This story is actually almost done. This chapter and then the next one. I had to divide them into two because it was too long. You people are going to kill me. I'll say this one thing: bring out the tissues.

Chapter Six

Ghost of You and Me

"I just don't know what to do anymore," Serenity whispered softly as she sat at the table, fingering the cup holding her untouched herbel tea. "I love two men at the same time. I love Malik because he is my husband and he has made my world so beautiful. And yet Seto makes me feel so complete and he lives in such pain that I want nothing more than to soothe it away."

"Perhaps you do love two men at once," Mai stated, gently balancing a sleeping Jessica on her lap. "Who is to say compassion cannot become love. But you can't express that love to both of them. You have to chose one."

"That's my problem. I don't know who to chose," Serenity exclaimed.

Mai looked at her straight in the eye. "What does your heart tell you?"

Serenity thought for a moment, and shook her head. "I don't know. It's as if I can't hear it speak anymore. As if it too cannot decide."

Mai looked at her thoughtfully before getting up and putting Jessica in her crib. When she came back, she had a deeper inquiring look about her. "So, what's the news with Kaiba?" she asked as tenderly as possible. "What do the doctors say?"

Finally, Serenity took a tiny sip of her tea, but it was cold now, and bitter. She could barely taste it as she remembered the details of earlier today. "Malik and I went to the hospital. Seto was unconcious and hooked up to all these machines. Luckily, he was not going to need life support but he hadn't awoken even after I had left. But the outcome is not looking good. The doctors say the infection from those scars on his back has spread rapidly throughout his body. They have medication that can stabalize the disease but there is no cure. It is too deep and too old to go away completely now." She bit her lower lip, choking back a sob. "It's only a matter of time."

"Don't say that!" Mai cried in alarm, grabbing Serenity by the shoulders. In her rush, she knocked over the tea cup. It bounced off the table and rolled onto the floor, the contents spreading and dripping from the rim of the furniture. Mai ignored it as she stared with wide violet eyes at her friend. "You mustn't say things like that, Serenity! He's strong. Seto Kaiba is very strong. He will pull through. I have seen him go through many things and he always managed to come through okay."

Serenity was shaking her head. "I have seen them, too, Mai. This is different. This infection is emotional as it is physical to him. He is strong, but he is also a human being with mortal weaknesses like any other man."

"So, you'll do that? You're giving up on him?"

She remained silent.

"Serenity?"

The younger girl shook her head again. "I don't know, Mai. Everything is just so confusing." She burst into tears and clutched Mai's arms. "I don't wanna lose him, Mai! I don't know if I love Seto or not, but if I were to lose him, I don't think I could go on living!"

"He'll pull through, Serenity," Mai replied. "He's a Kaiba. He's too stubborn to die."

"Who's too stubborn to die?" a voice demanded and both women jumped when Joey seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Serenity bit her lower lip and even Mai was a little scared to reveal their subject to Joey, unless he had been standing there for a while without their knowledge. If Joey knew Serenity was this upset over Kaiba's hospitalization, then he would know without words how she loved his worst enemy as well. The outcome was not promising. Mai had seen Joey angry--really angry---before and it was not a pleasant experience.

Joey smiled softly. "Come on, you can tell me, it's not like I'm the big bad wolf or anythin'."

Surprisingly, it was Serenity who broke the silence. "Seto's in the hospital," she whispered.

"So?" Joey began with a shrug, but then he stopped. Unfortunately for them, he was not that clueless as people thought, and he caught the frightened tone of Serenity's voice. "Seto?" He stared at her hard, and Mai cringed when she saw those amber eyes spark with the lightning she knew all too well. This was bad. Really bad. "Why did you call him 'Seto'?" he demanded slowly, his voice growing louder with each word. "Why did you call him that!? Answer me!!!"

Once again, Serenity melted into silence. It sickened Mai to see how she couldn't stand up to her own brother. Well, the cat was out of the bag now. No sense in trying to put it back in. "Because she loves him, okay, Joseph!?" she snapped, hugging an arm around Serenity.

"Oh, my God," Joey whispered, too angry to dare raise his voice any higher. "You did not just say that, Mai."

"Yes, I did."

Joey let out his breath in one huge exhale, struggling to keep his composure. "You mean to tell me that she's been cheating on Malik? I am willing to forgive her for marrying him because at least Malik has been able to change. But to cheat on him with that heartless bastard who would just as soon beat her to death--!"

"I didn't cheat on Malik!" Serenity screamed. "Seto and I didn't do anything!" Granted, she had made out with him on his bed, but that hardly qualified. Not under those conditions. Or did it?

She had wanted to. Oh, but what she would give to have Seto back in her arms, his body within hers. How she missed him. How she loved him.

"Really? Then why is your face all red?" came the retort.

"Why don't you just cool it, Joey?" Mai snapped.

"You don't seem to understand, Mai," Joey began.

"No, it is you who does not understand," his wife interjected. "Maybe Serenity married the wrong guy. Maybe she is cheating on Malik. That's none of our business. Her decisions are her own to make. You need to wake up and face the facts! Serenity no longer needs you to baby her! She is a full grown young woman now and she doesn't have to run to you anymore. Stop trying to run her life for her!!"

Joey stared at Mai with wide eyes, unable to believe that his wife had said such a thing to him. He looked at Serenity, but she refused to meet his gaze. He could see how she was struggling to keep her tears in check.

But a sniffling sound revealed that someone was crying, and Jessica stood in the doorway, rubbing at her tears. "Mommy, why are you and Daddy fighting? It's scawy."

Azure eyes opened as he stared at his strange surroundings. "Where am I?" he asked out loud, slowly sitting up.

Instantly hands touched his shoulders and began pushing him back down. "You're in Kaiba Corp. Hospital, Seto," a familiar voice explained. "You took quite a nasty fall in your office yesterday."

Kaiba stared hard at the owner of the voice and the hands keeping him in place, the world fuzzy in his unfocused vision. "M-Mokuba?"

The youth smiled, his handsome features beaming. "It's great to see you're awake now," he confirmed, sitting back down and releasing his hold. "How are you feeling?"

"Slightly dizzy," Kaiba replied weakly, raising a hand to his forehead. "I had a dream I was floating in empty space. Nothing existed. Nothing but peace. How long have I been out?"

"Almost an entire day. The maid found you yesterday morning lying unconscious on the floor in your office at the house."

"Figures."

Mokuba's smile faded in concern. "The doctors say your condition was what caused it. That it's becoming worse."

Kaiba snorted softly under his breath. "How fitting."

"Seto--"

"Don't pretend, Mokuba. You know as well as I do the entire truth. But don't worry. This isn't an act of atonement. He murdered me long ago."

Mokuba remained silent.

"If people do have paths they walk, then this is the one I choose. I would not have it any other way."

"Not even for Serenity?"

A small fleeting smile curved Seto's mouth. "As long as she lives happily among those she loves, then my soul will always be at peace."

The wedding ceremony was held a few months after Mokuba had proposed, as Rebecca wanted to marry him before she delivered their children and before she could really start showing the signs. Though her stomach was indeed noticeably larger, her face puffier due to her five-month pregnancy with triplets of all things, it was nothing her even bigger gown could not hide. Tea was the Maid-of-Honor as the two young women had grown close thanks to their mutual bond with Yugi. A few other girls who were close friends to Rebecca in high school made up the rest of the list of bridesmaids.

Jessica Wheeler was the flower girl. It was a good idea, despite the fact that her father-inherited flamboyancy kept her flinging the petals all over the place until not the aisle but the rest of the church floor itself was covered in pink roses. Not to mention, she fidgeted consistently in her dress, complaining in toddler language that it itched. Mai constantly chided her about something, her hands full in keeping her daughter in line, though Joey was not much help. In fact, he encouraged Jessica's antics. Go figure.

"Joseph, she's in a church. She needs to learn how to behave!" Mai snapped at him.

"She's just a little kid, Mai. Let her have her fun," Joey shot back.

In the end, Mai won the battle as Jessica had gone over the top when she marched right into the men's dressing room as if she owned the place. "TRISTAN, QUIT FLASHING MY DAUGHTER!" Joey screamed as he carried a wide-eyed Jessica back to her mother.

"That's gross, man," Duke commented as he straightened his tie.

"It was not my fault!" Tristan exclaimed with a blush as he pulled his pants up.

While it took the guys only ten minutes on average to prepare, the women took hours, as women do, and Mokuba was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Every possibility of something going wrong had flooded his mind, resulting in him becoming jumpy and snappish. Kaiba, as always, was as calm as the sea on a clear summer day, giving a tiny hint of a smile in amusement as Mokuba ran back and forth double-checking, triple-checking, quadruple-checking everything.

Down to the very last spoon.

Kaiba was sitting out in the hall on a velvet bench, his hands folded across one knee crossed over his other leg. He seemed skinnier in a way if one was too look closely, and paler, too. The shine in his cinnamon hair wasn't as vibrant as it had been years before. His blue eyes were less intense. Even his breathing seemed rougher around the edges.

He looked up when a little form came waddling up to him. Jessica peered up at him with wide brown eyes, her golden hair framing her little face, her chibi-shaped body looking even chibier in the white and pink lace dress she was wearing. It was obvious she hated it, for she kept pulling at a sleeve or the hem.

"Well, if it isn't Wheeler's spawn," Kaiba commented, but his voice held a gentle softness void of any malice.

"Hi," Jessica greeted with a small wave. "What your name?" There was not a shred of shyness in this girl.

"Kaiba," he replied.

"I'm Jessica. Are you Makaba's brudder?"

He chuckled at the cute way she said Mokuba's name. The younger Kaiba would have died on the spot. "Yes, I am."

"Oh. My Daddy says you're a bad man."

"Well, your daddy is an idiot."

"What that?" she inquired innocently.

Kaiba sighed. He really didn't want to hurt this little one's feelings by revealing to her the awful truth about the mutt's lack of intellect. Wasn't her fault her father was the reason alien life forms decided there was no intelligent life on Earth. Besides, she would discover this for herself in due time, anyway.

"Let's just say your father doesn't know me very well," he finally explained.

She giggled. "You're nice."

He blinked in surprise. Well, if wonders never ceased. This was the first time anyone had told him that, especially a little kid. Quite sad, really.

Without any sign of invitation, Jessica climbed onto the bench and settled beside Kaiba. "Do you like Auntie Ren?" she questioned. "Mommy and Auntie Ren talk about you a lot. Daddy no like. He got really mad and yell at Auntie Ren. Then Mommy yell at Daddy. They woke me up at nap time."

Kaiba's eyes narrowed. Apparently, the mutt had found out Serenity's feelings for Kaiba and now this little girl had involuntarily gotten involved. This angered Seto for there was no reason Jessica needed to be dragged into this chaos. "Your Auntie Ren is a good woman," he informed her with a smile.

"Have you mooched?"

He cocked a brow. "What?"

"Mooched," she repeated.

"She means did you kiss my sister," came the interpretation.

Jessica and Kaiba looked up as Joey entered the scene. Jessica hung her head as she was sitting with the very man her father did not want her to be around. "Jessica, go to Mommy," Joey commanded. Without her usual protests, Jessica did as she was told. For a moment, Joey watched her scamper off before turning his glare to Kaiba. "Well, you didn't answer the question."

"Yes, I mooched Serenity," Kaiba snapped. "But that's as far as it went."

Joey snorted. "You certainly were quick to admit it."

"Why not?"

"You know she's married to someone else."

"Yes, I am well aware of her marriage to Ishtar and quite frankly, I don't give a damn," was the toneless reply.

"Kaiba, you will do anything and hurt anyone to get what you want, won't you?" Joey sneered.

"Wouldn't you do the same?" Kaiba shot back. "And don't tell me you wouldn't. You could never understand the situation I was in."

Joey cocked a brow. "'Was?'"

"It doesn't matter anymore. Soon, she will be able to live her life happily with Malik without me to interfere."

Joey stared. "Why?" he inquired, tilting his head to one side. "You going back to the States or somethin'?"

Kaiba smiled, wishing it could be that easy. "No. I will no longer be able to go there again." Suddenly, he doubled over in a burst of coughing, heavy gagging coughs that Joey had never heard before in his life.

"Kaiba! You okay!?" Joey cried, running to his side. Kaiba took heavy drags of air, only to cough again. "Do you need a doctor? Oh, man, this ain't good. Kaiba!"

Eventually, Seto managed to regain control of himself. He lifted his head a bit, and Joey gasped when he saw flecks of crimson upon Kaiba's lips and running down his hand, the one he used to cover his mouth with. "I-I'm okay," Seto whispered. "I...just need some water is all."

"Liar!" Joey snapped. "You are far from okay. You need help, Kaiba. Stay here. I'll get a doctor or somethin' an--"

"Joey!" Kaiba interrupted, one of the few times that he had ever used the mutt's first name, and Joey stopped dead in mid-sentence when he saw the usual blue-eyed death glare. "I have already been to the hospital. They already know what is wrong with me. There is nothing you can do. There is nothing anyone can do." With that, the CEO stood to his feet and staggered into the nearest bathroom.

Joey could only sit there, breathing heavily. Hadn't Serenity and Mai said something about Kaiba...being too stubborn to die? Was that it? Was Kaiba dying?

Even during the wedding ceremony, this haunted him. He couldn't take his eyes off Kaiba as the dragon stood there as the Best Man for his brother's wedding. Mokuba fidgeted slightly as the organ played. Jessica came skipping down the aisle--yes, skipping--throwing rose petals every which way. The guests chuckled and Mai rolled her eyes, muttering something under her breath about a "chibi Joey". Tea and the other bridesmaids followed, settling themselves at the alter from across the guys. Then the guests stood as the music changed to "Here Comes the Bride" and Rebecca stepped out escorted by Arthur Hawkings. She was blushing brightly, emerald eyes shining as she held Mokuba's gaze. The groom looked utterly lost and glad of it.

Serenity sighed. Everything was just so moving and beautiful. Especially Seto. How handsome he looked in his suit and tie, standing beside his brother, tall and straight-backed, everything about him held in elegance and dignity.

Malik glanced at his wife and noticed that she seemed concentrated on something. He followed her gaze to land smack-dab on Kaiba. His eyes narrowed.

Interesting...

The entire ceremony seemed like blur. Kaiba could the impatience etched in Mokuba's face. The young colt was on the verge of screaming "GET ON WITH IT!!!" and hurry up and exchange rings and vows and kiss the bride already.

Rebecca felt the same. No wonder people weren't getting married anymore.

Finally, their ears were graced with the words "you may kiss the bride". Heart thundering, Mokuba lifted her veil and shyly pressed his lips against hers. A cheer went up through the crowd as their kiss grew deeper and they finally pulled away breathlessly. Mokuba grabbed Rebecca's hands and they ran down the aisle. Guests threw rice at them as they got into the limo that would take them to the reception.

Chaos had erupted in the kitchen. While the guests were waiting for the meal to start, conversing to occupy their time, the chefs and waiters were frazzled.

Apparently someone had broken into the dish room and stolen all the spoons.

Thankfully, they were able to get some backups, and soon the banquet began. Cutting the cake, feeding it to each other and all that good stuff. Serenity thought she had never seen the young couple look so happy before.

After dinner, people went down to the floor below to dance. Mokuba and Rebecca started the first dance and soon other couples followed suit. Slow songs played, dance songs, rock, great hits, great classics, almost everything in the book. About two hours later, Malik left Serenity on her own to tend to bathroom business. She stood at the railing on the second floor overlooking the dancing when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned and looked into the bright eyes of Seto Kaiba.

"May I have this dance?" he inquired softly.

She nodded and allowed him to lead her to the floor.

What am I supposed to do with all these blues

Haunting me

Everywhere

no matter what I do?

Watching the candle flicker out

In the evening glow

I can't let go

When will the night be over?

I didn't mean to fall in love with you

And, baby, there's a name for what you've put me through

It isn't love

It's robbery

I'm sleeping with the ghost of you and me

Serenity closed her eyes as she felt Kaiba gently press her body against his. She buried her face in his chest and he nuzzled her hair, breathing in her scent deeply. They swayed back and forth in a tender rhythm, his arms encircling her waist tightly.

Seen a lot of broken hearts go sailing by

Phantom ships

Lost at sea

Oh, one of them is mine

Raising my glass I sing a toast

To the midnight sky

I wonder why

The stars don't' seem to guide me

I didn't mean to fall in love with you

And, baby, there's a name for what you've put me through

It isn't love

It's robbery

I'm sleeping with the ghost of you and me

"Seto," she breathed when their faces touched each other's. He sighed deeply, holding her closer still, moaning softly when he felt his leg slide in between her thighs. "...nnn...Seto..."

"I need you, Serenity," he whispered, hearing a heart pounding wildly, not sure if it was hers, his own, or both. "Now more than ever."

The ghost of you and me

When will it set me free?

I hear the voices call

Following footsteps down the hall

Trying to save of what's left of my heart and soul

Watching the candle flicker out

In the evening glow

I can't let go

When will the night be over?

I didn't mean to fall in love with you

And, baby, there's a name for what you've put me through

It isn't love

It's robbery

I'm sleeping with the ghost of you and me

He tenderly kissed the corner of her mouth.

"Seto, we-we can't..." she protested but it was becoming less and less so.

"Who cares about what everyone else thinks?" he whispered against her lips. "Kiss me, Serenity. I need you to kiss me again."

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before they closed and she felt her lips meet his in a passionate embrace.

(I didn't mean to fall....)

I didn't mean to fall in love with you

(..in love)

And, baby, there's a name for what you've put me through

(There's a name for what you put me through)

It isn't love

(It isn't love)

It's robbery

(It isn't love)

I'm sleeping with the ghost of you and me

(I'm sleeping with the ghost of you and me...)

I didn't mean to fall in love with you

And, baby, there's a name for what you've put me through

(There's a name for all the things you do)

It isn't love

(It isn't love)

It's robbery

(It isn't love)

I'm sleeping with the ghost of you and me...

The song ended, and Seto and Serenity pulled away, breathless, hot, and wanting more. "Serenity," he whispered. "I know it's wrong. Beyond wrong. And I don't care. I don't give a rat's ass about the ethics of all this crap. I know what I want, and I want you. And I want you now."

"I want you, too, Seto," she whispered, still faint from their kiss. "More than anything. I love you."

He cupped her face in his hands, pressing his forehead against hers. How long had he waited for her to say those words to him? "Serenity," he said again, this time his voice strained from pent up emotions. "Be with me tonight. Say you're staying at Mai's house or something. Do anything you can. But be with me tonight."

"I will," she answered before kissing him again. Then, she followed him off the floor to go find Mai and give Mokuba last minute congratulations. The lovers just couldn't wait for each other any longer.

Someone had been watching them that whole time. He stood there, clinging to the railing until his knuckles were bone white, watching the romantic exchange between Seto and Serenity, lilac purple eyes wide with horrified disbelief.

Yes, another cliffhanger. But I already have the next and last chapter written and ready to go. Not to mention the first chapter of the sequel. I was up until 4 AM this morning writing. I know this seems really fast, but I just want to get this story over and done with. When a story extends over a course of several months, and many, many more plotbunnies are pounding you, you just gotta write what you need and move on.

Yup! Next chapter is the last! Please review. I'll post faster if you do. Because it's all ready written and ready to go. waves last chapter in your face