December 17

Inuyasha and I have been very on edge since the false alarm. Inuyasha has been monitoring me even more closely and looks concerned if I so much as move too much. Meanwhile, I've been even more serious about timing my contractions. So far they haven't been close together like Sango said they would be but they've gradually been getting stronger and I just know I'll be going into labor soon.

This afternoon I was kind of tired. I guess all of the worrying was wearing me out so I went to bed and took a nap for a few hours. When I woke up, I could vaguely hear Miroku and Inuyasha talking in the other room.

"It can't be that bad," Miroku said.

"I'm freaking the fuck out," Inuyasha replied. "I literally feel like I'm losing his mind. I just can't stop thinking about it. Every time she even vaguely looks like she's in pain I wonder if this is the moment it all starts. And what then? She has to be screaming in pain and possibly dying and I can't do anything about it."

"You sound exactly like I did when Sango was nine months pregnant. I seem to recall that back then you said I was acting crazy."

"Well I take it back! I take all of it back. I understand now. I'm not going to be able to rest until this is over."

"You've just got to try to relax. Remember, Kagome needs you to be strong right now."

Inuyasha sighed. "I know. She's scared and she's probably worrying more than I ever could. She was traumatized a few months back when she was helping another woman in the village with her birth and the baby was stillborn. And then there was the whole thing with the sage that's got her worried too."

"What sage?"

"When we went on our anniversary vacation, there was this damn sage that claimed she put a curse on the baby."

"Those things are nothing more than whack jobs. A sage has no power to put a curse on someone."

"That's what I tried to tell her but I know she still thinks about it. You know they have so many things in her era to make it easier to give birth? Hardly anyone ever dies in the process."

"I'd imagine so. They always seemed to be a lot more medically advanced with the potions she would bring us."

"She told me they have this thing called epidurals which essentially makes all the pain go away and the birth is really easy."

"Wow," Miroku said, sounding shocked. "Knowing that, no wonder she's scared to have a baby here. If we had those, Sango might actually have 20 babies."

"I wish things didn't need to be so hard for her. I just keep thinking, what if something goes wrong? I'm so worried I can't sleep."

"Maybe try some deep breathing?"

"That hardly works."

"You should have a drink. It'll calm your nerves."

"So now you're trying to turn me into an alcoholic?"

Miroku laughed. "Just one. It helps." There was a pause in their conversations as Miroku rummaged through our kitchen. "You only have one bottle of sake?"

"So what?"

"Sango and I go through one a month."

"We don't drink much."

"You two are no fun." There was a pause again in their conversation. "Here you go. Bottoms up."

By now I was fully rested and wanted to get up and stretch. I finally came out of the bedroom and went into the kitchen where Miroku and Inuyasha were drinking glasses of sake.

"Hey, Kagome. Are you feeling well-rested?" Miroku asked.

"Definitely," I said as I sat next to Inuyasha. I reached over to kiss him but suddenly he pulled away from me.

"Miroku, you idiot! If I kiss Kagome after having this, it'll contaminate her and hurt the baby!"

"Not really…" Miroku said.

"I don't think it works that way," I added.

Inuyasha ignored us and went to pour himself a glass of water instead.

Miroku sighed. "This was supposed to calm his nerves."

"I think you've made it worse," I said.