InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Lucky Ones ❯ Chapter Twenty-Eight ( Chapter 28 )

The Lucky Ones

By Terri Botta

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Sole copyright belongs to Viz and Rumiko Takashi. I'm poor so don't sue.

Rating: R for later chapters.

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kagome, Miroku/Sango

Summary: Sometimes Fate hands you a gift you never thought you'd ever get, and it's up to you to accept it for what it is.

Email feedback to: tci100@psu.edu

Webpage: http://www.wordsmiths.net/Botta

A/N: Some of you have been saying that you can't read the manga. There are two excellent sites where you can read translations of the manga on-line:

http://www.wot-club.org.uk/Inuyasha/ by Chris (text only but has ALL of the mangas up to the most recent chapter)

http://www.ear-tweak.com/iy_manga/main.htm has IMAGES and translations of the the last ten chapters.

Enjoy!

Conversations with the undead up next. ;)

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Chapter Twenty-Eight

Autumn progressed into winter and all the predictions of a harsh season came true. If there was any evidence supporting global warming, Kagome had to admit that winters in the Sengoku Jidai were much colder than those of the modern era and there was a lot more snow. The bad weather halted any shard hunts, and Kagome contented herself with studying for her mid-term exams and doing nothing more dangerous than teaching Yukio how to make snowballs. The toddler loved the snow and seemed immune to the cold. Unlike his mother, who would break out in shivers from just seeing him running around in the snow with bare feet.

Inuyasha, aside from being bored and grumpy, was learning that cold winter mornings were nice for cuddling in the warm den, and that spending the day curled around your loved ones wasn't so bad every now and then. He was also learning that snow could be fun when played in with a hanyou pup and a kitsune kit who ganged up on him. More than once she'd had to break up a snowball fight where she wasn't sure who she was saving: the youngsters or Inuyasha.

They celebrated Yukio's first birthday in the Sengoku Jidai, approximating the date based on what his dying mother had told them of his age when she brought him to them. It snowed heavily that day and part of his present was a snow slide Inuyasha carved into the hillside by the village and stomped smooth. Kagome poured water on it to make it freeze and create a layer of slick ice, then they used coarse woven rucksacks as sleds and sent Yukio sliding down it. All of the village children got a turn going down, as well as a few of the adults, and the fun was a welcome break from the winter drudgery. Kagome brought back tons of food from her time and they had a feast, complete with a modern day red bean cake for Yukio and a birthday candle.

Two days after the big birthday bash, Kagome had to go back to her time to take two major exams before the major winter break. Inuyasha was supposed to go with her, but then word came from a neighboring village asking for help with a collapsed bridge. Kagome convinced Inuyasha to go with the men who had volunteered to help repair the bridge, saying that his strength and immunity to the cold would prove invaluable, not to mention that his help would sow the seeds of good will between hanyous and humans. He took Yukio with him because he knew she had to study, and without him there to watch the toddler he wouldn't leave Kagome alone. When the job was done, probably in as little as two days with Inuyasha's help, he and Yukio would come to her time to join her, and they would all return together after her exams. They would also have a little birthday party in her era for Yukio during that time as well, since she would never dream of robbing her mother of an opportunity to continue spoiling the boy rotten.

Kagome put her pencil down as the teacher called a halt to the examination period, and sighed with relief.

`It's over. Finally. And I think I passed.'

Looking over to Ayumi, she saw that her friend had put her head down on her desk and was looking the worse for wear. She knew the girl hadn't been feeling well, but now Ayumi's skin was flushed and sweaty, and her eyes looked glazed. Kagome's own throat tickled with the beginnings of a scratch and she frowned.

`Looks like we're both getting sick. Damn.'

"Ayumi-chan," she said, reaching over to touch her friend.

"Oooohh… Kagome-chan. I don't feel so well."

"Sensei," Kagome called. "Ayumi isn't feeling well. May I take her to the nurse?"

The teacher came over, took one look at Ayumi's flushed face and nodded. "Yes, Higurashi. Please escort Yabumotou to the infirmary."

Kagome stood and bowed. "Thank you, sensei." Then she urged Ayumi to her feet. "C'mon, Ayumi-chan, let's go to the nurse."

Ayumi stood slowly and leaned heavily on Kagome as they walked down to the infirmary.

"Does your head hurt, Ayumi-chan?" she asked.

"I hurt all over," the other girl admitted.

`That's not good…'

They arrived at the nurse's office and the kindly woman took Ayumi's temperature and other vitals, then felt her glands and let out a deep sigh.

"Is someone home who can come pick you up?" the nurse asked.

"Is it that bad, senpai?" Ayumi replied.

"You have a high fever and the tell-tale signs of the flu. Besides you're my fourth case today. Go home before you infect anyone else and I have an even bigger epidemic on my hands."

`The flu? Oh shit.'

The nurse turned to her. "You too. Are you feeling well?"

"Umm, I've got a sore throat. It started this morning."

"Go home too. Even if you aren't showing signs, you've been exposed and you're probably highly contagious."

`Contagious. Oh crap. I probably gave it to Souta. Mama's gonna kill me.'

Ayumi was getting up and she helped her stand. "I'll call my mom. She can come get me."

"Good. Go home. Take some flu medication and get lots of fluids and rest. It's the best thing for you right now."

She gave both of them surgical masks. "Here, put these on before you spread it and the whole school gets sick."

They put the masks on and Ayumi made a weak joke. "But if the whole school gets sick, won't you get a day off?"
"Ha ha, funny. But I suppose I should be grateful. These days the flu's just an inconvenience. A hundred years ago an outbreak like this could kill one out of every three people that got it, so I guess we should consider ourselves lucky," the nurse replied and her words made Kagome turn cold.

`One out of every three could die… I… I can't go back to the Sengoku Jidai. I could bring this with me and infect the villagers…' She grew even colder. `Inuyasha's coming for me today and he's bringing Yukio. I could infect my baby…'

"Yes, you get out of here too. You're looking even paler than a few minutes ago. Do either of you need me to call your mothers?"

`Is Mama even home? What about Jii-chan? Oh no, I shouldn't be around him either…'

"I'll call my mom on my mobile," Ayumi said. "Kagome, do you need a ride?"

"I… I need to call Mama."

"You can use my mobile."

"Okay, thanks."

"I'll get you both a dose of flu medication," the nurse offered, and went to the back room.

"Do you want to call your mom first and see if she can come get you?" Ayumi asked, offering the cell phone.

"Yes, please."

"Kagome are you feeling as bad as I am because you look really white."

"Inuyasha is coming for me today with Yukio," she whispered. "I… I can't expose my baby to this illness, and I can't go back to the other time because I could spread it there and people could die."

Ayumi's eyes widened as she realized what Kagome was saying. "Is there any way to tell him not to come for you?"

"Only if Mama or Jii-chan are home and can catch him before he leaves the shrine. But knowing him, he'll come through the well and come straight here."

"Oh no. But… you do have the mask on, and if you wash your hands…"

She nodded, and accepted the phone, dialing her home number.

As it turned out, Mama was home and more than willing to come pick her up. She also had the welcome news that she, Jii-chan and Souta had all gotten flu shots because it was predicted to be a very bad flu season due to major antigenic shifts in the virus that year. Unfortunately, Mama had seen Inuyasha but he'd already left for her school, carrying Yukio, so there was no way to tell him not to come.

`He's probably already waiting for me on the roof…'

Mama said she would disinfect her bedroom then come get her. Kagome gave the phone back to Ayumi just as the nurse was returning with two doses of liquid flu medication. She took off her mask long enough to drink the medicine, then put it back on and washed her hands thoroughly.

"My mom is on her way," Ayumi said as she put away her phone.

"Well, at least the exams are over," she joked weakly.

"The two of you should stay here until your mothers come for you," the nurse suggested.

"I have to go to my locker," she replied. `And to the roof to tell my hanyou lover that he can't touch me or come anywhere near me and he needs to get our baby away from here.'

"Alright, but come back here once you have your things."

"Thank you," she answered and hurried out, sneaking up to the roof.

Sure enough, Inuyasha was sitting with his back to the machine room wall with Yukio playing on his lap. The toddler smelled her before she even turned the corner, and she could hear his happy babblings in spoken words and inu-youkai.

"Okaa-san! Okaa-san!" :Mother-female. Mother-female comes.:

`Damn… I hope Inuyasha doesn't let him go so he can come running to me.'

"Don't let him go!" she cried as she hurried to come into their view. "Don't let him come to me!"

"Eh? Why not?" Inuyasha asked before he could see her. "And why are you so early?" He stared at her when he saw her with the mask on her face. "What are you wearing that thing for?"

He stood up and took a step forward.

"STOP!" she yelled, putting her hands out. "You… you can't come any closer."

"Huh?"

"Okaa?" Yukio asked from his place in Inuyasha's arms.

"Listen to me, Inuyasha. You have to go back. You have to stay away from me."

"What are you babbling about, wench?"

"I'm sick. I've been exposed to an illness you can get and spread to others. You can't come anywhere near me until I'm better."

He snorted and Yukio mimicked him. "I'm a hanyou, wench. I don't get sick."

"You might not, but Yukio's at risk," she countered. "You have to keep him away from me."

She saw him pause and think about what she was saying.

"For how long?" he finally asked and she breathed a sigh of relief.

`He won't risk the baby. Kami-sama he is such a good father.'

"I… I don't know. A week at least."

"A week?!" His eyes narrowed. "Are you sure you aren't making this up just so you can have more time here?"

"Inuyasha! How dare you even think that I would do such a thing, you baka!" she yelled, but was cut off by a coughing fit.

Inuyasha immediately capitulated. "Alright! Alright! I believe you. Just please stop coughing."

"I'm trying," she said between coughs.

"Okaa-san?" Yukio called in a small voice, reaching out towards her.

"I'm sorry, baby, but I can't hug you. Okaa-san's sick."

"Sick?" the toddler repeated.

"Yes. It means Okaa-san must stay in bed and rest and not play. Like when Jubae wasn't able to play with you that one time, remember? Because she had a fever."

:Mother-female go to den?:

"Soon baby, but Otou-san is going to take you back to Kaede-obachan's."

"NO!" Yukio cried.

"Oi, pup! Whaddya mean `no?' You'll do as you're told," Inuyasha scolded.

Yukio sniffled. "Otou… want Okaa-san…"

"I'm sorry, baby," she apologized. "Mama-baachan is coming to get me and I'm going to go home with her. She'll make medicine for me and I'll rest and get better."

Yukio would not be swayed. "Want Okaa-san," he whined.

"I know, baby. I know. But you can't. Okaa-san will make you sick. Inuyasha take him back to Kaede's, please. You should stay there too. I'll come back when I'm better."

"You'll be alright here?" he asked, his eyes showing a hint of concern.

She nodded. "Yes. Mama is coming and I'll go home with her. I have to get back downstairs. There are people who will come looking for me if I'm gone too long. You go back and I'll come as soon as I can. I promise."

He looked reluctant to leave, a torn look on his face.

"Inuyasha. If I'm sick, you have to take care of Yukio."

That did it. He steeled his face and gave her a quick nod. "I'll come back to check on you once I have him settled."

Asking him not to do that was a lost cause so she just nodded.

"I love you both and I'm sorry, but I can't risk making either of you sick or bringing it with me to your time. What I have could decimate the whole village if they got it."

Inuyasha reacted to her last statement with alarm, but he did not say anything. Instead an odd look came to his face and he pulled a still protesting Yukio closer to his chest.

"I will be back," he assured her and leaped off.

She sighed, already beginning to feel worse but glad that she was able to keep her family safe, and headed back down to the nurse's office.

By the time Mama came to get her and she was sequestered in her room, her temperature had risen and she was burning up. Within two hours of coming home, her fever climbed to 40° C and her mother put her in a cool bath to try to bring her temperature down. The cool water gave her the chills and she began to shake uncontrollably, even as the fever made her head spin.

The bath brought her temperature down slightly to 39° C, and Mama put her back in bed and piled blankets on her. Even with five blankets and a comforter, she still shivered and shook with chills despite her fever, making her hot and cold at the same time. Mama gave her another dose of liquid flu medication and tried to get her to drink some fluids, but it was all she could do just to lift her head. She finally fell into a restless sleep sometime after nightfall only to be awakened by a thump on her window and a muffled curse.

`Inuyasha's back and he's found the seals…' she thought.

She'd used the last of her strength that afternoon to put wards on her window and door in order to prevent Inuyasha from coming into her room. Knowing her hanyou the way that she did, she knew that the seals would be the only thing that would keep him out. She didn't like doing it, but she knew he would think himself immune and just come barging in.

`Even if he doesn't get sick, he could still carry it and infect others. Inuyasha, I'm sorry.'

There was another thump at her door, followed by another curse.

"Oi! Kagome!" she heard him yell.

She wanted to answer him, to explain why she'd locked him out, but she couldn't find her voice. Thankfully, she didn't have to because she heard Mama gently telling him what was going on.

"Woman, what's with the seals?"

"Kagome is very sick, Inuyasha. She needs her rest."

"I'd let her sleep!" he countered indignantly.

"And she's very worried about spreading her sickness to you or the others in your time. She put the wards on her room to make sure you stayed away from her and couldn't be infected."

"But I'm fine. I never get sick!"

"You might not show any signs, but you could carry the sickness to your time and give it to others who would get sick. If that happened, it could be very bad. The sickness Kagome has used to kill a lot of people before we had medicines for it, and it still kills people today if they are weak and can't fight off the infection. She didn't want to take the risk," she heard her mother explain patiently.

There was silence, then Inuyasha asked softly, "How sick is she? What does she have?"

"Why don't you come with me? Kagome won't rest if she can hear your voice and I have some medical books downstairs. I'll make some ramen and you can read about her sickness, alright?"

"Okay," he finally said after a long pause.

She felt the familiar tingle of his jyaki fade as he followed her mother, and she was very proud of him for not banging on the door and making a scene.

`My Inuyasha is growing up,' she thought as sleep claimed her again.

His jyaki returning roused her because she was always hyper-aware of him and she woke feeling worse than she had before. Her head was pounding and her whole body hurt all over. Not to mention the fact that she was drenched with sweat and still shivering.

`Medicine's worn off…'

The rustle of his clothes and the sound of his body sliding against the door told her that he'd taken up the `guard' position outside her room, but this confused her because she didn't know where Yukio was and she was worried about him. She tried to speak, but found that she couldn't form words. Thankfully inu-youkai didn't require a working voice box in order to speak it.

:Leader-male,: she said faintly, knowing he would hear her.

He was as hyper-aware of her as she was of him, and she knew he would be listening for the slightest sound from her. Sure enough, she heard him move immediately.

"Kagome?"

:Where pup?:

"I left him with Kaede, and… don't sit me, but the old woman and the houshi sealed him in the hut."

`Sealed him? Oh I'll bet that went over well…'

:Pup stay in den?:

"I had to. He would have tried to follow me if I hadn't. Shippou went in with him so he's not alone in there.

:Danger to den.: It was the closest way she knew of saying she was concerned that Yukio would tear Kaede's hut apart.

"Bah, they can handle it. I told them to do what they had to do to subdue him and keep him safe."

:Danger to pack-members,: she warned.

"He won't hurt them. He knows what will happen if he does."

`He won't stand for that. He's probably terrified and screaming his head off. My poor baby.'

:Fear for pup.:

"Pup's fine. It's you who aren't. Kagome, how are you feeling?"

:Hot. Cold. Hurts.:

"Your mother let me read her books. This inn-flooo-enzaaa is very bad."

:Yes.:

"It kills humans all the time."

:Yes,: she confirmed.

"But she said you weren't in any danger."

:No. Mother-female safe.:

"I understand now why you were so worried about others getting it."

:Yes. Protect pack.:

He sighed loud enough for her to hear. "That's my Kagome, always thinking of others before herself."

:Mother-female loves pack. Loves pup. Loves leader-male. Mother-female keeps pack safe.:

"I know."

:Hot. Cold. Need mother-female mother.: She was trying to convey to him that she needed her mom to bring her more medicine.

"I'll get her."

She heard him move and a few minutes later her mother came in with a cup of hot medicine and a mug of hot herbal tea.

"The tea will help you sleep," she said.

She gave Mama a thankful nod and drank both cups. After she was finished, her mother helped her into some clean pajamas and back into bed. The medicine started working and she didn't hurt so badly.

"Your fever's still high. If it's still this high in the morning, I'm calling the doctor."

She gave a grunt of agreement and tucked her head under the covers. It had gotten to the point where even her scalp shivered. Her mother gave her a reassuring pat and left. A moment later, she heard Inuyasha settle his back against her door again.

:Leader-male?:

"I'm here. I won't leave you," came his soft voice through the door.

:Hurts. Tired.:

"Then get some rest. You won't get better if you don't rest."

:Yes.:

She closed her eyes, feeling safe because he was there and succumbed to sleep.

The next day, after sleeping almost fourteen hours straight, Mama brought her a mug of thick liquid she knew too well. Sometime during her rest, Inuyasha had gathered the ingredients and made his famous medicine for colds. Now that she knew what was in it, she curled up her nose, but she also remembered how well it had worked. She didn't know what, if any, effect it would have on her flu, but she was feeling so poorly that she was willing to give it a try. Besides, if she didn't drink it, Inuyasha would be offended and she didn't want him to think she was ungrateful.

Her fever had come down some but it was still hovering around 38° C. She took another bath, this one a little warmer and changed into clean pajamas while her mother stripped her bed, changed her sheets, and aired out and disinfected her room. She didn't see Inuyasha, but she could feel his jyaki so she knew he was nearby. She heard him at the door just as soon as she was settled back in bed.

"Inuyasha?" she whispered.

"I'm here," came his immediate answer.

"Thank you for the medicine."

She heard him snort and could almost visualize his blush. "I've told you before that it's nothing."

"Where were you just now?"

"Downstairs with your brother and the old man. Your mom said it was safer for me to be down there."

"Have you seen Yukio?"

"Yes. He's fine. Hates me right now, but he's fine."

"Does Kaede still have a hut?"

"Yes, but he smashed some of her buckets and almost burned it down by throwing stuff in the fire pit."

"Oh no. Is everyone alright?"

She heard him sigh. "Yeah, but…"

`Oh-oh. I don't like the sound of his voice…'

"Inuyasha? Did something else happen?"

"Yeah." His voice was sad and tired.

"What was it?"

"I… I lost my temper with him."

`Oh no…'

"You did? What did you do?"

"It was after I found out that he'd almost burned the hut down. He or Shippou or both of them could have been seriously hurt before anyone got to them if someone hadn't been there."

`I probably would have lost my temper over something like that too.'

"I don't blame you for being upset. What did you do to him?"

He hesitated, then replied slowly, "I… I spanked him."

`Spanked him? Inuyasha's never raised his hand to Yukio…'

"I'm sure you didn't hurt him," she assured him.

"His bottom was all red. I gave him five good swats."

`Only five?' "I'm sure that got his attention."

"Yeah. I just hated doing it. Sesshoumaru used to… do that, just to humiliate me with a human punishment."

`Oh… But I bet he gave you more than five swats; probably a lot more…'

"I understand, but I think you did the right thing. If pinning him or scruffing him wasn't working, then you had to do something else. What he did was very dangerous and, you're right, they could have been badly hurt and Kaede could have lost her hut."

"I guess. He screamed and the villagers thought I was killing him. Kaede was the one who had to tell them he was just being punished."

`And that probably hurt you more than anything.'

"I'm sure it was hard for you."

"Yeah," he admitted.

"I miss you," she told him suddenly.

"I miss you too. Are you feeling any better?"

"A little. I still have a fever and I still hurt, but it's not as bad as it was. I'm tired though."

"Then you should sleep."

"I shouldn't be contagious for much longer, then you can bring Yukio back here."

"One day before symptoms start and 5 days after is what the book said."

"Five days? Oh…" she answered sadly. `Five more days until I can see Inuyasha and Yukio again.'

"It'll be alright. What's important is that you get better."

"Yeah."

"You should get some sleep. I'll still be here when you wake."

"Okay."

She huddled under the covers and snuggled into her pillow, imagining that it was Inuyasha she was holding, and fell asleep. When she woke twelve hours later, it was to a pair of concerned golden eyes looking down at her.

"Inuyasha!" she gasped hoarsely, alarmed to see him in her room, then realized he was wearing a surgical mask. He was also dressed in his sweat pants and, to her dismay, a red Big Dog shirt she had bought for him and planned to surprise him with. She had taken black fabric paint and written "I'm the" in kanji on the shirt so it said "I'm the Big Dog" half in Japanese and half in English.

"Your mother said it would be okay for me to come in if I wore these clothes and put this thing on my face. I'm supposed to wash my hands if I touch you too," he explained.

"Why did she let you in?" she whispered, her throat dry and scratchy.

He looked away. "The old man kept tripping over me on the way to the bathroom."

She managed a small smile as he put his hand on her forehead.

"You still have a fever," he said with a frown.

She nodded. She was still sweating and shivering, and she still hurt all over. Unfortunately, she also had to urinate rather badly.

"I have to go to the bathroom."

He nodded. "I'll call for your mother," he said, getting up.

Mama helped her to the bathroom and then got her into yet another set of clean pajamas because the ones she was wearing were soaked with sweat.

"He was fretting so much and Jii-chan banged into him twice," Mama explained. "I felt it was safe as long as he wore the mask and put on clean clothes."

"It's okay, Mama. I sleep better if he's there anyway."

Her mother nodded and said nothing.

She saw that he'd opened the window to let in some air, but closed it to cut off the draft when she came back in. Mama gave her another dose of medicine and Inuyasha made her drink a glass of water, then both he and her mother tucked her back into bed, arranging the blankets and fluffing her pillows, and she found how they fussed over her like two mother hens highly amusing. Once she was settled, her mother left and Inuyasha sat with his back against her bed. She fell asleep to the feel of his hand rubbing her leg.

She woke briefly in the middle of the night to see a black-haired human Inuyasha keeping vigil by her bed. Mentally she wondered how she had lost track of the days and forgotten that tonight was the new moon, but figured her illness gave her enough of an excuse. He looked silly sitting there in modern clothes with Tessaiga leaning against his shoulder and the surgical mask tied around his face, but she was smart enough not to let him know that.

She stayed awake long enough to go to the bathroom, take more medicine and drink another glass of water. Inuyasha helped her through all of it, his touch warm and gentle, and she wanted desperately to cuddle with him and, oddly, make love. She didn't know how she could possibly want him because she was feeling terrible and exhausted, but her body tingled at his touch and for once she was thankful that he didn't have his hanyou nose, otherwise he would have smelled her arousal.

He got her back into bed and she sent him on a conjured up errand to make her some eggs and tea which gave her enough time to quickly take care of her problem before he got back. As soon as she was finished, lonely though it may have been to be by herself, she realized that the release actually made her feel somewhat better and she was glad she had given in to the urge. By the time Inuyasha got back with the eggs and tea, she was half-asleep. She roused herself enough to eat the food and thank him before she rolled over, tucked herself under her blankets and conked out.

Her fever finally broke in the morning, and she spent the next three days coughing and aching with Inuyasha fretting and worrying over her. The longer her sickness dragged on, even though she assured him that she was getting better, the more he fussed and hovered. But she did have to give him credit for his understanding and patience. In all the times he helped her dress and undress, he never once touched her intimately or even hinted at anything untoward. This of course only meant that she would really be in for it when she was up to making love again, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to mind too much.

Her illness also hammered the final nail into Yukio's weaning coffin as her milk dried up completely during her convalescence. She knew he'd be terribly upset but there really wasn't anything she could do. Her body had no choice but to re-route resources towards fighting the virus raging inside of her, and her milk was one of the functions that was sacrificed for the good of the cause. Her son was still confined in Kaede's hut, although Inuyasha did go to see him every day, and they both agreed to bring him just as soon as the danger of contagious illness was over.

The aftermath of the flu wiped her out, and she spent long hours sleeping, only to wake up coughing. Her mother had arranged pillows so that she could sleep sitting up, and that helped a little. Her cough was more bark than bite, but she knew every time she went into another fit it distressed Inuyasha terribly. He hated to hear her struggling to breathe, and felt helpless when nothing he did made it any better. She remembered from the last time she had been sick how her cough had affected him. If there was one thing that had made him fret and blanch, it was the sound of her coughing. The fever, chills and sweating were of obvious concern to him, but her cough always made his eyes go wide and his face turn a little paler.

It struck her that she didn't know how his mother had died, but his reaction to her illness made her wonder if Izayoi had died of a coughing illness. If that was the case, then the fear of her cough came from Inuyasha's old memories of his mother and part of him still associated coughing with death. She tried to console him, to reassure him that she was in no danger of getting worse or dying, and while she knew he understood that she was going to be fine, a nameless fear still lurked behind his eyes that she could not make go away.

"What am I going to do with you, koishii? You cough and cough, and you tell me you're getting better but I can hear the rattle in your lungs," his whispered voice filtered down into her half-conscious brain.

It had been four days and she was still exhausted from just breathing.

`Koishii? Did he just call me beloved?'

A tender hand brushed the hair from her sweaty brow and she pretended to remain asleep.

"You humans are so fragile. How did you ever take over the world? You must have done it by numbers alone because you're no match for the strength and power of a youkai."

He sighed and she did her best to stay very still.

"And you die so quickly. My life will have barely begun when yours is over. You will be old and gray before I even reach full maturity, and you won't live to see our pups grow into full adults. What will we do without you? What will I do without you? Every day I fall for you more deeply and more hopelessly, but I know our time together will be so short compared to the years I will have to live alone. I don't know how I will stand the pain of your loss. Will I follow you in death, or will I spend my long life searching for your reincarnation so that we can be together again?"

`I… I never knew he thought about these things. All this time, I have been worried about the well sealing or Kikyou taking him away from me, but Inuyasha… I know I'll never have to live without him, but he… he'll live for centuries. He'll have to go on when I am long dead.'

For a moment she felt such sorrow for him. No matter how long she lived, he was still doomed to lose her because her lifespan would never match his. For all the years and time they would have together, his hair would still be silver and his face still young when her bones had disintegrated into dust. It seemed so unfair and horribly tragic. How did he stand knowing that he would live for hundreds of years after her death?

"But I can't think about these things. You would think it so strange for me to have deep thoughts and I would hurt you with things you have no power to change."

`He's right. I'd hurt for him and not for me; hurt for my hanyou who found love with a human only to lose her to Time. Oh my Inuyasha. My poor Inuyasha.'

She made a show of muttering and was shocked to feel his mask-covered lips kiss her brow.

"Shhhhh, Kagome. Sleep. You don't cough when you sleep."

`I'm sorry, koi, but after that… I can't sleep anymore.'

She roused slowly, inwardly smiling at his attempts to get her to go back to sleep. He shushed and petted her hair, trying to soothe her, but his attempts were in vain as another coughing fit ripped its way out of her throat. She saw his eyes cloud and knew he was frowning under the mask, as he helped support her and patted her back.

"I wish you'd stop coughing," he admitted.

She looked at him and gave him a weak smile. "Me too."

`He doesn't know I heard him. Maybe that's for the best. He would just get embarrassed and try to pick a fight.'

"Could you get Mama? I need more medicine."

He smiled at her and nodded, standing immediately and going to get her mother. She watched him go.

`I don't know what I can do, but I promise I'll make what time we do have together memorable enough to last you a hundred lifetimes, Inuyasha. At least until we can find each other again.'

In the end Kagome was bed-ridden for ten days, and spent the next week recovering. Inuyasha brought Yukio to her as soon as they were certain she was no longer contagious, and the toddler- traumatized by his ordeal of being forced away from her and sealed in the old miko's hut- clung to her so tightly that she nicknamed him her `Velcro baby.' There was a new wariness of Inuyasha in his eyes as well, a shade that came into them whenever his father first approached. She knew Yukio's fear of him hurt Inuyasha and she was glad when the fear faded after a few days of things being back to `normal.'

Although she tried to listen carefully every time he thought she was asleep, nothing was ever said about his whispered words that one morning and he didn't repeat them. She even thought she might have dreamed that he had called her his beloved because she couldn't imagine him letting such a thing slip, but then she decided that it couldn't have been a dream because she had heard everything he had said afterwards. Knowing that he had said it, even though he thought she couldn't hear him, made her heart glad and she contented herself with the hope that one day he would say them to her willingly while she was awake.

There was no real rush to return to the Sengoku Jidai because the weather there still restricted travel, but concern for how her friends were faring during the harsh winter spurred her on and gave her an incentive to get better as soon as possible. Under Inuyasha's watchful eye and her mother's tender care, she regained the weight she had lost during her illness and built up her strength.

Almost three weeks to the day after she had fallen ill, she, Inuyasha and Yukio returned to the Sengoku Jidai to be with their friends and to resume the life they had made for each other there.