AN: I just keep chugging along! I want to keep these shorter chapters so that I can figure out where I am if I don't manage to finish. But hopefully we'll finish it up!

The care and love he showed her over the last few hours left Kagome almost in tears. The pair were sprawled on her bed, her head on his chest, arm wrapped around his waist as they simply enjoyed the feel of just being together. His hair was like a warm blanket, and she grinned as she trailed her fingers through the silky strands.

"Not that I'm complaining.." She shifted to prop herself up on an elbow, looking down at the hanyou who's head she never expected to see on her pillow. "But… Why now and not when I was trapped from the well?" Timelines aside, if he had waited, she would have seen him the moment she stepped out of the well for the last time. Kagome worried that something had happened to cause him to be late.

"Cause I got lost." There was a flush across his cheeks and she giggled, leaning in and kissing the warmed skin.

"Lost, huh?" His claws gently slid up the skin of her back, making her shudder with pleasure. "How.. does someone who's lived in a forest his whole life get lost?"

"Because! When time passed, things changed.. I had to move.. All demons had to. It took me a while to figure out where your home was." He was a little snarly, and she giggled, which made him snarl even louder.

"It's not like I'm making fun of you."

"Then why ya laughin'!?"

"Because seeing you get embarrassed and snarl is cute." The low rumbling sound cut off when she said that and he arched a brow at her with a quirked, fang bearing grin.

"Is it now? I'll show YOU cute!" The roar that preceded his attack on her had her squealing in laughter like she was fifteen again. Claws tickled up her ribs and stomach, leaving the faintest of scratches that she knew would heal in a few minutes.

"Uncle! Uncle!" He laughed when she did, and Kagome reached up to grab a section of his hair with a soft growl of her own before yanking him down to kiss him. "I'm glad you found me.. However long it took." She shifted to sit up, watching the hanyou with a curious expression. Her hand rested on his chest where the beads had once lain. "Was it you that made sure all the things got here?"

"Things.. You mean all of our stuff?" His hand came up and gently wrapped around her own, holding it to his chest. She felt the beating of his heart under her fingertips and smiled, the warmth of his skin soothing to her hand. There was no clothing to keep her from touching any expanse of that tanned skin she wanted to touch.

"Mmhmm.."

"Yea.. I figured if I put everything around the Tree and the well you'd find it.. As long as it didn' get dug up while this place was bein' built." His smile made her heart stutter and she leaned in to rest her forehead against his chest. "I saw it all in that shrine of yours… Glad you found 'em." His voice had softened, and she nodded, shifting to press herself more firmly into his chest.

"The beads were hard.. The box you put them in had disintegrated.. So I had to dig a while." She giggled, but wasn't upset at the idea. "How did you get it off anyway?"

"Kaede removed them for me right before she passed. I told her I wanted ta leave them near the tree for you so you could put them back together for me." He smirked, leaning his head down and pressing his nose into her hair. She felt it as he inhaled and smiled, glad that he hadn't given up on of the things she remembered. "Old hag didn't want ta. Kept sayin' stuff about how it was 'dangerous'. She did finally."

Kagome knew his tone was opposite his words. Inuyasha really did care for Kaede in his own twisted way. She pulled away just enough to see his face before grinning. "Did you want a tour?"

"Wench, Ya left it the same as it was. I don't need no tour… but I do have a question." She was sliding to the edge of the bed to find her pants. Why not stay in the bed? Because she wanted to see Shippo! "Oy! Where do ya think yer goin'?" His arm wrapped around her waist and tugged her back with a growl.

"Inuyasha! Let me go!" Kagome flailed in his arms, but not really out of a need to escape. She knew he wasn't going to hurt her, but she wanted to visit with her not so tiny fox kit!

"I told ya yer not leavin' this bed for a few days!" The strength of the hanyou never ceased to amaze her. He hoisted her up and over his body to land back on the bed. "You're stayin' right. Here." His hand rested on her hip, claws digging in just slightly to prove his point.

"I want to see Shippo!" She frowned at him, planting her hands on his chest and pushing, trying to shove the male away. It was a futile effort, Kagome knew that, but she also knew that he usually didn't push when she struggled. Except this time.. He did. His growl preceded him planting his knee between her legs and leaning forward, pinning her hips to the bed. Hands grabbed hers and held them up above her head against the pillow.

"The runt can wait. I've waited five hundred years to get my hands on you again.. I ain't about ta let you go now." His head lowered and she felt his mouth work at her throat. It was enough to send her into a haze of lust and need, but she knew that there was an entirely different reason they would have to get up.

"Shippo can wait.. But Maaya can't. She gets home from school soon." Kagome waited, watching his ears twitch and freeze as his mouth continued that oh so enjoyable trip down her throat.

"...Who's Maaya?" He jerked up, his expression darkening for a moment. Inuyasha was NOT interested in sharing Kagome with anyone. He hadn't smelled the presence of another male in the home. So who was this Maaya? "Is it some kind of pet?"

That set Kagome to laughing and she hook her head, yanking on her hands to get him to free them. "I ain't sharin' ya with no fuzzy dog or nothin' Kagome." The possessive tone to his voice made her smile, arching slowly into him when he returned his mouth and fangs to the other side of her throat this time.

"It's nothing like that.. Inuyasha…" She was going to ask him to let her up, but instead, he kept her pinned down, his growl growing in volume as he sank his fangs into her throat. The cry that he ripped out of her was one that was anything but painful. Who knew being bitten was so much fun? "Inuyasha…"

The insistence in her tone despite everything he was doing to distract her made him snarl even louder. She stared at him with wide eyes as he jerked upwards, his amber gaze hardening. "What?!"

"Maaya's your daughter."