A/N: I just want to take the time to say thank you to all my readers and reviewers. I really do appreciate your input and kind words, and it helps me keep wanting to post more for you to read. :) If any of you want to discuss this story or anything else, dont be afraid to send me a question.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter eleven: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
"Mom please, pleeeease, don't make me do it! I really don't wanna do it. Please mom, please. I'll keep my room clean; I'll stop fighting with Sesshoumaru. I'll do anything! Just don't make me do it by myself!" Inuyasha begged and groveled with all his might while being dragged from the elevator by a very, very determined and patient Izayoi. In one hand was Kagome's retrieved book and picture, and in the other was her son's wrist. She had been fighting Inuyasha all day since the moment he woke up, and it was all about their trip to the hospital. It was Sunday, the day after all the facts had been brought to light, and he was being extra sluggish at getting dressed and coming down for breakfast, and getting him to start on homework had required yelling from Izayoi and a threat to get Inu-Taisho involved. That threat had only bought her a few hours though. Now they were standing outside the elevator, just forty or so feet away from Kagome's door, with Inuyasha throwing a full-on tantrum in front of everyone. It was shameful and embarrassing for poor Izayoi, and she had just lost her remaining patience. With a sudden jerk, Inuyasha was tugged up to his feet and had the collar of his shirt bunched tightly in his mother's hand. He looked up at her, with dreading eyes, and saw only the flames of hell staring back at him.
"Inuyasha, I swear to God if you don't stop this tantrum I will paint your backside red right here in front of everyone. You already had your things taken away for a month; do you want to make that two months plus volunteer work? I will, so help me God, make you go to the retirement home every Saturday for the entire day if you keep this up. Now you are going to take this book," She 'gingerly' shoved the book into his unsuspecting arms and began to walk him to Kagome's room, a vice-like grip on his collar still. Inuyasha fumbled with the book some and stumbled when he was suddenly jerked in the direction Izayoi was walking. His shirt collar was being pulled harshly. But Izayoi didn't seem to notice, or she didn't care.
When they arrive at Kagome's door, Izayoi spun around to look at Inuyasha. "And you are going in there and giving it to her. You WILL be polite and you WILL apologize. I have to sign some documents and speak with her doctor. I will be in there shortly." And without any further explanation, she opened the door, shoved Inuyasha inside, and then shut the door behind him. Like a trapped animal, Inuyasha slammed himself against the door and clawed at it desperately. But with one glance up at the thin window carved into the door, he saw Izayoi's enraged face and the fear was put back into him. With sad resignation and a lowered head, Inuyasha trudged over to the bed Kagome was situated in and tossed her the book. It landed with a soft thud at her covered feet. He tried to give her an apology, but even he knew it was unintelligible and ingenuous.
"What'd you say?" She asked bitterly, her tone obviously conveying her heated feeling towards him. Inuyasha looked up at her with furious eyes.
"I said I'm sorry, stupid!" was the first thing out of his mouth. Kagome glared at him, and he glared at her; neither of them backed down. Her frail arms were crossed and even though she barely looked strong enough to beat her own pillow, there was a passion in her cerulean eyes that caught Inuyasha off guard. But then, the malice and disgust in his golden orbs also put Kagome at unease as she stared at him. It was then she took notice of the book lying at her feet. Kagome glanced down at it, her angry expression cracking for a moment into one of shock. Were her eyes betraying once again? Kagome wasn't sure anymore. The medication she was on had her seeing and hearing things that weren't real. This could be another dream. Then with one look back at Inuyasha, Kagome figured it was a nightmare if he was in the room.
She tried to reach for the book, with great strain as the wires and tubes connected to her body were very restricting, but eventually her little fingers grasped the spine and dragged it up her legs and into her lap. Tracing the worn and weathered pictures on the cover, Kagome spared Inuyasha a glance that was filled with distrust and confusion. She had come to discover he was very unpredictable; but still very unpleasant as well. This one good deed would not win over her forgiveness. Kagome lifted the front cover slowly, careful of how she treated the book as it was still barely held together by frayed strings. She was confronted by the wonderful image of her mother's picture. And at this moment that should have filled Kagome with the utmost joy and relief, she was left with a feeling of unrest. She was glad to hold her mother's picture again, but when she ran her fingers over the smiling, photographed faces, a nagging question wouldn't allow her to be happy. What was she going to do now? Kagome wondered if she would be sent back to live with her father again. How long would she be allowed to stay in the hospital? She liked being inside again and falling asleep on a real bed. The food was amazing compared to what she had been surviving off of, though most of it was mushy and watered down.
The two children jumped slightly at the sound of knocking against the door. Izayoi poked her head in and then her body followed suit. She was already beaming at Kagome with a lovely smile, glad to see that there had been no blood-shed and no tears. Inuyasha had at least been able to give her the book. "Hi, Kagome; Remember me?" she asked sweetly and brushed past Inuyasha to sit at the chair next to Kagome's bed. Inuyasha fixed his jaw stubbornly at being completely ignored by his mother, but remained silent in the corner of the room. His hand itched to take his phone from his pocket to text his friend, but when all he felt was empty denim, Inuyasha was reminded that it was gone for the next month. A cloud of gloom settled over the unhappy eight-year-old as he watched the two females in the room. While Inuyasha and Kagome had been 'reuniting', Izayoi was speaking with Dr. Meiner. The friendly woman was in uniform with her bright pink crocs and feathered pen tucked behind her ear. They were standing by the nurses' station, a high-traffic area but the only available place. Meiner had to go over various charts of various children as she consulted with Izayoi, handling the multi-tasking with ease. Her eyes trailed the words printed on the charts in front of her, brow furrowing every once in a while when something unfortunate popped up in the information. Izayoi kept rambling off nagging questions and each time Meiner answered bluntly.
"Is she getting better? She still looks really thin."
"Kagome was malnourished when she got here. It will take a while for her body to regain its appropriate weight. She will need to be on a high-protein diet for a while. And she'll need to go through some kind of exercise regiment to regain her muscles again."
"Oh…will she get better soon? I mean, how long is she going to be like this?"
"If you're asking how long will it take for her to regain normalcy in her life, then I cannot give you a definitive answer. Physically, I predict she'll be healthy in about two months. But I cannot diagnose how well she is mentally and emotionally. Right now she seems to be handling it quite well, but the future is uncertain. You will want to speak with the social worker about her after care regarding that. That is, if you take her home." There was a pause as Meiner signed off on some documents and she handed the binder to one of the nurses, who rushed off to implement her changes to one of her patients. Izayoi was chewing nervously on her already frayed nails as she mulled over everything. It was getting quite serious and confusing now.
"If we do plan on fostering her, and if Kagome is alright with it, how soon can we take her home? What sort of things should I prepare for?"
"This is a question for the social worker, but from a doctor's point of view; Kagome still has about a month left in the hospital. She's going through a round of medicine that will take a full week to flush out her system, and the recovery from that is brutal. Especially with the added medication she will be on afterwards. She'll be nauseous, moody, and fatigued. When she's discharged, she will need an oxygen tank for the first few weeks, just in case of emergencies. And from the way her respiratory system sounds; I recommend she sleeps with a vaporizer for at least three months. Be prepared to feed her, clean her, and care for her as if she were a new born. Once she's feeling better and I have decided she's well enough, you should put in some kind of sport or activity. Other than that, I say just raise her like one of your own. Her health will eventually recover. It will just take patience on everyone's part to see it through." Izayoi nodded her head, fingernail never leaving her teeth as she watched Meiner finish up reviewing whatever it was she was looking at. It all looked complex and intimidating; making Izayoi glad she hadn't become a doctor. Meiner smiled a warm smile at her and briskly walked off to attend to her patients, her pink crocs squeaking down the tiled floor.
That left Izayoi with just one last thing to do; visit with Kagome. She was still digesting everything Dr. Meiner had said, and would be relaying all of that to her husband that night, but right now all she wanted to see was that her son and Kagome were on better terms now. When she entered, Izayoi was glad to see Kagome and Inuyasha not at each other's throats, and thought it safe to enter. She came in with a smile, wanting Kagome to feel comfortable with her, and took a seat beside her bed. Kagome seemed to enjoy her company, and the two of them began a simple conversation revolving around what each of them did that day. Izayoi knew Inuyasha wanted her attention too, but he would have to make due until they left the hospital.
"So, Kagome, when I got your things I couldn't help but look into the book. I hope that's okay with you." Kagome reassured her with a soft nod, her eyes never leaving the picture. "I'm glad. Because I saw your mommy's picture in there and I noticed how pretty she is. Can you tell me more about her?" Izayoi asked curiously, leaning forward to look at the picture clutched in Kagome's small hands. Inuyasha rolled his eyes at his mother's baby-ish tone and sat in the only available seat left. He was fed up already and they hadn't even been there for more than an hour. Kagome looked at Izayoi shyly.
"I don't 'member a lot." She said quietly, voice small and unsure. Her mind could only recall the memories of what had happened the day that the picture had been taken. Other than that, Kagome knew nothing else of her late mother. It filled her small heart with shame. What kind of daughter forgot about her mother? Hot tears flooded her eyes. "I don't 'member nuthin'." Kagome finally broke down into sobs and covered her face. The stress and confusion of the past week had finally caught up with small girl and the realization of it all had pushed her over the edge. Her fitful wails engulfed the room, and surely were heard outside as well. Inuyasha looked at his mother nervously, eyes alert and frantic. All of a sudden Kagome had gone from confident and angry to insecure and sniveling. He watched as Izayoi awkwardly took Kagome into her arms, being careful of the tubes connected all over her body, and brought her head against her chest. Kagome buried her face into the bend of Izayoi's arm and remained a limp, heap of flesh and bones in the woman's embrace, her body wracked with sobs and wails. Izayoi cooed gently into Kagome's ear, lulling her frayed nerves back to calmness.
"It's alright, Kagome. It's going to be okay." She pushed back Kagome's matted hair, rubbed circles into her shoulders; anything to comfort the distraught girl. Shooting her confused son a look, Izayoi motioned for him to stay quiet. Inuyasha hesitantly sat back in his chair, still unsure whether or not he needed to be there. He watched the scene of his mother and Kagome with unease and apprehension. Whatever was happening between them wasn't good.
"Touga, you should have seen the way Kagome broke down. It was so heart breaking. I mean, she's six and the poor thing can't even remember one thing about her mother besides they went to a fair. And that's only because she has a picture of it." Izayoi had been relaying the visit to the hospital to her husband since the moment she'd gotten home. But she had chosen to wait to speak in depth about it until she had his undivided attention; which was always at night in their bedroom. Currently, she was sitting up in bed, legs crossed in front of her, and dressed in his pajama top while he wore the matching pants. Her long, toned legs begged to be touched, but the ever busy Izayoi would stand for no fore-play this night. As Inu-Taisho leaned against the backboard, arms folded and legs crossed at the ankles, he listened quietly to Izayoi's plight. "I know you wanted a week to think this over, but Touga I don't think she'll survive any place else; especially not an orphanage."
"Group home; I don't think they are called orphanages anymore." He interjected. Izayoi ignored it and continued on.
"I want to foster her." She said desperately, not even trying to be tactful anymore. Izayoi leaned in towards her husband and gripped his strong, impressive biceps. Her big, round eyes begged him to agree with her. But on this night he seemed impervious to it.
"Izayoi, this is going to be a big responsibility; adding a new member to the family. Just think about that. That means another set of school tuitions to pay for, more insurance, another mouth to feed; need I go on? I love you, I do. But I'm still hesitant about taking her in. How will the boys react to it? Inuyasha's a needy child and Sesshoumaru…well he'll probably not care either way. But still." His tone was condescending and a bit irksome for the strong-willed woman. Izayoi crossed her arms stubbornly and lifted a fine brow in question. He was insinuating she wasn't thinking things through, and then to go and use their child as a tool against her; that was going too far.
"Touga, don't go and use Inuyasha as a tool against me. The only reason he is needy is because you don't pay a fraction of the attention to him as you do to Sesshoumaru. It's unfair to your son and if you'd open your eyes, you'd see how much he wants to bond with you. If you think that by me taking in Kagome, that will take away attention from Inuyasha, you are correct. I will be with Kagome a great deal. But if you'd get up from your desk every now and then, and go spend quality time with your TWO sons, you'd realize how much Inuyasha needs you right now." By now, her voice had risen in volume she was sitting up on her knees now, looking down at her husband with fiery eyes. Inu-Taisho was now intimidated by her and knew well to keep his mouth shut. Izayoi was on an emotion fueled roll and it was best to let her vent and then cool down rather than to piss her off by interrupting. "And if you'd stop thinking about money for one second, you'd realize this is a chance to give back and make someone else's life better. We have more money than God himself and if all you're going to do is save, and save, and save and never do anything productive or good with it, then I would rather have none of it! Touga, stop being a rich snob and go back to being the caring and generous man I fell in love with." She went to get off the bed, snatching the two downy pillows from her side of the mattress and stormed off towards their door.
"Izayoi, I am still the man you met back then." He argued, voice pleading and exacerbated. Why was she being so stubborn about this? It was just one child. They'd seen so many homeless children before, why did this one make a difference. "If this is about you feeling guilty for hitting her, then don't. We're getting her medicine and hospitalization. That isn't cheap, Izayoi. Once she's better, we'll take her to a group home. Someone's bound to adopt her." He rationalized, but all it did was disappoint his wife further. As she stood there in the door way, one arm full with pillows and the other free hand pressed against the door frame, Izayoi stared back at Inu-Taisho with somber eyes.
"Touga, do you hear yourself? You sound so jaded…I don't even recognize you anymore. Prove to me you are still the man I married. Until then, get used to sleeping alone." Izayoi quietly slipped out of the room and shut the door behind her, leaving Inu-Taisho in utter silence and rejection. Her soft footsteps were heard shuffling down the hallway, and slowly disappeared as she descended the stairs. Inu-Taisho's tight fist pounded heavily into the fabric of his sheets and he huffed frustratedly. A spectrum of emotions was raging inside him and he had no way of discerning which were righteous and which were damnable. Was he really just an uncaring, tight-fisted mogul? Is that all his wife saw when she looked at him? His thoughts turned to Inuyasha and guilt seeped into the back of his mind. In retrospect, he did tend to neglect his younger son in favor of his first born. Dejection set in and all he could do was turn over onto his side and try to find solace in sleep that would never come for him for the rest of the night.