Kagome tried to calm her breathing as she washed her hands in the sink. It was going to be okay. Everything was fine.

Was it, though? Was it really?

She supposed that it would make sense, after all. Things had been…eventful. A lot was going on, what with school, planning for the wedding, the house Inuyasha was building. With so much happening around her, it was to be expected that she forgets some things. She was balancing her studies, her friendships, her relationship with Inuyasha, and everything else. So really, it was okay to forget some tiny details.

'Stop fooling yourself, Kagome. You know good and well that this isn't okay.'

She couldn't cry. If she cried, Inuyasha would know – and one of his three forms would bust down the bathroom door if she so much as sniffled. She couldn't be mad either. Being mad implied that she had a reason, and well…she had a reason, but she couldn't direct all of it at Inuyasha. She was just as much to blame.

The paper instructions crumpled in her hand before she tossed them in the trash bin. No point in those. She knew what she had to do. Pee on the stick. Wait. See if she's pregnant.

What happened to the days when she only had to worry about getting killed in battle for pieces of a jewel? What happened to her biggest fear was that she'd fail that math test?

"Sex. Sex is what happened."

Kagome tried not to groan at Peach's comment. There wasn't that teasing tone to it like there usually was, which only made this situation more real and more frightening. What was she going to do? Or rather, she knew what she was going to do if she was, that part was easy enough to answer. It was everything else.

How would she finish school? Would she drop out? Would they move the wedding up? Would they even have the wedding now? What would Inuyasha want?

"If that's what you want, Kagome, then I will protect you with my life."

He had said that to her before the final battle. Suggested that she stay behind in the present where it'd be safe, and she'd begged him not to leave her. He'd promised her that he'd take care of her once again, and she knew he wouldn't break that promise.

But, she might have to break hers, she realized as she watched the clock. She'd told Inuyasha that she'd be careful. That she was taking her birth control pills like she was supposed to. She'd promised him that they wouldn't have to worry about her getting pregnant until they were ready.

Yet there she sat on the bathtub edge, waiting for a pregnancy test to tell her if she had to go back on her word.

'Inuyasha must hate me right now.'

Earlier that day…

Kagome should have known right away that missing her period was a bad sign. Had she been marking her cycle down in the planner, as per her doctor's suggestion, she could have anticipated that something was off. She'd missed months of the practice and had been relying on the gradual depletion of her birth control to help gauge when she was due to start again.

A terrible mistake when her schedule was so off the charts busy that she didn't always take it at the same time every day.

School had her busier than she had ever been up to that point. Multiple projects were all due at once, tests were going to be given on the units that the projects were built from. She had taken to helping more around the shrine each weekend for a month because Grandpa had hurt his back. Her friends were also pulling her away for study sessions at WacDonalds.

And then there was Youkai and Human Inuyasha that were waiting for her when she returned home.

The hanyou was back in the past, working most days, and Kagome didn't get to see him much. His counterparts, however, made good on keeping her company. Especially on the nights that he didn't return to the present until late. They kept her satisfied with attention – in every sense – and therein lay the issue.

If she had kept better track of her cycle like her doctor told her to, if she had been more diligent about taking the birth control each morning right after she woke up, then maybe she could've said that being almost a week late was because of the stress of her life. Instead, the curious sniffs from the youkai as he buried his face in her neck one morning had sent her brain into overdrive when he muttered "You smell good, Kagome. Deliciously good. What have you been thinking about, love?"

She hadn't been thinking of anything. She'd barely been awake.

Why would he say that out of the blue? That didn't make sense. So she'd asked.

"You've got me wanting to flip you over and give it to you hard," he'd purred in her ear. "You sure you ain't been thinking about anything dirty? You're driving me wild and I just woke up…"

Kagome shivered as his breath tickled her ear, but that was as far as the sensations went. Her mind was awake and spiraling, recalling different pieces of information that she'd learned over the years, and none of it was assuring her. She'd fought to get up out of the bed, nearly rolling the youkai over the edge as she climbed over him and began to dress. She had to ask someone that would know, someone that would help.

She needed her mother.

Michiru Higurashi had a lot of patience, considering her only daughter was currently in the bathroom waiting to find out if she was pregnant with a hanyou's child from the feudal era. Hell, she was the one to suggest that Kagome consider taking the pill in the first place, even if it wasn't for any purpose other than to regulate her. The more she got to know the young man that came to steal her away to the past, she was doubly glad that Kagome was on birth control. She'd expected them to do something.

Did she approve? Not entirely, but she trusted them to be responsible. They hadn't given her any reason not to.

If it was any other situation, she was pretty sure that Inuyasha wouldn't be reacting the way he was. Since he'd split again, situations tended to…well…explode.

"I told you two this would happen!"

Michiru took a sip of her tea, biding her time. She knew he needed to vent, even if it wasn't doing any good for Kagome, since he was right outside the bathroom door as he yelled. It was better that he get this out now.

"Tell me again how you two trust Kagome's medicine!"

Both the human and the youkai winced and stared at their hands. Unlike Inuyasha, they were sitting at the table waiting, not pacing the space before the bathroom door. Neither of them could come up with a response that wouldn't enrage the hanyou further.

It was the last exclamation that had Michiru rising up from her seat. Without a word, she'd approached him, guiding him by the arm to come sit down at the table. Once he was seated, she placed her hands on his shoulders, standing behind him. She could feel the panic radiating off of him, and he had every reason to be scared. But to stand just on the other side of the door and belittle something Kagome was doing was too much. Kagome was just as scared, and she didn't need to hear that.

"I know what you must be feeling Inuyasha, but you need to understand that Kagome is just as scared right now. Yelling won't fix this, I'm afraid."

"Fix? What do you mean? Is Kagome hurt?" the youkai started to get up, only for Michiru to shake her head.

"That was my fault. Poor choice of words, dear." She gave the hanyou's shoulders a squeeze before returning to her own seat. "It shouldn't be much longer now before we know one way or another. We can't rush this kind of test."

"What happens next?"

Michiru glanced at the youkai. "If the test is positive, then I'll make an appointment with the doctor so they can take a test to confirm. If the test is negative –"

"There's no need, Mama."

She hadn't even gotten a word out before all three sides of Inuyasha had swarmed her daughter. It was sweet how they hovered around Kagome, and that was why she had so much patience. She knew that Inuyasha loved Kagome unconditionally, so there was no fear that he'd walk away. "What does the test say?"

"I'm not."

"Kagome?" the hanyou could pick up the scent of tears. What did he say to that? In all the years he'd known Kagome, every time she cried it was a nightmare trying to figure out why. And if he were to say the wrong thing…

"I got my period," she mumbled, reaching up to wipe her cheeks. The tears hadn't meant to come out, but she couldn't stop them. The gentle touch of the human and the youkai on each side of her wasn't helping stop them either. If anything, she found herself crying harder. "I'm sorry Inuyasha."

"Wh-what? Why are you apologizing, Kagome? You didn't do anything wrong!"

"I – I al-almost b-broke my p-pro-mise-!" her words came out in a wail, and she found herself wrapped tightly in the hanyou's embrace not a moment later.

From her spot by the table, Michiru could see two sets of furry ears droop as her daughter fell apart. It hurt to see Kagome so upset, but she could understand why. The heartbroken expression took her back decades to a time when she was trying to get pregnant and failed. She could still remember apologizing to her husband when the tests came back negative, feeling like she'd failed each time. Only this time, it wasn't the same. Kagome wasn't ready to be a mother, but the hurt of knowing that tiny possibility was shattered? She could understand why Kagome felt like she did.

Inuyasha didn't know it, but he'd mirrored Daisuke in that moment, holding Kagome against him and assuring her that everything was alright.

Michiru stepped up to the little group and threaded her fingers through Kagome's hair. "I know how you must be feeling," she said softly. "I know you're hurting sweetheart, but remember that it won't always be this way. The time will come when it's ready to happen." She stood on her toes, dropping a kiss to Inuyasha's forehead – all three of them – before excusing herself from the room.

They had it under control now.

"Kagome, what did Mama mean?" Human Inuyasha asked. "Did…did you…were you…wanting..?"

Inuyasha wasn't sure if he liked how that question trailed off. Kagome wanted to find out she was pupped? But she was upset because she thought she'd broken her promise! That wouldn't make any sense!

"I…" she sniffled. "When I…had to wait… I was thinking. Trying not to get my hopes up one way or the other, because…I was scared I'd be wrong. Tried to…to look at it from both sides. I wanted to not be pregnant because it's not time…but…if I found out I was…"

"You wanted to be excited as well," the youkai finished.

Kagome nodded, letting out a shaky breath. Her tears had stopped falling for the most part, and now she could feel how puffy her eyes were, along with the congested nose. "I want to have a family with you Inuyasha. And if…if it had happened sooner than we wanted…I was going to be okay with that. I'd find a way to make it okay."

Inuyasha felt his throat tighten. His mate would throw her plans off the rails if that stick test had told her she was pupped, because she wanted that with him. He didn't think that Kagome could surprise him anymore, but this…this was something else. He wouldn't lie – the thought of Kagome being pupped was both exhilarating and terrifying – but it was also something that he was okay waiting on, and he told her this. "You've thrown your life upside down for me enough, Kagome. I want you to do the things you'd planned to do before we get that family."

"I know." She brushed her cheeks dry again, hoping that she'd finally be done. The corners of her eyes were starting to burn from the salt drying them out. "I'm sorry I wasn't more careful," she whispered. "I could have better tracked things. I could've –"

"Could've done what?" Youkai Inuyasha asked. "You weren't at fault. If you want to place blame, the human and I should catch hell, because we could've left you be. We could've asked about your medicine. We could've done more."

Kagome's nose wrinkled in confusion. "Done what? Inuyasha you can't jumpstart my period! For all I know , it could've been a few things that made me late. If you won't let me feel at fault that I wasn't better taking care of myself, then you can't blame yourself either."

"We can and we are," Human Inuyasha said. "We let you down, Kagome. You needed us to take care of you, and we didn't do our best."

The hanyou glowered at the two culprits as Kagome sank against him. As much as he wanted to pound them into the dirt, he knew he couldn't. They weren't any more to blame than Kagome, and he couldn't be upset with her. She really did have a lot going on for the past few weeks, and as much as he loathed to admit it, his counterparts were doing a better job of attending to her than he was. She needed him, and he wasn't as there for her as he should've been.

In a way, he'd kind of broken his own promise to protect her.