Author's Notes: It occurs to me that I have not properly thanked my reviewers. So, THANK YOU! It means a lot to me, and I'm really glad you like Escapades! I hope you continue to read and review, because you make it worthwhile!

This next nursery rhyme was suggested by skiff of haven. Without further adu, here we go!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any nursery rhymes.

The Mother Goose Escapades

No. 3

Little Jack Horner,

Sat in a corner,

Eating a Christmas pie;

He put in his thumb,

And pulled out a plum,

and said, "What a good boy am I!"

Souta was pouting. He just didn't understand where Kagome was now. His mother had said that Kagome would be back for Christmas as soon as she could, but it was already Christmas Eve and there was no sign of her. The little boy sat in his room, looking out his window.

He stared at the thick flakes of snow falling, landing silently on the ground. His mama had given him a piece of apple pie to appease him and he ate it solemnly. Truth be told, he was concerned, as much as an eight year old can be.

If Kagome wasn't back in time, would Santa still leave her presents? Or would he forget about her? She was gone so often that Souta sometimes forgot what she looked like. This scared him so badly that he would run into his room and stare at the picture of her on his dresser, trying to memorize her face.

Souta wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he missed his sister. Without her there, his mother seemed distant and sometimes worried. If she was worried, Souta didn't know how else to be. So he annoyed Kagome when she came back, as a little brother should. It was really the only way he knew how to show her he cared. Sometimes, when Inuyasha came too, he tried to play with the dog demon. But Inuyasha seemed to wrapped up in Kagome.

And she always left again. No matter what Souta did, she never stayed more that a couple of days. The same with Inuyasha. Souta admired the dog demon, that was for sure. He often dreamed of being that big and powerful, so he could stand up for himself. He knew word got around of Kagome's illnesses, thanks to Grandpa. He never told anyone, but other kids stayed away from him in fear. They thought he was sick too, and no one wanted to be infected.

Tears dropped down, as silent as the snow. Souta sat, crying as he ate his pie. He kept his watch though, always keeping an eye on the well house. Mama had said Kagome would be back. He wanted to greet her. He needed too. He hoped Inuyasha would come too. He had a gift for both of them, but he wanted to give them himself. It was important to him.

Putting the empty plate down, Souta felt his eyes start to droop. Fighting the sleep, he sang little songs to himself. Most of the lights had been turned out of the house, and he heard mama go to bed. Not two seconds later Souta saw the well house door open, and two figures make their way to the house.

Leaping up in joy, Souta dashed out of his room and down the stairs, just in time to meet his sister and Inuyasha. "Merry Christmas," he whispered, launching himself into a hug. Kagome, somewhat surprised, knelt down and caught him, squeezing him tightly back.

"Thanks for waiting up, Souta," she whispered back. "It means a lot. You're such a good brother!" As Inuyasha tousled his hair, Souta smiled, his tears subsided. Things were right, his family was here again. He had been good this year and he knew that was the best gift he could get.

Author's Notes: I thought Souta deserved a little character development, right? After all, it's gotta be weird to keep having your sister run off like that. Anyways, keep the ideas coming, it's great, I'm building a buffer of ideas so it should be real easy to keep the updates coming!