Chapter Twenty-Seven
Heather's POV
It had been four months since Rose had Hollowfied and fled with the other Visoreds, Kisuke, Yoruichi, and Tessai to the World of the Living. Sure enough the second that word got out I was expecting the previous Captain of the Third Division's child, Central 46 was all over my case. The Forty Six had given me five months to find a husband or they would find a 'fit' family for the baby. I was running out of time and now more than ever I could not bear the thought of losing my baby. Aizen naturally found out about my predicament after visiting me to ask if I had reconsidered, seeing how powerful he was. I quite literally spat in his face as my response. He promised me that I would be begging for forgiveness soon. I don't really care now. He is the least of my problems.
Throughout all of this time, Jūshirō and Byakuya had been my support. Shunsui had been there but had made it clear that he was not ready to be a husband let alone a dad. I am starting to get the impression that Jūshirō is giving me his undivided attention in order to keep me from settling on just anyone during this process. He stayed with me through out every moment we had to spare. Yet, despite both of our efforts, I have no luck and I am now starting to lose hope on keeping my baby. I knew no man would want an expecting woman unless the kid was theirs, depending on the man.
"Heather, your boyfriend's here." the Sixth Seat teased me, tearing me from my thoughts. "He's not my boyfriend." I replied as I filed the last bit of neglected paperwork. Ever since my captain found out that I was pregnant, he took me off the front lines and gave me paperwork duties. He had vocally expressed that he was getting very annoyed with my friend's presence almost a dozen times now. Not that I blame my captain but I felt so lost without Shirō's help. "Well, whoever he is, he's waiting for you. Said it was something important." my superior informed and I looked at him with question. "O—Okay. Thanks." I replied and made my way to see Jūshirō. I found him waiting for me just outside of the main Headquarters. He looked nervous, fiddling around with something in his pocket. "Hey, you. What's up?" I asked, curious as to what he was doing here so early. "I promise I won't take up too much of your time, but I need to talk to you before I lose my nerve." he explained without greeting me. "I'm fine, how are you?" I replied to his statement. He turned a light shade of pink and muttered, "Sorry." "I'm just hassling you, Shir—uh—Capt—" I corrected myself but my friend cut me off. "Shirō's fine, Heather. Formalities would only make this awkward." he interjected sweetly. I was confused. What was he getting at? "What's on your mind?" I asked. He was starting to make me feel anxious.
"Well, I had been thinking for the past couple of days on what's been going on and what you were going through. I realized that we only have a few weeks until the deadline is reached and still no luck." my friend explained and I nodded miserably in agreement. "So, I bounced this idea off a couple of people's heads before I came to you about this and I decided to ask you: will you marry me?" he asked me as he took my hand in his. I was at a loss for words. I would have never thought of him but this was fantastic! "You mean it, Shirō?!" I could not help but to exclaim. Shirō smiled lightly and nodded, "Why not? We get along great. I always wanted a family and you need a man that wants one." he explained. I nodded in understanding and warned, "As long as you know what you're signing up for." His face held relief as he replied, "I'm certain. Do you want to do this?" I reached up and kissed his cheek before remarking, "I will never forget this. Yes, I will marry you." He smiled and said, "Good. Then we have a lot to do and very little time to do it. How about you meet my family tomorrow and we'll discuss plans. I'm sure you're going to want to do this before the baby starts to get big."
I looked down at my stomach and noticed how little the bump appeared. I know better though, I can see the little baby bump was starting to get big quickly when I was observing myself in the mirror. We had to be really quick about this. "I think I should meet your family tonight, Shirō." I suggested. He gave me a look of understanding and said softly, "I'll see what I can do, no promises." "Well, uniforms are deceiving, Shirō. I'm six months pregnant and look the part." I stated. His eyes widened as he asked, "Has it really been that long? Do you know what it will be?" I shook my head and answered, "I told Captain Unohana to keep that information to herself." "She's really happy to be involved in this isn't she?" he asked and I nodded. "Well I have a lot to do and a lot of people to get together tonight. So I'll pick you up when your shift is over." he stated then hesitantly leaned down and kissed my cheek. I guess he did it to get used to the idea but it felt strange. I guess I have to learn to cope with the fact Rose is gone now before Jūshirō and I get too used to each other. "Oh! I almost forgot." he spoke up in realization and pulled something out of his pocket. "My mother is the only one who knows that the baby is not mine and she gave me her engagement ring for you to wear." he explained to me as he placed it on the respectable finger. I smiled at him despite the pang in my stomach. It felt like I just performed the ultimate betrayal; although, if Rose knew, he would understand it was for the baby.