Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any of the gang.

Rin hurried as fast as she could to the flowering gardens, hoping it would be far away enough from servants who might overhear anything she had to say. Only when she tucked herself and Myoga into a distant corner did Rin release her grip on the poor flea.

"I'm so sorry, Myoga. I know that had to have been rather rough on you but I couldn't have you saying anything in front of Kagome and InuYasha, not just yet. Oh dear...I did make a mess of you didn't I?" she fussed as she opened her hand.

"Master InuYasha has done far worse, believe me," Myoga groaned, holding his head, "So then I was right. You are pregnant, are you not?"

Rin could only nod as she bit her lip.

"You don't seem overjoyed by this, Rin. Do you not wish to have a child with Lord Sesshomaru?"

"Of course I do...but...well...I am a little bit nervous. Wouldn't you be if you were carrying the child of a full blooded demon! Lord Sesshomaru rules the Western Lands, Myoga. This is serious!"

"So he is Lord of the Western Lands. What difference should that make? If anything that assures that his offspring will be respected. Far more so than Master InuYasha who lacked having a full blooded demon father around to silence those who ridiculed him! No, your child will be far luckier than that." Myoga nodded firmly.

"That is why I am coming to you, Myoga. You were around, you knew Lord Sesshomaru and InuYasha's father. I'm also hoping you might know a little about Lady Izayoi's pregnancy with InuYasha. I want to know exactly what I can expect here. No surprises! I've had enough surprises lately!" Rin sighed.

Myoga studied Rin's face in silence. She did resemble the lady, Izayoi, in many ways. She saw only the good in people and in demons. She shunned no one. Little did Master InuYasha or Lord Sesshomaru realize, they had chosen women so similar to the good lady their father had fallen so deeply in love with. Lady Izayoi had the same concerns Rin held. That fear of the unknown. When Myoga had realized his lord had fallen in battle with Takemaru he had quickly taken his place as InuYasha's vassil. If Myoga spoke the truth he had lost a part of his heart to the lovely Izayoi as well.

"Birthing is never easy. Whether it be a demon's child or a human's, Rin. I was not present when Master InuYasha's mother gave birth nor Lord Sesshomaru's. Those births would have been vastly different. The women of these times...pretty much give birth alone. At least that is how it was for the Lady Izayoi. None would help her...since she was giving birth to the child of a demon."

"How long did her pregnancy last? Is it faster with demons? I know they age slower does that mean they develop in the womb slowly as well! I'm not going to be pregnant for two years or anything like that, am I!"

"No no no. Of course not. In the womb, the child will progress as that of human parentage would. Even as a halfdemon, the child will age slowly as Master InuYasha did. Rin, he is the one who you really should be speaking to about this. He can tell you far more about the upbringing and difficulties. I was merely an outsider, watching what he went through." Myoga said, his voice sounding almost regretful.

"You're right, I know. But you see how flustered InuYasha gets when you try to even discuss feelings with him! If I were to ask him about babies and such..."

"Good point. Knowing Master InuYasha he would not handle the subject delicately."

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"You got her pregnant!"

Sesshomaru scowled. He might have known better than to breathe a word of this to his brother. The hanyou had no tact. Kagome sat hard in a chair and blinked slowly as if she had been struck. Neither of them were going to be of any help to him whatsoever. What made him think they would know what to do next?

"I can't believe you! YOU! Who preached and ranted about how much you hated humans and always spitting on me for being a 'halfbreed', are now going to have a kid...with a human! Eating your own words now, aren't you, Sesshomaru!"

"InuYasha sit!" Kagome snapped, causing her mate to slam into the hard floor of the great hall, "You really need to learn to be more careful with what you say!"

"I should have known coming to you would be a folly, little brother." Sesshomaru said bitterly.

"Ow...dammit, Kagome...So why the hell did you come to me then? You think I was going to do backflips over the idea of becoming an uncle?" InuYasha snapped, rubbing at his sore neck and glaring at the back of Kagome's head.

"I didn't expect any reaction from you, InuYasha. What I do expect from you is something more important than that."

"Feh. You want something from me and its not the Tetsuseiga? That I find hard to believe."

"InuYasha!" Kagome hissed in warning.

"In a manner of speaking, yes, I do want the Tetsuseiga."

"WHAT!" Kagome shouted as InuYasha snorted, "I knew it."

"It will not always be possible for me to be at Rin's side during this time. I am going to need someone to protect her and our unborn child. It occured to me that none would be more qualified for the task than one who would already knows the lengths people and demons will go to to be certain the child never breathes."

"Are you...are you asking InuYasha to serve as a sort of bodyguard for Rin and the baby!"

"Can you think of any other who would be so diligent in the task?" Sesshomaru asked, glancing at a stunned Kagome, "He already knows what dangers and hardships will be for a child such as mine and Rin's. Perhaps, as the infant will be of his family, he will not fail."

Kagome looked to InuYasha and saw the muscle ticking in his jaw. Failure was not something the hanyou was willing to except and for Sesshomaru to imply that he would wouldn't sit well. She saw through Sesshomaru's trick. He was going to provoke his brother, challenge him into accepting the duty since his pride would never allow him to freely take on the responsibility of his elder brother's offspring.

InuYasha hated it when Sesshomaru was right. He knew all too well what the world held in store for the child. Never accepted by either the human or demon population, having to carve out one's own place in the world. Not to mention being labelled as a freak or a halfbreed. This child would be related to him...a niece or a nephew. He would have blood relations beyond just Sesshomaru. InuYasha nodded firmly. He would do it. Not for Sesshomaru, not for Rin but for their child. Neither of them could understand all the infant would endure.

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Hours later Sesshomaru sat alone in his rooms, his amber eyes locked on the flames in the fireplace. A father. He was going to be a father. Responsible for another life. And not just any life but a life he helped to create. He was not sorry, he didn't regret it but...Slowly he raised a hand and watched it. Steady as a rock. Then he thought of his child, of Rin's vulnerability as her body would swell and grow with the infant. His hand shook now. Though it galled him to admit it, he was afraid.

Before Rin came into his life, he had nothing he feared losing. Toukijin? It could be replaced with the fang of another demon. None dared ever take Tenseiga from him. Then came a starry eyed child into his life who showed him unsolicited kindness, who didn't run just from the very sight of him. Suddenly Sesshomaru had found himself somehow responsible for this person and in time, her safety came to be a priority for him. He couldn't fail her. He had never failed at anything! If abandoning some foolish battle to insure her safety made her his weakness then so be it.

"You made me tremble, Rin. No enemy can claim such a thing. None shall ever see it." he vowed, closing his shaking hand into a tightly clenched fist.

The sound of the door softly opening and closing pulled his eyes from the fire. Rin smiled tenderly as she came to kneel beside him, her small hand coming to rest on his arm. They said nothing to one another. The warmth of the fire seeped into Rin's skin and she felt Sesshomaru's arm slip from behind her fingertips. Her eyes were growing heavy and she slowly lay her head on the now vacant arm rest. Tomorrow would be soon enough for her to speak with InuYasha. With a soft yawn sleep claimed Rin. Moments passed with only the crackle of the fire filling the room. She never knew. She never felt it. Sesshomaru's hand reaching out and gently stroking her hair.