Hey guys! I hope you liked the filler chapter I did, please let me know if you want me to post more of them! Just know that the fillers take place in a different part of the story and I will note when they are and give some background/notes on where the gang is at in each filler! Please don't forget to favorite/review this story I love seeing what you guys think!

Now let's get back to it!

The nurse slowly began to unwrap the bandages around her arms, Iris flinched in pain as the bindings were slightly adhered to her wounds. Though it wasn't as terrible as having to change the gauze that covered the gunshot wound and stab wound on her side. Looking down at her arms, the dark bruises from the force of the attack were still lingering on her skin as a few of them had healed enough that there didn't appear to be any scarring or trace of them.

"I'll let you get dressed while I get the release forms you need to sign," the nurse told her. Nodding her head, Iris watched her leave her hospital room. It had been over a week since she woke up from her coma, and yet it still felt so surreal to her. She survived what could be called a brutal attack, she suffered severe blood loss and head trauma, she knew she would have died that day if Seto didn't arrive when he did.

Iris recalled seeing all her friends after Seto had told them she had awoken. The bittersweet joy in their eyes as they could finally see her eyes open up after being closed for so long. She could only imagine the sorrow they felt when they saw her during her slumber. Despite their happiness, Iris knew that they were pained at the thought of her never waking up again.

Even Seto had come forth and told her how he felt. He couldn't even see her after she was admitted into the hospital. He pushed himself for days to search every single piece of data that he could to find who did this to her; he even delayed the release of his latest Duel Disk because of what happened. "Oh Seto….I'm sorry that you were the one to witness that terrible moment." The gunshot wound to her chest had healed up quite a bit, but Iris could still feel the burning sensation ripping through her skin like it just happened.

Putting her hand over her heart, Iris sighed.

It was time for her to leave.

She knew the risk of walking outside the safety and security of the hospital walls, especially since the individual that attacked her was still on the loose. They wanted her dead, even going to great lengths to hide themselves from what they had done. Despite Seto's best efforts, they even managed to elude him. A feat that was not easily accomplished. Iris knew that he was beating himself for this, even after she had told him numerous times to not blame himself for what had occurred.

Slipping into the clothes that Mai and Tea brought her earlier in the day, she tied the black stings of the gray sweatpants. Pulling the baggy black shirt over, Iris could barely feel the flowing fabric rubbing against her bandages. Holding the pendant of her necklace between her fingers, she anxiously waited for the nurse to return. The sound of the door opening caught her attention as she turned her head. Her eyes widened with joy, "Seto!" Iris cheered his name. The smile on his face warmed her heart, feeling his hand against her cheek she leaned into his touch. "What are you doing here?"

Pulling her close to him, Seto wrapped an arm around her while his other hand carefully cradled the back of her head. "I finished signing your release forms, I'm taking you home." his voice was soft, as he was cautious not to put pressure on any of her wounds.

Giggling, Iris stood on her tiptoes before placing a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, I'm really looking forward to going home. I just wanna lay in bed and take a look at what's been going on at work."

"You're about to be discharged from the hospital and the first thing you're thinking about is work?" he questioned. Seto was well aware of her work ethic, but even still she needed a break to recover. "Don't worry about work, just focus on your recovery."

Shaking her head, "sorry, but unfortunately I need to get some things done and straighten out."

Stretching her arms, Iris flinched as the pain struck her nerves. Gasping in pain, Seto put his hands on her shoulders. "Besides with everything that Mokie has filled me in on, it sounds like I need to resolve some issues that are becoming quite the nuisance." Iris explained, she knew she could handle the pain.

"We can talk about that later, but right now let's just focus on getting you out of here." he gently pushed her towards the door, "you've been in here far too long."

Reaching towards the silver handle, Iris could feel her heart starting to beat fast. Whoever attacked her was still out there, roaming the streets of Domino. Did they know that she survived? That their attempt of murder failed? The minute she stepped outside the safe haven of this room she would be exposed.

They could be anywhere.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Iris glanced up at Seto. Looking into his eyes, she could see it. She didn't need to voice her concerns, as the look of worry in his own eyes was enough for her to know that it was something that bothered him as well. "You can't stay in here forever," he whispered.

Part of him was relieved that she was finally able to leave, but he knew that until they found who attacked her, she would always be looking over her shoulder. Never knowing who to trust, who was friend or foe as she tried to live her daily life. All he wanted for her was to keep her safe, but he refused to keep her locked up like an animal. "I know…. I'm just-" Iris stopped as she could feel Seto place a kiss upon her forehead.

Carefully pulling her towards him, he leaned down wrapping his arms around her. The warmth of his embrace slowly began to make her fears dissipate. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you Iris."

Hugging him back, "Seto." she softly spoke his name. Kissing his cheek, "I love you so much."

"I love you more." Keeping an arm around her, they walked towards the door, "now let's go." Opening the door, Iris stayed close to them as she finally left her room. There were a few staff members around, some glancing towards them as she could see a few of Seto's bodyguards scattered about. Iris was aware that Seto had set up a twenty-four hour watch on the floor, but she didn't expect that he would have so many of them here.

"Excuse me!" a woman's voice called towards them, looking towards her a few of Seto's guards cautiously watched. "She needs to leave in a wheelchair, she can't walk out." the nurse pushed a dark blue wheelchair towards them, "I'm sorry they didn't inform you when you were signing her release forms Mr. Kaiba, but given her injuries and the trauma she endured it's not a good idea for her to move too much."

They looked at each other briefly, before she nodded her head, "alright." Iris complied, she could feel her body was starting to feel a bit weak even after standing for such a short period of time. Sitting down in the wheelchair, Seto kept his hand on her shoulder.

"Before you leave Miss Primrose, the doctor would like to go over a few things with you in private," Seto glared at the nurse, "it's in regards to your recovery." Iris could sense that Seto wasn't pleased to hear that she would be here longer. "I'm sorry, but you were hurt pretty badly."

"How long will it take?" Seto questioned.

"About ten minutes, sir."

"Tch," snapping his fingers, "Fugata." he called one his guards. "Call Rolandm tell him to pull the car around in front, as for the rest of you I want you to stay close to her." Kneeling down, "I'll be waiting for you downstairs." he gently squeezed her shoulder.

Placing her hand on his own, "ok." she smiled. Seto and Fugata began to walk towards the elevator as his guards stood closeby. The nurse began to push Iris down the end of the hall, an older man stood in front of a large white door. The specks of gray clashed with what remained of his light brown hair, close eyes covered by a pair of wide frame glasses. The white coat he wore was buttoned up all the way as a pair of black slacks contrasted with it.

"Hello Miss Primrose, how are you feeling today?" he asked her, given the sound of his voice Iris could determine that he was probably in his late fifties maybe early sixties which wasn't a surprise to her.

"I'm feeling much better," she answered her. Opening the door, the nurse wheeled her into the room. Numerous medical posters and graphs covered the eggshell colored walls, different types of skeletal and biological mannequins were placed in the corners of the room. A large shelf filled with awards and plaques stood close by his large dark wooden desk.

"I'll let you know when she's free to leave," the doctor spoke to the nurse, shutting the door behind her as she left. Sitting at his desk, Iris could see the bags under his now slightly opened gray eyes. "I don't believe we were properly introduced, I'm Dr. Ken Shinama." he said to her, "but then again we've already met before, Miss Botania-"

Gripping the arm rests of the wheelchair, Iris was ready to jump and run. Her eyes widened, and she started to race. "Who are you?!"

Waving his hands down, "now, now I'm not your enemy." he told her, "I also treated you after that terrible car accident you were in years ago." he said to her. Lowering her guard slightly, she gave him a chance to speak "I was sad to see that you were admitted to my care again, I had hoped that if I did get the chance to help you it would be the day when you had your own child." Iris tilted her head. "Just like the day your mother came to give birth to you."

Raising an eyebrow at the man, Iris never recalled ever seeing him before. "Who are you?"

Nodding his head, "I guess you could say I'm technically the Botania family's emergency doctor, I had treated your mother for her ailments and during her pregnancy," he started. "I was there the day she unfortunately had to leave this world, I treated you when you had a high fever when you were two, and even took care of your father when his appendix burst." Iris didn't know what to say, no one would have known of her father's ailments, he was notorious for keeping stuff like that hidden, but she always saw right through him. "But now that's besides the point."

Iris shook her head, "I got to admit, I'm surprised…. So tell me why is it-?"

"Why have you never seen me before? Well that's quite simple, anytime your father needed you treated for anything I'd send one of my interns to your manor. As your father said before, best to keep allies out of sight instead of in the line of fire." Iris couldn't deny it, this man was clearly connected to her family. "Again I was really only needed for dire situations, like the one you were recently in." he explained, "my point is, you don't need to worry about me. I'm an ally to your family."

Iris laughed, "is that why you wanted to see me?"

"You could say that, but more importantly there's a message I need to relay to you." the smile on his face vanished, a more serious look took over. "An individual known as AJ, called while you were in a coma."

Iris tried to think of an AJ she knew, but nothing came to mind. But they somehow knew her, "ok….so what did they say?"

"The answer to your question is written, you just need to know where to look." The message sounded very cryptic to her. "That's all they said."

Rolling her eyes, "that doesn't really help the situation." Iris tried to think of what it could mean. Her head started to pound all because of a stupid riddle.

"Miss Botania, this was a serious attempt on your life." he stated, "I would advise that you use extreme caution when you go back out into society. Also given the state you were in when you were admitted, I would recommend limiting your mobility for a few weeks. Start by going a short distance, but if you begin to feel weak or anything I want you to rest immediately. The less stress on your body the faster your recovery will be." Dr. Shiamina explained.

"I understand," looking directly at him, "I'm assuming that nothing was told to the media or anyone of interest."

Smiling, "don't worry, Mr. Kaiba made it clear that any information in regards to either of you was not to be announced to the public. We don't plan on saying anything at all, so please don't worry yourself."

"Good."

Hitting a button on his phone, "please have Miss Primrose escorted to the waiting vehicle." within a few seconds the nurse returned, "also please don't hesitate to call me if you need anything."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Pushing her out of the room, both the nurse and Iris were surrounded by Seto's guards. Stopping at the elevator, the large metal doors opened up as they all entered into it. Trying to calm herself, Iris took deep breaths during their descent down to the main floor. Hearing a subtle ding, the doors opened back up.

The main floor appeared to be pretty empty in Iris's opinion, but that may have been due to Seto. "He's really going out of his way to ensure that I'm safe." Iris thought to herself. The nurse wheeled her a bit further until they came to a stop.

"Please take care, Miss Primrose," standing up from the wheelchair, the nurse bowed quickly leaving Iris and the guards. She didn't give her much time to thank her.

"Follow us, Mr. Kaiba is waiting." one of the guards spoke to her, one of them led the way as the others formed a circle around her. Iris couldn't help but feel like she was in one of the many movies she had watched, where a high powered individual was guarded at all times from anything.

Taking her first step outside, Iris took a deep breath. The scent of Domino City filled her nostrils, it was so much different than the scent of sterilization that had surrounded her for so long. She had never noticed it before, the way the city had its own familiar fragrance. Though any trace of peace was nowhere to be found. The guards matched her steps down the small flight of concrete steps as they approached the dark car.

Fugata was waiting by the door, opening it as the guard in front of Iris stepped to the side as the others created a barrier around her, blocking anyone from seeing her step into the car. Shutting the door, the dark tinted windows helped calm her down as they started driving down the road.

"Iris!" Mokuba shouted her name, as she could feel the young teen hug her.

Flinching slightly, Iris ignored her pain. "Hey Mokie!" After Seto and her had told him that they were dating, Mokuba seemed to be overjoyed. There were times that they worked on the Kaiba Land project together, giving her a chance to see that both of the Kaiba brothers were exemplary in their intellectual capabilities. "I didn't know you'd be here." this was the first time she had seen him since before the incident, he had only called her a few times after she had woken up.

"When Seto told me you were going to be released, I begged him to let me see you." he sat next to her. Iris smiled, he seemed so happy.

Seto put his arm around her shoulder, "well thank you, it's really good to see you. I just wish I could see the others too." she sighed, "I don't even think they know I was released today."

Mokuba could see the sadness in her eyes, "don't worry, Seto already informed them."

"You did?" Iris was shocked.

"I only told them since they kept bugging me," he said.

Iris laughed, "and here I thought you didn't like them." she joked. Resting her head on his shoulder, "thank you for letting them know." Driving down the road, Iris began to notice that they weren't driving towards her apartments. As the car began to slow down along the long driveway, she looked at Seto curiously though he remained quiet.

The car came to a complete stop, the doors opening to show the Kaiba manor. Mokuba practically ran out of the car, his eyes glued to his phone. Seto got out, offering his hand to Iris. She took hold of it as he pulled her out, keeping her close to him. "Big bro!" Mokuba called out to his brother, "we need to head back to the office, they're almost done with it."

Nodding his head, "fine, I'll be there shortly just go on ahead." Mokuba jumped back into the car as it quickly took off down the driveway. Walking up the steps, the doors to his manor were opening.

Iris was curious about what Mokuba had said, the way he had emphasised 'it' was a bit suspicious. "Seto what is he talking about?" she asked him.

"Don't worry about it." he answered her, he led her up the stairs to his room. Shutting the door behind them, Iris looked around to see a couple of opened boxes. Glancing at them she could see her clothes neatly folded, along with her laptop and a few other things from her apartment.

"Seto…." turning towards him, "why are some of my things here?"

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, "until we find the person who attacked you, you'll be staying with me." he spoke. "I refuse to let you go back to your apartment while they're still running around, I'm not taking any chances here Iris."

Sighing, "Seto…. I understand that you're worried…. And so am I, but don't you think this is going a bit too far?" she questioned. She didn't mind the idea of staying with him, in fact she was overjoyed at the thought. Though this was different, part of her didn't feel right staying with him like this. "I know you care about me, but I don't want to be a burden to you."

"You could never be a burden to me and you know that, besides this isn't something that's going to be debated Iris. You'll be much safer in my care than by yourself in your apartment and you know it."

Iris tried not to roll her eyes, she knew once he put his mind to something it would be very difficult to change it. "I will agree you have a point, but I just don't think it's a good idea." she said, "I mean I have my friends and you."

"But can your friends offer you the same assurance as I am?" he asked her, "can they protect you like I will? Were they there to see you fall like I did?" the tone in his voice began to worry her. "Your friends may mean a lot to you, but they can't offer you the protection that I can." he stated.

Looking down at the ground, Iris knew that he wasn't trying to say anything bad about her friends but they cared for her just as much as he did. "Seto, I know you can do more for me than what they can, and I'm not trying to say I don't like the idea of staying with you but don't you think there's a better way?"

"Like what?"

He put her on the spot, "I don't know right now, but I'm sure I can think of something." she muttered to him. "Seto, you and I both share the same concerns but I don't know if that's really-"

"Listen to me Iris." Seto cut her off. Despite all of his work and research he was still unable to find out who was responsible for nearly taking Iris's life. "I'm not going to risk losing you again, so until we find out who did it you're going to stay with me for your own safety and that's final."

She knew there was no point in fighting him anymore about it. Especially with something like this. "I understand….. But…." her voice started to choke up. "What if they find me, and try to hurt you or Mokuba…." tears dripped from her eyes. "I could never forgive myself if that happened." The throbbing from her wounds made her sobbing even more painful.

Wrapping his arms around her, "Iris," he whispered her name, gently kissing her forehead. "All I want is for you to be safe, you don't know how much you mean to me." the caring tone in his voice warmed her heart. "I spent many sleepless nights worrying that you may never wake up, and that I may never be able to find the person who hurt you. At least now, whenever I wake up I get the honor of seeing your beautiful face every morning, to hold you in my arms and hearing your voice. I missed those and so much more when you were in the hospital." Burying her face in his chest, Iris couldn't have imagined that the cold hearted, stubborn man she met would actually be the most amazing man in the world for her.

Pushing her pain aside, she hugged him back. "Seto…."

Picking her up in his arms, Seto carried her to his bed placing her down on the silk sheets. Pulling the cover over her, he kneeled down beside her. He could see the tiredness in her eyes, she still needed more time to recover after everything she had been through. This was her first day to be out of the hospital, after such a long period of time being confined to a bed; it would be awhile before she was adjusted to her normal routine. "Iris, don't worry about work. The last thing you need is stress, it's only going to hinder your healing." he told her.

Feeling her exhaustion finally catch up to her, Iris fought to keep her eyes open. "But there's so much that needs to be done…." she yawned.

"I handled it before you became my assistant and I will until you're fully healed." he did hate the thought of not having her by his side anymore, but he knew it was for the best. "I need to get back to the office soon, but while I'm gone, Roland and a few other guards will be protecting you. I'll have medics checking on you and helping change your gauze when necessary." he told her.

Seto didn't want to leave her, but there were things he needed to get done. In his mind, the less work for her to worry about the better. Even though with her absence it was difficult for him to maintain the productivity levels that he was beginning to be accustomed to. "You sure you won't need me?"

"I'll always need you," taking hold of her hand. "But right now, what I need is for you to get better."

Squeezing his hand, "at least promise me you'll tell me what's going on with the project when I wake up?"

"I will." he told her. Even though she couldn't go to work, she was still determined to finish what they had started.

Iris smiled, closing her eyes she knew she could finally have a peaceful rest. Despite being guarded in the hospital, her mind was always telling her to be cautious of who was around her but being here it was different.

She had him.

He watched her beginning to drift to sleep, his hand brushing the locks of dark hair from her face. His eyes capturing her sleeping form, she looked so content here than when she was in the hospital. "I'm not going to lose you again Iris," slowly letting go of her hand Seto walked towards the door.

Grabbing the handle, he turned to look at her. "Whoever did this to you, I will make them pay." he muttered to himself. He knew that he had made that promise to her the first day she was admitted, but he was determined. After so long he finally let someone into his heart, someone who had vanished from his life only to return once again. It was difficult when they were first separated, though that was in the past. He had her back, the first girl he had ever fallen in love with. The thought of her disappearing again from his life made his heart ache.

This was beyond personal now.