A/N: This here is InuYasha-centric. This idea came to me this afternoon and I had to get it out before I lost it. I really like this one. InuYasha thinks more than people think, and he's pretty observant and "gets" more than he might seem to. Un-betad, so be warned, guys.

The day started off hectic long before the sun rose that morning, and InuYasha couldn't help but be a little bit irritated when he was woken up shortly after he had finally gotten to sleep by Sango's need to get up right that insant, and everyone's stupid rushing around.

Of course, his irritation drained right away when he realized what was happening.

Things became a bit of a blur for the first few hours after that. Kagome was running in and out of the small house, and sent him on about a billion errands. Go get hot water, we need more cloths just in case, could you bring me something that looks like this? He tried his best to be helpful - Despite what some might have thought, he was not entirely stupid and the seriousness of being prepared for the event was certainly not lost on him. InuYasha did everything Kagome asked him (almost) entirely without question. This was not a time to be a pain in the ass.

Eventually things did slow down a bit, but InuYasha was not left to rest for long. From across the village at the hot spring, his ears pricked at the sound of a pained cry coming from the general direction of their shared home. He seized Shippou by the tail and ran as fast as he could to turn over the tub of hot water to Kagome, who peeked out of the door just long enough to take it from him and give him a pat on the shoulder.

"Thanks, InuYasha, you've been a great help," she said, and then disappeared back into the house. "You can do it, Sango-chan!"

The next few hours seemed to drag on forever, though this was probably due to the overwhelming annoyance of Shippou's presence. InuYasha was on edge already - Though he would never openly admit it, he was worried, damn it. He knew how, just a few months before, a woman had died giving birth in this very village. He had overheard Sango talking with Kagome one night, and knew that her own mother had died in the same situation with her younger brother, Kohaku. As much as he hated to be "open" and "emotional", he cared about Sango and everyone else in the group more than anything in the world. Hell, Miroku was his best friend, the only other male he had ever been close to. They understood each other on levels that Kagome and Sango, despite their closeness to them, just could not. InuYasha knew that Sango was Miroku's anchor, much like Kagome was his. He shuddered to think what would happen to Miroku if anything happened to Sango... Or their child.

Kagome was tied tightly to Sango as well. One might even mistake the two of them as sisters if they didn't know - And Kagome was InuYasha's entire world, though he had yet to really make her aware of this fact. Kagome hadn't exactly lost anyone, to the best of InuYasha's knowledge, though the absence of her father did bring up questions. He wasn't sure how she would react to the loss of someone, let alone someone as close to her as Sango was. He wasn't sure if he could take care of her in that state. He wasn't sure of a lot of things.

Another small cry sounded from the house, and InuYasha's ears perked to pick up the sounds from inside. Miroku was by Sango's side, a rare privilege and perhaps bad luck, but Kagome insisted he be allowed, and no one could seem to make any protests under her surprisingly frightening gaze. InuYasha could smell his small fear over the scent of sweat and incense in the room. He was murmuring to Sango, quiet encouragements that InuYasha could barely make out. Kagome was frightened as well, but more of messing up than anything else. He wondered why she was so interested in delivering the baby anyways. What did something like that have to do with healing and shit? She was encouraging, though, and he guessed maybe Sango might be more comfortable with her than with trusting some strange woman she didn't know with poking around down there and taking care of their new baby.

InuYasha's ears twitched and he looked down at the grass. Everyone but Shippou was in there, even the old hag Kaede. Everyone... but him. He hated to admit it, but he felt left out. Part of him reasoned that he wouldn't like it in there, it would probably stink and Sango was making those sounds. He could tell she was holding herself back from being as loud as she might have liked, and really did not want to be around if she decided she didn't want to be quiet anymore. He shifted his arms in his sleeves and couldn't help but pout a tiny bit. He had a special sort of bond with the slayer, too. They were friends, right? Why didn't she want him there?

Kagome's encouragements grew slightly louder and more rushed, and he heard her tell Sango it was almost done. Miroku assured Sango of his love and told her to keep going. Almost there, you can do it, not much longer, I love you so much. InuYasha frowned and considered going in to see what was going on. Everyone sounded awful worried for something that, generally (?) was supposed to be a joyous occasion.

Sango understood him on yet another level that no one else touched. His relationship with all of his friends was strong, but each was different in its own way. Sango understood him, warrior to warrior. Their bond was based not on words (except maybe the occasionally passing encouragements), but on actions and an unspoken understanding. They knew each other in ways other people couldn't, just like she knew Miroku in ways he couldn't, and though she was his wife, InuYasha knew Miroku in ways that she couldn't. The obvious pain she was in made InuYasha uncomfortable. He didn't really like it when his friends were in pain.

He could hear the slayer's breathing begin to grow faster and a pained whimper reached his ears, causing him to tense in expectation.

Suddenly, InuYasha smelled blood and the high, warbling cries of an infant reached his ears and he turned towards the house interestedly. Shippou stopped his coloring and looked too, covering his ears quickly against the sound. Kagome cheered, Sango burst into tears, though they didn't seem sad, and Miroku was laughing quietly. After a quick check to make sure everyone's scent was normal and still there, InuYasha hastily made his way towards a high tree branch until the smell of blood and afterbirth could be swept away enough that he could tolerate it. He cared about Sango, Miroku, and their baby, but fuck if he was going to stick around that unless it was important that he did.

Later, Kagome came out and called him down from the tree. "InuYasha?"

He looked down at her, frowning at how tired she looked. Stupid girl hadn't stopped running since they had gotten up that morning, and it would be sundown in a few hours. "Yeah?"

"Do you want to come see the baby?"

InuYasha looked at her with wide eyes, surprised. ...See the baby? Human babies were tiny, fragile things, and could probably be crushed by a heavy glance. Still, he thought it over for a moment and then jumped down from the tree. "Yeah, whatever." He wouldn't be so careless as to hurt the thing, and besides, Sango and Miroku would probably be so excited they wouldn't want to turn it over to anyone else for even a moment.

Kagome smiled and took his hand, leading him towards the house. "Be sure to be quiet, it's been a long day."

"Feh. I'm not stupid."

Kagome rolled her eyes but lifted the curtain in front of the doorway for him to pass under. InuYasha's nose was assaulted by the scent of sweat, blood, and incense, though everything had been cleaned up long before. He covered it with his hand and turned his gaze to the new arrival in the center of the rooms, sleeping in its mother's arms. Sango looked up at him with a tired smile and Miroku gave him a similar one, as if to say it was okay to come closer. InuYasha took a cautious step forward, and then another and another until he was by their side and kneeled down close. They were all quiet for a few moments.

"Her name is Nozomi," Miroku said, looking at him. InuYasha nodded. He couldn't tear his eyes from the tiny, pink creature.

Sango smiled wider and put her hand gently on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Would you like to hold her, InuYasha?"

InuYasha turned to her with wide eyes. Him? They were trusting him, a hot-headed, dangerous hanyou to hold their hours-old baby? He swallowed and nodded silently, holding out his hands awkwardly to take her. Sango set her gently in his hands. "Support her head," she instructed softly, then pulled away, leaving her in his grasp.

The baby looked so small in his hands, and he felt almost frightened, seeing his sharp claws so near her soft, pudgy face. After a moment he pulled her close to him and carefully wrapped his fingers around her, gently so as not to hurt her, but firmly enough to ensure that she would not fall. Though she had been the cause of all the blood in the room, she didn't smell like it at all. She smelled... nice. Her scent was clean and pure, with a hint of all the things that smelled like her parents. There was something different he couldn't put his finger on, and it filled him with some sort of strange awe. He could hear her tiny, huffing breaths as her lungs took in life from the world around her, and feel her quick pulse against his hands.

With wide eyes, InuYasha moved the cloth from near her face to get a better look, and for the first time he realized she was swaddled in the blue and white cloth that normally hung at her mother's back and contained her gas mask and supplies. Had the slayer hung up her mask and weapons in favor of this child? A small fluttering drew his eyes to her face, and his breath caught when she opened her wide eyes. They were a dark, stormy color that he recognized as belonging to her father, and as his eyes locked on hers for the split second before they closed again, he realized something.

This, in his hands, was the embodiment of everything they had fought for.

Miroku and Sango, his best friends and companions, had their families ripped from their grasps, and their worlds shattered around them. The only woman he had trusted for decades since his mother's passing had been slain before he could make her his own. Naraku destroyed many lives and many things, his evil permeating the darkest recesses of this world. Naraku was practically death on Earth, evil and black and ruthless. And yet they had defeated him, together, and it was evidenced in this tiny creature in his hands, this brand new life.

Running the pad of his thumb over the baby's cheek, InuYasha made a silent promise to protect her and her parents always before giving her back to her mother's tender care. He stood silently and left the two parents to revel in the beginnings of their brand new family.

As he stepped out of the door, InuYasha took Kagome's small hand in his own and squeezed it, chancing a grin as Shippou bounded up, full of questions about the new baby. Today had seen the first repair to the world since Naraku's demise.

He could risk being nice to him for a few minutes.