A/N: So this will be the final chapter of 'Three Tests', I will write a quick version of it from Ulquiorra's P.O.V which will be a one-shot. Hopefully it will be uploaded soon. This is just a quick note to say thanks to everyone who's read this story and a big thank you to everyone who has favourited, followed or commented on the story it meant a lot!

The next story to come will be the sequel to 'Betrayal' and the first chapter is almost complete so ti should be up in the next few days hopefully!

Thanks for ready and here's the last chapter.

Chapter 16:

Nnoitra drove, the two of them not speaking until they arrived at the hospital. Once the car had stopped Ichigo tried to open his door, only to find it locked. Turning, he gave the older man a questioning look. He sighed, fingers tightening around the wheel.

"Look, you need to be ready for what-"

"I know." Ichigo cut him off. "Grimmjow's probably dead. But even if there's the slightest chance he's not, I want to be there." Taking a deep breath the teen took a moment to collect himself. The thought of Grimmjow being dead scared him so much, but he had to find out. "Can we go now?"

"Alright, but don't get your hopes up." Nnoitra muttered, unlocking he car and he stepped outside. Ichigo followed suit after another deep breath.

Staying silent as the older man talked to the receptionist Ichigo followed as Nnoitra lead the way up to where Grimmjow was. It took only five minutes and Ichigo found himself stood outside the door to his room. Nnoitra had left him to go find Grimmjow's doctor over a minute ago, but Ichigo still hadn't moved.

He was alive, Ichigo knew that. But for how much longer, or what kind of state the man was in he didn't know. He could have millions of wires attached to him, hooked up to all kinds of machines. Or he could look like he was already dead. There was only one way to find out.

With a shaking hand Ichigo reached out to open the door. He hesitated again as it swung inwards before steeling himself, stepping inside. Eyes landing on the bed, he let out a sigh of relief. Grimmjow looked almost normal, aside from the very pale skin and deep shadows under his eyes. There were only a few machines attached to him much to Ichigo's relief.

Slowly he approached the bed and sat down. Looking at one of the monitors he felt a wave of relief upon seeing a heartbeat. Grimmjow was still alive for now. Gently taking the older man's hand, Ichigo held it tightly between his own and he had to blink rapidly to stop himself from crying. It was his fault Grimmjow had injected that poison into himself, all to save his life.

How was he supposed to move on after this?

"Ichigo?" He jumped violently, pulling away from Grimmjow as he turned to the doorway. It was Nnoitra who stood leaning against the door frame.

Turning back to his almost dead boyfriend the teen nodded, automatically moving to take Grimmjow's hand again. "Yeah?"

The older man sighed, walking into the room and he took the seat on the opposite side of the bed. "I was talking to the doctor."

"What did he say?" Ichigo found himself unable to look away from the hand he held so tightly. It felt like a lifeline to the unresponsive man lying on the bed. The only thing keeping him sane at that moment.

"It wasn't poison but a sedative." Ichigo's head did snap up at that and impossibly, he found himself smiling. "The dosage Grimmjow took was lethal and it's still touch and go… but for now it looks like he's stable. They wont know until at least tomorrow if he will survive."

Ichigo's smile faded as quickly as it came. "So no change huh? Grimmjow's still going to die."

"He could live." Shaking his head in reply, Ichigo rubbed his face against his arm, attempting to hide the tears that had finally escaped. "Look…." Nnoitra started, then he hesitated. "I managed to convince them to let you stay the night. Just don't freak out if anything happens ok? I need you to stay calm."

"Calm?" Ichigo choked out in disbelief. "Grimmjow attempted to kill himself, sacrifice himself for me. Calm is the last thing I feel right now. But I wont do anything stupid if that's what you're worried about. As long as I can stay, I'll be quiet." He meant it too, the only thing he wanted right now was to be with Grimmjow and no-one would separate them again.

As long as Grimmjow was still breathing, Ichigo would stay by his side.

"Alright." Nnoitra stood, making to leave the room. As he passed he gave Ichigo's shoulder a quick squeeze. "I'll find you something to eat and drink." And then he was gone again. Slowly, Ichigo rested his head against the bed. He could feel Grimmjow's arm pressed against him which was comforting. Before Nnoitra could return, Ichigo was fast asleep.

He woke sometime later to the sound of the door shutting and looked up. There was no-one in the room so someone had just left. He spotted the clipboard at the end of the bed, now filled in with all sorts of ticks, crosses and writing he couldn't make out. It must have been the doctor. With a stifled yawn he sat up and stretched, spotting a bottle of water and sandwich on the side.

It was only then Ichigo realised how hungry he was and the sandwich didn't even last five minutes. Finished the water too Ichigo threw the remaining rubbish in the bin before resuming his diligent spot next to Grimmjow, taking his hand again in his own. "You better not die on me." He sighed, resting his head against the bed again and was asleep in minutes.

The next time Ichigo was woken wasn't nearly as peaceful as before. The sounds of a door slamming and people yelling jolted Ichigo awake. Before he could even get his bearing straight someone was pulling him away from the bed and his immediate reaction was to fight the person off. He lost the battle and was dragged away, dropped in a chair across the room and left alone.

Blinking in a daze, it took Ichigo a long moment to understand what was happening. Several people surrounded Grimmjow's bed, a machine wedged between them and then Ichigo could hear the heart rate monitor flatlining. His own heart gave a painful jolt and Ichigo was on his feet and across the room before he could stop himself.

"What's going on?"

"Mr Kurosaki you need to step back-" Someone had grabbed his arm, attempting to pull him away but Ichigo just yanked it free.

"Grimmjow?" He asked, knowing the man couldn't hear him but he couldn't stop himself asking the question. Most of the people crowding around the bed hadn't noticed him so Ichigo managed to push himself to the front. His breath caught in his throat when he saw the heart rate monitor was indeed flatlining and the attempted CPR wasn't working. Grimmjow's heart had failed. "Grimmjow?!" Ichigo asked again, his voice rising in panic and he reached towards the man.

His hands were stopped before he could touch him and it took two people to pull him away this time. Ichigo didn't have the strength to fight them though, he let them drag him away as he watched the fruitless attempts to restart Grimmjow's heart. Again he found himself back in the chair across the room, this time one of the nurses sat with him. She was saying something, but Ichigo couldn't hear the words, the noise from the monitor drowned out everything else.

He'd gotten his hopes up, actually believed Grimmjow would live.

Stupid. Ichigo thought burying his face in his hands. You knew he was going to die, shouldn't have thought otherwise. Grimmjow's going to die and there's nothing you can say or do to change that.

The sound of electrical discharge made Ichigo flinch and he looked up to see they were now using a defibrillator to try and restart Grimmjow's heart. But he knew it was pointless. Grimmjow had chosen to take his own life, that was the rule. And no-one broke the rules. He flinched again as he heard the discharge for a second time, moving to cover his ears to block the noise.

As guilty as it made him feel, Ichigo wanted it to be over. It had to have been only minutes since he woke up, but it felt like a lifetime had passed. It hurt too much to watch them try to save Grimmjow when he already knew they couldn't, it was pointless. Ichigo wasn't afraid to admit that to himself anymore, Grimmjow was going to die and somehow, he would have to find a way to live with it.

He'd promised Grimmjow he would move on and if that was the one thing that made the man do this, then Ichigo was going to damn well make sure he kept his promise.

The muffled sounds of the defibrillator and voices stopped suddenly and Ichigo slowly uncovered his ears and looked up. He was expecting one of the doctor's to pronounce Grimmjow's death, so when he heard the monitor give a small beep he jumped. His eyes landing on the machine, Ichigo could saw the small blip just as it disappeared and with another beep, it reappeared.

Hardly daring to believe it, not moving in fear of it stopping Ichigo watched the monitor as the heartbeat became stronger, more regular until it was almost back to normal. Only then did he let out a long sigh of relief. Getting to his feet, Ichigo moved to the bed again and was glad they didn't stop him. Taking his seat, he grabbed Grimmjow's hand and held it tightly, not listening nor caring about what the doctor's were saying.

For now, Grimmjow was still alive and that was enough for Ichigo.

After a while, the room emptied. People gave up trying to talk to Ichigo when it became obvious he wasn't listening, let alone responding. And soon it was just the two of them again. This time however Ichigo had no intention of falling asleep. He kept a rigid position at Grimmjow's bedside, clinging to his hand tightly. The thought of waking up to the nightmare that had just happened again, scared Ichigo to death. So he forced himself to stay awake, the sound of Grimmjow's heartbeat calming him if only slightly.

After what must have been a few hours, Nnoitra walked in. With a sigh he squeezed Ichigo's shoulder. 'You look like shit."

"I feel like it." Ichigo said listlessly.

"Get some sleep." The man sat down across the bed and with a small smile he nodded to Grimmjow. "I'll keep an eye on him, wake you if anything changes." Too tired to argue Ichigo just scooted closer to the bed and again resting his head next to Grimmjow's arm, he fell asleep for the third time.

It happened again. Grimmjow's heart failed for the second time early the following day. Nnoitra was the one to drag him away this time, keeping a firm grip on him throughout the whole ordeal. Ichigo didn't do more than sit lifelessly in his chair, the sound of the monitor flatlining slowly driving him insane. He was expecting it again, for the doctor's to fail, for Grimmjow to die but it didn't happen. Again they restarted his heart and Ichigo resumed his spot at the man's bedside.

He wanted it to end. This was worse than Grimmjow dying, the perpetual limbo Ichigo now sat in was pure torture. Grimmjow was going to die, he knew this. So why was he still alive? Why did they keep resuscitating him when his heart gave up? And through it all he sat by the man's bed waiting. As painful as it was, Ichigo didn't want to be anywhere else, this was where he wanted to be, until the end.

Thankfully for the rest of the day there were no more incidents. Grimmjow's heart remained steady but unchanging, he didn't even so much as twitch a finger. It was driving Ichigo insane. He was supposed to die, that was what Mr Hear or Ulquiorra or whatever he was called had said. Yet Grimmjow was still alive and Ichigo couldn't decide if he was happy or devastated by this.

Nnoitra came and went throughout the day, bringing Ichigo updates. It seemed Ulquiorra had killed the men outside, but they didn't know why. Ichigo didn't care, he listening vaguely to what the older man told him. Most of it went in one ear and out the other but some of it stuck. Nnoitra was the acting head of the department now and Ichigo actually hoped he would keep the job.

He felt disgusted with himself for even thinking about that whilst he sat at Grimmjow's bedside. Thinking about the future, his future, without Grimmjow. It was too painful.

Even his father came to see him. Ichigo knew he should feel happy to see Isshin, but it was like something inside him killed his emotions, his thoughts before he could express them. Isshin didn't stay long, but he'd promised to come back. Ichigo only nodded in reply, his eyes never leaving Grimmjow and his hands remained clasped around the lifeless one between them.

Finally night came and with it, Ichigo managed to find sleep.

When Ichigo woke the following morning, he knew something was different. Opening his eyes, he saw he wasn't holding Grimmjow's hand anymore. Before he cold do more than blink he felt, rather then heard, movement. Slowly, he lifted his head and sat up. When he saw Grimmjow sat up, looking at his hand Ichigo was sure he'd died as well. He opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a small choked noise and he had to inhale sharply so he didn't fully choke.

Grimmjow looked up at the noise and their eyes met. Ichigo felt tears in his eyes but an overwhelming joy filled him and he couldn't help but laugh. Grimmjow was alive. Despite it all, despite the number of times Ichigo had tried to convince himself he would die, Grimmjow was alive. Smiling back, he relaxed against the pillows.

"What happened?"

Ichigo couldn't had imaged how good it would feel to hear Grimmjow's voice. But the question brought him back to reality, along with the memories of the last two days. Taking the man's hand again, Ichigo looked down at it, smiling when their fingers entwined. "I thought you were dead." He had to pause, compose himself before continuing. "Nnoitra was the first to come in and when he saw you, he called for medical assistance. They took you away in an ambulance and I tried to come with you, but they wouldn't let me." His grip tightened in anger at the thought, remembering them taking Grimmjow away. "I had to answer their questions first, it took hours before I was allowed to see you again."

"It wasn't poison?"

Shaking his head, Ichigo finally looked up again and smiled as their eyes met. He couldn't help it, it felt too damn good. "No it was a type of sedative, but it could've killed you considering the dosage you took. If you hadn't been taken to a hospital, five more minutes and you probably would have died."

"Well, I'm glad I didn't." Still smiling he lifted Grimmjow's hand to press against his cheek. "How long has it been?"

He shrugged. "Two days I think, I haven't been keeping track of the time. After that guy shot himself, Ulquiorra was it? I haven't been able to think about anything but you, about you dying." His voice cracked slightly on the last word and he turned his head into Grimmjow's palm. Everything was fine, Grimmjow was alive, he just had to remind himself of that/

"Ichigo listen to me ok, this is very important. Where is Nnoitra? I need to speak with him right now, Ulquiorra wasn't working alone." The serious tone almost made Ichigo laugh. Even after waking up from the brink of death, Grimmjow was all business.

"They know, they found the bodies a few hours after what happened." At Grimmjow's confused

expression, he elaborated. "Ulquiorra killed them, at least that's what your partner thinks."

Grimmjow sighed and relaxed again "Do they know why he did it?" Ichigo shrugged, if Nnoitra had mentioned it to him he hadn't been listening. "You were right, he was insane. How did we not see it before?" The man banged his free hand on the table and Ichigo flinched at the sudden noise, not expecting such a thing. "Sorry, sorry I didn't mean to make you jump." Letting out a deep sigh Grimmjow relaxed again. "How do you feel?"

"Me?" Ichigo asked in surprise, but he should've known. Grimmjow was never one for self-awareness, always too busy watching over him to take care of himself. The thought made Ichigo smile slightly. "I'm fine, or at least I am now you're awake. I told you he never hurt me

so there's nothing wrong with me."

"I didn't mean physically." That made his smile disappear.

Hesitating, Ichigo lowered his eyes. "Then no, I'm not ok. At least not completely anyway. But it gets better doesn't it?"

Grimmjow took a moment to answer, the pause worrying Ichigo. Things would get better right? "Yes." The man finally answered slowly, Ichigo didn't miss the caution in his voice. It gets better, but I don't know if you'll be the same as before it takes a lot of time."

With a nod Ichigo swallowed thickly, that was what he was afraid of. The thought of stepping outside scared him to death, the thought of leaving Grimmjow's side was unthinkable. How could he live like this? How would Grimmjow cope with what happened?

"Ichigo…" He started, in that same cautious tone that made the orange head's heart drop. He knew he wasn't going to like this. Especially since Grimmjow wasn't looking at him anymore. "I'll understand if you want some time apart, if you don't want to be with me anymore. After what's happened I can't blame you, after all it was my fault you were kidnapped in the first place. I understand-"

Unable to stop himself Ichigo kissed Grimmjow to stop him. Even the slightest touch was enough to stop the man in his tracks and it took Ichigo a moment too to regain his thoughts. "Do you really think I'd leave you after everything that's happened? What do you take me for?" Grimmjow opened his mouth to object but Ichigo silenced him with a look. "And I'm not staying out of gratitude either.͟"

Grimmjow smiled. "Ok then, I'm glad."

Ichigo felt his heart drop again as an uneasy thought occurred to him. "You… Don't want to break up with me… Do you?" He asked hesitantly and Grimmjow chuckled, shaking his hand. Letting out a relieved sigh, Ichigo leant forward to kiss him again. "Good because I'm not letting you go, especially after what you did for me." His hand found the puncture mark on Grimmjow's arm and he covered it with a hand. "You really would give up your life for me?"

"Of course, and you know it." With a nod, Ichigo found himself running his finger across Grimmjow's arm, unable to stop himself from touching the man. To have him alive and talking to him was more than Ichigo could have ever hoped for. He would never take Grimmjow for granted, ever. "I love

you."

Ichigo smiled brightly. "I love you too." As he leaned in to Grimmjow again for another kiss, he knew that no matter what, they would face it together. After all, what could possibly be worse then a serial killer? The thought of telling his father maybe. But as their lips met Ichigo pushed the thought aside. For now, this was enough.

This was everything he needed.