Black Butler:

The Taking of Grell Sutcliffe

By Axel Ingleson

Disclaimer: Black Butler and its characters do not belong to me. Nor am I making any money from this fanfic.

-Chapter 10-

Ciel frowned as his butler served tea. This was nothing new; the young master rarely smiled. He eyed Sebastian's abdomen, which now had a slight curve to it. Grell's was showing the same tiny bulge, the first visible indication of their pregnancies.

Pregnancy was normally a joyous occasion, one which the parents looked forward to. But Grell had conceived by rape. That, alone, was enough to mar the event. But there was another problem. Or rather two more. Neither any Reaper nor any demon had ever been pregnant before. This meant no one could be certain what they would give birth to. They prayed that their babies would be human in appearance since that was the shape they were in when they became pregnant. But neither Grell nor Sebastian could be sure this was the case.

Ciel was worried about his demon butler. The thought that Sebastian might be carrying a demonic baby rather than a human one bothered him. Demons, Sebastian had once told him, didn't have any specific shape. There were many kinds in many forms. Some had a humanoid form. Other demons took the shape of animals. And there were some which had shapes which could not be described by human words. Both Ciel and Sebastian were praying that Sebastian's child would not be any of these. Ciel doubted that anyone living on the mortal plane, even a demon butler, would be able to care for a baby demon. And Sebastian might not survive the pregnancy.

He and Grell might not survive anyway. They would need surgery to give birth, and the survival rates for surgical births in those days was not very high. Ciel hated the thought that he might lose his butler.

Grim was concerned about Grell. Grell had taken to bed a week earlier and hadn't gotten out since, except to visit the bathroom from time to time. Grell had become very pale, and there were bags under his eyes from lack of sleep, despite being curled up under so many blankets. Grim was certain that Grell's pregnancy was responsible for the redhead's current illness. There was nothing he could do about it, though, except sit back and wait to see what happened. He hoped that it would not result in Grell's death. If it did, he might be the one who had to collect Grell's soul. He did not think he could bear to perform such a task. He loved Grell too much. He decided not to think about it as he sat on the bed and stroked Grell's long hair.

Grell groaned miserably and shifted slightly to make himself more comfortable. He hated being sick. Hated the way the sweat made him so sticky, the way his hair was so limp and lifeless. He wanted nothing more than for the baby to be born so that he could get well again. But the baby wasn't due for another four months. He wondered if Sebastian was also sick.

Sebastian's pregnancy was also making him ill, but he hid it from Ciel. He knew his young master relied on him and he did not want to let him down. Ciel wasn't what most people would call friendly. But he wasn't cruel either.

"You look pale, Sebastian," Ciel observed. "Take the rest of the day off and get some sleep. That's an order."

"Yes, my lord." Sebastian bowed and left the room.

He climbed into bed and curled up under the blankets, one hand draped over his swollen abdomen. "You're already a lot of trouble, and you haven't even been born yet," he told his unborn child as he fell asleep.

When Ciel came to check on him an hour later, he was clutching the pillow and groaning. Ciel touched Sebastian's forehead. His forehead was cool, but still damp from perspiration. He sighed, knowing that his butler would be out of commission now until the baby was born. There was just no way around it. This pregnancy was causing a lot of strain on Sebastian. The demon had done all he could to uphold his side of the contract, but he just couldn't do that any more.

"Forgive me, my lord," Sebastian whispered, half awake.

"You're forgiven, Sebastian," Ciel reassured him. "You just get plenty of rest. The others can increase their workload until you get better."

"Thank you, my lord," Sebastian said, falling back asleep.