Jemmea excitedly dashed out of the elevator and went straight to her husband's office, but he wasn't there. She quickly went back to see if her brother-in-law could be found. When she spotted him, she stepped in the glass office and asked Mokuba, "Where is Seto?"

"He's in a meeting in the board room right now. What do you-" But she was already off.

She burst into the board room, the men turning toward the disturbance. Kaiba's eyes widened and he rapidly stood up when he saw her. "Jem what is it? Is everything-"

"You did it," she said in amazement when she spotted him. She rushed him and grabbed his suit, pulling him down and kissing him over and over again, her hands moving up to hold his face. Then she pulled back, catching her breath a bit and looking into the face she still held. "You did it. You saved him." She was beaming.

Kaiba wanted to clarify this. "You mean, he's cured?" She nodded enthusiastically. "So you don't owe him anything anymore?" She shook her head enthusiastically.

Then she pulled him close and kissed him again, Kaiba barely able to keep up with her. He had kissed her back by reflex before he really had any time to process what was happening. This time when she drew back she said, "Ok, I'm sorry, this will be the only time I do this." She let go of his face and sunk back down as he stood upright. As her hands fell, she ran a finger down his chest with her eyes locked on his and said, "I'll see you tonight." Then she pivoted and left as quickly as she had come in, turning back to smile ecstatically once again at her husband as she closed the door behind her.

Kaiba turned back to the men, who were all in total shock. He gave them a fierce glare. One was literally gaping, looking at the spot where she had disappeared. "That's your wife?" he blurted. One whispered to another, "And she actually likes him?" The other replied, "It seems like she likes him a lot."

Kaiba was annoyed. He hated surprises, but based on their reactions he saw he could now make one thing clear to them. He sat back down in his chair, resting his elbows on the table and lacing his hands together. "Of course that's my wife," he replied in his harsh, cold tone. "And now that you understand how high my standards are," he narrowed his eyes, "let's try this again."

Jem returned to Mokuba in her still ecstatic state. He was sitting on a table, Yugi opposite him on his desk. She captured Mokuba in a tight hug. "Oh Moka, I love you!"

"I... love you too?" Mokuba wasn't sure what was going on. Wasn't he the one who was supposed to be doing this? If anyone?

Then she heard from behind her. "Heeeyy, what's up Yugi?" She recognized that annoying voice, but for a minute she misplaced it.

Jemmea let go of Mokuba and spun around to face Joey. "That's why I hate you," she blurted darkly.

"Eh?" responded Joey, his sister listening quietly next to him.

"You sound like Bugs Bunny." She narrowed her eyes. "I hate Bugs Bunny."

"Ahhh, ok." Joey had grown a little smarter. He turned to Yugi and ignored her (though this was partially because he was unsure of just how to respond to that). "So Yug, what's happening?"

Jem was then distracted for a minute when she saw Serenity. She really only related Serenity to one thing, as people tend to associate things primarily with something important to them. She thought for a moment, then suddenly felt compelled. "Serena!" she called.

"Serenity," Mokuba mumbled next to her.

"Serenity!" Jem tried again. Serenity and the others turned to her out of curiosity. "I'm going to lunch. Would you like to come with me?" she offered.

Joey responded, "I thought you'd neva ask! I'm starvin!"

"Not you," Jemmea sneered.

"I, um, yeah, I guess I would," Serenity replied. She was pretty observant, and liked to see the good in people, so she would take this opportunity and try and elicit it out of Jem, even if she had to do it without her brother.

Jem turned to Mokuba. "You can come, too, if you want."

"Mmm, no, but thanks. Besides, I eat breakfast and dinner with you every day!"

"Ok, then." She started to walk out. "Come on Serenity. God, your name is annoying. I'm just going to call you Ren."

"Um, ok..." 'Ren' replied.

"And I know just the place," Jem concluded as she walked out the door and Serenity turned to follow.

Soon Jem and Serenity had their menus open at the restaurant she and Zero had discovered a while ago. The server came around. "What can I get for you ladies?"

"Um..." replied Serenity timidly, biting her lip. "I'll have the egg noodles," she finally answered, handing the menu back. So far, so good Ren.

As the server finished jotting down her order, he turned to Jem. "And what can I get for you Miss-" then his eyes flashed up and he looked at her, causing him to interrupt himself. "Oh my word, Mrs. Kaiba-"

Jem, a.k.a. Mrs. Kaiba, rolled her eyes and turned away, muttering, "That's right, people know who I am now." She looked back at the starstruck waiter and his wide eyes. "I suppose you're a duelist?" she asked cynically.

He nodded enthusiastically. "And you're the wife of the top duelist in the world, the head of the Duel Monsters empire, the daughter of-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, I know who I am, thanks," Jem hastily cut him off, annoyed.

"I'm really sorry to pester you, but... could I get your autograph?"

"What?" Jem snapped. "Why? I don't do anything. I've never even touched a Duel Monsters card in my life." Then she remembered something and looked off, more talking to herself than the others. "Wait, I take that back. I did hold Seto's Blue Eyes once to compare it to that painting-"

The waiter leaned in, "You actually got to hold one of the legendary Blue Eyes White Dragons?"

"Yeah, look," Jem replied, flustered, "I am the complete opposite of my husband when it comes to being in the spotlight. I hate the attention. So if you don't mind," she held her menu out, "I'll have what she's having, hold the swooning."

"Right, of course," he said, taking the menu and bowing his head.

The two young women turned back to each other. "So, why did you invite me to lunch?" Serenity asked.

Jem wasn't ready to disclose that. "I was just feeling impulsive," she replied. "So tell me, how much time do you spend with your brother? How big a part of your life is he?"

"Joey is a pretty big part of my life," Serenity responded. "I mean, he's my brother." Strike one, Jem thought. Let's see if she can redeem herself.

"Are you like him, though?" Jem asked.

"Mmm, not really. We didn't grow up together." All right, better.

"And how protective is he of you from guys and whatnot?" Jem inquired.

Serenity was very sweet and thoughtful with every remark. "Well, he kind of lets me do my thing. His two friends were really interested in me for a while. They probably still are, but have mostly given up. Anyway, I think Joey only really went as far as to give them the brotherly warning, you know? He never tried to keep me away from them or anything."

"So are you with either of these guys?"

"Um, no. They were nice, but never really my thing. They kind of reminded me of my brother too much—I saw them as friends." Serenity answered. So she doesn't want a guy like Joey. Done. Then she asked sheepishly, "Why are you asking me about all this?"

"Girl talk," Jem replied sarcastically as she unfolded her napkin and placed it in her lap. Serenity didn't really know how to interpret that. "But we can change the topic. Do you like horses?"

"I love horses," Serenity brightened up a little. "I used to ride when I was little. I've always kind of wanted one. How did you know?"

"I didn't," Jem replied flatly. "I only asked because my friend Zero likes them. He has a couple. Though you do kind of look like a horse person, more so than him, anyway."

"Your friend Zero?" Serenity repeated. "Is he the really tall one from that day who walked us out?"

"Yes."

"Is he your brother? You look a lot alike."

Jem grinned. "Yes, he is."

"... Didn't you say he was mean?"

"No," Jem replied, again annoyed. "I said he was bitter and aggressive. But, Zero and I have been working on my explanations, and he says when I give reasons like that, people see it as a bad thing and don't understand me. He said I have to share positive traits-"

Serenity took this opportunity to ask Jem the burning question that everyone wanted to ask. "Well then why do you like Kaiba? What makes him a good person?"

"Seto? Seto's not a good person," Jem retorted as the waiter served their food.

"Are you talking about your husband?" he asked eagerly.

Jem raised her voice a little, annoyed. "I will leave."

"Right, sorry!" and he scurried off.

"Everyone is a good person," Serenity attested, continuing their talk.

"No," Jem shook her head, picking her chopsticks up. "They're really not. And Seto only takes care of what interests him. I don't have a problem with him, but I also hardly care about anything. I mostly just care about not having anyone talk to or bother me, and Seto takes care of me in that way. And he's amazingly handsome and independent, driven- I could go on, but I'm getting tired of this." She looked down and prepared a bite.

But Serenity was still curious. "He's not mean to you?"

"Do you mean 'mean'? Or rude or what? Because he's definitely rude to me." Jem took her bite.

"... Isn't rude mean?" Serenity asked timidly.

Jem shook her head, looking at her food. "No, not at all. And with him it doesn't actually mean anything. Seto certainly isn't a terrible person. I mean, he would step in to save lives if absolutely necessary, but he doesn't care. He doesn't care about feelings, he doesn't care about inhibiting people, he doesn't care about how things turn out for others, except Mokuba. And me, I guess. But Zero, while he tries not to care, he really does. That's why he puts up a barrier—he's afraid of hurting others. He can be pretty rude because of this, but he's certainly not mean. It hurts him when he hurts feelings, whereas Seto could derive pleasure from the same process. You know how much energy I would waste if I worried about people being rude to me all the time? I really don't care what people say to me, so I don't care if it's rude or nice or what, I'd just prefer they didn't say it at all. Though I do prefer rude, when I can even pick up on it. Nice just makes me so uncomfortable. However, I do care about things one person in particular says, and that's Zero." She took another bite.

Jem looked at Serenity and made a decision as she chewed. "Ok, Ren. I'm going to tell you the real reason I invited you out today." She freed and folded her hands, leaning forward on the table. "All of the people who have ever been precious to me in my life I can count on one hand. Zero is one of them. He is truly amazing, and I've made it my priority to see to it that he gets what he deserves, because he really sells himself short. I noticed that he took an interest in you that day. You're totally his type, and it would make me extremely happy to see him have someone in his life that he could be affectionate towards, and most importantly, who would treat him as he needs to be treated. I wanted to feel you out for myself first, because he has liked the utmost wrong girl in the past and it crushed him, and I'm the one who has to deal with the bullshit that goes with that. But, you seem like you have potential, so before I urge him on, would that be something that you are interested in? Think carefully before you answer, because I am not going to let you hurt that fragile boy."

With the seriousness of it, Serenity answered, "Well, I don't really know what he's like..."

"Well, what do you want to know?" Jem asked. "I mean, you can learn about him, but what are your deal-breakers?"

Serenity thought for a moment. She started slow, "Well, I suppose any drug use-"

"No, he's practically my parole officer. Next."

"Um..." Serenity was still a teenager, she had never really thought about this before. "That he would be sweet to me and have my back-"

"Once you get through to him, he's the sweetest and most loyal person you'll ever meet. Ren, I meant other than the obvious ones. He's amazingly talented with a wide range of skills and would be the perfect boyfriend, unless you have any stupid trivial things that would get in the way."

"Well then... yeah, I'm up for seeing what there is," she said a little bashfully.

"Ok, great. Hey waiter!" Jem called.

He was over in a flash. "Yes, Mrs. Kaiba?"

"Get me a pen and scrap paper. And the check."

"Right away!"

Soon Jem had Serenity recording her contact information. Jem took it and held it up. "Ok, now he would be weirded out if he knew I did this, so I'm just going to say I ran into you upstairs and you said you thought he was super cute and wanted me to give this to him. Is that ok?"

"Um, yeah, that's fine. Hey, thanks for lunch. It was really fun getting to know you more-"

"Yeah, that's great. Now I'm going back to Kaiba Corp. You may accompany me if you want." Jem interrupted and stood up abruptly, Serenity timidly mirroring her.

When they returned, they split on the ground floor, Serenity going up to find her brother, and Jem headed down to B3. She soon found Zero.

"Hey," she greeted warmly, getting his attention. He was sitting on one of the examination plastic beds when he heard her and turned to her, waiting for the scientists to do what they needed.

"Hey, Mea."

She was about to go to him and hug him, gently and resolved this time, but he stood and got to her first, thankful... so thankful, for everything. "So?" she asked, pulling back, "everything still looking good?"

"It's looking really good, thanks."

They let go of one another. "I went upstairs to thank my husband, or as much as I could, anyway. I'll be doing a lot more thanking tonight-"

"Mea," Zero stopped her.

"Right. Anyway, that redhead was up there and she wanted me to give 'that really handsome, tall boy who showed me out that time' this." Jem pulled the paper out of her bra and handed it to him. "She said she doesn't usually do this, so be nice, I guess. I don't really care."

He looked at it. "... Why was this in your bra?"

"Because I don't have any pockets on me. It's called 'male privilege.'"

"... Right." He looked back up at her, and recalled her naïve nighttime walks. "You only know about that because you read it in a book, huh?"

"Perhaps. How are you feeling?"

"Better, but I could still use something to settle my stomach," he answered. "Want to go get some noodles?"

Jemmea smiled, not able to tell him that she just had. "Yeah, but let's go to the grocery store this time."

Next Chapter: Bliss (Final Chapter)

But tonight was different.