A/N: This chapter is more about picking up all of the pieces. So I don't know if you'd classify it as a filler but it does have many important events within it.
Disclaimer: This is a disclaimer nonetheless, so it shouldn't matter if I state that I don't own Bleach… Anyway, I don't own Bleach.
The air was stale, almost as if no one had been in the room for a while, as if time had stopped right in the middle of the house.
And it did.
Orihime kicked at a toy on the ground and she remembered that that was the toy Tamotsu was playing with before…
It didn't matter now. She and Tamotsu were home and everyone was back together again.
"I have a few things to show you." Ichigo said from behind her.
She turned to look at him. "Hmm?"
He slipped his hand into hers from behind. "Follow me."
When the two made it up the steps Ichigo held the knob of the door to his office.
"Okay, Ichigo." Orihime said cautiously. "What's in your office?"
Ichigo couldn't stop the smile from spreading on his face. He pushed open the door and guided Orihime into an empty room with the palest hue of blue on the walls and an alphabet carpet on the ground.
"I had Chad help me move all of my stuff into the study downstairs."
…It was so… empty. She felt cold almost. It didn't feel right at all.
"I didn't want to buy a crib or anything like that because I thought we could pick it out together this time."
Orihime looked down at the carpet under her. It was colorful, blinding almost. It didn't match the walls at all. "Oh…"
Ichigo watched her every move. She didn't seem very happy. "Do you like the walls?" He asked hopefully and pointed at the one closes to him. He hoped she was okay with the color. "I don't know the gender so I didn't know wh-"
"It's a girl."
His amber eyes widened. "...You… you know? When did you…" His lashes lowered but then he looked back up at her again. "Isshin?"
Orihime nodded.
He took a deep breath. "That's okay." He walked to her and took her limp hand. "We can paint over it together."
She was staring down at the carpet again. Ichigo knew that the stupid rug was a bad idea.
Tamotsu pushed his loose tooth back and forth. He soon realized what he came into the room for. "…Daddy! Daddy, play cards with me!" Tamotsu hopped in place in front of the doorway. "Daddy! Play cards!"
Ichigo looked down at his son. "I'll be there in a second…"
Tamotsu wiggled his nose in frustration but didn't protest. It seemed that no one had the time of day for him anymore.
"So, um… The girls also wanted to know when you were coming back down." Ichigo followed Orihime to the bedroom.
"Who?" She sat on the bed and took off her shoes. "Michiru and Ryō?"
"They said that they have some surprise for you." He sat down with her. "They said call them when you get back."
Orihime nodded.
It was silent.
What could she say?
Ichigo stood.
That was it. She nodded and that was all she had for him? A gesture with her head.
Ichigo rolled his eyes. "You know, it would be easier if you would just talk to me."
Orihime sighed. "Ichigo. We have nothing to talk about."
He shoved his hands in his pockets angrily. "Are you still thinking about getting a divorce?" He just came right out with it.
She didn't look at him. "Why? Are you?"
Ichigo huffed. "I'm not perfect. This relationship isn't perfect. But I thought that we were making it work." He watched her get up and walk to the bathroom. "We were much better and now you're purposely holding us back."
Orihime wrapped her burnt-orange hair into a bun and shook her head. "Ichigo, I don't want to 'make it work'. No one should have to make their relationship work." She snuck a glance at him. He was leaning on the bathroom door.
"It's like trying to force a puzzle piece to fit when it's not the right shape." She looked back at her reflection in the mirror and sighed. "If you're looking for waterworks or some heartfelt confession about how I felt when you left me at Isshin's you're not going to get it. Not now, not ever again."
She heard him growl but ignored it. "Look, I'm tired. I'm going to take a shower and then go to bed."
Ichigo realized that the conversation wasn't going anywhere. He backed off the door roughly. "Fine… I'll just… go get dinner ready or something."
…
Tamotsu harrumphed.
He said he would play cards.
Now he was making smoke in the kitchen. It was everywhere... Floating on the ceiling and in the air... All of the smoke was coming out of the pot on the stove that mommy said not to touch.
Now daddy was touching it… and it didn't smell good.
The child touched his wiggling tooth and assessed the situation. He visited mommy upstairs but she was sleeping. So he went back down stairs in the hopes that daddy would play cards.
But no.
He was touching the stove that mommy said not to touch.
"Mommy! Mommy!" Tamotsu ran into the kitchen, Kon dragging behind him. "Mommy!"
His mother was turning her big spoon around and around in a large silver pot. "Yes, Monkey?"
Tamotsu watched his mother add more things into the pot and stir some more. "…Mommy, can I cook?"
He heard her sigh. She lowered herself to his level and talked with her stern voice. "Tamotsu, I never want to see you use the stove," she pointed to the warm thingy on the counter. "Or the oven," she pointed the funny side-door that opened up and down but not side to side. "Do you understand?"
Tamotsu bit his lip.
"Do not touch the oven or stove." She pointed to them again.
Tamotsu nodded this time.
"Daddy, will you play cards now?" Tamotsu was becoming very frustrated.
"Not right now- shit!" Daddy sucked on his finger and said a bad word... Mommy says that I shouldn't suck on my fingers and that I shouldn't say those words.
Why does daddy get to do everything?
"Don't repeat that." Ichigo mumbled as he dumped his gross concoction down the sink.
Tamotsu watched him run cold water over his fingers.
"Hey champ…" Ichigo turned around and stared at his son. He was standing on one of the kitchen chairs, his dark eyes wide with curiosity. "You want some pizza?"
Tamotsu shook his head and said, "I'm not hungry," and walked out of the kitchen.
…
Orihime couldn't sleep though she knew she needed her rest. She kept thinking about the divorce thing... Living with Ichigo was bad. He was constantly nice and gentle, considerate and smart. He was her best friend. Their sex life was far from terrible, it was amazing. She was pregnant after all… And Ichigo is a wonderful person and he makes her laugh and he makes her happy… But why does their relationship feel so empty. The thought of leaving Ichigo was terrifying, but she wanted to do what was better for everyone.
…Was she being selfish? Better for everyone? If they get a divorce then Tamotsu would be split from Ichigo. If she stayed, she would just have to endure her defunct marriage.
The woman rubbed her enlarged belly. The baby didn't respond though Orihime knew she would be waking soon.
Anyway, Orihime didn't know if giving Ichigo the cold shoulder was the right thing to do anymore.
Orihime sat up and took a deep breath. She didn't smell dinner so she assumed it wasn't made. When she checked on her son, Tamotsu was already in bed though his dinosaur pajamas were on backwards and he wasn't under the covers completely, and she could hear the television on downstairs which meant Ichigo was down there too.
When Orihime wasn't in control, the house is all out of whack.
Dinner should be cooked, made, eaten and the dishes should be washed.
Tamotsu should be in bed the right way.
And Ichigo should be upstairs in bed.
With her.
The woman huffed and stood at the top of the staircase and looked over the railing at Ichigo who was sitting on the couch.
His eyes didn't leave the television but he knew she was there. "Orihime…?" He didn't look so upset anymore.
She crossed her arms. "You aren't coming up stairs?"
He watched her walk down the steps but looked back at the television. "I haven't slept up there in a month… It's been all couch cushions for me."
Orihime sat down next to him. "Why?"
"I don't have much time lately for a normal schedule. I'm too tired sometimes to walk up the stairs."
"But why…?" He sucked in a breath then exhaled. His chest moved up and down and her eyes were drawn to the curve of his jaw down to his neck. She shook her head but it did little to help.
"I was spending late nights at the office…"
"You don't have to punish yourself." Orihime slowly smiled. "That's why I'm here."
The man sighed. "I'm not punishing myself… I'm just… Things have been different when you weren't around."
Orihime placed her hand on top of his'. "Come upstairs with me."
Ichigo shook his head and smirked. "I thought you hated me."
The woman thought for a moment. "Hmm… I don't hate you. Extremely disappointed, upset and frustrated and…" She looked at his frowning face. "You get the point."
They quieted down.
"Is this you forgiving me?" he said at last.
Orihime considered. She wrapped herself, belly and all, around his arm. "I think so…"
"I screwed up. I know this…" He took a stand of her hair and curled his finger around it. "Buy why do you keep forgiving me?"
Her brow crumpled. "Because you're my husband, that's why."
He tugged on the hair and Orihime winced. "That's an excuse."
Orihime moved up against him and looked into his amber eyes. "Because I love you... I'm in love with you, silly. I wouldn't still be with you if otherwise." She smiled and asked: "Is that an excuse?"
Ichigo shrugged. "It's an answer."
Orihime reached up to touch his spiky hair. "The best one?"
Ichigo though for a moment. "…The only one."
Ichigo held her chin as he bent down and kissed her sweetly.
"Does this mean we're not getting a divorce?" he asked.
The orange haired beauty chortled though it wasn't a laughing matter. "… No, no… But, this does mean that we can start to place the puzzle pieces in the right places…"
Ichigo shifted his position so he could dig in his pocket. The man lifted the rings for her to see. "What about these?"
The woman touched her empty ring finger. "…oh... Those."
Ichigo gave her his wide, white smile. "Orihime, will you marry me… again?"
Orihime stared at the two tiny golden bands. Putting them on again meant many things…
She shook her head. "Keep them." Orihime pushed his hand away. "I want you to ask me again so other time."
Ichigo smirked and pushed them back down in his pocket. "I'll hold you to that."
…
Tamotsu held up a picture for his mother to see.
"Look mommy! It's the stars! Just like in the sky!"
"That's great Tamotsu. Really good…" Orihime turned the page of the 50,000 Baby Names book. The more and more she looked at all of the names, the more her head began to hurt.
Ichigo handed her a cup of warm. "I think I can get Kisuke to help us get an appointment with Yoruichi."
Orihime groaned and threw the book to her side. "That would be nice."
Ichigo picked up the mail that fell on the ground from the mail slot and flipped through them. He didn't finish looking through them all before the phone rang and he placed the mail on the coffee table.
"Hello? Orihime is here." He handed her the phone.
Orihime put the warm cup on the table next to her. "Hello?"
"Orihime? It's Michiru! You need to get down to the bakery right now!"
Orihime sighed. They had tried everything. The bank wouldn't dare give them another loan and Orihime refused Ichigo's help in any way or form. It would be too much to ask if the girls took money out of their own pockets. Orihime just assumed that when she was gone for the past month that the ladies had given up. "…Sure."
"Oh I'm so excited!" Orihime could just picture Michiru bouncing up and down in place.
The line died.
"Do you know what's going on?" Ichigo took the phone from her.
Her husband shrugged. "I have no idea what they're doing down there."
…
"Hello Ms. Kuchiki, how are you this fine evening?" The man smiled. He had a long face; he was aged, but not too old, just old enough to know he's been in the business awhile.
Rukia folded her arms. "I've been better."
"My name is detective Kato. And that's detective Akihiko." He pointed to the man on the other side of the room. Rukia honestly didn't notice him. Detective Kato smiled wider. "He doesn't bite."
Rukia was not amused. They confiscated her phone and her wallet, then they stuck her in a tiny metal box of a room with three chairs, one table, and a mirror for a wall which she knew for a fact that other detectives were watching her every move. And now they were "interrogating" her. Why? She had no idea.
Kato brought her back to the present. "Rukia…" he lifted a brow. "May I call you that?"
Rukia nodded. She relaxed and unfolded her arms, though she knew that every movement she made was being written down somewhere.
"Rukia, do you know why you're here?"
She wrapped her fingers around the sides of her chair. "No. I don't."
"Rukia Kuchiki..." He leaned forward. "Are you familiar with the term embezzling?"
"Embezzling!" She couldn't believe her hears.
Kato lifted his hand. "Now, now... There's no reason to get so upset-"
"You think I'm embezzling from the company?" Rukia gritted her teeth and squeezed the sides of her chair letting the metal invade the soft skin on her fingers. "From my brother?!"
Kato crossed his legs and considered. "I don't know…" He frowned and Rukia didn't know it was possible but his face seemed to become longer with the new expression. "We have more than enough evidence..."
Akihiko's voice came out of the blue. "We have paper work, documents, written notes by you stating how much money the Kuchiki Brand makes, how they won't miss a dollar or two." He turned his chair around and sat on it the opposite way. "We even have a receipt of how much you spend on the company credit card."
"What! What- I want my lawyer!" She looked from face to face. They were lying. They had to be. There were no notes, no documents… maybe there were a few receipts from hotel rooms but she'd never steal, ever.
"Ruk-"
She stomped her foot. "Now!"
She knew her rights.
They stood and walked out, leaving her in the room. They'd come back telling her she could make her calls.
But who would she call?
Not Byakuya. He wouldn't help. Not now, not ever.
She couldn't call Renji. They didn't even speak anymore.
Ever since she began working with Byakuya, all of her connections, her friends, her family, Unohana and Ukitake… everyone was cut off.
Everyone except…
She couldn't, wouldn't call Ichigo. He's done enough and paid for it more than she has. She wouldn't call anyone… She needed to face this punishment even if she wasn't guilty. But she was guilty for so much more.
Rukia sat up straight and took a deep breath. She didn't need anyone's help.
Not even Ichigo's.
…
Ichigo parked the car outside of the small building.
Orihime sighed.
Ichigo looked at the bakery. "I'm pretty sure it's not that bad in there."
She folded her arms over her enlarged belly and harrumphed. "I'm pretty sure it isn't that great either."
"Hey. At least they're trying." He turned to look at her. "They're trying for you."
Orihime stared at the building. There was brown paper covering the windows, blocking any view of the inside.
"Are we going to bake a cake, mommy?" Tamotsu asked from his car seat.
Ichigo squeezed her shoulder. "You ready to go in?"
She took a deep breath. "…Fine."
With heavy feet and a painful head, Orihime opened the door to her old bakery. She gasped when she looked up. "What happened here?!"
Michiru peaked around the corner and smiled. "Ryō! She's here!"
The place was completely different. The walls were repainted, there were new tables and chairs and –oh! There were new displays!
Tamotsu sat on one the chairs and folded his hands. The child smiled but it slowly faded… He remembered eating chocolate cake... He remembered when Mister made him laugh… But no… no. Mommy said that Mister didn't exist… Mister doesn't exist…
"I, Ryō and my new boyfriend, Setsuko, helped clean the place! All of the new editions were ordered..."
Orihime blinked a few times. The last time she had stepped foot in the building, it was in shambles. But now… now it was… almost perfect. "…Huh?"
Ichigo chuckled at her confusion. It was adorable.
Michiru grabbed her hand and guided her around the room. "These are new displays," she patted the counter. "And the money from our account paid for the new windows. And it also paid for this new expensive wallpaper and tables and chairs and-"
"Wait-" Orihime shook her head. "What money?"
Ryō spoke up. "I went to the bank a few weeks back and I needed to know how much was in the account so we could start on the repairs…" She flipped her dark hair over her shoulder. "Well… guess how much was in there?"
Orihime held her head to keep the room from spinning. She tried to remember the last time she checked the account. "I don't know… A few hundreds?"
Michiru shook her head and her cheeks filled with air before she blurted the answer out. "Ten thousand dollars!"
"What? Ichigo! I said not to help! I told you this!" Orihime turned around angrily and hit Ichigo on the shoulder but regretted it because she knew that the spot was still healing from the bullet wound. She brought her hands up and over her mouth andher breath caught. "I'm so sorry!"
The man rubbed the spot that she hit and shook his head, amused at the strength she gained. "I'm fine… But it wasn't me. I had no hand in this… Ow."
"It's a real miracle, it is!" Michiru clapped her hands. "Can you believe it?"
…Miracle? Tamotsu shook his head. That Michiru was so weird…
"Michiru! We have to give this money back." Orihime looked around the newly refurbished room. "Ryō! This is stealing!"
"Orihime, why can't you recognize a good thing when it's right in front of you?" Michiru tugged on her arm and pulled her into the kitchen. There was a new counter top and the kitchenware she saw on the shopping channel that Orihime had been dying to get. She quickly shook her head before she could become wrapped up in the decadence. "The bank could have easily transferred the money into the wrong account."
Ryō shook her head. "Nope, I asked the teller and she said that someone who withheld their identity placed the money in the account. She said that they didn't want us to know who they were."
Tamotsu walked into the kitchen and stared up at those grownups. Mommy's stomach was bigger. Daddy's face was thinner. Miss Michiru's face was red and Miss Ryō's face was the same as ever. Upset.
He was tired of them talking. That's all what grownups do. Talk. He wanted to do something fun.
"Let's bake, mommy!" Tamotsu walked to the counter that he couldn't see over but he stood there until he caught someone's attention.
"This makes no sense." Orihime looked at the man standing behind her. "Ichigo, please tell me the truth."
Ichigo still shook his head. "I already told you… Maybe someone who loved your wonderful baking gave you the money."
Tamotsu was plenty upset when they had to leave. They walked up the stairs to the "office". It was empty but he remembered sitting in there and drawing in there. If he ever gets another chance, he'll draw mommy a picture for her new office.
Ichigo buckled Tamotsu down in his car seat and smiled at his son. "What's wrong champ?"
Tamotsu lifted a brow. Why do grownups always think something's wrong? And even if something was wrong, he knew daddy wasn't going to listen.
"Ichigo…" Orihime watched Ichigo walk around the car and into his seat in the front. "Do you think it was him?"
The man pulled down his seatbelt. "Who?"
Orihime shook her head. It was a foolish thought. "Never mind…"
"No, no. Say it again." Ichigo started the car.
"… I said, do you think it was…" Orihime glanced at Tamotsu. "…Him…?"
Her husband scowled. It was briefly funny to Orihime that Ichigo knew exactly who she was talking about. "Now why would he do something like this for you?"
She nodded at the reassurance. "You're right…"
Ichigo kneaded the knot that formed in his shoulder from the brief pain before beginning to drive. "Well, whoever it was really cares."
"Yeah…" Orihime looked over her own shoulder at Tamotsu again. He was staring out of the window. His brown eyes trained on anything and everything that went by. Wondering and asking questions in that spongy brain of his.
He looked just like his father.
"…They really care."
…
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Gin took a deep breath.
He mustn't get upset. Keep your composure, keep you calm… Fuck!
He said he would wait!
Gin cursed under his breath. He was sitting in his office, hands folded, mind in a zillion different places.
She wasn't supposed to go yet.
Rukia Kuchiki going to jail early would only result in the downfall of his plans.
Gin leaned back in his car. He pulled one of the drawers open and brought out a picture. It was his Rangiku. She was winking and blowing a kiss. It was his favorite picture of her…
Gin balled the photo in his fist.
Everything was lined up perfectly.
…He would just have to work around this little nub, like he's worked around many others before.
Maybe he should pay her a little visit… Yeah, he'll do that.
He'll pay Rukia just a tiny little visit…
Thin lips stretched themselves over sharp, white teeth.
Later that night.
"Where do babies come from?"
Orihime stopped chewing at her granola bar and looked to Ichigo who was even more stunned than she was.
Ichigo cleared his throat. "… Well, Tamotsu… Babies come from the mommies."
Tamotsu looked at Orihime who was sitting on the sofa. She was praying that he wouldn't ask any more questions.
He looked back at his father. "How does the baby get inside mommy?"
Ichigo scratched his head, hoping that the child would drop the subject and continue playing with stupid orange lion plushie. What the hell did they name that toy? Kon? "What do you mean champ?"
Why weren't those grownups getting it? Tamotsu turned around on the rug to face them both. "The baby wasn't there before…?"
Orihime smiled sweetly. "No, it wasn't Monkey."
He scrunched up his nose and gave it a little wiggle in frustration before asking the same question. "So how did the baby get in there in the first place?"
Ichigo looked at Orihime for some type of rescue but Orihime was as clueless as he was. Tamotsu was becoming impatient.
Ichigo tapped Orihime belly bump. "Um… Mommy is, well, mommy is a garden... And sometimes… during mommy's special time of the month, she'll drop a seed… And when we both feel good, and she'll let me, I'll water it for her..." Orihime smiled at him in encouragement but Ichigo felt ridiculous in his backwards explanation of sex. "Then the seed grows and becomes a baby and it lives in her belly."
Tamotsu stood up. He walked over and touch mommy's belly. It squirmed inside but Tamotsu was used to it. "Does the baby come out?"
Orihime chewed on her bottom lip. "Well, yes."
He stared up at his mother. "How does it come out?"
Ichigo laughed uneasily. "Sometimes… um, well, champ… Tamotsu, how do you think the baby comes out?"
Tamotsu looked at his body. He lifted his shirt and held it up with his chin and pointed at his belly button. "Does the baby come out through here?"
Orihime giggled. "No, Monkey. The baby comes out through a different… button. A button only woman, girls, like mommy have."
Ichigo stepped in. "Only mommies can have babies, Tamotsu."
The child cocked his head to the side. "Was I a baby?"
The phone rang and Ichigo stood to go get it.
"Yes!" Orihime threw her arms around the boy and pulled him onto the sofa with her. She gave him kisses and tickles everywhere. "That's why you're my little BabyCakes!" Orihime gave him an Eskimo kiss.
Ichigo placed the phone back in its base and walked back to the sofa.
"Who was it?" Orihime asked. He shrugged and said it was a sales rep selling electronics of some sort.
"Mommy! Mommy, tickle me!" Tamotsu smiled and waited for the sensation to start up again.
Orihime looked at the time. "It's way past your bedtime mister!"
"I'll take him up," Ichigo offered. He took Tamotsu by the waist and led him up stairs.
"But daddy! I'm not sleepy!" Tamotsu complained on his way up.
Ichigo somehow managed to clean him up and get him ready for bed. "How about we play a game."
Tamotsu got under the covers. "Really?"
Ichigo crawled onto the bed with his son. "It's called sheets and blankets." He lay on his side and watched Tamotsu pull the blankets up to his stomach. "Wanna know how you play?" Tamotsu nodded. "Whoever goes to sleep last wins."
Tamotsu clapped. "Okay!"
It wasn't long before the quiet began to take a toll on him. Tamotsu's eyes were closing and Ichigo watched it happen.
"Am I winning?" The child asked.
"Mhmm." Ichigo responded.
Tamotsu yawned and snuggled down in the sheets. His dark lashes lightly brushed his cheeks and his breathing was even and steady. He looked peaceful and calm.
But he didn't look like Ichigo.
Ichigo frowned. Ichigo said he wasn't going to torture himself. He said he wasn't going to do this. When he left Tamotsu and Orihime it was the worst thing he could have ever done for himself. He felt completely empty. There was no reason for him to get up in the morning. Everything he does he does for his wife and son…
But Tamotsu was not his son. He knew this. Everyone knew this. But it was time he stopped denying it…
Tamotsu was not his'…
He was not his blood...
Not his' at all…
…
Downstairs, Orihime picked up Kon and smiled at the tiny toy. She remembered buying it and the expression on Ichigo's face was priceless. Orihime giggled at the tiny memory and placed the plushie on the coffee table. In result, some mail fell down.
Haven't looked through the day's mail, Orihime picked up the envelopes and rifled through them slowly. It was mostly junk mail aside from the bills to pay and a few catalogues that Orihime must remember to look at.
The woman opened a baby magazine and her eyes widened with delight. "That looks nice…" she whispered to herself.
The woman tucked the magazine under her arm and flipped a envelope over to see the return address.
"Oh my God…"
She dropped the rest of the mail and brought one envelope under the light. "No…"
…
"I'm still… I'm, I'm… not… sleep-y…" Tamotsu whispered though it was obvious that his eyes and body was shutting down.
Ichigo smirked at the child's attempt to stay awake.
"Ichigo…?" The man looked up to see his pregnant wife in the doorway. He couldn't see her face but by the sound of her voice, something had gone wrong.
Ichigo took his time off of the bed so he wouldn't wake Tamotsu.
"What's wrong?" He walked her to their bedroom and turned on the lights.
Orihime's cheeks were wet and he could see fresh tears rolling down. "He's… he's… he's taking us back…." She handed him a paper. "He's taking us back to court."
Ichigo read it over. "It's a summons…"
"He wants him again." Orihime rest her head on his warm chest and cried into it. "Ichigo… Ichigo I don't think I can go through this again… I can't…" She grasped his shirt. "He's being so unfair… I shouldn't have to share what's mine…"
Orihime immediately stopped her sobbing. She leaned off of him and looked at his face. He wasn't looking at her, but at the wall. His lips were a compressed line and his brow was furrowed in deep concentration.
She blinked. "What did you just say?"
"I think everyone is entitled to fight for their own child…"
Her heart sped up. "What?"
"I just think that-"
Orihime shook her head and back away from him. "No… No. You can't say that… Tamotsu… Tamotsu is your son… You want Aizen to take that right from you?"
The orange haired man frowned deeper. "Is my place to take that right from him?!"
She exhaled and stared up at him disbelievingly. "I can't believe you…"
Ichigo stepped forward. "You slept with Aizen… you were the one who got pregnant…" Ichigo ran a hand through his hair. "We have to face the facts. Tamotsu… Tamotsu is not my s-"
Orihime pushed him on his chest. "Don't say that!"
Ichigo sat down on their bed. "What do you want me to say? I mean, I can't keep living this lie..." He licked his dry lips. "I don't want to hurt your feelings, Orihime. That's not what I'm trying to do." He looked at his frantic wife. She was breathing hard and holding her belly. "I want you to understand that this man has a right."
"You not supposed to say that." Their eyes connected. "You're supposed to say 'We'll beat 'em! We'll win!' That's what you're supposed to say…"
He put his fingers to his temples and rubbed out the pain. "…Orihime… Every time I look at him…" he paused. "I… I see someone else…"
Orihime cried some more, defeated. Ichigo was right. Tamotsu wasn't his son. Tamotsu was part of her and Aizen, but not her and Ichigo. "You aren't supposed to say that…" she whispered once more through the tears.
Ichigo stood, took her hand and clutched it close to his chest. "I love him like my own and I'll continue to love him. This won't change the way I feel for Tamotsu. But I cannot keep going like this. And I cannot judge him…"
"They're going to take him from me..." Orihime shook her head. "He wants custody…"
Ichigo wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. "It's going to be alright…"
We haven't heard from Aizen in a while and know he's taken them back to court. He's a man who knows what he wants and goes for it.
And I'd like to thank all of you guys who've reviewed and favorited and alerted this story. It really means a lot! All of you are stars!
Rocka.