InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Lucky Ones ❯ Chapter Forty-Two ( Chapter 42 )

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: Yes, I KNOW The Fellowship of the Ring didn't come out until Dec 2001, but the image was too good to pass up. So please suspend your disbelief for the sake of a good story and imagine that a family as rich and powerful as IY's could get an advance copy. Or something. So there.

*******

Chapter Forty-Two

Nearly four weeks to the day later, Mama was awakened from her light sleep by a loud knocking on the bedroom door. Because it was getting so close to Kagome's due date, she'd taken to spending the nights at Tokyo House so she would be able to go to the hospital with them when Kagome went into labor.

She rolled over and the knocking came again, then Inuyasha's head popped in through the opened door.

"Get up. It's time," he said.

She didn't have to be told twice, and in minutes she was out of bed and pulling on the clothes she had laid out at the foot of the mattress before she went to sleep. Yanking on her shirt, she moved into the hall and met Inuyasha carrying Kagome down the stairs. Her daughter looked pale and haggard.

"Kagome? Are you all right?"

Kagome nodded. "Yeah, Mama."

"How far apart are your contractions?"

"About twenty minutes."

"Okay, we have plenty of time then."

"Keh, speak for yourself," Inuyasha replied, hurrying to get Kagome down to the car.

The rest of the household was rousing and Miroku came barreling down the stairs carrying his mother's hospital bag.

"I've got the bag," he announced.

"Car's out front," Yukio added, coming in the front door. He was shirt and shoe-less, and looked disheveled.

Mama took the bag from Miroku and went out the door with Inuyasha.

"We'll follow behind," Yukio told them as Inuyasha put Kagome in the passenger seat of the silver BMW.

Inuyasha grunted a reply as she slipped into the back seat of the car, the bag beside her. She had barely closed the door when Inuyasha hopped into the driver's seat and threw the car into gear. It lurched forward and Kagome gave a groan.

"Are you all right, Kagome?" she asked.

"I've got a headache," her daughter answered, then cringed as a contraction hit her.

"Okay, now count the minutes between them," she prompted.

"They're already getting closer together. They started out a half-hour apart and that was just an hour and a half ago, and that one was only sixteen. I don't know how I could have ever confused false labor with this. There's no doubt in my mind that this baby is coming tonight," Kagome admitted.

"You said the doctor told you the baby had turned last week so we knew it would be soon."

She saw Kagome nod. "Yeah."

Inuyasha cursed at Tokyo traffic and cut the curb, cutting off a delivery truck to merge onto the street. "Four o'clock in the morning and the assholes are already out." He slammed on the horn as another car pulled out in front of him. "Get the fuck out of my way!" he screamed out the window.

"Inuyasha, please calm down," Kagome admonished gently.

"I should have made Sesshoumaru send a helicopter!"

"Relax. Everything is fine," Kagome assured him.

"Everything is not fine! You're having the pup!"

"Yes, but I'm not having it right this minute."

He swerved to avoid oncoming traffic, swearing like a sailor and honking.

"Inuyasha, you're driving on the wrong side of the road!" Mama cried, realizing that her son-in-law was in the oncoming travel lane. In his haste and upset, he'd obviously forgotten that traffic drove on the left in Japan.

"Shit!" he cursed and swerved to the left. "I fucking forgot you drive on the left here. Are you okay, Kagome?"

"Aside from the sudden heart attack, yes."

Ten minutes later, as Inuyasha took a corner too tightly, Kagome winced again.

"Twelve minutes. They are getting closer together," she commented, suddenly feeling not quite so at ease. They were still a fair distance from the hospital and the Tokyo streets were crowded with delivery trucks.

"Yeah," Kagome agreed, putting one hand on her head and another on her womb. "But at least my water hasn't broken yet."

Six minutes later there was a splashing sound and Kagome groaned.

"I spoke too soon," her daughter moaned as the smell of amniotic fluid filled the car.

"Kagome? Kagome what does this mean?" Inuyasha cried, his voice slightly panicked as he stepped on the gas. "Is the pup coming right now?"

"No, not yet. My contractions are still too far apart. It means Miroku will have to get this car professionally cleaned. I'm sorry."

"What the fuck are you sorry for?" he blurted, casting Kagome a wide-eyed glance.

"I made a mess all over the leather."

"Like I give a shit about that right now!" A horn blared and Inuyasha popped the car onto the sidewalk to avoid another truck. "Mother fucking son-of-a-bitch!"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed, grabbing the handle above her head as he yanked the car back into the street.

"Well, I'm sorry but he just came right in front of us!"

"Because you ran a red light!"

"Where?"

"Back there at the last intersection!"

"I did not!"

"You did to!"

"I did not. There wasn't even a light there!"

"Yes there was!"

"No there wasn't!"

Kagome groaned and doubled over.

"Kagome??" Inuyasha cried.

"Ten minutes. Shit, Inuyasha we have to hurry…"

"Okay. Okay. Just hold on, koi. I'll get you there. Just hold on."

"I'm trying."

Three minutes later they came to a screeching halt outside the emergency entrance of Hirata. Inuyasha leaped out of the car and literally jumped over the hood to practically rip the passenger-side door off its hinges in order to get to Kagome and lift her out. Mama was still struggling with the overnight bag when Inuyasha whisked Kagome into the emergency room and she rushed to catch up.

"Fushikenwa Kagome. She's having a pup!" he yelled as he skidded to a stop in front of the triage nurse.

The nurse was unphased. "Who's her doctor?"

"Hattori."

"Ennosuke or Taro?"

"How the hell should I know! He's never said!"

"Okay, okay."

Two orderlies came over with a stretcher and he put Kagome down on it. The nurse then handed him some paperwork as Kagome was wheeled away.

"Fill these out then you can go in with her."

"Are you insane? My mate is having a pup. Her contractions are ten minutes apart. I don't have time to fill out your fucking paperwork!"

"You should have her files on record," Mama said, coming up to the desk. "She was here two months ago for a false labor and admitted overnight for observation. You can get all the insurance and physician's information from the existing entry."

"Name?" the nurse asked.

"Fushikenwa Kagome! I already said that. Are you fucking deaf too?" Inuyasha roared.

The nurse flashed him a withering glare. "Spell that please."

"F-u-s-h-i-k-e-n-w-a," Mama answered because it looked like her son-in-law was going to pop a vein at any moment.

"Kagome," the nurse said, reading the screen. "Okay. The maternity ward is through the doors, down the hall, turn left and go through another set of doors. Get a set of scrubs from the duty nurse and you can then go in with your wife."

"Me as well? I'm her mother," she asked.

"Anyone who was listed as being allowed in the room by the patient may go in. The duty nurse will have the list."

"What's going on? Where is Okaa-san?" Miroku demanded, running up to them.

"They've taken her back to the maternity ward," she explained. "Where's Yukio?"

"Moving the BMW. Otou-san left it running in front of the emergency room doors."

"We're going in. Go to the maternity ward waiting room when he gets here and start making calls," she said, then turned to Inuyasha only to find empty air. She looked to see the ward doors swinging slowly, one of them slightly off of its hinges. She sighed. "I have to go."

Her grandson nodded and she hurried off. She caught up to Inuyasha in the maternity ward receiving area while he struggled with the flimsy paper hospital scrubs they were insisting they wear.

"God-damn, fucking piece of shit…" he was growling as he practically ripped the paper pants when he pulled them on.

The duty nurse looked at her. "Are you the mother-in-law?"

She nodded, putting down the overnight bag.

The nurse handed her a set of scrubs. "She's in delivery room 2. Her doctor has been paged."

"Thank you."

Another string of curses made her turn to Inuyasha and she quickly helped him pull the hospital gown on.

"Leave your hair tucked in," she told him as she put the cap on his head. It wasn't large enough to cover all of his long silver hair so it was best that he leave the rest of it underneath the scrub shirt.

"Okay. Thanks," he replied, shoving the paper booties on over his bare feet.

He was gone before she even had a chance to give him his gloves.

"They'll give him another set when he gets to the delivery room. Don't worry, we're used to this. There's actually a changing room just through the doors," the nurse said with an amused smile.

"Thank you," she replied and made her way to the aforementioned room.

She was just opening the door to come out when she heard people talking in the hall.

"She's in room 2?" a female voice asked.

`Room 2. That's Kagome's room,' she thought, pausing to listen.

"Yes. Blood pressure is 150 over 90," a male voice answered.

"That's too high. Where is her doctor?"

"We can't find him."

"Has a urinalysis been done?"

"I don't know."

"Where are her records?"

"We can't find them either."

"Call the surgeon on duty."

"Already did, but we have eight emergencies from that apartment fire downtown and he's swamped. We've got some residents on their way, but they're not here yet."

"How far apart are her contractions?"

"Ten minutes."

"Dilation?"

"Six centimeters."

"Shit. Pull a midwife from the birthing center. It's the best we can do until a doctor gets here."

"Already done."

"Then why are you talking to me?"

"You're the head nurse."

Mama cleared her throat and exited the changing room. The two nurses in medical scrubs froze and stared at her. One of them, a male with shocking purple hair, looked as if he'd just come out of an operating room. She gave them a nod, quelling her growing panic.

`High blood pressure and no doctor. This isn't good.'

"Room 2?" she asked.

The male blinked and pointed one clawed finger to a room two doors down. She nodded in thanks and hurried to it. Kagome was on the table, her feet propped in the stirrups and a hospital sheet covering her lower half for modesty's sake. A host of machines and electrodes had been hooked up to her to monitor her vital signs and those of the baby. Inuyasha was by her side, holding her hand and talking softly to her. She passed the nurse in the room as she moved to the opposite side and took her daughter's other hand.

"Kagome," she said.

Kagome turned her head and looked blankly at her. She was sweaty and her eyes looked dazed.

"Mama."

"Do you remember your breathing exercises?"

Kagome nodded.

"Okay then. Let's breathe."

"It hurts."

"I know, but it's okay. It'll be over soon. Breathe with me now, okay?"

"Okay."

Mama started the rhythm and encouraged Inuyasha to help as well, coaxing him to take the counter-breath pattern. Kagome's contractions were still ten minutes apart when the door opened and the purple-haired male entered with a new woman, this one with bright red hair.

"Kagome-san," the newcomer said. "I'm Botan. I'm a midwife. I'm here to help you with the birth."

"Where… where is my doctor?" her daughter asked.

"Dr. Hattori has been paged but he hasn't arrived yet."

Inuyasha growled. "I knew that damn doctor was a jerk! I knew it!"

"I'm sure he's on his way, senpai," Botan assured him, then lifted the sheet. "I'm just going to take a peek and see how far along you are, okay."

Kagome didn't answer as another contraction hit her and she cried out.

"Oh my, that was a big one, but you can't push quite yet. You're only six centimeters," Botan said. "But it looks like you're moving right along like a pro. How many babies have you given birth to before this?"

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha demanded. "This is my mate's first time."

"Oh. Well, for a first timer, you're doing great."

"It hurts," Kagome repeated.

"I know, but if you keep progressing like this, you'll have this baby in no time," the midwife comforted.

"BP 160 over 90," the nurse who had already been in the room said.

Although no one said anything, the tension in the room increased. Mama looked at Kagome, trying very hard not to alarm her but she knew the blood pressure was a problem.

"How is the baby's heart?" she asked instead.

The nurse looked at the monitor. "Fetus' heart is steady."

"Okay, Kagome, I think it would be best if we get this baby out of you as soon as we can, okay?" Botan coached.

"I'm doing my best here," her daughter replied. "It hurts."

"You keep saying that Kagome. Can you tell me what hurts?" the midwife asked a little too calmly.

"My head. And… and my upper abdomen."

"Where is the doctor?" Botan questioned.

"No one knows," the purple-haired nurse replied.

"Tell the head nurse to prep a surgical team. I think we're going to need it."

"We don't have a surgeon."

"Well find one."

"What's going on?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Just making sure we're prepared for anything," the midwife soothed, but her voice was false.

"Don't lie to me! What's wrong?"

"Inuyasha," Mama said carefully, fixing him with a look. "Everything will be fine as long as this baby comes soon."

She had to give him credit for how much he had matured. He wasn't nearly as dense as he used to be because he narrowed his eyes and scowled.

"Okay, koi. This pup wants born, so let's get it out, okay," he said encouragingly, obviously trying not to alarm her.

Kagome nodded and gripped his hand tightly. "I'll try."

An hour later, Kagome was still only dilated six centimeters and her contractions were still ten minutes apart. And there was still no sign of Dr. Hattori. The only good news was that her blood pressure seemed to have stabilized at 160/90, still way too high but not life threatening.

"All right, what have we got here?" Dr. Hattori said cheerfully as he breezed in without so much as a word of explanation as to where he had been. "Oh my, it looks like you're having a baby, my dear."

When he went to pat Kagome on the belly Inuyasha nearly bit his hand off.

"Where the fuck have you been asshole? My mate's been here for over an hour."

"Doctor, the patient's blood pressure is very high. I suspect she is pre-eclamptic," Botan said quietly so Kagome would not hear her. "I would recommend sedation and an immediate Caesarean."

The doctor looked at the midwife and Mama did not like the expression on his face.

"Are you a doctor?" he asked.

"No, but I have been a midwife for over three hundred years. I know the signs."

"Her blood pressure is high, true, but I'd rather not resort to such drastic measures just yet."

"Doctor," Botan said through gritted teeth. "If nothing is done the patient could progress into full-blown eclampsia."

"Nonsense." He smiled at Kagome. "You're doing fine, my dear. There's nothing to worry about." He turned back to the midwife. "Your services are no longer needed."

"With all due respect, doctor, I'd rather stay."

"I want her to stay!" Inuyasha added forcefully. "Someone in this room should know what the fuck they're doing!"

Dr. Hattori scowled. "Just don't get in my way."

He practically pushed her aside to look under the sheet. Inuyasha growled menacingly at his callous treatment of the midwife and familiar way with Kagome.

"Well, it looks like we're up to 7cm, my dear. Everything is going to be just fine."

Kagome didn't answer and Mama did not like the look in her eyes.

"Kagome?" she asked.

"It hurts. Mama, it hurts," her daughter whispered.

"Your head?"

Kagome nodded.

"Doctor, the patient is complaining of a headache and upper abdominal pain," Botan ground-out angrily.

"Thank you for that information," the doctor replied dismissively.

Botan's eyes narrowed. "Where is your father?" she asked suddenly.

"My father is not needed here. This woman is my patient."

Mama saw Botan cast the purple-haired nurse a glance and the male nodded. A moment later he slipped out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Dr. Hattori demanded to his retreating back. "Get back here at once!" He rounded on the midwife. "I'll have your job for this!"

Botan did not answer.

"There's something wrong, isn't there?" Kagome asked, her voice faint. "I've heard you talking..."

"Your blood pressure is very high, Kagome," Mama admitted.

"Is there protein in my urine?" she asked, her eyes suddenly clear.

Mama shook her head. "I don't know."

"High blood pressure... that isn't good. The baby... how is my baby?"

Inuyasha hurried to calm her. "The pup seems fine, koi. He just hasn't decided if he's ready to come out yet."

"Indecisive... like his father," she joked weakly. "I need... We need to get him out... He has to come out. If he doesn't..."

"BP up to 170 over 100," the remaining nurse announced.

"Kagome. Kagome, listen, you need to calm down. If you don't calm down, you'll make it worse," Mama tried.

"If the blood pressure is too high, it could hurt the baby."

"Yes, we know, but we've got it under control. We need you to help us by trying to stay calm."

"No, you don't understand. The blood flow could… He could suffocate…"

"The monitors say the baby is fine. Good strong heartbeat," Mama reassured.

"But he's at risk. My baby's at risk!" Kagome insisted, her eyes wide with fear.

"BP 180 over 110!"

"Kagome! Kagome listen to me," Mama urged.

"Kagome. Kagome, hold my hand and calm down..." Inuyasha said, trying to get her to look at him.

Kagome's eyes glazed over and she began to pant heavily.

"Doctor!" the midwife shouted.

Dr. Hattori looked stressed and flustered. "My dear, you're overreacting. There's nothing to be worried about."

"BP 200 over 120 and rising!"

"My baby. Kami-sama, my baby."

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled.

"220 over 130!"

"My baby!"

"Kagome!!"

"240 over 145!"

"Save my baby!!"

"KAGOME!"

"250 over 155!!"

Kagome screamed.

"KAGOME!!!"

Two things happened next. One, the purple haired nurse came back with an older looking youkai doctor close at his heels, and two, Kagome lost consciousness.

"Kagome!?" Inuyasha cried. "Kagome! KAGOME!"

"What the hell is going on here?!" the new doctor demanded.

"Doctor, this patient is eclamptic!" the midwife told him, desperation in her voice.

"Patient has lost consciousness!" the purple-haired nurse announced.

"BP 255 over 160!"

"WHAT IS HAPPENING TO MY MATE?!!"

The older doctor seized control of the situation. "Get a surgical team in here immediately. We need to perform a Caesarean." He turned to the younger doctor and pointed. "You! I'll deal with you later. Get out!" He turned to Mama and Inuyasha, who was still trying to get Kagome to respond to him. "I'm sorry. We need you to clear the room."

"I'M NOT LEAVING!"

"Inuyasha, we need to get out of the way!" Mama told him.

He was wild-eyed, panicked and practically incoherent as four new staff members came bursting into the room in a flurry of activity.

"Orderlies, clear the room!" the new doctor ordered.

Mama was already moving, but two bull-youkai orderlies had to grab Inuyasha by the arms and drag him out of the delivery room.

"No! Kagom-e-e-e!!! KAGOME-E-E-E!!!"

The last thing they saw was Kagome going into convulsions on the table. Inuyasha screamed and dropped to the floor.

********

Yukio was with a number of his siblings in the private waiting room they had been directed to when he heard his father start screaming and a cold feeling of dread filled him. Over the past hour Eri, Izayoi, Tetsu, Shippou and his mate, Mariko, Kitarou, Tomo and Rumiko had all arrived and others were on the way. At his side Kenshuga pulsed and he could feel the power in the sword flaring and roiling. A moment later two bull-youkais dragged an incoherent Inuyasha into the waiting room. His grandmother wasn't far behind. They dropped his father unceremoniously to the floor and disappeared behind the ward doors, then the doors flared and he felt them Seal shut.

"Otou-san!" he cried and ran to his father's slumped form.

Inuyasha was struggling to sit up, his claws cutting through the gloves on his hands.

"Kagome... Kagome..." he was calling faintly.

He looked up at his grandmother who was shaking.

"Mama-baachan?"

Before she could answer him, his father choked and began to convulse.

"Otou-san!!" he yelled, helpless as his father thrashed on the tile floor.

"Oh Kami-sama!" he heard Rumiko gasp.

"Kagome!" Shippou yelled, reminding all of them that if Inuyasha was convulsing then Kagome must also be suffering the same.

His cry was echoed by Inuyasha, who had stopped convulsing and was rising to his knees.

"Kagome. Kagome. Kagome."

He was a mess, blood pouring from his mouth where he had bitten his lip during the seizure. It was staining his wild hair and the paper scrubs he wore, and spilling onto the white floor. As Yukio watched, horrified, Inuyasha crawled for the ward doors, laying hands on them and ignoring the pulse of barrier energy.

"Kagome!"

He scratched at the doors, his claws gouging the stainless steel surface.

"Kagome! Kagome!"

Digging his claws into the wall next to the doors, his father pulled himself to his feet and began pounding on them with one fist, calling his mother's name over and over, his voice rising with each desperate blow.

"Kagome. Kagome. Kagome! Kagome! Kagome! Kagome!"

Another wave of paroxysms shook him but he remained standing with what looked like the force of his own will as he roared in defiance.

"KAG-O-ME-E-E-E!!" Inuyasha howled, slamming his fist right into the plaster.

"OTOU-SAN!" Yukio answered.

Inuyasha jerked once, then twice, his head snapping back and his choked cry cut off in mid-scream as he collapsed to the floor and did not move.

`No!' "NOOOOO!!!!"

Yukio slid on his knees to his father's side and turned the inert body over.

"Otou-san! Otou-san!"

Inuyasha's eyes were blank and staring ahead.

"No. No, please. Please... Otou! OTOU!!"

Mariko's hands super-imposed on his as they reached for his father's chest.

"He's still alive," she said, her voice strained. "His soul still resides firmly within his body."

"And Okaa-san?" he managed.

"I see the red cord that ties them together. It is weak, but there. Both of them are still with us."

`Oh thank god!'

"Inuyasha! Kagome! What is going on?" Shippou cried.

"Mama! Papa!"

"Otou-san! Okaa-san!"

He looked to his grandmother.

"Mama-baachan?"

She was pale and trembling. "Kagome... Kagome went into eclampsia in the delivery room."

"Eclampsia? What the hell is that?" he demanded.

"It's a condition caused when blood pressure goes too high during pregnancy," Izayoi answered softly. "It can cause convulsions and coma."

"They were preparing to do an emergency Caesarean when they made us leave," Mama-baachan added.

"What was her blood pressure when they made you leave?" Izayoi asked.

"The last number I heard shouted was 255 over 160."

"255 over 160!!But that... that could kill her!"

"Kagome lost consciousness. And then... then..."

"She went into convulsions," Mariko finished, piecing the story together.

The room erupted into pandemonium. Half a dozen voices all clamored to be heard at once, all demanding answers he didn't have, and Tetsukazu, huddled on the far side of the room, began to wail and slam his head against the wall.

It was too much for Yukio to grasp at once. His father was unconscious. His mother... her condition was unknown, but it was obvious from his father that she was in severe distress. Tetsu was going into full melt-down. He had no idea what had become of the newborn. It was entirely possible that they could lose both parents and the pup within the next hour. He had no idea what to do. He had no idea what was going to happen. Everyone was shouting and crying and there was chaos everywhere.

The bile rose up in his throat as he tried to get a handle on the situation and quell his rising panic. Lose one and you lose both. He'd been brought up knowing that. If anything happened to one of his parents, the other would die as well. What would they do if Inuyasha and Kagome died? What would become of the pack and the family? What would become of the pup if it had survived?

`You are Beta-male,' a voice that sounded like his father's whispered in his mind, but he knew it was just an echo from the past. `You must lead.'

`Lead? I can't lead! I'm not the kind of leader my father is!' he argued with himself.

`The pack will look to you. You are Aniki.'

`Aniki! Aniki not Leader-Male! I'm not... I'm not...'

`You are.'

`I can't...'

`You must.'

`How? How can I?'

`You must.'

`I can't do it without him! I don't know how!'

`You have all you need within you.'

`They won't follow me.'

`They will. You are your father's son.'

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. There was no time for grief or fear or hesitation.

`I am my father's son.'

"I am my father's son," he whispered to himself. "And my father raised me... to be strong."

Standing under his own power in spite of the anguish and nausea that wracked his body, Yukio pulled himself together and faced the room, his father's prone body directly behind his bare feet. Choking back the tears and sobs that threatened to rip their way out of his throat, he pulled Kenshuga from its sheath and held it horizontally over his head.

The room abruptly fell silent.

Looking around, he saw that all eyes were trained on him with the sole exception of Tetsukazu, who was still wailing, banging his head against the wall, and ripping out his own hair.

`Okay. Now what?' he asked himself.

`Now you lead,' the inner voice answered.

`Yeah, okay. And I do that how?'

`Give them something to do.'

`Okay. Tetsu first,' he decided as he sheathed his sword

"Izayoi, please see to Tetsu," he said in a steady voice, which surprised him because he didn't feel steady at all. His sister obeyed without question and ran to the dragon-hanyou.

"Mariko, please help her. Use your powers to calm him down before he hurts himself."

Mariko nodded and went to Izayoi's side.

`Okay, what's next? Otou-san. He must be kept safe while he's helpless like this.'

"Tomo, Kitarou, pick up Otou-san and put him on the couch over there. Don't let anyone near him."

The two brothers moved behind him and gently picked up their father, carrying him over to the couch and standing guard.

"Who has a fast car?" he asked.

Shippou raised his hand. "I do."

`Shippou is your elder. Will he obey?' he wondered. The answer was clear.

"Shippou go. Take your car and drive to Zenko-ji. Bring back Midorikyou. She more than anyone knows the most about the spell that binds Otou-san and Okaa-san together. Maybe…" He paused to swallow the lump in his throat. "Maybe we can separate them." `Otou-san will never forgive me if she dies.'

The kitsune nodded.

"Fly Shippou. Fly as if… as if Naraku was back and chasing your heels."

Shippou paled but obeyed, dashing out of the waiting room.

"Has anyone gotten in touch with Uncle?"

"I've been trying to reach him on his cell phone. So far I've come up with nothing," Eri replied. "I've left three messages."

He nodded. He had a vague memory of Aunt Rin telling him she and Uncle would be in the Western Lands at Grandfather's House for a few days.

`Knowing Uncle though, he's probably already on his way. Okay now what?'

`Name your Beta,' said the inner voice.

`Okay.'

"Tomo?"

"Y-yes?"

"Do you want Beta?"

The bat-hanyou looked horrified and shook his head.

"Okay. Miroku, you are my Second. Eri, you are First Female. In my absence, look to them. They will speak for me," he announced.

`This is getting easier. But I won't get used to it. As soon as Otou-san is back on his feet, he's Alpha again.' He looked around. `Okay. Now what?'

`Now, we wait,' he answered himself.

There was an eerie quiet in the room. Tetsukazu had stopped wailing, but was still sniffling and clinging to Izayoi as if his very life depended upon it.

`He knew,' Yukio suddenly realized, feeling a rush of pity for his youngest sibling. `He knew and couldn't tell anyone or do anything about it. Kami-sama, that boy is cursed.'

What would he have done if he had known this would happen ahead of time?

`I'd have gone crazy if I couldn't change it.' A sudden realization struck him as he remembered Tetsu's questions about the tests the doctor was running. `He was trying. He was trying to warn us. Oh, poor Tetsu. You must have been dying inside all this time.'

He strode over to where his brother lay shivering in Izayoi's arms and knelt on one knee beside him.

"Tetsu," he said softly, gently. "Tetsu, do they live?" He had to know.

Tears streaming from his violet eyes, Tetsu shook his head. "I... I don't know. I don't know. I didn't... I didn't See that far."

"Only that the pup was born alive," he confirmed.

Tetsu nodded. "I heard his first-breath cry."

"What else did you see?" he pressed.

"Blood. And... and darkness."

"But you didn't see death?"

"N... no," Tetsu replied shakily.

Yukio looked to Mariko. "Mariko? You have the Sight too. What have you Seen?"

His sister shook her head. "I don't See the way Tetsu does. I don't get visions, only impressions and feelings."

"What are your impressions?" `Are we all going to be orphans by the end of the night?'

She gave him an apologetic smile. "It's not decided yet. The future is in their hands right now."

"Is there anything we can do to help?"

She shook her head. "No. I have set Intentions, but in the end they will decide the ultimate outcome."

He nodded, slightly disappointed, and patted Tetsu on the sounder, ignoring the younger hanyou's flinch. He saw that his brother had one hand clutched tightly around Jyu-shi-Kenshuga so there was no way he was Seeing anything.

"Thank you, Tetsu."

"I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you anything," Tetsu apologized.

"It's all right. I know you've told me what you can. We'll get through this, all of us together. And I am sure that Otou-san and Okaa-san are fighting to stay with us."

Just then, the doors un-Sealed and opened, admitting an older-looking youkai doctor into the waiting room. He was dressed in soiled surgical scrubs that were smeared with blood and he looked haggard.

"Fushikenwa?" the doctor asked.

Yukio stood and approached the newcomer warily. He smelled vaguely familiar and also carried the scent of his mother's blood.

"I am the eldest," he replied.

The doctor cast about the room, his eyes falling on the unconscious Inuyasha just before the two `guards' blocked his view.

"Your father..."

"Has been sedated," Eri lied smoothly, coming up to them.

`Eri, bless you.'

"And unless you want him screaming and tearing this hospital down around your ears, I suggest he stay sedated," she continued. "That is the famous Fushikenwa Inuyasha, son of Inu no taishou, and half brother to Nishitaishou Sesshoumaru, and his sword is the legendary Tessaiga, capable of blasting this flimsy building into rubble with one blow."

`Tessaiga which he left at home but this guy doesn't need to know that.'

The doctor visibly paled and looked at him. "I am Dr. Hattori."

"You aren't my mother's doctor!" Miroku interrupted, coming towards them.

Yukio heard his brother sniff deeply.

"You smell like him though," Miroku growled. "Baboon-youkai!"

Dr. Hattori took a step back. "I am Hattori Ennosuke. The Hattori who was treating Fushikenwa-san is Hattori Taro, my son."

"Your son?" Yukio repeated.

`He smells of fear and embarrassment,' he thought, taking a whiff.

"Yes. Hattori Taro is my son."

Miroku growled again and grabbed the doctor by his shirt collar. "What did your incompetent jerk of a son do to my mother?"

"Miroku, stand down," he ordered gently, but firmly.

Still growling lowly from deep in his throat, Miroku obeyed and stepped back.

"I'm assuming you have news for us," he then said coldly, pushing just a little because the doctor's fear-scent had increased.

Dr. Hattori cleared his throat. "Y-yes. I have good news. Your mother survived the birth as did the infant."

"The pup is alive?"

"Yes, the newborn is alive and appears to be healthy. He has been taken to the nursery."

"He?"

"Yes, the infant is a boy."

`A boy. We have a little brother.'

"And my mother? How is she now?"

Dr. Hattori looked down at his hands. "She is in Intensive Care. She went into eclamptic toxemia during the delivery and suffered numerous seizures. She is currently comatose."

The words hit him like a brick, and he had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from crying. `Comatose. My mother is in a coma...'

"Did you perform the Caesarean?" Mama-baachan asked suddenly.

The doctor shook his head. "We were preparing for it when Fushikenwa-san delivered the infant shortly after a seizure."

"Convulsions can trigger birth," Izayoi commented from her place across the room.

"In the end it was better because it allowed us to transfer your mother to the ICU very quickly. We were able to administer fluids and put her on a respirator," the doctor continued.

Izayoi left Tetsu with Mariko in order to come over to speak with the doctor directly.

"Why wasn't my mother's pre-eclampsia diagnosed? High blood pressure is the primary warning sign of the condition. Wasn't a urinalysis performed to screen for protein in her urine?" she demanded.

Dr. Hattori looked uncomfortable. "It is unknown at this time exactly what tests were performed on Fushikenwa-san. I myself have not had the opportunity to look at her records."

"Have you found them?" Mama-baachan questioned.

"Excuse me?" the doctor asked.

"When I was changing into the sterile scrubs before joining my daughter and son-in-law in the delivery room, I overheard two nurses speaking. One of them said that not only could my daughter's doctor not be found, but neither could her records."

"I am not aware of any missing files at this time, but again, I have not had any time to review the case."

"My mother's doctor in Alberta is Dr. Maggiano," Yukio informed him.

"Maggiano? Teresa Maggiano?"
Yukio nodded. "Yeah."

Dr. Hattori's face darkened and he took a deep breath. "Much is now explained and understood. I will call Dr. Maggiano personally. She and I have been long time colleagues and friends."

"So you're the Hattori who was supposed to be treating my mother and not your idiot son!" Miroku snapped.

"I don't know," the doctor answered.

`You're covering your ass because you smell a lawsuit,' Yukio thought grimly.

"On the night my mother was brought here because of a false labor, he came in and said that Dr. Maggiano had referred my mother's case to him. I know he did. I was in the room when he said so," Miroku argued. "What the hell happened? Why weren't you the one treating her?"

"I am uncertain as to how your mother ended up as one of my son's patients, but rest assured I will investigate this myself and get to the bottom of it."

"Yeah, you and our lawyers," Eri seethed.

Yukio shook his head and grabbed the doctor's arm. "In the meantime, my mother and baby brother? When can we see them?"

"Hospital policy is that no one outside of parents or grandparents may handle the infant without express permission from the parents or legal guardian. You may see him through the nursery observation window, but you will not be allowed to hold him."

"That is unacceptable," Izayoi cut-in. "The infant is an inu-hanyou pup. It is critical he imprint onto his parents' scent within the first few hours of birth."

Mama-baachan stepped up. "I am the newborn infant's grandmother. You said grandparents were allowed to visit." She looked at Izayoi. "Will I do?"

"Your scent is similar to Okaa-san's, but it would be better if you were to bring the pup to Okaa-san or out here to Otou-san."

"The infant is not allowed to be removed from the nursery," the doctor informed them.

"Then you will have to do, Mama-baachan. Take something of Okaa-san and Otou-san's in with you and tuck it into his bed with him," Izayoi directed her.

"We have some of Okaa-san's clothes in the overnight bag we packed," Miroku said.

Mama-baachan nodded.

"And my mother?" Yukio asked again.

"As for your mother, I have high hopes for a full recovery. We'll know more within the next 24 hours," Dr. Hattori replied.

"When can we see her?" he repeated.

"You should be able to go up for brief visits in about half an hour. No more than 2 at a time for a maximum of ten minutes. Once you have seen her, I suggest that you go home. There is nothing else for you to do here."

He growled and bared his teeth. "We aren't going anywhere until we know what is happening with our mother and baby brother."

"I don't think that is wise..." the doctor began, but then stopped as a wave of powerful youki came into their sensing range.

Yukio would know the feel of that youki anywhere and something inside of him that was too tightly coiled finally relaxed.

`Uncle is here. Uncle will know what to do.'

The outer doors to the maternity ward waiting room burst open and the taiyoukai came striding in, face cold and unreadable as always, but the length of his stride and steady speed of his steps spoke volumes about how he was really feeling. He was resplendent in a black suit and long great coat, and he moved with determination and singular purpose.

"Where is my brother? What has happened?" he demanded, but did not wait for an answer.

His head came up, nose sniffing, eyes narrowing and casting about until they fell upon the motionless body of Inuyasha. In seconds he was by the inu-hanyou's side, Tomo and Kitarou scrambling to get out of his way.

"Uncle," Yukio tried but the inu-youkai ignored him.

Instead he reached to his side and put his hand on the hilt of one of the two swords that he never left home without. Yukio gasped as he pulled it from its sheath and held it above his brother. At first the blade looked like a standard, well-made katana, but then it shimmered and they all felt the surge of energy as the blade began to glow with a luminescent blue light.

`That's... that's Tenseiga...'

In all his years, he had never seen his Uncle wield the famed sword of healing.

"What? What are you doing?!" Dr. Hattori shrieked.

"Silence," Uncle commanded, then flicked his wrist so he was holding the sword with the hilt towards Inuyasha.

The glow of the blade lit up Inuyasha's face, and although he could not be certain, Yukio thought he saw his father move. Running footsteps distracted him and he turned his head to see his aunt hurrying towards them.

"We got here as fast as we could," she told him, gasping for breath. "What is going on?"

"Okaa-san went into seizures in the delivery room. She's in a coma."

"Oh Kami-sama! And the pup?"

"A boy. He lived."

"Oh thank god."

Movement caught his eye and he returned his attention to his father and uncle. Now he was certain that he'd seen his father's hand twitch, and he watched the clenched fist relax as Uncle lowered Tenseiga down to rest against Inuyasha's chest. Uncle placed the hilt into Inuyasha's now opened hand and all of them gasped when they saw his fingers close tightly around it.

His aunt gave a sigh of relief. "It's accepted him. Good."

He looked at her. "It accepted him before, back when he wielded it after it rejected Uncle."

His aunt nodded. "I know, but I was worried it wouldn't this time. I should have known that your grandfather would continue to look after his son, especially at a time like this."

"What will Tenseiga do?" he asked.

"The sword is a bridge between this world and the next. Hopefully Inuyasha will stand on the bridge and catch Kagome if she starts to go across."

Yukio got a crazy image of his father standing on a white bridge, illuminated by light all around him. Inuyasha was holding Tenseiga and looking determined, and he was reminded of Gandalf from the new Lord of the Rings films, in Moria with the Balrog. `You shall not pass!' He saw his father doing the same, blocking his mother from crossing over and keeping her with him. The image was insane, and he suppressed a giggle, snorting as it ran up into his nose and made him sneeze.

`I must be hysterical,' he thought to himself, unable to stop the torrent of images that now fed his overactive imagination. `Hysterical? Have I ever been hysterical? I don't know. I've never felt like this before.'

With Uncle now with them, and more than capable of leading the pack for a short time, the emotions that Yukio had been holding in check now threatened to overflow. The sneeze turned into a choke, and his aunt gave him a sympathetic smile and small pat on his shoulder.

"Why don't you go get something to eat?" she suggested.

`Eat?' "I don't think I can eat anything right now. I'd probably puke it up all over the floor."

She gave him another pat. "Maybe just get some fresh air then. You look a little pale."

"I shouldn't leave," he argued. "Something…"

"Whatever is going to happen won't happen in the next ten minutes. You can go take a break for a little bit and still not miss anything. Besides, if anything does happen, I promise I'll send someone to get you."

"I…"

"Aunt Rin is right, Yukio," Eri said as she came to stand beside him. "It looks like we're in for a long haul. You should go get some coffee and take a walk."

"Coffee… okay I'll go get some coffee," he finally agreed. "But I'll be right back."

Both Eri and his aunt nodded and watched him as he left the waiting room. He knew where the vending machines and cafeteria were from the previous time he had been at the hospital with his mother and he headed for it. Since it was fast approaching 6:30 in the morning, the breakfast crew was in full swing, and the small dining hall was crowded with doctors and hospital staff. There were a fair amount of refugees like himself as well, all hollow-eyed and ruddy-faced as they clutched their coffees and picked listlessly at their food.

There was one female who looked to be a neko-youkai like Eri sitting at a table and hugging a teddy bear while her companion tried to get her to eat. She raised her head lethargically, looked in his direction, and their eyes met. The grief in her green orbs shot right through him and he felt it as a physical blow that made him gasp and his empty stomach roil. Spinning on one heel he ran out of the room, fleeing blindly and not stopping until he had reached the end of the hall where a tiny room housed four vending machines that dispensed soda, coffee and snacks. He hit the back wall of the vending area, leaning against it for support as he heaved and vomited stomach acid onto the floor. Then he slumped with his back against the painted cold cinder-blocks and slid down to the tile, his legs curled up to his chest and his eyes staring blankly ahead.

What had happened to have put that look on her face? Was it the sudden loss of a child? A parent? A mate? With Miaka, her death had been a steady and slow decline, and he had watched her die by inches before his very eyes. While agonizing and heart-breaking, when she finally did pass on her death had come as no surprise and the family was almost relieved that it was over. He'd had years to prepare himself for the inevitability of his mate's demise, but this? This was completely unexpected. What was supposed to be a joyous event was turning into a nightmare, and he was totally unprepared.

What would he have done if his parents hadn't been there to help him through Miaka's death? How would he have made it through the first few years after her funeral if he hadn't been able to run home and cry in his mother's arms? What would he do if he lost them now? Who would raise the newborn pup? Who would feed him and shelter him and protect him, then give him a sword made from his father's fang on his sixteenth birthday? It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. It was a sick twist of fate that after everything his mother had been through to conceive and carry a pup, that she would suffer a life-threatening complication in the delivery room.

`The gods are sadistic bastards if they let this happen to my mother. How can there be any justice in this world if Okaa-san and Otou-san die tonight?'

He felt helpless. More helpless than he had ever felt in his entire lifetime. Miaka had chosen to die. He truly believed that she would still be alive if she hadn't refused the infusions of his blood. In that, her death had not been his fault. He could have forced the blood upon her. It would have been easy enough to drug her and inject his blood into her veins when she was incapable of stopping him, but he would never have violated her in such a way. Still, even up until the day she died, he had harbored the secret wish and hope that she would take the blood and stay with him.

This situation was different. With Miaka, there had always been the possibility that she would accept his blood. Here there was literally nothing he could do but sit helplessly by and wait. As Mariko had said, the future was in his parents' hands and they would decide whether they lived or died.

`Please Okaa-san, fight for us. Otou-san, don't let her go. Please. The new pup needs you. We need you. I need you. Please. Please. Please,' he prayed, hugging his knees.

A few minutes later the stiletto heels of Eri's Gucci boots came into his view and he looked up to see her standing over him. He sniffed, but did not move to get up and she wordlessly settled next to him, her shoulder touching his lightly.

"I'm scared," he admitted.

"Me too."

She threaded the fingers of her left hand into the fingers of his right, gripping tightly, and rested her head against his shoulder. Yukio buried his face in his knees and cried.

********

It was dark and cold, and he knew he wasn't where he was supposed to be, but he was blind in the blackness and his screams echoed back at him. There was something though… something missing and he instinctively searched for it, swimming through the cold darkness, grasping with hands he couldn't see. He didn't know how long he was there. There was no sense of time in the endless void in which he floated. He didn't even truly know who he was, only that he existed and that he was Elsewhere from where he ought to be. Then a glow appeared before him, faintly blue and lightly pulsing, and he fixated on it. The soft light bathed him in warmth and he recognized the feeling; associating it with safety and protection. Reaching out, he touched the light and felt it become solid in his hand. With it came awareness and he remembered his name.

`Inuyasha.'

And the solid thing in his hand was his father's fang.

`Tensiega.'

The light from the sword illuminated his immediate surroundings and he saw a red cord running from his chest into the darkness. He couldn't see the end of the cord, but he knew it was important and that it was attached to something.

`Attached to someone.'

He touched the cord with his free hand and he felt the life in it, his own and… another's: his other half, his life-bonded.

`Kagome.'

He could feel her in the cord but she was weak and it frightened him. He pulled lightly on their connection, knowing it would hold but not wanting to cause pain. His tug was immediately answered.

`I… Inu…yasha?'

`Kagome,' he responded, glad to hear the echo of her mind, the soft brush of her thoughts against his.

`Inuyasha.'

Following the cord he moved along it, hoping to find her at the other end, but it kept going off into the blackness beyond Tenseiga's light.

`Kagome… Kagome where are you?'

`I… I don't know. It's dark. I can't see. Inuyasha I'm scared.'

`I'm coming, koishii. Just stay where you are.'

`It hurts. Something's wrong. I'm... I'm being pulled somewhere.'

`It's all right. Just hold on. I'll find you.'

`Hurry, Inuyasha. It's cold.'

He moved faster, fairly flying now, speeding through the cold darkness in order to reach her. He knew when he was getting closer because the `feel' of her grew stronger and Tenseiga's light grew brighter, but with the heightened awareness of her also came the feeling of Wrong.

`Kagome…'

`Inu…yasha,' she replied but it was slower, fainter.

`Kagome stay with me. I'm almost there.'

`I'll try. Hurry.'

`I'm coming.'

The feeling of Wrong increased and he sped up again, extending his senses to the limits of their reach. At first he thought he was just imagining things when he noticed the darkness was getting lighter, but then he saw a white glow in the distance that grew brighter and brighter the closer he traveled to it until he came upon a giant slowly rotating white funnel.

Floating in the field of light created by the funnel, pale and almost completely translucent, was Kagome.

`Kagome!'

Tenseiga pulsed and flared, and he felt it pull him toward her, helping him reach her before she drifted into the center of the white light. Thin tendrils of glowing threads had wrapped around her limbs and these he cut with his father's fang, setting her free as he grabbed her and clutched her close in his arms.

`Kagome.'

`Inu…yasha.'

`I'm here. I've got you.'

`I'm glad.'

Tenseiga pulsed again, pushing them away from the inexorable pull of the white light that seemed to be drawing everything around it into its swirling maw. He growled and positioned the sword between them and the light, using it as a barrier against the gravitational forces that sought to drag them in. In the field of blue light created by Tenseiga, he could see the floating forms of countless other souls passing into the center of the funnel and winking out of sight. Instinctively he knew that if he and Kagome were to get sucked in, there would be no going back. Unfortunately, the tendrils kept reaching for Kagome, trying to reattach themselves to her. He swung Tenseiga, slicing through them even as he continued to put more distance between them and the light. Kagome was still pale and fading, however and that worried him.

`Kagome. Stay with me,' he told her.

`I'm trying, but I'm tired.'

`I know, koi. I know you're tired, but I need you to keep trying. Don't give up on me, please koi,' he begged, pulling her close and noticing that the red cord that tied them together was much shorter. It was brighter too, stronger, and he discovered that he could track the ebb and flow of her life force through it.

`I… have no intention of giving up. However… could you… hold me… just a little bit longer?'

`Yes,' he answered without hesitation and took up the red cord in his hand.

`Okay.'

`I could hold you forever, koishii,' he reaffirmed as he opened up, gripped Tenseiga and the red cord as tightly as he could, and poured all of his strength into her.

He used his own life force to bolster hers, supporting and cradling her in his arms, as he held the glowing tendrils at bay and kept his beloved safe in his protective embrace.