Chapter Two

As she opened the door, a calming, mother-like voice said, "Hi, girls, I'm Kauna, and I'll be taking you to your house, 1003 Lakeview, right?" When Kagome nodded, Kauna continued on. "What's it like to live in such a big house, on the lake?" she asked.

"I don't live there. My name's Kagome, and I'm taking Rin there since Sesshoumaru is badly injured," Kagome replied, lowering into the car and closing the door.

Rin had gotten in on the other side. Kagome could see Kauna clearly now. She was relatively young, black-haired, and black-eyed. She had her hair pulled back and looked somewhat stylish.

The ride to the house was somewhat silent, with several comments from Rin on her favorite foods, television programs, and other things like that. As Kauna pulled into Lakeview Drive, Kagome felt her jaw drop and her eyes widen. They drove along until they got to 1003, which was the last house on the street.

Kagome had never seen a house this big so close up. The house was three stories tall, and looked to be about 10,000 square feet in area. It was made of wood, but sided in a grayish green color. ((A/N: That's what my house is. The color, not square footage…))

There was a wraparound porch on the first floor, and small balconies from sliding glass doors that looked out on the lake. There were carefully manicured shrubs around the house, a carefully manicured lawn, and various flowers everywhere. There was a massive swing set in the back yard, complete with a sandbox, slide, and seesaw. There was even one single tree, which had a tree house in it.

"Kagome?" a distant voice called. "Kagome? I have to be at yoga in about fifteen minutes, so I really need to get going," Kauna said.

Kagome looked up, embarrassed. "Thank you for the ride, Kauna. Come on, Rin," she said.

"You're welcome. Bye!" Kauna said cheerfully. How could someone be so cheerful when there had just been an almost-fatal car crash?

Kagome glanced up at the house to find Rin running up to the steps leading to the door. She jogged, trying to keep up with the excessively energized 4-year-old who was turning the doorknob. She walked in right behind Rin.

As soon as she had gotten inside, the phone rang. Kagome walked over to the phone, which had a caller I.D., which said "Tokyo Hospital". After picking it up, a voice said, "Hi, Rin. The doctors are working on me but-" Kagome interrupted.

((A/N: Phone conversations will be vertical, well more vertical than the rest of it.))

"Is this Sesshoumaru?" she asked.

"Yes, who is this?" he asked back.

"This is Kagome. I took Rin home from the accident about 45 minutes ago. She's fine, but you obviously aren't."

"Well, please tell her that Sesshy-chan will be in the hospital for a couple days."

"All right, but can I ask what's wrong with you?" (Kagome made a mental note to remember the sound of his rich baritone voice forever…)

"Well, you just did, but I need a surgery on my stomach. They aren't sure what's wrong, but that's where my wound is, you know, where I was pinned to the steering wheel."

"Okay, I will definitely tell her."

"I'm going into surgery in a couple hours, and you should hear from me again after I come out of anesthesia. Bye."

"Bye…"

Kagome looked down at her arms, which were covered in goosebumps. 'What!? I don't like him… Do I? I don't even know him!' She walked out to the living room, where Rin had begun watching a movie.

"Rin?" she asked unobtrusively. "What?" Rin answered, not glancing away from the big-screen plasma TV, which Kagome know noticed to be playing Finding Nemo.

She walked over to the black suede couch on which Rin was sitting, sat down beside her, and crossed her legs Indian-style. "Sesshy-chan will be in the hospital for a few days. He's going to be all, right, but he needs the doctors to look at his tummy," she said to the small child.

Rin smiled. "Okay! Then he will be all better and can come home!" she exclaimed, a kindergarten-I did it-smile plastered across her face.

Kagome grinned and nodded.

"Kagome?" Rin asked quietly. Kagome looked up. "Will you be my mommy? You can get married to Sesshoumaru and come live with us and play with me everyday! That would be fun! Then you could have-"

Kagome put a finger to her mouth, which silenced Rin immediately. "Rin, I have to go to school, but I will take care of you, okay?" she asked.

"But Sesshy-chan is so pretty! Don't you love him?" Rin asked, not knowing the effect of her words. Kagome felt herself blushing.

"Hey, Rin? Just watch your movie. I'm going to call the school and get my work for the next week or so, okay? Be right back!"

With that, Kagome got up and ran to the phone. 'Better call mom, she's probably worried sick. And I need some clothes, my license, and some other stuff…' She picked up the phone and dialed her own number.

Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me what's good, what's bad, and what's in between!

Becca