Talyak - ok, here you go!

Chapter 23

"...and I think that's pretty much it," Yugi finished. "School was kind of dull today. Oh, did I tell you -"

"OMG!" Anzu gasped. "Yugi, take a break!"

Joey laughed. "It's cool. Listening to you guys is way better than just lying here."

"That cannot be true," Honda cracked.

"I don't talk that much!" Yugi defended. "And I wasn't talking to you, anyway."

"Thank God, Buddha, and all the ships at sea." Honda clapped his hands in prayer as Anzu and Joey snickered.

"Just wait til the next time you're sick in bed. I'm not gonna say one word."

"Promise? I got witnesses - you guys heard that, right?"

Joey laughed hard enough to feel a twinge. He flinched. He'd watched a Monty Python marathon a few days earlier and almost induced labor again.

"Are you ok?" Anzu fretted. "Should I get the nurse?"

"I'm fine." Joey forced a smile. "Jesse's got no patience. Next week, dude," he told his stomach, "just chillax."

"I guess we should go," Honda sighed. "Togi had to work this afternoon, but he, Ryou and Kura said they'd probably swing by later."

"Yeah that's a nice thing about this place," Joey stretched, "they got visiting hours basically 24/7."

"You're supposed to be resting, not visiting." Anzu stood up. "We all want to see Jesse, but not too soon."

"I don't plan on seeing him." Joey tried to keep smiling. "Next week, he gets a real mom and goes back to Egypt."

"Joey -" Yugi started.

Joey cut him off. "Which is cool, because even I know I can't cross my legs for another six weeks!" He moved the blankets and slowly sat on the edge of the bed as his friends protested. "Relax! I'm just gonna walk you guys out."

"Joey!"

"The doc said I could do that much. He wants me to move some, just like, no stairs, no running, stuff like that."

"And we'd have to tie you down to stop you anyway," Honda added.

"Pretty much." Joey slipped on a robe. "Just to the elevator. Then I'll rest at the nurse's station, and come back. 'k?"

"Lock your knees, dude," Honda chuckled as he opened the door for the group. "I didn't bring a catcher's mitt."

"I ain't trustin' you! Besides, Yug's got a better reach."

"You two can laugh, but you better change his name to 'Yugi' if it happens that way."

They slowly moved down the hallway. Joey knew even this short trip might be too far - Jesse seemed overactive today - but laying in that bed was driving him crazy. He rubbed his stomach to try to soothe the baby.

"You ok?" Anzu asked.

"Gas." Joey grinned. "Tiny managed to slip me a couple slices of -"

"- or I will tear this building to the ground with my bare hands!"

From around the corner, the friends could hear a deep, resonant voice growling at the desk nurse.

"O.M.G." Anzu gasped. "What is he doing here?"

"He sounds really upset." Yugi peered around the corner as Joey took a few steps back.

'Fuck,' he thought. 'Double fuck. I cannot deal with him right now.'

"Maybe we should go back to your room," Honda suggested.

A sharp pain made Joey's lower body contract. He grabbed the wall to keep from falling.

"Ohmygod!" Yugi yelped. "Nurse!" He yelled as Anzu and Honda lowered Joey carefully to the floor.

A flood of people came to their aid, but Seto pushed past all of them.

"What are you doing to my child?!" The boy nearly screamed.

"Ow, fuck!" Joey hissed. Then, he glared at Seto. "Your child!? What the fuck, Mr. I-fuckin-waive-my-damn-paternal-rights? Since when is this your child?"

"What are you people talking about?" Seto snapped back. "How could I have waived rights to a child I didn't even know was mine until an hour ago? And it's entirely irrelevant!"

"Oh, I think it's pretty fuckin' relevant!"

"What possible madness has possessed you to have a fetal transfer?"

"Kaiba-kun -"

"This does not concern you, Mutou. Make yourself useful and find the sensei. Obviously Katsuya has distressed himself again."

"Sir, if you would move -" One of the nurses tried to displace Seto but his dark glare stopped her in her tracks.

"This discussion takes precedence." He looked back at Joey. "Did it ever occur to you to discuss the matter with me directly?"

"Oh, you fuckin' ass!" Joey hissed as another contraction hit him. Someone tried to lift him, but he smacked the hand away and glared back at Seto. "Maybe if you hadn't been dodgin' me like the fuckin' plague! Did that occur to you?"

"A matter this important, you should have made an effort to contact me. You could have contacted my personal staff. You could have contacted my brother."

"You could have just answered my damn calls!" Joey hugged his stomach. 'Wait, Jesse,' he begged silently, 'just wait.'

"What are you doing?" Seto frowned. "You look like you're in pain."

"Jesus! How the fuck are you so smart and so stupid at the same time? I'm having contractions!"

"Now?"

"Now!"

"You can't have our child now. We're not married yet."

"Married?!" Joey found enough breath to laugh. "Dude, are you fuckin' nuts?"

"Yes. I am utterly insane and I have been since you crashed into my life and spilled chaos into my organized world."

"Ok, this is not the time for a love connection." Joey rolled his eyes.

"Sir -"

"I have had a very trying morning," Seto said with unnerving calm. "So the next person who interrupts us will be the first person I shoot." He waited a moment, and then turned his attention back to Joey. "I realize we need to compare notes. I have received a great deal of invalid information and I suspect you have too. I would never give up parental rights for our child. I never want to spend another 24 hour period without you in it. I am not asking you for logic or good sense, I am asking what do you want."

It was crazy. A hallucination. He must have fainted. Maybe the contractions were squeezing his brain. But Joey wanted to believe.

"I want to have a baby with you," he said.

Seto's eyes went wide. "You do?"

"What the fuck!? What was that, a set up?"

"I knew you wanted the child, I simply did not expect you wanted me."

"You just said you want to spend every day with me," Joey snapped. "What did you expect me to say?"

"Frankly, I never know what to expect from -"

"Owwww, shit!" Joey hissed again. "I don't think I can hold him back anymore."

"Are you agreeing to marry me?"

"Can we do this after?"

"No."

"Oh fer cryin' -"

"Joey, would you be happy married to Kaiba?" Malik asked.

"I don't know! I guess. Not really the time, dude."

"I'll take it. Kaiba, would you be happy with Joey?"

"'Happy' is irrelevant. But I believe my life would be more stable and I can provide resources for the child that he cannot match."

"Ok." Malik made a blessing gesture. "You're married."

"WHAT!?"

Everyone surrounding Joey looked at the Egyptian boy.

"I'm ordained." He shrugged. "It was mostly a photo op, but it is real."

"Now that you are finished with that foolishness," an authoritative voice rolled over them, "may I please attempt to save this child's life?" The Doctor physically pushed Seto out of the way as she knelt between Joey's legs and lifted his robe. "Sorry about this."

"Move back, damn you!" Seto snapped at the crowd. "You, nurse! Surely there are tools the sensei needs! You, bring that gurney over here."

"You must be the father," the doctor sighed. "Joey-san, I think we can still stop the contractions Do you feel the need to push?"

"Yes!" He was panting.

"Don't. I know it's hard not to, but -"

"Why are you stopping this?" Seto interrupted.

The doctor considered him for a moment. "I don't believe you were involved with this case prior. Let's deal with the situation at hand and then we can discuss the background."

"If my son is ready to be born, then -"

"He's not ready. He's six weeks early."

"Patience is not a strong trait in my family."

"I can see that."

"Sensei." A nurse rolled up with a cart and handed the doctor a speculum.

"Thank you. Prep 10cc's of terbutaline."

"Yes, sensei."

"Ok, Joey-san," she parted his knees gently. "Just breathe. Don't push." She had to lay on the floor in order to use the tool. "Stop pushing, Joey-san."

"I'm not!" He moaned.

"Then you get your wish, Papa. Nurse, call the NICU, get an incubator up here stat."

"What are you doing?" Joey gasped, panicked.

"Delivering your baby. Someone find sheets, towels, anything sterile. Otherwise this place is going to be a mess and I don't think we can move him."

"No, no!" Joey tried to move, but Seto came behind and held him. "We scheduled it! Next week!"

The doctor chuckled. "Babies are not known for following schedules."

xXxXxXx

Seto kissed Katsuya's forehead. "I have to go. Please bring Jesse with you in," he looked at his watch, "half an hour. It's possible that they may have real business to discuss and I'd like that resolved before the blood shed."

"The proverbial blood shed."

"Hopefully."

Seto kissed Jesse's head then left the KaibaCorp executive dining room. It had been a long month, but a rewarding one. Since Seto wasn't working in the office, he was able to spend most of his time in the neonatal unit with Katsuya and Jesse.

Kaiba Jesse, born 3lbs, but breathing on his own. Seto witnessed the administrator putting his name on the birth certificate only minutes after watching his child's birth. It was a profound experience, one Seto still hadn't been able to quantify and absorb. A child, small but growing fast. Struggling and winning every breath of survival. Beautiful. New. A miracle that no technology could match.

Watching the little miracle grow larger and stronger was amazing.

It made Seto realize that Jesse's father needed to be larger and stronger. And smarter.

The first task had been to determine who told which lies to whom. Several documents given to Seto had been fabricated, and not just items relating to Jesse. Seto's signature was forged on everything given to Katsuya. It had been actually easy to build a fraud case, and get a warrant for the arrest of the key players. It was going to be a pleasure watching these people who tried to beat him fall at his hand.

The real estate pull needed outside assistance; Seto made note of everyone at Sakura who profited after the 'non-event'. Mokuba was correct in his assessment that the Shinomi family needed to end. Preferably in something slow and painful that erased the entire bloodline….

"Kaiba-sama!" His secretary quickly moved around her desk and bowed deeply as he got off the elevator. "Welcome back, sir."

"Thank you. Whose office is this now?"

She repressed a smile. "It's yours, sir. A few of the executives tried to use it, but apparently the room was always too cold. Building Maintenance couldn't find a problem. So it's not in use at present."

"Too cold?" Seto considered it. Personally, he'd always found his office quite pleasant. "If no one is there, then why are you here?"

"Overflow, sir. I was assisting the secretarial pool with time sensitive projects and there are no desks available in their department."

"You were demoted."

"I served Kaiba in a different capacity. I think they thought I would get lonely and quit." She smiled openly. "Coffee?"

"Yes."

He went into the office and stopped. It was freezing cold. The thermostat read 56, but the room felt closer to 6.

His secretary handed him his coffee. "Allow me." She deftly opened the device with a screwdriver and connected several wires. Seto heard the heat vents start as she replaced the cover and adjusted the levels. "The Board meeting starts in ten minutes. I left a summary of changes during your sabbatical on your desk."

"You said maintenance couldn't find a problem."

"Yes, sir. The Building Engineer himself spent a day going through the ducts with his team. The senior VP of Research was using the space at the time. Terribly dusty, unfortunately. But, no, they never found a problem." She shrugged. Her innocence reminded Seto of his brother's calm.

"I see." Seto made a mental note to double her salary.

"Will that be all, sir?"

"For now. Shortly after the meeting begins, my classmate, Katsuya will be arriving with a...a guest for me. Send him in directly."

"Jounouchi Katsuya? Son of Kawaii-san, formerly of Accounting? The young man who came to see you?"

"Yes. He lost the weight I mentioned. He's quite attractive now."

"I look forward to seeing him." She bowed and left.

Seto found two lists on his desk - one covering things that were openly known such as Kawaii's termination by HR's order, and a second list of activities the Board did not realize his secretary was privy to. Such as the decision to limit bonuses to the levels of senior VP and above.

He memorized the second list, then shredded it.

There was a knock on his door. Mokuba stepped in dressed for corporate war. "Showtime, big bro."

"Excellent." He gathered his notes and stood up. "As Katsuya would say, it is on."

Mokuba chuckled as they walked down the hall together. "That is so not hip when you say it."