Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha. But I will one day.

Chapter 17: Sweet Baby of Mine Part I

"But Sango, dearest, would you really wish something like that on your dear husband? I mean, InuYasha is a great friend and all, but when you step in between him and Kagome, and all other friendly connections are lost." Miroku held his staff with unsteady hands as he pleaded with Sango for his very life.

"Miroku, he's not going to kill you." Sango herself looked about ready to bust a vein. "Kagome wants some girl time, and that's what she's going to get. Having you pathetic excuses for men lolling around all day, acting like we can't do anything for ourselves, WE NEED TIME ALONE TOO!"

"But Sango…" he continued to whine.

"Just keep him busy for the next couple of hours. Makoto and Shippou are going to help you so it's not like you're going to be in on it all alone. Please?"

After a bit of trouble, taken care of by Kagome's 'sit' command; Sango, Kagome, Kita, Mai, and Tani were lazily sitting in the open meadow overlooking the village while Miroku, Makoto, and Shippou watched a very worried hanyou pace the floor of the hut while the kids played outside with Kirara.

"Still, not much is known about hanyou pregnancies. I don't know what's normal or what's not. You just have to go day by day to find out." Kagome rubbed her belly.

"I'm a bit scared, and though he doesn't want to admit it, I think Shippou is too. What if I'm not a good mother? I know he'll make a great father, but…"

"But nothing." Kagome smiled. "The first one is the experiment," she said slyly, "that's why you have more. After that you know what to do and what not to do." Kita and Tani looked horrified before both Sango and Kagome fell over laughing, realizing it was just a joke. "You'll know what to do when the time comes."

"It'll be easier on you than it was for Kagome and me, anyway. We didn't know the first thing about raising children, and our mothers weren't around anymore to help us. Keade helped as much as she could, but there's nothing like having someone with first hand experience there to guide you." Sango and Kagome looked at each other with small grins. Sango had lost her mother when she was still young, and Kagome of course lost hers when the well was sealed so many years ago. Keade had left them shortly after the birth of Sango's third baby. They remember the sadness of that night. She and Kagome had cried all that afternoon. Shippou had been extremely emotional, losing yet anther family member. Miroku took charge of the ceremony, though he wasn't an official monk anymore. InuYasha… he had his own way of dealing with the loss, just as he always had.

"I've never heard you talk of your mother, Kagome." Tani broke the two from their thoughts.

"Well, she always had a knack for knowing things about me that I had yet to figure out myself. She was the only one who could ever keep Grandpa in line. I swear if it wasn't for her I'd be sitting at home covered with imp's claws and ofuda and kami knows what else hanging from around my neck." She laughed. "Grandpa was always worried when I left. Him and mama and Souta. He'd be so grown up now. Off to college, no doubt, unless gramps finally talked him into becoming a priest, which I highly doubt. Souta was never fooled by gamps' gibberish either, and mama would just ignore it like the rest of us."

"Kohaku would be around the same age." Sango spoke up with a slight frown. "I still don't know what ever happened to him, but I guess we all really know. When we killed Naraku, he had most of the jewels, and apparently the one that belonged to my brother."

"Oh, Sango, Kagome… both of you have been through so much. How can you go on after losing so much?" Tani's eyes started to tear and Mai placed a hand on her mother's shoulder, but the two women smiled.

"Time goes by, and you still have memories of brighter days." Sango replied.

"You realize you still have people who love you, and even if they're not your real family, they're there for you just the same."

"Miroku, though a little careless at times, always has the right words to say."

"And though InuYasha isn't that good with words, he expresses himself in actions and looks."

"But it's never one sided. Miroku had lost loved ones, too. And sometimes he's still afraid the wind tunnel will return."

"InuYasha always fears his youkai blood will take control again, and though he would deny it, I can tell he still thinks of his mother from time to time. Tani, Mai, Kita…" she took time to look all three directly in the eyes as she called their names. "You have found the ones you are happy with. If you're already having pups, or just getting use to marriage, or just starting out, you know he's the one because you couldn't have it any other way."

"It's just…right." All five girls smiled, lost in their own thoughts.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starved!" Kagome broke the silence opening the basket they had brought with them and started pulling out the food. She and Tani were the first ones to dig in, the others being kind enough to let the pregnant ladies to go first, or were too scared of pulling back with missing fingers. Especially with Kagome, who grew to having InuYasha's appetite plus some with the twins.

"Augh. I think I ate too much." Kagome leaned back in the grass holding and patting her stomach. "If I get any bigger InuYasha will just have to roll me around. And if they keep kicking I'm not going to have a kidney or a bladder."

"You have to go again?"

"Yep." She sat up with the help of Sango and Tani and was led off to her hut.

"So Kita, you plan on sticking around for awhile?" Mai questioned when the two were alone.

"I guess. I don't really have anywhere else to go. Besides, I really like it here. Even the humans in the village don't really seem to mind too much."

Mai laughed. "They have no reason to. InuYasha and Makoto have protected the village from youkai for years. Makoto's a great guy, you know. He can be a big pain sometimes, but what little cousin isn't? And he's fallen for you big time." She winked.

"How do you know?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? He wants you to stay here, he's said that enough. All he does is think about you. And you know what? I think he's lucky to have found you. He wasn't so lucky in the past, but now I think he's finally found the right one, if you give him a chance." Kita blushed and returned to her thoughts, but was momentarily interrupted by Sango's yells from the path.

"Kita! Mai! Kagome's having the babies!"

"Should I go get InuYasha?"

"No, I sent Tani back to get them already. I'll need you Kita, and Mai to help me so step on it!"

Inside the hut Kita's senses where going off the wall. The smells and sounds were all new to her. Mai busied herself with gathering clean cloths and filling a bowl of water to place beside Kagome, who was settled on her futon breathing strangely. Sango was propping her legs up on the fluffy pillows at the foot of the futon while barking out orders out to Mai.

"Sango, this one's coming fast. Where's InuYasha?"

"He's coming, Kagome. He'll be right outside the door waiting on you."

"I need him here now…"

"Kagome!" InuYasha burst through the door and ran straight past Kita and right by his mate's side, instantly grabbing hold of her hand. "I'm here, Kagome."

"InuYasha."

"Keh." He grinned. "What did I tell you wench? As soon as you're out of my sight you go into labor. Next time we do this my way." Kagome nodded absentmindedly and held onto InuYasha's hand for dear life as she was hit with another wave of pain.

"Okaa?" Makoto and Shippou stepped in.

"She's fine. Wait outside." They obeyed InuYasha's orders and slowly walked back out. Makoto glanced at Kita and nodded before disappearing out the door.

"You're going to have to leave now, too InuYasha." InuYasha nodded and pulled Sango to the side to whisper. "It's not time yet. The pups still have three more weeks."

"Sometimes babies come early, InuYasha. It's perfectly natural."

He shook his head. "Not for youkai pups. It's important that they come to full term. Human's grow slower, but have plenty of time for it. Youkai grow fast, and in a short amount of time. Three weeks might as well be three months to some."

Sango nodded. "I'll do what I can InuYasha." He turned around and left silently. Now with the men safely outside, Sango turned her attention back to Kagome and the babies. A few hours later her contractions were only five minutes apart, and becoming much more intense. Sango and the others started to get more and more worried as seconds passed and the babies showed no move to come out, until finally…

"Here's the first one Kagome, one more push!" Kagome strained and pushed with all her might, a soft cry became her reward. "It's a little boy, Kagome, and he's a cute one." Sango wiped the crying infant clean and wrapped him in a blanket, handing the bundle to Kita. The she-wolf in turn tilted the pup toward Kagome, allowing her to see her new little boy for the first time. He had his eyes squeezed shut and his face was beet-red from his wailing. Sango was happy to see the first baby was healthy, despite InuYasha's worried remarks from earlier. Ten fingers, ten toes, two fuzzy ears, and lungs that will probably be driving them all insane in the upcoming months to come.

"Shhh, Okaa's here." Kagome cooed. The pup flicked his ears toward her and his cries died down to short sobs.

"Take him to InuYasha, the next one is coming already." Kita obeyed and returned shortly. Kagome was on the verge of screaming again, Mai wiping the sweat off her forehead with a cooled cloth and Sango coaching her on. Then Sango became tense. "Kagome, you are going to have to push as hard as you can. The baby has to come out now." She tried to keep her voice calm.

"Sango, what's wrong?"

"I see the baby's feet, it's coming backwards. I know you're tired Kagome, but you're gonna have to push with everything you've got." Kagome nodded. "On the count of three, One,… two,… three!" Kagome pushed with every ounce of strength she had left. "Harder Kagome! It's coming!"

"I…I can't, Sango…"

"You have to Kagome, or the baby is going to die!" Sango didn't want to mention it, but she was getting desperate. For every second the baby was stuck, that was another second it was without being able to breathe. Agonizing minutes passed, still with no further progress. Sango was getting worried. Kagome was getting weaker by the moment. She had turned pale and was soaked in sweat. She kept Mai and Kita on either side of Kagome to wipe away the perspiration and make sure she didn't pass out before the baby was born. Then with one final push and a scream the little girl fell into Sango's arms. Kagome took a deep breath, thankful that it was finally over, but her joy was short-lived. She struggled to sit up only to be held down by Mai and Kita's gentle hands.

"Sango, why isn't she crying?" she croaked out.

"She's not breathing, Kagome. Wh-what do I do?"

Kagome sobbed but forced herself to calm enough to answer. "Use two fingers, massage just above her heart. Alternate that and gently blowing into her mouth with her nose pinched shut." Another few minutes passed by with no change in the pup. Tani stroked Kagome's hair, while Mai squeezed her hand. Kita couldn't do anything. She was frozen to the spot. Had she just witnessed the death of an innocent newborn pup? The smell was covered by blood, and sweat, and all the upset and tears from the others in the room. Sango sighed and covered the little girl with a blanket. Kita patted Kagome gently on the shoulder as the miko wailed out her sorrow.

"S…Sango?" Sango looked up to see InuYasha staring down at her with the other pup tucked safely in his arms. His ears were completely flattened on top of his head as he walked into the room. "Sango…what's wrong with Kagome? Is the pup alright?"

"It…it's a girl." Sango gave a weak smile as Kagome's sobs continued. "She…didn't make it."

A/N:

OMG…I can't believe I just did that…I killed one of the pups… TT

Don't kill me…I have to finish the rest of the story first…

www dot freewebs dot com / kachiki (underscore) tsucasa

go there for fanart, reviewer points, ect… ect…

:groans: …and someone keep InuYasha from killing me. I think he hates me now. TT