Disclaimer-I own nothing.
No Escape
Chapter 15
Ichigo raced into the emergency room, ignoring the attempts by the staff to stop him from finding Rukia. He found her behind a partially closed curtain, sitting on a hospital bed. Standing nearby were Kon and a girl Ichigo didn't know.
"Ichigo?" said Rukia as if surprised to see him.
Rukia's face was swollen and she had a black eye. Her shiny hair was a wreck of tangles, and part of one sleeve had been cut away from her shirt. She was awake and alert and, although banged up, she seemed to be fine.
Ichigo stood there for a long moment, shaking with relief. His knuckles ached from gripping the steering wheel too hard on the way over here. He didn't think his heart rate would ever drop back to normal.
He went to her, dying to touch her but scared as hell he'd hurt her. So, instead of actually touching her, his hands hovered over her hair and face as he fought back the urge to let them land.
"Quit making that pathetic face!" she snapped at him halfheartedly. Her tone softened as she continued, "I'm fine. Didn't Renji tell you?"
"You're not fine! You're in a fucking hospital bed!"
She pinned him with a stern stare. "I'm fine, Ichigo. Really. You can stop worrying." She captured his hands in hers, stilling his erratic movements.
Her fingers were cold, and he pressed them against his chest to warm them. He wasn't sure he was ever going to let her out of his sight again. Not if it meant her getting hurt. Or worse. He'd never survive it. Just hearing the word hospital near Rukia's name had stolen years from his life.
"Where's Renji?" she asked.
"He's parking his car. I'm sure he'll be in in a minute." He suddenly turned serious. "What happened," Ichigo asked in a voice that trembled as much as the rest of him. He was sure she could feel the tremors running through his body, and he hated it that he couldn't be stronger for her right now, when she needed it most.
"My car just... stopped working. The steering and brakes went out. I couldn't stop or avoid traffic, so I ran right into it. It was all my fault."
"The airbag kept her from being hurt a lot worse," added Kon.
Ichigo glanced at him and saw the girl he was with take hold of his hand. "Was anyone else hurt?" he asked Rukia.
She nodded, and tears welled up in her eyes.
As gently as he knew how, Ichigo pulled her head against his chest and hugged her, stroking her hair. "It wasn't your fault," he whispered to her.
"It was. The car sounded funny when I started it. I shouldn't have driven it."
Something about that scenario sparked a memory in Ichigo's head. He'd nearly started a truck rigged with explosives once. If Chad hadn't stopped him, they'd both be dead.
What if her car trouble wasn't a coincidence? What if it was the killer's way of taking her out and, instead of making it look like a suicide, making it look like an accident?
The idea made rage boil up in his throat. He should have thought of something like that before. He should have planned for the killer to change his strategy now that the cops were involved.
Kon knew nothing about this and, out of respect for Rukia, he wasn't about to tell him.
Renji came through the door, glaring at Ichigo for leaving him behind. "They're going to tow your car. You're in a red zone."
"Let them tow it," said Ichigo, refusing to take his eyes off of Rukia long enough to move it. Not until he got this sense of helpless panic out of his system.
"I'll move it," offered Kon.
"Are they keeping you here tonight?" Ichigo wanted to know where he'd be sleeping tonight-at her home or here in the hosital with her. No way was he leaving her unguarded.
"No. They're finishing up the paperwork so I can go home."
Ichigo nodded and pulled some cash out of his wallet. He gave it to Kon, along with the keys to the Mustang. "After you move my car, why don't the two of you pick up some food-something we can reheat easily-and go home. I'll bring Rukia back as soon as they're done with her here."
"What do you want, Rukia?" asked Kon.
"Anything's fine. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to eat, anyway."
Kon looked down at his pretty friend and his eyes sparkled with the serious crush he had on the girl. "I can drop you off on the way back."
She gave Kon a shy smile. "Or I could go with you and help you carry the food," she offered.
Kon didn't appear to know how to respond to her offer, and his throat was moving like he couldn't get it to work, so Ichigo stepped in. "That would be great," he told her.
Her smile brightened. "No problem." She laced her fingers through Kon's as they left.
Renji sat down next to Rukia's bed and put his hand on her shoulder. The spike of jealousy Ichigo felt made him grit his teeth.
"I'm not sure you should leave," said Renji. "You'd be safer here."
"I'll rest better at home."
"And I'll be there to make sure you do," said Ichigo.
Renji's mouth tightened with irritation as his gaze shifted from Rukia to Ichigo. "She'd be safer here."
Rukia gave Renji a warning look. "I know you mean well, but I'm going home. Feel free to come by the house tonight if you're worried. In fact, maybe you should come stay with us until the whole thing is over."
Ichigo barely stomped on the urge to demand he be the only one to take care of her, but he managed to clamp his lips over the words that would have surely gotten him in trouble. Renji was her friend and, like it or not, Ichigo had to respect that.
"Three's a crowd, don't you think?" asked Renji as he stood to leave. "Is there anything I can get you before you leave?"
"Will you check on Momo?" asked Rukia.
"Sure. She's at work, right?"
"I think so."
"I'll take care of it. Call me if you need anything else."
Renji left, and Ichigo couldn't stop touching Rukia. He tried to reassure himself she was fine, but parts of him were still shaking with panic, unconvinced. He stroked her hair, relishing the feel of the slippery strands under his palm.
"Renji is threatened by you," said Rukia.
Good. At least he'd done that right. "He'll live. I'm more worried about you. You could have been killed."
She gave him a slight nod, her mouth drawn tight with caution. "You don't think my accident was accidental, do you?"
God, he hated seeing her even a little bit afraid. Still, he wasn't going to lie to her. "I'm sure you had to have considered the possibility."
"I thought it was just my way of finding someone else to blame for my mistake so I wouldn't feel so guilty, you know?"
"This wasn't your fault."
"Tell that to the man whose wrist I broke today by slamming my car into his. I doubt he'd agree."
Ichigo took her face in his hands, holding her gently. "You can't do this to yourself. I've seen what guilt can do to a person, and I won't let that happen to you."
Rukia blinked back tears. Her amethyst eyes, normally so bright, were dimmed by shame. "I've never hurt anyone before."
"And you didn't this time, either. And to prove it, I'll have Kira check out your car and see if it's been tampered with."
"I don't know where it went," she said. "They must have had a truck tow it away."
Ichigo smoothed a stray bang away from her face. "Don't worry about it. I'll find it and take care of everything."
She nodded and leaned her head against his chest. "Hanataro's dead," she whispered in a bleak tone.
Ichigo climbed up onto the edge of the bed and held her close, wishing he could make her grief disappear. "I know, Love. I know."
"He doesn't have anyone to plan his funeral."
"We'll do it together," he assured her.
She was quiet for a long time and then, in a faint voice, said, "Momo's next. I can't lose her, too! Not after everyone else. And Orihime... She was my best friend... Momo's all I have left!"
A few drops of wetness hit his shirt, and Ichigo squeezed her tighter. "You won't lose her. I promise. It's going to be okay." Ichigo wanted to hold her until this whole mess went away, but it wasn't in the cards.
The nurse came into the curtained area, interrupting her reply. "You're all set to go home now, Miss Kuchiki. Call or come back if you have any problems, okay?"
"I will," said Rukia.
The nurse looked at Ichigo. "Are you going to be with her tonight?"
"Yes." Right by her side. He'd seen men who'd been hit in the head take a turn for the worse in the blink of an eye. Her bump didn't look so bad, but he wasn't taking any chances. Rukia was too precious.
"Good. Keep an eye on her, just in case, but she should be fine."
"I won't let her out of my sight."
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Ichigo wrapped his long fingers around Rukia's upper arms in a gentle grip to help ease her from the hospital bed.
"I'm fine, Ichigo. Really. You don't need to hover."
His jaw was hard and his mouth was tight with anger. She could see him vibrating with it, all his muscles drawn tight. "I almost lost you today."
Rukia slid her arms around his muscled body and pressed herself against him in a hug meant to comfort both of them. She laid her head on his chest and breathed in the warm scent of his skin, ignoring how he stood stiff in her arms. Whether or not he admitted it, he needed this. He needed to know she was safe and whole and that she cared about him.
Maybe too much.
"See, I'm perfectly fine."
He pulled in a deep breath, which shifted her head more closely to his neck. She could see his pulse pounding in his throat, fast and hard.
Her hands stroked down his back over and over, and slowly, he started to relax. One by one, the corded muscles along his spine became less rigid. The coiled strength of his body yielded to her touch and she felt him soften, heard a nearly inaudible sigh of relief slide out of his lungs.
After a few moments, his arms closed around her like steel bands of solid protection, then tightened as if he'd never let her go.
That was a really, really nice thought, even if it was pure fantasy.
His mouth moved over her hair. His words were quiet and clipped. "I should have known this could happen."
"How could you predict a car accient?" She forced a grin and tried to lighten his mood by adopting a light tone. "I mean, you can't even match people's names with their faces half the time."
It didn't work. He remained grim as he told her, "I'm not sure it was an accident. And if it wasn't, not only did the killer go after you when it wasn't your turn, he also changed his tactics from making it look like suicide to making it look like an accident."
A cold, oily fear settled low in her stomach. Had she been fooling herself thinking she was safe for now? That Ichigo was, as well? She'd held herself together by focusing on the others-trying to keep them safe. If she had to worry about Ichigo and what would happen to Kon if she was murdered, she didn't think she could go on.
"Call Detective Kira and tell him," said Rukia.
His body went tense, and it wasn't just anger. It was more than that. Rukia pulled away so she could look into his face. His expression was tight, his lips pressed into a hard, flat line. But it was his eyes that shocked her. They were cold and glittering with disgust, not warm and bright.
"I'm not sure I'm the best person to be dealing with Kira right now," said Ichigo.
"He didn't really think you were the killer, did he?"
He let out a harsh bark of laughter. "Are you kidding? He was sure I was his guy. A fucking murderer. It's like my fourteen years of service meant nothing and I'm right back to where I started with everyone seeing me as a punk kid who killed his foster father."
"I don't see you that way. I never saw you that way!" Her voice softened as she added, "You were my hero. You still are."
He gave her a sad smile. "Yeah, but you were there. You knew what would have happened to you if I hadn't stopped Aizen that night, what would have continued happening to all of those defenseless kids."
Rukia barely controlled a shiver of revulsion. She'd dealt with the terror of nearly being raped, but that didn't mean she didn't remember what it had been like to be victimized, or to hear the other children cry at night, afraid to go to sleep. She pushed all of it way, refocusing on Ichigo. "That's my point. You did what was right. You did what no one else was brave enough to do. You did what needed to be done. And for that, I, as well as all of the others, will be eternally greatful to you for what you did."
He nodded to show that he'd heard her, but refused to let her praise sink in too deep. He was quiet for a while. "I'm sorry," he finally said on a sigh. "I shouldn't be talking to you about this. Digging up the past won't make things better."
"I don't see any way around it. This whole situation stems from our past. We can't simply ignore it because it's unpleasant."
"Unpleasant? Is that what you call nearly being raped? Living in the home of a child molester."
"Are you intentionally trying to upset me? Because your doing a great job of it so far!"
"No. Sorry."
Rukia took a deep breath, held it for a moment and then released it. "I was only there a few weeks, and I didn't really understand what was going on around me. I mean, I knew that some of the kids were afraaid and sad, but I didn't understand why?"
"Didn't that make it even more frightening?"
Rukia shrugged. "I'd been moving around between homes and hospitals my entire life. Everything was always different at each new place. I learned to adapt, to accept the differences, and try to make the most of it until it was time to move on again."
Ichigo's heart went out to her. "No kid should have to grow up like that."
"It wasn't that bad, or if it was, I didn't know any better and it didn't last too long, anyway. I'm happy with the way my life is turning out, and I feel blessed to be given the chance to make the lives of kids better than mine was."
"And I'm going to make sure you're able. I'm not going to let anything happen to you again."
"What happened today wasn't your fault."
He tightened his hold on her, fisting his hands in her shirt as if he couldn't stand the thought of letting go. Fooling herself like that was such a dangerous temptation. She wanted to believe it so badly.
Rukia closed her eyes to block out the beautiful lines of his face, but it did nothing to stop his smooth, sexy voice from sliding into her. "I should have realized the threat to you, rather than assuming the killer would continue the same pattern."
"Why? I didn't?"
"I'm not going to make the same mistake again." Ichigo rubbed his cheek over her hair, and she could feel strands of it clinging to his evening stubble, connecting them. The slight tug on her hair made her shiver. "Too many people need you."
His flattery swept over her like a warm caress.
She looked up at him, expecting to see a teasing grin lighting his amber eyes. Instead, his face was hard and serious. "I don't think I could live with myself if anything happened to you. I need you to stay safe. To be happy."
"Why?" She managed to choke out the question in a broken whisper.
His thumb traced a gentle arc over her eyebrow, careful not to hurt her bruised skin. That touch slid along her temple, over her cheekbone, and down to her mouth. "Because I... just do. Promise me you won't take any chances, Rukia."
Her lips parted under his touch, and she longed to let her tongue reach out and taste his skin. Just once. Just to see what it would be like to share that kind of intimacy with him.
She was shaking with the force it took to hold herself back, and the tremor came out in her voice, dark and soft and nothing at all like fear. She sounded sexy and sultry, even to her own ears. "I'll be careful. I have too much to live for not to." Her voice turn from sexy to sincere in a heartbeat. "Oh, and Ichigo," she said as she reached up to weave her fingers through his wild, orange mane. "You may not be aware of it, but a lot of people need you too. So don't you ever forget that, alright."
He nodded solemnly with a soft smile on his face. "Yes Ma'am."
Rukia pulled away from him long enough to weave her arm through his. "Now that that's settled, can we go home now?"
He started walking, gently tugging her along with him. "Sure thing, Beautiful."
AN
SQUEAL! Definitely my favorite chapter so far! Did you guys catch it when Ichigo chickened out from saying those three special words? Don't worry, he will eventually. Hope you guys liked it! Review please!