A/N: Hey all! Thanks to Anime the Fallen Angel, Seraph1, Lady Jam, Naruka, and gonyos for all the wonderful reviews. I think that I've decided, at least for this fic, that I won't have any romantic relationships. That's just not where I want to go with this one. And no one's had ANY Raman lately? How sad . . . Oh well. Okay, here's the story!

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

__ Telepathy __

~~

"Papa? When is Lanen coming back?" the small girl asked her father, her two- year-old brother standing next to her.

"I'm not sure. Do you miss her?" the man questioned, smiling affectionately at his small children. It was really too bad Lanen was married; the kids got along with her famously, and she was so much fun to be around. She hadn't been by in almost three months, and he was beginning to worry.

As if summoned by their thoughts, the woman walked into the room. She seemed to be positively glowing. Her blue eyes were bright with joy, but he was able to detect a hint of sadness there, as well.

"Lanen?" the little boy called to her.

"What is it, Schu?" she asked, walking over to give the child a hug.

"Why ith your tummy big?" the boy's green eyes were opened wide in confusion. "Did you bring thomething?"

"Sort of," Lanen laughed, her hands unconsciously moving to her rounded stomach. "I need to talk to your papa alone for a little while, okay? I'll come play with you when we're done."

"But what'th in there?" the boy persisted.

"Schuldich! She has to talk to Papa! Be good!" the little girl admonished her brother. The orange-haired boy hung his head, but brought it back up when Lanen told him that she would tell him the reason later.

After the adults had finished their conversation, Lanen came back to the living room, where the children were playing quietly. "Hey guys," she said softly, calling the children's attention to herself. "You wanted to know what's hiding in there?" she asked, stifling a laugh at Schuldich's emphatic nod. She lean4ed in and whispered, "It's a baby!"

"But . . . why is it in your tummy?" The little girl asked, her face scrunched in confusion.

"Because, that's where it grows until it's ready to be a baby."

"Like the rooth?"

"The roos? Oh, yes, a little like kangaroos."

__ Baby? Are you in there? __

"Schuldich? What are you doing, Sweetie?"

"Talking to the baby."

__ Guess what? I'm going to be your older brother! And, I'll share Hanae with you. She's a good sister. __ **

"Schuldich? Schuldich, wake up," Lanen whispered.

"I am . . . " he mumbled.

"Schu, wake up!" Schuldich opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a white room, sitting in a very uncomfortable chair. Upon further inspection, he realized he had fallen asleep next to Ran's hospital bed. Again.

It had been about two months since the mission had put Ran in the hospital, and the doctors had lost hope that he would wake up. His teammates came to visit him at least every other day, but Schuldich came to visit every day, and would stay for hours. He had stopped sleeping at the apartment, and could only manage to get any sleep when he could hear Ran's even - if shallow - breathing.

Schuldich shook his head, trying to clear away the sleep haze. What had his dream been about again? Oh yeah, his first 'conversation' with his baby brother. Ran's mother, Lanen, had come over and announced her pregnancy, and Schuldich had used his gift to talk directly to the unborn baby. Funny, he hadn't even remembered that until dreaming it.

"Schuldich? Come on, you need a shower," Yohji told him, grabbing his arm and pulling the unresisting telepath to his feet and towards the door. "You don't want Ran to wake up just to pass out from your smell, do you?"

~~

"Schuldich! What is your problem?"

Schuldich growled threateningly at Ken, knowing the soccer player was worried, too, but unable to stop his anger. "I'm worried about him! It's been two months and he hasn't so much as twitched! He hates being touched, but he doesn't change even when those idiot nurses give him a bath!" Schuldich screamed, taking his frustration out on the younger man.

"I know that! It bothers me, too! But you act like you'll die if he doesn't get better in the next hour!"

"You would too if it was your baby brother in there!" All the movement in the room stopped at Schuldich's announcement. It suddenly became so quiet that the assassins could hear the curtains moving slightly in the wind.

"Ran's your brother?" Yohji asked softly, breaking the silence. Schuldich rubbed a hand across his face, and when he pulled it away, the others saw tears on his cheeks.

"Yeah," he choked out, looking at the picture of the original Weiss hanging on the wall.** I was almost three when he was born, and Hanae had been five for a few months."

"Hanae?" Yohji asked, shocked. "You mean Manx?"

"Strange, huh? Yeah, Manx is my older sister, and Ran is our younger half- brother."

"Then why did you spend so much time trying to kill him?" Omi asked.

"I only started suspecting we were related the day before the mission. I talked to Manx a few hours before the mission, and that confirmed it. I was planning to tell him when we got back here."

~~

"He'th gonna be a baby thoon," Schuldich told the young woman in front of him.

"What do you mean, Schu? He's still got a month and a half before he'll be ready," Lanen told him, still confused as to how the child had known the baby was a boy before the first sonogram.

"No," the boy corrected. "He'th almotht ready."

~~

"Why should I care?" Schuldich asked, blowing smoke into his friend's face. Yohji just smiled sadly and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's been three months, and he's still no closer to waking up! If he's going to yell at me about smoking and drinking he'll have to wake up for it, won't he?" Schuldich smirked triumphantly at his own logic. Ran always yelled at them about smoking and drinking, so if he did those things, his brother was sure to wake up to yell at him. Yohji just gave him another sad smile and hauled him to his feet.

"Come on, the doctors will yell at you if you keep smoking in here. Besides, I don't think cigarette smoke is good for him. I mean, he's just barely breathing on his own. When you're done smoking we'll come back." Schu nodded dumbly and allowed Yohji to drag him out of the room.

Ever since that first dream a month ago, Schuldich had been having flashbacks of Lanen's pregnancy. He had predicted the baby was going to be a boy, and he was right. No one had believed him when he had told them that he had asked the baby. Schuldich had also predicted that the baby would be born premature. He had been right again; Ran was born just over a month early. After he was born, though, Schuldich only got to see Ran once.

~~

"I'm sorry, but Kouga wants me at home with Ran. Besides, he was willing to accept Ran as his own," Lanen said, watching carefully as Hanae and Schuldich played with the infant. Neither was willing to pick the newborn up, but they were petting him, and giggling when he would grab their fingers in his tiny fists.

"You really believe he'll accept Ran? I hope for the baby's sake that he does. Ran's life could be miserable if he doesn't." The redheaded man was also watching the three children, wishing they could be able to grow up together. "If that's what you want, though, I'll leave. I can take the kids back to Germany; their grandmother would be thrilled to see them again."

Lanen saw him glance wistfully at his infant son, knowing that he wanted to be a part of the child's life. "It's not that I want you to leave, it's just that I want Ran to have a normal childhood, and knowing that the man he calls 'father' isn't his real father just isn't normal. I'm sorry." Lanen turned to the three children and bent down next to them. "Hey guys. I'm going to take Ran now, okay?" she informed them, picking her son up. When she reached the door, she turned back and smiled sadly at the three people she was throwing out of her life; the three people she was throwing out of her son's life. "Goodbye," she called before leaving.

~~

After another week, they got their first mission since Ran had been hurt. It involved all seven of them, and no one was willing to turn the mission down. All of them were afraid that if they did, another of their group would end up in the hospital, or worse.

The mission started easily. None of the guards noticed them, and they managed to sneak into the building. Schuldich couldn't help but feel that something was off, though. He felt as though he wasn't supposed to be there; none of them were. He shrugged the feeling off as he noticed the target moving toward his hiding spot.

~~

A/N: No one really knows what little kids think, so there's no guarantee that two-year-olds are unable to form complete sentences in their minds. Besides, I'm taking another liberty with being the authoress and saying that Schu had his telepathy at the age of two, and both he and Hanae were mature for children their ages. Also, the picture Schuldich noticed is the one that's shown in episode twenty-five. Remember that one? It had the four guys, and it was sitting on the counter, or a tabletop, or something like that. It was at the end of the episode. Well, here it was blown up and hung on a wall. Oh, and don't worry, I'm not through with this chapter yet, I just didn't want to forget this.

~~

"Schu?" the tiny voice called softly. When the person received no answer, he began to whimper. "Schu? Where are you? Schu, please . . . don't leave me alone . . . " After crying for a few minutes, the figure collapsed back onto the pillow and fell asleep.

~~

"Mastermind! Behind you!" Brad yelled, pulling Schuldich back to where he was. He shot the man who had been about to attack him, then turned to Brad.

__ Thanks. __

__ Where were you? __ the American asked.

__ I just got this feeling. It was like someone was calling me. __

__ Any ideas who? __

__ It felt like Ran. __ The clairvoyant raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

The mission ended shortly after their exchange, and the seven assassins trudged home. As soon as they finished getting clean, they headed to the hospital to visit Ran. When they got there, they were surprised to find him on his side; the staff always laid him on his back. There were also drying tear tracks on his cheeks.

"Rannie?" Schuldich called softly. Receiving no answer, he tried again, only mentally. __ Rannie? Are you in there? __

__ Schu? __ All seven faces lit up when they saw Ran stir slightly. __ Where were you? Why'd you leave me alone? __

__ Sorry, Rannie. I was in the middle of a mission. __

__ Okay . . . what happened? This . . . doesn't feel like home. __ Schuldich could feel the confusion radiating off of him.

__ If you wake up for me real quick, then I'll tell you tomorrow. __

"And if I don't?" Ran croaked, struggling to open his eyes. Schuldich smiled as tears ran down his face. "Why are you . . . ?"

"I'm just glad you're finally awake. And, if you didn't, I was just going to wait another week or two." Ran smiled as he fell back to sleep, his energy drained already. Schuldich brushed his bangs out of his face, and promised to tell him the whole story when he woke up.

~~

A/N: How was that? He's not a comatose veggie anymore! And I figured this was a nicer cliffy than last time. Let me know what you think of this chappie, or the story in general! It's still fun to write, so I'm still planning to finish it. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! ^^ BTW, I thought a young Schuldich with a lisp would be adorable!