Star here. Wow, it's been so late since the last update! I really have no excuse for the absence. I had all summer to do it and it just didn't get done... Funny how college started up again and, what do you know? I've got an update done! Life works in weird ways... Hope you enjoy this late chapter anyway!

The rushing of blood was loud in her ears as she stared at the ceiling. She couldn't sit still and her eyes were darting from place to place, particularly from one object then back to Ichigo, who looked just as anxious as she did. Syazel had perched himself on the edge of the mattress in their room, watching the monitor with some disinterest. He figured he was a doctor of sorts here in Hueco Mundo, but he found it utterly ridiculous to be in charge of the pregnancy of the humans.

Ichigo squeezed Orihime's hand tightly, causing her to glance at him once again. Her eyes brimmed with few tears and her eyes read a mixture of hope and anxiety. On the inside, she wanted so desperately to be pregnant, but after what happened last time, she tried so hard not to get her hopes up so high. Ichigo's reassuring hand made her tremble and bite her lip in nervousness.

"There is an embryo," Syazel told them nonchalantly, roving the device around her slightly rounded tummy. The breath both Ichigo and Orihime were holding came out in a rush and their eyes darted to one another. The thing they'd been hoping for all this time finally happened and they felt a flood of relief at the new discovery. Orihime had thrown her hands up to her mouth to stifle a sob and she closed her eyes tight as a few tears trickled out. "I'd say you're approximately six or seven weeks along."

Ichigo couldn't help but crack a small grin at the revelation of his child actually growing within this wonderful woman's abdomen. Orihime's soft sobs could be heard, but his eyes were glued on the monitor where a small blur looked no bigger than the pad of his thumb. He almost reached out to touch the monitor when he realized Syazel was still in the room and he didn't really want to do something as sentimental as that with the hollow here.

"Did you say six or seven?" Ichigo blurted out, refocusing himself and realizing the dates weren't really matching up. "But we just..." He was going to finish, but instead felt himself turn hot in the cheeks. In his head, he calculated that they probably hadn't done anything since the shower, which happened nearly a month ago. And they had attempted to try again before, but they had been interrupted. That only left their first time, which resulted in her hysterical pregnancy. Either way, it just didn't add up.

"Don't be ridiculous," Syazel scoffed, removing the device off of Orihime's midsection. She had quickly brushed away her tears to sit up and look at him carefully. Syazel had tossed her a cloth to wipe the goo off her belly, but she still watched him with cautious eyes as she cleaned herself up. "The reiatsu-rich environment that is Hueco Mundo has more than likely provided extra 'nutrients', if you prefer to call it that way. It's caused the unborn child to develop at a slightly quicker rate than most normal pregnancies." Orihime's eyes widened at the news, as did Ichigo's. If Syazel was right, then that would mean the baby's birth would be arriving sooner than they'd both anticipated.

Syazel turned off the machine and rose from his spot. "I will inform Aizen-sama of the news. Do not be shocked if he summons you both." Ichigo, at this point, wasn't worried about Aizen, but he had looked back at Orihime, who was trying her hardest not to grin. Syazel scoffed once more before leaving the room, wheeling the machine out with him.

"I-Ichigo-kun..." Orihime whimpered, feeling her eyes prickle again with tears. Ichigo, feeling himself swell with emotion, took no time in pulling her into a tight hug. For a split second, he forgot about the now growing baby in her body, but as soon as it sunk in for a second time, he loosened up and pressed a hurried kiss onto her cheek.

"I'm so proud of you," Ichigo found himself blurting out, not really thinking about what he was saying. Even in her half-sobbing state, Orihime laughed and buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"We did this together though!" she replied, her voice fairly jubilant. "You should be proud of yourself too!" Ichigo found himself smirking as he pulled her into a long, deep kiss. He hadn't felt this happy since forever, and the feeling was uplifting although awkward to come to terms with.

Orihime smiled into the kiss and soon parted with him, unable to stop grinning. Ichigo found himself lowering his face towards her abdomen, imagining the small life within her. He was terrible at sensing reiatsu, but he could faintly feel a very small, concentrated bundle of it inside of her body. Again, this made him feel overjoyed, so much he pressed a light peck to her belly. "Hey..." he murmured to his unborn child, despite it not being able to hear anything at this point in the pregnancy.

As Orihime watched Ichigo's gentle ministrations, her cheeks warmed and her thoughts began to swarm. His words were so kind, but as soon as Syazel left, she realized that although she'd carry this child, it would eventually be handed over to Aizen for his use. Orihime's previous smile fell to a distraught frown and she lightly threaded her dainty fingers through his bright locks. Ichigo, noticing the new touch, glanced up with a smile prepared for her, still glad of the news. But when he saw her face, the expression both on her features and in her eyes, his own smile faded into a tight scowl. He didn't need to ask her to know what was wrong.

"It... It'll be okay," Ichigo tried to promise her, even though he was unsure himself. He rested a hand on her cheek and brushed his thumb across her slightly damp face, wet from the new set of tears she'd caused herself to have. "We have time. We'll figure this out, alright?"

Orihime nodded grimly before closing her eyes tightly and forcing back the soft sobs. What had been good news before only turned to terrible news instead, just from imagining what Aizen would do with their innocent baby. Ichigo felt terrible about his lack of ideas this far, and he felt even worse that all he could do to help her now was hug her and never let go.

Orihime tried to appear to be in a relatively chipper mood in an attempt to keep herself from stressing herself out. She knew if she would grow too nervous and scared, the baby would become affected as well. But just because she appeared that way on the outside, the onslaught of thoughts still surged in her head. The terrifying reality of having to hand their child over made her more scared than she'd ever thought she'd be.

Though she tried her best not to show it, she knew Ichigo could sense it. The moment he would walk through the door after a mission, he would come over to her and ask if she was alright. That had been normal for the past year they had been here, but he made sure to pull her into a hug as well, and would sometimes even rub her back or plant a kiss on the top of her head.

Her stomach fluttered at the thought of Ichigo's kind gestures, momentarily distracting her from the problem at hand. Orihime sighed, falling back onto the bed and closing her eyes. Her lids were heavy with threatening tears. Wiping them away quickly, she mentally scolded herself at how she needed to calm down. Being this tensed would not help anyone, and most importantly, it wouldn't help the baby.

The creak of the door rang in Orihime's ears and she turned her head towards the entrance to the room. Ichigo came through, just like any other day, covered in some dust and a few scratches present on his face. Nothing looked overly concerning, such as broken bones or gushing wounds. So instead of a distraught expression she'd usually show in such a situation, she gave him a lazy smile and subconsciously rested her hand on her swollen abdomen.

Resting Zangetsu against his usual perch on the wall, Ichigo returned the smile with a small one of his own and made his way towards the bed. Once there, he plopped down next to her and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face.

"Are you alright?" he asked, the repetition ringing in Orihime's head. She nodded and closed her eyes for a moments rest.

"Uhn. Just a little sleepy right now," she replied back, not entirely being truthful. She had a lot on her mind, but it was also the truth that she was exhausted. Keeping up with the growing baby was definitely a handful.

Ichigo's lips curled downwards into a scowl, replacing the previous smile. He knew she'd been stressing lately, especially since the discovery of their unborn child, and he wished she'd actually talk to him about how she was feeling. By now, he was disliking her tendency to keep things bottled up when she grew far too worried.

"Orihime," he murmured her name, resting his hand on top of hers, still lying on her belly. Her cheeks were warm as she shyly looked up at Ichigo. "What's really wrong?"

Orihime pulled her lip between her teeth, biting on it nervously. She flipped her hand and gripped his, her fingers trembling faintly. "I-I'm nervous for the baby..." she blurted out, closing her eyes again and furrowing her brows. "I'm still getting used to having it in my body right now, but I know it's wrong to give it to Aizen when it's born."

Ichigo ground his teeth together, unsure of how to respond. He'd been mulling over the same thoughts for a while now too and he knew the feeling was certainly a heavy one to bear.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out..." he replied quietly, pulling her into an embrace. Orihime took in a staggering breath and closed her eyes, trying to mentally will the tears to go away. They only proved be more of a burden to her, as it affected those around her too.

"Ichigo-kun, I want to go home..." she sobbed quietly , tucking herself into his chest. She realized she might have sounded selfish, but she wanted it to be over. "I'm just so tired..."

"Come on, Orihime, take a deep breath and relax," he urged her, sensing her fear and anxiety. She took a shaky breath and nodded, burrowing only deeper into his arms. Ichigo felt so useless as he could only hold her and whisper possibly hollow promises into her ear. Even for the extended period of time that they'd been here already, he'd never been able to come up with anything to get themselves out of this mess, and now he was promising her that he'd figure something out to protect their child.

He could only feel anger swell within him; anger at himself. He was recognizing the obvious fact that he was still too young for all of this. It was clear as day that he was very unready to be a father, even if it would be momentarily, but he recognized his immaturity towards Orihime. He was nothing but selfish towards her, he felt, and it only added another frustration to his already large abundance of stress.

"Ichigo," Orihime whispered, dropping the suffix. She had pulled away from his arms and was wearing a tired expression on her face, tears still clinging to her cheeks. "You're tensing up..."

He frowned, mainly because he was upset with himself, at how she was clearly in a time of need and he was too occupied with his own thoughts. "I'm okay, really," he tried to reassure her, pulling her hand from off his side to press a small kiss to her dainty fingers. "You said you were sleepy, right? You should rest for a while."

She shook her head in the negative and frowned just the same. "I'm not tired anymore," she replied quietly. Truth was that she was still tired, but she wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on with him.

"Come on, at least take a nap, please?" Ichigo asked, his voice sounding strained. "You really need the rest." Orihime shook her head again.

"I don't want to sleep, Ichigo."

Ichigo sighed heavily at her refusal to rest. It was such a menial thing, but he could feel himself stressing himself out over it anyway.

Feeling upset, he sat up suddenly and grabbed her shoulders, a deep scowl embedded into his face. His quick movements had Orihime gasping with wide, surprised eyes. With all the anger he was building up inside him, he felt like he just wanted a way to vent it all out, yet he couldn't because he wouldn't allow himself to do that to her. He would never forgive himself for yelling at her because of his own frustrations.

Orihime could see the worry written all over his face and it nearly broke her heart. She couldn't do a darn thing to help him and he was suffering.

She tentatively rested her hands on his cheeks, rubbing the pads of her thumbs against his coarse skin. "I love you, Ichigo..." she murmured. Orihime could feel her cheeks turning hot and she bit her bottom lip. He recognized that as a habit of hers, one that he knew she did when she was nervous, and he brought a hand to her cheek as well.

"Don't bite your lip... You're going to draw blood," he commented, running his thumb over her bottom lip.

"I've had worse things happen," she replied in response, eyes glancing up to his with a hint of embarrassment and some lust. Ichigo took that latter cue to bring his lips down to hers and kiss her tenderly, slowly. She released a soft sigh and laced her arms around his neck, bringing him just a little bit closer.

Don't remind me, Ichigo replied in his head, feeling some guilt seep back in as to all the bad things that have happened to her, worse than her biting her lip. While he felt anxious about his mistakes and errors, there was a small part of him that drove to make things better and actually do something to change things for the better, even in a hellhole like this.

Ichigo pulled back, hearing a soft pop as their lips parted. Despite the exhaustion reading all over her face, her eyes still shone with the overflowing love she'd had for him as long as she'd known him. Ichigo gave her a weary smile, and she smiled lazily in return. He decided to settle comfortably between her legs and he continued on.

Moving his lips to her neck, the shinigami roved his hands over her soft skin, nonchalantly pushing her sleeve off her shoulder. Orihime shuddered beneath his touch and sighed again, relishing in Ichigo's gentle caress. Her hands moved onto the collar of his shihakusho, pulling it down and over his shoulders as well. He had no problem with removing the garment for her, as it was something simple he could do, and he sat up for a short moment and peeled away the article of clothing.

Once it was discarded off to the side, Ichigo, pressed a kiss to her lips and ran his hand down her sides, eventually settling on her hips. Orihime small palms and digits rested on his back, her dulled fingernails slightly digging into his back. He groaned at the feeling but did nothing to reject it. Feeling the pressure only made him realize how she was here and with him right now.

"Ichigo..." Orihime murmured, whimpering faintly as he lavished such attention onto her. He pulled her sleeves down and past her heaving breasts, leaving the fabric to settle there as he continued on. Latching into a nipple, Ichigo began to suckle her and grind a bit into her slowly heated body. Orihime moaned at the feeling, while her breathing grew more labored.

Hearing her pants and sounds turned Ichigo on incredulously, but actually acting on his feelings and arousal was out of the question. Despite himself growing more heated by the minute, he decided he would take his time to make her feel good, considering that she was the one really needing to relieve some stress.

Grinding again into her heat, Ichigo's ears were greeted with another low moan as he also licked and tenderly bit at her nipple. His agenda initially included doing what he was doing already, since she seemed to respond well, however, Orihime brought her small hands to his cheeks and pulled him back upwards, closer to her face. She took no time kissing him hard and deep, and she was also very pleased when she heard him gasp at the sudden change in plans.

"Orihime..." Ichigo mumbled against her lips. As excited as she was before, she began to slow down a bit. Her cheeks were still quite red and her arousal and lust were still evident, yet she appeared to hold herself back.

"I-Ichigo, I'm not sure we should do this..." she spoke to him in a quiet and embarrassed tone. As much as she wanted to meet his eyes, her anxiety over their hot and heavy state had her looking the other way. "The baby..."

Ichigo hadn't completely forgotten about it, but 'making out' with her did tend to make things slip from his mind fairly easy. The issue had risen where Ichigo was at a point where he didn't know how to continue. The look in her eyes showed that she didn't entirely want to stop, but the concern for the baby was still heavy in her mind.

"Hang on, I have an idea..." Ichigo mumbled, his voice still laced with lust. He sat up for a moment, pulling her with him. The sudden change of position had her flushing, but she was more than willing to go along with what Ichigo was trying to do. It happened so suddenly, as he flipped their positions around; Ichigo laid on the bed in place of Orihime, and she sat on his lap, straddling his lower regions. She was already aware that Ichigo was turned on, but she never entirely knew just how hard he had become. This discovery only caused her to blush harder.

"What do we do now?" she asked timidly, nervously hiding her eyes behind her bangs. Ichigo gave her a tired smirk before bringing his hands to rest on her hips, just as he had done before.

"We do this," he replied, followed by simply thrusting his hips upwards to meet hers. A loud moan escaped Orihime's lips and she threw her hands up to cover her mouth, as if it would contain any future embarrassing noises that would threaten to spill out. "It's okay, Orihime..." Ichigo tried to reassure her. He didn't mind her noises at all; in fact, they were a sign to him that he was doing something right. "Are you alright with continuing?" he asked out of some worry. If she wasn't comfortable with this, he wouldn't be such an asshole as to keep going when she said no.

Shaking her head, Orihime quietly responded, "I-It's okay... Keep going..." As much as the nerves were eating at her, what Ichigo was doing to her felt really good, and as far as she was aware, merely grinding with one another couldn't possibly hurt the baby in any way. It was almost as if they were just touching each other nonchalantly.

Nodding in confirmation, Ichigo bit his bottom lip and experimentally pressed his hips up against hers again, hearing that breathy moan come from her lips once more. He held back his own groans as he watched his healer bounce up and down on top of him, her breasts rising and falling from both gravity and her labored breathing.

Thrusting into her heat, Ichigo absentmindedly reached up to grab one of her bouncing breasts, kneading and molding it without a care. The look on her face was one that was recognizable as of late – flushed cheeks, half-lidded eyes... She was without inhibition, and it not only brought Ichigo to think it was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen, but that she was getting close. She was nearing that wonderful free fall of ecstasy, even though all they were doing seemed to be the simplest thing to do when concerning intimacy.

"I-Ichigo... I..." Orihime gasped, curling her small hands into fists on Ichigo's chest.

"I know..." he replied with a moan of his own. "... J-Just let it happen..." And just as he said it, as if he was giving some sort of permission, Orihime stopped and froze, shuddering hard before sighing heavily and practically melting right in his hands.

It was amazing to watch her come undone, and it was almost enough to cause him to reach that same point, however, today would not be one of those days and he was okay with that. He'd figure out his own problems later, but for now, he was just glad Orihime seemed to finally relax.

"Thank you, Ichigo-kun..." Orihime murmured, smiling at him languidly. "I feel a lot better..." Ichigo couldn't help but smile in return and cup her cheek, bringing her close as to place a soft kiss upon her lips.

"I'm glad," he replied, in all honesty. Despite his own sexual predicament, there was a rush of relief wash over him when he saw just how loosened up she became.

Orihime tucked her hair behind her ear and licked her lips after she and Ichigo parted, for some reason unable to wipe the smile off her face (not that she minded; it felt good to feel so happy for once). She was about to plop down and decide to take a nap in Ichigo's arms when she noticed there was still a problem stirring beneath her lap and beneath Ichigo's hakama.

"Are you...?" was all she could make out, embarrassment starting to catch up with her a bit as she pointed to his lower regions. Ichigo blatantly blushed and looked off to the side, but he kept a hand on her arm in reassurance.

"Y-Yeah, but it's fine. I've got it covered," he explained, already planning in his head how he would get up and make a beeline for the bathroom to finish up. It was his only option, but he was okay with it too.

It was shuffling around and the pulling of the tie to his hakama that had him turning his head back to the gentle healer in confusion. She had moved her way further down his legs to bring herself face to face with Ichigo's problem. It took no more than an instant for Ichigo to realize what she was doing, and he tried to stop her by grabbing at her busy hands.

"Orihime, don't-"

She looked up at him with a nervous expression. Ichigo suddenly had a hard time breathing when he looked at her unwavering eyes, feeling quite embarrassed himself knowing what was about to happen. "Ichigo-kun, you've helped me... Please let me do this for you."

Ichigo swallowed thickly and nodded. "... Alright."