Sebastian stood silently outside the large wooden door that led into the bedroom he'd set up for Kadence. Alois and Hannah had dropped by unannounced, but he had expected that once the Earl Trancy was well enough. His voice was audible and it was clear he was trying to talk to the unconscious Borrower despite her inability to reply.

"Are you going to skulk about outside the door or are you going to go in?" A deep but young voice spoke calmly, and he glanced over to see Ciel standing nearby with his back against the wall. "Standing in the hallway won't help her if she wakes up. Seeing Alois alive would be great for her, sure, but I'm more than positive it will be your face Kadence will want to see looming over her."

A faint chuckle passed the butler's lips, but he didn't smile. "I am afraid even I am unsure if she will awaken, my lord. Her bones were in terrible condition. Her legs, her arms...I am more than grateful that Hannah did what she could immediately. That is the only reason she has lasted this long. I couldn't do a thing for her. Had I not been so-"

"Sebastian," Ciel interrupted him, a soft glare being thrown the demon's way. "You already told Finny off for blaming himself. I am not about to let you turn that around and blame yourself. You did all you could do for her. And you killed Claude, eliminating that threat from her life so we didn't need to worry about him as she healed."

"My, are you being compassionate towards me?" Sebastian smirked faintly, but he couldn't hide the appreciation in his voice. "Such a strange thing to be towards a humble servant."

"You are anything but humble," Ciel replied with a similar, playful smirk. "Now get in there. I was going to see her as well, since I haven't as much as I probably should. Trancy isn't fully healed either, so they won't be here much longer as it is."

Sebastian's eyes drifted back towards the door, and he couldn't bring himself to open it. Seeing her lying in that bed, her tiny chest rising and falling with each breath and bandages covering most of her body to hold the bones in place as healed was too hard for him to see.

"You really do love her," Ciel spoke in the same calm fashion, his visible blue eyes staring at Sebastian. "I never would've thought I'd see the day when a demon became curled around by the tiniest finger imaginable."

With another faint, nearly silent sigh, Sebastian shook his head. "It isn't love. I cannot love. And yet what I feel for her is so strong that it tears into every fiber of my being."

"If it isn't love, then it sure as hell is as close as you're going to get to it as a demon."

"Possessive. Obsessed. I want...need her to belong to me, and me alone. It is an intense need, a feeling that I don't even feel when it comes to your soul. I want to touch her. Feel her." Sebastian muttered. He knew to anyone else, it would sound like one of those abusive men that want to control every aspect of a woman's life. But he didn't feel the need to control her. He just needed her.

"Ugh. I almost regret making it so you couldn't lie to me," Ciel smiled faintly and grabbed the doorknob in his own hand. "But if that's what you want, you have to go in and make sure she knows it. Tell Hannah and Alois I want to talk with them. That way you can be in there alone with her."

Once again, the feeling of appreciation welled inside of him and Sebastian bowed his head thankfully to the young Earl. "Thank you, my Lord."

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Once he'd managed to force Alois and Hannah from the bedroom, Sebastian closed the door silently and stood with his back to the redhead lying still on the bedsheets. He wasn't sure if he could face her. In fact, for the first time in his life, he wanted to run away. He was afraid. Afraid to turn around, and find her no longer breathing.

Ciel, meanwhile, had pulled a chair up to sit beside the bed. His gaze drifted back and forth between his butler and the tiny woman. Their connection was obvious even when they couldn't speak to each other.

At last, Sebastian turned to look at the small pale face. Her eyes closed, body laying flat. Stepping forward, he hesitated to even sit on the bed, afraid of jostling or hurting her further. "Kadence," he whispered breathily, one gloved finger reaching out to brush red locks out of her face.

"You have things you want to say to her, don't you?" The Earl Phantomhive said in a low voice, his hands resting neatly on his lap.

"Too much," Sebastian murmured, crimson eyes narrowed fondly but his brows twisted in worry. "I don't even know where to begin."

After Ciel didn't respond, Sebastian gathered his thoughts and inhaled deeply to begin. "I don't even know if you can hear me, my dear little thief," he murmured in a soft, gentle tone, "but I am right here for you. However, I don't want to be here in just this moment. I want you to need me. To want me by your side for the rest of your mortal life. I need you to want me here."

"Some time ago, I don't know if you remember," he continued, "when you found out I was demon we spoke of things I could and could not do. Love was one of those that I can not do, and I told you I didn't know if it should be considered a blessing or a curse. But oh, my sweet Borrower, I can say with the utmost certainty it is a curse. But I swear to you, with every cell in my body, what I feel for you is the closest thing that I as a demon can get to loving you. I may not ever feel real love, but that won't stop these other feelings I have for you."

Ciel noted Sebastian stole some of his own words, but the way the demon spoke was far more sincere than anything he's heard from him before. Hesitantly, Ciel reached forward and put a hand against Sebastian's arm, offering the best reassuring smile he could. "She will pull through it all, Sebastian. She'll be back to scrubbing away at cutlery in the kitchen by your side before you know it."

Sebastian could only nod, gazing at the redhead as her chest rose and fell with each silent breath. All he could do now was wait, and for the first time in his immortal life, pray.