Again I am so sorry it has taken me forever to update. I was recently living in New York, and have been too busy to keep writing and of course there is always the writer's block... Anyway, thank you so much for the reviews and the encouragement to keep going.
Let me know what you think! Thanks everyone!
~~~~ Chapter 2: The Unthinkable
Kagome could hardly bring herself to truly comprehend what just happened to her. As she was sitting in the staff break room all by herself she kept replaying the events of her day, so consumed in her thoughts she didn't notice the break room door open or close as a fellow co-worker came for their 15 min break.
"Kagome, Dear? Are you alright?"
Pulled from her thoughts, she brought her attention to an elderly woman whom she always was a grandmother type of figure for her since her very first day.
"Keade! Yes… yes I'm well thank you." Kagome smiled, doing her best to hide the distress that was clearly showing on her face.
"My child, I'm afraid I'm not buying into that today. I've been around the block more than once to know when a woman has something weighing heavily on her mind." Keade reached out a wrinkled hand to pull out a chair from the table and sat across from the lone occupant in the room. Closing her eyes slowly, she brought the cup of coffee to her lips and took a small sip before setting it down.
"Now tell me, what happened? Yesterday you were your bright and smiling self, and now… I feel like I'm not looking at the same Kagome Higurashi that walked through those hospital doors and turned this place upside down." Concern filling Keade's voice.
Knowing she was no longer able to hide from this woman who seemed to know everything, Kagome took a deep breath, and began to tell her about her day.
"When I got here for my shift, I received a message that Dr. Yamada wanted to see me…."
Kaede just sat there and listened patiently as she was told of the girl's concern. But she was not expecting to hear what came next.
"The man that I saw in the hospital bed is my ex-husband's, brother. Sesshoumaru Taisho." Inhaling another breath, she mustered the courage to look at Kaede in the eye. Her silvery-white hair was pulled into a tight bun. Eye brows furled together, and a patch covering her left eye, casting her right eye down. Thin tight lips were curved into a slight frown. Even though Kaede was missing an eye, Kagome could clearly see that Kaede was in deep thought.
Several moments passed, making it seem like an eternity before Kaede finally spoke.
"So what will you do?" asked Kaede, piercing into Kagome's eyes.
"I… I don't know. I mean... Sesshoumaru has been nothing but nice to me, but what if…" Bowing her head down, Kagome felt absolutely helpless. As a nurse, it is her duty to take care of anyone, but her personal life, from all that had happened, was holding her back.
Reaching across the table, Kaede took Kagome's hand in hers. "What if your ex-husband was to show up? What if everything in your life shatters? What if? What if? My child, take it from a woman who has lived more than her share in her lifetime. You can't base your life on 'what if'. By doing so, you take yourself away from what life is. Life is a learning experience. Do we fall and scrape our knees? Yes, we do. Wounds heal over time. They help us learn and grow. The Kagome I have known for these last few years doesn't let anything weigh her down. The Kagome I know is always willing to help anyone, no matter what." Giving a squeeze to Kagome's hand and a reassuring smile, Kaede stood up to leave.
Turning around to face the young woman one more time before exiting, Kaede spoke softly. "You will do the right thing, no matter what you chose." Without another word the older woman left, leaving the lone occupant to ponder more without interruption.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Walking down the halls of the ICU, Kagome came to the last door. The rest of the afternoon she had tried to busy herself by doing other duties, such as checking up on other patients under her current watch. Now she found herself at the door of the patient she had been procrastinating to check in on. Sesshoumaru Taisho. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the room, noticing only silence and the faint sound of the heart monitors beeping, alerting all medical technicians of his vitals.
Crossing the room to the bed, she picked up the file with his information. Glancing it over, she found no problems and some improvements in the last couple of hours.
She couldn't help but pull her eyes away from the paper in front of her to the man lying in the hospital bed. His long silver hair sprawled around him as if it were a halo. Some bruising had taken place, marring the perfect complexion of his face. Still with the tubes, and other things attached to his body, she found him to be as serene as ever.
A soft chuckle escaped from her, as she recalled all of the times he had helped her…
*flashback*
Why oh why did this always happen to her? Sure she was clumsy, but really? Earlier there had been laughter, now here she was on the verge of tears.
'Idiot... Idiot… only you' she thought to herself as she hugged her knee close to herself protectively. Her and Inu Yasha had come home from school that day and began playing a game of tag at his house. She was it, as always.
Racing to catch him, she stumbled and scraped her knee and was now holding it to bring herself comfort as Inu Yasha only laughed and ran off. Of course… what do you expect from a ten year old?
Mentally cursing herself, she fought back the tears that began to fill her eyes. Slowly standing, she headed inside, hoping someone would help her with her current predicament.
"Mrs. Taisho? Mr. Taisho?" she called as she entered the house.
Silence… 'Anyone?..' walking through the house, she headed straight into the kitchen in hopes to find a first aid kit.
Entering the kitchen she saw the refrigerator door opened with someone hiding behind it.
"Hello", she asked hesitantly. A head popped out from behind the fridge door, revealing her playmates older brother, Sesshoumaru.
"What do you want", He asked with that 'hurry and tell me so I can continue on with my life' sort of way that just made Kagome shrink back.
"I…I scraped my knee… do you have a band aid?" She couldn't help but feel so intimidated by him. He was tall for his age, and was 4 years older. He always seemed so mature for his age.
Pursing his lips together, he stepped away from the fridge and walked towards her. "Let me see it."
She held her leg higher as he bent down to get a better look. "Sit down, I'll be right back." Without another word he left the room for a brief second before entering with a clean towel and bandages.
She sat there as he cleaned and dressed her wound. She was watching him be careful with her, as if he would hurt her more if he wasn't gentle. After a few more moments she stood up and walked toward the sink without another word.
Feeling a bit sheepish and not knowing what else to do, she stood up, and walked in his direction. She offered him the only thing she could think of. Slowly, she wrapped arms around his waist.
"Thank you." She said genuinely, allowing her arms to fall from him. She turned and left the kitchen.
She was walking down the hallway when she thought she heard a voice, "You're welcome, Kagome." Quickly dismissing it as nothing, she returned outside to resume a game of tag.
*End Flashback*
Now here she is and it appears the roles have reversed. But could she do this? She never had any hard feelings towards him, but the resemblance between him and her ex-husband was daunting.
The sound of the door opening broke her away from her thoughts. She didn't know what to do with herself as she saw a very lively girl come bounding in followed by a short middle aged man.
"Rin, you hyperactive child! Calm down otherwise I will take you right back home." Screeched the man in a nasally voice.
Reacting out of natural instinct as a nurse, Kagome, in a professional manner, turned around and faced the man and little girl. She kindly asked, "Sir, please keep the noise down. We have patients here whom are trying to rest."
Embarrassed, he walked in and closed the door behind him, allowing Kagome to get a good look at him. Fairly short, came to just below her shoulders; large lips and big brown eyes. Hair was little to non-existent. He approached her and began asking questions concerning the gentleman in the bed just a few feet from them.
A little confused, she couldn't help but ask, "I'm sorry, but who are you? Technically I am only to speak to the patient's family."
He responded, "I am Jakan, Mr. Taishou's assistant. Now…"
"Is he ok", came a small fragile voice that sounded like it was going to break at any moment.
Both sets of eyes turned to look at the child standing by the bed, hands clasped in the hands of the silver haired man in the hospital bed.
Completely ignoring the man she was talking to, she walked over to the child, and knelt down. "What's your name", she asked trying to bring the little girls attention to her.
Hitching her breathe as she saw two amber eyes look her way with tears filling them. "I'm Rin. Are you going to take care of my daddy?"
Searching her eyes, there was no mistake. This HAD to be Seshoumaru's child. The eyes were a rare family trait, and contrast to the girls, long black hair made her look like a fragile porcelain doll. "I am going do my best", as she offered her a smile to give her some reassurance. At that moment the little girl launched herself into Kagome's arms, seeking comfort.
"It's going to be okay, I promise." Kagome wasn't sure exactly how it happened, but at that moment she would do anything for this little girl.
Giving one last good squeeze before letting her go, she stood up and turned towards the man standing behind her. "My name is Kagome, I'm the RN in charge of Mr. Taishou right now".
"How is he?" Jakan asked with concern in his voice.
Deciding to talk softly as to not upset Rin, Kagome drew in a long breathe and informed him about the wellbeing of a particular silver haired patient that was currently in her care.
"If you would like, I could have our head doctor come down here and go into further detail." She said, glancing towards Rin and saw that she was holding her father's hand tenderly.
"That would be most appreciative", Jakan said, shocked beyond belief that his boss was currently in such a state.
Nodding her head, "Go ahead and have a seat, I will go and get him for you." She turned to face the door to leave.
"Kagome?... Will you be taking care of my daddy?"
Frozen in her tracks, she didn't know how to respond. Spinning around, Kagome found herself looking into watery amber eyes. Her heart broke into a million pieces, to see the anguish this little girl was already faced with.
Trying her best to be optimistic, Kagome managed to force a smile onto her face to give reassurance.
"I'll make sure he gets the best help there is." Offering another smile, Kagome exited to room.
Standing outside in the hallway, she tried to gather together her thoughts. 'Breathe, just breathe. Kagome, you are doing the right thing.'
Continuing to walk down the hallway, she found herself at Dr. Yamada's office once again, and firmly knocked.
"Come in", came the permission she waited for, when she entered his office to find him surrounded by a mountain of papers.
"Hello Dr. Yamada." She politely said, as she entered and stood before his desk.
"Kagome! What can I do for you?" he asked looking over his glasses.
"I'll do it."
Okay I am going to stop here. Seriously please let me know what you think, for some reason I kind of struggled with this chapter.
Anywho! I'll update as soon as I can!
Thanks Y'all!