Surprise, Surprise
Post-Manga; They've been counting the months for this moment, but no one could have expected that the time had come for this particular event. "Close your eyes, Inuyasha."

"I'm pregnant."

Soon after Kagome had said those two words to Inuyasha, there was a moment of silence between the two. A little part of them would have guessed that Inuyasha would've flipped his lid, but he didn't really have any excuse for that since it was pretty much their goal to get her pregnant. The actual reason for that moment of silence was the sheer joy in Inuyasha. No matter how much they had planned this a while ago, this had really surprised him.

So he replied to her saying, "Don't kid with me Kagome."

"I'm not," She confirmed, her tone sounding a bit annoyed right now. Was he having second thoughts about this? No, actually he was recalling every moment he could remember in his life up to now. He remembered that ever since he was little, people always told him that he'd end up lonely and bitter. His mother always soothed him and reassured her beloved son that he would find "the one" some time in his life and he would not end up alone. Unfortunately, his mother's caring words had ceased to exist as soon as she had too. As time grew, so did Inuyasha. After that time, he thought that he had found "the one" his mother assured him that he'd find one day when he met Kikyo. But no, life had found yet another way to screw him over and as soon as that arrow had been drawn from its quiver, he confirmed to himself that he may never find someone to stay by his side.

And then, Kagome entered in his life.

It was an accident really, and we all know that story. When he first met her, he had completely given up on love and only sought after power. But as time passed by, their relationship grew and so did his affections for her. Over that time, she had taught others to accept him and in turn, him to accept others. He formed friendships he only dreamed as a child. She taught him that it was okay to shed tears for others. But most importantly, she accepted—no, loved him for who he was. At first, he only thought that only his mother and Kikyo had done so and Kikyo didn't even truly fit into that category as she convinced him to turn human instead of a full demon if he had ever made a wish on the Shikon Jewel. On top of that, Kagome was the only person that had brought him out of his full demon form.

For decades and even centuries, he thought he'd remain a lonely and bitter half-demon, but Kagome had proven him wrong through her unconditional love for him. And now, she was carrying his child.

Kagome frowned at his silence. "Don't tell me you're having second thoughts about this."

"Of course not! Why would you think that?" He retorted.

"Well, for one thing, the long silence from you," Kagome pointed out.

Inuyasha huffed. "It's only because I'm surprised. Can't I express my feelings differently from others?"

"Of course you can, but what are you so surprised about?" She asked before chuckling and nudging him lightly. "Is it the fact that you got me pregnant?"

Inuyasha glared at his mate, but his glare softened. "It's more of the fact that I got to where I am now at all. Growing up, I was constantly being told that I'd never truly find happiness, but now... I'm gonna be a father."

But, that was around nine months ago. Now, Kagome was looking over at her husband, who was cradling their newborn pup in his arms gently. She recalled just a couple hours ago, that she was having a long awaited talk with Sango before she felt that he water just broke. Soon after that, Sango and her kids had rushed Kagome over to the birthing hut.

The labor process wasn't too long ago, but it had all been happening so fast that Kagome didn't even remember half of what was going on. But sometime after their daughter had been born, Inuyasha had arrived to greet them both.

As she watched Inuyasha whisper to her daughter, she recalled the conversation they had months ago. When he had he was surprised at how he ended up being a father despite what he had gone through, Kagome couldn't help but agree with him.

"What do you mean you're surprised too?" He asked her rather defensively.

"Well, when we first met, neither of us were really fond of each other," Kagome pointed out. "Plus there's the fact that you were really immature."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "I don't see where you're going with this…"

"I'm just trying to say that I'm just as surprised as you are," At this, Inuyasha's expression softened. "Hm… now that I think about it…"

"What is it?"

"It's nothing, a thought just passed over."

And how that thought had stayed with her.

In fact, that certain long-awaited talk with Sango was about that certain thought, which was more of a decision, really. The time carrying Inuyasha's child was enough time for her to make her decision about it. But when she had finally decided, she had to tell Sango about it. And let me tell you, her kids were just as shocked as she was. They even complained about it for a while before Kagome told them why it was the right decision.

"So," Inuyasha spoke up. "Have you decided what to name her?"

Kagome nodded and smiled at him. "I have."

Just so you know, this wasn't the decision she had to think over. During the time she was pregnant, she and Inuyasha made a compromise of who would get to name their child. They had agreed that if their child was a girl, Kagome would get to name her and if their child was a boy, Inuyasha would. And as soon as they confirmed this, Kagome knew exactly what to name their daughter.

"Izayoi," And at this moment, Inuyasha confirmed to himself that his mate will never fail to surprise him. "Today being the sixteenth night is completely coincidental, but the actual reason why I decided for her name to be Izayoi is because I know she'll be just as kind and loving as your mother was. And if it wasn't for her, I think none of us would've been here."

"Kagome," Inuyasha bent down and kissed her. "Thank you."

"Also," Kagome began to sit up. "Close your eyes, Inuyasha."

And so, he did. "Now, open them," When he did, he was greeted by Kagome's smiling face as she held the beads of subjugation in her hands. "I don't want to accidentally sit you when you're holding Izayoi, so I decided to take them off."

Inuyasha was speechless and flinched when she said sit, so Kagome continued. "But if you give me just one reason to put this back on you, I won't hesitate to do so."

Again, she could never fail to surprise him.

A/N: Oh gee, I've been so out of this fandom in a while. (And how I've missed it...) I'm really sorry if anyone seemed OOC. Especially Inuyasha, but I wanted him to be a big ol' softie because one, he's a father! And number two, he just got the beads off, he does not wanna risk it going back on. Also, I thought about putting an extra showing him punching Shippo to get the beads back on him, but I decided against it because having the kid made him go all soft. But he's still arrogant as ever, don't you worry. And knowing him he will get those beads back on.