I do not own Bleach.

I'm back way sooner than I anticipated with an update. Not much to say before hand. So read and enjoy!

Special Thanks: Vincent for the review, Guest for the review, and kyuumihaira for the review!

8 Weeks

Yumichika sat nervously in the exam room of the Squad Four medical building. He hadn't seen nor heard from Ikkaku since their fight the day he confessed his pregnancy. He really did hope that they could eventually work things out, but he couldn't say that he really blamed the third seat for being angry. He had lied to him and stolen from not only their friend, but also a Captain. He had only been sitting in the exam room for a few minutes, but it felt like he'd been there for an eternity. He finds that he just can't stop the tears that prick at the corner of his violet eyes. This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to be sitting in the exam room alone. Ikkaku was supposed to be here with him helping him remain calm.

The tears finally spill down his cheeks and as much as he tried not to sob he couldn't help it. He just hoped Captain Unohana wouldn't make a big deal out of his tears. He wanted to just get the exam done and make sure the baby was okay and then try to be happy without Ikkaku there to rejoice with him. He hears a knock on the door and quickly wipes his tears on the paper gown he was wearing, "C-come in."

Having been expecting Captain Unohana, the fifth seat was more than surprised when the white haired Captain of Squad Thirteen walked through the door. Jushiro smiles as he closes the door behind him, "Hello, I'm sorry for just barging in and if Retsu catches me I will be in big trouble, but I heard crying and I wanted to make sure you were okay." He gives Yumichika another friendly smile as his mind searches for the name of the man sitting on the exam table, "It's…Ayasegawa, correct?"

Yumichika nods and wipes his face again, "Yes, but…but what are you doing here?"

The Thirteenth Captain lets out a chuckle, "I think the better question would be when am I not here?" He notices that the younger man doesn't find his joke as funny as he does and Jushiro's smile wilts into a frown at how sad the fifth seat looked, "But, to answer your question, I'm being discharged today and even though I am fully capable of getting home by myself Shunsui always insists on walking me home after one of my episodes."

Yumichika didn't know why the older man's words made him cry, but fresh tears slip down his face. He supposed he could blame it on the hormones, "Th-that's really sweet."

Captain Ukitake walks farther into the room and places a pale hand on the crying shinigami's shoulder, "It may not be my business, but why are you here and why are you so upset?"

A barrage of memories from his and Ikkaku's fight surge through his mind and he finds that he can't stop the flood of tears that rush down his face and before he even realized he was doing it, he found himself resting in the older man's embrace as he continued sobbing, "I…I'm sorry…you should go. You'll get in trouble if Captain Unohana finds you in here."

Yumichika straightens up and removes himself from Jushiro's embrace as he wipes his face again, But Captain Ukitake doesn't make to retreat from the room, "It won't be the first time I've been in trouble with Retsu I assure you. I'm certainly not going to leave you alone when you're obviously so upset." The older shinigami sends a small surge of calming reiatsu into the distraught man on the table and the tingle that shoots up his arm afterward brings back something Shunsui had told him earlier in the week, "Oh, I see…I had almost forgotten when Shunsui mentioned it because I had just been medicated."

Yumichika had felt the warmth of the Captain's reiatsu enter his body, but he didn't know what the older man was talking about, "I'm sorry…what?"

The white haired shinigami gives Yumichika an understanding smile, "You're pregnant aren't you?" He doesn't wait for Yumichika to respond and continues talking, "Shunsui mentioned it, but I had forgotten until just now. I felt it…it was tiny, but there."

The fifth seat gives the Captain an expression of intrigue, "You gathered all that from just one touch?"

"I've been around a long time. I picked up a few things during the centuries." Jushiro's optimistic expression fades as he realizes that the fifth seat is alone aside from himself, "But, if you're pregnant why are you so sad and where is your partner? Madarame…right?"

Fresh tears spill forth at the mention of Ikkaku and much to Yumichika's displeasure the sobbing begins again. He hated being this vulnerable. He was supposed to be strong. He was supposed to be able to handle this all by himself, but it was more difficult than he ever imagined it would be, "Your touch can't tell you everything then." He sniffles and wipes his eyes, "Ikkaku never wanted children. I…I shouldn't have done what I did, but now it's too late and he's angry with me for being pregnant. He…he didn't know until I was already pregnant."

Jushiro avoids the most obvious question of where did he get the lozenge without procedure and tries to comfort the Eleventh Squad member. It certainly wasn't everyday that you came across a seated Squad Eleven member crying in an exam room in Fourth Division, "Surely he will come around. I don't have many dealings with Squad Eleven, but even a blind man would be able to see how much the two of you love each other." He gives the younger man a comforting smile, "In fact, whenever Yachiru comes by for candy and to play with Emiko she tells me all the time how wonderful the two of you are. She says she knows you argue with each other the most because you're in love." He chuckles softly and pats Yumichika on the shoulder, "She's not wrong. I've never been more angry at anyone more than I have been at Shunsui on occasion."

A small smile forms on Yumichika's face at hearing what Yachiru had to say about them when they weren't around, "But, I was dishonest with him and I…I stole that lozenge from Kuchiki Manor. I…I'm going to be in a lot of trouble. None of this was Ikkaku's fault and I don't want him to get in trouble too."

A sympathetic look appears on the Thirteenth Captain's face as he listens to Yumichika, "I'm sure you can work something out with Byakuya and the Head Captain is a lot more understanding than you might think. You will most definitely get a tongue lashing and some sort of punishment, but it won't be as bad as you think."

Yumichika just stares blankly at the Captain with watery eyes and shakes his head, "It wasn't supposed to be this way. We were supposed to be happy, but…but he just wouldn't listen and I got anxious and it just happened all wrong."

"No, don't say that." The white haired shinigami shakes his head and squeezes Yumichika's shoulder, "You're going to have a baby and no matter how that came to be it's not wrong or a mistake. Shunsui and I were scared to death when we found out and even though I had been a science project and had no say in the matter Emiko was still our child. We even had the choice of keeping or aborting and the latter choice never crossed our minds. We didn't know anything about being parents and we hadn't even planned it, but she was ours and she was wonderful and perfect." He smiles at Yumichika and releases the younger man's shoulder, "Everything will work out for the best and a few months from now you'll wonder why you were so upset about it all. Your partner will come around once he's had time to think it all through."

Yumichika nods and actually allows a smile to spread across his face, "Thank you for talking to me." He wipes his face again and straightens up the paper robe where it had slipped down his shoulder, "I really hope you don't get in trouble for being in here though."

The older man's green eyes widen as he remembers where he is and he begins walking toward the door, "Shunsui will be wondering what's taking me so long." Jushiro opens the door and looks back at Yumichika, "Good luck with it all and if you ever have any questions for me or if you just want to talk I don't mind." He looks out the door and quickly looks back into the exam room with a smile on his face, "Looks like your luck is turning around already."

The Captain leaves the exam room leaving Yumichika a bit confused until he hears another knock on the door, "Come in." Once again expecting Captain Unohana, Yumichika is a mixture of surprise and anxiety when the bald head of his lover peers in through the door, "I-Ikkaku? What are you doing here?"

Ikkaku makes his way fully into the room and shuts the door behind him, "It's my kid in there right? Ya did invite me ya know?"

Yumichika tries to smooth his hair down and look as if he hadn't just been crying, but he felt sure that Ikkaku could see right through his tough façade, "I'm glad you came. I know you're mad at me and I don't blame you, but…"

Ikkaku holds up a hand to halt his lover's words, "We ain't gotta talk about all that shit here, but we are gonna talk when we get home. I'm mad as hell about what ya did, but I guess…I guess I shoulda tried harder to listen to what ya had to say." His cheeks tint pink, but Yumichika doesn't mention it, "I want us to talk all this shit out no matter how mad it makes us. I want…I want to be a…a good dad to that kid and I ain't gonna run away from my responsibilities. Besides, I can't let Renji be a better dad than me."

A small smile graces the fifth seat's features and he nods, "I want that too. I want us to be honest with each other even when it's hard to do that." New tears form in his eyes and he doesn't even try to stop them. He needed Ikkaku to see how sorry he was for what he'd done, "I never ever meant to hurt you or lie to you, Ikkaku, you have to believe that. I had a reason for everything I did. I know that doesn't make what I did right, but I didn't do it to hurt you."

Ikkaku blinks back his own tears because he didn't even want Yumichika to see him cry and he makes his way to the exam table where he grabs his lover's hand in his and gives it a light squeeze, "We'll talk it all out later."

Yumichika nods and when the third knock sounds this time the person behind the door actually was Captain Unohana. She gives them a polite smile as she closes the door behind her. She looks at her chart and gives the two of them a serious look, "Pregnancy suspicion? I'm not going to ask how you managed that without the proper procedure, but you do know that if you are indeed pregnant I am required to report my findings to Head Captain Yamamoto?"

Yumichika swallows hard, but nods his head, "Yes, I know that, but…but Ikkaku didn't know. If you have to report it then just report me."

Ikkaku shakes his head, "Hell no! Ya might've done this without my permission, but I ain't lettin' ya go down by yerself. I ain't gonna do that!"

Captain Unohana clears her throat and places the chart on the table, "Gentlemen, we can discuss all of those things after the examination." She walks over to a small machine in the corner and carries it closer to the exam table, "Due the short notice of the situation, we will only get to hear the heartbeat today if you are indeed pregnant. We weren't able to borrow the ultrasound on such short notice." She gives them a smile, "Although, if we keep having new arrivals we made need to purchase our own."

Yumichika lets out a nervous sigh as he lies back on the exam table. He was really hoping he would get to see the baby, but hearing the heartbeat would be wonderful too especially since Ikkaku would hear it as well. The Fourth Captain then opens the fifth seat's paper gown, "I'll use a fetal Doppler to listen for the heartbeat." She then places the wand on his abdomen.

At first nothing can really be heard but muffled sounds until Retsu finds the right spot. The small exam room is soon filled with the thumping sound of a little heartbeat. Yumichika smiles and chances a glance at Ikkaku. The fifth seat was shocked to see a smile on his lover's face as well. Captain Unohana allows them to listen for a little bit longer before turning the machine off and covering Yumichika with the robe once again, "Sounds nice and healthy. You are indeed pregnant. I'd ask that you come back next week when we have a proper ultrasound machine and I can more accurately calculate how many weeks along you are."

Ikkaku is the first to speak, "Why was it so loud? Is it supposed to sound like that? I thought it'd be softer or somethin'?"

Yumichika had wondered the same thing and he didn't want to say anything, but he could have sworn he heard more than one heart thumping away, "I thought the same thing."

Unohana places the Doppler machine back in its rightful place and addresses their questions, "Some baby's hearts are stronger than others and sometimes the Doppler picks up the mother's heartbeat as well. I won't know anything for certain until we perform the ultrasound." A more serious expression appears on her face with her next words, "The Head Captain will send for you by way of Hell Butterfly once he has been informed. Until then I suggest you break the news to Captain Zaraki."

Both men reflect the same terrified expression. Neither of them had even once considered the fact that Captain Zaraki would need to be notified. Captain Unohana walks them out and the two of them head back to their home in silence. Yumichika new their talk wouldn't be a pleasant one, but he knew it was necessary. After they worked out all their personal problems then they would figure out how to break the pregnancy news to their own Captain.

TBC…

Thanks for reading!