Music on K5Rakitan's Mind: "White Flag" by Dido and "Torn Between Two Lovers" by Mary MacGregor

Chapter 44 Reproduction

"Congratulations! You're pregnant again!" Serenity's coworker cried as she showed her the clipboard.

Serenity went pale. How could she have been so careless? The condoms were right there in the drawer by Mokuba's bed, but neither of them had taken the time to pull one out. It was just that one time they had skipped that step and had just felt so right at the time, but now she wasn't so sure.

"Hey! You're not getting morning sickness already, are you? When was the first day of your last period again?" the nurse asked.

Serenity thought fast. She couldn't tell her coworker that the last time she had sex with her husband was before the first day of her last period. No, it would cause a scandal and their family would wind up on the news and be torn apart by the ensuing drama. Still, she couldn't stomach lying to people. Seto would have to know, but he would decide the fate of their family, not some friendly coworker whose true intentions were unknown.

Serenity decided to redirect the question instead of answering. "Um… It's just that Seto and I have been really busy. We kinda lost track of that stuff. We barely have time to take care of Janet."

"Well, you can always quit work for a while or work fewer hours. Your husband's loaded, isn't he?"

"I just…" Serenity began. The other nurse had a point, but what if Seto didn't want to pay to raise his brother's child? Seto could easily fire Mokuba from his part-time position as the vice president of Kaiba Corporation out of spite, cut off his tuition money, and kick them both out into the street. The courts might mandate that he continue to support Janet, but if was really feeling vindictive, he could pull a few strings with Pegasus and Bakura to legally disown his family, blacklist Mokuba from getting hired anywhere, and… Pull yourself together, Serenity! "I just like helping people so much that I don't want to leave!" she cried, letting a tear escape.

The other nurse walked over to Serenity and gave her a hug. "I know dear, but sometimes you have to help your own family. You're a really good nurse. Even if you reduce your hours or take some time off, I'm sure the hospital will take you back after your kids are older."

The words of her fellow nurse were strangely comforting. Even though she did not know the entirety of her situation, Serenity lulled herself into thinking that the statement actually applied to her predicament. "Thanks," she said with a sniffle.

"Don't mention it. Us girls gotta stick together!"

Serenity forced a smile as she remembered the pact the other nurses had made against dating Mokuba. Instead of just seeing whether or not they had any chemistry with him, they bickered over the right to be his girlfriend until they decided that their friendship with each other was more important than a guy. Serenity wished they could have found a different solution; it could have made her life so much simpler.

The rest of Serenity's shift went more or less normally. Working calmed her nerves and gave her subconscious a chance to mull over what was going on in her life. By the time she got off work, she had a firm resolve about what to say and a few ideas about how to say it. Unfortunately, she knew that things don't always go as planned.

Serenity picked up Janet from the hospital daycare and tried to put on a happy face. However, she kept falling silent and drifting off into space on the limo ride home. Janet noticed her mother's odd behavior and tried to engage her in conversation several times, but none of the conversations lasted very long. They would always settle back into a cold, pensive silence.

The limo pulled up in front of the Kaiba mansion, and the driver opened the door for her and Janet. "Have a good evening, Mrs. Kaiba," he said politely as they got out. He seemed to be putting extra emphasis on the phrase this time, as if he also noticed that something was wrong, but knew that it was not his place to pry . . . or maybe it was just Serenity's imagination.

"Thanks," Serenity replied blankly as she walked mechanically up to the mansion and Janet toddled behind her.

Once inside, Serenity found Mokuba sitting in the TV room as usual. She froze in the doorway. He seemed so content and happy with life that she did not want to upset him.

Janet barged ahead of Serenity and approached the while leather couch. "Uncle Mokuba! Janet and Mommy are home!"

Mokuba picked up Janet and gave her a big hug, then turned to see Serenity standing in the doorway. He froze, too.

Serenity tried to say one of the things she had planned to say. It was on the tip of her tongue, but instead she broke down and started crying. Mokuba set Janet down on the couch and walked over to Serenity. He wrapped his long, muscular arms around her and brought her to the couch.

"Why is Mommy sad?" Janet asked.

"I don't know," Mokuba said softly while Serenity continued to cry.

"Would ice cream help?" Janet asked.

"Maybe."

Janet jumped off the couch and toddled over to the intercom. She stood on the tips of her toes, but could not reach the button. Looking around, she spotted one of Mokuba's textbooks and dragged it over to the wall. This time, she was able to reach the button. "Chocolate ice cream, please," Janet told the chef as she had seen Serenity and Mokuba do so many times before.

Surprised to hear Janet's voice over the intercom for the first time, the chef said, "Did you mother approve this, Miss Kaiba?"

"No, but it's for her and if you don't bring it, she'll be extra sad," Janet said firmly.

"Right away, Miss Kaiba."

Janet smiled and went to sit with her family. When the ice cream came, Serenity gobbled it down gratefully.

"Are you ready to talk yet?" Mokuba asked.

Serenity took a deep breath, and blurted out, "I'm pregnant!"

"Is it . . ." Mokuba began.

"Yours? Yes." Serenity finished.

Mokuba ran a hand through his thick black locks. "Are you sure? Isn't there a chance that it could still be Seto's?"

"I wish there was, but he's been too busy for me lately. You know how it is."

Mokuba stood up and started pacing. His hands shook. "I… I can't be a father!"

"You already are, and you're a really good one," Serenity told him. That was one of the things she had planned to say anyway, more or less.

"That's not what I meant. I meant I can't do this to Seto. I should have moved out and gotten my own apartment like a normal college student. Then, I wouldn't have been here to lead you astray."

"Don't say that! I'm glad you were here. If it wasn't for you, I might have turned to a stranger - a man who doesn't even know Seto - a man who would try to drag me away from Seto - a man who wouldn't understand what he really means to me."

Mokuba paused and thought for a moment. "You're right. Look, have sex with him tonight. Dominate him or whatever it is you do. Then, convince him that the baby is his."

"Uncle Mokuba, what's sex?" Janet asked in wide-eyed wonder.

"It's um . . . an adult thing," Mokuba evaded.

"It's where babies come from," Serenity added.

"Serenity!" Mokuba said in alarm.

"What? She has to find out sooner or later. Why not sooner?"

"But… but she's only two!"

"I'll tell you what. When it's your daughter, you can decide when to tell her. Right now, I'm tired of keeping secrets."

"Wait, shouldn't Seto have a say in this? You didn't even ask him!" Mokuba yelled.

"Neither did you! Look, when Seto starts acting like a father, he can be a father. Until then, I make the decisions regarding Janet," Serenity returned hotly.

This time, it was Mokuba who was on the verge of tears. He tried to think of what to say next, but Serenity's sharp words had paralyzed him. How could she say that to him when he had spent so much time caring for Janet? Did she not respect his input? Would things be different with a child who was biologically his, or would they just fight more?

Janet ran up to Mokuba and flung her arms around him. "Uncle Mokuba is a good father," she declared.

Serenity's expression softened a little. "Janet, Mokuba is not your father."

"Why not?" Janet asked.

"Seto is your father. 'Daddy' and 'father' mean the same thing."

"Why are there two words for the same thing?" Janet asked.

"A father is a male who gives half of his genes to a baby through sex. A mother is a female who gives half of her genes to the same baby and nurtures that baby inside of her for nine months. 'Daddy' is an easier word to say than 'father' just like 'mommy' is an easier word to say than 'mother.'"

"So, I have half of your genes and half of Daddy Seto's?" Janet asked.

"Yes."

"Will the new baby get half of your genes and half of Daddy Uncle Mokuba?"

"Yes."

"Then will your genes be all gone?"

"No. Genes, um, grow and make more of themselves, so they don't just go away."

Janet continued to ask more questions, and Serenity kept trying to answer them in language that her daughter could understand. However, each new answer led to more questions. Perhaps Mokuba was right. Perhaps she had opened this can or worms too soon.

Janet and Mokuba migrated back to the couch, where Janet continued to soak in knowledge until she grew tired. She fell asleep between Serenity and Mokuba. The two adults carried Janet to her bed, and then went back downstairs to talk about if, how, and when to tell Seto that Serenity was pregnant with Mokuba's child.

They came up with several ideas, but could not agree on precisely what to do. Mokuba argued that Seto was too busy to be disturbed with this information in the near future and probably would not even notice that the baby was not his as long as it had blue or green eyes. Serenity argued that the longer they waited to tell Seto, the more upset he would be. Plus, there was a chance that the child could have violet eyes because Serenity's maternal grandmother had them, but her mother had brown eyes and that was a dominant gene, so Serenity had to be a carrier of the recessive violet gene. That's how Janet got her father's blue eyes instead of her mother's green ones.

"Too bad you can't choose which set of genes to pass on," Mokuba mumbled sleepily, "that would solve everything."

"I doubt it, but maybe you're right about waiting. The first few months of a pregnancy can be… iffy. We'll wait for an ultrasound before… yeah," Serenity yawned as she snuggled up to Mokuba. The luxurious white leather couch felt so welcoming and irresistible. Even though it was a tight fit, their bodies conformed so well to one another that they felt like they were drifting into a cloud. They each thought about getting up and going to their own beds several times, but they kept telling themselves, Five more minutes. Five more minutes. Five… more… zzzz