Well, this is gonna be my last chapter (maybe) for 2006. Yes, I know, I couldn't find it in my heart to kill Ichigo. I've got a soft spot for him. And his hollow, and Renji, but that's not what my story is about. In fact, I really don't know what my story is about. Would someone please enlighten me?

Y'all have a great New Year's Eve. I'm serious, because if you don't, I'm not going to update the story. Yeah, that got ya going.

My best wishes to all for 2007!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

For the past month, all Ichigo could do was limp around his house in Karakura. The confinement had nearly driven him insane. But now, he was free to roam around the city without the use of crutches. He still had a little trouble getting around, but it was nothing that he would admit to anyone.

He and Renji, as well as many of the other wounded shinigami, had been sent back to the real world for recovery. Renji had called the whole recovery bit "a load of BS. All this is is an excuse for the higher ups to plan on other ways of killing us." But anyway anybody chose to look at it, the wounded were being sent to the real world.

This being Ichigo's second time being severely wounded in the past year, Rukia hardly ever let him out of the house, even though he insisted on continuing with his job at the hospital. He had tried many times to escape from his incarceration, each attempt being foiled by Rukia, who, despite Ichigo's injured state, would kick him upside the head.

On the rare occasion that he was allowed outside, Rukia always had to accompany him. She would follow him pretty much anywhere, which made Ichigo the target of Renji's latest wise-cracks. Several of which had something to do with "Soon enough, she'll be following you into the bathroom." Those didn't go over all that well with the two of them, which would earn him punch to the face from Ichigo and a swift kick to the balls from Rukia.

Just one week earlier, Renji had been called back to Soul Society to train the 6th company's new recruits, which had been graduated early in order to respond to the shortage of troops. This left Ichigo home by himself for most of the day, usually doing nothing but watching television. He had tried to play his guitar, but with the strings being so old, four of them had popped as soon as the pick hit them.

One day earlier, Ichigo had been allowed to return to work, earning many questions from his fellow doctors regarding is wounds and absence. He enjoyed getting back to the hospital, wanting to work off all of the extra pounds he had gained during his house arrest. He still had to walk the few blocks to the hospital, not yet regaining his right from Rukia to drive a car. The walks weren't his favorite part of the day, due to the fact that it was the beginning of February.

Ichigo laid sprawled on the couch with Rukia in is arms as he watched the TV. Their Friday night tradition, as it had been since his return after the Heuco Mundo incident, was to sit down at 11:00 PM and watch Will & Grace. Since his return to work, the evenings were really the only times that they had to spend together. Ichigo normally got the weekends off, but since he had missed so much work, he had to work the day shift on Saturdays and Sundays.

His sigh turned into a yawn, his eyes closing subconsciously. He hadn't realized how sleepy he was just then. He felt Rukia's hand softly rub the side of his face. "You sleepy?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, just a little. Had a busy day down at the hospital." He could feel his eyes beginning to close. He let his muscles relax, content with falling asleep on the couch. He watched the television screen, the light reflecting off of his eyes.

Rukia looked up at Ichigo. "I'm really glad that you're alright. You had me so scared when Renji called and told me what happened."

Ichigo looked down into her eyes. "I always bounce back, though." He gave her a cocky smile.

Rukia returned his smile. "You can be such an idiot sometimes. But that's one of the reasons I love you." She briefly kissed his lips before laying her head back on his chest. She had immediately gone to Soul Society after getting the call from Renji, not knowing what to expect.

Ichigo sighed deeply, tightening his embrace on Rukia. He was about to fall asleep, when Rukia looked up at him and broke the scilence. "Ichigo, what should we name our baby?" He hadn't really given it much thought, since the baby wasn't coming for another three months.

"You should decide." Ichigo said.

Rukia thought for a moment before replying. "Let's name him Takeshi. It means fierce warrior, just like his father." She kissed his forehead before snuggling into his shoulder, her soft breath drifting onto his neck.

Ichigo smiled, satisfied with the name. "Yeah. Takeshi Kurosaki."

Rukia curled up on top of Ichigo, absorbing the warmth that his body emitted. His chest wasn't the most comfortable thing to lay on, but it was preferable to anything else. Ichigo leaned forward to grab a blanket that was laying over the side of the couch and draped it over the both of them. He buried his face in her soft hair. "I love you, Rukia."

"I love you too, Ichigo." Rukia murmured against his neck.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

So, how'd you all like the name I picked out? Yes, Takeshi means fierce warrior. I spent, like, three hours looking it up.