As I started to become conscious once again I could hear a beeping noise as if it were a heart monitor. I felt a hand in mine and I could feel that I was on a bed. I could also feel that Michiko's necklace was still around my neck. I then opened my eyes to see Bankotsu's hand in mine and his head on the bed as he sat in a chair. I could see that we were in the hospital and I was hooked up to wires and I had that small thing in my nose to help me breath .Only two thoughts came to mind as I looked at Bankotsu. 'How did we get back? And how did Bankotsu get here with me?' I smiled and squeezed his hand. His head shot up and looked at me. I could see that he was crying. He got up and hugged me. "Be careful you don't want to disconnect any wires." I told him. "I thought I lost you." He told me. As he broke away from our hug I smiled at him. "I'm never leaving without you." I told him. I took a hold of his shirt and brought his face to mine. I gave him a long deep passionate kiss as a nurse came in. "Excuse me for a moment but I would like to speak with Emily for a moment." She said. We broke from our kiss and Bankotsu sat down. "Bankotsu she isn't going to hurt me. It'll be alright, just wait outside the room." I told him. He got up and walked outside the room until he could come back in. "Now Emily we preformed surgery on your wound and if it were any closer to your uterus you wouldn't of been able to have children but in your case you are very lucky." She told me. "Do you know when I will be able to leave?" I asked her. "We are going to keep you here for a couple of days to see how you are doing and all of your belongings that your husband brought with him will be returned to you when you are released but you must rest and a visiting nurse will visit to check up on you until it is time to get your stitches out, which won't be for a couple of weeks. Now your mother, father and brother are on their way to come see you." my eyes widened when the nurse said this "You are very lucky that you got here just in time. Any later you would of died." She said. I nodded. "Now if you need anything you press the button. Oh and one more thing we also took care of the cut on your face." She told me before she left. Bankotsu then reentered the room. "What did she say?" He asked as he returned to his seat. "I know that you were listening Bankotsu. I'm not stupid." I told him. "Well I'm glad that you can have children." He told me. "Now will you explain what happened after I blacked out?" I asked him."Well after you blacked out Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha, Shippo and Kirara arrived. I told Kagome that you needed help and I grabbed your stuff and Banryu and we got on Kirara and headed to Kagome's well. I left Banyru at her house and brought your important bag that has your camera and other stuff in it. We went here and they said that they needed to perform immediate surgery on you. While Kagome and I were waiting for it to end and you to go in a hospital room she explained to me what they were doing to you. When you were done a lady came out and asked if we were family because only family could see you and I told her that you were my wife. She didn't believe me but then Kagome told her that we were married as it was a set up marriage and the lady brought me here. I was here for a while waiting for you to wake up. The same lady came in repeatedly to check on you. Then you woke up." He explained. "Now the only thing is facing my family but when I get released from here I'm not going back and staying there. I wonder if I could stay at my grandmother's house. I think she left it to me." I told him. "We'll go there Essie. We will stay there until you get better." He told me. He held my hand the entire time we talked. Then my family came in and shut the door. They looked at me and Bankotsu. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" My father yelled. "Nothing, I got hurt and I'm fine. Why would you care?" I asked him. "Don't talk back to me." He told me. "I'm not I was answering your question." I told him. "Did I tell you to speak?" He asked. "You can't hurt me. I'm in a hospital surrounded by people." I told him. "Oh don't you think that. No one can see you." He said getting closer. "Don't you hurt her!" Bankotsu shot up out of his chair getting defensive."And who is this?" My father asked as he pointed to Bankotsu. "Someone who loves me." I told him. "So this must be one of your druggie friends that you like to sleep around with? You are a slut!" He told me as he was about to smack me when Bankotsu intercepted the slap and grabbed his hand. "You don't talk about Essie that way!" Bankotsu said to him. "Who do you think you are?" He asked him. "Someone who cares about Essie." Bankotsu told him. He let go of his hand as I pushed the nurse button. "Yes Emily?" She asked as she opened the door. "Could you please escort my brother, mom and dad out of the room. I don't wish to see them." I told her. Bankotsu then returned to my side. "If you'll follow me." The nurse said. "Just wait when you come home. You will get it." My father told me before he left. He slammed the door causing a disturbance. I started to cry. Bankotsu laid next to me on the bed and comforted me. "Don't worry they won't hurt you anymore. I will make sure of it." He told me. I continued to cry in his arms until I fell asleep.

~Dream~

I awoke in my hospital bed. My father was standing over me and I couldn't find Bankotsu anywhere. "Where's Bankotsu?" my voice trembled. "He went out for a bit. Now it's just you and me." He told me. I looked around to find the button for the nurse's help but I couldn't find it anywhere. "Looking for this?" He asked as he held up the button. He then revealed that he had a knife. I shook my head from side to side in pure terror. No one was here to help me. I couldn't even break free because of my wound. "Why?" I asked him. "Because you are the unwanted child." He told me before he stabbed me repeatedly in the heart. I screamed because I was in so much pain.~End of Dream~I had opened my eyes quickly and let out a loud scream. I was crying and Bankotsu put his arm around me. "Everything will be fine it was just a bad dream." He told me in a soothing voice. A nurse quickly came in. "Is everything fine Emily?" She asked. "She'll be fine she just had a bad dream." Bankotsu told her. She nodded and left and closed the door behind her. "What happened?" He asked me as he wiped away the tears."I had a dream where my father killed me here and no one was able to help me." I told him crying. "I won't leave you." He told me. He then started to kiss me. The kiss then turned into a make out session. I couldn't really move because it hurt when I moved a certain way so I stayed stationary while Bankotsu tried to watch out for the I heard the door open we stopped and looked at the nurse that had a tray with jell-o, pieces of toast, apple juice and what looked like pain medicine on the tray. "Visiting hours will be up soon unless you would like your husband to stay with you." She told me as she put the tray on the table attached to my hospital bed. She put the table in front of me with the tray of food on it. "I would like it if my husband would stay with me. I feel safe when I'm with him." I told her. She nodded. "The couch over there turns into a bed I'll have someone unfold it whenever you wish." She told me before she left. "I was wondering if you could get me some strawberry jam?" I asked her."Yes would you like anything sir?" She asked. Bankotsu looked at me and I looked at the nurse. "I'm not very hungry so we'll share what I have here." I told her. She nodded at left the room for a moment and returned with some strawberry jam containers and a knife. I thanked her and she left. I moved the bed up so that I was in a sitting position. I then started to spread the jam on the toast and Bankotsu watched me. "Here." I told him as I handed him a piece of toast with strawberry jam on it. He took it and started to chew it. A wide smile grew on his face. "So you like it?" I asked. He nodded. I gave out a small chuckle. I started to eat a piece of toast and took a sip of my apple juice. I gave the cup to Bankotsu "Don't drink it all. I need some of it to take my medicine." I told him. He took a sip and handed it back to me. When I finished my piece of toast I took my medicine. I looked at the jell-o and smiled at him. "What?" He asked me. "Come here." I told him as I patted the space where we laid beside me earlier. He got up from his chair and sat beside me on the bed. I opened the container of jell-o and took the spoon. I scooped up some of it with the spoon. I smiled at him and gave him the spoon. "Even though it jiggles it won't kill you." I told him. He took the spoon and inserted it in his mouth. "It feels funny when I chew it." He said in between bites."It's supposed to feel like that." I told him. He scooped some more up and put the spoon near my mouth. I shook my head. He continued to insist and I kept my mouth shut. He smirked at me and then went to kiss my neck. After kissing it he bit it and I gasped. He shoved the spoon full of jell-o in my mouth and I bit down on the plastic spoon. He looked at me and smirked. I let go of the empty spoon and chewed the jell-o. When I finished I swallowed and looked at him. "I didn't want any." I told him. "Then why did you chew it and swallow it?" He asked. "I didn't feel like spitting it out." I told him. He continued to eat the jell-o as I grabbed the TV remote. I started to scan through the channels looking for something to watch. I finally settled on the soap opera channel and started to watch the soap opera that I laughed at the entire thing. When Bankotsu finished the jell-o he put it on the tray. I pushed the table away and he put his arm around me. I started to doze off into dreamland from me being so tired.

When I awoke I heard Bankotsu and a nurse talking. "When she awakes I will send them in." She said. "I'll make sure I'll tell her." He told her. "Who is here?" I asked as I was waking up. I opened my eyes to see the nurse and Bankotsu. "Your friends Kagome and InuYasha." She told me. "Could I have some assistance going to the bathroom?" I asked. She nodded and helped me go to the bathroom. Once I returned to the hospital bed the nurse left retrieving Kagome and InuYasha. Bankotsu sat on the bed beside me. "How'd you sleep?" He asked. "I slept fine." I told him. "Any nightmares?" He asked. "No. I was fine. How about you?" I asked "It was alright except for all the tossing and turning." He told me. "Why were you tossing and turning?" I asked him. "I had a hard time of getting to sleep. That bed is hard." He told me. "I like hard beds. Beds like that are nice when they are hard." I told him. I then chuckled at what I said. 'I have to get my mind out of the gutter.' I thought as I looked at the questioning expression on Bankotsu's face. "I'll explain later." I told him before Kagome and InuYasha entered. I gave them a smile. "What is he doing here?" InuYasha questioned. "I don't want to leave her side. She's already been close to death before and I want to prevent her from dying." Bankotsu told him. "You better behave InuYasha or I'll have to tell you to-" "Please no Kagome I'll be good!" InuYasha pleaded as he cut off Kagome before she said sit. "So how long are you going to be here?" Kagome asked. "A couple of days here and then I have to find somewhere to live while I wait for my stitches to be taken out." I told her. "You aren't going home?" She asked. I sighed. "Remember when I had a bandage on my face?" She nodded "well that was from my brother. He cut me with his knife after he couldn't take my necklace. You see my mom, father and brother like to hurt me. I was thinking of living at my dead Grandmother's house." I told her. The expression on her face was a shocked about to cry face. She ran to me and hugged me. "If you want you and Bankotsu can stay at my house." She told me. "I don't want to impose." I told her.

"Please it's the least I can do." She told me. "But what about when you go back to the Feudal era?" I asked her. "Don't worry my mom will help take care of you." She told me. "What about the band of seven? They are going to have to wait a long time." I told Bankotsu. "I'll send them a message saying that you and Bankotsu will have to be here a while." She told me. "But still I don't want to impose." I told her. "Essie what happens if your dad will be waiting for you there? He might think that is where you'll go instead of home." Bankotsu told me. I sighed. "Okay when I can go home I'll stay at your house with Bankotsu." I looked at Bankotsu "Did you bring all of my clothes?" I asked him. He nodded "They all are at Kagome's house. The bag I brought has some clothes in it." Bankotsu told me. "That reminds me! I brought some clothes for Bankotsu, along with shoes since he is going to be here for a while." Kagome said as she handed Bankotsu a pile of clothes. "Thanks Kagome." He said. "So are you guys any closer to Naraku?" I asked them. "No we've been having no luck finding him but maybe if Bankotsu told us where he was we could find him faster!" InuYasha told me. "I'm sorry but I can't reveal that." Bankotsu said as he put the clothes on the chair. "You better or I'll-" "InuYasha sit!" Kagome said and InuYasha went straight to the floor. I started to laugh but stopped immediately as my side began to hurt. Bankotsu rushed to my side and I gave him a reassuring smile. "Just don't try and make me laugh so hard." I told them. Bankotsu sat next to me in the hospital bed as InuYasha got up. I smiled at him and he had his usual angry expression. "If you guys want you can sit and stay awhile." I told them. "That would be nice wouldn't it InuYasha?" Kagome asked. "Sure." He mumbled. "You guys can sit on the couch." I told them. They proceeded to the couch and we talked until Kagome and InuYasha had to go. As they left the nurse came in with the same assortment of food I had last night. I smiled at her and thanked her. I grabbed the TV remote and watched the soap opera network like I did last night. Bankotsu spread the strawberry jam for me and we ate and watched the soap opera network. At one point I was so into the show I was yelling at the TV. Bankotsu was laughing at me and I smiled. Once I was full of eating I took my pain medicine and gave the rest of the meal to Bankotsu. He had his arm around me and I rested my head on his chest. "Maybe you should change into the clothes Kagome brought for you." I told him. "Okay." He told me. He got up and shut the door and grabbed the clothes. He picked out a black shirt with blue sweatpants. He took off the shirt he had revealing his toned body. I shook my head from side to side. "Not in here. In the bathroom." I told him. "Oh." He said as he put on the black shirt. He grabbed the sweatpants and changed into them in the bathroom. He put the old clothes on the couch. "Come here and give me those clothes." I told him. He gave me the old clothes and I folded them. I handed them to him to put them back on the couch. He did and returned to me. I fixed the length of his pants and he returned to my side on the hospital bed. I moved the table away when Bankotsu had finished his jell-o. I was smiling that we were together. I then looked at him. He locked eyes with me. "Could I braid your hair?" I asked him. "Uh I don't see why not but I have to take it out." He said as he got up and took out the braid in his hair. I ran my fingers through it a couple of times. "Enjoying it?" He asked. "Yes." I told him. I then started to braid his hair as I watched the soap opera. Once I finished he returned next to me with his arm around me. I explained what was going on in the soap opera to him but he didn't get some of it so I had to explain it to him again.

Author's note~ Review please. And thank you for reading!