Disclaimer- I don't own Vampire Knight

Chapter 21

A New Life

"She looks beautiful, doesn't she?"

Zero glanced to his right to glare at the blond beside him, but never responded to the question. He was once again at the Tsukina manor watching over the vampires gathered to celebrate Reina and Kaname's wedding. The ballroom was decorated elaborately in silver, sapphire and black accents and the people in it were richly dressed in clothing that would likely never be worn again after that night.

It had been almost two years since he had last been in the manor to watch over Yuuki's wedding and he wasn't pleased about having to watch over the vampires gathered while the woman he wanted married the one man he loathed more than anything, but was going to have to be civil with for the duration of his time as the Association's president.

"Stop moping, idiot apprentice. It's not a good look for you."

Shifting away from the hand that was ruffling his hair, Zero tossed an annoyed look at Yagari. "I'm not your damn apprentice anymore."

Yagari ignored him entirely and turned to Cross. "So anything interesting happen?"

Cross shook his head, his blond hair swishing around his shoulders. "No, everything seems to be running smoothly."

"Lets hope it stays that way," Yagari sighed, leaning lazily into a pillar to keep watch over the party.

"Hm?" Zero glanced down upon feeling a slight tug on his hand. He was greeted by a grinning five year old Emiko.

"Hi," the little girl chirped.

Zero blinked at the bright eyed girl. "You're not supposed to be down here."

Emiko pouted. "But I was bored and I wanted to see mommy. She looks very pretty, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, but if she sees you down here, won't you be in trouble?" Cross asked, leaning down to smile at the little girl.

Another pout, this one stubborn. "I don't care. I wanna play with big brother Zero, he's funny when he gets angry." The small girl grinned up Zero who growled at her and looked away. "See?"

"Emi!"

The small blond girl jumped and guilty looked up at Reina who had easily sensed the young child in the crowd. A white brow raised in disapproval causing Emiko to chuckle guiltily.

"To your room, now," Reina ordered, pointing sternly to the stairs.

Waving at Zero, Cross and Yagari the little girl bounded off.

"That girl never listens," Reina sighed with a shake of her head.

"She's grown a lot in the past few years," Cross spoke up.

"Yes I know," Reina replied, smiling. "She looks more and more like Takuma everyday."

"Have you heard anything?" Cross asked Kaname.

The two were sitting together in the parlor with Zero and Yagari. With the party over and the guests all gone the large house was eerily silent and though they weren't worried about being spied on, they couldn't help but to speak in hushed tones.

Shaking his head lightly, Kaname sighed and rested his cheek on the backs of his curled fingers. "Not a single thing. I have no idea what Sara or Michael may be planning and they are staying well hidden. I haven't been able to locate them since the night of the ball."

"It's the same for us," Zero spoke up. "Not a single Hunter or even any of our informants know anything. It's like they've disappeared."

"Whatever they're plotting it must be quite big otherwise I don't see why they would wait so long to make a move," Kaname observed.

"It seems that all we can do is continue to wait and keep our eyes open for any sign of what they may be up to," Cross sighed, removing his glasses to rub at the bridge of his nose.

"Lets just hope we find a sign before they make their move." Standing from the couch, Kaname excused himself and left in search of Reina who was upstairs with Emiko. They were to leave on a trip around Europe that evening and they would be gone for at least a month. Yuuki and Ken were going to be at the house to look after Emiko and Rima and Shiki had said they would pop in as well since Emiko was rather attached to Shiki. Aido and Kain would be joining Reina and Kaname on their trip that wasn't as much a honeymoon as it was business. They were going to be visiting several highly ranked noble families and seeing how the peace was fairing between the vampires and humans throughout the world.

So far things seemed to be pretty smooth, the number of vampire related attacks on humans was dwindling, but still far from nonexistent. It was a step in the right direction at least. It had only been a few years and it would be several more before a really noticeable amount of progress was seen in the campaign for vampires and humans to coexist together.

Having never been to Europe, let alone out of Japan, Reina was ecstatic about the chance to see some of the world that she had read so much about. Seeing the sights of the world proved to be too much for her however. Not even two weeks into their trip, Reina began to grow pale and was tired all the time regardless of how many blood tablets she took or how many times Kaname offered her his blood.

With her health deteriorating, Kaname called off the rest of the trip and returned everyone to the manor. At first being back in her own home seemed to be good for Reina and her spirits quickly improved. Her pale complexion did not and neither did the bags under her eyes, instead they only seemed to get worse.

After a week of this, Kaname was beginning to grow worried for Reina. Purebloods weren't supposed to get sick, not like this and he had no idea what could possibly make her as sick as she was. He spent much of his time trying to care for her though she usually waved him away, telling him he was being too over protective and that she was fine and there was nothing to worry about. As much as he wanted to believe her, he didn't and it was on the eighth day after their return from Europe that his worries proved to be correct.

He had been in the study reading over the newest concerns of the new Council when there was a crashing sound from down the hall and a shout, followed by Emiko's voice calling for Reina. It took him less than a second to follow the scent of Reina's freshly spilled blood to Emiko's room where the little girl was crouched by her mother with tears in her eyes.

Reina was on the ground, one hand clutching at her stomach and another shakily holding her up. There was a broken tea cup on the ground, a piece of which appeared to have cut her finger and explained the scent of blood. It did not explain why she appeared to be in so much pain.

Seeing Kaname walking into the room, Emiko looked up, her eyes frightened and concerned. "What's wrong with her, Kaname? What happened to Mom?"

Smiling reassuringly at the blue eyed girl, Kaname laid a hand on her head. "I'm not sure what's wrong, but she'll be ok. Why don't you go find Setsuka and Midori, have them meet us in our room."

Scrambling to her feet, Emiko took off out the door in search of the two women while Kaname knelt beside Reina.

"Reina?" Kaname called softly, brushing some of her white hair from her face that felt far too hot.

Trembling, she looked up at Kaname. "It hurts. It hurts so much.." She trailed off as tears filled her eyes and she clenched them shut, biting her lip and clutching tightly to her stomach.

Scooping her up gently into his arms, Kaname carefully carried Reina from Emiko's room and into their own which was now the room that had once belonged to her parents. He set her upon the black bedding and she immediately curled into a ball, her arms folded over her stomach. He sat beside her, soothingly combing his fingers through her hair and stroking her flushed cheeks while tears slipped from beneath her closed eyelids.

When Midori entered the room, her aging face pulled into a worried frown, Kaname looked up, silently telling her to do what was necessary to find out what was wrong with Reina. The woman didn't need a lot of prodding, she quietly closed the door behind her after telling Setsuka who stood in the hall to attend to Emiko.

"Reina-sama?" Midori spoke softly, calmly. "I need you to open your eyes for me."

Groaning, Reina fluttered her sapphire eyes open. "What's wrong with me, Midori? Why does it hurt so much?"

"I don't know, but we'll figure it out, ok?" The woman smiled warmly and with a glance at Kaname, silently told him he needed to leave the room, or at least move out of her way since he was sitting on the bed with Reina and didn't appear to want to move.

Not wanting to hinder her, Kaname moved away from the bed, but refused to leave the room while Midori examined Reina and asked her a series of questions. For several minutes the woman who had raised Reina examined the white haired girl before sighing and pulling a blanket over her and telling her to get some rest.

Waiting until Midori had turned from Reina's side and was approaching him, Kaname quietly inquired, "Is she alright?"

Midori sighed and glanced over her shoulder at Reina. "She's pregnant."

Stunned, Kaname could only turn his attention to Reina and blink. "Does she know?"

Shaking her head Midori frowned. "I didn't want to tell her. It's still very early and with the toll its taking on her body already..."

Hearing the note of uncertainty in the woman's voice, Kaname knew that she was trying to find a way to tell him that there was a chance that the child or possibly even Reina wouldn't survive the pregnancy. "Will she be alright?"

"I don't know, Kaname-sama. I just don't know."

"Thank you, Midori."

"I'll bring up some tea to help calm the pain, but she needs to stay in bed. She shouldn't be exerting herself at all until after the child is born, it will drain too much of her energy and she will need as much as possible."

After she had left, Kaname stepped up to the bedside and stared at Reina for several moments before putting one of his hands over hers that were folded over her stomach.

"Kaname? What's wrong?" Reina asked weakly, blinking her eyes open tiredly.

"You're pregnant, Reina," he answered truthfully and he was pleased to see the spark of happiness in her eyes, but it faded quickly when she noticed that he didn't seem to be sharing in her happiness.

"That's why I'm sick, isn't it?"

He nodded. "Yes, Midori says that you will have to stay in bed and conserve your strength otherwise..."

"I see. This pregnancy won't be as easy as it was with Emi, will it?" She asked looking down at her stomach and holding tightly to Kaname's hand.

The pregnancy was far from easy on Reina, she spent every day confined to bed and with every passing month, her stomach grew and so did the amount of pain she was in. Her face was constantly lined with the pain she felt and the sleep she was unable to get because of it. There was little that anyone could do to comfort her or help her to feel better and it made everyone feel useless whenever they heard Reina's cries of pain in the night when she would sometimes be able to get some rest.

When the eighth month of her pregnancy approached, Reina could hardly move without feeling like she was about to burst into pieces. She felt that if she used even the tiniest amount of energy it would be too much and she would fall asleep and never be able to wake up. She grew feverish and drifted into a state of semi consciousness where she could only see or hear what her brain made up for her in order to take her mind off of the pain.

The worry that everyone felt for her continued to grow as the time for her to give birth approached. It was like with everyday that past she became dimmer. Her aura dulled and she woke less and less often from the sleeps that she had began to fall into. Her skin paled and her breathing grew slow and forced. She was never left alone, someone always sat with her. Whether it was Kaname, Aido, Midori or Yuuki, someone was always by her side to look after her and talk to her about the current going ons of the world.

It was currently Midori and Emiko with her, Emiko was brushing out her mother's long white hair carefully while Midori changed her nightgown. A small groan forced Emiko to stop her gentle brushing and look into her mother's face that was now distorted into a grimace of pain.

"Momma?" Emiko asked worriedly.

Reina's eyes fluttered open and met the bright, but concerned green eyes of her daughter. She tried to smile reassuringly, but the smile turned into another grimace of pain.

"Midori! Midori, something's wrong with momma!" Emiko shouted from the bed.

Midori ran out of the closet where she had gone to get a new nightgown and straight to Reina's side. Just as the woman reached her, Reina let out a pain filled cry and hunched up in an attempt to find a position that didn't hurt to be in.

"Calm down, Reina-sama, just breathe," Midori murmured soothingly. "Emi-sama, I need you to leave the room. Have Setsuka and the other maids come here immediately."

"What's wrong? Why is-"

"She's going into labor," Midori said, cutting off Kaname and ignoring him as she fussed around Reina and tried to get her to sit up, but the woman just wasn't able to sit up on her own.

"Here." Kaname stepped up to the bed and carefully helped Reina to sit up, positioning himself behind her on the bed and keeping a tight hold of her.

"K-Kaname," she rasped, reaching up to grasp onto his arm, her nails digging into his flesh. "It hurts.."

He quietly shushed her and used his free hand to stroke her now damp white hair. "I know it hurts, Reina. I'm very sorry, but you need to do as Midori says and relax."

She moaned, clenching her teeth together and squeezing her eyes shut and shook her head. "I can't..I can't...It hurts..."

Those who were gathered at the house, Aido, Kain, Ruka, Yuuki and Ken stayed downstairs and tried to drink tea while waiting for the ordeal upstairs to be over. The scent of blood was almost overwhelming and the screams of pain were too much for them though and all any of them could do was stare into their cups and wait. Emiko was clinging to Aido, burying her head in his shoulder to try and block out her mother's cries and Aido could only hold onto the frightened girl distractedly.

For hours they all remained gathered together, waiting in silence that was so deep that when the house finally did grow quiet, it startled them. Looking around to be sure that none of them were simply imagining things, everyone breathed a sigh of relief now that everything was over.

"Momma!" Emiko cried suddenly, her shout causing everyone to jolt. When all she did was clutch tighter to Aido and begin to sob, everyone became increasingly aware of the fact that Reina's aura was barely noticeable and was fading quickly.

"R-Reina-sama," Aido mumbled, blinking in shock.

"The child is fine, he's strong and very healthy," Midori assured Kaname as she handed the baby to Setsuka so that he could be cleaned and dressed warmly. "Reina-sama, are you alright?"

All she could do was groan tiredly and sink into Kaname's embrace, her eyes drooping shut.

"Reina?" Kaname called worriedly, running a hand over her face that was growing slack.

Her eyes fluttered briefly for a moment, but quickly closed again.

"She's lost a lot of blood," Midori noted, putting a hand to Reina's head to find that it was quickly cooling.

"Would everyone excuse us for a moment?" Kaname asked, though it was far from a request. His eyes never left Reina's face as the room was vacated. "Reina...You need to wake up. You need to drink."

"...So tired," she breathed.

"I know, you can sleep in a moment, but I need you to drink, Reina."

There was no response from her this time and without a care Kaname brought his wrist to his mouth and bit ruthlessly into his own flesh, filling his mouth with as much blood as he could before placing his lips over Reina's and letting his blood slide from his mouth to hers. She swallowed all of it and her eyes opened tiredly, she smiled wanly at Kaname before nodding off to sleep.

Kaname wiped away a thin line of blood from Reina's mouth and was loathe to let her go, but the bed was practically destroyed and he knew that Midori and the other maids would want to clean everything up and make sure that Reina was as comfortable as possible. Gently setting her head upon a soft pillow, he kissed her forehead and stepped into the hall. The maids were still gathered there, Setsuka was rocking the newborn baby boy in her arms and the others were crowded around her, except for Midori who was anxiously waiting to return to Reina's side.

"Congratulations, Kaname-sama," Setsuka said, giggling as she tickled the baby's chin.

Kaname offered up as much of a smile as he could and took his child from Setsuka's arms. "Thank you. I'll leave Reina in your care for now."

"Kaname-sama!"

"Kaname!"

Aido and Yuuki were the first to rise from their seats, Aido still holding an upset Emiko in his arms.

"Where's momma?! Is momma ok?!" Emiko demanded tearfully.

"Reina is fine, Emiko. She just needs to rest. Would you like to meet your brother?"

"B-brother," Emiko stuttered, finally noticing the bundle in Kaname's arms. Wiping at her eyes, she broke free of Aido's hold and made her way cautiously to Kaname and the wriggling blankets he was carrying.

"Congratulations, Kaname," Yuuki chirped, stepping beside her older brother to get a better look at the newborn child.

"Thank you, Yuuki," Kaname replied, smiling warmly at her.

"What's his name?" Emiko asked from Yuuki's arms. The girl had been too short to see the baby and stuck her arms out expectantly to Yuuki who was closest to her and who couldn't ignore the pout she was getting.

"He doesn't have one yet. When your mom wakes up, we'll decide one then. Would you like to help?"

Emiko nodded emphatically, ecstatic over the idea of being able to help pick a name for her new brother and at the fact that Kaname seemed truly happy, which was a rare sight for him. Even when with Reina he always seemed so distant and unreachable and at times he scared her, but she knew that he wouldn't harm her and would always protect her.

For three days Reina slept and didn't wake, but during that time, her complexion began to return to normal and the lines on her face began to fade. When she finally woke it was to the sounds of a baby crying and someone talking softly. She fluttered her eyes open to see Kaname standing over a bassinet and gathering a fidgety bundle of blue blankets into his arms. Sensing her eyes on him, he turned to her and she smiled tiredly at him, but was unable to speak because she still felt incredibly tired.

Walking to the bed, Kaname sat down beside Reina with their child and smiled at her when she carefully and gently raised a shaking hand to rest it on top of the blankets before sighing contentedly and drifting back to sleep.

Another three days past and Reina slept on, oblivious to almost everything around her. One week after the birth of her son, she woke up to the scent of food and shakily pushed herself up in the bed and rubbed at her eyes. It took a moment for her eyesight to adjust, but when it finally did, she slid carefully from the bed, standing up on legs that felt rubbery and weak from lack of use. Unsteady steps slowly took her to the closet where she pulled on the first robe she grabbed, a dark blue one with silver lace accents. Her steps slowly became more steady as she left the bedroom, occasionally using the walls and furniture for support and grasping tightly to the banister of the staircase as she descended to the first floor.

Upon reaching the lower level of the house, she could hear everyone in the dining room, talking and laughing while they ate. The second she pushed the door open and leaned into the frame, all conversation died and all eyes locked onto her.

She smiled and laughed quietly. "Didn't anyone every tell you that's it rude to stare?"

"Reina!"

"Momma!"

"Ah, careful, Emi, I'm still not very steady," Reina chuckled, ruffling her daughters hair as the girl wrapped her arms around her waist. "And I see you, Hana, there's no need to worry over me anymore, ok? Now come here and give me a hug!"

The icy eyed blond sniffled, but skipped to Reina's side and into her open arms.

"Really, you'd think I have three children and not just two," Reina sighed, consolingly patting Aido's and Emiko's heads.

"Hey, I thought I was the big brother!" Aido protested.

"You can't be a big brother, Uncle Hana," Emiko said, grinning impishly. "Because you're still too immature."

"Who's immature you little brat!"

"You," Emiko replied, sticking her tongue out at Aido before running away only to have him chase after her, yelling that she better respect her elders.

Emiko giggled at Aido's overreaction while she ran and everything suddenly seemed right again, it was like time had stopped with Reina not being able to join them everyday, but now that she was back the whole world seemed to be much less sad and fearsome and much more bright.

While Aido and Emiko ran around the dining room, ignored by everyone who were used to their games and had gone back to eating, Kaname had stepped up to Reina and rested a hand on her back.

"Hello, Kaname," Reina said lovingly, turning her attention to her husband and smiling warmly.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Fine, a little weak, but fine," she answered honestly. "So where is our son? The little devil spent months draining all of my energy, I'd like to see him." She had barely finished her sentence when her face went blank and she turned to look at the window.

Emiko who had been happily laughing and taunting Aido, stopped running around the room and blankly turned to look out the window too. Having noticed Emiko's strange change, Aido walked up to her only to hear her utter a single word in confusion and uncertainty.

"Daddy?"

Reina didn't hear the word that had slipped from her daughter's lips, she was too uncertain about what it was she had seen. Kaname and Ken exchanged glances when Reina's mouth moved and a name fell from her lips before she blacked out and was caught in Kaname's grasp before she could fall to the floor.

"Emiko, would you look at me for a moment please?" Ken asked, kneeling in front of the small girl and smiling. Once the little girl had turned to him, he raised a hand over her head and there was a flash of bright light before Emiko collapsed into Aido's arms.

"What's going on?"

Everyone turned to Yuuki and Ruka who were watching the scene in complete shock, neither one knew what was going on or why it was necessary to put both Reina and Emiko to sleep. Not to mention both girls had heard the name that had fallen from Reina's lips.

"Why did she suddenly say Ichijo's name? And why did Emiko ask for her father?" It was Yuuki who had spoken and she had risen from her seat to look between her big brother and her own husband. To her it was quite obvious that they were both hiding something and she wanted to know what, but judging by the look she was getting from Kaname she had a feeling she would be left in the dark. "Ken?"

"I'm sorry, Yuuki, it's best that you don't know," Ken replied, removing his eyes from her piercing gaze and looking sadly at Emiko as she slept in Aido's arms.

"Ken, Aido, Kain meet me in the study it seems we have something to discuss," Kaname said and without waiting for either one to respond, he turned away to take Reina to their room.