Reunions

Sesshomaru stood in the doorway, taking in the stricken look of his mate. His eyes traveled greedily over her face, the memory of which had kept his soul intact under the worst possible circumstances. Needing to return to her had been his reason for staying alive, and now she was here. Her face was beautiful, more beautiful than he remembered. There were her big, brown eyes, her thick wavy hair, her nose, her full lips, her strong jaw. Her face was slightly fuller than he remembered, but only slightly. His eyes left hers for just a moment and flicked downwards, wanting to take in the sight of her full form.

But it was so much fuller than he remembered!

Her scent hit him then, a distracting mix of fear and shock and joy, but with a heady undertone that spoke to the deepest part of his demonic senses. He found his voice, looking back into her eyes, which had filled with tears. She covered her mouth with her hands.

"Rin….you are pupped." He said, astonished. She nodded, her eyes crinkling in something close to a smile. Sesshomaru found his feet and stepped forward. Rin, seeing how shaky he was, rushed forward to him.

The Lord of the West fell to his knees before the woman he loved, the human who had captured his heart. Her hands wound into his glossy, silver hair as he touched her swollen belly wonderingly. He could hear the heartbeat of the pup inside of her.

Crying, scent solidifying into whirling joy, Rin sank to her knees to be embraced by her mate. She buried her head into his chest as his arms held her tightly. She wrapped her own arms around his neck, trying to control her sobs.

"Sess….Sesshomaru...how?" She gasped, leaning back to take his face into her hands. He shook his head slightly, too overwhelmed to formulate an answer to that question.

"I love you," He said instead, although that really might have been the answer to her question.

"I waited for you," Rin said. "I knew you weren't gone."

"I know."

"And now you're back? You're okay?"

"Yes. I am recovered."

"And...you'll stay with me? With the baby?"

Sesshomaru wrinkled his brow, confused.

"Of course I will," he said sternly, "That is my pup, and you are my mate. I will protect

both of you forever."

Rin laughed softly.

"I know, it's just… I know this is new for you. I've had six months to get used to the idea of being a mother…"

"Rin," Sesshomaru interrupted. "I'm not sure you understand about my instincts. You are speaking as though you expect me not to be pleased with the situation."

"Your instincts?" Rin asked.

"I am a dog youkai. You know I have strong instincts when it comes to mating."

"And what were those instincts?" Rin asked, although her sly smile hinted that she already knew the answer. Sesshomaru didn't see it though, since he was glancing down at her belly.

"To see you pupped!" He said with some feeling. "Now no one can dispute that you are mine. You will be a good mother, a strong mother."

Rin didn't respond to this display of doggish possessiveness, but leaned forward to brush his lips with her own. Sesshomaru kissed her gently at first, but soon the kiss turned deeper, and they had to pull away from each other lest they should reveal themselves embarrassingly in front of Jinenji.

Sesshomaru helped his mate to her feet just as Kagome burst into the infirmary. Sesshomaru swept Rin aside protectively as the taller girl swept through in a hurry, Inuyasha following helplessly in her wake.

"Kazuto!" She gasped breathlessly. Jinenji stood up from his seat and rushed to grab

Kagome before she clobbered the small child.

"He's fine! He's fine!" He said, as Kagome struggled to reach the little hanyou. "Just be gentle with him!"

Kagome shook Jinenji off and made her way to Kazuto's bedside. Her eyes filled with tears to see his burns and bruises, and noted with a tragic jolt of her heart that one soft, downy kitten ear was torn clean off. She reached down and touched his face. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. Jinenji smiled, relieved.

"Miss….Miss Higurashi?" Kazuto croaked.

"Hey sweetie," Kagome said through her tears.

"Are you okay?" Kazuto asked. "Are you hurt?"

"No hon," Kagome said. "You did a good job protecting me. I'm okay. You're the one who got hurt. I'm so sorry."

"I'm fine," Kazuto said, although his grimace spoke much more for him than his voice. Kagome's heart clenched painfully.

"Did you get it?" Kazuto continued.

"Get what?"

"The thing Naraku was after," Kazuto said. "I don't know what it was but he pulled it out of you with his tentacles. It looked like a pearl."

Kagome looked up and at Inuyasha. He shrugged. Then she looked over at Sesshomaru, whose expression was more forbidding. Sesshomaru glanced at Shippo, who had come in behind Inuyasha. Shippo shook his head, his mouth in a tight line.

"It's gone." He said. "The tentacles disappeared too."

Sesshomaru sighed. "Then we may face another battle."

"Another battle?" Asked Inuyasha. "What the hell do you mean?"

"The jewel which Kagome carried has tremendous power, brother," Sesshomaru said. "Surely you remember it was Kikyo's destiny to protect it."

Inuyasha's face reddened slightly but he held his ground. "I remember that it was your job to dispose of it after she died." He said tightly.

"It was burned with her body," Sesshomaru said, "But reborn in Kagome's, for she is Kikyo's soul reincarnated."

Kagome brushed aside this knowledge with an impatient shrug.

"You're saying this jewel has power to revive Naraku?"

"It may, but I can't know for sure."

"If it's gone, that's not a good sign." Shippo added.

"But Naraku was blasted to smithereens!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "Surely he couldn't survive that, jewel or not!"

"I don't think he could," Sesshomaru agreed. "I was inside him and I felt him ripped apart."

"But we'll never know?" Kagome asked, with a sinking feeling in her gut.

"We must be on our guard," Sesshomaru said with a nod. "But perhaps the danger has passed."