At first when Kagome opened her eyes everything was dark. But it wasn't that feeling of a dark room, it was more like there was nothing around her. She reached out but there was nothing for her to touch. She wrapped her arms around her and shivered because there was nothing to keep her warm but her hospital gown. There wasn't even a light to help her see. "So this is what nothing feels like." Her words echoed back to her making her fall to her knees. Closing her eyes she tried to picture Sota's face. "I'm sorry I couldn't come back." She sobbed "I left you alone in the world so I guess I deserve this." She sat with her arms wrapped around herself until a voice called to her. A voice she knew she could never forget.

"Kagome."

"Mom?" For a moment she didn't believe it.

"Kagome." It called again, but she was afraid to look up. She hadn't heard that voice for so long she was sure she was going crazy. "Kagome." What if she looked up and found noting? "Kagome." Or worse, what if she looked up and saw her mother disappear. "Kagome." Her voice was as soft as ever, just how it used to be.

"Please stop." She shut her eyes and covered her ears. "Please just stop!" Nothing seemed to work, she could still hear her voice as clear as before. "Mom I'm sorry!" Kagome was on the verge of being hysterical when she felt something beneath her. She opened her eyes and looked around as everything was taking shape.

Grass was spreading through out the nothingness that was there before. Trees seemed to spring from no where, creating shadows against the sun in the sky. Reluctantly Kagome uncovered her ears to the sound of chirping birds and a melodic trickle of water. To her right was a pond with a statue that she knew all to well. A mother with the most serene smile was holding her child beneath a barrier of falling water. Behind her was the stone arch way decorated in lush green vines. 'I will always be in your heart, and you in mine.'

"The garden?" Kagome couldn't believe this what she was seeing, but it was better than nothing.

"Kagome." Across the bridge in front of her was her mother. "Come." She held out her hand with a smile to match the statue in the pond. "Kagome." There was no second thought, Kagome ran across the bridge to her mother's embrace.

"Mom!" She buried her face in her mother's chest. Her heart was overwhelmed with such feelings of joy and love. "I wish Sota could feel this again." She felt her mother's grip tighten around her.

"I love you." Instantly Kagome knew something was wrong, when she opened her eyes her mother was fading away. She begged for her to stay but it didn't work. "I love you." She reached out and touched her daughter's chest where her heart would be.

"I love you too." She placed her hands over her mothers and watched her disappear along with the whole garden. She closed her eyes' feeling her mother's warmth and love fill her to her very soul.

"Kagome." She heard her name again, but when she opened her eyes the view was very different. Everything was white and blurry. Her body felt weak but she could feel some one grabbing her hand.

"Mom?" The woman smiled and squeezed Kagome's hand tighter.

"No," She said softly. "It's me, Izaiyo." She put her hand to Kagome's face. "The doctor says you still need more rest, just go back to sleep." Kagome nodded in compliance and everyone in the room watched her go back into dreamland. "I'm so happy she's okay." Izaiyo smiled wiping a tear from Kagome's eye. "She scared me."

"Izaiyo-"

"You do not get to say a word!" Taiysho bellowed over Sesshomaru. "It is because of you that she is in here." Sesshomaru didn't think his father even cared that much for Kagome. "I told you to be careful, but you let your vendetta for revenge blind you to hers and your brother's safety!"

"Father-"

"No. How many lives have been lost in your scheme for revenge?"

"Taiysho!" Izaiyo stepped between the two before either could get too worked up. "Now is not the time for that. I have lost a son as well, but blaming Sesshomaru won't bring him back!" She sobbed. "Inuyasha was a grown man and made his decision." She was trying to get herself under control as well, every one was under great emotional strain. Her husband took a deep breath and left the two with tension in the air thick enough to suffocate.

"He's right." Sesshomaru said after a moment and he knew she agreed when she didn't turn around to look at him.

"Like I said, blame helps nothing. Our concern is the living." She sat next to Kagome.

A few days later Kagome finally opened her eyes, but this time the room was void of familiar faces. "Oh you're awake." A nurse sang. "You have been asleep for some time." She bustled around the machines above Kagome's head.

"Can I sit up?" Her voice was hoarse and cracked.

"Sure," the nurse grabbed the remote and with the click of a button Kagome began to slowly rise. "would you like some water as well?" Kagome nodded. "Alright, I'll be back." The nurse went to leave but stopped just before the door. "And I want you to know, this is the first time I haven't seen your family in here. I'm not sure where they went but you haven't been left alone once." She smiled.

"Thank you." Kagome tried to smile but she wasn't really sure of how she felt about that. Looking out the window the light reminded her of the dream she had. She couldn't believe that's all it was, it felt so real. Even now she could feel the fear she had when there was nothing around her, and she could still hear her mother's voice. She could even feel her warmth wash over her body as she put her hand to her own chest.

She felt something else when she touched her chest. Beneath her hospital gown she felt a ridge in her chest and when she moved her garment to the side she saw it. Stitches ran between her breast and stopped just above her stomach. "The doctor said the scar shouldn't be that bad if you take it easy." She looked up in the door way where Sesshomaru stood. She let her eyes follow him as as entered. "Sorry you had to wake up to an empty room, I had to see Izaiyo and Father off. They headed back to New York." She could vaguely remember Izaiyo standing above her at one point in time.

"It would seem your company has returned." The nurse came in with a cup of water and sat it next to Kagome. "How are you feeling?" Kagome stared at the nurse with a blank face as she did some more checking and measuring on all the machines Kagome was connected to. "Not much of a talker are you? Maybe that will change once you get some real liquid in you." She smiled. "If you need anything just click this button." She placed a device on Kagome's bed before leaving.

"If you ask me," Sesshomaru sighed as he took a seat "she talks too much." Funny, Kagome was thinking the same thing. "She kept Izaiyo's spirits up though." He tried to get a read on Kagome's expression, but this was one he had never seen before. It wasn't anger or depression, and he didn't even expect to see joy, but this was emotionless. It was like she was a blank slate. "The doctor said it should only be a few days from the time you wake up that you will get to return home, but there is something you should know." He hesitated for a moment. "Inuyasha is dead."

He let her have a moment to accept what he had said, but he wasn't sure what was going through her head. She turned away from him and looked side to side obviously thinking and turning it over in her head. But her lack of expression still worried him, it was like she didn't care. He had expected tears, not this. Had everything completely destroyed the Kagome he knew and loved?

She really didn't know what to make of what he said. When she thought about a world without him it bothered her yes, but there was something else in her that wouldn't let her truly give in to any other feelings on the topic. When she turned her gaze back to Sesshomaru he took that as his sign to continue with the rest.

"I have kept his betrayal from the rest of the family." So that's why he was telling her, he needed her to go along with it in case they asked her. "He took a bullet for me and lost his life is all they need to know. No need in dragging his name through the mud." Kagome watched him for a moment wondering why he would do that, but then she remember Iziayo. She didn't deserve that, though she didn't say it out loud Kagome agreed to go along with Sesshomaru's story.

"Miss Higurashi?" The doctor knocked. "Nice to see you are awake." She didn't have anything to say to the doctor either. "It looks like all of your vitals are back to normal." He looked through the glasses on his nose as he flipped through the papers. "So let's talk about what happened." He pulled a stool up to the side of her bed and looked at her over his glasses with a serious expression. "You had a serious heart attack-fatal even. We lost you on the operating table." Suddenly it made sense, this nothingness she felt. The reason she wasn't able to really care that Inuyasha had died. It was like something dark was left over inside her. "Now having a heart attack at the age of twenty-two is something I haven't seen before, but one of your main arteries was severely collapsed so we went ahead and put a stint in to open it back up."

Sesshomaru watched her as she watched the doctor and still her expression did not change, not when he talked about the heart attack or even about her dying. It's like she wasn't listening, maybe she was hearing it but it was like her emotions were cut off. It was then that he knew without a doubt her soul was shattered, there was no way she would be the same. This was the result of his obsession to catch Naraku.

"Now I don't see anything wrong with letting you go in a few days given that your vitals stay stable. However I have a list of prescriptions here that you will be on for the better part of the rest of your life." Even the doctor was hesitant to give her that news, but she was taking everything in strides. "And you should also know that your risk of another heart attack like the one you had is higher now, and will get higher the older you get. But you can manage your risk by living a healthy life, eat right, exercise, the normal things." The doctor rose. "If everything goes well this will be the last time you see me, so let's pray for that."

The next day dragged on for both Kagome and Sesshomaru. For Kagome because she was ready to get out of the hospital and back to Sota, and for Sesshomaru because he was just ready to be ride of the talkative nurse. For the most part Kagome slept while Sesshomaru found stuff to read. "Well well Miss Higuarshi." The nurse walked in with that same smile from ear to ear "Today is your lucky day." She handed the release form and prescription to Sesshomaru and began unhooking Kagome from all the contraptions and noise makers. "You get to go home. Here are some clothes your family brought in. If you need help just let me know."

It was weird to stand up, her legs felt like jello and her vertigo made her a little lite headed. She stood for a moment as the ground solidified beneath her feet. Once in the bathroom she began to change when the line down her chest stopped her in her tracks. The doctor had cut the stitches yesterday, but Kagome hadn't been able to see what she looked like with this new marking. To her realization she hadn't seen what she looked like since being in the hospital. Her skin was pale and though she had bags under her eyes they weren't purple so she could live with that. Her hair was disheveled but she didn't have a brush so she wet her hands and ran them through her hair after getting dressed.

Walking out she watched the nurse for a moment as she spoke with Sesshomaru, she was a bit surprised that Sesshomau spoke back. "It's no problem," She heard the nurse saying as she walked up. " I just love my job." She blushed unable to look at him. "I thought-"

"I'm ready." The first time he was able to hear her voice he didn't expect it to be so cold, he would never admit how much that affected him. The nurse gave Kagome a look of embarrassment, but she received that same look every one had been getting since Kagome woke up.

In true Sesshomaru fashion he had a car waiting outside the hospital. She slid to the far side as Sesshomaru got in. "The air strip." He called to the driver. The ride was no more than thirty minutes, but it was a long quiet thirty minutes. For the first time Kagome recalled the things that happened since the last time she was on a plane with Sesshomaru. When he told her about his mother, the deal their father's made, her argument with Sesshomaru over Inuyasha. A warm flush even ran through her body when she thought about her and Sesshomaru in the hotel room the night before they went to her father's mansion. She wasn't sure if he noticed her looking at him, but as she thought about that moment she couldn't help but wonder if the man next to her was the same man she shared all those moments with.

When they got to the air field the car pulled directly into one of the hangers where they got out and were greeted by a rather large group of people. In the center of them all stood Sota and for the first time since she woke up she felt her heart beat within her chest. When he called her name it was the most beautiful sound she could ever hear. As she took him in her arms everything made sense to her, he was the reason she did all this, he was the reason she had to fight to survive. Because of him she was able to kill their father and for the first time a feeling of true freedom washed over her.

Watching them Sesshomaru saw a glimmer of the Kagome he used to know. The warm care taker to her brother and a woman of many faces that he knew before. With or without him he knew she would pick up the pieces of her soul and slowly she would put herself back together, if not for herself then for her brother. "These are the people's lives that you saved." Sesshomaru stood behind Kagome. "I know what you did was hard, but these are the people who wanted a life away from him and you gave them that." A group of people stood in front of her, some with smiles others in tears.

"We just wanted to say thank you before you left." One man said. Kagome looked at Sesshomaru who motioned for her to accept their thanks. Before boarding the plane they all had a chance to speak with her, hug her, some even gave her gifts. Once on the plane she gave all her attention to Sota until he fell asleep. Hesitant she sat across from Sesshomaru.

"I needed that, thank you." He simply nodded. They sat in silence the rest of the way, her thoughts about what she and Sota would do now that they were free and his were on the woman in front of him. He wanted to ask what she thought of him now, but he could only guess. And if his guess was any where close to the truth he didn't think he would be able to handle her saying that out loud. Not that he had any right to hope his feelings would be spared. Despite that, the silence was not uncomfortable.

Once they landed and arrived at the mansion Sesshomaru looked at her before they got out of the car. "Can you handle one more surprise?" She gave him a questioning look. "I may have lied when I said those were all the people you saved." When they got out of the car there were children standing outside with the house help.

"Kagome's here!" One called out and they all ran to greet her.

"What is this?" Kagome looked back to Sesshomaru.

"These children had the same fate as Bankotsu, but their parents have all died. So now that they are free they have no where to go, and we have some empty rooms around the mansion." He pointed to another woman Kagome had not seen around before. "And this is Kikyo, she will be their teacher."

She couldn't believe he would do all of this for them, his embarrassment was obvious only because he wouldn't look at her. "How did you get them all here?"

"They flew back with my parents." For the first time he refereed to them as his parents not 'Father and Izaiyo.' She could feel her heart swell with pride, not for Izaiyo but for him. She was right, there was something different about the man in front of her. He wasn't the Sesshomaru she had met but the Sesshomaru she had watched him become. He too was free, free from her father, free from his hate, and free from his loneliness. "I have one more surprise." He finally faced her and held out his hand.

She took his offer, but surprise wasn't really the word she would have used. "Sesshomaru, what is this?" In her hands was a small velvet box.

"Before you answer I want you to know something. After everything I have put you through I won't be mad if you say no, I wouldn't have the right really. But as the man in front of you I can offer you love, protection, and a sanctuary. Not just for you but Sota as well. Which is why," He reached into his pocket again. "I offer you this." He held out a key. "If your answer is no then I want you to take this. It's the key to yours and Sota's new house. It is paid for, in a nice neighborhood with good schools. There is a park just down the street."

"Keep it." She whispered.

"What?" He heard her very clearly, he just wasn't ready for that response. He had been mentally prepared for a flat out no. And maybe even a few words of how much she hated him now.

For the first time since she woke up she looked at him with the smile that he loved. "My mother once told me that sometimes you can't judge a person on their past, because the person they were then may be different from the person in front of you now." Everything seemed to come back to her all at once. All the reasons she loved him and everything he meant to her. In her heart she had already forgiven him for everything, she just needed time to adjust. "So keep it because I'm saying yes." For the first time he kissed her in front of every one, and some how it made their relationship feel more real, because now she knew everything they shared wasn't a part of her imagination and she could share it with the world.

Kagome pulled away from him flushed when she heard some one clear their throat. "Izaiyo, Ta-"

"It's alright dear, we're not blind." Izaiyo laughed.

"Well you gonna put the ring on or what son?" Taiysho laughed.

When he turned around to look at her she saw a joy in his eye she had never seen before. "I love you." He slipped the ring around her slender finger.

"And I love you."