Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, its characters, or 'Quade's Babies' by Brenda Jackson which this story is based on.

Summary: Inuyasha's one-night affair with Kagome leaves him bewitched, but he never even learned her last name. Almost eleven months later, driven by one incriminating photo, he finally tracks her down. And discovers two little babies who look just like him.

Kagome sat in the hospital's waiting room and closed her eyes against the rush of emotions ripping through her. Everything had happened so fast. Inuyasha had taken Kairi from her arms and had begun resuscitation procedures while Souta called 9-1-1. The rescue service had arrived within minutes and now she and Inuyasha were there, waiting for the doctor to tell them what was wrong with their daughter. Her brother and grandfather stayed behind at the house to take care of Micah, while her mom went to the cafeteria to get them a drink.

"Kairi is going to be okay Kagome." Inuyasha said, taking her hand in his.

She glanced over at him and found comfort in his solid presence beside her. She loved this man, who less than an hour ago had taken their child from her arms and breathed life into her lungs. She had been in a state of panic and didn't want to think what might've happened if Inuyasha hadn't been there. She tightened her arms around his and leaned over to place her head on his shoulder, finding even more comfort in doing so.

"I want to believe that Inuyasha. But she's so small and she looked so helpless."

"But she's a fighter." He said, wrapping his free arm around her shoulder. "She can't help but be a fighter because she has Takahashi and Higurashi blood flowing through her veins."

"Yes, she is a fighter." She had needed to hear that. She needed to have hope.

"Kagome?"

At the sound of a feminine voice, Kagome looked up to see her friends along with her mother entering the waiting room. Inuyasha released her to stand, and as she stood, she gave her three friends a hug.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kagome asked.

"Are you kidding? We called your cell but when you didn't answer we called your house phone. Your grandfather told us what had happened and we got here as soon as we could." Eri said.

"Have you guys spoken to the doctor yet?" Ayumi asked.

"No." Kagome said, shaking her head. "We've been here for almost an hour but no one has come out and told us anything. That has me worried."

No sooner had she said the words than the man who she recognized as one of the babies' pediatricians entered the room. Kagome quickly raced over to him. "Dr. Matthews, how's Kairi?" Inuyasha was right beside her. "This is Inuyasha Takahashi, my babies' father."

The man shook Inuyasha's hand and then gave them both a reassuring smile. "We have an idea of what's wrong with Kairi, but I've ordered more tests to make sure. Hyaline Membrane Disease or HMD or RDS, as it's often referred, is one common problem of babies that are born premature. Usually it's detected within the first few hours of birth, as in your daughter's case. Sometimes later."

"What causes it?" Inuyasha asked.

"Usually from an insufficient level of surfactant in the lungs. Babies begin producing surfactant while they're still in the womb and usually before they are born they have developed an adequate amount. Evidently, Kairi didn't."

"So what's being done to help her?" Kagome asked in a frantic voice.

"Her age is in her favor. I'm hoping her condition isn't a severe one, and there won't be any lasting effects once we begin treatment. However, in the worst case we could be looking at damage to other organs, possibly even her heart."

Kagome swayed against Inuyasha and he wrapped his arms around her waist. "When can we see our daughter?" He asked in a low voice.

"Not for a while yet. She's still having difficulty breathing. I've placed her on a ventilator."

Kagome gasped and the arm around her tightened as Inuyasha continued to hold her close to him. "Thank you Doctor." Inuyasha said softly. "Please let us know as soon as we can see her."

After the doctor walked away, Inuyasha took Kagome's hand in his. "Excuse us a moment." He said to Eri, Ayumi, Yuri, and Mrs. Higurashi, and gently pulled Kagome with him out of the waiting room. They walked down the hall until he suddenly turned and entered an empty room and closed the door behind him.

Still holding Kagome's hand, he placed her in front of him and met her gaze. The golden eyes staring back at him appeared grief stricken, in shock, and afraid. "Get it out Kagome. Get it out now."

At first she just stared at him and then as if she suddenly realized what he was asking her to do, she dropped her head on his chest and began sobbing. And he held her while she cried. He closed his eyes while the weight of what the doctor had said sunk in.

He never knew, had never understood the full extent of fatherhood until now. Fatherhood had nothing to do with a name change or wanting to create a family atmosphere for his children. It had everything to do with being there for them when they needed him, giving them what was required for them to grow and live. And, he thought further, being there for their mother, the woman who had taken his seed into her body and kept it safe until his babies had been born.

It was about Kagome. The woman that he knew he loved. Some people would actually think it was crazy considering their history, but as far as he was concerned, it made perfect sense. A part of him had known it would take a special woman to capture his heart and it wouldn't take months or years for her to do so. His parents had met and fallen in love rather quickly. Now he was a living witness that such a thing was possible. Kagome had been a part of his life, a part of him from the moment they had made love. He had probably fallen in love with her the exact moment they had met on the beach. Now all he wanted to do was keep her and his babies safe. He had to believe Kairi would get better and return home to them and everything with her would be all right.

He took his finger and lifted up her chin to look into her tear-stained eyes. Her tears were for his baby, their baby. "We have to believe Kairi's going to be okay. If we both believe it, then it'll happen. We bring it into existence. Do you believe me Kagome?"

She nodded. For some reason she believed him. More than anything she wanted to believe him. At the moment he was her rock, she needed his strength. And one day, she would have his love and if not, he would have hers whether he wanted it or not. Needing to be connected to him in an intimate way, she reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck and then stood on tiptoes and brought his mouth down to hers.

His kiss was gentle yet deep and passionate. He made her feel protected and cared for, even cherished and loved, although she knew she was imagining those two. But still, it didn't matter. What mattered was that he was here with her, the father of her babies and they had to believe that everything would be all right.

Kagome broke off the kiss and met his gaze. Inuyasha took her hand in his and kissed the knuckles. "You and I are a team." He said. "Right?"

She smiled through the tears that continued to mist her eyes. "Yes, we are."

"And we believe everything will be fine…right?"

She nodded. "Yes…everything is going to be fine."

And then he pulled her into his arms and kissed her again.

Kagome clung to those words when she and Inuyasha were able to see their little girl hours later. It took all of her strength, as well as some of his, to look down at Kairi and see all the tubes that ran from her little body and not cry out in pain.

Inuyasha's arm tightened around her shoulder and he brought her closer to his side before leaning over to place a kiss on Kagome's lips. "Remember, she's a fighter."

She nodded. She then forced a smile and said in a soft voice. "I'll never consider Micah a troublemaker again. It was his crying that brought me to the room to find Kairi in respiratory distress. I don't want to think of what might've happened if for once he hadn't made a sound."

Inuyasha didn't want to think about what would've happened either. He was trying to hold his emotions in check and was finding it difficult to do so. At that moment he knew how it felt to love someone so much you would willingly give your life to save theirs. He felt that kind of love for his offspring. He felt that same kind of love for their mother. The woman he wanted for his wife.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave for a moment while I make some adjustments with the machines." A nurse came up and said in a soft voice.

Instead of answering, Inuyasha nodded and took Kagome's hand in his and stepped out of the room and began walking down the hall. He knew her friends and mother would be in the waiting room and they would want an update.

"Any news?" Yuri asked, as she saw them in the hallway on her way towards the vending machines.

Inuyasha gave them the same message he'd given them earlier. "Kairi's condition hasn't changed. The doctors were still waiting for some of the test results."

"Keep the faith. I know Kairi will pull through." She said.

"Of course." He said, giving a nod.

One thing he had discovered about Kagome's friends and family during this crisis was that they were like his family. When times were tough, they all came together. Since that morning not only had Kagome's friends been there for support, but so had her family. Her brother and grandfather had come to the hospital and brought Micah with him. Later, Souta had went back to Kagome's home and taken Micah with him.

Though looking at how her support system was, made him think about his own. He hadn't had a chance to call his family to tell them anything, which would be quite a chore since no one knew about his babies other than Miroku.

Inuyasha and Kagome stepped into the waiting room and he came up short. He caught his breath, surprised, when he looked across the floor and saw his best friend Miroku.

He shook his head, grinning when Miroku crossed the room to him. "How did you know?" He asked him, in a voice filled with emotion.

"I had these vibes about you being deeply worried about something and when I couldn't reach you, I decided to come here."

Inuyasha nodded. "Thank you for coming."

A grimace appeared on his face, "Don't thank me yet, there's someone here that I haven't told you about yet."

Inuyasha raised a brow. "Who?"

"Your mother. She refused to be left behind, especially after hearing about your twins." Miroku paused a moment and then said. "Get prepared. She plans to box your ears for keeping that from her. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes."

Miroku then switched his gaze to Kagome, slowly looking her up and down in an appreciative glance, and said. "But then again…I do want to be in your shoes."

"Your mom's an amazing woman." Kagome said to Inuyasha hours later after she returned to the hospital.

She had gone home long enough to breast-feed Micah. While there, she had met Izayoi Takahashi, Inuyasha's mother. Her mother, who had gone back to the house, had relieved Souta and her grandfather of watching Micah and the two women were getting along beautifully.

Kagome and Inuyasha had met with the doctor and his update had brought smiles of relief. The tests had revealed that Kairi had a mild case of HDM, which had been treatable with the use of surfactant replacement. The ventilator had been removed a short while ago and their daughter was now breathing on her own. The doctor wanted to keep her in the hospital another day for observations and then she would be released.

Inuyasha grinned as he settled back on the cot the nurse had brought into the room for him and Kagome to share for the night. They had decided they would stay at the hospital since they didn't want to leave their daughter alone. "Yes, she is. But she can be a handful sometimes."

"And you're the only single one left?" Kagome asked him. His mother had mentioned him having an older brother who was married and had a little girl of his own. His mother had even mentioned plenty of times that she was happy her son had fathered two beautiful grandchildren for her to spoil and even hinted about hoping a wedding will take place in the near future.

He looked at her, smiled and said. "Yes, but I won't be single for long if you agree to marry me."

"Just to give me your name?"

He took her hand in his and decided now would be the perfect time to tell her how he felt. Whether she believed him or not was another matter altogether. She might feel that she didn't know him well enough considering their history. His response to that would be she knew him in a way no other woman did. While making love he'd always bared his soul to her, as well as his heart.

"Yes, to give you my name." He said, meeting her gaze. "But there's something that goes along with my name."

She lifted a brow. "What?"

"My heart."

She stared at him with disbelief written all over her face. "Are you saying that you love me?" She asked quietly.

"Yes I am. So what do you have to say to that?" He asked.

He expected her to say a lot, most of which he preferred not to hear. Especially if she was going to argue with him about how long they had known each other. That didn't matter to him though. What mattered was that she was the woman he wanted to share his life with.

She snuggled closer to him. "The only thing I have to say is that I love you too."

A shocked look covered his face. "You do?"

She smiled. "Yes, I do. And I also know that I want to raise my twins and take care of my husband."

A huge smile touched his lips. "Does that mean you'll accept my marriage proposal?"

"Is it still out there?"

"You bet."

"Then yes, I accept it. But I would love hearing you ask me again."

"No problem." He reached for her hand and took it into his. "Kagome Higurashi, will you marry me? Be my best friend, lover, and the mother of all my babies?"

She lifted a surprised brow. "You want more?"

"Yes, although it won't surprise me one bit if you're already pregnant, pill or no pill. And I figured Micah and Kairi ought to break me in real good for any others that follow. Besides, I love being around for breast-feeding time with you."

She chuckled. "You would."

"Now let's get back to our wedding plans."

"We're making plans?"

"Might as well. My mother already wants us to be married and knowing her since she's here now she'll probably want us to wed this weekend. Think we can plan something small by then?"

"Small is fine."

"Good. Besides, when you put up my mother in your guest room, I'm going to have to do late-night sneak-ins into your bedroom until we're legally married."

"Poor thing."

"Yeah, so see what you can pull off this weekend."

"I'll try."

He grinned and leaned up over her. "Don't sound too convincing. Maybe I should give you a little encouragement."

Kagome looked up at him, into the eyes of the man she loved. "Um, maybe you should."

The following weekend….

"I now pronounce you man and wife, Inuyasha and Kagome Takahashi." The minister said, then turning to Inuyasha. "You may now kiss your bride."

Inuyasha didn't have to be told twice and pulled Kagome into his arms, taking her mouth like a starving man. And when she practically began melting in his arms, instead of lightening up he deepened the kiss, going in for the kill.

"Will you let her breathe Inuyasha?"

He released her and shot Miroku a frown before sweeping Kagome into his arms and making his way out of the church, leaving everyone else to follow. He placed Kagome on her feet when they got outside.

She had looked totally beautiful walking down the aisle to him, and Inuyasha felt proud of the fact she was his. They had decided to put off a honeymoon for a while, at least until the twins were older. During the ceremony he had occasionally glanced at them, who had been held in their grandmother's arms in the front pew. Each time he saw them, he loved the mother of his babies more and more and didn't mind letting her know it.

He glanced down into Kagome's eyes. "I love you."

She smiled up at him. "And I love you too."

And then they were showered with rose petals, and Inuyasha decided now was as good a time as any to seal their vows once again with a kiss. He stepped closer, grinned down at her just seconds before pulling her into his arms.

BlueMoon Goddess: Alright guys, that's the end! I'm sure some of you are thinking, 'Really that's it?' well yeah it is it. They pretty much confessed their love to each other and already decided to marry that weekend, I figured it would be best to end it there. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this story and thank you all for reading and reviewing. I hope to see you around for my next Inuyasha x Kagome story, which I already have an outline for and hope to start it as soon as I finish my two DBZ fics. But since this one is done, check out my other Inu x Kag stories 'Kiss Me at Twilight' which will be updated this weekend. Well like I always say…until next time guys! ^_^