Chapter: You Dunno Whatcha Got 'til Its Gone

Shalan's Song: LA LALAAAAA! glass breaks It's looks at clock SIX FREAKIN' THIRTY (That's like… 4:30 Pacific, 5:30 mountain… and 7:30 eastern… oh well… THAT ONES NOT SO BAAD! Do you SEE the dedication? I am DEDICATED you getting you guys a chapter each day! SO! HELP THE POOR SLEEP DEPRIVED GIRL! Give her some reviews Xx

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She sat patiently by his bedside, her hands gripped around his right hand. The young detective had every machine possible in his body she had decided. What did she get out of it? She shook her head. A clipped left shoulder. That was it. In the meantime Ichigo had suffered any number of traumas. The force from the bullet that had torn through his lung had reopened the old wound, causing severe blood loss and the seven broken ribs… she choked lightly, he had gone through a brutal beating… and it was all her fault.

"How is he?" She looked up as Uryu walked in, a bouquet of white lilies in his arms. Shortly thereafter he was joined by his wife, who immediately walked over to Rukia and gripped her shoulder.

"He's still comatose. His wounds are healing… fairly rapidly… the doctors say his will to stay alive is amazing…" Rukia felt tears in her eyes and her thumbs gently massaged the back of his hand. "His neck has almost completely healed from the break and his lung is functioning again."

"That's good…" Uryu looked down as he set the vase of flowers down next to the others. He smiled slightly, white lilies were Icihgo's mother's favorite… so when he had seen them he had bought them on contact.

"Yeah… yeah it is…" She choked and Kazumi knelt down next to her chair, Rukia leaned into her and pressed her face to her shoulder. "He's going to wake up right?" She whispered and Kazumi nodded.

"Of course he is… He's the invincible Ichigo Kurosaki… he's always going to come through whatever life throws at him…" She wrapped her arms around the smaller girl.

"What if it wasn't life that threw it at him?" Rukia asked with a slight laugh. Uryu snorted slightly and folded his arms, leaning against the wall.

"I'm sure Ichigo'll be alright… I mean… he's Ichigo for crying out loud. The guy's been through a freakin' war!" Uryu nearly threw his hands into the air. "Did he ever tell you how he saved his partner over there?"

"No… he didn't really talk to me much…" She realized this, she didn't know much about him. She wondered if she ever would.

"His partner and he didn't get along very well in High School so when they ended up going to war together they hated it. One day, his partner was an idiot and decided to move a little closer to the action… his partner was hit with six bullets. Ichigo jumped out from behind his barrier and grabbed his partner, the man he hated, and pulled his ass back behind the barrier, taking a bullet to his thigh as he did, making it hard to walk… he threw his partner back behind the wall then dragged himself over…" Uryu's eyes were nostalgic. "From that day forward… his partner trusted him, knowing that if he was that good about protecting his enemies… he would sure as hell go to any lengths to save a friend…" Uryu smiled over at her.

"You sound like you know this guy…" Rukia smiled slightly and he nodded.

"I know him very well… the wounds still hurt from time to time… I think they always will…" Uryu rubbed his shoulder lightly and Rukia choked on a laugh.

"So you're sure he'll come through?" She whispered.

"Yeah… Ichigo has never faced a challenge with defeat… he's gonna run right through it whether it wants him to or not… just be careful… he's a dangerous person to fall for…" Uruy folded his arms.

"What? Why are you telling me that? I'm not falling for him!" She protested. "He's a man! Men are horrible… he's just a friend of mine… and he's saved my life quite a few times!"

"Just a friend…" Uryu looked off to the side and Kazumi chuckled.

"A friend with benefits?" The red head suggested.

"Get out! Both of you!" Her face flushed the lawyer pointed to the door. The two laughed and ducked out.

"Call me if anything changes!" Uryu called and she huffed.

HOW DARE THEY TELL HER SHE WAS FALLING FOR HIM! She was frustrated, angry… and worried. Her hands gently rubbed his, trying to get him to wake up. 'DAMN IT KUROSAKI! DON'T DO THIS TO ME! WHY THE HELL ARE THEY SHOOTING AT ME??' Her mind screamed.

"Don't do this to me…" She rested her forehead against his arm.

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A man walked purposefully towards one of the high rise business offices, his shiny black shoes clicking slightly on the tile floors. He stepped into the office he was looking for and walked past the secretary.

"Mr. Van Horn! You can't go…" She protested and he slammed open the door, his red eyes alight with anger. The handsome brunette that sat at the desk looked up from his cigarette.

"Now you've got some explaining to do!" He slammed the door behind him.

"I've? What about you?" He lifted an eyebrow.

"Now you listen to me Aizen… You leave the girl alone, she's mine… she's not a part of the agreement…" The white haired man slammed his hand down on the desk.

"I will do with her what I want…" Aizen smiled, his brown hair was slicked back from his face and his glasses sat on the desk. He let a smile play across his lips and flicked the cigarette at Ichimaru's feet. "I like her… she's got something about her that makes me tingle…" He touched his fingers together.

"You're a bastard… you made me a deal… I got the girl and you got the detective… you know he knows more than he's saying…"

"I'm thinking about making her my next victim… I've been looking for one with her powerful of a heart…" He smiled over at a door hidden in the wall. Ichimaru followed his eye line and saw what he was looking at.

"You're sick… very sick…"

"Her brother will give her to me… I know he will… a merger between our two businesses… the Sony corporation has been drooling over our products for years… I'll just have him give her to me and we'll cement the union."

"Can you get away with that?" Gin sat down as his cohort picked up the phone.

"Get me Kuchiki Byakuya…" The corporation owner smiled over at Ichimaru whose almost unfathomable smile faded slightly. "Thank you Momo…"

"You aren't playing fair…"

"I don't feel like playing fair… I will kill him… if he exposes me… my career is over… both of them…" He smiled softly.

"Yeah…" Gin looked out the window.

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Rukia held a cool cloth on Ichigo's heated forehead, she had been keeping him cool so that his fever would hopefully break, but every time she would place a cool cloth on his face it would be gone within seconds. Then something happened that she was not expecting, for the first time since she had been there his hand gently squeezed hers.

"Ichigo?" She gasped lightly and looked into his open amber eyes. He tilted his head slightly in a nod. "Oh thank god…" She pressed her face into his neck, nuzzling her nose against his cheek. "Thank god…" Tears welled up in her eyes. His hand that she hand been holding lifted up and tenderly traced the side of her face.

"Am I alive? Cause the only place you would be is in heaven…" Their lips met in the most tender of kisses, his hand holding her in place as they kissed. "I'm sorry…" he whispered softly between kisses and she shook her head, tears dripping down her cheeks and across her lips. He kissed the line of tears, tangling his fingertips in her hair.

"You… don't…" She heard him shush her and their lips met again, her tears mingling between her lips, giving them a bittersweet taste.

"Stop talking…" He laughed as she pressed their foreheads together, their noses touched and their lips followed after.

"Ichigo…" She breathed softly and he paused, pulling away to look into her eyes, amber meeting tearful azure.

"Yeah?" He rasped lightly his calloused hand dragging down the side of her face.

"There's… something…" Her eyes flitted down towards his feet and he looked at her then gripped her face a little tighter, turning her face toward his.

"What?" His amber eyes searched her indigo and she looked down slightly and he pulled her back up again.

"When you fell back… on the building…" she chewed the inside of her cheek. "No… now's not the right time…" her eyes filled with tears.

"Rukia damn it… just come right out and say it!" He pushed himself to raise his voice.

"They think you might be paralyzed…" she whispered and his eyes opened wide as he dropped back onto his back. "I mean… it's not for sure and they say that if you can move your toes and feet then you'll walk again."

"Kill me."

"What?" Her voice sounded panicked and she felt her airway slam shut.

"I'm of no use to anyone in a wheelchair for the rest of my life…" He looked away from her.

"Ichigo! Didn't you hear me?" She turned his head back and this time his eyes were filled with tears.

"They always say that… it's not true…" he felt his heart break as tears welled up in her eyes.

"No! You'd be use to me…" Her hand tenderly brushed the side of his face.

"No I wouldn't Kuchiki… I'd just be a burden…" his eyes dimmed, he didn't want to be more of a burden on her that he already was.

"You could never be a burden to me…" Her angelic voice spoke to him and he looked over, his eyes darkening slightly.

"Rukia…" His baritone rumbled in his chest like a lion's purr… she almost felt herself begin to cry again. If he was gone from the earth… the last good man would have died.

"Ichigo… you are not going to do this to me… I will keep you alive… do you understand me?" Her face pressed into his neck and he cradled her head with his good hand.

"What if I'm in a wheelchair for the rest of my life?" He whispered and she looked over.

"You won't be… I have faith…" She smiled and he felt tears well up in his eyes.

"Thank you Rukia…" He whispered softly, his hand cupping the side of her face.

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