Okay, guys! You waited this long, through all my periods on non-updating and my continuous apologies in the AN. Now, here you have it, the epilogue and final chapter to Wedding!

Disclaimer: Alright, so I'm NOT Tite Kubo, as I have been telling you all along. So I don't own Bleach. I do, however, own Aki! So don't go using her without my permission, okay?

Nemu picked up her six month old from the crib where she lay. It had been two years since she and Uryu had been married, and their lives had gone on peacefully since then. Besides the occasional dirty look, not much had changed in the Soul Society either. At least, nothing but her relationship with Mayuri. That had taken a huge turn for the better.

She found herself getting screamed at less and less, and the beatings had stopped all together. Mayuri rarely had positive feedback for her, but what feedback she did get was less negative.

Nemu herself had changed as well. She had completely dropped her monotone by her first wedding anniversary. And, of course, there was the shocking revelation that she was pregnant. After waking up with morning sickness for a week, she had visited Captain Unohana under the impression she had just gotten a virus. The captain had dispersed any thoughts of a virus and confirmed the existence of another being in Nemu.

Despite this, Uryu dragged to a human doctor. The man came up with the same results as Unohana and Nemu swore Uryu's head nearly exploded.

Nemu waited until she was around two months pregnant to tell Mayuri. It wasn't because she was nervous – okay, that was a lie. She was terrified bout telling her father about his future grandchild.

It turned out Mayuri was more shocked than angry. He stood there, bloody scalpel hovering in the air, pausing before turning around to look at her.

"What?" he whispered.

The captain then proceeded to run more tests on Nemu and proclaimed the baby was very, very real. He also stated that it was healthy, developing properly, and most likely female.

Nemu was ecstatic.

Now her daughter Aki curled herself in Nemu's arms and sucked on her thumb. Her mother looked at her lovingly, ignoring the fluttering panic in her chest. Every day she found reminders that she would eventually have to go back to work. Her lieutenant badge hung on the doorknob. Her sword leaned against the bed. The answering machine kept relaying calls like, "Nemu? This is your captain speaking, and you are either going to come back to work or let me see my grandchild."

Messages like these were what ruined Star Trek when Nemu was trying to relax.

Finally, in a half-asleep state with Aki laying on her chest and Uryu out of earshot in the kitchen, she called Squad Twelve HQ and arranged for Mayuri to meet Aki.

I am never going to forgive myself for this.

Aki opened her eyes, blinking up at Nemu innocently. "Mmmaaaaaa!" she gurgled happily.

Nemu gazed at her daughter. She could see wisps of blue hair on the top of her head already. This was a constant reminder of Mayuri, and whether Nemu like it or not, Aki was stuck with that hair. She worried Aki would also have the golden eyes she was born with, but they had darkened up and were now an earthly brown.

But most of all, Nemu was terrified of Aki turning into another Ichigo Kurosaki. She knew his father had been captain of Squad 10 before Hitsugaya. And his mother had been one of the last Quincy's, like Uryu was now. But Isshin had been exiled and Masaki had lost her powers. With an active Soul Reaper and Quincy as her parents, Nemu wasn't sure how Aki would develop. Not to mention her grandfather was, well, the insane captain of Squad Twelve.

"Nemu, are you just going to stand there or are you going to introduce me to the child?"

Oh, speak of the devil.

Nemu spun around, clutching Aki like a lifeline. Her father stood in front of her with a bored look on his face.

"M-mayuri!" Nemu stuttered.

"Yes, yes, I let myself in, you know how I feel about knocking," he said irritably. The captain was wearing his white haori and Soul Reaper's uniform, as well, as his normal make-up. Nemu opened her mouth, then closed it.

"Don't just stand there looking like a fish," he snapped.

"Make-up," Nemu said faintly, turning Aki so that she wouldn't be scarred for life.

"What about it?" Mayuri huffed.

"Take it off."

"Why?"

"Why?" Nemu asked in shock. She could feel a bit of confidence grow in her as she went on. "Because Aki will be terrified."

"So?" Mayuri shrugged.

"So go wash it off," Nemu said firmly. "I will not have my child meeting you with you looking like that."

"You can't tell me what to do," he father crossed his arms and glared at the wall.

"You are going to wash off the make-up so that my daughter will not remember you as a demonic clown," Nemu said in a steely voice.

Mayuri didn't answer; he uncrossed his arms and trudged over to the sink where he began to rinse off his make-up.

"This is completely moronic," he grumbled, shaking the water out of his hair.

"This is completely for the sake of Aki's sanity," Nemu exasperatedly sighed.

"Aaaaaa!" Aki shrieked with a smile.

"Noisy thing," Mayuri commented, glancing over at Aki's head. "This is why I made you a full grown woman."

"Don't talk about her like that," Nemu scolded him, angling Aki so that she could now see Mayuri. "She has your DNA as well."

"I realize that. You talk to me as if I qere that simpleton you married," he rolled his eyes. "So my grandchild is Aki Kurotsuchi?"

"Aki Ishida," Nemu corrected him. "I kept my maiden name but we decided Aki would have Uryu's surname."

Mayuri ignored her and repeated, "Aki Kurotsuchi."

"And, of course, you'll let me run a few tests on her?" he asked nonchalantly, peering at the baby.

"NO," Nemu practically shouted, swinging Aki away from her father. "I was not pregnant for nine months and in labor for nearly twenty-four hours for you to use my baby as a test subject!"

"But she is quite the phenomena, and Kurosaki refuses to be tested," Mayuri frowned.

"When Aki gets older, if she decides for herself that you can test her, then I won't stop you. But not until then!" Nemu yelled, irked/

"You're so loud…" Mayuri muttered. "Fine. If Aki says yes when she's older, then I will not hesitate to run my tests."

Nemu felt a chill run up her spine. Mayuri would remember this, and what if Aki did say yes? However, she was quickly distracted by an uncomfortable look on her father's face.

"Could I….possibly…..if you don't have any objections…." He said slowly, avoiding the question he was trying to ask. "Perhaps…..you would allow me to…well, to put it bluntly…..to hold Aki?"

Nemu stood there in surprise for a moment before nervously mumbling, "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt."

Carefully, she transitioned Aki from her arms to Mayuri's. The baby let out a squeal as she was deposited into his long, muscular arms, still chilled from washing the make-up off of them. Aki squirmed and wrapped her little hand around one of Mayuri's fingers, who looked at her in awe.

"She's going to grow up to be very powerful," he murmured. "But for now, she is happy."

Nemu let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Yes, it would be difficult for Aki in the future. But the sight of the father she once feared holding the child she would always love brought a feeling of warmth to her heart.

And Nemu was content with just that.

Well, *sniff* it's over. And you guys have been the best ever, putting up with my laziness and never failing to review! I might write a sequel in the future, but not until I finish up the rest of my fanfictions(most of them anyways).

Thank you so very very much for reading Wedding!

(Hint hint...just because it's over doesn't mean you can't go back and review chapters you might have missed. I always feel super happy whenever I receive a review, even if the story has been posted for ages. Give me positive feedback, negative feedback, constructive criticism, anything! You want to flame because you hated this story so much? Go ahead and flame! FLAMES POWER THE SUN!)

Goodbye, adieu, and until next time my faithful readers!