DISCLAIMER: All rights of original Bleach characters/story go to Tite Kubo …..

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Saya had been at the Kurosaki Clinic for a week so far and the job was turning out to be pretty good. They never had too many patients, so Saya usually flew through the paper work. Every once in a while Dr. Kurosaki would ask her to help with the patients and he'd teach her how to assist him in procedures that needed to be done, which was pretty cool. She liked learning that kind of stuff. It made her feel more confident as Nel's sole caretaker, since the little rascal was always putting herself in life-threatening situations.

She was relieved to know that Nel was getting along with Yuzu. The three of them ate lunch together everyday and she would give Yuzu pointers on tricks to get Nel to behave, or spit out whatever she was chewing.

The only downside was that scowling ginger. Saya would always see him around the house, but they never really talked unless it had to do with getting Nel out of his room, or getting Nel to let go of his ankle. Nel tended to follow him wherever he went which sort of bothered Saya, but she didn't know why.

It was odd how Nel was so attached to him. She'd never even been that attached to Grimmjow, her own father, so what made Ichigo so special?

And maybe Saya was just a little jealous. Nel was her baby. It had always made Saya feel special that Nel only listened to her. But that was starting to change now that the ginger had come into the picture.

It was the weekend now. July 31st to be exact, a date she'd rather not think about, for it pertained to the certain birthday of a certain blue-haired someone.

She and Nel had been spending the morning sorting through the last of Nel's toys to determine what the toddler could keep in the apartment and what she was willing to part with (a.k.a: what she wouldn't notice had been donated to charity).

Saya was taking a break and making some cookies while Nel watched T.V. The living room and the kitchen were pretty much connected, so Saya could easily make sure Nel wasn't getting into trouble or that she didn't change the channel to something bad.

"Mama…" Nel said in a hypnotized voice.

"Yeah?" Saya looked over at her child.

"Can Nel have that?" she was pointing at the T.V. screen. It was another commercial for one of those children's "Power-Wheel Dune Racers" from Toy's R US.

Saya paused in alarm as she saw what her daughter was asking. Nel behind the wheel of any motorized vehicle, no matter how small, was a completely catastrophic idea.

"No." Saya blurted. "Sorry Nel but that's for big kids…"she lied and checked on the cookie sheet in the oven.

"Awwwh," Nel pouted and turned her attention to the T.V. again. "Bu' it's soo cool!"

"Maybe we could get a bike firs—"

"DADDY!" Nel cried and jumped on the couch. "Look MAh! It's Dadah!"

Saya's head whipped in her daughter's direction. There was a preview for tonight's top news story, a report on Grimmjow and his latest single. Apparently he had just had a big concert, and he'd been receiving a lot of attention over the divorce.

"YAH DADA!" Nel pumped her chubby fists in the air as footage of Grimmjow rocking out on stage flashed across the screen.

"…the star's latest concert featured a new song, no doubt a product of the recent break-up between Jeagerjaques and his wife, Saya Kurashina."

"MAMA YOU'RE ON T.V. TOO!" A picture of Saya yelling at Grimmjow during his concert where she had first told him she wanted a divorce filled the screen. A red line slashed down the middle in between the two of them.

Oh god they have a picture of that? Saya watched.

"Hehehehe! "Nel pointed with glee. "You look mad!"

"…Tune in tonight for the full story and the latest look at the unbalanced, emotional state of Grimmjow Jeagerjaques and his divorce..." The footage cut to a clip of a reporter trying to question Grimmjow as he left one of his concerts.

"Take that mic a shove it up your [censored] you [censored]!" he snarled at the reporter while flipping up his collar and walking away. " [censored] you man!"

"F*** you Man!" Nel repeated to the T.V. screen.

"NELLIEL!" Saya looked at her daughter with appall. "Don't you ever use that word again! Ever!" Saya ran over and shut the T.V. off. She'd rather not risk seeing another commercial with Grimmjow.

Nel looked at her Mother with a sad, ashamed look on her face.

"Nel's sowrry Mama…"

Saya sighed and kneeled down to Nel's level.

"I know. Sorry I yelled," she brushed a sea-foam green curl out of Nel's eyes. "But that's a really bad word and you shouldn't be saying that. Neither should your Dad." Saya rolled her eyes. As if Grimmjow could compete a whole sentence without using the 'F' word. It's no wonder Nel knew exactly what Grimmjow had been saying even though the station had bleeped it out.

"Mamma.." Nel nodded and picked at the necklace Saya was wearing. "…Is Dadah mad?"

Saya titled her head a little. Of course Grimmjow was mad, but she still didn't know how to explain the whole thing to Nel.

"Is that why Dadah doesn't visit Nel like he used to?"

Saya's eyes widened. "He's not mad at you Nel," she had to clarify. She couldn't let Nel go on thinking it was her fault that her Dad hadn't come to see her. "…I'm mad at him…" Saya hung her head. "So that's why he can't come see you."

"Bu' why?" Nel gave her Mom a confused face.

"Because," was all Saya managed to say. She figured it wasn't a good idea to actually say: Because he's a good-for-nothing-dead-beat JACKASS father who treats his ugliest pair of shoes better than his one and only daughter.

"But WHY?" Nel's face got more frustrated.

Saya exhaled and shut her eyes. "Because."

"But Nel wants to see him!" she pouted angrily to her Mother. "Jus becawz YOU don't wanna talk to Dadah doesn't mean NEL doesn't wanna talk to him!" the little girl shouted and ran off to the bedroom.

"Nel!" Saya pleaded after her. She scowled and rubbed her forehead as she sat alone on the floor in front of the couch.

Saya didn't want talk to Grimmjow. More importantly she didn't want Nel talking to Grimmjow and Grimmjow saying something careless that might hurt Nel's feelings.

She knew Nel missed him, but she didn't think Grimmjow deserved to talk to Nel since he still hadn't apologized for that awful Ugly Baby song.

Saya was also scared of talking to him. Not because she was scared of him, she just wasn't sure if she had gotten over him yet. And if she still had a soft spot for him, she knew he'd find a way to work himself back into her head and make her lose her resolve to divorce him.

But it's his birthday today….

That had been nagging at Saya all day. Normally Grimmjow would've made Saya throw a party and it'd be a really big deal but…

Saya chewed on her lip. I could at least let Nel say happy birthday…

That seemed fair. Nel would also get to talk to Grimmjow, and hopefully be reassured that he hadn't completely fallen off the face of the planet without even saying good-bye. Sometimes she really hated herself for not letting him say good-bye.

Saya hit Grimmjow's name on her contact list. She had to see if he was even in a decent state of mind first. No way she was going to just hand him off to Nel before she even knew if he was sober or not.

The phone was ringing.

Saya bit her nail as she waited. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't a little nervous calling him after their last conversation, the one that had started and ended with her telling him to go to hell.

It rang all the way through to voicemail.

Saya hung up. Of course he wouldn't pick up the phone after how she'd been treating him. Or maybe he was just in the middle of a crack deal. "He's such a baby," she mumbled. Really she was just mad at herself for ruining things for Nel.

*Buzz Buzz*

She looked down at her phone and bit her lip again before she answered.

"….Hi," she said.

"What?" Grimmjow spoke roughly. "Got something else you wanna sue me for?"

"Not at the moment," Saya clenched her jaw.

"Then what the f*ck do ya want?"

Saya mentally corrected Grimmjow for his foul language and tried not to go on a rant about why he hadn't signed the divorce papers yet.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to talk to Nel, so she could say happy birthday."

"Tch," he scoffed on the other end. "You're not even gonna say it?"

"Do you want to talk to your daughter or not?" Saya snapped at him.

"Why the f*cking don't you bring her home and so that I CAN talk to her?" Grimmjow retorted smartly.

"No," Saya answered bluntly.

"FINE! Then I don't want ta f*Ckin talk to her!"

"Fine then," Saya contained her volume so Nel wouldn't hear her rise in temper. "Happy god dam birthday jackass." She hung up.

Why couldn't he just shut up and say he wanted to talk to Nel? You'd think he'd miss her, just a LITTLE bit, but nooooo. Doesn't matter. He's too pissed at me to even worry about her. Jackass. JACKASS! STUPID SMURF-HAIRED SON-OF-A-SEXY-BITCH JACKASS!

*Buzz Buzz*

"Oh god what," she grabbed her phone again. "Yeah?" she answered coldly.

"You mean that?" he asked brusquely.

"Mean what?" Saya tried to smooth out the crease between her eyebrows.

"You said happy birthday."

Saya delayed her answer. The guilt was setting in.

"How the hell can I have a happy birthday when you're not f*ckin here?" the usual nerve was back in his voice.

"Grimmjow…" she started.

"You're f*ckin pissing me off you know that?"

"Yeah," she scoffed, "I figured."

"You know how much shit people have been giving me cuz'a you?"

"I can imagine," Saya mumbled. She was getting ready to hang up.

"Did you even see that f*cking song I played for you at my concert?" Grimmjow's voice hung.

"Considering what I heard you sing at the last concert I went to, I doubt I'd want to hear it," she told him, referring to the song about Nel. "So, no."

"It's not even like that Saya." She could hear him getting impatient. "I wrote it as a god dam apology."

"Really? So there are words that say: I am sorry for calling my baby ugly in front of a nation wide audience? AND being a complete jackass to her since she was born?"

"…Just f*cking look it up on youtube."

"Or you could sing it," she scooted back so she could sit leaning against the couch. "Go on, sing me your apology. I'm dying to hear it."

"F*ck you, I don't have to sing it. It's my god dam birthday," he said rather offensively.

"Okay then," Saya shrugged. "Bye."

"Hey," he stopped her.

"What?"

"You coming over or not?" His voice took on a deeper note. "You know you're the only one who can give me that extra something special for my birthday. And I've been f*Cking looking forward to it since you left."

A million and twelve different way for Saya to yell at Grimmjow boiled over in her head. What the hell was wrong with him? Did he really expect a romantic evening when they were in the middle of a divorce?

Saya bit her tongue and then smirked to herself. She'd mess with him; the jackass deserved it.

"That 'something special' huh?" Saya repeated to him.

"You know what I'm talkin about," his voice was heavy and smug on the other end.

"Yeah," Saya tried not to let her smile show through her voice. "I was actually planning that for a while you know…figured you really wanted that…But uh, I kinda gave it away to somebody else recently…"

It was silent on the other end.

"Someone who deserved it more than you did." Saya had to cover part of her phone to block a stifled snort from reaching Grimmjow.

"What the f*ck are you talking about?" Pure rage seeped through Grimmjow's words.

"I'm saying I gave your present away to someone who'd actually appreciate it," Saya barely elaborated. She didn't think she needed to go into detail about the studio mixer she had given Ichigo. She'd rather let Grimmjow jump to conclusions.

"Saya," his voice cut out. Saya pictured him ripping a hand through his hair. "I can't—GOD F*CKING DAMMIT—"

Saya heard a crashing sound. I wonder if that was a T.V. or another guitar?

"I can't even f*cking talk to you right now!" he blared into the phone.

"It's really not that big of a deal," Saya said in an overly relaxed voice. "I mean I probably would've given it to anybody who asked for it …"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Grimmjow's voice was strained with madness.

"…Yeah. There was no point in saving it for your birthday so…"

"JESUS F*CKING CHRIST SAYA!"

"Grimmjow," Saya tried not to laugh. "You are overreacting."

"THE HELL I AM! WE AREN'T EVEN DIVORCED YET AND YOU'RE F*CKIN—" There was another crash. "Saya you can't f*cking do this to me!"

"Grimmjow—"

"I'm gonna f*Cking kill the next guy I see you with, and every guy after that—"

"Grimmjow!" Saya stopped laughing. He was definitely taking this harder than she'd thought.

"—You are f*cking mine Saya! I don't believe this shit!"

"I am not," Saya couldn't stop herself from saying. "And you're seriously jumping to conclusions here! All I gave him was a gift! You now, in a box?" The prank was funny when she had first thought of it, but she figured it wouldn't be wise to let him go on thinking what he was thinking.

It was silent on the other end again.

"You really think I'd…" Saya was distracted for a second when a burning smell came across her nose. Her mother instincts kicked in and she was on red alert. "OH SH*T THE CoAh-Cwa-COOKIES!" Saya coughed as the smoke detector went off. She stumbled to her feet and saw the kitchen was filled with smoke.

"MAMA!?" Nel cried from her bedroom.

"DON'T WORRY NEL! I GOT IT!" Saya waved the smoke out of her path and reached up to hit the button to turn off the ringing smoke detector. "S-cwah-cah-Sorry Grimmjow. Gottah Go," she hung up the phone and rushed over to take the pan out of the oven.

"Mah!?" Saya heard Nel's voice from the hallway.

"Stay in your room till I open the windows Nel!"

"Wah Happened?!"

"I burnt the cookies!" Saya opened the screen door to the small balcony and put the tray of charcoaled cookies outside.

"YOU BURNT THEM?! MAAAA!" Nel whined from her room. "YOU NEVER BURN THEM!"

"I'm sorry!" Saya opened the windows and tried fanning out the smoke. "I wasn't paying attention…" she mumbled to herself.

She hoped Grimmjow had realized she'd been joking.

"The next pan will be perfect Nel! I promise!"

….…

Grimmjow sat in a crouched position in the middle of his living room with his crushed cellphone in hand and stared at the shattered bay window he had just kicked a table through.

What the f*ck was he supposed to think?

Right before Saya had hung up she'd sounded like she was about to go back on what she had been suggesting about sleeping with some prick.

But that didn't stop Grimmjow from suspecting. He had never thought about it until now. The idea of her being with someone else had never even crossed his mind cuz there was no way they were really getting divorced. It was impossible. Saya was married to him.

She wouldn't do something like that.

It was completely against her personality. Hell, he had dated her for 2 years before he'd gotten to a point where he could get in her pants. And if she had been in her proper state-of-mind she probably still would've said no. But now that the notion had been planted in his head, it festered like a sickness.

He had never expected that Saya being with someone else would damage him so deep. The way Nnoitora always joked about it was nothing compared to this, to the moment where he had actually thought it was true.

He couldn't stand it. Even if she had been joking…there was no way he was gonna let her go now. He had to get her back.

"That f*cking woman," he stood and chucked his broken cell out the window. Someone's car alarm went off. He ruffled his hair.

He probably would kill the next guy he saw her with.

Grimmjow grabbed his car keys, a second cellphone, and trekked out to his car. "Gin," Grimmjow called his bassist on his phone. "Meet me at Las Noches man."

It was his f*cking birthday and he wasn't going to spend it sober.

To Be Continued…

Sooo there's a fan that's a TAD crazy about Ichigo and his band. It gets brought to Saya's attention, but will she straighten out the stalker? Or just use it to her advantage to make the Strawberry's life more miserable?

Thank all of you for reading and thank you CrazyforGrimmjow for your reviews and your support! Sorry for keeping you waiting on the update.

Next Chapter: Cupcake