Chances Not Worth Losing

I decided to post 2 chapters from now on since a couple of people commented about the fact that the chapters were rather short. I'm sorry for the chapters being so short, but I didn't pay much attention to the size of the chapters at the time I divided them up. I hope this will satisfy everyone.

Oh, and for Jenny, Sesshomaru is 24 at the start of the story. While it takes most students over 4 years to graduate with their bachelor's degree, I made it so that Rin and Sesshomaru both didn't change majors thereby making it longer for them to get through school. Graduate school takes no more than 2 years, so that puts Sesshomaru at 24 years old. Starting in the 2nd chapter he is 39, but time passes slowly for demons once they become adults. As for Rin, she has dated since college, but she decided not to marry any of the men because they could not meet the high qualifications she placed upon them except for Sesshomaru. Is that of any help to you? I can explain further if you would like me to.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Inuyasha.

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Summer break started the first day of July with the budget being passed in the eleventh hour. Sesshomaru had packed up his clothes and papers and went back to his district to spend the next two months fully devoting himself to making appearances around his district when called for. The first month proved to be difficult being away from Rin. One night he even found himself calling her home, but when she answered all the words escaped him. What would he say to her? How could he excuse his behavior when he kept telling himself that he would not be with her? He hung up the phone and went to bed.

The next morning he woke up in his bed in Springfield. While he found it strange, he just tried to push the thought out of his mind, but that ended quickly after he realized that his room had been redecorated. It was now a shade of green and there were plants and flowers everywhere. On the dresser was a picture, and he went over there to check it out.

Sitting in front of the picture was a male's wedding ring, and when he picked it up to examine it he found the inscription Eternal Love written on the inside. Upon further inspection he found that it fit him exactly. From there he picked up the picture that held a picture of he in a tuxedo and Rin in a wedding dress. They were standing in front a justice of the peace kissing. 'So we are married?' If they were married, where was she? Did she leave him?

He figured out that this had to be a dream. There was no way he could go to sleep one night in Roselle wishing he could mate with Rin and then wake up the next morning to find out that he was married and probably married. Yet he was having trouble waking himself up. Just going along with the dream he took a shower and dressed for work. While showering he noticed that he had Rin's teeth marks on the junction between his neck and his collar bone. It confirmed his suspicion that they had mated.

On his way down the hallway and towards the stairs a 15 year old girl came out of the room by the stairs. "Morning, Dad," she addressed him as she walked down the hallway and into the bathroom. He stopped in mid-step and comprehended the new twist his dream brought him. The girl was definitely his and Rin's as she looked a lot like Rin but had dog ears, claws, and fangs.

He then decided to look at the pictures that lined the hallway. A number of pictures were of his daughter from what he assumed were school pictures. The next set was pictures of a half demon boy who resembled him and was only about 5 years old by the last picture on the wall. The boy had silver hair, golden eyes, dog ears, claws, and fangs. Another set of pictures were of Rin and he, and in half of them she was much younger. That must have meant that they had also bonded. He thought he could enjoy this dream if he could figure out where she was.

He could hear the door of the bathroom start to open, so he ducked back into his room until he heard her footsteps disappear down the hallway and her door shut. Quietly he snuck down the hallway and slipped down the stairs. In the living room were all kinds of pictures of them together as a family, many only the three of them.

The newspaper was sitting on the porch as usual. When he opened the paper he was shocked to find a picture of himself on the front page with the lead article about something the Governor had done. Reading a little bit of the story he realized that in this dream he was the Governor.

A minute later the girl came running down the stairs with the boy following behind fully dressed for school. "Good morning, Dad," the boy said. They both started preparing bowls of cereal while he watched them. "Can we go with you tonight?"

"Where am I going tonight?" He looked at his children, who were clearly confused now.

The girl then spoke up, "To pick up Mom from the train station. She's in Chicago right now at a meeting." That would explain why she was missing.

"Right."

"Are you feeling alright, Dad? Should I call Jaken and tell him that you can't work today?"

"Maybe you should." Hey, this was a dream, and in a dream he could do anything he wanted without worrying about the consequences. She eyed him funny, but then decided not to press the issue. "How are you getting to school?"

"The State Police always take us to school. You really should stay home. Too bad Mom's not here to take care of you." She picked up the phone and dialed up a number. "Jaken, my dad is going to stay home today…He seems to be forgetting a lot of things…I know he has meetings all day…Tell them that he's not feeling well…Mom has been gone for a week. You sound almost as confused as he does…Thanks, you stupid toad." She slammed the phone down.

"Should you be talking to him like that?" Sesshomaru questioned her.

"Why not? You do." He furrowed his eyebrows in response. She ate her cereal without saying anything more. Sesshomaru sat there watching them amazed at how vivid the dream was. After they finished their cereal they rinsed their dishes and put them in the empty dish washer. Both grabbed their book bags and she kissed him on the cheek before saying their goodbyes and leaving him alone. He stood at the front window watching them as they got into the squad car.

Immediately he went upstairs to his room and started searching for anything that would give him clues as to what was the background knowledge he needed in this dream. It would not be hard to find since Rin was always a pack rat. He spent the day looking through photo albums and scrap books. From what he gathered, Rin had been with him for a long time. She was there when he first ran for governor. In the meantime she had quit her job as an auditor and became a lobbyist. He wasn't quite sure how they came to be married, but their wedding was small from what he could tell.

After they were married there was a period of years in which it was just the two of them. Then Ai was born. There were pictures of when Rin was pregnant with Ai, and he was kissing or laying his hands on Rin's stomach. They must have greatly looked forward to her birth. Another 10 years passed before Yukio was born. Ai was thrilled to have a sibling to take care of. They had decided then that they would have a child every 10 years.

Some more searching turned up Rin's itinerary. She was in Chicago interviewing some of the legislative candidates for possible endorsement. Her train would arrive that evening at 11. Since it was a Friday and this was a dream, he didn't see anything wrong with allowing the pups to go with him to pick her up.

The pups came home at 3:30, and he immediately had them start on their homework promising them that if they got their homework done now they wouldn't have to worry about it the rest of the weekend. After dinner they sat down and watched television until it was time to leave.

Unfortunately her train was running behind schedule, 30 minutes to be exact. Sesshomaru was getting anxious for the train to arrive. It seemed like he couldn't get any peace because someone was always wanting to get their picture with him or have him autograph something. That wasn't bothering him as much as the wait for Rin. It was his dream, and he couldn't believe he had to wait that long for her to appear in his dream.

Yukio fell asleep leaning against Sesshomaru, and he put his arm around the boy to make him feel more comfortable. Ai sat there engrossed in a magazine. Finally the train arrived and the passengers filed off of the train including a few State Police officers who must have accompanied Rin. Sesshomaru shook his son awake, and when Rin was finally in sight Yukio tiredly ran up to her. "I missed you," he told her.

Ai wandered up to her mother while Sesshomaru stood there staring at Rin. He knew it was a dream, but somehow he had trouble reminding himself that he could show affection to her in public. "I missed the both of you." She hugged Yukio and then Ai. Rin walked with the pups up to Sesshomaru, and without any hesitation she leaned up and passionately kissed him there in front of everyone and he kissed back with the same fervor. Several people stopped and stared at them whispering about how cute it was to see the Governor and the First Lady of the State kissing in the middle of the train station. He imagined that Ai was probably rolling her eyes like most teenagers do.

When they broke apart he picked up the sleepy Yukio and carried him while holding Rin's hand. Ai followed behind rolling Rin's suitcase behind her. They got home quickly, and Sesshomaru aided Rin in getting Yukio into bed. Getting Ai to go to bed was another story, but all Rin had to do was threaten to keep her from going to the party the next evening.

Sesshomaru went downstairs to get a glass of water before going to bed. He was surprised the dream had lasted this long. What was more puzzling was the fact that it was so vivid. It actually felt like he was living this life instead of imagining it. For example, when he kissed Rin, he felt it not just physically but also emotionally. It felt so good being with her, but he knew it would have to end soon since he could finally be alone with her.

He raced upstairs to find Rin stuffing the hamper full of her dirty laundry. She turned around at the sound of him closing the door behind him. It seemed like forever as they stared at each other. Finally she approached him and put her hand up to his forehead. "Are you feeling okay today? Ai called me this morning to tell me that you seemed rather confused, and I come back from a trip that lasted a week and you aren't showering me with kisses like you usually do."

"I'm fine, for being in a dream."

"Huh? I don't understand what you mean by that."

"None of this feels right. Standing here with you like this doesn't feel right."

"Why would you say or feel something like that?" she asked as tears started falling down her face.

He sat down on the bed while she sat next to him, their knees touching, and he wiped the tears from her face. "Last night I went to bed in Roselle. Last night I was missing you, but I knew I couldn't tell you that I love you because I am a demon and you are a human. I knew that no one would ever accept us or our pups. Yet I still wanted you from afar. Then this morning I woke up to find that you are my wife and my mate, and not only that, you and I are bonded. We are both deeply in love with each other when I never knew before that you ever felt that way for me. Obviously people accept our relationship because I have been reelected Governor a few times and people were awed by our display of affection at the train stop tonight. Even our pups are accepted."

She cupped her hands on the side of his face and held his gaze. "Sometimes it does feel like a dream. We've been through so much together, but we deserve everything that has come to us. I couldn't imagine what would have happened to either of us if we hadn't expressed our love for each other. We were both miserable, but now we can be happy together as long as we always have faith in our love for each other. That's all that really matters, our love for each other and that faith in knowing that we love each other. Those two words engraved on your ring don't even begin to express my love for you."

"I love you that much too. I just wish I…I just wish that I hadn't waited that long to tell you." 'I also wish that this isn't a dream, that you were really here with me telling me you love me.'

She smiled at him. "I am going to get ready for bed. Perhaps I can do something to help you with the stress right now." On the way to the bathroom she took off her rings and laid them on the dresser. He looked at them intently. Engraved in her engagement ring was the word Eternal, and the wedding ring had the word Love engraved on the inside of it. The words were just the beginning of what he wanted to express to her at the moment.

The water in the bathroom turned off and her footsteps moved toward the door of the bathroom. He looked up to find Rin standing in nothing. His eyes wandered over her body appreciating everything about her. While most men would find her to not be attractive, he could not take his eyes off of her. "Rin, I…"

She walked over to him and put her finger on his lips. "You don't need to say anything." She kissed him just as passionately as they had at the train station. "I love you, Sesshomaru."

"I love you too."

They made love into the early morning, and afterward they lay together enjoying each other's presence. "If this isn't a dream, I couldn't be any more grateful than I am now. If it is a dream, Rin, then I promise that I am not going to rest until I make sure that we will be together like this forever."

"I will always be yours, if this dream or not."

He kissed her forehead before allowing sleep to overtake him.

The next morning he woke up to find that he was alone in bed. He looked around the room and realized that he was in Roselle again. It was too easy to go from where he was now to what he thought was his content life with Rin and their pups. He would have to go through all of the difficult stuff after all, but that would only make things more satisfying once they came true and his dream became a reality.