Obligatory Disclaimer: The "Inu Yasha" series and its characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, Shounen Sunday, Viz, and other corporate types. I am none of those entities. I'm just a silly fan writing silly stories because it's fun. Suing me would only be a waste of time and funds, so please don't. Any original characters that show up belong to themselves. Just ask them.

Author's Disclaimer: Thoughts and opinions expressed in this work of fiction do not necessarily reflect those of the author.

Overall Rating: M

I CHOOSE NOT TO WARN!

This story contains material that may be disturbing or outright triggering to some. Reader discretion advised.

Two Plus Two
By Misarae

Chapter Thirty-Seven
Reunion

"Inu Yasha!"

Inu Yasha's eyes widened as two very familiar figures came barreling down the hallway of the hospital. He braced himself, knowing that Kagome wasn't about to stop. He caught her gently, even as he scowled down at her. "Are you trying to break your neck?" he groused, before letting relief seep back in. "How did you get here so fast?"

"I can answer that one," Naoki said, coming up alongside them. "The mating bond told us. Mom showed me how to 'find' you and Sachiko, and even my baby brother. Your spark and Sachiko's flared up super big and bright, so we just knew."

Kagome raised her head, still clinging to Inu Yasha's shirt. "Fortunately, Miroku-sama was with us, and he drove us right down to the airfield where Toutousai flew us here to Lanai."

"Toutousai?" Inu Yasha asked with a frown.

"He feels terrible about having flown Sachiko and her kidnapper here," Kagome said. "Now, where's my baby? Is she okay?" She started looking around, trying to crane her head around as if Sachiko would be right there in the hallway.

Inu Yasha backed up, bringing Kagome with him as he entered the currently empty hospital room. "She will be okay," Inu Yasha said firmly, knowing that although Kagome could feel Sachiko through the bond, hearing the words directly from him would help steady her. "She's down having x-rays done. Trust me, I wanted to go with her. Originally they wouldn't let anyone, but Sango pulled rank, so at least Sachiko is with someone we know. That's the only reason she's out of my sight."

Kagome trembled. "X-rays?"

"Her leg's broken in at least three places," Inu Yasha said. "Her kidnapper was.. not happy when Sachiko's mating mark appeared."

Kagome's eyes snapped up to his, fire burning in their depths. "Was it as you thought? Is it a woman, and is she a miko?"

The agony in Inu Yasha's eyes was overwhelming. "Yeah, she is. We were right."

"Where is she?"

Kagome's tone was full of rage, and Inu Yasha gently but firmly closed his hands around her upper arms. "Don't do anything stupid," Inu Yasha all but begged. "She's not getting away with this, even though she tried."

"What do you mean?"

"She.. tried to kill herself. We got there in time to save her life."

"So she's here, in this hospital."

"Kagome," Inu Yasha said as firmly as he could, "we just got Sachiko back. I do not want you to end up in jail. Our pups need us."

Kagome gave a shaky sigh. "I know, I'm just so furious right now."

"I know. Believe me, I know."

Inu Yasha felt a familiar pair of arms wrap around his waist from the side, and he brought his arm down to hug Naoki, too.

"Inu Yasha?"

All three turned toward the door to see Miroku and someone they didn't know standing right behind him. Inu Yasha shifted his stance, putting both Kagome and Naoki behind him as he bared his fangs at the strange youkai.

The unknown man held up his hands in a gesture of peace.

"Inu Yasha, Kagome, Naoki, this is Sango's boss, Aohara Ken. He is the one who deals with everything youkai-related in Hawaii," Miroku said.

Inu Yasha took in the man's long, stick-straight silver hair and ice blue eyes. "What does he want?"

"I normally don't get involved in criminal cases like this, but your family's situation is quite unique," Aohara said. "May I come in?"

Inu Yasha eyed him warily.

"Perhaps this would help." Aohara slowly took out his wallet and withdrew what appeared to be a photograph, then handed the picture to Miroku. "Show them, please."

Miroku nodded in understanding and crossed the distance, handing Inu Yasha the photograph.

Inu Yasha's eyes went wide, and Kagome's expression softened as she took in the image of the man before them standing next to what appeared to be a very old woman and a giant of a man who was well-muscled, but his face gave away his heritage at a glance.

"Your son is a hanyou," Kagome said.

Aohara nodded. "I bear no ill will toward hanyou. In fact, trying to imagine if a grandchild of mine were kidnapped, I know I would be just as on edge."

Kagome took the picture back and moved toward Aohara, handing him the precious object. "You understand our reaction, then."

"It's only to be expected. You've just recovered your daughter, and especially considering that your mate is inu hanyou, you're all going to be hypervigilant. I shouldn't have expected otherwise."

"We should probably wait until Sango and Sachiko are back," Inu Yasha said quietly.

Aohara gave him a curious look, but said, "All right." Then he turned his attention to Miroku. "Think we can get some chairs in here?"

Miroku nodded. "I'll see if I can charm the nurses out of a few."

"Just don't do anything that will make me have to lock up one of my best agents," Aohara replied.

Miroku sighed. "I am so misunderstood."

"Sachiko!"

"Ma.. mama!"

The nurse pushing Sachiko's hospital bed paused as Kagome leapt off the couch, adrenaline carrying her to her daughter's side so she could hug Sachiko tightly. "My baby. My sweet little baby. I missed you so much!"

"I missed you, too, Mama."

Sachiko hadn't called her "Mama" in quite a while. The backs of Kagome's eyes stung fiercely, but no tears fell, though her entire body shook from the force of her emotions. The pup inside her kicked fiercely in response, making Kagome gasp.

Then Kagome felt Sachiko's hands slip from around her neck, down to her stomach. Kagome leaned back just a bit, and Sachiko sniffled as she patted her mother's rounded abdomen.

"What's the big idea, getting so big on me?" Sachiko said, her as yet unborn sibling calming at her touch. "I'm glad to see you, too, pup."

"Sachiko?" Naoki asked, his voice trembling slightly.

Kagome stepped aside, and the nurse took the opportunity to wheel Sachiko the rest of the way into the room as Sachiko and Naoki stared at each other, as if somewhat uncertain that what they were seeing was real.

"Oi," Inu Yasha said as the nurse made to leave, "can I put her brother on the bed?"

The nurse looked uncertain for a moment, then relented. "Just be careful of her IV and monitoring wires."

"Thanks," Inu Yasha replied, then scooped Naoki up and put him on the bed next to Sachiko.

"Naoki!"

Naoki 'oof'ed as he was granted one of Sachiko's patented ferocious hugs, which he returned. Inu Yasha turned away, knowing Naoki wouldn't want him to call attention to the tears he could smell coming from both pups. He went over to Kagome, ushering her to the couch, and he could feel the way she was trembling.

"She's back. She's really back," Kagome whispered.

"She is," Inu Yasha confirmed, squeezing her hand.

Meanwhile, Sango had very quietly slipped back into the room, and now stood beside Miroku and her boss. She dashed a hand over her eyes.

"You okay, Sango?" Miroku asked, putting his arm around her waist and giving her a quick, sideways hug.

Sango nodded and took a deep breath. "I'll be fine. They're just giving me flashbacks."

"You've done an excellent job, Teramoto," Aohara said.

"Thank you, sir," Sango replied.

"Knock, knock!" a cheery, tenor voice sang out. Then the doctor blinked, taking in the sheer amount of people in the room. "Oh my, is there a party and I missed the invitation?"

Sachiko looked at him in confusion, and Kagome frowned in thought.

"If you know Japanese, it'll be easier. My wife and daughter don't speak English," Inu Yasha said.

The doctor blinked and looked down at the clipboard in his hands. "Oh, yes, of course. It's right here, haha. Sorry about that," he said, switching to Japanese and giving everyone an apologetic look. "I'm Dr. Akitoki Hojo. Or is that, Hojo Akitoki?"

Kagome gasped, scrutinizing the young man before her, but she quickly recovered. There was a slight resemblance to her ex-husband, but the doctor's demeanor was outgoing and quite American, rather than friendly but polite and subdued like Hojo-kun had been.

Akitoki caught her reaction, though. "Are you alright," his eyes flicked to the clipboard, "Higurashi-san?"

"I'm fine," Kagome replied, not quite willing to get into such a personal discussion with a total stranger. "You just remind me of someone I once knew."

"Ah, hopefully he wasn't a total jerk," Akitoki said with a grin. "Anyway, it looks like my patient is Higurashi Sachiko-chan." He turned his gaze on the girl in the bed. "Though it seems I've gained a second one."

"This is my brother, Naoki," Sachiko said, clutching Naoki's hand.

"Ah, yes, now I see the family resemblance."

Kagome blushed, and Inu Yasha's cheeks turned slightly pink. Naoki puffed up with pride as he kept a firm hold of Sachiko's hand.

"And you all are..?" Akitoki asked, turning toward the remaining people in the room.

Sango's boss rose to shake the doctor's hand. "I am Ken Aohara, FBI. This young woman is my colleague, Sango, and her husband, Miroku. They were instrumental in finding this fine young lady," he said, gesturing towards Sachiko.

Akitoki's eyes widened. "Ah, yes, I seem to remember hearing something about that. Well, then, I suppose you can all hear her results, if the parents have no objection?"

"No." "None," Inu Yasha and Kagome chorused.

"All righty, then. The bad news is, that's a pretty wicked broken leg you've got there, Sachiko-chan. If it were only the two breaks below the knee, we could put a cast on her and release her, but there's a very nasty break in her femur. It's going to require surgery."

"Surgery?" Kagome asked, looking a little pale.

Akitoki smiled reassuringly. "It's a simple procedure with minimal risk and scarring. Just two tiny cuts, so we can insert a couple of," he paused, as if translating not only from English to Japanese, but medical jargon to easily understandable common terms, "flexible titanium rods to help keep the bone steady while it starts healing. Kind of like a splint, but on the inside. She'll have to stay off the leg entirely for three to six weeks, but after that, we can get her in for physical therapy and such."

"Er, we're just vacationing here," Inu Yasha said. "We were only supposed to be here ten days, and we're already pushing things, having been here for three weeks so far."

Akitoki blinked, then replied, "Okay, well, the rods will have to come out in a year, so we'll have to transfer her records here to her regular doctor, if you'll give us that information?"

Kagome and Inu Yasha nodded.

"Good. Unfortunately, given the seriousness of the injury and in order to make sure she won't have any reactions to the titanium, we'll need to keep her for at least a few days post-surgery."

"Makes sense," Inu Yasha said. "Anything else?"

Akitoki flipped through the papers, then gave them another radiant smile. "Other than some dehydration and minor malnutrition, she's all right physically. I'm honestly not sure what your feelings on it are, but it might be helpful to get her a mental evaluation, all things considered."

Inu Yasha looked offended, but Kagome put a hand on his arm, keeping him seated.

"Thank you, Hojo-sensei," Kagome said.

"You're welcome," Akitoki beamed.

"Sachiko's not crazy," Inu Yasha hissed.

He and Miroku were in the men's room, the only place Inu Yasha could think of to go. He'd really rather discuss this with Kagome, but he also knew that Sachiko needed at least one of them there with her at all times. He didn't want to be separated from her, but he knew it would upset her. She had already been catching on to his nerves, and he needed to hash this out. He might not have known Miroku for very long, but Inu Yasha knew that the monk's heart was absolutely in the right place, and he would understand.

"Nobody said she was," Miroku said, with almost disgusting reasonableness.

"That doctor did!"

Miroku took a deep breath, understanding Inu Yasha's skepticism. He, himself, had felt the same way once upon a time. Then he learned how much counseling had helped both Sango and Kohaku after their ordeal. "No, he didn't. What he meant was that something like this is very traumatic, and can leave not only physical scars, but emotional ones. You told me that Sachiko is a very friendly, outgoing girl, yes?"

Inu Yasha nodded.

"But every time someone new has come into her hospital room, she grabs her brother's hand and looks to you and Kagome for reassurance."

Inu Yasha thought back, and realized Miroku was right.

"If it's just little things, maybe it will pass in time. Just keep an eye on her, and keep the option in mind," Miroku said.

Inu Yasha let out a gusty sigh. "That I can do."

Miroku put a hand on Inu Yasha's shoulder. "Good man."

Inu Yasha scowled, but didn't refute it.

"Is Papa coming back soon?" Sachiko asked. Naoki was still in the hospital bed beside her, but he'd decided to take a nap, obviously exhausted from the strain of the last few weeks.

"He'll be right back, Sa-chan," Kagome soothed. "He just needed to ask Miroku-sama something."

"Miroku-san and Sango-san.. they're good people, right?"

Kagome smiled and stood up, going around to the right side of Sachiko's bed so she wouldn't wake Naoki. She gently brushed Sachiko's bangs away from her forehead, silently promising herself she would trim the hair back to its usual bouncy, tapered style, rather than the more straight, severe edge Sachiko's kidnapper had given her. "Yes, they are." Sango and her boss had gone down to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat. "Aohara-san is, too. They worked very hard to try and help us find you."

"Okay," Sachiko said, her shoulders slumping a bit. Then she seemed to think of something else, her eyes widening. "You and Papa aren't leaving, are you?"

"Of course not," Kagome replied, stroking her daughter's hair. "We don't have to leave when visiting hours are over with. Sango-chan, Miroku-sama, and Aohara-san made sure of that."

"Where's Granny?"

"She's back at the condo, with Sango's pet nekomata."

Sachiko immediately perked up. "A nekomata?"

"Uh-huh. Her name is Kirara. She's cream-colored with black markings, and usually stays in an adorable kitten form. But if there's danger, she turns into a huge cat with two tails."

"I can't wait to meet her!" Sachiko said.

Kagome smiled, her hopeful heart beating painfully at seeing Sachiko's usual reaction to anyone new again. "I talked to your Granny on the phone, and she's coming for a visit tomorrow, but she can't stay for very long. Someone has to be in the condo for it to still be rented to us."

Sachiko blinked, then wiped her eyes as tears started to fall again. "I'm sorry I messed things up."

Kagome's hand stilled. "What on earth are you talking about?" she asked.

"The wedding. You and Papa were supposed to get married!"

"We still are," Kagome said firmly. "Besides, I thought you were disappointed we were getting married before completing our mating," she said, trying to cheer her daughter up.

Sachiko lifted her arm, her hand going around to the back of her neck. "I can feel it, but what does my mark look like?"

Kagome smiled, now knowing exactly what form the marks on her and Sachiko had taken. "It's two deep lavender darts, the tips going in towards each other. Your Papa said it's the crest of his father, and that we have his blessing."

"I wish I could have met him," Sachiko said with a sigh. "Him and Grandma Izayoi."

Kagome couldn't help it as her eyes misted over, and her smile grew wider. "From what your Papa says, they would adore you. I bet, wherever they are, they're so happy to have you as their granddaughter."

Sachiko reached out and gently put her hand on Kagome's stomach again. "Will my baby brother have a marking, too?"

"Yes, he will, from the moment he's born."

"You're so lucky," Sachiko said, leaning over to plant a kiss on Kagome's abdomen, even as she winced at the pain from her injured right leg. "Mom and Papa are the best Mom and Papa ever!"

Kagome leaned forward and hugged Sachiko. "Not only that, he's going to have the best big sister ever!"

"And big brother," Sachiko added, looking over at Naoki before snuggling into her mother's embrace. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too, Sa-chan."

Kagome was absolutely exhausted, physically and emotionally drained of every bit of energy. She'd held onto it long enough for Sachiko to finally fall into a restless sleep, but now the strain of the last several weeks had come crashing down on her.

Sango, Miroku, and Aohara had left for the night. Inu Yasha hadn't been too happy at Kagome's announcement that she really, REALLY needed to use the ladies' room, but he understood. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but somehow the door to the ensuite bathroom had been locked, so she had no choice but to use a public one. Inu Yasha had obviously wanted to go with her, but he was also keenly aware of the fact that one of them needed to be by Sachiko's side at all times.

Kagome trudged down the hallway, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. She made it safely to the bathroom, relieving her pregnancy-squashed bladder, then washing her hands and making her way back. She was honestly grateful for the handrail that ran along the wall. It was about the only thing keeping her from falling flat on her face.

She was nearly back at Sachiko's room when all of a sudden, a solid mass slammed into her. She lost her balance, falling backward. She curled inward as best she could, fighting to protect the precious pup within her.

Then she found her descent suddenly halted, her upper body hitting not the floor, but a lean chest. Her savior's aftershave rose up, swift and pungent in her nostrils, and she found herself wrenching forward, dry heaving, but thankful as her dinner decided to stay put despite the roiling of her stomach.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am! Are you hurt?"

The English words filtered slowly into her mind, and she scrambled for a reply. Reading English, she could do. Speaking it, especially while feeling so tired and ill, was another thing. "Okay," she managed in English, before continuing in Japanese, "Do you speak Japanese?"

Kagome felt her entire body flood with relief as the man said, "Yes, I do. Are you a patient here?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, my daughter is. I need to get back..." As she spoke, she finally looked up to see the man who was trying to help her. Any other words that would have passed her lips faded away as she swore she must be hallucinating.

Not here. Not now. She had to be dreaming.

The man stared at her in something akin to horror, once she'd raised her eyes to his. "It can't be..." he murmured.

"Hojo-kun?!"

Author's Note: MWAHAHAHAHA! Just when you thought there might be a chapter or two without drama...

Just as a quick note, please excuse the absence of description when it comes to what I call the "I.V. Dance". Moving yourself or others around while they are attached to I.V. stands and/or monitoring machines is a pain in the butt, so I'm putting it under the same heading as characters only shown going to the bathroom when it's plot or smut relevant. Please forgive my lack of mentioning it every time Sachiko is moved, or someone goes in, around, or near the bed.

And I know I'm horribly behind on review responses again, but due to various RL issues, about the only reason I've been able to update at all the past couple of weeks is because I was able to get a little cushion of "just needs a final polish" chapters done. So I sincerely apologize. Reviews, comments, and kudos are very much loved and appreciated!