A Wild Ride

-ooo-

The building before her was the largest she had seen up to date. "Ciel this is amazing.." Tears brimmed her green eyes and rushed down her cheeks. His long arm wrapped around her shoulders and he smirked down at her, "This is it, this is what I drug you all the way to America to see." The factory before her was even larger than the one in England; the original. Elizabeth was so overcome with emotion that she couldn't speak. She just abruptly glued herself to Ciel's torso in a tight hug. He allowed himself to chuckle as he kissed the top of her head, "You're amazing, Ciel, truly amazing.."

Sebastian walked inside, for privacy sake. Though appreciative, Ciel felt as though he didn't have to abandon them out front. He sighed and rubbed up Elizabeth's back retentively. "You ready to go in?"She sniffled a few times and nodded before wiping her cheeks clean of tears. "Really, Lizzie, there isn't a reason to cry." She lightly shoved against his chest. "Oh shut up and don't criticize my antics for once." He smirked down at her and gave her his arm as he led her into the factory.

Inside was almost magical, to her anyway. All of the employees were lined up for a thorough examination, courtesy of Sebastian. "Look sharp gentlemen, the Lady is gracing us with her presence today. I expect you'll behavior accordingly." The walls of the manner were lined with fine wallpaper and it didn't look much like a factory at all, more like a toy store. The floors were beautifully tiled and the machines and assembly lines were hidden in the back. The only thing she could see was rows upon rows of finely manufactured toys displayed on tables and shelves of different kinds. "This is beautiful.." She felt as though she was walking in a dream factory made for small children to play in. Ciel stood back a let her roam around, as long as she was in eye shot.

"Wonderful, gentlemen." Sebastian concluded his inspection and excused them back to their duties. He took note of Elizabeth's starstruck demeanor as she explored around from room to room. "This is bloody amazing!"

"Elizabeth.." Ciel shared a light laugh with Sebastian, "Language, please.."

"Forgive me but I've never seen so many toys in my life..!" She reached what appeared to be the main lobby of the building. Her green eyes examined every stuffed toy and decorated piece of interior she came across. As she looked up toward the ceiling, her gaze traced over a large decorative picture frame and she froze. Again, she began to cry. Though she tried to do so quietly this time. It was a familiar scene encased in genuine cherry wood that had been delicately framed. Two years ago, right before her mother had showed signs of being ill, it was the last picture she had taken. Her long beautiful hair rivaled that of Elizabeth's as she basked in the sun during a joint family outing. She was smiling brightly and hanging on Ciel's arm with Elizabeth wrapped inside of her other arm. She looked happy and vibrant. Elizabeth stared as she recalled very clearly the moment in which that picture had been taken. Nothing but fond memories of her mother came rushing in and she covered her mouth to subdue her squeals of recollection.

She swallowed hard and blinked back the brimming tears. A shadow covered her and a familiar hand grazed her face. "You shouldn't cry about something so beautiful.."

"Huh..?" She was a little taken aback at first, not really understanding what he meant.

"Just look at her, Elizabeth. Have you ever seen her this vibrant? The very essence of her happiness is the brightest in the picture, I believe, and this is how I choose to remember her."

"Ciel.." He grinned down at her. "You're right. She truly is beautiful in this picture. But wouldn't you like to have one at the manor, back home?"

"I don't need one." He shrugged and bumped his shoulder with hers playfully, which was uncharacteristic behavior for him. "I see her in you, more and more every day." Elizabeth didn't really know how to respond to that. She shook her head and blushed, "Oh stop it."

"You're strong, Elizabeth. Given you're beautiful as well, but, that's not what I love you for." He looked forward at the framed photo as if he were too embarrassed to look her in the eyes, "You're strong enough to stand beside me, to keep up with me. You have for my entire life, you've always been there. In a way you inspired me, I saw how strong you were and even now, through this..torture.. you're still as graceful as ever. You're the strongest woman I've ever met and it's an honor to have you as my wife." The fact that he wouldn't look her in the face didn't insult her in the least bit, she knew Ciel was a man of very few words when it came to romance. This was like striking oil in her opinion. When he was finished she smiled and shared his gaze of the photo before them, "You know, you could've just told me you loved me." Her green eyes glanced up at him, not expecting to meet his blue eyes. "It wasn't enough, Lizzie. It'll never be enough."

Upon returning to their room, a doctor was on the premises awaiting her arrival. His timing was impeccable in Ciel's opinion because as soon as they walked through the door Elizabeth became visibly ill. Of course, the Earl was right behind her when she made a fast path to the bathroom. Sebastian cringed and addressed the doctor on the previous happenings of her well being. "Is this severe? Is she retaining any fluid or eating anything?"

"She seems to be, however, during the odd hours of the evening and late hours of the night she is profusely ill."

"All night?"

"Quite literally, doctor."

"I'll have to examine her in that case.." A few minutes had passed and Ciel had managed to coax her out of the powder room. Though she was too weak to carry herself out, that's what she had Ciel for, right? He placed her on the bed and leaned her against the headboard. "Just relax, he's going to look you over. Just to make sure you haven't picked up a sea bug." Elizabeth hesitantly nodded and relaxed under the doctor's watchful eye.

He was a plump old man with wild looking white eyebrows and an american accent. His cheeks were tinted red and he looked ever so jolly, Elizabeth was tempted to make a few holiday jokes if she hadn't been so sick. "I am Doctor Robinson, I was born and raised in this area. We are very happy to have you here, Mrs. Phantomhive. What your husband has done is quite remarkable. There isn't a child here that's not brimming with excitement for the factory's grand opening." He had a kind smile and a gentle yet shaky hand, "Now what is important is that you tell me everything that you've been feeling as descriptively as you possibly can." He say patiently, awaiting her response as she searched herself to come up with the words best suited to describe her caliber of dizziness she was currently enduring. "Well.. I'm dizzy, extremely so. My head is constantly spinning, I have been sweating in places I hadn't known I even possessed, my vomiting is profuse and at random depending on what I eat or smell, however it's more prominent throughout the night, I ache all over and I believe I've been driving my husband nuts." Ciel averted his eyes to the room innocently, "Nonsense."

"I see.." He checked for her pulse and blood pressure before examining her finger and toe nails. He pulled on her cheeks gently and looked into her eyes and had her stick out her tongue. He then retreated to his little clipboard beside the bed and wrote a few things down. Elizabeth looked at Ciel with an expression that screamed 'Oh god I'm dying, aren't I?', and he only shook his head 'No' with a stern expression. Sebastian, on the other hand, had a grin that did nothing to settle her worries. Ciel stomped on his foot discretely causing his demon butler to shoot him a glare.

"Well everything seems to be in working order, no signs of dehydration which is excellent considering the amount of fluids you've lost. You're symptoms, however, are alarm I must admit at first I was puzzled but now that I've examined you, not some much. I would like to ask you some personal questions, if you wouldn't mind?"

"I don't mind, go ahead."

"Do you have a history of any inherited diseases or disorders in your family tree?"

"My mother has Tuberculosis, other than that there are no diseases riddling this family."

"I see, well that shouldn't be an issue with your health. Though I am terribly sorry to hear that." She gave him a soft smile and nodded her head as much as she could, which wasn't much at the time.

"Mrs. Phantomhive, please forgive me but I must ask you for medical reasons only." Once she nodded he continued, "Have you been sexually active recently? Or could you give me a date perhaps, maybe even a guess?" Elizabeth nodded and began, "I have been, but I couldn't tell you an exact date.."

"It's been just a few weeks.." Ciel chimed in, ignoring the look he was receiving from Sebastian.

"Well there is a growing possibility there. I'm going to give you a remedy for your vomiting and nausea to hold you off until you get home, once you get there I urge you to seek out a bed side practitioner or possibly even a ladies doctor." He began to search in his bag for the remedy.

"Ladies doctor?" She implied, slightly confused at first. Surely he didn't think.. "Yes ma'am, I believe you are pregnant and not very far a long. It's possible but very unusual to have morning sickness this early in a pregnancy. That worries me, however, because if I am correct then your sickness will only get worse. You could have a high risk pregnancy and possibly develop severe morning sickness which could render you bed ridden for most of the pregnancy." Elizabeth had the look of shock on her face, and if that wasn't enough you should've seen Ciel's face.

Sebastian escorted the doctor out and saw fit to leave them alone for the time being as he did not make a point to return. Ciel just stood and stared off into space as Elizabeth ran through all of the possibilities as to how this could go wrong. Ciel had made it very clear that he did not want kids, and they had thought they were being safe..

"Wow." He finally spoke up and sat on the vanities chair. "Never thought we would be having this conversation so soon, I must admit." He tried to laugh a little as if trying to make a tense situation better. "I don't even know what to say." Elizabeth whispered.

Ciel leaned back a little and gave a sigh. He did not want kids this early, he preached that over and over for what seemed like the longest time ..but why wasn't he mad? Why wasn't he throwing a fit? Telling her this was all her fault..

He didn't feel upset and he didn't feel like it was her fault. He felt something else, something odd and it made him place a hand over his heart. "Ciel, are you alright?" He stood up and flopped down on the bed beside her. "C..ciel?" He grabbed her hand gently and smiled. "I'm sure it will be fine, Lizzie."

"You look sick, you have no color in your face." She added, worriedly. He kissed her hand and took a deep breath. "You're not mad, are you? We've been using contraceptives and.."

"I'm not mad, Elizabeth.."

"You were so adamant before about not wanting to be a father."

"Well..you're right ..but .. I mean.. it couldn't be so bad..could it?" Elizabeth's eyebrow shot up and she gave him a disbelieving look, "You've never been around children, have you?" He didn't have to answer, she already knew. Ciel Phantomhive had never even laid eyes on a newborn, he was in for quite a wild ride.