Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every second and fourth Saturday!
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"I'm here, my lady, I'm right beside you." Sebastian's velvet voice purred over the revolting sound of Ciel retching into the bowl that he held in front of her.
Two weeks had passed since the discovery of the pregnancy.
Although Lady Phantomhive bore a tremendous weight on her shoulders from the dilemma that she had been presented with, the symptoms of her condition had prohibited her from giving the matter much thought.
Sebastian frowned while Ciel emptied the sparse contents of her stomach into the receptacle that he held in his hands before she eased herself back down into the comfort of her bed with a gasping sigh.
As Sebastian went to clean the bowl, he frowned to himself.
Ciel hadn't mentioned the issue again to him about what they should do, what they could do…….and what they would do.
As appealing as the idea of fleeing had seemed to Sebastian, it depressed him to know that Ciel was in no condition to travel.
During the previous fortnight, she had barely been able to lift her head without vomiting.
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Crushed crystals from the ice box, small spoonfuls of peppermint oil, miniature pieces of ginger candy, Sebastian eagerly tried whatever remedy the midwife suggested to ease his mate's suffering.
Edward failed to visit the manor again during that time, but Ciel was grateful for her husband's prolonged absence.
Lord Midford would have been the last person that Lady Phantomhive would have wanted to visit her.
Unfortunately, as the weeks passed by, so did Ciel's opportunity to have a viable excuse.
By the end of the second month, she mercifully recovered the ability to eat and drink freely again.
Her scent had grown temptingly sweet to Sebastian and he always wore a bright smile on his face every morning while he baked the cranberry scones that his darling craved.
After cuddling the bluenette all night, that deliciously intoxicating sweetness which made up her personal aroma was still detectable on Sebastian and he relished the scent while he started each day.
Part of Ciel's care had become simpler for the Phantomhive butler after his child had made itself comfortable in her womb.
He no longer had to plan different, daily menus.
The servants were satisfied with having enough of whatever was available to eat.
Due to her age, little Elizabeth's tastes remained plain and juvenile.
Lady Phantomhive's body demanded that she eat the same foods without many changes.
Cranberry scones for breakfast.
Mint jelly, turkey sandwiches, and powdered biscuits for lunch.
Roasted meat and a plain potato for dinner.
No matter how stark or bizarre his mate's cravings seemed, it made Sebastian happy to see her able to eat again, which she did, with great zeal.
His dark eyes softened each time he watched his lover enjoy the food that would ultimately nourish his son or daughter who slept inside her.
Sebastian was as pleased as Ciel that Lord Midford hadn't bothered to visit.
If Ciel would have tried to seduce and gain an excuse for her condition, Sebastian would have gone to prison.
Lady Phantomhive's pregnancy had sent his alpha instincts on edge.
The Phantomhive butler found himself filled with the urge to protect, provide, and possess.
If Edward Midford would have dared to lay a single fingertip on his darling……...then Sebastian would have had no choice but to rip Lord Midford's hand off.
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As soon as she was well enough, Ciel built herself a proper nest on her bed.
Mounds of luxurious pillows sat on top of piles of fluffy blankets and layers of buttery-soft sheets.
Sebastian enjoyed watching her go about her work, which she did while she tried to ignore the arrogant smirk on his face.
He would have been happy to help, but the scowls that Ciel threw at him if he came too close kept him at a respectful distance.
Later that evening, once her cozy spot was set up to her liking, Ciel climbed into her nest and settled herself down to sleep.
Sebastian came to join her after he had completed his tasks for the day.
He grinned as she glared up at him when he came to stand beside her bed.
For a moment, a part of Sebastian wondered if Ciel was going to invite him into her place of respite or not, but while she continued to scowl at him, she opened the layers of covers in a silent offer for him to join her.
Sebastian gladly shed his uniform and crawled under the blankets beside his omega.
He had become accustomed to their new routine.
Sebastian would cuddle Ciel on his chest, she may reward him with a quick kiss, and then she would sleep, exhausted by the demands of his growing little one.
He was pleasantly surprised to find out that his lady's needs had changed that evening.
Secure in her nest, wrapped in her lover's arms, and fueled by the hormones that came with her condition, Ciel kept her scowl while she leaned forward to give him his nightly kiss.
Sebastian closed his eyes and waited for the gentle press of Ciel's lips against his own, but Lady Phantomhive's kiss was anything but gentle that night.
Sebastian chuckled darkly deep in his chest as his lover pulled him closer to her in an attempt to devour him.
"Will our coupling be safe, my lady?" Sebastian asked, "Is this an order of yours that I should follow?...While my desire remains to please you, I have no interest in causing harm to you or the child."
"The only harm that you'll cause either of us, Sebastian, is if you upset me and incite my rage." Ciel frowned.
A sly smirk spread over Sebastian's lips as he raised himself up to hover over Ciel.
She held her frown even as her handsome alpha stared down at her with his feathery strands of raven-black hair hanging down alluringly to frame the fine angles of his face.
"As you wish, my lady~." Sebastian purred in a gentle whisper.
His mouth found Ciel first.
She whimpered as he pressed tender, gentle kisses over her in the darkness.
He was so gentle with the way he revered her belly that tears clouded in her sapphire eyes as she tangled her hands in his dark hair, although Ciel would never admit to weeping.
While their actions became more heated and the sheets of her nest dampened with sweat, they climbed over each other to reach their pleasure.
During the physical expression of the feelings in their hearts, Ciel took the greatest victory in understanding exactly what she had won.
While she stared into Sebastian's eyes as she panted for breath once their tryst came to an exhaustive end, Ciel furrowed her brow at the look on his face.
No arrogance, no haughtiness, only love and devotion, that was what she saw.
Ciel fell against Sebastian's chest that night as she slept the hours away with his heartbeat soothingly pulsing through her ears.
It was a feeling unlike any that Ciel had ever known before, the feeling of being cared for unconditionally, eternally, and unchangingly.
That feeling was more precious than gold and much more satisfying than pleasure, revenge, or status.
That feeling was love and Ciel loved being loved.
As she clutched onto Sebastian in her sleep, it became evident that she had learned to love as well.
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After that first night in her recently constructed nest, it was as if Ciel's body had blossomed under Sebastian's fine ministrations.
Ciel woke up the next day feeling better than she had in months, even before her pregnancy.
Her mind was clear, her heart was light, her stomach was settled, her stomach was…….
Her stomach was……
Lady Phantomhive felt something brush against the covers as she rolled over.
She hastily sat up in consternation.
At first, she didn't believe it.
Not that early, it couldn't be…….
It hadn't been that way with Elizabeth, had it?
Ciel threw the sheets and blankets of her nest aside in a hurry as she leapt to her feet and raised her nightgown.
She gasped as her elegant hands flew to cover the slight but clearly rounded swell on her lower abdomen.
Subtle yet noticeable, Sebastian's child proudly announced its presence to everyone as Ciel frowned while her hands framed the weight of her womb.
She understood what would happen.
It was as if she were riding a train, there was no going back, the swell would only get larger and larger until one day the swell became a little cry in a bundle of blankets.
A little cry that bore dark hair and dark eyes and looked nothing like Edward Midford at all…...
"Good morning, my lady~." A velvet voice purred from Ciel's nest.
Her eyes widened as she looked over to see Sebastian gazing at her with a happy smile.
His dark eyes flickered down to her little belly that she held in her hands.
"Oh, Sebastian……" Ciel breathed with a heavy gasp, "You have to help me!"