"She was found in your bed, Sebastian," his young master hissed as Sebastian let himself be pulled out of the bedroom Mey-Rin was now laying in. "In your bed. Even you know how that looks."

"I was only thinking of her safety and comfort. She is wounded quiet severely," he said, reasoning with his young master. He bit back the fact that she had spent many nights in safety and comfort in his bed before she was discovered wounded in it. "I admit it may look rather inappropriate."

"Aw, hell, Sebastian," Ciel swore, earning an eyebrow raise. "Bard was stunned into not speaking for 15 minutes. Fifteen whole minutes," he said. "And during that time, he carried her to the extra bedroom and seemed to almost be in tears when he left."

"The whole staff is sweet on Mey-Rin," Sebastian noted.

Ciel huffed and turned and looked at the closed door. "If I was not so damn tuned into the smallest of things about us humans and our natures, I would have missed it. But," he turned and threw a look at his butler, glancing down at his soiled suit and once new, gloves, "I think the cook is rather smitten by the maid."

Sebastian quirked his eyebrow and nodded absentmindedly as his young master added for him to change his clothes. Bardroy and Mey-Rin? The image of the slightly older, American, war hero, embracing his beloved and kissing her lips made him turn to the door where she was laying in the bed and pushed it open, before he went to change, as if he needed to see her, confirm she was alone and his master was not tying to tell him to take Bardroy out of the room.

The light of the hall sliced into the darkened room and he watched as the light rise and fall of his lovers chest was sure and steady. He turned and was about to go into the hall, change, and inspect the spears, when her small intake of air changed and he felt the pull on his being to rush towards her, making sure she was fine.

"Mey-Rin," he whispered. Her body shook and he pulled the blankets off her. Her shoulder was bandaged, but the small spots of blood still speckled the gauze. "My dear, Mey-Rin."

She gasped and opened her eyes, blinking into the dark. He struck a match and lit the bedside lamp, letting his image fade from the darkness and into her sight.

"Sebastian."

"I'm here, my love," he whispered, caressing her cheek. "You had a bad dream," he guessed.

"Y…yes. I felt like I was shot again," she whispered, her tongue darting around her dry lips. His own dried and he pressed them to hers.

"Oh my beloved, I am so sorry I could not protect you," he said, his voice breaking a bit. "You were not shot, rather impaled by a spear, in your shoulder."

"But… why?"

He shook his head; there was no answer to that question even in his own mind. He smoothed her wild hair and longed to gather her up in his arms, wrap his body around her delicate frame and be her protection. The feeling of failure seeped into him.

"Sebastian?"

"Yes?"

"Can you lay beside me while I fall asleep?"

"Yes, my lover, I can do that," he said, kissing her deeply. Standing he took his coat off, soiled and ruined. He took his gloves off as well and saw the slight stirring of longing in her eyes. His gloves came off when they made love and she had collected enough pairs to make anyone wonder why she had so many and wore none. Sebastian did not mind the weekend runs to buy dozens of new gloves if it meant he satisfied one of her strange obsessions. Quietly he got into the bed, carefully snaking his arms around her and cradling her head on his shoulder. The calming scent of her once more made him shut down and focus only on the small weight she placed on him. A weight that made him sink and soar. It was difficult for him to undo himself from her body, but he melted away, like liquid smoke and soon was picking his jacket and gloves off the end of the bed.

He looked at the sleeping woman he had shared many passionate moments with, and some non passionate ones as well. He silently and angrily vowed to find out why she was hurt, why his master was a target. He sighed a bit as he closed the door, back in the hall and placed a hand on the door, as if he could seal it by magic. He was a demon, he wanted to possess his masters soul, and he worked with humans who were dangerous sometimes even to themselves. Sebastian was always a target. But not he also had a reason to keep everyone away from his private paradise.

"You were in there a long time, Mister Sebastian," Baldroy's voice suddenly noted. "Anything you care to share?"

Sebastian's eyes flashed and he turned to face the ex-military man. "None of your concern," he spat.

"I think it is if the butler is in a ladies room for three-quarters of an hour."

Sebastian looked at the man and saw the same resolve Mey-Rin had when she asked him to stay in her room three months ago. It was lit by a fire that only human resolve could. He liked that kind of fire as much as the burning pleasure of a body that took his with all the delight and force only their weakness could manage. Humans had long moved from a wearisome existence to a fascinating study. And Baldroy's slow balling of his fists made Sebastian smile a bit.

"She had trouble sleeping, and so I went in to assist. What kind of butler would I be if I could not assist in such a small task?" he finally answered, smoothly and truthfully.

"You couldn't get her warm milk and some biscuits?"

A smile twitched at his lips. Ah so the young master was indeed correct. Being the Queen's Watchdog meant the young master had to go into the darker parts of London to quell the underbelly of those who lived and worked there back down. Being able to detect lies was his usual domain, but the young master was rather good at seeking out people to talk to and who were trusted informants.

"Mey-Rin likes neither, as you know."

Baldroy surprised him as he took the three remaining steps to close the gap. He took his cigarette, unlit, and jabbed it into the closed door's direction. "You leave Mey-Rin alone. She is a lady and deserves to be treated as such. You need to let us common people take care of our own. She is just fine in my hands."

And he turned and left, stomping down the hallway, finally leaving Sebastian to smile fully. "In your hands?" he muttered. "Ah you don't know about her wicked hands, human."

Sebastian glided up the back stairs, changed into a new suit, snapping on new gloves, and went to join his master in his study, ready to met this new threat, if he had not fully quelled it in taking two lives just that late morning.