Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Ichigo and Rukia. I own... (Takes deep breath) ...Michio, Raye, Anyame, Kaname, Yuki and Sanyu. Aki and Risa, and any other children I add in.
I own the last portion of the rhyme!

Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
I shed tears, my baby,
I shed them for you.

Snapshots V

July 13th, 2015 — 7:30 AM

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Rukia!" Ichigo said, for probably the sixth time as Rukia hesitated at the door. "Besides, Renji's comin' over today, so I'll have help. Go have fun with Tatsuki and Inoue!"

"I don't know... Sanyu's sick and... and Renji isn't any help! If anything, he'll make it worse. No, I should just stay home. Yuki cries whenever I leave now..." Rukia grabbed the phone, fully intending to cancel on the girls. But before she could dial, Ichigo took the phone out of her hands, leaned down, and kissed her.

Her eyes went wide for a second or two, and as soon as she had relaxed into the kiss, Ichigo broke it off, looking deeply into her eyes.

"Go. Take a break, have fun. I promise, we'll all be mostly alive by the time you get back. Shoo!"

Rukia sighed deeply, then grabbed her backpack, which consisted of pajamas, a toothbrush and a sleeping bag, before smiling.

"Fine. But call me if anything happens. And I mean anything, Ichigo. Paper-cuts and splinters count, too."

Rolling his eyes, he nodded.

"Now get lost before everyone wakes up and starts crying."

"But Yuki..."

"No buts! Leave! Now! Use Shunpo and call me when you get there, too. I'd bring you to Inoue's house if I could, but—"

"You have to watch the kids, I know. And I'm going..."

Ichigo shut the door firmly behind her, leaving no room for arguments. She was going to have fun for a day, and that was that. But still... Renji wasn't going to be any help, Rukia was right, and it was going to be one hell of a day/night.

"Mooommy!"

Ichigo's eyes widened when he saw Yuki walking into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Mommy's gone," he said simply, trying to lessen the shock for Yuki.

"M-mommy gone?" Yuki stuttered, his eyes filling with tears. Ichigo put the eggs he was planning on cooking down and bolted toward his tiny son. But Yuki started crying before he got there. "Uhhh... waaah! I want Mommy!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. This... this was going to be a long day.

...Later That Day...

"I wanna eat ma bubbles!" Yuki whined, his loud, shrill voice almost droning out the sound of the doorbell. Ichigo, sighing deeply, grabbed Yuki under one arm and Sanyu under the other. Both boys were stark naked and covered in bubble bath, but neither seemed to care as they giggled and wiggled.

"Coming!" Ichigo yelled as the doorbell rang again. He ran as fast as he could, barefoot, across the slippery floor. His jeans and T-shirt were soaked—he needed to change.

Ding-dong.

Door first. Door first. Door fir—

"Kaname, stop drawing on the wall! Anyame, off that bookshelf...!" Ichigo yelled loudly, finally reaching the front door and pulling it open.

"..."

"..."

"What the hell is he doing here, Renji?" Ichigo asked, addressing the red-haired man, but speaking of his children's stuck-up, noble uncle.

"Ah... he followed me?"

"Do not make me seem as a mere dog," Byakuya said, frowning and walking inside the Kurosaki home.

It, of course, took less than three seconds before he was ambushed by his two older nephews and both of his nieces. Kaname was covered in marker markings from head to toe, and Anyame had webs in her hair from her hiking adventure up the bookshelf.

"Uncle Bya-kun!" Kaname yelled, bouncing up and down. "Bya-kun! Bya-kun!"

Sanyu, who was wiggling his naked little self around in Ichigo's arms, giggled and began to chant, "Bya bya bya!"

Ichigo sighed, rolled his eyes, and handed Yuki, in all his naked glory, to Renji.

"Drop him, and I'll kill you, understand? Careful; he's slippery," Ichigo said, his voice firm but a smile on his lips. Renji nodded quickly, but glanced uneasily down at the little boy. Yuki smiled, his violet eyes closing as he showed off his teeth.

"Ren-Ren!" he yelled.

"I am not Ren-Ren!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. Again.

"All right, that's enough! Kids—those of you who are dressed—into the kitchen, into your seats, and not Yuki's, even though it is up higher. Renji! Follow me and help dress Yuki and Sanyu. Byakuya, I'm appointing you as watchdog. Make sure no children get into lunch before we're back, and make sure everyone stays alive for the next five minutes."

Ichigo smirked as he walked into the nursery. Halfway there, he turned to his friend. "... Ren-Ren?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut up, carrot head."

Ichigo just laughed.

...Ishida Home...

"Oooh, I should just go home. Sanyu has a cold, Yuki cries when I'm not home, and... and..."

Tatsuki rolled her eyes, but smiled at her small friend as she paced across the floor.

"Oh, it'll be fine, Rukia-san!" Orihime chirped happily, clipping her hair in place before dropping down on her sleeping bag. She smiled widely and brushed her light brown hair behind her ears. "I left Aki and Risa with Uryuu at his fathers, and I'm sure they'll be fine. Besides, Kurosaki-kun has help today, right?"

"Oh, nooo... Renji is going to totally wreck the house!"

"Rukia, sit!"

The small, raven haired girl dropped immediately onto her dark purple, fluffy sleeping bag, her hands folding in her lap as she looked over to the source of the voice.

Tatsuki was smiling.

"Chill, Rukia-san. The kids will be fine. Ichigo's capable."

"Not with six children!"

"..." However, Tatsuki couldn't come up with a reply. So, finally, she said, "Well, maybe... Oh! And I have good news. I wanted to wait until later to tell everyone, but as we're on the subject of children already..."

Orihime looked curiously at her childhood friend, who was blushing a little as she played with the material of her plain, blue T-shirt.

"Well?" Rukia asked, poking Tatsuki in the shoulder playfully. The dark haired, karate girl smiled, then started,

"Well, me and Renji have been trying for a year or so now... andI'mpregnant," she said quickly. Orihime was confused for a second, but Rukia got it immediately.

"Oh, wow! Congratulations! How far along? Have you seen it on an ultrasound yet? Have you told Renji?"

"... A baby?" Orihime asked excitedly. "Amazing! I was getting worried, since you'd been trying so long..."

Tatsuki blinked a few times, shocked from the amount of attention she was getting from her friends, but soon began answering the questions. "Yes, I'm pregnant with a baby, Orihime," she joked softly. "I'm seven weeks in, yes, Renji knows, no we haven't seen it on an ultrasound yet, and somehow, Renji's already picked out names."

"Names?"

"One in case it's a girl, on for it's a boy," Tatsuki answered Rukia's question. The mother of six relaxed a little.

"Oh, I thought you were having twins... that's a nightmare."

Tatsuki laughed, then said, "All right, now Rukia, your turn to spill the beans. Something's bothering you. You've been jumpy, pale and just... different since last week. Tell us everything now."

Rukia sighed; she wasn't getting out of this one, especially not if Tatsuki was the drill Sergeant. So, she took a deep breath and began to speak.

"I...—"

She was cut off when the phone rang, and she didn't bother so continue as Orihime jumped up to answer it. But, in less than a second, a look of shock passed over her face and she called for Rukia.

Somehow, Rukia knew that there was bad news on the other end.

...Kurosaki Home...

"Kaname, the carrots go in your mouth, not Anyame's hair. Yuki, sit down, quit standing, and hold still. Michio, would you please give Sanyu his bottle—after putting his cold medicine in it? And Raye... thank you for being a good girl." Ichigo paused and took a deep breath in, as his previous four sentences had been said in one breath alone. "And Renji...

"...stop putting your carrots back in the pan!"

"I don't like 'em."

"I don't care. I swear, I'd give you a timeout..."

"Tatsuki's pregnant."

"But I think you're—... huh?"

"Tatsuki's pregnant," Renji repeated. "Do I need to draw a diagram?"

"Uh..." Ichigo shook his head. "No, no diagram. I don't even want to know how that came about."

In less than three seconds, half a bold of carrots was launched at his head for being perverted. Ichigo ducked, and the bowl flew straight forward and slammed into Sanyu's stomach. The baby began screaming loudly, and Renji jumped up from his seat, apologizing quickly.

No one moved for several seconds, and the only sounds were Sanyu's crying and Yuki's spoon dropping surprise.

Finally, Ichigo seemed to realize what had happened. Grumbling a few choice words under his breath, he quickly picked Sanyu out of the high-chair and set him on the table, undoing his overalls and pulling his shirt up to make sure the baby's tummy was all right.

It wasn't.

"Damn it, Renji! He's gonna be bruised for a week," Ichigo said, then spoke softly to Sanyu to try and calm him down. "Michio, grab a bag of ice, and a clean pair of clothes for Sanyu and follow me into the living."

"Can I help?" Renji asked, picking up the bowl and setting it back on the table.

"No. Stay here," Ichigo snapped.

Michio quickly did as he was told, and brought the bag of ice to his father before running into the nursery. He could still hear Sanyu's shrieks of pain in the other side of the house as he grabbed a diaper, diaper wipes and a T-shirt of Yuki's—He knew that his Dad would want to check Sanyu's tummy every thirty minutes or so, and a large T-shirt would be easiest.

"Here, Dad," he said, handing the things over. Ichigo nodded his thanks, but his attention was on Sanyu. Michio, sensing that Daddy was indeed mad, bolted back into the kitchen, where all four of his other siblings, Renji and Uncle Byakuya were watching around the corner, concerned.

"Is he really pissed?" Renji asked, staring at Michio. The little boy nodded, and Renji sighed. "I am so dead."

Ichigo, having cleaned and dressed Sanyu, stood up from the couch, holding the baby in his arms, the ice pack pressed firmly against his tummy. He was still frowning as he walked into the kitchen and picked up the phone.

"Hey, can I talk to Rukia?" he said gently after a few seconds—Orihime had picked up the phone. Finally, he spoke again.

"Hey, Rukia, something happened."

He talked for a few more minutes before hanging up.

"I convinced her not to come home," he said, "But she wants me to bring Sanyu to her. I'll be back in a minute or two. Byakuya, watch everyone, please. Renji, go sit in the living room. Don't even get near any of my children, got that?"

Ichigo walked out the door after grabbing the diaper bag, and only a blur was seen as he ran off, using Shunpo.

...Ishida House...

Rukia answered the door, quickly taking her tiny son from his father. She lifted the shirt he was wearing, and gasped at the purple and green bruises already spreading across his skin.

"Should we take him to a doctor?" Ichigo asked her worriedly. "The bruises weren't that bad when I left, and he started crying again when we were almost here. I don't know... maybe it's a broken rib? It could even be internal bleeding... but most likely not..."

Rukia pressed her fingers lightly to Sanyu's stomach, and the baby shrieked louder, gasping for breath, his arms waving frantically around in the air. His cries, however, were loud enough to bring Tatsuki and Orihime into the room worriedly.

"Is he all right, Rukia-san?" Tatsuki asked.

Rukia just shook her head, then replied softly, "Um... can I borrow your phone, Orihime-san? I'm gonna call the hospital, and see if they think we should bring him in."

In less than ten minutes, Rukia was hanging up the phone, a grim look on her face.

"Bring him in?" Ichigo guessed.

Rukia nodded and gently wrapped her baby up in a soft blanket before gripping him tightly to her chest.

"Want to use my car?" Tatsuki asked gently, worried for the small child.

Ichigo shook his head.

"No, Shunpo is faster. Meet us at the hospital?"

The two other girls nodded, then Ichigo and Rukia were gone.

...At the Hospital...

Nearly an hour later, everyone was gathered in the hospital waiting room, and Ichigo held Rukia in his arms while the doctor spoke to them. He wanted to cry as badly as she did, but he knew he had to be strong. For her, and for the rest of his family.

"Even a small impact—such as a bowl to the chest and stomach, in your case—is enough to break bones in a baby. Even more so since the object was thrown from an adult. The force more than doubled because of that. If it had been thrown from another child, like we usually see in family situations, it most likely wouldn't have resulted in broken ribs."

"Is he going to be all right?" Rukia asked, hastily wiping her tears away as she stared at the doctor.

"At this time, we don't know. One of the broken ribs punctured his lung while he was flailing about, and he is having trouble breathing. We're taking him into surgery to repair the collapsed lung as soon as he's stable. Would you like to be with him before that?"

Rukia nodded quickly, and Ichigo gripped her hand as they walked into the trauma room. Renji made a move to follow, but one look from Ichigo stopped him.

They were led into a small room where Sanyu laid among sheets of white. There was no blood, but he was hooked up to several machines, and he had several tubes in his body to help him breathe; he was sleeping.

They'd only been with him three minutes when one of the nurses spoke.

"The patient's been stabilized, doctor. We can move him now."

"All right. Kurosaki-kun, Kurosaki-san, we have to move Sanyu. You can watch from the observation room, if you like," the doctor said, pulling up the metal railings on the side of Sanyu's hospital bed before wheeling it out of the room.

Rukia followed immediately, not wanting to leave Sanyu's side for even one second, but Ichigo hung behind, his hands clenched at his sides.

"Hey, Ichigo—"

"Leave me alone!" he yelled, turning and coming face to face with Renji. The other man sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"C'mon, man. It was an accident. Will you at least tell me what's happening? You know I didn't mean to hurt the little guy, and I feel horrible about this."

"Accident or not," Ichigo said, finally moving his gaze to meet that of his friends, "My son is about to have surgery, and if he... if he dies, it's gonna hurt us more than you can believe. After what happened with Raye... "

Ichigo paused, turned his back and began to walk off.

"...if he doesn't make it, I'll kill you."

To be continued...

Ooo...k... this is where I get in trouble, right? Oh, and I updated Far Away a day or so ago, so if you're following it and haven't read the update, the link is in my profile. XD

—NOTE about Raye—
I had one question about what happened to Raye(As mentioned in this chapter): In Whispers In Your Heart, the prequel to this, she died, but somehow came back in the end. I won't say any more in case some people haven't read Whispers and Shadows.

Please Review!