Sesshou couldn't believe his eyes. The room was dotted with blue flecks of light coming through the boarded up dry well. It was like a galaxy globe, illuminating the room in a starry sky.

His breath caught in his throat. This couldn't be happening. Panicking, he ripped the boards from the well's top, exposing the portal at the bottom. It welcomed passage. The whole well house was lit up with the ethereal glow, casting shadows of Sesshou's figure across the ceiling.

His chest felt heavy, like Inuyasha himself had punched through his gut. Leaning over the open well, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the active portal. He could lose Kagome, and their infant.

No. He couldn't let that happen. Frantically, Sesshou tried to come up with a solution. He couldn't remove her from the temple, nor could he go see her and risk exposing her location. There was absolutely no cell service in the mountains. He couldn't warn her, and ask her to stay.

As long as she was in the mountains, securely tucked inside the barrier of the temple, she would never know. Unless she could feel this change. Did she know she was carrying their child? Did she know this meant she could go back?

...Back to Inuyasha.

Sesshou sat in a crouch, still holding the rim of the well. He dropped his chin to his chest, shutting his eyes. She couldn't. She wouldn't. She had to know he cared for her, that he wanted her and no one else, for the rest of his existence, he needed her.

He recalled how Kagome had cried for Inuyasha when he first found her under the Goshinboku, again when he told her of his brother's demise, and finally when she said goodbye to his ghost. She was devastated. She missed him. He saw the way she would look at the throwback. Takeshi looked too much like Inuyasha.

"Mama!" Kagome's voice rang from the well, "Grandpa! Sota!"

Sesshou pulled himself up to stare down into the well. It was Kagome, but how?

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, and he could sense her turmoil. She was lost. Afraid. "Miroku! Sango!" She whimpered back a sob, "Shippou!"

The well called to him. Sesshou peered in further, his torso leaning into the spinning black hole. How could he hear her?

"Kagome, can you hear me? Kagome!" His brother's voice carried, "Don't make any wishes! Promise me you won't! Just hold on until I get there!"

The jewel, he realized.

He could hear what was going on inside the jewel when Kagome was sucked into the meido. Was this the well's doing?

"Kagome…" Sesshou could smell her tears and her citrus fragrance, mixed with blood and sweat. His heart ached when he felt her fear, but there was hope as well. Hope for Inuyasha to come save her. Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on her.

Then it went quiet.

"Sesshomaru?" Her voice called out, confused. She felt him, seeing into the jewel, and watching over her.

When he opened his eyes, he was standing before her, but he was not himself. His hair was heavy as it draped down his back, and his traditional attire and armor were a familiar weight on his person. Mokomoko tickled his face and had his thoughts not been consumed by Kagome's presence before him, he would have noticed they were somewhere in between time itself, dressed as the field where the well sat five hundred years prior, but it was nothing more than a superficial backdrop to her subconscious.

"What's going on?" Kagome was fifteen. He wanted to reach for her and hold her close. She was so small. How could he forget? There was only a three year difference, but time had shaped her. The girl standing before him in a sailor suit middle school uniform was not the woman carrying his child, but she would be someday.

He had to make sure he did nothing to jeopardize that outcome. He knew what he had to do.

"When you go back, you have to stay." Sesshou harnessed his deadpan voice, demanding obedience. "Do not stay here."

"What do you mean?" Kagome was hesitant to trust him. He understood. More often than not they were enemies. It took every ounce of his will to not remind her that in this very battle, he had protected her from Inuyasha when Naraku had gotten the better of him.

"Trust me," He begged. I'm your ally, he thought, please believe me. "You have to stay there, Kagome."

"Why are you telling me this?" She came closer, but there was plenty of space between them still. She was frantic, and disbelieving. Holding a hand to her heart, she pleaded, "What happens?"

"We say goodbye." He added, "For now." Sesshou couldn't take his eyes off of her. This was the girl who would grow to become the mother of his child, the priestess about to destroy the Shikon No Tama, and the woman who would never stop loving his brother, but he had to try.

"And everyone else?" She asked, somehow trusting his words. Kagome took another step closer. She had always known Sesshomaru would change for the better. He saved her just a few hours ago, and it seemed like he was trying to save her again.

"I will take care of everything." He clenched his fists at his side, doing his best to refrain from admitting what this was all about, "Promise me you'll go and stay." It was a plea, Kagome realized. His eyes were soft, and hopeful. Familiar in a way that gave her deja vu, but not because of Inuyasha.

"Okay." She agreed.

She trusted him. Sesshou shut his eyes and let go of a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. When he opened his eyes again, he was still bent over the lip of the well, staring into the vast portal.

"I understand now." Kagome spoke to the jewel, and he could hear her resolve. "I've made my choice. I have no wish."

He was relieved. She was going home, just as she had, leading her back to him. Sesshou pushed himself off the well and backed away from the portal, watching it rescind it's aura. Kagome would stay. Given the chance, he had to believe she would know this message. She would remember him coming to her.

Exiting the well house, the snow had picked up again, as it seemed the snow storm had followed him out. Taking one last look around the immediate area, Sesshou called forth his energy, and let himself evolve into his soul self, flying like a shooting star across the clouded night sky.

He was determined now more than ever to find her assailant. No one was going to harm his family.