forgetting sometimes, Yugi was very different competitor to Seto, who took full advantage of his status and to some extent exploited it. Both lifestyles did not bother Skye per se, it was simply an interesting comparison. She made a mental note never to have this sort of conversation with Seto, she could imagine his reaction would be like a lead balloon.

Yugi thought about Skye's question a little, thinking of all the adventures with Atem, Kaiba and the gang in the years gone by. Did he miss all those challenges? Some of them, absolutely, perhaps especially the ones against Kaiba. He would never deny that Kaiba was the greatest duellist he had ever faced, aside from Atem. But otherwise, where he was now, surrounded by his friends and family in peace and knowing that nothing extraordinary was going to happen that would shake his life up for a long while yet, made him feel most at home, where he belonged.

"I prefer a quiet duel, even at the best of times. Keeps things fun, without any drama." He finally answered.

Feeling like she completely understood Yugi and his reasons, Skye delayed the evening no further and placed her deck on the duelling table in front of her and Yugi.

"After you."

Several beers and pizza slices later, the party had been very merry and now it was beginning to settle down. Skye had enjoyed the evening, albeit she still felt a bit awkward in everyone's company. She just could not take her mind off Touma, what happened earlier at home, the rest of the children, Ricardo, Seto…it all piled into one spiral and her nerves had frayed bit by bit as the evening went on, the more time she spent away from her little ones back at the orphanage.

Then guilt set in when she thought about Daisy, Lee and Ricardo stepping up once again, even though she had all but snapped at them earlier. She made a mental note to apologise to them as soon as was appropriate.

Her trail of thought was then broken by the sound of the group howling with laughter, except for Joey and herself. By the look of it, Skye missed Joey making a duelling blunder and was paying for the mistake dearly with his friend's mirth compounding his humiliation.

"Sheesh, Joey! If duellists ever became ranked by the number of duels they win, you'd be making Yugi the top of the leader board just by yourself!" Tristan struggled to say between gasps, wiping tears from his eyes.

Joey pouted and folded his arms. "Yeah, yeah, I'd like to see you all try and take on the King of Games so willingly. I'll get ya next time, Yugi!"

"I'm sure you will." Yugi replied, his eyes twinkling.

Mokuba then attempted to stand up, only to fall on his backside because he was too drunk to coordinate himself. This fall resulted in a fresh new din of laughter, which this time Skye smiled at and joined in a little. Poor silly little Mokie. She went over to Mokuba and helped him up.

"Come on, Mokie. I think you need a drink."

"Like a beer?"

"As if you need anymore of that." Skye chuckled. "A soda or water it is for you, from now on."

"Awwwww." Mokuba pretended to whine, allowing Skye to guide him to kitchen with her arm gently looped around his waist to keep him from stumbling.

After a quick moment of thinking what to do, Skye spotted some cookies in a jar and a spare glass near a tap. She carefully put Mokuba on a chair, then took a couple of cookies from the jar and handed them to him. Then she filled the spare glass with water and joined Mokuba next to him on another seat.

"Thaaaaanks." Mokuba slurred out, which made Skye giggle a little. He truly had turned out to be a charming, adorable young man. She had watched him all evening, the clumsy way he was with the ladies around him, but still they loved his attention. It was a gentleness that thankfully neither his step-father and his brother had not managed to corrupt. If he ever found a woman to win him over, she hoped that woman would see what a gem he was.

As her thoughts continued, she could just make out Mokuba saying something to her. She turned to look at him and said, "What was that, Mokie?"

"Are you ok?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah." Skye smiled a little, though it was notably strained. "It's been a long couple of weeks. So much has changed."

"You can say that again." Mokuba chuckled as he almost slipped off his chair, still slurring and nowhere near sobering up yet. "Don't you wish we could have our childhoods back?"

"Not particularly." The words flew out of Skye's mouth before she could stop them. The week and this particularly night had worn her out completely. It was so much harder now to contain what she was feeling, let alone control it. She rubbed her temples where the blood was pulsing.

Mokuba frowned. "Yeah, I guess I can understand why you'd want to forget."

Skye sighed, then reached over to put her hand over the top of his. "I'm sorry. That was a tactless thing to say."

"It's also the truth."

An uncomfortable, palpable silence came upon them. The last thing Skye wanted was to upset Mokuba, especially when he had been so kind to her.

"You wanna know something?" He suddenly spoke.

Skye looked at Mokuba, looking at least fed up and beaten.

"I wish Seto had let us stay at the orphanage we were dumped in. I wish he had never laid eyes on Gozaburo."

"Understandable. He was cruel to you and your brother. It's good that he is gone and cannot torment you any longer." Skye replied hoarsely, beginning to feel sick.

"The trouble is, he taught Seto well about cruelty." Mokuba paused, before letting out an uncharacteristically bitter chuckle. "You know how he died, right?"

Skye shook her head. She remembered that day well and secretly being relieved on both Seto and Mokuba's behalf, although her father would not tell her how or why Gozaburo had passed away. In any case, it was the day that she silently cheered the freedom of the Kaiba brothers. It was also the day neither of the brothers contacted her again until a few weeks ago.

"Seto drove him to suicide by stealing Kaiba Corp. from him. Not at least before using me as a bait." Mokuba's lips twisted into a cruel smile. "I would have preferred to drag him to court and have him put behind bars. But instead he got the easy way out."

Never had Skye been more horrified by the truth. She was not blind to Seto's cruelness, but she would never have guessed that he would have used his own little brother to bring down their step-father. Even though she knew it wasn't her business, she couldn't help thinking what other secrets the Kaiba brothers had.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I didn't know how difficult it has been for you." She whispered, turning away and covering her mouth as the nausea within got stronger.

Mokuba gripped her hand tightly. "It was a long time ago. And I gather it has been no less difficult for you as it has been for us, living that father and grandfather of yours."

The words were meant to be kind, but Skye suddenly felt everything closing in on her and what Mokuba said sounded like it came from a distance. She could feel him trying to reassure her further but she couldn't hear him, even the touch of his hand felt alien and not like he was touching her at all. Yes, her father and her grandfather had been cold and difficult during her childhood, making her feel alone and unwanted. But there was so much more, so much more that she had never dared to breath to anyone.

Then came memories. Most were of hazy nights at university drinking until she found herself in bed with college boys. Most were harmless. But there was a night she remembered coming to and a guy she had been trying to avoid all evening was having his way with her. She of course protested, feebly at best, but her pleas went ignored and the episode continued until the only relief she found was when he zipped up and left. She never told anyone.

Then there was all those years ago…one particularly day that she had forgotten until now. Yes, she remembered. Sitting at the piano quite peacefully, until a hand came upon her shoulder. It didn't have the right intentions, she had known back then. But she did not protest. She was too confused, not even frightened yet, until that hand drifted lower and lower still…

And then she felt guilty for having judged the brothers for their secrets, because God knows, she had plenty. It became clear why Seto was so jaded enough to drive a man to his deathbed, for she was guilty of wishing to do the same to the men who had kept her stifled. She thought of poor little Touma and how upon reading his file that day, she had near broken down in tears to read that he too had been abused, as had his mother until she was beaten so badly that she died, and the man who was supposed to be the father figure in his life, upped and left him.

Then her eyes fell on the shortness of her skirt and she could take no more. Clapping a hand to her mouth, she ran as quickly as she had ever done to the bathroom and vomited into the toilet, choking and sobbing. She clutched her chest as she tried to catch her breath. A cool, soothing hand rubbed her back as she attempted to clean herself up. She turned around and it was Serenity, a concerned look in her eyes. After a couple of moments of wiping her eyes of their tears, she was finally able to address Serenity properly.

"Hey." Serenity greeted quietly, gently helping Skye up. "Everything ok?"

"Yes, yes, sorry." Skye replied hastily, wishing she didn't feel so uncomfortable in Serenity's embrace. The poor girl was only trying to help, bless her. "I've probably had a bit too much to drink and it's been a trying week. I am a terrible lightweight."

"You and me both." Serenity smiled a little, clearly not quite convinced, but had the emotional intelligence to understand Skye completely.

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to sober up Mokuba and I've probably spoiled the evening a bit now with my tiredness. I am not best sociable like this." Skye babbled on a little more, her nerves now spiralling to a point that she must have appeared ridiculous, she thought.

Serenity took Skye's hand and gently said, "You definitely haven't spoiled anything. I really am so glad we have another in the friendship group. I was actually hoping…maybe we could meet up for coffee? I - I know you teach full time at the orphanage and you're probably really busy - "

"I would love to." This was the first time in a while that Skye had impulsively accepted a social invitation. She liked Serenity, really liked her. And right now, the prospect of coffee just to take her mind away from it's current state was welcome.

"Great!" Serenity beamed, "I'll get Mokuba to give you my number and we can arrange a date. You won't mind if I invite Tea, Mai and Rebecca?"

"So long as I can bring my friends from the orphanage."

"It's a date."

The two women left the bathroom and returned to the party. While Serenity looked beyond pleased, Skye still felt fragile. It was time to go home now. And judging by the way Mokuba was still swaying around, she ought to help him return home also.

"You need a ride home?" Duke suddenly appeared, his smile no longer cocky, but surprisingly kind.

"No, thank you. I think I had best help get Mokuba home in the limo."

"Sure. Want some help with that?"

"Please." Skye gave Duke a grateful smile. He had definitely gone up in her estimations from when they first met tonight. In fact everyone had been very kind and welcoming tonight, especially Yugi and Serenity. Perhaps once she was over her anxiety, she could look forward to spending more time with them.

Duke approached Mokuba first, who was play fighting with an equally drunk Joey. "Come on now, Kaiba. It's time to hit the road."

"Awwww man, he can't be going nooooowwww." Joey protested, clutching Mokuba in an affectionate headlock.

"Beauty and the Beast need to return to their castles." Duke replied teasingly as he caught Skye's raised eyebrow, "Time to say your goodbyes, fellas."

Although there was small grumbling that Mokuba and Skye could stay the night, Joey, Duke, Mokuba and the rest began to make their goodbyes.

Yugi approached Skye with a bright smile on his face. "It really has been a pleasure to meet you, Skye. I really hope you'll come back and see us, or that we can come visit you soon."

Bless him, Skye thought. "I'll look forward to it."

Soon she and Mokuba were loaded into the limo, with great effort from Duke and Tristan in trying to get the teen Kaiba in safely. Skye sent Seto a text:

I have Mokuba in the limo to come home to you, he's had a little bit to drink but he is ok. See you soon.

As they travelled towards the Kaiba mansion, Mokuba fell asleep, his soft snores filling the vehicle. Skye looked at him sadly. She hoped that tomorrow he wouldn't wake with their last conversation too strong in his memory. He deserved to rest easy tonight and wake thinking he had a good night. He was good boy after all. She could worry enough for both of them.

They arrived at the mansion. Together with Roland, Skye helped a sleeping Mokuba out of the vehicle before Roland effortlessly lifted the boy and carried him up the steps with her in toe. Seto was waiting for them at the front doors.

"You weren't joking about him having a bit to drink." Seto commented tartly as they approached.

"He wasn't sick at least, so I'd say he's had successful night." Skye responded tightly.

"And you? Little Miss Lightweight?" Seto was now smirking, his playful side coming out to play. Normally she would have responded in kind, but she could only offer her final, tiniest of smiles.

"As always, I need to watch my drink."

Skye watched as Mokuba was carried indoors safely, happy to see the staff were handling him carefully. Meanwhile, Seto quickly picked up on Skye's demeanour and frowned. She looked exhausted, not just physically, but emotionally also.

"Was he a pain tonight?" Seto pointed into the space where Mokuba had been carried into.

"No." Skye replied carefully, "But I would suggest he doesn't go near vodka until he can handle a beer."

"Wise words." Seto paused, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I suppose I should thank you and the Dweeb Patrol for looking after him."

"No thanks needed. He's a kind and generous kid. I would always make sure he's ok."

Seto nodded. He was glad at least one of out he and Mokuba was endearing to people. It would be a lonely world indeed for the pair of them if both were grouchy, cynical bastards.

Roland reappeared and asked Skye, "Are you ready, Miss McLaughlin?"

"Yes, thank you, Roland." Skye then looked at Seto. "I hope Mokuba's head is ok in the morning."

"And yours." Seto resumed his devilish playfulness. Skye still did not respond in kind and simply looked at him. She was so exhausted.

"Goodnight Seto."

She began to walk away and as she reached the limo, she turned to see Seto had followed and opened the door for her.

"Don't forget out chess match." He reminded her quietly, his dark eyes boring into her. She did not flinch as she stared back at him, before dropping her gaze and nodding. As she settled into the limo, Seto shut the door and gave her one wave before walking back up the steps to the mansion.

The drive back to the orphanage felt much longer than it should have done and Skye's head was spinning. Everything from the evening felt so surreal and she didn't quite know where to put herself, or what to do. Even as she got out of the limo when she eventually arrived, she felt almost zombified. Even Roland, who usually gave her a curt 'Hello Miss Mc Laughlin' and 'Goodbye Miss McLaughlin', carefully wished her well and bid her a good nights sleep and drove off wondering whether he should contact Seto. He of course did not, but drove off curious and slightly worried nonetheless.

As she walked down the corridors, Skye felt like she was losing. All the bottled up emotions and experiences she had kept within were beginning to unravel. It frightened the living daylights out of her and the more she kept reliving all the moments that made triggered her anxiety, the more she questioned why she was here at this orphanage. How could she possibly lead and teach and take care of these children if she couldn't sort herself out?

Eventually she reached her dormitory and found Daisy sat quietly reading. With one look at Skye's face, Daisy immediately got to her feet and rushed to Skye, gathering the young woman in her arms. She gently hushed and comforted Skye, who quietly sobbed until the two women decided that sleep was needed before Skye would take the first bravest step towards getting herself back on track: opening up.

A bloody long chapter which hopefully makes up for how long since I last published a chapter - since last August! Eeeek!

I will say though that towards the end of last year, things were definitely a strange experience and I think this chapter reflects that heavily in Skye's experiences. And it's not just last year, but a few periods of my life as well where things have taken a path which one might compare to a dark, nightmarish woods. Each time I have come to do some writing, things have felt either awkward, unfinished, or to a degree too dark to put onto paper. Because this is a dark place for Skye. I don't consider her a particularly wimpy washy character, but she, like Seto and Mokuba, is heavily scarred by some pretty dark experiences. If you've ever listened to 'Heavy' by Linkin Park, this is the tune that sums up this chapter and to power through the last and really quite tricky bits to write (from an emotional/psychological perspective), I have had this tune blasting in my eardrums. It's a powerful song and it has one clear message to me: it's very hard to get out of your head when you feel like you're swimming in it, and eventually, something has to give - either it's your sanity, or the walls you put up to keep everyone and everything out.

Hopefully Skye won't be having much more of these episodes and she can find healthy ways to move on. And on a brighter note, I'm glad to finally get Yugi and the gang into this story. They are a great, positive bunch of people and I cannot wait to develop some friendships here.

Otherwise, I hope you all are keeping well in this madness currently that is the outbreak of Corona virus. I have hope we will make it out of this, with some harsh lessons learned but with hope nonetheless. Hopefully the summer is the promise of sunshine, better times and a chance to start again, a bit more afresh.

Keep safe, folks. I expect to be seeing/hearing from ya on the other side!

xXxCometxXx