Okay, so, I'm back! :D I'm pretty excited about how much writing for this fic I'm getting done! And surprised, lol. Anyway, here we go, chapter four.

-:-

It only took Saki a minute before she started to take off at her own energetic pace, leaving me and Rukia a good distance behind her. I scolded her quickly for leaving my side, but Rukia politely interrupted and told me as long as we could see her, she would be fine. I reluctantly allowed it and tried to continue ignoring her presence.

She didn't make it very easy. She stayed pretty close by my side, her arms brushing up against mine with every step she took. She didn't seem to notice at all; she only stared ahead of us with a content expression pasted to her face. The weather was still unbearable, but she acted like it was the most comfortable day the summer had seen.

"Fuck!" a foreign voice cried angrily ahead of us. There weren't many people roaming around outside of their cars, most were hiding from the baking heat of the bright sun. This particular voice was hidden by several cars, but it was strong and very clear.

"Who's that?" Saki asked and headed toward the voice immediately.

"Saki, get back here, now!" I demanded, worry filling me quickly. She didn't listen; instead she continued around the cars in a quick pace.

Rukia headed after her immediately and I followed suit, frustration and paranoia coursing through me. "Saki, get back her right now!" I continued, turning around a large Ford truck and finding my daughter standing still, watching the source of the voice we had heard moments before.

She wasn't paying any attention to us at all, so when I scooped her up she gasped, obviously startled. Still, the strange looking man didn't seem to notice us watching him curiously.

"Goddam this shit!" he screamed again, leaning over the motor of an old-looking minivan. He was extremely tall, that was obvious even when he was hunched over; I think that's what scared Saki.

"Let's get back," I said to Saki and Rukia quietly, getting the man's attention for the first time.

He turned in our direction, a deep glare on his sharp face. He had red-brown eyes that were framed by thick black tattoos. The black lines ran down his jaw to his neck, disappearing at the collar of his T-shirt. He had long, bright red hair that was pulled out of his face in a weird looking ponytail. His hands were firmly planted against the sides of the opening in the front of his van. "Do you need something?" he asked sharply.

"No, sorry for bothering you. She just got away from us for a second," Rukia answered the man in a very conversational tone, gesturing toward Saki's form in my grip. "Do you need some help?" she continued, taking a few steps closer to the stranger.

He gave her a skeptical look before seeming to let down his guard and standing upright. When Rukia was standing so close to him, it was impossible not to notice this guy's freakishly tall stance. "Yeah, actually. I've been having a little trouble with the engine lately, but not this bad. I haven't been able to get this piece of shit to start since we've been stuck here."

"How long have you been looking at this?" Rukia asked, taking an amused glance at the lack of improvement.

"Since the traffic jam got us stuck out here," the man answered, not seeming to appreciate the amusement in Rukia's expression. I couldn't help but laugh quietly at this guy's frustration. If I were in his situation I'd probably respond the same way, but when you're on the other side, it's pretty funny. "My wife's been nagging me every time I fucking stop," he continued, gesturing toward the woman neither Rukia or I had noticed in the passenger's seat. She was fanning herself off, leaning out the open window, her long, brown curls plastered to her face by the surplus of sweat the heat had caused.

"I can hear you, Renji, I'm right here," the woman said with a crooked grin on her sweat-streaked face. The sleeves of her dress were pulled up, showing the tops of her thin arms, and she pushed them up absently as she stared at her husband with humor in her large, purple eyes. She had an abnormally attractive face, something I tried not to notice. Since meeting Rukia, I had been noticing womanly aspects more so than I usually did, but she was someone I would notice anytime.

Renji's jaw tightened noticeably as he realized she had been listening, but his wife only laughed at his frustrated reaction. When he realized she wasn't going to act like she apparently had before we showed up, he allowed a small smile to follow her teasing laughter and leaned against the vehicle tiredly. "Well, I don't know what's wrong with it. Sorry Mina, but I have no idea what I'm doing," he said, mild frustration and slight disappointment appearing in his features. He gave his wife an apologetic frown when she pouted and wiped an immense amount of sweat from her forehead, causing her damp bangs to stick to her skin.

"Do you know anything about cars?" she asked, leaning more of herself out the window and looking at me hopefully.

Feeling pretty guilty myself, I shook my head. "No, I'm sorry. I'm not good with that stuff."

"It's alright, thanks anyways." With the same disappointed expression on her face, Mina folded her arms along the flat surface of the open window and laid her head in them, closing her large eyes tiredly.

"Well, I know it doesn't help your situation when the traffic jam clears up, but you're both welcome to sit in my car for awhile. I've got air conditioning and it looks like you really need to cool off," Rukia spoke up, directing the last part of her offer to the woman.

Shocked that Rukia was inviting more people she didn't know into her car, I gave her an unsure glance. She noticed but only smiled and shrugged it off. When we turned our attention back to the strangers, we saw Mina glance at her husband hopefully, seeming to be asking his permission. He also seemed unsure, but when he looked back at us he seemed to have already made up his mind. "We don't want to get in your way," he said, trying to be polite but not denying her offer. I didn't blame him; it was hot as hell, I wouldn't pass up that offer either.

"Not at all. There's plenty of room for all of us," she answered, smiling back at them in a friendly manner.

"Thank you so much," Mina answered excitedly. She pushed the door open and carefully placed one foot on the ground before Renji noticed and quickly approached her. He grabbed her arm and helped her out completely, as she seemed to be having a lot of trouble. When he shut the door and guided his wife around the front of the broken down minivan, we saw why she had so much trouble. Mina was pregnant, and from how she looked, she was really far into the pregnancy. Her stomach stuck out under her soft yellow summer dress abruptly, making her look at least seven months into the pregnancy. Her long, thin legs didn't seem stable enough to hold the weight of her stomach, but I assumed she needed help like every really far along pregnant woman.

I glanced down at Rukia absently and saw her regard Mina with a sad smile. She was my only chance at ever having a kid. Rukia's comment came back to me immediately and perked my curiosity.

"You look so beautiful, how far along are you?" Rukia asked, smiling warmly as both Mina and Renji approached us.

Mina's pained expression became disgusted, seeming offended at Rukia's comment. "What are you talking about?"

Immediately Rukia's eyes widened, guilt and embarrassment crossing her features. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I just thought-"

Mina laughed loudly before stopping and holding her stomach. After a pained moment she looked back at us with a bright grin on her face. "I'm just teasing you, it's pretty obvious," she responded. Rukia laughed lightly, relieved and a little flustered. Mina apologized and we all headed back to Rukia's small car, keeping an extremely slow pace for them.

"How old is your daughter?" Mina asked, smiling at Saki as she asked.

"She's six," I answered, glancing down at her. She had been silent since we ran into more new people and because one of them had changed the subject to her, she hid her face in my should and hugged onto my neck tightly.

"Aw, what a cute age," Mina responded, her smile widening. "She's really cute," she continued, glancing from me to Rukia to Saki to me again. "I see much more resemblance in you and your daughter; not so much from her mother," Mina stated, pointing at Rukia when she spoke about Saki's mother.

"She's not her mother," I said quickly, feeling pretty awkward.

"Oh, step-mom?" Mina asked, not noticing how uncomfortable she was making me.

"No, they're not related at all," I answered again, feeling heat rise in my face again. This woman was so sure that Rukia was with me but there's no way she could have gotten that from gestures; we kept a reasonable distance and never acted remotely like a couple. The assumptions were a bit too much.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just thought," she responded with a playful smile on her face and just shrugged off the rest of her sentence.

Rukia glanced up at me, seeming to notice my discomfort, and smiled. She had been absently playing with Saki's long curls as we continued to walk and she stretched out her arm to elbow me teasingly, trying to calm me down I guessed.

We reached the car quickly after, the awkward silence not lasting long. Rukia quickened her pace to unlock her car and opened the back door for Mina. She stepped aside so Renji could support Mina while leaning into the car, making sure she didn't hurt herself. The gesture brought back memories of Saki's mother when she was pregnant with said girl and I quickly pushed them away. Renji went around quickly and got in the opposite seat of the back of the vehicle. Rukia, who was standing with the driver's side door open while she stood in the entrance, looked at me and gestured for me to get in the passenger's seat. She was smiling at me in a too-friendly way that caused me to give her a skeptical look. She regarded it with humor, laughing to herself and just stepped into the car, gingerly closing the door. I walked around and got in after her, still cradling Saki in my arms as she kept quiet.

Rukia started the car and turned the air conditioning on right away, causing Mina to sigh contently. Renji smiled at her happily, relieved to see his wife comfortable again. She leaned back in the seat and grabbed her husband's hand, using her other hand to wipe the remains of her sweat off her brow. "Thank you so much for this-uh, I'm sorry, we didn't catch your names."

"I'm Rukia Kuchiki, he's Ichigo Kurosaki, and his daughter Saki Kurosaki," Rukia answered for us, allowing me to hear her last name for the first time. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't quite put a face with it. Probably because my mind was already associating it with Rukia and the rest of the things I had learned about her.

"Well, it's nice meeting all of you. Sorry for not introducing ourselves properly, I'm Mina Abarai, and my husband, Renji Abarai," she said, slightly shaking his hand while stating his name.

"It's nice meeting you two as well," Rukia answered, absently turning the radio on before turning in her seat to face me. She leaned her head against the headrest and pulled my jacket closer to her slim frame.

"Have you heard any news about when this traffic is supposed to clear up?" Mina asked, glancing between me and Rukia.

"Uh, no. I haven't heard anything," I answered, pulling a damp strand of Saki's hair out of her face, noticing her beginning to fall back asleep.

"Hmm…," she mumbled her reply, looking out the window with a worried expression.

"Don't worry, Mina," Renji said, tugging on her hand to get her attention.

"What's the matter?" Rukia asked, concern clear in her face.

"My due date is in two days, and with this traffic so bad, I'm a little worried I won't make it to the hospital," she answered, a small smile on her face. "But I'm sure it'll clear up soon." She was silent for a moment, trying to convince herself. "It will."

-:-

So, sorry to just throw my OC in there, but I love them. :3 And I always use her, so sorry if you're not used to it. Hope you like, let me know please! Review! :D