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

The Mother Goose Escapades

No. 38

Hush little baby, don't say a word,

Pap's gonna buy you a mocking bird.

If that mocking bird don't sing,

Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring.

If that ring just turns to brass,

Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass.

If that looking glass gets broke,

Papa's gonna buy you a billy goat.

If that billy goat don't pull,

Papa's gonna buy you a cart and bull.

If that cart and bull turn over,

Papa's gonna buy you a dog named Rover.

And if that dog named Rover won't bark,

Papa's gonna buy you a horse and cart.

And if that horse and cart fall down,

You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town.

"Papa!" Shippou exclaimed excitedly, "look at what I found!" The young kitsune ran up to his father, carefully cradling an object in his hands.

"What have you got, Shippou?" his father asked, smiling down. Shippou opened his small hands to reveal an injured butterfly, struggling to fly with a half torn wing.

"Can you fix it, Papa?" Shippou stared up at his father, big green eyes pleading.

"Ah, Shippou, this I cannot fix," his father said sadly. He took the butterfly from his son and let it go. The pair watched it waft to the ground and struggle some more.

"Is it going to die?" Shippou asked softly.

"I'm afraid so. But it is time for it to die." Shippou looked up at his father. "Everything will die Shippou. Even me." He looked down at his young son and chuckled. "Not for a long time though, don't look so worried!"

"Why do things have to die?" Shippou pouted.

"For the same reason they live, I suppose," his father said, smiling at Shippou's confused face. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. Come now, we're much too solemn for such a beautiful day!" He picked Shippou up, placing him on his back.

"Ooo, look at the bird! Papa, look!" Shippou pointed out a small bird wheeling through the sky. "Let's fly too, Papa!"

"Like the bird?" his father chuckled, and Shippou excitedly clapped his hands.

"Yeah!"

"Shall we sing as well?"

"No way," Shippou wrinkled his nose. "You can't sing anyway, Papa!"

"Hey there," his father mock warned, swinging his son down and tickling him. As Shippou's laughter filled the area, his father thought to himself, 'One day I won't be around to hear the birds sing..."

--

"So let me tell you about this ring." Miroku stared up wide-eyed at his father, who was holding a simple, yet elegant ring. The band seemed to glitter in his father's palm.

"Whose is that?" Miroku asked, awe evident in his face.

"It is the ring I gave your mother. Now, my young son, listen closely to me."

"Ok," Miroku nodded, going and sitting next to his father. Snuggled up, he stared at the ring while his father's powerful voice worked its story magic.

"When I was a little bit younger, I met a woman who I knew, without a doubt would be the woman I loved. All my life I had loved woman, it's in our blood, son, but this was the first woman who was different. She wasn't like other woman, didn't particularly like to do the things other women did. So I never asked her a very important question. One day, she asked me if I didn't like her. When I asked her where she got that idea, she said I never asked her the very important question. Well, I admit I had wanted to ask her for a long time, but I was very nervous. I had this ring with me, that your grandfather gave me, so I took it right out and asked her."

"What did she do then?" interrupted Miroku's childish voice.

"Well, she answered yes, so I put the ring right on her finger. I told her I had been afraid to ask her because I didn't want her to miss me when I was gone. She laughed and told me she would miss me if I simply walked away, and I knew I had made the right choice. Imagine my own sadness when she left before me! So now, I am giving you the ring."

"What am I going to do with it?"

"You'll save it, until you meet the right girl for you. You'll know her, you won't be able to ask her the right question because of the fear in your heart."

"Because of the hand?"

"That's right. You're pretty smart, my son. If I don't get an end to this thing, I've no doubts you will." He handed the ring to Miroku, who held it carefully. Then he hugged his father, being careful to avoid the covered hand. His father held his little son close, thinking, 'One day my line might end, just like this ring might tarnish, looking like cheap brass...'

--

"It's a looking glass," explained her father. Sango held the little glass carefully, looking in at the glistening surface and gaping at her reflection.

"Is that...me in there?" she whispered.

"Yes," her father smiled. "It was a gift from the nobleman after we got rid of the demons for him. When I said I had a little daughter, he said he had just the gift for me. Do you like it?"

"Oh Papa, I love it!" Sango squealed. She cautiously put it on the table, then bounced over and jumped into her father's arms. He wrapped her up in a bear hug, causing her to giggle.

"That's my girl!"

"Can I show it to Kohaku?"

"I don't think he's big enough yet, he might break it. We don't want that now, do we?" Her father set her down, and she smiled up at him.

"Oh no, I want to keep it looking pretty and nice, so I can keep myself looking pretty and nice, like Mama wants." She walked back over and gazed down at herself. Slowly, her face turned into a frown.

"What's the matter?" her father asked.

"My face is all dirty," Sango said sadly. "That means no boy will ever want me." Her cherubic face was so sorrowful that her father had to restrain himself from laughing.

"And what is such a small girl doing, worrying about boys?"

"Well, that's what I was told."

"Well, I wouldn't worry, if I were you. Tell you what, we'll go put this in your room. That way, every night you can get cleaned up and look all pretty after a hard day of being outside. During the day, we'll keep playing with the little Hiraikotsu your grandfather made you, hmm?" He smiled down at his little girl, whose face was rapidly getting brighter.

"Ok, Papa! Let's go practice right now!" She hurriedly grabbed his hand, and as he was pulled along by his little girl, he thought sadly, 'One day your world might shatter, just as easy as it is for that looking glass to break...'

--

"The goats are just beyond this gate," Sesshoumaru's father announced.

"What's going to happen to them?" Sesshoumaru asked, running ahead of his father and easily vaulting over the gate.

"Most of them can be used for food. Same thing with all those bulls. Or, we can get carts, and they can pull things for us."

"Do we want them too?" Sesshoumaru asked, and his father shrugged.

"If we want, I suppose. All I know is, we never refuse a gift that is offered as a peace treaty, even if it is from humans. Now, they are under my protection."

"I thought humans didn't like us?" Sesshoumaru paused from chasing the goats, joining his father look too over at the bulls.

"Most don't. There are a few that would prefer our protection however."

"From other demons?"

"Yes that, and each other."

"What?" Sesshoumaru asked, his brow furrowing in confusion. His father smiled down at the young demon.

"Humans fight a lot with each other. I don't know why, but they have asked for my help, so I will give it. It is part of being a leader, my young son. You will learn it soon enough." He pushed his son off, watching him chase the animals once again, thinking, 'One day you will be telling your son this, once my reign is over...'

--

"His name is Rover," he said to his daughter who was squealing with the delight. The small white puppy jumped up on her, licking her face, causing her to giggle. He smiled down her, watching her romp around with the puppy.

"Papa, he's so cute!" she exclaimed, pulling herself away for one moment to hug her father. The puppy barked, indignant at being ignored and she immediately put her attention back on it.

"I'm glad you like him," her father chuckled. "Now remember what we talked about, Kagome. You've got to remember to feed and water him, and especially play with him!"

"Of course, Papa!" she giggled, distracted by the puppy tugging on her shoes. "Look at his pretty eyes!" The puppy stopped mock growling at her shoe, only to pounce on her, attacking her face with his long, slobbery tongue. "Eww, gross!"

"That's just his way of saying he loves you!" her father explained, his deep chuckle causing her to smile up at him. "You be careful playing out here – don't go into the well house!" her father warned, stepping towards the house.

"Ok!" she called back, standing up and running off. "Come on, come get me!" she called after the puppy, who chased her, barking happily. Her father paused, watching the scene with a warm smile on his face. 'One day will come when she'll need me more than ever, and I'll be here when her little puppy isn't around anymore to bark..."

--

"We can't ride in the cart," his mother admonished, "not now anyway."

"But Mama..." Inuyasha whined softly, "I want to."

"I know, sweetheart, but not right now. It's not safe right now." She drew her small son close to her, wishing more strongly than usual that his father was around. He clung to her, causing the ache in her heart to strengthen.

"Please?"

"I'm sorry, but no." She reached a hand up and rubbed his little ears. It would be better for him to lay low for a while, the people had been getting upset again. There really wasn't anything more she could do. 'One day, even I won't be here to protect him...'

--

"I don't remember my parents," Rin remarked to Jaken one day, as they were waiting for Sesshoumaru to return to them. "But I think I'm glad. They left me, and never came back. Anything I would remember about them would make me sad. Sesshoumaru-sama never makes me sad because he always comes back."

Jaken wanted to tell her that Sesshoumaru-sama always acted rather like an overprotective father when it came to her, but when he looked at her wistful face, he decided against it. Better she had a happy memory of one father figure, then only sad memories.

Author's Notes: This is one that's been rolling around in my head for a while, I'm glad to finally get it down. I didn't realize the focus of fathers so much in the story until writing this though! Dads are a big deal! Pretty interesting. Anyway, it was fun to write also, carrying over into each little glimpse of childhood. Fun stuff!