Title: On the Table

Author: SakuraRyuu

Rating: T

Genre: AU, Angst, Comfort, Drama, Family, Friendship, Romance, WAFF

Characters: Inuyasha, Jii-chan, Kagome, Kikyo, Miroku

Author's Note: Inuyasha and all characters in this fan fiction are the property of Rumiko Takahashi.

Thursday found Inuyasha in a better mood than he had been in ages. He got his first good night's rest in over a week, his appetite had returned, and he felt as if there was finally a light at the end of the dismal tunnel Kikyo had throw him into with her news. Yesterday's meeting had done him a world of good, and knowing in just a few short months she would make him a father, then leave his life for good gave him hope. He was nervous over the prospect of being solely responsible for the lives she would leave behind, but he felt confident they would be ok.

Opening his briefcase he took out the envelope that held Kagome's proposal, and began to look it over. Coming to a decision, he dialed her business number from his cell phone and waited patiently for her to answer.

"Thank you for calling Studio 28. May I help you?" Kagome's voice was pleasant, and it brought a smile to his face.

"Hi, Kagome, this is Inuyasha."

"Oh, how are you? I was planning on calling you today about my proposal."

"Well, it looks like I beat you to the punch this time. Listen; there have been some changes we need to discuss. Are you busy this afternoon?"

Confused, Kagome was taken off guard. "Uhm, I was just heading out for lunch, actually."

"Perfect. I'll see you at the coffee shop in 30 minutes."

"Inuyasha, wait…" Kagome found herself talking to silence.

Dressed in a pair of slacks and a short sleeved shirt Kagome found herself back at the coffee shop to meet Inuyasha for a third time. She could feel herself getting nervous, and felt foolish for it. This wasn't a date; it was a business meeting to discuss changes to her proposal. So why was she looking so forward to seeing him again? Not having an answer she sat down at a table by the entryway, bouncing her leg as she waited.

Inuyasha was able to watch her as he walked up from behind her, and noticed her leg bouncing nervously. Struck again by her charm he approached the table and sat the envelope down.

"Hello, Kagome. It's been a while."

Taken by surprise she shot up from her seat, knocking her chair backward. Jumping back Inuyasha cringed as it crashed to the ground. "Well, it's good to know you haven't changed."

Laughing nervously, Kagome bent over to pick the chair back up and tuck it in under the table. "So, how have you been?"

"Fine, thanks. Busy. I had a few important issues I needed to settle before I could approach you again about your proposal. But we can get to that later. What do you feel like having for lunch?"

"Sushi? There's a great place just around the corner. They have a…"

"…a gangsta roll that's to die for, right?"

"You know the place? You must live around here, then."

"Actually, not too far. Sakura's is my favorite sushi place. Shall we?" Picking up the envelope, the couple walked in companionable silence to the restaurant.

They were tucked comfortably into a both a short time later waiting on drinks. "So, my proposal?"

"Right, straight to business. I thought you would want to talk about last Friday first."

"No, why would I want to do that?"

"Because we had a date, and I stayed home working on a four day drunk instead."

His confession made Kagome uncomfortable. "You don't owe me an explanation, although the one you've given me is scary. If that's how you like to spend your time, I'm glad you stood me up because that's not a situation I prefer to be involved with."

"No, that's not how I like to spend my time. Do you have time for a story?"

"Uhm, ok…" Kagome trailed off, unsure if she wanted to hear what he had to say.

Taking a deep breath, he began to tell a tale he was sure would make the woman scoot out of their booth, and walk away.

"I'll try to keep it short, only hitting on the important parts, ok?" She gave him a nervous smile he returned, and he began. "About 6 years ago I got married. It was good for a while. My wife got sick, and she was aggressively treated for cancer. Because we weren't sure if she would be able to have children after treatment we had 4 embryos created from her eggs and my sperm in the hopes of still being able to have children after she was well. Time went on, we grew apart, and the embryos were forgotten. In an effort to pull us back together I took some time off work and asked her to do the same. She refused, and I spent most of the time home alone. One afternoon I decided to surprise her at work with lunch and I found she was out of the office for an unspecified amount of time. So, I went home and waited for her. The rest of the week I had her followed, and I found she had taken a lover."

Pausing, he smiled at the waitress who had approached their table. As they placed their order, Kagome's mind was spinning. What a horrible story! She couldn't imagine what would happen next, other than divorce, she hoped silently. As the waitress walked away, Inuyasha turned his attention back to Kagome.

"I don't know what happened to her or when it started. But when I look at how she was when we married, then look at the greedy, mean spirited person she is now, I don't know her. Maybe she was always like that, and I just missed it. Anyway, the next day she went to work, and I had all her things packed and moved to her mother's, and had all the locks changed. When she got home none of her keys would work, and when I told her why she became livid. The day after that I filed for divorce, and spent a great deal of time redecorating my home to erase her, and I haven't dealt with her directly for the past 10 months. It looked like we were weeks from our divorce until she called me Wednesday afternoon. In a rather shrewd move she called to tell me she is pregnant with two of the four embryos. The entire situation became a living nightmare, and I went home to drink it away."

Accepting his glass of water from the returning waitress, he took a drink, licking his lips. The worst was out, he thought, and she hadn't run. It was promising, but he would have to finish and let her make her own decision.

"After I got off the phone with her I called my lawyer, then went home and started drinking. It was the first time in my life I was completely lost for what to do, and I lost myself. Yesterday we met with our lawyers, and hashed out the best deal we could, and in six months I'm going to be the single father of a set of twins, and a set of embryos. She will get a lot of money, and a house, and go away for the rest of our days. She used the babies as a paycheck. Once they are born healthy and a DNA test that says they are mine, she will get her money and her house. In exchange I will get my children, the embryos, and the divorce. Our only contact between now and the birth is my attending the doctor's appointments, and the birth itself. Once they're home I don't know what I'm going to do yet. Thankfully I have a little bit of time to mull that over. The most important thing is the details are settled and there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel."

Stopping to take a drink of his water again, he continued. "I'm still tied to her for another six months, then the babies after that, but is this something you think you can work through with me?"

"I don't understand what you're asking me, Inuyasha. I'm just a decorator. I'm not anyone important to you." Kagome was becoming very antsy, not understanding why the need for Inuyasha to tell her all these things over her proposal.

"But I think I want you to be important to me. I want to spend more time with you, get to know you, and see if we can be that important to each other. I find you charming, and listening to you plan out a project is interesting to me. You seem very well grounded and confident. I haven't seen anything about you I haven't liked so I'm inclined to see more. Here, let me tell you a secret." Inuyasha leaned across the table at her, and gestured for her to do the same. "Now that the worst is behind me, I want to do things that will make you happy, if you'll let me. Like taking you for your favorite sushi house for lunch, and meeting you at our coffee shop. I want to do some things you like to do so I can see you happy. And maybe I'll be happy, too."

"I tell you what, let's go over this proposal and the changes you want to make, and while I'm working on a new proposal for you, I'll think over what you said."

"That sounds fair enough." Inuyasha smiled, and settled back into his seat as their food was delivered.