A/N: Just to warn you, this chapter is much more serious than the last few chapters...

.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.

It was about four days later that Allen had the meltdown that everyone had been expecting. But it was eerily quiet. He didn't scream, or get angry or violent. He spent all day crying, and not even his growling stomach could get him out of bed. Lenalee even brought food to him, but he wouldn't touch it, or even acknowledge her presence.

After two days of that, someone suggested that the weird behavior was a reaction to Kanda being sent away on a mission so soon after learning of the pregnancy. But when Lenalee brought up his husband's absence, it only made Allen's crying worse, and it was clear to her that Allen hadn't even noticed that Kanda was gone. And when she mentioned the baby, telling him that he needed to eat for her sake, that's when he started throwing things. Granted it was only a pillow, but it still pissed her off.

Everyone ran when they heard Lenalee yell Allen's full name, the shout echoing through the halls. But then the eerie quiet resumed. Allen's stubbornness caved immediately under her fierce tone, and he finally voiced all of his fears and worries to the young Chinese woman.

Lenalee didn't really know what to say to him, but the suggestion that they go down to the library to find some pregnancy books seemed to snap him out of his messed up emotional state. And by the time she'd gotten him dressed and fed and to the library, the teen was back to his usual smiling self.

The books helped a lot. There were only a handful, but even one would have been enough: Allen had only ever seen pregnant women in passing before, and he knew next to nothing about the condition. Being able to read about what was happening to his body calmed his frayed nerves considerably, and he was once again excited to be having a baby.

After the meltdown, Allen no longer had troubles with thinking he was fat, and his bout with depression was over. By his twenty five week checkup, he was no longer underweight, allowing Komui to confidently tell him that he and his baby were in perfect health.

.x.x.

I expected to sleep well after learning that my baby was healthy. I did not. There was a growing burning pain in my groin that was keeping me awake. I tossed and turned and tried to ignore it, but even when I did manage to sleep, the feeling seeped into my dreams and gave me nightmares about miscarrying my baby.

But I must have eventually passed out, because the next thing I knew, the sun was shining through the curtains. The horrible pain was gone, but in its place was a feeling of intense soreness. It was a similar feeling to the morning after I had lost my virginity; but if that pain was a four on a scale from one to ten, this was a nine.

Tossing the blankets aside, I tried to sit up, but my muscles screamed at me. And that's when I noticed how wet and sticky my boxers were. Alarm bells went off in my head: they were much too soaked to have been from sweat or a wet dream.

I propped myself up on my elbows so that I could get a better look without moving my sore hips. I wished I hadn't.

My boxers and the sheet below me were both stained with blood. My blood.

But before I could scream, the bedroom door opened and Kanda and Komui came hurrying in. Seeing that I was awake, Kanda rushed to my side. He kissed my forehead and started brushing his fingers through my hair. "Ssh. Calm down, Moyashi."

Seeing that freaked out expression on his face was not helping me calm down. If anything, it made me panic more. I had never, ever, seen Kanda freaked out before.

Komui was much better at masking his panic. He approached the bed calmly and had Kanda help him remove my blood-stained boxers.

Whatever it was he saw down there made him frown in thought. He sent Kanda into the bathroom for a cloth and a basin of warm water. Then he placed his hands on my belly and felt around for a moment before he spoke. "Allen, you can relax. You didn't miscarry the baby, she's perfectly fine."

That didn't make me feel better as it wasn't what had me worried; I could feel my baby girl asleep inside me and knew she wasn't in danger. I narrowed my eyes at Komui. "I already knew that. What's really going on?"

He sighed. "Whatever was bleeding isn't bleeding anymore. And that's good. But there's too much blood to tell what it was, so we're going to get you cleaned up, ok?"

Kanda returned and began wiping the drying blood away. It was hard to hold still. Not only was I sore down there, I was incredibly sensitive; every swipe of the cloth made me wince and squirm. It didn't help that whatever it was that they were seeing was making them make faces. But neither said anything until after all of the blood was cleaned up.

Kanda smirked at me. His relief was obvious behind the teasing expression. "Congrats, Moyashi. You're officially a girl."

I frowned at him as I once again tried and failed to sit up. "What-?"

"Your vagina opened last night, Allen."

At Komui's words, I bolted out of bed and into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. My panicked emotions took precedence over the pain in my groin.

I calmed a little when I saw my reflection, my pregnant body looked exactly the same as it had before I went to bed last night. Not that that was good, seeing myself pregnant was still very nerve wracking, but if I couldn't see this new difference then no one else would be able to either.

Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath to keep myself from shaking, I moved my fingers down to my groin. My dick felt the same as it always had, and that was comforting. But I had to keep my fingers moving. As scared as I was, I needed to know...

Even my own tentative touch felt harsh on the sensitive folds of skin that surrounded my new opening. Fuck, I really do have a vagina. I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry.

Allen, focus. You don't want to have another meltdown.

Taking another deep breath, I opened my eyes and forced myself to look down. Not the best plan, as my view was blocked by my baby bump and bloated chest. It took a bit to get situated, but I managed to position myself so that I could see it in the mirror.

I'd seen naked women before (not on purpose, it was simply unavoidable given all the time I had spent around Master Cross), so I knew what lady parts looked like. And in that respect, what I was seeing between my legs was perfectly normal. But it was definitely not normal that I had them.

A tapping at the door snapped me out of my thoughts. "Are you ok in there, Moyashi?"

I snorted. "Does it fucking seem like I'm fucking ok, Bakanda?"

He laughed a little. "You're swearing, so yes."

I stuck my tongue out at him even though I knew he couldn't see me through the closed door. Then I moved to the sink and splashed some cool water on my face.

Allen, breathe... This isn't a big deal. You knew it was going to happen. ...Breathe... It's how the baby is going to get out of you after all. And you love her, right? You'd do anything for her, right? ...Breathe... And you already told Lavi and Lenalee that you have it, so it's not like this is something anyone needs to know about. Right? ...Breathe...

"Moyashi?"

I blinked at the door for a moment before I forced myself to unlock it. Relax. Kanda's your husband. He's your baby's father. He's not the enemy. And he's already seen it. If he was going to leave you over something like this, he would have done it long before now.

Kanda opened the door the second the lock clicked. He stepped quickly into the bathroom and pulled me into his arms. I melted into the embrace as he kissed the top of my head. "You can cry if you want, Moyashi."

I shook my head. "No. I'm- ... It's- ... I'm ok. Mostly. It's a little hard to wrap my head around, and it's completely mortifying, but I'm not going to cry. I can't afford to have a meltdown every time this pregnancy does something strange to my body. I'd never get out of bed again if that happened."

Kanda smiled at my forced laughter. "In that case, let's get you down to the cafeteria; filling your stomach will make you feel better."

Genuinely laughing now, I made my way out of the bathroom only to collapse in pain as soon as I passed through the doorway. Kanda had me in his arms before I realized what had happened. "Moyashi?"

Komui's hand was suddenly on my forehead. Apparently, he hadn't left like I thought. I pushed the hand away. "I'm ok. It's just ... sore ... down there."

It was obvious from Komui's voice that he didn't believe me. "Allen. You lost a lot of blood and you have a fever."

I pushed myself off the floor and out of Kanda's hold. "Yeah, but that's nothing a good meal can't fix. Right?"

Kanda snorted as he stood and pulled me back into his arms. "How exactly do you plan to get to the cafeteria if you can't even walk across the bedroom?"

"Like that's ever stopped me before."

Komui laughed, and that earned him a glare from Kanda. But that only made the Chinese man laugh more as he began to walk towards the door. "Have fun dealing with him, Kanda. He's your problem now."

"Oi! How do you figure that?"

"That ring on your finger." Komui's laughter followed him through the doorway. "Remember, you vowed to love him under every circumstance, and that includes when he's being a stubborn idiot."

Kanda moved as if to chase after him, but given that I began to collapse the second he let go of me, he didn't get very far. I was picked up and carried to Kanda's side of the bed. My attempt to stand up was rewarded with a hand on my shoulder pushing me back down. "Stay down, Moyashi. You need to regain your strength. I'll get your clothes."

As humiliating as it was, the pain in my groin forced me to allow Kanda to dress me as if I were a doll. He stopped me every time I tried to move on my own, he wouldn't even let me button my shirt. And then, to make it all worse, he picked me up and carried me to the cafeteria.