Notes:

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, or any of the characters from the anime and/or manga. Everyone else is mine :)

Hello all! Wherever you are, I hope that you are safe and well.

Kagome kind of hated to admit it, but getting Inuyasha out of her hair for a few days was so freaking helpful. Without his constant hovering and unfurling of his youki, she felt a little more at peace within herself. She wondered if the pup was reacting to its father's youki, and if that was disturbing her own spiritual powers, making her more emotional than what would be normal for even a normal pregnant woman. If that was the case, then the training with Hideaki was going to be critical. As the pregnancy progressed, the pup could respond to Inuyasha's youki more. And what about when the pup was finally born?

No. It was time to learn some control, and to learn to connect with her pup, even from within her womb.

And now she sat in the courtyard on the bench under the sakura trees, Hideaki kneeling before her, his hands on her knees, with Asuka and Rin hovering close by if they were needed quickly. They all felt the pressure of the time ticking away until Inuyasha returned, because when he did, Kagome's training might come to an end.

"Two things we're going to work on while Inuyasha-sama is gone," Hideaki said gently, drawing Kagome's attention. "Invisibility and soothing the pup's youki."

Kagome took a deep breath. "Can we work on the second one first? I feel like that might not be as hard, and I want to make sure we work on it today."

Hideaki smiled. "You bet." He turned to his sister-in-law. "Asuka, we need you."

Asuka padded over and sat beside Kagome on the bench, wrapping her arm around her aunt affectionately. "What's up, Brother?" she asked.

"I want you to help us out by scenting the pup," Hideaki said. "If it's getting too agitated, we need to pull back. Kagome-sama and I can't detect anything but its youki, and it might be too late for us to intervene if something happens. If the pup's scent changes, you can tell us and we can pull back."

Asuka grinned and placed her hand on Kagome's slightly swollen belly. The pup kicked enthusiastically. Kagome grunted.

"You got a spicy runt in there, Auntie," Asuka laughed. Kagome rubbed her belly, both affectionately and tiredly.

"How many more months is the pup going to be cooking?" Kagome asked her niece. "It's gonna come out of me Alien-style."

Asuka laughed again. "Maybe four months? It's hard to say with a hanyou pup. We'll keep a close eye on it, don't you worry."

"If you two are done," interrupted Hideaki, drawing the attention of both women, "let's get started." When he saw that their faces were serious, he settled down.

"Kagome-sama," he said quietly, "let's try soothing your pup. I want you to reach into your third eye, draw out your power, and wrap your pup in it. Don't think about burying the pup in your aura, but rather, gently surrounding it, as though you were holding your pup yourself."

Kagome nodded and closed her eyes. She drew herself into her third eye and relaxed. Then, slowly, she drew out her power, and in her third eye, she saw herself running her hands down her body, coming to a rest over her belly. She felt her aura infiltrate her belly, wrapping her pup like a warm, soft blanket. She felt her pup respond; at first it was resistant, kicking and moving about a bit (and even though she was in her third eye, she felt Asuka near, ready to bring her back if need be), but then, the pup settled down and eventually fell sleep. Kagome smiled.

Suddenly, with a great whoosh of wind and force, Kagome was sent down, down, down, into her own throat and through her body. She stifled a scream as she felt as though she were turning inside out. She rushed through her own body, whipping past her heart and her lungs; through her stomach, and then down into her own uterus. There she floated, face-to-face with her child.

Gods, they were beautiful.

The pup's face was perfectly formed, eyes closed in its slumber, two tiny dog ears poking up through its skull, pink skin luminescent against the glow of her womb. She felt herself tearing up at the sight. Ears like their father. She saw the baby's perfect little nose and mouth, neutral and peaceful. She saw two tiny little hands curled in fists under their chin, and Kagome could just make out teeny claws starting to form. As she took in her pup's body, her eyes widened. She realized that she could make out the baby's sex. She knew what their pup was going to be.

Then the pup opened their mouth and sighed, and Kagome was whisked away, back up through her body, so fast she felt she might throw up, and then she was on the ground on her hands and knees, breathing hard and dry heaving.

"Kagome-sama!" Hideaki was shouting, shaking her gently.

"Auntie!" Asuka was rubbing her back.

"Kagome-chan!" Rin was lightly slapping her cheeks.

"Oh, shit," groaned Kagome, opening her eyes. Everyone leapt back slightly and sighed with relief. Kagome sat back on her haunches and rubbed her face, trying to bring her senses back.

"Are you all right, Kagome-chan?" asked Rin anxiously.

Asuka immediately began sniffing her. "No pain, Auntie?"

Kagome continued rubbing her face. "I'm okay," she grunted. "Fine. Never better." Then she leaned over and emptied the contents of her stomach all over the courtyard.

"I guess we won't be trying that again," said Asuka, looking directly at Hideaki.

Kagome sat back and wiped her mouth, only slightly embarrassed. "No, it wasn't that," she said. "I had a vision."

"What?" everyone cried. Rin clasped Kagome's hand tightly.

"I whipped through my own body. That's why I got sick…I was moving way too fast. But…I saw the pup. It was so sweet; it was sleeping. It has little ears like Inuyasha." Kagome started to get weepy. "I know what it's going to be."

Now everyone scooted back even further. "How is that possible?" Rin breathed.

Hideaki frowned. "I don't know." He looked at Kagome. "Have you been having other visions, Kagome-sama?"

Kagome flushed and her stomach got queasy again at the thought of Kikyo and Onigumo. "Not—while I'm awake," she finally managed to say.

"Well, fuck me," said Asuka, "this is one hell of a development."

"Is this normal with a hanyou pregnancy?" Kagome asked Rin.

Rin shook her head. "Not with me. But I'm not a miko."

"You're the first of your kind that we know of, Auntie," Asuka said. She looked at Hideaki again. "We're going to think carefully about how to procced."

Hideaki nodded. "Let's call it a day for today, Kagome-sama. But if you don't mind, I'd like to talk with you about some things, so we can plot the next best course of action."

"Sure, sure," murmured Kagome. She felt herself slipping. Rin quickly wrapped her arm around the girl. "We can't tell Inuyasha," Kagome mumbled. Then, looking at her sister-in-law, she said something no one was expecting before she lost consciousness.

"You need to call Sesshomaru and tell him. Now."

Inuyasha sat at the round conference table, his head resting in one hand, his claws clacking away on the table with the other. He was somewhere between restlessness and sleep. His brother and niece were going on and on about reorganizing the borders of the lands with Kouga and Kashikoi and some of their top advisers, and honestly, he just wanted to get the fuck out of there and get back to his mate, whose hormones had been taking him through the wringer lately. Even so far away, he could feel her sadness, her anger, her joy…all intense, often immediately following each other, and sometimes overlaying each other. It was exhausting.

Besides, he was not made for diplomatic negotiations. He much preferred negotiations that ended in him taking off someone's head.

Just as his eyes were closing, he felt some vibrating on the table next to him. He lifted his head to see Rin's name on his brother's phone. Sesshomaru excused himself and got up from the table; if Rin was calling, when she knew that they were involved in a business meeting, it must be serious.

When Sesshomaru returned to the table, he gave no indication of the content of the call. He did, however, allow his eyes to flicker to Inuyasha for just the briefest of moments. Inuyasha picked up on this, and immediately began to silently freak out. He knew something must be wrong with Kagome, but if Sesshomaru was going to continue the meeting, then it must not be anything that warranted much concern...but still.

The meeting droned on late into the evening, with laptops and maps spread out across the table as everyone tried to negotiate for the best security for their respective regions. Inuyasha did his best to pay attention and not doze off, but to be honest, if it wasn't for Sesshomaru's constant kicks under the table, he would have been passed out long ago. He longed to be home in his cottage with his mate, curled up on the couch, running his claws gently up and down her arms, feeling their pup moving around in her belly, dozing off with their bodies intertwined…

"…and that brings us to the matter of security. Inuyasha?"

"Huh?" Inuyasha snapped out of his reverie and his head shot straight up.

"Articulate as always," Sesshomaru commented. "What do you have to report in terms of security around the borders?"

Inuyasha flipped open his laptop and quickly worked his way through some different screens to find the report he'd gotten most recently from the top security advisers. "Activity between the lands of the West and East has quieted considerably now that Sayua has taken over the Lordship of the East. However, we have noticed that the activity has shifted to between the lands of the North and East. We are continuing to monitor the bears closely. Although most of them seem to have accepted Sayua as Lord of the East, we're hearing that there are those who were loyal to Ussuri and Hokutou that are still trying to drum up support to oust her." He smirked. "They think because she is a female she will be easy to bring down." Sayua snickered as Inuyasha continued to scour the page. "And they are still trying to recruit from the North to overthrow Kouga." He read the page to the end. "It looks like from what we've learned, the lands of the West and South have been deemed untouchable for now." He sat up and ran a hand through his hair. "However, I would say that we still need to stay focused on protecting those borders, too. When things are too quiet, there's a tendency to get careless."

Sesshomaru nodded, then turned to Ginta and Hakkaku, Kouga's betas and his security advisers, to begin a discussion of how they might best address insurrection at the borders. Inuyasha tried to stay involved in the conversation; since he had recently adopted the same role, he needed to pay attention to how he should be acting and what he should be doing. Now that he had responsibilities, both to his brother and to his mate, he was going to try his damnedest to fulfill them.

Several hours later, the meeting finally adjourned. Sesshomaru, Sayua, and Inuyasha left Kouga's keep and went down to the car, exhausted. They'd reserved hotel rooms for the evening—the keep stunk too much like wolf and no self-respecting inu youkai would be caught dead spending the night there—but instead of directing Jaken to the hotel, Sesshomaru instead asked that he take them home.

"It's hours and hours back to the manor, Father," said Sayua, surprised.

"We have pressing business waiting for us back home, Daughter," Sesshomaru answered. He looked right at Inuyasha. "Your mate has had an…incident…while training. She is fine," continued, seeing Inuyasha's face turn from tan to a mottled red. "We would have left immediately were she not. However, it is best that we return now, so we can learn more about what happened."

It took every ounce of control in Inuyasha's body not to immediately lose his shit. How had he not felt this through their mark? He always felt every single emotion she had, and he felt them really fucking intensely. How could he not feel this?

"The miko was in a meditative state when the incident occurred," Sesshomaru added, as though he could hear his brother's thoughts. "You may not have been able to sense her emotions as they were happening. Or they may have seemed like her normal hormonal emotions. It is unclear."

Inuyasha sat hunched over in the car, sputtering in fury. How the fuck did he not know this was happening? Why the fuck would his brother keep him in a meeting when he knew that Kagome was in trouble? He heard himself snarling in spite of his desire to keep his emotions tamped down.

"Inuyasha." His brother had clearly heard his snarls. "The miko is fine. You have no reason to be concerned. We are returning because we need to discuss what happened. That is all."

"Easy for you to say," he growled. "It's not your mate who's pupped and who's being treated like a goddamn guinea pig."

"Uncle," said Sayua soothingly, "please relax. My Lady Mother would have told us to come right away if the matter was urgent. Surely you must realize that."

Inuyasha did realize that, thank you very much, but he didn't give a shit. They were just going to have to deal with his rage and worry until they returned home.

A few hours later, the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon when the car pulled up the driveway to the manor house. Jaken had barely put the car in park when Inuyasha flew out of the backseat and into the house. It was eerily quiet inside. Inuyasha sent out his youki in a panic, trying to find his wife.

"She is resting comfortably, Uncle," said Asuka, padding down the hallway to greet him and the rest of the family. She looked exhausted. "Her mother is here. Please do not disturb her. She needs her rest."

"What the fuck did you and the monk do to my wife, Niece?" he hissed.

"Uncle, she is fine, I promise," replied Asuka. "Wait until later this morning. Please."

"How about if I escort you to your rooms, Uncle?" Sayua suggested. "So long as you are quiet and don't disturb Auntie, I know you'll feel better being there with her."

Inuyahsa grunted and allowed Sayua to guide him upstairs. She led him to the rooms he and Kagome had stayed in after Kurokuma attacked him and she'd healed him.

"Quiet, Uncle," reminded Sayua softly as she opened the door to let him in. "I'll see you in a few hours," she added. "I'm going to check on my mate, too." She left Inuyasha alone in the doorway.

Mrs. Higurashi was dozing in a chair next the futon, her hand resting in Kagome's. Kagome lay on her left side, like she was supposed to; Inuyasha walked around the futon quietly to inspect her face. It was calm, and clear; her breathing was regular, and he scented no fear or distress from her. Asuka was right; she was fine. Quietly, so as to not wake her or her mother, he lay down beside his wife, and snuggled up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and their pup.

"Inuyasha," she breathed, bringing her hands up around his own.

"I'm here, koi," he murmured in her ear. "I'll always be here."

Fuck it all, he thought. I'm never fucking leaving her side again.

When Kagome awoke the following day, the curtains in her room were drawn, hiding the time of day. She pushed herself up from her side, breaking her mother's grasp. Mrs. Higurashi stirred, and opened her eyes. She saw her daughter alive and awake and slowly blinking her eyes.

"What time is it, Mama?" Kagome asked.

Mrs. Higurashi looked at her watch. "It's still morning, but it's after 10." She turned to gaze at her daughter softly. "How are you feeling, dear?"

Kagome yawned and stretched her arms. She lowered her arms to her belly, feeling the pup roll around. "Okay. Tired still. But okay."

"How about we go get some breakfast? Mrs. Higurashi suggested.

Kagome sent out her aura, searching for her mate. She found him in the kitchen, and smiled as his youki leapt forward to meet hers. "Let's wait for our escort, Mama," she said with a smile.

When Inuyasha reached the room, he saw Kagome and her mother, talking quietly together. Kagome was still sitting on the futon; her mother was next to her in a chair. He tried to hold his shit together and strode into the room like the Prince of the West that he was. "Hey," was all he could muster.

Kagome flashed a brilliant smile back at him. "Hey, you."

Inuyasha crossed the room in one step, sat on the futon beside her, and pressed her against his body, burying her head in his shirt. "Gods, I missed you so fucking much," he murmured into her hair. Then he held her out at arm's length, frowning. "But mate, I have to ask you: what in all of the hells were you thinking, working on developing your spiritual powers like that?"

"Inuyasha, I—"

"You could have hurt the pup, Kagome, or worse, you could have been hurt yourself!" He was still holding her, squeezing tighter and tighter. Kagome gasped as his claws pricked her skin. "Gods, when Sess told me what happened, it was all I could do not to blow everything to fucking hell and get here as fast as I could!"

"Inuyasha." He was starting to hurt her a little.

"I just—" he continued to squeeze her arms, even as his head fell forward. "I couldn't lose you. Not now."

"Inuyasha-kun." He finally looked up when Mrs. Higurashi had laid a hand quietly over his. He realized he was gripping his wife tightly, and she was wincing with pain. "Enough."

His ripped his hands away from Kagome. "Fuck, I'm so sorry," he whispered, covering his face in his hands, "I can't believe I got so carried away…" He didn't want them to see the tears that were threatening to spill over. Fuck it, I'm such a baka. Again, he thought.

Kagome sat quietly on the futon, twisting her hands nervously in her lap. She looked up at her mother, who rose. "I'm going to get Asuka to have her check you over," she said quietly. She kissed her daughter, and laid a gentle hand on Inuyasha's shoulder, before she left the room.

Now alone, Kagome and Inuyasha sat and stared at each other. Inuyasha couldn't keep his eyes off her upper arms, which bled slightly. Because of him.

"I'm okay," she said softly. He blinked. "Really," she reiterated.

"But your mother just went to get Asuka," he mumbled, lowering his eyes again, reminded of his inability to control himself.

"Yes, but not because of you," she replied. "I did have quite a busy day yesterday, you know."

At that Inuyasha crossed his arms angrily, wishing again for some long sleeves he could hide his hands in. "I know you did, mate."

His tone made her cringe a little. "It's not what you think, anata."

"Well, why don't you tell me, 'Gome!" he shouted, no longer feeling guilty over his actions. "Fucking hell, look at what happened to you!"

"Little brother," said a surprising voice from behind them, "you need to let the miko speak."

"And what the fuck are you doing here, Sess?" He leapt off the futon and rounded on his brother, who was now the source of his ire. "Why are you suddenly so interested in my mate?"

"Because your mate reached out to this Sesshomaru for help," Sesshomaru said simply, entering the room, Asuka and Hideaki close behind him.

Inuyasha blinked. "I'm sorry," he said, "but I thought I heard you say that Kagome went to you for help?" He looked at his mate.

Kagome shrank a little under his glare. "I did, Inuyasha," she said in a small voice. "I'm sorry, but…"

"But this was not an issue that the miko felt she was prepared to talk to you about, little brother," Sesshomaru finished her sentence smoothly. "Do not be angry with the miko. But this Sesshomaru would agree that perhaps it is time for her to tell you everything. Everything," he added when he saw the look on Kagome's face.

"Do I have to?" Her voice was still very small.

Asuka sat beside Kagome and took her hand. "Whatever happened yesterday, Auntie, my uncle needs to know, and needs to know why my Lord Father insisted on returning from their meeting so quickly."

Sesshomaru nodded. "It is time, miko," he said in the gentlest voice any of them had ever heard.

Kagome's eyes filled with tears. "Sesshomaru, please don't make me," she croaked, the tears falling fast and furious.

"Sesshomaru!" barked Inuyasha, now getting alarmed. "Just what in all the hells is going on?"

Hideaki and Asuka were also becoming frightened. Kagome's sobs were becoming loud and ugly; she had thrown herself onto Asuka and was weeping as though she were about to go over the edge. Asuka shot a look at her father, somewhere between help me and what did you do? Inuyasha was now growling and also shooting a look at his brother—much more murderous than Asuka's. Hideaki quickly stepped in to mediate the situation.

"Sister, why don't we let them talk?" he said. "Inuyasha-sama, you must try to calm down." He glared at Inuyasha until Inuyasha visibly backed down, still refusing to submit to his nephew, but at least moving away from Sesshomaru and turning his attention back to Kagome, who was still clinging to Asuka and crying openly.

Asuka nodded to Inuyasha, who came over and tried to take Kagome from his niece. However, Kagome only gripped Asuka tighter. Asuka looked up at Hideaki and her father.

"Daughter." Sesshomaru stepped up to Asuka and Kagome, and gently unwrapped Kagome's arms from his daughter's neck. He took Kagome and held her as though she were a child; everyone in the room watched, slack-jawed, as Sesshomaru spoke to Kagome in a quiet voice. Asuka and Inuyasha could hear the words "Kikyo," and "it's time," and they all saw her shake her head furiously. Asuka nodded to Hideaki, and together they left the room, Hideaki pausing to squeeze Inuyasha's shoulder in comfort.

Inuyasha, meanwhile, watched in disbelief as his brother comforted his mate. Hell must have frozen over, he thought, his mind about to go into a jealous rage. He didn't know that Sesshomaru could remember Kagome's name, must less be tender towards her. He pulled together every ounce of his sanity to try and not murder his brother on the spot, and instead did what he should do. He used his words, as few as they were.

"Onii-san," Inuyasha said in a low voice. Sesshomaru looked up at him; he was still stroking Kagome's hair.

Sesshomaru bent down and whispered something to Kagome again. She shook her hair, sobbing and grabbing at Sesshomaru's shirt, her tears leaving stain down the front. He sighed, removed her hands, then looked at Inuyasha. He nodded once. Inuyasha crossed the room and stood beside Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru lifted Kagome from his arms and transferred her to Inuyasha, who slipped his arms around his mate and held her tightly. She tried to break free, but he held on, whispering words of love until she began to calm down. Sesshomaru did not leave; instead, he leaned against the far wall, his arms crossed, frowning as though he was either deep in thought or disapproved of the entire scene (or perhaps both).

Finally, Kagome's tears began to subside, and she now clutched at Inuyasha, whispering, "I'm sorry" over and over again. Her scent was so confusing it was making him heady; she was filled with hormones from the pregnancy, but also extreme terror, sadness, and desperation. He couldn't figure out what was happening.

At last Kagome pulled back from Inuyasha. She looked over his shoulder at Sesshomaru. "I can't tell him," she said.

"Miko. You must." He was no longer offering words of comfort; he was clearly annoyed at her inability to pull herself together.

"Tell me what?" Inuyasha asked, again summoning all of his strength to not lose his shit.

Kagome looked at Sesshomaru again. He made a "tch" sound of frustration and glared at her. She took a deep breath.

"Anata," she said, deliberately using her term of endearment for him. "Do you remember the night after I told you about the pup? The dream I had?"

Of course he fucking remembered. He almost destroyed their bedroom when she told him. But he held his tongue and just nodded.

"Okay." Her hands went protectively to her belly, rubbing the pup as though to comfort both it and herself. "What if I told you that the dreams haven't stopped? That they've gotten stronger…and more vivid?"

"Vivid…how?" Inuyasha wasn't sure he was going to like where this was going.

"I've…seen things, anata." She paused. "Things I wish I hadn't. Things that have made me sick, that I passed off as the pup making me nauseated." She stopped again. "It wasn't the pup. Not all of it, anyway."

Inuyasha was now gritting his teeth and driving his claws into the pads of his fingers. He was drawing blood—he could scent it—but he didn't care. He had to know. Or he didn't want to ever fucking know. He couldn't decide.

"I won't tell you if you don't want to know." Her voice was so tiny it could have come from miles away.

"No," he said immediately, his voice somehow finding strength and operating outside of himself. "No. You have to tell me." He looked at his brother. "You told that bastard, and you can't tell me? Why the fuck not, Kagome?" Sesshomaru now took out a nail file and began to file his claws, looking all the more like he'd had enough drama in those minutes to last him his entire, very, very, long, life.

"You won't like it." Now she couldn't look him in the face.

"I thought we discussed this, mate." He was getting irritated, but not for the reasons she thought. "You're my mate. I love you. I love you, Kagome." That drew her attention to his eyes, which he hoped burned with all his love for her. "You can tell him, but you can't tell me?"

"It's because I love you that I can't tell you, baka!" she shrieked, throwing her hands up as if to shield herself from him.

He grabbed her hands before she could make a barrier. "Don't keep this from me, koi! Don't keep yourself from me!" He pulled her so close their noses were practically touching. She could feel his breath on her cheeks. His golden eyes held her chocolate ones steady, refusing to let her look away. "You can tell me anything," he said softly. He let go of one of her hands to cup her face gently. "You can always tell me anything."

"Okay." She looked at Sesshomaru. "Promise me you'll step in if necessary."

"This Sesshomaru makes no such promises," he said languidly, still filing his nails. He paused to return her gaze. "However, should the need arise, this one will step in as he sees fit."

Kagome expelled a breath slowly. "Okay, anata," she said, turning her gaze back to Inuyasha. He was still so close to her. She prayed Sesshomaru could get to her in time if Inuyasha went feral, which she totally thought he could do.

"In my dreams, Kikyo and Onigumo were…intimate."

Inuyasha's mind became a total blank. "What?"

Her face reddened and she lowered her eyes. She couldn't look at him. "I didn't see it in the first dream, although I knew it was coming. But in the subsequent dreams, Kikyo and Onigumo were very…together." Now she turned her gaze upward, the tears returning and threatening to spill over. "Like how you and I are."

Inuyasha growled, and in a flash, Sesshomaru had him, pressed up against the wall, one arm holding Inuyasha back with the other arm pressed into his brother's throat. Inuyasha growled again and flashed his fangs. "Let me go, Sess!" he howled. Sesshomaru held him tighter, and Kagome dropped and curled into a ball on the futon.

"I'm not gonna fucking hurt her, Sess, I swear!" His voice was becoming raspy as Sesshomaru pressed on his windpipe. "Let me go to her!"

"Not until you are calm, little brother." Sesshomaru's voice was a low hiss. "She is whelped. You cannot lay a finger on her."

"Fuck it all, Sess, I know that!" Inuyasha protested. "Let me go!"

It was funny; Kagome's revelation didn't hurt as much as he'd though it would. He was pissed, for sure, but after what she'd told him the night of the new year, he'd…expected?...something like this to be part of the story. He didn't know why…he had never scented Onigumo on Kikyo, so maybe it was just a vision? Some kind of weird, hormonal twist of fate?

Or if it was real, maybe there was a reason he'd never scented Onigumo on her. Maybe it had only happened once, and she had purified herself after? Kikyo was powerful. He thought maybe she could do something like that. Who the fuck knew.

Kagome continued to sob in a ball on the futon. Inuyasha's youki was chafing against his brother now, anxious to go to its mate and comfort her, all thoughts of Kikyo pushed from his mind by Kagome's suffering. She was all that mattered. "Sesshomaru." Inuyasha's voice was low, and he whined his brother's name, much to his own chagrin. "Please."

"This Sesshomaru will release you, little brother," came the clipped reply. "But if you make a move against the miko…"

"…You won't hesitate to kill me, yeah, yeah, I get it," Inuyasha said recklessly. "Do what ya gotta do, Sess. Just please."

The final please must have gotten to Sesshomaru, because he released Inuyasha, who flew across the room to wrap himself around Kagome. "Mate," he whispered. "It's okay. I'm here. I'm here. You're okay."

Kagome rolled onto her back; Inuyasha helped her sit up. "You're—you're here?" she whimpered.

He smiled; he couldn't help it. She was so fucking cute, even when she was a pitiful mess. "Where else would I be, koishii?" He brushed her hair out of her face, then leaned forward and began tenderly licking her cheeks, washing away her tears. The act made her start to breathe erratically again, but he pressed a finger to her lips to still her, and continued his ministrations. She quieted and allowed him this act of love.

When he was satisfied that she was properly clean again (her eyes were still puffy and red, but he couldn't fix that with his tongue—he needed a cool washcloth and she needed rest), he took her into his arms. Sesshomaru, satisfied that Inuyasha was not, in fact, going to kill his mate, made to leave the room.

"Wait, Sess," Inuyasha called out. Sesshomaru paused at the doorway. "Thank you," Inuyasha said. "Thank you for being someone my mate felt she could talk to, when she didn't feel she could talk to me. Thank you for taking care of her."

"Yes, Sesshomaru," said Kagome softly. At her voice, Sesshomaru started, as though he wanted to respond with feeling.

Instead, he drew himself up to his full height. "The miko is family," Sesshomaru replied. "Inu youkai always take care of family."

Inuyasha smirked. "Whatever you want to tell yourself, onii-san," he called after his brother. When the door was closed, Inuyasha turned to Kagome. "I'm sorry," he said, burying his face in her hair. "I'm sorry for being a shit mate that you didn't think you could trust. I'm sorry because you're right; maybe you couldn't have trusted me with this. I'm sorry for making you worry when you're whelped. I'm sorry because I love you so fucking much, and fuck, this fucking hurts, but not for the reasons you think."

Kagome snuggled closer to his chest, curling her hands in the silver hair that fell over his shoulders. "I'm sorry too, anata," she said. "I'm sorry for not trusting you. I should have told you directly, and not gone to your brother first."

"After how I reacted when you told me about the first dream?" Inuyasha barked out a laugh. "Fuck, I wouldn't have told me either. But that's on me. That's not on you. You have to feel like you can tell me anything, and it's on me to make sure you feel that way. If you don't, then that's my fucking fault."

"Inuyasha, wait," Kagome said suddenly. She sat up and rested her hands on his cheeks. He looked her, ears twitching. Kagome thought absently that if he had a tail, it would be thumping away. She smiled to herself. So like a puppy.

"You're right that I was afraid to tell you. But I also had another purpose for telling Sesshomaru. I wanted to know if this was true—or if my dreams were just dreams. But now…I've had a vision during the day."

He stared at her, stunned.

She stroked his cheeks with her thumbs to soothe him and continued. "When I was using my aura to practice soothing the pup, I was suddenly sucked down into myself. I could see my insides; I could see everything." She held his gaze. "I saw the pup, Inuyasha. I saw her."

"You saw the pup?" he cried. "What did she look like? What kind of ears did she have? How big is she? Could she see you too?" Then, in that moment, he realized that she had used a pronoun, and he was now using it too. "It's a girl?" he breathed.

Kagome nodded, smiling.

Inuyasha let out a whoop and hugged his mate as tight as he dared. "A girl! A cute little girl pup with little pup ears?" He whooped again; Kagome nodded and giggled. "Have you told the others?" he asked.

"Not even my mother," she replied immediately.

"A girl…" he sighed. "Do we know anything about having girl pups?"

"Not much," she said. "We'll figure it out."

"I hope she looks just like you," he said, kissing her softly. He pulled back. "I really am sorry, 'Gome. Really."

"I know you are," she answered. "It's just that…" she twisted her hands together nervously.

"Just what, koi?" he asked in a gentle voice.

"If this was a vision during the day, one that is most likely real, one that we can easily confirm, then…"

"…you think the other visions were all real, too," he finished for her.

Kagome nodded fearfully, tears welling up again.

"Inuyasha," she said, tugging at him when he didn't respond. "What do you think it all means?"

"That's why you wanted to talk to my brother," he said tonelessly. "You wanted his opinion on that matter."

"I did," she said. "But I want yours, too, Inuyasha. I want to know what you think."

"I think it's fucking bullshit and we should ignore it," he told her. "Whatever's going on with you, it's gotta be related to the hormones. Something is making you see this. Once the pup is born, it'll all go away." She opened her mouth to reply, but he kept going. "I'm not saying it's not true; I'm saying that something has triggered this ability, and hopefully it will go away after the pup comes. Until then, we'll deal with this together, I promise." He took her hands in his. "I've been a bastard, but I'm not going to let you down, okay?"

She nodded slowly, leaning her forehead against his. "Okay."

He kissed the tip of her nose, then pulled away, rubbing her hands with his. "In the meantime," he added, "no more training. I mean it, mate," he added when he saw the anger and surprise on her face. "We've already gotta deal with these dreams at night. Let's not do anything to push you during the day. I want you home and quiet and resting. I don't care if I have to hire a whole goddamn troop of kitsune to keep you entertained. Your mind needs to rest itself so it can focus on caring for the pup. Please, Kagome," he finished. "Please. Don't put yourself or the pup in any danger. Let's keep it nice and calm for the next few months. Okay?"

Kagome saw the pleading look in his eyes that she'd always found so hard to resist. He rarely asked anything so drastic of her; it was hard to say no.

"You win," she conceded. "Nothing but school and quiet until the pup is born."

Notes:

Has Inuyasha finally come to terms with Kagome's visions? Will Kagome be able to sit tight until the pup is born? Find out in the next updates, and as always, thanks SO much for reading!