Author's Note: Thank you all for the flattering comments and for those who added this story into Favorites/Story Alert. I was really nervous about posting this onto the site, but because everyone gave such encouraging reviews I couldn't help not to continue this plot line. My mind has been officially made up and I will try my best to update as often as I can when available. Please read, review - and most importantly - enjoy!
Suggestion: Listen to "A Drop In The Ocean" by Ron Pope and/or "Fix You" by Coldplay
Disclaimer: All characters belong respectively to Tite Kubo, the creator of Bleach.
Chapter 2 - Listen and Be Brave
He burst through the emergency doors in a flustered rush. Ichigo's strained heart couldn't beat any faster in the haste; he needed to be with his injured wife. Ishida had stalled him long enough from only moments before; however, in his anger over the matter, the Substitute Soul Reaper was slightly grateful to the skilled doctor. At least, Ichigo was prepared as to what he was exactly walking into. He sensed Orihime would be resting, or maybe even waiting for his arrival. It would be easier on him if she were asleep so he could gather what he would say to her once it came time to discuss the passing of the baby.
Either way, he knew his job as a husband was thoroughly being assessed. Even when Orihime and he were dating, they had dealt with struggles of their own once before. Although, this new hardship that now carried itself heavily on his shoulders alone, was really making Ichigo question the importance of life and death. He never dreamt of this reality, never thought it would happen to him. Yes, he's lost friends in raging wars and battles in the Soul Society and he missed the friendships he used to have with them. Yet, this occurrence was different. It was his wife, the center of his universe, and he knew this could make her stronger or break her mental stability piece by piece. It would be hard, to say the least. He first needed to get the information off his chest before he could properly judge. He hated not knowing what her reaction would form out to be. Ichigo only wished they could start over; go back to the day Orihime first found out about the pregnancy. It was a memorable moment and a place in time where Ichigo felt truly elated.
Maybe if he closed his eyes and shut his ears off from the outside, he'd be able to think straight! His head felt like it would explode any second from the intense thoughts he was having. An emerging headache - no, that didn't seem entirely accurate. The headache that he assumed would rise had already been present, his mind just detaching from the pain for a brief second. Now, he found himself completely swarmed in confusion.
He had walked farther than he had meant to down the hallway. How could he not have noticed the nurse's station? Ichigo kneaded the back of his neck with an aggravating sigh. He really needed to remain focused at the task at hand - locating Orihime. He turned his back on the dimly lit corridor and retraced his footsteps back to a crossroad in the hospital. When faced with no general direction on where to go, Ichigo was beginning to hallucinate. The entire building was six floors. If he started from the bottom and worked his way up, he'd be making his wife wait even longer if she were awake and anticipating. He began to rotate his body to the side.
Let's try the next hallway, sincerely giving into the thought of not asking for directions.
However, when his feet moved a centimeter forward - blind to his eye and haziness - he collided into a young woman in a pink uniform. She fell harshly onto the cold floor, the files she was carrying strewn across the middle of where Ichigo stood. At first, the married man wasn't sure what had happened. He had heard a short-lived scream and a smack on a hard surface. Being how the he was in a hospital, he assumed it might have been a patient refusing treatment in a nearby room. Although, when his eyes snapped back to reality once again, they were drawn to the helpless person on the floor. Immediately, he wiped his sweaty hands on the material of his pants, muttering an apology as he helped the woman to her feet. After she collected herself, Ichigo bent down to pick up the files he had forced her to drop because of his own stupidity. Rising, the Substitute Soul Reaper handed the paperwork to her and finally connected gazes with her.
She was a nurse - a very young one to say the least - who looked as if she had just graduated from college. He felt so mortified. Here he was, too busy wrapped in his own thoughts, and he hurt an innocent bystander!
"I'm so sorry, I was just -," he was cut off from finishing his sentence.
"Looking for someone?" she tilted her head at a small angle, offering a warm smile.
Ichigo, a bit flustered from her consoling gesture, managed a nod of the head. The nurse readjusted her tired arms from dropping the files and took a step towards Ichigo to examine him. The man's face was painted a pink tinge, as he could smell the woman's perfume at the closing distance between them.
"Do I know you?" Ichigo gulped with hesitation.
The young woman moved back and gave an uncomfortable laugh. She pushed her thick and long, black hair away from her face and pushed a smile once more onto her lips.
"No, but I may know you. Are you close friends with Ishida-sama?"
Immediately, a response was spat from his hateful mouth, "Hell, no! We're just acquaintances with common threads."
The nurse bit her bottom lip, trying to refrain from prying into this stranger's business. To ease the awkward tension from the earlier incident, she only wanted to find a simple topic to talk about with the man to stray away from her tumble. Now, it seemed she might have made it worse.
"Can I ask you a question?" Kurosaki used a softer tone with the frightened newbie.
She pleasantly looked up from her hair, now looking forward to any assistance she could provide for the disoriented man. The woman gave him a hopeful stare.
"I'm looking for my wife's room number. It seems I overlooked it and lost track of where I was going. Would you be able to point me to the nurse's station?" Ichigo's reddened eyes pleaded with her. When she noticed this, the first image that appeared in her head was that of a lost puppy. This man was agonizing over something, and she for one, knew that similar feeling. She had seen it walk through the hospital every day since she's worked there, and nothing torments the heart more than not knowing what may await you in the future.
She perked up at hearing the word wife, and suddenly glanced down at his ring finger. There was indeed a gold band on it. The nurse prayed nothing tragic had happened to his beloved spouse. "Sure, it's right down the end of this hallway," she directed her finger past Ichigo's shoulder. He whirled his body away from the nurse and stared at the seemingly plain corridor. Every single one looked about the same - at least now he was one-step closer to Orihime than he was before. Turning back to the woman, he politely bowed and thanked her for her hospitality.
No further words were exchanged between the nurse and Substitute Soul Reaper, for Ichigo had set back out on his mission in hopes of finding the nurse's station without giving the woman a chance to speak. Thankfully, there wasn't far of a walk he needed to pursue.
Finally, he knew where his wife was! He never imagined trying to find a single room digit would have been that difficult. Nevertheless, it had been and he couldn't have been more thrilled to see Orihime's face. The nurse at the station said her room was on the third floor, the number one hundred sixty-five attached with it.
He had just taken the elevator upstairs; now all that remained was finding the appropriate room. He could sense his heart begin to race at the mere image of Orihime. Ichigo descended further into the faintly lit hallway, studying every number tag that was next to a room. At least now, he felt he was getting closer.
It was at the moment that his feet began to pick up pace as he passed one hundred sixty. There were only six rooms left as he was getting nearer to the end of the corridor. His wife would be resting in one, not knowing he was coming to comfort her and tell her how much he loved her. As he approached, Ichigo's body came to a halt as he arrived at the foot of Orihime's hospital room. The door that led to inside was open and Ichigo could hear the beeping of a machine making a rhythmic noise. The sound always drove him crazy at his own father's clinic. He shook his head side to side, clearing his mind of any useless thoughts. He was going to walk in without much of a mention about the baby. He would keep his composure until she mentioned the topic - which he was positive she would. Kurosaki wouldn't press the matter. After all, he's the one who bears the duty of telling her their child doesn't exist any further.
The exhausted individual placed each foot in front of the other, a heavy aura encompassing around him. As he stepped inside, every ounce of uncertainty he had was brushed away by the smiling face of his wife. Although, the sight of her injuries made his blood boil all over again from earlier. Orihime's left leg was elevated in the air by a sling, the foot peaking out and covered in bandages. Her arm on the same side was wrapped snugly in a pink cast. The issue that bothered Ichigo the most was his wife's actual upper body. The woman's forehead was draped in thick gauge, areas of blood managing to seep through where the deepest cuts had been made. Below her bottom lip, a line of stitches could be seen visible in the corner. He was certain the rest of her body was battered and bruised on top of what he could see on the surface.
"Ichi-kun," Orihime's voice softly called, eyes lighting up at the presence of her husband. The orange-haired man offered her a weak smile before walking over to the bed she rested in comfortably. The Substitute Soul Reaper bent down towards his wife and planted a gentle kiss on the crown of her head. He pulled back swiftly, not wanting to linger too long in case his small touch caused her any amount of pain.
"Is there anything you need?" he questioned her with a sullen gaze. Orihime shook her head. In response, she patted her available hand on the bed and commanded her husband to sit next to her.
Ichigo hesitantly obeyed, pressing his body weight on the edge of the mattress as he took a spot by his beaten wife. At seeing Ichigo's uneasiness of the situation, Orihime giggled. He acted as if she were fragile glass. She was positive he was going to ask questions. He always seemed to know when she needed comforting and at that point, in time, she really was in need of it. The silent man inched his hand over to Orihime's and clasped it warmly in his hold.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" he spoke. Mrs. Kurosaki shifted underneath the bed covers as she propped herself on the pillows. She squeezed her husband's hand to reassure him.
"Not at all, Ichi-kun!" she tried her best to give a heartfelt smile. There was no use in telling him that it did hurt. She knew he wouldn't be able to do much besides be there for moral support. Nevertheless, she wasn't complaining, it was certainly enough! Just to know his presence was close to her made Orihime sink into the big pillow even further. The tired woman could feel sleep encroaching upon her as Ichigo's warm hand still held her own. It had probably been a bad idea staying awake. However, she was well aware that Ichigo wouldn't let her off that easy with just a four-word comment. Ichigo wasn't dumb. He didn't go to college with a full scholarship for being brainless. Much to people's surprise and teasing, her husband had an idea of what he was talking about most of the time.
Ichigo's eyes flashed a glimpse of pain.
"You're lying," he deeply rumbled. She was being absolutely ridiculous! Did Orihime seriously think lying would make her injuries go unnoticed? They were as clear as day and even though it was getting late into the night, his vision wasn't playing tricks on him. All he really wanted from the self-healer was the truth. Her sincere honesty was one of the characteristics he loved about his wife. For a complete stranger, she would give the coat off her back. You could be a murderer with blood covered on your hands and she wouldn't judge.
She had been expecting this. He was in a temperamental mood and she shouldn't have been testing it. Orihime could see the perplexed frown on his forehead, the one she knew that appeared when he was angry. At the moment, she didn't want to fight. It was getting harder to speak. The woman needed to watch what she said in order to compose her husband.
Orihime's voice increased an octal of a note, "I'm sorry, I wish I had been more careful."
She hadn't been exactly sure how her accident had occurred in the first place. Mrs. Kurosaki had been driving home from the OBGYN appointment that had been organized earlier in the day. The scheduled meeting had taken longer than she expected, being how there were more women in the office than usual. It seemed everyone had come to see the doctor on the same day! After being called in a half hour later than her original time, Orihime and her doctor discussed the effects of the pregnancy she had been experiencing. Besides for her occasional morning sickness and diet being changed, everything seemed to be normal. Once that was recorded, the doctor graciously told the soon-to-be mother if she'd like to identify the sex of the baby.
Ichigo remained silent, not knowing what to say after his wife's sudden apology. She shouldn't have apologized. There was nothing in his right mind that she should be sorry for at all. It was the suspected truck driver's entire burden to carry.
"It wasn't your fault, Hime. Don't blame yourself for someone else's recklessness and drunk driving."
His wife's caramel eyes widened from their sleepy state in disbelief. She titled her head slightly, her hair falling carelessly over her face. Her tongue felt numb all of a sudden.
"Is that w-what happened?" she practically choked on the words. Ichigo leaned forward to brush the single strands of hair away from her small frame. However, he didn't retreat to his spot. He focused on Orihime, where tears had started to brim in her eyes. Why did she have barely any recollection of that particular time in space? Why was it missing? She should have seen the car coming. She closed her eyes tightly, shutting out the image of Ichigo. She pictured herself on the road going home. Shortly after, it had started to rain very lightly and enough that she could still see the highway. The twenty-three-year-old was excited to see her husband and for a very special reason. Orihime had just been given information on the gender of the baby, and she simply couldn't contain herself. By then, she was fifteen minutes away from the flat, which meant she was getting closer to her Ichigo. The rain was picking up speed, making it harder for the woman to see the road in front of her. It was at that realization when she heard the sound of a truck's horn. Everything after, was a blur.
Ichigo's voice brought her back to the present, "Ishida was told from the officers that brought you in."
"I'm glad Ishida-kun took care of me so well. I know all my injuries will heal correctly because I was in his hands."
Her husband eased away from her as she said this, a confused twinkle igniting in her eyes as a response.
"Hime, there's something we need to discuss..."
She didn't want to acknowledge the tension she could hear in his voice. Obviously, something had been weighing heavily on his mind. What that "something" exactly may be, she was unsure about and nervous. It could be that he wanted to talk about her condition; that she would have to go to physical therapy for months afterwards everything had been healed. If it wasn't that, she honestly had no clue what had Ichigo looking so lost.
Orihime decided to change the subject, "Oh, I almost forgot! I did manage to go to the OBGYN, and she said she was able to tell the gender of the baby this month. I just couldn't wait for another two weeks, so I -."
Her husband was not able to look at her properly as she talked. There was a sense of fear his eyes would reveal too much, even though now seemed like the appropriate time before Orihime got too ahead of herself. Ichigo dropped his chin and shook his head, "Please, listen to me."
However, the woman continued to speak, ignoring the advice Ichigo was giving to her.
"-told her I wanted to find out today and guess what?"
Now, Ichigo locked gazes with his excited wife, slowly losing the courage to tell her. How could he reveal the death to her now? It seemed nearly impossible.
"What?" He gave her a forced, poised smile.
Orihime's eyes glowed with delight and she let go of her husband's hand, "We're going to have a baby boy, Ichigo! Are you excited?" throwing her arm in the air for added measure.
What could he say to make this entire situation disappear? Absolutely nothing. It was the reality he was finding so hard to face and certainly sensing the regret that was swelling inside of him. Orihime was extremely precious to him, and the thing that he least wanted to do was break her mental and physical state. Damn! She's looking for me to say something, just anything to ease that worried expression of her face!
He managed to find the muscles in his mouth functioning once again, "There's...an issue with me being excited, Orihime."
Mrs. Kurosaki's expression fell flat, although her heart was pounding in her throat. "Why, is it because you should be ecstatic?"
"No, that's not the reason at all."
She couldn't exactly pin point what was going on. Ichigo had been pleasantly surprised to be having a baby when Orihime first told him some time ago. He wanted to do everything for her; make sure she had what she needed, ran out if she wanted a certain dessert, and held her hair back when she was hunched over the toilet. There was nothing to complain about when it came to her husband's care for her, except now maybe there would be. He remained soundless as Orihime took a moment to process the innumerable possibilities.
I can't stand this any longer. Something is wrong.
"Ichi-kun, what is it?"
The gentle giant rose from off the bed and numbly walked over to the door. Quickly and stoned-faced, he closed off the noise from the hallway with it. He guaranteed his wife would need some privacy after what he would say to her. He rejoined back to Orihime's side and took her hand once again. Ichigo opened his mouth, his tongue feeling dry, and began his attempt to tell Orihime the loss of their child.
His eyes fell to the floor the second he started to speak, "In the accident...the impact...was too much..."
A crease on Orihime's forehead grew present. Ichigo's fingers had tightened around her scrawny wrist as he tried to talk to her in a calm voice. However, even in his endeavor to keep his wife relaxed, he could sense it wasn't working. He lifted his eyes from the ground and instead, found affection and comfort in his wife's face. Before he continued on, Orihime interrupted him for a brief moment.
"Can you tell me what's gotten you so upset? I'm alright, Baby-san is alright too!" she reassured.
Just the mention of 'baby-san' put Ichigo into an upheaval. He jumped to his feet, Orihime wincing from the brash action as he shouted, "No, no. THIS IS ALL COMPLETELY WRONG. I should've gone with you to the appointment, none of this would have happened!"
Ichigo's breathing turned ragged as the pressure in his chest pushed down even further. His heart was unbalanced, picking up speed then slowing. Is this what it felt like to have a heart attack? He didn't know - he's never had one - yet it felt like that would be a good enough explanation for his strange breathing pattern. The rain from earlier started to brush against the building again as Orihime and Ichigo were draped in silence.
The pure beauty didn't know where she should start with the questions grinding in her head. What had been 'completely wrong' as her husband had put it? What would have never happened? Ever since she brought up the topic of their baby, Ichigo had been giving her mixed signals on the subject. Her husband had his backside to her, hands in pockets and head dropped. Orihime gathered what little energy she still had and raised her voice to the man she's been in love with for several years.
"Ichigo, please," she whimpered, "I don't understand what's going on."
Then, at his wife's demand, he spoke in the most sincere tone he could muster, "You m-miscarried the baby."
The words immediately sliced Orihime's heart into two. She instantly wanted to deny the truth that had just been revealed to her. How...how could this have happened, she thought to herself. The abused woman was frightened to speak, not wanting to make the situation worse than what would surely become. Orihime never had imagined that the reason for Ichigo acting strangely had been such a deadly outcome.
Without even seeing him move towards her, Ichigo's muscular arms wrapped themselves around her waist. He buried his head in her chest, where he whispered, "I love you. More than anything on this planet, Hime. Please, don't blame yourself over this. In a couple of months, we can try again."
Tears began to sweep Orihime's face in a haste. Even though she could perfectly understand her husband's reassuring words, they felt echoed in her ears. Her body was aching even more. Cautiously, she placed her hand in the spikes of her husband's damp hair. To help keep herself relaxed, she grabbed tuffulls and played with them while he stayed nestled underneath her. The married couple didn't move for some time after the tragic news. Neither one wanted to speak. The fact that Orihime hadn't said a single word since the revelation worried Ichigo immensely.
Once her sobs had settled and he no longer heard her sniffles, Ichigo peaked up at his wife. Noticing his sudden movement, Orihime glanced at her husband and tried pressing her famous cheeky smile onto her face.
"Will you keep a promise?" she questioned him unexpectedly.
Ichigo unwrapped himself from Orihime's torso and observed his beautiful spouse intently. She had ceased her tears and for the first time that entire night, she appeared deadly serious.
"What exactly are you going to make me do?" Ichigo gave her a quizzical stare.
Orihime leaned in towards him, "Make a promise to me that you won't let me forget our deceased son."
Ichigo wasn't exactly sure on how he should respond. Would it be better if she forgot? Could it heal the pain any easier? He couldn't judge where the months ahead would lead them or even if Orihime would fully recover from it all. However, he knew one thing. He wasn't leaving her side.
"I promise," he whispered, locking lips with her as she started to cry again.
Next chapter will be three months after the accident, I'm having trouble deciding what Ichigo's job should be. Could you guys leave me some suggestions? Thank you.