A/N: and the hiatus is officially over! Expect at least one chapter per week from me from here on out!

They made it home without incident, and Sesshomaru carried Rin into their bedroom, laying her gently down on their futon and tucking her under the quilt. She gave him a grumpy look—just because she'd been ordered to stay in bed didn't mean she had to like it. Rin, however, was out quickly. Sesshomaru gave a deep sigh, shutting the door behind him and going to his study. This was going to be a long two weeks, he thought rather bitterly. It was especially going to be a long couple of days. Rin could hardly stay still for anything on a good day, so he hoped he wouldn't have to resort to tying her down. Sesshomaru eyed the stack of treaties on his desk in his study. It seemed he had been away too long.

He had hardly settled down to write a reply to the first scroll on the list when he heard shuffling from next door. Sesshomaru let out a sigh. It had already begun, it seemed. He set down his brush and got to his feet, stopping Rin as she tried to sneak out of their room to go downstairs. "Rin," he said in a soft warning tone, "remember what the woman said."

Rin let out a mournful groan. "Sesshomaru…I will be fine," she told him, giving him a begging look. She couldn't stand staying in one spot with nothing to do! It would drive her completely mad, he had to know that.

He frowned, blocking the doorway and looking down at his slight, small-framed young mate. "I just want you to be well," he said in a gentler tone, trying to make her understand he only had her best interests in mind.

She sighed, looking down for a moment, then back up again. "I know you do," she sighed. "but you're smothering me. You make me feel helpless." She wanted him to know she didn't resent him, and she understood how worried he was—after all, she was worried too. She knew there was so much that could still go terribly wrong. She reached out for him and he hesitated, making sure she wasn't trying to fool him and escape. Then he embraced her gently for a few moments.

"I will try to give you some more space, Rin. But please, obey the magic-maker's words. You must stay in bed and rest, at least for the next few days. It's for your own good…and the pup's."

Rin nodded, then lightly hit her head against his chest with a grumble. "come on," she murmured. "can't you just let me rest out in the garden or something?"

"No. Rin, just rest here in bed…"

"I will if you stay with me," she told him, suddenly clinging surprisingly tightly to him. "you flew all day to get us home—you should be the one who's tired, not me."

Sesshomaru had to admit Rin had a point, and he wasn't looking forward to those treaties anyway. While they were said to be 'urgent' by the ones who'd sent them, he doubted very much that was actually the case. He wasn't really the least bit tired, but if it got Rin to settle and rest, then he supposed he could spend an hour or two getting her to sleep.

"all right," he said softly, then shifted before she could react, scooping her into his arms so she couldn't escape. He laid her gently in the futon just as he had not long ago, but this time he removed his armor, setting it aside, and settled next to her, letting her curl up and snuggle into his fluff as he tucked her in again.

He heard her sigh after a moment and looked down to find her eyes still open. "I'm not tired," she complained, stifling a small yawn. He smirked a little at her seemingly obvious lie.

"of course you aren't, my dear."

"I'm not," she insisted, yawning wider. "I'm just exhausted." He moved his arm and gently stroked her head, smoothing her hair.

"just close your eyes, and it will be morning before you know it." Rin obeyed, slowly closing her cinnamon-brown eyes, and was asleep within moments. Sesshomaru debated getting up again, just leaving his mokomoko behind for her, but decided against it. Even if he didn't feel tired, he hadn't rested in nearly four days, and now he had the perfect excuse. He sighed softly one more time, gently placing a kiss on the moon on her forehead, then closing his own eyes, allowing himself to relax.

He was surprised to be woken after just a few hours—it was still the middle of the night. He wasn't quite sure what had woken him for a few seconds, then heard it. "uuuggghh…" he looked to Rin, who was still wrapped in his arms and looked faintly green in the face. He quickly let her go and was surprised as she jumped to her feet and ran to the window, opening it and leaning out, panting and groaning in the cool night air.

He was on his own feet and beside her within a heartbeat, gently pulling her back from leaning out the window. "Rin! Are you all right?" he asked, his golden eyes flashing all over the details of her face and down her body, looking for any abnormalities. She swallowed thickly and nodded rather reluctantly. It took him a few seconds to realize her face really was green. Her cheeks were just barely starting to tint with the beginning of what would become markings, much like his own.

She moved to lean out the window again, her forearms resting on the sill, and he quickly left the room, returning with a fairly large bucket. He was very concerned for her, not knowing why she was nauseated, but able to tell that was the case. She took it and sat down, putting the bucket on the floor between her crossed legs and clutching it tightly. Noticing his agitation, she managed to murmur, "it's okay, Sesshomaru. This is normal for humans carrying a child. I saw it a bunch of times. Nothing's wrong." He frowned, finally sitting down across from her, deciding he would not move until she felt better and he could safely put her back to bed.

She seemed to start showing signs of recovery after a while, and he opened his mouth, asking, "feeling better?" into the predawn silence. Rin opened her own mouth to reply, then her whole face went surprisingly pale and she managed to squeak out a quick "no!" before hiding her face in the bucket for a few moments. He sighed, making a face at the sudden stench while she couldn't see him. Even if she smelled wonderful and soothing to him, she couldn't help being smelly sometimes, as humans naturally were. He winced slightly at the retching, glad that it was over quickly. Rin set the bucket aside with disgust, feeling quite a bit better now. That really had been too much meat earlier, she thought.

Once he was sure she wouldn't need it anymore, Sesshomaru carefully took the bucket from Rin and left for a few moments to empty it, covering his nose once he was out of the room, not wanting to upset her. This was certainly something he hoped he wouldn't have to get used to. By the time he returned with a clean bucket (just in case), she was blinking and staring around the room in wonderment. This puzzled Sesshomaru, since he didn't think she could actually see in such low light. Humans were almost completely blind once the sun went down, weren't they?

She turned toward him when she finally heard his footsteps, looking up with a small smile. Seeing her eyes, he finally understood—for her pupils were thin, just like his were, and every other InuYoukai. "you look heavenly…" she told him in a soft voice, her smile growing slightly. To her, he seemed to glow in the darkness, the white of his clothing and hair nearly shining. He gave her a slightly confused look and reached down to scoop her up. "your eyes are already starting to adapt. Everything will be brighter and clearer from now on." She hummed softly and nuzzled him. He sighed. "if you're feeling better, then go back to sleep. You don't need to be up if the sun isn't." he laid her back in the bed, this time just leaving his fur behind, letting her cuddle it and going to finally do that wretched paperwork. He would leave the door to his room ajar, and be back before she woke so they could eat breakfast together. He stroked her raven hair for a few moments before finally standing. There was one treaty in particular from the Dou clan he was rather concerned about…