Standard Disclaimers apply.

A/N: Thank you for the wonderful reviews for chapter 13! You guys rock! Here's chapter 14, and I hope you guys will like it as well.

Title: Rewind

Chapter 14: Little Life

(Sango's POV)

After a long night of waiting, a little life came to this earth.

A little girl, born a month premature to Asami and her boyfriend, Naohito.

It was ironical how the hate in my heart just disappeared completely after knowing of the birth of the child.

Standing outside the nursery of the labor ward at eight in the morning, I watched the little girl who threw our lives into so much mayhem sleep in her little incubator. Due to being born premature, she was not simply wrapped up in a pink blanket like all the other little girls. Instead, she had machines hooked to her, for she was not completely developed yet.

Her little body was so terribly, painfully small and nude from the waist up. The reddish, wrinkly skin made me wonder if she was cold in the ward, even when she was in the incubator. At this point, I saw her tiny body shudder involuntarily before she sneezed like a little kitten. It made me want to go in and touch her, hold her and tell her it was going to be alright.

Thinking of her plight only made me feel a greater inclination towards this little child. Her mother would no longer be with her for long, her father is still in jail and I can only wonder what Fate has in store for this little life.

A nurse on duty walking past saw me standing there, with my palm placed against the glass separating us.

"Can I help you, Miss?" She asked kindly.

I looked at her kindly middle-aged face, before casting a glance back at the little girl lying all alone in her incubator.

"I was wondering if I…if I could go in and see her…" I replied, giving a small smile. "The little girl in the incubator."

The nurse nodded knowingly before she noticed me dressed in regular clothing instead of the hospital robes. "You're not the mother, are you?"

"I'm not, but I was one of those who brought the mother in and registered. We're…we're friends of hers." I said. "Her name is Kanda Asami."

The nurse checked her file and nodded at me. "You must be Sango-san."

I nodded, before she smiled at me and opened the door to the nursery. "This way please." The nurse guided me in taking the sanitary precautions, before leading me to the incubator.

I bowed my thanks, before entering the ward in which the little girl was. With every step I took towards her, I felt a growing warmth in my heart. Her little arms were now flailing around with every breath she took, as if anticipating my arrival.

"Hello, baby…how are you?" I greeted, waving at her.

Pulling a stool from the side to sit by the incubator, I watched the little face scrunch up. She looked like she was about to cry any moment. My heart ached; compared to the other little babies, she looked terribly vulnerable and alone in her box.

I was at a loss for what to do at the moment, before I rubbed my hands together, reached into the box and placed a hand on her middle.

That did the trick. She calmed down and the redness from the little face subsided to give a calmer expression. Her skin felt so warm, soft and fragile underneath my fingers, unlike the wrinkly appearance of the skin.

"Are you feeling cold, little one?" I asked softly, gently stroking the downy hair on her head with my fingers. Everything about her was so soft and small, and she seemed extremely adorable coupled with the milky fragrance accompanying her.

She writhed around in what I thought was frustration, and her face scrunched up yet again, reddening with the promise to start bawling soon.

Instinctively, I placed my hand over her middle once again, and she relaxed visibly. She looked really sweet.

I smiled to myself, before asking her again. "You like it when I do this, don't you?"

The peaceful expression on her face gave me the answer to my question, and I wondered about her. What will her name be? What kind of person will she grow up into? This was a real little life I was looking at, and she just began her long journey in life. She has just been here for a mere seven hours.

A little angel who just left heaven to come down to earth.

"I wonder what your name will be…What do you think your mommy will choose to name you? I think she will pick a sweet, adorable name."

Of course, she could not reply, but I took the silence as agreement anyway. I sat with her, and though I knew she would not be able to comprehend what I was saying, I started telling her the story of "Sanbiki no kobuta". (Three Little Pigs)

She was a lovely little girl who did not make a single sound during the entire time I was talking. It felt as if she was listening to me attentively, following the story closely. Her eyes were opened ever so slightly, and her hands would wave around occasionally when I said the ever famous line in the story, "I'll huff, puff, and blow your house away!"

Time seemed to pass exceptionally fast when you have a good little audience.

"And they all lived together, happily ever after." I said. The story ended, and I drew my hand away slowly from her. It was already very nice of the nurse to allow me to look at the baby, and I should not inconvenience the nurses by staying around for too long.

The little girl started fidgeting uncomfortably as my hand left her middle, and before I could draw my hand completely out of the incubator, her tiny hand wrapped itself around my thumb.

"Don't worry about her, she'll be fine in no time." Came a voice from behind me.

I turned to see a young nurse around my age, standing behind me with a reassuring smile on her face.

"I can understand how as mothers, you cannot help but worry about your child. But this little one is doing great, and it will only be a matter of time before you can bring her home."

I smiled at her kind words, before adding somewhat apologetically. "I'm sorry, but you've mistaken…she's not my baby. I'm a friend of her mother's."

"Oh!" The nurse looked genuinely surprised, before bowing slightly in apology. "I'm sorry, but I thought…because she seems really attached to you. Just look at how she's holding on to your finger! It's as if she doesn't want you to leave her alone."

I nodded, the smile on my face widening. "That's true, I did not expect this from her. She's really adorable, isn't she?"

"She is a lovely little girl." The nurse agreed before stepping forward to check on the baby, and turned to regard me. "She's already asleep, so you can leave if you wish."

I bowed my thanks, before gently removing her tiny hand from my thumb and drawing my hand from the incubator.

As I turned to exit, I saw Asami sitting in a wheelchair outside the nursery, with Miroku behind her. For a moment, I did not know how to react, but when she bowed to me, I returned the gesture.

Closing the door to the nursery behind me, I greeted both of them.

"Good morning," I said, running words through my head as to find something appropriate to say at the moment. "How are you feeling, Asami-san?"

"I'm fine," She answered, her face donning an awkward expression, before she added. "Thank you."

"It's alright." I replied, before she quickly added.

"No, it's more than that." She said, looking up from the wheelchair at me. Her usually pretty face looked haggard without her usual makeup, and the tiredness she suffered from the childbirth only made her look older than her actual age. "I also want to apologize to the both of you. Will you forgive me?"

We fell silent, looking away from each other. I didn't know how to face Miroku and the problem of our marriage, even when the truth was now out. The whole ordeal only made me realize how vulnerable our marriage was, and it made me fear to discuss the incident.

Miroku broke the awkward silence.

"Of course we'll forgive you…what matters is you are truly repentable, right?"

I nodded dumbly, while Asami bowed as deeply as she could manage in her weakened condition. I really had nothing to say to her apology. Part of me wanted to scream at her, part of me wanted to cry. She turned to look at me.

"Sango-san, I also want to thank you for asking Honekura-san to arrange for Naohito to call me."

I nodded my acknowledgement of her gratitude. During the time when she was in labor, I had contacted my colleague in charge of Sesshoumaru and Kagome's car accident case and told him every detail of the truth behind it. As a woman, I could not imagine having to give birth to a child without the father of it knowing, and hence had asked Honekura to get permission for Naohito to call Asami from prison.

"So…what did he say? Was he happy?" I asked, inclining my head in the direction of the nursery to refer to the baby girl.

"He…no…" She shook her head slowly. "We broke up over the phone. It's really over between me and him. He doesn't want to acknowledge her either."

It was then I noticed her eyes were red-rimmed. There was no doubt she had been crying before this.

"Asami-san…" I started, placing a hand on her shoulder. Miroku's face was grim as well, and I could see him gripping the handles of the wheelchair tightly.

"It's alright…I'll be fine." She said in a voice void of any life. Turning around slightly in her chair, she asked, "Miroku, is it alright for you to let me talk to Sango-san alone for awhile?"

"Sure, of course." He nodded, before looking at me with a small nod. "I'll go get some breakfast then…Sango, what would you like to have? The usual?"

It felt odd to speak of usual in front of him and Asami, for I didn't know if anything 'usual' still existed between the two of us. The usual basically refers to tea without milk and my favorite egg tarts.

I nodded my thanks, before walking behind to push the wheelchair along. Miroku left with a small wave, and left the two of us to walk down the long corridor. The wheels squeaked a little as they rubbed against the linoleum, while neither of us spoke up.

I didn't know what to say. Despite knowing that what I did was because of my job, I still felt a tinge of guilt that I was the one who brought all this upon Asami. I'm no saint, I'm angry at how my marriage was ruined by her plotting, to the point where it might never heal, but thinking of her reasons behind her actions gave me a new perspective as well.

"I…I saw how you were playing with the baby." She said in a small voice.

I froze momentarily. "I'm sorry, if you don't like it then I-"

"No…I don't mean that." She interrupted, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. It was easier talking when she was back facing me. "I…I…was very touched when I saw that. It was as if you have an affinity with her."

I didn't reply, and she continued.

"I saw you giving her what I was unable to. Maybe it's psychological or something like that, but I cannot bring myself to love the child. I can't…I just can't. It's like, the moment I lay my eyes on her, I think of Naohito, myself, and my stupidity at going to drastic extents just for one man who didn't love me."

"But…isn't it two entirely different issues?"

"Perhaps it is to you and many others. But to me, she signifies every unhappy thing which I've experienced in the past whole year."

I couldn't do anything but nod, even though I knew she wouldn't be able to see me from behind.

"I've done so much evil. Last night, I thought about it, and I scared myself. Can you believe it? I'm actually afraid of myself. When had I become such a monster? And this baby constitutes the reason to my unforgivable actions."

"Then…what do you intend to do?" I asked hesitantly, fearing the answer I might hear. "She's just so young, and I think she deserves love like every other child does."

"I…" From behind her, I could see her entire body was stiffened. She seemed so to be in great mental turmoil, to the point where it was agonizing.

"I have decided to give her up for adoption."

"What?" I was genuinely shocked, and immediately stopped the wheelchair to run to stand in front of her. "Asami-san, why this drastic decision? It's alright if you don't love her now…you will grow to! This is unfair to the child."

"No…I really thought it over carefully. Earlier on, I gave my family a call for the first time in four years." She said softly, avoiding my gaze. "I told my mother about all the horrible things I've done, and instead of blaming me for being such an unfilial daughter, she cried along with me."

"But what about the baby? You have your mother, and now you're depriving her of hers!"

"I can't be a good mother to her if I cannot even love her. I really want a fresh start, Sango-san." She explained, her tears welling up once again. "I…I'm only twenty. I want another chance at life."

My thoughts went back to the baby earlier on in the nursery and the way she held on to my finger, and a stab of pain shot through my heart at knowing of the fate that awaited her. It was in that instant when my mind came to a decision. I didn't know what possessed me to do it, but I did it nonetheless.

"I will adopt her, Asami-san." I said firmly, before adding. "If you don't mind, that is."

She looked at me with watery eyes wide in shock, before smiling through her tears.

"Thank you, Sango-san…thank you so much."

To be continued…

A/N: Thank you for reading! I wonder if this outcome was expected, as in the issue about Sango adopting Asami's baby. Please review, thank you!