Summary: This story takes place around episode 70ish when the bounts are after ishida, after the fight with the water dolls when he wanders away someone else gets to him before Yoshiro.

It's been a long time guys, big fan of Bleach nowadays...but tired of all the marysues and, even though i love it, the yaoi too...so i've written another one...

DISCLAIMER: don't own bleach

CLAIMER: Ren's mine

CHAPTER 1: The Attack

Ishida could barely see, his feet were numb and his body felt so heavy. Still he had to get away from his friends so the Bounts would stop pursuing them. He hadn't the slightest clue where he was going, but that didn't matter he couldn't watch his friends be killed for him, the Quincy still had some pride left in him even in this battered condition. He shivered and found himself agonizingly cold, his head began spinning and his knees buckled underneath him. He felt himself slowly losing grip on reality and his eyes fluttered,' I can't go out like this,' he thought,' is that all there is left for me? To die alone in the street?'

He heard the footsteps before he heard the voice," Freida," the Bount let his snake slide off his shoulder," Seems we've found an unattended Quincy," Ishida's skin crawled as the snake coiled next to him and hissed," Seems he's almost dead now," it said.

"No matter, we can use a half dead Quincy," the Bount rolled Ishida over with his foot," then he won't struggle," Ishida coughed as he felt his chest grow tight. He sat up with great effort and then got to his knees, his head reeling and his balance threatening to return him to meet the pavement again," Do what you will, but leave my friends out of this," his voice sounded weak even to him, he wasn't surprised when the Bount chuckled and the snake bared her fangs in his face.

"Oh, you're serious aren't you?" he pushed his hair back from his face," you intend to fight me and disregard your injuries do you? Well let's see how far you get, Quincy!" with lightning speed he rushed forward and landed a kick directly to Ishida's jaw, Ishida's head smacked the ground disorienting him. Freida coiled herself around his body slowly working him back into a sitting position,' wasn't she smaller a few minutes ago?' Ishida wondered as his vision began blurring, the sharp searing pain of Freida's bite brought him as close to reality as he could get,' I'm going to die here,' Ishida panicked,' He's going to kill me, but my friends will be safe. I don't' want to die, but if it's for them I…' his thoughts were interrupted as another volt of pain surged up his body, Freida's fangs sank into his leg and were instantly everywhere. Puncturing his fair skin and leaving gashes all over him, suddenly the snake let go and the Bount's screams of pain mingled with his own. He hit the ground again and his body convulsed violently, a hand held him down firmly," Lay still, I'm here to help you."

"you shouldn't…." Ishida coughed blood," He'll kill…"

"He's running away, you're safe for now," her voice was smooth and gentle," lay still," the pain in his shoulder suddenly flared up and burned intensely, Ishida felt himself convulsing again. Her voice faded and then…darkness.

Ishida woke suddenly and tried to sit up, the result was sheer agony as his muscles flexed, the woman turned to face him with a worried expression on her face. Ishida tried moving his arm to push his hair out of his eyes and found he could not,' Has she strapped me to this table?' he wondered.

"Hello there, stranger," the woman brushed the annoying lock of hair out of his eyes," you've taken quite a beating," Ishida's vision began clearing slowly," My name is Ren Ishikawa," Ishida tried to take in his surroundings but all he could see was Ren and the ceiling. A flash caught his eye and he turned his head, surprised he could even move it, he panicked as he recognized the object. She had a scalpel in hand and was nearing his wounds! He strained against his bonds and only succeeded in sending shockwaves of pain through his being, his chest got tight and he almost blacked out, she steadied him," What's your name?"

'How can she be so calm and appear so gentle with a knife in her hand?' his vision blurred again and he shivered,' Should I tell her?' the room spun and something trickled into his right eye. Fear shot through him as Ren leaned over him, she patted his eye with a wet cloth and left it there. She turned away from him for a moment and Ishida tried desperately to catch his breath,' I may have been better off with the Bount,' his train of thought disrupted as Ren came into his vision again, she reached for a table on the other side of him. Ishida was becoming more frightened by the second,' I can't see with this cloth over my face. Dear god she's going to kill me,' cold fear flooded down his body in waves.

"What's your name, Quincy?" she moved the cloth off of his left eye so he could see her.

"I-Ishida," he stuttered.

"Well, Ishida," he felt a light pressure on his forehead," I'm not here to hurt you, so how about you hold still and I'll clean you up?" Ishida's fear subsided for a split second and was replaced with small sharp pinpricks across the gash above his eye,' Blood,' he realized,' that's what ran into my eye,' the cloth was moved away from his other eye, he could see her clearly now. Black hair with purple highlights, and violet eyes to match, she cut the string she'd used to stitch his forehead and rinsed the cloth out. She used it to gently wash away the blood from his eye, then on his lips and cheek where the Bount had kicked him," Try and relax."

"My…chest…" Ishida turned his head away from her and coughed onto the pillow, the taste of blood filled his mouth," I…c-can't…mo-move," it was growing increasingly difficult to breath harder still to speak.

"I had restrained you so you wouldn't fall off of the table from the convulsions," she leaned in, dabbing the blood from his lips," but since you're awake and not fighting me, I can take those off now, can't I?" Ishida's breathing was shallow, but he nodded," If you try to escape, you'll only bleed to death," she unfastened his right arm," don't say I didn't warn you," he flexed his fingers and tested his wrist's limit. His chest lightened a bit as the restraint came off," Now that you're conscious and aware I'm going to have a look at that shoulder," Ishida's body was almost numb with pain, as if to remind him he was still seriously injured his shoulder throbbed defiantly. His eyes widened as the scalpel glimmered in the light, she lifted the collar of the hospital's pajamas and he jumped as the metal touched his skin. Ren cut the fabric away towards to wound until half his chest was bare. Unbuttoning it the rest of the way where it wasn't torn or cut she raised him a bit and slid the flimsy fabric from beneath him. He shivered as the air touched his bare skin, now naked from the waist up he felt like he was freezing," You're bleeding badly, I've got to stop it," again panic hit him as the elastic on the waist of his pants snapped, she slid them down his legs and Ishida flushed with shame. No one had seen him like this, not even his close friends or girlfriends, and this total stranger had stripped him in minutes. Ren placed a drape over him for privacy, and surveyed the damage," I'll start with the ones that are bleeding the worst," it seemed she was talking more to herself than to him,' I still feel embarrassed, I mustn't be that bad off,' his mind was changed as pain washed over him as she began cleaning a bite mark on his right calf. He winced and ground his teeth, when she got to the second one on his left thigh he lost it and shuddered, not caring that the drape across his groin fell onto the floor as he instinctively rolled onto his side away from her," Ishida!" Ren grabbed his arm, careful to avoid his shoulder and pinned him down," If you can't hold still I'll need to restrain you again, if I don't' stop this bleeding you're going to die," she reapplied the cloth to his leg and he felt like he was on fire. His body convulsed and once again he struggled against her, this time managing to fall off of the table. She barely caught him in her arms and lay him back down, the restraints clicked in place and panic rose in Ishida again," I'm sorry," his muscles screamed as he fought the restraints, the sharp pain returned and climbed up to his stomach. The burning sensation didn't cease for long and soon another replaced the first, this time on his side under his ribs, his back arched and a scream tore its way out of his throat. As she rinsed the blood from the cloth he tried to catch his breath and brace for the next jolt of pain. She cleaned a few of the lesser cuts along his legs and hips before pulling a stool next to his shoulder,' Oh no, not this one,' Ishida's mind raced,' it's deep,' his pulse pounded in his ears and he whimpered softly. She wrung out a fresh cloth and Ishida almost begged her to stop, when she dripped warm liquid into the open wound. Ishida didn't bother biting his cries back this time, finally she was finished and he lay in the aftermath of the agony," I'm finished with the worst of it," she put a warm hand on his cheek.

"I-I'm f-freezing," tremors ran down Ishida's body, it felt almost numb which should have been a relief from the pain coursing through him but somehow made it worse.

"you're burning with fever, Ishida, let's get you to bed," he felt the pressure of the restraints being lifted, then her arms slid under his back and legs. She carried him into a plain room, which looked strangely familiar, and lay him on a soft bed. Only then did he remember he was still naked and blood rushed to his cheeks once more, she turned to a closet and held up some blue hospital scrubs," It's all I have for now," she lay it on the bed and pulled her tray next to them," I'm going to dress those injuries, but it won't be nearly as bad as before, so you can relax now," Ishida was still shivering as she wrapped the gashes on his legs in gauze, she covered him as she finished to try and keep him warm. Dressing him proved to be a bit more difficult than previously thought as she tried to avoid his wounds, once finished , she ran her fingers through his hair moving it out of the way to get to his forehead and cradled him in her arm while she bandaged it," How do you feel now?"

"C-cold," Ishida's body still ached and his head was still fuzzy," hard t-to brea…" his voice trailed off.

"This should help you," she took his arm and put an IV needle under his skin, with all the other pains he didn't even feel it," I'm giving you fluids so you won't dehydrate, and this," she pulled the cap off of a syringe and checked the dosage," is to relax you so you can rest. Are you hun…" her sentence was interrupted as a loud crash echoed through the house.

"URYU!?" Ishida recognized Ichigo's voice.

"Stay here, if it's a Bount I'll kill him," Ren put the syringe back on the tray.

"No," Ishida grabbed her sleeve," I know h-him."

"He's a friend of yours?" Ren looked surprised," Very well, I'm sure he's worried. I'll invite him in, you rest a bit."

Ren walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, leaving Ishida alone, an orange haired boy burst into her living room as she opened the door," Where's is Uryu?!" he demanded.

"If you mean Ishida, he's in my recovery room, and if you want him to stay safe and live you'd better stop yelling and get in here," she looked past him and saw others," all of you," she locked the door behind them as they filed in.

"What in the hell have you done to him?" a red haired man asked horrified at the bloody clothes and surgery tools on the operating table.

"He was attacked by a Bount," Ren answered," My name is Ren, I'm a local doctor who's been hunting the Bounts and my search lead me here. Now I've explained myself and given you my name."

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, this is Abarai Renji, Rukia Kuchki, Orihime Inoue, and Sado or Chad. We're friends of Ishida Uryu, where is he?"

"He's in one of my infirmary rooms, how did you know he was here?" Ren looked puzzled.

"We tracked his spirit ribbon," Ichigo replied," that doesn't matter right now, can we see him?"

"You seem very worried, as you have right to be," Ren leaned against the wall," don't stress him, I just got him to calm down. Follow me," she lead them down the hallway to Ishida's room.

Ishida was drenched in sweat but shivering,' Was that a dream or Ichigo?' he wondered, his body reminded him of his wounds as a wave of agony rushed over him. The door creaked open and in came Ren, followed by all of his friends. He breathed a sigh of relief that they weren't hurt, and coughed as his chest tightened. Orihime rushed to his bedside and put a hand on his shoulder," Uryu, I'm so glad you're all right?" but the Quincy barely heard her, when she put her hand on his bandaged shoulder he almost passed out again. His vision swam and he became lightheaded, just when he thought he might faint, Ren excused Orihime and sat beside him. The syringe of sedatives in hand," Hold still Ishida," she said softly," this won't hurt at all, it will help you sleep," she was right, Ishida couldn't feel the needle enter his arm.

"What are you giving him?" Ichigo looked nervous.

"Calm down, Ichigo, if I'd wanted to kill him I could have done so already," Ren ruffled Ishida's hair and threw the syringe away in a sharps container on the wall," I'm here to help him, now let him rest. He's been through a lot tonight."

Ren poured coffee for her new guests and sat at the table with her own mug," When I found Ishida he was being attacked by a Bount," she explained," I had one flash bomb left on me, so I used it. I don't know why he ran away but I'm glad that he did, in all honesty he probably could have killed us both easily."

"Thank you for caring for Uryu," Orihime smiled sweetly," He's going to be all right now," it was more a question than a statement.

"He's lost a great amount of blood, and has bites from the Bount's snake all over him," Ren dropped another sugar cube into her coffee," I cleaned and dressed his wounds, but I'm worried."

"Why?" Renji finished his coffee and put his cup in the sink," Orihime can heal wounds."

"Really? Well she can try," Ren got up and put her mug in the sink with Renji's.

Ishida's body felt heavy again,' Sedative must be working,' he tested his arm and propped up on an elbow, tingling aches ran down his spine as he struggled to sit up,' I wonder if that door leads to a bathroom,' he gingerly moved his legs to the edge of the bed. He was still feeling slightly better, still cold and still very sore, but better never the less. He held onto the nightstand as his feet touched the floor, his vision blurred and he tried to keep his balance. The door creaked open, surprised Ishida felt his knees get weak," Ishida! What are you doing?" Ren caught him as he collapsed," Do you want to die?"

Ishida winced as she lay him back on the bed," W-water," his voice was barely a whisper. Ren nodded and grabbed a cup from the bathroom, Ishida noticed Ichigo and the others file in the room. Ishida stared at the ceiling,' This isn't like me, I don't complain,' he thought clenching his fist,' Damn it, I don't want them seeing me like this, beaten up, broken, lying in some bed covered in bandages, barely able to move let alone stand,' Ren returned with a cup of water and a straw, sitting by Ishida she cradled his head in her arms and put the straw to his lips. The cool water soothed his throat and he drank greedily, when he finished Ren laid his head back on the pillows. As he focused on moving on his side his right arm gave out beneath him, he fell onto his stomach and chest coughing. Instantly he tasted blood,' Not now,' he almost groaned aloud,' I don't' want them seeing this,' he and felt nausea sweep over him in a cool rush and swallowed it down.

"Ishida-kun!" Orihime screamed," Ren-san he's coughing blood!"

Orihime put her fingers to her temples and called on her powers, as the shield took form over Ishida's body steam rose from the bandages covering the bites, as it passed over his legs he winced and struggled to remain still. Orihime began channeling her full power towards his chest and shoulder," I reject!" she said almost triumphantly, upon these words Ishida convulsed, Ichigo and Renji held his arms but to no avail. Screams tore freely from Ishida's throat even after Orihime had taken down her shield," Why isn't it working?!" she shouted above him and crumpled to the floor. Ishida's body was on fire, he turned and coughed violently, blood spilling past his pale lips.

"Ishida! Can you hear me?," he barely nodded and his breathing slowed almost to normal as Ren steadied his shoulders and wiped his mouth with a cloth from the nightstand," it's all right, you just need rest," she leaned in to position him comfortably," I understand you don't want your friends in here while you're hurting," she whispered," so relax and close your eyes."

"Is he okay?" Renji began looking worried as well.

"He's been stressed and needs some rest," Ren recovered Ishida's chest," he passed out from exhaustion, there are some other rooms if you want to spend the night here. I don't' want to risk moving Ishida and the Bounts finding him," Ren ushered them out of the room," I have this house under a barrier, it hides the spiritual pressure of all inside so you needn't worry that we'll be found here."

"But it didn't work…" Orihime was still kneeling on the floor.

"I'll find out why," Ren assured her.

"Maybe his injuries are too great for your power," Rukia pointed out.

"He's fine now," Ren covered the Quincy," let him sleep, and you all should do the same," Orihime nodded dejectedly and followed the others out of the room.

Ichigo settled on the couch outside of Ishida's room with Renji on the sleeper sofa across from him, the girls took the back bedroom and Chad had fallen asleep in the recliner. Once she was sure they were asleep, or at least comfortable, Ren returned to Ishida's room," I'm back Ishida," she ran her fingers through his soft hair," Good night."

"R-Ren…" Ishida's voice was still barely a whisper.

"Yes?" Ren turned on the lamp above Ishida's bed," What is it?"

"Could you…" Ishida cleared his throat," help me?" he licked his lips,' This is going to be embarrassing,' he could already feel heat rising to his cheeks.

"With what? Are you hurting still?"

"Yes, but," Ishida decided to just say it," I have to go to the bathroom," he blurted out ashamed he had to have assistance.

"Oh, right," Ren helped him sit up.

"Last time I tried to get out of bed I got lightheaded and almost passed out," Ishida fumbled for his words," I don't want to…"

"I understand, Ishida," Ren picked him up and carried him into the bathroom," can you stand?"

"I can try, but…" Ishida thought he would die, telling a beautiful woman he needed help to get his pants off. Usually guys were a bit more smooth with timing this sort of thing.

"Don't be embarrassed," Ren giggled at the red-faced Quincy," the pride of the Quincy," she set his feet on the floor and put his uninjured arm over her shoulder. Being cautious not to look at his nakedness and spare him the extra humiliation, she slid his bottoms down and helped him to sit," I'll be back when you flush," she said as she closed the door.

Ishida took the moment alone to examine his wounds a bit more closely, there was gauze and tape all over him,' I must look terrible,' he thought and almost snorted,' even when injured I'm still vain,' he brushed his fingers through his hair and leaned to flush.

"You decent?" Ren giggled, as she came back in,' At least she has a sense of humor, somewhat anyways,' Ishida glanced in the mirror as she helped him with his pants,' I look worse than I thought,' he moped.

"Okay, it's been a few hours," Ren sat him on the bed," how are you feeling? Still in pain?"

"Just shaken," Ishida lay back and closed his eyes.

"Go on to sleep," Ren pulled the covers up to his chin and curled up on the loveseat on the other side of the bed.

Hope you enjoyed this, I haven't uploaded anything for a long time. Sexy_Angel_16 was my old screen name when i was in high school, unfortunately I cannot get back into my email account so I can't post on it.