"Mommy!" Marcelina screamed in pure terror, waking me from my sweet slumber. Little did I know, her father was nestled in my back.

"I'll go take care of her," Sebastian said, kissing my cheek, "Go back to sleep."

"Don't worry about it," I pulled him back down to the bed, "I got it."

"Are you sure?" he worried, "It's no trouble."

"Sebastian," I let out a heavy sigh, "She didn't yell for you. I got it."

"Alright, my love," he let me go, "Take care of our daughter."

I took off running down the hall toward Marcelina's room. She was shaking in her bed, wrapped in a thick quilt, terrified out of her mind. I did all I could to keep myself from crying. I sat on the edge and immediately, she threw herself in my lap, "Marcelina, what's wrong? Bad dream?"

"Very bad dream," her voice broke.

"You want to tell me about it?" I asked.

"Why would I do that?" Marcelina looked up at me, her eyes bloodshot, "Can I show you?"

"You can do that?" I gave her a look.

"Daddy showed me how," she told, putting her hand up to my face. Marcelina took us to a dark room. Literally. This was the darkroom at the paper, "Mommy?"

"I'm right here, baby," I took her hand, "What are we doing at my office?"

"There's a man," Marcelina explained, "He's coming to see you."

"Oh?" I waited and watched through the crack in the door. I stood in the doorway of my office. There was definitely another man. But he was no man.

"Good morning, Mrs. Michaelis," Claude came in. But he wasn't alone. He had Alois on his hip.

"Claude," I smiled, "Always wonderful to see you. You didn't tell me you were bringing guests."

"Forgive me, my lady," Claude bowed to me, "My lord wanted to see this through. Shall we?"

"Yes," I took Claude's arm and the background dissolved into Phantomhive Manor. What would we be doing here? I didn't understand.

"Mommy," Marcelina wrapped around my arm, "I don't want to watch this part again."

"Alright, baby," I sat her on my hip, covering her eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?" a familiar voice squealed, "Let go of me!"

Ciel? Sure enough, the young earl was over Claude's shoulder, "Hush, child. It'll be over soon enough."

"What are you doing?" Ciel snapped again, "Put me down! Sebastian!"

"Mrs. Michaelis?" Claude called out, "Are you coming, darling?"

"Of course," I took his arm, "I'd love to watch."

"Claude Faustus," Sebastian stood in the doorway of the manor, "I'd appreciate it if you'd put my master down and left the girl alone."

"I don't think so, Sebastian," Claude fought, "Your master is now mine. As for your wife, she is quite the beauty. Such a shame you couldn't completely turn her. She'd make quite the succubus."

"I think not," Sebastian leapt through the air, his silverware in hand, "I'll ask you again. Leave the master and my wife and I'll consider sparing you."

"I'd be less worried about them," Claude pulled out his own weapon of choice, "And more worried about yourself."

"Is that a challenge?"

"You're no challenge," Claude whipped his cutlery at Sebastian, then turned his attention back toward me, "Maybe I should turn her myself."

"No!" Sebastian went on the defensive.

The Trancy butler ran his finger down my jawline, "Osculum est mortis..."

"Mommy," Marcelina quivered in my arms, "He's going to try to kill Daddy! I don't want to be here anymore..."

"Alright, sweetheart," I held her close, "Take us back."

Before we knew it, Marcelina and I were back in her bedroom. she was still pretty shaken up. My poor baby. I tucked her back into her baed and she looked up at me, "Mommy..."

"Yes, baby?" I pulled the quilt over her.

"You wouldn't really let a bad man take Uncle Ciel and let him kill Daddy, would you?"

The innocense in my daughter's voice shattered my heart. I couldn't help but hug her a little tighter, "Of course not, Marcelina. I love your father and Uncle Ciel. I won't let a bad man hurt anyone we love, ok? Now, go back to sleep."

"Ok," Marcelina let out a big yawn, "Good night, Mommy."

"Good night, Marcy," I kissed her forehead, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

How does one explain to their cambion daughter that she may have just had her first vision? I just hope to God that it never comes true. There was no way. If it were real, I can't be around Claude for five minutes without craving his blood. Although I was hanging all over him, I wasn't bloodthirsty.

I crawled back into bed with Sebastian like nothing was wrong. At this point, nothing was wrong. Marcelina had a nightmare. That's perfectly normal. Everything would be just fine.

"Lumi?" Sebastian wrapped his arms around me, "What happened? Is Marcelina alright?"

"Just a nightmare," I rolled over, "I handled it. Good night."

I couldn't even look at him. Our little girl was having visions of her father dying and all because her junkie mother needs a fix. And I could really use a fix right about now. I shut my eyes for a few minutes and fell back asleep.

When I woke up the next morning, all I could think about was Marcelina's dream and getting to the office as soon as humanly possible. The bit of Latin that Claude said to me was starting to get under my skin. I knew a lot of Latin, but that particular phrase was lost on me. I slipped my shoes on, kissed the husband, kissed the baby, and took off with my notebook in hand.

"Good morning, Mrs. Michaelis!" Mary chimed like she did every other morning, "How are you today?"

"Wonderful," I made a beeline for my office.

"Lumi," she stopped me, "Forgive me for saying this, but you look awful. How much sleep did you get last night?"

"A few hours," I brushed her off, "I'm fine."

"You can't live on a few hours of sleep," she scolded lightly, still remembering her place, "Maybe you should take today off."

"No," I sat in my chair, "I'll be fine. The baby had a nightmare last night and I had to take care of it. Other than that, I'm ok. Honestly, Mary, you worry too much about me."

"Someone has to," Mary put my coffee on my desk, "So?"

"So what?"

"Did you talk to the man at Phantomhive Manor for me?" she asked, full of anticipation.

"Oh," I completely spaced it out, "No. I haven't. I was a little preoccupied when I was at the manor yesterday. I'll talk to him after work."

"Thank you, Lumi!" Mary hugged me tight, "I really appreciate it!"

"You're welcome," I tried to keep my tremors to a minimum, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do."

"Of course," she bowed out, "And the man that was here yesterday is back. Would you like me to send him in?"

"Please," I let out a heavy sigh of sweet relief.

"Good morning, Mrs. Michaelis," Claude came in, "How are you?"

"I'm well," I shooed my secretary out, shutting my door, "That's a lie. I'm thirsty."

"Oh, my dear," Claude cradled my face in his hand, "Do you need my services?"

"Yes," I lowered my gaze in shame, "Please, Claude."

"First," he sat down, tying his arm off, "Do you have what I asked of you?"

"Yes, I do," I nodded, "Ciel and Sebastian's schedules and their correlations. At seven, Sebastian wakes Ciel and brings him his tea. Then, Ciel has his breakfast. Sebastian takes care of various chores around the house while Ciel looks over his properties. Sebastian makes and serves Ciel's lunch. Ciel takes his afternoon tea in the garden, if weather permits, then goes back to work. I arrive around five o'clock. I stay until Sebastian finishes Ciel's dinner and Sebastian comes home around ten. The average day in the Phantomhive Manor."

"Well done, Mrs. Michaelis," Claude praised, taking his knife out, "Care for a drink?"

"Yes, please," I begged, pressing my lips against his wrist. The flow was a lot heavier than it usually was, but that was because of the knot just above the incision, "Claude, can I ask you something?"

"Of course," he allowed, "What is it?"

"What does 'osculum est mortis' mean?" I wondered, reattaching myself to his arm.

"It literally translates to 'the kiss of death'," he explained, "It's an incantation used to turn a human into either an incubus or a succubus. Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing," I brushed him off, "Just curious."

I wasn't going to tell another demon that it was in the vision my cambion daughter had last night. That would just be irresponisble. I didn't want to put Marcelina in harm's way like that. As much as I appreciated what Claude was doing for me, I knew I couldn't trust him. I had a feeling that he was tricky.

"Alright then," he let it go, stroking my hair, "Go on, dear. Drink until your desire is satisfied. Now, I have another favor to ask of you since you did so well with my last favor."

"What is it?" I asked, wiping my mouth off.

"Bring me Ciel Phantomhive."

My heart dropped. I remembered back to Marcelina's vision. It was coming true. I didn't think Claude was going to ask me for Ciel directly. I looked away from him, "I can't."

"Excuse me?"

"I can't, Claude," I declined, "I can't bring you Ciel. I'm sorry, but I made a promise. I can't and I won't bring you Ciel."

"Who did you promise?" Claude's eyes turned a deeper shade of red.

"I'd like to keep that between us," I stood my ground. Shakily, but I was still standing.

"I'm sorry to hear you say that," he got up, wrapping his pocket square around the cut on his arm, "I hope you enjoyed that last round of blood, Mrs. Michaelis, because I'm cutting you off. You won't be getting any from me anymore. Not until you deliver Ciel Phantomhive on the front porch of the Trancy Estate."

It may have been the blood taking effect, but I let Claude walk right out of my office and started riding out my high. I'd be just fine without him. I was a strong, independent woman that didn't need demon blood from the likes of Claude Faustus anymore. I would be perfectly ok.

It was times like these where I wished I had Sebastian in my back pocket. The aphrodisiac qualities of the blood were setting in. And it was hard to work on my editorial duties when all I could think about was getting naked and cuddly with my beautiful demon husband. The frustration was killing me. But I had to persevere. I had to rise above. I could do this.

I made it through my day completely content. Until it came time to go home. I started convulsing in my chair, harder than I ever had before. My body ached everywhere. And not the minor irritating ache that usually came with the withdrawal from demon blood. I would've taken my death, labor, birth, and aftermath of Marcelina a million times over.

I went home and threw myself under the blankets. This needed to stop! I needed more blood. That was the only solution I could think of. I made a promise to Marcelina that I wasn't going to let anyone we loved get hurt. That included handing Ciel over to Claude. I couldn't do it. But I wasn't sure how much longer I was going to last.

"Lumi?" Sebastian's voice broke up the monotony of my sobbing.

"Sebastian…?" I could hardly speak.

"What's wrong, my love?" he wrapped around me, "And don't tell me it's nothing. This isn't nothing."

"I messed up," I wept in his shoulder, "I messed up big."

"Whatever it is," Sebastian comforted, "I'm sure we can take care of it."

"Where's Marcelina?" I worried.

"At the manor," he said, putting his icy hand on my forehead, "Mey-Rin and Lady Elizabeth are looking after her. You're running quite the fever, darling. Are you feeling ok?"

"If I tell you," I choked out, "Promise you'll still love me."

"Of course, Lumi," he assured, "I will always love you. I'm quite sure I made that clear in our wedding vows. Now, please. Will you tell me what's wrong?"

"I'm…" I wiped the tears from my eyes and swallowed the lump building in my throat, "I'm coming down from demon blood."

Sebastian stayed silent. He just held me tighter, "I know, darling. I had a feeling for a while now that you were on demon blood. When you took me the other night, it confirmed my feelings. Demon blood is a very powerful aphrodisiac and that was some of the best sex we've ever had. What has me confused is where you got demon blood from if I'm unscathed."

"Claude Faustus," I dropped his name, "Do you know him?"

"Oh, yes," Sebastian grumbled, "I know Claude Faustus too well. He is the scum of the earth."

"I'm sorry," the floodgates opened, "I'm so sorry, Sebastian."

"No, my love," he cradled me, "I am. I opened Pandora's box to you. I introduced you to the high of demon blood in the first place."

"Because you didn't want me to suffer," I reminded, trying to ease his guilt.

"But here you are, suffering," Sebastian pointed out, "We'll get through this, Lumi. I promise you. Everything is going to be alright."

"Sebastian," I spoke softly, "Claude's after Ciel…"

"Again?" he groaned, "Did he not learn the first time?"

"The first time?" I gave him a look.

"He wants the young master's soul," Sebastian explained, "It would be much more satisfying than his master's. And I'm not going to let him have it. It's a long story."

"Marcelina had a vision," I told, "Claude went to the manor and kidnapped Ciel. He tried to kill you. And it was my fault."

"I'm sure it's not your fault…"

"I gave him Ciel's daily itinerary in exchange for my last fix."

"Oh," Sebastian kissed my forehead, "Not the first attempt made on my life. Probably not the last. Don't worry, Ms. Olivier. Although I am disappointed in you, I'll make it all better. You'll have to deal with the rest of your withdrawal, though. I'm sure that's punishment enough."

"Yes," I agreed, "Sebastian, I hurt so bad."

"I know, Lumi," he held me close, "It'll be over soon. After that, I want you to tell me when you have your next craving. Promise me you'll do that much."

"I promise," I nuzzled into my husband's chest, "Thank you…"

"For what?"

"For not leaving," I could feel the tears starting back up again, "I thought you would've stormed out by now."

"For better or worse, right?" Sebastian brushed the hair out of my eyes, "I'm not letting you go. Now, I want you to sleep through the rest of your high, alright?"

"You're staying here, aren't you?"

"Of course," he squeezed me tighter, "I'm not going anywhere. What kind of a husband would I be if I left my wife when she needed me most?"

I positioned my head over Sebastian's heart to listen to the soothing beat, "I love you."

"And I love you, darling," he assured.

"Even if I'm a screw up?"

"You're not a screw up, Lumi," Sebastian pulled the quilt over the two of us, "You're sick. That's all this is."

Sebastian was right. I was definitely sick. My head was throbbing and I could have easily thrown up in his lap. But it was so much more than that. And the fact that he was staying blew my mind. Then again, it is Sebastian. If I could count on anyone in this world or the next, it was definitely him. If he would stay by my side when I practically cheat on him with another demon just for the blood, we could get through just about anything.

A/N: I'm going to be completely honest with you right now, my humble reader. The entire last part was supposed to be in "The Dealer and the Addict" minus the demon blood addiction, but I decided to stretch this out a few chapters instead of making it short, sweet, and to the point. I wanted a serious comfort chapter. Hell, I needed a comfort chapter the night I wrote "The Dealer and the Addict". But instead, we got a beautiful story arc out of it, yeah? I'd say so. See you next chapter! xx

And a quick side note...Keep an eye on the reviews, guys. You never know when I pop in throughout the week just to say hi. :)