disclaimer: Tite Kubo owns bleach

Chapter 10

Deal with the Devil

A week had passed since Paizley was born. They had discharged me from the hospital, but Paize would be in the NICU for a while. They couldn't tell me how long exactly. They just said that we had to take it one day at a time. I had heard that they usually keep them until their due date which would be 11 more weeks. We had a long road ahead of us it seemed, but she was doing well. Since they'd discharged me, we had to come home to sleep. I didn't like for her to be alone though, so we basically took turns coming home to sleep while the other stayed with Paize. Gin and I had access to the NICU at all times, but if anyone else wanted to see her they had to come during visiting hours.

Making all these trips back and forth with Raina was hectic. We'd only been doing it a few days, but it was trying on her. She wasn't allowed in the NICU, but I wouldn't leave her with anyone because of the Collin thing. So Gin and I had to take turns with her. While one of us was with Paizley, the other was trying to handle Raina. She didn't like the hospital. She had to be quiet and couldn't really play. She didn't understand what was going on and it really wasn't fair for her to have to go through this, so I decided that she could go stay with Renji for a while. Renji made sure to run it past Yamamoto and he didn't seem to mind as long as Renji got his work done and she didn't cause a disturbance. I guess not even he would deny a father of his child.

Since Raina was on solids now it wouldn't be much of a problem for her to stay with him. I had some milk frozen for him to take with him to give her. She doesn't drink a lot of it now, so the amount I'm giving him should last a while. I packed her a suitcase with clothes and everything else she needed. I intended on her staying with him until we could bring Paizley home. It would be better for her and easier for the rest of us. But most importantly, it would be safer for her.

I had come home to get a nap and get everything ready for Raina to leave while Gin stayed at the hospital. This also gave Raina time to nap and play a little bit. Renji and Izuru had to go back to the Soul Society. They had jobs to uphold, so they would stop by in sprints. Renji could come by more often though. Izuru just had a lot of his plate by not having a captain. Rangiku stayed with Gin at the hospital. She obviously didn't care about her soul reaper duties, but we already knew that. She said she wouldn't get in bad trouble for skipping out on them, she never does. Grimmjow hung around the outside of the hospital, standing guard while Tia and her fracción accompanied me home.

I was zipping up Raina's suitcase when Renji walked in.

"Got everything ready to go?" He asked.

"Almost." I paused. "Thanks for this."

"No need to thank me. She is my daughter after all."

"I know. It's just you have been around a lot lately and I know you have to be getting behind on your work and…" He cut me off.

"It's fine, Kristen. Don't worry."

I half smiled.

"Are you ok?" He inquired.

"Honestly? No. This is hard. What makes it even harder is I know I'm the one to blame."

"How do you figure?"

"I got pregnant too soon after having Raina. I should have been careful. I should have…" He cut me off again.

"It takes two to make a baby, Kristen. If you're going to blame yourself, then you better blame him too."

"How can I blame him? How was he supposed to know about that stuff? It was my responsibility. I was anything but responsible. I was just thinking about myself. I'm such a selfish person and a horrible mother." Tears started to well up in my eyes.

"Hey now." He wrapped his arms around me. "Don't cry."

It was too late to say that now, because I already was. "I've just made some bad decisions and now my baby has to suffer for them. She shouldn't have to. I should be the one suffering."

Renji withdrew and made me sit on the bed. He squatted down in front of me. "Bad decisions? Are you talking about being with Gin?" He wiped a tear away.

I shook my head. "I'm happy I'm with him. I just should have used protection. And I shouldn't have tried to fight in the war when I knew I was pregnant and then there's the whole Collin thing."

"The Collin thing is out of your hands, so don't be blaming yourself."

I started to calm down.

"I blame your mother and Shane for all this. They made you feel like you wasn't good enough in anything. Shane blamed you for every fight you ever had. He made you feel like you deserved to be hit. Has your mom said anything to you about this?"

"Yeah, she told me that if I would have waited then this wouldn't have happened."

"She blamed you. That doesn't surprise me."

"She said it when Gin wasn't around. If he had heard it, I know he would have laid into her. I think she's learned if she's going to make comments, then she needs to do it when he's not around. I think if I told him what she said then he would say something about next time she visited, but I don't want to start anything. I try to ignore her. I try to not let the things she says bother me, but she's my mother. It hurts when she says things like that."

"Of course it does, but she loves you. Surely you felt it when you were pregnant with Paizley."

"Yeah I did, but I also felt disappointment. There was much more of that than love."

"I didn't have a mother growing up. It was just Rukia, me and some friends our age. We were all kids; kids that had to raise ourselves. It was hard, especially in the environment we lived in, but we did it. Now I know your mom isn't the best in the world and I should probably be the last person to stand up for her, but just be thankful you have her." He held my hand.

"I should be. Here I am complaining in front of a man who had a worse childhood than anyone I know. Heck, my childhood wasn't even bad. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Just put all your effort into your kids and give them a better life than your mom gave you. I know Raina will have a better life than me. For that I am truly happy. Her happiness is all that matters since I no longer have you."

I tightened my grip around his hand. "I love you, Renji." His face lit up. "Even though it may not be the way you want me to, know that I always will."

"This is better than nothing. We'll work our way up to the way I want you to." He smiled.

"Yeah, that's not going to happen." I laughed.

"We'll see." He stood up.

I go up as well and picked Raina up off the floor. "I worry about her too. All this fighting and switching from place to place cannot be good for her."

"Every parent worries about their kid, Kris. It's part of the job description."

"But Raina isn't just any kid."

"And we're not just any parents. So it all works out." He grinned.

"I guess you're right."

"I am."

I smiled and then we made our way downstairs. I handed Renji the suitcase and bags. He had an armload with all that and Raina, but he insisted he had it.

I gave Raina a kiss. "You better bring her to see me."

"You know I will."

"I love you, Raina. I'll see you real soon. Have fun with your daddy." I waved and so did she. If she only knew she wouldn't be coming back real soon, she would be pitching a fit.

As I walked back in the house, I wished this whole thing with Collin was over. If it weren't for his antics, I wouldn't have to be sending my baby away with her father. She was going to miss me so much and I was going to miss her just as much. I hated being away from her, but I just had to keep telling myself she was much safer there.

I went back upstairs and looked at myself in the mirror. I was a wreck. I looked like I hadn't got a good night's sleep in a while, which was the truth. I had come home to get a nap and still didn't sleep that much. I was too upset about having to send my baby away. I was still upset, so I decided to take a hot bath. I thought that might calm me down. I needed to relax if that were at all possible. After the tub filled up, I got in and closed my eyes. I thought about the first premonition I had of Paizley and how adorable she looked. I also thought about the one where I had seen myself, Gin and the girls. We were so happy. While I knew those happened some time ago and that that future might not exist anymore, I still had high hopes that they would come true. Hope seemed like the only thing I had left right now.

I ended up dosing off, but woke up in a hurry when I felt someone's presence. It turned out to be Tia. She had her back turned to me.

"I just wanted to make sure you were ok, Kristen-sama. You said they could teleport and I didn't want them to get under the radar." She said.

"I'm fine."

"I'll go back outside now. Someone brought you flowers and left them outside the front door. I brought them inside for you."

"Who brought them? What were they driving?"

"It was a white van. It had something about flowers on the side."

"Ok, I'll take a look in a minute."

"They're downstairs on the foyer table."

I nodded and she left. I got out and got ready. Then I went to see who the flowers were from. It was a small arrangement in a pink vase that had like baby foot prints on it. I guessed this was a 'congratulation on having a baby' flowers. There was an envelope with my name written on it stuck inside. I opened it up.

Kristen,

I heard about the new baby. Now if you want her to live, if you want both of them to live, then you should stop and think for a second. Which is more important, your life or your kids? Because this is what it comes down to. I don't know how you pulled off what you did last we met, but know that it's not going to stop me. I'm not scared of you or any of your friends. If you want this to end now and your kids to be safe, you should meet me at the address indicated on the small card at the time indicated. I can take your life and the nexus. Then your kids and family will be safe once again. Think hard about your decision. I know what I, as a parent, would do though.

Collin

I dropped the note in the floor. He didn't just threaten my kids. He did not. I closed my eyes so I could calm down. I knew exactly what I needed to do. I knew the one person who could help me. They were the only person that could.

Unmei came out of my body. "You are not going to him."

"Yes, I am. Either you help me or stay out of my way."

"There is others way."

"None as fool proof as this. This has to end now, Unmei. He threatened my kids and I'm not going to play around anymore. I want it over, like yesterday."

"Fine. Let's go, but this going to backfire in our faces."

"It may afterward, but I know it'll end this."

"And start something new."

"Stop being so negative and let's go."

We teleported to the underground prison in the Soul Society. We didn't have to use a spell this time, because I knew where we were going.

I held onto the bars. "Sosuke, I need your help."

He looked up. "Kristen?"

"Yes, it's me. I need…you. Please, help me."

"I've waited for this day." He said, standing up. "But what do I get in return?"

"There's nothing I can give you."

"That doesn't seem real fair."

"Well, life isn't fair. Get over it." Unmei snapped.

"Unmei…" He laughed slightly. "I bet this is killing you that she actually needs me."

Unmei growled.

"If you don't help me, I will die!" I yelled, almost in tears.

"Die? If someone is going to make an attempt at your life, then I must defend you. I can't have my goddess getting killed before I get out of here to reclaim her."

"I'm still your goddess?"

"Always."

I smiled slightly.

"Now tell me what's going he." He said.

"I can't believe we're here." Unmei huffed.

"Don't want me getting out of here and getting close to here again, do we Unmei? Afraid I might take her away from you?"

"You are in NO position to me speaking to me like that!" She said threw her teeth.

"Enough, you two! I'm not playing any games here!"

They looked at me like they were shocked that I actually interrupted them. I meant business. Mine children's lives were on the line.

I gave Sosuke the shortened version of the whole thing. "So will you help me?"

"How could I not? But I do have one condition. It's not much."

"No. You don't get to make conditions." Unmei said.

"What is it?"

"I want you to admit your feelings for me. I want you to tell me what I've known you've felt for a while."

"Deal." I stuck my hand through the bars to shake.

"I want to seal it with a kiss. Let me out." He said.

"You'll be fine with a kiss through the bars." Unmei barked

"Just do it." I told her. She looked at me. "Do it."

"Know that I am prepared to use the full force of Raina's powers to put you back when this is over. You know you can't fight that. You're weakened and the Hogyoku has rejected you." She threatened.

"I see." He stated, obviously not scared of her.

She let him out hesitantly. Part of me couldn't believe I was actually coming to him for help, but the other part knew just how desperate I was. This is the lengths I would go to to keep my babies safe.

He stepped to me and put his hands on my hips. I could just hear Unmei grumbling under her breath. "Deal?" He asked pulled me as close to him as I could go.

I took a deep breath. "Deal." He pulled me in for a kiss.

Author's Note: If any1 saw that coming, kudos to you, because I didn't even see it myself. I was just listening to music, trying to come up with some idea of what to do next and this crossed my mind. I know, I can't leave Aizen alone, sue me lol. My apologies for the short chapter. Review please :D