She was plagued with nightmares throughout the night, waking with lashes drenched in tears, but Sesshoumaru was there to chase away the shadows each time, and for that, Kagome would be eternally grateful.
She hadn't had a day this bad in a long time, not since her residency, but what had started with anticipation of Sesshoumaru's gift had slowly turned to horror when one of her child patients showed up in the emergency room.
"She was supposed to come in for his final treatment," she told him in the early hours, just after dawn. "She'd been doing so well, but then fainted at school, so her mother brought her in and—" Another wave of despair hit her, and she buried her face into his shirt, chest heaving.
Nimble claws combed through her hair, and he didn't push, didn't pry, just waited until she was ready to start again.
"It had spread to her heart. We thought we'd got it all." Kagome's voice cracked. "There's nothing we can do." She felt so helpless. This was her job—her duty—and she'd failed.
"You gave her more time. She will be grateful regardless."
"But she—"
"You cannot save everyone, miko."