Disclaimer – Oh...come on...you'd have to be an idiot to think I own Bleach

Author's Note – If you're really good at paying attention to small details, you'll notice that something about timing doesn't work in this chapter. It says in September, Rukia is entering her fifth month, even though she found out about the baby in June, only three months earlier. That's 'cause by the time they found out she was already about two months along. The baby was technically conceived in April. Okay, now that I've got that said (I, for one, am a stickler for details, so this note was more for people like me than anyone else), on with the story!


Chapter 9 – Normal

The school year started. Rukia and Ichigo had already decided they weren't going back. They had too much on their minds to worry about school as well.

"It's so weird, not going back," Rukia said on the first day of classes, "I mean...it doesn't feel right, you know what I mean?"

"I know," Ichigo reached over and wrapped his arms around her waist. Now in her fifth month, she was more noticeably pregnant. He brought his hands to a rest on her stomach, smiling. "We can always go back...in a few years, I mean. Pick up where we left off"

Rukia inched closer to him. It was almost scary, how perfectly she seemed to fit in his arms. Like they were two halves of a whole. "I suppose"

She didn't sound like she believed him. It was okay, though, because Ichigo didn't really believe his words either. Neither of them knew where'd they'd be in a few years. They were still waiting to see if the Soul Society was going to come after them again and try and take Rukia away. Ichigo scowled, remembering Renji's smirking face. He'd looked shocked when Rukia had said she was serious about the baby. Which led Ichigo to wonder...

"Hey, Rukia?"

"Yeah?" her voice was soft and low, and Ichigo had a feeling she was trying to go back to sleep. He knew she'd been more tired than usual lately, and he didn't want to put too much on her right now. He'd keep it short.

"Do you...if you had a choice, would you change this?" he asked, trying not to sound anxious. "Any of it?"

"Of course I wouldn't, Ichigo," she moved a little closer to him, curling up tightly, "Why, do you think I would?"

"Not exactly, but I was thinking about Renji, and, well..." Ichigo let his voice trail off. He wasn't quite sure what to say.

"Don't listen to Renji," Rukia said, "He doesn't know anything, you know what Renji's like, he has to have the last word in everything, and he's always looking for a fight, he was just trying to get under your skin"

"He just seemed...surprised when he found out you-"

"He was just trying to get under your skin," Rukia repeated, her voice soft but firm, "You can't take anything he says seriously, understand?"

"Yeah, I know," Ichigo sighed, feeling a little better now. They laid there in silence for a little longer. They were silent a lot. But they enjoyed each other's company, whether they were talking or not. And anyways, the silence never lasted long. This was no exception,

"Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"Do we have cookies?" Ichigo groaned. He knew exactly where this was going. Correction, exactly where he was going. "Ichigo?"

"No, you finished them last night"

"Oh. Ichigo?"

"You want me to get you some cookies?"

"Please?"

Ichigo groaned and pulled himself out of bed. "Yeah, yeah, all right..."

He dragged himself out of the warm comfort of the apartment building, into the cool, early September air. He should have known better than to let them run out of cookies. She loved them. Maybe I'll talk Yuzu into making a big patch of cookies, Ichigo thought as he started the car and drove down to a small store on the corner, enough for the next four months

He found Rukia's precious cookies – chocolate chip. They were the only kind she'd eat. One time he'd accidentally bought peanut butter. That night he'd slept on the couch, more for his own safety than anything else. Even with sleeping on the couch, he was surprised when he had woken up whole and safe the next morning.

He quickly paid for the cookies and made his way home, not wanting to think about what might happen if Rukia thought he had been gone for too long. However, when he got back, he was met with a very aggravating sight; Rukia had curled back up under the covers and gone to sleep. "Aw jeez," he muttered angrily, "Ichigo, go get my cookies. And while you're gone I'll just go to sleep and take your side of the bed. Sound good?"

He wasn't too upset though. He knew that Rukia was having a difficult time right now. She was as worried as he was about the Soul Society, and she was pregnant on top of it, so that didn't help. And anyways, she was going to want the cookies when she woke up. So it all worked out in the end.

Ichigo carefully shut the bedroom door and walked out into the living room. It was only about five in the morning, not much was on TV, except the news. But that was okay, TV was TV. And for him, it was company.

There was a small piece about Yukio, mostly just stating that he was being sent back to jail for a long, long time, and when he was let out he would no longer be allowed to go within fifty feet of Rukia or Ichigo, unless he wanted to be sent back to jail. This put Ichigo at ease just a little. Not a lot though. There was still always a chance Yukio would ignore a restraining order. But Ichigo pushed those dark thoughts to the back of his mind.

Sighing, Ichigo leaned back on the couch, grabbing a magazine off the table as he did so. It was something Rukia had gotten, all about different things for a baby's room (changing table, cribs, etc.). He started flipping through it at random, and once again he thought of what they were going to do. They only had one other room in the apartment, and it was about as small as a closet. Okay, it was a little bigger than a closet, but not much. It certainly wasn't big enough for a baby. They'd be able to put in a crib in there, but that was about it, really.

Ichigo threw the magazine back on the table and stood up to go inspect the room now. It was across the hall and one door down from where he and Rukia slept. He carefully opened the door, which squeaked slightly – he reminded himself to get some oil for the hinges – and stepped in.

When he and Rukia had first moved into the apartment, they'd thought it was perfect. It wasn't too big, but they didn't need it to be big, seeing as how it was just the two of them. They hadn't owned much – most of their furniture had been stuff Isshin had found in the attic of the Kurosaki house, like tables and the couch. So they hadn't needed room. And they hadn't worried about needing room. They'd never planned on a baby. They had always been careful and used protection, after all. They'd thought they'd be okay.

Now though, Ichigo realized how foolish they'd been. Obviously the protection hadn't worked. Ichigo remembered what his dad had said once; it was good to use protection, but there was no guarantee in it actually working. To which Ichigo now said, very loudly, duh

Rukia woke up around eight. Just as Ichigo had predicted, she wanted cookies. Ichigo was very glad he had gone and got them now. She sat on the couch, munching the cookies and flipping idly through the same magazine Ichigo had looked at when he first woke up. "I like this crib," she pointed to one of the pictures in the magazine.

"Don't you think it's kinda small?"

"So is the room we're gonna be using," she reminded him, "If we want to be able to fit more than one thing in there, it's going to needto be small"

Ichigo sighed in defeat and nodded. "Yeah, all right. Do you think we should start maybe, I dunno...think about buying stuff for the baby?"

Rukia's eyes continued to skim the page of the magazine. "Yes, probably. But I'm not sure...I mean, we still have to think about money, don't we?"

Ichigo leaned against the counter, running a hand through his spiky orange hair. They had to think about a lot, apparently. "You know, I was looking at that room earlier...it's really small"

"So what can we do?" Rukia looked over the magazine at him, "Absolutely nothing, that's what. We can't afford to move into a new place right now, and even if we could-"

"Moving right now's a bad idea, I know," Ichigo shook his head, "Yeah, I know. I guess all we can really do right now is try and make the room work. Maybe sometime after the baby's born we can find a bigger apartment"

Rukia nodded, her eyes downcast. At that time, they both had the same thought going through their mind; they had way too much to think about. Rukia grabbed another cookie, munching on it absentmindedly.

"You know, if my dad did an ultrasound, he might be able to tell what the gender of the baby is," Ichigo said, trying to get Rukia's mind onto something new, "If not now, then soon. Do we wanna know what it is?"

Rukia's face twisted into a look of deep concentration. "No," she finally said, "I mean, if you want to know, then we can find out, but I'm not really interested in knowing. I'd rather wait and be surprised"

Ichigo nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah. Being surprised sounds good to me too"

Sighing, Rukia stood up and stretched. The second she did so, her legs gave out and she stumbled forward. Ichigo's eyes widened and he sprang forward, grabbing her right before she hit the ground. He pulled her up again and she laid her head against his chest. "I'm fine," she muttered her assurance, "Don't worry about me, just sat down for a little too long, that's all, I'm fine, really..."

Her legs shook slightly as she stepped away from him, but she stood strong. Ichigo tried to bury his concern. He didn't want Rukia to think he was worried, if she thought he was worried, shewould worry. And he didn't want to worry her. "Do you wanna go lay down?" he asked, trying to distract her, "I can help you get back to bed-"

"No, it's okay," she cut him off, "Really, I've never been better"

Yes, you have, Ichigo wanted to say, Don't lie to me, Rukia.You've definitely been better. You've definitely looked better too.

He was very uneasy about how pale she had become. But he didn't want to push her. Instead he allowed her to sit back on the couch, and after a second he joined her. They started flipping through the magazine together, every now and then pointing out something they liked. It was relaxing, really, sitting there with the girl he loved, looking at baby furniture, sometimes trying to grab a cookie (though he didn't try to often, Rukia usually slapped his hand away). It was relaxing, acting like, just for a little while, they were just another, normal, happy couple.


Author's Note: Just 'cause I don't feel like them having the baby quite yet. Next chapter though, heehee. Not quite sure what I'm doing for that yet, guess we'll see when it comes along. Anyways, I know this chapter was pretty boring, so please, I beg of you, don't leave a review saying "this chapter was pretty boring", or any other variation of that. This was really just a filler chapter (you know, like a filler episode). I'm working up to the good stuff. Really. Oh just review. I've got my review goal for the entire story set: 350. Wanna help me make it? Oh, and the story isn't ending after the baby is born. It's really only just beginning /grins evilly/. All right, review! – Sam