Important Note: Last week I replaced the author's note that was chapter five with an actual chapter so if you have not yet read chapter five, go back and read it. It will make this chapter make more sense.

Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha I would not be writing fanfics. And I probably wouldn't still be in school. And I would probably actually have some money. So anyway, I don't own Inuyasha.

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get up but I was really sick and stuck in bed, away from a computer. Oh, also, a warning: Shippo kinda OOC in this chapter.

When All Else Fails

Chapter Six

Weeks passed. Things were not going much better. Kagome kept herself locked up most of the time in the home she shared with Inuyasha. She would rarely come out and when she did so, it was only briefly. She hardly ate or slept. She just spent most of her time crying or staring into space.

Inuyasha was at a loss, trying to come up with ways to comfort his wife. He tried everything he could think of. He held her, talked to her, he'd even brought her flowers but nothing seemed to help. He was starting to feel useless to her. The others told him he shouldn't feel that way since he was the only one who could get any reaction out of her at all, not to mention the only one who could get her to eat anything.

Still, as time went by, his feelings of helplessness increased, as did his worry. He had even tried taking Kagome back to her time, but that seemed to leave her even more withdrawn. The others were visiting less and less frequently partly because it depressed them to see Kagome in her current state and partly because Sango and Miroku couldn't bring Yusuke with them, for fear of making Kagome worse.

Inuyasha himself was starting to become more withdrawn. It pained him to see what was happening to Kagome and he felt that since he couldn't help her in any way, that he could see, that he did not deserve to be with her. He spent most of his time in the trees in his forest. Sometimes he would disappear for days at a time. He would lose track of time as he wandered around in an almost trance-like state. The others noticed that this separation from each other wasn't doing either of them any good. They just didn't know how to help.

Eventually, the night of the new moon came (A/N: although earlier, Inuyasha could control what form he was in he still turns human with the new moon). Inuyasha hadn't been seen all day. As the night fell and temperatures dropped over the already snow covered world, even Kagome became aware enough to be worried over Inuyasha's safety. Leaving Yusuke in Kaede's care, Sango and Miroku decided to go out and look for the temporary human.

After searching for about an hour, they found a half-frozen Inuyasha lying, unaware, in the snow. Between the two of them, they managed to drag Inuyasha back to Kaede's hut. Somewhere along the way, he fell completely unconscious. Once inside, they laid Inuyasha down near the fire, removed most of his wet clothing and wrapped him in blankets. As Sango and Miroku left to return home for the night, they sent Shippo off to try to bring Kagome to Inuyasha's side.

Shippo rushed to Kagome and Inuyasha's home. He burst through the door, yelling at the top of his lungs, "KAGOME! KAGOME!"

He was somewhat surprised when he actually received and answer. "Shippo, what is it?" Kagome asked, the worry evident in her voice.

"It's Inuyasha. Sango and Miroku found him. He's in bad shape, Kagome. He's over at Kaede's. You need to go to him."

While it was clear that Kagome wanted to go, she was still somewhat hesitant. Sensing the problem, Shippo reassured her, "Don't worry, Yusuke's not there. Sango and Miroku already took him home."

Kagome nodded and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders before following Shippo out into the night and to Kaede's hut.

They arrived to find Inuyasha still unconscious. Kagome ran over to his side, as Kaede stepped back to allow her room. She reached out to touch Inuyasha's face and gasped when her fingers made contact. He felt so cold. Kagome looked to Kaede, "Will he be okay?"

"He should be, as long as we can keep him warm for the night. Can I leave that task up to you and Shippo?"

Kagome nodded and Kaede headed into the back room to get some sleep. After staring at Inuyasha's still form for a few minutes, Kagome started to sob.

Suddenly, Shippo decided that enough was enough. He just snapped. Giving it all he had, he started to yell at Kagome, "Damnit Kagome, snap out of it. I don't want to be mean but somebody needs to wake you up. The way you've been acting lately has been tearing Inuyasha apart. And now, because of that, he's physically hurt, too. And it's not doing you any good, either. I know you've been hurt but if you don't change something soon, one of you is probably gonna wind up dead. And I don't want that. You guys are like second parents to me. You've had everyone really worried. I know what happened was tragic, but you have to learn to move on, for everyone's sake."

Kagome blinked as Shippo's words sank in. She slowly nodded, "You're right, Shippo." She wiped her eyes and crawled over to Inuyasha. "Well," she said with a small smirk, "I can think of one good way to help keep him warm." With that, she cuddled up with Inuyasha, falling asleep with him in her arms as Shippo stayed up to watch over the fire.

Kagome awoke the next morning as someone stepped into the hut. She opened her eyes to find Sango, carrying Yusuke. When Sango noticed Kagome she exclaimed, "Oh, gomen, Kagome. I didn't realize you were still here. I'll come back later."

"No, that's okay," said Kagome, shaking her head, "come on in. If you don't mind, I'd like to see my best friend's son."

Sango looked shocked but nodded, handing Yusuke over for Kagome to hold. When Kagome looked at Yusuke's sleeping face, tears formed in her eyes. Sango was about to reach out and take Yusuke back when she noticed that in spite of the tears, Kagome had a small smile on her face.

A voice behind them made them turn, "Ka-Kagome?"

Kagome's smile widened, "Ohayo, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha smiled. His Kagome was back to normal. His eyes met hers, "Welcome back."

"Yes, it's good to be back."

This is not the end yet. There is at least one more chapter to come. I did my best to make this chapter longer to try to make up for taking so much time updating. I guess that's it until the next chapter. Ja ne.