Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me

Chapter Twenty: New Addition

"AAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!"

The scream pierced the air. It was so full of pain and anguish that Inuyasha actually cringed. The screaming had been going on for hours. But, as bad as the screams were, the sobbing was even worse. All he wanted to do was run far away from those sounds, but he stood firm. He would suffer with her, it was the least he could do.

Soon another voice joined in the wailing. Higher pitched and angry.

"Do you think we can go in now?" asked Shippo in a hushed whisper.

Miroku shook his head. "No. We wait until we are called for."

Inuyasha still wanted to run. After the countless threats of dismemberment and impossible tortures that she had promised during the worst of the pain, the hanyou wasn't sure any male was safe in the same room with her. He was perfectly content to wait outside. Far FAR out of her reach. Briefly he wondered if they had taken all of the potential weapons out of the room.

When Kaede finally appeared at the door, Inuyasha steeled himself. He wasn't quite prepared for this, regardless of the fact that this moment had practically been the ONLY topic of conversation for the past several months. He had been kinda hoping that they would be asked to leave and come back the next day… week… heck, next year sounded pretty good actually.

"There has been more blood loss than we had anticipated," Kaede told them solemnly as she wiped her hands. Was that blood on her shirt? She smiled encouragingly at them, probably concerned one (or all) were going to faint. "But she is strong and will recover. You may visit, but only one at a time, please. She is still weak."

Miroku went in first. It was difficult keeping the over anxious Shippo from going in with him. But if Kaede said only one at a time, then Inuyasha would enforce it.

The hanyou took a deep breath, and nearly choked. Kaede had not been exaggerating. There had been quite a bit of blood spilled inside of the tent. His ears drooped when he thought of the pain she must be in. How could a woman afford to lose all that blood and still live? All of a sudden he realized just how dangerous this could be, and he was afraid. The human body was so fragile. He looked down at his claws. Too fragile.

After quite some time, Miroku emerged from the hut, discretely wiping tears from his face with his sleeve. Instead of his usual cheerful banter, he simply sat on the ground and leaned against the hut with his face in his hands. He might have been laughing or crying, it was difficult to tell. Although he was certain that he should be going over there to talk or offer comfort or something, Inuyasha found that he couldn't move an inch. Shippo took his lack of action to mean that he got to go in next.

The kit's visit was not as long as the monk's had been. Likely because he was a bit too energetic. He didn't seem to mind that his visit was short though. When he burst from the hut he was a bundle of energy and squeals. Inuyasha peeled him off of his head and threw him at Miroku. Let the kit talk to the monk.

He was next.

Yup.

Right through that door.

She was waiting for him.

Now… if he could only move his feet…

"Inuyasha?"

The dog demon sighed. Now that SHE called him, he knew he would be going in. It was tough to deny her anything that she wanted. When did that happen anyhow? And why didn't he run when he had the chance?

Never had he been as nervous as when he stepped through the gaping black hole of the entrance. Gulp. Automatically his eyes searched for Kagome. He was relieved when he saw her sitting near the fire. Not quite so relieved when he saw the two tiny crying bundles she was holding.

"This is Suki." She smiled at one baby, then glanced over at Kaede who was holding a similar wriggling bundle . "And the one over there is Yuki."

Two?

Two babies?

Inuyasha tried to smile. But he worried his fangs would scare the babies. He kept his claws hidden beneath the sleeves of his robe.

His heart did a funny lurch when she started cooing to the baby she was holding. She spoke so softly and lovingly that it actually ached inside. It… she…they… were so tiny. So impossibly fragile. How do babies ever manage to grow up to be adults?

"Do you want to hold one of them?"

"NO!" He shrank back in horror.

He couldn't touch it. His hands were meant to rip and destroy, not hold extremely breakable babies. Breaths came more rapidly until he was pretty certain he would hyperventilate. Mikomi had made it seem like he could be a father, but actually seeing a real live baby suddenly made him panic. He wouldn't have been surprised if his heart had literally jumped out of his chest.

Kagome rolled her eyes and stood up. She took a step towards to hanyou. But for every step forward she took, he took one step back. At least until his back hit the side of the hut. He ignored Kaede's chuckling.

With a sigh, Kagome took his hand. He breathed a sigh of relief. For a second there he thought that she was going to make him actually hold the thing.

"Have a seat," she told him as she gently pushed him towards where she had been sitting. She leaned in closely and whispered. "Close your eyes." Obediently he complied while trying to beat back a smile that was threatening to come out. That whisper voice she sometimes used never failed to befuddle him enough to obey. It was way more powerful than any 'sit' spell. He could feel her leaning in closer, running a hand up his arm…

…and putting a baby in it.

Golden eyes flew open in a panic! He was holding a baby. In his arms. Inches away from his deadly claws. A baby.

"Take it away," he pleaded, afraid to move in case he dropped the bundle.

"I think that SHE is just fine where she's at."

"Please…"

As soon as Kagome took the baby out of his arms, albeit reluctantly, he flew to the other side of the hut.

"You tricked me!" he accused her with a pointing finger.

"No I didn't. Well… not exactly." She shrugged. "Oh okay, so what if I did. It won't kill you to hold the baby."

Suki gave a little whimper, and Kagome began to gently rock her. The sight was almost heart breaking. Inuyasha stood silently, watching them. She was going to be very angry with him in a couple of minutes, and Inuyasha wanted to remember this one peaceful moment before she sat him six feet under. He was just glad that there wasn't such a thing as 'divorce' between mates. He hoped she didn't kill him for this though.

"You aren't having any babies, Kagome."

The young woman turned her attention to the hanyou with the ears plastered flat against his head. Kaede quickly came over to take Suki from Kagome's arms with an excuse the baby needing more cleaning and bathing.

"What?"

"No babies." Inuyasha crossed his arms and looked away. "It almost killed Sango. And now she hates Miroku. You aren't having one."

He tensed up when he felt Kagome coming closer to him. He felt her stop right in front of him. And he definitely felt it when she grabbed a couple locks of hair and pulled his head down to hers. Stubbornly he refused to open his eyes. Keh, he didn't care if anyone thought it was childish. And he wasn't a coward. And it had nothing to do with the little pains he felt in his chest when Kagome looked disappointed. Especially if it might be HIM who was doing the disappointing.

"I will never hate you, Inuyasha." She reached up and kissed his chin, causing him to open his eyes after all. "And Sango doesn't hate Miroku. She isn't going to kill him, either. So don't worry. Women sometimes say things they don't really mean while giving birth."

Inuyasha looked at Sango lying on the pallet. She looked tired. Pale. Completely worn out. He looked back at Kagome mournfully.

"It's too dangerous. I won't let you do it." He didn't care if there was a whine to his voice.

"Inuyasha…"

"Women die in childbirth all the time. You saw how much blood Sango lost."

"Inuyasha…"

He took hold of her arms. "I won't lose you, Kagome. I won't!" Then he pulled her close, swallowing her in his embrace. "I can't."

He felt Kagome sigh heavily. He sighed too, since it wasn't her sigh that said she was giving up. It was the sigh she uses before a big battle. Tightening his grip he willed her to understand that he couldn't bear risk her life like that. He couldn't willingly put her through such pain. He couldn't take the chance that she would grow to hate him. He had to make her see that this whole baby thing was a really really REALLY bad idea.

"What if our baby has claws? What if when you give birth it tears you up? It could kill you! What if you get an infection or lose too much blood? What if…"

"Inuyasha, stop." She put her finger against his lips. "Yes, those things could happen. But we will take precautions. If you want to, we can have the baby in my time. There are hospitals that will make it much safer. If I lose blood they have enough to supply me with more. They can even make it so that it doesn't hurt so much."

Inuyasha glared at her. "What if it is a hanyou? What if it has ears and claws? What will your hospitals do then? I've seen those pictures on your television where they take them away and use them for experiments!"

"We will figure out what to do. If any scans show anything… unique with our baby, then we will come back here and I'll have it here. And no more science fiction movies for you, mister. Souta is a bad influence on you." Kagome rested her head on his chest and smiled dreamily. "Just think, Inuyasha. A baby. Our baby. Something that is a part of you and a part of me. Something that we created."

He closed his eyes. Totally without his permission, visions of Kagome holding THEIR baby flashed through his head. A little girl with her hair… and his ears. A little boy with silver hair to help protect Kagome when he got older. Their family. He held her closer.

"I'm scared," he admitted quietly.

With a grin, Kagome patted his arm. "That's okay, Inuyasha. I am a little scared too." Her grin widened and she patted her stomach. "At least we have nine months to get used to the idea."

….

Nine months?

…

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed suspiciously as his mate rubbed her belly and smiled at him while batting her eyes. His vision swam as the implications sunk in.

NINE MONTHS?

Laughter filled the sudden darkness. Why was he on the floor? When had he fallen asleep? He heard talking from somewhere far away.

"Lady Kagome, that was a cruel joke to play on the poor man."

"I couldn't help it, Kaede." She snickered. "It was funny though, wasn't it?"

Inuyasha growled.

"It might be wise to run, child." The elderly miko held open the door covering for the giggling younger miko to race through.

"KAGOOOOMEEEEEEE!"

Kaede shook her head when the hanyou ran past her in a blur of red and silver. She turned her attention back to the highly amused demon slayer who was feeding one daughter while snuggling the other.

"I am certain that Miroku has now recovered from the shock of becoming a father, I will send him in."

"Thank you, lady Kaede." Sango lightly touched her baby's face and gave her a kiss, then kissed the head of the other. "Welcome to the family, little ones."

Kaede looked outside, watching Inuyasha chase Kagome into the woods. His anger had all been just for show, just as she suspected. The dog demon was almost… playful. The miko smiled. They deserved happiness.

Perhaps it would only be nine months after all.

Author's Note: One more chapter to go! We'll finally see what the teacher had to say about the project.

Author's Note Part II: Yes, I came back and edited this just a bit to fit a little bit more in line with the sequel AND to fix some of the grammatical errors. With luck I can go back and change more chapters as I get time.