He woke with a start and on the rock floor. He pushed up and took in the air. It smelled of rotting corpses.

"Undertaker."

"It seems you have some very insistent people who have been after you."

Sebastian stood and looked at the man. "Did you help pull me out?"

The Undertaker chuckled. "I was paid handsomely to do so."

"Thank you."

The grey haired man shook his head a bit. "Your master brought some clothes. They smell of lavender and vanilla."

He smiled and took the pile of clothes, bringing them up to his nose. "I will leave as soon as I am changed. I'm in your debt."

"Nonsense. It was paid."

Sebastian bowed and winced. "In that case, I alone am in your debt."

"Bring your child safely into the world and cause those demons a bit of chaos."

His eyes flashed and he smiled wider, his demon form curling out in delight.

He raced back to the familiar stone manor he had rebuilt six years previous, stone by stone, the same as it was for his young master's life. He slowed and surveyed the house, the heartbeats clustered in the usual spots and he smirked. Did anyone miss him?

"You look like someone we used to know," a voice said in back of him.

Turning he saw Tanaka coming up the lane. "Tanaka."

"The skin you wear, is it yours?"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. The old Phantomhive butler never ceased to amaze him. "Yes. It is me. Sebastian Michaelis."

Tanaka looked him over and then clapped his old hand on his left shoulder and smiled. "Your wife is a few days from birth - or sooner, she is in consent pain. You may want to plan your trips to Hell a bit better."

Sebastian laughed. He laughed like it was be joke of his life. And he mused it probably was a good one. "Yes, I will remember to do that. I don't think I will be finding any rest there for a long time."

"Just as well, Mister Sebastian," Tanaka said. "The young master has been exceptionally moody since your disappearance. He insisted that cake be delivered to him for every meal, until you come back."

Sebastian groaned. "Is Lady Elizabeth making him run around at least?"

Tanaka now laughed. "Yes. After her for redecorating the house. The greenhouse. And insisting that she bring in workers to rebuild your own cottage."

"A fire?" he guessed. After he had been yanked from defending Mey-Rin, he felt the blinding light of fire around him, and not the pleasant low burn he had turned into enjoyment himself. He was gone for apparently the past two months, according to the conversation he had with the Undertaker as he reoriented himself to his human body.

The old man nodded sadly. "Almost lost her, we feared." He paused and looked back at Sebastian, facing him fully. "Go to her but be mindful, she is about to give birth, so she is not in the best shape to take the news all at once."

The door to the manor flew open and Sebastian shifted his attention. There was his young master, now sixteen and half, married, and looking even older than usual.

"Master," he whispered as he walked swiftly and knelt before him. He felt the relief of being called home. Home.

"You are the worst protector I have ever known," Ciel said, dropping down to his knees. Sebastian looked up and saw both his naked eyes. His contract flashing bright as his eyes welled up. "Mey-Rin could have died."

Sebastian hung his head. And began to laugh. It started as a light rumble and then it burst out of his throat. His master was worried about Mey-Rin, a pregnant maid, married to his demon butler - not for himself. Ciel was worried about Mey-Rin, the woman whose very breath Sebastian needed to feel to keep him grounded. His heart was not chained. Free. Not dark. Light.

He pulled the startled teenager into his arms and carried him into the house. "I must make it right, my lord."

Ciel slung his patch around his finger after he was placed back on his feet, regarding the man who had left whole, now stood a bit scared and a little singed. Sebastian waited to be released before he went to his beloved. "Go. But, Sebastian, be careful. Her spirit was broken. I… I am not sure how she survived."

Sebastian regarded him for a moment and snatched the patch midair. He walked around and replaced the patch over the right eye he had jealously taken to create a strong binding. And as he tied the laces, he bent down and whispered, "The same way you did, my lord. One second at a time. One deliciously evil thought at a time, until you could stand here, content with what you have done. Determined with what you will have to do." He moved and faced his master once more. "Mey-Rin is strong like you because you surround yourself with rocks. And we can't be moved."

"Sebastian, don't ever leave again."

"Yes, my lord."

"Go. See to your wife, I will see to mine."

Sebastian regarded the young husband.

"She is convinced we need a dog. Heavens be blessed it's not a cat."

Sebastian chuckled and flew up the stairs, knowing the only heart beat he needed to hear was laying in his old bed. Waiting. Waiting for him.

"Sebastian…" she cried and her voice broke. He stopped and placed a hand on the wall beside his old door. "Seb.. Sebastian…"

It was the steady call and her voice sounded horse, like it had when he heard it in his soul, deep below and unable to get out. He let his form go, curling like smoke into the room. He covered her body with his, non-formed one and slowly solidified before her, kneeling beside the bed, her red eyes taking him and still calling out to him.

"I'm here," he said, brushing her hair out of her face a bit. He searched her eyes and licked his lips, feeling the emotions rise. "Oh my beloved, I am here."

"Sebastian?" her tone changed and she blinked. "Sebastian?"

"Yes, my love, I am here. I am really here." He slide his hand over her belly and felt a solid form pressing against her skin. "I'm here for you both. You helped get me back."

"I had lost you," she whispered, her fingers trembling as they reached for his face. "There was pain. So much. I was afraid I was loosing our baby."

He closed his eyes and breathed. "We were found out and I was taken because of it. There are rules for demons impregnating humans, that is one of the reasons it's so hard. I had hoped to keep you from them and let you fully transition without pain."

"But I'm still mortal," she whispered, her hand on his face now. She looked down at her stomach and blinked back the tears again. "They wanted to kill me to get to the baby."

"When our child is born, that will complete the transformation. It… it has killed weak women."

Mey-Rin looked up and met the steady gaze of Sebastian. "I am not weak."

He smiled and kissed her lips softly. "No, you are not. You helped bring me back from Hell. There is no weakness in that."

She sighed and then winced, her hand going to her belly. Her eyes widened and she looked at him once more. He smelled it.

"The baby, it's coming."

He smiled and kissed her, shoving pillows under her neck and head as he helped her sit up. Sure enough, watery blood was staining the sheets. "Our baby was waiting."

Mey-Rin's hand laced with his and she pulled him to sit next to her. "You could have come a bit faster."

"Yes, my love."

After gathering the rest of the staff, and sending for the Undertaker, Sebastian sat beside his beloved, and watched as Mey-Rin worked hard to push her baby out, screaming and gripping Sebastian's arm with a vice grip. He fed her water, mopped her brow, rubbed her back, and watched. He watched what he had only read about. He watched as her strength doubled, crushing his bones. His body repaired them and he held her as a wave of pain washed over her, made her scream the hellish scream of a soul ready for eternal flames. For her human soul and body was being ripped, part of her going into the tiny body she was trying to get out. His babies' body and soul was also being ripped, giving part of it to its mother. Mey-Rin would be his forever. His child too. Two immortal things, for the price of his two months in hellish torture.

And silence settled over all of the adults as the cry of a newborn shattered all the glass of the bedroom, exploding and imploding. The scream of a demon seeing the light of day for the first time. The scream of a human taking its first breath.

"You have a beautiful baby girl, Sebastian," the Undertaker said. He smiled and wrapped the baby in clothes and brought it to the new parents. "A delivery from Hell itself."

Mey-Rin shuttered as the baby was placed in her arms and Sebastian looked down at the angelic half-demon, half-human face.

His child. His daughter.

He kissed Mey-Rin's forehead and cried. The strongest feeling he had ever had was before him: his clumsy maid was turned into an immortal mother. Her brown eyes lifted and he saw the vastness stretch before him.

"For eternity," he whispered and gently laid a kiss on his wife's lips and his daughter's forehead.

And this is how it feels to be in love. This is how a demon becomes human.

*sniffle* Oh my goodness... that was like... sooooo emotional to write. All of it. Like all of it... so. That is this part, guys. Did you get that "this part"? Yup my muse (because let's be honest, she didn't have a chance to say no) is writing "This is How We Feel, Too" - a second installment of this here little beauty. So far a lot less sex then I thought, although we have marriages, and babies, and some really interesting things with this new baby coming about. SO... I will post that starting... um... Friday? I may have to wait til after Comic Con... So don't cry too hard, or if you do, get some more boxes because I tried to balance the cry and laughter ratio a bit in the next one.

THANK YOU to all who read and review. I'm just so thrilled anyone would want to read this and push me to continue. *MUAH*