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—
"Se-Sebastian!" Ciel called out as pain surged up her back and she turned her head in time to watch Undertaker sweep into her room through the window.
Ciel had no idea why Undertaker was there, but knowing what he was and what he did, Ciel was more than frightened by his sudden appearance.
Undertaker frowned as he realized that Sebastian was not in the room, but when he noticed that Ciel was in pain, his eyes softened with sympathy and his voice rang with concern as he spoke, "Oh dear, Earl….here, let me help you…"
"SEBASTIAN!" Ciel screamed as Undertaker stepped towards the bed.
"It's alright, I've got you." Undertaker said quietly as he let Ciel grab onto his hand for support.
Undertaker helped the bluenette to move into a comfortable position on the bed and with his free hand, he began to rub deep circles into Ciel's back with his open palm.
"SEBASTIAN!" Ciel screamed again, just as Sebastian came running down the hallway and bursting through the door.
"YOUNG MASTER!" Sebastian exclaimed, his eyes were wide as he quickly took in the scene….
Ciel was in pain….
Undertaker was here…..
"I think it's time, dear butler~." Undertaker said in a low voice to Sebastian, jostling the alpha out of his shocked stupor. "Go quickly and call the midwife, I'll watch over her until then."
"Sebastian!" Ciel called weakly as she watched Sebastian race back down the hall towards the telephone.
Ciel didn't want Sebastian to leave her side even for a second, but she knew she didn't have a choice…..
Sebastian's heart beat so forcefully in his chest that he wondered if his ribs would break or not.
Sebastian's hands, usually so skilled and steady, trembled as he picked up the phone.
This was it, they would finally get to meet their baby!
Ciel was finally going to hold the child she so desperately craved.
Sebastian couldn't get the question off of his mind, though…
What news did Undertaker bring?
—
Regardless of whatever information Undertaker has come to share, the birth was the more pressing matter.
The midwife arrived and Undertaker gladly waited downstairs in the parlor as one hour turned into two, two turned into three, three turned into four…..
Undertaker paced aimlessly around the room while he listened to the sounds above his head.
Ciel's cries and moans of pain echoed off the halls.
Undertaker could hear the frantic chatter of the midwife and her team, and if he focused hard enough, he could hear Sebastian's low voice, speaking soothingly to Ciel as he urged her on.
Footsteps….
The clinking of tools…..
The splashing of water….
There was a lot of movement in Ciel's room.
Undertaker smiled softly to himself.
Yes, there always was a lot of commotion at a time like this.
Undertaker's green eyes clouded over as he became lost in his memories for quite some time, thinking back to a day, two different days actually, in which he was in Sebastian's current position and instead of Ciel on the bed, it was…..
Undertaker frowned.
It was…..
Suddenly, the movement and the noise above Undertaker's head stopped abruptly, just after one particularly loud, guttural scream rang out from Ciel.
Undertaker grinned.
It was over.
The baby had arrived.
Good!
Any second now, the next sound would come.
A new sound.
A lovely sound.
Any second…
Any…..
Second…
Undertaker's grin faded as that fleeting, triumphant moment plunged into a dark moratorium of despair.
A memory, a frightening memory that chilled Undertaker to the bone played through his mind like a living nightmare and he ran out of the parlor, even though his body felt as heavy as lead…
Suddenly, sound echoed off the walls of Phantomhive Manor, but not the sound….
No.
Undertaker's eyes were wide with fear as he dashed up the stairs and down the hallway.
Instead of a baby crying, all Undertaker heard was the sobbing of his granddaughter.
—
Ciel's door was closed but that made little difference to Undertaker as he came rampaging through it.
The midwife and her two assistants were bustling around the room, fetching tools and supplies from their bags, Sebastian was kneeling on the bed in front of Ciel, who was dripping in sweat.
Undertaker's eyes quickly flitted over Ciel and he found what he was looking for.
The new baby, not even washed yet, lay in Ciel's arms, chubby, beautiful, and…. still.
Everyone was already mourning the loss.
For the first time, the only one in the room with hope was a Shinigami.
Yes, Undertaker had been through this twice before and once he had seen something like this happen, but clearly, no one else in the room had.
Undertaker knew from personal experience that Phantomhives were famous for their ill-formed lungs.
Sebastian scrambled quickly to cover Ciel but the omega was in so much pain physically and mentally, she wasn't as concerned.
Lying there, clutching the silent baby that Ciel had wanted so badly, Ciel's soul was as bare as her body.
Ciel's face was distorted with unimaginable grief, it was a look that Undertaker had seen frequently in his line of work, but this time, that look of grief disturbed him greatly.
This time, it was personal.
Before anyone could say anything, Undertaker strode over to the bed and snatched the baby right from Ciel's arms.
The bluenette went wild.
Ciel's shrieks nearly deafened Sebastian as she clawed and fought, unbelievably strong for someone who had just gone through such an ordeal.
Sebastian had never seen Ciel so animalistic, but in that moment Ciel was no longer a refined aristocrat, Ciel was a new mother desperate to save her child as death itself just walked in and took it away from her…..
Ciel didn't know that Undertaker had come to meet with Sebastian, and she didn't know who Undertaker was, really, all Ciel knew about him was one word….Shinigami.
The blanket fell away from the baby, a boy, and Undertaker sat down and clutched the child close, flipping him over onto his belly. Undertaker cradled the tiny infant's head and neck securely in between his thumb and index finger as he laid the baby across his knee and slapped the infant's back forcefully.
SLAP!
Ciel made a noise like Undertaker was hitting her instead and Sebastian stood from the bed, enraged, and stalked over to Undertaker.
SLAP!
"Stop that at once!" The midwife cried.
SLAP!
Sebastian snarled as he charged at Undertaker, growling dangerously. "Let go of him or-!"
The infant gave a small, shuddering gasp…
A single wet cough cleared his tiny lungs…...
"WWWWWAAAAA!"
Everyone in the room stopped.
Ciel instantly quieted and looked on with wide, grateful eyes.
"WWWWAAAAAAA!" The tiny baby wailed as Undertaker lifted him up, clutching him carefully, with a wide smile.
Yes, it happened just like it had on that warm June day years ago….
"Here you are, butler." Undertaker said with a proud grin as he stood and placed the small, angry baby in Sebastian's arms and left the room. "I'm letting go of him~."
—
The midwife and her assistants finished tending and cleaning mother and baby, talking all the while about the heroic action Undertaker had taken to save the little one.
Once Sebastian and Ciel were given a private moment, Ciel was left staring down at her new baby boy in shock.
"He's perfect." The bluenette whispered quietly, gently touching the baby's miniature hand that stuck out of the blanket.
"He's beautiful, my sweet kitten." Sebastian purred in approval, his eyes soft with admiration as he watched Ciel admire their newborn son. "...So are you~."
Sebastian had never seen Ciel look so happy or so calm.
As an alpha, Sebastian was close to exploding with pride and adrenaline.
It was odd, really, unlike anything Sebastian had ever experienced before.
"What are we going to name him?" Ciel asked.
"You've been through a lot, my love, I'll let you decide." Sebastian said thoughtfully.
"Undertaker…...saved his life." Ciel said quietly.
"Yes." Sebastian smiled. "He did."
Ciel's smile faded for a moment and as she looked at her little son, she sighed. "I have an order for you, Sebastian."
"Anything, kitten~." Sebastian replied sweetly.
"Find out Undertaker's real name, then, when I wake," Ciel said with a yawn. "Tell me."
"Of course." Sebastian nodded.
Sebastian reached out to take the baby, but Ciel tightened her grip on the infant, even as she laid back to rest.
"I've got him." Ciel said sleepily to Sebastian. "I've still…...got him….."
Ciel was reluctant to let go of her new baby.
Sebastian even had to do quite a bit of work to pry his son from his wife's arms once she had fallen asleep, but he managed, barely, taking the sleeping infant out of Ciel's room and down the hall.
Undertaker and Sebastian had a deal, and now, Sebastian had an order.
Undertaker would hold the baby for his payment.
Sebastian would learn Undertaker's real name to please Ciel.
That was all well and good, but as Sebastian walked along, he narrowed his eyes at his little son.
Sebastian had thought the light of the fireplace in Ciel's room was casting a shadow, but then the sconces in the hallway showed the same thing….
Pausing at a closet, Sebastian opened the door and quietly turned on the electric light, studying his new little son carefully.
How odd…..
Sebastian furrowed his brow.
It wasn't every day that a baby was born with grey hair.
