October 5

It's been a few days since we spoke with Kohaku and we haven't heard anything from him since then. We can only assume that the search is going well.

The children really miss their parents and they've been taking it hard. We've been trying our best to distract them, dry their tears, and assure them that everything is okay but they're starting to realize that something is wrong.

After we put them to bed last night, Inuyasha and I sat by the fire under a blanket both lost in our own thoughts about the situation.

"Kagome?" he finally said.

"Yes?"

"Suppose Miroku and Sango don't come back."

"You really think that, honey?"

"I hope that they do come back, of course, but they've been gone for almost two weeks. You heard what Kohaku said about those spider demons. Miroku and Sango could already be dead. And if they are, what are we going to do?"

I knew he was right. I had been trying to avoid thinking of that possibility and was trying to have hope that our friends would come back. But it had been a long time and if they really didn't come back we needed to be prepared.

"I don't think there's any question of what we need to do if they don't come back," I replied. My eyes stung with tears at the thought of Miroku and Sango not coming back and I held Inuyasha's hand for comfort. "We'll have to raise the children ourselves."

What else could we do if they were gone? Us taking the children permanently was the only logical solution. Kaede already had Rin, Kohaku was a kid himself and was busy with the demon slayers. Us raising Miroku and Sango's kids was the least we could do.

Inuyasha nodded slowly. "You're right. It's going to be a lot."

He was right. Our baby is due in only a couple of months. We would have three small children to raise on top of a newborn. All of our plans would have to change very quickly. It was a daunting idea for both of us.

"We'll figure it out somehow," I said with a sigh.

I rested my head on his shoulder and he put his arm around me. It was a scenario that both of us dreaded but if it got to that point, we would do it. The kids would really need us.

This morning they were a little restless. If they weren't asking about their parents, they were running around chasing each other and chasing Nico (Our poor cat has really been through it since they've been staying with us. I admire his resilience).

Inuyasha and I were starting to get a headache so I suggested we go to the pumpkin patch in the village.

"We can make jack-o-lanterns," I said to them.

"What's that?" they said with fascination.

"It's when you carve a pumpkin and put a candle in it. It's going to look really cool when we're done."

They were really excited as we all walked over to the pumpkin patch where there were pumpkins of all shapes and sizes.

"I want this one," Mieko said pointing to a pumpkin that was twice her size.

"How about we get something a little bit smaller?" Inuyasha suggested. While he certainly could carry a pumpkin that big back to the house for us, he definitely didn't want to and directed the kids to a section with more normal-sized pumpkins.

"Each of you get one," I told them. "Make sure you're able to carry it."

The three of them picked out a decent-sized pumpkin and talked about how they wanted to carve it. Once we got home, I laid out a towel to put them on and Inuyasha got some knives to carve them. With his sleeves rolled up, his hair pulled back in a bun, and the knives in his hands, he looked like an expert pumpkin carver.

"Alright, who's up first?" he said.

"Me! Me!" they all exclaimed at the same time.

"Let's play a game to pick," I said. "Put your foot out." So each of them stuck out one foot and I pointed to each one of them. "Eenie, meanie, minie, moe, catch a tiger by its toe, of it hollers let it go. Eenie, meanie, minie, moe. Alright Shinichi, you're first."

Inuyasha carved what Shinichi wanted into the pumpkin then he did Mieko's and Midori's. He did a pretty impressive job with them. After they were done I put candles in them and the kids were extremely fascinated with how the pumpkins lit up.

"Wow!" Shinichi said.

"So cool!" Mieko exclaimed. "Can we show these to mommy and daddy when they get home?"

"Of course," I said, rubbing her head.

We put the pumpkins on the front porch and they looked especially cool when we lit them after the sun went down. I just hope Miroku and Sango will be back soon so they can see them.