A/N: This was another one of those chapters that I redid the ending several times to get it right. I'm happy with the way it is now, and I'm sure you will be too. I decided to remove the overhanging gloom that had been hovering over lately, and instead present with a lighthearted chapter. I hope you will enjoy.

Also, I have to get serious about my schoolwork. I have to write 5 essays, watch a movie, and read 2 books before the 5th, so I'm going to have to put updates off until then. Sorry about this, but I want to pass school, you know. I hope that the fluffy ending of this chapter will make up for the wait. Once again, I apologize.


Chapter 35: Thank You

Pregnant…I was pregnant…At the tender age of seventeen, it was more than I could bear to learn that there was already another life alive within me, and it was Inuyasha's child, no less. To say I was scared would be an understatement; I was terrified. It wasn't just about the pregnancy at whole, it was everything. How was I going to tell Inuyasha? How would we tell our friends about everything? What would happen if Naraku found out? And the baby…how would I raise a baby in two worlds, even in one where its father didn't exist? Would I have to give up one world in order to keep our family together? And what about when it came time to birth the baby? Would I have to do it I the Sengoku Jidai? What if something went wrong? What if…

Oh, there were so many questions, so many fears. And even though most women have some fears about these things, I had several more than the average woman. I knew that this is something that usually cannot be planned for, but I couldn't help but wish that it had happened at a different time, once everything with Naraku in the other time was settled. Now I saw the mistake I made when deciding to become Inuyasha's mate despite that Naraku wasn't defeated.

Even though I was scared, and afraid, I couldn't help but feel a small happiness about this. Though I was young, I was pregnant, with Inuyasha's child, Inuyasha's. He didn't usually want to talk about us having children someday, but when we did, we always spoke of it for the future, like a long ways away. And though he didn't like to bring it up, I could always tell that was something he had always wanted, a family. He was alone for so long, and now, with this child, he would have a family, a life created by a piece of him and a piece of me…brought to life through love.

If it weren't for all the complications in our lives, I probably would have been overjoyed with the news. I admit I did feel awe and wonder at this miracle that happened…I had always liked babies and children, and to realize that I was going to have one of my own was a wonderful feeling. It's the same feeling I get whenever I look at Inuko, a product of Inuyasha and my love…It's amazing what nature can do, turn two totally different cells into a life, to bring joy throughout all the days.

If only I could have been any other mother-to-be, overjoyed and anxiously awaiting the arrival of my child, with its father at my side all the way, smiling happily and ecstatic on the day the child is born, but alas, it was not to be…


Kagome looked down the well in the well house for about the fifth time. For the past thirty minutes, she had been trying to jump in and go back, and ultimately tell Inuyasha of the news, but for some reason, she just could not take the jump at that moment.

Sighing, she turned and slid down to lean back against the ancient wood, closing her eyes. Sometimes it had been hard to will herself to go back before, but right now…it was harder than she had ever known. Her hand slid down to cover her belly once more, and she breathed in slowly, trying to calm her racing, fearful, heart.

Calm down, she told herself, It's not like I'm going to tell the world, just Inuyasha. It's not like he will be mad or anything…Yet all the same, the prospect of having to tell Inuyasha that he was going to be a father in a little over seven months wasn't exactly her cup of tea.

Kagome knew he probably wouldn't take it well, the most obvious reason was because Naraku was still alive and well in the world. This baby would cause dozens of problems if it were to be born before Naraku was defeated, not to mention, Inuyasha had already said he wanted to spend a few years with her before they began to think of children…they both knew they weren't ready.

But, even with all the problems…I can't help but want our baby. she thought, opening her eyes and glancing back at her now flat tummy, covered only by her white shirt. A small, uncontrollable smile slid on her face as the thought came to her, Our baby… The image of herself holding a small little bundle of joy with dog ears popped into her mind, with Inuyasha standing behind her, smile on his face as well.

Kagome didn't know if it was the mood swings or what it was that made her suddenly want to tell Inuyasha this whenever she imagined that scenario. After all, they were going to have a child…he would have to be happy, wouldn't he?

And then she would remember all the reasons the timing was such an inconvenience and become fearful of his reaction all over again.

In the two days that she had stayed home, her mother made excuses to the rest of her family about why she was sick, as Kagome said she couldn't tell her grandfather and Souta until Inuyasha was there, at her side. She had already wasted as much of the day as she could in order to put off telling him—it was now nearing dusk.

She'd have to tell him soon, after all, her mother had already scheduled her first trimester appointment. And if Inuyasha didn't smell it already, he would probably be able to tell there was something not right with her scent sooner or later, and then he would be mad because she didn't have the courage to just spit it out.

"I'll just have to go up to him and tell him," she murmured to herself, trying to gather her courage. "Make it quick… 'Inuyasha, I'm pregnant…' over and done with."

Taking a deep breath, Kagome stood up, grabbing her backpack, glancing back down in the well. Just say it and it'll be done with quickly…nothing to worry about. Gulping once more, she closed her eyes and jumped into the well, her heart pounding to a furious tempo in her chest.

She felt the winds of time flow around her, bringing her back to the past until at last, she felt her feet settle on hard ground. A shaking breath came from her as she opened her eyes and found herself at the bottom of the well once more, looking up at the blue sky above. Grabbing the vine she frequently used to get herself out of the well, Kagome went over her plan once again. I'll find Inuyasha, and just spit it out…it'll be okay. Everything will be all right, there's nothing to fear.

"Kagome?"

Of course, her fears began all over again once she heard Inuyasha's voice and saw him up above. Kagome internally cursed. Of all the times he had to be waiting for her! Her heart raced once more…this was going to be more difficult than she thought.

"Hey, you coming, or what?" he asked rather impatiently, causing Kagome to wish that for once, she could have had more time away from him.

Beginning to pull herself up, she called up, annoyed, "Can you wait just a moment? I'm coming all ready!" But every step upward brought her closer to Inuyasha…and closer to having to reveal the truth.

When he finally helped her out of the well, with Kagome looking up into his amber eyes, her breath caught in her chest. This is it…

"So, how are you feeling?" Inuyasha asked, noticing Kagome looked a bit sick at the moment. "Are you still not feeling well?"

Kagome glanced away. It was too much to stare into those eyes. "No…I'm feeling a little better." Besides the fact that I'm scared to death to tell you I'm pregnant…

Glancing at her strange behavior curiously, Inuyasha asked the dreaded question, "So, what was going on? Your mother said she knew, but she never told me…"

Her jaw clenched. This is it…Just tell him now, just get it over with so you won't have to worry about it…just tell him…Kagome glanced at him again, feeling that taking Naraku on unarmed would have been easier. "Um, you see…Inuyasha…I'm…um…What I mean to say is…"

"Yes?" the hanyou encouraged her, wondering why, all of a sudden, she had been turned into a blundering idiot. Though, since he was the one in this position most of the time, it was nice to see it on someone else for a change.

"Inuyasha I'm…I'm…I'm kind of thinking maybe we should fulfill our promise right now!" she finished, with fake enthusiasm. She couldn't tell him yet; for some reason, Kagome just couldn't get out the words to him that he was going to be a father.

Unfortunately, he didn't buy it. Raising his eyebrows and folding his arms skeptically, Inuyasha asked, "Okay Kagome, what's wrong with you?"

A nervous giggle escaped her. "There's nothing wrong, Inuyasha," she grinned, trying to get him off the subject. "I'm just really anxious to fulfill our promise…right now."

"Kagome, what is—" He didn't get to finish as Kagome grabbed him and pulled him into a searing kiss, it looked like a moment he was going to resist her distractions, until she reached up and rubbed his ears…bingo.

Kissing her back forcefully, Inuyasha picked her up in his arms to carry into the woods as the sun sank beyond the horizon. "You're avoiding the question," he murmured when they pulled away, the desire anything but imagined between them.

"Afterward…" she whispered, before their lips met again, falling deeper into raw passion.

Just give me one more night where I don't have to worry…just one more night of happiness before everything is changed…


Inuyasha was still asleep when Kagome awoke the next morning, feeling worse than she did the night before. It was true, putting things off only made it harder when you had to do it. Though she said she would tell him afterwards, when Inuyasha asked, she avoided answering once again until he fell asleep.

Kagome was sitting up, the picnic blanket covering her lower half (it didn't matter about her chest since the chances of anyone stumbling upon them were slim) one slender hand upon her belly once more as she reminded herself why she had come back to the past, after all.

Thinking about that caused her to glance at her lover beside her. Inuyasha slept with one arm curled under his head, while his silver hair fanned out around him. His face was peaceful and serene, like it always was when he was asleep, such a contrast from how it usually looked.

Because of how peaceful he looked, Kagome succumbed to the urge to reach out and touch his face, brushing aside some of his silver hair to get a better look at him. Unfortunately, the instant she traced his jaw, his amber eyes flew open.

She gasped slightly as Inuyasha sat up, frowning at her. "Okay, woman, tell me what's wrong with you."

"Wha…?" Usually he was slow in waking up, unless a youkai was attacking nearby, never jumpy, demanding and grumpy. Then it dawned on her. "You were…you were awake?"

"Of course I was awake!" Inuyasha snapped. "I've been awake this whole damn time! Ever since I woke up, you've been sitting like that, moping, and since you wouldn't tell me last night, I was figuring maybe you'd let on something."

Kagome glanced away, gripping the blanket in her fists. "Inuyasha…"

"You got out of it last night, woman, but there is something wrong with you. And I want to know." When Kagome's eyes flickered back to him, she saw his arms folded across his chest, glaring at her. After a moment, he sighed and told her in a softer voice than before, "You're making me worry, Kagome…just tell me what's wrong."

Turning away again so her bare back faced him, Kagome murmured, "It's just…hard to say…"

"Just tell me, Kagome, please, I need to know," Inuyasha begged, and yet she said nothing. She was trying to find a way to word it so he wouldn't feel as shocked as she was when she found out. However, the silence was making the impatient hanyou desperate, "Come on, Kagome, tell me all ready!" Again she kept her silence, before finally, Inuyasha lost all patience. "Damn it, woman! What the Hell is wrong with you?"

"Inuyasha," she began, but he cut in.

"What? What is it that you've been trying to tell me already! Spit it out already, wench!"

At that, her temper snapped. Whirling around, Kagome roared, "What did you just call me?"

Waving his hands in the air, he corrected, "Kagome, whatever! But you're getting on my nerves already, when you don't even have the guts to tell me what's wrong!"

"Maybe it's just hard for me to say!" she yelled, turning away from him once more. "Maybe it wouldn't be so hard if you wouldn't keep yelling at me!"

"I wouldn't yell at you if you would just tell me already!"

"I'm trying to, but—"

"No, you're not! You're hoping I'd forget about it and you could put it off some more! I can't take this, Kagome! Tell me before I have to shake it out of you, wench, what is wrong with you?"

Kagome closed her eyes, preparing for the explosion when she yelled, "I'm pregnant, Inuyasha!"

Dead silence.

After realizing that no explosion had taken place, she nervously opened her eyes and released the breath she didn't know she had been holding. "Inuyasha…?" she asked, turning around. The hanyou was staring at her, with wide eyes…and a face that had been completely drained of its color.

When he finally regained his voice, he demanded, "You're…you're what?"

"Pregnant," she stated again, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "I'm pregnant, Inuyasha…"

"Pre…" Inuyasha began, before unexpectedly lashing out at her. "How did this happen?"

Angry tears fell down her face as Kagome clutched the blanket, burying her face in it. "I don't know! I honestly don't know why now…but it's happened. There's nothing we can do about it."

"There has to be something we can do about it!" he bellowed, "Do you know what this means, Kagome? It means that pretty much everything we hoped for regarding ourselves and how we're going to kill Naraku is thrown out the window!"

"Oh, don't try to pin this all on me!" she snapped back, "If it hadn't been for you and you're…" She didn't say anything, but her finger pointed at the offended object still underneath the blanket. "Then we wouldn't be in this mess, would we?"

Inuyasha blinked, stunned on her surprise attack on his anatomy before coming back again, "Well, it sure as Hell isn't all my fault, woman! You're at fault as much as I am!"

Kagome turned away, as if looking at him only made her angrier. "Oh yeah? How? You're the one here who is the dog, remember?"

"What about all those times you go like this; 'Oh, Inuyasha!' huh?" He said the last part in a high pitched voice, but the minute he felt the air chill around him, he suspected that she wasn't going to take it as a valid argument.

"Sit!" she screeched, and Inuyasha fell flat on his face a second later. When he managed to pop his head up, he saw Kagome glaring at him from above, her eyes lit with fury. "I do not sound like that!"

"Yes you do! You scream so loud I'm surprised the whole damn village doesn't hear you! And you call me the perverted one—"

"Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!" Kagome yelled, the angry tears forming in her eyes once again, her unstable hormones on the brink. "Sit! Sit! Sit! Just sit, you unfeeling bastard, sit!" And then she collapsed into sobs, hugging the blanket over her chest.

When Inuyasha was able to move, he felt guilty when he saw her, arms crossed around her belly, tears falling down her face. And he knew she was really scared…just like he was. When she had first told him, he was so shocked that the only way he knew how to deal with it was to get angry.

Sighing, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her back against his chest. Her sobs continued as he tried to speak. "I'm sorry, Kagome…but…this is…I've never really…I don't know what to say about this…"

Kagome shook her head her voice cracking after her crying, "I don't know either…Mama was the one that told me…and it's still hard to believe…"

She turned back to Inuyasha, to see the oddest look in his amber eyes. Reality was hitting him fast after their argument. "Kagome," he paused for a moment, his eyes falling down to glance at her abdomen. "Our child…is it really there…?"

A small smile formed on Kagome's face as she nodded, taking his hand and gently guiding it towards her belly. "It's there, Inuyasha…our baby."

With that word, there was another spark of that unfamiliar look in his eyes. And then he was so overwhelmed by that emotion that he pulled her into a hug. "Kagome!" his voice was caught between happy, in awe, and slightly nervous. As Kagome hugged him back, seeing his reaction, she felt another tear slide down her cheek. He's really happy…

While he hugged her, Inuyasha took a whiff of her scent, and it was true…between hers, and his, there was a combination of both. Easily missed, but there nonetheless. Though he had been angry with her for not telling him before, now this new emotion was almost too much. A hanyou that had been alone for so long now had something he had never dreamed of, a family.

Kagome's tears had gone, but now she was left with her fears. "Inuyasha…I'm scared," she admitted, burying her face in his muscular chest.

"I'm scared too," he told her softly. "I know this means that we have to find Naraku soon and kill him, and when the baby's ready to be born…and then what's going to happen once it's here…"

"You're worried about that?" she asked, unable to keep the giddy smile off her face.

Inuyasha gave a small laugh. "Pretty stupid, huh? But I don't know the first thing about kids…especially ones that I'm going to have to raise…"

When they pulled away and Kagome saw the joy in his amber eyes, she couldn't help but cry once more, but this time it was tears of happiness. She was seventeen. She was pregnant. It was Inuyasha's baby…and at this moment, Inuyasha was the happiest man alive. "I guess I'll have to teach you then."

A smile formed on his face at her statement, and Kagome could have sworn she saw small tears in his own eyes. "You'd better, you don't want it to turn out like me, do you?" Kagome laughed slightly, her tearstained cheeks lit up in a smile. Inuyasha tentatively reached for her once again, his hand resting over her belly, which he knew, in a few months would be much larger, showing all the world that she was willingly carrying his child. She would willingly have his child, something he had never dreamed of anyone doing for him. "Kagome…you've given me something more than I could ever hope for…" he said softly, the warm feelings within his breast ready to burst in joy. "Thank you."

With that, he kissed her softly, Kagome wrapping her arms around him and returning the kiss, feeling as happy as he was. True, a baby now caused so many problems, it was true that once this was over, they would have a lot of thinking to do about how to tell their friends, and Naraku, and all sorts of other fears, but for now, they would let those fears go. For now, they would rejoice in this new life. For now, they would let themselves smile, though the world outside was still suffering.

And even then, they knew, that this moment was without a doubt, the happiest moment of their lives.