February 2

It was late last night when Inuyasha finally started to stir.

I was laying next to him feeling extremely tired but I couldn't bring myself to sleep. I felt like I needed to stay awake and watch him until he woke up.

"Inuyasha?" I said as I quickly sat up.

He slowly opened his eyes. "Kagome…"

"Inuyasha, are you okay?" I asked, feeling tears run down my face again.

He reached up and wiped them away. "Forget about me," he said in a weak voice. "Are you okay?"

I nodded beginning to sob again. "I was so worried about you, Inuyasha. I thought…I thought I was going to lose you."

He held my hand. "I know, Kagome. I thought the same thing." He smiled. "But I couldn't leave my woman alone, could I?"

I couldn't help but return his smile. If anything, I was so relieved he was alive that it felt like a weight had been lifted off of me. "No, you couldn't."

We looked at each other for a moment feeling absolutely relieved that we were together. Then Inuyasha suddenly started to panic. "Where's Moroha? Is she okay?" He sat up and grunted as he suddenly felt a sharp pain run through his chest.

I put my hand on his shoulder and gently laid him back down. "Lay down, sweetheart. Moroha is fine." I went to see if she'd woken up and sure enough her eyes were just starting to open. I picked her up and took her back over to Inuyasha. "See? She's perfectly fine."

Inuyasha smiled with relief. "Good." Moroha reached out to him and he held her. She didn't understand that her father was seriously injured and had been close to death. Instead, she was just happy to be in his arms. She gripped onto him and he kissed her forehead. "Were you worried about me, little one? Daddy's okay now."

Moroha closed her eyes and went back to sleep with a smile on her face.

I giggled. "She's such a daddy's girl."

Inuyasha chuckled. "Nothing wrong with that."

I held his hand tightly, still haunted by the images of him being attacked by the demon. I felt so terrible about all of it. "Inuyasha, I...I'm so sorry…"

"Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything wrong."

"I should have done more back there. I should have brought my arrows or I should have done more to help you fight. I tried but I've failed you and...and I'm so sorry."

"Kagome, don't feel bad," he said, wiping away my tears again. "You did such a good job and gave it everything you had while keeping Moroha safe at the same time."

"But you could have died…"

"Honey, I wouldn't have been able to kill that demon if it weren't for you," he said seriously. "I wouldn't be alive right now if you weren't there. You stayed by my side and did what you could and I'm grateful to you."

That made me feel better and a smile started to form on my face. I only wished that I could have stopped the demon completely so he wouldn't have been as badly hurt.

He started to feel tired and he closed his eyes but quickly opened them again not wanting to go to sleep.

That didn't slip by me though. "Are you tired?"

He snickered. "Of course not."

I could see past his stubbornness. "Get some rest love, it's late," I said running my hand through his hair.

"You get some rest too, Kagome. I'm sorry I worried you so much."

I leaned down and kissed him. "Now that you're okay I can go to sleep."

"I love you, baby." He closed his eyes and started to drift off.

"I love you too," I said softly. "Good night." I watched him and Moroha sleep for a moment then I felt like I could finally go to sleep myself. I lay down and cuddled up close to him. I then kissed his cheek and drifted off to sleep as well feeling absolutely relieved to have my husband sleeping next to me.

This morning I woke up with a start thinking that Inuyasha was dead. I sat up quickly, breathing heavily with panic. But when I looked down at him, he was fast asleep with Moroha still laying on his chest. His breathing was a bit shaky, his injuries were still very bad. But he was alive and that was all I needed.

So I lay next to him for a long time until he woke up. When he finally did, he hugged Moroha a bit and looked at me. "Good morning, love."

"Good morning." I sat up on my elbow and looked down at him. "How are you feeling?"

"Terrible," he replied. "My entire body hurts."

"You've been through a lot. You just need to lay down and rest for a while."

Moroha started to stir as well.

"She needs to be changed," he said.

I picked her up. "I'll take care of her. You stay here and rest. I'll bring you breakfast."

He held my hand. "Thank you, Kagome."

I leaned down and kissed him. "I love you."

Inuyasha stayed in bed for most of the day. He had tried to get up several times but his injuries were so bad he could hardly move and I had to convince him to stay still. Later in the afternoon, I had Moroha sleeping in the baby swing while I was laying out a plate of lunch for Nico when there was a knock on the door and Miroku and Sango were there with their kids.

"Hey, guys, what's up?"

"We're going for a walk down by the river," Sango said. "Do you want to come?"

"I would but I should stay home. Inuyasha was hurt really badly yesterday and I want to stay here and look after him."

Of course, Miroku and Sango were extremely concerned and I let them in so I could tell them what happened.

We were sitting on the floor by the fire and I had just finished explaining everything that had happened.

"I had heard that there was a terrible demon in the area of the last few days," Miroku said when I was done. "People had been on the lookout but didn't think it would get that close to human territory."

"It was coming straight for our village," I said. "Inuyasha put his life on the line to stop it."

"Is Inuyasha alright now?" Sango asked.

"He's doing better now. His injuries were really bad, but otherwise, he's okay. He had a big hole in his chest, that's what almost did him in."

"When does he ever not end up with a hole in his chest?" Sango said remember when we used to be out on our search for Naraku and one way or another Inuyasha always ended up with a hole in him somewhere.

"It's a good thing he's a half-demon," I said.

"Even still, it sometimes leads me to wonder how he can possibly survive all of this even as a half-demon and come out with not so much as a scratch left over," Miroku said. "Like that time he fought with Sesshomaru and he nearly killed him."

I remembered that clearly. It was the time he had gotten scared for my life and had tried to force me to go back home. "Not to mention all those fights with the Band of Seven," I said.

"We were all lucky to have survived that one," Sango said. "Also there was that time when he got hit with his wind scar."

"Basically, Inuyasha should have died a long time ago if he was human," Miroku said. "That's where demon strength becomes a necessity in his case."

Suddenly, we heard the door open and Inuyasha came over to us. He could hardly stand and was leaning on the wall for support.

"What are you doing out here? You're supposed to be resting," I said as I came towards him thinking he was going to fall over if he came any closer.

"I got tired of laying down. And anyway, why does it matter if I come out here or not?"

"You need to relax or your wounds are going to open up again," I said. My husband was so stubborn. I spent all this time trying to convince him to rest and he was still up and about.

He glared at me. "No, they won't. You just worry too damn much."

I glared back at him. "Fine, start running around and jumping through the trees for all I care. But when you hurt yourself, don't come crying to me!"

"Fine!"

"Good!"

"Whatever!"

"Shut up!"

"Why you…!"

"HEY!" Miroku and Sango exclaimed.

Inuyasha and I looked at them. "What?"

"Stop arguing. Is all of this really necessary?" Miroku said.

"You're giving me a migraine," Sango said.

"But…"

"Shut up," Sango said firmly.

"Kagome you stop being so overprotective. And Inuyasha, don't be so stubborn. You know you're injured and Kagome is only looking out for your best interests," Miroku said.

"Now, apologize," Sango said.

"But…"

"Apologize!"

We looked at each other and both of us felt guilty.

"I'm sorry I'm being so overprotective. I've just been so worried about you and I don't want you to hurt yourself anymore," I said.

He took my hand. "I know. And I'm sorry I yelled at you. You're right; I know I need to relax for a few days. These injuries hurt like hell."

"Now, come sit down," Miroku said.

So Inuyasha and I sat down and we continued to talk more with Miroku and Sango until they went off on their walk with the kids.