A/N: Hello my beauties! Sorry to keep you waiting! I've been binging on Inuyasha. Feeling a fic from that neck of the woods coming on soon... maybe... I have to get this one done first though!.

Thank you SO MUCH from the bottom of my heart to all of my reviewers and favers and followers. You make my heart feel SUPER happy! :D

Onward!

Chapter 17-

"Great Enma," Kama breathed, "I'm not asking you breed with her you insufferable swordsman. All I am telling you to do is lay beside her. Her body temperature is not rising. She keeps getting colder. She may not last much longer. The fire stones lose their heat within minutes of being beside her. She is as close to the fire as she can without igniting the furs. Your human needs constant, high temperatures if she will beat this sickness." She drew a breath, pegged the smaller demon with the fiercest glare she could muster and pointed a long finger at him. "You did say you both were on a task for Koenma? How would he react to you letting her die, given your track record with Spirit World?"

It seems her love for humans had grown. The female was insane.

Hiei bristled. "I cleared my name and any misdeeds by being a dog for those fools. My slate is clean."

"Yes, but have those misdeeds been actually forgotten? Would they be so kind as to forget your past from their minds, even though it is no longer written down? Actions stay with people forever, dear Hiei. No matter what is done after." Kama's tone was sad and bitter.

Hiei closed his eyes, knowing she was right, but not willing to bring up their past. Kurama's last words to him rose up again. Keep Mickey-Jo safe. Well, "alive" was definitely in the same realm as "safe". Unfortunately. Without a word he stalked to Mickey-Jo's beside and looked down at her. Her face looked like a corpse and held no color. Even her brown hair seemed lackluster. Small capillaries stood out around her eyes. This was bad. He glanced back at Kama. She took the hint and left, quietly murmuring her thanks. Hiei stood before the bed for a few moments listening to Mickey-Jo's crackled, robotic breathing. He cracked his neck and clenched his fists before lifting back the furs and settling down.

He flinched as it felt like ice stinging his skin. A frown tugged his mouth. At this temperature it was a wonder icicles weren't forming on her. He growled lightly as the hose from the breathing mask over her mouth and nose hit him in the face as he settled closer to the cowgirl. That and the tank with the filters were tossed lightly on the other side of them. Mickey-Jo never moved once.

Bracing himself Hiei moved to press himself against the sick girl. He hissed and tensed as the iciness of her skin bled through his shirt. He swore he could almost hear a sizzle when his arm touched the bare skin of her stomach. Red eyes went wide as he realized she was naked underneath the furs. He glanced around wildly and found her clothes in a dirty heap by the wall. Heat flushed his face and Hiei slowly rolled to his back and just laid there beside her, hands folded on his chest. His cheeks puffed out as he let out a sigh.

Mickey-Jo let out another whimper and turned her head towards her bed companion. Her icy cold hand fluttered between her leg and Hiei's. A chill ran down the fire demon's spine. Good grief, the girl was freezing herself to death. Power flared up in his body and the encroaching cold was beat back with a molten wave.

Hurry and heal, girl. Hiei thought at her. We cannot wait on weakness while our target grows stronger.

Bo? That you? Mickey-Jo's voice was a whisper in his mind. She made a small, pathetic sound.

Hiei was violently yanked from his own mind. Fists clenched the sheets as it felt like the bottom dropped out from underneath the bed and started violently spinning. For a few long moments, everything was black.

He came to where it was warm. Scents of earth, grass and water tickled his nose. Stifling a groan he rose, and rose. He stilled as he realized his vantage point was higher than he was used to. He looked down at this hands, alarmed when they were not his own. Army fatigues clothed his body and a large duffel lay on the ground beside him. The sound of a retreating bus reached his ears and he lifted his eyes to see it rumbling down the dirt road. In the distance an old farmhouse sat on a hilltop surrounded by crops. A pond for the sparse cattle he definitely smelled was a few hundred yards away from the house. Two beat up, old trucks sat in the hot sun. Rust spots showed on both.

Hiei felt a strange compulsion tugging him towards the farmhouse. Interested, but wary, he shouldered the duffel, feeling it was somehow important, and strode towards the house.

Halfway up the long dirt driveway the screen door to the farmhouse slammed open. A young woman wearing cutoffs and cowboy boots and a plaid button-down jumped off the porch and ran towards him.

She was yelling something. For some reason his hearing wasn't as good as it should be.

Closer she got, the clearer her excited screeching became. "BO! Bo! You're back! Ah-hahah! You're back!" It was Mickey-Jo. She looked younger, and was rounder. Her face was alight with pure joy.

Hiei felt himself drop the duffel and open his arms. Mickey-Jo leaped and latched onto his bigger frame like a monkey. Then she was smothering his face with kisses. Tears fell from her eyes and wet his shirt. Her hands cradled his face as she pressed her forehead into his. Their eyes met.

"Welcome home, sugar." Mickey-Jo whispered.

The fire demon strained to peel the overly excited girl off him, but his arms wouldn't move from where they were wrapped around her waist. He tried to move his eyes, but they wouldn't. Whatever control he had over this body had disappeared when Mickey-Jo came on the scene.

The deep voice that rumbled from his mouth definitely did not belong to him. "Home. Finally." His lips twitched into a smile.

Mickey-Jo giggled like a little girl and dropped from her cling on his chest. In this body, Hiei was at least a foot taller than her. It was strange seeing her with such emotion. She never mentioned a man. Though logically there HAD to be one, since she had a child. The cowgirl skipped lightly, grasping his hand in a death grip. They walked to the old farmhouse together with her chittering away at things he really had no idea of. Apparently this body did, because he made the right noises in the right moments. The old wooden boards of the wraparound porch creaked at they made their way up. A couple fans blew noisily in an attempt to combat the heat. Inside, Mickey-Jo lead him to the living room and sat him down.

"No don't go anywhere, honey, I'll be back with something to drink!" She said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Hiei sat down in the overstuffed recliner in front of the TV, glancing around at the dated and faded décor. He noticed the Comic-A-Day calendar on the side table. August 5, 2009. Five years ago. When his head rested against the back of the chair the same violent drop and twist happened again. He clutched at the arms of the chair and tried to fight the blackness.

Hiei opened the borrowed body's eyes into a darkened living room. The TV was blaring some overly made-up news reporter's take on some tragedy that happened. Homey, cooking sounds came from the kitchen. The cold coming from his right had was from a small bar glass filled ice and an amber liquid. Scent told him it was booze.

"Hey, sugar, come here! I got something to show you!" Mickey-Jo shouted from the kitchen.

"Come in here!" He heard himself say. "I'm not moving from this chair!"

The noises stopped for a moment. He heard her take a deep breath and then her footsteps started towards him, paused a moment, then started again.

"Close your eyes!" Her voice was a little too overly happy and sounded almost forced.

Hiei felt the body sigh. "Just bring it on woman. Sons of Anarchy is about to start and I don't want to miss it."

His eyes never moved from the TV as she walked up. The he glanced over and saw a homemade cake with the words "Congradulations Bo! Welcome home!". His body lifted the glass of alcohol to his lips and her took a sip, grimacing inside at the awful taste.

"You misspelled 'Congratulations'." The voice was toneless and without inflection.

Silence.

Sniff

Thickness clouded her voice. "C'mon, Bo. Don' be this way. 'Member what ya said?"

He didn't respond but took another drink. Hiei couldn't move the eyes away from the stupid television. A tangy saltiness filled the air.

Mickey-Jo pounded back into the kitchen before letting her sobs go. Loud crashes rang out and a plate rolled out from the doorway. Now the eyes moved, watching the ceramic roll slowly before settling down with another loud clang against the wooden floor. For some irrational reason, Hiei felt himself getting angry. He knew he shouldn't be. The chit did nothing wrong. From context clues and things Mickey-Jo had said, this 'Bo' was her husband who had been away in the American military in someplace called "The Middle East." He had come back after a long tour of duty and was on leave until they were called up again. How long that was, neither of them knew. Hiei could understand having difficulty adjusting back to peace after a long time at war or on the run, but even those in the thieves' band he had ran with for a time had female companions that waited at the safe place. Not soon after returning "home" they would retreat with their females into privacy for a time and emerge with happy, secret smiles. The males would be happy to return to their women, and vice versa.

A few had acted like this man was acting now, and none of the unattached females would go with them.

Bo's body leaned against the doorframe to the kitchen. "'The hell is wrong with you, woman?" Slurp.

Her body tensed at his voice, pausing at scraping the cake into the trash can. "What it look like I'm doin'?" Sniff

Eyes rolled skyward. "Fuck, babe. C'mon. Do you gotta be all whiney and clingy now?"

"Whiney an-!" Mickey-Jo straightened up and whirled around so fast Hiei thought her heard her back crack. She pointed the metal spatula at him. "Do you have be such an asshole?!"

Hiei/Bo's arm snapped out and the brandy glass soared through the air and crashed against the faded wall. The now familiar feeling of the floor dropping and the violent twister gripped him once again. Suddenly it was a different time of day, but there was still a wet splash on the wall and broken glass and amber liquid on the floor. Bo was screaming at Mickey-Jo, who was screaming back at him. They kept taking steps towards each other. His fist came flying at her face. Mickey-Jo whipped out the spatula and sliced at his arm. Both connected.

The scene swirled. Another night, another smashed brandy glass. Punches, bruises, scrapes. The walls developed new spots where holes had been re-plastered. Mixed with the violent scenes flowing through Hiei's mind were scenes of hot passion. More often than not, fist fights would meld into clothes ripping off.

The whirlwind started slowing and Hiei was no longer in the body of Bo. He saw on Mickey-Jo in the bathroom holding a thin piece of white plastic. Her hand was over her mouth, her face pinched and worried. The front screen door slammed shut and a truck roared on. Mickey-Jo cried out and raced out of the bathroom pulling up her pants. Hiei followed her frenzied pace to the front door where she collapsed on the porch, weeping. Bo's truck raced down the dirt drive and screeched onto the road.

Another whirlwind jump and Hiei was in the bedroom. Mickey-Jo was weeping on the bed. Her belly was round and full. She was sobbing over an opened envelope. From his point, Hiei could read the words, "..I'm sorry to inform you…" "…killed in action…"

Slowly the colors of the room faded to a soft white. Hiei was standing in a blank area. Mickey-Jo appeared beside him as she was now, thin and pale.

"Hiei?" She looked around. "Where are we?"

He glanced over at her. "In your mind. In your delirium you somehow managed to draw me in and trap me here."

"So this's my mind?" She mused. "A lil' blanker 'n I thought it would be. Heh.."

"You don't remember the memories you dragged us through?"

Mickey-Jo scratched her nose. "Uh..memories?"

"Yes. Specifically about some Neanderthal with a drinking problem." Hiei's voice was cold.

"Oh… Yea…. Bo…." She murmered. "Sorry ya had to see that."

"Hn. Just get your head straight and find your center so we can return to normal. Inside a human girl's head is not where I care to spend my free time." Hiei said.

Mickey-Jo nodded, then froze. "Uh… how 'xactly do I do that?"

Hiei grimaced and clenched his fists. "This is exactly what I was afraid of. Sit down."

"Sit down? Why?"

"So I can teach you, you idiot!" He glowered at her. "I'm beyond ready to get out of your head and back into my own. So sit down! Good. Now relax, and focus, and this will be over soon."

I apologize if the ending feels a little rushed. My rabbit hole I was following dead ended. I was going somewhere else with this, but I don't remember.

Thanks for reading!