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

Chapter 18: Sweet Baby of Mine Part II

"That stupid, pathetic human, little wench!" InuYasha mumbled, digging himself out of the hole he had dug himself into and taking the time to send an evil glare in the direction his mate had stomped off while dusting off his kimono. "Promise me she'd say in bed. Keh. Yea, right. 'Just a little walk' she says. 'The others will be with me' she says. KEH! Does whatever she wants whenever she wants. KEH!"

"I did warn you, InuYasha. But no, big hanyou has to go have his say in it, and get me into trouble too." Miroku sat rubbing his red cheek.

"I didn't tell you to grope Sango, you hentai!"

"But you did tell me to keep the other ladies out of it, so I assumed you meant by any means necessary." Miroku growled back. He stood up and straightened his robes. "Now, unless you have any more bright ideas, I am going back to the hut with what little dignity I have left and calmly wait for Sango's return."

Back in the hut, Makoto and Shippou didn't even have to ask what had happened. The look on both InuYasha and Miroku's faces said it all. InuYasha sat himself in his usual corner and proceeded in his mumblings and pouts. Makoto, Shippou, and Miroku listened to InuYasha's mumbling for the better half of an hour before the three tired of his griping and walked outside with the girls. Miroku entertained himself by riding little Yumi on his shoulders and dragging Hana on one of his legs. Cho sat next to the hut rubbing Kirara's ears. With the lecher busy, Shippou and Makoto sat down in the grass and laid back.

It wasn't long before Shippou noticed the smirk across his brother's face, and with little thought, knew exactly what was going through his head. "You really like this one, don't you?"

"Hm?"

"The girl, Kita."

Makoto glared. "Don't start that again, it's none of your business!"

"I'm not looking to argue, it's just a simple question that only needs a simple answer."

Makoto continued his glare, but his features softened. "So what if I do? She's staying here, so we'll have plenty of time to worry about it."

Shippou grinned. "She is pretty, and nice."

"I know." Makoto agreed with a lopsided smirk.

"Keh. Let's get one thing straight, pup. If you're thinking what I think you're thinking…well then…just don't think it." InuYasha sat across from his boys in his signature crossed legs/crossed arms position.

"Oyaji…" Makoto called angrily.

"Shut-up and listen, Makoto. That little she-wolf has been through more then you can ever imagine. She's scared, confused, and it's true you help her. But, she's not ready for anything like that, not now. Give her time to heal, get use to being here. The last thing she needs if for you to confuse her more." He looked up to be greeted by three sets of blank stares. "…what?"

"Well, InuYasha, it seems you have finally gained some wisdom from staying by my side all these years." Miroku replied patting him on the back. "Though spoken in your own way, of course."

InuYasha growled and let off a loose punch toward Miroku, which was easily dodged. "I don't know what you're talking about monk."

"InuYasha-sama!" Tani fell to her knees panting. Shippou rushed over and grabbed her by the shoulders. "InuYa-sha…" she said between deep breaths, "-gome, pups, NOW!" All sets of eyes were now focused on him. He felt as if a rock had just been dropped into the pit of his stomach.

"Where is she?" he asked forcefully.

"Sango…village…hut…" the human gasped out.

InuYasha and Makoto dashed through the air with all the speed they could muster toward Miroku and Sango's hut in the village. Shippou lifted Tani onto his back and soon followed, leaving Miroku and his girls bringing up the rear on Kirara. It's too early, the pups still have at least three weeks to go…they can't come now! InuYasha thought as his speed increased. No matter how fast he was traveling, he couldn't move fast enough to satisfy his rush. Finally the hut was in his sight.

"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." He gazed down at her. She was already starting to sweat, and in terrible pain already. Then reality hit him. The pups were coming, whether they were ready or not.

"InuYasha." Kagome seemed to sigh his name in relief.

"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. It took all InuYasha had to hold in his whimper.

"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 thought about telling the exterminator off for trying to make him leave, but instead 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."

Sango nodded. "I'll do what I can InuYasha." He turned around and left silently, glancing back for one last look at Kagome. Outside villagers had already started to gather, whispering among themselves. Makoto and Shippou stood worriedly leaning against the wall of the hut. Shippou's tail was swishing and flicking nervously, Makoto's ears flat and twitching. Miroku had just arrived and was already pulling out ofuda and sticking them to the hut. InuYasha would have smirked at the large pile of the spiritual papers the ex-monk had brought with him, if he wasn't so worried about Kagome.

He sighed, picking a nice spot right next to the door and sat down, keeping his ears tuned in to everything going on inside the hut. There was a bunch of scurrying around by the other women in the hut. His heart ached every time Kagome was hit with another contraction, so in tune with her he could almost feel the pain himself. He stood up and started pacing. It was taking too long. InuYasha was never really that patient of a guy, and when he was worried he was even less so.

Makoto and Shippou followed InuYasha's pacing with their eyes, watching him walk back and forth, stopping every once in awhile to glance back at the door which was now covered from top to bottom with Miroku's ofuda. Yumi had already gotten bored and had fallen asleep lying against Kirara. Cho and Hana were waiting quietly, plucking up pieces of grass from the ground and throwing them into the wind.

An hour passed. Then two. InuYasha had already worn a path in the dirt from his pacing. Occasionally he would stop, turn to face the doorway, sigh, and go back to his pacing. Miroku had already put up a second layer of ofuda for the hanyou's nerves. If Sango had been outside to see the papers stuck to the outside of her hut, she would have strangled both of them. Another hour passed.

"What's taking so long! I thought it was supposed to get easier!" InuYasha grumbled. This can't be good, this can't be good, this CAN'T be good… His mind kept telling him as he continued his pacing. The others could only look on at the hanyou who could only be described as a nervous wreck.

Finally two hanyou and a youkai jumped at the sound of crying from the hut. InuYasha's eyes were glued to the door fixture, ears standing up on end listening to every sound. The crying stopped, and out walked the she-wolf with a little pup wrapped in a blanket. "It's a boy."

InuYasha just gulped as he nodded and stared at his new son. He slowly reached out his arms and took the pup. With amazing gentleness he tucked the pup in the crook of his arms and smirked. The pup looked back at him through golden eyes and yawned, showing off his small fangs. He seemed to look around at his new surroundings with great interest, mainly at InuYasha and Makoto, who were instantly registered as family to the pup's senses. He squirmed a bit, however, when his gaze landed on the others. He let out a soft whimper and turned back to InuYasha.

"Oi. What are you looking at, huh?" he smirked. He sighed in deep relief. The pup's heartbeat, his breathing, his senses, they were all working and steady. It seemed like being born early wasn't going to affect the pups, just as Sango had said. But there was still one more pup to go. The boy in his arms gurgled for attention, which InuYasha was more than happy to do. He leaded over and nuzzled his son's nose with his own, running a gentle claw over the pups head in his black hair and across his silver ears.

"Oyaji…?" Makoto questioned, taking a step forward. InuYasha nodded and tilted his arms for everyone else to see. "He's so small." He awed over the pup. The pup gazed at him a bit longer before turning his head into InuYasha's kimono, gripping the cloth with his tiny fists, and closed his eyes with another yawn.

With the pup nestled safely in his arms, InuYasha settled back down in front of the hut and once again tuned his senses to the events going on inside. A wave of desperation and anxiety hit him full force as his hanyou senses wrapped around his mate. Something wasn't right… something was going on. InuYasha listened in, but everyone was quiet inside. Minutes passed, and only a few whimpers and coachings were heard from the room. His and Makoto's ears flattened when Kagome let out the worst scream yet. And then, everything was quiet again.

The words that InuYasha heard next froze him to the spot. His pup wasn't breathing. Sango was trying to make it wake up, with Kagome telling her how, but his pup wasn't breathing. He snuggled the other closer to his chest, ignoring the fearful looks from Makoto and Shippou who had also heard the conversation going on inside. Shippou sighed heavily and walked over to Miroku, whispering. Miroku's eyes lit up before he too was gazing at InuYasha with sadness. Then they all heard the saddest wail they had ever heard coming from Kagome inside. InuYasha forced himself to enter the hut.

"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."

InuYasha handed the boy-pup gently to his mother, kissing both lovingly on the forehead, and picked up the other pup from Sango's arms. "Show me how." He indicated to the exterminator.

"InuYasha, I don't think…"

"Show me how!" his voice cracked. He wasn't ready to give up his pup just yet. Sango had tried, but maybe it would be different for him. Maybe he could still save his pup. The exterminator sighed and showed him exactly how Kagome told her to breathe into the pup's mouth. It could have been minutes, hours, days even, but InuYasha didn't care. The pup in Kagome's arms had awakened and started to cry and whine, feeling the upset and tension lingering thick in the room from his family. Kagome was cradling him tight against her, shushing him and whispering softly into his ears. Sango, Kita, Mai, and Tani looked helplessly on as the hanyou tried desperately to bring his pup back to life.

How could this happen? After he had worked so hard to protect his family, now this was happening. He was losing his little girl. An innocent, beautiful little girl. So weak and frail-looking. Didn't even have a chance to take her first breath. He couldn't even protect her… No. He couldn't let this happen. He couldn't let it happen to his pup, he couldn't let it happen to him, and he couldn't let it happen to Kagome. He doubled his effort. Breathing into the pup's mouth and gently pumping at its heart. The pup's hands were getting colder and colder, as she was slowly slipping away.

"Come on, baby girl," he breathed into her mouth, "wake up. We want to see what color those eyes are, but you have to open them yourself…WAKE UP!"

By this time Shippou, Makoto, and Miroku had silently stepped in to offer as much support as they could. At the sight of InuYasha franticly working on the pup, the hut became really gloomy, really fast. Now, during the many years Shippou, Miroku, Sango, and Kagome had known InuYasha most of them had only seen him cry once, and then shedding only a few tears. That was nothing compared to the sadness in the hanyou's eyes when he had finally seemed to start accepting the reality of the situation. He was letting the tears fall freely, Makoto didn't even think he realized they were there.

Slowly he stood from his position on the floor, the pup limp and growing cold in his arms. For a few seconds it seemed like he didn't know what to do. He walked toward the others, opened his mouth as if to speak, then turned back around without a word said. He walked over to his corner and fell to his knees. The others looked at each other, trying to figure out what to do. All eyes were on the inu-hanyou and his pup.

InuYasha threw his head back and let out a cry that seem to be a cross between a growl and a howl. Anguish. That's the only word the others could think of to describe the sound. Complete anguish from loosing a child that had yet to begin to live. Anguish from the father, who had already lost so much. Anguish from the mother, who should never have to burry her own child. Anguish from the brothers, not about to stand seeing their so strong of parents broken. Anguish from the friends, who could only hope that one day they could all be happy again.

Makoto couldn't take it anymore. He sniffled and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, storming out the door as quickly as his legs could carry him. Kita bowed to the others and followed silently behind. Miroku and Sango looked at each other just before Sango leaped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Miroku in turn pulled her even closer, putting his lips close to her ear and whispering to her gently. Tani had her back turned to the scene, one had on her stomach, the other tightly grasping Shippou's haori, her face buried in the cloth as she sobbed.

Kagome set the now sleeping baby boy into the prepared basket beside her. "InuYasha… I want to hold her, please?"

A/N:

:Ducks and hides:

I know, I know. TWO angsty chapters in a row… I'm a bad Inu fan… TT

This was supposed to be the last part of "Sweet Baby of Mine", but… I guess I'm not ready to let go yet. Gotta give my characters a bit more time, a few more things need to be said and done.

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