Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

Ugh, I'm so sorry, guys. Really. I've tried extremely hard to get this chapter finalized and out not only because I know how infuriating it is to start a story and get invested in it only to have it not updated for a long time, but also because this story has been consuming a lot of my attention for a long time now and I'd like to get it out finally! But unfortunately, being a real person takes precedence even when I least expect problems.

This summer I helped to run a sports camp for impoverished children in the city I'm living in. It not only exposed them to sports they may not have had the chance to experience (lacrosse, other "expensive" sports, etc) but also taught them some lessons that are important to know, like sexual education that they may not receive in their schools. As you can probably guess, I loved it - but it did come at a great cost. I was working a minimum of 10 hours a day, six days a week with these kids, playing hard sports from literally dawn to dusk. It was so rewarding, but so exhausting.

So that's my excuse this time. I know it seems like nothing to you guys, and I'm incredibly sorry for the gap, but know that I am thinking of you and this story and it will be finished. It just might not be as timely as I would like.

[TL;DR]: I've been super exhausted lately working with kids, but my determination has not been diminished and the story WILL be finished, I promise.

Also, I realize this chapter is very rushed. I tried to do that intentionally, from Kagome's point of view. I wanted to somehow show how sudden this turn of events was for her, how absolutely out of the blue everything happened to her. It'll explain her hesitation and confusion in coming chapters. I may come back to edit this one. I'm still not completely satisifed with it, but I didn't want to make you all wait any longer. Next chapter will be up ASAP; it was originally part of this one, but I split it to allow more events in it.

Chapter Eleven

Contrary to any ideals or beliefs she might have held previously, pregnancy was not easy on Kagome. Even if she had wanted to, she couldn't have disobeyed her mate's requests of neither time traveling, nor even traveling normally. Most days, she could hardly get out of bed for the nausea, back pain, and swollen feet.

Throughout this time, Sesshōmaru had been amazingly attentive, seeing to her every need and desire almost before she knew herself that she wanted or needed something. His expression never wavered into disgust when he cleaned her up after her nausea became too much, or boredom when he sat and talked soothingly with her for hours on end, just for a distraction from her own discomfort. Little Inuyasha was also a godsend during this time, if only because he, too, served as a distraction. Dismayed at the absence of his "mother" outside, Inuyasha had sought Kagome out in her bedroom just days after she had found out she was expecting, when her illness had first taken hold. Since then, the child had spent nearly every day in their chamber, playing with her hair, bouncing on the bed, and generally making a ruckus and annoying his elder brother, who also refused to leave her side if he could help it. But it was so welcome compared to her solitude and roiling stomach.

Luckily, Kagome's sufferings ended rather quickly. Only a month or so after discovering her new condition, she felt well enough to once more leave her bedroom. Not long after that, she was roaming the gardens and forest surrounding their castle with Inuyasha. Within days of that event, she was nearly back to her old self, with the addition of an ever-growing bulge beneath her kimono of course.

Kagome, knowing only of childbirth in the mortal realm, was frightened. She couldn't admit this to anyone but her mate, who she was astonished to discover felt the same. He admitted to her that he also knew nothing of bringing 'pups' as he called them into the world. As a favor to his wife, he decided to track down his own mother. Perhaps Miharu-sama, having gone through the experience herself, would know if what Kagome experienced was normal or not, and could tell the couple what more to expect.

So while Kagome amused herself by decorating a nursery, imagining combinations of herself and her husband in child form, and idly musing on potential names, Sesshōmaru left their home in search of his mother. Having hailed from the Sora Inu clan of dog yōkai, it shouldn't have surprised him to find her in the ancestral Sky Dog palace floating on the clouds.

She was understandably astonished to see him, but being who she was, she had to play it up just a bit. It was always amusing to annoy her son, after all.

"Sesshōmaru?" she asked in tones of greater surprise than she felt. "Well, I'm amazed you're still alive. Indeed, how would I know any different? Ever since your great father's demise, I've heard nothing from either you or your young mate."

"May we dispense with the games?" her son retorted coldly, and more brusque than even she'd expected from him. Something must be wrong. "I know you have been watching us, your spies are everywhere."

"True, but spies can only glean so much from such a reclusive couple."

"Then I suppose it will also 'amaze' you that your daughter-in-law is with child."

Miharu-sama gave no reaction to this news other than a small curve at her mouth and a murmured, "About time. And how does she fare?"

"Improving now, but she was very ill at the beginning." He paused, then, wishing to impart the seriousness of his request, admitted quietly, "We feared she might not survive. She was eating nothing, and expelling even more. She is only now strong enough to walk again."

"Not surprising," his mother returned, but her tone was kinder than before. "I nearly died with your litter, though it was more the delivery than the pregnancy that did it."

The term caught the dog lord by surprise. He had forgotten. In his many, many years of solitude, it had completely escaped him that most inuyōkai were born into litters of three to six. The largest he had heard of was in his childhood, when a bitch had whelped eleven pups. He himself had been born with two brothers, both of whom had been stillborn. An extreme rarity in inuyōkai, but it did happen when the mother was under too much stress and delivered early.

His face betrayed nothing, but he felt as though he had broken into a cold sweat. Kagome could never withstand carrying so many. Kami or not, she was still half-human. Her body couldn't endure the strain of so many lives taking from it.

"Is there anything we can do?" was all he said, his tone as calm as ever.

Miharu-sama paused, assessing her son. If she had been told sixty years ago that her son would one day soon come to love someone so much, she would have laughed in their face. Though Sesshōmaru was very composed physically, she knew him well enough to determine just how concerned he was by this information. But what had he thought would happen? All dogs, even to the lowest of mortal pets, gave birth in litters.

So she sent him away with the best of the advice she could remember from her own disastrous pregnancy and delivery, and a new servant. Sako was an ancient inuyōkai, who had delivered countless pups and was regarded as something of an expert on the subject. She was also the one who had safely delivered Sesshōmaru and saved his mother's life, when all seemed lost after the first two pups had gone. Sesshōmaru himself wasn't much comforted by her presence. She had only been present at the births of dog pups to yōkai bitches. What good could she do for his Kagome?

Still, when he brought her back to Kagome, it was evident how much that affected his mate. Kagome was instantly as close to herself in personality as she could be, more relaxed about the whole thing, and far more excited at the prospect of being a mother rather than fearful for her and her child's life.

That just left the news of explaining just how many inuyōkai were produced each usual pregnancy.

"Litter?"

"Yes. I apologize, Kagome. I had forgotten that inuyōkai don't generally have single births."

Kagome blinked. "But you were an only child, until Inuyasha."

"Not so. I was one of three, but Mother's delivery went badly, and she lost the first two and nearly her own life."

Kagome went white, her eyes closing involuntarily as she fought off a wave of nausea brought on by her sudden fear. "Is that likely to happen with me?"

"I think Sako could answer that better than I could, koibito."

The term of endearment worked as they both knew it would. Kagome could almost be frustrated at her mate. He was normally so choosy with his words, preferring to show her his love instead of saying it as she would also like. In times such as these, however, when he could smell the fear and anxiety rolling off of her in waves, he decided to be more liberal with his verbal affection. It both instantly turned her into a puddle of gooey love for him, and vexed her that he knew how to handle her so well.

Said servant, ever present at Kagome's side since her arrival, stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her new mistress' shoulder.

"Kagome-sama," she said, "you are young and strong, and I am skilled. Together, we will get you and however many pups you may have through this. It will not be as bad as you fear, but it is wise to be aware of the possible dangers. You will be fine."

Sako estimated that Kagome was carrying either one extraordinarily large pup, or up to three smaller pups. She could give no definitive answer, and she didn't want to risk bringing on a premature labor by upsetting the delicate health Kagome had managed to come back to by poking and prodding more often than necessary.

Inuyasha had no such qualms about touching her ever-growing stomach, however. He was fascinated by the bump, intrigued by the movements he could make out under the skin, and perplexed by the different smells he could sense coming from Kagome.

On one such afternoon, as Kagome and Sesshōmaru lounged out in the gardens enjoying the sunshine, Inuyasha came flying over one of the red bridges and leapt onto Kagome's lap. Sesshōmaru started up, preparing to scold and perhaps shoo off the child he was growing to see more as a pest than anything else, but Kagome stopped him with a look. Discontented but willing to comply for now, her mate sat back down and watched as Inuyasha reached out a tiny clawed hand and imperiously dug beneath Kagome's kimono layers until he could touch the skin of her belly.

"Are they sleeping?" he asked, disappointed, as he felt nothing for a few moments.

"Perhaps," Kagome replied easily. Far be it from her to demand movement. She had had quite enough of being kicked and punched from the inside, thank you. "And you must let them, or they'll be as a cranky as you are when you don't get a nap."

"I don't need naps!" Inuyasha was greatly affronted.

"Not so much anymore," the kami agreed, a little wistfully. While she loved her little brother and pseudo son exactly as he was, she did rather miss the days when he was a tiny baby. It made her all the happier that she was soon to have her very own. "But when you were little you had to nap every day, do you remember? Or else you were a little monster."

"A screaming, belligerent little monster," her mate added without moving.

Inuyasha shot his elder brother an indignant glance, but was wise enough to say nothing. He was growing more comfortable in Sesshōmaru's presence - their shared desire to spend as much time near Kagome as they could made it impossible that they would not also spend time in each other's company - but that didn't mean he liked his brother any more. Indeed, they both just seemed to tolerate one another now, which was all Kagome could hope for at the moment.

Inuyasha turned away then, back to the stomach that had been the object of his fascination for the past months. He patted Kagome's stretched, taut skin as gently as a child of his age could manage, and said, almost cooing, "They'll come out soon."

Kagome blinked as Sesshōmaru started. Allowing herself a moment to get over her initial surprise, she sighed and tried to adjust to a more comfortable position as however many arms and legs were inside her suddenly decided to have a brief romp, kicking out at the pressure of Inuyasha's hand on their tiny home.

"No, darling," she corrected, almost absently, as she did so. "These pups have to grow big and strong first. They'll stay in there for a little just a few more weeks. Then how many playmates you'll have!"

Inuyasha did not allow himself to be distracted. "No," he pressed, meeting her gaze urgently, his big golden eyes almost frightened. "Feel."

He took Kagome's hand and pressed it where his own had been on her belly, pushing only slightly harder when little lumps rose in her skin to press back.

"They're just having playtime," Kagome explained. "You know that."

Despite her best efforts to calm herself, she was starting to feel a little uneasy. She knew from experience that children often said things that didn't make sense to them, but were downright alarming to their parents. It didn't mean anything, however, as the child likely had no idea what they had even said. But Inuyasha seemed so serious.

"They're too big," he informed her solemnly, patting her again. "They can't fit anymore. They'll come out soon."

Truly alarmed now, Kagome glanced to Sako, her omnipresent midwife. Unable to understand where the child had gotten these notions, Sako could only shake her head and shrug. From her own assessments, Kagome was progressing completely normally. Her pups, however many there may be, were perfectly comfortable where they were.

Sesshōmaru shooed the boy off to play then, certain that his accusations could only bring more stress on his wife. Stress she most certainly did not need.

Despite her projected due date having been set for three more weeks after that conversation, it seemed that the Fates agreed with Inuyasha's assessment. Not six days after he pronounced his judgement on her pregnancy, Kagome awoke with a steady, aching pain in her lower back.

"What is this, Sako?" she griped to her midwife, pacing her room. Red-faced and panting with the pain, she strained this way, stretched that way, trying to alleviate the niggling ache that was becoming steadily stronger, spreading around to her stomach.

Sesshōmaru, despite his own extreme worries, had left her for the day. His instincts, already over-protective by nature, had spun nearly out of control as her pregnancy had progressed. He rarely left her side, always watching, always listening. He peppered her with questions, so concerned with her well-being and needs. While Kagome appreciated the concern that only hinted at the depth of his feelings, it also irritated the hell out of her.

But that did not excuse her behavior that morning.

She had woken with the horrible back pain, leaving her in a none-too-forgiving mood. As her mate continued pestering her with questions, suggestions, and downright orders all centered around her comfort, her answers had gone from succint, to taciturn, to plainly rude.

Finally, unable to control her frustration in the face of such physical pain, she had snapped, "Stop smothering me! I am your mate, not an invalid! Just leave me alone!"

And to her immense chagrin, he did. She had no idea where he had gone off too. He'd left without a single word.

Perhaps the stress of her mate leaving so suddenly had caused her to sleep in a bad position, Kagome wondered now, rubbing her own lower back furiously. She could think of nothing else that would cause her such an annoying, persistent pain in such a place.

Sako read the signs a little differently. "I think your time has come, my lady."

Kagome stopped, gasping, for at that very moment, something wet began running down her legs. "What—?" she started to ask, beginning to bend down.

Sako caught her arm, stopping her. "My lady, we need to get you dressed in something more comfortable. I believe we will be meeting your new little ones before the night is done."

Ignoring her mistress' persists of it not being time, of her not being ready, Sako nearly dragged the kami off to the suite she had prepared just for the birth. She did not anticipate any easy time of it. Changing Kagome into a simple yukata for comfort and ease of access, she watched as the lady paced her new chamber anxiously.

"Where is Sesshōmaru?" she fretted. "I never should have chased him off like that!"

"You can't worry about such things now," Sako insisted. "Try to focus on remaining calm. The calmer your spirit, the less your pups will have to fight to be born. Relax, and they will come sooner."

Taking her words to heart, Kagome took a deep breath, trying to meditate into peacefulness. The ache spreading across her stomach was more rhythmic now, rippling down her abdomen in waves that squeezed and pressed with more force each time they came.

As time went on, the aches only became more frequent, and more painful. It felt like an iron band had been placed around her abdomen, squeezing the very life from her. It wasn't letting up anymore, a near constant pressure on her belly. Kagome let out a sob, trying to find a peaceful state of mind around the crippling pain.

"My lady, will you let me...?" Sako trailed off, her hands suggesting her words for her as she gestured to Kagome's lower half.

Nodding, Kagome laid back and allowed Sako to complete another assessment of where she was in her labor. Kagome hardly noticed the new, intrusive pain under the waves and waves of pure agony now cascading down her stomach.

"Oh, kami, it hurts," she groaned, biting back another cry. She could taste the blood from biting her lip so hard.

"You're nearly there, my lady, just a few more hours at most."

Hours? Kagome wanted to scream. She couldn't bear this anymore. She just couldn't, she'd die trying to withstand this...

Then, what felt like days later, from underneath the waves of pain, she heard, "It's time, my lady! Push when you feel the next contraction."

No! she wanted to scream. I can't!

Instead, all that came out was a strangled cry, half a sob and half a scream of pain as she obeyed. What she wouldn't give for this pain to be done with, to be free of this neverending agony...

"Again, my lady! Hold it!"

Tucking her chin into her chest, Kagome screwed up her eyes and gritted her teeth against the next onslaught, pushing with all her might. She wanted this over with.

"And again!"

Screaming through her clenched teeth, Kagome strained again, holding it for as long as she could without going mad from the pain. She would be split in two, she was sure of it, she had to die of this pain. Gods, but she wanted it to end. She didn't care what happened to her, just as long as the pain stopped.

"Here's the head! One more time, my lady!"

Oh, thank the kami, it was almost done. Given renewed energy, she set about making this last push as strong as possible. Another involuntary groan of pain was wrenched from her mouth as she felt the baby literally force its way out of her, screaming its little head off all the way.

Falling back onto the pallet with a sob, Kagome tried to feel pride and happiness in having completed her duty as a mother and mate. But she couldn't, the pain was still coming and coming...

"Now for the next one! Push, my lady!"

Kagome groaned again. No! she thought desperately. I want it to be done. Irrationally, she prayed for the babies, however many there were, to just fall out of her. Or cut themselves out. She didn't care, so long as she was past this hellish experience. Let it stop, let this pain end. Just make it STOP!

Suddenly, her firstborn's screams were silenced. Startled at the sudden lack of sound, Kagome ignored the waves of pain still crashing down her stomach and opened her eyes.

What she saw made her scream again, this time in pure horror.

She was flat on her back, still in the midst of giving birth.

She lay on the leafy, rocky, terribly uncomfortable floor of a sparse forest.

And she was completely and utterly alone.