Updates! Sorry about the lateness, but life's crqazy and then I was in the U.K for a while... but I'm back! And working on stories!

Enjoy!

Delicate hands smoothed the bed spread of the guest bedroom, Rin sighing as she reminisced about how relatively recently she had done this for his younger brother. Now, there was pressure on her to make everything as perfect as she could be, wanting desperately to impress the demon's mother. Her head of black hair turned to look back at the door, half expecting Sesshomaru to appear at the door, his arms crossed and his amber eyes soft.

He had gone on trips before, leaving her alone in the house and each time she had been fine on her own though she missed him dearly. It wasn't like she needed him to function, but he did make everything seem more manageable to her, calming her nerves and giving her a strong support.

"Jaken?" Rin called, her fingers straightening her dress over her stomach and skirt as she walked towards where the imp was finishing up with organizing the demon's mail.

"What do you want!?" he squawked, Rin glaring in the direction of his voice.

While he acted with respect to Rin when Sesshomaru was around, he didn't treat her like he did the demon, not that she held any objections, her thinking of Jaken more like a friend than a servant.

"I was wondering if you're done with his office?" Rin asked, her head peering around the corner, the stack of files diminishing as Jaken slowly pulled them out from the bottom.

"Not yet!" the imp told her, "now be gone with you Rin! You're distracting me!"

"Shouldn't you be taking those things from the top of the stack?" he young woman persisted, an irritated sigh floating over the desk.

"Don't you think I know that!?" Jaken snapped, "this is more efficient! Now away with you you silly girl!"

Throwing up her hands, Rin knew better than to argue with the imp. While he'd give in to every whim of Sesshomaru's, he wouldn't listen to one thing she had to say.

The crash and screech that followed was incredibly satisfying to Rin, a content sigh expelling from her lungs as she moved towards the staircase, her feet descending the steps as she moved towards the garden. Sesshomaru's garden had always been beautiful, even when she first started working. Summers were almost perfect, them sitting outside from noon to sundown, reading books or talking endlessly about everything.

She stepped carefully to some of the swaying calla lilies, her fingers reaching to run along the smooth petals and long stems. Sesshomaru took great pride in the flowers the garden, making sure that not one had a blemish and not one weed dared grow in the soil. Rin loved walking through it, often taking some flowers from the garden into the halls for decoration if the demon had guests coming over. For his mother, bright orange Tiger lilies accented with some Spring Cress with some white Magnolia decorated some of the vases in her room and along the halls.

Fingers ran through her hair, hoping that she looked decent enough to earn the woman's approval. With Sesshomaru's father, it was fairly easy, the demon accepting of her heritage almost instantly. The demon's words about his mother's attitude made her certain that she would not be so understanding.

The crunch of gravel made her heart leap in nervousness and excitement. After one final strand of hair was readjusted, the young woman made her way to the front hall to see her demon lover entering with who Rin assumed was his mother, the demon brushing him off, insisting loudly that she can manage on her own.

"Mother-"

"I'm fine!" the demon woman snapped, "and don't drop my bags on the gravel!"

"I wasn't going too," Sesshomaru sighed deeply, clearly frustrated, his eyes looking up from his fingers pinching his brow to the young woman that came around the stairs. "Rin…"

Looking up to what caught his son's attention, Sesshomaru's mother turned her own amber eyes towards the young woman, her brows narrowing slightly.

As Rin approached, she saw where the demon inherited his appearance from, the woman possessing a crescent moon on her forehead and the sharp cheekbones her son did. Her eyes were also eerily similar to when she first met the imposing demon and her jaw was tightened slightly.

"Mother," the demon told her as calmly as he could, "this is Rin, my girlfriend," when his hand was brushed off his shoulder, he instead stepped up to the young woman, "Rin, this is my mother InuKimi."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Rin nodded with a kind smile, her hand extended for the woman to take, "Sesshomaru holds you in high regard."

The demon woman said nothing as she looked towards the hand extended to her, her brow raising slightly, the tension building with each creeping second until Jaken managed to patter to the ground floor to join them.

"Good afternoon Ms. InuKimi," Jaken murmured as he bowed lowly to the elder, "I hope you are feeling well," turning to Sesshomaru and Rin, the young woman retracting her hand to her chest, "and welcome back M'Lord."

"Thank you, Jaken," Sesshomaru murmured, his mother turning her attention to the demon that joined the three of them.

"You, imp-"

"My name's Jaken!" the other protested.

"-carry my things to my room," the demon woman continued, acting as though she hadn't heard the smaller demon, "they're out in the car."

"Yes ma'am," the other nodded, shuffling out to the vehicle to grab the first of many bags.

"And don't let them touch the driveway!" she called to the struggling imp. "Sesshomaru," his mother started, "where am I staying?"

"Um… you're-"

"I believe I asked my son," the demon woman cut in, Rin startled for a moment before she bit her tongue.

"She knows where you're staying, I don't," Sesshomaru jumped to Rin's defence, "don't snap at her like that."

His mother's response was to glare poignantly at him, her lips pressing into a thin line.

"Jaken knows where you're sleeping," Rin started at the sight of the struggling imp, "he can show you where it is."

Nodding curtly, the demon followed Jaken up the stairs towards her room, her head held high and her eyes looking away from both her son and the young woman she seemed to immediately dismissed.

"Nice to meet you," Rin mumbled, knowing that the dog demon most likely heard her but chose to ignore.

The slam was awkward as the young couple was left standing in the front hall together, the demon's head in his hands as he sighed deeply.

"How you doing?" the young woman asked as she turned to him, her hands on his chest and his moving to her arms, his eyes appearing tired.

"Alright," he told her, his hands slipping to hold her close, his nose to her locks, "better."

Nodding, Rin looked up at him, her hands reaching to run over the markings of his cheeks. Looking to her, Sesshomaru lowered his lips to meet hers, his first taste of her in what felt like forever.

"I missed you," Sesshomaru whispered, his hands pressing at the small of her back.

"I missed you too," Rin smiled up at him, "how was the trip?"

"Fine," the demon shrugged, his eyes turning away from her while she looked at him sceptically. "Horrible, actually," he concede after a moment, "my mother complained relentlessly during the flight and before it left and on the drive here," he sighed deeply, "and it's only going to get worse from here."

"I wouldn't say that-"

"I have to go speak with her about how she treated you," Sesshomaru explained more curtly than he intended too, "and she's still angry at me for being with you."

"Well… I'm sure every mother has an expectation for her child," Rin tried, the demon looking at her with his eyebrow raised.

"Regardless of her expectations, she still shouldn't treat you like that," the demon muttered, his fingers reaching for the banister, "I'll go talk to her about it now."

"Umm… sure," the young woman nodded, surprised at how distant he was behaving.

Watching his retreating back, Rin moved to the kitchen, figuring to start preparation on their dinner, though whether or not InuKimi would be joining them was another matter entirely.

"Rin."

Brown eyes turned to look up at the demon, Sesshomaru looking down at her with an almost apologetic face.

"I'll be down to talk to you as soon as I can," he promised, "I missed you."

"Yeah," Rin smiled up at him, "I missed you too."

Nodding, Sesshomaru took to the landing, his nose taking him passed Jaken on his way to gather his mother's luggage and into his mother's room where the demon woman was slipping her suitcase under the bed.

"Was there any real need to treat her like that!?" the demon snapped at his mother, the demon woman stunned for a moment before she gained her footing.

"Like what?" InuKimi asked.

"Like she didn't exist-"

"Was she upset about that?" the woman asked, "I didn't think that it was unnecessarily cruel."

"She's not upset, I am," her snapped, "could you just try and be nice to her. She's done nothing to you!"

"Sesshomaru, could you please remove those flowers from my room? They're garish to look at."

The demon stared at his mother, jaw slightly agape at the woman's attitude towards Rin.

"Mother-"

"Ms… InuKimi…"

Both demons turned to look at the struggling imp who moved into the room, three bags around his shaking body.

"Don't drop those!" InuKimi snapped, "place them underneath the bed with the others."

"Shouldn't you unpack?" Sesshomaru asked.

"I won't be staring long," the demon woman reiterated, "I thought I told you that?"

"You're staying here until you're better," her son told her, "that's what the doctor told you."

"They don't always know everything-"

"And while you're here I ask that you be courteous to Rin," Sesshomaru finished, "she's being kind to you-"

"Why do you need to defend her?" InuKimi asked, her head held high, "is she incapable of defending herself?"

"She is more than capable," the demon told his mother, "however, she seeks your approval and doesn't want to upset you."

"Well you're doing her no favours jumping to her defence like that," the woman pressed, her hands digging through her large purse, "here," she told him, handing out two sheets of paper, "this is for your cook. They're my dietary needs."

"I don't employ a cook mother," Sesshomaru explained as he took the pages from her, "Rin prepares our meals."

At this the demon's eyebrows rose, his jaw tightening one again, the demon surprised that she hadn't ground her teeth to a fine powder.

"Well then," she swallowed thickly, "you might want to rethink that as I'm not sure she can cook to my standards."

Holding his tongue, Sesshomaru moved towards the door, leaving his mother alone as she began searching for her laptop and cell phone, Jaken tottering behind him.

"Milord," the imp started, "is it wise to leave your mother alone?"

"She'll be fine," the demon told him, "back to your work."

"Yes sir!" Jaken bowed before his feet pattered towards the demon's office, Sesshomaru sighing as he glanced to the paper his mother handed him, groaning at how much extra work there needed to be done.

His mother had found everything and anything to complain about, Rin surprisingly not being one of the topics, though now the demon knew why. It appeared she was determined to act as though she didn't exist, to pretend as if Rin was nothing more than a temporary thing. Sesshomaru's breathing deepened as he calmed himself from those thoughts, feeling determined that his mother wouldn't destroy his final shred of sanity.

"Rin?" Sesshomaru called as he slipped into the kitchen, grateful to see her behind the counter, her head turning to him when she heard her name called.

"How's your mother doing? Is she settling in alright?" Rin asked before returning to the carrots she was slicing, unaware of the demon who stepped up behind her to slip his arms around her waist, his nose to her hair. "Sesshomaru!?"

"I just missed you," he repeated, his lungs expelling a deep sigh, the woman reaching to touch the back of his hands.

"I figured as much," the young woman smiling up at him, "but you look like you really need a good night's sleep. Why don't you take a nap?"

"I'll be alright," Sesshomaru brushed off, "I can stay up for a little while longer."

"If you're sure…"

"I am," he promised, Rin turning in his arms to look up at him, her body standing on tiptoe to kiss his lips, the demon responding chastely. "I'm sorry about my mother," he whispered once they parted, "she's been in a mood since she found out."

"It's alright," she told him, "I'm not hurt, I promise."

"If you insist-"

"What is that?"

The demon looked down at what had caught her attention, the white sheets still caught between his fingers.

"That is my mother's dietary needs," the demon explained, "here."

"Low salt, no trans-fat, minimum bad cholesterol," Rin read aloud after taking the paper from him, "this doesn't seem so bad…"

"That's just the list from her doctor," Sesshomaru grumbled, a second piece of paper held out to her, "this is from her dietician."

"She has a dietician?" the young woman asked, puzzled as she looked over the other list, her eyes widening at the sight, "no cream, no fatty meats, no red meat, no chocolate, no sugar, little starch, low carbs, no more than a teaspoon of salt daily" she looked to the demon, "so if I combine these two lists, she'll be having nothing but water and broth."

"Just water," the demon muttered, "broth has too much salt."

"Should she even be on a diet?" Rin asked, "did the doctor approve this?"

"The doctor thought it was her stress that caused the clot, not her diet," Sesshomaru explained, "and she doesn't, or won't, want to defer from her own diet."

"So… how am I supposed to…"

"I can hire a chef to prepare her meals," he told her, "but other than that, I don't know."

Closing her lips, Rin glanced once more to the list, wondering what she could do for his mother.

"I guess… I can try for a bit," she murmured, "I can't guarantee it'll be perfect though."

"It doesn't have to be," the demon whispered, his fingers running over her cheek, "and I promise, I'll be here to help you."

"Good," Rin smiled at him, "because I think this is going to be another rough ride."

So? Reviews please!