Thank you for your patience, I had some troubles with this, I want it to be interesting but I also want thing to fall into place naturally without me rushing things. I'm setting things up for later chapters for not just Blood, but Elliot and the twins in this chapter.

Also things got busy with it being summer and all, swimming lessons, soccer, t-ball, weddings, gardening etc. Once the fall/winter hits the updates will become more frequent. I may go back and change details of this chapter even after it is posted.

Things will get more interesting, especially after the first full rotation of custody.

I DID NOT PROOF READ.

Chapter 2 - Babies' Appetite / Babies eat from where?!

Looking through the large magnifying lens, Julius held internal clock pieces together with small tweezers and a steady hand. After leaving Blood's party, he went straight back to his Clock tower and started on repairs. He had lots of time to make up for, on a typical day if nothing goes wrong he can repair up to 6 clocks, but today he was only on his second. In the morning before Ace interrupted him, he managed to get one finished but then it was time for them to go to the tea party. Pushing the lens that was connected to a series of moveable arms closer to the clock, Julius reached to the side, picking up a micro screwdriver and started putting a screw in place. After a few turns, he released his hold of the tweezers-no longer needing them to hold the pieces together.

Slowly exhaling from his mouth, just two more turns and he could close it up, and he could make sure the calibration was right.

A hard, shallow knock came from the large wooden door, to only be opened before Julius had a chance to respond. Without looking, Julius finished and set his screwdriver down before closing it- assuming that it was just Ace at the door again.

"I don't have the time to entertain you, I have work to do." Bringing the clock close to his head, Julius turned his head to the right, listening to the tick tock- making sure it was on time with his own.

"Hell will freeze over before someone like you entertains me." Clearing his throat, Peter stepped towards Julius's desk and set the documents down. Peter couldn't help but look around at the mess that was the Clock tower. Dust laid undisturbed over most of the surfaces in the room; the table, three of the five chairs, books, and other unmoved or untouched items each had a dirty veil on top. Even the air was slightly stained with the dirty dust like stench-but it was only noticeable to Peter thanks to his heightened senses. It had been quite sometime since he had been here, not since Alice decided the Clock Tower was the best choice for her- given that it was a neutral territory and all. Pulling out the papers from his tailored coat, Peter offered them to Julius. "An outsider has appeared, and Vivaldi has graciously offered you the opportunity to have partial custody."

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

The sound was slightly off. Sighing, Julius set the clock back down, and opened it up once again. "Custody of an outsider? Since when has that been the way?" Grabbing the micro screwdriver again, Julius went to work at removing screws and some gears to get to the timing components.

"Giving the circumstances, it was decided that's what is best...for the outsider."

"Why not let them decide?"

"Let who decide what?" The door swung open, hitting the knob against the wall. Smiling brightly with twigs, and leafs sticking out of his hair, and dirt smudged over his body and face, Ace stepped in. "OH!" Smile growing slightly smaller, it grew into an amused smirk. "Mister Prime Minister, what a surprise to see you here." Shutting the door behind him, Ace went over to the dusty table and spun around one of the untouched chairs and sat down.

"-There's apparently a new outsider." The sudden noise from Ace, caused Julius to jerk, making the screw driver nudge out of place and scrape part of the inner workings of the clock. Sighing, Julius set down the driver and and ran his hand over his face before looking at the two "visitors".

"Oh? A new outsider, how exciting." Swinging one foot onto the other knee, Ace tipped him and the hair back onto two legs, in a slight rocking motion.

Fixing his glasses, Peter crossed his arms. "-Are you not interested in the partial custody then?"

"No, I am not." Grabbing the papers, Julius didn't bother looking at them as he handed them back to Peter. "Why would I want the company of someone who does not desire to be here?"

"Awe, com'on Julius!" Bringing himself up to stand, the chair's two legs slammed against the floor. Shrugging his shoulders and a mischieveous look, Ace's palms faced up. "What if the outsider is a cute little number like Alice?" Slyly looking from Julius to Peter, it was worth mentioning her. Even though the two seemed rather collected, Ace knew he have struck a nerve in both of them. "-But then again, if it is a woman like Alice, Blood won't hesitate to get ahold of her, after all, he did-"

With a solid click, Peter's arm stretched out firmly with his gun in hand, finger on the trigger and ready to fire. His brows were knit and the top frame of his glasses cut half way through the ferocious red glare. "Don't you dare sully the memory of her."

"This is a neutral zone, Prime Minister." Standing up, Julius shoved the papers onto Peter's chest- forcing Peter to turn his attention away from Ace and grab onto the documents. "-Like I said, I have no interest in keeping someone who has no desire to be here. Unless it is by their own validity, I won't be hosting them."

"Very well." Letting his arm slack, Peter put away his gun, and folded up the documents.

"-What about me?" Raising his eyebrows, Ace pointed at himself. "-Don't I get a chance to have the outsider?"

"The only ones with custody over the infant are owner's of their own jurisdiction." Turning around, Peter took one last look at Julius, Ace, and the dirty surroundings over his shoulder before he closed the door behind him.

Ace and Julius stood there for a moment as they could hear Peter's footsteps go down the stairs. Each step grew quieter than the last until the sound was no more. Letting go of the breath he didn't know he had been holding, Julius sat himself back down at his desk and picked up the screwdriver again and went back to work.

Ace on the other hand, was stewing in Peter's words. His eyebrows were quirked in different directions- one up, one down as he was thinking. Placing on and on his hip and the other rubbing his chin, Ace turned to Julius. "Say, Julius-"

"Hm?"

"-Did Peter say, infant?"

"What are you talking about?"

"He said something like, only jurisdiction holders have custody over the infant? Right? That's what he said?"

Stopping for a moment, Julius stared into the clock, zoning out as he thought back on the Prime Minister's words. The words had flew by him like nothing more than a breeze, but he couldn't remember exactly what the words were. But part of him didn't want to disagree with Ace. 'The outsider, is a child? No..not even a child, it's a baby?' Looking over to Ace, or rather, where Ace was, Julius stared at the door that was left wide open. Standing up, Julius walked over to the door, and slowly closed it. Turning around to go back to his desk, his feet hesitated, and for the first time in forever, Julius looked at just how much his living quarters had changed even though everything was still in its place. Everything was the exact same as it had always been, everything was where it was supposed to, it was the way he liked it. Quiet, undisturbed, and most of all, he was all alone.

"We want to see little sister Elizabeth!"

"We want to play with her!"

"We have work to do!" Holding Dee and Dum up by the backs of their shirts, Elliot was carrying them back to their post for what seemed like the hundreth time this morning. They squirmed and pouted every time he caught them but it didn't seem to depleat their wills or desire to go against orders just to see the bald drooling potato that they seemed to call Elizabeth. Stopping just outside of the gate, Elliot dropped the twins down on their rears. "Now enough, or you two will end up working over time to make up for all these disruptions! You're both lucky I stopped you two before Blood caught you two. I wouldn't forgive either of you if you disturbed him!"

Rubbing their sore behinds, both of them glared up at Elliot before standing up.

"But we want to play with little sister!" At the same time, the two of them whined.

"Work comes first!" Rubbing his hand along his face, Elliot couldn't help but finally sigh. Despite all the hustle and bustle the twins were getting him into, time seemed to be going by slow. It felt like the day had been dragging on and that they should all be enjoying some tea and snacks with Blood by now- but they had yet to be summoned. Looking away from the twins, Elliot couldn't help but look beyond the long elegant path, to the grand doors of the mansion; curious to what Blood may be doing this very moment.

Keeping his face as composed as he could, Blood looked over the agreement to which he had already signed. As he figured, Julius, had opted out, but there were a few things he didn't notice the when he first pressed his ink to the paper. Apparently, it wouldn't be as easy as getting a wet nurse, and letting some nanny raise the infant until she grew to a point of impressionable independence. He had no problems molding, and influencing people to be who and how he wanted them to be, but being the one solely responsible for another that wasn't capable of anything on their own was a completely different situation. As soon as they got back in the mansion last night, he had sent out men to find wet nurses, or women who were currently nursing children or that had lost their child but are still capable. They had spent quite sometime interviewing ladies until Elizabeth finally wet herself, and Bloods nap and then began crying for a cleaning and a feeding. Even if it was a spur of the moment decision to help quiet Elizabeth down then and there, he wasn't regretting who he hired. Although, having a wet nurse was still allowed within reason, the agreement clearly stated "Role Holders" are to be primary caretakers. Raising a brow slightly, Blood quickly let it fall back to place- like it was nothing more than a twitch. He fought with the idea, technically, a nanny could be considered a provision provided by him, the main caretaker; a perk to his status and influence. Why not give the infant/child whatever he could given all of his resources?

But not once did they discuss feedings. Would the wet nurse he found and hired be expected to go with Elizabeth with every jurisdiction change? Surely not everyone's diet would be as well provided and balanced as the woman he found- good and healthy food for the wet nurse, meant better nutrients for Elizabeth. And from what he had already been told, the smallest thing could upset an infant's stomach, making them sick, cranky, bloated, constipated- or all of the above.

"Hmph.." Placing his copy of the document on the top right drawer of his desk, Blood closed it. Out of sight, out of mind. At least, that's what he thought until his mind continued to be flooded with technicalities and unknown factors of the other jurisdictions- most specifically, the Amusement Park. Standing up, and leaving his office, Blood's footsteps were muffled by the ornate carpet that ran down the decorated hallways, until he got to the desired door. Slowly opening it, it was quiet, but then again, all Elizabeth seemed to do since finding the wet nurse was sleep and eat. The thing hardly cried apart from when she was first found and when she had wet herself during the interviews.

Opening the door to the large bedroom, the wet nurse was rocking in a rocking chair- to which Blood had never seen before. But she offered him a kind smile as she set her cross stitch needle part way through the material and left it there so she could put a finger to her mouth; suggesting he be quiet. Taking the hint, and ignoring the fact she didn't both bowing like the other staff, he walked over to the large wooden cradle that had been set up last night.

The cradle was large, in that at least three other babies could fit in it comfortably. The finely crafted oak was stained like rich glossed honey. The head and foot ends were solid pieces with finely engraved swirls and roses, the sides were lower, with cylindrical bars which allowed anyone to see the infant from a side view. Although it was nice, Blood knew that once she was gone, they would make more of an effort to set up a proper room. Not that the room was in bad shape, or that he really cared, but he cared what Vivaldi or Gowland might say. If Elizabeth were to be here, and have her own room, then he would see to it that she had the best room and supplies possible.

Looming over the cradle, Blood looked down, and just as he suspected, she was asleep. He couldn't see much of her apart from her face. She was swaddled tightly in fine white materials that made her look like she was in a cocoon. Her cheeks were plump and rosy, and a small, light blond strand of hair stuck out from under her white frilly bonnet.

Satisfied, Blood turned around to make his way out of the room- it was well past tea time and he intended to have it. Holding onto the door knob, he couldn't help but sigh- his ears and intuition told him trouble was making its way towards this room. Opening up the door, he hardly had time to look up from his brooding when Dee and Dum jumped out in front of him and the doorway.

"Where's little sister Elizabeth?"

"Can we play with her yet?"

"No." knitting his brows, Blood kept it short and stern. There was no reasoning with these two, if you give in a little bit, they take as much as they can. Childish is how they acted, and how they looked. If you weren't firm with them and if you didn't stand your ground they will walk over you in an instant.

"Damn-" Running down the hallway, Elliot had his gun in his hand but he slowed as he found the two hooligans that he was after. But much to his own disappointment, Blood had found them first. Momentarily resting his hands down on his knees, Elliot didn't bother catching his breath before apologizing to Blood. "Sir, Blood, I'm sorry-" taking in one deep breath, Elliot stood back up. "-I tried to stop them but they played a dirty trick!"

"Dirty trick?" Dee looked to Dum.

Dum looked to Dee. "We would never play dirty. At least-" Both sets of eyes turned to Elliot as mischevious smiles grew on Dee and Dum's faces. "-Not with you."

"Ambushing me from behind IS A DIRTY TRICK!" Elliot clenched his jaw and his fist (the one hand was still holding his gun).

"Not our fault you weren't paying attention." Sticking his tongue out, Dee pulled down the skin under his left eye, showing the red lining. "Blehh."

"No, I was paying attention- I mean, I never not pay attention!" Almost forgetting that Blood was still standing there, Elliot glanced at him. And doing his best, Elliot tried to soften his expression and clear his throat. "Either way, you two went out of your way to abandon your posts and disrupt Blood!"

"All three of you are disrupting me, and keeping me from my tea time." Looking at the time, Blood felt completely off- it was a mere 5 minutes past tea time but he felt like his entire day was thrown off course.

Shock grew on Elliot's face, and he was disappointed in himself; how could he cause Blood such grief!? Dee and Dum on the other hand were trying to peek past Blood and into the room where they knew Elizabeth was, and Blood just wanted to get to the garden to have his tea that would hopefully set things back in balance.

"-Now, out of my way before you oafs wake up Eliza-"

Barely audible, Elizabeth had awakened from her nap and tried to voice her displeasure of being awake. The cry was no where near the volume that they all knew she was capable of, but it was enough to turn all of their attentions to the cradle. The faceless woman put aside her cross stitching and began to rock the cradle and baby in a slow soothing manner.

"He woke up little sister, Dee."

"Mhm..it would seem that way, Dum."

Crossing their arms, Dee and Dum nodded their heads as they blamed Blood for waking their little sister.

Sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose, Blood closed his eyes. "If anything, it was you three." Opening his eyes, Blood was left with a empty doorway. Looking over his shoulder, and ultimately turning himself around, Elliot, Dee and Dum, were surrounding the cradle looking down at Elizabeth. Her blue eyes looked up at the three sets of eyes that watched her. Her sounds of discontent had ceased but her mouth popped again and again as her tongue worked its way out and in from her mouth- an easy indication that she was hungry.

"Why's she doing that?" Dee spoke up before Dum could, and asked the same question that Elliot was asking himself. None of them had any knowledge on babies, only that they cried and slept a lot- and more often than not, they smelled.

"She's hungry." Reaching in, the wet nurse carefully picked up Elizabeth and sat back down on her rocking chair.

"Hungry?" Dum looked to Dee, and Dee looked to Dum, then both eyes turned to Blood.

"Can little sister come to tea time with us?!"

"She can eat treats and snacks with us!"

"You idiots, babies don't eat treats and snacks!" Crossing his arms, Elliot was well aware that his knowledge of babies was next to nothing, but he certainly knew what babies ate, and where it came from: Breast milk.

The nurse adjusted herself and Elizabeth into one arm. The twins watched from either side of the rocking chair, oblivious to what was going to be "popping" out in a moment to feed the infant. Smacking his hands over the twins eyes, Elliot's large hands and fingers gripped the small faces as he pushed them away all while keeping their eyes covered.

"WHA-"

"HEY!"

"You two are too young for this." Knitting his brows, Elliot had put himself in a strange situation as he was now looming directly over the nurse and little Elizabeth.

"Actually, I think it is a good thing for children to see a baby being breastfed, it helps them later in life to not be ashamed or indifferent about breasts. Breast milk and breastfeeding is perfectly natural. But today I-"

'How could anyone be indifferent about breasts?' Clearing his throat, Elliot's face turned slightly pink as his mind wandered into the wonderful world of breasts. Sidetracked, his grip on the twins faces were finally broke as Dee and Dum shoved themselves free.

Dee and Dum rubbed their eyes as black speckles mingled with the light as their eyes tried to regain focus.

"Breastfed? Breastmilk?" Rubbing his eyes, Dee leaned in slightly closed to Elizabeth and the nurse.

"You mean-" Sitting on his knees, Dum, was eye level with Elizabeth's head and of course, the nurse's chest. "-Babies drink milk from there?" Eyes gazing momentarily at the nurse's chest, Dum wasn't completely convinced. He needed to see it to believe it. "I think they're lying to us, Dee."

"Hm..I'm not sure Dum. Kitties and puppies all drink milk from their mother's, so why not a baby?"

Dee and Dum both stared intently, like they were about to discover something brand new to not just them, but the entire world. Elliot and Blood wasn't sure if it was them being curious about a baby eating, or if they were curious about seeing a breast. The nurse just seemed to smile as she reached down into her basket and pulled out what seemed to be a full bottle of milk. Turning it upside down, Elizabeth took in the orangeish yellow nipple into her mouth and began to eat.

"But, today I decided to put some in bottles to feed."

"Huh, I thought you said babies eat from breasts!"

Standing up, Dee and Dum pulled their scythes out of thin air and they gritted their teeth.

"She lied to us Dum!"

The nurse obviously scared of what was about to happen, flinched, curling Elizabeth into her body. But Elliot and Blood both took care of one of the twins.

Sighing again, Blood was more than aware that it was far past tea time; by about 14 minutes. "A woman can transfer her breast milk into a bottle if she decides. She didn't lie. Now put away your weapons, you don't want to hurt Elizabeth, do you."

Puffing their cheeks slightly, they dropped their resistance and "put away" their scythes. As soon as their weapons were gone, the twins smirked at Blood.

"So..that means the nurse doesn't have to be the one to feed little sister, right?"

"That also means little sister can eat anywhere, right? Like say, in the garden, during tea time?"

Gritting his teeth, Blood had fallen right into the palms of their hands, he could very easily say no, but something about the looks in Dee and Dum's eyes told him that it wouldn't be that easy. Blood's brow seemed to twitch in time with the second hand of the clock on the wall. Closing his eyes, he sighed for the hundreth time.

His breath bounced back at him as he tried to enjoy his favourite tea despite it being 25 minutes past his usual time. The aroma, and the heat radiated to his lips and nose as he held the tipped cup close, but not close enough for him to take a sip-not yet anyway. He wanted to bask in the glory that was tea time. But it seemed things around him were going astray.

Elliot was doing what he normally did, which was stuffing his face full of carrot cakes and treats- all while ignoring the actual carrots that had been laid out. His cheeks were stretched out like balloons, and his mouth and chin were covered in crumbs and icing. This seemed to be one of the only times Elliot seemed to be able to relax, at least around Blood any how.

But what seemed to be throwing the delicate balance of tea time off was the twins. No, they weren't being loud and robust like they so often did. No, they weren't chattering away like the children they were. Rather, they seemed to be behaving themselves quite well, which made it almost impossible for Blood to properly relax and enjoy his tea. Having them so quiet and still made him uneasy. Maybe if it was just like any other day then he would be able to look past it, but the way they were whispering to each other as they looked down into the white basket woven baby carriage suggested nothing but possible foul play. After they had successfully "convinced" him to allow Elizabeth outside, the nurse finished feeding her as everything was set up outside and just as they sat down, Elizabeth was wheeled out in her baby carriage. The twins coerced the nurse into parking the carriage between their two seats, and since then they just stared down at her, whispering to each other- not even bothering to touch any of the treats or beverages.

Keeping his eyes slightly open, Blood glanced at the twins through his thick lashes as he finally took a sip of the tea. He felt the warmth rush down his throat to the knotted pit of his stomach. It wasn't enough to calm whatever nerves were rattled.

"-Little sister-"

"-maybe we can-"

"-When the nurse sleeps-

"-Good idea Dum-"

Setting his cup and saucer down with less etiquette than usual, the porcelean pieces clanked against each other. The sound didn't seem to disrupt the twins but Elliot was well aware of the sudden strange behaviour of his employer; to which he stopped chewing and looked away from the remaining carrot treats he laid before him.

Placing his hat back on his head, Blood picked up his cane, holding it firmly with three fingers like a claw as he used his other hand and remaining two fingers to grab hold of the long carriage handle. Pulling out from between the twins, their attention finally pulled away from the quietly cooing Elizabeth and to him.

"I think not." Furrowing his brows down at the twins, he watched as their expressions changed to shock.

"But we want to stay with little sister!"

"It's not fair that we don't get to play with her!"

"Blood's hogging little sister!" At the same time, the twins exclaimed and puffed their cheeks.

"Tea time is over, back to your posts." Walking away while pushing the carriage,Blood made his way out of the garden, leaving Elliot and the twins.

Swallowing the ball of food in his mouth, Elliot glanced over at Blood's cup of tea. Almost in complete disbelief, Elliot abruptly stood up, slamming his hands on the table. The cup was still full.

"What do you mean, Sir?"

"You heard me-" Glaring at the two faceless staff, he didn't feel the need to have to repeat himself once again. If the twins were planning to do something to Elizabeth when the nurse fell asleep then the safest thing for Elizabeth would be for her to be with him. The nurse could easily be called with the bell system that was installed throughout the mansion, so he wouldn't have to worry about feeding or changing her. After all, how hard could it really be since all she did was sleep and eat?

Rubbing his eyes, Blood relaxed back in his desk chair. After some of Elizabeth's stuff had been placed in his room, he granted the nurse access to tend to Elizabeth for the rest of the evening. During that time he took care of some paper work that seemed to pile up, like it always did. Holding back a yawn and trying to look as composed and awake as he could, Blood pushed his chair back and stood up. He was ready to retire for the night.

Dismissing the nurse took longer than he thought. Unlike most workers that quickly scurry away, she kept on about instructions. Where the diaper supplies was- he had no intentions on touching a diaper. Where the bottles of breast milk was and how much she should eat- she just ate so he shouldn't have to bother with those. Sleeping rotation so her head doesn't indent- He didn't even know that was possible. Then there seemed to be countless other things that he impatiently listened to. The sound of the door closing behind the nurse was like a trigger to his mind and body that he could finally be done for the day. Unbuttoning his jacket, Blood let it fall to the floor in a very unkempt manner.

Finally letting out a large yawn that brought tears to the corners of his eyes, he plopped himself down on his red silk bedding that welcomed him like a hug. And like he always did, he shut his eyes and quickly fell into the dark pit that was the start of a dreamless night.

...ahhh

w...ahhh...

'Hm?..What's that?'

Lifting his brows and yawning, Blood tried to focus in on the peculiar sound. His mind and body quickly started to fall back asleep until he had remembered his infant guest. Quickly sitting up, the tick-tock of his clock in his chest seemed to move harder. Running his hand over his face and up through his hair, he combed through the front of his hair with his fingers. With long and quick strides, and slightly in a daze, Blood made his way to Elizabeth's cradle to see her wide mouthed and red faced just like she was the day she arrived. He wanted to ring for an attendant to come tend to her so, but the streams of tears and the red blotching of her skin told him they wouldn't get here fast enough, and that she had already been crying for quite sometime.

"Hmph.." Reaching down, he could feel himself swallow the ball of nerves that had built up in him. Carefully cradling her head and bringing her into his arm, she fit perfectly onto his one forearm. "Okay, now stop your crying."

But the high pitched, throat curdling cry didn't stop.

Grimacing, he stared down at her little body that was radiating an intense heat (and sound). 'What the hell did she say to do?..' Trying to think over the crying, Blood recalled everything that he was told. It had been a long time since he had felt this flustered. Eyes roaming around the room he stared at phone that could easily summon the nurse back. But, Blood had far too much pride for that. Pushing his gaze further, he saw the bottles of milk that were chilling.

Making his way over, Blood's arm naturally started to rock slightly, bouncing Elizabeth- but yet she continued to cry. Grabbing a bottle, he wiped off the cold ice water that dripped from the outside of the bottle on his pants. Quickly he put the orange coloured nipple in Elizabeth's mouth and he could see small drops slowly drip into her mouth. Closing her mouth and ceasing her crying, Blood could feel his shoulders relax, and the tick tock of his clock didn't seem as intense.

But then, Elizabeth pulled her head away, tearing the bottle from her mouth and resumed the same cry as before.

"What?" Furrowing his brows, he pulled the bottle away. "Why won't you eat this!? Isn't this what you want?!" Setting the bottle back down, he closed his fist. His cold fingers got no relief against the cold of the palm of his hand. '..Cold..' Sighing with complete and utter frustration, Blood finally picked up his phone and was instantly connected to his staff. "Boiling water, now." And he hung up. He paced around the room, gently bouncing Elizabeth in one arm, he felt like if he stopped his mind and clock would explode- his patience was on a very thin line.

The cry, boiled his blood. It made him angry, frustrated, and confused all at once. How could such a little body make such a sound? How long had she been crying for that brought her to this point? Why hadn't he woken up earlier? And where the hell was that hot water?

The door to his room opened, and normally he would have been angry at the fact they walked in without his permission but he was relieved to see the bright silver kettle with steam rising out from the spout behind wheeled in on a cart.

Bowing the two attendants, stood at the side.

"Which size cup will you need, Sir?"

"Tea? Coffee"

"Out of my way.." Planting his feet beside the cart, Blood pulled off the top of the kettle and quickly dipped the chilled bottle inside. He held it at the top just below the nipple. The steam and water radiated his hand and fingers- hopefully it wouldn't take long for the milk inside to become warm. He narrowed his eyes and scowled at the bottle and silver kettle. He paid no mind to the two attendants that were unsure on what to do, and were clearly bothered by the continuous crying of the baby- but both were too scared to offer their help. "How long will it take this thing to get warm?"

Although it seemed like he was talking to himself, the attendants cleared their throats.

"Swirl it around in the water, to stir the milk on the inside."

"And try it on your wrist to see how warm it is. You want it luk warm, Sir."

"-And pray tell, how the hell am I supposed to do that?" The frustration on his face was clear, and the fact he was asking for help only added to that. How come these two faceless, new something he didn't? How come he didn't know?

"-If you don't mind, Sir." One nurse slowly took the bottle in her own hand as Blood released his grip. The nurse gently swirled the bottle in the water before she took it out and wiped the hot water off on a soft white towel before turning the bottle upside down and letting a few drops fall onto her wrist. With a slight smile, she handed the bottle back to Blood. "It's perfect."

Taking the bottle from the attendant, he didn't have to dismiss them as they left quietly on their own, leaving behind the steaming water. Finally, he tried the bottle once again, the milk slowly dripped on Elizabeth's tongue and he watched, hopeful, that she would take it. Clicking her tongue against the bottle, she closed her mouth around it and blinked the tears away from her eyes.

Her tiny glossed eyes stared up at him as he sighed a sigh of relief. Sitting down on the rocking chair, he let his arms and Elizabeth rest more on his legs and arm rest. How long had all that taken? He was unsure, but it felt like an eternity. 'Never again...' Letting out another sigh, he looked down at Elizabeth whose eyes had finally closed again. Slowly, pushing with his foot, he began to rock the chair, as well as himself and Elizabeth. Slowly, Elizabeth fell asleep, turning her head away from the bottle without Blood realizing, because he himself had already fallen asleep.

Without so much of a creak of the door, purple eyes looked into the silent room. They stared at the elegant Blood Dupre, asleep on a rocking chair, with his hair a mess and mouth hung open, and then they looked at the small bundle that was nestled in his arm. Once their curiosity was filled, they quietly closed the door and walked back down the hall way to their own room- still playing with the texture of the delicate handkerchief in his hand.

"Chicky Rabbit?"

"More like, Snoopy Rabbit."

The twins looked at Elliot with tired heavy eyes as they stood with their door open. Dee was rubbing his eyes and Dum let out a yawn that allowed Elliot to see to the back of his throat. Just like their daily uniforms, their outfits were near identical. They each wore a two piece black silk pajama set, but Dum's had red pink stripes, and Dee's had blue stripes.

Stopping mid step, Elliot turned around, red in the face. "I am not a Rabbit!"

"Oh?" Dee smirked at Dum and then back at Elliot.

"But you were snooping, then?" With a chortle, Dum raised one eye brow at the large orange haired man.

"I wasn't snooping, I was just-"

"Peeking." Said Dum.

"Stalking." Dee chimed in, as always.

"Ugh-" Placing one hand on each of their foreheads, Elliot pushed the twins back into their rooms. "GO BACK TO SLEEP YOU TROUBLESOME TWINS!" Letting go of their heads, Elliot grabbed the door knob and closed the door before he could hear their complaints and "insults". Mumbling to himself, Elliot put his hands back in his pockets and continued down the last stretch to his room. "I wasn't snooping..I was just.." Clenching his fists, he wasn't even sure what he was doing. He had been in his room and he heard the crying, long before Blood seemed too. He had been standing outside of his doors for only god knows how long until he heard the service cart being wheeled his way- so he hid. He hid before he even realized what he was doing, but he knew Blood was a prideful man, and having his presence there wouldn't have helped anything. And if he had gone in, what could he do? He didn't know anything about babies, nor did he want to deal with them. But...he found himself growing curiouser and curiouser. Opening his door, Elliot finally dared to pull out the handkerchief, and he pressed it to his nose, and took in a long drawn out inhale. And all his curiosity and interest came from this little piece of yellow cotton.

The sound of battle, or rather, pointless confrontation caught his attention as he was enjoying a stroll through the back of his estate. The sound of gun fire and the distinct "shling" of a sword being drawn lured him in further.

"Wait..will this continue until someone is injured?"

Smirking to himself, he was happy and surprised at her presence-this time she had come to him, even if it was with someone else. Walking closer, he could see her barely peeking out from behind a tree which stopped a stray bullet.

"Ah, troubling the young lady again?"

Elliot, Ace, and even Alice turned their attention to his presence as he brought his cane up to catch the top end in his opposite hand. "I will not allow this to continue on my property."

Surprisingly enough, Ace backed off like nothing had ever occured and Elliot seemed frazzled, like he often acted around him. He tried to defend his actions, but Blood had clearly said last time that nothing was to transpire in her presence. Looking off to the tree in which she still seemed to be clutching, he guided himself in her direction, offering a hand.

"Now, young lady, my apologies for putting you in danger once again. I promise it will never happen again." Remaining as sauve as his reputation said, he kept his words, cool, calm, and elegant. Even in front of her. In front of her large blue eyes, and almost trembling hands, he remained just so. But yet, she hadn't reached for his hand yet. "Please believe me."

She seemed to swallow a slight ball in her throat before removing her delicate hand from the rough bark of the tree and then placing it on his white gloved hand.

With a startle, Blood suddenly woke up. Elizabeth was squirming and seemed to be making to early sounds of discontent. Shifting himself back up, he held her tighter all while glancing at the time. It had been 5 hours- to which he was grateful. But, a warm dampness started to chill on his lap where Elizabeth had just been laying.

With a long, exhausted sigh, Blood ran his hand down his face before continuing in a daze to complete his new "parental" duties.

"But why does little sister have to go?"

"You haven't even let us play with her yet!"

Dee and Dum pouted as Blood was still keeping Elizabeth to himself. For the entirety of the week Blood had become her sole care taker- no longer needing or asking for help from any of the servants. His mafia work had suffered because of it, but that would be a minor inconvenience he intended to deal with during Elizabeth's absence. It wasn't as bad as Blood initially thought, the first night was by far the worst, after his 5 hour sleep, he couldn't seem to calm his mind. His dream, or rather his memory scratched at him the entire time which resulted in restlessness. When he did manage to fall asleep he woke up to the sound of Elizabeth's suckling, but she wasn't with him which made him jump up to his mind had a chance to fully awaken. The wet nurse had appeared again, and had continued on her duties. Blood gladly took the opportunity to have a shower, and then he attempted to sit at his desk to go over paper work, but he found himself glancing at Elizabeth time and time again. Juding the wet nurse for the way she held her, the way she would put Elizabeth in the cradle even though she was fully awake- it bothered him. So he was quick to change the terms of her employment; as of that moment, she was simply to supply full bottles for Elizabeht, and Blood himself would be tending to her. After all, if you want something done right, you do it yourself.

"Neither of you are delicate enough for her."

Adjusting her in his arms, she had already grown heavier, and it was difficult to hold her in just one arm now because of how much she seemed to move. Her eyes were more alert, and over all, she seemed more aware of everything around her. "You lot, load her luggage." Setting one foot on the step of the carriage, Blood's weight made it shift down as he stepped into its lavish interior with Elizabeth still nestled against him. Sitting down with the door closed, Blood stared out the window as opposed to the blue eyes that seemed all so curious of him. He was relieved that he would no long have to get up in the middle of the night for feedings, that his work and tea times would no longer be interrupted, but at the same time it was hard to believe that his 240 hours were almost up.

The carriage rocked and bobbed as trunks were loaded and strapped to the back, and with a slight "hit" to his chest, Blood finally looked down to the blue eyes.

Her tiny hands were clutched in fists, working their way around in various movements- not in a fit, or a cry, but just because she could move them.

"-Everything is ready."

With the light shining in, Elliot had poked his head in the door, interrupting whatever moment or thoughts Blood was caught up in.

"Very well, let's get going then. We mustn't make Vivaldi wait."

With a nod of his head, Elliot stepped out, closing the door and made his way to the front to sit next to the "driver". Discontent voices of the twins could be heard as they wanted to come with but they had their jobs to attend too- and mostly they wanted to say goodbye to Elizabeth. But miraculously Blood managed to keep them away from her during her stay, and there was no saying what they might attempt. With a sigh, Blood's body waved with the sudden movement of the carriage. Letting his arm relax, he let his leg bare most of the weight of Elizabeth. Closing his eyes, he could feel his body start to relax, the small bumps of the road, the turns, everything seemed to be soothing him. He badly wanted to sleep, but he needed to keep himself collected. It had definitely taken a lot out of him, but he would never let himself show it. The feedings, changings, baths, how she seemed to sleep when he was awake and she was awake when he wanted to sleep; Vivaldi definitely had her work cut out for her.

"Blood-"

"-ood?"

"-Blood?"

"Hn?" Pulling his eyes away from Elizabeth that he seemed to have "zoned out" on, Elliot was once again standing with the carriage door open.

"We're here, at Hearts Castle." Curiously arching his brows, Elliot had been standing there for quite sometime, it was only until he realized that he himself was staring at the two of them that he decided to call out to Blood. Blood wasn't acting like himself, and Elliot didn't like that, not one bit. Having Elizabeth gone would be a good thing, for all of them.

"Her carriage." Elliot stepped to the side as Blood stepped out and waited for Elizabeth's baby carriage to be unloaded and wheeled to him. Slowly setting her in, Blood took hold of the single handle and pushed her towards her new home and caretakers, at least for the next 240 hours. "Elliot, watch as they unload her luggage and if anyting breaks, be sure to deal with it."

"Of course, Blood." Stepping to the back of the carriage where everything was loaded, there was already 4 faceless cards unloading the plethora of things. With his hands on his hips, Elliot started barking at them for being too rough.

"You're on time for once, Dupre." With a smirk, Vivaldi stood in front of her grand doors, obviously eager for her turn with the outsider. Peter was standing back, with his hands behind his back and the same stern look on his face as always.

"Of course, this is business after all."

Looking at Blood, Vivaldi was told all the things that Blood himself would never say out loud. Although to almost everyone else, Blood looked the same but she knew him better. The slight darkness under his eyes, the way his brows sat with less confidence, less energy, and even the way he stood was different. He was exhausted.

"Well, hand her over. You're no longer needed here." It seemed harsh, but it was her way of telling him to get some rest. Picking up the hem of her large dress, she made her way to Blood and the carriage. Her ears were the first to be greeted with loving cooing. Looking down into the carriage, Vivaldi's brows furrowed slightly. "Is this the same baby?"

"What are you suggesting? Of course this is the same baby."

Looking down, there were very noticeable differences from how she was when she was first found to now. Everything about her was bigger, her cheeks, eyes, length, her hair seemed longer with a slight curl, and her eyes. Her eyes were large, blue and full of life. 'Babies don't usually age this fast, do they?'. It had been so long since she had seen or dealt with an infant she couldn't remember but who was she to say otherwise? "Hm, well, we'll take things from here."

Reaching over, Vivaldi went for the handle of the carriage but Blood didn't loosen his grip.

"I've brought the essentials for her." His eyes firmly looked into Vivaldi's for a moment before he looked down at Elizabeth. Releasing his grip on the carriage, he turned around on his heel and adjusted his hat. "We'll discuss more later." He spoke with a soft voice, so that Vivaldi was barely able to hear it, but she knew what it meant. But this time it wasn't an invitation for a chit chat, he was telling her to meet him in the rose garden.

"Peter, bring her in for me. We'll bring her to her room for now."

Blood's footsteps echoed through his mind, his feet felt like they weighed a tonne, but he still managed to move as swiftly and elegantly as ever. Her blue eyes were still vivid in his mind as they were when he was looking down at them. With the creaking of the carriage under his feet, he looked back over his shoulder for just a moment to where he left her before he closed the carriage door behind him. "Only 480 hours."