Author's Note:

This is part of a series, and I'll have a Kaname x Yuuki one-shot posted soon that will take place after the 2nd season (which I am super excited to start writing). This one was easier to write at the moment, so that's why it was done first.

There be spoilers ahead for the 2nd season, so don't read unless you don't care about it being ruined.

In this (spoiler!) Yuuki has NOT been changed into a pureblood for whatever reason you want to imagine, but Rido did arrive and cause chaos at the Academy. Just pretend that she miraculously didn't go crazy with bloodlust.

Brush your teeth because fluffiness is ahead!

Thoughts are in italics.

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight, nor do I profit in any monetary way from this story. It is written for my and other's enjoyment, and I am taking creative liberties with the characters. The only character that is mine is Ms. Himura. Vampire Knight and Vampire Knight Guilty are property of Viz Media and Matsuri Hino. Support them buy purchasing manga and dvds legally from your favorite retailer! The rating is posted above, and I cannot be held responsible if a reader who is too young reads this story without permission.

A New Life: Amethyst

I'm a bastard, a damn bastard, for causing her this pain.

The young man in his early twenties was in the process of having his hand crushed by his surprisingly strong, pregnant wife. Her normally soft, gentle hands were squeezing his calloused ones with a strength that rivaled a bear, and he was willing to take that and more if it meant lessening her pain. Her hair was matted against her face, clinging to the sweat on her fair skin. Her warm, ruby-tinted eyes were deep and swimming, trying not to shed the tears that were just below the surface. At the moment, she was breathing raggedly, trying to get through the latest contraction.

"You're doing great, Yuuki. You can't push yet, though. It will still be a while longer," said the midwife. She was a plump woman that looked just old enough to have grandchildren. She had a kind face and a comfortable personality that calmed many of her patients.

"How much longer?" asked Zero with an edge to his voice. It was driving him crazy to see her in this state, and he could tell that she was near complete exhaustion.

The midwife looked at him knowingly, not offended by his harsh tone. "Maybe another hour or two, at the most. It is common for the first pregnancy to take a while. I'll be back to check on you very soon." She exited the room. Based on the sound of her footsteps, she was heading towards the family room to give them some privacy.

The silver-haired man held her hand to his heart, and brushed some of her brunette hair away from her flushed face. His eyes looked like pools of liquid amethyst and a worried frown was on his face.

"Don't l-look at me like th-that," Yuuki said, turning her head to face him.

"Like what?" he asked solemnly.

"Like i-it is your fault. I wanted th-this."

He brought her hand to his cheek, feeling the warmth radiating off of her. "I know, I know. I just hate seeing you like this."

A knock was heard at the door. "May we come in?" Kaien Cross was standing in the doorway dressed in his normal household attire. He held a glass of water in his hand.

"We?" Zero asked. He briefly wondered if the curious Headmaster had started referring to himself as two people.

The light-haired man smiled knowingly. "You have a visitor – both of you."

The mysterious figure that was standing in the shadows stepped into the room, illuminating his dark hair and wine-colored eyes. "Hello, Yuuki. Zero."

"Kaname," she said with a smile. "I didn't expect to see you."

Zero nodded towards the pureblood, acknowledging his presence. While the two vampires still didn't see eye-to-eye, they were civil towards one another.

Kaname walked over to the nearby table and placed a vase with a single rose on top of it. "I couldn't miss such an important event in your life. How are you doing?"

Kaien handed her the glass of water, which she readily drank in a few gulps. "I'm doing as well as can be expected. I just want it to be over with."

"She's been in labor for nearly ten hours, already," Kaien elaborated.

"Ten hours?" Kaname asked.

"Yeah, but the midwife says that I can probably start pushing in a few more."

The Headmaster looked at the soon-to-be father, knowing that he would protest at what he was going to say. "Zero, you've been in here this whole time. You should take a break. We can't have you passing out because you haven't taken care of yourself."

Zero, as expected, looked at him like he had two heads, unwilling to even think of leaving his wife's side.

"I'll be fine, Zero. Go get something from the kitchen and rest. It's not like you are leaving town," Yuuki suggested. He opened his mouth to protest. "Please, for me? You've been awake for almost a whole day, now."

"I'll keep watch over her while you are away," Kaname offered. "I promise to come find you if anything goes amiss while you are gone."

He sighed. "Alright, but I don't have to like it." He leaned over and kissed her quickly on the lips, reluctantly letting go of her hand.

"I can make you one of my special recipes!" Kaien said with a goofy look on his face. He walked to the door with a spring in his step.

Zero looked like he had already eaten something that didn't agree with him. "Wonderful." The two men exited the room, leaving Yuuki and Kaname to catch up on the time that they had been away.

"How has he been?" the pureblood asked with a melancholy tone.

She looked at him with an expression of mixed emotions. "Very well, considering his situation. He hasn't fallen into bloodlust for nearly eight months now."

Kaname turned his head sharply. "Eight months. Did he-"

"Yes, but I was only one month pregnant, so it wasn't as big of a deal as it would be now." She looked at the blue blanket that was covering her. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For giving him your blood." He showed a twinge of surprise on his face that he had been found out, raising his eyebrow in a silent question. "Zero thought I was asleep on the day that Hanabusa came to visit. I heard voices, and looked out the window so that I could see what was going on. I saw him hand Zero a box, and then he left as quickly as he came. Zero seemed must less...tense, I suppose, after that. A few days later, I found where Zero had hidden it, and opened it up. I saw four large glass bottles filled with blood, and I figured out the rest."

"Ah, I see. In any event, I am happy that it helped. I'll continue to send it as he needs it. Just send the word and I'll do it." He reached out and put his hand over hers on the bed. "It would break my heart to learn that you or your child was hurt because he fell to a Level-E."

She gave him a watery smile. "Thank you."

An hour later, Zero woke up from his nap. He had fallen asleep with his head on the kitchen table, sitting in one of the wooden chairs near the bay window. A glass vile of Kuran blood lay empty on the wooden table. The month that the baby was supposed to arrive, he'd refused to leave her side for very long. He tried to sleep, but it didn't come easily. His appetite had substantially lessened, as well. She said he was being silly until her water broke three weeks before she was due. As he exited his dreamworld, he wondered what had woken him up.

"Zero? Zero? It's almost time." His former guardian was nudging his shoulder roughly, desperate to wake him up.

His lilac eyes shot open as adrenaline coursed through him. Knocking the chair to the ground, he ran down the hallway and burst into the room. She was in the middle of another contraction, squeezing Kaname's hand as if it were an orange she was trying to get juice from. If the pureblood was in any pain, he gave no indication of it.

"Yuuki?" He walked over to her, sitting down in his chair and holding her other hand with his own. She looked at him with a weary smile, silently communicating that she was fine.

"Great job, Yuuki. It won't be much longer, now. You'll be holding your baby very soon." The midwife put on a white smock and made sure her hair was tied back snugly.

"You hear that, Zero? It won't be...much longer now," Yuuki said, still trying to catch her breath.

"Yeah, I did," he replied softly.

"Would you like me to leave the room during the delivery?" Kaname asked, still letting her use his hand like a stress ball.

"No, no of course not. I would like you stay, if you want to, that is. You are part of the family," she said with love in her eyes.

Kaname looked stunned and happy at the same time, smiling softly at her so as not to reveal his fangs to the unsuspecting midwife.

"Okay, Yuuki, it's time to get ready to push. I want you to scoot forward to the edge of the bed for me. Just a little further...right there. Wonderful, now, put your feet on my shoulders. Don't worry, you won't hurt me. Yes, that's fine. Now, young man, would you sit behind your wife so that she has something to lean against?"

Zero obliged, having discussed the birthing arrangement beforehand with her. He crawled up behind her and placed her in between his legs, resting her back against his chest. He wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders, holding her firmly to him.

"Okay, Yuuki. When you feel like you need to push, I want you to give it all that you've got, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded nervously, anxious and terrified at the same time. Very quickly, she felt her body give her the signals to do so, and she pushed for all that she was worth. She whimpered in protest, her body already aching from the effort.

"That was great. Keep it up." The midwife appeared to be the calmest in the room, save Kaname, having done this a hundred times before.

"Ahhh!" Yuuki screamed, feeling as if her insides were being ripped apart. Unable to disguise the pain any longer, tears flowed freely down her flushed cheeks.

"You're doing fine, sweetheart. Think of holding our baby," Zero said, kissing her cheek as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"It...h-hurts. So mu-much," she said, feeling embarrassed at how pathetic she sounded.

"I know it does, but you're almost there. Just a little while longer."

The midwife's eyes focused in concentration. "Okay, Yuuki, get ready to push when I tell you. And... push!"

"Ahhhhh!"

"Push! I can see the head, keep going!"

Yuuki was pushing for all she was worth, her cries breaking the hearts of the men in the room. Kaname took a nearby towel and patted her head to cool her off, while Zero continued whispering words of comfort in her ear.

"One more big one, Yuuki. Come on!"

"Ahhhh!" Her screams were soon replaced by another smaller one, that caused all in the room to nearly stop breathing at the sound of. The midwife cradled the baby in the warm towels they had ready, and got the fluid out from its airways.

Yuuki looked at her child with glittering eyes, happy tears escaping her eyes. Zero looked in awe at what he helped create, a lone tear falling down his face. Mom, Dad,...Ichiru, can you see this?

Kaien reached forward and clamped the umbilical cord with the eyes of a proud father and grandfather. Kaname had mixed emotions shining in his eyes.

"Congratulations, you have a son." She passed the newborn to Kaien, who passed it to Yuuki.

She held her son as if he would break if she even looked at him wrong. He had dark, brunette hair, with eyes that were as brilliant as his father's She began to cry and laugh at the same time, trying to comfort her crying son. Zero reached out and held his tiny hands in his large ones, the happiest that he had ever felt. Her father, not surprisingly, discreetly snapped a photo to commemorate the joyous event.

Suddenly, Yuuki had a confused look on her face, and looked up at the midwife in near alarm. "I feel like I need to push, again," she said quietly. She was wincing as a familiar pain descended upon her.

The midwife immediately took a closer look. At first, she though it was the afterbirth, but after examining her more she came to a different conclusion. "Hmmm. We aren't done yet; you have twins."

Everyone's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "Twins!" Zero and Yuuki asked in unison.

Kaien and Kaname looked at each other with curious expressions, both knowing the near astronomical chances of another hunter having twins. They both wondered separately if it had to do with her previous form as a vampire. The former hunter took the newborn gently from his daughter and moved out of the way.

Once again, the contractions intensified, and Yuuki found herself pouring more energy than she thought she had left into bringing another life into the world.

"I'm...so...tired," she said in between pants. Her face was nearly as red as the rose on the table next to her, and she was shaking from the effort.

Zero turned her face towards his. "Look at me, Yuuki. You can do this. Just a little bit more and it will all be over."

"I've almost got the shoulders. Come on, Yuuki. One more push!"

"Ahhhh!"

Soon, another small cry echoed in the room. Another bundle of joy was held in the busy midwife's arms.

"It's a girl," the midwife said proudly. She had hair that looked like it was kissed by the moonlight, and brightly-tinted eyes that were neither silver nor purple, but somewhere in between. Zero noticed quite quickly that she had her mother's face.

"Look, Yuuki. You did it." Zero hugged her closer, kissing her on the top of her head. More happy tears descended down his normally stern face. He smiled more than he ever had before – everyone was.

"My baby girl," she whispered. Her eyes were drooping, and her speech was dreamy.

"Yuuki?" Kaname asked.

Zero turned his attention from his baby to his wife. "Yuuki? Are you alright?"

Her head dropped to his shoulder, feeling as heavy as lead.

"Yuuki?"

Brown eyes opened slowly. "I'm fine; just tired."

Zero closed his eyes in relief. "Thank goodness. Don't scare me like that." He'd had many a nightmare the last few months of this now happy occasion turning out differently.

"Would you like to hold your children?" the midwife asked.

Yuuki held the baby boy while Zero held the baby girl.

"Congratulations." Kaname looked at his secret sister with pride. He was elated to see her so happy, yet also sad that it didn't turn out as he had dreamt of as a child. In the end, as long as she was happy that was all that mattered.

"What are you going to name them?" Kaien asked, snapping another picture.

"The boy will be Ichiru...," said Zero.

"...and the girl will be Juuri," finished Yuuki.

"Those names suit them beautifully," said Kaname. Juuri and Haruka would be proud.

Kaien wiped away a tear from his eye, and then cleared his throat to keep from crying. "Come on, now, everyone in the picture. This one is going to go on my desk!"

"That means you, too, Kaname." Yuuki looked at him knowingly, sensing that he was about to move out of the way. "And this means no hiding your face Zero Kiryu."

He chuckled. "I wouldn't dream of it."

With the snap of the shutter, a perfect moment was frozen in time that all in the room would cherish forever.

Ending Notes:

Thoughts? Questions? I'd love to hear them!

I was inspired to write this after watching a snippet from the Clannad: After Story (do not own!) episode when Nagisa gives birth. In case there is any confusion, Yuuki knows who Kaname really is to her and knows who she really is, but her heart was tied to Zero more than him in this universe.

I hope you enjoyed it!