William held a damp rag to Grell's forehead, it had been an hour since she had succumb to the fever. The doctors were frantic, how could she be so stable and then instantaneously fall ill? Her fever was reaching a hundred and ten, the nurses began to strip her down and pile her body over with ice, she was barely awake to process the freezing cold overcoming her body. As they were snipping the hospital dress off of her they examined her wounded shoulder, the wound was red and puffy. They took a tissue sample and had yet to return, it was possible she had contracted a bacterial infection. Shinigami normally didn't succumb to human disease, but even the healthiest shinigami could succumb to a fierce human disease. In Grell's condition it didn't look like she'd make it.
It had now been over an hour and the nurses had yet to return with the results. During the wait William couldn't help but almost overlook Grell's illness. She was defenseless, barely awake, and dependent on those around her to look after her in this delicate situation. She was so vulnerable-maybe even impressionable? He swallowed a ball of saliva, his heart beating slightly much faster. It wasn't like there was nothing he hadn't seen, he had ripped the cocoon off of Grell's body and saw first hand the new, supple form she had taken. It wasn't new news, it was relatively known what a naked woman's body looked like. The red-head was special though, this form was the same yet it was new. It held secrets and curves William lusted to explore...Even if Claude Faustus had been lying about the Curse of Lust, a very unprofessional motivation to take Grell in, he knew he felt an almost obsessive urge to undress her and bed her and everything between that.
He didn't want Grell to simply lie beneath him like an obedient concubine, he wanted a lover. Believe it or not, William was a rather personable person (at least when the time called for it.) As a supervisor and manager he believed that happy workers not only finished their work on time and excellently but gave them a sense of accomplishment and success that would ultimately blend their lives with their work. William often wanted happy workers who prided on how well they could perform their jobs as well as learn from it. The Labyrinth Division had been a dream come true for him, the most diverse reapers he ever had the privilege to manage came together to form a harmonious balance in the Catacombs. A reaper even as terrible as Grell had not only repaired her reputation but loved her job since the position called for that sickening sadism (which Grell called 'rough play' or 'tough love') she so professed in.
It applied his desire for a happy partner, William wanted a happy lover. It wasn't that his love-lives had been unpleasant for his previous partners, it was common sense that a harmonious relationship required mutual happiness and understanding. That had been a rational reason why William didn't simply intrude on Grell when she and her so-called husband were making love or engaging in other intimate acts. She looked so happy with him and didn't mind lying beneath him, she loved him and trusted him completely. He didn't mind it when she would lie atop him or speak to him in that sly, seductive manner which William often described as 'unprofessional and foul work-place chatter.' The mortician enjoyed it even, he lavished in every aspect of his illegitimate wife, at least from what William observed.
Maybe the brunette felt guilty for what he was doing, but it was for the better. Or maybe he wanted to believe it was for the better...The nurse arrived with the test results when he began to introspect his uncertain motives.
"Preeclampsia?" William furrowed his brow as he stood up, overlooking Grell again, "Wouldn't that mean she's-?"
"Yes, she's pregnant," the nurse flipped through the test results, "A little more than a month, exactly,"
"Isn't that a good thing?" William asked, "This means that it can't possibly be the child of her attacker, that this child is a legitimate reaper?"
The elderly nurse sighed sadly, shutting the curtains of Grell's small cubicle, "Please, sit down Mr. Spears, I've been sworn not to speak of personal affairs but since you are Grell's supervisor, I believe it is necessary since you are authorized to act on her part,"
William sat back down, the nurse set her clipboard down, "Ms. Sutcliffe told me that she had a one-night stand with the Labyrinth's Mortician. Being a thorough forensic team, we searched his cabin. He is nowhere to be found, his shop is entirely abandoned and we found some illicit potions there. They're very old, and might just be used for the demonic cremations, but that's not the point. If she is pregnant, with his child, that'll make the child a full reaper. There is no test that can split our species' DNA to tell us who the father is, but we also know this. The hormonal tests came back inconclusive, we cannot tell whether the fetus is a reaper or a hybrid, which we should be able to at this point,"
The nurse momentarily removed her glasses to rub her eyes before putting them back on, "Mr. Spears, when demons raped the fruitful reaper-esses, the pregnancies were much faster than a normal pregnancy the first few weeks. By what Ms. Sutcliffe told me, the child in her womb could be that of a demon,"
"How can you be sure this child is part demon?" William questioned sharply.
"During my examination of Ms. Sutcliffe's wounds I did my forensic work on the photographs and DNA in the wounds. It is not the mortician, every reaper has a DNA record in their local Division. The wounds also match a demon's anatomical footprint; the depth and length of the bite-marks, the cervical cuts-some male demons have spiked genitals, sort of like your average feline- and traces of that were also found," the nurse paused momentarily to take a breath, "Grell Sutcliffe is more than likely in advanced pregnancy with a demon's child, and the men at the top are demanding she'd get an abortion. Besides that, even if our kind doesn't die of preeclampsia, the illness could damage to body more than it can handle. As long as that fetus is inside her, she'll remain ill,"
William stared at the ground, holding his breath. What could he do? Allow them to give Grell an abortion in her unconscious state? No...He couldn't do that, he had not only made a deal but he couldn't deprive Grell of what she wanted. She'd always wanted a baby, no matter the consequences.
"I'm afraid I must decline," William told the nurse, "I do not authorize an abortion. In fact, I demand a carriage to take Grell home in. She'll be living with me during her pregnancy and when the child is born, we'll know once and for all what species it is,"
"Mr. Spears-" the nurse sighed.
"Do as I say!" he reared his scythe back, "I am her supervisor and I know what's best for her. She's coming home with me!"