Chapter 4: Father, Son Time

Inuyasha awoke to someone bouncing on his bed and quickly grabbed Shippo to prevent him from landing on Kagome as she slept soundly. He quickly quieted the fox demon down and urged his out the door following him into the kitchen.

"Inuyasha. I feel alone. I know that Kagome's important to you, and I know that you worry about her but I'd like to have some time alone with you." Shippo's head drooped. "I know I'm being selfish but I really want some attention too."

Inuyasha slapped himself in the face. Of course Shippo wanted attention. He was a kid and used to being the center of attention and now with everything that had gone on he'd been kicked to the curb.

"Shippo." Shippo looked up at Inuyasha. "I'm the one who should be sorry. Of course you want attention and you shall get it. I'll ask Kagome when she wakes up but I'm sure she'll agree in the meantime do you want some pancakes?"

Shippo smiled and quickly tried to pick up one of the chairs to help. Inuyasha smiled at the child's antics and let him help make the pancakes when he could. As Shippo stirred the batter, Kagome walked out of their room stretching. Inuyasha walked over to her and pulled her into a hug and a passionate kiss.

"Hey love." Kagome told him with a smile. "What's up?"

"We've got a problem." Inuyasha told her. "Shippo here feels ignored."

"Because of me and the babies!" Kagome exclaimed sad and angry at herself. "Shippo dear…"

She walked over to him and hugged him tightly to her body. "It's ok momma." Shippo told her hugging her back with a smile. "I understand. I just wanted you to know what I felt so you weren't out of the loop."

"So I had an idea. And since there's no way in the world I'm letting you go camping in your current condition…" Kagome folded her arms across her chest and pretended to pout after Inuyasha had said this. "You know Sango and Miroku would kill me, and anyway. It'll give Shippo and I some… What do you call it? Guy bonding time."

"Hmm." Kagome seemed to really be thinking about this plan of Inuyasha's. "You promise he won't get hurt?"

"Maybe a few cuts and bruises but then that's stuff I can't control."

"And you promise to protect him?"

"With my life Kagome. He's important to me too you know."

"Well I see no problem with it." Kagome hugged Shippo a little tighter and picked him up, walked over to Inuyasha and hugged them both. "I'm gonna miss my big men while their gone. But I think it's a good idea and I can promise I'll be careful."

Inuyasha smiled and after giving everyone some waffles and telling Sango ad Miroku the plan he got the camping supplies packed and put them in the car while Shippo tried to pack everything he'd need for the camping trip into one small suitcase.

Kagome was happy that her two loves were going to spend time together, and it wasn't that Inuyasha wouldn't protect Shippo, Kagome knew he would, but she felt a little alone at the thought of staying with just Sango and Miroku. It was nothing against them. They were great friends and nice people but they weren't her family. Her family was small but strong and the only two people besides herself were leaving for a week.

While that wasn't a lot of time true it seemed like an eternity to her as they got more and more packed up it started to hit her and she sat in their room and cried. She wasn't sure when Inuyasha had come in, or when he had wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug all she knew was it felt like she was losing him. She blamed the stupid hormones for that.

"We don't have to go Kagome." Inuyasha told her calmly rubbing her back gently. "We can stay here if that would make you feel better."

"No." Kagome told him with a sob. "You and Shippo should go. He disserves it."

"But?"

"But I feel like I'm gonna be alone ad I know I'm not I'm gonna have Sango and Miroku but it feels like forever since I'll see you again."

Inuyasha hugged her tighter than before and Kagome hugged him back sobbing on his chest. When Shippo entered the room he hugged his mother's leg.

"I'll be ok momma. Please don't cry." He told her in his soft and quiet voice.

"Oh Shippo." Kagome pulled out of the hg with Inuyasha and picked her son hugging him tightly. "Mommy knows that. She's just having to deal with these pesky things known as hormones."

Shippo looked at Kagome confused and closed his eyes as Inuyasha ruffled his hair roughly. "Go get in the car shrimp." He told him and Shippo looked at him confused. "I'll join you in a minute."

Shippo was set down gently and skipped off to the car while Kagome looked at Inuyasha tears in her eyes. "Promise me you'll keep yourself safe. That you won't do anything stupid that makes it so you get hurt."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak but closed it upon nothing coming out of it and nodded yes. Kagome pulled him into yet another strong hug then as she saw him off and watched the car go, she knew that it wouldn't be long before they were enjoying themselves and Kagome couldn't help but smile. Her son was lucky to be going camping with Inuyasha. The dog demon had a sweet tooth a mile wide. They'd be eating junk food all week.

'Oh well.' She thought with a smile. 'I'll make them eat healthy when they come back.'

Inuyasha and Shippo stopped by the store to pick up food and Inuyasha was shocked at just how laid back Shippo could be when you weren't being mean to him, and picking on him. Like he so often did. Shippo listened and if Inuyasha told him to stay with the cart he did. He didn't go off and pet the animals that were nearby, no he stood there by the cart like his feet were cemented to the floor.

When Inuyasha came back to the cart and they continued on Shippo stayed right by his side as if he were attached with a leash. He went to the check out and as the bags were handed to Shippo he put them in the cart. That was until the heavier bags where he struggled to pick them up but still tried to put them in the cart.

"I'll get those Shippo." Inuyasha told him grabbing the bags that were too heavy for Shippo to pick up. "Thank you." He told the cashier as they left the store and headed out to the car.

As Inuyasha drove towards the campsite, he knew they'd be there late at night so he was prepared to sit for a while. Shippo however sat in his car seat and looked down at his toys but seemed to be thinking things over. Inuyasha looked in his review mirror and saw this.

"Shippo. You ok back there?" Inuyasha asked him and saw him nod no before he looked at the road again. "What's wrong?"

"Is… is Momma going to be ok?" Shippo asked hesitantly.

"Course she will be! She's got Sango and Miroku with her doesn't she?!" Shippo nodded yes solemnly. "Ok then. You have nothing to worry about."

"But she was crying when we left. You sure she's gonna be ok Inuyasha?" Shippo whined a bit on the last part, he couldn't help it.

At this Inuyasha looked at the road and said nothing for a short time. He wasn't sure how to describe this to a young boy. And even if he did how did not stutter when explaining it? He looked back in the rear view mirror and saw how sad Shippo looked. He had to try. He had to try and explain what was going on. Shippo needed to know for his own sake.

"Shippo. Your mother is having a lot going on with her right now." Inuyasha felt weird referring to Kagome as mother, she was always Kagome to him. But to Shippo he was her mother. Inuyasha hoped his voice didn't reveal that it was unusual for him. "She has Sango and Miroku's kids to feed and care for…"

"I thought they were in her tummy." Shippo interrupted Inuyasha now confused, were they not in her tummy? Then why was her tummy growing more and more every month?

"Yes they are Shippo, but she still has to feed them."

"How?"

"Well the babies are in her tummy growing. When Mommy eats something it goes to the babies too. In short your mother is eating for three."

"So is that why she's getting fat?" He asked innocently enough but Inuyasha bit back a growl. He was still a pup he didn't know any better he reminded himself.

"Yes that's why. But the babies are growing inside her as well so she gets tired and has all those complaints."

"Like swollen ankles?"

"Yes. Like swollen ankles. And during all this Mommy's body is releasing these things called hormones."

"What are hormons?"

"They are what tell you when to get up, and when to tell your stomach to growl."

"Like when I need to get up during the night to go pee?"

"Yes. But during this time with Mommy she has all this going on and her hormones are a bit out of balance."

"Out of balance?"

"Yes. So when she might normally be able to control her anger, and her sarcasm, and her tears she can't right now because of the hormones."

"So like when she was sick to her stomach and when she yells at you then sobs is because of these "hormons?"

"Hormones. Yes." Inuyasha laughed out at Shippo's failed pronunciation.

"So she was crying before we left because of these hormones things?" Shippo asked making sure to say hormones right. "And she wasn't actually sad?"

"Well she was a bit but that wasn't the sole reason she was crying. We're her family Shippo. We're all she's got and it's hard in general to watch your family leave. But it's REALLY hard to watch your family leave when you're pregnant."

"Oh."

With that the talking was over and by the time they reached the campsite it was dark. Inuyasha got out of the car and walked over to Shippo's car seat trying to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake the sleeping kit. However luck was not on his side because as soon as he unclipped Shippo's seat belt the kit woke up some, not completely but some.

"Daddy." Inuyasha almost dropped the kit at being called daddy because Shippo had never called him that of his own free will. He had never earned daddy for Shippo it had always been Inuyasha. "Where are we?"

"We're at the camp site." He whispered to Shippo. "Try to go back to sleep Shippo it's late."

Shippo grabbed onto Inuyasha's bright red T-shirt and snuggled into his warmth closed his eyes and fell back to sleep. Inuyasha gently set the kit down in the tent that he had set up before he went to get Shippo and got the rest of the stuff out of the car. As Inuyasha finally lay down beside Shippo to sleep he moved the hair out of his eyes and for the first time thought of Shippo as his real son and not the son of his wife. Shippo was his son and that thought coupled with the amazing feeling of it sent him into a deep and peaceful sleep.

When Inuyasha awoke he was being gently shook by Shippo. "Daddy. I have to go potty."

Inuyasha groaned as he wanted to sleep more but woke up and lead Shippo to the bathrooms where he went to the potty and then they both headed back to the tent to get some much-needed sleep. As they lay down for the rest however Inuyasha had just gotten comfy in his sleeping back holding his son close to his body when Shippo called him in a whisper.

"Daddy?"

"Hmm?" He mumbled half asleep.

"I love you. And thanks. For taking me camping in the first place."

There was a silence that lasted a few minutes. "Your Welcome. Son. Your welcome. Now can we please get some sleep?"

Shippo smiled and nodded and they both crashed into dreamland. When they woke up next time the sun was out and nice warm air greeted them. Inuyasha pulled out some of his favorite food of all time… ramen. He used the battery powered camping stove to heat up the water in the kettle and gave Shippo his ramen first before he poured the water into his.

"Wait for it to cool down some son." Inuyasha warned him as Shippo was about to take a bite and set it down gently. "Besides the noodles need to get softer before it tastes really good."

Shippo waited and eventually ate the ramen thanking Inuyasha. They had a great time playing games such as hide and seek and find the half demon. Any the week went by quickly for them. The same could not be said for Kagome. Every day seemed to take forever to pass by and end and with Sango pregnant with her third baby, she was just starting to get the morning sickness and it was hard for Kagome to be around her because the smell was so intense.

By the time they returned home Kagome couldn't be happier and wasn't shocked at all to see Inuyasha say good night to his "son", as Kagome had expected this. But upon Inuyasha entering their room she fell into his arms and cried for what felt like an eternity.