Disclaimer: What you thought all this was my idea? Sorry, just Nekoyasha and this story belong to me. Inuyasha, Kagome, and her family are not.

"Spoken"

Thoughts

A/N: This is a fluffy chapter! In fact some of you have been waiting for this one. :)

Chapter 28: Waking

Kagome was comfortable. But this was comfort was recent. Before being where she was now, there had been fear. She had been falling into darkness. It was not unlike falling into the well, but there was no warring states era on the other side. Just the endless fall.

She had noticed that it had begun to get very cold. That was when she finally landed into a forested clearing.

The clearing was surrounded on three sides by trees and on the fourth was a small babbling brook. The brook was cool and crisp. The sun shone brightly in the clearing and was warm. A gentle breeze floated through. It was peaceful here. And safe.

After she had refreshed herself at the brook, she turned around to get a better look at the spot. That was when she saw him. Inuyasha. With black hair. He looked so peaceful sitting there in front of a tree with his eyes closed. He appeared to be meditating. Or at least that was what Kagome thought. He looked so peaceful that she didn't want to disturb him. But it had felt like so long since she had seen him.

"Inuyasha?"

The boy opened his violet eyes and smiled at her. He stood and held his arms open for her. "I'm here, Kagome."

She ran into his arms and felt them close protectively around. She rested her cheek against the smooth skin of his chest. "Don't leave me."

"I won't," he whispered into her hair. He brought both of them gently to the ground and pulled her into his lap and held her. She cuddled up against him, afraid to let him go for the fear that he would dissipate in a puff of smoke.

She must have fallen asleep, because when she came to, Inuyasha was gone. She panicked for a minute until she could feel his presence watching over her. There were noises filtering through into the clearing. There was Grandpa complaining about something, Mama was making breakfast, and Souta was running around and said bye.

Kagome felt herself being pulled from the clearing. She didn't want to leave. Here was where Inuyasha loved her and wanted her.

"I can't lose you. I need you to fight. I need you so I can fight. I need you," she heard what seemed to be Inuyasha's voice softly say.

Kagome's eyes blinked open. The sight that greeted her was a pair of golden eyes filled with concern. She gazed up lovingly into those eyes. "Do you mean it?" Her voice sounded hoarse to her ears.

There was a look of confusion that momentarily crossed his face. "Yes, I mean it, Kagome." He wet his lips with his tongue, and brushed a few stray hairs from her face. Then he leaned down and brushed her lips with his own.

This kiss was light and swift, but it still took Kagome's breath away. She could swear that she was still dreaming. That was until she tried to sit up. There was an intense pain in her abdomen and she gave a yell as she fell back.

*****

Inuyasha had barely spoken the words when he felt a change in her breathing. He laid her on her back and propped himself on his arms so he could look at her. Her eyes fluttered open. His heart soared at the way she was looking at him.

"Do you mean it?" she asked.

She actually heard me? He was stunned for a moment. Then he told her, "Yes, I mean it, Kagome." He stared at her. If the monk can just lean over and kiss Sango, then surely I can do the same with Kagome. It's now or never. He licked his lips because they felt dry. There were a few strands of hair that clung to her face due to the sweat from the fever. He brushed them away.

Inuyasha's heart was pounding as he leaned down and gently brought his lips to hers. He was nervous that maybe this was not what she wanted, and quickly ended it. Kagome had a dreamy look in her eyes.

He watched as she tried to sit up. She yelled in pain and fell backward as she grabbed her stomach. He caught her before her head hit the floor.

"Well, I guess that is my cue," he heard his cousin say. Neko walked over to the couple.

"How long have you been there?" Inuyasha glared at her.

Neko just smirked at the boy. She knelt by Kagome. "Good morning. Do you remember what happened?"

Kagome gaped at the woman. "Nekoyasha? How did you get here? Did you follow us and get here the same way we did?"

Neko stopped the girl of her questions. "Yes, Kagome, I am Nekoyasha. I am actually from this time, so I did not follow you through the well. ::holds up her hand to stop any further interruption:: And let's just say that a friend of yours knew who to call when you fainted. Now then, what happened?"

Kagome sat and thought for a few minutes. A friend of mine? Who could it be? When I came home there was mama, grandpa, and… Hojo-kun? Kagome blushed a little. She looked up at the healer. "Well, I stopped by Kaede's like you asked and everything seemed to be okay. As I was walking to the well, I tripped over some roots. Then my stomach started hurting. I thought it was just cramps that come with 'that time of the month' and didn't worry about it. When I came up to the house there were voices arguing and I figured that it would be best if I were to come into the room from the stairs. So, I climbed up the tree and climbed in through my window. I changed and came down the stairs. That's when I fainted in front of Ho- my friend. That's all I remember until a few minutes ago." Kagome looked at Inuyasha and blushed. She looked at Neko. "How long have I been asleep?"

"At least 36 hours. It's Tuesday. We were started to get worried. If you hadn't awoke by this evening, I was going to have you admitted to the hospital. But I would like not to that if at all possible." I would have some very upset people on my hands if that happens.

Kagome nodded at her words. "So, I guess going to school is out of the question?"

"Maybe, but I need to have a look at your wounds first since you just cried out in pain." She pushed the pajama top up a bit to look at the bandages. There was not any blood seeping through. She looked under the bandages. The wounds didn't look any worse than they had that morning. Neko looked up at the girl. "How close are you to a period?"

Kagome blushed. "Well, I'm due for one in the next couple of days. But I have never had cramps like this."

"Well, first let's see if we can get you to sit up." With a little help from the cousins, Kagome was able to sit up.

"Well, it doesn't hurt as much, now," Kagome stated.

"It probably had to do with the fact that you had been asleep for awhile and it was sudden movement. Probably the best thing for you today is to take a bath, get something to eat and stay home today so I can keep an eye on you."

Kagome nodded. At that moment Mrs. H. walked into the room. She saw that her daughter was sitting up and awake. She ran over to Kagome and hugged her.

"Hi, mama," Kagome said sheepishly.

"Oh, I am so glad you are awake, sweetie. We were so worried about you. Is there anything I can get you?"

"Well, I am hungry," Kagome said.

Mrs. H. got up and started going to the kitchen.

"Something light," Neko shouted. "We need to make sure that she can keep it down."

Mrs. H. nodded and went into the kitchen. A moment later she came back out with toast, jam, and a glass of orange juice. Kagome gratefully took it and ate.

About half-way through, she looked back at the boy that was still holding her. "Don't you want anything to eat, Inuyasha?"

"Nah, I already had something to eat," he replied.

When Kagome had finished, she set the plates aside and stretched. "I think a bath would be a good thing," she stated.

She slowly got up with help. "Why don't I help you in the bath? You have various bandages to work with," her mother said. Kagome nodded and they both headed up the steps for a bath and fresh clothes.

Neko stood up and started folding the blankets.

"What are you doing?" Inuyasha asked.

"Well, since Kagome is up and about, she will probably start sleeping in her own bed, so there is no use for the futons to be here in the living room." Inuyasha nodded and started helping her.

After they had finished, they sat down on the couch. There was a quiet moment before Inuayasha turned to his cousin and asked, "Neko, what's a period?"

*****

A/N: Hello everyone! Yes I am still alive. I had two weeks with out internet. In my last chapter I said something about what else was I going to do at my parents? Well, I only got one chapter written. ::hangs head:: There was packing and unpacking and re-packing, etc. So… ummm… yeah. And then to make matters worse, I couldn't get the operating system onto the Computer with a CD. (And being in Florida at the time, that was all dad and I had.) And then to top it all off, I left my story disk at my parents in Tennessee. It just got to me today.

I think that is all I will say today and keep this short and sweet.