~Only One Way to Know, a post-canon Inuyasha fanfic~

Inuyasha felt his heart constrict as he found his wife right where he had expected: sitting on the edge of the well, staring into the darkness with a hand on her swollen belly.

He walked towards her as casually as he could, knowing she was aware of his presence and knowing she'd talk when she was ready. Taking a seat on the rim adjacent to her, he watched her carefully, seeing the conflict waging behind her eyes.

It was the same conflict she'd been facing for the past year of being back in this place, but now she was pregnant, and it had only gotten a hundred times worse.

"What if it still works?"

Her voice was quiet, and even though he knew she wanted him to hear her, he also knew she didn't need an answer. They'd talked about this many times already.

"But what if it doesn't?" she answered herself, her voice quivering.

Inuyasha reached out a clawed hand to gently clasp the hand that was turning white from gripping the wood beneath it too tightly. He could understand what she felt. There had been so many times in his early, lonely life where he'd wanted nothing more than his mother's comfort, for her calming words of wisdom and unconditional love. But his mother had died, and there was absolutely no way for him to get his wish. But Kagome's mother… she wasn't really dead. Well… she technically wasn't even born.

"Kagome," he began gently, and even though she didn't look at him he knew she was listening "you can't keep torturing yourself like this. All this back and forth and what if… there's only one way to find out for sure!"

"But I can't!" she shouted, her eyes wide and watery but full of determined fire, "What if it doesn't work? I couldn't risk hurting the baby! And if I used a ladder or something… maybe it wouldn't have the same effect."

Inuyasha glanced at the baby bump on his wife – she was four months along and not showing very much, but it was enough; and every time he saw that swell, something in his heart swelled as well. Of course they could never risk hurting the baby, but… what if….

"What if it did work, Kagome? You have way better medicine in your time than here… our baby would be safer, healthier… isn't that worth trying for?"

She looked at him with hard eyes, and he nearly gulped. It wasn't really a look of anger… more one of a frustrated teacher with a trying student. "Inuyasha, what if it did work… and what if it stopped working again? We'd be trapped there, in a time where people don't know about demons, a time where you wouldn't be able to live a full life, a time where our baby might not be able to live a full life… what if our baby has your ears? Would you want them to have to wear a hat the rest of their lives? Or you for that matter?"

Inuyasha opened his mouth to protest, ready to point out that they faced just as much a problem in this era where half-demons were openly hated, but her next words made him freeze.

"And what if it sends you back again?"

Her voice was near breaking as she said this, and he scooted closer, ready to take her in his arms… to comfort the both of them.

But her angry voice made him pause as she continued "I'm not going to take that chance Inuyasha. I can't. I can't raise this child without you."

He knew better than to share that he thought it would be better if she did… he wanted this child more than anything, but he was less than even remotely confident in his ability to actually be a father.

Instead he chose a safer path of persuasion, saying briskly "But what about your mother? Can you raise a child without her around?"

Kagome cringed, her head dropping, and Inuyasha cringed himself as he picked up on the salt of her tears. "Of course I could… plenty of women do."

"Liar. You're not 'plenty of women."

She sniffled softly, moving the hand on her stomach to wipe at her eyes, before placing it back even more gently than before. "Okay, so I always thought… that she'd be around when I… when I was having my own children. When you have a mom like mine… you want her around for everything." She laughed softly, but the sound was weighed down with sorrow. It broke Inuyasha's heart to hear.

She looked up at him again, and her love was shining brightly through her tears as she said "But I wouldn't trade this life with you for anything. Even…."

She couldn't even finish the thought as she broke down into tears. Inuyasha couldn't handle much more of this. He could almost see that line in his head that separated him from his tendency towards rash behavior, and he was practically running for it.

He was quick to make it to her side and cradled her in his arms, his voice rough and loud as he fought to control his raging emotions, saying "You shouldn't have to live like this Kagome…. I won't let you live a half-life either!"

She gasped harshly as she was suddenly lifted into his arms, his grip firm but careful, and her heart leapt into her throat as she noticed he was now standing on the edge of the well, facing its depths.

"I'm sorry Kagome… but whatever the outcome, you have to know!"

And before she could scream at him to stop, to let her down, he had jumped.

Her eyes screwed shut with fear and anger; not fear for herself or the baby, for she knew Inuyasha would keep her safe from impact when they hit the bottom, but she feared the unknown. She feared finally finding out for certain that the well was closed forever.

And most of all she feared opening her eyes and seeing Inuyasha disappear again.

She clung to him so hard that she didn't notice when they finally hit the bottom, until a cold nose bumped hers and she opened her eyes to see Inuyasha smiling down at her.

Kagome had never felt like smiling less.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? HOW COULD YOU! HOW COULD YOU! YOU JERK! I can't believe you would do something so UNBELIEVABLY –"

"Kagome!?"

Her breath caught with a hiss, her gaze not breaking from her husbands as she computed the voice echoing from the top of the well. She knew that voice like she knew her own… but she just couldn't tear her eyes away from Inuyasha's to check. She was afraid.

She could hear the voice panting and the sound of quick steps descending a wooden staircase. And then the voice called out again, this time hesitantly and with an edge of fear that mirrored Kagome's own; as if the voice couldn't bear to believe it either.

His smile growing even wider, Inuyasha lifted a finger to nudge Kagome's chin gently until she was no longer staring at him but staring up at the wooden ceiling of the well-house and the shadow obstructing the view.

It wasn't until she heard a choked sob and saw the shadow begin to move away that reality set in, and she practically screamed out "Mama!", her husband trying to hide his pained grimace as the sound rang out against the stone walls of the well and amplified in his sensitive ears.

He wasn't about to complain though as an utterly joyful response of "Kagome!" joined the lingering echoes of Kagome's exclamation, the sounds so full of relief and love that he almost started crying with the women himself.

Almost.

*Author's Note:

There will be more of this.

Like... maybe one more chapter. I don't really know if there will be more than two parts to this, but... we'll see. This may turn into a series of post-canon shorts.

I have so many conflicting ideas about how life is after the series ends. This fic DOES NOT fit with my other post-canon stories though. Those are all set in a situation where the well closed after Kagome returned to the Feudal Era and stayed closed. It's kind of a sad situation, but it seemed to me like that was what the last episode was hinting at. Her words to her mother and her comments afterward all seemed very... final.

But I want to explore the idea some more that she can still go back and forth, so that's what this story is for! :3