Disclaimer: I STILL don't own aforementioned hanyou…or his friends, enemies, love interests, siblings, or acquaintances…this said, I trudge on to another chapter of SBS…ENJOY!

Secrets Beneath the Surface

Baby Steps

Kagome moaned in discomfort as she shifted on what appeared to be a bed. Funny, she thought groggily as she struggled for the consciousness she felt on the edges of her mind, I don't remember falling asleep on a bed. She listened as something beeped rather close to her head and suddenly remembered why she was here. Well, at least the pain has ebbed considerably. She thought wryly as she finally realized she was probably in the hospital after her little trip to her brother's apartment. Thoughts focused momentarily on her brother, she wet her parched throat the best she could with her tongue and attempted to speak. "Souta?" she asked, only to be answered with a harsh laugh she knew was not her brothers, but belonged to a friend nonetheless.

"Kouga" she replied weakly, though her appreciation for his presence reached out to him in her tone. He smiled as she turned to face him, her eyes slowly opening as she turned his head and gave him a soft smile. "Thank you for being here. I didn't want to…wake alone." She said, a blush reddening her face as she tugged the blanket over she shoulders.

Kouga laughed again, "No problem, Kagome; you're like a sister to me, you know that.' He said as he inched closer to the bed and sat in the chair next to her with a sigh.

Kagome glanced at him as he situated himself in the chair. Her stomach dropped as she noticed he was still wearing the lab coat he obviously worked in. She cleared her throat before deciding to speak again. "You're here for more than emotional support aren't you, Kouga?" She asked quietly as she stared up at the ceiling. She didn't need to watch Kouga's reaction to know she had hit the nail on the head with her question. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves before she spoke again. "Kouga, what's wrong with me? What's wrong with my baby?" she asked in what she hoped was a calm, emotionless voice, but even she could even hear the tremor that betrayed her true worry over the situation.

Kouga pinned her with his "I'm the doctor, so listen to me look," before he spoke. "Kagome, you're having twins. You are human, that enough is clear, and by what you and Souta have told me the father is demon, correct." Kagome nodded slowly, knowing that what she was about to hear was not something she was going to like in the least. Kouga continued, "Kagome, your children are full demon and are developing as such. For only being three months along, your children are at the developmental stage of a four maybe five month human child. Full demon children require their father's attention to survive until birth. If the father isn't present, Kagome, their claws will rip the mother open, and the mother and child won't survive. The blood loss and the pain you felt earlier were the beginning signs of their need for their father. Right now, I can stand in as a father as can any other male demon, but within the next month the children will know that I am not and the pain will start again, only this time they will be developed enough to do lasting damage. Kagome, you need to contact the father and get him here. You are too far along to travel back to Japan, but he needs to get here ASAP to keep you and the children out of potential danger." He explained. He watched as Kagome closed her eyes and tears dripped down her face.

"I can't." she said barely above a whisper. "He already has a family; I would just cause a problem." She said as she turned away. "Why didn't this happen with Rin?" she asked as she stared out the window despondently. "They share the same father." She whispered, willing the tears to just go away as she sniffled.

"Kagome, your twins are male, and if the genitor has yet to produce an heir, a male child, the first male child will be demon to carry on the family legacy, be the mother of a human or a demon blood. Since you hold twins, the heir will be the firstborn, but they will both be full-blooded males." He said with a shrug as he placed his hand supportively on her shoulder.

After a few minutes of silence, Kagome stirred, turning to look at Kouga from his spot in the chair. "So, what happens now?" she asked.

"Well, until you can get the father to come out here to stay until after the birth, Souta and I have decided you should stay with us."

"Are you sure?" she asked as she shifted to a more comfortable position on the bed. Kouga merely nodded.

"We insist." He said as he walked to the door. "I'll be back in a little bit to check on you, and so will Souta. He'll take you home at the end of his shift, so it'll be a couple of hours. As long as you have a male demon around you for varying intervals during the day, you and the pups should be okay. Yell if you need anything, okay?" he asked as he headed out the door with a comforting smile and a wave.

Kagome shook her head as she rubbed her swollen abdomen affectionately with her hand, "You aren't even out of your mommy's tummy and you're already causing trouble." She said with a tired sigh and a sad, troubled smile. She looked at her cell phone sitting innocently on the table beside her and sighed again as she closed her eyes. Maybe a nap would give her the clarity and the strength to do what she knew had to be done…for the sake of her children. Slowly, Kagome's breathing evened out and sleep, dreamless and deep, claimed her.

Sesshoumaru quietly stalked into his daughter's room, intent on waking the child up in a fit of giggles; his fingers were curled inward, ready for a tickling session. Standing before Rin, only a few, thick black tendrils of hair peeking from underneath the blanket and a five-year-old-child sized lump was evidence she was even there.

Suddenly, an evil grin plastered on his face, (very unlike Sesshoumaru) hands darted out and began mercilessly tickling the lump…and it immediately squealed and writhed under the quilt.

"Daddy…daddy…stop…Rin is awake!" she squealed excitedly as her head, a big grin stretched wide on her face, popped out from under the blanket. Sesshoumaru froze as he stared at the child before him as if she was a stranger. Atop her head lay two silver triangular squares…atop her head, amongst tangled heaps of black hair, his supposed full-demon daughter had dog ears.

Author's Note: Well, this chapter was VERY important to the story as you can see…I hope the whole idea of full demon heir thing was original enough for you…I wanted a reason other than her miko blood… So, what will Kagome do now? Why have Rin's ears shown up at this time? What will Sesshoumaru do? Will Kagome get Sesshoumaru to come to her and help her and the babies? Will he find out that Rin is actually Kagome's child? But the most important question of all is…When will that wind bitch get what's coming to her?! Well, find out in future chapters of Secrets Beneath the Surface!! Please remember to review as it makes me update sooner! Love you all! TTYL Sesshy's Rose