Safeguard

Summary: Inuyasha and Kagome have finally mated and Kagome is with child. Everything seems to be going fine, until the child is born and some one or some thing wants their first born. Kagome and Inuyasha will have to stick together and protect their infant.

Rating: M for Mature

Warnings: Sexual Content; Offensive Language

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

Chapter 1: Relaxation

Kagome fell back into the water. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of the cool water brushing and then consuming her skin. The unbearably hot evening had been quite unnerving. It took a lot of convincing to actually get Inuyasha to stop for a break, but Kagome had done it. She had persuaded him.

Inuyasha lay next to the large, clear pond with his head rested on his arms. His bare back faced the bright, blue sky. He was wearing a pair of swim trunks that Kagome had gotten him on one of her monthly visits to the modern era. She had stopped going back to her own time so often when Inuyasha and her had gotten together.

They were almost inseparable now. Shortly after the jewel was complete and Naraku was defeated Inuyasha and Kagome had admitted their deepest feelings and as it turned out they had similar ones for one another. It had - of course - taken Inuyasha a little longer to confess some things, considering it had all mainly confused him at first, but once everything was out in the open things had gone pretty well.

Miroku and Sango married and Inuyasha and Kagome had mated. That's right. Mated. Inuyasha had marked Kagome as his about two months ago and now she was his and he was hers. They were bonded for eternity and that failed to bother either of them in the least. They wouldn't settle for a day less than forever.

Kagome was currently pregnant. She had been for a month and a half now...

Flashback

Kagome was really worried. She was eighteen! She felt she was a little to young to be having children... She wondered over and over what Inuyasha would say to her once he knew. She had to tell him and she had to do it today. No more hesitating.

Kagome knew Inuyasha was suspecting something was wrong with her and he was getting enraged at her not telling him the truth and not trusted him to behave in a mature manner about whatever was wrong with her. They were not supposed to lie to each other and now that they were mates they really weren't allowed to lie to one another.

Kagome held her breath at the sound of Inuyasha's footsteps. It was sending a fearful shiver down her spine. Inuyasha had never scared her! Never! Not in his demon form and not even when he had tried to kill her when they had first met. She had never really sensed any devil in him, but now she was scared. She dreaded what his reaction would be to this truth.

She was going to have a child!

"Inuyasha, I'm pregnant!" Kagome closed her eyes. Inuyasha was in the middle of shutting the hut door, but he stopped in his tracks with his eyes wide. He looked utterly flabbergasted.

End Flashback

It actually turned out better than Kagome would have expected it to and she realized there was never anything to fear to begin with. Inuyasha was very reliable and would never hold back on his own responsibility. He would be a great, but strict father.

Kagome knew perfectly well he would never abandon his own children, not after what had happened to him as a kid. In all truth she had known that all along, but still held the slightest doubt. After Inuyasha had immediately excepted the fact that they were going to have a child, she lost all of her doubt in him.

In her two piece bikini you could clearly see Kagome's stomach was a little plump, but it was still barely noticeable that she was actually pregnant. Morning sickness was one of her only signs of pregnancy and even that came rarely.

Inuyasha and Kagome had been on their way to Totosai's. He had Inuyasha's sword currently. The Tetsusaiga had cracked in the battle with Naraku three months earlier and he had been so lazy about the whole thing that he had only managed to bring the sword to the old geezer a weak ago.

He had been late heading back for it and this time he had decided to bring Kagome along. She didn't like traveling in her current state and Inuyasha didn't like her moving around either, but he didn't want to risk leaving her all alone again. Last time he had left her alone in this time all he could do was think about her and ended up losing all concentration on anything else. Protecting Kagome and their pup was now his number one priority.

"Inuyasha, why don't you come on in?

"No chance, wench." Wench had been a little nickname Inuyasha had been using with Kagome for a little over a month now. It was one of his ways to tease her. "Don't get comfortable. We're not wasting a lot more time here."

"But Inuyasha...!" Kagome pouted slightly. Inuyasha opened one eye to look at her from his spot under the sun. "It's so hot."

"You'll live."

"Not if I die from dehydration." Kagome mumbled, crossing her arms. Inuyasha opened both his eyes at this point.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Kagome ducked her head quickly under the water to cool off the rest of her body. After a small swim, the miko came up. Then she sucked in and let loose a relieving breath.

"Come dry off." Inuyasha ordered dryly. Kagome wrinkled her nose.

"No." She replied squarely. Inuyasha arched an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"I said 'no'." Kagome understood perfectly well how childish she was being, but she also knew what she wanted and at the moment she wanted to stay cool and comfortable.

"We don't have time for this."

"We have all the time in the world." She smirked, leaning back to protect herself from a gust of wind.

"And when a demon comes along and I don't have me sword...?" Inuyasha pushed on.

"I have my arrows." That seemed to awake something in the hanyou. He pushed up on his arms quickly and stared at Kagome angrily.

"Uh ah! No way are you fighting in you condition!"

"What do you mean?... I don't think we would have much of a choice." She said in an as-a-matter-a-fact tone.

"Which is why we are leaving now to get my Tetsusaiga! The way we have do have a choice."

"If you want me to leave now you'll have to make me." Kagome walked into the deeper water with a grin. She understood entirely the she had no chance of escaping Inuyasha, but she also knew that either way she would win this battle. If he didn't come for her she could stay relaxed for a longer amount of time and if he did, he would get wet when he wanted to stay dry.

"Come out." Inuyasha began tapping his clawed hand on the ground in irritation as he tried to keep a hold of his patience. Kagome stuck her tongue out at him and dove under the water for a second.

Coming up, she was surprised to see Inuyasha coming her way. She shrieked and bobbed her head under water as quickly as she could, trying to avoid the immense splash coming her way.

Before she knew it she was being grabbed around the waste and pulled out of the water. She wobbled around fiercely, trying desperately to escape Inuyasha's jaw-like hold on her.

"Come on!" She pleaded. "You're already wet. Why not stay in a little longer?"

"Because we don't have all day. I want to make it there before dark." Inuyasha gently placed Kagome on the ground and ripped a towel from her bag. He threw it in front of her. She frowned, picking it up and wrapping it around her. She didn't feel like leaving so soon. She was tired. Thinking up some excuses she realized she was mostly dry of them. They had eaten about a half an hour ago. She had cooled of just a minute ago. She had gone to the bathroom before swimming. Since it wasn't morning, morning sickness was not an option.

Tapping her finger on her chin there was basically nothing.

"I'm tired." Kagome moaned fnally thinking up something. She looked at Inuyasha, as if to beg for mercy. He gave her a suspicious glace and then just sighed. He couldn't argue with her when she said something like that. She was pregnant! She could not strain herself and Inuyasha wouldn't let her.

Walking over to his mate Inuyasha knelt down in front her. He waited for her to wrap the towel around her before kissing her forehead. She had not expecting the loving gesture, but smiled at him.

"Get on my back and go to sleep. I'll wake you up when we get there." Kagome chose to obey him this time and stood, climbing on his back with the towel wrapped around her dripping body. Kagome rested her head against Inuyasha's back and closed her eyes. She was actually pretty comfortable. Then again she usually was when she was so close to Inuyasha.

This is an edited version of the chapter.

I'll end it now. I liked this chapter and thought it was fairly cute. What did you think of it? How was it?