Oh shall I stay

Would it be a sin

If I can't help falling in love with you

~Haley Reinhart

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach.

"How is she Unohana?" The white-haired captain of the thirteenth division questioned, concern lacing his voice as his eyes stayed glued to the beaten and bruised woman on the hospital bed, red panda curled up on her stomach. It had been a month since Aizen defected, taking Gin and Tosen with him, and Kimiko Hamasaki, captain of the fourteenth division, had yet to wake up.

"I've done all I can Jushiro. The rest is up to her now. I believe it's a matter of her psychological state now. From what I understand, she learned some distressing news about her late wife. If she doesn't want to make it through this, I fear she won't." The gentle captain said, concern in her own face for the younger woman. Jushiro's heart sank at the woman's words, but he nodded in understanding regardless. Once she excused herself, the captain took a seat next to his longtime friend and affectionately brushed a few stray hairs away from her forehead.

Jushiro had considered the woman a sister for decades now. She was one of the few people who looked at him and saw a man of captain level strength, not a sickly noble. The woman frequented the Ukitake residence so much; his own family already considered her an Ukitake. The thought of losing her was almost too much for Jushiro to bear.

"Did you hear that Kimiko? It's up to you now." He said before sighing. "I don't think it's time for you to leave us yet. You have so much life left to live. Hanako is waiting for you. I know Hotaru wouldn't want you to throw it away like this either. Everyone's worried sick about you; everyone loves you and wants you to get better. I even see Byakuya sneak in here at night when he thinks no one is watching."

He paused for a moment, grabbing her limp hand in his.

"Please don't leave Kimiko."

Jushiro stayed a bit longer before kissing the unconscious girl's forehead and leaving. She didn't wake up, and soon enough it was nighttime. Just as the white-haired captain said, a shadow slipped into the woman's room and took the seat next to her bed.

Byakuya just stared at the woman. She looked terrible; her hair has lost all its life and vibrancy and her naturally tanned skin had a pale tint to it.

The Kuchiki head just sat there, still not sure what brought him to the woman's side every night. Still unsure about why the thought of her not waking up kept him from getting any rest. Ever since Hisana died, Byakuya held a strong resentment for the cheerful woman for an incredibly childish reason.

Growing up, the noble always had a crush on the Shihoin girl. She was kind, beautiful, powerful, and never took any of his shit, but, he was engaged to her older cousin. Though he was hurt when Yoruichi left, being that she was one of his closest friends; the hurt was replaced with joy when he realized it meant he could try to set something up between himself and his crush.

It was too late for Byakuya though; his crush had found love elsewhere and was soon married. Despite his heartbreak, he too moved on and found Hisana. Those years with Hisana were the happiest he'd ever been. He even found it in his heart to accept Kimiko as a friend due to her becoming such a good friend to his wife, defending her when nobles would get nasty, being a female confident for her, and teaching her the inner working of noble life.

When she died he was crushed. After only 5 short years Hisana was gone. He stopped talking to Kimiko, completely shut out all of her attempts to reach out to him, to comfort him. She reminded him too much of his wife. He grew to resent her, angry that she still had her own spouse.

When he found out the news about her wife he immediately regretted ever bit of ill will he ever wished towards the couple.

It wasn't long after that, that the Kuchiki head would find his eyes wandering to his childhood friend, whom now had a child in tow. He'd find himself thinking about how natural she looked with a child trailing behind her, how the happy glow she had accentuated her natural beauty, how her laugh caused something warm to stir in his heart, and her smile brought him back to the days of his childhood crush. So, he resolved to hate the woman. Feeling anything for her would be a disgrace to his late wife.

When Kimiko jumped in front of Byakuya to save him, the man felt something he hadn't felt in a long time. Fear. She gave him that damned smile of hers, and despite having a sword impaling her, still managed to tease him with 'still not fast enough' of all things. The woman was infuriating; she always had been and always would be.

But she was always brave no matter the situation. She always kept her emotions hidden for the sake of everyone else. That's why seeing the look of vulnerability and pain on her face as Aizen told her the truth about her wife's demise shocked Byakuya so much. He wanted to take away her pain.

And then, once she was defeated, seeing her body lying there, unmoving, bloody, and beaten, Byakuya could have cursed the gods above. He hated the woman. He hated her for making him feel things he resolved himself never to feel again.

"I command you to live Kimiko." Is all the Kuchiki head said before getting up and leaving, not noticing the white-haired captain standing in the shadows, smiling.

Kimiko was sitting outside on the porch of her home, staring up at the night sky but seeing nothing. She wanted to cry, so badly, but the tears refused to come. There were no tears left to cry, not anymore. Her mother was dead and so was her father.

Hotaru took a seat next to her wife, not saying anything. The pair sat in silence for a long time, Kimiko being comforted by the presence of her wife.

"I don't know what to do anymore Hotaru. It's all just too much." The woman finally said, tears she didn't think she was capable of producing beginning to stream down her face. "Yoruichi's gone, Ryuu is being forced into the position as head because I'm too much of a coward, Sayuri gets worse every week that passes, I have a whole division to run and within the span of a month I've lost both my parents. I can't do this."

The orange-haired woman wrapped her arms around her distressed wife and rubbed her back comfortingly. Kimiko always felt safe in her wife's arms. Her embrace was comforting, it was home, it was a silent message that no matter what was going on, they would be okay.

"Kimiko, you are the single strongest person I've ever known and every day I can't believe I somehow suckered you into marrying me. I know things seem like they'll never get better, but I promise you they will because I'll be right here next to you every step of the way. When you feel like your drowning, I'll be your lifejacket. If you can't be strong, I'll be strong for you, because I love you Kimiko, with every fiber of my being. My one wish in this world is your happiness, no matter what the price. You're my precious wife and no matter what happens, no matter where life takes you I will always love you. My heart has been yours from the moments we met, wholly and unconditionally." Hotaru said softly, her warm blue eyes meeting Kimiko's watery gold ones. The captain rested her forehead against her wife's, the tears still flowing, but not in such abundance. She had to be the luckiest woman in the world.

Jushiro was alarmed when he saw tears begin to leak from the unconscious woman's eyes.

"Hotaru." Kimiko whimpered softly, her tears picking up speed until she was openly sobbing, the pain in her heart almost being too much to bear. The older captain's eyes softened and he rose before slowly crawling into the woman's hospital bed and pulling his distraught friend to his chest.

"It's alright Kimiko, let it all out, I'm right here." He said comfortingly, gently petting her hair as she clutched onto his haori, letting the emotions she'd kept hidden for so long finally pour out.

A/N: Short chapter, but didn't want to add more to it. Also, I know the original song is sung by Elvis, but I wrote with the Haley version in mind. Hope you enjoyed!