Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or make any profit off of this

A/N: Dedication goes to Kohyru for all his help tonight! Thank you!


"What does it say?" Chad hovered over Tatsuki, his eyes unreadable. He really didn't seem angry, or even upset, though shocked was a definite possibility. It would make a lot of sense on why she couldn't read him at all; the barriers were up.

"It has a minute left." Tatsuki took a deep breath. All she could think about was that it was way too soon for this, but maybe it would be ok anyway. Her job at the dojo... She could run things from the background for nine months, couldn't she? As long as the kids knew that Sen was the authority for that long, it would be ok, right? How on earth had she been so stupid though? One pregnancy scare wasn't enough to make her think these things through? Ok, well, on the bright side, her relationship with Chad was more stable than her and Ichigo's relationship had ever been, and Chad... he would never cheat on her or abuse her love for him. Still, the tensions were rising inside Tatsuki's mind.

As if he sensed this, Chad leaned down over the back of the couch and kissed her temple. "I'm not going anywhere." He mumbled, and Tatsuki took a deep breath. Reaching over the back of the couch, she grabbed his hand. Chad's fingers folded over hers, enveloping her hand completely. She kind of wished she could hide like that, but right now, that was not an option.

Slowly, she flipped the pregnancy test over...and across the screen, plain and simple, read, YES. Chad didn't squeeze her hand, even, when he saw it, and Tatsuki realized that either he truly didn't mind or he wasn't shocked, maybe both.

"We're cool with this?" Tatsuki asked in an – for her – unusually small voice. She was having a baby. Though, having Chad's baby was preferable to having Ichigo's, the pregnancy scare that had scared her so horribly.

Chad made a noise that was probably equal to "yes" or "yeah" and wrapped an arm around her. His arm across her collarbone, he snuggled her, pressing a kiss to her hair. Tatsuki couldn't believe this, she guessed that reality wouldn't become her reality for a while, but right now, she was content to be cuddled. She could be a little late to work, if she could just have another moment – or a few – of this.

After trading a few more gentle cuddles and kisses, they both headed off to work. Money had to be made to make this work, after all.


"Hey, Orihime." Tatsuki felt like crying as she spoke into the phone, but actually starting to cry would be a whole other matter. "I know you're busy, but I need to talk to you. Call me back when you get this, ok?" Tatsuki hung up, putting her head down on the desk. It wasn't Orihime's fault that she was caught up with wedding planning; it was a huge thing. But Tatsuki was beginning to feel a little ignored, something that Orihime had never allowed her to feel before.

"Tatsuki." Sen hovered in front of the desk, holding a steaming cup of tea. "Ginger tea. It will help with the nausea, and then I thought I could go and get you something to eat from wherever you liked."

"Sen, if you're still upset about the floorboard thing, I don't want you trying to make up for it." Tatsuki eyed the ginger tea hopefully though. "I'm not mad."

"You look down. Is something going on?" Sen set the tea on Tatsuki's desk. "Sip it. It'll calm your stomach."

"My best friend that I've had since childhood is just busy." Tatsuki took a sip of the tea before setting it back on her desk. "I wanted to tell her about the pregnancy as soon as possible but I've been trying to call her all day, and I can't get a hold of her."

"When classes are over, I could drive you to her home." Sen mumbled. "I don't like seeing you so sad. A baby is a wonderful thing to have in your life if... everything is ok with your boyfriend, right?"

"Other than the shock of a pregnancy, yes." Tatsuki managed a laugh, and it felt surprisingly genuine. "We love each other and we're great. We're still kind of in the 'Whoa, really?' stage, I guess." That was putting it lightly, really. When she had seen the yes on the screen of the pregnancy test, her whole mind had sputtered to a stop. She paused. "Would you drive me to Orihime's house? I'd walk but it's a ways away from here."

"Anything for my wonderful boss!" Sen perked up. "But first, lunch. What do you want?" Tatsuki sighed, but smiled. Sen was unrelenting, as usual, but for once it was pleasant rather than exasperating. Tatsuki told her something from the deli just around the block – it was convenient and actually just what she wanted. Sen darted out of the room, and Tatsuki eyed her phone. It was Orihime, what would one more call hurt? It rang four times, but then Orihime came on the line.

"Tatsuki! Listen, can you tell everyone that I have to go to Soul Society for a while? Renji...He's..." Orihime's voice cracked, and Tatsuki felt a throbbing in her chest. Orihime cried so rarely, it always hurt when she did. "He's hurt pretty badly, and I need to be there. So I'm going. The wedding is on hold... indefinitely." Orihime sniffled.

"You go to him, then!" Tatsuki tried to sound encouraging. "Don't worry about the wedding, we'll work on everything when you get back, ok? Be with Renji, where you're needed right now." Now was not the time to tell Orihime about the pregnancy, it just wasn't. Tatsuki swallowed the words and bit back her frustrations. How badly could Renji be hurt though?

"Thank you for understanding, Tatsuki." Orihime cleared her throat. "I'm sure everything will be ok. I'll be back as soon as possible. I have to go now, bye."

"See ya, Orihime." Tatsuki shut her cell phone and downed the lukewarm tea. Her stomach didn't rebel as she thought it might, and she stepped into the training area. So far, her life had revolved around two things: her friends, and her martial arts. Now, martial arts was going to have to take a backseat to baby. Touching her stomach gently, she tried not to worry so much.


"Are you nervous?" Chad sat with Tatsuki in the doctor's waiting room a week later. Tatsuki found she could barely stay awake; she was leaning on Chad, drifting in and out of sleep. That was beyond frustrating, but the closeness... she could appreciate that.

"A little." Though her first reaction would've been 'do I look nervous?' But she didn't want to sound rude. It was however amusing that Chad would ask her that while she was sleeping on his shoulder.

"Miss Arisawa?" A nurse stood over them, and before Tatsuki even opened her eyes, she knew the woman was smiling. "This way." She took a step back, and Chad reached over, as if he was going to pick Tatsuki up.

"Hey. Chad. No. Just help me up, I'm not that tired." Tatsuki laughed a little. "I'm ok, alright? Don't baby me." The nurse nearly dissolved into giggles.

"You two seem like a very loving couple." She said earnestly. "This way, it's not too long a walk, I promise."

Tatsuki grabbed Chad's hand, leading him. Her ankle still had a little of a bite to it when she put her foot down, but it wasn't enough of a problem that she had to wear the brace anymore. When they drew her blood, Chad silently insisted on holding her free hand, despite that Tatsuki just grinned and rolled her eyes when the needle sank into her arm.

The blood test came back positive, like Tatsuki knew it would, and, with a laundry list of things to do and not to do, they were sent home with orders to return in a month to check everything out again. Tatsuki was exhausted, the only symptom of pregnancy that she didn't handle well. As someone who had easily been loud, vibrant and energetic her whole life, this was a whole other thing being tired all the time.

"I'm so glad I'm having a baby with you." Tatsuki squeezed Chad's hand as he unlocked the apartment door. "I couldn't ask for anyone better." She paused to take off her coat and shoes. "Do you think Orihime and Renji are alright?"

"Renji's tough." Chad mumbled, holding onto Tatsuki for a moment before heading to the kitchen. "What about Rukia?" Tatsuki pressed her lips together. She hadn't heard from Rukia or Ichigo since she ratted Rukia out to Ichigo. Though she didn't expect Ichigo to talk to her anyway.

"I hope they're ok." Tatsuki sighed, referring to Rukia and the baby inside of Rukia. "She's probably not very happy with me, but I think I did the right thing, don't you?"

Chad nodded silently, and then glanced at Tatsuki, studying her. "I'll cook, why don't you take a nap?" He started to get into the fridge, and Tatsuki was set to argue, but then gave up. He wouldn't back down, and it would be ridiculous to pick a fight over something that small. As a compromise, she settled on the couch, closing her eyes. Chad stepped over to her, pulling the throw blanket over her, and Tatsuki smiled up at him.

"Thanks." She grabbed his hand and kissed it before letting him return to the kitchen.

Ok, so this wasn't going to be so bad after all.


Two weeks later, Tatsuki saw her best friend for the first time in what felt like forever. "Orihime!" She hugged her tightly, though she was being careful of her stomach. "Is Renji doing alright?"

"They released him from the Fourth and he's finishing up healing at my house!" Orihime's eyes were bright. "He needs about two more weeks to recuperate completely, so he'll be with me. Isn't it great?"

"Wonderful." Tatsuki grinned. "I've got good news too." She could finally count it as good news too, because the more time that passed, the more excited she got about the baby.

"What is it?" Orihime bounced onto her toes, grinning right back. It was like they'd never been apart, and Tatsuki hoped that it could always be that way between them, time or distance never mattering to their friendship.

"I'm pregnant!" Tatsuki watched as Orihime's eyes went wide and she gasped, a smile replacing the shocked look quickly. "It's Chad's." Tatsuki touched her stomach gently.

"That's fantastic!" Orihime hugged her again, and this time they were both being careful of Tatsuki's stomach. "I'm so glad you found someone and you're going to have a baby!" Blinking, Orihime paused, sobering up fast. "Did you know Rukia is having a baby too? She's back in Soul Society. Ichigo is the father, I guess, but they're not together anymore." Worry seemed to take over Orihime's features. "Do you think she'll be ok?"

"She's got family there, right?" Tatsuki thought for a minute. "Yeah, I think she'll be ok." Orihime smiled, willing and ready to believe it.

"Well, I have to finish shopping, so I'll see you later, ok, Tatsuki?" Orihime gave Tatsuki one last hug. "I'm so happy for you!" The orange-haired girl flashed her best friend one more smile before hurrying off to get her groceries.

Tatsuki blinked, trying to think what she was here for. That had been a pleasant surprise, though, and she was glad that Renji would be alright.

Ok, she had told Orihime, now she could be really excited.


A/N: Last chapter for tonight! What'd you think?