I am going to try to finish this story but you can all thank Carrie2Sky because she is the one who prodded my memory of Baby Steps. It's been a while so I will try to close all loose ends in a few chapters.
Thank you for your amnesia but let's remember about this story and finish it! Also to anyone who is curious, I will be trying to write more often so I can update because I can still see that I have some readers. :D
In the previous chapter, Ciel Phantomhive spent time with Bard while Sebastian went back to the Undertaker who had gave him the elixir in the first place. The demon butler went back there to get the solution that will change Ciel back to his previous and original form. The Undertaker knew Sebastian wouldn't be able to withstand the little lesson he intended to teach his master so the maniac went ahead and concocted another elixir to combat the effects of the child-forming one. Then when Sebastian came back he heard Ciel crying and he felt pride of some sort because he knew he was the only one that the young baby master could be controlled by and when he went into Ciel's room, he was shocked and annoyed that the cook was merely playing with him and making him happy.
Getting jealous, he shooed Bard off and went off into the kitchen where Finny slammed into the kitchen and yelled that Bard accidentally let out the cow.
And so it begins again-
What an idiot. The cook already unleashed a small bit of annoyance from being able to handle the Young master so well and now he had released the cow that was the main source of milk for Ciel.
The butler knew he shouldn't be so harsh on Bard in his mind but the little setback with his master was really creating a shorter span for him.
If Ciel wasn't crying, he was wandering the halls, if he wasn't doing that then he had to be carried to places where Sebastian got hair ripped out and coat buttons popped off.
It was all so tasking for even a demon butler. A lesser creature might have keeled over and descended into hell.
Sebastian mentally prepped beforehand; he either had to give up Ciel who was calm for the while or keep him while he grabbed the cow. He then had to find out how the cow was released; if Bard broke the door that held the cow in its pen then he would have to fix that. After that, it was time to feed his master who was now dribbling a bit of drool on his arm. He curled his upper lip slightly at the sheen it left on his coat but he still shifted Ciel to one arm and walked out of the kitchen door that led out behind the mansion.
The distance he walked was short for a demon like himself and pretty soon, he was at the paddock where they kept the livestock in the day and sure enough, there was the cow in plain sight. He clicked his tongue at the idiocy of not being able to capture the cow successfully when it was literally standing by the fence.
Ciel gurgled and stared at the massive beast that was grazing on the green grass before he gave a shrill cry to try to get its attention. It worked seeing as the cow flicked its ears back and raised its thick neck to gaze blankly at the demon while chewing but then it went back to biting off grass blades.
The baby master frowned before he looked up at Sebastian and looked back at the cow who ignored him. "Seh-bah-bah," he reached up and grasped the man's coat lapel and tugged insistently trying to show his displeasure.
With a stoic composure, the butler ignored the master and walked closer to the fence to see the for any damage and when he saw the gate fully intact, he frowned slightly because he knew they said the cow escaped but how did it? The gate was locked securely and unless the beast jumped over the fence, there was no way it could have gotten out.
Unless...
He looked back to the house quickly just to see three heads duck down underneath the door's window pane.
Ahh, so that's why. I knew something was amiss but I couldn't put my finger on it. He would blame it on his old age but that was ludicrous seeing as there was anything that rarely affected a demon's mentality.
Turning back towards the mammal, he opened the gate with one hand and then shooed the cow in by smacking it on the rump making it moo before it ran inside the paddock with the sound of the gate shutting behind it with a click of the lock.
If he couldn't control his composure well enough, he might have rolled his eyes at the situation. A demon like him who might have or might have not started the black plague being forced to corral smelly beasts into a paddock of a human. He glanced down at his master who was slowly nodding off in his arms. A baby human at that.
He patted Ciel's back briefly making sure he stayed awake until he could feed him because if he didn't, he would wake up with a temper that was loud and annoying. Crying and throwing things back at him even as far as trying to hit him but he had quickly put a stop to that with a few spankings. He can't let his master grow up into a whole new person who would succumb to being like any other mortal.
After he walked the distance to get back to the mansion, and as soon as he stepped into the back kitchen door, he was bombarded by the three idiot servants.
"I cleaned up the kitchen!" Mey-rin was grinning gleefully with her loud voice and her huge glasses were on the verge of falling off her nose before she quickly adjusted them rightly.
"I cleaned up the gardens because you were mumbling about how much you had to do today!" Finny, the over cheerful blond was almost brimming with excitement at being able to finally do something good to help lessen his load of work around the mansion.
"And I milked the goat just a few minutes back so the milk is still warm and they say it's better for children anyways so here it is!" Bard held up a bottle with the warm liquid that he bet would taste bland to him but a piece of the gated and blocked off heaven to Ciel.
They all three waited for his approval and when they saw a simple brow raised, they deflated a bit. Well except Bard but that's because he knew for a fact that Ciel had not eaten yet and he was currently reaching away from Sebastian's grasp towards him or most likely the bottle of milk.
Sebastian spoke without need of clearing his throat. "Thank you but that wasn't needed at all. It's no different than what I do everyday." He grabbed the bottle and flicked the teat to test the heat but even then he could be wrong seeing as he felt things differently than a human.
"Oh, I already tested it myself because he was about to put it in the cooler but I told em' there was no need to." Mey-rin looked at Ciel who was now drinking the milk with such ferociousness that she wondered how long was he forced to endure such hunger while being quiet.
Bard spoke up at the same time Finny did with the same exact exclaim. "I can feed the Young master for you!" They both exchanged frowns but Sebastian quickly interceded by placing Ciel into Finny's arms. The baby grunted at being passed but stayed quiet while he continued eating.
"You will finish feeding him then give him off to Mey-rin for her to place him in bed." Sebastian pinned a stern gaze on the grinning gardener before he looked at the cook who was looking almost jealously at Finny. "You will go and tend to the animals outside seeing as they didn't get fed and you best to be sure that none of them escape."
He was being a bit harsh on the cook but it helped lessen the annoying little feeling that held place in his chest and he could only guess it was jealously. He may be a demon but knew the emotions of a human and since he was in a human body, he could only guess strong emotions like jealously could come across this acutely.
Ordering Bard away from Ciel would have helped all together but that wouldn't get anything done besides lessening his petty emotions so he left it at that.
He walked out of the kitchen with the intent of fixing each and every room of the manor because when Ciel returned back to his original form tonight, he would be expected to have everything just the same as it was before. Nothing less and nothing more such as a party.
Patting his pocket briefly, he made sure the vial was still there and he felt the small bulge where it was. Good, it was still there.
As soon as Sebastian left, Mey-rin and Finny started cooing over the baby who was dozing off with the bottle still in his hand with him being able to fall asleep more easily now that he had a full stomach.
"I don't see why we can't just play with the Young master all day!" Of course Mey-rin knew that wouldn't be the case because Ciel would eventually change back to normal and he probably wouldn't even remember anything of the sort such as being babied and cooed over but it was probably for the best with such a noble.
Finny held him carefully even though Sebastian must trust him enough to not damage or hurt the Young master in anyway or else he would have placed him in Bard's arms who, by the way, had already left quite morosely to go to tend to the trees even though it wasn't his job; it was Finny's.
But if being able to take care of something so fragile like a baby, then he would gladly stay inside a lot more often than what was normal for him.
He shifted the sleeping baby before Mey-rin grabbed the bottle and placed it on the counter where she would wash it later. "Here, let me go put him to bed." She moved to get Ciel but Finny moved away.
"I want to go and put him to bed." He pouted and she sighed.
"Okay but I'm coming with you just in case Sebastian comes out from cleaning one of the rooms." They both nodded and made their way out of the kitchen and up to the master bedroom.
The walk held no pleasantries such as talking but they were rather content with being quiet with the only sound of their steps and with the warm body in his arms for Finny.
They heard a door shut down the hall and they both turned to see Sebastian stepping out before he looked at them briefly. He then went across to the other room and disappeared inside.
"Don't you think Sebastian is acting weird lately?" Finny and her both reached the bedroom and stepped inside. "He is usually less strict but now that the Young master has changed, I think he's more stressed."
Mey-rin nodded and put in her own words. "It's like what Bard said, he's probably stressed with all the workload and then also the paperwork that he has to do in the master's leave. Even Tanaka help isn't enough with the paperwork because he has his own workload to do."
They walked over to the crib and Finny placed Ciel inside the clean crib while Mey-rin leaned over to 'aww' over the sleeping baby. "The Young master's late parents must have been proud to have such a cute baby."
"The Young master would surely hate to be called a baby even if is in such a state."
Both the maid and the gardener spun around at the sound of Sebastian's voice who looked at them with something akin to his old self. "Let's not linger too much in the room, there's still work to be done even if I do most of it."
Bowing, they both scurried out of the room while Sebastian stepped inside and closed the door behind them. He walked over the crib and peered in to look at Ciel's peaceful face. "Now then, when you wake up it will be time for a early bath." Ciel wriggled briefly at the sound of his voice but stayed asleep.
The butler raised a hand and placed it inside of the crib to stroke Ciel's face fondly while thinking of how much longer he'd have to wait until he could place Ciel in the elixir filled bath that would change him back.
He reached down and grabbed the pocket watch to check the time. 12 pm was still early but at around 5 in the evening would be perfect. Right before a meal and then he would be able to sleep while he changed back and then the Young master would be able to catch a late snack before he went off to bed.
All would be well, he knew it. No reapers and no demons would be bothering him anytime soon seeing as he called in a favor with the Undertaker to take care of his problem if he should happen to hear any word of Nathaniel.
Whether or not, he fulfilled his end of the bargain would be discovered soon enough. That demon couldn't stay gone too long if he was still alive.
Yes, just a few more hours and his own lesson would be ending for him. Sebastian smiled almost briefly before he checked to see if Ciel was still asleep before leaving the room while the baby napped blissfully in the afternoon light.