"Even the biggest miracles were made from the smallest moments."

—Darshana Suresh, Howling at the Moon

How many different mysteries existed in the world? Rin had a fair bet that they numbered at least the same as the stars above, and she had the great privilege of knowing none of them. Life was something so very precious and, unfortunately, short-lived for her that she was very confident that she would never really know any of them. For her, it was more important that she focused her energy and time on the people around her, on the being she had very happily passed her heart onto, and now their expanding family.

Rin was propped up by a handful of pillows behind her back and under her hips, doing her best to remember what it was like to be comfortable. Jaken, bless his dear, earnest heart, had brought them all to her when she had requested a little extra cushion. Even now, as a vision of royalty sat upon her extravagant throne of feathers, she could hear Jaken in the hall outside of her door grunting with effort as he continued to dote on her by fetching a blanket she hadn't asked for. Unable to ignore the silliness of the situation, Rin smiled and dropped her head back with a delicate puff. Her hands, empty of anything, drifted absentmindedly to rest on her growing stomach.

She wondered if she should get up to help him, lifting her head back up and trying to decide if she could get to her feet and over to the door fast enough to make it worth the scolding she would get. Just as she had decided that it was worth the risk when the door slid open and Jaken flopped onto the floor face-first. "Oh, Jaken," She winced, sitting up. He rolled over and onto his feet again, sweating and out of breath, but wearing a proud expression as he surveyed the huge down blanket that she normally only used in the wintertime. Rin eyed it nervously, imagining how sweaty she would be if she were to use it but not having the heart to tell Jaken she didn't need it, especially after he went through all of the trouble of bringing it to her.

"There," he huffed, grabbing it and pulling it over to her. "There, now you will be comfortable!" Doing his best, he tried to throw it over her, only managing to get a corner over her legs. She stifled a laugh.

"Thank you, Master Jaken." She intoned, taking pity on her poor friend and sitting up to grab ahold of the blanket. She winced as she realized her reach was limited by her much larger stomach and the tips of her fingers scratched at the blanket. It was her turn to make exasperated grunts, holding her breath, and Jaken hurried forward.

"Rin! Be careful." His three-fingered hand appeared next to hers and tugged the blanket a bit further up her legs. She laid back, breathing again as the pressure was released, blushing at herself. She was still not really used to not being able to move as she had her whole life, and truth be told she was in a bit of denial about it. She was not used to relying on others to help her with the simple things and she was self-conscious that suddenly something as normal as bending over to pick up something she had dropped became an ordeal. It didn't help that Jaken, and in some ways, Sesshomaru as well, seemed afraid she would burst into flames and disintegrate at a moment's notice if she so much as moved too fast.

"I don't think I'm in any danger, Master Jaken." She dryly remarked, eyeing the cozy nest he had created around her. Jaken made an exasperated sound and crossed his arms.

"Of course you are not. I, Jaken, would never let danger befall you!" He boasted, his slightly sweaty face speaking to his unspoken adage; Lest Lord Sesshomaru spear me through and roast me on a spit. He cleared his throat and came over to sit on the floor next to her, hands in his sleeves. She laid her head back and looked at the ceiling, her fingers absentmindedly drawing patterns across her round belly as a comfortable quiet came over the two of them. She wanted to go for a walk, but poor Jaken was already so nervous about the two of them being alone that she was afraid that if she asked, he would die of a heart attack.

"Thank you, Master Jaken," she told him, smiling kindly at him. He harrumphed but she knew that he wasn't really bothered, no matter what airs he put on. Even though it was only the three of them, not counting A-Un, who knew about her pregnancy, Jaken was still the most excited aside from Sesshomaru himself. She would never forget the real, honest tears that he had shed when she had told him, croaking about how glorious the child would be. She had no doubt in her mind that Jaken would be just as watchful of any children of hers as he had been of her, and she really truly adored him for that. Even if it was partially motivated by threats of death. "You know," she began tentatively, pushing down the pillow on the side of her head so she could see Jaken more fully. "You really don't need to do all of this."

He opened his bulbous eyes and fixed her with the most appalled look he had ever given her, quite a feat in and of itself. "Don't be foolish," he shook his head like he was disappointed in her. "Lord Sesshomaru has asked that I make sure you are safe while he is away, and I will remain vigilant." A pillow behind her fell down and bonked into the back of her head.

"Yes, I know you will Master Jaken," she sighed as she readjusted the pillow.

"If I can do my part to lessen the worries weighing on Lord Sesshomaru, I am more than happy to do so," Jaken continued on as if she hadn't spoken, lost in his speech, a righteous tear glistening in his noble eye. "It is an honor that could only be bestowed upon me, his most loyal follower."

"Hmm…" Rin laid back on her back, looking at the ceiling, a thought nagging in her head. "Master Jaken," she continued, voice absentminded, fingers fidgeting from their perch on her belly button, "Is he really that worried?" Jaken stopped talking abruptly and she knew that he had accidentally let something slip that she wasn't supposed to know about. Which meant it was true. "Please don't lie to me," she murmured, eager to get insight on her husband from the one who had known him the longest.

"L-Lord Sesshomaru is a creature of great importance," Jaken amended nervously. "There are many things that he must keep his eyes on and so it's only natural that he would feel some worries—"

"No, that's not what I mean," Rin interrupted, again popping her nose over the top of the pillow to peer at the sweaty toad youkai. There was a moment of hesitation before Jaken let out a sigh that only a small creature with the weight of the world on his shoulders could sigh.

"Rin, of course he is worried." In a moment of rare sincerity, he scratched the side of his face with a claw and side-eyed her. "You are human, and humans are weak and fragile and quick to die even when they aren't so rotund—"

"Oh, hey…"

"And Lord Sesshomaru has many enemies. While you are in good hands with me," he puffed his chest out again, "Lord Sesshomaru feels better when it is he who is watching you."

"I see…" Rin nibbled on her lip, not sure how to feel about this news and a little embarrassed that she hadn't noticed. Now that Jaken had spelled it out, it felt rather obvious, but Sesshomaru always seemed so confident in everything he did. Worried isn't something that she would have labeled him with. Truth be told, she had thought that everyone was so afraid of him that they wouldn't dare come anywhere near where he lived. However, now that Jaken had said something she realized now that he had been worried.

Since she had broken the news to him of her pregnancy, which was a very tense and nerve-wracking conversation on her part to begin with though it ended better than she could have ever imagined, he had been a bit different. His presence around her was nearly constant, only giving her privacy when she asked for it. Not that she had minded, and it had been nice to have him around. Thinking back, she realized that not only had she not been alone but she hadn't been without him in months. This was the first instance of him going on one of his trips away from the house, and he had been so reluctant to leave her that she had been the one to remind him about it.

"I can't believe I missed it." She lamented under her breath, crestfallen that she hadn't caught on faster as she went through all of her memories and checked them off in hindsight.

"He wouldn't want you to know," Jaken informed her and she knew that he was right.

The door slid open quickly and the two of them jumped, Jaken guiltily insisting that he had done nothing wrong, while Rin placed her hand over her heart as she breathed shakily and smiled at the demon in the doorway. Sesshomaru was fixing Jaken with quite the stare and she recognized it as the glare that he used when Jaken's insightful predictions hit a little too close to home. Jaken, for his part, was suddenly very interested in the patterns of the wood on the floor. A hard jab against her stomach had Rin wincing and pressing her hand into the same spot, gently pushing on the little one inside to get them to roll over and stop hurting her. Though she tried to be discreet, Sesshomaru noticed her painful flinch and suddenly she had his full attention as he came the rest of the way into the room. Jaken sneakily made his exit.

He eyed the veritable pillow fort that surrounded her as he approached, eyebrow raised. Rin laughed and shook her head as he knelt to the ground beside her. "Jaken wanted to make sure that I was comfortable," she explained, moving some of the pillows out of the way so that her husband could take his spot next to her. He inclined his head, looking her over, eyes dropping down to where she still palpated her stomach. Her free hand came over and gently brushed against his shoulder to get his attention back and he kindly gave it to her. "I'm okay," she assured him, pushing herself up into something that was a little more upright. "The baby just jumped around when I got startled and it hurt a bit, is all."

Apparent crisis averted, he nodded at her and pulled off his armor, laying the different pieces of it along with his swords to the side of the bed before he pulled her over to him. She was more than happy replacing her pillow nest with his arms and chest, helping him adjust the two of them to tuck her head under his chin. She smiled and gratefully let him accept this very important task of keeping her comfortable. He moved her very carefully and she couldn't help but laugh at the situation, wondering what they looked like to the outside observer as this big, fierce demon held her like glass. She pressed her face into the crook of his neck and let her giggles fly, wrapping her arms around his middle.

"I missed you," she told him and she felt him brush his hand along her thigh, pulling her closer to him. He didn't answer her, but he was touching her as if he hadn't seen her in months when he had only been gone for half of a day. "How was your trip?" She asked, going through the motions.

"It was informative." He answered in his vague way.

"Ooh, informative," she teased, "Sounds like it was a trip well worth your time, then." Against her hair, she felt him breathe a soft laugh and so she continued, "Since you have left, I have created a powerful and far-reaching kingdom of blankets and other soft comfortable things. So my day was just as eventful. Probably even a little more." She had a fake haughty tone, shrugging nonchalantly before giggling at her own hilarious antics and dropping her head back onto him. He turned his face into her and placed his forehead against hers, the two of them resting that way for a moment.

"Would you permit this Sesshomaru to accompany you in your kingdom?" He asked in a rare display of humor.

"Of course," she responded, resituating herself so that the two of them sat more naturally before they fell into a night of easy conversation and easy touches.

I hope you enjoyed it!

I know there is very little Sesshomaru in this chapter, but Jaken is the greek chorus to Sesshomaru's silence so I needed him to do all of the mushy talking for me haha

Thank you for reading!