How long was she going to stay this way? She groaned and pulled the covers up and over her head after slamming her hand down on her alarm clock. Only after groping about her night table to do so.

When Sunday had rolled around, she had gotten sick. Seems her body had finally succumbed to all the stress and, stating in a way, 'enough was enough'.

"How are ya feeling?"

Kagome managed a groan at her aunt's soft question. Even with her eyes closed, shifting around made her head swim. Peeking at her aunt from under her thick comforter with bleary eyes, she took in her aunt's worried face.

"That great huh." her aunt walked towards her, sitting on the edge of the bed and pressed a cool hand to Kagome's forehead.

"That feels so good." her eyes fluttered shut.

Her aunt had been worried when she had just suddenly become sick, it didn't help that said aunt worked as a nurse on the hospital. As such, she pretty much knew if there was something going around, and while the change in weather was giving people the sniffles, there wasn't really much for anything making people sick.

"Your fever went down, but you still look rather pale. You're staying home today."

"But I already missed two days. And there's that conference thingy tonight at school." despite her own protests, Kagome snuggled down deeper into her bed.

"I'm sure after today, you'll be well enough to go back tomorrow. And as for tonight, with your grades up until now, you don't need to come. Never thought I'd hear the day a teen, under my roof, complain about missing too much school." her aunt's tone was playful as she swiped some sticky strands of hair from Kagome's brow.

"Can I at least go to pick up..." Kagome's question was cut short when her aunt gave her a stern look.

"Scott can pick your homework up, if that's what you were about to ask about."

"Alright." blinking bleary eyes, Kagome moved to look at her night table in a dazed fashion, scowling as best she could when she saw her water bottle was empty, the surface littered with used tissues, and a tipped over empty mug.

Shifting to sit up, Kagome gathered the used tissues and tossed them, her movements slow and sluggish. Returning back to the night table, she picked up the empty bottle and mug and made her way downstairs to make some more tea for herself.

Her aunt had followed after her, making sure she was able to keep herself upright or should she need anything. Even when sick, she and Scott had learned she still put others before herself. It worried them in all honesty, that despite her health she was still concerned with them and others, while she worried about herself last.

"You still don't look that great."

"If you ever see Allison sick, don't tell how crappy she looks. It'll only come back to bite you in the ass." her grunt at her cousin's comment on her appearance caused him to sheepishly scratch at the back of his head.

She shuffled into the kitchen pulling the tea out and leaving it next to the kettle. While waiting for the water to cook, she tossed her empty bottle away and grabbed a new one only to stand before the water cooker and sway lightly. Her aunt and cousin spoke quietly, trying not to aggravate her in any way.

Kagome offered a mumbled good-bye and wished them a good day as she made her way back upstairs, tea and water in hand and fully intending to sleep some more like her body was demanding of her. She would get some more sleep, trying to finish her tea first, and then later she would take a shower and wash the sweat from her fever away.

Scott was somewhat worried for Kagome. She had just gotten sick so suddenly on Sunday, and it had been three days since. Sure she seemed to be getting better, but still she had suddenly and out of nowhere gotten sick. And there had been no signs or symptoms before hand either.

Grabbing his stuff he headed his way towards school, promising to pick Kagome's homework after school. He would admit, it was kind of strange to be riding his bike alone to school, and not have Kagome there next to him. It hadn't been till yesterday for him to realize just how used he had gotten to her presence.

He wouldn't admit it it out loud, but the constant interruptions caused by Kagome's classmates had gotten kinda tiring yesterday as well. It was like they didn't believe each other had had to come to him to hear him repeat himself, that yes, Kagome was at home, sick.

Not only that, the alpha had killed again and this time, there had been witnesses. Jackson and Lydia. He was a killer, going against everything that werewolves did to keep themselves hidden. It didn't help that Derek was pushing him to help him track down the alpha, where said alpha was trying to force him into these killings.

Somehow, Kagome had known too. She had been sitting there, bundled up in her sweaters and an extra blanket, at his desk waiting for him when he returned from being out and learning what he could from Derek. He still felt lucky... and kind of like an ass, at seeing her worrying over him. She had first asked if he was alright, as well as Derek, and then what happened.

He had been upset when she had asked about Derek. Sure, he was either asking for his help or throw him in jail, so that may piss her off, not that he knew why. And the fact that he was trying to put the only werewolf that was willing to help him in jail, without trying to force him into killing others, was something she was constantly reminding him was a rather stupid idea, but he couldn't help it. For some reason, he was at odds with Derek, and having Kagome concerned for him as well did help matters either.

His mind was being tugged in different directions. Firstly of course was concern with Kagome, his odd standing with Derek, Alison, but now there was that curiosity with what Jackson and Lydia could have possibly seen the other night. He couldn't forget parent-teacher conference either. The closer he got to school, the more dread he felt from what would happen after the day ended.

That all flew out the window though when he not only caught sight of Allison's car, but her scent among the others as well, pushing her to the fore front of his mind. So he quickly rode up to the bike rack, locked up and made his way towards Allison.

He couldn't help but feel lighter the moment he saw her, but also far more grounded, more sane and normal as he got closer. His brows did furrow a bit when he caught sight of her locker, seeing balloons peeking out along with a ribbon that lead from inside her locker to a stray balloon floating high above her.

Taking the brief moment to see her reading a card, he quickly put two and two together, "Is it, your birthday?"

He watched as she jumped, slightly startled at his sudden question before answering him while trying to stuff the balloons back into her locker.

"No, uh, no." her hands pawed at the uncooperative balloons. "I mean, yes."

He chuckled lightly, both at her cute pout as well as the balloons barely staying in her locker like she wanted.

"Please don't tell anybody. I don't even know how Lydia found out."

The smirk he wore withered slightly, "Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"Cause I don't want other people to know. Cause... I'm seventeen."

If it weren't for his new abilities, he may have not caught that last bit at all. But he did, and he was slightly surprised too. He could feel the surprise, if not a small amount of shock playing on his face, "You're seventeen?"

"That's the reaction I'm trying to avoid."

"Why? I totally get. Uh... you had to repeat a year because of all the moving around you did. Right." it wasn't a question, but he sure as hell wanted to be right on this one.

Things were still unstable between him and Allison. And it had nothing to do with them together, just a lot of things around them weren't helping. Her father shooting him with an arrow was just one of them. And that was because her father was a hunter, someone that hunted what he now was.

She gave him a look, it was guarded, but held a bit of surprised too as she took him in on the spot. Most likely too see something, what, he wasn't sure. When she closed her locker door, did she finally smile, easing something inside of him at the growing silence after his quick statement.

The kiss she gave him was also a welcomed and much appreciated gesture, that he wouldn't mind having happen more often.

"What was that for?"

"For, literally, being the first person to ever make the correct assumption. Everybody's is always like; What, did you get held back? Did you ride the short bus? Uh, did you have a baby?"

He couldn't help but blink. Wow, talk about shallow and stupid, "That what you hear on your birthday?"

"Yup. All day long."

Letting out a sigh at her dejected look, he took in what she just said. Taking in her dejected form, something no one should look like on their birthday, and Allison at all, Scott spoke up without really thinking the consequences.

"Let's get out of here!"

"As in, skip school?"

"Why not?"

"I've never skipped school before, not even a class."

"Then, if we get caught, they'll go easy on you."

"What about you?"

"... Let's not think about that." he took a quick look behind him, seeing that the halls were still packed with students and now was perfect for them to get out. And quickly.

As they walked to her car, him constantly making sure no staff were watching, he told her to simply start the car and drive, that he would lead her to where they were to go. While doing so, he decided to call Kagome, he hoped he didn't wake her or disturb her. She was sick. He felt a small amount of jealousy at the fact that she wasn't required to go to the conference tonight.

Kagome nearly fell out of her bed, not realizing she had fallen asleep. Groaning as vertigo kicked in and the room spun, Kagome reached for the cause of her sudden wake up. Her eyes narrowed on her night table, seeing the time as she reached for her cell. It had been only an hour, maybe a little more since Scott took off for school.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kagome. I didn't wake you up did I?"

"Don't worry about it. Everything alright? Did something happen?" she was instantly moving, as quick as that was while she stumbled about in her sickly state, towards her closest to get changed.

"No! Everything's fine!"

Kagome paused mid step and mid reach for her closet door, bent somewhat awkwardly as she mentally caught up with what Scott just said. "You're fine?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to call to let you know that... I'm gonna be busy."

"Busy as in... how?" she shuffled backwards to sit on her bed, relaxing her body as best she could, her heart taking a moment longer to slow down.

"I'm spending the day with Allison."

"Skipping you mean. Is that really a good idea, especially with what's going on tonight?" sighing, she ran a hand through her hair, grimacing at the greasy feel. She'd be taking a shower after this call ended.

"I know."

Rolling her eyes at his bemoan, Kagome huffed before speaking up again. "Listen, do whatever you want. You're old enough, just be careful. If you know what I mean. And if anything happens, call. Have fun. Allison is really lucky to have you, and you're lucky to have her, so treat her well. Cause if not, I'll be your ass for her."

With that, she ended the call, not at all bothering to wait for his reply, and tossed it onto her pillow. Standing, she made her way back towards her closet, fully intent on taking that shower that she promised herself. She wanted to wash the sweat and sickness away, hoping that the shower would rid her of this damn cold. Three days of home sick was long enough in her opinion.

With her extra clothes tucked under an arm, she marched to the bathroom, and changed her mind. A nice hot bath sounded a lot more pleasing than a shower. While she would prefer a hot spring at the current time, there weren't any really in the neighborhood. It was times like these, that she not only missed them, but her friends in the past.

She would remember the promise that she made, that once she was done with schooling, she would return to the past. Live simpler lives, as simple as they could get in the Feudal Era where she was constantly hunted by human, youkai and everything else in between. On top of that, there were most likely still quite a few that sought after the Shikon. She didn't want to stick around to see their reactions to when they were told their searching had been for nothing and that the jewel was gone, forever this time.

Turning on the water, she waited till it was nice and hot, she put the stopper in the tub and let it start filling up. She added a bit of her own bath salts and oils, not a lot, just enough to catch a hint of their scent. A fresh scent of open fields while also being somewhat woodsy. She had come to appreciate the clean air of the past, so she was rather happy to be in a heavily wooded area. While the air wasn't as pure, it wasn't as polluted as Tokyo. She didn't realize how bad it was, till she had been stuck in the past for near a month before being able to return home.

Finally stripping down, she entered the steaming water with a hissed sigh. All she needed now was Sango. Her best friend, confidant, and most importantly, sister. They shared everything with each other. Sure it took a while for the slayer to open up after first joining their little rag-tag group, but once she did, she was fiercely loyal.

As Kagome combed her finger through her hair, absently dunking under the water, she wondered what Sango might tell and share with her about the current situation. Pushing herself back above the surface till only she could easily breath through her nose, Kagome pondered.

Sango might tell her to be wary, constantly be prepared for anything. No the enemy. But the problem was, she didn't know jack-squat about the enemy. Blinking, Kagome came to the realization, that she might have to call up Stiles, if not Derek, to tell her all they could about this so called alpha.

In her personal opinion, this alpha was a terrible one. Not only was he killing random people, but also endangering the lives of others while doing so. She might have to call Kouga to drop by again and explain in better detail what he could about wolf behavior in all it's forms. Wolf, demonic and werewolf alike.

Looking down at her hands, she blinked when she saw that they were starting to prune and that the water was starting to cool. With another sigh, she began the process of washing her self down, happy to be rid of the sweat and sickness that clung to her skin. And with one last rinse, she stepped out, thankful that she locked the bathroom door. Who knew, she might just get an unexpected visitor. There was that time Inuyasha barged in on her while she was in the bath.

Blinking, Kagome felt something click in her mind and had to let out a healthy laugh at the silliness to it all. Her life was constantly filled with canine beings of all kinds, and particular ones that seemed to enjoy using her bedroom window as a means of entering and exiting the house. It was almost like the front door was a taboo for them. Or doors in general.

Still smiling at the silliness of it all, Kagome got out of the tub and dried herself down, pulling the plug from the tub to drain it. Dressing into a set of clothes meant for nothing more than lazing around the house like she would be doing today, she was fully intent of relaxing and kicking this damn cold to the curb.

With that done, she went downstairs, fully intent on doing that, but first it was time to make herself some tea.

He was freaking out.

Lydia was high on meds because she was suffering some form of post traumatic stress due to the previous night, and he found out she managed to catch the alpha on her cell. Scott was skipping school, but the best part, he was no longer answering his cell.

"Hey it's me again." he began pacing his room, hoping that Scott would pick up this time, or at least call back soon. "I found something and I don't know what to do. Ok? So if you could turn your phone on, right now, that'd be great. Or else, I will kill you. Do you understand me? I will kill you! And I'm too upset to come up with a witty description of how I'm going to kill you, but I'll do it. Okay? I'mma... Arg! … Goodbye."

His grip tightened on his cell before he tossed it on his bed. Standing there for a moment he stared at his cell with frustration before spinning about and throwing himself into his chair and slouched at his desk.

Why was it, that Scott was always missing, when something important was going on? Unlike Kagome who...

He bolted upright at the sudden remembrance and slapped a hand to his forehead. "Damn it! Kagome! Why didn't I think about her before?"

Most likely because she hadn't been in for the last three days and then there was that murder last night, then Jackson didn't show up till later in the day whereas Lydia had been MIA, and lastly, he found out about Lydia's cell with the short clip of the alpha on it. It didn't help that Scott decided to skip on that particular day, where parent-teacher conference night followed closely after.

He practically dove for his cell from his chair and began dialing Kagome's number, mentally urging her to pick up immediately. He knew Kagome should at least know of this, and while Scott was being stupid or gaga over Allison to really think about other things, Kagome would know what to do with the information.

Letting out a frustrated growl when no one picked up, he redialed. She could be sleeping, for all he knew, she had been home sick for the last three days. Hell, she could be praying to the porcelain god. But when he redialed a third time, he picked up Lydia's phone and began playing with the idea of deleting the file before returning her phone.

"Hello?"

"Kagome! Thank god!"

"If you're trying to reach Scott, you dialed the wrong number Stiles. He's out skipping with Allison."

"No! No, no, no, no. I know all about Scott and his skipping with Allison. It's the reason I'm calling you. Something came up and it seems Scott turned his phone off, so I can't reach him." he waited as the silence from her end seemed to drag.

"When you say something important, are we talking about 'Stiles important' or real life important?"

"Real life import... Hey! What's that supposed to mean, 'Stiles important'?"

"You tend to find the oddest of things important." a soft cough followed her rather bored tone.

"I do not! Name one thing that I find important that others would think is odd?" he momentarily forgot the reason he called Kagome in his slight laps at being upset.

"Oh my god, you can't be serious. Well, if gay guys would find you attractive or not would be considered odd, unless you yourself was gay. Which you aren't, are you, so why ask."

"Are you saying you don't sometimes wonder if gay girls don't find you hot or not?"

"No Stiles, I don't. I have more important things to think about, than if I'm attractive to other members of the same sex." she cleared her throat before speaking up again. "Why did you call Stiles?"

"Right! I found something, and since I can't reach Scott, I need to talk to you about it."

"What is it?"

"There's a short clip of the al..." he was cut off when his dad walked into the room, making him hastily hide his phone away while also letting out a startled gasp.

"Please tell me I'm going to hear good news, at this parent-teacher thing tonight."

"... Depends on how you define good news."

"I would define it as, you getting straight A's with now behavioral issues."

"Might wanna rethink that definition." he quickly stuffed Lydia's phone into his pocket and pressed his own against his leg, when he heard Kagome's voice sound through the speaker.

"'Nough said."

He watched his dad walk away, already dressed up to attend to the conference. While he did feel a small amount of guilt for not doing well in school, or as well as his dad wanted him to do, there were more important things to do. Such as keeping his best friend alive, trying to figure out who this alpha was, and right now, get over to show Kagome what he found.

"Stiles? Stiles?! Everything alright? Are you still even there..."

"Sorry. Listen, can I come over? I really need to show this to you and get your opinion on this."

Kagome sighed, slightly miffed she had been suddenly put on hold when Stiles had been about to reveal what was so important. And now that he was back on the phone, he wasn't going to tell her. It must be rather important if he felt he could tell her over the phone in his own house.

"If it's that important, then yes you can come ov...er." she pulled her phone away when she got that tone telling her Stiles had already hung up on her, not ever waiting to let her finish.

First he calls her on her cell, if he knew he was at home sick, which he should seeing he was Scott's best friend, then why didn't he just call the house number? Then he called her cell two more times, only to leave her hanging that he had learned something important and then rudely hung up on her when she gave him the go ahead to come over.

She shifted when she heard some knocking at the back door. Blinking, she furrowed her brows in wonder. Did he call her, asking to come over, when he had been there the entire time?

"I swear to god, if you had been here the entire time..." her threat died after she took the person in who had knocked on the back door.

Blinking, she was mentally making sure she wasn't seeing things as she quickly swept her gaze from head to toe and then back up again. She opened and closed her mouth a few times trying to jump start a reaction of any kind. The cold medicine was at fault, she was sure of it. There was no other reason for the words that came out of her mouth next, or where her thoughts were currently going because of the sight she was currently taking in.

"You're not Stiles."

No, definitely not Stiles. Stiles didn't have dark, near black hair. Stiles didn't have thick black brows. Stiles didn't have dark, brooding gray eyes. Stiles wasn't even showing signs of stubble. And Stiles sure as hell didn't look as fit and tasty as the half naked Derek standing at the back door.

"Uh... why don't you come in." she stepped aside making room for him. All she could do was blink at the empty space he left behind as he took her invitation, her mind going around in circles about the way his muscles moved as he walked past her. She blamed Miroku and his perverseness for all of that. And should she blush at any time in Derek's presence, she'd blame the cold she was nearly over.


AN: I'm sorry for the long wait! D: I didn't mean to, it's just the episode this chapter corresponds with threw me out of the loop for the longest time. But I finally figured out how to get back at it, and all I can say is... some major Derek/Kagome time in the next chapter! Other than that, I really hope this makes up for the wait. ~ BunnyWK

Read, enjoy, and review!