A/N: Hi guys! I'm glad you love the story! I hope your holiday season is going well! Sorry for the short chapter!

Anyhow, I don't own any of the characters. And I hope that you enjoy the story!

8

"Nana!" Ileana called about five minutes later. Kagome turned and saw her mother and Izayoi come into the parlor with trays of cookies and tea in their hands. The two women looked a bit surprised to see Sesshomaru sitting next to her.

"Sesshomaru, what I pleasant surprise. We weren't expecting you home for another couple days." Izayoi said warmly as she placed her tray on the coffee table in front of the pair.

Rising to his feet, he wrapped his arms around his mother with a smile. He towered above Izayoi's tiny frame. "I thought I would surprise you, truth be told I was the one who received the surprise." He glanced over at Kagome as he spoke.

Kagome rose as well and walked over to her mother who was sitting with Ileana. "Hi Mum." She said, kissing her cheek in welcome.

Ileana was beaming at her grandmother as she clamored up on her lap. Kitori looked at Kagome questioningly, she didn't doubt her daughter's judgment, but she was surprised to find her in Sesshomaru's company with Ileana. "We ran into him in the hall, and I figured he had already seen her so there was no point in ushering her away when she was so excited to get out of the room." Answering her mother's unasked question. She nodded with a smile and was pleased that her daughter was genuinely smiling for the first time in days.

"I told Izayoi she could come and meet Ileana. She has been dying to meet her, and as a grandmother, I was struggling to keep her away." Kitori smiled at her daughter who didn't look at all surprised.

"That's fine, Mum. You're right, I don't think I could have kept her away this long either." Kagome giggled and held her arms out for Ileana. "Ileana, I have someone I want you to meet." Climbing softly into Kagome's arms, she obeyed her mother unquestioningly.

"Izayoi, I want you to meet someone really special." Kitori said warmly as her and Kagome stood together and walked around the couch. Izayoi and Sesshomaru were standing near the windows that looked onto the garden talking, but stopped instantly as the Higurashi women walked closer.

No one could deny the light that lit up Izayoi's eyes as she took in her granddaughter for the first time.

"Ileana," Kagome said with a warm smile, "This woman is your other Nana." Ileana looked between Sesshomaru and Izayoi, her eyes questioning.

"If you're my Nana, that means your Uncle Sesshy's mummy, but you don't have silver hair like us." Everyone laughed at Ileana's statement. Izayoi was almost in hysterics over her nickname for her son.

"You're right, Ileana. We don't have the same hair colour. That's because his Daddy is the one with silver hair." Ileana smiled in understanding.

Ileana took to Izayoi immediately, and vice versa. Kagome quickly relinquished her hold on her daughter to her paternal grandmother. They were both full of giggles as Izayoi carried her over the couch and began talking to her.

Sesshomaru watched the two with soft eyes. "You've just made my Mom the happiest woman in the world." He said warmly.

"I know." Kagome said coming to stand by him while her mother joined Izayoi and Ileana on the couch. "She deserves to enjoy time with her, just like my mom."

"When will her father deserve to enjoy time with her?" He glanced at her sideways as she went rigid.

"I don't know." She spoke honestly. "I don't really have any reason to keep her from him anymore. He already knows about her. I guess I was just waiting for it to feel right." She looked at the floor, slightly ashamed. She could feel tears building up inside of her but she could exactly place her finger on why. Maybe it was the beauty of seeing Ileana laugh with her grandmothers, or maybe it was because she felt guilty for keeping her from her father.

"Kagome," He whispered in her ear. "I'm not going to let anything happen to either one of you. I promise. You have nothing to fear from letting my little brother meet his daughter. I'm not just saying this because I love my brother, but because I know it's killing him to not see her. I know you don't know me yet, nor do you have reason to trust me, but I know you won't regret the smile that lights his face when he meets her."

Sesshomaru's warm breath on her ear sent shivers down her spine, but not because of the intimacy. It was because of his words. She watched the two women tickling Ileana, but in her mind it was Inuyasha. She could finally pinpoint the reason she was so upset, and it was because she felt guilty. She didn't even have a grudge against him, or an honest reason to keep him from his daughter. She had only done it because she was selfish, and didn't want to share Ileana with him. She had spent four years protecting her and she still wasn't ready to share her.

Sesshomaru knew she was upset; he could se the rigidness in her body. "Go take a moment to yourself, you're looking a little bit pale. If anyone asks I'll tell them you went to the toilet." He nudged her softly, careful to not cause her pain.

Kagome nodded her head in thanks and quietly snuck out of the room. The tears she was holding in began streaming down her face before she even got out the door. She sobbed quietly, her breath hitching. Her thoughts were an incoherent jumble as she tried to process what she was feeling. She knew she felt absolutely awful; Inuyasha hadn't done anything to deserve how she was treating him. He was a prince who had a country to rule and she knew it. He hadn't said or done anything to anger her or upset her, but maybe that was the exact reason she had been upset. Her emotions were a rollercoaster as she collapsed against the wall in near hysterics. Everything felt like it was crushing her and she hurt. Her stitches had slowly been coming undone throughout the course of the last two days and her head throbbed. It felt impossible to keep up her façade.

"Kagome!" A distant voice shouted as she collapsed to the floor, darkness enveloping her.

Stay tuned for another chapter!