Chapter Fourteen

The next day was a rather productive one. Ciel had successfully finished his paperwork and sometime in the late morning, Dracius pointed out all the things they still had to do in the next five months to prepare for the baby.

Ciel took one look at Sebastian, communicating with him mentally, knowing they were thinking the same things. "We'd better get to work, then." The earl said, and making his way to a free guest room not too far from the master bedchambers.

Sebastian and Dracius both agreed that it would be perfect to raise their child in. With that, the earl and elder demon began to move out the furniture, though Dracius did most of the heavy lifting with ease.

"What can I do to help?" Sebastian asked, feeling rather useless simply standing there.

"You can guide us out of the room," Ciel suggested, not wanting Sebastian to feel awkward. "I'm sorry darling, I just don't want you working too much with the baby."

Sebastian nodded, smiling gently at Ciel, though a bit put out. He did his part though, guiding his father out of the room, helping him pass the furniture off to Finny. The gardener eagerly took each one, moving them up to the attic for storage until the child was big enough for them.

Soon, the room was empty, and full of potential for a nursery. Sebastian took out a sheet of paper and a fountain pen, drawing a large rectangle on the paper. They spent the next few minutes discussing where the cradle should go and what all they'd need. Afterwards, they had neat little blueprint of the room, smiling a bit.

Dracius helped Sebastian cook the lunch at eleven and they all ate together in the kitchen at noon. Lunch wasn't a large affair, merely something to satisfy their stomachs.

They had decided that a rocking chair and bookshelf would be nice to have in the nursery, so they could read to the child if they ever felt like it. They ended up furnishing the room for the child before the week was out, using Finny and Dracius to help assemble everything that needed assembling. They'd even bought a few unisexual onesies for the baby.

There was only one thing that needed to be done yet. Ciel still had to get used to the idea of a child, or being a parent. The whole prospect scared him. He'd spent a good portion of his life with such pure hatred polluting his heart. He never wanted anything to happen to Sebastian or the child the demon carried. He felt absolutely determined to keep them both safe for all eternity.

He wanted to be a good father for the child, to be able to love it wholeheartedly, to smile again with glee. He wanted to make sure the baby knew it was loved by both of its parents. After Sebastian had fallen asleep that night, Ciel stayed awake watching as the demon slept. Sebastian had made a habit of curling his body around his protruding stomach and nuzzling into Ciel's shoulder. He smiled, finding the actions endearing. The earl brushed a strand of Sebastian's hair from his face, smiling at the peaceful man.

Already, when he placed a hand on Sebastian's stomach, there was a good chance he'd feel the baby kick lightly at his hand. This only reminded him once again that he wasn't dreaming, that there truly was life growing under Sebastian's flesh, a life he'd helped to create. A small person would soon look up to him as a father, smiling up at him, needing the earl to be the best he could for them.

Sebastian was now in a rather vulnerable position as well. The demon would soon mother their child, and as the months passed, the pregnancy would become harder and harder on him and his naturally slim body. He needed to keep the demon safe for as long as he could, to stay by his side.

Ciel smiled a bit as Sebastian stirred slightly in his sleep, the demon's eyes soon opening groggily. He smiled up at the earl, holding his hand in his own gently. "What's wrong, darling?" the demon asked, as if reading his lover's mind.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." Ciel said gently, lying. He didn't want Sebastian to begin worrying about him. The demon had too much on his plate already.

"That's a lie. What's really going on?" Sebastian asked expertly, sitting up to wrap an arm around Ciel's shoulders.

Ciel sighed, giving up. "I'm scared. I want to be the best father ever for our baby, but I don't know how I'm supposed to do that. I need to be there for it, for you. I don't know the first thing about being a father. What if I make one mistake and ruin the kid's life forever?" he explained, fretting and holding Sebastian by the waist, looking over at him.

Sebastian smiled comfortingly over at Ciel, kissing his forehead. "You're going to be a wonderful father, trust me. The child will love you no matter what happens, and I'll always love you too."

Ciel smiled, comforted by the words, he moved to kiss Sebastian's lips gently, his hand moving to gently rub his stomach, the other holding the small of his back. Soon, he felt a small kick from the child against his hand, making him smile a bit. It was almost as if the child were trying to reassure the earl that everything would be fine.

A/N: Sorry it took a while to get this one up. I've been busy with Christmas preparations and such, along with a mini writer's block.