A/N: I do not own Yu-gi-oh. Good thing or I'd probably make it into some cheezy soap opera...

Chapter 17

Kaiba had just finished dressing as the first shout reached his ears. He knew it had to be something Serenity had done. He made a mental note that from now on, if he had to tie her to the bed, she would wake up beside him. He glanced out the window and noticed the thick plumes of black smoke rising into the air. He was down the stairs and out the door before another thought registered. He knew she was involved and the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach terrified him, she had to be all right…

He burst out the back door and raced down the slop towards the boathouse. Flames were consuming the back of the boathouse and were slowly licking their way across the roof. Huge plumes of black swirling smoke made the day seem like night. The heat, from the flames, was quite intense and a bit unbearable. He arrived at the inferno within seconds of Roland. He saw the plank of wood wedged under the doorknob, holding the door shut, right before Roland kicked it away. She was in there…he could feel it.

He threw the door open, choking as a wave of smoke assaulted him. He raised his arm to shield his eyes from the intensity of the heat. He dropped to his knees and screamed her name. There was no answer, but thankfully she was right by the door. He noticed her when he quickly scanned what little of the room he could see through the thick smoke. Roland helped get the two to safety. Kaiba leaned over her, as she lay in the cool green grass still fresh with morning dew. She looked like an angel that had been ripped from the fires of hell itself. His heart was torn between pounding and aching as a coughed ripped through his lungs. Was she even breathing?

Roland searched for a pulse as Kaiba lowered his ear to her chest. His mind was reeling as the urge to shake her awake had to be quashed.

"Her pulse is weak but it is there," Roland managed as he yanked out his cell phone to call 911. He didn't have to because already a fire truck and ambulance came screeching onto the property. Kaiba stared down at her. His hands shook as he softly stroked her cheek.

"You have to survive Serenity," he leaned in to whisper against her ear. "You can't turn my life upside down and then leave me. You're my match, now prove you're just as stubborn and willful as me and come back." He kissed her lips fleetingly as the paramedics approached.

"She was in the building while it was on fire," Roland explained to the men who were already checking her. They set an IV tube flowing as well as placing an oxygen mask on her face. Her blood pressure was low as was her respiration. Kaiba's heart felt like it was being torn from his chest when they ripped open her shirt to check for her heartbeat. He knew they were helping her, but he felt that was his job. He should be able to aid her in this horrible plight.

He watched as she was lifted onto the gurney. She resembled a frail porcelain doll, hardly the fiery tempest he was accustomed to. They wheeled her onto the ambulance and Kaiba attempted to board.

"Sorry sir," one of them offered with a somber expression. "Only family members are allowed to ride with the patient."

"I'm her fiancé," he growled as he pushed his way into the vehicle. No one short of the devil himself would keep him from her. He sat at the back as the vehicle sped off towards the hospital. He watched out the rear window as the firemen brought the blaze under control. His eyes slid back to her, she looked so helpless. He would have given anything for her to sit up and start arguing with him over something stupid. Maybe about him being wrong. He remembered that morning when she tried to explain that everyone was wrong at some time or another. He argued that he never was. He wouldn't be wrong this time either, she had to survive this or he would surely go insane.

He listened to the paramedic drone on to the hospital about her condition. They gave her stats and information on her condition. He tried to understand, but medicine was not his field. If they had to tell the awaiting doctors about mathematical equations or computer information he would have been well informed, but this was beyond his scope.

A slight cough from her lips caught his attention as one of the paramedics informed the hospital that she was 'coming around'. His heart leapt. She would make it, that is what that meant right!

They arrived at the hospital and they all unloaded. He managed to get along side of the gurney as she was wheeled in. He grabbed her hand. Her eyes flickered open and he heard her whisper his name. It was then she was ripped away from him, he attempted to follow.

"I'm sorry sir, but you can't go in there," the ER nurse informed him asSerenity was rushed into triage. "Please, there is a waiting room right around the corner." She placed her hand on his shoulder as she led him to the door. "I'll come and inform you as soon as I know something." The door shutting behind him caused him to flinch. She had called his name, surely that had to be a good sign. He sat down with his head in his hands, willing himself to remain calm.

"So, the fire was a success?" Max asked the short man.

"It was flawless. I can't believe how stupid she was running right into our trap. You were quite brilliant telling me to wait until she was close enough to it to give chase." He looked up at the hospital from the front seat of his car. This place was hardly the fortress that Kaiba's home had been. Here he was prey.

The doctor finally emerged from the emergency room doors to talk to Kaiba.

"She's very lucky Mr. Kaiba. There isn't a significant burn on her. Her hands are a bit raw, but it's only first degree burns from grasping the doorknob. Other than that there are no flesh wounds."

"Thank God," he whispered, finally letting the breath completely out of his lungs. He had been holding his breath in short intervals for awhile now. Taking his first deep breath filled him with hope. She would be fine.

"In addition to looking for the signs of heat damage, tissue irritation, and asphyxiation, I assessed her respiratory rate and motion of her chest as her lungs inflated and deflated. I also evaluated her pulse rate and blood pressure. Some blood work will indicate the levels of oxygen and byproducts of poisonous gases. I also went ahead and ordered some chest x-rays. The films are too insensitive to show damage to delicate respiratory tissues, but can show pulmonary edema, which would be fluid in her lungs. I'm holding off on performing a bronchoscopy, which is a visual examination in which the airways and lungs are seen through a fiber optic tube that I would insert down her windpipe. I want to watch her progress before I order more pulmonary function tests to measure how efficiently her lungs are working."

Kaiba stood there taking in all that he was being told. He wasn't sure what to ask or how to react. "Is she going to be all right? What are you going to do for her?" He finally managed.

The doctor looked at Kaiba and smiled. "She'll be fine, I don't believe there will be any permanent damage. The primary focus of treatment is to maintain an open airway and provide an adequate level of oxygen. Her airway is open and stable, so I'm giving her high-flowing humidified 100 percent oxygen by mask. Thankfully there is no need for an endotracheal tube. Right now oxygen is the only medication necessary."

"I want to see her," Kaiba stated flatly. He had to see for his own eyes that she was fine. He still couldn't rid himself of the horrible pictures in his mind. Nor could he stop the horrible fear he had felt when he thought she would die.

"She's awake and she is asking for you." The doctor smiled at Kaiba. "I do want to caution you that she may have to go on antibiotics if blood cultures confirm a bacterial infection, but that won't be until her follow up appointment."

They made their way through the maze that was the ER. Finally they stopped at the entrance of her room.

"She's resting comfortably, nothing was singed from the fire but she will have a sore throat for a few days. I want to keep her overnight on oxygen and you can take her home in the morning. I'll go see about getting her into a room." He squeezed Kaiba's shoulder as her turned to walk away.

"Doctor?" Kaiba called out, stopping the man. "Thank you."

He entered the room and smiled when he saw her sitting up looking at him. He graced her with a genuine smile? That had to be a good thing…right? He made the distance disappear in a few quick strides as he grabbed her hand and looked down at her.

"Have I died or are you really smiling? Did you just thank someone? Or are my ears failing me as well as my eyes?" She smiled at him.

"You look like hell Wheeler," he managed.

"I did prefer it when you called me Serenity." She whispered, her throat felt parched.

"Serenity," he smiled at her again and her heart soared. She had thought for sure she was going to die and now here he was looking down at her and smiling. Her biggest fear was leaving him alone and now here he was, right by her side.

"You're going to be fine and tomorrow I'll be able to take you home. Let me just warn you now, no more traipsing around outside, I want to wake up beside you, not worry about where you've gone off to." He pulled a chair up next to her gurney and stroked her hair. He never wanted to know what it was like to lose her; just the thought of it had been too painful.

"Maybe you'll have to tie me to the bed," she teased as she stroked his face.

"You shouldn't think that I would have a problem with that scenario." He smirked, his eyes finally becoming that wonderful shade of blue she loved most. He was no longer afraid for her safety and she sighed. The oxygen mask was making it hard to talk and that coupled with her sore throat made her close her eyes. She vaguely recalled being wheeled into another room and transferred to a bed. She also realized that Kaiba never left her side.

It was very late at night, or rather, early in the morning before she finally opened her eyes again. She looked beside the bed and there he was, keeping his bedside vigil. She smiled at his closed eyes, chin resting on his hand, hair fallen in his face. Could a man who was such a force of nature, a dragon, look so innocent and peaceful in sleep? How was that possible? She watched him with such longing it almost made her ache. She was slightly aware that her mask had been replaced with a nasal cannula. It was easier to breathe this way and she smiled, quite contentedly. She could lay here forever just staring at Seto.

He could feel her eyes on him and so he opened his. Cool ocean blue met honey brown for the first time in hours. She was smiling at him. He moved forward on his chair so that he was closer to her. That didn't satisfy her, instead she shifted in the bed and patted the place beside her. He complied, quickly wrapping her in his arms, she scooted slightly on top of him, sliding one of her legs between his two. She tilted her face up to him and he caught her mouth with his. Hours ago he was terrified he had lost her and now here she was in his arms alive and no worse for wear. Softly he nibbled her lower then her upper lip. She sighed against his mouth terrified that she would wake up and this would be a sweet dream.

"I want you Serenity," he growled against her mouth. "When we leave here," he smiled at her like a child with a secret, "your bed will never be empty again."

She giggled although it hurt her throat a bit. "I'm not giving that to you unless I know your intentions are pure Mr. Kaiba." He voice had a very raspy tone to it thanks to the smoke. He liked it, thinking it was quite sensual.

"Are you looking for a commitment?" He asked. She nodded her head. He softly kissed her nose.

"I'd rather have your time," she croaked, smiling as she put her hand over her mouth. She sounded awful.

"How about I give you both?" He kissed her again.

The click of a gun brought them out of their reunion. They looked up and Serenity recognized the short man instantly from the day of the shooting he was also the man who had locked her in the boathouse. The other man was a mystery. What was perfectly clear was that a gun was being held in their direction. Kaiba's arms slid out from under her as he rose to his feet, hands up.

"If you shoot us in here the oxygen will cause this room to explode and we'll all die." He stated the obvious, trying to think of a way out of their predicament.

"I have no intention of shooting you in here." The taller man chuckled. "I need you alive Seto Kaiba." He motioned for Kaiba to move towards the window and away from Serenity with the gun. When he didn't budge the short man walked over to Serenity and placed a syringe into the lead of her IV.

"That syringe is filled with a leathal dose of morphine. I'm not a patient man, your compliance will insure her survival." He warned. Kaiba complied, keeping his eyes away from the woman in the bed. If he saw fear in her eyes he would snap.

"Now this is how things will happen," he explained to them. "He'll stay here with the bitch until he receives a call that you've been delivered to your destination. If you cause no problem she walks away and she lives. If you try anything stupid she dies."

"You expect me to trust you?" Kaiba seethed at him.

"If you don't you both die anyway. I'm offering you a chance to save your lover. Make your choice." He glared at the young CEO.

Kaiba complied, accompanying Max out of the hospital. What choice did he have?

A/N: I didn't hurt her...how could I? If I did the story would be over...