I don't own Inuyasha. RT does!
"Daddy!"
Sesshōmaru set down the knife and turned around in time to see his daughter, Rin, barreling into the kitchen, socked feet sliding against the hard wood flooring. She came rushing at him, but before she could collide with his khaki-clad legs, he grabbed her under the arms and swung her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist, a bright smile tugging at her lips.
"Do you like the dress mommy bought me?" she asked, eyes twinkling with joy. He smiled at her, and looked down at the orange and white plaid summer dress she was wearing. He set her down so she could twirl, showing off the dress to him.
"I do like it." He smiled at her as she stopped twirling. "But I would've like it even better if you hadn't run in the house." Her lips turned downwards as she pouted, but they quickly turned back into a smile when her mother entered the room with a laundry basket rested on her hip.
"I'm going to go put these in the wash, and then we can be off," Kagome said. She leaned over and pecked her husband on the cheek. "The gift is wrapped, yes?"
"Of course," he replied.
"I can't wait to give it to Kohaku," said Rin excitedly. "He's been talking about it all the time at recess. He's going to be so happy!"
Kagome and Sesshōmaru gave each other knowing smiles. It was so obvious that the second grader was crushing on the third grader who she happened to be best friends with. As Kagome always said, boys and girls can never be friends without one of them loving the other. Kagome went to place the laundry basket in the laundry room. When she returned, Sesshōmaru was on the phone and Rin was sitting at one of the dining chairs.
Sesshōmaru clicked the end call button on his phone, and sighed, before meeting the gaze of his concerned wife.
"Is something wrong?"
"The fools at work, again, don't know what they're doing."
"Is it going to take long?" Kagome asked as she followed him into the entry way, hands clasped over her stomach, Rin close in toe.
"Hopefully not," he said with a grimace. Kagome knew what that meant. Yes, likely he wouldn't be home until after everyone was asleep.
"Is daddy not coming with us?" Rin piped up, dark eyes watering, her lower lip quivering as she looked up at her daddy. He sighed again. He bent down to be at eye level with the eight year old, a small smile on his lips.
"No, he's not, but I'll try my best to get there late," he replied before pulling on his coat and leaving, his wife and child watching him go.
-o-
Kagome looked in the mirror to check on Rin. The eight year old sat listlessly in the backseat behind the passenger seat, staring at the window at the passing scenery. Kagome bit back a sigh. For once her husband was free from work to come and do something with them as a family, and then he was pulled back into it. Why had she expected anything better?
She came to a halt at a red light, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel. The cars rushed to and fro. The light turned green, finally, and Kagome started driving forward.
It was a blur what happened next, just metal colliding against metal, and a gut-wrenching scream of terror, and then finally the pattering of rain.
-o-
Sesshōmaru rushed into the hospital, his Italian loafers squeaking against the white tile floor. He practically ran towards the woman behind the counter, ignoring the families and patients sitting in the fake leather chairs. She looked up at him from her game of solitaire, meeting his amber eyes with her hazel ones.
"Name please?" she asked him.
"Taisho Sesshōmaru, I'm here for my wife and daughter. They were in a…" He gulped, not able to say the words.
The woman behind the counter, Chie as her name tag read, clicked around on her computer some before glancing back up at him. "Ah, yes, if you can just take a seat in the waiting room, the doctor will be with you shortly."
He nodded, slowly walking over and taking a seat in one of the uncomfortable chairs. He slouched in it, fingers thrumming against his khaki jeans. It felt like an eternity before the man in a white coat approached him, hand outstretched. Sesshōmaru was immediately on his feet, and it took him a few moments before he realized to shake the man's hand.
"Let's take a seat Mr. Taisho," he softly whispered. Sesshōmaru sat back down, and the doctor took the seat next to him. "I'm sorry to have made you acquaintance in such a situation."
"Just tell me about my family," he barked. The doctor gulped and nodded, flipping through his the file in his hand.
"Your wife will be fine. She has a couple of bruised ribs and a broken arm, but she will be fine. She is in room 26 and I will take to you to her when we're done," he said with a sad smile. "Your daughter was less fortunate." Sesshōmaru's heart sank. "She was on the side that was hit by the car. She just got out of surgery, right now we're not allowing visitors to her. She's alive, quite a few broken bones though, and she will likely, if she wakes up, have irreversible brain damage. The catch is, she likely won't wake up. She will likely be a vegetable the rest of her life."
Sesshōmaru slowly looked away, doing his best not to cry. His daughter, his Rin, his little angel… she wouldn't wake up.
"Let me take you to your wife," said the doctor, and Sesshōmaru let him lead him away.
-o-
Sesshōmaru threw himself into his work. From before dawn and until midnight he was in the office, staring at the glowing computer screen with stinging eyes. He made business acquisitions, opened new offices, made deals, made products. His entire life in the ensuing months revolved around his job.
Kagome, on the other hand, was at her daughter's side from the moment she was released from the hospital. She read her stories, fairy tales of princess and daring knights. She painted the girls nails. She sung her songs from her favorite artists. She played with her stuffed animals. Brushed her hair, and told her about what was going on with her friends.
The marriage was falling apart though. Kagome was never home, she was always with her daughter. Sesshōmaru was never home, and he couldn't even bare to say Rin's name let alone see her. They were centimeters away from filing for divorce. First though, Kagome had to make a decision.
The nail polish bottle clunked against the bedside table as she set it down before leaning back into her hard plastic chair. She hadn't known that a person's nails and hair kept growing even when they were in a coma, or that their muscles twitched even though they were still, as the crude term went, brain dead.
"Are you ready miss?" asked the nurse, standing to the side of Rin. Kagome did not trust her voice, so she nodded.
She watched as they unplugged the machines, and undid the tubes and IVs. She listened to the heart monitor as it slowed and finally went flat, one unending beep.
And she sobbed.
Miles away, Sesshōmaru glanced at the clock and closed his eyes. He had been informed of what was happening, had agreed.
He sobbed too.
Oh god, I'm sobbing so bad. Please review, those will definitely cheer me up.