A/N: Wow! I am totally blown away by all these reviews from you! Man, I can not express the love I have for all of you, my readers. You totally give me confidence in my writing. A few things to address before getting into the chapter, so bare with me.
Brlousee: I can see Inuyasha with short hair--just imagine all of his hair was the same length as his two dragon tails. And Jewel was my way of a play on the Shikon no Tama.
BlueEyes7: I think Inuyasha could be understand. You must remember that in this story he is around the age of 28 or 29, so he's a lot more mature than he really is. I mean, with all the things he's gone through when he was young, he would be a pretty open-minded guy once he grows up, don't you think?
Okay, that's all for right now. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. He is something I manipulate to suit my means, then leave on the street like an empty soda can.
Breaking the Rules
Chapter 4: Dreams and Nightmares
Kagome's PoV
Life moves very fast, and I will quote Ferris Bueler by saying that if you don't stop and look around every once in a while, it might pass you by. That's what my life suddenly felt like when I moved in with Inuyasha. My life was moving faster than I could see.
I have always been a very independent person. I work alone and live alone-- apart from Buyo-- and I have always been introverted with my feelings. The only person I ever felt truly comfortable being myself around was my father, but he has been dead since I was fifteen. I could smile and laugh and act normal around my brother and his friends, around Sango and Kagura, but I am always hiding that little bit of self-consciousness that I can say or do the wrong thing.
Inuyasha seemed to intensify that self-consciousness one moment, and make me feel at ease the next. It confuses me; he confuses me. I have always prided myself on being able to read a person very well, but I couldn't file Inuyasha away into a box like I could with everyone else. I told myself that it was because I didn't know him well enough yet to do that.
There was one thing I wasn't confused about, and that was my attraction to him. I'm not the kind of woman who sleeps around, of that I am sure you can tell by now. Maybe it's a fear of commitment, or intimacy, or any of that jargon I dole out to my readers. I can analyze others, but never myself. Regardless of my issues when it comes to the opposite sex, I can't deny the fact that I love the way he kisses me, especially when I'm not expecting it.
Maybe I missed the affection I used to get at home. My family was always close and affectionate and since I left home the most affection I had was from my last boyfriend--four years ago. Inuyasha seemed like one of those people who would work you up and let you down very slowly, just the kind of guy I had always been attracted to. It was little wonder I wanted to be around him. It was a bigger wonder why he wanted to be around me.
Sango sat at her desk, impatiently tapping the eraser of her pencil against her desk. She looked across the hall from her open-doored office and saw the desk in view conveniently vacant. Kagome hadn't been into work once since the incident, and two phone calls was all Sango had gotten on the subject. It annoyed her, frightened her, but most of all it worried her. Kagome was not the impulsive kind, yet she was doing a lot of out of character things lately.
It seemed the same with Kagura, who had been absent from the office frequently over the past few days. When the publicist asked, all she was got a business excuse. Sango felt in the dark, even though Kohaku had called her after helping Kagome move in and said that she was fine.
As it was, the entire office knew about Kagome's situation, and it was the same throughout the city. It had been on the news, right after the airing of Kagome's interview on 'The Street Beat'. Every once in a while, one of the office employees would walk slowly past her open door and hope to eavesdrop on a conversation between Sango and Kagome.
It was beginning to get on her nerves. Sango gripped the pencil in her hand so hard it cracked and broke in half, and the vein in her forehead began to throb. When her lunch break came around, Kagome was going to get a visit.
Just as Sango began fantasizing about all the things she would do when she got her hands on Kagome, the phone on her desk began to ring. She grinned a little dangerously when she brought the phone to her ear. "Sango Rae," she answered.
"Sango, dear," a warm voice greeted her. "This is Mrs. Higurashi."
''Hello, Mrs. H," Sango greeted politely. Sango had met Kagome's family on all of their trips to the city. Both Kagome's mother and grandfather were wonderful people, and Sango loved them both. "What can I do for you?"
Mrs. Higurashi's voice suddenly became flatter and edged. "Have you spoken to my daughter recently?"
Busted, Sango grimaced. She cleared her throat and smiled into the phone, all polite subterfuge. "I talked to her yesterday, but she's not going to be in work until Friday," Sango explained, all true. There was no way she'd lie to this kind woman.
"Is it true?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, cutting right to the point.
Sango balked. She wasn't sure if this was her place to really begin explaining things. This was something that should come from Kagome. "Mrs. H, you should really talk to--"
"Sango, dear," she interrupted. "If I was able to contact my daughter, I would ask her. As it is, all I can get is her voice mail."
"She's changed her number," Sango embellished. Well, Kagome was using Inuyasha's number while living with him.
"Sango." There it was-- the mother voice-- the one that no woman, grown or small, could dare lie to.
"You really should talk to Kagome about this, Mrs. H," Sango sighed. "If I could tell you, I would. You know I would. But as Kagome's friend, this is really an issue you should talk to your daughter about."
"Just tell me if it's true," Mrs. Higurashi pleaded. "I need to know."
Sango sighed deeply and breathed her answer. "It's true."
"She...got married?" Mrs. Higurashi sounded equally amazed and horrified. "I can't believe Kagome would do something so irresponsible. So irrational!" There was a pause before Kagome's mother laughed. "She actually did something romantic."
Sango smirked and had to cover a laugh. If there was something to be said about the Higurashi family-- they were all insane. "I'll tell her to call you tonight, would that be ok?"
"That would be wonderful. Thank you, Sango."
"Of course, Mrs. H."
"So tell me dear," Mrs. Higurashi hinted slyly. "How are things with you and your dashing boyfriend?"
Sango blushed. It was sweet actually, and made Sango feel like part of a family again. Both of her parents had been dead since she was in college, leaving her to care for Kohaku. Since meeting Kagome and her quirky family, Sango and Kohaku had felt the same protective warmth that came with being part of a family.
"We're doing just fine, Mrs. H. Next time you come to the city, I'll bring him to dinner."
"Oh, Kagome promised to come visit us this time," Mrs. Higurashi laughed. "But you are welcome to bring him along when you come as well. I expect you and your brother to come along with my daughter."
Kagura came to Sango's doorway, knocking her knuckles against the doorframe. Sango looked up and signaled for a minute. "Mrs. H, I have to get back to work, but I'll make sure Kagome calls you tonight."
"Thank you again dear. Have a good day."
"You too." They hung up and then Sango looked up at her boss. "What can I do for you, Kagura?"
"Have you talked to her today?"
"No. She hasn't given me her new number, but I was planning on going to see her on my lunch hour."
"Skip it," Kagura ordered, fixing a few loose hairs. "We have a meeting with the endorsement people. They want to reschedule Kagome's next interview to include Inuyasha, and I have to work my magic to keep him out of it."
"You need me there because...?" Sango asked, already standing and smoothing out the wrinkles in her snappy suit.
"Appearances," Kagura said with a smirk. "You can strangle our writer afterwards."
"What will you be doing tonight?" Sango asked her conversationally. Kagura looked her over with suspicious ruby eyes.
"Why so interested?"
Sango smirked. "You've been absent a lot around the office these days Kagura. Normally, your social life is worse than Kagome's."
"At least I have an excuse for it," Kagura declared self-righteously. "I have a magazine to run, employees to handle, and sponsorships to win."
"No time for love?" Sango teased, batting her eyelashes coyly.
Kagura rolled her eyes and made to leave. "My love life is none of your business Sango, and I'd appreciate no further talk about it."
"Even when it comes to a tall, handsome editor?" Sango pressed, following after her. Kagura froze in the doorway, her shoulders ridged.
She turned slowly, her face blank as she addressed her publicist and her friend. "Whatever my feelings were, and whatever they could be, nothing will ever come of it. Sesshomaru Saishi is no longer my boyfriend, my lover, or even my friend. Any time spent in his company is regarding his brother and Kagome. Nothing else."
"If you say so," Sango said with a nod. Kagura glared, leaning closer.
"Sango, I love your work, you know. You are my friend and I care about you," Kagura said in a low voice. "But if you ever presume to tell anyone anything from my personal life, I will fire you from this company. Are we clear?"
"Crystal," Sango said, a little nervous at how cold Kagura seemed.
"I have a business dinner tonight," Kagura said, turning back. "But right now, we have a meeting."
"Yes ma'am," Sango said and followed her toward the meeting room. It was hard to believe that Kagura could go from docile to deadly in an eye blink, but love changes a person.
Kagome was a little nervous when she woke up in a new room, in a new apartment. It was only a little after seven when she got up, but Kagome was always a light sleeper. Jewel and Buyo greeted her when she stepped out of her room in a bathrobe and headed to the kitchen to make breakfast.
Inuyasha came out an hour later in a pair of flannel pants and nothing else. He rubbed his eyes, walking past her in the kitchen and did to double take. "It's too early to wake up alone and have breakfast," he commented. Kagome frowned and handed him a plate of food.
"No wise cracks, just eat," she commanded.
"Sure babe," he yawned before shoveling the food down his throat. Kagome smirked and shook her head.
"When do you go in?"
"Half an hour?"
"You better move faster than this."
"Madam, I happen to be a professional," he teased.
"If you say so," she smiled, petting the cat and dog.
He was a professional, and was showered, dressed, and ready to leave in that half an hour. Kagome had just finished her coffee and fed the pets.
"Well, my wife," Inuyasha smiled. "I'm off to work. You'll be ok until tonight?"
Kagome saluted. "I think I'll manage, chief."
Inuyasha only shook his head before grabbing her chin with his hand and placed a kiss on her mouth. Kagome smiled as he left, until she caught herself feeling fuzzy over a man and snapped back to reality. "Okay, Kagome," she laughed to herself. "Don't start falling for your husband."
She spent the better part of the morning finding her way around the apartment, and transforming Inuyasha's study into her own personal work space-- with a smile of course. She also noticed how vacant his pantry seemed to be-- apart from the shelf of instant Ramen she had pilfered the night before-- so she embarked on a trip to the nearest grocery store. Upon returning, she also brought with her a few potted plants, to give the place a lived-in feel rather than museum quality from a man barely there.
By late afternoon, she got a phone call.
"Hello?" she answered, placing her laptop aside and patting Jewel's head so she wouldn't bark.
"Call your mother," a tired voice snapped.
"Kagura?" Kagome asked, blinking. She hadn't known anyone had Inuyasha's number yet.
"Yeah, it's Kagura, but I'm calling on behave of Sango. We're stuck in a meeting so she won't be able to come by and attack you yet. Your mom called her-- and she knows about Inuyasha. So bite the bullet and call her."
"I...wasn't hiding anything, if that's what you are insinuating," Kagome denied. "I just forgot to call her." In truth, she had forgotten to call her mother since she had been so preoccupied with everything going on in the city.
"Yeah, sure," Kagura laughed. Kagome forgave her-- she sounded stressed. "Listen, Kags, I have to go. Just call your mom, ok?"
"I will," she promised. "Tell San thanks from me."
"Will do. Bye."
"Uh, Kagura?" Kagome hesitantly postponed her.
"What is it Kagome?"
"How did you get this number? I haven't given it to anyone..."
Kagura paused for a moment, unsure if she should go there and give a true answer. Deciding Kagome, of all people, deserved a bit of truth, she replied honestly. "I got it from Sesshomaru."
"I didn't know you two were speaking again," Kagome commented lightly. She kept her thoughts to herself.
"Only over you and Inuyasha. You've got us in a field of paperwork, darling Kags."
Kagome winced. "I really am sorry."
"I know you are," Kagura said with a smirk in her voice. "I have to go, but I'll talk to you soon."
"Bye." And then Kagura hung up and Kagome was left wondering how she was going to tell her mother she had gotten drunk, married, and now had to stay that way for business. A headache began to form. "It's pretty late in the day now, right?" she asked the cat and dog who lay nearby. "I think it's best I call them tomorrow."
Jewel barked her agreement and Kagome took that as a good sign.
Inuyasha didn't usually put in for overtime considering he worked more shifts than any of his fellow doctors. He was the hospital's star physician, and a sort of pet to his superiors. He could charm any 'suit' that came calling at the hospital, and he was great with the patients. That was what made Inuyasha a good doctor. What made him great was his talent.
But even a great doctor gets tired of working after a twelve-hour shift, and he had been more than happy to change out of his scrubs and go home.
Like it had been the day before, Inuyasha was startled that his entrance didn't cause his loveable dog to maul him like she did every day. He shrugged out of his coat and headed toward the hallway. He could hear music playing from the back room-- his study-- the room that he never let anyone else enter. The room that was completely his.
The door was partially closed when he reached the end of the hall, but the lights were on so he slowly pushed it further. Immediately his golden gaze was drawn to Kagome seated in his favorite black leather chair with her legs tossed over the armrest and her laptop open on her stomach. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, typing in a steady rhythm. An open book was also laying against her chest, another laying on the floor, and a few others strewn about.
Inuyasha also saw that his flat-screened computer monitor was turned toward her-- so she had used the computer on his desk. Further inspection showed websites in several small boxes, waiting to be read.
He wasn't sure whether or not he should make his presence known, since Jewel and Buyo were both curled up on the floor, fast asleep. Instead, he leaned against the doorframe and watched her. Kagome was dressed in her usual-- baggy clothes, glasses on the bridge of her nose, and a baseball cap sporting the advertisement of her favorite rum. She was involved in her so work, she never even looked up at him.
"You know," she commented, pausing from typing to look down at the book in her lap. "Most people think that no research goes into writing an advice column. But the truth is, any moron can tell people what to do. It takes a lot of researching to come up with the best advice to be given to any situation."
"I see you found my study," he commented wryly.
"It has the best lighting, plus computer access." She paused from her reading to finally look up at him. There had been a smirk on her face at the victory of having him annoyed, but she frowned. "You look like hell."
"Thanks, dear."
"Seriously, are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah," he said, waving a hand in the air as if it was nothing. "I'm just tired. You try working twelve hours with a bunch of sick people and not pick up anything."
Kagome shook her head and got up, pausing to crack her back before walking toward him. "Come on, I made dinner."
Inuyasha looked down at the top of her head as she grabbed his arm and began leading him to the kitchen. "Why do you keep cooking for me?"
"It's not that much harder to cook for two people that it is for one," she replied with a shrug. "I also fed the pets, so you just eat and relax. Got it?"
"Yes, ma'am," he agreed, smiling at her as she pushed him into a chair and brought him over a plate of meat and veggies. After he was served and ready, Kagome made to head back to her work when a question from Inuyasha stopped her. "Why do you need glasses?"
"Reading," she grinned crookedly. "But I wear them sometimes to make me feel smart."
"You've got no one to impress here," he said honestly. "You should be yourself more since you're staying here now."
"This is me," Kagome replied. "Baggy, messy, and unrefined."
Inuyasha gave her the once over, bringing a rush of heat to Kagome's face. She hadn't blushed over a guy this much since her high school days-- when she was a star-struck teen and the object of her affection was an award-winning quarterback. Now, the object of her desire was a charming doctor.
"Have I mentioned that I like unrefined?" he said with a sexy smirk.
"No charming me," she warned with a pointed finger.
"Why not?" Inuyasha asked in innocence, leaning forward on to his hands. "I happen to like charming the uncharmable."
This time it was Kagome who smirked. "Who said I was uncharmable?" With a wink, Kagome pulled down the brim of her hat and headed back o the study. "Eat your food and then we'll talk."
Once she was gone, Inuyasha shook his head in wonderment as a smile played at the corner of his lips. He liked that girl, of that he had no doubt, but she was playing with fire right there. He might just have to show her-- but that would wait until he had a little more liquid courage and a lot more rest.
As it was, Inuyasha was too tired to really think about sexual acts-- but one was never too tired to flirt, so when he finished his meal and put the dishes in the washer, he headed back to his study. Kagome was clearing up her things, shutting down the computer and cleaning up her books. Inuyasha sauntered in and grabbed the small pale green journal from the leather chair before depositing himself in it.
Flipping to an open page, he read aloud the first passage he saw. "I am your spaniel, and Demetrius, the more you beat me the more I will fawn on you. Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me, neglect me, lose me. Only give me leave, as unworthy as I am to follow you."
Kagome winced a little as she turned to look at him. He looked up and smiled at her. "Shakespeare?"
She shrugged. "I write down any quotes, thoughts, or song lyrics I like. I quote in my writing a lot."
Inuyasha flipped through a few pages and read a few more lines, smiling broader the further he got. "Oh man, this is juicy!" he laughed when he got to a few sentences about how often the average human female thinks about sex in comparison to a male.
Kagome tried to grab the book from his hands but he dodged her easily by leaping from the chair, laughing as he read and taunted her. Kagome gave chase, trying to retrieve her small book, but Inuyasha had a height advantage. "You are disgustingly romantic!" he announced when she finally launched herself on to his back out of desperation.
"I never said I was anything else!" she declared, pulling on his hair until he relented and gave her back the book, while scowling and rubbing his hurting scalp.
"You're mean!" he cried, sitting in his chair and giving her the wounded-puppy face.
Kagome grinned and sat on the arm of the chair while patting his head. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha," she apologized.
Inuyasha grabbed her around the waist and pulled her on to his lap. "I forgive you, for now."
Kagome laughed and shook her head. "Are you always this frisky after a twelve hour shift?"
He tilted his head to one side, thinking for a moment, then grinned. "Nope. But I've never come home where a beautiful woman was waiting for me before." Kagome blushed slightly and shook her head before pushing out of his hold. Inuyasha let her go without restraint, though he was a little disappointed.
Buyo chose that moment to launch himself on to Inuyasha's lap and mewed loudly at Kagome. Startled, Inuyasha stroked the cat to get him to calm down. "I guess the cat is sticking with me tonight."
"Little traitor," she laughed.
"No, I think he has a cat-crush on me," Inuyasha said with a nod, stroking the cat's ears.
"It must be your animal magnetism," Kagome teased.
"I don't know. Has it affected you yet?"
Kagome frowned, but didn't comment. "Kagura called me this afternoon," she changed the subject, fiddling with the brim of her hat. "I have to call my mother in the morning."
Inuyasha looked up at her blankly. "Your mother?"
"Yeah," Kagome said, wincing slightly and scratching the back of her neck. "She lives in Jersey with my grandfather. Twenty bucks says she heard about our nuptials."
"So what are you going to tell her?"
"The truth, I guess. I can't lie to my mother... I owe her that much."
Inuyasha looked at her speculatively. "Sounds to me like you were a problem child."
"Problem teenager," she conceded with a frown and a sigh. "I did a lot of stupid things as a kid." Shaking her head, she looked back at him with a small smile. "You realize she'll want to meet you."
"Must I charm my mother-in-law while I'm still charming my bride?" he asked with the hint of a smile and humor in his eyes. Kagome rolled her own and turned to leave.
"It's late. I'm gonna take a shower and head in to be." That was exactly what she did. The only problem was when she went to bed, she was without her cat and she forgot to place a CD in the player. In a silent, dark room, Kagome fell into her dreams which fast became her all-too familiar nightmares.
Kagome was sitting in her backyard, beneath her favorite tree, letting the breeze comb through her hair. She was fifteen again, all lean limbs and designer skirts. She was waiting on the hill for someone. That was when he came. Her father.
He was just as she remembered him, dark hair and blue eyes. He gave her that classic smile of his, half mocking half affectionate, as he sat beside her.
"I've been waiting for you, Daddy," Kagome said, smiling over at him. "You're always late."
"And you're always early, my little Kagome," he grinned, tapping her on the tip of her nose. "You shame your old man."
"I get it from Mom." He laughed at her then and leaned back, looking up at the clouds as they passed overhead through the hanging branches of the tree above them. Kagome followed suit until she was stretched out beside him and relaxed. "What are we looking for today?"
"Something exciting," he said. "Something we've never seen before."
"Like a unicorn?" Kagome asked, looking beside her to see his smile.
Instead of her father stretched out in the grass, she saw him lying in a hospital bed. She saw his skin nearly translucent and tubes on his body and the sparkle gone from his eyes. She saw him the way he had looked when he died, when he hadn't remembered her name, or even known she was there.
Kagome felt the tears fall on her horrified face. It was as if her heart had been ripped out of her, and when she looked down, she beheld the hideous sight of a hole in her chest. Blood flowed freely, but she didn't feel the pain of it yet.
"Daddy?" she called, trying to move to the bedside and take his hand, to have him make her pain go away. Her mother was sitting there, with Souta and her grandfather. She tried to run there, but the closer she got, the farther they would move away. No one heard her, looked at her, or knew she was there. She was silent, invisible, bleeding in the darkness where she was left behind.
"Daddy!" she screamed, trying to catch them, to say her goodbyes. To see him one more time. "Stop! Stop!" she begged, but all pleas were unheard.
In the end, it was the sound of her own voice that woke her. The sound of her screaming and the choking in her lungs from the crying she hadn't known she had been doing in the waking world. Terrified and alone, Kagome sat bolt upright in bed, the silence looming around her so closely she couldn't breathe.
That was when the door burst open and Inuyasha skidded in, tripping over the rug and landing face-first on the ground. He gripped the side of the bed and hauled himself up, looking around as if to find some intruder.
"What's wrong? What's happening?" he asked, sleep still heavy in his voice. Kagome didn't answer, and when his gold eyes adjusted once more to the darkness around him, he saw she was holding herself tightly, and rocking back and forth slowly. "Kagome?"
"I didn't put a CD on," she whispered back in a hoarse voice. "It's too quiet."
"What happened?" he asked in a low voice. He was confused and a little scared of her at that moment.
"I told you," she snapped. "I have nightmares." Tears were evident in her voice, and her fear. "God," she swore, rubbing her face with her hands, trying to remove any signs of her tears. "This doesn't happened often anymore," she explained hurriedly. "I'm very sorry that I woke you up."
"No, no," Inuyasha said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's ok." With a small smile, he shrugged. "I've always been a light sleeper."
Kagome scoffed a little and sighed. "Still, I'm sorry."
"Are you going to be okay?"
"I'll be fine, really." She attempted a smile, but it was weak. Inuyasha could also see that she was still shaking and that did not sit well with him.
"Yeah, then I'll be going." It was a test of course, to see if she'd actually let him go. As suspected, her hand shot out and grabbed his arm. He smiled a little as he sat back down. "Not fine?"
"Not fine," she agreed.
"Come on," he said as he tossed back the covers. "You can sleep with me and the dog and the cat tonight." Sliding one arm under her knees, Inuyasha circled her shoulders and lifted her into his arms as he carried her down the hall to his room.
It was a little more decorated, a lot neater without the boxes, but basically the same as hers. The main difference was the bigger bed, and the two pets curled up on top of it. "You let Jewel on your bed?" Kagome asked, her arms linked around his neck.
"She's my girl," he said, turning to smile at her. "She deserves the best."
Kagome smiled back and nodded. Once Inuyasha placed her down, he tucked her under the covers before walking over to his side, pushing the cat over, and setting himself down again.
"Thank you," Kagome whispered, turning over so she faced him.
Inuyasha yawned, already falling back under the spell of his Serta mattress. "Anytime, sweetness."
Kagome smiled, feeling well taken care of, closed her eyes and settled in. This time, when she fell asleep, she focused on the sound of Inuyasha's breathing, of Jewel's light panting, and of Buyo's purring. She found that focusing on three sounds was much easier than focusing on one. This time, when she fell asleep, there were no nightmares.
When Kagome woke up, she found herself in a new position. During the night, she had shifted to where she now rested, head on Inuyasha's chest, and arm laying across his stomach. Inuyasha's arm was curled around her shoulders, the other rested on Jewel. The dog lay on her side, feet twitching with imagined dreams of chasing rabbits.
Buyo was no longer on the bed, but he came sauntering into the room a few minutes later to sit and look at her with his head cocked. "I bet you get a kick out of this," Kagome whispered. Buyo only licked his lips.
She tried to figure out a way to slip out without waking Inuyasha, but it was have been impossible. Finally, she thought, why fight it? and settled in to go back to sleep. Though Kagome had always been an early riser-- she loved sleeping more than breathing. That was why it annoyed her when Inuyasha's alarm went off.
"Arg," he groaned, swinging his arm off Jewel to whack the clock's snooze button. Then he turned on to his side, only to be confronted by Kagome, watching him with a blank expression.
"That's what's going to make you late," she informed him.
"Blah!" he yelped, springing backwards and falling over the side of the bed. He popped up a second later, hair in disarray, and Jewel awake as well. "What are you doing here?"
"You brought me here," she responded, sitting up and arching her back. "You don't remember?"
He did after her reminder. "Sorry... I'm not a morning person."
"Really?" she asked in mocking. He frowned.
"I have to go get ready..."
"I'm not stopping you," she said. With that, she got up and walked back to her own room to change and start the day.
Inuyasha frowned as he watched her. Obviously she was upset over something, but as it was, he didn't have time to see what it was. He had to get to the hospital in half an hour, and he had his work cut out for him.
Once dressed and ready to head out to the hospital, Inuyasha slunk into the kitchen. Kagome, who still looked to be in a sour mood, already laid out his breakfast on the table. Inuyasha had to smile a little-- even pissed she cooked for him.
"Eat it before it gets cold," Kagome called over her shoulders. She was making herself scrambled eggs and had no time to waste on conversation with him.
"Only if you tell me what's up," he said coolly.
"There is nothing wrong," she said firmly as she removed the pan from the stove and plunged it into the dishwater.
"Uh, Kagome?"
"What?" she snapped.
"You're washing your eggs." She paused and looked down at the water to see the bits of yellow floating along among the suds.
"Oh." Blushing she dropped the pan and turned to face him, hands braced on the sink top. "I'm sorry. I'm very nervous and when I'm nervous I get cranky."
"What's to be nervous about?" he asked with an arched brow.
"Calling my mother," she reminded him.
"Oh, that."
"Yes, that." Kagome brushed some hair from her face. "Listen, you should go to work and have a lovely day. I'll be an adult, face the music, and call my mother."
"Are you sure?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
Kagome smiled and walked to him, tugging the wrinkles out of his jacket. "Yes." To convince him further, she awarded him a heady good-bye kiss that left his senses swimming and her feeling light headed. Arms still linked around his neck, Kagome sighed. "Go to work."
"I don't know if I want to anymore," he admitted with a smoldering look in his eye and a dangerous smile on his face.
"I have a phone call to make, and you can't be late," she reminded firmly. "But maybe when you get home we could explore this further." Teasingly, she kissed him lightly once more before stepping back.
"You're such a tease." Inuyasha growled, but turned to leave.
"That's only because you're too cute," she retorted.
Inuyasha smirked. "Can't help that, honey."
Kagome sat on the counter in the center of the kitchen and debated her actions. After grabbing the wireless phone from the cradle, she retreated to the study with Jewel and Buyo on her heels. The obese cat, which had been strangely absent from her side as of late, launched himself on her lap and made himself comfortable.
Her heartbeat was picking up as she dialed her home number and brought the phone to her ear. On the third ring, her mother picked up.
"Higurashi residence?"
"Hello, Momma," Kagome said with as much cheer as she could.
"Kagome!" There were some muffled sounds in the background that Kagome assumed to be her grandfather. "Grandpa, it's Kagome! Kagome, dear, where have you been?!" Her mother sounded so hysterical that it was beginning to weird her out.
"Whoa, Mom, calm down," Kagome said once her mother began chattering. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, Kagome, how could you have gotten married without telling me and your grandfather? We were so surprised when we heard about it on the news that you hadn't even called! And Souta, he wouldn't tell me anything so I had to call Sango."
"I know, I'm sorry, Mom," Kagome sighed.
"I've been calling and calling--"
"I haven't been home," Kagome explained.
"Sango told me that you changed your number," her mother said in that knowing tone that all mother's had.
"Well, that happens when you aren't home. You have to be reached by another number."
"Don't get cute with me, Kagome," he mother said. "Where are you?" Kagome didn't answer right away. In fact, she opened and closed her mouth several times, thinking of something to say. "Baby?"
"I'm staying with a friend for a little while, Momma," Kagome said, feeling the metaphorical noose beginning to tighten.
"Be straight with me, Kagome, are you staying with your husband?"
Inwardly wincing, Kagome sighed. "Yes." That was all she could say.
"Oh, Kagome!"
"I'm so sorry Momma! I didn't plan it like this!"
"You didn't even tell me you were seeing anyone!" her mother suddenly bawled. "What's his name? What does he do? Is he cute? Kagome, you make me crazy sometimes!"
"Inuyasha. He's a doctor. Yes. And I'm sorry!"
They spent the next twenty minutes taking turns on babbling incoherently, bursting into tears, and just talking about things. "Kagome, dear, you have to bring him home with you."
"Can't you and Grandpa come here?" Kagome whined.
"Kagome, you promised me!" Mrs. Higurashi scolded. "Now, you have to come down to bring your husband."
"I'll have to talk this over with my husband," Kagome explained, not sure she wanted to do this.
"Call me back tonight?" her mother pleaded. There was no way Kagome could disappoint her mother any more than she already had. She loved her mother very much.
Kagome adjusted the brim of her baseball cap before entering the hospital lobby. It wasn't as though she expected to be recognized, she was just feeling insecure about going to the workplace of her husband for the first-- and probably only-- time.
The lobby was sparsely populated, so it seemed to be a good time to drop in. There was a young and fairly attractive woman sitting at the desk in the front of the lobby, answering phones and filing records. Kagome thought it was odd that a woman who worked in a hospital would wear red pumps and a mini skirt, but she worked in an office building in jeans and a baseball cap.
"Excuse me," Kagome called over the counter, trying to get the attention of the woman. Looking over her shoulder, the young woman put down the files she had been holding and walked over.
"If you take a seat, I'll give you a board and you can fill out a sheet for a doctor to see you," she responded.
"No, I'm not sick," Kagome said quickly. "I'm looking for Dr. Inuyasha Saishi?"
The woman paused, blinking at her in confusion. "Dr. Saishi is on rotation right now. If you need to see him, have a seat and I'll wait until he has an opening."
"I'm not a patient," Kagome said again. "Do you know where he is?"
"He's with a patient," the woman said, now becoming angry. "Just have a seat, please."
With a sigh, Kagome took a seat nearby the desk to wait for Inuyasha to appear, or be called, or whatever. She waited, and she waited, and… she waited. After half an hour she went back up to the desk.
"Pardon me," she asked the woman again. "Do you have any idea when Dr. Saishi will be back?"
"Ma'am, Dr. Saishi is a very busy man."
"I know he's busy, but I need to talk to him!"
"If you don't back off the desk, I will call security," the woman threatened.
"I just want to talk to Inuyasha," Kagome said slowly, calmly.
"A lot of people do," the woman snapped. "What makes you so special?"
"Did I hear someone say my name, Nazuna?" Both women turned to see Inuyasha enter the station, deposit a chart and pick up a new one. When he looked up from his mission, he noticed the other woman on the other side of the desk. "Kagome?"
"Hi," she said lamely. "I need to talk to you for a minute."
"Sure," he said with a nod.
"Uh, Dr. Saishi," Nazuna interrupted, looking disgruntled. "You know this woman?"
"Of course," Inuyasha smirked. "This is my wife."
Nazuna's face fell and she whirled to look at Kagome. Her eyes widened in horror as she took in Kagome's baggy shirt, patched leather coat, faded jeans, and the tacky rum-sporting cap. Then she turned to look at Inuyasha, who still looked oh-so-yummy in his pale green scrubs and hair held at the nape of his neck. How could a man as steamy as him possibly marry a woman so... drab?
Inuyasha seemed oblivious to Nazuna's inner conclusions. Kagome was not, but she was more focused on Inuyasha, who slid over the top of the desk to land beside her, and casually kissed her cheek. "What's the occasion that brings you to my place of work?"
"What are you doing this weekend?" she asked with a shaky smile.
Inuyasha turned to Nazuna. "I'm taking my break." Turning back to Kagome, he looped an arm around her waist and steered her outside to talk. "Sorry about telling the big secret, but Nazuna set her cap for me after she was hired so for the past year I've been subjected to all manner of flirtation," he explained with a grin.
"Ah," Kagome said with a grin. "Tell me, what are you doing this weekend?"
He grinned slowly. "With any luck, you."
Kagome blushed even as she laughed. "And you call Miroku a pervert!"
"I lived with the man for four years, it's only natural I pick up a few things."
"Well, change of plans," Kagome announced with a little anxiety. "I'm taking you home to meet my family." Inuyasha opened his mouth but Kagome quickly covered his mouth with her hand. "I know it's wrong to spring it on you, but my mother is very convincing."
"Kagome," he said once removing her hand and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "I have no problem with going, really."
"Really?" she asked, sounding so relieved he had to grin.
"Really."
Sango sighed heavily as she pushed the door open and walked into Miroku's apartment. After shoving the key to the door back into her bag, Sango huffed into the living room and then into the kitchen in her search for her boyfriend.
Coming directly from work, Sango was still decked out in her business wear, but Miroku had been home for a while and had changed from his suit into a band-label tee-shirt reading Fuel and a pair of sweatpants. The very unaware said boyfriend simply blinked, paused his humming, and looked up as Sango brushed past him, tossing her bag on to a chair and turning to face him.
"Are you free this weekend?" she questioned. Her light purple eyes were tired, but serious as they met his darker violet orbs.
"Excuse me?" Miroku-- who had been in the process of cooking his dinner-- simply held up the grilled cheese sandwich he was making and stared at his girlfriend.
"Kagome is taking Inuyasha home to meet her family," Sango explained. "She asked if we would like to come down to their home in New Jersey. Moral support, you understand."
"You... barged in here, disrupted my grilled cheese... and ask me to go on vacation?" Miroku summed up with a nod. "Sure, I'd love to go, considering our last vacation was ruined."
"That what I thought. They owe us a relaxing weekend."
"Right."
"They owe us a little time where we're not worrying about them."
"Right!"
"They owe us the vacation lost when they screwed up."
"Right!"
"Miroku..."
"Yes, my flower?"
"Your sandwich is on fire."
Miroku looked down and sure enough, his grilled cheese was in flames. "Ah! No!" Quickly, he took the pan from the flame and tried to salvage his food. However, it was too far-gone to save. "Alas, poor grilled cheese, I knew thee well," he cried.
"Oh God, getting teary over food," Sango sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"But, I'm still hungry!" Miroku grumbled, poking the black bread. "This is all the food that's left in my house."
"Why not just order out?" Sango offered, placing her hands on his shoulders. "My treat?"
Miroku perked up and turned, catching Sango in his arms. "Free food?" he asked, nuzzling the side of her neck. "I knew there was a reason I put up with your abuse."
"Apart from my stamina?" Sango laughed a little breathlessly. "I thought you were too hungry."
"I am, but for something else now." Sango laughed and grinned as he led her out of the kitchen and toward his room. For right now, they wouldn't worry about Kagome and Inuyasha, or about Kagura and Sesshomaru, right now they'd only worry about themselves. Tomorrow would come soon enough as it was.