Hey, just a warning, last of the angst in this chapter, and after that, feel free to flame me if there's angst in it, ok? Just because I write angst doesn't mean I LIKE it...hehe... Yeah, I know it isn't realistic, but it hasn't even been a day... I don't think... a little less than a day... it happens!... some twins are a few minutes apart, but I know some that were... 2 and a half hours apart. Poor mommy huh? All right, you know the drill....

Chapter 28 - Family Reunion

Kagome woke up in the morning, the sunlight blinding her, but that wasn't what woke her up.

The baby trying to claw its way out of her, did.

"Kaede! Sango! INUYASHA!"

Sango blanched, then turned on her heel and sped back into the little hut. Kagome was sitting up, and from all angles looked to be trying to curl herself into... well, herself. Sango ran over to her as Kaede hobbled over as well.

Sango knelt and brushed back the hair on Kagome's forehead, then stood up when Kaede began to bark orders. She went to get the necessary items on Kaede's list, scrambling around to boil hot water before the baby came. Which was very, very soon.

"I'm going to KILL HIM! Why isn't he - Aaah!" She gripped Kaede's hand, trying to stop the pain. She pushed until her face turned purple, then she took a deep breath and pushed again.

"Wait till I say, child. Carefully now..." her quiet voice was drowned out by Kagome, who had always been good at being loud. Yelling at evil youkai (including the occasional Inuyasha) had worked wonders over the years. Her voice couldn't have been louder if she'd had a microphone.

"Now push," she said. Kagome did, her face going from red to white and back to red in a few moments. Her brow was plastered with sweat, and Sango gently wiped her face with a bit of cloth.

Kaede watched Kagome for a while - with no progress - and frowned. Biting her lip, she reached for a vial next to her. She poured its contents onto her fingertips, then reached to rub it gently between the girl's legs.

Kagome screeched, looking panicked, then threw her head back down onto the pallet as another pain came on. Kaede sat back again, confused.

"Sango, have ye witnessed any births before." Sango continued wiping Kagome's face as she answered.

"Yes. I helped with a great many too, including my brother's," she murmured, not wanting to make any loud noises. Kaede nodded, then set her lips in a grim line and rubbed her hands together.

"Then ye'll know what to do," she said, and without further ado, she plunged into action.

Kagome screamed, feeling the old woman trying to turn the baby inside. Kaede would stop moving at every contraction, wincing, then would resume her maneuvers. Kaede grimaced, knowing her fragile hands would be bruised later on.

Kagome cried out, calling for Inuyasha, but Kaede was immune. She'd heard such cries before. A few more contractions, and eager turns, and then everything clicked into place.

"Inuyasha... where are you!?" The miko whispered frantically, then clamped her lips at the next contraction. Kaede grinned.

"Here it comes, push when I tell ye, lass." Kagome nodded, and Sango moved next to Kaede, who had her hands on top of Kagome's stomach.

"Ready... push!"

"Inuyasha, we're getting closer!"

"I know! I can smell her!"

"Only one?!"

Inuyasha, with no breath for words, just shook his head, and the anxious look on Miroku's face disappeared, to be replaced by one of great anticipation. Inuyasha kept his eyes on the path before him, his daughter clutched under his arm.

They'd give her a proper burial, and everyone would stop giving him the pitying looks. It was horrible. He could smell her, even now. He couldn't get the child out of his mind. His child...

What was Kagome doing now? Was there really another child, safe inside her womb? A child who wasn't harmed by Naraku...

Inuyasha spit on the ground, showing exactly what he thought of Naraku as he ran.

Just a few minutes more, and he'd have his family safe and in his arms...

"She's beautiful, Kagome."

Once cleaned up, the babe was beautiful. Her eyes, which Kagome had seen for only the barest instant, were just as gold as Inuyasha's, and made the pain in her heart that much stronger. Her tiny little dog ears, nestled in an already thick head of shimmering white hair, were white as well, with little black tips.

Kagome fingered these as her new daughter slept, eventually joining her in sleep as well, images of Inuyasha tantalizing her dreams.

When Inuyasha and the others finally reached the small village, he was greatly relieved to see the torches lit, and some candles flickering in some houses. It meant that no one under Naraku's spell had perished because of it, and the thought made him proud.

He quietly stepped toward Kaede's hut, gently brushing aside the curtain. Suddenly Sango stood before him, with wide, tired, but mostly happy eyes.

"Be quiet, Inuyasha," she whispered with a smile. "Your daughter is sleeping."

Inuyasha felt a wave wash through him, every part of him tingling, and he had trouble breathing. He anxiously strode into the room, intent on seeing Kagome and their child.

His heart stopped when he saw them, nestled together on the pallet. Kagome was whispering sweet nothings into the baby's ear, while she herself slept soundly. Kagome looked up at him, and her mouth trembled, then she ducked her head and cried silently.

Miroku appeared next to him, and silently took the child he had brought from under his arm, then left with a final nod to Inuyasha.

Once he was gone, Inuyasha rushed over, crouching down next to Kagome and wrapping his arms around her. Kagome embraced him with one arm, the other holding the baby. She clung to him, and he to her, the baby tucked in between.

"Why?" she whispered, and Inuyasha frowned. He kissed her brow.

"What?"

"Why did she... why am I not holding two...?" And she broke down crying again. Inuyasha rocked her, gently keeping a hand on the baby.

"Kagome, we can't think like that. We have to love this one, she needs us," he whispered back, and with a nod from Kagome, he took the baby in his arms.

She frowned at the new change in position, but her face relaxed into sleep once more. Inuyasha went on staring at her for what seemed like hours, memorizing her features. Kagome smiled and sniffled as he felt the little curls, the doggy ears so like his own, yet with a little of Kagome as well.

He couldn't believe that he had a child, a living, breathing child made of him and Kagome. It was something he'd never dreamed of, ever. Being a father was going to be a great adventure, he thought with a smile. He kissed the baby's tiny button nose, then handed her back to Kagome.

Inuyasha watched Kagome and his daughter for a while, happy beyond words. "What are you going to name her?" he asked, breaking the silence. She looked up, biting her lip, then her face broke into a grin.

"Kaida," she said, and made a little grimace. Inuyasha's mouth fell open in disbelief.

"Kaida?" he repeated, and she nodded with a laugh. "She's not a 'little dragon'! She's inu!" Kagome continued to laugh, and finally he pouted, sitting in his usual pouting way. Kagome shook her head, trying to stop laughing.

"It was Sango, really. It felt like she was clawing her way out of me, and she came out with so much force that Sango called her that without thinking," she giggled again. "You should have seen the look on her face..." And she sighed happily, her eyes locked with his.

"Kaida it is, then," he said softly, and then he took the baby from her arms and handed her to Sango. Then before she knew it, he was at her side, kissing her fiercely.

She almost pulled back, then relaxed with a sigh, kissing him back with equal fervor. He broke away, kissing her cheeks, her nose, her eyelids, then back to her lips again. Tears fell down Kagome's cheeks, and he kissed them away, until she laughed and threw her arms around his neck.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here," he whispered into her neck, sending shivers down her spine. She squeezed him happily, kissing the base of his throat. "And I'm sorry... about Aiko." She pulled back with a slight frown.

"Aiko?" she said, her eyes blurring again. He nodded with a sad smile. She swallowed, then hugged him gently.

"It's alright, I think... I think it might have happened anyway. Remember? I was bleeding..."

Inuyasha sat down on the pallet, leaning against the wall, and pulled her into his lap, brushing away any remaining tears. He kissed her softly.

"Be happy, please. I swear I'll make you happy," he whispered, and kissed her again. Kagome smiled.

"We'll make ourselves happy," she murmured, and curled up against him, falling asleep within moments. Sango came back inside, Kaida newly swaddled in her arms. She handed him to Inuyasha, who held his daughter and his mate in peaceful slumber.

Yaaay! Happy! And the first bit of fluff in a loooong time! Muahaha, I am good. Well, I had to write another chapter for you, because I'm leaving tomorrow for 2 weeks and I'll be in Idaho! Yippee....hehe, I get to visit old people that are gonna pinch my cheeks off. But I won't get any, "You've grown so much!" because I haven't grown in about 4 years. Go figure. So have a happy summer people, go do stuff instead of sitting around reading fanfiction on the computer all day. Teehee. Well, please review, and I'll read em all when I get back. And I'll be writing while I'm gone! I promise! Ta ta! -Ariana