Disclaimer: I don't own anything Inuyasha. Sad, but true

A Real Good Man

By: BittersweetLady

Chapter thirty-four

It was the middle of the next day before Kagome had a chance to speak to Sesshomaru again. He hadn't gone into work, but had been holed up in his office for the better part of the day. Kagome knocked softly before she entered. He turned to her as she entered.

"No, thank you. That will be all." Sesshomaru spoke evenly as he ended his phone conversation. Their eyes met briefly as he laid his phone on his desk. Kagome watched him for a moment before she spoke.

"Sesshomaru I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you yesterday or make you feel like I didn't care. I…it was just too much. I never expected to meet her or her to come here. I…it just was…I am sorry." Kagome floundered for her words: trying to explain the conflicting emotions inside her. On one side she forgave Sesshomaru for cheating, for hurting her; but this was something else. If this child was his, it would be a daily reminder of what he had done and kagome didn't know if she could get past that. She did know that how she had felt the night before, the rightness of it all, she didn't want to lose that feeling.

"No, Kagome don't apologize. I never expected to know her, for her to come here. Hell I never expected for there to be a child." His voice was strained and his face showed lines for stress around his mouth and eyes. "No, I am sorry. If I had done things differently, if I had just come home that night, things wouldn't be as they are now." He had walked to the window as he spoke, leaning his arm above his head on the window frame. "I don't know what to do." He mused to himself, looking out over deck and pool below. Kagome swallowed and went to him. She stood beside him and looked up into his face. Hesitantly she raised her hand and stroked his cheek. Sesshomaru closed his eyes and turned his face into the touch.

"I know you must be hurting too and I am here. I promise no matter what the outcome of this is; I won't leave you to face this alone. I didn't mean to be insensitive yesterday I was just shocked." Kagome took breath as she looked up at him. She watched his eyes as she spoke. "How I felt the other night, I don't want to lose that. I love you and I know we aren't perfect, but I want us to continue to work through our problems. I don't want everything we have worked toward to be wasted." Kagome felt tears well behind her eyes, but she didn't let them fall. Sesshomaru dropped his head down, leaning his forehead against hers, his arms coming around her.

"Oh, Kagome, I don't know where to start. I want what we had the other night to be how we feel every day. I love you. So…so much, more than anything." He sighed into her hair. Sesshomaru held her tight and she could feel the desperation and hurt in his embrace. She held him tighter, wanting to erase as much of those feelings as she could. She felt the little kisses he pressed into her hair and her cheek. Pulling back he looked down at her, his thumb tracing the line of her lips. Kagome nodded, knowing he was asking permission. Cupping her face in his hands, Sesshomaru brushed his lips against hers. She felt the fluttering in her belly when his lips touched hers and her lips opened in small gasp. What was meant to be a chaste kiss quickly turned into something more. His arms pulled her closer as one hand tangled in Kagome's dark hair. Kagome wrapped her arms around Sesshomaru's neck, pulling her body close as she kissed him.

Sesshomaru pressed her back into the window, his hands trapping her body on either side. His kiss went on and on. His hands starting the journey from her hair, down her neck. She felt them ghost over her breasts and down her sides where he pulled her against him. Kagome became aware of two things at this point. First was that her own body was shaking and flushed. Second was that he wanted her. She could feel him pressed into her belly. They would never know which of them pressed closer, but as they did Sesshomaru felt her stiffen slightly. It was enough though. He knew Kagome wasn't ready. Ending the kiss, he set her from him gently. Sesshomaru leaned his head against hers, gently stroking her hair.

"It's okay, when you're ready." Sesshomaru whispered. Kagome nodded and swallowed thickly. She was getting closer. With every touch and every kiss, she wanted him more. Kagome searched for a safe topic as she calmed her body.

"Who was that on the phone?" she finally managed. Sesshomaru took a step away from her.

"The doctor's office. I've been making calls all morning trying to get information on Miss Takenawa and setting up an appointment to get a sample taken for the paternity test." Sesshomaru ran a hand over his face as he said this.

"How long will it take for the results?" Kagome asked.

"The test will be done as soon as the baby is born. It is safest to wait and use a sample from the umbilical cord than to take a sample while Miss Takenawa is still pregnant. Once all the samples are given it should take two to five business days." Sesshomaru explained. Kagome nodded and set down on the coffee colored love seat.

"So we won't know anything for a few months?" Kagome asked. Sesshomaru nodded.

"Three months. Give or take a week or two." He swallowed as he spoke. That was the time it would take for all this to be over. For him to either have his life back or for it to be forever altered by this mistake. Sesshomaru's gaze slid to his wife. She was so beautiful sitting there in his office, with her hair soft and gently waving down her shoulders and back. He just couldn't lose her. Not like this. As Kagome stared at her husband, the look in his eyes made her heart beat faster. The question she didn't want to ask hung in the air between them.

"What is going to happen…if it…if the baby is yours? What will you do?" Kagome spoke quietly. Sesshomaru walked back to his desk; moving papers around, swiping invisible specks of dust to the floor. As much as he wanted to he couldn't avoid the question. Placing his hands on his hips, he turned to her.

"I will be paying Miss Takenawa's expenses until the child is born. What little information I was able to find on her dose not paint a pretty picture of her life. If the child is not mine, all ties with her and anything to do with her will be cut and forgotten." He paused and ran a hand through his hair, tousling the silver strands, "If the child proves to be mine…then my lawyer will be in contact with Miss Takenawa and the child will be well cared for in a place of my choosing with a guardian I see fit. No child, especially my child will have to live the life a woman like her would offer." Sesshomaru looked away then and sat heavily in his chair. How women managed to make life difficult. But one woman he would never let go off.

"What type of life is that?" Kagome asked. Sesshomaru sighed.

"The life of an escort. Living in a less than desirable part of town; with less than desirable people. And that is putting it nicely." Sesshomaru watched her as he spoke. And Kagome for the most part, didn't know what to feel.

"So you would put the baby in a home with a stranger to take care of them for the rest of their life? Sesshomaru, that seems a little unfeeling." Kagome said. As much as this situation hurt and angered her, she had a forgiving and kind nature. "Why would you not just take custody and have the baby live here?"

"I will not have the biggest mistake of my life living with my family. I have already hurt you and our sons' enough. I am trying to spare everyone as much pain as I can. I think…I feel that this is the best solution I can manage." Sesshomaru's voice had taken an edge and his hands shook. He didn't know what to feel anymore. He did know that he was afraid. If this child was his, it would change everything. He knew that he was confused. As much as he hated Yura, he couldn't hate a child.

"It's not a mistake, Sesshomaru. No matter the circumstances of conception or…or who the mother is, if this child is yours; it is a part of you. It deserves the same treatment as Souta and Kenta." She stopped stealing herself for what she would say next. "If the child is yours, it will come and live here, with its family. And if Miss Takenawa so wishes, she can come and visit the baby. We can't just forget about this, this is a child." Sesshomaru watched her with awe as she spoke. She was offering to raise his child. Not a child that had come before her, for all intense and purposes, his wife was offering to raise his love child. For lack of a better word.

"Kagome…are you sure?" he asked. She swallowed and stood.

"I am not saying it would be easy, in fact it won't. I would…we would have to see this child every day, but I love you. It would take time and healing, but if this is your child, I would love them the same as you and our children. So that's what we will do. We will wait for the DNA test and then if the child is yours, we will have another son or a daughter. If not then we can heal and move on from this faster." Kagome nodded as she spoke. Needing to affirm what she was saying. "Now I am going to go…shopping." Sesshomaru smirked. Kagome hated shopping, only going when she had too, but she had admitted that it helped sooth her when she was very upset.

"Kagome," he waited for her to turn from her place by the door. When she finally turned to him her eyes where wry. "I love you." He whispered. She smiled a small smile.

"I love you too." She said and left, closing the door softly. That hadn't been exactly what she expected to happen when she went in there, but it had resolved a lot of the issues the last forty-eight hours had brought up. Kagome had had all of the high emotional roller coaster she could take, for now she was going shopping. Maybe a new book or a new toy for the boys would cheer her up.

Sesshomaru sat in his chair listening to Kagome drive out. With Souta at school, Kenta taking his nap and Now Kagome leaving for town, the house was quiet. He thought about all that had been said between them. If Kagome was offering to raise this child, that meant that she forgave him, that she did love him didn't it? His thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing.

"Hello. "He answered

"Sesshomaru, how are you doing dear?" his mother asked her voice cheery over the phone.

"I've been better. How are your and father?"

"We're well sweetheart. I was calling to remind you about cook out and the end of the month. It will be the last time we will be able to enjoy the warm weather before fall sets in. You are coming correct?" his mother sked

"Yes of course. We will be there." He has hoped that would be the end of the conversation.

"How are things coming along with Kagome?" Jocelyn's voice was soft as she asked the question.

"We are okay. Things are getting better between us. A few ups and downs, but we are working on them." Sesshomaru had told his family about the separation, but not how it had come about. He had wanted to spare Kagome and the rest of his family that humiliation.

"That's good dear. I look forward to seeing her and my grandchildren. I love you sweetheart."

"Love you too mom." The line went dead and Sesshomaru groaned. He hated these gatherings. His extend prejudiced family together. His recent marital troubles would no doubt be a favorite topic of the evening. He only hoped his family could keep their remarks to their selves.

Author's note: I know it's been a while and this chapter pretty much sucks, but it had to be written. I needed a closer chapter for the surprise baby bit and filler for the next chapter to take form, which I promise will be a wonderful chapter and will be up in the next few days. I also wanted to announce that I am working on a new story and instead of waiting for this one to finish; I will be posting the first chapters in a few days as well. Anyone who wants to check it out, the title will be Temptation. Thank you for the continued support on this story and the many reviews it has received.