He held her close as he kissed her softly. "I love you, Eve," he said between kisses.

"I love you, Shuuhei," she replied quietly. Her eyes were still cloudy from where he had made love to her and her cheeks were still flushed. "I need to go get ready."

"I know. I should let you go." He grinned at her. "I don't want to but I should."

Eve smiled at him. "You should so I'm not late for our wedding."

"You shouldn't be late. I have someone waiting to help you."

"You do?"

He kissed her again. "It would be rude to keep them waiting." Kissing her forehead, Shuuhei rolled off her and got up. "I'll walk you down there."

Eve got up and got dressed. "I'd like that."

They walked in silence because neither of them felt that anything needed to be said. Stopping at the door to the vice captain's quarters, Shuuhei put her hand to his lips. "I'll see you in a couple of hours, Princess." He kissed her quickly and flash stepped back to his quarters.

Eve stood at the door and realized Shuuhei hadn't told her who was waiting on her. She hoped it wasn't Yumichika. Not that she didn't like him. He was just so pushy about things like makeup and fashion.

Taking a breath, Eve opened the door. "Hello?" she called out as she closed the door behind her.

"Eve? Is that you, dear?"

Her eyes went wide with shock as a woman stepped into the room. For a moment they stared at each other. "Ms. Marilyn," Eve finally muttered.

"It's been a long time, Eve." The two women hugged.

"How did he find you?"

Marilyn smiled. "I don't know how but I know he did."

"I'm glad he did."

"He's a very nice young man. His appearance doesn't match his attitude."

"You never approved of tattoos," Eve said with a laugh.

"If you were supposed to have something like that on your body, you would have been born with it."

"One of Shuuhei's tattoo's means something to him," Eve defended as she lead Marilyn to the kotatsu. She told her about Shuuhei's 69 tattoo and its meaning.

"Well. That's different then." She eyed Eve. "What about you? Did you get one?"

Eve laughed. "No, I didn't."

"Tell me about your life once you left the orphanage, Eve."

"I started teaching math."

"You always were helping the others."

"I loved helping them and I loved teaching."

"How did you met Captain Hisagi?"

"He came looking for me. He wanted me to be his vice captain."

Marilyn looked at her confused. "Were you were still alive?"

"Yes," Eve paused. "Remember when I told you that I could see ghosts?" Marilyn nodded and Eve explained how Shuuhei came to find her.

They talked for a long time catching up on the past. Eve found that Marilyn lived in Rukongai and watched over several children there. They were laughing about something when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Eve said as she went to the door. Opening it, she saw Yumichika on the other side.

"Is that what you're wearing to get married in?" he asked with a tsk.

"No, I haven't put on my dress yet. How much time do we have?"

"You still have about thirty minutes."

Eve turned back to Marilyn. "We've let time slip away from us."

"You were never one to primp for long, Eve."

"I know but it's my wedding day." She turned to Yumichika. "I have to go."

He laughed and walked into the room. "I can help you and I brought you something from Shuuhei."

"Oh?"

"He said you had to be ready before I could give it to you." Yumichika looked at Marilyn. "You have to be ready too."

Eve looked at her confused. "Ready for what?"

"He asked me to walk you down the aisle and give you away."

...

Eve stood in a white satin sleeveless dress that seemed to float around her. There was a tie around the waist that changed in color from pink to blue.

"Just like Sleeping Beauty," Marilyn said as she tied the bow.

"Just like your zanpakuto," Yumichika noticed. "Where did you find the dress?"

"Shuuhei and I bought it."

"He's seen your dress?" Marilyn asked.

"Not like this. He doesn't know I added the tie to it." Eve grinned.

Yumichika handed her the box from Shuuhei. "I think it's time for this." Eve opened it slowly and gasped as she saw what it was. Yumichika took it out of the box. "Shuuhei wanted to do this himself." Placing the tiara on Eve's crown, he looked at her. "You look like a princess."

Eve turned to the mirror. "Shuuhei makes me feel like a princess." Behind her there was a sniffle and Eve turned back around to look at Marilyn.

"You look beautiful, Eve. Why didn't you ever get adopted?"

"No one would have loved me like you did," Eve replied as she hugged Marilyn. "No tears. Today is a happy day."

"It is."

...

Kyoraku let out a low whistle when he saw the bride but Shuuhei didn't hear it. She was stunning. He had always known that but seeing her now took his breath away. Marilyn walked her down the aisle and placed Eve's hand in Shuuhei.

"Take good care of my girl," she said quietly.

"I will."

Marilyn kissed him on the cheek and then went to take her seat.

"Thank you for my tiara," Eve said quietly.

"It suits you, Princess. You changed your dress."

"I altered it." She smiled at him.

"I like it."

Kyoraku cleared his throat. "Are you two going to chat or would you like me to marry you?"

Eve laughed. "Marry us, Captain Kyoraku."

"JFPS," Shuuhei muttered quietly. Eve giggled.

Captain Kyoraku did not hear their exchange as he began the ceremony.

The wedding band Shuuhei slipped on her finger was covered in diamonds. The ring didn't sit against her engagement ring, it surround it.

...

Shuuhei wondered if he would ever tire of kissing his wife. He doubted it. After their wedding ceremony, there had been a reception for them that included cake and dancing. Finally after hours of being around people, Shuuhei flash stepped them back to his quarters.

"You should change so we can leave."

"We aren't staying here?"

Shuuhei shook his head. "I'm not spending my wedding night wondering if someone's going to come looking for me."

She grinned. "Where are we going?"

"Someplace special." He unzipped her dress and helped her out of it.

She wore very little under the dress and for a moment, he only stared. "Are you sure you want to wait?"

"Did Yumichicka see you dressed like that?"

Eve laughed. "Just you."

"Good. I'd hate to have to come back and gouge his eyes out for seeing my wife so scantily clad." He ran his hand down her bare back. "We could wait to leave," he contemplated as he ran his lips up her shoulder. "In fact, I think we will." He slipped the swatch of lace that could barely be called panties past her hips. As he lowered her to the bed, he wondered if she knew she still wore the tiara.

...

"You want to do what?" Shuuhei asked.

"I think it will help the division." Eve had done more in the past seven months as vice captain than Shuuhei had expected.

"You think teaching them math will help them?"

"Remember when I told you that you could optimize your skills with math?"

"Yes."

"I could do that with the division. I can help them. By using math, I can unlock their full potential."

"We aren't a weak division," Shuuhei reminded her.

"I know. I'm not trying to turn us into the eleventh division. I just want to help." Shuuhei shook his head. Eve couldn't understand why he didn't want her to help their division. "I wasn't taught your righteous path of least bloodshed."

Shuuhei shot her a look. "No. You weren't. Every day I live with the fact that I killed the man who taught me that. How many people have you killed with your zanpakuto, Eve?"

"None," she said quietly.

He sighed. "I have to go. I'll be back when the meeting is over." Eve nodded and Shuuhei flash stepped to the captains' meeting.

"You didn't kiss me goodbye," Eve muttered as she sat at her desk and continued working on the paperwork she had started earlier.

...

"Captain Hisagi!" Yamamoto yelled.

Shuuhei looked up, startled from his thoughts. "I'm sorry, sir."

"I dismissed everyone already. Something on your mind?"

"No," Shuuhei began. "Eve wants to help the division reach its full potential."

"That's a bad thing?"

"I don't think everyone will want to learn what she's offering to teach them. Some of them might but not all of them."

"So let her teach those who want to learn."

"It's different from what we've been taught. She wants to help everyone unleash the full power of their zanpakuto."

Yamamoto thought a minute. "Have you mastered your bankai, Captain Hisagi?"

"No, sir."

"If you learned what she was willing to teach you, could you master it?"

"Possibly."

"Learn from her." Shuuhei gaped at the Captain Commander. "Teaching is part of who she is. She can't just give it up." He thought a moment. "If you and your division find it helpful, I might add a class to the curriculum at the Academy. A class for sixth year students that were interested in reaching their full potential. It's a great idea, Captain Hisagi. Present it to her."

"Sir?"

"You are dismissed." Yamamoto walked away and Shuuhei stared after him.

He walked back to the ninth division reviewing what had just happened in his mind. She didn't look up when he walked in. Either she hadn't noticed or she was mad at him. He kissed her on top of her head. "I'm sorry. I forgot."

"I thought maybe you were mad at me."

"I wasn't mad at you. Are you mad at me?"

"No. I don't understand why..." Shuuhei put a finger over her lips.

"You can't use math with Niwaka'ame, can you?"

"Not really."

"I was wondering about that." He paused. "I vaguely remember saying that when I was done with my tests, you could do your own. I don't remember you doing any tests."

Her eyes went wide. "You'd let me...?"

"If you're going to teach members of the division, we need to make sure your theories work."

"True."

"I also need to master my bankai." He leaned over and kissed her. "The Captain Commander is also willing to put sixth year students in your capable hands. Only those who want to learn."

"He's letting me teach at the Academy?"

Shuuhei nodded. "But first, you have to teach me. That's my stipulation. Not his. If I find your math helpfully, I'll let you teach anyone who wants to be taught. I won't force our division members to do something they don't want to do."

"That's fair."

"Your timeframe to teach me is not as long as mine was to teach you."

"I don't need that long. If you don't pick up anything in a couple of weeks, then there is little hope that it will help you." She smiled at him. "Besides, I have a limited timeframe."

"You do?"

"The fourth division is going to move me to light duty in about four or five months."

"Why? Is there something wrong with you? Why didn't you tell me?"

Eve smiled at him. "There's nothing wrong with me. I just found out this morning and I haven't had a chance to tell you yet." Eve paused. "Remember your birthday?"

"My birthday? That was six weeks ago."

"What did we do for your birthday?"

"Very little," he replied with a grin. They had spent nearly the entire day in bed.

"We did more than either of us realized at the time. We conceived."

His grin fell. "Conceived?"

"Shuuhei, I'm pregnant."

"We're going to start a family?"

"A family?" she repeated. "I didn't think about it that way."

"I did. It's all I ever wanted to give you."

She smiled at him. "When did you want to start learning?"

"I was thinking about this afternoon but that was before..."

"This afternoon is fine. It's perfectly fine for me to teach you math, Shuuhei."

He nodded, took her hands and pulled her out of the chair and into his arms. "First though, I have a lunch date with my wife." Eve smiled. "It might take longer than it should."

"Why?"

"I owe her a kiss."

"It shouldn't take that long to kiss her."

Shuuhei grinned. "It depends on where I start, Princess." He flash stepped them home and Eve thought she heard him mutter "Where do I want to start?"