A/N: Hi guys! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I'm getting really antsy posting it one chapter at a time! I'm really thrilled to hear your opinions as the story progresses. I hope you guys continue to enjoy the story and I look forward to hearing more from you!

5

Ileana and Kagome slept in late the following morning; it was around ten o'clock in the morning when Ileana began to stir. "Mummy?" She asked patting Kagome's cheek with her hand, her face close to hers. "Mummy, wake up!" She patted her cheek a little bit harder, causing Kagome to stir.

"Hm? Ileana?" Slowly, Kagome opened her eyes. Her daughter's brilliant green eyes were inches away from hers.

"I'm hungry!" She said with a cheeky grin. "Can I go ask Nana for food?"

Popping awake and realizing their location, Kagome sat up and almost clobbered Ileana in the head. "Sorry honey, I'll go find you some. I want you to stay in here for now though. Promise me?" Pain was stabbing around her torso from her sudden movement. She could feel one of her stitches pop and a small amount of blood seem into the bandaging around it. She refused to let her daughter see her face contort to match the pain she was in.

With a pout she nodded her head. "But Nana wouldn't let me leave either! I wanna go play!" She complained.

Kagome took her daughter in her arms and smiled at her, trying her hardest to forget her pain. Her silver hair was a halo around her. "Honey, you can go out soon, but for now we're some place that we don't know and I'm afraid someone might hurt you."

Ileana looked up at her mom and nodded in submission. "Will we be here long Mummy? I wanna go home…"

"I don't know, honey. I don't know." Gently she kissed the top of her head and stiffly climbed out of bed. Looking down she realized she still had on her clothes from the night before. "I'll be right back baby." She said confidently as she squeezed out the door and into the hallway.

Taking a deep breath, she composed herself and shrugged off the pain from her injuries. God they hurt, but she was determined not to show her pain to anyone. "How's your ribs?" A deep voice said from behind her.

Startled, she wheeled around to another set of yellow eyes inches from her face. A gasp erupted from her lips as she jumped back; an involuntary wince crossed her face. His hand shot out and steadied her. "I take it that means not good." His eyes were soft, but his face was steeled.

"I'm fine," She said with a smile, her face betraying none of her pain. Shaking his head, he walked past her. He knew she had to still be in pain, he had seen a fraction of a wince when she spun around. It had probably pulled on her stitches.

"Where's Ileana?" He asked when he was a little bit in front of her.

"Still asleep." She lied casually. She still wasn't prepared for him to see her. She wanted to keep her to herself for just a little bit longer.

"Okay." He glanced back at her, knowing she was lying to him. "Why don't we get some breakfast then?" Frustration threatened to make him lash out at her, he couldn't understand why she wouldn't let him see his daughter. The one glimpse he'd had of her hadn't been enough; he wanted to actually see her face.

"That's just where I was headed." She beamed a smile at him, trying to be casual.

She followed him through the winding corridors to the kitchen. The palace was exquisite, but she already knew where all the rooms were. When she used to work here she would steal into the kitchen and Kaede, the cook, would sneak her cookies or brownies or whatever else she was cooking. Her heart warmed at the memory and she wondered whether she was still working there.

As they pushed through the swinging door, her heart soared. Chopping strawberries at the counter stood the short, older woman Kagome had grown to love in her months working at the palace. "Kaede!" She called with a smile as she rushed around the Prince, ignoring her pain.

Her head whipped up faster than one would think possible for a woman her age. A smile spread across her face and she opened her arms just in time to catch the woman coming at her.

Prince Inuyasha stood in amazement at the exchange between the two. He watched as the old hag, as he had called her since he was a teenager, cupped Kagome's face tenderly. The mother of his child planted a kiss on her head and held onto her tighter, almost like she was her grandmother. He had had no idea that they were close in the time she worked under his family. To be honest he didn't know anything about her time here other than the nights she cleaned his room and would talk him through whatever had gone on in his life that day.

She had been his confident. At least until he knocked her up. Anger swelled through him at the recollection. She had left a month and a half after he had bedded her, but he only saw her a few times after that night because she had been assigned to another area of the palace. He had never tried to see her more than when he saw her in passing either.

Kaede, having not seen the Prince, met eyes with him and pulled back from Kagome. "Would you like your usual this morning, Your Highness?" Kagome looked between the two bashfully, she had forgotten he was there.

"No, make your specialty breakfast and bring it out to the terrace when it's done. I'm going to be taking breakfast with Ms. Higurashi this morning." He turned and walked out of the kitchen and onto the terrace, assuming Kagome was right behind him.

"Kaede," She whispered in the woman's ear once he was gone. "Can I get some of the pancakes you've made for the family? Ileana's starving."

She nodded her head and smiled a mischievous grin at her. "You know the Prince is going to get antsy if you aren't right behind him."

"He can wait." She said with a smile. Kaede had known about her pregnancy before she even had. Luckily, no one else within the palace walls had known the true reason for her resignation five years ago, or else the Prince would have found her much sooner than expected.

She cast the younger woman a wicked wink and handed her a heaping plate of pancakes topped with strawberries. She even added whipped cream to the top and a drizzle of chocolate syrup over the top. Laying a peck on Kaede's cheek and whispered, "She'll love this. I'll try and bring Ileana to see you as soon as I can." She strode out of the kitchen and back to her room, leaving Kaede smiling a toothy grin in her wake.

Ileana rushed to the door when she heard the handle turn. "Mu-. Pancakes!" She exclaimed when she saw the plate in her mother's hand.

Kagome laughed as she led her over to the table with them. "And they're all yours."

She didn't even get a chance to thank her mum before her face was covered in syrup as she began to devour the sweet breakfast.

Thirty minutes later, Kagome left a content Ileana playing on the floor and walked through the doors onto the terrace for breakfast. "Where have you been?" Growled Prince Inuyasha. On the table in front of him sat a steaming breakfast of crepes of different flavors, but the look on his face showed no appreciation of the delicacy in front of him. He was angry, fuming honestly.

"I had an errand to take care of." She replied with a cheeky smile. He looked her over and saw the chocolate sauce smeared over the front of her shirt. Putting the pieces together he knew she had taken food up to their daughter.

She sat down across from him and took in the food laid out before them. "May I eat some?" Her eyes were lit up at the prospect of eating Kaede's food.

"What? Yes, yes. Go ahead." He shook his head in frustration. What was he going to do with this infuriating woman in front of him? He watched her fill her plate with strawberry crepes and smother them in chocolate sauce, something other women would never think to do in front of him. They were always too concerned about their figures and his opinion to even consider it.

She went to town on the plate in front of her. Not even acknowledging his eyes on her. He wondered if their daughter was anything like her. "Prince Inuyasha." He heard timidly from the woman he was watching unabashedly. "You should eat. I heard you and your father have an important meeting today in the halls on my way back to the terrace." Her eyes were on his and a small smile pulled at her lips in the most wicked way. His pulse quickened at the turn of her lips, but he quickly pushed it away.

After that first night in the hospital, he had found himself watching her more and more. When she slept, even though she was covered in tubes, he watched her and began to see her as beautiful more and more. The way her raven hair had spread out around her head and framed her face made his breath catch. He was remembering why he opened up to her and bedded her so many years ago.

"Yes, fine." He responded after snapping out of his reverie. Kagome watched him pick up a blueberry crepe and put maple syrup on it. He was mesmerizing she had to admit.

"Kagome, when can I see my daughter?" He asked after a few mouthfuls, locking eyes with her.

She was afraid that's why he wanted to have breakfast with her. She looked away from him and looked out over the palace gardens laid out in front of them. They were gorgeous stretching out for miles behind the palace. She didn't know what to tell him. She wasn't ready for him to see her yet. Ileana was still her precious child she had shielded from him for years.

"I don't know, Inuyasha." She said, dropping his formal title. She brought her hand to her mouth and chewed on her nail softly.

"She is my daughter too, Kagome. I have every right to see her!" His voice raised just a fraction. Her eyes came back to his, slightly in shock. He looked visibly upset; she hadn't realized he felt that way about seeing Ileana.

"You're right. But I've spent her whole life hiding her from you and your life. Why should I bring her into it now just because you demand that I do?" Her face steeled as determination set it.

"Because you are going to be marrying me, whether you like it or not. She's already going to be part of my life, as you say, and so are you." Heat rose across Kagome's cheeks as he reminded her of his father's ultimatum.

Infuriated, she stood up and walked away in a huff. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" With a growl, he threw his napkin on his breakfast plate and chased after her.

She made it all the way to the stairs leading to her room before his hand caught her elbow and spun her around to face him. Her face was red and unshed tears shone at the corner of her eyes. He didn't know what to say to her now that he had caught her, he had had a whole rant he was going to spill at her, but the tears in her eyes caught him off guard. He didn't want her to cry.

Taking advantage of his hesitation, Kagome yanked her arm away. "I may have to marry you, but until then I have no obligation to introduce you to Ileana." She ran the last few meters to her room and slammed the door behind her, leaving the Prince speechless on the stairs.

Ileana sat in confusion looking at her mother shook up. "Mummy? What's wrong?" She asked in her childish voice. Kagome was leaning against the door breathing heavily, her stitches pulling in a very funny way and her broken ribs making it hurt to breath. She knew she shouldn't have ran, but she needed to get away from him. Pain radiated through her torso as she tried to catch her breath. Tears were on the verge of cascading down her face and she tried her hardest to hold them back.

"Nothing sweetheart," She said picking her up as if nothing were wrong and held her against her chest, smoothing her hair down as she sat on the window seat cradling her. Gently Ileana ran her hand down her mothers back in a comforting motion.

"It's okay Mummy, the bad men can't get us." Kagome laughed softly as her daughter tried to comfort her without knowing the reason.

"Is that right?" She asked, looking at her daughter's face.

"Uh huh. I won't let them get you. Just like you won't let them get me!" She smiled and put her hand on the side of her mum's face. "I love you Mummy."

"I love you too baby. I love you too." She kissed the top of her daughter's head while she hugged her. "Ileana, do you wish you had a Daddy?"

She shook her head and looked back at her Kagome. "Not if having a Daddy makes Mummy sad. I don't like it when Mummy's upset." Shock rocked her as she looked into her daughter's green eyes. "Can I go see Nana Mummy? She promised to braid my hair."

She nodded her head. "I'll go find her baby." She said gently, still trying to process what her daughter had said. She had never cried in front of Ileana, not once. She had always waited until long after she was in bed or when she was in the car, but she must have picked it up somehow.

With a deep breath she walked out of her room and down the corridor to find her mother, searching for the Prince with every step.

"She is so infuriating!" Inuyasha screamed as he chucked a vase across his room.

"Calm down. It is her right as a mother to keep Ileana to herself for as long as she can." Izayoi calmly said as she watched her son throw things around his room in a rage.

"Her right? Her right! I don't give a shit about her rights Mother. It is my right to see my daughter!" His face was red from shouting and his posture was tense. He looked like he could throw a punch at any moment.

"It's your fault your in the predicament, Inuyasha." She scolded. "You haven't been there for her like Kagome has, you don't know what she likes, what makes her upset, or anything. All you know is that she is your child. Kagome has been there for every bump and bruise and sore stomach. She changed every diaper and consoled every hurt feeling. She has been that child's rock and savior on more cases that one. From what Kitori tells me they've been through hell on earth trying to keep that little girl safe because she's your child." Izayoi stared at her son, anger starting to rise up in her.

Slowly, he started to calm down, his mother's words sinking in. "I'm sorry. I really am, I didn't know she was pregnant Mom. How was I supposed to? Dad found out that something had happened between us and moved her because of the engagement with Kikyo."

"I know. Your father was only doing what he thought was right for the country, and what he thought was right for you. How was he supposed to know that you had fathered a child? He knew of your deviant ways but he had no idea when he arranged your marriage to Kikyo that you had a daughter. That's why he's trying to set this right and have you marry her. Then Ileana will be your heir and you will have the rights to see her. You know this whole job would be a lot easier if you two loved each other." Her eyebrows rose as she watched her son tense.

"Love, keh. Like she would ever love me after what she's been through. I don't even know what all that is!" He threw his hands in the air and started pacing the room. Izayoi sat poised in a chair watching him.

"But could you love her?" Her eyebrows rose as the question sent a shiver through him.

Inuyasha turned and faced his mother. She knew the answer to her question before he even opened his mouth. "I think I could Mom. I know I liked her a hell of a lot when she took care of me in the past. I was lost when Dad moved her to the other part of the palace, but I don't know how she felt about me then. We never talked about our feelings, we only talked about," He paused for a second as a realization dawned on him, "Me."

Izayoi just looked at her son in a maternal way. "If you were in her position, would you let you see your daughter?"

"No." He collapsed onto the couch at the foot of his bed. "I'm probably everything she protected her from. She would have still been working here when the engagement was announced." He thought hard for a second. "It would have been the same week she left." His head lifted and met his mother's eyes. "Mom, she would have known she was pregnant then. She wouldn't have been able to do anything."

Izayoi's heart went out for the woman two doors down from them. She appreciated her for her discretion and her maturity. Even at the age of eighteen she didn't try to cause trouble in her son's life or even bring it up. Instead she tried to hide her and her daughter from the world to save him the public ridicule. She had only worked in the palace for six months, but she had learned the Takahashi's biggest rule of always looking perfect to the public. If there were no scandals there was no public discourse over their image. Inu no Taisho had worked his whole life to keep his family's image in tact that he was willing to push his son into marrying this girl so that the family's reputation would be kept in tact when the public found out about Ileana.

The girl was incredibly brave; she had to admit. Her and Kitori witnessed it briefly last night as they watched her climb the stairs. She was acting brave and eager to reach her daughter, showing no signs of pain or hesitation. It was like watching a soldier in the midst of battle, surrounded by enemies and full of fear, but showing no signs of it as they battled on. Once she had shut the door to her room, Kitori had said she had been like that since the day she had found out she was pregnant. Izayoi couldn't imagine what she had been through, or the pain she bore, but she loved her for bravery.

"You're right." She said solemnly. "She must have cared about you in some way or else she wouldn't have hidden your child, she would have told the media and collected money or at least told your Father or you."

Inuyasha shook his head. "No she wouldn't have Mom. She's too selfless. At the hospital she was in so much pain, but she refused to show me. She instead told me about how the mob had contacted her about our daughter and threatened her. She refused to take more pain medication and sent me to make sure her mother didn't bring our daughter to the hospital for fear of the media and the mob. She was so worried about the safety of everyone else that she didn't even think about the pain she was in Mom!" He was so overwhelmed by this woman. The more he talked about her the more his heart went out to her and he wanted to be around her. The connection they had had when she had been assigned to him had been exponential. It was electric and he knew it. He longed to see her every day after his day as a Prince and she was always there to welcome him home and let him spill out his problems. He realized, after evaluating everything that he had loved that girl in the past and had been too self-absorbed to realize it. He wasn't going to make that mistake again.

Izayoi wondered if Inuyasha truly understood why Kagome acted so brave in front of him, or if he was only grasping at straws in an attempt to understand her.

"Mom. I'm not losing her, or my daughter." Determination steeled his eyes for the second time today.

"That's the spirit." Izayoi smiled warmly at her son as a mischievous look crossed her eyes. "How are you going to win her over?"

"I'm going to make her my friend again." It was a soft answer, but it had worked last time and he knew it would work again. Kagome wasn't the type of girl to be swayed by pretty things, but she was someone who valued honesty and integrity. He knew that from experience. The times they were the closest were the times that they talked and he was honest with her.

"Then get out there and get to it!" She cupped her son's face and kissed his forehead gently. "Good luck, you're going to need it." Izayoi rose from her chair and walked to the door, a little smile playing at her lips. She had liked Kagome from the moment she had seen her five years ago. She had always been a happy worker and was willing to take on new challenges, that's why she had personally requested that she was assigned to Inuyasha's room. It was a shame the day she turned in her resignation paperwork, but she knew now why she had. The way she handled herself in front of her husband and son truly spoke to Izayoi of her character, and any girl who was willing to stand up to her son was truly a keeper.

She just hoped she was willing to open her heart to her son again.

Stay tuned for another chapter!

Please review! I would love to hear your opinions and they are all highly appreciated! I can't make the story any better if I don't know there's anything wrong.

I want to extend a special thanks to Ai2000 and IrisAyame, you two have truly been wonderful in terms of making me honestly think about what I'm writing and change things where it's needed. I truly appreciate you guys!