A/N: I don't own Yu-gi-oh, but I do own my plot.

This chapter is dedicated to Scuba Muffin who sent me the link to the most amazing Seto/Serenity site. You totally gave me the inspiration to write quickly...Thanks above and beyond!

I have added an update info section in my profile. It will let you all know, or at least approximates, when the updates will come out. So, if you are curious or need to know please check it out.

Chapter 19

Serenity sat in the bed; her cannula had been replaced in order for her to get the healing effects of the oxygen. Her hands were still shaking as her fingers touched the place on the bed where Seto had lain not so long ago. Things had gone terribly wrong and now here she was without the one person her heart longed for the most. They wouldn't hurt him would they? She stifled yet another round of sobs. She was trying, with minor success, to get a grip.

Please buy some time Seto…I will get help for you.

The guard who had been stationed outside her door was now in the chair Seto had sat in, except he had pushed the chair back against the wall. She was concerned for his health, but in the same breath she was annoyed that he had allowed this to happen. Irrational blame, she was angry with herself for that. He had been taken by surprise, explaining to her that the two posed as doctors. They had been in long white coats, but at the time she thought nothing of it.

She sighed in despair.

The door opened, suddenly, and there stood Joey. Their eyes met and suddenly, without warning, Serenity burst into tears. Gone were all thoughts of yelling at her, Joey simply scooped her up in his arms and rocked her, soothing away her pitiful cries. He was ready to kill Kaiba, how dare he hurt Serenity like this. First he kidnapped her, then he forbade her to contact her own brother and now he had put her life in danger. Kaiba's stupidity had landed his baby sister in the hospital. She could have been killed, what the hell had Kaiba been thinking! When he got his hands on Moneybags there would be hell to pay. He only hoped he could refrain from snapping Kaiba's neck before the boy begged for mercy.

Mai stood there dumbstruck. For days they had been searching high and low for Serenity, she seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth. The only information they had was a story leaked by the press about her having kidnapped Kaiba. Stupid press, how ridiculous did that honestly sound? Even a moron would know a girl would never be able to subdue Kaiba, especially not a girl like Serenity.

One only had to know her in order to see that she was a threat to no one. Still, the surveillance shots from the museum parking lot did show the two running off together. Yet, it didn't seem like either were going against their will. Naturally, Joey believed that she had been the victim. Tristan had agreed. The boy nearly had heart failure when he saw his 'girlfriend' running off with Seto Kaiba.

She and Tea believed that the two had run off together. Naturally, not in a romantic way but it seemed like they were running for their lives. Also, broken glass from a car window littered the ground in the parking lot. All these questions had no answers without Serenity or Kaiba.

Then, finally, Tea told Mai a secret about certain pictures Serenity had taken of the CEO. Mai didn't know what to think at this point, only that nothing fit together. Was it kidnapping? Who kidnapped whom? The only thing she was utterly sure of was that Serenity had been through a major ordeal and was now in the hospital thanks to whatever events had unfolded. She watched Joey cradling his baby sister, who was by no means a baby anymore, but she didn't understand why the tears were so heart wrenching. Was it because of the kidnapping, the pain from whatever accident had landed her here or was there something else? Mai frowned…her money was on something else.

Serenity finally pulled herself together enough to talk to them. Joey handed her a glass of water as Mai gave her a tissue, she took a few long swallows and dabbed at her eyes, and then she began the task of explaining the events that had unfolded over the last few intense days. Carefully, she left out the details of sharing a bed with the man at the hotel, the kissing, sharing a bed with him at the house, kissing him more…almost gracing Seto with a gift she could only give once…

"So, where is Kaiba now?" Joey asked, still wanting to kill the man. She snapped out of her memories with a soft blush on her cheeks. Joey didn't catch it, but Mai did.

"That's the thing Joey," Serenity hiccupped a soft sob. "They took him. Now we have to go and rescue him."

Joey's face paled and then turned beet red. "Were you hit in the head while you were inhaling smoke sis!" He grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look into his eyes. "Did you just say WE have to save that arrogant piece of…" He stopped when he saw the look he was getting from her.

"How important am I to you Joey?" She asked.

"You're the most important person in the world to me, you know that." He mumbled, but never dropped contact with her eyes.

"Then, if someone saved my life you would feel compelled to pay them back right?" She croaked as she reached for the water again.

"Naturally." It was a dry statement. If someone had saved her he would be in his or her debt forever.

"Then you owe Seto Kaiba twice over." She frowned at her narrow-minded brother.

"What the hell are you talking about? He kidnapped you sis! How is that saving you!" Joey was getting irate again.

"Have you listened to anything I said? I told you he saved me in the museum by getting me the heck out of there. Then he hid me in his summer home…" She continued.

"You almost died in his boathouse…he almost let you die in an inferno! Where the hell was he then?" Joey was half shouting, half growling. He couldn't understand why Serenity would want to help the man who had put her in so much danger in the first place. If they had just gone to the proper authorities they would have avoided all of the stuff in between. He would have known she was all right that way.

"He pulled me out of that burning house." She reminded him with a scowl. He called me Serenity…

"You could have died! You almost did! How can you forgive him Serenity? I don't get it." Joey stood up and walked towards Mai, silently pleading with his eyes for her to straighten out Serenity.

Mai approached the bed. She had been silent up until now. "I just don't understand Serenity, why didn't you call and at least let us know you were all right?"

Serenity was getting sick of going over things for a third time. Were they listening?

"I told you about the two men. They were after us. If I called you guys they might have gone after you. Seto was hoping to take care of everything within a few days…then I screwed everything up. It wasn't his fault it was all mine."

"Seto?" Mai whispered softly so only Serenity could hear. The traumatized girl looked up into Mai's eyes with fear. Had she let it slip that she called him Seto? How careless of her. Would Mai say anything to Joey? Serenity softly nodded her head. Mai smiled at her with understanding, she now knew that Joey's baby sister was in love with his worst enemy. Just great.

"He saved me again tonight," Serenity whispered softly. "He left with one of the men who came here. If he put up a fight or refused I would have been injected with a lethal dose of morphine. He could have saved himself by easily taking on the men, but instead he chose to save me. How can I let him sacrifice his life to save mine?" Serenity silently shed more tears. Mai wrapped Serenity in her arms and stroked her hair.

"Joey," Mai called out. It took a minute before he turned back around. "How can we let him die if he really did save her?"

"If it wasn't for him she wouldn't have been in trouble in the first place," Joey seethed, clearly not absolving Kaiba of the sins against his sister.

"Please," Mai smiled in her own special way. "Help save Kaiba as a wedding gift to me?"

Kaiba sat on his bed and glanced around the room. His head ached like he had been hit between the eyes with a two by four. The cowards held him while they beat him. What a joke that had been. He never stood a chance against them.

Worse than his physical pain was his mental pain. His thoughts kept turning to a certain honey-eyed girl who trusted him to save her. Had he? Should he have fought to save her there in the room? Maybe he could have wrestled away the syringe before the liquid hit her blood stream. Maybe he had been stupid for going quietly.

Was she still alive? He was sure he would feel it if she was no longer breathing. It had only been a few days that they had shared, but the intensity of the situation made it feel like years. Deep down he knew that he would never find a woman in the conventional way, but this was absurd. He would have given anything for some assurance that she wasn't in pain, that that man hadn't done something unspeakable to her. She deserved more than that. He thought back to a night, not long ago when they were about to take that final step.

"I've never done this before…"

Her words haunted him still. It was ripping at his mind that he might have failed her. Hadn't he promised to keep her safe? She had said she knew he would keep her safe. Yeah, he was doing a great job.

He began to wander around the room, looking for some sort of way out. Without a window this would be very difficult. He knew the door would be guarded and unless he could punch his way through the wall he was as good as doomed. Things could be worse, he could be in Pegasus's dungeon. Hmmm…could this be the work of that deranged lunatic! What the hell would Pegasus want with him? He laid back on the bed, placing his forearm over his eyes. He would try to sleep while he could, especially if it would give him a moment's peace from the horrendous situation he was in. He had to focus, but he couldn't because of her.

You're getting married!" Serenity managed.

"I was waiting for you to come home from New York so I could propose and then share it with you. Then you disappeared. I had proposed while you went to the museum and then we waited all night for you to come home. I called the cops and everything."

He ran his hand through his hair nervously. She obviously didn't realize the anxiety attacks she had caused. All she could think of was saving Kaiba, how much more could he take! "Do you have any idea how scared I was? I even called the city morgue thinking someone might have found you dead on a street somewhere. I never want to have to have to make a call like that again. I forbid this. You will not go after him!"

"If you don't help her Joseph I sure as hell will!" Mai yelled at him. She had just about had enough with his tirade. "He obviously kept her alive and sacrificed himself for her well-being. If I was taken would you or would you not insist upon coming after me!" She waited for his response, arms folded across her chest, foot tapping impatiently.

"That's different, you aren't a cold hearted, arrogant, egocentric, son of a…"

"Joseph! Don't you remember how I was in Duelist Kingdom? Maybe I should remind you. I was a cold, calculating…harpy! I cheated, lied and would have done anything to bring you down. Do you remember any of it?" She waited…

"Well? Do you!" She shot him a look that would have sent a normal man ducking for cover.

"You're different…" Joey whispered meekly.

"Now I am," she walked over to him. "Thanks to you."

"Please don't say Serenity can change Kaiba…" Joey pleaded.

"Why not? You changed me." She softly kissed his lips, lingering for an instant. "You Wheelers are something else. I'm just saying anything is possible. Would you forgive yourself if Kaiba died because we did nothing?"

Joey groaned, she was getting to him.

"Please Joseph…for me? It would mean so much to me just knowing you could be open minded enough to give him a second chance…" She wrapped her arms around his shoulder and began kissing his neck and ear. She pressed her curves into him and smiled as she felt the telltale shudder of his surrender.

"If I regret this Mai…" He warned.

"I'll never let you regret anything Joey…" She kissed his mouth sweetly while she gave Serenity the 'thumbs-up' gesture behind Joey's back.

Roland arrived shortly after Joey's agreement.

The man rushed to Serenity's bed and concerned eyes searched her delicate features. She explained everything that happened. The guard that had been left in charge of security of the room was questioned as well. Roland sighed deeply. Kaiba was always in danger, this was nothing new to the man. He wished he knew who was behind everything.

"Are you sure you're all right Miss?" He asked.

"I'm fine Roland," she assured him. "I need to return to the house tomorrow, I need something. I think I can help him Roland, but I may need your help."

"Anything for Mr. Kaiba." He answered her quickly.

"I also have to ask if you know Mokuba's phone number. I need to call and tell him what happened to Kaiba." She averted her eyes away from his. She was so upset that he had sacrificed his freedom to save her life. Now his life was in jeopardy because of her. There were also her feelings for him…what would a life without him be like? She wouldn't go there, if she did her thoughts would blur and she needed clarity right now.

"I've already informed him Miss."

"Is he coming?" She asked, almost afraid of having to face the boy.

"He didn't say, but I imagine he'll turn up. Even though he's away they keep in contact with consistency."

"How upset was he?" She was afraid to ask, but felt compelled to.

"I couldn't tell, he hung up soon after I told him the news."

That had to be a bad sign, she groaned inwardly. Hopefully within a few days Seto would be back and all would be right with the world. Unfortunately, she knew things were never as easy as they seemed.

"So, did you take care of that red-headed bitch?" Max asked the short man when he entered the room. Max was busy writing down something on a notepad while he sat at the boss's desk. He had checked in on Seto Kaiba not too long ago and was amused to see that the man was feigning sleep. Tomorrow would be a busy day for Kaiba so he should at least attempt rest.

"I decided that she was worth more to us alive," the short man answered sheepishly, but tried to sound convincing. If Max found out the real reason he had let the girl live he would be in a shallow grave by night's end.

"Since when do you decide anything? I would think you above all people would want her pretty little head on a platter. She could finger you for that murder you stupidly commited at the museum. You're a fool for letting her live." Max smirked at him. "Or are you keeping her alive for something she's good at?" His leer was disgusting and if Serenity had seen it she would have no doubts to his meaning.

"I figured that if Kaiba refuses to cooperate we could simply capture his little girlfriend and threaten her with torture until he submits." The short man shrugged at the sheer brillance of his own plan.

"You mean you didn't bring her with you? You're even less intelligent than I first feared." Max got up and walked around him. "You think she'll be easy to recapture? Why the hell did you let her get away!"

"I thought it was in our best interest." He pleaded stupidly.

"Hmmm," Max thought with maliciousness. "I could use this to torture Kaiba. He doesn't know that the girl is alive. Maybe I could haunt him with gruesome details of her abuse and then tell him I have her. I could tell him I'll give her to my staff if he fails to cave in to our demands." He sneered at the short man before him. For once, the short man trembled.

The door opened and one of the guards entered.

"Have you located Mokuba Kaiba?"Max asked with a gleem in his eyes. If he could get his hands on Seto's younger brother the possibilities were endless.

"Sorry Sir, but we went to his school and he wasn't anywhere on the grounds. We checked his dorm, his clothes were still there but he was gone." The guard answered, waiting to hear Max's wrath.

"If you wish to continue breathing you'll find that piece of mange and bring him to me." Max was ready to gut the guard, but he needed to remain calm. He had a week, no more but no less...

A/N: Ok…so the boss didn't make his appearance yet. Sorry, but this chapter didn't work out that way. I hope no one was disappointed. I promise to surprise you all next time. Please read and review, if I get lots of impatient reviews I guess I'll have to get the next chapter out pronto!