A/N: Look who is back! School started a month ago so I have been very busy. Sorry about not posting this sooner and for the fact that it is somewhat of a short chapter in comparison to others. However, it was one that didn't need to be long, but a lot still happens! I PROMISE! And if anyone else follows my Walking Dead story, I will update that one soon too! REMEMBER: READ, REVIEW, REPEAT!

Chapter 17

Two weeks later, a cry erupted from the center of Headquarters. Even from where he sat in his meditation room, Miguel asleep in a moses basket in the corner, Kanda heard the scream with extreme clarity. Recognizing the voice as Lenalee's, he stood with a sigh and walked over to his now-awake and squirming son. Taking the baby into his arms, Kanda stepped out into the cool hallway, his bare feet padding silently as he made his way towards the main center of the building.

Lenalee, Lavi, and Bookman had returned only two days earlier, beaten black and blue, but alive and excited. They had found another Innocence fragment, which was quickly handed over to Hevlaska for examination while the three exorcists were sent off to the infirmary for bandaging and healing.

Ever since, Kanda had been anxious for his husband's return. Seeing the other exorcists hurt, but alive had sent into a deep level of panic. He had never even considered the possibility of Allen dying on a mission. His moyashi was undefeatable. He'd survived stabbings, airless voids, emotional traumas, splitting his head open, a perverted sex-crazed master, and seeing the souls of Akuma for the past several years. However, the return of the other exorcists had shown him once again how vulnerable they all were.

As he padded towards the center of Headquarters, the shouting grew louder and louder. He kept his face emotionless as he approached the main hall, gently carrying Miguel against his chest. Inside, however, he was a mess. His stomach was clenched and his heartbeat was speeding up with each step. In his arms, Miguel could feel his father's stress, burying his face in the tall man's broad chest in some effort to comfort him.

The main hall was chaos. Finders were rushing about, shouting commands to each other as scientists and nurses bustled towards them. The scientists were asking a number of post-mission questions while the nurses tried to push them out of the way, searching for broken bones, bleeding cuts and any other injuries. Kanda's eyes scanned the room, landing on the activated gate that led into the Arc. The swirling purple mass looked ominous and foreboding. A slight glimmer in the light caught his attention and he frowned as he looked down. His heart jerked in his chest as he noticed the puddle of blood that lay at the base of the gate. It was red and glistening. Was it human or archangel blood? He wasn't sure, but he was worried to hear the answer.

"Kanda!"

The samurai turned to see Lenalee rushing towards him, the red rings around her ankles jumping as she ran. Her shoulder-length hair was a mess and she was dressed in a plane shirt and skirt, as though she'd gotten dressed quickly. She pointed behind her, in the direction of the hall she'd come from.

"They took Allen to the Health Ward! He and the others came back with an Innocence, but-"

Miguel let out a small whimper as he was shoved into Lenalee's arms, but turned to watch as his dark-haired father took off for the Health Ward. Kanda skidded around corners, forcing his legs to move as quickly as they could. He flew past finders, scientists, nurses, and other exorcists alike, not caring if he ran straight into them or they even noticed him. They all knew where he was going regardless. Clenching his teeth, he skidded to a stop in the door to the Health Ward and, after a moment of contemplation, stepped inside.

It was just as chaotic as the main hall. The Head Nurse was barking out orders as she tended to someone on the far side of the room, a large pair of scissors snipping away at a bloodied exorcist jacket. The others were rushing about collecting blankets, bandages, bowls of water and anything else that would be needed. On the opposite side of the room from where the Head Nurse was working, a hoard of others dressed in white gowns were tending to another still body, cleaning at several wounds on his chest.

Kanda barely paid any attention to the second body –Krory- as he stepped over to the Head Nurse, standing just behind her left shoulder. The nurse tore Allen's jacket apart, exposing several forming bruises and long gashes, the result of an Akuma attack if Kanda had to wager. His right arm –the normal one- was bent at a strange angle and his left ankle was twisted. At least three of his toes were broken as well as two ribs. His silver eyes were closed in unconsciousness and blood covered one side of his face. Thankfully, he was breathing, no matter how labored it was.

"Sit down in the chair in the corner, Mr. Kanda. I will let you stay. I know better than try to separate you two," the Head Nurse said without looking at him. "Just don't touch anything. I want to prevent any sort of infection."

Nodding, Kanda slowly lowered himself into the uncomfortable chair that sat near the end of Allen's bed. He barely even remembered to move his wings out of the way so he wouldn't sit on them. His gaze was focused on his unconscious and bleeding husband as the Head Nurse called for a bowl of water and several towels. As she began to apply pressure to the wounds, another nurse jogged over, setting down the bowl, towels, a surgery needle, and a special kind of thread for stitching together wounds.

Kanda watched as she cleaned, healed, and sewed up his younger mate, unmoving and silent. Even when she was finished, he didn't move from his seat or even look up at her. She shot him a small smile, noticing the absolute devotion that he directed towards the unconscious albino on the bed.

"You're lucky," she said quietly before walking off, directing her words towards neither of the two men in particular.

Kanda stayed by Allen's side throughout the night and following day, moving from his chair only to use the facilities. Lenalee, Avi, and Branwen took turns sitting with him, sometimes bringing Miguel and sometimes not.

The baby was too young to realize what exactly was wrong, but he knew that something wasn't right. He was restless at night and only slept well when Kanda took his young son in his arms and cradled him. At these times, the dark-haired samurai would pet his son's smooth hair, trying to comfort the baby as well as himself.

Others visited sporadically whenever they had a moment. The scientists, Johnny and Reever in particular, would come in the middle of the night, forced to stand only so they wouldn't fall asleep. Komui would usually come to relieve Kanda of a sleeping Miguel, offering a kind word or two before carrying the infant off to his cradle in his fathers' rooms. Even Chaoji stopped by, though he did nothing more than stand in the doorway. He had been the least injured of their mission group with Allen and Miranda taking the most damage. Kanda paid him no attention, but the others in the Order were gossiping about this strange event. Could this last mission have finally forced the angry man that Chaoji had become to accept Allen and his strange, but vibrant moral code?

The entire Order was holding its breath, waiting for the white-haired teenager that had seized their attention and their hearts to wake up.

Allen woke up a week later.

Kanda was still sitting in his chair, Miguel in his lap. The exhausted baby was curled in against his chest, his black wings pulled in tightly to his back and his fingers fisted in the fabric of his father's shirt. The Head Nurse had just come into the ward, carrying a tray bearing a bowl filled with soba and a hot cup of green tea. Setting it down on the small table beside him, she sighed and shook her head.

"Mr. Kanda, I understand that this is a rough time, but you still need to eat," she said sternly.

He didn't look up, ignoring her completely.

"Mr. Kanda, don't force me to-"

Suddenly, the samurai rose, his arms curled protectively around Miguel as he strode over to the side of Allen's bed. His eyebrows were furrowed slightly and he sat down on the edge of the bed. He was silent for a moment before he finally spoke for the first time all week.

"Moyashi?"

The Head Nurse watched with wide eyes as the body on the bed began to stir just the littlest bit, his human hand twitching atop the white sheets. The pale fingers slowly started to curl in, gripping loosely at the sheets and a light groan accompanied it.

Rushing over, the nurse leaned over the bed as the silver eyes slowly opened, filmed with the mist of sleep. She smiled a little as she felt his forehead, checking for any sort of a fever. Finding none, she began checking his vitals for any irregularities, working around Kanda's slim form with little trouble.

In Kanda's arms, Miguel stirred and chirped once in his sleep. Slowly and achingly, Allen turned his head to fix on the tiny form of his baby son, focusing on him as much as he could. He let out a corresponding chirp and a watery smile, his lips twitching as he forced the muscles of his face to move.

Carefully, Kanda set Miguel down next to his other father, making sure to avoid the broken ribs as he gently placing his mate's tired arm over the sleeping baby. Miguel purred and snuggled in close to Allen's side, recognizing his scent even in his sleep. Brushing his hand limply over one of his son's feathers, Allen settled down against the pillow again and let his eyes slip closed once again.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Kanda finally looked up and met the gaze of the Head Nurse. She cocked one eyebrow at him and he huffed, standing to make his way back to his chair. Sitting down, he picked up the bowl of soba and began to eat steadily, relishing in his welcome taste.

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