Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I need a life

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"Drive faster, dammit!"

"I'm already speeding! What will I do if a cop sees me?"

"Speed up!" Inuyasha felt Kagome shift slightly. She moaned and clutched at his shirt. Her eyes fluttered, but didn't focus. "We're bringing you to the hospital, Kagome."

She pushed herself upright and shook her head. "No, not the hospital. The hospital will … send me … home …" She collapsed back onto his chest.

Inuyasha stared straight ahead for a moment, calculating. "Turn around," he said.

"What?" Miroku looked at him like he was crazy, swerving around traffic. "The hospital is this way."

"I said, turn around!" Miroku shook his head and pulled a u-turn across two lanes of traffic. "Now turn left up here." He pointed Miroku away from the main streets and into a quiet residential area. They pulled into the driveway of a small, undistinguished house. Inuyasha got out of the car clumsily, carrying Kagome in his arms. He went up to the door and rang the bell.

After a long moment, an elderly woman opened the door. She ushered them inside and sat Miroku in a chair next to the door. "You, bring her in here." She led him into a small bedroom, furnished with only a bed and a table. Inuyasha put Kagome down on the bed and then he was kicked out of the room.

He wandered back to the front door and took a seat next to Miroku. "Where are we?" Miroku asked him.

"This is Kaede's house. It's a hospital. But she doesn't worry about what the law says she should do and she only takes cash." He leaned back and closed his eyes. "I used to have to come here a lot when I was younger. We never had insurance after my father died, and I don't know how legal my mother's income was, and I used to get beat up all the time. But that was before my mom died. Then we were sent to the foster family and they got us real insurance and they made me stop fighting so much."

Kaede walked back out of the room Kagome was in. "So, boy, how'd you know I was still here?"

"I only assumed. But then I saw your garden so I knew it was still you here."

"And if I refused to take you in?" Inuyasha only smiled at her, for they both knew that she wouldn't turn someone away until she was sure they'd be all right. "So, then. Why are you here? Shouldn't you have sent her to a hospital? Or are you afraid of something?"

"She's afraid they'd send her home." Inuyasha said. Miroku nodded.

Kaede raised one eyebrow and sent him a look that clearly meant she wanted more. Inuyasha didn't answer. "Well, she'll be fine. She's extremely dehydrated. She's probably been tired recently, yes? And most likely having dizzy spells. And I think she was passing out and she hit her head, correct? The impact gave her a slight concussion, she'll be fine. I cleaned up her head, bandaged it up. She's got an IV in her right now, but she's going to need to be drinking a lot of water in the next few days to rehydrate herself." She pointed at Miroku. "You can go now." Kaede turned back to Inuyasha. "I know you won't be going anywhere, though. You're too stubborn for that."

It took a while before they convinced Miroku to leave, but finally he did, leaving Inuyasha behind. Kaede stared at him for a long moment. "Go ahead and check on her. When you're done you can come join me for some dinner. You remember where the kitchen is, I presume."

Inuyasha got out of the chair slowly and went into the bedroom. Kagome had been tucked neatly under the blankets. There was a railing on one side of the bed and her arm was strapped to it with an IV attached. She was pale, and she looked very young and fragile. The bandage around her head made a sharp contrast with her hair.

Inuyasha sat on the side of her bed and brushed her hair away from her face. "I'm glad you're okay," he whispered. "I can't stand to see you hurt." Inuyasha leaned forward and kissed her forehead gently while she slept. "Get better fast, Kagome."

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Kagome was uncomfortable. But when she tried to shift into a different position, she couldn't move her arm. She opened her eyes and turned slowly to find her arm strapped to a railing on the side of her bed. Her eyes followed the needle in her arm up to the IV drip.

She closed her eyes again and sighed. She had to be in a hospital. It didn't look like a hospital, and it didn't smell like a hospital, but there was no other explanation. Kagome sat up and started unstrapping her arm. She debated taking out the IV, but decided against it. She didn't want to hurt herself.

The door opened and a short, round, old woman walked in. "Good morning, child. My name's Kaede. Would you like me to take that out for you, now?" She pulled the IV out carefully. "Now, how's your head?"

Kagome reached up and felt the bandage wrapped around her forehead. "Oh. It's fine."

Kaede patted her shoulder. "You hit it on the table when you fell. It's ok. You'll be fine. A bit dehydrated, you were. Take better care of yourself. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids. I never want to see you again, you hear?"

Kagome nodded. Kaede smiled at her and left the room. Kagome went over to the window and looked out over a large vegetable and herb garden. A line of flowering bushes outlined the edge of the yard, and a couple of butterflies hovered among the flowers.

"Kagome." She turned, smiling as she saw Inuyasha in the doorway. He crossed the room to stand in front of her. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Where am I? That's such a nice garden. This isn't a hospital, is it?" She stopped, looking up at Inuyasha's face. "What's wrong?"

He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a tight hug. "Don't ever do that again. I was so worried about you." Kagome's eyes were wide. "And you scared Shippou and Rin to death." Kagome gasped. He could tell by the look on her face that she had forgotten. Reluctantly, Inuyasha let Kagome go. "Rin actually talked to me. She called. I couldn't figure out who it was at first."

"I'm sorry." Inuyasha smiled at her.

He pulled out his cell phone and called Miroku. "Hey, you want to pick me up? No. No. Get your ass over here, and then you can talk to her all you want." He hung up. "Here, come on out of here. I need to go talk to Kaede. Then we'll go home."

Kagome went out into the hallway. There was a bulletin board, covered with pictures. Most of them were children. She pulled one picture out from where it was half buried under a group of children with a turtle. Two young silver haired boys smiled up at her. The younger one was getting a piggyback ride.

Inuyasha walked up behind her and took it out of her hands. "You don't need to look at that."

Kaede took it from him and smiled. "I remember Sesshoumaru. He was always so quiet. This was one of the only smiles I ever saw of his." She handed it back to Kagome. "Take this with you. I have another copy somewhere." She shooed them out of her house and waited with them on the step.

Miroku showed up in a few minutes, Sango following him in Inuyasha's car. He ran up and gave Kagome a hug. "How are you feeling, Kag-kun?"

She smiled at him and Sango. "I'm fine." Once Miroku was convinced that Kagome wasn't going to die on him, they said goodbye to Kaede and left.

Kagome settled into the front seat of Inuyasha's car and sighed. Inuyasha glanced at her and smiled. "Happy to be going home?" She nodded. "Good. You look tired, still. Go back to sleep, I'll wake you up when we get there." Kagome happily closed her eyes and was asleep within moments.

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AN: Yay! Another chapter! I hope you all liked it! I'm sorry to keep you waiting so long, but my Internet was down for a while, and then I was just lazy… yea I'm pretty lazy. But here it is, I'll try to keep writing, ok?

AN: I'm sorry that I have to say this, but I'm afraid that I have to. For the record, Kagome's a virgin, okay? She does not have any STD's. She's only 16, guys. Kagome's a good girl.