Chapter Seven

"I'm Going To Kill You!"

Negron Hospital of Meteor Heights, A Month Later...

Sayuri, Sakura, Takumi, Elias, Megan and Jasmine were all sitting in the waiting room. Katie was in the delivery room, giving birth to her and Nick's baby. They could all hear Katie's screams of pain and the occasional curse, usually directed at Nick. They heard another loud scream, this time followed by "I'm going to FUCKING KILL you when I get out of here, Nick! I promise you that!"

Nick Sr. chuckled. "She sounds just like Tabitha when she gave birth to Nick and Jasmine."

Megan looked up at her father. "She said she was going to kill you?" She asked innocently.

"Yeah, but she didn't mean it. All women seem to scream and yell like that when they give birth. It's only natural that Katie yell like that as well. Plus, I don't think your mother would let Katie kill Nick anyway."

Megan nodded and became quiet as Katie screamed once again. Sakura giggled. "I think she is going to kill him."

"Sakura, don't say that! You're talking about your best friend and your brother, remember?"

"I know, but she sounds so determined to kill Nick right now, that's all."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I wonder how much longer she'll be in labor?"

"Not too long, hon," Tabitha's voice said over the intercom in the waiting room only. "Katie's almost done."

"Oh, alright." Elias said, nodding.

Moments later, Nick came running out of the delivery room, almost getting hit with a food tray. "I don't think it's safe to stay in there anymore. She's started to throw things at me."

"You know what my thoughts are as to why women do this during labor?"

"Why?" Nick said, almost afraid of the answer.

"It's because when giving birth, their emotions are even more out of whack than when they go through a mood swing during the length of the pregnancy. So, Katie is really just going through a very potent mood swing. Understand?"

"Yeah, I understand." Nick said, sitting down next to his father.

Jasmine saw Nick begin to shake his leg, indicating he was nervous. "Nick, are you actually nervous about being a dad?" Nick looked at her but kept silent. "You have a demon inside you that tries to take control of your body. You always defeat it in its battle for dominance, and you're worried about being a father?"

"Of course I am! I know that the fucking Hollow inside me can't win against me, but I'm nervous about how me and Katie are going to take care of a child, not to mention the fear that I could die early on in the baby's life."

"Nick, do not think like that!" His father said. "Your mother was devastated by my death, but she still found a way to cope. You won't die, not when you have something precious in your life to protect. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, dad. I understand." Nick said, taking a deep breath as Tabitha came out of the delivery room.

"Nick, you can come in now," Nick nodded at his mother and went into the delivery room to find Katie holding their newborn child. Tabitha smiled as he entered. "Congratulations, Nick. You've got two beautiful little girls."

Nick smiled widely, tears beginning to form around his eyes. He looked at Katie. "Are you alright now?"

Katie replied sounding a little out of breath. "Yeah, Nicky. Every thing's all right. Want to hold one of your daughters?" She smiled at him.

Nick nodded and carefully took the baby girl from Katie's left arm to hold in his own. Tabitha smiled at the tender moment. "Do you guys have names picked out?" She asked.

Nick and Katie both nodded. "Yes," Nick began. "We were going to name them Isabella" He motioned towards the one he held. "And Kairi." He motioned to the one Katie still held.

"Those are such a beautiful names for such cute babies. Whose last name will she have?"

"Let them have Nick's," Katie smiled at Tabitha and then at Nick. "One day, I'll have his last name as well."

Tabitha smiled. "Of course. Isabella and Kairi Negron. I'll just run some tests, both human and Soul Reaper, just to make sure nothing is wrong. If everything checks out, I'll bring her home later today. Katie, I can trust you to get dressed by yourself, right?"

Katie laughed. "Of course. Nick, go wait with everyone else. I'll be out in a minute."

"Alright. See you then." Nick kissed Katie on the forehead before leaving the room.

A Few Minutes Later...

Katie walked out of the back and went towards Nick. "Okay, we can go home now."

Sakura ran up to Katie and hugged her. "Katie! So, does that mean you're not going to kill Nick?"

Katie laughed. "No, I'm not going to kill Nick. Are you ready to go home?"

"But, I wanna see the babies!" Sakura whined.

"Don't worry. You'll see them later on when mom gets home." Nick told his adopted sister.

Sakura proceeded to pout. "Alright. I'm holding you to your word on that, though."

"Of course, Sakura. Now, let's all get home." Everyone else nodded and left the hospital.

Later That Night, At the House...

Tabitha walked in the door. "Nick, Katie! I've brought Isabella home, so you may want to collect her."

Nick came up from the basement and took his daughter out of his mother's arms gently, saying "Thank you" to her and then bringing her back downstairs to his and Katie's room.

Katie saw Nick come over to her and held her arms out for the little child in her boyfriends' arms. "Hey, Isabella, Kairi. Welcome to your new home. Let's put you two little angels to bed." She brought the little girls over to the crib that stood in one corner of the room. Before she placed Isabella and Kairi into the crib, Katie checked to see if Sakura was in this crib, instead of her own. Making sure the little pink-haired girl wasn't in the crib, Katie placed Isabella and Kairi into the crib and then turned back to Nick. "Could you talk to your mother about the results of the tests? And, please, ask her about the test results from mine."

"You had tests done?"

"Yes, but I'll tell you about it when you come back down. Please, Nick?" Katie pleaded.

"Alright. I'll be back down as soon as I can." Katie nodded as Nick headed back up the stairs.

When Nick came back up to the ground floor, he found Tabitha sitting in the kitchen, a cup of tea in her hand and an expression of mixed concern, happiness and, surprisingly, sadness. He approached her silently. Placing a hand on Tabitha's shoulder, he spoke. "Mom?"

Tabitha jumped in surprise. "Nick? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Katie wanted me to ask you about the tests on both Isabella and herself."

"Did she tell you anything about the tests that she asked me to perform on her?"

"No, but she told me that she would tell me when I went back downstairs. Now, how did Isabella fare?"

"We have to keep her downstairs for awhile. Her Spiritual Pressure is growing, rather rapidly. Soon, the house's current Reishi barriers will have to strengthened, a lot. We'll need Ichigo and Raymond to come here. I'll send for Raymond right now." Tabitha sent a Hell Butterfly to the Soul Society.

"Now, we wait for him. Now, as for the rest of the tests," Samina took a deep breath.

~Interlude~

A/N:This is a part that tells of something that happened in the first story in the series, Fire of Kyubi, but wasn't written until just now, to add onto this chapter which I was going to make short. In this little interlude, we go back six months to when Toshiro returned to the Japanese Soul society without Rangiku.

Toshiro exited the Senkaimon in the Japanese Seireitei. Immediately, he began making his way back to the Squad Ten barracks. Upon entering his office/living quarters, he was surprised to see the red-headed Renji Abarai in his window. "Renji! What are you doing in my quarters?" Toshiro yelled at the pineapple-haired Soul Reaper.

"I came wondering where Rangiku was. I heard that you had come back alone."

"Well, Rangiku has made a decision to stay in the American Soul Society. I do not understand her reasons why, but her request has been approved by the Spirit King. I'm sorry, Renji."

"You mean, my Rangiku stayed in America, and with Ichigo's blessings? Why would she leave me?"

"It may be because of her incessant drinking problem. I don't know her exact reasons. Only Ichigo knows about those reasons."

"I have to go ask him why she did this. I'm sorry to have disturbed you, Captain Hitsugaya. By the way, I took the pleasure of doing your reports while you were away. Your Third Seat didn't do any of it, so I took it up[on myself since neither you nor Rangiku were here."

"Thank you, Renji. Again, I am very sorry."

Renji nodded and left the room, running off to the Squad Six barracks.

~End Interlude~

"What? What about the tests?" Nick asked his mother.

"Your daughters were slightly affected by the presence of your Inner Hollow being around Katie while she was pregnant. As of right now, I do not know the extent and/or effects of this development, but I promise you that it shouldn't harm your daughters in any way. I think it only made their Spiritual Pressure levels spike a little more. As for Katie's tests, I'd rather not tell you about those results when you have no knowledge about why she requested the tests be taken."

"I understand, mom. I'll go ask her about it, now."

Nick went back downstairs and confronted Katie. "Kate, what were those tests that my mom did on you? Why did you have them taken on you in the first place?"

"Nick, I asked your mom to take the tests because I felt that something was wrong with me since you got back from the Soul Society. So, I asked your mother to run every Soul Reaper-oriented test she could."

Nick nodded. "Alright, thank you, Katie. I'll come back down with how those came out in a few minutes."

Katie nodded again, and Nick came back upstairs. "Alright, mom, I know why. Now, what were the results?"

"Nick, I don't know exactly how I should tell you this, so I'll just come out with it. Ever since you came back and the Reishi that came off the Inner Hollow inside of you was exposed to both Katie, Kairi and Isabella, Katie has been developing her own Inner Hollow, albeit very, very slowly. I showed the test results to Dominic, and he said that he gives Katie another year before her Inner Hollow starts becoming too powerful to control without taking her to the Visoreds. So, with that said, Katie is also becoming more of a Soul Reaper because of the growing Hollow presence. I fear that she may get worse more quickly the longer she stays around you. If you're wondering why Isabella wasn't affected in the same way, it's because Hollows attach themselves more to souls tat aren't innocent. Let's face it, Nick, Katie isn't that innocent since she's a teenage mother. Isabella and Kairi, on the other hand, are completely innocent. So, they are only gaining a power boost from your Inner Hollows' presence. I'm sorry, Nick, but we have to get Katie to the Visoreds within six months because of the accelerated growth of the Inner Hollow due to her Soul becoming more prominent and detached from her body. If we don't get her any help before the six months are up, she may not be able to be saved. So, that means we have to finish this new threat off quickly, or we may not be able to save your girlfriend, and ultimately have to kill her." Tabitha finished, her expression full of sorrow.

Nick's eyes looked down at the floor in concern. "If we were to pull out an all-out assault on the Bounts, do you think we can get help from the Soul Society?"

"In my opinion, we might not need any help with it. You all know Bankai, and you seemed to handle yourselves quite easily in that first battle. But, an all-out assault sounds like just the thing to stop this threat and save Katie. Now, go back to her and comfort her, please." She whispered.

Nick nodded and went back to the door to the basement. When he opened it, he found Katie standing there. "Did you hear all that?" He asked her.

Katie nodded and started crying into Nick's shoulder. Nick patted her shoulder and shushed her. "Shh. It'll all be okay, I promise. Now, let's just get to bed."

As they walked down the stairs, Nick grimaced at the voice he heard as he lay Katie's body onto the bed. Nice going, Ace! Seems like I'll have a playmate to torture both of your lives soon enough! Said Nikolai.

Nick mentally kicked his Inner Hollow and went into the bed next to Katie, falling asleep quickly.

A/N: I'm SO, so sorry about not updating sooner, but I have three reasons. 1) I was busy with school. 2) I was writing new stories that came to me in my dreams. 3) I had writer's block with this story at the same time as the second reason. At least you know what happens next now, huh?

Next Time: The beginning of the final battle! Yes, this story will be substantially shorter than Fire of Kyubi, but it all ties in with the series. The next story, as of right now, still has no name. I have to figure something out for that. As soon as I figure that out, though, I will tell you all. What I can tell you about the third story in the series is that it revolves more around Katie and her upcoming struggle with the now-developing Inner Hollow inside her. Well, Until next time (which I hope takes a lot less time to do).