Saving that Idiot Ichigo

A day and a half, and thankfully no sexual indiscretions later, Corbeau and Sajin arrived at the small town police station. Ignoring the gaping stares of the police officers and townsfolk, they strode into the building to find their package to be picked up. The poor officer at the front desk promptly fainted after he pointed them toward the jail in the back. They approached the blond officer that appeared morbidly sad until he saw them; his sorrowful appearance changed to abject terror.

"Holy hell!" yelled the officer sitting at the desk. "Ch-Chief! They're here!"

Corbeau stared at the grumpy looking dark haired man that suddenly appeared from a hidden side door. He looked as irritated as she felt. His black eyes were narrowed in anger giving him a definitively furious expression, and she would guess this was his most natural countenance. His black hair seemed awfully shaggy for a police officer's but he was the chief so who was going to tell him to get a haircut?

"I'm Chief Hisagi, can you please get your man and get the hell out of my town?" he demanded angrily, eyeing her critically from head to toe.

"Gladly, Chief," she responded, equally aggravated.

"Damn freaks," he muttered, glaring at Sajin who growled in response.

Corbeau elbowed Sajin hard enough he whimpered. "Don't cause any more trouble here," she hissed at him.

"Yes, ma'am," Sajin mumbled, holding his ribs.

"So you're the one in charge I see," Hisagi said, actually managing a lopsided grin.

Corbeau was shocked his face did not break. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable with anything other than a sour expression. She was pretty sure she would irritate him soon and allow him to go back to his facial comfort zone.

"Quit screwing around and give me Ichigo Kurosaki. We want to get out of here as badly as you want us to," she stated brusquely.

There it was. The half-smile dropped right of his face, and he was back to peeved in an instant.

"Start the paperwork, Kira," he ordered the desk sergeant. "The faster they're gone the better."

Chief Hisagi turned on his heel sharply as if he were executing a military exercise and opened a door behind the sergeant. He disappeared to return moments later with a broken and defeated Ichigo in handcuffs. He unlocked the cuffs and shoved him toward the two people who came for him.

"If you ever come back, you won't leave alive," threatened Chief Hisagi.

"Ichigo," Corbeau gasped, throwing her arms around him. She glowered at the malicious cop before turning her attention to the man in her arms.

The bruises on his face had turned to a disgusting shade of green and yellow since they were almost healed. There were numerous abrasions on his face and neck. His bottom lip had a huge scab on it from where it had been split open. They were informed by the chief that he had been here for two weeks. The rest of the time he had spent stalking and harassing his ex-girlfriend until he finally assaulted her caretaker and that was enough to arrest him. The man who was supposed to be her caretaker was in actuality her husband. When Corbeau heard that she immediately drew back her hand and slapped Ichigo despite his injuries.

"Did you know? Did you know that man was her husband?" she demanded, shaking him by his collar.

"Yes," he mumbled, staring at the floor.

"Dumbass! Sui Feng's baby. Is it yours?" she asked, pulling him down so he was nose to nose with her. She was striking while the proverbial iron was hot; since he was in the mood to tell the truth, she would ask the questions.

"Yes," he answered. He did not offer a single reason or excuse for any of his incredibly stupid actions or decisions. He would be hated no matter what so why bother? He also afraid she would hit him harder if he tried to explain. Although in reality, there was no explanation.

"Bastard! What the hell is wrong with you? Have you lost your damn mind?" She fired off question after question, occasionally interjecting a choice name for him or threatening parts of his anatomy.

The other three men in the room watched and listened, cringing when she mentioned certain male body parts and how she would destroy them. Sajin glanced at the chief who silently observed with an expression of amusement on his face.

"Shouldn't you do something to stop this?" Sajin inquired, wincing when the smacking sound of a slap filled his ears.

"I should. But I'm not. He's getting the ass whooping he deserves," he said, closing his eyes as she drew back her fist. If he doesn't see it, he's not an official witness to assault.

"Corbeau!" Sajin exclaimed, grabbing her arm when she prepared to punch Ichigo again. "He's had enough. Let's go."

"Sajin, finish this. I'll be outside in the truck," she stated in a voice terrifying in its tranquility. Corbeau made a hasty exit as the tears began to fall. She grabbed her phone to call Renji.

"You have him?" her husband asked.

"Yeah. We're about to come home. Oh, and by the way, I passed your test. I never screwed Sajin."

Two days later they were home again. It had been a quiet ride home. Corbeau avoided speaking to either of them and huddled in a corner of the backseat sleeping most of the way home. They were on the final stretch of the journey when they received the phone call informing them Sui Feng had given birth to a baby girl.

When they arrived home, there was a small group of people waiting to greet them including Renji and the kids. Corbeau hugged and kissed Renji then took Allete from him to hold her and kiss her.

Isshin grabbed her around the knees yelling, "Mama, Mama! I miss you!"

Corbeau scooped him up in to her arms because he did not even seem to notice his father. She was exhausted mentally and physically. Her babies were all she wanted right now so she headed for the RV to be with them.

"He calls her Mama?" Ichigo asked Renji.

Hana was busy checking Ichigo's wounds and medicating them the old fashioned way with peroxide and antibiotic cream. He completely ignored the man's hissing or grunts from the pain. If he had not already received a sound thrashing, he would have given the man another one.

"Yeah. He did it on his own when she was leaving to go get your sorry ass," Renji informed him glaring at his orange haired friend who he wanted to punch himself. His wife had done a remarkable job on that black eye Hana was checking. He hoped something like that wasn't coming his way. He had seriously underestimated his wife in many ways. It had been stupid of him to think that she would not figure out that he had purposely put her alone with Sajin to see what would happen. But he wanted to know. A question that had been plaguing his mind for too long had to be answered. Would she cheat on him with the Halfling who seemed to attract her like flowers attract bees? Thankfully the answer had been no, but now what?

Renji apprehensively returned to the RV after leaving Ichigo in Hana's capable hands. He hoped his friend would do the right thing and go see Sui Feng and his new baby. Maybe there would be some way for Ichigo to make amends there and be the man they need him to be.

Corbeau and the children were sitting on the bed playing quietly when he arrived. He watched as she held both of them close to her, stroking their heads and dropping kisses on their cheeks and foreheads. He should never have sent her. In his selfishness he had broken her heart in two ways: by distrusting her and by taking her away from the children she loved so dearly.

"Are you going to stand there staring or come sit down?" she asked, irritated with him for lingering silently in the doorway.

"Are you upset with me?" he queried, easing down on the bed as if she were bomb that would explode if moved too much.

"Yes. I'm still furious," she answered, brushing her fingers down Allete's cheek.

"Do you love me?"

"Of course. Just because you did something really dumb, and I'm angry with you doesn't mean that I don't love you anymore."

"When did you figure it out?"

"I had a lot of time to think on this trip. I figured it out myself. Out of nearly two hundred people you couldn't find a single one besides me that could do the job? And what was with that statement 'I'll love you no matter what happens'? It really wasn't hard to figure out your intentions once I actually thought about it. How could you, Renji?" Her eyes were full of hurt and brimming with tears when she looked at him. "Yes, I sometimes have feelings I shouldn't when I'm around him. I even confessed that to you so you would know I trust you with everything. I would never act on it. You and my babies mean too much to me. I couldn't lose you."

"I'm sorry," he apologized, unable to meet her gaze. He felt too ashamed. "What are going to do about Isshin?" He reached out to tousle the soft orange spiked hair on the child's head. There was no way to tell it had ever been touched.

"I want him. I want him to be mine. He needs a real mother. Sui Feng will have enough to deal with having a new baby and dealing with that lecherous creep who got her pregnant. I never would have guessed he was such a jerk," she muttered irritably, pulling Isshin into her lap. She kissed his ivory skinned chubby cheek, hugging him until he whined in protest.

"What about me? What are you going to do about me?" he asked, his sad brown eyes on her face.

Corbeau sighed heavily, reaching out to touch his cheek. "I don't know, Renji. What would you have done if I had given in to temptation?"

"I-I don't know," he stammered unable to look at her.

Neither one of them knew what to say after that so they just did not say anything at all.

Corbeau was out walking, enjoying some rare and coveted time alone. She was hardly ever by herself anymore. Her days were filled with taking care of four children now. Sui Feng's baby had been added to her roster of rugrats. She loved them all though.

Isshin lived with them now receiving frequent visits from his father who would often take the little boy to see his other family. Ichigo was striving to be a good father. He and Sui Feng were discussing the possibility of marriage.

During the times Isshin was gone, Corbeau would dedicate her time and attention to her own daughter and husband. There was almost no time left for her to be with Renji alone. If a little time did arise, she was too tired, or he received a call for some kind of emergency. Things had changed between them, and they weren't quite sure how to fix it. She always felt exhausted and completely spent, emotionally in addition to physically. She dreaded the end of winter because that marked the end of their hiatus and the show would begin traveling and performing again.

Corbeau took a deep breath to help release some of the tension from her body. She pushed through the thick bushes that surrounded the waterfall she had found in hidden in the forest of the property they had called home for the winter break. With a gasp she realized someone else had discovered her secret spot and he was behind the waterfall –naked. She retreated back into the bushes to figure out who was there. The legs were very muscular and shapely – it was so hard to find a man with great legs. She had no idea who it could be and all she could see was from the waist down. The legs were covered with hair that grew thicker until it was like a fur coat on his thighs. A coat? Like a dog or rather a wolf? With dismay and fascination she realized she was looking at Sajin when he moved into the light from the shadows of the small cave behind the water.

Corbeau covered her mouth with her hands to keep from crying out in surprise. If her hands had not been in place she surely would have made a lot of noise when he turned around with his front to her. Her eyes opened so big she could feel the skin straining at the corners to allow them to open even wider. From the waist down to his upper thighs he looked just like any other man. Anatomically he was definitely all man and a lot of it. That was the one place on his body along with his upper inner thighs that was devoid of hair. She fell forward through the bushes, successfully blowing her cover.

"Angel, what are you –" Sajin began talking then suddenly remembered he was naked. He snatched the towel off the big boulder beside him and wrapped it around his waist. He walked through the waterfall soaking the towel but keeping himself covered which was the purpose of it right now.

"I-I thought I was the only one who knew about this place. I-I'm sorry," she apologized, turning to go. Her face literally stung with embarrassment. She could only imagine how red she was. Her wrist was immediately seized by him preventing her from escaping.

"Don't go," he requested as he held her firmly.

Corbeau had avoided him since their return and that was almost two months ago. It had been killing him not being able to see her much less talk to her. They both believed the thoughts and feelings would go away if they avoided each other. He had heard from some of the performers that things were not going well for her and Renji. Even though he had wondered what they meant exactly, he had never asked. He could feel her trembling when he pulled her into his arms.

"I shouldn't be here," she said, but she was unable to pull away. Her breath caught in a loud gasp when she felt his hand sliding under her shirt across her belly. "I should go."

"Tell me you don't want me and I'll let you go," he whispered, not moving his hand any further.

"Sajin, please…"