Well, here is part two! I hope you like it. There will be several more parts. The next on is about . . . find out at the end of this chapter!

And I know I listed Rukia and Ichigo as 19, but to make things clear, they started trying for a baby when they were eighteen. A little young, I guess. But not so for Rukia. Learn more as you read!

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in bleach. I do own Kaien (MY Kaian, not the one in the Manga/Anime) though.

Daddy Pt: II - Daddy In Trouble

Ichigo was scared for his life.

Everyone in the room had their eyes on him and Byakuya. The nurses, the doctors, Rukia, Ishida, Inoue . . . everyone. No one made a sound. No one except the baby. He wasn't to keen on being ignored, so he began crying. Rukia gently rocked him back and forth, her natural mothering instincts taking over. Ichigo glanced over at the baby for a second before his gaze returned to Byakuya. Who was still staring at him.

"Please don't kill me."

The request sounded awkward to the nurses and doctors, but they must have seen this before, so no one commented. No one spoke for a minute, then one of the nurses, a brave young man, broke in.

"Um . . . we still need a name for the baby to go on the birth certificate," he said. Ichigo turned from Byakuya, chancing it, and leaned over to whisper in Rukia's ear.

"Didn't we agree on Kaien?" he asked softly, reaching over to touch the baby's hand. Rukia nodded. She turned to the doctor, smiling weakly.

"Kaien Ichigo Kurosaki," she said. The nurse nodded.

"How do you want that spelled?"

Rukia oversaw the spelling, making sure it was right, then nodded. The nurse asked a few questions to Rukia and Ichigo to finish the certificate. Rukia then turned around to Ichigo.

"Here, you should hold him," she said. Ichigo looked nervous, but accepted the baby from Rukia's arms. Little Kaien squiggled for a second before resting happily in Ichigo's grip. An insanely huge smile began spreading over Ichigo's face as he stared at the baby.

Renji leaned over Ichigo's shoulder, smiling at the baby.

"Huh. He sure does look a lot like you," he commented. Ichigo's smile only grew.

Byakuya, who was standing in the corner now, was neither frowning nor smiling. He wasn't too keen on Rukia giving the baby Ichigo's name as a middle, but she had also listed the baby as a Kurosaki. Since Rukia and Ichigo weren't married, the baby should have been a Kuchiki, not a Kurosaki.

"I hope he doesn't get your personality, but it seems as though he already has. He's restless," Renji said.

"No, I think he's hungry," the nurse said, coming over. "I will show Mrs. Kurosaki how to feed the baby, then we need to take him to the newborns room. Daddy can stay, everyone else, I am going to have to ask you to leave."

Everyone exited the room, no one correcting the nurse about his calling Rukia as 'Mrs. Kurosaki'.

An hour later, Rukia was sleeping quietly in her room. Ichigo had left a little while ago, prodded out by the nurse, and had walked over to the clear glass room that let new parents watch their babies. He quickly spotted Kaien, the small bunch of orange hair on his head giving him away instantly. He was awake, and crying. Ichigo wanted so badly to walk in and hold him, but he knew he wasn't allowed to.

Kaien looked almost exactly like Ichigo; the hair, the skin tone, the facial features, everything. But the eyes were Rukia's in too many ways to count.

Ichigo smiled and pressed his hand up against the glass, as if reaching out to the crying baby.

"Kurosaki."

Ichigo winced at the voice, removing his hand from the glass and turning around to stare into the face of Byakuya.

"What do you want?"

Ichigo knew it probably wasn't the best of ideas to talk to a Captain like that. But he knew Byakuya wouldn't kill him then and there; dozens of children were in the directly range of his target.

Byakuya didn't speak. Maybe he was surprised at the tone of voice Ichigo had used, or maybe he didn't have anything to say. Ichigo took a deep breath and spoke again.

"Look, Byakuya, I know you hate me. I know you think I'm not good enough. But I love Rukia. I really do, and isn't that good enough?" When Byakuya didn't respond, Ichigo took a chance and continued, "I love Rukia, and I love our baby. And nothing you say or do will change that. If you hate me, fine. But don't take it out on Rukia and Kaien."

Then, without another word, Ichigo turned back to the glass, staring at Kaien. He had stopped crying and was sleeping again.

"Do you think she's really happy?" Byakuya asked, not moving from his spot. He watched Ichigo's back as he stiffened at his words.

"I do. I really think she's happy," Ichigo said firmly. He continued staring at the window. "Did she ever tell you that she's always wanted a child?"

"No," Byakuya answered.

"We were worried because she couldn't get pregnant. The doctors told us there was nothing wrong. But we had been trying for over a year. She miscarried twice and it hurt her so badly. When she found out she was pregnant again, we were hopeful. She made it through the first trimester, and the doctor said her chances for miscarrying were small again. But when she was at six months, she went into labor. There was no way the baby would make it. Rukia was put on medication to stop the labor, and she had to stay in the hospital for a month. She was sent home on bed rest and went into labor again this morning. When I brought her here, the doctor said there was no way to stop it, and we would have to chance the baby being born early. They're sending him up to the NICU after a quick check, so he'll be gone from here soon," Ichigo explained.

Byakuya still didn't speak.

"I asked her to marry me fourteen months ago, and she said yes. But we got distracted when she got pregnant eight months ago. We're planning on having the wedding in three months. When Kaien is out of the NICU and healthy. Byakuya, Rukia would want you there. Please put aside your feelings about me and come. This isn't something you can take back," Ichigo said, turning around to face Byakuya. "It would mean a lot to all of us if you were there."

"I'll come," Byakuya said after a second. Then, he asked, "What is the NICU?"

"Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. A special unit that cares for premature babies. It's not a nice place. Only part of the babies in there actually come out."

Neither spoke for a second. Then, turning to leave, Byakuya said slowly, "I hope Kaien comes out healthy. For Rukia's sake . . . and for yours."

As he walked off, Ichigo felt as though he had just passed some test or another. Smiling, he turned to watch Kaien again. The nurses were getting him ready to take him up to the NICU.

But he knew he had quite a while before Byakuya would fully except him.

He would accept that.

At least Byakuya hadn't killed him. That was a good thing.

Rukia sat up in her bed, staring at the tube in her arm. It was the same kind of IV that they had put in her arm when she was in the hospital for a month. But this time it was to give her medications to make her stronger after the baby's birth. Not to save the baby's life.

Suddenly, Rukia looked up as Ichigo entered the room. He walked over and, smiling, gave her a quick kiss before sitting down in the chair beside her bed.

"How's Kaien?" she asked.

"He's been taken up to the NICU. But the doctor's said he'll be fine. Everyone else went home. Well, everyone except Byakuya. He's off God knows where plotting my demise," Ichigo joked, reaching over and grasping Rukia's hand tightly in his. "Here, look."Ichigo held out his camera phone and set it to playback. He had recorded a clip of Kaien up in the NICU. He was moving around happily, which the doctors said was a good sign. Rukia smiled and laughed as Kaien turned his head, so it looked as though the baby was staring up at her.

"He's beautiful," Rukia said, still staring at the baby. Ichigo just continued to grin. "You know, he looks a lot like you."

"Everyone is saying that," Ichigo said, a note of happiness in his voice. "But he has your eyes. Gosh, I wish he had gotten your hair, too. It's bad enough for me to have had to live with this hair. But now Kaien has to live with it, too."

"He'll be fine with you to protect him," Rukia said. Ichigo stifled a laugh as he rested his head on Rukia's bed, her hand still clasped tightly in his.

One could always hope, couldn't they?

Well, the next one will be about The Wedding! Haha! Hope you like this, and the next one will be a lot more funny. :D

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