Author's Notes:

I started this chapter right after the last one, seeing as the cliffhanger made me itch to go on *lol* Due to the terrible heat outside and me working on another cosplay/ playing Assassin's Creed I've had some problems concentrating though…

I've written part of this chapter before, as a test. However, there are years and many chapters between then and now, so in the end I couldn't use most things. My tentative plans made me giggle though. *lol*

I first had another title for this chapter, but had a last-minute change of heart!

Dislcaimer: D. Gray-Man belongs to Katsura Hoshino

Kapitel 69: Advent

Kanda was sitting on the stone steps that led up to the entrance door of a house, hands linked, but thumbs pressed against his eyes. Next to him on the steps was his suitcase – before almost empty apart from a few possibly necessary pieces of paper and his exorcist coat just in case something unexpected happened. Now it was a bit heavier, just like his heart that felt heavier in his chest. He was… exhausted, running after this ghost year after year. "Don't despair, Sir," a young officer told him, addressing him in the local variety of French, holding a bunch of flowers. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful…" Kanda lifted his head, looking at him. His informant smiled encouragingly and handed him the flowers. "You said your wife was waiting for you. I got you some flowers for her, mine always likes that when I have to leave on short notice. I hope they won't wilt though." Kanda sighed, then he got up, taking the flowers.

"Thanks Mathieu..." The officer smiled again, then he waved when Kanda started walking away. "Until next time." Walking down the paved road, Kanda looked at the flowers in his hand, then he directed his gaze to the suitcase. As expected he was chasing mere echoes again. Ah well, at least he'd be back earlier than expected. Kanda pushed the darker thoughts away and allowed himself to look forwards to his return. The sun continued shining brightly, not one cloud in the deep azure sky. He made his way to the small train station that would bring him back to the town Ellen's portal opened up to. Giving the village painted in the evening sun's light one last look, Kanda turned away for good.

-o-

The Ark was silent when Kanda returned, not that he had expected Ellen to wait for him. He probably had been gone for eight hours, maybe a bit less. A look on his pocket watch told him that it was shortly before ten in the evening. He walked down the white street that led to the main gate and stepped outside. The room beyond was empty and quiet; apparently no scientist charged with supervising the Ark was working overtime right now. Kanda gave an involuntary shiver when he noticed how chilly it actually was. As soon as he stepped out of the corridor he was greeted by the loud noise of crashing thunder and the metal weights of the Black Order's banners outside banging against the window.

"A summer storm…" Kanda thought to himself, looking out of the window. The sky was grey, the clouds constantly illuminated by lightning. The wind was tearing at everything outside, leaves soaring through the air. And it was raining heavily, the rain splashing down from the roof like a shower. And it had been such nice weather in Belgium… As Kanda got a bit further away from the usually restricted areas of the Science Division, he started to become aware of another kind of commotion. The Black Order was usually busy, work dying down around midnight only to pick up again at the crack of dawn, but it seemed a bit busier than on normal nights. As he passed some people unnoticed he caught snippets of conversations, of a flag burning, of a tree struck in half, of a cellar being flooded, of something having started, of a sheep having broken free. Kanda didn't stay to listen, but made his way up to his room through the quiet servant quarters. He didn't feel like being asked about his short disappearance, if anyone had even noticed.

"Where have you been?" A loud shriek greeted him when he stepped out of the servant corridor. Before he could even curse his bad luck, he was locked into a tight embrace. It was Linali. Her arms around his neck were cold and his own clothes started to soak in the wetness of her light attire. "Why haven't we been able to reach you?" Kanda frowned and Linali finally let go of him. Her face was pale when she stared at him with wide, red eyes. Her nose was running and her wet hair stuck to her face.

"I haven't taken my Golem with me," Kanda confessed, but didn't want to tell her more. Linali didn't even want to hear about it, grabbing his hand instantly, making Kanda drop his suitcase. He looked at it in alarm, but it remained closed, lying in the shadow of the corridor. Time to pick it up wasn't granted to him though as Linali started to drag him with her. "What is wrong? Linali?" Some of the flowers slipped out of his fingers when he was running after the girl, but he didn't care about that for the moment. Something was wrong, something other than the storm.

"It's Ellen…!" Kanda suddenly stopped, which almost caused Linali, who still held on to Kanda's hand, to stumble. "Kanda please! This is not the right time to turn into a statue!" Kanda snapped out of his stupor and started running again, this time faster and without Linali having to pull him.

"Is she turning into a Noah?" Kanda wanted to know and noticed that they were running towards the infirmary and not to their living quarters. Something in his stomach twisted, dread spreading like cold liquid through him.

"Not the Noah, it's the baby!"

"The BABY?" Kanda shouted, his loud voice echoing through the almost empty corridor. "What do you mean the baby?"

"It started some hours ago, she was in pain, so Rabi took her to the infirmary," Linali tried to explain and they got into the hospital wing. Lots of people were always about here, but they all jumped to the side when Linali and Kanda passed, not even reprimanding them for running.

"But the boy's only due in more than a month! He can't possibly be born now! It's far too early!" Kanda protested, unable to acknowledge the truth. They reached a different corridor, where Timothy was sitting on a bench, looking far too awake for this time of the day, Link was pretending to read a book and Rabi was restlessly pacing in front of the closed door.

"Yu! Thank God you're back!" Rabi shouted, once he noticed the other two. The red-head put his hands on Kanda's upper arms, squeezing painfully. "You've got the worst timing in the world! Why did you have to go away today?" Kanda just stared at him. Yes, why today…? Why did he receive the letter today? Why was Ellen… He couldn't finish the sentence in his head. But was this a coincidence? It had to be a coincidence! That's nothing anybody could plan, not even that woman! It was just an unlucky coincidence.

"I will question you later about your unauthorized disappearance," Link spoke up, his voice quiet, but it cut through the commotion nevertheless. He closed the book and stood. "However, this is not the time for apologies or explanations. Even though the schedule is all wrong, your wife is in labour." Kanda felt nauseous even hearing that word. Labour. Child-birth. Baby. Fatherhood. It was like a wave suddenly crashing down on the contents of his stomach, forcing him to take even breaths to calm himself.

"And the matron won't let any of us guys in! Not even when two-spot - who came all the way back from Rome when he heard - threatened to tell Leverrier about her obstructing his duty." Kanda wasn't able to react to anything. Only Linali banging her fist against the door did wake him up again.

"No visitors!" came the head-nurse's shout from the inside, but the door still opened with a silent creak. Kanda couldn't see past her, nor could he hear anything but faint whispers. He had not been able to imagine how this day would be, he'd always pushed it back in his mind for later. Later. Now he apparently had run out of time. He had had nightmares though, nightmares of blood and death and Ellen screaming in excruciating pain – but it was just quiet in the room beyond. Just the raging summer storm outside. "Oh, it's you, Linali. You're so wet! "

"I've been looking for Kanda," she confessed and the matron clicked her tongue disapprovingly, then her eyes fell on the others outside that were crowding around the door.

"How's Ellen? Is the baby born yet?" Timothy shouted jumping from one leg to the other.

"Timothy!" Emilia's voice came from inside of the room, the only loud noise Kanda could hear. "What have I told you about going to bed!"

"I can't go to bed! Not now!" the boy whined, which Rabi used as a cue to speak up as well.

"Any news? How is it going?" Rabi wondered and finally Kanda managed to push through the row of people gathering in front of him, standing before the matron. Her eyes narrowed just slightly.

"You are here after all…" Her voice wasn't all that friendly and Kanda didn't hold it against her.

"May I come in?" he asked as calmly and politely as possible. The head-nurse's expression softened, then she sighed and put her hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"I fear that I can't do that. Men are supposed to wait outside during child-birth. I can't make exceptions", she said, which just made Kanda frown.

"But I'm her husband! At least let me talk to her for a few minutes!" The matron's stern face didn't waver, but Kanda's insisting glare didn't either. In the end the matron sighed. She turned to Linali. "Please, get into dry clothes if you want to stay inside for a bit longer," she told her and the girl went to a wardrobe hastily, pulling out a uniform. She turned back to Kanda and the others standing outside.

"Five minutes. Not more," she told them, "and just Kanda. You two have to wait." Rabi's face fell and Link frowned in displeasure.

"But maybe protective barriers will be needed, what if she turns into-," Link started to argue but the matron's look shut him up effectively.

"What we need now, boy, is patience and medical knowledge. It appears as if right now, none of you have either. Besides, I will allow nothing but child birth to happen in this room."

"But," Link tried again, but gave up when the matron pulled Kanda inside, shutting the door behind the Japanese exorcist.

"Give me these. She'll be able to appreciate them later," the Matron said, taking the flowers out of Kanda's hands. His eyes were still fixed on only the stern woman before him. He didn't even dare to turn his head towards the back of the room, where a curtain had been pulled around a bed. "Listen, boy… It's only been a couple of hours. Don't fool yourself into believing this will be a quick and easy matter." Kanda's frown deepened, but he nodded. "Speak to her, quietly and to the point. Don't lose time you might not have." Upon seeing his worried expression, the nurse patted Kanda's shoulder before turning around to put the flowers into a vase. Kanda straightened his shoulders, pulling himself together and crossed the room, past other nurses that busied themselves with other things. Emilia pulled the curtain away slightly when she heard him approach. Her face was pale and he could see that her entire body was tense. But her expression changed to relief instantly when she saw him.

"Oh, thank God!" She embraced him quickly. "You'll want to talk to her; I'll give you some space." She seemed unwilling to let him go again, her hands lingering on his arms, but then the uncertain expression changed to a smile and she walked away, joining Linali and the Matron to discuss something in hushed voices.

Ellen smiled up at him when she saw him. Kanda almost forgot how to breathe. She was actually smiling. Her face was white and slightly wet, her hair had been pulled out of her face and braided and it now rested on the pillow next to her head. She looked fine. She smiled. Kanda sat down on the chair next to the bed, looking at her, lost for words.

"How did it go?" Ellen asked, her voice steady, even though it was slightly hushed.

"I'm so sorry!" Kanda hissed in stead of an answer and Ellen blinked at him. "I'm sorry that I went away at such a stupid time! I should not have left your side!"

"Yu, in all honesty. You wouldn't have been of much use even if you had been here when it started," Ellen told him and Kanda widened his eyes, looking at his wife. She laughed slightly, shaking her head. "So, don't worry. It's not your fault. Everything is – well… apart from the fact that this is far too early and far from pleasant, everything is fine." He still didn't say anything. "I'm not angry." Kanda wanted to say something, but he saw Ellen's face change, saw her squeeze her eyes shut and bite her lips. Her hands grabbed at the mattress, fingers digging into the fabric.

"Ellen! Ellen, are you alright?"

"I've felt better…" Ellen hissed, and opened an eye to look at him. "But I've felt worse too… If it won't get much worse I can deal with it…" Kanda still stuck to silence, but then he forced himself to speak.

"So… this… this really is the real thing?" Ellen, who had calmed down again, mimicked his slightly panicked expression.

"Y… Yes…" And both fell into silence once again. In the corner of his eye he could see the matron point towards the clock above the door. He balled his hands into fists. There were so many things he wanted to say, so many questions and pointless words of comfort. He got up from the chair and embraced the girl, pressing a kiss against her temple.

"I've heard some things from the Matron and outside that made me worry…" Ellen tensed in his arms and then he heard her sigh. "Is it really that dangerous?"

"It's too early… Far too early for any baby to be born. I don't know if we manage… And I can't help suspecting that this is caused by either Noah or Innocence as a late reaction to what I did in Paris… The child upholds a circulation of Innocence through my body, probably a way for it to defend against the Noah… When it's gone… I don't know… I don't know what'll happen…"

"Ellen… let me stay by your side! Maybe I can help you!" Kanda pleaded, suddenly more afraid than he'd been before. The prospect of the child being born was frightening in its own right, but the risk of losing Ellen or the boy was far more terrifying. There must be something he could do! Anything! But Ellen smashed his feeble hopes.

"There's nothing you can do… I have to insist that you stay outside, the way it's supposed to be… Let me do this, I promise I'll fight properly." She pushed at his shoulders so that he had to stand up straight again.

"Come now, Kanda," the matron said gently and started guiding him outside. He wanted to resist, but he knew that it was pointless. This was a battle only Ellen could fight, he had no part in it.

"Don't die!" he said and heard Ellen chuckle, but he also saw her nod. Just when he turned his head away, he still registered out of the corner of his eye that she slumped back into the cushion, her face in pain. A nurse drew the curtain, the sound of the metal loops sliding over the iron bar so final. So terrifying.

"I promise that we'll do everything we can. Just get some rest and wait for us to do our job," the matron said when she opened the door for him. Kanda didn't reply and the door was shut after him before he could think of an answer. There was no time to worry about a distraught husband. He had heard voices just before the door was shut, but now there was a moment of silence that allowed Kanda to notice that the group of people waiting had increased. The windows were illuminated by lightning and the electricity flickered, but when it didn't go out, the questions started again, coming at him from all sides and he felt a head-ache creeping up at him. Rabi stepped in front of him, his hands raised.

"Calm down a bit! Give him some air to breathe!" he said loudly and when it became a bit more quiet, he turned back to Kanda. "How is she?" Rabi wondered, letting himself drop down on the bench, stirring up Timothy, who had troubles keeping his eyes open.

"Brave… Like always," Kanda managed to say and uttered a defeated sigh. Rabi chuckled.

"What did you expect? This is Ellen we are talking about!" Rabi answered and Kanda's mouth formed a small smile. A hand fell on Kanda's shoulder and he looked up to see Crowley timidly smile down at him.

"This will surely be a long night. Do you want anything to eat?"

"… Yes, please…," he managed to say even though he was quite surprised that the man – which he didn't even know that well – was so friendly with him.

"I'll accompany you", Marie suggested, showing Kanda an encouraging smile, and some of the people left the hall so that Kanda was now free to sit down on the bench, letting out a deep sigh.

"This takes too long," Timothy moaned, rubbing his eyes.

"I… I will take him to bed," Miranda suggested and reached down to pull Timothy up on his feet.

"Thank you," Kanda said, then he shot Timothy a warning glance when the boy wanted to protest. "The baby will not run away. Sleep and when you wake up you can come and check on Ellen."

"Fine then," Timothy muttered, but he seemed glad to have a reason to leave, and followed Miranda down the corridor. Finally, silence returned. Only Rabi, Link and himself were still present. Kanda let his head drop, palms on his forehead, and turned his thoughts towards worrying matter again. He had somewhat diligently studied the book Bak Chan had given him as a present. He knew that it was not unheard of that children were born too late or too early. But the further away from the normal due date the slimmer the chances got. And Ellen was… about six weeks early. A chill went through him, but he forced himself not to just shrug the problem off and wait for things to resolve. The baby could die. Ellen could die. These were the facts that he had to face. The worst case scenario he had to keep in the back of his mind. It sobered him up a bit and he straightened.

"Has everyone been informed?" Kanda spoke up after a while and both Link and Rabi directed their gazes towards him. "Komui, Bak and her family?"

"I do not know about Bak Chan, but Komui might have passed on the news, not that Bak Chan would prove to be helpful," Link told him and Kanda furrowed his brow. He might be right about that, but somehow having Bak here would still be soothing. "The Inspector has already been informed, but he cannot leave Rome. He will be here by tomorrow though."

"Nobody dared to tell her mom…," Rabi added when Link fell into silence. Kanda sighed deeply; that was what he had expected. "Maybe we should wait… Ellen didn't specifically wish for her to be informed, so I think it's okay if we delay it…" Kanda agreed with a nod of his head. He really didn't want to deal with a raging Charlene on top of everything else. He just had to hope that Ellen would make it through, because if not… He wouldn't know how to face Charlene if she didn't, having deprived her of the opportunity to see her daughter again. Silence returned to the corridor that was only disrupted by other infirmary staff hurrying past them. No sound reached them from the room beyond the door. Until finally Rabi couldn't hold it any longer:

"Man, Yu! In some hours you're going to be a father! I can't believe it! I'm so excited!" he shouted and Kanda stared at him, startled.

"With it will come a whole new set of responsibilities," Link added dryly, "but you must not forget that first and foremost you are an exorcist, then you are a father, then you are a husband." The soon-to-be father eyed Link warily.

"That's some pretty strange hierarchy you have there, two-spots," Rabi commented and Link took his eyes off the page to send a warning glance towards the red-head.

"The child will need more attention than the wife," Link explained and Rabi snorted. "And legally speaking-"

"In any case, it's funny to think that a place like this," Rabi's voice drowned out Link's and the inspector returned to his book with a cross expression, while the exorcist opened his arms, "should become the birthplace of a child. I don't mean the castle; I mean the institution in itself. Having the child here is like it's giving us a whole new purpose. Something else to protect and another life to cherish", Rabi said, smiling brightly. "The war is not all there is to life. It'll go on afterwards, there actually is a future." Kanda looked at his friend and lowered his head, studying his hands. Would he hold his son in these hands? In the same hands that wielded the Innocence and destroyed? Was he even able to hold a different kind of innocence delicately enough not to break it? How could he make the crucial transition from exorcist to father?

"I guess…," was all he could say, thoughts and worries of that future Rabi had mentioned whirling around in his head.

-o-

Hours passed and Kanda was getting more nervous every time the bell tower announced the passing of another hour. The sound reaching them seemed thin, hollow, like an almost perishing echo, still, it told Kanda that time actually passed, that whatever would happen was actually still coming. This was still real.

"This needs time…" Tiedoll had said when he dropped by to keep Kanda's company for about two hours. "Remember that a new life is being born. You can't rush a masterpiece," he insisted with a fatherly smile and Kanda merely nodded. He just wished that it would be over soon. But it was still silent behind the doors, with no noise leaking outside. Tiedoll's presence was very welcome to Kanda though and they talked in hushed voices of things that he had to consider. Of the crib, of toys, of clothes, of that future everybody started to see somewhere behind the darkness of the present hours.

-o-

The door opened past midnight, Emilia stumbling out. She looked pale, if not a bit green around her nose. Kanda had shot up from the bench at once. He didn't ask anything, only staring at the girl for some news.

"The matron told me to get some sleep…," she said, her eyes filled with unshed tears. "I didn't know that this would take so long. It's quite scary… I don't think I'm ever going to have a baby…!"

"Is Ellen alright?" Kanda asked and Emilia nodded, but then a shrug followed.

"She isn't saying much. She's in pain, but she's not saying much…" Rabi looked up at Kanda with a worried expression, but then Link took Emilia by the arm.

"I'll get you to bed," he said and she nodded gratefully. Kanda sat back down and Rabi, who had had troubles keeping his eyes open, was fully awake again. Kanda was perfectly silent next to him and seemed calm, not moving at all. Rabi knew him well enough to be able to tell that he was getting more and more nervous.

"So… What would you like better – a girl or a boy?" he asked to get his friend to speak. Kanda frowned but was relieved to be able to take his mind off the whole birth thing for a moment.

"I don't mind. I'd like to have both", Kanda said and Rabi laughed.

"But you're the one that constantly goes on saying the boy when speaking about the baby," he said and Kanda rolled his eyes.

"It's better than constantly saying it, like Ellen does. It feels far too impersonal, as if the baby's not really a living being…" Rabi stretched, his legs feeling numb from all the sitting around.

"Well, I don't know if she did that to create distance. It must be strange to feel something grow inside of you, that is not exactly you but not really separate from you either," Rabi mused, but then he shuddered, uneasy with the thought. "Maybe next time she'll feel more at ease!"

"I don't know if there'll be a next time," Kanda replied and Rabi looked at him. "I wouldn't mind, but sitting here really made me realize how useless I am in all of this." Rabi laughed and Kanda couldn't help pulling his lips into a faint smile as well.

"Then you'll just have to make up for your uselessness right now by being always there whenever your little one needs you." Kanda nodded and Rabi put his arm around his shoulder. "You'll do fine!"

"Thank you…"

-o-

More hours and suddenly the doors opened to reveal Linali; she no longer wore the uniform of the nurses, but Kanda could see blood stains on her fingers, under her nails and up her arms, where she hadn't washed carefully enough. Kanda sat up straight immediately, startling the now sleeping Rabi.

"Is…"

"The child is not born yet", Linali said, before Kanda could finish his question. Her voice was low, strained, but really calm, so ill-fitting for the wide-eyed expression on her face. "The matron says that this birth is a lot more complicated than we had expected…" He had already known that, so the words, even though they made him feel uneasy, weren't too big of a surprise. However, Linali continued: "Ellen is exhausted… From time to time she seems to slip into some kind of delirium. And the wound on her chest continues hurting her… I think something inside of her body other than the baby, is reacting…" Kanda felt as if his heart might stop and the words Link spoke after Linali had returned to silence sounded awfully unreal:

"So it is as we expected. The Noah is taking advantage of this." Linali didn't say anything for a while, but then she walked forwards, embracing Kanda. She let go of him again and he looked up into her face, pale and voiceless. "The matron sent me to tell you that it's risky… They might not make it… Or something could happen to Ellen… But they try their best to make sure that both of them will be fine". Link got up from the bench.

"I will need to assess the situation. I think we really do need those protective barriers now." He squeezed Kanda's shoulder as the other exorcist kept staring at him, then he walked to the door and entered the infirmary, the matron not stopping him. And as he opened the door, Kanda could hear Ellen crying. He was very tense and almost forgot how to breathe.

"Kanda… It… It'll be alright", Linali said, taking his hand into hers, "they'll make it. Ellen is strong. She won't die that easily". He didn't say anything and Rabi looked at the almost crying Linali. Now that she had finally left the room, her tension started to leave her and she looked every bit as exhausted as Kanda did.

"Uhm… I… I'll get you something to eat…" Rabi said and got up, but Kanda just grabbed his wrist.

"Stay. Please…" Kanda started and let go of Rabi's hand, bringing it up to cover his face, "I don't think I can bear it…"he whispered. His powerlessness frustrated and terrified him.

"Yu…" the red-head said, clearly taken aback and Linali really started crying then, still holding Kanda's hand, while the young man just stared at the floor. Rabi sighed and sat back down. He put his arm around Kanda.

"We're here with you. We all must believe in Ellen. She will pull through, still staying the same Ellen we know. I'm sure of it", he said and Kanda managed to nod.

"Yes…" he whispered weakly. But he knew deep inside of him that no matter what would happen in there, Ellen would not be the same.

-o-

Kanda hadn't slept at all, he didn't dare to. He had also lost track of the hours. He remembered that the bell had chimed 3 in the morning not all too long ago. So how long has Ellen already been in there? 13 hours? Kanda was exhausted by now and he couldn't even bring himself to imagine how Ellen might be feeling. But he was also alert, maybe that's what he was used to because of his profession. He couldn't drop his guard now, he had to be aware of everything that happened around him. But it was strangely blurred… People kept dropping by, inquiring, comforting, reassuring. Kanda knew that Ellen was loved, but he hadn't expected that he now could partake in this love. People that had never dared to get near him were being nice and friendly and understanding and agreeable. It was a bit too much for Kanda.

"See what you've gotten yourself into, brat," Cross Marian snorted, when he and Leverrier came to see if anything had happened.

"General, if you please", the Inspector said, still in his travelling coat, and the red-head just lifted his hands and leant against the wall. Leverrier turned to Kanda. "Are there any news concerning the state of my godchild?"

"About 4 hours ago we have been informed that it was complicated…" Rabi said, so that Kanda didn't have to speak, he somehow didn't look like he was up to it. Link, who had returned after staying in the room for about an hour, nodded at this.

"I have set up protective barriers to contain the Noah should he use this moment to break through Ellen's and the Innocence's protective barriers."

"I see… It seems that we are powerless. But Ellen is strong," Leverrier said and looked at the closed doors, "as an exorcist and as a woman. I don't doubt her."

"I just hope she'll be fine…" Kanda finally said and Leverrier turned back towards him. He was still looking at him sharply, but his eyes also held a touch of a gentler emotion.

"We all do. General, there is no need for us to be here. These young ones are perfectly capable to keep watch," he said and started to walk off.

"That's what I've been saying from the beginning, Inspector," Cross snorted and pushed himself off the wall, "hey, pretty boy." The black haired youth looked up at him and Cross grinned.

"We'll have some alcohol once the kid's born, to celebrate", he said and left him with a wave of his hand.

"With so many people putting their faith in Ellen it's certain that she will be fine. And your child, Yu, will be as well," Rabi tried to reassure Kanda. "I don't think that the Noah will take over now… I had the impression that she tried to find a balance with Ellen. It's the Innocence I'm more worried about…" Link raised an eyebrow at this.

"You have an impression of the Noah's intentions?" he asked sharply and the other raised his hands.

"Uh, no. Not quite! I just assume!" he tried to save himself, but while Link sceptically turned back to his notebook, Kanda did look at him questioningly. Rabi just gave a quick nod and Kanda knew that he and the 14th probably had talked at one point. Somehow Rabi's words had left him with a faint feeling of hope. That Ellen wouldn't be washed away by the incessant rain. That she wouldn't be gone by the crack of dawn.

-o-

After this another hour passed and the bell announced that it was five in the morning. The rain had stopped, steam rising from the wet earth and the sun was already starting to bring the colours back into the greyish corridor. The four were awake now, even though they were exhausted. They all knew that it shouldn't take much longer, but Kanda dreaded the moment the doors opened. And when they did he nearly jumped up, his breath catching in his throat. There was the Matron, her usually white apron blood stained. She left the doors open just a little bit, but Kanda still couldn't hear anything, he was focused on the woman's face, looking for any trace of good or bad news. The Matron appeared as stern as she always did, but then she looked Kanda in the eyes and a faint smile ghosted over her lips.

"Congratulations", she said and Linali next to Kanda let out a relieved sob, but he was still too focused on the Matron's face to react to it, "mother and child are both healthy." All the tension that had made Kanda pull through these long hours left him. He leant forwards, face in his hands and started crying. Linali put her hands on his shoulder and he gladly turned towards her, crying into her warm chest, while Rabi patted his back, laughing happily. Link also smiled now, but then he cleared his throat, which made Kanda look back up. "Compose yourself", Link said, "you should go assess the situation." The Matron nodded, her smile still in place and Kanda decided that now was not the time for maddening worries. Both are healthy.

"You can come in now, Kanda."

"Come on. Go!" Rabi nudged the unmoving Kanda and he stumbled to his feet. The young man drew his hand over his face, wiping away the tears and took a deep breath. As he neared the doors he could hear very faint crying and his heart started pounding in his chest. He followed the Matron inside and after she had closed the doors she held out her arms for him. Kanda just stared at her, but then the Matron enclosed him into a hug. She was warm, her embrace gentle and Kanda felt a wave of gratitude wash over him. After she had let go of the young man she pointed to the bed, "go to her." Kanda didn't hesitate and walked up to the bed. The curtain was drawn back. His wife was still pale, but the colour was returning to her cheeks. She had her eyes closed and breathed evenly.

"She is just exhausted. It was a long night, don't worry," the matron said as she approached him. Kanda immediately caught sight of the bundle in her arms, "congratulations", she said and handed him the bundle, "you now have a healthy daughter." Kanda stared up at her and then at the weight in his arms. The child – his daughter! – had her eyes closed, her face shiny from being washed and rubbed clean. She was squirming about a bit, mouth and eyes tightly shut.

"A daughter?" he managed to ask but was too afraid to move. The Matron laughed and nodded, guiding him to Ellen's bed. Kanda let himself drop on the chair next to Ellen's bed and stared at the little girl. She wouldn't open her eyes but she wiggled her fingers, tiny fingers of a tiny, chubby hand at the end of a tiny, chubby arm.

"She was born far too early, but she seems rather lively for it. She is a bit small, but we have encountered none of the problem we were expecting from a premature infant…," the Matron explained, standing at the bed to check Ellen's pulse. The young girl still didn't react, apparently in a deep sleep. Despite what the Matron had said, Ellen's lack of response did unsettle him. He forced his attention back on the baby in his arms. He still couldn't believe that it was a girl when he had been so sure that it would be a boy.

"Are you sure…?" he couldn't help asking and the Matron looked at him quizzically. Kanda felt stupid for continuing: "that it's really a girl?"

"When you change her napkins for the first time you'll be able to make sure yourself. But until then you'll have to trust in my abilities to tell boys and girls apart," she said in a light tone and Kanda slumped back in his chair, still baffled. But with her in his arms, gently squirming, making little gurgling and whining noises, everything was alright and perfect. He brought his hand over her small head. She didn't have much hair yet, but the few silky strands were definitely black. And he was almost sure that when the girl did open her eyes they would be blue. He almost pinched the girl's cheeks to get the frown off her face and her to look at him.

"Yu…?" he heard Ellen breathe and turned to look at her. His wife looked at him, her face relaxed and she looked rather sleepy. And she was still Ellen, she had not changed, she had not fallen and she had not turned into a Noah. Ellen was still here.

"Ellen…" he exclaimed and got up again, sitting on the bed, with the white bundle in his lap. "Ellen…" he repeated and kissed her. She smiled at him and then her eyes travelled to the girl. "Is she alright? She looked rather gruesome when I first saw her…" The Matron laughed at Kanda's surprised expression and he looked down into the face of his daughter. Well, the apparently displeased frown was still on her face and her complexion seemed a bit too ruddy, but gruesome? She was irresistibly cute!

"New born babies often look a bit strange, especially before they are washed… But I can assure you, there are no deformities I could spot. She seems perfectly healthy. Perfectly normal." Ellen pressed her lips together at that, forcing back a relieved sob. Kanda was still busy looking at the girl, whose frown now slowly disappeared as she fell asleep.

"Yu?" He looked up when Ellen put her hand on his arm. "Thank you…"

"Why thank me? You did all the work", Kanda said, laughing faintly and looked back at the girl. "Here," he started and carefully put her on Ellen's chest, which made the girl flinch a bit. The reaction confused Kanda slightly but as they were under the watchful eye of the Matron he didn't worry too much that anything might be off.

"She is so warm…," Ellen said after a while, feeling the baby press her cheek against her collarbone, and Kanda wiped away her tears, "I am glad… I was afraid that she could die… But she is alive… I truly am grateful…" she whispered and Kanda nodded.

"Yes… me too…" he said and looked at the Matron, who was standing a little bit farther away. "Thank you…" he told her and the woman nodded.

"Do you… Do you want to show the others? I am sure they must be anxious," Ellen said and looked at the Matron as well, "I feel very sleepy." Kanda looked at her, instantly alarmed, but the Matron smiled understandingly.

"Don't worry, Ellen. It's only natural that you are exhausted. Rest now… Your husband will surely look after the girl," she said and Ellen nodded. Kanda picked his daughter up and looked at her. She was wiping at her face with her fingers and he wasn't sure if she was awake or sleeping. But then she opened her eyes at him, first just a crack, then entirely and father and child looked at each other.

"Ellen! Ellen she's looking at me!" he exclaimed, too surprised to stay silent. He couldn't tear his eyes off, but the Matron told him that Ellen had already fallen asleep again. The girl kept looking, then she dug her little fingers into Kanda's chest before the blue (he had been right, a striking deep blue) eyes closed again. He took a deep breath, still looking and marvelling at the feeling of her warm hand. Then a nurse opened the door for him and he went back outside. Rabi and Linali were immediately on their feet. Kanda vaguely realized that there were many people gathered, the news of the birth of his daughter must have spread like fire.

"And?" Rabi asked and approached him. Kanda looked at the girl and then he smiled.

"It's a girl", he said and Linali started crying in joy and threw her arms around the young father. Rabi did the same and even Kanda had a hard time not shedding a few tears, even though he was smiling. "A healthy little girl."

To be continued

-o-

Notes:

I did it ;_; Finally! A pregnancy that lasted about 50 chapters and 7 months in story time! I am so relieved! *amused* I hope that my choice for a title makes sense now; it heralds the child's arrival! (Yes, I know I am not that creative)

I've heard some assumptions and wishes what the baby should/ could be. But I've already made up my mind before even starting this story, so I am sorry if some of you are disappointed! Kanda certainly was surprised, but I think he's happy with what he got! ;3 Maybe some of you guessed from my constant mentioning that Kanda expected a son that it would be a girl. Or you simply knew because of my other writing and / or pictures on deviantArt.

I've written child-birth from the perspective of the woman before in original work, but I've found it difficult and slightly awkward then and decided to focus on a jittery Kanda instead in Ivory Tales. Ellen's experience during this summer storm will be mentioned later on.

Random observation; when I was born in the mid-80ies my dad was not allowed in to watch. When my sister was born in 90, he was. I don't know if it was usual to exclude men for such a long time or if the hospital was just old-fashioned like that. In any case we're in Victorian England; Kanda has to stay outside. Not that I think he'd have done that well inside. *snicker* I thought I'd mention that convention just in case some of you wondered why he couldn't stay inside and hold her hand.

Sorry for the long note – I was actually planning to give you an insight into the original draft of this chapter now, but it's already getting too long!

I'd be very, very glad to hear what you think! I think I'm as nervous as Kanda was!