Renji woke up earlier then he usually did, it was still dark outside, and he was surprised to see Byakuya sitting in a chair, just staring at the wall. "Is something the matter Byakuya?" he asked slowly walking towards him.

"I am Naoki's father," he whispered.

"Byakuya?" There was no way that Renji could have heard him correctly. Aizen was his father, how could Byakuya also be his father?

"I was Aizen's lover."

Renji kneeled down in front of his lover, "Bya, you're scaring me. What's going on?"

"He used his Kyōka Suigetsu to make me forget for the last five years that I had a son and had been his lover. He used me and I loved him!"

"Why don't you start from the beginning because I am really confused."

"For years Aizen and I were secret lovers, the elders of the Kuchiki clan would have forbidden it. I broke it off only two months before he dissented to Hueco Mundo, about a month after that I found out I was pregnant.

"I researched it and it turns out that men that are soul reapers can become pregnant but it is very rare. When he betrayed us and actually tried to kill Rukia I knew there was no way I could tell anybody about his child that I was carrying. The elders would have made me have an abortion and I had no idea what Yamamoto would do.

"I got a mission that sent me to world of the living, I extended it until the child would be born, I wasn't sure what I would do after that. Then one day Aizen showed up with the cuatro espada and said that I would be going with him, and wanting to protect my child, I did. Then after he was born I knew I had to come back and to make sure I stayed where I belonged he wiped all of my memories and gave me fake ones. Last night for some reason it just all came back and I remembered everything. Ulquiorra just proved that it was all true."

Renji didn't know what to say after that. He had known that he was married to Hisana, but Aizen as his lover, he just couldn't imagine that. He didn't want to imagine that. "I am so sorry," was all he could mumble to fill the awkward silence that filled the room.

"My own son thinks I am a monster because I hurt the only man he ever knew that loved him. He runs whenever I get too close," Byakuya cried falling into Renji. "What should I do?"

"I-I don't know, kids aren't my strong point," Renji admitted. "But I know that this is a brand new place and maybe if we give him some time to adjust he will get more used to being around us..." They were both surprised when they heard a small knock at the door.

None of the servants would bother them at this time of night. Renji stood up and slid open the door to see the tear stained face of Naoki staring back up at him. "S-sorry to b-bother you," he murmured not being able to look him in the eye.

"No,its alright, come on in," he said moving out of the way for Naoki. He nodded and walked slowly into the room.

"Hey Naoki, what's the matter?" Byakuya asked lifting him up and setting him on the bed.

"I-I had a bad dream. I couldn't find da-daddy," he explained barely above a whisper.

"That's okay if you have a bad dream or something you can come in here and talk to either of us," Byakuya promised. "Do you want to tell me what the dream was about?"

"I-I can't remember," he sobbed suddenly falling into Byakuya's arms. Byakuya just sat there rigid, he had no idea what to do. Renji face-palmed himself, his captain could be seriously clueless sometimes. 'Hug him' Renji mouthed trying to tell his captain one way to get closer to his son. Byakuya took the hint and wrapped his arms around the little boy. It was not something he was used to, except maybe from Renji.

"Hey if you want to, you can spend the rest of the night in our room," Renji offered.

"N-no, I will be fi-fine," he stammered trying to wipe away his tears that were still falling.

"Hey trying to get back to sleep after a nightmare can be scary, you don't have to be brave around us," Byakuya said rubbing his back.

"I miss daddy." Byakuya bit his lip, his little boy wanted an espada rather then him. Aizen had really screwed up this time and if he wasn't already dead Byakuya would kill him!

xxxxxxxxx

Unohana had moved Ulquiorra to another room, one that only she, Isane, and Hanataro would be able to enter. All the spiritual pressure from soul reapers was not healthy for him, especially in the state he was in. He was not used to all the soul reapers. That at least was the official reason that she had given in her report.

The real reason she was keeping to herself, she couldn't have any of the other captains knowing that Ulquiorra was pregnant. There was no telling how Yamamoto would react and she already knew that Kurotsuchi would want to turn the espada into a new experiment. Something that she would not wish on her worst enemies much less two infants that had yet to even have a chance to do anything wrong.

She walked into the secluded room. She stopped in surprise when she saw that Ulquiorra already had a bump forming on his abdomen. "You look surprised," he commented dryly.

"Yes, I am. I did not know that you were that far along. I thought you said you were only about a month when you left Los Noches a few weeks ago."

"I am, pregnancies only last about three months...How long do they last in your world?"

"Nine months..."

"Well that would be hell!"

"Yes, I guess some people would rather only have to go through three months then nine, that just shows how much I know about Espadas," she laughed nervously.

"Thats reassuring." The both of them were spared more conversation when Isane walked in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Byakuya said that this message was urgent. He said Ulquiorra would want to know immediately."

"What would I want to know?" he asked emotionlessly. What the hell else did that bastard lord have to hold over his head.

"Um...he said Grimmjow is still alive and safe..." Isane stopped when she saw how Ulquiorra just froze. "Is something wrong?" she asked worriedly.

Ulquiorra's mind just froze. Suddenly all he could think was "He's alive" over and over. It was the only thing in the world that mattered. He was alive. Suddenly he was shaken out of his own head when Unohana shook him gently. "Are you alright?" she asked gently trying to get his attention.

"Y-yeah fine," he stammered waving her away. "Just surprised...but happy"

xxxxx

Grimmjow sat back against the wall of his cell. Being incarcerated like this was boring, he wanted to get out of here and get even with Strawberry head for locking him up like a dog. He was so happy that Ulquiorra was alive that he would actually leave the bastard alive...but just barely.

He sighed as he sent out his reiatsu again to try and sense Ulquiorra. Byakuya had let it slip that Ulquiorra was alive but had he just been lying? Grimmjow buried his head into the cot, all he wanted to do was see his mate one more time and make sure that he was okay. Instead he got to listen to the dead silence of the cells.

xxxxx

Unohana walked into the meeting hall for the captain's meeting. It seemed that they were having a lot of them lately and she was getting tired of them. They seemed to always be talking about the same things. She had gotten here early and watched as the other captains slowly entered and found their usual places in the line up and waited for the meeting to start.

Finally Yamamoto walked in and sat in the head chair signaling the start of their meeting. "I have called you all here to discuss what we are going to do with the two remaining espada."

"I don't understand why we haven't just killed them," growled Soifon.

"Why kill 'em? Add them to the squads," Zaraki growled.

"They do not seem like the kind of creatures that would switch their loyalties and actually help us," Hitsugaya added.

"If we can't trust them I could use them in my lab, they would make fine specimens," Kurotsuchi snickered.

Soon all the captains were yelling and shouting what they thought should happen to the espada and soon the room was divided. Finally Yamamoto slammed his staff on the ground signaling for silence. "All this arguing is getting us nowhere! Right now all we have to decide is whether or not to keep them alive."

"We can't kill them!" All the captains looked at Unohana surprised at her outburst. As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted it. "I-I mean..." she had no idea had to cover her slip.

"Please Captain Unohana enlighten us as to why," snickered Kurotsuchi watching her.

"I just think that killing them would be the wrong thing to do," she answered weakly. What else was she supposed to say? Ulquiorra was pregnant? Yamamoto would be pissed if he learned that she had lied to all of them. She could even be accused of treason.

"Have you become attached to the monster?" accused Kurotsuchi leering at her. "Maybe she needs to be supervised for a little while, make sure she is following..."

"Are you accusing me of something?" she growled. She was the captain of the fourth division because she liked helping people but when she was pissed she was just as dangerous as the other captains. Kurotsuchi looked like he was about to say something before Unohana stopped him. "I am nothing but a loyal servant to the Sereitei, don't accuse me without evidence!"

"Stop arguing!" Yamamoto commanded, "Unohana, Kurotsuchi will be helping with taking care of the espadas from now on. This meeting is dismissed for the day."