AN: Thank you for the reviews!

Warnings: Read the first chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Looking down at her sick child with worry curling in her gut, Rachel was once again reminded that Ciel had indeed inherited her fragile body. At first that had been their assumption since her son had been so small, but when his personality was revealed she had thought that perhaps he would be able to live without having to worry about being sick all the time.

Ciel had a determination to him that inspired her, despite their comments on his exercising he still went at it daily and didn't stop until his body made him.

Now though, he looked so fragile. With a fever making his cheeks red and a cough shaking his small body she remembered he was only five years old.

She placed a hand on his head, brows furrowing at the heat she could feel coming off of him. "Are you feeling any better Ciel?"

Blue eyes blinked at her, slightly hazy but still serious as always. "I'll be fine soon."

A soft smile formed on her face, her son was such a willful little boy. "I know darling." Perhaps she should contact Angelina, she had been meaning to talk to her sister for a while and this was a good opportunity.

"You don't need to get me a doctor," Ciel murmured quietly. "It's just a cold."

Rachel sighed, sometimes is was shocking to have Ciel pull things off like that even thought she should have gotten used to it by now. Ciel was a very observant child, going to far as to sense when they were upset or even thinking about doing something and then commenting about it. It had taken Vincent aback when it happened to him, but she was slowly getting used to it.

"Angelina may be able to help you honey," she replied cupping his cheek with the palm of her hand. "she's not only a family member but she's also a doctor."

Inwardly she cooed when Ciel leaned in her hand, eyes fluttering shut for a moment. "No she's dangerous…"

Rachel paused, eyes widening slightly. "Dangerous, why do you say that?"

The younger child's voice was so soft that she had to lean in to hear what he was saying.

"…too much anger, it's going to overflow at some point and negatively affect everyone around her…"

Soft, even breaths made her sit straight and look at her now sleeping son. Dangerous? She tried to imagine her sister being dangerous and couldn't, Angelina was too happy and gentle to become a danger to those around her.

Maybe it was just his fever talking, she knew she sometimes rambled about ridiculous things when she had one.

Quietly she got up from the bed and headed to the door, she glanced back at her son for a moment before finally leaving the room.

Angelina wasn't dangerous, Ciel was just tired and didn't know what he was saying.

Even though, she couldn't help but wonder if her son was actually clear-headed enough to say something that wasn't completely impossible.

…

A few days later

From her place on the bed Rachel's body was once again rattled by a few coughs, making the small child sitting beside her look down at the sheet guiltily.

"It's not your fault Ciel." Rachel soothed after she finally calmed down. "I get sick all the time."

Her son just clenched the sheets in his small hands harder.

"Having a jaunt on the boat today would have been a little much," Vincent murmured from his place beside her bed. "Let's do it again the next time we're all together."

She smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry."

It was her own fault for visiting Ciel all those times when he was sick, but she couldn't help herself when her son was in pain she didn't want to avoid him. She wanted to help despite the fact that she could get sick as well.

"How's your appetite?"

Rachel sighed and leaned back on her pillows. "I don't really have one…"

Right now she wanted to sleep, any type of food just didn't sound very appetizing to her when she was so under the weather.

"Maybe we could make something simple, like a soup." Ciel spoke softly.

Rachel smiled and reached forward to ruffle his hair. "That's very kind of you Ciel." A soup did sound nice now that she thought about it, maybe one soft enough that it wouldn't upset her stomach.

"That's a great idea." Vincent replied and suddenly he was picking up the small boy in his arms. "We'll be right back with your food Rachel."

She nodded, eyes softening as she watched Ciel wrap his arms around his father's neck. Their relationship had started out rocky at first, Ciel was guarded for some reason when it came to other males but eventually she had seen them becoming more and more close as the days passed. According to her husband Ciel had approached him first and everything had just gone well from there.

It was nice to see her favorite people in the world interacting and enjoying each others presence.

Rachel smiled at her son as he looked at her from Vincents shoulder as he walked toward the door. When they left she closed her eyes and allowed herself to rest for a moment.

I wasn't put down once we left the room, not that it bothered me. Despite my past I was getting used to being around Vincent and even started enjoying his presence. To me he was like a fox, playful and seemingly innocent but held a certain spark to him that made it possible for him to command attention when he walked into a room. I would say that was like cannon Ciel, just not as dark.

"Now that we have told your mother we're going to make something for her, I wonder what it should be." Vincent mused holding me away from his body so we could look into each others eyes.

I blinked. "We could make it ourselves." I replied, not really thinking that he would go along with it. I was sure that he'd just order Tanaka to do it like they always did.

Vincent cocked his head and then smirked. "That's a great idea Ciel, let's play house for real."

I had to stop myself from gaping at the man, did he just agree to cook? Did he even know how to in the first place? Deciding to get my answer I asked it out loud, making him laugh.

"Of course not, but I know someone who does."

…

…

I wasn't a pro at chess in the least, but Vincent liked to play it so I reluctantly decided to join him. The game was a relatively short one though, since not even an hour later someone burst through the door as if the devil were after him.

I stared at him curiously, my hand still holding onto the chess piece I was about to move. I could tell by the way the man stood he had a sharp temper, and an even shorter tolerance for playful people like my father.

"So?" He growled.

Vincent simply smiled in delight. "Ah Diedrich! It's been a while! How convenient that you're in England right now!"

I could almost see the way Diedrich's theoretical fur rose, very much like an agitated dog. "That's because I changed my plans to return to Germany since you told me you had urgent business with me!"

I was slightly taken aback by his loud voice, Rachel and Vincent weren't necessarily quiet but they definitely weren't this outspoken.

As far as I could remember this was Vincent's German 'dog' that he had acquired while in school. Somehow Vincent had wrangled Diedrich into coming to his beck and call without being too obvious that the taller man was his dog. That was just another quality that cannon Ciel seemed to inherit from his father, he took a liking to collecting people and manipulating them to his will.

Finally Diedrich noticed me and locked gazes with mine. I stared up at him silently, watching as shock and then recognition filtered through his eyes.

"Ah this is my son, Ciel." Vincent motioned toward me from his seat on the other side of the chess board. "Ciel this is Diedrich."

I waved. "Guten Tag."

I received a startled stare from both adults and blinked innocently. I didn't know German, but thanks to my memory and the internet in my past life I knew that one phrase.

"You're son is as odd as you are." Diedrich finally commented.

Vincent smiled brightly. "He's interesting, isn't he?"

Though he was used to being around Vincent, Diedrich wasn't quite prepared to meet someone as different as Vincent's son. The child was young, but there was an air about him that spoke of wisdom beyond his years and showed in his startling eyes as Ciel stared up at him.

"There is a reason I called you here though," Vincent spoke, breaking him out of his staring contest with the child. "Something of utmost importance."

Startled by the seriousness on the Earls face Diedrich rose a brow in curiosity. "Oh?"

Two hands covered by dark gloves landed on his shoulders and suddenly sparkles materialized around Vincent's face as he sent him a charming smile. "That food you once made me when I was sick, make it again!"

He actually did remember the time he had indeed made a meal for Vincent when he was sick back in their school days. According the Earl it had been his job to make a meal since he was Vincent's fag. It wasn't like he had done it out of his own good will.

He told Vincent such only to be completely ignored.

"It was really good so I wanted my family to try it too." Was his cheerful reply.

Eyebrow twitching Deidrich felt his temper rise once again. "You called me here for something so trivial?!"

"Trivial you say…" A gloomy look overtook Vincent's features and Diedrich could nearly see the depressed atmosphere that surrounded the smaller males face. "So you're saying that you wouldn't car if my beloved family were to die…"

"Nobody said that!" He retorted sharply.

The Earl turned around to face his son with a sad sigh. "Old man Diedrich was awful isn't he?"

Feeling his theoretical hackles rise once again thanks to Vincent, Diedrich's eyebrow twitched wildly. "Don't call me old man!"

Ciel looked up at him, eyes solemn and just stared.

"Ah…" Taken aback by the intensity Diedrich wondered how such a young child could pull such a look off. Though no words were spoken the seriousness in the blue eyes were enough to make him look away. "Fine."

Vincent smirked.

…

…

It turned out that Vincent had no experience cooking, not that it surprised him in the least. He hoped that since the dish was relatively simple they wouldn't end up blowing the kitchen to smithereens or anything.

Though when he tried the dish that Vincent had made, his stomach had turned instantly and he had no choice but to spit it out immediately. "Wh-what did you do to this food that it tastes like this?!" He asked, feeling some part in him die as his body threatened to fall from underneath him. "Just what you'd expect from an Englishman…"

Vincent peered at the list of ingredients curiously, a hand on his hip. "That's strange, I made it just like the recipe said."

Diedrich took the pot of poisonous food away from Vincent with a dark look on his features. "Forget it! I'll take care of it!"

Vincent chuckled. "My Fag's quite the reliable one, isn't he?"

"He's only listening to you because he has to right?"

"Hmm?" The Earl looked down at his child, though the chefs hat made him look adorable, his eyes were too serious to complete the picture.

Ciel stared up at him. "Humans are free-willed, it's their nature. So for him to come to you immediately despite his other plans must mean you have something against him."

Sometimes Vincent didn't know what to think about his child, the way he could observe and connect the dots so easily was baffling. He was like a detective but a child his age shouldn't have been able to think like that, not until they were much older.

From his place at the stove Diedrich held back a shiver, Vincent seemed to take it all in stride but the way Ciel talked wasn't natural. The way he walked wasn't natural, nothing was right with the way the Earl's son acted.

Honestly he was a little…frightened.

He continued to think that way as they finished the meal and brought it to Rachel, and watching as the family interacted he didn't change his thoughts on the child. It wasn't until Rachel kissed Ciel on the forehead in gratitude that his mind halted.

Ciel was different around her, lighter and almost happier. Though it wasn't obvious he could see the child's eyes shinning as he looked at his mother.

From the looks of it the child was gentler around those he knew, but anyone else was shut out with an iron door until told otherwise. The question was, why did such a inexperienced child act that way when he had barely even lived?

I didn't ever think that Angelina would come through when it came to my French lessons, and I wouldn't have blamed her if she didn't.

Yet here she was, in front of me teaching me French.

She was loud and boisterous when around others, but as she taught me her voice turned quieter and she became more serious. I was glad since I wasn't very comfortable around people that made a lot of noise or tried to gain attention.

At six years old it made sense for me to start learning another language, not to mention the fact that my father was an Earl. People like him had high expectations which would then be passed on to myself as the only heir of the Phantomhive.

"Bonjour Ciel."

"Bonjour Tante Angelina."

Since my past Grandmother had been French I knew a little bit, enough to catch Angelina's attention but not too much that she would start suspecting something crazy. It was one thing to be smart, and a completely different thing to know things when there's no reason you should know it in the first place.

She nodded in approval, face stern. "Comment allez-vous aujourd'hui?"

I paused for a moment as I tried to recall what she was asking before answering. "Je vais bien."

I personally loved the feel of French, it was smooth and graceful much like the place it had originated from. Angelina nodded again, long hair tied in a complicated bun that I would have never been able to accomplish. Or even try for that matter.

"Comment a été votre journée?"

I was pretty sure she was asking me how my day was, as an native English speaker I tried to find resemblance in the French and English words so it would make it easier to figure out what she was saying. Angelina was a stern teacher, and since I was pretty sure she had an inkling that I was smarter then I let on she made the lessons harder then one usually would when teaching a child.

Not that it bothered me, I was up for any challenge since my life had been full of downplaying my abilities so far.

"Pas très excitant-"

"Ciel!"

The large double doors slammed open and a blonde girl came running in, eyes sparkling and a skip to her step. Angelina nearly jumped out of her skin at the loud entrance while I had to take a deep breath to stop myself from reacting the same way.

I didn't even try to get away as Elizabeth tackled me into a hug and rubbed her face against the top of my head adoringly.

"Elizabeth!" A stern voice shouted and the imposing figure of Francis Middleford followed soon after. "Don't go barging into rooms without knocking!"

The blonde instantly became less child-like, though she still kept a firm hold on me as if I were the most precious thing in the universe. "Sorry! I was just so excited to see Ciel!"

I stared at Francis curiously. "I didn't know you were coming."

She smirked and crossed her arms. "I told your parents to keep it a secret from you, today you're going to join Elizabeth in one of her special training sessions."

"I have to finish my lesson with Aunt Angelina first." I replied, though inwardly I hoped it would be done soon. I was rather excited to get outside and do something, and I was pretty sure I knew what the 'special' training entailed.

Angelina laughed loudly. "It fine Ciel, why don't you go with Francis? I'm sure it will be a lot more exciting then hanging out with me is."

I looked over at her, noticing the way her lip twitched on the upper-right corner. She was eager to get away, that much was obvious. I wasn't about to make her stay here if she didn't want to, that's the very least I could do to help lessen her pain.

Francis smirked and placed her hands on her hips. "Very well then, I'll meet you out in the courtyard in five minutes."

I nodded, excitement bubbling under my skin.

"You're really short."

A fine brow rose. "Yes."

Standing on the sidelines Francis held back a sigh, leave it to her son to say something so rude the first time he met his cousin. Along with Elizabeth she had also brought Edward who had been a little reluctant to practice with such a 'small' person.

She had a feeling that this meeting wouldn't go well, since Edward was so hot-headed and Ciel was calm their personalities were bound to clash at some point. She couldn't even imagine how Edward would have reacted if she had agreed to have her daughter become Ciel's fiancee.

Edwards eyebrow twitched. "Is that all you're going to say?"

"How did you expect me to respond?" Ciel replied, voice quiet but not too much so that they would have a hard time hearing him. "It's the truth."

Beside her Elizabeth giggled. "Brother doesn't seem to like Ciel too much."

"No he does not." Francis rubbed her temples. Men and their weird habits, her son was probably trying to provoke the smaller boy into snapping but was the one who ended up being provoked since he wasn't getting his desired reaction.

"Enough." She finally commanded making the two snap their attention to her. "Edward go easy on him, it's the first time he's fenced."

Ciel didn't seem the least bit offended, which she wasn't surprised by. She had yet to see him actually get irritated since she had met him. He took after Rachel in a way, with her ever present level-headed personality.

Edward nodded and got into the basic stance, eyes alight with challenge as he stared Ciel down.

Francis moved forward to explain to Ciel what he should do, but her eyes widened when she saw him simply just copy the stance her son had fallen into. Well that wasn't too unexpected, it was a relatively easy stance.

She coughed once and then spoke. "Now Ciel, I want you to keep your gaze forward and footing firm. Remember the lunge starts with a straightening of the arm before the feet move, the one who attacks first had the right of way while the other must defend."

The two boys nodded.

"Let's see what you got little boy." Edward taunted making Francis want to hit him upside the head.

Ciel cocked his head and simply stared.

"Go!"

At first it had been obvious who had more experience, Edward was older and was used to fighting with the foil more while Ciel was just starting. She would have put Ciel against Elizabeth if her daughter hadn't been better then her older brother already.

Then well things started to change.

It was amazing to watch really.

Edward was on high offense, making his attacks fast and quick while forcing Ciel to block them with the best of his abilities. Edward didn't see the way Ciel's eyes observed his wrist, the way he moved his foil just before the hit met his body as if he was figuring out which way it was aimed. To a inexperienced bystander Edward was easily forcing Ciel back while the smaller boy had no choice by to block them unless he wanted to get hit.

"Mother…"

Elizabeth could see it too.

It had taken him about thirty minutes, but there was no doubt, Ciel was learning where Edward would aim by watching his wrist. He was anticipating his moves and acting in such a way that it looked like he was forced to go on defense.

Finally the two boys stopped, both panting heavily Edward looked like he was caught between confusion and respect while Ciel was having a harder time breathing.

Heart leaping in her throat Francis ran forward as the small boy fell to his knees holding his throat as small wheezes came from him.

"Wha-? What's wrong with him?!" Edward asked as she knelt down beside her nephew.

She placed a hand on Ciel's back. "He's having an Asthma attack, go get Vincent and Rachel!"

Edward did as she said as she tried to calm the small boy down, it seemed that the two boys had been going at too fast of a pace for his fragile body.

"I need you to calm down Ciel," She instructed firmly, with Rachel being her sister-in-law she had made sure to learn how to deal with an attack. "I need you to sit down and take deep breaths."

The small boy did as instructed, his fingers clenching in his pants as he started to calm down.

"Good job, now I need you to breath in through your nose and out through your mouth."

She could see that his attack was starting to recede, thankfully it wasn't a very dangerous one or they'd have a lot more problems.

"Ciel!"

Francis turned to Rachel's voice, seeing her and Vincent hurrying forward with Edward not far behind. She stood up, nodding to her brother as they arrived where Ciel was sitting on the ground.

Immediately Rachel bent down and made sure Ciel was okay, her eyes shining with worry. "Ciel are you okay?"

Her son nodded, his breath coming out regularly as he allowed her to fret and check his body for any obvious injuries.

"Thanks Francis." Vincent spoke and she nodded, watching as Rachel cooed and cuddled her son.

If Ciel's body had been more stable she would have talked the Phantomhives into hiring a tutor for him, but as it was she wasn't too sure it was a good idea. Though this was the first time he had an attack it wouldn't be the last and she didn't want him to constantly worry about that while dueling.

He had such potential, but with Rachel and Vincent being as wary as they were he would probably never grow into it. Maybe when he was older and could make his own decisions, now though she knew they'd speak against it.

Sometimes it was hard remembering that my body wasn't as healthy as it used to be. I had never had to worry about having an attack while exercising, now though it made me miss my older body.

The attack had come unexpected and without warning, I had actually been enjoying fencing but that had been completely ruined once my throat had tightened and I found myself barely able to breath.

Rachel and Vincent were beside themselves with worry, even going so far as to tell me I wasn't allowed to exercise for a few days. I understood their worry, but I was fine.

Unfortunately I couldn't just ignore them and stayed inside for the next few days, reluctantly attending my tutoring sessions and behaving like I should. I would never understand nobles and their liking to trapping themselves in their mansions. I would have loved to sit outside or take a walk somewhere, heck I'd just sit on a chair in the garden if I could.

I sighed and turned over to face the large window beside my bed.

I never knew that being in such a high political standing would cause so much troubles. I had never been interested in politics in my past life and probably couldn't pull off a proper noble 'presence' like Ciel could. Which would probably be troublesome when Rachel and Vincent ended up dying in the fire. When they were gone I'd be left to fend for myself and deal with any problems that would arise despite being a child. I may be an adult mentally, but that thought didn't excite me in the least.

That reminded me, wasn't I supposed to meet that one circus guy soon? The creep who became obsessed with Ciel after he had met him at a party. I wasn't exactly jumping for joy at the thought of meeting him obviously, besides he had wanted to see those kidnappers do those terrible things to Ciel.

Maybe there was some way I could avoid him, maybe talk Vincent into leaving me at home with Rachel whenever he went to that party. Not that I knew which one it was or when it would be, but I could try.

Deciding to think about it tomorrow I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

AN: I hope you liked the chapter and sorry for any mistakes. I had a slightly hard time figuring out what to write but eventually got over it.