Okay, I've finally calmed down and decided to try to re-write this chapter. I will give the

lemon one shot a try, but do you guys care which scene I do from Winter Wonderland?

And thank you so much for the suggestions for the sequel title, I have decided on it, but I

will not reveal it quite yet.

In any case, onward with next chapter!

Winter Wonderland

Chapter Fifty-Six

The wind softly howled outside of the cabin as it lightly snowed from the night sky and everyone was gathered at the front door to wish Mrs. Higurashi and Grandpa a safe trip back to the shrine. Mrs. Higurashi hugged both of her children before taking a step back,

"So, I will see you all tomorrow then?"

Kagome softly nodded and leaned back against her mates shoulder," Yes, we'll be coming back around this time,"

Mrs. Higurashi smiled and reached up to rub Inu- Yasha ' s ears one last time before she left, "You take good care of her,"

"Of course I will!" said Inu Yasha, his hand on Kagome's shoulder tightening a bit.

Kagome's mother giggled, "I know you will. Well, shall we get going father?"

Grandpa gave a small nod before heading towards the car, carrying the rest of the luggage with him. Mrs. Higurashi followed after him and hopped into the driver side of the vehicle. As they began to pullout of the driveway, they waved good-bye to the others before heading onto the country road. Everyone started to head back into the house, but the sound of a vehicle coming down the driveway caught their attention. At first they thought Mrs. Higurashi had forgotten something, however as they vehicle got closer they realized that it wasn't. The BMW stopped right behind the van and the driver's side door opened, revealing Hiroshi as he stepped out.

Inu- Yasha could tell that Sesshoumaru had gone rigid and wasn't moving at the sight of his future son. Hiroshi was wearing a black tuxedo and had his long black hair hanging down loosely, and he didn't have the concealment spell on him.

"Good evening," he said politely, bowing to everyone.

Inu- Yasha gave a short nod, "What are you doing here?"

Sesshoumaru glanced over to the BMW and noticed that there were more passengers inside. Hiroshi must have guessed Sesshoumaru's curiosity, "I can not reveal who is in my BMW, but I have a reason for being here tonight. I wanted to see you all one last time before you headed back into the past, and I have something to talk to most of you about "

"Sesshoumaru, who is this? Isn't he a. .a. .dokter at that hoospiteel?" asked Rin who was standing beside the demon lord.

Sesshoumaru looked down at Rin and was lost for words, but kept his face emotionless as usual.

"I'm just a friend of Inu-Yasha's and I wanted to check on the twins to see if they were okay," lied Hiroshi.

Sesshoumaru was thankful that he hadn't taught Rin how to tell if someone was lying or not by their scent. Rin simply nodded her head in understanding.

"Rin, will you please go back into the cabin," asked Sesshoumaru.

"Kagome, you too," said Inu- Yasha.

The two girls nodded before heading back inside. Sango did the same, taking the twins with her, and was followed by Kohaku and Souta, leaving Sesshoumaru, Inu- Yasha, and

Miroku.

"Who is it that you need to talk to?" asked Inu- Yasha.

Hiroshi thought for a moment, "I could just talk to you three and then you can explain to the rest of them,"

"Sounds reasonable," said Inu- Yasha, "So what did you need to tell us before we return to the past?"

"It's about the well and the reason it is closing in less than four month's," said Hiroshi.

Inu- Yasha growled, "Why have you did you not tell us this sooner? You could have told me when you asked to see me that time!"

"Easy there Uncle! I couldn't tell you since I had to ask my father first, and he said I would be able to tell you,"

"I told you not to call me 'Uncle'!"

Hiroshi sighed, "In any case, that is why I am here, to tell you why the well stops working,"

"Is it because Inu- Yasha ' swish wasn't truly pure?" asked Miroku.

Hiroshi shook his head, "No monk ...that is not the reason . . .if the wish wasn't truly pure then something horrible would have happened. The Shikon Jewel is very sensitive, and if an unpure wish was made on it, it would have turned black, and Inu- Yasha would most likely have gone in full demon mode,"

"So then, why is the well closing?" asked Miroku.

Hiroshi turned his eyes on Inu- Yasha, "Uncle, do you honestly think Midoriko would have allowed a pathway to remain open between two worlds?"

Inu- Yasha was speechless for a moment, but took a second to think about it, "No . . .if she is the wise and powerful miko I have heard of, then she wouldn't have allowed it,"

"Precisely,"

"So then why is the well still open?" asked Sesshoumaru.

"Inu- Yasha, when you made your wish, wanting the well to not to close . . . did you mean forever, or just for a period of time?" asked Hiroshi.

"I . . . I think I meant forever,"

Hiroshi nodded his head, "Correct, you did say forever, however in your mind you were thinking differently weren't you? And that is what Midoriko based your wish on,"

"Whoa whoa whoa! Wait just a minute here! How the hell do you know what I was thinking when I made my wish?"

"Because you told me,"

"I did not!"

"Well no you, but your future you did,"

Inu- Yasha sighed and brought a hand up to his head, "I think I'm going to have a headache, "

" Anyway, the wish is based on what you were thinking, which was you didn't want the well to close on that day. So basically the only reason the well is staying open is because you want it to Inu- Yasha. The day you want it to stop working, it will," said Hiroshi.

It was confusing . . . and yet seemed to make sense at the same time as the two demons and monk stared at Hiroshi, trying to comprehend on what he just said.

"I guess that makes sense," admitted Miroku.

"So why do I close it in three month's?" asked Inu- Yasha.

"Sorry I can't tell you that," sighed Hiroshi.

"The well is only staying open because Inu-Yasha wants it to . . . and will close when he doesn't want it open anymore . . . correct?" asked Sesshoumaru.

Hiroshi nodded, "Yup, that's about right,"

Sesshoumaru' s eyes narrowed, "Why are you telling us this?"

"What do you mean?" asked Hiroshi.

"Why are you telling us why the well is closing? Wouldn't it have been better if we had found out for ourselves?"

Hiroshi sighed, "Look, I don't know all the details . . . but I'm just saving Uncle some long hard thinking he would eventually do, so I'm sparing him that,"

Inu- Yasha ' s eye brow quirked up, "What do you mean by that?"

"He means it's dangerous when you think long and hard," said Sesshoumaru.

"What's wrong with me thinking?"

"You can come up with some pretty interesting idea's that none of us would think out, and most of them are ridiculous,"

Inu- Yasha growled and crossed his arms, "So is that all you came to tell us?"

"That's about it," said Hiroshi.

"Well you had better go then before Rin becomes suspicious of who you are," said

Sesshoumaru.

"How is mother anyway?" asked Hiroshi.

"She is fine, now I think that it is best for you to leave," hissed Sesshoumaru.

Hiroshi raised his hands in submission, "Okay okay, I'll leave now,"

As Hiroshi turned to go, his fingers snapped together as he remembered something.

"Oh yeah! Hey Miroku!"

The monk turned around and nodded that he was listening.

"Don't be afraid to have anymore children with Sango! She'll be fine if you do!"

Inu- Yasha, Sesshoumaru, and Miroku headed inside and locked the door behind them as Hiroshi climbed back into the BMW.

"So how did it go?" asked the female in the passenger seat.

Hiroshi sighed and turned to his sister, "Okay I suppose, they were confused, but now understand why the well closes,"

"Good, and you really did get father's permission to tell Uncle?"

"Yes, I did . . . if you don't believe me phone him yourself and he'll tell you,"

"No thanks, I don't want to get on his bad side,"

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Inu- Yasha slumped against the wall, " Are you guys just as confused as I am?"

Miroku nodded his head, "Yeah, but at least we know why the well closes,"

Inu- Yasha closed his eyes and tried to remember the day they had defeated Naraku, and

Midoriko had granted his wish. What all Hiroshi said had been true, and but how was it possible that he knew that? Apparently his future self had told him . . .

"Don't think so much Inu- Yasha or you'll get a head ache," sighed Sesshoumaru.

Inu-Yasha's eyes flashed open, "Oh shut up!"

"But you know, I think I can guess why the well stays open for another three month' s," said Miroku.

"Why, monk?"

"Well next month Kagome will be giving birth, and I imagine you want it kept open in case something goes wrong,"

"That's definitely true," admitted Inu- Yasha.

"Then you would Kagome's mother to see her grand-daughter at least for two month's,"

"But why only two? Why not year so she can be there for our daughter's first birthday?" asked Inu- Yasha.

"It would be too dangerous," said Sesshoumaru, "The longer the well is open, the more dangerous it is. You do realize we are interfering with the flow of time,"

"Preciously. I would guess you would want Mrs. Higurashi to see your daughter take her first steps, and hear her talk,"

Inu- Yasha nodded. Demon or half demon children grew up much faster than mortals.

By the end of two month's a demon child could already walk and talk, and not to mention be able to find its parents by following their scents, "I guess your right,"

Sesshoumaru started to head into the living room where the others were waiting, "Shall we start packing tonight of tomorrow morning?"

"I say tomorrow, that way we can rest for the remainder of the evening," suggested Inu-Yasha, following after his brother.

Miroku started to head after them, but stopped as Hiroshi's words echoed through his head. The possibility of Sango having more children with him hadn't been on his mind recently, but after thinking about it for a moment a small shiver ran through his body. He never wanted Sango to go through that again, or himself for that matter . . . and if had meant no more children he would have been content with that. Hiroshi on the other hand had said it would be fine, and that Sango could have another baby.

"Hey monk, what are you doing?" asked Inu-Yasha, coming back into the kitchen.

"I was just thinking about what Hiroshi said,"

"About the well?"

"No . . . the last thing he said about Sango and I having more children,"

"Oh . . ." whispered Inu-Yasha, nodding slightly in understanding, "Well, he did say it would be alright,"

"I know that's what he said . . . but should we trust him?"

"I don't see why not . . . he is Sesshoumaru's son . . . and he has helped us a lot,"

Miroku sighed softly, "I don't ever want to go through that again . . . and I will never let that happen to Sango either,"

Inu-Yasha placed a hand over the monks shoulder, "I think in this case you should trust him. He did after all save Sango and your children,"

The monk nodded, "I suppose your right,"

"Besides, once a women has a child for the first time, the next times are a little easier,"

Miroku gave Inu-Yasha a strange look, "And how is it that you know that Inu-Yasha?"

The half demon removed his hand from the monks shoulder, "To make a long story short, Kikyo was basically the doctor in the village and I gave her a hand,"

"Ah, so you have delivered a baby before?" asked Miroku.

"A few times I suppose, I was able to tell Kikyo how many pups the women would be having,"

Miroku glared at the half demon, "Don't you dare tell me that you knew Sango was with twins when we didn't know?"

Inu-Yasha gave off a nervous smile and rubbed the back of his head, "Well you see . . . both Sesshoumaru, Rin, Shippo, and myself knew since it was in her scent, and we could hear the pups heartbeats,"

"And you didn't bother to tell us!" snarled the monk.

"Would it have changed anything? Besides, surprises are nice aren't they?"

Miroku sighed and shook his head, "I don't suppose it could have changed anything . . ."

Inu-Yasha sighed also since he seemed to be off the hook.

"So we are heading back tomorrow evening?"

"Yeah, sometime in the afternoon, perhaps after lunch,"

Miroku nodded and headed into the living room with Inu-Yasha at his heels.

"So what did Hiroshi want to talk about with you?" asked Kagome.

Inu-Yasha leaned down and whispered into his mate's ear, "I'll tell you later,"

Kagome nodded and yawned softly.

"You should go to bed," suggested Inu-Yasha.

Kagome agreed and held out her hands for Inu-Yasha so he could help her up. Waving goodnight to everyone, Kagome was escorted into their room and was placed on the bed as Inu-Yasha went to the closet to grab her cotton nightgown.

"So what did Hiroshi have to say?" asked Kagome.

Inu-Yasha placed the cotton nightgown on the bed and started to help Kagome undress, "He was telling us why the well was closing, and that Miroku and Sango are free to have more children,"

Kagome nodded sleepily and raised her arms so Inu-Yasha could remove her sweater. Slipping into the nightgown, Inu-Yasha pulled the warm covers back and help Kagome lay down on the bed. Before he could pull the covers over his mate, her hands reached out to grasp his.

"Kagome wha . . ."

Kagome smiled and brought his clawed hands on top of her womb, and Inu-Yasha felt a small kick under his palms, causing him to smile.

"Our daughter is saying hello to you," whispered Kagome softly.

Inu-Yasha leaned forward and placed his head on his mates growing belly, listening softly and smiling as he heard his daughter moving and feel her kicking.

"Inu-Yasha . . ."
"Hmmm?"

"How many pups were you thinking we should have?" whispered Kagome.

Inu-Yasha smiled and lightly rubbed his hands over his mates womb, "Hmm . . . I don't know . . . three or four might be nice,"

Kagome smiled and reached her hands up to cup her mates face. Inu-Yasha smiled back down at her and crawled fully on the bed to lie beside her.

"I suppose we won't really know . . . I won't be able to use birth control anymore . . . so I . . ."

Inu-Yasha placed a finger on Kagome's lips and smiled, "No need to worry about that . . . I can always smell when your in heat . . . I'll just make sure not to make love to you on those nights until were ready to have another pup. Besides . . . we'll be alive for a good thousand years . . . maybe even more than that . . . we could have lots of pups if you like over the course of time,"

Kagome nodded softly, her eyes starting to droop. Inu-Yasha smiled and kissed his wife softly on the lips and then the forehead before crawling off the bed and pulling the covers over top of her, "I'll join you soon, just want to chat with the others for a while,"

Kagome gave off a half nod before drifting off to sleep. Inu-Yasha turned out the light and headed out of the room, closing the door softly behind him. Stretching his arms, Inu-Yasha headed back downstairs. Miroku, Sesshoumaru and Sango remained in the living room. Kohaku, Souta, and Rin passed Inu-Yasha on the stairs as they headed off to bed, wishing the half demon a good sleep. Inu-Yasha plopped down on the couch beside his brother and stretched again. Kirara mewed Softly as Sango stood, carrying both twins in her arms; "I think I'll head off to bed now,"

Miroku immediately stood up and helped his wife by taking Misa from her, "I'll give you hand,"

Sango smiled and headed upstairs with Miroku right behind her. Inu-Yasha turned to look at his brother, and noticed Sesshoumaru had that strange look on his face whenever he talked, thought, or seen Hiroshi.

"Something troubling you?" asked Inu-Yasha, not really sure if he wanted a brotherly conversation right now.

Sesshoumaru shook his head and stood up, "No . . . nothing is wrong with me,"

"Right . . . I know tense all the time, but right now you're a statue. Why do you get so nervous around Hiroshi anyway?"

"I don't get nervous," hissed Sesshoumaru.

"Okay two things are wrong with that statement . . .one I can smell that your lying . . .and two . . . every time you talk about him or see him, I can smell you getting nervous. My nose might not be as strong as yours, but I can still smell emotions,"

Sesshoumaru growled, his eyes flashing red slightly, but Inu-Yasha didn't flinch at all, "What would you care about it anyway?"

Inu-Yasha shrugged his shoulders, "Just curious,"

"Curiosity killed the cat you know,"

"I'm not a cat, I'm a dog . . . I'd smell danger right away, unlike the cat,"

Sesshoumaru sighed and headed towards the stairs, not saying a word. Inu-Yasha shook his head and turned out all the lights before heading to bed himself.

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Mostly everyone was up early that morning as they started to pack up to leave the cabin. Kagome and Sango were still asleep since out of everyone they needed sleep the most out of everyone. Souta, Shippo, and Kohaku started to put sheets over the furniture, Miroku and Inu-Yasha began to pack the bags, ski's, skates, and sleds into the van, while Sesshoumaru and Rin started to empty to fridge, freezer, and cooler.

"I must say, it was sure fun coming here," said Miroku, handing the half demon another pair of ski's to tie to the roof of the van.

"Of course it would be fun! Did you think we would bring you here if it would be boring?" asked the half demon.

Miroku sighed and handed Inu-Yasha another set of skis, "So are you and Kagome going to return to the feudal era with the rest of us?"

"No, Kagome and I will be staying a bit longer to celebrate New Years,"

"New Years?" asked the monk.

"Basically you stay up to midnight, and celebrate the New Year coming in, although I doubt I'll let Kagome stay up past midnight,"

Miroku chuckled, "If you do, I imagine she will sit you till your six feet under,"

Inu-Yasha growled softly, "Can it monk!"

"Are you two arguing again?" complained Rin as she walked out of the cabin, heading towards them, carrying a few boxes of canned food.

"Could be worse, Inu-Yasha and Sesshoumaru could be arguing right now," offered Miroku.

Inu-Yasha growled again and Rin laughed, "How very true monk,"

Sesshoumaru soon came out of the cabin with more boxes than Rin, "Is my brother being an idiot again?"

"Hey!" snarled Inu-Yasha.

Miroku and Rin laughed, however Sesshoumaru kept his face emotionless as usual and started packing the food into the van. When everything was packed up, Inu-Yasha and Miroku went to wake up their mates while Rin prepared their last breakfast at the cabin.

Sango and Miroku came walking down the stairs, carrying the twins in their arms. Inu-Yasha and Kagome soon followed with the half demon carrying her down the stairs. It looked like at any moment Kagome would yell sit with the expression on her face.

"Inu-Yasha . . . did you really need to carrying Kagome down the stairs?" asked Miroku.

"You really think I'd let her walk down the stairs in her condition?" protested Inu-Yasha.

Kagome looked even madder and once she was set firmly on the ground, the poor half demon got the sitting of his life.

"You'd think he would have learned by now," sighed Sango.

"Yeah, he should have learned his lesson," said Rin.

"I guess he'll never get it through his head until Kagome breaks his back with that subduing spell," said Shippo, swallowing down his eggs.

"Inu-Yasha, haven't you understood yet? Never get on the wrong side of a pregnant women," added Sesshoumaru, taking another drink of his coffee.

Kagome took a seat at the table, still looking rather ticked off. Once Inu-Yasha was back on his feet, he started to get Kagome's breakfast ready for her.

"I must say Inu-Yasha, Kagome sure has you trained well," thought Shippo out loud.

Inu-Yasha growled and bonked the fox over the head before stomping into the living.

Shippo gave off a small whimper, "He didn't have to hit me . . ."

Kagome didn't say anything as she quietly ate her breakfast, but her face had softened slightly.

Once everyone was finished they cleaned the dishes, packed up the remaining food, and kitchenware. Once everything was packed and ready to go, Inu-Yasha was already waiting for them at the door, dressed and prepared to go. He helped Kagome into her boots and coat. When she was ready to go outside to the running van, she was swept off her feet once again by her mate.

"Inu-Yasha put me down right now!" growled Kagome. She waited to hear Inu-Yasha's arguments, but they never came. His face was straight and emotionless, almost like Sesshoumaru's. Placing her in the passenger side of the van, he buckled her up before heading to the driver's side. Everyone else remained quiet as they piled into the van, since it was obvious that Inu-Yasha was still mad about this morning. With out saying a word, Inu-Yasha looked to see if everyone was ready before pulling out of the driveway and onto the country road.

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When they reached Tokyo, the tension was still thick in the van, that you could have cut it with a spoon. No one spoke a single word the entire trip, although it wasn't so hard since mostly everyone was taking a nap. By the time they reached the Higurashi Shrine, the sky had darkened and the stars were already out, revealing the crescent moon. Mrs. Higurashi was waiting for them at the front door and came to help them unpack their luggage. Kagome's mother kept quiet after a warning from Miroku that Inu-Yasha was still in a foul mood. Once all the luggage was out of the van, Mrs. Higurashi returned the rented van. Kagome did not complain or say a word as Inu-Yasha carried her into the house and placed her on one of the couches in the living room. As Inu-Yasha headed upstairs, carrying his and Kagome's suitcases to empty, no one spoke until they heard the slamming door of Kagome's door.

Everyone sighed.

"He's been grumpy ever since we left that cabin," whined Shippo, jumping onto the monks shoulder.

The tension slowly started to rise out of the room as everyone took as seat either on the floor or on one of the chairs. Inu-Yasha soon came back down wearing his usual fire rat clothing, and was carrying the others as well.

"Here," said Inu-Yasha, tossing Sesshoumaru, Rin, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kohaku their feudal era clothes.

"Are we heading back tonight?" asked Miroku.

"I thought you all wanted to head back as soon as possible?" hissed Inu-Yasha.

Sesshoumaru stood and walked towards his brother, grabbing the half demon by the arm and dragging him out of the room.

"What the fuck are you doing Sesshoumaru?" snarled Inu-Yasha.

Mrs. Higurashi ducked out of the way and headed into the living room. They all could here to opening and closing of the outside door.

"What is wrong with Inu-Yasha?" asked Kagome's mother.

Everyone sighed and didn't answer.

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"Let me go right now you bastard!" growled Inu-Yasha.

Sesshoumaru through his brother to the snowy ground, his face still as plain as ever. The half demon growled and jumped to his feet, charging at his brother. Sesshoumaru easily dodged the charge and grabbed Inu-Yasha by the throat and slammed him into the god tree, pinning him there. Inu-Yasha growled louder and snarled, as he tried to unpin himself.

"Submit you worthless half-breed," hissed Sesshoumaru.

"Make me!" roared Inu-Yasha.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed, and before Inu-Yasha could say another word, the demon lord's fist connected with the half demons stomach. Inu-Yasha gave a loud grunt, and Sesshoumaru released his brother. The half demon doubled over, coughing softly since the wind had been knocked out of him.

"Now that I have your attention, will you stop acting like a three-year-old pup who hasn't gotten his way?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

Sesshoumaru sighed and leaned against the god tree, "I mean you acting like an idiot and all prissy around the others. I understand that their words from this morning have been bugging you but . . ."

"What the fuck would you know about it? You were right along with them telling them how stupid I was for being protective of my pregnant mate!"

Sesshoumaru was starting to lose his patients. Inu-Yasha only used this tone of voice with enemies or when he was really pissed off.

"Leave me alone Sesshoumaru! You have no idea what I'm going through!" snarled Inu-Yasha, heading back into the house.

"Take another step and I will take you down," whispered Sesshoumaru.

Inu-Yasha turned around and was about to make a rude comment, but Sesshoumaru interrupted him, "You think I don't know what your going through? As true as that may be, I understand what your going through. As for my words this morning, I just advised you not to get on her bad side,"

"Feh, whatever," growled the half demon.

"They do not understand Inu-Yasha . . . you do realize that? Shippo and Rin however are too young to understand the connection between a demon and his mate,"

Inu-Yasha clenched his fist together, his nails digging into his palm, causing them to bleed and drip into the white snow, "Shut up . . ."

"I know you don't want to lose another pup, that is why you are protecting her so much, it is understandable in the eyes of a demon, but to a human perhaps it just . . ."

"I said shut up!"

"I'm not finished yet!"

"I never wanted to hear anything you had to say in the first place!" snarled Inu-Yasha.

Sesshoumaru growled himself and charged at Inu-Yasha, knocking the half demon down and pinning him to the ground by his throat again, "You ignorant little fuck . . ."

Inu-Yasha eyes widened slightly, Sesshoumaru never used that kind of language unless he was beyond mad. (I know there is a lot of swearing, but Inu-Yasha is rather ticked off, so is Sesshoumaru, and as for me. Well I'm happy!)

"Can't you smell it on your mate? She is stressed and frightened that she has made you angry! And you and I both know that is not the case! You are angry at the others for what they said this morning!"

Inu-Yasha opened his mouth to shoat a remark, but at the flash of red in Sesshoumaru's eyes made a clear statement for him to freeze and shut up.

"You need to forget what they said this morning, they know nothing of the relationship between a demon and his mate!"

Inu-Yasha glared at his brother, "Why the hell are you telling me this? I know that you're the last person who wants to give me brotherly advice?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed, "Someone has to knock some sense into you. Now, are you going to act properly or do I have to kick your ass before you understand?"

"I understand, now let me the hell up right now!"

Sesshoumaru released his brother and stood, heading back into the house. Inu-Yasha remained laying on the ground for a moment before standing up and heading back into the house himself. The living room was almost completely empty except for Miroku and Sango, who were caring after the twins. Inu-Yasha started to walk by them but was stopped by Miroku's voice.

"Inu-Yasha," called the monk.

"Yeah, what do you want bouzo?" growled Inu-Yasha.

Miroku glanced at Sango before his eyes met the half demons, "About this morning . . . I would like to apologize for this morning . . . we were just teasing you is all,"

"You don't see me laughing,"

Miroku sighed, "I'm sorry . . ."

"I'm sorry too Inu-Yasha, we didn't realize how much our words hurt you,"

Inu-Yasha just gave a small 'feh', and then headed upstairs to Kagome's room. He could smell her already in there as he walked through the door, closed it, and took a seat on the floor, his back against the bed. He felt a soft hand on his shoulder and turned his head to meet Kagome's eyes in the darkened room. He could plainly see the tears running down her cheeks, and felt guilt immediately rush over him, his hand reaching up to cover Kaogme's.

"Inu-Yasha . . . I'm . . ."

"You don't have to apologize Kagome . . . I'm not mad at you . . . just what the others had to say this morning,"

Kagome gave off a small sigh, "Why would you be mad at them? They were only teasing you,"

"Teasing or not, it's not funny when talking about a demons protection over his mate,"

Kagome smiled softly and leaned forward to kiss one of his fuzzy ears, "They didn't know Inu-Yasha . . . you should just forgive and forget what he said. After Miroku told mama what they had said to you this morning, she gave them quite a lecture . . . although I didn't hear most of it since I was up here,"

"How is it that she knows so much about demons?" asked Inu-Yasha.

"We do own a shrine Inu-Yasha, my mother knows all sorts of things about demons, myths, and legends,"

Inu-Yasha nodded softly.

"So are you going to forget about this morning?"

"As long as they don't bug me about it again,"

Kagome smiled and moved over a little, "Will you come to bed then?"

Inu-Yasha nodded his head again. Removing his fire rat top and white shirt, he crawled in beside his mate, wrapping his arms around her as best as he could. Closing his eyes he thought of what had just happened from the beginning of the day till right now. Deep down he knew the others didn't know how important it was for a demon to protect his mate when she was pregnant. He was especially protective since he had already lost a pup with Kagome, and did not want to lose another one, and not to mention this was Kagome's first pregnancy. He had left Kagome alone sometimes so she could have room to breath, but most of the time he was with her, making sure she was okay and safe. Even Kagome was a little clueless when it came to demons and their mates. Usually a demon never left his pregnant mates side and was always with them wherever they went. Feeling sleep slowly tug at his eyes, he made mental note to apologize to everyone for being an ignorant bastard to them all. Snuggling his face into Kagome's hair, he fell into a deep sleep.

TBC . . .

(Well here it is 11:30 at night and I'm finishing this chapter for you all . . .I hope your happy. Well I don't have much to say with this chapter, so just read and review!)

Lynns