Seto Kaiba awoke in his room a few hours later.

The first thing he noticed was how light he felt. The second thing he noticed was that he was able to take a deep breath for the first time in months. Then, and only then, did it actually dawn on him. Something happened. The egg was gone!

His eyes snapped open. He wrapped his arms around his stomach, only to find bandages everywhere. Dr. Wu and Lee jumped to the side of the bed, and pulled his arms back.

"Careful, Mr. Kaiba, sir. You'll rupture the sutures."

"What happened to…"

Seto didn't need to finish. He caught a glimpse of the dragon egg next to him. It had been carefully wrapped in a nest of blue blankets. His arms fell slack.

There was an uneasy silence in the room as Seto slowly reached out his hand and stroked the warm surface of his egg. It was alive. He wasn't sure how he knew that. He just did. And it made his entire body tremble with a serene sense of joy.

"Mr. Kaiba?" Dr. Wu put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right, sir?"

He glanced up at the doctor and his assistant. His eyes were moist and he was smiling.

It wasn't the cold, calculating smile that Lee was used to. It wasn't the kind of smile that came from winning tournaments, obliterating rival companies or stabbing the press for all it was worth. It probably wasn't the morphine either. No… This was a real smile. And on Seto Kaiba's face, it was actually a little disturbing.

"Yes." He laughed a little. "Yes, I'm fine."

He tried to sit up.

"Careful, sir. You've just been through a very complicated surgical procedure." Lee helped him sit long enough for Dr. Wu to put another pillow behind his back. He collapsed back into them slowly, and somewhat painfully.

"We did it…" he smiled.

"Yes, sir." Lee smiled back. He adjusted the IV. Everything on the monitors seemed absurdly normal, considering what they'd been through. "You gave us all quite a scare for the last week, but you should make a full recovery. In a few weeks, if there aren't any complications, you'll be cleared to go home. But you're going to have to take it easy for a while."

"Nonsense. I have a company to get back to running." Seto replied sternly, and then broke out into a wide grin. "And a dragon to raise."

"I understand sir, but…"

"Big brother!" the door swung open. You're awake!!"

Mokuba bounced past the doctors, and wrapped Seto in the biggest hug he could manage.

"He just woke up a few minutes ago." Dr. Wu answered for Seto.

"You think you're up for a little company? 'Cause there's a bunch of friends waiting to see you!"

"I think he needs a little more time to rest before…"

"Of course, I am!" Seto laughed. He waved his hand at the door and shouted, "Come on in! The baby doesn't bite… yet!"

On second thought, Lee thought to himself, maybe it is the morphine…