AN: WOW! I cannot believe how many reviews I got for the last chapter. You guys truly made me feel so honored. I just want to say THANK YOU to those who took the time to do so; it made my day and I loved the feedback I received.

Also I would like to state that there are NO DEMONS in this story. The men do have the silver hair but unfortunately no doggie ears on Inuyasha and no markings or elfin ears on Sesshomaru and his father. As much as I would love for them to be their normal selves like that, it's a lot more complicated to have demon characters with their ages, senses, abilities and it just makes them so much more than I need. I feel like to have them as demons just makes me have to be more careful about how I portray them and instances where their demon abilities make my plot and points invalid. I am however keeping the silver hair and gold eyes though. I've watched anime where humans have odd colored hair/eyes so I feel I can get away with the hair/eyes being believable. A human Sesshomaru is bad enough as it is but it's doable; a Sesshomaru without the long silver hair and honey gold eyes is just plain wrong! and against the unwritten laws of nature. A few reviews have made me suspect that some readers thought they were demons. So I just wanted to clear that up!

Hope you all like this chapter just as much as the last!

Sesshomaru walked in and had to go around to the other side of the bed to see who it was that his brother and father were looking at.

He saw a young boy laying there, his eyes were closed, but his silver hair and the shape of his face and its features told him all he needed to know; he was a Takahashi.

'So,' Sesshomaru thought, 'Inuyasha has a child with whoever was in that room?'

"Why did you never say anything?" Toga asked his youngest son. He also believed that the boy was the child of his youngest son.

"I just found out the other night." He replied honestly, not knowing that the two in the room thought him to be the father.

Sesshomaru's anger dissipated as he felt remorse towards his younger brother. "I'm sorry," he told him, now knowing why Inuyasha wanted them there so badly.

Kenichi may have resembled Sesshomaru more than Inuyasha, but it had been a long time since either man was that young; and it was much easier to picture Inuyasha being the father since he was the one dragging his own father and brother around the hospital.

Inuyasha sighed. He realized that Sesshomaru had no idea what was going on.

"This isn't my kid." He said, as he looked Sesshomaru dead in the eye. "This is Kagome's son and I," he emphasized the 'I', "never slept with her."

Sesshomaru uncharacteristically dropped his mouth open as the wheels started to turn in his head. Kagome was the crazy stripper that he had apparently hooked up with years ago. This young boy that resembled his brother and himself was her child, yet she never had sex with Inuyasha. She had sex with him… she had sex with him a few years ago, and by the looks of it, the boy was only a few years old. The dates matched up but… he couldn't be this child's father. That was unacceptable.

"Explain." Sesshomaru glared at his little brother.

"Are you that fucking dumb?" Inuyasha said, reaching his limit with his sibling's attitude; he had been biting his tongue for quite a while now. "What more do you need to know that you can't put two and two together?"

"Sesshomaru?" Toga asked his eldest son, shock was written all over his face as he took in Sesshomaru's astonished expression. The man was unaware of the events that took place during the child's conception and was extremely confused as to which of his son's was responsible for the little boy before them. Why is it that Inuyasha's friend was in the hospital but this child was not his?

Sesshomaru studied the child's face as he slowly began to accept what he knew was the truth. He closed his eyes and sighed.

Inuyasha decided to elaborate for his father. "Kagome was coming over to introduce him to Sesshomaru today."

Toga frowned and Sesshomaru watched, stone faced.

"Sango said that they were hit on the way here. I guess the person in the other car ran a light…"

Sesshomaru looked down at the young boy in front of him. The child's hair was a mess, there was a brace wrapped around his neck as well as lump on his forehead. He also had a many small cuts on his face and body.

"What is his name?" He whispered.

"Kenichi." Inuyasha answered just as quietly. No more words were spoken as the three men let everything sink into their minds and studied the child before them. He was perfectly still except for the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

Sango made her entrance after she was done getting an update on the boy from the nurses in the hall.

"How's it going in here?" she asked the trio, not really sure if she wanted to know the answer to her question.

Sesshomaru and Toga were oblivious to her, both still staring at Kenichi like he was an alien. Well in some ways he could be considered so. He did just come out of nowhere to the men. They knew nothing about him and were just shocked by his mere existence. Inuyasha was the only one to acknowledge the woman's presence at first and answered her.

"Shitty," he replied honestly as he turned away from the boy. "What did the nurses say?"

Sango smiled. "He woke up not long ago. Now he's just resting," she answered quietly. "The medicines he's on make him tired."

Everyone was surprised to hear Sesshomaru speak. "Will he be okay?" He didn't take his eyes off the boy as he spoke.

"Oh!" After her surprise at his concern wore off, she answered, "Well they were T-boned during the accident; the car seat saved his life. His head bent during the collision and he knocked it against the edge of the seat, hard. The glass from both side windows shattered and that's why he has a few cuts on his face, neck, and arms."

Sesshomaru, as well as his father and Inuyasha nodded, listening to the woman.

"He should be fine." Sango said, sounding much calmer than she did on the phone. "They at first couldn't get him to respond to them and had to do a few scans to check for damage but the results show little to no swelling in his head. Just the lump from the skin, but his brain is okay. He must have gotten knocked out from the blow with the seat. But the glass is all out, and they just want to stabilize his neck for now since he has a slight sprain from the tension."

Sango saw all the men visibly relax in front of her after she finished her explanation, but she still felt the discomfort in the room.

"So," she moved to hold Kenichi's hand while looking at Sesshomaru, "congratulations, it's a boy." She gave him an awkward smile. This was not the time to be joking but she just had to do something, anything to lighten up the mood.

The new father blinked at the woman in front of him. He was in no mood for jesting. Was this a joyous occasion or a bad one? Should he be happy or upset? His emotions were conflicting.

"I can't believe this." Sesshomaru said to himself, confused about his feelings for the situation. He wanted to be mad and deny it. If Kagome would have shown up at his home today he would have sent them away. Regardless of the resemblance he would have demanded a paternity test, and when it came back positive he'd make arrangements to sign the boy off and pay child support. He didn't want to be a father, especially right now. He had too much going for him to let parenthood get in his way and slow him down. His stomach started twisting; for the first time Sesshomaru felt overwhelmed.

He looked at the injured child in front of him. The little boy squeezed his eyes tight in his slumber. With that movement the full reality hit him that the boy could have died before Sesshomaru even knew he existed. Imagine that, to find out that you had a son, but no longer had the opportunity to make the choice of being his father. The choice would have been nothing more than an idea.

Yes, he could have lost him, and the slate would have been wiped clean; a dodged bullet. Not a thing in his life would have changed… but the boy survived the incident. Sesshomaru did not dodge any bullet, he may have been able to avoid it for some time, but now he'd been hit.

The part that was craziest to him though, was how thankful he felt for the boy's survival. As he looked at the small injured boy, a warm feeling spread through his chest. It was unfamiliar, yet extremely comforting.

He liked it.

"I want to speak with his mother, alone." He said, directing his statement towards his brother and father. Any discussion to take place was between Kagome and himself only.

"Okay," Sango replied, "I'll walk you back up there, since I'm sure you don't remember which room it is."

Sesshomaru nodded and took one last glance at Kenichi before leaving the room with Sango.

Their walk through the hospital was silent. Sesshomaru was lost in his thoughts and Sango could tell from the dazed look on his face. She couldn't blame him though; she wouldn't be able to imagine what it'd be like to be in his position.

When they reached Kagome's room, Sango finally spoke.

"I'm going to update her on Kenichi's progress, but then I'll give you guys your privacy. I'll be out here in the hall."

"That is fine."

They entered the small room where Kagome was laying. She looked away from the television she was watching when she noticed their presence.

"How is he?" she asked with wide eyes. She would concern herself with Sesshomaru later, her priority was Kenichi.

"He's doing well." Sango grinned, walking over to her best friend. "He's just resting now. They went over the scans and x-rays; he has no visible internal damage or broken bones. He has a small knot on his forehead, but that will go away eventually. All of the glass in his skin has been removed and he's going to be just fine."

"I want to see him."

"Kagome," Sango sighed, "you know you can't go anywhere right now. Kenichi will be discharged before you and I swear I will bring him up to you first thing."

Kagome nodded. "Okay."

"I'll be outside if you need me." Sango ended their conversation by walking out of the room.

Kagome finally acknowledged Sesshomaru. "Hey," she said, miserably. All her fears about meeting him were gone. She had just survived a potentially fatal accident. This meeting was nothing compared to her pervious ordeal.

Sesshomaru struggled, trying to find the right words. He was having a hard time sorting out his thoughts as it was.

"You are the girl I slept with at Inuyasha's graduation party?"

Kagome nodded and averted her eyes. 'At least he knows who I am this time.'

Sesshomaru moved to sit in the chair beside her bed. "Your son was conceived that night."

"He was," she confirmed.

"So," Sesshomaru sighed, "he is my child then?" There was no reason to deny it now; the boy resembled him in every way. If not his son, he was Inuyasha's, and if it was Inuyasha's child they wouldn't try to say it was his own. Still, the question needed to be asked.

"Yes." Kagome wondered if he would try to say it wasn't his son. Some men were impossible to convince and even skeptical with paternity tests.

"How old is he?"

Kagome smiled; Sesshomaru's question calmed some of her previous fears. "He recently turned three."

"Why did it take three years for me to find out I had a son?" he could feel some anger coming back to him.

"I was going to tell you when I found out I was pregnant." Kagome glared at him. "It's not my fault you moved across the country. I had no way to contact you."

"You could have called or written a letter." He returned her glare; his was much fiercer than hers.

"Oh," Kagome smirked, "because I had a number and address."

"You could have called my brother," he said. She had a point about not having the address but there was no reason she couldn't have called Inuyasha.

"I deleted his number a few weeks after the party," she explained. "If I had it when I found out about being pregnant I would have obviously called him."

There was a silence between them. They both stared at each other, eyes narrowed.

"I saw you two days ago and you said nothing."

"Are you kidding me?" Kagome's mouth dropped open. "I didn't know what to say! I almost had a heart attack just seeing you! Yet you expect me to just reintroduce myself and tell you that I had your child?"

"It would have been better than finding out like this."

Kagome was speechless. 'What an asshole! Anything would have been better than this!'

Sesshomaru continued to glare at her as he waited for her to say something. He was definitely upset with the entire situation. Did he want to be a father? No! But if he was going to be one, he at least wanted to be a good one. Instead, he missed some of the most important milestones of his child's life. He felt cheated.

When a few minutes passed and Kagome didn't say anything Sesshomaru began to feel frustrated.

"So," he said, trying to be amicable, "now what?"

"I don't know." Kagome sighed. "Now you know, so do what you want with the information."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm not going to force you to be a father. I know you have your own life going on and this is all very sudden." Kagome had no control of Sesshomaru's decisions and actions. If he didn't want to be in Kenichi's life than she wouldn't make him. Kenichi deserved the best and if he didn't want to be in the boy's life then he didn't deserve to be. Of course she hoped that somehow they could figure something out and Kenichi could have his father, but if not it there was nothing she could do about it. Besides, they'd done fine without him thus far, and they would continue to do so if need be.

Sesshomaru put his hands over his face as he leaned back. He felt as if he was drowning. One second he had his whole future figured out, the next second his life was turned upside down.

"I must think," he said, standing up and leaving the room.

Sesshomaru rushed past Sango and went straight to the elevator. He wanted to talk to his father. He needed guidance.

When Sesshomaru walked into Kenichi's hospital room, he was surprised to see his father and Inuyasha laughing. As he got closer the child turned to look at him with the same golden eyes that he had.

The boy smiled and pointed to him. "Are you my daddy?"

Sesshomaru froze.

"We had to introduce ourselves." Toga said. "I told him that I'm his grandfather. Inuyasha is his uncle and his dad is with his mother right now and that you would be here soon."

"So," Kenichi grinned, "you're my daddy?" Sesshomaru nodded to the boy.

"Yes."

"I always wanted a daddy!" Kenichi clasped his hands together. The boy looked too happy for someone sitting in a hospital bed.

"Father," Sesshomaru turned to Toga, "I need to speak with you."

"Of course, son." He then looked at his grandchild. "Kenichi, why don't you talk to you uncle, while I speak with your father privately?"

The toddler nodded, eagerly. He smiled at Inuyasha and began rambling about his favorite activities.

The two eldest Taisho's left the room and found a small reception area to sit and talk with semi-privacy.

Toga was the first to speak, sensing his son's discomfort. "The boy is quite charming. Very animated," his eyes closed for a moment, "his personality reminds me of Inuyasha as a child. You were always quite serious." He smiled as he reminisced when his own children were that young.

Sesshomaru exhaled. "I do not know what to do." He was very conflicted. He had a plan for his life. This was not part of his plan. Everything was backwards and nothing made sense.

"Well, what are your options?"

"I believe I have two." Sesshomaru said, looking into the distance as he thought. "My first option is to go home as fast as I can and never look back."

"Really?" Toga crossed his arms, surprised that Sesshomaru could be so indifferent. He was at times selfish, but this was extreme.

"No," Sesshomaru shrugged, "I could never abandon my own son. Even if I am only now discovering his existence." Toga released a deep breath, relieved at his son's morals.

"Okay." The man nodded. "Now, what about the other option?"

"I could somehow be a father to him." Sesshomaru answered.

The elder Taisho smiled with approval.

"However…" Sesshomaru grimaced, "what of my career? My lifestyle is currently not that of a parent."

It wasn't. He and Kagome lived on opposite sides of the country. Sesshomaru spent most of his time training and he was never known to stay with one woman for long. He wasn't afraid of commitment, he just never found a woman worth committing to; he didn't have the time nor interest to look either.

"I am unsure of how to be a father." He continued, "What am I supposed to do with a toddler? Most get time to adjust and prepare, I cannot simply jump into a role that I know nothing about."

"That is true, but it should come naturally." Toga reassured. At least they were passed the waking up at all hours of the night phase, and no dirty diapers or getting thrown up on.

"I suppose," Sesshomaru said in a defeated tone. "Although, I am stuck on how to proceed with the living arrangements. I can't imagine how to co-parent when I live so far from the boy and his mother." He was truly perplexed at this. "I can't take the boy with us because his home is here and I will not try to separate him from his mother. Of all things, I do not want to be a single parent. I also doubt the woman would let me come in and take her child away."

"Yes," his father agreed, "she is a dedicated mother from the little that Inuyasha has told me. He does not know everything but it is apparent that she tries her best."

'Her best? She took her sweet time presenting him to me to be trying her best.' Sesshomaru thought to himself, miffed.

"Maybe you and the boy's mother can reach some sort of agreement."

Sesshomaru tilted his head, waiting for his father to elaborate on the idea.

"We have the funds." Toga started to explain. "We can fly him out to us to visit for a bit. He can spend some time with all of us and then we send him back here to his mother. It can be for varying amounts of time and however often you two agree upon."

"No," Sesshomaru shook his head, "you forget that she almost lost him today. I doubt she will trust leaving him on a plane and trusting his safety without her there to protect him." Sesshomaru would never let anything harm the boy. Nobody in the family would, but after current events, the woman's judgment would be flawed in regards to trusting the child to be safe.

"Of course." The newly appointed grandfather frowned; if it wasn't for the accident his idea would have been perfect.

The two sat in silence, pondering on what they could do.

"Perhaps," Sesshomaru mused aloud, "I could travel out here."

His father's face lit up.

"I can stay at the old house," Sesshomaru said with confidence as his plan began to come together. "If I come out here, his mother will not be far when I spend time alone with him. Then neither of us would have to stress the boy out over leaving his mother, especially flying alone."

"Brilliant," Toga was grinning ear to ear, "and you can still focus on your career but have a part in the child's life as well. When the three of you are all more comfortable with each other, you can eventually have him come home for a bit with us."

"Yes," Sesshomaru smiled, "that could work."

"Great." Toga stood up and stretched; his stress from the conversation slowly leaving him. "Now let's go see this young boy; he has the most captivating personality. He must get it from his mother, because I know it's not from you."

The man laughed at his own joke, Sesshomaru did not find it as funny.

Sesshomaru wordlessly stood from the chair. He was feeling his nerves turn on edge at the realization that he was about to meet his son. Yes they had been introduced, but he was actually going to get to know a little about the boy and vice versa. Never in his life had he cared about what anyone thought of him; he was superior to most, their opinions did not matter. This little boy though, his opinion mattered more than even Sesshomaru's own.

Sesshomaru's mind raced as he walked back to the room his child was waiting in. He wondered what his son was like, the boys disposition. Physically Sesshomaru saw his childhood reflection, but personality wise… did they have anything in common. Would Sesshomaru see himself in his child's antics, just as he shared some of his own sire's traits? What if they were polar opposites and Kenichi couldn't stand him? Or worse, what if Kenichi and Sesshomaru got along perfectly; Sesshomaru's number one priority in life was his career, would his son change that?

AN: Review please :)