School ended and holiday came. Tatsuki was becoming moodier and more stressed out than usual as the delivery day was getting closer. They had already been told that they were having a baby girl so they had been looking for a name. Were looking actually, because they couldn't seem to agree, so they did what any future parents owning a computer would do: they searched on the Internet.
"So, what about Aiko (beloved)?" Shinji asked.
"Write it down. Hanako (flower child)?"
"Ok. Kohana (little flower)?"
"Mhm. Tamako (jewel child)?"
"Written. Okay, this site's over." Shinji announced. "4 names."
"This is so hard!" Tatsuki whined.
He rolled his eyes. He had decided that if she could settle on one name he wouldn't complain. "Well?"
"Well what? Shinji, you're supposed to be deciding as well!"
He shrugged. "I think those ending in 'ko' aren't all that good. They make a rhyme with my name."
"Huh? I guess that's true… then we only have Kohana."
"So?"
"I like that name. Hirako Kohana? It sounds quite good."
"Oh, Gods, finally!" Shinji exclaimed dramatically.
Tatsuki glared at him. "Do you care that little about our daughter?" She poked him. "Mister, a name is the most important thing for a baby. It can create many social problems later in life."
"Are you talking about Ichigo?"
"Hmph, not only."
He rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine, my bad. Don't shoot."
~~~~~Several weeks after, at night~~~~~
"She's been really active today." Tatsuki said, rubbing her belly.
Shinji gulped nervously, realizing the meaning behind her words. "You should try to sleep anyway. You don't wanna be tired…"
"But..."
"No buts. I'll shunpo you to Kurosaki's clinic when you go into labor. You already have your luggage made."
"I know."
"Listen, all nearby Hollows will be after you. The baby's reiatsu will be flaring. This is why I need to…"
"You need to be a loving husband and stay by my side. Let the others take care of that." Tatsuki said, worried.
"Okay. Hachi'll put up a barrier. Now try to go to bed." Shinji whispered.
Tatsuki nodded, still uncomfortable from the kicks and punched her little girl was delivering. She shifted a lot at first, until she felt an arm around her waist, rubbing her stomach. "Shinji…"
"Shut up and try to relax. You need sleep more than I do."
She figured he was right… and she was really tired. She allowed her eyes to slide closed for a few hours of sleep…
She was woken up by a sharp pain in her lower stomach, curling up her back. Her eyes widened as she felt her underwear wet. "Shinji, wake up!" She felt the baby's reiatsu spike up as the pain came once again. "Wake up, baka!" Soon, the window broke and a Hollow entered the room, laughing grimly. "Shinji!" The Hollow came closer to her and opened its mouth to devour her. "Shinji!"
And that's when Tatsuki woke up from her nightmare. She was panting hard, her eyes teary and her forehead sweaty. "Tats, what's wrong?"
She shook her head. "Nothing, nothing, it was just a nightmare."
He nodded. "Wanna talk about it?"
"I went into labor. You were asleep and I couldn't wake you up. I couldn't! Then I sensed her reiatsu… it was huge… and Hollows started gathering. I still couldn't wake you up. It all ended when a Hollow devoured me…" tears made their way on Tatsuki's face once more.
Shinji gulped. "Shh, it was just a nightmare, love. That won't happen."
"I know. Sorry for waking you up."
"It's alright, I wasn't asleep anyway."
"You need to sleep as well."
"I'm fine. I can handle about three days without sleep. Goodnight, Tats."
"Goodnight."
~~~~~Later that night~~~~
"Shinji, wake up!" Tatsuki yelled.
He groaned. "What? Now?"
"Yes, now."
"Oh, shit."
Shinji's mind became active in an instant. He scoped Tatsuki up and shunpoed immediately to the clinic.
"Oh, Hirako-san." Isshin greeted. He saw the reason of their presence and led the ex-Taicho through the house, into the room specially arranged for the occasion.
Tatsuki looked around the room. The constant pain she was in was distracting her from whatever the men in the room were doing. "Put up the barrier around the house!" The doctor barked.
Shinji nodded and started chanting. He could sense the Visoreds head their way. Soon the door opened and Lisa appeared. "I am here to guard on the inside."
The other two nodded. Isshin kneeled in front of the bed. He removed Tatsuki's soaked underwear. "Her water broke. The dilatation is 8 cm. You should refrain from pushing."
"Fuck!" she cursed. It hurt. Her main instinct was to push, hoping to relieve the pain, but she couldn't. "Shit! What about now?"
"You can start pushing."
"Why the fuck didn't you say so earlier?" she snapped.
"Because you couldn't earlier." Isshin replied calmly. His mind was drifting to when his wife had given birth to twins.
"Tats, calm down." Shinji whispered. "Getting mad won't help."
"Like fuck it won't. I can get mad if I want to!"
~~~~~Many hours (and curses) later~~~~
"Well, we are almost there." Isshin announced. "Its head is out. One more big push and it's over."
'Oh, God, thank you' Shinji thought.
"You sure?" Tatsuki asked.
"Positive."
She screamed at the top of her lungs as she felt another contraction rip its way through her body. She pushed as hard as she could, squeezing Shinji's hand. Soon she realized she no longer was the only one screaming. Isshin smiled, cleaning the baby after Shinji cut the umbilical cord. He handed the girl to her mother and left the room after checking their health.
Shinji kneeled next to the bed, holding Tatsuki's hand. "It's been 9 crazy months." She whispered. "But she's worth it."
He smiled, looking at the baby. His daughter. Their child. "Yes, she is. Both my girls are worth anything." He added.
Tatsuki smirked, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Mhm." Shinji watched her fall asleep and kissed her forehead, moving to go to sleep in a nearby bed.
~~~~A few weeks later~~~~
Tatsuki woke up, startled. Kohana was crying. As Tatsuki took her time getting out of bed, she noticed that Shinji was already up. "My turn, remember?" he said, yawning. "You are way too worried, Tats." He was changing Kohana's diaper and talking to Tatsuki at the same time. At first, he had found changing diapers weird and gross, but after the first week it kinda came natural. The baby's room was Tatsuki's old room and they were sharing her parents'. They could perfectly hear what their daughter was doing as long as both doors were open. Soon she was asleep. Shinji smirked, placing her in her crib. She was always relaxing when being held and often fell asleep while being walked with.
"It's already been 4 weeks?" Tatsuki asked.
"Yes, it has. Doesn't seem like it?"
"No, it doesn't. Mum wants to come over and help us take care of her while we're at school."
Shinji sighed. "Yeah… I'll have some explaining to do at a certain point."
Tatsuki squeezed his hand. "No, you won't. She should never know about all that."
He tried to read her face through the dark. The resolve her voice was emanating was more than enough to settle him. "Fine." He kissed her. "I know you have your reasons and I won't question them. I love you."
"I love you too."
A/N: I'll post an epilogue by the end of this month. I'm leaving on a long trip and I want it to be perfect so I won't hurry.