"I'm going to murder him."
"Nanao-chan, you're breaking my hand."
"Just like I'm going to break his neck."
"Ow, seriously," Rangiku whined. "Can someone else please takeover?"
"I am nearly indestructible. Perhaps I could help?"
"Yes, Nemu-chan why don't you hold Nanao-chan's hand."
Nanao screamed in frustration and pain. Then her worst nightmare came true. She heard her mother's voice out in the hallway. "That woman does not get in this room," Nanao ground out through gritted teeth. She'd released Rangiku's hand to point threateningly towards the hallway.
"How are we supposed to stop her?" Rangiku asked rubbing her newly freed hand and pouting.
"I don't care how you do it, just do it!" The women in her room scampered out into the hall and Nanao clenched the bed frame.
"How are we doing?" Unohana Taicho asked as she slid into the room unfazed by the several members of the SWA fleeing.
"Fine, as long as my mother stays out there. Any word from Shunsui?"
The gentle Taicho shook her head. "They've sent out someone to retrieve Kyouraku Taicho and Ukitake Taicho in Hueco Mundo, but we haven't heard back."
"The Soutaicho sent him on purpose just to punish us."
"It was a high-level mission. I'm sure the Soutaicho didn't think you would go into labor early, Kyouraku-san."
"Of course, I would go into early labor," Nanao shouted. "Have you met Shunsui? He's the most impatient man that ever was when he wants something." She'd spent the first year of dating him turning down marriage proposals after all. "Of course, his child would be just as impetuous. He's only lazy when you don't want him to be."
"You're doing fine, Kyouraku-san. Just a little while longer and it'll be time to push."
"Push? I'm not pushing. This kid is not coming out until Shunsui gets here. I'm not doing this alone."
"I could bring your mother in?"
"I'd rather have Kurotsuchi Taicho at my bedside." The sad thing was she meant it.
"Your mother is quite insistent."
"Then kido her to the floor," Nanao demanded through clinched teeth. She normally would never talk to the healer and respected Taicho this way, but frankly she was in enough pain not to care. She was going to kill Shunsui for not being here. He'd said he'd keep her mother out of the delivery room. Jyuushiro had volunteered to help. He'd said he'd be here, and she wanted him here so badly. It hurt and she was scared, though she'd never admit it out loud, and he'd spent the last ten years getting her stupidly dependent on him, and now she wanted her stupid husband damn it.
"Breathe, Kyouraku-san. I'm sure he'll make it. Would you like your mother-in-law?"
"No," she wailed as she felt her body tightening for another wave of pain. "I want Shunsui."
And then the door flew open and he was there, disheveled and clearly worried, but there. "Nanao?"
"Your stupid kid is being stupid."
He looked shocked and then laughed. "So the labor is going well?" Another contraction hit and she screamed through a clenched jaw, which pushed the smile right off his face. She clamped down on his hand as soon as it slipped into hers and she was sure it wasn't pleasant, but he didn't complain.
"Retsu-san, is everything ok?"
"Everything is fine, Shunsui-san," the healer said calmly. "Just a bit earlier than we predicted. Everything else is going according to plan. We'll need Nanao-san to push soon."
Nanao made a distressed noise and fidgeted in the bed. What had she been thinking when she rejected the anesthetics? She definitely wouldn't be this stupid on the next kid, if she was dumb enough to let him get her pregnant again. But it was too close now and they claimed they couldn't give her the drugs. She'd bet Kurotsuchi Taicho would give her drugs now if he were here, and the fact that that sounded appealing should probably have her more worried than it did.
"You hear that, Nanao-chan? You're doing great!"
She looked at Shunsui in disbelief and then closed her eyes in pain. "I don't think I can do this."
"Of course you can," he said and kissed her temple. "You're strong, and smart, and brave, and you're going to do great. You're already doing great. I'm sorry I wasn't here."
"I thought you weren't going to make it."
"The hollows that got in the way of me returning didn't live to regret it."
"I didn't want to do it alone."
"You don't have to. I'm right here."
She gave a cry of pain as another contraction ripped through her. They were definitely closer together now than they had been three hours ago when they started. "I don't think we're ready for this."
"We're ready. You're worrying for no reason."
"What if we mess up?"
"The kid will survive. They're pretty bouncy. And besides we survived our parents didn't we?"
Nanao heard her mother's voice from the hallway again and grimaced. "Not very comforting."
"Nanao-chan is going to be an amazing mother," he reassured. "And our baby knows it too, that's why he wanted to come out so soon to meet you."
"Kyouraku-san, it's time to push," Unohana interrupted kindly.
Nanao did as ordered, but wasn't sure how she was getting through this. "We're never doing this again," she ground out. He laughed and kissed her head. "I'm serious."
"Again," Retsu ordered.
Twenty minutes later Nanao was pretty sure she was going to die. This was worse than any fight she'd been in. She was exhausted and hurting and it still wasn't over.
"You're doing great, sweetheart."
"I'm done. Just shove the kid back up there and let me sleep."
Shunsui smiled and she felt his reiatsu weave around hers in comfort and support. "Try again, Nanao-chan. You're almost there."
"Easy for you to say."
"You do this and I'll finish the paperwork for an entire year."
"You have to do that anyway," she argued as she gave another push when Retsu told her to. "I'm on maternity leave."
"Do this and I'll do paperwork for an entire year and set the guest room on fire so your mother can't visit."
"Where would Jyuushiro stay? Can't we just," Nanao started and then gave a little shriek of pain. "Tell her we moved?"
"Almost there. I can see his head," Unohana Taicho informed them.
"Sure." He rubbed a thumb over he white knuckles. "Only a little more, Nanao-chan."
"Define 'a little'."
"I love you."
"Not an answer," she shrieked. She pushed again and thought she was literally going to break apart. Everything hurt and this kid was just as awful as his stupid question-evading father. Pain ripped through her again and she bore down.
"One more time, Kyouraku-san."
Nanao screamed and pushed as hard as she could. If this wasn't the end of it she swore she was going to die in this bed. There was a release and she gasped. Then a wail broke out as tiny lungs filled with air and she forgot everything else.
"Congratulations, you have a healthy baby boy."
"Please," Nanao said as Unohana and Isane fussed over the little creature. "Can I have him?"
A few moments later Unohana pressed her quickly cleaned up son into her arms and Nanao wasn't sure if she'd ever been this happy in her entire life. The pain faded into distant background noise as the little boy blinked up at her with bright violet eyes. She nestled him closer and she was sure this was true love.
"Hello there, Hachirou." Despite the name having an annoying connection to her brother-in-law, Nanao and Shunsui had agreed there was no way they could pass up naming him "8th son" as their division was nearly as excited as they were by the news.
"He's beautiful, Nanao-chan."
"I'm your mommy and this buffoon is your daddy. He's not so bad once you get to know him."
"Hey!"
"In fact, he rather grows on you with time. You might have heard him telling you stories when you were in my belly. Not all of them were true." The baby sniffed and nuzzled into her chest. "You're very lucky, Hachirou-chan, you have a mom and dad who love you very much. Even despite the fact that you tried to kill me as you came into this world." She touched her son's cheek and wondered if she'd ever be able to recreate this feeling.
"You should see if he'll nurse," Unohana suggested gently. Nanao followed instructions and was delighted when he sorted it out quickly. She decided it was proof that her son was already above average and smiled to herself when she realized she'd have to be careful not to be that parent that bragged about their child's smallest achievements. She might generally be a modest person, but she thought she might struggle to apply the same objectivity to her son. Shunsui certainly wouldn't be any help in that endeavor. He'd already declared the boy a genius whenever Shunsui thought he'd caused something particularly delightful, such as when he'd given her morning sickness at her family's and she'd thrown up all over her brother-in-law's shoes or when the pregnancy had affected her kido control and one morning when she'd meant to light a lamp she'd instead set half the day's paperwork on fire. The baby stopped nursing and Unohana showed her how to burp him before settling the sleepy child back in her arms.
"Have you ever seen anything better in your whole life?"
"He's perfection. Can I hold him?"
Nanao smiled and shifted the baby slightly so Shunsui could take him. She was fighting sleep, but the look on Shunsui's face was worth it. The only thing it compared to was the look on his face the day she'd walked down the aisle and married him. Nanao always defined love by that particular expression.
"I'm falling asleep. Promise you'll keep my mother out and be here with Hachirou when I wake up?"
"Of course, my beautiful Nanao-chan. We'll be right here and I'll kido lock the door. Rest." He leaned down to kiss her head again and she let her eyes flutter shut. "I'm sorry I wasn't here from the start."
"It's ok, you'll make it up to me next time."
"I thought you were never doing this again?"
"Look at him," she said gesturing to the sleeping baby in his arms. "He's perfect. How could we not do this again?"
"He is pretty perfect."
"Be here when I wake up. I want him back right away."
"Nanao-chan not even pissed off Retsu-san could drag me away."
She smiled as she drifted off. She hoped their next child was a girl, if only to see Shunsui be an overbearing idiot. They'd definitely have to do this again, only next time she was getting the drugs – lots and lots of drugs. Life was wonderful.
Shunsui held his newborn son and watched his wife sleep from a chair at her bedside. What a strange and wonderful turn his life had made. If you'd told him years ago that this was his future he'd have argued it venomously. Now he couldn't imagine what he'd been thinking to not want this. Hell, he'd given up drinking for the past nine months in solidarity with Nanao and he hadn't even missed it that terribly much.
Nanao shifted in her sleep and made an unhappy little noise. Retsu had done as much as she could, but had said Nanao would be uncomfortable for a while all the same. He supposed that's what happened when you pushed a new person out of you and into the world. He was just thrilled that despite the pain Nanao was willing to do it again. Next time he'd tell Yama-jii to do his own mission if it was anywhere near the delivery date. He was just grateful Retsu had been able to procure him an extra uniform to change into so he didn't have to sit there covered in gore from the mission.
A quiet knock sounded at the door and Shunsui looked over surprised. He'd definitely thrown up a kido barrier around the whole thing to keep her mother out. Their families could wait until Nanao felt up for it.
"Don't look so murderous, you'll scare your son," Jyuushiro said quietly from the doorway.
"I thought you were her mother," Shunsui admitted in an equally hushed tone. "Couldn't figure out how she'd managed the kido barrier."
"You've gotten better at that. Your barriers are always strong, but this one had more skill to it than normal. Took me a minute or so to figure out a workaround to get through without breaking it. Nanao's influence?"
Shunsui laughed quietly. "Of course. She said my barriers were a disgrace to the rank of Taicho."
"I know she's still sleeping. Do you think she'd mind if I came in?"
Shunsui grinned. His best friend had been almost as excited as he was about the news. Nanao had told Shunsui on a Saturday and they'd broken the news to Jyuushiro when he came over for their weekly Sunday night dinner the next night. Jyuushiro loved his nieces and nephews and as far as he was concerned Shunsui and Nanao's child counted as such. "Let me wake her up. She'll want to see you two meet."
"Oh don't," Jyuushiro said waving his hands in concern. "I'll come back later."
"It's fine," Shunsui answered standing up. "She's been out for nearly two hours and Retsu-san said he'll need to nurse again soon anyway. I also don't think we'll be able to keep our families out for much longer. I'm surprised the SWA has managed it so far."
Jyuushiro snorted. "I think that has more to do with Byakuya-san's presence than the SWA. Her mother is out there fangirling hard. It's the only reason I was able to sneak by."
"Kuchiki-san is out there?" Shunsui asked surprised.
"I think he came to make quick well wishes and Nanao's mother trapped him."
"Serves him right," Shunsui teased. He actually liked his fellow Taicho, but he still enjoyed teasing Nanao that Kuchiki had a crush on her. Especially when that giant bouquet showed up at their home like clockwork every year on her birthday. In fact, he was pretty sure Kuchiki was making it bigger each year just to hassle him. He reached down and gently shook his wife's shoulder.
"Hmmm?"
"Time to wake up Nanao-chan. Jyuushiro is here and he wants to meet Hachirou."
"Hi, Jyuushiro," Nanao greeted warmly with that soft dazed smile she often wore when she first woke up. It was one of his favorite smiles. He'd found if he bothered to wake up early he could get away with the most in the first few minutes of the day. That was the smile that meant she wasn't determined to get out of bed yet and could be persuaded to stay.
Jyuushiro greeted her back with a happy grin. "I heard the delivery went well."
Nanao snorted at that. "Whoever told you that is a liar. Fighting hollows is easier."
"But is the end result as good?"
Nanao smiled at Shunsui and their son and shook her head an empathetic no. "Well, go on."
Shunsui grinned and tilted the baby towards his oldest friend as Jyuushiro came over. Hachirou woke up at the adjustment and blinked. "Can I hold him?" Shunsui transferred his son to his friend's waiting arms and enjoyed the scene as Jyuushiro cooed to him.
A warm hand slipped into his and he looked over to find Nanao smiling fiercely at the sight. "You're lovely you know."
"I look like I just pushed a human being into this world," she scoffed.
"Yep, like I said, lovely."
"You're ridiculous. How have you managed to keep my mother out?"
"Kido barrier for the most part. Although Jyuu just informed me she's trapped Byakuya-san out there."
Nanao groaned. "That woman is impossible." He agreed whole-heartedly. The only downside of their marriage was that it had encouraged her mother to try to spend more time with her daughter without ever giving her any more approval than she had in the past. Shunsui liked to invite them to one of his family's high-society parties once a year so they could give the woman what she wanted and otherwise avoid her most of the time. They also tried to visit her family on their own terms so they could leave when they wanted as opposed to hosting them in the Seireitei. Turning one of the guest rooms into a studio for Nanao had helped with that as well. He did try to be tolerant though, if only because her mother's horribleness had been the thing that drove Nanao into his arms in the first place. He shuddered to think how long it would've taken him to figure out he loved her under different circumstances. He might have been too dense to do it before she found someone else.
"Um guys?" Jyuushiro said pulling Shunsui's attention back to the present. "He's making that face like he's about to-" Hachirou started wailing right as Jyuushiro said cry making Shunsui laugh.
"He's probably hungry again," Nanao said reaching out her arms to take their son back.
"Should I go tell everyone they'll be able to come in in a few?"
"Please do," Nanao answered. "Poor Kuchiki Taicho must be miserable." Jyuushiro left, slipping through the kido barrier again, and Shunsui resumed his seat.
It was sort of surreal watching his wife nurse their son. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me," he blurted out.
"You hear that Hachirou-chan? That's high praise from your daddy."
"He's perfect," Shunsui corrected, "But I was talking about you. Hachirou wouldn't even exist without you."
Nanao flushed and smiled at him shyly. She was still mostly terrible at taking a compliment. "Still not bored of me then?"
"Never. You delight me daily, Kyouraku Nanao." And it really wasn't even a compliment because it was so true.
"You're never going to get tired of calling me that are you?"
He grinned wider. "I very much doubt it. It suits you better than Ise anyway."
"It does make the paperwork take longer to sign though. So many more letters." A now age old gripe for her.
"Poor Nanao-chan, to have to suffer so."
"I still say you should have taken my last name instead if only to make my mother cry. She takes far too much delight in using my full name to introduce me now." Nanao shifted the baby to burp him as he'd finished nursing and she let out an affectionate chuckle as the boy went straight back to sleep. "He takes after his father."
"Let's hope not. I'm banking on well behaved bookworms for children."
"I've already prepared myself for that not to be the case. The Soutaicho offered me an extended maternity leave if he turns out to be as hard to manage as you were."
"You'd really think that man had a low opinion of me the way he talks," Shunsui said with a laugh. He was well aware he'd driven Yama-jii up the wall in his youth. They heard voices coming towards them down the hallway. "You ready for the masses?"
"I think we've kept them off as long as we can," Nanao said with a curt nod she usually only used in battle. Her grin gave away the fact that she wasn't entirely opposed to showing off the perfect little human they'd created though. "If my mother has one nasty thing to say about him I think I might actually set her on fire."
"She won't," Shunsui comforted. And he was sure of it because if the woman started he'd specifically looked up a kido a month ago that would cause her to lose her voice for a few hours. He didn't really think he'd have to use it though. As far as her mother was concerned marrying him and locking him down with a child was the only thing Nanao had done right.
Their families and friends started piling into the room and Shunsui thought his son might actually take after him as he had no idea how the baby was sleeping through the commotion. Oh well, it'd keep life from getting dull if his son was as mischievous as he was. They'd just have to have a brilliant studious daughter in a couple years to balance things out. Life was wonderful.
A/N: The end! Hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Gotta figure out what I'm doing next, ha. Can't live for long without a little ShunNao in my life. Hope everyone has a very happy holidays!