~Disclaimer... I own nothing. But lilhillbillie rules the world! 'Course me and Fluffy are gonna have to overthrow her. Just to prove we're the best... -giggle- she can be my co-ruler! And Fluffy'll be the royal pooch! ^_^

_____________________________________________________________________________

The morning sun rose, blanketing the sleeping lovers in it's warm rays. Kagome and Kouga finally got up and dressed. While Kagome was, *ahem*, searching for a particular article of clothing, Kouga asked if she would like to see her friends to tell them that what had happened.

She did miss them, but what if InuYasha was there?

As if reading her mind Kouga said, "If you want, I'll bring them to you. That way we won't risk running into InuYasha."

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear.

He gave his mate a quick kiss, then took off for Kaede's village.

Kagome watched him go and thought with a sigh, Kami, I love that wolf.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elsewhere a certain perverted monk was just waking up. He rolled over and draped one arm over the beautiful woman sleeping beside him. His hand came to rest on a certain part of her anatomy and she reacted automatically with a smack to the face.

"Ow!" he cried, now completely awake and bolting upright. "What'd you do that for?"

Sango, also now awake, wrapped her arms around his waist apoligetically and said, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" She gave his red cheek a quick kiss and said, "You'd think I could get rid of those little reactions by now. It's been five whole months."

She smiled and snuggled into his chest. He couldn't resist her no matter how hard he tried and wrapped her into his warm embrace.

He held her and said with a smile, "I can't believe it's only been that long. I feel like we've been together forever."

They lay back down and just snuggled for the longest time. Finally, Miroku got up and went outside, leaving Sango behind. She knew where he was going. Every morning he went out to InuYasha's tree, to see if he had returned. Every morning it was the same. No InuYasha.

Sango eventually rose herself and began breakfast. When it was ready she went to the other side of the hut and poked the little fox sleeping there. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Morning, already.?" he said. She smiled as he went to the fire to patiently wait for his food.

She knew he missed Kagome. She missed Kagome. She thought of her as a little sister and, as such, was the only family she had left. But then she smiled. No, she thought, I have another family now. She absently placed a hand over her slightly swollen stomach and said softly, "And it's growing."

Shippo turned his head to her and said, "What's growing Sango?" Then he saw her holding her stomach and said, "Oh." and turned back sadly to the fire.

He was happy for her, and Miroku, and their unborn child. But that only made him miss his okaa-san even more. It had been so long since he had seen her. He thought that if she didn't return soon, he might forget what she looked like.

Miroku returned and the three, joined by Kaede, sat down to eat. Just after breakfast they heard a commotion from outside. Everyone jumped up from their places and rushed to see what was happening.

All the villagers were running around frantically, trying to escape the demon who'd appeared in their midst by means of a whirlwind.

Upon seeing them, Kouga approached with a smile and a hand raised in greeting.

Sango was the first to speak. "Kagome isn't here." she said simply.

He looked at her as if she were incredibly dense and said, "I know. I'm here because my mate wishes to see you."

Now all of them were confused.

"Mate?" said Shippo from his perch on Sango's shoulder.

Kouga nodded and said as if it were obvious, "Yes, Kagome."

Sango, Miroku and Kaede looked at him in shock and disbelief.

Kaede said, "Kagome would have told us if she had taken a mate."

Kouga rolled his eyes and said, "That's why I'm here." He explained why she didn't come to tell them herself, but when he finished, they appearantly still didn't believe him; until Shippo jumped onto his shoulder and sniffed him.

Suddenly he cried, "It's true! You smell like my okaa-san!" As realization dawned on him he looked very confused. "Wait..." he said haltingly, "Does that make you my otou-san?"

Kouga chose to ignore that little comment. He was a wolf, after all. And the pup was a kitsune. He shook Shippo off his shoulder and turned back to Miroku and Sango. He asked if they would accompany him to see Kagome and they rather hesitantly agreed. Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kirara set off with him to the spot where they had spent the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kagome was sitting under a tree fidgeting with her too-small, more-than-slightly-dirty uniform when she saw several heads bob into view. A joyful smile lit up her face and she waved to them as they came over the hill. She had been worried earlier. What would her friends think? Would they accept her as a youkai? She hadn't seen them since before she, InuYasha and Shippo had set out from Kaede's village several months earlier. And they had never seen her as a youkai. And now she was Kouga's mate. Would anything ever be the same again? But all her fears melted away as Sango and Miroku retuned her wave enthusiastcally. As soon as they had exchanged waves, Kouga was at her side in an instant with an arm around her waist.

But when they were in arms length, Sango threw her arms around her imouto and hugged her tightly, causing Kouga to take a step back.

"Kagome-chan! I've missed you so much!" she said, muffled in her shoulder.

Kagome could feel tears welling up in her eyes and she hugged her back.

"Sango-chan!" she cried. "I missed you too! I...I just didn't know what you would think!"

Sango pulled back and slapped her on the arm playfully. "You didn't know what we would think?" she said, incrediously. "Oh, Kagome! We'd accept and love you even if you were ten feet tall and covered in ugly green boils!"

Kagome wrinkled her nose and said, "Thank Kami I'm not!" then she burst out laughing.

Just at that moment she heard a cry of, "OKAA-SAN!!!" as Shippo launched himself into her arms and began sobbing uncontrollably.

She calmed the pup, then turned to greet Miroku.

"I missed you as well, Kagome-sama." he said, then went to hug her.

She held out a hand in front of her, stopping him in his tracks, and said, "Nuh-uh, monk. I am not getting groped by you." Then, with a look to Sango said, "Besides, wouldn't your wife be jealous? Or is my nose decieving me?"

They both stared at her in astonishment before she burst out laughing again. She then threw one arm around Miroku and gave him a squeeze, still chuckling.

She smiled at her friends and continued smiling happily. "You can't fool me. I knew what was going on from the start. I didn't need to be youkai to know where you two were sneaking off to all that time!"

After their greetings, they relaxed and all sat beneath the tree to catch up. Kagome and her friends spent the day exchanging news and Kagome was thrilled that Sango was almost three months pregnant!

At that point, Kagome decided that it was time to tell her friends something that not even Kouga knew.

She blushed slightly and began twirling a bit of her hair around her fingers. "Um, guys." she said shyly, "I kinda got something else to tell you. But I think I should tell Kouga first."

She shifted Shippo out of her lap and onto Sango's so he wouldn't hear, then leaned over toward her mate. She whispered in his ear and his eyes went wide. Then he grinned from ear-to-ear and threw his arms around her, pulling her into his lap.

"Kagome!" he cried. "That's great!"

Now everyone else was wondering what was so great. After calming Kouga, and enduring his frantic hugs and kisses, she turned back to them with a slight tinge of pink on her cheeks.

"What is it, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked.

"Well," she began. She really didn't know how to tell them. It was kind of embarrasing, but she was extremely happy and wanted her friends to know. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm pregnant."

Their instant reaction was stunned silence, which quickly broke into a wild celebration.

Kouga couldn't believe his luck. He not only had a mate he loved, but an heir! It was almost too good to be true.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They finally parted ways just before sunset. Sango and Miroku returned to the village, while Kagome, Kouga and Shippo returned to Kouga's pack.

Kouga wasn't too sure about letting the little kitsune call him 'dad', but he couldn't deny Kagome her pup. That would just be wrong.

Time passed and Kagome was extremely happy with her life. Four months later, their child was born. A beautiful little boy named Keiya with a head full of black hair, except for a single white streak, mirroring Kagome's blue one. He had his mother's intelligent gold eyes and his father's tail. But then the day Kagome had dreaded came.

She was sitting outside the wolf den on the grass with three other female and their pups. All the pups were about the same age, a year old, (A/N=a year made them look about five because youkai age differently), and were playing together while their mothers looked on. Kouga had taken the others to hunt and all in all it was a wonderfully peaceful day.

But then Kagome caught a scent on the wind. She looked to see if the other females had caught it, but they seemed oblivious. Inu-youkai sense of smell was greater than wolves, she knew this. She scanned the area and decided he was about two hours away.

One of the females caught her actions and questioned, "Kagome-sama, is something wrong?"

Without looking at her she said, "Take the children inside, Aya. I'm going to find Kouga."

Aya began frantically scanning the area and sniffing the wind for possible threats, then asked, "Is it trouble?"

Kagome nodded. "Yes." she said.

Aya nodded and the three gathered up the protesting pups and went back inside. She knew not to argue with Kagome. Not only was her friend an inu-youkai, she was also a miko. A rare combination.

Kagome was up and off in a flash. Her speed was unrivaled by any other youkai and now she had a great reason to use it. She sped through the forest, following the scent of her mate, until she came upon him. The hunters were stalking some game when she came silently up to Kouga's side. He spun around to face her and she said quickly, "Kouga, he's coming for me! He's finally coming!"

He grabbed her shoulders, knowing instantly what she meant. Only one thing could send her into such a panic. "Kagome, I won't let him have you!" he declared. "I want you to run. Run far away from here and I'll find you later, after I deal with the mutt!"

She shook her head wildly and balled up her fists. "I can't!" she cried desperately. "It's already taking hold! I can't fight it! I...I can't!" She fell to her knees and Kouga wrapped his arms around her.

"Yes you can." he said confidenly. "You're stronger than that. I know you are! You're more than just your instincts! Fight it!"

She rocked back and forth for several minutes before looking up. Her eyes were tinged with red, and Kouga knew that wasn't good. She was fighting as hard as she could to stay with him, but she was losing.

Suddenly she let out a feral growl and pushed him away. She rose to her feet and fled as fast as she could toward the approaching hanyou named InuYasha.

_________________________________________________________________________

(A/N) Ooooohhhh... Kagome's lost it! No, Kagome-chan! Don't leave Kouga-kun!!

________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks to Geminia, ayanna24, MarMoonStar, Mistic, me, SeaBlu49, V.C Wolfwood, Night Shade, Dog Demon, kate, Maragnely, LilMisSeXyThang, Nika, Stash-chan, DemonQueen17, lilhillbillie, Sora Moto, and Dexter! I know I've been a little lax on responding to reviews, but believe me I read every single one, without fail!, and use what you say to better my story!

Fluffy: "LAX!?! What do you mean 'LAX'!? Damn, woman! You haven't responded to a single one!"

Nika: "What are you doing in here!? I told you not to come in here while I'm writing!"

(Chases Fluffy into the hall)

Nika: (at the top of her lungs) "YOU MAKE ME LOSE MY FOCUS!!!!!!!"

(ZAP!!)

_______________________________________________________________________________

kate: Sorry, but no matter what happens, it will NOT be a Sesshoumaru/Kagome LOVE pairing. They may end up together, as mates, but they won't be in love. Or will they... ~grin~^_^

Marangely: Thanks! I hope I made it believable about how she was a demon the whole time. Most that are like that leave you asking, "but if she was a demon the whole time, then why was she so weak, and why didn't InuYasha, or any other demon for that matter, smell that she was a demon?" I like stories where she's a demon too, 'cause she's kinda wimpy in the series. At least for a while. (Doesn't she kinda remind you of Serena from Sailor Moon? Powerful, but wimpy...) Anyway, I prefer one's where she's powerful and can kick ass with the best of them!!

Nika: Thank you for reading and reviewing, even if it was only because we have the same name... WAHOO!! Someone praised my talents as a writer as well as my story!! And just for that, I'm changing my pen name to "Mistress Nika"! That's what my Fluffykins calls me anyway... ^_^

Stash-chan: I try to make my chapters as long as I can, but when I get to a good part I immediately wanna put it up for everyone to see! I agree, there aren't enough Kouga/Kagome fics. I personaly think they make a GREAT couple, as evidenced by my story... And stick around, you may be pleased with my ending... 'Course you may not. I haven't really decided...

DemonQueen17: Kagome knows exactly who she wants. She just can't have him 'cause someone else wants her! That's not to say she doesn't love the someone else, just that she loves who she wants more... Uh, is anyone else confused?

lilhillbillie: Love you, love you, love you!!! You're an INCREDIBLE reviewer! And you review, like, every chapter! And you wrote me a lemon!! Love you, love you, love you!!!

mari: Hey! That's my mom's name! Well, no. It's not one big flashback. It's just been one 'til now. Sorry you're confused. You're why I decided to try to end the giant flashback. Sorry!!

Sora Moto: 'Cause I don't wanna!! So there! Nyah!! ^_^ *ahem* yeah, I know what I want to write, I'm just having trouble getting it out...

Dexter: Thank you! That idea for the lemon scene came from my cousin. I use it in stories I edit for her. And thank you for noting my, (mostly), correct grammer. I go back over my stories at least twice before I post them, just to make sure everything flows correctly. And Literature always was my favorite class in school! ^_^ I actually can write lemons. Very detailed ones at that. (insert Miroku patented lecherous grin here) I'm just having trouble getting them in this fic.