A/N: I am so excited! I have wanted to update this one for a while, and now I am finally getting around to it! Anyway, here is chapter six. I will be heading off to Florida the last week in July, so I will try to update once more before I go. I hope you all enjoy this one! Please review!

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Dream of Me
Chapter Six

"I can not believe you would say something like that to the doctor, Kagome! He was already suspicious enough of your injuries without your adding your sarcasm into the matter! Have you lost your senses?" her grandfather ranted. "Now he's making us stay the night for 'observation' when we could be going home!"

"It's all right, gramps." Kagome shrugged. "It could always be worse."

Souta nodded. "I think she's right, gramps. It could be worse. Besides, it was your idea to bring her here in the first place, wasn't it?"

Their grandfather brooded. "Yes, well..." he frowned. "Your mother and Inuyasha need to hurry up. Maybe one of them could talk this doctor into his senses and let us go home. Tomorrow is a holiday, and there are things that need to be done, and I..."

"You can go home if you need to, gramps. I'll be fine here. I'm sure mom and Inuyasha will be here soon. Mom can take Souta home when she goes. Go ahead and go if you have to. I'll see you in the morning. It's not a big deal..."

"You're sure?" he asked.

Kagome nodded. "Yes. I'm fine. I'm not in any pain at all..."

"I'll stay with her!" Souta volunteered.

"All right..." the old man relented. "I'll see you in the morning, Kagome." he waved as he left the room. "Sleep well tonight...and no more sarcastic remarks to the doctor, all right?"

The only reply that he heard as he left was the laughter of his two grandchildren. No one ever took him seriously...

Inuyasha tapped his foot impatiently on the elevator floor as he waited for it to arrive at the top. Ms. Higurashi had to hold in her laughter as she observed the impatient hanyou. She could tell he was nervous, but then again, what else was she here for?

Finally, there was one last ding. "Top floor. Door opening..." the elevator announced. Inuyasha and Kagome's mother hurried themselves out of the small space, and out into some type of waiting room. Kagome's mother was about to ask the receptionist at the front desk the location of her daughter's room when she noticed Inuyasha already had his nose at work. She smiled inwardly and followed him down the hallway, the rectangular box poking slightly out of the top of her purse.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha whispered, opening the last door at the end of the long hallway.

Kagome smiled up at him. "Hi Inuyasha! Hi mom! What took you guys so long?" she demanded.

"What happened to you?" frowned Inuyasha. "What is all this stuff?"

"They're keeping me here for observation, but I'm fine. I promise." Kagome explained.

Inuyasha nodded slowly.

"Where is your..." began Kagome's mother, but Souta quickly beat her to the punch.

"Gramps has gone back to the shrine. He has to prepare for Shichi-go-san..." he informed her. "He said he would see us tomorrow morning."

"Ah..." Akira nodded. Good. The old man wasn't going to like what she had been plotting to do, anyway. He was uneasy when it came to Inuyasha, and absolutely irate when it came to the idea of his grand-daughter having any sort of feelings for the hanyou. He could figure things out later on his own, if he really wished to know...

Akira handed Inuyasha the small rectangular box, and cleared her throat loudly. "Souta, what do you say we go down to the cafeteria and get some dinner for everyone?" she asked, winking at her youngest child. Souta looked confused for a split second before nodding quickly to his mother and rushing out the door.

"Why are they..." began Kagome in an irritated tone.

"They'll be back." Inuyasha said quickly.

"I know they will, but I want to leave. I was going to ask my mom to talk to the doctor so that I could go, but she..."

"Kagome?"

Kagome stopped mid-sentence to stare at Inuyasha. "What?"

"I really need to talk to you about something..." he whispered.

Kagome blinked. "Well, what is it, Inuyasha?" she asked after a couple more seconds of uncomfortable silence.

Inuyasha opened his mouth as if he was going to tell her, but shut it tightly when a short, fat, bald man entered the room abruptly. He stared at the two of them for a moment before clearing his throat in an unnecessarily loud manner.

"Ms. Higurashi, if your family members are planning to stay, they are going to need to inform the night nurse. I am going to go ahead and give you an injection now. It should fight off any infection in those nasty cuts of yours..." The doctor eyed Inuyasha suspiciously as he neared Kagome with the needle.

Kagome gasped slightly as the needle entered her arm, but the doctor's dirty work was done quickly, and he left after shooting one more suspicious glance towards Inuyasha.

Kagome smiled at him. "Okay, Inuyasha. Now what was it you wanted to talk about?" she asked him.

He cleared his throat nervously. "Your mom...she said...she said you asked her if you could...if you could stay in the feudal era..." Inuyasha stammered out.

Slowly, Kagome nodded. "I did say that...I didn't think she'd tell you, though. Listen, if you don't want me to stay once the jewel is completed, I could just come back here. It would be all right with me..."

"Kagome...I wasn't done." Inuyasha sighed deeply.

Kagome nodded slowly once more, signaling that it was all right if he continued.

"When Naraku...when he took you...it scared me. Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and I spent a week looking for you. When we realized what had happened to you...I was so upset, and I went and told your mother about it. I thought we'd lost you. You didn't remember us...didn't remember me...and I almost panicked..."

"But Inuyasha, I'm fine! I remember everything, thanks to you! You don't have to worry!" Kagome assured him, a note of worry in her voice.

Inuyasha paused. "I know you are, Kagome. And I am glad. I am so glad that you're all right. I was worried I would never get to talk to you again...that I might have to fight you. I couldn't have done it..."

"Yes you could have." Kagome nodded.

Inuyasha slowly agreed. "Maybe I could have...but I wouldn't have..." he told her.

Kagome swallowed hard, thinking about the meaning of his words as he continued his story. What did he mean, he wouldn't have? Would he have ran away? No. That wasn't Inuyasha at all. Would he have let her win? Given up? Refused to fight back? She shivered at the possibilities.

Inuyasha cleared his throat. He had stopped talking when he noticed Kagome's far off expression. When she was done thinking, he took that as his cue to continue what he had been saying.

"Kagome...I don't want anything like that to ever happen again." he told her.

"Well, Inuyasha, sometimes bad things happen, and we just have to deal with it. I've been in trouble before. You've always been there to get me out of it. Everything will be all right. I'm not in danger anymore..." she reminded him.

He nodded, and kept right on talking. "I want you to stay with me, Kagome."

"I already told you I would..." she smiled. "Remember?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "That's not what I mean!" he frowned, blushing furiously. "I want you to stay with me...in the feudal era...because I...because..." Suddenly it was as if he had lost all train of thought. His mouth hung open slightly as he thought of how to say everything that he wanted to say.

"Inuyasha?"

"Kagome, I want you to stay in the feudal era with me because I...I think...I love you, and I want to always protect you, and make sure nothing bad ever happens to you again!" he said quickly, and then turned away in complete embarrassment.

Kagome blinked in shock at the words Inuyasha had just spoken to her. "Inuyasha...you..." she began.

"Kagome, I could understand if you don't feel the same way, but I..."

"I do, Inuyasha...I mean, I have for a while..." she whispered slowly.

He blinked. "Really?"

Shakily, he handed her the small rectangular box. Akira had helped him pick this out for Kagome earlier. Kagome blinked uncertainly at Inuyasha before carefully taking the box from him.

She opened the lid, and gasped at the beauty of the object inside. It was a silver locket necklace with a sakura blossom engraved on the front. The engraving was outlined in beautiful green emeralds that sparkled in the light as Kagome stared at the beautiful article. Carefully, she opened it. On the inside right was a picture she didn't even know had been taken. She remembered the day. She had come home from school to find Inuyasha asleep in the corner of her room. She curled up beside him, her head on his shoulder, and fell asleep. She had never known her mother had taken a picture of the scene, though. She blushed.

On the left was an inscription...a poem of some sort. She strained her eyes to read the beautiful writing. After a moment, she finally figured it out.

For that which I love
For that which gives me hope
I will always remain strong...

Smiling, she wrapped Inuyasha in a hug. "It's beautiful. I love it!" she told him happily. "Thank you so much!"

Akira smiled as she and Souta entered the room. They had come back at precisely the right time. Kagome was hugging a bewildered Inuyasha tightly, and dangling from her right hand was the locket she had helped Inuyasha pick out.

"Ahem..." she said loudly. "We could come back later?"

Kagome and Inuyasha jumped back, each blushing a deep red color.

"No mom. It's all right..." Kagome assured her.

Akira grinned. "I thought it would be." She nodded knowingly to Inuyasha, and then turned to her daughter. "I'm going to see about getting you out of here," she told her, and Kagome's eyes lit up. "I'm glad the two of you have finally admitted your feelings. Now there's just one more person that needs convincing..."

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A/N: Saw that poem on a banner at ear-tweakdotcom...thought you guys might like to know. Anyway, I'm leaving it there for now, although I will update soon! Hope you liked it...thought I'd put some fluff in there...anyway, please review!