Chapter 16 Kidnapped

Serenity got back home exhausted from helping Mai and Joey with their new son. She was glad that she was on maternity leave from the hospital and shuddered at the thought of what it would be like if she had to get up early the next morning and spend a whole day on her swollen feet. Joey and Mai had fed her a hearty dinner, and the extra weight was taking even more of a toll than usual. She waddled into the living room where she found Mokuba watching TV.

"Hey Serenity! What's happening?" the young man with long black hair and broad shoulders greeted her.

"Mai had her baby," Serenity announced wearily. She plopped down on the couch beside Mokuba and propped her feet up on the coffee table, "What's happening with you?"

Mokuba gestured toward a laptop next to her feet. "I'm doing some marketing research for Seto. I know we have specialist for this kind of stuff, but it's the least I can do."

"How is college going?" Serenity asked.

"Great! I seem to get on well with all of my professors, but…"

"But?"

Mokuba smiled sheepishly, "But the girls are ignoring me. I don't know what it is. I got a few dates in the beginning, but now they want nothing to do with me. I don't get it. Serenity, what am I doing wrong?"

Serenity looked over Mokuba from head to toe. She had to admit that he had grown into a fine young man. If only I had known years ago that he would turn out to be-No! I made my decision and I'm sticking by it, Serenity told herself firmly. She shook the thought from her mind and quickly thought up a way to respond to Mokuba's question. "Well, you haven't thrown any spitballs at anybody recently, have you?"

"No," Mokuba sighed.

"In that case, just keep being yourself. I'm sure you'll meet the right person eventually, or maybe you already have met her and you just don't know it yet."

Mokuba gave Serenity a longing look she had not seen him use since before he resigned himself to the fact that she was in love with his older brother.

"Um…" Serenity began nervously. She bit her lower lip slightly as she tried to figure out what to say next. "Are you still in touch with Tea?"

"Sort-of… barely. Every time I call her, she pines about Yugi for hours. So, I never even get the chance to ask her out."

"Yeah, that's a tough one. Maybe someday she'll get over him if you just keep being a friend to her. In the meantime, let's watch a movie. I'm too tired to even think anymore," Serenity said truthfully.

"Good idea," Mokuba agreed. He picked up the remote control and flipped through the list of movies. He settled on a simple chick flick for Serenity's sake and started up the movie.

Serenity tried to stay awake, but her head kept drooping. Sleep finally overtook her, and she fell into a more comfortable position with her head resting on Mokuba's shoulder. Mokuba glanced at her in surprise, and soon realized that she was in such a deep sleep that she probably did not know what she was doing. Not wanting to wake her from her slumber, he continued to watch the movie and tried to stay awake himself. However, he too drifted off to sleep before the end of the movie.

….Several Hours Later…

Seto Kaiba dragged his tired bones into the mansion. His neck and back ached so much that he wondered if he should seek medical attention. In any case, Serenity could advise him on which medications to take to ease the pain and perhaps even give him a massage if she was still awake.

Seto hauled his briefcase upstairs and put it away in his home office. Then, he went to the master bedroom and started to undress. He hung his trench coat in the closet and felt a strange chill run down his spine. Something was missing, but he could not figure out what it was. Had he forgotten to deal with an important document at work? Was there a major appointment he had to attend early in the morning tomorrow? No, his secretary would handle that for him and if she did not, he would fire her. Ms. Brown always did everything efficiently and perfectly, anyway. Still, something seemed odd.

Seto dropped the last of his clothes into a laundry basket cleverly disguised as a decorative urn and climbed into bed. He reached out to touch his wife and found nothing but cold, empty sheets. Burrowing deeper into the massive bed, he searched for her warm, soft skin. Where is she? Seto wondered as he became more and more impatient. He worked his way from one end of the bed to the other, searching for her. Confused and disoriented, he thrashed about in the bed for several more minutes until he finally threw all the linens off the bed, jumped up, and turned on the light. No Serenity.

An icy chill surged through Seto's heart. Somebody must have kidnapped her. Now that she and our daughter are both heirs to Kaiba Corporation, she's a walking magnet for snakes like Pegasus and Bakura! Oh no! Hell no!

Seto yanked on a blue silk robe that Serenity had picked for him and raced to Mokuba's room to see if he was still safe, but found it empty. No! No, no, no! Pain knifed through Seto's heart once more as he found it empty. Those bastards kidnapped my brother, too! The world swam before Seto's eyes and he almost collapsed, but instead he clutched the doorframe until the feeling passed.

Then, he snapped into action. Using the mansion's intercom, he contacted his security guards. "When were Serenity and Mokuba last in the mansion?"

"Sir, I don't think you're going to like this," came the reply.

"Tell me," Seto said in his harshest tone.

"They're in the living room, but-"

Seto shut off the intercom and raced downstairs. That lazy, incompetent guard it going to pay if he let anyone harm my family!

Seto burst into the living room ready to face whoever had been holding his family hostage head-on, but instead found the room peacefully quiet. The television was on, emitting a soft glow over two bodies that lay on the white leather couch. Their feet rested on opposite arms of the couch, and their upper bodies were strangely but comfortably entwined. Mokuba's arms encircled Serenity's belly protectively, and his ear was pressed close as if he was listening to his niece's heartbeat.

Relief washed over Seto when he found out that his family was safe. He almost cried out with joy, but then decided not to disturb their sleep. Instead, he crept up to them and gave them three kisses; one on his brother's forehead, one on his wife's forehead, and one on his wife's stomach for their unborn daughter. Then, he left the room.

He touched the intercom button in the hallway outside the living room. "Why the hell did you imply that my family was in trouble?"

The guard hesitated. "I… er…"

"Don't ever do that again. If they're safe, tell me immediately. I don't need your bullshit jokes."

"Yes, sir!"

After scolding his security guard for making him worry, Seto went back to his room and fell asleep.

Closing Note: Please review! My life has been really weird lately, but I somehow managed to keep on my update schedule, so just drop me a line!