Summary: Ichigo and Orihime are happily married and about to start a family when Aizen gets himself released from prison early. Why is Aizen interested in Orihime? Can she defeat him? Hint: don't mess with a mama! AU, IchiHime, inspired by badass!Hime from chap. 449.

This short story is set in the same AU as Love Me Bitterly, Loathe Me Sweetly and Triangle of Immortality. It takes place after the end of Triangle. Ichigo and Orihime have been married for just under a year.

A/N: This fanfic was inspired by two things (spoiler alert for manga chapter 449 below):

1. A recent news story: "May 23, 2011, Washington DC: The Supreme Court ordered California on Monday to release tens of thousands of its prisoners to relieve overcrowding, saying that 'needless suffering and death' had resulted from putting too many inmates into facilities that cannot hold them in decent conditions."

2. Orihime's power-up in manga chapter 449 where she faced down Ginjou and defeated him.

Pairings: Ichigo/Orihime, one-sided Aizen/Orihime.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

(Originally posted on 6/3/11.)

XxXxXxX

Orihime woke up to the tantalizing smell of bacon frying and coffee brewing. She glanced out the bedroom window and saw that the sky was an unusual blue, and she immediately jumped out of bed and ran to the window.

It was July in San Francisco and it was typically cold and foggy in the morning. She couldn't remember the last time the sun was out this early. She stretched out her arms and laughed at the feel of the sunlight on her bare skin.

As she was staring in delight at the sunny sky, she felt a pair of warm arms slip around her. "Hey sleepyhead, breakfast is ready."

She turned around. Her husband of nine months was grinning at her, his brown eyes alight. She could feel the strength in Ichigo's muscular arms as he tightened them around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Although his orange hair was still sticking up every which way, he was dressed in a neat polo shirt and slacks, so she knew he was about to head off to work. He let her go and gestured with his head towards the kitchen.

Giving him a happy smile, she said, "I was just enjoying the sunshine," and followed him into the kitchen.

"What?" he teased. "Do you prefer the weather of Karakura Town to San Francisco?" He pulled out a chair at the kitchen table for her.

"Well," she said, "maybe only in the summer. I do enjoy the sun." Her eyes widened as she saw the repast Ichigo had prepared that morning. He normally cooked breakfast for both of them, but it looked like he had gone all out today. "What's the special occasion?"

He grinned at her. "Uh, don't you remember? We got the test back from the doctor yesterday, and you're pregnant. I think that's worth celebrating," he said, stepping close to her and bending down to plant a kiss on her lips. Pulling away from her, he gave her another quick hug.

She returned his glance with a look of pure happiness. It had been so exciting to get the news from the doctor, to start imagining what their first child would be like. Orihime looked down at her still-flat belly, and a dreamy smile passed over her face. Maybe it would be a little boy, with bright orange hair and a sulky mouth like his dad. Or a ferocious little warrior girl, waving a toy sword, glaring at all her opponents. Orihime sighed happily as images of the imaginary children passed through her mind.

After going through a really disastrous past year, they were finally settling down to a peaceful family life. They had moved from the East Coast to the West so they could both take exciting new jobs in their areas of interest, Orihime as a research biochemist at a biotech startup and Ichigo as a medical researcher at the university medical school.

They had decided to leave the scene of their painful experience involving Orihime's previous company, when a large pharmaceutical company had bought them out and required Orihime to take part in some questionable activities involving her research. Although Las Noches was now under new management, Ichigo had decided it would be best to take Orihime as far away from the corporate headquarters as possible. The new job offers had come at an opportune time, and they had both packed up and come to San Francisco to start a new life… and a family.

"Wow." Orihime looked at the plates of bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, potatoes, and toast with butter and jelly. Normally, she would tear into all of them. Ichigo often teased her that she ate as much as four normal people. But today… for some reason they didn't seem as appetizing.

"Ichigo," she said, pleating her napkin in embarrassment, "It's so nice of you to make such a great breakfast for me, and a special one too… But… I'm sorry, but for some reason, I don't feel very hungry today." She looked up at him, biting her lip. She hated to disappoint him.

He just stared at her for a moment. Then he laughed. "Well, I guess you really are pregnant then. Are you feeling okay?"

She smiled at him. "Yeah! I'm feeling fine… " She paused, hesitated. "Well, maybe a little queasy. I guess the morning sickness is kicking in." She considered, her head on one side. "But it's not really bad, Ichigo."

"Are you going to need anything?"

"No. No, nothing." She glanced at the kitchen clock. "Don't you need to get to work early today?"

"Yeah." Ichigo ran a hand through his spiky orange hair. "I just wanted to make sure you were set for today."

"Don't worry about me," Orihime said, laughing. "I'll be fine."

Ichigo gave her a last, lingering kiss, then ran out the door of their flat and pounded down the stairs to catch the bus. Orihime stood to watch him through the kitchen window, her eyes following his bright orange hair as it bobbed down the street.

Then she sat down at the kitchen table to force herself to eat a little. Ichigo had left the day's newspaper, folded, at her place at the table. She shook her head, smiling. He was so solicitous of her. She picked up the paper and began to read.

"Supreme Court orders California to release 30,000 prisoners," read the headline on the front page.

Huh, she thought, that was strange. She knew the prisons were overcrowded, but wouldn't it be dangerous to release so many inmates? Well, she supposed they would only release the nonviolent offenders, so it would probably be okay. Not that they had anything to worry about, since they lived in a safe part of town. She absently finished her second sausage and started in on her third as she turned the paper to the comics section.

XxXxXxX

The prison lay at the end of a long, dusty road in the barren desert in California's Central Valley, the visitor's car bouncing up and down on the poorly maintained road. Outside the prison, the summer sun glared down, raising the temperatures into the 100s. The visitor flashed a pass signed by the warden at the gate, was granted entrance with a casual gesture from the guard.

Inside, the buildings were hot and dark. The visitor walked down the long hall, his boots clicking on the utilitarian flooring, the air hot and close and smelling of the sweat of too many men living too close together.

Inmates were crowded behind barred gates, bunking in triples in cells once meant for a single prisoner, sleeping on cots in hallways converted into group holding areas. Air conditioning was sparse and thermostats showed numbers in the 80s. Tempers were short and the lines at the infirmary had increased with the influx of knife wounds, concussions, and requests for painkillers. Recreation centers were jammed with sweating bodies, hot, dark, and noisy.

But there was one recreation center in the prison that remained uncrowded. As the visitor inserted a card key into the slot beside the door at the far end of the long hall and stepped into the room, he immediately felt the temperature drop to a comfortable level. Inside, the room was pleasant, not as utilitarian as the rest of the prison. The furniture was upholstered in rich fabrics; a large teak conference table stood at one end. A number of prisoners were sitting around it, listening to the man at the head of the table who was speaking as the visitor entered.

"…so I think it's time that we applied a little pressure to our informant. Zommari, you have a free hand to do whatever you think is necessary." The voice was calm and unhurried.

"Yes, sir," said a heavy-set man sitting near the end of the table.

"Oh, and Kaname, inform the guard that the ice machine is broken. I expect it to be fixed by 8am tomorrow."

The conversation stopped as the men turned to watch the visitor's approach.

He walked up to the table and stood before them, his gaze drawn to the man at the head of the table. All the others wore orange prison jumpsuits, but this man was dressed all in black, a black silk shirt tucked into black slacks. A cup of tea steamed at his right hand. His brown hair was casually tousled, one strand falling over his handsome, serene face. He leaned back in his high-backed chair, deep brown eyes locking on the face of the visitor. He did not look like a prisoner, but the visitor knew he was one. Indeed, he was listed as one of the most dangerous prisoners in this maximum security prison.

The visitor bowed his head. "The news we have been waiting for has arrived, Aizen-sama."

The brown-haired prisoner raised an eyebrow but did not speak.

"The Supreme Court ruled today that California must release 30,000 inmates. The justices say that overcrowding has caused delays in inmate health care and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment." The visitor's voice was uninflected and sounded almost bored.

The prisoner's face remained neutral. He lifted his cup of tea to his lips, took a sip. "And so you have news for me?" His voice was deep and resonant, with a hint of relaxed amusement behind it.

"Your lawyers have begun drawing up the papers for your release, sir. You are to be one of the first prisoners released under this new injunction."

Aizen smiled, a smile of triumph and power. "That is good news, Starrk." He brought his cup to his lips in a leisurely fashion, took a long, slow draught. "It's good to see the Supreme Court is acting according to my plans."

Starrk kept the bored look on his face, but inside, he was skeptical. Aizen might rule the prison, but he surely didn't have control over the Supreme Court, regardless of what he wanted his lackeys to think.

One of the prisoners asked, leaning forward eagerly, "What are you going to do now, Aizen-sama?"

Aizen said calmly, "This will merely give me greater freedom to continue with all the operations I had been running before the small setback of being placed inside this prison." He looked around at his minions. "And this is good news for you as well; all of you will either be released or given a high-status position here. Did I not tell you that as long as you stayed with me, nothing would stand in our way?" He paused for a moment to study their faces carefully. "However, there is one small piece of unfinished business that I am at last free to take care of." He raised his eyes to Starrk. "I want you to pick up an individual, have her delivered to my new home in a week. I should be settled by then."

Starrk forced his face to remain neutral. He disapproved of the kidnapping of innocents, but he really didn't have any choice in the matter. All of Aizen's subordinates knew that disobeying the least of his orders could mean death. "As you wish, Aizen-sama. What is the name of this individual?"

Aizen's smile widened. "Orihime Inoue."