A/N: Woww, I had a little trouble writing this chapter. I had so many ideas; it was really hard to condense them down into a readable work. So please enjoy~ And as always, thanks a bunch for the reviews!

Ichigo turned the corner with Tesla's hand still held firmly in his. A small "Ahem" from Tesla made Ichigo let go instantly. "I'm really sorry you had to be in the middle of that. Just point in the direction of Szayel and I'll leave you alone." Ichigo's saddened smile made Tesla feel almost heartbroken. He lifted his arm up and pointed down the hall.

"At the end of the hall, turn right and it'll be the third door on the right side. It should be obvious with all his Fraccion running around," Tesla directed. Ichigo nodded and turned away, heading to where Tesla said. Tesla turned to find Nnoitra-sama when he found himself face to face with the very familiar piano-key teeth. "Where ya been?" the question seemed simple, but the irritated grin that came with it told a different story.

-----

Ichigo walked slowly with his eyes cast on the floor. Even though Arrancar passed by somewhat frequently, he felt more alone than he ever felt in his life, more alone than when his mother died, more alone than when he was lost in his hollow stage. Ichigo stopped at the door Tesla said; he was right, there were a few bustling Arrancar wearing white coats.

Ichigo walked inside somewhat reluctantly. He had never wanted Grimmjow with him more than right now; he felt like he was going to be an only parent, stuck in Las Noches with no friends, allies, and his child would probably be made fun of. The thought made him even more sick to his stomach. Ichigo wanted Grimmjow to give him some sort of reassuring gesture, but he was nowhere to be seen.

With a deep breath, Ichigo stepped inside Szayel's lab. Szayel greeted him almost before Ichigo was fully inside. Szayel only acted kind towards him; the Espada's interest was more in his baby than his welfare. "Welcome, shinigami!" the ink hair man said cheerfully, though his eyes were glued to Ichigo's belly ( which only made Ichigo feel even MORE uncomfortable ). "Come with me."

Ichigo followed Szayel into a private room they had set up for Ichigo's checkups. Ichigo sat on the bed, waiting for his usual ultrasound. Ichigo subconsciously looked over to where Grimmjow usually stood, now just an empty space. Ichigo felt sick, physically sick. How could a stupid Espada have such control over him?

Ichigo's attention suddenly shifted back to Szayel as he asked him: "How many weeks are you along again?"

Ichigo looked down at his stomach. "18 weeks," he said in a distant voice. He was still daydreaming about Grimmjow.

Ichigo flinched as the cold liquid was applied to his stomach. He got used to the feeling easily and routinely looked up at the screen. His mind started shifting again. Szayel shook his arm quickly, bringing Ichigo back to reality ( once again ). "Congratulations shinigami! This one's a boy," Szayel cheered. Ichigo felt numb for a second, then he forgot all his problems. Szayel removed the controller and cleared off the liquid from Ichigo's belly.

Ichigo completely missed what Szayel was saying as he left the room and headed out to the hallway; he too excited to be worried about anything. Until he saw who was waiting for him outside the door. His smile turned into his usual scowl as Grimmjow just stood there in front of him, leaning against the wall. Secretly, Ichigo was exuberant to see him, but he wouldn't show it; that would only make Grimmjow more obligated to care, right?

"So what's the news?" Grimmjow questioned with his usual cocky-ass attitude. Ichigo turned his head and walked in the direction he hoped lead to Grimmjow's room. Grimmjow easily caught up with him. "Aww c'mon, tell me. I wanna know, dammit"

Ichigo was practically screaming inside he wanted to tell him immediately! But, that wouldn't be very fun now, would it? "Nothing much; I just know what the baby is..." Ichigo looked at Grimmjow from the corner of his eye. Grimmjow's face turned deadpan like he was in some sort of epiphany. Grimmjow stopped walking, then Ichigo stopped and turned to look at him. Grimmjow's face was almost priceless; it was a mixture between thought, constipation, and just plain confusion.

"I wanna know! What is it? Is it a girl? No way, it's gotta be a boy! Tell me!" Ichigo let a small grin take over his features. It was like holding the toy right in front of the kitten. "C'mon Ichi~"

Ichigo decided since he was the father, he could know what his baby was going to be, but when Ichigo went to answer the question, he looked up to see a crescent moon crash into Grimmjow, sending his blood over his white clothes, along with the white walls. Ichigo's eyes widened as his amused expression turned to pure panic.

"Grimmjow!" Ichigo screamed as he ran towards him.

"Damned shinigami!" Nnoitra called from down the hall, a chain going from his hand to the handle of his crescent scythe. Ichigo froze. He knew that Nnoitra was a higher rank than Grimmjow, which meant that there was no defense for him should Nnoitra decided to attack him. Ichigo's head turned slowly down the hall to see Nnoitra and a severely beaten Tesla behind him.

Ichigo's mouth gaped. Had Tesla ended up like this because of him? It should have been him that took the beating then, not Tesla. Nnoitra began to take long accentuated steps towards Ichigo, who took involuntary steps backwards until he was standing next to Grimmjow, who had a very long, open gash along his upper body. Ichigo felt like he was going to vomit right there in the hallway.

Before Ichigo could look back to where Nnoitra and Tesla were previously standing, they were both right in front of him ( Nnoitra more or less dragged Tesla, who had a bloody and bruised face ). Ichigo jumped back; his arms quickly attempted to cover his belly, but Nnoitra has his large scythe positioned right in front of him. "You're just like a woman then. I refuse to have some bitch be treated better than me!" Nnoitra thrust the sword closer at Ichigo, who quickly turned his head away and closed his eyes.

Tesla grabbed Nnoitra's arm, temporarily stopping him from getting any closed. Nnoitra's attention shifted to his Fraccion. "What you want, bitch?" Nnoitra yelled at him before using the same arm Tesla was holding on to to fling him back against a wall. Now Nnoitra faced back to Ichigo. "Maybe I'll just cut yer belly open, take out that thing inside ya, and chop it up right in front of you..." Nnoitra seemed to be talking to himself; Ichigo was too scared to move, think or even process words.

Nnoitra lifted his scythe high into the air above him. Ichigo closed his eyes and he began to think about all the people he loved. Grimmjow came up several times over the course of the few nanoseconds of thought. Here it came: the agonizing torture of Nnoitra's scythe. And then just as Ichigo found himself waiting for pain, all he heard was a metallic 'CRASH' of something. He opened one eye to see Nnoitra's scythe stopped still in the air. Ichigo looked around with both eyes now, seeing familiar green hair flowing in front of him.

"Ichigo! Ichigo say something!" Neliel's frantic voice rang out.

"N... Nel?" Ichigo's eyes were wide with shock at the sight before him: Nel, who was in her adult form, wearing her old Espada outfit, stood in front of himself and the bloodied, unconscious Grimmjow, holding her Zankpakuto high in the air, easily blocking Nnoitra's attack. Nnoitra's anger was obvious on his narrow face.

"Neliel, the last time I saw you you were a little baby lost in the desert, and here you are, all back to normal." Nnoitra made no attempt to hide the angst in his voice.

"Nnoitra, what purpose do you have attacking a defenseless human? I find that below despicable," was her only response. Nnoitra held his position, just itching to find his nemesis. "The next time you even get close to Ichigo, I'll kill you, Nnoitra."

"I'll just beat ya then, just like I will now!" Nnoitra called, raising his scythe up to attack again -- until a fox like voice echoed down the hall: "I wouldn' Nnoitra..."

Nnoitra whipped around, looking at Ichimaru Gin's form sauntering down to see the commotion. "Aww, what happen'd to poor Grimmy?" he asked with an obvious fake frown on his face. The fox captain's face then shifted to Ichigo, "An' aren't you supposed to be outta trouble?"

Ichigo looked at the floor quickly; Gin always made him feel unnaturally uncomfortable. "Well, someone take Grimmy and this 'un--" he pointed to Tesla's also unconscious form lying on the floor with some rubble, from the wall he crashed into, around him "--and patch up will ya?" With that, Gin walked away, back down to Aizen undoubtedly.

Nel slacked slightly, still having her guard up, but not in attacking position. She turned to pick up Grimmjow, tossing him over her shoulder and lending a hand to Ichigo. "C'mon, let's get him patched up," she said in a soothing voice. Ichigo took the hand offered to him and stood up, looking over to see Nnoitra taking Tesla in his arms almost delicately. Ichigo felt a pang in his heart...

-----

Grimmjow's world suddenly started coming back to him; he could see Ichigo standing in front of him with his arms draped over his body. "Ichi..." Grimmjow took one step then stopped at the look Ichigo gave him.

"...So you wouldn't have to deal with and this anymore..." was all Ichigo said with a pained expression. Grimmjow was taken aback; he wanted nothing more than to take care of Ichigo and his child; to have them depend on him; to be there for him.

Grimmjow shook his head back and forth. "No, no, Ichi, I want-- Wait! Ichi!" Grimmjow yelled at the retreating form of Ichigo. The world around him turned pitch black. "ICHI!"

Grimmjow shot up, a thin layer of cold sweat covered him; his breathing was frantic. Grimmjow took a moment to calm down, suddenly feeling a pain shoot up his torso. He looked down to see somewhat bloody bandages, partially out of view due a spiky mass of orange. Ichigo had his head rested on Grimmjow's chest; his belly was slightly elevated on Grimmjow's stomach. Grimmjow suddenly let out a hidden breath; Ichigo was still here, still with him, but obviously the outlet of breath stirred Ichigo. Grimmjow brought his arm around Ichigo's frame.

"About time you woke up," Grimmjow said with his usual ego-filled voice.

Ichigo looked up quickly, looking straight into Grimmjow's eyes. A small blush stained Ichigo's cheek; it had been a while since they were so serenely put together; just the two of them in silence without a care, until Grimmjow opened his mouth and ruined it: "Ichi, why... why did you not want me to come with you?"

Ichigo bit his bottom lip, hesitant on answering the question. "I guess... I just feel bad, that this had to happen to you; you were so wild, but now you're being limited, thanks to me, and to make it worse, you've been avoiding me," Ichigo said, a little louder than a whisper.

Grimmjow paused, thinking about what to say. He agreed with Ichigo, but it wasn't so much a bad thing; he was going to have a family all to himself. "Ichi, I'm not disappointed or sad or angry about having a family. In fact, I'm excited for it. I wanna teach this kid how to fight, how to beat the hell outta anyone. I may not have expected this, but I'm sure as hell not backing out of it. I wanna see this kid as much as you." Grimmjow's answer was much more involved than Ichigo had expected.

"Well, it's a boy, if you're still wanting to know," Ichigo admitted. Grimmjow's sudden tensing, then immediate relax made Ichigo feel completely excited again. "Are you still excited about training him?"

Grimmjow's voice had a serious attitude: "Hell yes!"

A/N: Gahh, I never, ever plan to write so much again! Well, I hope the ending wasn't too sappy, but now I must find an entrance into the next chapter. Please leave reviews~