*~*Undertaker and William in the same room talking about Grell can be rather confusing. Since Grell is a male grim reaper, I may be taking a few liberties with his situation.*~*

Forever Together, In Each Other's Arms

Chapter 1: Whatever Happens

A cry of agony and the shattering of glass reached the ears of William as he prepared breakfast. He dropped what he was doing and raced up the stairs to the bedroom. Grell was sitting on the floor in front of the busted full length mirror holding his head in his hands, one of which was bleeding. No doubt from having punched the mirror. William fetched the first aid kit from the bathroom. When he tried to take Grell's hand in his, Grell pulled away and scooted backwards.

"Go away, Will," his voice high strung.

"Grell what's wrong?"

"This is the worst day of my life! How could I have let this happen?"

"Let what happen?"

Grell looked at William, his face distraught, tears spilling out over his cheeks. "I'm fat!"

William froze, trying to process this. Then he blinked, sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "You broke the mirror because you have put on a little weight?"

Grell sprang to his feet. "A little?! Does this look like a little to you?" he screeched, opening his dressing gown to reveal his stomach. Once flat was now protruding a tiny bit.

William regarded the frame of his lover, "A couple of inches. Yes, I would."

"WHAT?! How can you say such a thing?" He dropped back to the floor, "I'm nothing but a fat cow!" He sobbed into his hands.

It was all William could do not to roll his eyes at all the drama, "If you are that worried, go on a diet."

"See, you think I've gotten fat too. Now you'll want a divorce. What shall I do then?"

Biting back a groan, William grabbed Grell's hand. He checked for any shards of glass before cleansing and bandaging it, "You are not fat, and I am not going to divorce you." He looked at Grell closely, "You look rather pale. Are you feeling alright?" Grell averted his eyes. "Grell…" He said in a serious tone.

"I didn't want to tell you, Will-darling, because I knew you would put me on desk duty, and you know how dreadfully boring I find that. But…no, I haven't. Not since our honeymoon. I've had nausea quite frequently, but lately I've been feeling tired too."

"Have you gone to see a doctor?"

Grell jerked his chin and waved his arm, "I don't need to see a doctor."

"You will see or doctor you will be on desk duty until I say otherwise."

"William, that's not fair!"

"You are not going to get your way this time. As much as I love you, this something I am going to put my foot down on. It is because I love you that I want you to go," he said softly. "What if is something serious?" He pulled Grell close. "I do not want to lose you," and he kissed him tenderly on the lips. "I shall even sit with you while you wait to go in."

"Fine," Grell huffed.

"I wish I could stay the entire time."

(x)

"Name?" asked a nasally voiced receptionist.

"Mrs. Grell Spears."

The keys clacked under her fingers as she typed on her keyboard. "I'm sorry, but there's no reaper in our database registered under that name. Are you sure she's registered with this division?"

Grell slammed his hands down on the counter, "Listen you bubble-brained twit…" William took Grell by the arm and pulled him aside.

"I will sign you in…I beg your pardon," he said to the receptionist, "Grell Sutcliff."

"Date of transfer?"

"November 21, 1797." She handed him a clipboard and a pen.

"Fill out these papers and have a seat over there."

"Thank you." William took a seat began filling in the necessary fields.

Grell placed his hands on his hips, "I am perfectly capable of filling out my own paperwork."

"I thought you found paperwork boring and dull," William replied without looking up. Grell crossed his arms and took a seat next to him. After a few moments, he handed the clipboard to Grell. "Sign…your registered name: 'Grell Sutcliff'."

"I still don't see why they can't change it in the database."

"And we have discussed it a thousand times why we cannot." He took back the clipboard and gave it back to the receptionist. As he came back to wait with his wife, his phone rang. "William T. Spears…Yes…Yes, I shall be there in a moment." He went to Grell. "I am sorry, I have to go. You know where to find me if you need me. Ms. Spears," He gave him a kiss and left Grell alone in the waiting room.

(x)

The sound of bells tinkled as Grell entered the shop. "My, my, what a pleasant surprise, it's been awhile, dearie. What brings you here today?"

Grell took a seat on one of the showpieces. "I just needed some time away."

"Problems, Rose?" One eye glinted from between his bangs, "Willy treating you right?"

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that," Grell slouched forward, cupping his cheek in his head and resting his elbow on his knee. "Will made me go to the doctor today because I haven't been feeling too well."

"Oh?"

"They don't know what's wrong with me, either. The one thing they could think of based off my symptoms, they deemed impossible. Since I'm…because I have this body," he gestured to himself. "And they laughed at the very idea! There was no need to rub it in. It's not like I chose to have this body."

"Hmmm…" Undertaker tapped a long black nail to his chin. "Mind if I take a look?" he asked with a wide grin. Grell eyed him warily. Undertaker threw his arms up in the air as if in surrender. With a look of innocence, he added, "Completely professional. The living isn't too different from the dead, right? I'm sure we can figure this out."

"Oh, alright. I suppose it couldn't hurt." Undertaker motioned for Grell to follow him. He led him down a flight of stairs and into a cold, basement-like structure. He patted a stone slab table in the center of the room, "Take off your shirt and hop up here, please, dearie. Don't worry; I've cleaned it since it was last used. Gehehehe~" he laughed as he moved to turn on some more lights.

Sometime later, Undertaker stood completely baffled and tapping his chin. "And it's only recently that you have put on this weight?" Grell nodded. "Well, there's only one thing left then…" He grabbed a specimen jar off a shelf and tilted it back and forth, "Piss into this jar."

(x)

William picked his cell phone up off the desk and answered, keeping his attention on his work, "William T. Spears."

"Will?"

William put down his pen and sat back in his chair giving Grell his full attention, "Grell, what did the doctor say?"

"I'm…we're…" his words coming in gasps. William heard what sounded like the phone hitting a hard surface, then silence.

"Grell?...Grell?" William's concern mounting.

A new voice was heard on the other end, "My, my, what interesting new toys you boys have."

"Undertaker?"

"Ah, Willy! Don't you fret yourself none. Your pretty little rose is perfectly fine. She's just had a bit of a fainting spell. She really shouldn't be creating portals in her condition. When can I expect daddy to pick up mommy?"

"I shall be there momentarily." William wasted no time in grabbing his coat and heading out the door. Her condition? And what was Grell doing with the deserter? He left instructions with Ms. Jennings as he passed her.

"Where is he?" was the first thing out of William's mouth when he entered the shop. Though his visage was calm and collected, the air around him seemed to crackle, ready to burst at any given moment given the right trigger. Undertaker stopped polishing the show piece with a chuckle. 'Not so stiff after all, there's for him yet.'

"She's lying down in the back."

"May I ask what is he doing here in the first place?"

"She came to me after your incompetent medical staff failed to diagnose her problem. I admit even I was stumped for a minute, but the answer was quite simple."

"You figured out what has been making him sick?"

"Yes, but I'll let her tell you all about that. This way," Undertaker led William through his residential quarters to his bedroom. Grell was staring down at his stomach and his hand resting upon it. His cheeks were tear stained, but he was smiling. William went to his side and took his hand while Undertaker slipped away as silently as he could.

"Grell, what did Undertaker tell you?" William asked. Whatever was wrong, they would overcome it. William prayed it wasn't anything untreatable, like the thorns of death.

Grell looked at his husband, still smiling and pulled him close, kissing him several times. Then he pressed his forehead against William's. "It's impossible," he whispered.

"What, my love, what is?" William implored the answer from his wife.

"I don't know how…but…," Grell's voice cracked as he spoke.

William ran his fingers through Grell's hair then placed his hands on the sides if Grell's face and looked into his eyes. "What were his findings?"

Grell kissed him again before wrapping into a hug, placing his head on his shoulder. "You're going to be a father. Will, I couldn't be happier."

William couldn't be more concerned. He held him, stroking his hair. "Grell…" he began. He wanted to tell him, explain to him, how physically impossible that was. How it could only be a fantasy. There must be some sort of misunderstanding. But William couldn't find it in his heart to do so. Grell was clearly in shock by whatever Undertaker had told him. He wasn't in his right mind. He kissed his hands. "I shall be right back."

Grell watched him leaving, confused. He thought Will would be happy. That they would share in this joyous moment. "Darling?"

William looked back from the doorway, "I need to speak with Undertaker for a moment. I will not be long."

William found the mortician in the kitchen leaning against the counter nibbling on a biscuit with a cup of tea nearby. "Congratulations, Willy," he hailed with a smile. "What are you hoping for? A boy or a girl?"

"Will you be serious for a moment, please, sir?" William asked in a serious manner. "We both know he is not expecting. I do not take to you indulging him in this fantasy. It may only harm him further. Now please, tell me what you found."

Undertaker sobered and sighed. He guessed he had been expecting too much from his cold companion. His rose was probably sitting confused and anxious, alone. "I know it's difficult to take in and I don't know how it's possible. Not yet at least. But your wife is pregnant. I tested her twice to be sure. That and you add in her symptoms, how could it be anything but? We have several things to discuss to ensure you have a healthy child and the mother isn't harmed. But first, you need to pull that stick out of your ass, march back into that room and show your wife how happy you are to be having this baby. Logical or not, William T. Spears, you are going to be a father. Take responsibility for it….I'll be in later so we can talk."

William turned, his mind whirling as he returned to the bedroom. It couldn't be true, could it? Grell was biting his lip, eyes cast down at the blanket as he played with a lock of hair that hung over his shoulder. William sat down on the bed next to him, placing his hand on Grell's stomach. He hooked a finger under Grell's chin and raised his head. "What am I going to do with two of you?"

"I don't know, Will," his voice small and hesitant.

"A bigger stick might help, for starters, to keep both of you in line." Grell gave him a puzzled look. Then he noticed the slight smile on Will's lips.

"Will? Was that a joke? Did you just make a joke?"

William leaned forward and kissed him, "I did not mean to be so cold earlier. Your news was so different from anything I was expecting, surprising, to say the least. I needed a moment to process. Of course I am going to love the both of you." Though he still wasn't quite sure he believed it, the look on Grell's face when he came back to the room told him what he needed to do.

Undertaker knocked on the open door before entering, carrying a tea tray. "Now this is much better, isn't it?" He poured them each a cup and handed it to them. "First off, to put it simply, our rose's body is not built to handle this sort of thing. This means it would be best if she was monitored constantly. And surgery is the only option as she will not be able to conceive naturally. Any medication she is on that can harm the child will have to stop."

"Good," said Grell, "I always hated those things."

"It was court ordered," William added in. "He cannot simply just stop taking them."

"She must," Undertaker insisted, "if you want to have this baby. Frankly, I have concerns already. The fact that she's showing means she's somewhere between three and four months. Irreparable damage may already be done."

William slowly nodded. Concerned of what should happen if he should stop. Could he expect another 'Jack the Ripper' escapade, or something else? And now that he was hormonal, who knows how Grell may react to a situation. However, they would have to manage without them. It shouldn't be too hard to get away with. Grell was no longer seeing the psychiatrist, so there was currently no one monitoring his doses. No one except William. "Our medical team should be able to monitor Grell's pregnancy just fine, even if they take some convincing."

Undertaker frowned and shook his head. "I was afraid you'd say that. We are death, Willy, we don't create life. And now one of our own is expecting. Not only that, but she is physically male. While your choice seems sound, there's no telling how they may react. What if they lock Rose away?" Grell placed a firm grip on William's forearm, his eyes widening. "Poke, prod. Separate you from your child from its birth, if they let such a thing come to term, that is." He paused. "But that is up to you two. I would not seek their help unless it was the only means necessary."

"I don't want to be locked up, Will, not again." His grip on Will's arm tightening further and his voice desperate.

William squeezed his hand, knowing the reality of their situation, he somberly replied, "Yet we will not be able to hide your pregnancy forever. Sooner or later, someone is going to notice."

"You can hide her out of sight until after the little nipper is born," suggested Undertaker.

"Until the board begins questioning where he is and what he is doing," William stated. "They are already unpleased with a supervisor having intimate relations with a subordinate. Fortunately there is not much they can do about it. Not legally anyways."

"Nosey little bastards," Undertaker muttered.

William looked Grell in the eyes, "Whatever happens, I shall not let them lock you away." He pulled Grell into a tight embrace, holding his head to his chest. They would not have him, either of them. Not if William could help it.

(x)

As it turned out, Grell ended up confined to his desk, despite his insisting that he could still collect souls. His clothes had become too tight and now fit almost perfectly into Will's clothes, the sleeves and cuffs still a might too long. Much to William's chagrin, he had not given up his heels. Some things he would sacrifice, but not his sense of fashion. So far, his pregnancy was unnoticed, but as the days passed, the two of them only seemed to grow more nervous. William was always trying to keep Grell's stress levels low, which Grell found endearing and very sweet, but some days Grell just wished he would leave him alone.

Grell stuck the needle through the loop on the other needle and wrapped the yarn around the first then carefully pulled it through, taking the first loop off the second needle after doing so. There, one down, only about a hundred more to go on this row. But he would not let that disparage him, he told himself he was going to learn knit and that was just what he was going to do. It had taken several hours just to figure out the mechanics of it, by the end of which he was about ready to throw it against the wall in frustration, but he finally figured it out and now he just had to keep knitting till the blanket was done. And this was exactly what he was doing instead of working. He was concentrating so hard that he failed to notice his former junior reaper walk in.

"Something I should know about, old man?" Ronald kidded him.

In a flash, Grell shoved the knitting into his desk drawer and shut it with a bang. "No!" he lied, "You know that's impossible, Ronnie." He feigned a sad smile. His hand began to twitch and spasm, "You don't happen to have an apple on you by any chance do you?"

"Do I look like a fruit basket? Besides, I thought you didn't care much for apples," Ronald said, taking a seat on Grell's loveseat sideways and lounging back on it.

"Well, I like them now, so what?"

Ronald leaned his head back and looked at Grell, "Nothing, though I may point out you've put on a few pounds here lately. You may want to start thinking about going on a diet. Why did the boss restrict you to desk duty again?"

"Er..Ronnie," Grell sweated and quickly changed the subject, "You wouldn't mind being a sweetheart would you and be about finding me that apple? Please? You can come back afterwards and take as long of a nap as you want. I'll do your paperwork."

"You really want that apple."

"And I'll see if I can't talk Ms. Jennings into going on a date with you," Grell added in to make the deal sweeter.

Ronald rubbed the back of his neck as he stood. "Fine, I'll go and find your dumb apple."

"Thank you!" Grell squealed, jumping up and pulling Ronald into a tight hug. "You are the sweetest boy," he gushed, placing kisses all over Ronald's face. "What would I do without you?" Ronald tried to pry himself from Grell's grasp. Grell stumbled, a wave of dizziness sweeping over him. "I feel faint," he muttered right before he collapsed on top of Ronald. Taking Ronald by surprise, who was not expecting the sudden weight of Grell on top of him, they crashed to the floor.

"Grell?" He tried to rouse his former mentor, but he was out cold. Ronald tugged an arm free and tried to reach Grell's pockets, his own being trapped underneath Grell. Ah! There! He could just reach the edge of Grell's cell phone. Inching it further until it was within his grasp; he pulled it out and called his boss.

"Yes, dear," William answered after a few rings.

"Darling, could come and get your wife off of me? He's really heavy."

"I'm not…Ronald?"

"No, it's the Queen of England."

"Mr. Knox." William warned him. "Where is Grell?"

"On top of me. He's fainted and I can't wake him."

"I shall be right there," William's usually calm voice was laced with worry, "Stay with him."

"Yeeeeah, not gonna be a problem."

William rushed to Grell's office. Ronald looked up at him from the floor when he entered. "Yo," he greeted with a salute.

"What happened?" William asked as he hurried to their aid, not in the mood for any sort of nonsense.

"He asked me to get him an apple. I said, 'yes'. He said, 'thank you' and hugged me. He fainted. Here we are."

"Mr. Knox, I am not in the mood for that kind of attitude. I suggest an adjustment." William gently rolled Grell over. Knox was right though, he was rather heavy. "Get the medical staff down here immediately," he commanded. William held Grell's head in his lap while Ronald dialed the hospital ward. William stroked Grell's alarmingly pale face, "Grell? My love?"

"This is Ronald Knox. We have an emergency down in dispatch. Grell Sutcliff's office and hurry." Ronald finished his call to Medical and knelt next to William.

Filled with worry, William moved to place a hand on Grell's stomach. His eyes widened as he felt a tiny movement on the other side. He closed his eyes, his breathing slowed as he felt for it again. There it was, his child moving inside its mother. This was real. "I…I can feel him," he said breathily.

"Uhh, boss?" Ronald asked in concern.

Cradling Grell's head once more, William kissed him, whispering, pleading, "Grell, wake up. The baby is moving." Then he noticed Grell's lips, so full of color this morning that had gone to white were now turning blue. Oxygen, he needed oxygen. William laid him down flat on the floor just as the medics arrived. "He's not breathing!" he shouted to them.

The medics looked at him funny. "We do not require breath like mortals, sir," said one of them.

"I know that!"

The medics crowded around them. Ronald moved out of their way while one of the medics tried to pull William away as the other two examined Grell. "Could you please move aside, sir?"

With reluctance, William stepped back to allow the medics to do their job as Ronald told them what happened. There was no hiding it now. Soon everyone would know of the pregnant grim reaper. He hoped he could keep his promise to Grell.

(x)

still very much a WIP, not even near finished yet, but I wanted to go ahead and give the first chapter.