Grab the popcorn, ladies and gentlemen. The show's about to begin…

Chapter Fifteen.

Kagome could only stare in bemused wonder at the sight before her eyes.

Inuyasha rolled on the grass, Inuharu pulled close to his chest to protect the small child's head from injury. The little one squealed in delight, reaching a hand up to tug at Inuyasha's hair as they came to a stop. The hanyou growled playfully at the child… and Inuharu growled right back.

"I think I'm afraid," he mocked the toddler, letting him sit square on his stomach and continue to pull at his hair and push on his nose and eyes. "This demon is a little too much for me to handle. Ouch!" Rubbing his nose when Inuharu managed a too-firm grip, he smirked. "Keep this up and I'll sic you on Miroku."

Pulling Kagome's attention from the scene in the small meadow, Sango whispered into her ear, "they've been like this ever since Miroku and I got back last night. We were worried he'd realize we never went for Kouga, but he was so busy playing with the baby he didn't say a word."

Kagome nodded, her eyes never leaving the two part-demons tussling in the grass. After a while of fond observation, she bit her lip and faced Sango and Miroku. "Will you excuse us, please?"

"Of course, Kagome-chan. We'll be back in the village if you need us."

"Arigato, Sango-chan, Miroku. I appreciate your watching over him."

"Don't thank us," Miroku smiled. "Thank Inuyasha."

"I will," Kagome assured him, her face solemn.

Waiting for her two companions to leave the clearing, Kagome cleared her throat and sought the words she would need to explain her sudden return and express her gratitude to the man who'd given her so much. Even then, she didn't know how – or if – to tell him just how big his gift to her was.

Nonetheless, she had to say something. If for no other reason than to whisk the little one up into her arms again and feel for herself that he was safe and happy. With one final, deep breath, she stepped further into the meadow and waited for the wind to shift.

Kagome didn't have to wait long. Inuyasha was mid-tickle when he sat up abruptly, and turned to see her standing only a few meters away. How he'd missed her footsteps was beyond him, but at the moment it didn't matter.

"Kagome?"

"I hear I have you to thank for rescuing my son."

The hanyou blushed, scooting away from the toddler as though to hide their earlier activities. "Feh, I just found him."

"Well, I still thank you." She took a few more hesitant steps forward, finally coming to stand between the two males she loved most. She reached down and picked Inuharu up, brushing bits of grass off his face, and checking him for bruises and scratches.

"I didn't hurt him," Inuyasha defended himself.

"I know," she replied quietly. "It's a mother thing."

They remained in a silent stalemate for a while before Inuyasha could take the awkwardness no longer. "You going to leave us again?"

"Eventually," Kagome answered slowly.

Inuyasha looked away, but not before she caught the pained look in his eyes.

"But… I'll probably come back again."

At this, he lifted his head again, and tried to hide the look of renewed hope that sprang forth. "Why did you leave me? You didn't even say goodbye."

Kagome lowered herself to the ground setting Inuharu between them and fidgeting needlessly with his small pullover. "I don't know," she answered him. "Maybe because I thought I had to."

"I guess it's easier for you there," he thought aloud, not really expecting a response. Kagome spoke up anyway.

"Not really. I can't take him to our doctors, and I've had to tell all my friends that he's my cousin. I managed to finish school, barely, but my grades were so awful in the end that I couldn't get into a good college. I'm at a community school learning a trade I have no interest in just to make a living for me and my son."

"You could stay here," Inuyasha ventured carefully, his words guarded.

"I could."

The young woman sitting before him was so much more sedate than the Kagome he remembered. Still, he could sense her irrepressible spirit lying beneath the mature façade and ached to release that part of her again. If only for a moment, Inuyasha yearned to have his Kagome back.

"I wanted to ask you to stay with us, before you left. I needed to tell you that—that—" he grunted, his hands balling into fists. "Dammit I'm not good with this emotional crap," he spat.

"What did you need to tell me, Inuyasha?" She rested a hand on one of his fists, hoping to soothe the tension she felt coming off of him and hear his words.

"I wanted to tell you that I … care about you."

"I care about you, too," she answered him, happy with the revelation but disappointed at its lack of depth. Somehow, she'd been hoping for more.

"Wait, that's not what I meant. I mean, it is, but…" he cursed again, finally screwing up his courage to look her directly in the eye. "What I'm trying to say is, I wanted to ask you to be my mate, okay? That's what I wanted to do, but then you left and sealed the damn well and made it perfectly clear that—"

"You wanted me to be your mate?"

The hanyou let the rest of his rant fade away, not willing to repeat himself. Instead, he watched the little tiny toddler grasp at small beetles in the grass.

Kagome read the meaning in his silence. She'd hurt him. In her cowardice and fear, she'd selfishly thought of only her own comfort, never considering what he wanted or needed. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I shouldn't have run off like that. The truth is, I've been miserable in my own time. The only thing that keeps me going is this little one. Every night I go to bed wishing I was here with you. I should have thought of your feelings, and given you the chance to be a part of my life. Our lives," she amended, patting Inuharu's back gently.

Inuyasha joined in the beetle capturing game, feeling butterflies flutter in his stomach as he prepared to bare his soul to the woman before him. "After a while, I managed to convince myself that I was better off without you and the kid," he admitted. "Thing is, I was lying to myself. Even now, and I'm probably being a damned fool for admitting this… I still want to be your mate." Laughed with self-loathing. "Feh. You probably think I'm an idiot."

"No, I don't." She placed her hands on his face, pulling his eyes up to meet hers once again. "I've never felt so well cared for with anyone but you. Inuyasha, would you really be want to be with me?"

"Yeah."

"The baby, too?"

"Of course, wench, what do you think?"

Words failed them in that moment, but they both knew they wanted the same thing. Inuyasha threw caution to the wind and pulled her into his arms, hugging her as though his life depended on it.

"Stay with me?" he whispered.

"Hai," she cried quiet, happy tears.

Inuharu, feeling quite left out, wormed his way between them and pulled on Inuyasha's haori.

The hanyou chuckled. "I think someone is trying to get our attention."

Kagome yawned, smiling, and pulled him into her embrace. "I was so worried about you, little one. Never go running off like that again. Mommy didn't get any sleep last night because of you."

"Little ear biter cried so much that the rest of us didn't either."

Kagome smiled at him, turning to lean against his chest and close her eyes. "Then I guess a nap wouldn't be such a bad idea, ne?"

Inuyasha agreed wholeheartedly, bringing his arms around to hold them both securely and leaning back into the grassy hillside. "Maybe just for a little while," he yawned. "Stupid wimpy wolf doesn't know what he's missing," he added with a smirk before falling into a light doze.

At his words, Kagome's heart dropped into her stomach. The shock of his would-be proposal had completely erased the original reason for speaking to him from her mind. Glancing up at the hanyou, she found he was already snoring. She couldn't help but take a moment to caress his cheek, fondly admiring the way his face looked when he was relaxed in sleep. Later, she decided. I'll tell him everything after we wake up. I only hope he still wants me when he knows the truth.

* * * * *

Inuyasha awoke to cooing sounds and the warmth of Kagome's soft body snuggling in the circle of his arms. He smiled, nosing into her hair for a whiff of the scent that uniquely identified her to him. That's when he realized the cooing noises were slowly moving away from them.

Does that kid ever stay put?

Gently moving Kagome to the grass, Inuyasha stood up and followed the babbling noises to a nearby stream, eyes wide with alarm as the toddler rapidly approached its bank. He leapt to the edge and pulled back on Inuharu's pullover just as he was losing his balance.

"If you were thirsty, you could have just asked," Inuyasha chided him. He cupped his hands and filled them with water, pouring a small amount into Inuharu's mouth to quench his thirst. The little one drank quickly, wiping at his mouth when he finished and plopping down to sit. Deciding he could use a drink himself, Inuyasha bent down and pulled up another handful of water. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of the cool spring water rushing down his throat. He'd been thirstier than he thought.

Opening his eyes again, he found Inuharu's face beside his own, peering into the water. The toddler's bonnet had loosened during their nap, and was beginning to slip off his head. When at last it slid off, the hanyou's eyes widened to the size of moons. He gasped.

The boy had inu ears. Just like his. He continued to study the mirroring waters, slowly comparing their faces. His golden eyes… his nose… Kagome's hair, but… the ears… Stunned, Inuyasha sat back on his haunches, his mind racing faster than he could piece thoughts together.

Inuharu, sensing the elder hanyou's distressed state, toddled over to him and tugged at his hakama. "Otous'n?"

The little boy's utterance cut through the jumble in Inuyasha's head and the hanyou looked into his eyes, pieces of a long forgotten puzzle beginning to fall into place. He picked the boy up and stalked back to their napping place, depositing him safely on the grass before sitting next to Kagome and shaking her awake.

"Na…ni…?"

"You better have a damn good explanation, Kagome."

Her eyes snapped open at the tone of his voice, and she slowly struggled to sit up. When she'd succeeded in waking enough to recognize her surroundings, she felt her heart jump. Inuharu's cap was off, and Inuyasha was livid.

"Well?" The hanyou was tapping his foot on the ground, quite a feat of flexibility considering he was sitting with his legs and arms crossed.

"I—I'm not sure what to say…"

"If I didn't know he hated humans with a passion, I'd say that kid was Sesshoumaru's!" he shouted.

"It's not Sesshoumaru's," Kagome whispered.

"He's obviously not Kouga's."

"No, he's not."

"So? Whose is he, Kagome?"

She sighed, and pulled her son onto her lap, instinctively preparing to protect him from the shouting match she was sure would break out any moment.

"I named him Inuharu," she began softly, her eyes beginning to water, "in recognition of his father, the hanyou Inuyasha."

So it was true. This small being that bore a striking resemblance to himself… was his own son. Still, Inuyasha was thoroughly confused, and that particular feeling angered him. "I think I'd remember mating with you, Kagome."

"Trust me, he's yours," Kagome repeated. "I was there."

"Then where the hell was I?" he shrieked.

Kagome's eyes dropped to the ground. She could feel his frustration coming off of him in hot waves. "You were there too. Just not… all of you."

"What part was?"

"The demon part."

Inuyasha fell back onto his rear, her words beginning to pierce the thick fog of his mind. "What do you mean?"

"You were transformed into your youkai self."

He sat in bewildered silence, desperately trying to remember the last time he'd lost control of himself. At last it came to him.

"That day at the lake."

"Hai."

"You were chasing me, and the next thing I knew, I was in a cave surrounded by your blood…" Slowly, the realization dawning on him, he looked up in horror to see the pain in Kagome's eyes.

"Kagome… I— I didn't… I mean, I couldn't have…"

She nodded, silent tears falling from her eyes onto her cheeks. "I'm afraid so, Inuyasha."

"But what about… you told me there was a demon…"

"There was no demon. I made that up to explain my injuries and the blood."

"And Kouga…"

"Another lie, explaining the mark on my neck and the pregnancy."

He stammered wordlessly, bits of a forgotten memory making their way into his head. He'd seen these visions before -- in his dreams -- but so distorted and broken that he'd never understood what he was seeing. Now, new information in hand, they came together and he saw himself forcing Kagome into sobbing submission. His heart clenched with pain, his fists tightened in anger, and his eyes shut tight, as though doing so would banish the horrible images in his mind.

"All…this…time…" he ground out between clenched teeth, "All this time, I've been the father… and you didn't tell me."

"I didn't want you to find out what you'd done," she pled with him, praying against all odds that he'd see her side of things and forgive her. "After all the time you spent beating yourself up over the bandits you mauled, I thought it would eat you up inside to know you'd violated me in that way. I couldn't let that happen."

"You never even gave me a chance," he shot back, eyes once again focused on her face. "You just assumed I'd fall apart without letting me apologize and make it up to you. Without giving me the opportunity to learn from my mistakes, so it wouldn't happen again. And what's worse, Kagome – you took away an entire year of my son's life from me. A whole damned YEAR!"

Shrinking back from him, Kagome's tears turned into genuine sobs. "I—I know," she stammered. "And it was completely wrong of me. I meant well at first, really I did. But it just got so hard to confess and I became a total coward—"

"Go home, Kagome."

"N-nani?"

His eyes had taken on a dull hue, looking through her into himself. "Go home, Kagome." He stood up, turning to face away from her, his hands still clenched. "I have a lot to think about and frankly, I can't look at you right now." Without waiting for another word from the young woman he stalked off, breaking into a swift run as he reached the edge of the forest.