A/N: I cannot really write operations out well and if I did write it in this story you lot might throw up ... either that or it'll be boring so I decided to not write about the oepration ITSELF! I think it adds more suspense anyways! Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter twenty-five: brave buzzing bee

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Tick ….

Yoruichi had her eyes glued to the clock above the door. Each second seemed to take an eternity to tick by. The waiting was agonising enough to kill her. Kisuke frowned at her blank expression tilted upwards at the clock. He sighed and reached over to take her hand in his "Yoru-chan …if you keep watching the clock time will never fly" Yoruichi chose to ignore him. Her eyes bore into the clock so deeply that Kisuke was just waiting for the loud crack of the glass surface to shatter.

Tock ….

"AH THIS IS TAKING FOREVER!" Yoruichi cried stamping her feet "WHY HAVEN'T I BEEN INFORMED OF AN-Y-THING?" she growled banging her fists onto the arms of her chair.

Tick …

Tock …

Kisuke decided to step outside into the corridor for some air. Mainly he wanted to get away from Yoruichi's temper as she a sandwich to death. He sighed and leant back against a wall, his hat shielding his eyes form the florescent lights. He must have spaced out for a little while because it wasn't long before he caught sight of Inoue edging down the corridor dressed in a pale surgery uniform. He jerked to attention "Inoue-chan how is she? Is she alright? What happened? Did Rukia defeat the hollow? Is Soi-cha even ALIVE?"

SMACK!

"Pull yourself together man!" Inoue hissed sharply and bit back a smile as Kisuke caressed his stinging cheek she nodded her head "yes to all of your questions"

"HOORAY!" Inoue yelped I surprise when Kisuke lifted her off the floor and spun her around in the air "THAT'S WONDERFUL!" Inoue blushed and giggled when he set her down "Is Soi awake yet?"

Inoue's face fell as she shook her head "no, not yet … the painkillers haven't worn off yet"

"Damn there's always something isn't there?" he sighed dryly "ah well I'd better go and tell Yoru-chan that Soi is okay"

"Okay she will be back in her original bed in about ten minutes or so"

"Okay" Inoue turned to go back to the operating theatre when … "Inoue"

"Hai?"

Kisuke held her close and pressed a kiss to her lips "Arigatou" and with his trademark goofy grin he turned and disappeared leaving a very red Inoue in his wake.

"Yoruichi?"

Yoruichi furrowed her brow and turned in her sleep. She kept hearing voices in her head. The voice sounded familiar but she couldn't place it.

"Yoruichi?"

Something was shaking her body. She groaned as she batted her hands at the offending person trying to make them bugger off. It didn't work.

"Yoruichi Soi-chan is out of theatre"

Yoruichi's eyes snapped open, however it took a while for them to fully adjust on the face looming above her. "K-Kisuke-san?"

"That's me" he beamed down at her before hugging her chest tightly "Oh isn't it wonderful? Soi-chan lives to fight another century!"

"What the hell are you on about Kisuke?"

"WOMAN! YOUR WIFE IS OUT OF THEATRE! SHE IS ALIVE!"

"REALLY?" Yoruichi squealed leaping to her feet with a feeling engulfing her body that ran so much deeper than any gratitude she had ever felt before, "I have to go and see her!"

"Right you are" Kisuke beamed and friends hand before practically dragging her out of the waiting room and down the corridor to Soi's ward. It wasn't long before Yoruichi took over though, as she flash-stepped to the bed where the doctors were just leaving Soi.

She was so happy just to see her little Soi again she didn't care that she wasn't awake. She settled herself into the chair at the chair of the bed and took Soi's thin hand in her own, a small bruise shining on her pale skin where they inserted the drip. She placed a kiss to Soi's fingers and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "It's okay now Soi-chan I'm here now ... you can wake up for me now, eh?" she gave a small insecure laugh "nah take your time, it's alright I'll right here no matter what, I promise"

Unohana and Inoue distracted Yoruichi from Soi for a little bit "well as you know the operation was a success and now thanks to Rukia, the last hollow was destroyed … However I must point out that the hollow was already dead inside Soi Fon"

"Then how did it infect her?"

"It was alive ... at least … until half an hour ago … somehow the cancer it had helped to build devoured it … so really the credit goes to Soi's cancer"

"Your humour is worse than Kisuke's" Yoruichi stated coldly.

"HEY!" both Kisuke and Unohana protested at this remark. They both knew it was true but the insult itself … hurt.

11:31pm.

Rukia yawned and patted Ichigo awake in the chair beside her "come on strawberry time to go home and got to bed"

Ichigo however decided to be too cute and snuggled even closer into Rukia's stomach "no" he whined "I'm comfy here"

Rukia sighed and looked over at Renji "Renji-san can you carry Ichigo home for me?"

"Hm can I sleep in the spare room tonight?"

"Of course you can" Rukia beamed tiredly.

Renji nodded "okay then" he stood up and stretched his arms with a yawn. Rukia shifted awkwardly under Ichigo's limp body. Renji laughed "give him here" he picked Ichigo up and swung him over his shoulder before looking back down at his childhood friend "let's go

Inoue watched the trio depart and soon stretched her own legs out from beneath her. Unohana smiled down at her "need a lift, dear?"

"If it is not too much trouble for you"

"None at all, dear" Unohana beamed in that gentle manner of hers. Where she had all this patience stored up was beyond anyone's knowledge.

"I'll join you to the door" Kisuke volunteered "I need to get home anyways … it's a little depressing listening to Yoruichi while she talks to Soi telling her to wake up soon" Inoue smacked him upside the head. "What was that for?" he complained rubbing his head and bowing to pick up his hat from the floor.

"For being a dick" Inoue shrugged before winking at him. Kisuke grinned and followed them down the corridor.

Back at Soi's bed Yoruichi had cried herself dry once again. She sighed and rubbed her eyes and she rested her head lightly on the mattress of Soi's bed. "I'll be … *yawn* … right here when you wake up … Soi-chan …" her eyelids grew heavy and eventually slammed shut over her golden eyes. She was so tired. The way the baby kept squirming inside her, it was too exhausting to control all the time. She pressed a kiss t Soi's hand "wake up soon, Soi"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Wake up soon, Soi" came the soft whisper through her blank mind. She frowned faintly. The words kept echoing in her ears, each echo becoming clearer than the last one. She tried to open her eyes but they were too heavy to even flicker a little.

"This is annoying" she mentally growled. She hated feeling weak and out of control. It didn't seem fair, or natural, to her. She tried to force them open. Nothing. She let her body go slack for a few minutes before trying again. This time she was blinded by a white light. "Ah fuck"she thought "I'm dead" but once her vision started to clear up she was able t make out the blank ceiling and curtain rail that had been above her bed, well she assumed that's what she'd seen for that brief flicked of consciousness before being wheeled off to theatre. That's when her mind focused and a singled word managed to drift dryly through her lips. "Yoruichi ..." something shifted on her lap.

"S-Soi-chan?"

Soi looked down to see a bleary-eyed Yoruichi staring up at her. She gave a weak smile and lifted her finger to stroke Yoruichi's lips "Yoruichi …"

"SOI-CHAN!" Yoruichi cried flinging her arms around her lover and crying into her chest, pressing wet kisses onto Soi's lips and cheeks. She pulled away and flicked the younger girl's nose with mock-anger flashing upon her face "don't you ever do that to me again! You gave me a heart attack!"

Soi bit her lips, her eyes downcast "gomen Yoruichi" a faint flush of colour arose in her otherwise ghostly white cheeks.

Yoruichi gave a tender smile and pulled Soi into a tight, loving hug. She nuzzled her chin against Soi's head through her soft cap and purred "it doesn't matter now, Soi, you're awake now …" she leant away and cupped Soi's colouring face in her hands "I'm here now … we'll be alright, you and me, right?"

Soi silenced Yoruichi's comforting rambling with a cool finger to the warm, chocolate lips of her lover "you … and me" she breathed before enlacing their fingers together "… always"

Yoruichi smiled with watery eyes and then noticed Soi's eyelids growing heavy. She stood up with a groan (the baby was digging into her bladder) and fluffed Soi's pillows up and helped the girl to get comfortable. Soi yawned sleepily, snuggling into the pillow. She looked so small and vulnerable. Yoruichi knew that her little lover hated feeling this way but for now there was nothing that could be done. Soi was soon asleep. Yoruichi stroked the rim of the cotton cap that had nestled just over Soi's (hairless) eyebrows. Yoruichi sniffed, she wanted her happy, energetic, glaring Soi Fon back the way she was. She knew it was a selfish thought but she assumed Soi wanted to get better too. Then an idea struck her. Either that or the baby had kicked her bladder again. I can take Soi-chan on holiday for a week the baby kicked her guts Oh right, I can't travel … I'm fudging pregnant! Waaah! She tapped her lips thoughtfully and wondered what she could do to cheer Soi up. They couldn't travel anywhere, plus Yoruichi doubted that Soi had any energy just yet. She sighed and shook her head before turning to look at her little lover's sleeping face. "Maybe when we're both better we can go on holiday, eh?" That's when the baby took it too far. He kicked her stomach making bile rise up her throat. Se rushed to the bathroom to throw up.

Soi choked on a dry, rippling cough and cracked her eyes open hoping to Yoruichi there, asleep or awake she didn't care, however when she saw just the curtains drawn around her bed, she frowned and listened as her heart monitor began to race "Yoruichi-sama?" she panicked.

The rushed beeping of the heart monitor caught Yoruichi's cat-ears and alerted her that something was wrong. Wiping her mouth dry she darted from the bathroom and skidded down the slippery lino corridors until she slid to a stop at Soi's bed. "Soi-chan what's wrong?"

Soi caught her breath and coughed again, a look of agony plastered on her porcelain features. "Why … did … y-you l-leave … me?" rasped the thing captain beneath the white hospital sheets.

Yoruichi came and rested down beside Soi cuddling the younger girl against her chest "I had to throw-up … I'm sorry sweetheart I didn't know you would wake up again" she crooned pressing small kisses to Soi's forehead.

"It's okay" Soi rasped trailing her hand down Yoruichi's neck, breast, stomach and coming to rest on her bump "are you both alright?"

"Well we've both had a rough day but yes I think we are just fine" Yoruichi whispered reassuringly as smiled as Soi buried her head within her joint of her shoulder. She pulled the blankets around the both of them, not caring if she got lectured in the morning, Soi needed her comfort right now and she was getting a lot of it.

Yoruichi cupped Soi's cheek and stroked her fingertips over Soi's thin features, her soft thumb across Soi's high cheekbone and kissed her forehead with her warm lips. Soi hummed in pleasure as the warmth of her lover's lips seemed to erase her headache away. She wrapped an arm around Yoruichi's waist and curled into her, finally feeling warm and loved after such a gruelling day. "I … love you … Yoruichi …" came the hoarse whisper from below Yoruichi's chin.

"My, my, my little bee is buzzing sweet nothings in my ear" Yoruichi breathed. Soi tilted her head up slightly and smiled faintly, blushing. Yoruichi smiled and continued to stroke her lover's pale features and body, wrapping her arms around Soi's shoulders and kissing her nose "I love you too, Soi-chan, my brave little bee"

"Buzz … Buzz … Buzz" Soi mumbled with a small grin.

Yoruichi chuckled softly before curling up around her lover like a protective cat does to their kittens "good night Soi-bee" she whispered into her lover's ear.

"Goodnight … Yoruichi" Soi's eyelids fluttered closed and she was in her own little world where the pain streaking across her stomach no longer existed. Yoruichi stroked her lover's cheek before nestling down and closing her golden eyes to the dim lights of the hospital ward.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and don't worry we will get back to Yoruichi's pregnancy ... surprise in next chapter! Reviews are welcome!