Author's Notes: First chapter which is technically the second chapter. I apologize for the dialogue overload. Oh well, enjoy.
One Night Only
Disclaimer:Eric Slingby, Alan Humphries, Grell Sutcliff and William T Spears belong to Yana Toboso. I own nothing.
Chapter 1:
"Alright Mr Slingby, take some deep breaths for me" Eric shivered slightly as the doctor pressed his stethoscope to the bare skin of his back. He straightened up and began to breathe deeply in and out. The doctor listened carefully, moving his stethoscope around. He took the ear buds out and stood up,
"Alright, thank you Mr Slingby, you may put your shirt back on now" said the doctor. He hung his stethoscope around his neck and picked up Eric's medical notes. Eric hopped down from the examination table and grabbed his shirt from the chair he had draped it over. The yearly health check was, in Eric's opinion, a useless venture. Shinigami were naturally less susceptible to the health issues ordinary humans were. Even with the rare exceptions to this rule, a Shinigami succumbing to illness was unheard of. Eric highly considered skipping the health check every time the yearly reminder appeared in his in-tray. Unfortunately, health checks were compulsory for all dispatch officers, and if he didn't have it done, he'd be demoted to office work. Eric sighed as he fastened the rest of his shirt buttons. He picked up his tie and draped it around his neck,
"Anything to tell me?" he asked,
"The same thing I tell you every year" replied the doctor "Your health is satisfactory as far as I'm concerned, but try and kick the forty a day habit". Eric smirked as he put on his jacket,
"Duly noted" he said. The doctor sighed and closed Eric's notes,
"You're free to go Mr Slingby" he said "Tell Mr Sutcliff he's next on my list".
Grell groaned and tried to push his head further out of his office window, desperately trying to cool down. He couldn't figure out why he was suddenly so hot and sweaty. He had wrenched open both windows in his office, despite the freezing winter temperatures and falling snow. He'd even pulled out the old clunky fan he used in summer and set it to full power, and still it felt like he was suffocating in heat. Grell groaned again, feeling sweat trickle down the back of his neck. His stomach churned, the heat wasn't helping his nausea at all. Grell pressed an arm to his tummy, hoping he wasn't going to vomit out of the window,
"Sutcliff! What the hell are you doing?",
Grell reluctantly pulled his head back into his office, his hair now covered in snowflakes. He turned to his office door, William was stood in the doorway, holding a stack of papers and shivering from the coldness. Grell swallowed and looked down at the floor,
"I was hot…" he mumbled. William walked over to the desk and shut off the fan. He then closed both windows. Grell pouted and immediately tried to open them again. William grabbed his hands and glared at him,
"Leave the windows alone" he said "Are you trying to freeze yourself to death?"
"But I'm so hot!" whined Grell. His stomach churned again. Grell groaned and tried to cover his mouth. William neatly dodged out of the way as Grell threw up noisily on the floor. He raised his eyebrows, almost looking concerned,
"Grell, if you're this sick, why did you come into work?" he asked,
"It's just a phase; it'll pass" said Grell "It always does"
"Always does?" repeated William "Grell, how long has this being going on for?" Grell thought for a few moments,
"For the last month or so" he said. William sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He gently took Grell's hand and led him out of the office. Grell tilted his head in confusion,
"Where are we going?" he asked,
"I'm taking you to the doctor's office" said William "You need to get this mystery sickness under control; I can't afford to be an officer down". Grell pouted childishly,
"Yes of course" he muttered, rolling his eyes "Got to keep the numbers up". William smiled and turned to look at Grell, giving him a very rare 'blink and you'll miss it' smile,
"Obviously I'm concerned about you as well" he said "I thought that would be a given by now". Grell smiled back, his cheeks slightly pink,
"It is, I just like hearing you say it" he said. William smiled again and continued to lead Grell through the hallways. He reached the doctor's office and knocked lightly upon the heavy door,
"I can't stay with you, I have a meeting I have to attend" he said. He gently kissed Grell on the cheek and pushed him through the door, "Good luck".
Eric looked around Grell's office curiously. He was sure he'd seen Grell in there earlier. He knew the red head wasn't down for dispatch this week, as he had too many outstanding reports to complete,
"Sutcliff?" said Eric, his voice echoing in the empty room. He looked around again, half expecting Grell to jump out of the file cabinet,
"William took him to the doctor's office",
Eric jumped and grabbed hold of the door frame. He turned his head; Alan was stood behind him, smirking. Eric let go of the frame and pushed up his glasses,
"Stop sneaking up on me" he said. Alan smirked more,
"Sorry, you just look so darn adorable when you get startled" he said. He walked over to Eric and gently kissed his lips,
"Did your health check go okay?" he asked. Eric nodded, wrapping his arms around Alan and hugging him,
"Yeah, same as usual" he said, nuzzling the younger reaper's hair "Satisfactory health, but I need to stop the cigarettes"
"You should listen to him" said Alan, tapping Eric on the nose "The sooner you give up those damm things the better",
"Don't you start" said Eric, batting Alan's hand away "The day I quit smoking will be the day Ronald stops obsessing over boobs". Alan sighed and rolled his eyes,
"Must you be so vulgar all the time?" he asked. Eric smirked and nodded. Alan just shook his head,
"You're impossible sometimes" he said. He reached up and kissed Eric's nose "I'm going on my lunch break, don't forget you have that stack of paperwork to do" he turned and walked away down the hallway. Eric grimaced,
"I was trying to forget!" he called. His only reply was the sound of Alan laughing as he walked away. Eric sighed and walked into his office. He glared at the formidable pile of paperwork perched on the edge of his desk. Fighting the urge to dunk it all in the water cooler, he sat down and began to write,
"Eric?"
Eric looked up; Grell was stood in the doorway. He was nibbling his lip and appeared to be shaking slightly. Eric frowned,
"Come in Grell" he said "What's the matter?". Grell walked into the office slowly. He looked at Alan's desk nervously,
"When's Alan back from his lunch break?" he asked,
"He's only just left, so at least half an hour" replied Eric "Probably longer because he eats so damm slow, why?". Grell carefully closed the office door and locked it. Eric frowned deeply,
"Why did you lock the door?" he asked "Grell, what's wrong?" Grell sighed and walked over to Eric's desk. He perched carefully on the edge,
"Eric, I….I'm…." he turned away "Eric, I'm pregnant". Eric turned to Grell sharply, scratching a long black line on the form he was filling in,
"What?" he shouted "B-But…how?"
"I don't know how it happened, not even the doctor knew that" said Grell "But regardless of how it happened, I'm having a baby". Eric carefully placed his pen on the desk. He pinched the bridge of his nose and ran his fingers through his hair,
"Is it mine?" he asked quietly. Grell sighed and once again looked away,
"I don't know" he said "It's either yours or Will's",
"We have to find out for sure" said Eric "We need to take a paternity test"
"No" said Grell, sharply "No we don't",
"Why not?" asked Eric, frowning,
"It'll just complicate everything" said Grell "He's gonna be mad enough when I tell him I'm pregnant, what do you think will happen if I tell him the baby not might be his?". Eric glared at him and stood up
"You're taking the damm test Sutcliff" he shouted "If I've fathered a kid, I want to know". Grell growled, baring his shark like teeth. Suddenly his chainsaw was in his hand, pressed again Eric's chest. The older reaper gulped and sat down. Grell continued to glare,
"If I recall, Slingby, you claimed nothing happened that night" he hissed "Therefore the baby couldn't possibly be yours, could it?". Eric gulped again, trying to lean away from Grell's chainsaw. Grell lowered the scythe and dismissed it. He turned on his heel and walked to the door, unlocking it,
"I'm leaving, the baby and I need rest" he said "I'm telling Will I'm pregnant when he gets home, and I'm telling him it's his, that way no one gets hurt".
