So, here I am writing the second chapter to my first long term pairing fic. There's really nothing else to say. Really. I've got nothing. Nothing at all. Nadda. Zip. Really, what do you people want from me? Fine be that way, just read the story. And enjoy!

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White. That was the color of the room. Even though no lights were on, he could tell. How long had he been unconscious for? He weakly turned his head to face the clock on the nightstand next to the hospital bed. 2:10 AM. Ichigo pulled his hand up to his face and rubbed it, realizing that his arm had an IV tube sticking out of it.

He tiredly tried to remember how he had gotten into a hospital. He had gotten the order from Soul Society. Then he tracked down the hollow, Grand Fisher, followed it into the woods, fought it and lost. He had been dying, and then Rukia had found him.

Rukia.

He wondered where she was now. She had used her cell phone to call the ambulance, and he had been taken to the hospital. What else had happened? Oh yeah. He had told Rukia that he loved her. He smiled, remembering how he had held her in his arms, and how she had told him that she loved him as well. Ichigo touched his lips, remembering how she had kissed him.

Ichigo heard the door open, and he closed his eyes. He heard small, slow footsteps approaching his bed. Whoever was there sat down on the chair next to his bed.

He cracked his eyes open slightly to see who it was. It was Rukia.

"Hey, Rukia." Ichigo weakly spoke, his voice raspy.

"Are you feeling alright?" Rukia held Ichigo's hand.

"Yeah. Jus' a little sleepy." Ichigo groggily replied. He enjoyed the feel of Rukia's small hand in his.

"The doctors drugged you so you wouldn't feel any pain. You had four broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a dislocated shoulder." Rukia tightened her grip on his hand. Her eyes began to water as she remembered how helpless he has looked when she had found him. He was bleeding profusely, and she had thought that he would die.

"Please don't cry, Rukia." Ichigo looked up at Rukia, eyes fully open. "I'm not worth crying over."

"That's not true Ichigo. You almost died fighting that hollow. Of course I'm going to cry." Rukia used her free hand to wipe her eyes.

Ichigo shakily reached his free hand up and wiped a stray tear falling down Rukia's face. He hated it when she cried, especially when it was over him. "You're too pretty to cry." Ichigo smiled weakly.

"Ichigo, you moron." Rukia carefully crawled onto the hospital bed and gently laid her head on Ichigo's heavily bandaged chest. She could feel the tears flowing freely down her face, and her bottom lip was beginning to tremble. How could he be so calm when he had almost died?

Ichigo wrapped one arm around her waist and let the other lay at his side. He let out a deep sigh, completely a peace with himself. He felt so comfortable, so complete. He snapped out of his thoughts when Rukia began sobbing. Ichigo stroked her hair, trying to calm her. "It's okay, Rukia. I'm here."

"I-I know, I-it's just that…you were almost killed by that hollow, and I couldn't stand loosing you, not like that." Rukia replied, her voice muffled.

"Rukia, you can't start crying every time I get hurt." Ichigo used his index finger to pull her chin up so she was looking into his eyes. "I love you, and I would never leave you like that. Ever. Okay?"

Rukia wordlessly nodded her head and leaned forward, her lips making contact with Ichigo's. Ichigo could feel that same tingling sensation that he had felt only hours before in the woods. It felt like he was floating in midair, on top of a cloud, almost.

"So how long do they plan on keeping me here?" Ichigo asked as he slightly leaned his head backwards so that they were no longer kissing.

"About a month."

"What?!" Ichigo tried to sit up, but the stinging of his fresh wounds and the fact that he had been completely drained of his energy weighed him down. He groaned in frustration. A month wound probably seem like a year being cooped up in this hospital. "A whole month?"

"Yes, a whole month. You can't even sit up as it is, let alone stand and walk. It will probably take a month for those wounds to heal, and they might want to keep you in for physical therapy."

"I don't need physical therapy! I could walk just fine after being nearly killed in Soul Society." Ichigo defiantly explained.

"That's because you were in the Soul Society. Your wounds will heal much faster in there than they will in the real world."

"I don't want to stay in this smelly old hospital for a month." Ichigo replied. "Do you know how boring that's gonna be?"

"Oh, stop being such a baby!" Rukia scolded.

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Fine, be that way." Ichigo stubbornly looked out the window, mostly to avoid making eye contact with Rukia.

"I will." Rukia smugly replied. She snuggled closer to Ichigo.

Ichigo sighed deeply. How she could keep him from objecting to this more than twice was beyond him. "So, exactly what's keeping me from just busting out of here right now and going home?"

"You can't walk. You can't even sit up." Rukia sat up, straddling Ichigo's waist.

"Yes, I think I can." Ichigo tried to sit up, but he couldn't even prop himself up on his elbows. He gave up and laid back down on his pillow. "Don't say a word." He warned.

"Fine." Rukia gently places a kiss on Ichigo's forehead before laying her head on his shoulder. "Just try and get some sleep."

"M'kay." Ichigo mumbled before sleep overcame him.