A/N: I'm sorry that it's been a while. This chapter was very difficult to write, which was why it took me so long to get it out there. I hope that you like it, especially since it furthers the plot in the direction that you all are waiting for it to go.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all my reviewers. You motivate me to keep going. Enjoy and please review.

I do not own Inuyasha.

Rin was lying in bed, trying hard not to think of just how bored she was. After a few minutes in which she failed miserably at her task, Rin rolled to her side with a groan. The baby who had been unusually quiet today had just delivered a powerful kick.

She was six months pregnant, which meant she only had a little less than two more months to go before she would be free to move about on her own again. Apparently, demons didn't need the full nine months that humans did, something that Rin was currently very happy about. She didn't even know how she was supposed to make it through the next two months, and was grateful it wasn't three.

Rin was confined to the bed because she was currently in the most dangerous phase of her pregnancy, short of giving birth, which according to Rena would be in a whole other category of dangerous. According to her maid, most female dog demons either perished in labor or were so weak after giving birth that they were mere shadows of their former selves. Lady Funaho, Sesshomaru's mother, was one of the few dog demons to emerge from the birthing chamber relatively untouched; it was one of the reasons why her male counterparts found her so desirable. Rin had listened to all of this calmly, then broke out into a cold sweat the minute Rena left.

Two weeks ago Rin had been in the middle of relieving herself, when she looked down and noticed that there was a little blood mixed in with her urine. Once she finished her business, she had walked on shaky legs until she came across Master Jaken and told him what had happened. Jaken, after about two minutes in which he just stared at her with his mouth open and a terrified look on his face, had told her to go and lie down; that he would inform Lord Sesshomaru immediately. Lord Sesshomaru had made it to their rooms a few seconds before she had, Rena in tow, and proceeded to stand by her side while Rena checked her condition.

Rin was told that she was now in the final phase of her pregnancy, which was marked by light bleeding during the sixth or seventh month. Rin found this to be very strange. Usually when a human spotted it meant something bad, and could happen at any point during the pregnancy, but with demons it was different. The spotting was an indication that the baby would now start to literally steal the mother's energy, thus rendering both the mother and child very unstable. Rena told Rin that it would be best if she stayed in bed until it was time to give birth. A lot of movement could leave Rin weak or disturb the baby. The more the baby was disturbed, the more energy the baby would take in an effort to protect itself from, what it perceived to be, an outside threat. This was dangerous because the baby could take too much energy and end up accidently killing Rin in the process. If Rin had been a demon, then she would have been able to move about in her demonic form without disturbing the baby; demonic healers weren't sure why, but whenever a she-demon was in its true form during gestation, they experienced fewer problems than when they were in their human forms. Since Rin didn't have that option, she was told to stay in bed, and had been stuck there ever since.

Rin sighed deeply and reflected back on her pregnancy so far.

Shortly after Lord Sesshomaru had told her that she was pregnant, Rin had been forced to drink a tonic that would promote the growth of a strong placenta. This was especially important for Rin, since because she was human, she would be more prone to internal injuries caused by a weak placenta and an overactive baby. She'd had to drink that vile tonic for six weeks and wasn't sorry to see it go.

The first few weeks of her pregnancy had been fine, so fine in fact that if it weren't for the tonic, Rin would have forgotten, or at the very least doubted, the fact that she was pregnant. There was no vomiting, no crazy mood swings. Rin remembered thinking to herself that she might just be able to bypass all of the effects that had plagued Sango and Kagome so severely. Turned out that Rin had spoken to soon; no sooner did she enter the second month of her pregnancy, that Rin started puking her brains out. And when there was nothing to throw up, she would be hit by dry heaves that left her feeling just as bad as she would have if she had vomited.

Throughout it all, Lord Sesshomaru had been as sympathetic as it was possible for him to be, which entailed a pat on the back once Rin was done puking. That's it – a pat. Like that would make her feel better. Sesshomaru obviously thought it would, but he was wrong. Those stupid little pats didn't do anything but make her angry.

Once the constant vomiting stopped, Rin was hit with a whole variety of ailments: lightning fast mood swings, bizarre cravings – and not just for food, but for sex too – rapid changes in her temperature from freezing cold to feverishly hot and itchy skin. Rin had never felt so uncomfortable in her whole life.

And now this. There were days when Rin didn't even have the strength to get dressed because she was so weak. She couldn't believe that there was a time when she had actually wanted to be a mother. Because of her work as Kaede's assistant, Rin knew that certain symptoms came with being with child, but what she was experiencing seemed like it was a hundred times worse than what any of the humans that she helped had experienced.

And to top it all off, Rin was scared out of her mind. She was afraid for both herself and the baby, so much so that she could scarcely bring herself to move lest she do something that would cause the baby harm. Sesshomaru had done his best to comfort her, but unfortunately he wasn't well-versed in giving assurances – he only knew how to give orders and insults, but he still tried. He had even gone so far as to give up his patrols, something she knew he loved doing, just so that he could stay by her side. And how had Rin repaid him? She had either bitten his head off for some small offense or else dissolved into a pool of tears at his feet. Sesshomaru probably wished that he had never touched her. With this thought, a few tears ran down Rin's cheeks and before she knew it she was sobbing uncontrollably.

It was into this depressed, emotional scene that Sesshomaru walked a few moments later. For a few seconds, he actually considered walking back out of the room; he was dangerously low on patience for the day and Rin had been taxing in the extreme these past few months. Sesshomaru pulled in a deep breath and released it inaudibly before walking over to the small shaking form that was practically buried under his numerous pillows. Once there, he sat on the edge of the bed and began to rub her back in small circles. Though Sesshomaru would never admit it, he was at a complete loss as to what to do to make Rin feel better. He was aware of her discomfort, he was aware of her misery, but the only thing that he could do to make her feel better was to give her what she asked for – within reason of course. Last night Rin had all but begged him to mate with her and he'd staunchly refused; the last thing he was going to do was send her into labor early because she felt a few moments of intense need. He was already walking on eggshells as it was.

When his hand had made contact with Rin's back, he saw her lift her head slightly to look at him from over her shoulder. Her beautiful brown eyes, normally so soft and clear were now glassy and red. She stared at Sesshomaru for a few moments before her eyes filled with tears once more. He hated it when she cried; it was so out of character for her. Rin's seemingly random crying was just one of the many things that Sesshomaru hated about this pregnancy. He looked out the window and waited for Rin to stop crying.

After what felt like hours, Rin finally quieted down. Using the sleeve of a kimono to dry her eyes, she sent him a watery smile. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me. I-I was just thinking about how I've been so horrible to you and Master Jaken," she said in a broken voice.

"Hmmm," was all Sesshomaru said. He wasn't going to contradict her because she had been horrible – but honestly, how else could he respond without sending her into another bout of tears?

Rin sat up very fast and turned narrowed eyes on him. Oh, Kami, what had he done now? Rin wasted no time in telling him. "Hmmm, what's that mean? Why did you have to say it like that," Rin said.

Sesshomaru slowly turned his head to face her. Was this this some kind of a joke?

When Rin got no answer she scooted back so that he was no longer touching her before crossing her arms over her swollen chest. "So you think that I've been horrible, do you? You know, I was just saying that to say it. You weren't supposed to agree with me. That's just rude," Rin finished leaning back against the wall.

Sesshomaru stood up and tried very hard not to glare at Rin. "What's rude is you flip-flopping between all these different emotions. Either you're angry or you're sad. Pick one and stay there for more than five seconds," he said in a very calm voice, but inside he was seething.

Sesshomaru watched as Rin's eyes widened before narrowing to dangerous slits. He knew that the last thing that he should be doing was provoking her, but he refused to back down from this fight. "I can't just pick one and stay there. I'm pregnant," Rin said rising to her knees in the process.

This time, Sesshomaru didn't even try to stop it; he glared. A weaker person would have been cowering in fear, but Rin just seemed to get angrier – if he weren't so mad, Sesshomaru would have been impressed with her bravery.

Rin started speaking, each word louder than the one before it. "I can't believe you just said that to me. You could be a little more sympathetic. I'm only acting this way because I'm CARRYING YOUR CHILD."

"My pup."

"What," Rin snapped.

"You're carrying my pup not my child," Sesshomaru said. For a moment Rin stared at him in shock, before she regained her ability to speak again.

"Oh excuse me. I'm only carrying your pup," she said sarcastically. "What difference does it – oh," Rin doubled over clutching her rounded stomach.

All of Sesshomaru's anger flew out the window as he rushed to Rin's side. He was there in an instant, gently pushing Rin back while arranging the pillows so that they supported her back. When he pulled back he could see the fear in her eyes.

Sesshomaru gently put his hands on Rin's stomach and began to softly massage the swollen flesh. He was doing this to soothe both Rin and the baby, both of whom were clearly in distress. As Sesshomaru felt the repeated punches and kicks that his pup was making he prayed that the sack containing him was strong enough to prevent him from wreaking havoc on Rin's internal organs.

Rin's breathing came in gasps. When he reached a particularly sensitive spot, Rin's back shot off the pillows, her hands grasping his forearms. Tears were pouring down her face by this time, her shoulders shaking slightly. Sesshomaru pulled her onto his lap and started stroking her hair and her back with one hand, while the other stayed on her stomach. He was desperate; Rin needed to calm down fast or else she would go into labor.

Eventually, Rin's breathing grew calmer, and she fell into a deep sleep. Sesshomaru gently laid her down, and pulled the covers up to cover her. Once he was sure that Rin was as comfortable as possible, he left the room and sought out Rena, telling her about what had happened and asking her to look after Rin while he was out.

When everything had been taken care of, Sesshomaru left the estate with Bakusaiga in hand. He needed to kill something.

Later on that night, Sesshomaru returned to his rooms.

He had achieved what he'd set out to do. It hadn't taken him long to find a group of demons that had been terrorizing a local village. Sesshomaru had made quick work of them. Unfortunately, killing those demons hadn't been able to stop the shaking in his hands – the shaking that had begun the moment he saw Rin doubled over in pain.

As Sesshomaru stood on the outskirts of the village all the things that he'd avoided thinking about until that moment overwhelmed him.

How could he be so stupid? What if something had happened to Rin? Or to the pup? What would he have done then? He shouldn't have provoked her like that. He knew better. The self-chastisement had gone on and on until Sesshomaru noticed that the moon was clearly visible. He had left and returned to the house at once.

Sesshomaru climbed into bed with Rin and suppressed a small smile as she turned to him – seeking him out even in her sleep. He brushed some strands of wayward hair from her face and took in her beauty. She seemed even more beautiful than usual, but maybe that was because she was carrying his pup, or maybe it was because of what had occurred earlier that day. He wasn't quite sure which one it was.

As Sesshomaru looked upon Rin, he was reminded of how much he longed to make Rin his mate. It was a decision he had come to about a month ago. He had long been aware of Rin's suitability as a potential mate, but he hadn't really thought about it until he had got her with child. He knew that he was supposed to ask her to be his mate, but the truth was he was afraid to. That's right, Lord Sesshomaru, Lord of the Western Lands, one of the most powerful demons to walk the planet was afraid to ask a human to be his mate. Especially with her in this condition; Rin might say no just to be difficult, and that wouldn't be smart because it would probably result in the deaths of all the serving staff and the possible destruction of the estate. And that was if she said no on a good day.

It was strange but Sesshomaru felt a bizarre connection to the fragile human; he had ever since she was a child. Over time that connection had grown and morphed into something that he couldn't identify. There was protectiveness, desire, he enjoyed her company – so much so that he actually wanted to spend time with her, jealousy – which was something that was completely new to him. Sesshomaru almost killed the male servant who's gaze had lingered a little too long on Rin's chest the other day when he'd taken her out to the gardens. In fact Sesshomaru would have killed him if Rin hadn't chosen that moment to ask for a melon.

But there was also something more. Could it be . . . Sesshomaru skittered around the word, even in his own thoughts. The only type of love that he'd ever experienced had been parental, so he had no idea what romantic love felt like . . . but if this was what it was – was he comfortable being in love in a human?

Sesshomaru decided that that was enough pondering on that subject for one day. Just thinking about it made him feel vulnerable.

However he was not going to deny that whatever existed between himself and Rin was powerful. It gave her power over him that he found to be almost intolerable. And that was something that she could never find out about.

He refused to be brought to his knees by a human. He was not his father.

A/N: So just to clarify a few things. The reason why I named this story Jaded Confessions was because each chapter contains within it a confession (usually on Sesshomaru's part), something that he would prefer people not to know. In this chapter, the confession is that he's in love with Rin, something that he can't admit even to himself. Needless to say, he sees love as a very weak emotion (I'll expand on Sesshomaru's thought's on the emotion in the future), but I just didn't want you guys to think that Sesshomaru is ashamed of his feelings for Rin - because he's not.

The whole "is he comfortable with being in love with a human" statement was coming from the viewpoint of looking at his father's and Inuyasha's experiences in that area.

The next chapter is going to have Rin's and Sesshomaru's son in it. He's going to be so cute!