A/N: now that I've moved, I seem to be having some internet problems! Also, college is hard. But I finally finished this chapter! Aren't you proud? =)
There is a poll on my profile page, it will only be up until September 10th, so please make sure to vote if you have an opinion! Two people isn't enough to make such a big decision!
"why can't I sit out in the garden?"
Rin had been trying to convince her beloved to let her sit out by the koi pond like she so loved to do. However, he continued to obstinately refuse her, much to her anger.
"I already told you. The magic maker said three days in bed. I can barely keep you in this room much of the time. It's only one more day—can't you wait that long?"
"I'll be asleep in ten minutes anyway! Why can't you let me go?" he sighed heavily at her words. She was right, she would likely be asleep very quickly. And he could easily keep an eye on her. Seeing his resolve crumbling, she added, "I'll stay on the porch, where it's warmer, and you can make sure I have plenty of layers. I'll even sit right in one spot if you put a cushion out for me!" he narrowed his eyes at his mate. Rin's stubbornness when she decided she wanted to do something was only surpassed by his own. He'd never met a woman so obstinate. He knew by now that if he didn't give her permission she'd do it anyway, and if she wound up hurting herself, it would be his fault.
"…all right. But only for a few minutes. Come in when you start feeling too sleepy." She hopped up with a big smile and gave him a kiss on the cheek with a cheerful "thank you!". He helped her get dressed in two thick lined jackets, then wrapped her gently in his moko before letting her go sit on the porch.
It was fifteen minutes before the InuYoukai lord decided to check on his mate, a bit concerned she had not come back in. he sighed softly to find her asleep, still sitting up on her cushion with her chin on her fist. As had become normal over the past days, he gently picked her up, one arm under her shoulders and the other under her knees, and carried her back to bed. She looked contented and her face was pleasantly rosy from the biting cold she felt so much more than he did. Her cheeks were marked with forest green that was becoming more distinct by the hour. In another day or two, it would be in whatever final shape it chose to take. He kissed the crescent moon he'd placed on her forehead before laying her gently in their futon, feeling her stir a bit and blink awake again.
"I'm cold…" Rin mumbled through a yawn. He pulled the quilt up to her chin, frowning softly in concern. She actually felt too warm to him, as though she were running a low fever. She soon fell asleep again and he sighed. "if she's sick," he murmured softly to himself as he stood, "I am tying her down to this bed."
Though he hated the stacks of paperwork that kept him away from his beloved much of the time, he had to keep on top of the treaties and missives. He often kept the door between his study and room open, but sometimes closed it if he was feeling too upset over one thing or another, not wanting to disturb her rest. Lately, he'd had to keep it almost constantly closed to keep his frustrated growls from carrying. The Dou and White-Yama clans were both being rather belligerent, insisting they had irrefutable sources that Sesshomaru had taken a human as his mate. Luckily, it was almost the new year, and it was tradition for the heir to present their mate to the clans halfway between the Running and the Whelping. Unfortunately, Rin would not be showing her pregnancy yet, and they'd have to put extra layers on her to hide that. But that was a small price to pay to appease the angry clans who were convinced Sesshomaru had done the unspeakable and claimed a human, intending to have a hanyou as his heir…
By that evening, Rin was groaning in pain, as all her joints ached with the feelings of exhaustion. Luckily, her fever had long since broken as if it had never been. He brought a tray with food for two and settled beside her to eat. She whimpered and moaned as she sat up and he frowned. "let me feed you, Rin. You're in too much pain."
"No! I can feed myself." Though Rin would agree she was in a lot of pain, she wasn't going to give in to being babied by anyone, even him, because of it. She gave him a momentary glare that had gotten her way a few times, and, after a heavy sigh, he handed her a bowl and chopsticks.
Rin only managed about 3 bites before she set the bowl down again, straightening her fingers with hisses of pain. "ohhh…everything hurts…" she moaned. She looked at him, begging but also rather sullen. "will you…help me?"
He set down his bowl of noodles and broth and picked up hers, helping her finish. "I told you, you should be resting more, Rin. It isn't good for you or the pup to exhaust yourself to the point of pain."
"I'm probably like this because I've been resting too much!" she insisted, pouting as he cleaned her up. He huffed and pulled her into his lap, swaying gently side to side until he felt her relax and heard her start to breathe more deeply. "there. Now, sleep, my love. It's only another day, I promise."
As he moved to return to his study, he was met at the door between rooms by Jaken, who was puffing from having run up the stairs. "what is it?"
"a…a servant…has arrived, from your mother," he managed to wheeze, bent almost double. "she said…she'd come…to care for Rin."
"very well, bring her here." He closed the door gently between his study and room once again and waited for Jaken to fetch the woman. The little toad looked dismayed and scampered back down the stairs. The woman padded back up a few moments later, carrying jaken under one arm, having taken pity on him. He looked grateful but ashamed of the turn of events.
After gently setting him back on the floor, she bowed as deeply as her swollen belly would allow—for this new woman was pregnant also, though close to halfway through, as any InuYoukai would be by now. "Hello, Sesshomaru-sama. Your mother sent me to care for your mate through her change from human to youkai. She thought perhaps the girl's stubborn nature would make things difficult." This woman clearly had good humor. Her hair was a light silver and went most of the way down her back, tied at the nape of her neck and kept neat. Under each golden eye was a slightly spiky deep blue diamond, marking her as a female of the Nami clan, some distant relation to Sesshomaru's father. Her height proved that as well—she was only perhaps an inch shorter than Sesshomaru himself was. She smiled politely, not expecting him to return the gesture, and he did not. "has the young lady been resting, as instructed?" her tone, though polite on the surface, clearly said she knew that was not the case.
He let out a soft, slightly exasperated sigh, and shook his head very slightly. "I have done all I can, but she refuses to remain in bed longer than it takes me to leave the room." He looked at the Shoji that divided his study from his room, able to hear Rin as her breathing once again proved her wakefulness. He was surprised to hear her growling a moment later. "her instincts have already taken over on more than one occasion," he continued, frowning.
"shall we see her, then?" the woman suggested, and he nodded, rising to his feet and opening the door once more. Rin's growling grew louder and she fixed her slit-pupilled gaze on the woman before her. She met Rin's gaze for several moments before carefully kneeling and kowtowing momentarily, then turning her head to one side, both exposing her neck and revealing the two small purplish marks of her own mating mark. Seeming satisfied, Rin stopped growling and sat up straight, watching the newcomer approach her warily. Just to be safe, the woman crawled the remaining few feet to the futon, keeping her head below Rin's to not stir her up again. Then she sat up and smiled, examining the black-haired girl with gentle hands. Rin blinked after a moment and looked up at Sesshomaru with some confusion.
"who is this?" she demanded as the InuYoukai woman gently poked and prodded her, seeming to approve of what she saw.
He offered her a very faint smile. "my mother sent you a midwife, to ensure you took care of yourself."
"and I'll say you haven't." the woman sat straighter and frowned disapprovingly, then gave a cheerful smile. "your transformation is coming along great, though—I see your marks are coming in!"
Rin rubbed at her face with both sleeves up over the heels of her hands. "oh, yes, it itches, doesn't it?" the midwife asked, and she reached into a small bag she had with her, producing a little jar of ointment. "here, milady, this will stop the itching. Do you have markings anywhere else?" Rin nodded and stuck out her wrists and ankles, where a thin band of green was forming, wrapping once all the way around each of her limbs. "oh, what a lovely color, like jade, or pine leaves," the woman commented, taking a fingerful of the ointment and applying a thin layer to her cheeks first, then the rest of her limbs. Rin let out a sigh of relief and seemed to melt once the intense itching was eased. Sesshomaru couldn't help producing a small smile at the sight of her finally happy after several days of discomfort.
The woman turned to him. "Milord, I know you have much to do—" she nodded at the desk, still visible in the other room, covered in treaties and missives—"but clearly Rin's instincts are far stronger than we anticipated. It's very likely she isn't able to rest without you nearby her, as she knows how vulnerable she is during this time." She frowned slightly again. "it would be easier if she were already a Youkai, of course, because her family or clan could watch over her while you worked, but as she has none, only you will do. Perhaps you can bring your desk in here?"
Sesshomaru's face fell once more at the suggestion. He wanted Rin to be comfortable and happy, above all, of course. But personal life and business had no purpose in the same place and time. There was a good reason his study and bedroom were separate and distinct in two rooms. He had no intention of having both together, and allowing his work as the lord of the western lands to interfere with his time with Rin, and her happiness.
"I mean no disrespect, Sesshomaru-sama. But Rin is unlikely to rest without you very nearby her, and she desperately needs to rest for her safety and comfort, and for the safety of your child as well." He turned a momentary glare on her, then stalked swiftly into the other room. Rin watched in concern, then slight disbelief, as he returned the desk to its former position in his room, near enough to his massive futon that he could sit on it. The midwife nodded in approval as he sat down, setting a handful of things back on the desk. His eyes went slightly wide as he felt something heavy suddenly flop against his back, and turned his head slightly to see Rin leaning against him, already falling back to sleep.
"I shall be downstairs if you need me, Milord."