Rukia went to work but she remained very distracted the entire day. When she couldn't get away for lunch she called Renji and asked him to meet her after work, which he did.

"I'm glad you called. I didn't think I would get to see you today. It's a relief too…boy had the captain been in a mood today. I don't think I've ever seen him so angry. Drove us all to exhaustion. I'm just glad you're with me now." Renji said.

"There is a lot I want to talk to you about." she said no emotion showing.

"Your having second thoughts…please don't tell me that, not after last night."

"Remember last night when I told you about the two Chappy plushies?"

"The plushies again? Who the hell is he Rukia! I think I have a right to know."

"I do not want to hurt you because…I love you as well. But I can't lead you on if I have feelings for someone else too. Feelings that are much different, much stronger."

"Tell me who he is!"

"I think it is best not to, for now anyway." she said as she watched him motionlessly as he circled her.

"Do I have a chance at all? Sure I must after last night. You'll give me a chance. I know you wont throw away all of our years together. I told you I could wait until you were ready and I will but I will fight for you and fight hard. You just need some convincing that's all. Your scared. I know how you are about getting close to people."

"You are a saint Renji. But you do not know me like you think you do. I am not the same person you knew back then. I wonder if you really know me at all anymore. I think you may be in love with the memory of me and not the real me. You could never accept me as I am now."

"I know there's a gap between us. And your right I don't know you as well because all of these years. But your still Rukia, I know that you haven't changed that much. You just have to give me a chance to get to know you again."

"I have Renji. The things I enjoy and the things I desire have changed. Can you honestly think I would be happy doing the things you enjoy? Can you be happy staying in every evening reading, playing chess over formal tea?"

"You enjoyed the things I did once Rukia and you can again."

"No I can not, that is the problem. I have been horrible to you I beg you to forgive me although I do not deserve your forgiveness." she said.

"It'll be ok you just need time away from your brother and you'll change back to the old Rukia and not be like him anymore. It's your being the head lady that's done this to you."

"Renji you do not get it, it's too late. I have grown up and I am happy with the way things are. I would not trade my life as the lady of the Kuchiki house for anything. It is where I belong, it is where I am whole, it is a part of me and I can not and will not change that. You are right when you say I am like my brother. You and I, we may not even be compatible in….that…intimate way anymore and I was stupid to think we were."

"What do you mean? I know you've taken on a lot of taicho' habits and mannerisms but deep down your nothing like him, like them."

"If you only knew how much alike we are…I doubt you would ever speak to me again."

"Rukia we used to be intimate, as you like to call it, all of the time before we came here."

"We were so innocent then. We never achieved the level of intimacy that I have experienced. I do not even expect you to understand what I mean. My…needs have become much more… hedonistic, I have done things Renji that someone as honorable as you would not understand. I have not remained untouched by anyone else over the years. I have had an affair with a married man and have experienced unparalleled passions with a man whose identity would shock you beyond belief. I have done things with him I dare not speak."

"Rukia I wont say it doesn't make me mad to know about it but I know you have needs. I've had them as well. I can over look them. It doesn't matter."

"It is not that simple and it does matter because I may love you, but I desire someone else and I always will."

"How can you say that? You cant love someone else too?"

"Yes beyond a doubt I do. We are two of a kind. I am sorry Renji. You have no idea how I will carry the pain of hurting you for the rest of my life. I understand that you may hate me. I only hope one day you can forgive me for what I have done. I can not lead you on, it is wrong, even if it's for your sake. I can not do it, it will only be worse later. I love you too much for that."

"Don't say that… I don't ever want to hear those words from you again. I hope you and whoever he is will be happy! I'm done with you Rukia, like I should have been a long time ago! I was stupid to think that I could have had you back the way you were. If I hadn't let you go, you wouldn't have changed. There wouldn't have been a change. I can't change the past, I can't change a damn thing. Good bye Rukia…."

"I have been waiting for you Rukia. You try my patience. Are you through here?" Byakuya interrupted.

"Yes taicho, she is through and so am I. I will see you at work tomorrow sir." Renji said saluting and leaving quickly.

"I take it he did not react well to what you told him." Byakuya said.

"I feel horrible for what I have done." she said.

"As you should. I assume you have chosen."

"Yes. I can only be with you. You're the only one I love, I know that now."

"You make it sound like a terrible fate." he said.

"No, I'm happy. Isn't it obvious that I want to spend every waking moment with you? I tried but I couldn't move on. Even if you had not confessed to me, this would have been the end result anyway. I love you, damn it all."

"I wondered how long it would take you to come around. So there is no one else in your heart?" he asked.

"No one else could be."

"Good then we should not delay the nuptials. The administrative building will still be open for another hour. We should make it official immediately." he said as he began to walk.

"Yes we should." she said trailing after him.

"I am afraid there will not be much of a honeymoon as my lieutenant will need time to get over your discussion."

"Fill out this form sir and this one for you miss." the woman behind the counter said.

"I never told Renji you were the other man. I thought he would really flip if I said it were you. I think anyone else would have made it a bit easier. I just couldn't tell him."

"I see he will not take the news well."

"We could just not make a big deal about it and go about things normally so everyone can get used to the idea." she said.

"That is probably best for everyone."

"Kuchiki-Taicho, Rukia-chan what are the two of you doing here so late?" Hisagi asked.

"The question is what are you still doing here." Rukia said trying to divert attention.

" Well I'm still waiting on the files from the tenth, but after last nights celebration I don't expect them to get here until next week. What are the two of you dropping off?…oh! Congratulations, I never knew…I thought you and Abarai were…forgive me for thinking something else. I must have heard him wrong." he said laying the papers back down on the desk.

"Since you are here, you will officiate the ceremony lieutenant Hisagi." Byakuya said.

"Of course. Just sign here both of you, and give me a moment…. You know how slow these computers are…. Ok here is your marriage certificate. Congratulations again." Hisagi said leaving the room. He fell back into a chair in his office wondering what had happened. Renji was so happy this morning and now something like this, he had to do something.

"I was wondering if you were going to pick up the phone or not. I've been calling you all day." Hisagi said.

"Aw Hisagi-chan I'm almost done I promise. Why don't you just come over and we can have some sake and worry about work tomorrow." Matsumoto said.

"That's not why I'm calling. It's more important then that."

"What is it? What's wrong?" she heard the seriousness in his voice.

"You will never believe who just left here married."

"Who tell me Its so exciting. Did Renji and Rukia finally go through with it?"

"No It was Rukia but she didn't marry Renji." he said with a pause.

"Who then ? Tell me or I'll die."

"Byakuya Kuchiki Taicho."

"Your pullin' my leg. That's a good one. If you wanted me to get the work done there's no reason making up…"

"No Rangiku it's true. They are legally married."

"But how? What the heck?" she panicked.

"I don't know the details and I didn't dare ask."

"I guess she really was fond of him and what she told me sounded more like they were dating then having a happy family day out. I never would have expected. But I thought for sure she and Renji would have…oh I wonder how he's taking it?"

"Well that's the thing, just last night they were kissing and she agreed to start dating him." he said.

"I wonder if he knows then. Poor Renji. I never would have believed Rukia would have done something like that to him. Wait I know she wouldn't. I bet they forced her or…or…or worse."

"Worse?" he questioned.

"Well you see I knew this girl who got pregnant by the wrong man so she had to marry him. You know how protective he is over her. I'll bet they had relations one night, it might not have even been one night, she could have been drunk or he could have forced her… no I doubt that…no one would refuse him. So she pregnant from a one night mistake or it could be someone else's too, that makes even more sense. She found out this morning so she did the honorable thing by breaking it off with him and Kuchiki married her instead because he could never love another woman besides his deceased wife and so did the only thing he could to protect his sister. It all makes perfect sense."

"I guess it does. Wow. I should go talk to Renji about it, he'll understand when I tell him what kind of sacrifice they're making."

"Yeah I got to go." she said excitedly.

"This should be kept a secret between us."

"Sure talk to you soon bye." Matusmoto said hanging up and racing for the door to get the women's association together for this gossip.

"…So you see Renji that's what happened." Hisagi said.

"I never thought… It all makes perfect sense…she said she had relations with someone else she didn't want to mention and the other things she was saying to me. He must have left her in the lurch. She could have told me instead of marrying her brother. I wouldn't have minded. Poor Rukia. I was so mean to her. She must feel horrible. She must still love me then. I should give her some time." Renji said.

Elsewhere…

"I love when you do that to me." Rukia said moaning.

"As much as you want my darling. It has been a year since you last let me…" Byakuya said.

"You only ever had to ask and I would have gladly been in your bed." Rukia said hanging her leg over his shoulder.

"I never regretted any of our encounters. I only regret not doing it more, but that is easily remedied." he deepened himself in her.

"Can we…now?" she said eyeing him eagerly.

"I can not believe I almost lost you. You would find it difficult to find another with your specific…tastes."

"God yes!" she yelled.

"We can do anything you wish."

"Just like what we did last time?"

"My love you even surprised me for allowing me to do that to you. You are aware that it is illegal?"

"I know and not spoken about in polite company. But I couldn't stop it last time. It just happened. I do not see why it is so wrong if two people love each other." she said.

"When two people exchange riatsu in such a way it can be stolen or if interrupted abruptly can cause physical damage. It is also the most intimate act two people can share. Somehow it became a vulgar taboo. That is why it is forbidden."

"Doesn't everyone do it though, I would think they would."

"No they do not. It requires a level of trust and passion that is not common. A part of the other person is forever left inside the other leaving a spiritual mark that warns others to stay away. Which is why I was so surprised last year when you allowed me to… experience all of you. I thought after that there was no need to question what you are to me."

"You acted so cold and far away as always, I didn't know if we did something wrong, again or not. I could not be with anyone else, no matter how hard I tried. I kept feeling you inside of me."

"I should have been more open with you. It was my mistake. I would have followed you to the ends of the earth if you left me." he said.

"I never wanted to leave you." she said.

"I know."

"I'm fairly certain that after tonight I will be with child. If I counted right." she said.

"That would be a welcome blessing."

"Sir lieutenant Abarai just sent you a message." a maid said then left quickly.

"It seems the lieutenant supports our decision and says that if I wish to take tomorrow off or any other days for any reason he would gladly fill in… I wonder if he is planning to kill me?"

"That does not sound right at all. But now you can take tomorrow off and you can get back to what you were doing to me."

"Gladly." Byakuya said.

Two weeks later they both returned to work. Rukia thanked everyone for the congratulations and the well wishing but couldn't understand why everyone kept looking at her with sympathetic eyes and whispering. They couldn't possibly think her unhappy, could they? She was married to the man she loved and having more fun then she imagined she ever would. Her funk long forgotten.

Another two weeks had gone by and Byakuya was still at a loss to explain the strange behavior of his lieutenant so he let it go as best as he could.

Rukia on the other hand started feeling a bit ill around week four and spent the morning at the fourth division.

"Abarai I must know why you are behaving in such a way. You should by all rights be angry with me. Are you touched in the head?" Byakuya asked.

"No sir I just really want to thank you for everything you've done for Rukia. For taking care of her in her hour of need. It was very noble of you. You know how I feel about Rukia. I'll let you take care of her for now and we can discuss things later. I hope it will make you happy that you will now have an heir."

"An heir?"

"Yes your married to Rukia so her child will be your heir." Renji said.

"A child there is going to be a child?" he said with no inflection.

"Amazing isn't it sir? Your going to be a great father, I know you will. You made a good decision marring Rukia. I would have done it myself, but your great for doing it, I know how much she would have hated leaving you and they will be well taken care of by you."

"I need to take the rest of the day off." he said heading for the door.

"Of course sir anything I can do."

At the fourth…

"Rukia I was shocked to hear it from my lieutenant that you are carrying my child." Byakuya said.

"I only found out a few hours ago. I am still in the examining room. News really does travel fast here, geez. I wanted to surprise you myself later. Oh well."

"Were going to have a baby. Rukia! You could not have made me happier."

"I told you things were right that first night. I know it was that night. Although it could have been anytime after. It has been about one month already. See the scan confirms that soon it will be the three of us. I can't believe were going to be a real family finally." she hugged him.

"I see so we are due early October. There is much to prepare." he said.

The next day…..

"It's noble of taicho to marry his sister." a cadet said.

"Yeah since she's carrying some unknown mans baby." another said.

"Explain yourself." Byakuya said slamming the main against the wall demanding and answer.

"Sir I…I"

"What did you just say about my wife carrying another mans child?"

"Sir I was just saying how noble it was for you to marry a girl you do not love and claim her bastard child as your own." the boy said.

"Bastard child? You dare refer to the child I planted inside of my wife a bastard child?" Byakuya fumed.

"Sir I didn't know it was yours, honest. Everyone's saying you only married her because the guy she was with dumped her when he found out."

"Now you know the rumors to be false. Return to your stations." Byakuya said going to his office.

"Oh my god so he did force himself on her and impregnate her!" the cadet said.

"Isn't that incest? That poor girl." the other said.

"I knew the man was a monster. I told you so."

"Weren't you just telling me how noble you thought he was a moment ago?"

"That's because I thought he did something good for a change." the gossip said.

Elsewhere….

"Did you hear that the child the Lady Kuchiki is having, is after all, her brothers child and not some mystery mans?" Yumichika said.

"What oh my god my first thought was true. He must have been molesting her. It could have been going on for years. I knew something wasn't right between them." Matsumoto said.

"Wait are you sure this time?" Hisagi asked.

"Oh my goodness how are we going to break this to Renji. He'll try something stupid." Momo said.

"I have to go, my captain will want to hear about this. He should know what to do. It's not like it's a new situation for him anyway." Nannao said leaving.

"Bya-kun and Ru-chan have a baby together. What's the big deal?" Yachiru asked.

"It's a big deal because she was going to marry Renji until she found out she was having her brothers child. It's a big deal because she was raped by him!" Matsumoto said.

"Your just upset because your not the one he raped." Yumichika said flamboyantly.

"Someone should be with Renji at all times." Ikakku said.

"Yep when he finds out we don't want him getting himself into trouble. We will just have to make sure this is taken up by the proper authorities." Momo said.

"How do we do that?" Matsumoto said.

"You file it through my department. Another damn paper to file." Hisagi said.

"Fine I'll do it now." Matsumoto said writing with lightening speed what looked like an essay.

"Wow that's the fastest I've ever seen you complete a form. All of you need to sign the petition in order for the court to charge a captain." Hisagi said.

"I'm not signing it, Bya-kun my friend and Ru-chan happy. I need to go tell Kenny about this." Yachiru said running off.

24 hours later….

"What is the meaning of this intrusion." Byakuya demanded as two officers entered his bedroom while he was in an awkward position with Rukia.

"Kuchiki-Taicho a petition was filed with the court for review. In a few hours you will be charged with rape, incest, and abuse."

"Of who?" Rukia asked.

"Of you Lady Kuchiki."

"What! Has everyone lost their minds! Nothing of the sort has happened." she said.

"I'm sorry but your going to have to explain that to the judge. I also have a warrant for your removal from this house until this is cleared up. You will be staying with your captain."

A bit of a standoff later followed by an informal inquiry….

"Kuchiki-Taicho you know the charges brought forth by your piers?" the judge asked.

"Yes." he said.

"What do you have to say about the situation?" the judge asked.

"This is absurd. I love Rukia. We are unrelated by blood. She married me of her own free will. The child she carries is indeed mine and you will find that the date of conception coincides with the date of marriage."

"I see well the medical papers will be here in a moment." the judge said.

"Some friends. I can't believe they have done this. Did they say why they filed such a complaint against us?" Rukia asked.

"No Lady Kuchiki. I do not know if there was personal motivation behind this or not, however; there have been rumors going around about why you married Kuchiki-Taicho. Your medical history should clear up most questions."

"Sir." a messenger bowed handing him a file.

"Thank you. Well let's see you are indeed not related and the scan of the fetus does correspond that the date of conception and the date of the marriage are in very close proximity. There has been no indication of trauma from the household in the past and no unexplained injuries." the judge said.

"As a representative of the petitioners I must ask for further inquiry as is protocol." a man seated to the right said.

"There is no evidence to substantiate any of these claims." Byakuya said.

"We should at least ask Lady Kuchiki what happened." the representative said.

"Please." the judge said urging her to tell her story.

"Well I have always been in love with Byakuya-sama. My friend Renji and I went to the New Years party together, the one Matsumoto threw, and we kissed at midnight. Then…"

"If you are in love with Kuchiki-Taicho, then why were you kissing his lieutenant?" the rep asked.

"Well Renji and I used to be together and I didn't think that Byakuya-sama wanted me in that way so I thought I might be able to rekindle those old feelings with Renji since he is still in love with me. I realized I could not…rekindle the feelings, that is. But I couldn't explain that to him, he wouldn't let me and with everything he was saying I felt too guilty to tell him. Then Byakuya-sama confessed to me that night, he had seen the kiss, we argued a bit and I didn't know what to do, I did not want anyone to get hurt but it was too late for that. I even refused to agree to being with Byakuya until I spoke to Renji. So the next day, as soon as I could, I called Renji to explain that I didn't think we were right for each other anymore. He was really upset. Byakuya-sama interrupted us then suggested we get married right away, so we did, the marriage was consummated and that was that."

"I see well that does clear up the rumors. I detest gossipers. This kind of thing happens constantly and really jams up the court for real cases. Give me a few moments to go in the other room and explain this to the petitioners."

About fifteen minutes had passed and they passed slowly for the couple who were wondering if they still had any loyal friends left in the world. Neither could understand why they had brought those false lies against them or how anyone could have believed he could have ever hurt her.

"They still do not seem to be satisfied. They do not believe that you could possibly love her. They are concerned for Rukia especially lieutenant Abarai." the judge said.

"Those morons. It is nice they care but they have no idea how wrong they are. There must be something we can do to convince them so we do not have to deal with this for the rest of our lives. I want this all cleared up." Rukia said.

"I do have an idea. We do it quite often actually in these kinds of cases. It's kept in strict confidence of course. I think it will satisfy all parties." the judge said.

"I'm listening." she said.

"Well in the twelfth division…"

"I will have nothing to do with them." Byakuya said.

"Please let me finish. There is a machine, you both, and your friends will simply sleep and share a dream of a modified past. The two of you will meet for the first time and if you fall in love everyone will be satisfied."

"You are unaware of our complicated past." Byakuya said.

"We do not want things to work out as they have so we can remove certain stimulants like say make Aizen just a benevolent captain so his influence will not be there. You met at the academy yes?" the judge said.

"Yes I bumped into him once, we exchanged a few…words then he adopted me because of my sister." Rukia said.

"Yes the deceased wife. I am very sorry. Hmm…That does complicate things. We can simply remove her and make sure you are unmarried at the time you meet. There should be nothing in your way of falling in love besides your backgrounds which I think is a necessary obstacle. Shall we set this up? I believe everyone will let it rest, if of course you are sure of your love. If you are not then I advise against it and you may have to live with the gossip." the judge stated.

"I'm willing as long as it wont hurt." she said.

"Fine. Let us get this over with." Byakuya said.

"Tomorrow morning then. I will alert the twelfth about the situation and they will prepare."

The next day came. In a way they both knew they would be satisfied with the outcome, but one person was particularly eager for it to occur so he would know for sure if Rukia had betrayed him for Byakuya or if it was a lie. Renji had already been hooked up to the machine and he was living the past as if it was for the first time.

"Were really sorry Rukia. We should have listened to Yachiru. She said you were both happy." Matsumoto said.

"She would know since she drops in often enough." Rukia said.

"It'll make us all feel better if we know for sure that you're happy and you made the right decision. Were all going too, just to make sure all the important people have more depth, it's the least we can do. It will be kind of fun not remembering any of this and going back to the academy." Yumichika said.

"Although poor Renji if it's not him she chooses." Momo said.

"I wonder if we can modify this so I have bigger boobs there." Matsumoto said.

"I don't think you need bigger boobs." Momo said.

"Actually…" Hisagi said.

"Pervert." Momo said.

"You are all right." Rukia said as everyone looked at her. "Back then I thought I was in love with Renji. I would really like to know if I would have chosen him or if it would have been possible to fall for Byakuya-sama. If I had not been adopted. I was a different person back then. I'll know if I would have loved him if I had not changed so much."

"I think this is for the best." Byakuya said stunning everyone.

"Let's begin. This is always so much fun. It's hard to get live ones." Mayuri said.

"Sleep well." Nemu said.

A mechanical induced trance later…

"Your going to make me late again." Rukia said.

"It's not my fault." Renji said.