Things couldn't end like this.

Her heart was hammering, her pulse thudding, her mind racing; blood stained her clothes, tears threatened to spill from her eyes. There was too much at stake, too much to lose. "InuYasha…"His name was a soft whisper on her lips as she tirelessly worked over him, attempting to stem the flow of blood from his chest wound. He was pale and coming in and out of unconsciousness, his lips mumbling incoherent words. "Stay with me…" She was repeating quietly, her words hardly above a whisper, her hands shaking as she continued with her work.

The door opened and an elderly woman slipped inside; she paused a moment, eyes intently watching the young woman who worked so hard to save her lover's life. Then she was turning and the swell of her belly, just barely beginning to show, caught her old, but keen eye. Probably a belly too small for the bleeding hanyou to have ever noticed. "Kagome-chan." The old woman called out to her and she tensed, telling her that she'd been heard, but Kagome did not turn around. She sighed softly and stepped forwards, kneeling down beside the young woman, reaching out a hand to stop her from moving on. "Let me," she gestured for the girl to back away and a moment later, she obliged, leaning back and turning away. "It was a youkai?' The old miko inquired after a moment, her hands still as efficient as any young woman's, if not more so. She could see the wounds were deep, but InuYasha was young and strong and stubborn- it would take more than this to take him out. Kagome surely knew that… But considering the girl was pregnant, it was no wonder she was a little more weepy than she normal would have been in a situation like this. Especially now, considering how well-versed she was in the art of healing- she was better than she herself and probably better than her later sister Kikyo ever had been.

"Y-yes. It came out of nowhere." Kagome let out a shaky breath, returning to lean over InuYasha, who's wounds were bandaged and as she pulled the blanket over him, it was as if all were well. "And strong too…" She shook her head, recalling the strength the beast had displayed. It had reminded her of… "Anyways, it's dead of course." Her stomach was turning and she absently put a hand to her abdomen, one which had begun to curve with the secret she still yet kept. Though she turned to Keade then and her smile was knowing- of course she couldn't hide it from her.

"How long?"

The question was simple and Kagome sighed, turning to look instead at InuYasha's peaceful features; she had not yet told him that she was pregnant. She had only come to realize it herself a week before, when she'd gone home at InuYasha's insistence after she'd been sick for a third day in a row. She had been sick for weeks, in truth, but she had passed it off as this and as that. Now she understood why. Sango had tried to tell her, after bearing three children of her own, she had known a pregnant woman when she saw her, but Kagome had waved it off as impossible. "I'm nearly four months now." Old Keade smiled and reached out to squeeze the young woman's hand. Kagome looked up and could not help but to smile, thinking of the future that was to come. She turned towards InuYasha, who's wounds had finally ceased their incessant bleeding, who now slept peacefully upon the cot. He would live, of course, he was too stubborn to die she knew that, but her emotions got the best of her. That was one thing she simply could not control.

"It will be a child of the moon," Keade said with a smile, unable to help but to wonder what the child would look like, though something told her it would look like its mother. "Another miko to follow in her mother's footsteps," she predicted as she rose up, stepping away from the two to head to the door. Kagome watched her go, a smile twitching on her lips as she thought on what Keade had said. A daughter… Could that be true? "Get some rest, Kagome-chan, and when he wakes… Perhaps you should tell him." Kagome nodded and lifted her hand in a gesture of goodbye, turning back to face InuYasha once they were alone again. He was mumbling in his sleep and she reached out, brushing a stray lock of silver from his forehead. Keade was right, she had to tell him.

And so she would.

[ x x x ]

The next day, despite Kagome's protests, InuYasha was on his feet and storming from the hut. "You're going to open your wounds again!" Kagome shouted after him, stomping her foot in frustration, watching as he disappeared through the doorway. After a moment, she heaved a sigh and followed after him, catching the end of his words as he ranted on…

"I'm fine Kagome. You know I heal faster than you. Besides, these? These were nothing but some scrapes." He was pulling on his red haori, shoving his arms through its sleeves as he turned back to face her, his arms folding over his chest. It was only then that the fight seemed to go out from him and he tilted his head, scrutinizing her with his amber hued gaze. "Are you alright?" He then asked, taking a single step closer, closing the gap between the two of them. Kagome arched a brow as he put a hand to her forehead, his concern for her endearing, but he was changing the subject on purpose. "You're kinda pale." He went on and his eyes were softening. "I'm sorry, I really worried you, huh?'

For a single moment, Kagome had to force herself to keep her mouth shut and not spill the beans. She didn't want to share something like that with him right there in the middle of the road. She sucked in a breath and smiled, reaching up a hand to slide into place over his. She drew it down and bade him to follow after her, not once letting go of his hand. He followed after her like a puppy, as he always did, his hand still gently gripping hers. He was speaking again, asking again if she was alright, his worry clearly mounting. She led him back towards the well, because as always, she was drawn to that spot. That was a spot near and dear to both of their hearts- it had been the place they'd first met and the place that they'd reunited. Over the years, they had shared many different moments there at the well, both good and bad. Now she hoped to add one more good moment to that list.

They stood there facing one another, the flicker of a memory skirting across his features, and she wondered what he was thinking of. She offered him a smile and cleared her throat, trying to find the words to say now that they were there. Now that the moment was here, she found she couldn't find the right words to say. "InuYasha I…" His eyes met hers and he seemed to be waiting for her to speak, seemed to be waiting to know what was on her mind. In the years they'd been together, he could count on one hand the times she'd been left speechless. It was worrisome when she had nothing to say.

"Kagome, tell me." He barked, feeling both impatient and worried, as he waited for her to speak. She huffed and put her hands on her hips, a gesture he'd seen a thousand times before; he braced himself, half-expecting her to utter that damned phrase that would send him face down into the dirt. But it did not come. He opened his eyes and to his shock, her brown eyes were sparkling with tears. "Aw, Kagome don't cry. I'm sorry I was reckless and worried you but I-"

"InuYasha!" She interrupted him, her voice a little sharp, her eyes widening and then falling closed as she sighed. "I'm not crying because of you." She went on to say, jutting her chin to the side, another gesture he had seen in her hundreds of times before. "I'm not crying, either." Her stubborn attitude brought a grin to his face as he watched her angrily swipe at the remnants of her tears, erasing them from existence. "I have to tell you something." She turned back to him then, pinning him with her gaze, a look to her eyes that he had never seen before. Now he did feel a little bit worried. Something to tell him? What… what did she have to tell him? Just say it, Kagome told herself, repeating the words over and over again. Just tell him and get it over with. She took a deep breath and before she lost her nerve, she blurted the words out. "I'm pregnant."

For several long moments there was nothing but silence. InuYasha, in an attempt to understand what was just said to him, blinked and reached a hand up to rub the back of his head. Kagome was… Pregnant? "Pregnant!" He suddenly cried out, everything hitting him at once; now it all was making sense. He recalled the two pregnancies he had witnessed with Sango and how some of what she had suffered through Kagome seemed to be going through too. He recalled how he had forced her home after weeks of on and off again illness, of how she'd complained of the taste of something she had once enjoyed, and how she'd gone to sleep earlier most nights than ever before. If she was pregnant… Than that meant… That meant he was going to be a father. A father! Without warning, a surge of joy rushed through him and he took her by the waist, swinging her around as a laugh escaped her. As he set her back down onto her feet, he took her into his arms, holding her close to him, his face buried in the top of her head. All his life he had longed to be accepted, had longed to have a family to call his own. One by one, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango had come into his life to form a family with bonds unlike any he had ever experienced before. But there was nothing in comparison to the bond he had with Kagome and nothing meant more to him than her. Although, now there was something else of equal importance. He could hardly believe it yet. "Pregnant." He repeated, a little softer this time, his face full of tenderness as his hands traveled down towards her abdomen, which now that he put his hand to it, he could feel the slightest swell to it.

He had thought his life had only just begun when she returned to him a few months ago, after her three year absence. He had thought there would be nothing to ever top the feeling he had gotten when he put his hand into the well and her hand had taken hold. He had thought he'd never find something better than catching her scent along the wind as she reappeared in this era for the first time in years. But in truth, this topped all of that. Knowing they had a child on the way, a child of their own making, a child born from the love that they shared… He grinned, leaning down to kiss her, once again pulling her close to his chest. Now, their lives were truly to begin. Now, they could take their first steps toward tomorrow.