Chapter 9: Babysitting

Author Note: A big thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far, I've tried to get this chapter up as fast as possible but I'm afraid it will take a bit longer for the next one as I have no idea of what's gonna happen. Below is a list of people who have put this story on alert and then a list of people who have favourited it. If your name is up here and you're yet to review, then it would be great if you'd taken a minute or so to let me know what you think. Oh, and if any of you are also reading Sharing A Bed, I'm in the middle of writing chapter 4, I'm just finding it hard to get my ideas down on paper.

1.AnimeFreak126052. BlondieBubbles3. Cresenta's Lark4. Jennie5555. Kikira-Lynn6. Princess Stormcloud02177. ReedyRulz8. Romantical Inu-Lover9. Taja phat chick10. Tsukikari Kitsune11. inuepsfin12. inugirl0613. inuyasha's tennyo14. lost-n-the-mist-courtney15. super.freak.6916. twida17. xxASakuraxx

1. AnimeFreak126052. Beautiful.Black.Joy3. BlondieBubbles4. Claire Cooper5. Princess Stormcloud02176. Sakuras Magic7. SoraxRiku188. Tsukikari Kitsune9. Winchester1310. chantecuzinu11. inuepsfin12. kandy12365413. lost-n-the-mist-courtney14. paniel15. vampirelily

Right, back to the story

Ding- Dong. The doorbell rang out loudly. It was opened a second later by a smiling woman with tumbling red ringlets, a little boy peering out from behind her legs.

"Kagome!" he exclaimed and sprang happily into her arms.

"Come in, come in," Mrs Neto chivvied them inside and closed the door.

"Can I change now Mummy?" Shippou asked plaintively.

"Yes, I think I will too," there was a pop and suddenly both of them were sporting fluffy red tails and ears. Mrs Neto saw Inuyasha's look of bafflement and explained. "We use a concealment charm most of the time, which is easy as we're fox demons." Shippou appeared to notice Inuyasha for the first time.

"Inuyasha, do you want to see my drawings?"

"Feh," Inuyasha replied. He was taken unawares when Shippou leaped onto his head, using Inuyasha's ears to steady himself. Kagome winced in sympathy.

"I'll show you the way. Turn left here." Kagome hid a giggle behind her hand; they really did look cute together. Inuyasha appeared grumpy on the outside but Kagome knew that he had a soft heart really. As soon as the two boys were out of the way Mrs Neto went over the times again with Kagome and added in a whisper,

You will try not to overexcite him won't you? He'll probably be reluctant to go to sleep what with Inuyasha being here.

"Sure." What Mrs Neto didn't know was that Shippou was always reluctant to go to sleep, that was partly why he always ended up falling asleep in her arms.

Reluctant? Damn right obstinate was the word, it was an hour past Shippou's bedtime and he was still refusing to go to bed. Trouble was, Kagome didn't want to force him in case Mrs Neto objected. Inuyasha however had no such inhibitions.

"Look, talking isn't getting us anywhere, I'll just conk him on the head and put him in his bed, he'll be none the wiser," said Inuyasha in a stage whisper.

"I heard that," came the indignant retort from the floor where Shippou was busy stacking building blocks.

"Oh yeah Runt? Well you were supposed to. Now you know what will happen if you don't do as we say."

"Kagome, you wouldn't really let him would you?" Shippou's fright was only half staged.

"Of course not," she said kindly, ruffling his hair. "But you really need your sleep Shippou, how else will you grow up big and strong like Inuyasha?" Miraculously this seemed to work.

"I'm going!" The tiny boy ran form the room, they could hear him thundering, well pattering up the stairs. He was already in his pyjamas; they had won that battle earlier.

"I'd better go help him brush his teeth, his hair probably needs brushing too," Kagome said, getting up. Inuyasha stretched and stood up too. Kagome paused on her way up. "You don't have to come, I am the one getting paid after all." Inuyasha "Fehed" and continued following her upstairs. Shippou was already in the bathroom, toothbrush in hand, an uncertain look in his eye.

"I thought I should wait for you," he said, looking doubtfully at the toothbrush. "I hate having my fangs brushed." Inuyasha reached over and took the toothbrush from Shippou's unresisting fingers, then ran it under the tap and squeezed toothpaste onto it.

"I'll do it," he said awkwardly. "I remember how much it hurt when mum didn't do it right. Fangs are more sensitive than human teeth."

"Surely it would be the gums that are more sensitive, not the teeth?" Kagome pointed out.

"Keh, whatever. Open your mouth." The latter was directed at Shippou who obeyed immediately, gazing up at Inuyasha in obvious adoration. It didn't escape Kagome's notice the tender way that Inuyasha looked down at Shippou, nor how carefully he manoeuvred the toothbrush in the little boy's mouth. Kagome was brought out of her reverie by Shippou tugging on her skirt.

"Kagome, can I have a story now?" Kagome smiled, and gathering the little kitsune up in her arms took him through to his bedroom and sat down on the bed with him on her lap. Inuyasha followed, sitting cross-legged with his back leaning against the wall.

"What story do you want?" she asked, reaching across the bed to the bookshelf.

"Can you make one up?" he asked, looking up at her with wide eyes.

"I can try. Right…" she cast around for ideas and remembered a dream she'd once had. Gently combing her fingers through Shippou's hair to remove the knots she began. "Once upon a time there was a girl called Kagome. It was her fifteenth birthday and she had lost her cat…" She was just in her element, describing how the jewel shattered into thousands of tiny pieces when Inuyasha poked her.

"The kid's asleep."

"Oh." And just when she had been getting to the good bit too!

"Just out of interest, what happened to this Kagome and Inuyasha?" Kagome felt pleased, at least someone was interested in her story.

"Well, they travelled together through feudal Japan, picking up companions along the way and fighting demons to collect jewel shards. One demon in particular, Naraku, was dead-set on collecting all the shards and corrupting them."

"No, what happened to them? You said that the Kagome in the story liked Inuyasha."

"She does. I mean did. Hmm, let's see…they defeated Naraku and lived happily ever after. Good enough?" Inuyasha edged closer.

"What about the jewel? Did Inuyasha use it to change into a fully-fledged demon?

"No," she said firmly. "Kagome made him realise that she, she loved him just as she was. They destroyed the jewel together."

"Just as he was?"

"Just as you are," she confirmed. "I mean…"

"I heard what you said," Inuyasha was closer still, his lips hovering over hers, "Don't change it." At that moment Shippou kicked out in his sleep, causing Kagome to fall backwards onto the bed. "Talk about bad timing," Inuyasha commented wryly, pulling her back into sitting position. "Shall we go downstairs?"

"You can, I'm going to stay here."

"Why?" he sounded hurt.

"Oh I didn't mean it like that. It's just that he gets nightmares about his dad dying a lot less when I hold him as he sleeps."

"Don't you ever fall asleep yourself?"

"All the time," she replied laughing. "But Mrs Neto doesn't mind, she comes upstairs and wakes me up." He made a move to leave and Kagome realised that she'd made him feel left out. She put a hand on his shoulder. He was nice and warm. "Stay. Just as you are, remember?" He settled back down next to her and Kagome wondered if she dared. It was what she usually did; she just wasn't sure how Inuyasha would interpret it. Her heart thumping painfully, she slid down into a lying position, her head resting on the pillow and her arms still cradled around Shippou's' small form. She was lying so that she was facing away from Inuyasha. She waited a few seconds, then, impatient, turned her head to see what he was doing. Her eyes met his, only centimetres from her own. He grinned at her and he kissed him lightly on the nose before turning back. He shifted closer so that his body spooned hers, his arm slung protectively round her waist, just as it had been on her birthday, although this time it was intentional on his part.

"Night Inuyasha." She spoke softly, already lulled half asleep by Shippou's soft breathing and Inuyasha's warmth.

"I didn't get a goodnight kiss and there's that one the runt interrupted. That's two you owe me," he said indignantly.

"I'll make them up to you in the morning, kay?" He made a sound suspiciously like a purr. "Kawai," she murmured sleepily, and then fell into blissful unconsciousness. Inuyasha kissed the top of her head and allowed himself to fall asleep.

"Aww, isn't that sweet?"

"I don't feel like we should disturb them, they look so peaceful." Inuyasha opened a bleary eye to see his mum and Mrs Neto staring at him.

"Umm, I can explain…"

"No explanation needed, you obviously both fell asleep." Inuyasha wasn't sure if this made him feel better or worse. He chose to grunt non-commitedly and scooped Shippou out of Kagome's arms and on to the bed, tucking him in and lifting her bridal-style in his arms.

"Oh, could you give this to her when she wakes up?" Mrs Neto handed him an envelope, which he tucked into his jean pocket with his free hand. He carried her down the stairs and out to the waiting car.