InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Lucky Ones ❯ Epilogue ( Chapter 49 )

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

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: t c i 1 0 0 ('at'sign) p s u . e d u

A/N: To everyone who has followed LO: Thank you so much for your many many many reviews. I have really enjoyed writing Lucky Ones. I will probably write a couple of one-shots in the LO universe so be sure to check back every now and then, although it probably won't be for a couple of months at least.

For everyone else. Thank you so much for your many many many reviews. I have really enjoyed writing Lucky Ones. I will probably write a couple of one-shots in the LO universe so be sure to check back every now and then, although it probably won't be for a couple of months at least.

Thank you to my beta readers: Diane, Kris and Del. Your comments and input helped LO become what it is today.

Be safe all of you and thank you again for all of your comments.

888888888

Epilogue

The late summer sun kissed the mountains and warmed the forest as a gentle breeze blew softly through the tall trees, rustling the heavy pine boughs above her. Kagome opened her eyes and looked over the vast expanse of the perfectly manicured lawn that made up the backyard until it ended at the tree-line. Summers in Alberta were much cooler than those in Japan but they weren't nearly as wet. The days were long and many times unblemished by a single offending cloud. The day had started out sunny, but now as evening loomed the sky had begun to darken with cloud cover.

Lying in the hammock Inuyasha had hung between two trees, she had an unobstructed view of the open area, and she smiled as she watched her eldest son playing with her youngest. Yukio was rolling on his back while Ian 'wrestled' with him. Yukio was pretending to let the little one win and he had his hands up in surrender.

The toddler had recently celebrated his first birthday in a bash befitting of his ¼ youkai status, although much of the reason behind such a big to-do was lost on the boy. He liked his cake, found the wrapping paper more interesting than the presents themselves, and spent the majority of his day either sleeping or yanking on his siblings' hair. He became more like his father every day.

From her comfortable place in the hammock, she could hear Ian's giggles and Yukio's deeper chuckles as they frolicked on the grass.

"Nikki! Nikki!" Ian laughed, pouncing on Yukio's back.

Ian was unable to say 'Aniki,' but he could say 'Nikki' which for now was close enough. Kagome didn't dare remind either of the adult inu-hanyous living with her that 'Nikki' was a popular dog's name.

"Argh!" Yukio mock yelled as he pretended to collapse under Ian's 'assault,' and the pup climbed onto his back to 'pin' him down.

She suppressed a laugh at their antics. Yukio was so good with children. He'd been instrumental in the raising of all of his siblings, often taking Inuyasha's place when the older hanyou had to go off hunting or away on business. She'd often wished that he'd been a father in his own right and cursed the hanyou infertility. She had no doubts that Yukio would make an excellent parent and hoped that someday he would mate again.

There were no prospects for him, however, and all of Sesshoumaru's attempts to fix him up with an arranged marriage had fallen flat. Yukio wasn't ready to consider mating again, and when he was finally ready he'd choose his own partner. No, her best hope for grandchildren so far was Miroku. Although a couple of her mated hanyou children were making noises that they might give the newly developing fertility treatments a try. Miroku was still dating Ayumi and things seemed to be progressing nicely. They may have hit a small snag however, because Ayumi had called the previous day in a panic. Apparently, Miroku had lost his temper and he'd frightened her badly. His anger hadn't been directed at her, thankfully, but it was still enough to scare her out of her wits.

Kagome hoped that she was able to help her friend deal with the realities of the hanyou nature. While often staggeringly willing to please and uncharacteristically loyal, there still remained the thinly contained violence of their youkai blood. If Ayumi was going to mate Miroku, she had to be able to handle him when he went into a rage. Kagome had talked her through it, given her suggestions on how to calm him down, and how to keep him from going off in the first place. They seemed to work because Miroku had called a few hours later to thank her. It seemed the whole incident had begun when he and Ayumi had been attacked by a would-be mugger while they were walking back to the car. The man had brandished a knife, Ayumi had screamed, and all of Miroku's protective instincts had kicked into high gear. Luckily, he didn't kill the stupid jerk, but he did send him flying into the nearest brick wall. But even though he had his sword with him, it still took him quite a long time to calm down, and he'd been gruff and ill-tempered for hours. Being that it was the first time Ayumi had ever seen Miroku truly angry, she was understandably caught off guard.

The incident had given the girl the opportunity to ask some questions that she had to have been dying to ask, however, so it was possible that the whole thing was actually a blessing in disguise. Ayumi had not only asked about Miroku's temper, but also posed questions about his weekly therapy sessions and his youkai blood. Kagome did her best to answer her questions without violating any trust her son had placed in her to respect his privacy. She encouraged her to ask Miroku about the subjects she was wondering about, and get the information directly from the person in question. Knowing how polite and reserved the Japanese normally were, Kagome had no doubt that actually mustering up the courage to ask Miroku some of the personal questions she had would take Ayumi months, but she knew that her son was no liar and he would answer her truthfully.

The sound of footsteps approaching brought her out of her thoughts, and she turned her head to see Inuyasha coming towards her carrying two tall glasses of iced tea. He placed them on the small table set beside the hammock and climbed in beside her, rocking it dangerously but not tipping it over. Kagome wasn't the least bit concerned that they would fall out. He had been getting into hammocks with her for centuries, and she had the utmost confidence in his ability to get in without making them both kiss the grass.

"Hi," he greeted, kissing her chin.

"Hi," she replied.

"What are you up to?"

She smiled and looked back at Yukio with Ian. Yukio was now on all fours and he was giving Ian a pony ride while the toddler sat on his shoulders.

"Watching our children play."

His eyes followed her line of sight and he chuckled. "Feh. You'd think it was his pup with how he fusses."

"He's always been that way."

"I know."

He sighed, putting an arm around her and snuggling close. She reached down to the table to pick up an iced tea, knowing which one was hers because it had 3 slices of lemon in it. Taking a sip, she sighed and smiled.

"I know who made this. It has just a hint of cinnamon. Mmm. Love it."

Beside her Inuyasha chuckled. "Like that, do you?"

"Yep."

They fell quiet for a moment, watching Yukio tussle with Ian who never seemed to get tired of playing these days. Thank god Yukio loved roughhousing with the toddler otherwise his antics would have gotten on everyone's nerves.

"Rain coming in," Inuyasha predicted, sniffing and casting a glance at the overcast sky. "Big storm."

"Hmm, and your nose never lies."

"No. We've got another hour though, so no need to rush inside."

"Good. Better to let Yukio wear out our little bundle of joy out here rather than wreaking havoc in the house," she commented.

"Bah, he'll just recharge his batteries after a nap and be at it again. I'd forgotten what it's like to have a little pup around. They never seem to get tired."

"While us old fuddy-duddies enjoy our idle laziness," she teased.

He shifted his weight slightly to make the hammock rock while also forcing her body to press closer to his when it swung.

"Nothing wrong with being lazy with the right person," he replied, nibbling at the back of her neck.

"Mmm. Stop that."

"Make me. Oh wait, you can't anymore. You lifted the subduing spell," he taunted with a little cackle.

She groaned. "I should have put a new spell on the ring."

"And made it do what exactly? Slam me to the ground by my hand?"

She snickered. "No. Maybe have made you slap yourself across the face or give yourself a whack on your own backside."

"Oooh, when did you get so kinky?" he kidded.

"Don't even think about it."

He chuckled and nibbled at her neck again. "Too late."

She sighed but said nothing in reply and he eventually contented himself with nuzzling her.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" he finally asked.

"As ready as I can be after fifteen years of retirement."

"You've only been completely retired for five. Before that, you still saw patients on a part-time basis unless you were pregnant," he reminded.

"I know, but it'll be different, actually having a job and hours that I have to keep."

"It'll be good for you and you know Dr. Maggiano is very happy to have you as her partner."

"Well, I'm the natural choice. I've had a ¼ youkai baby and been through the treatments so you could say I have an intimate knowledge of what's involved. Besides, by working with her maybe we can develop new techniques that will increase the success rate, and make it safer," she answered.

"I think that would be very good," he agreed.

"And maybe in a few years the technology will have advanced far enough such that we can try for another baby, and not have the same heartbreak and complications we suffered with Ian," she added softly.

She could almost feel his frown in his sudden stillness. "Kagome… I don't know… You suffered so much and Dr. Maggiano said that you were high risk for eclampsia again if you tried to have another pup."

"I know, but now we know about it and we can prevent it from becoming a problem. Besides, in ten years we may have new medicines and procedures that eliminate the dangers," she argued.

"I still don't know. I don't ever want to go through that again. Not to mention that half our pups will string us up for even considering it."

"I don't ever want to go through that again either, Inuyasha. Trust me when I say I wouldn't do it unless I could minimize the risk."

"I don't think you can make that kind of promise. It's too unpredictable."

"Will you agree to at least entertain the idea if we make a breakthrough?"

He was silent for a long time, then finally answered, "I might, but I can't make any promises."

She sighed, disappointed, but she knew she wasn't going to get anything further from him on the subject. Yukio was coming their way anyway, carrying Ian on his shoulders.

"Rain's coming in," her eldest announced as he stopped beside the hammock.

"Your father was just saying the same thing," she replied with a smile.

"Heh, great minds think alike, eh Otou-san?"

"Keh."

Ian sniffed the air too but his nose wasn't as keen as his brother or father's, still his senses were sharper than a full-blooded human's.

"Rain," Ian said, looking up at the sky.

"That's right, otouto. You smell it too, hm? That's a good, smart pup," Yukio cooed to the toddler.

Ian giggled and grabbed two fistfuls of silver hair. "Nikki!"

Yukio cringed but did not yelp at having his hair pulled and lowered himself down to one knee so his mother could extricate him from the toddler's grip. At least the boy hadn't grabbed his ears as he'd been known to do on occasion.

"Okaa-san? Please?" he requested, bowing his head to give her access to Ian's fists.

"Ian, sweetheart, come to Mama," she said, reaching for him.

"Mama!" Ian laughed, letting Yukio's hair go as he opened grasping hands.

Yukio quickly removed the toddler from his shoulders and plopped him down in the hammock with his parents.

"Thank you," he sighed gratefully.

"No problem," she assured him as she settled Ian against her chest. "Did you beat up your brother?" she asked the baby.

Ian snickered and hid his face against her shoulder in answer as Yukio sat on the ground beside the hammock and braced his back against a tree.

"He's a tough pup, that's for sure. I can roll him around for hours and he just comes begging for more," Yukio admitted.

Inuyasha reached over her to rub Ian's head. "That's my pup."

"What time do you have to go to Calgary tomorrow, Okaa-san?"

"Dr. Maggiano told me to meet her at the downtown office at 9am."

"9am? That's early," Yukio said with a frown.

"No earlier than this little guy has been waking me up every morning," she replied, patting Ian on the back.

"True. How late will you be working?"

"Office hours end at 5, but I'm sure there will be paperwork to fill out before I can go. I'll try to be back home by 7."

"It will be strange not having you here."

"I know, but I'm ready to go back to work. I think I can do a lot of good and help a lot of hanyous who want to be parents."

Yukio beamed at her. "I know you will, Okaa-san."

She smiled at his faith in her. "Thank you, sweetheart."

"Inuyasha-san," their housekeeper, Mariah, called from the back door.

"Oi! Yeah?"

"Phone call from your brother, sir!"

"Huh, I wonder what he wants," Inuyasha groused. "Be right there!"

"Hmmm, it must be important, it's early morning in Japan," she mused.

Inuyasha sat up and carefully rolled out of the hammock without upsetting it too much. Yukio helped by reaching out and steadying the hammock with one hand so Kagome and Ian didn't flip out of it.

"Bah, you should know by now that Sesshoumaru never sleeps."

"True."

"I'll be right back."

"We'll be here," she assured him, giving him a sweet smile. She waited until he had gone into the house before she turned to her oldest. "So, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

Yukio gave her a Cheshire grin and folded his arms behind his head. "Well, since you're back among the working class, I figured I'd sit back, relax, order a few bon-bons and a couple dozen cases of ramen then hit you up for money later."

"What I wouldn't do for a subduing necklace right about now," she groaned.

He laughed. "Hey, you were the one who removed Otou-san's prayer beads. You have no reason to complain."

"And I regret it every day believe me."

"No you don't," he corrected.

"Okay, every other day," she amended.

He laughed again, then sobered. "No really. I have a meeting with the Clarksons tomorrow at ten to go over the modifications to their floor plan. We're supposed to decide on the final layout just as soon as Mrs. Clarkson can settle on whether she wants the kitchen to have a seven-foot peninsula or a ten-foot one."

She gave him a wide-eyed look full of humor. "A big decision."

"Earth shattering. We're talking about an extra three feet of counter space for the hired chef."

"Doesn't cook I gather."

Yukio shook his head. "She might break a nail boiling an egg."

"Ah. I see."

"I know we need clients and Otou-san claims a high price for those who can afford it, but I swear some of them are just…"

"Petty, vapid, rich snobs?" she offered.

Yukio sighed. "Exactly."

She nodded. "It's the entitlement attitude. They have money so people bow to their whims and they get used to it."

"We never did that and our family is rich," he pointed out.

"That's because we long ago learned that true things of value don't have price tags."

"True."

"Why do you think Inuyasha does so much work for Habitat for Humanity and designs for lower income families? Everyone deserves a decent place to live regardless of how much money they have."

Yukio nodded. "I know. I believe in that too. I have more fun designing houses for our volunteer work clients than I do for most of our full-pay ones."

"They pose more of a challenge for you. Having limited funds, space and resources forces you to be more creative."

"Yeah, but the Japanese have always been very good at maximizing minimum space. In that, I'm one up on Western architects," he pointed out proudly. "Not that I can't design a palace worthy of Bill Gates, but it's more fun to do a 900 sq/ft ranch for some single mother in Peace River."

She smiled approvingly at him and rubbed Ian's back. "We'll make sure this little terror grows up right."

"So he'll just be a regular hellion and not a spoiled-little-rich-kid hellion," he teased.

"Brat."

He stuck his tongue out.

"Oi! What are you doing sticking your tongue out at your mother?" Inuyasha scolded as he returned from the house.

Yukio lowered his ears at the rebuke, but recovered quickly and stuck his tongue out at his father. "Coz I'm a rude, incorrigible hanyou."

"Keh, hanyou has nothing to do with it," Inuyasha commented.

"So what did Sesshoumaru want?" she asked.

"He was calling to tell me that the malpractice case against Hattori has been settled."

The sound of the doctor's name made her cringe. She had no love for the baboon-youkai who had almost killed her and her baby.

"And?" Yukio prompted, his ears perked up with interest.

"Well, he's still breathing."

Kagome sighed with relief, inwardly glad that he hadn't been killed. True, she had no love for him, and she certainly didn't want him practicing medicine, but she didn't want him dead either.

"Hmmmm," was all Yukio said in answer.

"And?" she said, urging him to continue.

"And he was sentenced to five years of prison plus five years probation."

"Five? Only five?" Yukio gasped.

"He's also been stripped of his license and fined 28 million yen."

Yukio crossed his arms and fumed. "That S.O.B. almost killed you and Okaa-san, and he gets a lousy five years and a fine? Where's the justice in that? I say Uncle should chop off one of his limbs."

"Don't say that," she snapped, shocked, but didn't miss the look that passed between the two hanyous. "Don't tell me Sesshoumaru…"

"He's given me his word that he won't have him killed," Inuyasha replied but his assurances brought her little comfort.

"That's no promise. You can still live without hands. Or legs. Or ears."

"Actually I was hoping for something a bit lower," Inuyasha answered.

"Removal from the gene pool, perhaps?" Yukio suggested.

"Hmmmm," Inuyasha responded, nodding.

"I don't like the way this conversation is going," she interrupted.

Both hanyous looked chagrined and lowered their ears. She sighed and handed a sleepy Ian to his father as she sat up.

"I know what he did was wrong, but I don't want him killed. I'm glad that he lost his license and the fine can go into one of our charitable causes funds," she insisted, getting out of the hammock.

"You are far too forgiving Okaa-san," Yukio said.

"I have to be. I've been mated to your father for 450 years," she replied.

"Oi! What's that supposed to mean?"

She kissed him on the cheek. "It means that while I love you with all of my heart, it does take a saint to live with you."

"Oi. You're no peach either sometimes," he complained, frowning.

She smiled and kissed him on the nose. "I know, and you're no saint either so that makes us perfect for each other."

"Feh."

Taking Ian from him, she nuzzled her mate and licked his chin, knowing the sign of submission would pacify him. It worked and he nuzzled her back.

"What will you do tomorrow when I'm at work?" she asked him as they returned to the house.

"Thomas wants me to come to the ice rink to see the new uniforms they ordered," Inuyasha replied.

"The curling club?"

"Yeah. Then once I'm done there I'm headed to Peace River."

"More Habitat work?" Yukio asked eagerly.

Inuyasha nodded.

"I'll join you after I'm finished with the Clarkson's."

Inuyasha snorted. "If that woman lets you go before sunset."

Yukio waggled his eyebrows. "I have my ways when I'm sufficiently motivated."

"Feh."

"Will you be back before I get home?" she questioned, entering the house through the sliding sunroom doors.

"I should be," Inuyasha answered.

"Alright, I'll be sure to be home by dinner unless something unexpected comes up," she promised.

"Just call me if you're gonna be late," he requested.

"Okay. I'm going to put him down for a nap," she said, heading for the private wing of the house and the nursery.

"Okay," Inuyasha agreed.

Ian was already half asleep by the time she changed him into his pajamas, lowered him into his crib and tucked his plushie stuffed dog next to him. The toy came to bed with them when Ian slept in their bed so it had their scents on it. It would help to keep him settled and content until they collected him when they went to bed. She kissed her son on his little cheek, made sure he was safely secured, turned on the baby monitor next to his crib and took the handset with her when she left the room.

She found her eldest and her mate enjoying coffee in the sunroom and joined them. Yukio poured her a cup and handed her the sugar and cream as she sat down at the glass dinette set.

"So… what, if anything, is on the agenda for the evening?" Yukio asked, sipping his coffee.

"Absolutely nothing as far as I know," she answered, taking a sip of her own.

"I might work on the Tindall plans after dinner. Deadline for the first draft is Friday," Inuyasha replied.

Yukio nodded.

Inuyasha then put his arm around her shoulders and she felt him nuzzle the back of her neck. "Or I might be lazy and just lay on the couch with your mother all evening because it's her last night of retirement, and I know her too well not to realize that she'll be putting in many hours of overtime at the office once she gets her feet wet again."

"Hey, I promised you I wasn't going to do that," she argued.

He snickered. "Yeah, right. I give it a week before you're telling me that you're staying late to work on a case or that you're rushing over to the hospital because there's been an emergency. I've been with you how long, wench?"

She scowled and slapped him on the arm, but he just laughed.

"Dinner's ready," Mariah announced, coming into the room.

"Mmm, thank you, Mariah," she replied and they all stood up to follow the woman into the dining room.
The rain arrived during dinner and began to come down in sheets. Inuyasha built a fire in the main hearth in the Great Room, and they retired there after dinner to watch the rain through the tall Great Room windows. Yukio joined them and sat in an overstuffed armchair to read while she and Inuyasha cuddled on the couch. There was a comfortable silence among them broken only by the sound of the rain outside and the crackling of the fire. She sighed, utterly content, and let herself doze in her mate's arms.

She was awakened abruptly by the crash of thunder, and she jerked, startled. Inuyasha nuzzled her with his nose to soothe her as she got her bearings from waking up so quickly.

"It is a bad storm," she commented.

"We're safe inside," he assured her, his hand lightly rubbing the back of her neck.

"I'll bet that last rumble woke Ian."

Inuyasha grunted. "Where's the baby monitor?"

She sighed. "I left it in the dining room," she admitted.

"Want me to check on him?" Yukio asked.

"I'll go in a minute," she said, yawning.

Her son nodded and went back to reading. Two minutes later, just as she was sitting up to go check on the toddler, Ian appeared in the doorway of the Great Room with his stuffed dog tucked under one arm and his blanket clasped in the hand of the other.

"Mama. Tou," his little voice sniffled.

"Ian, sweetheart. Did you get scared?" she replied, turning around on the couch to face him.

"Mama…"

She moved to rise to her feet and collect her son, but Yukio was faster and scooped him up.

"Hey, otouto. Did the big noise wake you up, hm?" her eldest soothed, comforting the toddler in words and inu-youkai.

"Nikki," Ian answered, resting his head on Yukio's shoulder.

"It's just thunder, otouto. It can't hurt you."

"You okay?" she asked, ready to take the boy if need be.

Yukio nodded. "Yeah. I've got him."

She watched as Yukio supported Ian under his bottom with one arm and cradled him against his chest with the other as he returned to the armchair he had been sitting in. For Ian, now that he was weaned, any one of the three of them was acceptable to him, and he adored his older brother, so he settled down right away. She followed suit and lay back down again, her cheek to Inuyasha's chest. His arms came back around her as he held her close and she relaxed against him.

Outside the storm raged, lashing the trees and house with wind and water, but they remained safe inside the house Inuyasha had designed and built. Yukio cuddled Ian in the big chair, drawing his legs up to cradle his brother in the curve of his body, thus freeing one hand to pick up his book again. The toddler was already asleep, his stuffed dog still tucked under his arm.

Watching them from her lazy position on the couch, Kagome smiled at the picture of familial contentment they painted. The sight of a hanyou cradling a hanyou/human cross was something she hoped would become commonplace. Tomorrow she would go to work with Dr. Maggiano, and together they would try to bring the dream of parenthood to hanyous everywhere. Already the lessons learned from her own experience were helping other hanyou/human couples conceive their own babies, and she knew of at least three human females who were currently carrying hanyou-cross infants. So far, it looked like at least one was going to make it to her due date.

It was a noble cause and the fulfillment of a dream. She knew all too well that the hope of many youkai bloodlines were dependant upon the success of fertility programs like Dr. Maggiano's and numerous other youkai doctors around the world. Ian would forever be known as the first ¼ youkai baby born alive and he still received a great deal of attention because of it, although they were doing their best to keep him out of the spotlight as much as possible. He was still just a baby after all. Her and Inuyasha's baby, and she hoped, in spite of Inuyasha's very valid reservations, that he would not be their last.

For now she would table the idea of another baby and wait until new advances made the process safer. She was relatively certain that she could bring her reluctant mate around if she could prove that significant breakthroughs had been made. In the meantime, she had her work and he had his. Their lives had meaning and purpose, and they had their family. She knew what they had endured to come so far and to be where they were, but through it all they'd had each other and their children to keep them strong. In spite of all the hardship, heartache and grief they had suffered, she knew they were truly blessed and she was very grateful for all the gifts that had been given to her.

"Oi, what are you thinking?" Inuyasha's soft voice said, calling her out of her thoughts.

"Nothing," she answered. "Just that I love you so much, and I'm so happy."

She could feel him smile against the top of her head and felt his hand grip her just a little bit closer as the fingers of his other hand came up to tangle in her hair.

"I love you too, Kagome." :Mate.:

:Mate,: she barked back, snuggling close.

She opened her eyes to see Yukio smiling at her and she smiled back, mouthing the words, 'I love you too' at him and making his smile grow wider. He replied with the universal sign language sign for 'I love you' and she imitated the gesture in response.

Lightning cracked and the wind howled as the storm rained its fury down on them, but all they heard was the distant thunder and the crackling of the fire in the hearth. Inuyasha's hand traced small circles on her back, soothing her into a half-conscious state of relaxation where she was only dimly aware of her surroundings. His heart thudded under her cheek, the steady rhythm of life just under her ear. It was a welcome and familiar sound that symbolized safety and comfort. His arms had always been her safe harbor, her bulwark against the storms of life. As long as Inuyasha was beside her, there was nothing the two of them couldn't accomplish together.

She knew that Yukio often referred to himself and all the hanyous they had adopted as 'the lucky ones' because they had found a home and parents who loved them. She knew that all her children, with perhaps the sole exception of Tetsukazu, understood how much hanyous had been hated and hunted. It was no secret that hanyous had been killed at birth or hunted down on a regular basis, and the thirty-three they had saved had been only a fraction of the number that had died. Yukio himself knew of the prejudice against hanyous, although he had never had to suffer the way his father had suffered. Still, he had met his share of hateful villagers and prowling youkai. And of course, Hiei had been killed by humans because he was a hanyou.

But the truth of the matter was that she knew that she was the luckiest one of all. If she and Inuyasha hadn't been gifted with Yukio, there was no telling what would have happened between them. There was a very good chance that they would never have become mates, and that Inuyasha might have chosen to keep his promise to Kikyou. She was absolutely certain that she would have been dead and turned to dust centuries ago if it weren't for her bond with Inuyasha because, until Yukio had tried it with Miaka, no one knew a hanyou could extend the life of a mate through the ritual blood sharing performed by full youkai.

So without Yukio starting it all, she would have died back in the Sengoku Jidai after the well had closed, Inuyasha might have gone to hell with Kikyou, and none of the blessed life she had led would ever have happened. She would never have mated Inuyasha, raised a family with him, or experienced the love and joy that she now took for granted half of the time. She was very, very grateful to Yukio and always had been. He was perhaps the greatest gift that had ever been given to her, aside from her meeting Inuyasha in the first place.

And it was times like these, in the quiet nights of comfortable silence full of love and peace that it really all came home to her. Lying there in Inuyasha's arms, safe and comfortable, with her oldest cradling her youngest as the baby slept, she felt the overwhelming love that surrounded her and knew she was unbelievably fortunate.

'I am the lucky one,' she thought happily to herself, as the rhythm of the rain and Inuyasha's steady heartbeat lulled her to peaceful sleep.

THE END