Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters

Chapter 2:

He was just going to rest for a moment, but the next thing he knew he could feel the sun rising, and he woke feeling fully rested. He hadn't slept well for years, but one night back with her and he slept like the dead. She was still sleeping, her body relaxed and her heartbeat slow and steady. He was curled next to her side, his arm flung across her waist, and her head tucked against his shoulder. Her shirt had ridden up a little while they slept, and for a moment he could feel his heart breaking all over again. A light scar cut it's way across her side from under her shirt.

He hadn't thought about scars, and it hit him hard. When she killed Naraku she had been so hurt, and she would bear the marks till the day she died. It was all his fault. He hadn't protected her. He tightened his hand into a fist, trying not to let the rest of his body tense and maybe wake her up.

Her door opening startled him, and before he knew what he was doing he was up out of the bed, and his hand was around the throat of the person who had dared come near HIS Kagome. It took him only a moment to realize it was her mother, and after putting a finger over his mouth, urging her to be quiet, he released her and backed her out of the room. He gently closed the door behind him, and gave Mrs. Higurashi a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, you startled me and…" before Inuyasha could continue Mrs. Higurashi was hugging him, and he saw a quick flash of tears in her eyes.

"Oh Inuyasha, she thought you would never come for her. It's been so long, and she couldn't get back through the well. When she came back, like that…we thought you were dead. She thought you were dead. It's been like living with a shadow for years. She goes through the motions, but she's always trying to figure out what happened to you. She's been researching history books, but she couldn't for the life of her find you. Thank God, just thank God you're back."

Inuyasha was uncertain, he didn't know what to do. Crying women weren't his area of expertise, and he'd gotten worse with the lack of contact he'd had with the world lately.

"Um, I couldn't get through either. Until yesterday. Her scent came out of the well, and when I tried, it let me through. I figured she would sense it too, but maybe after so long she stopped trying?" He hadn't thought of that, but now that he had, did she want to go home?

"She tries 3 or 4 times a week. She's just been so tired lately. She's barley been able to keep awake when she gets home from school, let alone sense anything. Maybe she just needs a little rest. Well, that doesn't matter, your here, you can tell her." Mrs. Higurashi was beaming, all warm and bubbly. "Well, however things work out, how about we let her sleep in, hmm? She can miss a day of school, it's been years since she's come down with an odd 'illness', maybe she's due one." She winked as she opened to door for Inuyasha and walked away.

Inuyasha just snorted and went back into the room. He closed the door softly, and turned back to where she was still resting. He could see it now, the darker circles under her eyes, and a few lines of exhaustion. Mrs. Higurashi was right, she was too tired to sense anything. A demon could sneak right up on her, and she wouldn't notice! At that he growled a little bit, and climbed back in next to her, sitting against the headboard and glaring at the door and window, daring any demon to come and attack her now.

Kagome rolled in her sleep, facing him and threading an arm through his legs. She patted his far leg, muttering "Shh…is ok Inuyasha" in her sleep.

Inuyasha froze, than smiled. Even in her sleep she knew who he was. That was how his woman was supposed to respond damn it, and he was more than happy to let her stay the way she was. Her face was pressed up against his hip, and her hand curled around his far leg. Nope, no complaints on his end.

They lay like that for another hour before she started to stir. He had started to drift a little, not sleeping, but letting his body relax and his mind go where it wanted. When she started to move, and her body started to stiffen as she woke, he came to full awareness. She slowly stretched her body, and sighed, feeling fully rested for the first time in months. She hadn't been sleeping well lately, but last night was better than she had hoped.

For a moment she was confused, because she didn't remember getting into bed, just falling asleep at her desk. She did vaguely remember someone moving her, and figured her mom had asked Souta to move her again. Her soft drift from sleep to wakefulness was cut short when she realized that she was not alone in the bed. There was definitely someone sitting next to her.

Inuyasha felt her tense when she realized that he was there, and smiled softly when she sat up quickly and stared at him. For a moment the just looked at each other. After 3 years apart there was so much and yet, absolutely nothing they had to say to each other, not at that particular moment. She looked at him like he was going to disappear, and she needed to memorize everything about him.

She couldn't believe he was in front of her. Tears had started to form in her eyes, and there wasn't anything she could do to fight them off. She had been left at the bottom of the well, alone, and broken. All she remembered was seeing Inuyasha leaning over her, before passing out. She had cried out, and her mother had come running. It had taken months in the hospital to heal, and another few months to look at herself in the mirror. The scars had been fresh than, and she had felt so lost and alone.

He looked so thin, his cheeks almost hollow. His cloths seemed a little more baggy, but he still looked like her Inuyasha. His silver hair seemed so much longer, and his ears were twitching at every noise that they could capture. His golden eyes were fixed on her though, and she couldn't help but feel it all rush back. She loved him, and always would. And he was back, and in front of her, finally. He was alright.

"I-" Her voice broke, and she reached out, softly touching the hand he had resting on his raised knee. "I thought you were dead." She wailed, throwing herself into his arms, and crying into his shoulder.

He held her close, and tried to keep from crushing her. "I thought you were dead too. I thought that's why the stupid well wouldn't let me through. I tried, so hard, every day for months. It's ok now though, right? I'm here, and it's ok." He whispered, stroking her hair while she cried herself out.

She curled up into his lap, and slowly let herself calm down. It had been so long, and she had missed him so much. After she had been healed enough that she could walk she had immediately tried to go through the well. Time after time after time she had tried. till this day she still tried to get through every few days. She let out a little laugh. "It figures the one time I don't try the well the damn thing freaking opens." She muttered into his chest.

He started to laugh, than she joined in. Before they knew it they were both cracking up. It was hysterical, and she knew that, and he knew that, but at the moment it felt so much better than crying. After they had calmed down, she once again laid her head against his shoulder and sighed. "How did you know it was open anyway? Luck?" She asked, and shuddered at the thought. If it was just luck, than anything could have happened. They could have missed it all together.

For a moment Inuyasha was silent, and when she glanced up at his face she noticed he was blushing. "I, uh, well, I refused to leave. I stayed next to the well for all 3 years. I was lucky, because if I hadn't, I wouldn't have notice the faint traces of your scent coming out of the well. That's how I noticed. After 3 years everything had lost your scent, but there it was."

Kagome took his hand and squeezed it lightly. She couldn't believe he'd stayed, for 3 years, just waiting. She thought, after she had left him like that, after she had let herself be hurt, that he would think she had betrayed him. She thought it would take years to try and gain his trust again, if she survived, and if he was still alive.

"Your not mad at me?" She asked softly, staring up at the ceiling.

Inuyasha stiffened, confused. "Why the hell would I be mad at you, idiot. I was the fucker who let you get hurt. You were just being you, impossibly stubborn." He muttered the last part, knowing it was going to get a rise out of her.

Kagome sat straight up and glared at him. "Excuse me? I'm stubborn? What they hell do you think you are?" She snapped, glaring at him.

"More stubborn?" He responded, smiling.

Kagome let out a small laugh, and shook her head. "Alright, I can agree to that. I'm going to go get showered, I must look like crap."

Inuyasha shook his head, and pulled her back against him. "You look fine. You smell fine. It can wait."

Ah, and there was the Inuyasha she remembered so well. Stubborn, and very sure of himself. Always with the orders. Kagome just smiled this time though, willing to follow this order. She curled her arms around him, and snuggled her nose into the bend of his neck. She couldn't believe that he was actually here. He was right, she really wasn't ready to let go yet. Just a little while longer.

"Inuyasha?"

"Hmm."

"How's everyone else doing?" She asked, worried that someone else had been hurt during the attacks.

Inuyasha shrugged, and replied, "Fine. Now be quiet, I'm trying to relax here woman."

"Hey, that's not fair! I want to know how everyone else is doing!" Kagome said, sitting back a little and glaring at him.

Inuyasha cracked a single golden eye. "Make me."

Kagome let out a little frustrated huff, glaring at him. "Why are you being so difficult, I'm just asking a simple question Inuyasha. It's not like I'm asking you to do something crazy!"

Inuyasha opened both his eyes, and leaned forward, until they were just inches apart. "Everyone is alive. Everyone is ok. I'm trying to get used to you being alive, can you give me a minute before I need to think about anything else?" He asked, trying not to get mad.

Kagome immediately softened. "Of course, I'm sorry."

Inuyasha just nodded, and leaned back again, looking her over. For a few minutes they just sat like that, until Kagome's stomach started to growl. Inuyasha smirked a little, and asked "Hungry?"

Kagome nodded. She was starved. She had fallen asleep last night before she had been able to get any dinner. Inuyasha stood up and offered her his hand to help her stand. When she stood he saw the shorts she was wearing, and for a moment he couldn't look away. Another scar was wrapped around her legs, two thin lines making their way across her otherwise tanned legs. Guilt started to wrap around his heart, and he couldn't look away. He had caused that. He hadn't protected her. He had let her get hurt. He knelt down in front of her, and traced his finger along one scar, and than the other. He felt her hand rest on his head, and he looked up at her as she traced her fingers across his cheeks.

"Inuyasha, that was not your fault. I knew I might not survive, but I couldn't let them get hurt anymore. I couldn't let him hurt anyone anymore. Kikyou created him, and we share the same soul. I needed to get that burden off of me. You did your best, you saved my life." She knelt down in front of him, and held his face in between her hands. "It was not your fault. You saved me."

Inuyasha shook his head, and just stood up. "Lets get you something to eat."

She stayed on the ground for a moment, but knew that she wasn't going to win this argument right away. She needed time to convince him. They had time. She stood and followed him out of the room down into the kitchen.

After a quick breakfast, Kagome went to find her mother. After everything that she had put her mother through, she knew that what she had to do now was probably going to crush Mrs. Higurashi. Over the years Kagome had plenty of time to think, and she had come a realization. Years of living without Inuyasha taught her that she couldn't live without him. Waking up every morning know that he wouldn't be there had torn her apart. Knowing that she would never be able to tell him how she felt, hold his hand, see what could have been between them had torn at her every day. It was like the longer she stayed in her own time, the more she felt like it was the counterfeit, and the past was the home she was supposed to be in.

She had to tell her family goodbye. Kagome knew that if she went down that well there was a good chance it would never open again. Even if it didn't she couldn't risk being trapped away from him again. She would never trust the well to stay the way it used to be.

Her mother was upstairs in her little back bedroom, sitting on a window seat. Her window gave a beautiful of the shrine, and the well house out back. Kagome knew that there were already tears forming in her eyes, and the reflection of her mothers face in the window told her that Mrs. Higurashi already knew what her daughters choice was going to be, and accepted it.

"Mom…I'm so sorry." Kagome started, her eyes already overflowing. She went to sit in front of her mom, and hugged her close.

"I know hunny, it's alright. You need to do what you need to do. I won't keep you from him, I couldn't." Mrs. Higurashi's voice cracked, and she let a few tears of her own fall down her face.

Inuyasha tried his best to keep himself from barging in. He was going to let her do this. Inuyasha had spent so much time without her, he couldn't bring himself to stop her from making this sacrifice. He needed her. She would be happy with him, he knew it, but he needed to let reality hit him for a while. He hadn't even fully absorbed that he was standing in her house. It had been so long, he just wanted to grab her and take her back through the well, and feel safe with her again.

He knocked lightly on the door, suddenly realizing that he'd come up with a good idea. He opened the door a crack, and peeked his head in. "Um, sorry, but I have an idea about how Kagome can still talk to you, kinda."

Two pairs of crying eyes looked up at him, and Inuyasha was very glad he had come in with something to say, not just empty handed. "What?" Kagome asked, and he felt his heart twist a little at the twinge of hope in her voice.

"Kagome could write letters, and leave them in the God tree, maybe in a box or something to keep them safe? Than you could read them Mrs. Higurashi."

Kagome and Mrs. Higurashi paused for a moment, thinking it over. "I don't see how it wouldn't work…I mean if she puts them in something that will be safe from the weather. I would be able to get them in the present." Suddenly both women were looking at him, beaming. "I'd be able to know what happens with her life, and maybe share a little in it. I have a small metal box, you could put them in there!"

Mrs. Higurashi hurried off to get the box she had thought of, and Kagome smiled at Inuyasha. "That was a great idea Inuyasha. At least she'll always know what happened in my life. I can still be with her."

Inuyasha smiled, and they headed down the stairs into the kitchen again. Mrs. Higurashi had already packed up the rest of her things while they had eaten breakfast, and her bags rested near the door. They walked down as she packed away the last item, a medium sized metal box.

"I packed everything you might need. I know your going to want to get back as quickly as possible, just in case. I've got cloths, pictures, some first aid supplies, a book on basic herb lore and fist aid, and a few more things." Mrs. Higurashi smiled sadly at her daughter, her oldest. Souta wasn't home, he was at school, and she felt bad knowing that they wouldn't be able to say goodbye, but they didn't want to miss this chance to return, just in case. "You go ahead now, alright? Don't worry about us, we'll be ok. I love you baby girl." She whispered, hugging Kagome closely.

Everything was happening so quickly. Just this morning Kagome had woken up to Inuyasha back, safe, and now she was leaving her family to go back into the past. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt, wondering if this was the right thing to do. But she knew it was, because there wasn't anything else she could do.

Next thing they knew Inuyasha and Kagome stood in front of the well, staring into it's depths. There was a moment where they both doubted that they would be able to get through, but Kagome could feel the power of the well, and Inuyasha could smell the forest.

Inuyasha looked over at her for moment. He had to ask, he couldn't just have her do this and not at least ask. "Are you sure?"

Kagome smiled softly up at him. This was what she wanted. She knew this was going to be hard, maybe a lot harder than she thought. Right now they were both just too happy to know the other was alive to fight, but she knew sooner or later they would get in a fight. For now she would just be happy with what she had, and when they fought she would remember what she had almost lost. She couldn't lose him again, and if the cost of that was her family she had to give them up. Maybe some day she would be able to see them again, but if not she would be thankful for the man she saw in front of her, and the family she had waiting for her on the other side.

"I'm sure Inuyasha, lets go home ok?"

He nodded, and they both jumped down into the well, hand in hand. They felt reality slip away from them, and the tunnel between their worlds opened.

A/N:

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.