Thanks lavender for the review. I will type more tonight, but not too much as my sister will want to get on soon...

Chapter 2

Kagome awoke to a bright and sunny morning. Her alarm clock went off and she hit sleep, waiting for Hojo to tell her to stay in bed. She rolled over, and the pain from her two cracked ribs brought back the pain from last night's argument with Hojo. "I don't want to see you anymore!" Wow! She thought. Did I really say that? Sure she had been thinking it for a while, but last night, seeing how shallow their relationship had truly become had awakened the part of her that could voice this feeling. Souta would have been proud of her for it; he was always telling her that she needed to kick him out of her life. The one time Hojo had hit her, her little brother had taken him down in seconds, and had wondered since why she couldn't shake him.

"Maybe I should call Souta..." She hesitated, then remembered that Dr. Morito had given her permission to be late due to her injuries. She picked up her phone and hit speed dial one. It rang only half a ring before a sleepy sounding Souta answered.

"What?"

"Ohh, cranky!" Kagome smiled.

"If you called me to laugh at me for having to go to school, you're dead."

"Oh, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"My bed is up against a wall, I can only get off on one side."

"You know what? I think I'll call later to tell you about me almost getting hit by a hot cabbie, saved by a hot Doctor, and me dumping Hojo. Bye, little brother!"

She hung up her phone and had to wait a full second for it to ring again. "Hello?" She asked innocently.

"You finally dumped the trash on the curb?" She smiled.

"Yes."

"And you saw how many hot guys?"

"Counting Hojo?"

"Grrrrr."

"Two, and an intern in my new office."

"New office?"

"The hot doctor that saved me was the man whose office I had that interview in."

"And you got the job?"

"Yup."

"Any owwies?"

"Less than I'd have gotten if I'd actually been hit."

"So you got some?" He sounded worried.

"Two cracked ribs a slightly twisted knee, and a small concussion."

"Ouch." He paused. "You alright?"

"Fine." She twisted and moaned. "I have to get to work though."

"Alright. Hey, uh, sis?"

"Yeah, bro?"

"When are you going to come and get me out of here?"

"As soon as you're cleared." A tear ran down her cheek. "I love you Souta."

"I love you , too, Kagome. I'll see you soon."

"Bye." She hung up and wept into her hands for a few moments. Shaking herself, she got up and dressed, slowly and painfully, then fixed herself up. "Time for work girl. Leave your crappy, breaking life at home, and do a good job." She nodded sharply at her reflection and headed for the door.

Inuyasha sat at his desk leafing through papers he had dug up on Kagome Higurashi. She was newly graduated, and rather young, but she seemed right for the job, and something in her scent told him she needed a lot of help. The biography he had in front of him confirmed that. She had lost her parents, and her grandfather in a bloody murder that she and her brother witnessed from the kitchen closet. Her brother was in a rest home in China and her only other relative, a cousin named Sango Horimoto, was an alleged drunk in a slum of Tokyo.

He leaned back in his chair with a Higurashi family portrait in his hand. A younger, laughing Kagome looked out from the center of the frame. "How long has it been since she smiled like that?" He wondered out loud.

"Who?"

He whirled around in his chair to see his new nurse, her jacket over her shoulders. Her dark hair was wound tightly on the back of her head, and her eyes were tired looking. She looked much older than her twenty-five years.

"No one." He replied quickly, hoping she wouldn't persist. Apparently she didn't have the energy to. "I didn't expect you this early."

"I had nothing else to do."

'Ah- she works to escape.' Well, you can start by checking in our first patient of the day. Here for a check-up. Waiting in the hall."

'Ah- a test run. He wants to see if I can work injured.' "Alright. Where are the forms?"

"In the drawer, under the coffee pot, over there."

"Alright, I'll get to work."

Inuyasha watched the nurse move around all day, at his beck and call. He barked orders and she jumped. She was efficient and quick, and she worked as hard as she could to get things done. He was strict and business-like, and Kagome really admired him by lunch. After a long bustling day, they both relaxed on the desk chairs and exchanged tired smiles.

"Do you want some coffee, boss?"

"Sure. If you're up to it, we could use another pot."

"Yes, sir!" She mock saluted and moved to the coffee pot. Seeing her looking for the coffee grounds, he told her they were on the top shelf, and reclosed his eyes. Kagome stretched up to grab the red foil package, and fell to the ground with an eek of pain. Before she hit the ground, Inuyasha was holding her.

"I'm sorry! I completely forgot about your ribs!"

"It's okay! I'm fine." She groaned in pain and struggled to sit up.

"Don't move." He sounded much gentler than he had earlier in the day, and she was surprised. Even yesterday, when he was checking on her, he was official and interviewing, and rough edged. Now, he had her back held gently with one hand, and his other one was on her face. His large, clear gold eyes were about a foot from her muddled and tired green ones. She was on her back, cradled in this man's arms and couldn't think straight. He was looking her straight in the face and she couldn't look away.

"I'm really okay, Dr. Morito. I..." She stopped and raised her hand to his head. She pushed a lock of hair out of his face, accidentally knocking his hat off, and revealing two twitching dog ears. She gasped and shrank away from him in fear. The door opened, and the cabbie from the day before walked in as she shrieked.